bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Contrasting fluid regimes along the Dead Sea Transform
Authors: JANSSEN C. , ROMER R. L. , PLESSEN B. , NAUMANN R. , HOFFMANN‐ROTHE A. , MATAR A. ,   THE DESERT RESEARCH GROUP
Published: May 2007

AbstractFault‐related veins and cements from two segments [Arava Fault (AF), Ghab Fault (GF)] and one branch [Serghaya Fault (SF)] of the major transform plate boundary between Africa and the Arabian plate, the Dead Sea Transform, were investigated geochemically. The results document considerable differences in the nature and degree of fluid–rock interactions among these faults. Within the area of the AF, fluid activity has neither led to intensive exchange reactions between fluids and rocks nor to notable cementation of the fault damage zones. Strontium and carbon and oxygen isotopes indicate infiltration of predominantly descending (meteoric water) and only subordinate involvement of ascending hydrothermal fluids from deep sources. For the SF, fluid‐enhanced weakening mechanisms (chemical alteration processes) and fracture cementation are dominant. Along the GF, alteration processes and fracture healing by cementation are more intense than in the AF, but less intense than in the SF branch. For the SF and GF, δ18O, strontium isotopes, and major and minor element contents of veins indicate (i) near‐surface, low‐temperature meteoric fluids that show little or no interaction with carbonate host rocks; and (ii) meteoric fluids that were buffered by the surrounding host rocks. We suggest that the contrasting fluid–rock interactions along the Dead Sea Transform are related to local variations in climate (precipitation).
Practitioner Review: Clinical applications of pediatric hypnosis
Authors: Gold Jeffrey I. , Kant Alexis J. , Belmont Katharine A. , Butler Lisa D. 
Published: May 2007

Background:  Over the past quarter century, hypnosis has been employed in a broad range of pediatric clinical settings; however, its efficacy and feasibility as a treatment approach for children and adolescents remain in question.Method:  Published studies on the role of clinical hypnosis in the management of specific pediatric medical and psychological conditions were identified and reviewed.Results:  Pediatric clinical hypnosis has been employed in diverse medical settings to treat primary conditions (e.g., enuresis), as well as to address factors related to management of the condition (e.g., skills training for asthma) or its treatment (e.g., burn dressing changes). Despite great breadth to the possible applications of pediatric hypnosis and many reported successes, much of the present research comprises case histories and small, uncontrolled group studies.Conclusion:  To date, research in pediatrics views clinical hypnosis as a promising tool with the potential to help manage a variety of conditions. However, additional research, particularly utilizing randomized, controlled methodologies and adequate sample sizes, is required.
Personal bank account access and awareness: an analysis of the technological and informational constraints of Australian consumers
Authors: Worthington Andrew C. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractLogit models are used to predict access and awareness of personal bank accounts. Access is defined as the ability and willingness to use automated teller machines, electronic funds transfer point of sale, telephone and internet banking. Awareness relates to the understanding of bank statements, fee and charges, account shopping around and internet calculators. Newer ways of accessing bank accounts are confined to young, urban, well educated, white‐collar occupations. Awareness is lower for respondents with less education, non‐workers, farm workers, unskilled and renting households, and higher for white‐collar occupations, couples and those with higher incomes and savings.
Measuring customer value and satisfaction in services transactions, scale development, validation and cross‐cultural comparison
Authors: Huber Frank , Herrmann Andreas , Henneberg Stephan C. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractCustomer value and customer satisfaction are pivotal but at the same time elusive concepts in services marketing theory. This paper focuses on discussing the relationship between these two concepts. We propose operationalization by developing and testing scales, especially operational indicators, for important dimensions and drivers of the services‐value construct. A multitrait‐multimethod design is used to test the robustness of the operationalization. Furthermore, a cross‐cultural data set is used to explore country influences using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation models. Results indicate that the measurement construct is robust and useful in country‐comparative studies.
Comparison of the washing efficiencies of a laboratory washing device (Launder‐Ometer) and of automatic household washing machines with horizontal drums
Authors: Kymäläinen Hanna‐Riitta 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe objective of this study was to compare the cleaning result of a laboratory washing machine – Launder‐Ometer (LOM) – with that of drum‐type household washing machines, using detergent without bleaching agent, standard soiled fabrics and a colorimeter for assessing the washing result. The mechanical effect applied to the laundry in the household washers was not obtained in the LOM by increasing mechanical impact or the number of metal balls. Extended washing time did not improve removal of blood soil in the LOM, although it did increase removal of mayonnaise soil containing chlorophyll. However, in practice a washing time of 60–85 min is relatively long for a laboratory device considering the claimed time‐saving nature of these devices. None of the examined parameters affected removal of a red wine soil containing tannins, which was poor in all test combinations both in the household machines and in the laboratory washing machine. Bleaching agent is recommended for removal of this type of soil. In conclusion, conformity between washing results of the laboratory washing machine and the drum‐type household washing machines depends on the type of soiled test fabrics and other parameters in the washing process. Removal of blood soil differed most between the household machines and the LOM.
Consumers’ green commitment: indication of a postmodern lifestyle?
Authors: Haanpää Leena 
Published: May 2007

AbstractGreen consumer behaviour is one of the key focuses of contemporary research on the sociology of consumption. The constant presence of environmental issues related to consumption and the changes consumer society has faced during the 20th century are presumed to reflect on present consumer behaviour. The focus of this paper is twofold: first, the postmodern elements of consumer society will be discussed; second, the study analyses to what extent these elements of postmodernism fit with the phenomenon of contemporary green consumerism. The empirical part utilizes Finnish consumer behaviour‐related data from 2003, which were analysed by applying various statistical methods. In this part, the study reports of the connection between lifestyle and green commitment. Lifestyle is measured by consumption styles and green commitment by certain environment‐related consumption choices. The results suggest that different lifestyles explain green commitment better than traditional socio‐economic background variables. The effect of postmodernism on green consumer behaviour is, thus, discussed.
Promoting sustainability through social marketing: examples from New Zealand
Authors: Frame Bob , Newton Bronwyn 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis paper investigates the social marketing of sustainability in New Zealand and examines the usefulness of advertising campaigns to enlist and empower people, as both consumers and citizens, towards environmental care. It draws on discussions about ‘citizen‐consumer subjectivities’ and the model of the ‘political economic person’, which link sustainability and consumption through asserting people’s capacities as reflecting citizens. Printed advertisements by local and national government agencies about air pollution, fuel dependency and energy consumption are analysed to see whether advertising campaigns can operate on multiple levels for a range of audiences – desirable for broadening understanding of sustainable consumption and dealing with the complexity and experiential aspects of ‘doing’ sustainability. The advertisements analysed have an authoritative dimension that downplays this complexity and variability. The paper concludes that these advertisements do not go far enough to involve individuals in processes of co‐producing knowledge about sustainability, and to vest them with expertise in exercising sustainability in their daily lives. The implications are that advertising campaigns that engage with the complexity surrounding consumption in people’s modern lives, and with variability in meanings of sustainability, have the possibility of inciting citizen‐consumer political subjectivities.
An intracellular motif of P2X3 receptors is required for functional cross‐talk with GABAA receptors in nociceptive DRG neurons
Authors: Toulmé Estelle , Blais Dominique , Léger Claire , Landry Marc , Garret Maurice , Séguéla Philippe , Boué‐Grabot Eric 
Published: May 2007

AbstractFunctional cross‐talk between structurally unrelated P2X ATP receptors and members of the ‘cys‐loop’ receptor‐channel superfamily represents a recently‐discovered mechanism for rapid modulation of information processing. The extent and the mechanism of the inhibitory cross‐talks between these two classes of ionotropic receptors remain poorly understood, however. Both ionic and molecular coupling were proposed to explain cross‐inhibition between P2X subtypes and GABAA receptors, suggesting a P2X subunit‐dependent mechanism. We show here that cross‐inhibition between neuronal P2X3 or P2X2+3 and GABAA receptors does not depend on chloride and calcium ions. We identified an intracellular QST386–388 motif in P2X3 subunits which is required for the functional coupling with GABAA receptors. Moreover the cross‐inhibition between native P2X3 and GABA receptors in cultured rat dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons is abolished by infusion of a peptide containing the QST motif as well as by viral expression of the main intracellular loop of GABAAβ3 subunits. We provide evidence that P2X3 and GABAA receptors are colocalized in the soma and central processes of nociceptive DRG neurons, suggesting that specific intracellular P2X3‐GABAA subunit interactions underlie a pre‐synaptic cross‐talk that might contribute to the regulation of sensory synaptic transmission in the spinal cord.
Apelin, an endogenous neuronal peptide, protects hippocampal neurons against excitotoxic injury
Authors: O’Donnell Lauren A. , Agrawal Arpita , Sabnekar Praveena , Dichter Marc A. , Lynch David R. , Kolson Dennis L. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractSeveral G protein‐coupled receptors (GPCRs) mediate neuronal cell migration and survival upon activation by their native peptide ligands but activate death‐signaling pathways when activated by certain non‐native ligands. In cultured neurons, we recently described expression of the unique seven‐transmembrane (7TM) ‐G protein‐coupled receptor, APJ, which is also strongly expressed in neurons in the brain and various cell types in other tissues. We now demonstrate that the endogenous APJ peptide ligand apelin activates signaling pathways in rat hippocampal neurons and modulates neuronal survival. We found that (i) both APJ and apelin are expressed in hippocampal neurons; (ii) apelin peptides induce phosphorylation of the cell survival kinases AKT and Raf/ERK‐1/2 in hippocampal neurons; and (iii) apelin peptides protect hippocampal neurons against NMDA receptor‐mediated excitotoxicity, including that induced by human immunodeficiency virus type 1. Thus, apelin/APJ signaling likely represents an endogenous hippocampal neuronal survival response, and therefore apelin should be further investigated as a potential neuroprotectant against hippocampal injury.
Mechanical ventilation of a cloned calf in respiratory failure
Authors: Buczinski Sébastien , Boysen Søren R. , Fecteau Gilles 
Published: May 2007

AbstractObjective:To report the use of mechanical ventilation in a calf suffering from respiratory failure.Case summary:A full‐term clone calf born by cesarean section showed signs of respiratory failure that did not respond to intranasal oxygen therapy. Thoracic radiographs were compatible with a diffuse interstitial and alveolar pattern. The calf was successfully managed with 3 days of mechanical ventilation and was eventually discharged from the hospital following further therapy for sepsis.Unique information provided:This is the first description of mechanical ventilation in a calf suffering from hypercapnic respiratory failure. Mechanical ventilation may be useful in the treatment of high pedigree merit calves. The procedure was well tolerated and the calf was able to drink easily during nasotracheal ventilation.
Indirect measurement of blood pressure using a pulse oximeter in isoflurane anesthetized dogs
Authors: Dyson Doris H. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractObjective:To determine the accuracy of indirect blood pressure (BP) measurements obtained with a pulse oximeter as compared with direct measurements in dogs under isoflurane anesthesia. The Doppler and oscillometric BP monitors were included for comparison.Design:Prospective, experimental study.Animals:Twenty healthy dogs (23 ± 8 kg) anesthetized for research or teaching.Interventions:Dogs were anesthetized with propofol or thiopental and maintained using positive pressure ventilation with isoflurane in 100% O2. Random adjustment of BP was achieved by inhalant adjustment or dopamine infusion to achieve low (≤85 mmHg), normal (90–120 mmHg), or high systolic BP (≥125 mmHg). Triplicate measurements for BP were taken with direct (dorsal pedal artery), Doppler (forelimb), oscillometric (same forelimb), and plethysmographic (pulse oximeter on tongue) methods.Measurements and main results:Using regression analysis and a modified Bland–Altman's technique, the lowest bias was achieved with the Doppler. Systolic BP readings at low, normal, and high BP were within 10 mmHg of direct recordings 95%, 70%, and 30% of the time for pulse oximetry; 95%, 85%, and 55% of the time for Doppler; 42%, 65%, and 30% of the time for oscillometric determination, respectively. Oscillometric mean BP readings were within 10 mmHg of direct measurements 53%, 60%, and 45% of the time, respectively.Conclusions:The pulse oximeter is an acceptable method for measuring BP in anesthetized dogs if assessment of trends is sufficient. All indirect methods showed greater bias and poorer precision at high BP. The Doppler may be the preferred indirect method.
Biochemical and biophysical assessment of MTX‐induced liver fibrosis in psoriasis patients: Fibrotest predicts the presence and Fibroscan® predicts the absence of significant liver fibrosis
Authors: Berends Maartje A. M. , Snoek Josje , De Jong Elke M.G.J. , Van Krieken J. Han , De Knegt Robert J. , Van Oijen Martijn G. H. , Van De Kerkhof Peter C. M. , Drenth Joost. P. H. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractBackground: Methotrexate (MTX) use is associated with hepatic fibrosis in psoriasis patients. To monitor this serial liver biopsies were performed. The Fibroscan® and the Fibrotest are two novel, non‐invasive methods that might be able to assess MTX‐induced hepatic fibrosis.Aim: Evaluating the accuracy and feasibility of the Fibroscan® and Fibrotest to detect significant MTX‐induced liver fibrosis in psoriasis patients.Methods: We assessed 24 psoriasis patients who had a recent liver biopsy during MTX use. The results from the Fibroscan® and Fibrotest were compared with liver histology.Results: Fibroscan® values (n=20) ranged between 3.3 and 18.4 kPa (median value 6.4 kPa) and correctly identified 88% of the patients without significant liver fibrosis (Metavir score <F2, Fibroscan®≤7.1 kPa). The Fibrotest identified 83% of the patients with significant liver fibrosis (Metavir score ≥F2, Fibrotest >0.31).Conclusion: In this population, Fibrotest accurately predicted the presence of significant liver fibrosis while the Fibroscan® accurately predicted the absence of significant liver fibrosis in MTX users. This suggests that a combination of Fibrotest and Fibroscan® should prospectively be evaluated in monitoring and detecting significant MTX‐induced liver fibrosis in psoriasis patients.
A novel prognostic model based on serum levels of total bilirubin and creatinine early after liver transplantation
Authors: Xu Xiao , Ling Qi , Wu Jian , Chen Jun , Gao Feng , Feng Xiao‐Ning , Zheng Shu‐Sen 
Published: May 2007

AbstractBackground/aim: We aim to evaluate the impact of early renal dysfunction (ERD), early allograft dysfunction (EAD) on post‐transplant mortality, and further explore a simple and accurate model to predict prognosis.Patients: A total of 161 adult patients who underwent liver transplantation for benign end‐stage liver diseases were enrolled in the retrospective study. Another 38 patients were used for model validation.Results: Poor patient survival was associated with ERD or EAD. A post‐transplant model for predicting mortality (PMPM) based on serum levels of total bilirubin and creatinine at 24‐h post‐transplantation was then established according to multivariate logistic regression. At 3 months, 6 months and 1 year, the area under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) of PMPM score at 24‐h post‐transplantation (0.876, 0.878 and 0.849, respectively) were significantly higher than those of pre‐transplant model for end‐stage liver diseases (MELD) score (0.673, 0.674 and 0.618, respectively) or the post‐transplant MELD score at 24‐h post‐transplantation (0.787, 0.787 and 0.781, respectively) (P<0.05). Patients with PMPM score ≤−1.4 (low‐risk group, n=114) achieved better survival than those with PMPM score >−1.4 (high‐risk group, n=47) (P<0.001). The patients in the high‐risk group showed a relatively good outcome if their PMPM scores decreased to ≤−1.4 at post‐transplant day 7. The subsequent validation study showed that PMPM functioned with a predictive accuracy of 100%.Conclusion: The PMPM score could effectively predict short‐ and medium‐term mortality in liver transplant recipients.
The expression of SIRT1 in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease induced by high‐fat diet in rats
Authors: Deng Xiang‐Qun , Chen Lu‐Lu , Li Ning‐Xu 
Published: May 2007

AbstractObjective: SIRT1 is an NAD+‐dependent deacetylase and its enzymatic activity may be regulated by cellular energy. SIRT1 overexpression reduces the level of oxygen consumption, which is correlative with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). To elucidate the role of SIRT1 on the development of NAFLD, we investigated the expression of SIRT1 in NAFLD induced by high‐fat diet in rats and the effects of calorie restriction.Methods: Thirty‐one male Wistar rats were divided at random into four groups. The rats in the normal control group NC (n=7) and in the NAFLD model group HF (n=9) were fed ad libitum with normal chow and high‐fat diet, respectively, for 3 months, the rats in the calorie restriction (CR) group HCR (n=9) were fed with a high‐fat diet for 2 months and then 60% CR with normal chow for 1 month, and the rats in group CRH (n=6) were firstly fed with 60% CR with normal chow for 1 month and then fed a high‐fat diet for 2 months. At the end of the experiment, some parameters and expressions of SIRT1 were detected.Results: The rats in group HF displayed NAFLD. Compared with group NC, the expression of SIRT1 protein was significantly decreased (P<0.01). However, the lower body weight and visceral fat mass of rats in group HCR were showed. Compared with group HF, CR increased the expression of SIRT1 in liver significantly (P<0.01). Consequently, the ultramicropathology changes of NAFLD prominently improved in this group. Meanwhile, the rats in group CRH displayed higher expression of SIRT1 protein and very gentle pathology changes of NAFLD.Conclusion: The expression of SIRT1 is reduced significantly in NAFLD induced by high‐fat diet in rats. CR increase‐SIRT1 protein expression may be an important mechanism by which CR improves NAFLD.
Expression of somatostatin receptors in splanchnic blood vessels of normal and cirrhotic rats
Authors: Reynaert Hendrik , Van Rossen Elke , Uyama Naoki , Chatterjee Nirjhar , Kumar Ujendra , Urbain Daniel , Geerts Albert 
Published: May 2007

AbstractBackground/Aims: Somatostatin has been used for over two decades to treat acute variceal bleeding. Although it is assumed that somatostatin lowers portal pressure by constriction of the splanchnic arteries, little is known about the expression of somatostatin receptors (SSTR) in splanchnic blood vessels. In this study we investigated SSTR expression in splanchnic blood vessels from normal and cirrhotic rats.Methods/Results: Cirrhosis was induced by intraperitoneal injection of 50 mg thioacetamide twice a week for 14 weeks. In portal vein, mesenteric artery and aorta of normal and cirrhotic rats, mRNA for the five known SSTR was measured by quantitative reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction. SSTR subtypes 1, 2, 3 and 4 were expressed, but subtype 5 was undetectable. In the portal vein of cirrhotic animals, SSTR1 was significantly down‐regulated as compared with controls. Otherwise, no major differences in receptor expression between normal and cirrhotic animals were observed. Using immunohistochemistry, we identified all five receptors, although the staining of receptor 5 was very weak.Conclusion: All five SSTR are expressed in splanchnic blood vessels. Our results suggest that cirrhosis reduces expression of SSTR1 in portal vein. In other vessels, no major differences between the normal and cirrhotic state were noted.
Identification of minimal regions of deletion at 8p23.1‐22 associated with metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Lu Tomoe , Hano Hiroshi 
Published: May 2007

AbstractAims/Background: Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at 8p is the most frequent chromosomal alteration in tumorigenesis of human cancers. However, the genetic change in metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) still has to be investigated.Methods: We used 16 microsatellite markers informative in Japanese patients, selected from among 61 published microsatellite markers at 8p23.2‐21 to compare the frequency of LOH in primary tumours (Tps) and metastatic tumours (Tms) in a PCR‐based analysis. Sixty‐three informative cancerous lesions (26 were Tps, 37 were Tms) from 23 cases of HCC were used.Results: The frequency of LOH at 8p23.2‐21 with at least one marker was 19% in Tps and 68% in Tms. Allelic loss at 8p23.2‐21 was significantly more frequent in Tms than in Tps (P=0.0003). More specifically, the frequency of LOH at D8S262, D8S1819, D8S503, D8S1130, D8S552, D8S1109, and D8S261 in Tms was 36–60% respectively.Conclusions: In contrast, allelic loss at the same markers in Tp was only detected in 0–17% of the tumour respectively. The significant difference in the frequency of LOH at 8p between primary cancer and metastatic cancer in individual cases of HCC suggests LOH at 8p to be involved in the enhancement of tumour aggressiveness, especially during metastasis.