bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
LTBP‐1 blockade in dioxin receptor‐null mouse embryo fibroblasts decreases TGF‐β activity: Role of extracellular proteases plasmin and elastase
Authors: Gomez‐Duran Aurea , Mulero‐Navarro Sonia , Chang Xiaoqing , Fernandez‐Salguero Pedro M.
Published: September 2005

In mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) lacking dioxin receptor (AhR), high levels of latent transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β)‐binding protein‐1 (LTBP‐1) correlated with increased TGF‐β1 activity, an observation suggesting that LTBP‐1 could contribute to maintain TGF‐β1 levels. Here, using small interfering RNAs (siRNA), we have first analyzed if LTBP‐1 expression affected TGF‐β1 activity in MEF cells. We have then determined how LTBP‐1 levels could alter the activity of extracellular proteases known to activate TGF‐β1, and finally, whether protease inhibition could reduce TGF‐β1 activation. LTBP‐1 inhibition by siRNA in AhR−/− MEF decreased the amount of active TGF‐β1 and reduced plasminogen activators (PA)/plasmin and elastase activities and thrombospondin‐1 (TSP‐1) expression, without significantly affecting their mRNA levels. On the contrary, LTBP‐1 siRNA restored matrix metalloproteinase‐2 (MMP‐2) activity in AhR−/− MEF. Interestingly, whereas a TGF‐β1 neutralizing antibody mimicked many of the LTBP‐1 siRNA effects on extracellular proteases, addition of recombinant TGF‐β1 protein increased proteases activity over basal levels in AhR−/− MEF. These proteases contributed to TGF‐β activation since their specific inhibitors reduced active TGF‐β levels in these cells. These results suggest that LTBP‐1 contributes to TGF‐β1 activation in MEF, possibly by influencing the activities of PA/plasmin, elastase, TSP‐1, and MMP‐2. TGF‐β1, on the other hand, could be also involved in maintaining the activity of these extracellular proteases. Thus, LTBP‐1 appears to play a role in TGF‐β1 activation through a process involving extracellular protease activities, which, in turn, could be affected by TGF‐β1 levels. J. Cell. Biochem. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
“New”‐clear functions of PDK1: Beyond a master kinase?
Authors: Kikani Chintan K. , Dong Lily Q. , Liu Feng
Published: September 2005

Activation of cytosolic phosphoinositide‐3 kinase (PI‐3K) signaling pathway has been well established to regulate gene expression, cell cycle, and survival by feeding signals to the nucleus. In addition, strong evidences accumulated over the past few years indicate the presence of an autonomous inositol lipid metabolism and PI‐3K signaling within the nucleus. Much less, however, is known about the role and regulation of this nuclear PI‐3K pathway. Components of the PI‐3K signaling pathway, including PI 3‐kinase and its downstream kinase Akt, have been identified at the nuclear level. Consistent with the presence of a complete PI‐3K signaling pathway in the nucleus, we have recently found that phosphoinositide‐dependent kinase 1 (PDK1), a kinase functioning downstream of PI‐3K and upstream of Akt, is a nucleo‐cytoplasmic shuttling protein. In the present review, we update our current knowledge on the regulatory mechanisms and the functional roles of PDK1 nuclear translocation. We also summarize some of the kinase‐independent activities of PDK1 in cell signaling. J. Cell. Biochem. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
MR‐guided percutaneous ethanol injection for hepatocellular carcinoma in a 0.2T open MR system
Authors: Kim Young Jun , Raman Steven S. , Yu Nam C. , Lu David S.K.
Published: September 2005

The purpose of this work is to describe our experience with single‐session percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) under the guidance of 0.2‐T open MRI for hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) that were not suitable for ablation under ultrasound (US) or computed tomography (CT) guidance. None of the lesions (N = 7) were detectable on US. MRI was chosen over CT as the guidance modality because the nodules were located in the hepatic dome (N = 4) or were invisible on noncontrast CT (N = 3). All of the nodules were targeted successfully, and apparently complete tumor necrosis was achieved in six nodules (86%). During a follow‐up of one to 41 months, only one patient developed local recurrence four months after PEI. MR‐guided PEI is feasible and effective for treating HCC when other imaging guidance methods are not appropriate. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Measurement of the abnormality degree in the biological
tissue by the laser induced fluorescence
Authors: Giorgadze G K , Jaliashvili Z V , Mardaleishvili K M , Medoidze T D , Melikishvili Z G
Published: September 2005

We have applied the Laser-Induced Fluorescence
technique to thyroid tissues. A close correlation between spectral
shapes and the degree of tissue abnormality have been found. In
some cases fluorescence spectrum is formed by linear superposition
of "healthy" and "pathological" basic spectral shapes. This
allows to ca determine unambiguously the state of the tissue by
means of any single spectral measurement.
Non-classical field characterization by high-frequency, time-domain
quantum homodyne tomography
Authors: Zavatta A , Viciani S , Bellini M
Published: September 2005

We report about the realization and the applications of
an efficient pulsed optical homodyne apparatus operating in the
time domain at the high repetition rates characteristic of
commonly used mode-locked lasers for the analysis of quantum light
states. We give a full characterization of our system by
shot-noise measurements and by verifying its capability to work in
a gated configuration at lower acquisition rates. We demonstrate
the potential of this high-frequency time-domain detector by
applying it to the reconstruction of the density matrix elements
and of the Wigner functions of various field states by means of
quantum tomography. Results are shown for the complete
characterization of simple coherent states with low average photon
number, of single-photon Fock states and of the so-called
single-photon added coherent states, which result from the
elementary excitation of a classical wave-like field. Wigner
functions with negative values are observed for the non-classical
states and an overall efficiency of about 60% is obtained for the
generation/detection system.
Geometric distortion correction of high‐resolution 3 T diffusion tensor brain images
Authors: Ardekani Siamak , Sinha Usha
Published: September 2005

Diffusion‐weighted images based on echo planar sequences suffer from distortions due to field inhomogeneities from susceptibility differences as well as from eddy currents arising from diffusion gradients. In this paper, a novel approach using nonlinear warping based on optic flow to correct distortions of baseline and diffusion weighted echo planar images (EPI) acquired at 3 T is presented. The distortion correction was estimated by warping the echo planar images to the anatomically correct T2‐weighted fast spin echo images (T2‐FSE). A global histogram intensity matching of the T2‐FSE precedes the base line EPI image distortion correction. A local intensity‐matching algorithm was used to transform labeled T2‐FSE regions to match intensities of diffusion‐weighted EPI images prior to distortion correction of these images. Evaluation was performed using three methods: (i) visual comparison of overlaid contours, (ii) a global mutual information index, and (iii) a local distance measure between homologous points. Visual assessment and the global index demonstrated a decrease in geometrical distortion and the distance measure showed that distortions are reduced to a subvoxel level. In conclusion, the warping algorithm is effective in reducing geometric distortions, enabling generation of anatomically correct diffusion tensor images at 3 T. Magn Reson Med, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Fast method for brain image segmentation: Application to proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging
Authors: Bonekamp David , Horská Alena , Jacobs Michael A. , Arslanoglu Atilla , Barker Peter B.
Published: September 2005

The interpretation of brain metabolite concentrations measured by quantitative proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) is assisted by knowledge of the percentage of gray matter (GM), white matter (WM), and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within each MRSI voxel. Usually, this information is determined from T1‐weighted magnetic resonance images (MRI) that have a much higher spatial resolution than the MRSI data. While this approach works well, it is time‐consuming. In this article, a rapid data acquisition and analysis procedure for image segmentation is described, which is based on collection of several, thick slice, fast spin echo images (FSE) of different contrast. Tissue segmentation is performed with linear “Eigenimage” filtering and normalization. The method was compared to standard segmentation techniques using high‐resolution 3D T1‐weighted MRI in five subjects. Excellent correlation between the two techniques was obtained, with voxel‐wise regression analysis giving GM: R2 = 0.893 ± 0.098, WM: R2 = 0.892 ± 0.089, ln(CSF): R2 = 0.831 ± 0.082). Test–retest analysis in one individual yielded an excellent agreement of measurements with R2 higher than 0.926 in all three tissue classes. Application of FSE/EI segmentation to a sample proton MRSI dataset yielded results similar to prior publications. It is concluded that FSE imaging in conjunction with Eigenimage analysis is a rapid and reliable way of segmenting brain tissue for application to proton MRSI. Magn Reson Med, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Design of flyback echo‐planar readout gradients for magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging
Authors: Cunningham Charles H. , Vigneron Daniel B. , Chen Albert P. , Xu Duan , Nelson Sarah J. , Hurd Ralph E. , Kelley Douglas A. , Pauly John M.
Published: September 2005

The spatial resolution of conventional magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging‐(MRSI) is typically coarse, mainly due to SNR limitations. The increased signal available with higher field scanners and new array coils now permits higher spatial resolution, but conventional chemical shift imaging (phase encoding) limits the spatial coverage possible in a patient‐acceptable acquisition time. The “flyback” echo‐planar trajectory is particularly insensitive to errors and provides data that are simple to process. In this study, high‐efficiency gradient waveforms for flyback echo‐planar MRSI were designed and implemented. Normal volunteer studies at 3 T showed the feasibility of acquiring high spatial resolution with large coverage in a short scan time (2048 voxels in 2.3 min and 4096 voxels in 8.5 min). The trajectories were insensitive to errors in timing and require only a modest (10 to 30%) penalty in SNR relative to conventional phase encoding using the same acquisition time. Magn Reson Med, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
High‐resolution steady‐state free precession coronary magnetic resonance angiography within a breath‐hold: Parallel imaging with extended cardiac data acquisition
Authors: Park Jaeseok , Larson Andrew C. , Zhang Qiang , Simonetti Orlando , Li Debiao
Published: September 2005

Coronary artery imaging data are conventionally acquired in a single imaging frame during mid‐diastole. The data acquisition window must be sufficiently short to avoid cardiac motion artifacts. A short data acquisition window results in decreased imaging efficiency and limited spatial resolution. Parallel imaging may lessen these limitations, but requires highly accurate coil sensitivity. The purpose of this work was to increase the imaging efficiency and spatial resolution in coronary artery imaging using parallel imaging with an extended acquisition window. External coil calibration data were acquired before and after a short mid‐diastolic period of accelerated imaging data acquisition. It was assumed that residual cardiac motion in the extended acquisition window would not impede accurate estimation of coil sensitivity since only low spatial frequency signals were acquired for coil calibration. Experimental studies were performed in five healthy volunteers at 3 T using steady‐state free precession sequence. Statistical comparison was made between the proposed method and conventional data acquisition for visual quality of image and vessel sharpness. The proposed technique demonstrated higher visual grading and improved vessel sharpness. The proposed method is a new approach to enhance the imaging efficiency and spatial resolution in coronary artery imaging. Magn Reson Med, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Neurogenesis of the cholinergic medial septum in female and male C57BL/6J mice
Authors: Schaevitz Laura R. , Berger‐Sweeney Joanne
Published: September 2005

Sex differences exist in the structure and function of the cholinergic septo‐hippocampal system throughout the lifespan of mammals. How and when these sex differences originate is unclear. Because estrogen modulates sexual differentiation of several brain regions during development and influences neurogenesis in adult mammals, we hypothesized that sexual dimorphism of the cholinergic septo‐hippocampal system would extend to its neurogenesis. A birthdating agent 5′‐bromo‐2′‐deoxyuridine (BrdU) was injected into pregnant dams on one of eight gestational days, ranging from embryonic day (E)10 to E17. The offspring were euthanized at 2 months of age, and brains were processed for BrdU and choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) immunoreactivity to label cholinergic neurons that became postmitotic on a given embryonic day and survived to adulthood. Unbiased stereology was used to compare the number of double‐labeled neurons in the medial septum (MS) of female and male offspring. Cholinergic neurons in the MS were generated primarily between E11 and E14, similar to other published reports. We found sex differences in the pattern of peak neurogenesis but not in the length of neurogenesis, or in total number of neurons generated in the MS. Additionally, in adult female and male mice, we estimated the total number of cholinergic neurons using unbiased stereology and found no sex differences in the number of cholinergic neurons or in the volume of the MS in adulthood. These results suggest that sex differences noted in the function of the postnatal cholinergic septo‐hippocampal system may originate from its neurogenesis. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Neurobiol, 2005
Increasing herbal product consumption in Thailand
Authors: Riewpaiboon Arthorn
Published: September 2005

Purpose

The aim of this study was to investigate expenditures and categories of herbal product consumption in drugstores in Thailand.

Methods

The study was designed as a cross‐sectional descriptive research. Study population was drugs and foods produced from herbs sold in all registered drugstores in Thailand. Regarding sampling, one province was selected from each of 13 regions by convenience sampling. Drugstores in each province were included at a proportion of 1% of the population by a convenience sampling method. Purchasing documents of the drugstores were collected for two consecutive months in 2001 and 2003. The medians of prices were used to estimate value of the whole country.

Results

The sample included 129 and 121 drugstores in 2001 and 2003, respectively. Total consumption was 27 and 32 million US$ (1 US$ = 40 Thai baht) in the year 2001 and 2003, respectively. At constant prices, this represented an increase of 11%. The five top‐ranked categories of products used in 2003 were haematonics, post‐delivery drugs, anti‐constipation, anti‐cough, and cardiotonics.

Conclusions

Herbal product consumption increased by 11% from 2001 to 2003. To cover the full range of consumption of herbal products, further studies should include other outlets, for example hospital and direct sales. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Properties and morphologies of UV‐cured epoxy acrylate blend films containing hyperbranched polyurethane acrylate/hyperbranched polyester
Authors: Xu Gang , Zhao Yongbin , Shi Wenfang
Published: September 2005

The properties and morphologies of UV‐cured epoxy acrylate (EB600) blend films containing hyperbranched polyurethane acrylate (HUA)/hyperbranched polyester (HPE) were investigated. A small amount of HUA added to EB600 improved both the tensile strength and elongation at break without damaging its storage modulus (E′). The highest tensile strength of 31.9 MPa and an elongation at break around two times that of cured pure EB600 were obtained for the EB600‐based film blended with 10% HUA. Its log E′ (MPa) value was measured to be 9.48, that is, about 98% of that of the cured EB600 film. The impact strength and critical stress intensity factor (K1c) of the blends were investigated. A 10 wt % HUA content led to a K1c value 1.75 times that of the neat EB600 resin, and the impact strength of the EB600/HPE blends increased from 0.84 to 0.95 kJ m−1 with only 5 wt % HPE addition. The toughening effects of HUA and HPE on EB600 were demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy photographs of the fracture surfaces of films. Moreover, for the toughening mechanism of HPE to EB600, it was suggested that the HPE particles, as a second phase in the cured EB600 film, were deformed in a cold drawing, which was caused by the difference between the elastic moduli of HPE and EB600. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 3159–3170, 2005
Application of a nonlinear viscoelastic model to glassy, particulate‐filled polymers
Authors: Adolf Douglas B. , Chambers Robert S.
Published: September 2005

In previous studies, a nonlinear viscoelastic formalism for unfilled glassy polymers was developed, which employed a potential energy material clock. A wide variety of responses ranging from temperature‐dependent mechanical yield to enthalpy relaxation could be predicted accurately with one physical parameter set. The current investigation assessed the applicability of this approach to highly filled polymers (over 50 vol %). The particulate composites were treated as homogeneous continua, and model parameters were extracted directly from characterization tests developed for unfilled polymers. The predictions agreed surprisingly well with experimental data. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 3135–3150, 2005
Pencycuron dissipation in soil: effect of application rate and soil conditions
Authors: Pal Raktim , Chakrabarti Kalyan , Chakraborty Ashis , Chowdhury Ashim
Published: September 2005

Dissipation of the fungicide pencycuron was examined under controlled laboratory conditions in clay loam soils from rice cultivated fields of alluvial soil (Typic udifluvent) and coastal saline soil (Typic endoaquept) at field rate, twice the field rate and 10 times the field rate with and without decomposed cow manure maintained at 60% of maximum water‐holding capacity (WHC) and waterlogged soil condition. The half‐life values depended on the initial concentrations of pencycuron. Pencycuron, in general, degraded fastest in coastal saline soil and in soil amended with decomposed cow manure at 60% of maximum WHC of soil. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry
Surface tension and viscosity of Sn‐based binary liquid alloys
Authors: Prasad L. C. , Jha R. K.
Published: September 2005

The concentration‐dependent variation of the surface tension and viscosity of Sn–X (X = Ag, Bi, In and Zn) liquid alloys has been theoretically investigated. The grand partition function for the surface has been solved in the framework of quasi‐lattice approximations to obtain analytical expressions for the surface tension and surface composition of the different types of binary liquid alloys. For the computation of viscosity, an expression has been used that involves not only thermodynamic properties but also hard sphere diameter, masses and some microscopic functions. The hard sphere diameter of the constituent atoms in the binary systems has been calculated by minimizing the pair potential obtained from pseudopotential formalism. The theoretical investigation not only reproduces the experimental results but also predicts similar variations in surface tension and viscosity of these alloys with the increase of the Sn component. The viscosities and surface tension of Ag–Sn and Sn–Zn systems decrease with the addition of Sn atoms, showing a negative deviation from the additive rule of mixing. The extent of the deviation is large in Ag‐rich and Zn‐rich alloys. The Sn–In system exhibits a decrease in viscosity up to 20% Sn followed by linear values, while no appreciable change is observed in surface tension values. The surfaces of Ag–Sn and Sn–Zn are quite enriched with Sn atoms whereas the Sn–In system exhibits much less of a segregation of Sn. In contrast, both surface tension and viscosity of the Sn–Bi system increase with the increase of the Sn component. The surface composition of Sn–Bi is quite different from that of the other systems because of the segregation of Bi atoms. The difference of hard sphere diameters affects viscosity considerably. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
γ‐Irradiation effect on the acoustical properties of zinc lead borate glasses
Authors: Sharma G. , Singh K. , Manupriya  , Klare H. S. , Rajendran V. , Gayathri Devi A. V. , Narang S. B.
Published: September 2005

The effect of γ‐irradiation on the acoustical properties of xZnO·2xPbO·(1–3x)B2O3 glasses has been studied. Ultrasonic velocity and attenuation measurements have been made before and after γ‐irradiation at room temperature in the frequency range 2.25–10 MHz. From the measured density and ultrasonic velocity data, the elastic moduli, Poisson's ratio and other parameters have been obtained. Changes in the acoustical properties are explained in terms of radiation‐induced structural defects and the influence of PbO/ZnO in the glass network structure. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Investigation of the dependence of the Curie temperature on the hydrogen concentration in YFe11TiHX intermetallic compound
Authors: Damianova R. N. , Bezdushnyi R. V. , Apostolov A. V. , Stanev N. V.
Published: September 2005

The results of an investigation of the dependence of the Curie temperature on the hydrogen concentration in YFe11TiHX intermetallic compound are presented. The method of the investigation is described in detail. Also, the required pressure–concentration isotherms and the kinetics data are discussed. It is found that the Curie temperature depends linearly on hydrogen concentration. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
CASSCF study into the mechanism for predissociation of the allyl radical
Authors: Shahu Milena
Published: September 2005

A theoretical study has been carried out on the allyl radical in its ground and first excited electronic states. Complete active space self‐consistent field (CASSCF) calculations show the presence of a conical intersection between the ground and first excited electronic states (∼400 cm−1 above the adiabatic excited state energy), reached by decreasing the CCC angle and twisting the CC bonds. The presence of this conical intersection provides a likely explanation for the very rapid predissociation in the excited electronic state. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2006
Theoretical study of structural features of endo, exo double bonds and side chain in 14α‐demethylation of lanosterol
Authors: Cabrera‐Vivas B. M. , Pineda Flor P. , García‐Hidalgo S. , Múñoz‐Arenas M. G. , Meléndez F. J. , Reyes‐Ortega Y. , Ramírez Juan Carlos
Published: September 2005

The 14α‐demethylation of biosynthetic reactions is carried out exclusively by lanosta‐8,24‐dien‐3β‐ol (lanosterol). Theoretical calculations were done to determine the importance of this structure with the Hartree–Fock scheme. It was modeled on structures similar to lanosterol with variations on the endo between C8C9 (lanosta‐7,24‐dien‐3β‐ol and lanosta‐6,24‐dien‐3β‐ol) as compared with the exo between C24C25 (Lanosta‐8‐en‐3β‐ol) and the size of the side chain (27‐norlanosta‐8‐en‐3β‐ol, 26,27‐dinorlanosta‐8‐en‐3β‐ol, 25,26,27‐trinorlanosta‐8‐en‐3β‐ol, 24,25,26,27‐tetranorlanosta‐8‐en‐3β‐ol, 23,24,25,26,27‐pentanorlanosta‐8‐en‐3β‐ol, 22,23,24,25,26,27‐hexanorlanosta‐8‐en‐3β‐ol). Energetic, electronic, and orbital evidence was found. The theoretical data were analyzed and were found to be important for the 14α‐demethylation, the presence of HOMO on the region C8C9 and C14C141, a negative charge on the outgoing methyl C141. This atomic charge varies with the size of the side chain, and with the modification of the endo and exo double bonds. The conformation of the structure of the steroid is also related to its reactivity. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2006
Time‐dependent density functional theory simulation of hyper‐Raman spectra
Authors: Quinet Olivier , Champagne Benoît , Van Gisbergen Stan J. A.
Published: September 2005

Hyper‐Raman spectra of several small systems have been simulated at the time‐dependent density functional theory level of approximation and compared with their time‐dependent Hartree–Fock analogues to address the effects of electron correlation. A numerical finite distortion scheme has been used to evaluate the first order‐derivative of the dynamic first hyperpolarizability with respect to vibrational normal mode coordinates. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2006
Reduction of the CI dimension based on the use of local orbitals: Application to conjugated systems and excited states
Authors: Pitarch‐Ruiz J. , Calzado C. J. , Evangelisti S. , Maynau D.
Published: September 2005

A description of some excited states in conjugated systems based on the use of local orbitals was recently reported. A reduced active space has been used to describe the n→π* excitation in polyenals and the π→π* excitation in polyenes. In the present work, we report the strategy for reducing the space of determinants generated in configuration interaction (CI) calculations on the same type of systems. The approach is based on the fact that the rest of the inactive and virtual orbitals remain local. This opens the possibility of freezing those local orbitals distant from the region where the overlap between these orbitals and the active ones is small. The results show that it is possible to reach vertical excitation energies with no more than 0.1 eV error, dealing with only 5% of the total CI space. We focus the discussion principally on CAS‐SDCI calculations that would be impracticable if the present reduction were not applied, such as those describing the interaction between a sodium atom and the C60 fullerene. This new strategy is completely general and could be considered as an extremely useful tool to handle large systems with high‐level correlated methods. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2006
Evaluation of electric field within pores of aluminophosphate sieves
Authors: Larin A. V. , Hansenne C. , Trubnikov D. N. , Vercauteren D. P.
Published: September 2005

A new way to evaluate the electric field (EF) based on the propagation of multipole moments distributed over atomic sites is illustrated for arbitrary aluminophosphate (ALPO) sieves of ratio Al/P = 1. The atomic multipole moments (AMMs) are evaluated for all crystallographic independent atomic types of 10 ALPO structures within the scheme developed by Saunders and colleagues, considering the electron density computed with the CRYSTAL 98 code at the periodic density functional theory (PDFT) level and different basis sets. In two steps, the method uses the calculated AMMs to calibrate several approximate dependences and permits construction of molecular charge distributions for any sieve. First, atomic charges are evaluated via fitted analytical expressions versus the atomic geometries of the framework. Second, high AMMs up to hexadecapole are approximated for all atomic positions, using a cumulative coordinate scheme. Differences between calculated and approximated EF values within the porous space available for adsorbed molecules are discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2005
SCC‐DFTB energy barriers for single and double proton transfer processes in the model molecular systems malonaldehyde and porphycene
Authors: Walewski Ł. , Krachtus D. , Fischer S. , Smith J. C. , Bała P. , Lesyng B.
Published: September 2005

Self‐consistent charge–density functional tight‐binding SCC‐DFTB is a computationally efficient method applicable to large (bio)molecular systems in which (bio)chemical reactions may occur. Among these reactions are proton transfer processes. This method, along with more advanced ab initio techniques, is applied in this study to compute intramolecular barriers for single and double proton transfer processes in the model systems, malonaldehyde and porphycene, respectively. SCC‐DFTB is compared with experimental data and higher‐level ab initio calculations. For malonaldehyde, the SCC‐DFTB barrier height is 3.1 kcal/mol in vacuo and 4.2 kcal/mol in water solution. In the case of porphycene, the minimum energy pathways for double intramolecular proton transfer were determined using the conjugate peak refinement (CPR) method. Six isomers of porphycene were ordered according to energy. The only energetically allowed pathway was found to connect two symmetrical trans states via an unstable cis‐A isomer. The SCC‐DFTB barrier heights are 11.1 kcal/mol for the trans‐cis‐A process, and 7.4 kcal/mol for the reverse cis‐A‐trans one with the energy difference of 3.7 kcal/mol between the trans‐ and cis‐A states. The method provides satisfactory energy results when compared with reference ab initio and experimental data. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2006
Molecular mechanisms of neuronal apoptosis in chronic inflammatory CNS diseases
Authors: Diem Ricarda , Sättler Muriel B. , Maier Katharina , Bähr Mathias
Published: September 2005

In the adult CNS, apoptosis of neuronal populations contributes to manifestation of clinical symptoms during several neurodegenerative disorders. In multiple sclerosis (MS), an inflammatory demyelinating CNS disease, neurodegeneration has long been thought to occur secondary and late during clinical course. However, in the last years, post‐mortem studies of human brain tissue as well as data from animal models have shown that apoptosis of neurons reaches a significant extent already in the early stages of the disease. As neurodegeneration in MS correlates with permanent neurological deficits in patients, understanding the mechanisms would be an important pre‐condition for designing appropriate neuroprotective therapies. This review article gives an overview about current data concerning features and molecular mechanisms of neuronal apoptosis in chronic inflammatory autoimmune CNS diseases. Furthermore, possible implications for the development of neuroprotective therapies are discussed.
Caspases and proliferation
Authors: Falk Markus , Paulsen Maren , Adam‐Klages Sabine
Published: September 2005

Cysteine‐proteases belonging to the family of caspases have been described as central executioners of apoptotic signals. The relevance of apoptosis in T cell homeostasis is primarily defined by the necessity to quickly and efficiently eliminate effector T lymphocytes subsequent to clonal expansion and differentiation. This process is executed through the activation of caspases. Apoptosis can be initiated by interaction of the death receptor Fas with its ligand, triggering a signaling cascade comprising Fas‐associated death domain protein (FADD), caspase‐8 and caspase‐3, culminating in cell death. Surprisingly, emerging evidence suggests a contribution of these molecules also in non‐apoptotic and even proliferative signals. The potentially dual role of caspases does not seem to be restricted to T cells but is observed in other cells of the hematopoietic lineage as well. A block of the FADD/caspase‐signaling pathway, either by inserting mutations or by using pharmacological inhibitors, not only leads to resistance of cells to apoptotic stimuli, but also negatively affects growth responses. Despite large research effort, the exact molecular mechanism how caspases mediate proliferation remains to be clarified. This review summarizes facts and hypotheses about potential junctions, coupling the opposing signals leading to death or proliferation and discusses, under which circumstances active caspases might confer to either pathway.
Towards a taxonomy of software change
Authors: Buckley Jim , Mens Tom , Zenger Matthias , Rashid Awais , Kniesel Günter
Published: September 2005

Previous taxonomies of software change have focused on the purpose of the change (i.e., the why) rather than the underlying mechanisms. This paper proposes a taxonomy of software change based on characterizing the mechanisms of change and the factors that influence these mechanisms. The ultimate goal of this taxonomy is to provide a framework that positions concrete tools, formalisms and methods within the domain of software evolution. Such a framework would considerably ease comparison between the various mechanisms of change. It would also allow practitioners to identify and evaluate the relevant tools, methods and formalisms for a particular change scenario. As an initial step towards this taxonomy, the paper presents a framework that can be used to characterize software change support tools and to identify the factors that impact on the use of these tools. The framework is evaluated by applying it to three different change support tools and by comparing these tools based on this analysis. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
KERIS: evolving software with extensible modules
Authors: Zenger Matthias
Published: September 2005

We present the programming language KERIS, an extension of Java with explicit support for software evolution. KERIS introduces extensible modules as the basic building blocks for software. Modules are composed hierarchically, explicitly revealing the architecture of systems. A distinct feature of the module design is that modules do not get linked manually. Instead, the wiring of modules gets inferred. The module assembly and refinement mechanism of KERIS is not restricted to the unanticipated extensibility of atomic modules. It also allows extensions of already linked systems by replacing selected submodules with compatible versions without needing to re‐link the full system. Extensibility is type‐safe and non‐invasive, i.e., the extension of a module preserves the original version and does not require access to source code. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Component composition errors and update atomicity: static analysis
Authors: Adamek J. , Plasil F.
Published: September 2005

Dynamic evolution inherently involves dynamic update and the issue of its atomicity. We show how this issue can be addressed in a similar manner to a communication failure via an extension to behavior protocols. First, we discuss the problem of defining a composition operator for behavior protocols so as to be able to reflect communication failures. Classical architecture description languages (ADLs) supporting behavior description, such as Wright and TRACTA, use a CSP‐like parallel composition, which inherently yields only ‘successful traces’ ignoring non‐accepted communication attempts. We show that component composition can produce several different types of behavior errors: bad activity, no activity, and divergence. The key idea behind bad activity is that real programs typically have an asymmetry of roles during event exchange: the caller is considered to be the initiator of the call while the callee has only a passive role. This contrasts with most formal systems, which treat communication symmetrically. We propose a new composition operator, ‘consent’, which reflects these types of errors by producing erroneous traces. By using the consent operator it can be statically determined whether the atomicity of a dynamic update of a component is implicitly guaranteed by the behavior of its current environment. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The applicability of deadline models: Comment on Glickman, Gray, and Morales (2005)
Authors: Rouder Jeffrey N.
Published: September 2005

Glickman, Gray, and Morales (this issue) propose a statistical model for measuring the unobserved latency of stimulus-controlled processes. The model accounts for both speed and accuracy and does so by assuming that participants set an internal deadline. If a stimulus-controlled response is not produced by the deadline, the participant then guesses. The applicability of the model is discussed in this comment. The deadline model yields specific predictions for the case in which stimulus difficulty is manipulated in a within-block manner. In this case, it is reasonable to assume that stimulus difficulty does not affect the deadline. It is shown that in common perceptual and cognitive domains, extant data do not fully meet these predictions. Hence, practitioners need be aware of the possibility and consequences of model misspecification.
The clock gene period in the medfly Ceratitis capitata
Authors: MAZZOTTA GABRIELLA M. , SANDRELLI FEDERICA , ZORDAN MAURO A. , MASON MOYRA , BENNA CLARA , CISOTTO PAOLA , ROSATO EZIO , KYRIACOU CHARALAMBOS P. , COSTA RODOLFO
Published: September 2005

We have isolated the clock gene period (per) from the medfly Ceratitis capitata, one of the most economically important insect pest species. The overall pattern of conserved, non-conserved and functional domains that are observed within dipteran and lepidopteran per orthologues is preserved within the coding sequence. Expression analysis from fly heads revealed a daily oscillation in per mRNA in both light[ratio ]dark cycles and in constant darkness. However PER protein levels from head extracts did not show any significant evidence for cycling in either of these two conditions. When the Ceratitis per transgene under the control of the Drosophila per promoter and 3′UTR was introduced into Drosophila per-null mutant hosts, the transformants revealed a low level of rescue of behavioural rhythmicity. Nevertheless, the behaviour of the rhythmic transformants showed some similarities to that of Ceratitis, suggesting that Ceratitis per carries species-specific information that can evidently affect the Drosophila host's downstream rhythmic behaviour.
Lethals in subdivided populations
Authors: GLÉMIN SYLVAIN
Published: September 2005

The fate of lethal alleles in populations is of interest in evolutionary and conservation biology for several reasons. For instance, lethals may contribute substantially to inbreeding depression. The frequency of lethal alleles depends on population size, but it is not clear how it is affected by population structure. By analysing the case of the infinite island model by numerical approaches and analytical approximations it is shown that, like population size, population structure affects the fate of lethal alleles if dominance levels are low. Inbreeding depression caused by such alleles is also affected by the population structure, whereas the mutation load is only weakly affected. Heterosis also depends on population structure, but it always remains low, of the order of the mutation rate or less. These patterns are compared with those caused by mildly deleterious mutations to give a general picture of the effect of population structure on inbreeding depression, heterosis, and the mutation load.
Evaluation of linkage disequilibrium measures between multi-allelic markers as predictors of linkage disequilibrium between markers and QTL
Authors: ZHAO H. , NETTLETON D. , SOLLER M. , DEKKERS J. C. M.
Published: September 2005

Effectiveness of marker-assisted selection (MAS) and quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping using population-wide linkage disequilibrium (LD) between markers and QTL depends on the extent of LD and how it declines with distance in a population. Because marker–QTL LD cannot be observed directly, the objective of this study was to evaluate alternative measures of observable LD between multi-allelic markers as predictors of usable LD of multi-allelic markers with presumed biallelic QTL. Observable LD between marker pairs was evaluated using eight existing measures and one new measure. These consisted of two pooled and standardized measures of LD between pairs of alleles at two markers based on Lewontin's LD measure, two pooled measures of squared correlations between alleles, one standardized measure using Hardy–Weinberg heterozygosities, and four measures based on the chi-square statistic for testing for association between alleles at two loci. In simulated populations with a range of LD generated by drift and a range of marker polymorphism, marker–marker LD measured by a standardized chi-square statistic (denoted χ2′) was found to be the best predictor of useable marker–QTL LD for a group of multi-allelic markers. Estimates of the level and decline of marker–marker LD with distance obtained from χ2′ were linearly and highly correlated with usable LD of those markers with QTL across population structures and marker polymorphism. Corresponding relationships were poorer for the other marker–marker LD measures. Therefore, when LD is generated by drift, χ2′ is recommended to quantify the amount and extent of usable LD in a population for QTL mapping and MAS based on multi-allelic markers.
introduction
Authors: hockx michel , strauss julia
Published: September 2005

this collection offers a variety of perspectives on culture in contemporary china. we begin and end with pieces by jing wang and deborah davis on the production and consumption of culture in general, before moving on to three specific areas: visual culture, music and poetry. jing wang's opening piece on “bourgeois bohemians” (bobos) in china revolves around the all-important question of how taste is constructed and a multiplicity of lifestyles imagined. in china as elsewhere in the world, lifestyles are first imagined and transmitted through advertising. wang describes how marketing campaigns propagate idealized lifestyles to different segments of china's self identified urban middle class; notably the bohemian and the xin xin renlei. deborah davis focuses on the consumption end of culture, suggesting that for all the real resentments and worries engendered by growing income inequality and job insecurity, urbanites in shanghai experience consumer culture and the pursuit of individual taste and comfort in the home through shopping to be positive experiences, particularly when juxtaposed against the deprivations of the past. both wang and davis show that the production and consumption of culture are complex phenomena that go beyond mere market manipulation. there is substantial agency involved, from urbanites joyfully participating in redecoration of their flats to the ways in which niche segments of the urban middle class separate into different “tribes.”

the braester, denton and finnane essays focus on different aspects of the production and consumption of visual culture: film, museums and fashion. braester suggests that one cannot sharply differentiate commercial film from art film on the basis of content or aesthetics, as directors previously known for making art films move into commercials, and both share similar sensibilities.
museums, memorial sites and exhibitionary culture in the people's republic of china
Authors: denton kirk a.
Published: September 2005

this article presents an overview of post-mao museum representations of modern chinese history. the focus is on changing exhibitionary practices and historical narratives in prc history museums in the period of market reforms and globalization. it shows how new museum architecture, the place of museum buildings in the cityscape and new exhibitionary technologies (such as multimedia displays, dioramas, miniatures) are tied to new narratives of history that serve the interests of the ideology of market reform. conventional socialist narratives of martyrdom and revolutionary liberation have not disappeared by any means, but they are being reshaped to downplay class issues and to legitimize commercial interests, a work ethic ideology and nationalism.
not quite karaoke: poetry in contemporary china
Authors: van crevel maghiel
Published: September 2005

marketization is a prime feature of arts and culture in contemporary china. strikingly, while avant-garde poetry is hardly involved in this trend, and some of its commentators feel a sense of crisis as a result, it continues to flourish as a small but stable, high-cultural niche area that boasts increasing textual richness and a well-positioned constituency. an explanation of this phenomenon must take into account multiple re-inventions of traditional chinese notions of poetry and poethood, amid rapidly changing circumstances throughout the contemporary era. less culturally specific but no less essential, another factor is the very nature of the genre of avant-garde poetry in its social context and of artistic experiment per se, creating a problem for cultural analysis that makes numbers the measure of all things.
virtual chinese literature: a comparative case study of online poetry communities
Authors: hockx michel
Published: September 2005

this article looks at the practices of communities that employ internet technologies in order to produce, distribute, consume and value chinese poetry. the article is in three parts. the first part provides a brief general overview of the current state of research about the chinese internet. i take issue with the dominant tendency of english-language research to focus almost exclusively on questions of censorship. the second part looks at the development of “web literature” (wangluo wenxue) in china, briefly outlining the meaning of the term and the content of a protracted debate about web literature that took place in 2001. the debate illustrates the limited extent to which web literature is able to distinguish itself from conventionally published literature. paradoxically, this has led to “web literature” becoming a recognized genre within print culture. in the final part, i compare a prc online poetry community with a similar community based in the usa. i conclude by arguing that previous scholarship's biased focus on the transformative aspects of cyber culture has made it difficult to gain a clear insight into the many positive and culture-specific features of chinese web literature.
urban consumer culture
Authors: davis deborah
Published: September 2005

over the past decade, urban residents have experienced a consumer revolution at multiple levels. in terms of material standard of living, sustained economic growth has dramatically increased spending on discretionary consumer purchases and urbanites have enthusiastically consumed globally branded foodstuffs, pop-music videos and fashion. at the same time, however, income distribution has become increasingly unequal. some scholars therefore emphasize the negative exclusionary and exploitative parameters of the new consumer culture seeing nothing more than a ruse of capitalism or marker of all that is negative about post-socialist city life. building on nearly a decade of fieldwork in shanghai, this article disputes such a linear interpretation of subordination and exclusion in favour of a more polyvalent and stratified reading that emphasizes individual narratives unfolding against memories of an impoverished personal past, and a consumer culture that simultaneously incorporates contradictory experiences of emancipation and disempowerment.
Epidemiology of human brucellosis in a defined area of Northwestern Greece
Authors: AVDIKOU I. , MAIPA V. , ALAMANOS Y.
Published: September 2005

Despite a European co-financial programme for control and eradication of brucellosis in Southern Europe, there is evidence that foci of brucellosis still exists in Greece and other Southern European countries. Human brucellosis cases are probably underreported in these countries. A local surveillance system was implemented in a defined region of Northwestern Greece, in order to record and study all human brucellosis cases, using several sources of retrieval. A total of 152 newly diagnosed cases were recorded during a 2-year study period (from 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2004). The age- and sex-adjusted mean annual incidence rate for the population of the study area was 17·3 cases/105 inhabitants. Incomplete application of the control and eradication programme in livestock, and the possible illegal trafficking of animals and their products across the Greek–Albanian border could be responsible for the persistence of foci of brucellosis in the area.