bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
NGF acts via p75 low‐affinity neurotrophin receptor and calpain inhibition to reduce UV neurotoxicity
Authors: McCollum Adrian T. , Estus Steven 
Published: June 2004

AbstractThe relative roles of the high‐affinity nerve growth factor (NGF) receptor, TrkA, and low‐affinity p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) in neuronal survival are an active research area. We reported previously that UV treatment induces a calpain‐dependent, delayed neuronal death. We show here that NGF inhibits this UV‐induced cortical neuron death. Interestingly, NGF neuroprotection requires p75NTR. Because it has been reported that NGF binding to p75NTR leads to ceramide generation, we evaluated whether ceramide was also neuroprotective. We found that ceramide also inhibits UV toxicity, and that the actions of ceramide and NGF were not additive. Moreover, cycloheximide inhibited ceramide and NGF neuroprotection, suggesting that their actions require new protein synthesis. Consistent with this possibility, we found that NGF activates the expression of genes such as calbindin. Lastly, we explored the role of calpain in NGF actions. NGF and ceramide both reduced the level of calpain activation after UV treatment. This NGF effect was p75NTR dependent. Overall, we interpret these results as consistent with an NGF neuroprotective pathway wherein p75NTR activation leads sequentially to ceramide generation, new protein synthesis, and inhibition of calpain activation. Overall, these results provide insight into a p75NTR dependent pathway of NGF neuroprotection. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Nerve growth factor‐induced protein kinase C stimulation contributes to TrkA‐dependent inhibition of p75 neurotrophin receptor sphingolipid signaling
Authors: Plo I. , Bono F. , Bezombes C. , Alam A. , Bruno A. , Laurent G. 
Published: June 2004

AbstractPrevious studies have established that reciprocal interactions between the low‐affinity p75 nerve growth factor (NGF) receptor (p75NTR) and the high‐affinity TrkA NGF receptor can dictate the cellular response to NGF. As the most important interaction, TrkA signaling was found to inhibit p75NTR‐mediated sphingomyelinase (SMase) stimulation, ceramide production, and apoptosis. However, the mechanism by which TrkA counteracts p75NTR‐coupled sphingolipid signaling is still unclear. Considering the stimulatory effect of NGF on protein kinase C (PKC) activity, we investigated the role of PKC in TrkA/p75NTR signaling interaction. In this study, we found that, in SK‐N‐BE cells, which selectively express p75NTR, phorbol ester‐induced PKC stimulation resulted in the abrogation of SMase stimulation and ceramide production induced by NGF. Moreover, in SK‐N‐BE neuroblastoma cells, which selectively express TrkA, NGF stimulated global PKC activity through two independent pathways involving phospholipase Cγ (PLCγ) and phosphoinositide‐3 kinase (PI3K). In SH‐SY5Y, another neuroblastoma cell line, which coexpresses TrkA and p75NTR, NGF induced PKC stimulation through a TrkA/PI3K signaling pathway, whereas there was no ceramide production. However, in these cells, the inhibition of TrkA, PI3K, and PKC resulted in the restoration of NGF‐induced ceramide production. Thus, our study demonstrates for the first time that TrkA interferes with p75NTR signaling through a PI3K/PKC‐dependent mechanism. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Kinetics of oxidation of reducing sugars by catalytic amount of osmium(VIII) in presence of periodate
Authors: Tripathi Rashmi , Upadhyay Santosh K. 
Published: June 2004

AbstractThe kinetics of oxidation of some reducing sugars viz. glucose, galactose, fructose, maltose, and lactose by osmium(VIII) in presence of sodium metaperiodate in alkaline medium have been investigated. The reactions are zero order in periodate. The order of reaction in substrate and OH− decreases from unity to zero at higher [substrate] or [OH−], respectively. Rate of oxidation is proportional to [Osmium(VIII)]. Osmium(VIII) serves as an effective oxidant which oxidizes reducing sugars and itself reduces to osmium(VI). Role of IO4− is to regenerate osmium(VIII) from osmium(VI). An evidence for the complex formation between osmium(VIII) and reducing sugar has also been obtained. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 36:441–448, 2004.
Debunking the myth of overgrazing and soil erosion
Authors: Rowntree K. , Duma M. , Kakembo V. , Thornes J. 
Published: June 2004

AbstractWhat is overgrazing? Does it cause soil erosion? The recent debate from the ecological literature is reviewed as background to the debate on overgrazing and soil erosion. This debate stresses the need to view dryland grazing systems as dynamic ecosystems driven more by rainfall events than by livestock numbers. The case for soil erosion is then examined. Two case studies from communal rangelands in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, have cast doubts on the conventional wisdom that overgrazing leads to soil erosion. The first, a study of historical land‐use change and erosion in a communal area, showed that the most intense erosion, taking the form of steeply dissected badlands, was associated with cultivated land that had been abandoned and reverted to grazing from the 1960s onwards. Such severe erosion was generally absent from land that had been under grazing since the 1930s. The second study demonstrated that erosion rates from communal grazing lands (‘overgrazed’) were only slightly higher than those from land under ‘optimal’ grazing, that is grazing at a level considered not to exceed the carrying capacity of the land. These results support the ecologist's contention that communal grazing systems do not necessarily degrade the range condition relative to management systems based on a notional carrying capacity. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Environmental impact of multi‐annual drought in the Jordan Kinneret watershed, Israel
Authors: Inbar M. , Bruins H. J. 
Published: June 2004

AbstractFloods and droughts are the most common of natural disasters, and the number of victims and the economic damage are both greater than those caused by other events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The drought that affected Israel between 1998 and 2001 was of unusual climatic and hydrologic severity; the most serious in the last 125 years in northern Israel. The climatic drought affected the water flow of the Jordan River and the level of Lake Kinneret, which fell to −214·90 m (below sea‐level), the lowest lake level in historical periods. The annual flow of the Jordan River in the drought period was the lowest in the 50‐year hydrological record.Human interference, water pumping and flow diversion, exacerbated the negative drought impact, causing land degradation such as the drying of wetlands and salinization of freshwater aquifers. The failure to introduce drought contingency planning and sustainable water resources management has so far affected agriculture and nature conservation. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Household responses to fuelwood scarcity: a case study of two villages in Zimbabwe
Authors: Mlambo D. , Huizing H. 
Published: June 2004

AbstractInformation on household responses to fuelwood scarcity was collected in two villages, one being categorized as large (Shambamuto) and another as small (Svova ‘B’). Fuelwood was found to be scarcer in Svova ‘B’ where about 93 per cent of the respondents indicated that they find it difficult to collect compared to 76 per cent in Shambamuto. The proportion of households collecting fuelwood from non‐woodlands was 60 per cent in Shambamuto and 63 per cent in Svova ‘B’. In both villages, significant alternative sources of fuelwood were found to be cultivated lands, dilapidated or unwanted wooden structures, woodlots and riverbanks. Fuelwood that could be sourced from wooden structures was estimated at 8·4 t household−1 in Shambamuto and 7·2 t household−1 in Svova ‘B’. Tree stumps in arable lands were found to be coppicing well with about 84 per cent of the coppicing stems having lengths greater than mean fuelwood stick length of 174 cm. Due to fuelwood shortage, non‐traditional fuels were used as supplements and their consumption was estimated at 4·0 t household−1 y−1 in Shambamuto and 4·3 t household−1 y−1 in Svova ‘B’ respectively. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Corrosion inhibition of Ti‐6Al‐4V alloy in sulfuric and hydrochloric acid solutions using inorganic passivators
Authors: Mogoda A. S. , Ahmad Y. H. , Badawy W. A. 
Published: June 2004

AbstractThe effect of iodate (IO3−), metavanadata (VO3−) and molybdate (MoO42−) anions on the passivation of Ti‐6Al‐4V alloy in sulfuric and hydrochloric acid solutions was studied using open‐circuit potential measurements, polarization techniques and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The alloy surface was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that an optimum concentration of the passivator is essential for the corrosion inhibition process. Above this concentration the rate of alloy corrosion decreases as the concentration of the passivating ion increases. Scanning electron micrographs have shown that the flawed regions present in the alloy surface were repaired in the presence of the passivator anion. The optimum concentration of each anion and its corrosion inhibition efficiency for titanium and Ti‐6Al‐4V alloy have been determined. It turned out that the corrosion inhibition efficiencies of IO3−, VO3− and MoO42− anions for the corrosion of Ti and Ti‐6Al‐4V in both hydrochloric and sulphuric acid solutions exceed 98%.
An explicit example of a noncrossed product division algebra
Authors: Hanke Timo 
Published: June 2004

AbstractThe paper presents an explicit example of a noncrossed product division algebra of index and exponent 8 over the field ℚ(s)(t). It is an iterated twisted function field in two variables D(x, σ)(y, τ ) over a quaternion division algebra D which is defined over the number field ℚ(√3,√−7). The automorphisms σ and τ are computed by solving relative norm equations in extensions of number fields. The example is explicit in the sense that its structure constants are known. Moreover, it is pointed out that the same arguments also yield another example, this time over the field ℚ((s))((t)), given by an iterated twisted Laurent series ring D((x, σ))((y, τ )) over the same quaternion division algebra D. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Soluble Polymer Complexes Having AlQ3‐Type Pendent Groups
Authors: Takayama Toshio , Kitamura Masatoshi , Kobayashi Yasushi , Arakawa Yasuhiko , Kudo Kazuaki 
Published: June 2004

AbstractSummary: Polymethacrylate having a pendent 8‐hydroxyquinoline moiety was prepared using Kelex‐100 (7‐(4‐ethyl‐1‐methyloctyl)‐8‐hydroxyquinoline) as a starting material. A soluble polymer having tris(8‐hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum (AlQ3)‐type side chains was obtained through the complexation of the polymer with Me3Al in the presence of a monomeric Kelex‐100. The polymer complex was applied to an organic light‐emitting diode (OLED) device through a spin‐cast process.Structure of the tris(8‐hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum‐type pendent group bound to polymethacrylate giving rise to the first soluble polymer of its kind.imageStructure of the tris(8‐hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum‐type pendent group bound to polymethacrylate giving rise to the first soluble polymer of its kind.
Exploration of anthropological specimens by GC‐MS and chemometrics
Authors: Varmuza Kurt , Makristathis Athanasios , Schwarzmeier Josef , Seidler Horst , Mader Robert M. 
Published: June 2004

AbstractAnthropological specimens combine a variety of unfavorable characteristics, rendering their evaluation an analytical challenge. Their remarkable status is primarily based on two characteristics: (i) these very rare samples of human origin are testimonies of human history and are, therefore, available only in minute amounts for analytical purposes, and (ii) the analysis of these samples is extremely limited by the decomposition of molecules, which are easily detected in living organisms, such as nucleic acids and proteins, but are subject to rapid post‐mortem decay. In this article, we review the methods and results of archaeometry, emphasizing the role of MS combined with chemometrics. Focusing on experimental results for fatty acid profiles, specimens from mummies from different civilizations were compared. Considering in particular the Tyrolean Iceman, the application of chemometric methods to GC‐MS data recovers essential information about the preservation and the storage conditions of mummies. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Mass Spec Rev 24:427–452, 2005
Voiding diary for the evaluation of urinary incontinence and lower urinary tract symptoms: Prospective assessment of patient compliance and burden
Authors: Ku Ja Hyeon , Jeong In Gab , Lim Dae Jung , Byun Seok‐Soo , Paick Jae‐Seung , Oh Seung‐June 
Published: June 2004

AbstractAimsVoiding diary duration may be related to patient compliance and burden. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated patient compliance and burden.MethodsBetween January and July 2002, we prospectively evaluated 162 patients (57 males and 105 females, mean age 53.0, range 20–81 years) with stress urinary incontinence or lower urinary tract symptoms. At the initial visit, all patients underwent a detailed clinical evaluation including an International Prostate Symptom Score (I‐PSS) assessment and were randomly requested to complete 2‐day, 3‐day, or 7‐day voiding diaries (the three study groups). At the second visit, a simple self‐administered questionnaire was completed by all patients. The questionnaire included 11 items on subject demographics and voiding diary‐keeping.ResultsNo significant differences were found in either the accuracy of diary‐keeping or the daily average number of omissions when the three groups were compared. However, as the diary duration increased, the mean burden scores increased (P = 0.005), and the mean preferred duration of the diary in the 7‐day group was significantly higher than that of the 2‐day or 3‐day groups (P < 0.001). After categorizing patients into two groups according to the degree of patient burden, members of the group with a greater perceived burden were found to have a significantly higher I‐PSS quality of life score (P = 0.045) and to have kept a diary for a longer time (P = 0.038).ConclusionsOur results suggest that keeping a diary for 7 days may increase patient burden and thus, we recommend that the 7‐day diary should be reduced to cover fewer days. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Murine in vitro whole bladder model: A method for assessing phenotypic responses to pharmacologic stimuli and hypoxia
Authors: Hutcheson Joel C. , Stein Raimund , Chacko Samuel , Carr Michael , Canning Douglas A. , Zderic Stephen A. 
Published: June 2004

AbstractAimsRecent advances in genetic manipulation have allowed for over expression or deletion of selective genes in mice. This offers urologic investigators new means of understanding bladder function in the context of normal development or the response to outlet obstruction. It is important to correlate any genetic manipulations in mice with specific phenotypic properties such as voiding patterns, or muscle strip physiology. We describe a simple in vivo whole bladder preparation that may be used to study the phenotypic changes in bladder function.MethodsMurine bladders were mounted on a 30 gauge needle and mounted in an organ chamber containing a physiologic buffer solution. Passive bladder properties were assessed with cystometry, and active contractile responses were measured in response to electrical field stimulation and agonists. The effects of hypoxia were also studied.ResultsCompliance in the murine bladder is dependent upon actin myosin interactions, and increased in the presence of calcium free buffer and EGTA. The sarcoplasmic reticulum plays a smaller role in the contraction of murine bladder than in other species. Murine bladder smooth muscle demonstrated a remarkable ability to withstand hypoxia.ConclusionsThis simple model can be adapted to help study the murine bladder smooth muscle phenotype under highly controlled circumstances. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Methanol exposure interferes with morphological cell movements in the Drosophila embryo and causes increased apoptosis in the CNS
Authors: Mellerick Dervla M. , Liu Heather 
Published: June 2004

AbstractDespite the significant contributions of tissue culture and bacterial models to toxicology, whole animal models for developmental neurotoxins are limited in availability and ease of experimentation. Because Drosophila is a well understood model for embryonic development that is highly accessible, we asked whether it could be used to study methanol developmental neurotoxicity. In the presence of 4% methanol, approximately 35% of embryos die and methanol exposure leads to severe CNS defects in about half those embryos, where the longitudinal connectives are dorsally displaced and commissure formation is severely reduced. In addition, a range of morphological defects in other germ layers is seen, and cell movement is adversely affected by methanol exposure. Although we did not find any evidence to suggest that methanol exposure affects the capacity of neuroblasts to divide or induces inappropriate apoptosis in these cells, in the CNS of germ band retracted embryos, the number of apoptotic nuclei is significantly increased in methanol‐exposed embryos in comparison to controls, particularly in and adjacent to the ventral midline. Apoptosis contributes significantly to methanol neurotoxicity because embryos lacking the cell death genes grim, hid, and reaper have milder CNS defects resulting from methanol exposure than wild‐type embryos. Our data suggest that when neurons and glia are severely adversely affected by methanol exposure, the damaged cells are cleared by apoptosis, leading to embryonic death. Thus, the Drosophila embryo may prove useful in identifying and unraveling mechanistic aspects of developmental neurotoxicity, specifically in relation to methanol toxicity. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Neurobiol 60: 308–318, 2004
Effect of dihydrogen phosphate of ε‐aminocaproic acid on isoprene rubber compounds
Authors: Vladkova TG 
Published: June 2004

AbstractThe multifunctional effect of the dihydrogen phosphate of ε‐aminocaproic acid (DHPh ε‐ACA) on isoprene rubber compounds is presented in this paper. DHPh ε‐ACA is the product of interaction of polymeric, oligomeric or monomeric ε‐aminocaprolactam and phosphoric acid, with an excess of the acid. This interaction offers an additional possibility for the utilisation of waste or non‐standard amide‐group‐containing materials by converting them into a phosphorus‐containing substance. DHPh ε‐ACA acts as dispersant and plasticiser during the mixing and, later, during the vulcanisation participates in the formation of a very flexible vulcanisation network, making the vulcanisates very stable to dynamic loads—the number of cycles at break increases by up to one order of magnitude. DHPh ε‐ACA acts also as an antistatic agent and the addition of 2–5 phr to non‐polar isoprene rubber turns it into an antistatic material. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry
Crosslinking of poly[(3‐hydroxybutyrate)‐co‐(3‐hydroxyvalerate)] using dicumyl peroxide as initiator
Authors: Fei Bin , Chen Cheng , Chen Shan , Peng Shuwen , Zhuang Yugang , An Yuxian , Dong Lisong 
Published: June 2004

AbstractIn order to modify poly [(3‐hydroxybutyrate)‐co‐(3‐hydroxyvalerate)] (PHBV), the crosslinking of this copolymer was carried out at 160 °C using dicumyl peroxide (DCP) as the initiator. The torque of the PHBV melt showed an abrupt upturn when DCP was added. Appropriate values for the gel fraction and crosslink density were obtained when the DCP content was up to 1 wt% of the PHBV. According to the NMR spectroscopic data, the location of the free radical reaction was determined to be at the tertiary carbons in the PHBV chains. The melting point, crystallization temperature and crystallinity of PHBV decreased significantly with increasing DCP content. The effect of crosslinking on the melt viscosity of PHBV was confirmed as being positive. Moreover, the mechanical properties of PHBV were improved by curing with DCP. When 1 wt% DCP was used, the ultimate elongation of PHBV increased from 4 to 11 %. A preliminary biodegradation study confirmed the total biodegradability of crosslinked PHBV. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry
Thermal oxidative and photo‐oxidative degradation of polytetrahydrofuran studied using 1H NMR, 13C NMR and GPC
Authors: Mkhatresh Omar A , Heatley Frank 
Published: June 2004

AbstractThe products and mechanism of the thermal oxidative degradation at 180 °C and the photo‐oxidative degradation at 40 °C of polytetrahydrofuran have been investigated using 1H NMR, 13C NMR and GPC. The NMR analysis was assisted by the use of DEPT 13C spectra, two‐dimensional NMR spectroscopy (COSY, HMQC and HMBC) and chemical shift simulation software. The NMR spectra of both thermally and photolytically degraded samples were similar showing that the degradation mechanisms were similar. GPC indicated that both chain scission, leading to lower molar mass products, and chain extension, leading to higher molar mass products, occurred initially. NMR analysis of the initial soluble degraded polymers showed that chain scission resulted in formate, aldehyde, propyl ether, butyl ether and propanoyl chain ends, and in‐chain ester groups were also formed. For longer periods of degradation, crosslinked gels were formed but these were not amenable to detailed structural characterisation by high‐resolution NMR to determine the crosslink mechanism. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry
High‐performance peptide identification by tandem mass spectrometry allows reliable automatic data processing in proteomics
Authors: Colinge Jacques , Masselot Alexandre , Cusin Isabelle , Mahé Eve , Niknejad Anne , Argoud‐Puy Ghislaine , Reffas Samia , Bederr Nassima , Gleizes Anne , Rey Pierre‐Antoine , Bougueleret Lydie 
Published: June 2004

AbstractIn a previous paper we introduced a novel model‐based approach (OLAV) to the problem of identifying peptides via tandem mass spectrometry, for which early implementations showed promising performance. We recently further improved this performance to a remarkable level (1–2% false positive rate at 95% true positive rate) and characterized key properties of OLAV like robustness and training set size. We present these results in a synthetic and coherent way along with detailed performance comparisons, a new scoring component making use of peptide amino acidic composition, and new developments like automatic parameter learning. Finally, we discuss the impact of OLAV on the automation of proteomics projects.
Evidence of glutathione transferase complexing and signaling in the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans using a pull‐down proteomic assay
Authors: Greetham Darren , Morgan Charly , Campbell Alison M. , van Rossum Arjan J. , Barrett John , Brophy Peter M. 
Published: June 2004

AbstractPhage display techniques using random peptide interactions have supported the role of mammalian glutathione transferase (GST) as part of a signalling pathway for both oxidative stress and an apoptosis pathway. Little is known about the interaction of nonmammalian GST with other proteins. GSTs have been implicated in the development of chronic nematode infections by neutralising cytotoxic products arising from host immune initiated reactive oxygen species (ROS) assault. In this study we attached one of the key GSTs expressed in the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to an affinity support matrix and directly identified major interacting proteins by two‐dimensional electrophoresis and peptide mass fingerprinting before and following oxidative stress. Nematode GST does not appear to be a stand‐alone enzyme and interacts with many types of proteins in both normal and ROS stress conditions. Pull‐down proteomic presents a flexible, label free, rapid and economical assay without specialised ligand fishing equipment to identify protein binding partners.