bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Entrapment ability and release profile of corticosteroids from starch‐based microparticles
Authors: Silva G. A. , Costa F. J. , Neves N. M. , Coutinho O. P. , Dias A. C. P. , Reis R. L. 
Published: March 2005

AbstractWe previously described the synthesis of starch‐based microparticles that were shown to be bioactive (when combined with Bioactive Glass 45S5) and noncytotoxic. To further assess their potential for biomedical applications such as controlled release, three corticosteroids with a similar basic structure—dexamethasone (DEX), 16α‐methylprednisonole (MP), and 16α‐methylprednisolone acetate (MPA)—were used as models for the entrapment and release of bioactive agents. DEX, MP, and MPA were entrapped into starch‐based microparticles at 10% wt/wt of the starch‐based polymer and the loading efficiencies, as well as the release profiles, were evaluated. Differences were found for the loading efficiencies of the three corticosteroids, with DEX and MPA being the most successfully loaded (82 and 84%, respectively), followed by MP (51%). These differences might be explained based on the differential distribution of the molecules within the matrix of the microparticles. Furthermore, a differential burst release was observed in the first 24 h for all corticosteroids with DEX and MP being more pronounced (around 25%), whereas only 12% of MPA was released during the same time period. Whereas the water uptake profile can account for this first stage burst release, the subsequent slower release stage was mainly attributed to degradation of the microparticle network. Differences in the release profiles can be explained based on the structure of the molecule, because MPA, a more bulky and hydrophobic molecule, is released at a slower rate compared with DEX and MP. In this work, it is shown that these carriers were able to sustain a controlled release of the entrapped corticosteroids over 30 days, which confirms the potential of these systems to be used as carriers for the delivery of bioactive agents. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 73A: 234–243, 2005
The natural neighbour Petrov–Galerkin method for elasto‐statics
Authors: Wang Kai , Zhou Shenjie , Shan Guojun 
Published: March 2005

AbstractIn this paper, an efficient and accurate meshless natural neighbour Petrov–Galerkin method (NNPG) is proposed to solve elasto‐static problems in two‐dimensional space. This method is derived from the generalized meshless local Petrov–Galerkin method (MLPG) as a special case. In the NNPG, the local supported trial functions are constructed based on the non‐Sibsonian interpolation and test functions are taken as the three‐node triangular FEM shape functions. The local weak forms of the equilibrium equation and the boundary conditions are satisfied in local polygonal sub‐domains. These sub‐domains are constructed with Delaunay tessellations and domain integrals are evaluated over included Delaunay triangles by using Gaussian quadrature scheme. As this method combines the advantages of natural neighbour interpolation with Petrov–Galerkin method together, no stiffness matrix assembly is required and no special treatment is needed to impose the essential boundary conditions. Several numerical examples are presented and the results show the presented method is easy to implement and very accurate for these problems. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Preparation and characterization of poly{[α‐maleic anhydride‐ω‐methoxy‐poly(ethylene glycol)]‐co‐(ethyl cyanoacrylate)} copolymer nanoparticles
Authors: Deng Liandong , Yao Chunmei , Li Aigui , Dong Anjie 
Published: March 2005

AbstractPoly{[α‐maleic anhydride‐ω‐methoxy‐poly(ethylene glycol)]‐co‐(ethyl cyanoacrylate)} (PEGECA) copolymers were prepared by radical polymerization of macromolecular poly(ethylene glycol) monomers (PEGylated) and ethyl 2‐cyanoacrylate in solvent. The structures of the copolymer were characterized by Fourier‐transform infrared (FTIR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H‐NMR). The morphology and size of the PEGECA nanoparticles prepared by nanoprecipitation techniques were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS) methods. The results show that the PEGECA can self‐assemble into highly stable nanoparticles in aqueous media, and inner core and outer shell morphology. The size of the nanoparticles was strongly influenced by the solvent character and the copolymer concentration in the organic solvents. A hydrophobic drug, ibuprofen, was effectively incorporated into the nanoparticles, which provides a delivery system for ibuprofen and other hydrophobic compounds. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry
Processing of CFTR: Traversing the cellular maze—How much CFTR needs to go through to avoid cystic fibrosis?
Authors: Amaral Margarida D. 
Published: March 2005

AbstractBiosynthesis of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), like other proteins aimed at the cell surface, involves transport through a series of membranous compartments, the first of which is the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where CFTR encounters the appropriate environment for folding, oligomerization, maturation, and export from the ER. After exiting the ER, CFTR has to traffic through complex pathways until it reaches the cell surface. Although not yet fully understood, the fine details of these pathways are starting to emerge, partially through identification of an increasing number of CFTR‐interacting proteins (CIPs) and the clarification of their roles in CFTR trafficking and function. These aspects of CFTR biogenesis/degradation and by membrane traffic and CIPs are discussed in this review. Following this description of complex pathways and multiple checkpoints to which CFTR is subjected in the cell, the basic question remains of how much CFTR has to overcome these barriers and be functionally expressed at the plasma membrane to avoid CF. This question is also discussed here. Pediatr Pulmonol. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Changes in extracellular dopamine during cocaine self‐administration in squirrel monkeys
Authors: Kimmel Heather L. , Ginsburg Brett C. , Howell Leonard L. 
Published: March 2005

AbstractEnvironmental cues are thought to play a role in drug craving, leading to the high relapse rate observed in cocaine abusers. Cocaine‐paired cues can reinstate cocaine‐maintained behavior in rodents and nonhuman primates and can induce changes in dopamine levels in the rodent striatum. In the present study, squirrel monkeys were trained to self‐administer cocaine under a second‐order schedule, and then were implanted with guide cannulae targeted at the caudate nucleus. Caudate dopamine levels were measured while the animals performed the behavioral task, self‐administering cocaine or saline under extinction conditions. In addition, animals received noncontingent (passive) cocaine infusions yoked to the drug self‐administration sessions. Cocaine administration increased dopamine levels 2‐fold, but a leftward shift was seen in the peak effect in animals self‐administering cocaine as compared to animals passively receiving cocaine. Moreover, dopamine levels began to decline during the experimental session when animals were self‐administering cocaine, even though they continued to receive cocaine injections. In contrast, dopamine levels declined below baseline during the session when animals were given access to saline. The results suggest that the environmental context associated with drug self‐administration can modulate cocaine‐induced elevations in extracellular dopamine. Synapse 56:129–134, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Factors associated with homelessness of adolescents under supervision of the youth protection system
Authors: Robert Marie , Pauzé Robert , Fournier Louise 
Published: March 2005

AbstractThere are two factors that limit our knowledge of the risk factors associated with homelessness among runaway adolescents, namely (1) the samples used are often composed of youth homeless service users and/or youths living on the streets (visible homelessness), whereas most adolescents in fact use “private” resources (hidden homelessness), and (2) failure to use an adequate control group to identify risk factors associated specifically with homelessness. Our study compares the characteristics of two groups of youths under the supervision of the youth protection system, according to the presence or absence of periods of homelessness. The results throw light on the factors underlying the shift from “at risk” to “homeless”, showing that youths with experience of homelessness are more likely to have been placed in substitute home environments, have experienced significant relationship difficulties with one of their parents (deterioration of the parent/youth relationship and parental abuse) and to have been diagnosed with behavioural disorders. The findings suggest that the decision to place young people under supervision is based more on the dynamic between risk factors rather than on the existence of behavioural problems.
Longing for International Control, Banking on American Superiority: Harry S. Truman's Approach to Nuclear Weapons
Authors: Broscious S. David 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
Although Harry Truman embraced the idea of a ’nuclear revolution’, he also remained convinced that, despite this revolution, other environmental factors still held force – namely, international anarchy, aggression, and the need to defend against aggression. In short, there was a clash within Truman's mind between the imperatives of the nuclear age and of the anarchic international system within which the nuclear revolution evolved. While hoping that an international control system could eliminate the prospect of nuclear war and foster the peaceful use of the atom, he was also ready and willing to rely on US lead in the field of nuclear energy to contain the horrors inherent in nuclear war. Having defined the Soviet Union as a non‐cooperative partner and as a threat, Truman accepted the need for American nuclear superiority in order to deter Soviet aggression and prevent nuclear war.
BETWEEN STATE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: EUROPEAN CONTEXTS FOR EDUCATION
Authors: Dunne Joseph 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
Joseph Dunne’s essay begins by examining the ways in which schooling in modern liberal–democratic societies tend to function as the agent of cultural homogenization and alienation, and thus block liberal–democratic efforts to offer meaningful recognition of local cultures and to promote the skills and dispositions required for participatory democratic citizenship. The danger here, Dunne points out, is that when the homogenizing elements of modern schooling become dominant, they might serve to encourage an ‘insouciant cosmopolitanism that may fail to meet people’s needs for identity (and by this failure help open the door to the very xenophobic nationalism it wishes to repudiate)’. The chapter concludes by reflecting on some possible educational responses that might offer some hopeful ways of addressing such dismal extremes. In particular, he is interested in the educational possibilities offered by a reconfiguration of national identities and state institutions in the emerging European Community in the context of national, cultural, and religious strife that currently besets Northern Ireland. Thus, like Waldron, Dunne sees local cultural identities – be they national, religious, or cultural – as complexly related to, but potentially compatible with, cosmopolitan historical forces.
THE BURDENS AND DILEMMAS OF COMMON SCHOOLING
Authors: McLaughlin Terence H. 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
Terence Mclaughlin’s essay addresses the conceptual and practical complexities involved in identifying and evaluating the nature, status, and institutional context of common (public) education in pluralist societies. He explores some of the neglected burdens and dilemmas faced by common schools in pluralist, multicultural, and liberal–democratic societies. The potential weight and complexity of these burdens and dilemmas is reflected in Stephen Macedo’s observation that common schools give rise to questions relating to some of the ‘deepest divisions’ and ‘most intractable conflicts’ characterizing the public lives of modern states. The chapter has five sections: Section 5.1 outlines some general considerations relating to common schooling and a conception of common education, pointing out that the relationship between the two is a contingent one – the adequacy of a particular institutional arrangement, such as the common school, depends critically on the extent to which it embodies an adequate conception of common education; Section 5.2 offers a sketch of some general features of such conceptions; in Sections 5.3 and 5.4, respectively, some of the burdens and dilemmas of common schooling are explored; Section 5.5 addresses neglected questions relating to the pre-eminently practical burdens and dilemmas highlighted in the previous two sections. McLaughlin’s chapter is especially helpful in identifying a number of the most important considerations in the presumption in favour of common schools as the most suitable arrangement for advancing common education, and his essay maps the conceptual, curricular, pedagogical, and policy issues that must be addressed in clarifying and defending the role of common schools and common education in liberal–democratic societies.
Chapter 2 CHARACTERS AND CONTINGENCY
Authors: Currie Gregory 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
While wemight not have done many of the things we did do, Anna Karenina could not, surely, have been other than a lover of Vronsky. Not so: while it is true that ‘Necessarily, someone who was not a lover of Vronsky would not be Anna’, it is also true that ‘Someone who was necessarily a lover of Vronsky would not be Anna’. Uses a framework developed by Stalnaker to explain this, and to shed light on the semantics of fictional names.
Chapter 8 COGNITIVE FILM THEORY
Authors: Currie Gregory 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
Cognitive film theory is reckoned a powerful and distinctive, if minority position in film studies. What does it say? Argues that Bordwell's constructivism about meaning and his account of perception are not essential components of the project, which is better characterized by commitment to theses calls rationalism and realism, and by a presumption in favour of folk psychology. Cognitivists — who might be better called rationalists — should not be too cognitive, especially in matters of perception.
Chapter 9 ANNE BRONTë AND THE USES OF IMAGINATION
Authors: Currie Gregory 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
We need to distinguish between the claim that engagement with a fiction requires imagination, and the claim that such engagement requires empathetic identification with characters. Argues that the first claim is certainly true. What of the second? Some criticism of it is valid; there are occasions on which we engage with a fiction perfectly well without empathising. Still, empathy is important for engaging with some parts of some fictions; The author illustrates this with Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Windfell Hall.
Vaginal versus transabdominal hysterectomy: Is mode of hysterectomy to influence pelvic statics or is pelvic statics to influence mode of hysterectomy?
Authors: Costantini Sergio , Mistrangelo Emanuela , Francioso Raffaella , Valenzano Menada Mario , Risso Domenico , Lantieri Pasquale 
Published: March 2005

Background.  To check the hypothesis that the mobility of the urethrovesical junction in the preoperative phase is different in women that will undergo either vaginal, abdominal, or laparoscopic‐assisted vaginal hysterectomy.Methods.  Eighty‐seven consecutive hysterectomies, carried out between January 1999 and December 2001 in our Department, were retrospectively considered. The type of surgical procedure as well as the approach was decided by the surgeon, according to personal experience. Each patient underwent a preoperative transperineal ultrasound, measuring urethral mobility. The ultrasounds were repeated 1 month and 1 year after surgery.Results.  In 35 out of 36 women (97.2%) that underwent vaginal hysterectomy and in nine out of 12 (75%) that underwent laparoscopic‐assisted vaginal hysterectomy, we detected a high level of urethral mobility in the preoperative phase, compared with nine out of 39 (23.1%) women that underwent transabdominal hysterectomy.Conclusions.  The results of our study allow us to confirm our starting hypothesis. Statistical analysis highlights that preoperative data are significantly different for the three types of hysterectomies, both as urethral mobility values (analysis of variance P ≤ 0.0001) and as relative frequency of patients at higher risk of pelvic statics alterations (χ2 test P ≤ 0.0001).
Maternal position during non‐stress test and fetal heart rate patterns
Authors: Cito Giuseppe , Luisi Stefano , Mezzesimi Alessandra , Cavicchioli Chiara , Calonaci Giulia , Petraglia Felice 
Published: March 2005

Objective.  The aim of the study was to determinate whether maternal position during the non‐stress test (NST) in different weeks of pregnancy influences fetal heart rate patterns.Materials and methods.  A total of 1055 NST lasting 30 min were performed in 368 autochthonous mothers with low‐risk pregnancies. On the basis of maternal position during the test we divided into three groups: reclining, sitting, and walking. The cardiotocographic parameters considered were: number of minutes of reactive NST with minimum length, number of fetal movements, fetal heart rate baseline, number of large accelerations, number of dubious NST, and number of variable decelerations.Results.  Fetal heart rate patterns in low‐risk pregnancies were studied using NST in different gestational ages and in different maternal positions. Differences in heart rate were found in relationship to both gestational age and maternal position. The minimum length of NST necessary to record at least three large accelerations was significantly different in relationship to both gestational age and maternal position. The number of fetal movements perceived by the mother was greater in the reclining position than in sitting or walking. Together with the progression of pregnancy, the number of dubious NST decreased in all subgroups, especially in the sitting position. The greatest number of variable decelerations was observed in the reclining position and it was increased with pregnancy progression. The NST duration did not vary greatly in the reclining position, but in the sitting position or during walking, the time taken to record the three large accelerations required to define the trace as reactive, decreased significantly with the progression of pregnancyConclusions.  Non‐stress test in sitting position or during walking should be encouraged because fetal reactivity is more quickly observed.
Midwifery at the crossroads in Estonia: attitudes of midwives and other key stakeholders
Authors: Lazarus Jeffrey V. , Rasch Vibeke , Liljestrand Jerker 
Published: March 2005

Background.  Since the initiation of health sector reforms in Estonia in 1992, the Baltic state has experienced a steep decline in the number of midwives and midwife graduates. At the same time, there has been a rapid increase, first in sexually transmitted infections and then in human immunodeficiency virus. The aim of this study was to draw on the perceptions of Estonia's midwives and other health care stakeholders to delineate the current situation of midwifery in the country, in the context of a sexually transmitted infection/human immunodeficiency virus epidemic.Materials and methods.  Data were obtained by sending a 32‐question questionnaire, based on an agenda developed through semistructured interviews, to all midwives in Estonia. A nominal group technique was employed with key stakeholders to determine the extent of their agreement with the questionnaire's major findings.Results.  The response rate to the questionnaire was 75%. There was no significant association between work satisfaction and independent variables of age, ethnicity, work abroad, increased responsibility, and involvement in postpartum care and counseling. There was, however, a significant association between work satisfaction and salary. The group process revealed that although there is no agreement on the role of family doctors and midwives in antenatal care, there is a general agreement that midwives should be more involved in postpartum care and that their tasks need to be better defined.Conclusions.  Almost half of the responding Estonian midwives are dissatisfied with their job, especially their salary. Increased responsibility for antenatal and postpartum counseling, with concurrent salary adjustments, may help stop the decline in the number of midwives, as could the opening up of new areas of work. A further reduction of the high abortion and sexually transmitted infection/human immunodeficiency virus rates is a critical challenge for Estonia, and midwives could be employed in services to do this, similar to their Nordic neighbors. Current indications suggest, however, that the number of midwives, especially new graduates, will continue to decline.
Parents’ experiences of living through their child's suffering from and surviving severe meningococcal disease
Authors: Haines Caroline 
Published: March 2005

AbstractThe aim of this study was to describe the lived experience of parents whose child had suffered from and survived severe meningococcal disease. A Heideggerian phenomenological approach was used within the study and data were collected from long focused interviews. In total, eight parents took part in the study; one was a woman recruited as a pilot interview and the other seven were recruited for the main study. The data were analysed using Colaizzi's (1978) method. Eleven themes emerged: (1) complications/side effects; (2) emotional turmoil; (3) child's physical appearance; (4) family disruption; (5) fear of death; (6) loss of parenting role; (7) need for support and understanding; (8) need and value of communication, information and publicity; (9) parental intuition; (10) technological interventions and (11) the impact of care delivery. A review of the literature arising out of the data was undertaken, and a final synthesis statement as perceived by the parents was achieved. Living through this experience is perceived as a major emotional stressor, and although health professionals have some insight into the experience, they are largely naïve to the enormity of the situation.