bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Influence of prior assignment on refusal rates in a trial of supplemental oxygen for retinopathy of prematurity
Authors: Engel Rolf R. , Oden Neal L. , Cohen Geoff R. , Phelps Dale L. ,   on behalf of the STOP‐ROP Multicenter Study Group
Published: June 2006

SummaryInvestigators aware of prior treatment assignments may deliberately or subliminally influence rates of subsequent consent in randomised trials, thus introducing the possibility of bias. As a trial of Supplemental Therapeutic Oxygen for Prethreshold Retinopathy of Prematurity (STOP‐ROP) was not masked to health professionals other than ophthalmologists, this possibility was evaluated by comparing the incidence of refusal to participate in relation to the previous assignment.Over 5 years, the STOP‐ROP trial enrolled 649 infants, while 394 eligible subjects refused. Enrolled infants were assigned to supplemental oxygen or control groups at 30 centres including 71 hospitals, and stratified into two severity strata of their retinopathy of prematurity. We studied whether the assignment of the previously enrolled infant to either the supplemental arm or the control arm of the study affected the incidence of refusal to participate in the study by the next eligible infant. We also evaluated the possibility that refusal based on the preceding assignment could have influenced either the baseline balance of eye severity and pulmonary status between the two arms of the study or the final outcome of the randomised trial.There was a significantly higher incidence of refusal if the prior enrollee had been assigned to the supplemental oxygen group (44%) as compared with the control group (34%, P = 0.004). This effect from the prior assignment was larger in the later half of the study. Irrespective of the prior enrollee’s assignment, refusal was more likely for more mature infants and those with milder baseline disease. Selection bias did not influence the ophthalmic or pulmonary findings at baseline, or the study outcomes. In incompletely masked studies, monitoring the distribution of refusers in relation to the previous assignment can reveal selection bias. Despite evidence of unequal refusal rates, the results of the STOP‐ROP trial were not affected.
Gene expression patterns reveal tissue‐specific signaling networks controlling programmed cell death and ABA‐ regulated maturation in developing barley seeds
Authors: Sreenivasulu Nese , Radchuk Volodymyr , Strickert Marc , Miersch Otto , Weschke Winfriede , Wobus Ulrich 
Published: June 2006

SummaryGene expression patterns covering over 10 000 seed‐expressed sequences were analyzed by macroarray technology in maternal tissue (mainly pericarp) and filial endosperm and embryo during barley seed development from anthesis until late maturation. Defined sets of genes showing distinct expression patterns characterized both tissue type and major developmental phases. The analysis focused on regulatory networks involved in programmed cell death (PCD) and abscisic acid (ABA)‐mediated maturation. These processes were similar in the different tissues, but typically involved the expression of alternative members of a common gene family. The analysis of co‐expressed gene sets and the identification of cis regulatory elements in orthologous rice gene ‘promoter’ regions suggest that PCD in the pericarp is mediated by distinct classes of proteases and is under the hormonal control of both jasmonic acid (JA) and ethylene via ethylene‐responsive element binding protein (EREBP) transcription factors (TFs). On the other hand, PCD in endosperm apparently involves only the ethylene pathway, but employs distinct gene family members from those active in the pericarp, and a different set of proteases and TFs. JA biosynthetic genes are hardly activated. Accordingly, JA levels are high in the pericarp but low in the endosperm during middle and late developmental stages. Similarly, genes acting in the deduced ABA biosynthetic pathway and signaling network differ between endosperm and embryo. ABA in the endosperm appears to exert an influence over storage product synthesis via SNF1 kinase. In the embryo, ABA seems to influence the acquisition of desiccation tolerance via ABA response element binding factors, but the data also suggest the existence of an ABA‐independent but interactive pathway acting via the dehydration‐responsive element binding (DREB) 2A TF.
Oncological outcome of retroperitoneoscopic nephroureterectomy for upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma
Authors: OKEGAWA TAKATSUGU , ODAGANE AKIHIRO , IDE HISAMITSU , HORIE SHIGEO , NUTAHARA KIKUO , HIGASHIHARA EIJI. 
Published: June 2006

Objective:  To report the oncological outcome of retroperitoneoscopic nephroureterectomy (RNU) with bladder cuff excision for upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), and to compare the outcome with that of the traditional open nephroureterectomy (ONU).Patients and methods:  From January 2001, 48 patients with upper urinary tract TCC were enrolled in the study; 25 had RNU and 23 had ONU. Oncological parameters (disease‐free survival and disease‐specific survival) were calculated from the time of surgery to the date of last follow up and were analysed by the Kaplan–Meier method.Results:  Mean follow up was 24.3 months in the RNU group, significantly shorter than in the ONU group. Bladder recurrence was identified in two patients with grade 3 pathological stage pT3, one patient with grade 3 stage pT2 disease and two patients with grade 2 stage pT2 disease. Multiple organ metastases in the lung, liver and lymph nodes were associated with bladder recurrence in two cases (grade 2 stage pT3, and grade 3 stage pT3). The recurrence rate was 20% (5 of 25 cases) and mean time to recurrence was 9.5 months. In the ONU group, bladder recurrence and metastases developed in four and three patients, respectively. The recurrence rate was 17% (4 of 23 cases) and mean time to recurrence was 23.4 months. No significant difference was detected in the disease‐free survival rate and cancer‐specific survival rate between the two groups (P = 0.759 and P = 0.866, respectively).Conclusion:  The oncological outcome of RNU appears to be equivalent to that of ONU. Moreover, long‐term follow up is necessary to evaluate the oncological outcome in comparison to ONU.
Novel HER2 selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor, TAK‐165, inhibits bladder, kidney and androgen‐independent prostate cancer in vitro and in vivo
Authors: NAGASAWA JOJI , MIZOKAMI ATSUSHI , KOSHIDA KIYOSHI , YOSHIDA SEI , NAITO KENICHIRO , NAMIKI MIKIO 
Published: June 2006

Purpose:  TAK‐165 is a new potent inhibitor of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) tyrosine kinase. Several reports suggest HER2 expression in bladder cancer, renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and androgen‐independent prostate cancer. We therefore investigated the antitumor effect of TAK‐165 on these urological cancer cells.Materials and methods:  Western blot analysis was performed to confirm HER2 expression in cell lines. To study in vitro efficacy, cells were treated with TAK‐165 at various concentrations for 72 h and then counted using a hemocytometer. Then the IC50 value was calculated. In the xenograft model, after the tumor reached 200–300 mm3 in volume, mice were orally administered TAK‐165 10 mg/kg per day or 20 mg/kg per day or saline for 14 consecutive days (n = 6–8).Results:  HER2 expression was observed in HT1376, UMUC3, T24 (bladder), ACHN (kidney), DU145, LNCaP, LN‐REC4 (prostate), although the expression level in these cells was weak compared with BT474 (a breast cancer cell line which expresses HER2 strongly). IC50 was varied from 0.09 to greater than 25 µmol/L in the bladder cancer cell line. ACHN cells were less sensitive in vitro. The prostate cancer cell lines studied were all sensitive (IC50 0.053–4.62 µmol/L). In the xenograft model, treatment with TAK‐165 significantly inhibited growth of UMUC‐3, ACHN, and LN‐REC4. The antitumor effect (T/C [%] = growth of TAK‐165 treated tumor/average growth of control tumor × 100) after 14 days treatment were 22.9%, 26.0%, and 26.5% in UMUC3, ACHN and LN‐REC4, respectively.Conclusions:  TAK‐165 may be a hopeful new agent for bladder, kidney and androgen‐independent prostate cancer.
Elements of a neurobiological theory of hippocampal function: the role of synaptic plasticity, synaptic tagging and schemas
Authors: Morris R. G. M. 
Published: June 2006

AbstractThe 2004 EJN Lecture was an attempt to lay out further aspects of a developing neurobiological theory of hippocampal function [Morris, R.G.M., Moser, E.I., Riedel, G., Martin, S.J., Sandin, J., Day, M. & O'Carroll, C. (2003)Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci.,358, 773–786.] These are that (i) activity‐dependent synaptic plasticity plays a key role in the automatic encoding and initial storage of attended experience; (ii) the persistence of hippocampal synaptic potentiation over time can be influenced by other independent neural events happening closely in time, an idea with behavioural implications for memory; and (iii) that systems‐level consolidation of memory traces within neocortex is guided both by hippocampal traces that have been subject to cellular consolidation and by the presence of organized schema in neocortex into which relevant newly encoded information might be stored. Hippocampal memory is associative and, to study it more effectively than with previous paradigms, a new learning task is described which is unusual in requiring the incidental encoding of flavour–place paired associates, with the readout of successful storage being successful recall of a place given the flavour with which it was paired. NMDA receptor‐dependent synaptic plasticity is shown to be critical for the encoding and intermediate storage of memory traces in this task, while AMPA receptor‐mediated fast synaptic transmission is necessary for memory retrieval. Typically, these rapidly encoded traces decay quite rapidly over time. Synaptic potentiation also decays rapidly, but can be rendered more persistent by a process of cellular consolidation in which synaptic tagging and capture play a key part in determining whether or not it will be persistent. Synaptic tags set at the time of an event, even many trivial events, can capture the products of the synthesis of plasticity proteins set in train by events before, during or even after an event to be remembered. Tag–protein interactions stabilize synaptic potentiation and, by implication, memory. The behavioural implications of tagging are explored. Finally, using a different protocol for flavour–place paired associate learning, it is shown that rats can develop a spatial schema which represents the relative locations of several different flavours of food hidden at places within a familiar space. This schema is learned gradually but, once acquired, enables new paired associates to be encoded and stored in one trial. Their incorporation into the schema prevents rapid forgetting and suggests that schema play a key and hitherto unappreciated role in systems‐level memory consolidation. The elements of what may eventually mature into a more formal neurobiological theory of hippocampal memory are laid out as specific propositions with detailed conceptual discussion and reference to recent data.
Immunohistochemical analysis of negative inguinal lymph nodes in men with squamous cell carcinoma of the penis: are we missing micrometastases which could predict recurrence?
Authors: BIEDRZYCKI OLAF J. , HADWAY PAUL , COOKE ANGELA , WATKIN NICK , CORBISHLEY CATHY 
Published: June 2006

OBJECTIVETo determine the presence or absence of micrometastases in lymph node dissection specimens of men with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the penis using immunohistochemistry, and to correlate the results with clinical outcome.PATIENTS AND METHODSIn all, 13 men (mean age 55.8 years) with penile SCC, treated at St George’s hospital between 2001 and 2005, were selected. All had prophylactic lymph node dissections; (12 bilateral and one unilateral). All lymph nodes were negative on standard haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Each block was stained for cytokeratins MNF 116 and LP34. In all, 217 lymph nodes were examined (mean 16.7 per patient). The median (range) follow‐up was 23 (10–52) months.RESULTSThe mean tumour size and depth of invasion were 30.2 mm and 15.9 mm, respectively. There were eight T2 and four T3 tumours. Four tumours showed lymphovascular invasion. Information on tumour size and pathological grade was not available in one case. None of the patients have to date developed a local recurrence. A single lymph node was found to contain a micrometastasis, which was identified retrospectively on the original H&E slide. This measured 0.24 mm in maximum dimension. This patient had a T2G2 tumour with no vascular invasion; he has not progressed clinically in 10 months of follow‐up.CONCLUSIONSAnticytokeratin immunohistochemistry on H&E‐negative inguinal dissection specimens in men with SCC of the penis can detect micrometastases that might be overlooked on routine stains. Their prognostic and therapeutic significance needs further study.
Is the association between balanitis xerotica obliterans and penile carcinoma underestimated?
Authors: PIETRZAK PETER , HADWAY PAUL , CORBISHLEY CATHY M. , WATKIN NICHOLAS A. 
Published: June 2006

OBJECTIVETo determine the incidence of balanitis xerotica obliterans (BXO) in a consecutive series of penile carcinomas in one centre, as BXO is a common penile disease that usually involves the prepuce and glans, and there have been sporadic case reports of the association between BXO and penile carcinoma, although it is uncertain if there is a specific causal relationship.PATIENTS AND METHODSThe reported incidence of penile carcinoma in patients with BXO is 2.6–5.8%, leading some to advocate circumcision in all cases, with close follow‐up in those with persistent glanular disease. We prospectively analysed all cases of penile cancer referred to the unit over a 54‐month period, to determine the prevalence of BXO.RESULTSIn all, 155 patients with penile malignancy were reviewed, 44 of whom had BXO (28%). This group included 34 men with squamous cell carcinoma and 10 with carcinoma in situ; in 39, BXO and malignancy presented synchronously. In three other cases, cancer occurred in the background of chronic persistent BXO; in two cases penile cancer was truly metachronous. The tumours with associated BXO tended to be of lower stage and grade, and the patients presented when younger, but this was not statistically significant.CONCLUSIONA significant proportion of patients with penile malignancy have a histological diagnosis of BXO. We think that patients presenting with long‐standing BXO and those in whom BXO has not resolved after circumcision warrant biopsies and a careful follow‐up.
Aberrant expression of cystatin C in prostate cancer is associated with neuroendocrine differentiation
Authors: JIBORN THOMAS , ABRAHAMSON MAGNUS , GADALEANU VIRGIL , LUNDWALL ÅKE , BJARTELL ANDERS 
Published: June 2006

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of cystatin C and the relationship with neuroendocrine differentiation and proliferation in benign and malignant prostatic tissues, as cystatin C, the most important inhibitor of human lysosomal cysteine proteases, is considered to be a major regulator of pathological protein degradation in inflammatory and neoplastic diseases.MATERIALS AND METHODSImmunoreactivity for cystatin C, prostate‐specific antigen, Ki‐67 and the neuroendocrine marker chromogranin A was examined in whole‐mount radical prostatectomy specimens and using tissue microarrays. Cystatin C in tissue homogenates was analysed by Western blotting and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression and relative levels of cystatin C mRNA were assessed by in situ hybridization and quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (QRT‐PCR).RESULTSThe intensity of cystatin C immunostaining in Gleason grade 2 and 3 prostate cancer was significantly higher than in benign prostatic tissues, but decreased significantly with increasing Gleason grades. There was strong expression of cystatin C in neuroendocrine‐like cells, which increased significantly with increasing Gleason grades. The Ki‐67 immunoreactivity also increased significantly during de‐differentiation. In situ hybridization showed staining patterns in concordance with the immunohistochemical results. ELISA showed high concentrations of cystatin C in benign and malignant tissue extracts and QRT‐PCR further corroborated that the cystatin C gene is highly expressed in both benign and malignant prostatic tissues.CONCLUSIONSThere was a significant decrease in the immunohistochemical expression of cystatin C in non‐neuroendocrine prostate cancer cells, concomitant with increasing Gleason grades. That there were more strongly cystatin C‐positive neuroendocrine‐like cells in prostate cancer than in benign prostatic tissue suggests a connection between cystatin C and neuroendocrine differentiation in prostate cancer progression.
A comparative in vitro study to determine the beneficial effect of calcium‐channel and α1‐adrenoceptor antagonism on human ureteric activity
Authors: DAVENPORT KIM , TIMONEY ANTHONY G. , KEELEY FRANCIS X. 
Published: June 2006

OBJECTIVETo compare the in vitro human ureteric muscle response to calcium‐channel and α‐adrenoceptor antagonists, to determine the promoting factor for stone passage. Clinical trials suggest that stone passage in renal colic can be promoted by ureteric relaxation using these agents, however nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs appear to reduce ureteric activity in vitro but do not promote stone passage when used in clinical trials.MATERIALS AND METHODSHuman ureteric muscle strips were used to record the effect that each drug had on muscle tone in vitro. The ureter was obtained at open nephrectomy or cystectomy. Potassium‐enriched Krebs’ solution was used to evoke maximal muscle tone, followed by adding each drug in increasing concentrations to determine the percentage reduction in tone. The drugs used to represent each group were nifedipine, 5‐methylurapidil (5‐MU) and diclofenac. In all, 201 ureteric strips were obtained from 39 patients.RESULTSAt all drug concentrations, the in vitro relaxant effect of nifedipine and 5‐MU was greater than that of diclofenac. At 10−5m the median reduction in proximal and distal ureteric tone to diclofenac, nifedipine and 5‐MU were 18%, 5% and 47%, vs 57%, 33% and 65%, respectively.CONCLUSIONNifedipine and 5‐MU produced greater ureteric relaxation in vitro than diclofenac; they predominantly relax distal ureter. This suggests that a reduction in ureteric muscle tone, as opposed to complete ablation of activity, might be the promoting factor for stone passage.
Degenerate dentition of the dugong (Dugong dugon), or why a grazer does not need teeth: morphology, occlusion and wear of mouthparts
Authors: Lanyon J. M. , Sanson G. D. 
Published: June 2006

AbstractThe morphology and functional occlusion of the cheekteeth of 57 dugongs Dugong dugon of both sexes were examined using reflected light and scanning electron microscopy, radiography, hardness testing and skull manipulation. The functional morphology of the horny oral pads was also described. Mouthparts and body size allometry was examined for ontogenetic and gender‐related trends. We found that the worn erupted cheekteeth of the dugong are simple flat pegs composed of soft degenerative dentine. During occlusion, the mandible moves in a mainly antero‐lingual direction, with the possibility of mandibular retraction in some individuals. Anterior parts of the cheektooth row may become non‐functional as a dugong ages. As a function of body size, dugong cheekteeth are extremely small compared with those of other mammalian herbivores, and with other hindgut fermenters in particular. The morphology, small size and occlusal variability of the cheekteeth suggest that there has not been strong selective pressure acting to maintain an effective dentition. In contrast, great development of the horny pads and associated skull parameters and their lower size variability suggest that the horny pads may have assumed the major role in food comminution.
Derived reproductive modes in New Guinean anuran amphibians and description of a new species with paternal care in the genus Callulops (Microhylidae)
Authors: Günther R. 
Published: June 2006

AbstractThe diversity, distribution, ecology and reproductive biology of the New Guinean anuran amphibians are still poorly known. Recent fieldwork in the western part of New Guinea (Papua, Province of Indonesia, formerly West Irian or Irian Jaya) has documented many new species and revealed derived reproductive modes in some taxa. These strategies are all associated with the liberation of early developmental stages from permanent water. Litoria cf. havina attach comparatively few eggs on the leaves of shrubs or herbs above the water surface. Larvae of Litoria arfakiana have strongly reduced jaws, and at least some older individuals occupy semiterrestrial habitats. Oreophryne clamata deposits its eggs on leaves c. 2 m above the ground, making it the third species known to have arboreal eggs in this speciose genus. In addition to guarding terrestrial eggs, a male of Oreophryne cf. wapoga transported juveniles on its back. The same behaviour was observed in a species of Callulops (the first case in the subfamily Asterophryinae, family Microhylidae), which is here described as new to science. This new species is closely related to C. eurydactylus and was found in lower montane tropical rainforest at the base of the Wandammen Peninsula. Despite having unusually large terminal discs on the fingers and toes for its genus, it was never found climbing on vegetation. Its terrestrial eggs are probably guarded by the male parent and hatchlings are carried around by the male for some days. Through this paternal care, the offspring have a greater chance of survival than do unattended eggs and froglets, and guarding males have, in this way, a greater genetic fitness than males who do not provide this care. It may be supposed that the latter fact was chiefly responsible for the evolution of paternal care in frogs.
Intraspecific phylogeography of the white‐rumped snowfinch (Onychostruthus taczanowskii) endemic to the Tibetan Plateau based on mtDNA sequences
Authors: Yang S.‐J. , Lei F.‐M. , Qu Y.‐H. , Yin Z.‐H. 
Published: June 2006

AbstractVariation of the mitochondrial control region segment was analyzed from white‐rumped snowfinch Onychostruthus taczanowskii through its Tibetan Plateau distribution range. Very low genetic diversity (0.117%) and no differentiation were found between geographic groups. This may be because of a combination of several ecological and historical factors, including lack of geographical barriers and a relatively homogenic habitat through the plateau, high gene flow and a relatively fast population expansion from a very small population size. The genetic diversity of its closely related codistributed species, the red‐necked snowfinch Pyrgilauda ruficollis, was much higher, possibly as a result of expansion from different population size and glacial refugia.