bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cellular microchimerism as a lifelong physiologic status in parous women: An immunologic basis for its amplification in patients with systemic sclerosis
Authors: Burastero Samuele E. , Galbiati Silvia , Vassallo Antonia , Sabbadini Maria Grazia , Bellone Matteo , Marchionni Lucia , Smid Maddalena , Ferrero Elisabetta , Ferrari Augusto , Ferrari Maurizio , Cremonesi Laura 
Published: April 2003

AbstractObjectiveTo quantitatively measure male DNA in blood from women with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and from controls and to evaluate in vitro the modulation of the microchimeric cell population size following immunologic stimuli that were expected to trigger antigen‐specific T cells.MethodsA real‐time polymerase chain reaction for a Y chromosome sequence was used to measure male DNA in blood from women with SSc and from controls who gave birth to sons. The in vitro change in the microchimeric cell population size was measured following immunologic stimuli, which were expected to trigger antigen‐specific T cells.ResultsCellular microchimerism was found in SSc patients and controls, but the absolute amount of male DNA was higher in the patients, and the in vitro addition to blood mononuclear cells of an anti‐CD28 costimulatory signal acted as a powerful amplification of microchimeric cells in 3 patients with SSc but not in controls.ConclusionCellular microchimerism is a physiologic phenomenon in parous women. In SSc patients, cellular microchimerism is accounted for by a higher number of cells that have the characteristics of T lymphocytes specific to maternal allogeneic antigens.
Modifications and oxidation of lipids and proteins in human serum detected by thermochemiluminescence
Authors: Shnizer Sergei , Kagan Tamara , Lanir Amos , Maor Irit , Reznick Abraham Z. 
Published: April 2003

AbstractDetection of electronically excited species (EES) in body fluids may constitute an important diagnostic tool in various pathologies. Examples of such products are triplet excited carbonyls (TEC), which can be a source for photon emission in the 400–550 nm range. The aim of the present study was to determine the actual contribution of lipid and protein components (protein carbonyls) to photon emission generated by thermochemiluminescence (TCL) during the heating of biological fluids. In this study, a new TCL Photometer device, designed by Lumitest Ltd, Israel, was used. Samples were heated to a constant temperature of 80 ± 0.5°C for 280 s and photon emission was measured at several time points. In order to compare the results of TCL measurements to conventional methods of detecting lipid and protein oxidation, each examined sample was also heated in a waterbath at 80°C for 10–280 s. Lipid and protein oxidation were subsequently measured using conventional methods. The TCL of four polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) with three to six double bonds was measured. The elevation of the PUFA TCL amplitude correlated with the increase in the number of double bonds of PUFA. A correlation between the increase in TCL intensity and protein carbonyl generation in bovine serum albumin (BSA) was also observed. In the venous blood serum, our study showed that an increase of TCL intensity during heating reflected the cleavage of TEC of lipid origin. Our study suggests that biological molecules such as proteins, lipids and other molecules, which may become unstable during heating, are capable of generating EES. We demonstrated that a TCL curve can be used as a kinetic model for measuring oxidative processes, which reflects modifications of different molecules involved in the oxidative stress phenomena. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Engineering a chemical implementation device and an imaging device for detecting chemiluminescence with a Polaroid™ high‐speed detector film: application to influenza diagnostics with the ZstatFlu®‐II test
Authors: Achyuthan Komandoor E. , Pence Lisa M. , Mantell Daniel R. , Nangeroni Paul E. , Mauchan Donald M. , Aitken William M. , Appleman James R. , Shimasaki Craig D. 
Published: April 2003

AbstractWe describe the engineering and product development of the chemiluminescent ZstatFlu®‐II Test kit for influenza diagnostics. The reaction vessel is a chemical implementation device with a polystyrene bottom chamber and a polypropylene top chamber that screw together. The patient's specimen is dispersed in a proprietary diluent and mixed inside the bottom chamber with the influenza viral neuraminidase‐specific substrate, 1,2‐dioxetane‐4,7‐dimethoxy‐Neu5Ac. Neuraminidase catalysis releases the dioxetane. The top chamber contains 40% NaOH and is sealed at the top with an ABS plastic plug‐crush pin assembly. The top chamber floor is 85% thinner at the centre, forming a frangible flap. An automated imaging device serves as an incubator for the chemical implementation devices and also facilitates the piercing of the flap by the crush pin. This action results in NaOH flushing into the bottom chamber, initiating chemiluminescence. The imaging device also exposes the Polaroid™ high‐speed detector film to chemiluminescence. At the end of exposure, the film is automatically processed and ejected. Chemiluminescence from an influenza virus‐positive specimen produces a ‘+’‐shaped white image, archiving the diagnostic outcome. The modular ZstatFlu®‐II test kit components are easily adaptable for the chemiluminescent detection of a wide range of analytes. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Chiral aspects of metabolism of antiinflammatory drug flobufen in human hepatocytes
Authors: Skálová Lenka , Král Radim , Szotáková Barbora , Babú Yogeeta N. , Pichard‐Garcia Lydiane , Wsól Vladimír 
Published: April 2003

AbstractThe metabolism of the nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug flobufen, 4‐(2′,4′‐difluorobiphenyl‐4‐yl)‐2‐methyl‐4‐oxobutanoic acid, was studied in primary cultures of human hepatocytes prepared by two‐step collagenase perfusion of livers from four donors. Racemic flobufen or its individual enantiomers, R‐(+)‐ and S‐(–)‐flobufen were used as substrates. Aliquots of culture medium were collected during 24‐h incubation. The time‐dependent disappearance of flobufen enantiomers and the formation of metabolites (stereoisomers of dihydroflobufen (DHF)) in hepatocytes were measured by chiral HPLC. The reduction of flobufen in human hepatocytes was stereoselective ((+)‐R‐flobufen was preferentially metabolized) and stereospecific ((2R;4S)‐DHF and (2S;4S)‐DHF stereoisomers were mostly formed). Although the structure of flobufen is different from the profens (2‐arylpropionates), flobufen undergoes chiral inversion in human hepatocytes. The inversion of R‐(+)‐flobufen to S‐(–)‐flobufen predominates. The individual DHF stereoisomers were incubated in hepatocyte cultures and their biotransformation studied. The unidirectional chiral inversion of (2S;4S)‐DHF to (2R;4S)‐DHF and (2R;4R)‐DHF to (2S;4R)‐DHF was observed. Stereoselective oxidation of the DHFs to flobufen was also detected. Thus, flobufen metabolism in primary cultures of human hepatocytes is much more complicated (via chiral inversion and DHF re‐oxidation) than was presumed from a preliminary achiral point of view. Chirality 15:433–440, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Synaptology of trigemino‐ and spinothalamic lamina I terminations in the posterior ventral medial nucleus of the macaque
Authors: Beggs J. , Jordan S. , Ericson A.‐C. , Blomqvist A. , Craig A.D. 
Published: April 2003

AbstractWe used the electron microscope to examine lamina I trigemino‐ and spinothalamic (TSTT) terminations in the posterior part of the ventral medial nucleus (VMpo) of the macaque thalamus. Lamina I terminations were identified by anterograde labeling with biotinylated dextran, and 109 boutons on 38 terminal fibers were closely studied in series of ultrathin sections. Five unlabeled terminal boutons of similar appearance were also examined in detail. Three‐dimensional, volume‐rendered computer models were reconstructed from complete series of serial sections for 29 boutons on 10 labeled terminal fibers and one unlabeled terminal fiber. In addition, postembedding immunogold staining for GABA was obtained in alternate sections through 23 boutons. Lamina I TSTT terminations in VMpo generally have several large boutons (mean length = 2.16 μm, mean width = 1.29 μm) that are densely packed with vesicles and make asymmetric synaptic contacts on low‐order dendrites of VMpo neurons (mean diameter 1.45 μm). They are closely associated with GABAergic presynaptic dendrites (PSDs), and nearly all form classic triadic arrangements (28 of 29 reconstructed boutons). Consecutive boutons on individual terminal fibers make multiple contacts with a single postsynaptic dendrite and can show evidence of progressive complexity. Dendritic appendages that enwrap and invaginate the terminal bouton constitute additional anatomic evidence for secure, high‐fidelity synaptic transfer. These observations provide direct ultrastructural evidence supporting the hypothesis that VMpo is a lamina I TSTT thalamocortical relay nucleus in primates that subserves pain, temperature, itch, and other sensations related to the physiological condition of the body. J. Comp. Neurol. 459:334–354, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Olivocochlear efferent innervation of the organ of corti in hypothyroid rats
Authors: Cantos Raquel , López Dolores E. , Merchán Jaime A. , Rueda Joaquín 
Published: April 2003

AbstractCongenital hypothyroidism induces developmental abnormalities in the auditory receptor, causing deafness due to a poor development of the outer hair cells (OHCs) and a lack of synaptogenesis between these cells and the olivocochlear axons. This efferent innervation is formed by two separate systems: the lateral system, which originates in the lateral superior olive (LSO) and reaches the inner hair cells; and the medial system, which originates in the ventral nucleus of the trapezoid body (VNTB) and innervates the OHCs. A previous study carried out in our laboratory showed that in congenitally hypothyroid animals, the neurons which give rise to the efferent system are normal in number and distribution, although smaller in size. The aim of the present work was to study the efferent fibers in the auditory receptor of hypothyroid animals, by means of stereotaxic injections of biotinylated dextran amine in the nuclei that give rise to the olivocochlear system: LSO and VNTB. In hypothyroid animals, injections in LSO gave rise to lateral olivocochlear fibers lacking their characteristic dense terminal arbors, while injections in the VNTB‐labeled fibers terminating in the spiral bundle region, far from the OHCs with which they normally contact. In the latter case, only a small percentage of labeled fibers reached the OHCs area, giving off only two radial branches maximum. Because the number of neurons which develop into the efferent innervation was normal in hypothyroid animals, we conclude that medial fibers may contact a new target. J. Comp. Neurol. 459:454–467, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Melanopsin retinal ganglion cells receive bipolar and amacrine cell synapses
Authors: Belenky Michael A. , Smeraski Cynthia A. , Provencio Ignacio , Sollars Patricia J. , Pickard Gary E. 
Published: April 2003

AbstractMelanopsin is a novel opsin synthesized in a small subset of retinal ganglion cells. Ganglion cells expressing melanopsin are capable of depolarizing in response to light in the absence of rod or cone input and are thus intrinsically light sensitive. Melanopsin ganglion cells convey information regarding general levels of environmental illumination to the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the intergeniculate leaflet, and the pretectum. Typically, retinal ganglion cells communicate information to central visual structures by receiving input from retinal photoreceptors via bipolar and amacrine cells. Because melanopsin ganglion cells do not require synaptic input to generate light‐induced signals, these cells need not receive synapses from other neurons in the retina. In this study, we examined the ultrastructure of melanopsin ganglion cells in the mouse retina to determine the type (if any) of synaptic input these cells receive. Melanopsin immunoreaction product was associated primarily with the plasma membrane of (1) perikarya in the ganglion cell layer, (2) dendritic processes in the inner plexiform layer (IPL), and (3) axons in the optic fiber layer. Melanopsin‐immunoreactive dendrites in the inner (ON) region of the IPL were postsynaptic to bipolar and amacrine terminals, whereas melanopsin dendrites stratifying in the outer (OFF) region of the IPL received only amacrine terminals. These observations suggested that rod and/or cone signals may be capable of modifying the intrinsic light response in melanopsin‐expressing retinal ganglion cells. J. Comp. Neurol. 460:380–393, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Direct input from cochlear root neurons to pontine reticulospinal neurons in albino rat
Authors: Nodal Fernando R. , López Dolores E. 
Published: April 2003

AbstractThe cochlear root neurons (CRNs) are thought to mediate the auditory startle reflex (ASR) in the rat, which is widely used as a behavioral model for the investigation of the sensorimotor integration. CRNs project, among other targets, to the nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis (PnC), a major component of the ASR circuit, but little is known about the organization of this projection. Thus, we injected biotinylated dextran amine (BDA) in CRNs to study their projections with light and electron microscopy. Also, we performed double‐labeling experiments, injecting BDA in the CRNs and subunit B of the cholera toxin or Fluorogold in the spinal cord to verify that CRNs project onto reticulospinal neurons. Electron microscopy of the labeled CRNs axons and terminals showed that even their most central and thinnest processes are myelinated. Most of the terminals are axodendritic, with multiple asymmetric synapses, and contain round vesicles (50 nm diameter). Double‐labeling experiments demonstrated that CRN terminals are apposed to retrogradely labeled reticulospinal neurons in the contralateral nucleus reticularis PnC and bilaterally in the lateral paragigantocellular nucleus. Analyses of serial sections revealed that multiple CRNs synapse on single reticulospinal neurons in PnC, suggesting a convergence of auditory information. The morphometric features of these neurons classify them as giant neurons. This study confirms that CRNs project directly onto reticulospinal neurons and presents other anatomical features of the CRNs that contribute to a better understanding of the circuitry of the ASR in the rat. J. Comp. Neurol. 460:80–93, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Optimum filter theory for quasi‐periodic signals
Authors: Nishi Kazuki 
Published: April 2003

AbstractAn optimum filter is designed for separating quasi‐periodic signals (those with amplitude and period changing randomly but a rough periodicity kept) in a noisy environment. In the first half of the paper, a Wiener filter is derived with steadiness assumed in the variations of the amplitude and fundamental frequency. It is shown that the frequency characteristics are (1) comb characteristics of a constant BW (bandwidth) type if only the amplitude variations are taken into consideration, (2) comb characteristics of a constant Q type if only the variations of the fundamental frequency are taken into account, and (3) comb characteristics transitional from a constant BW type to a constant Q type as the harmonic changes from a lower order to a higher order when both are taken into account. In the latter half of the paper, a Kalman filter analysis is carried out for the case in which the statistical nature of the amplitude/fundamental frequency variations is time‐varying. The random nature of the complex phase term is treated as state‐dependent noise. By describing the signal model in terms of the Ito probability differential equation, the Kalman filter equation for the use of this model as a state space model is solved. In particular, it is shown by approximate solution that the center frequency and occupancy bandwidth of each narrow‐band filter are determined to follow the variations of the amplitude and fundamental frequency. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 3, 86(9): 43–53, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjc.10067
A self‐stabilizing max‐heap protocol in tree networks
Authors: Ukena Satoshige , Hasegawa Manabu , Katayama Yoshiaki , Masuzawa Toshimitsu , Fujiwara Hideo 
Published: April 2003

AbstractA fault‐tolerant protocol is important in a distributed system consisting of processes that are interconnected in a network. One prominent technique used for implementing fault tolerance is a self‐stabilizing protocol. A self‐stabilizing protocol stabilizes in obtaining a solution regardless of the network status from which execution begins. This property enables a self‐stabilizing protocol to tolerate arbitrary transient faults. This paper uses a self‐stabilizing protocol for implementing interprocess synchronization in a tree network to propose a self‐stabilizing protocol for configuring a heap‐ordered tree. The proposed protocol for configuring the heap‐ordered tree, which has stabilizing time O(h) and space complexity of each process O(K), has improved both the stabilizing time and space complexity compared with other known results (where h is the height of the tree and K is the input size). © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 3, 86(9): 63–72, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjc.10109
An occlusion‐robust tracking algorithm based on a spatiotemporal Markov random field model
Authors: Kamijo Shunsuke , Matsushita Yasuyuki , Ikeuchi Katsushi , Sakauchi Masao 
Published: April 2003

AbstractThe tracking of vehicles on images is important as a baseline technology for applying ITS image processing to the detection of abnormal phenomena such as accidents. However, up to now one of the most difficult problems in vehicle tracking has been occlusion, which creates a difficult environment for realizing stable tracking. This has been particularly true in our research, because our objects of study are large intersections in which an average of 20 vehicles are present at the same time, of various sizes and shapes, and so on. The various motions of these vehicles also generate various conditions under which occlusion can occur. In tracking under these circumstances, it is necessary to use a paradigm different from those used previously, which assume a model of rectilinear motion, largely vacant intersections, predictions based on straight‐line trajectories, and specific vehicle shapes. To solve this problem, we developed an algorithm that makes use of the Markov random field (MRF) model, generalized beyond a single image to include temporal sequences of images, and evaluated its degree of accuracy based on spatiotemporal correlation of textures from one image to the one immediately following it and the connection of loci followed by the moving bodies. The results were further optimized by stochastic relaxation of the energy distributions exhibited by images from this space‐time MRF, which makes the tracking robust against various forms of occlusion. We applied this space‐time MRF to image data taken over about 25 minutes, tracking 3214 vehicles moving through an intersection under conditions of heavy congestion. Our results showed that the tracking was successful with a 99% probability when the vehicles being tracked generated no occlusions, while for the 541 cars that did cause occlusions the probability of successfully tracking multiple cars and distinguishing the separate vehicles through the occlusions was 95%. Because this algorithm uses information obtained from black‐and‐white images only, and can be implemented without any prior hypotheses about the vehicle's shape etc., it is useful over long periods of time and under a broad range of conditions. For this reason, we anticipate that it will be effective for detecting accidents and other anomalies in traffic at intersections. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 3, 86(9): 73–86, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www. interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjc.10110
Numerical simulation of disperse multiphase flows with an application in power engineering
Authors: Bernert K. , Frank Th. , Schneider H. , Pachler K. 
Published: April 2003

AbstractThis paper deals with the numerical simulation of two‐phase flows based on the solution of the Navier–Stokes equations with a k–εturbulence model for the gas phase and a particle tracking model of the disperse phase fulfilling the framework of the Eulerian–Lagrangian (PSI‐Cell) approach. The numerical procedures for the two phases are based on the domain decomposition method applied to a block‐structured grid. The complete code is parallelized for computers of MIMD architecture. The paper gives a description of the numerical methods with special attention to the parallelization. Some test calculations demonstrate the performance of the code. The numerical simulation of a flow splitter from the field of power engineering is presented as an example for a real world application of the method. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Candidate‐gene association studies with pedigree data: Controlling for environmental covariates
Authors: Slager S.L. , Schaid D.J. , Wang L. , Thibodeau S.N. 
Published: April 2003

AbstractCase‐control studies provide an important epidemiological tool to evaluate candidate genes. There are many different study designs available. We focus on a more recently proposed design, which we call a multiplex case‐control (MCC) design. This design compares allele frequencies between related cases, each of whom are sampled from multiplex families, and unrelated controls. Since within‐family genotype correlations will exist, statistical methods will need to take this into account. Moreover, there is a need to develop methods to simultaneously control for potential confounders in the analysis. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) are one approach to analyze this type of data; however, this approach can have singularity problems when estimating the correlation matrix. To allow for modeling of other covariates, we extend our previously developed method to a more general model‐based approach. Our proposed methods use the score statistic, derived from a composite likelihood. We propose three different approaches to estimate the variance of this statistic. Under random ascertainment of pedigrees, score tests have correct type I error rates; however, pedigrees are not randomly ascertained. Thus, through simulations, we test the validity and power of the score tests under different ascertainment schemes, and an illustration of our methods, applied to data from a prostate cancer study, is presented. We find that our robust score statistic has estimated type I error rates within the expected range for all situations we considered whereas the other two statistics have inflated type I error rates under nonrandom ascertainment schemes. We also find GEE to fail at least 5% of the time for each simulation configuration; at times, the failure rate reaches above 80%. In summary, our robust method may be the only current regression analysis method available for MCC data. Genet Epidemiol 24:273–283, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A new spatio‐temporal measurement method using high‐resolution processing
Authors: Quiniou Thomas , El Zein Ghaïs 
Published: April 2003

AbstractA new application for the high‐resolution processing algorithm MUSIC, applied to a rotating antenna, is presented. Experimental results show that significant improvement can be achieved using the proposed method, compared to a low‐directivity rotating antenna. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 37: 329–330, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.10909