bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Plasma Fluorescence Scanning and Fecal Porphyrin Analysis for the Diagnosis of Variegate Porphyria: Precise Determination of Sensitivity and Specificity with Detection of Protoporphyrinogen Oxidase Mutations as a Reference Standard
Authors: Hift Richard J , Davidson Brandon P , van der Hooft Cornelis , Meissner Doreen M , Meissner Peter N 
Published: February 2004

AbstractBackground: Variegate porphyria (VP) is the autosomal dominant disorder associated with deficiency of the enzyme protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPOX). Plasma fluorescence scanning has been reported to be a more sensitive test for VP than traditional fecal chromatography. Previous comparisons of these techniques predated identification of the PPOX gene. We assessed these techniques in a large group of patients characterized for VP at the DNA level.Methods: We evaluated all patients for whom the genotype and a plasma scan or fecal porphyrin result were available. Mutations were detected by restriction digest analysis. Plasma fluorescence scanning was conducted according to published methods. Fecal porphyrins were identified and quantified by thin-layer chromatography.Results: Plasma fluorescence scanning was assessed in 679 patients (205 with VP who were carriers of a PPOX mutation, either with disease symptoms or asymptomatic) and fecal analysis in 473 (190 with VP). Sensitivity and specificity of both tests were higher in adults than in children and higher for adults with disease symptoms than for asymptomatic carriers. In a direct comparison in 168 adults (73 with VP), plasma scanning was significantly more sensitive than fecal porphyrin analysis [sensitivity, 0.96 (95% confidence interval, 0.89–0.99) vs 0.77 (0.66–0.85)]. Fecal coproporphyrin [area under the curve, 0.87 (0.83–0.90)] was a better predictor of VP than protoporphyrin [0.80 (0.76–0.84)].Conclusions: Plasma scanning is a more sensitive and specific test for VP than fecal porphyrin analysis. Neither test is sensitive in children, and both are less sensitive in asymptomatic carriers than in symptomatic cases. DNA analysis therefore remains the preferred method for the identification of carriers, particularly in children.
Vertebrate primary cilia: a sensory part of centrosomal complex in tissue cells, but a “sleeping beauty” in cultured cells?
Authors: Alieva Irina B. , Vorobjev Ivan A 
Published: February 2004

AbstractPrimary cilium development along with other components of the centrosome in mammalian cells was analysed ultrastructurally and by immunofluorescent staining with anti‐acetylated tubulin antibodies. We categorized two types of primary cilia, nascent cilia that are about 1 μm long located inside the cytoplasm, and true primary cilia that are several μm long and protrude from the plasma membrane.The primary cilium is invariably associated with the older centriole of each diplosome, having appendages at the distal end and pericentriolar satellites with cytoplasmic microtubules emanating from them. Only one cilium per cell is formed normally through G0, S and G2phases. However, in some mouse embryo fibroblasts with two mature centrioles, bicilates were seen. Primary cilia were not observed in cultured cells where the mature centriole had no satellites and appendages (Chinese hamster kidney cells, line 237, some clones of l‐fibroblasts). In contrast to primary cilia, striated rootlets were found around active and non‐active centrioles with the same frequency. In proliferating cultured cells, a primary cilium can be formed several hours after mitosis, in fibroblasts 2–4 h after cell division and in PK cells only during the S‐phase. In interphase cells, formation of the primary cilium can be stimulated by the action of metabolic inhibitors and by reversed depolymerization of cytoplasmic microtubules with cold or colcemid treatments.In mouse renal epithelial cells in situ, the centrosome was located near the cell surface and mature centrioles in 80% of the cells had primary cilium protruding into the duct lumen. After cells were explanted and subcultured, the centrosome comes closer to the nucleus and the primary cilium was depolymerized or reduced. Later primary cilia appeared in cells that form islets on the coverslip. However, the centrosome in cultured ciliated cells was always located near the cell nucleus and primary cilium never formed a characteristic distal bulb. A sequence of the developmental stages of the primary cilium is proposed and discussed. We also conclude that functioning primary cilium does not necessarily operate in culture cells, which might explain some of the contradictory data on cell ciliation in vitro reported in the literature.
Gamma irradiation of human dendritic cells influences proliferation and cytokine profile of T cells in autologous mixed lymphocyte reaction
Authors: Cao Meng‐De , Chen Zong‐De , Xing Ying 
Published: February 2004

AbstractDendritic cells (DC) are the most potent antigen‐presenting cells (APC); their ability to induce proliferation of T cells in a mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) assay is commonly used for the evaluation of their function. It is a general thought that gamma irradiation of APC does not influence their ability to activate T‐cell proliferation, but the data from several studies are controversial. To further determine the mechanisms involved in DC‐induced T‐cell activation in MLR assay, human DC induced from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were gamma‐irradiated and determine their effects on the proliferation and cytokine profiles of T cells in an autologous MLR. DC were induced from the PBMC of 11 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with RMPI 640 medium containing recombinant human GM‐CSF (rhGM‐CSF; 800 U/ml) and recombinant human IL‐4 (rhIL‐4; 500 U/ml). DC harvested on day 7 were divided into two equal parts. One part was not irradiated (naive DC); the other was γ‐irradiated at a dose of 30 Gy. Cell surface molecules were analyzed by flow cytometry. T‐cell proliferation was determined using a beta‐scintillation counter. The levels of IL‐2, IL‐4, IL‐6 and IL‐10 in co‐culture supernatants were measured by ELISA. The results indicated that gamma irradiation reduced expression of CD86, CD80 and HLA‐DR molecules on DC, especially CD86 (P=0.0072). DC, irradiated or non‐irradiated, effectively stimulated autologous T‐cell proliferation. Compared to naive DC, irradiated DC showed a markedly lower capacity to promote T‐cell proliferation (P=0.0073), and strikingly up‐regulated secretion of IL‐4 (P=0.0145) and IL‐2 (P=0.0323) by autologous T cells. No significant differences were noted in IL‐6 and IL‐10 production between T cells co‐cultured with naive DC and irradiated DC (P>0.05). It is concluded that gamma irradiation of DC not only influences the phenotype of DC but also alters their capacity to stimulate the proliferation and the cytokine profiles of autologous T cells in a MLR.
Chinas Unlimited: Making the Imaginaries of China and Chineseness. By Gregory B. Lee. [London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003. xi +121 pp. £65.00. ISBN 0-7007-1492-8.]
Authors: van Crevel Maghiel 
Published: February 2004

Gregory Lee's latest book addresses representations of Chineseness in the 19th and 20th centuries, in the United Kingdom as well as in China and Hong Kong. Each of its four chapters singles out texts – from “high” literature, government documents, news and entertainment media – to point out the dangers of generalizing about culture, language or race. Lee observes that while the “scientific racism” of earlier days has been discredited, racist stereotypes of Chineseness abound to this day.Chapter one begins with an explanation of the author's interest in Chinese and his career to date. This would have combined well with chapter four, subtitled “A short (hi)story of a Liverpool hybridity,” which contains scattered musings on the Liverpool Chinatown Lee knew as a child, where a lifelong fascination was sparked by a notebook left by his Chinese grandfather. Critical distance is by no means a “shibboleth” (p. 82), but Lee's lengthy justification of the autobiographical parts of his book is unnecessary. Still, the expression of his personal feeling, on the first day of each academic year, of “disappoint[ing] the eager European students as they see a white man walk into the room” (p. 83) is questionable. For all its autobiographical hues, as part of the scholarly treatise that his book aims to be, this entails the danger of unwarranted generalization.
Searching for Life's Meaning: Changes and Tensions in the Worldviews of Chinese in the 1980s. By Luo Xu. [Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2002. xi +359 pp. ISBN 0-472-11239-2.]
Authors: Israel John 
Published: February 2004

In analysing the youthful cohort that launched the Tiananmen protest movement, Luo Xu draws our attention to the problematic connection between young people's quest to define individual identity and the decision to commit themselves to political and social action. How, he asks, could a “self-centered ‘me generation’ . . . engage in such an enormous collective action that demanded great devotion to a common idealistic cause?” (p. ix)Part one, “The journey” treats intellectual formulations from Bei Dao's poem I Don't Believe (1976) to Cui Jian's song I Have Nothing (1986), and summarizes public discourses by and about youth from the Democracy Wall (1978|–79) to the lesser known “Pan Xiao discussion” (1980) and “Shekou Storm” (1988). Xu's narrative implies that the tidal changes of the 13 years from the death of Mao to the Tiananmen uprising created two mini-generations. The first (late 1970s and early 1980s) was preoccupied with unresolved issues of the Cultural Revolution. The second (late 1980s) sought to redefine the relationship between the individual and the public realm.
Silk feeding as an alternative foraging tactic in a kleptoparasitic spider under seasonally changing environments
Authors: Miyashita Tadashi , Maezono Yasunori , Shimazaki Aya 
Published: February 2004

AbstractSpiders of the genus Argyrodes are kleptoparasites that steal prey from other web spiders. Recent studies have shown that in addition to stealing prey, they occasionally eat the silk of the host spider webs. How Argyrodes alters the two foraging tactics in the field is still unknown. The foraging behaviour of Argyrodes flavescens was observed in the south‐western part of Japan where prey availability changes greatly with season. Silk‐eating behaviour was commonly observed when insect prey availability on host webs was low, but when prey was abundant, only prey‐stealing behaviour was observed. Spiders spent more time feeding on silk than on prey when prey was scarce. Moreover, in the season when most individuals fed on silk, only a small portion of individuals consumed prey. These results suggest that silk eating is an important alternative foraging tactic under seasonally changing environments.
Use of space and movement patterns in monogamous adult Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber)
Authors: Herr Jan , Rosell Frank 
Published: February 2004

AbstractMonogamy in mammals is characterized by reduced sexual dimorphism in morphology and behaviour. Ten pairs of Eurasian beaverCastor fiberwere radio‐tracked to test how far this concept can be applied to movement behaviour by focusing on sex‐related effects on territory sizes and movement patterns. Within monogamous pairs, males and females occupied territories of almost equal size during the whole radio‐tracking period and more specifically after parturition. The territories of pair members overlapped on average by 81.6±14.0%sdwhile the territory overlap between residents and their neighbours was small to non‐existent (on average between 0.5% and 2.2%). Males had larger 95% utility distributions than did females during the whole tracking period and after parturition. There was no significant difference between the 50% utility distributions for both sexes. Furthermore, males and females spent equal proportions of their time in territory border zones. There was a non‐significant trend for males to move greater distances at night than females. Nightly distance moved correlated positively with territory size in females but not in males. Nightly distance moved correlated with neither body weight nor colony size. These results suggest that beavers show reduced sexual dimorphism in space use and movement patterns within adult monogamous pairs.
Body temperature and above‐ground patterns during hibernation in European hamsters (Cricetus cricetus L.)
Authors: Wassmer Thomas 
Published: February 2004

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to determine whether hibernating European hamsters Cricetus cricetus, L., 1758 stay in their burrows all winter or if they occasionally spent time above ground. If ‘time (spent) above ground’ (TAG) occurred regularly throughout hibernation, the second objective of this work was to categorize and quantify the patterns of TAG during winter. For this purpose, 11 European hamsters were individually housed in wire mesh cages that were buried in the ground of an outdoor enclosure. Each cage was filled with soil up to ground level allowing the animals to construct their own burrows within the cages. Antennae in the bottom and top of the cage were calibrated to receive signals only when the hamsters were in their burrows or above the ground, respectively. This method enabled continuous recordings of the animal's TAG and provided ecologically meaningful results as the animals were housed in a way that closely resembled their natural habitat. About half of the hamsters stayed continuously below ground. Of these hamsters, almost all showed a dense pattern of episodes of reduced body temperature separated by only brief periods of normothermia. In contrast, the other half of the animals moved either episodically or even regularly above ground. For all of these hamsters, TAG was significantly reduced as compared to normothermic values. One hamster did not show any hibernation but did have a significantly reduced normothermic body temperature and did not leave its burrow for periods of up to 3 weeks.
Acoustic signals in cicada courtship behaviour (order Hemiptera, genus Tibicina)
Authors: Sueur Jérôme , Aubin Thierry 
Published: February 2004

AbstractDuring pair formation, cicadas produce acoustic signals that allow sexual partners to meet. The male is generally the emitter, producing calling songs at long range and courtship songs at short range, and the female generally the receiver. The male–female courtship behaviour of seven taxa belonging to the Palaearctic genus Tibicina is described here for the first time. Male courtship songs consisted of a succession of groups of pulses arranged in two sub‐groups. They were short in duration with strong amplitude variations. In all taxa, courtship songs were preceded by a series of 1–5 audible wing‐flicks. Differences in courtship song structure between two pairs of sympatric species, respectively T. corsica corsica/T. nigronervosa and T. corsica fairmairei/T. tomentosa, suggest that courtship signals could act as distinctive species mating recognition systems. In response to male acoustic signalling, females of T. c. corsica, T. c. fairmairei and T. nigronervosa produced audible wing‐flicks such that both sexes established an acoustic duet ending in physical contact. In addition, males and females of T. tomentosa produced silent wing‐flicks, a previously unknown behaviour, which could facilitate pheromone diffusion. Females did not exhibit a species‐specific temporal pattern in acoustic reply to male courtship song and female wing‐flick behaviour does not seem necessary for pair formation. Nevertheless, this strategy through male and female signalling ensured a reciprocal phonotactic approach that probably enhanced the likelihood for the two sexes to meet in complex habitats.
The Religious and Cultural Roles of Dreams and Visions in Islam
Authors: Green Nile 
Published: February 2004

AbstractSince “visions appear material to spiritual persons only, the vulgar herd of historians and annalists cannot hope to be so favoured by Heaven”. So, in his nineteenth-century account of the sūfīs of Sind, Sir Richard Burton expressed the dilemma of scholars researching Muslim dream and visionary experiences in his characteristic style. But while scholarly discussion of the visionary activities of premodern sūfīs and other Muslims is still no straightforward matter we need no longer be deterred by Burton's sardonic pessimism. Despite the reticence of earlier generations of positivist scholarship, the past two decades have witnessed a flourishing of research into the visionary aspects of Muslim religious and cultural practice, chiefly through the analysis of the extensive literature surrounding the dream and vision in Islam. For, from the very beginning of Islamic history, there has developed a rich and varied discourse on the nature of the imagination and its expression in the form of dreams and waking visions. The theoretical approaches to the imagination developed by early Muslim philosophers and mystical theorists were always accompanied by the activities of a more active sodality of dreamers and vision seekers. For this reason, Islamic tradition is especially rich for its contributions to both theories of the imagination and the description of its expression in dream and visionary experience. The abundant yields from this rich research field in recent years afford new insight into the Muslim past, allowing an often intimate encounter with past individuals and private experiences scarcely granted by the analysis of other kinds of documentation.
Professor Annemarie Schimmel (April 7, 1922 to January 26, 2003)
Authors: Waghmar Burzine K. 
Published: February 2004

AbstractAnnemarie Brigitte Schimmel, who died aged 80 on 26th January 2003, was the West's most outstanding expert on Sufism, classical and folk Islamic poetry, Indo-Pakistani literature, and calligraphy.
Anniversary General Meeting of the Royal Asiatic Society, Thursday 8 May 2003
Authors: Stockwell A. J. 
Published: February 2004

AbstractI should like to start by thanking the Honorary Treasurer for presenting his report for 2002. This time last year he likened 2001 to an annus horribilis and this year has been no better for the financial markets. Notwithstanding world crisis and depression, however, the Society's performance, as the Honorary Treasurer has pointed out, has borne comparison with appropriate benchmarks. I congratulate the Honorary Treasurer on his judicious management of the Society's finances. We have also benefited immensely from the wisdom and experience of the other members of the Finance Committee and Investment Sub-Committee.
Isoflurane and Sevoflurane Precondition against Neutrophil-induced Contractile Dysfunction in Isolated Rat Hearts
Authors: Hu Guochang , Salem M. Ramez , Crystal George J. 
Published: February 2004

Background
The authors tested the hypothesis that pretreatment with isoflurane or sevoflurane can protect the heart against neutrophil-induced contractile dysfunction.

Methods
Studies were conducted in buffer-perfused and paced isolated rat hearts. Left ventricular developed pressure served as an index of contractility. Pretreatment consisted of administration of 1.0 minimum alveolar concentration isoflurane or sevoflurane for 15 min followed by a 10-min washout and was performed in the absence and presence of the adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channel inhibitor glibenclamide (10 microM). Polymorphonuclear neutrophils and platelet-activating factor were then added to the perfusate for 10 min, followed by 30 min of recovery. Neutrophil retention was assessed from the difference between those administered and collected in coronary effluent and measurements of myeloperoxidase in myocardial samples. Isolated hearts were also used to assess the effect of volatile anesthetic pretreatment on cardiac dysfunction caused by enzymatically generated superoxide. In additional studies, the authors evaluated the effect of volatile anesthetic pretreatment on the adherence of neutrophils to isolated rat aortic segments.

Results
Platelet-activating factor-stimulated neutrophils caused marked and persistent reductions (> 50%) in left ventricular developed pressure. Pretreatment with either isoflurane or sevoflurane abolished these effects, as well as the associated increases in neutrophil retention. Glibenclamide did not alter these actions of the anesthetics. Pretreatment with either volatile anesthetic attenuated the reductions in left ventricular developed pressure caused by exogenous superoxide and abolished the increases in neutrophil adherence in the aortic segments.

Conclusion
Isoflurane and sevoflurane preconditioned the heart against neutrophil-induced contractile dysfunction. This action was associated with an inhibition to neutrophil adherence and likely involved an increased resistance of the myocardium to oxidant-induced injury; the adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channels played no apparent role.
Isoflurane Produces Delayed Preconditioning against Myocardial Ischemia and Reperfusion Injury
Authors: Tanaka Katsuya , Ludwig Lynda M. , Krolikowski John G. , Alcindor Dunbar , Pratt Phillip F. , Kersten Judy R. , Pagel Paul S. , Warltier David C. 
Published: February 2004

Background
Whether volatile anesthetics produce a second window of preconditioning is unclear. The authors tested the hypothesis that isoflurane causes delayed preconditioning against infarction and, further, that cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 mediates this beneficial effect.

Methods
Rabbits (n = 43) were randomly assigned to receive 0.9% intravenous saline, the selective COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib (3 mg/kg intraperitoneal) five times over 2 days before coronary artery occlusion and reperfusion, or isoflurane (1.0 minimum alveolar concentration) 24 h before acute experimentation in the absence or presence of celecoxib pretreatment. Two additional groups of rabbits received a single dose of celecoxib either 30 min before or 21.5 h after administration of isoflurane. Rabbits were then instrumented for measurement of hemodynamics and underwent 30 min of coronary occlusion followed by 3 h of reperfusion. Myocardial infarct size was measured using triphenyltetrazolium staining. Western immunoblotting to examine COX-1 and COX-2 protein expression was performed in rabbit hearts that had or had not been exposed to isoflurane.

Results
Isoflurane significantly (P < 0.05) reduced infarct size (22 +/- 3% of the left ventricular area at risk) as compared with control (39 +/- 2%). Celecoxib alone had no effect on infarct size (36 +/- 4%) but abolished isoflurane-induced cardioprotection (36 +/- 4%). A single dose of celecoxib administered 2.5 h before coronary occlusion and reperfusion also abolished the delayed protective effects of isoflurane (36 +/- 4%), but celecoxib given 30 min before exposure to isoflurane had no effect (22 +/- 4%). Isoflurane did not alter COX-1 and COX-2 protein expression.

Conclusions
The results indicate that the volatile anesthetic isoflurane produces a second window of preconditioning against myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury. Furthermore, COX-2 is an important mediator of isoflurane-induced delayed preconditioning.