bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hydrothermal Synthesis and Characterization of a Novel Sinusoidal Layer Structure Constructed From Polyoxometalates and Coordination Complex Fragments
Authors: Cui Xiao‐Bing , Xu Ji‐Qing , Li Yong , Sun Ying‐Hua , Yang Guo‐Yu
Published: March 2004

A novel polyoxometalate compound, [As8V14O42(SO4)][Ni(en)2]3·4.5H2O (1), has been synthesized by a hydrothermal method and characterized by X‐ray crystallography, showing that the compound 1 is the first example of a sinusoidal layer structure constructed from polyoxometalates and coordination complex fragments. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2004)
Preparation and Characterization of Cu2SnSe4 Nanoparticles Using a Microwave‐Assisted Polyol Method
Authors: Grisaru Haviv , Pol V. G. , Gedanken Aharon , Nowik Israel
Published: March 2004

The microwave‐assisted polyol method has been applied to the preparation of nanosized Cu2SnSe4. Cheap materials such as CuCl (or CuCl2·2H2O), Sn and Se were used as starting materials. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is the only solvent in which the reaction takes place and the materials did not react in ethylene glycol, tri‐, or tetraethylene glycol. Mössbauer spectroscopic measurements revealed a single doublet whose isomer shift of 1.81 mm/s is typical of that seen in tetravalent covalent tin semiconductors. The final product was characterized by X‐ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution TEM (HR‐TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2004)
Funnel Complexes with CoII and NiII: New Probes into the Biomimetic Coordination Ability of the Calix[6]arene‐Based Tris(imidazole) System
Authors: Sénèque Olivier , Campion Morgane , Giorgi Michel , Le Mest Yves , Reinaud Olivia
Published: March 2004

The coordination properties of the calix[6]arene‐based tris(imidazole) ligand X6Me3Imme3 were further explored with CoII and NiII. This imidazole system stabilizes tetrahedral mononuclear CoII complexes with an exchangeable fourth exogenous ligand (water, alcohol, amide) located at the heart of the hydrophobic calixarene cavity. With a weak donor ligand such as a nitrile, both four‐coordinate tetrahedral and five‐coordinate trigonal bipyramidal complexes were obtained. The latter contains a second nitrile molecule trans to the included guest nitrile. These complexes were characterized in solution as well as in the solid state. The NiII complexes are square‐based pyramidal five‐coordinate edifices with a guest nitrile inside the cavity and a water molecule outside. A comparison with previously described ZnII and CuII complexes emphasizes the flexibility of this ligand. A comparison with carbonic anhydrase, a mononuclear zinc enzyme with a tris(histidine) coordination core, shows that X6Me3Imme3 displays many structural features of this enzyme except for the cis coordination of the exogenous ligands. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2004)
Deprotonation of μ3‐Methylidyne Groups on a Ti3O3 Support: A Way to Build Oxotitanocubanes Containing Alkali and Alkaline‐Earth Metals
Authors: Martín Avelino , Mena Miguel , Morales‐Varela María del Carmen , Santamaría Cristina
Published: March 2004

The μ3‐methylidyne group of the complex [{TiCp*(µ‐O)}3(µ3‐CH)] (1) (Cp* = η5‐C5Me5) was deprotonated by amides of the group 1 elements, [MN(SiMe3)2] (M = Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs) to form the oxoheterometallocubane complexes [M(μ3‐O)3{Ti3Cp*3(μ3‐C)}] [M = Li (3), Na (4), K (5), Rb (6), Cs (7)]. Similar treatments of 1 with the alkaline‐earth amides [M{N(SiMe3)2}2(thf)2] (M = Mg, Ca, Sr) afforded the heterometallocubane derivatives [{(thf)x(Me3Si)2NM}(μ3‐O)3{Ti3Cp*3(μ3‐C)}] [M = Mg, x = 0, (8); Ca, x = 1, (9); Sr, x = 1, (10)] in high yields. The addition of ligands such as cyclopentadiene (C5H6) or pentamethylcyclopentadiene (C5Me5H) to the compounds 3−7 allowed recovery of the μ3‐methylidyne oxocomplex 1. The analogous reaction of 8−10 with C5H6 caused the displacement of the amide fragment to give the heterometallocubanes [(CpM)(μ3‐O)3{Ti3Cp*3(μ3‐C)}] [M = Mg (11), Ca (12), Sr (13)], while C5Me5H reacts only with 9 and 10 to give the compounds [(Cp*M)(μ3‐O)3{Ti3Cp*3(μ3‐C)}] [M = Ca (14), Sr (15)]. Furthermore, heating of the species 8−10 in the presence of the starting complex 1 produced amine elimination and afforded the corner‐shared heterometallodicubanes [M{(μ3‐O)3Ti3Cp*3(μ3‐C)}2] [M = Mg (16), Ca (17), Sr (18)]. Treatment of 1 with the amide [Ba{N(SiMe3)2}2(thf)2] or dialkyl derivatives of magnesium [MgR2(thf)2] (R = CH2Ph, tBu) and barium [Ba(CH2Ph)2] provided the corner‐shared metallodicubanes [M{(μ3‐O)3Ti3Cp*3(μ3‐C)}2] [M = Mg(16), Ba(19)]. The molecular structures of complexes 9, 16, 17 and 18 have been established by single‐crystal X‐ray analyses. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2004)
A Molecular Tool for Measuring the Electron‐Acceptor Ability of Ligands from Crystallographic Data
Authors: Fanizzi Francesco P. , Margiotta Nicola , Lanfranchi Maurizio , Tiripicchio Antonio , Pacchioni Gianfranco , Natile Giovanni
Published: March 2004

A method is proposed for the direct measurement of the π‐acidity of ligands coordinated to a metal center. The four‐coordinate complex [PtI2(Me2‐phen)] (Me2‐phen = 2,9‐dimethyl‐1,10‐phenanthroline) is unique since it behaves as a molecular trap and, in the presence of a nucleophile (L), one end of it dissociates to allow the L ligand to coordinate trans to the monocoordinated diamine. The coordination of the free end of the phenanthroline is impeded by the filled d orbitals of the metal lying in the same plane as the phenanthroline (dyz and d electrons assuming as x‐axis that of the I−Pt−I vector). However, if the L ligand is a π‐acid able to remove electron charge from the yz plane, the second end of the phenanthroline will also be able to interact with platinum. A linear correlation is found between the crystallographic N−Pt−L angle (180° in ideal square‐planar species and 143° in a trigonal bipyramid with a bite angle for bidentate Me2‐phen of 74°) and the π‐acceptor capacity of the L ligand as estimated by ab initio calculations. Alkenes and alkynes are found to be among the best π‐acids and lead to a regular trigonal‐bipyramidal five‐coordinate species. CO appears to be only halfway in between the best π‐acceptor ligands and those with smallest π‐acidity. P‐, S‐, and N‐donor ligands follow in that order without significant differences between sulfides and sulfoxides or between aliphatic amines and pyridine. The very small difference between aliphatic amines and pyridine has been confirmed by investigation of the rate of exchange between the two ends for monocoordinated phenanthroline by 1H NMR spectroscopy. The activation energy (ΔG‡) was found to be equal, within the experimental error, for the two types of trans ligands. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2004)
Composition and larvicidal activity of essential oils from heartwood of Auxemma glazioviana Taub. (Boraginaceae)
Authors: Costa José G. M. , Pessoa Otília D. L. , Menezes Eveline A. , Santiago Gilvandete M. P. , Lemos Telma L. G.
Published: March 2004

The heartwood of two specimens of Auxemma glazioviana, collected in two localities of the state of Ceará, Brazil, were submitted to hydrodistillation and their essential oils were characterized by GC–MS. The major components found in the essential oils from Cristais were α‐bisabolol (sample I, 46.3; sample II, 53.9%) and α‐cadinol (sample I, 21.1%; sample II, 30.6%), while the essential oils from Quixada were dominated by α‐cadinol (sample III, 37.8%) and cadalene (sample IV, 17.9%). The oils from Cristais (samples I and II) were examined with respect to their larvicidal properties against the larvae of a mosquito (Aedes aegypti) and showed LD50 2.98 ppm and 2.53 ppm, respectively. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Single‐degree of freedom Hermite collocation for multiphase flow and transport in porous media
Authors: Fedele Francesco , McKay Melissa , Pinder George F. , Guarnaccia Joseph F.
Published: March 2004

The classical collocation method using Hermite polynomials is computationally expensive as the dimensionality of the problem increases. Because of the use of a C1‐continuous basis, the method generates two, four and eight unknowns per node for one, two and three‐dimensional problems, respectively. In this paper we propose a numerical strategy to reduce the nodal unknowns to a single degree of freedom at each node. The reduction of the unknowns is due to the use of Lagrangian polynomials to approximate the first‐order derivatives over the minimal compact stencil surrounding each node. For the solvability of the problem the reduction of the number of collocation equations is done by a nodal weighting strategy. We have applied the proposed approach to enhance the efficiency of a collocation‐based multiphase flow and transport simulator. Benchmark cases illustrate the higher performance of the new methodology when compared to classical Hermite collocation. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A classifying procedure for signalling turning points
Authors: Koskinen Lasse , Öller Lars‐Erik
Published: March 2004

A Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is used to classify an out‐of‐sample observation vector into either of two regimes. This leads to a procedure for making probability forecasts for changes of regimes in a time series, i.e. for turning points. Instead of estimating past turning points using maximum likelihood, the model is estimated with respect to known past regimes. This makes it possible to perform feature extraction and estimation for different forecasting horizons. The inference aspect is emphasized by including a penalty for a wrong decision in the cost function. The method, here called a ‘Markov Bayesian Classifier (MBC)’, is tested by forecasting turning points in the Swedish and US economies, using leading data. Clear and early turning point signals are obtained, contrasting favourably with earlier HMM studies. Some theoretical arguments for this are given. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Neuropsychological markers of dementia in patients with memory complaints
Authors: Guarch J. , Marcos T. , Salamero M. , Blesa R.
Published: March 2004

Objectives

To identify neuropsychological markers able to predict evolution towards dementia, through the detection of differential neuropsychological characteristics in a group of subjects complaining of memory loss, in a longitudinal, two‐year follow‐up study.

Methods

Longitudinal and retrospective comparisons of neuropsychological performance in: (a) subjects complaining of memory loss who, after a two‐year period, met neurological and clinical diagnostic criteria for probable AD, and (b) subjects from the same group who did not progress towards dementia. A sample of 43 subjects were administered a comprehensive neuropsychological battery evaluating orientation, logical‐verbal and visuoperceptive reasoning, immediate and delayed verbal and visual memory, attention, learning, executive functions and semantic and phonemic verbal fluency.

Results

Of the 43 subjects evaluated and then re‐evaluated two years later, ten (23%) progressed to dementia according to the NINCS‐ADRDA criteria for probable Alzheimer's disease. The neuropsychological performance of the rest of the subjects (n=33) over the two examinations was stable. In the retrospective analysis the principal differences between the two groups were found in the intensity of the initial memory deficits (WMS‐R) and in the impairment of other cognitive areas in the dementia group: formation of concepts, vocabulary and similarities (WAIS), learning (WMS‐R) and several executive functions.

Conclusions

The deficits in cognitive areas other than memory are significant in subjects with memory complaints who progress towards dementia within two years. Memory complaints represent a risk factor that is at least as important as actual memory loss. Recent proposals for adding descriptive labels to the diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) in order to reflect the neuropsychological functions impaired in addition to memory (Petersen, 2001a), may be decisive from the prognostic viewpoint. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Revised Kingston Standardized Cognitive Assessment
Authors: Hopkins Robert W. , Kilik Lindy A. , A. Day Duncan J. , Rows Catherine P. , Hamilton Pamela F.
Published: March 2004

The original Kingston Standardized Cognitive Assessment (KSCA) was designed to assess cognitive functioning in the elderly with suspected organic brain damage (i.e. dementia). It was specifically designed to be a relatively quickly administered assessment tool available to mental health professionals who were not trained in specialized cognitive assessment techniques. It was introduced over a decade ago to bridge a gap between brief, narrowly focused rating scales, and intensive, expensive, full neuropsychological assessments. Recently, a revision of the KSCA was completed. This revision includes the addition of a word‐list memory task with immediate recall, delayed recall and recognition formats, as well as new norms for patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The updated norms reflect the abilities of higher‐functioning (community‐dwelling) patients. In order to facilitate the Revised KSCAs use we have developed a new scoring and analysis form as well as a more comprehensive scoring and administration manual. These changes have resulted in better detection of earlier Alzheimer's disease and use of comparison groups that reflect the changing referral base. The structure of the revised scale and updated normative data are described. An illustrative clinical case example is also provided. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Syndromes of behavioural and psychological symptoms in mild Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Moran Maria , Walsh C. , Lynch A. , Coen R. F. , Coakley D. , Lawlor B. A.
Published: March 2004

Objectives

Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are common in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and are associated with significant distress for patient and carer. Certain behavioural and psychological symptoms have been associated with each other, leading to the suggestion that differences in symptom patterns among patients with AD may represent different syndromes within AD. The purpose of this study is to see if patients with AD could be meaningfully classified into syndromes, based on the relationships between their BPSD.

Methodology

The sample was recruited through a memory clinic. Two hundred and forty first visit patients with a diagnosis of very mild to mild AD were included. BPSD were assessed using the BEHAVE‐AD. Latent class analysis was used to assess for different classes or groups of patients within the sample, based on their behavioural and psychological symptoms.

Results

Three classes were identified; Class 1 with a low prevalence of behavioural and psychological symptoms; Class 2 an anxiety/depressive symptom class and Class 3 an aggressive symptom class.

Conclusions

The three classes (or groups) of patients obtained by LCA in this sample may be explained by a ‘latent’, as yet, unidentified factor. Further research is required to determine if these classes are stable over time, and to identify possible latent variables. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Life long changes in cognitive ability are associated with prescribed medications in old age
Authors: Starr John M. , McGurn Brian , Whiteman Martha , Pattie Alison , Whalley Lawrence J. , Deary Ian J.
Published: March 2004

Objectives

To determine the association between prescribed medication and life long changes in cognitive ability.

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting

Community residents of a largely urban region of South East Scotland.

Participants

Four hundred and seventy‐eight survivors of the 1932 Scottish Mental Health Survey (n=87 498) without dementia.

Measurements

The Moray House Test (MHT) of intelligence administered at age 11 and age 80 years. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) score, history of disease and current prescribed medications age 80 years.

Results

After adjusting for sex, neuroactive drugs had a detrimental effect on life long cognitive change age (F=12.2, p=0.001, partial eta‐squared=0.026), statins a beneficial effect (F=5.78, p=0.017, partial eta‐squared=0.013) and polypharmacy a detrimental effect (F=6.46, p=0.011, partial eta‐squared=0.014). In the optimal model estimated marginal means revealed: a relative improvement for statin users, IQ age 11=93.2 (95% CI 87.9–98.4) and age 80=100.6 (95% CI 95.3–105.9); compared with non‐users, IQ age 11=100.9 (95% CI 99.4–102.3) and age 80=100.0 (95% CI 98.6–101.5).

Conclusions

Clinically, the degree to which drugs impair cognition in relatively fit, older people may not be apparent. However, in population terms, medication use, particularly polypharmacy, is important. Statins, used as currently indicated for cardiovascular disease, appear promising in ameliorating cognitive decline in older people. However, firm recommendation of their use should await the outcome of ongoing randomised clinical trials. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Pentagon drawing and neuropsychological performance in Dementia with Lewy Bodies, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Parkinson's disease with dementia
Authors: Cormack Francesca , Aarsland Dag , Ballard Clive , Tovée Martin J.
Published: March 2004

Objectives

Early and accurate diagnosis of Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) to allow the appropriate clinical treatment is a priority, given reports of severe neuroleptic sensitivity and a preferential response to cholinesterase inhibitors in these patients. There have been suggestions that constructional apraxia is prevalent in DLB, and may provide a sensitive marker of the disease.

Methods

This study examined the pentagon drawings of 100 DLB patients, 50 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, 81 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients of whom 36 suffered from dementia (PDD). Performance on this task was correlated with cognitive performance on the MMSE and CAMCOG scales.

Results

Patients with DLB were found to draw significantly worse pentagons than those with AD or PD, but not those with PDD. Drawing scores were significantly correlated with MMSE scores for the AD and PDD groups but not those with DLB. More detailed analysis of the neuropsychological correlates of constructional performance for patients with AD and DLB, revealed that those with AD showed a broad cognitive basis to their impairment, in DLB drawing was linked only to perception and praxis.

Conclusions

This study has suggests that DLB subjects show an impairment of pentagon copying that is dissociable from more global cognitive impairments, whereas PD patients are relatively unimpaired on pentagon copying and AD and PDD patients show a linkage of their impairment in copying with more global cognitive deficits. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Hopkins Symptom Checklist‐25 is a sensitive case‐finder of clinically important depressive states in elderly people in primary care
Authors: Fröjdh Karin , Håkansson Anders , Karlsson Ingvar
Published: March 2004

Objective

No depression rating scale has yet been designed to identify all clinically important depressive states in elderly. Therefore, this study investigated the Hopkins Symptom Checklist‐25 (HSCL‐25), a self‐rating scale for depression, to see if it was a sensitive indicator of major, minor and subsyndromal depression.

Methods

Structured interviews of 37 people with a high depressive score and an age and sex matched control group comprised of 37 persons with a low depressive score in HSCL‐25, in order to compare the HSCL‐25 ratings with the Montgomery‐ Åsberg‐Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) as well as with the criteria for major, minor and subsyndromal depression.

Results

The sensitivity for identifying any depression was 94% and the specificity was 94% for HSCL‐25 compared to the diagnostic criteria for depressive disorders.

Conclusions

HSCL‐25 is a sensitive case‐finder of any depressive disorder and may be useful in general practice and for screening studies of depression in elderly people. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Do economic cycles have a permanent effect on population health? Revisiting the Brenner hypothesis
Authors: Laporte Audrey
Published: March 2004

The Brenner hypothesis is essentially that economic cycles, characterized by unemployment and fluctuations in per capita income can have profound negative implications for population health. A number of subsequent studies have identified shortcomings in Brenner's model and have reported results that for the most part contradict his results. This paper argues that the failure to account for the time‐series properties (i.e. the potential for unit root behaviour) of macro level data is a key omission in Brenner's and other subsequent studies. To address this omission an error correction model specification was applied to American data for the period 1948–1996. The findings suggest that economic cycles do have a permanent effect on population health. Paradoxically, they also suggest that economic growth and increases in unemployment reduce aggregate mortality risk. A need for measures of economic change that are perhaps more sensitive to the effects of economic cycles on groups that may be at greater risk of unemployment was identified. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Access to physician services: does supplemental insurance matter? Evidence from France
Authors: Buchmueller Thomas C. , Couffinhal Agnès , Grignon Michel , Perronnin Marc
Published: March 2004

In France, public health insurance is universal but incomplete, with private payments accounting for roughly 25% of all spending. As a result, most people have supplemental private health insurance. We investigate the effects of such insurance on the utilization of physician services using data from the 1998 Enquête sur la santé et la protection sociale, a nationally representative survey of the non‐institutionalized French population. Our results indicate that insurance has a strong and significant effect on the utilization of physician services. Individuals with supplemental coverage have substantially more physician visits than those without. While French patients have greater freedom than patients in other countries to choose to see a specialist rather than a general practitioner, we find no evidence that supplemental insurance affects this decision. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Accounting for the cost of scaling‐up health interventions
Authors: Johns Benjamin , Baltussen Rob
Published: March 2004

Recent studies such as the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health have highlighted the need for expanding the coverage of services for HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, immunisations and other diseases. In order for policy makers to plan for these changes, they need to analyse the change in costs when interventions are ‘scaled‐up’ to cover greater percentages of the population. Previous studies suggest that applying current unit costs to an entire population can misconstrue the true costs of an intervention. This study presents the methodology used in WHO‐CHOICE's generalised cost effectiveness analysis, which includes non‐linear cost functions for health centres, transportation and supervision costs, as well as the presence of fixed costs of establishing a health infrastructure. Results show changing marginal costs as predicted by economic theory. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Scope and scale inefficiencies in physician practices
Authors: Rosenman Robert , Friesner Daniel
Published: March 2004

Using a national data set, this paper looks at the efficiency of physician practices, focusing on scopes of service by comparing single specialty groups and multispecialty groups. An analysis of efficiency using DEA indicates that there are scope inefficiencies from combining different types of providers into a single practice. Most of the inefficiency is due to technical rather than allocative reasons. In addition, we find that larger practices are able to capture efficiencies of scope, but incur inefficiencies of scale. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Impaired and spared cholinergic functions in the hippocampus after lesions of the medial septum/vertical limb of the diagonal band with 192 IgG‐saporin
Authors: Chang Qing , Gold Paul E.
Published: March 2004

To lesion the cholinergic input to the hippocampus, rats received injections of 192 IgG‐saporin into the medial septum/vertical limb of the diagonal band (MS/VDB). The lesions produced near‐total loss of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)‐positive neurons in the MS/VDB. The loss was accompanied, however, by only partial decreases (to 40% of control levels) in acetylcholine (ACh) release in the hippocampus. Moreover, ACh release in the hippocampus increased when lesioned and control rats were tested on a spontaneous alternation task, indicating that there was significant residual cholinergic function in the hippocampus. The lesions were sufficient to impair spontaneous alternation scores. However, this impairment could be reversed by either systemic or intrahippocampal injections of the indirect cholinergic agonist, physostigmine, providing additional evidence of residual and effective cholinergic functions in the hippocampus of lesioned rats. Moreover, systemic injections of physostigmine at doses that produced mild tremors in control rats led to more severe tremors in the lesioned rats, suggesting upregulation of cholinergic mechanisms after saporin lesions, likely in brain areas other than the hippocampus. Thus, these findings provide evidence for decreases in cholinergic input to the hippocampus accompanied by deficits on a spontaneous alternation tasks. The findings also provide evidence for considerable residual cholinergic input to the hippocampus after saporin lesions of the MS/VDB. Together, the results suggest that 192 IgG‐saporin lesions of the MS/VDB, using methods often employed, do not fully remove septohippocampal cholinergic input to the hippocampus but are nonetheless sufficient to produce impairments on a task impaired by hippocampal lesions. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effects of complete immunotoxin lesions of the cholinergic basal forebrain on fear conditioning and spatial learning
Authors: Frick Karyn M. , Kim Jeansok J. , Baxter Mark G.
Published: March 2004

Administration of muscarinic cholinergic antagonists such as scopolamine impairs the acquisition of contextual fear conditioning, but the role of the basal forebrain (BF) cholinergic system in consolidation is unclear. To test the hypothesis that BF cholinergic neurons are critical for acquisition and consolidation of fear conditioning, male Sprague‐Dawley rats with 192 IgG‐saporin lesions of the entire cholinergic BF made either before or after fear conditioning were tested for conditioned fear to context and tone by assessing freezing and 22 kHz ultrasonic vocalization (USV) responses. Spatial learning in a 1‐day water maze task provided a comparison for effects of the BF lesions on fear conditioning. In the test phase, neither pre‐training nor posttraining BF lesions affected freezing to the context or tone. During both training and testing, pre‐lesioned rats were impaired in production of USVs associated with fear. Postlesioned rats emitted fewer USVs only during testing. Acquisition of a spatial water maze task was mildly impaired in lesioned rats, although probe trial and cued performance was unimpaired. Nevertheless, these data suggest that conditioned fear‐induced USVs are more sensitive to the loss of BF cholinergic neurons than is conditioned fear‐induced freezing. The failure of BF cholinergic lesions to impair contextual fear conditioning indicates that scopolamine‐induced impairments in fear conditioning may not be mediated by affecting cholinergic input to the hippocampus and neocortex. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Path integration in mammals
Authors: Etienne Ariane S. , Jeffery Kathryn J.
Published: March 2004

It is often assumed that navigation implies the use, by animals, of landmarks indicating the location of the goal. However, many animals (including humans) are able to return to the starting point of a journey, or to other goal sites, by relying on self‐motion cues only. This process is known as path integration, and it allows an agent to calculate a route without making use of landmarks. We review the current literature on path integration and its interaction with external, location‐based cues. Special importance is given to the correlation between observable behavior and the activity pattern of particular neural cell populations that implement the internal representation of space. In mammals, the latter may well be the first high‐level cognitive representation to be understood at the neural level. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Environment‐spatial conditional learning in rats with selective lesions of medial septal cholinergic neurons
Authors: Janisiewicz Agnieszka M. , Jackson Orville , Firoz Elnaz F. , Baxter Mark G.
Published: March 2004

Cholinergic medial septal neurons may regulate several aspects of hippocampal function, including place field stability and spatial working memory. Monkeys with damage to septal cholinergic neurons are impaired in visual‐spatial conditional learning tasks; however, this candidate function of septal cholinergic neurons has not been studied extensively in the rat. In the present study, rats with selective lesions of cholinergic neurons in the medial septum and vertical limb of the diagonal band of Broca (MS/VDB), made with 192 IgG‐saporin, were tested on a conditional associative learning task. In this task, which we term “environment‐spatial” conditional learning, the correct location of a spatial response depended on the array of local environmental cues. MS/VDB‐lesioned rats were impaired when the two parts of the conditional problem were presented concurrently, but not when one environment had been learned before the full conditional problem was presented. Our findings suggest that cholinergic MS/VDB neurons participate in some aspects of conditional associative learning in rats. They may also shed light on the involvement of cholinergic projections to the hippocampus in modulating and remodeling hippocampal spatial representations. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Hippocampal activation during transitive inference in humans
Authors: Heckers Stephan , Zalesak Martin , Weiss Anthony P. , Ditman Tali , Titone Debra
Published: March 2004

Studies in rodents have demonstrated that the integration and flexible expression of memories, necessary for transitive inference, depend on an intact hippocampus. To test this hypothesis in humans, we studied brain activation during the discrimination of a series of overlapping and non‐overlapping arbitrary visual stimulus pairs. We report that transitive inference about overlapping pairs is associated with right anterior hippocampal activation, whereas recognition of non‐overlapping stimulus pairs is associated with bilateral medial temporal lobe activation centered in the anterior parahippocampal gyrus. We conclude that immediate access to simple stimulus‐stimulus relationships is mediated via the parahippocampal gyrus, whereas the flexible representation of memory requires the recruitment of the hippocampus. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The inter‐rater reliability of the Japanese version of the Montgomery–Asberg depression rating scale (MADRS) using a structured interview guide for MADRS (SIGMA)
Authors: Takahashi Nagahide , Tomita Kenji , Higuchi Teruhiko , Inada Toshiya
Published: March 2004

The inter‐rater reliability of the Japanese version of MADRS (MADRSJ) was examined using the structured interview guide for MADRS (SIGMA) developed by our group. Two or more psychiatrists attended the systematic interview sessions with each subject to evaluate MADRSJ independently, using SIGMA. A total of 18 interviews was carried out for seven patients with DSM‐IV major depressive disorder. The severity of each item assessed by the raters ranged from 0 to 6 for nine items and from 0 to 4 for one item. The analysis of variance intraclass correlation coefficient inter‐rater reliability values for the individual items carried out by two trained personnel ranged from 0.91 to 1.00, while those achieved by three raters ranged from 0.85 to 1.00. The present results suggest that SIGMA is a potentially useful interview guide for assessing ten symptoms of MADRSJ precisely in patients with a depressive disorder. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Land use and water management challenges in Lithuanian rural areas
Authors: Maziliauskas Antanas
Published: March 2004

Lithuania has been transforming its agriculture and rural development sector during the past decade and is now close to joining the EU. This has included land reform and transformation of water management. The land restitution process will be completed soon. The average size of private agricultural land tenure is 5.7 ha. The large number of small‐size agricultural holdings is an issue to be addressed in the upcoming land consolidation projects. The maintenance of large‐scale drainage systems installed during the former period needs a lot of organisational and financial support. The study presents a critical analysis of the present state of land use and agricultural water management infrastructure in Lithuania. The existing opportunities are highlighted, with the emphasis on actions to be taken to explore the challenges arising.

The EU pre‐accession programme SAPARD that started in 2000 is already addressing some investment issues in rural areas. Unfortunately, it does not assist the required investments in drainage infrastructure and does not deal with land consolidation issues. A critical review of existing measures suggests some new actions within the framework of the coming support from EU Structural Funds. The research gives the background for the preparation of comprehensive support measures for reforming land use and assisting the water management sector to be included in the framework of the Single Programming Document which is being prepared for the use of EU structural funds for the period of 2004–2006 after the accession of Lithuania to the EU. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Predicting subcellular localization of proteins by hybridizing functional domain composition and pseudo‐amino acid composition
Authors: Chou Kuo‐Chen , Cai Yu‐Dong
Published: March 2004

Recent advances in large‐scale genome sequencing have led to the rapid accumulation of amino acid sequences of proteins whose functions are unknown. Since the functions of these proteins are closely correlated with their subcellular localizations, many efforts have been made to develop a variety of methods for predicting protein subcellular location. In this study, based on the strategy by hybridizing the functional domain composition and the pseudo‐amino acid composition (Cai and Chou [2003]: Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 305:407–411), the Intimate Sorting Algorithm (ISort predictor) was developed for predicting the protein subcellular location. As a showcase, the same plant and non‐plant protein datasets as investigated by the previous investigators were used for demonstration. The overall success rate by the jackknife test for the plant protein dataset was 85.4%, and that for the non‐plant protein dataset 91.9%. These are so far the highest success rates achieved for the two datasets by following a rigorous cross validation test procedure, further confirming that such a hybrid approach may become a very useful high‐throughput tool in the area of bioinformatics, proteomics, as well as molecular cell biology. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator in human and mouse red blood cell membranes and its interaction with ecto‐apyrase
Authors: Sterling Kenneth M. , Shah Sanjiv , Kim Ronald J. , Johnston Nicholas I. F. , Salikhova Anna Y. , Abraham Edward H.
Published: March 2004

Elevated blood ATP and increased red blood cell (RBC) ATP transport is associated with cystic fibrosis (CF). In this report, we demonstrate the presence of the wild‐type and the ΔF508 mutant form of the CF transmembrane conductance regulator protein in RBC membranes and its putative interaction with ecto‐apyrase, an ATP hydrolyzing enzyme also present in the RBC membrane. RBC membranes of control and ΔF508 individuals and of wild‐type and CF transmembrane conductance regulator‐knockout mice were examined by immunoblot using several antibodies directed against different epitopes of this protein. These experiments indicated that human RBC membranes contain comparable amounts of the wild‐type CF transmembrane conductance regulator protein and the ΔF508 mutant form of the protein, respectively. CF transmembrane conductance regulator protein was also detected in wild‐type mouse RBC membranes but not in the gene knockout mouse RBC membranes. Antibodies directed against ecto‐apyrase co‐immunoprecipitated CF transmembrane conductance regulator protein of human RBC membranes indicating a physical interaction between these two membrane proteins consistent with ATP transport and extracellular hydrolysis. We conclude that RBCs are a significant repository of CF transmembrane conductance regulator protein and should provide a novel system for evaluating its expression and function. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Modulation of cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor proteins and ERK1/2 activity in allylamine‐injured vascular smooth muscle cells
Authors: Jones Sarah A. , Patterson Jan L. , Chao Jun‐Tzu , Ramos Kenneth S. , Wilson Emily
Published: March 2004

Chronic oxidative injury by allylamine (AAM) induces proliferative vascular smooth muscle cell (vSMC) phenotypes in the rat aorta similar to those seen in rodent and human atherosclerotic lesions. The proliferative advantage of AAM vSMC compared to control cells is maintained with serial passage of the cells and the advantage is nullified when AAM cells are seeded on a collagen substrate. In this study, we evaluate the potential role of cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors, p27 and p21, and mitogen activated protein (MAP) kinases, ERK1/2, in mediating the proliferative advantage of AAM stressed vSMC over control cells on plastic or collagen substrates. p27 levels in randomly cycling cells were comparable in both cell types irrespective of the substrate. In contrast, basal levels of p21 were 1.9 ± 0.3 (P < 0.05)‐fold higher in randomly cycling AAM cells seeded on plastic compared to controls, a difference that was lost on a collagen substrate. Following G0 synchronization, basal levels of both p27 and p21 were higher in AAM cells seeded on plastic compared to controls (1.7 ± 0.2 and 2.0 ± 0.3‐fold, respectively, P < 0.05), but these differences were lost upon mitogenic stimulation. Pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) decreased p27 and p21 levels in cycling AAM cells relative to controls in a substrate‐dependent manner. AAM cells seeded on plastic exhibited enhanced ERK1/2 activation upon mitogenic stimulation; seeding on collagen nullified this advantage. The duration of ERK1/2 activation was prolonged in AAM cells independently of the seeding substrate. We conclude that substrate‐dependent acquisition of proliferative phenotypes following repeated cycles of AAM injury correlates with modulation of the cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors, p27 and p21. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Viral appropriation of apoptotic and NF‐κB signaling pathways
Authors: Bowie Andrew G. , Zhan Jun , Marshall William L.
Published: March 2004

Viruses utilize a variety of strategies to evade the host immune response and replicate in the cells they infect. The comparatively large genomes of the Orthopoxviruses and gammaherpesviruses encode several immunomodulatory proteins that are homologous to component of the innate immune system of host cells, which are reviewed here. However, the viral mechanisms used to survive host responses are quite distinct between these two virus families. Poxviruses undergo continuous lytic replication in the host cytoplasm while expressing many genes that inhibit innate immune responses. In contrast, herpesviruses persist in a latent state during much of their lifecycle while expressing only a limited number of relatively non‐immunogenic viral proteins, thereby avoiding the adaptive immune response. Poxviruses suppress, whereas latent gammaherpesviruses activate, signaling by NF‐κB, yet both viruses target similar host signaling pathways to suppress the apoptotic response. Here, modulation of apoptotic and NF‐κB signal transduction pathways are examined as examples of common pathways appropriated in contrasting ways by herpesviruses and poxviruses. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Efficient solution technique for solving the Poisson–Boltzmann equation
Authors: Sayyed–Ahmad Abdallah , Tuncay Kagan , Ortoleva Peter J.
Published: March 2004

The Poisson–Boltzmann (PB) equation has been extensively used to analyze the energetics and structure of proteins and other significant biomolecules immersed in electrolyte media. A new highly efficient approach for solving PB‐type equations that allows for the modeling of many‐atoms structures such as encountered in cell biology, virology, and nanotechnology is presented. We accomplish these efficiencies by reformulating the elliptic PB equation as the long‐time solution of an advection‐diffusion equation. An efficient modified, memory optimized, alternating direction implicit scheme is used to integrate the reformulated PB equation. Our approach is demonstrated on protein composites (a polio virus capsid protomer and a pentamer). The approach has great potential for the analysis of supramillion atoms immersed in a host electrolyte. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 25: 1068–1074, 2004
Transformational change: A historical review
Authors: White William L.
Published: March 2004

Recovery from alcoholism can occur through a process of psychological death and rebirth. Generating a new person within a body once occupied by another, transformational change (TC) stands as a life‐defining experience demarcating before (old self) and after (new self). The TC experiences of 7 individuals (Handsome Lake, John Gough, Francis Murphy, Jerry McAuley, Bill Wilson, Marty Mann, and Malcolm X) are presented here. Their recoveries from addiction catalyzed larger abstinence‐based mutual aid, advocacy, or religious/cultural revitalization movements. Psychotherapists are encouraged to respect the healing power of the TC experience, avoid aborting the TC experience via superficial amelioration of its more disquieting manifestations, interpret the TC experience in ways that solidify and sustain the change process, and help bridge the TC experience and the construction of a new identity and lifestyle. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol/In Session.
Quantum change: Ten years later
Authors: C'de Baca Janet , Wilbourne Paula
Published: March 2004

Ten years ago, 55 people shared their stories of personality transformation and sudden extensive cognitive and behavior changes. We termed this type of change “quantum change” (QC). The majority reported that because of their experience, their lives were much better, and most were confident the changes would last. Thirty people from the original study were re‐interviewed. Most remembered quite vividly the QC experience reported 10 years earlier. The QC experiences fell along a continuum, with some describing their QC as a one‐time event that dramatically changed the way they lived, others experienced repeated changes that were either of similar intensity to the initial experience or milder than the initial experience, and some framed the initial change experience as one aspect of a continuing growth process. These dramatic changes have continued, and none described a return to old ways of being. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol/In Session.
Leptin inhibits lysophosphatidic acid‐induced intracellular calcium rise by a protein kinase C‐dependent mechanism
Authors: Eiras Sonia , Camiña Jesus P. , Diaz‐Rodriguez Esther , Gualillo Oreste , Casanueva Felipe F.
Published: March 2004

Leptin communicates the status of body energy stores to the central nervous system, regulating appetite, metabolic rate, and neuroendocrine functions. These effects are mediated by leptin binding and activation of the cognate cell surface receptor, a member of type I cytokine receptor family, which lead to the activation of receptor‐associated kinases of the Janus family. In this work, we demonstrate that leptin inhibits the l‐α‐lysophosphatidic acid (LPA)‐induced intracellular calcium mobilization in a dose‐dependent manner in HEK‐293 cells stably expressing full‐length leptin receptor (OB‐Rb). This action appears to be selective, as it was not observed when other signaling families, such as VIP or EGF, were studied. Pretreatment with the phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI3K) inhibitor, wortmannin, reversed the effect of leptin, pointing to PI3K as an intermediate molecule involved in this process. An unspecific protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, staurosporine, disrupted the inhibitory action of leptin. Furthermore, intracellular levels of phosphorylated PKCε and PKCδ rose to a maximum 5 min after leptin administration, suggesting that these atypical PKC isoforms are involved in the observed cross‐desensitization. To define the regions of the OB‐Rb intracellular domain required for the cross‐desensitization, a series of C‐terminal deletion mutants were transfected into HEK‐293 cells. C‐terminal truncation that removed the consensus Box 3 motif of OB‐Rb prevented leptin action, indicating that heterologous desensitization over LPA was exerted at the level of this intracellular motif. Our date demonstrate that leptin plays a key role in the regulation of the earliest signaling pathways activated by growth factors, such as LPA, through a signaling pathway involving PKCδ and PKCε coupled to Box 3 motif of the OB‐Rb through PI3K. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Comparative analysis of dendritic cells transduced with different anti‐apoptotic molecules: sensitivity to tumor‐induced apoptosis
Authors: Balkir Levent , Tourkova Irina L. , Makarenkova Valeria P. , Shurin Galina V. , Robbins Paul D. , Yin Xiao‐Ming , Chatta Gurkamal , Shurin Michael R.
Published: March 2004

Background

Tumors develop mechanisms to escape recognition by the immune system. It has recently been demonstrated that tumors cause apoptotic death of key immune cells, including the major antigen‐presenting cells, dendritic cells (DC). Elimination of DC from the tumor environment significantly diminishes development of specific immunologic responses. We have recently demonstrated that tumor‐induced DC apoptosis could be prevented by overexpression of the anti‐apoptotic molecule Bcl‐xL. The aim of this study was to identify extrinsic and intrinsic tumor‐induced apoptotic pathways in DC by targeting different anti‐apoptotic molecules, including FLIP, XIAP/hILP, dominant‐negative procaspase‐9 and HSP70.

Methods

Murine bone marrow derived DC were transduced with adenoviral vectors carrying different anti‐apoptotic molecules and co‐incubated with tumor cells in a Transwell system. Apoptosis of DC was assessed by Annexin V and PI staining.

Results

We have demonstrated that adenoviral infection of DC with genes encoding different anti‐apoptotic molecules exhibits different degrees of resistance to melanoma‐induced apoptosis. Furthermore, we have shown that anti‐apoptotic molecules other than the Bcl‐2 family of proteins are able to protect DC and prevent tumor‐induced apoptosis in DC.

Conclusions

The results show that tumor‐induced apoptosis of DC is not limited to the mitochondrial pathway of cell death and open additional possibilities for targeted molecular protection of DC longevity in cancer. Therefore, effective protection of DC from tumor‐induced apoptosis may significantly improve the efficacy of DC‐based therapies for cancer. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.