bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Regulatory Effects of Fenofibrate and Atorvastatin on Lipoprotein A-I and Lipoprotein A-I:A-II Kinetics in the Metabolic Syndrome
Authors: Chan Dick C. , Watts Gerald F. , Ooi Esther M.M. , Rye Kerry-Anne , Ji Juying , Johnson Anthony G. , Barrett P. Hugh R.
Published: August 2009

OBJECTIVE

Subjects with the metabolic syndrome have reduced HDL cholesterol concentration and altered metabolism of high-density lipoprotein (Lp)A-I and LpA-I:A-II particles. In the metabolic syndrome, fenofibrate and atorvastatin may have differential effects on HDL particle kinetics.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Eleven men with metabolic syndrome were studied in a randomized, double-blind, crossover trial of 5-week intervention periods with placebo, fenofibrate (200 mg/day), and atorvastatin (40 mg/day). LpA-I and LpA-I:A-II kinetics were examined using stable isotopic techniques and compartmental modeling.

RESULTS

Compared with placebo, fenofibrate significantly increased the production of both LpA-I:A-II (30% increase; P < 0.001) and apoA-II (43% increase; P < 0.001), accounting for significant increases of their corresponding plasma concentrations (10 and 23% increases, respectively), but it did not alter LpA-I kinetics or concentration. Atorvastatin did not significantly alter HDL concentration or the kinetics of HDL particles.

CONCLUSIONS

In the metabolic syndrome, fenofibrate, but not atorvastatin, influences HDL metabolism by increasing the transport of LpA-I:A-II particles.
Evaluation of six portable blood glucose meters for measuring blood glucose concentration in dogs
Authors: Cohen Todd A. , Nelson Richard W. , Kass Philip H. , Christopher Mary M. , Feldman Edward C.
Published: August 2009

Objective—To evaluate accuracy of 6 portable blood glucose meters (PBGMs) by comparing results of these meters with results obtained with a reference chemistry analyzer.

Design—Evaluation study.

Animals—49 dogs (158 blood samples).

Procedures—Venous blood samples were tested with the 6 PBGMs, and results were compared with results of a commercially available analyzer that used a reference method based on the hexokinase reaction.

Results—Plasma glucose concentrations obtained with the reference analyzer ranged from 41 to 639 mg/dL. There were significant correlations between blood glucose concentrations obtained with the 6 PBGMs and plasma glucose concentrations obtained with the reference analyzer (r ≥ 0.96). However, for all 6 PBGMs, results differed from results for the reference analyzer, with the difference increasing as plasma glucose concentration increased. Significant differences in bias were found among meters. For 142 samples classified as hypoglycemic, euglycemic, or hyperglycemic on the basis of results of the reference analyzer, the percentage of samples that were misclassified on the basis of results of the PBGMs ranged from 2.1% to 38.7%.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results of the present study suggested that there were substantial differences in the accuracy of currently available PBGMs when used to determine blood glucose concentration in dogs.
Oleander intoxication in New World camelids: 12 cases (1995–2006)
Authors: Kozikowski Tania A. , Magdesian K. Gary , Puschner Birgit
Published: August 2009

Objective—To characterize the clinical and clinicopathologic effects and evaluate outcome associated with oleander toxicosis in New World camelids.

Design—Retrospective case series.

Animals—11 llamas and 1 alpaca.

Procedures—Medical records from a veterinary medical teaching hospital from January 1, 1995, to December 31, 2006, were reviewed. Records of all New World camelids that had detectable amounts of oleandrin in samples of serum, urine, or gastrointestinal fluid were included in the study. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the history, physical examination findings, clinicopathologic data, and outcome of affected camelids.

Results—11 llamas and 1 alpaca met the inclusion criteria of the study. Either oleander plants were present where the camelids resided (n = 7) or oleander plant material was identified in the hay fed to the camelids (5). One llama was dead on arrival at the hospital, and another was euthanized upon admission because of financial concerns. Of the 10 treated camelids, 9 had evidence of acute renal failure, 7 had gastrointestinal signs, and 4 had cardiac dysrhythmias on initial evaluation. The overall mortality rate was 25%, but the mortality rate for the 10 camelids that were medically treated was 10%.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—In New World camelids, oleander intoxication was associated with a triad of clinical effects (ie, renal, gastrointestinal, and cardiovascular dysfunction). Oleander intoxication often represented a herd problem but carried a fair to good prognosis if treated promptly. Oleander toxicosis should be considered a differential diagnosis in sick camelids.
The Juvenile Translations of Elizabeth Tudor
Authors: Ellis Roger
Published: August 2009

The translations made by the Princess Elizabeth between 1544 and 1547/8 were undertaken as New Year gifts for members of her family. This article analyses the contexts of, and choices made in, the surviving productions. All are translations of religious texts: her stepmother Katherine Parr's Prayers or Medytacions, Marguerite de Navarre's Miroir de l'âme pecheresse, Jean Calvin's Institution de la religion chrestienne (Chapter 1), and a sermon from the Italian of Bernardino Ochino. In their different ways, all can be seen as reflecting the distinctive pressures brought about by Henry VIII's personalizing of political and religious issues.
Surface Hydrophobic Modification of Fifth-Generation Hydroxyl-Terminated Poly(amidoamine) Dendrimers and Its Effect on Biocompatibility and Rheology
Authors: Hamilton Paul D. , Jacobs Donghui  Z. , Rapp Brian , Ravi Nathan
Published: August 2009

Water-soluble, commercially-available poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers are highly-branched, well-defined, monodisperse macromolecules having an ethylenediamine core and varying surface functional groups. Dendrimers are being employed in an increasing number of biomedical applications. In this study, commercially obtained generation 5 hydroxyl-terminated (G5OH) PAMAM dendrimers were studied as potential proteomimetics for ophthalmic uses. To this end, the surface of G5OH PAMAM dendrimers were hydrophobically modified with varying amounts of dodecyl moieties, (flexible long aliphatic chains), or cholesteryl moieties (rigid lipid found in abundance in biological systems). Dendrimers were characterized by 1H-NMR, DLS, DSC and HPLC. The hydrophobic modification caused aggregation and molecular interactions between dendrimers that is absent in unmodified dendrimers. In vitro tissue culture showed that increasing the amount of dodecyl modification gave a proportional increase in toxicity of the dendrimers, while with increasing cholesteryl modification there was no corresponding increase in toxicity. Storage and loss modulus were measured for selected formulations. The hydrophobic modification caused an increase in loss modulus, while the effect on storage modulus was more complex. Rheological properties of the dendrimer solutions were comparable to those of porcine lens crystallins.
Quinones as Key Intermediates in Natural Products Synthesis. Syntheses of Bioactive Xanthones from Hypericum perforatum
Authors: Kraus George A. , Mengwasser John
Published: August 2009

Two bioactive xanthones from Hypericum perforatum have been synthesized by direct routes. Benzo[c]xanthone 5 can be prepared from intermediate 4.
Monitoring System for Farming Operations with Wearable Devices Utilized Sensor Networks
Authors: Fukatsu Tokihiro , Nanseki Teruaki
Published: August 2009

In order to automatically monitor farmers’ activities, we propose a farm operation monitoring system using “Field Servers” and a wearable device equipped with an RFID reader and motion sensors. Our proposed system helps in recognizing farming operations by analyzing the data from the sensors and detected RFID tags that are attached to various objects such as farming materials, facilities, and machinery. This method can be applied to various situations without changing the conventional system. Moreover, this system provides useful information in real-time and controls specific machines in a coordinated manner on the basis of recognized operation.
Designing Health Care Environments: Part II. Preparing Nurses to Be Design Team Members
Authors: Cesario Sandra K. , Stichler Jaynelle
Published: August 2009

Significant renovation, expansion, and new construction of health care facilities is expected during the next several years. Nurse leaders must expand their knowledge of the design process and evidence of design features that enhance safety, efficiency, and healing. In this article, the authors discuss the development of a graduate-level nursing course that provides nurse leaders with knowledge and competencies in health care design and enables them to engage in effective interdisciplinary communication during the design process. Part I of this two-part series, which was published last month, discussed the basic concepts, principles, and issues related to evidence-based design (
Cesario, 2009
).

J Contin Educ Nurs
2009;40(7):324–328.
The Realistic Job Preview as a Partial Remedy for Nursing Attrition and Shortages: The Role of Nursing Schools
Authors: Crow Stephen M. , Hartman Sandra J. , McLendon Christy L.
Published: August 2009

There is often a disconnect between what individuals expect from a chosen profession or organization and what that profession or organization can realistically deliver. In this research, the authors consider the extent to which those considering a nursing career would benefit from advance information, generally described as a “realistic job preview,” from human resources professionals. Results of a survey of faculty nurses—those educating aspiring nurses—suggest that such a need exists. Implications for the initial entry into nursing education, continuing education, and retention of nurses that may be of value to policy makers and those involved in the education and development of nurses are presented.

J Contin Educ Nurs
2009;40(7):317–323.
Storytelling: An Adjunct to Learning
Authors: Stein Donna
Published: August 2009

Whether you are a staff nurse, an educator, or a manager, stories can be useful in your practice.

J Contin Educ Nurs
2009;40(7):296–297.
Exploring Interpersonal Communication in Hospice Interdisciplinary Team Meetings
Authors: Wittenberg-Lyles Elaine M. , Oliver Debra Parker , Demiris George , Regehr Kelly
Published: August 2009

In health care teams, lack of collaboration or inability to collaborate undermines the goal of providing holistic and comprehensive geriatric care. This study examines relational communication control used by hospice interdisciplinary team members in their attempt to share information and contribute to decision making in team meetings. Eighty-one hospice team discussions were coded for message control types. Analysis of the data found that the nurse's role as primary reporter implicitly created a struggle for relational control among other team members within the meeting. This study concluded that a majority of interpersonal communication in the team meetings was aimed at gaining control of the information exchange. Future attention should be given to organizational policy aimed at shaping the structure of team meetings.
A Learner-Centered Design, Implementation, and Evaluation Approach of Learning Environments to Foster Acceptance
Authors: Mueller Daniel , Zimmermann Volker
Published: August 2009

Most organizations donâ??t focus on what learners really do with their learning environments. Changing the perspective to the learner shows that they enlarge the organizational ones with their own technology-enhanced learning world, using a broad spectrum of technologies: company- and/or higher education-owned Learning Management Systems, social network platforms such as Facebook, mySpace, or Ning, search engines, open web services in the internet like blogs or wikis, and a lot more other applications. In this context, one of the challenges for todayâ??s organizations is how to create well-accepted and used learning environments that drive learnersâ?? success. As errors in requirements specifications have been identified as a major contributor to costly software project failures. Hence it may be highly beneficial if the designers and/or developers of learning environments could verify requirements by predicting learnersâ?? acceptance and usage based on evaluations during the earliest stages of the learning environment development phase. Previous findings of such an approach in the field of CRM software implementation showed that pre-prototype user acceptance tests did have almost equal informational value than their prototype counterparts that ensure hands-on experience with the system. More concrete, we focus on interventions of specific design features during the pre-implementation phase of learning environments. They may help minimizing learnersâ?? initial resistance by providing a realistic preview of the system to enable potential learners to develop accurate perceptions and find out how the system may help them to improve their learning process. The paper proposes a solution by examining the influence of specific design features of learning environments on user acceptance, particularly on the antecedents of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. We want to extrapolate the influence of specific design features on specific aspects of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use in order to enhance designersâ?? and/or developers ability to identify and improve design features during learning environment implementation to enhance critical determinants. The goal of the current work is the improvement of design science in the topic of technology-enhanced learning. To ensure cross-organizational applicability, the approach suggests an application within higher education institutions as well as corporate organizations.
The Training Process of SMEs: What Motivates SMEs to Use E-Learning
Authors: Roy Andrée
Published: August 2009

For centuries, traditional ways of teaching and learning were used around the world. Shifting from these well known traditional ways of teaching and learning to a more modern way â?? E-Learning â?? to adapt to the needs of the knowledge-based economies is requiring some adjustment on the part of businesses. One of these adjustments is to use e-Learning in the different phases of the training process. This research discusses the reasons which motivate SMEs to use or not to use e-Learning in the different phases of the training process.
Patients’ perception of care during special radiological examinations
Authors: Ugwu Anthony C. , Shem Samuel L. , Erondu Felix
Published: August 2009

Background: Patients’ perception of care is considered to influence their satisfaction with the service provided. However, this has received minor attention in radiography practice in Nigeria with no quantitative study from available literature search.Method: A total of 200 self-completion questionnaires were delivered to four radiology departments within the north-eastern states of Nigeria (50 to each centre). The questionnaires included questions on patient demographics as well as ordinal scales for patients to rate their care on various indices and a 10 visual analogue scale to rate their overall satisfaction, while an open-ended question was used to assess patients’ expectation of radiology staff. 142 questionnaires (71%) were returned. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were done. Tests were two-tailed with p smaller than 0.05 indicating statistical significance.Results: Patients’ perception of care correlated significantly with patients’ satisfaction.Conclusion: Good staff-patient interaction and proper organisational behaviour could improve patients’ perception of care.
Prying Apart Semantics and Implementation
Authors: Bauman Bruce Todd
Published: August 2009

Central to interoperability is a shared conceptualization of the domain or universe of discourse (UoD). A conceptual model (CM) documents this shared understanding between people in a formal language, augmenting prose but neutral of later implementation decisions. Having such an explicit layer has benefits for enhanced interoperability, higher quality implementations, reuse and mapping, and as such is recognized as desirable by many modeling frameworks. In this paper, we describe our motivation and efforts to date, to use the ontologically well founded profile of the Unified Modeling Language (UML) proposed in Guizzardi-2005 to create such models. Relevant subsets of a CM form the basis for physical data models (PDM) targeting specific technologies, in this case the generation of Extensible Markup Language (XML) schemata represented in the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Schema Language (XSD). These physical data models are annotated by a developer, with a set of encoding directives. These encoding directives and the custom developed software that interprets them to map concepts in the CM to their expression in an XSD, are our principle contribution. The CM language, the XSD encoding annotations, and the software are briefly described.
Open data and the XML community
Authors: Cagle Kurt
Published: August 2009

The world of XML is changing. Large “super schemas” like OOXML, XBRL, NIEMs, HL7, and so on, push the limits of existing XML software, while also encouraging the creation of ecosystems built around them, in order to exploit the large quantities of important data now or soon to be available in these formats. Standardization around these formats is driven less by existing proprietary formats and less by industry consortia than by government adoption. The super schemas are often formulated less as definitions of single concrete vocabularies than as meta-definitions of families of vocabularies. The confluence of emerging Open Data standards, the government-as-database conjecture, and a shift towards RESTful services will serve to turbocharge the XML community.
Test Assertions on steroids for XML artifacts
Authors: Durand Jacques , Green Stephen , Kulvatunyou Serm , Rutt Tom
Published: August 2009

Testing of XML material – either XML-native business documents, or XML-formatted inputs from various sources – involves more than syntactic or semantic validation of a document. It often requires checking consistency with other documents, and verifying assumptions about the quality of these. Consequently - like for any complex system - the design and execution of test units have to be composed and ordered. This in turns requires a testing method and tool with more flexibility - in test expression and test usage - than provided by validation tools such as OWL reasoner or Schematron. A test method is presented that relies on a general test assertion model from OASIS. This test model (and its XML markup) is extended with XPath in order to make test assertions directly executable after XSLT translation, by a forward-chaining engine itself written in XSLT. Test assertions may refer to other test assertions either for chaining or for composing test results. The resulting test model and processing is contrasted with other approaches (XBRL test suite, OWL reasoner, Schematron). Results and learnings from a real test suite are presented, as well as a proposed implementation model based on generating the XSLT engine specific to a test suite, rather than using a generic engine. Observations are made about features in the latest versions of underlying technologies (XPath2.0, XSLT2.0) that were critical to this implementation.
A practical introduction to EXPath
Authors: Georges Florent
Published: August 2009

For some time now the demand for standardized extensions within the core XML technologies, especially XSLT and XQuery, has been increasing. A closer look at the EXSLT and EXQuery projects shows that their goals align to address the issue of extensions, but also that they overlap, predominantly because of their common ancestor: XPath. It is thus reasonable to assume that both projects should collaborate together on common areas influenced by the underlying XPath specification. In addition, by jointly working at the lower level, any XPath based language or processor could also benefit from this work, like XProc, XForms or plain XPath engines.
You Pull, I’ll Push: on the Polarity of Pipelines
Authors: Kay Michael
Published: August 2009

Pipelines provide an excellent way of structuring XML applications, simplifying complex processing tasks and enabling the reuse of generic components, using a variety of technologies. Efficient pipelines often pass data from one stage to the next as a sequence of events, representing the structure of the tree as a by notifying startElement, endElement and similar transitions.

The control flow in a pipeline can either run with the data flow (push polarity) or against the flow (pull polarity). Performance problems occur when components with different polarity need to be integrated into the same pipeline: traditionally this problem is handled either by buffering the data in memory (leading to scalability problems as well as loss of latency), or by using multiple threads, which introduces coordination overheads.

This paper looks at a different way of managing polarity conflicts, by applying the concepts of program inversion developed during the days of batch magnetic tape data processing. It specifically examines how this concept can be applied to the compilation of XSLT stylesheets, both single and multi-phase.
XML in the Browser: the Next Decade
Authors: Miłowski R. Alexander
Published: August 2009

At the 1999 XTech conference in San Jose, Netscape demonstrated their web browser natively rendering an XML document for the first time. It is now a decade later, browsers have changed, and there has possibly been forward progress. This paper briefly describes the demonstration from 1999 and then questions whether current browsers can or cannot handle what was demonstrated in 1999. It also details how new XML vocabularies can be integrated into the browser to provide a new way forward for XML in the browser.
XSAQCT: XML Queryable Compressor
Authors: Müldner Tomasz , Fry Christopher , Miziołek Jan Krzysztof , Durno Scott
Published: August 2009

Recently, there has been a growing interest in queryable XML compressors, which can be used to query compressed data with minimal decompression. At the same time, there are very few applications that have been made available for testing and comparisons. In this paper we report our current work on a novel queryable XML compressor, XSAQCT. While our work is in its early stage, our experiments show that our approach successfully competes with other known queryable compressors.
Methodology for the construction of multi-structured documents
Authors: Portier Pierre-Édouard , Calabretto Sylvie
Published: August 2009

We present the multi-structured documents problem and offer an overview of existing solutions. We then notice that they do not consider the problem of constructing such documents. In this context, we use our experience with philosophers who are building a digital edition of the work of Jean-Toussaint Desanti, in order to present a methodology for the construction of multi-structured documents. This methodology is based on the MSDM model in order to represent such documents. Moreover each step of the methodology has been implemented in the Haskell functional programming language.
Automatic XML Namespaces
Authors: Quin Liam R. E.
Published: August 2009

XML, originally called Web SGML, was designed as a subset of SGML suitable for use on the World Wide Web. Shortly after the publication of XML, the Names in XML specification, better known as Namespaces, was published. One of its primary purposes was to facilitate the exchange of RDF metadata in XML. XML Namespaces are somewhat clumsy and unwieldy, under-specified, and incomplete. They have gained considerable adoption within XML vocabularies, often with reluctance, but have met with resistance from the Web community.

This paper explores some of the difficulties (whether real or perceived) with Namespaces, suggests ways to address some of those difficulties, and also suggests ways to attempt some reconciliation with the Web developer community.
A toolkit for multi-dimensional markup
Authors: Stührenberg Maik , Jettka Daniel
Published: August 2009

In this paper we describe the extended standoff approach defined by XStandoff (the successor of the Sekimo Generic Format, SGF), together with the accompanied collection of XSLT stylesheets. SGF has undergone further developments after its first presentation (cf. Stührenberg and Goecke, 2008) which resulted into the new development version called XStandoff containing different changes addressed in this paper. In addition, refinements have been made to the already available transformation scripts that help generating SGF and XStandoff instances and newly developed stylesheets have been added for the deletion of single XStandoff annotations and the conversion into inline representations.
Managing XML references through the XRM vocabulary
Authors: Vion-Dury Jean-Yves
Published: August 2009

This paper presents a general purpose method (called XRM for XML References Management) to express knowledge about links common to a family of XML documents (a.k.a. a document type) and to exploit this knowledge in order to operate verifications, transformations or derivations of the corresponding XML instances.
Parallel Bit Stream Technology as a Foundation for XML Parsing Performance
Authors: Cameron Rob , Herdy Ken , Amiri Ehsan
Published: August 2009

By first transforming the octets (bytes) of XML texts into eight parallel bit streams, the SIMD features of commodity processors can be exploited for parallel processing of blocks of 128 input bytes at a time. Established transcoding and parsing techniques are reviewed followed by new techniques including parsing with bitstream addition. Further opportunities are discussed in light of expected advances in CPU architecture and compiler technology. Implications for various APIs and information models are presented as well opportunities for collaborative open-source development.
Isolation of Dendritic Cells
Authors: Inaba Kayo , Swiggard William J. , Steinman Ralph M. , Romani Nikolaus , Schuler Gerold , Brinster Carine
Published: August 2009

This unit presents two methods for preparing dendritic cells (DCs), a highly specialized type of antigen‐presenting cell (APC). The first method involves the isolation of DCs from mouse spleen, resulting in a cell population that is highly enriched in accessory cell and APC function. A support protocol for collagenase digestion of splenocyte suspensions is described to increase the yield of dendritic cells. The second method involves generating large numbers of DCs from mouse bone marrow progenitor cells. In that technique, bone marrow cells are cultured in the presence of granulocyte/macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐CSF) to yield 5–10 × 106 cells, 60% of which express DC surface markers (e.g., B‐7‐2/CD86). Additional techniques for isolating DCs from mouse spleens or other mouse tissues, as well as from human tissues, are also discussed. Curr. Protoc. Immunol. 86:3.7.1‐3.7.19. © 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Authors: Chung Jaehoon , Yamada Mayumi , Yang Phillip C.
Published: August 2009

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may emerge as an ideal non‐invasive imaging modality to monitor stem cell therapy in the failing heart. This imaging modality generates any arbitrary tomographic view at high spatial and temporal resolution with exquisite intrinsic tissue contrast. This capability enables robust evaluation of both the cardiac anatomy and function. Traditionally, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (SPIO) has been widely used for cellular MRI due to SPIO's ability to enhance sensitivity of MRI by inducing remarkable hypointense, negative signal, “blooming effect” on T2*‐weighted MRI acquisition. Recently, manganese chloride (MnCl2) has been reported by our laboratory for its ability as a contrast agent to track biological activity of viable cells. Hyperintense, positive signals can be achieved from the Mn2+‐labeled stem cells on T1‐weighted MRI acquisition. Cytotoxicity is a potential drawback of Mn2+ labeling of the cells. However, in our laboratory the labeling method has been optimized to minimize cytotoxic effects. This article describes two different magnetic labeling methods of human embryonic stem cells (hESC) using SPIO and MnCl2. Curr. Protoc. Stem Cell Biol. 10:5A.3.1‐5A.3.9. © 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Laboratory Maintenance of Mycobacterium smegmatis
Authors: Singh Anil Kumar , Reyrat Jean‐Marc
Published: August 2009

This unit gives background information on Mycobacterium smegmatis, a mycobacterial model system, and covers all the laboratory maintenance for this species including growth in liquid and on solid medium. It also contains recommendations concerning long‐term strain storage. Although M. smegmatis is a Biosafety Level 1 organism, some rare infections in humans have been reported, and, thus all of the required safety measures are discussed here. Curr. Protoc. Microbiol. 14:10C.1.1‐10C.1.12. © 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Growth Conditions for Plant Virus–Host Studies
Authors: Liu Jian‐Zhong , Richerson Kristy , Nelson Richard S.
Published: August 2009

Plant virus replication and spread require specific interactions between the obligate organism, the virus, and its host, the plant. Both virus and plant factors, whether they are involved in virus accumulation or in defense against virus accumulation, require specific environmental conditions to maximize their activity. In order to understand how virus and plant factors function, it is therefore necessary to understand and control the environment that influences their activity. Temperature, light, moisture, air movement, soil status, and plant nutrition are the major environmental factors that influence a virus' accumulation in its host. This unit discusses each of these environmental factors, documenting their influence on virus accumulation in the plant, and discusses methods to best control and monitor their variation. Controlling the environment will limit experimental variation and lead to more meaningful and reproducible experimental results. Curr. Protoc. Microbiol. 14:16A.1.1‐16A.1.16. © 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Synthesis of Inorganic Nanotubes
Authors: Rao C. N. R. , Govindaraj Achutharao
Published: August 2009

Nanotubes constitute an exciting class of one‐dimensional nanomaterials of which carbon nanotubes are recognized widely as materials of importance. The possibility of having inorganic nanotubes was recognized early in the 1990s, accompanied by the report of nanotubes of MoS2 and WS2. Since then, nanotubes of several inorganic materials have been prepared and characterized. While nanotubes of metal chalcogenides and oxides form a high proportion of the inorganic nanotubes investigated hither to, nanotubes of many other materials have also been prepared and characterized. Several synthetic strategies including both physical and chemical methods have been employed, of which the use of templates, precursors, and hydro‐ or solvothermal methods are prominent. In this article, we shall present a brief account of the present status of the synthesis of nanotubes of elemental materials as well as binary and complex metal oxides, chalcogenides, pnictides and carbides.
Photonic Glasses: A Step Beyond White Paint
Authors: García Pedro David , Sapienza Riccardo , López Cefe
Published: August 2009

Self‐assembly techniques are widely used to grow ordered structures such as, for example, opal‐based photonic crystals. Here, we report on photonic glasses, new disordered materials obtained via a modified self‐assembling technique. These random materials are solid thin films which exhibit rich novel light diffusion properties originating from the optical properties of their building blocks. This novel material inaugurated a wide range of nanophotonic materials with fascinating applications, such as resonant random lasers or Anderson localization.
HPLC‐fluorescence assay for measuring mosapride in small volumes of rat plasma
Authors: Cheng Ching‐Ling , Chang Ya‐Win , Chou Chen‐Hsi
Published: August 2009

A simple and sensitive HPLC‐fluorescence assay was developed for the determination of a gastroprokinetic agent mosapride in small volumes of rat plasma. Samples (50 μL) were treated with 200 μL of the internal standard solution (cisapride, 0.1 μg/mL in acetonitrile). Chromatographic separation was achieved on a C18column by gradient elution with the mobile phase of acetonitrile‐water containing 20 mM potassium dihydrogen phosphate, at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. Fluorescence was measured with excitation and emission set at 315 and 354 nm, respectively. The retention time was about 16 min for cisapride and 20 min for mosapride. No endogenous substances were found to interfere. The calibration curve was linear from 0.015 to 10 μg/mL. The lower limit of quantification was 0.015 μg/mL. The intra‐ and inter‐day precision expressed as relative standard deviation did not exceed 7.7%, and the accuracy was within 4.7% deviation of the nominal concentration. The method was used successfully to investigate the disposition kinetics of mosapride in rats. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Residue analysis of kresoxim‐methyl and boscalid in fruits, vegetables and soil using liquid–liquid extraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry
Authors: Liu Xingang , Dong Fengshou , Qin Dongmei , Zheng Yongquan
Published: August 2009

A GC‐MS procedure for simultaneously determining and validating kresoxim‐methyl and boscalid has been developed in fruit, vegetable and soil matrices. The method was based on one‐step liquid–liquid extraction with acetone and dichloromethane solvents. Estimated limits of detection (LODs) for kresoxim‐methyl and boscalid were 0.006 and 0.015 mg/kg, and limits of quantification (LOQs) were 0.02 and 0.05 mg/kg, respectively. The intra‐ and inter‐ precision were achieved with RSD better than 13.8 and 14.5%, and recoveries were in the range of 77.1–98.7% for kresoxim‐methyl and 72.8–105.1% for boscalid. The expanded uncertainties calculated at 0.1 mg/kg were below 18%. Concentration levels for residues of the two fungicides in melon samples from field trials collected 7 days after the last application were clearly below the established MRL values. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A new, validated HPLC‐MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of the anti‐cancer agent capecitabine and its metabolites: 5′‐deoxy‐5‐fluorocytidine, 5′‐deoxy‐5‐fluorouridine, 5‐fluorouracil and 5‐fluorodihydrouracil, in human plasma
Authors: Vainchtein Liia D. , Rosing Hilde , Schellens Jan H.M. , Beijnen Jos H.
Published: August 2009

A rapid and selective liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometric method was developed for the simultaneous determination of capecitabine and its metabolites 5′‐deoxy‐5‐fluorocytidine (5′‐DFCR), 5′‐deoxy‐5‐fluorouracil (5′‐DFUR), 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) and dihydro‐5‐fluorouracil (FUH2) in human plasma. A 200 μL human plasma aliquot was spiked with a mixture of internal standards fludarabine and 5‐chlorouracil. A single‐step protein precipitation method was employed using 10% (v/v) trichloroacetic acid in water to separate analytes from bio‐matrices. Volumes of 20 μL of the supernatant were directly injected onto the HPLC system. Separation was achieved on a 30 × 2.1 mm Hypercarb (porous graphitic carbon) column using a gradient by mixing 10 mm ammonium acetate and acetonitrile–2‐propanol–tetrahydrofuran (1 : 3 : 2.25, v/v/v). The detection was performed using a Finnigan TSQ Quantum Ultra equipped with the electrospray ion source operated in positive and negative mode. The assay quantifies a range from 10 to 1000 ng/mL for capecitabine, from 10 to 5000 ng/mL for 5′‐DFCR and 5′‐DFUR, and from 50 to 5000 ng/mL for 5‐FU and FUH2 using a plasma sample of 200 μL. Correlation coefficients (r2) of the calibration curves in human plasma were better than 0.99 for all compounds. At all concentration levels, deviations of measured concentrations from nominal concentration were between −4.41 and 3.65% with CV values less than 12.0% for capecitabine, between −7.00 and 6.59% with CV values less than 13.0 for 5′‐DFUR, between −3.25 and 4.11% with CV values less than 9.34% for 5′‐DFCR, between −5.54 and 5.91% with CV values less than 9.69% for 5‐FU and between −4.26 and 6.86% with CV values less than 14.9% for FUH2. The described method was successfully applied for the evaluation of the pharmacokinetic profile of capecitabine and its metabolites in plasma of treated cancer patients. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
HPLC method validation for measurement of sulforaphane level in broccoli by‐products
Authors: Campas‐Baypoli O. N. , Sánchez‐Machado D. I. , Bueno‐Solano C. , Ramírez‐Wong B. , López‐Cervantes J.
Published: August 2009

A simple and specific analytical method was developed and tested for the determination of sulforaphane in broccoli by‐products. The method includes the optimization of the conversion of glucoraphanin to sulforaphane, followed by purification of extracts using solid‐phase extraction and high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. The response surface methodology was used to find optimum conditions for the preparation and purification procedure. Chromatographic conditions for reversed‐phase HPLC with UV photodiode array detection were as follows: column, Exil ODS C18, 25 × 0.46 cm, 5 μm; column temperature, 36°C; mobile phase, a 30 : 70 (v/v) mixture of acetonitrile:water; flow rate, 0.6 mL/min. The detection wavelength was UV 202 nm. Under these conditions, excellent linearity was obtained (r2 = 1), and the overall recovery was 97.5 and 98.1% for fresh florets and lyophilized florets, respectively. The precision results showed that the relative standard deviation of the repeatability for florets fresh and lyophilized was 3.0 and 4.0%, respectively. Sulforaphane contents were determined in the edible portion of fresh broccoli, and broccoli crop remains. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Capillary electrophoretic separation and computational modeling of inclusion complexes of β‐cyclodextrin and 18‐crown‐6 ether with primaquine and quinocide
Authors: Elbashir Abdalla A. , Suliman Fakhr Eldin Osman , Saad Bahruddin , Aboul‐Enein Hassan Y.
Published: August 2009

The antimalarial drug primaquine (PQ) and its contaminant, the positional isomer quinocide (QC) have been successfully separated using capillary electrophoresis with either β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD) or 18‐crown‐6 ether (18C6) as chiral mobile phase additive. The interactions of the drugs with cyclodextrins and 18C6 were studied by the semiempirical method (Parametric Model 3) PM3. Theoretical calculations for the inclusion complexes of PQ and QC with α‐CD, β‐CD and 18C6 were performed. Data from the theoretical calculations are correlated and discussed with respect to the electrophoretic migration behavior. More stable complexes are predicted for the PQ–β‐CD and PQ–18C6 complexes. The coelution of PQ and QC when α‐CD was used as buffer additive can be explained by their comparable stabilities of the inclusion complex formed, while significant differences in the complexation stabilities of the drugs with β‐CD is responsible for their separation. The stronger hydrogen bonding in PQ–18C6 system is responsible for the separation between PQ and QC when 18C6 was used as chiral mobile phase additive. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Improved cre reporter transgenic Xenopus
Authors: Rankin Scott A. , Hasebe Takashi , Zorn Aaron M. , Buchholz Daniel R.
Published: August 2009

We have produced and characterized improved transgenic reporter lines for detection of Cre recombinase activity during Xenopus development. Improvements include choice of fluorophores, which make these Cre reporter lines generally suitable for lineage tracing studies. We also include data for several new parameters affecting survival and transgenesis efficiency using the recently developed meganuclease method of frog transgenesis. These transgenic frogs express cyan fluorescent protein (CFP) under control of the ubiquitous promoter CMV, where CFP is replaced by DsRed2 (a red fluorescent protein) in the presence of Cre. Three independent, high expression, Cre‐sensitive lines have been identified that maintain robust fluorophore expression across generations and lack DsRed2 expression in the absence of Cre. A novel use of these lines is to indelibly mark embryonic blastomeres by Cre mRNA injection for permanent fate mapping. Similarly, transgenically expressed Cre under control of tissue‐specific promoters will allow detailed analysis of cell lineage relationships throughout embryogenesis, metamorphosis, and adulthood. Developmental Dynamics 238:2401–2408, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Manipulating gene activity in Wnt1‐expressing precursors of neural epithelial and neural crest cells
Authors: Hsu Wei , Mirando Anthony J. , Yu Hsiao‐Man Ivy
Published: August 2009

Targeted gene disruption or expression often encounters lethality. Conditional approaches, permitting manipulation at desired stages, are required to overcome this problem in order to analyze gene function in later developmental processes. Wnt1 has been shown to be expressed in neural crest precursors at the dorsal midline region. However, its expression was not detected in emigrated neural crest cells, the descendants of Wnt1‐expressing precursors. We have developed mouse transgenic systems to manipulate gene activity in the Wnt1‐expressing precursors and their derivatives by integrating the tetracycline‐dependent activation and Cre‐mediated recombination methods. A new Wnt1‐rtTA strain, carrying rtTA under control of Wnt1 regulatory elements, has been created for gene manipulation in a spatiotemporal‐specific fashion. Together with our previously developed Wnt1‐Cre;R26STOPrtTA model, these systems permit conditional gene expression and ablation in pre‐migratory and/or post‐migratory neural crest cells. This study demonstrated the versatility of our mouse models to achieve gene manipulation in early neural development. Developmental Dynamics 239:338–345, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Overexpression of BMP3 in the developing skeleton alters endochondral bone formation resulting in spontaneous rib fractures
Authors: Gamer Laura W. , Cox Karen , Carlo Joelle M. , Rosen Vicki
Published: August 2009

Bone morphogenetic protein‐3 (BMP) has been identified as a negative regulator in the skeleton as mice lacking BMP3 have increased bone mass. To further understand how BMP3 mediates bone formation, we created transgenic mice overexpressing BMP3 using the type I collagen promoter. BMP3 transgenic mice displayed spontaneous rib fractures that were first detected at E17.0. The fractures were due to defects in differentiation of the periosteum and late hypertrophic chondrocytes resulting in thinner cortical bone with decreased mineralization. As BMP3 modulates BMP and activin signaling through ActRIIB, we examined the ribs of ActRIIB receptor knockout mice and found they had defects in late chondrogenesis and mineralization similar to BMP3 transgenic mice. These data suggest that BMP3 exerts its effects in the skeleton by altering signaling through ActRIIB in chondrocytes and the periosteum, and this results in defects in bone collar formation and late hypertrophic chondrocyte maturation leading to decreased mineralization and less bone. Developmental Dynamics 238:2374–2381, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Zebrafish enhancer detection (ZED) vector: A new tool to facilitate transgenesis and the functional analysis of cis‐regulatory regions in zebrafish
Authors: Bessa José , Tena Juan J. , de la Calle‐Mustienes Elisa , Fernández‐Miñán Ana , Naranjo Silvia , Fernández Almudena , Montoliu Lluis , Akalin Altuna , Lenhard Boris , Casares Fernando , Gómez‐Skarmeta José Luis
Published: August 2009

The identification and characterization of the regulatory activity of genomic sequences is crucial for understanding how the information contained in genomes is translated into cellular function. The cis‐regulatory sequences control when, where, and how much genes are transcribed and can activate (enhancers) or repress (silencers) gene expression. Here, we describe a novel Tol2 transposon‐based vector for assessing enhancer activity in the zebrafish (Danio rerio). This Zebrafish Enhancer Detector (ZED) vector harbors several key improvements, among them a sensitive and specific minimal promoter chosen for optimal enhancer activity detection, insulator sequences to shield the minimal promoter from position effects, and a positive control for transgenesis. Additionally, we demonstrate that highly conserved noncoding sequences homologous between humans and zebrafish largely with enhancer activity largely retain their tissue‐specific enhancer activity during vertebrate evolution. More strikingly, insulator sequences from mouse and chicken, but not conserved in zebrafish, maintain their insulator capacity when tested in this model. Developmental Dynamics 238:2409–2417, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Regeneration according to Spallanzani
Authors: Tsonis Panagiotis A. , Fox Timothy P.
Published: August 2009

In this report, we elaborate on a letter that Spallanzani wrote to Bonnet reporting his findings on regeneration in worms, snails, tadpoles, and salamanders. The letter (original in French and translated in English; see Supplementary Material, which is available online) was written to discuss whether or not regeneration in these animals supports Bonnet's theory on germs. The letter includes several drawings by Spallanzani, which were not published in the Prodromo, his book on Animal Reproduction. Spallanzani made important observations, which he described with considerable detail, but overall he was unable to confidently support Bonnet's theory. This letter reflects the way of thinking in the 18th century that shaped the important scientific fields of regeneration and reproduction. Developmental Dynamics 238:2357–2363, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Adventures in the Coordination Chemistry of Di‐2‐pyridyl Ketone and Related Ligands: From High‐Spin Molecules and Single‐Molecule Magnets to Coordination Polymers, and from Structural Aesthetics to an Exciting New Reactivity Chemistry of Coordinated Ligands (Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 23/2009)
Authors: Stamatatos Theocharis C. , Efthymiou Constantinos G. , Stoumpos Constantinos C. , Perlepes Spyros P.
Published: August 2009

The cover picture shows the famous bridge that connects Patras (and Peloponissos) with Central Greece, one of the largest in the world. The bridge is fixed to four pylons in the same manner that a myriad of polynuclear metal complexes and coordination polymers is based on various forms of di‐2‐pyridyl ketone shown on the top of the pylons. Some of the complexes have exciting structures and interesting properties. The activation of this and related ligands is an emergent area of synthetic inorganic chemistry. The structural diversity of the compounds stems from the ability of the deprotonated diol‐ and hemiketal‐type ligands to adopt a number of bridging coordination modes, depending on the number of carbonyl groups, the nature of the extra donor sites in the molecule and on the reaction conditions. Details are presented in the Microreview by S. P. Perlepes et al. on p. 3361 ff.