bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Baculovirus‐mediated vascular endothelial growth factor‐DΔNΔC gene transfer induces angiogenesis in rabbit skeletal muscle
Authors: Heikura Tommi , Nieminen Tiina , Roschier Miia M. , Karvinen Henna , Kaikkonen Minna U. , Mähönen Anssi J. , Lesch Hanna P. , Rissanen Tuomas T. , Laitinen Olli H. , Airenne Kari J. , Ylä‐Herttuala Seppo
Published: December 2011

Background

Occluded arteries and ischemic tissues cannot always be treated by angioplasty, stenting or by‐pass‐surgery. Under such circumstances, viral gene therapy may be useful in inducing increased blood supply to ischemic area. There is evidence of improved blood flow in ischemic skeletal muscle and myocardium in both animal and human studies using adenoviral vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene therapy. However, the expression is transient and repeated gene transfers with the same vector are inefficient due to immune responses.

Methods

Different baculoviral vectors pseudotyped with or without vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSV‐G) and/or carrying woodchuck hepatitis virus post‐transcriptional regulatory element (Wpre) were tested both in vitro and in vivo. VEGF‐DΔNΔC was used as therapeutic transgene and lacZ as a control. In vivo efficacy was evaluated as capillary enlargement and transgene expression in New Zealand White (NZW) rabbit skeletal muscle.

Results

A statistically significant capillary enlargement was detected 6 days after gene transfer in transduced areas compared to the control gene transfers with baculovirus and adenovirus encoding β‐galactosidase (lacZ). Substantially improved gene transfer efficiency was achieved with a modified baculovirus pseudotyped with VSV‐G and carrying Wpre. Dose escalation experiments revealed that either too large volume or too many virus particles caused inflammation and necrosis in the target tissue, whereas 109 plaque forming units injected in multiple aliquots resulted in transgene expression with only mild immune reactions.

Conclusions

We show the first evidence of biologically significant baculoviral gene transfer in skeletal muscle of NZW rabbits using VEGF‐DΔNΔC as a therapeutic transgene. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Self‐expanding metal stents (SEMS) for patients with advanced Esophageal cancer in Malawi: An effective palliative treatment
Authors: Thumbs Alexander , Borgstein Eric , Vigna Leo , Kingham T. Peter , Kushner Adam L. , Hellberg Kai , Bates Jane , Wilhelm Torsten J.
Published: December 2011

Background and Objectives

Esophageal cancer is common in Malawi and most patients are inoperable at time of diagnosis. The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate palliative treatment with self‐expanding metal stents (SEMS) in Malawi, a low‐income country with limited medical resources.

Methods

Data of patients with advanced inoperable esophageal cancer were prospectively collected. Tumor and patient specifics, risk factors, dysphagia scores, complications, and survival were assessed. Follow‐up data for 1 year or until death were collected from 118/143 patients (83%) during clinic visits, home visits, or via cell phone.

Results

One hundred forty‐three patients were treated with 154 SEMS. Median survival was 210 days (95% CI: 150–262 days). Fourteen of 118 patients with complete follow‐up (11.9%) survived more than 1 year with longest documented survival of 406 days. The median dysphagia score improved from 3 at the time of presentation to 0 at the time of death. Early complications occurred in 4.2% (6/143), late complications in 11.9% of patients (14/118). The procedure related mortality was 2.1% (3/143).

Conclusions

SEMS is an appropriate palliative treatment in a resource‐limited environment. For the vast majority of patients a single intervention provides lasting improvement of dysphagia. J. Surg. Oncol. 2012;105:410–414. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Use of capillary electrophoresis with chemiluminescence detection for sensitive determination of homocysteine
Authors: Mu Xiaomei , Zhao Shulin , Huang Yong , Ye Fanggui
Published: December 2011

A sensitive capillary electrophoresis (CE) method with chemiluminescence (CL) detection was developed for the determination of homocysteine (HCys) in human plasma. In this work, N‐(4‐aminobutyl)‐N‐ethylisoluminol was used as tagging reagent to label the analyte for achieving high assay sensitivity. N‐(4‐Aminobutyl)‐N‐ethylisoluminol‐tagged HCys after CE separation reacted with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of horseradish peroxidase, producing CL emission. Experimental conditions for labeling analyte, CE separation, and CL detection were studied. The CL intensity was proportional to the concentration of HCys in the range of 2.5×10−8 to 5.0×10−6 M. Detection limit (S/N=3) was 7.6×10−9 M. Human plasma samples from healthy donors were analyzed by the presented method. HCys levels were found to be in the range of 9.50–15.3 μM.
Israeli adolescents with ongoing exposure to terrorism: Suicidal ideation, posttraumatic stress disorder, and functional impairment
Authors: Chemtob Claude M. , Pat‐Horenczyk Ruth , Madan Anita , Pitman Seth R. , Wang Yanping , Doppelt Osnat , Burns Kelly Dugan , Abramovitz Robert , Brom Daniel
Published: December 2011

In this study, we examined the relationships among terrorism exposure, functional impairment, suicidal ideation, and probable partial or full posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from exposure to terrorism in adolescents continuously exposed to this threat in Israel. A convenience sample of 2,094 students, aged 12 to 18, was drawn from 10 Israeli secondary schools. In terms of demographic factors, older age was associated with increased risk for suicidal ideation, OR = 1.33, 95% CI [1.09, 1.62], p < .01, but was protective against probable partial or full PTSD, OR = 0.72, 95% CI [0.54, 0.95], p < .05; female gender was associated with greater likelihood of probable partial or full PTSD, OR = 1.57, 95% CI [1.02, 2.40], p < .05. Exposure to trauma due to terrorism was associated with increased risk for each of the measured outcomes including probable partial or full PTSD, functional impairment, and suicidal ideation. When age, gender, level of exposure to terrorism, probable partial or full PTSD, and functional impairment were examined together, only terrorism exposure and functional impairment were associated with suicidal ideation. This study underscores the importance and feasibility of examining exposure to terrorism and functional impairment as risk factors for suicidal ideation.
Closing One of the Last Gaps in Polyionene Compositions: Alkyloxyethylammonium Ionenes as Fast‐Acting Biocides
Authors: Mattheis Claudia , Zheng Mengyao , Agarwal Seema
Published: December 2011

Alkyloxyethylammonium ionenes are reported as biocompatible biocides with a time of biocidal action within a few minutes. The presence of both ethoxyethyl and aliphatic spacers besides long alkyl chain substituents on the quaternary nitrogen atom differentiates these biocides structurally from the known polyionenes. The influence of alkyl spacer length, counter ion and length of the pendant alkyl groups on the antibacterial properties is studied. E. coli is adopted as a test organism. MIC and MBC values are determined via broth dilution methods; time‐dependent tests are accomplished by determining the number of viable cells with the spread‐plate method after different contact times. Structural characterization is conducted via NMR and mass spectrometry techniques.

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Obesity and pancreatic cancer: Overview of epidemiologic evidence and biologic mechanisms
Authors: Bracci Paige M.
Published: December 2011

In the United States, pancreatic cancer is characterized by a low 5‐yr survival rate of approximately 6%, fewer than 10% of patients diagnosed with localized disease and thus candidates for “curative” surgical resection, increasing incidence and few established risk factors. Similar statistics are observed for other industrialized nations. With new evidence to suggest that pancreatic cancer develops over a number of years, markers that can better identify high risk patients and are applicable to earlier diagnosis hold promise for improving these dire statistics. Obesity is one of the few modifiable risk factors that has been associated with increased risk of pancreatic cancer and also is related to increased risk of diabetes, a condition that in turn has been associated with pancreatic cancer development. Given recent data that nearly 70% of United States adults are overweight or obese, a clarification of the complex association between obesity and pancreatic cancer may disclose targets for prevention and intervention to decrease incidence and improve prognosis of this highly fatal disease. An overview of the current epidemiology and hypothesized biological mechanisms involved in the obesity‐pancreatic cancer association are presented. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Pancreatic cancer: Helicobacter pylori colonization, N‐Nitrosamine exposures, and ABO blood group
Authors: Risch Harvey A.
Published: December 2011

Thirty years of research with animal models has shown that pancreatic adenocarcinoma is induced by N‐nitrosamine carcinogens, which damage DNA through adduct formation. Human risk factors for pancreatic cancer include gastric colonization by Helicobacter pylori, as well as dietary intake of those same N‐nitrosamines or of nitrite which forms those N‐nitrosamines in the stomach, and cigarette smoking which also contains those N‐nitrosamines. Physiologic actions of H. pylori colonization enhance the carcinogenic effect of N‐nitrosamines delivered by smoking or dietary sources. This effect is modulated by host inflammatory response to the organism, by various virulence and other properties of the Helicobacter itself, and by host‐organism interactions. A recent genome‐wide association study identified SNPs within the ABO 9q34 locus as statistically significantly associated with risk of pancreatic cancer. A number of recent and older studies going back 40 yr also support the ABO association. ABO‐product antigens are expressed on gastrointestinal epithelium on which H. pylori binds, and ABO genotype is known to be associated with risks of duodenal and gastric ulcer and with risk of gastric cancer, conditions definitively related to Helicobacter colonization. We suspect that ABO genotype/phenotype status influences the behavior of H. pylori which in turn affects gastric and pancreatic secretory function, and these ultimately influence the pancreatic carcinogenicity of dietary‐ and smoking‐related N‐nitrosamine exposures, and thus risk of pancreatic cancer. Our study results on the interaction of ABO and H. pylori significantly confirm this hypothesis and together with other existing studies strongly implicate this organism in the disease etiology. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Nonlinear GRAPPA: A kernel approach to parallel MRI reconstruction
Authors: Chang Yuchou , Liang Dong , Ying Leslie
Published: December 2011

GRAPPA linearly combines the undersampled k‐space signals to estimate the missing k‐space signals where the coefficients are obtained by fitting to some auto‐calibration signals (ACS) sampled with Nyquist rate based on the shift‐invariant property. At high acceleration factors, GRAPPA reconstruction can suffer from a high level of noise even with a large number of auto‐calibration signals. In this work, we propose a nonlinear method to improve GRAPPA. The method is based on the so‐called kernel method which is widely used in machine learning. Specifically, the undersampled k‐space signals are mapped through a nonlinear transform to a high‐dimensional feature space, and then linearly combined to reconstruct the missing k‐space data. The linear combination coefficients are also obtained through fitting to the ACS data but in the new feature space. The procedure is equivalent to adding many virtual channels in reconstruction. A polynomial kernel with explicit mapping functions is investigated in this work. Experimental results using phantom and in vivo data demonstrate that the proposed nonlinear GRAPPA method can significantly improve the reconstruction quality over GRAPPA and its state‐of‐the‐art derivatives. Magn Reson Med, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Interventional loopless antenna at 7 T
Authors: Ertürk Mehmet Arcan , El‐Sharkawy AbdEl‐Monem M. , Bottomley Paul A.
Published: December 2011

The loopless antenna magnetic resonance imaging detector is comprised of a tuned coaxial cable with an extended central conductor that can be fabricated at submillimeter diameters for interventional use in guidewires, catheters, or needles. Prior work up to 4.7 T suggests a near‐quadratic gain in signal‐to‐noise ratio with field strength and safe operation at 3 T. Here, for the first time, the signal‐to‐noise ratio performance and radiofrequency safety of the loopless antenna are investigated both theoretically, using the electromagnetic method‐of‐moments, and experimentally in a standard 7 T human scanner. The results are compared with equivalent 3 T devices. An absolute signal‐to‐noise ratio gain of 5.7 ± 1.5‐fold was realized at 7 T vs. 3 T: more than 20‐fold higher than at 1.5 T. The effective field‐of‐view area also increased approximately 10‐fold compared with 3 T. Testing in a saline gel phantom suggested that safe operation is possible with maximum local 1‐g average specific absorption rates of <12 W kg−1 and temperature increases of <1.9°C, normalized to a 4 W kg−1 radiofrequency field exposure at 7 T. The antenna did not affect the power applied to the scanner's transmit coil. The signal‐to‐noise ratio gain enabled magnetic resonance imaging microscopy at 40–50 μm resolution in diseased human arterial specimens, offering the potential of high‐resolution large‐field‐of‐view or endoscopic magnetic resonance imaging for targeted intervention in focal disease. Magn Reson Med, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Multislice 1H MRSI of the human brain at 7 T using dynamic B0 and B1 shimming
Authors: Boer Vincent O. , Klomp Dennis W. J. , Juchem Christoph , Luijten Peter R. , de Graaf Robin A.
Published: December 2011

Proton MR spectroscopic imaging of the human brain at ultra‐high field (≥7 T) is challenging due to increased radio frequency power deposition, increased magnetic field B0 inhomogeneity, and increased radio frequency magnetic field inhomogeneity. In addition, especially for multislice sequences, these effects directly inhibit the potential gains of higher magnetic field and can even cause a reduction in data quality. However, recent developments in dynamic B0 magnetic field shimming and dynamic multitransmit radio frequency control allow for new acquisition strategies. Therefore, in this work, slice‐by‐slice B0 and B1 shimming was developed to optimize both B0 magnetic field homogeneity and nutation angle over a large portion of the brain. Together with a low‐power water and lipid suppression sequence and pulse‐acquire spectroscopic imaging, a multislice MR spectroscopic imaging sequence is shown to be feasible at 7 T. This now allows for multislice metabolic imaging of the human brain with high sensitivity and high chemical shift resolution at ultra‐high field. Magn Reson Med, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Synthesis of styrene‐g‐polyisoprene nanoparticles by emulsion polymerization and its effect on properties of polyisoprene composites
Authors: Suppaibulsuk Bunthita , Rempel Garry L , Prasassarakich Pattarapan
Published: December 2011

The graft copolymerization of styrene onto nanosized polyisoprene (PIP) was carried out by using cumene hydroperoxide and tetraethylene pentamine as redox initiators. The high conversion and high degree of grafting could be achieved when a small particle was used as the core polymer. The grafting efficiency and monomer conversion increased with increasing reaction temperature and monomer concentration. Transmission electron microscopy indicated that the small PIP nanoparticles were completely coated with polystyrene (PS) by grafting resulting in a core shell morphology of nanosized graft PIP. Nanosized PIP and nanosized PS‐g‐PIP could be used as compatibilizers for vulcanized rubber latex. The addition of nanosized PIP and PS‐g‐PIP strongly influenced the mechanical properties of the natural rubber (NR)‐based compound. Incorporation of nanosized PIP and PS‐g‐PIP resulted in an improvement of the resistance of the compounds to heat aging. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Risk tolerance criteria for layers of protection analysis
Authors: Baybutt Paul
Published: December 2011

Layers of protection analysis (LOPA) facilitates risk‐informed decision making by allowing comparison of risk estimates with risk tolerance criteria to determine if the risk is tolerable. Various types of risk criteria exist, and it is essential that LOPA practitioners match the type of risks calculated with the type of criteria used to ensure that valid comparisons are made and sound decisions are taken. A common error is to use individual risk criteria but calculate societal risk measures, which can lead to more stringent risk reduction measures than needed. Correct use of risk tolerance criteria is especially important when LOPA is used to determine safety integrity levels for safety instrumented functions to comply with industry standards for safety instrumented systems when critical decisions on process safety are made. This article describes the type of risk criteria that should be used with LOPA and contrasts risk measures calculated with LOPA and quantitative risk analysis. The concept of a representative receptor is introduced to allow the calculation of individual risk measures as well as societal risk measures. © 2011 American Institute of
Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2011
Long‐term foliar persistence and efficacy of spinosad against beet armyworm under greenhouse conditions
Authors: Sántis Erika L , Hernández Luis A , Martínez Ana M , Campos Jesús , Figueroa José I , Lobit Philippe , Chavarrieta Juan M , Viñuela Elisa , Smagghe Guy , Pineda Samuel
Published: December 2011

BACKGROUND: The immediate lethality caused by spinosad has been widely studied on Spodoptera exigua (Hübner). However, long‐term effects can also provide valuable information on insecticide toxic action. Here, the persistence of spinosad on Capsicum annuum L. foliage and the lethal and sublethal effects of greenhouse‐aged foliar residues of this insecticide on third instars of S. exigua are reported.

RESULTS: Foliage was collected at 0, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 days after application, and spinosad residues were measured. Residues decreased over time according to first‐order kinetics. The average rate constant and half‐life of disappearance were 4.44 × 10−3 and 156 days and 5.80 × 10−3 and 120 days for 60 and 120 mg L−1 respectively. Larval mortality gradually decreased, corresponding to the residues, but was still appreciable (35 and 65% for 60 and 120 mg L−1 respectively) when the larvae were fed with foliage collected 50 days after treatment. Subsequently, pupal development was reduced and varied between 20 and 60% and between 21 and 41% for 60 and 120 mg L−1, respectively, in all ages of leaf residues that were bioassayed. At all time points, the consumption rate by the larvae was reduced between 62 and 84% for both concentrations that were bioassayed.

CONCLUSION: It is concluded that, under the present greenhouse conditions, the degradation of spinosad was slower than that reported by other authors in the field, and, because of that, its residues could cause lethal and sublethal effects to S. exigua larvae. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry
Growth of InN quantum dots by droplet epitaxy and their characterization
Authors: Krishnamurthy D. , Hasegawa S. , Tawil S. N. M. , Emura S. , Asahi H.
Published: December 2011

Droplet epitaxy (DE) of InN quantum dots (QDs) on GaN templates using radio frequency plasma‐assisted MBE system has been reported. Two different methods of DE technique, by varying the nitridation and annealing sequence, have been employed. The various growth parameters were systematically optimized to grow non‐coalesced InN QDs without any uncrystallized In droplets. Dimensions of the QDs grown by employing the sequence of prolonged nitridation at the droplet formation temperature itself followed by annealing were found to be comparatively smaller. The differences in the crystallization of the QDs by the two methods are discussed. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Observation of A1(LO), E2(high) and B1(high) phonon modes in Inx Ga1–xN alloys with x = 0.11–0.54
Authors: Kim J. G. , Kamei Y. , Kimura A. , Hasuike N. , Harima H. , Kisoda K. , Hotta T. , Sasamoto K. , Yamamoto A.
Published: December 2011

Phonon spectra of A1(LO), E2(high) and B1(high) modes were observed in a series of hexagonal Inx Ga1–xN alloy films (x = 0.11–0.54) by Raman scattering using a deep‐UV laser at 266 nm for excitation. The A1(LO) and E2(high) modes both showed one‐mode type variation with x. The B1(high) mode, which is Raman‐forbidden in ideal binary wurtzite compounds, has been first observed in Inx Ga1–xN alloy in a clear manner. Its frequency variation is in line with a theoretical prediction of one‐mode type behavior. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Structural, magnetic and optical studies of ultrathin GaGdN/AlGaN multiquantum well structure
Authors: Almokhtar Mohamed , Emura Shuichi , Zhou Yi Kai , Hasegawa Shigehiko , Asahi Hajime
Published: December 2011

GaN/Al0.12Ga0.88N and Ga0.99Gd0.01N/Al0.12Ga0.88N multi‐quantum well samples with the quantum well thickness of one nm were grown by a radio‐frequency plasma‐assisted molecular‐beam epitaxy on GaN (0001) templates. The epitaxial growth is established in the grown samples. Gd doped multi‐quantum well samples show magnetic behaviour at room temperature. Photoluminescence measurements show a strong photoluminescence at the higher energy side of GaN excitonic peak for the GaN multi‐quantum wells. A new luminescence peak at 3.598 eV was found for Gd doped GaN multi‐quantum wells. This photoluminescence peak is attributed to the formation of an exciton–polaron in the distorted regions around the Gd dopants in GaN multi‐quantum wells. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Size effect on efficiency droop of blue light emitting diode
Authors: Tao Y. B. , Wang S. Y. , Chen Z. Z. , Gong Z. , Xie E. Y. , Chen Y. J. , Zhang Y. F. , McKendry J. , Massoubre D. , Gu E. D. , Rae B. R. , Henderson R. K. , Zhang G. Y.
Published: December 2011

In this paper, the size effects on the efficiency droop (ED) in blue InGaN/GaN quantum well light emitting diode are investigated. The smaller size LEDs can work well under much higher power density, especially when the size is reduced to under 40 micro‐meters. It shows a weaker ED in these small LEDs. Time correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) measurements show a longer electroluminescence lifetime for smaller size LEDs, which implicates the nonradiative recombination is reduced. It is likely due to Aguer recombination reduction by quantum well (QW) band flatened with the device size decreasing. Cathodoluminescence results indicates that the strain in QWs is relaxed both in the whole pillar and along radial direction of the pillar. The better performance of the smaller size LED is likely attributed to strain relaxation (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Influence of sputter power and N2 gas flow ratio on crystalline quality of AlN layers deposited at 823 K by RF reactive sputtering
Authors: Kumada Tomoyuki , Ohtsuka Makoto , Takada Kazuya , Fukuyama Hiroyuki
Published: December 2011

Aluminum nitride (AlN) is increasingly demanded for use as a substrate for ultraviolet light emitting diodes (UV‐LEDs). A previous study investigated the influence of sputter conditions on the crystalline quality of AlN layers sputtered on nitrided sapphire substrate at 573 and 773 K using radio‐frequency (RF) reactive sputtering. AlN layers were deposited at a higher substrate temperature of 823 K to investigate the influence of sputter power and N2 gas flow ratio on their crystalline quality in this study. The AlN layers were deposited in various conditions (sputter power, 200–900 W; N2 gas flow ratio, 30–70 vol%N2). The growth rate increased concomitantly with increasing sputter power and decreasing N2 gas flow ratio. The crystalline orientation improved with increasing sputter power, except for 900 W at 50 vol%N2. High‐quality c‐axis oriented AlN layers were sputtered with 700 W at 50 vol%N2, and with 800 W at 40 and 50 vol%N2. Results showed that edge dislocation was dominant in AlN layers sputtered with 800 W at 50 vol%N2 from cross‐sectional images observed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Effectiveness of Nigella sativa Oil in the Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: A Placebo Controlled Study
Authors: Gheita Tamer A. , Kenawy Sanaa A.
Published: December 2011

The constituents of Nigella sativa modulate the immune system. The aim of the present work was to study the effectiveness of Nigella sativa oil in RA patients. Data from 40 female RA patients diagnosed according to the 2010 ACR/EULAR were analysed and discussed. The patients took two placebo (starch filled) capsules daily for 1 month. This was followed by a month of Nigella sativa oil capsules 500 mg twice/day. The disease activity score (DAS‐28) significantly decreased after receiving the Nigella sativa capsules (4.55 ± 0.82) compared with before and after placebo (4.98 ± 0.79 and 4.99 ± 0.72, respectively) (p = 0.017). Similarly, the number of swollen joints and the duration of morning stiffness improved. A marked improvement in the disease activity was shown by both the ACR20 and EULAR response criteria in 42.5% and 30% of the patients, respectively, after intake of Nigella. Supplementation with Nigella sativa during DMARD therapy in RA may be considered an affordable potential adjuvant biological therapy. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Optimal dose‐finding designs with correlated continuous and discrete responses
Authors: Fedorov Valerii , Wu Yuehui , Zhang Rongmei
Published: December 2011

In dose‐finding clinical studies, it is common that multiple endpoints are of interest. For instance, in phase I/II studies, efficacy and toxicity are often the primary endpoints, which are observed simultaneously and which need to be evaluated together. Motivated by this, we confine ourselves to bivariate responses and focus on the most analytically difficult case: a mixture of continuous and categorical responses. We adopt the bivariate probit dose–response model and quantify our goal by a utility function. We study locally optimal designs, two‐stage optimal designs, and fully adaptive designs under different ethical and cost constraints in the experiments. We assess the performance of two‐stage designs and fully adaptive designs via simulations. Our simulations suggest that the two‐stage designs are as efficient as and may be more efficient than the fully adaptive designs if there is a moderate sample size in the initial stage. In addition, two‐stage designs are easier to construct and implement and thus can be a useful approach in practice. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Objective Bayes model selection in probit models
Authors: Leon‐Novelo Luis , Moreno Elías , Casella George
Published: December 2011

We describe a new variable selection procedure for categorical responses where the candidate models are all probit regression models. The procedure uses objective intrinsic priors for the model parameters, which do not depend on tuning parameters, and ranks the models for the different subsets of covariates according to their model posterior probabilities. When the number of covariates is moderate or large, the number of potential models can be very large, and for those cases, we derive a new stochastic search algorithm that explores the potential sets of models driven by their model posterior probabilities. The algorithm allows the user to control the dimension of the candidate models and thus can handle situations when the number of covariates exceed the number of observations. We assess, through simulations, the performance of the procedure and apply the variable selector to a gene expression data set, where the response is whether a patient exhibits pneumonia. Software needed to run the procedures is available in the R package varselectIP. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Performance of binary markers for censored failure time outcome: nonparametric approach based on proportions
Authors: Antolini Laura , Valsecchi Maria Grazia
Published: December 2011

This work focuses on the assessment of the discrimination ability of a binary marker to identify patients that will relapse in time. We consider the cumulative definition of sensitivity and dynamic definition of specificity at a time horizon, that is, the probability of a positive marker in the population that will relapse (cases) and that will not relapse (controls). In the presence of censoring, sensitivity and specificity cannot be estimated by proportions because it is not known whether censored subjects should be considered as cases or controls. The solutions proposed do not enable to obtain asymptotic confidence intervals. We explore the use of inverse probability of censoring weighting/imputation (borrowed from the methodology used to correct for verification bias) to adjust the classification matrix for the presence of censoring. The adjustment based on weights estimated conditional on the marker turned to be equivalent to the adjustment based on imputation. These approaches, which address for the presence of marker‐dependent censoring, showed a better performance than the adjustment based on weights estimated on the entire sample, even in the case of marker‐independent censoring. We derived single intervals and confidence region for sensitivity and 1‐specificity using the delta method. The confidence region is particularly useful for a binary marker because the marker has some ability to discriminate among cases and controls only if the region does not intersect the first quadrant bisector. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Evaluation of current seismic design equations for nonstructural components in tall buildings using strong motion records
Authors: Fathali Saeed , Lizundia Bret
Published: December 2011

A recently completed California Strong Motion Instrumentation Program (CSMIP) data interpretation project used recorded ground and floor motion data to evaluate a key ASCE/SEI 7‐05 (and 7‐10) equation for seismic design of acceleration‐sensitive building nonstructural components. CSMIP motions from 73 earthquakes recorded in 151 fixed‐base buildings were used in the evaluation. An improved equation was developed with two categories of revisions. First, the current code formula considers a linear relationship between the peak floor acceleration (PFA) and the relative height of the component in the building with a roof PFA that is three times that of the peak ground acceleration. The analyses of the recorded motions showed that improved results could be obtained by using a nonlinear relationship and by considering both the building approximate period, Ta, and the level of ground motion. Second, the code formula considers a component amplification factor, ap, that takes values between 1.0 and 2.5 depending on the flexibility of the nonstructural component. Analyses showed that component amplification factor can be better represented using a three‐segment spectrum composed of a linear rise from 1.0 to maximum value of ap at short periods, a flat segment with the maximum value of ap at medium‐range periods and a nonlinear decaying segment at longer periods. The shape and amplitude of the spectrum were found to vary depending on Ta. This paper evaluates tall buildings with at least 15 stories using the proposed equations and confirms that the revisions provide improvements in matching design equations with recorded response. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Getting to a better ‘PLACE’: helping patients counter obesity by achieving enduring lifestyle change
Authors: Kirby Roger , Kirby Michael , Amoroso Peter , Challacombe Ben , Dasgupta Prokar , Carson Culley , Fitzpatrick John M.
Published: December 2011

In the domain of public health, common sense is not always common practice. How best then to enable patients to act on the advice that they have constantly heard, but find hard to actually carry out? Copyright © 2011 Wiley Interface Ltd
Mind
Authors: Holloway Jack
Published: December 2011

As the UK's largest mental health charity, Mind campaigns to create a society that promotes and protects good mental health for all. With one in four people likely to experience a mental health problem every year, Mind plays a crucial role in raising awareness, campaigning and providing support for people with mental distress. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Interface Ltd
Uncorking gastrulation: the morphogenetic movement of bottle cells
Authors: Lee Jen‐Yi
Published: December 2011

Bottle cell‐driven blastopore lip formation externally marks the initiation of gastrulation in amphibian embryos. The blastopore groove is formed when bottle cells undergo apical constriction and transform from cuboidal to flask‐shaped. Apical constriction is sufficient to cause invagination and is a highly conserved mechanism for sheet bending and folding during morphogenesis; therefore, studying apical constriction in Xenopus bottle cells could provide valuable insight into this fundamental shape change. Initially described over a century ago, the dramatic shape change that occurs in bottle cells has long captured the imaginations of embryologists. However, only recently have investigators begun to examine the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying bottle cell apical constriction. Bottle cell apical constriction is driven by actomyosin contractility as well as by endocytosis of the apical membrane. The Nodal signaling pathway, Wnt5a, and Lgl1 are all required for bottle cell formation, but how they induce subcellular changes resulting in apical constriction remains to be elucidated. Xenopus bottle cells now represent an excellent vertebrate system for the dissection of how molecular inputs can drive cellular outputs, specifically the cell shape change of apical constriction. WIREs Dev Biol 2012, 1:286–293. doi: 10.1002/wdev.19

This article is categorized under:

Early Embryonic Development > Gastrulation and Neurulation
Solubility Differences of Major Storage Proteins of Brassicaceae Oilseeds
Authors: Wanasundara Janitha P. D. , Abeysekara Sujeema J. , McIntosh Tara C. , Falk Kevin C.
Published: December 2011

Seeds of six commercially produced Brassica juncea, Brassica napus and Sinapis alba varieties representing high‐glucosinolate condiment‐type and low‐glucosinolate canola‐type were studied for solubility characteristics of the predominant seed storage proteins (SSPs). The non‐protein nitrogen components such as glucosinolates, nucleic acids, betaine, choline and sinapine contributed 3.1–5.2% and 7.9–10.8% for the total N content of low‐ and high‐glucosinolate meals, respectively. The cruciferin and napin which are the predominant SSPs of crucifers were purified from these seeds and used to confirm soluble protein types under the conditions provided. The napins were soluble between pH 2 and 4 but not the cruciferins. Strong alkaline pH brought both cruciferin and napin into solution. In general, the SSP solubility was increased due to the presence of NaCl or CaCl2 salts in the medium. The effect of CaCl2 on solubility was more positive than NaCl for all the seed types except S. alba at neutral and alkaline pH. Presence of salts indeed reduced solubility of S. alba SSPs at alkaline pH. The medium pH and salt ions and their ionic strength can be manipulated to achieve selective solubility of napin and cruciferin of Brassicaceae seed meals.
Zytogenetische Methoden in der Pränataldiagnostik
Authors: Wegner R.-D. , Stumm M.
Published: December 2011

Die zytogenetischen Analysen an Fruchtwasserzellen oder an Chorionzotten sind die Standardmethoden der invasiven Pränataldiagnostik. In besonderen Fällen stellen die Fetalblutanalyse oder die Untersuchung fetaler Zellen anderen Ursprungs eine gute Ergänzung dar, um den tatsächlichen fetalen Chromosomensatz zu ermitteln. Die Chromosomenanalyse erlaubt die Beurteilung des gesamten Genoms auf lichtmikroskopischer Ebene. Bei molekulargenetischen Analysen monogener Erkrankungen werden native Chorionzotten für eine derartige, gezielte Untersuchung bevorzugt verwendet. Die schnelle Entwicklung der nichtinvasiven genetischen Pränataldiagnostik kann die Optionen werdender Eltern, bestimmte genetisch bedingte Störungen auszuschließen, erweitern und auf den Einsatz der invasiven pränatalen Diagnostik maßgeblich Einfluss nehmen.
Polyarthritis as a prewarning sign of occult lung cancer
Authors: Han Yong‐Mei , Fang Li‐Zheng , Zhang Xin‐Hua , Yuan Shi‐Hai , Chen Jian‐Hua , Li You‐Ming
Published: December 2011

Cancer polyarthritis is an uncommon, paraneoplastic manifestation of some solid and hematological malignancies. Herein, we report the case of a 55‐year‐old woman who recently experienced polyarthritis for 2 months. On admission, the patient developed cough, expectoration, and fever. According to the clinical manifestations and the findings in radiological examinations and sputum cultures, pneumonia was considered. No evidence of lung cancer was noted by repeated computed tomography scan of lung, single bronchoscopy, or computed tomography–guided lung biopsy. Ultimately, the second bronchoscopy with biopsy was carried out, and lung adenocarcinoma was confirmed by pathological examination. Symptoms of polyarthritis starting 2 months before the symptoms of her lung cancer in the present case leads us to believe that polyarthritis may be a manifestation of paraneoplastic syndrome. Arthritis resolved after anticancer therapy. Our report indicates that polyarthritis of unknown cause may be suspected as a manifestation of malignancies.
PERFECT COLOURINGS OF ISONEMAL FABRICS BY THICK STRIPING
Authors: THOMAS R. S. D.
Published: December 2011

Perfect colouring of isonemal fabrics by thick striping of warp and weft and the closely related topic of isonemal prefabrics that fall apart are reconsidered and their relation further explored. The catalogue of isonemal prefabrics of genus V that fall apart is extended to order 20 with designs that can be used to weave cubes with colour symmetry as well as weaving symmetry.
TWO NONTRIVIAL WEAK SOLUTIONS FOR THE DIRICHLET PROBLEM ON THE SIERPIŃSKI GASKET
Authors: STANCU-DUMITRU DENISA
Published: December 2011

We study a Dirichlet problem involving the weak Laplacian on the Sierpiński gasket, and we prove the existence of at least two distinct nontrivial weak solutions using Ekeland’s Variational Principle and standard tools in critical point theory combined with corresponding variational techniques.
TWO-INTERVAL EVEN-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL OPERATORS IN MODIFIED HILBERT SPACES
Authors: SUO JIANQING , WANG WANYI
Published: December 2011

By modifying the inner product in the direct sum of the Hilbert spaces associated with each of two underlying intervals on which an even-order equation is defined, we generate self-adjoint realisations for boundary conditions with any real coupling matrix which are much more general than the coupling matrices from the ‘unmodified’ theory.
Fish consumption does not prevent increase in waist circumference in European women and men
Authors: Jakobsen Marianne U. , Due Karen M. , Dethlefsen Claus , Halkjaer Jytte , Holst Claus , Forouhi Nita G. , Tjønneland Anne , Boeing Heiner , Buijsse Brian , Palli Domenico , Masala Giovanna , Du Huaidong , van der A Daphne L. , Wareham Nicholas J. , Feskens Edith J. M. , Sørensen Thorkild I. A. , Overvad Kim
Published: December 2011

Fish consumption is the major dietary source of EPA and DHA, which according to rodent experiments may reduce body fat mass and prevent obesity. However, human studies have suggested that fish consumption has no appreciable association with body-weight gain. We investigated the associations between fish consumption and subsequent change in waist circumference. Sex, age and waist circumference at enrolment were considered as potential effect modifiers. Women and men (n 89 432) participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) were followed for a median of 5·5 years. Mixed-effect linear regression was used to investigate the associations between fish consumption and subsequent change in waist circumference. Among all participants, the average annual change in waist circumference was − 0·01 cm/10 g higher total fish consumption per d (95 % CI − 0·01, 0·00) and − 0·01 cm/10 g higher fatty fish consumption per d (95 % CI − 0·02, − 0·01), after adjustment for potential confounders. Lean fish consumption was not associated with change in waist circumference. Adjustment for potential over- or underestimation of fish consumption measurements did not systematically change the observed associations, but the 95 % CI became slightly wider. The results in subgroups from analyses stratified by sex, age or waist circumference at enrolment were not systematically different. In conclusion, the present study suggests that fish consumption does not prevent increase in waist circumference.
Carotenoid exposure of Caco-2 intestinal epithelial cells did not affect selected inflammatory markers but altered their proteomic response
Authors: Kaulmann Anouk , Serchi Tommaso , Renaut Jenny , Hoffmann Lucien , Bohn Torsten
Published: December 2011

Carotenoid consumption has been linked to a number of beneficial health effects, including the reduction of chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular complications. However, no data are available on their action on the intestinal epithelium, being exposed to the highest concentrations of carotenoids in the human body, and where they could act preventively on intestinal inflammatory diseases such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether lycopene and β-carotene in micelles (M), at concentrations that could be reached via the diet (10–25 μg/ml) could aid in the reduction of TNF-α plus IL-1β-induced inflammation of Caco-2 human epithelial cells. The impact on biomarkers of inflammation, including IL-8, NO and cyclo-oxygenase-2 (through PGE-2α), and the NF-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways of intracellular signalling cascades were evaluated compared with controls (empty M). Furthermore, proteomic analyses were conducted from total cellular protein extracts. The results revealed that isolated carotenoids had no statistical significant anti-inflammatory effect on the biomarkers observed, or on the regulation of NF-κB and MAPK. Nevertheless, analyses of the proteome suggested that fifteen proteins were significantly (P < 0·05, expression ratio >1·3) differentially regulated following β-carotene exposure, participating mostly in metabolic activities including antioxidant mechanisms, such as glutathioneS-transferase A1. Only one protein was differentially regulated by lycopene (profilin-1). To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to investigate pathways involved in the action of carotenoids on the intestinal epithelium.
Urinary citrulline in very low birth weight preterm infants receiving intravenous nutrition
Authors: Bourdon Aurélie , Rougé Carole , Legrand Arnaud , Des Robert Clotilde , Piloquet Hugues , Vodovar Michel , Voyer Marcel , Rozé Jean-Christophe , Darmaun Dominique
Published: December 2011

As gut immaturity precludes full enteral feeding, very low birth weight (VLBW) preterm infants receive parenteral nutrition (PN) during the first few weeks of life. Weaning VLBW infants off PN, however, is a top priority since PN is associated with a high risk of complications. The decision making is purely empirical, as there is currently no suitable index of gastrointestinal (GI) maturity. Plasma citrulline concentration is considered an index of GI function in conditions such as short-bowel syndrome and coeliac disease in adults. To identify the factors determining urinary citrulline excretion, and determine whether urinary citrulline excretion could be used as a non-invasive index of GI tolerance to enteral feeding, nutritional intake and urinary citrulline were monitored bi-weekly in forty-seven preterm infants < 1500 g (interquartiles 880–1320 g), during their stay in the Neonatology unit. Median urinary citrulline was 24·7 μmol/mmol creatinine (14·5–38·6 μmol/mmol creatinine). No relationship was observed with the percentage of energy tolerated enterally. In multivariate regression analysis, weak correlations were found with post-conceptional age (P = 0·001), parenteral amino acid supply (P = 0·001) and the daily volume of enteral mixture administered (P = 0·043). A significant correlation was found with urinary nitrite+nitrate excretion (r0·47;P < 0·001). We conclude that in preterm infants: (1) one of the major determinants of urinary citrulline may be the biosynthesis of citrulline from arginine by NO-synthase; (2) urinary citrulline cannot be used to predict GI tolerance. This is consistent with the observations that, in neonatal gut, citrulline is converted to argininein siturather than exported towards the kidneys as observed in adults.
COMPACT NON-ORIENTABLE SURFACES OF GENUS 5 WITH EXTREMAL METRIC DISCS
Authors: NAKAMURA GOU
Published: December 2011

A compact hyperbolic surface of genus g is called an extremal surface if it admits an extremal disc, a disc of the largest radius determined by g. Our problem is to find how many extremal discs are embedded in non-orientable extremal surfaces. It is known that non-orientable extremal surfaces of genus g > 6 contain exactly one extremal disc and that of genus 3 or 4 contain at most two. In the present paper we shall give all the non-orientable extremal surfaces of genus 5, and find the locations of all extremal discs in those surfaces. As a consequence, non-orientable extremal surfaces of genus 5 contain at most two extremal discs.
TWO DESCRIPTIONS OF THE QUANTUM AFFINE ALGEBRA Uv() VIA HALL ALGEBRA APPROACH
Authors: BURBAN IGOR , SCHIFFMANN OLIVIER
Published: December 2011

We compare the reduced Drinfeld doubles of the composition subalgebras of the category of representations of the Kronecker quiver and the category of coherent sheaves on ℙ1. Using this approach, we show that the Drinfeld–Beck isomorphism for the quantized enveloping algebra Uv() is a corollary of an equivalence between the derived categories Db(Rep()) and Db(Coh(ℙ1)). This technique allows to reprove several results on the integral form of Uv().