bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
How often do available preoperative risk factors accurately predict the risk assessed after surgery for localized prostate cancer?
Authors: Laudano Melissa A. , Lambert Sarah M. , Masson Puneet , McCann Tara R. , Desai Manisha , Benson Mitchell C. , McKiernan James M. 
Published: September 2008

OBJECTIVETo describe how frequently new information obtained at surgery translates into a substantial change in the risk of recurrence for patients with localized prostate cancer, and to determine what factors contribute to this increase in risk, as the preferred therapy for prostate cancer is often chosen based on available preoperative variables and therefore appropriate decision‐making requires an accurate preoperative assessment.PATIENTS AND METHODSUsing the Columbia Comprehensive Clinical Database of Urologic Oncology, we retrospectively analysed 3460 men who had radical prostatectomy (RP) for prostate cancer from 1988 to 2006. Kattan nomograms were used to calculate the 5‐year progression‐free probabilities before and after RP. The difference between these nomogram scores was used to divide patients into three groups, those with a decrease in the probability of disease‐free survival (DFS) of ≥15%, those with an increase in the probability of DFS of ≥15%, and those with an absolute change of <15%.RESULTSIn all, 1804 men with complete data before and after RP were analysed; 1220 (68.4%) had no significant change in nomogram score, 238 (13.3%) had a significant increase and 327 (18.3%) had a significant decrease in the probability of recurrence. Those patients with an increased probability of recurrence had a greater proportion of patients with pathological Gleason sum of ≥8, higher rates of extraprostatic capsular invasion, positive margins, seminal vesical invasion and lymph node involvement (all P < 0.001).CONCLUSIONAccurate risk predictions both before and after RP are central to effective patient counselling and optimal management. Notably, 13.3% of the present patients were faced with a substantial increase of ≥15% in their risk of biochemical failure after pathological variables became available.
Vaporesection for managing benign prostatic hyperplasia using a 2‐µm continuous‐wave laser: a prospective trial with 1‐year follow‐up
Authors: Fu Wei‐Jun , Hong Bao‐Fa , Yang Yong , Zhang Xu , Gao Jiang‐Ping , Zhang Lei , Wang Xiao‐Xiong 
Published: September 2008

OBJECTIVETo explore the safety and clinical efficacy of continuous‐wave laser vaporesection for the treatment of obstructive benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).PATIENTS AND METHODSWe treated 72 consecutive patients with obstructive BPH using a 70 W 2‐µm continuous‐wave laser. The mean (range) age of the patients was 68.6 (52–86) years. Before laser treatment, the patients were examined. The mean (sd, range) prostatic volume was 65.8 (21.7, 36–108) mL. The operative outcomes assessed were: resection time, transfusion rate, catheter time, and haemoglobin and serum sodium levels. The following variables were assessed before and after vaporesection: maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax), postvoiding residual urine volume (PVR), International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), Quality of Life Index (QoL) and sexual function.RESULTSAll cases were successful using general (two cases), epidural (28) or sacral block regional anaesthesia (42). The mean (sd) vaporesection time was 56 (12.8) min. None of the patients required a transfusion. The mean (sd) catheter time was 1.7 (0.6) days. The mean Qmax increased from 5.7 (1.2) mL/s before to 20.8 (2.1) mL/s after vaporesection and the PVR decreased from 150 to 36 mL. The IPSS and QoL scores improved after vaporesection from 24.6 (4.5) to 6.8 (1.2) and 4.8 (0.2) to 1.4 (0.3), respectively (P < 0.05). Apart from transient dysuria (8%) and irritative symptoms (29%), all patients were satisfied with voiding outcome after vaporesection and none had incontinence.CONCLUSIONVaporesection using the 2‐µm continuous‐wave laser for the treatment of obstructive BPH is a safe and effective ablative procedure with minimal morbidity and rare bleeding.
Expression of rat β(1,4)‐N‐acetylglucosaminyltransferase III in Nicotiana tabacum remodels the plant‐specific N‐glycosylation
Authors: Frey Alexander D. , Karg Saskia R. , Kallio Pauli T. 
Published: September 2008

SummaryPlant N‐linked glycans differ substantially from their mammalian counterparts, mainly with respect to modifications of the core glycan, which typically contains a β(1,2)‐xylose and an α(1,3)‐fucose. The addition of a bisecting N‐acetylglucosamine residue by β(1,4)‐N‐acetylglucosaminyltransferase III (GnTIII) is known to control the processing of N‐linked glycans in mammals, for example by preventing α(1,6)‐fucosylation of the core glycan. In order to outcompete plant‐specific β(1,2)‐xylose and α(1,3)‐fucose modifications, rat GnTIII was expressed either with its native localization domain (GnTIII) or with the cytoplasmic tail, transmembrane domain and stem region (CTS) of Arabidopsis thaliana mannosidase II (ManII) (GnTIIIA.th.). Both CTSs targeted enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (eYFP) to a brefeldin A‐sensitive compartment, indicative of Golgi localization. GnTIII expression increased the fraction of N‐glycans devoid of xylose and fucose from 13% ± 7% in wild‐type plants to 60% ± 8% in plants expressing GnTIIIA.th.. N‐Glycans of plants expressing rat GnTIII contained three major glycan structures of complex bisected, complex, or hybrid bisected type, accounting for 70%–85% of the total N‐glycans. On expression of GnTIIIA.th., N‐glycans displayed a higher heterogeneity and were of hybrid type. Co‐expression of A. thaliana ManII significantly increased the amount of complex bisected structures relative to the plants expressing GnTIII or GnTIIIA.th., whereas co‐expression of human ManII did not redirect the pool of hybrid structures towards complex‐type structures. The method described offers the advantage that it can be implemented in any desired plant system for effective removal of β(1,2)‐xylose and α(1,3)‐fucose from the N‐glycan.
Spaces of Modernity: Religion and the Urban in Asia and Africa
Authors: HANCOCK MARY , SRINIVAS SMRITI 
Published: September 2008

AbstractThis article introduces a symposium on religion and the formation of modern urban space in Asia and Africa. Both the spread of new religious movements and the articulations between religion, globalization and neoliberalism have prompted new analyses of the shifting geographic and social boundaries between ‘religious’ and ‘secular’ institutions, practices and discourses, and about the meaning of ‘religion’ itself. We reinscribe work on urban religion within a discussion of ‘modernity’ by dealing with the socio‐spatial mediation of religion and its role in redefining public spaces, practices, norms and discourses in contemporary cities. Individual articles map the spaces engendered by religious imaginaries and the forms of mobility and networks that religion relies on and constitutes, and they identify and analyze the roles played by mass media in religious practice and institution building, as well as the embodied nature of urban religious experience. They demonstrate how urban studies can be ‘pluralized’ and ‘vernacularized’ through analyses of how the urban realm is constituted in part through religious practice and meaning. Our attention to the articulation of religion with cities in Asia and Africa will also help to foster a new theoretical vocabulary within religious studies that is attentive to the historical, cultural and spatial contingencies of religion as a category of analysis.RésuméCet article présente un symposium sur la religion et la formation de l’espace urbain moderne en Asie et en Afrique. La propagation de mouvements religieux nouveaux, ainsi que les articulations entre religion, mondialisation et néolibéralisme, ont suscité des analyses originales sur le décalage des frontières géographiques et sociales entre les institutions, pratiques et discours “religieux” et “laïcs”, et sur la signification de la religion elle‐même. Nous réinscrivons les travaux sur la religion urbaine dans une discussion sur la “modernité” en abordant la médiation socio‐spatiale de la religion et son rôle dans la redéfinition des pratiques, normes, discours et espaces publics dans les villes contemporaines. Les différents articles recensent les espaces générés par les imaginaires religieux, ainsi que les formes de mobilité et de réseaux que la religion élabore et sur lesquelles elle s’appuie ; de plus, ils identifient et analysent les rôles des médias dans la pratique religieuse et la construction de l’institution, et s’intéressent à la matérialité de l’expérience religieuse urbaine. Ils montrent comment les études urbaines peuvent être “pluralisées” et “vernacularisées” par le biais d’analyses sur la façon dont l’univers urbain se constitue en partie par la pratique et la signification de la religion. De plus, notre intérêt pour l’articulation de la religion avec les villes d’Asie et d’Afrique contribue à alimenter un nouveau lexique théorique pour les études religieuses, qui veille aux contingences historiques, culturelles et spatiales de la religion en tant que catégorie analysée.
The Sacred Geography of Bangkok's Markets
Authors: WILSON ARA 
Published: September 2008

AbstractVernacular shrines pervade the markets of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand and a globalized city in Southeast Asia. Based on long‐term ethnographic fieldwork in Bangkok, this article traces the history of cross‐border flows and shifting political economic arrangements that remapped the sacred geography of the city. It considers the consolidation of a pantheon of enchanted figures into a modern ‘prosperity religion’ that is practiced in commercial enterprises as well as in daily life across the country. Mapping the spiritual geography embodied in market shrines reveals changing mobilizations of local and transnational circuits of spiritual power in relation to the shifting national and transnational flows of material and cultural power.RésuméLes lieux de dévotion vernaculaires envahissent les marchés de Bangkok, capitale de la Thaïlande et ville mondialisée du Sud‐Est asiatique. S’appuyant sur un long travail de terrain ethnographique réaliséà Bangkok, l’article retrace l’histoire des flux transfrontaliers et des différents dispositifs politico‐économiques qui ont redessiné la géographie sacrée de la ville. Il s’intéresse à la fusion d’un panthéon de personnages enchantés en une “religion de la prospérité” moderne, pratiquée dans les entreprises commerciales et au quotidien dans l’ensemble du pays. Cartographier la géographie spirituelle matérialisée par les sanctuaires des marchés révèle une transformation des mobilisations des circuits locaux et transnationaux de la force spirituelle en lien avec l’évolution des flux nationaux et transnationaux de puissance matérielle et culturelle.
Local Governance as Government–Business Cooperation in Western Democracies: Analysing Local and Intergovernmental Effects by Multi‐Level Comparison
Authors: YÁÑEZ CLEMENTE J. NAVARRO , MAGNIER ANNICK , RAMÍREZ M. ANTONIA 
Published: September 2008

AbstractThe internationalization of economics and politics has forced local governments to develop new context‐appropriate strategies; these strategies, characterized by a greater degree of interaction with non‐governmental key actors and with the business world in particular, have been termed local or urban governance. This article is intended to illustrate the impact of three factors — local leadership, local political arenas and intergovernmental relationships — on the formation of cooperative networks between local governments and business organizations as one of the basic types of urban governance model. To achieve this, a comparative multi‐level analysis presenting the CEO's perpective on such issues was conducted. The results show how local and intergovernmental opportunity costs and leadership are the factors that largely determine the degree of collaboration between local government and business.RésuméL’internationalisation de l’économie et de la politique a forcé les gouvernements locaux àélaborer de nouvelles stratégies en fonction des contextes ; caractérisées par une interaction plus forte avec des acteurs‐clés non gouvernementaux et avec le monde de l’entreprise en particulier, ces stratégies ont reçu l’appellation de gouvernance locale ou urbaine. L’impact de trois facteurs — autorité locale, arènes politiques locales et relations intergouvernementales — sur la formation des réseaux de coopération entre gouvernements locaux et entreprises est présenté comme l’un des types essentiels de modèle de gouvernance urbaine. Pour ce faire, une analyse comparative multi‐niveaux a été menée sur la vision des directions générales d’entreprises concernant ces questions. Les résultats montrent la manière dont les autorités et les coûts d’opportunité locaux et intergouvernementaux déterminent en grande partie le degré de collaboration entre les gouvernements locaux et le monde des affaires.
Syntactic anomaly elicits a lexico‐semantic (N400) ERP effect in the second language but not the first
Authors: Weber Kirsten , Lavric Aureliu 
Published: September 2008

AbstractRecent brain potential research into first versus second language (L1 vs. L2) processing revealed striking responses to morphosyntactic features absent in the mother tongue. The aim of the present study was to establish whether the presence of comparable morphosyntactic features in L1 leads to more similar electrophysiological L1 and L2 profiles. ERPs were acquired while German–English bilinguals and native speakers of English read sentences. Some sentences were meaningful and well formed, whereas others contained morphosyntactic or semantic violations in the final word. In addition to the expected P600 component, morphosyntactic violations in L2 but not L1 led to an enhanced N400. This effect may suggest either that resolution of morphosyntactic anomalies in L2 relies on the lexico‐semantic system or that the weaker/slower morphological mechanisms in L2 lead to greater sentence wrap‐up difficulties known to result in N400 enhancement.
Cloze probability does not only affect N400 amplitude: The case of complex prepositions
Authors: Molinaro Nicola , Vespignani Francesco , Canal Paolo , Fonda Sergio , Cacciari Cristina 
Published: September 2008

AbstractCloze‐probability levels are inversely correlated with N400 amplitude, indicating an easier integration for expected words in semantic‐pragmatic contexts. Here we exploited the prespecified standard order of complex prepositions and measured the ERPs time‐locked to the last preposition in sentences in which complex prepositions were presented in their standard form or with the last preposition changed. The expected preposition elicited an N280 followed by an N400–700, two ERP components previously associated to the processing of closed‐class words. The unexpected preposition elicited only an N280, and the N400–700 was reduced. These results reflect the specificity of the contextual constraints linked to the complex preposition word sequence.
Natural selective attention: Orienting and emotion
Authors: Bradley Margaret M. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractThe foundations of orienting and attention are hypothesized to stem from activation of defensive and appetitive motivational systems that evolved to protect and sustain the life of the individual. Motivational activation initiates a cascade of perceptual and motor processes that facilitate the selection of appropriate behavior. Among these are detection of significance, indexed by a late centro‐parietal positivity in the event‐related potential, enhanced perceptual processing, indexed by a initial cardiac deceleration, and preparation for action, indexed by electrodermal changes. Data exploring the role of stimulus novelty and significance in orienting are presented that indicate different components of the orienting response habituate at different rates. Taken together, it is suggested that orienting is mediated by activation of fundamental motivational systems that have evolved to support survival.
Long‐term effects of calorie or protein restriction on serum IGF‐1 and IGFBP‐3 concentration in humans
Authors: Fontana Luigi , Weiss Edward P. , Villareal Dennis T. , Klein Samuel , Holloszy John O. 
Published: September 2008

SummaryReduced function mutations in the insulin/IGF‐I signaling pathway increase maximal lifespan and health span in many species. Calorie restriction (CR) decreases serum IGF‐1 concentration by ~40%, protects against cancer and slows aging in rodents. However, the long‐term effects of CR with adequate nutrition on circulating IGF‐1 levels in humans are unknown. Here we report data from two long‐term CR studies (1 and 6 years) showing that severe CR without malnutrition did not change IGF‐1 and IGF‐1 : IGFBP‐3 ratio levels in humans. In contrast, total and free IGF‐1 concentrations were significantly lower in moderately protein‐restricted individuals. Reducing protein intake from an average of 1.67 g kg−1 of body weight per day to 0.95 g kg−1 of body weight per day for 3 weeks in six volunteers practicing CR resulted in a reduction in serum IGF‐1 from 194 ng mL−1 to 152 ng mL−1. These findings demonstrate that, unlike in rodents, long‐term severe CR does not reduce serum IGF‐1 concentration and IGF‐1 : IGFBP‐3 ratio in humans. In addition, our data provide evidence that protein intake is a key determinant of circulating IGF‐1 levels in humans, and suggest that reduced protein intake may become an important component of anticancer and anti‐aging dietary interventions.
Mitochondrial iron accumulation with age and functional consequences
Authors: Seo Arnold Y.  , Xu Jinze  , Servais Stephane  , Hofer Tim  , Marzetti Emanuele  , Wohlgemuth Stephanie E.  , Knutson Mitchell D.  , Chung Hae Young  , Leeuwenburgh Christiaan  
Published: September 2008

SummaryDuring the aging process, an accumulation of non‐heme iron disrupts cellular homeostasis and contributes to the mitochondrial dysfunction typical of various neuromuscular degenerative diseases. Few studies have investigated the effects of iron accumulation on mitochondrial integrity and function in skeletal muscle and liver tissue. Thus, we isolated liver mitochondria (LM), as well as quadriceps‐derived subsarcolemmal mitochondria (SSM) and interfibrillar mitochondria (IFM), from male Fischer 344× Brown Norway rats at 8, 18, 29 and 37 months of age. Non‐heme iron content in SSM, IFM and LM was significantly higher with age, reaching a maximum at 37 months of age. The mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) was more susceptible to the opening in aged mitochondria containing high levels of iron (i.e. SSM and LM) compared to IFM. Furthermore, mitochondrial RNA oxidation increased significantly with age in SSM and LM, but not in IFM. Levels of mitochondrial RNA oxidation in SSM and LM correlated positively with levels of mitochondrial iron, whereas a significant negative correlation was observed between the maximum Ca2+ amounts needed to induce mPTP opening and iron contents in SSM, IFM and LM. Overall, our data suggest that age‐dependent accumulation of mitochondrial iron may increase mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative damage, thereby enhancing the susceptibility to apoptosis.
Astrocytes from acyclic female rats exhibit lowered capacity for neuronal differentiation
Authors: Lewis Danielle K. , Woodin Heather R. , Sohrabji Farida 
Published: September 2008

SummaryAstrocytes comprise a large proportion of the central nervous system support cells and play a critical role in neural injury and repair. The present study examined the impact of ovarian aging using anex vivomodel system, where astrocytes were derived from the olfactory bulb of young, reproductively competent females and reproductive senescent females. Cellular morphology and the spatial pattern of laminin deposition was altered in astrocyte cultures derived from reproductive senescent females. Young adult astrocytes had a flattened polygonal shape with actin bundles at the cell edges, while reproductive senescent astrocytes had a contractile appearance with thick stress fibers visible throughout the cell. Moreover, in reproductive senescent astrocytes, BDNF was elevated with a concomitant reduction in expression of the BDNF receptor, TrkB. To examine the ability of astrocytes derived from young adult and reproductive senescent females to promote neuronal differentiation, neural progenitor cells (NPCs) were co‐cultured with astrocytes derived from these groups. At day 4in vitro, MAP‐2+NPCs were located in smaller clusters when co‐cultured with young adult astrocytes and in large clusters when co‐cultured with older astrocytes. At days 6 and 10, neuronal differentiation was significantly reduced in reproductive senescent astrocyte–NPC co‐cultures, as determined by NeuN+cell numbers and MAP‐2+process lengths. Furthermore, estrogen only enhanced neuronal differentiation in young adult–NPC co‐cultures. The ovarian age‐related astrocyte phenotype thus limits the ability of this cell to promote neuronal differentiation in NPC populations and suggests that the astrocyte‐mediated microenvironment in older acyclic females is less conducive to repair following neurovascular injury.
Distinct tumor suppressor mechanisms evolve in rodent species that differ in size and lifespan
Authors: Seluanov Andrei , Hine Christopher , Bozzella Michael , Hall Amelia , Sasahara Tais H. C. , Ribeiro Antonio A. C. M. , Catania Kenneth C. , Presgraves Daven C. , Gorbunova Vera 
Published: September 2008

SummaryLarge, long‐lived species experience more lifetime cell divisions and hence a greater risk of spontaneous tumor formation than smaller, short‐lived species. Large, long‐lived species are thus expected to evolve more elaborate tumor suppressor systems. In previous work, we showed that telomerase activity coevolves with body mass, but not lifespan, in rodents: telomerase activity is repressed in the somatic tissues of large rodent species but remains active in small ones. Without telomerase activity, the telomeres of replicating cells become progressively shorter until, at some critical length, cells stop dividing. Our findings therefore suggested that repression of telomerase activity mitigates the increased risk of cancer in larger‐bodied species but not necessarily longer‐lived ones. These findings imply that other tumor suppressor mechanisms must mitigate increased cancer risk in long‐lived species. Here, we examined the proliferation of fibroblasts from 15 rodent species with diverse body sizes and lifespans. We show that, consistent with repressed telomerase activity, fibroblasts from large rodents undergo replicative senescence accompanied by telomere shortening and overexpression of p16Ink4aand p21Cip1/Waf1cycline‐dependent kinase inhibitors. Interestingly, small rodents with different lifespans show a striking difference: cells from small shorter‐lived species display continuous rapid proliferation, whereas cells from small long‐lived species display continuous slow proliferation. We hypothesize that cells of small long‐lived rodents, lacking replicative senescence, have evolved alternative tumor‐suppressor mechanisms that prevent inappropriate cell divisionin vivoand slow cell growthin vitro. Thus, large‐bodied species and small but long‐lived species have evolved distinct tumor suppressor mechanisms.