bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Echocardiographic findings in classical and hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos syndromes
Authors: McDonnell Nazli B. , Gorman Beverly L. , Mandel Katherine W. , Schurman Shepherd H. , Assanah‐Carroll Alison , Mayer Susan A. , Najjar Samer S. , Francomano Clair A. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractStructural cardiovascular alterations in the classical and hypermobile forms of Ehlers–Danlos syndrome(EDS) warrant investigation. We have examined a cohort of 38 patients with hypermobile and classical EDSs using two‐dimensional echocardiography. The cohort includes 7 males and 31 females, with an age range from 12–60 years. Altered echocardiographic parameters were seen in the initial cross‐sectional data analysis in 24/38 patients. Five of the 38 participants had mildly dilated aortic root (AR) or sinuses of Valsalva (SV), and an additional 7 patients had an abnormal pouching of the SV, although the absolute dimensions did not exceed the normal range. Ten patients had mild mitral, tricuspid, or aortic regurgitation, and only one patient had mitral valve prolapse (MVP). Three patients had low normal systolic function; three had evidence of mildly elevated pulmonary pressures, and two patients had mild concentric left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Five patients had evidence of impaired left ventricular relaxation (LVR) based on mitral valve E to A velocity ratio. Interestingly, 26/38 subjects demonstrated a prominent right coronary artery (RCA) easily visualized by trans‐thoracic echocardiography, and 10/38 had an elongated cardiac silhouette on the 4‐chamber apical views. The “pouching” shape of the SV was more common in hypermobile type than in the classical type of EDS. The study is ongoing and will accrue longitudinal data on 100 subjects with classical and hypermobile EDSs at 2‐year intervals. Published 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Funktionelle flüssigkristalline Aggregate: selbstorganisierte weiche Materialien
Authors: Kato Takashi , Mizoshita Norihiro , Kishimoto Kenji 
Published: December 2005

AbstractDynamische weiche Materialien werden im 21. Jahrhundert an Bedeutung gewinnen. Zwar sind diese Funktionsmaterialien nicht so beständig wie Metalle, Keramiken oder Plastik, dafür reagieren sie aber gut auf externe Reize. Geordnete weiche Materialien können dynamische Funktionen erfüllen. Flüssigkristalle aus selbstorganisierten Molekülen sind ein Beispiel hierfür: Sie eignen sich möglicherweise zum Elektronen‐, Ionen‐ oder Stofftransport sowie als sensorisch, katalytisch, optisch oder biologisch aktive Materialien. Um diese Funktionen auszuschöpfen, benötigt man unkonventionelle Materialentwürfe. Hier beschreiben wir aktuelle Ansätze zur Funktionalisierung von Flüssigkristallen und zeigen, wie das Design von Flüssigkristallen durch supramolekulare Aggregation und Nanophasentrennung zu einer Vielfalt selbstorganisierter Funktionsmaterialien führt.
Synthesis and characterization of side‐chain cholesteric liquid‐crystalline polymers derived from steroid substituents
Authors: Hu Jian‐She , Zhang Bao‐Yan , Pan Wei , Li Yuan‐Hao , Ren Shi‐Chao 
Published: December 2005

AbstractA series of new cholesteric liquid‐crystalline polysiloxanes derived from steroid substituents were synthesized. The chemical structures of the monomers or polymers obtained were characterized by FTIR, element analyses, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR. Their mesogenic properties and thermal stability were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, polarizing optical microscopy, and X‐ray diffraction measurements. Monomers exhibited typical cholesteric focal‐conic or spiral texture. The polymers P1P6 showed cholesteric phase and P7 displayed smectic phase. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2006
Influences of metallic polymeric materials on the properties of fresh polyester and acrylic polymer concrete
Authors: Ahn Namshik 
Published: December 2005

AbstractTo investigate the influences of three metallic polymeric materials in polyester and acrylic fresh polymer concretes (PCs), PC‐incorporated different levels of these materials have been investigated for their properties of fresh PC. The mix design was made and optimized for workability, strength, and economy, depending on the resin viscosity, the intended use, and the additional quantities of these polymeric materials. The properties investigated include workability, working time, and curing time of fresh PC. It is concluded that these polymeric materials offer the possibility of improving properties of polyester and acrylic fresh polymer concretes. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2006
New Synthetic Thiocolchicine Derivatives as Lowtoxic Anticancer Agents
Authors: Lee Sun‐Hee , Park Sun‐Kyoung , Kim Jeong‐Mi , Kim Myung‐Hwa , Kim Kwang‐Hee , Chun Kwang‐Woo , Cho Kyung‐Hea , Youn Ji‐Youn , Namgoong Sung Keon 
Published: December 2005

AbstractNew thiocolchicine derivatives (1–8) were designed as less toxic anticancer agents possessing the power ful anticancer activity of colchicine. The synthesis and biological evaluation of these compounds were described. As a preliminary result of biological in vitro investigation, compounds 1, 6, and 7 showed lower toxicities than that of colchicine in combination with potent anticancer activities.
Synthesis and Antiviral Evaluation of Novel 4′‐Hydroxymethyl Branched Thioapiosyl Nucleosides
Authors: Kim Jin Woo , Hong Joon Hee 
Published: December 2005

AbstractIn this study, we synthesized novel 4′‐hydroxymethyl branched thioapiosyl nucleosides. The thioapiosyl sugar moiety was constructed using sequential ozonolysis and reduction. The natural bases (uracil, thymine, cytosine, and adenine) were efficiently coupled using the Vorbrüggen glycosyl condensation procedure (persilyated base and TMSOTf). The antiviral activities of the synthesized compounds were evaluated against HIV‐1, HSV‐1, HSV‐2, and HCMV. Compound 19 showed moderate anti‐HIV activity (EC50 = 19.3 μg/mL) without exhibiting any cytotoxicity up to 100 μM.
Reflections on the age distribution of Japanese scientists
Authors: Asonuma Akihiro , Fang Yong , Rousseau Ronald 
Published: December 2005

AbstractAn Erratum has been published for this article in Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 58(5) 2007, 762 [].The age distribution of a country's scientists is an important element in the study of its research capacity. In this article we investigate the age distribution of Japanese scientists in order to find out whether major events such as World War II had an appreciable effect on its features. Data have been obtained from population censuses taken in Japan from 1970 to 1995. A comparison with the situation in China and the United States has been made. We find that the group of scientific researchers outside academia is dominated by the young: those younger than age 35. The personnel group in higher education, on the other hand, is dominated by the baby boomers: those who were born after World War II. Contrary to the Chinese situation we could not find any influence of major nondemographic events. The only influence we found was the increase in enrollment of university students after World War II caused by the reform of the Japanese university system. Female participation in the scientific and university systems in Japan, though still low, is increasing.
Nitric Oxide Release during Evoked Neuronal Activity in Cerebellum Slices: Detection with Platinized Carbon‐Fiber Microelectrodes
Authors: Amatore Christian , Arbault Stéphane , Bouret Yann , Cauli Bruno , Guille Manon , Rancillac Armelle , Rossier Jean 
Published: December 2005

AbstractNitric oxide is an important biological messenger that particularly induces the relaxation of smooth muscle cells surrounding vessels, and, hence, controls the flow of blood. This mechanism is essential for brain function, and its fine control, termed functional hyperemia, is supposed to be realized by certain neurons that may release bursts of NO.. The aim of the present study is to examine the advantages of platinized carbon‐fiber microelectrodes (5–7 μm tip diameter) for the direct and in situ electrochemical detection of NO. released by neurons into ex vivo cerebellum slices. After establishing the different analytical properties of the platinized carbon‐fiber microelectrodes in vitro on NO. solutions at 50 nM to 1 mM concentration, they were characterized using DEA‐NONOate solutions that chemically decompose into NO., and therefore mimic the measurement of transient variations of NO. concentration in biological samples. This validated the present approach, so that direct, in situ ex vivo measurements of nitric oxide released by neurons in a rat cerebellar slice are presented and discussed.
A Comparison of the Fluorescence Dynamics of Single Molecules of a Green Fluorescent Protein: One‐ versus Two‐Photon Excitation
Authors: Cotlet Mircea , Goodwin Peter M. , Waldo Geoffrey S. , Werner James H. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractWe report on the dynamics of fluorescence from individual molecules of a mutant of the wild‐type green fluorescent protein (GFP) from Aequorea victoria, super folder GFP (SFGFP). SFGFP is a novel and robust variant designed for in vivo high‐throughput screening of protein expression levels. It shows increased thermal stability and is able to retain its fluorescence when fused to poorly folding proteins. We use a recently developed single‐molecule technique which combines fluorescence‐fluctuation spectroscopy and time‐correlated single photon counting in order to characterize the photophysical properties of SFGFP under one‐ (OPE) and two‐ (TPE) photon excitation conditions. We use Rhodamine 110 as a model chromophore to validate the methodology and to explain the single‐molecule results of SFGFP. Under OPE, single SFGFP molecules undergo fluorescence flickering on the time scale of μs and tens of μs due to triplet formation and ground‐state protonation–deprotonation, respectively, as demonstrated by excitation intensity‐ and pH‐dependent experiments. OPE single‐molecule fluorescence lifetimes indicate heterogeneity in the population of SFGFP, indicating the presence of the deprotonated I and B forms of the SFGFP chromophore. TPE of single SFGFP molecules results in the photoconversion of the chromophore. TPE of single SFGFP molecules show fluorescence flickering on the time scale of μs due to triplet formation. A flicker connected with protonation–deprotonation of the SFGFP chromophore is detected only at low pH. Our results show that SFGFP is a promising fusion reporter for intracellular applications using OPE and TPE microscopy.
Cover Picture: Synthesis of Dendritic Branches with Peripheral Fullerene Subunits (Eur. J. Org. Chem. 1/2006)
Authors: Hahn Uwe , Hosomizu Kohei , Imahori Hiroshi , Nierengarten Jean‐François 
Published: December 2005

AbstractThe cover picture shows a display of fireworks of fullerenes! Highly soluble dendritic branches with methanofullerene subunits at the periphery have been prepared by an efficient repetitive synthetic sequence that allows the dendritic growth of up to the fifth‐generation derivative, which contains 16 peripheral fullerene subunits. Details are discussed in the article by J.‐F. Nierengarten et al. on p. 85 ff.
Increased sensitivity to mitomycin C‐induced sister chromatid exchange in lymphocytes from patients undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy
Authors: Duydu Yalçın , Üstündağ Aylin , Aydın Ahmet , Eken Ayşe , Dündar Kadir , Uzun Günal 
Published: December 2005

AbstractTreatment of cells with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) results in the generation of reactive oxygen species and the induction of DNA damage. In the present study, we have evaluated the sister chromatid exchange (SCE) frequencies in lymphocytes from patients undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). In addition, we have determined the sensitivity of lymphocytes from those patients to SCE induction by 20 and 40 ng/ml mitomycin C (MMC). Patients undergoing HBOT for diabetic feet were exposed to 10 consecutive daily HBO treatments according to a routine therapy protocol. The study began with 12 patients; however, it was not possible to sample all of the patients at all HBOT sessions, and the number of patients gradually decreased towards the end of the HBOT. We observed a statistically significant induction in mean SCE/cell (P < 0.05; n = 11) immediately after the first session of HBOT. Relative to its frequency after the 1st treatment, the mean SCE frequency gradually decreased after the 5th and 10th HBOT sessions and reached baseline (pretherapy) levels 1 day after the last treatment in the four patients that were sampled. The mean MMC‐induced SCE frequency was highest in lymphocytes sampled immediately after the first HBOT session, and significantly higher than the MMC‐induced SCE frequency in cells sampled before HBOT. Unlike the case with untreated cells, MMC‐induced SCE frequencies remained high in lymphocytes sampled at later stages of therapy and mean MMC‐induced SCE frequencies were significantly higher (P < 0.05; n = 4) in lymphocytes sampled 1 day after the last session of HBOT than in lymphocytes sampled from these patients prior to beginning the therapy. The results indicate that HBOT induces SCE and that lymphocytes retain increased sensitivity to the genotoxicity of MMC one day after completing the HBOT. Environ. Mol. Mutagen., 2006. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Modulatory effects of Mentha piperita on lung tumor incidence, genotoxicity, and oxidative stress in benzo[a]pyrene‐treated Swiss albino mice
Authors: Samarth R.M. , Panwar Meenakshi , Kumar Ashok 
Published: December 2005

AbstractMentha piperita or peppermint is currently used for alleviating nausea, flatulence, and vomiting. In the present investigation, we evaluated the chemopreventive, antigenotoxic, and antioxidative effects of an aqueous extract of Mentha piperita leaves. One‐day‐old Swiss albino mice were treated with a single subcutaneous injection of 0.5 mg benzo[a]pyrene (BP) and then given either water or a Mentha extract (ME; 1 g/kg body weight) by gavage starting at 3 weeks of age (weaning). The mice were killed at 9 weeks of age and tested for lung tumor incidence (chemoprevention); bone marrow micronucleus and chromosome aberration frequency (antigenotoxicity); and levels of liver and lung sulfhydral groups, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity, and lipid peroxidation (LPO) (antioxidative properties). The ME treatment resulted in a significant reduction in the number of lung adenomas from an incidence of 67.92% in animals given only BP to 26.31%, an inhibition of 61.26%. Tumor multiplicity was 1.22 in the BP‐alone group and 1.15 in the BP + ME group. In addition, compared with the animals in the BP‐alone group, ME reduced the frequency of chromosomal aberrations and micronuclei in bone marrow cells and decreased the levels of LPO and increased reduced glutathione content, and SOD and CAT activities in liver as well as lung. The results of this study indicate that ME is chemopreventive and antigenotoxic when given subsequent to an initiating dose of BP in newborn Swiss albino mice. The chemopreventive action and antigenotoxic effects observed in the present study may be due to the antioxidative properties of ME. Environ. Mol. Mutagen., 2006. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Pseudogenes of the human HPRT1 gene
Authors: Nicklas Janice A. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractEntrez Gene lists four HPRT1 gene pseudogenes (HPRTP1, HPRTP2, HPRTP3, and HPRTP4) mapping to chromosomes 3, 5, 11q, and 11q, respectively, as originally reported by Patel et al. in 1984 (Patel PI, et al. 1984 Somat Cell Mol Genet 10:483–493). However, the Entrez Gene reports for three of the four pseudogenes (HPRTP1, HPRTP3, and HPRTP4) are currently empty. A BLAST search of both GenBank (Homo sapiens) and the human genome found the chromosome 5 associated HPRTP2 sequence and a single chromosome 11q sequence (HPRTP3 or HPRTP4?). This chromosome 11 sequence had a unique 7.2 kb insert, which may explain why it originally appeared to be two separate pseudogenes. No evidence of a chromosome 3 associated sequence was found; however, a sequence highly homologous to HPRT1 was located on chromosome 4. All of these sequences are intronless processed pseudogenes. Lastly, a sequence highly homologous to HPRT1 exon 8 was found on chromosome 10. This homologous sequence was exactly exon 8 of a gene designated PRTFDC1, for phosphoribosyl transferase domain containing 1. This gene with unknown function is almost completely homologous to HPRT1 in exon structure (except for a 21 bp (seven amino acid) insertion in exon 1) and 68% homologous in amino acid sequence. Environ. Mol. Mutagen., 2006 © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Decimalization, trading costs, and information transmission between ETFs and index futures
Authors: Chou Robin K. , Chung Huimin 
Published: December 2005

AbstractThe impact of changes in trading costs, due to decimalization, on informed trading and speed of information transmission between exchange‐traded funds (ETFs) and their corresponding index futures is examined. ETFs began to trade in decimals on January 29, 2001, and index futures continued to trade in their original tick sizes. The focus is on whether the decrease in the minimum tick size of ETFs influences the relative performances of these two types of index instruments in the price‐discovery process. It is found that for ETFs, the trading activity increases, but the market depth drops significantly after decimalization. The spreads for ETFs generally decrease, but the adverse selection component of ETF spreads increases. Furthermore, after decimalization, ETFs start to lead index futures in the price‐discovery process and its share of information also increases. Although index futures still assume a dominant role in information discovery, the information content of the ETFs' prices improves significantly after decimalization. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 26:131–151, 2006
Jumping hedges: An examination of movements in copper spot and futures markets
Authors: Chan Wing H. , Young Denise 
Published: December 2005

AbstractPrice risk is an important factor for both copper purchasers, who use the commodity as a major input in their production process, and copper refiners, who must deal with cash‐flow volatility. Information from NYMEX cash and futures prices is used to examine optimal hedging behavior for agents in copper markets. A bivariate GARCH‐jump model with autoregressive jump intensity is proposed to capture the features of the joint distribution of cash and futures returns over two subperiods with different dominant pricing regimes. It is found that during the earlier producerpricing regime this specification is not needed, whereas for the later exchange pricing era jump dynamics stemming from a common jump across cash and futures series are significant in explaining the dynamics in both daily and weekly data sets. Results from the model are used to under‐take both within‐sample and out‐of‐sample hedging exercises. These results indicate that there are important gains to be made from a time‐varying optimal hedging strategy that incorporates the information from the common jump dynamics. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 26:169–188, 2006
Microsatellites versus single‐nucleotide polymorphisms in confidence interval estimation of disease loci
Authors: Papachristou Charalampos , Lin Shili 
Published: December 2005

AbstractWith cost‐effective high‐throughput Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) arrays now becoming widely available, it is highly anticipated that SNPs will soon become the choice of markers in whole genome screens. This optimism raises a great deal of interest in assessing whether dense SNP maps offer at least as much information as their microsatellite (MS) counterparts. Factors considered to date include information content, strength of linkage signals, and effect of linkage disequilibrium. In the current report, we focus on investigating the relative merits of SNPs vs. MS markers for disease gene localization. For our comparisons, we consider three novel confidence interval estimation procedures based on confidence set inference (CSI) using affected sib‐pair data. Two of these procedures are multipoint in nature, enabling them to capitalize on dense SNPs with limited heterozygosity. The other procedure makes use of markers one at a time (two‐point), but is much more computationally efficient. In addition to marker type, we also assess the effects of a number of other factors, including map density and marker heterozygosity, on disease gene localization through an extensive simulation study. Our results clearly show that confidence intervals derived based on the CSI multipoint procedures can place the trait locus in much shorter chromosomal segments using densely saturated SNP maps as opposed to using sparse MS maps. Finally, it is interesting (although not surprising) to note that, should one wish to perform a quick preliminary genome screening, then the two‐point CSI procedure would be a preferred, computationally cost‐effective choice. Genet. Epidemiol. 30:3–17, 2006. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Influence of Detritus on the Structure of the Invertebrate Community in a Small Portuguese Stream
Authors: González M. , Graça Manuel A. S. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractThis study tests if the coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) mass was related to the invertebrate community structure in riffles and sandy pools of a fourth‐order reach of a stream after partialling out the effects of physical characteristics of the sampled patches. Diversity and structure of the assemblages differed between habitats. In both, CPOM mass was positively correlated with total density and with all functional feeding groups excepting filterers. Redundancy analyses and variance partitioning procedures indicated that (1) CPOM stocks influenced the assemblage structure in both habitats, and (2) most of those effects were unrelated to sampling date and measured physical characteristics (water depth in sandy pools, Froude number and substrate composition in riffles) of the patches. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Experimental investigation of interfaces in hydroxyapatite/polyacrylic acid/polycaprolactone composites using photoacoustic FTIR spectroscopy
Authors: Verma Devendra , Katti Kalpana , Katti Dinesh 
Published: December 2005

AbstractMolecular interactions in hydroxyapatite (HAP) polymer composites have been studied using photoacoustic spectroscopy. HAP is mineralized by wet precipitation under two conditions: first is in the absence of polyacrylic acid (PAAc) (ex‐situ HAP) and second in the presence of PAAc (in‐situ HAP). Porous and solid composites of ex‐situ and in‐situ HAP with polycaprolactone (PCL) have also been made to evaluate their applicability as bone scaffolds. Photoacoustic Fourier transform infrared (PA‐FTIR) spectroscopy studies indicate that both in‐situ and ex‐situ HAP have HPO42− in their structure, which leads to Ca2+ deficiency. During crystallization of in‐situ HAP, PAAc dissociates to form carboxylate ions, which binds to calcium ions and act as suitable site for nucleation for HAP crystallization. PA‐FTIR spectra of porous and solid composites indicate that porous composites adsorb more water, which is hydrogen bonded with carbonyl of PCL. Mechanical tests on solid samples indicate that ex‐situ HAP/PCL composites have higher elastic modulus than in‐situ HAP/PCL composites. However, in case of porous composites, in‐situ HAP/PCL composites are found to have higher elastic modulus. In‐situ HAP is chemically and structurally different from ex‐situ HAP. This modified HAP causes variation in microstructure of porous composite and hence alteration of its load transfer mechanisms and hence mechanical properties. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., J Biomed Mater Res, 2006