bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Complexity and information: Measuring emergence, self‐organization, and homeostasis at multiple scales
Authors: Gershenson Carlos , Fernández Nelson
Published: September 2012

Concepts used in the scientific study of complex systems have become so widespread that their use and abuse has led to ambiguity and confusion in their meaning. In this article, we use information theory to provide abstract and concise measures of complexity, emergence, self‐organization, and homeostasis. The purpose is to clarify the meaning of these concepts with the aid of the proposed formal measures. In a simplified version of the measures (focusing on the information produced by a system), emergence becomes the opposite of self‐organization, while complexity represents their balance. Homeostasis can be seen as a measure of the stability of the system. We use computational experiments on random Boolean networks and elementary cellular automata to illustrate our measures at multiple scales. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity, 2012
Regulation of neurite outgrowth mediated by localized phosphorylation of protein translational factor eEF2 in growth cones
Authors: Iketani Masumi , Iizuka Akira , Sengoku Kumiko , Kurihara Yuji , Nakamura Fumio , Sasaki Yukio , Sato Yasufumi , Yamane Masayuki , Matsushita Masayuki , Nairn Angus C. , Takamatsu Ken , Goshima Yoshio , Takei Kohtaro
Published: September 2012

Nerve growth cones contain mRNA and its translational machinery and thereby synthesize protein locally. The regulatory mechanisms in the growth cone, however, remain largely unknown. We previously found that the calcium entry‐induced increase of phosphorylation of eukaryotic elongation factor‐2 (eEF2), a key component of mRNA translation, within growth cones showed growth arrest of neurites. Because dephosphorylated eEF2 and phosphorylated eEF2 are known to promote and inhibit mRNA translation, respectively, the data led to the hypothesis that eEF2‐mediating mRNA translation may regulate neurite outgrowth. Here, we validated the hypothesis by using a chromophore‐assisted light inactivation (CALI) technique to examine the roles of localized eEF2 and eEF2 kinase (EF2K), a specific calcium calmodulin‐dependent enzyme for eEF2 phosphorylation, in advancing growth cones of cultured chick dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. The phosphorylated eEF2 was weakly distributed in advancing growth cones, whereas eEF2 phosphorylation was increased by extracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP)‐evoked calcium transient through P2 purinoceptors in growth cones and resulted in growth arrest of neurites. The increase of eEF2 phosphorylation within growth cones by inhibition of protein phosphatase 2A known to dephosphorylate eEF2 also showed growth arrest of neurites. CALI of eEF2 within growth cones resulted in retardation of neurite outgrowth, whereas CALI of EF2K enhanced neurite outgrowth temporally. Moreover, CALI of EF2K abolished the ATP‐induced retardation of neurite outgrowth. These findings suggest that an eEF2 phosphorylation state localized to the growth cone regulates neurite outgrowth. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2013
Investigation of Cognitive Abilities Related to Reading and Spelling in Korean: Readers with High, Average, and Low Skill Levels
Authors: Park Hyun‐Rin , Uno Akira
Published: September 2012

In this study, we investigated the characteristics of cognitive abilities as predictors of Korean reading and spelling ability, and the characteristics of the cognition of reading difficulty in Korean. In 103 Korean third‐grade children, we tested ability to read and spell, nonverbal intelligence, vocabulary size, phonological cognitive processing, visual cognitive processing, and naming speed. Our results indicated that receptive vocabulary, phoneme awareness, and naming speed served as factors for predicting reading test score; receptive vocabulary served as a factor for predicting spelling test score. We found that low reading‐level groups had significantly slower performance on the naming speed task and lower scores on the receptive vocabulary test, as compared with the other groups (average and high reading‐level groups). The present results have implications concerning useful tasks for screening for Korean poor readers. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Key Messages

Receptive vocabulary, phoneme awareness, and naming speed were important factors in Hangul reading ability.

Receptive vocabulary was an important factor in Hangul writing ability.

The group with lower reading skill levels showed worse performance in terms of naming speed and receptive vocabulary.
Motivational interventions in the eating disorders: What is the evidence?
Authors: Knowles Lucy , Anokhina Alisa , Serpell Lucy
Published: September 2012

Background:

Eating disorder treatments are plagued by poor engagement and high drop‐out. People who disengage from eating disorder treatment appear poorly motivated to change, and may benefit from adaptations of Motivational Interviewing (AMIs).

Objective:

To investigate whether the use of interventions specifically designed to enhance motivation in the eating disorders is supported empirically.

Method:

Literature was reviewed for relevant studies.

Results:

Eight studies have investigated the efficacy of AMIs. AMIs improve motivation to change bingeing and reduce actual bingeing behavior. There was little support for AMIs for compensatory or restrictive behaviors. There was mixed evidence that AMIs may improve motivation, but little to suggest they are more effective than other approaches.

Discussion:

The widespread interest in using motivational approaches in the eating disorders is not strongly supported by the literature. The current evidence base does not support the widespread dissemination of motivation‐enhancing interventions in the eating disorders. © 2012 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2013)
Sociocultural factors in the development of bulimia nervosa in a blind woman: A case report
Authors: Simeunovic Ostojic Mladena , Hansen Annemarie M.J.
Published: September 2012

Background:

Although several cases of eating disorders in visually impaired women have been reported, there has been little research on the development of body image and disordered eating in the blind. Overall, it is argued that blind women are protected from developing body dissatisfaction because of having had little or no exposure to thin‐ideal images, and that if they do develop an eating disorder, this would be linked to other risk factors. In the one reported case of bulimia nervosa in a blind woman, body image concerns were even absent.

Method:

We report a single case of bulimia nervosa in a 28‐year‐old congenitally blind woman whose presentation was typical, including body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness.

Discussion:

The present case underscores the need to also consider an etiological role of perceived sociocultural pressure and thin‐ideal internalization in promoting body dissatisfaction and eating disorders in visually impaired women. © 2012 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2013)
The effect of atypical antipsychotic medications in individuals with anorexia nervosa: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Lebow Jocelyn , Sim Leslie A. , Erwin Patricia J. , Murad M. Hassan
Published: September 2012

Objective:

Given that atypical antipsychotic medications have been increasingly prescribed for improving weight gain in anorexia nervosa (AN), we conducted a systematic review and meta‐analyses to estimate the influence of atypical antipsychotics on BMI, eating disorder, and psychiatric symptoms in individuals with AN.

Method:

Independent reviewers selected studies and extracted study characteristics, methodologic quality, and outcomes for the intention‐to‐treat group from randomized clinical trials comparing the effect of atypical antipsychotic use to placebo or an active control treatment on BMI.

Results:

Compared with placebo, atypical antipsychotics were associated with a nonsignificant increase in BMI (weighted mean difference, WMD = 0.18, 95% CI: −0.36, 0.72; I2 = 26%) and a nonsignificant effect on the drive for thinness and body dissatisfaction. Compared with placebo or active control, these medications led to an increase in anxiety and overall eating disorder symptoms. However, there was a significant reduction over placebo or active control on level of depression. © 2012 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2013)
Small‐scale resource tracking in a population of a long‐lived insect
Authors: Widenfalk Olof , Solbreck Christer , Bergeå Hanna L.
Published: September 2012

How plant‐feeding insects distribute themselves and utilize their host plant resources is still poorly understood. Several processes may be involved, and their relative roles may vary with the spatial scale considered. Herein, we investigate small‐scale patterns, namely how population density of a gall midge is affected by individual growth form, phenology, and microsite characteristics of its herb host. The long‐lived plant individuals vary much with regard to number of shoots, flower abundance, and flowering phenology. This variation is connected to site characteristics, primarily the degree of sun exposure. The monophagous insect galls the flowers of the host plant – an easily defined food resource. It is a poor disperser, but very long‐lived; diapausing larvae can stay in the soil for many years. Galls were censused on individual plants during 5 years; from a peak to a low in gall population density. Only a very small fraction of the flowers produced (<0.5%) were galled even in the peak year. Nevertheless, most plant individuals had galls at least 1 year. In a stepwise multiple regression, plant size (number of shoots) was found to be the most important predictor of gall density (galls/flower). However, gall density decreased more than one order of magnitude over the plant size range observed. There was also a weak effect of plant phenology. Early flowering plants had lower gall densities than those starting later. Sun exposure had no direct effect on gall density, but a path analysis revealed indirect effects via the timing of flowering. Gall population change was highly synchronous in different parts of the study area with no significant decrease in synchrony with distance.
Glatiramer acetate ameliorates inflammatory bowel disease in mice through the induction of Qa‐1‐restricted CD8+ regulatory cells
Authors: Yao Yunliang , Han Wenzheng , Liang Jingjing , Ji Jian , Wang Jianli , Cantor Harvey , Lu Linrong
Published: September 2012

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are complex multifactorial immunological disorders characterized by dysregulated immune reactivity in the intestine. Here, we investigated the contribution of Qa‐1‐restricted CD8+ Treg cells in regulating experimental IBD in mice. We found that CD8+ T cells induced by T‐cell vaccination ameliorated the pathological manifestations of dextran sulfate sodium induced IBD when adoptively transferred into IBD mice. In addition, CD8+ cell suppressive activity was induced by vaccination with glatiramer acetate (GA), an FDA‐approved drug for multiple sclerosis (MS). We next showed that GA‐induced CD8+ Treg cells worked in a Qa‐1‐dependent manner and their suppressive activity depends on perforin‐mediated cytotoxicity. Finally, we confirmed the role of CD4+ T cells in dextran sulfate sodium induced colitis progression, and clarified that GA‐induced CD8+ T cells exerted their therapeutic effects on colitis by targeting pathogenic CD4+ T cells. Our results reveal a new regulatory role of Qa‐1‐restricted CD8+ Treg cells in IBD and suggest their induction by GA vaccination as a potential therapeutic approach to IBD.
Risk analysis of a residential area close to the tailing dams of an ex‐foundry
Authors: Aragón Ma. Cecilia Valles , Alarcón Herrera Ma. Teresa
Published: September 2012

Several old mining sites in Latin America are unexpectedly turning into residential areas, posing a high health risk for its residents. Hence, we address the case of an old mineral processing plant and foundry, located in Chihuahua, Mexico. This study comprised site sampling, determination of Pb contents in the soil, and a risk analysis of the exposed child population via the Integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic Model (IEUBK, USEPA model). Three exposure scenarios were derived from the Pb concentrations found in soil and were classified as: maximum (A), average (B), and minimum (C). The IEUBK considered two amounts of soil intake: (350 mg/day) for areas without paved streets and (200 mg/day) for paved streets. Results show that 62% of the samples exceed the maximum permissible level recommended for lixiviates, which indicates the solubility and possible dispersion of metal contents. 90% of the samples exceed the permissible contents of Pb for residential use and 85% are above guidelines for industrial use. Results from the IEUBK model, considering unpaved streets, show that the average concentration of Pb in blood in scenarios A, B, and C were 79.94, 16.58, and 9.25 μg/dL, respectively. For communities with paved streets and under the same conditions, the amounts of Pb in blood decreased to 57.75, 11.57, and 4.18 μg/dL respectively. In both cases, the maximum permissible concentration of Pb in children's blood is exceeded. It is imperative to take the appropriate remediation measures in this site to reduce the Pb contents in the soil and to minimize the public health risk. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 32: 1150–1154, 2013
The in vivo estrogenic and in vitro anti‐estrogenic activity of permethrin and bifenthrin
Authors: Brander Susanne M. , He Guochun , Smalling Kelly L. , Denison Michael S. , Cherr Gary N.
Published: September 2012

Pyrethroids are highly toxic to fish at parts per billion or parts per trillion concentrations. Their intended mechanism is prolonged sodium channel opening, but recent studies reveal that pyrethroids such as permethrin and bifenthrin also have endocrine activity. Additionally, metabolites may have greater endocrine activity than parent compounds. The authors evaluated the in vivo concentration‐dependent ability of bifenthrin and permethrin to induce choriogenin (an estrogen‐responsive protein) in Menidia beryllina, a fish species known to reside in pyrethroid‐contaminated aquatic habitats. The authors then compared the in vivo response with an in vitro assay—chemical activated luciferase gene expression (CALUX). Juvenile M. beryllina exposed to bifenthrin (1, 10, 100 ng/L), permethrin (0.1, 1, 10 µg/L), and ethinylestradiol (1, 10, 50 ng/L) had significantly higher ng/mL choriogenin (Chg) measured in whole body homogenate than controls. Though Chg expression in fish exposed to ethinylestradiol (EE2) exhibited a traditional sigmoidal concentration response, curves fit to Chg expressed in fish exposed to pyrethroids suggest a unimodal response, decreasing slightly as concentration increases. Whereas the in vivo response indicated that bifenthrin and permethrin or their metabolites act as estrogen agonists, the CALUX assay demonstrated estrogen antagonism by the pyrethroids. The results, supported by evidence from previous studies, suggest that bifenthrin and permethrin, or their metabolites, appear to act as estrogen receptor (ER) agonists in vivo, and that the unmetabolized pyrethroids, particularly bifenthrin, act as an ER antagonists in cultured mammalian cells. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2012; 31: 2848–2855. © 2012 SETAC
Slope limiting for discontinuous Galerkin approximations with a possibly non‐orthogonal Taylor basis
Authors: Kuzmin Dmitri
Published: September 2012

The use of high‐order polynomials in discontinuous Galerkin (DG) approximations to convection‐dominated transport problems tends to cause a violation of the maximum principle in regions where the derivatives of the solution are large. In this paper, we express the DG solution in terms of Taylor basis functions associated with the cell average and derivatives at the center of the cell. To control the (derivatives of the) discontinuous solution, the values at the vertices of each element are required to be bounded by the means. This constraint is enforced using a hierarchical vertex‐based slope limiter to constrain the coefficients of the Taylor polynomial in a conservative manner starting with the highest‐order terms. The loss of accuracy at smooth extrema is avoided by taking the maximum of the correction factors for derivatives of order p and higher. No free parameters, oscillation detectors, or troubled cell markers are involved. In the case of a non‐orthogonal Taylor basis, the same limiter is applied to the vector of discretized time derivatives before the multiplication by the off‐diagonal part of the consistent mass matrix. This strategy leads to a remarkable gain of accuracy, especially in the case of simplex meshes. A numerical study is performed for a 2D convection equation discretized with linear and quadratic finite elements. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid gland: A case report and review
Authors: Shrestha Merica , Sridhara Shankar K. , Leo Leonard J. , Coppit George L. , Ehrhardt Nicole M.
Published: September 2012

Background

Primary squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the thyroid gland is a rare malignancy that presents with advanced disease and poor prognosis.

Methods

A 75‐year‐old woman with a history of Hashimoto thyroiditis presented with 6 months of dysphagia and stridor. Imaging revealed a thyroid mass invading the larynx. Primary SCC of the thyroid was diagnosed by histopathologic and immunohistochemical evaluation. Total thyroidectomy, total laryngectomy, bilateral modified neck dissection, and adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) were performed. Radiologic follow‐up at 21 months demonstrated no disease and total length of survival was 31 months.

Results

Despite an aggressive T4aN0M0 tumor, survival in this case was more than double the median survival rate previously reported. Concomitant Hashimoto thyroiditis is rare and histopathologic and immunohistochemical evaluation is imperative for an accurate diagnosis.

Conclusion

The case and literature reported here support that a thorough diagnostic workup of primary SCC of the thyroid with aggressive locoregional surgery and adjuvant RT may improve the length of survival. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.† Head Neck 35: E299–E303, 2013
Reconstruction and analysis of the Po River inundation of 1951
Authors: Masoero Alessandro , Claps Pierluigi , Asselman Nathalie E. M. , Mosselman Erik , Di Baldassarre Giuliano
Published: September 2012

Flood inundation models have become essential tools in flood risk management, being used also in the analysis of historical flood events, which is often needed for a reliable assessment of the potential flood hazard. This study aims at reconstructing the 1951 inundation of the Polesine Region, Italy. The 1951 flooding was a mayor natural catastrophe that caused a large inundated area (1080 km2) and produced devastating social consequences. The reconstruction of the 1951 hydraulic conditions is based on partial knowledge of discharges and water stages at the Pontelagoscuro gauging station (downstream of the 1951 levee breach) using extrapolation of the rating curves beyond the measurement range. This is, even today, something open to uncertainty. We applied a decoupled hybrid approach to the hydraulic modeling: a 1D model is used to simulate the flow into the river and to compute the flow through the levee breach; this result is then adopted as the inflow condition for a 2D model application on the inundated area. A good agreement between the patterns of the observed and reconstructed inundation areas was found, and the timing of the inundation was also found to be close to the information derived from the historical chronicles. The results of the flood inundation modelling exercise provide two practical insight: (i) obstacles in the floodplains increased the flooded area by 40% and prolonged the time to reach the sea from 5 to 15 days, (ii) the peak discharge of the event was overestimated by up to 20%. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Brush border myosin Ia inactivation in gastric but not endometrial tumors
Authors: Mazzolini Rocco , Rodrigues Paulo , Bazzocco Sarah , Dopeso Higinio , Ferreira Ana M. , Mateo‐Lozano Silvia , Andretta Elena , Woerner Stefan M. , Alazzouzi Hafid , Landolfi Stefania , Hernandez‐Losa Javier , Macaya Irati , Suzuki Hiromu , Ramón y Cajal Santiago , Mooseker Mark S. , Mariadason John M. , Gebert Johannes , Hofstra Robert M.W. , Reventós Jaume , Yamamoto Hiroyuki , Schwartz Simo , Arango Diego
Published: September 2012

Brush border Myosin Ia (MYO1A) has been shown to be frequently mutated in colorectal tumors with microsatellite instability (MSI) and to have tumor suppressor activity in intestinal tumors. Here, we investigated the frequency of frameshift mutations in the A8 microsatellite in exon 28 of MYO1A in MSI gastric and endometrial tumors and found a high mutation rate in gastric (22/47; 46.8%) but not endometrial (3/48; 6.2%) tumors. Using a regression model, we show that MYO1A mutations are likely to confer a growth advantage to gastric, but not endometrial tumors. The mutant MYO1A7A protein was shown to lose its membrane localization in gastric cancer cells and a cycloheximide‐chase assay demonstrated that the mutant MYO1A7A protein has reduced stability compared to the wild type MYO1A. Frequent MYO1A promoter hypermethylation was also found in gastric tumors. Promoter methylation negatively correlates with MYO1A mRNA expression in a series of 58 non‐MSI gastric primary tumors (Pearson's r = −0.46; p = 0.0003) but not in a cohort of 54 non‐MSI endometrial tumors and treatment of gastric cancer cells showing high MYO1A promoter methylation with the demethylating agent 5‐aza‐2′‐deoxycytidine, resulted in a significant increase of MYO1A mRNA levels. We found that normal gastric epithelial cells, but not normal endometrial cells, express high levels of MYO1A. Therefore, when considered together, our findings suggest that MYO1A has tumor suppressor activity in the normal gastric epithelium but not in the normal endometrium and inactivation of MYO1A either genetically or epigenetically may confer gastric epithelial cells a growth advantage.
Unbiased estimates of long‐term net survival of solid cancers in France
Authors: Jooste Valérie , Grosclaude Pascale , Remontet Laurent , Launoy Guy , Baldi Isabelle , Molinié Florence , Arveux Patrick , Bossard Nadine , Bouvier Anne‐Marie , Colonna Marc ,   the French Network of Cancer Registries (FRANCIM)
Published: September 2012

In cancer studies, net survival (observed if cancer was the only cause of death) is a useful indicator but survival estimation at 5 years is insufficient for planning healthcare needs. We estimated the net survivals at 5 and 10 years in a cohort of 387,961 patients who had solid tumors between 1989 and 2004 and were followed‐up until January 1, 2008. The cases were actively followed‐up. Net survival was estimated with the unbiased Pohar‐Perme method. The standardized net survival used the international cancer survival standard weights. In men, the standardized net survivals ranged from 92% at 5 years and 89% at 10 years (testis) to 6% at 5 years and 5% at 10 years (pancreas). In women, it ranged from 91% at 5 years and 88% at 10 years (thyroid) to 10% at 5 years and 7% at 10 years (pancreas). The most frequent cancers had the highest net survivals: 84% at 5 years and 71% at 10 years for prostate and 84% at 5 years and 74% at 10 years for breast cancer. Advanced age was associated with poorer prognosis. In most cancers, the net survivals at 5 and 10 years increased over periods of diagnosis. Net cancer survival is unaffected by mortalities due to other causes. It is the only indicator suitable for comparisons between countries or periods of diagnosis within a given country. The 10‐year net survival confirmed the persistent unfavorable role of age in prognosis and the general improvement of cancer management over the last decade.
Non‐coding RNAs and EZH2 interactions in cancer: Long and short tales from the transcriptome
Authors: Benetatos Leonidas , Voulgaris Evangelos , Vartholomatos George , Hatzimichael Eleftheria
Published: September 2012

A large amount of data indicates that non‐coding RNAs represent more than the “dark matter” of the genome. Both microRNAs and long non‐coding RNAs are involved in several fundamental biologic processes, and their deregulation may lead in oncogenesis. Interacting with the Polycomb‐repressive complex 2 subunit EZH2, they could affect the expression of protein‐coding genes and form feedback networks and autoregulatory loops. They can also form networks with upstream and downstream important factors, in which EZH2 represent the stabilizing factor of the pathway. As such non‐coding RNAs affect the epigenetic modifications leading to malignant transformation.
γ‐Secretase inhibitor I induces apoptosis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells by proteasome inhibition, endoplasmic reticulum stress increase and notch down‐regulation
Authors: Rosati Emanuela , Sabatini Rita , De Falco Filomena , Del Papa Beatrice , Falzetti Franca , Di Ianni Mauro , Cavalli Laura , Fettucciari Katia , Bartoli Andrea , Screpanti Isabella , Marconi Pierfrancesco
Published: September 2012

γ‐Secretase inhibitors (GSIs) have been proposed for combined therapies of malignancies with a dysregulated Notch signaling. GSI I (Z‐Leu‐Leu‐Nle‐CHO) induces apoptosis of some tumor cells by inhibiting proteasome and Notch activity. Alterations in these two cell survival regulators contribute to apoptosis resistance of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells. Here, we investigated the mechanisms whereby GSI I increases apoptosis of primary CLL cells. Time‐course studies indicate that initial apoptotic events are inhibition of proteasome activity, concomitant with an increased endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress apoptotic signaling, and a consistent Noxa protein up‐regulation. These events precede, and some of them contribute to, mitochondrial alterations, which occur notwithstanding Mcl‐1 accumulation induced by GSI I. In CLL cells, GSI I inhibits Notch1 and Notch2 activation only in the late apoptotic phases, suggesting that this event does not initiate CLL cell apoptosis. However, Notch inhibition may contribute to amplify GSI I‐induced CLL cell apoptosis, given that Notch activation sustains the survival of these cells, as demonstrated by the evidence that both Notch1 and Notch2 down‐regulation by small‐interfering RNA accelerates spontaneous CLL cell apoptosis. Overall, our results show that GSI I triggers CLL cell apoptosis by inhibiting proteasome activity and enhancing ER stress, and amplifies it by blocking Notch activation. These findings suggest the potential relevance of simultaneously targeting these three important apoptosis regulators as a novel therapeutic strategy for CLL.
High protein adsorptive capacity of amino acid‐functionalized hydroxyapatite
Authors: Lee Wing‐Hin , Loo Ching‐Yee , Zavgorodniy Alexander V. , Rohanizadeh Ramin
Published: September 2012

Charged functional groups present on the surface of biomaterials play an important role to regulate the affinity and attachment of macromolecules, including proteins, on the surface of biomaterials. In this study, the protein adsorptive capacity of hydroxyapatite (HA) was regulated by introducing different amino acids during the precipitation of HA. After incubation of HA samples in 5000 μg/mL lysozyme solution at pH 7.4 for 24 h, unmodified HA adsorbed 0.886 mg/m2 of lysozyme while amino acid‐functionalized HA (AA‐HA) particles demonstrated higher adsorption capacity ranging from 1.090 to 1.680 mg/m2. Incorporation of amino acids with longer side chain lengths decreased the crystallinity and increased the negative value of the surface charge of HA particles. The specific surface areas were significantly increased in the presence of amino acids. Protein loading capacity onto AA‐HA was further enhanced by regulating the pH of working solution whereby the protein adsorption rate increased with decreasing the pH, while reverse trend obtained in unmodified HA. The study demonstrated that the amount of adsorbed lysozyme onto AA‐HA particles was correlated with the particles' surface charges. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 101A: 873–883, 2013.
A statistical algorithm for assessing cellular alignment
Authors: Nectow Alexander R. , Gil Eun Seok , Kaplan David L. , Kilmer Misha E.
Published: September 2012

Current statistical techniques for analyzing cellular alignment data in the fields of biomaterials and tissue engineering are limited because of heuristic and less quantitative approaches. For example, generally a cutoff degree limit (commonly 20 degrees) is arbitrarily defined within which cells are considered “aligned.” The effectiveness of a patterned biomaterial in guiding the alignment of cells, such as neurons, is often critical to predict relationships between the biomaterial design and biological outcomes, both in vitro and in vivo. This becomes particularly important in the case of peripheral neurons, which require precise axon guidance to obtain successful regenerative outcomes. To address this issue, we have developed a protocol for processing cellular alignment data sets, which implicitly determines an “angle of alignment.” This was accomplished as follows: cells “aligning” with an underlying, anisotropic scaffold display uniformly distributed angles up to a cutoff point determined by how effective the biomaterial is in aligning cells. Therefore, this fact was then used to determine where an alignment angle data set diverges from a uniform distribution. This was accomplished by measuring the spacing between the collected, increasingly ordered angles and analyzing their underlying distributions using a normalized cumulative periodogram criterion. The proposed protocol offers a novel way to implicitly define cellular alignment, with respect to various anisotropic biomaterials. This method may also offer an alternative to assess cellular alignment, which could offer improved predictive measures related to biological outcomes. Furthermore, the approach described can be used for a broad range of cell types grown on 2D surfaces, but would not be applicable to 3D scaffold systems in the present format. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 101A: 884–891, 2013.
Novel injectable biomimetic hydrogels with carbon nanofibers and self assembled rosette nanotubes for myocardial applications
Authors: Meng Xiangling , Stout David A. , Sun Linlin , Beingessner Rachel L. , Fenniri Hicham , Webster Thomas J.
Published: September 2012

The objective of the present in vitro study was to investigate cardiomyocyte functions, specifically their adhesion and proliferation, on injectable scaffolds containing RNT (rosette nanotubes) and CNF (carbon nanofibers) in a pHEMA (poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate)) hydrogel to determine their potential for myocardial tissue engineering applications. RNTs are novel biocompatible nanomaterials assembled from synthetic analogs of DNA bases guanine and cytosine that self‐assemble within minutes when placed in aqueous solutions at body temperatures. These materials could potentially improve cardiomyocyte functions and solidification time of pHEMA and CNF composites. Because heart tissue is conductive, CNFs were added to pHEMA to increase the composite's conductivity. Our results showed that cardiomyocyte density increased after 4 h, 1 day, and 3 days with greater amounts of CNFs and greater amounts of RNTs in pHEMA (up to 10 mg mL−1 CNFs and 0.05 mg mL−1 RNTs). Factors that may have increased cardiomyocyte functions include greater wettability, conductivity, and an increase in surface nanoroughness with greater amounts of CNFs and RNTs. In effect, contact angles measured on the surface of the composites decreased while the conductivity and surface roughness increased as CNFs and RNTs content increased. Lastly, the ultimate tensile modulus decreased for composites with greater amounts of CNFs. In summary, the properties of these injectable composites make them promising candidates for myocardial tissue engineering applications and should be further studied. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A, 2013.
Analytical Characterization of Fatty Acids Composition of Bioactive Stem Oil of Maytenus royleanus by Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Uddin Ghias , Din Ala Ud , Khurshid Amna , Valeriote Frederick A. , Choudhary M. Iqbal
Published: September 2012

The significant inhibition and selectivity for human solid tumor cell by oily fraction of Maytenus royleanus, was subjected to GC‐MS analysis for determination of its chemical constituents. GC‐MS profile of methyl ester derivatives of fatty acids, showed that Palmitic acid (35.41%), Oleic acid (10.91%), Stearic acid (5.31%), Margaric acid (5.13%), Behenic acid (5.18%) and Hexanoic acid (4.97%) were the major components in the isolated oily fraction, while rest of the other fatty acids were present in minor concentration. The literature revealed that no such work has been done for the determination of fatty acids in M. royleanus stem oil.
Adsorptive Stripping Differential Pulse Voltammetric Determination of Risperidone with a Multi‐Walled Carbon Nanotube‐Ionic Liquid Paste Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode
Authors: Arvand Majid , Pourhabib Akram
Published: September 2012

A new composite electrode has been fabricated based on coating multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and n‐octylpyridinum hexafluorophosphate (OPPF6) ionic liquid composite on a glassy carbon (GC) electrode (OPPF6‐MWCNTs/GCE). This electrode shows very attractive electrochemical performances for electrooxidation of risperidone (RIS) compared to conventional electrodes using carbon and mineral oil, notably improved sensitivity and stability. The oxidation peak potentials in cyclic voltammogram of RIS on the OPPF6‐MWCNTs/GCE was occurred around 230 mV vs. SCE at Britton–Robinson (B–R) buffer (pH 4.0) at scan rate of 100 mV s−1. The electrochemical parameters such as diffusion coefficient (D), charge transfer coefficient (α) and the electron transfer rate constant (k/s) were determined using cyclic voltammetry. Under the optimized conditions, the peak current was linear to risperidone concentration over the concentration range of 10–200 nM with sensitivity of 0.016 μA/nM−1 using differential pulse voltammetry. The detection limit was 6.54 nM (S/N = 3). The electrode also displayed good selectivity and repeatability. In the presence of clozapine (CLZ) the response of RIS kept almost unchanged. Thus this electrode could find application in the determination of RIS in some real samples. The analytical performance of the OPPF6‐MWCNTs/GCE was demonstrated for the determination of RIS in human serum and pharmaceutical samples.
TLC‐SERS study of Syrian rue (Peganum harmala) and its main alkaloid constituents
Authors: Pozzi Federica , Shibayama Nobuko , Leona Marco , Lombardi John R.
Published: September 2012

Surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has found increasing acceptance in art conservation and forensic science for its great potential in detecting trace amounts of material. However, SERS is not a separation technique, and, therefore, it is not always suitable for distinguishing different components in a mixture. Coupling of thin layer chromatography (TLC) and SERS has been investigated in this article as a tool for the separation and identification of four alkaloids, namely harmalol, harmaline, harmane and harmine, from the seed extract of Syrian rue (Peganum harmala). The alkaloids contained in this plant were historically used as a dye and for medicinal purposes and have recently drawn attention due to their antitumor activity. The use of TLC over high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is a convenient way to reduce the amount of material, equipment and time needed for the analysis, and coupling of TLC with SERS provides vibrational information on each compound in the mixture. HPLC analyses with diode array detection were also carried out as a test of our technique, to ascertain the composition of Syrian rue extract and validate the results obtained from TLC‐SERS investigations. In addition, Syrian rue extract and its commercial alkaloid components were characterized by SERS and normal Raman spectroscopy here for the first time, in order to provide valuable reference data to be used for identification purposes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Automated online pretreatment and cleanup recycle coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry for determination of deca‐bromodiphenyl ether in human serum
Authors: Lin Xuexia , Li Hai‐Fang , He Xiangwei , Hashi Yuki , Lin Jin‐Ming , Wang Zhihua
Published: September 2012

Automated online SPE‐HPLC‐MS was established for the determination of deca‐bromodiphenyl ether in human serum. The online SPE with large volume injection was utilized to enhance the sensitivity. Online SPE with dilution line greatly decreased matrices effect, which enabled serum samples to be injected directly into pre‐column. Washing line was designed for the system to solve the serious residual phenomenon and reduce the risk of sample wastage and contamination. Under the optimized conditions, the linear of the method was in the range 0.1–10 ng/mL with the LOD of 0.026 ng/mL. The recoveries of serum samples spiked with deca‐bromodiphenyl ether at 0.5 ng/mL was in the range from 83.30 to 102.7% with RSD in interday less than 8.67%. The satisfactory results demonstrated that the method of online sample pretreatment and cleanup recycle were reliable for human serum analysis.
Simultaneous screening and determination of 18 illegal adulterants in herbal medicines and health foods for male sexual potency by ultra‐fast liquid chromatography‐electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry
Authors: Ren Yan , Wu Caisheng , Zhang Jinlan
Published: September 2012

An ultra‐fast liquid chromatography‐electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated to simultaneously screen, confirm, and determine 18 illegal adulterants in herbal medicines and health foods for male sexual potency. The separation was achieved on a Shim‐Pack XR‐ODS II column (2.0 × 100 mm, 2.2 μm) with acetonitrile and aqueous solution (12 mmol/L ammonium formate, 0.01% acetic acid) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min with a gradient elution. The column temperature was maintained at 40°C and the run time was within 18 min. The 18 illegal adulterants were detected in electrospray ionization positive mode by multiple‐reaction monitoring. All the calibration curves showed good linearity with correlation coefficient (r) higher than 0.996 within the tested concentration ranges. The extraction recoveries and relative recoveries were in the range of 79.5–114% and 82.0–120%, respectively. The RSD of repeatability and intermediate precision was all less than 18% and the accuracy was in the range of 81.7–118%. The intra‐day and inter‐day stability was in the range of 86.8–110%. The validated method was successfully applied to screen, confirm, and determine 16 samples. Nine products were confirmed to contain illegal adulterants and the contents of adulterants were related to the therapeutic dosages.
Chemotherapy control by breath profile with application of SPME‐GC/MS method
Authors: Ulanowska Agnieszka , Trawińska Ewa , Sawrycki Piotr , Buszewski Bogusław
Published: September 2012

Chemotherapy used as a treatment against lung cancer has influence on metabolic processes occurring in healthy cells. The changes of biochemical pathways proceeded inside cells might be observed in expired air. In the experiment, breath analysis was carried out before and after anticancer therapy. Expired air samples were collected from 22 patients with a biopsy confirmed lung cancer. Volatile organic compounds present in breath were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. For enrichment of analytes solid‐phase microextraction technique was applied. Eight fibers covered by different sorbents were tested. Carboxen‐polydimethylsiloxane fiber revealed the highest extraction efficiency in relation to analytes in breath. The data showed that cytostatic drugs increase the concentration of acetone and isoprene in the breath collected after chemotherapy. Volatile metabolites of administrated drugs were not identified in expired air.
Preparative isolation and purification of harpagoside and angroside C from the root of Scrophularia ningpoensisHemsley by high‐speed counter‐current chromatography
Authors: Tian Jinfeng , Ye Xiaoli , Shang Yuanhong , Deng Yafei , He Kai , Li Xuegang
Published: September 2012

In this study, the bioactive component harpagoside and angroside C in the root of Scrophularia ningpoensis Hemsley was simultaneously separated by high‐speed counter‐current chromatography (HSCCC). A two‐phase solvent system containing chloroform/n‐butanol/methanol/water (4:1:3:2, v/v/v/v) was selected following consideration of the partition coefficient of the target compound. The crude extract (200 mg) was loaded onto a 280‐mL HSCCC column and yielded 22 mg harpagoside and 31 mg angroside C with the purity of higher than 98 and 98.5%, respectively. It is feasible to isolate active compounds harpagoside and angroside C from S. ningpoensis using HSCCC.
A new strategy for RNA isolation from eukaryotic cells using arginine affinity chromatography
Authors: Martins Rita , Maia Cláudio J. , Queiroz João A. , Sousa Fani
Published: September 2012

The relevance of RNA in many biological functions has been recognized, broadening the scope of RNA research activities, from basic to applied sciences, also aiming the translation to clinical fields. The preparation and purification of RNA is a critical step for further application, since the quality of the template is crucial to ensure reproducibility and biological relevance. Therefore, the establishment of new tools that allows the isolation of pure RNA with high quality is of particular importance. New chromatographic strategies for RNA purification were considered, exploiting affinity interactions between amino acids and nucleic acids. In the present study, a single arginine‐affinity chromatography step was employed for the purification of RNA from a total eukaryotic nucleic acid extract, thus eliminating several steps compared with current RNA isolation procedures. The application of this process resulted in a high RNA recovery yield of 96 ± 17% and the quality control analysis revealed a high integrity (28S:18S ratio = 1.96) in RNA preparations as well as a good purity, demonstrated by the scarce detection of proteins and the reduction on genomic DNA contamination to residual concentrations. Furthermore, the performance of the new RNA isolation method was tested regarding the applicability of the isolated RNA in modern molecular biology techniques. Hence, this new affinity approach will simplify the isolation and purification of RNA, which can bring great improvements in biomedical investigation.
Ionic liquid‐based microwave‐assisted extraction for the determination of flavonoid glycosides in pigeon pea leaves by high‐performance liquid chromatography‐diode array detector with pentafluorophenyl column
Authors: Wei Wei , Fu Yu‐jie , Zu Yuan‐gang , Wang Wei , Luo Meng , Zhao Chun‐jian , Li Chun‐ying , Zhang Lin , Wei Zuo‐fu
Published: September 2012

In this study, an ionic liquid‐based microwave‐assisted extraction (ILMAE) followed by high‐performance liquid chromatography‐diode array detector with a pentafluorophenyl column for the extraction and quantification of eight flavonoid glycosides in pigeon pea leaves is described. Compared with conventional extraction methods, ILMAE is a more effective and environment friendly method for the extraction of nature compounds from herbal plants. Nine different types of ionic liquids with different cations and anions were investigated. The results suggested that varying the anion and cation had significant effects on the extraction of flavonoid glycosides, and 1.0 M 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium bromide ([C4MIM]Br) solution was selected as solvent. In addition, the extraction procedures were also optimized using a series of single‐factor experiments. The optimum parameters were obtained as follows: extraction temperature 60°C, liquid–solid ratio 20:1 mL/g and extraction time 13 min. Moreover, an HPLC method using pentafluorophenyl column was established and validated. Good linearity was observed with the regression coefficients (r2) more than 0.999. The limit of detection (LODs) (S/N = 3) and limit of quantification (LOQs) (S/N = 10) for the components were less than 0.41 and 1.47 μg/mL, respectively. The inter‐ and intraday precisions that were used to evaluate the reproducibility and relative standard deviation (RSD) values were less than 4.57%. The recoveries were between 97.26 and 102.69%. The method was successfully used for the analysis of samples of pigeon pea leaves. In conclusion, the developed ILMAE‐HPLC‐diode array detector using pentafluorophenyl column method can be applied for quality control of pigeon pea leaves and related medicinal products.
Characterization of pigments and ligands in a wall painting fragment from Liternum archaeological park (Italy)
Authors: Corso Gaetano , Gelzo Monica , Chambery Angela , Severino Valeria , Maro Antimo Di , Lomoriello Filomena Schiano , D'Apolito Oceania , Russo Antonio Dello , Gargiulo Patrizia , Piccioli Ciro , Arcari Paolo
Published: September 2012

Spectroscopic and MS techniques were used to characterize the pigments and the composition of polar and nonpolar binders of a stray wall painting fragment from Liternum (Italy) archaeological excavation. X‐ray fluorescence and diffraction analysis of the decorations indicated mainly the presence of calcite, quartz, hematite, cinnabar, and cuprorivaite. Infrared spectroscopy, GC coupled to flame‐ionization detector, and MS analysis of the polar and nonpolar components extracted from paint layers from three different color regions revealed the presence of free amino acids, sugars, and fatty acids. Interestingly, LC‐MS shotgun analysis of the red painting region showed the presence of αS1‐casein of buffalo origin. Compared to our previous results from Pompeii's wall paintings, even though the Liternum painting mixture contained also binders of animal origin, the data strongly suggest that in both cases a tempera painting technique was utilized.
Parotidectomy and neck dissection in the management of conjunctival melanoma: Are they necessary?
Authors: Vira Darshni , Pesce Julianna , Glasgow Ben J. , Lai Chi , Elashoff David , Abemayor Elliot , John Maie St.
Published: September 2012

Objectives/Hypothesis:

The objectives of this study were to review traditional techniques for the management of conjunctival melanoma and assess the need for parotidectomy and neck dissection in the management of conjunctival melanoma.

Study Design:

Retrospective review.

Methods:

This study was a retrospective review conducted in a tertiary academic medical center of patients diagnosed with conjunctival melanoma over a 20‐year period

Results:

There were 39 patients diagnosed with conjunctival melanoma identified from January 1990 to December 2010. Follow‐up varied from 2 to 201 months (median, 25 months). Of the patients, 16 (41%) had local recurrences at the primary site, two (13%) of whom later presented with parotid disease. One patient with parotid recurrence had a subsequent neck dissection for confirmed metastatic spread. No patient in this series had metastatic cervical disease without initial spread to the parotid. The probability of disease‐free survival at 1, 2, and 5 years was 77%, 68%, and 50%, respectively. The probability of parotid free progression at 1, 2, and 5 years was 100%, 96%, and 90%, respectively.

Conclusions:

Conjunctival melanoma is a rare malignancy traditionally managed with aggressive treatment to optimize local control. The role for staging parotidectomy with or without neck dissection has been heavily debated. Based on our review, parotidectomy only needs to be undertaken when high suspicion for metastatic spread is present, such as a palpable or radiographically evident mass. In addition, without documented parotid disease, neck dissection is not required.