bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Interstitial chemotherapy using thermosensitive gel‐coated ricin in nude mice bearing a human hepatoma
Authors: Chen Zhi‐kui , Lin Li‐wu , Yang Yinghong , Zhang Zhi‐qiang , Cai Huajing , Cai Min‐xian 
Published: September 2009

Aim:  To investigate the anti‐tumor effects and mechanisms of interstitial chemotherapy using intra‐tumor injection of thermosensitive gel‐coated ricin in nude mice bearing a human hepatoma.Methods:  In a subcutaneous mouse model of hepatoma, saline, blank gel, ricin, or thermosensitive gel‐coated ricin (TGR) was injected directly into tumors. Fourteen days later, eight mice in each group were sacrificed. The tumors were removed and weighed for calculating tumor growth inhibition rate. Serum alpha‐fetoprotein levels, as well as hepatic and renal functions, were measured. Tumor tissue was analyzed under an optical microscope. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP nick end labeling was used to detect the apoptotic index. Moreover, caspase‐3 activity and protein expression in tumor tissue were examined. The survival time of the tumor bearing mice was determined.Results:  Following interstitial chemotherapy by intra‐tumor injection of TGR in nude mice, serum alpha‐fetoprotein levels were significantly reduced with no significant impact on hepatic or renal functions. The rate of tumor growth inhibition was 58.5% following a single, local injection. Histological analysis revealed abundant necrosis. The apoptotic index was 45.96 ± 7.41%. Caspase‐3 activity was increased, and caspase‐3 protein was significantly activated in tumor cells. Compared to the saline group, the survival time of mice in the TGR group was significantly extended. At the observation terminal time, day 120, two mice were still alive and fully recovered.Conclusion:  Interstitial chemotherapy by intra‐tumor injection of TGR was highly efficient and safe for the treatment of nude mice bearing a human hepatoma. Interstitial chemotherapy exhibits inhibitory effects by inducing apoptosis and directly killing tumor cells.
On Universality in Human Correspondence Activity
Authors: Malmgren R. Dean , Stouffer Daniel B. , Campanharo Andriana S. L. O. , Amaral Luís A. Nunes 
Published: September 2009

Correspondence CommunicationsStatistical physicists and social scientists have attempted to describe human activities, in terms of physical models, and look for universal principles. Correspondence patterns are thought to be driven primarily by the need to respond to other individuals with both e-mail and letter correspondence showing power-law distributions. Because there are different exponents for the two modes of correspondence, it has been suggested that human correspondence falls into one of two universality classes and that e-mail and letter correspondence are fundamentally different activities. NowMalmgrenet al.(p.1696) tested whether human correspondence patterns are instead driven by mechanisms such as circadian cycles, task repetition, and changing communication needs. Letter correspondence, like e-mail correspondence, was accurately modeled as a cascading nonhomogeneous Poisson process giving rise to non-Gaussian statistics, but not to power-law statistics. Instead, the correspondence patterns of each individual could be uniquely characterized by the parameters of the model; that is, the process was shown to be universal, but the parameters were not. Thus, an individual's affinity toward a particular life-style will affect communication patterns, which can be modeled as a complex system.
Loss of ALX4 expression in epithelial cells and adjacent stromal cells in breast cancer
Authors: Chang H , Mohabir N , Done S , Hamel P A 
Published: September 2009

Background:Loss of the stromally-restricted homeodomain transcription factor, Alx4, causes defective mouse mammary epithelial morphogenesis.Aims:To begin to define the role of ALX4 in the human breast and in breast cancer, the expression pattern of ALX4 in the normal human breast and changes in expression in breast cancer were determined.Methods:Cells expressing ALX4 in the human breast were identified by co-immunofluorescence using α-ALX4 antibodies and markers of specific mammary cell types. ALX4 expression in breast cancer was then determined by immunohistochemistry on tumour sections that also harboured regions of normal breast tissue. Using criteria that required ALX4 staining in both stromal and epithelial cells, changes in ALX4 expression in tumours on a tissue microarray were determined.Results:ALX4 was expressed in both stromal and luminal epithelial cells in the human breast. Scoring tissue sections of duct carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) that also harboured regions of normal breast tissue, a loss of ALX4 (p<0.001) in stromal and epithelial cells in breast tumours was observed. Analysis of ALX4 expression in 123 sections on a tissue microarray confirmed a highly significant loss (p<0.001) of ALX4 in breast cancer in the tumours themselves and in adjacent stromal cells.Conclusions:These data show a distinct pattern of expression of ALX4 in the human breast relative to the murine mammary gland. Furthermore, characterisation of ALX4 in breast cancer showed that loss of ALX4 in tumours and the surrounding untransformed stroma is a basic characteristic of DCIS and IDC.
Utilisation of laboratory services by health workers in a district hospital in Malawi
Authors: Mepham S O , Squire S Bertel , Chisuwo L , Kandulu J , Bates I 
Published: September 2009

Aims:To identify priorities for improving effective use of laboratory services in a district hospital in Malawi.Methods:A prospective observational study of clinician–patient interactions to analyse laboratory test requesting practices and utilisation of laboratory results. The proportion of tests that was appropriately ordered, processed and ultimately influenced clinical management was used to assess effectiveness of utilisation.Results:420 clinical consultations between health professionals and patients were observed. 92% of tests were ordered appropriately, 84% were processed by the laboratory and 64% of results influenced patient management. 73–79% of high-volume tests (haemoglobin, microscopy for malaria and tuberculosis) and 32% of low-volume tests influenced management.Conclusions:25% of commonly requested laboratory tests were not utilised effectively; because of the high volume, interventions to improve their use are likely to be cost effective. Although 68% of low-volume tests were not used efficiently, the cost of providing support for these tests in a resource-poor setting needs to be balanced against their clinical usefulness. In contrast to published information, this study shows significant under-requesting of laboratory tests that were available. Measures to increase appropriate test requests will have implications for clinician education as well as laboratory space, budgets and staffing levels.
Pebble population dating as an additional tool for provenance studies - examples from the Eastern Alps
Authors: Dunkl I. , Frisch W. , Kuhlemann J. , Brügel A. 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
Detrital fission-track (FT) dating can be successfully used in provenance studies of siliciclastic sediments to define the characteristic cooling ages of the source regions during erosion and sedimentation. In order to obtain more specific information about potential source regions we have developed the pebble population dating (PPD) method in which pebbles of specific lithotype are merged and dated. Dating of both zircon and apatite crystals from such pebble populations yields age distributions, which reflect the cooling ages of the given lithotype in the source area at the time of sedimentation. By this technique it is possible to define ‘FT litho-terrains’ in the source regions and thus outline palaeogeological maps.
Two examples are presented from the Eastern Alps. (i) Comparison of FT ages from a sandstone sample and a gneiss PPD sample from an Oligocene conglomerate of the Molasse Basin shows that the youngest age cluster is present only in the sand fraction and derived from the Oligocene volcanic activity along the Periadriatic zone. The lack of the youngest ages in the gneiss pebble assemblage excludes the Oligocene exhumation of the crystalline basement from mid-crustal level. (ii) Pebble assemblages of red Bunter sandstone, gneiss and quartzite were collected from an Upper Miocene conglomerate of the Molasse Foreland Basin and merged as PPD samples. Apatite and zircon FT grain age distributions of these PPD samples, representing the largest ancient East Alpine catchment, allow generating a new combination of palaeogeological and palaeo-FT-age maps of the Eastern Alps for the Late Miocene.
Late- and post-Variscan evolution of the Ardennes in France and Belgium: constraints from apatite fission-track data
Authors: Xu Changhai , Mansy Jean Louis , Van Den Haute Peter , Guillot Francois , Zhou Zuyi , Chen Jun , De Grave Johan 
Published: September 2009

Abstract

Apatite fission-track (AFT) analyses were performed on 13 Late Palaeozoic samples in order to unravel the late- to post-Variscan evolution of the Ardennes. The dated AFT ages cover a range from 290±33 Ma to 168±12 Ma, and the mean confined track lengths correspond to a unimodal distribution, with means varying between 13.1±0.1 µm and 11.7±0.3 µm. These ages for the sedimentary rocks are clearly younger than the respective stratigraphic ages, indicative of a cooling through the apatite partial annealing zone after post-depositional complete annealing. All available AFT data (290–146 Ma) from this region might be classified as three groups, that is 290–229 Ma, 218–198 Ma and 190–146 Ma, at least in correlation with three exhumation events. Using an inverse model, four major cooling episodes are identified from the modelled temperature–time (
T
–
t
) paths. The first rapid cooling (4.2–5.4 °C Ma
−1
, 320–300 Ma) corresponds to the late-Variscan rapid thrusting that ceased at about 300 Ma. The second cooling episode (0.2–4.0 °C Ma
−1
, up to 230 Ma) activated differentially, and was probably controlled by the post-Variscan transtension. The third cooling regime (0.1–0.3 °C Ma
−1
, 230–45 Ma) in the Ardennes Allochthon is slow, and represents a long-term and slow exhumation. In the Brabant Parautochthon, however, it is subdivided into 0.7 °C Ma
−1
(225–110 Ma) and 0.2 °C Ma
−1
(110–45 Ma). The last accelerated cooling (0.7–1.1 °C Ma
−1
, since 45 Ma) that affected the whole Ardennes is associated with a south–north compression during the Pyrenean phase.
A reappraisal of low-temperature thermochronology of the eastern Fennoscandia Shield and radiation-enhanced apatite fission-track annealing
Authors: Kohn Barry P. , Lorencak Matevz , Gleadow Andrew J. W. , Kohlmann Fabian , Raza Asaf , Osadetz Kirk G. , Sorjonen-Ward Peter 
Published: September 2009

Abstract

We assess the proposal of Hendriks & Redfield (
Earth and Planetary Science Letters
,
236
, 443–458, 2005) that cross-over of the predicted apatite fission track (AFT)>(U–Th–Sm)/He (AHe) age relationship in the southeastern Fennoscandian shield in southern Finland reflects α-radiation-enhanced annealing (REA) of fission tracks at low temperatures and that more robust estimates of the denudation history are recorded through reproducible AHe data. New AHe results from southern Finland showing variable dispersion of single-grain ages may be biased by different factors operating within grains, which tend to give a greater weighting towards older age outliers. AHe ages from mafic rocks show the least dispersion and tend to be consistently lower than their coexisting AFT ages. In general, it is at the younger end of the single-grain variation range from such lithologies where most meaningful AHe ages can be found. AHe data from multigrain aliquots are, therefore, of limited value for evaluating thermal histories in southern Finland, especially when compared against coexisting AFT data as supporting evidence for REA.

New, large datasets from the southern Canadian and Western Australian shields show the relationship between AFT age, single-grain age or mean track length as a function of U content (determined by the external detector method). These do not display the moderately strong inverse correlations previously reported from southern Finland in support of REA. Rather, the trends are inconsistent and generally exhibit weak positive or negative correlations. This is also the case for plots from both shields, as well as those from southern Finland, where AFT parameters are plotted against effective U concentration [eU] [based on U and Th content determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS)], which weights decay of the parents more accurately in terms of their α‐productivity. Further, samples from southern Finland yield values of chi-square χ
2
>5%, indicating that there is no significant effect of the range of uranium content between grains within samples on the AFT ages, and that they are all consistent with a single population.

The oldest AFT ages in southern Finland apatites (amongst the oldest recorded from anywhere) are found in gabbros, which also have the highest Cl content of all samples studied. We suggest, that it is Cl content rather than REA that has influenced the annealing history of the apatites, which have experienced a history including reburial into the partial annealing zone by Caledonian Foreland basin sedimentation. The study of apatite from low U and Th rocks, with relatively low levels of α-radiation damage may provide the most practical approach for producing reliable results for AFT and AHe thermochronometry studies in cratonic environments.
Denudation along the Atlantic passive margin: new insights from apatite fission-track analysis on the western coast of South Africa
Authors: Kounov A. , Viola G. , de Wit M. , Andreoli M. A. G. 
Published: September 2009

Abstract

Apatite fission-track (AFT) data from two traverses across the Great Escarpment of the western coast of South Africa are used to reconstruct the tectonic evolution and denudation history of this sector of the Atlantic passive margin. Fission-track ages range between 180 and 86 Ma. Modelling of this data identifies two distinct cooling events. The first event, between 160 and 138 Ma, is recorded only by the rocks above the escarpment in the Karoo area, and is tentatively linked to post-Karoo magmatism (
c.
180 Ma) thermal relaxation. The second, between 115 and 90 Ma, results instead from a tectonically induced denudation episode responsible for the removal of up to 2.5 km of crust across the coastal zone in front of the escarpment and less than 1 km on the elevated interior plateau. Based on these results, it is suggested that the Cretaceous is the time when most of the elevated topography of Southern Africa was generated, with only a minor Cenozoic contribution.
Coincidence mapping - a key strategy for the automatic counting of fission tracks in natural minerals
Authors: Gleadow Andrew J. W. , Gleadow Stewart J. , Belton David X. , Kohn Barry P. , Krochmal Michael S. , Brown Roderick W. 
Published: September 2009

Abstract

We report on new image-analysis techniques that, for the first time, provide a practical solution to the problem of fully automated counting of fission tracks in natural minerals, a long-desired goal in fission-track dating. Specific challenges to be overcome have been the discrimination of fission tracks from non-track defects, polishing scratches, etc.; resolving multiple track overlaps; and reliable identification of small tracks amongst a similarly sized background of surface defects, fluid inclusions, etc. Most previous attempts at automated image analysis have failed in one or more of these tasks. The central component of our system is called ‘coincidence mapping’ and utilizes two images of the same tracks obtained in transmitted and reflected light. The complementary nature of the information in these two images allows a powerful discrimination of true fission tracks from most non-track features. The much smaller average track size in the reflected light image allows the resolution of most track overlaps apparent in transmitted light. The discrimination is achieved by segmenting the two images using a custom-developed thresholding routine and extracting the coincidence of features in the two binary images. The analysis is computationally efficient and takes only a few seconds to complete the processing of images that may contain up to many hundreds of tracks. Preliminary indications are that error rates are about the same as, or better than, those achieved by a human operator using normal counting conditions in transmitted light. The performance is even better at high track densities (>10
7
cm
−2
) giving the potential for measuring track densities up to an order of magnitude greater than a human operator can count. Automated counting should significantly increase the speed and consistency of analysis and improve data quality in fission-track dating through better counting statistics, increased objectivity and measurement of additional track description parameters that are not currently determined.
Fission-track analysis of the Atotsugawa Fault (Hida Metamorphic Belt, central Japan): fault-related thermal anomaly and activation history
Authors: Yamada Ryuji , Ongirad Hasbaator , Matsuda Tatsuo , Omura Kentaro , Takeuchi Akira , Iwano Hideki 
Published: September 2009

Abstract

Fission-track (FT) thermochronology was applied to the Atotsugawa Fault in the Hida Metamorphic Belt, central Japan, to detect any ancient thermal anomaly associated with fault displacements. Apatite and zircon grains from gouges (
c
. 2 cm wide) and fractured rocks (
c
. 10 cm) at six fracture zones within a 15 m-wide fault zone were dated. Most of the zircon (120–150 Ma) and apatite (44–60 Ma) ages agree well with emplacement ages for the granites that intrude the Hida Belt. The discordance in zircon and apatite FT ages is interpreted to reflect cooling due to regional uplift and associated erosion. A thermal anomaly was identified at one of the gouge zones that showed an exceptionally young apatite age (
c
. 32 Ma) with an unimodal FT length distribution. It presumably indicates secondary heating induced by frictional slip during an earthquake, possibly giving a younger limit of the initiation of the activity in the Hida Belt.
Comparative Device Assessments
Authors: Ignaut Debra A. , Schwartz Sherwyn L. , Sarwat Samiha , Murphy Heather L. 
Published: September 2009

Purpose The purpose of this study was to compare pen device-naïve patients’ preferences for Humalog® KwikPen™ (insulin lispro injection) (Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN) to use of a vial and syringe and FlexPen® (insulin aspart injection) (Novo Nordisk A/S, Bagsvaerd, Denmark). Methods This open-label, randomized, crossover 1-day study tested the hypotheses that KwikPen was preferred to vial and syringe, and if this was found to be a significant preference, that KwikPen was preferred to FlexPen. Accuracy of doses prepared, ease of use via insulin device assessment battery, and preference via insulin device preference battery were administered following each pen evaluation, and a final preference question administered following the evaluation of both pens. Clinical measures were not included as subjects injected into an appliance to simulate the injection experience. Primary outcome variables were evaluated by Question 13 of the insulin device preference battery and the final preference question. Results Among 232 enrolled patients randomized to 1 of 4 sequences (n = 58), Humalog KwikPen was significantly preferred over vial and syringe and over FlexPen. After patients were asked to assess Humalog KwikPen or FlexPen versus V&S by choosing “strongly agreed” or “agreed” to the following attributes: easy to use, easy to hold in their hands when injecting, and easy to press the injection button, the results exhibited significant differences in patient responses. Humalog KwikPen was significantly more accurate and was preferred to vial and syringe in appearance, quality, discretion, convenience, public use, easy to learn, easy to use, reliability, dose confidence, following insulin regimen, overall satisfaction, and recommendation to others. Conclusions Humalog KwikPen was significantly preferred over vial and syringe and FlexPen. When compared with vial and syringe, Humalog KwikPen and FlexPen were easier to use and operate, demonstrated superior accuracy of doses prepared, and preferred by pen-naïve users.
The transcription factors STAT5A/B regulate GM-CSF–mediated granulopoiesis
Authors: Kimura Akiko , Rieger Michael A. , Simone James M. , Chen Weiping , Wickre Mark C. , Zhu Bing-Mei , Hoppe Philipp S. , O'Shea John J. , Schroeder Timm , Hennighausen Lothar 
Published: September 2009

AbstractNeutrophils play a vital role in the immune defense, which is evident by the severity of neutropenia causing life-threatening infections. Granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) controls homeostatic and emergency development of granulocytes. However, little is known about the contribution of the downstream mediating transcription factors signal transducer and activator of transcription 5A and 5B (STAT5A/B). To elucidate the function of this pathway, we generated mice with complete deletion of both Stat5a/b genes in hematopoietic cells. In homeostasis, peripheral neutrophils were markedly decreased in these animals. Moreover, during emergency situations, such as myelosuppression, Stat5a/b-mutant mice failed to produce enhanced levels of neutrophils and were unable to respond to GM-CSF. Both the GM-CSF–permitted survival of mature neutrophils and the generation of granulocytes from granulocyte-macrophage progenitors (GMPs) were markedly reduced in Stat5a/b mutants. GMPs showed impaired colony-formation ability with reduced number and size of colonies on GM-CSF stimulation. Moreover, continuous cell fate analyses by time-lapse microscopy and single cell tracking revealed that Stat5a/b-null GMPs showed both delayed cell-cycle progression and increased cell death. Finally, transcriptome analysis indicated that STAT5A/B directs GM-CSF signaling through the regulation of proliferation and survival genes.
Procalcitonin for reduced antibiotic exposure in ventilator-associated pneumonia: a randomised study
Authors: Stolz D. , Smyrnios N. , Eggimann P. , Pargger H. , Thakkar N. , Siegemund M. , Marsch S. , Azzola A. , Rakic J. , Mueller B. , Tamm M. 
Published: September 2009

In patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), guidelines recommend antibiotic therapy adjustment according to microbiology results after 72 h. Circulating procalcitonin levels may provide evidence that facilitates the reduction of antibiotic therapy.In a multicentre, randomised, controlled trial, 101 patients with VAP were assigned to an antibiotic discontinuation strategy according to guidelines (control group) or to serum procalcitonin concentrations (procalcitonin group) with an antibiotic regimen selected by the treating physician. The primary end-point was antibiotic-free days alive assessed 28 days after VAP onset and analysed on an intent-to-treat basis.Procalcitonin determination significantly increased the number of antibiotic free-days alive 28 days after VAP onset (13 (2–21) daysversus9.5 (1.5–17) days). This translated into a reduction in the overall duration of antibiotic therapy of 27% in the procalcitonin group (p = 0.038). After adjustment for age, microbiology and centre effect, the rate of antibiotic discontinuation on day 28 remained higher in the procalcitonin group compared with patients treated according to guidelines (hazard rate 1.6, 95% CI 1.02–2.71). The number of mechanical ventilation-free days alive, intensive care unit-free days alive, length of hospital stay and mortality rate on day 28 for the two groups were similar.Serum procalcitonin reduces antibiotic therapy exposure in patients with ventilator associated pneumonia.