bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Relationship between serum response factor and androgen receptor in prostate cancer
Authors: Prencipe Maria , O'Neill Amanda , O'Hurley Gillian , Nguyen Lan K. , Fabre Aurelie , Bjartell Anders , Gallagher William M. , Morrissey Colm , Kay Elaine W. , Watson R. William 
Published: August 2015

BACKGROUNDSerum response factor (SRF) is an important transcription factor in castrate‐resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Since CRPC is associated with androgen receptor (AR) hypersensitivity, we investigated the relationship between SRF and AR.MATERIALS AND METHODSTranscriptional activity was assessed by luciferase assay. Cell proliferation was measured by MTT and flow cytometry. Protein expression in patients was assessed by immunohistochemistry.RESULTSTo investigate AR involvement in SRF response to androgen, AR expression was down‐regulated using siRNA. This resulted in the abrogation of SRF induction post‐DHT. Moreover, DHT stimulation failed to induce SRF transcriptional activity in AR‐negative PC346 DCC cells, which was only restored following AR over‐expression. Next, SRF expression was down‐regulated by siRNA, resulting in AR increased transcriptional activity in castrate‐resistant LNCaP Abl cells but not in the parental LNCaP. This negative feedback loop in the resistant cells was confirmed by immunohistochemistry which showed a negative correlation between AR and SRF expression in CRPC bone metastases and a positive correlation in androgen‐naïve prostatectomies. Cell proliferation was next assessed following SRF inhibition, demonstrating that SRF inhibition is more effective than AR inhibition in castrate‐resistant cells.CONCLUSIONOur data support SRF as a promising therapeutic target in combination with current treatments. Prostate 75:1704–1717, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Optimal full matching for survival outcomes: a method that merits more widespread use
Authors: Austin Peter C. , Stuart Elizabeth A. 
Published: August 2015

SummaryMatching on the propensity score is a commonly used analytic method for estimating the effects of treatments on outcomes. Commonly used propensity score matching methods include nearest neighbor matching and nearest neighbor caliper matching. Rosenbaum (1991) proposed an optimal full matching approach, in which matched strata are formed consisting of either one treated subject and at least one control subject or one control subject and at least one treated subject. Full matching has been used rarely in the applied literature. Furthermore, its performance for use with survival outcomes has not been rigorously evaluated. We propose a method to use full matching to estimate the effect of treatment on the hazard of the occurrence of the outcome. An extensive set of Monte Carlo simulations were conducted to examine the performance of optimal full matching with survival analysis. Its performance was compared with that of nearest neighbor matching, nearest neighbor caliper matching, and inverse probability of treatment weighting using the propensity score. Full matching has superior performance compared with that of the two other matching algorithms and had comparable performance with that of inverse probability of treatment weighting using the propensity score. We illustrate the application of full matching with survival outcomes to estimate the effect of statin prescribing at hospital discharge on the hazard of post‐discharge mortality in a large cohort of patients who were discharged from hospital with a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. Optimal full matching merits more widespread adoption in medical and epidemiological research. © 2015 The Authors. Statistics in Medicine Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Diamantartige Kohlenstoffschichten steigern die Effizienz
Authors: Leson Andreas , Englberger Gregor , Hammer Daniel , Makowski Stefan , Meyer Carl‐Friedrich , Leonhard Michael , Scheibe Hans‐Joachim , Weihnacht Volker 
Published: August 2015

AbstractSteigende Energiepreise sowie zunehmende Folgen des Klimawandels aufgrund der Emission von Treibhausgasen haben die Notwendigkeit zum Energiesparen in den letzten Jahren verstärkt in das öffentliche Bewusstsein gerückt. Für den Einsatz als reibungsmindernde Beschichtung eignen sich insbesondere kohlenstoffbasierte Beschichtungen, die auch DLC‐Schichten genannt werden (DLC = diamond‐like carbon). Dabei sind vor allem wasserstofffreie DLC‐Beschichtungen, die als ta‐C‐Schichten bezeichnet werden, von Interesse, da diese im Vergleich zu Standard‐DLC‐Schichten eine nochmals deutlich gesteigerte Härte und damit Verschleißfestigkeit aufweisen. Zudem zeichnen sich diese Schichten in Kombination mit speziellen Schmierstoffen durch einen teilweise extrem niedrigen Reibungskoeffizienten aus. Die Erzeugung von ta‐C‐Beschichtungen erfolgt aufgrund ihrer besonderen Eigenschaften mit PVD‐Verfahren. So lassen sie sich mit einem lasergesteuerten gepulsten Bogenverfahren, dem sogenannten Laser‐Arc‐Verfahren, herstellen. Dieses zeichnet sich durch eine vergleichsweise hohe Beschichtungsrate sowie eine gute Langzeitstabilität aus und eignet sich daher auch für einen Einsatz in der industriellen Produktion.
A Novel Use of Regional Anesthesia for Spastic Hemiplegia Evaluation and Treatment: A Case Report
Authors: Nagpal Ameet S. , Eckmann Maxim S. , Benfield Jon 
Published: August 2015

AbstractSpastic hemiplegia is a common sequela of stroke. Spasticity that is not optimally reduced with systemic therapy is often treated with intramuscular botulinum toxin injections. Spastic tone can increase the difficulty of appropriately positioning the patient for botulinum toxin injections, lengthen procedure duration, and increase periprocedural pain. Our patient, a 53‐year‐old woman, was unable to be adequately positioned to receive botulinum toxin injections to her left upper extremity because of challenging flexion synergy posturing and related positional pain. A left interscalene brachial plexus local anesthetic block administered under ultrasound guidance was used to produce both temporary dense muscle relaxation and profound anesthesia, facilitating successful and comfortable botulinum toxin injections in this patient.
Developing a Vortical Stator Assembly to Improve the Performance of Drag-Type Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines
Authors: Chen T. -Y. , Chen Y. -Y. 
Published: August 2015

AbstractIn this study, a vortical stator assembly (VSA) was developed to improve the rotor performance, surrounding a drag-type, vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT). A rotor with six half-tube blades was employed. The VSA consisted of a number of guide vanes, which were to guide the air tangentially into the VSA. The design was to generate a vortical flow inside the VSA, to reduce the negative torque of the returning rotor blade, and to increase the air speed into the rotor. Wind tunnel model tests were conducted to investigate how the VSAs affected rotor performance. Four VSAs were developed in this study, employing 4, 6, 8 and 12 guide vanes that were 24cm in width, and one 6-guide-vane VSA employing guide vane widths of 12, 18, 24 and 30cm. Results indicated that VSAs can substantially augment the rotor performance, depending on the number and length of guide vanes. The 6-guide-vane VSA produced the largest effect on the rotor performance, and the optimal VSA diameter was approximately 1.82 times the rotor diameter. At an air speed of 6m/s, the optimal VSA helps to increase the free-running rotational speed by 318%, the torque output by 200%, and the maximal power output by 910%.
Analysis of Mixed Convective Heat and Mass Transfer on Peristaltic Flow of Fene-P Fluid with Chemical Reaction
Authors: Asghar Z. , Ali N. 
Published: August 2015

AbstractThis study presents the influence of heat and mass transfer on peristaltic transport of Finitely Extensible Nonlinear Elastic Peterlin (FENE-P) fluid in the presence of chemical reaction. It is assumed that all the fluid properties, except the density are constant. The Boussinesq approximation which relates density change to temperature and concentration changes is used in formulating buoyancy force terms in the momentum equation. Moreover, we neglect viscous dissipation and include diffusion-thermal (Dufour) and thermal-diffusion (Soret) effects in the present analysis. By the consideration of such important aspects the flow equations become highly nonlinear and coupled. In order to make the problem tractable we have adopted widely used assumptions of long wave length and low Reynolds number. An exact solution of the simplified coupled linear equations for the temperature and concentration has been obtained whereas numerical solution is obtained for dimensionless stream function and pressure gradient. The effects of different parameters on velocity field, temperature and concentration fields and trapping phenomenon are highlighted through various graphs. Numerical integration has been performed to analyze pressure rise per wavelength.
Shadows in Caves? A Re-Assessment of Public Religion and Secularization in England Today
Authors: Wood Matthew 
Published: August 2015

AbstractCritics of secularization theory have recently focused upon religion’s public role to put forward theses about de-differentiation, post-secularity and desecularization. A strong defence of secularization theory has not been forthcoming because its proponents have tended to assume, rather than demonstrate, that religion has lost social significance. Drawing upon a neosecularization theoretical approach that highlights the scope of religious authority, this article examines evidence from qualitative studies of the attempts of English mainstream Christian organizations to bring religious messages into the public space and to engage in welfare provision. This re-assessment shows that religious organizations are increasingly co-opted by secular authorities, in ways neither anticipated by, nor explored in, orthodox accounts of secularization. But rather than blurring “the religious” and “the secular,” their distinction is heightened. This situation involves an interlinked and mutually-reinforced declining scope of religious authority at the macro-, meso- and micro-levels, which, it is proposed, constitutes a state ofadvancedsecularization.
The Power of Institutional Legacies: How Nineteenth Century Housing Associations Shaped Twentieth Century Housing Regime Differences between Germany and the United States
Authors: Kohl Sebastian 
Published: August 2015

AbstractComparative welfare and production regime literature has so far neglected the considerable cross-country differences in the sphere of housing. The United States became a country of homeowners living in cities of single-family houses in the twentieth century. Its housing policy was focused on supporting private mortgage indebtedness with only residual public housing. Germany, on the contrary, remained a tenant-dominated country with cities of multi-unit buildings. Its housing policy has been focused on construction subsidies to non-profit housing associations and incentives for savings earmarked for financing housing. The article claims that these differences are the outcome of different housing institutions that had already emerged in the nineteenth century. Germany developed non-profit housing associations and financed housing through mortgage banks, both privileging the construction of rental apartments. In the United States, savings and loan associations favored mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family house construction. When governments intervened during housing crises in the 1920/1930s, they aimed their subsidies at these existing institutions. Thus, US housing policy became finance-biased in favor of savings and loan associations, while Germany supported the housing cooperatives.
Leishmania infection modulates beta-1 integrin activation and alters the kinetics of monocyte spreading over fibronectin
Authors: Figueira Cláudio Pereira , Carvalhal Djalma Gomes Ferrão , Almeida Rafaela Andrade , Hermida Micely d’ El-Rei , Touchard Dominique , Robert Phillipe , Pierres Anne , Bongrand Pierre , dos-Santos Washington LC 
Published: August 2015

AbstractContact with Leishmania leads to a decreases in mononuclear phagocyte adherence to connective tissue. In this work, we studied the early stages of bond formation between VLA4 and fibronectin, measured the kinetics of membrane alignment and the monocyte cytoplasm spreading area over a fibronectin-coated surface and studied the expression of high affinity integrin epitope in uninfected and Leishmania-infected human monocytes. Our results show that the initial VLA4-mediated interaction of Leishmania-infected monocyte with a fibronectin-coated surface is preserved, however, the later stage, leukocyte spreading over the substrate is abrogated in Leishmania-infected cells. The median of spreading area was 72 [55–89] μm2 for uninfected and 41 [34–51] μm2 for Leishmania-infected monocyte. This cytoplasm spread was inhibited using an anti-VLA4 blocking antibody. After the initial contact with the fibronectrin-coated surface, uninfected monocyte quickly spread the cytoplasm at a 15 μm2 s−1 ratio whilst Leishmania-infected monocytes only made small contacts at a 5.5 μm2 s−1 ratio. The expression of high affinity epitope by VLA4 (from 39 ± 21% to 14 ± 3%); and LFA1 (from 37 ± 32% to 18 ± 16%) molecules was reduced in Leishmania-infected monocytes. These changes in phagocyte function may be important for parasite dissemination and distribution of lesions in leishmaniasis.
Sex hormones have pervasive effects on thymic epithelial cells
Authors: Dumont-Lagacé Maude , St-Pierre Charles , Perreault Claude 
Published: August 2015

AbstractThe goal of our study was to evaluate at the systems-level, the effect of sex hormones on thymic epithelial cells (TECs). To this end, we sequenced the transcriptome of cortical and medullary TECs (cTECs and mTECs) from three groups of 6 month-old mice: males, females and males castrated at four weeks of age. In parallel, we analyzed variations in the size of TEC subsets in those three groups between 1 and 12 months of age. We report that sex hormones have pervasive effects on the transcriptome of TECs. These effects were exquisitely TEC-subset specific. Sexual dimorphism was particularly conspicuous in cTECs. Male cTECs displayed low proliferation rates that correlated with low expression of Foxn1 and its main targets. Furthermore, male cTECs expressed relatively low levels of genes instrumental in thymocyte expansion (e.g., Dll4) and positive selection (Psmb11 and Ctsl). Nevertheless, cTECs were more abundant in males than females. Accumulation of cTECs in males correlated with differential expression of genes regulating cell survival in cTECs and cell differentiation in mTECs. The sexual dimorphism of TECs highlighted here may be mechanistically linked to the well-recognized sex differences in susceptibility to infections and autoimmune diseases.
DBC1/CCAR2 is involved in the stabilization of androgen receptor and the progression of osteosarcoma
Authors: Wagle Sajeev , Park See-Hyoung , Kim Kyoung Min , Moon Young Jae , Bae Jun Sang , Kwon Keun Sang , Park Ho Sung , Lee Ho , Moon Woo Sung , Kim Jung Ryul , Jang Kyu Yun 
Published: August 2015

AbstractDeleted in breast cancer 1 (DBC1/CCAR2) is a protein of interest because of its diverse roles in tumorigenesis and its possible role as an androgen receptor (AR) co-activator. However, there are limited studies on the role of DBC1 in osteosarcoma. Therefore, we investigated the role of DBC1 and AR and their relationship in osteosarcoma. Immunohistochemical expression of DBC1 and AR was significantly associated with higher clinical stage and higher histologic grade and predicted shorter survival. Especially, DBC1 expression was an independent prognostic indicator of overall survival (p = 0.005) and relapse-free survival (p = 0.004) by multivariate analysis. In osteosarcoma cell lines, U2OS and SaOS2, the knock down of DBC1 and AR with siRNA significantly reduced cellular proliferation and inhibited proliferation-related signaling. In addition, the knock down of DBC1 and AR decreased the invasion activity and inhibited invasion-related signaling of osteosarcoma cells. Interestingly, DBC1 affects the stabilization of AR protein via a mechanism involving the ubiquitination of AR. Proteosome-mediated degradation and poly-ubiquitination of AR were increased with the knock-down of DBC1. In conclusion, this study has shown that DBC1 is involved in the stabilization of AR protein and DBC1-AR pathways might be involved in the progression of osteosarcoma.
The Brain as Contributor of Plasminogen Activator to the Blood
Authors: Menon I. Sudhakaran , Muscat-Baron J. , Weightman D. , Dewar H. A. 
Published: August 2015

1. A considerable increase in the plasminogen activator content in the internal jugular venous blood as compared with that in the arterial blood was found in fifty patients.
2. Inhalation of 5% carbon dioxide in air was associated with increased plasminogen activator content in blood from the internal jugular vein in all the eight patients treated in this way.
3. It is suggested that the human brain makes a contribution of plasminogen activator to the circulation of the body and that the amount contributed is determined by the rate of the blood flow.
The Action of Pyridoxine in Primary Hyperoxaluria
Authors: Gibbs Dorothy A. , Watts R. W. E. 
Published: August 2015

1. Evidence of deficiency of, antagonism to, or abnormal dependency upon pyridoxine has been sought in four patients with primary hyperoxaluria. The urinary excretion of kynurenine, 3-hydroxykyurenine, 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid, kynurenic acid and xanthurenic acid, before and after a loading dose of l-tryptophan was used to assess pyridoxine nutrition.
2. Three of the four patients studied had abnormal l-tryptophan metabolite excretion patterns, but these were not of the type which is associated with abnormalities of pyridoxine nutrition.
3. The changes which were observed are compatible with impaired conversion of kynurenine to 3-hydroxykynurenine by the NADH2 dependent kynurenine 3-hydroxylase (EC 1.99.1.5) enzyme system.
4. Large doses of pyridoxine hydrochloride reduced the urinary oxalate excretion by two of the patients to levels which were intermediate between the normal range and the pre-treatment values. This effect was maintained for 6 months, which was the longest period of observation.
5. It is concluded that this action of pyridoxine is mediated by a mechanism which does not involve the correction of an abnormality of pyridoxine metabolism.
Studies on the Identity of a Vascular Permeability Factor of Renal Origin
Authors: Cuthbert M. F. , Peart W. S. 
Published: August 2015

1. The administration of crude renal extract to bilaterally nephrectomized rats causes an increase in vascular permeability to plasma proteins. This is associated with a fall in plasma volume. The active material resembles the enzyme renin in pressor activity, heat-lability, pH range of activity and molecular size.
2. To test the possibility that renin might be responsible, renin was extracted from rat renal cortical tissue using methods similar to those used for the purification of pig renin: these involved saline extraction, protein precipitation, freeze drying, ion-exchange and gel-filtration.
3. The final preparation had a pressor activity some 300 times that of the initial saline extract and gel-filtration suggested that the molecular size of rat renin is 40 000–50 000. Assay for pressor and vascular permeability activity at selected stages in the purification showed that both activities ran parallel and could not be dissociated. These results provide strong evidence that the vascular permeability factor is in fact renin.
4. Increase in vascular permeability after injection of semi-purified material could still be demonstrated after bilateral adrenalectomy, though the effect was reduced.
5. In all experiments in which vascular permeability was increased and in which blood pressure was measured, a considerable and sustained rise in blood pressure occurred. It is possible that the increase in blood pressure is causally related to the increase in permeability.
Vasodilator Properties of Ethacrynic Acid in the Perfused Dog Kidney
Authors: Dluhy R. G. , Wolf G. L. , Lauler D. P. 
Published: August 2015

1. Ethacrynic acid reduces renal vascular resistance of the isolated dog kidney.
2. Ethacrynic acid induced natriuresis can occur despite stabilization of renal blood flow, but augmentation of blood flow increases the natriuretic response.
3. Vasodilatation and natriuresis after ethacrynic acid administration occurred together in time and were not separable. The onset and peak natriuretic and vasodilator responses frequently coincided in time.
4. Ethacrynic acid induced vasodilatation could be inhibited by loss of body fluid. The rise in resistance could be avoided by adequate volume replacement and by prevention of volume depletion.
Micropuncture Studies of Chloride and Bicarbonate Absorption in the Proximal Renal Tubule of the Rat in Respiratory Acidosis and in Chloride Depletion
Authors: Warren Y. , Luke R. G. , Kashgarian M. , Levitin H. 
Published: August 2015

1. Micropuncture studies of chloride and bicarbonate absorption in the proximal tubule under free flow conditions were performed during exposure to 12% CO2 in air, during recovery from CO2 on a low chloride diet with and without concomitant sodium restriction, and during re-exposure to 12% CO2 in air with continuing chloride restriction.
2. After 3 hr of exposure to CO2 there was a significant increase in the TF/P Cl (ratio of tubular fluid to plasma chloride) in the proximal tubule and a significant increase in urinary chloride excretion with a drop in the plasma chloride. Maximum plasma bicarbonate and TF/P Cl levels were reached at 24 hr with no further increase after 48 hr exposure to CO2. Bicarbonate absorption in the proximal tubule formed a reciprocal pattern to chloride absorption.
3. It is concluded, in conjunction with the accompanying balance experiments of Luke et al. (1970), that a rising TF/P Cl in the proximal tubule correlates with increasing proximal tubular absorption of bicarbonate, a rising plasma bicarbonate, and an increasing urinary acid excretion, but not necessarily with external chloride balance, which is regulated by a more distal site in the nephron. In respiratory acidosis and chloride depletion the TF/P Cl in the proximal tubule reflects the intratubular dynamics which influence bicarbonate absorption.
Changes of Renin in Individual Glomeruli in Response to Variations of Sodium Intake in the Rabbit
Authors: Gavras H. , Brown J. J. , Lever A. F. , Robertson J. I. S. 
Published: August 2015

1. Quantities of renin associated with single deep and superficial glomeruli were compared in sodium-loaded and sodium-deprived rabbits.
2. Significantly greater quantities of renin were found in association with both superficial and deep glomeruli in the sodium-deprived animals.
Circulatory Reflexes in Cerebral Ischaemia Involving Different Vascular Territories
Authors: Gross M. 
Published: August 2015

1. Circulatory reflex function was assessed in a series of subjects with chronic ischaemic cerebrovascular disease and compared with a group of subjects with no known cerebrovascular disease by intra-arterial pressure responses to Valsalva's manoeuvre.
2. Circulatory reflexes were impaired in the patients with cerebrovascular disease as compared with controls, but statistical analysis indicated that age was a more important factor than chronic cerebrovascular disease in producing the deterioration.
3. No significant difference was found in the circulatory reflex function of subjects with ischaemia in the internal carotid territory when compared with those having ischaemia in the vertebrobasilar territory.
4. Combined ischaemia in both carotid and vertebrobasilar territories significantly impaired the cardioaccelerator but not the vasoconstrictor response to Valsalva's manoeuvre.
5. No significant difference was found in circulatory reflex function in subjects who had suffered cerebral infarction as opposed to transient ischaemic attacks.