bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The clinical implications and biologic relevance of neurofilament expression in gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms
Authors: Schimmack Simon , Lawrence Ben , Svejda Bernhard , Alaimo Daniele , Schmitz‐Winnenthal Hubertus , Fischer Lars , Büchler Markus W. , Kidd Mark , Modlin Irvin 
Published: October 2011

AbstractBACKGROUND:Although gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (GEP‐NENs) exhibit widely divergent behavior, limited biologic information (apart from Ki‐67) is available to characterize malignancy. Therefore, the identification of alternative biomarkers is a key unmet need. Given the role of internexin alpha (INA) in neuronal development, the authors assessed its function in neuroendocrine cell systems and the clinical implications of its expression as a GEP‐NEN biomarker.METHODS:Functional assays were undertaken to investigate the mechanistic role of INA in the pancreatic BON cell line. Expression levels of INA were investigated in 50 pancreatic NENs (43 primaries, 7 metastases), 43 small intestinal NENs (25 primaries, 18 metastases), normal pancreas (n = 10), small intestinal mucosa (n = 16), normal enterochromaffin (EC) cells (n = 9), mouse xenografts (n = 4) and NEN cell lines (n = 6) using quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and immunostaining analyses.RESULTS:In BON cells, decreased levels of INA messenger RNA and protein were associated with the inhibition of both proliferation and mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling. INA was not expressed in normal neuroendocrine cells but was overexpressed (from 2‐fold to 42‐fold) in NEN cell lines and murine xenografts. In pancreatic NENs, INA was overexpressed compared with pancreatic adenocarcinomas and normal pancreas (27‐fold [P = .0001], and 9‐fold [P = .02], respectively). INA transcripts were correlated positively with Ki‐67 (correlation coefficient [r] = 0.5; P < .0001) and chromogranin A (r = 0.59; P < .0001). INA distinguished between primary tumors and metastases (P = .02), and its expression was correlated with tumor size, infiltration, and grade (P < .05).CONCLUSIONS:INA is a novel NEN biomarker, and its expression was associated with MAPK signaling and proliferation. In clinical samples, elevated INA was correlated with Ki‐67 and identified malignancy. INA may provide additional biologic information relevant to delineation of both pancreatic NEN tumor phenotypes and clinical behavior. Cancer 2011. © 2011 American Cancer Society.
Is screening effective in detecting untreated psychiatric disorders among newly diagnosed breast cancer patients?
Authors: Palmer Steven C. , Taggi Alison , DeMichele Angela , Coyne James C. 
Published: October 2011

AbstractBACKGROUND:A key purpose of routine distress screening is to ensure that cancer patients receive appropriate mental health care. Most studies validating screening instruments overestimate the effectiveness of screening by not differentiating between patients with untreated disorders and patients who are already being treated. This study adopts the novel strategy of evaluating the effectiveness of screening after correcting for disorder for which treatment is already being provided.METHODS:A total of 437 recently diagnosed breast cancer patients received in‐clinic distress screening and telephone‐based psychiatric interviews. Analyses were conducted using receipt of psychotropic medication for mental health difficulties in the context of a psychiatric disorder as a proxy for identification and treatment.RESULTS:Rates of elevated distress (33%), major depressive disorder (8%), minor depression (6%), dysthymia (2%), or generalized anxiety disorder (3%) were similar to those in other samples. Thirty‐six percent of patients received psychotropic medication around the time of cancer diagnosis, including 64% of those with a current psychiatric diagnosis. Although 39% of patients with elevated distress had a psychiatric disorder, the positive predictive value of screening fell to 15% for an untreated psychiatric disorder and 6% had untreated depression.CONCLUSION:Given the high rates of existing treatment, screening may not be efficient for identifying untreated disorder. Almost two‐thirds of patients with treated disorders remain symptomatic. Use of symptom scales might reasonably be expanded to surveillance of treatment response or ruling out disorder. Substantial resources would likely be required to coordinate or manage psychiatric care among patients, as would a willingness to intervene in existing relationships with other providers. Cancer 2011. © 2011 American Cancer Society.
Neural differentiation of rat aorta pericyte cells
Authors: Montiel‐Eulefi Enrique , Nery Arthur A. , Rodrigues Lara C. , Sánchez Raúl , Romero Fernando , Ulrich Henning 
Published: October 2011

AbstractPericyte perivascular cells, believed to originate mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), are characterized by their capability to differentiate into various phenotypes and participate in tissue reconstruction of different organs, including the brain. We show that these cells can be induced to differentiation into neural‐like phenotypes. For these studies, pericytes were obtained from aorta ex‐plants of Sprague–Dawley rats and differentiated into neural cells following induction with trans retinoic acid (RA) in serum‐free defined media or differentiation media containing nerve growth and brain‐derived neuronal factor, B27, N2, and IBMX. When induced to differentiation with RA, cells express the pluripotency marker protein stage‐specific embryonic antigen‐1, neural‐specific proteins β3‐tubulin, neurofilament‐200, and glial fibrillary acidic protein, suggesting that pericytes undergo differentiation, similar to that of neuroectodermal cells. Differentiated cells respond with intracellular calcium transients to membrane depolarization by KCl indicating the presence of voltage‐gated ion channels and express functional N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate receptors, characteristic for functional neurons. The study of neural differentiation of pericytes contributes to the understanding of induction of neuroectodermal differentiation as well as providing a new possible stem‐cell source for cell regeneration therapy in the brain. © 2011 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry
Transactivation in Drosophila of human enhancers by human transcription factors involved in congenital heart diseases
Authors: Amodio Vincenzo , Tevy Maria Florencia , Traina Concetta , Ghosh Tushar Kanti , Capovilla Maria 
Published: October 2011

AbstractBackground: The human transcription factors (TFs) GATA4, NKX2.5 and TBX5 form part of the core network necessary to build a human heart and are involved in Congenital Heart Diseases (CHDs). The human natriuretic peptide precursor A (NPPA) and α‐myosin heavy chain 6 (MYH6) genes are downstream effectors involved in cardiogenesis that have been demonstrated to be in vitro targets of such TFs. Results: To study the interactions between these human TFs and their target enhancers in vivo, we overexpressed them in the whole Drosophila cardiac tube using the UAS/GAL4 system. We observed that all three TFs up‐regulate their natural target enhancers in Drosophila and cause developmental defects when overexpressed in eyes and wings. Conclusions: A strong potential of the present model might be the development of combinatorial and mutational assays to study the interactions between human TFs and their natural target promoters, which are not easily undertaken in tissue culture cells because of the variability in transfection efficiency, especially when multiple constructs are used. Thus, this novel system could be used to determine in vivo the genetic nature of the human mutant forms of these TFs, setting up a powerful tool to unravel the molecular genetic mechanisms that lead to CHDs. Developmental Dynamics 241:190–199, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Influence of membrane layer properties on the electrophoretic behavior of a soft particle
Authors: Liu Kuan‐Liang , Hsu Jyh‐Ping , Tseng Shiojenn 
Published: October 2011

AbstractThe influence of the physical properties of the membrane layer of a soft particle, which comprises a rigid core and a porous membrane layer, on its electrophoretic behavior, is investigated. Because that influence was almost always neglected in the previous studies, the corresponding results can be unrealistic. The applicability of the model proposed is verified by the available theoretical and experimental results. The electrophoretic mobility of the particle under various conditions is simulated through varying the dielectric constant, the thickness, and the drag coefficient of the membrane layer, and the bulk ionic concentration. We show that under typical conditions, the deviation in the electrophoretic mobility arising from assuming that the dielectric constant of the membrane layer is the same as that of the bulk liquid phase can be in the order of 50%. In addition, the thicker the membrane layer and/or the higher the bulk ionic concentration, the larger the deviation. If the surface of the core of the particle is charged, as in the case of inorganic particles covered by an artificial membrane layer, the deviation at constant core surface potential is larger than that under other types of charged conditions. However, if the surface of the core is uncharged, as in the case of biocolloids, then that deviation becomes negligible. These findings are of fundamental significance to theoreticians in their analysis on the electrokinetic behaviors of soft particles, and to experimentalists in the interpretation of their data.
An optimized protocol for the acute isolation of human microglia from autopsy brain samples
Authors: Olah Marta , Raj Divya , Brouwer Nieske , De Haas Alexander H. , Eggen Bart J.L. , Den Dunnen Wilfred F. A. , Biber Knut P. H. , Boddeke Hendrikus W. G. M. 
Published: October 2011

AbstractMicroglia are increasingly recognized to be crucially involved in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis of the brain and spinal cord. Not surprisingly is therefore the growing scientific interest in the microglia phenotypes associated with various physiological and pathological processes of the central nervous system. Until recently the investigation of these phenotypes was hindered by the lack of an isolation protocol that (without an extended culturing period) would offer a microglia population of high purity and yield. Thus, our objective was to establish a rapid and efficient method for the isolation of human microglia from postmortem brain samples. We tested multiple elements of already existing protocols (e.g., density separation, immunomagnetic bead separation) and combined them to minimize preparation time and maximize yield and purity. The procedure presented in this article enables acute isolation of human microglia from autopsy (and biopsy) samples with a purity and yield that is suitable for downstream applications, such as protein and gene expression analysis and functional assays. Moreover, the present protocol is appropriate for the isolation of microglia from autopsy samples irrespective of the neurological state of the brain or specific brain regions and (with minor modification) could be even used for the isolation of microglia from human glioma tissue. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
In re Lehman Brothers International (Europe): Positivism or the Rigour of Pedantry?
Authors: Nana Constantine N. 
Published: October 2011

AbstractThis paper examines the decisions of the Companies Court and Court of Appeal in the case of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (in administration). It shows how the judges' undue focus on the literal meaning of the language used in Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006 had unfortunate consequences on the process of restructuring the company and contradicted the intention of the legislature. It therefore proposes that it may sometimes be important to revert to the erstwhile golden rule whereby judges may depart from the ‘plain meaning’ of the words used in a statute to avoid an absurd or unfair result. This may have prevented the judges from observing that a scheme under Part 26 can vary or extinguish a creditor's rights qua creditor, but cannot vary or extinguish property rights; although debt is a form of property. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Decreased lung carcinoma cell functions on select polymer nanometer surface features
Authors: Zhang Lijuan , Webster Thomas J. 
Published: October 2011

AbstractBiomaterial nanotopographies have been proposed as a means to significantly influence cell functions (including osteoblasts, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, chondrocytes, immune cells, and bacteria). In this study, lung epithelial carcinoma cell functions including adhesion (up to 4 h), proliferation (up to 3 days), apoptosis (up to 5 days), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) synthesis (up to 5 days) on poly‐lactic‐co‐glycolic (PLGA) films with various nanotopographies were systematically investigated. Importantly, this study created PLGA films with various nanotopographies (specifically, nano‐smooth, 23, 300, and 400 nm hemispherical surface features) but similar surface chemistry in order to focus only on the effect of PLGA topography on cancer cell functions. Simple and effective cast‐molding and solvent evaporation methods were used to accomplish this. Atomic force microscopy, electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis, and water contact angle measurements verified similar surface chemistry and energy but varied topographies for all of the PLGA films prepared in this study. Lung epithelial carcinoma cell adhesion, proliferation, and morphology results indicated less cell growth and spreading on nano‐smooth and 400 nm surface‐featured PLGA compared to any other samples. However, results also demonstrated decreased lung epithelial carcinoma cell VEGF (a key growth factor secreted for the vascularization of tumors) synthesis on the 23 nm surface‐featured PLGA compared to the nano‐smooth substrates for up to 5 days. In summary, these results provided the first insights into understanding the role that PLGA nanotography may play in mediating lung carcinoma cell functions for a wide range of applications in regenerative medicine. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A:, 2012.
IRAK‐M in macrophages around septically and aseptically loosened hip implants
Authors: Zhang Yangchun , Hou Changhe , Yu Shiming , Xiao Jianhong , Zhang Ziji , Zhai Qiyi , Chen Jianwei , Li Ziqing , Zhang Xibao , Lehto Matti , Konttinen Yrjö T. , Sheng Puyi 
Published: October 2011

AbstractThe most common long‐term complication of joint arthroplasty is loosening, which is mediated by chronic inflammatory cytokines produced by macrophages stimulated by implant‐derived debris and eventually bacterial components adherent to such debris. In this study, antiinflammatory interleukin‐1 receptor‐associated kinase‐M (IRAK‐M) was studied in macrophages in interface membranesin vivousing immunohistochemical staining and in titanium particle‐stimulated macrophagesin vitrousing reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction. Results show that the interface membranes of septically and aseptically loosened prosthesis express more IRAK‐M protein than control membranes from osteoarthritic patient and that IRAK‐M mRNA‐levels increase upon particle stimulation. These findings suggest that, the upregulation of IRAK‐M in macrophages is involved in the local immunosuppression around implants, and may contribute to septic and aseptic implant loosening. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A, 2012.
Quinolone analogues 9. Synthesis of 7‐methylsulfanyl‐ and 7‐methanesulfonylpyridazino[3,4‐b]quinoxalin‐4(1H)‐ones
Authors: Kurasawa Yoshihisa , Nakamura Masami , Ashida Hiroaki , Masuda Mitsunori , Kaji Eisuke , Okamoto Yoshihisa , Kim Ho Sik 
Published: October 2011

Abstractmagnified imageThe reaction of 7‐chloro‐1‐methylpyridazino[3,4‐b]quinoxalin‐4(1H)‐ones 3a‐5a with sodium methylthiolate gave 1‐methyl‐7‐methylsulfanylpyridazino[3,4‐b]quinoxalin‐4(1H)‐ones 8a‐c, whose reaction with m‐chloroperbenzoic acid afforded the 7‐methanesulfonyl‐1‐methylpyridazino[3,4‐b]‐quinoxalin‐4(1H)‐ones 9a‐c, respectively. The above substituent change at the 7‐position resulted in the activity alteration to microorganisms.
Microwaves in organic synthesis: Facile synthesis of biologically active pyridazinone and iminopyridazine derivatives
Authors: Mohamed Nadia Ragab , El‐Saidi Manal Mohamed Talaat , Ali Yasser Mahmoud , Elnagdi Mohamed Hilmy 
Published: October 2011

Abstractmagnified imageCondensation of Wittig reagents 1a,b with arylhydrazones 2a,b by conventional and by microwave heating techniques furnished the corresponding pyridazines 3a‐e. The arylhydrazones 7a,b were allowed to react with 1a,b under the same conditions to produce the pyridazinones 10a,b and iminopyridazines 11a,b respectively. On the other hand, the arylhydrazones 12a‐c reacted with 1a to afford the pyridazinones 13a‐c. Treatment of 3b with dimethylformamide dimethyl acetal (DMFDMA) produced the adduct 15. The utility of microwave heating technique led to the reduction of the reaction times to few minutes and to the improvement of the yields of the products. The in vitro biological activity of some newly prepared compounds against four types of fungi was studied.
Hospital performance trends on national quality measures and the association with joint commission accreditation
Authors: Schmaltz Stephen P. , Williams Scott C. , Chassin Mark R. , Loeb Jerod M. , Wachter Robert M. 
Published: October 2011

AbstractBACKGROUND:Evaluations of the impact of hospital accreditation have been previously hampered by the lack of nationally standardized data. One way to assess this impact is to compare accreditation status with other evidence‐based measures of quality, such as the process measures now publicly reported by The Joint Commission and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).OBJECTIVES:To examine the association between Joint Commission accreditation status and both absolute measures of, and trends in, hospital performance on publicly reported quality measures for common diseases.DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS:Performance data for 2004 and 2008 from U.S. acute care and critical access hospitals were obtained using publicly available CMS Hospital Compare data augmented with Joint Commission performance data.MEASUREMENTS:Changes in hospital performance between 2004 and 2008, and percent of hospitals with 2008 performance exceeding 90% for 16 measures of quality‐of‐care and 4 summary scores.RESULTS:Hospitals accredited by The Joint Commission tended to have better baseline performance in 2004 than non‐accredited hospitals. Accredited hospitals had larger gains over time, and were significantly more likely to have high performance in 2008 on 13 out of 16 standardized clinical performance measures and all summary scores.CONCLUSIONS:While Joint Commission‐accredited hospitals already outperformed non‐accredited hospitals on publicly reported quality measures in the early days of public reporting, these differences became significantly more pronounced over 5 years of observation. Future research should examine whether accreditation actually promotes improved performance or is a marker for other hospital characteristics associated with such performance. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2011;6:458–465. © 2011 Society of Hospital Medicine
Rethinking resident supervision to improve safety: From hierarchical to interprofessional models
Authors: Tamuz Michal , Giardina Traber Davis , Thomas Eric J. , Menon Shailaja , Singh Hardeep 
Published: October 2011

AbstractBACKGROUND:Inadequate supervision is a significant contributing factor to medical errors involving trainees, but supervision in high‐risk settings such as the intensive care unit (ICU) is not well studied.OBJECTIVE:We explored how residents in the ICU experienced supervision related to medication safety, not only from supervising physicians but also from other professionals.DESIGN, SETTING, MEASUREMENTS:Using qualitative methods, we examined in‐depth interviews with 17 residents working in ICUs of three tertiary‐care hospitals. We analyzed residents' perspectives on receiving and initiating supervision from physicians within the traditional medical hierarchy, and from other professionals, including nurses, staff pharmacists, and clinical pharmacists (“interprofessional supervision”).RESULTS:While initiating their own supervision within the traditional hierarchy, residents believed in seeking assistance from fellows and attendings, and articulated rules of thumb for doing so; however, they also experienced difficulties. Some residents were concerned that their questions would reflect poorly on them; others were embarrassed by their mistaken decisions. Conversely, residents described receiving interprofessional supervision from nurses and pharmacists, who proactively monitored, intervened in, and guided residents' decisions. Residents relied on nurses and pharmacists for nonjudgmental answers to their queries, especially after‐hours. To enhance both types of supervision, residents emphasized the importance of improving interpersonal communication skills.CONCLUSIONS:Residents depended on interprofessional supervision when making decisions regarding medications in the ICU. Improving interprofessional supervision, which thus far has been underrecognized and underemphasized in graduate medical education, can potentially improve medication safety in high‐risk settings. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2011;6:448–456. © 2011 Society of Hospital Medicine
Accuracy of MRI to identify the coronary artery plaque: A comparative study with intravascular ultrasound
Authors: He Yi , Zhang Zhaoqi , Dai Qinyi , Zhou Yujie , Yang Ya , Yu Wei , An Jing , Jin Lixin , Jerecic Renate , Yuan Chun , Li Debiao 
Published: October 2011

AbstractPurpose:To evaluate the ability of black‐blood coronary arterial wall MRI to identify the coronary artery plaque, using intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) as the golden standard.Materials and Methods:Nineteen consecutive patients underwent IVUS and coronary artery wall MRI. Cross‐sectional images were acquired on the lesion of coronary artery from the ostium to the middle segment continuously. The vessel cross‐sectional area (CSA), luminal CSA, plaque burden, contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR) and signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) were measured in each slice which was then compared with the IVUS images.Results:Sixteen of 19 patients completed coronary artery MRA and wall imaging. 41 of 67 slices were found plaques on both IVUS and MRI; The maximal wall thickness, plaque burden, SNR, CNR in the coronary wall containing plaque were greater compared with the normal coronary wall (1.70 ± 0.51 versus 1.24 ± 0.24; 0.71 ± 0.13 versus 0.59 ± 0.12; 1.86 ± 0.41 versus 1.47 ± 0.23; 5.10 ± 2.21 versus 2.99 ± 1.17; respectively, P < 0.05). The matched MRI and IVUS showed good correlation for vessel CSA (16.77 ± 10.67 versus 16.97 ± 8.36; r = 0.79; P < 0.01), luminal CSA (5.18 ± 5.01 versus 7.13 ± 5.14; r = 0.88; P < 0.01), plaque burden (0.71 ± 0.13 versus 0.59 ± 0.15; r = 0.67; P < 0.01). in segments containing plaques, especially the luminal CSA were strongly correlated.Conclusion:MRI coronary artery wall imaging can identify coronary plaque in the proximal segments. It also has the potential to assess coronary artery size. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2012;35:72‐78. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Neuroimaging of pediatric posterior fossa tumors including review of the literature
Authors: Poretti Andrea , Meoded Avner , Huisman Thierry A.G.M. 
Published: October 2011

AbstractConventional, anatomical MRI is an essential tool for diagnosis and evaluation of location, quality, and extent of posterior fossa tumors, but offers limited information regarding tumor grade and type. Advanced MRI techniques such as diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) may improve the specific diagnosis of brain tumors in the posterior fossa in children. In this review the conventional neuroimaging findings, as well as the DWI, and DTI characteristics of common pediatric posterior fossa tumors are discussed and summarized. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2012;35:32‐47. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.