bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Inter-subject differences in constitutive expression levels of the clock gene in man
Authors: Balmforth Anthony J , Grant Peter J , Scott Eleanor M , Wheatcroft Stephen B , Kearney Mark T , Staels Bart , Marx Nikolaus 
Published: May 2007

Circadian rhythms are generated, both at the level of the whole organism and at the cellular level, by biological clocks involving a set of clock genes. We previously performed a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial examining the effect of six months of pioglitazone (30 mg per day) therapy on neointima volume after coronary stenting in patients with coronary artery disease but without diabetes. In a subgroup of 15 patients from each group, a whole blood sample was taken at the beginning of the trial and at an eight-week clinical follow-up for isolation of total RNA using a PAXgene system. Using real time RT-PCR with relative quantitation, we investigated whether pioglitazone treatment altered clock gene expression in RNA extracted from peripheral white blood cells (PBCs). No significant changes in clock gene expression were noted in either placebo (99±45%) or pioglitazonetreated subjects (101±35%) after eight weeks. These data potentially extend previous findings that the clock gene is constitutively expressed over 24 hours to eight weeks. We observed a large range of inter-subject differences in expression levels of the clock gene. The difference between the mean value for the lowest expression individual (ΔCT 8.8) and the highest expression individual (ΔCT 3.7) revealed an approximately 34-fold difference in relative clock gene expression levels. These differences may arise through differences in light exposure, polymorphic variants of the clock gene affecting gene expression and/or post-transcriptional regulation. They could influence susceptibility to disruption of normal circadian rhythms, which occur in pathophysiological conditions pertaining to diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Human islet isolation: semi-automated and manual methods
Authors: Paget Michelle , Murray Hilary , Bailey Clifford J , Downing Richard 
Published: May 2007

Large yields of high-viability human islets are necessary to service the expanding programmes of islet transplantation worldwide; similarly, there is an increasing demand from diabetes researchers for a reliable and cost-effective supply of human islets. The two main isolation methods are ‘semi-automated’ and ‘manual’. Both methods rely on prompt and careful removal and transfer of the donor pancreas to allow isolation to commence, preferably within eight hours. Each method involves exocrine digestion with high-activity collagenase (Liberase). The semi-automated method is standardised, generally provides higher islet yields and is used for clinical transplant purposes, although it is not suitable for all donor pancreata. The manual method is less expensive and more adaptable and enables islets to be isolated for research from most donor pancreata.
Application of a Portable XRF Spectrometer for the Non‐Invasive analysis of Museum Metal Artefacts
Authors: Karydas A. G. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe present paper reviews examples of the application of a portable ‐ in house developed‐ XRF spectrometer for the analysis of museum metal artefacts in Greece. Specific topics are addressed, in particular, to which extent the qualitative or quantitative XRF analyses reveal important information about the raw materials and manufacture techniques used for gold, silver and bronze alloys in antiquity. The analytical information that it is gained by means of the XRF measurements is further assessed in comparison with the existing archaeometallurgical knowledge.
The Russian Avant‐Garde Painting Palette Documentary and Physicochemical Study of Inorganic Colorants
Authors: Kampasakali Elli , Papliaka Zoe Eirini , Christofilos Dimitirios , Varella Evangelia A. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractIn the present article an attempt is being made to elucidate the inorganic colorants encountered in the Russian avant‐garde painting palette by a combined art historical, documentary and physicochemical investigation; and to examine the influence of environmental factors on the chromatic profile originally sought by the artist. The overall approach based on written sources is confirmed by measurements on representative paintings from the Costakis Collection in the State Museum for Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki. The documentary research deals with the influences of Orthodox iconography, folkloric art, and occidental modernist tendencies on the Russian avant‐garde palette; and is studying the effects of contradictory historical processes in the chromatic profile of individual paintings. In the experimental section a series of colorants are investigated concerning the effects of accelerated ageing on experimental painting tables, prepared as watercolour and gouache layers on paper ground. The resulting samples are subject to colorimetric, and spectroscopic measurements; and analogous analytical procedures are applied on samples taken from selected paintings belonging to the Costakis Collection. A systematic comparative study of all data permits evaluating the materials used as to their stability towards exstrincic factors, and proposing degradation routes, in order to assist museum curators and conservators in every concrete case related to the broad spectrum of pigments examined.
Provenance Determination of Vinica Terra Cotta Icons Using Self‐Organising Maps
Authors: Tanevska Vinka , Kuzmanovski Igor , Grupče Orhideja 
Published: May 2007

AbstractIn the Vinica Fortress, Republic of Macedonia, 50 undamaged terra cotta icons and 100 fragments, all dated 6th–7th century, were found. In order to determine the provenance of these unique terra cotta icons, the mass fractions of 19 different chemical elements were previously determined in ten fragments of the terra cotta icons and thirty three samples of clays from eight different sites from the region. Due to the dimensionality and complexity of the experimental data, the archaeometric results were treated with self‐organising maps (SOM). The results obtained using SOM were compared with the ones obtained using principal component analysis. Both chemometric methods revealed that Vinica terra cotta icons were made from clay from Grnčarka, 2.5 km South‐East from the Vinica Fortress.
Modeling water flux in forward osmosis: Implications for improved membrane design
Authors: Mccutcheon Jeffrey R. , Elimelech Menachem 
Published: May 2007

AbstractOsmotically‐driven membrane processes, such as forward osmosis and pressure retarded osmosis, operate on the principle of osmotic transport of water across a semipermeable membrane from a dilute feed solution into a concentrated draw solution. The major hindrance to permeate water flux performance is the prevalence of concentration polarization on both sides of the membrane. This article evaluates the external and internal boundary layers, which decrease the effective osmotic driving force. By modeling permeate flux performance, the role that feed and draw concentrations, membrane orientation, and membrane structural properties play in overall permeate flux performance are elucidated and linked to prevalence of external and internal concentration polarization. External concentration polarization is found to play a significant role in the reduction of driving force, though internal concentration polarization has a far more pronounced effect for the chosen system conditions. Reduction of internal concentration polarization by way of membrane modification was found to improve the predicted flux performance significantly, suggesting that alteration of membrane design will lead to improved performance of osmotically driven membrane processes. © 2007 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2007
Experimental investigation on diesel PM removal using uneven DBD reactors
Authors: Yao Shuiliang , Madokoro Kazuhiko , Fushimi Chihiro , Fujioka Yuichi 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe removal of diesel particulate matter (PM) is experimentally carried out using two types of uneven dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactors driven by positive–negative pulse voltage power supplies. One uneven DBD reactor is fed with exhaust gases from a diesel engine at the exhaust gas temperature and another uneven DBD reactor is fed with PM dispersed in a gas mixture of oxygen and nitrogen at room temperature, where PM was collected from the exhaust gases of the diesel engine. PM emission rates, PM sizes, and PM oxidation products are measured using a PM emission rate monitor, a particle size spectrometer, and a gas chromatograph at various discharge energy densities. It has been found that most of PM is oxidized completely into gaseous products of CO and CO2 under plasma discharge conditions. © 2007 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2007
Microfibrous entrapped Ni/Al2O3 using SS‐316 fibers for H2 production from NH3
Authors: Liu Ye , Wang Hong , Li Jianfeng , Lu Yong , Xue Qingsong , Chen Jinchun 
Published: May 2007

AbstractUsing a high‐speed and low‐cost papermaking technology combined with subsequent sintering process, sinter‐locked three‐dimensional microfibrous networks consisting of ∼2 vol % of 6‐μm‐diameter SS‐316 microfibers were utilized to entrap ∼25 vol % of 100–200‐μm‐diameter porous Al2O3 support particulates. Nickel, a most active component for ammonia decomposition, was then dispersed onto the pore surface of the entrapped Al2O3 support particulates by incipient wetness impregnation method. The resulting microfibrous catalysts took advantage of large void volume, entirely open structure, high heat/mass transfer, good thermal stability, and unique form factors, thereby leading to good activity for ammonia decomposition and significant reduction of overall bed weight and volume. This composite bed reactor was capable of producing 215 sccm hydrogen over per cm3 bed volume with ammonia conversion of 99.5% at 650°C. © 2007 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2007
A subgroup of Tourette's patients overexpress specific natural killer cell genes in blood: A preliminary report
Authors: Lit Lisa , Gilbert Donald L. , Walker Wynn , Sharp Frank R. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractGilles de la Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a heritable, neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by motor and vocal tics. As no single gene or region has emerged from standard linkage approaches, TS may result from several as‐yet‐unidentified genetic factors, and may also occur due to infection‐triggered, autoimmune processes. Etiological or pathogenic differences might result in clinically indistinguishable TS subgroups. We have previously used whole genome human oligonucleotide microarrays in an attempt to identify patterns of gene expression in blood linked with TS. In this proof‐of‐principle study, we applied Principal Components Analysis to a previously collected set of 16 familial TS and 16 control blood samples to identify subgroups. Fourteen genes, primarily Natural Killer Cell (NK) genes, discriminated between TS and all controls. Granzyme B and NKG7 were confirmed using RT‐PCR. Five probesets (four genes) reside in chromosomal regions previously linked to familial TS or obsessive‐compulsive disorder. Using the 14 genes, a Principal Components Analysis as well as a cluster analysis identified a TS subgroup (n = 10/16) that overexpressed the NK genes. 7/10 subjects within this subgroup were diagnosed with attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), suggesting that this expression profile might be associated with TS and co‐morbid ADHD. Principal Components Analysis of gene expression in blood may be useful for identifying subgroups of other complex neurodevelopmental diseases, and the gene expression profile identified in this study may provide a biomarker for at least one subgroup of heritable TS. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Thoracic skeletal morphology and high‐altitude hypoxia in Andean prehistory
Authors: Weinstein Karen J. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractLiving humans from the highland Andes exhibit antero‐posteriorly and medio‐laterally enlarged chests in response to high‐altitude hypoxia. This study hypothesizes that morphological responses to high‐altitude hypoxia should also be evident in pre‐Contact Andean groups. Thoracic skeletal morphology in four groups of human skeletons (N = 347) are compared: two groups from coastal regions (Ancón, Peru, n = 79 and Arica, Chile, n = 123) and two groups from high altitudes (San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, n = 102 and Machu Picchu and Cuzco, Peru, n = 43). Osteometric variables that represent proportions of chest width and depth include sternal and clavicular lengths and breadths and rib length, curvature, and area. Each variable was measured relative to body size, transformed into logarithmic indices, and compared across sex‐specific groups using ANOVA and Tukey multiple comparison tests. Atacama highlanders have the largest sternal and clavicular proportions and ribs with the greatest area and least amount of curvature, features that suggest an antero‐posteriorly deep and mediolaterally wide thoracic skeleton. Ancón lowlanders exhibit proportions indicating narrower and shallower chests. Machu Picchu and Cuzco males cluster with the other highland group in rib curvature and area at the superior levels of the thorax, whereas chest proportions in Machu Picchu and Cuzco females resemble those of lowlanders. The variation in Machu Picchu and Cuzco males and females is interpreted as the result of population migrations. The presence of morphological traits indicative of enlarged chests in some highland individuals suggests that high‐altitude hypoxia was an environmental stressor shaping the biology of highland Andean groups during the pre‐Contact period. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Subcortical infarcts, Alzheimer's disease pathology, and memory function in older persons
Authors: Schneider Julie A. , Boyle Patricia A. , Arvanitakis Zoe , Bienias Julia L. , Bennett David A. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractObjectiveExamine the effects of subcortical infarcts with Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology on dementia, episodic memory, and other cognitive abilities in older persons.MethodsParticipants included 148 autopsied subjects of the Rush Memory and Aging Project (mean age, 88.0 years), a longitudinal clinicopathological study. Cognition was assessed yearly with 21 neuropsychological tests. Infarcts were visualized on coronal slabs, and plaques and neurofibrillary tangles were counted and standardized to form a composite measure of AD pathology. Multiple regression analyses were used controlling for age, sex, and education.ResultsFifty‐three (35.8%) subjects had cerebral infarcts. After accounting for AD pathology, infarcts increased the odds of dementia by 5.1‐fold (95% confidence interval, 1.98–12.92) and lowered cognitive function by 0.50 standard unit (p = 0.001). After controlling for cortical infarcts and AD pathology, subcortical infarcts, present in 39 of 53 (73.6%) subjects with infarcts, increased the odds of dementia by almost 4‐fold and reduced cognitive function by more than a third of a unit (parameter estimate = −0.37; p = 0.03). In analyses with cognitive abilities, subcortical infarcts were associated with lower episodic, semantic, and working memory (p ≤ 0.05), and had an interaction with AD pathology to further worsen working memory (p = 0.02).InterpretationSubcortical infarcts add to deleterious effects of AD pathology by increasing the odds of dementia and lowering memory function. Ann Neurol 2007
Ueber die elektrische Leitungsfähigkeit der Gase unter schwachen Drucken
Authors: Morren A. 
Published: May 2007

Abstract[Im Eingange zu dieser Arbeit bemerkt der Verf., dass er bereits am 31. März 1862 der Pariser Akademie eine Notiz von derselben übergeben habe, dass er aber durch eine ähnliche Untersuchung des Hrn. De la Rive, von der er Kunde erlangt, veranlasst worden sey, das Erscheinen dieser abzuwarten, bevor er die seinige ausführlich voröffentliche. Seitdem habe nun Hr. de la Rive der Pariser Akademie am 13. April 1863 seine Abhandlung vorgelegt, und da er daraus ersehen, dass der Genfer Physiker sich nur mit Wasserstoff und Stickstoff beschäftigte, so halte er es nicht für überflüssig, die Resultate seiner Untersuchung dem Publicum zu übergeben. Dann fährt er fort wie folgt.]
Network structure and properties of polyurethanes from soybean oil
Authors: Petrović Zoran S. , Yang Liting , Zlatanić Alisa , Zhang Wei , Javni Ivan 
Published: May 2007

AbstractVegetable oils are very heterogeneous materials with a wide distribution of triacylglycerol structures and double‐bond contents. The hydrogenation of epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) produces polyols having a functionality distribution related to that of soybean oil. Therefore, these polyols are convenient substances for studying the impact of structural heterogeneity on network formation and properties. Polyols of hydroxyl numbers ranging from 225 to 82 mg KOH/g and weight‐average functionalities ranging from 4.4 to 2.7 were obtained by the variation of the time of hydrogenation of ESO. An analysis of the functionality distribution in polyols shows that gel points with diisocyanates vary from 54 to 76% conversion. The molecular weights of the network chains of polyurethanes prepared from these polyols and diphenyl methane diisocyanate varied from 688 to 1993. Polyols with hydroxyl numbers above 200 mg KOH/g gave glassy polymers, whereas those below that value gave rubbers. The heterogeneity of polyols had a negative effect on the elastic properties only at low crosslinking densities. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007
Cryostructuring of polymer systems. XXVI. Heterophase organic–inorganic cryogels prepared via freezing–thawing of aqueous solutions of poly(vinyl alcohol) with added tetramethoxysilane
Authors: Lozinsky Vladimir I. , Bakeeva Irina V. , Presnyak Elena P. , Damshkaln Lilija G. , Zubov Vitaly P. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractComposite heterophase organic–inorganic hybrid cryogels of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) containing silica constituents were prepared and studied. Such constituents were formed in the course of hydrolytic polycondensation (sol‐gel process) of tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) introduced in to the aqueous polymer solution prior to its freeze–thaw treatment. It was shown that moderate (over the range of −15 to −30°C) freezing, then frozen storage, and subsequent thawing of the water/PVA/TMOS systems resulted in the formation of macroporous composite cryogels filled with dispersed silica particles (discrete phase). The continuous phase of such gel materials represents the supramolecular PVA network, which is supposed to be additionally cured with the silicon‐containing oligomeric cross agents formed from TMOS in the course of hydrolytic polycondensation. The incorporated silica components influenced the morphology of cryogels. The effects of significant increase in gel strength and heat resistance with increasing TMOS concentration in the initial feed and with thawing rate decreasing have also been observed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007
Plasma tissue factor is a predictor for restenosis after femoropopliteal angioplasty
Authors: Ray B , Chetter I C , Lee H L D , Ettelaie C , McCollum P T 
Published: May 2007

Abstract

Background
In vitro studies suggest an association between raised levels of tissue factor and restenosis after coronary percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA). This prospective, controlled study examined the association between plasma tissue factor concentrations and restenosis after femoropopliteal PTA.

Methods
Plasma samples from ten healthy controls and 36 patients with unilateral claudication undergoing femoropopliteal PTA were collected at baseline and, in the patients with claudication, at 24 h and 1, 3 and 6 months after PTA. Clinical assessment and arterial duplex imaging were performed before and at the same time points after PTA to identify restenosis. Plasma tissue factor was measured using a specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results
Baseline plasma tissue factor concentrations were significantly higher in patients with claudication (median 3·4 (interquartile range (i.q.r.) 1·3–7·4) ng/ml) than in controls (median 1·2 (i.q.r. 0·5–1·8) ng/ml) (P &lt; 0·050). Baseline tissue factor concentrations were significantly higher in the ten patients with claudication who developed restenosis after PTA (median 7·0 (i.q.r. 3·4–183·5) ng/ml) than in those who did not (median 1·7 (i.q.r. 1·3–7·2) ng/ml) (P &lt; 0·050). In addition, plasma tissue factor levels increased significantly over time in the patients who developed restenosis after PTA.

Conclusion
High baseline and progressive increases in the plasma tissue factor concentration were useful predictors of restenosis after femoropopliteal angioplasty.
Risk factors in patients undergoing cricopharyngeal myotomy
Authors: Brigand C , Ferraro P , Martin J , Duranceau A 
Published: May 2007

Abstract

Background
Cricopharyngeal myotomy for oropharyngeal dysphagia is designed to improve symptoms, but the operation can result in significant morbidity and even death.

Methods
A retrospective analysis was carried out of all complications and deaths among 253 patients who had cricopharyngeal myotomy performed by a single surgeon.

Results
A single wound infection developed among 15 patients with neurological dysphagia. The same patient subsequently required laryngeal exclusion and tracheostomy. Of 139 patients treated for dysphagia secondary to muscular dystrophy, haematoma formation or infection occurred in four, and eight patients developed postoperative pulmonary complications, four of whom died from respiratory distress syndrome. Two patients with myogenic dysphagia required laryngeal exclusion with a permanent tracheostomy. Infection of the wound or retropharyngeal space was the main problem in 90 patients with a pharyngo-oesophageal diverticulum, affecting 9 per cent of the patients. Fistula was documented in three patients overall (1·2 per cent). Systemic morbidity unrelated to the technique occurred in 26 patients (10·3 per cent).

Conclusion
Pulmonary aspiration and lethal respiratory distress occurred only in patients with myogenic dysphagia. Local infection was the main complication in those with pharyngo-oesophageal diverticulum. Persistent aspiration can lead to laryngeal exclusion or resection with permanent tracheostomy.
Hybrid approach to surgical correction of tetralogy of Fallot in all patients with functioning Blalock Taussig shunts
Authors: Sivakumar Kothandam , Krishnan Prasad , Pieris Rajeeva , Francis Edwin 
Published: May 2007

AbstractBackground:In total surgical correction of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) with functioning Blalock Taussig shunts (BTS), shunt take down increased surgical time, bleeding, and might injure phrenic and recurrent laryngeal nerve and thoracic duct.Objectives:A routine hybrid approach using transcatheter BTS closure immediately before total surgical correction of TOF in all patients might reduce these problems. We analyze the safety and feasibility of this approach.Methods:Transcatheter BTS closure was achieved using single or multiple stainless steel embolization coils, Amplatzer vascular plugs, or duct occluders. When coils were released without control by bioptome forceps, coil migration in larger shunts was prevented by proximal or distal balloon occlusion.Results:This routine hybrid strategy was followed in 22 consecutive patients aged 1–13 years over 4‐year‐period and 21 procedures were successful. Among the 16 patients attempted with coils, 13 had successful closure, 2 needed Amplatzer duct occluder devices, and 1 sent for surgical shunt takedown due to acute angulation of the shunt. New Amplatzer vascular plugs were used in six patients. Bioptome was used in six patients and proximal or distal balloon occlusion of flow was used in three patients. Four patients had closure of associated aortopulmonary or chest wall collaterals.Conclusion:Hybrid approach using routine transcatheter closure of all BTS immediately before surgical correction of TOF shunts with coils/plugs/devices is safe, feasible, and reproducible. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.