bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Identification of plasmacytoid pre‐dendritic cells by one‐color flow cytometry for phenotype screening
Authors: Magyarics Zoltan , Csillag Aniko , Pazmandi Kitti , Rajnavolgyi Eva , Bacsi Attila 
Published: January 2008

AbstractPlasmacytoid pre‐dendritic cells (pDCs) are able to prime and polarize naive T‐cells, while also having an important effector function in antiviral immunity through the rapid and robust production of interferon‐α. The main setback of pDCs investigation is the rarity and ex vivo fragility of these cells. Relative simple, reliable, and accurate methods for phenotypic analysis and functional studies of pDCs without isolation would be a great deal of interest. Fresh whole blood samples were analyzed by two‐color and one‐color flow cytometric pDC‐identification assays. The changes in the surface expression of CD62L and HLA‐DQ on pDCs in whole blood samples after 24‐h treatment with imiquimod, a toll‐like receptor 7 agonist, were analyzed. Our data demonstrate that the identification of pDCs in peripheral blood samples can be achieved by using only one fluorescent channel for blood dendritic cell antigen (BDCA)‐4 staining combined with the light scatter parameters, thus leaving the other channels open for further phenotypic and/or functional analysis. Recently, several lines of evidence supported the involvement of pDCs in the development of several human diseases, so our new one‐color identification approach may provide a useful tool for investigation of the pathomechanism of the relevant diseases by using common, 2‐laser benchtop cytometers. © 2008 International Society for Analytical Cytology
Prox1 regulates a transitory state for interneuron neurogenesis in the spinal cord
Authors: Mishra Kamana , Gui Hongxing , Matise Michael P. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractProper central nervous system (CNS) function depends critically on the generation of functionally distinct neuronal types in specific and reproducible positions. The generation of neuronal diversity during CNS development involves a fine balance between dividing neural progenitors and the differentiated neuronal progeny that they produce. However, the molecular mechanisms that regulate these processes are still poorly understood. Here, we show that the Prox1 transcription factor, which is expressed transiently and specifically in spinal interneurons, plays an important role in neurogenesis. Using both gain‐ and loss‐of‐function approaches, we find that Prox1 is capable of driving neuronal precursors out of the cell cycle and can initiate limited expression of neuronal proteins. Using RNAi approaches, we show that Prox1 function is required to execute a neurogenic differentiation program downstream of Mash1 and Ngn2. Our studies demonstrate an important, spinal interneuron‐specific role for Prox1 in controlling steps required for both cell‐cycle withdrawal and differentiation. Developmental Dynamics 237:393–402, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The use of electronic and human nose for monitoring rapeseed oil autoxidation
Authors: Mildner‐Szkudlarz Sylwia , Jeleń Henryk H. , Zawirska‐Wojtasiak Renata 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThis work was aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the electronic nose to monitor off‐flavor associated with lipid oxidation as a supplementary tool to human sensory panel assessment. Therefore, correlations between electronic nose and sensory analysis were determined. Also GC analyses and chemical analyses of oil samples were run to characterize the analyzed samples with well‐described parameters. Refined rapeseed oil was subjected to an accelerated storage test for 12 days at 60 °C and to an ambient temperature storage test in which it was stored in retail plastic bottles for up to 6 months. PCA of electronic nose data samples stored at an elevated temperature was related to PCA of sensory analysis, and similarities in sample clustering were observed. For samples stored at room temperature, the human panel showed greater sensitivity than the electronic nose. Prediction models based on PLS of electronic nose data were able to predict the sensory quality changes during storage at elevated and room temperature, ranging from 0.721 to 0.989 and from 0.849 to 0.881 (p <0.05), respectively. PV and p‐AV were well predicted on the basis of both electronic nose (0.989, 0.998 for elevated temperature; 0.907, 0.881 for room temperature) and sensory analysis data (0.973, 0.993 for elevated temperature; 0.939, 0.886 for room temperature). Applicability of the electronic nose technology to verify sensory and rancidity changes during storage showed to be promising in quality control of oils.
Solid‐phase extraction in combination with GC/MS for the quantification of free fatty acids in adipocere
Authors: Notter Stephanie J. , Stuart Barbara H. , Dent Boyd B. , Keegan Jim 
Published: January 2008

AbstractCurrent research investigating the effect of specific aquatic microenvironments on the formation of adipocere using domesticated pigs (Sus scrofa) has demonstrated the need for a fast and reliable method to separate and identify fatty acids present in adipocere. Adipocere is defined as a late‐stage post‐mortem decomposition product consisting of a mixture of free fatty acids (FFA), which have formed under favorable conditions due to the hydrolysis of triglycerides in adipose tissue. Whilst good separations of adipocere lipids have been achieved using TLC, this method is time consuming when processing large numbers of samples. This paper describes a rapid and simple method for the extraction, identification and quantification of FFA commonly found in adipocere, by solid‐phase extraction (SPE) using aminopropyl disposable columns in combination with GC/MS. The recoveries of FFA associated with adipocere were all above 90%, with coefficients of variation below 10%, indicating that the technique was reproducible. The limits of quantification were registered at levels of parts per million. Standard curves were linear over the range of 50–1000 µg/mL, with all correlation coefficient values greater than 0.998. A marked increase in concentration of saturated fatty acids was observed during adipocere formation, ranging from 20 to 55% for palmitic acid, 13 to 23% for stearic acid and 2.8 to 4.1% for myristic acid. These results demonstrate the suitability of aminopropyl disposable SPE columns to efficiently and rapidly isolate FFA from adipocere prior to quantitative GC/MS analysis.
An image analysis suite for spot detection and spot matching in two‐dimensional electrophoresis gels
Authors: Srinark Thitiwan , Kambhamettu Chandra 
Published: January 2008

AbstractWe propose a suite of novel algorithms for image analysis of protein expression images obtained from 2‐D electrophoresis. These algorithms are a segmentation algorithm for protein spot identification, and an algorithm for matching protein spots from two corresponding images for differential expression study. The proposed segmentation algorithm employs the watershed transformation, k‐means analysis, and distance transform to locate the centroids and to extract the regions of the proteins spots. The proposed spot matching algorithm is an integration of the hierarchical‐based and optimization‐based methods. The hierarchical method is first used to find corresponding pairs of protein spots satisfying the local cross‐correlation and overlapping constraints. The matching energy function based on local structure similarity, image similarity, and spatial constraints is then formulated and optimized. Our new algorithm suite has been extensively tested on synthetic and actual 2‐D gel images from various biological experiments, and in quantitative comparisons with ImageMaster2D Platinum™ the proposed algorithms exhibit better spot detection and spot matching.
Micellar electrokinetic chromatographic screening of letrozole and its metabolite in human urine: Validation and robustness/ruggedness evaluation
Authors: Rodríguez‐Flores Juana , Contento Salcedo Ana M. , Villaseñor Llerena Maria J. , Muñoz Fernández Lorena 
Published: January 2008

AbstractA simple, rapid, and sensitive method has been proposed and validated to directly quantify letrozole (LE) and its metabolite, bis‐4‐cyanophenylmethanol (ME) in urine samples (without any additional treatment) by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC). In an effort to improve the selectivity and sensitivity of the method, the chemical and instrumental parameters were optimized. The best conditions were: 70 mM borate buffer (pH 9.2) and 40 mM SDS as BGE, 25 kV and 20°C as working voltage and temperature, respectively, with hydrodynamic injection for 6 s. The reliability of the proposed method was also proved by means of a validation procedure based on precision, accuracy, linearity, LOD (15 μg/L for both of them) and LOQ studies. Moreover, an innovatory experimental and statistical design approach, upon a Plackett‐Burman fractional factorial model, which involves the simultaneous evaluation of the global robustness and ruggedness effects, was applied. As it has been already stated, the proposed method has been successfully used to directly quantify both compounds in human urine samples, without any additional treatment, but the previously reached LOD and LOQ values can be improved by applying an SPE preconcentration procedure, also developed and optimized by the authors in this work. Real determinations of these analytes in clinical urines of a patient under LE treatment were performed, too.
CE study of neuroprotective humanin peptide and its derivatives: Interactions with phosphate, sulphate, alkylsulphonates and sulphated‐β‐CD
Authors: Havel Josef , Li Rong , Macka Mirek 
Published: January 2008

AbstractHumanin (HN), Met–Ala–Pro–Arg–Gly–Phe–Ser–Cys–Leu–Leu–Leu–Leu–Thr–Ser–Glu–IIe–Asp–Leu–Pro–Val–Lys–Arg–Arg–Ala, recently discovered in the human brain, is an important neuroprotective peptide. Some derivatives of HN show even higher biological activity, for example [G‐14]‐HN, where Ser at position 14 is replaced with Gly. As structurally related HN peptide derivatives have similar chemical properties, their separation by CE is difficult. In this work, the electrophoretic behaviour of HN derivatives including [G‐14]‐HN, a tryptophan HN derivative [W‐14]‐HN, several other HN derivatives and HN fragments was studied. While phosphate buffer was used as the general BGE, the effects of the buffer concentration and various additives were examined, including sulphate, heptane sulphonate, 2‐morpholinoethanesulphonic acid N‐[tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl]‐2‐aminoethane sulphonic acid (TES), sulphated‐β‐CD and β‐CD. Separation efficiency of 200 000 theoretical plates was achieved in a BGE of 80 mM phosphate at pH 2.5 where seven out of nine major peaks were partially separated. By investigating the influence of concentration of the interrogated ions on peptides migration, the association between positively charged protonated sites of peptides and various anions was proved. Especially a strong interaction with phosphate, sulphate and sulphonate groups was established. Conditional stability constant of the [Pepz+, (H2PO4−)n]z − n ion associate (n = 1) for [G‐14]‐HN equals to log K ∼ 1.78.
Microchip micellar electrokinetic chromatography separation of alkaloids with UV‐absorbance spectral detection
Authors: Newman Carl I. D. , Giordano Braden C. , Copper Christine L. , Collins Greg E. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractA microchip device is demonstrated for the electrophoretic separation and UV‐absorbance spectral detection of four toxic alkaloids: colchicine, aconitine, strychnine, and nicotine. A fused‐silica (quartz) microchip containing a simple cross geometry is utilized to perform the separations, and a miniature, fiber‐optic CCD spectrometer is coupled to the microchip for detection. Sensitive UV‐absorbance detection is achieved via the application of online preconcentration techniques in combination with the quartz microchip substrate which contains an etched bubble‐cell for increased pathlength. The miniature CCD spectrometer is configured to detect light between 190 and 645 nm and LabView programming written in‐house enables absorbance spectra as well as separations to be monitored from 210 to 400 nm. Consequently, the configuration of this microchip device facilitates qualitative and quantitative separations via simultaneous spatial and spectral resolution of solutes. UV‐absorbance limits of quantification for colchicine, 20 μM (8 mg/L); strychnine, 50 μM (17 mg/L); aconitine, 50 μM (32 mg/L); and nicotine, 100 μM (16 mg/L) are demonstrated on the microchip. With the exception of aconitine, these concentrations are ≥20‐times more sensitive than lethal dose monitoring requirements. Finally, this device is demonstrated to successfully detect each toxin in water, skim milk, and apple juice samples spiked at sublethal dose concentrations after a simple, SPE procedure.
Tungstate as complex‐forming reagent facilitating separation of selected polyphenols by capillary electrophoresis and its comparison with borate
Authors: Jáč Pavel , Polášek Miroslav , Batista Ana I. V. , Kaderová Lenka 
Published: January 2008

AbstractA novel electrophoretic BGE containing tungstate as complex‐forming reagent is suitable for the separation of polyphenols. Similar to molybdate‐containing BGE reported earlier (cf. M. Polášek, et al.., Talanta 2006, 69, 192) addition of tungstate to BGE affects significantly migration of compounds/ligands with vicinal –OH groups due to the formation of negatively charged complexes involving W(VI) as central ion. Baseline separation of mixtures of flavonoids (apigenin, luteolin, hyperoside, quercetin, and rutin) and phenolic acids (chlorogenic and p‐coumaric acid) was achieved within 15 min with optimized BGE of pH 7.4 containing 50 mM N‐(2‐hydroxyethyl)piperazine‐2′‐(2‐ethanesulfonic acid) (HEPES), 2.2 mM tungstate, and 25% v/v of methanol. The separation was performed in a 75 cm (effective length 42 cm)×75 μm id uncoated fused‐silica capillary at 30 kV with spectrophotometric detection at 275 nm. The calibration curves were rectilinear for 25–175 μg/mL of all analytes (cinnamic acid as the internal standard). The LODs ranged from 1.8 to 6 μg/mL for all analytes except for chlorogenic acid. Intraday precision (n = 6) of migration times (RSD ≤ 1.2%) and peak areas (RSD ≤ 5.6%) was evaluated. The tungstate‐based BGEs can be alternatively utilized for the analysis of polyphenols at considerably lower pH than with conventional alkaline borate‐based BGEs.
Analysis of Bacillus globigii spores by CE
Authors: Chichester Kimberly D. , Silcott David B. , Colyer Christa L. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractIt is imperative in today's world that harmful airborne or solution‐based microbes can be detected quickly and efficiently. Bacillus globigii (Bg) spores are used as a simulant for Bacillus anthracis (Ba) due to their similar shape, size, and cellular makeup. The utility of CE to separate and detect low levels of Bg spore concentrations will be evaluated. To differentiate spores from background particulates, several dyes, including fluorescamine, C‐10, NN‐127, Red‐1c, and indocyanine green (ICG), were utilized as noncovalent labels for proteins on the Bg spore surface, as well as for HSA and homoserine standards. On‐column labeling, with dye present in the running buffer, was utilized to obtain greater sensitivity and better separation. CE with LIF detection enables interactions between the dye and spore surface proteins to be observed, with enhanced fluorescence occurring upon binding of the dye to surface protein. Resulting electropherograms showed unique fingerprints for each dye with Bg spores. Migration times were under 10 min for all dye–spore complexes, with net mobilities ranging from 3.5×10−4 to 6.9×10−4 cm2 V−1s−1, and calibration curves yielded correlation coefficients of 0.98 or better for four of the dyes studied.
LCDA from industrial systems using control network: A monitoring and assessment scheme for sustainability
Authors: Mahalik Nitaigour P. , Au Tony 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThis article presents a study on life cycle assessment (LCA) and its implications in the industrial systems. It considers the implementation scenario of traditional LCA in terms of LCDA (life cycle data acquisition). LCDA is considered as scheme or methodology to advocate sustainability and evolution of industrial systems or infrastructure. In this article an implementation possibility study of LCDA is carried out. The usefulness of the LCDA from various prospective are discussed and summarized. Low cost, high performance, small size microprocessor networked technology, and sensing techniques are used to implement LCDA. Since industrial systems are distributed in nature we select fieldbus type system, the control networking system, as one of the main implementation tools. Two industrial platforms such as an autonomous guided vehicle and a material handling system are chosen as the study targets. © 2008 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 2008
Protection of some aroma volatiles in a model wine medium by sulphur dioxide and mixtures of glutathione with caffeic acid or gallic acid
Authors: Roussis Ioannis G. , Sergianitis Spyros 
Published: January 2008

AbstractSulphur dioxide and mixtures of glutathione with caffeic acid or gallic acid were tested as inhibitors of the decrease of isoamyl acetate, ethyl hexanoate and linalool during storage of a model wine medium. Model wine samples were analysed by SPME and GC–MS. Isoamyl acetate, ethyl hexanoate and linalool decreased during storage of the model wine medium containing 0, 20, 40 or 60 mg/l free SO2. SO2 protected the three volatiles at 20 (isoamyl acetate), 40 (ethyl hexanoate) and 60 mg/l (linalool). Mixtures of glutathione with caffeic acid or gallic acid were also protective; they were more active at 10 + 30 mg/l than at 5 + 15 mg/l. Glutathione + caffeic acid was more effective than glutathione + gallic acid. In most cases, SO2 at 40 mg/l increased the protective effect of the mixtures. SO2 at 60 mg/l exhibited protective ability comparable to that of glutathione + gallic acid 5 + 15 mg/l. The present results indicate that SO2 protects some wine aroma volatiles, but at high concentrations. On the other hand, mixtures of the wine constituents glutathione + caffeic acid or gallic acid are more effective at concentrations similar to those existing in wines. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Induction of class I antigen processing components in oligodendroglia and microglia during viral encephalomyelitis
Authors: Malone Karen E. , Stohlman Stephen A. , Ramakrishna Chandran , Macklin Wendy , Bergmann Cornelia C. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractGlia exhibit differential susceptibility to CD8 T cell mediated effector mechanisms during neurotropic coronavirus infection. In contrast to microglia, oligodendroglia are resistant to CD8 T cell perforin‐mediated viral control in the absence of IFNγ. Kinetic induction of MHC Class I expression by microglia and oligodendroglia in vivo was thus analyzed to assess responses to distinct inflammatory signals. Flow cytometry demonstrated delayed Class I surface expression by oligodendroglia compared with microglia. Distinct kinetics of Class I protein upregulation correlated with cell type specific transcription patterns of genes encoding Class I heavy chains and antigen processing components. Microglia isolated from naïve mice expressed high levels of these mRNAs, whereas they were near detection limits in oligodendroglia; nevertheless, Class I protein was undetectable on both cell types. Infection induced modest mRNA increases in microglia, but dramatic transcriptional upregulation in oligodendroglia coincident with IFNα or IFNγ mRNA increases in infected tissue. Ultimately mRNAs reached similar levels in both cell types at their respective time points of maximal Class I expression. Expression of Class I on microglia, but not oligodendroglia, in infected IFNγ deficient mice supported distinct IFN requirements for Class I presentation. These data suggest an innate immune preparedness of microglia to present antigen and engage CD8 T cells early following infection. The delayed, yet robust, IFNγ dependent capacity of oligodendroglia to express Class I suggests strict control of immune interactions to avoid CD8 T cell recognition and potential presentation of autoantigen to preserve myelin maintenance. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Long‐chain ceramide is elevated in presenilin 1 (PS1M146V) mouse brain and induces apoptosis in PS1 astrocytes
Authors: Wang Guanghu , Silva Jeane , Dasgupta Somsankar , Bieberich Erhard 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThe pro‐apoptotic sphingolipid ceramide plays an emergent role in the etiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD), although its function for neurodegeneration is not known. We determined the concentration and composition of ceramide in hippocampal tissue from newborn presenilin 1 (PS1) knock‐in (PS1M146V) mice, a mouse model for early‐onset familial AD. We found that PS1 tissue contains 3.1 (±0.5)‐fold more total ceramide than wild‐type tissue. In particular, the proportion of C20 and C24 ceramide is increased by 4.0‐ or 8.5‐fold, respectively. The ceramide elevation in PS1 brain is consistent with a 3.7 (±0.5)‐fold increase of the protein level of the neurotrophin receptor p75NTR, which has been suggested to stimulate the hydrolysis of sphingomyelin to generate ceramide. The predominance of C20 and C24 ceramide is concurrent with the elevated gene expression of lass 2 and lass 4, two isoforms of ceramide synthase that generate dihydroceramide with long‐chain fatty acid. Our study indicates that primary cultured astrocytes but not neurons from PS1 mice undergo apoptosis when incubated with C20 ceramide. In contrast, wild‐type astrocytes remain unaffected. The sensitivity of PS1 astrocytes is most likely due to the 9.5 (±0.4)‐fold elevated expression of PAR‐4 (prostate apoptosis response‐4), a protein that inhibits atypical PKCζ/λ in the presence of ceramide. Our results suggest that astroglial death due to ceramide/PAR‐4‐induced apoptosis may critically contribute to the etiology of AD. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Involvement of α 1‐2‐fucosyltransferase I (FUT1) and surface‐expressed lewisy (CD174) in first endothelial cell–cell contacts during angiogenesis
Authors: Moehler Thomas M. , Sauer Sandra , Witzel Maximilian , Andrulis Mindaugas , Garcia‐Vallejo Juan J. , Grobholz Rainer , Willhauck‐Fleckenstein Martina , Greiner Axel , Goldschmidt Hartmut , Schwartz‐Albiez Reinhard 
Published: January 2008

AbstractDuring the initiation of tumor associated angiogenesis endothelial cells migrate, adhere to extracellular matrix and form cell–cell contacts. Humoral factors of malignant cells conduct this process. We investigated whether cell surface expression of the carbohydrate blood group determinant Lewisy (CD174) and its precursor structure H2 (CD173) on endothelial cells is influenced by soluble factors of tumor cells. Using a bone marrow derived endothelial cell line we observed an enhanced expression of CD173/CD174 and transcription of FUT1, the key enzyme for their synthesis, after treatment with tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) or conditioned supernatants of the leukemia cell line KG1a. CD173/CD174 are concentrated on pseudopodial extensions responsible for initial contacts between endothelial cells. Endothelial migration induced by TNF‐α could be diminished by antibodies to CD174 as well as by siRNA induced downmodulation of FUT1 transcription. Endothelial FUT1‐siRNA‐transfectants displayed impaired in vitro angiogenesis when cultivated on extracellular matrix and in spheroid assays. In vivo upregulation of CD174 expression was observed immunocytologically in capillaries of tumor‐infiltrated tissue. Together, our observations point to a tumor induced transcription of endothelial FUT1 and consequently an enhanced expression of CD174 which is involved in migration and early cell–cell contacts during tumor associated angiogenesis. J. Cell. Physiol. 215: 27–36, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.