bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ossifying renal tumor of infancy: The first Japanese case with long‐term follow‐up
Authors: Shinohara Nobuo , Koyanagi Tomohiko , Hanioka Keisuke 
Published: December 2008

Jishu Ito1,5Presented is the first Japanese case of ossifying renal tumor of infancy (ORTI), which is an extremely rare tumor and of which only nine cases have been reported in the literature. The patient was a four‐month‐old Japanese boy presenting as hematuria. A small nodular tumor (∼1 cm in size) protruded Into the right pelvis from the superior caliceal region. Histologically the tumor originated from the tip of one medullary papilla and consisted of small rounded cells with a dense arrangement and several foci of minimally calcified osteoid lesions, including fewer but larger cells. Transition from the small to larger cells was suggested. The small cell only expressed vimentin, but the larger coexpressed vimentin, desmin, and epithelial membrane antigen. These findings suggested that the small cells differentiated to the larger cells with an epithelial nature associated somehow with osteoid formation. Embryonal metaplasia was assumed to occur In the collecting ducts entrapped by the tumor. The patient has been well without recurrence for more than 23 years. This is the longest survival period compared with other reported cases and confirms the benign nature of ORTI. It is absolutely crucial to make an accurate diagnosis of ORTI to avoid unnecessary treatment.
Neural representations of auditory input accommodate to the context in a dynamically changing acoustic environment
Authors: Rahne Torsten , Sussman Elyse 
Published: December 2008

AbstractThe auditory scene is dynamic, changing from 1 min to the next as sound sources enter and leave our space. How does the brain resolve the problem of maintaining neural representations of the distinct yet changing sound sources? We used an auditory streaming paradigm to test the dynamics of multiple sound source representation, when switching between integrated and segregated sound streams. The mismatch negativity (MMN) component of event‐related potentials was used as index of change detection to observe stimulus‐driven modulation of the ongoing sound organization. Probe tones were presented randomly within ambiguously organized sound sequences to reveal whether the neurophysiological representation of the sounds was integrated (no MMN) or segregated (MMN). The pattern of results demonstrated context‐dependent responses to a single tone that was modulated in dynamic fashion as the auditory environment rapidly changed from integrated to segregated sounds. This suggests a rapid form of auditory plasticity in which the longer‐term sound context influences the current state of neural activity when it is ambiguous. These results demonstrate stimulus‐driven modulation of neural activity that accommodates to the dynamically changing acoustic environment.
The H‐current secures action potential transmission at high frequencies in rat cerebellar parallel fibers
Authors: Baginskas Armantas , Palani Damodharan , Chiu Kenneth , Raastad Morten 
Published: December 2008

AbstractMost axons in the mammalian brain are unmyelinated and thin with pre‐synaptic specializations (boutons) along their entire paths. The parallel fibers in the cerebellum are examples of such axons. Unlike most thin axons they have only one branch point. The granule cell soma, where they originate, can fire bursts of action potentials with spike intervals of about 2 ms. An important question is whether the axons are able to propagate spikes with similarly short intervals. By using extracellular single‐unit and population‐recording methods we showed that parallel fibers faithfully conduct spikes at high frequencies over long distances. However, when adding 20 μm ZD7288 or 1 mm Cs+, or reducing the temperature from 35 to 24°C, the action potentials often failed even when successfully initiated. Ba2+(1 mm), which blocks Kir channels, did not reproduce these effects. The conduction velocity was reduced by ZD7288 but not by Ba2+. This suggests that the parallel fibers have an H‐current that is active at rest and that is important for their frequency‐following properties. Interestingly, failures occurred only when the action potential had to traverse the axonal branch point, suggesting that the branch point is the weakest point in these axons.
Switching of the transmitters that mediate hindbrain correlated activity in the chick embryo
Authors: Mochida Hiraku , Sato Katsushige , Momose‐Sato Yoko 
Published: December 2008

AbstractWidely propagating correlated neuronal activity is a hallmark of the developing nervous system. The activity is usually mediated by multiple transmitters, and the contribution of gap junctions has also been suggested in several systems. In some structures, such as the retina and spinal cord, it has been shown that the dominant transmitter mediating the correlated wave switches from acetylcholine to glutamate during development, although the functional significance of this phenomenon has not been clarified. An important question is whether such a transmitter switch occurs in other systems, especially in the brain. In the present study, we demonstrate that the major transmitter mediating correlated wave activity in the embryonic chick hindbrain changes from acetylcholine/γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)/glycine to glutamate/GABA as development proceeds. The results show for the first time that the dominant transmitter switches from acetylcholine to glutamate in a region other than the retina and spinal cord. This finding sheds more light on the role of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the generation of correlated wave activity, which is considered to regulate the development of the nervous system.
Functional cross‐kingdom conservation of mammalian and moss (Physcomitrella patens) transcription, translation and secretion machineries
Authors: Gitzinger Marc , Parsons Juliana , Reski Ralf , Fussenegger Martin 
Published: December 2008

SummaryPlants and mammals are separated by a huge evolutionary distance. Consequently, biotechnology and genetics have traditionally been divided into ‘green’ and ‘red’. Here, we provide comprehensive evidence that key components of the mammalian transcription, translation and secretion machineries are functional in the model plant Physcomitrella patens. Cross‐kingdom compatibility of different expression modalities originally designed for mammalian cells, such as native and synthetic promoters and polyadenylation sites, viral and cellular internal ribosome entry sites, secretion signal peptides and secreted product proteins, and synthetic transactivators and transrepressors, was established. This mammalian expression portfolio enabled constitutive, conditional and autoregulated expression of different product genes in a multicistronic expression format, optionally adjusted by various trigger molecules, such as butyrolactones, macrolide antibiotics and ethanol. Capitalizing on a cross‐kingdom‐compatible expression platform, we pioneered a prototype biopharmaceutical manufacturing scenario using microencapsulated transgenic P. patens protoplasts cultivated in a Wave Bioreactor. Vascular endothelial growth factor 121 (VEGF121) titres matched those typically achieved by standard protonema populations grown in stirred‐tank bioreactors. The full compatibility of mammalian expression systems in P. patens further promotes the use of moss as a cost‐effective alternative for the manufacture of complex biopharmaceuticals, and as a valuable host system to advance synthetic biology in plants.
LIFE‐CENTERED ETHICS, AND THE HUMAN FUTURE IN SPACE
Authors: MAUTNER MICHAEL N. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACTIn the future, human destiny may depend on our ethics. In particular, biotechnology and expansion in space can transform life, raising profound questions. Guidance may be found in Life‐centered ethics, as biotic ethics that value the basic patterns of organic gene/protein life, and as panbiotic ethics that always seek to expand life. These life‐centered principles can be based on scientific insights into the unique place of life in nature, and the biological unity of all life. Belonging to life then implies a human purpose: to safeguard and propagate life. Expansion in space will advance this purpose but will also raise basic questions. Should we expand all life or only intelligent life? Should we aim to create populations of trillions? Should we seed other solar systems? How far can we change but still preserve the human species, and life itself? The future of all life may be in our hands, and it can depend on our guiding ethics whether life will fulfil its full potentials. Given such profound powers, life‐centered ethics can best secure future generations. Our descendants may then understand nature more deeply, and seek to extend life indefinitely. In that future, our human existence can find a cosmic purpose.
A Platform for Visualizing and Experimenting with Measures of Semantic Similarity in Ontologies and Concept Maps
Authors: Gahegan Mark , Agrawal Ritesh , Jaiswal Anuj , Luo Junyan , Soon Kean‐Huat 
Published: December 2008

AbstractThis article describes research in the ongoing search for better semantic similarity tools: such methods are important when attempting to reconcile or integrate knowledge, or knowledge‐related resources such as ontologies and database schemas. We describe an extensible, open platform for experimenting with different measures of similarity for ontologies and concept maps. The platform is based around three different types of similarity, that we ground in cognitive principles and provide a taxonomy and structure by which new similarity methods can be integrated and used. The platform supports a variety of specific similarity methods, to which researchers can add others of their own. It also provides flexible ways to combine the results from multiple methods, and some graphic tools for visualizing and communicating multi‐part similarity scores. Details of the system, which forms part of the ConceptVista open codebase, are described, along with associated details of the interfaces by which users can add new methods, choose which methods are used and select how multiple similarity scores are aggregated. We offer this as a community resource, since many similarity methods have been proposed but there is still much confusion about which one(s) might work well for different geographical problems; hence a test environment that all can access and extend would seem to be of practical use. We also provide some examples of the platform in use.
Structural Alignment Methods with Applications to Geospatial Ontologies
Authors: Cruz Isabel F , Sunna William 
Published: December 2008

AbstractWe consider the problem of enabling interoperability and information sharing among geospatial applications that use ontologies to describe their concepts and the relationships among them. We present two fully automatic alignment methods that use the graph structures of a pair of ontologies to establish their alignment, that is, the semantic correspondences between their concepts. We have tested our methods on geospatial ontologies pertaining to wetlands and four other pairs that belong to a repository that has been used in the Ontology Alignment Evaluation Initiative (OAEI). Using these ontologies, we have compared the effectiveness (precision and recall) of our methods against the Similarity Flooding Algorithm that was proposed by others and show that for each of the tested ontologies one of our methods is at least as effective as their method. We have tuned the performance of our methods by introducing a greedy approach that reduces the number of concepts that get compared. This approach reduces runtime by approximately 30% with a minor compromise to the effectiveness of the results. To further validate our approach, we participated in the OAEI competition to align a pair of ontologies, each with a few thousand concepts.
The Unfolding Trends and Consequences of Expanding Higher Education in Ethiopia: Massive Universities, Massive Challenges
Authors: Tessema Kedir Assefa 
Published: December 2008

AbstractThere have been significant increases in the number of universities and student enrollments in the last fifteen years in Ethiopia. The numerical gains have brought about improved access to higher education for students. The expansion has also diversified fields of study and opened opportunities to pursue higher degrees to a significant number of students. Furthermore, the opportunity created for the university staff includes increased university job security, positions in the university leadership and scholarships for PhD degrees. On the other hand, the downside effects of the massification have worsened the conditions of university teaching staff. Among others, it has resulted in increasing work load and extended work schedules for academic staff. A managerialist culture has evolved that measures teaching against instrumental outcomes. There is a sense of deprofessionalisation and deskilling among staff manifested in practices that are disconnections from professional knowledge, skills and attitudes. As staff are increasingly over‐engaged, by taking more weekly class hours and managerial responsibilities, less ‘down time’ is available to keeping with developments in their fields of specialisation and practice
Towards ‘Lisbon objectives’: Economic Determinants of Participation Rates in University Education: An empirical analysis in 14 European Countries
Authors: Agasisti Tommaso 
Published: December 2008

AbstractParticipation rates in higher education are an important indicator to pursue one of the main European policy objectives, which is to increase the proportion of population attending higher education. A model used to detect the determinants of participation rates is proposed in this paper, and it is empirically tested for 14 European countries through a five‐year panel regression. The model considers the potential explanatory factors as follows: the country's socio‐economic conditions, the human capital stock, the organisation of the higher education sector, the higher education expenditure.The results show the important role of financial resources devoted to higher education; but also, as expected, the influence of other factors. More specifically, there is a role for the variables related to higher education organisation and structure, also confirming that higher entry rates are influenced both by an improvement in public investments in the sector and by organisational elements. These findings are relevant for policy purposes, since they suggest some possible solutions for improving participation rates. Although future research would need to explore the impact of income inequality, the overall level of spending is the key element that influences entry rates. Therefore, in periods of public finance pressure, the best way to resolve this problem could be to improve private resources.
Pulse wave analysis: a preliminary study of a novel technique for the prediction of pre‐eclampsia
Authors: Khalil AA , Cooper DJ , Harrington KF 
Published: December 2008

Objective  To investigate whether first‐trimester arterial pulse wave analysis (PWA) can predict pre‐eclampsia.Design  This was a prospective screening study.Setting  The Homerton University Hospital, a London teaching hospital.Population  Two hundred and ten low‐risk women with a singleton pregnancy were analysed.Methods  Radial artery pulse waveforms were measured between the 11+0 and 13+6 weeks of gestation and the aortic waveform derived by applying a generalised transfer function. Augmentation pressure (AP) and augmentation index at heart rate of 75 beats per minute (AIx‐75), measures of arterial stiffness, were calculated. The multiple of the gestation‐specific median in controls for AP and AIx‐75 were calculated. Logistic regression models were developed and their predictive ability assessed using the area under the receiver operator curve.Main outcome measures  Prediction of pre‐eclampsia by AIx‐75.Results  Fourteen (6.7%) women developed pre‐eclampsia, and 196 remained normotensive. Eight of the 14 women developed pre‐eclampsia before 34 weeks of gestation (early‐onset pre‐eclampsia). For a false‐positive rate of 11%, AIx‐75 had a detection rate of 79% for all cases of pre‐eclampsia and 88% for early‐onset pre‐eclampsia.Conclusion  First‐trimester arterial PWA can play a significant role in understanding the pathophysiology of pre‐eclampsia and may play a role in early screening.
Estimation of population‐based incidence of pregnancy‐related illness and mortality (PRIAM) in two districts in West Java, Indonesia
Authors: Ronsmans C , Scott S , Adisasmita A , Deviany P , Nandiaty F 
Published: December 2008

Objective  We introduce a new and untested approach for the measurement of life‐threatening maternal morbidity in populations where not all women give birth in a health facility. By defining complications at the very extreme end of the severity spectrum, we postulate that its count in hospitals can be used to represent the incidence in the general population.Design  We counted all cases of life‐threatening obstetric morbidity in hospitals and all maternal deaths in the population. Using these data, we describe the incidence of life‐threatening morbidity in the total population, examine its variation across geographical areas and investigate its relationship with maternal mortality.Setting  Serang and Pandeglang district in West Java, Indonesia.Population or sample  All women residing in the two districts.Methods  Cross‐sectional study of maternal morbidity and mortality.Main outcome measures  Pregnancy‐related illness and mortality (PRIAM), consisting of life‐threatening maternal morbidity (defined using the concepts of near miss and met need for life‐saving surgery) and maternal mortality.Results  The incidence of maternal mortality and life‐threatening complications at the population level was 421 and 1416 per 100 000 births, respectively, resulting in an overall ratio of PRIAM of 1837 per 100 000. The overall incidence of PRIAM was much lower in rural than in urban areas (1529 and 2880 per 100 000, respectively, P < 0.001), and it was lowest in rural Serang (1304 per 100 000).Conclusions  The approach tested in this study—relying on conditions that are ‘absolutely’ life‐threatening such that their count in hospitals can be used to represent the incidence in the general population—is promising but needs further testing in populations with varied disease epidemiology and access to care. Continued investments in hospital‐based audits of life‐threatening morbidity may ultimately improve the quality and reliability of information on obstetric complications and facilitate the development of rigorous and standard criteria for the definition of life‐threatening morbidity.
The effect of recurrent miscarriage and infertility on the risk of pre‐eclampsia
Authors: Trogstad L , Magnus P , Moffett A , Stoltenberg C 
Published: December 2008

Objective  Pre‐eclampsia, recurrent miscarriage and infertility may all partly be caused by unsuccessful placentation early in pregnancy. If so, one will expect these disorders to be associated in population studies. The aim of the present investigation was to estimate the risk of pre‐eclampsia in women with recurrent miscarriage and infertility.Design  Cohort study.Setting  The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), a large population‐based pregnancy cohort.Sample  The sample consisted of 20 846 singleton pregnancies to nulliparous women participating in the MoBa, 1999–2005.Methods  Information on miscarriage, infertility and potential confounders was self‐reported in postal questionnaires, whereas the diagnosis of pre‐eclampsia was retrieved from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway. Risk estimation and confounder control was performed with multiple logistic regression.Main outcome measures  Pre‐eclampsia according to history of miscarriage and infertility.Results  An increased risk of pre‐eclampsia, although not statistically significant, was found for women with recurrent miscarriages (adjusted OR 1.51, 95% CI 0.80–2.83). Women who had ever been treated for infertility also had increased risk (adjusted OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.05–1.60). When these two risk factors were combined, the adjusted odds ratio for pre‐eclampsia was 2.40 (95% CI 1.11–5.18).Conclusions  The study supports the hypothesis that infertility, recurrent miscarriage and pre‐eclampsia share elements of the same aetiological factors.
Early pregnancy volume measurements: validation of ultrasound techniques and new perspectives
Authors: Rousian M , Verwoerd‐Dikkeboom CM , Koning AHJ , Hop WC , van der Spek PJ , Exalto N , Steegers EAP 
Published: December 2008

Objective  To investigate accuracy and reliability of four different ultrasound‐related volume‐measuring methods.Design  Observational study.Setting  Both in vitro and in vivo.Population or Sample  Ten phantoms for in vitro measurements and 28 pregnancies with gestational ages ranging from 6 to 11 weeks for in vivo measurements were included.Methods  Three‐dimensional (3D) ultrasound images of phantoms (with known variable contents) and yolk sacs were used to calculate volumes using four different methods: Virtual Organ Computed‐Aided AnaLysis (VOCAL), inversion mode, Sono Automatic Volume Calculation (SonoAVC) and V‐Scope. V‐Scope is a newly developed 3D volume visualisation application using a Barco I‐Space virtual reality system. Intra‐ and interobserver agreement was established by calculating intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC).Main outcome measure  Evaluation of accuracy and reliability by comparing the different techniques with true volumes (in vitro) and with each other (in vitro and in vivo).Results  In the in vitro study, volume measurements by VOCAL, inversion mode and V‐Scope proved to be accurate. SonoAVC measurements resulted in a substantial systematic underestimation. Correlation coefficients of measured versus true volumes were excellent in all four techniques. For all techniques, an intra‐ and interobserver agreement of at least 0.91 was found. Yolk sac measurements by the different techniques proved to be highly correlated (ICCs > 0.91).Conclusions  We demonstrated that VOCAL, inversion mode and V‐Scope can all be used to measure volumes of hypoechoic structures. The newly introduced V‐Scope application proved to be accurate and reliable.
Prediction of time to spontaneous onset of labour with lactate concentration in vaginal fluid in women with suspected preterm prelabour rupture of the membranes
Authors: Wiberg‐Itzel E , Pettersson H , Cnattingius S , Nordstrom L 
Published: December 2008

Objective  To assess whether lactate determination in vaginal fluid is associated with and can predict onset of labour for women with suspected preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROMs).Design  Prospective observational study.Setting  Labour ward at South General Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.Population/participants  Women with suspected PPROMs at 20–36 completed weeks of gestation (n = 81).Methods  All women underwent a speculum examination and a test for determining lactate concentration in vaginal fluid. We used logistic regression to estimate the association between lactate concentration in vaginal fluid and time to onset of labour.Main outcome measure  Time from examination to spontaneous onset of labour (cervix ≥4 cm).Results  The median time between examination and onset of labour was 13.6 hours for those with a high (≥4.5 mmol/l) lactate concentration and 1152 hours (i.e. 48 days) for those with a low (<4.5 mmol/l) lactate concentration. For a lactate threshold of 4.5 mmol/l, the likelihood ratio for positive test (LR+) was 12.6, and LR− was 0.14 for the outcome of spontaneous onset of labour within 48 hours.Conclusions  A high lactate concentration in vaginal fluid is strongly associated with whether a woman with suspected PPROM will commence onset of labour within 48 hours. If confirmed, use of lactate (‘LAC test’) as a predictive test for onset of preterm labour may be an attractive tool in bedside obstetrics.