bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Experimental validation of uterine artery volume blood flow measurement by Doppler ultrasonography in pregnant sheep
Authors: Acharya G. , Sitras V. , Erkinaro T. , Mäkikallio K. , Kavasmaa T. , Päkkilä M. , Huhta J. C. , Räsänen J. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractObjectiveTo test the hypothesis that Doppler‐derived (calculated) uterine artery volume blood flow (cQUtA) reflects accurately volume blood flow measured directly (mQUtA) in an experimental setting.MethodsFive pregnant sheep were instrumented at 122–130 days of gestation under general anesthesia. After a 4‐day recovery period, maternal hemodynamics were varied by administering to the sheep under general anesthesia noradrenaline, beta‐blocker, low oxygen gas mixture, epidural bupivacaine and ephedrine, consecutively. The central venous pressure was obtained with the help of a thermodilution catheter. The mean arterial pressure and acid–base status were monitored using a 16‐gauge polyurethane catheter inserted into the descending aorta via a femoral artery. A 6‐mm transit‐time ultrasonic perivascular flow probe was used to measure the mQUtA. Doppler ultrasonography of the uterine artery was performed and volume blood flow was obtained simultaneously by the transit‐time ultrasonic perivascular flow probe during each phase of the experiment.ResultsA total of 31 observations were made. The mQUtA varied between 90 and 800 (mean ± SD, 419 ± 206) mL/min during the experiments. The corresponding values for the cQUtA were 110 and 900 (mean ± SD, 459 ± 211) mL/min. There was a significant correlation (R = 0.76; P < 0.0001) between mQUtA and cQUtA. The mQUtA correlated positively with Doppler‐derived uterine artery absolute velocities, i.e. peak systolic (R = 0.50; P = 0.004), end‐diastolic (R = 0.53; P = 0.002) and time‐averaged maximum (R = 0.69; P < 0.0001) and time‐averaged intensity weighted mean (R = 0.75; P < 0.0001) velocities.ConclusioncQUtA correlates well with volume blood flow measured directly. Doppler‐derived uterine artery absolute blood flow velocities reflect uteroplacental volume blood flow in pregnant sheep. Copyright © 2007 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
False Recognition Of Gross Gynecological Invasive Emergency: the role of three‐dimensional ultrasound imaging
Authors: Pril‐Fuhl A. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractAddendumDr Roberto Romero did not participate in the drafting of the text, nor did he review, approve or endorse this manuscript. This article is not approved or endorsed by Perinatology Research Branch, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), or the Department of Health and Human Services of the USA.
Charge induction in semiconductor detectors with pixellated structure
Authors: Samedov Victor V. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractConsiderable interest is now being attracted to the next generation of compound semiconductor detectors with pixellated structure in application to x‐ray and gamma‐astronomy, nuclear spectroscopy and nuclear medicine. The spatial resolution of this type of detectors is mainly determined by the process of charge induction by carriers on electrodes with pixellated structure. Ramo–Shockley's theorem that uses only the conservation‐of‐energy argument is not applicable to segmented electrodes since it gives only the total charge induced on the electrode, not a fraction that induced on a single pixel. In this work a method for finding the exact analytical solution for the Green function, the electric potential and the induced charge is proposed. This method is applicable to detectors with any real configuration of electrodes. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mechanism of Alu integration into the human genome
Authors: Chen Jian-Min , Férec Claude , Cooper David N. 
Published: March 2007

Abstract
LINE-1 or L1 has driven the generation of at least 10% of the human genome by mobilising Alu sequences. Although there is no doubt that Alu insertion is initiated by L1-dependent target site-primed reverse transcription, the mechanism by which the newly synthesised 3′ end of a given Alu cDNA attaches to the target genomic DNA is less well understood. Intrigued by observations made on 28 pathological simple Alu insertions, we have sought to ascertain whether microhomologies could have played a role in the integration of shorter Alu sequences into the human genome. A meta-analysis of the 1624 Alu insertion polymorphisms deposited in the Database of Retrotransposon Insertion Polymorphisms in Humans (dbRIP), when considered together with a re-evaluation of the mechanism underlying how the three previously annotated large deletion-associated short pathological Alu inserts were generated, enabled us to present a unifying model for Alu insertion into the human genome. Since Alu elements are comparatively short, L1 RT is usually able to complete nascent Alu cDNA strand synthesis leading to the generation of full-length Alu inserts. However, the synthesis of the nascent Alu cDNA strand may be terminated prematurely if its 3′ end anneals to the 3′ terminal of the top strand’s 5′ overhang by means of microhomology-mediated mispairing, an event which would often lead to the formation of significantly truncated Alu inserts. Furthermore, the nascent Alu cDNA strand may be ‘hijacked’ to patch existing double strand breaks located in the top-strand’s upstream regions, leading to the generation of large genomic deletions.
Validation of Two Methods for Fatty Acids Analysis in Eggs
Authors: Mazalli Mônica R. , Bragagnolo Neura 
Published: March 2007

AbstractA comparative study between two methods (lipid extraction followed by saponification and methylation, and direct methylation) to determine the fatty acids in egg yolk was evaluated. Direct methylation of the samples resulted in lower fatty acid content and greater variation in the results than the lipid extraction followed by saponification and methylation. The low repeatability observed for the direct HCl methylation method was probably due to a less efficient extraction and conversion of the fatty acids into their methyl esters as compared to the same procedure starting with the lipid extract. As the lipid extraction followed by esterification method was shown to be more precise it was validated using powdered egg certified as reference material (RM 8415, NIST) and applied to samples of egg, egg enriched with polyunsaturated omega‐3 fatty acids (n‐3 PUFA), and commercial spray‐dried whole egg powder.
Insulin‐like growth factor‐I (IGF‐I) inhibits neuronal apoptosis in the developing cerebral cortex in vivo
Authors: Hodge Rebecca D. , D'Ercole A. Joseph , O'Kusky John R. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractIncreased expression of insulin‐like growth factor‐I (IGF‐I) in embryonic neural progenitors in vivo has been shown to accelerate neuron proliferation in the neocortex. In the present study, the in vivo actions of (IGF‐I) on naturally occurring neuron death in the cerebral cortex were investigated during embryonic and early postnatal development in a line of transgenic (Tg) mice that overexpress IGF‐I in the brain, directed by nestin genomic regulatory elements, beginning at least as early as embryonic day (E) 13. The areal density of apoptotic cells (NA, cells/mm2) at E16 in the telencephalic wall of Tg and littermate control embryos was determined by immunostaining with an antibody specific for activated caspase‐3. Stereological analyses were conducted to measure the numerical density (NV, cells/mm3) and total number of immunoreactive apoptotic cells in the cerebral cortex of nestin/IGF‐I Tg and control mice at postnatal days (P) 0 and 5. The volume of cerebral cortex and both the NV and total number of all cortical neurons also were determined in both cerebral hemispheres at P0, P5 and P270. Apoptotic cells were rare in the embryonic telencephalic wall at E16. However, the overall NA of apoptotic cells was found to be significantly less by 46% in Tg embryos. The volume of the cerebral cortex was significantly greater in Tg mice at P0 (30%), P5 (13%) and P270 (26%). The total number of cortical neurons in Tg mice was significantly increased at P0 (29%), P5 (29%) and P270 (31%), although the NV of cortical neurons did not differ significantly between Tg and control mice at any age. Transgenic mice at P0 and P5 exhibited significant decreases in the NV of apoptotic cells in the cerebral cortex (31% and 39%, respectively). The vast majority of these apoptotic cells (>90%) were judged to be neurons by their morphological appearance. Increased expression of IGF‐I inhibits naturally occurring (i.e. apoptotic) neuron death during early postnatal development of the cerebral cortex to a degree that sustains a persistent increase in total neuron number even in the adult animal.
Handedness, eyedness and nasal cycle in children with autism
Authors: Dane Senol , Balci Nese 
Published: March 2007

AbstractObjectiveAutism is referred to as cerebral lateralization abnormality. In this study, the possible relationships among handedness, eyedness and nasal cycle in autism have been investigated.Materials and methodsThirty‐seven children with autism and 20 controls were included in the study. The patient group included 27 boys and 10 girls who ranged in age from 5 to 20 years. For hand preference, hand used to write and throw a ball was accepted as dominant hand. For eye preference or dominance, eye used to look through keyhole of a door was accepted as dominant eye. Nasal dominance was assessed by a method of measuring the nasal airflow.ResultsThe rates of left‐handedness and left‐eyedness were higher in children with autism compared to normal populations. A majority of children with autism had left nasal dominance.ConclusionAutism and early language impairment may be associated with left handedness, eyedness and nasal dominance.
Antepartum transabdominal amnioinfusion
Authors: Chhabra S. , Dargan R. , Nasare M. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractObjective: To determine the usefulness of antepartum transabdominal amnioinfusion (APTA) in reducing perinatal morbidity and mortality due to oligohydramnios. Methods: In this case‐control study of 100 pregnant women with oligohydramnios, 50 received APTA and 50 were treated conservatively. These controls were matched for age, parity, and pregnancy duration with the case patients. Results: There was a mean 4.02‐cm increase in amniotic fluid index (AFI) after amnioinfusion. Only 18% of case patients required cesarean sections vs. 46% of controls. The perinatal mortality rate was 18% among controls and 4% among case patients, and the difference was significant. Conclusion: Antepartum amnioinfusion is a useful procedure to reduce complications resulting from decreased intra‐amniotic volume. It is especially useful in preterm pregnancies, where the procedure allows for a better perinatal outcome by prolonging the duration of pregnancy.
Uterine electromyogram topography to represent synchronization of uterine contractions
Authors: Jiang Wei , Li Gang , Lin Ling 
Published: March 2007

AbstractObjective: To image the synchronization of different parts of the uterus in relation to the abdominal surface during uterine contractions using uterine electromyogram topography. Methods: Of the 20 participants, 16 were in active labor at term, 1 was in preterm labor, and 3 were experiencing failed induced labor. The signals simultaneously collected by 16 digitized channels were in the frequency ranges of 0.2 to 0.45 Hz and 0.8 to 3 Hz. Relative energies were calculated for these 2 frequency ranges and imaged by means of interpolation and transformation. Results: Uterine topographic imaging during active labor suggested good synchronization in all participants, except in one of the 3 who were experiencing failed induced labor. Most notably, synchronization was as good in preterm labor as it was in labor at term. Conclusion: Uterine electromyogram topography provided good imaging of the synchronization of uterine contractions, and could be used for further research on uterine contractility during term and preterm labor.
Essure® sterilization associated with endometrial ablation
Authors: Donnadieu A.C. , Deffieux X. , Gervaise A. , Faivre E. , Frydman R. , Fernandez H. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractObjective: To evaluate the feasibility and the outcome of Essure® sterilization associated with different techniques of endometrial ablation. Method: Retrospective study conducted among 23 women with confirmed menometrorrhagia and with the desire for or the medical need for permanent tubal sterilization. Patients underwent combined hysteroscopic placement of Essure® and hysteroscopic endometrial resection procedures: ThermaChoice® (n = 14), NovaSure® (n = 4), Hydrothermablator® (n = 2) and endometrial resection using monopolar energy (n = 1), or bipolar energy (n = 2). Results: Fallopian tubes were successfully cannulated bilaterally in 87% of the cases (20/23). No adverse event was reported. Adequate bilateral occlusion was confirmed for all patients (20/20) by 3D ultrasound and pelvic X‐ray at a 3‐month follow‐up. Furthermore, 85% of these patients were satisfied with the results of the procedure, all experiencing a significant reduction in menstrual blood loss (Higham blood loss score). Conclusion: Combining EA and hysteroscopic sterilization seems to be feasible and efficient in patients with menometrorrhagia.
Local structural disorder imparts plasticity on linear motifs
Authors: Fuxreiter Monika , Tompa Peter , Simon István 
Published: March 2007

AbstractMotivation: The dynamic nature of protein interaction networks requires fast and transient molecular switches. The underlying recognition motifs (linear motifs, LMs) are usually short and evolutionarily variable segments, which in several cases, such as phosphorylation sites or SH3-binding regions, fall into locally disordered regions. We probed the generality of this phenomenon by predicting the intrinsic disorder of all LM-containing proteins enlisted in the Eukaryotic Linear Motif (ELM) database.Results: We demonstrated that LMs in average are embedded in locally unstructured regions, while their amino acid composition and charge/hydropathy properties exhibit a mixture characteristic of folded and disordered proteins. Overall, LMs are constructed by grafting a few specificity-determining residues favoring structural order on a highly flexible carrier region. These results establish a connection between LMs and molecular recognition elements of intrinsically unstructured proteins (IUPs), which realize a non-conventional mode of partner binding mostly in regulatory functions.Contact: simon@enzim.huSupplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
A sequential Monte Carlo EM approach to the transcription factor binding site identification problem
Authors: Jackson Edmund S. , Fitzgerald William J. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractMotivation: A significant and stubbornly intractable problem in genome sequence analysis has been the de novo identification of transcription factor binding sites in promoter regions. Although theoretically pleasing, probabilistic methods have faced difficulties due to model mismatch and the nature of the biological sequence. These problems result in inference in a high dimensional, highly multimodal space, and consequently often display only local convergence and hence unsatisfactory performance.Algorithm: In this article, we derive and demonstrate a novel method utilizing a sequential Monte Carlo-based expectation-maximization (EM) optimization to improve performance in this scenario. The Monte Carlo element should increase the robustness of the algorithm compared to classical EM. Furthermore, the parallel nature of the sequential Monte Carlo algorithm should be more robust than Gibbs sampling approaches to multimodality problems.Results: We demonstrate the superior performance of this algorithm on both semi-synthetic and real data from Escherichia coli.Availability: http://sigproc-eng.cam.ac.uk/∼ej230/smc_em_tfbsid.tar.gzContact: ej230@cam.ac.ukSupplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Regression analysis and modelling of data acquisition for SELDI-TOF mass spectrometry
Authors: Sköld Martin , Rydén Tobias , Samuelsson Viktoria , Bratt Charlotte , Ekblad Lars , Olsson Håkan , Baldetorp Bo 
Published: March 2007

AbstractMotivation: Pre-processing of SELDI-TOF mass spectrometry data is currently performed on a largel y ad hoc basis. This makes comparison of results from independent analyses troublesome and does not provide a framework for distinguishing different sources of variation in data.Results: In this article, we consider the task of pooling a large number of single-shot spectra, a task commonly performed automatically by the instrument software. By viewing the underlying statistical problem as one of heteroscedastic linear regression, we provide a framework for introducing robust methods and for dealing with missing data resulting from a limited span of recordable intensity values provided by the instrument. Our framework provides an interpretation of currently used methods as a maximum-likelihood estimator and allows theoretical derivation of its variance. We observe that this variance depends crucially on the total number of ionic species, which can vary considerably between different pooled spectra. This variation in variance can potentially invalidate the results from naive methods of discrimination/classification and we outline appropriate data transformations. Introducing methods from robust statistics did not improve the standard errors of the pooled samples. Imputing missing values however—using the EM algorithm—had a notable effect on the result; for our data, the pooled height of peaks which were frequently truncated increased by up to 30%.Contact: martins@maths.lth.seSupplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Activation of ERK1/2 occurs independently of KRAS or BRAF status in endometrial cancer and is associated with favorable prognosis
Authors: Mizumoto Yasunari , Kyo Satoru , Mori Noriko , Sakaguchi Junko , Ohno Satoshi , Maida Yoshiko , Hashimoto Manabu , Takakura Masahiro , Inoue Masaki 
Published: March 2007

The extracellular‐regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathway plays important roles in regulating the malignant potential of cancer cells in vitro. However, the effect of ERK signaling on the prognosis of human tumors is not clearly understood. The present study examined the expression of phosphorylated ERK1/2 (p‐ERK1/2) as a hallmark of ERK activation, in relation to KRAS and BRAF mutations, in 63 endometrial cancer specimens with endometrioid‐subtype, in order to clarify the prognostic value of p‐ERK1/2 expression. Immmunohistochemical analysis revealed that 40 tumors (63%) expressed p‐ERK1/2, with varying levels of expression. Total ERK1/2 expression was also evaluated in a subset of tumors; most cases expressed ERK1/2 constitutively but no correlation was observed with p‐ERK expression, indicating that p‐ERK1/2 staining was not due to ERK overexpression but to hyperactivation of ERK1/2. There was no statistically significant correlation between p‐ERK1/2 expression and clinicopathological features, including patient age, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage, pathological grade, myometrial invasion and lymph node metastasis. Sequencing analysis indicated that 23% of patients had a mutation in exon 1 of KRAS, whereas none of the patients had a mutation in exons 11 or 15 of BRAF, which are reportedly hot spots for mutation in many tumor types. There was no significant correlation between KRAS or BRAF status and p‐ERK1/2 expression. Unexpectedly, patients with low p‐ERK1/2 expression had significantly lower relapse‐free survival (P = 0.041) and overall survival (P = 0.020). Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that p‐ERK1/2 expression was an independent prognostic indicator for overall survival (P = 0.047). These findings suggest that ERK activation occurs in a KRAS‐ and BRAF‐independent manner in endometrial cancer, and is associated with favorable prognosis. (Cancer Sci 2007; 98: 652–658)
Hormonal and morphological study of the pituitaries in reeler mice
Authors: Lombardero Matilde , Kovacs Kalman , Horvath Eva , Salazar Ignacio 
Published: March 2007

SummaryReelin is a neuronal glycoprotein that plays a crucial role in brain layer formation during prenatal development. The reeler mutant mouse lacks Reelin, leading to abnormalities in the neuronal layering of cerebral cortex and cerebellum, producing ataxia, tremor and abnormal locomotion. Reeler mice are reported to have growth retardation and most of them are sterile or unable to bring up their newborns. Since the brain is one of the main regulator of pituitary hormone secretion and no information was reported regarding pituitary function and structure in these mutant mice, we studied pituitary endocrine activity and morphology in reeler mice. Mice were classified in three groups as reeler homozygote (RHM), reeler heterozygote (RHT) or control (CO). Pituitary hormone blood levels were assessed by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and immunoradiometric assay (IRMA). Animals and their pituitaries were weighted and pituitaries were studied by histology, immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy. Results showed statistically significant differences in body weight and in adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) blood levels between the three groups. In contrast, growth hormone (GH) blood levels showed a high individual variation and no decrease in reeler groups compared with CO. Morphological studies revealed no differences in pituitary cell types except that somatotrophs appeared to be slightly smaller in RHM and RHT. Although it seems that pituitary hypofunction is not responsible for growth retardation, more studies are needed to obtain a deeper insight into the endocrine status of these mutant mice to elucidate the cause of their low body weight and reproductive behaviour.
Vigilance in Greater Flamingos Wintering in Southern Tunisia: Age‐Dependent Flock Size Effect
Authors: Boukhriss Jihen , Selmi Slaheddine , Béchet Arnaud , Nouira Saïd 
Published: March 2007

AbstractDecrease in individual vigilance with flock size is a widely recognized pattern in group‐living species. However such a relationship may be affected by other factors, such as age and flock composition. For instance, because young animals generally lack experience and have higher nutritional needs than adults, they can be expected not only to be less vigilant than adults but also to decrease their vigilance level by a greater extent when flock size increases than adults do. We investigated this issue using data on greater flamingos wintering in the gulf of Gabès, in southern Tunisia. Flamingos tended to congregate in small single‐age flocks for feeding, but as flock size increased, flocks became mixed. We found that when flock size increased, young flamingos significantly decreased their vigilance time, while adult did not, suggesting an age‐dependent flock size effect on vigilance. However, when flock composition (single‐age vs. mixed) was taken into account, a more complex pattern was found. Within single‐age and small flocks, no difference was found between young flamingos and adult ones regarding their vigilance level and their response to increasing flock size. However, within mixed and large flocks, adult flamingos were more vigilant than young ones, while variation in flock size did not result in a significant change in vigilance. These results suggest that young birds relied on the presence of adults, and hence more experienced individuals in detecting dangers, to reduce their vigilance and to increase their foraging time in order to satisfy their higher nutritional requirements. They could also be interpreted as a possible consequence of increasing competition with flock size which constrained more nutritionally stressed young flamingos to increase their foraging time to the detriment of vigilance.