bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Docetaxel: A therapeutic option in the treatment of cutaneous angiosarcoma
Authors: Nagano Tohru , Yamada Yozo , Ikeda Tetsuya , Kanki Haruhisa , Kamo Tsuneyoshi , Nishigori Chikako
Published: June 2007

BACKGROUND.

Effective treatment options are limited for patients with cutaneous angiosarcoma (AS). Docetaxel, a member of the taxane family of drugs, reportedly has been effective in the treatment of lung, head and neck, and breast cancers. Another taxane drug, paclitaxel, reportedly had unique activity in the treatment of AS of the scalp and neck and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome‐related Kaposi sarcoma. Therefore, the authors hypothesized that docetaxel may be of value in the treatment of cutaneous AS that is resistant to conventional therapy. However, there were only 3 case reports of the successful treatment of AS in elderly patients using docetaxel in combination with surgery and radiotherapy.

METHODS.

This was a retrospective trial. After written informed consent was obtained, docetaxel was administered intravenously at a dose of 25 mg/m2 for 1 hour weekly over a period of 8 weeks on the basis of previous reports. This treatment regimen was received by 9 patients with cutaneous AS who were treated at Kobe University Hospital between January 2003 and October 2006.

RESULTS.

Six of the 9 patients who received treatment achieved major responses, including 2 complete responses and 4 partial responses. Neutropenia and peripheral neuropathy were not prominent, although severe radiation dermatitis enhanced by the docetaxel was observed in 3 patients. There were no deaths attributable to this therapy.

CONCLUSIONS.

The current study demonstrated that docetaxel was effective in patients with cutaneous AS. Cancer 2007. © 2007 American Cancer Society.
On the use of general elements in fluid dynamics simulations
Authors: Chalasani S. , Senguttuvan V. , Thompson D. , Luke E.
Published: June 2007

As flow solvers have become more sophisticated, many now have the capability to handle meshes with general polyhedral elements, i.e. general elements. In response, researchers have begun to develop mesh generation strategies that exploit nonstandard element types. General elements have been employed locally in near‐body extruded meshes to improve mesh quality and have also been
used in solution adaptive mesh refinement algorithms. In this paper, we present two mesh generation strategies that employ general elements. We also discuss how a specific flow solver is formulated to work with general elements. We demonstrate our approach by presenting simulation results for two realistic configurations. We close with a discussion that highlights future research directions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Spray pyrolysis deposition and characterization of highly (100) oriented magnesium oxide thin films
Authors: Moses Ezhil Raj A. , Nehru L. C. , Jayachandran M. , Sanjeeviraja C.
Published: June 2007

Transparent dielectric thin films of MgO has been deposited on quartz substrates at different temperatures between 400 and 600°C by a pneumatic spray pyrolysis technique using Mg(CH3COO)2·4H2O as a single molecular precursor. The thermal behavior of the precursor magnesium acetate is described in the results of thermogravimetry analysis (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The prepared films are reproducible, adherent to the substrate, pinhole free and uniform. Amongst the different spray process parameters, the substrate temperature effect has been optimized for obtaining single crystalline and transparent MgO thin films. The films crystallize in a cubic structure and X‐ray diffraction measurements have shown that the polycrystalline MgO films prepared at 500°C with (100) and (110) orientations are changed to (100) preferred orientation at 600°C. The MgO phase formation was also confirmed with the recorded Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) results. The films deposited at 600°C exhibited highest optical transmittivity (>80%) and the direct band gap energy was found to vary from 4.50 to 5.25 eV with a rise in substrate temperature from 500 to 600°C. The measured sheet resistance and the resistivity of the film prepared at 600°C were respectively 1013Ω/□ and 2.06x107Ω cm. The surface morphology of the prepared MgO thin films was examined by atomic force microscopy. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Investigation on photorefractive properties of doped lithium niobate
Authors: Li H. T. , Fan Y. X. , Guo F. Y. , Zhang S. H. , Zhao L. C.
Published: June 2007

Cu:LiNbO3 crystal and Fe:Cu:LiNbO3 crystals were grown by the Czochralski method from congruent melt. The OH‐ absorption spectrum of doped lithium niobate crystals was measured. The photorefractive properties of doped crystals were studied by the two‐wave coupling method. The results of the two‐wave coupling experiments showed that as the concentration of doping ions increased, the diffraction efficiency and the dynamic range enhanced, the holographic response time shortened. The recording time of Fe(0.10wt%): Cu(0.10wt%): LiNbO3 crystal is only a tenth of that of Cu(0.05wt%): LiNbO3 crystal. Among all samples, the dynamic range of the Fe(0.10wt%): Cu(0.10wt%): LiNbO3 crystal was the most largest (up to 40.78). (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Synthesis, crystal growth, spectral, thermal and optical properties of acenaphthene picrate
Authors: Chandramohan A. , Bharathikannan R. , Kandhaswamy M. A. , Chandrasekaran J. , Kandavelu V.
Published: June 2007

The crystalline material of acenaphthene picrate (ACP) was synthesized and the single crystals of the title compound grown by slow evaporation solution growth technique. The solubility of the complex compound was estimated using different solvents as chloroform, ethanol, (1:1) chloroform ‐ acetone mixture. The material was characterized through elemental analysis; powder XRD, NMR and FTIR techniques. The various planes of reflection have been identified from the XRD powder pattern. The formation of the charge transfer complex was confirmed by UV‐VIS spectroscopy. The thermal stability of the crystals was studied using TG/DTA analyses techniques. The second harmonic generation (SHG) of the material was confirmed by using Nd: YAG laser. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Verformungsverhalten von Kellerwänden unter Berücksichtigung des tatsächlichen Materialverhaltens
Authors: Vassilev Todor
Published: June 2007

Der Beitrag stellt ein am Lehrstuhl für Tragwerksplanung der TU Dresden entwickeltes Verfahren zur Untersuchung des Trag‐ und Verformungsverhaltens von auf Biegung und Druck beanspruchten Mauerwerkswänden vor. Ein Vorläufer des Verfahrens wurde in für die Analyse des Knickverhaltens von Mauerwerk mit Erfolg angewendet. Der eingeschlagene Lösungsweg ist iterativ und baut auf einem diskreten einaxialen Rechenmodell auf. Die globale Analyse wird auf der Grundlage des Übertragungsverfahrens geführt und liefert die Makroreaktion des Systems in Form des Schnittkraft‐ und Verformungszustands. Der Spannungsberechnung wird ein speziell für Mauerwerk konzipiertes Materialmodell zugrunde gelegt, welches das Potential besitzt, die Eigenschaften von Baustoffen mit Spannungsrestriktionen abzubilden. Die nichtlineare Spannungs‐Dehnungs‐Beziehung sowie die für Mauerwerk charakteristische Rissbildung bei Zugbeanspruchung können mit dem vorgeschlagenen Materialmodell realitätsnah simuliert werden. Die Verformungseinflüsse II. Ordnung und die physikalisch nichtlinearen Effekte verschiedener Natur werden mit dem entwickelten numerischen Verfahren adäquat erfasst. Die aufgeführten Ergebnisse numerischer Untersuchungen illustrieren seine praktische Verwendbarkeit.
MR1‐restricted Vα19i T cells – a second population recognizing lipid antigens?
Authors: Schümann Jens , De Libero Gennaro
Published: June 2007

There is increasing evidence that T cells recognizing lipid antigens contribute to the immunological regulation of different disease conditions including autoimmunity. The best‐known subset is CD1d‐restricted lipid‐reactive T cells characterized by the expression of an invariant TCRα chain. Much less is known about the biology of another invariant T cell subset, which is restricted to the MHC class I‐like molecule MR1. A beneficial role of MR1‐restricted T cells has been suggested in a mouse EAE model. However, the nature of antigens that can be presented by MR1 to this invariant T cell subset remained largely unclear. An article in this issue of the European Journal of Immunology presents strong indications that derivatives of α‐mannosyl ceramide (α‐ManCer), i.e. glycolipids, can serve as ligands for MR1‐restricted invariant T cells. In addition to that, the structure of the α‐ManCer sphingosine chain influences the Th1‐Th2 polarization of the cytokine response. These important new findings will foster further research on the identity of physiological ligands for MR1‐restricted T cells and on their relation with immunoregulation.

See accompanying article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eji.200636689
An alternative measure of discharge effectiveness
Authors: Doyle Martin W. , Shields Catherine A.
Published: June 2007

Since 1960, geomorphic effectiveness has been quantified by analytically combining measures of the frequency and the magnitude of geomorphic processes, most often for the case of sediment yield in rivers via the calculation of effective discharge, Qeff. Here we leverage the Qeff analysis approach to develop an alternative metric, the functional‐equivalent discharge Qfed, which is the discharge that will reproduce the magnitude of the sediment load generated by the full hydrologic distribution. Qfed is intended to be a more representative metric of hydrologic variability than Qeff: whereas Qeff provides a measure of the effectiveness of individual flow rates, Qfed incorporates a measure of the average effectiveness of the entire flow distribution. We develop an analytical approximation of Qfed based on relatively few parameters, apply the approach to a set of suspended sediment load data and describe how Qfed varies broadly with sediment and hydrologic conditions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Working with social service agencies: Providing access for the underserved
Authors: Dotolo Lawrence G.
Published: June 2007

The Virginia Tidewater Consortium for Higher Education's effort to work with the clients of social service agencies has provided access to higher education for thousands of adults from underserved and underrepresented groups.
Enhancing access and building a campus culture of civic engagement and service‐learning: A dual consortial approach
Authors: Horgan Thomas R. , Scire Deborah
Published: June 2007

This chapter describes how the New Hampshire College & University Council and Campus Compact for New Hampshire have developed a unique multiconsortial alliance to build campus cultures of civic engagement and service‐learning.
Highly Regioselective C(3) Opening of an Aromatic 2,3‐Epoxy Alcohol with Sodium Phenoxides or Thiophenoxides (=Benzenethiolates) Supported by β‐Cyclodextrin in Water
Authors: Narender Mendu , Reddy Majjigapu Somi , Nageswar Yadavalli Venkata Durga , Rao Kakulapati Rama
Published: June 2007

A simple and mild procedure was developed for the first time for the C(3)‐selective ring opening of an aromatic 2,3‐epoxy alcohol, i.e., of trans‐3‐phenyloxirane‐2‐methanol (1), with sodium phenoxides or thiophenoxides (=benzenethiolates) 2 supported by β‐cyclodextrin in H2O at 50° to afford the corresponding 3‐(aryloxy)‐ or 3‐(arylthio)propane1,2‐diols 3 in excellent yields (Scheme, Table).
Effects of Micellar Aggregates on the Kinetics and Mechanism of the Reaction between 4‐Nitrobenzenediazonium Ions and Some Amino Acids
Authors: Fernández‐Alonso Alejandra , Bravo‐Díaz Carlos
Published: June 2007

We have explored the kinetics and mechanism of the reaction between 4‐nitrobenzenediazonium ions (4NBD), and the hydrophilic amino acids (AA) glycine and serine in the presence and absence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micellar aggregates by means of UV/VIS spectroscopy. The observed rate constants kobs were obtained by monitoring the disappearance of 4NBD with time at a suitable wavelength under pseudo‐first‐order conditions. In aqueous acid (buffer‐controlled) solution, in the absence of SDS, the dependence of kobs on [AA] was obtained from the linear relationship found between the experimental rate constant and [AA]. At a fixed amino acid concentration, kobs values show an inverse dependence on acidity in the range of pH 5–6, suggesting that the reaction takes place through the nonprotonated amino group of the amino acid. All kinetic evidence is consistent with an irreversible bimolecular reaction with k=2390±16 and 376±7 M−1 s−1 for glycine and serine, respectively. Addition of SDS inhibits the reaction because of the micellar‐induced separation of reactants originated by the electrical barrier imposed by the SDS micelles; kobs values are depressed by factors of 10 (glycine) and 6 (serine) on going from [SDS]=0 up to [SDS]=0.05M. The hypothesis of a micellar‐induced separation of the reactants was confirmed by 1H‐NMR spectroscopy, which was employed to investigate the location of 4NBD in the micellar aggregate: the results showed that the aromatic ring of the arenediazonium ion is predominantly located in the vicinity of the C(β) atom of the surfactant chain, and hence the reactive N$\rm{ _2^ + }$ group is located in the Stern layer of the micellar aggregate. The kinetic results can be quantitatively interpreted in terms of the pseudophase kinetic model, allowing estimations of the association constant of 4NBD to the SDS micelles.
New Steryl Esters of Fatty Acids from the Mangrove Fungus Aspergillus awamori
Authors: Gao Hao , Hong Kui , Zhang Xue , Liu Hong‐Wei , Wang Nai‐Li , Zhuang Ling , Yao Xin‐Sheng
Published: June 2007

The polyhydroxylated ergostane‐type sterol 9, its derivatives 10–15, and the fatty acid esters 1–8 were isolated from a fungus strain which was collected from mangrove areas at Wenchang, Hainan Province, P. R. China, exhibited potent cytotoxic activity, and was identified as Aspergillus awamori. The structures of 1–15 were elucidated by spectroscopic and chemical methods. Among them, the six steryl esters 1–6 of fatty acids were new compounds, i.e., (3β,5α,6α,22E)‐ergosta‐7,22‐diene‐3,5,6‐triol 6‐palmitate (1), (3β,5α,6α,22E)‐ergosta‐7,22‐diene‐3,5,6‐triol 6‐stearate (2), (3β,5α,6α,22E)‐ergosta‐7,22‐diene‐3,5,6‐triol 6‐oleate (3), (3β,5α,6α,22E)‐ergosta‐7,22‐diene‐3,5,6‐triol 6‐linoleate (4), (3β,5α,6β,22E)‐ergosta‐7,22‐diene‐3,5,6‐triol 6‐palmitate (5), and (3β,5α,6β,22E)‐ergosta‐7,22‐diene‐3,5,6‐triol 6‐stearate (6). The related known fatty acids stearic acid (=octadecanoic acid) and palmitic acid (=octadecanoic acid) were also obtained. A speculative biogenetic relationship of the metabolites is proposed. The known polyhydroxylated sterols and derivatives showed cytotoxic activities, in agreement with earlier reports. The cytotoxic activities against B16 and SMMC‐7721 cell lines of the new steryl esters 1–6 by the MTT method were weak.
Preparation and Characteristics of Esculin‐Imprinted Polymers
Authors: Wang Guo‐Song , Cao Qiu‐E. , Ding Zhong‐Tao , Wang Yi‐Geng , Yang Ming‐Hui
Published: June 2007

Four molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were prepared in MeOH with esculin (=6,7‐dihydroxycoumarin 6‐(β‐D‐glucopyranoside)=6‐(β‐D‐glucopyranosyloxy)‐7‐hydroxy‐2H‐1‐benzopyran‐2‐one) as the imprinted molecule, methacrylic acid (=2‐methylprop‐2‐enoic acid; MAA), acrylamide (=prop‐2‐enamide; AM), 4‐vinylpyridine (=4‐ethenylpyridine; 4‐VP), or 2‐vinylpyridine (=2‐ethenylpyridine; 2‐VP) as the functional monomer, respectively, as well as ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (=2‐methylprop‐2‐enoic acid ethane‐1,2‐diyl ester; EGDMA) as the cross‐linking agent. The interaction between the template and the functional monomers was investigated by fluorescence and UV spectrophotometry, respectively, which revealed the presence of esculin/monomer complexes in the stoichiometric ratio 1 : 2 in the pre‐polymerization mixture. The resultant polymers were studied in equilibrium binding experiments to evaluate the recognition ability and the binding capacity towards esculin. The results showed that MIP1, prepared with MAA as the functional monomer, exhibited advantageous characteristics of high binding capacity, optimal imprinting effect, and good selectivity towards esculin. The Scatchard analysis indicated that there are two types of binding sites in MIP1, and its binding parameters including the apparent maximum numbers of binding sites and the dissociation constants were calculated. Finally, by packing an SPE column (SPE=solid‐phase extraction) with MIP1, the esculin was separated and enriched successfully by this sorbent from samples of Cortex fraxini, and the average recovery was up to 74.7%.
Prognostic factors for patients with acute myeloid leukaemia or high‐risk myelodysplastic syndromes undergoing myeloablative or non‐myeloablative allogeneic blood stem cell transplantation
Authors: Graef Thorsten , Vaupel Matthias , Fenk Roland , Ruf Leilani , Zohren Fabian , Germing Ulrich , Haas Rainer , Kobbe Guido
Published: June 2007

In this uni‐centre retrospective study, we studied 120 adults with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) (n = 88) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) (n = 32) who received first allogeneic HSCT to determine prognostic factors which are correlated with the outcome after myeloablative (MA) or non‐myeloablative (non‐MA) allogeneic HSCT. The median age of our cohort was 44 years. Fifty‐nine per cent of the patients were transplanted in complete remission (CR) and 41% were in relapse or refractory to induction or salvage therapy. A total of 97 patients received a MA regimen and 23 were treated with a non‐MA regimen. The prognostic impact for several parameters was assessed by univariate and by multivariate analyses using the Cox regression model. Three‐year probabilities of non‐relapse mortality (34 vs. 54%; p = 0.9) did not differ in the MA and non‐MA groups, but differences were observed in the disease‐free survival (DFS) (43 vs. 17%; p = 0.1) and the relapse rate (RR) (29 vs. 62%; p = 0.01). Independently from the regimen, in uni‐ and multivariate analysis, survival was best in those patients who were transplanted in CR and experienced cGvHD. Interestingly, outcome of patients with complex cytogenetic aberrations was identical to that of better prognostic subgroups. In this study, the clinical benefit of a lower toxicity regimen was offset by higher RR resulting in inferior results in the non‐MA group, especially when no CR was achieved by prior induction or salvage therapy. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cereal fiber intake may reduce risk of gastric adenocarcinomas: The EPIC‐EURGAST study
Authors: M.A. Mendez , Pera Guillem , Agudo Antonio , Bueno‐de‐Mesquita H. Bas , Palli Domenico , Boeing Heiner , Carneiro Fátima , Berrino Franco , Sacerdote Carlotta , Tumino Rosario , Panico Salvatore , Berglund Göran , Manjer Jonas , Johansson Ingegerd , Stenling Roger , Martinez Carmen , Dorronsoro Miren , Barricarte Aurelio , Tormo María J. , Quiros José R. , Allen Naomi , Key Timothy J. , Bingham Sheila , Linseisen Jakob , Kaaks Rudolf , Overvad Kim , Jensen Majken , Olsen Anja , Tjønneland Anne , Peeters Petra H.M. , Numans Mattijs E. , Ocké Marga C. , Clavel‐Chapelon Françoise , Boutron‐Ruault Marie‐Christine , Trichopoulou Antonia , Lund Eiliv , Slimani Nadia , Jenab Mazda , Ferrari Pietro , Riboli Elio , González Carlos A.
Published: June 2007

Numerous case‐control studies suggest dietary fiber may reduce risk of gastric cancer, but this has not been confirmed prospectively. A previous case‐control study reported reduced risk of gastric cardia adenocarcinomas associated with cereal fiber, but not with fruit or vegetable fiber. To date, different food sources of fiber have not been examined with respect to noncardia tumors or diverse histologic sub‐types. This study prospectively examines associations between fiber from different food sources and incident gastric adenocarcinomas (GC) among more than 435,000 subjects from 10 countries participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study. Subjects aged 25–70 years completed dietary questionnaires in 1992–98, and were followed up for a median of 6.7 years. About 312 incident GCs were observed. The relative risk of GC was estimated based on cohort‐wide sex‐specific fiber intake quartiles using proportional hazards models to estimate hazards ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Intakes of cereal fiber, but not total, fruit or vegetable fiber, were associated with reduced GC risk [adjusted HR for the highest vs. lowest quartile of cereal fiber 0.69, 0.48–0.99]. There was a strong inverse association for diffuse [HR 0.43, 0.22–0.86], but not intestinal type [HR 0.98, 0.54–1.80] tumors. Associations for cardia vs. noncardia tumors were similar to those for overall GC, although cardia associations did not reach significance. Cereal fiber consumption may help to reduce risk of GC, particularly diffuse type tumors. Further study on different food sources of fiber in relation to GC risk is warranted to confirm these relationships. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Cross‐talks between cyclooxygenase‐2 and tumor suppressor protein p53: Balancing life and death during inflammatory stress and carcinogenesis
Authors: de Moraes Emanuela , Dar Nazir Ahmad , de Moura Gallo Claudia Vitoria , Hainaut Pierre
Published: June 2007

Overexpression of Cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) is observed in most tumor types. Increased COX‐2 activity and synthesis of prostaglandins stimulates proliferation, angiogenesis, invasiveness and inhibits apoptosis. Many stress and proinflammatory signals induce COX‐2 expression, including oxyradicals or DNA‐damaging agents. The latter also induces p53, a transcription factor often inactivated by mutation in cancer. Several studies have identified complex cross‐talks between p53 and COX‐2, whereby p53 can either up‐ or down‐regulate COX‐2, which in turn controls p53 transcriptional activity. However, the molecular basis of these effects are open to debate, in particular since no p53 binding sequences have been identified in COX‐2 regulatory regions. In this review, we summarize the molecular mechanisms by which COX‐2 contributes to carcinogenesis and discuss the experimental set‐up, results and conclusions of studies analyzing cross‐talks between p53 and COX‐2. We propose 2 scenarios accounting for overexpression of COX‐2 in precursor and cancer lesions. In the “inflammatory” scenario, p53, activated by DNA damage induced by oxygen and nitrogen species, recruits NF‐kappaB to activate COX‐2, resulting in antiapoptotic effects that contribute to cell expansion in inflammatory precursor lesions. In the “constitutive proliferation” scenario, oncogenic stress due to activation of growth signaling cascades may upregulate COX‐2 promoter independently of NF‐kappaB and p53, synergizing with TP53 mutation to promote cancer progression. These 2 scenarios, although not mutually exclusive, may account for the diversity of the correlations between COX‐2 expression and TP53 mutation, which vary according to cancer types and biological contexts, and have implications for the use of COX‐2 inhibitors in cancer prevention and therapy. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Glioma immunotherapy by IL‐21 gene‐modified cells or by recombinant IL‐21 involves antibody responses
Authors: Daga Antonio , Orengo Anna Maria , Gangemi Rosaria Maria Rita , Marubbi Daniela , Perera Marzia , Comes Alberto , Ferrini Silvano , Corte Giorgio
Published: June 2007

Most tumors of the central nervous system, especially glioblastoma, are refractory to treatment and invariably lethal. The aim of this study was to assess the ability of different interleukins (IL), IL‐2, IL‐12 and IL‐21, produced by transduced glioma cells to activate an immune response and trigger intracranial tumor rejection. Such experiments were performed by the use of a slow‐growing clone of GL261 (GL D2‐60) that was used as orthotopic glioma model. Using GL D2‐60‐transduced cells, all cytokines elicited an immune response against the tumor. Most notably 100% of the animals receiving a primary implant of IL‐21‐transduced cells rejected the implant, and 76% of these animals survived to a subsequent rechallenge with GL261 parental cells, while the other transduced cytokine genes were not as effective. Rejection responses were also obtained by admixing wild‐type tumor cells with IL‐21‐producing GL D2‐60 cells, indicating a local bystander effect of IL‐21. More importantly, IL‐21‐secreting GL D2‐60 cells or 1 μg of rIL‐21 protein stereotactically injected into established GL D2‐60 tumors were able to trigger glioblastoma rejection in 90 and 77% of mice, respectively. Again most of these mice survived to GL261 rechallenge. Immune mice showed antibody responses to glioma antigens, predominantly involving IgG2a and IgG2b isotypes, which mediated complement‐ or cell‐dependent glioma cell lysis. Antibody responses were crucial for glioma immunotherapy by IL‐21‐secreting GL D2‐60 cells, as immunotherapy was uneffective in syngeneic μMT B‐cell‐deficient mice. These results suggest that IL‐21 should be considered as a suitable candidate for glioma immunotherapy by local delivery. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Framework for participatory assessments and implementation of global environmental conventions at the community level
Authors: Oba G. , Sjaastad E. , Roba H. G.
Published: June 2007

Participation by local communities in the assessment and monitoring of efforts to implement global environmental conventions (GECs), such as Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), is a topic of growing interest worldwide. Previous implementation efforts were constrained by the lack of a methodological framework that integrates local knowledge and ecological methods. This study, conducted with assistance from Maasai herders in northern Tanzania, evaluated a socio‐economic and ecological framework for integrating local communities into assessments of the GECs. To reach decisions related to CBD, herders used livestock grazing suitability (GS) and proxy indicators of biodiversity, while to reach decisions related to CCD herders used potential grazing capacity (PGC) related to the risk of degradation. We proposed criteria for indicator selection and developed step‐wise research methods to assess performance of the indicators at spatial scales. The ecological and anthropogenic indicators were then analysed using a correlation matrix to evaluate management decisions. We showed that changes in ecological indicators influenced herder decisions. The anthropogenic indicators for potential were more sensitive to changes in soil degradation, range conditions and trends; while the decisions related to GS were more sensitive to the majority of the proxy indicators of biodiversity. The decisions reflected the potential responses to management, which had implications for CBD and CCD. Because decisions constitute a multiplicity of activities, the responses by local communities could be related to the potential role played by each indicator in the implementation of the convention at the local level. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Contests with investment
Authors: Münster Johannes
Published: June 2007

Perfectly discriminating contests (all pay auctions) are widely used as a model of situations where individuals devote resources to win some prize. In reality such contests are often preceded by investments of the contestants into their ability to fight in the contest. This paper studies a two stage game where in the first stage, players can invest to lower their bid cost in a perfectly discriminating contest, which is played in the second stage. Different assumptions on the timing of investment are studied. With simultaneous investments, equilibria in which players play a pure strategy in the investment stage are asymmetric, exhibit incomplete rent dissipation, and expected effort is reduced relative to the game without investment. There also are symmetric mixed strategy equilibria with complete rent dissipation. With sequential investment, the first mover always invests enough to deter the second mover from investing, and enjoys a first mover advantage. I also look at unobservable investments and endogenous timing of investments. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Can the combination of flaxseed and its lignans with soy and its isoflavones reduce the growth stimulatory effect of soy and its isoflavones on established breast cancer?
Authors: Power Krista A. , Thompson Lilian U.
Published: June 2007

Consumption of phytoestrogen (PE)‐rich foods (i. e., soy and flaxseed (FS)) is increasing because of their suggested health benefits. However, recent studies raise concern over the safety of soy and its isoflavones, particularly genistein (GEN), for postmenopausal breast cancer (BC), due to their potential stimulatory effects on human breast tissue and on the growth of existing tumors in rodents. FS, rich in PE lignans, which is metabolized to the mammalian lignans enterolactone (ENL) and enterodiol (END), has consistently been shown to have tumor inhibitory effects in a human clinical trial as well as rodent BC models. Using the preclinical athymic mouse postmenopausal BC model, combining FS with soy protein or GEN with END and ENL, was found to negate the tumor stimulatory effects of soy protein or GEN alone. The mechanism may be related to the modulation of estrogen receptor and MAPK signaling pathways. If these studies can be confirmed in clinical trials, then consumption of combined soy and FS, or their PEs, may reduce the tumor growth stimulatory effect of soy or GEN. This may indicate that if soy is consumed with lignan‐rich foods, it may continue to induce its other beneficial health effects, without inducing adverse effect on postmenopausal BC.
Binding of the hop (Humulus lupulus L.) chalcone xanthohumol to cytosolic proteins in Caco‐2 intestinal epithelial cells
Authors: Pang Yan , Nikolic Dejan , Zhu Dongwei , Chadwick Lucas R. , Pauli Guido F. , Farnsworth Norman R. , van Breemen Richard B.
Published: June 2007

Used in the brewing of beer, hops (Humulus lupulus L.) contain the prenylated chalcone xanthohumol, which is under investigation as a cancer chemoprevention agent and as a precursor for the estrogenic flavanones isoxanthohumol and 8‐prenylnaringenin. The uptake, transport and accumulation of xanthohumol were studied using the human intestinal epithelial cell line Caco‐2 to help understand the poor bioavailability of this chalcone. Studies were carried out using Caco‐2 cell monolayers 18–21 days after seeding. The apparent Km and Vmax values of xanthohumol accumulation in Caco‐2 cells were determined, and the protein binding of xanthohumol in sub‐cellular fractions of Caco‐2 cells was investigated. Approximately 70% of xanthohumol added to the apical side of Caco‐2 cells accumulated inside the cells, while 93% of the intracellular xanthohumol was localized in the cytosol. Xanthohumol accumulation was temperature dependent and saturable with an apparent Km value of 26.5 ± 4.66 μM and an apparent Vmax of 0.215 ± 0.018 nmol/mg protein/min. Facilitated transport was not responsible for the uptake of xanthohumol, instead, accumulation inside the Caco‐2 cells was apparently the result of specific binding to cytosolic proteins. These data suggest that specific binding of xanthohumol to cytosolic proteins in intestinal epithelial cells contributes to the poor oral bioavailability observed previously in vivo.
Metabolism of dietary soy isoflavones to equol by human intestinal microflora – implications for health
Authors: Yuan Jian‐Ping , Wang Jiang‐Hai , Liu Xin
Published: June 2007

Soy isoflavones have received considerable attention. Individuals with isoflavones‐rich diets have significantly lower occurrences of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and some cancers. The clinical effectiveness of soy isoflavones may be a function of the ability to biotransform soy isoflavones to the more potent estrogenic metabolite, equol, which may enhance the actions of soy isoflavones, owing to its greater affinity for estrogen receptors, unique antiandrogenic properties, and superior antioxidant activity. However, not all individuals consuming daidzein produce equol. Only approximately one‐third to one‐half of the population is able to metabolize daidzein to equol. This high variability in equol production is presumably attributable to interindividual differences in the composition of the intestinal microflora, which may play an important role in the mechanisms of action of isoflavones. But, the specific bacterial species in the colon involved in the production of equol are yet to be discovered. Therefore, future researches are aimed at identifying the specific bacterial species and strains that are capable of converting daidzein to equol or increasing equol production.
Numerical simulation of three‐dimensional polymer extrusion flow with differential viscoelastic model
Authors: Mu Yue , Zhao Guoqun , Qin Shengxue , Chen Anbiao
Published: June 2007

The numerical simulation of viscoelastic flow problems is nowadays an effective way of investigating the complex flow mechanism related to practical engineering problems, such as plastic injection, blow molding and extrusion. The mathematical model of a three‐dimensional (3D) viscoelastic flow in a typical contraction die for polymer extrusion is established and a stable solving method is investigated. The penalty finite element method (FEM) is performed to simulate the viscoelastic melts flow in the channel with a differential constitutive model. The discrete elastic‐viscous split stress (DEVSS) formulation and the streamline‐upwind Petrov–Galerkin (SUPG) technology are employed to improve the computation stability. Both the implementation of the numerical scheme and its application in the practical process analysis are investigated. The effects of various calculation control parameters and different material parameters upon the numerical results are discussed. The 3D flow patterns in the extrusion die with different contraction angles are further investigated based on the above discussions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Community‐Acquired pneumonia: A review and recent advances
Authors: Stein Renato T. , Marostica Paulo José Cauduro
Published: June 2007

In the beginning of this 21st century, community‐acquired pneumonias (CAP) are still responsible for a significant number of deaths among young children in many developing countries. Public health initiatives such as those proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the management of CAP by means of identifying highly predictable signs and symptoms have had great positive impact in some communities. Still, this approach induces an overdiagnosis and overtreatment of CAP in children below the age of 5 years due to the misclassification of pneumonia in children with fast breathing associated with viral bronchiolitis. Even among children of developed countries, CAP is an important public health problem and many aspects of current diagnostic and management measures are discussed here. In this article, we review the epidemiology and basic concepts of CAP and update current information on clinical evaluation and management of the disease. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2007; 42:1095–1103. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A statistical approach to the prediction of pKa values in proteins
Authors: He Yun , Xu Jialin , Pan Xian‐Ming
Published: June 2007

We propose a simple model for the calculation of pKa values of ionizable residues in proteins. It is based on the premise that the pKa shift of ionizable residues is linearly correlated to the interaction between a particular residue and the local environment created by the surrounding residues. Despite its simplicity, the model displays good prediction performance. Under the sixfold cross test prediction over a data set of 405 experimental pKa values in 73 protein chains with known structures, the root‐mean‐square deviation (RMSD) between the experimental and calculated pKa was found to be 0.77. The accuracy of this model increases with increasing size of the data set: the RMSD is 0.609 for glutamate (the largest data set with 141 sites) and ∼1 pH unit for lysine, with a data set containing 45 sites. Proteins 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Coherent and ultrafast optoelectronics in III–V semiconductor compounds
Authors: Först M. , Nagel M. , Awad M. , Wächter M. , Dekorsy T. , Kurz H.
Published: June 2007

III–V compound semiconductors offer a fascinating multitude of phenomena which have become accessible via ultrafast time‐resolved spectroscopy. Coherent vibronic and electronic dynamics are prepared by excitation with taylored femtosecond laser pulses. The analysis of their temporal dephasing or decay provides deep insights into the interaction between electronic and vibronic degrees of freedem and the surrounding bath in high purity quantum structures. In contrast to coherent electronic or vibronic states, deliberately introduced growth defects can be used to drastically shorten the lifetime of optically excited carriers. Sub‐picosecond carrier lifetimes open the possibility to realize ultrafast saturable absorbers and optoelectronic transducer elements. They are particularly important as key elements in THz technology, such as efficient THz emitters, detectors, and for on‐chip THz technology. This paper summarizes the most distinguished results relevant in the context of ultrafast optoelectronics and THz technology obtained in close collaboration with the Paul‐Drude‐Institute Berlin over the past decade. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
In‐situ synthesis of transparent and conductive carbon nanotube networks
Authors: Lima Márcio D. , de Andrade Mônica J. , Skákalová Viera , Nobre Felipe , Bergmann Carlos P. , Roth Siegmar
Published: June 2007

A method for the production of transparent carbon nanotube networks (CNTNs) over transparent substrates was developed. In this method, CNTNs were grown directly in the target surface by applying the catalyst in specific zones of the substrate through lithographic techniques. The networks can be also transferred from the original substrate to other surfaces. The newly grown carbon nanotubes have a very high aspect ratio (>50000). Thus far, networks with an optical transmittance of 94% at 550 nm and a surface resistivity of 3.6 kΩ/sq have been produced. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Fact or friction: a model for understanding the openability of wide mouth closures
Authors: Yoxall A. , Janson R.
Published: June 2007

Understanding and improving openability is becoming more and more important in the packaging industry. Specific tests or focus groups can be used to determine whether users have problems with packaging; however, these are both time consuming and expensive. This paper outlines a method by which it is possible to predict openability for any kind of closure by utilizing simple and quick tests, and by mathematically adapting strength test data. The method is demonstrated on wide mouth closures, and shows that there are optimum values for jar diameter and friction for containers of this type to enable increased openability. The data indicates that the optimum diameter for a jar lid is around 73mm, and therefore lids of this diameter are the easiest for consumers to open. The process outlined can be used to improve openability of packaging while keeping costs to a minimum. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Quantification of triacylglycerol regioisomers in oils and fat using different mass spectrometric and liquid chromatographic methods
Authors: Leskinen Heidi , Suomela Jukka‐Pekka , Kallio Heikki
Published: June 2007

The regioisomers (sn‐ABA/sn‐AAB) of four triacylglycerols (TAGs), 18:2/18:2/18:1 (LLO), 18:2/18:1/18:1 (LOO), 16:0/18:1/18:1 (POO), and 16:0/16:0/18:1 (PPO), were quantified in lard, rapeseed oil, and sunflower seed oil by three different mass spectrometric methods using liquid chromatography (LC) and two different mass spectrometers. The ionization methods used were positive ion atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI), positive ion electrospray ionization (ESI), and negative ion chemical ionization (NICI) with ammonia as the reagent gas. The LC/APCI‐MS results with two different instrumentation types, LC/ESI‐MS/MS and direct inlet ammonia NICI‐MS/MS, were compared. The LC/APCI‐MS method is based on the preferential formation of diacylglycerol (DAG) fragment ions during ionization by loss of sn‐1/3 fatty acids from [M+H]+ ions. Similar formation of the DAG ions from [M+NH4]+ ions by collision‐induced dissociation (CID) in the LC/ESI‐MS/MS method and the [M−HRCOOH−100]− ions from [M−H]− ions by CID in the direct inlet ammonia NICI‐MS/MS method is observed. These methods were found to be useful and reliable in determining the regioisomeric structure of TAGs. No statistically significant differences were found between the results obtained with these methods. For LLO, LOO, and POO the proportions of sn‐ABA isomer calculated from the results from all four methods were in rapeseed oil 7.7 ± 6.5, 57.9 ± 3.3, and 4.5 ± 6.1%, respectively, and in sunflower seed oil 12.2 ± 6.9, 34.0 ± 5.2, and 1.4 ± 2.8%, respectively. The proportions of ABA of POO and PPO in lard were 95.3 ± 3.2 and 4.9 ± 5.6%, respectively. This study also proved that the LC/APCI‐MS/MS method examined is not applicable in the quantification of TAG regioisomers because the formation of DAG ions is not clearly dependent on the positional distribution of the fatty acids. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry method for the quantification of yttrium‐antibody based drugs using stable isotope tracing
Authors: Ciavardelli Domenico , D'Anniballe Gaetano , Nano Giuseppe , Martin Franck , Federici Giorgio , Sacchetta Paolo , Di Ilio Carmine , Urbani Andrea
Published: June 2007

Targeted radioimmunotherapy has been recently clinically validated and approved for the treatment of cancer by the US Food and Drug Administration. This therapeutic approach employs monoclonal antibodies directed to cancer‐related, cell‐surface antigens coupled to β‐emitting nuclides. 90Y is one of the most useful radioisotopes in the development of antibody based radioimmunotherapy and evaluation of the pharmacokinetic profile for 90Y‐radiopharmaceuticals is usually performed by radiochemical methods. In this work we have developed an alternative radioactive‐free approach to evaluate pharmacokinetic profiles based on the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric (ICP‐MS) quantification of 89Y. A highly sensitive and rapid method for the determination of yttrium in urine is described and applied to evaluate the urinary clearance of antibody‐based drugs labeled with the stable isotope of yttrium, 89Y. This approach overcomes some important limitations for pre‐clinical radioanalytical methods such as radiation hazards and radioactive waste disposal. Method development was performed by determining detection and quantification limits, and precision as repeatability and trueness. These performance parameters fulfilled the acceptance criteria for bioanalytical methods. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A new mathematical approach for calculating the contribution of anammox, denitrification and atmosphere to an N2 mixture based on a 15N tracer technique
Authors: Spott Oliver , Stange C. Florian
Published: June 2007

Denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) have been identified as biotic key processes of N2 formation during global nitrogen cycling. Based on the principle of a 15N tracer technique, new analytical expressions have been derived for a calculation of the fractions of N2 simultaneously released by anammox and denitrification. An omnipresent contamination with atmospheric N2 is also taken into account and is furthermore calculable in terms of a fraction. Two different mathematical approaches are presented which permit a precise calculation of the contribution of anammox, denitrification, and atmosphere to a combined N2 mixture. The calculation is based on a single isotopic analysis of a sampled N2 mixture and the determination of the 15N abundance of nitrite and nitrate (simplified approach) or of ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate (comprehensive approach). Calculations are even processable under conditions where all basal educts of anammox and denitrification (ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate) are differently enriched in 15N. An additional determination of concentrations of dissolved N compounds is unnecessary. Finally, the presented approach is transferable to studies focused on terrestrial environments where N2 is formed by denitrification and simultaneously by codenitrification or chemodenitrification. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Identification of spoken questions using similarity‐based TF·AoI
Authors: Kimura Yasutomo , Araki Kenji , Tochinai Koji
Published: June 2007

Similarity is utilized in the retrieval and extraction of information, but it can also be used in dialog processing. Spoken dialog processing must deal with speech recognition error, interjections and noise, and it is rare that the same expressions are used consistently. It is required to find a sentence which is similar to the input sentence while taking account of these phenomena. This paper proposes an identification method for the question sentence based onTF·AoI(term frequency×amount of information) weighting. In this method, the words contained in the input sentence are weighted by (word similarity)×(amount of information). Then, based on the calculated Euclidean distance, the response corresponding to the question with the highest similarity is output. Comparison experiments verify an improvement of 13 points over the method of comparison by matching ratio to the input sentence, and by 6.5 points over the method of “similarity byTF·AoIweighting.” © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Comp Jpn, 38(10): 81– 94, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/scj.20363
Scale change and rotation invariant digital image watermarking method
Authors: Tone Mizuki , Hamada Nozomu
Published: June 2007

In recent years attention has focused on digital image watermarking as a method for copyright protection of digital images. Since users of images make distortions such as enlarging or reducing images depending on the application, digital image watermarking which is robust to geometric distortions has been demanded. Compensation for changes in the relative position of pixels is needed in order to allow watermarking to be detected from images with geometric distortions. In this paper we propose a method that uses feature points to perform compensations and then use frequency components to embed and detect watermarks. The feature points are obtained by a Harris‐Affine detector. At first, ellipsoids around a feature point are extracted from an image, each ellipsoid normalized to a circle, and a watermark embedded into that frequency component. Geometric distortion compensation is then performed by extracting ellipsoids in the same manner during detection and normalizing the ellipsoids into circles to detect watermarks. Using feature points for the compensation eliminates the need to embed markers for original images and positioning thereby making it possible to compensate for affine distortions such as scale and rotation. Furthermore, since one elliptical embedment region is determined for each single feature point, the watermark insertion region can be correctly extracted even if detection of several feature points fails due to distortion. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Comp Jpn, 38(10): 1– 11, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/scj.20670