bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Factors contributing to the seasonal occurrence of the willow leaf beetle Plagiodera versicolora
Authors: Egusa Sawako , Nishida Takayoshi , Fujisaki Kenji , Sawada Hiroichi 
Published: April 2005

AbstractWe conducted a 3‐year study of a natural population of the willow leaf beetle Plagiodera versicolora (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) on a river bank of the Inukami River, Shiga, central Japan, where four willow species (Salix chaenomeloides, S. eriocarpa, S. integra, and S. serissaefolia) occur sympatrically. Our survey showed that: (1) at the study site, the abundance of P. versicolora greatly varied among years and among willow species; (2) adult abundance changed seasonally with species‐specific patterns on different willow species; and (3) the dispersal‐settlement of adults had the most pronounced effects on the seasonal population growth rate of P. versicolora. Factors affecting these results were discussed.
How we do it: Nerve monitoring in ENT surgery: current UK practice
Authors: Hopkins C. , Khemani S. , Terry R.M. , Golding‐Wood D. 
Published: April 2005

Keypoints• Nerve injury may complicate mastoid, thyroid, parotid or cervical lymph node surgery. Continuous intra‐operative monitoring may help prevent such injury.• Nerve monitoring is used by 51% of UK consultant surgeons performing primary mastoid surgery, 90% undertaking parotid surgery, and 24% of surgeons performing routine thyroid surgery.• The efficacy of such monitoring in reducing nerve injury during these procedures has not been established. Unless such evidence emerges, a surgeon will not automatically be considered negligent if operating without monitoring.
Differences in coping style and locus of control between older and younger patients with head and neck cancer
Authors: Derks W. , de Leeuw J.R.J. , Hordijk G.J. , Winnubst J.A.M. 
Published: April 2005

Objectives:  This prospective study analyses whether older and younger patients with cancer of the head and neck make use of different coping styles and locus of control mechanisms, and how these mechanisms are related to quality of life (QOL) and depressive symptoms.Design:  Before treatment, 78 older (≥70 years) and 105 younger patients (45–60 years) with carcinoma of the oral cavity, pharynx (stage II–IV), or larynx (stage III–IV) completed questionnaires on QOL (EORTC‐QLQ‐C30), depression (CES‐D), coping (Utrecht Coping List), and locus of control (Cancer Locus of Control Scale). Fifty‐one older and 70 younger patients completed the follow‐up questionnaires at 6 and 12 months.Results:  Before treatment and at 12 months, the number of depressive symptoms and QOL scores, apart from physical functioning, did not differ between the two groups. Before treatment and at 6 months, younger patients used active coping strategies significantly more often and they perceived more internal control over the cause of their disease. Older patients used religious coping and religious control more frequently at all assessments. In both groups, avoidance coping was associated with more depressive symptoms and a worse QOL.Conclusions:  Although older and younger patients use different coping and locus of control strategies, this does not give rise to differences in QOL and depressive symptoms after treatment.
Hypoxia and anaemia in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma – mechanisms of therapy failure and provision of new therapeutic targets
Authors: Winter S.C.A. , Corbridge R.J. , Cox G.J. , Harris A.L. 
Published: April 2005

Keypoints• Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) represents the sixth most common tumour worldwide.• Tumour hypoxia and anaemia are both independent prognostic indicators of disease free and overall survival in solid tumours, including HNSCC.• Hypoxia promotes tumour progression through the hypoxia inducible factor 1 pathway (HIF‐1), upregulating factors that control angiogenesis, glycoloysis, pH regulation, erythropoiesis and apoptosis.• Oxygen delivery to tumours is influenced by the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood, and therefore anaemia may promote tumour hypoxia.• Targeting the HIF‐1 pathway and anaemia represent potential therapeutic targets in HNSCC and other solid tumours.
Assessment of Cottle's areas through the application of a mathematical model deriving from acoustic rhinometry and rhinomanometric data
Authors: Zambetti G. , Filiaci F. , Romeo R. , Soldo P. , Filiaci F. 
Published: April 2005

Objectives:  Each nasal area, as defined by Cottle, has a different influence on the nasal airflow. The longitudinal distribution of resistances in nasal cavities was calculated by the anterior rhinomanometry and acoustic rhinometry data.Design:  Dynamic study of Cottle's areas in normal subjects was carried out by rhinomanometry and acoustic rhinometry.Setting:  Study by the Department of Otolaryngology of the University of Rome‐La Sapienza.Participants:  Twenty‐seven Caucasian adults in local and general healthy conditions took part and completed this study, with a total of 54 nasal cavities included because of negativity at ENT‐examination and clinical history, with normal respiratory parameters at the rhinomanometry and acoustic rhinometry.Main outcome measures:  We determined nasal and acoustic resistances, nasal volumes and cross‐sectional surface areas, as defined by Cottle, using nasal endoscopy. The longitudinal distribution of nasal resistances was obtained by integrating experimental surface areas using a novel mathematical model. The estimation of the longitudinal nasal resistance variations as a result of a theoretical reduction of the surface areas.Results:  The reduction of the 2–3–1 areas (in this order of importance) showed the greatest influence on the nasal resistances with coefficients of determinations greater than 0.98, this being quite different from that of the areas 4 and 5 for quite smaller area reduction percentages.Conclusions:  The areas 2–3–1 control the overall nasal resistance so the surgical procedures on these areas greatly influence the dynamics of nasal airflow. The mathematical model developed here gives useful information to nasal functional surgery and may be applied to other schemes of nasal cavity.
Prevention of cerumen impaction by treatment of ear canal skin. A pilot randomized controlled study
Authors: Saloranta K. , Westermarck T. 
Published: April 2005

Objectives:  To evaluate the effect of topical skin treatment of the ear canal in the prevention of impacted earwax.Design:  The study was prospective, randomized and controlled.Setting:  Secondary ORL care and Institute for the Mentally Retarded.Participants:  Thirty‐nine consecutive patients aged 1–74 years. Selection criteria were impacted earwax more than once a year and impacted earwax completely obstructing the lumen of the ear canal at the time of inclusion. Patients were randomized to active therapy or no intervention. The active therapy was Ceridal® lipolotion instilled in the ear canal with a syringe once a week for 12 months. In the control group, earwax was removed without other intervention. The lipolotion was administered by the participants themselves with exception of the mentally retarded who were treated by nurses. Follow‐up visits were at 3 and 12 months.Main outcome:  The main outcome was recurrence of impacted earwax with complete obstruction of the ear canal. There was significantly lower recurrence rate of impacted earwax in the treated compared with the control group (23%versus 61%, P < 0.05).Conclusions:  This study suggests that prophylactic treatment of the ear canal with a topical emollient may prevent formation of impacted earwax.
How we do it: Stapes surgery without postoperative packing of the external auditory canal
Authors: Hirvonen T.P. 
Published: April 2005

Keypoints• Packing of the external auditory canal after ear surgery has been a clinical practice to assure haemostasis and to allow reposited ear canal skin to heal.• The healing of minor transcanal incision without any postoperative tamponation or local medication has not been reported.• The treatment rationale was local anaesthesia, tympanomeatal flap through a speculum, careful reposition of the flap, and neither packing nor ear drops to the external auditory canal postoperatively.• The postoperative complications were rare and temporary.• The external auditory canals remained patent postoperatively in significant proportion of the patients despite some blood clot accumulation. Thus the need for scheduled follow‐up visits with this treatment rationale seems to be reduced.
Processes for disciplining nurses for unprofessional conduct of a serious nature: a critique
Authors: Johnstone Megan‐Jane , Kanitsaki Olga 
Published: April 2005

Aims.  This paper critiques the deliberative processes used by the discipline panels of an Australian statutory nurse regulating authority when appraising the alleged unprofessional conduct of nurses and determining appropriate remedies.Background.  Little is known about the nature and effectiveness of the deliberative processes used by nurse regulating authorities (NRAs) disciplinary panels established to appraise and make determinations in response to allegations of unprofessional conduct by nurses.Methods.  A qualitative exploratory descriptive/pragmatic research approach was used. Data were obtained from two case‐orientated sampling units: (1) 84 Reasons for Determination made between 1994 and 2000 and (2) a purposeful sample of 12 former and current nurse regulating authority members, nurse regulating authority staff and a nurse regulating authority representative who had experience of disciplinary proceedings and/or who had served on a formal hearing panel. Data were analysed using content and thematic analysis strategies.Results.  Attitudinal considerations (e.g. whether a nurse understood the ‘wrongness’ of his or her conduct; accepted responsibility for his or her conduct; exhibited contrition/shame during the hearing; was candid in his or her demeanour) emerged as the singularly most significant factor influencing discipline panel determinations. Disciplinary action is taken appropriately against nurses who have committed acts of deliberate malfeasance. NRAs may not, however, be dealing appropriately with nurses when disciplining them for making honest mistakes/genuine practice errors.Conclusion.  Traditional processes used for appraising and disciplining nurses who have made honest mistakes in the course of their work need to be substantially modified as they are at odds with the models of human error management that are currently being advocated and adopted globally to improve patient safety and quality of care in health care domains.
Palliative care for patients with cancer: district nurses’ experiences
Authors: Dunne Kathleen , Sullivan Kate , Kernohan George 
Published: April 2005

Aim.  This paper reports a study exploring district nurses’ experiences of providing palliative care for patients with cancer and their families.Background.  There is an increasing demand for palliative care in the community, as many patients wish to die at home. District nurses are central to providing palliative care in the community, but there is a dearth of literature on district nurses’ experiences in palliative care.Method.  A Husserlian phenomenological approach was adopted with a purposive sample of 25 female district nurses. Data were collected using unstructured, tape‐recorded interviews and analysed using Colaizzi's seven stages of data analysis.Findings.  Four themes were identified: the communication web; the family as an element of care; challenges for the district nurse in symptom management and the personal cost of caring.Conclusions.  District nurses’ experiences of providing palliative care to family units was challenging but rewarding. The emotive nature of the experience cannot be under‐estimated, as many district nurses were touched by the varying situations. Whilst acknowledging the need to maintain an integrated approach to care, district nurses should be identified as the key workers in the complex situation of palliative care.
Hardiness in families of young children with asthma
Authors: Svavarsdottir Erla Kolbrun , Rayens Mary Kay 
Published: April 2005

Aims.  This paper reports a study (a) to assess whether there are cultural and gender differences in parents’ general well‐being, sense of coherence and perception of family hardiness when they have a young child with asthma; and (b) to examine the effects of parents’ sense of coherence and well‐being on family hardiness.Background.  Research on hardiness, a resilience factor that fosters adaptation over time, has been widely studied from an individual perspective, but less from the viewpoint of the family unit. In particular, no study was found that assessed how members of a couple interact to affect their family's hardiness. Consideration of this dyadic phenomenon may provide unique insight about how family members interact with each other faced with a challenge, such as the chronic illness of a child.Methods.  A cross‐sectional research design was used with a sample of 137 two‐parent families [76 from Iceland and 61 from the United States of America (USA)]. Questionnaires measuring sense of coherence, parents’ well‐being and family hardiness were used, and demographic data were also collected.Results.  The most striking differences in well‐being were between mothers and fathers. In addition to a lower average on the total score for the well‐being scale, mothers had poorer scores than fathers on the subscales of depression, self‐control, vitality, and general health. Family hardiness differed between countries. The regression indicated that the individual's sense of coherence, depression and positive well‐being (all actor effects), as well as the partner's anxiety (partner effect) all contributed significantly to family hardiness, as did nationality.Conclusion.  Focused interventions for families with young children with asthma should be developed to enable them to feel more confident in using their resources to meet their demands and increase parents’ general well‐being and family adaptation. Research is needed to develop and test such interventions, particularly with diverse participant samples, encompassing not only a variety of ethnicities, but also a range of children's ages.
Diagnostic accuracy of the Care Dependency Scale
Authors: Dijkstra Ate , Tiesinga Lucas J. , Plantinga Liesbeth , Veltman Getine , Dassen Theo W.N. 
Published: April 2005

Aim.  This paper reports an investigation of the diagnostic accuracy of the Care Dependency Scale (CDS).Background.  Assessment tools can be described in terms of diagnostic accuracy, or the ability to correctly classify subjects into clinically relevant subgroups. Diagnostic accuracy can be determined by several techniques as sensitivity, specificity, receiver operating curve analysis and likelihood ratios.Method.  A cross‐sectional design was used with data from 237 patients from two studies. Data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of the CDS and the Barthel Index (BI). The CDS is a relatively new instrument and should be validated by comparison against an established gold standard, in this case the BI. Measures to quantify the validity of diagnostic tests, such as sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, prevalence and likelihood ratios were calculated. In addition, the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was used to report the test accuracy of the CDS and to determine an appropriate cut‐off point for care dependency detection.Findings.  The prevalence in the sample study was very high (84%). The area under the ROC curve for the CDS was 0·81, which indicates moderate diagnostic accuracy. Patients with a CDS sumscore ≤68 (rule‐out cut‐off point) were classified as care dependent, all others as independent. The determination of the appropriate cut‐off point was based on sensitivity (0·85) and positive predictive valued (0·90).Conclusion.  The CDS may be used for to estimate care dependency among hospital patients with various conditions.
Activation of Hypothalamic ATP‐Sensitive K+ Channels by the Aminoguanidine Carboxylate BVT.12777
Authors: Mirshamsi S. , Laidlaw H. A. , Spanswick D. , Ashford M. L. J. 
Published: April 2005

AbstractDerivatives of 3‐guanidinopropionic acid, such as leptin, reduce body weight in obese, diabetic mice. We have assessed whether one of these analogues, BVT.12777 activates intracellular signalling pathways in the arcuate nucleus in a manner analogous to leptin and insulin. In addition, because these hormones have been shown to activate KATP channels in a subset of arcuate neurones, we examined whether this channel is also a functional endpoint for BVT.12777 in the arcuate nucleus. BVT.12777 transiently increased phosphorylation of MAPK, STAT3, PKB and GSK3, in a manner identical to that observed for leptin and insulin. BVT.12777 also hyperpolarized glucose‐responsive neurones by increasing the activity of KATP channels. The increase in KATP activity driven by BVT.12777 was PI3‐kinase independent, unlike leptin and insulin activation of this channel, and could also be elicited in isolated patches. However, KATP activity induced by BVT.12777 was dependent on actin filament dynamics, both in intact neurones and isolated patches. Thus, BVT.12777 modulates arcuate neurone KATP activity by re‐organization of the cytoskeleton, a mechanism that has also been ascribed to leptin and insulin. Consequently, BVT.12777 appears to act as a leptin and insulin mimetic with respect to at least some elements of arcuate neurone intracellular signalling and the activation of KATP channels. Resistance to leptin and insulin, associated with obesity has, at least in part, been postulated to be due to aberrant intracellular signalling in arcuate neurones. The data presented here indicate that it may be possible to develop drugs, which by‐pass up‐stream signalling components associated with adiposity hormone resistance, such as PI3‐kinase, but can still induce functional outputs from arcuate neurones by targeting downstream components of the leptin and insulin signalling cascades.
Inflation, Price Level and Hybrid Rules under Inflation Uncertainty
Authors: Jääskelä Jarkko P. 
Published: April 2005

AbstractThe performance and robustness of optimised interest rate rules are analysed in a New Keynesian model estimated for the euro area economy. In particular, we examine the properties of rules responding to inflation, the price level, or a combination of the two (a hybrid rule). All the rules also respond to the output gap. The optimal hybrid rule is only marginally superior when there is no model uncertainty. When there is uncertainty about the degree of inflation persistence, the inflation rule is the most robust rule and the performance of the other two rules deteriorates. However, all the rules perform well if the true degree of inflation persistence turns out to be less than policymakers’ estimate.
SECURITIZATION: A FINANCING STRATEGY FOR EMERGING MARKETS FIRMS
Authors: Hill Claire A. 
Published: April 2005

With emerging markets now in crisis, companies in developing countries are finding it difficult to obtain financing. Securitization, a transaction structure in which the securities sold to investors are backed by a company's receivables, is one of the few vehicles with at least the potential to provide financing at economic rates in the current environment of uncertainty.Unlike U.S. securitization issues, emerging markets transactions often use a structure known as “future flows” securitization, in which the securities are backed by receivables that are not expected to be generated until after issuance. This article begins by describing how the process of future flows securitization carves out securities with levels of political risk acceptable to foreign capital market investors. Then it traces the history of emerging markets securitization from its origins in Latin America to its more recent uses during the Asian crisis. Securitization helped bring foreign investors back to Latin America after its debt crisis of the early 1980s. And while the Asian crisis has sharply reduced new issuance for all kinds of emerging market financings, the volume of securitization issues appears to have declined less precipitously than other types of transactions geared to foreign investors. Moreover, investment bankers are now hard at work planning new securitization issues for companies in both Latin America and Asia.In exploring the longer‐term effects of securitization on both domestic issuers and their economies, the author suggests that securitization could play a pivotal role in restoring emerging markets companies' access to global financial markets. Indeed, with a few exceptions such as Malaysia, most emerging markets are now responding to the crisis by taking measures to protect investors, such as requiring greater financial transparency and dispelling legal uncertainties that have discouraged securitization in particular and overseas investment more generally.
USING DISCOUNTED CASH FLOW ANALYSIS IN AN INTERNATIONAL SETTING: A SURVEY OF ISSUES IN MODELING THE COST OF CAPITAL
Authors: Keck Tom , Levengood Eric , Longfield AL 
Published: April 2005

Based on the results of a recent survey of University of Chicago Graduate School of Business alumni, the authors of this article suggest that prevailing corporate practice in valuing overseas investments reflects a flawed understanding of finance theory. Although the survey finds that almost all respondents use the discounted cash flow (DCF) method in some fashion or another, there is significant variation both in the application of DCF and in the weighting that different groups assign to DCF in dealing with segmented markets. Of greater interest, the survey also shows that, as the complexity and uncertainty involved in valuation tasks increases, practitioners appear to place greater reliance on heuristics, or conventional rules of thumb. And in relying on heuristics as perceived risk increases, the authors warn, “people tend to become less consistent, less systematic, and less rigorous in the methods they use to measure and evaluate risk.”Also of interest to the authors, many practitioners doing international valuations appear to be unwitting adherents to a “multi‐factor” asset pricing model. For, in addition to traditional market factor proxies, they tend to incorporate country‐specific risks, such as political and sovereign risk, into the discount rate. The authors attribute this practice to the implicit (and generally mistaken) assumption that there is a significant relationship between systematic risk and the degree of foreign market segmentation.Following presentation of their survey results, the authors explore several important issues surrounding international cost of capital. Perhaps most important is the degree of market “segmentation” and how it affects the pricing model (whether a global or a local version of the CAPM, for example) used to calculate the cost of capital. The article provides a framework to help practitioners decide which pricing model is appropriate for valuing a given investment. Moreover, since the cost of capital affects EVA‐type measures of operating performance that are often used in performance evaluation schemes, the framework also can be used to guide senior management in thinking about the proper hurdle rates for their overseas business units.