bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Distinct basal ganglia hyperechogenicity in idiopathic basal ganglia calcification
Authors: Brüggemann Norbert , Schneider Susanne A. , Sander Thurid , Klein Christine , Hagenah Johann 
Published: August 2010

AbstractWe report a 67‐year‐old patient with idiopathic basal ganglia calcification (IBGC). He presented with progressive cognitive impairment, frontal lobe dysfunction, mild leg spasticity, and levodopa (L‐dopa)‐responsive parkinsonism. Transcranial sonography (TCS) revealed marked hyperechogenicity of the basal ganglia and periventricular spaces bilaterally. The detected signal alterations showed a fairly symmetric distribution and corresponded to the hyperintense calcifications depicted on the computer tomography brain scan. The combination of symmetric hyperechogenic areas adjacent to the lateral ventricles and of the basal ganglia may serve as an imaging marker characteristic of IBGC. Hyperechogenicity due to extended basal ganglia calcification as presented here is distinct from the pattern of hyperechogenicity caused by heavy metal accumulation, which is described to be less striking. In addition to atypical parkinsonian syndromes such as progressive supranuclear palsy and multiple system atrophy, IBGC is thus another differential diagnosis of parkinsonism with basal ganglia hyperechogenicity. © 2010 Movement Disorder Society.
Advanced magnetic resonance imaging in benign hereditary chorea: Study of two familial cases
Authors: Maccabelli Gloria , Pichiecchio Anna , Guala Andrea , Ponzio Michela , Palesi Fulvia , Maranzana, RT Diego , Poloni Guy Umberto , Bastianello Stefano , Danesino Cesare 
Published: August 2010

AbstractNo brain abnormalities are usually detected on conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in benign hereditary chorea (BHC); there are currently no studies with advanced techniques in literature. We investigated whether conventional and advanced MRI techniques could depict regional brain abnormalities in two familial BHC patients and 24 healthy controls. No brain abnormalities on conventional scans were detectable; also, no significant differences in fractional anisotropy of the basal nuclei were observed. Volumetric analysis showed a decreased volume of the striatum bilaterally compared with controls, whereas spectroscopy demonstrated a significant increased myoinositol/creatine ratio bilaterally, a reduction of choline/creatine ratio bilaterally, and of N‐acetyl‐aspartate/creatine in the right putamen. With the limits of the small sample size in the patient group, these data show that, despite the absence of macroscopic changes on conventional MRI, volumetric and metabolic abnormalities are present in the basal nuclei of BHC patients. © 2010 Movement Disorder Society.
What is the functional significance of nondominant arm tremor in essential tremor?
Authors: Louis Elan D. , Gerbin Marina , Mullaney Mary M. 
Published: August 2010

AbstractTremor in the dominant arm is often the focus of clinical attention in essential tremor (ET) yet many daily activities require both arms. The functional relevance of nondominant arm tremor has rarely been studied. In 181 right‐handed patients with ET, action tremor in each arm was rated using a clinical rating scale. Tremor disability was self‐reported and a performance‐based test of function was administered. Independently of tremor on the right, greater tremor severity on the left was associated with greater self‐reported disability (P = 0.02) and greater performance‐based dysfunction (P < 0.001). In 5.0% of patients, tremor was largely restricted to the nondominant arm. Nondominant arm tremor, independent of dominant arm tremor, had a significant functional correlate, contributing to both greater perceived and greater observable functional difficulty. In 5% of patients, tremor in the nondominant arm was the likely motivator for seeking care, which is another indication of its functional significance. © 2010 Movement Disorder Society.
POLG, but not PEO1, is a frequent cause of cerebellar ataxia in Central Europe
Authors: Schicks Julia , Synofzik Matthis , Schulte Claudia , Schöls Ludger 
Published: August 2010

AbstractNuclear genes, in particular mitochondrial polymerase gamma (POLG) and PEO1, have been increasingly recognized to cause mitochondrial diseases. Both genes assume a complementary role as part of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) replication fork and, accordingly, seem to present with largely overlapping phenotypical spectra. We assessed the frequency and phenotypic spectrum of PEO1 compared to POLG mutations in a cohort of 80 patients with cerebellar ataxia for which common repeat expansion diseases had been excluded. Patients were selected to present additional features previously described for PEO1 mutations, namely early age of onset, progressive external ophthalmoplegia (PEO), or epilepsy. Whereas PEO1 mutations were not found in our cohort, POLG frequently caused ataxia with PEO (47%), psychiatric comorbidities (20%) and, more rarely, with epilepsy (14%). Thus, PEO1 is rare in Central Europe even in those patients displaying characteristic phenotypic features. In contrast, POLG is rather common in Central European ataxia patients. It should be particularly considered in ataxia patients with PEO, psychiatric comorbidities, and/or sensory neuropathy, even if characteristic mitochondrial extra‐CNS features are absent. © 2010 Movement Disorder Society.
Free Energy Calculations of Mutations Involving a Tightly Bound Water Molecule and Ligand Substitutions in a Ligand‐Protein Complex
Authors: García‐Sosa Alfonso T. , Mancera Ricardo L. 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThe accurate calculation of the free energy of interaction of protein‐water‐ligand systems has an important role in molecular recognition and drug design that is often not fully considered. We report free energy thermodynamic integration calculations used to evaluate the effects of inclusion, neglect, and targeting and removal (i.e., systematic substitution by ligand functional groups) of an important, tightly bound, water molecule in the SH3 domain of Abl tyrosine kinase. The effects of this water molecule on the free energies of interaction of several Abl‐SH3 domain‐ligand systems reveal that there is an unfavourable free energy change associated with its removal into the bulk solvent. Only three substitutions by an additional functional group (out of methyl, ethyl, hydroxyl, amino, and amide groups) in the phenyl ring of a tyrosine in the peptide ligand resulted in a favourable change in the free energy of binding upon replacement of the ordered water molecule. This computational approach provides a direct route to the systematic and rigorous prediction of the thermodynamic influence of ordered, structural water molecules on ligand modification and optimization in drug design by calculating free energy changes in protein‐water‐ligand systems.
The One‐Class Classification Approach to Data Description and to Models Applicability Domain
Authors: Baskin Igor I. , Kireeva Natalia , Varnek Alexandre 
Published: August 2010

AbstractIn this paper, we associate an applicability domain (AD) of QSAR/QSPR models with the area in the input (descriptor) space in which the density of training data points exceeds a certain threshold. It could be proved that the predictive performance of the models (built on the training set) is larger for the test compounds inside the high density area, than for those outside this area. Instead of searching a decision surface separating high and low density areas in the input space, the one‐class classification 1‐SVM approach looks for a hyperplane in the associated feature space. Unlike other reported in the literature AD definitions, this approach: (i) is purely “data‐based”, i.e. it assigns the same AD to all models built on the same training set, (ii) provides results that depend only on the initial descriptors pool generated for the training set, (iii) can be used for the huge number of descriptors, as well as in the framework of structured kernel‐based approaches, e.g., chemical graph kernels. The developed approach has been applied to improve the performance of QSPR models for stability constants of the complexes of organic ligands with alkaline‐earth metals in water.
Terpolymerization of Ethylene/Propylene/Diene Monomers Using (2‐PhInd)2ZrCl2 Metallocene Catalysts
Authors: Ahmadjo Saeid , Arabi Hassan , Nekoomanesh Mehdi , Zohuri Gholam Hossein , Mortazavi Mohammad Mehdi , Naderi Ghasem 
Published: August 2010

Abstract(2‐PhInd)2ZrCl2 was synthesized and used for the first time in the terpolymerization of ethylene, propylene and 5‐ethylidiene‐2‐norbornene (ENB). It showed appropriate activity, high incorporation ability of the comonomers and good workup in terpolymerization. Increasing the [Al]/[Zr] ratio up to 188:1 increased ethylene content and decreased the ENB content of the terpolymer. The higher the polymerization temperature, the lower the ethylene content and higher the ENB content that was obtained. A higher propylene content in the P/E feed ratio and ENB concentration led to higher ENB content of the EPDM product. A compounded EPDM showed good curing properties compared to a commercial EPDM.magnified image
Nonperiodic preventive maintenance for repairable systems
Authors: Lin Zu‐Liang , Huang Yeu‐Shiang 
Published: August 2010

AbstractAs a complex system with multiple components usually deteriorates with age, preventive maintenance (PM) is often performed to keep the system functioning in a good state to prolong its effective age. In this study, a nonhomogeneous Poisson process with a power law failure intensity is used to describe the deterioration of a repairable system, and the optimal nonperiodic PM schedule can be determined to minimize the expected total cost per unit time. However, since the determination of such optimal PM policies may involve numerous uncertainties, which typically make the analyses difficult to perform because of the scarcity of data, a Bayesian decision model, which utilizes all available information effectively, is also proposed for determining the optimal PM strategies. A numerical example with a real failure data set is used to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The results show that the optimal schedules derived by Bayesian approach are relatively more conservative than that for non‐Bayesian approach because of the uncertainty of the intensity function, and if the intensity function are updated using the collected data set, which indicates more severe deterioration than the prior belief, replacing the entire system instead of frequent PM activities before serious deterioration is suggested. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2010
Some elementary ideas concerning the complexity of system structure
Authors: Li Shuang , Lynch James 
Published: August 2010

AbstractA system of iid Bernoulli components is the starting point in the statistical theory of reliability. This simplification allows for the development of a rich, though elementary, theory for the structure of the system. Two representations play a prominent role in the study of structural reliability. One is the minimal path set representation and the other is the signature representation. By combining the two representations with the Gibbs measure for the state of components, one obtains terms that can be interpreted as the complexity of the system structure. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2010
An extensible modeling framework for dynamic reassignment and rerouting in cooperative airborne operations
Authors: Murray Chase C. , Karwan Mark H. 
Published: August 2010

AbstractUnmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), increasingly vital to the success of military operations, operate in a complex and dynamic environment, sometimes in concert with manned aircraft. We present an extensible modeling framework for the solution to the dynamic resource management (DRM) problem, where airborne resources must be reassigned to time‐sensitive tasks in response to changes in battlespace conditions. The DRM problem is characterized by diverse tasks with time windows, heterogeneous resources with fuel‐ and payload‐capacity limitations, and multiple competing objectives. We propose an integer linear programing formulation for this problem, where mathematical feasibility is guaranteed. Although motivated by airborne military operations, the proposed general modeling framework is applicable to a wide array of settings, such as disaster relief operations. Additionally, land‐ or water‐based operations may be modeled within this framework, as well as any combination of manned and unmanned vehicles. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2010
Finding cancer stem cells: are aldehyde dehydrogenases fit for purpose?
Authors: Alison Malcolm R , Guppy Naomi J , Lim Susan ML , Nicholson Linda J 
Published: August 2010

AbstractDespite many years of intensive effort, there is surprisingly little consensus on the most suitable markers with which to locate and isolate stem cells from adult tissues. By comparison, the study of cancer stem cells is still in its infancy; so, unsurprisingly, there is great uncertainty as to the identity of these cells. Stem cell markers can be broadly categorized into molecular determinants of self‐renewal, clonogenicity, multipotentiality, adherence to the niche, and longevity. This review assesses the utility of recognizing cancer stem cells by virtue of high expression of aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs), probably significant determinants of cell survival through their ability to detoxify many potentially cytotoxic molecules, and contributing to drug resistance. Antibodies are available against the ALDH enzyme family, but the vast majority of studies have used cell sorting techniques to enrich for cells expressing these enzymes. Live cells expressing high ALDH activity are usually identified by the ALDEFLUOR kit and sorted by fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). For many human tumours, but notably breast cancer, cell selection based upon ALDH activity appears to be a useful marker for enriching for cells with tumour‐initiating activity (presumed cancer stem cells) in immunodeficient mice, and indeed the frequency of so‐called ALDHbri cells in many tumours can be an independent prognostic indicator. Copyright © 2010 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Pin1 acts as a modulator of cell proliferation through alteration in NF‐κB but not β‐catenin/TCF4 signalling in a subset of endometrial carcinoma cells
Authors: Saegusa Makoto , Hashimura Miki , Kuwata Takeshi 
Published: August 2010

AbstractProlyl isomerase Pin1 is frequently up‐regulated in a variety of human malignancies, modulating signalling in several oncogenic pathways, including those involving NF‐κB and β‐catenin. Our previous study provided evidence that alterations in these signal pathways are essential events during trans‐differentiation of endometrial carcinoma (Em Ca) cells. Here we focused on the functional roles of Pin1. In normal endometrium, Pin1 expression showed a stepwise decrease from proliferative to secretory phases during the menstrual cycle, correlating positively with cell proliferation and expression of several cell cycle‐related molecules including E2F1 and pRb. Transfection of E2F1 caused transactivation of Pin1, indicating control by E2F1/Rb pathways. In Em Cas with morules, Pin1 expression was found to be significantly increased in glandular but not in morular components, correlating inversely with nuclear accumulation of β‐catenin. Overexpression also caused an increase in the stability of nuclear p65, leading to enhancement of NF‐κB‐mediated transactivation of the cyclin D1 gene, in contrast to minimal inhibition of β‐catenin/TCF4 transcription activity. These findings indicate that Pin1 may play an important role in preserving cell proliferative activity in glandular carcinoma components through enhancement of NF‐κB signalling, but its down‐regulation may be a key signal for induction of trans‐differentiation of Em Ca cells, contributing to a shift from NF‐κB to β‐catenin/TCF signalling pathways. Copyright © 2010 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Preparation of nanocomposite dispersions based on cellulose whiskers and acrylic copolymer by miniemulsion polymerization: Effect of the silane content
Authors: Ben Mabrouk Ayman , Kaddami Hamid , Magnin Albert , Belgacem Mohamed Naceur , Dufresne Alain , Boufi Sami 
Published: August 2010

AbstractA one‐step method was used to prepare stable aqueous nanocomposite dispersions based on cellulose whiskers extracted from the rachis of the date palm tree and a poly(styrene‐co‐2‐ethyl hexylacrylate) copolymer via miniemulsion polymerization. A reactive silane, i.e., methacryloxypropyl triethoxysilane was added to stabilize the dispersion and favor the anchoring of the whiskers on polymer particles. Dynamic light scattering was used to study the effect of the silane and whiskers contents on the average particle size of the polymer. Nanocomposites materials were prepared from these dispersions using a casting/evaporation method. The effect of the silane and whiskers contents on the thermal and mechanical properties were studied using differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2011. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers
Incorporation of reactive silver‐tricalcium phosphate nanoparticles into polyamide 6 allows preparation of self‐disinfecting fibers
Authors: Gerber Lukas C. , Mohn Dirk , Fortunato Giuseppino , Astasov‐Frauenhoffer Monika , Imfeld Thomas , Waltimo Tuomas , Zehnder Matthias , Stark Wendelin J. 
Published: August 2010

AbstractPolymer fibers are used for a wide range of materials in contact with the human body. Since bacterial contamination may cause diseases, it is desirable to provide fibers with antimicrobial properties. This work investigates the ability of silver‐tricalcium phosphate nanoparticles (Ag/TCP) to build a reactive system when incorporated in polyamide fibers. In the presence of bacteria, the TCP carrier particles are biodegraded and trigger the release of silver. For this work, Ag/TCP nanoparticles (1.3 wt% silver) were produced by flame spray synthesis and subsequently processed with polyamide 6 to fibers (125‐μm thick, containing 260 ppm silver) with the aid of extrusion and melt‐spinning for subsequent antibacterial testing. The fibers were contaminated with the clinically relevant strains Escherichia coli or Streptococcus sanguinis, respectively. The reactive fibers demonstrated significantly reduced plate count within 24 h (the number of colony forming units was reduced by 99.999% with E. coli and 99.6% with S. sanguinis compared with pure PA6 reference fibers). These reactive properties of easily integrated antibacterial silver suggest an implementation of intelligent fibers to a wide range of applications. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2011. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers
Influence of molecular weight on rheological, thermal, and mechanical properties of PEEK
Authors: Yuan Mingjun , Galloway Jeffrey A. , Hoffman Richard J. , Bhatt Sanjiv 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThis study focuses on the influence of molecular weight on the rheological, thermal, and mechanical behavior of poly(ether‐ether‐ketone) (PEEK), a semicrystalline high‐performance polymer. The results show that the molecular weight of PEEK has significant influence on its rheological, thermal, and mechanical behavior. It was found that PEEK has the unique characteristic of two shear‐thinning regions. The shear viscosity and the stress relaxation time of PEEK increase significantly as molecular weight increases. In general, the Cox‐Merz rule is valid for all grades of PEEK. As molecular weight increases, the melting temperature of PEEK decreases slightly, but its isothermal and nonisothermal crystallization temperatures drop dramatically. As molecular weight increases, the crystallinity, the crystallization rate, and the magnitude of crystallization activation energy decrease. The crystallization kinetics study indicates that PEEK tends to form spherical crystalline structures, regardless of its molecular weight. As molecular weight increases, the tensile strength at yield, the tensile modulus, and the flexural modulus of PEEK decrease slightly, whereas the tensile strength at break, the tensile strain at break, the modulus of toughness, and the impact strength of PEEK increase significantly. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2011. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers
Silica/polystyrene and silica/polystyrene‐b‐polymethacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane hybrid nanoparticles via surface‐initiated ATRP and comparison of their wettabilities
Authors: Yu Hai‐Jiang , Luo Zheng‐Hong 
Published: August 2010

AbstractBoth silica/polystyrene (SiO2/PS) and silica/polystyrene‐b‐polymethacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (SiO2/PS‐b‐PMPTS) hybrid nanoparticles were synthesized via surface‐initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI‐ATRP) from SiO2 nanoparticles. The growths of all polymers via ATRP from the SiO2 surfaces were well controlled as demonstrated by the macromolecular characteristics of the grafted chains. Their wettabilities were measured and compared by water contact angle (WCA) and surface roughness. The results show that the nanoparticles possess hydrophobic surface properties. The static WCA of SiO2/PS‐b‐PMPTS hybrid nanoparticles is smaller than that of SiO2/PS hybrid nanoparticles, meanwhile, the surface roughness of SiO2/PS‐b‐PMPTS hybrid nanoparticles is yet slightly rougher than that of SiO2/PS hybrid nanoparticles, which shows that the combination and competition of surface chemistry and roughness of a solid material can finally determine its wettability. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2011. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers
Comparison of the crystalline quality of homoepitaxially grown CVD diamond layer on cleaved and polished substrates
Authors: Araújo D. , Bustarret E. , Tajani A. , Achatz P. , Gutiérrez M. , García A. J. , Villar M. P. 
Published: August 2010

AbstractA transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study, comparing homoepitaxial diamond layers grown on different substrate surface preparation states and crystallographic orientation is presented. Quality of epilayers grown on {111} cleaved surface and on {001} polished one is evaluated in terms of crystalline defects. Focused ion beam (FIB‐dual beam) sample preparations are observed by TEM using the {111}, {400} and {022} reflections of the [011] pole. Burgers vector analysis allowed to conclude the presence of 60° dislocations oriented along all the different 〈110〉 directions in the cleaved sample, while no dislocations are observed on the polished one. A complete dislocation analysis is performed for that sample. The presence of dislocations in an undoped (i.e. fully lattice matched) epilayer is surprising; and is probably induced by atomic steps, generated by the cleavage process. This notes down the importance of the substrate if high quality diamond epilayers want to be grown.