bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Movement of cynomolgus and rhesus monkey spermatozoa collected from the lower female reproductive tract
Authors: Behboodi Esmail , Katz David F. , Overstreet James W. , Hendrickx Andrew G. 
Published: February 2005

AbstractPostcoital (pc) cervical mucus was collected in 73 menstrual cycles of cynomolgus monkeys and in 43 cycles of rhesus monkeys at 2,6,10,30 hr pc. Videomicrography was used to analyze sperm numbers and movement in the mucus. Both cynomolgus and rhesus monkeys had comparable populations of motile sperm in the mucus at 2 hr pc. However, by 6 hr pc, cervical mucus from cynomolgus monkeys contained twice as many total sperm and motile sperm as mucus from rhesus monkeys (P <.05). Mean swimming speeds of the free‐swimming cervical sperm were similar for the two species at this time. No motile sperm were recovered in mucus from rhesus monkeys at 30 hr pc. In cynomolgus monkeys, however, 14 of the 26 animals examined at 30 hr pc had motile sperm in their mucus. These sperm exhibited lower percent molility, percent free‐swimming sperm, and swimming speed than those sperm observed at 6 hr pc. Uterine sperm were collected by transcervical or transuterine aspiration from cynomolgus monkeys. In the transcervical technique, sperm were successfully obtained in four of nine animals examined at 6 hr and in four of five animals at 30 hr pc. The percentage of motile sperm in the uterine fluid was high, 82% ± 4%, and the swimming speeds (86 ± 2μm/sec) were higher than those observed in cervical mucus. Approximately 5–10% of the uterine sperm exhibited swimming motions similar to the hyperactivated motility seen in most mammals. These findings indicate that the sperm cervical mucus interaction in vivo in cynomolgus monkeys has more similarities to the human situation than does the interaction in rhesus monkeys.
Effects of bovine mammary alpha‐lactalbumin on hyperactivation and sperm‐zona pellucida binding of mouse spermatozoa
Authors: De Geyter C. H. , Cooper T. G. , De Geyter M. , Nieschlag E. 
Published: February 2005

AbstractThe effects of bovine mammary alpha‐lactalbumin on the motility and zona‐binding characteristics of mouse sperm were investigated. Two properties of sperm associated with capacitation, hyperactivated motility, and the ability of sperm to bind to the zona pellucida of oocytes were shown to be suppressed by alpha‐lactalbumin. These inhibitory effects were not accompanied by changes in the percentage of motile cells or by differences in the velocity parameters of the hyperactivated and non‐hyperactivated spermatozoa. Bovine serum albumin prevented and reversed the alpha‐lactalbumin‐induced suppression of hyperactivation. Sperm‐zona pellucida binding was partially restored by lowering the alpha‐lactalbumin concentration in the medium in which sperm were allowed to bind to the zona pellucida. The results suggest that mouse sperm are decapacitated by bovine mammary alpha‐lactalbumin. The counteracting effect of bovine serum albumin to the suppressive action of alpha‐lactalbumin on the flagellum suggests the involvement of a mechanism different from the action of alpha‐lactalbumin on the sperm head inhibiting binding to the zona pellucida.
A pharmacophore‐based evolutionary approach for screening selective estrogen receptor modulators
Authors: Yang Jinn‐Moon , Shen Tsai‐Wei 
Published: February 2005

AbstractWe developed a pharmacophore‐based evolutionary approach for virtual screening. This tool, termed the Generic Evolutionary Method for molecular DOCKing (GEMDOCK), combines an evolutionary approach with a new pharmacophore‐based scoring function. The former integrates discrete and continuous global search strategies with local search strategies to expedite convergence. The latter, integrating an empirical‐based energy function and pharmacological preferences (binding‐site pharmacological interactions and ligand preferences), simultaneously serves as the scoring function for both molecular docking and postdocking analyses to improve screening accuracy. We apply pharmacological interaction preferences to select the ligands that form pharmacological interactions with target proteins, and use the ligand preferences to eliminate the ligands that violate the electrostatic or hydrophilic constraints. We assessed the accuracy of our approach using human estrogen receptor (ER) and a ligand database from the comparative studies of Bissantz et al. (J Med Chem 2000;43:4759–4767). Using GEMDOCK, the average goodness‐of‐hit (GH) score was 0.83 and the average false‐positive rate was 0.13% for ER antagonists, and the average GH score was 0.48 and the average false‐positive rate was 0.75% for ER agonists. The performance of GEMDOCK was superior to competing methods such as GOLD and DOCK. We found that our pharmacophore‐based scoring function indeed was able to reduce the number of false positives; moreover, the resulting pharmacological interactions at the binding site, as well as ligand preferences, were important to the screening accuracy of our experiments. These results suggest that GEMDOCK constitutes a robust tool for virtual database screening. Proteins 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Non‐surgical management of live ectopic pregnancy with ultrasound‐guided local injection: a case series
Authors: Monteagudo A. , Minior V. K. , Stephenson C. , Monda S. , Timor‐Tritsch I. E. 
Published: February 2005

AbstractObjectivesTo describe a series of consecutive cases of live ectopic pregnancies managed with ultrasound‐guided local injection of methotrexate (MTX) or potassium chloride (KCl).MethodsEighteen consecutive women with live and unruptured, tubal, cornual or cervical ectopic pregnancies referred to our unit for evaluation and management underwent risk–benefit counseling. Under transvaginal ultrasound guidance, puncture and injection of the ectopic pregnancy was performed using an automated puncture device. Either MTX or KCl was injected, producing immediate cessation of fetal cardiac activity.ResultsOf the 18 ectopic pregnancies, 10 were cervical, four were tubal and four were cornual. The mean initial β‐hCG level was 33 412 IU and the mean gestational age was 6 + 6 weeks. Ten ectopic gestational sacs were injected with KCl and eight were injected with MTX. There was no difference in time to resolution of the ectopic pregnancies between those injected with KCl and those with MTX.ConclusionsUnruptured live ectopic pregnancies of many types can be successfully managed without surgical intervention through local injection of KCl or MTX. Copyright © 2005 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Perinatal management of right aortic arch with aberrant left subclavian artery associated with critical stenosis of the subclavian artery in a newborn
Authors: Tschirch E. , Chaoui R. , Wauer R. R. , Schneider M. , Rüdiger M. 
Published: February 2005

AbstractA right‐sided aortic arch with an aberrant left subclavian artery is a congenital vascular anomaly that is easily detectable in utero at the level of the three vessels and trachea view, but which is rarely symptomatic in the neonate. We present a newborn with prenatally diagnosed right‐sided aortic arch and aberrant subclavian artery who showed a clinically relevant stenosis of the subclavian artery during the first week of life. An intravascular stent was implanted into the stenosis of the aberrant left subclavian artery by catheterization. This case report demonstrates that a right‐sided aortic arch with an aberrant subclavian artery can be diagnosed prenatally, that in these patients a stenosis of the subclavian artery can occur in early infancy and requires awareness of the neonatologist or pediatrician, and that stent implantation represents a minimally invasive therapeutic approach. Copyright © 2005 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Measurement of nuchal skin fold thickness in the second trimester: influence of imaging angle and fetal presentation
Authors: Cho J. Y. , Kim K. W. , Lee Y. H. , Toi A. 
Published: February 2005

AbstractObjectiveTo assess the effect of imaging angle and fetal presentation on the measurement of nuchal skin fold thickness (NFT) in the second trimester.MethodsFetal NFT was prospectively measured in 921 women at 18–21 weeks' gestation. The population was divided into two groups according to fetal presentation. Group A comprised 643 fetuses in cephalic or transverse presentation and Group B comprised 278 fetuses in breech presentation. To determine whether there was a difference in NFT depending on imaging angle, in Group A the NFT was measured on the standard axial horizontal images and then on images obtained after moving the transducer about 30° toward the occiput. In Group B an assessment was made as to whether NFT changed with fetal presentation. Initial measurements were made with the fetuses in breech presentation. Repeat NFT measurements were made after 15 min in 64 fetuses that had converted to cephalic or transverse presentation. Statistical analysis was performed using a paired t‐test.ResultsThe mean NFT on the standard horizontal image was 5.2 mm, while that on the 30° occiput image was 4.0 mm. The difference was significant (P < 0.001). One hundred and twenty‐three (19.1%) fetuses had a NFT greater than 6 mm on the standard image, but only two (0.3%) had an NFT of > 6 mm on the 30° occiput image. There were no chromosomal or structural abnormalities in the 123 fetuses in which the NFT was > 6 mm. The mean NFT of 64 fetuses in the breech presentation was 4.4 mm, while it was 3.9 mm when they had converted to other presentations. The difference was statistically significant (P = 0.001). In breech presentation, 13/64 (20.3%) fetuses had a NFT greater than 6 mm compared to only one (1.6%) fetus in the other presentations. There were no structural or chromosomal abnormalities in any fetus with a NFT > 6 mm in either group.ConclusionsIn this study the NFT measurement varied with scan direction and fetal presentation. To avoid falsely thickened NFT measurements the scan should be directed to image the posterior surface of the occipital bone. This can be achieved by scanning from a 30° occipital direction. Also, NFT is greater in fetuses in a breech presentation. Attention to these details can reduce false‐positive NFT measurements. Copyright © 2005 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Prenatal laser treatment of a placental chorioangioma
Authors: Quarello E. , Bernard J.‐P. , Leroy B. , Ville Y. 
Published: February 2005

AbstractLarge placental chorioangiomas are rare complications in pregnancy. We present a case of a placental chorioangioma, complicated by polyhydramnios, in which obliteration of its blood supply using diode laser coagulation at 25 weeks of gestation was followed by an uneventful pregnancy and delivery of a healthy baby with a normal follow‐up at the age of 9 months. Laser coagulation of the feeding vessels seems to be an effective treatment for chorioangiomas when the blood supply is superficial and the feeding vessels are small in diameter. Copyright © 2005 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The completeness of functional logic
Authors: Nickolas Peter 
Published: February 2005

Abstract
A new first-order logic, functional logic, was proposed recently by Staples, Robinson and Hazel. The logic provides a formal means of describing and reasoning about dependence on an implicit parameter, a prime motivation being the unification of the Hoare logic used to reason about procedural programs with the powerful and well established techniques of classical logic. Viewed more abstractly, independently of possible applications, functional logic may be described as a logic with primitives, axioms and inference rules appropriate for reasoning about the properties of mathematical functions. In this paper, the completeness of functional logic is proved; that is, it is shown that any term of a theory in the logic which is true in all models is a theorem.
A formal model of asynchronous communication and its use in mechanically verifying a biphase mark protocol
Authors: Moore J Strother 
Published: February 2005

AbstractWe present a formal model of asynchronous communication between two digital hardware devices. The model takes the form of a function in the Boyer-Moore logic. The function transforms the signal stream generated by one processor into that consumed by an independently clocked processor, given the phases and rates of the two clocks and the communications delay. The model can be used quantitatively to derive concrete performance bounds on communications at ISO protocol level 1 (physical level). We use the model to show that an 18-bit/cell biphase mark protocol reliably sends messages of arbitrary length between two processors provided the ratio of the clock rates is within 5% of unity.
Duration calculus: Logical foundations
Authors: Hansen Michael R. , Chaochen Zhou 
Published: February 2005

AbstractThe Duration Calculus (abbreviated DC) represents a logical approach for formal design of real-time systems, where real numbers are used to model time and Boolean valued functions over time are used to model states and events of real-time systems. Since its introduction, DC has been applied to many case studies and it has been extended in several directions. The aim of this paper is to provide a thorough presentation of the logic.
Running programs backwards: The logical inversion of imperative computation
Authors: Ross Brian J. 
Published: February 2005

AbstractImperative programs can be inverted directly from their forward-directed program code with the use of logical inference. The relational semantics of imperative computations treats programs as logical relations over the observable state of the environment, which is taken to be the state of the variables in memory. Program relations denote both forward and backward computations, and the direction of the computation depends upon the instantiation pattern of arguments in the relation. This view of inversion has practical applications when the relational semantics is treated as a logic program. Depending on the logic programming inference scheme used, execution of this relational program can compute the inverse of the imperative program. A number of nontrivial imperative computations can be inverted with minimal logic programming tools.
A methodology for designing proof rules for fair parallel programs
Authors: Jutla Charanjit S. , Rao Josyula R. 
Published: February 2005

AbstractWe propose a methodology for designing sound and complete proof systems for proving progress properties of parallel programs under various fairness assumptions. Our methodology begins with a branching time temporal logic formula (CTL*) formula that expresses progress under a fairness assumption. The next step obtains an equivalent fixpoint characterization of this CTL*formula in theμ-calculus. The final step uses the fixpoint characterizations to extract proof systems for proving progress under the fairness constraint. The methodology guarantees that the proof rules so obtained are sound and relatively complete in the sense of Cook.
The Use of SI-Algebra in the design of sequencer circuits
Authors: Josephs Mark B. , Bailey Andrew M. 
Published: February 2005

AbstractOne approach to the design of VLSI systems involves the use of asynchronous circuits that communicate by handshaking with each other. The control circuitry generated when following this approach often includes large trees of binary sequencer components. This paper demonstrates that there is scope here for optimization (in order to improve size, speed and energy consumption). Indeed, an industrial-strength silicon compiler has now been modified to take advantage of this fact.The problem that is addressed concerns the design of efficient control circuits that sequenceNfour-phase handshakes (N> 2). Muller's speed-independent discipline facilitates the design of such circuits. SI-Algebra, a calculus that supports that discipline, is used to specify the problem and to verify (using recursion-induction) various implementations. Simple counting arguments at the gate level establish that optimization using these implementations is worthwhile.
The applicability of discrete performance estimation methods to VLSI design
Authors: Williams Alan 
Published: February 2005

Abstract
Conditions necessary to produce correct asymptotic complexity results and realistic performance estimates for VLSI devices, using discrete high-level VLSI complexity models, are examined. A set of design constraints is formulated, based on results from two experiments involving suitably designed and fabricated VLSI devices. The basis of the complexity model is modified so that it satisfies the constraints. A case-study for an integer multiplier design shows that the modified model produces asymptotic results in agreement with empirical measurements. Low-level performance estimates are then obtained using the RC network delay model in conjunction with the VLSI complexity model.
Correct translation of data parallel assignment onto array processors
Authors: Wray J. P. , Stewart A. 
Published: February 2005

Abstract
Two models of computation which are suitable for the description of parallel scientific calculations on large data structures are presented. Data parallel assignment is a construct which may be used to specify the application of a set of order independent fine grained operations to a regular data structure. It is formulated in a machine independent way and, consequently, is suitable for implementation on a range of novel parallel architectures. An operational model of data parallel computation is provided by specifying a model array processor. The specification captures the essential features of the class of array processors and it may be instantiated in order to define a particular machine. A formal operational semantics of data parallel assignment is given for the model array processor. The translation mechanism is shown to be correct. The exercise clarifies some of the issues in deciding whether or not it is feasible to translate data parallel assignment directly onto array processor architectures.
Error in the UNITY substitution rule for subscripted operators
Authors: Prasetya I. S. W. B. 
Published: February 2005

Abstract
UNITY, introduced by Chandy and Misra [ChM88], is a programming logic intended to reason about temporal properties of distributed programs. Despite the fact that UNITY does not have the full power of, for example, linear temporal logic, it enjoys popularity due to its simplicity.
There was however a serious problem with the Substitution Rule. The logic is incomplete without the rule, and with the rule it is inconsistent.
Latterly Beverly Sanders introduced the concept of strongest invariant and proposed a new definition for UNITY [San91] that fixes the problem with the Substitution Rule. For the benefit of program union, she also introduced the concept of subscripted properties and claimed a generalized version of Substitution Rule for the subscripted properties.
This report presents an example that shows that the latter claim is false. A proposal as how to fix this follows.
A layered semantics for a parallel object-oriented language
Authors: America Pierre , Rutten Jan 
Published: February 2005

Abstract
We develop a denotational semantics for POOL, a parallel object-oriented programming language. The main contribution of this semantics is an accurate mathematical model of the most important concept in object-oriented programming: the object. This is achieved by structuring the semantics in layers working at three different levels: for statements, objects and programs. For each of these levels we define a specialized mathematical domain of processes, which we use to assign a meaning to each language construct. This is done in the mathematical framework of complete metric spaces. We also define operators that translate between these domains. At the program level we give a precise definition of the observable input/output behaviour of a particular program, which could be used at a later stage to decide the issue of full abstractness. We illustrate our semantic techniques by first applying them to a toy language similar to CSP.
Transformation of programs for fault-tolerance
Authors: Liu Zhiming , Joseph Mathai 
Published: February 2005

AbstractIn this paper we describe how a program constructed for afault-freesystem can be transformed into afault-tolerantprogram for execution on a system which is susceptible to failures. A program is described by a set of atomic actions which perform transformations from states to states. We assume that a fault environment is represented by a programF. Interference by the fault environmentFon the execution of a programPcan then be described as afault-transformationℱ which transformsPinto a program ℱ(P). This is proved to be equivalent to the programP□PF, wherePFis derived fromPandF, and □ defines the union of the sets of actions ofPandFP. A recovery transformation ℛ transformsPinto a program ℛ(P) =P□Rby adding a set ofrecovery actions R, called arecovery program. If the system isfailstopand faults do not affect recovery actions, we have ℱ(ℛ(P))=ℱ(P)□R=P□PF□RWe illustrate this approach to fault-tolerant programming by considering the problem of designing a protocol that guarantees reliable communication from a sender to a receiver in spite of faults in the communication channel between them.
Verified compilation of communicating processes into clocked circuits
Authors: O'Leary John , Brown Geoffrey , Luk Wayne 
Published: February 2005

AbstractWe have previously developed a verified algorithm for compiling programs written in an occam-like language into delay-insensitive circuits. In this paper we show how to retarget our compiler for clocked circuits. Since verifying a hardware compiler is a huge effort, it is significant that we are able to retarget our compiler proof without recreating that effort.The chief contribution of this paper is the methodology used for retargeting our compiler which is based upon a new model for systems with both synchronous and asynchronous behaviour. The retargeting proof utilizes both theorems proved algebraically by hand and theorems proved automatically by state exploration. The technique of protocol conversion is used extensively in modularizing the proof of the clocked implementation.
Unification: A case-study in data refinement
Authors: Spivey J. M. 
Published: February 2005

Abstract
In this paper, the Z notation is used to develop a small theory of terms and substitutions within which a simple unification algorithm can be specified and proved correct. Particular emphasis is placed on the use of Z's mathematical data types to simplify the development and structure of this theory. The correctness of an abstract version of the algorithm is proved first; this version operates on substitutions by composition. Then data refinement is used to show that the substitutions can be represented by ‘binding functions’ that make composition a particularly efficient operation. The approach taken in this paper is compared with the approaches of three previous papers based on VDM.
The contribution of this paper is to show how data refinement can be used to explain the design decisions behind a non-trivial program, and to provide a point of comparison between Z and VDM approaches to the same problem.
A formal model of explanation
Authors: Todd Bryan S. , Stamper Richard 
Published: February 2005

AbstractAs information systems become more complex, formal methods offer a solution to the increasing problem of ensuring correctness of design and implementation. This paper illustrates the use of mathematical specification to formalise the notion of ‘explanation’. This is relevant to any information system which engages in inference. An information system is regarded as a homogeneous function on states of information. An explanation for a conclusion is regarded as a weakening of the theory relating input to output, such that the same conclusion is reached. As an example, the specification is implemented for a simple statistical classifier to assist medical diagnosis.