bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Chemical removal of zona pellucida versus laser assisted hatching after repeated failures of assisted reproductive technology
Authors: NISHIO EIJI , MORIWAKI TAKAYUKI , YOSHII KUMIKO , UDAGAWA YASUHIRO 
Published: November 2006

Background and Aims:  To evaluate outcomes after zona pellucida removal by pronase or laser assisted hatching in women with repeated assisted reproduction failures.Methods:  Of 389 procedures (January 2004 to November 2005), 203 control cycles had an intact zona, 116 cycles had chemical removal of the zona and 70 cycles had laser assisted hatching. Rates of pregnancy, implantation and abortion were compared, and pregnancy rate was secondarily evaluated for fresh or frozen‐thawed blastocysts.Results:  Pregnancy rates were 33.5% (68/203) for controls, 29.3% (34/116) for chemical removal and 30.0% (21/70) for laser. Implantation rates were 24.8% (68/274) for controls, 21.8% (34/156) for chemical removal and 30.0% (21/105) for laser. There were no significant differences among groups. Abortion rates were 15.6% (10/64) for controls, 13.9% (5/36) for chemical removal and 14.3% (3/21) for laser. No difference was observed by blastocyst type for control or laser assisted hatching cycles. In the chemical removal group, both pregnancy and implantation rates were higher for frozen‐thawed blastocysts than for fresh blastocysts. (41.5%vs 13.2% and 30.7%vs 11.1%, respectively).Conclusions:  Assisted hatching did not show a significant benefit. Chemical zona pellucida removal might increase pregnancy rates for frozen‐thawed blastocysts. (Reprod Med Biol 2006; 5: 263–267)
Serum steroids concentration might be used for monitoring the growth of follicles in friendly in vitro fertilization
Authors: HASEGAWA JUNICHI , YANAIHARA ATSUSHI , IWASAKI SHINJI , NEGISHI MOMOKO , SUZUKI NORIO , KAWAMURA TOSHIHIRO , OKAI TAKASHI 
Published: November 2006

Background:  Steroid levels have been used as the predictive parameters for oocyte maturation and embryo development. In the present study, estradiol and progesterone concentrations in the follicular fluid and serum were evaluated in conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF; follicle stimulating hormone [FSH] and/or human menopausal gonadotropin [hMG] after pituitary desensitization) and friendly IVF (no stimulation, clomiphene citrate, small dose of FSH or hMG without pituitary desensitization). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the differences in steroid distribution between conventional and friendly IVF.Methods:  Concentrations of estradiol, progesterone, FSH, and luteinizing hormone (LH) in serum and follicular fluid were determined in conventional and friendly IVF protocols by an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay kit. Correlations between follicular fluid and serum steroid concentrations in these different protocols, and between pregnant cycles and steroid concentrations were evaluated.Results:  Two hundred and thirty‐four samples of follicular fluid from 74 IVF patients were analyzed. In conventional IVF, there was no relationship in steroid levels in between follicular fluid and serum steroids, whereas serum steroid concentrations correlated with the number of developing follicles. There was a relationship between the serum and follicular fluid estradiol levels (r = 0.467, P < 0.0001) as well as progesterone levels (r = 0.227, P = 0.0488) from friendly IVF patients.Conclusions:  Serum steroid concentrations were mainly associated with the number of developing follicles. In the cases of friendly IVF, which had a small number of developing follicles, serum steroids might be used to monitor follicular fluid steroid concentrations. (Reprod Med Biol 2006; 5: 277–282)
Comprehensive assessment of the effect of Sphenocentrum jollyanum root extract on male reproductive activity in albino rats
Authors: RAJI YINUSA , FADARE OLAYEMI O. , ADISA RAHMAT A. , SALAMI SHAKIRU A. 
Published: November 2006

Aim:  To evaluate the effect of methanol extract from the Sphenocentrum jollyanum root on male reproductive activity.Methods:  Male albino rats were treated orally with distilled water (vehicle for the extract; control) and 50, 100 and 150 mg kg−1 body weight of Sphenocentrum jollyanum root extract for 8 weeks. Each group had its own recovery. Rats were killed 24 h after the last treatment. Caudal epididymal sperm count, motility, viability, morphology and organ weights were determined. Hematological indices, serum proteins, enzymes, testicular superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and testicular and epididymal histology were determined.Results:  Compared with the control, the extract caused a dose dependent significant (P < 0.05) reduction in progressive motility of spermatozoa, viability and total sperm counts. The number of abnormal spermatozoa and epididymal volume were not statistically significant. There was a significant increase (P < 0.05) in serum testosterone levels in rats treated with 50 (P < 0.01) and 100 mg kg−1 (P < 0.05) of Sphenocentrum jollyanum. There was a significant (P < 0.05) increase in red blood cell count, packed cell volume and hemoglobin concentration, whereas there was no change in white blood cell count, mean total serum protein, albumin and globulin in the sera of Sphenocentrum jollyanum treated rats when compared with the control. The extract caused a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in serum aspartate and alanine aminotransferase activities with a significant increase (P < 0.05) in testicular SOD activity at a dose of 50 mg kg−1 bodyweight. Testicular cytoarchitecture of the extract treated rats showed degeneration of seminiferous tubules, whereas regeneration of germinal epithelium and restructuring of the germinal interstitium occurred in the recovery rats. No lesions were observed in the epididymis of the rats.Conclusion:  The results suggest that methanol extract of the Sphenocentrum jollyanum root could produce harmful effects on reproductive functions in male albino rats which can be attributed to poor sperm quantity (epididymal sperm count), quality (sperm motility, viability and morphology) and testicular degeneration. The steroidogenic potential of the plant could explain its use as an aphrodisiac agent. (Reprod Med Biol 2006; 5: 283–292)
Npas4, a novel helix–loop–helix PAS domain protein, is regulated in response to cerebral ischemia
Authors: Shamloo Mehrdad , Soriano Liza , Von Schack David , Rickhag Mattias , Chin Daniel J. , Gonzalez‐Zulueta Mirella , Gido Gunilla , Urfer Roman , Wieloch Tadeusz , Nikolich Karoly 
Published: November 2006

AbstractBasic helix–loop–helix PAS domain proteins form a growing family of transcription factors. These proteins are involved in the process of adaptation to cellular stresses and environmental factors such as a change in oxygen concentration. We describe the identification and characterization of a recently cloned PAS domain protein termed Npas4 in ischemic rat brain. Using gene expression profiling following middle cerebral artery occlusion, we showed that the Npas4 mRNA is differentially expressed in ischemic tissue. The full‐length gene was cloned from rat brain and its spatial and temporal expression characterized with in situ hybridization and Northern blotting. The Npas4 mRNA is specifically expressed in the brain and is highly up‐regulated in ischemic tissues following both focal and global cerebral ischemic insults. Immunohistochemistry revealed a strong expression in the limbic system and thalamus, as well as in layers 3 and 5 in the cortex of the unchallenged brain. When overexpressed in HEK 293 cells, Npas4 appears as a protein of ∼ 100 kDa. In brain samples, however, in addition to the 100 kDa band a specific 200 kDa immunoreactive band was also detected. Ischemic challenge lead to a decrease in the 200 kDa form and a simultaneous increase in the 100 kDa immunoreactivity. This could indicate a novel regulatory mechanism for activation and/or deactivation of this protein in response to ischemic brain injury.
The significance of place in middle childhood: qualitative research from Wales
Authors: Scourfield Jonathan , Dicks Bella , Holland Sally , Drakeford Mark , Davies Andrew 
Published: November 2006

AbstractThe paper presents some key findings of qualitative research with older primary school children in Wales on their attachments to places and cultures. There is discussion of children's perspectives on the global, national and local arenas. We argue both that there are continuities with adult perspectives and that the children's views on place and identity need to be understood in the context of the social location of middle childhood. The study shows children making relatively little use of culturally‐filled categories of local, national and global place‐identifications. The differences they articulate are largely framed in terms of divisions between groups of people rather than in the characteristics of place, and generally related back to the self.
Sovereignty transformed: a sociology of human rights1
Authors: Levy Daniel , Sznaider Natan 
Published: November 2006

AbstractThis paper examines how global interdependencies and the consolidation of a human rights discourse are transforming national sovereignty. Social researchers frequently address the supremacy of state sovereignty and the absoluteness of human rights as mutually exclusive categories. However, rather than presupposing that a universal rights discourse is necessarily leading to the demise of sovereignty, we suggest that an increasingly de‐nationalized conception of legitimacy is contributing to a reconfiguration of sovereignty itself. Through the analytic prism of historical memories – which refers to shared understandings specific pasts carry for present concerns of a political community – we provide an explanatory factor for the salience of human rights norms as a globally available repertoire of legitimate claim making. While states retain most of their sovereign functions, their legitimacy is no longer exclusively conditioned by a contract with the nation, but also by their adherence to a set of nation‐transcending human rights ideals. Legitimacy is mediated by how willing states are to engage with ‘judicial memories’ of human rights abuses and their articulation in cosmopolitan legal frames. Empirically, we focus on war crime trials and how legal inscriptions of memories of human rights abuses are recasting the jurisdiction of International Law. The readiness of states to engage with rights abuses is becoming politically and culturally consequential, as adherence to global human rights norms confers legitimacy.
Crimp morphology in relaxed and stretched rat Achilles tendon
Authors: Franchi Marco , Fini Milena , Quaranta Marilisa , De Pasquale Viviana , Raspanti Mario , Giavaresi Gianluca , Ottani Vittoria , Ruggeri Alessandro 
Published: November 2006

AbstractFibrous extracellular matrix of tendon is considered to be an inextensible anatomical structure consisting of type I collagen fibrils arranged in parallel bundles. Under polarized light microscopy the collagen fibre bundles appear crimped with alternating dark and light transverse bands. This study describes the ultrastructure of the collagen fibrils in crimps of both relaxed and in vivo stretched rat Achilles tendon. Under polarized light microscopy crimps of relaxed Achilles tendons appear as isosceles or scalene triangles of different size. Tendon crimps observed via SEM and TEM show the single collagen fibrils that suddenly change their direction containing knots. The fibrils appear partially squeezed in the knots, bent on the same plane like bayonets, or twisted and bent. Moreover some of them lose their D‐period, revealing their microfibrillar component. These particular aspects of collagen fibrils inside each tendon crimp have been termed ‘fibrillar crimps’ and may fulfil the same functional role. When tendon is physiologically stretched in vivo the tendon crimps decrease in number (46.7%) (P < 0.01) and appear more flattened with an increase in the crimp top angle (165° in stretched tendons vs. 148° in relaxed tendons, P < 0.005). Under SEM and TEM, the ‘fibrillar crimps’ are still present, never losing their structural identity in straightened collagen fibril bundles of stretched tendons even where tendon crimps are not detectable. These data suggest that the ‘fibrillar crimp’ may be the true structural component of the tendon crimp acting as a shock absorber during physiological stretching of Achilles tendon.
Microhabitat use by garden dormice during nocturnal activity
Authors: Bertolino S. 
Published: November 2006

AbstractThe microhabitat used by the garden dormouse Eliomys quercinus during its nocturnal activity was examined. Twenty‐three variables describing habitat structure were measured at 100 trapping points. Logistic regression models were utilized to select the variables that discriminate between used and avoided trapping points and, in a series of pairwise contrasts, between trap sites used by different sexes, age classes and animals in different reproductive periods. Used sites were characterized by a higher (>40%) rock cover, a thicker shrub layer and a younger understory with trees of smaller trunk diameter. These variables describe areas with rockfalls from the upper slope, where trees were younger and smaller, the canopy closure reduced and the shrub layer more developed than in other parts of the forest. Dense shrubby vegetation provided protection from aerial predators and, in conjunction with rocks and stones, might have made hunting by birds and mammals more difficult. Garden dormice may also have been attracted by rocky areas acting as a heat source during the night. The selection of rocky areas was more important in the first months of the active period, when animals emerged from hibernation and started the mating season. At the end of summer, the animals used areas richer in herbs, where insects and other food resources were probably more abundant.
Public Investment in Europe: Evolution and Determinants in perspective*
Authors: Mehrotra Aaron , Välilä Timo 
Published: November 2006

AbstractWe describe the evolution of public investment and public capital stocks in Europe over the past three decades. Against this background, we analyse the macroeconomic determinants of public investment, with a special focus on its long‐term trend. We find that public investment has been determined by national income, the stance of budgetary policies and fiscal sustainability considerations. Neither the cost of financing nor the fiscal rules embodied in EMU have had a systemic impact on public investment. The significant downtrend that characterises the evolution of public investment in non‐cohesion countries is chiefly determined by drawn‐out episodes of fiscal consolidation, unrelated to EMU.
Ignoring ‘History from Below’: People's History in the Historiography of Singapore
Authors: Song Ernest Koh Wee 
Published: November 2006

AbstractThe history of Singapore is widely understood as a history of its economic success. From its heyday as a nexus of trade during the imperial era to the ‘technotropolis’ that boasts high living standards for most of its citizens, Singapore as a historical subject is often viewed through the lens of the ruling elite. By expending the need to acknowledge the historical function of the citizenry in the island's socio‐economic development, the policies and personalities of the Singaporean leadership have been erroneously and simplistically used by many as an example of how the sheer genius of a few can triumph in the face of overwhelming adversity. This article seeks to trace tangents in the wider development of Singapore's historiography in order to account for the general disinterest in people's histories of Singapore.
A three‐year prospective study of adult subjects with gingivitis. I: clinical periodontal parameters
Authors: Bogren Anna , Teles Ricardo , Torresyap Gay , Haffajee Anne D. , Socransky Sigmund S. , Lindhe Jan , Wennström Jan L. 
Published: November 2006

AbstractAim: The objective of this study was to monitor prospectively clinical parameters in subjects without signs of destructive periodontal disease who were involved in a primary prevention programme, and to determine the changes that occurred between yearly examinations over a 3‐year period.Material and Methods: One hundred and twenty‐six subjects aged at least 20 years with a maximum of two tooth sites with probing pocket depth (PPD)>4 mm and no proximal sites with clinical attachment loss participated in the study. Primary prevention was provided at baseline of the study and then every 6 months. Plaque, bleeding on probing (BoP) and PPD were scored at baseline, 1, 2 and 3 years.Results: There were no significant changes in the plaque score over the 3 years. After year 1, the BoP score was significantly improved with 5.6%, while no further improvement in BoP was found at years 2 and 3. The mean PPD decreased from 2.3 to 2.1 mm over the 3 years (p<0.05).Conclusion: Although some individuals exhibiting minor signs of periodontal pathology may have benefited from the primary prevention, the overall clinical improvement was limited for such subjects in the present 3‐year study.
Does periodontal care improve glycemic control? The Department of Veterans Affairs Dental Diabetes Study
Authors: Jones Judith A. , Miller Donald R. , Wehler Carolyn J. , Rich Sharron E. , Krall‐Kaye Elizabeth A. , McCoy Linda C. , Christiansen Cindy L. , Rothendler James A. , Garcia Raul I. 
Published: November 2006

AbstractObjectives: Report results of a randomized‐clinical trial of the efficacy of periodontal care in the improvement of glycemic control in 165 veterans with poorly controlled diabetes over 4 months.Methods: Outcomes were change in Haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in the Early Treatment versus untreated (Usual Care) groups and percent of participants with decreases in HbA1c. Analyses included simple/multiple variable linear/logistic regressions, adjusted for baseline HbA1c, age, and duration of diabetes.Results: Unadjusted analyses showed no differences between groups. After adjustment for baseline HbA1c, age, and diabetes duration, the mean absolute HbA1c change in the Early Treatment group was −0.65%versus−0.51% in the Usual Care group (p=0.47). Adjusted odds for improvement by 0.5% in the Early Treatment group was 1.67 (95% confidence interval: 0.84, 3.34, p=0.14). Usual Care subjects were twice as likely to increase insulin from baseline to 4 months (20%versus 11%, p=0.12) and less likely to decrease insulin (1%versus 6%, p=0.21) than Early Treatment subjects. Among insulin users at baseline, more increased insulin in the Usual Care group (40%versus 21%, p=0.06).Conclusions: No significant benefit was found for periodontal therapy after 4 months in this study; trends in some results were in favour of periodontal treatment.
Review article: oesophageal function testing ‐ the old and the new
Authors: VAEZI M. F. 
Published: November 2006

SummaryGastro‐oesophageal reflux disease can manifest typically with heartburn and regurgitation and atypically with extra‐oesophageal symptoms, such as chest pain, worsening asthma, chronic cough or laryngitis.Although acid‐suppressive therapy can help identify individuals in whom gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease is the cause of their symptoms, diagnostic testing is often needed to evaluate those with persistent symptoms.Recent advances in oesophageal diagnostic testing include the advent of a wireless pH‐monitoring device that eliminates the need for a transnasal catheter as well as an ambulatory impedance monitoring device that allows measurement of weakly acidic or non‐acidic refluxate.The advantages and disadvantages as well as clinical utility of these new, as well as traditional, oesophageal‐measuring devices are discussed in this review.
Drawing the Boundaries of Nanoscience — Rationalizing the Concerns?
Authors: Kaiser Mario 
Published: November 2006

Imagine your body is populated by billions of respirocytes capable of delivering 236 times more oxygen than your natural red blood cells. These mechanical, micron sized spheres are appropriately programmed by your physician to meet your personal requirements, be it the treatment of anemia or the enhancement of your physical abilities. Robert Freitas’ vision of such artificial blood cells comprised of nanometer-scale components was published in 1998 in a peer-reviewed medical journal, and was the first medical nanorobot design paper to be published.The fact that this proposal for a future blood substitute was accepted as worthy of publication in a scientific journal, despite the inventor's explicit statement that such a device could not be built at the time, clouds the criteria upon which an informed opinion about the feasibility of such devices could be formed. In that respect, the idea of respirocytes formidably testifies to the current “blurring of fact and fiction” occurring in the field of nanotechnology.
Offense-Defense Aspects of Nanotechnologies: A Forecast of Potential Military Applications
Authors: Shipbaugh Calvin 
Published: November 2006

There is growing recognition of the need to understand societal impacts of nanotechnology. Global interest in nanotechnology implies many nations will see a need to seek out advantages for military use. Militarization will inevitably include consideration of both offensive and defensive goals. This presents emerging implications for military forces in the near future, and will greatly influence the nature of warfare and peacekeeping in the distant future. The development of nanotechnology creates possibilities for both beneficial opportunities and adverse consequences as a result of application to the military strategies of both large and small nations.The promise of nanotechnology for military and security roles derives from several innate characteristics. For example, further improvements in sensors are expected and already there are numerous reports of successful developments in research and development. Material properties can be tailored on a fine scale through nanomachining, scanning force microscopy, molecular self-assembly, and other techniques.
Is the Tobacco Settlement Constitutional?
Authors: Rajkumar Rahul , Gross Cary P. , Forman Howard P. 
Published: November 2006

In August 2005, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a conservative “think tank” and advocacy organization, filed a lawsuit in the Federal District Court for the Western District of Louisiana against the Louisiana Attorney General challenging the legality of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). If successful, this lawsuit could lead to the unraveling of one of the most significant opportunities to improve public health in United States history.Under the MSA, forty-six states agreed to end their litigation against the four largest tobacco companies in the United States, who in turn agreed to pay the states an estimated $206 billion. The CEI alleges that the MSA is unconstitutional. Specifically, the suit alleges that the MSA established a cartel under which the states receive monetary payments and the four major tobacco companies are insulated from price competition – and that this arrangement violates the Compact Clause of the U.S. Constitution.