bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
PHOX2B Is a Novel and Specific Marker for Minimal Residual Disease Testing in Neuroblastoma
Authors: Stutterheim Janine , Gerritsen Annemieke , Zappeij-Kannegieter Lily , Kleijn Ilona , Dee Rob , Hooft Lotty , van Noesel Max M. , Bierings Marc , Berthold Frank , Versteeg Rogier , Caron Huib N. , van der Schoot C. Ellen , Tytgat Godelieve A.M. 
Published: October 2008

Purpose Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)–based detection of minimal residual disease (MRD) in neuroblastoma can be used to monitor therapy response and to evaluate stem cell harvests. Commonly used PCR markers, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and GD2 synthase, have expression in normal tissues, thus limiting MRD detection. To identify a more specific MRD marker, we tested PHOX2B. Patients and Methods To determine PHOX2B, TH, and GD2 synthase expression in normal tissues, it was measured by real-time quantitative PCR in samples of normal bone marrow (BM; n = 51), peripheral blood (PB; n = 37), and peripheral-blood stem cells (PBSCs; n = 24). Then, 289 samples of 101 Dutch patients and 47 samples of 43 German patients were tested for PHOX2B and TH; these samples included 52 tumor, 214 BM, 32 BM, and 38 PBSC harvests. Of the 214 BM samples, 167 were compared with cytology, and 47 BM samples were compared with immunocytology (IC). Results In contrast to TH and GD2 synthase, PHOX2B was not expressed in any of the normal samples. In patient samples, PHOX2B was detected in 32% cytology-negative and in 14% IC-negative samples and in 94% of cytology-positive and in 90% of IC-positive BM samples. Overall, PHOX2B was positive in 43% compared with 31% for TH. In 24% of all samples, TH expression was inconclusive, which is similar to expression found in normal tissues. In 42% of these samples, PHOX2B expression was positive. Conclusion PHOX2B is superior to TH and GD2 synthase in specificity and sensitivity for MRD detection of neuroblastoma by using real-time quantitative PCR. We propose to include PHOX2B in additional prospective MRD studies in neuroblastoma alongside TH and other MRD markers.
Cardiac Toxicity of Sunitinib and Sorafenib in Patients With Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Schmidinger Manuela , Zielinski Christoph C. , Vogl Ursula M. , Bojic Andja , Bojic Marija , Schukro Christoph , Ruhsam Marquerite , Hejna Michael , Schmidinger Herwig 
Published: October 2008

Purpose Sunitinib and sorafenib are tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) that have considerable efficacy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma. TKI-associated cardiotoxicity was reported in approximately 10% of the patients. Detailed cardiovascular monitoring during TKI treatment may reveal early signs of myocardial damage. Patients and Methods In this observational, single-center study, all patients intended for TKI treatment were analyzed for coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors, history or evidence of CAD, hypertension, rhythm disturbances, and heart failure. Monitoring included assessment of symptoms, ECGs, and biochemical markers (ie, creatine kinase-MB, troponin T). Echocardiography was performed at baseline in selected patients and in all patients who experienced a cardiac event. A cardiac event was defined as the occurrence of increased enzymes if normal at baseline, symptomatic arrhythmia that required treatment, new left ventricular dysfunction, or acute coronary syndrome. Results A total of 86 patients were treated with either sunitinib or sorafenib. Among 74 eligible patients, 33.8% experienced a cardiac event, 40.5% had ECG changes, and 18% were symptomatic. Seven patients (9.4%) were seriously compromised and required intermediate care and/or intensive care admission. All patients recovered after cardiovascular management (ie, medication, coronary angiography, pacemaker implantation, heart surgery) and were considered eligible for TKI continuation. Statistically, there was no significant survival difference between patients who experienced a cardiac event and those who did not experience a cardiac event. Conclusion Our observations indicate that cardiac damage from TKI treatment is a largely underestimated phenomenon but is manageable if patients have careful cardiovascular monitoring and cardiac treatment at the first signs of myocardial damage.
Prevalence of Lymphedema in Women With Breast Cancer 5 Years After Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy or Axillary Dissection: Patient Perceptions and Precautionary Behaviors
Authors: McLaughlin Sarah A. , Wright Mary J. , Morris Katherine T. , Sampson Michelle R. , Brockway Julia P. , Hurley Karen E. , Riedel Elyn R. , Van Zee Kimberly J. 
Published: October 2008

Purpose Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy was adopted for the staging of the axilla with the assumption that it would reduce the risk of lymphedema in women with breast cancer. This study was undertaken to examine patient perceptions of lymphedema and use of precautionary behaviors several years after axillary surgery. Patients and Methods Nine hundred thirty-six women who underwent SLN biopsy (SLNB) alone or SLNB followed by axillary lymph node dissection (SLNB/ALND) between June 1, 1999, and May 30, 2003, were evaluated at a median of 5 years after surgery. Patient-perceived lymphedema and avoidant behaviors were assessed through interview and administered a validated instrument, and compared with arm measurements. Results Current arm swelling was reported in 3% of patients who received SLNB alone versus 27% of patients who received SLNB/ALND (P < .0001), as compared with 5% and 16%, respectively, with measured lymphedema. Only 41% of patients reporting arm swelling had measured lymphedema, and 5% of patients reporting no arm swelling had measured lymphedema. Risk factors associated with reported arm swelling were greater body weight (P < .0001), higher body mass index (P < .0001), infection (P < .0001), and injury (P = .007) in the ipsilateral arm since surgery. Patients followed more precautions if they had measured or perceived lymphedema. Conclusion Body weight, infection, and injury are significant risk factors for perceiving lymphedema. There is significant discordance between the presence of measured and patient-perceived lymphedema. When compared to SLNB/ALND, SLNB-alone results in a significantly lower rate of patient-perceived arm swelling 5 years postoperatively, and is perceived by fewer women than are measured to have it.
Multifocal lenses in a monochromat: the harbour seal
Authors: Hanke Frederike D. , Kröger Ronald H. H. , Siebert Ursula , Dehnhardt Guido 
Published: October 2008

SUMMARY
Previous photorefractive results from harbour seals indicated the presence of a multifocal lens. This was surprising because the evolution of multifocal lenses has served to compensate for chromatic aberration in animals with colour vision, which harbour seals as monochromats should not be capable of. To gain insight into the lens optics of these animals, we extended our photorefractive measurements in live seals under water and in air and,additionally, analyzed eight extracted juvenile harbour seal lenses with schlieren photography and a laser scanning technique. The results from all methods applied support the presence of multifocal lenses in harbour seals. However, the functional significance of multiple focal lengths in harbour seal lenses remains speculative. Interestingly, the slit pupils of harbour seals cannot be considered to be an adaptation to the multifocal optical system of the eye.
Blood flow and metabolic regulation in seal muscle during apnea
Authors: Ponganis Paul J. , Kreutzer Ulrike , Stockard Torre K. , Lin Ping-Chang , Sailasuta Napapon , Tran Tuan-Khan , Hurd Ralph , Jue Thomas 
Published: October 2008

SUMMARYIn order to examine myoglobin (Mb) function and metabolic responses of seal muscle during progressive ischemia and hypoxemia, Mb saturation and high-energy phosphate levels were monitored with NMR spectroscopy during sleep apnea in elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris). Muscle blood flow(MBF) was measured with laser-Doppler flowmetry (LDF). During six,spontaneous, 8–12 min apneas of an unrestrained juvenile seal, apneic MBF decreased to 46±10% of the mean eupneic MBF. By the end of apnea,MBF reached 31±8% of the eupneic value. The t1/2for 90% decline in apneic MBF was 1.9±1.2 min. The initial post-apneic peak in MBF occurred within 0.20±0.04 min after the start of eupnea. NMR measurements revealed that Mb desaturated rapidly from its eupenic resting level to a lower steady state value within 4 min after the onset of apnea at rates between 1.7±1.0 and 3.8±1.5% min–1, which corresponded to a muscle O2 depletion rate of 1–2.3 ml O2 kg–1 min–1. High-energy phosphate levels did not change with apnea. During the transition from apnea to eupnea, Mb resaturated to 95% of its resting level within the first minute. Despite the high Mb concentration in seal muscle, experiments detected Mb diffusing with a translational diffusion coefficient of 4.5×10–7 cm2 s–1,consistent with the value observed in rat myocardium. Equipoise PO2 analysis revealed that Mb is the predominant intracellular O2 transporter in elephant seals during eupnea and apnea.
Two odometers in honeybees?
Authors: Dacke M. , Srinivasan M. V. 
Published: October 2008

SUMMARY
Although several studies have examined how honeybees gauge and report the distance and direction of a food source to their nestmates, relatively little is known about how this information is combined to obtain a representation of the position of the food source. In this study we manipulate the amount of celestial compass information available to the bee during flight, and analyse the encoding of spatial information in the waggle dance as well as in the navigation of the foraging bee. We find that the waggle dance encodes information about the total distance flown to the food source, even when celestial compass cues are available only for a part of the journey. This stands in contrast to how a bee gauges distance flown when it navigates back to a food source that it already knows. When bees were trained to find a feeder placed at a fixed distance in a tunnel in which celestial cues were partially occluded and then tested in a tunnel that was fully open to the sky,they searched for the feeder at a distance that corresponds closely to the distance that was flown under the open sky during the training. Thus, when navigating back to a food source, information about distance travelled is disregarded when there is no concurrent input from the celestial compass. We suggest that bees may possess two different odometers – a `community'odometer that is used to provide information to nestmates via the dance, and a `personal' odometer that is used by an experienced individual to return to a previously visited source.
Red-emissive Polyphenylated BODIPY Derivatives: Effect of Peripheral Phenyl Groups on the Photophysical and Electrochemical Properties
Authors: Wakamiya Atsushi , Sugita Naoya , Yamaguchi Shigehiro 
Published: October 2008

Abstract
A series of red-emissive BODIPY derivatives 2–4 having five to seven phenyl groups on their periphery were synthesized, and their photophysical and electrochemical properties were investigated. While the 8-phenyl-substituted derivatives only have moderate fluorescence quantum yields in solution, they can show intense red fluorescence in the PMMA films. The peripheral phenyl groups also affect the redox reversibility in cyclic voltammetry.
Study on Heat Resistance and Flame Retardation of Polyfunctional Epoxy–Silica–Phosphorus Hybrid Resins
Authors: Yu Dan , Liu Weiqu , Liu Yunfeng 
Published: October 2008

Abstract
A novel epoxy resin modifier, phosphorus-containing epoxide siloxane (OPS), was prepared from the sol–gel reaction of GPTMS-DOPO, which was synthesized by the reaction of 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS) with 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO). OPS with superfluous epoxide groups were confirmed by 29Si NMR, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), elemental analysis, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Compared with those with no epoxide group and unmodified resins, the hybrid epoxy resins exhibited high glass-transition temperature (Tg), good limited oxygen index (LOI) and tensile strength.
Development of Organic Electronic Devices Using Boronate Esters and Related Heterocycles
Authors: Kojima Takahiro , Nishida Jun-ichi , Tokito Shizuo , Yamashita Yoshiro 
Published: October 2008

Abstract
New oligomers containing tricoordinated boron atoms were prepared, and OFET devices based on these compounds were fabricated. These are first examples of OFET devices based on compounds containing tricoordinated boron atoms.
Helical Twisting Power of Optically Active Spiro Compounds with a 3,3′-(4H,4′H)-Spirobi(2H-naphtho[1,2-b]pyran) Skeleton
Authors: Tojo Kenta , Arisawa Tatsuya , Aoki Yoshio , Terunuma Daiyo 
Published: October 2008

Abstract
New chiral dopants for nematic liquid crystals, containing a (S)-3,3′-(4H,4′H)-spirobi(2H-naphtho[1,2-b]pyran) skeleton, were synthesized and their helical twisting powers (HTP) were evaluated. A chiral dopant with two terphenyl structures showed the highest molar HTP value of 50.3 μm−1 mol−1 kg.
Female genital mutilation
Authors: Morris Nicholas H 
Published: October 2008

In the United Kingdom, up to 20,000 young women and children who originate from the horn of Africa, Senegal and various parts of sub-Saharan Africa are potentially at risk of being subjected to this criminal and barbaric ritual. This is despite the efforts of FORWARD and Baroness Ruth Rendell, the writer and human right's campaigner. There have now been two Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, the first act in 1995 (the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act) and the latest being the Female Genital Mutilation Act of 2003. However we believe that women in this ethnic group, some as young as 4 years old, remain at risk. It is also difficult to find out if these procedures still take place in the UK. Most young girls are taken out of the country to have the ritual carried out. The new Act of 2003 was set up to protect them from leaving the country. The medical profession, social services, teachers and the child protection agencies need to work more closely to protect these individuals. Worldwide 2 million young women remain at risk of being subjected to this ritual every year.
Development of post-pump syndrome in a sheep after mitral valve stenting
Authors: Levionnois Olivier , Kronen Peter 
Published: October 2008

Summary A one-year-old healthy sheep received an implant stenting the mural (‘posterior’) leaflet of the mitral valve. The experiment was authorized by the Cantonal Ethical Committee. The surgery was performed on the open, beating heart during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Management of anaesthesia was based on isoflurane with mechanical intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV) of the lungs, combined with intercostal nerve blocks and intravenous fentanyl and lidocaine. Marked cardiovascular depression occurred towards the end of CPB time and required high doses of dopamine, dobutamine, lidocaine and ephedrine to allow for weaning off the CPB pump. Moreover, severe pulmonary dysfunction developed when IPPV was re-initiated after CPB. Hypoxaemia persisted throughout the recovery from general anaesthesia. Multiple organ failure developed gradually during the three postoperative days, leading to euthanasia of the animal. As described in this case, marked lung injury associated with some degree of failure of other vital organs may occur in sheep after CPB. Intraoperative cardiorespiratory complications when weaning-off may indicate the development of ‘post-pump syndrome’.
Assessment of markers of bone formation under controlled environmental factors and their correlation with serum minerals in adult sheep as a model for orthopaedic research
Authors: Dias I R , Viegas C A , De Azevedo J T , Costa E M , Lourenço P , Rodrigues A , Cabrita A S 
Published: October 2008

Summary Eighteen healthy skeletally mature (3 years old) ewes, with an average weight of 45 kg, of the Portuguese Churra da Terra Quente breed were used to evaluate the normal values of total and bone-specific isoform of alkaline phosphatase serum activities (ALP and BALP, respectively) and serum osteocalcin (OC) and their correlation with the serum minerals - calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg) and ionized calcium (Ca2+). The sheep were maintained under controlled environmental conditions (constant diurnal photoperiod cycle and identical husbandry and feeding) for six weeks before the collection of the blood samples. The measurement of the total ALP and serum minerals was performed with automated biochemistry analysers using the BioMérieux® kits, the serum electrolyte Ca2+ Diametrics Medical, Inc® specific cassettes and the BALP and OC METRATM kits from QUIDEL® Corporation. The mean ± standard deviation values obtained were: total ALP 90.17 ± 85.72 U/L, BALP 15.0 ± 5.44 U/L, ratio BALP/ total ALP 29.28 ± 24.22, OC 13.02 ± 1.87 ng/mL, Ca 2.57 ± 0.37 mmol/L, P 2.13 ± 0.42 mmol/L, Mg 1.04 ± 0.13 mmol/L, Ca2+ 1.29 ± 0.04 mmol/L. Significant correlations were observed between the total ALP and Ca ( r = 0.5939; P = 0.05) and OC and Ca ( r = 0.5706; P = 0.05). Reference to the serum values of bone turnover parameters in sheep could be of great value in research and could provide complementary non-invasive information on the bone healing process, particularly with regard to obtaining an early prognosis of fracture healing.
American jokes about lawyers
Authors: Davies Christie 
Published: October 2008

AbstractIn the 1980s, a substantial cycle of lawyer jokes appeared in the United States. Unlike earlier waves of American jokes, the jokes did not spread to Britain and Europe, nor did the peoples of these countries invent large numbers of new jokes about lawyers at this time. The dominant theme of the American jokes was that lawyers are canny—i.e. calculating, crafty, and fond of money. It is striking that such jokes should be told about a group so close to the very core of American society, a society defined by its laws to a far greater extent than the countries of Western Europe. The nearest comparison is with the jokes told about the stupidity of politicians and apparatchiks, the groups at the very center of the former socialist regimes in Eastern Europe in the 1980s. The latter were an indication of the economic stagnation and irrationality of socialism, and the price of stupidity was collapse and failure. The American lawyer jokes relate to the price of American success, namely the intensifying of economic competitiveness that took place in America in the 1980s. American jokes about lawyers are often sadistic tales in which we are invited to rejoice in their meeting a painful death or being slain. Yet death threat jokes about lawyers have no serious counterpart; indeed it is because the jokes do not connect with reality that they circulate so freely. The relationships between our social frustrations and resentments, our choice of targets for “hostile” jokes, and our manifestations of real aggression are complex and uncertain.
The great American lawyer joke explosion
Authors: Galanter Marc 
Published: October 2008

AbstractAfter 1980, there was a marked increase in the presence, prominence, and hostility of lawyer jokes in the United States. The long-established themes of joking about lawyers were joined by a whole set of new themes, including those depicting lawyers as objects of scorn and as deserving of extermination or removal from society. Several possible explanations for the shift are examined and found insufficient, including worsening behavior by lawyers, the general spread of cruelty, and the dictates of political correctness. The article argues that the shift in lawyer joking is best understood as a recoil against the pervasive legalization of life in combination with the distinctive American style of diffuse court-and-lawyer centered governance.
Funny as hell: Christianity and humor reconsidered
Authors: Joeckel Samuel 
Published: October 2008

AbstractChristianity has long been held to be at odds with humor. Centuries of Christian theology, as well as modern studies on religion, illustrate this tension. Though confessing that many Christians and Christian institutions have adopted theological attitudes and orientations that militate against many forms of laughter, this article reconsiders the vexed relationship between Christianity and humor, maintaining that rapprochement between the two seemingly disparate entities holds promise. After surveying previous attempts at reconciling Christianity and humor, the article—drawing upon modern humor theory as well as the field of epistemology—proposes a theoretical framework upon which Christianity can authentically embrace humor and consequently, despite the sackcloth-and-ashes image associated with it, can also be funny as hell.
Tales of tricks and greed and big surprises: Laymen's views of the law in Dutch oral narrative
Authors: Meder Theo 
Published: October 2008

AbstractNeither in Dutch nor in European narrative folklore does the lawyer have a positive reputation. It does not matter whether we look at the past or the present: in folktales the practice of lawyers is associated with greed, trickery and heartlessness. In the Middle Ages, when the profession was literally for sale, judges were accused of corruption and incompetence, but their reputation improved over time when they became well-educated and impartial professionals. In present and past, the common man looks upon justice as incomprehensible and unpredictable. European and American folktales (especially jokes) about law and lawyers basically share the same themes, but there is a remarkable difference in quantity nowadays. Whereas lawyer jokes are hype in the U.S., they are not in the Netherlands or Western Europe. The main reason seems to be the American “vulture culture” of suing, claiming, and cashing, as exposed in the news media. If Dutch and European lawyers take over the mores of their American colleagues, it will just be a matter of time before a vast number of lawyer jokes are transferred and translated.
Spectrum of Pediatric Neuromyelitis Optica
Authors: Lotze Timothy E. , Northrop Jennifer L. , Hutton George J. , Ross Benjamin , Schiffman Jade S. , Hunter Jill V. 
Published: October 2008

OBJECTIVE. Our goal was to describe the spectrum of clinical phenotypes, laboratory and imaging features, and treatment in pediatric patients with neuromyelitis optica.
PATIENTS AND METHODS. The study consisted of a retrospective chart review of patients followed in a pediatric multiple sclerosis center with a diagnosis of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder.
RESULTS. Nine patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders were included, all of whom were female. There were 4 black children, 2 Latin American children, 2 white children, and 1 child of mixed Latin American/white heritage. Median age at initial attack was 14 years (range: 1.9–16 years). Median disease duration was 4 years (range: 0.6–9 years). Tests for neuromyelitis optica immunoglobulin G were positive for 7 patients. Eight patients had transverse myelitis and optic neuritis, and 1 patient had longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis without optic neuritis but had a positive neuromyelitis optica immunoglobulin G antibody titer. Cerebral involvement on MRI was found in all subjects, 5 of whom were symptomatic with encephalopathy, seizures, hemiparesis, aphasia, vomiting, or hiccups. Immunosuppressive therapy reduced attack frequency and progression of disability.
CONCLUSIONS. Pediatric neuromyelitis optica has a diverse clinical presentation and may be difficult to distinguish from multiple sclerosis in the early stages of the disease. The recognition of the broad spectrum of this disease to include signs and symptoms of brain involvement is aided by the availability of a serum biomarker: neuromyelitis optica immunoglobulin G. Early diagnosis and immunosuppresive treatment may help to slow the accumulation of severe disability.