bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pharmacotherapies and their influence on asymmetric dimethylargine (ADMA)
Authors: Maas Renke
Published: August 2005

Elevated plasma concentrations of the endogenous nitric oxide synthase inhibitor asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) are found in various clinical settings, including renal failure, coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and preeclampsia. In healthy people acute infusion of ADMA promotes vascular dysfunction, and in mice chronic infusion of ADMA promotes progression of atherosclerosis. Thus, ADMA may not only be a marker but also an active player in cardiovascular disease, which makes it a potential target for therapeutic interventions. This review provides a summary and critical discussion of the presently available data concerning the effects on plasma ADMA levels of cardiovascular drugs, hypoglycemic agents, hormone replacement therapy, antioxidants, and vitamin supplementation. We assess the evidence that the beneficial effects of drug therapies on vascular function can be attributed to modification of ADMA levels. To develop more specific ADMA-lowering therapies, mechanisms leading to elevation of plasma ADMA concentrations in cardiovascular disease need to be better understood. ADMA is formed endogenously by degradation of proteins containing arginine residues that have been methylated by S-adenosylmethionine-dependent methyltransferases (PRMTs). There are two major routes of elimination: renal excretion and enzymatic degradation by the dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolases (DDAH-1 and -2). Oxidative stress causing upregulation of PRMT expression and/or attenuation of DDAH activity has been suggested as a mechanism and possible drug target in clinical conditions associated with elevation of ADMA. As impairment of DDAH activity or capacity is associated with substantial increases in plasma ADMA concentrations, DDAH is likely to emerge as a prime target for specific therapeutic interventions.
Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) accelerates cell senescence
Authors: Bode-Böger Stefanie M , Scalera Fortunato , Martens-Lobenhoffer Jens
Published: August 2005

Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase and its accumulation has been associated with cardiovascular disease. We aimed to investigate the role of ADMA in endothelial cell senescence. Endothelial cells were cultured until the tenth passage. ADMA was replaced every 48 hours starting at the fourth passage. ADMA significantly accelerated senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity. Additionally, the shortening of telomere length was significantly speeded up and telomerase activity was significantly reduced. This effect was associated with an increase of oxidative stress: both allantoin, a marker of oxygen free radical generation, and intracellular reactive oxygen species increased significantly after ADMA treatment compared with control, whereas nitric oxide synthesis decreased. Furthermore, ADMA-increased oxidative stress was accompanied by a decrease in the activity of dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase, the enzyme that degrades ADMA, which could be prevented by the antioxidant pyrroli-dine dithiocarbamate. Exogenous ADMA also stimulated secretion of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 and interleukin-8. Co-incubation with the methyltransferase inhibitor S-adenosylhomocysteine abolished the effects of ADMA. These data suggest that ADMA accelerates senescence, probably via increased oxygen radical formation by inhibiting nitric oxide elaboration. This study provides evidence that modest changes of intracellular ADMA levels are associated with significant effects on slowing down endothelial senescence.
Spotlight on endothelial progenitor cell inhibitors: short review
Authors: Thum Thomas , Bauersachs Johann
Published: August 2005

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are bone-marrow-derived cells that enter the systemic circulation to replace defective or injured mature endothelial cells. EPCs also contribute to neovascularization and limit the progression of atherosclerosis. Patients with reduced EPC levels or dysfunctional EPCs are at increased risk for coronary artery disease. Drug-mediated improvement of the mobilization, differentiation, function and homing of EPCs to sites of ischemia or injured endothelium may therefore be a promising novel therapeutic approach for various cardiovascular diseases. On the other hand, endogenous inhibitors of EPCs could also be valuable drug targets. The identification of EPC inhibitors and the development of novel drugs that can efficiently regulate production or elimination of these molecules may also be a promising approach for the future treatment of atherosclerosis. In the present review we summarize potential endogenous and exogenous inhibitors of EPCs, such as oxidized low-density lipoproteins, angiotensin II, glucose, cigarette smoke and others. Whenever possible, we also describe the underlying molecular events. Drug-induced mobilization and improvement of EPC function, as well as reduction of EPC inhibitors, is likely to enhance endothelial function and reduce atherosclerotic processes.
ADMA and oxidative stress may relate to the progression of renal disease: rationale and design of the VIVALDI study
Authors: Böger Rainer H , Schwedhelm Edzard , Maas Renke , Quispe-Bravo Sabine , Skamira Cord
Published: August 2005

The renin angiotensin system has been shown to be involved in the pathogenesis of vascular and renal sequelae of diabetes mellitus. In type 2 diabetes mellitus, angiotensin receptor blockers have been shown to exert clinical benefit by reducing the progression of diabetic nephropathy. They also improve endothelium-mediated vascular function. The latter effect is partly due to the reduction of angiotensin II-associated oxidative stress. Moreover, small clinical studies have shown that treatment with angiotensin receptor blockers also reduces the circulating levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide (NO) synthase.

In the VIVALDI trial, the ability of the angiotensin receptor blocker telmisartan to reduce the progression of diabetic nephropathy (associated with proteinuria) in comparison with valsartan in more than 800 patients with type 2 diabetes during 1 year of treatment is being studied. In order to gain more detailed insight into the potential pathomechanisms associated with this effect, further end-points have been defined. Among these are the circulating levels of ADMA and the urinary excretion rate of 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α (8-iso-PGF2α). The former is an endogenous inhibitor of NO-mediated vascular function(s) and a prospectively determined marker of major cardiovascular events and mortality; the latter is a lipid peroxidation product resulting from the nonenzymatic peroxidation of arachidonic acid, which exerts detrimental vascular effects similar to those of thromboxane A2. Urinary 8-iso-PGF2α has been shown in clinical studies to be an independent marker of cardiovascular disease.

Highlighting the effects of telmisartan on ADMA and 8-iso-PGF levels in such a large cohort of diabetic patients will enhance our understanding of the roles of dys-functional NO metabolism and redox mechanisms in the pathogenesis of end-organ damage and its prevention by pharmacotherapy with angiotensin receptor blockers.
Ubiquitously expressed secretory carrier membrane proteins (SCAMPs) 1-4 mark different pathways and exhibit limited constitutive trafficking to and from the cell surface
Authors: Castle Anna , Castle David
Published: August 2005

Secretory carrier membrane proteins (SCAMPs) 1-4 are ubiquitously expressed and are major components of the eukaryotic cell surface recycling system. We investigated whether different SCAMPs function along distinct pathways and whether they behave like itinerant cargoes or less mobile trafficking machinery. In NRK cells, we show by immunofluorescence microscopy that different SCAMPs are concentrated mostly adjacent to one another in the trans-Golgi network and endosomal recycling compartment. By immunoelectron microscopy, they were shown to be close neighbors on individual transferrin-containing endosomal elements and on the plasma membrane. Within the internal endosomal network, SCAMPs are located distal to rab5-containing endosomes, and the individual isoforms appear to mark pathways that diverge from the constitutive recycling route and that may be distinguished by different adaptors, especially AP-1 and AP-3. Based on comparisons of SCAMP localization with endocytosed transferrin as well as live imaging of GFP-SCAMP1, we show that SCAMPs are concentrated within the motile population of early and recycling endosomes; however, they are not detected in newly formed transferrin-containing endocytic vesicles or in vesicles recycling transferrin to the surface. Also, they are not detected in constitutive secretory carriers marked by VSV-G. Their minimal recycling to the surface is reflected by their inability to relocate to the plasma membrane upon inhibition of endocytosis. Thus SCAMPs exhibit limited exchange between the cell surface and internal recycling systems, but within each of these sites, they form a mosaic with individual isoforms marking distinct pathways and potentially functioning as trafficking machinery at sites of vesicle formation and fusion. A corollary of these findings is that early endosomes exist as a distinct SCAMP-containing compartment and are not formed de novo by fusion of endocytic vesicles.
Distinct mechanisms govern the localisation of Drosophila CLIP-190 to unattached kinetochores and microtubule plus-ends
Authors: Dzhindzhev Nikola S. , Rogers Stephen L. , Vale Ronald D. , Ohkura Hiroyuki
Published: August 2005

CLIP-170 was the first microtubule plus-end-tracking protein to be described, and is implicated in the regulation of microtubule plus-ends and their interaction with other cellular structures. Here, we have studied the cell-cycle-dependent mechanisms which localise the sole Drosophila melanogaster homologue CLIP-190. During mitosis, CLIP-190 localises to unattached kinetochores independently of spindle-checkpoint activation. This localisation depends on the dynein-dynactin complex and Lis1 which also localise to unattached kinetochores. Further analysis revealed a hierarchical dependency between the proteins with respect to their kinetochore localisation. An inhibitor study also suggested that the motor activity of dynein is required for the removal of CLIP-190 from attached kinetochores. In addition, we found that CLIP-190 association to microtubule plus-ends is regulated during the cell cycle. Microtubule plus-end association is strong in interphase and greatly attenuated during mitosis. Another microtubule plus-end tracking protein, EB1, directly interacts with the CAP-Gly domain of CLIP-190 and is required to localise CLIP-190 at microtubule plus-ends. These results indicate distinct molecular requirements for CLIP-190 localisation to unattached kinetochores in mitosis and microtubule ends in interphase.
Fabrication and Characterization of ZnS Hollow Nanostructures in Micelle System
Authors: Dong Lihong , Chu Ying , Yang Fuyong , Liu Yang , Liu Jinglin
Published: August 2005

ZnS hollow vessels, short tubes and hollow spheres have been fabricated in large scale by a simple micelle method. Power X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern indicates that the as-obtained product is hexagonal ZnS. Large blue shift in UV–vis spectrum suggests that the hollow nanostructures have quantum confinement effect.
A New Straightforward and Mild Preparation of Nickel(0) Nanoparticles
Authors: Alonso Francisco , Calvino José Juan , Osante Iñaki , Yus Miguel
Published: August 2005

Very fine nickel nanoparticles with diameters of 2.5 ± 1.5 nm have been prepared by reduction of anhydrous nickel(II) chloride with lithium powder and a catalytic amount of 4,4′-di-tert-butylbiphenyl (DTBB) in THF at room temperature.
An Efficient Method for the Preparation of Monoalkylated Sulfonamides from Unsubstituted Sulfonamides and Alkyl Diphenylphosphinites by Oxidation–Reduction Condensation Using Trimethylsilylmethyl Azide
Authors: Aoki Hidenori , Kuroda Kiichi , Mukaiyama Teruaki
Published: August 2005

An efficient method for monoalkylation of unsubstituted sulfonamides was established by using alkyl diphenylphosphinites, sulfonamides and trimethylsilylmethyl azide and the monoalkylated sulfonamides were afforded in good yields under neutral conditions.
Identification of Pyrolysis Reaction Model of Polypropylene
Authors: Kim Seungdo , Kim Young-Chun , Kim Young-Min , Eom Yujin
Published: August 2005

This paper attempted to identify a pyrolysis reaction model of polypropylene (PP) and to elucidate its macroscopic decomposition mechanism correspondingly. Among various reaction models, we chose a reaction model that allowed the best fit to experimental reduced-time-plots (RTPs). Surprisingly, the pyrolysis reaction model of PP varies with reaction temperature within a temperature range between 683 and 738 K. At lower temperatures (683–693 K), the “contracting-cylinder” model accounts for the pyrolysis reaction of PP. Bubble nucleation may be a major reaction mechanism of PP pyrolysis at higher temperatures (728–738 K). High generation rates of volatiles lead to the accumulation of volatiles in the melt until reaching a critical concentration where bubble nucleation sets forth, thus mimicking “Avrami–Erofeev” model. Hence, the classical expression of the reaction model, f(α) = (1 − α)n, assumed by most previous studies is inappropriate for pyrolysis reaction of PP. At lower temperatures, chemical reactions may limit the pyrolysis reaction of PP, whereas at higher temperatures the rate of bubble nucleation closely related to heat, mass, and momentum transfer along with thermodynamic properties of melt may limit its pyrolysis reaction.
Corallinafuran and Corallinaether, Novel Toxic Compounds from Crustose Coralline Red Algae
Authors: Kitamura Makoto , Koyama Tomoyuki , Nakano Yoshikatsu , Uemura Daisuke
Published: August 2005

Two new brominated toxic compounds, corallinafuran (1) and corallinaether (2), have been isolated from crustose coralline red algae (CCA). Their structures were elucidated based on a detailed analysis of spectral data. Compounds 1 and 2 showed toxicity against larvae of the scleractinian coral Pseudosiderastrea tayamai, with LD99 values of 1.9 and 0.14 μg/mL, respectively.
Fabrication of Antimony Junction Nanowires in Anodic Alumina Membranes
Authors: Li Liang , Xiao Yanhe , Yang Youwen , Li Guanghai , Li Yan , Zhang Lide
Published: August 2005

Antimony junction nanowire arrays were fabricated in the anodic alumina membranes using the pulsed electrodeposition technique for the first time. The etching period in phosphoric acid controls the diameter and the length of each segment of nanowires. The repeating times of etching and electrodeposition control the number of junction.
Cyano-bridged One-dimensional SmIII–FeIII Molecule-based Magnet with an Ordering Temperature of 3.4 K
Authors: Ge Chunhua , Kou Hui-Zhong , Ni Zhong-Hai , Jiang Yun-Bo , Zhang Li-Fang , Cui Ai-Li , Sato Osamu
Published: August 2005

A new cynao-bridged SmIII–FeIII bimetallic coordination polymer has been prepared by the reaction of (n-Bu4N)3Fe(CN)6 and Sm(NO3)3·6H2O in a DMF–H2O media. The complex consists of alternate Sm(DMF)4(H2O)2 and Fe(CN)6 units bridged by two cis-cyano ligands to form a zigzag chain. It behaves as a molecule-based magnet with Tc = 3.4 K. At 2 K, hysteresis was observed with a coercive field of 200 Oe.
Stigma, liminality, and chronic pain: Mind–body borderlands
Authors: Jackson Jean E.
Published: August 2005

In this article, I employ the concept of “liminality” to answer the question, why is pain, something invisible and experienced by everyone, so often stigmatizing in its chronic form? Various authors' work on liminality argues that “betwixt and between,” ambiguous beings are seen by those around them to threaten prevailing definitions of the social order. I show that certain features of chronic pain result in the perception of sufferers as transgressing the categorical divisions between mind and body and as confounding the codes of morality surrounding sickness and health, turning them into liminal creatures whose uncertain ontological status provokes stigmatizing reactions in others.
Humanitarian exception as the rule: The political theology of the 1999 Tragedia in Venezuela
Authors: Fassin Didier , Vasquez Paula
Published: August 2005

In recent years, Walter Benjamin's illumination that “the state of exception has become the rule” has been reactivated by several authors who have seen in contemporary politics a trivialization of situations of emergency. Instead of accepting prima facie the banality of the exception, we submit it to an empirical analysis to show its complexity and ambiguity. Our case study is the political management of the worst natural catastrophe in modern Venezuelan history: the 1999 Tragedia caused by massive landslides triggered by heavy rains on the same day that the country's new constitution was voted. A state of emergency was proclaimed and militarization of the disaster area followed, but instead of being feared or denounced, this governmental response appeared to be desired by the majority of the population. The army, under the leadership of President–Colonel Hugo ChÁvez, embodied the regeneration of the nation, redeemed from the corruption of the preceding regime and united through communion in solidarity with the victims. Arbitrary violence and ordinary looting eventually occurred, but the dominant moral sentiment expressed at the time was deep compassion. The 1999 Venezuelan scene is, thus, exemplary of a more general phenomenon, described by Claude Lefort as “the permanence of the theological‐political in modern democracies,” for which the humanitarian state of exception can be seen as a paradigm.
U.S. colonial law and the creation of marginalized political entities
Authors: Philips Susan U.
Published: August 2005

In this review essay, I offer a comparative perspective on books and films about the history of U.S. colonial law in Puerto Rican, Hawaiian, and North American Indian reservation contexts. The authors and filmmakers analyze the creation of marginalized political entities such as reservations and unincorporated territories with properties of sovereignty that make them different from U.S. states in their relation to the federal government. All view sovereignty as key to the maintenance of cultural identity. U.S. colonies participate in a common colonial legal discourse concerning the nature of political entities legally constituted as internal to the United States as a nation‐state.
Geologies of power: Value transformations of mineral specimens from Guanajuato, Mexico
Authors: Ferry Elizabeth Emma
Published: August 2005

In this article, I examine the extraction, circulation, and use of mineral specimens from Guanajuato, Mexico. I focus on the actions through which people in Guanajuato transform minerals into social objects and people in gem fairs, museums, and mineral clubs in the United States transform them into “natural” objects. Drawing on the work of Sidney Mintz, Nancy Munn, and others, I study how people use value transformations across global commodity systems to negotiate forms of autonomy within political and economic constraints. In the social relations through which minerals come to the United States and in refashioning stones as “pristine” objects, dealers and collectors also naturalize prevailing relations of power between Latin America and the United States.
How Many Americas? the Culture Wars in u.s. Politics
Authors: Klinenberg Eric
Published: August 2005

In February, Contexts kicked off a series of public discussions with a forum including University of Pennsylvania sociologist Elijah Anderson, author of Code of the Street; Thomas Frank, author of What's the Matter with Kansas?; and Nation columnist and Columbia Law School professor Patricia Williams. NYU sociology professor Eric Klinenberg moderated the discussion before a capacity crowd at New York University. The conversation touched upon issues of class, race, market culture, free speech, and party politics. Here are excerpts from the event.
How Cohabitation is Reshaping American Families
Authors: Brown Susan L.
Published: August 2005

Rapid growth in unmarried cohabitation over the past few decades has fundamentally altered American family life. By providing a context for intimate partnerships and childbearing outside marriage, cohabitation challenges our understanding of the family.
Twin Studies: What Can They Tell us About Nature and Nurture?
Authors: Guo Guang
Published: August 2005

Twin studies used to be almost the only way to compare the influence of genes against the environment on personality and behavior. Recent advances in genetics, however, suggest that opposing “nature” to “nurture” is misleading. Genes combine with the environment to produce complex human traits.
“To Play as if from the Soul of the Composer”: The Idea of the Performer in Early Romantic Aesthetics
Authors: HUNTER MARY
Published: August 2005

Performance discourse in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries (i.e., writing about interpretative performance in treatises, reviews, dictionaries, articles, and philosophical works) is distinct from that in both earlier and later periods. Although a full early Romantic paradigm of interpretative performance, as articulated in Hegel's Aesthetics, came about piecemeal and was instantiated in different ways in different kinds of sources, the texts examined in this essay communicate two particularly salient features. These are, first, the idea that interpretative performance involves a profound spiritual transformation on the part of the performer, requiring the merging of his own soul with that of the composer; and second, the idea that performance both establishes and collapses apparently intractable dualisms. This structural feature of performance discourse, as well as its content, links the idea of performance to contemporary discussions of consciousness in such a way that performance emerges as a simulacrum of early Romantic subjectivity. At the same time, this discursive structure also finds its way into the more mundane world of pedagogy. Performance thus emerges as more central to the intellectual milieu of Romanticism than has previously been recognized. The structures of discourse established at the turn of the nineteenth century persist in classical music culture today, but devoid of their historical underpinnings.
“Oper im Kirchengewande”? Verdi's Requiem and the Anxieties of the Young German Empire
Authors: KREUZER GUNDULA
Published: August 2005

When, in 1874, Hans von Bülow denounced Verdi's Requiem as an “opera in ecclesiastical robes,” he perpetuated the view (previously common among German critics) that Italian music amounted to little more than Italian opera, a genre thought inferior to German music. However, this article shows that Bülow's polemic was motivated by personal resentment and far from typical of German-language responses. Partly because of Verdi's 1875 tour—during which he conducted the work in Vienna to sensational acclaim—the Requiem was widely disseminated, triggering a multifaceted discourse about genre and style, national traits, and the essence of “truly religious” music. I argue that this fervent discourse opens fresh vistas onto German musical culture and its socio-political implications after the unification of 1871. It chimed in with debates about Cecilian church-music reforms and challenged both long-cherished notions of German cultural superiority and recent attempts in Germany to bolster “cultural Protestantism.” Both foreign and popular, the Requiem thus provided a unique screen on which musical, regional, confessional, and national hostilities could be enacted. Ultimately, critics in the new German Empire grappled not only with Verdi's appearance in a new (stylistic, generic) dress but—amidst Bismarck's Kulturkampf—with the foundation of their own cultural identity in the “lesser German” nation-state.
Transobturator tape: a new method in the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence?
Authors: Deval Bruno , Ramsay Ian
Published: August 2005

The tension‐free vaginal tape has revolutionised the surgical treatment of stress urinary incontinence but remains an abdominal procedure with all of the potential complications therein. The transobturator tape procedure described here produces the same end result i.e. a tension‐free tape left under the midurethra, but without the risks of an abdominal procedure. This article describes the development and early experience of this very promising procedure.
Microvascular Response in the Periosteum Following Mucoperiosteal Flap Surgery in Dogs: Angiogenesis and Bone Resorption and Formation
Authors: Nobuto Takahiro , Suwa Fumihiko , Kono Tomoo , Taguchi Yoichiro , Takahashi Tsurayuki , Kanemura Naoko , Terada Shoichiro , Imai Hisao
Published: August 2005

Background: When surgical stress reaches the periosteum, bone resorption and formation that occur as a periosteal response are closely related to angiogenesis and hemodynamics. Thus, we investigated bone remodeling in the healing process after mucoperiosteal flap surgery, focusing our attention on the microcirculation.

Methods: Mucoperiosteal flap surgery was performed on 12 adult beagle dogs. The periosteal vascular plexus was observed on days 7, 14, 21, and 28 after surgery, using three different techniques: in histological specimens into which India ink was injected into blood vessels, under a light microscope; in ultrathin sections, using a transmission electron microscope; and in acryl plastic‐injected vascular corrosion cast specimens, under a scanning electron microscope.

Results: On day 7 after surgery, the interstitum of the elevated mucoperiosteal vascular plexus was filled with sinusoidal new blood vessels. Bone resorption by osteoclasts was observed around these new blood vessels and many highly permeable fenestrations were present in the vascular endothelium. On day 14 after surgery, sinusoidal new blood vessels were more markedly developed and some regions exhibited glomeruluslike morphology consistent with bone resorption cavities. Activated osteoblasts were present around these new blood vessels and highly permeable vesicles, which were considered to be possible vesiclo‐vacuolar organelles (VVOs) and caveolae, were noted in the vascular endothelium. On days 21 and 28 after surgery, the mucoperiosteal vascular plexus was dissected through regression of endothelial cells and fibroblasts and reconstructed into a rough mesh structure, and simultaneously the bone surface became smooth.

Conclusion: The morphology of the mucoperiosteal vascular plexus changed with bone metabolism and these changes contributed to transport of substances involved in periodontal repair. J Periodontol 2005;76:1346‐1353.
Progression of Experimental Chronic Peri‐Implantitis in Dogs: Clinical and Radiographic Evaluation
Authors: Martins Marilia Compagnoni , Shibli Jamil Awad , Abi‐Rached Ricardo Samih Georges , Marcantonio Elcio
Published: August 2005

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the progression of experimental peri‐implantitis in dogs using implants with different surface coatings.

Methods: Thirty‐six dental implants with four different surface coatings, commercially pure titanium (cpTi), titanium plasmasprayed (TPS), hydroxyapatite (HA), and acid‐etched (AE), were placed in six mongrel dogs. Five months after implantation, peri‐implantitis was induced by cotton ligatures to facilitate plaque accumulation for 60 days. After 60 days, the ligatures were removed and supragingival plaque control was initiated for 12 months. Probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), vertical bone level (VBL), horizontal bone level (HBL), and mobility were obtained at baseline, and 20, 40, 60 (acute phase), and 425 days (chronic phase) after ligature removal.

Results: PD and CAL changed around all implant surfaces after ligature placement (P <0.0001). However, the means of PD and CAL were not statistically significant among the different surfaces (P >0.05). The range of CAL variation, calculated between baseline and 60 days (acute phase) and between 60 and 425 days (chronic phase), decreased (P <0.05). Bone loss increased during the entire experiment (P <0.0001). The HA surface showed the greatest bone loss measurement (5.06 ± 0.38 mm) and the TPS showed the smallest bone loss (4.27 ± 0.62 mm). However, statistical significance was not assessed for different coatings (P >0.05).

Conclusions: The clinical data at the initial phase showed rapid and severe peri‐implant tissue breakdown. However, removal of ligatures did not convert the acute destructive peri‐implant phase to a non‐aggressive lesion and the progression of peri‐implantitis was observed at chronic phase. The experimental peri‐implantitis in dogs may be a useful model to evaluate the progression of peri‐implantitis. J Periodontol 2005;76:1367‐1373.
Preparation of Dense Mullite Ceramics through Gelcasting of Alumina Slurry Dispersed in Silica Sol
Authors: Kong Deyu , Ying Si'ai , Yang Hui , Li Hui , Wei Su , Wang Jiabang
Published: August 2005

A nano‐SiO2‐coated‐Al2O3 (NSCA) micro‐composite system has been derived from silica sol and alumina to prepare dense mullite ceramics by gelcasting technology. Concentrated NSCA suspension with high solid loading but low viscosity was successfully prepared, utilizing the stabilization mechanism of silica nanoparticle halos around alumina particles at pH 9.5. The defect‐free dried green body with bending strength of 5.85 MPa was obtained with only 7.7 wt.% of monomer and dense mullite ceramics was sintered at 1550°C for 2 h, through initial densification by transient viscous sintering, followed by a densification arrest and then a further densification by solid‐state diffusion at higher temperatures.
Micro‐Raman Studies on DLC coatings
Authors: Irmer G. , Dorner‐Reisel A.
Published: August 2005

Raman scattering is an excellent tool to characterize nanocrystalline clusters and the structural arrangement of carbon atoms in carbon‐based materials. Diamond‐like carbon (DLC) films are used in many industrial applications due to their hardness, wear resistance and biological compatibility. The properties of DLC coatings depend on the carbon coordination and incorporation of other elements, influences onto their Raman spectra will be reviewed.
Database and Selection Method for Portable Power Sources
Authors: Fu L. , Lu T. J. , Huber J. E.
Published: August 2005

A method for selecting power sources including batteries, fuel cells and solar cells is developed. It is based on matching the physical and performance characteristics of power sources, such as weight, volume, capacity, voltage and cost, to the requirements of the given task. Physical and performance characteristics are collated from manufacturers' data and a database is built using advanced selection software. This allows the construction of performance maps in terms of voltage, maximum current, mass energy density, volume energy density and cost, giving a systematic comparison of different kinds of power sources. The use of the method as a preliminary design tool is demonstrated in a case study on the selection of batteries for mobile phones.
Mat‐DB: A Web‐Enabled Materials Database to Support European R&D Projects and Network Activities
Authors: Over H. H. , Wolfart E. , Dietz W. , Toth L.
Published: August 2005

Fast access to product specific materials data is one of the challenges in materials technology in order to make full use of the available materials potential. Material databases in combination with the Internet are powerful means to address this issue. The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission at Petten, The Netherlands (JRC) has recently launched the web‐enabled Mat‐DB for experimentally measured data, which is based on many years of experience in this field. Furthermore, the JRC aims at creating a growing pool of publicly available materials data and analysis routines, which can be used in industry, research and education.
A Critical Review of the Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) of Magnesium Alloys
Authors: Winzer N. , Atrens A. , Song G. , Ghali E. , Dietzel W. , Kainer K. U. , Hort N. , Blawert C.
Published: August 2005

This review aims to provide a foundation for the safe and effective use of magnesium (Mg) alloys, including practical guidelines for the service use of Mg alloys in the atmosphere and/or in contact with aqueous solutions. This is to provide support for the rapidly increasing use of Mg in industrial applications, particularly in the automobile industry. These guidelines should be firmly based on a critical analysis of our knowledge of SCC based on (1) service experience, (2) laboratory testing and (3) understanding of the mechanism of SCC, as well as based on an understanding of the Mg corrosion mechanism.
An Investigation of the Inelastic Deformation of Cortical Bone
Authors: Mercer C. , Wang R. , Evans A. G.
Published: August 2005

Failure in bovine cortical bone in flexure is compression dominated, as indicated by higher peak stresses but lower failure strain (than in tension), and shear bands on the compression surfaces of the specimens. Cyclic unloading‐reloading revealed significant hysteresis. Strains achieved upon cycling were significantly higher than the failure strains under monotonic loading. The breaking and reformation of sacrificial bonds is the proposed explanation of this “healing” phenomenon.
Biomorphous SiSiC/Al‐Si Ceramic Composites Manufactured by Squeeze Casting: Microstructure and Mechanical Properties
Authors: Zollfrank C. , Travitzky N. , Sieber H. , Selchert T. , Greil P.
Published: August 2005

SiSiC/Al‐Si composites were fabricated by pressure‐assisted infiltration of an Al‐Si alloy into porous biocarbon preforms derived from the rattan palm. Al‐Si alloy was found in the pore channels of the biomorphous SiSiC preform, whereas SiC and carbon were present in the struts. The formation of a detrimental Al4C3‐phase was not observed in the composites. A bending strength of 200 MPa was measured. The fractured surfaces showed pull‐out of the Al‐alloy.
Cover Picture: An Investigation of the Inelastic Deformation of Cortical Bone (Adv. Eng. Mater. 8/2005)
Authors: Mercer C. , Wang R. , Evans A. G.
Published: August 2005

The cover picture shows shear bands that develop during compression of cortical bone. It shows that the bands extend across the bone lamellae and are mirror symmetric with respect to the loading axis. More on the inelastic deformation of cortical bone can be found in the paper By C. Mercer and A. G. Evans on page 719..
Enhanced Photocurrent Spectral Response in Low‐Bandgap Polyfluorene and C70‐Derivative‐Based Solar Cells
Authors: Wang X. , Perzon E. , Oswald F. , Langa F. , Admassie S. , Andersson M. R. , Inganäs O.
Published: August 2005

Plastic solar cells have been fabricated using a low‐bandgap alternating copolymer of fluorene and a donor–acceptor–donor moiety (APFO‐Green1), blended with 3′‐(3,5‐bis‐trifluoromethylphenyl)‐1′‐(4‐nitrophenyl)pyrazolino[70]fullerene (BTPF70) as electron acceptor. The polymer shows optical absorption in two wavelength ranges, λ < 500 nm and 600 < λ < 1000 nm. The BTPF70 absorbs light at λ < 700 nm. A broad photocurrent spectral response in the wavelength range 300 < λ < 1000 nm is obtained in solar cells. A photocurrent density of 3.4 mA cm–2, open‐circuit voltage of 0.58 V, and power‐conversion efficiency of 0.7 % are achieved under illumination of AM1.5 (1000 W m–2) from a solar simulator. Synthesis of BTPF70 is presented. Photoluminescence quenching and electrochemical studies are used to discuss photoinduced charge transfer.
Neurodegenerative diseases of infancy and childhood
Authors: Dyken Paul , Krawiecki Nicolas
Published: August 2005

The neurodegenerative diseases of infancy and childhood include disorders in which there is progressive loss of neurological function due to structural abnormalities of the central nervous system. Well over six hundred disorders, many of which are rarely seen, can be included in this category. Yet, the conditions represent collectively over onefourth of all admissions to pediatric neurology services.

Five‐year samples of admission characteristics of 1218 patients from two medical centers over twenty‐two years permit an estimate of the frequency of the neurodegenerative diseases. The six most‐encountered diagnoses, in declining order, were: subacute sclerosing panencephalitis; neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis; tuberous sclerosis with degeneration; West disease, or idiopathic degenerative encephalopathy associated with infantile spasms; Werdnig‐Hoffmann disease, and hereditary spastic paraplegia.

A classification is offered grouping the neurodegenerative disorders into five major categories: polioencephalopathies, leukoencephalopathies, corencephalopathies, spinocerebellopathies, and diffuse encephalopathies. Disorders in each subgroup may be either genetic or nongenetic. Neurodegenerative diseases have multiple causes, including metabolic, viral, immunopathic, environmental, and epileptogenic. The cause of many remains unknown.
Sequence of metabolic, clinical, and histological events in experimental thiamine deficiency
Authors: Hakim A. M. , Pappius H. M.
Published: August 2005

The {14C}deoxyglucose technique was used to determine local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU) in the rat at varous times in two models of thiamine deficiency: pyrithiamine administration in addition to dietary deprivation, and dietary deprivation alone. In the pyrithiamine model most of the 40 structures examined showed a gradual decline in LCGU, reaching the lowest metabolic activity at day 11. A statistically significant rise in LCGU (p < 0.05) was then noted between day 11 and day 12 or 14 in 18 structures, followed by the autoradiographic appearance of focal areas of centrally depressed glucose utilization in many of these same 18 structures. Only then did ambulatory difficulty, opisthotonus, and other advanced clinical sequelae of thiamine deficiency become evident, usually around day 18, followed by the appearance of focal histological lesions in the same distribution. On a different time scale, rats that were only deprived of thiamine in their diet over a prolonged period, but not their pair‐fed controls, revealed the same metabolic and autoradiographic events, but the deprivation was not sufficiently prolonged to result in clinical or histological abnormalities. We believe that the selective rise in LCGU may set into motion a chain of events that leads to the subsequent clinical and histological consequences of thiamine deficiency.
Intermittent thiamine deficiency in the rhesus monkey. II. Evidence for memory loss
Authors: Witt Ellen D. , Goldman‐Rakic Patricia S.
Published: August 2005

Thiamine‐deprived rhesus monkeys exhibited a pattern of impairments in spatial‐reversal learning and in recognition of highly familiar items reminiscent of certain memory deficits shown by Wernicke‐Korsakoff patients. Postmortem examination in these experimental animals showed neuronal degeneration in the basal ganglia, the parafascicular nucleus of the thalamus, and discrete nuclei of the brainstem and cerebellum. No abnormalities were found in the mammillary bodies and mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus, structures that have been incriminated in the genesis of the memory impairment of the Wernicke‐Korsakoff syndrome of man.
Acute panautonomic neuropathy
Authors: Low P. A. , Dyck P. J. , Lambert E. H. , Brimijoin W. S. , Trautmann J. C. , Malagelada J. R. , Fealey R. D. , Barrett D. M.
Published: August 2005

Two patients with acute panautonomic neuropathy had severe impairment of sympathetic and parasympathetic function of acute onset. Autonomic tests suggesting a postganglionic lesion and direct evidence of loss of unmyelinated and small myelinated fibers on nerve biopsy were found in Patient 1. There was a selective loss of small myelinated and unmyelinated nerve fibers; C potential was absent in the in vitro compound action potential; dopamine‐β‐hydroxylase activity was unmeasurable. No definite abnormalities were found on the nerve biopsy of Patient 2. The acute panautonomic neuropathies appear to comprise a spectrum of somatic and autonomic involvement.
Immunoregulatory T‐cells and lymphocytotoxic antibodies in active multiple sclerosis: Weekly analysis over a six‐month period
Authors: Hauser Stephen L. , Reinherz Ellis L. , Hoban Carolyn J. , Schlossman Stuart F. , Weiner Howard L.
Published: August 2005

Immunoregulatory T‐cell subsets were measured at weekly intervals over a 4 to 6 month period using monoclonal antibodies (anti‐T4 = inducer cell; anti‐T8 = suppressor/cytotoxic cell) in a group of 6 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and in 4 age‐ and sex‐matched controls. Decreases in the T8 subset and increases in the T4: T8 ratio were present in 4 of the patients with MS but not in controls. Two patients who were neurologically stable during the study period had no changes in the T4: T8 ratio; 2 patients with intermediate disease activity of the relapsing‐remitting type had elevated ratios on 3 and 4 occasions respectively; the patient with the most clinically active MS had an abnormal ratio 12 of 27 times. One patient with chronic‐progressive MS had an elevated ratio on each occasion tested. No abnormalities in T‐cell subsets were present in any of the controls. On three occasions an elevated T4:T8 ratio appeared to precede an acute relapse by 1.5 to 7 days. Lymphocytotoxic antibodies (LCA) against whole lymphocytes or against isolated T‐cell subsets were measured in these patients and in a larger group of MS patients, and were not found to correlate with changes in T‐cell subsets. This report extends previous findings linking changes in T‐cell subsets to disease activity in patients with MS.
Permanent neurological deficits due to lithium toxicity
Authors: Apte Sateesh N. , Langston J. William
Published: August 2005

Two patients exhibited permanent neurological deficits following relatively uncomplicated episodes of lithium intoxication. Lithium toxicity alone appears to result in a fairly consistent combination of neurological findings, including deficits in recent memory, limb and truncal ataxia, and choreoathetosis or parkinsonism. The potential role of early hemodialysis in preventing these permanent deficits is discussed.
Familial paroxysmal dystonic choreoathetosis and response to alternate‐day oxazepam therapy
Authors: Kurlan Roger , Shoulson Ira
Published: August 2005

A patient with familial paroxysmal dystonic choreoathetosis (FPDC) who was only transiently improved on daily benzodiazepine therapy showed sustained benefit from a regimen of alternate‐day oxazepam therapy. Our findings confirm that FPDC is responsive to benzodiazepine therapy and suggest that an alternate‐day dosing schedule, using a short‐acting benzodiazepine, may minimize receptor down regulation and thereby sustain the therapeutic effect.
Progressive CT abnormalities despite clinical improvement in SSPE treated with inosiplex
Authors: Noetzel Michael J. , Dodson W. Edwin
Published: August 2005

Inosiplex has been utilized in the treatment of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), though without unequivocally established beneficial effect. We report a patient whose computerized tomographic (CT) scans demonstrated the development of progressive cerebral atrophy and multifocal white matter lesions despite continuous treatment with inosiplex and periods of considerable clinical improvement or stabilization. The findings suggest that inosiplex may not have altered the pathological consequences of SSPE and that clinical staging categories alone may not be reliable long‐term correlates of the progression of the disease. Controlled studies utilizing assessment of brain mass by CT scan or other imaging devices in addition to clinical staging are required to evaluate the efficacy of inosiplex.
Analgesic activity of tricyclic antidepressants
Authors: Spiegel Katharyn , Kalb Robert , Pasternak Gavril W.
Published: August 2005

Amitriptyline (median effective dose {ED50} 1.2 mg per kilogram of body weight), imipramine (ED50 2.3 mg/kg), and their demethylated derivatives nortriptyline (ED50 1.9 mg/kg) and desimipramine (ED50 3.2 mg/kg) are active analgesics as indicated by the mouse writhing assay. Although not as potent as morphine (ED50 0.2 mg/kg), the antidepressants were up to 70 times more potent than aspirin (ED50 91 mg/kg). The actions of amitriptyline were not affected by the specific opiate antagonist naloxone but were markedly attenuated in animals whose monoamine levels had been depleted with reserpine. Central mechanisms appear important since amitriptyline (ED50 4.6 μg) was potent when administered intracerebroventricularly.
Maternal diseases and isolated orofacial clefts in Hungary
Authors: Métneki Júlia , Puhó Erzsébet , Czeizel Andrew E.
Published: August 2005

BACKGROUND

Isolated orofacial clefts (OFCs) are likely to be caused by gene‐environment interaction; therefore, the objective of the current study was to evaluate the possible association between all maternal diseases during pregnancy and isolated cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL ± CP) and posterior cleft palate (PCP) in the offspring.

METHODS

The database of the large population‐based Hungarian Case‐Control Surveillance of Congenital Abnormalities, 1980–1996, was evaluated. The database includes 1374 cases with isolated CL ± CP and 601 with PCP, plus 38,151 matched population controls (without defects) and 20,868 patient controls with other defects. Data collection was based on prospective medical records, retrospective maternal data via a self‐reported questionnaire, and home visits of nonresponding families.

RESULTS

An increased risk for isolated CL ± CP was found for children born to mothers with influenza, common cold, orofacial herpes, and gastroenteritis during pregnancy. Risk for isolated PCP was increased in children of mothers with influenza, sinusitis, and bronchitis. Among chronic maternal diseases, epilepsy and angina pectoris showed a higher prevalence in the mothers of children born with isolated OFCs (cases).

CONCLUSIONS

Some maternal diseases are risk factors for the pathogenesis of isolated OFCs. It is worth considering the prevention of possible harmful effects of influenza by vaccination during the expected epidemic period. Birth Defects Research (Part A), 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Electrochemical Synthesis of Dendritic Polyaniline in Brønsted Acid Ionic Liquids
Authors: Bao‐You Liu , Dan‐Qian Xu , Zhen‐Yuan Xu
Published: August 2005

Brønsted acid ionic liquids were successfully applied to the electrochemical synthesis of polyaniline films on platinum electrode surfaces by using cyclic voltammetry. The scanning electron micrographs showed distinct changes in morphological structures. The films exhibited quite dense packing and good ordering of polymer dendrite as compared with those prepared using conventional hydrochloric acid, indicating that Brønsting acid ionic liquids might be promising alternatives to dual medium‐dopants in the synthesis of conducting polymers.
Potential of Eigen Value Method to the Study on Structure‐antioxidant Activity Relationship
Authors: De‐Xin Kong , Tao Jiang , Hua‐Shi Guan
Published: August 2005

Antioxidants are of great interest because of their involvement in many important biological and industrial processes. It is meaningful to study their structure‐antioxidant activity relationship (SAAR) and design novel, efficient and low‐toxicity antioxidant. In this paper, Eigen Value Analysis (EVA), a 3‐dimensional quantitative structure activity relationship (3‐D QSAR) method, was employed to study antioxidant SAAR. Significant relational models were obtained with all the PLS cross‐validate $q^{2}_{cv} $ values being larger than 0.5, meaning that the models have sound predictive power. Compared with other QSAR methods, EVA possesses several advantages, especially that it does not need alignment. It should be believed that EVA will be an efficient approach to SAAR.