bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Is there objective evidence that septal surgery improves nasal airflow?
Authors: Singh A , Patel N , Kenyon G , Donaldson G 
Published: October 2006

Objective: To identify any prospective, controlled trials providing objective evidence of a reduction in nasal airway resistance following nasal septal surgery, and to undertake a meta-analysis of available data.Methods: A systematic review with meta-analysis of data was undertaken. A systematic review of the literature using a defined search strategy was conducted to identify papers that used objective methods of airway assessment to evaluate the benefit of septal surgery. Accepted techniques for objective airway assessment included acoustic rhinometry, active anterior rhinomanometry and peak nasal inspiratory airflow. Papers were included based on pre-defined criteria, which included standardization of techniques as outlined in the guidelines of the 1984 committee report on the standardization of rhinomanometry.Results: We identified 942 articles, of which 13 were prospective studies evaluating the objective benefit of nasal septal surgery. Only three of these studies conformed to the inclusion criteria. A meta-analysis on these papers was performed using the Mantel–Haenszel method, and this demonstrated an overall reduction in nasal airway resistance following septal surgery for nasal obstruction (p=0.018).Conclusions: The majority of studies evaluating the objective benefit of septal surgery did not conform to the recommendations of the committee report on the standardization of rhinomanometry. Only three prospective controlled trials, with pooled data from 141 cases, were identified for meta-analysis. The conclusions that can be drawn concerning objective improvement in airway function following nasal septal surgery are therefore limited. More long-term studies, adhering to standardized techniques, are needed to provide more convincing data.
Locomotion control of a hydraulically actuated hexapod robot by robust adaptive fuzzy control and dead-zone compensation
Authors: Barai Ranjit Kumar , Nonami Kenzo 
Published: October 2006

SUMMARYThis investigation presents locomotion control of a hydraulically actuated six-legged humanitarian demining robot by robust adaptive fuzzy control in conjunction with the dead zone compensation technique within independent joint control framework. For proper locomotion of the demining robot, accurate tracking of the desired joint trajectory is very important. However, high degree of nonlinearity, the uncertainties due to changing hydraulic properties, and delay due to the flow of oil and dead zone of the proportional electromagnetic control valve results into an inaccurate plant model for the hydraulically actuated robotic joints. Consequently, model-based classical control techniques result into a large tracking error. Therefore, adaptive fuzzy control technique, being a model independent control paradigm for complex and uncertain systems, is a good choice for such systems. In this work, a hydraulic dead zone compensated robust adaptive fuzzy control law has been proposed for locomotion control of hydraulically actuated hexapod demining robot. The experimental results exhibit a fairly accurate trajectory tracking of the leg joints and, consequently, very stable locomotion of the walking robot.
Locational Behaviour of Households in a Constrained Housing Market
Authors: Kreibich V , Petri A 
Published: October 2006

Locational behaviour in urban agglomerations has to be analyzed in the context of constrained housing markets, where households with low or medium incomes have to deal with serious and varied constraints when they consider a move.Given the background of the housing market in West German conurbations, conceptual and methodological deficiencies of traditional migration research are pointed out. Except for a few studies, it has been restricted to moves and to completed moves. Immobility as a dominant strategy of locational behaviour has not even been considered. By means of standardized shortview surveys, the complexity of the decisionmaking process as a whole has been largely ignored. Individual preferences have been emphasized whereas objective housing market conditions and impacts of planning and housing policy have been neglected.In a comprehensive study on locational behaviour in the Stuttgart conurbation a new approach has been applied, with a panel of households investigated over a period of four years by use of in-depth interviews and qualitative methods of analysis. The context of housing and planning policy and of the residential environment is described; and the first results of the project, which is still going on, are reported. They illustrate the extent of immobile strategies of locational behaviour and the dominance of locational decision situations with a small number of choices and numerous constraints. A concluding evaluation of some of the instruments of the quite elaborate German housing policy indicates that the housing needs of the majority of households demanding or living in rented flats are still largely neglected.
Spectrum of a compact weighted composition operator
Authors: Gunatillake Gajath 
Published: October 2006

For

ψ
\psi

analytic in the open unit disk and

φ
\varphi

an analytic map from the unit disk into itself, the weighted composition operator

C

ψ
,
φ

C_{\psi ,\varphi }

is the operator on the weighted Hardy space

H

2

(
β
)

H^{2}(\beta )

given by

(

C

ψ
,
φ

f
)
(
z
)
=
ψ
(
z
)
f
(
φ
(
z
)
)
.

(C_{\psi ,\varphi }f)(z)=\psi (z)f(\varphi (z)).

This paper discusses the spectrum of

C

ψ
,
φ

C_{\psi ,\varphi }

when it is compact on a certain class of weighted Hardy spaces and when the composition map

φ
\varphi

has a fixed point inside the open unit disk.
Human small G proteins, ObgH1, and ObgH2, participate in the maintenance of mitochondria and nucleolar architectures
Authors: Hirano Yasuhiro , Ohniwa Ryosuke L. , Wada Chieko , Yoshimura Shige H. , Takeyasu Kunio 
Published: October 2006

The Obg subfamily protein is one of the P‐loop small G proteins and is highly conserved in many organisms from bacteria to human. Two obg genes, obgH1 and obgH2, exist in the human genome. Both ObgH1 and ObgH2 showed similar GTPase activities (0.014 ± 0.005 and 0.010 ± 0.002/min for ObgH1 and ObgH2, respectively) to those of the bacterial Obg proteins and complemented the Obg function in Escherichia coli ribosome maturation, suggesting that the functions of Obg proteins are well conserved through evolution. Immunofluorescence microscopy of HeLa cells revealed that ObgH1 localizes in mitochondria, and ObgH2 in the dense fibrillar compartment region of the nucleolus. Knock‐down of ObgH1 by RNAi induced mitochondria elongation, whereas knock‐down of ObgH2 resulted in the disorganization of the nucleolar architecture. In conclusion, the two human Obg proteins have similar enzymatic activities that can complement bacterial Obg function, but show different cellular function(s) with different intracellular localizations.
The molecular chaperone HSP47 rapidly senses gravitational changes in myoblasts
Authors: Oguro Asami , Sakurai Takashi , Fujita Yoshinobu , Lee Sachiko , Kubota Hiroshi , Nagata Kazuhiro , Atomi Yoriko 
Published: October 2006

Skeletal muscle unloading induced by spaceflight or bed rest leads to muscle atrophy. It is unclear how muscle atrophy is caused and how muscles respond to microgravity. We addressed the response of collagen and its chaperone system to gravitational forces. We show here that expression of HSP47, a collagen‐specific molecular chaperone, responds to gravitational changes, including microgravity and hypergravity in vitro and in vivo. By using the method hindlimb suspension of rats, which mimics microgravity conditions, we demonstrated that the expression of Hsp47 mRNA decreased within 1 day and the mRNA levels of collagen types I and IV were subsequently reduced. In contrast, hypergravity stimulated HSP47 expression. HSP47 and collagen types I and IV were localized intracellularly in the endoplasmic reticulum and/or Golgi apparatus of myoblasts, as expected. Intriguingly, Hsp47 mRNA levels in cultured myoblasts increased significantly with hypergravity treatment at 40G for 2 h, and decreased with microgravity treatment at almost 0G for 1–2 h. Collagen mRNA levels were also altered, although changes were slower and less pronounced compared with those for HSP47. The gravity‐regulated HSP47 may play a role in the maintenance of the extracellular matrix by modulating collagen production at the primary stage of adaptation.
During acute Trypanosoma cruzi infection highly susceptible mice deficient in natural killer cells are protected by a single α‐galactosylceramide treatment
Authors: Duthie Malcolm S. , Kahn Stuart J. 
Published: October 2006

SummaryThe protective immune response against Trypanosoma cruzi is improved by treatment with the natural killer (NK) T‐cell glycolipid antigen α‐galactosylceramide (α‐GalCer). A single α‐GalCer treatment of mice before T. cruzi infection decreases parasitaemia and prolongs survival. This protection is dependent on CD1d‐restricted NKT cells and interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ) suggesting that α‐GalCer‐activated NKT cells produce IFN‐γ, which stimulates the cells of the innate and adaptive immune responses to provide protection. To learn which cells provide protection we investigate here α‐GalCer treatment of mice deficient in different immune cells. Surprisingly, although NK cells provide protection against T. cruzi, and are a major source of IFN‐γ following α‐GalCer treatment, NK cells are not required for the α‐GalCer‐induced protection. The α‐GalCer treatment of NK‐cell‐depleted mice controlled parasitaemia and prevented death. In contrast, phagocytes, helper T cells and cytotoxic T cells are required. Furthermore, α‐GalCer treatment of MHC II–/– or CD8α–/– mice exacerbated the infection, demonstrating that α‐GalCer treatment induces some responses that favour the parasite. In summary α‐GalCer protection against T. cruzi required multiple cellular responses, but not the response of NK cells. These results provide useful information because α‐GalCer is being developed as therapy for infections, autoimmune diseases, allergy and cancers.
Is it possible to use urodynamic variables to predict upper urinary tract dilatation in children with neurogenic bladder‐sphincter dysfunction?
Authors: Wang Qing Wei , Wen Jian Guo , Song Dong Kui , Su Jing , Che Ying Yu , Zhang Peng , Du Ai Min , Wang Dao Xie , Zhu Qing Hua , Wei Jin Xing 
Published: October 2006

In this section, authors from China attempt to use urodynamic indices to predict upper urinary tract dilation in children with neurogenic bladder‐sphincter dysfunction.OBJECTIVETo investigate the possibility of using urodynamic variables to predict upper urinary tract dilatation (UUTD) in children with neurogenic bladder‐sphincter dysfunction (NBSD).PATIENTS AND METHODSThe study included 200 children with NBSD, of whom 103 had UUTD and 97 did not; they were examined using routine urological, neurological and urodynamic methods. The group with UUTD was divided into three subgroups (group 1–3, from mild to severe hydronephrosis). A urodynamic risk score (URS) was calculated, including a detrusor leak‐point pressure (DLPP) of >40 cmH2O, a bladder compliance (BC) of <9 mL/cmH2O and evidence of acontractile detrusor (ACD).RESULTSThe postvoid residual urine volume (PVR), DLPP, incidences of ACD and DLPP of >40 cmH2O were greater and the BC significantly less in groups 1–3 than in the control group. Moreover, the BC decreased, while the PVR, DLPP and the incidence of DLPP of >40 cmH2O were significantly higher in group 3 than in group 2. The relative safe cystometric capacity of groups 2 and 3 were lower, respectively, than that of the control and group 1, and the relative unsafe cystometric capacity (RUCC) and relative risk rate of cystometric capacity (RRRCC) were significantly greater with the severity of UUTD. The maximum detrusor pressure on voiding or at maximum flow rate, and the Abrams‐Griffiths number for voluntary contractile bladders, of the UUTD group were significantly higher than those of the control group. There was a positive correlation between URS and UUTD.CONCLUSIONSThe selective use of urodynamic variables might be valuable for predicting the risk of UUTD in children with NBSD. Decreased BC, and increased DLPP and ACD are the main urodynamic risk factors, and they reciprocally increase the occurrence and grades of UUTD. The grades of UUTD are compatible with increases in RUCC, RRRCC and URS.
Surgical volume is related to the rate of positive surgical margins at radical prostatectomy in European patients
Authors: Chun Felix K.‐H. , Briganti Alberto , Antebi Elie , Graefen Markus , Currlin Eike , Steuber Thomas , Schlomm Thorsten , Walz Jochen , Haese Alexander , Friedrich Martin G. , Ahyai Sascha A. , Eichelberg Christian , Salomon Georg , Gallina Andrea , Erbersdobler Andreas , Perrotte Paul , Heinzer Hans , Huland Hartwig , Karakiewicz Pierre I. 
Published: October 2006

OBJECTIVETo assess the association between surgical volume (SV) and the rate of positive surgical margins (PSM) after radical prostatectomy (RP) in a large single‐institution European cohort of patients.PATIENTS AND METHODSIn all, 2402 men had a RP by a group of 11 surgeons, all of whom were trained by the surgeon with the highest SV; all surgeons used the same surgical technique. Variables assessed before RP were prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) level, clinical stage and biopsy Gleason sum; variables assessed after RP were PSA level, extracapsular extension, seminal vesicle invasion, lymph node invasion and pathological Gleason sum. These were used to predict the rate of PSM in models before or after RP. Multivariate models were complemented with SV to test its independent and multivariate statistical significance and to quantify its impact on the model’s overall (and 200 bootstrap‐corrected) predictive accuracy.RESULTSThe mean (range) SV was 201 (1–1293) RPs; the mean (median, range) rate of PSM was 20.2 (21.4, 0–32.9)%. In multivariate models, SV was a highly statistically significant independent predictor of PSM (P < 0.001) and increased the predictive accuracy in multivariate models both before (2.0%) and after RP (1.5%, both P < 0.001). However, when the surgeon with the highest SV, who contributed to 1293 cases, was removed from the analyses, the multivariate independent prediction and the gains in predictive accuracy related to adding SV, disappeared in the models both before (P = 0.9, accuracy gain 0.1%) and after (P = 0.4, accuracy gain − 0.3%) RP.CONCLUSIONSThese results indicate that patients treated by surgeons with a very high volume can expect to have a significantly lower rate of PSM, after accounting for clinical and pathological case‐mix differences. However, SV is not a predictor of PSM when analyses are restricted to intermediate‐ and low‐volume surgeons.
An immunohistochemical study of chromogranin A and human epidermal growth factor‐2 expression using initial prostate biopsy specimens from patients with bone metastatic prostate cancer
Authors: Yamada Yoshiaki , Nakamura Kogenta , Aoki Shigeyuki , Taki Tomohiro , Naruse Katsuya , Matsubara Hiroyuki , Tobiume Motoi , Zennami Kenji , Katsuda Remi , Honda Nobuaki 
Published: October 2006

OBJECTIVESTo investigate, using prostate needle‐biopsy specimens at diagnosis from patients with bone metastatic prostate cancer, whether the relationship between neuroendocrine (NE) cell differentiation and human epidermal growth factor‐2 (HER‐2) expression is a prognostic factor for outcome.PATIENTS AND METHODSThe study included 50 patients diagnosed as having bone metastatic prostate cancer between January 1998 and December 2001. We tested for NE cell differentiation by using immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for chromogranin A (CgA), and for HER‐2, using a commercial test for IHC staining.RESULTSEleven patients (22%) were positive for CgA; there was a significant difference in the time to recurrence (P = 0.025) but no significant differences in cause‐specific survival rate or survival rate after recurrence. In all, 21 patients (42%) were positive for HER‐2; the cause‐specific survival rate, time to recurrence and survival rate after recurrence were all significantly more favourable in the HER‐2‐negative group (P = 0.008, 0.049 and 0.025, respectively). In the 49 patients for whom both factors could be determined, there was no significant correlation between CgA and HER‐2 positivity.CONCLUSIONSNE cell differentiation of the primary tumour in patients with bone metastatic prostate cancer does not reflect the prognosis, whereas HER‐2 overexpression is a prognostic factor for an unfavourable outcome. These results suggest that NE cell differentiation is not induced by HER‐2.
Different brain effects during chronic and acute sacral neuromodulation in urge incontinent patients with implanted neurostimulators
Authors: Blok Bertil F.M. , Groen Jan , Bosch J.L.H. Ruud , Veltman Dick J. , Lammertsma Adriaan A. 
Published: October 2006

OBJECTIVETo compare changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), using positron emission tomography (PET), during chronic and acute sacral neuromodulation (SN). SN is an effective long‐term treatment for chronic urge incontinence due to urinary bladder hyperactivity, as sensory nerves, spinal and supraspinal structures are probably responsible for the action of SN. It is not known which brain areas are involved, and the optimum benefit of SN is not immediate, suggesting that induced plasticity of the brain is necessary.PATIENTS AND METHODSBrain activity was measured in two groups: 12 urge incontinent patients (11 women and one man; mean age 52 years) in whom an implanted unilateral S3 nerve neurostimulator had been effective for >6 months (mean time after implantation 4.5 years); and eight urge incontinent patients (seven women and one man; mean age 49 years) in whom the neurostimulator was activated for the first time in the PET scanner.RESULTSDuring SN in chronically implanted patients, there were significant decreases in rCBF in the middle part of the cingulate gyrus, the ventromedial orbitofrontal cortex, midbrain and adjacent midline thalamus, and rCBF increases in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. During acute SN in newly implanted patients, there were significant decreases in rCBF the medial cerebellum, and increases in the right postcentral gyrus cortex, the right insular cortex and the ventromedial orbitofrontal cortex. Group analysis between chronic and newly implanted patients showed significant differences in the associative sensory cortex, premotor cortex and the cerebellum, all three involved in learning behaviour.CONCLUSIONSThese findings suggests that chronic SN influences, presumably via the spinal cord, brain areas previously implicated in detrusor hyperactivity, awareness of bladder filling, the urge to void and the timing of micturition. Furthermore, SN affects areas involved in alertness and awareness. Acute SN modulates predominantly areas involved in sensorimotor learning, which might become less active during the course of chronic SN.
Incentives to underprice
Authors: Camp Graeme , Comer Aimee , How Janice C. Y. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractIn an initial public offering, the choices made by issuers, such as the offer price, might not appear to be wealth maximizing. In this article, we argue that the choices are strategic. Based on the model developed by Barry (1989), we show that the average change in the issuer's wealth (4.52 per cent) is lower than the average loss implied by underpricing (12.09 per cent). Our results support the notion that the choices issuers make at the offering generate a compensatory benefit in the aftermarket. That the issuer may well not suffer a net wealth loss from the offering is in accordance with continued initial public offering activity.
MISPERCEPTIONS AND MONETARY POLICY IN A NEW‐KEYNESIAN MODEL
Authors: Jääskelä Jarkko P. , McKeown Jack 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACTThis paper studies the consequences for the monetary policy design of information shortages on the part of the private sector. We model these shortages as exogenous shocks to expected income, which through an IS curve, disturb aggregate demand. We constrain policymakers to follow Taylor‐like rules but allow them to optimise coefficients: we find that the presence of misperceptions makes the optimised Taylor rule respond more aggressively to inflation and the output gap. We also find that if the policymaker is uncertain about misperceptions, then it is less costly to assume they are pervasive when they are not than the reverse. In other words, setting policy on the basis that the private sector is subject to misperceptions is a ‘robust’ policy.
DOES ECONOMIC GROWTH EXHIBIT A DIFFERENT IMPACT ON JOB CREATION AND JOB DESTRUCTION?
Authors: Zagler Martin 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACTThe aim of this paper is to empirically investigate the link between economic growth and unemployment, using microeconometric evidence for the United Kingdom. The results show a significant and negative relation between unemployment and economic growth, using fixed effects panel regression methods. This implies that faster sectoral change, driven by higher rates of innovation and therefore by higher rates of economic growth, would foster structural unemployment. Moreover, we find that economic growth even more strongly influences job creation and job destruction.
Repetition priming of possible and impossible objects from ERP and behavioral perspectives
Authors: Friedman David , Cycowicz Yael M. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractTheorists postulate that two‐dimensional objects that can exist in three dimensions (3D, labeled “possible”) are represented by a structural description system (SDS). Objects that cannot because of anomalous structural features (labeled “impossible”) are not represented by the SDS. To test these assumptions, ERPs and RTs were recorded while subjects classified possible and impossible objects (each presented three times) as left‐ or right‐facing. Repetition of both types of objects led to RT facilitation. ERP repetition priming occurred only for possible objects, which took the form of a long‐duration increase in positive amplitude from about 500 ms for second and third relative to first presentations. The data suggest that RT priming of impossible objects depends on part‐based structural encoding, whereas ERP priming most likely reflects contact, upon repetition, with a unitized representation that exists only for possible objects.
The Duty to Obey the Law
Authors: Lefkowitz David 
Published: October 2006

AbstractUnder what conditions, if any, do those the law addresses have a moral duty or obligation to obey it simply because it is the law? In this essay, I identify five general approaches to carrying out this task, and offer a somewhat detailed discussion of one or two examples of each approach. The approaches studied are: relational‐role approaches that appeal to the fact that an agent occupies the role of member in the political community; attempts to ground the duty to obey the law in individual consent or fair play; natural duty approaches; instrumental approaches; and philosophical anarchism, an approach that denies that most subjects of contemporary states have a duty to obey the law simply in virtue of its status as such.