bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of changing data collection parameters on statistical motor unit number estimates
Authors: Henderson Robert D. , McClelland Robyn , Daube Jasper R. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThe effect of number of samples and selection of data for analysis on the calculation of surface motor unit potential (SMUP) size in the statistical method of motor unit number estimates (MUNE) was determined in 10 normal subjects and 10 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We recorded 500 sequential compound muscle action potentials (CMAPs) at three different stable stimulus intensities (10–50% of maximal CMAP). Estimated mean SMUP sizes were calculated using Poisson statistical assumptions from the variance of 500 sequential CMAP obtained at each stimulus intensity. The results with the 500 data points were compared with smaller subsets from the same data set. The results using a range of 50–80% of the 500 data points were compared with the full 500. The effect of restricting analysis to data between 5–20% of the CMAP and to standard deviation limits was also assessed. No differences in mean SMUP size were found with stimulus intensity or use of different ranges of data. Consistency was improved with a greater sample number. Data within 5% of CMAP size gave both increased consistency and reduced mean SMUP size in many subjects, but excluded valid responses present at that stimulus intensity. These changes were more prominent in ALS patients in whom the presence of isolated SMUP responses was a striking difference from normal subjects. Noise, spurious data, and large SMUP limited the Poisson assumptions. When these factors are considered, consistent statistical MUNE can be calculated from a continuous sequence of data points. A 2 to 2.5 SD or 10% window are reasonable methods of limiting data for analysis. Muscle Nerve 27: 320–331, 2003
Randomized controlled trial of strength training in post‐polio patients
Authors: Chan K. Ming , Amirjani Nasim , Sumrain Mae , Clarke Anita , Strohschein Fay J. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractMany post‐polio patients develop new muscle weakness decades after the initial illness. However, its mechanism and treatment are controversial. The purpose of this study was to test the hypotheses that: (1) after strength training, post‐polio patients show strength improvement comparable to that seen in the healthy elderly; (2) such training does not have a deleterious effect on motor unit (MU) survival; and (3) part of the strength improvement is due to an increase in voluntary motor drive. After baseline measures including maximum voluntary contraction force, voluntary activation index, motor unit number estimate, and the tetanic tension of the thumb muscles had been determined, 10 post‐polio patients with hand involvement were randomized to either the training or control group. The progressive resistance training program consisted of three sets of eight isometric contractions, three times weekly for 12 weeks. Seven healthy elderly were also randomized and trained in a similar manner. Changes in the baseline parameters were monitored once every 4 weeks throughout the training period. The trained post‐polio patients showed a significant improvement in their strength (P < 0.05). The magnitude of gain was greater than that seen in the healthy elderly (mean ± SE, 41 ± 16% vs. 29 ± 8%). The training did not adversely affect MU survival and the improvement was largely attributable to an increase in voluntary motor drive. We therefore conclude that moderate intensity strength training is safe and effective in post‐polio patients. Muscle Nerve 27: 332–338, 2003
Acute compartment syndrome of the leg following diagnostic electromyography
Authors: Farrell Christopher M. , Rubin Devon I. , Haidukewych George J. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractAcute compartment syndrome of the lower extremity is typically associated with some form of trauma, either fracture or blunt injury. Accurate diagnosis and urgent treatment of this condition is required for preservation of the viability of the limb. We report the case of a 73‐year‐old man who developed an acute compartment syndrome of the leg after diagnostic electromyography. Potential causes and treatment are discussed. Muscle Nerve 27: 374–377, 2003
Diagnostic utility of a modified forearm ischemic exercise test and technical issues relevant to exercise testing
Authors: Tarnopolsky Mark , Stevens Leslie , Macdonald Jay R. , Rodriguez Christine , Mahoney Douglas , Rush Jim , Maguire John 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThe sensitivity and specificity of a modified forearm ischemic test (FIT) are described in the diagnosis of glycogen storage disease, myoadenylate deaminase deficiency, and mitochondrial disease. FIT and muscle biopsy results were reviewed from 99 patients (glycogen storage disease [GSD], myoadenylate deaminase deficiency [AMPD], mitochondrial disease [MITO], miscellaneous neuromuscular disorders, and controls). The influence of catheter placement and an antecedent sugar bolus were also assessed in healthy young men. The FIT had a sensitivity of 1.00 and a specificity of 1.00 for a diagnosis of GSD, whereas the corresponding values were 1.00 and 0.37 for AMPD deficiency. A baseline lactate of >2.5 mmol/L provided the highest sensitivity (0.62) and specificity (1.00) for MITO disease. A baseline and +1 min sample provided optimal sensitivity and specificity for GSD and AMPD deficiency. Catheter placement in any vein other than the ipsilateral antecubital resulted in attenuated lactate responses (P < 0.0001). A pre‐FIT sugar bolus did not alter the postexercise lactate or ammonia response. Thus, a modified FIT was helpful in the diagnosis of GSD and excluding AMPD deficiency, but not in the diagnosis of MITO disease. Catheter placement is critical to the interpretation of a FIT, whereas pretesting diet is less important. Muscle Nerve 27: 359–366, 2003
Literature review: Nervepace digital electroneurometer in the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome
Authors: David William S. , Chaudhry Vinay , Dubin Andrew H. , Shields Robert W. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractOver the last two decades, several diagnostic devices have been developed to assess patients with suspected carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). One such device is the Nervepace Digital Electroneurometer (NDE). At this time, however, the AAEM concludes that the current literature does not support the substitution of the NDE for standard electrodiagnostic studies in the clinical evaluation of patients with CTS. Muscle Nerve 27: 378–385, 2003
Numerical investigations of shear localization in a micro‐polar hypoplastic material
Authors: Huang Wenxiong , Bauer Erich 
Published: March 2003

AbstractIn this paper a micro‐polar continuum approach is proposed to model the essential properties of cohesionless granular materials like sand. The model takes into account the influence of particle rotations, the mean grain size, the void ratio, the stresses and couple stresses. The constitutive equations for the stresses and couple stresses are incrementally non‐linear and based on the concept of hypoplasticity. For plane strain problems the implementation of the model in a finite element program is described. Numerical studies of the evolution of micro‐polar effects within a granular strip under plane shearing are presented. It is shown that the location and evolution of shear localization is strongly influenced by the initial state and the micro‐polar boundary conditions. For large shearing the state quantities tend towards a stationary state for which a certain coupling between the norm of the stress deviator and the norm of the couple stress tensor can be derived. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Taste, movement, and death: Varying effects of new prospero mutants during Drosophila development
Authors: Grosjean Yaël , Lacaille Fabien , Acebes Angel , Clemencet Johanna , Ferveur Jean‐François 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThe PGal4 transposon inserted upstream of the pan‐neural gene prospero (pros) causes several neural and behavioral defects in the Voila1 strain. The precise excision of the transposon simultaneously rescued all these defects whereas its unprecise excision created new prosV alleles, including the null allele prosV17. Here, we describe the relationship between the genetic structure of pros locus, larval locomotion, and larval gustatory response. These two behaviors showed varying degrees of variation depending upon the pros allele. We also found a good relation between behavioral alteration, the level of Pros protein in the embryo, and the degree of disorganization in the larval neuromuscular junction. These data suggest that the complete development of the nervous system requires a full complement of Pros, and that a gradual decrease in the levels of this protein can proportionally alter the development and the function of the nervous system. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Neurobiol 55: 1–13, 2003
Multiscale preconditioning for the coupling of FEM–BEM
Authors: Harbrecht Helmut , Paiva Freddy , Pérez Cristian , Schneider Reinhold 
Published: March 2003

AbstractWe apply multiscale methods to the coupling of finite and boundary element methods to solve an exterior two‐dimensional Laplacian. The matrices belonging to the boundary terms of the coupled FEM–BEM system are compressed by using biorthogonal wavelet bases developed from A. Cohen, I. Daubechies and J.‐C. Feauveau (Comm. Proc. Appl. Math. 1992; 45:485). The coupling yields a linear equation system which corresponds to a saddle point problem. As favourable solver, the Bramble–Pasciak–CG (Math. Comp. 1988; 50:1) is utilized. A suitable preconditioner is developed by combining the BPX (Math. Comp. 1990; 55:1) with the wavelet preconditioning (Numer. Math. 1992; 63:315). Through numerical experiments we provide results which corroborate the theory of the present paper. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Arbitrary placement of local meshes in a global mesh by the interface‐element method (IEM)
Authors: Kim Hyun‐Gyu 
Published: March 2003

AbstractA new method is proposed to place local meshes in a global mesh with the aid of the interface‐element method (IEM). The interface‐elements use moving least‐square (MLS)‐based shape functions to join partitioned finite‐element domains with non‐matching interfaces. The supports of nodes are defined to satisfy the continuity condition on the interfaces by introducing pseudonodes on the boundaries of interface regions. Particularly, the weight functions of nodes on the boundaries of interface regions span only neighbouring nodes, ensuring that the resulting shape functions are identical to those of adjoining finite‐elements. The completeness of the shape functions of the interface‐elements up to the order of basis provides a reasonable transfer of strain fields through the non‐matching interfaces between partitioned domains. Taking these great advantages of the IEM, local meshes can be easily inserted at arbitrary places in a global mesh. Several numerical examples show the effectiveness of this technique for modelling of local regions in a global domain. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A computational model for impact failure with shear‐induced dilatancy
Authors: Chen Z. , Feng R. , Xin X. , Shen L. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractIt has been observed in plate impact experiments that some brittle solids may undergo elastic deformation at the shock wave front, and fail catastrophically at a later time when they are shocked near but below the apparent Hugoniot elastic limit. Because this phenomenon appears to have features different from those of usual inelastic waves, it has been interpreted as the failure wave. To design an effective numerical procedure for simulating impact failure responses, a three‐dimensional computational damage model is developed in this paper. The propagation of the failure wave behind the elastic shock wave is described by a non‐linear diffusion equation. Macroscopic shear‐induced dilatancy is assumed and treated as a one‐to‐one measure of the mean intensity of microcracking. The damage evolution in time is determined based on the assumption that the deviatoric strain energy in the elastically compressed material (undamaged) is converted, through the damaging process, into the volumetric potential energy in the comminuted and dilated material. For the ease in large‐scale simulations, the coupled damage diffusion equation and the stress wave equation are solved via a staggered manner in a single computational domain. Numerical solutions by using both the finite element method and the material point method, i.e. with and without a rigid mesh connectivity, are presented and compared with the experimental data available. It is shown that the model simulations capture the essential features of the failure wave phenomenon observed in shock glasses, and that the numerical solutions for localized failure are not mesh‐dependent. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A study on finite elements for capturing strong discontinuities
Authors: Oliver J. , Huespe A. E. , Samaniego E. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThe work focuses on the presently existing families of finite elements with embedded discontinuities and explores the possibilities of obtaining symmetric statically consistent finite elements that alleviate the stress‐locking problem. For this purpose, mixed (reduced integration) and assumed enhanced strain techniques are applied to the basic symmetric four‐noded element. Numerical simulations show the effectiveness of the proposed measures. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Social accounting for nonprofits: Two models
Authors: Richmond Betty Jane , Mook Laurie , Jack Quarter 
Published: March 2003

AbstractAfter giving an overview of the development of social accounting, this article presents two models of social
accounting for nonprofits: the community social return on investment model and the expanded value‐added
statement. The discussion focuses on the process for establishing a comparative market value for nonmarket social
outputs. The authors discuss these models and the comparative market value in relation to social accounting, an
academic field that has evolved as part of a critique of financial accounting, especially its failure to analyze
the impact of the organization on society and the natural environment. For the most part, scholars have not
related social accounting to nonprofits. This article attempts to draw nonprofits into the field of social
accounting. Both models address the social impact of nonprofits by including social inputs and outputs that
accounting statements normally exclude.
Florid prion protein (PrP) plaques in patients with variant Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease (vCJD) are spatially related to blood vessels
Authors: Armstrong R.A. , Cairns N.J. , Ironside J.W. , Lantos P.L. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThis study tested the hypothesis that variations in the density of the florid prion protein (PrP) plaques in the brain of patients with variant Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease (vCJD) were spatially related to blood vessels. In 81% of areas of the cerebral cortex sampled and in 37% of the remaining areas, which included the hippocampus, dentate gyrus, and cerebellum, there was a positive spatial correlation between the density of the florid plaques and the larger blood vessel profiles. The frequency of the positive spatial correlations was similar in different anatomical areas of the cerebral cortex and in the upper compared with the lower cortical laminae. The data support the hypothesis that the florid plaques cluster around the larger blood vessels in vCJD, the density of associated plaques increasing with vessel size. The development of florid plaques close to blood vessels may be due to factors associated with the blood vessels that enhance the aggregation of PrP to form the dense cores of florid plaques and is unlikely to reflect the haematogenous spread of PrP into the brain.
Investigations of nonstandard, Mickens‐type, finite‐difference schemes for singular boundary value problems in cylindrical or spherical coordinates
Authors: Buckmire Ron 
Published: March 2003

AbstractIt is well known that standard finite‐difference schemes for singular boundary value problems involving the Laplacian have difficulty capturing the singular (𝒪(1/r) or 𝒪(log r)) behavior of the solution near the origin (r = 0). New nonstandard finite‐difference schemes that can capture this behavior exactly for certain singular boundary value problems encountered in theoretical aerodynamics are presented here. These schemes are special cases of nonstandard finite differences which have been extensively researched by Professor Ronald E. Mickens of Clark Atlanta University in their most general form. Several examples of these “Mickens‐type” finite differences that illustrate both their accuracy and utility for singular boundary value problems in both cylindrical and spherical co‐ordinates are investigated. The numerical results generated by the Mickens‐type schemes are compared favorably with solutions obtained from standard finite‐difference schemes. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 19: 380–398, 2003.
Evaluating the effectiveness of policies related to drunk driving
Authors: Eisenberg Daniel 
Published: March 2003

AbstractNew findings are presented on the effectiveness (in terms of fatal crash reductions) of state‐level public policies related to drunk driving. Conventional estimates of policy effects might be biased because of the endogeneity of policies; this concern is addressed by analyzing the time pattern of policy effects with respect to the date of adoption. For the 0.08 BAC law, the results suggest that a bias upward exists, but the policy is still somewhat effective. Graduated licensing programs for young drivers and the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) organization are also evaluated for the first time in this type of analysis. The estimated time pattern of effects for graduated licensing suggest that its effects are also overstated in conventional analyses, but the policy is still effective for young drivers. The estimates for MADD do not imply an effect, but this result could be due to the crudeness of the variable used. © 2003 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.
The haematopoietic specific signal transducer Vav1 is expressed in a subset of human neuroblastomas
Authors: Hornstein Idit , Pikarsky Eli , Groysman Maya , Amir Gail , Peylan‐Ramu Nili , Katzav Shulamit 
Published: March 2003

AbstractVav1 is a signal transducer protein expressed exclusively in the haematopoietic system, where it plays a pivotal role in growth factor‐induced differentiation and proliferation. Vav1 couples tyrosine kinase signals with the activation of the Rho/Rac GTPases, leading to cell differentiation and/or proliferation. Vav1 was originally detected as an oncogene, but its involvement in human malignancies has not been reported thus far. We report here that Vav1 is expressed in a neuroblastoma cell line, SK‐N‐MC. Molecular analysis indicated that there are no gross rearrangements or mutations in the Vav1 gene in SK‐N‐MC cells. Vav1 protein from SK‐N‐MC cells was similar to wild‐type Vav1 in apparent molecular weight, phosphorylation state, and ability to associate with active EGFR. We also analysed the expression of Vav1 in 42 specimens of human neuroblastoma. Vav1 was expressed in the majority of these tumours. Our results suggest that Vav1 may play a role in the neoplastic process in a subset of neuroblastomas. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Low‐ and high‐risk CIN 1 and 2 lesions: prospective predictive value of grade, HPV, and Ki‐67 immuno‐quantitative variables
Authors: Kruse Arnold‐Jan , Baak Jan P A , Janssen Emiel A , Bol Marco G W , Kjellevold Kjell‐Henning , Fianne Bernt , Lovslett Kjell , Bergh Johan 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThe aim of this study was to evaluate in small cervical biopsies (non‐cone, non‐large loop excision of the transformation zone, LLETZ) the prognostic value of both routinely assessed and reviewed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grades 1 and 2, oncogenic human papillomavirus (onco‐HPV) DNA (HPV status) and Ki‐67 immuno‐quantitative features for the prediction of progression. In biopsies from 44 CIN patients (the learning set), subjective CIN grade, onco‐HPV by PCR, and Ki‐67 immuno‐quantitative features were assessed. We followed development of the lesions by colposcopy and cytology, but the final endpoint was the histological grade (again in small biopsies). The outcome was defined as progression (histological (CIN 1 to (CIN 2 or 3)) or CIN 2 to CIN 3) or not (all other cases). Single and multivariate (Cox regression) and survival analyses were applied. The resulting predictive combination of quantitative features was then applied to a new test set of 35 consecutive CIN 2 (small) biopsies followed by large (cone or LLETZ) biopsies. In the learning set, mean follow‐up of non‐progression cases was 18.8 months (range 4.7–35.9), and of progression cases 13.1 months (range 6.4–32.9) (p = 0.18). Five cases progressed (11%). Of the 16 CIN 1 and 28 CIN 2 lesions, 31 cases (70%) were onco‐HPV positive (5 of the CIN 1 and 26 of the CIN 2). The age of women with progression or not did not differ (p = 0.68). All 5 progression cases were CIN 2 (on review, one of these was reclassified as CIN 1), and positive for onco‐HPV. Cox regression analysis showed that the percentage of Ki‐67‐positive cells located in the middle third layer of the epithelium (MIDTHIRD) and the 90th percentile of the stratification index (SI90) was the best combination to predict progression (log rank = 5.1, p = 0.02). Furthermore, sensitivity (100%), specificity (56%), positive predictive value (23%), negative predictive value (100%), and overall percentage correctly classified cases (61%) of this Ki‐67 combination were higher than that of subjective CIN grade or HPV status, either single or combined (both for routine and review CIN grades). Adding CIN grade or HPV status did not improve the Ki‐67 prognostic results. Application of the prognostic Ki‐67 combination to the test set of 35 small biopsies followed by large (cone or LLETZ biopsies) gave comparable results. Analyses on homogeneous subgroups (CIN 2 only, onco‐HPV+ only, or CIN2/onco‐HPV+ only) gave similar results. In conclusion, Ki‐67 immuno‐quantitation of small biopsies showing CIN 1 or CIN 2 has strong independent prognostic value for progression. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.