bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stable and unstable bifurcation in the von Kármán problem for a circular plate
Authors: Borisovich Andrei , Janczewska Joanna
Published: October 2005

In this work, we study bifurcation in the von Kármán
equations for a thin circular elastic plate which lies on the
elastic base and is simply supported and subjected to a
compressive force along the boundary. Applying analytical methods,
we prove the existence of stable and unstable simple bifurcation
points in the solution set of these equations.
Existence and uniform decay for a nonlinear beam equation with nonlinearity of Kirchhoff type in domains with moving boundary
Authors: Santos M. L. , Ferreira J. , Raposo C. A.
Published: October 2005

We prove the exponential decay in the case n > 2, as time goes to
infinity, of regular solutions for the nonlinear beam equation
with memory and weak damping utt + Δ2u− in a noncylindrical domain of ℝn+1(n ≥ 1) under suitable hypothesis on the scalar
functions M and g, and where α is a positive constant.
We establish existence and uniqueness of regular solutions for any
n ≥ 1.
What Are Gene Patents and Why Are People Worried about Them?
Authors: Merz Jon F. , Cho Mildred K.
Published: October 2005

This article examines what it means to patent a gene. Numerous ethical concerns have been raised about the effects of such patents on clinical medical practice as well as on research and development. We describe what kinds of inventions are covered by human gene patents, give several examples and summarize the small body of empirical research performed in the US examining the effects of these patents. There is little evidence that early fears about gene patenting placing substantial restraints on research and clinical medicine have come to fruition. Nonetheless, there are areas of concern, and policy makers, physicians and the public should be alert to ensure that the net social benefits of patenting human genes are maintained.
Genetic Patent Protection in the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industries
Authors: Nunnally Allen C. , Webster Christopher J. , Brown Scott A. , Cohen Gary A.
Published: October 2005

Without patent protection, biomedical progress would be severely diminished. Conditions under the current patent regime are characterized by rapid advancement made possible by cooperative licensing, collaboration and partnerships between and among various entities, and the drive to bring successful products to market both in order to make profits and to further the cause of humanity. The financial advantages associated with patent-driven corporate participation are the lifeline of innovation. While granting limited periods of exclusivity under the patent system necessary to entice innovation is a calculated sacrifice, the enormous benefits of fully-disclosed pharmaceutical and genetic discoveries result in a handsome net benefit over the alternative of resource-limited research clouded by a shroud of secrecy as a substitute for patent protection. By examining characteristics of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and the critical role the patent regime plays in driving investment in these areas, a clearer picture of the necessity of strong intellectual property rights in the context of genetics will emerge.
Policy Conflicts: Gene Patents and Health Care in Canada
Authors: Caulfield Timothy
Published: October 2005

Several recent gene patent controversies have energized and refocused the human gene patent debate in Canada. These include the use of the Myriad test for breast cancer by the provinces, patenting of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus and a recent Supreme Court decision rejecting the patenting of ‘higher life forms’. These cases place the emerging policy conflicts between the innovation and commercialization agenda of the government and the desire to provide equitable access to health care in sharp focus. Another challenge faced by Canada is the powerful influence of the United States in policy decisions. Although these issues have raised awareness about the possibility of reforming the patent system, Parliament has yet to consider any of the suggested reforms of the Canadian patent system and there are no formal proposals pending.
Acute and Chronic Regulation of the Renal Na+/H+ Exchanger NHE3 in Rats with STZ-Induced Diabetes mellitus
Authors: Klisic Jelena , Nief Vera , Reyes Livia , Ambühl Patrice M.
Published: October 2005

Background: Early stages of diabetic nephropathy are characterized by alterations of glomerular filtration, increased tubular sodium and water reabsorption, and systemic volume expansion, which may be a major cause for the development of hypertension. As a significant fraction of renal salt and water transport is mediated by the proximal tubular Na+/H+ exchanger NHE3, we investigated its regulation in rats with STZ-induced diabetes mellitus. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected +/– streptozotocin (STZ, 60 mg/kg), and sacrificed after 2, 7 or 14 days. Renal cortical BBM vesicles were prepared to measure Na+/H+ exchange (NHE) activity and NHE3 protein abundance. Cortical NHE3 mRNA was extracted to perform Northern blot analysis. Pharmacological inhibitors were used in vivo and in vitro in order to identify isoform specificity conferring changes in NHE activity mediated by the diabetic milieu. Results: Compared to control rats, STZ rats were clearly hyperglycemic at all time points studied. NHE activity was significantly increased by 40 and 37% in diabetic rats after 7 and 14 days, respectively, but not after 2 days. The increase in Na+/H+ exchange activity was not inhibited by HOE-642 (3 µM). Administration of exogenous insulin to diabetic rats resulted in lower blood sugars, but not NHE activity. Moreover, serum glucose concentration did not correlate with NHE activity in any subgroup nor in all animals analyzed together. However, in STZ rats supplemented with exogenous insulin NHE activity was positively correlated with serum insulin concentrations (r = 0.86, p < 0.01). In vivo, the increase in NHE activity induced by STZ could be completely inhibited when rats were fed 6 ppm of HOE-642 with the diet over 14 days. The changes in Na+/H+ exchange activity were not paralleled by changes in NHE3 protein or mRNA abundance in diabetic rats at any of the time points investigated. Conclusions: These results suggest that proximal tubular Na/H exchange activity is modified in the early stage of diabetes mellitus.
Ultrasound-Microbubble-Mediated NF-κB Decoy Transfection Attenuates Neointimal Formation after Arterial Injury in Mice
Authors: Inagaki Hiroshi , Suzuki Jun-ichi , Ogawa Masahito , Taniyama Yoshiaki , Morishita Ryuichi , Isobe Mitsuaki
Published: October 2005

Objective: Decoy transfection is a significant methodology for suppressing gene activation. The decoy can be synthesized easily; however, the major obstacle is the difficulty involved in effective in vivo delivery. Methods and Results: We used a fluorescein-labeled decoy to investigate the ultrasound-microbubble-mediated in vivo delivery in normal and injured mouse arteries. We showed that this approach could deliver the decoy into target tissues. In addition, we performed in vivo NF-ĸB decoy transfection into murine injured arteries using the ultrasound-microbubble method. Murine femoral arteries were injured using flexible wires to establish arterial injury. Pathologically, neointima/media areas in the NF-ĸB decoy transfection using ultrasound-microbubble group showed less than those in the control groups. Immunohistochemistry revealed that enhanced expression of inflammatory factors was observed in nontreated injured arteries, while the NF-ĸB decoy suppressed the expression. Conclusion: We revealed that ultrasound-microbubble delivery of the decoy is effective for transfection into target organs. We also indicated that NF-ĸB decoy transfection using this method has potential for the suppression of neointimal formation. Ultrasound-mediated transfection of the decoy can be beneficial for the clinical treatment of restenosis after coronary intervention and other cardiovascular diseases.
Visual Search in Patients with Subcortical Vascular Dementia: Short Fixations but Long Reaction Times
Authors: Rösler A. , Billino J. , Müller N.G. , Weidauer S. , Steinmetz H. , Kleinschmidt A.
Published: October 2005

Visual search is a cognitive function of high ecological relevance. It involves rapid alternations between allocating and shifting attention. In patients with Alzheimer’s disease, the duration of fixations during visual search increases already in the early stage of the illness. Subcortical vascular dementia (SVD), a newly defined subgroup of vascular dementia, has not yet been examined in this respect. SVD affects patients with a history of lacunar infarctions and/or transient ischemic attacks, focal neurological signs and evidence of subcortical white matter lesions as well as lacunes in the deep grey matter. Here, we report our findings from tracking eye movements during a visual search task with different array sizes in 9 patients with SVD and compare the number and duration of eye fixations they made with the values obtained in 9 healthy elderly control subjects. While patients with SVD were significantly slower in the tasks with longer center to target distances (mean reaction time), the number and duration of fixations they made did not differ from those in controls. Impairment of visual search in patients with SVD seems to be an effect of general cognitive slowing in more demanding arrays of visual search rather than a specific deficit in parameters of eye fixation.
Memory for Performed Actions in Dementia of Alzheimer Type: Further Evidence for a Global Semantic Memory Deficit
Authors: Mack Wolfgang , Eberle Christine , Frölich Lutz , Knopf Monika
Published: October 2005

Findings in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (AD patients) concerning the enactment effect, i.e. reaching a better memory performance after encoding actions by performing them in contrast to encoding them by reading, are ambiguous. In order to get more insight into memory deterioration in patients suffering from AD, an experimental study was run. Patients with mild-to-moderate AD (n = 23) and healthy elderly control persons (n = 20) took part. They had to encode actions verbally as well as enactively. Memory performance was tested by using recognition judgments instead of the predominating free recall. The AD patients showed no enactment effect and a rate of false alarm judgments that was more than twice as high as found in healthy elderly controls. This enactive encoding failure may be indicative of memory deficits underlying the conceptual system of action representations.
Olanzapine versus Haloperidol in the Treatment of Agitation in Elderly Patients with Dementia: Results of a Randomized Controlled Double-Blind Trial
Authors: Verhey Frans R.J. , Verkaaik Mike , Lousberg Richel
Published: October 2005

The goal of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of olanzapine versus haloperidol in the treatment of agitation and aggression in patients with dementia. The subjects were 58 out-patients with dementia and agitation. After baseline assessments and, if necessary, a period of wash-out of a previous antipsychotic drug, they were randomly assigned to 5 weeks of double-blind treatment with either olanzapine or haloperidol. The first 2 weeks were used for dose titration. Subsequently, the patients received a fixed dose of either olanzapine (average dose 4.71 mg) or haloperidol (average dose 1.75 mg) from day 14 to day 35. Both olanzapine and haloperidol decreased agitation significantly (decrease in Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory scores), but there was no significant difference between the two drugs. The two drugs had comparable effects on all secondary outcome measures. They were well tolerated and had a similar side-effect pattern. Our study could not demonstrate the superiority of olanzapine, compared to haloperidol, for the treatment of agitation in patients with dementia.
Evaluation of Skin Viscoelasticity in Type 1 Neurofibromatosis Patients
Authors: Mimoun N. , Razzouq N. , Wolkenstein P. , Moreno J.C. , Marty J.P. , Lantieri L. , Astier A. , Paul M.
Published: October 2005

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a frequent autosomal dominant disease characterized by cutaneous benign tumors called neurofibromas. Surgery takes an important place in managing these skin disorders. However, skin distensibility and softness of NF1 patients quickly offset the surgical benefit. The aim of this study was to determine the rheological behavior of neurofibromas and compare it with healthy skin in an attempt to comprehend what leads to this phenomenon. Thirty patients were admitted to this study. A group of 24 healthy control subjects was also included. The skin elasticity was assessed by a noninvasive in vivo suction device (Cutometer) including 5 consecutive suctions. The assessments were performed on neurofibroma skin, the supposedly healthy skin around neurofibromas and the healthy skin of control subjects. The extensibility at the first and the fifth traction in NF1 patients (neurofibromas and the supposedly healthy skin around it) was significantly different compared to the healthy skin of control subjects. The viscoelastic parameters obtained from the neurofibromas were significantly different in comparison to those obtained from the supposedly healthy skin of NF1 patients and the healthy skin of control subjects. The rheological profiles of the neurofibromas and the apparent healthy skin of NF1 patients demonstrated a hyperextensibility behavior, but in neurofibromas, the skin was unable to return to its initial position at the end of the stretch.
Transdermal Delivery of Tea Catechins by Electrically Assisted Methods
Authors: Fang J.-Y. , Hung C.-F. , Hwang T.-L. , Wong W.-W.
Published: October 2005

Tea polyphenols, including (+)-catechin, (–)-epicatechin, and (–)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), have been shown to possess potent antioxidant and chemopreventive activities. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of electroporation, iontophoresis, and their combination on the transdermal delivery of tea catechins across porcine skin. The permeation characteristics were investigated using various analogues of catechins, pH values, and modes of electroporation and iontophoresis. The mechanisms by which these catechins were transported via the skin were elucidated by examining the electric conductivity, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and fusion of stratum corneum lipid liposomes (SCLL). The isomers, (+)-catechin and (–)-epicatechin, showed different behaviors of skin permeation and local skin deposition with the electrically assisted methods. The results suggest evidence of selective skin absorption of (–)-epicatechin over (+)-catechin. A synergistic effect was detected for (+)-catechin but not for (–)-epicatechin after application of electroporation followed by iontophoresis. The presence of a gallic acid ester in the structure of EGCG significantly increased the skin uptake of catechins. However, a negligible amount of or no EGCG molecules permeated across the skin. The mechanisms involved in the enhancement of electroporation may be the skin reservoir effect and an increase in skin permeability. The TEWL profiles suggest that in addition to the force of electrorepulsion, the skin hydration effect and structural alterations may also have contributed to the enhancement by iontophoresis. Electroporation did not influence the skin barrier function, although the skin permeability increased according to the SCLL fusion study.
Activity of the Triazole Antifungal R126638 as Assessed by Corneofungimetry
Authors: Piérard-Franchimont C. , Ausma J. , Wouters L. , Vroome V. , Vandeplassche L. , Borgers M. , Cauwenbergh G. , Piérard G.E.
Published: October 2005

Background: R126638 is a novel triazole exhibiting potent in vitro and in vivo antifungal activity against fungal pathogens including dermatophytes and yeasts. Objective: To determine the antifungal activity in time in the stratum corneum of healthy volunteers after oral intake of R126638 at a daily dose of 100 or 200 mg for 1 week. Method: Sixteen male volunteers were randomly allocated to oral treatment with either 100 or 200 mg of R126638 once daily for 1 week. Five cyanoacrylate skin surface strippings (CSSS) were obtained from the forearm of each subject before drug intake at day 1. CSSS were also collected during treatment at day 2 (24 h after the first drug intake, before the second drug intake), at day 4 (before the fourth drug intake) and at day 7 (10 h after the last drug intake). The post-treatment lingering effect was assessed at day 10 (3 days after treatment) and at day 14 (7 days after treatment). The corneofungimetry bioassay was performed on these CSSS to assess the antifungal profile of R126638. Cells of different fungal species (Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporum canis, Candida albicans and Malassezia globosa) were deposited and cultured for 10 days on CSSS in a sterile and controlled environment. The extent of fungal growth on the stratum corneum was determined using computerized image analysis. Results: R126638 clearly reduced the growth of all tested fungal species. The onset of effects of R126638 was evidenced at day 4 when it reached statistical significance for 3 of 5 species. At day 7, significance was reached for 4 of 5 species. During the posttreatment period, R126638 remained effective for 4 of 5 species at day 10, and this activity persisted until day 14 for 2 of 5 species. Conclusion: A broad spectrum antifungal activity was rapidly expressed in the stratum corneum after oral intake of R126638. The drug likely reached the upper layers of the stratum corneum by diffusion and persisted in this location for at least 7 days after treatment.
Atrophic Gastritis Is Associated with Increased Sucrose Permeability Related to Chronic Inflammation
Authors: Sjöstedt Zsigmond Camilla , Hannestad Ulf , Franzén Lennart , Söderholm Johan D. , Borch Kurt
Published: October 2005

Background: Different theories have been presented to explain how atrophic gastritis may lead to gastric cancer development. One contributing factor could be impaired function of the gastric mucosal barrier. The aim of this study was to investigate if there are changes in gastric mucosal permeability to sucrose in atrophic gastritis.Methods: The study comprised 22 patients with atrophic gastritis and 21 normal controls. Gastritis was classified according to the Sydney system from endoscopic biopsies of the gastric corpus and antrum. All subjects were exposed to oral sucrose load (100 g), and the fraction of sucrose excreted in urine was measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results: The fraction of sucrose excreted in urine after oral load was significantly increased in atrophic gastritis compared with controls (median 0.08 vs. 0.04%; p = 0.003). Sucrose excretion was positively related to the degree of chronic inflammation (median fraction excreted: mild inflammation 0.06%, moderate inflammation 0.08%, severe inflammation 0.18%; p = 0.04) rather than to the degree of atrophy in the gastric mucosa. Occurrence of intestinal metaplasia was also associated with significantly higher sucrose excretion. However, in multivariate analysis, including intestinal metaplasia, only the degree of inflammation was positively related to sucrose excretion. Conclusion: Atrophic gastritis is associated with increased sucrose permeability, suggesting paracellular leakage of the gastric mucosa. This leakage seems to be related to the degree of inflammation rather than the degree of atrophy. The findings may have implications for the diseases and complications associated with atrophic gastritis.
Physical Landscape Correlates of the Expansion of Mechanized Agriculture in Mato Grosso, Brazil
Authors: Jasinski Ellen , Morton Douglas , DeFries Ruth , Shimabukuro Yosio , Anderson Liana , Hansen Matthew
Published: October 2005

Mechanized agriculture is rapidly expanding in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. In the past five years, land area planted with soybeans, the state’s principal crop, has increased at an average rate of 19.4% yr−1. Drivers of this large-scale land-use conversion are principally economic and sociopolitical, but physical properties of the landscape make some areas more attractive than others for expansion of mechanized agriculture. The goal of this study is to evaluate several physical characteristics of land in Mato Grosso and to quantify their respective weights in determining the likelihood of land-use conversion to crop production. A 2003 land-cover classification at 250-m resolution was compared to maps of five physical landscape characteristics (surface slope, soil type, total November precipitation, distance from paved roads, and previous land-cover type based on a 2001 classification). A land-cover transition matrix was generated to inform analysis of the role of previous land-cover type, and statewide distributions of the other four landscape characteristics were examined across agricultural and nonagricultural land. Finally, logistic regressions were performed to quantify the respective correlations of these various characteristics with the probability of conversion to mechanized agriculture. Areas of new cropland in 2003 (converted since the 2001 classification) were nearly 3 times as likely to have been converted from pasture/cerrado as from all other land-cover types combined, but in terms of class original extent, bare soil was by far the most likely class to be converted to cropland, with 56% of its 2001 land area being converted by 2003. The physical landscape parameter found most highly correlated with conversion to mechanized agriculture between 2001 and 2003 was that of the previous land-cover type, followed by topographic slope and distance from paved roads. Soil type and total November precipitation were poorly correlated with mechanized agriculture. Findings from this study suggest that holistic, spatially explicit models of likelihood of conversion to mechanized agriculture should consider land cover, slope, and proximity to main roads in addition to political and economic parameters to generate realistic scenarios for sustainable land-use planning.
Using Sun Glint to Check the Relative Calibration of Reflected Spectral Radiances
Authors: Luderer Gunnar , Coakley James A. , Tahnk William R.
Published: October 2005

Observations of sunlight reflected from regions of sun glint are used to check the relative calibration of spectral radiances obtained with imaging radiometers. Reflectances at different wavelengths for sun-glint regions are linearly related. Provided that the atmosphere is reasonably transparent at the wavelengths, the aerosol burden is reasonably light, 0.64-μm optical depth less than 0.2; the particles constituting the aerosol are reasonably large, as is the case for marine aerosols; and the solar zenith angle is less than about 35°, the linear relationships between reflectances at different wavelengths are rather insensitive to the factors that govern the reflectances themselves. The relationships are remarkably insensitive to atmospheric composition, surface wind speed and direction, illumination, and viewing geometry. The slopes and offsets of the linear relationships are used to assess the relative accuracies of the calibrations of the different channels. Such assessments would appear to be attractive for checks on the in-flight performance of aircraft-borne imaging radiometers. Here, observations of reflectances at 0.64, 0.84, 1.6, and 2.1 μm for regions of sun glint obtained with the Terra and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments are shown to be consistent with each other. Observations of the 0.64- and 1.6-μm reflectances for the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS) instrument are shown to be inconsistent with the MODIS observations, the VIRS 1.6-μm gain appearing to be too low by 9%. The 0.64-, 0.84-, and 1.6-μm reflectances obtained with the NOAA-16 and NOAA-17 Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometers (AVHRRs) for December 2002 are shown to be inconsistent with each other and inconsistent with the MODIS observations. Based on observations of the extensive ice sheets of Antarctica, the NOAA-16 0.64-μm gain is found to be too low by 5% and that for the 0.84-μm reflectance is too low by 12%; the NOAA-17 0.64-μm gain is found to be accurate (within 2%), but the 0.84-μm gain is too low by 15%. With the gains adjusted, the 0.64- and 0.84-μm reflectances obtained for regions of sun glint with the AVHRRs are consistent with each other and consistent with the Terra and Aqua MODIS observations. These results suggest that the gain for the NOAA-16 AVHRR 1.6-μm reflectance is accurate (within 1%) and that for the NOAA-17 AVHRR is too low by 5%. All of the observations were made with the AVHRR in the low-reflectance (high gain) mode. The accuracy of these assessments is expected to be about 5%.
Clustering a Global Field of Atmospheric Profiles by Mixture Decomposition of Copulas
Authors: Vrac Mathieu , Chédin Alain , Diday Edwin
Published: October 2005

This work focuses on the clustering of a large dataset of atmospheric vertical profiles of temperature and humidity in order to model a priori information for the problem of retrieving atmospheric variables from satellite observations. Here, each profile is described by cumulative distribution functions (cdfs) of temperature and specific humidity. The method presented here is based on an extension of the mixture density problem to this kind of data. This method allows dependencies between and among temperature and moisture to be taken into account, through copula functions, which are particular distribution functions, linking a (joint) multivariate distribution with its (marginal) univariate distributions. After a presentation of vertical profiles of temperature and humidity and the method used to transform them into cdfs, the clustering method is detailed and then applied to provide a partition into seven clusters based, first, on the temperature profiles only; second, on the humidity profiles only; and, third, on both the temperature and humidity profiles. The clusters are statistically described and explained in terms of airmass types, with reference to meteorological maps. To test the robustness and the relevance of the method for a larger number of clusters, a partition into 18 classes is established, where it is shown that even the smallest clusters are significant. Finally, comparisons with more classical efficient clustering or model-based methods are presented, and the advantages of the approach are discussed.
An Update on SURFRAD—The GCOS Surface Radiation Budget Network for the Continental United States
Authors: Augustine John A. , Hodges Gary B. , Cornwall Christopher R. , Michalsky Joseph J. , Medina Carlos I.
Published: October 2005

The Surface Radiation budget (SURFRAD) network was developed for the United States in the middle 1990s in response to a growing need for more sophisticated in situ surface radiation measurements to support satellite system validation; numerical model verification; and modern climate, weather, and hydrology research applications. Operational data collection began in 1995 with four stations; two stations were added in 1998. Since its formal introduction to the research community in 2000, several additions and improvements have been made to the network’s products and infrastructure. To better represent the climate types of the United States, a seventh SURFRAD station was installed near Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in June 2003. In 2001, the instrument used for the diffuse solar measurement was replaced with a type of pyranometer that does not have a bias associated with infrared radiative cooling of its receiving surface. Subsequently, biased diffuse solar data from 1996 to 2001 were corrected using a generally accepted method. Other improvements include the implementation of a clear-sky diagnostic algorithm and associated products, better continuity in the ultraviolet-B (UVB) data record, a reduced potential for error in the downwelling infrared measurements, and development of an aerosol optical depth algorithm. Of these, only the aerosol optical depth product has yet to be finalized. All SURFRAD stations are members of the international Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN). Data are submitted regularly in monthly segments to the BSRN archive in Zurich, Switzerland. Through this affiliation, the SURFRAD network became an official part of the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) in April 2004.
A role for airway remodeling during respiratory syncytial virus infection
Authors: Becnel David , You Dahui , Erskin Joshua , Dimina Dawn M , Cormier Stephania A
Published: October 2005

Background

Severe respiratory syncytial virus infection (RSV) during infancy has been shown to be a major risk factor for the development of subsequent wheeze. However, the reasons for this link remain unclear. The objective of this research was to determine the consequences of early exposure to RSV and allergen in the development of subsequent airway hyperreactivity (AHR) using a developmental time point in the mouse that parallels that of the human neonate.

Methods

Weanling mice were sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin (Ova) and/or infected with RSV. Eight days after the last allergen challenge, various pathophysiological endpoints were examined.

Results

AHR in response to methacholine was enhanced only in weanling mice exposed to Ova and subsequently infected with RSV. The increase in AHR appeared to be unrelated to pulmonary RSV titer. Total bronchoalveolar lavage cellularity in these mice increased approximately two-fold relative to Ova alone and was attributable to increases in eosinophil and lymphocyte numbers. Enhanced pulmonary pathologies including persistent mucus production and subepithelial fibrosis were observed. Interestingly, these data correlated with transient increases in TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-5, and IL-2.

Conclusion

The observed changes in pulmonary structure may provide an explanation for epidemiological data suggesting that early exposure to allergens and RSV have long-term physiological consequences. Furthermore, the data presented here highlight the importance of preventative strategies against RSV infection of atopic individuals during neonatal development.
Asymmetry in the burial of hydrophobic residues along the histone chains of Eukarya, Archaea and a transcription factor
Authors: Silverman B David
Published: October 2005

Background

The histone fold is a common structural motif of proteins involved in the chromatin packaging of DNA and in transcription regulation. This single chain fold is stabilized by either homo- or hetero-dimer formation in archaea and eukarya. X-ray structures at atomic resolution have shown the eukaryotic nucleosome core particle to consist of a central tetramer of two bound H3-H4 dimers flanked by two H2A-H2B dimers. The c-terminal region of the H3 histone fold involved in coupling the two eukaryotic dimers of the tetramer, through a four-fold helical bundle, had previously been shown to be a region of reduced burial of hydrophobic residues within the dimers, and thereby provide a rationale for the observed reduced stability of the H3-H4 dimer compared with that of the H2A-H2B dimer. Furthermore, comparison between eukaryal and archaeal histones had suggested that this asymmetry in the distribution of hydrophobic residues along the H3 histone chains could be due to selective evolution that enhanced the coupling between the eukaryotic dimers of the tetramer.

Results and discussion

The present work describes calculations utilizing the X-ray structures at atomic resolution of a hyperthermophile from Methanopyrus kandleri (HMk) and a eukaryotic transcription factor from Drosophila melanogaster (DRm), that are structurally homologous to the eukaryotic (H3-H4)2 tetramer. The results for several other related structures are also described. Reduced burial of hydrophobic residues, at the homologous H3 c-terminal regions of these structures, is found to parallel the burial at the c-terminal regions of the H3 histones and is, thereby, expected to affect dimer stability and the processes involving histone structural rearrangement. Significantly different sequence homology between the two histones of the HMk doublet with other archaeal sequences is observed, and how this might have occurred during selection to enhance tetramer stability is described.
Early relief of osteoarthritis symptoms with a natural mineral supplement and a herbomineral combination: A randomized controlled trial [ISRCTN38432711]
Authors: Miller Mark JS , Mehta Komal , Kunte Sameer , Raut Vidyanand , Gala Jayesh , Dhumale Ramesh , Shukla Anil , Tupalli Hemant , Parikh Himanshu , Bobrowski Paul , Chaudhary Jayesh
Published: October 2005

Background

This study was designed to determine if a natural mineral supplement, sierrasil, alone and in combination with a cat's claw extract (Uncaria guianensis), vincaria, has therapeutic potential in mild to moderate osteoarthritis of the knee.

Methods

Patients (n = 107) with mild to moderate osteoarthritis of the knee were randomly assigned to one of 4 groups; high dose sierrasil (3 g/day), low dose sierrasil (2 g/day), low dose sierrasil (2 g/day) + cat's claw extract (100 mg/day) or placebo, administered for 8 weeks. Treatment was double blinded. Primary efficacy variables were WOMAC scores (A, B, C and total). Visual analog score (VAS) for pain, consumption of rescue medication (paracetamol), and tolerability were secondary variables. Safety measures included vital signs and laboratory-based assays.

Results

Ninety-one of the 107 patients successfully completed the protocol. All four groups showed improvement in WOMAC and VAS scores after 8 weeks (p < 0.001), in all 3 groups receiving sierrasil the magnitude of benefits were greater vs. placebo (WOMAC Total 38–43% vs. 27%) but this was not statistically significant. In reference to baseline values sierrasil treated groups had a considerably faster onset of benefits. Placebo-treated individuals failed to show significant benefits at 4 weeks (11% reduction in total WOMAC). In contrast, after 1 or 2 weeks of therapy all the sierrasil groups displayed significant reductions in WOMAC scores (p < 0.05) and at week 4 displayed a 38–43% improvement. VAS was significantly improved at 4 weeks in all groups (p < 0.001) but was significantly greater in all sierrasil groups compared to placebo (p < 0.05). Rescue medication use was 28-23% lower in the herbomineral combination and high dose sierrasil groups although not statistically different from placebo (P = 0.101 and P = 0.193, respectively). Tolerability was good for all groups, no serious adverse events were noted and safety parameters remained unchanged.

Conclusion

The natural mineral supplement, sierrasil alone and in combination with a cat's claw extract, improved joint health and function within 1–2 weeks of treatment but significant benefits over placebo were not sustained, possibly due to rescue medication masking. Sierrasil may offer an alternative therapy in subjects with joint pain and dysfunction.
Combustion-derived nanoparticles: A review of their toxicology following inhalation exposure
Authors: Donaldson Ken , Tran Lang , Jimenez Luis Albert , Duffin Rodger , Newby David E , Mills Nicholas , MacNee William , Stone Vicki
Published: October 2005

This review considers the molecular toxicology of combustion-derived nanoparticles (CDNP) following inhalation exposure. CDNP originate from a number of sources and in this review we consider diesel soot, welding fume, carbon black and coal fly ash. A substantial literature demonstrates that these pose a hazard to the lungs through their potential to cause oxidative stress, inflammation and cancer; they also have the potential to redistribute to other organs following pulmonary deposition. These different CDNP show considerable heterogeneity in composition and solubility, meaning that oxidative stress may originate from different components depending on the particle under consideration. Key CDNP-associated properties of large surface area and the presence of metals and organics all have the potential to produce oxidative stress. CDNP may also exert genotoxic effects, depending on their composition. CDNP and their components also have the potential to translocate to the brain and also the blood, and thereby reach other targets such as the cardiovascular system, spleen and liver. CDNP therefore can be seen as a group of particulate toxins unified by a common mechanism of injury and properties of translocation which have the potential to mediate a range of adverse effects in the lungs and other organs and warrant further research.
Foreword
Authors: Beasley Craig
Published: October 2005

A little more than 75 years ago, one of the very early seismic crews worked its way through a part of northeast Texas and came up empty-handed as far as providing a viable drilling prospect. That crew missed finding the largest oil field ever found in the lower 48—the seven-billion-barrel East Texas Field. Or so the lore goes. I don't know exactly when or where I heard this story, but I believe it was when I was growing up in the 1950s in east Texas. I probably overheard it at one of the company barbecues as the men stood around tin washtubs chock full of ice and longneck beer bottles, bantering back and forth about such things. No asset team, this group—they were firmly in their company silos—geologists, geophysicists, drillers, etc., and proud of that fact. It seems likely that some sort of seismic crew operated in the area prior to Dad Joiner's Daisy Bradford #3 coming in on 3 October 1930 (Figure 1)—particularly in light of Michael T. Halbouty's statement in the keynote address at the Second Wallace E. Pratt Memorial Conference, January, 2000, when he said “…prior to its discovery, every major company and many independent companies, with their expertise and seismic black boxes ran their equipment repeatedly over the area and agreed that it did not have the parameters for the accumulation of oil.”
SEG's first 75 years
Authors: Clark Dean
Published: October 2005

The official, documented birthday of SEG is 11 March 1930. Some might think this was the result of the development of the torsion balance by Baron von Eötvös in the late 1890s …
Addressing Milo's challenges with 25 years of seismic advances
Authors: Lines Larry
Published: October 2005

In January 1980, Milo Backus, then SEG President, published an article in GEOPHYSICS that summarized the progress in exploration seismology during SEG's first 50 years and listed 10 challenges for the future. Much has been achieved in the subsequent 25 years to answer his challenges—and some problems remain.
A historical reflection on reflections
Authors: Dragoset Bill
Published: October 2005

In the summer of 1921, a small team of physicists and geologists (William P. Haseman, J. Clarence Karcher, Irving Perrine, and Daniel W. Ohern) performed a historical experiment near the Vines Branch area in south-central Oklahoma. Using a dynamite charge as a seismic source and a special instrument called a seismograph (Figure 1), the team recorded seismic waves that had traveled through the subsurface of the earth. Analysis of the recorded data (Figure 2) showed that seismic reflections from a boundary between two underground rock layers had been detected. Further analysis of the data produced an image of the subsurface—called a seismic reflection profile (Figure 3a)—that agreed with a known geologic feature. That result is widely regarded as the first proof that an accurate image of the earth's subsurface could be made using reflected seismic waves.
Geophysics in the next 25 years
Authors: Jack Ian
Published: October 2005

There is no shortage of earlier articles like this in GEOPHYSICS, TLE, and the journals of other relevant societies and, of course, they tend to appear at major milestones such as 25-year anniversaries and their multiples, century changes, etc. Some have made accurate predictions and some have been way off the mark—and I've enjoyed reading all of them. Take for example some of the opening words from Paul Lyons' presidential address exactly 50 years ago:
A Comprehensive High School and a Shift in New York State Policy: A Study of Early Implementation
Authors: Debray Elizabeth H
Published: October 2005

The article is about the early phase of implementation of a New York state testing policy in two academic departments in an urban, comprehensive high school. It describes and analyzes a high school's failure to construct a coherent internal accountability system when encountering an external high-stakes testing policy. Drawing on interviews with teachers and administrators conducted over a period of one year, the article explores two aspects of the school's implementation of the state policy: what actions were being undertaken in these two departments; and the perceptions and understandings of the teachers and administrators within the organization. The organizational consequences of changing the stakes for graduation for a high school serving almost all disadvantaged students are discussed.
Systemic High School Reform in Two States: The Serendipity of State-Level Action
Authors: Hamann Edmund T
Published: October 2005

Maine and Vermont have been national leaders in state-level coordination of high school reform. Both recently developed almost interchangeable, new, voluntary, statewide frameworks that describe multiple ways high schools should change. Both frameworks—Promising Futures (Maine Commission on Secondary Education 1998) and High Schools on the Move (Vermont High School Task Force 2001)—were published in book form and include extensive bibliographies grounding their claims that they are research based. Both frameworks recommend principles and practices for improving high schools for all students. Both frameworks were drafted primarily by leading local educators with only modest support from experts based beyond the state's boundaries. Despite these similarities, the strategies for implementing these frameworks in each state have varied and, because of this, the two frameworks' prospects of having enduring favorable impact also appear to vary. Using historical and ethnographic methods to conduct two policy implementation case studies, this paper describes both framework's development and then focuses on early implementation. Together the cases illustrate how more than an adequate whole-school reform framework is necessary to raise the prospect of enduring high school improvement. They also illustrate the potential of anthropological inquiry to the study of educational policy development and implementation.
Synergism in Learning: A Critical Reflection of Authentic Assessment
Authors: DeCastro-Ambrosetti Debra , Cho Grace
Published: October 2005

Assessing students' knowledge has always been a difficult task, especially in today's climate of standards driven curriculum. Challenges to educators include meeting content standards, assessing students' progress and focusing on diverse learning styles, as well as preparing students for work and life beyond schools. To meet these challenges, educators need to employ more authentic instructional approaches than the traditional knowledge-based curricula. However, this may result in educators becoming burdened with creating multiple assignments. Using innovative student-generated projects as models for assessment, the authors will demonstrate their successful and easily implemented strategy for meeting these demands. Furthermore, the authors will discuss the creative process of developing and implementing this strategy for the classroom.
High School Schedule Changes and the Effect of Lost Instructional Time on Achievement
Authors: Kubitschek Warren N , Hallinan Maureen T , Arnett Stephanie M , Galipeau Kim S
Published: October 2005

High school students who change their class schedules after the start of the school year may miss class time before their schedules are finalized. This loss of class time is expected to lead to a loss of learning opportunities, and thus to lower student achievement. We examine a school with an unexpectedly large number of such schedule changes. Contrary to our expectation, students who were not in class because they were changing schedules had achievement equal to students who were in class, even when the students changing schedules missed many days of class. While this indicates that students were not penalized for schedule changes, it also suggests that all students had reduced opportunities to learn.
Service in Service-Learning Education: The Need for Philosophical Understanding
Authors: Sheffield Eric C
Published: October 2005

In this piece, the author argues that service-learning has been overly defined and because of that, it is in danger of becoming meaningless. He further argues that one way to recover service-learning from the wasteland of definition-making and thereby improve both its understanding and practice is by applying philosophical inquiry to the various conceptions that make up service-learning. The author then offers an example of how such philosophical research might lead to clarity through a discussion of how the service aspect of service-learning should be viewed and how that view would impact its practice.
Seedling emergence and of growth of sorghum genotypes under variable soil moisture deficit
Authors: Takele A.
Published: October 2005

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to understand the seedling germination behaviour and growth of sorghum genotypes, to investigate genotypic differences between sorghum genotypes and to identify a selection method for seedling drought resistance studies in sorghum under variable soil moisture deficit conditions. The experimental design used was a split plot design with four soil moisture deficit treatments (25%, 45%, 65% and 85% of field capacity) as main plot treatments and five sorghum genotypes (76 T1 #23, (148xE-35-1)-1-4-1xcs 3541 drive-5-3-2, M36121, 12x34/F4/3/E/1 and IS2284) as subplot treatments. Sorghum genotypes differed significantly in response to variable soil moisture deficit for percentage germination, seedling shoot dry weight, specific root length and seedling leaf area. The percentage germination of all genotypes was markedly reduced by increasing the levels of soil moisture deficits. Among the genotypes 76 T1 #23, M36121 and IS2284 had a satisfactory percentage germination at 25% of field capacity (F.C.), ranging from 55–57% germination based on arc sin transformed data. The seedling shoot dry weight of all genotypes was also significantly (p<0.05) reduced at all levels of soil moisture deficits, except in IS2284 where there was an increase of 3.6% at 65% of F.C. relative to the control. Although the interaction effects for seedling shoot and root lengths were not significant, IS2284 had the longest seedling shoot and root lengths and this is a desirable trait related to drought resistance. It has been observed that the reduction in seedling shoot length was greater than that of seedling root length at all levels of soil moisture deficit treatments, indicating that extensive root growth under drought conditions is a major avoidance mechanism in sorghum. Genotypes were also found to have differential responses to variable soil moisture deficits for their specific root length and leaf area. Based on the results of this study, percentage germination, seedling shoot dry weight, specific root length and seedling leaf area may be used as potential selection criteria for seedling drought resistance studies in sorghum and further studies are required to confirm this result under field conditions.