bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Unbiased estimation of capillary length from vertical slices*
Authors: BATRA S. , KÖNIG M. F. , CRUZ‐ORIVE L. M. 
Published: August 2011

SUMMARYPrevious stereological approaches to estimate feature length include isotropic sections, which tend to be inefficient for highly anisotropic structures such as skeletal muscle capillaries, and semiparametric model‐based methods, which require transverse and longitudinal sections only, but are biased to a variable, unknown degree. The recent method of vertical slices combines the advantages of both approaches, namely it is unbiased, efficient and convenient. This study illustrates for the first time how to apply the vertical slices method in biology by direct light microscopy and intersection counting with a properly orientated cycloid test system. Neither image processing nor confocal microscopy are used. The purpose of the study was to estimate capillary length in the left ventricle of rat heart. Beyond this, a novel histochemical method enables the staining of the venular capillary region in red and the arteriolar capillary region in blue, and hence estimates their separate lengths. The vertical slices method to estimate feature length seems to be a promising approach for biology.
Stereological equations for phases within particles
Authors: GAY S. L. 
Published: August 2011

SummaryUsing data from sections, stereological equations can be used to estimate the volume‐weighted averages of both the volume and the volume‐squared of a set of particles. In mineral processing, the volume distribution of particles can be readily estimated using sieving, so it is uncommon to use stereological methods to determine the volume distribution of particles. A far more important application of stereology for mineral processing is to determine the volumetric grade distribution of minerals within particles. Different minerals or compounds within the particles are called phases. In this paper, stereological equations for estimating various volume‐weighted averages are modified so that they can be applied to phases within particles. From these equations, various volume‐weighted moments of the mineral grade distribution can be estimated. The equations are also modified so that the volume‐weighted covariance of different phases can also be estimated. The equations derived are studied numerically by simulating sections though a double‐capped sphere.
Use of the approximations in cell studies by total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRF)
Authors: HEAVENS O. S. 
Published: August 2011

SummaryIn determining cell parameters by the use of total internal reflectance fluorescence microscopy it is necessary to evaluate the electric field strength in the neighbourhood of the cell. It has been suggested that the true field distribution be assumed to be of exponential form. In some circumstances, this approximation gives rise to errors and seriously incorrect results are obtained. The true field distribution is easily obtained numerically so the use of an exponential approximation is unnecessary and errors are avoided.
Energy losses in colloidal metals
Authors: MORENO L. MARTIN , BELL P. M. , PENDRY J. B. 
Published: August 2011

SUMMARYThe nature of the energy loss from a charged particle passing close to the rough surface of some metallic material has posed a problem for some time. In this paper we show how to use our numerical technique, developed to study photons in complex dielectric structures, to explain the loss peaks from experimental studies on metallic colloids. We also show how the method may be used to explore the properties of the plasmons and induced electric fields in the colloidal system.
Combined IL‐12 Receptor and IgA Deficiency in an Adult Man Intestinally Infested by an Unknown, Non‐Cultivable Mycobacterium
Authors: Schejbel L. , Rasmussen E. M. , Kemp H. B. , Lundstedt A.‐C. , Nielsen K. R. , Obel N. , Marquart H. , Andersen Å. B. 
Published: August 2011

AbstractInterleukin‐12 receptor deficiency is a well‐described cause of human susceptibility to infection with low‐virulent mycobacteria and Salmonella species. We identified a male patient presenting in his late forties with severe gastroenteropathy because of outbred infestation by a previously unknown mycobacterium. In addition to selective IgA deficiency, the patient was found to carry a not previously described R283X homozygous mutation in his IL12RΒ1 gene. Two of his sisters, a brother, and his four children were healthy, heterozygous carriers of the mutation. In this patient, the combination of two deficiencies could promote illness. Even though the IgA deficiency in itself does not predispose to mycobacterial disease, the lack of secreted IgA may have disturbed the intestinal homoeostasis and increased the susceptibility to the low‐virulent mycobacterium that the patient was not able to clear because of his IL12R deficiency. Antimycobacterial chemotherapy and interferon‐γ treatment for 2 years significantly improved his condition. This is the first description of IL12RΒ1 deficiency combined with another immunodeficiency, and we suggest that combinatory defects may circumvent the otherwise low penetrance of IL12RB1 deficiency.
Changes in vertical distribution and aggregative behaviour in response to population density for larval sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) and sea stars (Asterias rubens)
Authors: Roy Amy , Metaxas Anna , Daigle Rémi M. 
Published: August 2011

AbstractWe examined the effects of the presence of larval conspecifics on larval vertical distribution of four‐arm and six‐arm plutei of Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis and bipinnaria of Asterias rubens, in laboratory experiments, by manipulating population density. Larvae were introduced to experimental columns (10 × 10 × 30 cm) at one of two or three population densities (S. droebachiensis: 0.1 and 10 larvae·ml−1; A. rubens: 0.1, 1 and 10 larvae·ml−1). Subsequent changes in vertical distribution were determined from images of the larvae in the columns illuminated by a 532‐nm laser and captured by a high‐resolution camera. Larvae of both species were found higher in the water column in the high than in the low and intermediate population densities. The relationship between vertical swimming velocity and nearest neighbour distance (NND) was measured for four‐arm plutei of S. droebachiensis, and used to determine a range in distances among individuals that may affect potential interactions. The variation in swimming velocity decreased with increasing proximity below a threshold distance among individuals of 10 mm, which was greater than the estimated distance in the high population density. We suggest that the increased larval aggregation near the water surface under high population density is the result of a behavioural response to conspecifics.
Maternal and fetal circulation of unusual bile acids: A pilot study
Authors: Seki Yoshitaka , Matsushita Masami , Kimura Akihiko , Nishiura Hiroshi , Aoki Kumiko , Inokuchi Takahiro , Mizuochi Tatsuki , Kurosawa Takao , Kimura Yukuo , Matsuishi Toyojiro 
Published: August 2011

AbstractBackground:  Large amounts of unusual bile acids are synthesized by the fetal liver in late gestation. These compounds are mostly transferred from fetus to mother, although some are excreted into the amniotic fluid. We investigated the role of placental transfer of bile acids in fetal bile acid metabolism, particularly with respect to the unusual bile acids (1β‐hydroxylated and ketonic bile acids).Methods:  We measured concentrations of bile acids in umbilical cord blood and urine of newborn infants, and in perinatal maternal serum and urine, using gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry. Serum and urine specimens from healthy non‐pregnant women were used as controls.Results:  In newborn infants at delivery, cord blood and urine contained mostly primary and 1β‐hydroxylated bile acids, respectively. We also detected large amounts of ketonic bile acids in their urine, and the urinary concentration of total bile acids was elevated. Main maternal bile acids at 30 and 35 weeks of gestation and at delivery were 1β‐hydroxylated bile acids. After delivery, main bile acids changed from 1β‐hydroxylated bile acids to primary bile acids (P < 0.03), which also predominated in healthy non‐pregnant women.Conclusion:  Fetally synthesized unusual bile acids were transported from fetus to mother. Pregnant women appear to excrete these bile acids into the urine, lowering both fetal and maternal serum bile acid concentrations.
Persistent left superior vena cava: Experience of a tertiary health‐care center
Authors: Kula Serdar , Cevik Ayhan , Sanli Cihat , Pektas Ayhan , Tunaoglu Fatma Sedef , Oguz Ayse Deniz , Olgunturk Rana 
Published: August 2011

AbstractBackground:  The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of persistent left superior vena cava (PLSVC) in patients with all types of congenital heart defects and to determine the congenital heart anomalies accompanying PLSVC.Methods:  The present study is based on a retrospective review of 1205 children who consecutively underwent cardiac catheterization from 2000 to 2007. In order to determine the existence of PLSVC, all the subjects routinely underwent superior vena cava (SVC) injection during angiography at the catheter laboratory of the study center.Results:  The prevalence of PLSVC was computed to be 6.1% for the present study population. Transthoracic echocardiography was able to detect PLSVC in 32 children (2.6%) whereas angiography diagnosed PLSVC in 74 children (6.1%). The mean age of the patients with PLSVC was 40.09 ± 50.21 months. A communication between the right and left SVC was determined in 27% of the children who were diagnosed with PLSVC after angiography was performed (20 out of 74). A statistically significant association was present between PLSVC and other congenital cardiac anomalies, including ventricular septal defect (n= 42, 56.8%), atrial septal defect (n= 31, 41.9%), pulmonary stenosis (n= 19, 25.7%), atrioventricular septal defect (n= 10, 13.5%), patent ductus arteriosus (n= 6, 8.1%) and cor triatriatum (n= 3, 4.1%).Conclusion:  Transthoracic echocardiography usually visualizes dilated coronary sinus in association with PLSVC. However, SVC injection should be performed in patients undergoing angiography so that morbidity and mortality related with persistent left superior vena cava can be avoided during cardiovascular surgery.
ADAMTS17 mutation associated with primary lens luxation is widespread among breeds
Authors: Gould David , Pettitt Louise , McLaughlin Bryan , Holmes Nigel , Forman Oliver , Thomas Anne , Ahonen Saija , Lohi Hannes , O’Leary Caroline , Sargan David , Mellersh Cathryn 
Published: August 2011

AbstractPrimary lens luxation (PLL) is a well‐recognized, painful and potentially blinding inherited ocular condition in dogs. We screened PLL‐affected dogs of 30 different breeds, to identify those which carried a previously described c.1473+1 G>A mutation in ADAMTS17 that is associated with PLL in Miniature Bull terriers, Lancashire Heelers, and Jack Russell terriers. This ADAMTS17 mutation was identified in PLL‐affected dogs from 14 additional breeds. PLL‐affected dogs from some breeds (most notably the Shar pei and the Brittany spaniel) did not carry the G1473+1A ADAMTS17 mutation, indicating they must suffer from a genetically distinct form of the condition. We also estimated the frequency of this ADAMTS17 mutation in some of the breeds. Our findings indicate the mutation segregates in a large number of different breeds of dog, many of which are terriers or breeds with terrier co‐ancestry, but some of which have more diverse origins. Our results also indicate that the mutation is present at high frequency within most of the breeds in which it segregates. In the miniature bull terrier breed estimates of mutation frequency ranged from 0.27 to 0.39, corresponding to 7.3–15.2% PLL‐affected dogs in this breed. We also identified an increased risk of PLL associated with heterozygosity at ADAMTS17, suggesting that carriers carry a low risk of developing PLL.
Anterior uveitis as an atypical presentation of large granular lymphoma in a caracal (Caracal caracal)
Authors: Aitken‐Palmer Copper , Isaza Ramiro , Dunbar Mark , Blackwood Sarah , Gerlach Trevor , Russell Kathy 
Published: August 2011

AbstractAn 11‐year‐old, female, spayed caracal (Caracal caracal) presented with a 3‐month history of intermittent anorexia, vomiting, and weight loss. At examination, bilateral anterior uveitis with anisocoria was present. Further examination under general anesthesia revealed the anterior chamber of the right eye contained copious amounts of thick fibrin, hypopyon, and hyphema obscuring the ventral pupil margin and ventral iris. Aqueous paracentesis revealed a cytologic diagnosis of large granular lymphoma. Additional antemortem diagnostics (computed tomography, ultrasound with fine needle aspiration, and cytology) confirmed the diagnosis of multicentric large granular lymphoma with associated intestinal perforation. Necropsy and histopathology confirmed multicentric large granular lymphoma in the right eye, jejunum, mesenteric lymph nodes, and right kidney. Large granular lymphoma in nondomestic felids is likely rare since it has not been previously reported, but should be considered as a differential in any felid species with anterior uveitis or when lymphoma is considered. In the case of this caracal, the use of aqueous paracentesis with cytology was a powerful diagnostic.
Diabetes—science, serendipity and common sense
Authors: Barnett A. H. 
Published: August 2011

Diabet. Med. 28, 1289–1299 (2011)AbstractThis paper is dedicated to young researchers in diabetes. One such person was Frederick Banting who, with his colleagues, isolated insulin in 1921, saving the lives of literally millions of people. What factors allowed Banting and other scientists to produce work that has immensely benefited the human race? I propose that it is the combination of good scientific background (the ‘prepared mind’), commonly some serendipity taken with a good dose of common sense and supplemented by enthusiasm, tenacity and good mentoring, which drives the ‘power of observation’ and the ability to take forward the good idea. I give examples from history to support this and then discuss some of the ‘truths, perspectives and controversies’ within the diabetes arena when I first started in diabetes research in the late 1970s. I describe how my appetite was initially ‘whetted’ for research by moving to an excellent clinical research environment with encouragement to test ideas and controversies initially in a clinical research programme, followed by more scientific/basic research. The work that I performed as a young doctor and research fellow led to a lifelong professional interest in three major areas—causes and interventions for diabetes vascular disease, studies of the molecular genetics of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and work on diabetes in different ethnic groups. I provide a summation of my own and other people’s work to demonstrate how research can be progressed and lead to patient benefit as well as providing an incredibly rewarding career. I believe that we need to encourage and put more resources into development of young doctors and scientists wishing to undertake research in our discipline. Areas ripe for much‐needed clinical research programmes, for example, include work on best practice/provision of health care, application of the evidence base from clinical trials to achieve public health gains, attention to adherence issues and better‐tolerated therapies. Most importantly, a greater emphasis on prevention through public health measures and ‘buy in’ from the whole population is urgently required.
Resisting the screening imperative: patienthood, populations and politics in prostate cancer detection technologies for the UK
Authors: Faulkner Alex 
Published: August 2011

AbstractThe introduction of mass screening programmes in the UK has been controversial. It is instructive to examine medical conditions for which screening has been actively considered but not introduced, such as prostate cancer. Incidence of the disease has escalated during the last 20 years, partly due to the upsurge in use of PSA (prostate‐specific antigen) detection technology. The controversy is moving into a new phase, associated with the development of new molecular genetic biomarkers and tests derived from genome‐association studies. The paper outlines the most recent scientific and technological developments for the three types of detection technology – PSA, genetic, and genomic. Applying concepts of risk, technology governance and technology expectations, it is shown that central public health governance actors continue to resist the tidal wave of new technologies through a variety of increasingly diverse governance modes. In the case of PSA, a governance trend moving beyond ‘responsibilisation’ to citizen rights is shown, whereas in the case of genetic tests and genomic risk profiling, state public health agencies are shown to be engaging in a form of technology expectation management, as it responds to a new marketplace of private commercial testing and mediatised science‐based visions of future healthcare.
“I WANTED ONE THING AND GOD WANTED ANOTHER . . . ”: The Dilemma of the Prophetic Example and the Qur'anic Injunction on Wife‐Beating
Authors: Chaudhry Ayesha S. 
Published: August 2011

ABSTRACTChapter 4, verse 34 of the Qur'an permits husbands to physically discipline recalcitrant wives. Modern Muslims who find this husbandly privilege discomfiting often rely on Muhammad's prophetic practice to mitigate the meaning of this verse. In light of Muhammad's example of never hitting his own wives, as found in one prophetic report, they reinterpret the verse as restricting and/or voiding a husband's right to physically discipline his wife. This essay provides a critical and expository survey of prophetic reports related to the husbandly privilege to physically discipline wives. The essay argues that the modernists are correct in positing that Muhammad's prophetic practice was to morally censure husbands who hit their wives. However, taken as a whole, it is impossible to ignore that Muhammad's example also unilaterally upheld physical discipline as a husband's marital right.
IS THE DEVIL IN THE DETAILS? Tension Between Minimalism and Comprehensiveness in the Shariah
Authors: Brown Jonathan A. C. 
Published: August 2011

ABSTRACTThe comprehensiveness of Islamic law has been questioned seriously in the modern period by Muslim reformists like Rashīd Riḍā. Such reformists have used as evidence Qur'anic verses and Prophetic reports that seem to state clearly that the strictures of Islamic law are few and limited and that Muslims should not extend them to all areas of life. How could the Shariah have developed as a holistic and exhaustive body of law in light of such evidence? Looking back at earlier Muslim scholars from the ninth to the eighteenth centuries, however, we see that these Qur'anic verses and Prophetic edicts were never understood in this way. They were either diffused with various hermeneutic strategies or understood as applying to debates unrelated to the comprehensiveness or minimalism of the Shariah.
NAFTA: The Unfulfilled Promise of the FTA
Authors: de Mestral Armand 
Published: August 2011

AbstractThis paper argues that while the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has been successful in fostering trade between the parties and in serving as a model for subsequent free trade agreements, it has not realised its potential. This results from the free trade format itself as well as the unwillingness of the parties to go beyond the free trade format and their refusal to deal with new trade and security issues within NAFTA.
Legal and Institutional Challenges of Economic Integration in Africa
Authors: Salami Iwa 
Published: August 2011

AbstractThere is a plethora of economic integration arrangements on the African continent and almost all African countries belong to more than one economic integration group. The African Union (AU), which was established in 2001, and which took over from the failed Organisation of African Unity, attempts to consolidate economic integration arrangements in Africa within one structure. Although this appears simple on paper, there are huge legal and institutional challenges and questions arise as to whether an African‐wide economic integration arrangement can be achieved within the time frame set for this in the African Economic Community (AEC) Treaty. This paper assesses the legal and institutional challenges facing the AU/AEC agenda.
Comparative gastroprotective effect of post‐treatment with low doses of rutin and cimetidine in rats
Authors: Olaleye Mary Tolulope , Akinmoladun Afolabi Clement 
Published: August 2011

AbstractThe anti‐ulcerogenic potentials of low doses of rutin and cimetidine in ethanol‐, acetic acid‐, and stress‐induced ulcers in rats have been evaluated and compared in this study. In each model, male Wistar rats were randomly divided into six groups (I–VI). Groups II–VI were administered 1 mL/100 g ethanol orally, 0.05 mL of 20% acetic acid submucosally or kept in a cold chamber for 6 h to induce ulcer in the ethanol‐, acetic acid‐, and stress‐induced ulceration model, respectively. Thereafter, group III was post‐treated with 300 mg/kg cimetidine and groups IV–VI with 20, 40, and 80 mg/kg rutin, respectively, while the control (group I) received distilled water in Tween 20. One hour after post‐treatment, all groups were killed and the gastric ulcer index was calculated. Malondialdehyde (MDA) level, vitamin C content, and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity were evaluated in the gastric mucosa of animals. Post‐treatment with rutin significantly reduced ulcerogen‐induced gastric damage in all models. This effect was significant at all dose levels compared with the ulcer‐induced groups. Rutin significantly reduced the MDA levels but increased the vitamin C content and GPx activity. Ulcer index and MDA level were highest in the ethanol‐induced ulcer model while vitamin C content and GPx activity were lowest in the stress‐induced ulcer model. The study showed that all three models of ulceration appeared to be linked to oxidative stress and also ascribed significant anti‐ulcerogenic potential to rutin especially at lower doses of 20–80 mg/kg.
Out of the Shadow and into the Light – the Impact and Implications of Recent Scholarship on the Jews of Medieval England 1066–1290
Authors: Mundill Robin R. 
Published: August 2011

AbstractThis survey is an introduction to the subject and also to the advances made in research in the last 25 years. It considers the rich and various primary sources that have been made available over the period. It then examines the archaeological footprint of the Jews of Medieval England. It sets out the progress that has been made whilst trying to answer the major key questions about the community. An examination of Jewish–Christian relations, Jew hatred and violence, religious disputations between Jew and Christian and Conversion is also made. A further section considers the Jews as businessmen and particularly highlights female as well as male money lenders and their business practice. Finally it supplies a comprehensive bibliography of work on this topic.