bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Cell Therapy for Chronic Wounds Based Upon a Plasma Polymer Delivery Surface
Authors: Haddow David B. , MacNeil Sheila , Short Robert D. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractSummary: This contribution chronicles the research history over the past ten years behind a cell therapy product for the treatment of chronic wounds. The product is a plasma coated bandage, which delivers autologous cells (keratinoctyes) to non‐healing wound beds. The account given is chronological, starting with the initial investigations of cell (keratinocyte) attachment to a range of plasma polymer surfaces. It details the subsequent selection of acrylic acid plasma polymer surfaces, on which the growth, proliferation and transfer of keratinoctyes to an in vitro wound model are studied. It concludes with the translation of this technology from the laboratory to the clinic, describing the first “proof of concept” study undertaken with non‐healing diabetic foot ulcers.Neuropathic foot ulcer on patient 2 persistent for 2 years.magnified imageNeuropathic foot ulcer on patient 2 persistent for 2 years.
Influence of Fluorocarbon Plasma Polymer Films on the Growth of Primary Human Fibroblasts
Authors: Barz Jakob , Haupt Michael , Pusch Kai , Weimer Michaela , Oehr Christian 
Published: August 2006

AbstractSummary: Pulsed radio‐frequency plasmas containing a mixture of fluorocarbon, argon, and water vapor have been applied to multichamber slides in order to study the biocompatibility in accordance with ISO 10993‐5. According to this standard, the biocompatibility and/or in vitro toxicity of new developed materials is tested with fibroblast cultures. This study deals with the examination of adhesion, proliferation, and cell death of human primary fibroblasts on surfaces gradually coated with fluorocarbon polymer. Besides surface energy, chemical effects as there are chemical functions and the chemical composition of the surface, play an important role in the interaction of human fibroblasts with surfaces. Thus, the data obtained from cell cultivation are correlated to the surface properties as obtained from contact angle measurements and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy.Microscope images reveal the influence of fluorocarbon polymer coatings: The untreated reference surface and the surface treated in a pulsed discharge at 33% duty cycle influence the cell proliferation differently.magnified imageMicroscope images reveal the influence of fluorocarbon polymer coatings: The untreated reference surface and the surface treated in a pulsed discharge at 33% duty cycle influence the cell proliferation differently.
Better prediction of the location of α‐turns in proteins with support vector machine
Authors: Wang Yan , Xue Zhidong , Xu Jin 
Published: August 2006

AbstractWe have developed a novel method named AlphaTurn to predict α‐turns in proteins based on the support vector machine (SVM). The prediction was done on a data set of 469 nonhomologous proteins containing 967 α‐turns. A great improvement in prediction performance was achieved by using multiple sequence alignment generated by PSI‐BLAST as input instead of the single amino acid sequence. The introduction of secondary structure information predicted by PSIPRED also improved the prediction performance. Moreover, we handled the very uneven data set by combining the cost factor j with the “state‐shifting” rule. This further promoted the prediction quality of our method. The final SVM model yielded a Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) of 0.25 by a 10‐fold cross‐validation. To our knowledge, this MCC value is the highest obtained so far for predicting α‐turns. An online Web server based on this method has been developed and can be freely accessed at http://bmc.hust.edu.cn/bioinformatics/ or http://210.42.106.80/. Proteins 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Crystal structures of the PLP‐ and PMP‐bound forms of BtrR, a dual functional aminotransferase involved in butirosin biosynthesis
Authors: Popovic Bojana , Tang Xiao , Chirgadze Dimitri Y. , Huang Fanglu , Blundell Tom L. , Spencer Jonathan B. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractThe aminotransferase (BtrR), which is involved in the biosynthesis of butirosin, a 2‐deoxystreptamine (2‐DOS)‐containing aminoglycoside antibiotic produced by Bacillus circulans, catalyses the pyridoxal phosphate (PLP)‐dependent transamination reaction both of 2‐deoxy‐scyllo‐inosose to 2‐deoxy‐scyllo‐inosamine and of amino‐dideoxy‐scyllo‐inosose to 2‐DOS. The high‐resolution crystal structures of the PLP‐ and PMP‐bound forms of BtrR aminotransferase from B. circulans were solved at resolutions of 2.1 Å and 1.7 Å with Rfactor/Rfree values of 17.4/20.6 and 19.9/21.9, respectively. BtrR has a fold characteristic of the aspartate aminotransferase family, and sequence and structure analysis categorises it as a member of SMAT (secondary metabolite aminotransferases) subfamily. It exists as a homodimer with two active sites per dimer. The active site of the BtrR protomer is located in a cleft between an α helical N‐terminus, a central αβα sandwich domain and an αβ C‐terminal domain. The structures of the PLP‐ and PMP‐bound enzymes are very similar; however BtrR‐PMP lacks the covalent bond to Lys192. Furthermore, the two forms differ in the side‐chain conformations of Trp92, Asp163, and Tyr342 that are likely to be important in substrate selectivity and substrate binding. This is the first three‐dimensional structure of an enzyme from the butirosin biosynthesis gene cluster. Proteins 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Prediction of continuous B‐cell epitopes in an antigen using recurrent neural network
Authors: Saha Sudipto , Raghava G. P. S. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractB‐cell epitopes play a vital role in the development of peptide vaccines, in diagnosis of diseases, and also for allergy research. Experimental methods used for characterizing epitopes are time consuming and demand large resources. The availability of epitope prediction method(s) can rapidly aid experimenters in simplifying this problem. The standard feed‐forward (FNN) and recurrent neural network (RNN) have been used in this study for predicting B‐cell epitopes in an antigenic sequence. The networks have been trained and tested on a clean data set, which consists of 700 non‐redundant B‐cell epitopes obtained from Bcipep database and equal number of non‐epitopes obtained randomly from Swiss‐Prot database. The networks have been trained and tested at different input window length and hidden units. Maximum accuracy has been obtained using recurrent neural network (Jordan network) with a single hidden layer of 35 hidden units for window length of 16. The final network yields an overall prediction accuracy of 65.93% when tested by fivefold cross‐validation. The corresponding sensitivity, specificity, and positive prediction values are 67.14, 64.71, and 65.61%, respectively. It has been observed that RNN (JE) was more successful than FNN in the prediction of B‐cell epitopes. The length of the peptide is also important in the prediction of B‐cell epitopes from antigenic sequences. The webserver ABCpred is freely available at www.imtech.res.in/raghava/abcpred/. Proteins 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Structures of soluble amyloid oligomers from computer simulations
Authors: Melquiond Adrien , Mousseau Normand , Derreumaux Philippe 
Published: August 2006

AbstractAlzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Creutzfeldt‐Jakob's neurodegenerative diseases are all linked with the assembly of normally soluble proteins into amyloid fibrils. Because of experimental limitations, structural characterization of the soluble oligomers, which form early in the process of fibrillogenesis and are cytotoxic, remains to be determined. In this article, we study the aggregation paths of seven chains of the shortest amyloid‐forming peptide, using an activitated method and a reduced atomic representation. Our simulations show that disordered KFFE monomers ultimately form three distinct topologies of similar energy: amorphous oligomers, incomplete rings with β‐barrel character, and cross‐β‐sheet structures with the meridional but not the equatorial X‐ray fiber reflections. The simulations also shed light on the pathways from misfolded aggregates to fibrillar‐like structures. They also underline the multiplicity of building blocks that can lead to the formation of the critical nucleus from which rapid growth of the fibril occurs. Proteins 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Rank information: A structure‐independent measure of evolutionary trace quality that improves identification of protein functional sites
Authors: Yao Hui , Mihalek Ivana , Lichtarge Olivier 
Published: August 2006

AbstractProtein functional sites are key targets for drug design and protein engineering, but their large‐scale experimental characterization remains difficult. The evolutionary trace (ET) is a computational approach to this problem that has been useful in a variety of case studies, but its proteomic scale application is partially hindered because automated retrieval of input sequences from databases often includes some with errors that degrade functional site identification. To recognize and purge these sequences, this study introduces a novel and structure‐free measure of ET quality called rank information (RI). It is shown that RI decreases in response to errors in sequences, alignments, or functional classifications. Conversely, an automated procedure to increase RI by selectively removing sequences improves functional site identification so as to nearly match manually curated traces in kinases and in a test set of 79 diverse proteins. Thus we conclude that RI partially reflects the evolutionary consistency of sequence, structure, and function. In practice, as the size of the proteome continues to grow exponentially, it provides a novel and structure‐free measure of ET quality that increases its accuracy for large‐scale automated annotation of protein functional sites. Proteins 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Anomalous charge relaxation in channels of pentacene‐based organic field‐effect transistors: a charge transient spectroscopy study
Authors: Thurzo I. , Paez B. , Méndez H. , Scholz R. , Zahn D. R. T. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractTwo types of Si/SiO2/pentacene organic field‐effect transistors (OFET) with bottom Au‐source (S) and – drain (D) electrodes were examined by charge transient spectroscopy (QTS), applying pulsed bias ΔUDSto the channel of an OFET with floating gate electrode. The transient chargeQ(t), flowing through the channel after the removal of the bias pulse, was processed at a constant temperature by a three‐channel correlator yielding the signal ΔQ=Q(t1) – 3/2Q(2t1) + 1/2Q(4t1), the scanned delay t1being related to the trailing edge of the bias pulse. Most of the QTS spectra were characterized by peaks of ΔQ(t1) with FWHM corresponding to discrete time constantsτm≈t1m, while scanningt1from 2 μs to 0.1 s. The common feature of the QTS spectra was alineardependence of the peak height ΔQmon ΔUDSfor both polarities of the latter, thereby resembling what is expected for dielectric relaxation (polarization). Some devices showed anomalous (reversed) sign of the signal with respect to the polarity of ΔUDS, or even features like transitions from the correct sign to the reversed one. In order to customize the anomalies, a model is presented which ignores injection of excess charge carriers and takes into account two contributions to the total transient charge: a/space charge of intrinsic charge carriers piled up at the blocking Au‐electrodes during the pulse, relaxing with the dielectric relaxation timeτD=ϵ0ϵr/σ(σbeing conductivity of the organics); b/orientation of molecular dipoles (τdip) in the relaxing electric field of the space charge. It is the dipolar component that is responsible for the anomalous charge flow direction manifested by the signal reversal. The origin of the permanent dipole moment of the otherwise non‐polar pentacene molecules may be either attached excess or missing atoms (vacancies) of the defect molecules [J. E. Northrup and M. L. Chabinyc, Phys. Rev. B68, 041202 (2003)]. In cases of non‐blocking contacts the dipolar relaxation would lead to QTS peaks of correct sign, to be distinguished from possibly non‐negligible contribution of the dielectric relaxation in the semiconductor. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Investigation of the electro‐optic activity and the electro‐optic effect of La3Ga5SiO14 crystal
Authors: Liu Zhaojun , Wang Qingpu , Zhang Xingyu , Liu Zejin , Wei Aijian , Wu Fuquan , Chang Jun , Su Fufang , Fan Shuzhen , Tang Hengjing , Jin Guofan 
Published: August 2006

AbstractThe electro‐optic activity (EOA) of La3Ga5SiO14 (langasite, LGS) crystal is studied theoretically and the result shows that the EOA will not change the rotatory power along the optic axis of the LGS. An experiment scheme called “elliptic analyzer” is used to verify this theoretical statement. The electro‐optic effect (EOE) of the LGS crystal is also investigated in the same experiment and the EO coefficient r 11 is obtained to be 2.2 pm/V. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Effect of calcium‐deficiency upon physical properties of La0.6Ca0.4MnO3
Authors: Walha I. , Cheikh‐Rouhou A. , Ehrenberg H. , Fuess H. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractStructural and magnetic properties of the calcium‐defect La0.6Ca0.4–x□xMnO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2) perovskite manganites have been investigated. Our powder samples have been prepared by the conventional solid state reaction technique at high temperature. Rietveld analysis show that all our synthesized samples crystallize in the orthorhombic perovskite structure with Pnma space group. The Mn atom is coordinated by six oxygen atoms forming an irregular octahedron. With decreasing Ca content the unit cell volume increases. Magnetic measurements as a function of temperature show that all our samples exhibit a paramagnetic‐ferromagnetic transition with decreasing temperature. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
The studies of crystallite size and microstrains in aluminum powder prepared by mechanical milling
Authors: Daly R. , Khitouni M. , Kolsi A. W. , Njah N. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractThe process of nanocrystalline structure formation during mechanical milling was studied in recycled low purity aluminum (98.92%). X‐ray patterns were analyzed to determine the crystallite size and the lattice strain. As a result, nanocrystalline powders have been synthesized with microstructure showing a mixture of highly strained crystallites. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
In vitro antiviral activities of Chinese medicinal herbs against duck hepatitis B virus
Authors: Leung K. T. , Chiu Lawrence C. M. , Lam W. S. , Li Yaolan , Sun Samuel S. M. , Ooi Vincent E. C. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractFifty‐six different Chinese medicinal herbs from 29 families were evaluated for their antiviral activities against duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) in vitro. The DHBV DNA level in primary duck hepatocyte cultures was monitored by dot blot hybridization and the cytotoxicity was evaluated by MTT assay. Anti‐DHBV activities were found more strongly in the aqueous extracts of Ardisia chinensis and Pithecellobium clypearia with selective indices of 2.6 and >2.7, respectively, which were comparable to that of 2′,3′‐dideoxycytidine. Further research on the isolation of the active antiviral phytochemicals from these herbs may provide alternative options for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Treating threatened abortion with Chinese herbs: a case report
Authors: Qu Fan , Zhou Jue 
Published: August 2006

AbstractIn the report a patient who suffered from threatened abortion was successfully cured with Chinese herbs. After treatment, vaginal bleeding stopped and the aching sensation in the loins and prolapsing sensation in the abdomen disappeared. The gestational ring changed from a crescent moon shape to a normal shape. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reduction of fat storage in mice fed a high‐fat diet long term by treatment with saponins prepared fromKochia scopariafruit
Authors: Han Li‐Kun , Nose Rumiko , Li Wei , Gong Xiao‐Jie , Zheng Yi‐Nan , Yoshikawa Masayuki , Koike Kazuo , Nikaido Tamotsu , Okuda Hiromichi , Kimura Yoshiyuki 
Published: August 2006

AbstractThe fresh fruit (Japanese name, Tonburi) ofKochia scopariahas been used as a food garnish in Japanese‐style dishes from ancient times, and may prevent metabolic syndromes such as hyperlipidemia, hypertension, obesity and atherosclerosis. This study was performed to clarify whether an ethanol extract ofK. scopariafruit prevented obesity induced in mice by a high‐fat diet for 9 weeks. The ethanol extract ofK. scopariafruit prevented the increases in body weight and parametrial adipose tissue weight induced by the high‐fat diet. Furthermore, consumption of a high‐fat diet containing 1% or 3%K. scopariaextract significantly increased the fecal content and the fecal triacylglycerol level at day 3 compared with those in the high‐fat diet group. The ethanol extract (250 mg/kg) and total saponins (100 mg/kg) ofK. scopariainhibited the elevation of the plasma triacylglyccerol level 2 or 3 h after the oral administration of the lipid emulsion. Total saponins, momordin Ic, 2′‐O‐β‐d‐glucopyranosyl momordin Ic and 2′‐O‐β‐d‐glucopyranosyl momordin IIc isolated fromK. scopariafruit inhibited the pancreatic lipase activity (in vitro). These findings suggest that the anti‐obesity actions ofK. scopariaextract in mice fed a high‐fat diet may be partly mediated through delaying the intestinal absorption of dietary fat by inhibiting pancreatic lipase activity. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Preparation, Characterization and Evaluation of Anionic Starch Derivatives as Flocculants and for Metal Removal
Authors: Aly Amal A. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractAnionic starch derivatives bearing carboxyl groups were prepared by reacting maize starch and hydrolyzed maize starch with a previously synthesized citric acid adduct (2‐hydroxy‐3‐chloropropylcitric acid) using the dry process. Different factors affecting the preparation, i.e. catalyst concentration, citric acid adduct concentration, duration and temperature have been studied. The modified starch was characterized by IR spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction analysis and scanning electronic microscopy. The anionic starch derivatives were evaluated as flocculants. Different factors affecting the flocculation efficiency of the prepared flocculants were studied. These factors include effect of dose, acid content, pH of the flocculation medium and molar mass. The anionic starch samples were chelated with different metal cations such as Cu2+, Co2+, Mg2+, and Hg2+, in the form of acetates, chlorides and sulfates.
Fundamental and Derived Properties of Yam (Dioscorea Spp.) Starch Powders and Implications in Tablet and Capsule Formulation
Authors: Riley Cliff K. , Adebayo Sarafadeen A. , Wheatley Andrew O. , Asemota Helen N. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractA comparative investigation of the fundamental and derived properties of starches from some species of yam (Dioscorea spp.) was conducted with a view to establishing their suitability as excipients in tablet and capsule formulations. Variations were observed in the mean granular diameter of the starches obtained from the different Dioscorea species. Granular diameter ranged from 5.4 µm (Chinese yam) to 34.5 µm (Round leaf yellow yam). Chinese yam and Bitter yam had the highest specific surface area (625.91 m2/kg and 258.76 m2/kg, respectively) while Round leaf yellow yam and Negro yam had the lowest (117.4 m2/kg and 154.34 m2/kg, respectively). Chinese yam had the lowest granular volume (6.00 µm3), surface area (5.67 µm2) and granule surface‐mean diameter (6.74 µm), while Round leaf yellow yam had the largest mean granular diameter, highest granular volume (35.2 µm3), surface area (34.8 µm2) and granule surface mean diameter (35.88 µm). Particle size distribution plots of Chinese yam, Round leaf yellow yam and Negro yam displayed a Gaussian size distribution pattern while Bitter yam displayed a negatively skewed distribution. The variations observed in the granular size and shape may influence the observed derived properties of the starches.
Starch Structure and Digestibility of Rice High in Resistant Starch
Authors: Shu Xiaoli , Jiao Guiai , Fitzgerald Melissa A. , Yang Chaozhu , Shu Qingyao , Wu Dianxing 
Published: August 2006

AbstractStarch digestibility and starch structure of a high‐resistant starch (RS) rice (RS111) was compared to that of a wild rice type (R7954). RS111 exhibited high RS content and incomplete starch hydrolysis in both cooked rice and retrograded rice flour. High RS rice RS111 had a higher λmax of absorbance and blue value of iodine‐binding starch complex and contained a higher percentage of intermediate chains of amylopectin than R/954. X‐ray diffraction pattern of RS isolated from cooked high RS rice displayed a mixture of B‐ and V‐type that was more resistant to starch hydrolysis by alpha‐amylase. Resistant starch in RS111 is composed mainly of linear amylose and some low‐molecular‐weight amylopectin.
A LabVIEW‐controlled portable x‐ray fluorescence spectrometer for the analysis of art objects
Authors: Desnica Vladan , Schreiner Manfred 
Published: August 2006

AbstractA field‐portable x‐ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer was developed and assembled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in order to permit in situ examinations in the field of archeometry. The system is based on energy‐dispersive XRF using an Oxford XTF5011 50‐W x‐ray tube, a Röntec XFlash 1000 silicon drift detector and two lasers as locating devices. A software package based on National Instruments LabVIEW was developed for simultaneous digital control of all system components, for readout of the acquired data and for convenient presentation and preliminary analysis of the spectra. Subsequently, the measured or stored data could be analyzed using a conventional software package such as WinAxil from Canberra Eurisys. In this paper, the system's analytical capabilities are compared with the results obtained using a laboratory XRF system and a comparative evaluation of the two instruments is made. In combination with the overall miniaturization of all devices, it was possible to assemble an easily portable computer‐controlled measurement system which can be used for in situ examinations and studies of, e.g., art objects in museums and galleries, ceiling frescos in churches and cathedrals and archeological findings at the excavation sites. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Angelic nondeterminism in the unifying theories of programming
Authors: Cavalcanti Ana , Woodcock Jim , Dunne Steve 
Published: August 2006

Abstract
Hoare and He’s unifying theories of programming (UTP) is a model of alphabetised relations expressed as predicates; it supports development in several programming paradigms. The aim of Hoare and He’s work is the unification of languages and techniques, so that we can benefit from results in different contexts. In this paper, we investigate the integration of angelic nondeterminism in the UTP; we propose the unification of a model of binary multirelations, which is isomorphic to the monotonic predicate transformers model and can express angelic and demonic nondeterminism.