bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Tissue remodeling: a mating-induced differentiation program for the Drosophilaoviduct
Authors: Kapelnikov Anat , Rivlin Patricia K , Hoy Ronald R , Heifetz Yael 
Published: December 2008

Abstract

Background
In both vertebrates and invertebrates, the oviduct is an epithelial tube surrounded by visceral muscles that serves as a conduit for gamete transport between the ovary and uterus. While Drosophila is a model system for tubular organ development, few studies have addressed the development of the fly's oviduct. Recent studies in Drosophila have identified mating-responsive genes and proteins whose levels in the oviduct are altered by mating. Since many of these molecules (e.g. Muscle LIM protein 84B, Coracle, Neuroglian) have known roles in the differentiation of muscle and epithelia of other organs, mating may trigger similar differentiation events in the oviduct. This led us to hypothesize that mating mediates the last stages of oviduct differentiation in which organ-specific specializations arise.

Results
Using electron- and confocal-microscopy we identified tissue-wide post-mating changes in the oviduct including differentiation of cellular junctions, remodeling of extracellular matrix, increased myofibril formation, and increased innervation. Analysis of once- and twice-mated females reveals that some mating-responsive proteins respond only to the first mating, while others respond to both matings.

Conclusion
We uncovered ultrastructural changes in the mated oviduct that are consistent with the roles that mating-responsive proteins play in muscle and epithelial differentiation elsewhere. This suggests that mating triggers the late differentiation of the oviduct. Furthermore, we suggest that mating-responsive proteins that respond only to the first mating are involved in the final maturation of the oviduct while proteins that remain responsive to later matings are also involved in maintenance and ongoing function of the oviduct. Taken together, our results establish the oviduct as an attractive system to address mechanisms that regulate the late stages of differentiation and maintenance of a tubular organ.
Genomic NGFBvariation and multiple sclerosis in a case control study
Authors: Akkad Denis A , Kruse Niels , Arning Larissa , Gold Ralf , Epplen Jörg T 
Published: December 2008

Abstract

Background
Nerve growth factor β (NGFB) is involved in cell proliferation and survival, and it is a mediator of the immune response. ProNGF, the precursor protein of NGFB, has been shown to induce cell death via interaction with the p75 neurotrophin receptor. In addition, this neurotrophin is differentially expressed in males and females. Hence NGFB is a good candidate to influence the course of multiple sclerosis (MS), much like in the murine model of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).

Methods
Ten single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped in the NGFB gene in up to 1120 unrelated MS patients and 869 controls. Expression analyses were performed for selected MS patients in order to elucidate the possible functional relevance of the SNPs.

Results
Significant association of NGFB variations with MS is evident for two SNPs. NGFB mRNA seems to be expressed in sex- and disease progression-related manner in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Conclusion
NGFB variation and expression levels appear as modulating factors in the development of MS.
Thyroid Transcription Factor 1 Is an Independent Prognostic Factor for Patients With Stage I Lung Adenocarcinoma
Authors: Anagnostou Valsamo K. , Syrigos Konstantinos N. , Bepler Gerold , Homer Robert J. , Rimm David L. 
Published: December 2008

Purpose Thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF1) is a transcription factor that regulates the expression of multiple genes involved in lung development. It is preferentially expressed in adenocarcinomas of the lung and has been investigated as a potential prognostic parameter in patients with lung cancer, with conflicting results. We quantitatively assessed TTF1 protein expression in two large and independent data sets to investigate the impact of TTF1 nuclear expression on patient survival. Patients and Methods Automated quantitative analysis, a fluorescent-based method for analysis of in situ protein expression, was used to assess a series of cell lines to find the threshold of detection of TTF1 expression. Then two independent cohorts (176 and 237 cases, respectively) were measured by the same technique, and TTF1 expression was correlated with survival. Results Tumors expressed TTF1 in 45% and 58% of the cases in each cohort. TTF1 was consistently expressed in adenocarcinomas (n = 61 and 73; Spearman ρ = 0.313 and 0.4 for the first and second set, respectively; P < .0001) independent of their differentiation and stage. Survival analysis showed that patients with stage I adenocarcinoma with TTF1 expression had a longer median overall survival than those without expression (n = 43, 44.3 v 26.2 months, P = .05 for the first cohort; n = 87; 49.7 v 38.5 months, P = .03 for the second cohort) Multivariate analysis revealed an independent lower risk of death for patients with stage I adenocarcinoma with TTF1-expressing tumors (hazard ratio = 0.479, 95% CI, 0.235 to 0.977; P = .043). Conclusion TTF1 expression defines a subgroup of patients with a favorable outcome and may be useful for prognostic stratification of patients with stage I lung adenocarcinoma.
Addition of Bevacizumab to Fluorouracil-Based First-Line Treatment of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: Pooled Analysis of Cohorts of Older Patients From Two Randomized Clinical Trials
Authors: Kabbinavar Fairooz F. , Hurwitz Herbert I. , Yi Jing , Sarkar Somnath , Rosen Oliver 
Published: December 2008

Purpose Colorectal cancer (CRC) occurs predominantly in older persons. To provide more statistical power to assess risk/benefit in older patients, we examined the clinical benefit of bevacizumab (BV) plus fluorouracil-based chemotherapy in first-line metastatic CRC (mCRC) treatment in patients aged ≥ 65 years, using data pooled from two placebo-controlled studies. Patients and Methods Pooled efficacy data for 439 patients ≥ 65 years old randomized to BV plus chemotherapy (n = 218) or placebo plus chemotherapy (n = 221) in study 1 and study 2 were retrospectively analyzed on an intent-to-treat basis for overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and objective response. Safety analysis was based on reports of targeted adverse events in treated patients. Results Median OS with BV plus chemotherapy was 19.3 v 14.3 months with placebo plus chemotherapy (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.70; 95% CI, 0.55 to 0.90; P = .006). Patients treated with BV plus chemotherapy had a median PFS of 9.2 v 6.2 months for placebo plus chemotherapy patients (HR = 0.52; 95% CI, 0.40 to 0.67; P < .0001). The objective response rate was 34.4% with BV plus chemotherapy versus 29.0% with placebo plus chemotherapy (difference not statistically significant). Rates of BV-associated adverse events in the pooled BV plus chemotherapy group were consistent with those reported in the overall populations for the two studies. Conclusion Analysis of pooled patient cohorts age ≥ 65 years from two similar trials in mCRC indicates that adding bevacizumab to fluorouracil-based chemotherapy improved OS and PFS, similar to the benefits in younger patients. Also, the risks of treatment do not seem to exceed those in younger patients with mCRC.
Lymphedema in Breast Cancer Survivors: Incidence, Degree, Time Course, Treatment, and Symptoms
Authors: Norman Sandra A. , Localio A. Russell , Potashnik Sheryl L. , Simoes Torpey Heather A. , Kallan Michael J. , Weber Anita L. , Miller Linda T. , DeMichele Angela , Solin Lawrence J. 
Published: December 2008

Purpose To examine the incidence, degree, time course, treatment, and symptoms of lymphedema in breast cancer survivors. Methods We conducted a 5-year, population-based prospective study of 631 randomly selected Philadelphia and Delaware County, Pennsylvania female residents with incident breast cancer who were diagnosed from 1999 to 2001. Using a questionnaire previously validated against physical therapists’ measurement-based clinical criteria, we assigned a score indicating the degree of lymphedema (none, mild, or moderate/severe) to each month of follow-up based on the respondent's perceived differences in hand/arm size. Standard survival analysis methods permitted maximum use of follow-up. Results Five-year cumulative incidence of lymphedema was 42 (42%) per 100 women. Among the 238 affected women, lymphedema first occurred within 2 years of diagnosis in 80% and within 3 years in 89%. Among 433 women observed for 3 years, 23% reported no more than mild lymphedema, 12% reported moderate/severe lymphedema, and 2% reported chronically moderate/severe lymphedema. Women with mild lymphedema were more than three times more likely to develop moderate/severe lymphedema than women with no lymphedema. Thirty-seven percent of women with mild lymphedema and 68% with moderate/severe lymphedema received treatment. Increasing proportions of women with increasing degree of lymphedema reported symptoms (eg, jewelry too tight, tired/thick/heavy arm). Symptoms present before the first occurrence of lymphedema were associated with a higher probability of later lymphedema (eg, hazard ratio for jewelry too tight = 7.37; 95% CI, 4.26 to 12.76). Conclusion Lymphedema after breast cancer is common but mostly mild. Subtle differences in self-reported hand/arm size and symptoms can be early signs of progressing lymphedema.
Metastatic Sarcomatoid Renal Cell Carcinoma Treated With Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor–Targeted Therapy
Authors: Golshayan Ali Reza , George Saby , Heng Daniel Y. , Elson Paul , Wood Laura S. , Mekhail Tarek M. , Garcia Jorge A. , Aydin Hakan , Zhou Ming , Bukowski Ronald M. , Rini Brian I. 
Published: December 2008

Purpose Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) with sarcomatoid differentiation is an aggressive disease that is associated with poor outcomes to chemotherapy or immunotherapy. The utility of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)–targeted therapy in patients with this disease is unknown. Patients and Methods Patients who had mRCC with sarcomatoid features in the primary tumor and who were treated with VEGF-targeted therapy were retrospectively identified. Pathology slides were reviewed to determine the percentage of sarcomatoid differentiation. Objective response rate, percentage of tumor burden shrinkage, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were determined. Results Forty-three patients who had sarcomatoid mRCC were identified. The median percentage of sarcomatoid features was 14% (range, 3% to 90%). Patients were treated with either sunitinib (49%), sorafenib (28%), bevacizumab (19%), or sunitinib plus bevacizumab (5%). Partial responses were observed in eight patients (19%); 21 patients (49%) had stable disease; and 14 patients (33%) had progressive disease as their best response. Partial responses were limited to patients who had underlying clear-cell histology and less than 20% sarcomatoid elements. Median tumor shrinkage was −2% (range, −85% to 127%), and 53% achieved some degree of tumor shrinkage on therapy. Median PFS and OS were estimated to be 5.3 months and 11.8 months, respectively. Conclusion Patients who have mRCC and sarcomatoid differentiation can demonstrate objective responses and tumor shrinkage to VEGF-targeted therapy. Patients who have clear-cell histology and a lower percentage of sarcomatoid differentiation may have better outcomes with VEGF-targeted therapy.
Systematic Review of Pretreatment Prostate-Specific Antigen Velocity and Doubling Time As Predictors for Prostate Cancer
Authors: Vickers Andrew J. , Savage Caroline , O'Brien M. Frank , Lilja Hans 
Published: December 2008

Purpose Pretreatment prostate-specific antigen (PSA) dynamics (PSA velocity and PSA doubling time) are widely advocated as useful prognostic markers in prostate cancer. We aimed to assess the published evidence for the clinical utility of PSA dynamics in this population. Methods We conducted a systematic review of studies published before March 2007 in which a PSA dynamic (velocity or doubling time) was calculated in patients before definitive treatment, a subsequent event (such as biopsy or recurrence) was ascertained, and the association between the two was analyzed. Our principal end point was the type of analysis reported, particularly whether the predictive accuracy of a statistical model that included both absolute PSA level and a PSA dynamic was compared with that of a model that included only PSA. Results Eighty-seven articles were eligible for analysis. The most common end points were biopsy (42 articles), and either recurrence (14 articles) or metastases or death (14 articles) after definitive therapy. Although PSA dynamics were generally found to be associated with outcome, only one article compared predictive accuracy of models with and without a PSA dynamic: this reported that PSA velocity improved prediction slightly (from 0.81 to 0.83), but was subject to verification bias. No article used decision analytic methods to examine the clinical impact of PSA dynamics. Conclusion There is little evidence that calculation of PSA velocity or doubling time in untreated patients provides predictive information beyond that provided by absolute PSA level alone. We see no justification for the use of PSA dynamics in clinical decision making before treatment in early-stage prostate cancer.
Preliminary investigation on distribution of residual stress generated by the selective laser melting process
Authors: Casavola C , Campanelli S L , Pappalettere C 
Published: December 2008

Selective laser melting (SLM) is one of the most interesting technologies used in rapid prototyping processes because of the possibility of building complex three-dimensional metal parts of nearly full density and with mechanical properties similar to those obtained with conventional manufacturing processes. This goal can be achieved using high-power lasers and low values of scan velocity. These conditions, together with an appropriate scanning strategy, allow full melting of the powders used in the process to be obtained. The aim of this paper is to investigate the residual stresses in SLM specimens manufactured from AISI Marage 300 steel. First, the strain gauge hole drilling method is utilized to determine residual stress profiles in a set of test samples of different thicknesses, placed in different positions on the building platform. Statistical analyses are performed in order to study the relationships between sample position on the platform, the distance from the specimen surface, and maximum/minimum principal residual stresses. The experimental results show that the melting/solidification mechanism generates highly variable thermal residual stresses in the SLM parts used in this study.
An experimental semi-active anti-roll system
Authors: Stone E J , Cebon D 
Published: December 2008

The use of anti-roll bars to provide additional roll stiffness and therefore to reduce the trade-off between ride and rollover performance has previously been studied. However, little work has been carried out to investigate the benefits of a switchable roll stiffness. Such a semi-active anti-roll system has the ability to have a low roll stiffness during straight-ahead driving for improved ride performance and high roll stiffness during cornering for improved roll performance. Modelling of such a system is conducted and the model is validated against a semi-active anti-roll system fitted to an experimental vehicle. Experimental and theoretical investigations are used to investigate the performance of such a system with several different strategies employed to switch to the high-stiffness state. The use of an air suspension on the vehicle to roll into corners is also investigated, as is the possibility of exploiting the road layout by allowing the vehicle to be in a low-roll-stiffness configuration during a corner, and then to switch to the high-roll-stiffness configuration midcorner, hence ‘locking in’ a roll angle. The best rollover performance improvement that was achieved was 12.5 per cent.
Complete shaking force and shaking moment balancing of planar parallel manipulators with prismatic pairs
Authors: Briot S , Bonev I A , Gosselin C M , Arakelian V 
Published: December 2008

This article deals with the complete shaking force and shaking moment balancing of planar parallel manipulators with prismatic pairs. The cancellation of dynamic loads transmitted to the ground is a challenge for these types of manipulators. It is obvious that the classical methods based on the optimal redistribution of movable masses and additional counter-rotations can be used to cancel shaking force and shaking moment. However, balancing of parallel manipulators with prismatic pairs is attained via a considerably complicated design. This article shows that it is possible to balance planar parallel mechanisms by using Scott—Russell mechanisms. Such an approach enables counter-rotations to be divided by 2. Numerical simulations carried out using ADAMS software validate the obtained results and illustrate that the suggested balancing enables to create a parallel manipulator transmitting no inertial load to its base.
Multiplatform phased mission reliability modelling for mission planning
Authors: Prescott D R , Andrews J D , Downes C G 
Published: December 2008

Autonomous systems are being increasingly used in many areas. A significant example is unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), regularly being called upon to perform tasks in the military theatre. Autonomous systems can work alone or be called upon to work collaboratively towards common mission objectives. In this case it will be necessary to ensure that the decisions enable the progression of the platform objectives and also the overall mission objectives.The motivation behind the work presented in this paper is the need to be able to predict the failure probability of missions performed by a number of autonomous systems working together. Such mission prognoses can assist the mission planning process in autonomous systems when conditions change, with reconfiguration taking place if the probability of mission failure becomes unacceptably high.In a multiplatform phased mission a number of platforms perform their own phased mission that contributes to an overall mission objective. Presented in this paper is a methodology for calculating the phase failure probabilities of a multiplatform phased mission. These probabilities are then used to find the total mission failure probability. Prior to the mission the failure probabilities are used to decide if the original mission structure is acceptable. Once underway, failure probabilities, updated as circumstances change, are used to decide whether a mission should continue. Circumstances can change owing to failures on a platform, changing environmental conditions (weather), or the occurrence of unforeseen external events (emerging threats). This diagnostics information should be used to ensure that the updated failure probabilities calculated take into account the most up-to-date system information possible. Since the speed of decision making and the accuracy of the information used are essential, binary decision diagrams (BDDs) are utilized to form the basis of a fast, accurate quantification process.
Imaging of metals and metal-containing species in biological tissues and on gels by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS): A new analytical strategy for applications in life sciences
Authors: Becker J. Sabine , Zoriy M. , Dressler Valderi L. , Wu Bei , Becker J. Susanne 
Published: December 2008

Abstract
Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) has become established as a very efficient and sensitive trace, ultratrace, and surface analytical technique in the life sciences. We have developed a new analytical imaging technique using LA-ICP-MS to study element distribution in biological tissues. Nowadays, LA imaging ICP-MS using double-focusing sector field (LA-ICP-SFMS) or quadrupole-based mass spectrometers (LA-ICP-QMS) can be applied as an exciting tool providing new information on the pathophysiology, pharmacology, and toxicology of elements of interest in biological systems. The quantitative determination of elements (e.g., Cu, Fe, Zn, Se, and others) in biological tissues is of growing interest especially in brain research (e.g., for studying neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease). LA-ICP-SFMS was employed to produce images of detailed regionally specific element distributions in thin tissue sections of different sizes (such as control human or rat brain tissues or tumor regions). In addition, imaging MS using LA-ICP-QMS was applied to study the uptake and transport of nutrient and toxic elements in plant tissues.
Besides the quantitative imaging of essential and toxic elements in tissues, powerful analytical techniques are also required for the determination and characterization of phosphoproteins and metal-containing proteins within a large pool of proteins, after electrophoretic separation (e.g., blue native, BN and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, SDS-PAGE) into 1D and 2D gels. LA-ICP-MS was used to detect metalloproteins in protein bands of 1D gels or protein spots separated after 2D gel electrophoresis (2D-GE). In addition to elemental determination by LA-ICP-MS, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)-MS was employed to identify metal-containing proteins. Recent progress will be discussed in applying LA-ICP-MS in the life sciences, including the imaging of thin slices of tissue and applications in proteome analysis in combination with MALDI-MS to investigate phosphoproteins and metal-containing proteins.
Structural chemistry involved in information detection and transmission by gas sensor heme proteins: Resonance Raman investigation
Authors: El-Mashtoly Samir F. , Kitagawa Teizo 
Published: December 2008

Abstract
A variety of heme-containing gas sensor proteins have been discovered by gene analysis from bacteria to mammals. In general, these proteins are composed of an N-terminal heme-containing sensor domain and a C-terminal catalytic domain. Binding of O2, CO, or NO to the heme causes a change in the structure of heme, which alters the protein conformation in the vicinity of the heme, and the conformational change is propagated to the catalytic domain, leading to regulation of the protein activity. This mini-review summarizes the recent resonance Raman studies obtained with both visible and UV excitation sources for two O2 sensor proteins, EcDOS and HemAT-Bs. These investigations have shown the role of heme propionate hydrogen-bonding interactions in communicating the heme structural changes, which occur upon ligand binding, from heme to the protein moiety. Furthermore, it is deduced that the contact interactions between the heme 2-vinyl group and the surrounding residues are also important for signal transmission from heme to protein in EcDOS.