bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Comparison of perioperative management and outcome of parathyroidectomy between older and younger patients
Authors: Bachar Gideon , Gilat Hanna , Mizrachi Aviram , Shimon Ilan , Feinmesser Raphael , Kaizerman Igor , Shpitzer Thomas 
Published: August 2008

AbstractBackground.The aim of this study was to compare the clinical status, surgical course, and outcomes of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT), over the age of 70, with younger patients.Methods.Between 1996 and 2006, 951 patients underwent parathyroidectomies for PHPT, of whom 190 were over the age of 70. Patient data were collected from chart reviews and a computerized database.Results.Fewer older patients were asymptomatic at presentation. No between‐group differences in serum calcium were seen; however, parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels were higher in the older group. Hospitalization time was longer for the elderly. Duration of surgery, surgical success rates, and postoperative complications were similar between the 2 groups.Conclusion.Surgical treatment of PHPT has both physiological benefits and helps to preserve quality of life. Our findings suggest that there is no practical difference in perioperative management and surgical outcomes for older patients. Surgeons should consider parathyroidectomy in PHPT patients regardless of age. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2008
Sirolimus as a potential radiosensitizer in squamous cell cancer of the head and neck
Authors: Shinohara Eric T. , Maity Amit , Jha Neha , Lustig Robert A. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractBackground.An estimated 34,000 cases of squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (HNSCC) will be diagnosed in 2007 with 7500 estimated deaths. Radiation is commonly used to treat these patients. Preclinical studies have suggested that sirolimus may be an effective radiosensitizer in HNSCC.Methods.The present case report describes a patient, status post liver transplant, who was switched to sirolimus for immunosupression. The patient subsequently underwent radiation therapy for a T2N0M0 SCC of the larynx.Results.The patient had an unusually early response to radiation, with a clinical complete response after 7 fractions of radiation. However, the patients also had toxicity earlier than expected and required a break from radiation after 11 fractions.Conclusions.To the authors' knowledge, this is the first observation to suggest that sirolimus is an effective radiosensitizer in patients with HNSCC. We hope that our results will create interest in future clinical studies. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2009
Molecular mechanisms of hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Aravalli Rajagopal N. , Steer Clifford J. , Cressman Erik N. K. 
Published: August 2008

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) typically has poor prognosis, because it is often diagnosed at an advanced stage. Heterogeneous phenotypic and genetic traits of affected individuals and a wide range of risk factors have classified it a complex disease. HCC is not amenable to standard chemotherapy and is resistant to radiotherapy. In most cases, surgical resection and liver transplantation remain the only curative treatment options. Therefore, development of novel, effective therapies is of prime importance. Extensive research over the past decade has identified a number of molecular biomarkers as well as cellular networks and signaling pathways affected in liver cancer. Recent studies using a combination of “omics” technologies, microRNA studies, combinatorial chemistry, and bioinformatics are providing new insights into the gene expression and protein profiles during various stages of the disease. In this review, we discuss the contribution of these newer approaches toward an understanding of molecular mechanisms of HCC and for the development of novel cancer therapeutics. (Hepatology 2008;48:2047-2063.)
The removal of phosphorus from reject water in a municipal wastewater treatment plant using iron ore
Authors: Ivanov Volodymyr , Kuang Shengli , Stabnikov Viktor , Guo Chenghong 
Published: August 2008

AbstractBACKGROUND: Reject water (return liquor) from dewatering of anaerobically digested activated sludge in municipal wastewater treatment plants contains from 10 to 50% of the phosphorus load when being recycled to the aeration tank. Phosphorus removal from reject water could be an effective way to decrease phosphorus loads entering the aeration tank. An innovative approach involves the replacement of iron salts, which are commonly used for phosphorus removal, with ferrous ions produced by iron‐reducing bacteria from iron ore. The aim of the research was to examine the feasibility of phosphorus removal from return liquor using bioreduction of iron ore.RESULTS: Ferrous production, phosphate and organic carbon removal rates were determined as a function of different iron ore particle sizes in batch experiments. Iron‐reducing bacteria ensured the production of ferrous ions from iron ore up to concentrations of 550 mg L−1. The ferrous production rate was linearly dependent on the calculated specific surface area of the iron ore particles. The phosphorus concentration in the reject water was reduced by 90% during bioreduction of iron ore. The phosphorus removal rate did not depend on specific surface area of iron ore particles when the particle size of iron ore was smaller than 7 mm. The organic carbon removal rate did not seem to be dependent on iron ore particle size.CONCLUSION: Removal of phosphate using iron ore can be more economical than conventional chemical precipitation of phosphate using iron salts because of the lower cost of iron ore. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry
Antibody immobilization on magnetic particles
Authors: Roque A. C. A. , Bispo S. , Pinheiro A. R. N. , Antunes J. M. A. , Gonçalves D. , Ferreira H. A. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractMagnetic particles (MNPs) offer attractive possibilities in biotechnology. MNPs can get close to a target biological entity, as their controllable sizes range from a few nanometres up to tens of nanometres, and their surface can be modified to add affinity and specificity towards desired molecules. Additionally, they can be manipulated by an external magnetic field gradient. In this work, the study of ferric oxide (Fe3O4) MNPs with different coating agents was conducted, particularly in terms of strategies for antibody attachment at the surfaces (covalent and physical adsorption) and the effects of blocking buffer composition and incubation times on the specific and non‐specific interactions observed. The considered biological model system consisted of a coating antibody (goat IgG), bovine serum albumin (BSA) as blocking agent, and a complementary antibody labelled with FITC (anti‐goat IgG). The detection of antibody binding was followed by fluorescence microscopy and the intensity of the signals quantified. The ratio between the mean grey values of negative and positive controls, as well as the maximum intensity attainable in positive controls, were considered in the evaluation of the assays efficiency. The covalent immobilization of the coating antibody was more successful as opposed to protein adsorption. For covalent immobilization, silica‐coated MNPs, a 5% (w/v) concentration of BSA in the blocking buffer and incubation times of 1 h produced the best results in terms of assay sensitivity. However, when conducting the assay for incubation periods of 10 min, the fluorescence signal was reduced by 44% but the assay specificity was maintained. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Synthesis and thermal decomposition kinetics of the complexes [Sm(o‐NBA)3bipy]2·2H2O and [Sm(o‐BrBA)3bipy]2· 2H2O
Authors: Zhang Hai Yan , Zhang Jian Jun , Ren Ning , Bai Ji Hai , Wang Shu Ping , Wang Rui Fen 
Published: August 2008

AbstractTwo new complexes [Sm(o‐NBA)3bipy]2·2H2O (1) and [Sm(o‐BrBA)3bipy]2·2H2O (2) (where o‐NBA is o‐nitrobenzoic acid, o‐BrBA is o‐bromobenzoic acid, and bipy is 2,2′‐bipyridine) were prepared and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, UV, and molar conductance, respectively. The thermal decomposition behaviors of the two complexes were investigated by means of TG–DTG and IR techniques. The thermal decomposition kinetics was studied by using advanced double equal‐double steps method, nonlinear integral isoconversional method, and nonlinear differential isoconversional method. The kinetic parameters of the second‐step process for the two complexes were obtained, respectively. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 40: 607–616, 2008
Quantitative proteome analysis reveals annexin A3 as a novel biomarker in lung adenocarcinoma
Authors: Liu YF , Xiao ZQ , Li MX , Li MY , Zhang PF , Li C , Li F , Chen YH , Yi H , Yao HX , Chen Z‐C 
Published: August 2008

AbstractMetastasis is a common phenomenon and the major lethal cause of lung adenocarcinoma (AdC). To discover novel potential biomarkers associated with lymph node metastasis and prognosis in lung AdC, we assessed differences in protein expression between primary lung AdC with (LNM AdC) and without lymph node metastasis (non‐LNM AdC) using a quantitative proteomic approach. Laser capture microdissection was performed to purify the cancer cells from primary lung AdC tissues. The differential proteins between the pooled microdissected non‐LNM AdC and LNM AdC tissues were identified by two‐dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D‐DIGE) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS). In this study, twenty proteins were found to be differentially expressed in two types of lung AdC. ANXA3, significantly up‐regulated in LNM AdC compared with non‐LNM AdC, was validated by western blotting. Immunohistochemistry showed that ANXA3 over‐expression was frequently observed in LNM AdCs and matched lymph node metastases compared with non‐LNM AdCs. ANXA3 over‐expression was significantly associated with advanced clinical stage (p < 0.001) and lymph node metastasis (p < 0.001) and increased relapse rate (p < 0.001) and decreased overall survival (p < 0.001) in lung AdCs. Cox regression analysis indicated ANXA3 over‐expression was an independent prognostic factor. Our results indicate that ANXA3 might serve as a novel biomarker for lymph node metastasis and prognosis in lung AdC, and play an important role in lung AdC progression. Copyright © 2008 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Outcomes of the POG 9340/9341/9342 trials for children with high‐risk neuroblastoma: A report from the Children's Oncology Group
Authors: Zage Peter E. , Kletzel Morris , Murray Kevin , Marcus Robert , Castleberry Robert , Zhang Yang , London Wendy B. , Kretschmar Cynthia 
Published: August 2008

AbstractBackgroundFrom 1993 to 1995, the Pediatric Oncology Group (POG) enrolled patients with high‐risk neuroblastoma on three sequential, conjoined studies: a phase II induction window (9340), followed by intensive multiagent induction chemotherapy (9341), and subsequent myeloablative therapy with autologous stem cell rescue (9342). We report here the outcomes of patients treated on these studies.Patients and MethodsPatients were between 1 and 21 years old with high‐risk neuroblastoma. Phase II window therapy consisted of two courses of either paclitaxel, topotecan, or cyclophosphamide with topotecan. Induction therapy consisted of at least five cycles of intensive chemotherapy, followed by myeloablative therapy with purged autologous stem cell reinfusion. Patient responses, treatment toxicities, and overall and event‐free survival rates were calculated.ResultsEighty‐four percent of patients responded to induction chemotherapy, with 39% achieving complete response. Toxicities were primarily hematologic. The 7‐year EFS and OS rates for all eligible patients on POG 9341 were 23 ± 4% and 28 ± 4%, respectively. The 7‐year EFS and OS rates for patients treated on POG 9342 were 27 ± 6% and 29 ± 6%, respectively.ConclusionsThese studies were the first attempt by POG to use autologous stem cell transplantation for neuroblastoma treatment in a cooperative group setting. Toxicities and outcomes were comparable to contemporary cooperative group studies. The phase II induction window had no detectable effect on outcomes. New strategies are needed to improve survival for this devastating disease. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2008;51:747–753. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Preparation and characterization of polyimide/silica‐barium titanate nanocomposites
Authors: Gao Lingxiang , Liu Qiuping , Gao Ziwei , Lin Yang 
Published: August 2008

AbstractThe silica‐barium titanate (SiO2‐BaTiO3) nanocomposites coated with polyimide had been synthesized successfully by a dispersion polymerization method. The conformation, structure, and size of SiO2‐BaTiO3 nanocomposites coated with polyimide were investigated by using FT‐IR, EDAX, XRD,TEM, SEM, and TGA. The results indicate that there is a thin layer polymer of SiO2‐BaTiO3 nanocomposites surface, in which the polymer thickness is about 10 nm and the size of them are about 50–60 nm, and the particles are well‐dispersed with even particle size. In addition, the crystal structure of BaTiO3 is stable in preparing composite process and the chemical bond is formed between the inorganic phase and the polymer matrix. POLYM. COMPOS., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers
Melt‐processed polyaniline nanofibers/LDPE/EAA conducting composites
Authors: Su Chang , Wang Gengchao , Huang Farong , Li Xingwei 
Published: August 2008

AbstractThe melt‐processable polyaniline nanofibers doped with superfluous dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid (PANI‐DBSA) were synthesized using the interfacial polymerization and thermal doping technique. Conducting composites composed of PANI‐DBSA nanofibers, low‐density polyethylene (LDPE), and ethylene‐acrylic acid copolymer (EAA) as compatibilizer were prepared by melt processing. The effects of PANI‐DBSA nanofibers on the electrical conductivity, and mechanical properties, and morphological structure of the composites were investigated. As a result, the conducting composites had lower percolation threshold (4 wt%) due to the easy formation of conducting paths for fibrillar‐like PANI‐DBSA in the LDPE matrix, which was also confirmed by the frequency dependence of the real part of the AC conductivity. The Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images indicated that the PANI‐DBSA nanofibers were dispersed uniformly in the matrix. The mechanical properties of the composites were improved at the low PANI‐DBSA load (about 1 wt%), but they were deteriorated at high PANI‐DBSA content. POLYM. COMPOS., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers
Quantitative analysis of the intramacrophagic Brucella suis proteome reveals metabolic adaptation to late stage of cellular infection
Authors: Al Dahouk Sascha , Jubier‐Maurin Véronique , Scholz Holger C. , Tomaso Herbert , Karges Wolfram , Neubauer Heinrich , Köhler Stephan 
Published: August 2008

AbstractA 2‐D DIGE approach allowed the characterization of the intramacrophagic proteome of the intracellular pathogen Brucella suis at the late stage of in vitro infection by efficient discrimination between bacterial and host cell proteins. Using a subtraction model, a total of 168 proteins showing altered concentrations in comparison with extracellularly grown, stationary‐phase bacteria were identified. The majority of the 44 proteins significantly regulated at this stage of infection were involved in bacterial metabolism and 40% were present in lowered concentrations, supporting the hypothesis of an adaptive response by quantitative reduction of processes participating in energy, protein, and nucleic acid metabolism. In the future, the 2‐D DIGE‐based approach will permit to decipher specifically and quantitatively the intracellular proteomes of various pathogens during adaptation to their specific host cell environments.
Identification of Apolipoprotein AI as a serum biomarker of chronic kidney disease in liver transplant recipients, using proteomic techniques
Authors: O'Riordan Aisling , Johnston Olwyn , McMorrow Tara , Wynne Kieran , Maguire Patricia , Hegarty John E. , McCormick Aidan , Watson Alan J. , Cagney Gerard , Gallagher William M. , Ryan Michael P. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractChronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common complication post‐orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Development of CKD is detected by monitoring serum urea and creatinine, however disease can occasionally be at an advanced stage before they become abnormal. Therefore, more accurate parameters are required. In order to identify novel biomarkers of CKD, serum was obtained from 47 OLT recipients with CKD (glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min) and 23 with normal renal function (glomerular filtration rate >90 mL/min). Using the proteomic technique SELDI‐TOF‐MS, three protein biomarkers (55.6 kDa, 9.5 kDa and 11.4 kDa) were identified that, together, could stratify patients into cases or controls with a sensitivity and specificity of 93.6 and 91.3%, respectively. The area under the curve was 0.94. The primary splitter of the groups at 55.6 kDa was an alternative version of a molecule at 27.8 kDa, which was subsequently identified by 1‐D SDS‐PAGE and LC‐ESI‐MS/MS to be Apolipoprotein AI. Protein expression was shown to be reduced in CKD, by both ELISA (p = 0.057) and Western blot analysis (p = 0.003). Apolipoprotein AI is a novel, accurate marker of CKD post‐OLT. It does require further validation in a large, more diverse patient population but could potentially improve detection of CKD.
MurD ligase from E. coli: Tetrahedral intermediate formation study by hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical replica path method
Authors: Perdih Andrej , Hodoscek Milan , Solmajer Tom 
Published: August 2008

AbstractMurD (UDP‐N‐acetylmuramoyl‐L‐alanine:D‐glutamate ligase), a three‐domain bacterial protein, catalyses a highly specific incorporation of D‐glutamate to the cytoplasmic intermediate UDP‐N‐acetyl‐muramoyl‐L‐alanine (UMA) utilizing ATP hydrolysis to ADP and Pi. This reaction is part of a biosynthetic path yielding bacterial peptidoglycan. On the basis of structural studies of MurD complexes, a stepwise catalytic mechanism was proposed that commences with a formation of the acyl‐phosphate intermediate, followed by a nucleophilic attack of D‐glutamate that, through the formation of a tetrahedral reaction intermediate and subsequent phosphate dissociation, affords the final product, UDP‐N‐acetyl‐muramoyl‐L‐alanine‐D‐glutamate (UMAG). A hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) molecular modeling approach was utilized, combining the B3LYP QM level of theory with empirical force field simulations to evaluate three possible reaction pathways leading to tetrahedral intermediate formation. Geometries of the starting structures based on crystallographic experimental data and tetrahedral intermediates were carefully examined together with a role of crucial amino acids and water molecules. The replica path method was used to generate the reaction pathways between the starting structures and the corresponding tetrahedral reaction intermediates, offering direct comparisons with a sequential kinetic mechanism and the available structural data for this enzyme. The acquired knowledge represents new and valuable information to assist in the ongoing efforts leading toward novel inhibitors of MurD as potential antibacterial drugs. Proteins 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Predicting drug resistance of the HIV‐1 protease using molecular interaction energy components
Authors: Hou Tingjun , Zhang Wei , Wang Jian , Wang Wei 
Published: August 2008

AbstractDrug resistance significantly impairs the efficacy of AIDS therapy. Therefore, precise prediction of resistant viral mutants is particularly useful for developing effective drugs and designing therapeutic regimen. In this study, we applied a structure‐based computational approach to predict mutants of the HIV‐1 protease resistant to the seven FDA approved drugs. We analyzed the energetic pattern of the protease‐drug interaction by calculating the molecular interaction energy components (MIECs) between the drug and the protease residues. Support vector machines (SVMs) were trained on MIECs to classify protease mutants into resistant and nonresistant categories. The high prediction accuracies for the test sets of cross‐validations suggested that the MIECs successfully characterized the interaction interface between drugs and the HIV‐1 protease. We conducted a proof‐of‐concept study on a newly approved drug, darunavir (TMC114), on which no drug resistance data were available in the public domain. Compared with amprenavir, our analysis suggested that darunavir might be more potent to combat drug resistance. To quantitatively estimate binding affinities of drugs and study the contributions of protease residues to causing resistance, linear regression models were trained on MIECs using partial least squares (PLS). The MIEC‐PLS models also achieved satisfactory prediction accuracy. Analysis of the fitting coefficients of MIECs in the regression model revealed the important resistance mutations and shed light into understanding the mechanisms of these mutations to cause resistance. Our study demonstrated the advantages of characterizing the protease‐drug interaction using MIECs. We believe that MIEC‐SVM and MIEC‐PLS can help design new agents or combination of therapeutic regimens to counter HIV‐1 protease resistant strains. Proteins 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Improving the prediction accuracy of residue solvent accessibility and real‐value backbone torsion angles of proteins by guided‐learning through a two‐layer neural network
Authors: Faraggi Eshel , Xue Bin , Zhou Yaoqi 
Published: August 2008

AbstractThis article attempts to increase the prediction accuracy of residue solvent accessibility and real‐value backbone torsion angles of proteins through improved learning. Most methods developed for improving the backpropagation algorithm of artificial neural networks are limited to small neural networks. Here, we introduce a guided‐learning method suitable for networks of any size. The method employs a part of the weights for guiding and the other part for training and optimization. We demonstrate this technique by predicting residue solvent accessibility and real‐value backbone torsion angles of proteins. In this application, the guiding factor is designed to satisfy the intuitive condition that for most residues, the contribution of a residue to the structural properties of another residue is smaller for greater separation in the protein‐sequence distance between the two residues. We show that the guided‐learning method makes a 2–4% reduction in 10‐fold cross‐validated mean absolute errors (MAE) for predicting residue solvent accessibility and backbone torsion angles, regardless of the size of database, the number of hidden layers and the size of input windows. This together with introduction of two‐layer neural network with a bipolar activation function leads to a new method that has a MAE of 0.11 for residue solvent accessibility, 36° for ψ, and 22° for ϕ. The method is available as a Real‐SPINE 3.0 server inhttp://sparks.informatics.iupui.edu. Proteins 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Conductive nanodots on the surface of irradiated CaF2
Authors: Roll Tino , Meier Marion , Akcöltekin Sevilay , Klusmann Miriam , Lebius Henning , Schleberger Marika 
Published: August 2008

AbstractCaF2(111) single crystal surfaces have been irradiated with fast heavy ions under oblique angles resulting in chains of nanosized hillocks. In order to characterize these nanodots with respect to their conductivity we have applied non‐contact atomic force microscopy using a magnetic tip. Measurements in ultra high vacuum as well as under ambient conditions reveal a clearly enhanced electromagnetic interaction between the magnetic tip and the nanodots. The dissipated energy per cycle is comparable to the value found for metals, indicating that the interaction of the ion with the target material leads to the creation of metallic Ca nanodots on the surface. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)