bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Infracoccygeal sacropexy or sacrospinous suspension for uterine or vaginal vault prolapse
Authors: de Tayrac R. , Mathé M.‐L. , Bader G. , Deffieux X. , Fazel A. , Fernandez H. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractObjectiveTo compare infracoccygeal sacropexy (IS) and sacrospinous suspension (SS) for the treatment of uterine or vault prolapse.MethodsA randomized trial of 49 women assigned to either the IS group using IVS tape (n = 24) or SS group (n = 25). Concomitant hysterectomy and repairs were performed as appropriate. Evaluations included prolapse staging using the POP‐Q system and validated questionnaires for symptoms (PFDI), quality of life (PFIQ), and sexuality (PISQ‐12). The primary outcome measure was postoperative pain.ResultsPatients' characteristics were similar in both groups. IS was quicker, easier, and less painful than SS (P < 0.01). Hemorrhage or hematoma rates were similar. Neither rectal injury nor vaginal erosion occurred. Mean follow‐up was 16.8 months. Prolapse cure rates, symptom scores, and quality of life were similar. Postoperative cystocele occurred in 4.8% of women after IS and 25% after SS (P > 0.05).ConclusionInfracoccygeal sacropexy is equivalent to sacrospinous suspension, with a decreased rate of postoperative pain and cystocele recurrence.
Reconstructing the migration patterns of late Pleistocene mammals from northern Florida, USA
Authors: Hoppe Kathryn A. , Koch Paul L. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractWe used analyses of the strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) ratios of tooth enamel to reconstruct the migration patterns of fossil mammals collected along the Aucilla River in northern Florida. Specimens date to the late-glacial period and before the last glacial maximum (pre-LGM). Deer and tapir displayed low 87Sr/86Sr ratios that were similar to the ratios of Florida environments, which suggest that these taxa did not migrate long distance outside of the Florida region. Mastodons, mammoths, and equids all displayed a wide range of 87Sr/86Sr ratios. Some individuals in each taxon displayed low 87Sr/86Sr ratios that suggest they ranged locally, while other animals had high 87Sr/86Sr ratios that suggest they migrated long distances (> 150 km) outside of the Florida region. Mastodons were the only taxa from this region that provided enough well-dated specimens to compare changes in migration patterns over time. Pre-LGM mastodons displayed significantly lower 87Sr/86Sr ratios than late-glacial mastodons, which suggests that late-glacial mastodons from Florida migrated longer distances than their earlier counterparts. This change in movement patterns reflects temporal changes in regional vegetation patterns.
Stability of Two-Dimensional Blind Grasping under the Gravity Effect and Rolling Constraints
Authors: Arimoto S. , Yoshida M. , Bae J.-H. 
Published: September 2007

SUMMARYThis paper aims to show a sensory-motor coordination control scheme that realizes stable pinching of rigid objects with parallel or nonparallel flat surfaces movable in 2-dimensional vertical plane by a pair of robot fingers with hemispherical ends. The proposed control signal is composed of gravity compensation for fingers, damping shaping, exertion of forces to the object from opposite directions, generation of moments for balancing of rotational moments, and regressors for estimating unknown steady-state terms, all of which neither need the knowledge of object parameters nor use any object sensing data. In other words, stable grasping can be realized by using only finger-joint sensing in a blind manner without using force sensors or tactile sensing. Stability of pinching motion with convergence to the state of force/torque balance is shown through computer simulations and is also proved theoretically.
New Hope for Corporate Governance in China?
Authors: Feinerman James V. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractChina's recent revisions to its Company Law and Securities Law have brought new attention to issues of corporate governance in Chinese companies and financial markets. Among the chief criticisms of the earlier laws – in both their provisions and application – were the lack of protection for minority shareholders, the paucity of independent directors, the absence of transparency and inadequate financial disclosure. The acknowledged need for greater congruence between Chinese law and practice and that of countries with more developed capital markets led to the proposal of amendments to China's legislation during the first half of this decade. This article highlights several improvements resulting from the revisions as well as remaining weaknesses in the regulatory framework for corporate enterprises in China.
Influenza A and respiratory syncytial virus hospital burden in young children in East London
Authors: AJAYI-OBE E. K. , COEN P. G. , HANDA R. , HAWRAMI K. , AITKEN C. , McINTOSH E. D. G. , BOOY R. 
Published: September 2007

SUMMARYEpidemiological studies have demonstrated high hospitalization rates attributable to influenza and RSV in children aged <24 months. We prospectively recruited 977 children, aged <6 years, presenting with influenza-like illnesses at a hospital during two winter seasons between 2002 and 2004. Nasopharyngeal aspirates were performed and sent for viral immunofluorescence and PCR. Influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) rates were stratified by age, in-patient/outpatient status and clinical diagnosis. The influenza A and RSV hospitalization incidence rates were 4 and 11/10 000 person-months respectively, whereas the accident and emergency (A&E) outpatient rates were both 32/10 000 person-months in those aged <6 years. The influenza A and RSV hospitalization rates were highest in children aged <24 months and <12 months (9·1 and 35·7/10 000 person-months) respectively. Infection rates were particularly high in those aged <6 months for both viruses. The age-specific influenza A and RSV A&E admission rates were highest in those aged >6 months and those aged <12 months, respectively (43 and 92·5/10 000 person-months, respectively). In conclusion, these high paediatric RSV and influenza incidence rates can be used to inform UK policy on childhood influenza immunization and subsequent RSV immunization in the future.
War in the Fields and Villages: The County War Agricultural Committees in England, 1939–45
Authors: SHORT BRIAN 
Published: September 2007

AbstractState intervention in the United Kingdom's farming industry was necessitated by the problems of the interwar depression and the lead up to World War Two and the emergency wartime food programme. This brought the need for greater bureaucratic machinery which would connect individual farmers and their communities with central government. Crucial from 1939 in this respect was the formation of the County War Agricultural Executive Committees, which became the channels through which English farming was propelled into postwar productivism. Using relatively newly-available documentary material, this article demonstrates the role the committees played in the transmission of national policies down to the local level, their composition and membership. In so doing it also places the economic changes within farming into the vital but under-researched context of their rural social relations during the Second World War.
Regulation and Response: Kansas Wheat Farmers and the New Deal
Authors: FEARON PETER 
Published: September 2007

AbstractThis paper analyses the response of Kansas wheat growers to major market intervention brought about by New Deal farm policies. Congress hoped to trigger a sharp price increase by persuading farmers to reduce the acreage on which they cultivated wheat. However, the actual responses in terms of planting strategies and farm machinery purchases are complex and only evident once the analysis is conducted at the county level. Marked regional variations in the impact of the weather during the ‘Dust Bowl’ decade also played a crucial role in this analysis. This article shows that even when considering a crop grown in a single state, the reaction of farmers to policy initatives can be varied and very difficult to predict.
Linkedness and Ordered Cycles in Digraphs
Authors: KÜHN DANIELA , OSTHUS DERYK 
Published: September 2007

Given a digraphD, let δ0(D) := min{δ+(D), δ−(D)} be the minimum semi-degree ofD. We show that every sufficiently large digraphDwith δ0(D)≥n/2 +l−1 isl-linked. The bound on the minimum semi-degree is best possible and confirms a conjecture of Manoussakis [17]. We also determine the smallest minimum semi-degree which ensures that a sufficiently large digraphDisk-ordered,i.e., that for every sequences1, . . .,skof distinct vertices ofDthere is a directed cycle which encounterss1, . . .,skin this order. This result will be used in [16].
Adipogenesis and lipotoxicity: role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and PPARγcoactivator-1 (PGC1)
Authors: Medina-Gomez Gema , Gray Sarah , Vidal-Puig Antonio 
Published: September 2007

AbstractObesity is characterised by an increase in the adipose deposits, resulting from an imbalance between food intake and energy expenditure. When expansion of the adipose tissue reaches its maximum limit, as in obesity, fat accumulates in non-adipose tissues such as liver, heart, muscle and pancreas, developing a toxic response known as lipotoxicity, a condition that promotes the development of insulin resistance and other metabolic complications. Thus, the lipotoxic state may contribute to the increased risk of insulin resistance, diabetes, fatty liver and cardiovascular complications associated with obesity.We are interested in studying adipose tissue, specifically how mechanisms of adipogenesis and remodelling of adipose tissue, in terms of size and function of the adipocytes, could be considered a strategy to increase the capacity for lipid storage and prevent lipotoxicity. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are a family of transcription factors that regulate energy balance by promoting either energy deposition or energy dissipation. Under normal physiological conditions, PPARγ is mainly expressed in adipose tissue and regulates diverse functions such as the development of fat cells and their capacity to store lipids. The generation of PPARγ knockout mice, either tissue specific or isoform specific, has provided new models to study PPARγ’s role in adipose tissue differentiation and function and have highlighted the essential role of PPARγ in adipogenesis and lipogenesis.A second strategy to prevent lipotoxicity is to increase the capacity of tissues to oxidise fatty acids. PPARγcoactivator-1α is a coactivator of PPARγ that induces the expression of genes that promote the differentiation of preadipocytes to brown adipocytes. Recently, it has been implicated in increasing the oxidation of fatty acids via increasing mitochondrial capacity and function, making this co-factor a key candidate for the treatment of lipotoxicity.
Prevention of overweight and obesity: a Spanish approach
Authors: Aranceta Javier , Pérez-Rodrigo Carmen , Serra-Majem Lluis , Bellido Diego , de la Torre Martín López , Formiguera Xavier , Moreno Basilio 
Published: September 2007

AbstractBackgroundObesity is considered a major public health issue in most developed countries nowadays. This paper provides an overview of current population data available in Spain and the approach to develop preventive strategies in the country.MethodsReview of population data available is based on individually measured weight and height as well as determinants. On this basis, the approach used in the country to develop preventive strategies is discussed.ResultsAccording to the DORICA study, the prevalence of obesity (BMI ≥30 kg m−2) is 15.5% in Spanish adults aged 25–60 years (13.2% in men and 17.5% in women). Obesity rates are higher among women aged 45 years and older, low social class, living in semi-urban places. Population estimates for the prevalence of obesity in Spanish children and young people based on the enKid study are 13.9% for the whole group. In this study, overweight and obesity is related to absence of breastfeeding, low consumption of fruit and vegetables, high consumption of cakes, buns, softdrinks and butchery products, low physical activity levels and a positive association with time spent watching TV.In 2005, the Spanish Ministry of Health jointly with the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition launched the multifaceted NAOS strategy for nutrition, physical activity and the prevention of obesity. The important role of the family and the school setting as well as the responsibility of the Health Administration and Pediatric Care in the prevention of obesity is highlighted in the document. The need for environmental actions is recognised. The PERSEO programme, a multicomponent school-based intervention project is part of the strategy currently in place.ConclusionObesity is a public health issue in Spain. A national multifaceted strategy was launched to counteract the problem. Environmental and policy actions are a priority. Young children and their families are among the main target groups.
Physical activity, energy balance and obesity
Authors: Luís Griera José , María Manzanares José , Barbany Montserrat , Contreras José , Amigó Pilar , Salas-Salvadó Jordi 
Published: September 2007

AbstractObesity appears when energy intake exceeds energy expenditure. The most important variable compound of energy expenditure is physical activity. The global epidemics of obesity seem closely related to reduced physical activity and sedentariness widely increasing nowadays. Once obesity has developed, caloric intake becomes similar to energy expenditure. To lose weight, besides decreasing energy intake, energy expenditure must be increased. The promotion of physical activity is difficult and so the results of treatment of obesity are discouraging for doctors, other health professionals and patients. Proactive efforts from patients and health providers with an intensive feedback between them may be extremely helpful. Nevertheless, more studies are needed to provide better approaches on the role of physical activity for the prevention and treatment of obesity and for long-term weight-loss maintenance.
Evolutionary catastrophes and the Goldilocks problem
Authors: Ćirković Milan M. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractOne of the mainstays of the controversial ‘rare Earth’ hypothesis is the ‘Goldilocks problem’ regarding various parameters describing a habitable planet, partially involving the role of mass extinctions and other catastrophic processes in biological evolution. Usually, this is construed as support for the uniqueness of the Earth's biosphere and intelligent human life. Here it is argued that this is a misconstrual and that, on the contrary, observation-selection effects when applied to catastrophic processes make it very difficult for us to discern whether the terrestrial biosphere and evolutionary processes which created it are exceptional in the Milky Way or not. This agnosticism, in turn, supports the validity and significance of practical astrobiological and SETI research.
Temporal Envelope Changes of Compression and Speech Rate: Combined Effects on Recognition for Older Adults
Authors: Jenstad Lorienne M. , Souza Pamela E. 
Published: September 2007

PurposeWhen understanding speech in complex listening situations, older adults with hearing loss face the double challenge of cochlear hearing loss and deficits of the aging auditory system. Wide-dynamic range compression (WDRC) is used in hearing aids as remediation for the loss of audibility associated with hearing loss. WDRC processing has the additional effect of altering the acoustics of the speech signal, particularly the temporal envelope. Older listeners are negatively affected by other types of temporal distortions, but this has not been found for the distortion of WDRC processing for simple signals. The purpose of this research was to determine the circumstances under which older adults might be negatively affected by WDRC processing and what compensatory mechanisms those listeners might be using for the listening conditions when speech recognition performance is not affected.MethodTwo groups of adults with mild to moderate hearing loss were tested: (a) young-old (62–74 years,n= 11) and (b) old-old (75–88 years,n= 14). The groups did not differ in hearing loss, cognition, working memory, or self-reported health status. Participants heard low-predictability sentences compressed at each of 4 compression settings. The effect of compression on the temporal envelope was quantified by the envelope difference index (EDI; T. W. Fortune, B. D. Woodruff, & D. A. Preves, 1994). The sentences were presented at three rates: (a) normal rate, (b) 50% time compressed, and (c) time restored.ResultsThere was no difference in performance between age groups, or any interactions involving age. There was a significant interaction between speech rate and EDI value; as the EDI value increased, representing higher amounts of temporal envelope distortion, speech recognition was significantly reduced. At the highest EDI value, this reduction was greater for the time-compressed than the normal rate condition. When time was restored to the time-compressed signals, speech recognition did not improve.ConclusionTemporal envelope changes were detrimental to recognition of low-context speech for older listeners once a certain threshold of distortion was reached, particularly for rapid rate speech. For this sample tested, the effect was not age related within the age range tested here. The results of the time-restored condition suggested that listeners were using acoustic redundancy to compensate for the negative effects of WDRC distortion in the normal rate condition.
Recognition of Time-Compressed and Natural Speech With Selective Temporal Enhancements by Young and Elderly Listeners
Authors: Gordon-Salant Sandra , Fitzgibbons Peter J. , Friedman Sarah A. 
Published: September 2007

Purpose
The goal of this experiment was to determine whether selective slowing of speech segments improves recognition performance by young and elderly listeners. The hypotheses were (a) the benefits of time expansion occur for rapid speech but not for natural-rate speech, (b) selective time expansion of consonants produces greater score increments than other forms of selective time expansion, and (c) older listeners benefit from time expansion of speech

Method

Participants (
n
= 10–16 per group) were younger and older adults with normal hearing or with hearing loss. A repeated-measures design was used to assess recognition of sentence-length stimuli presented in 2 baseline speech rates: natural and 50% time compression. Selective time expansion of consonants, vowels, or pauses was applied to the natural-rate and time-compressed sentence-length stimuli.

Results
Listeners showed excellent performance for natural-rate speech, regardless of time-expansion method. Recognition was significantly poorer for the time-compressed sentences, but performance by elderly listeners and listeners with hearing loss improved with selective time expansion, particularly when applied to consonant segments.

Conclusion
The findings support the hypothesis that older listeners and listeners with hearing impairment benefit from selective time expansion of consonants applied to rapid speech, without a corresponding decrement when applied to normal-rate speech.
Temporal Sequence of Swallow Events During the Oropharyngeal Swallow
Authors: Mendell Dorie A. , Logemann Jeri A. 
Published: September 2007

PurposeTo (a) identify and characterize the temporal relation of selected structural movements during the oropharyngeal swallow across participants, (b) determine whether patterns of movement could be identified, and (c) determine whether the temporal relations were affected by aging and bolus characteristics.MethodRetrospective analysis of videofluoroscopic swallows of 100 normal participants (age range = 22–92 years) was conducted. Two swallows each of 3-ml and 10-ml liquids and a 1–3-ml paste bolus were analyzed. The onset of a number of structural movements and bolus arrival points were compared against a single reference event: onset of upper esophageal sphincter (UES) opening.ResultsNormal participants demonstrated predominant sequences in pharyngeal movement patterns with some variability. The use of voluntary swallow maneuvers by these normal participants accounted for some degree of this variability. Volume, consistency, and age all affected the temporal relation between onset of specific motor events relative to the onset of UES opening. Increasing bolus volume was associated with a shorter temporal difference between UES opening and onset of other pharyngeal movements. In contrast, a thicker bolus was associated with longer temporal differences. Younger participants generally demonstrated shorter temporal differences between events than did older participants.ConclusionTemporal relations between structural movements are not fixed but can be systematically affected by bolus characteristics and age.
Automatic Measurement of Nonparticipatory Stiffness in the Perioral Complex
Authors: Seibel Lana M. , Barlow Steven M. 
Published: September 2007

Purpose
To detail a novel automated technology developed in the authors' laboratory to quantitatively and noninvasively measure perioral passive stiffness in order to consider the feasibility of future applications in patients with facial movement disorders.

Method
A stiffness measurement system was developed, with corresponding data sampled from a group of 8 healthy women. Perioral electromyograms were sampled to confirm nonparticipation. A specially designed linear motor servo operating under position feedback was programmed to impose sequential step displacements of the lip at the oral angles over a span of approximately 24 mm. Real-time data acquisition and analysis of resultant force and displacement provide a quantitative, rapid, index of muscle rigidity (stiffness) during a do-not-contract condition.

Results
Nonlinear regression techniques revealed that the relation between perioral stiffness and imposed displacement was highly significant.

Conclusion
Given the probable relation between certain forms of neuromotor disease and facial rigidity, effects of bomb blast or missile injury on orofacial function, or stiffness changes due to tissue scarring after lip revision surgeries in children with clefts, it is likely that inclusion of facial stiffness measurements will be useful in the management of facial movement disorders.
Using Parallel Corpora for Translation-Oriented Term Extraction
Authors: Vintar Spela 
Published: September 2007

In many scientific, technological or political fields terminology and the production of up-to-date reference works is lagging behind, which causes problems to translators and results in inconsistent translations. Parallel corpora of texts already translated can be used as a resource for automatic extraction of terms and terminological collocations. Especially for smaller languages where existing resources are scarce, collecting and exploiting parallel corpora may be the chief method of obtaining terminological data.
The paper describes how a methodology for multi-word term extraction and bilingual conceptual mapping was developed for Slovene-English terms. We used word-to-word alignment to extract a bilingual glossary of single-word terms, and for multi-word terms two methods were tested and compared. The statistical method is broadly applicable but gives results of very limited use, while the method of syntactic patterns extracts highly useful terminological phrases, however only from a tagged corpus. A vision of further development is given and how these methods might be incorporated into existing translation tools.