bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Land use/cover change and landscape fragmentation analysis in the Bindura District, Zimbabwe
Authors: Kamusoko C. , Aniya M. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractRapid land use/cover change and landscape fragmentation is occurring in many countries in central and southern Africa, as a result of colonial imbalances in land distribution, demographic pressure, agricultural expansion, government policies and environmental factors such as drought. This study analysed the dynamics of land use/cover and land degradation as revealed in landscape fragmentation in the Bindura District of Zimbabwe based on Landsat data for 1973 and 2000. A hybrid supervised/unsupervised classification approach coupled with GIS analyses was employed to generate land use/cover maps from which various class level landscape metrics were calculated using FRAGSTATS®, in order to analyse landscape fragmentation. The results show that agriculture, mixed rangeland, settlements, bareland and water increased, while woodland areas decreased. Consequently, the landscape became more highly fragmented as indicated by an increase in the patch number and a decrease in the mean patch size (MPS) of the woodland and mixed rangeland classes. This suggests that anthropogenic activities driven by agricultural expansion were the main causes of landscape fragmentation, leading to landscape degradation in the study area. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reorganization of mouse sperm lipid rafts by capacitation
Authors: Thaler Catherine D. , Thomas Monzy , Ramalie Jenniffer R. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractOne of the hallmarks of mammalian sperm capacitation is the loss of cholesterol from the plasma membrane. Cholesterol has been associated with the formation of detergent insoluble membrane microdomains in many cell types, and sperm from several mammalian species have been shown to contain detergent‐resistant membranes (DRMs). The change in cholesterol composition of the sperm plasma membrane during capacitation raises the question of whether the contents of DRMs are altered during this process. In this study, we investigated changes in protein composition of DRMs isolated from uncapacitated or capacitated mouse sperm. TX‐100 insoluble membranes were fractionated by sucrose flotation gradient centrifugation and analyzed by Western and lectin blotting, and capacitation‐related differences in protein composition were identified. Following capacitation, the detergent insoluble fractions moved to lighter positions on the sucrose gradients, reflecting a global change in density or composition. We identified several individual proteins that either became enriched or depleted in DRM fractions following capacitation. These data suggest that the physiological changes in sperm motility, ability to penetrate the zona pellucida (ZP), ZP responsiveness, and other capacitation‐dependent changes, may be due in part to a functional reorganization of plasma membrane microdomains. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 73: 1541–1549, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Efficient adenoviral‐mediated gene delivery into porcine mesenchymal stem cells
Authors: Bosch P. , Fouletier‐Dilling C. , Olmsted‐Davis E.A. , Davis A.R. , Stice S.L. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractMesenchymal stem cell (MSC) mediated gene therapy research has been conducted predominantly on rodents. Appropriate large animal models may provide additional safety and efficacy information prior to human clinical trials. The objectives of this study were: (a) to optimize adenoviral transduction efficiency of porcine bone marrow MSCs using a commercial polyamine‐based transfection reagent (GeneJammer, Stratagene, La Jolla, CA), and (b) to determine whether transduced MSCs retain the ability to differentiate into mesodermal lineages. Porcine MSCs (pMSCs) were infected under varying conditions, with replication‐defective adenoviral vectors carrying the GFP gene and GFP expression analyzed. Transduced cells were induced to differentiate in vitro into adipogenic, chondrogenic, and osteogenic lineages. We observed a 5.5‐fold increase in the percentage of GFP‐expressing pMSCs when adenovirus type 5 carrying the adenovirus type 35 fiber (Ad5F35eGFP) was used in conjunction with GeneJammer. Transduction of pMSCs at 10.3–13.8 MOI (1,500–2,000 vp/cell) in the presence of Gene Jammer yielded the highest percentage of GFP‐expressing cells (∼90%) without affecting cell viability. A similar positive effect was detected when pMSCs were infected with an Ad5eGFP vector. Presence of fetal bovine serum (FBS) during adenoviral transduction enhanced vector‐encoded transgene expression in both GeneJammer‐treated and control groups. pMSCs transduced with adenovirus vector in the presence of GeneJammer underwent lipogenic, chondrogenic, and osteogenic differentiation. Addition of GeneJammer during adenoviral infection of pMSCs can revert the poor transduction efficiency of pMSCs while retaining their pluripotent differentiation capacity. GeneJammer‐enhanced transduction will facilitate the use of adenoviral vectors in MSC‐mediated gene therapy models and therapies. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 73: 1393–1403, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Complex relationship between changes in oxygenation status and changes in R: The case of insulin and NS‐398, two inhibitors of oxygen consumption
Authors: Jordan Bénédicte F. , Crokart Nathalie , Baudelet Christine , Cron Greg. O , Ansiaux Réginald , Gallez Bernard 
Published: August 2006

AbstractInsulin and NS‐398 have been reported to inhibit oxygen consumption in experimental tumor models, thereby increasing oxygenation and radiosensitization. The aim of this work was to use MRI to study changes in murine FSaII tumor hemodynamics after administration of those oxygen consumption inhibitors. A multiple‐echo gradient‐echo (GRE) MRI sequence (4.7 T) was used to map changes in three factors: the GRE signal (at TE = 20 ms), the parameter S0 (theoretical signal at TE = 0 ms), and the relaxation rate R. Perfusion maps were obtained by dynamic contrast‐enhanced (DCE) MRI. Insulin caused a significant decrease in the tumor blood oxygen level‐dependent (BOLD) signal over time. factor This was likely the result of decreased blood flow, since both S0 and the percentage of perfused tumor decreased as well. Tumor R did not change significantly in response to the treatments, which is surprising considering that other non‐MRI techniques (electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) oximetry and fiber‐optic probes) have shown that tumor oxygenation increases after treatment. This suggests that metabolic changes associated with vasoactive challenges may have an unpredictable influence on blood saturation and R. In conclusion, this study further emphasizes the fact that changes in BOLD signal and R in tumors do not depend uniquely on changes in oxygenation status. Magn Reson Med, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Do carbamates cause polyneuropathy?
Authors: Lotti Marcello , Moretto Angelo 
Published: August 2006

AbstractCarbamates are reversible inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase, and some also inhibit neuropathy target esterase (NTE), the target in organophosphate‐induced delayed polyneuropathy. However, based on mechanistic considerations, these carbamates were thought to be unable to initiate polyneuropathy. Consequently, clinical reports of polyneuropathy associated with carbamate exposures have been disregarded. We discuss three cases of polyneuropathy that occurred after severe poisoning by methylcarbamates. In addition, high repeated doses of phenyl N‐methyl N‐benzylcarbamate caused nearly 100% NTE inhibition and polyneuropathy in the hen model. These data suggest the need to reconsider the long‐standing tenet that carbamates cannot cause polyneuropathy. Alternatively, a preexisting subclinical neuropathy in these individuals may have been amplified by carbamates, as observed in animal models. We suggest that individuals with underlying neuropathy (e.g., diabetics) who are poisoned by carbamates should be followed closely. In addition, procedures for the current risk assessment of carbamate pesticides may need to be reconsidered. Muscle Nerve, 2006
Late appearance of dropped head syndrome after radiotherapy for Hodgkin's disease
Authors: Rowin Julie , Cheng Grace , Lewis Steven L. , Meriggioli Matthew N. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractWe present three cases of dropped head syndrome that occurred as a complication of mantle field (i.e., lymph nodes of the neck, axillae, and mediastinum) or whole‐body radiation therapy for Hodgkin's disease. These cases are characterized by a late onset (2–27 years after radiation treatment), fibrosis, and contraction of the anterior cervical muscles, and atrophy of the posterior neck and shoulder girdle. This report adds to the increasing literature about the late neurological complications of radiation therapy and describes a previously unrecognized cause of dropped head syndrome. Muscle Nerve, 2006
Kinesthesia: The role of muscle receptors
Authors: Proske Uwe 
Published: August 2006

AbstractThe kinesthetic sense, the sense of position and movement of our limbs, has been the subject of speculation for more than 400 years. The present‐day view is that it is signaled principally by muscle spindles, with a subsidiary role played by skin and joint receptors. The problem with muscle spindles as position sensors is that they are able to generate impulses in response to muscle length changes as well as from fusimotor activity. The central nervous system must be able to distinguish between activity from the two sources. Recent observations on position sense after fatigue and during load‐bearing suggest that an additional source of kinesthetic information comes from a centrally generated sensation, the sense of effort. This has consequences for kinesthesia in the presence of the force of gravity. A contribution from central feedback mechanisms to the sense of effort is relevant to certain clinical conditions. Muscle Nerve, 2006
The long‐term effects of perinatal glucocorticoid exposure on the host defence system of the respiratory tract
Authors: Theogaraj E , John CD , Dewar A , Buckingham JC , Smith SF 
Published: August 2006

AbstractGlucocorticoids are used to mature the fetal lung at times of threatened premature delivery. These drugs modify leukocyte profiles when administered in adulthood, but their effects on the mature host defence system following administration during the perinatal period are incompletely understood. In this study, the long‐term effects of perinatal dexamethasone exposure on rodent host defence cells in the pulmonary airspaces, the perivascular compartment of the lung, and the blood were investigated. Rats were treated prenatally (gestational days 16–19) or neonatally (postnatal days 1–7) by inclusion of dexamethasone in the mothers' drinking water (1 µg/ml). The pups were then allowed to develop to adulthood (P60‐80), at which time respiratory tissues were collected for light and electron microscopy and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), and blood for cell count and fluorescent activated cell‐sorting (FACS) analysis. Prenatal treatment had no effect on any parameter examined. Following neonatal dexamethasone exposure, light microscopy of the lung tissue revealed a significant reduction in the number of cells in the perivascular space in both the central and the peripheral regions of the adult lung, but no differences in the number of cells in the airspaces. Neonatal dexamethasone exposure was also characterized by a significant reduction in the total number of white cells in the peripheral blood in adulthood and in particular, the number of lymphocytes relative to neutrophils was significantly reduced at maturity in these animals. The results show that neonatal, but not prenatal, dexamethasone exposure significantly alters the distribution of host defence cells in the blood and lung at maturity compared with control animals. The early neonatal period is characterized by the stress hyporesponsive period in the rat, when endogenous glucocorticoid levels are very low. Therefore, exogenous glucocorticoids administered during this time are likely to have marked ‘programming’ effects on glucocorticoid‐sensitive tissues. Copyright © 2006 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Proteomic response of Schizosaccharomyces pombe to static and oscillating extremely low‐frequency electromagnetic fields
Authors: Sinclair John , Weeks Mark , Butt Amna , Worthington Jessica L. , Akpan Akunna , Jones Nic , Waterfield Mike , Allanand Donald , Timms John F. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractThere is considerable public concern regarding the health effects of exposure to low‐frequency electromagnetic fields. In addition, the association between exposure and disease incidence or the possible biological effects of exposure are unclear. Using 2D‐DIGE and MS in a blind study, we have investigated the effects of static and oscillating extremely low‐frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF EMFs) on the proteomes of wild type Schizosaccharomyces pombe and a Sty1p deletion mutant which displays increased sensitivity to a variety of cellular stresses. Whilst this study identifies a number of protein isoforms that display significant differential expression across experimental conditions, there was no correlation between their patterns of expression and the ELF EMF exposure regimen. We conclude that there are no significant effects of either static or oscillating EMF on the yeast proteome at the sensitivity afforded by 2D‐DIGE. We hypothesise that the proteins identified must be sensitive to subtle changes in culture and/or handling conditions, and that the identification of these proteins in other proteomic studies should be treated with some caution when the results of such studies are interpreted in a biological context.
Job loss and reemployment after a cancer diagnosis in Koreans—a prospective cohort study
Authors: Choi Kui Son , Kim Eun‐Jung , Lim Jin‐Hwa , Kim Sung‐Gyeong , Lim Min Kyung , Park Jae‐Gahb , Park Eun‐Cheol 
Published: August 2006

AbstractPatients undergoing treatment for cancer have reported a variety of work‐related problems. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a cancer diagnosis on employment status, and to identify relevant associated factors. This prospective cohort study was conducted at the National Cancer Center in Korea. Male patients newly diagnosed with stomach, liver, or colorectal cancers were recruited. Patients were interviewed and asked to complete an employment questionnaire every 3 months for 24 months. Clinical, sociodemographic and work‐related factors were assessed. There were 305 male patients who had a primary diagnosis of cancer and underwent appropriate treatment. Of the 305 male patients who were employed at the time of diagnosis, 53% lost their job, and of these 23% later reemployed. In a multivariate Cox regression analysis, job loss was significantly associated with years of education, job characteristics and disease stage. Reemployment was significantly associated with disease stage and cancer site. Change of employment was common among cancer patients in Korea. With an understanding of the factors involved, it should be possible to reduce unnecessary work cessation, and increase the rate of employment of cancer survivors. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Simple fast and adaptive lossless image compression algorithm
Authors: Starosolski Roman 
Published: August 2006

AbstractIn this paper we present a new lossless image compression algorithm. To achieve the high compression speed we use a linear prediction, modified Golomb–Rice code family, and a very fast prediction error modeling method. We compare the algorithm experimentally with others for medical and natural continuous tone grayscale images of depths of up to 16 bits. Its results are especially good for large images, for natural images of high bit depths, and for noisy images. The average compression speed on Intel Xeon 3.06 GHz CPU is 47 MB/s. For large images the speed is over 60 MB/s, i.e. the algorithm needs less than 50 CPU cycles per byte of image. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Escalating dose pretreatment induces pharmacodynamic and not pharmacokinetic tolerance to a subsequent high‐dose methamphetamine binge
Authors: O'Neil Meghan L. , Kuczenski Ronald , Segal David S. , Cho Arthur K. , Lacan Goran , Melega William P. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractA major feature of human methamphetamine (METH) abuse is the gradual dose escalation that precedes high‐dose exposure. The period of escalating doses (EDs) is likely associated with development of tolerance to aspects of METH's pharmacologic and toxic effects but the relative contributions of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic factors have not been well defined. In our prior studies in rats, we showed that pretreatment with an ED‐METH regimen (0.1–4.0 mg/kg over 14 days) attenuated the toxicity of a subsequently administered high‐dose METH binge (4 × 6 mg/kg at 2 h interval) that itself produced behavioral stereotypy, increases in core temperature, and decreases in DA system phenotypic markers in caudate‐putamen (CP). Using those ED‐METH and binge protocols in the present studies, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters that may have contributed to the apparent neuroprotection afforded by ED‐METH were assessed. The ED‐METH regimen itself reduced [3H]WIN35,428 (WIN) binding to the dopamine transporter (DAT) by 15% in CP, but did not affect DA content. During the METH binge, ED‐METH pretreated animals showed attenuated increases in core temperature while concurrent microdialysis studies in CP showed a reduced DA response despite unaltered extracellular levels of METH. At 1 h after the binge, concentrations of METH and its metabolite amphetamine in brain and plasma were unaffected by the ED‐METH. The results show that ED‐METH pretreatment produces reductions in DAT binding and the DA response during a subsequent METH binge by altering pharmacodynamic and not pharmacokinetic parameters. Synapse 60:465–473, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Tank monitoring: a pAMN case study
Authors: Schneider Steve , Hoang Thai Son , Robinson Ken , Treharne Helen 
Published: August 2006

Abstract

The introduction of probabilistic behaviour into the B-method is a recent development. In addition to allowing probabilistic behaviour to be modelled, the relationship between expected values of the machine state can be expressed and verified. This paper explores the application of probabilistic B to a simple case study: tracking the volume of liquid held in a tank by measuring the flow of liquid into it. The flow can change as time progresses, and sensors are used to measure the flow with some degree of accuracy and reliability, modelled as non-deterministic and probabilistic behaviour respectively. At the specification level, the analysis is concerned with the
expectation
clause in the probabilistic B machine and its consistency with machine operations. At the refinement level, refinement and equivalence laws on probabilistic GSL are used to establish that a particular design of sensors delivers the required level of reliability.
Mortality in a cohort of chronically fatigued patients
Authors: SMITH WAYNE R. , NOONAN CAROLYN , BUCHWALD DEDRA 
Published: August 2006

Background. Comprehensive studies of mortality among patients with chronic fatigue (CF) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) have not been published, but several sources suggest that CFS is associated with an elevated risk for suicide.Method. Data on 1201 chronically fatigued patients followed in a university-affiliated tertiary-care clinic for up to 14 years were submitted to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Death Index (NDI) to evaluate all-cause and suicide-caused death rates against standardized mortality rates (SMRs). We used Life Table Analysis to examine the influence of sex and diagnoses of CFS and depression.Results. All-cause mortality in chronically fatigued patients was no higher than expected, but suicide-caused death rates were more than eight times higher than in the US general population. The significant elevation in the SMR of suicide was restricted to those who did not meet criteria for CFS [SMRCF=14·2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 5·7–29·3 versus SMRCFS=3·6, 95% CI 0·4–12·9]. Among chronically fatigued patients who did not meet CFS criteria, those with a lifetime history of major depression (MD) had higher suicide-caused death rates than among their non-depressed counterparts (SMRMD=19·1, 95% CI 7·0–41·5 versus SMRNMD=5·6, 95% CI 0·1–31·4), although the difference was not significant.Conclusions. CFS does not appear to be associated with increased all-cause mortality or suicide rates. Clinicians, however, should carefully evaluate patients with CF for depression and suicidality.
Dimensional representations of DSM-IV Cluster A personality disorders in a population-based sample of Norwegian twins: a multivariate study
Authors: KENDLER KENNETH S. , CZAJKOWSKI NIKOLAI , TAMBS KRISTIAN , TORGERSEN SVENN , AGGEN STEVEN H. , C. NEALE MICHAEL , REICHBORN-KJENNERUD TED 
Published: August 2006

Background. The ‘odd’ or ‘Cluster A’ personality disorders (PDs) – paranoid, schizoid and schizotypal PDs – were created in DSM-III with little empirical foundation. We have examined the relationship between the genetic and environmental risk factors for dimensional representations of these three personality disorders.Method. These personality disorders were assessed using the Structured Interview for DSM-IV Personality (SIDP-IV) in 1386 young adult twin pairs from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health Twin Panel. Using Mx, a single-factor independent pathway twin model was fitted to the number of endorsed criteria for the three disorders.Results. The best-fit model included genetic and unique environmental common factors and genetic and unique environmental effects specific to each personality disorder. Total heritability was modest for these personality disorders and ranged from 21% to 28%. Loadings on the common genetic and unique environmental factors were substantially higher for schizotypal than for paranoid or schizoid PD. The proportion of genetic liability shared with all Cluster A disorders was estimated at 100, 43 and 26% respectively for schizotypal, paranoid and schizoid PDs.Conclusion. In support of the validity of the Cluster A construct, dimensional representations of schizotypal, paranoid and schizoid PD are all modestly heritable and share a portion of their genetic and environmental risk factors. No evidence was found for shared environmental or sex effects for these PDs. Schizotypal PD most closely reflects the genetic and environmental liability common to all three Cluster A disorders. These results should be interpreted in the context of the limited power of this sample.