bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Endurance training improves skeletal muscle electrical activity in active COPD patients
Authors: Gosselin Nadège , Lambert Karen , Poulain Magali , Martin Anne , Préfaut Christian , Varray Alain 
Published: November 2003

AbstractThe effect of endurance training on muscle electrical activity during general exercise testing was investigated in physically active patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Before and after rehabilitation, patients performed identical incremental exercise tests. Pulmonary gas exchange, venous lactate and pyruvate concentrations, and the quadriceps electromyographic signal were sampled every minute throughout exercise testing. Three weeks of rehabilitation increased exercise capacity without modifying pulmonary function. M‐wave amplitude, root mean square (RMS) of electromyographic activity, and RMS/oxygen uptake were increased significantly during post‐rehabilitation testing at the same exercise intensity compared to pre‐rehabilitation. Median frequency was significantly lower after training. These modifications reflect greater muscle excitability, greater muscle activation for the same level of exercise, and higher recruitment of slow‐twitch fibers. Pulmonary rehabilitation in active COPD patients may normalize the electrical activity of skeletal muscles during incremental dynamic exercise. The electromyographic signal confirms neuromuscular changes after endurance training. Muscle Nerve 28: 744–753, 2003
Late‐onset mitochondrial disorder with electromyographic evidence of myotonia
Authors: Howse Mathew L.P. , Wardell Theresa M. , Fisher Christopher J. , Tilley Peter J.B. , Chinnery Patrick F. , Bindoff Laurence 
Published: November 2003

AbstractWe describe a patient with chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO) due to a deletion of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) who had electromyographic evidence of myotonic discharges. Myotonia has not previously been described in association with mitochondrial disease and this report extends the known phenotypic expression of these disorders. Muscle Nerve 28: 757–759, 2003
Deleted 4977‐bp mitochondrial DNA mutation is associated with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A hospital‐based case‐control study
Authors: Ro Long‐Sun , Lai Shiao‐Lin , Chen Chiung‐Mei , Chen Sien‐Tsong 
Published: November 2003

AbstractWe investigated the relationship between the most common 4977‐bp deleted mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations and the occurrence of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Primer‐shift and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used to determine the 4977‐bp deleted mtDNA in the muscle specimens from 36 patients with sporadic ALS and 69 age‐matched controls with other neuromuscular disorders. We found that the 4977‐bp deleted mtDNA mutations were significantly higher in the ALS patients than controls in both frequency (50.0% vs. 8.7%, P < 0.01) and amount (0.35 ± 0.53% vs. 0.085 ± 0.35%, P < 0.05). Subjects with, rather than without, deleted mtDNA were at a significantly higher risk for having ALS after adjustment for age and sex. Moreover, male subjects had a higher risk than female subjects of having sporadic ALS. This study suggested that 4977‐bp deleted mtDNA is significantly associated with the occurrence of sporadic ALS. Muscle Nerve 28: 737–743, 2003
The relevance, practicality and viability of spatial development initiatives: a South African case study
Authors: Luiz John M. 
Published: November 2003

AbstractPolicymakers have for long had an ambivalent attitude towards space and have been hesitant in dealing with intra‐national models of uneven development. Issues surrounding regional development have always been tainted with ideological and political influences rather than being a purely economic consideration. This article addresses the thinking behind regional development policies and questions the role of spatial policy. It confronts this question in the South African case where local government capacity is particularly constrained and the boundaries between government tiers unclear. The first section outlines a selected critical history of the regional policy literature as it applies to South Africa. This is followed by an examination of South Africa's post‐apartheid policy of spatial development initiatives (SDIs) focusing on the most contentious of these, namely the Fish River SDI, which has been plagued by controversy. It focuses on the tensions involved in development planning between government agencies and between politicians and technocrats. It also highlights the growing schism between government and civil society with the former emphasising mega‐projects which reinforce its global competitive strategy but with limited apparent benefit to the local community. Lastly, it concludes that little effort was made to integrate the SDI into a provincial poverty strategy and argues that instead of utilising industrial decentralisation to redress inequality and poverty, a ‘first‐best’ option may be for the government to target poverty directly by investing in various forms of human capital. Such an approach would lead to long‐term economic growth and also improve South Africa's international competitiveness. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Strict glycemic control in diabetic pregnancy—implications for second‐trimester screening for Down syndrome
Authors: Peled Y. , Gilboa Y. , Perri T. , Shohat M. , Chen R. , Bar J. , Hod M. , Pardo J. 
Published: November 2003

AbstractObjectivesStudies in the early 1990s showed that the normal levels of the biochemical markers used to screen for Down syndrome in the second trimester of pregnancy differ between healthy women and women with insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Thereafter, most laboratories adopted correcting factors to adjust for these differences. However, the current validity of these factors in light of the recent improvements in glycemic control in diabetic pregnancy has not been investigated.MethodsThe sample consisted of 35 pregnant women with strictly controlled IDDM and 40 healthy controls matched for age and gestational week. All women had singleton pregnancies and were followed till delivery.ResultsComparison of the triple test results between the two groups after adjustment with the traditional corrective factors yielded no significant differences in serum levels of any of the markers (unconjugated estriol, human chorionic gonadotrophin, alpha‐fetoprotein).ConclusionsThese results suggest that the recent improvement in glycemic control of pregnant women with IDDM changes the metabolic milieu that might cause the biochemical differences with healthy pregnant patients. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Prenatal diagnosis of congenital mesoblastic nephroma in mid‐second trimester by sonography and magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Chen Wen‐Yin , Lin Ching‐Nan , Chao Chien‐Shun , Yan‐Sheng Lin Mike , Mak Chee‐Wai , Chuang Shih‐Sung , Tzeng Ching‐Cherng , Huang Kuo‐Feng 
Published: November 2003

AbstractAlthough congenital mesoblastic nephroma (CMN) is a rare benign congenital renal tumor, it is the most common solid renal tumor in the newborn period. The most common presentation of congenital mesoblastic nephroma is polyhydramnios, and only one case with prenatal fetal hydrops has been previously reported. Prenatal diagnosis of CMN has previously been made on the basis of the findings of sonography in the third trimester, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)–based diagnosis has been reported recently. Here we report a case of prenatally diagnosed classical type CMN diagnosed at 22 + 3 weeks of gestation based on the findings of sonography and magnetic resonance imaging. The characteristic imaging findings in this case were fetal hydrops and polyhydramnios. To our knowledge, this is the youngest reported gestational age for prenatal diagnosis of CMN and it is the second case of CMN associated with fetal hydrops detected prenatally. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Standard operating procedures for clinical research personnel – Part 18
Authors: Bohaychuk Wendy , Ball Graham 
Published: November 2003

AbstractThis is the 18th in a series of articles containing proposals for wording and content of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for clinical research activities conducted by sponsors and Contract Research Organisations (CROs). The procedures include those required by the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), many other guidelines and regulations, and 'best practice' observed by the authors. The model forms require modification for actual use. In this article, SOPs are presented for management of study medications/devices: receipt of study medications/devices at study sites ( SOP 504); control of study medications/devices at study sites (SOP 505); assessment of compliance with use of study medications/devices (SOP 506) and return of study medications/devices from study sites (SOP 507). (The full text of all 101 SOPs is available from the authors.) Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Filter design: a finite dimensional convex optimization approach
Authors: Rossignol L. , Scorletti G. , Fromion V. 
Published: November 2003

AbstractWe consider the design of transfer functions (filters) satisfying upper and lower bounds on the frequency response magnitude or on phase response, in the continuous and discrete time domains. The paper contribution is to prove that such problems are equivalent tofinitedimensionalconvexoptimization problems involving linear matrix inequality constraints. At now, such optimization problems can be efficiently solved. Note that this filter design problem is usually reduced to a semi infinite dimensional linear programming optimization problem under the additional assumption that the filter poles are fixed (for instance, when considering FIR design). Furthermore, the semi infinite dimensional optimization is practically solved, using a gridding approach on the frequency. In addition to be finite dimensional, our formulation allows to set or not the filter poles. These problems were mainly considered in signal processing. Our interest is to propose an approach dedicated to automatic control problems. In this paper, we focus on the following problems: design of weighting transfers forH∞control and design of lead‐lag networks for control. Numerical applications emphasize the interest of the proposed results. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Self‐hardening calcium phosphate composite scaffold for bone tissue engineering
Authors: Xu Hockin H. K. , Simon Carl G. 
Published: November 2003

AbstractCalcium phosphate cement (CPC) sets in situ to form solid hydroxyapatite, can conform to complex cavity shapes without machining, has excellent osteoconductivity, and is able to be resorbed and replaced by new bone. Therefore, CPC is promising for craniofacial and orthopaedic repairs. However, its low strength and lack of macroporosity limit its use. This study investigated CPC reinforcement with absorbable fibers, the effects of fiber volume fraction on mechanical properties and macroporosity, and the cytotoxicity of CPC–fiber composite. The rationale was that large‐diameter absorbable fibers would initially strengthen the CPC graft, then dissolve to form long cylindrical macropores for colonization by osteoblasts. Flexural strength, work‐of‐fracture (toughness), and elastic modulus were measured vs. fiber volume fraction from 0% (CPC Control without fibers) to 60%. Cell culture was performed with osteoblast‐like cells, and cell viability was quantified using an enzymatic assay. Flexural strength (mean ± SD; n == 6) of CPC with 60% fibers was 13.5 ± 4.4 MPa, three times higher than 3.9 ± 0.5 MPa of CPC Control. Work‐of‐fracture was increased by 182 times. Long cylindrical macropores 293 ± 46 μm in diameter were created in CPC after fiber dissolution, and the CPC–fiber scaffold reached a macroporosity of 55% and a total porosity of 81%. The new CPC–fiber formulation supported cell adhesion, proliferation and viability. The method of using large‐diameter absorbable fibers in bone graft for mechanical properties and formation of long cylindrical macropores for bone ingrowth may be applicable to other tissue engineering materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. on behalf of Orthopuedic Research Society. © 2003 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Identifying families at risk: exploring the potential of the McMaster Family Assessment Device
Authors: Akister Jane , Stevenson‐Hinde Joan 
Published: November 2003

The Family Assessment Device (FAD) was given to a community sample of intact families with young children. Responses by mothers and fathers were analysed with a view to providing ways of indicating which families might benefit from preventive intervention.Mother/father agreement was significant on five of the seven scales, with a failure to reach significance on Affective Involvement and General Functioning. The highest correlation between mothers and fathers was on the Roles scale (r = 0.53). However, mothers' means for Roles were significantly higher than fathers', indicating that mothers were less satisfied with family functioning in this area.In addition to a family mean score greater than a cut‐off value as an indicator of unhealthy functioning, present results suggest including those families whose respondents strongly disagree (indicated by scores lying on either side of the cut‐off and a difference of more than two standard deviations). With this double criterion, Roles and Affective Involvement were the dimensions most frequently scored as unhealthy. Seventeen per cent of the families scored in the unhealthy range on four or more of the seven dimensions.This paper considers how to decide where family intervention might be helpful and raises the question of whether screening families might be more widely undertaken, for example by health visitors, to identify those families who are at risk of family dysfunction.
Learning process, strategies and web‐based concordancers: a case study
Authors: Sun Yu‐Chih 
Published: November 2003

AbstractThe recent widespread use of web‐based concordancers seems to provide a promising mode for language teaching and learning, especially in the English as a foreign language (EFL) setting, because through concordancers students can easily gain exposure to a huge number of authentic and sorted language examples. This paper describes a case study of the learning process and strategies used by three Taiwanese college students in the concordancer setting. A web‐based concordancer was used to assist the participants while undertaking a proofreading activity. Think‐aloud protocol was used to collect their data. The results showed that the following four factors have influenced learners’ learning process and strategies in use: (1) prior knowledge, (2) cognitive skills, (3) teacher intervention and (4) concordancer skills.
Attitudes to computer‐assisted learning amongst business and management students
Authors: Rainbow Stephen W. , Sadler‐Smith Eugene 
Published: November 2003

AbstractComputer‐assisted learning (CAL) is becoming ever more important as a method of teaching and facilitating learning in an increasingly overburdened higher education sector in the UK. A number of authors have made pleas for more evaluation and research in the area of CAL. This study set out to evaluate the attitudes to CAL amongst over 300 business and management undergraduates using a questionnaire survey. The survey revealed a positive disposition towards CAL irrespective of age, gender or educational background. In addition respondents were asked to compare the features of CAL with those of other more traditional methods of teaching and learning. Two factors were identified, labelled CAL ‘instructional’ features and CAL ‘tutorial’ features. The instructional features of CAL were rated more highly than its tutorial features. Respondents rated CAL as better than traditional methods in terms of its instructional features and about the same as traditional methods in terms of its tutorial features. Younger respondents rated the instructional features of CAL more highly than did the older respondents. The findings were discussed in terms of their implications for the use of CAL in an expanding system of mass higher education.
Phase ambiguity determination for the positioning of interferometric sar data
Authors: Sowter Andrew 
Published: November 2003

AbstractInterferometric SAR (InSAR) has established itself as a useful technique for precise cloud‐independent topographic surveying and for the monitoring of topographic change at sub‐centimetric accuracies. Despite this, measurements of the phase are still only available modulo 2π and this leads to an ambiguity problem that is usually not explicitly resolved.This paper presents a generalised method for the precise determination of the phase ambiguity that is independent of datum and projection biases. The method is based on those applied to Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals and shows that the far‐field approximation is insufficient for precise positioning. Geometric similarities between InSAR and radargrammetry are highlighted. The solution presented allows the geolocation of a target to an accuracy limited only by the accuracy of the transmit–receive time of the sensor.
Aerial survey for archaeology
Authors: Bewley Robert H. 
Published: November 2003

AbstractAerial photography for archaeology has been developing its approaches and techniques over the past 100 years so that it now integrates the results of reconnaissance with extensive interpretative and analytical surveys. This paper introduces the philosophy and approach of the English Heritage (EH) Aerial Survey team, covering aerial reconnaissance and the National Mapping Programme (NMP), as well as the potential developments and opportunities in Europe. In the 1980s there was a debate over the nature of the evidence derived from aerial photographs, especially how to describe archaeological features. As part of NMP a classification and recording system has been devised which meets most of the users’ needs, be they national organisations, county archaeologists, commercial contractors or university‐based researchers. The maps and records produced by NMP are used to further our understanding of the past human settlement in England, not only at the individual site level, but also in regional or landscape contexts. This paper provides an overview of the current progress of NMP and acts as an entrée for explaining the current research and recording of archaeological landscapes throughout Europe. Recent developments in Britain and Europe have provided the opportunity for a greater priority to be given to aerial survey and accelerating programmes of mapping. In Europe the ending of the cold war has allowed greater access to aerial photographs and the possibility of beginning new reconnaissance, as well as introducing new forms of remote sensing. All these developments have led to a transformation of our understanding of prehistoric, Roman and medieval archaeology.
Characterization of the bovine BCL2L1 gene and related pseudogenes
Authors: Amills M. , Bouzat J. L. 
Published: November 2003

SummaryWe have amplified and characterized partial regions of exons 2 and 3 of the bovine BCL2L1 gene, one of the anti‐apoptotic members of the B‐cell lymphoma 2 gene family. Cloning and sequencing of the amplified products revealed the existence of several BCL2L1‐related sequences, including the bovine BCL2L1 gene and various processed pseudogenes. The bovine BCL2L1 gene revealed two polymorphic nucleotide sequences that resulted in two protein variants, with amino acid replacements at positions 60 and 69. In addition, we report three bovine BCL2L1‐related sequences (BCL2L1ψ) that probably correspond to intronless processed pseudogenes. These BCL2L1ψ pseudogene sequences have accumulated multiple substitutions, deletions and insertions that translated into stop codons or changed the open reading frame of the functional gene. We provide evidence suggesting that the retro‐transposition event that originated these processed pseudogenes took place before the divergence of the Cervidae and Bovidae families.
Pulsed UV‐light treatment of corn meal for inactivation of Aspergillus niger spores
Authors: Jun Soojin , Irudayaraj Joseph , Demirci Ali , Geiser David 
Published: November 2003

SummaryFungal contamination of grains, intended for human and animal consumption, during the pre/post‐harvest periods has been a recurring health hazard. A pulsed UV‐light system was used to inactivate fungal spores of Aspergillus niger in corn meal. Response surface methodology was utilized for experimental design. The three process parameters evaluated were treatment time (20–100 s), voltage input (2000–3800 V), and distance from the UV strobe (3–13 cm). Optimization of the process parameters was validated by a quadratic regression equation designed to fit the experimental log10 reduction of fungal spores. Model prediction for a 100‐s treatment time, 3 cm of distance from the UV strobe, and with 3800 V input gave a 4.93log10 reduction of A. niger. Modification of the pulsed UV‐light system was recommended to maximize the UV fungal disinfection while minimizing the heat generation.
Maintaining postharvest quality of raspberries with natural volatile compounds
Authors: Wang Chien Y. 
Published: November 2003

SummaryThe postharvest quality of raspberries (Rubus idaeus L.) was evaluated after treatment with several natural volatile compounds and storage at 0, 10 or 20 °C. At high storage temperature (20 °C), raspberries deteriorated rapidly and none of the natural volatile compounds that were used were effective in extending storage life of the fruit. At low storage temperature (0 °C), little difference could be discerned among the various volatile treatments. However, at 10 °C storage, raspberries treated with methyl jasmonate (MJ), allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), tea tree oil (TTO), or absolute ethyl alcohol had less decay. MJ‐ and TTO‐treated fruit also maintained higher levels of sugars, organic acids and oxygen radical absorbance capacity compared with untreated fruit. Samples treated with acetic acid or vinegar vapour did not differ from control fruit. Measurement of oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations within the containers during storage revealed that none of the treatments caused accumulation or depletion of these gases to a level that would be harmful to raspberries. Colour measurements of the berries showed that all raspberry fruit became darker and less red after storage, but fruit treated with MJ were found to have the highest intensity of red colour while AITC application caused the berries to appear lighter in colour.