bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Constructive Technology Assessment (CTA) as a tool in Coverage with Evidence Development: The case of the 70-gene prognosis signature for breast cancer diagnostics
Authors: Retèl Valesca P. , Bueno-de-Mesquita Jolien M. , Hummel Marjan J. M. , van de Vijver Marc J. , Douma Kirsten F. L. , Karsenberg Kim , van Dam Frits S. A. M. , van Krimpen Cees , Bellot Frank E. , Roumen Rudi M. H. , Linn Sabine C. , van Harten Wim H. 
Published: January 2009

Objectives:Constructive Technology Assessment (CTA) is a means to guide early implementation of new developments in society, and can be used as an evaluation tool for Coverage with Evidence Development (CED). We used CTA for the introduction of a new diagnostic test in the Netherlands, the 70-gene prognosis signature (MammaPrint®) for node-negative breast cancer patients.Methods:Studied aspects were (organizational) efficiency, patient-centeredness and diffusion scenarios. Pre-post structured surveys were conducted in fifteen community hospitals concerning changes in logistics and teamwork as a consequence of the introduction of the 70-gene signature. Patient-centeredness was measured by questionnaires and interviews regarding knowledge and psychological impact of the test. Diffusion scenarios, which are commonly applied in industry to anticipate on future development and diffusion of their products, have been applied in this study.Results:Median implementation-time of the 70-gene signature was 1.2 months. Most changes were seen in pathology processes and adjuvant treatment decisions. Physicians valued the addition of the 70-gene signature information as beneficial for patient management. Patient-centeredness (n= 77, response 78 percent): patients receiving a concordant high-risk and discordant clinical low/high risk-signature showed significantly more negative emotions with respect to receiving both test-results compared with concordant low-risk and discordant clinical high/low risk-signature patients. The first scenario was written in 2004 before the introduction of the 70-gene signature and identified hypothetical developments that could influence diffusion; especially the “what-if” deviation describing a discussion on validity among physicians proved to be realistic.Conclusions:Differences in speed of implementation and influenced treatment decisions were seen. Impact on patients seems especially related to discordance and its successive communication. In the future, scenario drafting will lead to input for model-based cost-effectiveness analysis. Finally, CTA can be useful as a tool to guide CED by adding monitoring and anticipation on possible developments during early implementation, to the assessment of promising new technologies.
Confronting Carmen beyond the Pyrenees: Bizet’s opera in Madrid, 1887–1888
Authors: KERTESZ ELIZABETH , CHRISTOFORIDIS MICHAEL 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTBizet’s Carmen entered Spain’s cultural consciousness when it was first staged in Madrid in the 1887–8 season. A public battle for the performance rights in the autumn of 1887 led to competing productions at major theatres: the first in a new Spanish translation at the Teatro de la Zarzuela, and the second in the fully-sung Italian version at the Teatro Real. This article explores the Spanish encounter with Carmen during this season, from the political machinations of the lawsuit, to the opening nights and the extended critical debates that greeted the two premières. The Spanish adaptation is compared with the original French version and mapped against the native musico-theatrical tradition of the zarzuela, which had long purveyed constructions of ‘Spanishness’ for local consumption. Contemporary debates about national identity and its theatrical and musical representations underscore the varied critical responses to Carmen, which was embraced by Madrid opera audiences.
Efficient differentiation of insulin‐producing cells from skin‐derived stem cells
Authors: Guo W. , Miao C. , Liu S. , Qiu Z. , Li J. , Duan E. 
Published: January 2009

Abstract  Objectives:   Type 1 diabetes mellitus, characterized by loss of pancreatic β‐cells, can be ameliorated by islet transplantation, but this treatment is restricted by the scarcity of islet tissue and by allograft rejection.Materials and Methods:   We isolated and characterized skin‐derived precursors (SKPs) – an abundant source of autologous cells – and developed an experimental strategy to convert them into insulin‐producing cells (IPCs) in vitro within a short period of time, through extracellular factor modification and analyses of IPCs by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction, immunocytochemistry and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay.Results:   SKPs could self‐assemble to form three‐dimensional islet cell‐like clusters (dithizone‐positive) and co‐express insulin and C‐peptide. In addition, they expressed multiple genes related to pancreatic β‐cell development and function (e.g. insulin 1, insulin 2, islet‐1, Pdx‐1, NeuroD/beta2, glut‐2 and Nkx6.1), but not other pancreas‐specific hormones and enzymes (e.g. glucagon, somatostatin and amylase). Moreover, when stimulated with glucose, these cells synthesized and secreted insulin in a glucose‐regulated manner.Conclusions:   The findings of this study indicate that SKPs can differentiate into functional IPCs and can provide an abundant source of autologous cells for transplantation. This study also provides strategies to derive autologous islet‐replacement tissues from human skin stem cells.
Reg IV enhances peritoneal metastasis in gastric carcinomas
Authors: Kuniyasu H. , Oue N. , Sasahira T. , Yi L. , Moriwaka Y. , Shimomoto T. , Fujii K. , Ohmori H. , Yasui W. 
Published: January 2009

Abstract  Objectives: The role of Regenerating (Reg) IV on peritoneal metastasis was examined in gastric cancer using.Material and methods: Reg IV‐transfected human gastric cancer cells (MKN28‐R1, MKN28‐R2, TMK1‐R1), control transfectants (MKN28‐R0, TMK1‐R0), and REG4‐knocked down MKN45 cells were examined in in vitro and in nude mice peritoneal metastasis models.Results and Discussion: Increase of expression and secretion of Reg IV, and levels of BCL‐2, BCL‐XL,survivin, phosphorylated AKT, and phosphorylated EGFR, and decrease of nitric oxide‐induced apoptosis were found in Reg IV‐transfectants, whereas those were abrogated in the knockdown cells. In mice models, increased number and size of peritoneal tumors and decreased apoptosis were found in Reg IV‐transfectants, whereas those were abrogated by the knockdown cells. Mice survivals were worsened in Reg IV‐transfectants‐inoculated mice, but were improved in Reg IV‐knockdown cell‐inoculated mice. Levels of Reg IV protein in peritoneal lavage fluids increased in Reg IV‐transfectants inoculated mice, but decreased in Reg IV‐knockdown cell inoculated mice. In metastasized human gastric cancers, Reg IV positivity in peritoneum‐metastasis cases was higher than those in negative cases. Reg IV was detected in peritoneal lavage fluids from human gastric cancer patients, in whose lavages keratin mRNA was detected by reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction. Collectively, Reg IV might accelerate peritoneal metastasis in gastric cancer. Reg IV in lavage fluids might be a good marker for peritoneal metastasis.
Arabidopsis dynamin‐related proteins DRP3A and DRP3B are functionally redundant in mitochondrial fission, but have distinct roles in peroxisomal fission
Authors: Fujimoto Masaru , Arimura Shin‐ichi , Mano Shoji , Kondo Maki , Saito Chieko , Ueda Takashi , Nakazono Mikio , Nakano Akihiko , Nishimura Mikio , Tsutsumi Nobuhiro 
Published: January 2009

SummaryTwo similar Arabidopsis dynamin‐related proteins, DRP3A and DRP3B, are thought to be key factors in both mitochondrial and peroxisomal fission. However, the functional and genetic relationships between DRP3A and DRP3B have not been fully investigated. In a yeast two‐hybrid assay, DRP3A and DRP3B interacted with themselves and with each other. DRP3A and DRP3B localized to mitochondria and peroxisomes, and co‐localized with each other in leaf epidermal cells. In two T‐DNA insertion mutants, drp3a and drp3b, the mitochondria are a little longer and fewer in number than those in the wild‐type cells. In the double mutant, drp3a/drp3b, mitochondria are connected to each other, resulting in massive elongation. Overexpression of either DRP3A or DRP3B in drp3a/drp3b restored the particle shape of mitochondria, suggesting that DRP3A and DRP3B are functionally redundant in mitochondrial fission. In the case of peroxisomal fission, DRP3A and DRP3B appear to have different functions: peroxisomes in drp3a were larger and fewer in number than those in the wild type, whereas peroxisomes in drp3b were as large and as numerous as those in the wild type, and peroxisomes in drp3a/drp3b were as large and as numerous as those in drp3a. Although overexpression of DRP3A in drp3a/drp3b restored the shape and number of peroxisomes, overexpression of DRP3B did not restore the phenotypes, and often caused elongation instead. These results suggest that DRP3B and DRP3A have redundant molecular functions in mitochondrial fission, whereas DRP3B has a minor role in peroxisomal fission that is distinct from that of DRP3A.
A novel real‐time PCR method for KIR genotyping
Authors: Alves L. G. T. , Rajalingam R. , Canavez F. 
Published: January 2009

AbstractGenes encoding killer cell immunoglobulin‐like receptors (KIRs) are variable among individuals. Sequence‐specific primer‐directed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification (PCR‐SSP) and sequence‐specific oligonucleotide hybridization of the PCR‐amplified products (PCR‐SSO) are the methods currently used to characterize the diversity of KIR gene content. Both these methods include time‐consuming post‐PCR analyses. Here, we developed a real‐time PCR method that identifies the presence or absence of 16 KIR genes during PCR and avoids post‐PCR analyses. This method is specific, sensitive, shortens the turnaround time compared with the conventional PCR‐SSP and PCR‐SSO methods, and it can be easily adapted for automation.
The global distribution of frugivory in birds
Authors: Daniel Kissling W. , Böhning–Gaese Katrin , Jetz Walter 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTAim  To examine patterns of avian frugivory across clades, geography and environments.Location  Global, including all six major biogeographical realms (Afrotropics, Australasia, Indo‐Malaya, Nearctic, Neotropics and Palaearctic).Methods  First, we examine the taxonomic distribution of avian frugivory within orders and families. Second we evaluate, with traditional and spatial regression approaches, the geographical patterns of frugivore species richness and proportion. Third, we test the potential of contemporary climate (water–energy, productivity, seasonality), habitat heterogeneity (topography, habitat diversity) and biogeographical history (captured by realm membership) to explain geographical patterns of avian frugivory.Results  Most frugivorous birds (50%) are found within the perching birds (Passeriformes), but the woodpeckers and allies (Piciformes), parrots (Psittaciformes) and pigeons (Columbiformes) also contain a significant number of frugivorous species (9–15%). Frugivore richness is highest in the Neotropics, but peaks in overall bird diversity in the Himalayan foothills, the East African mountains and in some areas of Brazil and Bolivia are not reflected by frugivores. Current climate explains more variance in species richness and proportion of frugivores than of non‐frugivores whereas it is the opposite for habitat heterogeneity. Actual evapotranspiration (AET) emerges as the best single climatic predictor variable of avian frugivory. Significant differences in frugivore richness and proportion between select biogeographical regions remain after differences in environment (i.e. AET) are accounted for.Main conclusions  We present evidence that both environmental and historical constraints influence global patterns of avian frugivory. Whereas water–energy dynamics possibly constrain frugivore distribution via indirect effects on food plants, regional differences in avian frugivory most likely reflect historical contingencies related to the evolutionary history of fleshy fruited plant taxa, niche conservatism and past climate change. Overall our results support an important role of co‐diversification and environmental constraints on regional assembly over macroevolutionary time‐scales.
Geographical and taxonomic influences on cranial variation in red colobus monkeys (Primates, Colobinae): introducing a new approach to ‘morph’ monkeys
Authors: Cardini Andrea , Elton Sarah 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTAim  To provide accurate but parsimonious quantitative descriptions of clines in cranial form of red colobus, to partition morphological variance into geographical, taxonomic and structured taxonomic components, and to visually summarize clines in multivariate shape data using a method which produces results directly comparable to both univariate studies of geographical variation and standard geometric morphometric visualization of shape differences along vectors.Location  Equatorial Africa.Methods  Sixty‐four three‐dimensional cranial landmarks were measured on 276 adult red colobus monkeys sampled over their entire distribution. Geometric morphometric methods were applied, and size and shape variables regressed onto geographical coordinates using linear and curvilinear models. Model selection was done using the second‐order Akaike information criterion. Components of variation related to geography, taxon or their combined effect were partitioned using partial regresssion. Multivariate trends in clinal shape were summarized using principal components of predictions from regressions, plotting vector scores on maps as for univariate size, and visualizing differences along main axes of clinal shape variation using surface rendering.Results  Significant clinal variation was found in size and shape. Clines were similar in females and males. Trend surface analysis tended to be more accurate and parsimonious than alternative models in predicting morphology based on geography. Cranial form was relatively paedomorphic in East Africa and peramorphic in central Africa. Most taxonomic variation was geographically structured. However, taxonomic differences alone accounted for a larger proportion of total explained variance in shape (up to 40%) than in size (≤ 20%).Main conclusions  A strong cline explained most of the observed size variation and a significant part of the shape differences of red colobus crania. The pattern of geographical variation was largely similar to that previously reported in vervets, despite different habitat preferences (arboreal versus terrestrial) and a long period since divergence (c. 14–15 Myr). This suggests that some aspects of morphological divergence in both groups may have been influenced by similar environmental, geographical and historical factors. Cranial size is likely to be evolutionarily more labile and thus better reflects the influence of recent environmental changes. Cranial shape could be more resilient to change and thus better reflects phylogenetically informative differences.
Internet Approach versus Lecture and Lab‐Based Approach for Teaching an Introductory Statistical Methods Course: Students’ Opinions
Authors: Johnson H. Dean , Dasgupta Nairanjana , Zhang Hao , Evans Marc A. 
Published: January 2009

SummaryThe use of the Internet as a teaching tool continues to grow in popularity at colleges and universities. We consider, from the students’ perspective, the use of an Internet approach compared to a lecture and lab‐based approach for teaching an introductory course in statistical methods. We conducted a survey of introductory statistics students. Contradictory to what was hypothesized by the authors, they favoured keeping the lecture and lab‐based approach for teaching the class.
Using mobile phone geolocalisation for ‘socio‐geographical’ analysis of co‐ordination, urban mobilities, and social integration patterns
Authors: LICOPPE CHRISTIAN , DIMINESCU DANA , SMOREDA ZBIGNIEW , ZIEMLICKI CEZARY 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTWe report here on research aiming to reconstruct urban mobilities and communication practices through mobile phone base data. We have developed a software probe that can be implemented on a user's mobile phone, and which allows the joint recording and collection of the successive locations experienced by the user (through the identification of the cell in which the mobile phone is located) and all types of communicative acts performed through the mobile phone. This has been combined to indepth interviews with subjects over one week of their mobility and mobile communication behaviour. The method has been tested over a sample of 24 adults living in Paris, all in the 30–45 age range, half male and half female, with varying histories of mobility and professional flexibility constraints, in order to reconstruct their mobility and their communication‐based activity spaces. We show how such a method enables the construction of a long time perspective on mobilities, and particularly on the articulation of displacements and mobile communication, which is an important issue in the ‘new mobilities paradigm’. We show how, over longer periods, mobility and communication practices combine into patterns marking social integration (or disintegration). We also show how our method allows us to construct new types of indicators, such as the propensity to communicate from a given type of place per unit of time, that reveal underlying patterns such as a higher propensity to call in mobile situations and transitory locations. This type of approach may be particularly relevant to the ongoing convergence of transport and communication studies, and to bridge the gap between communication research and mobility studies.
A TYPOLOGY OF PERI‐URBAN AREAS IN THE NETHERLANDS
Authors: HORNIS WILLEMIEKE , VAN ECK JAN RITSEMA 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT‘Ommeland’ is an old Dutch word that refers to the land around a town or city: a peri‐urban area. It is an important spatial category: the peri‐urban areas of the 24 most central cities in the Netherlands, excluding the cities themselves, house almost 40 per cent of the national population. In Dutch spatial policy, however, the peri‐urban area as the intermediate category between city and rural area has often been ignored. The concept of urban networks seems to contribute to the neglect of peri‐urban areas in spatial policy. However, at the same time the urban network theory that states that the hierarchy between places is disappearing raises new questions about the position of peri‐urban areas. Therefore, in this paper we investigate the position of peri‐urban areas in the Netherlands by looking at travel patterns to and from peri‐urban areas. By doing so, we obtain better insight into the relations between peri‐urban and other areas and into the position of peri‐urban areas in the Netherlands. We found different types of peri‐urban areas. In general, peri‐urban areas are still subordinate to the central city, but in some peri‐urban areas relation patterns are more diversified, both to and from other central cities and to other places in the peri‐urban areas. These peri‐urban areas can be seen as part of the urban network.
J. Cosmet. Sci., 59, 1–14 (January/February 2008) Determination of optimal dead sea salt content in a cosmetic emulsion using rheology and stability measurements
Authors: Abu‐Jdayil B. , Mohameed H. A. , Bsoul A. 
Published: January 2009

SynopsisDead Sea mud and salts are known for their therapeutic and cosmetic properties. The presence of Dead Sea (DS) salts in different types of cosmetics has affected the stability and the flow properties of the finished products. In this study, an attempt was made to find the optimum Dead Sea salt content in a cosmetic emulsion (model of body cream) using both rheology and stability measurements. The rheological properties were tested during a four‐month storage period at three different storage temperatures: 8°C, room temperature, and 45°C. In addition to rheological measurements and centrifuge tests, the conductivities of the emulsion samples were also determined. The centrifuge tests showed that the cream samples containing more than 0.25 wt% of DS salt showed phase separation. The addition of DS salt to the cosmetic emulsion led to two maxima in the emulsion viscosity at salt contents of 0.07 wt% and 0.15 wt%. However, the emulsion samples containing 0.15% of DS salt was considered the optimum sample since it contained the maximum amount of salt and exhibited the maximum viscosity at all tested conditions. It was found that the viscosity of the emulsion is increased with storage time and storage temperature. This behavior was accompanied by a decrease in conductivity. This behavior was explained by water evaporation from the emulsion. However, it has been shown that the presence of DS salt in the cosmetic emulsion significantly reduces the rate of water evaporation. The conductivity measurements reflect the rate of water evaporation, and the presence of DS salt reduces the rate of conductivity. Conductivity is observed to decrease with storage time and temperature.
J. Cosmet. Sci., 59, 41–58 (January/February 2008) Evaluation of the effect of Thai breadfruit's heartwood extract on melanogenesis‐inhibitory and antioxidation activities
Authors: Donsing P. , Limpeanchob N. , Viyoch J. 
Published: January 2009

SynopsisThe aim of this study was to clarify the melanogenesis‐inhibitory and antioxidant activity of Thai breadfruit's heartwood extract for application as a skin‐lightening agent. The heartwood of breadfruit (Artocarpus incisus) grown in Phitsanulok Province, Thailand, was extracted by using diethyl ether or methanol. The amount of artocarpin, a major component of A. incisus extract, was determined by using the HPLC method. The artocarpin content found in ether ex tract was 45.19 ± 0.45% w/w, whereas that in methanol extract was 19.61 ± 0.05% w/w. The ether extract was then evaluated for tyrosinase‐inhibitory, melanogenesis‐inhibitory, and antioxidant activities. The tyrosinase‐inhibitory activity was tested in vitro by monitoring the inhibition of the extract against the formation of DOPAchrome by tyrosinase enzyme. The results showed that the tyrosinase‐inhibitory activity of the extract was in a dose‐dependent manner. The obtained IC50 value was 10.26 ± 3.04 μg mL‐1, while kojic acid, a well‐known tyrosinase inhibitor, provided an IC50 of 7.89 ± 0.18 μg mL‐1. Melanocyte B16F1 melanoma cells (ATCC No. CRL‐6323) were then used for determination of the melanogenesis‐inhibitory activity of the extract, comparing it to hydroquinone, kojic acid, and purified artocarpin. The amount of melanin produced by the cells was monitored by measuring an absorbence at 490 nm. The obtained results indicated that A. incisus extract at a concentration of 2 to 25 μg mL‐1 was able to decrease the melanin production of the melanocyte B16F1 cells. The obtained micrograph also confirmed that the extract did not change the cell morphology but reduced the melanin content by inhibiting melanin synthesis, whereas the purified artocarpin at a concentration of 4.5 μg mL‐1 caused changes in cell morphology. Additionally, the extract exhibited antioxidant activity in a dose‐dependent manner at an EC50 of 169.53 ± 9.73 μg mL‐1, according to DPPH assay. The obtained results indicated that the ether extract of A. incisus's heartwood has the potential of acting as a skin‐lightening agent for application in cosmetics.