bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Proliferative Effect of Calcitonin Gene‐related Peptide is Induced by at least Five Proteins as Identified by Proteome Profiling
Authors: Pluder Franka , Sinz Andrea , Beck‐Sickinger Annette G.
Published: February 2007

Calcitonin gene‐related peptide is a 37 amino acid neuropeptide. Although calcitonin gene‐related peptide activates a G‐protein‐coupled receptor, recent evidence suggests that calcitonin gene‐related peptide induces more complex signaling cascades including the activation of MAP kinases [Eur J Pharmacol; 389:125–130 (2000), Neuropeptides; 34:229–233 (2000)]. However, the molecular mechanisms of this activation still remain to be elucidated. For the first time we applied a proteomics approach in order to identify molecular targets of calcitonin gene‐related peptide downstream signaling in the neuroblastoma cell line SK‐N‐MC and identified proteins that changed either their expression, location, or their post‐translational modifications in a time‐dependent manner after calcitonin gene‐related peptide stimulation.
Quantitative Structure–Activity Relationship Modeling of Growth Hormone Secretagogues Agonist Activity of some Tetrahydroisoquinoline 1‐Carboxamides
Authors: Caballero Julio , Zampini Fabio M. , Collina Simona , Fernández Michael
Published: February 2007

Growth hormone secretagogue agonist activities for a data set of 45 tetrahydroisoquinoline 1‐carboxamides were modeled using several kinds of molecular descriptors from dragon software. A linear model with six variables selected from a large pool of two‐dimensional descriptors described 80% of cross‐validation data variance. Similar results were found for a model obtained from a pool of three‐dimensional descriptors. Size and hydrophilicity‐related atomic properties such as mass, polarizability, and van der Waals volume were determined to be the most relevant for the differential growth hormone secretagogue agonist activities of the compounds studied. In addition, Artificial Neural Networks were trained using optimum variables from the linear models; however, they were found to overfit the data and resulted in similar or lower predictive power.
Morning Blood Pressure Surge as a Destabilizing Factor of Atherosclerotic Plaque
Authors: Marfella Raffaele , Siniscalchi Mario , Portoghese Michele , Di Filippo Clara , Ferraraccio Franca , Schiattarella Concetta , Crescenzi Basilio , Sangiuolo Paolo , Ferraro Giuseppe , Siciliano Silvio , Cinone Francesca , Mazzarella Gennaro , Martis Simone , Verza Mario , Coppola Ludovico , Rossi Francesco , D’Amico Michele , Paolisso Giuseppe
Published: February 2007

Whether morning blood pressure surge influences the molecular mechanisms of plaque progression toward instability is not known. Recently, we have demonstrated enhanced activity of the ubiquitin–proteasome system in human plaques and evidenced that it is associated with inflammatory-induced plaque rupture. We evaluated the inflammatory infiltration and ubiquitin–proteasome activity in asymptomatic carotid plaques of hypertensive patients with different patterns of morning blood pressure surge. Plaques were obtained from 32 hypertensive patients without morning blood pressure surge and 28 with morning blood pressure surge enlisted to undergo carotid endarterectomy for extracranial high-grade (>70%) internal carotid artery stenosis. Plaques were analyzed for macrophages, T-lymphocytes, human leukocyte antigen–DR+cells, ubiquitin–proteasome activity, nuclear factor-κB, inhibitor kB-β, tumor necrosis factor-α, nitrotyrosine, matrix metalloproteinase-9, and collagen content (immunohistochemistry and ELISA). Compared with plaques obtained from hypertensive patients without morning blood pressure surge, plaques from with morning blood pressure surge had more macrophages, T-lymphocytes, human leukocyte antigen–DR+cells (
P
<0.001), ubiquitin-proteasome activity, tumor necrosis factor-α, nuclear factor-kB (
P
<0.001), nitrotyrosine, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (
P
<0.01), along with a lesser collagen content and IkB-β levels (
P
<0.001). Enhanced ubiquitin–proteasome activity in atherosclerotic lesions of patients with morning blood pressure surge is associated with inflammatory-dependent unstable plaque phenotype. These data suggest a potential interplay between morning blood pressure surge and ubiquitin–proteasome activity in atherosclerosis pathophysiology.
Effect of Spironolactone on Blood Pressure in Subjects With Resistant Hypertension
Authors: Chapman Neil , Dobson Joanna , Wilson Sarah , Dahlöf Björn , Sever Peter S. , Wedel Hans , Poulter Neil R.
Published: February 2007

Spironolactone is recommended as fourth-line therapy for essential hypertension despite few supporting data for this indication. We evaluated the effect among 1411 participants in the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial-Blood Pressure Lowering Arm who received spironolactone mainly as a fourth-line antihypertensive agent for uncontrolled blood pressure and who had valid BP measurements before and during spironolactone treatment. Among those who received spironolactone, the mean age was 63 years (SD: ±8 years), 77% were men, and 40% had diabetes. Spironolactone was initiated a median of 3.2 years (interquartile range: 2.0 to 4.4 years) after randomization and added to a mean of 2.9 (SD: ±0.9) other antihypertensive drugs. The median duration of spironolactone treatment was 1.3 years (interquartile range: 0.6 to 2.6 years). The median dose of spironolactone was 25 mg (interquartile range: 25 to 50 mg) at both the start and end of the observation period. During spironolactone therapy, mean blood pressure fell from 156.9/85.3 mm Hg (SD: ±18.0/11.5 mm Hg) by 21.9/9.5 mm Hg (95% CI: 20.8 to 23.0/9.0 to 10.1 mm Hg;
P
<0.001); the BP reduction was largely unaffected by age, sex, smoking, and diabetic status. Spironolactone was generally well tolerated; 6% of participants discontinued the drug because of adverse effects. The most frequent adverse events were gynecomastia or breast discomfort and biochemical abnormalities (principally hyperkaliemia), which were recorded as adverse events in 6% and 2% of participants, respectively. In conclusion, spironolactone effectively lowers blood pressure in patients with hypertension uncontrolled by a mean of ≈3 other drugs. Although nonrandomized and not placebo controlled, these data support the use of spironolactone in uncontrolled hypertension.
Renal Sympathetic Neuroeffector Function in Renovascular and Angiotensin II–Dependent Hypertension in Rabbits
Authors: Burke Sandra L. , Head Geoffrey A. , Lambert Gavin W. , Evans Roger G.
Published: February 2007

We tested the hypotheses that the gains of specific renal sympathetic neuroeffector mechanisms are altered in secondary hypertension and that the nature of these alterations depends on the precise experimental setting of the kidney. Rabbits were sham operated, or made comparably hypertensive (mean arterial pressure increased 17% to 24%) by clipping the left or right renal artery or by chronic infusion of angiotensin II (20 to 50 ng kg
−1
min
−1
SC). Four to 6 weeks later, under pentobarbital anesthesia, the left renal nerves were sectioned and electrically stimulated at low (0 to 2 Hz) and high (4 to 8 Hz) frequencies. Neurally evoked reductions in total renal blood flow, cortical perfusion, urine flow, and sodium excretion and increases in renal norepinephrine spillover were not significantly greater in kidneys of hypertensive rabbits than normotensive controls. Neurally evoked increases in renal renin release and the slope of the relationship between renin release and norepinephrine spillover were less in kidneys of hypertensive rabbits than normotensive controls. Low-frequency renal nerve stimulation reduced medullary perfusion, which was negatively correlated with renal norepinephrine spillover in kidneys from all 3 groups of hypertensive rabbits but not normotensive controls. Two-hertz stimulation reduced medullary perfusion by 19% in hypertensive rabbits but not in normotensive rabbits. Thus, of all of the renal sympathetic neuroeffector mechanisms studied, only neural control of medullary perfusion was enhanced in these models of secondary hypertension. This effect appears to be mediated postjunctionally, not through enhanced neural norepinephrine release, and may contribute to the development and/or maintenance of hypertension in these models.
From Miser to Spendthrift
Authors: Harris Richard
Published: February 2007

There is a stereotype that European powers did little to improve the housing of those they colonized. The late colonial experience of Barbados probes and challenges this view. In a poor and isolated colony dominated by conservative white planters, a miserly colonial administration had for decades done little or nothing to improve housing. Faced with local unrest and international pressure from the United States, however, and enabled by Colonial Development funds as well as a levy on sugar exports to Britain, it developed a range of government (public) housing programs in the 1940s. By 1960, the colony had directly improved housing for about 30 percent of the island's population. Its building program was efficiently run, but influenced by a rising group of nationalist politicians, its financial viability was undermined by a lax approach to rent collection. The policy shift from miser to spendthrift reflects the growing vulnerability of colonial rule.
Public Expectations of Gene Therapy
Authors: Horst Maja
Published: February 2007

The article combines a criticism of public understanding of science (PUS) with the sociology of expectations to examine how particular expectations toward scientific progress have performative effects for the construction of publics as citizens of science. By analyzing a particular controversy about gene therapy in Denmark, the article demonstrates how different sets of expectations can be used to discriminate among three different assemblages: the assemblage of consumption, the assemblage of comportment, and the assemblage of heroic action. Each of these assemblages makes medical science, scientific citizenship, politics, patients, doctors, and expectations toward the future emerge in particular ways. By their radically different expectations toward science and their different constructions of what it means to be a scientific citizen, the assemblages construct the objectives of the governance of science in three very different ways.
Expectations and the Emergence of Nanotechnology
Authors: Selin Cynthia
Published: February 2007

Although nanotechnology is often defined as operations on the 10-9 meters, the lack of charisma in the scale-bound definitions has been fortified by remarkable dreams and alluring promises that spark excitement for nanotechnology. The story of the rhetorical development of nanotechnology reveals how speculative claims are powerful constructions that create legitimacy in this emerging technological domain. From its inception, nanotechnology has been more of a dream than reality, more fiction than fact. In recent years, however, the term nanotechnology has been actively drawn toward the present to begin to deliver on the fantastic expectations. This debate over time and timing is loaded with paradox. This work examines how future claims work to define what counts as nanotechnology and reveals dilemmas that accompany temporal disjunctures. Science and politics converge in debates about the future of technology as expectations serve to create and enforce power and legitimacy in the emerging area.
Impact of Increased Access and Price on Household Water Use in Urban Bolivia
Authors: Israel Debra K.
Published: February 2007

Using the 1994 Bolivian Integrated Household Survey, this study analyzes the equity implications of urban water sector reform including both increased water prices and increased access to piped water. Household water expenditures are examined by income decile, and low-income households are found to spend a higher percentage of income on water than high-income households. However, households purchasing from private water vendors could benefit from obtaining piped water, because regression analysis shows that on average, these households spend more on water than those with piped water inside their buildings or yards. This differential was the greatest in the city of Cochabamba, which also had the largest percentage of households purchasing from private water vendors. To understand the equity impact of water reform, the effects on both prereform users of piped water and those without access to piped water must be considered.
Collective Action, City Council Committees, and State Aid to Cities
Authors: Johnson Bertram
Published: February 2007

Studies of city council committee structures offer the potential to shed light both on the dynamics of local politics and on broader theories of legislative organization. Pelissero and Krebs (1997) find that larger councils are more likely to have committee structures and that committees have limited influence on policy outputs, contrary to what distributive models of legislative organization would predict. The author replicates Pelissero and Krebs’s finding on council size but suggests a different interpretation of these results, focusing not on theories of distributive politics but on the collective action dynamics within city councils. Instead of being havens for high-demanding legislators, city council committees are tools with which a council as a whole can more effectively provide collective goods to its city. Finally, the author presents a simple test of whether councils with committees are better able to provide public goods, using state aid as the dependent variable.
Racial Identity Change Among White Graduate Students
Authors: Dass-Brailsford Priscilla
Published: February 2007

This qualitative research study explored racial identity change among a group of White graduate students who took a multicultural course required for a master’s degree in counseling and psychology. Using weekly journal entries and reflection papers as data, the researcher tracked each student’s racial identity development from the beginning to the end of the course. The results showed that students developed more nonracist identities toward the end of the course. Their racial identities followed the trajectory described by Helms (1994) in her White Racial Identity (WRID) model. This study provides evidence that thoughtful classroom instruction can help students unlearn racial attitudes and replace them with more culturally inclusive beliefs.
Duration of Parkinson Disease Is Associated With an Increased Propensity for “Reinvestment”
Authors: Masters R. S. W. , Pall H. S. , MacMahon K. M. A. , Eves F. F.
Published: February 2007

Background. As a consequence of difficulties in movement initiation and execution, people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are typically encouraged to consciously monitor and control the mechanics of their actions. This is described as ‘reinvestment’ and has been shown to help mediate effective motor output. Paradoxically, in situations where people with PD are particularly motivated to move effectively, reinvestment may exacerbate existing movement deficits.

Objective. To examine the propensity for reinvestment in a sample of people with PD.

Methods. A volunteer sample of 55 people with PD was asked to complete a previously validated measure, the Reinvestment Scale. A sub-sample (and age matched controls) was asked to complete a recently developed, movement specific, version of the Scale. Data was collected on Mini Mental State Examination and the Hoehn & Yahr Scale. Participant demographics, including age of onset and duration of disease, were also collated.

Results. Multiple regression analyses showed that duration of disease was associated with reinvestment score on both the Reinvestment Scale and the Movement Specific Reinvestment Scale.

Conclusions. Participants appeared to become more aware of the mechanics of their actions over time. Possible explanations for this finding are discussed with reference to rehabilitation.
Training-Induced Brain Remapping in Chronic Aphasia: A Pilot Study
Authors: Vitali Paolo , Abutalebi Jubin , Tettamanti Marco , Danna Massimo , Ansaldo Ana-Inés , Perani Daniela , Joanette Yves , Cappa Stefano F.
Published: February 2007

Background. The neural correlates of training-induced improvements of cognitive functions after brain damage remain still scarcely understood. In the specific case of aphasia, although several investigations have addressed the issue of the neural substrates of functional recovery, only a few studies have attempted to assess the impact of language training on the damaged brain.

Aims. The main goal of this study was to examine the neurobiological correlates of improved picture-naming performance in 2 aphasic patients who received intensive and specific training for a chronic and severe phonological anomia.

Methods. In both participants, picture-naming performance was assessed before and after phonological cueing training. Training-induced changes in patients’ performance were correlated to brain activity patterns as revealed by pre- and post-training event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning.

Results. Training-induced improvement was observed concurrently with changes in the brain activation patterns. Better performance was observed in the patient with the smaller lesion, partially sparing Broca’s area, who showed a left perilesional reactivation. Conversely, the patient with complete destruction of Broca’s area showed a posttraining activation in the right mirror frontal region.

Conclusions. The results show that, even in the chronic stage, phonological strategies may improve impaired naming and induce cerebral reorganization.
Baculovirus-mediated gene transfer and recombinant protein expression do not interfere with insulin dependent phosphorylation of PKB/Akt in human SHSY-5Y and C3A cells
Authors: Andersson Monica , Warolén Malin , Nilsson Joakim , Selander Martin , Sterky Catharina , Bergdahl Katrin , Sörving Christina , James Stephen R , Doverskog Magnus
Published: February 2007

Background

Recombinant adenovirus vectors and transfection agents comprising cationic lipids are widely used as gene delivery vehicles for functional expression in cultured cells. Consequently, these tools are utilized to investigate the effects of functional over-expression of proteins on insulin mediated events. However, we have previously reported that cationic lipid reagents cause a state of insulin unresponsiveness in cell cultures. In addition, we have found that cultured cells often do not respond to insulin stimulation following adenovirus treatment. Infection with adenovirus compromises vital functions of the host cell leading to the activation of protein kinases central to insulin signalling, such as protein kinase B/Akt. Therefore, we investigated the effect of adenovirus infection on insulin unresponsiveness by means of Akt activation in cultured cells. Moreover, we investigated the use of baculovirus as a heterologous viral gene delivery vehicle to circumvent these phenomena. Since the finding that baculovirus can efficiently transduce mammalian cells, the applications of this viral system in gene delivery has greatly expanded and one advantage is the virtual absence of cytotoxicity in mammalian cells.

Results

We show that infection of human neuroblastoma SHSY-5Y and liver C3A cells with recombinant adenovirus results in the activation of Akt in a dose dependent manner. In addition, this activation makes treated cells unresponsive to insulin stimulation as determined by an apparent lack of differential phosphorylation of Akt on serine-473. Our data further indicate that the use of recombinant baculovirus does not increase the phosphorylation of Akt in SHSY-5Y and C3A cells. Moreover, following infection with baculovirus, SHSY-5Y and C3A cells respond to insulin by means of phosphorylation of Akt on serine-473 in the same manner as uninfected cells.

Conclusion

Widely-used adenovirus vectors for gene delivery cause a state of insulin unresponsiveness in human SHSY-5Y and C3A cells in culture due to the activation of central protein kinases of the insulin signalling pathway. This phenomenon can be avoided when studying insulin signalling by using recombinant baculovirus as a heterologous viral expression system. In addition, our data may contribute to an understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying baculovirus infection of human cells.
Sampling genetic diversity in the sympatrically and allopatrically speciating Midas cichlid species complex over a 16 year time series
Authors: Bunje Paul ME , Barluenga Marta , Meyer Axel
Published: February 2007

Background

Speciation often occurs in complex or uncertain temporal and spatial contexts. Processes such as reinforcement, allopatric divergence, and assortative mating can proceed at different rates and with different strengths as populations diverge. The Central American Midas cichlid fish species complex is an important case study for understanding the processes of speciation. Previous analyses have demonstrated that allopatric processes led to species formation among the lakes of Nicaragua as well as sympatric speciation that is occurring within at least one crater lake. However, since speciation is an ongoing process and sampling genetic diversity of such lineages can be biased by collection scheme or random factors, it is important to evaluate the robustness of conclusions drawn on individual time samples.

Results

In order to assess the validity and reliability of inferences based on different genetic samples, we have analyzed fish from several lakes in Nicaragua sampled at three different times over 16 years. In addition, this time series allows us to analyze the population genetic changes that have occurred between lakes, where allopatric speciation has operated, as well as between different species within lakes, some of which have originated by sympatric speciation. Focusing on commonly used genetic markers, we have analyzed both DNA sequences from the complete mitochondrial control region as well as nuclear DNA variation at ten microsatellite loci from these populations, sampled thrice in a 16 year time period, to develop a robust estimate of the population genetic history of these diversifying lineages.

Conclusion

The conclusions from previous work are well supported by our comprehensive analysis. In particular, we find that the genetic diversity of derived crater lake populations is lower than that of the source population regardless of when and how each population was sampled. Furthermore, changes in various estimates of genetic diversity within lakes are minimal and provide no evidence for drastic changes during the last 20 years, supporting the hypothesis that the processes which have resulted in rapid speciation are primarily historical. In contrast, there is some evidence for ongoing evolution, particularly selection, in all lakes except crater Lake Masaya, perhaps reflecting the persistence of speciational processes. Importantly, we find that the crater Lake Apoyo population, for which strong evidence of sympatric speciation has been demonstrated, has lower genetic diversity than other crater lakes and the strongest evidence for ongoing selection.
Plasma levels of leptin, omentin, collagenous repeat-containing sequence of 26-kDa protein (CORS-26) and adiponectin before and after oral glucose uptake in slim adults
Authors: Wurm Sylvia , Neumeier Markus , Weigert Johanna , Schäffler Andreas , Buechler Christa
Published: February 2007

Background

Adipose tissue secreted proteins are collectively named adipocytokines and include leptin, adiponectin, resistin, collagenous repeat-containing sequence of 26-kDa protein (CORS-26) and omentin. Several of these adipocytokines influence insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism and therefore systemic levels may be affected by oral glucose uptake. Whereas contradictory results have been published for leptin and adiponectin, resistin has not been extensively investigated and no reports on omentin and CORS-26 do exist.

Methods

Therefore the plasma levels of these proteins before and 120 min after an oral glucose load were analyzed in 20 highly-insulin sensitive, young adults by ELISA or immunoblot.

Results

Circulating leptin was reduced 2 h after glucose uptake whereas adiponectin and resistin levels are not changed. Distribution of adiponectin and CORS-26 isoforms were similar before and after glucose ingestion. Omentin is highly abundant in plasma and immunoblot analysis revealed no alterations when plasma levels before and 2 h after glucose intake were compared.

Conclusion

Taken together our data indicate that only leptin is reduced by glucose uptake in insulin-sensitive probands whereas adiponectin and resistin are not altered. CORS-26 was demonstrated for the first time to circulate as high molecular weight form in plasma and like omentin was not influenced by oral glucose load. Omentin was shown to enhance insulin-stimulated glucose uptake but systemic levels are not correlated to postprandial blood glucose.
Aberrant nuclear localization of β-catenin without genetic alterations in β-catenin or Axin genes in esophageal cancer
Authors: Kudo Junzo , Nishiwaki Tadashi , Haruki Nobuhiro , Ishiguro Hideyuki , Shibata Yasuyuki , Terashita Yukio , Sugiura Hironori , Shinoda Noriyuki , Kimura Masahiro , Kuwabara Yoshiyuki , Fujii Yoshitaka
Published: February 2007

Background

β-catenin is a multifunctional protein involved in two apparently independent processes: cell-cell adhesion and signal transduction. β-catenin is involved in Wnt signaling pathway that regulates cellular differentiation and proliferation. In this study, we investigated the expression pattern of β-catenin and cyclin D1 using immunohistochemistry and searched for mutations in exon 3 of the β-catenin gene and Axin gene in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Materials and methods

Samples were obtained from 50 esophageal cancer patients. Immunohistochemical staining for β-catenin and cyclin D1 was done. Mutational analyses of the exon3 of the β-catenin gene and Axin gene were performed on tumors with nuclear β-catenin expression.

Results

Four (8%) esophageal cancer tissues showed high nuclear β-catenin staining. Overexpression of cyclin D1 was observed in 27 out of 50 (54%) patients. All four cases that showed nuclear β-catenin staining overexpressed cyclin D1. No relationship was observed between the expression pattern of β-catenin and cyclin D1 and age, sex, tumor size, stage, differentiation grade, lymph node metastasis, response to chemotherapy, or survival. No mutational change was found in β-cateninexon 3 in the four cases with nuclear β-catenin staining. Sequencing analysis of theAxincDNA revealed only a splicing variant (108 bp deletion, position 2302–2409) which was present in the paired normal mucosa.

Conclusion

A fraction of esophageal squamous cell carcinomas have abnormal nuclear accumulation of β-catenin accompanied with increased cyclin D1 expression. Mutations in β-catenin or axin genes are not responsible for this abnormal localization of β-catenin.
The influence of psychological factors on the outcomes of laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication
Authors: Biertho Laurent , Sanjeev Dutta , Sebajang Herawati , Antony Marty , Anvari Mehran
Published: February 2007

Background

Psychological factors play a role in a variety of gastrointestinal illness, including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Their impact on the surgical outcomes of antireflux surgery is unknown.

Methods

This is a single institution prospective controlled trial, comparing patients undergoing a laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication for GERD (LNF Group, n = 17) to patients undergoing an elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy for biliary colic (Control Group, n = 10). All patients had a psychological assessment before surgery, at 3 months and 6 months after surgery (i.e. Symptom CheckList-90-R somatization subset (SCL-90-R), Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, Anxiety sensitivity index, Illness attitude scale and Beck Depression Inventory II). GERD symptoms were recorded in the LNF Group using a standardized questionnaire (score 0–60). Patients with post-operative GERD symptoms score above 12 at 6 months were evaluated specifically. Statistical analysis was performed using a Student T test, and statistical significance was set at 0.05.

Results

There was no significant difference in preoperative and postoperative psychological assessment between the two groups. In the LNF Group, 7 patients had persisting GERD symptoms at 6 months (GERD score greater than 12). The preoperative SCL-90-R score was also significantly higher in this subgroup, when compared to the rest of the LNF Group (18.2 versus 8.3, p < 0.05) and to the Control Group (18.2 versus 7.9, p < 0.05). There was no significant difference for the other psychological tests.

Conclusion

The SCL-90-R Somatization Subset, reflecting the level of somatization in a patient, may be useful to predict poor outcomes after antireflux surgery. Cognisance of psychological disorders could improve the selection of an optimal treatment for GERD and help reduce the rate of ongoing symptoms after LNF.
Path to Bio‐Nano‐Information Fusion
Authors: CHEN JIA MING , HO CHIH‐MING
Published: February 2007

Abstract: This article will discuss the challenges in a new convergent discipline created by the fusion of biotechnology, nanotechnology, and information technology. To illustrate the research challenges, we will begin with an introduction to the nanometer‐scale environment in which biology resides, and point out the many important behaviors of matters at that scale. Then we will describe an ideal model system, the cell, for bio‐nano‐information fusion. Our efforts in advancing this field at the Institute of Cell Mimetic Space Exploration (CMISE) will be introduced here as an example to move toward achieving this goal.
The Problem of Patent Thickets in Convergent Technologies
Authors: CLARKSON GAVIN , DeKORTE DAVID
Published: February 2007

Abstract:  Patent thickets are unintentionally dense webs of overlapping intellectual property rights owned by different companies that can retard progress. This article begins with a review of existing research on patent thickets, focusing in particular on the problem of patent thickets in nanotechnology, or nanothickets. After presenting visual evidence of the presence of nanothickets using a network analytic technique, it discusses potential organizational responses to patent thickets. It then reviews the existing research on patent pools and discusses pool formation in the shadow of antitrust enforcement. Based on recent research on patent pool formation, it examines the divergent fate of two recent pools and discusses the prospects for the future formation of nanotechnology patent pools, or nanopools.
Rethinking Enhancement in Sport
Authors: MIAH ANDY
Published: February 2007

Abstract:  This article explores the arguments surrounding the use of human enhancement technologies in sport, arguing for a reconceptualization of the doping debate. First, it develops an overview and critique of the legislative structures on enhancement. Subsequently, a conceptual framework for understanding the role of technological effects in sport is advanced. Finally, two case studies (hypoxic chambers and gene transfer) receive specific attention, through which it is argued that human enhancement technologies can enrich the practice of elite sports rather than diminish them. In conclusion, it is argued that elite sports are at a pivotal moment in their history as an increasing range of enhancements makes less relevant the protection of the natural human through anti‐doping.
Regulation
Authors: ZIEGLER ALAN S.
Published: February 2007

Abstract:  This article discusses two competing principles underlying efforts to regulate technological developments converging at the nanoscale that are intended to promote human health: the internalization of social cost by use of economic cost–benefit analysis and the precautionary principle by implementation of preventative safety standards. Overemphasis of the former may lead to potential unacceptable political and ethical effects while narrow focus on the latter may lead to potential retardation of innovation by deterring private risk capital investment. Suggestions are made for reconciling these principles through legislative initiatives.
Towards Dimensionalizing Warranty Information: The Role of Consumer Costs of Warranty Redemption
Authors: Jain Shailendra Pratap , Slotegraaf Rebecca J. , Lindsey Charles D.
Published: February 2007

Firms routinely offer warranties, often as attempts to differentiate their offerings from those of competitors. Despite this practice common to virtually every consumer durable category, extant research has been inconclusive regarding the effect of warranties on quality judgments. One potential limitation of these prior investigations is the failure to model a key element of a product warranty—consumer‐side transaction costs associated with warranty redemption. In this article, we introduce the role of consumer‐side transaction costs associated with warranty redemption and examine the joint impact of warranty length and warranty redemption costs for brand names of varying strength on consumers’ judgments of product quality. Two experiments show that warranty length signals security but not quality, and that perceived quality increases as consumers’ warranty redemption costs decrease, provided that the warranty length is short. Different dimensions or aspects of warranties have different effects on perceived quality. The implications of the results for understanding conflicting findings in the warranty‐quality literature are discussed.
A Theory of Regret Regulation 1.0
Authors: Zeelenberg Marcel , Pieters Rik
Published: February 2007

We propose a theory of regret regulation that distinguishes regret from related emotions, specifies the conditions under which regret is felt, the aspects of the decision that are regretted, and the behavioral implications. The theory incorporates hitherto scattered findings and ideas from psychology, economics, marketing, and related disciplines. By identifying strategies that consumers may employ to regulate anticipated and experienced regret, the theory identifies gaps in our current knowledge and thereby outlines opportunities for future research.
The SMAART Scale: A Measure of Individuals’ Automatic Access to Secondary Meanings in Polysemous Statements
Authors: Dimofte Claudiu V. , Yalch Richard F.
Published: February 2007

Psycholinguistic and neuropsychological research shows that individuals differ in their ability to access the multiple meanings implied by polysemous expressions. Drawing on these studies, a novel, computer‐based measure of automatic access to secondary meaning (SMAART) is developed to distinguish individuals more likely to access only a single, immediately available meaning from those accessing multiple meanings. The new measure is found to be reliable and distinct from several established measures assessing higher level verbal abilities such as the verbal SAT. Several experimental studies demonstrate the scale's usefulness for predicting who is most susceptible to the priming effects of the secondary meanings contained in the polysemous headlines in consumer‐oriented communications.
Legacies of the Rue Morgue: Street Names and Private-Public Violence in Modern French Crime Fiction
Authors: Goulet Andrea
Published: February 2007

Andrea Goulet is associate professor in the Department of French and in the Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is author of Optiques: The Science of the Eye and the Birth of Modern French Fiction (2006) and coeditor of a special issue of Yale French Studies, “Crime Fictions” (2005).
Health, Health Care, and Incompletely Theorized Agreements: A Normative Theory of Health Policy Decision Making
Authors: Ruger Jennifer Prah
Published: February 2007

The years 2003-2004 marked the tenth anniversary of the rapid rise and demise of the Clinton administration's health reform efforts. Health reform may again be a political issue in the 2008 congressional and presidential elections. However, analysts still disagree over why large-scale health reform efforts continue to fail in the American political landscape. This article presents a normative theory for analyzing federal health policy decision making in the United States. This theory states that values and norms, particularly their level of generality, and the social agreement or lack thereof around them have a central role in understanding health policy reform. This theory does not attempt to arrive at a single unified framework for explaining health policy reform, and it recognizes the complementary roles of political science and economic explanations. Nonetheless, it argues that unarticulated values and norms have a critical role to play in health-policy making and reform; this role has been inadequately studied and has lacked a theoretical framework. Within this perspective, this article argues that policy goals, which require individuals to make financial commitments (e.g., tax contributions) in the form of redistributing resources for implementation (e.g., universal health insurance), should be analyzed within a normative framework that evaluates individuals' ethical commitments to making such sacrifices that are beyond their self-interest. The distribution of pub-lic moral norms, their degree of internalization, and the social consensus, or lack thereof, that applies to them must be objects of study in the effort to better understand health policy reform. By emphasizing these factors, this approach offers findings distinct from those provided by existing analyses, and the article concludes with prescriptions for future health reform efforts.
An Automatic Bacteriological Test Bed
Authors: Barclay G. A. , Bowers S. C. , Sacre C. R.
Published: February 2007

This is a description of progress on an automatic machine for routine bacteriology now being developed under the auspices of the National Research Development Corporation at the Hatfield Polytechnic. Although the work reported here is in no sense complete, it has already been possible to link components from existing miniaturized techniques into a mechanical process and to build a small computer-controller which will play a central role in the developing system.
Care of Medical Instrumentation
Authors: Shaw A , Monk I B
Published: February 2007

Bio-engineering means much more than academic research—there is now a great deal of complex medical instrumentation in hospitals yet little consideration has been given to its care. This article discusses from practical experience the requirements of a good maintenance service
A Conservative Approach to Knee Joint Replacement
Authors: Cavendish M E , Wright J T M
Published: February 2007

A knee joint system is described which consists of a bicondylar prosthesis and a set of stereotactic instruments. The prosthesis has been developed from Gunston's concept, and the special instruments ensure its accurate insertion through a pair of short meniscectomy type incisions placed either side of the patella. Particular features of the prosthesis are near normal articulation, and the simple operative procedure involved.

Forty knee replacements were implanted in thirty-two patients during the period October 1972 to March 1975. Postoperatively twenty-seven knees were pain free, and nine others produced only slight pain. Full extension was obtained in thirty-four knees, and zero valgus/varus deformity in thirty-seven. Collateral laxity was absent in thirty-four knees. There were three ultimate failures (8 per cent). Nineteen knees were assessed as excellent (48 per cent), and sixteen as good (40 per cent), and two only fair (5 per cent). These early results are most encouraging.
A Review of Apparatus for Investigating the Mechanical Properties of Soft Animal Tissue in Vitro
Authors: Stevens J C , Jones N B
Published: February 2007

This paper contains a review of the systems developed for testing skeletal muscle in vitro and it demonstrates how many of the design features and performance figures obtained are similar even though a range of engineering techniques have been used. The main topic considered is the uniaxial testing of skeletal muscle but it is also shown, by example, that similar ideas have been incorporated into machines for the uniaxial and multi-axial testing of other soft tissues.
The Design and Evaluation of a Burn Wound Covering
Authors: Park G. B. , Courtney J. M. , McNair A. , Gaylor J. D. S.
Published: February 2007

A burn wound covering based on an acrylonitrile-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate copolymer membrane is described. The requirements for a burn wound covering are discussed and a particular requirement, that of adequate water vapour permeability, is considered in detail. The effects on membrane water vapour permeability of contacting the membrane with ethylene oxide gas and of incorporating plasticizers are reported.
Locomotion of the Hip Disarticulation Amputee
Authors: Solomonidis S. E. , Berme N.
Published: February 2007

The Canadian type hip disarticulation prosthesis has been a significant improvement over the 'tilting table' design. In spite of its general use very little information on the patient/prosthesis performance exists. This paper describes an investigation carried out on three male patients. External load actions on the prosthetic and contralateral sides were measured simultaneously and synchronously with the configuration of the limb segments during level walking. Loading patterns at the ankle, knee and hip levels are presented and their significance discussed.
A Study of the Role of Synovial Fluid and its Constituents in the Friction and Lubrication of Human Hip Joints
Authors: O'Kelly J. , Unsworth A. , Dowson D. , Hall D. A. , Wright V.
Published: February 2007

Human hip joints have been studied in a pendulum apparatus and a joint simulator to determine the lubrication mechanisms active in normal physiological activities. Various lubricants have been used to lubricate the hip joints including bovine and human synovial fluid, synovial fluid which has been digested with hyaluronidase or trypsin, silicone fluids of different viscosities, as well as synovial fluid and Ringer's solution which have had their viscosities increased by the addition of hyaluronic acid.

The results indicate that under continuous dynamic loading, fluid film lubrication seems to prevail while under static loading, mixed lubrication exists. Increasing the viscosity of the lubricant from very low values (i.e. from 10-3 Pa.s) leads to a reduction in friction, indicating mixed lubrication, until a value of about 0.050 Pa.s was achieved. Further increases seemed to indicate that fluid film lubrication was then present.
A Multi-Specimen Rotating Bending Fatigue Machine
Authors: Smith C. J. E. , Hughes A. N.
Published: February 2007

The development of a multi-specimen slow cycle corrosion fatigue machine is described and discussed. This equipment allows up to eight specimens to be tested simultaneously in rotating bending at frequencies in the range 1–9 Hz. Each specimen may be immersed in its own environment and potentiostatically controlled. Circuits are described which allow the corrosion current and potential of each specimen to be monitored throughout testing.
A New in Vitro Method for the Measurement of Mechanical Strength of Abdominal Wounds in Laboratory Animals
Authors: van Noort R. , Black M. M. , Greaney M. G. , Irvin T.
Published: February 2007

A new method for the measurement of abdominal wound strength in laboratory animals (rats) is described in detail. Preliminary experiments have been carried out and the results reported. These show the suitability of a diaphragm testing technique for measurement of wound strength in that it provides a more meaningful profile of the repair processes in abdominal wounds and makes possible the quantitative measurement of wound healing.
Influence of Cyclic Loading on Mechanical Loosening of Hinged Knee Prostheses
Authors: van Campen D. H. , Croon H. W. , Lindwer J.
Published: February 2007

A combined theoretical and experimental investigation is reported with respect to the influence of mechanical loading on loosening at the cement bone interface of knee prostheses with intermedullary stems. The in vitro experiments have been performed under cyclic loading conditions with the tibial part of a Shiers knee prosthesis implanted in fresh cadaver tibiae.

The experimental results indicate an unfavourable effect of peak loading (as occurring in walking up stairs) on loosening as compared with loading due to normal walking conditions.
The Mechanical Stiffness of Articular Cartilage in Confined Oscillating Compression
Authors: Higginson G R , Snaith J E
Published: February 2007

The paper describes an experimental investigation of the mechanical stiffness of bovine and human articular cartilage in a compression test which allows strain and fluid flow only in the direction of loading. The creep behaviour is in accord with earlier reports in the literature, but the dynamic response to oscillating loading is almost linear/elastic, and can be described by an elastic modulus which is much higher than most of the previously reported values.
Design and Evaluation of a Low Cost Columnar Flow Ventilation Scheme in an Operating Theatre
Authors: Minns R J , Flynn M , Ljunggren A H , Agnewr J C
Published: February 2007

A plenum chamber type ventilating system which produces a column of clean filtered air in an orthopaedic operating theatre has been designed using conventional air conditioning equipment. Its performance has been evaluated by carrying out smoke studies, and air velocity studies, and its cleanliness evaluated by bacteriological sampling. Two hundred and fifty operations involving implants have been conducted since this system has been installed, and the infection has been zero. This paper reports on the performance of this low cost ventilating system.
Bio-Engineering at PCL
Authors: Hutton W C
Published: February 2007

The Polytechnic of Central London is situated within close proximity of some of the best research hospitals in the country. It was about ten years ago that the clinician became more aware of the contribution that the engineer could make in medicine and it was at that time that the multi-disciplinary Bio-engineering Research Group was formed at the PCL.

The Group works within the School of Engineering and Science and is funded by the Polytechnic and the following grant awarding bodies: MRC, SRC, EEC and the National Fund for Research into Crippling Diseases. The staff consists at present of two members of the teaching staff, two research fellows, three research assistants and two research students.
Experience Gained in Attempting to Increase the Independence of a Congenital Spastic Quadraplegic
Authors: Paton J S , Thompson W
Published: February 2007

The development and construction is described, of three devices intended to increase the independence of a congenital spastic quadraplegic patient. The problems and solutions found during the work are discussed and conclusions are drawn concerning the practicability of building equipment for the disabled.