bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Use of low free to total PSA ratio in prostate cancer screening: detection rates, clinical and pathological findings in Brazilian men with serum PSA levels <4.0 ng/mL
Authors: Faria Eliney Ferreira , Carvalhal Gustavo F. , dos Reis Rodolfo Borges , Tobias‐Machado Marcos , Vieira Renê A.C. , Reis Leonardo O. , Nogueira Lucas , Machado Roberto Dias , Freitas Jr Celso H. , Magnabosco Wesley J. , Mauad Edmundo C. , Carvalho André Lopes 
Published: August 2012

Study Type – Diagnostic (inception cohort)Level of Evidence 2bWhat's known on the subject? and What does the study add?In spite of its low specificity, PSA is the most widely used screening test for prostate cancer (PCa), and is considered the main cause of the stage migration recently observed. The ratio of free to total PSA (%fPSA) has been shown to increase PSA accuracy in cancer detection; however, few screening studies have systematically evaluated its role in cancer detection rates in men with PSA levels <4.0 ng/mL and normal DRE.The present study supports a possible role of %fPSA as an adjunct to screening in men with total PSA 2.5–4.0 ng/mL and normal DRE, with a marked increase in cancer detection rates in a large Brazilian PCa screening study. We believe that %fPSA maybe a useful refinement to biopsy indications in men with low PSA levels.OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the role of the free to total prostate‐specific antigen ratio (%fPSA) in identifying prostate cancer (PCa) in men with a prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) level of 2.5–3.9 ng/mL and a normal digital rectal examination (DRE).
PATIENTS AND METHODS
A prospective PCa screening study was conducted, which included 17 571 men aged ≥45 years, across six Brazilian states, where men were recalled for further evaluation in the case of either a suspicious DRE and/or PSA ≥4.0 ng/mL, or PSA 2.5–3.9 ng/mL and %fPSA ≤15.
We evaluated the impact of a %fPSA ≤15 on cancer detection rates and the clinical and pathological stage of tumours in men with a normal DRE and PSA 2.5–3.9 ng/mL.
RESULTS
When suspicious DRE and/or PSA ≥4.0 ng/mL were considered as criteria to prompt further evaluation, the cancer detection rate was 3.1%. When %fPSA ≤15 in men with total PSA levels of 2.5–3.9 ng/mL were considered as criteria, the PCa detection rate increased to 3.7%. Considering %fPSA ≤15 in men with PSA 2.5–3.9 ng/mL and normal DRE, the positive predictive value of biopsy was 31.1%.
Clinical stage was more favourable among men with PSA 2.5–3.9 ng/mL, normal DRE, and %fPSA ≤15 compared with men with normal DRE and PSA ≥4.0 ng/mL (P= 0.02).
Among those who underwent radical prostatectomy, pathological stage and the proportion of insignificant tumours were similar between men with PSA 2.5–3.9 ng/mL, normal DRE findings and %fPSA ≤15, and men with PSA ≥4.0 ng/mL.
CONCLUSIONS
The use of %fPSA ≤15 as a biopsy indication in men with normal DRE and PSA 2.5–4.0 ng/mL in a PCa screening programme, increased cancer detection rates. Tumours in this subset of patients had similar pathological characteristics.
Using %fPSA ≤15 to indicate biopsy in men with PSA 2.5–3.9 ng/mL is a useful adjunct to PCa screening.
Bologna 2010. The Moment of Truth?
Authors: Veiga Amélia 
Published: August 2012

Government policies are central factors shaping the environment of higher education institutions. European governments have included in their higher education political strategies the principal goal of implementing the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The perceptions that key actors of higher education institutions (HEIs) have about political developments are important as they may influence the achievement of government policy. The Bologna Process is at the heart of policy coordination, the instrument selected at European and national levels to establish EHEA.This article seeks to discuss empirically the views of institutional actors about the Bologna Process, taking into consideration the achievement of EHEA. The discussion is based on the analysis of the EHEA implementation in seven HEIs located in four higher education systems — Germany, Italy, Norway and Portugal. This paper draws on the theoretic‐methodological approach of the policy cycle to analyse the perceptions of HEIs' constituencies about Bologna.
Academic Understandings of and Responses to Bologna: a three‐country perspective
Authors: Sin Cristina 
Published: August 2012

This article aims to describe how academics in England, Denmark and Portugal understand the Bologna Process, their attitudes towards the initiative, and how understandings and attitudes determine action. It shows how contextually and culturally determined academic understandings, expectations, preferences, priorities and constraints are key influences in the process of educational change envisaged by the Bologna Process. Second, inspired by the implementation staircase metaphor which illustrates different actors' perceptions conditioned by their location on the path of the policy, the article presents three different examples of interplay between national authorities responsible for policy‐making in the wake of the Bologna Process and the institutional field responsible for policy implementation. It reveals variations from country to country with regard to bottom‐up and top‐down initiatives, both at the level of actors' expectations and of actual measures to implement Bologna policy. This article comes in response to the frailty of an empirical base for the understanding of Bologna from an institutional and academic perspective.A video abstract of this article can be viewed at http://youtu.be/9YVouJ35XuE
Fulfilling a European Vision through Flexible Learning and Choice
Authors: Harris Margaret S. G. 
Published: August 2012

This article considers the value of flexibility and free choice in learning, and examines the increasing recognition of the evolving and wide range of appropriate environments for learning, such as the workplace, the home, the community, and the virtual world. This ‘Lifeplace Learning’ is compared to the requirements and visions of the European Qualifications Framework and it is shown how this concept is ideally placed to satisfy, not only the European vision of freeing and equalising learning and qualification recognition, but also the goals of including more people in education, allowing for flexible and apposite learning, and the development of graduates who are ‘fit for purpose’. A model of Lifeplace Learning is described that is based on the utilisation of any chosen life place environment for learning, combined with learner negotiated objectives, enabling formal, informal and non‐formal learning to be recognised through assessment, and by the awarding of credit where this is appropriate. The model has, at its core, the development of competence in independent judgement, critical thinking, personal autonomy and reflective practice.It is concluded that, as traditional learning models deprive learners of a personal, autonomous and negotiated approach to learning (without which learners fail to develop critical competence in exercising independent judgment and critical thought considered essential and core to personal and professional development) and as Europe is striving to increase the recognition of many types of learning and ease transitions across national boundaries, this model could be an effective way forward to resolve the former and achieve the latter.
Development and implementation of voluntary food and drink guidelines for early years settings in England
Authors: Wall C. , Mucavele P. , Sharp L. 
Published: August 2012

SummaryChildren's early years provide an important foundation for their future health and wellbeing. Diet during this time influences growth, development and achievement, but dietary needs of children aged 1–5 years are not always met.There are over 1.3 million registered early years childcare places in England with an increasing proportion of children attending full day care. The Early Years Foundation Stage framework includes a welfare requirement for food and drink provided in regulated settings to be ‘healthy, balanced and nutritious’, but until recently, no practical guidelines were available in England to define this in practice.The Advisory Panel on Food and Nutrition in Early Years concluded that the government should provide further practical guidance for early years settings on meeting the nutritional requirements of children aged 1–5 years. The School Food Trust's Eat Better, Start Better programme, commissioned by the Department for Education, involved development of Voluntary Food and Drink Guidelines for Early Years Settings in England, which give practical guidance on the types, frequencies and amounts of food and drink to provide for meals and snacks. The guidelines were piloted in 18 early years settings, extensively reviewed by the health and early years sector and subsequently published on the Trust's website in January 2012, with example menus, self‐evaluation checklists and a Code of Practice for Food and Drink.Training in, and evaluation of, the new guidelines is underway in 20 local authorities. Future challenges include ensuring that the guidelines are used consistently by early years settings when providing food and drink for young children in their care.
A Multi‐level Perspective of CSR Reporting: The Implications of National Institutions and Industry Risk Characteristics
Authors: Young Suzanne , Marais Magalie 
Published: August 2012

AbstractManuscript TypeEmpiricalResearch Question/IssueThis study seeks to capture the influence of national institutions and industry characteristics on CSR reporting. To explore national institutions, the paper compares CSR reporting in France and Australia characterized respectively as state‐led market economies (SLMEs) and liberal market economies (LMEs). Comparisons are also made between high‐risk and low‐risk industries. The interaction between the two main variables is also analyzed.Research Findings/InsightsUsing corporate published data from a sample of 220 Australian and French companies in 2009, the research finds that CSR reporting is stronger and CSR practices more transparent in France compared to Australia. CSR reporting is also stronger in high‐risk industries than in low‐risk industries. It also found that industry characteristics override the influence of national institutions in high‐risk industries. However, these conclusions vary depending on the sub‐categories of CSR reporting and the implicit versus explicit form of this type of communication.Theoretical/Academic ImplicationsThis study develops a new model of CSR reporting using 99 items. It provides empirical support for the institutional perspective for understanding differences in reporting whilst demonstrating the interaction between industry risk characteristics and national institutions.Practitioner/Policy ImplicationsThe study offers insights to policy makers interested in promoting CSR accountability and transparency. It especially raises the importance of regulation to develop corporate reporting practices. It also provides insights to managers to identify relevant CSR practices within their country/industries and the different communication strategies that they can adopt in responding to institutional pressures.
Complexity and Dual Institutionality: The Case of IFRS Adoption in Russia
Authors: Alon Anna 
Published: August 2012

AbstractManuscript TypeEmpiricalResearch Questions/IssueThe widespread adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by many transition economies is expected to contribute to greater transparency in financial reporting. However, the business environment in many of these countries is associated with institutional voids and ongoing economic and institutional change. Organizations operating in this environment face considerable institutional complexity due to influences from incongruent institutional logics of local and global institutions. This study investigates how organizations manage institutional complexity created by the incompatible institutional logics which are linked to IFRS adoption.Research Findings/InsightsIn Russia, institutional change related to IFRS adoption was not revolutionary as IFRS did not replace Russian Accounting Standards (RAS) but both standards coexist. Based on a sample of 1,236 firms, organizational identity and the discretion in standard implementation were identified as factors that play a role in how organizations manage institutional complexity created by the coexistence of both standards.Theoretical/Academic ImplicationsWith organizations in transition economies increasingly managing global and local pressures, this study highlights conditions under which practices rooted in conflicting institutional logics coexist and create dual institutionality. Dual institutionality occurs when distinct but related practices that organizations are using have legitimacy but are rooted in diverse institutional logics and coexist due to different levels of discretion associated with their implementation. This concept is distinct from previously identified institutional duality, where competing institutional logics of subsidiary and the host country influence how a particular practice is implemented by organizations.Practitioner/Policy ImplicationsWhile adoption of IFRS is expected to contribute to greater financial transparency and comparability, some countries choose to continue with the local standards while permitting or requiring IFRS. This type of parallel adoption may undermine the influence of IFRS. However, divergence between the logics and discretion in standard implementation makes it possible for both practices to exist.
Relation between Top Executive Compensation Structure and Corporate Governance: Evidence from Japanese Public Disclosed Data
Authors: Sakawa Hideaki , Moriyama Keisuke , Watanabel Naoki 
Published: August 2012

AbstractManuscript TypeEmpiricalResearch Question/IssueThis paper explores the incentive structure of executive compensation in Japan in 2010, when Japanese individual executive compensation data for those receiving more than 100 million Japanese yen were made public for the first time. This public disclosure enables investigation of the relation between cash‐based and stock‐based individual incentive compensation and corporate governance mechanisms in Japan.Research Findings/InsightsResults show that 1) the bank ties do not substitute for incentive compensation, unlike in the 1990s in Japan, when they were effective for solving agency conflicts; and 2) the role of incentive compensation is found to be effective for firms with a higher degree of foreign ownership. We also examine the role of the new internal control mechanism of firms with a committee system which includes a compensation committee for facilitating incentive compensation. However results show that internal control systems of firms with committees only facilitate short‐term incentive packages because they fall into short‐termism as a result of their short duration of a single year.Theoretical/Academic ImplicationsTheoretically, bank ties do not contribute as a substitute for incentive compensation to align management and shareholder interests under a Japanese relationship‐oriented system. This implies that Japanese relationship‐oriented systems would have been weakened by solving agency conflicts. Furthermore, firms with committee systems can no longer provide managerial incentives because of the short‐termism of committee members.Practitioner/Policy ImplicationsThis study provides insights for practitioners and policymakers interested in executive compensation structures in any country where corporate governance is reformed to introduce Anglo‐American mechanisms.
Hybrid of Shape Grammar and Morphing for Procedural Modeling of 3D Caves
Authors: Zawadzki Tomasz , Nikiel Slawomir , Warszawski Korneliusz 
Published: August 2012

AbstractProcedural modeling of three‐dimensional shapes plays a significant role in many areas nowadays. Methods based on the automation of the modeling process offer a variety of three‐dimensional structures, saving time and money. Geometry synthesis is currently used in many fields including digital cinema, electronic entertainment and simulation. There is a need to replace designers' work with intelligent automated algorithms, especially in the case of terrain modeling. This article addresses the problem of modeling virtual caves and tunnels and presents alternative solutions in the form of a hybrid system. The innovative approach combines two independent methods well known in computer graphics: shape grammars and shape morphing for modeling three‐dimensional geometry. In the modeling process, it is possible to obtain the characteristics of 3D structures with non‐spherical mesh topology. The objects and their transformations are described by functions, while production grammars define the geometry modeling process. The scene graph can be expanded by classic productions and optimized by morphing productions. Obtained shapes can be freely deformed in subsequent productions. The system offers control over the process of modeling and the resulting structure can be rendered up to a high level of realism. We also propose some measures that can be used to verify the modeling results: coefficients indicating the degree of convexity of three‐dimensional model topology based on the structure of inequality, the volume of the model, surface model and the number of model elements.
Undermining the rules in home care services for the elderly in Norway: flexibility and cooperation
Authors: Wollscheid Sabine , Eriksen John , Hallvik Jørgen 
Published: August 2012

Scand J Caring Sci; 2013; 27; 414–421

Undermining the rules in home care services for the elderly in Norway: flexibility and cooperation
Objectives:  This study explores the provision of home care services (home nursing and domiciliary help) for the elderly in Norwegian municipalities with purchaser–provider split model. The study draws on the assumption that flexibility in adjusting services to the care receivers’ needs, and cooperation between provider and purchasers are indicators of good quality of care.Data and Methods:  Data were collected through semi‐structured telephone interviews with 22 team leaders of provider units in nine municipalities. Data were collected in 2008–2009. The study has been approved by the Norwegian Social Science Data Services.Findings:  We identified four different ways of organising home care services under a purchaser–provider split model: Provider empowerment, New Public Management, Vague instructions and undermining the rules. High flexibility in providing care and cooperation with the purchaser unit were identified by the team leaders as characteristics for good care.Conclusions:  Our findings suggest that the care providers use individual strategies that allow flexibility and cooperation rather than rigidly abiding to the regulations the purchaser–provider split models implies. Ironically, in provider units where the ‘rules were undermined’, the informants (team leaders of provider units) seemed to be most satisfied with the quality of home care that they delivered.
Baicalein attenuates impaired hippocampal neurogenesis and the neurocognitive deficits induced by γ‐ray radiation
Authors: Oh Shin Bi , Park Hee Ra , Jang Young Jung , Choi Seon Young , Son Tae Gen , Lee Jaewon 
Published: August 2012

Background and PurposeWhole‐brain irradiation (WBI) therapy produces learning and memory deficits in patients with brain tumours. Although the pathological cascade of cognitive deficits remains unknown, it may involve reduced neurogenesis within the hippocampus. Baicalein is a flavonoid derived from the roots of Huangqin, Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, and has been shown to have antioxidant effects. Here, we have investigated the protective effects of baicalein on irradiation‐induced impairments in hippocampal neurogenesis and cognitive function.Experimental ApproachRadioprotective effects of baicalein were evaluated in C17.2 neural progenitor cells and 6‐week‐old male C57BL/6 mice during hippocampal neurogenesis. Mice were given a single dose of 5 Gy WBI. Changes in hippocampal neurogenesis, oxidative stress and BDNF‐pCREB signalling were evaluated. Morris water maze and passive avoidance test were used to assess learning and memory.Key ResultsBaicalein protected neural progenitor cells against irradiation‐induced necrotic cell death. Pretreatment with baicalein attenuated the irradiation‐induced impairment of hippocampal neurogenesis by modulating oxidative stress and elevating BDNF‐pCREB signalling. Furthermore, baicalein prevented the spatial learning and memory retention deficits follwing WBI.Conclusions and ImplicationsOur findings suggest that baicalein can be viewed as a potential therapeutic agent that protects against the impaired neurogenesis induced by WBI, and its neurocognitive consequences.
NS6180, a new KCa3.1 channel inhibitor prevents T‐cell activation and inflammation in a rat model of inflammatory bowel disease
Authors: Strøbæk D , Brown DT , Jenkins DP , Chen Y‐J , Coleman N , Ando Y , Chiu P , Jørgensen S , Demnitz J , Wulff H , Christophersen P 
Published: August 2012

Background and PurposeThe KCa3.1 channel is a potential target for therapy of immune disease. We identified a compound from a new chemical class of KCa3.1 inhibitors and assessed in vitro and in vivo inhibition of immune responses.Experimental ApproachWe characterized the benzothiazinone NS6180 (4‐[[3‐(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]methyl]‐2H‐1,4‐benzothiazin‐3(4H)‐one) with respect to potency and molecular site of action on KCa3.1 channels, selectivity towards other targets, effects on T‐cell activation as well as pharmacokinetics and inflammation control in colitis induced by 2,4‐dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid, a rat model of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).Key ResultsNS6180 inhibited cloned human KCa3.1 channels (IC50 = 9 nM) via T250 and V275, the same amino acid residues conferring sensitivity to triarylmethanes such as like TRAM‐34. NS6180 inhibited endogenously expressed KCa3.1 channels in human, mouse and rat erythrocytes, with similar potencies (15–20 nM). NS6180 suppressed rat and mouse splenocyte proliferation at submicrolar concentrations and potently inhibited IL‐2 and IFN‐γ production, while exerting smaller effects on IL‐4 and TNF‐α and no effect on IL‐17 production. Antibody staining showed KCa3.1 channels in healthy colon and strong up‐regulation in association with infiltrating immune cells after induction of colitis. Despite poor plasma exposure, NS6180 (3 and 10 mg·kg−1 b.i.d.) dampened colon inflammation and improved body weight gain as effectively as the standard IBD drug sulfasalazine (300 mg·kg−1 q.d.).Conclusions and ImplicationsNS6180 represents a novel class of KCa3.1 channel inhibitors which inhibited experimental colitis, suggesting KCa3.1 channels as targets for pharmacological control of intestinal inflammation.