bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Plastic bronchitis requiring bronchoscopy
Authors: Hoskison E , Judd O , Dickinson E , Dux A 
Published: May 2010

AbstractObjective:We report two cases of plastic bronchitis presenting with acute respiratory failure and mimicking foreign body inhalation.Method:The clinical findings, differential diagnoses and radiological investigation are discussed.Results:Plastic bronchitis is an uncommon condition, particularly in children. The condition may present to otolaryngologists with symptoms mimicking foreign body inhalation. It is important to consider plastic bronchitis as a differential diagnosis, based on its clinical and radiological signs. Early intervention, in the form of bronchoscopy, can be both diagnostic and therapeutic.Conclusion:Plastic bronchitis is uncommon and its clinical and radiological features are non-specific. The recommended management is early bronchoscopy to establish the diagnosis and enable therapeutic intervention.
The China-Russia-Japan Military Balance in Manchuria, 1906–1918
Authors: MASAFUMI ASADA 
Published: May 2010

AbstractEven after the Russo-Japanese War, Manchuria remained the powder keg of East Asia. In the war's aftermath, three empires, the Qing, the Russian and the Japanese, stationed their troops in Manchuria, in a struggle for military supremacy there. There has already been a considerable amount of research on these military activities. However, previous works have not discussed them from a triangular relationship. This paper contends that the history of modern East Asia cannot be understood until one examines the shift in the military balance in Manchuria from a triangular comparative point of view. The results of such examination show that, in Manchuria, each empire was unable to establish military domination alone, and therefore needed an alliance partner. During the Xinhai Revolution, the Russia-Japan ‘alliance’ wielded overwhelming military power against China. However, after the Russian Revolution in 1917, Japan renounced cooperation with a weakened Russia and built a new partnership with China to advance the Siberian intervention. The military triangle of Russia, China and Japan was unable to create a comprehensive regional security system in Manchuria because what was established was based on mutual distrust and fear.
Generation of Longmuir turbulence and stochastic acceleration in laser beat wave process
Authors: Sharma Prerana , Sharma R.P. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractThis paper investigates the filamentation process of two co-axially propagating laser beams in collisionless plasma. On account of the ponderomotive nonlinearity, two laser beams affect the dynamics of each other, and cross-focusing takes place. The initial Gaussian laser beams are found to have non-Gaussian structures in the plasma. Using the laser beam and the plasma parameters, appropriate for the beat wave process, the filaments of the laser beams have been studied. Using these results, the Langmuir wave excitation at the beat wave frequency (when the laser beams are having filamentary structures) has been studied. The excited LW is modeled with the help of a driven oscillator and it is found that the excited Langmuir wave is not a plane wave; rather it has a turbulent structure. We have obtained the power spectrum of the excited beat wave (Langmuir wave), and calculated the spectral index. The stochastic electron acceleration has been studied in the presence of this Langmuir turbulence and relevance of these results to the beat wave process has been pointed out.
Religion, kinship and godparenthood as elements of social cohesion in Qrendi, a late-eighteenth-century Maltese parish
Authors: CIAPPARA FRANS 
Published: May 2010

ABSTRACTThis micro-study examines the Maltese parish of St Mary's (Qrendi) in the second half of the eighteenth century. First it will be argued that – as in many other contemporaneous communities – migration to other parishes made its population extremely fluid. A second interest lies in the extent to which social distinctions and unruly behaviour further disrupted village solidarity. Finally there will be a consideration of the thesis that such unstable elements were counterbalanced by various integrative ties that bound the Qrendin together, such as charity, the obligations of neighbourliness and an intense devotion to the parish, kinship and godparenthood.
Shaping Knowledge about American Labor: External Advising at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Twentieth Century
Authors: Stapleford Thomas A. 
Published: May 2010

ArgumentCreated in 1884, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has been the major federal source for data in the United States on labor-related topics such as prices, unemployment, compensation, productivity, and family expenditures. This essay traces the development and transformation of formal and informal consulting relationships between the BLS and external groups (including academic social scientists, unions, businesses, and other government entities) over the twentieth century. Though such a history cannot, of course, provide a comprehensive analysis of how political values have shaped the construction of labor statistics during this period, I argue that it can nevertheless provide important insights into the political context for the construction of knowledge about American workers and their living and working conditions.
‘What did the Greeks owe the Orient?’ The question we can't stop asking (even though we can't answer it)
Authors: Marchand Suzanne 
Published: May 2010

AbstractReviewing five recent books in German classical and oriental studies, this essay argues that the question of archaic Greece's debts to the Orient remains a particularly lively one in German-speaking Europe. Like their predecessors in previous generations, iconoclastic classicists like Walter Burkert, oriental archaeologists like Ernst Herzfeld (1879–1948) and maverick outsiders like Raoul Schrott have attacked the enraptured view of ‘the Greek miracle’ familiar to those educated in classicalGymnasien. And yet the question of Greek cultural autonomy is still alive, in part because there are too many uncertainties for it to be answered definitively, and in part because it continues to play a role in attempts to define modern European identity.
Quantitative proteomics approach for identifying protein–drug interactions in complex mixtures using protein stability measurements
Authors: West Graham M. , Tucker Chandra L. , Xu Tao , Park Sung Kyu , Han Xuemei , Yates John R. , Fitzgerald Michael C. 
Published: May 2010

Knowledge about the protein targets of therapeutic agents is critical for understanding drug mode of action. Described here is a mass spectrometry-based proteomics method for identifying the protein target(s) of drug molecules that is potentially applicable to any drug compound. The method, which involves making thermodynamic measurements of protein-folding reactions in complex biological mixtures to detect protein–drug interactions, is demonstrated in an experiment to identify yeast protein targets of the immunosuppressive drug, cyclosporin A (CsA). Two of the ten protein targets identified in this proof of principle work were cyclophilin A and UDP-glucose-4-epimerase, both of which are known to interact with CsA, the former through a direct binding event (
K

d

∼ 70 nM) and the latter through an indirect binding event. These two previously known protein targets validate the methodology and its ability to detect both the on- and off-target effects of protein–drug interactions. The other eight protein targets discovered here, which include several proteins involved in glucose metabolism, create a new framework in which to investigate the molecular basis of CsA side effects in humans.
Inferring the human microRNA functional similarity and functional network based on microRNA-associated diseases
Authors: Wang Dong , Wang Juan , Lu Ming , Song Fei , Cui Qinghua 
Published: May 2010

Abstract
Motivation: It is popular to explore meaningful molecular targets and infer new functions of genes through gene functional similarity measuring and gene functional network construction. However, little work is available in this field for microRNA (miRNA) genes due to limited miRNA functional annotations. With the rapid accumulation of miRNAs, it is increasingly needed to uncover their functional relationships in a systems level.
Results: It is known that genes with similar functions are often associated with similar diseases, and the relationship of different diseases can be represented by a structure of directed acyclic graph (DAG). This is also true for miRNA genes. Therefore, it is feasible to infer miRNA functional similarity by measuring the similarity of their associated disease DAG. Based on the above observations and the rapidly accumulated human miRNA-disease association data, we presented a method to infer the pairwise functional similarity and functional network for human miRNAs based on the structures of their disease relationships. Comparisons showed that the calculated miRNA functional similarity is well associated with prior knowledge of miRNA functional relationship. More importantly, this method can also be used to predict novel miRNA biomarkers and to infer novel potential functions or associated diseases for miRNAs. In addition, this method can be easily extended to other species when sufficient miRNA-associated disease data are available for specific species.
Availability: The online tool is available at http://cmbi.bjmu.edu.cn/misim
Contact: cuiqinghua@hsc.pku.edu.cn
Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Malignancies and survival patterns in the National Cancer Institute inherited bone marrow failure syndromes cohort study
Authors: Alter Blanche P. , Giri Neelam , Savage Sharon A. , Peters June A. , Loud Jennifer T. , Leathwood Lisa , Carr Ann G. , Greene Mark H. , Rosenberg Philip S. 
Published: May 2010

SummaryFanconi anaemia (FA), dyskeratosis congenita (DC), Diamond‐Blackfan anaemia (DBA), and Shwachman‐Diamond syndrome (SDS) comprise major inherited bone marrow failure syndromes (IBMFS). Adverse events include severe bone marrow failure (BMF), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), and solid tumours (ST). The natural history of FA is well characterised; hazard rates in the other syndromes have not yet been quantified. An open cohort was established at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in 2002. Patients enrolled prior to December, 2007 were followed up to December, 2008. Diagnoses were confirmed with standard tests. Age‐associated risks of adverse events were calculated. Most patients in each syndrome survived to young adulthood. Patients with FA had earlier onset of cancers, need for stem cell transplant, and death; followed by DC; DBA and SDS were mildest. While FA and DC patients had markedly increased risks of cancer, AML and MDS, there were no cases of leukaemia in DBA or SDS patients. The NCI cohort provides the first direct quantitative comparison of timing and magnitude of cancer risk in the IBMFS. The findings demonstrate that both FA and DC are major cancer susceptibility syndromes. The IBMFS, historically considered paediatric disorders, have important management implications for physicians treating adult patients.
Loss of insulin‐mediated microvascular perfusion in skeletal muscle is associated with the development of insulin resistance
Authors: St‐Pierre P. , Genders A. J. , Keske M. A. , Richards S. M. , Rattigan S. 
Published: May 2010

Aim: The aetiology of the development of type 2 diabetes remains unresolved. In the present study, we assessed whether an impairment of insulin‐mediated microvascular perfusion occurs early in the onset of insulin resistance. Materials and methods: Hooded Wistar rats were fed either a normal diet (ND) or a high‐fat diet (HFD) for 4 weeks. Anaesthetized animals were subjected to an isoglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp (3 or 10 mU/min/kg × 2 h), and measurements were made of glucose infusion rate (GIR), hindleg glucose uptake, muscle glucose uptake by 2‐deoxy‐d‐glucose (R′g), glucose appearance (Ra), glucose disappearance (Rd), femoral blood flow (FBF) and hindleg 1‐methylxanthine disappearance (1‐MXD, an index of microvascular perfusion). Results: Compared with ND‐fed animal, HFD feeding led to a mild increase in fasting plasma glucose and plasma insulin, without an increase in total body weight. During the clamps, HFD rats showed an impairment of insulin‐mediated action on GIR, hindleg glucose uptake, R′g, Ra, Rd and FBF, with a greater loss of insulin responsiveness at 3 mU/min/kg than at 10 mU/min/kg. The HFD also impaired insulin‐mediated microvascular perfusion as assessed by 1‐MXD. Interestingly, 1‐MXD was the only measurement that remained unresponsive to the higher dose of 10 mU/min/kg insulin. Conclusions: We conclude that the early stage of insulin resistance is characterized by an impairment of the insulin‐mediated microvascular responses in skeletal muscle. This is likely to cause greater whole body insulin resistance by limiting the delivery of hormones and nutrients to muscle.
Maternal blood glucose in diabetic pregnancies and cognitive performance in offspring in young adulthood: a Danish cohort study
Authors: Nielsen G. L. , Andersen E. , Lundbye‐Christensen S. 
Published: May 2010

Diabet. Med. 27, 786–790 (2010)AbstractAims  Maternal diabetes is a known risk factor for perinatal complications, but there are little data on consequences for long‐term intellectual outcome in offspring. We assess cognitive performance in military conscripts according to maternal blood glucose levels during pregnancy.Methods  We identified a cohort of 60 Danish male offspring of insulin‐treated diabetic mothers born between 1976 and 1984 and followed this cohort to military conscription. From medical records, we extracted data on all available values of maternal blood glucose categorized as fasting and non‐fasting and by day in pregnancy, together with maternal White class, smoking habits and socio‐economic status. The main outcome was cognitive performance at conscription measured with a validated intelligence test. The association between maternal blood glucose level and cognitive performance was assessed by multivariate linear regression and a fitted fractional polynomial.Results  Median fasting blood glucose values in the second half of pregnancy was negatively associated with cognitive scores at conscription [adjusted coefficient –1.7; 95% confidence interval (CI) –3.0; –0.4]. Restriction to only first‐born sibling slightly strengthened the association (coefficient –1.9; 95% CI –3.3; –0.5), but after exclusion of two pregnancies with the blood glucose > 10 mmol/l the association became insignificant (coefficient –0.6; 95% CI –2.6; 1.4).Conclusions  Maternal blood glucose level during diabetic pregnancy is negatively associated with cognitive performance in offspring at military conscription. In pregnancies with fasting blood glucose levels below 10 mmol/l, the association is weak and considered to be without clinical relevance.
Sphingosine kinase 1 is critically involved in nitric oxide‐mediated human endothelial cell migration and tube formation
Authors: Schwalm Stephanie , Pfeilschifter Josef , Huwiler Andrea 
Published: May 2010

Background and purpose: Sphingosine kinases (SKs) convert sphingosine to sphingosine 1‐phosphate (S1P), which is a bioactive lipid that regulates a variety of cellular processes including proliferation, differentiation and migration.Experimental approach: We used the human endothelial cell line EA.hy926 to investigate the effect of nitric oxide (NO) donors on SK‐1 expression, and on cell migration and tube formation.Key results: We showed that exposure of EA.hy926 cells to Deta‐NO (125–1000 µM) resulted in a time‐ and concentration‐dependent up‐regulation of SK‐1 mRNA and protein expression, and activity with a first significant effect at 250 µM of Deta‐NO. The increased SK‐1 mRNA expression resulted from an enhanced SK‐1 promoter activity. A similar effect was also seen with various other NO donors. In mechanistic terms, the NO‐triggered effect occurred independently of cGMP, but involved the classical mitogen‐activated protein kinase cascade because the MEK inhibitor U0126 abolished the NO‐induced SK‐1 expression. The effect of NO was also markedly reduced by the thiol‐reducing agentN‐acetylcysteine, suggesting a redox‐dependent mechanism. Functionally, Deta‐NO triggered an increase in the migration of endothelial cells in an adapted Boyden chamber assay, and also increased endothelial tube formation in a Matrigel assay. These responses were both abolished in cells depleted of SK‐1.Conclusions and implications: These data show that NO donors up‐regulate specifically SK‐1 expression and activity in human endothelial cells, and SK‐1 in turn critically contributes to the migratory capability and tube formation of endothelial cells. Thus, SK‐1 may be considered an attractive novel target to interfere with pathological processes involving angiogenesis.
Endocannabinoid‐like N‐arachidonoyl serine is a novel pro‐angiogenic mediator
Authors: Zhang X , Maor Y , Wang JF , Kunos G , Groopman JE 
Published: May 2010

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE N‐arachidonoyl serine (ARA‐S) is a recently identified endocannabinoid‐like lipid with weak affinity for the fully characterized cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) and the transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 1 (TRPV‐1). ARA‐S induces vasodilatation and shows vasoprotective potential via activation of key signalling pathways in endothelial cells. Based on these findings, the effect of ARA‐S on endothelial functions was further studied.EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH Primary human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HMVEC) were used to investigate effects of ARA‐S (0‐10 µM) on certain endothelial functions, using cell proliferation, migration and wound repair models in vitro, and angiogenesis assays in vitro and ex vivo. Selective CB receptor antagonists and specific siRNAs were deployed to block individual CB receptors.KEY RESULTS We found that ARA‐S stimulated angiogenesis and endothelial wound healing through induction of vascular endothelial growth factor C and its cognate receptor expression in primary HMVEC. Moreover, knock‐down of G protein‐coupled receptor 55 (GPR55) partly inhibited ARA‐S‐induced signal transduction and endothelial functions.CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Our results indicate that ARA‐S is a pro‐angiogenic factor in addition to a vessel dilator. The GPR55 receptor may serve as one target of ARA‐S.
Variation in mate recognition specificities among fourCallosobruchusseed beetles
Authors: Shimomura Kenji , Mimura Takanori , Ishikawa Susumu , Yajima Shunsuke , Ohsawa Kanju 
Published: May 2010

AbstractDifferentiation of mate recognition systems is one of the important steps for speciation in animals. For some insects, a contact sex pheromone present on the cuticular surface is indispensable in discriminating reproductive partners. InCallosobruchusspecies (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae), contact sex pheromones have been found in two species,Callosobruchus chinensis(L.) andCallosobruchus maculatus(Fabricius). It was suggested, however, that these two species lacked the ability to discriminate their conspecific and/or heterosexual partners. To elucidate this inconsistency, we verified the existence of contact sex pheromones from two other species,Callosobruchus rhodesianus(Pic) andCallosobruchus analis(Fabricius). As a result, unlikeC. chinensisandC. maculatus, the males ofC. rhodesianusandC. analiswere able to discriminate their heterosexual partners. Comparing cross‐copulation behavior, i.e., copulation behavior between two species, against these four species indicated that the mate recognition specificities were quite different. Males ofC. rhodesianusandC. analishad highly species‐specific mating behavior, whereas males ofC. chinensisandC. maculatuswere much less specific. These results indicate that variation in mate recognition can arise even among congeneric species living in a sympatric environment, and this variation might have arisen during species differentiation. Based on our results in combination with previous reports on interspecific competition, we suggest that the observed asymmetric cross‐copulation behavior might be, at least partially, an adaptation for surviving interspecific competition.
Titanium hydride and hydrogen concentration in acid‐etched commercially pure titanium and titanium alloy implants: a comparative analysis of five implant systems
Authors: Szmukler‐Moncler S. , Bischof M. , Nedir R. , Ermrich M. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractObjectives: Acid etching is a popular method to texture the surface of dental implants. During etching, the titanium oxide protective layer is dissolved and small native hydrogen ions diffuse into the unprotected implant surface. They enrich the implant surface with hydrogen and precipitate into titanium hydride (TiH). The aim of this study was to measure the concentration of TiH at the implant surface and the total concentration of Hydrogen at five commercially available implant systems, made of either commercially pure (cp) titanium or titanium alloy.Material and methods: X‐Ray diffraction (XRD) was conducted on each implant system to determine the compounds present at the implant surface. Following a TiH2/Ti calibration curve, the concentration of TiH was determined. Concentration of hydrogen in the implants was measured by the inert gas fusion thermal conductivity/infrared detection method.Results: XRD data showed that TiH was present on all cp titanium implants but not on the alloyed implants. TiH concentration varied between 5% and 37%. Hydrogen concentration varied between 43 and 108 ppm, no difference in uptake was found between the cp titanium and alloyed implants. Low solubility of hydrogen in α‐titanium is responsible for precipitation into TiH. Stronger etching conditions led to higher concentration of TiH2‐x.Conclusion: High solubility of hydrogen in the β‐phase of the alloy is preventing hydrogen from precipitating into TiH. All implants, even those lacking TiH at the surface, were enriched with hydrogen. In all implants, hydrogen concentration was within the normative limit of 130 ppm. To cite this article:
Szmukler‐Moncler S, Bischof M, Nedir R, Ermrich M. Titanium hydride and hydrogen concentration in acid‐etched commercially pure titanium and titanium alloy implants: a comparative analysis of five implant systems. Clin. Oral Impl. Res. 21, 2010; 944–950. doi: 10.1111/j.1600‐0501.2009.01938.x
Does indomethacin for closure of patent ductus arteriosus affect cerebral function?
Authors: Flisberg A , Kjellmer I , Löfhede J , Löfgren N , Rosa‐Zurera M , Lindecrantz K , Thordstein M 
Published: May 2010

AbstractObjective:  To study whether indomethacin used in conventional dose for closure of patent ductus arteriosus affects cerebral function measured by Electroencephalograms (EEG) evaluated by quantitative measures.Study design:  Seven premature neonates with haemodynamically significant persistent ductus arteriosus were recruited. EEG were recorded before, during and after an intravenous infusion of 0.2 mg/kg indomethacin over 10 min. The EEG was analysed by two methods with different degrees of complexity for the amount of low‐activity periods (LAP, “suppressions”) as an indicator of affection of cerebral function.Results:  Neither of the two methods identified any change in the amount of LAPs in the EEG as compared to before the indomethacin infusion.Conclusion:  Indomethacin in conventional dose for closure of patent ductus arteriosus does not affect cerebral function as evaluated by quantitative EEG.