bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An Exact Gibbs Sampler for the Markov-Modulated Poisson Process
Authors: Fearnhead Paul , Sherlock Chris 
Published: October 2006

SummaryA Markov-modulated Poisson process is a Poisson process whose intensity varies according to a Markov process. We present a novel technique for simulating from the exact distribution of a continuous time Markov chain over an interval given the start and end states and the infinitesimal generator, and we use this to create a Gibbs sampler which samples from the exact distribution of the hidden Markov chain in a Markov-modulated Poisson process. We apply the Gibbs sampler to modelling the occurrence of a rare DNA motif (the Chi site) and to inferring regions of the genome with evidence of high or low intensities for occurrences of this site.
Bounds on Causal Effects in Three-Arm Trials With Non-Compliance
Authors: Cheng Jing , Small Dylan S. 
Published: October 2006

SummaryThe paper considers the analysis of three-arm randomized trials with non-compliance. In these trials, the average causal effects of treatments within principal strata of compliance behaviour are of interest for better understanding the effect of the treatment. Unfortunately, even with the usual assumptions, the average causal effects of treatments within principal strata are not point identified. However, the observable data do provide useful information on the bounds of the identification regions of the parameters of interest. Under two sets of assumptions, we derive sharp bounds for the causal effects within principal strata for binary outcomes and construct confidence intervals to cover the identification regions. The methods are illustrated by an analysis of data from a randomized study of treatments for alcohol dependence.
Respectability, Roughness and ‘Race’: Neighbourhood Place Images and the Making of Working‐Class Social Distinctions in London
Authors: WATT PAUL 
Published: October 2006

AbstractHousing has come to play an important role in demarcating the contours of social polarization in inner London, notably via the widening socio‐spatial divide between an impoverished working class located in council housing estates and affluent home‐owning gentrifiers. In mass media and policy discourses, the former are routinely represented as an unruly urban ‘underclass’, a representation that homogenizes council tenants and marginalizes their voices. This article aims to move beyond a narrow underclass perspective by providing an in‐depth analysis of neighbourhood place images and social identity based on interviews with white working‐class council tenants in the inner London Borough of Camden. Drawing on debates around social distinction and place, the article illustrates a complex set of neighbourhood images rooted in narratives of urban decline as well as notions of belonging and knowing people. The article examines these place images in relation to the longstanding status distinction between respectability and roughness, as well as ‘race’. In conclusion, the defensive and exclusionary elements of neighbourhood images are related to processes of social deprivation and insecurity that have affected working‐class council tenants in Camden.
Sitosterol xanthomatosis
Authors: Guirado SSS , Conejo‐Mir JS , Muñoz MA , Wite JB , Fernandez‐Freire LR , Ortíz JV 
Published: October 2006

AbstractBackground  Sitosterolaemia is a lipid disorder in which plasma plant sterol levels are extremely elevated. Sitosterolaemia is clinically characterized by tuberous and tendon xanthomas, premature vascular disease and arthritis.Objective  To report a case of sitosterolaemia diagnosed by cutaneous manifestations and to review this rare disease.Methods  We report the case of a 60‐year‐old woman who presented with cutaneous xanthomas, arterial hypertension and polyarthralgias. The patient had had hypercholesterolaemia for many years without reduction of serum cholesterol, despite treatment with fenofibrate.Results  Ezetimibe therapy was started, decreasing sitosterol plasmatic levels and tuberous xanthomas after 3 months of treatment.Conclusion  It is important to detect levels of sitosterol in plasma in patients with premature vascular disease, presence of xanthomas, and uncontrolled hypercholesterolaemia. Ezetimibe therapy is effective.
Psoriasis under the microscope
Authors: Cribier BJ 
Published: October 2006

AbstractHistopathology is a major diagnostic tool in dermatology, particularly in psoriasiform diseases. Morphological studies showed that the initial event in psoriatic lesions is perivascular infiltrate, followed by dilatation of superficial papillary vessels. Proliferation of keratinocytes and neutrophil exocytosis are secondary events.Fully developed psoriasis has a very characteristic pattern, which includes elongation of rete ridges leading to regular acanthosis, oedema of the papillary dermis associated with tortuous dilated vessels, thinning of suprapapillar area, decreased thickness of granular layer, and exocytosis of neutrophils in the spinous layer (Kogoj's pustule) or in the cornified parakeratotic layer (Munro microabscesses). Pustular psoriasis is characterized by large or confluent intra‐epidermal multilocular pustules.Whatever the clinical variant of psoriasis, common morphological signs suggest that it is basically a unique pathological process, with many possible presentations according to various factors such as age, size and localization of lesions, or therapy. Similar microscopic elementary lesions indicate that Hallopeau's acrodermatitis continua, Reiter's disease and geographical tongue are variants of psoriasis.Because of the many faces of the disease, psoriasis can resemble many other squamous or pustular disorders. Differential diagnosis by microscopic analysis is based on pattern analysis, PAS (Periodic Acid Schiff) staining to rule out fungal infection, and immunohistochemistry to characterize lymphocytic infiltrate.Psoriasis is one of the most common inflammatory skin diseases. In its characteristic presentation, psoriasis comprises well‐circumscribed red scaly papules and plaques. In this form, the disease is generally easy to identify, especially when the elbows, knees and scalp are affected. Nevertheless, the term ‘psoriasis’ includes more clinical variants than any other inflammatory dermatosis: psoriasis vulgaris vs. pustular, localized vs. generalized, topographic variants, mucous membranes involvement, hair and nail lesions. Although some of these conditions might be extremely different from psoriasis vulgaris, common pathological findings can be identified in all of them. Microscopic analysis of psoriatic lesions may therefore help clinicians to make the diagnosis and to understand that, whatever the clinical presentation, signs and symptoms are mainly due to a unique pathological process.
Psychological distress and adherence in patients with psoriasis
Authors: Richards HL , Fortune DG 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis paper provides an update on research literature concerning psoriasis and its interrelationships with psychological distress in the form of depression and adherence to medication. While recent literature has provided comprehensive reviews of the areas of both adherence to medication and consequences, mechanisms and interventions in psoriasis from a psychological perspective this article will provide a summary of the area and some practical and useable psychological strategies that may have utility in everyday dermatology practice.
Comorbidities in psoriasis
Authors: Christophers E 
Published: October 2006

AbstractPsoriasis is a common inflammatory skin disease. Epidemiological data demonstrate an association with a number of distinct disorders of the joints (psoriatic arthritis), the intestine (Crohn's disease), and skin (pustular disorders), as well as increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Systemic risk factors include obesity, hypertension, dyslipidaemia and diabetes. There is evidence that chronic inflammation may be causative. For dermatologists it has become mandatory to closely monitor psoriasis patients for comorbidities. Early anti‐inflammatory treatment regimens may prove to be preventive.
A paradigm for the systemic treatment of plaque psoriasis
Authors: Ortonne J‐P 
Published: October 2006

AbstractClinical guidelines are prominent in the medical practice. Many practice guidelines have recently been published for the treatment of plaque psoriasis. Although they provide useful information on how the different treatments should be applied, unfortunately, most of them do not give instructions on the sequence in which these treatments should be prescribed. In the light of recent publications proposing algorithms and the clinician's paradigm in the treatment of psoriasis, three key questions are discussed in this paper: How do we evaluate the severity of psoriasis? Which treatment should be given in order of preference? And how do we make the therapeutic decision? It is generally agreed that each patient requires an individualized treatment plan and that the decision to undertake systemic treatment and the choice of the specific treatment plan must ultimately and mutually be made by both the patient and the physician.
New and past geochemical data on fresh to brine waters of the Salar de Atacama and Andean Altiplano, northern Chile
Authors: BOSCHETTI T. , CORTECCI G. , BARBIERI M. , MUSSI M. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe paper deals with the major chemistry and stable isotopes (hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, sulfur, strontium) of waters and solutes from the Salar de Atacama basin (Rio Pedro, Honar Creek and Laguna Chaxa) and Andean Altiplano (Laguna Miñique and Laguna Miscanti). The water inflows of the Salar are chemically quite different, the Rio San Pedro being of Na‐Cl type and the Honar Creek of Na‐HCO3 type, in keeping with the sedimentary‐evaporitic and volcanic nature of the catchment rocks respectively. The δ34S and δ18O values of sulfate and the 87Sr/86Sr ratio of strontium in the streams match those of drained rocks, whereas the δ13C values of dissolved carbonate are largely controlled by vegetation. The lagoons are evaporated meteoric water bodies, and the relative air humidity estimated from the slope of the isotopic evaporation line is in accordance with historical data on air humidity in the area. The Laguna Chaxa is Na‐Cl rich, and its isotopic composition are consistent with a mixed sedimentary‐volcanic provenance of sulfur and strontium solutes. The Laguna Miñique is Na‐SO4 rich, and its sulfate δ34S is nearly identical to that of Laguna Chaxa. The δ13C(HCO3) values are quite different in the Laguna Chaxa and Laguna Miñique, with the former being notably enriched in 13C probably because of preferential uptake of 12C by the high biological productivity occurring in the lagoon. The limited set of new data is interpreted in the context of a much larger literature database. In particular, previous chemical data on inflows and brines in the Salar de Atacama were revisited, and compared with evaporation path models and mineral stability diagrams (boron, lithium and Mg‐minerals) computed using updated software and thermodynamic databases. The modeling shows that the removal of boron and lithium from sulfate‐rich brines possibly occurs, respectively, as ulexite and sulfate salts, and carnallite should be the final magnesium phase of the brine evolution.
A high‐resolution anatomical rat atlas
Authors: Bai Xueling , Yu Li , Liu Qian , Zhang Jie , Li Anan , Han Dao , Luo Qingming , Gong Hui 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis paper reports the availability of a high‐resolution atlas of the adult rat. The atlas is composed of 9475 cryosectional images captured in 4600 × 2580 × 24‐bit TIFF format, constructed using serial cryosection‐milling techniques. Cryosection images were segmented, labelled and reconstructed into three‐dimensional (3D) computerized models. These images, 3D models, technical details, relevant software and further information are available at our website,http://vchibp.vicp.net/vch/mice/.
Early adolescent outcomes for institutionally‐deprived and non‐deprived adoptees. I: Disinhibited attachment
Authors: Rutter Michael , Colvert Emma , Kreppner Jana , Beckett Celia , Castle Jenny , Groothues Christine , Hawkins Amanda , O'Connor Thomas G , Stevens Suzanne E , Sonuga‐Barke Edmund J.S. 
Published: October 2006

Background:  Disinhibited attachment is an important sequel of an institutional rearing, but questions remain regarding its measurement, its persistence, the specificity of the association with institutional rearing and on whether or not it constitutes a meaningful disorder.Method:  Children initially reared in profoundly depriving institutions in Romania and subsequently adopted into UK families were compared with respect to findings at 11 years with children who had not experienced institutional deprivation and who had been adopted within the UK before the age of 6 months. Measures included parental reports, a Strange Situation procedure modified for use in the home and systematic standardised investigator ratings of the children's behaviour.Results:  Disinhibited attachment, as reported by parents, showed a high degree of persistence from 6 to 11, but also a reduction over time in its frequency. Investigator ratings validated the parental reports but suggested that much of the fall in rate of disinhibited attachment was a function of the parental measure being less developmentally appropriate at 11 than it had been at 6. Disinhibited attachment was strongly associated with institutional rearing but there was not a significant increase in relation to duration of institutional deprivation beyond the age of 6 months. Mild, but not marked, disinhibited attachment was quite frequent in non‐institutionalised adopted children but both the course and correlates indicated that its meaning was probably quite different. In the institution‐reared children, disinhibited attachment was associated with a marked increase in service usage and associations with other forms of psychopathology.Conclusions:  Disinhibited attachment constitutes a valid, and handicapping, clinical pattern that is strongly associated with an institutional rearing.
Early adolescent outcomes of institutionally‐deprived and non‐deprived adoptees. II: Language as a protective factor and a vulnerable outcome
Authors: Croft Carla , Beckett Celia , Rutter Michael , Castle Jenny , Colvert Emma , Groothues Christine , Hawkins Amanda , Kreppner Jana , Stevens Suzanne E. , Sonuga‐Barke Edmund J. S. 
Published: October 2006

Background:  There is uncertainty about the extent to which language skills are part of general intelligence and even more uncertainty on whether deprivation has differential effects on language and non‐language skills.Methods:  Language and cognitive outcomes at 6 and 11 years of age were compared between a sample of 132 institution‐reared Romanian children adopted into UK families under the age of 42 months, and a sample of 49 children adopted within the UK under the age of 6 months who had not experienced either institutional rearing or profound deprivation.Results:  The effects of institutional deprivation were basically similar for language and cognitive outcomes at age 6; in both there were few negative effects of deprivation if it ended before the age of 6 months and there was no linear association with duration of deprivation within the 6 to 42 month range. For the children over 18 months on arrival (range 18–42 months), the presence of even very minimal language skills (imitation of speech sounds) at the time of arrival was a strong beneficial prognostic factor for language and cognitive outcomes, but not for social/emotional/behavioural outcomes. Individual variations in adoptive parent characteristics were unrelated to differences in language or cognitive outcomes, possibly as a consequence of the limited variability in the adoptive family group.Conclusions:  Minimal language probably indexes some form of cognitive reserve that, in turn, indexes the degree of institutional deprivation.
Where to B in dZ/dt
Authors: Lozano David L. , Norman Greg , Knox Dayan , Wood Beatrice L. , Miller Bruce D. , Emery Charles F. , Berntson Gary G. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe B point on the impedance cardiograph waveform corresponds to the opening of the aortic valve and is an important parameter for calculating systolic time intervals, stroke volume, and cardiac output. Identifying the location of the B point is sometimes problematic because the characteristic upstroke that serves as a marker of this point is not always apparent. Here is presented a reliable method for B point identification, based on the consistent relationship between the R to B interval (RB) and the interval between the R‐wave and the peak of the dZ/dt function (RZ). The polynomial function relating RB to RZ (RB=1.233RZ−0.0032RZ2−31.59) accounts for 90%–95% of the variance in the B point location across ages and gender and across baseline and stress conditions. This relation affords a rapid approximation to B point measurement that, in noisy or degraded signals, is superior to visual B point identification and to a derivative‐based estimate.
PC12 cells regulate inducible cyclic AMP (cAMP) element repressor expression to differentially control cAMP response element‐dependent transcription in response to nerve growth factor and cAMP
Authors: Chang Jay H. , Vuppalanchi Deepika , Van Niekerk Erna , Trepel Jane B. , Schanen N. Carolyn , Twiss Jeffery L. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractBoth cyclic AMP (cAMP) and nerve growth factor (NGF) have been shown to cause rapid activation of cAMP response element‐binding protein (CREB) by phosphorylation of serine 133, but additional regulatory events contribute to CREB‐targeted gene expression. Here, we have used stable transfection with a simple cAMP response element (CRE)‐driven reporter to address the kinetics of CRE‐dependent transcription during neuronal differentiation of PC12 cells. In naive cells, dibutyryl cAMP (dbcAMP) generated a rapid increase in CRE‐driven luciferase activity by 5 h that returned to naive levels by 24 h. Luciferase induction after NGF treatment was delayed until 48 h when CRE‐driven luciferase expression became TrkA dependent. Blocking histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity accelerated NGF‐dependent CRE‐driven luciferase expression by at least 24 h and resulted in a sustained cAMP‐dependent expression of CRE‐driven luciferase beyond 24 h. Inhibition of protein synthesis before stimulation with NGF or dbcAMP indicated that both stimuli induce expression of a transcriptional repressor that delays NGF‐dependent and attenuates cAMP‐dependent CRE‐driven transcription. NGF caused a rapid but transient HDAC‐dependent increase in inducible cAMP element repressor (ICER) expression, but ICER expression was sustained with increased cAMP. Depletion of ICER from PC12 cells indicated that HDAC‐dependent ICER induction is responsible for the delay in CRE‐dependent transcription after NGF treatment.
Synergistic inhibition of the enzymatic activity of aminopeptidase N by divalent metal ion chelators
Authors: Vanderheyden Patrick M.L. , Demaegdt Heidi , Swales Julie , Lenaerts Pieter‐Jan , De Backer Jean‐Paul , Vogel Lotte K. , Vauquelin Georges 
Published: October 2006

AbstractMembranes of HEK293 cells that were transfected with human aminopeptidase N (AP‐N, CD13, EC 3.4.11.2) and purified soluble porcine kidney AP‐N were used to study inhibition of its enzyme activity by divalent cation chelators. Whereas pre‐incubation for 10 min with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), did not or only weakly affected the enzyme activity, the bidentate chelator 1,10‐phenanthroline produced a complete and concentration‐dependent inhibition of AP‐N. The corresponding curves had Hill slopes of 2.50 ± 0.23 and 2.73 ± 0.01 for soluble and recombinant AP‐N respectively. EDTA increased the potency of 1,10‐phenanthroline till a limit, at which Hill slopes became close to unity. In the absence of EDTA, the inhibition by 1,10‐phenanthroline was only weakly affected by the substrate concentration. On the other hand, competition between 1,10‐phenanthroline and the substrate took place in the presence of EDTA. Similar findings were reported for the related metallopeptidase cystinyl aminopeptidase and point towards a model in which 1,10‐phenanthroline inhibit enzyme activity by decreasing the free Zn2+ concentration. Moreover, EDTA is capable of removing a modulatory ion from an allosteric site at the enzyme, facilitating the direct interaction between 1,10‐phenanthroline and the catalytic Zn2+. Compatible with this model, Ca2+ may bind to this allosteric site resulting in the potentiation of Zn2+‐mediated re‐activation of the enzyme activity in the presence of EDTA and 1,10‐phenanthroline.
The Effect of Issuing Biased Earnings Forecasts on Analysts' Access to Management and Survival
Authors: KE BIN , YU YONG 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACTThis study offers evidence on the earnings forecast bias analysts use to please firm management and the associated benefits they obtain from issuing such biased forecasts in the years prior to Regulation Fair Disclosure. Analysts who issue initial optimistic earnings forecasts followed by pessimistic earnings forecasts before the earnings announcement produce more accurate earnings forecasts and are less likely to be fired by their employers. The effect of such biased earnings forecasts on forecast accuracy and firing is stronger for analysts who follow firms with heavy insider selling and hard‐to‐predict earnings. The above results hold regardless of whether a brokerage firm has investment banking business or not. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that analysts use biased earnings forecasts to curry favor with firm management in order to obtain better access to management's private information.
Microstructures of Microwave‐Sintered Silicon Nitride with Zirconia as Secondary Particulates
Authors: Feng Qiquan , Chockalingam Sreekumar , Earl David A. 
Published: October 2006

A microwave‐sintered Si3N4–Y2O3–MgO system containing ZrO2 particulates was characterized using X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Although the starting powder was α‐Si3N4 with Y2O3, MgO, and ZrO2 dopants, the sintered crystalline phases, analyzed by XRD, are mainly β‐Si3N4 with minor N‐Melilites (Y2Si3O3N4). TEM micrographs show that the N‐Melilites are distributed at the multigrain junctions, suggesting they are formed by crystallization from a liquid phase. SEM analysis shows that Si3N4 grains are interlocked with each other. A large amount of secondary phase (13 vol%), containing Si–Y–Mg–O–N elements as identified by energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectrometer is present in the multigrain junctions and grain boundaries. TEM analysis found that small ZrO2 grains (d<200 nm) are frequently embedded in Si3N4 grains, while others remain as dispersoids and grains dispersed in the matrix. The addition of ZrO2 as a susceptor for microwave sintering increases the heating rate. However, there appeared to be very minor dissolution of ZrO2 in the oxynitride liquid during sintering. Both tetragonal and cubic Zr‐rich phases were identified by selected‐area electron diffraction, which supports the existence of N‐stabilizing ZrO2. Microwave sintering favored the formation of the Si–Mg–Y oxynitride liquid phase and thus enhanced the dissolution of α‐Si3N4.