bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy of invasive cervical cancer: an in vivo study with ex vivo corroboration
Authors: Mahon Marrita M. , Williams Andreanna D. , Soutter W. Patrick , Cox I. Jane , McIndoe G. Angus , Coutts Glyn A. , Dina Roberto , deSouza Nandita M. 
Published: March 2004

AbstractThe objective of this study was to establish in vivo 1H‐magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopic appearances of cervical cancer using an endovaginal receiver coil and corroborate findings with magic angle spinning (MAS) MR spectroscopy of tissue samples. Fifty‐three women (14 controls and 39 with cervical cancer) underwent endovaginal coil MR imaging at 1.5 T with T1‐ and T2‐weighted scans sagittal and transverse to the cervix. Localized 1H MR spectra (PRESS technique, TR 1600 ms, TE 135 ms) were accumulated in all controls and 29 cancer patients whose tumour filled > 50% of a single 3.4 cm3 voxel. Peaks from triglyceride‐CH2 and ‐CH3 were defined as present and in‐phase (with the choline resonance), present but out‐of‐phase, or not present. Peak areas of choline‐containing compounds were standardized to the area of unsuppressed tissue water resonance. Comparisons in observed resonances between groups were made using Fisher's exact test (qualitative data) and a t‐test (quantitative data). Biopsies from these women analysed using MAS‐MR spectroscopy and normalized to the intensity of an external standard of silicone rubber were similarly compared. Adequate water suppression permitted spectral analysis in 11 controls and 27 cancer patients. In‐phase triglyceride‐CH2 resonances (1.3 ppm) were observed in 74% of tumours but in no control women (p < 0.001). No differences were observed in the presence of a 2 ppm resonance, choline‐containing compounds or creatine in cancer compared with control women. However, ex vivo analysis showed significant differences not only in CH2, but also in CH3, a 2 ppm resonance, choline‐containing compounds and creatine between tissues from control women and cancer tissue (p < 0.001, = 0.001, = 0.036, < 0.001 and = 0.004 respectively). On in vivo 1H‐MR spectroscopy, the presence of positive triglyceride‐CH2 resonances can be used to detect and confirm the presence of cervical cancer. However, technical improvements are required before routine clinical use. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
MRI detects early hindlimb muscle atrophy in Gly93Ala superoxide dismutase‐1 (G93A SOD1) transgenic mice, an animal model of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Authors: Brooks Keith J. , Hill Mark D. W. , Hockings Paul D. , Reid David G. 
Published: March 2004

AbstractMRI has been used to measure hindlimb muscle volume in female and male transgenic mice overexpressing the Gly93Ala (G93A) mutant human superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), a widely used model of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS), over the first 4 months of life. Significant decreases in the hindlimb muscle volume of the female G93A SOD1 mice were evident from 11 weeks of age, before other overt pathology appeared. By 15 weeks volume had decreased by 37% compared with 7 weeks, from 0.84±0.04 cm3 (mean±standard deviation, n = 6) to 0.54±0.07 cm3, (p < 0.05), despite an increase in body weight of ca. 12% (from 16.2 ± 1.4 to 18.1 ± 0.7 g). Female wild‐type volume increased by ca. 30% whilst the body weight increased by 15%. Muscle wasteage was less (0.82±0.1 to 0.65±0.02 cm3, p < 0.05, n = 6) in male G93A SOD1 mice between 8 and 16 weeks of age, against a body weight increase trend from 20.7 ± 0.4 to 21.6 ± 0.5 g, (p > 0.05). Wild‐type male muscle volume did not change significantly over this period, with an increase in body weight of 20%. Longitudinal MRI hindlimb muscle volume measurements may provide a straightforward, rapid, non‐invasive and sensitive, way of monitoring outcome of experimental ALS treatments. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
How faith‐based social service organizations manage secular pressures associated with government funding
Authors: Vanderwoerd James R. 
Published: March 2004

AbstractThis article reports selected findings from a qualitative case study of two faith‐based social service
organizations to address two questions: (1) How does government funding influence the religious
characteristics of faith‐based social service organizations? (2) How do
government‐funded, faith‐based social service organizations manage the tensions arising from both
secular and religious contexts? The findings suggest that the adaptation of secular institutional practices
is not as inevitable as some have feared. Rather, the two organizations studied showed convincingly that their
faith traditions and values were alive and widely evident throughout their organizations. Three key strategies
emerged as means for maintaining religiousness in the face of secular pressures: (1) Religious
identities were perceived as given rather than chosen, and therefore were not negotiable; (2)
religious values provided strong justification for seeking relationships with others who do not share their
faith; (3) the religious worldview blurred religious and secular distinctions so that secular
technologies and practices could comfortably be utilized.
The role of religious networks and other factors in types of volunteer work
Authors: Grønbjerg Kirsten A. , Never Brent 
Published: March 2004

AbstractIn view of current efforts to strengthen volunteering and promote the faith‐based provision of social
services in the United States, we examine both the underlying complexity of volunteering and who performs
particular types of volunteer work. This paper, drawing on a telephone interview survey of 526 randomly selected
Indiana residents, considers whether religious involvement helps explain engagement in different types of
volunteer work independent of such other contributing factors as family status, socioeconomic status, and
community attachment. We find that religious involvement plays an independent role, but only for certain types of
volunteer work.
Mission, money, and merit: Strategic decision making by nonprofit managers
Authors: Krug Kersti , Weinberg Charles B. 
Published: March 2004

AbstractPublic and nonprofit organizations need to make strategic choices about where to invest their resources. They
also need to expose hidden managerial assumptions and lack of adequate knowledge that prevent the attainment of
consensus in strategic decision making. The approach we developed and tested in the field used a dynamic,
three‐dimensional model that tracks individual programs in an organization's portfolio on their
contribution to mission, money, and merit. The first dimension measures whether the organization is doing the right
things; the second, whether it is doing things right financially; and the third, whether it doing things
right in terms of quality. Senior managers provide their own evaluations of the organization's programs. Both
the consensus view and the variation in individual assessments contribute to an improved managerial understanding of
the organization's current situation and to richer discussions in strategic decision making. In field tests,
this visual model proved to be a useful and powerful tool for illuminating underlying assumptions and variations in
knowledge among managers facing the complex, multidimensional tradeoffs needed in strategic decision making.
Next generation satellite systems for aeronautical communications
Authors: Ercetin Ozgur , Ball Michael O. , Tassiulas Leandros 
Published: March 2004

AbstractU.S. airspace is reaching its capacity with the current air traffic control (ATC) system. The number of flights is constantly rising and it is estimated to be over 58 million per year by 2005. The FAA has undertaken several projects to modernize the National Airspace System (NAS) to ensure the safety of the increasing number of flights. Of special importance is the modernization of the air–ground communications infrastructure, which is the heart of the ATC. The current plan in the modernization of the air–ground communications is to migrate from analog voice only system to integrated digital voice and data system. The next generation satellite systems can be an alternative to the terrestrial air–ground systems by their low propagation and transmission delays, global coverage, high capacity and free flight suitable characteristics. In this paper, we give an overview of the current and the future ATC architectures, describe the systems and the communications issues in these systems and develop a framework in which next generation satellite systems can be integrated to the future ATC systems. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
W‐band physical layer design issues in the context of the DAVID–DCE experiment
Authors: Sacchi Claudio , Gera Gianluca , Regazzoni Carlo S. 
Published: March 2004

AbstractThis paper aims at focusing on the aspects concerning the physical layer design for an innovative satellite communication experiment. Such an experiment, denoted by the acronym DAVID–DCE (Data and Video Interactive Distribution—Data Collection Experiment) is based on the exploitation of the W‐band (75–110 GHz) for high‐bit‐rate satellite transmission. The potential advantages of using of the W‐band are mainly related to the great bandwidth availability, and to the absence of interference. Moreover, an expected result of the experiment is a substantive improvement in the communication system's performances in the presence of meteorological phenomena (e.g. rain) as compared with the more conventional Ka‐band satellite transmission. On the other hand, problems to be faced concern the non‐ideal behaviours of hardware devices employed for high‐frequency digital transmission. In particular, carrier recovery and timing recovery are the most crucial signal‐processing tasks to be carefully considered in the design of the physical level of the system, because they considerably suffer from hardware impairments. The purpose of this work is to illustrate the proposed solutions in terms of the most critical modulation, demodulation and synchronization design issues, together with the effects of non‐ideal behaviours of hardware components on BER performances. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Integrating the scene length characteristics of MPEG video bitstreams into a direct broadcast satellite network with return channel system
Authors: Alagöz Fatih 
Published: March 2004

AbstractIn order to optimize the network resources, we should incorporate all the available information into the network design. However, incorporating irrelevant information may increase the design complexity and/or decrease the performance of the network. In this paper, we investigate the relevance of integrating the scene length characteristics of moving pictures expert group (MPEG) coded video bitstreams into a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) network with return channel system (DVB‐RCS). Due to the complexity of the studied system, unless disputable simplifications are made, it is hard to achieve a mathematical foundation for this integration. Our analysis relies on extensive set of simulations. Firstly, we achieve the scene length distributions for MPEG bitstreams based on the proposed scene change models and their subjective observations of the actual video. We show that these models may be used to estimate the scene length of MPEG bitstreams. We then integrate this estimation into a DBS network simulator. Finally, we show that the scene length characteristics may be used to improve the DBS network performance under certain conditions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Satellite handover techniques for LEO networks
Authors: Papapetrou E. , Karapantazis S. , Dimitriadis G. , Pavlidou F.‐N. 
Published: March 2004

AbstractLow earth orbit satellite constellations could play an important role in future mobile communication networks due to their characteristics, such as global coverage and low propagation delays. However, because of the non‐stationarity of the satellites, a call may be subjected to handovers, which can be cell or satellite handovers. Quite many techniques have been proposed in the literature dealing with the cell handover issue. In this paper, a satellite handover procedure is proposed, that investigates and exploits the partial satellite diversity (namely, the existing common coverage area between contiguous satellites) in order to provide an efficient handover strategy, based always on a tradeoff of blocking and forced termination probabilities for a fair treatment of new and handover calls. Three different criteria were examined for the selection of a satellite. Each one of them could be applied either to new or handover calls, therefore we investigated nine different service schemes. A simulation tool was implemented in order to compare the different service schemes and simulation results are presented at the end of the paper. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Dose‐Finding Study of in utero and Lactational Exposure to Diethylstilboestrol and Flutamide in 129/Sv Mice
Authors: Kledal Thuri J. S. , Rajpert‐De Meyts Ewa , Skakkebæk Niels E. , Jørgensen Karin Damm 
Published: March 2004

Abstract:The purpose of the study was to test the experimental conditions and find the appropriate dose range for further investigations of the disruptive effects of oestrogens and antiandrogens on the development of testis. Groups of four 129/Sv mice were exposed from day 6 after mating until weaning to 1, 10 or 100 μg/kg/day of the non‐steroidal oestrogen diethylstilboestrol and to 0.1, 1 or 10 mg/kg/day of the non‐steroidal antiandrogen flutamide. The number of implantation sites, the litter size and reproductive parameters were examined and nipple development, anogenital distance and testicular morphology were investigated in the offspring. Dose‐related post‐implantation loss was seen in both diethylstilboestrol‐ and flutamide‐treated dams and the mean litter size was smaller in the groups given the high dosages of diethylstilboestrol and flutamide. Disturbance of testicular development was seen in males exposed to diethylstilboestrol. Because of the small data material, no statistical analyses were performed. Our findings indicate that very high doses of both diethylstilboestrol and flutamide given at early stages of gestation result in a high post‐implantation loss and should be avoided in further experiments using this strain which is known to have a poor reproductive performance. Exposure of the dams before mating may better reflect human exposure, but will presumably require even lower dose levels.
Beneficial Effects of Aluminum on the Progression of Lead‐Induced Nephropathy in Rats
Authors: Shakoor Abdul , Gupta Pawan Kumar , Singh Yash Pal , Kataria Meena 
Published: March 2004

Abstract:We studied the effect of aluminum on lead‐induced nephropathy in male albino rats. Five groups of male albino rats were given either water only or lead acetate (125 mg/kg body weight) and/or aluminum chloride (50 mg/kg body weight or 100 mg/kg body weight) for a period of 90 days. Aluminum was found to prevent the lead‐induced increase in the relative organ (kidney) weight in a dose‐dependent manner. Aluminum also prevented lead‐induced increase in plasma creatinine levels of the treated animals. Estimation of lead concentration in kidneys of different treatment groups revealed that the net deposition of lead was lower in animals which were given both lead acetate and aluminum chloride simultaneously. The results showed that aluminum offers some protection against lead‐induced nephrotoxicity in a time‐ and dose‐dependent manner.
Chronic Clorgyline Induces Selective Down‐Regulation of α2‐Adrenoceptor Agonist Binding Sites in Rat Brain
Authors: Miralles Antonio , Ribas Catalina , Escribá Pablo V. , García‐Sevilla Jesús A. 
Published: March 2004

Abstract:Inactivation of α2‐adrenoceptors by N‐ethoxycarbonyl‐2‐ethoxy‐1,2‐dihydroquinoline (EEDQ) has been shown to induce an increase in brain regulatory Gαi1/2 proteins, which was related to biphasic recovery of agonist binding sites. To investigate further the nature of this phenomenon, the chronic effects of clorgyline (a monoamine oxidase inhibitor antidepressant) on the recovery of α2‐adrenoceptors after EEDQ and on EEDQ‐induced up‐regulation of Gαi1/2 proteins were assessed in rat brain. Clorgyline (1 mg kg−1 for 7–35 days) induced a time‐dependent down‐regulation (20% to 55%) of the density of cortical α2‐adrenoceptor agonist sites ([3H]UK 14304/bromoxidine binding) but not of antagonist sites ([3H]RX 821002/2‐methoxy idazoxan binding). However, chronic clorgyline did not alter the immunoreactive levels of Gαi1/2, Gαi3, and Gαo proteins in cortex. In clorgyline‐treated rats, the turnover functions for agonist and antagonist binding sites (receptor recovery after EEDQ) were different and indicated that the reduced density of α2‐adrenoceptor agonist sites induced by clorgyline was due to a greater rate of receptor disappearance. The recovery of [3H]UK 14304 binding in clorgyline‐treated rats did not fit a biphasic recovery model and the turnover parameters were very similar to those obtained for the second phase of recovery (biphasic model) of agonist binding sites in naive rats. This suggested that clorgyline down‐regulated only the α2‐adrenoceptors of rapid turnover which is associated with the increases in the expression of Gαi1/2 proteins induced by EEDQ. In this context, clorgyline (1 mg kg−1 for 7 days) fully prevented the up‐regulation (50%) of brain Gαi1/2 proteins induced by EEDQ. The results indicate that one relevant mechanism involved in the in vivo desensitization of brain α2‐adrenoceptors is an effective impairment of receptor‐G protein coupling.
Distribution of Zinc‐Binding Metallothionein in Cirrhotic Liver of Rats Administered Zinc
Authors: Sato Shin , Shimizu Motohiro , Hosokawa Toshiyuki , Saito Takeshi , Okabe Masashi , Niioka Tadashi , Kurasaki Masaaki 
Published: March 2004

Abstract:This study was undertaken in order to investigate the effect of zinc (Zn) administration on induction of Zn‐binding metallothionein in rat liver with thioacetamide‐induced cirrhosis, and the localization of metallothionein in the liver. Normal and cirrhotic rats received intraperitoneal injections with or without Zn. Subsequently, metal analyses, purification of metallothionein by gel filtration and immunohistochemical assessments of metallothionein were carried out. Although in Zn‐injected cirrhotic rats, the Zn contents in the liver and plasma increased significantly depending upon the dose of Zn, the Zn contents in the liver and plasma of the cirrhotic rats were lower than those of normal rats after the same dose of Zn. The results of gel filtration also showed that the levels of Zn‐metallothionein in the cirrhotic liver were reduced in comparison with those of the normal liver. By the immunohistochemical method, the presence of metallothionein in the parenchymal areas but not in the fibrotic areas of the cirrhotic liver was confirmed. These results suggested that the induced metallothionein was only located in the parenchymal areas. The metallothionein induced in the parenchymal areas was considered to play a role in protecting the parenchymal cells against the progression of fibrosis, because metallothionein has been thought to be involved in the cellular defense against oxidative stress.
The human near‐term myometrial β3‐adrenoceptor but not the β2‐adrenoceptor is resistant to desensitisation after sustained agonist stimulation
Authors: Rouget C , Breuiller‐Fouché M , Mercier F J , Leroy M J , Loustalot C , Naline E , Frydman R , Croci T , Morcillo E J , Advenier C , Bardou M 
Published: March 2004

In order to compare the β2‐ and β3‐adrenoceptor (β‐AR) desensitisation process in human near‐term myometrium, we examined the influence of a pretreatment of myometrial strips with either a β2‐ or a β3‐AR agonist (salbutamol or SR 59119A, respectively, both at 10 μM, for 5 and 15 h) on the relaxation and the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) production induced by these agonists.
To assess some of the mechanisms potentially implicated in the β‐AR desensitisation process, we studied the influence of such treatment on the number of β2‐ and β3‐AR binding sites, the β2‐ and β3‐AR transcripts expression and the phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) activity.
Salbutamol, but not SR 59119A, concentration–response curve (CRC) was shifted by a 15 h salbutamol preincubation, with a significant difference in −log EC20 values (6.31±0.13 vs 5.58±0.24, for control and 15 h salbutamol pretreatment, respectively, P<0.05). Neither salbutamol nor SR 59119A CRCs were modified after a 15 h preincubation with SR 59119A.
A 15 h exposure of myometrial strips to salbutamol significantly reduced the salbutamol‐induced (0.60±0.26 vs 1.54±0.24 pmol mg−1 protein, P<0.05), but not the SR 59119A‐induced, cAMP production. No decrease in cAMP production was observed after a 15 h SR 59119A exposure.
A 15 h salbutamol exposure of myometrial strips significantly reduced the β2‐ but not the β3‐AR binding site density, whereas no decrease in the number of β2‐ and β3‐AR binding sites was observed after a 15 h SR 59119A treatment.
Neither PDE4 activity nor the β2‐ and β3‐AR mRNA expression levels were affected by salbutamol or SR 59119A treatments.
Our results indicate that β3‐AR, but not β2‐AR, are resistant to the agonist‐induced desensitisation. In our model, β2‐AR desensitisation is mediated by a decreased number of β2‐AR that was not explained by transcriptional regulation of the receptor.

British Journal of Pharmacology (2004) 141, 831–841. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0705616
The endocannabinoid system: a general view and latest additions
Authors: Petrocellis Luciano De , Cascio Maria Grazia , Marzo Vincenzo Di 
Published: March 2004

After the discovery, in the early 1990s, of specific G‐protein‐coupled receptors for marijuana's psychoactive principle Δ9‐tetrahydrocannabinol, the cannabinoid receptors, and of their endogenous agonists, the endocannabinoids, a decade of investigations has greatly enlarged our understanding of this altogether new signalling system. Yet, while the finding of the endocannabinoids resulted in a new effort to reveal the mechanisms regulating their levels in the brain and peripheral organs under physiological and pathological conditions, more endogenous substances with a similar action, and more molecular targets for the previously discovered endogenous ligands, anandamide and 2‐arachidonoylglycerol, or for some of their metabolites, were being proposed. As the scenario becomes subsequently more complicated, and the experimental tasks to be accomplished correspondingly more numerous, we briefly review in this article the latest ‘additions’ to the endocannabinoid system together with earlier breakthroughs that have contributed to our present knowledge of the biochemistry and pharmacology of the endocannabinoids.British Journal of Pharmacology (2004) 141, 765–774. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0705666