bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Role of molecular mimicry to HIV-1 peptides in HIV-1–related immunologic thrombocytopenia
Authors: Li Zongdong , Nardi Michael A. , Karpatkin Simon 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
Patients with early HIV-1 infection develop an autoimmune thrombocytopenia in which antibody is directed against an immunodominant epitope of the β3 (glycoprotein IIIa [GPIIIa]) integrin, GPIIIa49-66. This antibody induces thrombocytopenia by a novel complement-independent mechanism in which platelets are fragmented by antibody-induced generation of H2O2 derived from the interaction of platelet nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase and 12-lipoxygenase. To examine whether sharing of epitope between host and parasite may be responsible for this immunodominant epitope, we screened for antibody-reactive peptides capable of inhibiting platelet lysis and oxidation in vitro, using a filamentous phage display 7-mer peptide library. Fourteen of these phage-peptide clones were identified. Five shared close sequence similarity with GPIIIa49-66, as expected. Ten were molecular mimics with close sequence similarity to HIV-1 proteins nef, gag, env, and pol. Seven were synthesized as 10-mers from their known HIV-1 sequence and found to inhibit anti–GPIIIa49-66–induced platelet oxidation/fragmentation in vitro. Three rabbit antibodies raised against these peptides induced platelet oxidation/fragmentation in vitro and thrombocytopenia in vivo when passively transferred into mice. One of the peptides shared a known epitope region with HIV-1 protein nef and was derived from a variant region of the protein. These data provide strong support for molecular mimicry in HIV-1-immunologic thrombocytopenia within polymorphic regions of HIV-1 proteins. A known epitope of nef is particularly incriminated.
SNPHunter: a bioinformatic software for single nucleotide polymorphism data acquisition and management
Authors: Wang Lin , Liu Simin , Niu Tianhua , Xu Xin 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
Background
Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) provide an important tool in pinpointing susceptibility genes for complex diseases and in unveiling human molecular evolution. Selection and retrieval of an optimal SNP set from publicly available databases have emerged as the foremost bottlenecks in designing large-scale linkage disequilibrium studies, particularly in case-control settings.

Results
We describe the architectural structure and implementations of a novel software program, SNPHunter, which allows for both ad hoc-mode and batch-mode SNP search, automatic SNP filtering, and retrieval of SNP data, including physical position, function class, flanking sequences at user-defined lengths, and heterozygosity from NCBI dbSNP. The SNP data extracted from dbSNP via SNPHunter can be exported and saved in plain text format for further down-stream analyses. As an illustration, we applied SNPHunter for selecting SNPs for 10 major candidate genes for type 2 diabetes, including CAPN10, FABP4, IL6, NOS3, PPARG, TNF, UCP2, CRP, ESR1, and AR.

Conclusion
SNPHunter constitutes an efficient and user-friendly tool for SNP screening, selection, and acquisition. The executable and user's manual are available at http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/ppg/software.htm.
Phospholipase D (PLD) gene expression in human neutrophils and HL-60 differentiation
Authors: Di Fulvio Mauricio , Gomez-Cambronero Julian 
Published: March 2005

AbstractHuman neutrophils exhibit a regulated phospholipase D (PLD) activity that can be measured biochemically in vitro. However, the precise expression pattern of PLD isoforms and their specific biological role(s) are not well understood. Neutrophil mRNA is intrinsically difficult to isolate as a result of the extremely high content of lytic enzymes in the cell's lysosomal granules. Reverse transcription coupled to polymerase chain reaction indicated that pure populations of human neutrophils had the CD16b+/CD115−/CD20−/CD3ζ−/interleukin-5 receptor α− phenotype. These cells expressed the following splice variants of the PLD1 isoform: PLD1a, PLD1b, PLD1a2, and PLD1b2. As for the PLD2 isoform, neutrophils expressed the PLD2a but not the PLD2b mRNA variant. The relative amount of PLD1/PLD2 transcripts exists in an approximate 4:1 ratio. The expression of PLD isoforms varies during granulocytic differentiation, as demonstrated in the promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cell line. Further, the pattern of mRNA expression is dependent on the differentiation-inducing agent, 1.25% dimethyl sulfoxide causes a dramatic increase in PLD2a and PLD1b transcripts, and 300 nM all-trans-retinoic acid induced PLD1a expression. These results demonstrate for the first time that human neutrophils express five PLD transcripts and that the PLD genes undergo qualitative changes in transcription regulation during granulocytic differentiation.
Dark alleys and blind bends: testing the language of learning
Authors: Broadfoot Patricia M. 
Published: March 2005

This article presents a revised version of the author’s Samuel Messick Memorial lecture in 2003. Messick’s emphasis on consequential validity is used to identify some of the negative effects of current practices as they affect the quality of students’ learning and motivation. It suggests that there have been many ‘dark alleys’ in which poorly understood assessment technologies have been used thoughtlessly or have been located on ‘blind bends’ in which a lack of sufficient preparation and knowledge has resulted in assessment practices that are dangerous and, potentially, very damaging to learners. In the light of these problems the article argues for a more constructive approach to assessment. Taking the particular context of language learning, the article describes a new assessment tool, The Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory (ELLI), which has a very different purpose: the identification of an individual’s power to learn. It argues the need to replace the conventional lexicon of testing with a focus on key learning dimensions such as confidence, collaboration, critical curiosity and creativity - the feelings and dispositions that are argued to be central to learning.
Osteosarcoma: A Randomized, Prospective Trial of the Addition of Ifosfamide and/or Muramyl Tripeptide to Cisplatin, Doxorubicin, and High-Dose Methotrexate
Authors: Meyers Paul A. , Schwartz Cindy L. , Krailo Mark , Kleinerman Eugenie S. , Betcher Donna , Bernstein Mark L. , Conrad Ernest , Ferguson William , Gebhardt Mark , Goorin Allen M. , Harris Michael B. , Healey John , Huvos Andrew , Link Michael , Montebello Joseph , Nadel Helen , Nieder Michael , Sato Judith , Siegal Gene , Weiner Michael , Wells Robert , Wold Lester , Womer Richard , Grier Holcombe 
Published: March 2005

Purpose To determine whether the addition of ifosfamide and/or muramyl tripeptide (MTP) encapsulated in liposomes to cisplatin, doxorubicin, and high-dose methotrexate (HDMTX) could improve the probability for event-free survival (EFS) in newly diagnosed patients with osteosarcoma (OS). Patients and Methods Six hundred seventy-seven patients with OS without clinically detectable metastatic disease were treated with one of four prospectively randomized treatments. All patients received identical cumulative doses of cisplatin, doxorubicin, and HDMTX and underwent definitive surgical resection of the primary tumor. Patients were randomly assigned to receive or not to receive ifosfamide and/or MTP in a 2 × 2 factorial design. The primary end point for analysis was EFS. Results Patients treated with the standard arm of therapy had a 3-year EFS of 71%. We could not analyze the results by factorial design because we observed an interaction between the addition of ifosfamide and the addition of MTP. The addition of MTP to standard chemotherapy achieved a 3-year EFS rate of 68%. The addition of ifosfamide to standard chemotherapy achieved a 3-year EFS rate of 61%. The addition of both ifosfamide and MTP resulted in a 3-year EFS rate of 78%. Conclusion The addition of ifosfamide in this dose schedule to standard chemotherapy did not enhance EFS. The addition of MTP to chemotherapy might improve EFS, but additional clinical and laboratory investigation will be necessary to explain the interaction between ifosfamide and MTP.
Corepressor Binding to Progesterone and Glucocorticoid Receptors Involves the Activation Function-1 Domain and Is Inhibited by Molybdate
Authors: Wang Dongqing , Simons S. Stoney 
Published: March 2005

AbstractCorepressors are known to interact via their receptor interaction domains (RIDs) with the ligand binding domain in the carboxyl terminal half of steroid/nuclear receptors. We now report that a portion of the activation function-1 domain of glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) and progesterone receptors (PRs), which is the major transactivation sequence, is necessary but not sufficient for corepressor [nuclear receptor corepressor (NCoR) and silencing mediator of retinoid and thyroid hormone receptor (SMRT)] RID binding to GRs and PRs in both mammalian two-hybrid and coimmunoprecipitation assays. Importantly, these two receptor sequences are functionally interchangeable in the context of GR for transactivation, corepressor binding, and corepressor modulatory activity assays. This suggests that corepressors may act in part by physically blocking portions of receptor activation function-1 domains. However, differences exist in corepressor binding to GRs and PRs. The C-terminal domain of PRs has a higher affinity for corepressor than that of GRs. The ability of some segments of the coactivator TIF2 to competitively inhibit corepressor binding to receptors is different for GRs and PRs. With each receptor, the cell-free binding of corepressors to ligand-free receptor is prevented by sodium molybdate, which is a well-known inhibitor of receptor activation to the DNA-binding state. This suggests that receptor activation precedes binding to corepressors. Collectively, these results indicate that corepressor binding to GRs and PRs involve both N- and C-terminal sequences of activated receptors but differ in ways that may contribute to the unique biological responses of each receptor in intact cells.
An application of an extended health belief model to the prediction of breast self‐examination among women with a family history of breast cancer
Authors: Norman Paul , Brain Kate 
Published: March 2005

Objectives. This study reports an application of the health belief model (HBM) to the prediction of breast self‐examination (BSE) among women with a family history of breast cancer. The study also considered the influence of breast cancer worries and past behaviour.Methods. Eight hundred and thirty‐three women completed questionnaires, based on the HBM, to assess their beliefs about breast cancer and BSE. Of these women, 567 were followed‐up at 9 months when BSE frequency was assessed.Results. Discriminant function analysis was employed to discriminate among infrequent, appropriate and excessive BSE. Two functions were calculated which were predictive of group membership. The first function maximally discriminated between the infrequent BSE group and the other two groups, with infrequent self‐examiners reporting a greater number of self‐efficacy and emotion barriers, fewer benefits and less frequent BSE at Time 1. The second function maximally discriminated between the excessive BSE group and the appropriate BSE group, with excessive self‐examiners reporting higher levels of breast cancer worries and perceived severity and fewer self‐efficacy barriers.Conclusions. The results highlight the importance of focusing on excessive as well as infrequent BSE. Interventions designed to enhance women's confidence in their ability to perform BSE, coupled with attempts to reduce breast cancer worries, may encourage more appropriate and effective BSE.
Microemulsions
Authors: Klier John 
Published: March 2005

AbstractMicroemulsions are true, thermodynamically equilibrated liquids that contain a surfactant and/or other amphiphile(s); one or more nonpolar components, such as hydrocarbons; water; and, frequently, inorganic salt (s). The surfactant(s) may be nonionic, ionic, or amphoteric; but most ionic surfactants also require a nonionic cosurfactant or amphiphile to suppress formation of liquid crystals. Microemulsions are distinct from (macro) emulsions, which are thermodynamically unstable dispersions of macroscopic droplets of one or more liquid and/or liquid crystalline phases in a continuous liquid. However, a microemulsion may be one of the phases of an emulsion. The microemulsion may appear as one of three phase, eg, a middle phase in simultaneous equilibrium with a top or upper oleic phase, and a bottom or lower aqueous phase. Because the three phases are close to a tricritical point (where all three phases simultaneously become a single phase), the interfacial tensions among the three phases are several orders of magnitude less than the tensions produced by conventional micellar solutions. Moreover, by suitable changes of temperature, salinity, or other compositional variable, the composition of the middle phase can be made to vary continuously between that of the bottom and top phases. Current or potential industrial uses of microemulsions include agrochemicals, biotechnology, catalysis, cosmetics, detergency, dyeing, enhanced oil recovery, foods, pharmaceuticals,in situremediation of pollutants, separations, and synthesis of nanomaterials. Annual U.S. consumption of surfactants is ∼3.4 billion kg.
Emulsions prepared by two‐stage ceramic membrane jet‐flow emulsification
Authors: Jing Wenheng , Wu Jun , Xing Weihong , Jin Wanqin , Xu Nanping 
Published: March 2005

AbstractTo solve the paradox between the flux and droplet size in conventional membrane emulsification, a process including a two‐stage ceramic membrane emulsification under jet flow was proposed. An apparatus integrating slurry reactor and membrane emulsification was used in this investigation. In the first stage, a ZrO2 ceramic membrane, with a nominal pore size of 0.16 μm, was used. The flux of the membrane was 150 L m−2 h−1 at a pressure of 0.35 MPa and a temperature of 20°C, and the droplet size of the emulsion was 54.69 μm. To obtain monodispersed emulsions with a small droplet size, a second ceramic membrane jet‐flow emulsification was used. An α‐Al2O3 ceramic membrane with a nominal pore size of 1.5 μm was selected as the emulsification medium. The flux was attained at 454 L m−2 h−1 at a pressure of 0.2 MPa, and the monodispersed emulsion with droplet size (D50) of 2.29 μm could be obtained. The effects of pressure, stirring speed, and emulsifier concentration on the second stage of the process were discussed in detail. © 2005 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2005
Moderne Elektronenstrahltechnologien zum Fügen und zur Randschichtbehandlung. Modern Electron Beam Technologies for Soldering and Surface Treatment
Authors: Zenker Rolf , Buchwalder Anja , Frenkler Norbert , Thiemer Sven 
Published: March 2005

AbstractEine neue Generation der Strahlablenktechnik ermöglicht die Entwicklung von Elektronenstrahl(EB)‐Technologien, die mit konventionellen Mitteln nicht realisierbar sind.Eine hochfrequente 3 Strahlablenkung ist die Basis für Elektronenstrahl‐Mehrfeld‐, Mehrbad‐ und Mehrprozesstechnologien zum Schweißen und zur Randschichtbehandlung, mit denen eine deutlich höhere Produktivität erreichbar ist und mit denen sich neuartige Eigenschaftskombinationen einstellen lassen.
Depression and health‐related quality of life in elderly patients suffering from heart failure and their spouses: a comparative study
Authors: Pihl Emma , Jacobsson Anna , Fridlund Bengt , Strömberg Anna , Måtensson Jan 
Published: March 2005

BackgroundLittle is known about the factors that influence the health outcome of elderly patients suffering from heart failure or the health of their spouses. The aim of this comparative study was to determine if older patients suffering from heart failure and their spouses experience similar levels of health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) and depression. The aim was also to identify those factors that contribute to HRQOL and depression in patient–spouse pairs.MethodsData were collected from 47 couples, using the Short Form 36 (SF‐36) and Zung Self‐rating Depression Scale (SDS) questionnaires.ResultsPatients suffering from heart failure and their spouses differed significantly in their experience of the physical, but not the mental, health‐related quality of life, with patients experiencing significantly worse physical functioning. Physical symptoms of heart failure seemed to dominate the experience of the patient and was positively related to mental health and inversely related to the New York Heart Association classification (NYHA class) and patients' depression. Depressive symptoms as reflected in SDS showed no significant difference between patients and spouses. Patients' depression was positively related to high NYHA class, while spouse depression was positively related with higher age of the patient.ConclusionPhysical symptoms seem to dominate the experience of heart failure.
Falun Gong: The End of Days. By MARIA HSIA CHANG. [New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 188 pp. $25.00; £16.99. ISBN 0-300-10227-5.]
Authors: Palmer David A. 
Published: March 2005

Since 1999, falun gong has been one of the most burning and sensitive political and religious issues in China, brought to the attention of the public around the world by demonstrations and media reports. Until Maria Hsia Chang's book, Falun Gong: The End of Days, was released this spring, no balanced book-length account of the facts surrounding falun gong was available. Chang's book provides the general public with an informative summary of the development of falun gong, its basic beliefs, the history of its repression by the Chinese state, and its connection with millenarian and sectarian traditions in Chinese religious history. However, the journalistic style and sources of the book underline the need for a thorough academic study of the phenomenon.Chapter one, “A religious sect defies the state,” outlines the story of falun gong from its foundation in 1992 to its continued repression today following the Zhongnanhai demonstration of 1999. In chapter two, “Chinese religions and millenarian movements,” Chang summarizes the history of Chinese religions, secret societies, and millennial and apocalyptic movements, including the Eight Trigram, Taiping and Boxer rebellions, and argues that the Chinese Communists tapped into China's millenarian tradition in order to gain power. She then stresses that falun gong, contrary to its claims that it is not a religion, draws heavily from Chinese religion, and particularly its millennial and apocalyptic strands. Falun gong teachings are described in chapter three, “Beliefs and practices,” in which falun gong's cosmology, theology and eschatology are outlined with ample reference to the writings of Li Hongzhi. The next chapter, “The state vs. falun gong,” goes through the Chinese state's charges against falun gong. Chapter five, “The persecution of other faiths,” begins with a critique of the “rule of law” purportedly called on by the CCP to deal with falun gong, and argues that the accusations made against falun gong could just as well be made against the CCP itself. It then discusses the vast social dislocations in contemporary China that create a fertile soil for the emergence of apocalyptic movements such as falun gong, and describes how the persecution of falun gong is part of a larger policy to eradicate underground religious groups, several of which are presented. Finally, Chang concludes that, in the face of widespread social dissatisfaction, the fear of millenarian uprisings is the main motivation for the CCP's fierce suppression of falun gong – but its intolerance of “heterodox” faiths only reinforces their politicization into oppositional movements, increasing the likelihood of the CCP “reaping the fate” it so dreads.
A Bitter Revolution: China's Struggle with the Modern World. By RANA MITTER. [New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. 357 pp. $30.00. ISBN 0-19-280341-7.]
Authors: Weston Timothy B. 
Published: March 2005

In A Bitter Revolution, Rana Mitter offers a broad-brushed interpretive essay intended for a general reader rather than a focused academic study. Because of his target audience and the expansiveness of his topic, Mitter's prose is informal and he frequently inserts textbook-style passages. Mitter intermittently offers his own illuminating readings of primary source material and throughout the work he engages with an impressive range of recently published scholarly research findings but, in the main, this book's originality lies in its integrative and sweeping narrative reading of China's modern revolutionary history.Mitter's account is organized around a number of biographical sketches (most prominently of Zou Taofen and Du Zhongyuan) and several key historiographical contentions. Cumulatively, those contentions serve to open modern Chinese history to a range of new approaches and questions. First, Mitter argues that Chinese historians must resist the habit of centring their interpretive focus on the Communist story given the relative brevity of the Communist revolution and the fact that three very important decades have passed since its high point. This leads to the second contention – namely that in important ways contemporary Chinese politics and society share more in common with the May Fourth period than they do with the Maoist era. As Mitter sees it, the May Fourth movement, and the political and cultural pluralism of the pre-war Republican period more broadly, have remained highly relevant over the course of modern Chinese history. For this reason, he chooses to weave his narrative around that generation's passage through life during the 20th century. Thirdly, interpreters of modern Chinese history must do more to foreground the complex and multiple ways that the broader international political environment influenced China's revolutionary process over the course of the 20th century. And fourthly, it is as important to understand daily life and how it has changed over time as it is to study the large, abstract forces that shape society. In recent decades these historiographical ideas have steadily gained ground within the field of modern Chinese history, yet Mitter is among the first to build a sustained narrative statement on 20th-century China around them. In presenting this synthetic account, Mitter has performed an important and very useful service to the field.
Liability Risk for Outside Directors: a Cross‐Border Analysis
Authors: Black Bernard , Cheffins Brian , Klausner Michael 
Published: March 2005

Abstract Much has been said recently about the risky legal environment in which outside directors of public companies operate, especially in the USA, but increasingly elsewhere as well. Our research on outside director liability suggests, however, that directors’ fears are largely unjustified. We examine the law and lawsuit outcomes in four common law countries (Australia, Canada, Britain, and the USA) and three civil law countries (France, Germany, and Japan). The legal terrain and the risk of ‘nominal liability’(a court finds liability or the defendants agree to a settlement) differ greatly depending on the jurisdiction. But nominal liability rarely turns into ‘out‐of‐pocket liability,’ in which the directors pay personally damages or legal fees. Instead, damages and legal fees are paid by the company, directors’ and officers’(D&O) insurance, or both. The bottom line: outside directors of public companies face a very low risk of out‐of‐pocket liability. We sketch the political and market forces that produce functional convergence in outcomes across countries, despite large differences in law, and suggest reasons to think that this outcome might reflect sensible policy.