bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Genetic Effects on Bone Mechanotransduction in Congenic Mice Harboring Bone Size and Strength Quantitative Trait Loci
Authors: Robling Alexander G , Warden Stuart J , L Shultz Kathryn , Beamer Wesley G , Turner Charles H 
Published: March 2007

Abstract
The degree to which bone tissue responds to mechanical loading events is partially under genetic control. We assess the contribution of three genetic loci (QTLs linked to bone geometry and strength)—located on mouse Chrs. 1, 8, and 13—to mechanically stimulated bone formation, through in vivo skeletal loading of congenic strains. Bone size was not consistently associated with mechano-responsiveness, indicating that the genetic regulation of mechanotransduction is a complex process that involves a number of genes and is sex-specific.
Introduction: We showed previously that C57BL/6J (B6) mice are more responsive to mechanical stimulation than C3H/HeJ (C3H) mice and that B6 mice harboring a 40-Mb region of distal C3H Chromosome (Chr.) 4 are more responsive to mechanical stimulation than are fully B6 mice. Here, we assess the contribution of three more genetic loci—located on mouse Chrs. 1, 8, and 13—to mechanically stimulated bone formation.
Materials and Methods: Three congenic mouse strains were created in which a region of mouse Chr. 1 (∼64 cM; 150 Mb), Chr. 8 (∼45 cM; 86 Mb), or Chr. 13 (∼24 cM; 42 Mb) was moved from C3H stock to a B6 background through selective breeding over nine generations. The regions moved to the B6 background correspond to three of several quantitative trait loci (QTLs) identified for bone size and strength. The resulting congenic mice were 99% B6, with the remaining genomic DNA comprised of the Chr. 1, 8, or 13 QTLs of interest. Male and female congenic (1T, 8T, and 13B) and B6 control mice were subjected to in vivo loading of the right ulna at one of three different load magnitudes. A separate set of animals from each group had strain gauges applied at the ulnar midshaft to estimate strain at each loading level. Loading was conducted once per day for 3 days (60 cycles/d; 2 Hz). Fluorochrome labels were injected intraperitoneally 4 and 11 days after loading began. Using quantitative histomorphometry, bone formation rates were measured in loaded (right) and control (left) ulnas.
Results: All male congenic mice exhibited significantly reduced mechano-responsiveness compared with male B6 controls, but the same comparison among females yielded no difference from controls, with the exception of the 1T congenics, which showed increased responsiveness to loading. Among the congenic strains, smaller bone size was not consistently associated with reduced mechano-responsiveness.
Conclusions: Our results indicate that the genetic regulation of mechanotransduction is a complex process that involves a number of genes and is sex-specific. Our data might explain why different individuals can engage in similar exercise protocols yet experience different results in terms of bone mass accrual.
Fitting Genetic Models Using Markov Chain Monte Carlo Algorithms With BUGS
Authors: van den Berg Stéphanie M. , Beem Leo , Boomsma Dorret I. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractMaximum likelihood estimation techniques are widely used in twin and family studies, but soon reach computational boundaries when applied to highly complex models (e.g., models including gene-by-environment interaction and gene–environment correlation, item response theory measurement models, repeated measures, longitudinal structures, extended pedigrees). Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms are very well suited to fit complex models with hierarchically structured data. This article introduces the key concepts of Bayesian inference and MCMC parameter estimation and provides a number of scripts describing relatively simple models to be estimated by the freely obtainable BUGS software. In addition, inference using BUGS is illustrated using a data set on follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone levels with repeated measures. The examples provided can serve as stepping stones for more complicated models, tailored to the specific needs of the individual researcher.
Latent Curve Analyses of Longitudinal Twin Data Using a Mixed-Effects Biometric Approach
Authors: McArdle John J. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractIn a recent article McArdle and Prescott (2005) showed how simultaneous estimation of the bio-metric parameters can be easily programmed using current mixed-effects modeling programs (e.g., SAS PROC MIXED). This article extends these concepts to deal with mixed-effect modeling of longitudinal twin data. The biometric basis of a polynomial growth curve model was used by Vandenberg and Falkner (1965) and this general class of longitudinal models was represented in structural equation form as a latent curve model by McArdle (1986). The new mixed-effects modeling approach presented here makes it easy to analyze longitudinal growth-decline models with biometric components based on standard maximum likelihood estimation and standard indices of goodness-of-fit (i.e., χ2, df, εa). The validity of this approach is first checked by the creation of simulated longitudinal twin data followed by numerical analysis using different computer programs (i.e., Mplus, Mx, MIXED, NLMIXED). The practical utility of this approach is examined through the application of these techniques to real longitudinal data from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (Pedersen et al., 2002). This approach generally allows researchers to explore the genetic and nongenetic basis of the latent status and latent changes in longitudinal scores in the absence of measurement error. These results show the mixed-effects approach easily accounts for complex patterns of incomplete longitudinal or twin pair data. The results also show this approach easily allows a variety of complex latent basis curves, such as the use of age-at-testing instead of wave-of-testing. Natural extensions of this mixed-effects longitudinal approach include more intensive studies of the available data, the analysis of categorical longitudinal data, and mixtures of latent growth-survival/ frailty models.
Semiparametric Maximum Likelihood Variance Component Estimation Using Mixture Moment Structure Models
Authors: Markon Kristian E. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractNonnormal phenotypic distributions introduce significant problems in the estimation and selection of genetic models. Here, a semiparametric maximum likelihood approach to analyzing non-normal phenotypes is described. In this approach, distributions are explicitly modeled together with genetic and environmental effects. Distributional parameters are introduced through mixture constraints, where the distribution of effects are discretized and freely estimated rather than assumed to be normal. Semiparametric maximum likelihood estimation can be used with a variety of genetic models, can be extended to a variety of pedigree structures, and has various advantages over other approaches to modeling nonnormal data.
Nostalgic memories. Qualitative reception analysis of Flemish TV fiction, 1953–1989
Authors: Dhoest Alexander 
Published: March 2007

Abstract
This article describes a qualitative inquiry into the historical reception of Flemish television fiction broadcast by the monopolistic Flemish broadcaster BRT between 1953 and 1989. This is a relatively homogeneous period, both in terms of broadcasting policies and fiction output. What do viewers remember of this period? Can patterns be discerned in these memories, and if so, why? To answer these questions, this research uses semi-structured interviews with older viewers. First, the article discusses the particular problems of this method, mostly ‘faulty’ memory and nostalgic reinterpretation. Then, the findings are presented, reflecting on processes of (collective) memory formation. One clear finding concerns the selective and homogeneous nature of memories; the same few serials are remembered in similar ways by most, leading to clichéd memories of (representations of) the past.
Systems approaches and communication research. The age of entropy
Authors: Gunaratne Shelton 
Published: March 2007

Abstract
This essay examines the contemporary approaches to systems theory, the strengths and limitations of these approaches, and how communication researchers can apply them creatively. It points out that using system approaches requires communication scholars to study the mutual interaction of both information inputs and matter/energy inputs. Overloads of these inputs coupled with storage problems could engender positive feedback loops and move the system away from the linear region of stability toward the edge of chaos (bifurcation). It could then self-organize as a more complex system in a new phase space of its trajectory. This complexity approach could be used to trace the trajectory of the global mass communication system or to conduct empirical research on all or any of the information-processing subsystems within the eight hierarchical levels of nested systems ranging from cell to supranational systems. Although systems thinking is writ large in the onto-cosmology of Eastern philosophies, its epistemological and methodological refinements did not occur until quantum physics challenged the ‘atomism’ of the dominant Newtonian-Cartesian model.
Ein Rätsel gelöst: Die Angaben zur Venediger-Handschrift (V) der älteren armenischen Version der Basilius-Anaphora in den bisherigen Veröffentlichungen
Authors: Winkler Gabriele 
Published: March 2007

Abstract
One of the most important witnesses to the Anaphora of Basil is the first Armenian redaction, which has survived in only three known manuscripts and several fragments.
Problems arose when the Venice manuscript (V) appeared with differing numbers in several older and more recent publications. The author traces the development of the variing references to this important manuscript and clarifies the prior and recent numbering concerning the Venice manuscript. The author wishes to thank her colleague, Ł.B. Zekiyan, and the Armenian monks of the Mechitarist Congregation in Venice for their assistance to obtain all pertinent documents while being in Venice.
Die Anfänge des Geburtsfestes Jesu in Ägypten Neuedition von P. Vindob. G. 19.934
Authors: Förster Hans 
Published: March 2007

Abstract
It is very common to assume that there is a more or less direct link between the feast of the Basilideans (according to Clemens of Alexandria str. I,XXI, 146,1f., some celebrating the baptism of Christ on 6th and others on 10th of January) and the Christian feast of Epiphany. A very interesting text on a papyrus in the collection of the Austrian National Library in Vienna raises the question of whether this is actually the case. The papyrus text was classifi ed as a “song for Christmas”. However, some allusions to Old Testament passages seem to point in a different direction. The article discusses whether the text on the papyrus was a song for Epiphany. This would, however, mean that in Egypt the Christian feast of Epiphany originally celebrated only the birth of Christ. This would in turn call into question the supposed link between the feast of the Basilideans and the Christian feast. If the birth of Christ was the original topic of Epiphany, it is even more improbable that a feast of a Gnostic group of the second century could have influenced in any way a feast of the Church celebrated from the fourth century onwards.
Changes in cytokine production and morphology of murine lymphoma NK/Ly cells in course of tumor development
Authors: Panchuk Rostyslav , Boiko Natalia , Lootsik Maxim , Stoika Rostyslav 
Published: March 2007

Abstract
The main goal of this study was to evaluate if specific cytokine expression in the NK/Ly lymphoma cells might be involved in development of intoxication in the tumor-bearing animals. RT-PCR analysis was used to study an expression of mRNA coding for IL-1α, IL-6, TNF-α, TNF-β and VEGF. ELISA was used to evaluate IL-6 and IFN-γ concentration in the ascitic fluid. Cytomorphological investigation of tumor cells was done after standard Romanovsky-Giemsa staining, and chromatin staining was performed with hematoxyline and neutral red. Lactate dehydrogenase and acid phosphatase release from tumor cells was estimated. It was revealed that the level of mRNA coding for VEGF and IL-6 was significant in the lymphoma cells. The level of VEGF mRNA was initially high and did not change during tumor progression, while the level of expression of IL6 mRNA was low at the initial stages of tumor growth and markedly increased (up to 5-fold) at the terminal stages. The obtained data on IL-6 mRNA expression were confirmed by ELISA, which showed more than 6-fold increase (from 90 to 570 pg/ml) in the IL-6 concentration in the ascitic fluid at late stages of NK/Ly tumor development. On the contrary to IL-6, concentration of IFN-γ in the ascitic fluid was very high at early stages of tumor development (1,000 pg/ml) and it markedly decreased (up to 30-fold, 30 pg/ml) at the terminal stages of tumor development. The high levels of IL-6 mRNA in tumor cells and IL-6 content in extracellular medium correlated with cell deterioration, as revealed by cytomorphologic study and the release of intracellular enzymes into extracellular medium. We suggest that an enhanced production and release of IL-6 by lymphoma cells can cause intoxication and exhaustion of the organism observed at terminal stages of tumor growth.
Environmental Degradation of Polluting Aromatic and Aliphatic Hydrocarbons: A Case Study
Authors: Osuji Leo C. , Ozioma Achugasim 
Published: March 2007

AbstractOil extracts of Ukpeliede spill samples from Niger Delta (Nigeria) were analyzed by gas chromatography. The amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), especially the lower‐molecular‐weight naphthene, fluorine, phenathrene, pyrene, and benzo[a]anthracene, decreased within the sampling intervals of 2 months and 5 months. There was a predominance of three‐to‐six‐ring PAHs over the two‐ring PAHs. There was marked disappearance of n‐C8 to n‐C11 hydrocarbon fractions and the acyclic isoprenoids (pristane and phytane). The depletion of these molecules within the two sampling intervals suggests the possible attenuation of hydrocarbons as a result of the environmental modification within the set interval.
Isolation and Characterization of Ribosome‐Inactivating Proteins from Cucurbitaceae
Authors: Zhang Daoning , Halaweish Fathi T. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractDue to their RNA‐N‐glycosidase activity, ribosome‐inactivating proteins (RIPs) are attractive candidates as antitumor and antiviral agents in biomedical and agricultural research. We have isolated and characterized two such proteins, foetidissimin II and texanin, from two Cucurbitaceae species. Foetidissimin II, obtained from the roots of Cucurbita foetidissima, was identified as a type‐2 RIP, with a molecular weight of 61 kDa, as estimated by gel electrophoresis. It is composed of two chains, a 29‐kDa chain A, and a 32‐kDa chain B. Texanin, isolated from the fruits of Cucurbita texana, is a type‐I RIP, with a single chain of molecular weight 29.7 kDa, as estimated by MALDI‐TOF‐MS. Both proteins exhibit RNA‐N‐glycosidase activity, with aniline playing a critical role in rRNA cleavage. The IC50 value of foetidissimin II, determined by cell‐free protein‐synthesis inhibition, was 0.251 μM. In an in vitro cytotoxicity assay, foetidissimin II exhibited IC50 values of ca. 70 nM to both adenocarcinoma and erythroleukemia cells. Texanin exhibited a weaker anticancer activity against erythroleukemia cells, with an IC50 value of 95 μM, but no activity against adenocarcinoma cells. The N‐terminal sequences of both proteins were compared with those of reported RIPs.
X‐Ray Crystal Structure and Antioxidant Activity of Salidroside, a Phenylethanoid Glycoside
Authors: Yu Peizhong , Hu Changqi , Meehan Edward J. , Chen Liqing 
Published: March 2007

AbstractThe X‐ray single‐crystal structure of natural salidroside (=2‐(4‐hydroxyphenyl)ethyl β‐D‐glucopyranoside; 1), isolated from Cistanche deserticola, is reported for the first time, as well as its absolute configuration. The radical‐scavenging activity of 1 towards the superoxide radical anion (O$_{2}^{{\cdot} -}$) was determined experimentally by chemiluminescence measurements of the pyrogallol–luminol system, and compared to that of the corresponding aglycone, i.e., tyrosol (=4‐(2‐hydroxyethyl)phenol; 2).
Formation of the Active Species of Cytochrome P450 by Using Iodosylbenzene: A Case for Spin‐Selective Reactivity
Authors: Cho Kyung‐Bin , Moreau Yohann , Kumar Devesh , Rock Dan A. , Jones Jeffrey P. , Shaik Sason 
Published: March 2007

AbstractThe generation of the active species for the enzyme cytochrome P450 by using the highly versatile oxygen surrogate iodosylbenzene (PhIO) often produces different results compared with the native route, in which the active species is generated through O2 uptake and reduction by NADPH. One of these differences that is addressed here is the deuterium kinetic isotope effect (KIE) jump observed during N‐dealkylation of N,N‐dimethylaniline (DMA) by P450, when the reaction conditions change from the native to the PhIO route. The paper presents a theoretical analysis targeted to elucidate the mechanism of the reaction of PhIO with heme, to form the high‐valent iron–oxo species Compound I (Cpd I), and define the origins of the KIE jump in the reaction of Cpd I with DMA. It is concluded that the likely origin of the KIE jump is the spin‐selective chemistry of the enzyme cytochrome P450 under different preparation procedures. In the native route, the reaction proceeds via the doublet spin state of Cpd I and leads to a low KIE value. PhIO, however, diverts the reaction to the quartet spin state of Cpd I, which leads to the observed high KIE values. The KIE jump is reproduced here experimentally for the dealkylation of N,N‐dimethyl‐4‐(methylthio)aniline, by using intra‐molecular KIE measurements that avoid kinetic complexities. The effect of PhIO is compared with N,N‐dimethylaniline‐N‐oxide (DMAO), which acts both as the oxygen donor and the substrate and leads to the same KIE values as the native route.
Trends in the incidence and treatment of parathyroid cancer in the United States
Authors: Lee Peter K. , Jarosek Stephanie L. , Virnig Beth A. , Evasovich Maria , Tuttle Todd M. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractBACKGROUND.Parathyroid cancer is a rare cause of hyperparathyroidism. The objectives of this study were to determine the patterns of disease, treatment trends, and outcomes among patients with parathyroid cancer by using a population‐based data source.METHODS.Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registry data were used to identify patients who were diagnosed with parathyroid cancer from 1988 through 2003. To assess whether the incidence rate, treatment, tumor size, and cancer stage changed over time, the Cochrane‐Armitage trend test was used, and Cox proportional‐hazards modeling was used to identify the factors associated with an improved overall survival rate.RESULTS.From 1988 through 2003, 224 patients with parathyroid cancer were reported in the SEER data. Over that 16‐year study period, the incidence of parathyroid cancer increased by 60% (1988–1991, 3.58 per 10,000,000 population; 2000–2003, 5.73 per 10,000,000 population). Most patients (96%) underwent surgery (parathyroidectomy, 78.6% of patients; en bloc resection, 12.5% of patients; other, 4.9% of patients). The rate of surgical treatment increased significantly during the study period. The 10‐year all‐cause mortality rate was 33.2%, and the 10‐year cancer‐related mortality rate was 12.4%. Patient age (P < .0001), sex (P = .0106), the presence of distant metastases at diagnosis (P = .0004), and the year of diagnosis (P = .0287) were associated significantly with the overall survival rate. Tumor size, lymph node status, and type of surgery were not associated significantly with the overall survival rate.CONCLUSIONS.Although parathyroid cancer is rare, the incidence increased significantly in the United States from 1988 through 2003. Young age, female gender, recent year of diagnosis, and absence of distant metastases were associated significantly with an improved survival rate. Cancer 2007. © 2007 American Cancer Society.
A new method for screening and determination of diuretics by on‐line CE‐ESI‐MS
Authors: Lu Minghua , Tong Ping , Xiao Hui , Xia Shifei , Zheng Xinyu , Liu Wei , Zhang Lan , Chen Guonan 
Published: March 2007

AbstractA rapid, high‐resolution and effective new method for analyzing 12 diuretics by CE‐ESI‐MS was established in this paper. Ten diuretics (except two neutral compounds) could be fast separated by CE with a DAD at 214 nm with a 20 kV voltage within 6 min, using a 50 μm id and 48.5 cm effective length uncoated fused‐silica capillary in a 40 mM ammonium formate buffer (pH 9.40). CE was coupled to the mass spectrometer applying an orthogonal electrospray interface with a triple‐tube sheath liquid arrangement. The sheath liquid was composed of isopropanol‐water (1:1 v/v) containing 30 mM acetic acid with a flow rate of 4 μL/min. Mass spectrum was employed in the positive mode and both full scan mode and SIM scan mode were utilized. All 12 diuretics could be detected and confirmed by MS in a single analysis. Under optimized conditions, LODs for the 12 diuretics were in the range of 0.13–2.7 µmol/L at an S/N of 3, and the correlation coefficients R2 were between 0.9921 and 0.9978. The RDSs (n = 5) of the method was 0.24–0.94 % for migration times and 1.6–8.8 % for peak areas. The recoveries of spiked samples of 12 diuretics were between 72.4% and 118%. The real urine samples were injected directly for analysis, with only simple filtration through a 0.22 µm membrane filter in order to remove solid particles, which may cause capillary blockage. Based on the migration times and characteristic ions, the diuretics in urine samples were detected successfully. This CE‐ESI‐MS method for analyzing diuretics will hopefully be applied to doping control.
Water soluble fraction of solar‐simulated light‐exposed crude oil generates phosphorylation of histone H2AX in human skin cells under UVA exposure
Authors: Ibuki Yuko , Toyooka Tatsushi , Shirahata Jisshou , Ohura Takeshi , Goto Rensuke 
Published: March 2007

AbstractCrude oil contains compounds, which have toxic and cancer‐causing properties to humans. The oil spilled in environments is usually exposed to sunlight; however, the toxicity of sunlight‐exposed oil is poorly understood. In this study, we found that the water soluble fraction (WSF) of crude oil irradiated with solar‐simulated light (SSL) generated phosphorylation of histone H2AX (γ‐H2AX) in human skin cells under UVA irradiation, which was due to the formation of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs). Crude oil was exposed to SSL for ∼7 days. The WSF obtained from unexposed crude oil showed no toxicity, whereas the WSF obtained from crude oil pre‐exposed to SSL induced acute cell death on exposure to UVA irradiation (induction of phototoxicity), which was more remarkable in human skin fibroblasts than human skin keratinocytes. γ‐H2AX was detected in both cell lines immediately after treatment with the WSF plus UVA. Interestingly, γ‐H2AX was detectable even at low SSL‐ and UVA‐doses, which induced no cytotoxicity. The WSF of crude oil irradiated with SSL, generated DSBs under UVA irradiation, which were detected by biased sinusoidal field gel electrophoresis. This was confirmed using xrs‐5 cells isolated from CHO‐K1 cells, which are deficient in a repair enzyme for DSBs; the WSF plus UVA induced a more dramatic decrease in survival in xrs‐5 cells than CHO‐K1 cells. These findings demonstrate that exposure of crude oil to sunlight makes the WSF phototoxic, generating DSBs accompanying the appearance of γ‐H2AX in human skin cells. Environ. Mol. Mutagen., 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.