bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Proliferation zones in the axolotl brain and regeneration of the telencephalon
Authors: Maden Malcolm , Manwell Laurie A , Ormerod Brandi K 
Published: January 2013

Abstract

Background
Although the brains of lower vertebrates are known to exhibit somewhat limited regeneration after incisional or stab wounds, the Urodele brain exhibits extensive regeneration after massive tissue removal. Discovering whether and how neural progenitor cells that reside in the ventricular zones of Urodeles proliferate to mediate tissue repair in response to injury may produce novel leads for regenerative strategies. Here we show that endogenous neural progenitor cells resident to the ventricular zone of Urodeles spontaneously proliferate, producing progeny that migrate throughout the telencephalon before terminally differentiating into neurons. These progenitor cells appear to be responsible for telencephalon regeneration after tissue removal and their activity may be up-regulated by injury through an olfactory cue.

Results
There is extensive proliferation of endogenous neural progenitor cells throughout the ventricular zone of the adult axolotl brain. The highest levels are observed in the telencephalon, especially the dorsolateral aspect, and cerebellum. Lower levels are observed in the mesencephalon and rhombencephalon. New cells produced in the ventricular zone migrate laterally, dorsally and ventrally into the surrounding neuronal layer. After migrating from the ventricular zone, the new cells primarily express markers of neuronal differentiative fates. Large-scale telencephalic tissue removal stimulates progenitor cell proliferation in the ventricular zone of the damaged region, followed by proliferation in the tissue that surrounds the healing edges of the wound until the telencephalon has completed regeneration. The proliferative stimulus appears to reside in the olfactory system, because telencephalic regeneration does not occur in the brains of olfactory bulbectomized animals in which the damaged neural tissue simply heals over.

Conclusion
There is a continual generation of neuronal cells from neural progenitor cells located within the ventricular zone of the axolotl brain. Variable rates of proliferation were detected across brain regions. These neural progenitor cells appear to mediate telencephalic tissue regeneration through an injury-induced olfactory cue. Identification of this cue is our future goal.
EnRICH: Extraction and Ranking using Integration and Criteria Heuristics
Authors: Zhang Xia , Greenlee M Heather West , Serb Jeanne M 
Published: January 2013

Abstract

Background
High throughput screening technologies enable biologists to generate candidate genes at a rate that, due to time and cost constraints, cannot be studied by experimental approaches in the laboratory. Thus, it has become increasingly important to prioritize candidate genes for experiments. To accomplish this, researchers need to apply selection requirements based on their knowledge, which necessitates qualitative integration of heterogeneous data sources and filtration using multiple criteria. A similar approach can also be applied to putative candidate gene relationships. While automation can assist in this routine and imperative procedure, flexibility of data sources and criteria must not be sacrificed. A tool that can optimize the trade-off between automation and flexibility to simultaneously filter and qualitatively integrate data is needed to prioritize candidate genes and generate composite networks from heterogeneous data sources.

Results
We developed the java application, EnRICH (
E
xtractio
n
and
R
anking using
I
ntegration and
C
riteria
H
euristics), in order to alleviate this need. Here we present a case study in which we used EnRICH to integrate and filter multiple candidate gene lists in order to identify potential retinal disease genes. As a result of this procedure, a candidate pool of several hundred genes was narrowed down to five candidate genes, of which four are confirmed retinal disease genes and one is associated with a retinal disease state.

Conclusions
We developed a platform-independent tool that is able to qualitatively integrate multiple heterogeneous datasets and use different selection criteria to filter each of them, provided the datasets are tables that have distinct identifiers (required) and attributes (optional). With the flexibility to specify data sources and filtering criteria, EnRICH automatically prioritizes candidate genes or gene relationships for biologists based on their specific requirements. Here, we also demonstrate that this tool can be effectively and easily used to apply highly specific user-defined criteria and can efficiently identify high quality candidate genes from relatively sparse datasets.
Preclinical evaluation of carbon-11 and fluorine-18 sulfonamide derivatives for in vivo radiolabeling of erythrocytes
Authors: Gheysens Olivier , Akurathi Vamsidhar , Chekol Rufael , Dresselaers Tom , Celen Sofie , Koole Michel , Dauwe Dieter , Cleynhens Bernard J , Claus Piet , Janssens Stefan , Verbruggen Alfons M , Nuyts Johan , Himmelreich Uwe , Bormans Guy M 
Published: January 2013

Abstract

Background
To date, few PET tracers for in vivo labeling of red blood cells (RBCs) are available. In this study, we report the radiosynthesis and in vitro and in vivo evaluation of 11C and 18F sulfonamide derivatives targeting carbonic anhydrase II (CA II), a metallo-enzyme expressed in RBCs, as potential blood pool tracers. A proof-of-concept in vivo imaging study was performed to demonstrate the feasibility to assess cardiac function and volumes using electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated positron emission tomography (PET) acquisition in comparison with cine magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) in rats and a pig model of myocardial infarction.

Methods
The inhibition constants (K
i) of CA II were determined in vitro for the different compounds by assaying CA-catalyzed CO2 hydration activity. Binding to human RBCs was estimated after in vitro incubation of the compounds with whole blood. Biodistribution studies were performed to evaluate tracer kinetics in NMRI mice. ECG-gated PET acquisition was performed in Wistar rats at rest and during pharmacological stress by infusing dobutamine at 10 μg/kg/min and in a pig model of myocardial infarction. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and volumes were compared with values from cMRI.

Results
The K
i of the investigated compounds for human CA II was found to be in the range of 8 to 422 nM. The fraction of radioactivity associated with RBCs was found to be ≥90% at 10- and 60-min incubation of tracers with heparinized human blood at room temperature for all tracers studied. Biodistribution studies in mice indicated that 30% to 67% of the injected dose was retained in the blood pool at 60 min post injection. A rapid and sustained tracer uptake in the heart region with an average standardized uptake value of 2.5 was observed from micro-PET images. The LVEF values obtained after pharmacological stress in rats closely matched between the cMRI and micro-PET values, whereas at rest, a larger variation between LVEF values obtained by both techniques was observed. In the pig model, a good agreement was observed between PET and MRI for quantification of left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction.

Conclusions
The 11C and 18F sulfonamide derivatives can be used for efficient in vivo radiolabeling of RBCs, and proof-of-concept in vivo imaging studies have shown the feasibility and potential of these novel tracers to assess cardiac function.
Contrast-enhanced small-animal PET/CT in cancer research: strong improvement of diagnostic accuracy without significant alteration of quantitative accuracy and NEMA NU 4–2008 image quality parameters
Authors: Lasnon Charline , Quak Elske , Briand Mélanie , Gu Zheng , Louis Marie-Hélène , Aide Nicolas 
Published: January 2013

Abstract

Background
The use of iodinated contrast media in small-animal positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) could improve anatomic referencing and tumor delineation but may introduce inaccuracies in the attenuation correction of the PET images. This study evaluated the diagnostic performance and accuracy of quantitative values in contrast-enhanced small-animal PET/CT (CEPET/CT) as compared to unenhanced small animal PET/CT (UEPET/CT).

Methods
Firstly, a NEMA NU 4–2008 phantom (filled with 18F-FDG or 18F-FDG plus contrast media) and a homemade phantom, mimicking an abdominal tumor surrounded by water or contrast media, were used to evaluate the impact of iodinated contrast media on the image quality parameters and accuracy of quantitative values for a pertinent-sized target. Secondly, two studies in 22 abdominal tumor-bearing mice and rats were performed. The first animal experiment studied the impact of a dual-contrast media protocol, comprising the intravenous injection of a long-lasting contrast agent mixed with 18F-FDG and the intraperitoneal injection of contrast media, on tumor delineation and the accuracy of quantitative values. The second animal experiment compared the diagnostic performance and quantitative values of CEPET/CT versus UEPET/CT by sacrificing the animals after the tracer uptake period and imaging them before and after intraperitoneal injection of contrast media.

Results
There was minimal impact on IQ parameters (%SDunif and spillover ratios in air and water) when the NEMA NU 4–2008 phantom was filled with 18F-FDG plus contrast media. In the homemade phantom, measured activity was similar to true activity (−0.02%) and overestimated by 10.30% when vials were surrounded by water or by an iodine solution, respectively. The first animal experiment showed excellent tumor delineation and a good correlation between small-animal (SA)-PET and ex vivo quantification (r
2 = 0.87, P < 0.0001). The second animal experiment showed a good correlation between CEPET/CT and UEPET/CT quantitative values (r
2 = 0.99, P < 0.0001). Receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated better diagnostic accuracy of CEPET/CT versus UEPET/CT (senior researcher, area under the curve (AUC) 0.96 versus 0.77, P = 0.004; junior researcher, AUC 0.78 versus 0.58, P = 0.004).

Conclusions
The use of iodinated contrast media for small-animal PET imaging significantly improves tumor delineation and diagnostic performance, without significant alteration of SA-PET quantitative accuracy and NEMA NU 4–2008 IQ parameters.
Elafin, an inhibitor of elastase, is a prognostic indicator in breast cancer
Authors: Hunt Kelly K , Wingate Hannah , Yokota Tomoya , Liu Yanna , Mills Gordon B , Zhang Fan , Fang Bingliang , Su Chun-Hui , Zhang Ming , Yi Min , Keyomarsi Khandan 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
Introduction
Elafin is an elastase-specific inhibitor with increased transcription in normal mammary epithelial cells compared to mammary carcinoma cells. In this report, we test the hypothesis that inhibition of elastase, through induction of elafin, leads to inhibition of human breast cancer cell viability and, therefore, predicts survival in breast cancer patients.

Methods
Panels of normal and immortalized breast epithelial cells, along with breast carcinoma cells, were used to examine the impact of adenoviral-mediated elafin expression or shRNA-mediated inhibition of elastase on the growth of cells and xenografts in nude mice. To determine the prognostic significance of decreased elafin in patients with invasive breast cancer, previously published gene array datasets were interrogated.

Results
Elafin expression had no effect on non-tumorigenic cells but resulted in marked inhibition of cell growth in breast cancer cell lines. Control-treated xenografts generated a tumor burden that necessitated sacrifice within one month of initial treatment, whereas xenograft-bearing mice treated with Ad-Elafin were alive at eight months with marked reduction in tumor growth. Elastase inhibition mimicked these results, showing decreased tumor cell growth in vitro and in vivo. Low expression of elafin gene correlated with significantly reduced time to relapse, and when combined with high expression of elastase gene was associated with decreased survival in breast cancer patients.

Conclusion
Our data suggest that elafin plays a direct role in the suppression of tumors through inhibition of elastase and thus serves as a prognostic indicator for breast cancer patients.
Surrogate consent for critical care research: exploratory study on public perception and influences on recruitment
Authors: Lim Daphne AFN , Chan Moon Fai , Childs Charmaine 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
Introduction
Critical Care research involves an increasing level of technical and clinical interventions for the unconscious patient. If the general public has a negative (unfavourable) view of surrogate consent, low recruitment rates are likely. Results bias will be introduced if study populations are small, hindering knowledge generation and transfer through research. In the rapidly expanding healthcare industry of South East Asia, opportunities for critical care research will grow given a positive willingness (favourability) by the general public to act as a surrogate in the consent process when the (unconscious) patient cannot consent for him/herself.

Methods
To determine public willingness for surrogate consent, a quantitative cross-sectional study was undertaken at a University Teaching Hospital in South East Asia during a three month interval. Four hypothetical critical care research scenarios were presented and responses from the public were analysed using a three-part questionnaire.

Results
Three hundred and five members of the public were recruited. In general, participants had a positive view of research. The level of education was significantly associated with a person's views about research especially in studies regarded as high risk. For low risk studies, a person's perception of research and willingness to be recruited to a study in the event that they were the (unconscious) patient, was the same whether they were the study subject or the person (legally acceptable representative) giving surrogate consent' on behalf of another (spouse, parent, child). Across all study scenarios, 60-80% of the public preferred to be approached by doctors to discuss the surrogate consent process.

Conclusion
Given the hypothetical scenarios presented in this study, the odds of a person having a positive view and willingness to be consented to a critical care research study on the advice of another (surrogate consent) was greater than for those who had a negative or unfavourable view. Nurses may be disadvantaged in leading on the recruitment process due to a preference for information to be delivered by medically qualified clinicians. In the setting of South East Asia, cultural attitudes to nurse-led research in critical care must be taken in to consideration in the multidisciplinary approaches to building the research team.
Complex, Not Monosomal, Karyotype Is the Cytogenetic Marker of Poorest Prognosis in Patients With Primary Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Authors: Valcárcel David , Ademà Vera , Solé Francesc , Ortega Margarita , Nomdedeu Benet , Sanz Guillermo , Luño Elisa , Cañizo Consuelo , de la Serna Javier , Ardanaz Maite , Marco Victor , Collado Rosa , Grau Javier , Montoro Julia , Mallo Mar , Vallespí Teresa 
Published: January 2013

PurposeComplex karyotype (CK) is the poorest risk factor in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). It has recently been reported that monosomal karyotype (MK) worsens the prognosis of patients with CK.Patients and MethodsWe analyzed 1,054 adult patients with MDS with an abnormal karyotype from the Spanish Registry of MDS. The aim of the study was to describe the incidence, characteristics, and prognosis of MK; the main end points were overall survival (OS) and leukemia-free survival.ResultsMK was identified in 172 patients (16%), most of whom (88%) presented with CK. Variables significantly associated with OS were age (hazard ratio [HR], 1.90; P < .001), bone marrow (BM) blast percentage (HR, 1.05; P < .001), hemoglobin level (HR, 1.71; P < .001), platelet count (HR, 1.41; P < .001), karyotype complexity (CK [three abnormalities]: HR, 1.81; P = .003; very CK [> three abnormalities]: HR, 2; P < .001), and abnormalities of chromosome 5 and/or 7 (HR, 1.89; P < .001). Variables significantly related to the risk of transformation to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) were higher BM blast percentage (HR, 1.12; P < .001) and karyotype complexity (CK: HR, 2.53; P = .002; very CK: HR, 2.77; P < .001).ConclusionAfter accounting for karyotype complexity, MK was not associated with OS or evolution to AML. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that the prognostic value of MK in MDS is not independent and is mainly the result of its strong association with number of chromosomal abnormalities.
Clinical Evaluation of Single-Shot and Readout-Segmented Diffusion-Weighted Imaging in Stroke Patients at 3 T
Authors: Morelli John , Porter David , Ai Fei , Gerdes Clint , Saettele Megan , Feiweier Thorsten , Padua Abraham , Dix James , Marra Michael , Rangaswamy Rajesh , Runge Val 
Published: January 2013

Background Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is most commonly performed utilizing a single-shot echo-planar imaging technique (ss-EPI). Susceptibility artifact and image blur are severe when this sequence is utilized at 3 T. Purpose To evaluate a readout-segmented approach to DWI MR in comparison with single-shot echo planar imaging for brain MRI. Material and Methods Eleven healthy volunteers and 14 patients with acute and early subacute infarctions underwent DWI MR examinations at 1.5 and 3T with ss-EPI and readout-segmented echo-planar (rs-EPI) DWI at equal nominal spatial resolutions. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) calculations were made, and two blinded readers ranked the scans in terms of high signal intensity bulk susceptibility artifact, spatial distortions, image blur, overall preference, and motion artifact. Results SNR and CNR were greatest with rs-EPI (8.1±0.2 SNR vs. 6.0±0.2; P <10-4 at 3T).Spatial distortions were greater with single-shot (0.23±0.03 at 3T; P <0.001) than with rs-EPI (0.12±0.02 at 3T).Combined with blur and artifact reduction, this resulted in a qualitative preference for the readout-segmented scans overall. Conclusion Substantial image quality improvements are possible with readout-segmented vs. single-shot EPI - the current clinical standard for DWI - regardless of field strength (1.5 or 3 T). This results in improved image quality secondary to greater real spatial resolution and reduced artifacts from susceptibility in MR imaging of the brain.
Adding Pharmacists to Primary Care Teams Increases Guideline-Concordant Antiplatelet Use in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: Results from a Randomized Trial
Authors: Gilani Fizza , Majumdar Sumit R , Johnson Jeffrey A , Tsuyuki Ross T , Lewanczuk Richard Z , Spooner Richard , Simpson Scot H 
Published: January 2013

BACKGROUND Antiplatelet therapy is recommended as part of a strategy to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, compliance with these guideline-recommended therapies appears to be less than ideal. OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of adding pharmacists to primary care teams on initiation of guideline-concordant antiplatelet therapy in type 2 diabetic patients. METHODS Prespecified secondary analysis of randomized trial data. In the main study, the pharmacist intervention included a complete medication history, limited physical examination, provision of guideline-concordant recommendations to the physician to optimize drug therapy, and 1-year follow-up. Controls received usual care without pharmacist interactions. Patients with an indication for antiplatelet therapy, but not using an antiplatelet drug at randomization were included in this substudy. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients using an antiplatelet drug at 1 year. RESULTS At randomization, 257 of 260 study patients had guideline-concordant indications for antiplatelet therapy, but less than half (121; 47%) were using an antiplatelet drug. Overall, 136 patients met inclusion criteria for the substudy (71 intervention and 65 controls): 60% were women, with mean (SD) age 58.0 (11.9) years, diabetes duration 5.3 (6.0) years, and hemoglobin A1c 7.6% (1.5). Sixteen (12%) had established cardiovascular disease at enrollment. At 1 year, 43 (61%) intervention patients and 15 (23%) controls were using an antiplatelet drug (38% absolute difference; number needed to treat, 3; relative increase, 2.6; 95% CI 1.5–4.7; p < 0.001). Of these 58 patients, 52 (90%) were using aspirin 81 mg daily. CONCLUSIONS Adding pharmacists to primary care teams significantly and substantially increased the proportion of type 2 diabetic patients using guideline-concordant antiplatelet therapy.
Irregular nonlinear operator equations:
Tikhonov's regularization and iterative approximation
Authors: Vasin Vladimir 
Published: January 2013

Abstract.
A problem of iterative approximation is investigated for a nonlinear
operator equation regularized by the Tikhonov method. The Levenberg–Marquardt method, its modified analogue, and the steepest descent method are used. For the first and second methods the regularizing properties of iterations are established
and the error of approximate solution is given. For the third method it was proved that iterations are stabilized in a neighborhood of the required solution and satisfy the strong Fejér property.
Computing transverse elasticity modulus of composites using boundary integral equation method
Authors: Gun Halit , Ekici Haluk 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
In this study, the boundary integral equation (BIE) method is presented for the prediction of the transverse elasticity modulus of composites. The details of the BIE model covering infinite friction (stick) contact conditions are given. Both fiber and matrix materials are assumed to display linear elastic material behavior. The formulation is applied to four composite samples, e-glass/epoxy, s-glass/epoxy, boron/epoxy, and T300/epoxy. It is shown that the computed results are in very good agreement with the Tsai-Hahn equation.
Electrochemical Oxidation and Determination of Nimesulide Using a Carbon Paste Electrode
Authors: Malode Shweta J. , Nandibewoor Sharanappa T. 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
The electrochemical oxidation of nimesulide, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, was studied in a phosphate medium at a carbon paste electrode under physiological condition. Cyclic voltammetric results showed one well-defined oxidation peak in the potential range from 0.4 to 1.4 V under different pH conditions, but the best results were obtained at pH 7.0. The oxidation process was irreversible and exhibited diffusion-controlled behavior. The response was evaluated with respect to pH and scan rate. The number of electrons transferred in the oxidation process was calculated and the probable oxidation mechanism was proposed. The proposed differential pulse voltammetric method was successfully applied to nimesulide determination in pharmaceutical samples. The analytical performance of this method has been evaluated for detection of analyte in urine as a real sample.
Gas-phase-IR and Solid-State Raman Investigation of Paracyclophanes
Authors: Herterich Jörg , Zeißner Susanne , Fischer Ingo 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
The vibrational structures of three paracyclophanes were investigated, ortho-dihydroxy-[2.2]paracyclophane (o-DHPC), mono-hydroxy[2.2]paracyclophane (MHPC) and 2,11-dithia[3.3]paracyclophane (2SPC). Gas-phase infrared spectroscopy helps to identify the most stable isomer of o-DHPC and MHPC in the gas phase, while FT-Raman spectroscopy was used to study S2PC. For o-DHPC the IR spectrum confirms that the EZ-rotamer dominates, while for MHPC the spectra agree better with the Z-rotamer, but are not unambiguous. The Raman spectrum of 2SPC showed a dominance of the trans isomer in the solid state.