bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Critical analysis of caregiver perceptions regarding gastrostomy tube placement
Authors: Wilson Melissa , Gosche John , Bishop Phyllis , Liu Hua , Moore Tiffany , Nowicki Michael J. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractBackground: Gastrostomy tubes (GT) are often required to safely provide nutrition in children with feeding disorders and aspiration risk. The need for a GT brings with it known risks, complications, and benefits, but caregivers may have unspoken concerns and expectations. The present study was done to assess caregiver concerns, expectations, and satisfaction with GT placement in children.Methods: A two‐part retrospective and prospective study was conducted to assess caregiver concerns and expectations related to GT placement, to determine which concerns and expectations came to fruition, and to rate overall satisfaction with the GT. Questionnaires were used to collect data before and after GT placement. A visual analog scale (VAS) score was used to determine degree of concern and satisfaction.Results: Sixty‐four children (19 retrospective, 45 prospective) completed the study. Concern score by VAS was evenly distributed with a mean value of 47.4 ± 31.8. Concerns were realized in 25%; expectations were met in 93%. Feeding time decreased following GT placement. Satisfaction was reported as satisfied (23.6%), pleased (16.4%), or very pleased (60.0%).Conclusions: Despite pre‐placement concerns, most caregivers reported being pleased with the GT following placement. Concerns that occurred were of minor medical significance. Most expectations were met, in particular improved nutrition. The present study provides insight into caregiver concerns and expectations, and which are likely to occur. This information can be useful when counseling caregivers of children requiring GT.
Relationship between free T4 levels and postnatal steroid therapy in preterm infants
Authors: Arai Hirokazu , Goto Ryoji , Matsuda Takefumi , Takahashi Tsutomu 
Published: March 2009

AbstractBackground:  Transient hypothyroxinemia is the most common thyroid dysfunction in preterm infants. Hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid immaturity and non‐thyroidal illness contribute to its etiology. The aim of the present study was therefore to determine the relationship between thyroid hormone status and early postnatal steroid therapy in preterm infants.Methods:  A prospective study of premature infants born at <28 weeks of gestation between July 2001 and June 2007 was conducted. Selective postnatal steroid (dexamethasone) therapy was used in lung disease treatment if the infants needed high mean airway pressure‐assisted ventilation and supplemental oxygen at 2 weeks of age. Free T4 (FT4) and thyroid‐stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were assessed at 2 weeks after birth. Blood samples in eight infants were available after starting steroid therapy. Infants receiving steroids (steroid (+); n= 8) were compared to those not receiving steroids (steroid (−); n= 73).Results:  The demographic data were not significantly different between the two groups. The neonatal illnesses and drug use were also not significantly different between the groups. The steroid (+) group had significantly lower FT4 and TSH levels at 2 weeks after birth than the steroid (−) group. The increase in FT4 levels after steroid withdrawal was greater than that during the same period in the steroid (−) patients.Conclusion:  Even if it cannot be excluded that reduced FT4 and TSH concentrations are caused by non‐thyroidal illness, the present study suggests that postnatal steroid treatment reduces the FT4 and TSH levels in premature infants born at <28 weeks of gestation.
Changes in pulmonary arterial pressure in term‐infants with hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy
Authors: Liu Jing , Feng Zhi‐Chun 
Published: March 2009

AbstractBackground:  Hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is an important complication that results from birth asphyxia or some other adverse conditions and has a high risk of neonatal morbidity and mortality. It is unclear, however, whether the elevated pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) can aggravate the condition and prognosis of HIE. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the changes of PAP and HIE in term infants after birth asphyxia.Methods:  The left/right ventricle pre‐ejection phase (LPEP/RPEP), left/right ventricle ejection time (LVET/RVET) and the ratios of LPEP/LVET and RPET/RVET were evaluated in 40 term infants with HIE and 40 healthy controls on days 1, 3, 7, and 12–14 after birth using echocardiogram. PAP such as pulmonary arterial diastolic pressure (PADP, mmHg), pulmonary arterial resistance (PAR, mmHg), and pulmonary arterial resistance/systemic resistance ratio (PAR/RS) was calculated using these indexes. Patient mortality was also evaluated.Results:  PADP, PAR, and PAR/RS were significantly higher in HIE patients than in healthy controls during the first week after birth, particularly in severe‐degree HIE patients. And until the end of the first week of life, these indexes may return to the levels of healthy controls. Persistent fetal circulation (PFC) was found in nine patients (7/16 severe, 2/12 moderate HIE patients), and non‐PFC was found in mild HIE patients. Two patients with PFC died. No patients without PFC died. The course of HIE was longer in patients with pulmonary hypertension than in those without.Conclusion:  Increased PAP is an important pathophysiological process that may influence the course and prognoses of HIE in infants after birth asphyxia, particular in severe HIE patients who often have PFC. Thus it is important to assess changes in PAP using echocardiography.
Interference of working memory load with long‐term memory formation
Authors: Axmacher Nikolai , Haupt Sven , Cohen Michael X , Elger Christian E. , Fell Juergen 
Published: March 2009

AbstractTraditionally, it has been assumed that the medial temporal lobe (MTL) is indispensable for long‐term memory (LTM) encoding, but only plays a minor role for working memory (WM) maintenance. Recently, however, an increasing number of studies questioned this seemingly clear distinction by showing that the MTL does participate in some WM processes, especially if multiple items are being maintained. This would predict that WM maintenance of multiple items interferes with simultaneous LTM encoding. Here, we tested this idea in a functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm that required subjects to encode stimuli into LTM during simultaneous WM maintenance of either single or multiple items. Indeed, we found that maintenance of multiple items deteriorates simultaneous LTM encoding as compared with maintenance of single items. WM‐related activation of the hippocampus was more pronounced in the condition with high WM load; in contrast, hippocampal activation related to LTM encoding was stronger in the low WM load condition. Successful LTM encoding was associated with a high level of activity in the adjacent parahippocampal cortex (PHC), leading to pronounced parahippocampal subsequent memory effects in the high load condition. This suggests that the PHC is a locus of WM–LTM interaction. Functional connectivity analysis with a seed in the PHC confirmed this result by revealing strong connectivity with the medial frontal cortex, which was only active in the high WM load condition. Taken together, these findings suggest that high WM demands interfere with LTM encoding and thus support the idea that WM and LTM processes interact in the MTL.
Upper limb movement interruptions are correlated to freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Nieuwboer Alice , Vercruysse Sarah , Feys Peter , Levin Oron , Spildooren Joke , Swinnen Stephan 
Published: March 2009

AbstractFreezing of gait (FOG) in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common problem of unknown origin, which possibly reflects a general motor control deficit. We investigated the relationship between the frequency of freezing episodes during gait and during a bimanual task in control and subjects with PD with and without FOG. Group differences in spatiotemporal characteristics were also examined as well as the effects of visual cueing. Twenty patients with PD in the off‐phase of the medication cycle and five age‐matched controls performed a repetitive drawing task in an anti‐phase pattern on a digitizer tablet. The task was offered at two different speeds (comfortable and maximal) and two different amplitudes (small and large) with and without visual cueing. The results showed that freezing episodes in the upper limbs occurred in only 10.4% of patient trials and that their occurrence was correlated with FOG scores (Spearman’s rho = 0.64). Overall, few spatiotemporal differences were found between freezers, non‐freezers and controls, except for an overshooting of the target amplitude in controls. Effects of visual cueing were largely similar in all groups, except for the variability of relative phase, which decreased in non‐freezers and controls, and was unaffected in freezers. Despite the fact that general motor differences between subgroups were small, freezing episodes were manifest during a bimanual repetitive upper limb task and were correlated to FOG. Further study into upper limb movement breakdown is warranted to understand the parallel deficits that lead up to FOG.
Ethanol enhances GABAB‐mediated inhibitory postsynaptic transmission on rat midbrain dopaminergic neurons by facilitating GIRK currents
Authors: Federici Mauro , Nisticò Robert , Giustizieri Michela , Bernardi Giorgio , Mercuri Nicola B. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractIt is largely accepted that an activation of the dopaminergic system underlies the recreational and convivial effects of ethanol. However, the mechanisms of action of this drug on the dopaminergic neurons are not fully understood yet. In the present study, we have used intracellular electrophysiological techniques (current and single‐electrode voltage‐clamp) to investigate the actions of ethanol on the γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)B‐mediated inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) in rat midbrain dopaminergic neurons. Ethanol (10–200 mm) augmented, in a concentration‐dependent and reversible manner, the amplitude of the GABAB–IPSP. In addition, the GABABagonist baclofen generated G‐protein‐gated inward rectifying K+channels (GIRK)‐related membrane hyperpolarizations/outward currents that were potentiated by ethanol. The potentiating effect of ethanol persisted in tetrodotoxin (TTX)‐treated neurons, suggesting a postsynaptic site of action. These effects of ethanol were not changed by manipulating adenyl cyclase, protein kinases and phospholipase C activity, or by chelating intracellular Ca2+with EGTA. Interestingly, the outward current caused by the intracytoplasmatic diffusion of the irreversible G‐protein activator GTPγS was transiently enhanced by ethanol. Our observations suggest that the action of ethanol occurs on activated GIRK channels downstream of the GABABreceptors. These enhancing effects of ethanol on GABAB‐induced synaptic responses could modulate alcohol intake and the altered mental and motor performance of individuals in an acute intoxicative phase.
An Opportunity for Me? The Role of Resources in Opportunity Evaluation Decisions
Authors: Haynie J. Michael , Shepherd Dean A. , McMullen Jeffery S. 
Published: March 2009

abstractWe apply the prescriptions of the resource‐based perspective to develop a model of entrepreneurial opportunity evaluation. We propose that opportunity evaluation decision policies are constructed as future‐oriented, cognitive representations of ‘what will be’, assuming one were to exploit the opportunity under evaluation. These cognitive representations incorporate both (1) an evaluation of the existing resource endowments (already under the control of the venture), which may be employed to exploit the opportunity under evaluation, and at the same time (2) an assessment of the future, wealth generating resources that must be marshalled (and subsequently under the control of the venture) in order to exploit the opportunity under evaluation. We empirically test this model using conjoint analysis and hierarchical linear modelling techniques to decompose more than 2300 opportunity evaluation decisions nested in a sample of 73 entrepreneurs. Our findings suggest that entrepreneurs are attracted to opportunities that are complementary to their existing knowledge resources; however, we also identify a set of opportunity‐specific and firm‐specific conditions that encourage entrepreneurs to pursue the acquisition and control of resources that are inconsistent with the existing, knowledge‐based resources of the venture. We identify these conditions and discuss implications for theory, practice, and future research.
The Application of External Knowledge: Organizational Conditions for Exploration and Exploitation
Authors: Bierly Paul E. , Damanpour Fariborz , Santoro Michael D. 
Published: March 2009

abstractA firm's ability to acquire and exploit external knowledge is often critical to achieving and sustaining a competitive advantage. In this study, we adopt a multi‐dimensional view of absorptive capacity and focus specifically on the application of external knowledge that has been obtained via university‐firm collaborations. We examine various organizational conditions that we propose influence a firm's ability to apply external knowledge for explorative and exploitative innovations. We collected data by a survey of firms in industries that frequently work with university research centres (URCs) and from publicly available sources. Results show that predictors of exploration and exploitation of the application of external knowledge differ. Surprisingly, technological relatedness, a common measure of absorptive capacity, is negatively associated with the application of external knowledge to explorative innovations, indicating that knowledge from more distant sources is applied more to exploration. Results also indicate that the effects of two external learning capabilities (prior experience with URCs and technological capability) on knowledge application are moderated in such a way by the tacitness of the knowledge transferred that experience is a stronger predictor when the knowledge is more explicit and technological capability is a stronger predictor when the knowledge is more tacit. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on the application of external knowledge.
Management Research and the New Logics of Discovery and Engagement
Authors: Starkey Ken , Hatchuel Armand , Tempest Sue 
Published: March 2009

abstractThis paper develops an argument that leads to a vision of management research as a form of design science. Such an approach to research requires an inversion of the relationship between rigour and relevance. Giving primacy to the pursuit of rigour, as tends to be the current norm, de‐emphasizes the importance of relevance and leads to research that interests very few beyond the community of management scholars. We argue that we should re‐imagine relevance as a necessary condition for rigour and that this will lead to new forms of engagement with theory and practice that have the potential to create a new science of management.
Impacts of Trade Liberalisation Commitments on the Vietnamese Economy: A CGE Approach
Authors: Doanh Nguyen Khanh , Heo Yoon 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis article quantifies the economic effects of tariff reduction following Vietnam's WTO accession. It differs from previous studies in several aspects. First, the model incorporates non‐standard features of the Vietnamese economy (e.g. changes in the domestic tax system). Second, the model divides Vietnamese households into 10 groups, allowing for the assessment of household welfare and income distribution. Third, the model has been run employing the most up‐to‐date database available. The major findings are summarised as follows. First, Vietnam as a whole would benefit from trade liberalisation. Second, the overall gain would be accompanied by a redistribution of income and a moderate increase in inequality between the rich and the poor. Third, concerning sectoral output, export‐oriented sectors, sectors with large shares of input in total imports, and those with increased domestic demands are likely to expand, whereas, in contrast, domestic‐oriented sectors are likely to contract. Measures to increase labour mobility, target disadvantaged groups and areas, and further liberalise service sectors are recommended as the recipe for effective utilisation of integration, as well as a more equitable pattern of growth.
Spatial and temporal variability in predation on rainforest primates: do forest fragmentation and predation act synergistically?
Authors: Irwin M. T. , Raharison J.‐L. , Wright P. C. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractPredation is a constant risk for most primates, impacting demography, population dynamics, activity patterns and social behaviour. Data are limited on both the rates of predation and its spatial and temporal variability. We present long‐term observations of Cryptoprocta ferox predation on rainforest sifakas in Madagascar, Propithecus diadema at Tsinjoarivo (22 group years) and Propithecus edwardsi at Ranomafana (73 group years), derived from intensive observations based on ongoing behavioural studies. Average per capita offtake rates are relatively low (0.06–0.07), but temporal variability is high (kills are clumped in time). This is consistent with Cryptoprocta ecology; individual home ranges are much larger than sifaka ranges, and individuals may hunt in a subsection of their range until prey density is decreased, then move on. These results have broad implications. First, in terms of the evolution of anti‐predator strategies, it now becomes important to ask: (1) whether average or peak predation rates determine the strength of selection and (2) whether antipredator strategies (e.g. vigilance, sleeping site selection) fluctuate interannually, reflecting recent experience. Second, in terms of population ecology, Cryptoprocta may have disproportionately large impacts on the (small) sifaka groups, even driving groups to extinction (as observed at both sites). Third, the disappearance of groups has important implications for conservation. When this happens in continuous forest (as at Ranomafana), home ranges will likely be re‐filled over time, whereas in isolated forest fragments (as at Tsinjoarivo), recolonization is less likely. Thus, conservation planners should consider predation as a potentially important proximate cause of extirpation in fragmented landscapes, even when resource density and quality could otherwise sustain populations. Considering the effects of predation can be useful in (1) decisions regarding the allocation of limited conservation resources, including which landscapes to invest resources in and (2) investigating ways to increase resilience of prey species.
Estimates of population size of white‐chinned petrels and grey petrels at Kerguelen Islands and sensitivity to fisheries
Authors: Barbraud C. , Delord K. , Marteau C. , Weimerskirch H. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractWhite‐chinned petrelsProcellaria aequinoctialisand grey petrelsProcellaria cinereaare among the most frequently killed seabird species by accidental bycatch, and both species have received strong conservation concern. Data on population size are required to evaluate the impact of bycatch and to establish management plans. We estimated the population size of both species at Kerguelen, Southern Indian Ocean, from 2004 to 2006 by explicitly taking into account detection probability of burrows using distance sampling and burrow occupancy. A total of 31 line‐transects were distributed across the eastern part of Kerguelen, representing a total length of 566 km. Detectability was low (from 0.19 to 0.54 for white‐chinned petrels, 0.58 for grey petrels). Burrow densities varied from 1.37±0.67 to 25.77±5.23 burrows ha−1for white‐chinned petrels and was 2.78±0.79 burrows ha−1for grey petrels. For white‐chinned petrels, these densities were extrapolated to the entire surface area of vegetation and there were 234 000 (186 000–297 000) active burrows on Kerguelen. For grey petrels, the number of active burrows for the eastern part of Kerguelen was 3400 (1900–5600). Based on these estimates, the potential biological removal method suggests that the additional mortality on birds caused by the fisheries operating around Kerguelen can be considered a serious threat for the species at least at the regional scale of the Southern Indian Ocean, especially for grey petrels.
Observations on the physiology and integumentary structure of the Antarctic pycnogonid Decolopoda austratis
Authors: DAVENPORT J. , BLACKSTOCK N. , DAVIES D. A. , YARRINGTON M. 
Published: March 2009

The giant Antarctic pycnogonid Decolopoda australis Eights takes up oxygen by diffusion across the integument, particularly of the legs. The circulatory system is feeble and haemolymph pressure changes are induced by leg movements during locomotion rather than by cardiac action. Heart rate is about30–40 beats min‐1 between 1 and 5 °C; it becomes irregular above 5 °C and ceases (reversibly) at6–7 °C.The integumentary structure appears to facilitate gaseous exchange. Although the cuticle (c. 200 μm thick) is chitinous, it is perforated (over 35% of the internal surface) by circular/ ellipsoidal tissue‐filled pits which are separated from the external environment by thin layers of chitinous cuticle no more than4–6 μm thick. The pits occur in all parts of the body and appendages (except arthrodial membranes). It is suggested that the primary function of the tissue within the pits is to form a route for gaseous diffusion, which bypasses the relatively thick impermeable chitinous layers of the rest of the cuticle. Calculations suggest that the pits reduce resistance to gaseous diffusion by about 90%.To function as a respiratory surface, the general body surface has to be kept clean. The cleaning action of the ovigers appears to be effective, except in the regions between the contiguous lateral processes of the body where detrital material accumulates.
Annual cycles in moult, body mass, luteinizing hormone, prolactin and gonadal steroids during the development of sexual maturity in the White stork (Ciconia ciconia)
Authors: HALL M. R. , GWINNER E. , BLOESCH M. 
Published: March 2009

Annual variations in moult, body mass, and the plasma concentrations of luteinizing hormone, prolactin and the gonadal steroids, oestradiol and testosterone, were measured in captive White storks (Ciconia ciconia). Data were collected at approximately monthly intervals for 13 months on storks hatched over five successive years, the youngest ones being in their first, the oldest in their fifth, year of life.Moulting of wing feathers occurred during the summer months, April through August. Young birds began to moult at least one month earlier, and replaced more wing feathers each year, than did three‐ to five‐year‐old birds. Body mass exhibited remarkably consistent annual cycles with minima of2–9‐3‐5 kg, during the summer months, and maxima of3–8‐4‐5 kg, during the winter months. Young males were heavier at all times of the year than young females, although this difference was gradually reduced to non‐significant levels by four years of age. Luteinizing hormone, prolactin and the gonadal steroids, oestradiol and testosterone, exhibited annual cyclic changes, usually of a bi‐modal nature. No major differences in hormone profiles, however, were found between any of the age groups. The phenomenon of deferred maturity in the stork does not parallel that of puberty found in many mammals.