bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Endothelial Dysfunction and Damage in Congestive Heart Failure
Authors: Chong Aun Yeong , Blann Andrew D. , Patel Jeetesh , Freestone Bethan , Hughes Elizabeth , Lip Gregory Y.H. 
Published: September 2004

Background—Congestive heart failure (CHF) is associated with endothelial perturbation (as defined by flow-mediated endothelial-dependent vasodilation [FMD, an index of endothelial dysfunction], circulating endothelial cells [CECs, an index of endothelial damage], or plasma indexes of endothelial damage/dysfunction [eg, von Willebrand factor (vWf) and soluble thrombomodulin (sTM)]) and raised plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP, a peptide hormone associated with left ventricular systolic dysfunction and prognosis). However, the relations between these parameters are unclear.Methods and Results—To test the hypothesis that there is a relation between endothelial perturbation (defined by FMD, CECs, vWf, and sTM) and BNP in CHF, we studied these indexes in 30 patients with CHF who were compared with 20 age-matched control subjects. FMD, CECs, plasma vWf, and BNP levels (but not sTM) were all abnormal in patients with CHF. There were significant inverse correlations between FMD and vWf (P=0.001), CECs (P=0.002) and BNP (P=0.006) as well as a positive correlation between CECs and vWf (P=0.032). In multivariate analysis, BNP (P<0.001) and FMD (P<0.001) were both independently associated with CHF.Conclusions—Ample evidence of endothelial cell damage/dysfunction in CHF cannot be fully explained by the variance in plasma BNP per se. Therefore, the routes by which these indexes influence the pathophysiology of CHF as well as predict adverse outcomes may be independent.
The Cult of the Spanish Civil War in east Germany
Authors: Krammer Arnold 
Published: September 2004

The Spanish Civil War of 1936–39, particularly the role of the International Brigades, was of enormous importance in the literature, history and lore of communist East Germany. Despite the loss of the leftist Popular Front republic to Franco’s repressive fascist dictatorship, the war in distant Spain waselevated to near-mythic proportions in the GDR. In the early days of its postwar existence the communist government found itself without historical roots beyond the Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe — the only point of political and ideological origin to which East Germany could point. The Peasant Uprising and Thomas Münzer were considered, and discarded, as were the revolutions of 1848, Luxemburg and Liebknecht, and the leftist parties of the Weimar years. The Spanish Civil War, however, was perfect. Guns had been raised in communist hands against fascists, while the capitalist West stood helplessly by. The International Brigades became the first armed opposition to Hitler and were seen as the embryo of the invading Red Army. From government officials to authors, schoolbooks to popular history, the importance of the myth of the Spanish Civil War was surpassed in importance only by that of the October Revolution. High-ranking leaders in the Politburo, military, media, education and literature had all fought in Spain. The problem was that the myth never changed, despite the opening of western archives and the periodic publication of memoirs which disclosed communist errors and ideological murder. The East German public grew bored and confused with their model of socialist obedience and sacrifice at a time when the very foundations of the artificial state were beginning fatally to erode. In the end, the GDR went to its grave clinging to an ossified myth which had become as much a burden as it once had been an inspiration.
Dysregulation of granulocyte, erythrocyte, and NK cell lineages in Fli-1 gene–targeted mice
Authors: Masuya Masahiro , Moussa Omar , Abe Takanori , Deguchi Takao , Higuchi Tsukasa , Ebihara Yasuhiro , Spyropoulos Demetri D. , Watson Dennis K. , Ogawa Makio 
Published: September 2004

Abstract
Targeted disruption of the Friend leukemia integration 1 (Fli-1) proto-oncogene results in severe dysmegakaryopoiesis and embryonic lethality. We used morula-stage aggregation as a strategy to further clarify the hematopoietic defects of the Fli-1 gene-targeted mice. Analyses of lineage expression of Fli-1+/- and Fli-1-/- cells in the peripheral blood and bone marrow of chimeric mice consistently demonstrated reduced numbers of neutrophilic granulocytes and monocytes and increased numbers of natural killer (NK) cells. Transplantation studies using sorted Fli-1 mutant cells produced similar findings. Clonal culture studies of bone marrow cells revealed increased numbers of granulocytic and early erythroid progenitors in the Fli-1+/- cells. The sorted Fli-1-/- bone marrow cells revealed specific down-regulation of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-α (C/EBPα) and C/EBPϵ, and the receptors for granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and granulocyte-macrophage CSF (GM-CSF), consistent with their critical roles in granulopoiesis. Collectively, these observations suggest previously unknown physiologic roles for Fli-1 in granulocytic, erythroid, and NK cell proliferation and differentiation. Production of chimeras by morula-stage embryo aggregation is an effective way to unravel cell-autonomous hematopoietic defects in gene-targeted mice.
Collecting duct carcinoma of the kidney: an immunohistochemical study of 11 cases
Authors: Vecchione Andrea , Galetti Tommaso Prayer , Gardiman Marina , Ishii Hideshi , Giarnieri Enrico , Pagano Francesco , Gomella Leonard G , Croce Carlo M , Baffa Raffaele 
Published: September 2004

Abstract
Background
Collecting duct carcinoma (CDC) is a rare but very aggressive variant of kidney carcinoma that arises from the epithelium of Bellini's ducts, in the distal portion of the nephron. In order to gain an insight into the biology of this tumor we evaluated the expression of five genes involved in the development of renal cancer (FEZ1/LZTS1, FHIT, TP53, P27
kip 1, and BCL2).

Methods
We studied eleven patients who underwent radical nephrectomy for primary CDC. All patients had an adequate clinical follow-up and none of them received any systemic therapy before surgery. The expression of the five markers for tumor initiation and/or progression were assessed by immunohistochemistry and correlated to the clinicopathological parameters, and survival by univariate analysis.

Results
Results showed that Fez1 protein expression was undetectable or substantially reduced in 7 of the 11 (64%) cases. Fhit protein was absent in three cases (27%). The overexpression of p53 protein was predominantly nuclear and detected in 4 of 11 cases (36%). Immunostaining for p27 was absent in 5 of 11 cases (45.5%). Five of the six remaining cases (90%) showed exclusively cytoplasmic protein expression, where, in the last case, p27 protein was detected in both nucleus and cytoplasm. Bcl2 expression with 100% of the tumor cells positive was observed in 4 of 11 (36%) cases. Statistical analysis showed a statistical trend (P = 0.06) between loss and reduction of Fez1 and presence of lymph node metastases.

Conclusions
These findings suggest that Fez1 may represent not only a molecular diagnostic marker but also a prognostic marker in CDC.
The global response to tropical heating in the Madden–Julian oscillation during the northern winter
Authors: Matthews Adrian J. , Hoskins Brian J. , Masutani Michiko 
Published: September 2004

AbstractA life cycle of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) was constructed, based on 21 years of outgoing long‐wave radiation data. Regression maps of NCEP–NCAR reanalysis data for the northern winter show statistically significant upper‐tropospheric equatorial wave patterns linked to the tropical convection anomalies, and extratropical wave patterns over the North Pacific, North America, the Atlantic, the Southern Ocean and South America. To assess the cause of the circulation anomalies, a global primitive‐equation model was initialized with the observed three‐dimensional (3D) winter climatological mean flow and forced with a time‐dependent heat source derived from the observed MJO anomalies. A model MJO cycle was constructed from the global response to the heating, and both the tropical and extratropical circulation anomalies generally matched the observations well. The equatorial wave patterns are established in a few days, while it takes approximately two weeks for the extratropical patterns to appear. The model response is robust and insensitive to realistic changes in damping and basic state. The model tropical anomalies are consistent with a forced equatorial Rossby–Kelvin wave response to the tropical MJO heating, although it is shifted westward by approximately 20° longitude relative to observations. This may be due to a lack of damping processes (cumulus friction) in the regions of convective heating. Once this shift is accounted for, the extratropical response is consistent with theories of Rossby wave forcing and dispersion on the climatological flow, and the pattern correlation between the observed and modelled extratropical flow is up to 0.85. The observed tropical and extratropical wave patterns account for a significant fraction of the intraseasonal circulation variance, and this reproducibility as a response to tropical MJO convection has implications for global medium‐range weather prediction. Copyright © 2004 Royal Meteorological Society
Sea‐salt aerosols over the north‐east Atlantic: Model simulations of the ACE‐2 Second Lagrangian experiment
Authors: Glantz Paul , Svensson Gunilla , Noone Kevin J. , Osborne Simon R. 
Published: September 2004

AbstractA one‐dimensional ensemble‐average model is used in this study to simulate the North Atlantic regional Aerosol Characterisation Experiment (ACE‐2) Second Lagrangian experiment, where the same air mass was followed in the trade wind area over the north‐east Atlantic during July 1997. The air mass was affected by increased sea surface temperatures and decreased synoptic‐scale subsidence on its way southward towards the Canary Islands. This caused the marine boundary layer (MBL) to grow from a shallow layer capped by a stratocumulus deck to a decoupled layer with cumulus clouds forming below the stratocumulus layer.Several of the meteorological parameters obtained during a control run show reasonable agreement with observations. The model essentially captures the MBL growth, but the increase of the cloud top height occurs more slowly in the simulation than is indicated by the in situ observations. The sea surface temperature increase seems to be the most important factor for the deepening of the MBL.The model simulates relatively steep vertical gradients in the sea‐salt mass concentrations both in the shallow and deeper MBLs, consistent with in situ measurements. Furthermore, the sea‐salt particle mass concentrations estimated by the model for most of the altitude levels in the MBL are within 22% of the observed concentrations of sea‐salt‐related ions. Turbulent mixing by wind shear did not create well‐mixed MBLs based on the sea‐salt mass concentrations. Vertical gradients in sea‐salt number and mass concentrations suggest a reduced influence of sea‐salt particles as cloud condensation nuclei. © Royal Meteorological Society, 2004. S. R. Obsborne's contribution is Crown copyright.
Multi-Biomarker Risk Stratification of N-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide, High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein, and Cardiac Troponin T and I in End-Stage Renal Disease for All-Cause Death
Authors: Apple Fred S , Murakami MaryAnn M , Pearce Lesly A , Herzog Charles A 
Published: September 2004

AbstractBackground: In patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), the ability of single and multiple biomarker monitoring to predict adverse outcomes has not been well established. This study determined the prognostic value of multiple biomarkers for all-cause death over 2 years in 399 ESRD patients.Methods: The risk of all-cause death was determined by use of multiple biomarkers based on concentrations for a reference population (normal) and cutoffs based on tertile distributions in the ESRD group. Biomarkers studied included N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP; Dade Behring and Roche assays), and cardiac troponin T (cTnT; Roche) and I (cTnI; Dade Behring and Beckman Coulter assays). Relative risks of death were estimated and survival curves computed.Results: A total of 101 deaths occurred during 594 patient-years of follow-up. Increased NT-proBNP concentrations were not predictive of death on the basis of the normal cutoffs. However, tertile analysis of NT-proBNP was significantly predictive of death and had a ROC area under the curve equivalent to or better than any of the other biomarkers. Biomarkers independently predictive of survival were hsCRP (P &lt;0.001, either assay), cTnT (P &lt;0.05), and cTnI (Dade, P &lt;0.05). Two-year mortality rates were 6% (n = 45) with normal hsCRP, cTnI, and cTnT concentrations; 19% (n = 173) with increased hsCRP or cTnT and normal cTnI; 44% (n = 160) with both hsCRP and cTnT increased and normal cTnI; 61% (n = 21) with increased cTnI (Dade) or 47% (n = 74) with increased cTnI (Beckman) regardless of hsCRP or cTnT concentrations. Defined by the normal cutoffs, increased concentrations of biomarkers were present in various proportions of the 399 patients with ESRD: NT-proBNP, 99%; hsCRP, 46% (both Roche and Dade assays); cTnT, 85%; cTnI, 19% (Beckman assay) and 5% (Dade assay).Conclusions: Although mechanisms likely vary for causation, increased plasma hsCRP, cTnT, and cTnI above the cutoffs for our reference (normal) population were all independently predictive of subsequent death in ESRD patients. Tertile analysis for NT-proBNP also demonstrated prognostic value.
Influence of beech wood quality on bisulfite dissolving pulp manufacture. Part 1: Influence of log storage on pulping and bleaching
Authors: Sixta H. , Promberger A. , Koch G. , Gradinger C. , Messner K. 
Published: September 2004

Abstract
The present study investigated different log storage conditions and their influence on the processability of the wood material in pulping and bleaching. For that purpose, logs were stored for about 15 months under dry and wet conditions. Besides a detailed chemical, physical and microbial characterization of the wood, cooking trials according to the standard magnesium acid bisulfite process and bleaching experiments at various conditions using a (E/O)-Z-P-sequence were performed. The dependency of pulp yield, delignification efficiency, the course of cellulose depolymerization and brightness on the different storage conditions was evaluated. Bleaching selectivity was comparable for pulps made from fresh and wet-stored wood. In the case of pulp made from dry-stored wood, between 60% and 300% more bleaching chemicals, expressed as OXE, were necessary to obtain the target brightness. Milled wood lignin was isolated from the beech wood samples to study possible structural changes attributable to different storage conditions. Permanganate oxidation was applied to investigate the most important lignin structures. Additionally, preliminary NMR studies were performed to gain supplementary information about the composition of the lignin moieties. UV microspectrophotometry in agreement with absorption difference spectra strongly suggests that the chromophore structures present in both unbleached and bleached pulp samples predominantly originate from polyphenolic compounds, which are attached to the cell wall and are deposited in the lumina of parenchyma cells. From the results obtained so far, it can be concluded that wet storage of beech wood logs efficiently prevents the formation of chromophore compounds which negatively affect acid bisulfite pulping.
Estimation of Pinus radiata D. Don tracheid morphological characteristics by near infrared spectroscopy
Authors: Schimleck L. R. , Evans R. 
Published: September 2004

Abstract
Eight Pinus radiata D. Don increment core samples were selected from a total of 32 cores for the development of calibrations for several tracheid morphological characteristics: coarseness, perimeter, radial and tangential diameter and wall thickness. Near infrared (NIR) spectra, obtained from the radial-longitudinal face of each core in 10-mm sections from pith to bark, were used to develop the calibrations. Calibrations for coarseness and wall thickness were excellent, with coefficients of determination (R2) of 0.91 and 0.89, respectively. Calibrations for the remaining characteristics were weaker (R2 ranged from 0.65 to 0.69). To test the predictive ability of the calibrations, two intact P. radiata increment cores (core A and B) were selected from the same set as the calibration samples. NIR-predicted tracheid coarseness and wall thickness were in strong agreement with measured (SilviScan-determined) values. Radial patterns of variation (NIR-predicted, measured) closely followed each other for both cores, but coarseness and wall thickness were underestimated for core B. Tracheid tangential perimeter was well predicted with R2 of 0.69 (core A) and 0.79 (core B). Relationships for the remaining characteristics were weak. Collection of NIR spectra in smaller increments, to capture more of the variation, may improve calibration.
Organosolv pulping of olive tree trimmings by use of ethylene glycol/soda/water mixtures
Authors: Jiménez L. , Rodríguez A. , Díaz M. J. , López F. , Ariza J. 
Published: September 2004

Abstract
This paper reports on the influence of independent variables
in the ethylene glycol/soda pulping of olive wood
trimmings (165–195°C, 30–90 min, ethylene glycol concentration
5–15%, soda concentration 2.5–7.5% and liquid/solid ratio 4–6), on the yield and Kappa index of the
pulps and the strength properties (breaking length, burst
index and tear index) of paper sheets. By using a central
composite factorial design, equations that relate each
dependent variable to the different independent variables
were obtained which reproduced the experimental results
for the dependent variables with errors less than 12%.
Using a temperature of 184°C, ethylene glycol and soda
concentrations of 15% and 7%, respectively, a liquid/solid
ratio of 5:1 and a cooking time of 30 min results in
yield, Kappa index, breaking length, burst index and tear
index values that depart by 14.3%, 8.2%, 17.1%, 17.0%
and 2.3%, respectively, from their optimum levels. These
conditions result in substantial savings in power consumption
and immobilised capital investments as they
involve a lower temperature, a lower liquid/solid ratio,
and a shorter time than the maximum values tested.
A contact free measurement method to determine internal stress states in glulam
Authors: Jönsson J. , Svensson S. 
Published: September 2004

Abstract
A method to determine the internal stress state across
the grain of glued laminated wood (glulam), as well as
the experimental equipment for measuring released
deformation are described in this paper. The internal
stress state is calculated from measured released deformations,
which are measured by a contact free method
based on a digital camera technique. Non-destructive
measurement of the modulus of elasticity in the cross-grain
direction is presented and the correlation between
dynamic and static modulus of elasticity is shown.
Results for a single specimen with induced moisture gradient
show that the largest stress found in the tests was
about 0.57 MPa, which is higher than the characteristic
value of tensile strength perpendicular to the grain. This
stress is based on released strain over the total length of
the slices cut from the specimens. FEM-simulations evaluating
the stress distribution within the specimen to
account for end effects indicate that the maximum stress
is about 30% higher.
Identification of Serpula lacrymans and other decay fungi in construction timber by sequencing of ribosomal DNA – A practical approach
Authors: Högberg N. , Land C. J. 
Published: September 2004

AbstractWe have approached species identification of wood decay fungi in construction wood by means of sequencing ribosomal DNA. Sequencing of the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS), which includes the 5.8S rDNA, is straightforward and provides a basis for species identification. Identification was either by BLAST search on sequences in GenBank or phylogenetic analysis. A number of important wood decay fungi such asSerpula lacrymans, S. himantioides, Antrodia serialis, A. sinuosa, Gloeophyllum sepiarium, Fomitopsis pinicola, Resinicium bicolorandJunghuhnia collabenshave been successfully identified from fruitbodies and directly from wood samples. Sequence variants were found within the species sampled includingS. himantioides, the close relative ofS. lacrymans.But, among 27 samples from fruitbodies and mycelium ofS. lacrymans, unexpectedly, no sequence variation was detected.
Wood/plastic ratio: Effect on performance of borate biocides against a brown rot fungus
Authors: Simonsen J. , Freitag C. M. , Silva A. , Morrell J. J. 
Published: September 2004

Abstract
The effect of wood/plastic ratio and the presence of a
boron compound on resistance to biodegradation of
wood plastic composites (WPC's) by the brown rot fungus
Gloeophyllum trabeum was investigated in a soil
block exposure. Weight losses of all WPC's were generally
lower than those of solid wood, even when only
the wood component of the WPC was used in calculating
weight loss. Higher wood content was associated with
greater weight losses, suggesting that the plastic encapsulated
wood at lower wood levels. Borates markedly
reduced weight losses at all wood/plastic ratios. Weight
losses tended to be slightly lower with a Na/Ca borate
than with similar levels of zinc borate. Mechanical properties
did not correlate well with weight losses under the
conditions evaluated, but these effects may have been
masked by moisture sorption. The causes and implications
of these differences are discussed.
Identifiability study of a liquid–liquid phase‐transfer catalyzed reaction system
Authors: Ben‐Zvi Amos , McAuley Kim , McLellan James 
Published: September 2004

AbstractConsistent model parameterization is an important issue when developing mathematical models because it dictates whether parameter values can be estimated uniquely. The problems inherent in model parameterization are presented in an identifiability study of a nonlinear liquid–liquid phase‐transfer reactor model. This reactor model was proposed by Chen et al., in a 1991 study, to describe the reaction between organic‐phase benzyl chloride and aqueous‐phase sodium bromide, using tetrabutylammonium as the phase‐transfer catalyst. The model consists of coupled differential and algebraic equations. Existing methods using differential‐algebra for testing identifiability of differential‐algebraic equation (DAE) models are computationally intensive for models with a large number of states and parameters. A new method for testing DAE systems for identifiability was recently proposed by Ben‐Zvi et al. Using this method, the model proposed by Chen et al. is shown to be locally unidentifiable, indicating that it is impossible to uniquely identify all of the model parameters. Two alternatives for simplifying the model to make it identifiable are discussed. © 2004 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 50:2493–2501, 2004