bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The effects of intracrystalline and surface‐bound proteins on the attachment of calcium oxalate monohydrate crystals to renal cells in undiluted human urine
Authors: Grover Phulwinder K. , Thurgood Lauren A. , Wang Tingting , Ryall Rosemary L. 
Published: August 2009

OBJECTIVETo compare the binding to Madin‐Darby canine kidney (MDCK)‐II cells of: (i) inorganic calcium oxalate monohydrate (iCOM) crystals and COM crystals precipitated from urine containing different concentrations of protein; and (ii) urinary COM crystals containing intracrystalline and intracrystalline + surface‐bound protein.MATERIALS AND METHODSUrinary COM crystals were generated in sieved (sCOM), centrifuged and filtered (cfCOM), and ultrafiltered (ufCOM) portions of a pooled human urine and their adhesion to MDCK‐II cells was compared using six different ultrafiltered urine samples as the binding medium. Crystal matrix extract (CME) was prepared by demineralizing calcium oxalate crystals precipitated from human urine and used to prepare COM crystals with intracrystalline, and intracrystalline + surface‐bound CME at protein concentrations of 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5 and 5.0 mg/L. The amount of protein associated with the crystals was qualitatively assessed by sodium dodecyl sulphate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blotting, using prothrombin fragment 1 (PTF1) as a marker. Protein concentration was determined in sieved, centrifuged and filtered, and ultrafiltered fractions of 10 additional urine samples.RESULTSThe median crystal attachment in the six urine types decreased in the order iCOM > ufCOM > cfCOM = sCOM, in inverse proportion to the concentration of protein in the solution or urine from which they were precipitated. sCOM and cfCOM crystals bound ≈ 23% less than iCOM crystals. The attachment of COM crystals generated in the presence of increasing concentrations of CME proteins was unaffected up to a concentration of 5 mg/L, but binding of crystals containing the same concentrations of intracrystalline + surface‐bound proteins decreased proportionally at protein concentrations from 0 to 5.0 mg/L.CONCLUSIONInorganic COM crystals bind significantly more strongly to MDCK‐II cells than urinary crystals precipitated from sieved, centrifuged and filtered, and ultrafiltered urine, and binding affinity is inversely related to the concentration of protein in the urine in which they are formed. While both intracrystalline and superficial CME proteins reduce the attachment of COM crystals to MDCK‐II cells, those located on the crystal surface have a greater influence than those incarcerated within the mineral bulk. Future cell–crystal interaction studies should use urinary crystals and be performed in human urine.
Does perineural invasion on prostate biopsy predict adverse prostatectomy outcomes?
Authors: Loeb Stacy , Epstein Jonathan I. , Humphreys Elizabeth B. , Walsh Patrick C. 
Published: August 2009

Study Type – Prognostic (case series) Level of Evidence 4OBJECTIVETo determine the relationship between perineural invasion (PNI) on prostate biopsy and radical prostatectomy (RP) outcomes in a contemporary RP series, as there is conflicting evidence on the prognostic significance of PNI in prostate needle biopsy specimens.PATIENTS AND METHODSFrom 2002 to 2007, 1256 men had RP by one surgeon. Multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the relationship of PNI with pathological tumour features and biochemical progression, respectively, after adjusting for prostate‐specific antigen level, clinical stage and biopsy Gleason score. Additional Cox models were used to examine the relationship between nerve‐sparing and biochemical progression among men with PNI.RESULTSPNI was found in 188 (15%) patients, and was significantly associated with aggressive pathology and biochemical progression. On multivariate analysis, PNI was significantly associated with extraprostatic extension and seminal vesicle invasion (P < 0.001). Biochemical progression occurred in 10.5% of patients with PNI, vs 3.5% of those without PNI (unadjusted hazard ratio 3.12, 95% confidence interval 1.77–5.52, P < 0.001). However, PNI was not a significant independent predictor of biochemical progression on multivariate analysis. Finally, nerve‐sparing did not adversely affect biochemical progression even among men with PNI.CONCLUSIONPNI is an independent risk factor for aggressive pathology features and a non‐independent risk factor for biochemical progression after RP. However, bilateral nerve‐sparing surgery did not compromise the oncological outcomes for patients with PNI on biopsy.
Neural markers of subordinate‐level categorization in 6‐ to 7‐month‐old infants
Authors: Quinn Paul C. , Doran Matthew M. , Reiss Jason E. , Hoffman James E. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractSubordinate‐level category‐learning processes in infants were investigated with ERP and looking‐time measures. ERPs were recorded while 6‐ to 7‐month‐olds were presented with Saint Bernard images during familiarization, followed by novel Saint Bernards interspersed with Beagles during test. In addition, infant looking times were measured during a paired‐preference test (novel Saint Bernard vs. novel Beagle) conducted at the conclusion of ERP recording. Slow wave activity corresponded with learning a familiarized category at the subordinate and basic levels, whereas Negative central (Nc) and P400 components were linked with novel category preference. The results provide the first evidence identifying the neural markers of subordinate‐level categorization observed in looking‐time tasks conducted with infants. Moreover, when considered in conjunction with prior research investigating the neural markers of basic‐level categorization in infants, the findings indicate that (1) slow wave and Nc components of infant ERP waveforms are general markers for processes of category learning on the one hand and novel category preference on the other, (2) novel category preference for a contrast category at the basic and subordinate levels have the Nc component in common, but novel category preference at the subordinate level is accompanied by an additional P400 component, a finding in keeping with the notion that subordinate‐level categorization is governed by mechanisms supplementary to those underlying basic‐level categorization, and (3) slow wave activity associated with subordinate‐level learning followed that associated with basic‐level learning by approximately 200 ms, a result in accord with a coarse‐to‐fine scheme for the emergence of category partitioning.
Minors Travelling Alone: A Risk Group for Human Trafficking?
Authors: Derluyn Ilse , Lippens Valesca , Verachtert Tony , Bruggeman Willy , Broekaert Eric 
Published: August 2009

AbstractMinors travelling without their parent(s) or guardian are an increasing phenomenon. Although their travel objectives might differ importantly, varying from holiday purposes to migration objectives, an important subgroup of them might be at risk to fall into exploitative circumstances, such as human trafficking. Studying the group of minors travelling alone arriving at Brussels Airport (Belgium), this research investigates the population’s characteristics, the procedures used, and the risks some of these minors run of falling into exploitative situations. Firstly, registration revealed that tens of thousands minors travelling alone arrive at Brussels Airport each year, with an important part of them coming from African countries. Secondly, participant observations showed that detection of possible cases of human trafficking is a very complex issue, resulting in the alarming hypothesis that many cases of trafficking of minors travelling alone might not be detected during their journey or at their arrival at the airport.
Protecting Women Asylum Seekers and Refugees: From International Norms to National Protection?
Authors: Freedman Jane 
Published: August 2009

AbstractLittle attention is paid in most national asylum policies and legislation to the specific position of female asylum seekers, and to gendered aspects of refugee and asylum situations. Further, even in those countries that have adopted asylum legislation to specifically address the question of women asylum seekers and victims of gender specific persecution, problems still remain in the implementation of these policies and in the full recognition of persecutions specific to women. Whilst the issue of protection of women victims of this type of violence have been put on the international agenda, at least to some extent, through directives on the defence of women’s human rights and on the protection of female refugees and asylum seekers, the international norms which have thus been created have been implemented unevenly and unequally in different national contexts. This article seeks to analyse the extent to which national asylum legislation and policies have integrated a concern with the protection of women victims of gender specific forms of persecution, and how effective this implementation has been. The article will engage critically with existing accounts of global norm creation to examine the uneven diffusion and implementation of norms on the protection of female refugees, pointing to the importance of discursive opportunity structures open to actors in mobilising around these issues at local and national levels. It will also argue that even where policies and legislation dealing specifically with women refugees and asylum seekers do exist, they may not actually address some of the important insecurities facing these women because of an approach that does not fully comprehend and act upon gendered structures and relations of power.
DEPORTED: The Right to Asylum at EU’s External Border of Italy and Libya1
Authors: Andrijasevic Rutvica 
Published: August 2009

AbstractDuring the past year the temporary holding centre for irregular migrants in Lampedusa, Italy’s southernmost island, has been repeatedly denounced for instances of procedural irregularities and alleged human rights violations. This study presents an overview of events and policies implemented by the Italian and Libyan Governments, the European Union and the International Organization for Migration and outlines the contentions surrounding these policies. It argues that the implementation of the detention and return schemes, commonly discussed in terms of the externalization of asylum, does not actually relocate the asylum procedures outside the EU’s external borders but rather deprives asylum seekers of the possibility of accessing asylum determination procedure. It further suggests that policies geared towards deterring irregular migratory flows into Europe and combatting smuggling in migrants in Libya, might paradoxically result in ‘illegalizing’ the movement of migrants in northern Africa and increasing the involvement of smuggling networks. The study ends by raising the issue of the political responsibility of all actors involved and suggests the most affective ways to balance the rights and responsibilities on asylum at the EU’s southern border.
Asylum Legislation and Asylum Applications: A Geographical Analysis of Belgian Asylum Policy by Country of Origin (1992‐2003)
Authors: Vanheule Dirk , Witlox Frank 
Published: August 2009

AbstractIn many European countries a traditional policy and legal response to an undesirable increase of asylum applications has been the change of asylum law and procedures. By making it more difficult to obtain asylum and refugee status, the attractiveness as a possible country of asylum is believed to diminish. In the period from 1992 to 2003 three major revisions of the Belgian asylum procedure were enacted. When speaking in absolute figures these changes resulted in a certain decrease in the number of asylum applications filed. However, upon a closer examination of the number of asylum applications per country of origin, the effects appeared to be quite differential. Hence, factors other than geographical ones, such as the location of the country of origin or distance, must be decisive for the effect of a change in legislation on the number of asylum claimants coming from one particular country. Nevertheless, it has been possible to distinguish seven clusters of countries of origin where similar developments in patterns of asylum applications and shifts therein, depending on changes in asylum law, can be seen.
Standardized care plans in Swedish health care: their quality and the extent to which they are used
Authors: Olsson Pernilla Turunen , Petersson Helena , Willman Ania , Gardulf Ann 
Published: August 2009

Objectives:  To investigate the quality of standardized care plans and the extent to which they are used within Swedish in‐hospital somatic care. Further, to examine the quality of the knowledge summaries on which existing standardized care plans were supposed to be based.Design:  Submitted documents were reviewed with study‐specific protocols.Setting:  A national survey, based on a structured selection of Swedish hospitals.Participants:  A total of 25 Swedish hospitals participated, and were asked to submit all documents in use that were labelled standardized care plan.Results:  Only 4% (34 out of 782) of the reviewed documents fulfilled the criteria for being a standardized care plan. None of the 34 knowledge summaries (an accompanying document with a compilation of scientific facts and reliable experience) was evidence‐based.Conclusions:  There is a lack of knowledge regarding what a standardized care plan is, and how such a document should emanate from evidence‐based knowledge. Our results raise the question of how recent developments in research are used to create standardized care plans for the best possible care. In the process of developing standardized care plans it is important to acknowledge that staff who develop these plans need scientific training and experience. Standardized care plans are in the early stages of development, and at this stage it seems appropriate to initiate a discussion regarding possible cooperation at national level when developing standardized care plans for certain large groups of patients suffering from specific diseases, or undergoing the same treatment.
Constipation and defecation pattern the first 30 days after thoracic surgery
Authors: Rasmussen Lene Schütt , Pedersen Preben Ulrich 
Published: August 2009

Scand J Caring Sci; 2010; 24; 244–250

Constipation and defecation pattern the first 30 days after thoracic surgery Introduction:  In clinical practice constipation is often an overlooked aspect of patient care and first gains attention when it has become a severe problem for the patients. Constipation increases the risk for postoperative complications, can prolong hospital stay, increase financial cost, and staff nursing care time.Material and method:  A prospective descriptive design was used. One hundred and thirty nine patients participated in the study from February to June 2006. On admission, day of discharge, and 30 days after surgery patients normal and actual defecation pattern, stool consistency, and if they experienced problems with defecation was assessed by a structured interview. North America Nursing Diagnosis Associations (NANDA’s) general definition of constipation was used as a frame of reference for this study. The Bristol Stool Scale was used to measure stool consistency. Prolonged and difficult evacuation and defecation pattern was recorded on a self‐composed scale.Results:  Fifty per cent of patients developed constipation during the first postoperative period and their normal pattern of defecation was re‐established 17 days after discharge. Nearly one third of the patients reported that their daily life was affected by constipation after discharge.Conclusion:  The results imply that further studies are needed to prevent constipation and to help patients to cope with this side effect of surgery after discharge. The results of this study also suggest that acute and chronic constipation might be two different disorders.
CURRICULUM GUIDE FOR RESEARCH ETHICS WORKSHOPS FOR COUNTRIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Authors: SILVERMAN HENRY , AHMED BABIKER , AJEILET SAMAR , AL‐FADIL SUMAIA , AL‐AMAD SUHAIL , EL‐DESSOUKY HADIR , EL‐GENDY IBRAHIM , EL‐GUINDI MOHAMED , EL‐NIMEIRI MUSTAFA , MUZAFFAR RANA , SALEH AZZA 
Published: August 2009

ABSTRACTTo help ensure the ethical conduct of research, many have recommended educational efforts in research ethics to investigators and members of research ethics committees (RECs). One type of education activity involves multi‐day workshops in research ethics. To be effective, such workshops should contain the appropriate content and teaching techniques geared towards the learning styles of the targeted audiences. To ensure consistency in content and quality, we describe the development of a curriculum guide, core competencies and associated learning objectives and activities to help educators organize research ethics workshops in their respective institutions. The curriculum guide is divided into modular units to enable planners to develop workshops of different lengths and choose content materials that match the needs, abilities, and prior experiences of the target audiences. The content material in the curriculum guide is relevant for audiences in the Middle East, because individuals from the Middle East who participated in a Certificate Program in research ethics selected and developed the training materials (e.g., articles, powerpoint slides, case studies, protocols). Also, many of the activities incorporate active‐learning methods, consisting of group work activities analyzing case studies and reviewing protocols. The development of such a workshop training curriculum guide represents a sustainable educational resource to enhance research ethics capacity in the Middle East.
Carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and enzymatic activity under different land uses in a tropical, dry ecosystem
Authors: Sandoval‐Pérez A. L. , Gavito M. E. , García‐Oliva F. , Jaramillo V. J. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractWe compared total C, N and P, available forms of N and P and dehydrogenase, urease and acid phosphatase activities in soils from primary forests, 26‐year‐old pastures and 26‐year‐old secondary forests in the tropical dry forest region of Chamela, Jalisco, Mexico. We hypothesized that, because of their natural regeneration and greater plant diversity, secondary forest soils would have higher fertility and enzyme activities than pasture soils and would be more similar to primary forest soils. We predicted also that enzymes would be better indicators of land‐use effects on soil fertility than nutrients. Only one nutrient, available phosphorus, and one enzyme, acid phosphatase, were significantly and consistently affected by land use. As expected, these parameters were greater in primary and secondary forests than in pastures. Principal components analysis using all variables placed secondary forests intermediate between primary forests and pastures, as predicted, and total C, N and P, available P, ammonium, phosphatase, urease and the C:P ratio were the variables associated with this spatial arrangement of land uses. We conclude that secondary forest soils showed improved fertility and were overall closer to primary forests than to pastures in most variables measured.
Phosphorus and trace metal dynamics in soils amended with poultry litter and granulates
Authors: Toor G. S. , Haggard B. E. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractEnvironmental sustainability of animal agriculture is strongly dependent upon development of approaches to minimize the potential environmental impacts of applying animal manures. The excess manure and its nutrients (primarily phosphorus) in intensive animal production regions may need to be exported to other areas to comply with increased regulations on manure management. In our previous study we generated a variety of granulated products from poultry litter to achieve export of excess litter from the southwestern Ozarks, AR, USA. Our objective in the present study was to determine the effect of the application of poultry litter and granulated litter products on phosphorus (P), arsenic (As), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) dynamics in two Arkansas soils (Dewitt silt loam and Hector sandy loam). Poultry litter and granulated products were mixed with the surface horizon (0–15 cm) of soils at two application rates: P‐based (100 kg total P per hectare) and N‐based (160 kg plant‐available N per hectare). Soil–litter mixtures were incubated at 25 °C for 21 days. Sub‐samples were removed at 1, 7 and 21 days to determine the solubility and availability of P, As, Cu and Zn in soils. Results suggest that when litter was applied at 100 kg total P per hectare, contents of P, As, Cu and Zn were significantly greater in the soils amended with litter and granulated products than in the control (soil alone). However, the contents of P, As, Cu and Zn did not significantly differ in the soils amended with either normal litter or granulated litter products at total P or plant‐available N‐based application rates. This suggests that poultry litter granulation is a sound management practice that can be used to reduce concerns with fresh litter transport and potentially improve P and trace element balances in intensive poultry production regions, especially when applied on a plant‐available N basis.
The q‐Theory Approach to Understanding the Accrual Anomaly
Authors: WU JIN (GINGER) , ZHANG LU , ZHANG X. FRANK 
Published: August 2009

ABSTRACTInterpreting accruals as working capital investment, we hypothesize based on q‐theory that firms optimally adjust their accruals in response to discount rate changes. A higher discount rate means less profitable investments and lower accruals, and a lower discount rate means more profitable investments and higher accruals. Our evidence supports this optimal investment hypothesis: (1) adding an investment factor into standard factor regressions substantially reduces the magnitude of the accrual anomaly, often to insignificant levels; (2) accruals covary negatively with discount rate estimates from the dividend discounting model, and for the most part, with estimates from the residual income model; (3) accruals with low accounting reliability covary more with capital investment than accruals with high accounting reliability; and (iv) expected returns to accruals‐based trading strategies are time‐varying, suggesting that the deterioration of the accrual effect in recent years might be temporary and likely to mean‐revert in the near future.