bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Enhanced detection of blood bank sample collection errors with a centralized patient database
Authors: MacIvor Duncan , Triulzi Darrell J. , Yazer Mark H. 
Published: September 2008

BACKGROUND: Pittsburgh's Centralized Transfusion Service (CTS) provides transfusion support to 16 hospitals and features an electronic database that contains patient transfusion and serologic histories. This database can be accessed from any hospital in the system. A major cause of ABO‐incompatible transfusions is the “wrong blood in tube” (WBIT) phenomenon, that is, the sample is not from the recipient identified on the label. We hypothesized that having access to patient historical ABO types from anywhere in the CTS system can identify WBIT errors and prevent mistransfusions.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The transfusion committee records of the 16 CTS hospitals from March 2005 to September 2007 were reviewed for major collection errors, that is, the current ABO type differed from the historical type in the database. The patient's historical ABO type, the discrepant type, and the hospital(s) where these samples were collected were recorded.RESULTS: In 6 of 16 major collection errors for which complete information was available, the current and historical ABO types were obtained from different hospitals within the CTS system. In 3 cases, selection of ABO type–specific blood based on the current sample would have led to an ABO‐compatible transfusion (e.g., correct type A, current type O). In the other 3 cases, an ABO‐incompatible transfusion would have resulted (e.g., correct type O, current type A).CONCLUSIONS: Access to a centralized patient database detected 38 percent more ABO typing errors and prevented six mistransfusions, which would not have been prevented at a single institution. Centralization of patient transfusion data should be encouraged.
Toward a Museum Culture in Ghana: Processes and Challenges
Authors: Labi Kwame Amoah 
Published: September 2008

AbstractThis article discusses how the Institute of African Studies mounted a community‐based exhibition drawing on indigenous knowledge and narratives of culture contact and influence, with the hope that this, and similar exhibitions in Ghana, would help to develop a museum culture in local communities. The article also addresses the methods and procedures used in developing the content of the local exhibition, including consultations with leaders of Sekondi and neighboring areas.
High glucose attenuates VEGF expression in rat multipotent adult progenitor cells in association with inhibition of JAK2/STAT3 signalling
Authors: Liu Zehao , Lei Minxiang , Jiang Yuehua , Hao Hong , Chu Ling , Xu Jian , Luo Min , Verfaillie Catherine M. , Zweier Jay L. , Liu Zhenguo 
Published: September 2008

AbstractThis study was to investigate the effect of high glucose (HG) on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in bone marrow stem cells and JAK2/STAT‐3 signalling. Adult rat bone marrow multipotent progenitor cells (rMAPCs) were cultured to evaluate VEGF expression (both mRNA and protein) with or without exposure to HG for up to 48 hrs using RT‐PCR and ELISA. JAK2 and STAT3 phosphorylation in rMAPCs was analysed by Western blotting. With cells in normal media, VEGF mRNA level after 24 hrs of culture was significantly increased by 15 times over baseline (day 0) with detectable level of VEGF protein intracellularly using immunofluorescence staining. Although there was no measurable VEGF in the media after 24 hrs of culture, a significant amount of VEGF was detected in the media after 48 hrs of incubation. VEGF expression was associated with constitutive activation of JAK2 and STAT3 in rMAPCs. However, VEGF mRNA level was significantly reduced without detectable VEGF in the media when rMAPCs exposed to HG for 48 hrs. Tyrosine‐phosphorylation of JAK2 and STAT3 and nuclear translocation of phosphorylated STAT3 were significantly decreased in the cells exposed to HG for 48 hrs. When JAK2 and STAT3 phosphorylation was blocked by the selective inhibitor AG490, VEGF mRNA level was significantly decreased in rMAPCs in normal media by 80% with no detectable VEGF in the media. VEGF expression was significantly suppressed in rMAPCs cultured in HG media that was further reduced by AG490. VEGF expression in rMAPCs is impaired by HG possibly through inhibition of JAK2/STAT3 signalling.
Effects of raloxifene on breast cancer cell migration and invasion through the actin cytoskeleton
Authors: Flamini Marina Ines , Fu Xiao‐Dong , Sanchez Angel Matias , Giretti Maria Silvia , Garibaldi Silvia , Goglia Lorenzo , Pisaneschi Silvia , Tosi Veronica , Genazzani Andrea Riccardo , Simoncini Tommaso 
Published: September 2008

AbstractRaloxifene (RAL) is a selective oestrogen receptor modulator (SERM) approved for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis and for the prevention of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. However, little is known on the effects of this SERM on breast cancer cell metastasis, which is the main cause of morbidity and death. Cell movement is critical for local progression and distant metastasis of cancer cells. These processes rely on the dynamic control of the actin cytoskeleton and of cell membrane morphology. The aim of the present study was to characterize the effects of RAL or of 17β‐estradiol (E2) plus RAL on oestrogen receptor (ER) positive T47‐D breast cancer cell cytoskeletal remodelling, migration and invasion. Our findings show that, when given alone, RAL induces a weak actin cytoskeleton remodelling in breast cancer cells, with the formation of specialized cell membrane structures implicated in cell motility. However, in the presence of physiological amounts of estradiol, which potently drives breast cancer cell cytoskeletal remodelling and motility, RAL displays a powerful inhibitory effect on oestrogen‐promoted cell migration and invasion. These actions are plaid through an interference of RAL with an extra‐nuclear signalling cascade involving G proteins and the RhoA‐associated kinase, ROCK‐2, linked to the recruitment of the cytoskeletal controller, moesin. Hence, in the presence of estradiol, RAL acts as an ER antagonist. These results highlight a novel mechanism of action of the SERM raloxifene that might be important for the interference of breast cancer progression or metastasis induced by oestrogens in postmenopausal women.
Effect of Bupleuri Radix Extracts on the Toxicity of 5‐Fluorouracil in HepG2 Hepatoma Cells and Normal Human Lymphocytes
Authors: Kang Su Jin , Lee Young Joon , Kim Byeong Mo , Kim Yang Jee , Woo Hae Dong , Jeon Hye Kyoung , Chung Hai Won 
Published: September 2008

Abstract:  Despite the excellent chemotherapeutic effect of 5‐fluorouracil, its cytotoxicity and genotoxicity in normal cells remain a major problem. We sought to assess whether Bupleuri Radix extract enhances 5‐fluorouracil‐induced cytotoxicity in HepG2 hepatoma cells, while protecting normal blood lymphocytes. Bupleuri Radix, used for treatment of liver disease in oriental medicine, possesses antitumour properties; it induces apoptosis through cell arrest in tumour cells, but does not affect normal lymphocytes. In this study, we evaluated the protective and enhancing effects of Bupleuri Radix on 5‐fluorouracil‐induced cytotoxicity in HepG2 cells and normal lymphocytes. Treatment with Bupleuri Radix increased the micronuclei frequency and DNA damage, resulting from 5‐fluorouracil treatment. However, when human lymphocytes were cotreated with Bupleuri Radix and 5‐fluorouracil, the frequency of 5‐fluorouracil‐induced micronuclei decreased. Although the extent of 5‐fluorouracil‐induced DNA damage, determined by single‐cell gel electrophoresis, increased after treating HepG2 cells with Bupleuri Radix, it decreased in normal lymphocytes. When cells were treated with 20 µM 5‐fluorouracil and 200 µg/ml Bupleuri Radix simultaneously, Bax protein increased in HepG2 cells at 24 hr; however, p21 and p53 proteins were up‐regulated in normal human lymphocytes. Cotreatment with 200 µg/ml Bupleuri Radix and 20 µM 5‐fluorouracil resulted in cell arrest at the late G1/early S phase in HepG2 cells (55.80 ± 0.19%) and normal lymphocytes (97.19 ± 0.27%). In addition, Bupleuri Radix and 5‐fluorouracil treatment increased mitochondria membrane potential collapse only in HepG2 cells (19.02%), while it was not changed in lymphocytes. In conclusion, our findings suggest that Bupleuri Radix may be effective as a therapeutic agent to treat hepatomas.
Antipsychotic Drugs Inhibit the Function of Breast Cancer Resistance Protein
Authors: Wang Jun‐Sheng , Zhu Hao‐Jie , Markowitz John S. , Donovan Jennifer L. , Yuan Hong‐Jie , DeVane C. Lindsay 
Published: September 2008

Abstract:  The ABCG2 transporter breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) has been identified in several physiological sites. It has been suggested to play an important role in disposition of many drugs and environmental toxins. We investigated the effects of several antipsychotic drugs, including risperidone, 9‐hydroxy‐risperidone (paliperidone), olanzapine, quetiapine, clozapine, haloperidol and chlorpromazine, and a positive control inhibitor Ko143 on functions of BCRP in MCF7 and BCRP over‐expressing MCF7/MX100 cell lines using a BCRP prototypical substrate mitoxantrone. Our findings indicated that the tested antipsychotics rank order of potency of inhibition of BCRP according to concentrations required to reach 50% of maximum inhibition (IC50) was as follows: Ko143 (0.07 µM) > risperidone (38.1 µM) > clozapine (42.0 µM) > paliperidone (51 µM) > chlorpromazine (52.2 µM) > quetiapine (66.1 µM) > olanzapine = haloperidol (>100.0 µM). We further tested the effects of various concentrations of risperidone on the BCRP‐mediated transport of oestrone‐3‐sulfate in a colon carcinoma cell line, Caco‐2, a widely used model to study drug absorption. Our findings show that risperidone at concentrations ranging from 1 to 100 µM significantly inhibited intracellular accumulation of oestrone‐3‐sulfate in Caco‐2 cell monolayers. The present results suggest that a potential source of pharmacokinetic interactions exists between BCRP substrates and several antipsychotics.
Sildenafil Improves the Beneficial Haemodynamic Effects of Intravenous Nitrite Infusion during Acute Pulmonary Embolism
Authors: Dias‐Junior Carlos A. , Montenegro Marcelo F. , Florencio Barbara C. , Tanus‐Santos Jose E. 
Published: September 2008

Abstract:  Acute pulmonary embolism produces acute pulmonary hypertension, which can be counteracted by activating the nitric oxide–cyclic guanosine 3′,5′‐monophosphate (cGMP) pathway. While previous studies have shown that sildenafil (an inhibitor of cGMP‐specific phosphodiesterase type 5) or nitrite (a storage molecule for nitric oxide) produces beneficial effects during acute pulmonary embolism, no previous study has examined whether the combination of these drugs can produce additive effects. Here, we expand previous findings and examine whether sildenafil enhances the beneficial haemodynamic effects produced by a low‐dose infusion of nitrite in a dog model of acute pulmonary embolism. Haemodynamic and arterial blood gas evaluations were performed in non‐embolized dogs treated with saline (n = 4), and in embolized dogs (intravenous injections of microspheres) that received nitrite (6.75 µmol/kg intravenously over 15 min. followed by 0.28 µmol/kg/min.) and sildenafil (0.25 mg/kg over 30 min.; n = 8), or nitrite followed by saline (n = 8), or saline followed by sildenafil (n = 7), or only saline (n = 8). Plasma thiobarbituric acid‐reactive substances (TBARS) concentrations were determined using a fluorometric method. Acute pulmonary embolism increased pulmonary artery pressure by ∼24 mmHg. While the infusion of nitrite or sildenafil infusions reversed this increase by ∼42% (both P < 0.05), the combined infusion of both drugs reversed this increase by ∼58% (P < 0.05). Similar effects were seen on the pulmonary vascular resistance index. Nitrite or sildenafil alone produced no significant hypotension. However, the combined infusion of both drugs caused transient hypotension (P < 0.05). Both dugs, either alone or combined, blunted the increase in TBARS concentrations caused by acute pulmonary embolism (all P < 0.05). These results suggest that sildenafil improves the beneficial haemodynamic effects of nitrite during acute pulmonary embolism.
Sexing European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), European brown hares (Lepus europaeus) and mountain hares (Lepus timidus) with ZFX and ZFY loci
Authors: FONTANESI LUCA , TAZZOLI MARCO , PECCHIOLI ELENA , HAUFFE HEIDI C. , ROBINSON TERENCE J. , RUSSO VINCENZO 
Published: September 2008

AbstractWe describe a new method for the sex determination of tissue originating from Oryctolagus cuniculus (European rabbit), Lepus europaeus (European brown hare) and Lepus timidus (mountain hare) based on PCR‐RFLP analysis of point mutations that differentiate the ZFX and ZFY gene sequences. Among several applications, this PCR‐RFLP method could be used to investigate gender ratio and evaluate the population dynamics of these species using samples collected when sex cannot be identified.
Development and characterization of microsatellite loci in the American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)
Authors: HICKMAN CALEB R. , PETERS MAUREEN B. , CRAWFORD NICHOLAS G. , HAGEN CRIS , GLENN TRAVIS C. , SOMERS CHRISTOPHER M. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractWe isolated and characterized nine microsatellite loci from the American white pelican, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos. The loci were screened in 23 individuals from the eastern and western populations of North America and were polymorphic, with the number of alleles per locus ranging from two to eight. Polymorphic information content ranged from 0.185 to 0.820 and observed heterozygosity from 0.217 to 0.957. These new loci will provide tools for studies of population structure in this species, thereby aiding conservation planning.
Isolation and characterization of microsatellite markers for the ornamental discus fish Symphysodon discus and cross‐species amplification in other Heroini cichlid species
Authors: AMADO MANUELLA VILLAR , HRBEK TOMAS , GRAVENA WALESKA , FANTIN CLEITON , DE ASSUNÇÃO ENEDINA NOGUEIRA , ASTOLFI‐FILHO SPARTACO , FARIAS IZENI P. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractThe discus fishes (Symphysodon spp.) are economically important ornamental species. Thirteen microsatellite markers were developed from a CT12‐ and CA12‐enriched whole genomic DNA library of Symphysodon discus. Allelic variability was tested on 44 individuals of two species (S. discus and S. aequifasciatus). Allelic richness ranged from two to 11 alleles per locus and observed heterozygosities from 0.083 to 0.998. All loci were at Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, and no pair of loci showed linkage disequilibrium within a species. Cross‐species amplification was also successfully performed in the Neotropical cichlids Uaru amphiacanthoides, Hoplarchus psittacus, Hypselecara coryphaenoides, Pterophyllum sp., Mesonauta sp. and Heros sp.
Eight polymorphic microsatellite loci for the Australian plague locust,Chortoicetes terminifera
Authors: CHAPUIS MARIE‐PIERRE , POPPLE JULIE‐ANNE , SIMPSON STEPHEN J. , ESTOUP ARNAUD , MARTIN JEAN‐FRANÇOIS , STEINBAUER MARTIN , MCCULLOCH LAURENCE , SWORD GREGORY A. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractFew population genetics studies have been carried out on major locust species. In particular, an understanding of the population genetic structure of the Australian plague locust,Chortoicetes terminifera, is lacking. We isolated and characterized eight polymorphic microsatellite loci inC. terminifera, and described experimental conditions for polymerase chain reaction multiplexing and genotyping these loci. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 11 to 29 and the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.797 to 0.977. One locus was found to be X‐linked. Results of cross‐taxon amplification tests are reported in four species of the Oedipodinae subfamily.
Eight new tetranucleotide microsatellite loci for the agile frog (Rana dalmatina)
Authors: HAUSWALDT J. S. , FUESSEL J. , GUENTHER J. , STEINFARTZ S. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractWe describe eight new polymorphic tetranucleotide microsatellite loci isolated from the agile frog (Rana dalmatina). In 25 individuals from the Nature Reserve Lüneburger Heide (Lower Saxony, Germany), the number of alleles per locus ranged from four to nine and average observed heterozygosities from 69.1% to 80.7%. No evidence for linkage disequilibrium was found and none of the loci showed significant deviation from Hardy–Weinberg expectations. These microsatellite DNA markers are suitable tools for addressing population genetics issues in this endangered species.
Improved COI barcoding primers for Southeast Asian perching birds (Aves: Passeriformes)
Authors: LOHMAN DAVID J. , PRAWIRADILAGA DEWI M. , MEIER RUDOLF 
Published: September 2008

AbstractThe All Birds Barcoding Initiative aims to assemble a DNA barcode database for all bird species, but the 648‐bp ‘barcoding’ region of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) can be difficult to amplify in Southeast Asian perching birds (Aves: Passeriformes). Using COI sequences from complete mitochondrial genomes, we designed a primer pair that more reliably amplifies and sequences the COI barcoding region of Southeast Asian passerine birds. The 655‐bp region amplified with these primers overlaps the COI region amplified with other barcoding primer pairs, enabling direct comparison of sequences with previously published DNA barcodes.
Isolation and characteristics of 10 microsatellite markers from the endangered coconut crab (Birgus latro)
Authors: GAN CHAI‐HSIA , TEE SEE‐MIN , TANG PEI‐CIAO , YANG JAY MING‐CHE , FREIRE FRANCIS , MCGOWAN ANDREW , NARRIMAN JIDDAWI , MOHAMMED MOHAMMED SULEIMAN , HSIEH HWEY‐LIAN , CHEN CHANG‐PO , SHEPPARD CHARLES , CHEN CHAOLUN ALLEN 
Published: September 2008

AbstractThe coconut crab (Birgus latro), an endangered marine‐dispersed crustacean, is facing severe and probably accelerating population extinction worldwide, but biological information on its conservation remains deficient. In order to reveal the genetic structure of B. latro, 10 microsatellite loci were developed. A high degree of polymorphism was observed with a mean number of alleles per locus of 16.9. The mean expected heterozygosities were also high, ranging from 0.742 to 0.965. The observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.210 to 0.925. Departures from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium were observed at five loci after the Bonferroni correction. These hypervariable markers will be utilized to study the genetic diversity and conservation of B. latro throughout its distribution range in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Cloning, Expression, and Characterization of
Babesia gibsoni
Dihydrofolate Reductase-Thymidylate Synthase: Inhibitory Effect of Antifolates on Its Catalytic Activity and Parasite Proliferation
Authors: Aboge Gabriel O. , Jia Honglin , Terkawi Mohamad A. , Goo Youn-Kyoung , Nishikawa Yoshifumi , Sunaga Fujiko , Namikawa Kuzuhiko , Tsuji Naotoshi , Igarashi Ikuo , Suzuki Hiroshi , Fujisaki Kozo , Xuan Xuenan 
Published: September 2008

ABSTRACT

Dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (DHFR-TS) is a well-validated antifolate drug target in certain pathogenic apicomplexans, but not in the genus
Babesia
, including
Babesia gibsoni
. Therefore, we isolated, cloned, and expressed the wild-type
B. gibsoni dhfr-ts
gene in
Escherichia coli
and evaluated the inhibitory effect of antifolates on its enzyme activity, as well as on in vitro parasite growth. The full-length gene consists of a 1,548-bp open reading frame encoding a 58.8-kDa translated peptide containing DHFR and TS domains linked together in a single polypeptide chain. Each domain contained active-site amino acid residues responsible for the enzymatic activity. The expressed soluble recombinant DHFR-TS protein was approximately 57 kDa after glutathione
S
-transferase (GST) cleavage, similar to an approximately 58-kDa native enzyme identified from the parasite merozoite. The non-GST fusion recombinant DHFR enzyme revealed

K
m

values of 4.70 ± 0.059 (mean ± standard error of the mean) and 9.75 ± 1.64 μM for dihydrofolic acid (DHF) and NADPH, respectively. Methotrexate was a more-potent inhibitor of the enzymatic activity (50% inhibition concentration [IC
50
] = 68.6 ± 5.20 nM) than pyrimethamine (IC
50
= 55.0 ± 2.08 μM) and trimethoprim (IC
50
= 50 ± 12.5 μM). Moreover, the antifolates' inhibitory effects on DHFR enzyme activity paralleled their inhibition of the parasite growth in vitro, indicating that the
B. gibsoni
DHFR could be a model for studying antifolate compounds as potential drug candidates. Therefore, the
B. gibsoni
DHFR-TS is a molecular antifolate drug target.
Isolation of
Streptococcus pneumoniae
Biofilm Mutants and Their Characterization during Nasopharyngeal Colonization
Authors: Muñoz-Elías Ernesto J. , Marcano Joan , Camilli Andrew 
Published: September 2008

ABSTRACT

Asymptomatic colonization of the nasopharynx by
Streptococcus pneumoniae
precedes pneumococcal disease, yet pneumococcal colonization factors remain poorly understood. Many bacterial infections involve biofilms which protect bacteria from host defenses and antibiotics. To gain insight into the genetics of biofilm formation by
S. pneumoniae
, we conducted an in vitro screen for biofilm-altered mutants with the serotype 4 clinical isolate TIGR4. In a first screen of 6,000
mariner
transposon mutants, we repeatedly isolated biofilm-overproducing acapsular mutants, suggesting that the capsule was antagonistic to biofilm formation. Therefore, we screened 6,500 additional transposon mutants in an
S. pneumoniae
acapsular background. Following this approach, we isolated 69 insertions in 49 different genes. The collection of mutants includes genes encoding bona fide and putative choline binding proteins, adhesins, synthases of membrane and cell wall components, extracellular and cell wall proteases, efflux pumps, ABC and PTS transporters, and transcriptional regulators, as well as several conserved and novel hypothetical proteins. Interestingly, while four insertions mapped to
rrgA
, encoding a subunit of a recently described surface pilus,
rrgB
and
rrgC
(encoding the other two pilus subunits) mutants had no biofilm defects, implicating the RrgA adhesin but not the pilus structure per se in biofilm formation. To correlate our findings to the process of colonization, we transferred a set of 29 mutations into the wild-type encapsulated strain and then tested the fitness of the mutants in vivo. Strikingly, we found that 23 of these mutants were impaired for nasopharyngeal colonization, thus establishing a link between biofilm formation and colonization.
Relapsing Fever Borreliosis in Interleukin-10-Deficient Mice
Authors: Londoño Diana , Marques Adriana , Hornung Ronald L. , Cadavid Diego 
Published: September 2008

ABSTRACTRelapsing fever (RF) is a spirochetal infection characterized by periods of sickness with fever at time of high bacteremia that alternate with afebrile periods of relative well being during low bacteremia. Patients with epidemic RF who are doing relatively well have extraordinarily high levels of interleukin-10 (IL-10) in the circulation. We investigated the possibility that IL-10 plays an important protective role in this infection using wild-type and IL-10-deficient mice inoculated with virulent serotype 2 of the RF spirocheteBorrelia turicatae. During peak bacteremia there was increased systemic production of IL-10 that quickly resolved in the postpeak period; in contrast, IL-6 and CXCL13 production increased during the peak but remained elevated during postpeak bacteremia. IL-10 deficiency resulted in lower bacteremia, increased specific antibody production, higher production of CXCL13 and IL-6, and thrombotic and hemorrhagic complications affecting multiple organs with secondary tissue injury. Our results revealed that production of IL-10 is highly regulated during RF and plays an important protective role in the prevention of hemorrhagic and thrombotic complications at the cost of reduced pathogen control.