bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A parsimonious threshold-independent protein feature selection method through the area under receiver operating characteristic curve
Authors: Wang Zhanfeng , Chang Yuan-chin I. , Ying Zhiliang , Zhu Liang , Yang Yaning 
Published: September 2007

AbstractMotivation: Protein expression profiling for differences indicative of early cancer holds promise for improving diagnostics. Due to their high dimensionality, statistical analysis of proteomic data from mass spectrometers is challenging in many aspects such as dimension reduction, feature subset selection as well as construction of classification rules. Search of an optimal feature subset, commonly known as the feature subset selection (FSS) problem, is an important step towards disease classification/diagnostics with biomarkers.Methods: We develop a parsimonious threshold-independent feature selection (PTIFS) method based on the concept of area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC). To reduce computational complexity to a manageable level, we use a sigmoid approximation to the empirical AUC as the criterion function. Starting from an anchor feature, the PTIFS method selects a feature subset through an iterative updating algorithm. Highly correlated features that have similar discriminating power are precluded from being selected simultaneously. The classification rule is then determined from the resulting feature subset.Results: The performance of the proposed approach is investigated by extensive simulation studies, and by applying the method to two mass spectrometry data sets of prostate cancer and of liver cancer. We compare the new approach with the threshold gradient descent regularization (TGDR) method. The results show that our method can achieve comparable performance to that of the TGDR method in terms of disease classification, but with fewer features selected.Availability: Supplementary Material and the PTIFS implementations are available at http://staff.ustc.edu.cn/~ynyang/PTIFSContact: ynyang@ustc.edu.cn or czzhuliang@126.comSupplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Racine and Chauveau: A Poetics of Illustration
Authors: Hawcroft Michael 
Published: September 2007

Abstract

This article examines the original illustrations for Racine's plays, mostly drawn by François Chauveau, and attacks several perennial received ideas about them: that they mostly depict off-stage violent action; that they are aesthetically at odds with the plays themselves; that the illustrations owe more to the artist's fantasy than to Racine's text. The article demonstrates that most of the illustrations depict on-stage events, and, with particularly detailed analyses of the illustrations for
La Thébaïde
and
Mithridate
, argues that, whether the event depicted is on-stage or off-stage, the artist engages scrupulously with the text of the play, producing an illustration that is faithful to Racine's work and inviting the reader to engage in fruitful parallel readings of text and image. The illustrations respond to, and capitalize on, Racine's dramatic poetry.
Balzacian Aporia: The Case of
La Vieille Fille
Authors: Tilby Michael 
Published: September 2007

Abstract

In the majority of the critical assessments of Balzac's
La Vieille Fille
, the inconsistencies and contradictions found within the portrayal of its picturesque characters have either been considered flaws or have been the subject of attempts at rationalization. The present article, which shares a starting point with the perspective adopted by Fredric Jameson, argues that these inconsistencies are linked, through an acceptance of the inevitability of aporia, to the way both fiction and writing acknowledge their ultimate impossibility. It goes on to show that the radical ambiguity of Balzac's text with regard to truth and falsehood, and the generic instability it displays, point to a representation, at the level of political allegory, in which difference is deprived of all pertinence, while arguing, more generally, that it is the activity of representation itself that is Balzac's central concern.
The Martin Manuscript: An Unexplored Archive Of Guernsey Norman French
Authors: Jones Mari C. 
Published: September 2007

Abstract
Although the Channel Islands have formed part of the Romance-speaking world for some two millennia, they are unlikely to do so for much longer. In 2001, Census figures revealed that, in Guernsey, only some 2% of the population (or 1327 individuals) could still speak Guernsey Norman French (Guernesiais). The hitherto-unstudied Martin manuscript is the largest corpus of prose from a single pen in Channel Island French. Dating from the turn of the twentieth century, it consists of 295 exercise-books which contain a complete translation into Guernesiais of the Bible and of 100 plays from the work of Shakespeare, Longfellow, Pierre and Thomas Corneille, Molière and Voltaire. The manuscript's extensive nature means that, after the death of the last native speaker, it will represent one of the most important sources of data available on the dialect. This paper examines Martin's translation of the Gospel according to St Mark. It investigates possible sources of the translation, the orthographic system used, lexical features such as regionalisms, the use of register and borrowings, and ends by considering the way in which the translations can offer an unprecedented insight into late nineteenth/early twentieth century Guernesiais and provide new morphosyntactic and lexical data on the dialect.
Continuing Debates About ‘French’ Feminist Theory
Authors: Still Judith 
Published: September 2007

Abstract

This article analyses attempts to write the ‘herstory’ of feminism, and the tendency to use the vocabulary of ‘generation’ (in particular Julia Kristeva, Toril Moi, Kelly Oliver and Lisa Walsh). It concludes that the issues raised by ‘earlier generations’ are still alive, and that important questions that now seem to be given greater prominence such as ‘intersex’ or cultural difference do not
necessarily
involve any
methodological
shift. Examples (including recent publications) are drawn mostly from the work of Kristeva and Luce Irigaray, with some reference to Michèle Le Dœuff.
C'est li chevaliers au poisson:
Richars li biaus
as a Model of Speculative Chivalry
Authors: Jewers Caroline 
Published: September 2007

Abstract

Richars li biaus
is a late medieval romance that exemplifies the verisimilitude, even realism, that had crept into the genre by the thirteenth century. Concentrating on the dialectic of wealth and poverty, this article analyses the suggestive lexical choice treating the theme of economy in the text and, more widely, feudal, urban culture and economics, and how the hero must overcome issues of class, rank, and cash-flow as he speculates in order to accumulate, as he speculates in order to accumulate. The text's attitude to money mirrors social changes of the thirteenth century, and a parallel can be drawn with the content of contemporary medieval sermons critical of the misuse of money. Attention is paid to philology: the names of major and minor characters are dissected in order to suggest a programmatic intention on the part of the mysterious author, Mestre Requis.
Richars
taps into the matrix of words connected to the idea of richness, and the verb
querre
, central to the action, also conceals the pseudonym of the author. This curious secondary romance deserves more attention, and illustrates how much such texts have to reveal about the cultural context of the Middle Ages.
Gillnet mesh selectivity of the sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus): implications for fisheries management
Authors: McAuley R. B. , Simpfendorfer C. A. , Wright I. W. 
Published: September 2007

Abstract
McAuley, R. B., Simpfendorfer, C. A., and Wright, I. W. 2007. Gillnet mesh selectivity of the sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus): implications for fisheries management. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64. Gillnet mesh selectivity parameters for the sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) were estimated from catches taken by an experimental net of six panels of mesh, varying in size from 10.2 to 25.4 cm. The length selectivity of each mesh size was described by five different models. According to model deviance values, the four models based on the SELECT method of estimation provided better fits to the data than the gamma model previously applied to sharks. Lengths at maximum selectivity were estimated to be between 5.3 and 7.0×stretched mesh size. The breadth of the selectivity curves was greater than have been reported for most species of shark. Lognormal and normal curve forms yielded the lowest model deviance and were judged to provide the best fits to the data. Peak selectivity of the commercially utilized mesh sizes was generally estimated to be greater than the observed modal length class of the commercial C. plumbeus catch. This suggests that a relatively high abundance of smaller sharks in the study area offsets gear selectivity effects in determining the size composition of commercial catches. These results have important implications for the recovery of this overexploited stock and also for managing international gillnet fisheries for the species.
Can attribution theory explain carers' propensity to help men with intellectual disabilities who display inappropriate sexual behaviour?
Authors: Willner P. , Smith M. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractAim  This study examined the responses of care managers and direct care staff to vignettes of inappropriate sexual behaviour by a man with an intellectual disability. The aim was to test the theory that helping behaviour is determined by emotional responses (positive and negative emotional reactions, and optimism), which in turn are determined by causal attributions (respectively: controllability and stability of the incident depicted in the vignette).Method  The vignettes varied in response topography and the age of the victim. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between causal attributions, emotional responses, and willingness to invest extra time and effort in the service user's care.Results  No support was found for the pathway: low controllability → increased sympathy and/or decreased negative emotions → increased helping. However, strong support was found for the pathway: low stability → high optimism → increased helping, particularly in direct care staff. High levels of sympathy were also associated with increased helping, the effect again being mediated by feelings of optimism.Conclusions  The data provide support for one (but not the other) strand of attribution theory as applied to inappropriate sexual behaviour. The discussion considers the discrepancy between the present data and the far less encouraging literature on attribution theory as applied to challenging behaviour.
Biological diversity of Rhizoctonia solani (AG‐3) in a northern potato‐cultivation environment in Finland
Authors: Lehtonen M. J. , Ahvenniemi P. , Wilson P. S. , German‐Kinnari M. , Valkonen J. P. T. 
Published: September 2007

A total of 119 isolates of Rhizoctonia were collected from stem canker lesions, stolon and root lesions, hymenia on stems, or from black scurf on tubers of potato plants (Solanum tuberosum) in Finland (latitudes 60–67°N). All isolates except three belonged to anastomosis group 3 (AG‐3) of R. solani, as determined by phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer sequences (ITS1 and ITS2) of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes. Sensitivity of the 119 isolates to the fungicide flutolanil was tested in vitro (EC50 values 0·14–0·75 µg active ingredient mL−1). The isolates also varied considerably in growth rate (5·1–14·8 mm day−1). The severity of disease caused by 99 isolates was determined based on the proportion of potato sprouts affected by lesions, discoloration or death, which was c. 1–60%. Only two isolates that were able to cause severe symptoms showed particularly low sensitivity to the fungicide and rapid growth rate. One isolate each of anastomosis groups AG‐2‐1 and AG‐5 and an unknown, binucleate Rhizoctonia sp. were detected. The AG‐5 isolate and the binucleate isolate caused mild symptoms on potato sprouts, whereas the AG‐2‐1 isolate was not pathogenic. Taken together, AG‐3 of R. solani was the predominant causal agent of the stem canker and black scurf diseases of potato in Finland and showed considerable variability in disease severity, fungicide sensitivity and growth rate in vitro.
Resistance to pyraclostrobin, boscalid and multiple resistance to Pristine® (pyraclostrobin + boscalid) fungicide in Alternaria alternata causing alternaria late blight of pistachios in California
Authors: Avenot H. , Morgan D. P. , Michailides T. J. 
Published: September 2007

Pristine® (pyraclostrobin + boscalid) is a fungicide registered for the control of alternaria late blight in pistachio. A total of 95 isolates of Alternaria alternata collected from orchards with and without a prior history of Pristine® sprays were tested for their sensitivity towards pyraclostrobin, boscalid and Pristine® in conidial germination assays. The EC50 values for 35 isolates from orchards without Pristine® sprays ranged from 0·09 to 3·14 µg mL−1 and < 0·01 to 2·04 µg mL−1 for boscalid and Pristine®, respectively. For pyraclostrobin, 27 isolates had EC50 < 0·01 µg mL−1 and six had low resistance (mean EC50 value = 4·71 µg mL−1). Only one isolate was resistant to all three fungicides tested, with EC50 > 100 µg mL−1. Among 59 isolates from the orchard with a history of Pristine® sprays, 56 were resistant to pyraclostrobin; only two were sensitive (EC50 < 0·01 µg mL−1) and one was weakly resistant (EC50 = 10 µg mL−1). For the majority of these isolates EC50 values ranged from 0·06 to 4·22 µg mL−1 for boscalid and from 0·22 to 7·74 µg mL−1 for Pristine®. However, seven isolates resistant to pyraclostrobin were also highly resistant to boscalid and Pristine® and remained pathogenic on pistachio treated with Pristine®. Whereas strobilurin resistance is a common occurrence in Alternaria of pistachio, this is the first report of resistance to boscalid in field isolates of phytopathogenic fungi. No cross resistance between pyraclostrobin and boscalid was detected, suggesting that Pristine® resistance appears as a case of multiple resistance.
Risk factors for MDRD‐GFR of less than 60 mL/min per 1.73 m2 in former kidney donors
Authors: LEE JANG HAN , KIM SONG CHEOL , HAN DUCK JONG , CHANG JAI WON , YANG WON SEOK , PARK SU KIL , LEE SANG KOO , PARK JUNG SIK , KIM SOON BAE 
Published: September 2007

SUMMARY:Background:  Although several previous studies have reported that kidney donors are not at increased risk for adverse effects, some donors have been found to progress to chronic kidney disease (CKD). We retrospectively evaluated the risk factors for estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) from abbreviated Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equation (MDRD‐GFR) of less than 60 mL/min per 1.73 m2 in kidney donors.Methods:  Of the 756 individuals who underwent open donor nephrectomy between 27 June 1990 and 30 April 2001, 104 had follow‐up records for 50 months or more. MDRD‐GFR of 60 mL/min per 1.73 m2 at final follow up divided these individuals into a normal group (n = 78) and a CKD‐GFR group (n = 26). We compared several clinical parameters between the two groups at baseline and follow up to evaluate the risk factors for MDRD‐GFR of less than 60 mL/min per 1.73 m2 in kidney donors.Results:  The CKD‐GFR group was significantly older than the normal group at baseline (47 ± 12 vs 41 ± 11 years old, P = 0.02). Hypertension was more prevalent in the CKD‐GFR group at baseline (15% vs 2%, P = 0.005). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that age (Odds ratio (OR) 1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01–1.10) and hypertension (OR 7.91, 95% CI 1.13–55.2) at baseline were independent risk factors for MDRD‐GFR of less than 60 mL/min per 1.73 m2. At final follow up, the prevalence rates of hypertension (31% vs 8%, P = 0.006) and proteinuria (15% vs 0%, P = 0.003) were significantly higher in the CKD‐GFR group.Conclusion:  Older kidney donors and those with hypertension were significantly more likely to have a MDRD‐GFR of less than 60 mL/min per 1.73 m2.
Acute renal allograft rejection is associated with increased levels of vascular endothelial growth factor in the urine
Authors: PENG WENHAN , CHEN JIANGHUA , JIANG YUGUANG , SHOU ZHANGFEI , CHEN YING , WANG HUIPING 
Published: September 2007

SUMMARY:Aim:  The purpose of this study was to assess whether measurement of urinary vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) could be adopted as a new non‐invasive diagnostic tool for acute rejection following renal transplantation.Methods:  Urinary concentration of VEGF was determined by an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay technique in 215 renal allograft recipients and 80 healthy controls.Results:  Subjects with acute rejection (n = 67) excreted urinary VEGF at a significantly higher level (28.57 ± 6.21, 95% CI: 16.18–40.97 pg/μmol creatinine) than those without acute rejection. This included subjects with stable renal function and no abnormal histological findings (n = 119), acute tubular necrosis (n = 15), chronic allograft nephropathy (n = 14) and healthy controls (n = 80). Using a urinary VEGF/creatinine ratio of 3.64 pg/μmol as the cut‐off point, the sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing acute rejection were 85.1 and 74.8%, respectively (P < 0.001). Patients with steroid‐resistant acute rejection had significantly greater urinary VEGF concentration than patients with steroid‐sensitive acute rejection (42.09 ± 10.00 vs 9.74 ± 2.63 pg/μmol creatinine, P < 0.001). Patients with graft loss after acute rejection had significantly greater urinary VEGF concentration than patients with reversible acute rejection (106.66 ± 38.60 vs 19.46 ± 4.13 pg/μmol creatinine, P = 0.001). Using a urinary VEGF/creatinine ratio of 22.48 pg/μmol as the cut‐off point, the sensitivity and specificity of the prediction to graft loss after acute rejection were 85.7% and 78.3%, respectively (P = 0.001).Conclusion:  This study demonstrates that the monitoring of urinary VEGF may be a useful non‐invasive approach for the detection of acute rejection. Additionally, urinary VEGF levels were shown to predict the response to anti‐rejection therapy and to predict a poor outcome after acute rejection.
Trends in adult post‐kidney transplant immunosuppressive use in Australia, 1991–2005
Authors: CHANG SEAN H , RUSS GRAEME R , CHADBAN STEVEN J , CAMPBELL SCOTT , MCDONALD STEPHEN P 
Published: September 2007

SUMMARY:Aim:  Kidney transplant outcomes have improved over the past 15 years, partly due to improvements in immunosuppression. We used data from the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant (ANZDATA) Registry to examine trends in immunosuppressive use post transplant.Methods:  All adult (recipient age 16+ years) kidney‐only transplants performed in Australia from April 1991 to December 2005 were followed to graft loss or December 2005. Immunosuppressive use at induction, 1, 3 and 5 years post transplant were analysed by transplant cohort.Results:  Calcineurin‐inhibitors (CNI) were used in most recipients for induction and maintenance immunosuppression, with increasing tacrolimus use. Induction cyclosporin dose increased since 2001 (from 5.8 to 7.9 mg/kg per day), but maintenance cyclosporin and tacrolimus dose decreased (from 3.8 to 3.0 mg/kg per day cyclosporin at 1 year post transplant). CNI‐free induction increased since 2002 (from 1.4% to 8.4%), while CNI‐free maintenance increased throughout the study period. Mycophenolates were the predominant antimetabolite used. Steroid‐free maintenance decreased (from 22.7% to 8.7% at 1 year post transplant), as did median prednisolone doses (from 0.12 to 0.09 mg/kg per day at 1 year post transplant). Sirolimus or everolimus are increasingly used for CNI‐sparing rather than as antimetabolites substitutes. OKT3 or antithymocyte globulin induction decreased, while anti‐CD25 antibody usage increased from 9.5% to 57.1% since 2000.Conclusion:  There is a trend to more potent induction immunosuppression with tacrolimus, mycophenolates and anti‐CD‐25 antibodies, but with CNI avoidance or minimization during maintenance phase. While steroid avoidance/cessation decreased, maintenance steroid dose has also decreased. Anti‐CD25 antibodies are now used in >50% of recipients.
Relationship between vitamin D status, parathyroid hormone levels and bone mineral density in patients with chronic kidney disease stages 3 and 4
Authors: STAVROULOPOULOS ARISTEIDIS , PORTER CHRISTINE J , ROE SIMON D , HOSKING DAVID J , CASSIDY MICHAEL JD 
Published: September 2007

SUMMARY:Aim:  Low vitamin D status is associated with secondary hyperparathyroidism and increased bone turnover in the general population and can aggravate the hyperparathyroidism of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. It is also correlated to low bone mineral density (BMD), but this correlation is less clear in CKD patients. Aims of our study were to investigate these associations in CKD stages 3 and 4 patients, and to identify significant predictors of BMD in this population.Methods:  Serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels, BMD at the femur and radius, and bone mineral metabolism parameters were measured in 89 CKD stages 3 and 4 patients. Vitamin D status was defined according to the NKF/KDOQI guidelines.Results:  Mean 25OHD levels were 53.8 ± 32.1 nmol/L and correlated to the severity of proteinuria. Thirty‐five patients (39%) had vitamin D insufficiency, 29 (33%) had vitamin D deficiency and five (6%) had severe deficiency. Of the 89 patients, two had osteoporosis and 31 had osteopenia either at femur or radius. Independent predictors for the total femur BMD were the intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels and the body mass index (BMI). For the total radius BMD, independent predictor was only the BMI. Serum 25OHD levels were not directly associated with BMD, but they were independent predictors of iPTH.Conclusion:  Vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency are very common in CKD stages 3 and 4 population and may indirectly affect, via effects on iPTH, the BMD of these patients.
Efficacy of enteric‐coated mycophenolate sodium in patients with active lupus nephritis
Authors: MAK SIU‐KA , LO KIN‐YEE , LO MAN‐WAI , CHAN SHUK‐FAN , TONG GENSY MW , WONG PING‐NAM , WONG ANDREW KM 
Published: September 2007

SUMMARY:Background: The ideal treatment of lupus nephritis has yet to be defined. Both cyclophosphamide and mycophenolate mofetil have been used with encouraging results, but adverse events are frequently seen. There are no data on the use of enteric‐coated mycophenolate sodium.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 12 patients with active forms of lupus nephritis (1 class III, 7 class IV and 4 class V) treated with enteric‐coated mycophenolate sodium combined with corticosteroids.Results: The mean age of the patients was 32.3 ± 11.2 years and the average length of follow up was 25.9 ± 8.9 months. The mean serum creatinine clearance was 93 ± 30.1 mL/min per 1.73 m2and the mean proteinuria level was 4.5 ± 3.6 g/day. All had features that warranted aggressive treatment. Mycophenolate sodium was given for 12.9 ± 9.7 months with an averaged starting dose of 1350 ± 163 mg/day. Six patients attained complete remission and six attained partial remission with treatment. The mean interval to attain first remission (complete or partial) was 8.3 ± 5.7 weeks. At last follow up, all patients were in complete or partial remission. Apart from herpes zoster that developed in one patient, no other significant side‐effects were encountered.Conclusion: Enteric‐coated mycophenolate sodium was effective and well‐tolerated in the treatment of active lupus nephritis.