bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Screening test battery for pharmaceuticals in urine and wastewater
Authors: Escher Beate I. , Bramaz Nadine , Maurer Max , Richter Manuela , Sutter Daniel , von Känel Christoph , Zschokke Mischa 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
A test battery for identifying ecotoxicological hazards was applied to six pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine, diclofenac, ethinylestradiol, ibuprofen, propranolol, and sulfamethoxazole), to their mixtures, and to urine spiked with pharmaceuticals to test the suitability of biotests for screening urine and wastewater and for monitoring the efficiency of wastewater treatment. The test battery comprised the bioluminescence inhibition test with Vibrio fischeri, the yeast estrogen screen, and a photosynthesis inhibition assay in algae based on chlorophyll fluorescence measurements. Mixture and additional experiments with a cocktail of pharmaceuticals added to urine confirmed the applicability of the test systems as an integrated measure of the overall micropollutant burden. Because the concentration of pharmaceuticals in wastewater is low and the nutrients and salts may have a negative impact on the bioassays, urine and wastewater samples were cleaned and concentrated by solid-phase extraction (SPE). The compounds of interest ranged from polar to nonpolar and from positively charged to neutral and negatively charged. Consequently, the SPE method was optimized for universality rather than for specificity. Results of preliminary experiments with raw and treated urine and wastewater indicate the suitability of the proposed test battery for screening urine and wastewater.
Bioavailability of polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants in biosolids and spiked sediment to the aquatic oligochaete, Lumbriculus variegatus
Authors: Ciparis Serena , Hale Robert C. 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants have become distributed ubiquitously in the environment. High concentrations have been reported in U.S. sewage sludge (biosolids). The burgeoning practice of land-applying biosolids as fertilizer creates an avenue for reintroduction of PBDEs to surface waters and aquatic sediments. Bioavailability of biosolids- and sediment-associated PBDEs was assessed using the freshwater oligochaete, Lumbriculus variegatus. Oligochaetes were exposed to composted biosolids (1,600 ng/g total PBDEs) and artificial sediment spiked with penta- and deca-brominated diphenyl ether (BDE) formulations (1,300 ng/g total PBDEs). Uptake (28-d exposure) and depuration (21 d) of eight congeners were studied. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in both substrates were bioavailable, but bioaccumulation was 5 to 10 times greater from spiked artificial sediment. The congeners BDE 47 and BDE 99 were the most prevalent congeners in oligochaetes after exposure. Congener BDE 47 was more bioaccumulative, possibly due to the threefold greater depuration rate of BDE 99. Bioaccumulation of penta- and hexa-brominated congeners appeared to be affected more strongly by substitution pattern than degree of bromination. Uptake of BDE 209, the dominant congener in deca-BDE, was minimal. Accumulation of certain PBDE congeners from biosolids and sediments by benthos provides a pathway for transfer to higher trophic levels, and congener discrimination may increase with each trophic transfer.
Projected population-level effects of thiobencarb exposure on the mysid, Americamysis bahia, and extinction probability in a concentration-decay exposure system
Authors: Raimondo Sandy , McKenney Charles L. 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
Population-level effects of the mysid, Americamysis bahia, exposed to varying thiobencarb concentrations were estimated using stage-structured matrix models. A deterministic density-independent matrix model estimated the decrease in population growth rate (λ) with increasing thiobencarb concentration. An elasticity analysis determined that survival of middle stages provided the largest contribution to λ. Decomposing the effects of λ in terms of changes in the matrix components determined that reduced reproduction had a large influence on population dynamics at lower thiobencarb concentrations, whereas reduced survivorship had the largest impact on populations at higher concentrations. A simulation model of a concentration-decay system was developed to demonstrate the importance of integrating chemical half-life and management practices in determining population viability. In this model, mysids were originally exposed to a high thiobencarb concentration (300 μg/L) that decayed an order of magnitude in the number of mysid generations corresponding to thiobencarb half-life values under three different exposure regimes. Environmental stochasticity was added to the model to estimate the cumulative extinction probability of mysids exposed to fluctuating concentrations of thiobencarb in random environments. The cumulative extinction probability increased with thiobencarb half-life, stochasticity, and concentration present at the time of a new exposure. The model demonstrated the expansion of population projection models in determining the ecological impact of a population exposed to pesticides.
Description and initial evaluation of a Xenopus metamorphosis assay for detection of thyroid system-disrupting activities of environmental compounds
Authors: Opitz Robert , Braunbeck Thomas , Bogi Christian , Pickford Daniel B. , Nentwig Gerrit , Oehlmann Jorg , Tooi Osamu , Lutz Ilka , Kloas Werner 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
A eedi recognizedforthedevelopmentandevaluationofbioassaysfordetectionofthyroid s stem–disrupting compounds. The issue of testing for thyroid disruption can be addressed by exploiting amphibian metamorphosis as a biological model. In the present study, a test protocol for a Xenopus metamorphosis assay (XEMA) was developed and its interlaboratory transferability was evaluated in an informal ring test with six laboratories participating. In the XEMA test, exposure of Xenopus laevis tadpoles was initiated at stages 48 to 50 and continued for 28 d. Development and growth of tadpoles were assessed by means of developmental stage and whole body length determinations, respectively. For initial test protocol evaluation, thyroxine (T4), and propylthiouracil (PTU) were used as positive controls for thyroid system–modulating activity, and ethylenethiourea (ETU) was used as a test compound. Exposure of tadpoles to 1 μg/L T4 produced a significant acceleration of metamorphosis whereas PTU concentrations of 75 and 100 mg/L completely inhibited metamorphosis. Five different ETU concentrations (5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 mg/L) were tested and a concentration-dependent inhibition of metamorphosis was observed. None of the compounds affected tadpole survival, and only PTU caused a slight retardation in tadpole growth. This study demonstrates that the XEMA test provides a sensitive, robust, and practical testing approach for detection of compounds with both agonistic and antagonistic effects on the thyroid system in Xenopus tadpoles.
Organochlorine pesticides and mercury in cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus) from northeastern Texas, USA
Authors: Rainwater Thomas R. , Reynolds Kevin D. , Cañas Jaclyn E. , Cobb Georgev P. , Andersonv Todd A. , McMurry Scott T. , Smith Philip N. 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
Dspite their ecological importance andglobal decline, snakes remain poorly studied in ecotoxicology. In this study, we examined organochlorine (OC) pesticide and mercury accumulation in cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus) living on a contaminated site in northeastern Texas (USA). Mercury and p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE) were detected in all snakes examined. Other OCs, including p,p′-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p′-DDT), methoxychlor, aldrin, and heptachlor, also were detected, but less frequently. Concentrations of p,p′-DDE were higher in fat than in liver, while mercury concentrations were highest in liver, followed by kidney and tail clips. One animal contained the highest mercury concentration yet reported for a snake (8,610 ng/g). Mercury concentrations in liver and kidney were higher in males than females, while no intersex differences in p,p′-DDE concentrations were observed. Concentrations of p,p′-DDE in fat were correlated positively with body size in male cottonmouths but not females, suggesting a slower rate of accumulation in females. Body size strongly predicted mercury concentrations in liver, kidney, and tail clips of both sexes. Tail clips were strong predictors of mercury in liver and kidney in males but not females, suggesting possible sex-dependent differences in mercury toxicokinetics. Both long-term field studies and controlled laboratory investigations are needed to adequately assess the response of cottonmouths to chronic contaminant exposure.
Evaluation of Recombinant Human Bone Morphogenetic Protein‐2 on the Repair of Alveolar Ridge Defects in Baboons
Authors: Miranda Dario A.O. , Blumenthal Neil M. , Sorensen Rachel G. , Wozney John M. , Wikesjö Ulf M.E. 
Published: March 2005

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate alveolar ridge augmentation following surgical implantation of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein‐2 (rhBMP‐2) using two novel space‐providing carrier technologies in the baboon (Papio anubis) model.Methods: Standardized alveolar ridge defects (∼15 × 8 × 5 mm) were surgically produced in maxillary and mandibular edentulous areas in four baboons. The defect sites were implanted with rhBMP‐2 (0.4 mg/mL) in a tricalcium phosphate/hydroxyapatite/ absorbable collagen sponge composite (TCP/HA/ACS) or calcium phosphate cement (α‐BSM). Control treatments were TCP/HA/ACS and α‐BSM without rhBMP‐2 and sham surgery. Stainless steel pins were placed at the mid‐apical and coronal level of the defect sites to provide landmarks for clinical measurements pre‐ and post‐implantation. Impressions were obtained pre‐ and postimplantation to determine changes in alveolar ridge volume. Radiographic registrations were obtained pre‐ and post‐implantation. Block sections of the defect sites were harvested at week 16 postimplantation and processed for histometric analysis including new bone area and bone density. Statistical comparisons between treatments were made using a mixed effect generalized linear model using least squares estimation.Results: The carrier systems without rhBMP‐2 provided a modest ridge augmentation. The addition of rhBMP‐2 resulted in an almost 2‐fold increase in alveolar ridge width, including a greater percentage of trabecular bone and a higher bone density compared to controls (P ≤0.05) without significant differences between the two rhBMP‐2 protocols.Conclusions: TCP/HA/ACS and αBSM appear to be suitable carrier technologies for rhBMP‐2. Alveolar augmentation procedures using either technology combined with rhBMP‐2, rather than stand‐alone therapies, may provide clinically relevant augmentation of alveolar ridge defects for placement of endosseous dental implants. J Periodontol 2005;76:210‐220.
Experimental Arthritis in Rats Induces Biomarkers of Periodontitis Which Are Ameliorated by Gene Therapy With Tissue Inhibitor of Matrix Metalloproteinases
Authors: Ramamurthy Nungavaram S. , Greenwald Robert A. , Celiker Mohamed Y. , Shi Eric Y. 
Published: March 2005

Background: Periodontal disease (PD) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) share many common pathophysiologic features, but a clinical relationship between the two conditions remains controversial, in part because of the confounding effects of anti‐inflammatory drug therapy universally used in the latter disease. To further explore this issue, inflammatory arthritis was induced in rats to determine the effect on gingival biomarkers of inflammation and tissue destruction and to investigate the effect of a therapeutic intervention devoid of conventional anti‐inflammatory properties.Methods: Adjuvant arthritis (AA) was induced in Lewis male rats by injecting mycobacterium cell wall in complete Freund's adjuvant using standard techniques. One group of animals was treated by induction of systemic tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMP‐4). At 3 weeks, arthritis severity was recorded and both paw and gingival tissues were collected for matrix metalloproteinase activity (MMP) and cytokine analysis. In addition, the maxillary jaws were removed for assessment of periodontal bone loss.Results: The development of arthritis was associated with elevated joint tissue MMPs, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, and interleukin (IL)‐1β levels compared to control rats. In the gingival tissue of the untreated arthritic rats, gelatinase, collagenase, TNF‐α, and IL‐1β were also elevated compared to control rats. Periodontal bone loss and tooth mobility were also increased significantly (P <0.05) in untreated arthritic rats. All parameters improved after TIMP‐4 gene therapy.Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study to report an association between experimental systemic arthritis in rats and elevated gingival tissue MMPs, cytokine levels, and periodontal disease. Reversal of these changes with TIMP‐4 gene therapy strengthens the pathophysiologic correlation between systemic and local disease. J Periodontol 2005;76:229‐233.
A Pilot Study Applying Digital Radiography for Estimating Ratio of Supported Single‐Root Surface Area
Authors: Chen Ssu‐Kuang , Pan Ju‐Hung , Lin Chi‐Hao , Leu Liang‐Jenq , Chen Chung‐Ming , Jeng Jeng‐Ywan 
Published: March 2005

Background: The prognosis of a tooth with periodontitis is affected by the amount of supporting bone. A key factor in retaining a tooth is the ratio of supported root surface. Currently, root surfaces cannot be accurately measured using conventional dental radiographs, which only measure the length of bone support on proximal surfaces.Methods: Eight extracted, single‐rooted teeth were 3‐dimensionally digitized using a contact technique for true surface area measurements. Root length, projection area, and pixel values were then measured on digital radiographs. The accuracy of the ratio estimation of supported surface area from linear, area, and pixel values was calculated and compared.Results: The mean error from linear estimation was 7.9%; the mean error from area estimation was 1.0%; and the mean error from pixel value estimation was 1.3%. One‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant differences in all estimations while Scheffé's analysis further revealed significant differences only in the linear estimation.Conclusions: A three‐dimensional digitizing device could be used as a non‐destructive method of measuring root surface area. The ratio of supported single‐root surface area could be estimated with high accuracy from the projected area data acquired on the digital dental radiographs. The thickness data as reflected from the pixel values in the digital images did not improve the estimation accuracy. Estimations using only length data yielded significantly less accuracy. Digital dental x‐ray images provide the potential for estimating the ratio of supported root surface efficiently. J Periodontol 2005;76:268‐271.
Heritability of age at menarche in girls from the Fels Longitudinal Study
Authors: Towne Bradford , Czerwinski Stefan A. , Demerath Ellen W. , Blangero John , Roche Alex F. , Siervogel Roger M. 
Published: March 2005

AbstractMenarche is the hallmark maturational event of female childhood. Many studies indicated a significant genetic contribution to the timing of the onset of menstruation, but most of these studies were limited by the use of retrospective data and by the use of data from only certain types of relatives (i.e., mothers and daughters, sisters, or twin sisters). The primary goal of this study was to use a modern maximum likelihood quantitative genetic method to estimate the heritability (h2) of age at menarche, using familial data collected over the course of the 74‐year‐old Fels Longitudinal Study. The secondary goal was to review earlier studies of the heritability of age at menarche. The study of the heritability of age at menarche presented here is unique for two reasons. First, because of the Fels Longitudinal Study's serial design, age‐at‐menarche data were collected prospectively from most participants. Second, because the Fels Longitudinal Study is a family study that has been conducted for decades, age‐at‐menarche data are available from many types of female relatives spanning multiple households and generations. The best‐fitting and most parsimonious quantitative genetic model included provision for a secular decrease in age at menarche, and estimated the h2 of age at menarche to be 0.49 ± 0.13 (95% confidence interval of h2, = 0.24–0.73). The results of this study are in general agreement with the findings of most previous studies of genetic influences on age at menarche, and suggest that it is reasonable to consider it well‐established that approximately half the phenotypic variation among girls from developed nations in the timing of menarche is due to genetic factors. Am J Phys Anthropol 128:210‐219, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Importance of cooperation and affiliation in the evolution of primate sociality
Authors: Sussman R.W. , Garber Paul A. , Cheverud Jim M. 
Published: March 2005

AbstractThe idea that competition and aggression are central to an understanding of the origins of group‐living and sociality among human and nonhuman primates is the dominant theory in primatology today. Using this paradigm, researchers have focused their attention on competitive and aggressive behaviors, and have tended to overlook the importance of cooperative and affiliative behaviors. However, cooperative and affiliative behaviors are considerably more common than agonistic behaviors in all primate species. The current paradigm often fails to explain the context, function, and social tactics underlying affiliative and agonistic behavior. Here, we present data on a basic question of primate sociality: how much time do diurnal, group‐living primates spend in social behavior, and how much of this time is affiliative and agonistic? These data are derived from a survey of 81 studies, including 28 genera and 60 species. We find that group‐living prosimians, New World monkeys, Old World monkeys, and apes usually devote less than 10% of their activity budget to active social interactions. Further, rates of agonistic behaviors are extremely low, normally less than 1% of the activity budget. If the cost to the actors of affiliative behavior is low even if the rewards are low or extremely variable, we should expect affiliation and cooperation to be frequent. This is especially true under conditions in which individuals benefit from the collective environment of living in stable social groups. Am J Phys Anthropol 128:84–97, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effective invariant features for shape‐based image retrieval
Authors: Li Shan , Lee Moon‐Chuen , Adjeroh Donald 
Published: March 2005

AbstractThe success of content‐based image retrieval (CBIR) relies critically on the ability to find effective image features to represent the database images. The shape of an object is a fundamental image feature and belongs to one of the most important image features used in CBIR. In this article we propose a robust and effective shape feature known as the compound image descriptor (CID), which combines the Fourier transform (FT) magnitude and phase coefficients with the global features. The underlying FT coefficients have been shown analytically to be invariant to rotation, translation, and scaling. We also present details of the underlying innovative shape feature extraction method. The global features, besides being incorporated with the FT coefficients to form the CID, are also used to filter out the highly dissimilar images during the image retrieval process. Thus, they serve a dual purpose of improving the accuracy and hence the robustness of the shape descriptor, and of speeding up the retrieval process, leading to a reduced query response time. Experiment results show that the proposed shape descriptor is, in general, robust to changes caused by image shape rotation, translation, and/or scaling. It also outperforms other recently published proposals, such as the generic Fourier descriptor (Zhang & Lu, 2002).
Cell proliferation in the developing lateral line system of zebrafish embryos
Authors: Laguerre Laurent , Soubiran Fabien , Ghysen Alain , König Norbert , Dambly‐Chaudière Christine 
Published: March 2005

AbstractThe sensory organs of the embryonic lateral line system are deposited by migrating primordia that originate in the otic region. Here, we examine the pattern of cell proliferation in the posterior lateral line system. We conclude that three phases of cell proliferation are involved in the generation of this system, separated by two phases of mitotic quiescence. The first phase corresponds to generalized proliferation during gastrulation, followed by a first period of quiescence that may be related to the determination of the lateral line precursor cells. A second phase of proliferation takes place in the placode and migrating primordium. This region is organized in annuli that correspond to the expression of proneural/neurogenic genes. A second period of quiescence follows, corresponding to deposition and differentiation of the sensory organs. The third period of proliferation corresponds to continued renewal of hair cells by division of support cells within each sensory organ. Developmental Dynamics 233:466–472, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Endogenously expressed estrogen receptors mediate neuroprotection in hippocampal cells (HT22)
Authors: Deecher Darlene C. , Daoud Pamela , Bhat Ramesh A. , O'Connor Lawrence T. 
Published: March 2005

AbstractDiscovery of estrogen receptors (ER) in the central nervous system and the ability of estrogens to modulate neural circuitry and act as neurotrophic factors, suggest a therapeutic role of this steroid. To gain better understanding of the specificity and cellular mechanisms involved in estrogen‐mediated neuroprotection, a mouse hippocampal neuronal cell line (HT22) was evaluated. Earlier reports indicated this cell line was devoid of ERs. Contrary to these findings, characterization of HT22 cells using RT‐PCR, immunoblot, immunocytochemical, and radioligand binding techniques revealed endogenous expression of ER. The predominant subtype appeared to be ERα with functional activity confirmed using an ERE‐tk‐luciferase assay. The ability of an ER antagonist, ICI‐182780, to block the neuroprotective effects of estrogens confirmed ER was involved mechanistically in neuroprotection. In conclusion, HT22 cells express functional ERα or a closely related ER enabling this cell line to be used to profile estrogens for neuroprotective properties acting via an ER‐dependent mechanism. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.