bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Membrane‐associated phospholipase A1 beta (LIPI) Is an Ewing tumour‐associated cancer/testis antigen
Authors: Foell Juergen L. , Hesse Manuela , Volkmer Ines , Schmiedel Benjamin J. , Neumann Ingo , Staege Martin S. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractBackgroundCancer/testis antigens (CTA) represent a heterogeneous group of antigens expressed nearly exclusively in tumour cells and testis. Recently, we identified phospholipase A1 beta (a CTA also known as lipase member I, LIPI) as a gene with high expression in Ewing family tumours (EFT). In the present paper we analyzed expression of LIPI in a panel of normal tissues and tumour samples.ProcedureThe expression of CTA in EFT and normal tissues was analyzed by using DNA microarray datasets. Expression of LIPI in EFT, a panel of other tumour samples, and normal tissues was analyzed by using RT‐PCR and quantitative RT‐PCR.ResultsLIPI was expressed in EFT samples but not in other investigated tumour samples. Expression of LIPI in normal tissues was restricted to testis and thyroid. However, expression in these tissues was low compared with EFT. Interestingly testis as well as thyroid expressed all analyzed EFT‐associated transcripts, suggesting that these tissues harbour a small cell population with molecular features of EFT. The sensitivity of the LIPI RT‐PCR was similar to the sensitivity of the conventional EWSR1‐FLI1 RT‐PCR, suggesting that LIPI might be useful as additional diagnostic target structure.ConclusionsThe human cancer/testis antigen LIPI is highly expressed in Ewing family tumours and can be easily detected by RT‐PCR or quantitative RT‐PCR. LIPI might be an interesting target for the development of future diagnostic tools or treatment strategies. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2008;51:228–234. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Properties of polyamide‐zirconia nanocomposites prepared from sol‐gel technique
Authors: Sarwar Muhammad Ilyas , Zulfiqar Sonia , Ahmad Zahoor 
Published: April 2008

AbstractTransparent nanocomposites were prepared by producing zirconia network in glassy polyamide matrix using sol‐gel technique. Different amounts of tetrapropyl zirconate (TPZ) were added in polymer solution using anhydrous dimethylformamide as solvent. TPZ was hydrolyzed and condensed in situ in the matrix for the generation of inorganic networks using diethylamine. Thin and transparent films containing different proportions of zirconia were obtained by evaporating the solvent. Mechanical, dynamic mechanical thermal and morphological analyses of these films were carried out. An increase in tensile modulus was observed with the films containing zirconia contents up to 15 wt%, but the elongation at rupture was found to decrease sharply on further addition of zirconia. Toughness of the hybrid materials decreased with increased amount of zirconia. Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) performed on the samples indicates an increase in the glass transition temperature; 102°C with pure polyamide to 132°C with polyamide containing 15 wt% zirconia contents. The storage modulus was also found to increase with increase in zirconia proportion in the matrix. The decrease in the storage modulus of the hybrids with rise in temperature was observed to be much smaller as compared with that of pure polymer. Thermal decomposition temperatures of the hybrids were found in the range of 450–500°C. The weights of the residues left at 700°C were nearly proportional to the zirconia contents in the original hybrids. The morphological studies suggest a uniform dispersion of zirconia domains in the matrix. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers
Development of a transparent PMMA composite reinforced with nanofibers
Authors: Chen Lu‐Song , Huang Zheng‐Ming , Dong Guo‐Hua , He Chuang‐Long , Liu Ling , Hu Ying‐Ying , Li Yan 
Published: April 2008

AbstractCore‐shell composite nanofibers with PA‐6 (Nylon‐6) as core and Poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as shell were fabricated by a coaxial electrospinning method, which were later made into nanofiber reinforced transparent composites through a hot press treatment. Morphological and structural characterizations for the composite nanofibers and the transparent composites were realized in terms of SEM, TEM, and FTIR techniques. The fiber reinforcement feature of the PA‐6 was demonstrated by the SEM photos of a composite sample fractured in liquid nitrogen. Through TGA and DSC tests, it was observed that thermal endurance and glass‐transition temperature of the nanofiber reinforced composites altered in variation with the contents of the reinforcing PA‐6. Experimental results indicated that the mechanical performance of the nanofiber reinforced transparent composites was obviously improved, and its transparency decreased a little with an increase in the PA‐6 content. As long as, however, a sacrifice of 10% in transparency was specified, an increment of more than 20% in the mechanical properties of the composites was achievable. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers
Electrical conduction in (polyvinyl alcohol/glycogen) blend films
Authors: Abd El‐kader F.H. , Gaafer S.A. , Mahmoud K.H. , Mohamed S.I. , Abd El‐kader M.F.H. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractCast thin films of polyvinyl alcohol/glycogen blends of different compositions have been prepared and subjected to the electrical measurements of both current–time and current–voltage characteristics as well as d.c. conductivity as a function of temperature. The conduction mechanisms operative in the films at different temperature and voltage ranges are estimated from the behavior of log I versus V1/2 plots. For individual polymers, the conduction mechanism appears to be essentially a Poole–Frenkel type. On blending, at lower temperature the charge conduction is through the Schottky emission while at higher temperature the charge conduction mechanism is Poole–Frenkel. In addition, the deviation of the plots at lower voltages indicates the existence of space charge contribution in conduction mechanism. The obtained results made it possible to determine several conduction parameters including activation energy, carrier mobility, and carrier concentration. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers
Separation and purification of four chromones from radix saposhnikoviae by high‐speed counter‐current chromatography
Authors: Liu Renmin , Wu Sujuan , Sun Ailing 
Published: April 2008

AbstractA preparative high‐speed counter‐current chromatography (HSCCC) method for the isolation and purification of 1″‐O‐glucosylcimifugin (1), 4′‐O‐β‐d‐glucosyl‐5‐O‐methylvisamminol (2), cimifugin (3) and 3′‐O‐glucosylhamaudol (4) from the Chinese medicinal herb radix saposhnikoviae has been successfully developed. A sample of 300 mg of crude extract was separated using ethyl acetate:n‐butanol:1% aqueous acetic acid (1:4:5, v/v) as the two‐phase solvent system and yielded 102.4 mg of 1 and 81.6 mg of 2. During this separation 3 and 4 remained in the stationary phase, which was collected, evaporated to dryness and separated with another two‐phase solvent system involving ethyl acetate:n‐butanol:1% aqueous acetic acid (5:0.5:5, v/v) to yield 31.4 mg of 3 and 12.7 mg of 4. The purities of compounds 1–4 were 98.4, 98.7, 99.3 and 98.2%, respectively, as determined by HPLC. The chemical structures of these components were established by 1H‐NMR and 13C‐NMR. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A comparison of measures of disproportionality for signal detection on adverse drug reaction spontaneous reporting database of Guangdong province in China
Authors: Li Chanjuan , Xia Jielai , Deng Jianxiong , Jiang Jing 
Published: April 2008

AbstractPurposeTo examine the concordance of various measures to Bayesian Confidence Propagation Neural Network (BCPNN) measure used by the WHO Collaborating Centre for International Drug Monitoring based on the database of Guangdong province in China.MethodsThe Reporting Odds Ratio (ROR) − 1.96 standard errors (SE), Proportional Reporting Ratio (PRR) − 21.96 SE, combination χ
2‐PRR measure used by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) were compared with the IC − 2 standard deviations (SDs) with the tested database collected from 1 January 2002 to 30 June 2007 in Guangdong. Additionally, the concordance of the various measures, in respect to the number of reports per combination, was examined.ResultsSensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were high in respect to the BCPNN measure when a combination of point and interval estimate was used based on four types of signal detection for the ROR and PRR measures, and the four evaluation indexes increased when A (the number of reports per combination) increased. However the MHRA measure had decreasing sensitivity and increasing specificity with A increasing.ConclusionsThe ROR, PRR and BCPNN measures used are broadly comparable when three or more cases per combination have been collected. The MHRA measure is comparable to the BCPNN when seven or less case per combination have been collected for ‘drug–ADR’, ‘drug category–ADR’, ‘drug–ADR category’ combinations based on the Guangdong database, and the MHRA is unsuitable for detecting signals from ‘drug category–ADR category’ combinations based on the Guangdong database because of its low sensitivity. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Role of structural modification on the electrical properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate) irradiated with 90‐MeV carbon ion beam
Authors: Srivastava A. , Singh V. , Kulriya P. , Vyas S. , Sen P. , Bandopadhay S.K. , Singh T.V. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThin films of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) having a thickness of 100 μm were exposed to different ion fluence of swift heavy ions of carbon in the range of 5 × 1011 – 5 × 1013 ions/cm2. The effect of ion beam on structural and electrical modification has been studied by UV/vis, FTIR, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Differential Scanning Calorimetery (DSC), and AC electrical measurement techniques. On irradiation, a shift in absorption wavelength toward the red end of spectrum with increase of ion fluence was observed. The intensity of crystalline IR bands and main diffraction peak in XRD pattern were found to decrease with increase in ion fluence. It indicates the loss of crystallinity induced by ion‐beam irradiation. The crystallite size was found to increase on irradiation. The melting temperature (Tm) of PET films increased at a low ion dose (5.0 × 1012 ions/cm2), while it decreased at higher ion fluence (50.0 × 1012 ions/cm2). The dielectric constant (ε′) of PET films was increased with increase of ion fluence. The modifications brought about in the dielectric constant are correlated with chemical and molecular structural changes occurring on irradiation. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers.
Lithium difluoro(oxalate)borate‐based novel nanocomposite polymer electrolytes for lithium ion batteries
Authors: Aravindan Vanchiappan , Vickraman Palanisamy , Krishnaraj Kaliappa 
Published: April 2008

AbstractBACKROUND: HF formation and poor thermal stability found in commercial lithium ion batteries comprising LiPF6 (and other salts) have hampered the replacement of LiPF6. Therefore, a new kind of electrolyte salt is necessary to replace the one commercially available.RESULTS: A novel lithium difluoro(oxalate)borate (LiDFOB)‐based nanocomposite polymer electrolyte has been prepared in a matrix of poly[(vinylidene fluoride)‐co‐(hexafluoropropylene)] (PVdF‐HFP). The electrolyte contains ethylene carbonate and diethyl carbonate as plasticizers and nanoparticulate Sb2O3 as a filler. Membranes obtained by a solution casting technique were characterized by AC impedance, thermogravimetry and tensile strength measurements and morphological studies. Membranes with 5 wt% Sb2O3 exhibit a room‐temperature conductivity of 0.298 mS cm−1, and are thermally stable up to ca 130 °C. Furthermore, the nanocomposite membranes show a 125% increase in mechanical stability as compared to filler‐free membranes. The structural change from α to β phases was confirmed by Raman studies.CONCLUSION: One of the important advantages of using LiDFOB lies in its bulkier DFOB anion, which also acts as solid plasticizer, thus improving the basic requirements of the electrolyte, such as mechanical and thermal stabilities, as well ionic conductivity and with a lower filler content. The overcharge tolerance of LiDFOB salt at higher temperature is also to be noted, because of the oxalate moieties. Preliminary investigations confirmed the possibility of using Sb2O3 nanoparticle‐filled membranes in industry in the near future. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry
Polymerization of oligo(ethylene glycol) (meth)acrylates: Toward new generations of smart biocompatible materials
Authors: Lutz Jean‐François 
Published: April 2008

AbstractMonomers composed of a (meth)acrylate moiety connected to a short poly(ethylene)glycol (PEG) chain are versatile building‐blocks for the preparation of “smart” biorelevant materials. Many of these monomers are commercial and can be easily polymerized by either anionic, free‐radical, or controlled radical polymerization. The latter approach allows synthesis of well‐defined PEG‐based macromolecular architectures such as amphiphilic block copolymers, dense polymer brushes, or biohybrids. Furthermore, the resulting polymers exhibit fascinating solution properties in aqueous medium. Depending on the molecular structure of their monomer units, non linear PEG analogues can be either insoluble in water, readily soluble up to 100 °C, or thermoresponsive. Thus, these polymers can be used for building a wide variety of modern materials such as biosensors, artificial tissues, smart gels for chromatography, and drug carriers. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 3459–3470, 2008
Comparison between the dissolution of whey protein gels and of synthetic polymers
Authors: Mercadé‐Prieto Ruben , Paterson William R. , Wilson D. Ian 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThe dissolution behavior of heat‐induced whey protein gels in alkali is compared with the literature on the dissolution of (1) uncrosslinked synthetic polymers with chemical reaction, (2) uncrosslinked polymers in a good solvent, and (3) crosslinked hydrogels. Diffusion of hydroxide and acid–base reactions, which are key processes in the dissolution of phenolic resins in alkali (Case 1), are found not to be very important with protein gels. The strong dependency of the dissolution rate on the free volume observed in protein gels is described by a large scaling factor, as predicted for Case 2 theory, indicating that the disentanglement of long chains before they are released is important. The cleavage of intermolecular crosslinks, which is important in Case 3, is also identified as a key dissolution step, where the complexity of protein chemistry comes into play. Synthetic polymer mechanisms are therefore able to elucidate several aspects of protein gel dissolution, but are not yet sufficient to explain all aspects of the process. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 46: 1007–1021, 2008
New Plasma Techniques for Polymer Surface Modification with Monotype Functional Groups
Authors: Friedrich Jörg F. , Mix Renate , Schulze Rolf‐Dieter , Meyer‐Plath Asmus , Joshi Ranjit , Wettmarshausen Sascha 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThe production of chemically‐defined plasma polymers and the introduction of monotype functional groups onto polymer surfaces are described. One method is to lower the energetic level of low‐pressure plasmas. Pressure‐ and plasma‐pulsed plasmas were successfully tested for the production of chemically‐defined plasma polymers by increasing the monomer supply during the plasma‐off period. Well‐defined ultra‐thin polymer films with regular structure were deposited from atmospheric plasmas by electrospray techniques. Post‐plasma wet‐chemical processing was also applied, as were gas/liquid‐based aerosols and underwater plasmas.magnified image
Spontaneous resolution of diffuse persistent pulmonary interstitial emphysema
Authors: Jassal Mandeep S. , Benson Jane E. , Mogayzel Peter J. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractPersistent pulmonary interstitial emphysema (PPIE) is a rare condition that occurs in both preterm and term infants. It is thought to arise from a disruption of the basement membrane of the alveolar wall allowing air entry into the interstitial space. The characteristic CT scan appearance of PPIE can be used to differentiate it from other congenital cystic lesions that may present similarly. Although conservative management is accepted as the initial form of management in most cases, a review of the published literature found that a significant proportion of localized PPIE cases eventually require surgical resection. This case illustrates that extensive bilateral PPIE associated with a persistent pneumomediastinum can resolve spontaneously thus demonstrating that conservative management without surgical intervention may be appropriate for some children. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2008; 43:615–619. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Acute respiratory symptoms and general illness during the first year of life: A population‐based birth cohort study
Authors: von Linstow Marie‐Louise , Holst Klaus Kähler , Larsen Karina , Koch Anders , Andersen Per Kragh , Høgh Birthe 
Published: April 2008

AbstractRespiratory symptoms are common in infancy. Most illnesses occurring among children are dealt with by parents and do not require medical attention. Nevertheless, few studies have prospectively and on a community‐basis assessed the amount of respiratory symptoms and general illness in normal infants. In this population‐based birth cohort study, 228 healthy infants from Copenhagen, Denmark were followed from birth to 1 year of age during 2004–2006. Symptoms were registered using daily diaries and monthly home visits. Interviews were performed at inclusion and every second month. Risk factor analysis was carried out by multiple logistic regression analysis. On average, children had general symptoms for 3.5 months during their first year of life, nasal discharge being most frequent followed by cough. Frequency of all symptoms increased steeply after 6 months of age. Each child had on average 6.3 episodes (median: 5.1, inter‐quartile range (IQR): 3.3–7.8) of acute respiratory tract illness (ARTI) (nasal discharge and ≥1 of the following symptoms: cough, fever, wheezing, tachypnea, malaise, or lost appetite) and 5.6 episodes (median: 4.3, IQR: 2.1–7.3) of simple rhinitis per 365 days at risk. Determinants for respiratory symptoms were increasing age, winter season, household size, size of residence, day‐care attendance, and having siblings aged 1–3 years attending a day nursery. In conclusion, the present study provides detailed data on the occurrence of disease symptoms during the first year of life in a general population cohort and emphasizes the impact of increasing age, seasonality, and living conditions on the occurrence of ARTI. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2008; 43:584–593. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Isoform‐specific variation in the intrinsic disorder of troponin I
Authors: Hoffman Ryan M.B. , Sykes Brian D. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractVarious intrinsic disorder (ID) prediction algorithms were applied to the three tissue isoforms of troponin I (TnI). The results were interpreted in terms of the known structure and dynamics of troponin. In line with previous results, all isoforms of TnI were predicted to have large stretches of ID. The predictions show that the C‐termini of all isoforms are extensively disordered as is the N‐terminal extension of the cardiac isoform. Cardiac TnI likely belongs to the group of intrinsically disordered signalling hub proteins. For a given portion of the protein sequence, most ID prediction approaches indicate isoform‐dependent variations in the probability of disorder. Comparison of machine learning and physically based approaches suggests the ID variations are only partially attributable to local variations in the ratio of charged to hydrophobic residues. The VSL2B algorithm predicts the largest variations in ID across the isoforms, with the cardiac isoform having the highest probability of structured regions, and the fast‐skeletal isoform having no intrinsic structure. The region corresponding to residues 57–95 of the fast‐skeletal isoform, known to form a coiled coil substructure with troponin T, was highly variable between isoforms. The isoform‐specific ID variations may have mechanistic significance, modulating the extent to which conformational fluctuations in tropomyosin are communicated to the troponin complex. We discuss structural mechanisms for this communication. Overall, the results motivate the development of predictors designed to address relative levels of disorder between highly similar proteins. Proteins 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Structural determinants of ligand migration in Mycobacterium tuberculosis truncated hemoglobin O
Authors: Boechi Leonardo , Martí Marcelo A. , Milani Mario , Bolognesi Martino , Luque F. Javier , Estrin Darío A. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractMycobacterium tuberculosis is the causative agent of human tuberculosis, one of the most prevalent infectious diseases in the world. Its genome hosts the glbN and glbO genes coding for two proteins, truncated hemoglobin N (trHbN) and truncated hemoglobin O (trHbO), that belong to different groups (I and II, respectively) of the recently discovered trHb family of hemeproteins. The different expression pattern and kinetics rates constants for ligand association and NO oxidation rate suggest different functions for these proteins. Previous experimental and theoretical studies showed that, in trHbs, ligand migration along the internal tunnel cavity system is a key issue in determining the ligand‐binding characteristics. The X‐ray structure of trHbO has been solved and shows several internal cavities and secondary‐docking sites. In this work, we present an extensive investigation of the tunnel/cavity system ofM. tuberculosis trHbO by means of computer‐simulation techniques. We have computed the free‐energy profiles for ligand migration along three found tunnels in the oxy and deoxy w.t. and mutant trHbO proteins. Our results show that multiple‐ligand migration paths are possible and that several conserved residues such as TrpG8 play a key role in the ligand‐migration regulation. Proteins 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Enhancement of effective carrier velocity in AlGaN/GaN MOSHFETs with Al2O3 gate oxide
Authors: Stoklas R. , Gaži Š. , Gregušová D. , Novák J. , Kordoš P. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractTransport properties of Al2O3/AlGaN/GaN MOSHFETs and their unpassivated HFET counterparts are investigated. The Al2O3 gate oxide is only 4 nm thick and prepared by an oxidation of sputtered Al layer. The saturation drain current increased from 430 mA/mm for the HFET to 600 mA/mm for the MOSHFET. A significant increase of the extrinsic transconductance was observed – the peak values were 71 mS/mm for the HFET and 140 mS/mm for the MOSHFET. The transconductance increase is attributed to an enhancement of the effective carrier velocity due to the suppression of trapping states and following change of the electric field distribution below/near the gate contact. The MOSHFET devices showed significantly lower frequency dispersion of their capacitance than the HFET counterparts. All these shows an importance of thin and/or ‘high‐κ’ gate oxides for the preparation of AlGaN/GaN MOSHFETs. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)