bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Use of an Exact Light‐Scattering Theory for Spheroidal TiO2 Pigment Particles
Authors: Jalava Juho‐Pertti 
Published: August 2006

AbstractTitanium dioxide pigments are widely used, e.g., in paints, printing inks, plastics, and papers, because of the excellent and whiteness they provide. As is well known, the opacity and to it related optical properties depend on the pigment's crystal‐ and particle‐size distributions (CSD, PSD). Therefore, the process and quality control of the CSD and PSD are very essential. The development of a straightforward and sophisticated method for process and quality control is presented here. The principal component is a new determination method for the PSD based on an accurate theory of light scattering of spheroidal particles. In this new method, called the turbidity spectrum method (TSM), the whole turbidity spectrum is measured. This spectrum, which is due to the particle‐size distribution of the pigment particles, is then solved using the T‐matrix method by taking into account the shape of the particles. After that the CSD is extracted from the PSD. The T‐matrix method is one of the most powerful and widely used tools for the rigorous computing of electromagnetic scattering by non‐spherical particles. The repeatability of the mean PSD (∼200 nm) obtained by the TSM is excellent, with a standard deviation of 0.1 nm (0.05 %). Linear regression models based on TSM results were developed for undertone and tint‐reducing power, which are important optical parameters of the pigment. The excellent repeatability of the TSM results was necessary for the production of representative models.
NanoParticle Tracking Analysis – The Halo™ System
Authors: Malloy Andrew , Carr Bob 
Published: August 2006

AbstractA new technique for nanoparticle sizing that allows visualisation of nanoscale particles in liquids on an individual basis is described. The technology comprises a metallised optical element illuminated by laser beam at the surface of which nanoscale particles in suspension can be directly visualised, sized and counted in real time using only a conventional optical microscope fitted with a low cost camera and a dedicated analytical software package.
The identification of dispersive and non‐dispersive intermediate frequency modes of HiPco single walled carbon nanotubes by in situ Raman spectroelectrochemistry
Authors: Kalbac Martin , Kavan Ladislav , Zukalova Marketa , Dunsch Lothar 
Published: August 2006

AbstractThe intermediate frequency modes (IFM) of HiPco single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) were analyzed by in situ Raman spectroelectrochemistry. We demonstrate that dispersive and non‐dispersive IFM features show a different dependence on electrochemical charging. While during p ‐doping the dispersive IFM features exhibit much stronger shift than non‐dispersive IFM ones, during n ‐doping an opposite effect was observed. Therefore we propose the application of the Raman spectroelectrochemical method for the identification of dispersive and non‐dispersive features using only one laser energy excitation. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Isotope abundance analysis methods and software for improved sample identification with supersonic gas chromatography/mass spectrometry
Authors: Alon Tal , Amirav Aviv 
Published: August 2006

AbstractWe present newly developed isotope abundance analysis (IAA) methods and software which are used to derive elemental formula information from experimental mass spectral data of molecular ion isotopomeric abundances. The software, using a novel method, can also be used to automatically confirm or reject NIST library search results, thereby significantly improving the confidence level in sample identifications. In the case of IAA confirmation of the NIST library results, sample identification is unambiguous, since the confirmation is achieved by two independent sets of data and analytical methods. In the case of a rejection, such as when the molecule is not included in the library's databases, the IAA software independently provides a list of elemental formulae with declining order of matching to the isotopomeric experimental data, in a similar way to accurate mass measurements with costly instruments. IAA is ideally applicable to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) (and liquid chromatography/electron ionization mass spectrometry (LC/EI‐MS)) with a supersonic molecular beam (SMB) since it requires a trustworthy and highly abundant true molecular ion that is unique to the SMB‐MS systems, plus the absence of self chemical ionization and vacuum background noise, again unique features of GC/SMB‐MS. The various features of the IAA methods and software are described, their performance is demonstrated with the analysis of experimental GC‐SMB‐MS data and the IAA concept is compared with accurate mass alternatives. The combination of IAA and GC/SMB‐MS is believed to be superior to accurate mass GC/MS in view of the general availability of trustworthy molecular ions for an extended range of compounds. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Comparison of satellite and cellular architectures for downlink broadcast data transmission
Authors: Sridhar Adarsh , Ephremides Anthony 
Published: August 2006

AbstractTraditional voice and video‐oriented networks such as the cellular and satellite networks are being increasingly used to carry data traffic. We endeavour to compare the downlink broadcast performance of the two architectures against each other on the basis of energy consumption, end‐to‐end delay and maximum stable throughput. The architectures are modelled as systems of Geo/G/1 queues. Queuing theory arguments and then sample‐path based comparisons are used to show that the satellite architecture while being more energy‐efficient has a higher delay and a lower maximum throughput. The variation of energy and delay with the total number of receiver nodes is also studied. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Predicting the insurgence of human genetic diseases associated to single point protein mutations with support vector machines and evolutionary information
Authors: Capriotti E. , Calabrese R. , Casadio R. 
Published: August 2006

Abstract
Motivation: Human single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are the most frequent type of genetic variation in human population. One of the most important goals of SNP projects is to understand which human genotype variations are related to Mendelian and complex diseases. Great interest is focused on non-synonymous coding SNPs (nsSNPs) that are responsible of protein single point mutation. nsSNPs can be neutral or disease associated. It is known that the mutation of only one residue in a protein sequence can be related to a number of pathological conditions of dramatic social impact such as Altzheimer's, Parkinson's and Creutzfeldt-Jakob's diseases. The quality and completeness of presently available SNPs databases allows the application of machine learning techniques to predict the insurgence of human diseases due to single point protein mutation starting from the protein sequence.
Results: In this paper, we develop a method based on support vector machines (SVMs) that starting from the protein sequence information can predict whether a new phenotype derived from a nsSNP can be related to a genetic disease in humans. Using a dataset of 21 185 single point mutations, 61% of which are disease-related, out of 3587 proteins, we show that our predictor can reach more than 74% accuracy in the specific task of predicting whether a single point mutation can be disease related or not. Our method, although based on less information, outperforms other web-available predictors implementing different approaches.
Availability: A beta version of the web tool is available at
Contact: casadio@alma.unibo.it
Group testing for pathway analysis improves comparability of different microarray datasets
Authors: Manoli Theodora , Gretz Norbert , Gröne Hermann-Josef , Kenzelmann Marc , Eils Roland , Brors Benedikt 
Published: August 2006

AbstractMotivation: The wide use of DNA microarrays for the investigation of the cell transcriptome triggered the invention of numerous methods for the processing of microarray data and lead to a growing number of microarray studies that examine the same biological conditions. However, comparisons made on the level of gene lists obtained by different statistical methods or from different datasets hardly converge. We aimed at examining such discrepancies on the level of apparently affected biologically related groups of genes, e.g. metabolic or signalling pathways. This can be achieved by group testing procedures, e.g. over-representation analysis, functional class scoring (FCS), or global tests.Results: Three public prostate cancer datasets obtained with the same microarray platform (HGU95A/HGU95Av2) were analyzed. Each dataset was subjected to normalization by either variance stabilizing normalization (vsn) or mixed model normalization (MMN). Then, statistical analysis of microarrays was applied to the vsn-normalized data and mixed model analysis to the data normalized by MMN. For multiple testing adjustment the false discovery rate was calculated and the threshold was set to 0.05. Gene lists from the same method applied to different datasets showed overlaps between 42 and 52%, while lists from different methods applied to the same dataset had between 63 and 85% of genes in common. A number of six gene lists obtained by the two statistical methods applied to the three datasets was then subjected to group testing by Fisher's exact test. Group testing by GSEA and global test was applied to the three datasets, as well. Fisher's exact test followed by global test showed more consistent results with respect to the concordance between analyses on gene lists obtained by different methods and different datasets than the GSEA. However, all group testing methods identified pathways that had already been described to be involved in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer. Moreover, pathways recurrently identified in these analyses are more likely to be reliable than those from a single analysis on a single dataset.Contact: b.brors@dkfz.deSupplementary Information: Supplementary Figure 1 and Supplementary Tables 1–4 are available at Bioinformatics online.
Cosecretion of Protease Inhibitor Stabilizes Antibodies Produced by Plant Roots
Authors: Komarnytsky Slavko , Borisjuk Nikolai , Yakoby Nir , Garvey Alison , Raskin Ilya 
Published: August 2006

AbstractA plant-based system for continuous production of monoclonal antibodies based on the secretion of immunoglobulin complexes from plant roots into a hydroponic medium (rhizosecretion) was engineered to produce high levels of single-chain and full-size immunoglobulins. Replacing the original signal peptides of monoclonal antibodies with a plant-derived calreticulin signal increased the levels of antibody yield 2-fold. Cosecretion of Bowman-Birk Ser protease inhibitor reduced degradation of the immunoglobulin complexes in the default secretion pathway and further increased antibody production to 36.4 μg/g root dry weight per day for single-chain IgG1 and 21.8 μg/g root dry weight per day for full-size IgG4 antibodies. These results suggest that constitutive cosecretion of a protease inhibitor combined with the use of the plant signal peptide and the antibiotic marker-free transformation system offers a novel strategy to achieve high yields of complex therapeutic proteins secreted from plant roots.
A Versatile and Reliable Two-Component System for Tissue-Specific Gene Induction in Arabidopsis
Authors: Brand Lukas , Hörler Mirjam , Nüesch Eveline , Vassalli Sara , Barrell Philippa , Yang Wei , Jefferson Richard A. , Grossniklaus Ueli , Curtis Mark D. 
Published: August 2006

Abstract
Developmental progression and differentiation of distinct cell types depend on the regulation of gene expression in space and time. Tools that allow spatial and temporal control of gene expression are crucial for the accurate elucidation of gene function. Most systems to manipulate gene expression allow control of only one factor, space or time, and currently available systems that control both temporal and spatial expression of genes have their limitations. We have developed a versatile two-component system that overcomes these limitations, providing reliable, conditional gene activation in restricted tissues or cell types. This system allows conditional tissue-specific ectopic gene expression and provides a tool for conditional cell type- or tissue-specific complementation of mutants. The chimeric transcription factor XVE, in conjunction with Gateway recombination cloning technology, was used to generate a tractable system that can efficiently and faithfully activate target genes in a variety of cell types. Six promoters/enhancers, each with different tissue specificities (including vascular tissue, trichomes, root, and reproductive cell types), were used in activation constructs to generate different expression patterns of XVE. Conditional transactivation of reporter genes was achieved in a predictable, tissue-specific pattern of expression, following the insertion of the activator or the responder T-DNA in a wide variety of positions in the genome. Expression patterns were faithfully replicated in independent transgenic plant lines. Results demonstrate that we can also induce mutant phenotypes using conditional ectopic gene expression. One of these mutant phenotypes could not have been identified using noninducible ectopic gene expression approaches.
Randomized controlled trial of melatonin for children with autistic spectrum disorders and sleep problems
Authors: Garstang J. , Wallis M. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractBackground  Melatonin is often used for autistic children with sleep disorders, despite a lack of published evidence in this population.Methods  A randomized, placebo‐controlled double‐blind crossover trial of melatonin was undertaken in 11 children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD).Results  Seven children completed the trial. Sleep latency was 2.6 h [95% confidence intervals (CI) 2.28–2.93] baseline, 1.91 h (95% CI 1.78–2.03) with placebo and 1.06 h (95% CI 0.98–1.13) with melatonin. Wakings per night were 0.35 (95% CI 0.18–0.53) baseline, 0.26 (95% CI 0.20–0.34) with placebo and 0.08 (95% CI 0.04–0.12) with melatonin. Total sleep duration was 8.05 h (95% CI 7.65–8.44) baseline, 8.75 h (95% CI 8.56–8.98) with placebo and 9.84 h (95% CI 9.68–9.99) with melatonin.Conclusions  Although the study was small owing to recruitment difficulties, it still provides evidence of effectiveness of melatonin in children with sleep difficulties and ASD, which we predict a larger study would confirm.
Oestradiol stimulates prolactin secretion in women through oestrogen receptors
Authors: Garas A. , Trypsianis G. , Kallitsaris A. , Milingos S. , Messinis I. E. 
Published: August 2006

SummaryObjective  To examine the effects of clomiphene and raloxifene on basal and GnRH‐induced prolactin (PRL) secretion in postmenopausal women.Design  Postmenopausal women participated in two experimental procedures a month apart. In one experiment they received raloxifene (180 mg/day) (R‐Exp) and in the other clomiphene (150 mg/day) (Cl‐Exp). In Group 1, the women (n = 8) received raloxifene or clomiphene for 30 days plus oestradiol via skin patches (100 µg/24 h) for the last 10 days. In Group 2, the women (n = 8) received oestradiol for 30 days plus raloxifene (R‐Exp) or clomiphene (Cl‐Exp) for the last 10 days. The pituitary response to GnRH (100 µg i.v.) was investigated in all women on days 0, 10, 20 and 30 of each experiment.Patients  The study included 16 healthy postmenopausal volunteer women aged 56–60 years.Measurements  Basal levels of PRL and the area under the curve (AUC) of ΔPRL response to GnRH were calculated.Results  In Group 1, basal levels of PRL and the area under the curve (AUC) of PRL response to GnRH did not change significantly in both experiments. In Group 2, during both experiments basal levels of PRL and the AUC of PRL increased significantly on days 10 (P < 0·05) and 20 (P < 0·05) as compared to day 0 and then they decreased significantly on day 30 as compared to day 20 (P < 0·05).Conclusions  Our study demonstrates for the first time that raloxifene and clomiphene affect the secretion of PRL in postmenopausal women in a similar manner. It is suggested that oestradiol stimulates the secretion of PRL in women by acting through oestrogen receptors.
In vivoand mechanistic evidence of nuclear receptor CAR induction by artemisinin
Authors: Simonsson U. S. H. , Lindell M. , Raffalli‐Mathieu F. , Lannerbro A. , Honkakoski P. , Lang M. A. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractBackground Artemisinin (a sesquiterpene lactone endoperoxide) has become important in multi‐drug treatment of malaria. There is evidence that artemisinin induces drug metabolism which could result in drug–drug interactions. The objective of this study was to characterize the inductive properties of artemisinin on drug‐metabolizing cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzymes.Materials and methods The possibility of artemisinin to induce CYP450 was studied in artemisinin‐treated (orally for four days) and vehicle‐treated rats using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). The effect on enzymatic activities in mouse microsomes from multiple artemisinin administration (intraperitonally) to mice were also studied as well as the effect on the expression in mouse primary hepatocytes and HEK293 cells.Results Increased CYP2B1 mRNA levels in rats could be seen after artemisinin treatment as well as a weak but reproducible increase in the intensity of CYP1A2. Administration of artemisinin to mice up‐regulated hepatic CYP2B10‐dependent, and to a lesser extent, CYP2A5‐dependent enzyme activities. In primary hepatocyte culture, artemisinin significantly increased the CYP2B10 mRNA levels whereas the CYP2A5 mRNA levels were increased to a lesser extent. No significant changes were seen in the levels of other CYP enzymes. Artemisinin was an activator of constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) but not pregnane X receptor (PXR) in HEK293 cells.Conclusions The results demonstrate that the drug exerts its effects on drug metabolism via the CAR receptor that results in up‐regulation of genes such as theCyp2b. The weaker up‐regulation of CYP2A5 might also be CAR‐dependent or alternatively, a consequence of artemisinin toxicity. The results of this study are of importance when predicting potential drug–drug interactions in multi‐drug therapies with artemisinin.
Agalsidase alpha and hearing in Fabry disease: data from the Fabry Outcome Survey
Authors: Hajioff D. , Hegemannn S. , Conti G. , Beck M. , Sunder‐Plassmann G. , Widmer U. , Mehta A. , Keilmann A. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractBackground  Fabry disease is an X‐linked lysosomal storage disorder characterized by multi‐organ dysfunction, including hearing loss – mainly sensorineural. The recent introduction of enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) has resulted in improvements in renal and cardiac function, pain and quality of life. One study has also suggested small improvements in high‐frequency hearing. In this paper, we study the effect of ERT on hearing in patients in the Europe‐wide database – the Fabry Outcome Survey (FOS).Materials and methods  Twenty‐six patients in FOS had pure‐tone audiometry performed up to 6 months before starting ERT with agalsidase alpha and after a median of 12 months of treatment. We assessed changes in hearing thresholds, expressed as deviations from the 50th centile of the normal population (International Organization for Standardization ISO 7029) to correct for age‐related non‐specific hearing deterioration.Results  Hearing did not change significantly in ears with normal hearing (less than 10 dB deviation from the 50th centile of ISO 7029) or those with severe hearing loss (more than 40 dB deviation from the 50th centile of ISO 7029) at baseline. In ears with a mild or moderate hearing loss at baseline, hearing thresholds, expressed as deviations from the normal 50th centile, improved significantly by 4–7 dB at most frequencies (P < 0·05).Conclusions  Agalsidase alpha stabilizes, and possibly improves, hearing in Fabry patients who have not already progressed to severe hearing loss. Further follow‐up of these patients will determine the longer‐term effects of ERT.
The importance of independent risk‐factors for long‐term mortality prediction after cardiac surgery
Authors: Toumpoulis I. K. , Anagnostopoulos C. E. , Ioannidis J. P. , Toumpoulis S. K. , Chamogeorgakis T. , Swistel D. G. , DeRose J. J. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractBackground The purpose of the present study was to determine independent predictors for long‐term mortality after cardiac surgery. The European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE) was developed to score in‐hospital mortality and recent studies have shown its ability to predict long‐term mortality as well. We compared forecasts based on EuroSCORE with other models based on independent predictors.Methods Medical records of patients with cardiac surgery who were discharged alive (n = 4852) were retrospectively reviewed. Their operative surgical risks were calculated according to EuroSCORE. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: training dataset (n = 3233) and validation dataset (n = 1619). Long‐term survival data (mean follow‐up 5·1 years) were obtained from the National Death Index. We compared four models: standard EuroSCORE (M1); logistic EuroSCORE (M2); M2 and other preoperative, intra‐operative and post‐operative selected variables (M3); and selected variables only (M4). M3 and M4 were determined with multivariable Cox regression analysis using the training dataset.Results The estimated five‐year survival rates of the quartiles in compared models in the validation dataset were: 94·5%, 87·8%, 77·1%, 64·9% for M1; 95·1%, 88·0%, 80·5%, 64·4% for M2; 93·4%, 89·4%, 80·8%, 64·1% for M3; and 95·8%, 90·9%, 81·0%, 59·9% for M4. In the four models, the odds of death in the highest‐risk quartile was 8·4‐, 8·5‐, 9·4‐ and 15·6‐fold higher, respectively, than the odds of death in the lowest‐risk quartile (P < 0·0001 for all).Conclusions EuroSCORE is a good predictor of long‐term mortality after cardiac surgery. We developed and validated a model using selected preoperative, intra‐operative and post‐operative variables that has better discriminatory ability.