bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Treatment of primary Raynaud's syndrome with traditional Chinese acupuncture
Authors: APPIAH R. , HILLER S. , CASPARY L. , ALEXANDE K. , CREUTZIG A. 
Published: November 2003

Objective. Evaluation of the effects of a standardized acupuncture treatment in primary Raynaud's syndrome.
Design. A controlled randomized prospective study.
Setting. A winter period of 23 weeks, angiological clinic of Hannover Medical School.
Subjects. Thirty‐three patients with primary Raynaud's syndrome (16 control, 17 treatment).
Interventions. The patients of the treatment group were given seven acupuncture treatments during the weeks 10 and 11 of the observation period.
Main outcome measures. All patients kept a diary throughout the entire observation period noting daily frequency, duration and severity of their vasospastic attacks. A local cooling test combined with nailfold capillaroscopy was performed for all patients at baseline (week 1) and in weeks 12 and 23, recording flowstop reactions of the nailfold capillaries.
Results. The treated patients showed a significant decrease in the frequency of attacks from 1.4 day‐1 to 0.6 day‐1, P<0.01 (control 1.6 to 1.2, P=0.08). The overall reduction of attacks was 63% (control 27%, P=0.03). The mean duration of the capillary flowstop reaction decreased from 71 to 24 s (week 1 vs. week 12, P=0.001) and 38 s (week 1 vs. week 23, P=0.02) respectively. In the control group the changes were not significant.
Conclusions. These findings suggest that traditional Chinese acupuncture is a reasonable alternative in treating patients with primary Raynaud's syndrome.
Alcohol and coronary heart disease: the roles of HDL‐cholesterol and smoking
Authors: MÄNTTÄRI M. , TENKANEN L. , ALIKOSKI T. , MANNINEN V. 
Published: November 2003

Objectives. To study the role of HDL‐cholesterol (HDLc) in the causal pathway mediating the effect of alcohol on coronary heart disease (CHD).
Design. Cox proportional hazard models were used to compare the relative CHD risks in various HDLc–smoking categories.
Setting. A prospective, multicentre, placebo‐controlled, double‐blind CHD primary prevention trial with gemfibrozil in primary (occupational) health care units, the Helsinki Heart Study.
Subjects. Dyslipidaemic middle‐aged men with available alcohol consumption data (1924 of 2035) in the placebo arm of the 5‐year study.
Main outcome measures. Seventy‐seven (of 84) cases of nonfatal myocardial infarction or cardiac death.
Results. A U‐shaped association was detected between alcohol consumption and CHD. The protection was found both in subjects with low (mean 0.94 mmol L−1) and normal (mean 1.25 mmol L−1) HDLc with corresponding reductions of 23% and 36% in relative risks. In contrast to previous data, alcohol offered virtually no protection against CHD in non‐smokers. In subjects consuming more than 800 g pure ethanol annually, the CHD incidence was 6/1000 in subjects with more than three weekly drinking occasions, compared to 11/1000 in ‘weekend’ drinkers.
Conclusions. Our results confirm the protective effect of alcohol against CHD. However, in contrast to previous data the effect in our population is restricted to smokers and the role of HDLc in mediating the effect is less central than suggested previously.
Quantitative X‐ray imaging of labelled molecules in tissues and cells
Authors: KIRK R. G. , GATES M. E. , CHANG CHUN‐SHIA , LEE P. 
Published: November 2003

Using cisplatin as a model system, we have been able to demonstrate the feasibility of studying the cellular and subcellular distribution of a labelled molecule containing a single atom of platinum per molecule in bone marrow. An X‐ray imaging system consisting of a microcomputer, a 4pi system and a software package was interfaced with an electron microscope enabling the computer to control the beam movements as well as receive signals from the STEM and EDS X‐ray detectors. X‐ray imaging is useful for both tissue and samples in which the population of cells is not homogeneous. Imaging permits elemental distributions to be measured throughout the sample and not in just randomly selected areas as previously done in X‐ray microanalysis. Images are created for not only the element labelling the molecule of interest but also other specified elements present.Three types of maps for imaging labelled molecules are compared and discussed. When the original (collected) data are mapped, the elements of interest are obscured by the continuum. The maps calculated using an internal standard give a concentration distribution on the basis of volume (mmol L−1 of packed cells). The maps calculated using the continuum normalization method according to Hall produces concentration distribution on the basis of mass (mmol kg−1 dry weight). By recalculating using the ‘Peak’ or ‘Hall’ method the continuum problem is removed yielding quantitative images of the intracellular distribution of labelled molecules present in low concentrations.
Edge‐corrected estimators of the nearest‐neighbour distance distribution function for three‐dimensional point patterns
Authors: REED M. G. , HOWARD C. V. 
Published: November 2003

In multiphase systems consisting of ‘particles’ embedded in a matrix the three‐dimensional spatial distribution of the particles may represent important structural information. In systems where the matrix is transparent or translucent recent developments in microscopy allow the three‐dimensional location of particles to be recorded. Using these data a spatial statistical, or second‐order stereological, analysis can be carried out. In second‐order stereology functions of interparticle distances are used as summary statistics of the spatial distributions. These statistics show whether the particles are randomly arranged or, more commonly, either clustered together or inhibited from close approach to each other. This paper focuses on the estimation of one of these spatial statistics, the nearest‐neighbour distance distribution function or G‐function. In practice, estimation of the G‐function is plagued by an ‘edge‐effect’ bias introduced by the sampling process itself. There exist a number of G‐function estimators that tackle this edge effect problem; for single sample ‘bricks’ it can be shown that these estimators become increasingly accurate as the brick size increases, i.e. they are consistent. However, in many practical cases the size of a sampling brick is fixed by experimental constraints and in these circumstances the only way to increase sample size is to take replicated sampling regions.In this paper we review a number of existing G‐function estimators and propose a new estimator. These estimators are compared using the criterion of how well they overcome the edge‐effect when they are applied to replicated samples of a fixed size of brick. These comparisons were made using Monte‐Carlo simulation methods; the results show that three existing estimators are clearly unsuitable for estimating the G‐function from replicated sample bricks. Of the other estimators the recommended estimator depends upon the number of replicates taken; however, we conclude that if a total of more than about 800 points are analysed then the bias in the pooled estimate of the G‐function can be reduced to tolerable levels.
Double‐pulse fluorescence lifetime measurements
Authors: Buist A. H. , Müller M. , Gijsbers E. J. , Brakenhoff G. J. , Sosnowski T. S. , Norris T. B. , Squier J. 
Published: November 2003

It is demonstrated that fluorescence lifetimes in the nanosecond and picosecond time‐scale range can be observed with the recently proposed double‐pulse fluorescence lifetime imaging technique (Müller et al., 1995, Double‐pulse fluorescence lifetime imaging in confocal microscopy. J. Microsc177, 171–179).A laser source with an optical parametric amplifier (OPA) system is used to obtain short pulse durations needed for high time resolution, wavelength tunability for selective excitation of specific fluorophores and high pulse energies to obtain (partial) saturation of the optical transition.It is shown that fluorescence lifetimes can be determined correctly also with nonuniform saturation conditions over the observation area.A correction scheme for the effect on the measurements of laser power fluctuations, which are inherently present in OPA systems, is presented. Measurements on bulk solutions of Rhodamine B and Rhodamine 6G in different solvents confirm the experimental feasibility of accessing short fluorescence lifetimes with this technique.Because signal detection does not require fast electronics, the technique can be readily used for fluorescence lifetime imaging in confocal microscopy, especially when using bilateral scanning and cooled CCD detection.
Detection of low phosphorus contents in neurofilaments of squid axons by Image‐EELS contrast spectroscopy
Authors: Door R. , Richter K. , Martin R. 
Published: November 2003

We show that Image‐EELS is suitable for detecting relatively low phosphorus concentrations in very small axoplasmic structures of squid axons. Imaging plates and a CCD camera were used as electron sensors. From image series spanning a certain energy‐loss range EELS (electron energy‐loss spectra) were derived by averaging read‐outs from many axoplasmic particles (APs). The ratio of these spectra to spectra of the background was plotted, showing the contrast modulation as a function of the energy loss. This new approach is called EELC (electron energy‐loss‐dependent contrast spectroscopy). A distinct phosphorus signal was found in APs of presynaptic terminals of the squid giant synapse, in the peripheral giant axon and, as controls, in ribosomes. Biochemical experiments supported this result. In neurofilament‐enriched pellets a phosphorus signal could be directly detected by serial EELS and in electron spectroscopic micrographs. After dephosphorylation of either the pellets or the extruded axoplasm with alkaline phosphatase, phosphorus signals in electron spectroscopic micrographs were absent or much reduced in size and intensity.With Image‐EELS inherent limitations of traditional element detection modes in energy filtering transmission electron microscopy can be overcome. Compared with serial EELS, the selective analysis of small areas with irregular shape is possible with greatly improved signal‐to‐noise ratio. The identification of the element‐peak in Image‐EEL spectra directly proves the presence of the element within the region of interest. For small peaks, the visualization is facilitated by the contrast presentation (EELC). However, the background subtraction modes used for elemental mapping in electron spectroscopic imaging are subject to uncertainties when elemental ionization edges like the PL2,3 edge are examined.Imaging plates are very sensitive electron sensors with a wide dynamic range. Unlike photographic emulsions, they allow acquisition of image series covering a large energy‐loss range without normalization of exposure times, and direct extraction of EEL spectra. Thus, the combination of Image‐EELS and imaging plates is proposed as an efficient new tool for analytical electron microscopy.
Interface reactions and fracture behaviour of fibre‐reinforced Mg/Al alloys
Authors: FELDHOFF A. , PIPPEL E. , WOLTERSDORF J. 
Published: November 2003

In the composite system carbon fibre/magnesium alloy the interface reactivity was varied over a wide range by adding different amounts of the alloying element aluminium (alloys: AM20, AZ91) and by using carbon fibres of different surface properties (fibres: M40J, T300J). The structure and composition of interlayers in these composites down to the atomic scale as well as their effect on the mechanical properties were studied systematically by the combination of high‐voltage electron microscopy, high‐resolution electron microscopy, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy and electron energy‐loss spectroscopy with scanning electron microscope in situ bending tests. As resulting microstructure and nanochemistry correlate with the micromechanical fracture behaviour of the metal matrix composites, the interface reactivity can be used as a parameter governing the composite properties.In addition to precipitates of aluminium carbide, strongly influencing the fracture behaviour, there are also graphitic carbon ribbons and layers of nanocrystalline magnesium oxide at the fibre/matrix interface.Increasing the reactivity of the composite system, three characteristic modes of fracture behaviour are observed: single fibre pullout, bundle fracture (the optimum composite) and brittle failure.
Confocal imaging and second‐order stereological analysis of a liquid foam
Authors: Reed M. G. , Howard C. V. , Shelton C. G. 
Published: November 2003

Foam structures are found in diverse fields of study; the structure of fire‐fighting foam, upholstery foams and even the head on a pint of beer all share detailed similarities in their microstructure and dynamics. Despite impressive developments in the theory of two‐dimensional foams the challenge in future will be to analyse and model the dynamics of three‐dimensional foams. However, the myriad of gas/liquid interfaces in an aqueous foam make direct imaging of their structure difficult. In this study we circumvent this problem by using fluorescence confocal microscopy to acquire three‐dimensional images of the structure of a coarsening aqueous foam.A stable aqueous foam was created by mixing commercial shaving foam with ethanol and a small amount of fluorescein solution. The foam was imaged in fluorescence mode such that the liquid fraction of the foam, containing the fluorescent dye, could be seen in optical sections. These images could be acquired in three‐dimensional stacks of optical sections up to a depth of about 200 μm. Single images were also acquired as a time series.The time series of single optical section images clearly show the dynamics of the foam. Early images show a structure made mainly of spherical bubbles; later images show the polyhedral structure of the foam which coarsens as a function of time. The polyhedral nature of the foams is shown particularly clearly in stereo pair images of the three‐dimensional image sets. The three‐dimensional images of the foams were also analysed using second‐order stereology (statistical summaries of spatial distribution). The x, y and z coordinates of the foam vertices were extracted from the images and used to compute the nearest neighbour (G‐function) and reduced second moment (K‐function) statistics. These statistics allow quantification of the range of length scales found in the foams. These results form part of an ongoing study of the coarsening of aqueous foams.
Pharmacokinetics of intravenous and intragastric cimetidine in horses I. Effects of intravenous cimetidine on pharmacokinetics of intravenous phenylbutazone
Authors: SAMS R.A. , GERKEN D.F. , DYKE T.M. , REED S.M. , ASHCRAFT S.M. 
Published: November 2003

Cimetidine was administered intravenously and by the intragastric route to six mares at a dose of 4.0 mg/kg of body weight (bw). Specific and sensitive high performance liquid chromatographic methods for the determination of cimetidine in horse plasma and urine and cimetidine sulfoxide in urine are described. Plasma cimetidine concentration vs. time data were analysed by non‐linear least squares regression analysis to determine pharmacokinetic parameter estimates. The median (range) plasma clearance (Cl) was 8.20 (4.96–10.2) mL/min.kg of body weight, that of the steady‐state volume of distribution (Vdss) was 0.771 (0.521–1.15) L/kg bw, and that of the terminal elimination half‐life (t½β) was 92.4 (70.6–125) minutes. The median (range) renal clearance of cimetidine was 4.08 (2.19–6.23) mL/min.kg bw or 55.4 (36.3–81.8)% of the corresponding plasma clearance. Cimetidine sulfoxide was excreted in urine and its urinary excretion through 8 h accounted for 12.0 (9.8–16.6)% of the plasma clearance of cimetidine. The median (range) extent of intragastric bioavailability was 14.4 (6.82–21.8)% and the maximum plasma concentration after intragastric administration was 0.31 (0.24–0.50) μg/mL.Intravenous cimetidine had no effect on the disposition of intravenous phenylbutazone or its metabolites except that the maximum plasma concentration of γ‐hydroxyphenylbutazone was less after cimetidine treatment.
Corneal concentrations and preliminary toxicological evaluation of an itraconazole/dimethyl sulphoxide ophthalmic ointment
Authors: Ball M. A. , Rebhun W. C. , Trepanier L. , Gaarder J. , SCHWARK W. S. 
Published: November 2003

The objectives of this study were to determine the concentration of itraconazole achieved in corneal tissue and aqueous humour after topical application of a 1% itraconazole ointment; to determine the effect of including dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) in the ointment on achievable ocular tissue itraconazole concentrations; and to assess if any gross or histopathologic ocular toxicity results from the topical application of 1% itraconazole with or without the addition of DMSO.The experimental trial consisted of 6 horses considered to have normal eyes. Each horse had one eye treated with 0.3 mL of 1% ultra‐micronized itraconazole ointment and the fellow eye with 0.3 mL of 1% itraconazole/30% DMSO ointment. The ointment was applied every 6 h for a total of 28 treatments. Both ointments were well tolerated and no gross or histopathologic abnormalities developed during the trial.Corneal tissue and aqueous humour concentrations of itraconazole were determined using high performance liquid chromatography. Corneal tissue concentration averaged 1.1 (± 0.4) μg/g in horses treated with the 1% ultra‐micronized itraconazole ointment and 7.9 (± 3.3) μg/g for those treated with the 1% itraconazole/30% DMSO ointment; there was a statistically significant difference between ointments (P= 0.005) No itraconazole could be detected in the aqueous humour in either treatment group.
Population genetic structure of the butterfly Melitaea didyma (Nymphalidae) along a northern distribution range border
Authors: JOHANNESEN J. , VEITH M. , SEITZ A. 
Published: November 2003

AbstractThe population genetic structure of the butterfly Melitaea didyma was studied along the northern distribution range border in Central Germany by means of allozyme electrophoresis. Individuals were sampled from a total of 21 habitat patches from four regions, and two provinces. Sampling was designed to estimate local vs. regional differentiation. High levels of variability were found, He= 0.14‐0.21. The mean expected sample heterozygosity from one region, Mosel, was significantly lower than from the Hammelburg region, He= 0.17 and 0.19, respectively. Two hierarchical levels of genetic differentiation were found. Within regions individuals sampled from different patches behaved as belonging to one population with high levels of gene flow (Hammelburg FST= 0.015, Mosel FST= 0.044), though local isolation barriers did create a substructuring of these populations. The inbreeding coefficients, FIS, were constant over all sample levels, suggesting a similar distribution of habitat patches within regions. Between regions gene flow was limited. An isolation by distance analysis indicated that the hierarchical structure, at the provincial level, may be breaking down due to isolation of regional populations. A more general observation was that the sampling design may greatly have influenced the estimation of genetic differentiation. Depending on which samples were included, overall FST estimates ranged from 0.059‐0.090.
Low genetic variability of the koala Phascolarctos cinereus in south‐eastern Australia following a severe population bottleneck
Authors: HOULDEN B. A. , ENGLAND P. R. , TAYLOR A. C. , GREVILLE W. D. , SHERWIN W. B. 
Published: November 2003

AbstractGenotyping of koalas at CA‐repeat microsatellite loci has revealed significant differences in the levels of allelic diversity (A) and expected heterozygosity (HE) between populations from north‐eastern and south‐eastern Australia. In the 10 populations studied, allelic diversity ranged from 8.0 in the Nowendoc population to 1.7 in the Kangaroo Is. population, and values of HE ranged from 0.831 in the Nowendoc population to 0.331 in the Kangaroo Is. population. Data from pooled populations revealed koalas from the northeastern region had significantly higher levels of allelic diversity (A= 11.5 ± 1.4) than those from south‐eastern Australia (A= 5.3 ± 1.0). Furthermore significantly higher heterozygosity levels were found in the north‐eastern (HE= 0.851) vs. the south‐eastern (HE= 0.436) regions of Australia. Following a near‐extinction bottleneck in the 1920s, mainland Victorian and Kangaroo Is. koalas have been involved in an extensive program of relocations. The source populations of the relocated animals were islands in Westernport Bay, which were founded by very few individuals in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The significantly lower levels of variation between south‐eastern Australian populations suggests that human intervention has had a severe effect on levels of genetic diversity in this region, and this may have long‐term genetic consequences.
The evolution of growth‐forms in the Macaronesian genus Aeonium (Crassulaceae) inferred from chloroplast DNA RFLPs and morphology
Authors: MES T. H. M. , HART H. T. 
Published: November 2003

AbstractPhylogenetic relationships among species of Aeonium were studied using morphological characters and chloroplast DNA RFLPs. Cladistic analysis of weighted morphological data indicates that the small, herbaceous and least woody species are basal in the genus. Chloroplast DNA data gave similar results, supporting the separation of the herbaceous or small, woody species from the large, hapaxanth rosettes, rosette trees, and branched subshrubs with yellow, white or red flowers as well as the only (herbaceous) species with axillary inflorescences. The relationships among the species descending from a polytomy that comprises all species of the genus as well as a polytomy which comprises 18 of the 26 species studied, are only very incompletely resolved, except for two monophyletic clades that contain the branched subshrubs with yellow flowers (A. sect. Aeonium) and the branched subshrubs and rosette trees with white or red flowers (A. sect. Leuconium), respectively. Cladistic analysis of the combined morphological and chloroplast DNA data improved resolution considerably. Four monophyletic clades are distinguished, each of which, except for three species, comprises only one of the five main growth‐form types. Although Aeonium is generally regarded as an outstanding example of adaptive radiation, this mode of speciation seems to have been of minor significance in the evolution of the genus, because each growth‐form apparently evolved only once. Instead, island speciation in the absence of major ecological shifts, is probably more important in the evolution of the genus.
Genetic introgression between native and introduced brown trout Salmo trutta L. populations in the Rhone River Basin
Authors: LARGIADER C. R. , SCHOLL A. 
Published: November 2003

AbstractIn the Doubs River (Rhone drainage) two distinct brown trout (S. trutta) phenotypes are observed. One phenotype is locally called Doubs trout and is characterized by four black stripes on the sides, similar to perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) and the other is the common phenotype of the fluviatile ecotype of brown trout, Salmo trutta f. fario. Protein data for three samples from the Doubs show that the Doubs trout belongs to the Mediterranean population group of brown trout, whereas the fario phenotype originates from stocking with hatchery strains of Atlantic basin origin. The two forms, however, do not hybridize freely. This is indicated by considerable gametic phase disequilibrium between alleles of hatchery and Doubs trout at one sampling site, and by lack of intermediate genotypes and phenotypes at another sampling site. The introgression patterns observed at the two sites suggest that differences in local habitat conditions can affect the degree of hybridization and introgression.