bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Detection of oligoclonal bands in cerebrospinal fluid from German Shepherd dogs with degenerative myelopathy by isoelectric focusing and immunofixation
Authors: Kamishina Hiroaki , Oji Takashi , Cheeseman Jennifer A. , Clemmons Roger M. 
Published: April 2008

Background: Detection of intrathecal IgG synthesis is important in evaluating inflammatory diseases in the central nervous system. Isoelectric focusing (IEF) is currently the most sensitive method to demonstrate intrathecal IgG synthesis and may have diagnostic value for German Shepherd degenerative myelopathy (GSDM).Objective: The objective of this study was to adapt a modified IEF and immunofixation method for the detection of oligoclonal bands in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from dogs with GSDM.Methods: Serum and lumbar CSF samples were collected from 6 German Shepherd dogs clinically diagnosed with GSDM. Samples were also collected from 6 clinically healthy dogs for comparison. The concentration of IgG was measured by quantitative ELISA and the concentration of total protein was measured by the Bradford protein assay. The presence of oligoclonal bands was evaluated by use of modified IEF followed by immunofixation.Results: The concentrations of total protein and IgG, and the IgG/total protein ratio in CSF samples, were not significantly different between GSDM patients and control dogs. Four GSDM patients had oligoclonal bands in their CSF based on IEF–immunofixation. No oligoclonal bands were found in CSF from control dogs.Conclusion: The results suggest that the detection of oligoclonal bands by IEF–immunofixation may have diagnostic value for GSDM, and support the idea that humoral immune responses may play a role in the pathogenesis of GSDM.
Importance of checking anti-glomerular basement membrane antibody status in patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-positive vasculitis
Authors: Gallagher J L , Sinha S , Reeve R , Kalra P A 
Published: April 2008

Abstract
The case is reported of a 68-year-old man with perinuclear anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (pANCA)-associated glomerulonephritis who developed antibodies to glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) resulting in end stage renal failure. His pANCA titre on admission was 1:1024 IgG and he was anti-myeloperoxidase positive. A renal biopsy showed advanced sclerosing necrotising glomerulonephritis consistent with a pauci-immune ANCA-positive glomerulonephritis. He was treated with steroids and cyclophosphamide. His serum creatinine profile improved. He had a relapse of disease 16 months later, which was successfully treated. After a further 16 months, he presented with acute renal failure (creatinine 1060 μmol/l). His pANCA titre on admission was 1:64 IgG. This was treated as a further relapse of ANCA-positive vasculitis. He became oliguric and his haemoglobin concentration fell. Eight days after admission, he was found to be strongly positive for anti-GBM (138 U/ml). Despite receiving cyclophosphamide, steroids and plasma exchange, he remained dialysis-dependent.
Pollen viability and germination in some neotropical aroids
Authors: Barabé Denis , Lavallée Karine , Gibernau Marc 
Published: April 2008

Pollen viability and germination were observed in six species of neotropical Araceae. In Anaphyllopsis americana (Engl.) A. Hay, 50% of pollen grains remain viable after 70 h following dehiscence, and it takes over 210 h for total loss of viability to occur. In Montrichardia arborescens (L.) Schott, approximately 50% of pollen grains are not viable after 24 h, and no germination occurs after 36 h. Monstera adansonii Schott and Philodendron pedatum (Hook.) Kunth have the lowest initial pollen viability (40%–55%) and lose half of this viability after approximately 30 h. Pollen grains of Monstera adansonii remain viable for at least 60 h and that of P. pedatum for approximately 40 h, and constitute another group with a similar viability pattern. In Philodendron melinonii Brongn. ex Regel and Philodendron solimoesense A.C. Sm., pollen loses 50% of its viability after 24 h, but remains viable for at least 48 h. The percentage of viability decreases in a pattern from species having a long flowering cycle and small pollen grains (A. americana) to species with a short flowering cycle and large pollen grains (M. arborescens).
Proactive Obligations: A Panacea for All Forms of Discrimination? Universal and Domestic Approaches to Equality, with Special Reference to Minority-Related Grounds of Discrimination
Authors: Meijknecht Anna 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThese two books deal with two different problems concerning the principles of discrimination and equality. Vandenhole, after analysis of all United Nations (UN) committees' decisions on non-discrimination and equality, sheds a sharp light on the problem of divergence in interpretation of these principles. Craig argues that the traditional complaint-based anti-discrimination laws are inherently inadequate to combat systemic ethnic discrimination in employment and examines an alternative regime: the imposition of proactive obligations on employers to promote equality at the workplace. An intriguing question raised by reading both books is whether imposing proactive obligations could be a panacea to other forms of discrimination as well, as described in Vandenhole's book.
Of Hernias and Wine-Jugs: Catalepton 12
Authors: Watson Lindsay 
Published: April 2008

AbstractReadings of Catalepton 12 have typically focussed on two details: the assertion that Noctuinus, in marrying one daughter of Atilius, is getting the other as well (6-8), and that, in wedding Atilia, Noctuinus is 'wedding an hirnea'. Virtually all interpreters take hirnea in a transferred sense, referring either to an 'hernia', supposedly used by a visual analogy for the bride-to-be's pregnancy (whence the detail of the 'second daughter') or, more usually, to hirnea in the sense of 'wine-jug': this is then explained, as before, as a metaphor for the bride's pregnancy, or, in the most widely adopted view, as referring to Atilius' habitual insobriety, which is like a second daughter to him, and which Atilius is taking on by marrying Atilia. Following up some brief remarks of Bücheler, it is argued here that Catalepton 12 only makes sense in terms of content, literary background, and ancient medical opinion, if hirnea (a widely attested alternative spelling of hernia) is understood to refer literally to an hernia or rupture, which Atilius will suffer by having to meet the sexual demands of both daughters of Atilius.
Theological Renewal (1975-1983): Listening to an Editor's Agenda for Church and Academy
Authors: Cartledge Mark 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThis article explores the theological agenda set out by Thomas A. Smail during the Charismatic Renewal of the mid 1970s and early 1980s through his contribution to the journal Theological Renewal, which he edited (1975-1983). Smail expounds a theology of renewal that engages with church and academy by offering a trinitarian framework and a christological focus. These features are placed in dialogue with his own personal experience of renewal in the Holy Spirit, contemporary issues in the Charismatic Renewal, and his theological education in the Reformed and Barthian traditions. What emerges from a critical reflection is not only insight into the theological climate of the period in which an early renewalist theologian was engaged, but also resources for contemporary Pentecostal/Charismatic theological construction.
Is Africa Incurably Religious? III: A Reply To A Rhetorical Response
Authors: van Rinsum Henk , Platvoet Jan 
Published: April 2008

AbstractWe reply in this article to Kehinde Olabimtan's polemical response to our article, 'Is Africa Incurably Religious?: Confessing and Contesting an Invention' [of Tradition], both published in this journal in 2003. We first review the setting of this exchange: the theological character of the journal Exchange, and then point to Olabimtan's strategy of polemically presenting our analysis in the terms of the old 'war' between atheist and religious scholarship on religions. Having carefully summarised the 'weapons' he used in his 'counter-attack' on our analysis, we dispassionately respond to them by pointing out first that our analysis was not inspired by an atheist approach to religions, but by methodological agnosticism, and then reply to Olabimtan's other misrepresentations of us and of p'Bitek. We conclude by pointing to the 'bridges' between his and our approaches, which Olabimtan did not explode.
Porphyry's Attempted Demolition of Christian Allegory
Authors: Granger Cook John 
Published: April 2008

AbstractPorphyry wrote the Contra Christianos during the time of the persecutions, and later several Christian rulers consigned it to the flames. In that work Porphyry included a penetrating critique of Christian allegory. Parts of his argument reappeared in the Protestant Reformers and subsequently in modern biblical research. Scholarship on Porphyry's text often is dominated by the historical problems that beset the fragment. Such problems can be temporarily put aside to carefully study the key terms in Porphyry's argument. The net gain of such an approach is to understand the power of the argument and its structure in a clearer light.
Objective Forecasting of Foehn Winds for a Subgrid-Scale Alpine Valley
Authors: Drechsel Susanne , Mayr Georg J. 
Published: April 2008

Abstract
Foehn winds often depend on topographical features of a scale that is not sufficiently resolved in numerical models. Consequently, a successful foehn forecast has crucially depended on the experience of bench forecasters. This study provides a method for an objective, probabilistic forecast of foehn occurrence and strength, based on an operational global model (ECMWF). Because model topography differs from real topography, forecasted wind is not a reliable indicator of a foehn. Instead, using the larger-scale fingerprint of foehn from cross-barrier pressure differences and the descent of isentropes is more successful. These foehn predictors were tested over a period of 3 yr for the subgrid-scale Wipp Valley in the central Alps, which is instrumented sufficiently for objectively diagnosing the occurrence and strength of a foehn. The joint probability from pressure differences and isentropic descent is better at diagnosing a foehn from model analyses than from the distributions of the individual parameters. The larger the pressure difference and the isentropic descent, the higher the foehn probability. As wind speed and pressure gradient are directly connected by the Bernoulli equation, the cross-barrier pressure difference in the model proved to be a suitable predictor for the strength of the foehn. Despite being a small-scale weather phenomenon, the skill of a objective foehn forecast out to 3 days degrades little compared to the analysis. Afterward, the predictability decreases progressively.
Forecast and Tracking the Evolution of Cloud Clusters (ForTraCC) Using Satellite Infrared Imagery: Methodology and Validation
Authors: Vila Daniel Alejandro , Machado Luiz Augusto Toledo , Laurent Henri , Velasco Inés 
Published: April 2008

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to develop and validate an algorithm for tracking and forecasting radiative and morphological characteristics of mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) through their entire life cycles using geostationary satellite thermal channel information (10.8 μm). The main features of this system are the following: 1) a cloud cluster detection method based on a threshold temperature (235 K), 2) a tracking technique based on MCS overlapping areas in successive images, and 3) a forecast module based on the evolution of each particular MCS in previous steps. This feature is based on the MCS’s possible displacement (considering the center of the mass position of the cloud cluster in previous time steps) and its size evolution. Statistical information about MCS evolution during the Wet Season Atmospheric Mesoscale Campaign (WETAMC) of the Large-Scale Biosphere–Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA) was used to obtain area expansion mean rates for different MCSs according to their lifetime durations. This nowcasting tool was applied to evaluate the MCS displacement and size evolution over the Del Plata basin in South America up to 120 min with 30-min intervals. The Forecast and Tracking the Evolution of Cloud Clusters (ForTraCC) technique’s performance was evaluated based on the difference between the forecasted and observed images. This evaluation shows good agreement between the observed and forecast size and minimum temperature for shorter forecast lead times, but tends to underestimate MCS size (and overestimate the minimum temperature) for larger forecast lead times.
Stem-cell-abundant proteins Nanog, Nucleostemin and Musashi1 are highly expressed in malignant cervical epithelial cells
Authors: Ye Feng , Zhou Caiyun , Cheng Qi , Shen Jiajie , Chen Huaizeng 
Published: April 2008

Abstract

Background
Nanog, nucleostemin (NS) and musashi1 (Msi1) are proteins that are highly expressed in undifferentiated embryonic stem (ES) cells and have been shown to be essential in maintaining the pluripotency and regulating the proliferation and asymmetric division of ES cells and several nervous system tumor cells. The roles of Nanog, NS and Msi1 in development and progression of cervical carcinoma have, until now, not been well documented.

Methods
In this study, expression of Nanog, NS and Msi1 was detected by immunohistochemistry analysis in 235 patients with various degrees of cervical epithelial lesions, including 49 with normal cervical epithelia, 31 with mild dysplasia (CIN I), 77 with moderate-severe dysplasia (CIN II-III) and 78 with squamous cervical carcinomas (SCCs). Associations with various clinical pathological prognostic variables were analyzed in 50 early-stage SCC patients.

Results
Nanog, NS and Msi1 expression levels were significantly higher in SCC patients compared with CIN patients, and were higher in CIN patients compared with those with normal cervical epithelia. Nanog expression levels showed significantly differences according to different tumor sizes (P < 0.05), whereas there were no differences in NS and Msi1 expression levels according to different clinical pathological parameters.

Conclusion
Our findings indicate that Nanog, NS and Msi1 may be involved in carcinogenesis of the cervix and progression of cervical carcinoma.
The effects of acute temperature change on swimming performance in bluegill sunfishLepomis macrochirus
Authors: Jones Emily A. , Jong Arianne S. , Ellerby David J. 
Published: April 2008

SUMMARYMany fish change gait within their aerobically supported range of swimming speeds. The effects of acute temperature change on this type of locomotor behavior are poorly understood. Bluegill sunfish swim in the labriform mode at low speeds and switch to undulatory swimming as their swimming speed increases. Maximum aerobic swimming speed (Umax),labriform-undulatory gait transition speed (Utrans) and the relationships between fin beat frequency and speed were measured at 14,18, 22, 26 and 30°C in bluegill acclimated to 22°C. At temperatures below the acclimation temperature (Ta), Umax, Utrans and the caudal and pectoral fin beat frequencies at these speeds were reduced relative to the acclimation level. At temperatures above Ta there was no change in these variables relative to the acclimation level. Supplementation of oxygen levels at 30°C had no effect on swimming performance. The mechanical power output of the abductor superficialis, a pectoral fin abductor muscle, was measured in vitro at the same temperatures used for the swimming experiments. At and below Ta, maximal power output was produced at a cycle frequency approximately matching the in vivo pectoral fin beat frequency. At temperatures above Ta muscle power output and cycle frequency could be increased above the in vivo levels at Utrans. Our data suggest that the factors triggering the labriform–undulatory gait transition change with temperature. Muscle mechanical performance limited labriform swimming speed at Ta and below, but other mechanical or energetic factors limited labriform swimming speed at temperatures above Ta.
Acoustic pressure and particle motion thresholds in six sciaenid fishes
Authors: Horodysky Andrij Z. , Brill Richard W. , Fine Michael L. , Musick John A. , Latour Robert J. 
Published: April 2008

SUMMARYSciaenid fishes are important models of fish sound production, but investigations into their auditory abilities are limited to acoustic pressure measurements on five species. In this study, we used auditory brainstem response (ABR) to assess the pressure and particle acceleration thresholds of six sciaenid fishes commonly found in Chesapeake Bay, eastern USA: weakfish(Cynoscion regalis), spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus),Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus), red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), spot (Leiostomus xanthurus) and northern kingfish(Menticirrhus saxatilis). Experimental subjects were presented with pure 10 ms tone bursts in 100 Hz steps from 100 Hz to 1.2 kHz using an airborne speaker. Sound stimuli, monitored with a hydrophone and geophone,contained both pressure and particle motion components. Sound pressure and particle acceleration thresholds varied significantly among species and between frequencies; audiograms were notably flatter for acceleration than pressure at low frequencies. Thresholds of species with diverticulae projecting anteriorly from their swim bladders (weakfish, spotted seatrout,and Atlantic croaker) were typically but not significantly lower than those of species lacking such projections (red drum, spot, northern kingfish). Sciaenids were most sensitive at low frequencies that overlap the peak frequencies of their vocalizations. Auditory thresholds of these species were used to estimate idealized propagation distances of sciaenid vocalizations in coastal and estuarine environments.
Mechanical specialization of the obliquely striated circular mantle muscle fibres of the long-finned squidDoryteuthis pealeii
Authors: Thompson Joseph T. , Szczepanski John A. , Brody Joshua 
Published: April 2008

SUMMARYThe centrally located, mitochondria-poor (CMP) and superficially located,mitochondria-rich (SMR) circular muscle fibres in the mantles of some squids provide one of the few known examples of specialization in an obliquely striated muscle. Little is known of the mechanical properties or of the mechanisms and performance consequences of specialization in these fibres. We combined morphological and physiological approaches to study specialization in the SMR and CMP fibres of the long-finned squid Doryteuthis pealeii. The mean thick filament length was 3.12±0.56 μm and 1.78±0.27μm for the SMR and CMP fibres, respectively. The cross-sectional areas of the whole fibre and the core of mitochondria were significantly higher in the SMR fibres, but the area occupied by the myofilaments did not differ between the two fibre types. The area of sarcoplasmic reticulum visible in cross sections was significantly higher in CMP fibres than in SMR fibres. In live bundles of muscle fibres partially isolated from the mantle, mean peak isometric stress during tetanus was significantly greater in SMR [335 mN mm–2 physiological cross section (pcs)] than in CMP (216 mN mm–2 pcs) fibres. SMR fibres had a lower average twitch:tetanus ratio (SMR=0.073; CMP=0.18) and a twofold lower unloaded maximum shortening velocity at 20°C (SMR=2.4 L0s–1; CMP=5.1 L0 s–1),where L0 was the preparation length that yielded the highest tetanic force. The structural differences in the two muscle fibre types play a primary role in determining their mechanical properties, and the significant differences in mechanical properties indicate that squid have two muscle gears. A simple model of the mantle shows that a gradient of strain and strain rate exists across the mantle wall, with fibres adjacent to the outer edge of the mantle experiencing 1.3- to 1.4-fold lower strain and strain rate than fibres adjacent to the inner edge of the mantle. The model also predicts that the CMP fibres generate virtually no power for slow jetting while the SMR fibres are too slow to generate power for the escape jets. The transmural differences in strain and strain rate predicted by the model apply to any cylindrical animal that has circumferentially oriented muscle fibres and an internal body cavity.
Performance Advantages of Turbine Oils Formulated with Group II and Group III Basestocks
Authors: Irvine DJ 
Published: April 2008

High temperature gas turbine applications, such as GE Frame 7 turbines, place high demands on the thermal and oxidative stability of turbine oils. Successful products not only start with a superior quality basestock, but must also employ a carefully balanced, low volatility, thermally stable additive system. The excellent properties of Group II and Group III basestocks such as high viscosity index, low volatility, superior oxidative resistance, and high thermal stability make them ideal choices for this service. Turbine oils formulated with severely hydrocracked Group II and Group III basestocks offer performance on par with those formulated with synthetic hydrocarbons.
A brief review of the role and requirements of modern turbine oils is given together with a more extensive look at current basestock technology versus traditional solvent refined basestocks. Additive selection for high temperature turbine oils is also discussed.
In addition, data presenting the impact of poly-cycloparaffin content on the stability of highly saturated Group II and Group III basestocks is presented. The oxidative stability of additized basestocks increases as poly-cycloparaffin content decreases.
The Luleå Ball and Disc Apparatus
Authors: Lord J , Jonsson U , Larsson R , Marklund O , Eriksson E , Uusitalo Ö 
Published: April 2008

The ability to measure lubricant film thickness in elastohydrodynamic point contacts was greatly improved when the method of interferometry was introduced in the late 1960s. Constant refinements of the technique have made it possible to measure the thickness of thin films with an accuracy of a few nanometers. In order to further develop the technique and provide a tool for advanced lubricant experiments, a Ball and Disc Apparatus was developed. The aim was to accomplish an apparatus with an “open architecture” for easy expansion and the ability to use several sub-methods for film thickness determination.
The combination of suitable computer programming, electronics, mechanics, optics and fluid dynamics made it a complex task since several individuals had to merge their ideas into one design where the result had to be satisfying in all aspects. Even though the apparatus is under constant development, the basics are the same: a mainly computer controlled apparatus able to measure film thicknesses with high accuracy down to zero, friction force from zero to 120 N, contact loads from zero to 140 N (solely dependent on the disc used), running speeds, apart from static, from at least 1×10-3 to 4 m/s and producing detailed digital interferograms directly onto the computer's hard drive for analysis.
Analyzing images is itself a tedious and sometimes difficult task if the appropriate tools are not available. However, a multi-channel method was also developed concurrently which does not depend on the usual colorimetric calibration problems, but rather on a trichromatic light source. This method of determining film thicknesses reduces the time spent to a few seconds per image captured during operation.