bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Utility of parametrectomy for early stage cervical cancer treated with radical hysterectomy
Authors: Wright Jason D. , Grigsby Perry W. , Brooks Rebecca , Powell Matthew A. , Gibb Randall K. , Gao Feng , Rader Janet S. , Mutch David G. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractBACKGROUND.Removal of the parametrial soft tissue is recommended for patients with cervical cancer undergoing radical hysterectomy. Parametrectomy results in significant morbidity. The objective of the study was to determine factors predictive of parametrial tumor spread and to define a subset of patients at low risk for parametrial disease.METHODS.Patients with invasive cervical cancer who underwent radical hysterectomy from 1989–2005 were examined. Analysis was performed to determine factors associated with parametrial tumor spread. Survival estimates were determined using the Kaplan‐Meier method.RESULTS.A total of 594 patients were identified. Parametrial metastases were documented in 64 (10.8%). Factors associated with parametrial disease were: histology, advanced grade, deep cervical invasion, lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI), large tumor size, advanced stage, uterine or vaginal involvement, and pelvic or para‐aortic lymph node metastases (P < .0001 for each). Parametrial metastases were associated with increased risk of recurrence and decreased disease‐free and overall survivals (P < .0001). A subgroup analysis was performed to identify patients at low risk for parametrial spread. In pelvic node‐negative women parametrial disease was noted in 6.0% (30/498) compared with 47.9% (34 of 71) of those with positive pelvic nodes (P < .0001). If further stratified to women with negative nodes, no LVSI, and tumors < 2 cm, the incidence of parametrial disease was only 0.4%.CONCLUSIONS.Parametrial spread is a strong predictor of recurrence and decreased survival. Parametrial invasion is rare in patients with small tumors, no LVSI, and negative pelvic nodes (no poor prognostic factors). Further study is warranted to determine the feasibility of omitting parametrectomy in these low‐risk patients. Cancer 2007. © 2007 American Cancer Society.
Multimodality therapy for pancreatic cancer in the U.S.
Authors: Bilimoria Karl Y. , Bentrem David J. , Ko Clifford Y. , Tomlinson James S. , Stewart Andrew K. , Winchester David P. , Talamonti Mark S. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractBACKGROUND.Despite decreased perioperative morbidity and mortality and clinical trials suggesting improved outcomes with adjuvant therapy, national practice patterns in the management of pancreatic cancer remain poorly defined. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate multimodality therapy utilization and outcomes relative to hospital type and volume.METHODS.Using the National Cancer Data Base, stage‐specific treatment patterns were analyzed for 301,033 patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Logistic regression was used to evaluate treatment utilization. Cox proportional hazards modeling was utilized to evaluate the effect of multimodality therapy on survival.RESULTS.Stage at presentation did not differ from 1985–1994 to 1995–2003; however, the percentage of patients receiving cancer‐directed treatment increased from 45.1% to 51.8% (P< .001). Pancreatectomy for localized disease (AJCC 6th edition stages I and II) increased from 36.9% to 49.3% (P< .001). After resection, the use of adjuvant chemotherapy alone increased from 4.1% to 5.7% (P< .001), but the use of adjuvant radiation alone decreased from 7.0% to 4.6% (P< .001). Adjuvant chemoradiation use increased from 26.8% to 38.7% (P< .001). The use of surgery alone decreased from 62.1% (5213 of 8400 cases) to 49.9% (10,807 of 21,679 cases) (P< .001). Patients with localized pancreatic cancer were more likely to receive pancreatectomy and adjuvant chemoradiation at academic and high‐volume centers (P< .001). Survival for localized disease was better after surgery with adjuvant therapy (hazards ratio [HR], 0.44; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.42–0.47) and surgical resection alone (HR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.52–0.57) compared with no treatment.CONCLUSIONS.To the authors' knowledge, the current study is the largest study regarding pancreatic cancer performed to date, and the first to investigate national practice patterns for multimodality therapy utilization. Multimodality therapy utilization has increased over time and appears to have a beneficial impact on survival. Cancer 2007. © 2007 American Cancer Society.
A critical appraisal of conventional and investigational drug therapy in patients with hypereosinophilic syndrome and clonal eosinophilia
Authors: Kalac Matko , Quintás‐Cardama Alfonso , Vrhovac Radovan , Kantarjian Hagop , Verstovsek Srdan 
Published: July 2007

AbstractHypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) is a rare disorder characterized by persistent and marked eosinophilia, leading to end‐organ damage. Over the last decade, great progress has been made in unraveling the molecular basis of HES that has resulted in the characterization of specific genetic alterations linked to clonal eosinophilia. The most frequently encountered genetic aberrancy is the cryptic FIP1‐like 1/platelet‐derived growth factor receptor α (FIP1L1‐PDGFRA) fusion transcript, which results in an eosinophilic, myeloproliferative disorder. In addition, in a subset of patients with HES, a population of aberrant T cells that secretes interleukin‐5 can be identified, indicating the existence of lymphocyte‐mediated hypereosinophilia. These new insights have led to both a genetically based (re)classification of eosinophilic blood disorders and to effective therapies with targeted agents, such as small‐molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors (eg, imatinib, nilotinib, PKC412) and, more recently, monoclonal antibodies (eg, mepolizumab, alemtuzumab). These targeted therapies hold great promise for improving the clinical outcomes of patients with HES and clonal eosinophilia, and they have exhibited relatively safe toxicity profiles. Cancer 2007. © 2007 American Cancer Society.
Neurotoxicity of bortezomib therapy in multiple myeloma: A single‐center experience and review of the literature
Authors: Badros Ashraf , Goloubeva Olga , Dalal Jay S. , Can Ilyas , Thompson Jennifer , Rapoport Aaron P. , Heyman Meyer , Akpek Gorgon , Fenton Robert G. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractBACKGROUND.Bortezomib is active in heavily pretreated multiple myeloma patients; the dose‐limiting toxicity is peripheral neuropathy (PN).METHODS.The authors retrospectively reviewed the incidence, severity, and risk factors for PN in 78 patients who received bortezomib. The median age was 57 years (range, 33–80 years), 62% of patients were men, and 37% of patients were African Americans. Seventeen patients (22%) had diabetes mellitus (DM), and 66 patients (85%) had received thalidomide. Before bortezomib treatment, 37% of the patients reported subjective, grade 1 or 2 PN. Patients received bortezomib alone (n = 10 patients) plus dexamethasone (n = 36 patients) and thalidomide (n = 20 patients) or chemotherapy (n = 12 patients). PN affected 52% of patients, including grade 3 and 4 PN in 15% and 7%, respectively.RESULTS.Twelve patients stopped bortezomib because of side effects that included PN (n = 9 patients), diarrhea (n = 2 patients) and cytomegalovirus pneumonia (n = 1 patient); 11 patients had dose reductions because of PN. Grade 4 PN affected 6 patients (sensory, n = 4 patients; motor/sensory, n = 2 patients). The onset of grade 4 PN was sudden rather than cumulative. Factors that were predictive of PN grade were baseline PN (P = .002), prior thalidomide use (P = .03), and the presence of DM (P = .03). Multiple myeloma responses included complete, near complete, and partial responses in 5% of patients, 10% of patients, and 27% of patients, respectively. Responses were independent of PN and of whether bortezomib was combined with chemotherapy or thalidomide. Patients remained on therapy longer for a median of 5 cycles (range, 2–36 cycles) when they received bortezomib plus thalidomide versus 3 cycles (range, 1–19 cycles) for the other combinations. PN therapy was mostly supportive. It was noteworthy that 6 of 9 patients with PN who received lenalidomide as salvage therapy after bortezomib had significant improvement in their symptoms.CONCLUSIONS.The risk of bortezomib‐related PN was greater in patients who had PN and DM at baseline. The authors concluded that an unexpected, symptomatic improvement of PN on lenalidomide is worth further investigation. Cancer 2007. © 2007 American Cancer Society.
Specification, planning, and execution of QoS‐aware Grid workflows within the Amadeus environment
Authors: Brandic Ivona , Pllana Sabri , Benkner Siegfried 
Published: July 2007

AbstractCommonly, at a high level of abstraction Grid applications are specified based on the workflow paradigm. However, majority of Grid workflow systems either do not support Quality of Service (QoS), or provide only partial QoS support for certain phases of the workflow lifecycle. In this paper we present Amadeus, which is a holistic service‐oriented environment for QoS‐aware Grid workflows. Amadeus considers user requirements, in terms of QoS constraints, during workflow specification, planning, and execution. Within the Amadeus environment workflows and the associated QoS constraints are specified at a high level using an intuitive graphical notation. A distinguishing feature of our system is the support of a comprehensive set of QoS requirements, which considers in addition to performance and economical aspects also legal and security aspects. A set of QoS‐aware service‐oriented components is provided for workflow planning to support automatic constraint‐based service negotiation and workflow optimization. For improving the efficiency of workflow planning we introduce a QoS‐aware workflow reduction technique. Furthermore, we present our static and dynamic planning strategies for workflow execution in accordance with user‐specified requirements. For each phase of the workflow lifecycle we experimentally evaluate the corresponding Amadeus components. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Automatic dendritic spine analysis in two‐photon laser scanning microscopy images
Authors: Bai Wenjia , Zhou Xiaobo , Ji Liang , Cheng Jie , Wong Stephen T. C. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractDendritic spine expression plays an important role in the central nervous system. Modern fluorescence microscopy and green fluorescent protein technology have facilitated the research on spines. To quantitatively analyze the spines in fluorescence microscopy images, an automatic dendritic spine analysis method is proposed. Because of the limit of axial resolution, our method is designed to process the projection image along the z‐axis and analyze the lateral spines. The method can automatically extract the dendrite centerlines and segment the spines along the dendrites according to width‐based criteria. The criteria utilize a common morphological feature of the spines. It can detect some shapes of spines missed by previous methods. In addition, the proposed method is automatic once a few parameters are set. Spine numbers, lengths, and densities, which biologists are interested in, are analyzed both manually and automatically. The results of the two methods match well. The proposed method provides automatic and accurate dendritic spine analysis. It can serve as a useful tool for spine image analysis to avoid tedious manual labor. © 2007 International Society for Analytical Cytology
TCR and CD3 antibody cross‐reactivity in 44 species
Authors: Conrad Melanie L. , Davis William C. , Koop Ben F. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe production of monoclonal antibodies is very costly, and antibodies are only available for a limited number of species. Until a more cost effective method of antibody production is found, identification of cross‐reactive antibodies is an alternative approach that can provide investigators studying immunity in minor species with valuable antibody reagents. Flow cytometry was used to test 21 monoclonal antibodies (mAb), raised against αβ and γδ T cell receptors and CD3 from human and five animal species, for cross‐reactivity in 44 different species including 16 species of nonhuman primates, marsupials, carnivores, lagomorphs, rodents, ruminants, swine, cetacean, horse, birds, a reptile, and fish. Fifteen of the mAbs cross‐reacted with orthologous molecules in one or more species. Two antibodies, anti‐human TCR γδ (B1.1), and anti‐human CD3 (SP34) were found to costain in 13 species of nonhuman primates. This study has identified valuable new reagents for studying T cell populations in different animal species and for the first time characterized antibodies useful for studying γδ T cell populations in many species of primates. These antibodies may be used for further immunity research in species with less well‐characterized immune systems. © 2007 International Society for Analytical Cytology
Detection of blob objects in microscopic zebrafish images based on gradient vector diffusion
Authors: Li Gang , Liu Tianming , Nie Jingxin , Guo Lei , Malicki Jarema , Mara Andrew , Holley Scott A. , Xia Weiming , Wong Stephen T. C. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe zebrafish has become an important vertebrate animal model for the study of developmental biology, functional genomics, and disease mechanisms. It is also being used for drug discovery. Computerized detection of blob objects has been one of the important tasks in quantitative phenotyping of zebrafish. We present a new automated method that is able to detect blob objects, such as nuclei or cells in microscopic zebrafish images. This method is composed of three key steps. The first step is to produce a diffused gradient vector field by a physical elastic deformable model. In the second step, the flux image is computed on the diffused gradient vector field. The third step performs thresholding and nonmaximum suppression based on the flux image. We report the validation and experimental results of this method using zebrafish image datasets from three independent research labs. Both sensitivity and specificity of this method are over 90%. This method is able to differentiate closely juxtaposed or connected blob objects, with high sensitivity and specificity in different situations. It is characterized by a good, consistent performance in blob object detection. © 2007 International Society for Analytical Cytology
Mixture‐model classification in DNA content analysis
Authors: Wang Huixia , Huang Shuguang 
Published: July 2007

AbstractDNA abundance provides important information about cell physiology and proliferation activity. In a typical in vitro cellular assay, the distribution of the DNA content within a sample is comprised of cell debris, G0/G1‐, S‐, and G2/M‐phase cells. In some circumstances, there may be a collection of cells that contain more than two copies of DNA. The primary focus of DNA content analysis is to deconvolute the overlapping mixtures of the cellular components, and subsequently to investigate whether a given treatment has perturbed the mixing proportions of the sample components. We propose a restricted mixture model that is parameterized to incorporate the available biological information. A likelihood ratio (LR) test is developed to test for changes in the mixing proportions between two cell populations. The proposed mixture model is applied to both simulated and real experimental data. The model fitting is compared with unrestricted models; the statistical inference on proportion change is compared between the proposed LR test and the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, which is frequently used to test for differences in DNA content distribution. The proposed mixture model outperforms the existing approaches in the estimation of the mixing proportions and gives biologically interpretable results; the proposed LR test demonstrates improved sensitivity and specificity for detecting changes in the mixing proportions. © 2007 International Society for Analytical Cytology
Enhancing cognitive radio systems with robust reasoning
Authors: Adamopoulou Evgenia , Demestichas Konstantinos , Demestichas Panagiotis , Theologou Michael 
Published: July 2007

AbstractCognitive radio systems dynamically reconfigure the algorithms and parameters they use, in order to adapt to the changing environment conditions. However, reaching proper reconfiguration decisions presupposes a way of knowing, with high enough assurance, the capabilities of the alternate configurations, especially in terms of achievable transmission capacity and coverage. The present paper addresses this problem, firstly, by specifying a complete process for extracting estimations of the capabilities of candidate configurations, in terms of transmission capacity and coverage, and, secondly, by enhancing these estimations with the employment of a machine learning technique. The technique is based on the use of Bayesian Networks, in conjunction with an effective learning and adaptation strategy, and aims at extracting and exploiting knowledge and experience, in order to reach robust (i.e. stable and reliable) estimations of the configurations' capabilities. Comprehensive results of the proposed method are presented, in order to validate its functionality. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sp1/Sp3 compound heterozygous mice are not viable: Impaired erythropoiesis and severe placental defects
Authors: Krüger Imme , Vollmer Marion , Simmons David , Elsässer Hans‐Peter , Philipsen Sjaak , Suske Guntram 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe ubiquitously expressed zinc finger transcription factors Sp1 and Sp3 play critical roles in embryonic development. Sp1 knockout mice die around embryonic day 10.5. Mice lacking Sp3 are postnatal lethal. Mice heterozygous for either Sp1 or Sp3 are apparently normal, although slightly smaller. Here, we show that compound heterozygosity of Sp1 and Sp3 results in embryonic lethality accompanied by a spectrum of developmental abnormalities, including growth retardation, morphological alterations of the lung, impaired ossification, anemia, and placental defects. Anemia in Sp1/Sp3 compound heterozygous mutant embryos is associated with impaired maturation of erythrocytes. Analyses of the placenta revealed a markedly reduced spongiotrophoblast layer and a severe disorganization of the labyrinth layer in Sp1/Sp3 compound heterozygous as well as in Sp3‐deficient mutant embryos. Our findings demonstrate that a threshold of Sp1 and Sp3 activity is required for normal embryonic development, suggesting that Sp1 and Sp3 act cooperatively to regulate downstream targets. Developmental Dynamics 236:2235–2244, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Sox6 is required for normal fiber type differentiation of fetal skeletal muscle in mice
Authors: Hagiwara Nobuko , Yeh Michael , Liu Ann 
Published: July 2007

AbstractSox6, a member of the Sox family of transcription factors, is highly expressed in skeletal muscle. Despite its abundant expression, the role of Sox6 in muscle development is not well understood. We hypothesize that, in fetal muscle, Sox6 functions as a repressor of slow fiber type‐specific genes. In the wild‐type mouse, differentiation of fast and slow fibers becomes apparent during late fetal stages (after approximately embryonic day 16). However, in the Sox6 null‐p100H mutant mouse, all fetal muscle fibers maintain slow fiber characteristics, as evidenced by expression of the slow myosin heavy chain MyHC‐β. Knockdown of Sox6 expression in wild‐type myotubes results in a significant increase in MyHC‐β expression, supporting our hypothesis. Analysis of the MyHC‐β promoter revealed a Sox consensus sequence that likely functions as a negative cis‐regulatory element. Together, our results suggest that Sox6 plays a critical role in the fiber type differentiation of fetal skeletal muscle. Developmental Dynamics 236:2062–2076, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The embryonic human choriocapillaris develops by hemo‐vasculogenesis
Authors: Hasegawa Takuya , McLeod D. Scott , Bhutto Imran A. , Prow Tarl , Merges Carol A. , Grebe Rhonda , Lutty Gerard A. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to characterize normal human choroidal vascular development from 6–23 weeks gestation (WG). Markers of endothelial cells (EC) (CD34, CD31, vWf), angioblasts and EC (CD39), leukocytes (CD45), erythroblasts (epsilon chain of hemoglobin, Hb‐e), proliferating cells (Ki67), and VEGFR‐2 were employed. At 6–7 WG, many erythroblasts were observed within islands of precursor cells in the choriocapillaris layer and others were independent from the islands. Many erythroblasts (Hb‐ϵ+) were also positive for EC markers and/or VEGFR‐2. By 8–12 WG, most of the Hb‐ϵ cells had disappeared and vascular lumens became apparent. At 14–23 WG, some EC were proliferating on the scleral side of choriocapillaris in association with forming deeper vessels. In conclusion, embryonic choriocapillaris appears to form initially by hemo‐vasculogenesis (blood vessels and blood cells form simultaneously from common precursors) while angiogenesis appears to be the mode of intermediate and large choroidal vessel development in the fetus. Developmental Dynamics 236:2089–2100, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Expression of Wise in chick embryos
Authors: Shigetani Y. , Itasaki N. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractWe have performed in situ hybridization to study the expression of Wise in early chick embryos. Wise expression is first detectable in the ectoderm at posterior levels of late neurula. As development proceeds, Wise expression is seen in specific patterns in the ectoderm of the trunk region, pharyngeal arches, limb buds, and feather buds. In addition to these areas, particular cartilages such as the ones in the maxillary process and limbs start to express Wise at the late pharyngula stage, and the expression in these cartilages becomes stronger than that in epidermal components at later stages. Importantly, Wise is expressed in regions where other signaling molecules such as Wnt, Bmp, and Shh are known to function in morphogenesis and differentiation. Direct comparisons of the expression of Wise and these genes are also demonstrated. Developmental Dynamics 236:2277–2284, 2007. Published 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Expression of chick Fgf19 and mouse Fgf15 orthologs is regulated in the developing brain by Fgf8 and Shh
Authors: Gimeno L. , Martinez S. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractFibroblast growth factors (Fgfs) constitute a family of signaling molecules that play essential roles in development. We have studied the expression pattern of mouse Fgf15 in the developing brain. Fgf19 is another member of the FGF family that has been suggested as the chick and human ortholog of mouse and rat Fgf15. Here, we compare the expression pattern during neural development of chick Fgf19 with mouse Fgf15. Unlike Fgf15, Fgf19 presents an expression in the isthmic alar plate, diencephalic and mesencephalic parabasal plates, hindbrain basal plate, as well as in the zona limitans intrathalamica (zli). Moreover, we explored the regulation between Fgf19 and the signaling molecules of the isthmic and zli organizers: Fgf8 and Shh, respectively. Considering the possibility that Fgf19 plays a similar role in humans and chicks, this finding could explain the significant diencephalic phenotypic differences between humans and mice in models and diseases where the Shh pathway is affected. Developmental Dynamics 236:2285–2297, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.