bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Elucidation of flow‐mediated tumour cell‐induced platelet aggregation using an ultrasound standing wave trap
Authors: Bazou D , Santos‐Martinez MJ , Medina C , Radomski MW 
Published: December 2010

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Tumour cells activate and aggregate platelets [tumour cell‐induced platelet aggregation (TCIPA)] and this process plays an important role in the successful metastasis of cancer cells. To date, most studies on TCIPA have been conducted under no‐flow conditions. In this study, we have investigated TCIPA in real time under flow conditions, using an ultrasound standing wave trap that allows formation and levitation of cancer cell clusters in suspension, thus mimicking the conditions generated by flowing blood.EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH Using 59M adenocarcinoma and HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells and human platelets, cancer cell cluster–platelet aggregates were imaged in real time using epi‐fluorescence microscopy (F‐actin) and investigated in detail using confocal microscopy (matrix metalloproteinase‐2‐GPIIb/IIIa co‐localization) and scanning electron and helium‐ion microscopy (<1 nm resolution). The release of gelatinases from aggregates was studied using zymography.KEY RESULTS We found that platelet activation and aggregation takes place on the surface of cancer cells (TCIPA), leading to time‐dependent disruption of cancer cell clusters. Pharmacological modulation of TCIPA revealed that EDTA, prostacyclin, o‐phenanthroline and apyrase significantly down‐regulated TCIPA and, in turn, delayed cell cluster disruption, However, EGTA and aspirin were ineffective. Pharmacological inhibition of TCIPA correlated with the down‐regulation of platelet activation as shown by flow‐cytometry assay of platelet P‐selectin.CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS Our results show for the first time, that during TCIPA, platelet activation disrupts cancer cell clusters and this can contribute to metastasis. Thus, selective targeting of platelet aggregate–cancer cell clusters may be an important strategy to control metastasis.
Digital Sheath Synovial Ganglion Cysts in Horses
Authors: Crawford Andrew , O'Donnell Matthew , Crowe Oliver , Eliashar Ehud , Smith Roger K. 
Published: December 2010

Objectives:To report the clinical features of horses with fluid‐filled masses associated with the digital flexor tendon sheath (DFTS) and outcome after surgery.Study Design:Case series.Animals:Horses (n=10)Methods:Medical records of horses with fluid‐filled masses associated with the DFTS were reviewed and the clinical features, diagnostic methods, treatment, histopathology, and outcome reported.Results:Masses were unilateral (7 hind limb, 3 front limb) and in 8 horses were associated with lameness. In 6 horses, lameness improved by >50% with intrathecal DTFS anesthesia, whereas 2 were less positive but were further improved with perineural anesthesia just proximal to the cyst. Communication between the DFTS and mass was identified in all horses ultrasonographically. Resection of the mass resolved lameness in 7 horses. Histologically (5 specimens), the mass was characterized by a fibrous outer layer without a synovial lining, consistent with a ganglion cyst.Conclusion:The histologic appearance of ganglion cysts suggests that they arise from trauma to the sheath wall and may subsequently be a cause of lameness.
Comparison of Fixation Methods for Treatment of Long Bone Fractures in Llamas and Alpacas
Authors: Brounts Sabrina H. , Racette Molly , Muir Peter 
Published: December 2010

Objective:To determine outcome after repair of long bone fractures in llamas and alpacas.Study Design:Case series.Animals:Llamas (n=11) and alpacas (8).Methods:Medical records (1998–2008) of camelids with long bone fractures were reviewed for history, repair method, and complications. Outcome was also assessed by owner telephone questionnaire.Results:Mean age at repair was 39 months. There were 8 males and 11 females. Fracture distribution was tibia (n=6), metatarsus (5), metacarpus (4), radius and ulna (2), humerus (1), and femur (1), with 13 closed and 6 open fractures. Fracture repair was by internal fixation (n=11), external fixation with a transfixation pin cast (5), external coaptation (2), and cross‐pinning (1). In 1 llama, the limb was amputated to revise a failed external fixation repair. Seventeen animals (89%) were discharged, and 2 were euthanatized. Outcome was available for 13 animals: 9 were used for breeding and 4 as pets. Fewer major complications occurred with internal fixation than with external fixation with a transfixation pin cast (P<.005); however, there were no significant differences in minor complications between groups.Conclusions:Internal fixation with bone plates was associated with fewer major complications than external fixation with a transfixation pin cast.
Racing and Sales Performance after Unilateral or Bilateral Single Transphyseal Screw Insertion for Varus Angular Limb Deformities of the Carpus in 53 Thoroughbreds
Authors: Baker William True , Slone Donnie E. , Lynch Timothy M. , Johnson Christopher R. , Baker William A. 
Published: December 2010

Objective:To evaluate the racing and sales performance of Thoroughbred horses with varus angular limb deformities of the carpus treated by unilateral or bilateral single transphyseal screw (STS) placement.Study Design:Case series.Animals:Thoroughbred horses (n=53).Methods:Medical records (January 1, 2005–December 31, 2006) of yearling Thoroughbreds treated for carpal angular limb deformity by transphyseal screw insertion in the distal aspect of the radius were reviewed. Retrieved data were sex, surgery, and screw removal dates, surgical site, appearance, limb(s) affected, type of angular limb deformity, and degree of angular deviation measured by a goniometer. Racing and sales data were collected for analysis from an online racing site for all treated horses and their maternal siblings.Results:No significant differences were identified between treated horses and their maternal siblings in yearling sale price, 2‐year‐olds in training sale price, percent starters, percent winners, and starts, earnings, and earnings/start made during the 2‐ and 3‐year old years.Conclusions:No deleterious effects on sales or racing performance were identified after use of STS in the distal aspect of the radius of Thoroughbreds for the treatment of varus angular limb deformities of the carpus.
Electrosurgical Tenoscopic Desmotomy of the Accessory Ligament of the Superficial Digital Flexor Muscle (Proximal Check Ligament) in Horses
Authors: David Florent , Laverty Sheila , Marcoux Marcel , Szoke Mihaly , Celeste Christophe 
Published: December 2010

Objective: To report a tenoscopic technique using monopolar electrosurgery to transect the accessory ligament of superficial digital flexor muscle (AL‐SDFM) and outcome in 33 horses.Study Design: Case series.Animals: Horses (n=33).Methods: Medical files and surgery video recordings of horses that had AL‐SDFM desmotomy performed by tenoscopy with monopolar electrosurgical electrodes were reviewed.Results: Of 33 horses, 24 were Standardbred racehorses with surgery performed bilaterally for superficial digital flexor tendonitis and 9 horses had flexural deformity. Severe (n=6) and mild (6) intrathecal hemorrhage was the most common intraoperative complication. Large intrathecal vessels including the nutrient artery were successfully electrocoagulated and AL‐SDFM transection was completed. Clear/serosanguinous drainage from skin incisions was observed for 4.3±3.3 days (mean, SD). Protracted wound drainage for >4 days occurred in 10 horses, principally in the group treated for flexural deformities (P=.01).Conclusions: Sixty‐four AL‐SDFM were transected under tenoscopic observation using monopolar electrodes. Electrocoagulation of large intrathecal vessels, including the nutrient artery, was possible in all cases and allowed completion of desmotomy. Postoperative wound care was similar to routine tenoscopy in most (70%) horses. Aseptic protracted wound drainage was observed in 30% of horses (principally those with flexural deformity), and led to a prolonged hospitalization.
Standing Hand‐Assisted Laparoscopic Ovariectomy in 65 Mares
Authors: Goodin Jacob T. , Rodgerson Dwayne H. , Gomez Jorge H. 
Published: December 2010

Objective:To review the efficacy and safety of unilateral ovariectomy by use of a standing hand‐assisted laparoscopic approach and evaluate the effect of ovary size on posttransection hemorrhage after application of a linear stapling device.Study Design:Case series.Animals:Horses (n=65) aged 2–20 years.Methods:Medical records of mares that had ovariectomy performed by use of a standing hand‐assisted laparoscopic approach were reviewed. Data retrieved were signalment, ovary removed (left, right), ovarian size, ovarian pathology, intraoperative and postoperative complications, and length of hospitalization.Results:Mean ovarian diameter was 17 cm. Histopathology (52 mares) confirmed 41 granulosa cell tumors (79%), 8 ovarian cysts (15%), 1 teratoma (2%), and 2 ovaries (4%) without abnormalities. Hemorrhage was observed laparoscopically in 16 mares after transection of the mesovarium. Complications encountered during surgery included 1 mare collapsing in the stocks and 1 mare that hemorrhaged excessively from the incision. Postoperative complications included 2 cases of mild colic. Overall complication rate was 6%.Conclusions:All attempts to remove the target ovary were successful. The approach is safe for the mare, as complications encountered were similar to those recently reported for other approaches.
Comparison of Healing of the Osteotomy Gap after Tibial Tuberosity Advancement with and without Use of an Autogenous Cancellous Bone Graft
Authors: Guerrero Tomás G. , Makara Mariano A. , Katiofsky Kristine , Fluckiger Mark A. , Morgan Joe P. , Haessig Michael , Montavon Pierre M. 
Published: December 2010

Objective: To evaluate and compare healing, with and without the use of bone graft, of the gap created during tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA).Study Design: Prospective study and case series.Animals: Dogs treated with TTA (n=67).Methods: Prospective study: Mediolateral radiographic projections (6 weeks and 4 months) after TTA without use of bone graft (group I, n=14) were compared with radiographs of consecutive TTA in which the gap was filled with autologous cancellous bone graft (group II, n=14). Two scoring techniques (A, B) were used. Score A was used to grade the overall osteotomy healing (0=no healing, 4=healed osteotomy). Score B evaluated, independently of each other, healing in 3 sites: proximal to the cage (B1), between cage and plate (B2), and distal to the plate (B3). Case series: nongrafted TTA (4–25 weeks, n=39) were evaluated for healing (Score A). Data was analyzed using t‐tests and ANOVA. Significance was set at P≤.05.Results: Prospective study: Score A, B2, and B3 showed no difference in healing between groups at 6.8 weeks and 4.2 months. Score B1 revealed, in both rechecks, a significantly higher density in group II. Case series: Radiographs at 11.59±5.99 weeks scored 3.3 (2–4). No healing related complications were observed.Conclusion: The osteotomy gap created during TTA healed within expected time regardless of bone graft use.
Microfenestration Using the CUSA Excel Ultrasonic Aspiration System in Chondrodystrophic Dogs with Thoracolumbar Disk Extrusion: A Descriptive Cadaveric and Clinical Study
Authors: Forterre Franck , Dickomeit Mark , Senn David , Gorgas Daniela , Spreng David 
Published: December 2010

Objective:To describe an ultrasonic surgical aspirator assisted disk fenestration technique in dogs.Study design:Descriptive cadaveric and prospective clinical study.Animals:Fresh Beagle cadavers (n=5) and 10 chondrodystrophic dogs with thoracolumbar disk extrusion.Methods:Cadaveric study: Intervertebral disks T12‐L2 were fenestrated with the CUSA Excel in 5 Beagle cadavers, and fenestration efficacy assessed by morphologic examination of the completeness of fenestration and size of annulotomy. Clinical study: the affected intervertebral disk was fenestrated in 10 chondrodystrophic dogs treated by hemilaminectomy for thoracolumbar disk disease. Efficacy of fenestration was evaluated.Results:Mean time necessary to perform CUSA assisted fenestration was 8 minutes (range, 5‐10 minutes) for each disk in cadavers and patients. In cadaver spines, removal of the nucleus pulposus was complete in 11/15 disks. In 4 disks, remnants of nucleus pulposus material were observed on the contralateral side. Nuclear material was normal in 9/15 disks and showed evidence of chondroid degeneration on histopathologic examination in the 6 disks. Median annulotomy size was 3 mm. Clinically, no signs of early recurrence were observed and all dogs recovered uneventfully.Conclusions:CUSA assisted fenestration is a safe and efficient method of fenestration for removal of most of the nucleus pulposus through a limited annulotomy.
An explanation for the slopes of stellar cusps in galaxy spheroids
Authors: Hopkins Philip F. , Quataert Eliot 
Published: December 2010

Abstract
The stellar surface mass density profiles at the centres of typical ∼ L* and lower mass spheroids exhibit power-law ‘cusps’ with Σ ∝ R−η, where 0.5 ≲ η ≲ 1 for radii ∼1–100 pc. Observations and theory support models in which these cusps are formed by dissipative gas inflows and nuclear starbursts in gas-rich mergers. At these comparatively large radii, stellar relaxation is unlikely to account for, or strongly modify, the cuspy stellar profiles. We argue that the power-law surface density profiles observed are a natural consequence of the gravitational instabilities that dominate angular momentum transport in the gravitational potential of a central massive black hole. The dominant mode at these radii is an m = 1 lopsided/eccentric disc instability, in which stars torquing the gas can drive rapid inflow and accretion. Such a mode first generically appears at large radii and propagates inwards by exciting eccentricities at smaller and smaller radii, where M*(&lt; R) ≪MBH. When the stellar surface density profile is comparatively shallow with η &lt; 1/2, the modes cannot efficiently propagate to R = 0 and so gas piles up and star formation steepens the profile. But if the profile is steeper than η= 1, the inward propagation of eccentricity is strongly damped, suppressing inflow and bringing η down again. Together these results produce an equilibrium slope of 1/2 ≲η≲ 1 in the potential of the central black hole. These physical arguments are supported by non-linear numerical simulations of gas inflow in galactic nuclei. Together, these results naturally explain the observed stellar density profiles of ‘cusp’ elliptical galaxies.
Financial Planning and Investor Communications at GE (With a Look at Why We Ended Earnings Guidance)*
Authors: Sherin Keith 
Published: December 2010

In this edited version of a talk given at a conference of accounting academics and corporate practitioners, the Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of General Electric describes the company's internal budgeting and financial planning process, and how the information generated by this process is communicated to investors. The company's business model—the common thread running through all its different businesses—is to make large investments in technology that make possible the firm's equipment sales, which in turn provide the basis for a profitable long‐term services business. The main role of the company's internal analysis and planning process is to help management allocate capital in a way that produces long‐run growth in revenues and earnings but, most important, a competitive return on investor capital.Another major aim of the company's planning process is to help management identify and manage major risks that could interfere with management's ability to carry out its strategic investments and goals. The company's focus on risk management is both reflected in, and facilitated by, a forecasting process that puts less emphasis on the accuracy of “point estimates” and pays greater attention to the range and distribution of possible outcomes. “What we really care about,” as the author says, “is the quality of the thinking and the dialogue among our managers that takes place around the forecasting process.”And it is the output of these internal processes, and “the quality of the thinking and dialogue” behind it, that are “the essence of what the company is trying to communicate to analysts and investors.” Instead of holding up quarterly earnings targets—a practice the company ended in 2008—management's communications with investors are intended to create “a continuous flow of information and feedback about the ongoing performance, investment opportunities, and risks confronting the firm.” In the author's words, “Ending the firm's longstanding practice of holding up earnings target s to the Street, and then trying to meet them, helped us rid ourselves of needless pressures and burdens… that can get in the way of managing for long‐run growth and profitability.”
Maintaining a Flexible Payout Policy in a Mature Industry: The Case of Crown Cork and Seal in the Connelly Era
Authors: Ang James , Arnold Tom , Conover C. Mitchell , Lancaster Carol 
Published: December 2010

This case study suggests that the payment of cash dividends may not be essential to the long‐run success of even mature companies. A mature company in a mature industry, the Crown Cork and Seal Company did not pay any common dividends during John Connelly's 33‐year tenure as chairman and CEO. During that period (from 1957 to 1990), the company used stock repurchases along with a compensation policy featuring low executive salaries and generous executive stock options to motivate and execute a focused business strategy.Under the leadership of Connelly, Crown was rescued from what appeared to be certain bankruptcy to become one of the most profitable firms in its industry. Debt was immediately paid down, preferred stock was retired, and the firm's operations were revamped and streamlined. Instead of following the diversification strategies of larger industry peers, Crown's strategy was focused and driven by profit margin and customer service. This strategy eventually led Crown to invest internationally and acquire one of its major rivals.In addition to significant equity ownership by Crown's management and board members, the company's board had a remarkable number of “outsiders” and representatives from international operations, creating a culture that was outward‐looking as well as cohesive. And without paying a dollar of dividends—a practice that many finance scholars believe imposes a necessary discipline on mature companies—Crown both preserved its financing flexibility and produced a remarkable record of increases in both profits and market value.
Is Carl Icahn Good for Long‐Term Shareholders? A Case Study in Shareholder Activism
Authors: Venkiteshwaran Vinod , Iyer Subramanian R. , Rao Ramesh P. 
Published: December 2010

The increase in activist campaigns by entrepreneurial investors and hedge funds in the past decade has raised considerable debate about their benefits for average shareholders. Although critics have longed charged that the proposals for change by such active investors typically do not increase the longer‐run efficiency and values of the targeted companies, more recent studies have provided evidence of success, both in terms of increasing the market value of such companies and achieving at least some of the investors' expressed objectives.This article attempts to add to these findings by examining the case of a single well‐known investor, Carl Icahn, whose career as a shareholder activist now spans at least three decades. The authors report, first of all, that Icahn's targets have included companies from a remarkable variety of industries, and that his stated objectives have varied with the industries of the targets. Although more of Icahn's targets appear to have been overleveraged than underleveraged, a significant minority have had payouts ratios that were judged to be too low and more cash than they needed.In terms of Icahn's effect on other shareholders, the authors report a significant positive stock price reaction—on the order of 10%—to the announcement of Icahn's taking a position in the target firm. When examining the subsequent performance of the target firms, the authors found a very large difference between those firms that were either taken private or acquired (within 18 months)—over a third of the target companies—and those that remained independent. The authors report that although the acquired group achieved significant positive stock market returns, the firms that remained independent suffered very negative (‐60%) returns. Although Icahn's proposed changes could be responsible, as critics charge, for the performance of the latter group, the authors suggest that the success of many of these companies in fending off Icahn without enacting most of his proposed reforms is a more plausible explanation. At the same time, the authors report that Icahn was successful in achieving at least one of his stated objectives in well over half of the cases in which the target companies remained independent.
Risk Management, Corporate Governance, and the Search for Long‐Term Investors
Authors: Bauguess Scott , Dunigan Jim , Park Damien , McGurn Patrick , Chew Don , Walkling Ralph 
Published: December 2010

This discussion explores a number of ways that more effective risk management, corporate governance, and communication with investors can help companies increase their effciency and long‐run value.According to one of the panelists, recent surveys of corporate directors suggest that companies should devote more time and attention to three issues—strategy, risk management, and succession planning—and that strategy and risk are the “flipsides of the same coin.” As the panelist argues, “You can't talk about strategy without talking about what risks you're going to take—and what risks you decide to take has to depend on the core competencies that drive the corporate strategy.”In addition to making risk management a critical part of corporate strategy, another notable recommendation is to communicate a company's strategy and business plan as clearly as possible to investors, with the aim of attracting more sophisticated, long‐term shareholders. Contrary to popular belief, such a group may well include some hedge funds and other activist shareholders. According to a newly released report on shareholder activism (produced and cited by another panelist), corporate boards should work harder to identify and engage the “largest 10 shareholders in the organization,” with the ultimate goal of cultivating a shareholder base that buys into the company's strategy.