bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nonviral Delivery for Genomic Therapy of Cancer
Authors: Templeton Nancy Smyth 
Published: November 2008

AbstractWe have developed improved liposomal nanoparticles that efficiently condense nucleic acids, proteins, viruses, drugs, and mixtures of these agents on the interior of bilamellar invaginated structures (BIVs) produced by a novel extrusion procedure. The liposomal complexes have extended half‐life in the circulation, serum stability, and broad biodistribution; are targetable to specific organs and cell types; can penetrate through tight barriers in several organs; are fusogenic with cell membranes and avoid endosomes; are optimized for nucleic acid:lipid ratio and colloidal suspension in vivo; can be size fractionated to produce totally homogeneous populations of complexes prior to injection; are nontoxic, nonimmunogenic, and can be repeatedly administered; and they are stable in liquid suspensions and freeze‐dried formulations. We can add specific ligands either by ionic interactions or by covalent attachments to the surface of these nucleic acid–liposome complexes to accomplish targeted delivery to specific cell surface receptors. Furthermore, the charge on the surface of these complexes can be modified to avoid uptake by nontarget cells using our novel technology called “reversible masking.” We have also achieved high‐dose systemic delivery of these complexes without toxicity in vivo by further purification of plasmid DNA. At present, these complexes are injected intravenously into patients in clinical trials to treat lung cancer and will be used in upcoming trials to treat breast, pancreatic, and head and neck cancers. Notably, BIV complexes are being injected intravenously into patients with non‐small‐cell lung carcinoma who have failed to respond to chemotherapy. These patients are living longer and have demonstrated objective responses, including tumor regression.
Risk Factors of Surgical Site Infection After Hepatectomy for Liver Cancers
Authors: Kobayashi Shin , Gotohda Naoto , Nakagohri Toshio , Takahashi Shinichiro , Konishi Masaru , Kinoshita Taira 
Published: November 2008

AbstractBackgroundRisk factors of surgical site infection (SSI) after hepatectomy under the guideline of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are not well examined.MethodsHospital records of consecutive patients who underwent hepatectomy without biliary reconstruction for liver cancers were reviewed retrospectively. Prophylactic antibiotics were given to patients just before skin incision and every 3 hours during the operations. Clinicopathological factors were compared between patients who developed SSI and those without it.ResultsThere were 405 patients identified, and the incidence of SSI was 23 cases (5.8%). In multivariate analysis, intraoperative bowel injury, blood loss >2000 ml, and age older than 65 years were significant risk factors of SSI after hepatectomy.ConclusionsProphylactic antibiotics were necessary only during the operation for most patients who underwent hepatectomy without biliary reconstruction. However, patients with intraoperative bowel injury, blood loss >2000 ml, and age older than 65 years are at risk to develop SSI and might need additional administration of prophylactic antibiotics after surgery.
Postnatal development in vasopressin deficient Brattleboro rats with special attention to the hypothalamo‐pituitary–adrenal axis function: the role of maternal genotype
Authors: Zelena Dóra , Mergl Zsuzsa , Makara Gábor B. 
Published: November 2008

AbstractAnomalies in hormonal and neurotransmitter status during perinatal period can lead to lifespan alterations in the central nervous system. Vasopressin is present early in the brain and has various mitogenic, metabolic and physiological actions, e.g. in water homeostasis or in the regulation of the hypothalamo‐pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. Therefore we examine the possible role of vasopressin in perinatal development with special attention to the influence of maternal genotype and to the HPA axis regulation. We compared homozygous vasopressin deficient (di/di) Brattleboro rats to their heterozygous (di/+) littermates both from di/+ and di/di mother. Higher locomotion due to reduced adaptation was present at preweaning. During the first 10 days of life the di/di pups from di/di mother were the smallest, while in the later perinatal period the genotype of the pups became the more important determinant of the somatic development, namely the di/di pups from both mothers had reduced weight gain. Generally the lack of vasopressin in the pups fastened the somatic development (pinna detachment, eye and ear opening, incisor eruption) however the neurobehavioral development (palmar grasp reflex, righting reflex, negative geotaxis, etc.) was not influenced profoundly by either the mother's or the pup's genotype. The lack of vasopressin in pups abolished the 24 h maternal separation induced adrenocorticotrop hormone (ACTH) elevation while the accompanying corticosterone rises were even higher. The vasopressin deficiency of the mother reduced the resting ACTH and all corticosterone levels in all pups. So we can conclude that the lack of vasopressin speeds up the development, probably there is a greater drive for self‐sufficiency in these animals. The mother's vasopressin deficiency reduced the HPA axis reactivity of the pups. The role of vasopressin in the HPA axis regulation is important during the perinatal period independently from the mother's genotype. The large discrepancy between ACTH and corticosterone regulation requires further studies.
Hysteroscopic findings in women with primary and secondary infertility due to genital tuberculosis
Authors: Sharma Jai Bhagwan , Roy Kallol K. , Pushparaj Mohanraj , Kumar Sunesh 
Published: November 2008

AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate hysteroscopic findings of infertile women with genital tuberculosis.MethodA retrospective study of the records of 94 women who underwent diagnostic hysteroscopy for infertility at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. Genital tuberculosis was diagnosed by laboratory studies of an endometrial biopsy and/or laparoscopic findings.ResultsFor women with primary or secondary infertility, respectively, the hysteroscopic findings were normal in 15 (20.5%) vs 4 (9%) cases; and adhesions were grade 2 in 11 (15.1%) vs 3 (14) cases, grade 2a in 0 vs 1 (1.4%) cases, grade 3 in 11 (15.1%) vs 9 (42.9%) cases, grade 3b in 6 (8.2%) vs 0 cases, and grade 4 in 28 (38.4%) vs 2 (9.5%) cases.ConclusionGenital tuberculosis causes significant pelvic morbidity due to uterine adhesions and infertility.
Parietal peritoneal closure and persistent postcesarean pain
Authors: Shahin Ahmed Y. , Osman Ayman M. 
Published: November 2008

AbstractObjectiveTo assess the incidence of persistent pain after cesarean delivery.MethodsA total of 340 pregnant women with no history of abdominal surgery were randomized to undergo or not undergo parietal peritoneal closure following elective cesarean delivery. Pain scores were recorded on the 1st and 15th postoperative day and the women were followed up every 2 weeks up to 8 months after surgery.ResultsOverall and epigastric abdominal pain were more frequent in the closure than in the nonclosure group. Pain scores on the 1st and 15th days and after 8 months were higher in the closure group, in which the incidence of persistent postcesarean pain was 17.8% after 8 months.ConclusionParietal peritoneal closure after cesarean delivery is associated with a higher incidence of early and persistent postoperative pain. A high pain score on the 1st day is a predictor of persistent pain.
A Japanese diet and 19-year mortality: National Integrated Project for Prospective Observation of Non-Communicable Diseases and its Trends in the Aged, 1980
Authors: Nakamura Yasuyuki , Ueshima Hirotsugu , Okamura Tomonori , Kadowaki Takashi , Hayakawa Takehito , Kita Yoshikuni , Abbott Robert D. , Okayama Akira ,   for National Integrated Project for Prospective Observation of Non-Communicable Diseases and its Trends in the Aged, 1980 Research Group
Published: November 2008

Few studies have examined the association between Japanese diet and mortality outcomes. We analysed the relationship between a healthy Japanese diet and all-cause and cause-specific mortality using the database from the National Integrated Project for Prospective Observation of Non-Communicable Diseases and its Trends in the Aged, 1980. At baseline in 1980, data were collected on study participants aged ≧30 years from randomly selected areas in Japan. We defined a measure of a healthy reduced-salt Japanese diet based on seven components from FFQ. The total score ranged from 0 to 7, with 0 being least healthy and 7 being most healthy. Participants were divided into approximate tertiles of dietary scores (0–2, 3 and 4–7 scores). After excluding participants with co-morbidities, we followed 9086 participants (44 % men) for 19 years. There were 1823 all-cause and 654 cardiovascular deaths during the follow-up. With the dietary score group 0–2 serving as a reference, the Cox multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios for groups with scores 3 and 4–7 were 0·92 (95 % CI 0·83, 1·04) and 0·78 (95 % CI 0·70, 0·88) for all-cause mortality (trend P < 0·0001), and 0·91 (95 % CI 0·75, 1·10) and 0·80 (95 % CI 0·66, 0·97) for cardiovascular mortality (trend P = 0·022). Adherence to a healthy reduced-salt Japanese diet was associated with an approximate 20 % lower rate of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.
Bioavailability and nutritional effects of carotenoids from organically and conventionally produced carrots in healthy men
Authors: Stracke Berenike A. , Rüfer Corinna E. , Bub Achim , Briviba Karlis , Seifert Stephanie , Kunz Clemens , Watzl Bernhard 
Published: November 2008

It has been hypothesised that organically grown vegetables are healthier than conventionally produced ones due to a higher content of phytochemicals. However, few data from controlled human studies exist. The aim of the present study was to compare the carotenoid content and antioxidant capacity of organically and conventionally produced carrots under defined conditions. Furthermore, a human intervention study was conducted to compare bioavailability, plasma antioxidant capacity, endogenous DNA strand breaks and immune parameters in healthy men ingesting carrots from different agricultural systems. Thirty-six volunteers consumed either organically or conventionally produced blanched carrots (200 g/d; 2 weeks) or no carrots in a double-blind, randomised intervention study. No statistically significant differences were observed in the total carotenoid contents (121 (sd7) μg/g organicv.116 (sd13) μg/g conventional) and the antioxidant capacities (0·43 (sd0·08) μmol Trolox equivalents/g organicv.0·32 (sd0·07) μmol Trolox equivalents/g conventional) of the carrots administered to the volunteers. Intake of organically or conventionally produced carrots significantly increased (P < 0·001) plasma α- and β-carotene concentrations in both intervention groups without differences in plasma carotenoid concentrations. Consumption of carrots did not lead to significant changes in the plasma antioxidant status, endogenous DNA strand breaks and parameters of the immune system in all groups. Therefore, these results indicate that the agricultural system has neither an effect on the carotenoid content, the antioxidant capacity of carrots, nor on the bioavailability of carotenoids and on antioxidant, antigenotoxic and immunological effects as assessed in a human intervention study.
DOMESTIC OFFERINGS AT EL PALMILLO
Authors: Feinman Gary M. , Nicholas Linda M. , Maher Edward F. 
Published: November 2008

AbstractAlthough the topic has received recent attention, relatively little is known about how pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican communities were internally organized and interconnected. In this paper, we examine that question from the perspective of the Classic-period settlement of El Palmillo, in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. Previous studies of the valley have postulated that communities often were (and still are) subdivided into barrios, although the modes of integration for those segments are less fully defined. Along these lines, we have previously identified commoner and higher-status houses at El Palmillo (along with associated artifactual and architectural inventories). We also have noted that different commoner houses were involved in distinct suites of craft activity, thereby indicating a degree of economic interdependence among these units. Here we expand our analysis to domestic offerings, which we found to vary across the excavated houses. Adapting a perspective from Durkheim's distinction between mechanical and organic solidarity, we find an expected organic (hierarchical) relationship between the offering assemblages of the higher-status residences and the offerings in commoner house lots. At the same time, we see another axis of variation in domestic offerings that appears more organic (nonhierarchical) in nature. The latter axis of variation at El Palmillo has a clear spatial component, in support of previous hypotheses that barrios or spatially defined social segments were important in Valley of Oaxaca pre-Hispanic communities. At El Palmillo, the definitional features of these social segments appear to have been ideological as well as economic.
FULL PHONETIC COMPLEMENTATION, SEMANTIC CLASSIFIERS, AND SEMANTIC DETERMINATIVES IN ANCIENT MAYAN HIEROGLYPHIC WRITING
Authors: Mora-Marín David F. 
Published: November 2008

AbstractThis paper discusses a little understood spelling practice of Mayan hieroglyphic writing, the use of full phonetic complementation of logograms, and some implications derived from this practice, particularly when compared with similar practices in other logosyllabic scripts from around the world (e.g., Egyptian and Luvian), which suggest that such practice existed in association with semantic classifiers. Also, a preliminary distinction between two types of semantograms is made: semantic classifiers and semantic determinatives. Previous discussions of both types of signs are reviewed, and it is proposed that the two are more widespread and important in Mayan writing than previously thought. The implications of these results are clear: Mayanists, particularly epigraphers, need to pay more attention to this distinction in their decipherment efforts, as well as in any future philological and paleographic endeavors. The paper concludes with a proposal for the interrelationship between the stylistic evolution of graphemes and the development of semantic classifiers and determinatives.
A MODEL OF THE EMERGENCE OF THE TARASCAN STATE
Authors: Pollard Helen Perlstein 
Published: November 2008

AbstractBya.d.1350, central-western Mexico was incorporated into the Tarascan state. Thisirechequa tzintzuntzani(kingdom of Tzintzuntzan) has been known primarily from sixteenth-century documents. With three decades of archaeological, ecological, and ethnohistoric research, it is now possible to propose a model of the emergence of the first archaic state in Michoacan. Critical issues to be addressed include (1) why state formation occurred (and why this form); (2) why even secondary state formation was “delayed” for more than a millennium; (3) why it occurred in the Lake Patzcuaro Basin; and (4) the role of Purepecha ethnicity in the process.
ESTRATEGIAS PARA LA PRODUCCIÓN DE NAVAJAS DE OBSIDIANA EN LA REGIÓN DE ZACAPU Y LA VERTIENTE DEL LERMA (MICHOACAN, MÉXICO) ENTRE EL EPICLÁSICO Y EL POSCLÁSICO TARDÍO
Authors: Darras Véronique 
Published: November 2008

AbstractLos análisis de los artefactos de obsidiana provenientes de la región de Zacapu y de la vertiente meridional del Río Lerma evidenciaron transformaciones significativas entre el final del Clásico (600–900 d.C.) y el Posclásico tardío (1200–1450 d.C.). En lo que concierne la producción de navajas, se observan cambios que afectan el sistema productivo, desde las estrategias de adquisición de la materia prima y la organización de la producción, hasta las opciones técnicas y las modalidades de distribución y de consumo. Durante el Epiclásico y el Posclásico temprano, se desarrolla una producción de macronavajas y navajas obtenidas con la técnica de percusión y destinadas al mercado regional. Al inicio del Posclásico medio (alrededor de 1200 d.C.), se desarrolla la tecnología de la navajilla prismática, la cual substituye al sistema de producción anterior. Este artículo presenta los mecanismos que regían la producción de navajas entre el final del Clásico (600–900 d.C.) y el Posclásico tardío (1200–1450 d.C.) y discute las razones que pueden explicar las transformaciones. Propone que tanto los cambios tecnológicos como los cambios en la organización de las producciones pueden vincularse con la estructura de los sistemas sociales y políticos en los cuales se desempeñaron.
THE ROLE OF LATE PRE-CONTACT COLONIAL ENCLAVES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE POSTCLASSIC UCAREO VALLEY, MICHOACAN, MEXICO
Authors: Hernández Christine L. , Healan Dan M. 
Published: November 2008

AbstractAccording to ethnohistoric sources, northeastern Michoacan became incorporated into the eastern frontier of the Tarascan empire during the mid-1400s. At that time, the region was multiethnic in character, with enclaves of foreigners living within communities as well as making up whole communities. Recent investigation in the Ucareo-Zinapecuaro source area uncovered evidence of an earlier foreign enclave consisting of two settlements in the Ucareo Valley whose ceramics are distinct from those of neighboring sites while indistinguishable from those of Epiclassic Huamango in the Acambay region of the Toluca Basin. The implications of these data alongside Ucareo obsidian exploitation and its role in the construction of the Protohistoric Tarascan–Aztec frontier are considered along with the results of preliminary chronometric dating.
THE MANY FACES OF FIGURINES
Authors: Begun Erica 
Published: November 2008

AbstractFigurines offer archaeologists intriguing insights into many aspects of prehistoric culture. Beyond their utility as chronological markers, figurines offer information regarding the social and cultural structures of a society. This paper will demonstrate how the figurines of Michoacan can be used as markers of ethnic identity and ethnic continuity in the Lake Patzcauro Basin. The high degree of continuity in decorative and production styles throughout much of the sequence serves as evidence for ethnic continuity and the identity of the people who made the artifacts. A preliminary typology for the Michoacan figurines is presented to support the idea that a distinctly Michoacan style of figurine exists. The application of this figurine typology reveals a high degree of continuity in the figurine record. This supports the hypothesis that the ethnic origins of the Michoacan people may reach back as far as the Late Preclassic/Early Classic period.
Private transfers to cope with a natural disaster: evidence from Bangladesh
Authors: MOZUMDER PALLAB , BOHARA ALOK K. , BERRENS ROBERT P. , HALIM NAFISA 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTBased on multiple rounds of household survey data collected in the year after the 1998 massive flooding in Bangladesh, we investigate the role of private transfers as a social coping response to natural disasters. We also explore the role of private transfers (gifts) as an informal insurance mechanism to smooth consumption in the face of an adverse covariate shock caused by the flooding. The level of transfers made is shown to be altruistically calibrated to the severity of flood exposure. As an indicator of the economic importance of such gifts, the amount of transfers received is shown to significantly contribute to reducing household consumption variability. We discuss the policy implications of our findings in a developing country context.
Farmer preferences formilpadiversity and genetically modified maize in Mexico: a latent class approach
Authors: BIROL EKIN , VILLALBA ERIC RAYN , SMALE MELINDA 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTMaize originated in Mexico, where it is typically grown in association with other crops in themilpasystem. This ancient mode of production is practiced today in ways that vary by cultural context and agro-environment. We use a choice experiment to estimate farmers' valuation of three components of agrobiodiversity (crop species richness, maize variety richness, and maize landraces) in themilpasystem, and examine their interest in cultivating genetically modified (GM) maize. We apply a latent class model to data collected from 382 farm households in the states of Jalisco, Oaxaca, and Michoacán to analyze the heterogeneity of farmer preferences. We identify the characteristics of farmers who are most likely to continue growing maize landraces, as well as those least likely to accept GM maize. Findings have implications for debates concerning the introduction of GM maize and the design ofin situconservation programs in these sites.
Technical efficiency and the role of skipper skill in artisanal Lake Victoria fisheries
Authors: LOKINA RAZACK B. 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTLake Victoria fisheries are important to Tanzanian food security, employment, and foreign exchange, but they have experienced declining performance, largely due to overfishing. This paper studies technical efficiency and skipper skill using Tanzanian fishery data for the two major species, Nile perch and dagaa. The relative level of efficiency is high in both fisheries and several observable variables linked to skipper skill significantly explain the efficiency level.
Design and implementation of a tracer driver: Easy and efficient dynamic analyses of constraint logic programs
Authors: LANGEVINE LUDOVIC , DUCASSÉ MIREILLE 
Published: November 2008

AbstractTracers provide users with useful information about program executions. In this article, we propose a “tracer driver”. From a single tracer, it provides a powerful front-end enabling multiple dynamic analysis tools to be easily implemented, while limiting the overhead of the trace generation. The relevant execution events are specified by flexible event patterns and a large variety of trace data can be given either systematically or “on demand”. The proposed tracer driver has been designed in the context of constraint logic programming (CLP); experiments have been made within GNU-Prolog. Execution views provided by existing tools have been easily emulated with a negligible overhead. Experimental measures show that the flexibility and power of the described architecture lead to good performance. The tracer driver overhead is inversely proportional to the average time between two traced events. Whereas the principles of the tracer driver are independent of the traced programming language, it is best suited for high-level languages, such as CLP, where each traced execution event encompasses numerous low-level execution steps. Furthermore, CLP is especially hard to debug. The current environments do not provide all the useful dynamic analysis tools. They can significantly benefit from our tracer driver which enables dynamic analyses to be integrated at a very low cost.
Réalisation de Hodge du polylogarithme d'un schéma abélien
Authors: Blottière David 
Published: November 2008

RésuméDans cet article, on démontre que les courants polylogarithmiques introduits par Andrey Levin décrivent le polylogarithme d'un schéma abélien au niveau topologique. De ce résultat, qu'Andrey Levin avait lui-même conjecturé, on déduit une méthode pour déterminer explicitement les classes d'Eisenstein des schémas abéliens au niveau topologique. Ces classes ont un intérêt particulier, car, comme Guido Kings l'a établi, elles ont une origine motivique. Dans une suite à ce travail intitulée «Les classes d'Eisenstein des variétés de Hilbert–Blumenthal», on utilise les résultats obtenus dans le présent article pour démontrer que les classes d'Eisenstein des variétés de Hilbert–Blumenthal dégénèrent au bord de la compactification de Baily–Borel de la base en une valeur spéciale de fonctionLassociée au corps de nombres totalement réel sous-jacent, et on en déduit, dans ce contexte géométrique, un résultat de non annulation pour certaines classes d'Eisenstein.