bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Distribution and Quantity of Contractile Tissue in Postnatal Development of Rat Alveolar Interstitium
Authors: Dickie Renée , Wang Yves T. , Butler James P. , Schulz Holger , Tsuda Akira 
Published: December 2007

AbstractAlpha–smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA) ‐expressing cells are important participants in lung remodeling, during both normal postnatal ontogeny and after injury. Developmental dysregulation of these contractile cells contributes to bronchopulmonary dysplasia in newborns, and aberrant recapitulation in adults of the normal ontogeny of these cells has been speculated to underlie disease and repair in mature lungs. The significance of airway smooth muscle has been widely investigated, but contractile elements within the pulmonary parenchyma, although also of structural and functional consequence in developing and mature lungs, are relatively unstudied and little quantitative information exists. Here, we quantify the areal density of α‐SMA expression in lung parenchyma and assess changes in its spatiotemporal distribution through postnatal ontogeny. Using an antibody against α‐SMA, we immunofluorescently labeled contractile elements in lung sections from a postnatal growth series of rats. Images were segmented using thresholded pixel intensity. Alpha‐SMA areal density in the alveolar interstitium was calculated by dividing the area of α‐SMA–positive staining by the tissue area. The areal density of α‐SMA in 2‐day neonates was 3.7%, almost doubled, to 7.2% by 21 days, and decreased to 3% in adults. Neonates had large, elongate concentrations of α‐SMA, and α‐SMA localized both at septal tips and within the interstitium. In adults, individual areas of α‐SMA expression were smaller and more round, and located predominately in alveolar ducts, at alveolar ends and bends. The results are consistent with increasing α‐SMA expression during the period of peak myofibroblast activity, corresponding to the phase of rapid alveolarization in the developing lung. Anat Rec, 291:83–93, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Formation Process and Fate of the Nuclear Chain After Injury in Regenerated Myofiber
Authors: Wada Ken‐Ichi , Katsuta Shigeru , Soya Hideaki 
Published: December 2007

AbstractAlthough it is well known that regenerated myofibers contain nuclear chains (arrayed nuclear clusters), details of its process of formation and fate are still remained unclear. In the present study, we isolated single myofibers from injured ICR mouse tibialis anterior muscles by the alkali maceration‐based method, and carried out histological observation and bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) pulse‐chase analysis on the nuclear chains. The nuclear chains were formed after injury and remained stable for at least 6 months after injury. When BrdU was administered during the first 4 days after injury, up to 56% of nuclei in the nuclear chains were labeled with BrdU, whereas when BrdU was administered 5 days or later after injury, less than 3% of myonuclei were labeled with BrdU. Among BrdU‐positive nuclei in the nuclear chains, the nuclei showing attenuated and strong BrdU signal were dominant when BrdU was administered at the time points of 0–2 and 3–4 days after injury, respectively. These results suggest that successive nuclear divisions occur during the first 4 days after injury and might be involved in the appearance of the stable nuclear chains in regenerated myofibers. Anat Rec, 291:122–128, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Versican Knock‐Down Compromises Chondrogenesis in the Embryonic Chick Limb
Authors: Shepard John B. , Gliga Diana A. , Morrow Amanda P. , Hoffman Stanley , Capehart Anthony A. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractMesenchymal cell aggregation is critical for cartilage formation in the vertebrate limb. The extracellular matrix (ECM) plays a critical role in governing cell behavior and cell phenotype in this tissue, and the hyalectin versican is highly expressed in the ECM of precartilage mesenchymal cells and developing synovial joints. Although several in vitro studies have been conducted in an attempt to address versican's role during limb mesenchymal condensation, factors such as differences in cell density in culture, variations between chondrogenic cell lines, and the inability to prolong the viability of limb explants have led to conflicting data, mandating an in vivo analysis. By using a morpholino directed strategy in ovo, we performed knock‐down of versican expression in the presumptive ulnar region of the developing chick wing at time points critical to skeletogenesis. These data indicate that in ovo misexpression of versican compromised mesenchymal condensation with resulting ulnar cartilages reduced in length distally by an average of 53% relative to contralateral control limbs. In select versican morphants the olecranon process was also reduced in size proximally and failed to cup the humerus, likely impairing joint morphogenesis. This study represents the first report assessing the role of versican in the developing chick limb in ovo, further demonstrating the importance of versican proteoglycan expression during chondrogenesis and extending previous findings to suggest a role for versican during synovial joint development. Anat Rec, 291:19–27, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Diagnosis of climate models in terms of transient climate response and feedback response time
Authors: Andrews David G. , Allen Myles R. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractClimate models have traditionally been characterised by their climate sensitivity (equilibrium response to a doubling of CO2) and their ocean heat uptake. Together these determine a third property: the transient climate response to a linear increase in radiative forcing. A fourth property, the feedback response time is introduced here and shown to provide a complementary diagnostic of climate model behaviour. In particular, it demonstrates that the discrepancy between recent climate observations and the general circulation models in the ‘IPCC ensemble’ primarily arises because the models are undersampling the range of transient climate responses consistent with recent attributable greenhouse warming. Copyright © 2007 Royal Meteorological Society
Elicitation of a Beta Prior for Bayesian Inference in Clinical Trials
Authors: Wu Yujun , Shih Weichung J. , Moore Dirk F. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractWhen making Bayesian inferences we need to elicit an expert's opinion to set up the prior distribution. For applications in clinical trials, we study this problem with binary variables. A critical and often ignored issue in the process of eliciting priors in clinical trials is that medical investigators can seldom specify the prior quantities with precision. In this paper, we discuss several methods of eliciting beta priors from clinical information, and we use simulations to conduct sensitivity analyses of the effect of imprecise assessment of the prior information. These results provide useful guidance for choosing methods of eliciting the prior information in practice. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Katalytische RNA. Molekulare Fossilien der Evolution?
Authors: Przybilski Rita , Bajaj Preeti , Hammann Christian 
Published: December 2007

AbstractKatalytische RNA kann verschiedene Reaktionen beschleunigen und nimmt bei der Übersetzung der genetischen Information im Ribosom eine essenzielle Rolle ein. Es ist schwierig zu beurteilen, ob alle rezenten katalytischen RNAs tatsächlich molekulare Fossilien der postulierten RNA‐Welt darstellen. So ist es auch denkbar, dass sich erst im Laufe der Evolution die Anwesenheit eines auf RNA‐Ebene regulierenden Moduls als vorteilhaft für die Zelle erwiesen hat. Im Fall der glmS RNA könnte demnach der Riboschalter sekundär in die bereits bestehende mRNA integriert worden sein. Anders ist es beim Ribosom, das offenbar beim Übergang von der RNA‐Welt zur RNA‐Protein‐Welt eine so zentrale und komplexe Rolle gespielt, dass seine vollständig auf RNA basierende Funktion nicht von Proteinen übernommen wurde.
Orientalische Hornisse: Bienen wehren sich
Authors: Wendler Silke 
Published: December 2007

AbstractAuf dem Menüplan der Orientalischen Hornisse (Vespa orientalis) steht unter anderem die Zypriotische Honigbiene (Apis mellifera cypria). Die Hornisse fängt Bienen am Einflugloch des Stockes ab oder dringt bei geschwächten Bienenvölkern sogar in den Stock ein, um Honig zu rauben. In ihrem Verbreitungsgebiet Zypern ist die Orientalische Hornisse aus diesem Grund bei Imkern gefürchtet. Während eine einzelne Biene gegen den Angriff einer Hornisse hilflos ist, weiß sich ein ganzer Bienenschwarm sehr wohl gegen diesen Eindringling zu behaupten.
Wie Tumorzellen die Chemotherapie unterlaufen
Authors: Hille‐Rehfeld Annette 
Published: December 2007

AbstractFür die Steuerung des Zellzyklus muss die Aktivität bestimmter Proteine periodisch an‐ und abgeschaltet werden. Eine Möglichkeit der Inaktivierung besteht im proteolytischen Abbau an den im Cytoplasma vorliegenden so genannten Proteasomen. Diese zu hemmen ist ein Standbein der Chemotherapie von Tumoren. Tumorzellen können sich jedoch an eine Chemotherapie adaptieren, indem sie durch veränderte Genexpression die Funktion der Proteasomen aufrechterhalten.
Noncovalent Keystone Interactions Controlling Biomembrane Structure
Authors: Hanshaw Roger G. , Stahelin Robert V. , Smith Bradley D. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThere is a biomedical need to develop molecular recognition systems that selectively target the interfaces of protein and lipid aggregates in biomembranes. This is an extremely challenging problem in supramolecular chemistry because the biological membrane is a complex dynamic assembly of multifarious molecular components with local inhomogeneity. Two simplifying concepts are presented as a framework for basing molecular design strategies. The first generalization is that association of two binding partners in a biomembrane will be dominated by one type of non‐covalent interaction which is referred to as the keystone interaction. Structural mutations in membrane proteins that alter the strength of this keystone interaction will likely have a major effect on biological activity and often will be associated with disease. The second generalization is to view the structure of a cell membrane as three spatial regions, that is, the polar membrane surface, the midpolar interfacial region and the non‐polar membrane interior. Each region has a distinct dielectric, and the dominating keystone interaction between binding partners will be different. At the highly polar membrane surface, the keystone interactions between charged binding partners are ion‐ion and ion–dipole interactions; whereas, ion–dipole and ionic hydrogen bonding are very influential at the mid‐polar interfacial region. In the non‐polar membrane interior, van der Waals forces and neutral hydrogen bonding are the keystone interactions that often drive molecular association. Selected examples of lipid and transmembrane protein association systems are described to illustrate how the association thermodynamics and kinetics are dominated by these keystone noncovalent interactions.
Economic stress among low‐income women with cancer
Authors: Ell Kathleen , Xie Bin , Wells Anjanette , Nedjat‐Haiem Frances , Lee Pey‐Jiuan , Vourlekis Betsy 
Published: December 2007

AbstractBACKGROUND.Attention to the economic consequences of cancer has grown as the number of cancer survivors is increasing. Although prevalent among low‐income minority survivors, the impact of economic stress on quality of life (QOL) remains largely unexplored.METHODS.Data are reported for 487 predominantly Hispanic low‐income women with a primary diagnosis of breast or gynecological cancer and undergoing active treatment or follow‐up. Cross‐sectional and longitudinal analyses examined the effects of economic concerns on QOL, depression, and anxiety.RESULTS.Rates of unemployment, medical cost and wage concerns, and financial stress were high in this study population, at baseline, respectively, 70%, 68%, 47%, and 49%. The proportions reporting unemployed status and medical cost concerns stayed flat from baseline to 6 months, followed by a pronounced drop at 12 months. Patient reported rates of lost wage worries increased from baseline to 6 months, followed by a moderate decrease. Functional, emotional, physical, and social‐family well‐being and depression and anxiety scores exhibited consistent linear improvement from baseline to 12 months. Over 12 months, patients reporting economic concerns had significantly poorer functional, emotional, and affective well‐being.CONCLUSIONS.Economic stress is negatively associated with QOL, highlighting the importance of addressing economic stress in low‐income women with cancer. Cancer 2008. © 2007 American Cancer Society.
Prognostic value of immunophenotyping in elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: Plesa Claudiu , Chelghoum Youcef , Plesa Adriana , Elhamri Mohamed , Tigaud Isabelle , Michallet Mauricette , Dumontet Charles , Thomas Xavier 
Published: December 2007

AbstractBACKGROUND.The poor prognosis for elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) raises questions regarding the benefit of treating them with intensive chemotherapy. The impact of initial characteristics on prognosis has been addressed previously in elderly patients; however, very few data are available regarding the prognostic value of immunophenotypic characteristics in this setting.METHODS.The authors investigated expression of the membrane antigens CD13, CD15, CD33, and CD34 by flow cytometry in elderly patients with newly diagnosed AML and analyzed whether these parameters had clinical or prognostic relevance to help physicians in their choice of therapy.RESULTS.Immunophenotyping was performed in 273 patients aged ≥60 years (median age, 69 years). CD13 was expressed in 73% of patients, CD15 was expressed in 43% of patients, CD33 was expressed in 64% of patients, and CD34 was expressed in 66% of patients. Complete remission was obtained in 157 patients (58%). The median overall survival was 8.1 months, and the 3‐year survival rate was 14%. Three risk groups were defined based on CD34 and CD33 antigen expression: The poor‐risk group included patients with CD34‐positive/CD33‐positive or CD34‐negative/CD33‐negative disease, the intermediate‐risk group included patients with CD34‐positive/CD33‐negative disease, and the favorable‐risk group included patients with CD34‐negative/CD33‐positive disease. After cytogenetic analyses, immunophenotype was the most significant prognostic factor in terms of survival in a multivariate analysis (P = .03 and P < .0001, respectively). When immunophenotypic and cytogenetic parameters were combined, patients were classified into 4 prognostic groups: Group A (3‐year survival rate, 33%) included patients with favorable and normal karyotypes who had a favorable immunophenotype, Group B (3‐year survival rte, 28%) included patients with normal karyotypes who had an intermediate immunophenotype, Group C (3‐year survival rate, 8%) included patients with intermediate or normal karyotypes who had an unfavorable immunophenotype, and Group D (3‐year survival rate, 2%) included all patients who had unfavorable cytogenetics.CONCLUSIONS.Immunophenotypic characteristics appeared to be a major prognostic factor in this population of elderly patients with AML. By using 2 simple parameters assessed at the time of diagnosis, the authors devised a prognostic system of immediate clinical utility for prognostic stratification and risk‐adapted therapeutic choices. Cancer 2008. © 2007 American Cancer Society.
Phase 2 study of gemcitabine in combination with rituximab in patients with recurrent or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma
Authors: Oki Yasuhiro , Pro Barbara , Fayad Luis E. , Romaguera Jorge , Samaniego Felipe , Hagemeister Fredrick , Neelapu Sattva , McLaughlin Peter , Goy Andre , Younes Anas 
Published: December 2007

AbstractBACKGROUND.The management of recurrent or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) remains challenging. The objective of this phase 2 trial was to investigate the activity of gemcitabine in combination with rituximab in patients with recurring or refractory HL.METHODS.Patients were considered eligible if they had recurring or refractory HL, had received ≥2 prior chemotherapy regimens, had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status ≤2, and had adequate organ function. Rituximab was administered at a dose of 375 mg/m2 intravenously every week for 6 weeks. Gemcitabine was administered at a dose of 1250 mg/m2 intravenously on Days 1 and 8, with a week of rest on Day 15 of 21‐day cycles in outpatient settings. Response was assessed after 2 cycles of gemcitabine, and those patients who demonstrated a response continued to receive a maximum of 4 additional courses of gemcitabine.RESULTS.Thirty‐three patients received the study drugs. The median age of patients was 32 years (range, 19–81 years), and 55% of the patients previously underwent autologous stem cell transplantation. Grade 3 or 4 (graded according to the National Cancer Center Institute Common Toxicity Criteria [version 2.0]) toxic effects included neutropenia (36%) and thrombocytopenia (15%). Objective responses occurred in 16 patients (48%). Responses were observed regardless of CD20 positivity in tumor cells. The median duration of failure‐free survival was 2.7 months (range, 0.9–18.3 months). Seven patients (21%) eventually proceeded to either autologous (n = 2) or allogeneic (n = 5) stem cell transplantation.CONCLUSIONS.Combination therapy with gemcitabine and rituximab is active in previously treated patients with recurrent or refractory HL. The favorable safety profile and the ease of its administration in outpatient settings warrant investigating it further in combination with other active drugs. Cancer 2008. © 2007 American Cancer Society.
Lead exposure during development results in increased neurofilament phosphorylation, neuritic beading, and temporal processing deficits within the murine auditory brainstem
Authors: Jones Linda G. , Prins John , Park Sunyoung , Walton Joseph P. , Luebke Anne E. , Lurie Diana I. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractLow‐level lead (Pb) exposure is a risk factor for learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and other neurological dysfunction. It is not known how Pb produces these behavioral deficits, but low‐level exposure during development is associated with auditory temporal processing deficits in an avian model, while hearing thresholds remain normal. Similar auditory processing deficits are found in children with learning disabilities and ADHD. To identify cellular changes underlying this functional deficit, Pb‐induced alterations of neurons and glia within the mammalian auditory brainstem nuclei were quantified in control and Pb‐exposed mice at postnatal day 21 by using immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and 2D gel electrophoresis. Pb‐treated mice were exposed to either 0.1 mM (low) or 2 mM (high) Pb acetate throughout gestation and through 21 days postnatally. Pb exposure results in little change in glial proteins such as glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), myelin basic protein (MBP), or F4/80 as determined by Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry. In contrast, Pb exposure alters neuronal structural proteins by inducing increased phosphorylation of both the medium (NFM) and high‐weight (NFH) forms of neurofilament within auditory brainstem nuclei. Axons immunolabeled for neurofilament protein show neuritic beading following Pb exposure both in vivo and in vitro, suggesting that Pb exposure also impairs axonal transport. Functional assessment shows no significant loss of peripheral function, but does reveal impairments in brainstem conduction time and temporal processing within the brainstem. These results provide evidence that Pb exposure during development alters axonal structure and function within brainstem auditory nuclei. J. Comp. Neurol. 506:1003–1017, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Early afferent signaling in the outer plexiform layer regulates development of horizontal cell morphology
Authors: Raven Mary E. , Orton Noelle C. , Nassar Hadi , Williams Gary A. , Stell William K. , Jacobs Gerald H. , Bech‐Hansen N. Torben , Reese Benjamin E. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThe pedicles of cone photoreceptors, labeled with an antibody to mouse cone arrestin (blue), stratify in the outer plexiform layer, where they form synapses with the dendrites of horizontal and bipolar cells. Those synaptic sites are evidenced by the co‐localization of the synaptic ribbon protein, piccolo (red), with the cone arrestin labeling. The remaining red profiles in the outer plexiform layer indicate the sites of the rod spherules. An antibody to cytochrome oxidase (green) labels the mitochondrion‐rich inner segments of all photoreceptors and yields punctate peri‐nuclear labeling within the outer nuclear layer. Many of these features of the outer retina are altered in the Cacna1f‐mutant retina, expressing a defective calcium channel subunit that prevents normal neurotransmission in the outer plexiform layer. J. Comp. Neurol. 506:745–758, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Development of inter‐manual transfer of shape information in infancy
Authors: Streri Arlette , Lemoine Christelle , Devouche Emmanuel 
Published: December 2007

AbstractInter‐manual transfer of shape information was studied with habituation/dishabituation procedures in 2‐ and 6‐month‐old infants. Both age groups habituated to a shape repeatedly placed in one hand and dishabituated when a new shape was placed in the same hand. Subsequent testing revealed that only the 2‐month olds dishabituated when the habituated shape was placed in the opposite hand and that only the 6‐month olds dishabituated when a new shape was placed in the opposite hand. These results indicate that inter‐manual transfer of hand information occurs by 2‐months of age and that inter‐manual transfer of shape information emerges between 2 and 6 months of age. The implications of the findings are discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 50: 70–76, 2008.
Cross‐midline interactions between mouse commissural hindbrain axons contribute to their efficient decussation
Authors: Sandoval‐Minero Teresa , Varela‐Echavarría Alfredo 
Published: December 2007

AbstractInformation from both sides of the brain is integrated by axons that project across the midline of the central nervous system via numerous commissures present at all axial levels. Despite the accumulated experimental evidence, questions remain regarding the formation of commissures in the presence of strong repulsive signals in the ventral midline. Studies from invertebrates suggest that interaction at the midline between homologous axons of specific decussating neurons contributes to efficient midline crossing, but such evidence is lacking in vertebrate systems. We performed experiments to determine whether commissural axons of the caudal region of the hindbrain interact with their contralateral counterparts at the ventral midline and to evaluate the relevance of this reciprocal interaction. Double anterograde axon labeling with lipophilic tracers revealed close apposition between growth cones of contralateral pioneer decussating axons at the midline. Later, we detected fasciculation between contralateral axons that is maintained even after they have crossed the midline. Blocking axon projections unilaterally with a solid mechanical barrier decreased dramatically the midline crossing of the equivalent population from the contralateral side. Decussation was also blocked by a unilateral barrier permeable to diffusible molecules but not by an axon‐permeable barrier. These results suggest that in the caudal region of the hindbrain, midline crossing is facilitated by interactions between decussating contralateral axon partners. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2008.