bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Leiomyosarcoma of the Great Saphenous Vein: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Marle Alexander G. J. , Bronkhorst Maarten W. G. A. , Brouwers Mark A. M. 
Published: April 2007

Introduction: Leiomyosarcoma of the venous system is rare, even more so in the greater saphenous vein. In the 85 years since
van Ree described the first case in 1919 only 25 cases have been reported in the world.Methods: We describe a case of an 85‐year‐old woman who was successfully treated by excision of the tumour. We also
reviewed pertinent literature with regard to age, gender spread, tumour size, survival, occurrence of metastases and therapy.Results: The median age was 54 years (range 2–85 years), with a 3:2 female to male ratio. The median size of the tumours was
4.1 cm (range 2–12 cm) and metastases occurred in seven of the 25 cases. If any form of adjuvant therapy is used it is usually
radiotherapy. Chemotherapy seems to be reserved for cases where metastasis occurs. Average survival was 4 years (range
1 month to 17 years). Currently the best treatment seems to be wide excision of the tumour, with selective vascular
reconstruction combined with adjuvant radiotherapy.
Targeted and Untargeted CD137L Fusion Proteins for the Immunotherapy of Experimental Solid Tumors
Authors: Zhang Nan , Sadun Rebecca E. , Arias Robyn S. , Flanagan Meg L. , Sachsman Suzanne M. , Nien Yu-Chih , Khawli Leslie A. , Hu Peisheng , Epstein Alan L. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractIntroduction: CD137L is a member of the tumor necrosis factor superfamily that provides a costimulatory signal to T cells. In this study, two novel CD137L fusion proteins were produced and compared with the CD137 agonist antibody 2A.Materials and Methods: Murine CD137L was linked to the COOH terminus of either the Fc fragment of immunoglobulin (untargeted version) or TNT-3 (targeted version), an antibody that binds to necrotic regions of tumors. Groups of mice bearing established Colon 26 tumors were then treated daily ×5 with each fusion protein or 2A to determine their immunotherapeutic potential.Results: Both fusion proteins retained CD137L activity in vitro and TNT-3/CD137L showed tumor-binding activity by biodistribution analysis in tumor-bearing mice. The fusion proteins also produced similar responses in vivo at the 1 nmol per dose range and showed a 60% (TNT-3/CD137L) or 40% (Fc/CD137L) survival of treated mice at 150 days after tumor implantation, similar to the effects of 2A. Morphologic and immunohistochemical analyses showed massive central necrosis and infiltration of granzyme B–positive cells in necrotic areas and viable peripheral regions of treated tumors. Finally, cell depletion studies showed that CD137L-mediated tumor regression was CD8+ T cell dependent.Conclusions: From these studies, it was determined that both targeted and untargeted CD137L fusion proteins showed effective antitumor activity, but that the targeted version was more potent. Therefore, the use of the natural CD137 ligand is a promising approach to the treatment of solid tumors by virtue of its ability to produce physiologic costimulation within the tumor, limiting side effects often seen with agonist antibody therapies.
Objectively Analyzed Air–Sea Heat Fluxes for the Global Ice-Free Oceans (1981–2005)
Authors: Yu Lisan , Weller Robert A. 
Published: April 2007

A 25-yr (1981–2005) time series of daily latent and sensible heat fluxes over the global ice-free oceans has been produced by synthesizing surface meteorology obtained from satellite remote sensing and atmospheric model reanalyses outputs. The project, named Objectively Analyzed Air–Sea Fluxes (OAFlux), was developed from an initial study of the Atlantic Ocean that demonstrated that such data synthesis improves daily flux estimates over the basin scale. This paper introduces the 25-yr heat flux analysis and documents variability of the global ocean heat flux fields on seasonal, interannual, decadal, and longer time scales suggested by the new dataset.
The study showed that, among all the climate signals investigated, the most striking is a long-term increase in latent heat flux that dominates the data record. The globally averaged latent heat flux increased by roughly 9 W m−2 between the low in 1981 and the peak in 2002, which amounted to about a 10% increase in the mean value over the 25-yr period. Positive linear trends appeared on a global scale, and were most significant over the tropical Indian and western Pacific warm pool and the boundary current regions. The increase in latent heat flux was in concert with the rise of sea surface temperature, suggesting a response of the atmosphere to oceanic forcing.
Variability in the Environmental Factors Driving Evapotranspiration from a Grazed Rangeland during Severe Drought Conditions
Authors: Alfieri Joseph G. , Blanken Peter D. , Yates David N. , Steffen Konrad 
Published: April 2007

AbstractNearly one-half of the earth’s terrestrial surface is susceptible to drought, which can have significant social, economic, and environmental impacts. Therefore, it is important to develop better descriptions and models of the processes linking the land surface and atmosphere during drought. Using data collected during the International H2O Project, the study presented here investigates the effects of variations in the environmental factors driving the latent heat flux (λE) during drought conditions at a rangeland site located in the panhandle of Oklahoma. Specifically, this study focuses on the relationships of λE with vapor pressure deficit, wind speed, net radiation, soil moisture content, and greenness fraction. While each of these environmental factors has an influence, soil moisture content is the key control on λE. The role of soil moisture in regulating λE is explained in terms of the surface resistance to water vapor transfer. The results show that λE transitioned between being water or energy limited during the course of the drought. The implications of this on the ability to understand and model drought conditions and transitions into or out of droughts are discussed.
Foregrounding and the sublime: Shelley in Chamonix
Authors: Miall David S. 
Published: April 2007

Commentators have spoken of the moment of sublime experience as one of amazement, of being overwhelmed by the strikingness of the sublime appearance. The sublime, in other words, is an effect of defamiliarization. If a poet is to embody the sublime experience in language (i.e., in the poetic sublime), we would expect the resources of linguistic foregrounding to be central to this effort. The defamiliarizing moment is, of course, central to the modern conception of the response to foregrounding. It is thus also at the heart of response to the sublime. In this article I consider the resources of foregrounding called upon by Shelley in his letter from Chamonix and his poem `Mont Blanc', and suggest that these enable us as readers to enact his experience through striking figurative, phonetic, and metrical features. I focus on four features: the sense of defamiliarization; disrupted or unusual syntax; the senses being under pressure; and figures that suggest a merging of mind and nature. In particular, I develop a conception of the ecological significance of the sublime scene, showing how Shelley creates an ethical view of Mont Blanc through three concepts that I term presence, community, and autonomy.
Sustainable legacies for the 2012 Olympic Games
Authors: Shipway Richard 
Published: April 2007

The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games have the unique potential to deliver sustainable sporting, social, cultural, economic and environmental legacies, not just for London as the host city, but for the whole of Britain. This article focuses primarily on the first three of these potential Olympics legacies. The first area explored is the social legacy as it impacts on host communities; second, the potential educational and cultural legacy of the 2012 Games are examined; and finally, there follows an overview of the health benefits that could result from a sustained increase in mass participation in sport, physical activity and exercise. This appraisal is undertaken through a review of existing Olympic literature and examples are drawn from previous summer and winter Games. This preliminary exploration is followed by the identification of some key challenges to be overcome if the opportunities available to a wide and diverse range of stakeholders are to be fully optimized. The article suggests that the 2012 Games can act as a catalyst for sports development throughout Britain, while also assisting with government cross-cutting agendas such as tackling crime, antisocial behaviour, developing healthy and active communities, improving educational attainment, and combating barriers to participation. In doing so, this article argues that priority should be placed at supporting grassroots sport through greater access to sport in the community, and not solely elite level sports development. The article concludes by suggesting that the 2012 Games provide opportunities to deliver real and tangible changes and most importantly, to afford a higher priority to sport, along with the obvious associated health benefits for Britain as a whole. The underlying challenge as we move towards 2012 is to achieve a positive step change in the attitudes towards sport and physical activity in British society. Achieving this would possibly be the greatest legacy of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Radiological and functional changes over 3 years in young children with cystic fibrosis
Authors: Terheggen-Lagro S. W. J. , Arets H. G. M. , van der Laag J. , van der Ent C. K. 
Published: April 2007

The aim of the present study was to evaluate airway disease progression assessed by chest radiology, expiratory interrupter resistance (Rint,exp) and spirometry in young children with cystic fibrosis (CF) over a 3-yr period.Two chest radiographs combined with twoRint,expmeasurements were performed with a 3-yr interval in 21 preschool children (age (mean±sd)3.2±0.9 yrs) and 30 schoolchildren with CF (age 7.2±1.9 yrs). Chest radiographs were scored using five different CF scoring systems andRint,expmeasurements were expressed as height-adjusted Z-scores. Spirometry was assessed in schoolchildren and the results were expressed as a percentage of predicted values.Chest radiograph scores worsened significantly over the 3-yr period and a tendency towards more pronounced changes was observed, especially for the Wisconsin score, in preschool children. Most preschool and schoolchildren hadRint,expZ-scores within the normal range at start and follow-up, and the annual change inRint,expZ-score was not significant. In schoolchildren, only the forced expiratory volume in one second as a percentage of forced vital capacity declined significantly during the study period.In summary, in young children with cystic fibrosis, chest radiograph scores worsen significantly over time even while lung function remains stable.
Upper airway collapsibility, dilator muscle activation and resistance in sleep apnoea
Authors: Pierce R. , White D. , Malhotra A. , Edwards J. K. , Kleverlaan D. , Palmer L. , Trinder J. 
Published: April 2007

The calibre of the upper airway is thought to be dependant upon its passive anatomy/collapsibility and the activation of pharyngeal dilator muscles. During awake periods, the more collapsible upper airway in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) increases the dilator muscle activity through a negative-pressure reflex.A direct correlation between the critical closing pressure (Pcrit), as a measure of anatomy/collapsability and electromyogram (EMG) activity of genioglossus EMG (GG-EMG) and tensor palatini EMG (TP-EMG), was hypothesised. The relationship between these indices and pharyngeal resistance (Rphar) was also examined.The study involved eight males with a mean age of 48 (interquartile range 46–52) yrs with OSA, and an apnoea/hypopnoea index of 75 (65–101)·hr−1on two nights breathing normally and on nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP). ThePcritwas measured during nonrapid eye movement sleep on nCPAP using brief, incremental reductions in mask pressure. GG-EMG and TP-EMG were measured breath-by-breath, awake, during sleep onset and on nCPAP.Rpharwas measured using airway pressures and flow.Wakeful GG-EMG, early sleep TP-EMG and the sleep decrement in TP-EMG were directly related toPcrit. Muscle activation was negatively correlated withRpharfor TP-EMG awake and GG-EMG early in sleep.In conclusion these results confirm that dilator muscle activation is directly related to airway narrowing and reduces resistance across patients with obstructive sleep apnoea.
Hyperleptinaemia, respiratory drive and hypercapnic response in obese patients
Authors: Campo A. , Frühbeck G. , Zulueta J. J. , Iriarte J. , Seijo L. M. , Alcaide A. B. , Galdiz J. B. , Salvador J. 
Published: April 2007

Leptin is a powerful stimulant of ventilation in rodents. In humans, resistance to leptin has been consistently associated with obesity. Raised leptin levels have been reported in subjects with sleep apnoea or obesity–hypoventilation syndrome. The aim of the present study was to assess, by multivariate analysis, the possible association between respiratory centre impairment and levels of serum leptin.In total, 364 obese subjects (body mass index ≥30 kg·m−2) underwent the following tests: sleep studies, respiratory function tests, baseline and hypercapnic response (mouth occlusion pressure (P0.1), minute ventilation), fasting leptin levels, body composition and anthropometric measures. Subjects with airways obstruction on spirometry were excluded.Out of the 346 subjects undergoing testing, 245 were included in the current analysis. Lung volumes, age, log leptin levels, end-tidal carbon dioxide tension, percentage body fat and minimal nocturnal saturation were predictors for baselineP0.1. The hypercapnic response test was performed by 186 subjects; log leptin levels were predictors for hypercapnic response in males, but not in females.Hyperleptinaemia is associated with a reduction in respiratory drive and hypercapnic response, irrespective of the amount of body fat. These data suggest the extension of leptin resistance to the respiratory centre.
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor expression is reduced in skeletal muscle in COPD
Authors: Remels A. H. , Schrauwen P. , Broekhuizen R. , Willems J. , Kersten S. , Gosker H. R. , Schols A. M. 
Published: April 2007

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a multiorgan systemic disease. The systemic features are skeletal muscle weakness and cachexia, the latter being associated with systemic inflammation. The exact mechanisms underlying skeletal muscle dysfunction in COPD remain obscure. Recent evidence suggests involvement of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) and PPAR-γ coactivator (PGC)-1α in regulation of skeletal muscle morphology and metabolism, and mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) has been implicated in the process of mitochondrial biogenesis. The aim of the present exploratory study was, therefore, to compare these factors in the skeletal muscle of nine healthy control subjects and 14 COPD patients stratified by cachexia.PPAR-γ, PPAR-δ and TFAM were measured at the mRNA and protein level by real-time quantitative PCR and Western blotting, respectively. PPAR-α and PGC-1α were meansured at the mRNA level.PPAR-δ and TFAM protein content, as well as PGC-1α mRNA levels, were decreased in the skeletal muscle of COPD patients compared with healthy controls. The cachectic COPD subgroup was further characterised by decreased PPAR-α mRNA expression and decreased TFAM protein and mRNA levels compared with noncachectic COPD patients. In addition, PPAR-α mRNA levels in skeletal muscle correlated negatively with inflammatory markers in plasma.Therefore, a disturbed expression of these regulatory factors may well underlie the disturbed skeletal muscle functioning in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Systematic review of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation in severe stable COPD
Authors: Kolodziej M. A. , Jensen L. , Rowe B. , Sin D. 
Published: April 2007

The present systematic review examined the effectiveness of bilevel noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) in the management of chronic respiratory failure (CRF) due to severe stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs (crossover design) of adults with severe stable COPD and CRF receiving bilevel NIPPVvianasal, oronasal or total face mask were identified from electronic databases and manual screening of journals and reference lists.Respiratory function (gas exchange, lung function, ventilatory/breathing pattern, respiratory muscle function and work of breathing) and health-related outcomes (dyspnoea, functional status, exercise tolerance, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), morbidity and mortality) were assessed.In total, 15 studies met the inclusion criteria: six RCTs and nine non-RCTs. RCTs did not find improved gas exchange with bilevel NIPPV, while non-RCTs did. Lung hyperinflation and diaphragmatic work of breathing were reduced in a nonrandomised subset. HRQOL and dyspnoea, the least studied outcomes, showed improvement with bilevel NIPPV.In a subset of individuals on maximal medical treatment regimes for severe stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bilevel noninvasive positive pressure ventilation may have an adjunctive role in the management of chronic respiratory failure through attenuation of compromised respiratory function and improvement in health-related outcomes.
Hormone dependency of splenic iron stores in the rat: effect of oestrogens on the recuperation of reserves in ferrodeficient subjects
Authors: Borràs Miquel 
Published: April 2007

Splenic iron stores are negligible in prepuberal rats, increasing quickly from the age of 2 months (at which moment sexual differences become apparent) and stabilizing around 3 months, when females show values approximately two-fold greater than males. Castration, adrenalectomy and hormone replacement studies show that the amount of iron stored depends directly on circulating oestrogens and is slightly but not significantly decreased, in our experimental conditions, by testosterone. The role of oestrogens is emphasized by the high correlation obtained, according to a hyperbolic regression model, between splenic iron values and doses of hormone administered to ovariectomized females. In ferrodeficient females (chronic phlebotomy), oestradiol had a positive effect on the replenishment of the stores, superior to that of iron dextran, and improved by combined treatment. However, iron levels found after a single dose were less than those found in non-phlebotomized animals.
Effect of transatlantic transport on reproduction of agouti and nonagouti deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus
Authors: Hayssen V. 
Published: April 2007

In conjunction with establishing colonies of deer mice in the UK, effects of transportation on reproduction in agouti (A) and nonagouti (a) deer mice were assessed. Adults were shipped via ground courier and air freight from Northampton, Massachusetts, USA to Sutton Bonington, Leicestershire, England in February and June. Deer mice were paired upon arrival in Sutton Bonington, whereas matched controls were paired in the original colonies at shipping. To assess reproduction, the following variables were monitored for 110 days for all 96 pairs: number of pairs producing litters, time from pairing to birth, interlitter interval, litter size at birth, and litter size at weaning. Generally, shipping suppressed litter production and delayed its timing, but had less effect on litter size. Overall, 32 of 48 control pairs (67%) produced 69 litters compared with 37 litters from 21 of 48 pairs (44%) after shipping. Pairing-to-first-litter intervals were approximately two oestrous cycles shorter in control animals (39 vs 53 days). Averaged over all litters, litter size was higher in control pairs (4.4 vs 4.0). With respect to genotype, control agouti deer mice were less productive than nonagouti animals, but they reproduced better than nonagoutis after shipping. In control animals, colourmorphs did not differ with respect to litter production or timing, but agouti pairs had smaller litters (first litter: A: 3.1, a: 4.2) and this difference increased at successive litters (third litter A: 3.9, a: 6.0). After shipping, agouti animals produced more litters (A: 22, a: 15), and did so earlier (pairing to birth: A: 47 days, a: 60 days), as well as more frequently (interlitter interval: A: 32 days, a: 51 days). Litter size was also more similar between genotypes after shipping (A: 4.0, a: 4.1). Overall, control agouti animals produced 37% fewer offspring than nonagouti pairs (A: 116 neonates, a: 185 neonates), but after shipping agouti deer mice produced 43% more offspring than nonagouti animals (A: 87 neonates, a: 61 neonates). In sum, transport stress suppressed reproduction for several weeks after shipping and this suppression was exacerbated in nonagouti deer mice.
Techniques of embryo transfer and facility decontamination used to improve the health and welfare of transgenic mice
Authors: Morrell J. M. 
Published: April 2007

'Reduction' and 'Refinement' can be achieved in transgenic mouse studies by re-deriving transgenic mouse lines and subsequently maintaining them under high standards of husbandry in a unit with restricted access. This report describes the initial steps of a project to improve the health and welfare of transgenic mice at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), by re-deriving transgenic lines as microbiologically defined animals to be maintained in a barrier unit in a newly constructed animal facility. A pilot study showed that it was possible to transfer embryos obtained from contaminated donor mice in the old facility to specific pathogen free recipients housed in a ventilated cabinet in the new unit, without concomitant carry over of disease. The offspring born following embryo transfer were of high health status and did not show any evidence of contamination with any of the pathogens present in the mice in the old animal unit. Antibodies to various murine viruses (mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), rota virus, reo-3 virus, Theilers encephalomyelitis virus, adenovirus) and parasites were present in sentinel animals from the old animal house whereas the re-derived animals were found to be free of virus antibodies and parasites. Therefore the methods used were considered to be successful in terms of disease prevention and enhancement of welfare. The barrier unit was sterilized without the use of formaldehyde or related substances, to minimize the risks to personnel and to the environment from using potentially dangerous substances. From the results of in vitro and in vivo screening, the protocol for sterilization described here was found to be effective in achieving microbiological sterility of the barrier unit and was cost effective.