bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of pharmacologically induced smooth muscle activation on permeability in murine colitis
Authors: Zijlstra Freek J. , van Meeteren Marieke E. , Garrelds Ingrid M. , Meijssen Maarten A.C. 
Published: June 2004

Background: Both intestinal permeability and contractility are altered in inflammatory bowel disease. Little is known about their mutual relation. Therefore, an in vitro organ bath technique was developed to investigate the simultaneous effects of inflammation on permeability and smooth muscle contractility in different segments of the colon.Methods and materials: BALB/c mice were exposed to a 10% dextran sulphate sodium drinking water solution for 7 days to induce a mild colitis, while control mice received normal tap water. Intestinal segments were placed in an oxygenated organ bath containing Krebs buffer. Permeability was measured by the transport of the marker molecules 3H‐mannitol and 14C‐polyethyleneglycol 4000. Contractility was measured through a pressure sensor. Smooth muscle relaxation was obtained by salbutamol and l‐phenylephrine, whereas contraction was achieved by carbachol and 1‐(3‐chlorophenyl)‐biguanide.Results: The intensity of mucosal inflammation increased throughout the colon. Also, regional differences were observed in intestinal permeability. In both normal and inflamed distal colon segments, permeability was diminished compared with proximal colon segments and the non‐inflamed ileum. Permeability in inflamed distal colon segments was significantly decreased compared with normal distal segments. Pharmacologically induced relaxation of smooth muscles did not affect this diminished permeability, although an increased motility positively affected permeability in inflamed and non‐inflamed distal colon.Conclusions: Inflammation and permeability is inversely related. The use of pro‐kinetics could counteract this disturbed permeability and, in turn, could regulate the disturbed production of inflammatory mediators.
Exhaled nitric oxide in mylar balloons: influence of storage time, humidity and temperature
Authors: Bodini Alessandro , Pijnenburg Mariëlle W. H. , Boner Atillio L. , de Jongste Johan C. 
Published: June 2004

Background: Mylar balloons are used to collect exhaled air for analysis of fractional nitric oxide concentration (FENO).Aim: We studied the effect of storage conditions on the stability of nitric oxide (NO) in mylar balloons.Methods: Exhaled air samples and calibration gases were stored in mylar balloons at 4, 21 and 37°C, with or without silica gel. NO was measured after 0, 6, 9, 24 and 48 h. Scheffe F‐tests were used to compare NO values. Results NO remained stable in balloons for 9 h at all temperatures, without silica gel. NO increased between 9 and 48 h, but only with low initial FENO. Silica gel increased variability.Conclusions: FENO in mylar balloons is stable for at least 9 h. The storage temperature is not critical, but silica gel increases variability.
Metal‐responsive transcription factor‐1 (MTF‐1) is essential for embryonic liver development and heavy metal detoxification in the adult liver
Authors: Wang Ying , Wimmer Ursula , Lichtlen Peter , Inderbitzin Daniel , Stieger Bruno , Meier Peter J. , Hunziker Lukas , Stallmach Thomas , Forrer Rhea , Rülicke Thomas , Georgiev Oleg , Schaffner Walter 
Published: June 2004

ABSTRACTMetal‐responsive transcription factor‐1 (MTF‐1) activates the transcription of metallothionein genes and other target genes in response to heavy metal load and other stresses such as hypoxia and oxidative stress. It also has an essential function during embryo‐genesis: targeted disruption of Mtf1 in the mouse results in lethal liver degeneration on day 14 of gestation. Here we studied Mtf1 knockout mice at embryonic and adult stages, the latter by means of conditional knockout. Hepatocytes from Mtf1 null mutant and wild‐type embryos were taken into culture on day 12.5 of gestation. Both initially appeared normal, but mutant cells were lost within a few days. Furthermore, Mtf1 null hepatocytes were poorly, if at all, rescued by cocultivation with wild‐type rat embryo hepatocytes, indicating a cell‐autonomous defect. When the Mtf1 gene was excised by Cre recombinase after birth in liver and bone marrow and to a lesser extent in other organs, mice were viable under non‐stress conditions but highly susceptible to cadmium toxicity, in support of a role of MTF‐1 in coping with heavy metal stress. An additional MTF‐1 function was revealed upon analysis of the hematopoietic system in conditional knockout mice where leukocytes, especially lymphocytes, were found to be severely underrepresented. Together, these findings point to a critical role of MTF‐1 in embryonic liver formation, heavy metal toxicity, and hematopoiesis.— Wang, Y., Wimmer, U., Lichtlen, P., Inderbitzin, D., Stieger, B., Meier, P. J., Hunziker, L., Stallmach, T., Forrer, T., Rülicke, T., Georgiev, O., Schaffner, W. Metal‐responsive transcription factor‐1 (MTF‐1) is essential for embryonic liver development and heavy metal detoxification in the adult liver. FASEB J. 18, 1071–1079 (2004)
Mitochondrial signals initiate the activation of c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) by hypoxia‐reoxygenation
Authors: Dougherty Christopher J. , Kubasiak Lori A. , Frazier Donna P. , Li Huifang , Xiong Wen‐Cheng. , Bishopric Nanette H. , Webster Keith A. 
Published: June 2004

ABSTRACTC‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) is part of the mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) family of signaling pathways that are induced in response to extracellular stimuli. JNK is primarily a stress‐response pathway and can be activated by proinflammatory cyto‐ kines and growth factors coupled to membrane recep‐ tors or through non‐receptor pathways by stimuli such as heat shock, UV irradiation, protein synthesis inhibi‐ tors, and conditions that elevate the levels of reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI). The molecular initiators of MAPKs by non‐receptor stimuli have not been de‐ scribed. Ischemia followed by reperfusion or hypoxia with reoxygenation represents a condition of high oxidative stress where JNK activation is associated with elevated ROI. We show here that the activation of JNK by this condition is initiated in the mitochondria and requires coupled electron transport, ROI generation, and calcium flux. These signals cause the selective, sequential activation of the calcium‐dependent, pro‐ line‐rich kinase Pyk2 and the small GTP binding factors Rac‐1 and Cdc42. Interruption of these interactions with inactivated dominant negative mutant proteins, blocking calcium flux, or inhibiting electron transport through mitochondrial complexes II, III, or IV prevents JNK activation and results in a proapoptotic phenotype that is characteristic of JNK inhibition in this model of ischemia‐reperfusion. The signaling pathway is unique for the reoxygenation stimulus and provides a frame‐ work for other non‐receptor‐mediated pathways of MAPK activation.—Dougherty, C. J., Kubasiak, L. A., Frazier, D. P., Li, H., Xiong, W.‐C., Bishopric, N. H., Webster, K. A. Mitochondrial signals initiate the activation of c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) by hypoxia‐ reoxygenation. FASEB J. 18, 1060–1070 (2004)
A Comparative Study on Various Ductile Crack Formation Criteria
Authors: Bao Yingbin , Wierzbicki Tomasz 
Published: June 2004

AbstractVarious fracture criteria, based on different assumptions and different mechanical models, have been proposed in the past to predict ductile fracture. The objective of this study is to assess their effectiveness and accuracy in a wide range of process parameters. A series of tests on 2024-T351 aluminum alloy, including upsetting tests and tensile tests is carried out. It is found that none of the existing fracture criteria give consistent results. Two totally different fracture mechanisms are clearly observed from microfractographs of upsetting and tensile specimens. This observation confirms that it is impossible to capture all features of ductile crack formation in different stress states with a single criterion. It is shown that different functions are necessary to predict crack formation for different ranges of stress triaxiality. Weighting functions in a wide range of stress states can be obtained by determining the fracture locus in the space of equivalent strain to fracture and stress triaxiality.
Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1alpha- Mediated Resistance to Phenolic Anticancer
Authors: Hyun Ju-Yeon , Chun Yang-Sook , Kim Tae-You , Kim Hye-Lim , Kim Myung-Suk , Park Jong-Wan 
Published: June 2004

<i>Background:</i> Phenolic compounds EGCG [(–)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate], resveratrol (3,4′,5-trihydroxy-<i>trans</i>-stilbene) and capsaicin (trans-8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) are worth investigating for clinical application in cancer prevention and chemotherapy. Hypoxia-induced drug resistance is a major obstacle in the development of effective cancer chemotherapy. Therefore, we examined whether drug resistance to these phenolic compounds is acquired by hypoxia. <i>Methods:</i> Hep3B hepatoma, Caki-1 renal carcinoma, SK-N-MC neuroblastoma, and HEK293 cell lines were cultured under normoxic or hypoxic conditions. Drug sensitivities to the phenolic compounds and expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and the multidrug resistance genes were examined in these cell lines. <i>Results:</i> Drug resistance was acquired 24 h after hypoxia and subsided 8 h after reoxygenation. Protein synthesis inhibitors abolished this drug resistance. A transfection study demonstrated that HIF-1α enhanced this hypoxia-induced resistance and that its dominant-negative isoform suppressed resistance acquisition. However, MDR1 and MRP1, which provide multidrug resistance to conventional anticancer agents, were not induced by hypoxia. <i>Conclusions:</i> These results suggest that HIF-1α-dependent gene expression participates in the cellular process of the hypoxia-induced resistance to phenolic compounds.
Paclitaxel, Epirubicin and Cyclophosphamide Combination in First-Line Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer: A Dose Escalation Study
Authors: Bonneterre Jacques , Tubiana-Hulin Michèle , Catimel Gilles 
Published: June 2004

The purpose of this study was to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) of combined paclitaxel, epirubicin and cyclophosphamide in patients with metastatic breast cancer. The dose of paclitaxel was planned to be escalated from 150 to 225 mg/m<sup>2 </sup>in 25 mg/m<sup>2</sup> steps, while the doses of epirubicin and cyclophosphamide were fixed at 50 and 500 mg/m<sup>2</sup>, respectively. Because of DLT, the dose of paclitaxel was maintained at 200 mg/m<sup>2</sup> and the dose of epirubicin was increased to 90 mg/m<sup>2</sup>. The MTD was reached at a dose of paclitaxel and epirubicin of 200 and 75 mg/m<sup>2</sup>,<sup></sup>respectively. DLT were mainly febrile neutropenia and grade 4 neutropenia lasting for ≧7 days. Among the 35 evaluable patients, there were 2 (6%) complete responses and 19 (53%) partial responses for an overall response rate of 59% [95% confidence interval (CI): 41–74%]. The triplet paclitaxel/epirubicin/cyclophosphamide is an effective and well-tolerated combination worthy of further investigation in the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer.
Camel Hybridization and the Role of Camelus Bactrianus in the Ancient Near East
Authors:   Potts
Published: June 2004

AbstractThe evidence of camel hybridization—principally the crossing of Bactrian males and Arabian or dromedary females—is discussed against the backdrop of osteological evidence for the distribution of the Bactrian's wild progenitor, Camelus ferus. Historical and ethnographic evidence attesting to the widespread practice of hybridization, from Central Asia in the east to Anatolia in the west, is presented. The origins of camel hybridization are pushed back into the early 1st millennium B.C. and evidence for the presence of Bactrian camels in areas outside of its natural habitat is discussed in light of the advantages of hybridization. Cet article examine les preuves de l'hybridation des chameaux, plus particulièrement le croisement des mâles de Bactriane avec des femelles arabes ou dromadaires. Elles sont fondées sur l'évidence ostéologique de la répartition du géniteur sauvage des chameaux bactrians. Des témoignages historiques et ethnographiques attestant la pratique largement répandue de l'hybridation, de l'Asie centrale à l'est jusqu'à l'Anatolie à l'ouest, sont rappelés. Les origines de l'hybridation des chameaux se trouveraient donc repoussées au début du premier millénaire avant JC. Et les preuves de la présence des chameaux bactrians dans des régions situées hors de leur habitat naturel sont presentées ainsi à la lumière des avantages de l'hybridation.
India, Russia and the Eighteenth-Century Transformation of the Central Asian Caravan Trade
Authors: Levi Scott 
Published: June 2004

AbstractThis work challenges the widely accepted notion that eighteenth-century Central Asia was economically isolated and culturally stagnant. The author augments recent scholarly achievements with research in primary sources to demonstrate that, throughout the eighteenth century, Central Asia continued to function as an important conduit for overland Eurasian commerce. Available evidence suggests that Central Asia's role in Eurasian commerce during this period was, indeed, transformed by changing Eurasian commercial dynamics. This work argues, however, that rather than being a product of the European Companies' domination of commercial activities in the Indian Ocean, these transformations stemmed from Russia's emergence as an important economic and military power in the region and a corresponding increase in Russian demand for Indian cotton and textiles, largely acquired through the mediation of Central Asian caravan merchants. Whereas these transformations may have resulted in economic decline for some parts of Central Asia, they may also be attributed with intensifying economic activity in other, previously peripheral areas.
"Texts and Bodies": Refashioning the Disturbing Past of Tran Vietnam (1225-1400)
Authors: McHale Shawn 
Published: June 2004

AbstractVietnam is often seen to have undergone a fundamental shift in the Tran period (1225-1400) from an unfamiliar, highly Buddhist country to a highly Confucian one. Using a key source for Tran history, the Dai Viêt su ky toan thu, this essay challenges this common view. First, it focuses not on post-Tran Confucian representations of the past but on Tran bodily practices. Second, it argues that modern Vietnamese historians in particular, utilizing texts, ideologies, and structural transformations, have slighted the history of bodies and practices and Confucianized the Vietnamese past.
At the Limits of the Utopian Festival
Authors: Levy Anne Shullenberger 
Published: June 2004

AbstractWhat can a nineteenth-century utopian fiction written in France possibly teach contemporary America about itself ? This article demonstrates how Paris in America, meant at the time of its publication to shore up French loyalty to the Union cause during the American Civil War, is an allegory unaware of itself, speaking otherwise than it seems to speak. Its author, the scholar and statesman Edouard de Laboulaye, depicts the structure of daily life in the United States as a utopian festival, in which time is constantly filled with significance. In so doing, however, Laboulaye uncovers what I would argue is an ongoing American tendency to create temporal bubbles in which only the stimulating but solvable incidents rise pell-mell to the status of great meaning, while true predicaments and tragedies are whisked out of sight.
From Compromise to Rebellion: Religion and Political Power of the Nobility in the First Century of the Habsburgs' Reign in Bohemia And Moravia
Authors: Bůžek Václav 
Published: June 2004

AbstractIn Bohemia and Moravia, a religious dualism prevailed following the Hussite revolution and the Compactata of 1436. Although the Compactata were abolished by the pope in 1462, the treaty of Kuttenberg guaranteed a right to individual choice in religion, something the nobility viewed as a crucial privilege. But such choice became a victim of a growing re-Catholicization in the sixteenth century. Although Catholic nobles were a minority in Bohemia and Moravia, they were better organized and supported the Habsburgs and the Council of Trent. Their efforts succeeded in contriving a situation in which non-Catholic nobles were tolerated, but excluded from serving in high state offices. Non-Catholic nobles, starting in the 1570s, attempted to organize themselves, and drew up the Confessio Bohemica, which would have given them control over education, church administration, church courts, and censorship. Although the Confessio never achieved legal status, Calvinist noblemen used the dynastic crises of the Habsburgs during the years 1608-11 to further their agenda. A charter, ratified in 1609, gave them control over the lower consistory courts, Charles University, and a body of Defensors who oversaw the preservation of religious liberties. They thereby established a "state within a state," and unavoidably set themselves up for later conflict with the Habsburgs. After their defeat at the battle of the White Mountain, a revised constitution (1627 in Bohemia, 1628 in Moravia) ended religious toleration by outlawing non-Catholic worship, and paving the way to a later absolutism.
Shifting Identities: Foreign State Servants in France and the Ottoman Empire
Authors: Isom-Verhaaren Christine 
Published: June 2004

AbstractThis essay compares the use of "foreign" state servants in the early-modern kingdom of France and the Ottoman Empire. In both realms, identity was understood as a matter of loyalty not to a defined territory but rather to a dynasty; hence service to the dynasty offered a ready path for assimilation. For a contemporary Ottoman historian, "the inhabitants of Rum" were a people of diverse origins, often descended from converts to Islam. For French jurists, the basic component of citizenship in the kingdom was personal choice; thus French "identity" was gained or lost as outsiders chose to serve the king, or natives of France chose to serve one of his rivals. This fluidity in matters of identity may be illustrated by three careers. George Paleologus Dysphatos (d. 1496), having converted to Roman Catholicism, rose to prominence under Kings Louis XI and Charles VIII, while a man known only as Hüseyn, the subaşt of Lemnos, was important as a diplomat and intelligence-gatherer in the service of Sultan Bayezid II; only from a chance reference in a letter of Charles VIII concerning Hüseyn do we know that he was George's cousin, obviously a convert to Islam. Christophe de Roggendorf (1510-post 1585) who was an Austrian nobleman and who had fought in Austrian armies against Ottoman forces. When Emperor Charles V ruled against him in an inheritance dispute he switched sides, moving to Istanbul where he served Sultan Süleyman for a time. But since he would not convert to Islam, preventing his being eligible for an important office, Roggendorf changed his allegiance again, ending his active career as an honored commander and diplomat under Kings Henri II and Charles IX. As these examples suggest, this was an era in which rulers competed for the loyalty of talented men, regardless of their origins, and potential state servants chose identities that served their own ambitions.
Friendship, Coercion, and Interest: Debating the Foundations of Justice In Early Modern England
Authors: Johnson Lynn 
Published: June 2004

AbstractThis essay examines the significance of friendship and the expectations associated with it in the early modern debate about trust and the fulfillment of obligations as that debate unfolded in England. A thorough rethinking about the foundations of society and the mechanisms of social order focused on the motives and justifications that led people to create and fulfill obligations to others, especially in the area of commutative justice. Commutative justice was achieved when contracts were secure, promises kept, exchanges carried through, and debts paid. The growth of the state, new economic theories, and the development of strict contract encouraged reliance on coercion (or punitive measures) and self-interest. While these visions of society triumphed, there was a show of resistance based on the idea that friendship was a more valuable source of justice because it brought into play the virtues of generosity, gratitude, and promise-keeping (or fidelity). At stake was the very de fi nition and scope of human personality and morality.
Marriage at the Time of the Council of Trent (1560-70): Clandestine Marriages, Kinship Prohibitions, and Dowry Exchange in European Comparison
Authors: Sperling Jutta 
Published: June 2004

AbstractA close analysis of marital dispensations granted by the Holy Penitentiary shows that so-called clandestine marriages were widespread all over Catholic Europe before the Council of Trent. Only in Italy and perhaps in France were domestic partnerships rare, while they were very common in Portugal and Spain. This essay argues that the popularity of the dowry system in Italy made it difficult for women to choose their partners without parental consent. On the Iberian Peninsula, where forms of joint ownership in marriage and equal inheritance were predominant, free-choice marriages were widespread. The lively debates preceding the abolition of clandestine marriages at the Council of Trent show how divided the church was on this issue. While parental consent was not made mandatory for a marriage to be valid at Trent, post-Tridentine church administrators promoted parental involvement by acknowledging dowry exchange as a vital component of social reproduction. After Trent, applicants had to specify a reason for their intended violation of kinship prohibitions; the most often quoted obstacle to an exogamous union was the bride's lack of a competitive dowry. This change in rhetoric suggests that after Trent, the Penitentiary promoted dowry exchange as a proven means to facilitate arranged marriages among "strangers," while at the same time acknowledging problems with this mode of social reproduction. As an alternative to dotal marriages, the bureau of marital dispensations offered easy exemptions from kinship prohibitions at exponentially increased rates, promoting "cousin" marriages in lieu of exogamous unions. In promoting endogamy and/or dowry exchange, the post-Tridentine church promoted two varieties of marriage behavior indiscriminately which in the past had not only been seen as mutually exclusive, but also as diametrically opposed to the ideals of the Catholic church. Ironically, after Trent marriage had become less rather than more stable, since ecclesiastic courts were now more likely to separate badly married couples than unite them.
Elusive Virtue: Rethinking the Role of Female Chastity in Early Modern Spain
Authors: Poska Allyson 
Published: June 2004

AbstractFor decades, scholars have emphasized the importance of female chastity in early modern Spanish society. Early modern thinkers enthusiastically promoted the notion in their works, Mediterranean anthropologists formulated a cultural model around female chastity through their studies, and early modern historians followed suit in their examinations of the Catholic Reformation. However, this analysis of recent works on gender and the extensive demographic literature on early modern Spain reveals that there is little evidence that female chastity was a priority for most Spaniards. Instead, demography, economy, class, and the influence of regional cultures may have had more of an impact on the development of sexual mores than any overarching cultural program.