bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Failure of short‐term psoralen and ultraviolet A light maintenance treatment to prevent early relapse in patients with chronic recurring plaque‐type psoriasis
Authors: Radakovic Sonja , Seeber Arno , Hönigsmann Herbert , Tanew Adrian 
Published: March 2009

Background: Photochemotherapy using psoralen and ultraviolet A light (PUVA) is a highly effective treatment option for patients with severe psoriasis. Maintenance treatment has been advocated to provide for sustained remission. However, only a few studies have been conducted to assess the efficacy of maintenance treatment and these have provided inconsistent results.Methods: We performed a prospective intrapatient left–right comparison study in 34 patients with chronic relapsing plaque psoriasis. PUVA treatment for clearing was given four times weekly. After complete or near‐complete clearing, all patients were placed on a halfside maintenance schedule with irradiation twice weekly and then once weekly for 4 weeks each. The psoriasis area and severity index score was determined at baseline, end of the clearing phase and at 2‐monthly intervals after discontinuation of treatment.Results: Using a short‐term maintenance protocol, a moderate delay in relapse of psoriasis was observed in only three patients (8.8%; 95% CI: 1.8–23.6%). In the remaining patients (91.2%), maintenance treatment had no effect on the length of remission. The mean time interval until relapse without and with maintenance irradiation was 4.5 ± 3.4 and 4.6 ± 3.4 months, respectively.Conclusion: Our data indicate that short‐term maintenance treatment is not effective in preventing early relapse of psoriasis and should be avoided.
Landscape‐scale detection and mapping of invasive African Olive (Olea europaea L. ssp. cuspidata Wall ex G. Don Ciferri) in SW Sydney, Australia using satellite remote sensing
Authors: Cuneo P. , Jacobson C.R. , Leishman M.R. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractQuestion: Is satellite imagery an effective tool for mapping and examining the distribution of the invasive species Olea europaea L. ssp. cuspidata at a regional landscape scale?Location: Southwest Sydney, Australia.Methods: Remote sensing software was used to classify pixels of Olea europaea L. ssp. cuspidata (African Olive) and major vegetation types from satellite imagery, using a “supervised classification” technique across a 721 km2 study area in the Cumberland Plain region of western Sydney. A map of African Olive distribution was produced from the image analysis and checked for accuracy at 337 random locations using ground observation and comparison with existing vegetation maps. The African Olive distribution data were then used in a GIS analysis with additional spatial datasets to investigate the relationship between the distribution of African Olive and environmental factors, and to quantify the conservation threat to endangered native vegetation.Results: A total area of 1907 ha of dense African Olive infestation was identified, with an omission error of 7.5% and a commission error of 5.4%. African Olive was found to occur on the steepest slopes (mean slope 14.3°) of the vegetation classes examined, with aspect analysis identifying a high prevalence on south‐ and southwest‐facing slopes. The analysis also quantified the level of African Olive infestation in endangered ecological communities, with Western Sydney Dry Rainforest (25% affected) and Moist Shale Woodland (28% affected) identified as most vulnerable to African Olive invasion.Conclusion: The distribution of African Olive can be efficiently mapped at a landscape scale. This technique, used in association with additional spatial datasets, identified African Olive as a significant environmental weed in SW Sydney, occupying a greater area than previously recognised and threatening several endangered native vegetation communities.
Should edentulous patients be constrained to removable complete dentures? The use of dental implants to improve the quality of life for edentulous patients
Authors: Turkyilmaz Ilser , Company Andrea M. , McGlumphy Edwin A. 
Published: March 2009

doi:10.1111/j.1741‐2358.2009.00294.x

Should edentulous patients be constrained to removable complete dentures? The use of dental implants to improve the quality of life for edentulous patients Background:  Nowadays, there is some speculation among dental educators that the need for complete dentures will significantly decrease in the future and that training in their provision should be removed from the dental curriculum.Objective:  To sensitise the reader to the functional shortcomings of complete denture therapy in the edentulous patient and present restorative options including implants to improve edentulous quality of life in these patients.Methods:  Information retrieval followed a systematic approach using PubMed. English articles published from 1964 to 2008, in which the masticatory performance of patients with implant‐supported dentures was assessed by objective methods and compared with performance with conventional dentures, were included.Results:  National epidemiological survey data suggested that the adult population in need of one or two complete dentures will increase from 35.4 million adults in 2000 to 37.9 million adults in 2020. Clinical studies have showed that the ratings of general satisfaction were significantly better in the patients treated with implant overdentures post‐delivery compared with the complete denture users. In addition, the implant group gave significantly higher ratings on comfort, stability and ability to chew. Furthermore, patients who received mandibular implant overdentures had significantly fewer oral health‐related quality of life problems than did the conventional group.Conclusion:  Implant‐supported dentures including either complete overdentures or a hybrid prosthesis significantly improve the quality of life for edentulous patients compared with conventional removable complete dentures. Therefore, the contemporary dental practitioner should consider other options as well as conventional removable complete dentures to restore edentulous patients.
Characterization of nine novel microsatellite markers from Brandt's vole (Lasiopodomys brandtii)
Authors: YUE LING‐FEN , WANG DA‐WEI , HUANG BAO‐HUAN , LIU XIAO‐HUI 
Published: March 2009

AbstractHighly polymorphic microsatellite markers are the most powerful tools to infer kinship relations. In this study, a library enriched for (AC)n (AG)n and (AGAT)n was constructed for screening microsatellite markers in Brandt's vole (Lasiopodomys brandtii), and nine novel polymorphic microsatellite markers were developed and characterized. The number of alleles ranged from 4 to 11 per locus and the mean polymorphism information content was 0.7535. The observed and the expected heterozygosity values averaged 0.760 (0.554–0.908) and 0.7914 (0.718–0.845), respectively. Average nonexclusion probability for one candidate parent varied from 0.485 to 0.716. These nine novel markers are highly polymorphic and powerful enough for our future kinship analysis.
Microsatellite markers for the tetraploid halophyte Suaeda maritima (L.) Dumort. (Chenopodiaceae) and cross‐species amplification in related taxa
Authors: PRINZ KATHLEEN , HENSEN ISABELL , SCHIE STEPHAN , DEBENER THOMAS , WEISING KURT 
Published: March 2009

AbstractWe developed 12 polymorphic microsatellite markers for the tetraploid halophyte Suaeda maritima (Chenopodiaceae). Population genetic parameters were estimated for three populations from different habitats (coastal and inland), using the program Tetrasat. Between two and 15 alleles per locus were observed. Mean expected heterozygosities (HE) and Shannon‐Wiener Diversity Indices (H′) per locus and population ranged from zero to 0.852, and from zero to 2.990, respectively. The two inland populations were less diverse than the coastal one at most of the loci. All markers cross‐amplified in the closely related Suaeda salsa, and all but one were transferable to Suaeda spicata and Suaeda salinaria.
A Rapid Detection Method for the Ryanodine Receptor 1 (C7360G) Mutation in Quarter Horses
Authors: Nieto J.E. , Aleman M. 
Published: March 2009

Background:Anesthetic‐induced malignant hyperthermia has been documented in Quarter Horses and is caused by a single‐point mutation in the ryanodine receptor 1 gene at nucleotide C7360G generating a R2454G amino acid substitution. An accurate, faster molecular test that is less prone to contamination would facilitate screening for the mutation in horses intended for breeding, in those undergoing surgical procedures, and in those with clinical signs compatible with malignant hyperthermia.Objective:To report a rapid and accurate method for the detection of the ryanodine receptor 1 C7360G mutation.Animals:Eleven diseased, 10 healthy, and 225 randomly selected Quarter Horses.Methods:This study included horses with the ryanodine receptor 1 C7360G mutation as detected by gene sequencing. Available genomic and complementary DNA extracted from whole blood, hair or skeletal muscle was used for genetic analysis. Real‐time polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) melting curve analysis was performed by equine specific primers and 2 hybridization probes (sensor and anchor probes) that contain the site of the mutation. Results from this method were blinded and compared with nucleic acid sequencing for validation.Results:A rapid genotyping assay with fluorescence resonance energy transfer probes and melting curve analysis was accurate (100% agreement,K= 1) for identification of affected horses. The prevalence of the mutation in a random population of Quarter Horses was 1.3%.Conclusions and Clinical Importance:Malignant hyperthermia in Quarter Horses can be rapidly and accurately detected by RT‐PCR melting curve genotyping with hybridization probes.
VanB-Type
Enterococcus faecium
Clinical Isolate Successively Inducibly Resistant to, Dependent on, and Constitutively Resistant to Vancomycin
Authors: San Millan Alvaro , Depardieu Florence , Godreuil Sylvain , Courvalin Patrice 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACT

Three
Enterococcus faecium
strains isolated successively from the same patient, vancomycin-resistant strain BM4659, vancomycin-dependent strain BM4660, and vancomycin-revertant strain BM4661, were indistinguishable by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and harbored plasmid pIP846, which confers VanB-type resistance. The vancomycin dependence of strain BM4660 was due to mutation P
175
L, which suppressed the activity of the host Ddl
d
-Ala:
d
-Ala ligase. Reversion to resistance in strain BM4661 was due to a G-to-C transversion in the transcription terminator of the

vanRS
B

operon that lowered the free energy of pairing from −13.08 to −6.65 kcal/mol, leading to low-level constitutive expression of the resistance genes from the

P
RB

promoter, as indicated by analysis of peptidoglycan precursors and of VanX
B
d
,
d
-dipeptidase activity. Transcription of the resistance genes, studied by Northern hybridization and reverse transcription, initiated from the

P
YB

resistance promoter, was inducible in strains BM4659 and BM4660, whereas it started from the

P
RB

regulatory promoter in strain BM4661, where it was superinducible. Strain BM4661 provides the first example of reversion to vancomycin resistance of a VanB-type dependent strain not due to a compensatory mutation in the
ddl
or

vanS
B

gene. Instead, a mutation in the transcription terminator of the regulatory genes resulted in transcriptional readthrough of the resistance genes from the

P
RB

promoter in the absence of vancomycin.
Effects of Double Combinations of Amantadine, Oseltamivir, and Ribavirin on Influenza A (H5N1) Virus Infections in Cell Culture and in Mice
Authors: Smee Donald F. , Hurst Brett L. , Wong Min-Hui , Bailey Kevin W. , Morrey John D. 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACTAn amantadine-resistant influenza A/Duck/MN/1525/81 (H5N1) virus was developed from the low-pathogenic North American wild-type (amantadine-sensitive) virus for studying treatment of infections in cell culture and in mice. Double combinations of amantadine, oseltamivir (or the cell culture-active form, oseltamivir carboxylate), and ribavirin were used. Amantadine-oseltamivir carboxylate and amantadine-ribavirin combinations showed synergistic interactions over a range of doses against wild-type virus in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cell culture, but oseltamivir carboxylate-ribavirin combinations did not. Primarily additive interactions were seen with oseltamivir carboxylate-ribavirin combinations against amantadine-resistant virus. The presence of amantadine in drug combinations against the resistant virus did not improve activity. The wild-type and amantadine-resistant viruses were lethal to mice by intranasal instillation. The resistant virus infection could not be treated with amantadine up to 100 mg/kg body weight/day, whereas the wild-type virus infection was treatable with oral doses of 10 (weakly effective) to 100 mg/kg/day administered twice a day for 5 days starting 4 h prior to virus exposure. Drug combination studies showed that treatment of the amantadine-resistant virus infection with amantadine-oseltamivir or amantadine-ribavirin combinations was not significantly better than using oseltamivir or ribavirin alone. In contrast, the oseltamivir-ribavirin (25- and 75-mg/kg/day combination) treatments produced significant reductions in mortality. The wild-type virus infection was markedly reduced in severity by all three combinations (amantadine, 10 mg/kg/day combined with the other compounds at 20 or 40 mg/kg/day) compared to monotherapy with the three compounds. Results indicate a lack of benefit of amantadine in combinations against amantadine-resistant virus, but positive benefits in combinations against amantadine-sensitive virus.
Novel Mechanism for Nisin Resistance via Proteolytic Degradation of Nisin by the Nisin Resistance Protein NSR
Authors: Sun Zhizeng , Zhong Jin , Liang Xiaobo , Liu Jiale , Chen Xiuzhu , Huan Liandong 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACT

Nisin is a 34-residue antibacterial peptide produced by
Lactococcus lactis
that is active against a wide range of gram-positive bacteria. In non-nisin-producing
L. lactis
, nisin resistance could be conferred by a specific nisin resistance gene (
nsr
), which encodes a 35-kDa nisin resistance protein (NSR). However, the mechanism underlying NSR-mediated nisin resistance is poorly understood. Here we demonstrated that the protein without the predicted N-terminal signal peptide sequence, i.e., NSRSD, could proteolytically inactivate nisin in vitro by removing six amino acids from the carboxyl “tail” of nisin. The truncated nisin (nisin
1-28
) displayed a markedly reduced affinity for the cell membrane and showed significantly diminished pore-forming potency in the membrane. A 100-fold reduction of bactericidal activity was detected for nisin
1-28
in comparison to that for the intact nisin. In vivo analysis indicated that NSR localized on the cell membrane and endowed host strains with nisin resistance by degrading nisin as NSRSD did in vitro, whereas NSRSD failed to confer resistance upon the host strain. In conclusion, we showed that NSR is a nisin-degrading protease. This NSR-mediated proteolytic cleavage represents a novel mechanism for nisin resistance in non-nisin-producing
L. lactis
.
Temporal Trends of Antimicrobial Resistance and Clonality of Invasive
Streptococcus pneumoniae
Isolates in Finland, 2002 to 2006
Authors: Siira Lotta , Rantala Merja , Jalava Jari , Hakanen Antti J. , Huovinen Pentti , Kaijalainen Tarja , Lyytikäinen Outi , Virolainen Anni 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACT

The antimicrobial resistance of
Streptococcus pneumoniae
, or pneumococcus, is a growing global problem. In our study, 3,571 invasive pneumococcal isolates, recovered from blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples from patients in Finland between the years 2002 and 2006, showed an increase in erythromycin nonsusceptibility from 16% to 28% (
P
< 0.0001) over the 5-year study period, as well as a doubling of penicillin nonsusceptibility from 8% to 16% (
P
< 0.0001). Erythromycin nonsusceptibility increased especially in isolates derived from 0- to 2-year-old children and was 46% for this age group in 2006. Although multiresistance, defined as nonsusceptibility to penicillin, erythromycin, and tetracycline, was fairly rare (5.1% in 2006), 38% of the erythromycin-nonsusceptible isolates were also penicillin nonsusceptible, while 74% of the penicillin-nonsusceptible isolates were nonsusceptible to erythromycin. In contrast to the situation in continental Europe, but mirroring that in North America, the most frequent macrolide resistance determinant carried by 56% of the tested macrolide-resistant pneumococci was the
mef
gene. Serotypes 14, 9V, 19A, 6B, and 19F were most frequently nonsusceptible to erythromycin or penicillin. The penicillin-resistant invasive isolates (
n
= 88) were genotyped by multilocus sequence typing, which revealed the presence of 25 sequence types, 9 of which were novel. The majority of the isolates were related to one of several globally disseminated penicillin- or multiresistant clones, most importantly the
rlrA
adhesion pilus carrying clones Spain
9V
ST156 and Taiwan
19F
ST236. The penicillin-resistant pneumococcal population in Finland is therefore a combination of internationally recognized genotypes as well as novel ones.
Comparative Efficacies of Lipid-Complexed Amphotericin B and Liposomal Amphotericin B against Coccidioidal Meningitis in Rabbits
Authors: Clemons Karl V. , Capilla Javier , Sobel Raymond A. , Martinez Marife , Tong Ann-Jay , Stevens David A. 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACT

In separate previous studies, we have shown that lipid-complexed amphotericin B (Abelcet [ABLC]) and liposomal amphotericin B (AmBisome [AmBi]) are efficacious against coccidioidal meningitis in rabbits. Here, we compared ABLC and AmBi directly in a coccidioidal meningitis model. Male New Zealand White rabbits were infected with 5 × 10
4
Coccidioides posadasii
arthroconidia by direct cisternal puncture. Therapy with intravenous ABLC or AmBi at 7.5 or 15 mg/kg of body weight or sterile 5% dextrose water (D5W) began 5 days later. Clinical assessments were done daily; cerebrospinal fluid and blood samples were obtained on day 15 and upon euthanasia. Survivors to day 25 were euthanatized, the numbers of CFU in their tissues were determined, and histology analyses of the brains and spinal cords were done. Controls showed progressive disease, whereas animals treated with either dose of either drug showed few clinical signs of infection. All ABLC- or AmBi-treated rabbits survived, whereas eight of nine D5W-treated rabbits were euthanatized before day 25 (
P
< 0.0001). Numbers of CFU in the brains and spinal cords of ABLC- or AmBi-treated animals were 100- to 10,000-fold lower than those in the corresponding tissues of D5W-treated animals (
P
< 0.0006 to 0.0001). However, only two or fewer given a regimen of ABLC or AmBi were cured of infection in both tissues. Fewer ABLC-treated rabbits (four of eight treated with 7.5 mg/kg and five of eight treated with 15 mg/kg) than controls (nine of nine) had meningitis at any level of severity (
P
, 0.015 or 0.043 for animals treated with ABLC at 7.5 or 15 mg/kg, respectively). Although groups of rabbits treated with AmBi regimens did not have significantly fewer animals with meningitis than the control group (
P
> 0.05), ABLC and AmBi were not significantly different. In this model, intravenous ABLC and AmBi were similarly highly effective, with few clinical signs of infection, 100% survival, and significantly reduced fungal burdens among treated animals. There appeared to be little benefit in using the 15-mg/kg dosage of either formulation. There was no significant advantage of one drug over the other for this indication. Further studies are required to determine the lowest effective doses of these formulations.
Novel Plasmid-Encoded Ceftazidime-Hydrolyzing CTX-M-53 Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase from
Salmonella enterica
Serotypes Westhampton and Senftenberg
Authors: Doublet Benoît , Granier Sophie A. , Robin Frédéric , Bonnet Richard , Fabre Laëtitia , Brisabois Anne , Cloeckaert Axel , Weill François-Xavier 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACT

We describe the characterization of a novel CTX-M β-lactamase from
Salmonella enterica
. Four
S. enterica
isolates (three of serotype Westhampton and one of serotype Senftenberg) resistant to extended-spectrum cephalosporins (cefotaxime and ceftazidime) were recovered in 2004 from living cockles in three supermarkets located in distant geographic areas in France, which got their supplies from the same fishery. The isolates were found to produce a novel extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) belonging to the CTX-M-1 phylogenetic group and named CTX-M-53. The CTX-M-53 β-lactamase harbored the substitution Asp240Gly, like the CTX-M-15 enzyme, which is specifically implicated in a higher catalytic efficiency against ceftazidime. The
bla
CTX-M-53
gene was located on a mobilizable 11-kb plasmid, pWES-1. The complete sequence of pWES-1 revealed the presence of a novel insertion sequence, IS
Sen2
, and an IS
26
element upstream and downstream of the
bla
CTX-M-53
gene, respectively; however, transposition assays of the
bla
CTX-M-53
gene were unsuccessful. IS
26
elements may have contributed to the acquisition of the
bla
CTX-M-53
gene. Interestingly, the mobilization module of the pWES-1 plasmid was similar to that of quinolone resistance plasmids (carrying the
qnrS2
gene) from aquatic sources. Although belonging to two serotypes differentiated on the basis of the O-antigen structure (E1 or E4 groups), the isolates were found to be genetically indistinguishable by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Multilocus sequence typing showed that the isolates of serotype Westhampton had a sequence type, ST14, common among isolates of serotype Senftenberg. This is the first characterization of the CTX-M-53 ESBL, which represents an additional ceftazidime-hydrolyzing CTX-M enzyme.
GT-1a or GT-1b Subtype-Specific Resistance Profiles for Hepatitis C Virus Inhibitors Telaprevir and HCV-796
Authors: McCown Matthew F. , Rajyaguru Sonal , Kular Simran , Cammack Nick , Nájera Isabel 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACT
In vitro, telaprevir selects subtype-specific resistance pathways for hepatitis C virus GT-1a and GT-1b, as described to have occurred in patients. In GT-1a, the HCV-796 resistance mutation C316Y has low replication capacity (7%) that can be compensated for by the emergence of the mutation L392F or M414T, resulting in an increase in replication levels of ≥10-fold.
Antimicrobial Susceptibility of
Mycoplasma pneumoniae
Isolates and Molecular Analysis of Macrolide-Resistant Strains from Shanghai, China
Authors: Liu Yang , Ye Xinyu , Zhang Hong , Xu Xiaogang , Li Wanhua , Zhu Demei , Wang Minggui 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACT

Fifty-three
Mycoplasma pneumoniae
strains were isolated from pediatric patients in Shanghai, China, from October 2005 to February 2008. Of 53 clinical isolates, 44 (83%) were resistant to erythromycin (MICs of >128 μg/ml for all 44 strains), azithromycin, and clarithromycin. All macrolide-resistant
M. pneumoniae
strains harbored an A-to-G transition mutation at position 2063 in 23S rRNA genes. Forty-five (85%) clinical isolates were classified into the P1 gene restriction fragment length polymorphism type I, and six (11%) were type II.