bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Dynamic instability of frames having thin‐walled columns
Authors: Sridharan Srinivasan , Ashraf Ali M. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractDynamic instability of single storey frames having thin‐walled columns has been investigated. The lateral loads sustained by the frame are dynamic in character, while the axial loads are deemed to be quasi‐statically applied. The analytical model employed by the authors has the capability of modelling the combined action of the two ‘companion’ local modes whose amplitudes are variable along the length of the column and any type of end conditions of the members.For given levels of axial loads sustained by the columns, the magnitudes of lateral loads causing instability can be significantly smaller than those corresponding to static buckling, provided the dynamic load is of sufficient duration. There exists, however, a threshold value of axial force carried by the columns, below which there is no elastic instability—static or dynamic.For columns with overall critical loads several times greater than the local critical load, there is no danger of elastic instability, but the deflections under dynamic lateral loads of less than 1 per cent of the axial load may reach such huge values that there is a serious danger of localized plastic collapse. It is also shown that moment frames having thin‐walled columns such as those fabricated out of cold formed steel are extremely vulnerable to moderate seismic excitations.
Seismic damage prediction by deterministic methods: Concepts and procedures
Authors: Powell Graham H. , Allahabadi Rakesh 
Published: March 2007

AbstractAlthough the prediction of seismic damage is primarily a probabilistic problem, deterministic analysis can nevertheless be a valuable tool. This paper reviews the concepts which have been used in damage prediction, and identifies and classifies several specific techniques. Techniques of two types are considered, the first based on the balance between some demand on the structure and its corresponding capacity, and the second on the degradation of some structural property. For each technique, one or more damage parameters can be computed, and from these a damage index can be estimated. Several alternative choices for the damage parameters are identified. Procedures for computing values for these parameters, and relating them to damage indices, are suggested.
Non‐stationary spectral moments of base excited MDOF systems
Authors: Borino G. , di Paola M. , Muscolino G. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractThe paper deals with the evaluation of non‐stationary spectral moments of multi‐degree‐of‐freedom (MDOF) line systems subjected to seismic excitations. The spectral moments of the response are evaluated in incremental form solution by means of an unconditionally stable step‐by‐step procedure.As an application, the statistics of the largest peak of the response are also evaluated.
Stable semi‐explicit algorithms for non‐linear dynamic problems
Authors: Kujawski Jerzy 
Published: March 2007

AbstractSemi‐explicit iterative algorithms for time integration of large‐scale non‐linear dynamic problems are presented. They use iteratively only forward substitution which allows for the vectorial computation with both consistent and lumped mass matrices. The stability and rate of convergence of the non‐linear iterative solutions can be improved using single or multiparameter acceleration procedures. Numerical results show the stability, accuracy and efficiency of the algorithms.
Stiffness of non‐skew monolithic bridge abutments for seismic analysis
Authors: Wilson John C. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractA simple analytic model is developed to describe the stiffness of non‐skew monolithic highway bridge abutments for purposes of seismic bridge analysis. The model permits an evaluation of six equivalent discrete spring stiffnesses for three translational and three rotational degrees‐of‐freedom of the abutment and includes effects of the abutment walls, pile foundations and soil. These springs can be incorporated as boundary elements in a more detailed finite element analysis of the dynamic response of the bridge superstructure. A parametric study examines a range of abutment stiffnesses for 2, 4 and 6 lane highway bridges. Application of the model to a single span bridge indicates the importance of including abutment stiffness in the determination of bridge frequencies and mode shapes in the transverse and vertical directions.
Yield of a new method to detect cognitive impairment in general practice
Authors: Jansen Aaltje P. D. , van Hout Hein P. J. , Nijpels Giel , van Marwijk Harm W. J. , de Vet Henrica C. W. , Stalman Wim A. B. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractObjectiveTo examine whether a new screening method that identified patients with cognitive impairment who needed further examination on the presence of dementia yielded patients who were not detected by their general practitioner (GP), and to identify factors associated with GPs' awareness of patients identified by the screening.MethodsCross‐sectional comparison between two methods used to identify dementia symptoms: (1) usual identification of dementia by GPs; (2) a two‐stage screening to identify cognitive impairment. The two methods were implemented on the same older general practice population. The study was set in primary care practices in the Netherlands. The participants were 44 GPs and 2,101 general practice patients aged 75+ who lived at home. The following measurements were used: (1) yield of the screening; (2) determinants of GPs' awareness of patients identified by the screening.ResultsThe two‐stage screening yielded 117 patients with cognitive impairment who needed further examination; in most cases (n = 82, 70.1%) their GP was unaware of the symptoms. Among patients identified by the screening, GPs' awareness was associated with co‐morbidity of chronic diseases [odds ratio (OR) = 3.19; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.25 to 8.15], depressive symptoms (OR = 0.41; 95% CI = 0.17 to 0.99), and cognitive functioning (per point on the MMSE, OR = 0.88; 95% CI = 0.79 to 0.98).ConclusionA two‐stage screening method and increased alertness for cognitive impairment and dementia among patients with depressive symptoms may improve detection rate of dementia in general practice. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Different dental care setting: does income matter?
Authors: Tianviwat Sukanya , Chongsuvivatwong Virasakdi , Birch Stephen 
Published: April 2007

AbstractIn this paper we consider the use of mobile dental clinics as a means of improving access to dental care among primary school children in Southern Thailand by reducing the opportunity cost of service use to parents. Parents' willingness to pay (WTP) is measured for three different services provided in a community hospital dental clinic and a school‐based mobile clinic. Although the service setting does not affect significantly the WTP for treatment directly, the estimated positive association between WTP and income is modified by setting. The results indicate that the potential for mobile clinics to increase utilization of services among primary school children is associated with parents' income, with the difference in valuation of dental services between the two settings being less among lower income parents than higher income parents. However, even among lower income parents our results indicate that the potential for increasing service utilization among children depends on the improvements in access associated with the mobile clinic not being achieved at the opportunity cost of lower levels of effectiveness. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Environmental complexity affects contextual fear conditioning following hippocampal lesions in rats
Authors: Moses Sandra N. , Winocur Gordon , Ryan Jennifer D. , Moscovitch Morris 
Published: April 2007

AbstractContextual fear conditioning has become a benchmark measure for hippocampal function, even though several studies report successful acquisition in hippocampal‐damaged rodents. The current study examined whether environmental complexity may account for these discrepancies. We directly compared single‐session contextual fear conditioning in rats in a simple vs. complex environment. Hippocampal lesions led to reduced fear conditioning in both contexts, as measured by freezing, but the effect was significantly greater in the complex context. As well, lesions led to generalized fear when the complex context was paired with shock, but not when the simple context was paired. We suggest that the representation of the simple context formed by rats with hippocampal lesions was adequate to support associative learning, but the representation of the complex context, which depended to a greater extent on relational learning, was not. The results were interpreted as consistent with theories of hippocampal function that emphasize its role in integrating multiple stimulus elements in a memory trace. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Treatment of the mild cognitive impairment (MCI)
Authors: Allain Hervé , Bentué‐Ferrer Danièle , Akwa Yvette 
Published: April 2007

AbstractAccording to Evidence‐Based‐Medicine, any proposal for the rationale treatment of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) must be based on the results of double‐blind, randomized clinical trials (RCTs). However, since MCI at the present time does not constitute a homogeneous clinical syndrome, it is still inappropriate to propose a specific drug treatment. Moreover, RCTs assessing the therapeutic value of acetylcholinesterase‐inhibitors (AChEIs) are negative either trying to improve symptoms (memory performance) or preventing the conversion from MCI to real Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The same negative results were obtained with drugs targeting some systems considered as the early steps of the pathophysiological cascade leading to dementia: non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory compounds (rofecoxib), sex steroid hormones (testosterone, estrogens), or antioxidants (tocopherol). Either MCI is considered as the very early phase of development of AD (and then the treatments will aim at preventively antagonizing the hallmarks of the disease) or MCI is a new entity (and then the drugs will target the associated neurochemical disturbancies such as tau protein or soluble Aβ oligomers); MCI could also be considered as a monosymptomatic syndrome (amnesia) leading to the development of pure pro‐mnestic drugs. These three hypotheses will be presented on the basis of the neurobiology and the pharmacology, and examples of potentially active candidates will be discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Identification of a novel noncoding RNA gene, NAMA, that is downregulated in papillary thyroid carcinoma with BRAF mutation and associated with growth arrest
Authors: Yoon Heejei , He Huiling , Nagy Rebecca , Davuluri Ramana , Suster Saul , Schoenberg Daniel , Pellegata Natalia , Chapelle Albert de la 
Published: April 2007

AbstractIn search of tumor suppressor genes in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), we previously used gene expression profiling to identify genes underexpressed in tumor compared with paired unaffected tissue. While searching for loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in genomic regions harboring candidate tumor suppressor genes, we detected LOH in a ∼20 kb region around marker D9S176. Several ESTs flanking D9S176 were underexpressed in PTC tumors, and for one of the ESTs, downregulation was highly associated with the activating BRAF mutation V600E, the most common genetic lesion in PTC. A novel gene, NAMA, (noncoding RNA associated with MAP kinase pathway and growth arrest) containing the affected EST was cloned and characterized. NAMA is weakly expressed in several human tissues, and the spliced forms are primarily detected in testis. Several characteristics of NAMA suggest that it is a nonprotein coding but functional RNA; it has no long open reading frames (ORFs); the exons exhibit low sequence identity in the evolutionarily conserved regions; it is inducible by knockdown of BRAF, inhibition of the MAP kinase pathway, growth arrest and DNA damage in cancer cell lines. We suggest that NAMA is a noncoding RNA associated with growth arrest. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Ras‐MEK‐ERK signaling cascade regulates androgen receptor element‐inducible gene transcription and DNA synthesis in prostate cancer cells
Authors: Carey Anne‐Marie , Pramanik Rashida , Nicholson Linda J. , Dew Tracy K. , Martin Francis L. , Muir Gordon H. , Morris Jonathan D.H. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractTreatment of prostate cancer (CaP) patients frequently involves androgen ablation, but resistance often develops and androgen‐insensitive tumors emerge. The molecular basis for the development of refractory CaP that grows in an androgen‐independent manner is poorly understood, but alterations in growth factor signaling pathways are likely to be involved. We examined the growth factor modulation of androgen‐receptor element (ARE)‐inducible luciferase reporter gene activity and consequent DNA synthesis as a measure of proliferative growth in androgen‐dependent LNCaP or androgen‐independent PC3 or DU145 CaP cells. The synthetic androgen R1881 stimulated ARE‐inducible reporter gene activity and prostate‐specific antigen expression in LNCaP cells and the MEK/ERK inhibitor U0126 or the anti‐androgen bicalutamide (casodex) prevented both of these responses. Activated V12‐Ha‐Ras expression in LNCaP cells also stimulated ARE‐inducible gene transcription, and U0126 or the farnesyltransferase inhibitor FTI‐277 but not bicalutamide blocked this. ARE‐inducible reporter gene activity was elevated already in PC3 cells, and ERK was constitutively activated in serum‐starved LNCaP or DU145 cells. U0126 inhibited each of these responses and also inhibited DNA synthesis in all 3 CaP cell lines. These results demonstrate that chronic stimulation of the Ras‐MEK‐ERK signaling pathway can sustain ARE‐inducible gene transcription and growth of CaP cells, and suggests that components of this pathway may offer targets for cancer therapy. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Socioeconomic inequalities in alcohol related cancer mortality among men: To what extent do they differ between Western European populations?
Authors: Menvielle Gwenn , Kunst Anton E. , Stirbu Irina , Borrell Carme , Bopp Matthias , Regidor Enrique , Heine Strand Bjørn , Deboosere Patrick , Lundberg Olle , Leclerc Annette , Costa Giuseppe , Chastang Jean‐Francois , Esnaola Santiago , Martikainen Pekka , Mackenbach Johan P. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractWe aim to study socioeconomic inequalities in alcohol related cancers mortality [upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) (oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus and liver)] in men and to investigate whether the contribution of these cancers to socioeconomic inequalities in cancer mortality differs within Western Europe. We used longitudinal mortality datasets, including causes of death. Data were collected during the 1990s among men aged 30–74 years in 13 European populations [Madrid, the Basque region, Barcelona, Turin, Switzerland (German and Latin part), France, Belgium (Walloon and Flemish part, Brussels), Norway, Sweden, Finland]. Socioeconomic status was measured using the educational level declared at the census at the beginning of the follow‐up period. We conducted Poisson regression analyses and used both relative [Relative index of inequality (RII)] and absolute (mortality rates difference) measures of inequality. For UADT cancers, the RII's were above 3.5 in France, Switzerland (both parts) and Turin whereas for liver cancer they were the highest (around 2.5) in Madrid, France and Turin. The contribution of alcohol related cancer to socioeconomic inequalities in cancer mortality was 29–36% in France and the Spanish populations, 17–23% in Switzerland and Turin, and 5–15% in Belgium and the Nordic countries. We did not observe any correlation between mortality rates differences for lung and UADT cancers, confirming that the pattern found for UADT cancers is not only due to smoking. This study suggests that alcohol use substantially influences socioeconomic inequalities in male cancer mortality in France, Spain and Switzerland but not in the Nordic countries and nor in Belgium. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Toll‐like receptors in the interface membrane around loosening total hip replacement implants
Authors: Takagi Michiaki , Tamaki Yasunobu , Hasegawa Hiroshi , Takakubo Yuya , Konttinen Liisa , Tiainen Veli‐Matti , Lappalainen Reijo , Konttinen Yrjö T. , Salo Jari 
Published: April 2007

AbstractToll‐like receptors (TLRs) have been known to act as sensors of innate immunity and respond to ligands of microbial and endogenous components. Tissues and cells typical for interface membrane of foreign body reaction were analyzed to evaluate potential role of TLRs in the pathogenesis of the so called “aseptic loosening of total hip replacement.” Fourteen cases of interface membrane around aseptic loose total hip replacement implants were stained by single and double immunohistochemical methods to examine cellular localization of toll‐like receptor (TLR)‐4 and TLR‐9. Osteoarthritic synovium was used as control tissues. Cultured macrophages were used to study TLR‐4 and TLR‐9 mRNA levels by quantitative reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction. The effect of titanium particle stimulation on macrophages was also examined in the culture. Extensive immunolocalization of TLR‐4 and TLR‐9 positive cells was observed in the synovial membrane‐like interface membrane of foreign body granulomas compared with control synovial membranes. TLR and CD68 double staining demonstrated that the TLR positive cells in aseptic loosening were mostly monocyte/macrophages and foreign body giant cells. TLR‐4 and TLR‐9 mRNA expression was also found in macrophage‐colony stimulating factor treated rat macrophages, but this expression decreased (p < 0.05 or less) upon stimulation with titanium particles although matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‐9 mRNA levels used as macrophage activation marker were increased (p = 0.01). The interface membrane around loosening total hip replacement implants is apparently well equipped with TLRs and, thus, probably very sensitive to various structural components of microbes and to endogenous TLR ligands. This seems to be due to recruitment of monocyte/macrophages as particles per se seemed to down‐regulate some of the key TLRs. This suppression after particle phagocytosis might prevent excessive and harmful host responses, and injury to innocent bystander cells/tissues. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 2007
In vitro and in vivo biological responses of plasma‐sprayed hydroxyapatite coatings with posthydrothermal treatment
Authors: Yang C. Y. , Lee T. M. , Yang C. W. , Chen L. R. , Wu M. C. , Lui T. S. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractThis study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of post‐hydrothermal treatment on the biological responses of the plasma‐sprayed hydroxyapatite (HA)‐coated Ti‐6Al‐4V implant system both in vitro and in vivo. After hydrothermal treatment, the HA coating (HAC) shows the high mechanical strength and indices‐of‐crystallinity, denser microstructure, lower concentrations of amorphous and impurity phases, when compared with the as‐sprayed HAC. The in vitro cell‐culture studies, using UMR106 osteoblast‐like cell, demonstrated no signifiacnt cell growth on both surface of as‐sprayed and hydrothermal‐treated HACs during 10‐day culture. The in vivo studies, using the transcortical implant model in the femora of goats, evaluated the histological responses of two coatings. After 6 week of implantation, using backscattered electron images, no substantial histological variations in the extents of new bone apposition and new bone healing between the two HACs were observed. However, the as‐sprayed HAC, owing to the dissolution induced the granular particles dissociated from the HAC, showed the statically lower extent of new bone apposition than hydrothermal‐treated HAC at 12 weeks. The results suggest that hydrothermal treatment could be used to improve the mechanical strength, crystallinity, and phase composition of HAC, which are important factors of long‐term fixation and stability of implant. Besides, the treated HAC could also achieve the initial fixation of implant in clinical use. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 2007
Evaluation of in vitro release and in vivo efficacy of mPEG‐PLA‐haloperidol conjugate micelle‐like structures
Authors: Hans Meredith L. , Maxwell Christina , Ehrlichman Richard S. , Metzger Kayla , Liang Yuling , Siegel Steven J. , Lowman Anthony M. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractPolymeric prodrugs of mPEG‐PLA‐haloperidol (methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)‐b‐poly (lactic acid)), self‐assemble into nanoscale micelle‐like structures in aqueous solutions. The micelles range in size from 28 to 52 nm in diameter and have been shown to be spherical in shape using cryogenic transmission electron microscopy. In this current work there is evidence shown that suggests these micelle‐like structures do not dissociate below their critical micelle concentration (CMC) when the PEG weight percent is at least 68, releasing physically entrapped drug from intact micelles over a 3‐day period. However, 55 wt % PEG micelles dissociate below their CMC, and release their physically entrapped drug within 8 h. Conjugate polymer micelles most closely approach a linear release profile over a 5‐day period. Conjugate micelles with free drug incorporated, known as combination micelle‐like structures, release drug over 4 days. However, these combination micelles have the fastest burst release indicating that free drug was potentially dominating the first 8 h of release, after which hydrolysis of covalently linked drug took over. In vivo behavioral studies can assess haloperidol bioactivity from drug loaded micelle‐like structures on ketamine induced hyperlocomotion. Results are consistent with in vitro release data, showing that conjugate and combination micelles continue to release haloperidol 4 days post injection, attenuating the effects of the ketamine induced hyperlocomotion. Furthermore, results indicate that the sedative side effects of haloperidol were reduced with the micelle delivery systems as compared to the acute haloperidol injection. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2007