bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Field Model Analysis and Experimental Assessment of Fire Severity and Smoke Movement in a Partitioned and a Non-partitioned Dwelling Unit
Authors: Remesh K. , Tan K. H. 
Published: September 2006

Inter-compartment smoke spread in a dwelling unit is greatly impeded by the presence of partition walls. For the same fire load and floor area, smoke movement and associated fire severity for a non-partitioned (NP) unit are different from those of a partitioned (PT) unit. To study the smoke movement and gas temperature evolution, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis is carried out for a partitioned and a non-partitioned dwelling unit for the same fire load. The model predictions in terms of gas temperatures are then compared with the experimental measurements for both units. The gas temperatures inside the units are measured using K-type mineral insulated thermocouples, positioned at various elevations in the room of fire origin, and at other locations that were in the path of anticipated smoke movement. Also, to study the effectiveness of fire suppression methods, water spray and water mist methods are employed in the partitioned and non-partitioned units, respectively, when the fire reached decay stage. Both computational and experimental investigations showed that for a fire occurring in a room with a floor area of 12.65 m2 and a fire load of 1750 MJ within a total floor area of 90.4 m2 of the dwelling unit, the peak temperature in the room of the fire origin of the partitioned unit is nearly 18% higher than that of the non-partitioned unit. Far-off locations from the fire source had higher CO concentration in the case of the non-partitioned unit, indicating faster smoke movement. Possible explanations for the deviations in measured and computed parameters are given. For fire suppression purpose, use of the conventional water spray system is found to be much quicker compared to the water mist system, albeit the water consumption is nearly 10 times higher. The analysis presented here serves as a useful reference or case study for fire safety engineers in assessing the smoke movement and fire severity with respect to the effectiveness of partition walls.
A Review of Recent Progress in Phosphorus-based Flame Retardants
Authors: Levchik Sergei V. , Weil Edward D. 
Published: September 2006

Recent patent and technical works indicate a growing interest in halogen-free solutions with the predominance of the literature focusing on phosphorus-based flame retardants. Patents published on the flame retardancy of polycarbonate and its blends significantly exceed the number of patents on flame retardancy of any other polymer. Bridged aromatic diphenyl phosphates, especially resorcinol bis(diphenyl phosphate) and bisphenol A bis(diphenyl phosphate) have found broad application because of their good thermal stability, high efficiency, and low volatility. Another actively reported group of compounds are the metal salts of dialkylphosphonic acid as well as calcium hypophosphite, which have recently been found to be particularly effective in poly(butylene terephthalate) and polycarbonate. These products are synergistic with a number of phosphorus and nitrogen-containing compounds, such as melamine salts, which seem to be very efficient and commercially useful in nylons. Printed wiring boards comprise the largest market for flame-retardant polymeric materials. Recently, there has been a strong interest in halogen free solutions in East Asia and Europe. A recent halogen-free introduction is the 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide, which can be reacted into epoxies. Another reactive product with some processing and property advantages is poly(m-phenylene methylphosphonate). Because of the banning of pentabromodiphenyl ether in Europe and voluntary withdrawal of this product from the market in the US, the polyurethane (PU) industry is searching for a more environmentally acceptable low-scorch alternative. Both halogenated and halogen-free solutions are being considered but the PU industry seems to have a preference for the halogen-free products, generally containing phosphorus.
INNO-406, a novel BCR-ABL/Lyn dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor, suppresses the growth of Ph+ leukemia cells in the central nervous system, and cyclosporine A augments its in vivo activity
Authors: Yokota Asumi , Kimura Shinya , Masuda Satohiro , Ashihara Eishi , Kuroda Junya , Sato Kiyoshi , Kamitsuji Yuri , Kawata Eri , Deguchi Yasuyuki , Urasaki Yoshimasa , Terui Yasuhito , Ruthardt Martin , Ueda Takanori , Hatake Kiyohiko , Inui Ken-ichi , Maekawa Taira 
Published: September 2006

Abstract
Central nervous system (CNS) relapse accompanying the prolonged administration of imatinib mesylate has recently become apparent as an impediment to the therapy of Philadelphia chromosome–positive (Ph+) leukemia. CNS relapse may be explained by limited penetration of imatinib mesylate into the cerebrospinal fluid because of the presence of P-glycoprotein at the blood-brain barrier. To overcome imatinib mesylate–resistance mechanisms such as bcr-abl amplification, mutations within the ABL kinase domain, and activation of Lyn, we developed a dual BCR-ABL/Lyn inhibitor, INNO-406 (formerly NS-187), which is 25 to 55 times more potent than imatinib mesylate in vitro and at least 10 times more potent in vivo. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of INNO-406 in treating CNS Ph+ leukemia. We found that INNO-406, like imatinib mesylate, is a substrate for P-glycoprotein. The concentrations of INNO-406 in the CNS were about 10% of those in the plasma. However, this residual concentration was enough to inhibit the growth of Ph+ leukemic cells which expressed not only wild-type but also mutated BCR-ABL in the murine CNS. Furthermore, cyclosporine A, a P-glycoprotein inhibitor, augmented the in vivo activity of INNO-406 against CNS Ph+ leukemia. These findings indicate that INNO-406 is a promising agent for the treatment of CNS Ph+ leukemia.
Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxins induce IL-8 secretion by human nasal epithelial cells
Authors: O'Brien Garrett J , Riddell Gareth , Elborn J Stuart , Ennis Madeleine , Skibinski Grzegorz 
Published: September 2006

AbstractBackgroundStaphylococcus aureusproduces a set of proteins which act both as superantigens and toxins. Although their mode of action as superantigens is well understood, little is known about their effects on airway epithelial cells.MethodsTo investigate this problem, primary nasal epithelial cells derived from normal and asthmatic subjects were stimulated with staphylococcal enterotoxin A and B (SEA and SEB) and secreted (supernatants) and cell-associated (cell lysates) IL-8, TNF-α, RANTES and eotaxin were determined by specific ELISAs.ResultsNon-toxic concentrations of SEA and SEB (0.01 μg/ml and 1.0 μg/ml) induced IL-8 secretion after 24 h of culture. Pre-treatment of the cells with IFN-γ (50 IU/ml) resulted in a further increase of IL-8 secretion. In cells from healthy donors pretreated with IFN-γ, SEA at 1.0 μg/ml induced release of 1009 pg/ml IL-8 (733.0–1216 pg/ml, median (range)) while in cells from asthmatic donors the same treatment induced significantly higher IL-8 secretion – 1550 pg/ml (1168.0–2000.0 pg/ml p = 0.04). Normal cells pre-treated with IFN-γ and then cultured with SEB at 1.0 μg/ml released 904.6 pg/ml IL-8 (666.5–1169.0 pg/ml). Cells from asthmatics treated in the same way produced significantly higher amounts of IL-8 – 1665.0 pg/ml (1168.0–2000.0 pg/ml, p = 0.01). Blocking antibodies to MHC class II molecules added to cultures stimulated with SEA and SEB, reduced IL-8 secretion by about 40% in IFN-γ unstimulated cultures and 75% in IFN-γ stimulated cultures. No secretion of TNF-α, RANTES and eotaxin was noted.ConclusionStaphylococcal enterotoxins may have a role in the pathogenesis of asthma.
Distill: a suite of web servers for the prediction of one-, two- and three-dimensional structural features of proteins
Authors: Baú Davide , Martin Alberto JM , Mooney Catherine , Vullo Alessandro , Walsh Ian , Pollastri Gianluca 
Published: September 2006

Abstract

Background
We describe Distill, a suite of servers for the prediction of protein structural features: secondary structure; relative solvent accessibility; contact density; backbone structural motifs; residue contact maps at 6, 8 and 12 Angstrom; coarse protein topology. The servers are based on large-scale ensembles of recursive neural networks and trained on large, up-to-date, non-redundant subsets of the Protein Data Bank. Together with structural feature predictions, Distill includes a server for prediction of C
α
traces for short proteins (up to 200 amino acids).

Results
The servers are state-of-the-art, with secondary structure predicted correctly for nearly 80% of residues (currently the top performance on EVA), 2-class solvent accessibility nearly 80% correct, and contact maps exceeding 50% precision on the top non-diagonal contacts. A preliminary implementation of the predictor of protein C
α
traces featured among the top 20 Novel Fold predictors at the last CASP6 experiment as group Distill (ID 0348). The majority of the servers, including the C
α
trace predictor, now take into account homology information from the PDB, when available, resulting in greatly improved reliability.

Conclusion
All predictions are freely available through a simple joint web interface and the results are returned by email. In a single submission the user can send protein sequences for a total of up to 32k residues to all or a selection of the servers. Distill is accessible at the address: http://distill.ucd.ie/distill/.
Assessment of whole genome amplification-induced bias through high-throughput, massively parallel whole genome sequencing
Authors: Pinard Robert , de Winter Alex , Sarkis Gary J , Gerstein Mark B , Tartaro Karrie R , Plant Ramona N , Egholm Michael , Rothberg Jonathan M , Leamon John H 
Published: September 2006

AbstractBackgroundWhole genome amplification is an increasingly common technique through which minute amounts of DNA can be multiplied to generate quantities suitable for genetic testing and analysis. Questions of amplification-induced error and template bias generated by these methods have previously been addressed through either small scale (SNPs) or large scale (CGH array, FISH) methodologies. Here we utilized whole genome sequencing to assess amplification-induced bias in both coding and non-coding regions of two bacterial genomes.Halobacteriumspecies NRC-1 DNA andCampylobacter jejuniwere amplified by several common, commercially available protocols: multiple displacement amplification, primer extension pre-amplification and degenerate oligonucleotide primed PCR. The amplification-induced bias of each method was assessed by sequencing both genomes in their entirety using the 454 Sequencing System technology and comparing the results with those obtained from unamplified controls.ResultsAll amplification methodologies induced statistically significant bias relative to the unamplified control. For theHalobacteriumspecies NRC-1 genome, assessed at 100 base resolution, the D-statistics from GenomiPhi-amplified material were 119 times greater than those from unamplified material, 164.0 times greater for Repli-G, 165.0 times greater for PEP-PCR and 252.0 times greater than the unamplified controls for DOP-PCR. ForCampylobacter jejuni, also analyzed at 100 base resolution, the D-statistics from GenomiPhi-amplified material were 15 times greater than those from unamplified material, 19.8 times greater for Repli-G, 61.8 times greater for PEP-PCR and 220.5 times greater than the unamplified controls for DOP-PCR.ConclusionOf the amplification methodologies examined in this paper, the multiple displacement amplification products generated the least bias, and produced significantly higher yields of amplified DNA.
Genomic organization and evolution of the ULBP genes in cattle
Authors: Larson Joshua H , Marron Brandy M , Beever Jonathan E , Roe Bruce A , Lewin Harris A 
Published: September 2006

AbstractBackgroundThe cattleUL16-binding protein 1(ULBP1) andULBP2genes encode members of the MHC Class I superfamily that have homology to the humanULBPgenes. Human ULBP1 and ULBP2 interact with the NKG2D receptor to activate effector cells in the immune system. The human cytomegalovirus UL16 protein is known to disrupt the ULBP-NKG2D interaction, thereby subverting natural killer cell-mediated responses. Previous Southern blotting experiments identified evidence of increasedULBPcopy number within the genomes of ruminant artiodactyls. On the basis of these observations we hypothesized that the cattleULBPs evolved by duplication and sequence divergence to produce a sufficient number and diversity of ULBP molecules to deliver an immune activation signal in the presence of immunogenic peptides. Given the importance of the ULBPs in antiviral immunity in other species, our goal was to determine the copy number and genomic organization of theULBPgenes in the cattle genome.ResultsSequencing of cattle bacterial artificial chromosome genomic inserts resulted in the identification of 30 cattleULBPloci existing in two gene clusters. Evidence of extensive segmental duplication and approximately 14 Kbp of novel repetitive sequences were identified within the major cluster. Ten ULBPs are predicted to be expressed at the cell surface. Substitution analysis revealed 11 outwardly directed residues in the predicted extracellular domains that show evidence of positive Darwinian selection. These positively selected residues have only one residue that overlaps with those proposed to interact with NKG2D, thus suggesting the interaction with molecules other than NKG2D.ConclusionTheULBPloci in the cattle genome apparently arose by gene duplication and subsequent sequence divergence. Substitution analysis of the ULBP proteins provided convincing evidence for positive selection on extracellular residues that may interact with peptide ligands. These results support our hypothesis that the cattle ULBPs evolved under adaptive diversifying selection to avoid interaction with a UL16-like molecule whilst preserving the NKG2D binding site. The large number of ULBPs in cattle, their extensive diversification, and the high prevalence of bovine herpesvirus infections make this gene family a compelling target for studies of antiviral immunity.
Genome sequence alterations detected upon passage of Burkholderia mallei ATCC 23344 in culture and in mammalian hosts
Authors: Romero Claudia M , DeShazer David , Feldblyum Tamara , Ravel Jacques , Woods Donald , Kim H Stanley , Yu Yan , Ronning Catherine M , Nierman William C 
Published: September 2006

Abstract

Background
More than 12,000 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) have been identified in the genome of Burkholderia mallei ATCC 23344. As a demonstrated mechanism of phase variation in other pathogenic bacteria, these may function as mutable loci leading to altered protein expression or structure variation. To determine if such alterations are occurring in vivo, the genomes of various single-colony passaged B. mallei ATCC 23344 isolates, one from each source, were sequenced from culture, a mouse, a horse, and two isolates from a single human patient, and the sequence compared to the published B. mallei ATCC 23344 genome sequence.

Results
Forty-nine insertions and deletions (indels) were detected at SSRs in the five passaged strains, a majority of which (67.3%) were located within noncoding areas, suggesting that such regions are more tolerant of sequence alterations. Expression profiling of the two human passaged isolates compared to the strain before passage revealed alterations in the mRNA levels of multiple genes when grown in culture.

Conclusion
These data support the notion that genome variability upon passage is a feature of B. mallei ATCC23344, and that within a host B. mallei generates a diverse population of clones that accumulate genome sequence variation at SSR and other loci.
Insights into age- and sickle-cell-disease- interaction using principal components analysis
Authors: Sharma Mamta , Mamtani Manju R , Amin Manik , Thakre Tushar P , Sharma Smita , Amin Amit , Kulkarni Hemant 
Published: September 2006

Abstract

Background
In the context of sickle cell anemia, peripheral blood indexes provide key information that is also potentially influenced by age. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the extent and nature of interactions between sickle cell anemia and age, especially in situations where there is a high prevalence of sickle cell anemia.

Methods
In a cross-sectional study of 374 subjects with varying hemoglobin S (HbS) status, we characterized the interaction between age and sickle hemoglobin using principal components analysis.

Results
Factor analysis in subjects with hemoglobin AA identified three orthogonal factors – normal erythropoiesis, presence of thalassemia and the aggregability potential of the blood. These three factors were differentially associated with hemoglobin status. Age influenced the association of factors #2 and #3 with hemoglobin status.

Conclusion
Our findings suggest that the interaction between age and hemoglobin status needs to be considered in both clinical and public health settings.
Extensive myocardial infiltration by hemopoietic precursors in a patient with myelodysplastic syndrome
Authors: Mateen Farrah J , Harding Sheila R , Saxena Anurag 
Published: September 2006

Abstract

Background
Although myocardial infiltration with leukemic blasts is a known finding in patients with acute leukemia, this phenomenon in myelodysplasia is not reported in the literature. Cardiac symptoms in patients with myelodysplasia are often due to anemia and may be due to iron overload and side effects of therapy.

Case presentation
Herein we report the first case of neoplastic infiltration of the heart with associated myocardial necrosis in a patient with myelodysplasia. It was associated with unicellular and multifocal geographic areas of necrosis in the left ventricle and the interventricular septum. It is likely that cardiac compromise in our patient was due to a combination of restrictive cardiomyopathy due to leukemic infiltration, concomitant anemia, cardiac dilatation, conduction blocks and myocardial necrosis. Myocardial necrosis was most likely due to a combination of ischemic damage secondary to anemia and prolonged hypotension and extensive leukemic infiltration. Markedly rapid decrease in ejection fraction from 66% to 33% also suggests the role of ischemia, since leukemic infiltration is not expected to cause this degree of systolic dysfunction over a 24-hour period. The diagnosis was not suspected during life due to concomitant signs and symptoms of anemia, pulmonary infections, and pericardial and pleural effusions. The patient succumbed to cardiac failure.

Conclusion
Hemopoietic cell infiltration was not considered in the differential diagnosis and contributed to this patient's morbidity and mortality. This case highlights the clinical importance of considering myocardial infiltration in patients with myelodysplasia and cardiac symptoms.
Excessive weight gain after remission of depression in a schizophrenic patient treated with risperidone: case report
Authors: Theleritis Christos G , Papadimitriou George N , Papageorgiou Charalabos C , Dikeos Dimitris G , Masdrakis Vasilis , Kostoulas Constantin , Psarros Constantin , Soldatos Constantin R 
Published: September 2006

AbstractBackgroundThe use of atypical antipsychotics in schizophrenic patients has been associated with a risk of weight gain. Similarly, recovery from depression is often followed by improved appetite, greater food intake and potential increase in weight.Case presentationA Caucasian 33-year-old schizophrenic female patient was being treated with 6 mg/day of risperidone and 15 mg/day of clorazepate. She developed depressive symptomatology and 40 mg/day of fluoxetine was gradually added to her treatment regimen for about 9 months. After the remission of depression, and the discontinuation of fluoxetine, she experienced an increase in appetite and subsequently excessive weight gain of 52 kg. Re-administration of fluoxetine did not reverse the situation. The patient developed diabetes mellitus, which was successfully controlled with metformin 1700 mg/day. The addition at first of orlistat 360 mg/day and later of topiramate 200 mg/day has helped her to lose a significant part of the weight gained (30 kg).ConclusionThe case suggests a probable association between the remission of depressive symptomatology and weight gain in a schizophrenic patient.
The effects of economic deprivation on psychological well-being among the working population of Switzerland
Authors: Vetter Stefan , Endrass Jerome , Schweizer Ivo , Teng Hsun-Mei , Rossler Wulf , Gallo William T 
Published: September 2006

Abstract

Background
The association between poverty and mental health has been widely investigated. There is, however, limited evidence of mental health implications of working poverty, despite its representing a rapidly expanding segment of impoverished populations in many developed nations. In this study, we examined whether working poverty in Switzerland, a country with substantial recent growth among the working poor, was correlated with two dependent variables of interest: psychological health and unmet mental health need.

Methods
This cross-sectional study used data drawn from the first 3 waves (1999–2001) of the Swiss Household Panel, a nationally representative sample of the permanent resident population of Switzerland. The study sample comprised 5453 subjects aged 20–59 years. We used Generalized Estimating Equation models to investigate the association between working poverty and psychological well-being; we applied logistic regression models to analyze the link between working poverty and unmet mental health need. Working poverty was represented by dummy variables indicating financial deficiency, restricted standard of living, or both conditions.

Results
After controlling other factors, restricted standard of living was significantly (p < .001) negatively correlated with psychological well-being; it was also associated with approximately 50% increased risk of unmet mental health need (OR = 1.55; 95% CI 1.17 – 2.06).

Conclusion
The findings of this study contribute to our understanding of the potential psychological impact of material deprivation on working Swiss citizens. Such knowledge may aid in the design of community intervention programs to help reduce the individual and societal burdens of poverty in Switzerland.