bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Immunogenicity of novel recombinant human activated factor VII analogues on factor VII neonatally-tolerized rats
Authors: Jørgensen Peer Norbert , Clausen Jes Thorn , Salanti Zaki , Jensen Lisbeth Bjerring , Sommer Christian 
Published: October 2007

SummaryRecombinant activated factorVII (rFVIIa; NovoSeven®) has been widely used to treat bleeding in patients with haemophilia with inhibitors. To increase the intrinsic activity, analogues of rFVIIa (rFVIIaQ, rFVIIaDVQ, and rFVIIaDVQA) with altered amino acid sequence at or near the active centre have been developed. The immunogenicity of these analogues was tested in a rat immune tolerance model.Neonatal rats received rFVIIa intraperitoneally on post-natal Day 1 and were subsequently challenged with rFVIIa in Freunds Incomplete Adjuvant subcutaneously on Days 10 and 24. Rats were tested for tolerance on Day 32; the tolerant cohort and a parallel cohort of untreated control rats were challenged with rFVIIa, rFVIIaQ, rFVIIaDVQ, or rFVIIaDVQA on Days 46 and 76. Immune responses determined by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) on Day 84 showed no statistically significant difference between the responses in the four control cohorts. Immune responses were higher in the control than in the tolerant cohort. Compared with rFVIIa (4/16), there was no difference in the proportion of rats that broke tolerance following challenge with rFVIIaDVQ (3/16) and rFVIIaDVQA (7/16), whereas a statistically significant greater proportion broke tolerance after challenge with rFVIIaQ (11/16). Therefore, in this model rFVIIaDVQ or rFVIIa DVQA were not more immunogenic than rFVIIa.
Pharmacokinetics of Beriplex P/N prothrombin complex concentrate in healthy volunteers
Authors: Ostermann Helmut , Haertel Sabine , Kalina Uwe , Jung Kerstin , Pabinger Ingrid , Knaub Sigurd 
Published: October 2007

SummaryProthrombin complex concentrates (PCCs) are widely administered for emergency oral anticoagulation reversal and for coagulation defects in liver disease. Pharmacokinetic data may help to optimize treatment. The objective of this study was to characterize the pharmacokinetics of a PCC (Beriplex P/N) containing coagulation factors II (FII),VII (FVII), IX (FIX) and X (FX) and anticoagulant proteins C and S. Fifteen healthy volunteers received a single rapid 50 IU/kg infusion of PCC and underwent frequent blood sampling until 144 hours (h) after infusion. Coagulation factors and anticoagulant protein pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated by non-linear regression. The mean infusion rate of PCC was 7.9 ml/min, equivalent to 196.4 IU/min. By the earliest post-infusion sampling point at 5 minutes (min), plasma FIX concentration increased by a median of 73%. Median increases in FII, FVII and FX at 5 min were 122%, 62% and 158%, respectively. Proteins C and S also increased rapidly. The median terminal half-life of FIX was 16.7 h, FII 59.7 h, FVII 4.2 h and FX 30.7 h. The median in-vivo recovery of FIX was 1.57 %/IU/kg and that of the other three coagulation factors > 2 %/IU/kg. Plasma concentration of thrombogenicity marker D-dimer did not increase, and there was no clinical evidence of thrombosis.Through up to 12 weeks follow-up there were no laboratory findings indicating PCC-related viral exposure. Rapid PCC infusion produced prompt sustained increases in coagulation factors and anticoagulant proteins with no clinical evidence of thrombosis or viral transmission.
Identification of an inactivating cleavage site for α-thrombin on the heavy chain of factor Va
Authors: Bukys Michael , Orfeo Thomas , Mann Kenneth , Erdogan Evrim , Kalafatis Michael 
Published: October 2007

SummaryPrevious studies of factor (F)Va inactivation on human umbilical vein endothelial cells have shown that α-thrombin cleaves the heavy chain near the COOH-terminus to produce a Mr 97,000 fragment containing the NH2-terminal portion of the heavy chain and a Mr 8,000 peptide containing the rest of the molecule. The α-thrombin cleavage appeared to occur between amino acid residues 586 and 654 of FV. This region contains a consensus sequence for α-thrombin cleavage located at residues 640–644 (S-S-P-R-S). To test the hypothesis that α-thrombin cleaves the FVa heavy chain at Arg643 and to evaluate the functional importance of this cleavage for FVa inactivation, sitedirected mutagenesis was used to create recombinant FV molecules with mutations R643→Q (FVR643Q) and R643→A (FVR643A). All recombinant molecules were purified to homogeneity and assayed for activity following extended activation with α-thrombin. Under similar experimental conditions, appearance of the Mr 97,000 heavy chain fragment in the plasma and wild-type FVa molecules correlated with partial loss of cofactor activity, while following extended incubation of FVR643Q and FVR643A with α-thrombin no cleavage of the heavy chain at Arg643 was detected and no presence of the Mr 97,000 heavy-chain fragment was noticed. Further, no loss in cofactor activity was observed using these mutant recombinant FVa molecules. Our data demonstrate that cleavage of FVa at Arg643 by α-thrombin results in a partially inactive cofactor molecule and provides for an activated protein C (APC)-independent anticoagulant effect of α-thrombin.
The Maritime Merchants of Surat: A Long-term Perspective
Authors: Nadri Ghulam 
Published: October 2007

AbstractIn the literature on the early-modern Asian commercial world, the lack of historical longevity of mercantile wealth has been accepted as a major attribute. This paper establishes that some merchant families of Surat did experience longevity and family fortunes were kept up for five or six generations. It analyzes the institutional dimensions of trade and examines the ways in which these merchants articulated commercial strategies to ensure a long span of their family businesses. The paper demonstrates that fortunes were built and sustained primarily through trade and that the association with the European Companies was an important but additional means of achieving commercial affluence. La littérature scientifique traitant du monde commercial asiatique dans la période moderne paraît unanime à constater l'absence de longévité de la richesse fondée sur la pratique du commerce. Or, l'analyse du parcours de quelques familles de négociants de Surat durant cette période témoigne que des fortunes familiales furent conservées sur cinq ou six générations. Les dimensions institutionnelles de ces activités, mais également les stratégies commerciales utilisées par ces familles pour maintenir leur statut, sont examinées. Ces fortunes étaient édifiées et soutenues en premier par la pratique du commerce, l'association avec des compagnies européennes, certes importante, n'étant qu'un moyen complémentaire pour assurer leur prospérité.
Spatial and Temporal Continuities of Merchant Networks in South Asia and the Indian Ocean (1500-2000)
Authors: Dharampal-Frick Gita , Bhattacharya Bhaswati , Gommans Jos 
Published: October 2007

AbstractWe believe ourselves to be the most astute men that one can encounter, and the people here surpass us in everything. And there are Moorish merchants worth 400,000 to 500,000 ducats. And they can do better calculations by memory than we can do with the pen. And they mock us, and it seems to me that they are superior to us in countless things, save with sword in hand, which they cannot resist.
The Two Arms of Cambay: Diasporic Texts of Ecumenical Islam in the Indian Ocean
Authors: Ho Engseng 
Published: October 2007

AbstractLong-distance trade, entailing as it does repeated exchanges across countries and cultures, often brings in its train consequences beyond the exchange of goods and specie. As other exchanges—of warfare, kinship, supplication, devotion—thicken social relations across routes pioneered by trade, new ways of imagining society across a larger space emerge. This paper examines the transcultural work that may be performed to create such enlarged imaginations of society, with a particular reference to the Hadramis of Yemen. In such ways, we suggest that a world religion, such as Islam, can give specific cultural shape to the distant horizons of world trade, as both expanded across the Indian Ocean over the past five centuries. Le commerce de longue distance impliquait des échanges répétés entre régions et cultures; il en entraînait souvent d'autres qui, tels la guerre, les liens de parenté, les actes cultuels, renfor çaient les relations sociales, suscitant de nouvelles perspectives d'approches de la société sur une plus large échelle. Fondée plus particulièrement sur le cas des Hadramis du Yémen, cette contribution examinera les études transculturelles à mener pour appréhender une plus large société. Il est ainsi suggéré qu'une religion universelle, l'Islam, a pu apporter quelque forme culturelle spécifique au commerce mondial quand, durant les cinq derniers siècles, ils se déploient de concert sur l'Océan indien.
Catullus 14B, 16, 41, 43, 55, 58B: Adnotationes criticae
Authors: Kokoszkiewicz Konrad 
Published: October 2007

AbstractSeveral conjectures to the following poems of Catullus are considered: 14b, 16, 55, 58b, along with critical notes on the transmitted text and the style used. A brief remark on poems 41 and 43 is also included. The main goal of the article is to present versions of poems 16 and 55 emended according to the conjectures and other proposals mentioned above.
Are Petitionary Dreams Non-predictive? Observations on Artemidorus' Oneirocritica 1.6 and 4.2
Authors: Boter Gerard , Flinterman Jaap-Jan 
Published: October 2007

AbstractIn two passages of the Oneirocritica, Artemidorus discusses the practice of asking the gods for a dream containing a prediction or an advice. The prevailing opinion among scholars is that Artemidorus rejects this type of dreams categorically. In this article it is argued that, on the contrary, Artemidorus does accept the validity of petitionary dreams, provided that some rules are taken into account. Further, a couple of proposals for improvement of the text are made for a pivotal passage on petitionary dreams, namely 246.15-8 Pack.
Greek Compounds of the Type ισóεoς 'Equal to a God', αξιóλoγoς 'Worthy of Note', απειρoμαχας 'Ignorant of War', etc.
Authors: Tribulato Olga 
Published: October 2007

AbstractIn the majority of Greek compounds the head occurs on the right. Within this system, a number of left-oriented categories are tolerated, chiefly preposition- and verb-first compounds, but also a handful of minor groups. This article aims to provide a more thorough appraisal of a specific subtype of left-oriented compounds: those showing an adjectival head (type ισóεoς, αξιoλoγoς, etc.). It first provides an overview of the various types of left-oriented compounds in Greek (section 2). It then assesses the claim that adjectival left-oriented compounds derive from left-oriented syntactic phrases by supplying a full corpus of such forms, and comparing them to existing syntagms of the type adjective plus noun (section 3). The subsequent sections investigate the autonomous morphological reasons behind the left-headedness of such compounds, which the syntactic model does not adequately explain. Section 4.1 addresses the question of why such compounds could not have been right-oriented. Section 4.2 identifies the morphological features which—as in the case of prepositional compounds—characterise adjectives in left-oriented compounds, and are largely responsible for their placement on the left.
Homeostasis and Religious Behaviour
Authors: Schjødt Uffe 
Published: October 2007

AbstractThe classic dichotomy between bodily and cognitive processes has survived in scientific thought and can still be seen undiminished in the classic paradigm of the cognitive sciences. Lately, however, the notion of amodal cognitive systems has been challenged by new insights. More and more findings from neurobiological and perceptual studies support the assumption that cognitive processes solely rely on the brain's modal activities – even the most complex ones. Discarding amodal systems, however, would have profound effects not only on the cognitive sciences, but also on the broader study of human behaviour. During the last two decades, cognitivist theories have made their entrance into humanistic studies, including the study of religion. Thus, in discarding one of the basic premises of the cognitive paradigm, as I argue in this article, could lead to a radical rethinking of the science of religion. I will argue that the body and its sensory-motor modalities are not only the mind's representational base, but also encompass the intentionality behind human behaviour in general and religious behaviour in particular. I will call this intentionality homeostatic intentionality, as it has to do with the self-regulation and optimization of the organism. Ignoring physiological activities, including homeostatic ones, in the mind's complex cognitive processes is unfortunately a characteristic of classic cognitivist theories, and this negligence, it seems to me, rules out a satisfying and realistic account of religious behaviour.
"What's HIDD'n in the HADD?"
Authors: Lisdorf Anders 
Published: October 2007

AbstractThe consensus in the cognitive science of religion is that some sort of hyperactive agency detection in the human mind is responsible for the origin and spread of beliefs in superhuman agents such as gods, spirits and ancestors among human populations. While it is expressed differently in different authors, they all agree that hyperactive agency detection is a basic function of human cognition. Most well known perhaps is the formulation of this by Justin Barrett as the Hyperactive Agency Detection Device or HADD. Problems, however, arise when we begin to consider the neural basis of this: It doesn't add up, or more precisely the HADD does not work that way. Like the magician pulling rabbits from the hat this explanation may be a "self"-conjuring trick, only for us the hat is a HADD and the rabbits are superhuman agents (no reference to were-rabbits intended). This paper will try to point to a more parsimonious explanation.
A protein homology detection between rattlesnakes (Viperidae: Crotalinae) from South and North America deduced from antigenically related metalloproteases
Authors: Rodríguez-Acosta Alexis , Magaldi Sylvia , Pérez John , Sánchez Elda , Girón María , Aguilar Irma 
Published: October 2007

Abstract
Despite the fact that the analysis of two venom proteins is a limited investigation, the occurrence of proteins antigenically related between two Crotalus species from very distant geographic locations may be of importance to a further understanding of venom immunology. In this study, shared venom antigens of crotaline snakes are determined by immunoprecipitin analysis using rocket line immunoelectrophoresis (RLIE). Metalloprotease components were detected in the venom of Uracoan Rattlesnake (Crotalus vegrandis) from Venezuela, and in the venom of the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) from Texas, USA. Cross-reactive components detected in both species were identified using rocket line immunoelectrophoresis (RLIE). The present study was focused on a comparison of Crotalus antigens by anode deflection. There was cross-reactivity between Uracoina-1 from C. vegrandis and C. atrox venom tested with polyvalent Bothrops/Crotalus antivenom. Moreover, a common sequence of amino acids has been found between Uracoina-1 (C. vegrandis) and a catrocollastatin precursor from C. atrox. These results confirm the existence of cross-reacting components between antigenic extracts of both snake venoms. Rattlesnakes originally spread from North to South America, and both studied species, which share a similar protein, have probably been separated since the Cretaceous, for more than 80 million years.
ICNA regional workshops — using national evidence-based guidelines to reduce the risk of catheter-related urinary tract infections: report of post-workshop activities and outcomes
Authors: Pellowe C.M. , Pratt R.J. 
Published: October 2007

ollowing the publication in 2001 of national evidence-based guidelines for preventing healthcare-associated infections, a series of one-day workshops were conducted throughout ICNA regions. These aimed to support key healthcare professionals to use the guidelines as a catalyst to develop local strategies to promote clinical effectiveness and reduce the incidence of catheter-associated urinary tract infections in acute care settings. Almost 600 practitioners attended these highly interactive workshops and positively evaluated this opportunity to have a structured day out to reflect on current infection prevention practice and to develop quality improvement plans. A follow-up questionnaire to participants demonstrated that respondents engaged in a wide range of post-workshop activities, including policy review and development, audit, in-service education, and establishing various working groups to identify and plan for changes in local guidelines and in clinical practice. Most respondents reported achievements in the objectives of their quality improvement plan. The format of these workshops, set within the context of clinical governance, can be adapted to other key areas of infection prevention and control practice, and is recommended.
Granulocytes do not express but acquire monocyte-derived tissue factor in whole blood: evidence for a direct transfer
Authors: Egorina Elena M. , Sovershaev Mikhail A. , Olsen Jan O. , Østerud Bjarne 
Published: October 2007

AbstractUnlike unanimous opinion on tissue factor (TF) expression in monocytes, the quest for TF presence in granulocytes has been going on for decades. To study the cell origin and track the blood-borne TF, we assessed TF activity and protein levels, knocked-down endogenous TF expression with small interfering RNA (siRNA), and overexpressed TF–yellow fluorescent protein (TF-YFP) fusion in immunologically isolated human monocytes and granulocytes. Monocytes and, to a much lesser extent, granulocytes isolated from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/phorbol 12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA)–stimulated whole blood contained active TF antigen. However, only monocytes possessed significant TF activity and protein levels when stimulated with LPS/PMA in suspension. Reintroduction of TF-silenced monocytes to whole blood led to a profound reduction of LPS/PMA-stimulated TF activity in both mononuclear cell (MNC) and granulocyte fractions. No reduction in TF activity in MNC and granulocyte fractions was observed when TF-silenced granulocytes were reintroduced to whole blood. As shown by immunoblotting, flow cytometry, and confocal microscopy, granulocytes became positive for TF-YFP when isolated from whole blood reconstituted with TF-YFP–expressing monocytes. Together, we pinpoint monocytes as a major source of TF and provide solid experimental evidence for a direct transfer of TF protein from the monocytes to granulocytes in the blood.
Topology independent protein structural alignment
Authors: Dundas Joe , Binkowski TA , DasGupta Bhaskar , Liang Jie 
Published: October 2007

Abstract

Background
Identifying structurally similar proteins with different chain topologies can aid studies in homology modeling, protein folding, protein design, and protein evolution. These include circular permuted protein structures, and the more general cases of non-cyclic permutations between similar structures, which are related by non-topological rearrangement beyond circular permutation. We present a method based on an approximation algorithm that finds sequence-order independent structural alignments that are close to optimal. We formulate the structural alignment problem as a special case of the maximum-weight independent set problem, and solve this computationally intensive problem approximately by iteratively solving relaxations of a corresponding integer programming problem. The resulting structural alignment is sequence order independent. Our method is also insensitive to insertions, deletions, and gaps.

Results
Using a novel similarity score and a statistical model for significance p-value, we are able to discover previously unknown circular permuted proteins between nucleoplasmin-core protein and auxin binding protein, between aspartate rasemase and 3-dehydrogenate dehydralase, as well as between migration inhibition factor and arginine repressor which involves an additional strand-swapping. We also report the finding of non-cyclic permuted protein structures existing in nature between AML1/core binding factor and ribofalvin synthase. Our method can be used for large scale alignment of protein structures regardless of the topology.

Conclusion
The approximation algorithm introduced in this work can find good solutions for the problem of protein structure alignment. Furthermore, this algorithm can detect topological differences between two spatially similar protein structures. The alignment between MIF and the arginine repressor demonstrates our algorithm's ability to detect structural similarities even when spatial rearrangement of structural units has occurred. The effectiveness of our method is also demonstrated by the discovery of previously unknown circular permutations. In addition, we report in this study the finding of a naturally occurring non-cyclic permuted protein between AML1/Core Binding Factor chain F and riboflavin synthase chain A.
MindSeer: a portable and extensible tool for visualization of structural and functional neuroimaging data
Authors: Moore Eider B , Poliakov Andrew V , Lincoln Peter , Brinkley James F 
Published: October 2007

Abstract

Background
Three-dimensional (3-D) visualization of multimodality neuroimaging data provides a powerful technique for viewing the relationship between structure and function. A number of applications are available that include some aspect of 3-D visualization, including both free and commercial products. These applications range from highly specific programs for a single modality, to general purpose toolkits that include many image processing functions in addition to visualization. However, few if any of these combine both stand-alone and remote multi-modality visualization in an open source, portable and extensible tool that is easy to install and use, yet can be included as a component of a larger information system.

Results
We have developed a new open source multimodality 3-D visualization application, called MindSeer, that has these features: integrated and interactive 3-D volume and surface visualization, Java and Java3D for true cross-platform portability, one-click installation and startup, integrated data management to help organize large studies, extensibility through plugins, transparent remote visualization, and the ability to be integrated into larger information management systems. We describe the design and implementation of the system, as well as several case studies that demonstrate its utility. These case studies are available as tutorials or demos on the associated website: http://sig.biostr.washington.edu/projects/MindSeer.

Conclusion
MindSeer provides a powerful visualization tool for multimodality neuroimaging data. Its architecture and unique features also allow it to be extended into other visualization domains within biomedicine.