bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Respiratory syncytial virus glycoproteins uptake occurs through clathrin-mediated endocytosis in a human epithelial cell line
Authors: Gutiérrez-Ortega Abel , Sánchez-Hernández Carla , Gómez-García Beatriz 
Published: October 2008

Abstract
Cell-surface viral proteins most frequently enter the cell through clathrin or caveolae endocytosis. Respiratory syncytial virus antigen internalization by immune cells is via caveolin, however, uptake of paramyxovirus cell membrane proteins by non-immune cells is done through clathrin-coated pits. In this work, the uptake of respiratory syncytial virus cell surface glycoproteins by non-immune human epithelial cells was investigated through indirect immunofluorescence with polyclonal anti-RSV antibody and confocal lasser-scanner microscopy. Clathrin and caveolae internalization pathways were monitored through specific inhibitors monodansylcadaverine (MDC) and methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (MBCD), respectively. Internalization of RSV antigens was inhibited by MDC but not by MBCD, implying that clathrin-mediated endocytosis is the major uptake route of RSV antigens by an epithelial human cell line.
Significance of the entire C-terminus in biological activities mediated by the RON receptor tyrosine kinase and its oncogenic variant RON160
Authors: Lu Yi , Yao Hang-Ping , Wang Ming-Hai 
Published: October 2008

Abstract
The RON receptor tyrosine kinase regulates epithelial cell homeostasis and tumorigenesis by transducing multiple signals through its functional domains. The present study was to determine the significance of the entire C-terminus in RON or its variant RON160-mediated activities related to cell motility and tumorigenesis. Analysis of protein phosphorylation revealed that elimination of the entire C-terminus significantly impairs the ligand-dependent or independent RON or RON160 phosphorylation and dimerization. Phosphorylation of downstream signaling proteins such as Erk1/2, AKT, and p38 MAP kinase was also diminished in cells expressing the C-terminus-free RON or RON160. These dysfunctional activities were accompanied with the inability of truncated RON or RON160 to mediate cytoplasmic β-catenin accumulation. Functional analysis further demonstrated that truncation of the C-terminus significantly impairs RON or RON160-mediated cell proliferation, morphological changes, and cellular migration. Significantly, oncogenic RON160-mediated tumor growth in athymic nude mice was lost after the deletion of the C-terminus. Thus, the C-terminus is a critical component of the RON receptor. The entire C-terminus is required for RON or RON160-mediated intracellular signaling events leading to various cellular activities.
A quality assessment of genetic association studies supporting susceptibility and outcome in acute lung injury
Authors: Flores Carlos , del Mar Pino-Yanes Maria , Villar Jesús 
Published: October 2008

Abstract
Introduction
Clinical observations and animal models provide evidence that the development of acute lung injury (ALI), a phenomenon of acute diffuse lung inflammation in critically ill patients, is influenced by genetic factors. Association studies are the main tool for exploring common genetic variations underlying ALI susceptibility and/or outcome. We aimed to assess the quality of positive genetic association studies with ALI susceptibility and/or outcome in adults in order to highlight their consistency and major limitations.

Methods
We conducted a broad PubMed literature search from 1996 to June 2008 for original articles in English supporting a positive association (P ≤ 0.05) of genetic variants contributing to all-cause ALI susceptibility and/or outcome. Studies were evaluated based on current recommendations using a 10-point quality scoring system derived from 14 criteria, and the gene was considered as the unit of replication. Genes were also categorized according to biological processes using the Gene Ontology.

Results
Our search identified a total of 29 studies reporting positive findings for 16 genes involved mainly in the response to external stimulus and cell signal transduction. The genes encoding for interleukin-6, mannose-binding lectin, surfactant protein B, and angiotensin-converting enzyme were the most replicated across the studies. On average, the studies had an intermediate quality score (median of 4.62 and interquartile range of 3.33 to 6.15).

Conclusions
Although the quality of association studies seems to have improved over the years, more and better designed studies, including the replication of previous findings, with larger sample sizes extended to population groups other than those of European descent, are needed for identifying firm genetic modifiers of ALI.
Modelling of a housing estate with micro-combined heat and power for power flow studies
Authors: Sulka T , Jenkins N 
Published: October 2008

A high concentration of micro-combined heat and power (mCHP) units leads to difficulties in predicting power flows in low-voltage electrical feeders. A simple model of a house with mCHP generation, which is combined with an estate model, is used to predict electrical network flows. The model of the estate includes representation of the residents’ behaviour and ambient weather conditions. Results for an individual house, as well as electrical power flows for the estate feeder, are shown for three different seasons of a year.
Scenarios for examination of highly distributed power systems
Authors: Jardine C N , Ault G W 
Published: October 2008

A set of three scenarios has been created in order to examine the incorporation of extensive penetrations of micro-generators into electricity networks (termed ‘highly distributed power systems’). The scenarios have been created as a synthesis of the Future Network Technologies scenarios and the UK domestic carbon model, and yields energy use and carbon dioxide emissions of the UK housing stock from inputs of household numbers, house type, thermal efficiency, appliance efficiency, as well as the number and efficiency of micro-generators used. The centralized supply mix also varies between scenarios and features extensive penetrations of large-scale renewables. The scenarios illustrate the scale of change required to reduce CO2 emissions by 60 per cent by 2050, which has substantial impacts for electricity network operation. Moving from a centralized system to the one where one-third of electricity comes from distributed sources poses significant challenges including: reverse power flow on networks, load balancing, storage requirements, phase unbalance, harmonics, and ancillary services.
Developing and testing a generic micro-combined heat and power model for simulations of dwellings and highly distributed power systems
Authors: Kelly N J , Clarke J A , Ferguson A , Burt G 
Published: October 2008

This paper elaborates an approach to the modelling of domestic micro-combined heat and power (μ-CHP) using a building simulation tool that can provide a detailed picture of the environmental performance of both the μ-CHP heating system and the dwelling it serves. The approach can also provide useful data for the modelling of highly distributed power systems (HDPS). At the commencement of the work described in this paper no μ-CHP device model that was compatible with a building simulation tool was available. The development of such a model is described along with its calibration and verification. The simulation tool with the device model was then applied to the analysis of a dwelling with a Stirling engine-based heating system. Different levels of thermal insulation and occupancy types were modelled. The energy and environmental performance of the μ-CHP device was quantified for each case; additionally, the potential for its participation in the control and operation of an HDPS was assessed. Analysis of the simulation results indicated that the parasitic losses associated with the μ-CHP system balance of plant reduced the overall heating system efficiency by up to 40 per cent. Performance deteriorated with increasing levels of insulation in the dwelling, resulting in reduced thermal efficiency and increased cycling, though overall fuel use was reduced. The analysis also indicated that the device was generally available to participate in HDPS control for greater than 90 per cent of the simulation time. The potential length of the participation time ranged from 1 to 800+min and depended upon the state of the μ-CHP system thermal buffer and prevailing heat loads. Probabilities for different participation times and modes were calculated.
Assessment of highly distributed power systems using an integrated simulation approach
Authors: Burt G M , Elders I M , Galloway S J , Kelly N J , Tumilty R M 
Published: October 2008

In a highly distributed power system (HDPS), micro renewable and low carbon technologies would make a significant contribution to the electricity supply. Further, controllable devices such as micro combined heat and power (CHP) could be used to assist in maintaining stability in addition to simply providing heat and power to dwellings. To analyse the behaviour of such a system requires the modelling of both the electrical distribution system and the coupled microgeneration devices in a realistic context. In this paper a pragmatic approach to HDPS modelling is presented: microgeneration devices are simulated using a building simulation tool to generate time-varying power output profiles, which are then replicated and processed statistically so that they can be used as boundary conditions for a load flow simulation; this is used to explore security issues such as under and over voltage, branch thermal overloading, and reverse power flow. Simulations of a section of real network are presented, featuring different penetrations of micro-renewables and micro-CHP within the ranges that are believed to be realistically possible by 2050. This analysis indicates that well-designed suburban networks are likely to be able to accommodate such levels of domestic-scale generation without problems emerging such as overloads or degradation to the quality of supply.
Click Fraud
Authors: Wilbur Kenneth C. , Zhu Yi 
Published: October 2008

Click fraud is the practice of deceptively clicking on search ads with the intention of either increasing third-party website revenues or exhausting an advertiser's budget. Search advertisers are forced to trust that search engines detect and prevent click fraud even though the engines get paid for every undetected fraudulent click. We find conditions under which it is in a search engine's interest to allow some click fraud. Under full information in a second-price auction, if x% of clicks are fraudulent, advertisers will lower their bids by x%, leaving the auction outcome and search engine revenues unchanged. However, if we allow for uncertainty in the amount of click fraud or change the auction type to include a click-through component, search engine revenues may rise or fall with click fraud. A decrease occurs when the keyword auction is relatively competitive because advertisers lower their budgets to hedge against downside risk. If the keyword auction is less competitive, click fraud may transfer surplus from the winning advertiser to the search engine. Our results suggest that the search advertising industry would benefit from using a neutral third party to audit search engines' click fraud detection algorithms.
Joining Longer Queues: Information Externalities in Queue Choice
Authors: Veeraraghavan Senthil , Debo Laurens 
Published: October 2008

A classic example that illustrates how observed customer behavior impacts other customers' decisions is the selection of a restaurant whose quality is uncertain. Customers often choose the busier restaurant, inferring that other customers in that restaurant know something that they do not. In an environment with random arrival and service times, customer behavior is reflected in the lengths of the queues that form at the individual servers. Therefore, queue lengths could signal two factors—potentially higher arrivals to the server or potentially slower service at the server. In this paper, we focus on both factors when customers' waiting costs are negligible. This allows us to understand how information externalities due to congestion impact customers' service choice behavior. In our model, based on private information about both the service-quality and queue-length information, customers decide which queue to join. When the service rates are the same and known, we confirm that it may be rational to ignore private information and purchase from the service provider with the longer queue when only one additional customer is present in the longer queue. We find that, due to the information externalities contained in queue lengths, there exist cycles during which one service firm is thriving whereas the other is not. Which service provider is thriving depends on luck; i.e., it is determined by the private signal of the customer arriving when both service providers are idle. These phenomena continue to hold when each service facility has multiple servers, or when a facility may go out of business when it cannot attract customers for a certain amount of time. Finally, we find that when the service rates are unknown but are negatively correlated with service values, our results are strengthened; long queues are now doubly informative. The market share of the high-quality firm is higher when there is service rate uncertainty, and it increases as the service rate decreases. When the service rates are positively correlated with unknown service values, long queues become less informative and customers might even join shorter queues.
Association between estrogen and androgen receptor genes and prostate cancer risk
Authors: Nicolaiew Nathalie , Cancel-Tassin Geraldine , Azzouzi Abdel Rahmene , Grand Beatrice Le , Mangin Philippe , Cormier Luc , Fournier Georges , Giordanella Jean-Pierre , Pouchard Michel , Escary Jean-Louis , Valeri Antoine , Cussenot Olivier 
Published: October 2008

ObjectiveProstate cancer (PC) is one of the principal causes of death among men. Steroid hormones are involved in normal prostate growth and carcinogenesis. The purpose of our study was to investigate the effects on PC risk of polymorphisms from three steroid hormone receptor genes: the androgen (AR), and the α (ESR1) and β (ESR2) estrogen receptors.Design and methodsThe study was performed on a Caucasian population of 1045 PC patients and 814 controls. Using a logistic regression model, the different alleles and genotypes from those polymorphisms were analyzed according to case/control status, the tumor aggressiveness, and the age at onset.ResultsA significant association between PC risk and the pooled 4/5, 5/6, and 6/6 genotypes of the GGGA repeat located in the first intron ofESR1(odds ratio (OR)=3.00, 95% CI=1.32–6.82,P=0.008) was observed. When we stratified the cases, this association was confined to patients with a Gleason score of 2–4 (OR=8.34, 95% CI=2.91–23.91,P<0.0001) or late onset PC (OR=2.91, 95% CI=1.22–6.93,P=0.016). An association between a shortARCAG repeat (less than 17 repeats) was also observed among patients with late onset PC (OR=2.34, 95% CI=1.15–4.76,P=0.019).ConclusionsThese findings suggest that the GGGA repeat fromESR1and the CAG repeat fromARmay be associated with risk of late onset PC.
Diagnosis of secondary adrenal insufficiency in patients with hypothalamic–pituitary disease: comparison between serum and salivary cortisol during the high-dose short synacthen test
Authors: Deutschbein Timo , Unger Nicole , Mann Klaus , Petersenn Stephan 
Published: October 2008

ObjectiveAccurate assessment of adrenal function is essential in patients with hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) disease. The measurement of salivary cortisol (SaC) instead of serum cortisol (SeC) offers several advantages, such as the determination of the free hormone. We evaluated the diagnostic value of SeC and SaC both unstimulated and during a high-dose short synacthen test (HDT) in comparison to the insulin tolerance test (ITT).DesignComparative study between 2005 and 2007.MethodsFifty-five patients with HPA impairment and 21 healthy controls were enrolled. Samples were collected in the early morning and over 120 min during the HDT. Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed individual thresholds for four HDT periods (0–30, 0–60, 0–90, and 0–120 min).ResultsThe ITT identified 30 subjects as adrenal insufficient. With respect to the four HDT periods, sensitivity and specificity were 67–79% and 71–88% for SeC, compared with 63–72% and 72–86% for SaC. If upper and lower thresholds (with specificities >95%) were applied, patients were diagnosed in 40–45% by SeC and in 25–31% by SaC. The combination of basal cortisol and HDT allowed a diagnosis in 47–49% (SeC) and in 42–45% (SaC) respectively.ConclusionWe suggest the determination of basal SeC or SaC as first-line test. In comparison to the ITT, the HDT has only limited value in screening for alterations of the HPA axis. If the HDT is performed, sampling may be limited to 30 min post-synacthen, using either SeC or SaC. Due to the ease of collection and the independence of binding proteins, SaC may be preferable.
Serum uric acid and its association with metabolic syndrome and carotid atherosclerosis in obese children
Authors: Pacifico Lucia , Cantisani Vito , Anania Caterina , Bonaiuto Elisabetta , Martino Francesco , Pascone Roberto , Chiesa Claudio 
Published: October 2008

ObjectiveThe association between hyperuricemia, metabolic syndrome (MS), and atherosclerotic vascular disease has been reported in adults, but very little is known about this association in children. The aims of our study were to ascertain the correlates of uric acid (UA) in a sample of obese children, and to investigate whether UA is associated with carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) independently from classical risk factors including MS.MethodsWe analyzed carotid IMT along with serum triglycerides, total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, glucose, insulin, insulin resistance index (as homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance), alanine aminotransferase, γ-glutamyltransferase, creatinine, and UA in 120 obese children and 50 healthy control children.ResultsUA concentrations were significantly higher in obese children compared with controls; moreover, they correlated with the most established cardiovascular risk factors. In the group of obese children, after adjustment for age, sex, pubertal stage, and creatinine, an independent association between UA levels and the presence of MS syndrome was observed (unstandardized coefficient, 0.044 (95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.015–0.072);P<0.01). Carotid IMT significantly increased in the fourth quartile of UA compared with that in the first, second, and third quartile (0.49 (0.46–0.53), 0.53 (0.49–0.56), and 0.55 (0.52–0.59) vs 0.61 (95% CI, 0.58–0.64);P<0.01). When multivariate analysis was performed after adjusting for age, gender, pubertal stage, creatinine, and MS (considered as a single clinical entity), or the individual components of MS simultaneously included, the association between UA and carotid IMT was significant (P<0.01).ConclusionsIn obese children and adolescents, increased UA levels are associated with carotid atherosclerosis.
Thyroid cancer: is the incidence rise abating?
Authors: Sassolas Geneviève , Hafdi-Nejjari Zakia , Remontet Laurent , Bossard Nadine , Belot Aurélien , Berger-Dutrieux Nicole , Decaussin-Petrucci Myriam , Bournaud Claire , Peix Jean Louis , Orgiazzi Jacques , Borson-Chazot Françoise , _ _ 
Published: October 2008

ObjectiveThe aim of the present study was to determine recent trends in thyroid cancer incidence rates and to analyze histopathological characteristics and geographical distribution.MethodsHistologically proven 5367 cases were collected over the period 1998–2006 in France from the Rhône-Alpes thyroid cancer registry. Geographical variations of incidence were analyzed using a mixed Poisson model.ResultsThe average incidence rates, age standardized to the world population, were 3.9/100 000 in men and 12.3/100 000 in women, higher than those previously reported in France. After an initial increase during the first 3 years, a steady level of incidence was observed for the period 2001–2006. The annual incidence rate of microcarcinomas was correlated with that of all cancers in men and women (r=0.78 and 0.89; P<0.01) respectively. Papillary microcarcinomas represented 38% of tumors and two-thirds of them measured less than 5 mm in diameter. They were fortuitously discovered after thyroidectomy for benign diseases in 64% of cases. Histological marks of aggressiveness differed according to the size of the tumor. Despite recent advances in diagnosis, 13% of tumors were diagnosed at advanced stage especially in men. Geographical distribution of incidence based on subregional administrative entities showed lower incidence rates in rural than in urban zones in men (relative rate: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.62–0.84) and women (relative rate: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.73–0.93).ConclusionThe present study suggests that the rise in thyroid cancer incidence is now abating. It could reflect standardization in diagnostic procedures. Further studies, performed on a more prolonged period, are necessary to confirm these data.
Serum vaspin levels in type 2 diabetic women in relation to microvascular complications
Authors: Gulcelik Nese Ersoz , Karakaya Jale , Gedik Arzu , Usman Aydan , Gurlek Alper 
Published: October 2008

ObjectiveVaspin is a novel adipokine that has insulin sensitizing effects. The association between serum vaspin levels and diabetic complications is unknown. In this study, we aimed to evaluate serum vaspin levels as related to glycemic status and the presence of complications in a group of type 2 diabetic women.Materials and methodsWe evaluated 37 type 2 diabetic female patients and 37 control female subjects who were matched for age and body-mass index. Anthropometric measurements, insulin, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), C-reactive protein, and serum vaspin levels were measured in each participant. Furthermore, the patients were evaluated for diabetic neuropathy, nephropathy, and retinopathy.ResultsIn diabetic patients, serum vaspin levels correlated positively with HbA1c and correlated negatively with insulin levels and homeostasis model assessment. The patients with HbA1c levels ≤7% had lower levels of serum vaspin than patients with HbA1c levels >7% (0.11±0.06 ng/ml versus 0.20±0.09 ng/ml,P<0.05). In patients with neuropathy, retinopathy, and nephropathy, serum vaspin levels were lower than in patients without neuropathy (0.10±0.07 ng/ml versus 0.17±0.09 ng/ml,P=0.041), retinopathy (0.11±0.06 ng/ml versus 0.18±0.09 ng/ml,P=0.019), and nephropathy, (0.11±0.05 ng/ml versus 0.18±0.09 ng/ml,P=0.02). Diabetic patients receiving metformin therapy had lower vaspin levels than patients not receiving metformin.ConclusionDiabetic women with good glycemic control have lower levels of vaspin than those with poor glycemic control. However, presence of microvascular complications is also associated with low vaspin levels. In order to use serum vaspin levels as a marker, evaluating patients for complications and medications interfering with serum vaspin levels seems appropriate.