bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
p53 Levels Positively Correlate with Carotid Intima‐media Thickness in Patients with Subclinical Atherosclerosis
Authors: Chen Wenqiang , Wang Fen , Li Zongxin , Huang Xiaobo , Wang Ningqun , Dong Zhizhi , Sun Ping 
Published: December 2009

AbstractBackgroundThe level of circulating p53 is related to inflammation in asymptomatic subjects with cardiovascular risk factors. Whether p53 is associated with the severity of atherosclerosis remains to be determined.HypothesisThis study examines the relationship of systemic p53 levels with atherosclerotic risk factors and subclinical atherosclerosis.MethodsCirculating levels of p53 and markers of inflammation were measured in 356 subjects with cardiovascular risk factors but who were free from clinical cardiovascular disease. Subclinical atherosclerosis was evaluated by both the mean carotid intima‐media thickness (IMT) and the presence of atherosclerotic plaques with the use of B‐mode ultrasound in all subjects.Resultsp53 levels were positively correlated with age (r = 0.382, P < 0.001), intercellular adhesion molecular‐1 (ICAM‐1; r = 0.510, P < 0.01), vascular cell adhesion molecular‐1 (VCAM‐1; r = 0.497, P < 0.01), E‐selectin (r = 0.337, P < 0.01), and carotid IMT (r = 0.594, P < 0.01). The association between p53 and IMT remained significant in multiple regression analysis (P < 0.01) when controlling for traditional atherosclerotic risk factors and inflammatory markers.ConclusionHigher plasma p53 levels were associated with an increase in inflammatory markers, as well as increased carotid IMT. Circulating p53 may be useful in identifying subclinical atherosclerosis in subjects symptomatically free from cardiovascular disease. Copyright © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Statin Therapy Decreases Myocardial Function as Evaluated Via Strain Imaging
Authors: Rubinstein Jack , Aloka Feras , Abela George S. 
Published: December 2009

AbstractObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of statin therapy on myocardial function as measured with echocardiography with tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and strain imaging (SI) independent of its lipid‐lowering effect.BackgroundStatin use is known to improve outcomes in the primary and secondary prevention of ischemic heart disease, but their use is also associated with myopathy, muscle weakness and in rare cases, rhabdomyolysis. We sought to evaluate whether TDI and SI is able to identify changes in myocardial function associated with statin use.MethodsMyocardial function was evaluated in 28 patients via echocardiography with TDI and SI. We identified 12 patients (5 females) without overt cardiovascular disease (including hypertension, smoking, and diabetes) that were on statin therapy and compared their echocardiographic findings with 16 (12 females) age, sex, and cholesterol–profile‐matched controls. Tissue Doppler imaging parameters of diastolic (E′/A′ and E/E′) and systolic (S′) function were measured. Regional systolic function was obtained by SI in 4‐chamber, 2‐chamber, long axis, and average global views.ResultsThere was no significant difference in myocardial function as measured by Doppler and minor differences as measured via TDI among the 2 groups. There was significantly better function noted with SI in the control group vs the statin group in the 4‐chamber (−19.05% ± 2.45% vs −16.47% ± 2.37% P = 0.009), 2‐chamber (−20.30% ± 2.66% vs −17.45% ± 4.29% P = 0.03), long axis (−17.63% ± 3.79% vs −13.83% ± 3.74% P = 0.01), and average global (−19.0% ± 2.07% vs −15.91% ± 2.81% P = 0.004) views.ConclusionStatin therapy is associated with decreased myocardial function as evaluated with SI. Copyright © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Variability of Peripheral Arterial Tonometry in the Measurement of Endothelial Function in Healthy Men
Authors: Liu Jianmin , Wang Jingzhu , Jin Yan , Roethig Hans J. , Unverdorben Martin 
Published: December 2009

AbstractMeasurement of endothelial function using peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT) has been reported to be significantly correlated with coronary blood flow. Repetitive PAT measurements were performed in 22 healthy male subjects at test intervals of 1 hour (5 times within a day) and 0.5 hours (7 times within a day) to evaluate the variability of the reactive hyperemia index (RHI). A total of 10 subjects underwent additional repetitive PAT at 2 hour intervals (7 times within a day) for 3 consecutive days to evaluate the diurnal effects and day‐to‐day reproducibility. The RHI from each test was computed automatically based on a 15 minute recording of pulse wave amplitude changes of the fingers in response to reactive hyperemia induced by a 5 minute occlusion of the brachial artery. Intrasubject variability of RHI at different test intervals, defined as the coefficient of variation (CV) was 15.3% ± 5.3%, 16.1%± 7.8%, and 22.6% ± 3.9% for the tests at 0.5 hour, 1 hour, and 2 hour intervals, respectively. Reactive hyperemia indices measured at the same time points on each of the 3 days were not statistically significant. The interday reproducibility, presented as intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) ranged from − 0.07 to 0.47. We conclude that repetitive PAT measurements have no carryover effect on RHI at 1 hour, and 2 hour intervals, and the RHI measured at 0.5 hour intervals is associated with a trend of increase. The interday reproducibility is relatively low and the intrasubject variability of RHI is similar to those observed in studies of flow‐mediated dilation using brachial artery ultrasound scanning. Copyright © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Is Right Ventricular Outflow Tract Pacing Superior to Right Ventricular Apex Pacing in Patients with Normal Cardiac Function?
Authors: Gong Xue , Su Yangang , Pan Wenzhi , Cui Jie , Liu Shaowen , Shu Xianhong 
Published: December 2009

AbstractBackgroundWhether right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) pacing is superior to right ventricular apex (RVA) pacing in terms of ventricular synchrony, cardiac function, and remodeling in patients with normal cardiac function is still unknown.HypothesisRight ventricular outflow tract pacing is superior to RVA pacing in patients with normal cardiac function.MethodsA total of 96 consecutive patients with high or third‐degree atrial ventricular block were enrolled and randomized into 2 groups: RVOT pacing group (n = 48) and RVA pacing group (n = 48). Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and 2D echocardiography were performed to study left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic synchrony, LV volumes, and function.ResultsThere were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between the 2 groups. Left ventricular systolic asynchrony is more severe in the RVA pacing group than in the RVOT pacing group (P < 0.05), while diastolic synchrony is not significantly (NS) different between the 2 groups after pacing. There were no significant differences with respect to the mean myocardial systolic (Sm) and early diastolic velocities (Em), LV ejection fraction, LV end‐diastolic and systolic volume in the 2 groups at 12 months of follow‐up (all NS).ConclusionsAlthough RVOT pacing caused more synchronous LV contraction compared with RVA pacing, it had no benefit over RVA pacing in aspect of preventing cardiac remodeling and preserving LV systolic function after 12 months of pacing in patients with normal cardiac function. Copyright © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Work‐hardening characteristics of Zn‐Ti alloy single crystals
Authors: Boczkal G. , Mikulowski B. , Oertel C.‐G. , Skrotzki W. 
Published: December 2009

AbstractShear stress – shear strain curves of 0.14 at.%Ti alloyed Zn single crystals were measured in compression at different temperatures and shear strain rates. The work‐hardening coefficient for basal slip increases with decreasing temperature and increasing shear strain rate. The work‐hardening characteristics are compared with those reported for Zn single crystals with different constituents and purities. It is discussed with respect to the interaction of dislocations with dislocations, vacancies, vacancy agglomerates and solute atoms. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Synthesis, structure and optical properties of zinc oxide hexagonal microprisms
Authors: Kumari L. , Li W. Z. 
Published: December 2009

AbstractZinc oxide (ZnO) pencil‐head‐like (PHL) microprisms were synthesized by a hydrothermal route using a zinc (Zn) plate as a source and substrate. The structural analysis confirmed the formation of ZnO with hexagonal wurtzite phase on the hexagonal Zn substrate and the growth of the ZnO microparticles along the [101] direction. The room temperature photoluminescence (PL) of the ZnO microprisms showed a sharp UV emission band located at around 380 nm, which is expected to originate from the radiative recombination of free excitons. The sharp UV emission band, with a full width at half‐maximum of about 15 nm and an extremely weak visible emission, confirms the high crystal quality of the synthesized ZnO microprisms. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
An efficient mechanism for establishing IP connectivity in next‐generation networks
Authors: Campos Rui , Ricardo Manuel 
Published: December 2009

AbstractThe changes in the communication paradigm envisioned for next‐generation networks (NGNs), with peer‐to‐peer/symmetric attachments gaining momentum and two Internet Protocol (IP) versions coexisting, will pose new challenges to mobile communication networks. Traditional IP auto‐configuration mechanisms will not work properly, since they were designed mostly having in mind a client–server/asymmetric attachment model, they assume a single IP version paradigm, and they target the auto‐configuration of devices only. The IST Ambient Networks (ANs) project has introduced a new concept—the AN—that enables handling every communication entity, either a single device or an entire network, as an AN. This paper describes a new efficient mechanism, named Basic Connectivity (BC) mechanism, for auto‐configuring IP connectivity between attaching ANs. A proof‐of‐concept prototype, experimental results, and theoretical analysis show that BC suites the future networking paradigm and represents a solution more efficient than the current trial‐and‐error mechanism for auto‐configuring IP connectivity. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Synchronous ipsilateral Warthin tumor encased by a separate mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the parotid gland: A case report and review of the literature
Authors: Srivastava Sucheta , Nadelman Celina 
Published: December 2009

AbstractFine‐needle aspiration (FNA) is a cost effective and low morbidity procedure in the initial assessment of salivary gland tumors. However, cytological assessment of ipsilateral synchronous tumors (which make up less than 0.3% of all salivary gland neoplasms) may pose diagnostic challenges. Therefore, a wholesome approach, including FNA with clinical and radiological correlation, is of utmost importance. Here, we report a unique case of Warthin tumor encased by a separate high‐grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma that was first diagnosed on FNA. Another striking feature seen was the presence of chronic sialadenitis in the surrounding nonneoplastic salivary gland. The presence of two different neoplasms in the background of chronic sialadenitis raises the question of a possible causal relationship. Traditionally, there has been diagnostic difficulty when dealing with synchronous tumors of the salivary gland and the background of chronic sialadenitis may further complicate the diagnosis. FNA is very helpful and can give important cues to the diagnosis. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A posteriori error of a discontinuous Galerkin scheme for compressible miscible displacement problems with molecular diffusion and dispersion
Authors: Yang Jiming 
Published: December 2009

AbstractA kind of compressible miscible displacement problems including molecular diffusion and dispersion in porous media is studied. A symmetric interior penalty discontinuous Galerkin method is applied to the coupled system of flow and transport. Explicit a posteriori error estimates are obtained based on the duality argument, approximation properties and residual notations. The resulting error bound is shown to be reliable and worthwhile for guiding dynamic mesh adaptivity. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Lattice Boltzmann study of bubble entrapment during droplet impact
Authors: Huang Jun Jie , Shu Chang , Chew Yong Tian 
Published: December 2009

AbstractThe entrapment ofbubbleduring droplet impact on solid surfaces was studied by using a phase‐field lattice Boltzmann model (LBM). Numerous three‐dimensional simulations were performed and several types of entrapment were found under specific impact conditions. Some cases are similar to previous studies, whereas others are reported for the first time. Dissections of the entrapment processes were carried out, and detailed analyses of the flow fields and interface motions were provided at selected moments for certain cases. The effects of the Reynolds number, the Weber number and the surface wettability were analyzed based on the observation. Besides, some computational issues of phase‐field simulations were discussed for the present problem. Finally, the impact condition to prevent entrapment was preliminarily estimated in terms of the Ohnesorge number upon examination of numerous simulations. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Carbon‐Supported CoSe2 Nanoparticles for Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Acid Medium
Authors: Feng Y. J. , He T. , Alonso‐Vante N. 
Published: December 2009

AbstractCarbon‐supported CoSe2 nanoparticles, as non‐precious metal cathodic catalyst, were prepared via the in situ surfactant‐free method with the conventional heating. Structural and electrochemical properties of the obtained 20 wt.‐% CoSe2/C nanoparticles were investigated by means of powder X‐ray diffraction (PXRD), differential thermal gravimetric analysis (DTA‐DTG) and rotating disc electrode (RDE) techniques. CoSe2 nanoparticles have two kinds of crystal structure after heat treatment under nitrogen at different temperature: orthorhombic at 250 and 300 °C; cubic at 400 and 430 °C. The latter structure has higher oxygen reduction activity than the former in 0.5 M H2SO4. CoSe2/C nanoparticles after heat treatment from 250 to 430 °C, have an onset potential from 0.78 to 0.81 V versus the reference hydrogen electrode (RHE) in O2‐saturated 0.5 M H2SO4 at 25 °C. 20 wt.‐% CoSe2/C nanoparticles, after heat treatment at 300 °C, promote ca. 3.5 electrons, per oxygen molecule, transferred during the oxygen reduction process. They have an oxidation wave centred at 0.96 V versus RHE and display higher methanol tolerance as compared to 20 wt.‐% Pt/C (E‐TEK).
MMP‐2 alters VEGF expression via αVβ3 integrin‐mediated PI3K/AKT signaling in A549 lung cancer cells
Authors: Chetty Chandramu , Lakka Sajani S. , Bhoopathi Praveen , Rao Jasti S. 
Published: December 2009

AbstractVascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is one of the most important angiogenic growth factors for tumor angiogenesis. Here, we sought to explore whether RNA interference (RNAi) targeting matrix metalloproteinase‐2 (MMP‐2) could disrupt VEGF‐mediated angiogenesis in lung cancer. MMP‐2 siRNA inhibited lung cancer cell‐induced tube formation of endothelial cells in vitro; addition of recombinant human‐MMP‐2 restored angiogenesis. MMP‐2 transcriptional suppression decreased VEGF, phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI3K) protein levels and AKT phosphorylation in lung cancer cells. In addition, MMP‐2 suppression decreased hypoxia inducible factor‐1α (HIF‐1α), a transcription factor for VEGF, as determined by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). We also show that MMP‐2 suppression disrupted PI3K dependent VEGF expression; ectopic expression of myr‐AKT restored VEGF inhibition. Further, MMP‐2 suppression decreased the interaction of integrin‐αVβ3 and MMP‐2 as confirmed by immunoprecipitation analyses. Studies with either function blocking integrin‐αVβ3 antibody or MMP‐2 specific inhibitor (ARP‐100) indicate that suppression of MMP‐2 decreased integrin‐αVβ3‐mediated induction of PI3K/AKT leading to decreased VEGF expression. Moreover, A549 xenograft tissue sections from mice that treated with MMP‐2 siRNA showed reduced expression of VEGF and the angiogenic marker, factor‐VIII. The inhibition of tumor angiogenesis in MMP‐2 suppressed tumor sections was associated with decreased co‐localization of integrin‐αVβ3 and MMP‐2. In summary, these data provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying MMP‐2‐mediated VEGF expression in lung tumor angiogenesis.
The impact of macroeconomic uncertainty on firms' changes in financial leverage
Authors: Baum Christopher F. , Chakraborty Atreya , Liu Boyan 
Published: December 2009

AbstractWe investigate the relationship between a firm's measures of corporate governance, macroeconomic uncertainty and changes in leverage. Recent research highlights the role of governance in financing decisions. Previous research also indicates that macroeconomic uncertainty affects a firm's ability to borrow. In this paper we investigate how both these channels of influence affects firms' financing decisions. Our findings show that macroeconomic uncertainty has an important role to play, both by itself and in interaction with a measure of corporate governance. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The behavior of emerging market sovereigns' credit default swap premiums and bond yield spreads
Authors: Adler Michael , Song Jeong 
Published: December 2009

AbstractWe test whether credit risk for Emerging Market Sovereigns is priced equally in the credit default swap (CDS) and bond markets. The parity relationship between CDS premiums and bond yield spreads (BYS), that was tested and largely confirmed in the literature, is mostly rejected. Prices below par can result in positive basis, i.e. CDS premiums that are greater than BYS and vice versa. To adjust for the non‐par price, we construct the BYS implied by the term structure of CDS premiums for various maturities. We are able to restore the parity relation and confirm the equivalence of credit risk pricing in the CDS and bond markets for many countries that have bonds with non‐par prices and time varying credit quality. We detect non‐parity even after the adjustment mainly in countries in Latin America, where the bases are larger than the bid–ask spreads in the market. We also find that the repo rates of bonds decrease around episodes of credit quality deterioration, which helps the basis remain positive. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mean–variance econometric analysis of household portfolios
Authors: Miniaci Raffaele , Pastorello Sergio 
Published: December 2009

AbstractWe investigate households' portfolio choice using a microeconometric approach derived from mean–variance optimization. We assume that households have heterogeneous expectations on the distribution of excess returns and that they cannot take short positions in risky assets. Assuming two such assets, we derive an explicit solution of the model characterized by four possible portfolio regimes, which are analyzed using two structural probit and tobit specifications with three latent state variables. Both specifications are estimated by weighted maximum likelihood on a cross‐section of US households drawn from the 2004 SCF. The tobit specification is simulated in order to evaluate the regressors' effects on regime probabilities and asset demands. We also assess to what extent the predicted state variables are consistent with the self‐reported expected returns and risk aversion elicited from the SCF questionnaire. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The QM‐MM interface for CHARMM‐deMon
Authors: Lev Bogdan , Zhang Rui , de la Lande Aurélien , Salahub Dennis , Noskov Sergei Yu 
Published: December 2009

AbstractWe present a new QM/MM interface for fast and efficient simulations of organic and biological molecules. The CHARMM/deMon interface has been developed and tested to perform minimization and atomistic simulations for multi‐particle systems. The current features of this QM/MM interface include readability for molecular dynamics, tested compatibility with Free Energy Perturbation simulations (FEP) using the dual topology/single coordinate method. The current coupling scheme uses link atoms, but further extensions of the code to incorporate other available schemes are planned. We report the performance of different levels of theory for the treatment of the QM region, while the MM region was represented by a classical force‐field (CHARMM27) or a polarizable force‐field based on a simple Drude model. The current QM/MM implementation can be coupled to the dual‐thermostat method and the VV2 integrator to run molecular dynamics simulations. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010
Sequential steps underlying neuronal plasticity induced by a transient exposure to gabazine
Authors: Pegoraro Silvia , Broccard Frédéric D. , Ruaro Maria Elisabetta , Bianchini Daniele , Avossa Daniela , Pastore Giada , Bisson Giacomo , Altafini Claudio , Torre Vincent 
Published: December 2009

AbstractPeriods of intense electrical activity can initiate neuronal plasticity leading to long lasting changes of network properties. By combining multielectrode extracellular recordings with DNA microarrays, we have investigated in rat hippocampal cultures the temporal sequence of events of neuronal plasticity triggered by a transient exposure to the GABAAreceptor antagonist gabazine (GabT). GabT induced a synchronous bursting pattern of activity. The analysis of electrical activity identified three main phases during neuronal plasticity induced by GabT: (i) immediately after termination of GabT, an early synchronization (E‐Sync) of the spontaneous electrical activity appears that progressively decay after 3–6 h. E‐Sync is abolished by inhibitors of the ERK1/2 pathway but not by inhibitors of gene transcription; (ii) the evoked response (induced by a single pulse of extracellular electrical stimulation) was maximally potentiated 3–10 h after GabT (M‐LTP); and (iii) at 24 h the spontaneous electrical activity became more synchronous (L‐Sync). The genome‐wide analysis identified three clusters of genes: (i) an early rise of transcription factors (Cluster 1), primarily composed by members of the EGR and Nr4a families, maximally up‐regulated 1.5 h after GabT; (ii) a successive up‐regulation of some hundred genes, many of which known to be involved in LTP (Cluster 2), 3 h after GabT likely underlying M‐LTP. Moreover, in Cluster 2 several genes coding for K+channels are down‐regulated at 24 h. (iii) Genes in Cluster 3 are up‐regulated at 24 h and are involved in cellular homeostasis. This approach allows relating different steps of neuronal plasticity to specific transcriptional profiles. J. Cell. Physiol. 222: 713–728, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Sexually dimorphic tegumental gland openings in Laniatores (Arachnida, Opiliones), with new data on 23 species
Authors: Willemart Rodrigo H. , Pérez‐González Abel , Farine Jean‐Pierre , Gnaspini Pedro 
Published: December 2009

AbstractSexually dimorphic glands often release sexual pheromones both in vertebrates and invertebrates. Species of Laniatores (Arachnida, Opiliones) seem to depend on chemical communication but few studies have addressed this topic. In this study, we review the literature for the Phalangida and present new data for 23 species of Laniatores. In 16 taxa, we found previously undescribed sexually dimorphic glandular openings on the femur, patella, metatarsus, and tarsus of legs I and metatarsus of legs III and IV. For the other species, we provide scanning electron micrographs of previously undescribed sexually dimorphic setae and pegs located on swollen regions of the legs. We also list additional species in which males have swollen regions on the legs, including the tibia, metatarsus, and tarsus of legs I, trochanter and tibia of legs II, femur, metatarsus, and tarsus of legs III, and metatarsus and tarsus of legs IV. The function and biological role of the secretions released by these glands are discussed. J. Morphol., 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.