bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Claudin 6 Is a Positive Marker for Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumors
Authors: Birks Diane K. , Kleinschmidt‐DeMasters Bette K. , Donson Andrew M. , Barton Valerie N. , McNatt Sean A. , Foreman Nicholas K. , Handler Michael H. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractAtypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (AT/RTs) are highly aggressive pediatric brain tumors characterized by the presence of rhabdoid cells and negative immunostaining for INI1 (BAF47). Histogenesis is unknown and diagnosis can be challenging because of their extreme morphological and immunophenotypic heterogeneity. Currently no signature markers other than INI1 loss have been identified. To search for possible candidate proteins of interest in AT/RTs, Affymetrix GeneChip® microarrays were utilized to investigate nine AT/RTs vs. 124 other tumor samples. The most distinctive gene identified was claudin 6 (CLDN6), a key component of tight junctions. CLDN6 showed moderate or higher mRNA expression in eight of nine AT/RTs, with little to no expression in 114 of 115 other tumors. Average expression was 38‐fold higher in AT/RTs vs. other samples. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of 33 tumor specimens found positive membrane staining in seven of seven AT/RTs, and was negative in 26 of 27 other brain tumor samples. Notably, none of the 16 medulloblastomas/primitive neuroectodermal tumors showed IHC staining for CLDN6. IHC staining results closely matched the level of mRNA expression detected by microarray. CLDN6 may be a useful positive marker to help further identify AT/RTs for diagnostic and treatment purposes.
Clinical epidemiological analysis of the relationship between pancreatic cancer and diabetes mellitus: Data from a single institution in China
Authors: KUANG Tian Tao , JIN Da Yong , WANG Dan Song , XU Xue Feng , NI Xiao Ling , WU Wen Chuan , LOU Wen Hui 
Published: February 2009

OBJECTIVE:  To investigate the relationship between pancreatic cancer (PC) and diabetes mellitus.METHODS:  All PC patients diagnosed and treated at Zhongshan hospital from January 1991 to December 2007 were retrospectively analyzed. During this period, 770 non‐digestive tract, non‐neoplastic and non‐hormone‐related patients matched for sex and age were collected as controls. The incidence of diabetes mellitus between the two groups was compared.RESULTS:  Between the PC group and the control group, sex and age of the patients were well matched. The incidence of diabetes mellitus was 34.63% in the PC group and 8.83% in the control group (P < 0.001, RR = 5.19). In the PC group there was no correlation between age, sex, site of the cancer, tumor differentiation, lymph node metastasis, TNM staging and the incidence of diabetes mellitus. In this group with diabetes, 74.56% experienced onset within two years of cancer diagnosis. Of the control patients, 57.35% had had diabetes for under 2 years (P = 0.009, RR = 2.18). In the PC group with diabetes, 5.9% had had diabetes for more than 10 years while compared with 8.8% of the controls (P = 0.42).CONCLUSION:  Whether diabetes mellitus is a result of or a risk factor for PC is still unclear. The incidence of diabetes mellitus is much higher in the PC patients. The onset of diabetes mellitus in adults might be an alerting factor that could lead to an early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
Modulation of cytokine gene expression in spleen and Peyer's patches by feeding dahi containing probiotic Lactobacillus casei in mice
Authors: JAIN Shalini , YADAV Hariom , SINHA Pushpalata Ravindra , MAROTTA Francesco 
Published: February 2009

OBJECTIVE:   In present study, feeding effect of probiotic dahi containing Lactobacillus casei on immune system in terms of cytokine gene expression in the spleen and Peyer's patches of mice was evaluated.METHODS:   Animals were divided into three groups and fed with; synthetic diet [control group (CD)], dahi containing mixed dahi culture [control dahi‐fed group (CDF)]; and probiotic dahi fed group (PDF) for 28 days. The mRNA levels of IL‐2, IL‐4, IL‐6 and IFN‐γ were examined after 14 and 28 days. Total lactobacilli and lactococci counts were determined in the feces.RESULTS:   The mRNA levels of IFN‐γ in both spleen and Peyer's patches was found to be significantly increased in PDF animals after 14 and 28 days (P < 0.05) compared with CD and CDF groups. The abundance of IL‐2 mRNA also increased significantly in the Peyer's patches of PDF‐fed animals. No significant changes were observed in mRNA levels of IL‐4 and IL‐6 in both spleen and Peyer's patches during whole experimental period. Further, total fecal lactobacilli and lactococci counts in the PDF group were significantly increased during first 10 days, then remained higher up to day 28 compared to other two groups.CONCLUSION:   It is concluded that feeding probiotic dahi enhanced the expression of Th1 type cytokines (IFN‐γ and IL‐2), especially in the mucosal immune organ (Peyer's patches) rather than in systemic organs (the spleen). This indicates that feeding with probiotic dahi may strengthen the host immune system and protect against the progression of various immune‐mediated diseases.
Blood concentration of pantoprazole sodium is significantly high in hepatogenic peptic ulcer patients, especially those with a poor CYP2C19 metabolism
Authors: SHAO Jian Guo , JIANG Wen , LI Ke Qing , LU Jian Rong , SUN Yuan Yuan 
Published: February 2009

OBJECTIVE: To determine the plasma concentration of pantoprazole sodium by high performance liquid chromatography and its distribution in patients with different CYP2C19 genotypes in an attempt to provide experimental data for the clinical dosage adjustment of the drug.METHODS: Patients with liver disease and associated peptic ulcer were genotyped according to their CYP2C19 wild‐type sequences and mutations in CYP2C19m1 and CYP2C19m2 by the principles of the American Surgical Association using polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR–RFLP). The plasma concentration of pantoprazole sodium was detected after oral administration of the enteric‐coated capsules in all patients. Included in the present study were 21 patients with primary liver cancer complicated by pathogenic peptic ulcers (confirmed by endoscopy), 22 patients with fatty liver and 25 healthy volunteers between January 2006 and October 2007. The subjects were administered orally with pantoprazole sodium at 40 mg/day for 1 week consecutively. The drug concentration was detected at 24 h and 1 week after drug administration by drawing 3.0 mL blood from the cubital vein.RESULTS: The plasma concentration of pantoprazole sodium was related to the CYP2C19 enzyme type. The plasma concentration of extensive metabolizers (EM) was lower than that of poor metabolizers (PM) in the healthy control group at day 7 of drug administration. Regardless of PM or EM, the plasma concentration of pantoprazole sodium in primary liver cancer patients was higher than that in fatty liver patients, and even higher than that in healthy controls (P < 0.05).CONCLUSION: These results suggest that CYP2C19 activity is inversely correlated with the severity of liver disease, especially in PM patients.
Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci in the freshwater fishes Telestes souffia and Telestes muticellus (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)
Authors: DUBUT VINCENT , MARTIN JEAN‐FRANÇOIS , COSTEDOAT CAROLINE , CHAPPAZ RÉMI , GILLES ANDRÉ 
Published: February 2009

AbstractTen novel polymorphic microsatellites (seven with perfect motifs) were isolated from vairone species (Telestes souffia and Telestes muticellus), which are endangered European cyprinid species. Together with 11 previously published cyprinid‐specific loci, five multiplex sets were optimized, allowing the genotyping of 21 polymorphic loci. The level of genetic diversity was assessed in 97 individuals from the two species T. souffia and T. muticellus. We also successfully applied the 21 microsatellites to nine related species. These primers will thus be useful in assessing population structure of the vairone and other cyprinid species, with application for conservation issues and phylogeographical approaches.
Isolation of microsatellite loci from the endangered plant Galium catalinense subspecies acrispum (Rubiaceae)
Authors: MCGLAUGHLIN MITCHELL E. , RILEY LYNN , HELENURM KAIUS 
Published: February 2009

Abstract Galium catalinense subspecies acrispum (Rubiaceae) is a state‐endangered perennial shrub endemic to San Clemente Island. Eight polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated from G. catalinense ssp. acrispum. These loci show high levels of variability, averaging 6.5 alleles per locus and an expected heterozygosity of 0.550. One locus exhibited significant deviations from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (P < 0.01) and one pair of loci exhibited significant linkage disequilibrium.
Therapeutic Development in Cardiac Syndrome X: A Need to Target the Underlying Pathophysiology
Authors: Lim Tiong K. , Choy AnnaMaria J , Khan Faisel , Belch Jill JF , Struthers Allan D , Lang Chim C 
Published: February 2009

Morbidity of patients with cardiac syndrome X (typical anginal‐like chest pain and normal coronary arteriogram) is high with continuing episodes of chest pain and frequent hospital readmissions. Management of this syndrome represents a major challenge for the treating physician. Conventional therapies with antianginal agents such as nitrates, calcium channel antagonists, classic β‐adrenoceptor blockers and nicorandil have been tried, with variable success. However, this might be related to a failure to target the underlying pathophysiology and, clearly, more effective therapies are needed. Supporting evidence for the important role of endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of cardiac syndrome X has come from the recent observation that basal superoxide production predicts future cardiovascular events in this patient group. This review will discuss the pathophysiology, current medical management and potential new pharmacological treatment for patients with cardiac syndrome X which target endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress. What's already known about this topic?  •Morbidity of patients with cardiac syndrome X is high. •The important role of endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of cardiac syndrome X. What does this article add?  •This review will discuss the pathophysiology, current medical management and potential new pharmacological treatment for patients with cardiac syndrome X which target endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress.
Antimicrobial Activity of Curcumin against
Helicobacter pylori
Isolates from India and during Infections in Mice
Authors: De Ronita , Kundu Parag , Swarnakar Snehasikta , Ramamurthy T. , Chowdhury Abhijit , Nair G. Balakrish , Mukhopadhyay Asish K. 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACT

Treatment failure is a major cause of concern for the
Helicobacter pylori
-related gastroduodenal diseases like gastritis, peptic ulcer, and gastric cancer. Curcumin, diferuloylmethane from turmeric, has recently been shown to arrest
H. pylori
growth. The antibacterial activity of curcumin against 65 clinical isolates of
H. pylori
in vitro and during protection against
H. pylori
infection in vivo was examined. The MIC of curcumin ranges from 5 μg/ml to 50 μg/ml, showing its effectiveness in inhibiting
H. pylori
growth in vitro irrespective of the genetic makeup of the strains. The nucleotide sequences of the
aroE
genes, encoding shikimate dehydrogenase, against which curcumin seems to act as a noncompetitive inhibitor, from
H. pylori
strains presenting differential curcumin MICs showed that curcumin-mediated growth inhibition of Indian
H. pylori
strains may not be always dependent on the shikimate pathway. The antimicrobial effect of curcumin in
H. pylori
-infected C57BL/6 mice and its efficacy in reducing the gastric damage due to infection were examined histologically. Curcumin showed immense therapeutic potential against
H. pylori
infection as it was highly effective in eradication of
H. pylori
from infected mice as well as in restoration of
H. pylori
-induced gastric damage. This study provides novel insights into the therapeutic effect of curcumin against
H. pylori
infection, suggesting its potential as an alternative therapy, and opens the way for further studies on identification of novel antimicrobial targets of curcumin.
Paracoccidioides brasiliensis
Vaccine Formulations Based on the gp43-Derived P10 Sequence and the
Salmonella enterica
FliC Flagellin
Authors: Braga Catarina J. M. , Rittner Glauce M. G. , Muñoz Henao Julian E. , Teixeira Aline F. , Massis Liliana M. , Sbrogio-Almeida Maria E. , Taborda Carlos P. , Travassos Luiz R. , Ferreira Luís C. S. 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACT

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a systemic granulomatous disease caused by the dimorphic fungus
Paracoccidioides brasiliensis
. Anti-PCM vaccine formulations based on the secreted fungal cell wall protein (gp43) or the derived P10 sequence containing a CD4
+
T-cell-specific epitope have shown promising results. In the present study, we evaluated new anti-PCM vaccine formulations based on the intranasal administration of
P. brasiliensis
gp43 or the P10 peptide in combination with the
Salmonella enterica
FliC flagellin, an innate immunity agonist binding specifically to the Toll-like receptor 5, in a murine model. BALB/c mice immunized with gp43 developed high-specific-serum immunoglobulin G1 responses and enhanced interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL-10 levels. On the other hand, mice immunized with recombinant purified flagellins genetically fused with P10 at the central hypervariable domain, either flanked or not by two lysine residues, or the synthetic P10 peptide admixed with purified FliC elicited a prevailing Th1-type immune response based on lung cell-secreted type 1 cytokines. Mice immunized with gp43 and FliC and intratracheally challenged with
P. brasiliensis
yeast cells had increased fungal proliferation and lung tissue damage. In contrast, mice immunized with the chimeric flagellins and particularly those immunized with P10 admixed with FliC reduced
P. brasiliensis
growth and lung damage. Altogether, these results indicate that
S. enterica
FliC flagellin modulates the immune response to
P. brasiliensis
P10 antigen and represents a promising alternative for the generation of anti-PCM vaccines.
Molecular Characterization of Human Clinical Isolates ofYersinia enterocoliticaBioserotype 1B/O8 in Poland: Emergence and Dissemination of Three Highly Related Clones
Authors: Gierczyński Rafał , Szych Jolanta , Rastawicki Waldemar , Wardak Sebastian , Jagielski Marek 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACTThirty-three clinical isolates of the highly pathogenicYersinia enterocoliticabioserotype 1B/O8 were collected from sporadic cases in Poland from January 2004 to July 2008. The isolates carried major virulence markers and were strongly clonal. This is the first report of the emergence and dissemination of highly related clones ofY. enterocolitica1B/O8 in Europe.
Variable Nucleotide Tandem-Repeat Analysis Revealing a Unique Group ofLeptospira interrogansSerovar Pomona Isolates Associated with California Sea Lions
Authors: Zuerner Richard L. , Alt David P. 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACTLeptospira interrogansserovar Pomona isolates were compared by variable nucleotide tandem-repeat typing. Most cattle isolates grouped together, while isolates from pigs and wildlife were distributed across several groups. Significantly, California sea lion isolates formed a unique group, providing evidence that these animals are maintenance hosts of serovar Pomona.
Identification of Spirochetes Associated with Contagious Ovine Digital Dermatitis
Authors: Sayers G. , Marques P. X. , Evans N. J. , O'Grady L. , Doherty M. L. , Carter S. D. , Nally J. E. 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACT

Spirochetes of the genus
Treponema
were cultured from 7 of 10 cases of digital dermatitis in sheep. Two cultures comprised
Treponema phagedenis
-like and
Treponema medium/Treponema vincentii
-like spirochetes, respectively, while the remaining cultures comprised mixed populations of
Treponema medium/Treponema vincentii
-like,
Treponema phagedenis
-like, and
Treponema denticola/Treponema putidum
-like organisms.
Energy-efficient encoding techniques for off-chip data buses
Authors: Suresh Dinesh C. , Agrawal Banit , Yang Jun , Najjar Walid 
Published: February 2009

Reducing the power consumption of computing devices has gained a lot of attention recently. Many research works have focused on reducing power consumption in the off-chip buses as they consume a significant amount of total power. Since the bus power consumption is proportional to the switching activity, reducing the bus switching is an effective way to reduce bus power. While numerous techniques exist for reducing bus power in address buses, only a handful of techniques have been proposed for data-bus power reduction, where frequent value encoding (FVE) is the best existing scheme to reduce the transition activity on the data buses.
In this article, we propose improved frequent value data bus-encoding techniques aimed at reducing more switching activity and, hence, power consumption. We propose three new schemes and five new variations to exploit bit-wise temporal and spatial locality in the data-bus values. Our techniques just use one external control signal and capture bit-wise locality to efficiently encode data values. For all the embedded and SPEC applications we tested, the overall average switching reduction is 53% over unencoded data and 10% more than the conventional FVE scheme.
Chowkidar
Authors: Bapat S. , Leal W. , Kwon T. , Wei P. , Arora A. 
Published: February 2009

Wireless sensor network (WSN) testbeds are useful because they provide a way to test applications in an environment that makes it easy to deploy experiments, configure them statically or dynamically, and gather performance information. However, WSNs are typically composed of low-cost devices and tend to be unreliable, with failures a common phenomenon. Accurate knowledge of network health status, including nodes and links of each type, is critical for correctly configuring applications on WSN testbeds and for interpreting the data collected from them.
In this article we present a stabilizing protocol, Chowkidar, that provides accurate and efficient network health monitoring in WSNs. Our approach adapts the well-known problem of message-passing rooted spanning tree construction and its use in propagation of information with feedback (PIF) for the case of a WSN. The Chowkidar protocol is initiated upon demand; that is, it does not involve ongoing maintenance, and it terminates with accurate results, including detection of failure and restart during the monitoring process. Chowkidar is distinguished from others in two important ways. Given the resource constraints of WSNs, it is message-efficient in that it uses only a few messages per node. Also, it tolerates ongoing node and link failure and node restart, in contrast to requiring that faults stop during convergence.
We have implemented the Chowkidar protocol as part of enabling a network health status service that is tightly integrated with a remotely accessible wireless sensor network testbed, Kansei, at The Ohio State University. We present experimental results from this testbed that validate the correctness and performance of Chowkidar. We also report on initial experiences and lessons learnt from the integration of Chowkidar with Kansei, including feedback from both testbed users and administrators who have found Chowkidar to be a useful tool for improving the accuracy and efficiency of testbed experimentation and maintenance, and the need for well-defined policies to address issues such as minimizing interference with concurrently running experiments. Finally, we discuss extensions that enhance the functionality and usability of Chowkidar.
A variational approach for automatic generation of panoramic maps
Authors: Degener Patrick , Klein Reinhard 
Published: February 2009

Panoramic maps combine the advantages of both ordinary geographic maps and terrestrial images. While inheriting the familiar perspective of terrestrial images, they provide a good overview and avoid occlusion of important geographical features. The designer achieves this by skillful choice and integration of several views in a single image. As important features on the surface must be carefully rearranged to guarantee their visibility, the manual design of panoramic maps requires many hours of tedious and painstaking work.
In this article we take a variational approach to the design of panoramic maps. Starting from conventional elevation data and aerial images, our method fully automatically computes panoramic maps from arbitrary viewpoints. It rearranges geographic structures to maximize the visibility of a specified set of features while minimizing the deformation of the landscape's shape.
Rethinking FTP
Authors: Anastasiadis Stergios V. , Wickremesinghe Rajiv G. , Chase Jeffrey S. 
Published: February 2009

Whole-file transfer is a basic primitive for Internet content dissemination. Content servers are increasingly limited by disk arm movement, given the rapid growth in disk density, disk transfer rates, server network bandwidth, and content size. Individual file transfers are sequential, but the block access sequence on a content server is effectively random when many slow clients access large files concurrently. Although larger blocks can help improve disk throughput, buffering requirements increase linearly with block size.
This article explores a novel block reordering technique that can reduce server disk traffic significantly when large content files are shared. The idea is to transfer blocks to each client in any order that is convenient for the server. The server sends blocks to each client opportunistically in order to maximize the advantage from the disk reads it issues to serve other clients accessing the same file. We first illustrate the motivation and potential impact of aggressive block reordering using simple analytical models. Then we describe a file transfer system using a simple block reordering algorithm, called Circus. Experimental results with the Circus prototype show that it can improve server throughput by a factor of two or more in workloads with strong file access locality.
High Clusterin Expression Correlates with a Poor Outcome in Stage II Colorectal Cancers
Authors: Kevans David , Foley Jane , Tenniswood Martin , Sheahan Kieran , Hyland John , O'Donoghue Diarmuid , Mulcahy Hugh , O'Sullivan Jacintha 
Published: February 2009

Abstract
The role of clusterin in tumor growth and progression remains unclear. Overexpression of cytoplasmic clusterin has been studied in aggressive colon tumors; however, no correlation between clusterin expression and survival in colorectal cancer has been identified to date. We assessed levels of clusterin expression in a group of stage II colorectal cancer patients to assess its utility as a prognostic marker. The study included 251 patients with stage II colorectal cancer. Tissue microarrays were constructed and immunohistochemistry done and correlated with clinical features and long term outcome. Dual immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy were used with terminal deoxynucleotidyl-transferase–mediated dUTP nick-end labeling probes and clusterin antibody to assess the degree of co localization. Percentage epithelial cytoplasmic staining was higher in tumor compared with nonadjacent normal mucosa (P &lt; 0.001). Within the stromal compartment, percentage cytoplamic staining and intensity was lower in tumor tissue compared with normal nonadjacent mucosa (P ≤ 0.001). Survival was significantly associated with percentage epithelial cytoplasmic staining (P &lt; 0.001), epithelial cytoplasmic staining intensity (P &lt; 0.001), percentage stromal cytoplasmic staining (P = 0.002), and stromal cytoplasmic staining intensity (P &lt; 0.001). Clusterin levels are associated with poor survival in stage II colorectal cancer. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009;18(2):393–9)