bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Treatment of experimental arthritis by inducing immune tolerance with human adipose‐derived mesenchymal stem cells
Authors: González Manuel A. , Gonzalez‐Rey Elena , Rico Laura , Büscher Dirk , Delgado Mario 
Published: March 2009

AbstractObjectiveRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease caused by loss of immunologic self tolerance and characterized by chronic joint inflammation. Adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were recently found to suppress effector T cell responses and to have beneficial effects in various immune disorders. The purpose of this study was to examine a new therapeutic strategy for RA based on the administration of human adipose‐derived MSCs (AD‐MSCs).MethodsDBA/1 mice with collagen‐induced arthritis were treated with human AD‐MSCs after disease onset, and clinical scores were determined. Inflammatory response was determined by measuring the levels of different mediators of inflammation in the joints and serum. The Th1‐mediated autoreactive response was evaluated by determining the proliferative response and cytokine profile of draining lymph node cells stimulated with the autoantigen. The number of Treg cells and the suppressive capacity on self‐reactive Th1 cells were also determined.ResultsSystemic infusion of human AD‐MSCs significantly reduced the incidence and severity of experimental arthritis. This therapeutic effect was mediated by down‐regulating the 2 deleterious disease components: the Th1‐driven autoimmune and inflammatory responses. Human AD‐MSCs decreased the production of various inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, decreased antigen‐specific Th1/Th17 cell expansion, and induced the production of antiinflammatory interleukin‐10 in lymph nodes and joints. Human AD‐MSCs also induced de novo generation of antigen‐specific CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ Treg cells with the capacity to suppress self‐reactive T effector responses.ConclusionHuman AD‐MSCs emerge as key regulators of immune tolerance by inducing the generation/activation of Treg cells and are thus attractive candidates for a cell‐based therapy for RA.
CTLA4/ICOS gene variants and haplotypes are associated with rheumatoid arthritis and primary biliary cirrhosis in the Canadian population
Authors: Walker Erin J. , Hirschfield Gideon M. , Xu Chun , Lu Yan , Liu Xiangdong , Lu Yue , Coltescu Catalina , Wang Kesheng , Newman William G. , Bykerk Vivian , Keystone Edward C. , Mosher Dianne , Amos Christopher I. , Heathcote E. Jenny , Siminovitch Katherine A. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractObjectiveThe co‐occurrence of different autoimmune diseases in patients and their families suggests the presence of shared genetic risk factors. Two compelling candidate autoimmune disease susceptibility genes are those that encode CTLA4 and inducible costimulator (ICOS), immunoregulatory proteins. Associations of CTLA4 polymorphisms with various autoimmune diseases have been reported, but for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), the association data are inconsistent and have largely excluded analysis of polymorphisms in the ICOS gene adjacent to CTLA4. We undertook this study to examine whether CTLA4 and ICOS influence RA and PBC susceptibility by testing CTLA4/ICOS polymorphisms for association with these diseases in Canadian subjects.MethodsCaucasian RA patients (n = 1,140), PBC patients (n = 481), and controls (n = 1,248) were typed for 21 biallelic polymorphisms across the CTLA4/ ICOS genes using a multiplex genotyping array, and the results were analyzed using a false discovery rate method to correct for multiple testing.ResultsSignificant associations of multiple CTLA4 and ICOS gene polymorphisms with RA and PBC were observed, with the strongest association signals for both diseases coming from a CTLA4/ICOS intergenic single‐nucleotide polymorphism, rs17268364 (corrected P [Pcorr] = 6.0 × 10–4 and Pcorr < 1.0 × 10–4, respectively). Significant associations, which were common to both diseases, were also observed with other alleles and haplotypes across 3 linkage disequilibrium blocks within the CTLA4 gene, the intergenic region, and the ICOS gene.ConclusionOur results provide evidence for RA and PBC association with the CTLA4/ICOS locus and suggest that the risk allele(s) within this region may be common to both diseases.
An exact multinomial test for equivalence
Authors: Frey Jesse 
Published: March 2009

AbstractExisting equivalence tests for multinomial data are valid asymptotically, but the $\alpha$ level is not properly controlled for small and moderate sample sizes. We resolve this difficulty by developing an exact multinomial test for equivalence and an associated confidence interval procedure. We also derive a conservative version of the test that is easy to implement even for very large sample sizes. Both tests use a notion of equivalence that is based on the cumulative distribution function, with two probability vectors being considered equivalent if their partial sums never differ by more than some specified constant. We illustrate the methods by applying them to Weldon's dice data, to data on the digits of $\pi$, and to data collected by Mendel. The Canadian Journal of Statistics 37: 47–59; © 2009 Statistical Society of Canada
Nonparametric estimation of the shape function in a Gamma process for degradation data
Authors: Wang Xiao 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe author considers estimation under a Gamma process model for degradation data. The setting for degradation data is one in which n independent units, each with a Gamma process with a common shape function and scale parameter, are observed at several possibly different times. Covariates can be incorporated into the model by taking the scale parameter as a function of the covariates. The author proposes using the maximum pseudo‐likelihood method to estimate the unknown parameters. The method requires usage of the Pool Adjacent Violators Algorithm. Asymptotic properties, including consistency, convergence rate and asymptotic distribution, are established. Simulation studies are conducted to validate the method and its application is illustrated by using bridge beams data and carbon‐film resistors data. The Canadian Journal of Statistics 37: 102‐118; 2009 © 2009 Statistical Society of Canada
An activating mutation in the PDGF receptor alpha results in embryonic lethality caused by malformation of the vascular system
Authors: Kurth Patricia , Moenning Anne , Jäger Richard , Beine Gaby , Schorle Hubert 
Published: March 2009

AbstractPlatelet‐derived growth factors (PDGF) and their receptors control cell proliferation, survival, and migration. To test the influence of an oncogenic mutation to embryonic development, a transgenic mouse line expressing PDGFRα (D842V) was established and analyzed. Most of the embryos die on embryonic day 12.5 due to massive hemorrhages in the trunk. In mesenchymal cells of mutant animals, proliferation is decreased while apoptosis is increased. Further analyses reveal that the aortic blood vessels are enlarged showing a reduced numbers of vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMC) around the aorta. We hypothesize that the process of aortic wall formation is impaired, leading to subsequent rupture and leakage of the blood vessel resulting in death of the embryos. We speculate that misexpression of PDGFRα in SMCs causes failure of vSMC recruitment to the aorta. Developmental Dynamics 238:1064–1072, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Spatio‐temporal dynamics of theta oscillations in hippocampal–entorhinal slices
Authors: Cappaert N.L.M. , Lopes da Silva F.H. , Wadman W.J. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractTheta oscillations (4–12 Hz) are associated with learning and memory and are found in the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex (EC). The spatio‐temporal organization of rhythmic activity in the hippocampal–EC complex was investigated in vitro. The voltage sensitive absorption dye NK3630 was used to record the changes in aggregated membrane voltage simultaneously from the neuronal networks involved. Oscillatory activity at 7.0 Hz (range, 5.8–8.2) was induced in the slice with the muscarinic agonist carbachol (75–100 μM) in the presence of bicuculline (5 μM). Time relations between all recording sites were analyzed using cross‐correlation functions which revealed systematic phase shifts in the theta oscillation recorded from the different entorhinal and hippocampal subregions. These phase shifts could be interpreted as propagation delays. The oscillation propagates over the slice in a characteristic spatio‐temporal sequence, where the entorhinal cortex leads, followed by the subiculum and then the dentate gyrus (DG), to finally reach the CA3 and the CA1 area. The delay from dentate gyrus to the CA3 area was 12.4 ± 1.1 ms (mean ± s.e.m.) and from the CA3 to the CA1 region it was 10.9 ± 1.9 ms. The propagation delays between the hippocampal subregions resemble the latencies of electrically evoked responses in the same subregions. Removing the entorhinal cortex from the slice changed the spatiotemporal pattern into a more clustered pattern with higher local synchrony. We conclude that in the slice, carbachol‐induced theta oscillations are initiated in the entorhinal cortex. The EC could serve to control the information flow through the neuronal network in the subregions of the hippocampus by synchronizing and/or entraining their responses to external inputs. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
First‐order exchange coefficient coupling for simulating surface water–groundwater interactions: parameter sensitivity and consistency with a physics‐based approach
Authors: Ebel Brian A. , Mirus Benjamin B. , Heppner Christopher S. , VanderKwaak Joel E. , Loague Keith 
Published: March 2009

AbstractDistributed hydrologic models capable of simulating fully‐coupled surface water and groundwater flow are increasingly used to examine problems in the hydrologic sciences. Several techniques are currently available to couple the surface and subsurface; the two most frequently employed approaches are first‐order exchange coefficients (a.k.a., the surface conductance method) and enforced continuity of pressure and flux at the surface‐subsurface boundary condition. The effort reported here examines the parameter sensitivity of simulated hydrologic response for the first‐order exchange coefficients at a well‐characterized field site using the fully coupled Integrated Hydrology Model (InHM). This investigation demonstrates that the first‐order exchange coefficients can be selected such that the simulated hydrologic response is insensitive to the parameter choice, while simulation time is considerably reduced. Alternatively, the ability to choose a first‐order exchange coefficient that intentionally decouples the surface and subsurface facilitates concept‐development simulations to examine real‐world situations where the surface‐subsurface exchange is impaired. While the parameters comprising the first‐order exchange coefficient cannot be directly estimated or measured, the insensitivity of the simulated flow system to these parameters (when chosen appropriately) combined with the ability to mimic actual physical processes suggests that the first‐order exchange coefficient approach can be consistent with a physics‐based framework. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
MCF‐7 human mammary adenocarcinoma cells exhibit augmented responses to human insulin on a collagen IV surface
Authors: Listov‐Saabye Nicolai , Jensen Marianne Blirup , Kiehr Benedicte , Hansen Erik W. , Svendsen Jette E. , Lundby Anders , Holm Gitte‐Mai Nelander , Oleksiewicz Martin B. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractHuman mammary cell lines are extensively used for preclinical safety assessment of insulin analogs. However, it is essentially unknown how mitogenic responses can be optimized in mammary cell‐based systems. We developed an insulin mitogenicity assay in MCF‐7 human mammary adenocarcinoma cells, under low serum (0.1% FCS) and phenol red‐free conditions, with 3H thymidine incorporation as endpoint. Based on EC50 values determined from 10‐fold dilution series, β‐estradiol was the most potent mitogen, followed by human IGF‐1, human AspB10 insulin and native human insulin. AspB10 insulin was significantly more mitogenic than native insulin, validating the ability of the assay to identify hypermitogenic human insulin analogs. With MCF‐7 cells on a collagen IV surface, the ranking of mitogens was maintained, but fold mitogenic responses and dynamic range and steepness of dose–response curves were increased. Also, PI3K pathway activation by insulin was enhanced on a collagen IV surface. This study provided the first determination and ranking of the mitogenic potencies of standard reference compounds in an optimized MCF‐7 assay. The optimized MCF‐7 assay described here is of relevance for in vitro toxicological testing and carcinogenicity safety assessment of new insulin compounds. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Expression profiles of sex differentiation‐related genes during ontogenesis in the European sea bass acclimated to two different temperatures
Authors: Blázquez Mercedes , Navarro‐Martín Laia , Piferrer Francesc 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe European sea bass is a teleost fish that lacks sex chromosomes and for which temperature influences sex ratios. However, correlation between temperature, developmental stage at a given age and sex‐specific gene expression is hampered by the lack of sex markers. To study this correlation, fish were exposed to feminizing (15°C) or masculinizing temperature (21°C) from 0–120 days post fertilization, throughout the thermosensitive period (TSP). Aromatase (cyp19a1a), 11β‐hydroxylase (cyp11b), androgen receptor (arb) and estrogen receptors (era, erb1 and erb2) were assessed by qPCR prior and during sex differentiation. Canonical discriminant analysis (CDA), with length—as proxy for developmental stage—and cyp19a1a expression as predictors, was validated and used to reliably assign gonadal sex to fish sampled within and outside the TSP. Differences in cyp19a1a and cyp11b expression could be detected 1‐month before the first signs of histological sex differentiation. Cyp19a1a and cyp11b were significantly higher in future females and males, respectively, and revealed as robust molecular markers to predict future ovarian and testicular differentiation. In contrast, no association between phenotypic sex and arb, era, erb1 and erb2 expression was found, suggesting that these genes do not contribute to the differentiation of a particular sex. The CDA‐based approach implemented here could be used to sex undifferentiated animals in species where genetic sex cannot be known owing to the lack of simple sex determining systems, as it is the case of many fish and reptiles with or without temperature‐dependent sex determination, and provide a useful tool to relate gene expression and phenotypic sex. J. Exp. Zool. (Mol. Dev. Evol.) 312B:686–700, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Opening the black box of cancer surgery quality: WebSMR and the Alberta experience
Authors: Mack L.A. , Bathe O.F. , Hebert M.A. , Tamano E. , Buie W.D. , Fields T. , Temple W.J. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractA web‐based synoptic operative report, the WebSMR (Surgical Medical Record), was developed to define and improve the quality of cancer surgery. Surgeons accurately record the essential steps of an operation including important decision‐making in an analyzable format. Outcomes can be reviewed with provincial aggregates for quality improvement and maintenance of certification. Future synoptic pathology and follow‐up templates will open the “black box” of surgical processes to define quality indicators for the improvement of cancer outcomes. J. Surg. Oncol. 2009;99:525–530. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A theoretical investigation into dimethylcarbene and its diamino and diphosphino analogs: effects of cyclization and unsaturation on the stability and multiplicity
Authors: Kassaee M. Z. , Ghambarian M. , Musavi S. M. , Shakib F. A. , Momeni M. R. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractHigh levels of ab initio and DFT calculations (B3LYP/6‐311++G**, B3LYP/AUG‐cc‐pVTZ, and CCSD(T)/6‐311++G** levels) coupled with isodesmic reactions are used to compare and contrast the multiplicities and relative stabilities of singlet (s) and triplet (t) acyclic carbenes, including: dimethylcarbene, diaminocarbene, and diphosphinocarbene along with their saturated and unsaturated cyclic ones. Cyclization is unfavorable for all acyclic carbenes while unsaturation of cyclic analogs appears favorable. The simultaneous cyclization and unsaturation of dimethylcarbene increases the singlet–triplet energy gap (ΔEs–t), while for diphosphinocarbene the situation is reversed. For diaminocarbene the increase of ΔEs–t is encountered only during cyclization. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The interplay between metal–metal bonds, four‐electron donor carbonyl groups, and five‐electron donor nitrosyl groups in highly unsaturated binuclear rhenium carbonyl nitrosyls
Authors: Xu Bing , Li Qian‐Shu , Xie Yaoming , King R. Bruce , Schaefer Henry F. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractOptimization of structures for the highly unsaturated binuclear rhenium carbonyl nitrosyls Re2(NO)2(CO)n (n = 5, 4) using the MPW1PW91 and BP86 methods of density functional theory indicate complicated potential energy surfaces with eight singlet and three triplet energetically accessible structures for Re2(NO)2(CO)5 and 11 singlet and six triplet energetically accessible structures for Re2(NO)2(CO)4. The lowest energy structure for Re2(NO)2(CO)5 is a singlet predicted to have two bridging nitrosyl groups and a formal ReRe triple bond to give both rhenium atoms the favored 18‐electron configuration. However, other relatively low‐energy structures for Re2(NO)2(CO)5 are found with five‐electron donor bridging nitrosyl groups, four‐electron donor bridging carbonyl groups, and coordinatively unsaturated rheniumatoms. The lowest energy structures for Re2(NO)2(CO)4 are predicted to be unbridged structures having rhenium–rhenium distances short enough for formal triple or even quadruple bonds. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2009
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Domestic Violence Survivors' Experiences with Their Informal Social Networks
Authors: Trotter Jennifer L. , Allen Nicole E. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractInformal social networks play a critical role in buffering the negative effects of stressful life events. For women experiencing the stress of a violent relationship, family and friends are among the first sources of support sought; however, reactions to the abuse by family and friends are not uniformly perceived as helpful by survivors. The current study takes a qualitative approach to examining the range of possible reactions survivors may encounter from their social networks regarding the abuse. Special attention is given to negative and mixed reactions, as they have previously been under‐examined in the literature. Findings suggest that survivors (N = 45) regularly experience negative and mixed reactions. Emergent themes suggest that both positive and negative reactions to abuse could be understood in four broad arenas: safety, emotional availability, input, and aid. However, positive and negative reactions emerged as distinct constructs within each arena; mixed reactions took multiple forms including being withinperson and withinnetwork.
ON GENERATORS AND PRESENTATIONS OF SEMIDIRECT PRODUCTS IN INVERSE SEMIGROUPS
Authors: DOMBI E. R. , RUŠKUC N. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractIn this paper we prove two main results. The first is a necessary and sufficient condition for a semidirect product of a semilattice by a group to be finitely generated. The second result is a necessary and sufficient condition for such a semidirect product to be finitely presented.
DIFFERENCES OF COMPOSITION OPERATORS ON THE BLOCH SPACE IN THE POLYDISC
Authors: FANG ZHONG-SHAN , ZHOU ZE-HUA 
Published: March 2009

AbstractLet φ and ψ be holomorphic self-maps of the unit polydisc Un in the n-dimensional complex space, and denote by Cφ and Cψ the induced composition operators. This paper gives some simple estimates of the essential norm for the difference of composition operators Cφ−Cψ from Bloch space to bounded holomorphic function space in the unit polydisc. The compactness of the difference is also characterized.
Some factors affecting milk yield
Authors: Hammond J. , Sanders H. G. 
Published: March 2009

(1) The variation of the total yields according to the month of calving is given, and causes for this variation are suggested from the mean lactation curves of cows calving in each month.(2) A curve showing the effect of pregnancy on the lactation yield has been prepared and corrections are given for different lengths of service periods after calving—“100 days” being chosen as a standard, as that was found to be the average of all service periods obtained, and as it gives a calf at about the same time in the following year.(3) The variation in yield as the cow gets older has been studied and corrections are given. The maximum yield appears to be reached at the fifth calf; it was found that service periods varied in a definite way with age.(4) The effect of the dry period before calving on the subsequent yield is shown; “85 days” has been taken as a standard and corrections given accordingly; the standard was the mean of all dry periods obtained, but is probably above the average throughout the country.(5) By applying these corrections, the variation of individual totals is reduced by approximately 20 per cent, and the number of lactations showing less than 5 per cent, variation is increased by 27·3 per cent.(6) A brief review of other literature on the subject is given, and the results obtained in this paper are compared with those of other investigators.The thanks of the authors are due to the members of the Penrith Milk Recording Society for the loan of their registers, which made this investigation possible, and to Mr Garnet, the Live Stock Officer of the district, and the Live Stock Branch, of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries for the collection of the data; the authors are also greatly indebted to Mr G. Udny Yule, M.A., F.R.S., for much assistance in the purely statistical part of the work, and to Dr F. H. A. Marshall, F.R.S., for his advice during the course of the investigation.
Induced twin ovulations and multiple pregnancy in cattle
Authors: Hammond John 
Published: March 2009

Cows were treated with various doses of pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin given either towards the end of the normal cycle, or prior to expression of the corpus luteum. The animals were kept under normal farm conditions; the object of treatment was to obtain twin ovulations and calvings.Some success was achieved, but of the treatments tried none could be considered commercially worth while; many variants of treatment are possible and much more requires to be done. For practical application it is important that a treatment should not, or only rarely, result in more than three ovulations. The few cows reported in this paper which were pregnant and which had more than three corpora lutea aborted at about 5 months.This work was carried out from the School of Agriculture, Cambridge, during tenure of a grant from the Agricultural Research Council. It was possible only through the help of those farmers who provided animals for experiment; I here record my indebtedness to them.
Sesame cake meal as a protein concentrate for laying pullets
Authors: Hale R. W. , Bolton W. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYAn experiment using eight pens each of twenty-five pullets was conducted to investigate the suitability of sesame cake meal as a protein concentrate for laying pullets. In meal mixtures supplying equal amounts of crude protein, sesame cake meal gave slightly lower production than fish meal and earthnut cake meal, but the differences were of doubtful statistical significance. Body weights appeared to be maintained less well on sesame cake meal, but only by an unimportant amount.The authors thank Prof. R. G. Baskett for his advice and constructive criticism, and Miss M. E. Osborne for the care and attention devoted to the management of the pullets.