bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Outcome of Adenoidectomy Versus Adenoidectomy With Maxillary Sinus Wash for Chronic Rhinosinusitis in Children
Authors: Ramadan Hassan H. , Cost Jamey L. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjectives: To compare postoperative outcomes of adenoidectomy versus adenoidectomy with maxillary sinus wash as surgical treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) in children.Study Design: A retrospective review of prospectively collected data.Methods: Children who failed to respond to medical therapy for CRS and had an adenoidectomy alone (A) or an adenoidectomy with a maxillary sinus wash (wash/A) were reviewed. Outcome was assessed at least 12 months postoperatively.Results: Sixty children who satisfied the inclusion criteria were reviewed. Thirty‐two of the children had a sinus wash at the time of adenoidectomy. The age range was 3 to 13 years (mean, 6.3 years) and the mean computed tomography (CT) score was 6.1. The two surgical groups were comparable with regard to age, sex, presence of allergies, asthma, and smoking in the household. Twenty‐eight (87.5%) of the 32 patients who underwent wash/A showed improvement of their symptoms after 12 months follow‐up compared with 17 (60.7%) of 28 patients who underwent A (P = .017). Multivariable analysis using logistic regression analysis with age, sex, asthma, allergy, and CT score as covariables showed that the success of wash/A compared with adenoidectomy was higher (93% to 60%) for children with a high CT score compared to those with a lower CT score (P = .011). None of the other variables showed statistical significance.Conclusions: Children with more severe sinus disease as evidenced by a high CT score had a higher success rate if a maxillary sinus wash was performed at the time of adenoidectomy. Children with a low CT score did not have that benefit.
Sleep Medicine for Surgeons
Authors: Davidson Terence M. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractSleep medicine is an important component of current head and neck surgery practices. Furthermore, obstructive sleep apnea is an anatomic disease of the upper respiratory tract, a region of anatomy best known to head and neck surgeons. If head and neck surgeons choose to participate in the surgical treatment of sleep apnea, they must develop expertise in the evaluation and home sleep testing aspects of sleep apnea. Because positive airway pressure remains the front line treatment, they must also develop expertise in the prescription of positive airway pressure therapy.
Effect of Blood and Mucus on Tympanostomy Tube Biofilm Formation
Authors: Malaty John , Antonelli Patrick J. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjectives/Hypothesis: Tympanostomy tube (TT) biofilm formation may lead to refractory otorrhea and occlusion. The aim of this study was to determine whether TT biofilm formation may be promoted by mucus or blood exposure.Study Design: In vitro, controlled.Methods: Fluoroplastic TTs were exposed to blood, mucoid effusion, or saline. Half were allowed to dry. TTs were cultured with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. After 4 days, gentamicin was added to kill planktonic bacteria. Biofilm formation was assessed by quantitative bacterial counts and scanning electron microscopy.Results: Mucus pretreatment (dry and wet) did not increase biofilm formation. Both dry and wet blood exposure increased biofilm formation by bacterial counts (P < .0001). Biofilm formation was demonstrated by electron microscopy in all groups.Conclusions:
P. aeruginosa biofilm formation on fluoroplastic TTs is enhanced by blood exposure. Care should be taken to minimize bleeding with TT placement to reduce the risk of biofilm formation.
Cl–π interactions in protein–ligand complexes
Authors: Imai Yumi N. , Inoue Yoshihisa , Nakanishi Isao , Kitaura Kazuo 
Published: April 2008

AbstractDuring systematic analysis of nonbonded contacts in protein–ligand complexes derived from crystal structures in the Protein Data Bank, Cl–π interactions have been found, not only in the well‐documented serine proteases but also, to a lesser extent, in other proteins. From geometric analysis of such Cl–π interactions in the crystal structures, two distinct geometries were found: the “edge‐on” approach of a Cl atom to a ring atom or C–C bond and the “face‐on” approach toward the ring centroid with an average interatomic distance of 3.6 Å. High‐level ab initio calculations using benzene–chlorohydrocarbon model systems elucidated that the calculated Cl–π interaction energy is −2.01 kcal/mol, and the dispersion force is the major source of attraction. We also discussed the geometric flexibility in Cl–π interactions and a relationship between the intensity of the π density in an aromatic ring and the interaction position of the Cl atom.
Predicting protein folding rates from geometric contact and amino acid sequence
Authors: Ouyang Zheng , Liang Jie 
Published: April 2008

AbstractProtein folding speeds are known to vary over more than eight orders of magnitude. Plaxco, Simons, and Baker (see References) first showed a correlation of folding speed with the topology of the native protein. That and subsequent studies showed, if the native structure of a protein is known, its folding speed can be predicted reasonably well through a correlation with the “localness” of the contacts in the protein. In the present work, we develop a related measure, the geometric contact number, N α, which is the number of nonlocal contacts that are well‐packed, by a Voronoi criterion. We find, first, that in 80 proteins, the largest such database of proteins yet studied, N α is a consistently excellent predictor of folding speeds of both two‐state fast folders and more complex multistate folders. Second, we show that folding rates can also be predicted from amino acid sequences directly, without the need to know the native topology or other structural properties.
Structures, basins, and energies: A deconstruction of the Protein Coil Library
Authors: Perskie Lauren L. , Street Timothy O. , Rose George D. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractGlobular proteins adopt complex folds, composed of organized assemblies of α‐helix and β‐sheet together with irregular regions that interconnect these scaffold elements. Here, we seek to parse the irregular regions into their structural constituents and to rationalize their formative energetics. Toward this end, we dissected the Protein Coil Library, a structural database of protein segments that are neither α‐helix nor β‐strand, extracted from high‐resolution protein structures. The backbone dihedral angles of residues from coil library segments are distributed indiscriminately across the φ,ψ map, but when contoured, seven distinct basins emerge clearly. The structures and energetics associated with the two least‐studied basins are the primary focus of this article. Specifically, the structural motifs associated with these basins were characterized in detail and then assessed in simple simulations designed to capture their energetic determinants. It is found that conformational constraints imposed by excluded volume and hydrogen bonding are sufficient to reproduce the observed ϕ,ψ distributions of these motifs; no additional energy terms are required. These three motifs in conjunction with α‐helices, strands of β‐sheet, canonical β‐turns, and polyproline II conformers comprise ∼90% of all protein structure.
Molecular determinants of the aggregation behavior of α‐ and β‐synuclein
Authors: Rivers Robert C. , Kumita Janet R. , Tartaglia Gian Gaetano , Dedmon Matthew M. , Pawar Amol , Vendruscolo Michele , Dobson Christopher M. , Christodoulou John 
Published: April 2008

Abstractα‐ and β‐synuclein are closely related proteins, the first of which is associated with deposits formed in neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's disease while the second appears to have no relationship to any such disorders. The aggregation behavior of α‐ and β‐synuclein as well as a series of chimeric variants were compared by exploring the structural transitions that occur in the presence of a widely used lipid mimetic, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). We found that the aggregation rates of all these protein variants are significantly enhanced by low concentrations of SDS. In particular, we inserted the 11‐residue sequence of mainly hydrophobic residues from the non‐amyloid‐β‐component (NAC) region of α‐synuclein into β‐synuclein and show that the fibril formation rate of this chimeric protein is only weakly altered from that of β‐synuclein. These intrinsic propensities to aggregate are rationalized to a very high degree of accuracy by analysis of the sequences in terms of their associated physicochemical properties. The results begin to reveal that the differences in behavior are primarily associated with a delicate balance between the positions of a range of charged and hydrophobic residues rather than the commonly assumed presence or absence of the highly aggregation‐prone region of the NAC region of α‐synuclein. This conclusion provides new insights into the role of α‐synuclein in disease and into the factors that regulate the balance between solubility and aggregation of a natively unfolded protein.
The PIP2 binding mode of the C2 domains of rabphilin‐3A
Authors: Montaville Pierre , Coudevylle Nicolas , Radhakrishnan Anand , Leonov Andrei , Zweckstetter Markus , Becker Stefan 
Published: April 2008

AbstractPhosphatidylinositol‐4,5‐bisphosphate (PIP2) is a key player in the neurotransmitter release process. Rabphilin‐3A is a neuronal C2 domain tandem containing protein that is involved in this process. Both its C2 domains (C2A and C2B) are able to bind PIP2. The investigation of the interactions of the two C2 domains with the PIP2 headgroup IP3 (inositol‐1,4,5‐trisphosphate) by NMR showed that a well‐defined binding site can be described on the concave surface of each domain. The binding modes of the two domains are different. The binding of IP3 to the C2A domain is strongly enhanced by Ca2+ and is characterized by a KD of 55 μM in the presence of a saturating concentration of Ca2+ (5 mM). Reciprocally, the binding of IP3 increases the apparent Ca2+‐binding affinity of the C2A domain in agreement with a Target‐Activated Messenger Affinity (TAMA) mechanism. The C2B domain binds IP3 in a Ca2+‐independent fashion with low affinity. These different PIP2 headgroup recognition modes suggest that PIP2 is a target of the C2A domain of rabphilin‐3A while this phospholipid is an effector of the C2B domain.
Correlation between 13Cα chemical shifts and helix content of peptide ensembles
Authors: Weinstock Daniel S. , Narayanan Chitra , Baum Jean , Levy Ronald M. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractReplica exchange molecular dynamics simulations are used to generate three ensembles of an S‐peptide analog (AETAAAKFLREHMDS). Percent helicity of the peptide ensembles calculated using STRIDE is compared to percent helicity calculated from 13Cα chemical shift deviations (CSD) from random coil in order to test the assumption that CSD can be correlated to percent helicity. The two estimates of helicity, one based on structure and the other on CSD, are in close to quantitative agreement, except at the edges of helical stretches where disagreements of as much as 50% can be found. These disagreements can occur by CSDs both as an under‐ and an overestimate of peptide helicity. We show that underestimation arises due to ensemble averaging of positive CSDs from conformers with torsion angles in the helical region of Ramachandran space with negative CSDs corresponding to conformers of the peptide in the extended region. In contrast, overestimation comes about due to the fact that a large number of conformations with torsion angles in the helical region are not counted as helical by STRIDE due to a lack of correlated helical torsion angles in neighboring residues.
Toward quantification of protein backbone–backbone hydrogen bonding energies: An energetic analysis of an amide‐to‐ester mutation in an α‐helix within a protein
Authors: Gao Jianmin , Kelly Jeffery W. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractAmide‐to‐ester backbone mutagenesis enables a specific backbone–backbone hydrogen bond (H‐bond) in a protein to be eliminated in order to quantify its energetic contribution to protein folding. To extract a H‐bonding free energy from an amide‐to‐ester perturbation free energy (ΔG folding,wt − ΔG folding,mut), it is necessary to correct for the putative introduction of a lone pair–lone pair electrostatic repulsion, as well as for the transfer free energy differences that may arise between the all amide sequence and the predominantly amide sequence harboring an ester bond. Mutation of the 9–10 amide bond within the V9F variant of the predominantly helical villin headpiece subdomain (HP35) to an ester or an E‐olefin backbone bond results in a less stable but defined wild‐type fold, an attribute required for this study. Comparing the folding free energies of the ester and E‐olefin mutants, with correction for the desolvation free energy differences (ester and E‐olefin) and the loss of an n‐to‐π* interaction (E‐olefin), yields an experimentally based estimate of +0.4 kcal/mol for the O–O repulsion energy in an α‐helical context, analogous to our previous experimentally based estimate of the O–O repulsion free energy in the context of a β‐sheet. The small O–O repulsion energy indicates that amide‐to‐ester perturbation free energies can largely be attributed to the deletion of the backbone H‐bonds after correction for desolvation differences. Quantitative evaluation of H‐bonding in an α‐helix should now be possible, an important step toward deciphering the balance of forces that enable spontaneous protein folding.
Long‐term effects of universal preventive interventions on prescription drug misuse
Authors: Spoth Richard , Trudeau Linda , Shin Chungyeol , Redmond Cleve 
Published: April 2008

ABSTRACTBackground  This is a supplemental report on tests of the long‐term effects of universal preventive interventions conducted during middle school on 17–21‐year‐olds' prescription drug misuse.Design/setting/participants  Two randomized controlled prevention trials were conducted in public schools in the rural midwestern United States. Study 1 began in 1993, with 667 6th‐graders; follow‐ups with 12th‐graders and 21‐year‐olds included 457 and 483 participants, respectively. Study 2 began in 1998 with 7th‐graders (total sample across waves 2127); follow‐ups with 11th‐ and 12th‐graders included 1443 and 1212 participants, respectively.Interventions  In study 1, schools were assigned to the Iowa Strengthening Families Program (ISFP), Preparing for the Drug Free Years, or a control condition. In study 2, schools were assigned to the school‐based Life Skills Training (LST) plus a revised ISFP, called SFP 10–14 (LST + SFP 10–14), LST‐only, or a control condition.Measurements  Self reports of lifetime and past‐year prescription drug misuse.Findings  In study 1, ISFP 12th‐graders' past year narcotic misuse was significantly less than controls, as were ISFP 21‐year‐olds' life‐time narcotic and barbiturate misuse rates. In study 2, LST + SFP 10–14 showed significant effects on life‐time prescription drug misuse at the 11th‐grade follow‐up, while effects at the 12th‐grade follow‐up were marginally significant.Conclusions  Consistent with intervention effects on other substance use outcomes reported earlier, results suggest that universal interventions have potential for pubic health impact by reducing some types of prescription drug misuse among adolescents and young adults.
Distribution and pathway for phloem‐dependent movement of Melon necrotic spot virus in melon plants
Authors: GOSALVEZ‐BERNAL BLANCA , GENOVES AINHOA , ANTONIO NAVARRO JOSE , PALLAS VICENTE , SANCHEZ‐PINA M. AMELIA 
Published: April 2008

SUMMARYThe translocation of Melon necrotic spot virus (MNSV) within tissues of inoculated and systemically infected Cucumis melo L. ‘Galia’ was studied by tissue‐printing and in situ hybridization techniques. The results were compatible with the phloem vascular components being used to spread MNSV systemically by the same assimilate transport route that runs from source to sink organs. Virus RNAs were shown to move from the inoculated cotyledon toward the hypocotyl and root system via the external phloem, whereas the upward spread through the stem to the young tissues took place via the internal phloem. Virus infection was absent from non‐inoculated source tissues as well as from both shoot and root apical meristems, but active sink tissues such as the young leaves and root system were highly infected. Finally, our results suggest that the MNSV invasion of roots is due to virus replication although a destination‐selective process is probably necessary to explain the high levels of virus accumulation in roots. This efficient invasion of the root system is discussed in terms of natural transmission of MNSV by the soil‐borne fungal vector.
Glutathione‐binding proteins of Setaria digitata: antibody responses in human infected with Wuchereria bancrofti
Authors: BAL MADHUSMITA , DAS MANOJ K. 
Published: April 2008

SUMMARY Glutathione‐s‐transferase activity was determined in filarial parasites. The activity was detected in adult stages of cattle parasite Setaria digitata. It was absent in other stages of Setaria and also in infective larval stages of Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia malayi. The activity was enhanced about twenty five fold following purification of adult setaria extracts on glutathione agarose column. Antibody (IgG and IgM) levels to the affinity purified proteins (SdGBP) were detected predominantly (90%) in Wuchereria bancrofti infected individuals compared with normal residents of endemic regions. IgA and IgE responses could not be detected. Filarial sera in contrast to non‐filarial caused reduction in the enzymatic activities of Sd GBP. Micro‐filaraemic sera after dielhylcarhamazine treatment resulted in enhanced reduction of enzymatic activity.
Childhood cirrhosis, hepatopulmonary syndrome and liver transplantation
Authors: Tumgor Gokhan , Arikan Cigdem , Yuksekkaya Hasan Ali , Cakir Murat , Levent Erturk , Yagci Rasit Vural , Kilic Murat , Aydogdu Sema 
Published: April 2008

Abstract:  Objectives:  The hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is characterized as a triad: liver disease, intrapulmonary vascular dilatatiton, and arterial hypoxemia. The aim of this study is to analyze outcome of children with HPS in liver transplant era.Methods:  Between September 1996 and November 2006, 172 cirrhotic patients (median age 5 years; range 0.2–22 years, M/F; 97/75) were followed at Ege University Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Unit. All patients were evaluated by chest radiography, arterial blood gas analysis, and alveolar‐arterial oxygen tension difference, contrast echocardiography (CEE) after and before the liver transplantation.Results:  HPS was diagnosed in 33 patients (19%) by CEE. None of them had pulmonary hypertension. HPS was not found related to etiology of the liver disease. Portal hypertension was found related to the development of HPS (75.7% in patients with HPS and 54.6% in others, p = 0.02). 17 of 33 patients with HPS underwent liver transplantation. Preoperative and postoperative period of these patients was uneventful. Patients were extubated in the operating room except for two. Median follow up of transplanted children was 1.9 year (range; 0.75–10 years). Arterial blood gas analysis and CEE positivity regressed in all of them by postoperative 6th month.Conclusions:  HPS is a serious and important complication of cirrhotic children that leads to tissue hypoxia and central cyanosis. HPS seems reversible after liver transplantation in all patients.
Relative Efficiency of Prilled Urea, Urea Super Granules, Sulphur Coated Urea and Nitrification Inhibitor N‐Serve Blended Urea for Direct Seeded Rice
Authors: Thomas J. , Prasad R. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractA two year field study conducted at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India showed that for direct seeded rice (drilled in moist bed) blending of urea with nitrification inhibitor N‐Serve was the most advantageous; it gave significantly higher grain and straw yield nitrogen uptake by rice than urea super‐granules (USG), urea briquettes (UB), sulphur coated urea (SCU), neem cake coated urea (NCU) and prilled urea. USG or UB were next in order and significantly superior to SCU, NCU and prilled urea, which were equally effective. Nitrogen application to rice left a significant residual effect on succeeding wheat, but various sources of nitrogen studied did not differ significantly in this respect.
Comparative Study on the Effect of Water Stress on the Photosynthesis and Water Relations of Triticale, Rye and Wheat
Authors: Uprety D. C. , Sirohi G. S. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractAn attempt was made to investigate the effect of water stress treatment on the components of photosynthesis and water relations of triticale (Triticale octoploide), Russian rye (Secale cereale) and wheat, (Triticum aestivum var. Sonalika). The results revealed that there was no significant adverse effect of water stress on the photosynthesis of triticale compared to wheat and rye. The maintenance of photosynthetic productivity under water stress in triticale has been accomplished by (a) reduction in water loss by stomatal behaviour and (b) by maintenance of water uptake through continued transpirational flow. Both these mechanisms served to maintain high water potential as stress occures. This ameliorates the onset of stress and helps to maintain photosynthesis. The rye also consists of another type of adaptability to drought through significant recovery of photosynthesis and chlorophyll development on reirrigation particularly at post‐anthesis stage, when other species failed to recover. However, in wheat Sonalika both these adaptive characteristics did not exist in such intensity.
Cardiac sympathovagal modulation evaluated by short‐term heart interval variability is subtly impaired in Alzheimer's disease
Authors: De Vilhena Toledo Maria Alice , Junqueira Luiz Fernando 
Published: April 2008

Aim:  Alzheimer's disease affects several nervous structures involved with the autonomic nervous system. Therefore, the still scarce evaluation of the cardiac autonomic function in this disease is of great functional, clinical, prognostic and therapeutic relevance.Methods:  Time‐ and frequency‐domain variability of 5‐min R‐R interval series in supine and standing positions was comparatively evaluated in 22 Alzheimer's disease subjects, aged 60–87 years (mean ± standard error of the mean, 79.6 ± 1.4) with variable cognitive impairment, and 24 healthy individuals, aged 60–91 years (68.6 ± 1.6). The Student's t‐test was used to compare the variability indices between the groups and logistic regression excluded the effects on these indices in the Alzheimer's group of confounding variables different from the control group (age, physical activity and caffeinated intake), at a significance level of P ≤ 0.05.Results:  No difference was observed between the groups (P = 0.12–0.72) for each time‐domain mean indices and for the frequency‐domain indices of overall and absolute sympathetic modulation in both positions (P = 0.21–0.78). Absolute parasympathetic modulation showed borderline decrease in supine position (P = 0.07) and was reduced in the standing (P = 0.05). The sympathovagal balance was altered (P = 0.05) toward relative parasympathetic borderline depression (P = 0.07) and sympathetic exacerbation (P = 0.04) only in the supine posture.Conclusion:  Data indicate that Alzheimer's disease subjects with mild‐to‐severe cognitive dysfunction showed subtle, absolute and relative parasympathetic depression and relative sympathetic exacerbation, which may even so contribute to distinctive functional and cognitive disturbances.