bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Temporal bone carcinoma: Treatment patterns and survival
Authors: Seligman Kristen L. , Sun Daniel Q. , Ten Eyck Patrick P. , Schularick Nathan M. , Hansen Marlan R. 
Published: March 2019

Objectives/HypothesisCarcinomas of the temporal bone are rare, and appropriate treatment, staging, and survival data are limited. This study evaluates clinical characteristics and survival rates for patients with temporal bone carcinoma treated with resection at a single tertiary‐care institution, with a focus on the outcomes of patients with locally advanced disease including skull base and/or dural invasion.Study DesignRetrospective chart review.MethodsDemographic, tumor‐specific, and survival data were collected for patients with primary carcinomas of the external auditory canal with involvement of the temporal bone from 2003 to 2015. All patients were staged according to the modified Pittsburgh system. Kaplan‐Meier and logistic regression analysis were used to calculate factor‐specific survival outcomes.ResultsSixty‐seven patients met inclusion criteria; 85% were male. There were 43 squamous cell carcinomas (64%) and 24 basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) (36%). Tumor stage was 24 (36%) T2, 12 (18%) T3, and 31 (46%) T4 tumors; 53% had recurrent disease. Surgical management included 49 lateral temporal bone resections and 18 subtotal temporal bone resections. Kaplan‐Meier analyses revealed more favorable 5‐year survival rates associated with BCC histology (P = .01), lateral temporal bone resection compared to subtotal temporal bone resection (P < .01), lack of immunocompromise (P = .04), and absence of perineural/lymphovascular invasion (P = .01). Multivariate regression analysis did not yield statistically significant results.ConclusionsFactors predictive of more favorable survival include lack of immunocompromise, BCC histology, absence of perineural/lymphovascular invasion, and disease extent amenable to lateral temporal bone resection. Dural invasion is not an absolute contraindication to surgery, with a subset of patients surviving >5 years.Level of Evidence3 Laryngoscope, 130:E11–E20, 2020
An evaluation of the impact of missing deaths on overall survival analyses of advanced non–small cell lung cancer patients conducted in an electronic health records database
Authors: Carrigan Gillis , Whipple Samuel , Taylor Michael D. , Torres Aracelis Z. , Gossai Anala , Arnieri Brandon , Tucker Melisa , Hofmeister Philip P. , Lambert Peter , Griffith Sandra D. , Capra William B. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractPurposeThe aim of this study was to assess the impact of missing death data on survival analyses conducted in an oncology EHR‐derived database.MethodsThe study was conducted using the Flatiron Health oncology database and the National Death Index (NDI) as a gold standard. Three analytic frameworks were evaluated in advanced non‐small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) patients: median overall survival [mOS]), relative risk estimates conducted within the EHR‐derived database, and “external control arm” analyses comparing an experimental group augmented with mortality data from the gold standard to a control group from the EHR‐derived database only. The hazard ratios (HRs) obtained within the EHR‐derived database (91% sensitivity) and the external control arm analyses, were compared with results when both groups were augmented with mortality data from the gold standard. The above analyses were repeated using simulated lower mortality sensitivities to understand the impact of more extreme levels of missing deaths.ResultsBias in mOS ranged from modest (0.6–0.9 mos.) in the EHR‐derived cohort with (91% sensitivity) to substantial when lower sensitivities were generated through simulation (3.3–9.7 mos.). Overall, small differences were observed in the HRs for the EHR‐derived cohort across comparative analyses when compared with HRs obtained using the gold standard data source. When only one treatment arm was subject to estimation bias, the bias was slightly more pronounced, but increased substantially when lower sensitivities were simulated.ConclusionsThe impact on survival analysis is minimal with high mortality sensitivity with only modest impact associated within external control arm applications.
Pfilates and Hypopressives for the Treatment of Urinary Incontinence After Radical Prostatectomy: Results of a Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Au Darren , Matthew Andrew G. , Alibhai Shabbir M.H. , Jones Jennifer M. , Fleshner Neil E. , Finelli Antonio , Elterman Dean , Singal Rajiv K. , Jamnicky Leah , Faghani Nelly , Hilton William J. , Auger Leslie E. , Ritvo Paul , Trachtenberg John , Santa Mina Daniel 
Published: March 2019

BackgroundUrinary incontinence (UI) is an important side effect of radical prostatectomy (RP). Coactivation of surrounding muscles via novel techniques for pelvic floor rehabilitation known as Pfilates and Hypopressives has not been compared to pelvic floor muscle exercises (PFMXs) for UI.ObjectiveTo assess the feasibility and efficacy of isolated PFMXs with and without the addition of Pfilates and Hypopressives on UI recovery following RP.DesignRandomized controlled trial.SettingParticipants were recruited from a community and tertiary cancer center in Toronto, Canada.ParticipantsA total of 226 patients undergoing RP were assessed for eligibility. One hundred twenty‐two patients were eligible and 50 consented to participate; 37 participants completed the trial.MethodsParticipants were randomized to either isolated PFMX (control) or PFMX plus Pfilates and Hypopressives (advanced pelvic floor exercises; APFX) groups. PFMX participants (n = 25) received instructions for isolated pelvic floor contractions starting with 30 contractions per day during weeks 1 to 2 up to 180 per day for weeks 7 to 26. The APFX group (n = 25) received a comparable volume of exercises.Main Outcome MeasurementsFeasibility was assessed by rates of recruitment, adverse events, and study‐arm compliance. Information about UI and quality of life was collected 1 week before surgery and at 2, 6, 12, and 26 weeks after surgery.ResultsThe recruitment rate was 41%, adherence to the PFMXs and APFXs was >70%, and there were no reported adverse events. Between‐group differences were observed in the frequency of self‐reported 24‐hour urinary leakage (rate ratio 0.45, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.2‐0.98) and during waking hours (rate ratio 0.43, 95% CI 0.20‐0.91) at 26 weeks after surgery favoring APFX.ConclusionsPfilates and Hypopressives are feasible in men undergoing RP, and preliminary data suggest a potential benefit in aiding recovery of urinary control. Larger studies with longer follow‐up are warranted.Level of EvidenceII.
Methyl methacrylate as solvent for the thermal decomposition of the cyclic molecule pinacolone diperoxide: Toward the polymerization process
Authors: Delgado‐Rodríguez Karla , Enríquez‐Medrano Francisco J. , Espinoza‐Martínez Adriana Berenice , Barreto Gastón P. , Merino Gabriel , Morales Graciela 
Published: March 2019

ABSTRACTThe decomposition rate constant (kd) of pinacolone diperoxide (PDP, 3,6‐diterbutyl‐3,6‐dimethyl‐1,2,4,5‐tetraoxacyclohexane) in methyl methacrylate (MMA) is determined by the kinetic study of its thermal decomposition at temperatures from 110 °C to 140 °C. The calculatedkdvalues for PDP are higher than the corresponding values previously determined and reported for diethyl ketone triperoxide (DEKTP, 3,3,6,6,9,9‐hexaethyl‐1,2,4,5,7,8‐hexaoxacyclononane), for example, at 140 °C thekdfor PDP is 75.4 × 10−5s−1, while for DEKTP, it is 50.6 × 10−5s−1. The difference in thekdbetween 130 °C and 140 °C indicates that the decomposition mechanism, sequential and/or concerted, is a function of temperature. The conformations of both initiators justify the higherkdfor PDP in MMA than DEKTP, where one single conformer is found for PDP, whereas 212 conformers are found for DEKTP. Bulk polymerization of MMA using PDP as the initiator reveals also the presence of an induction period, such as in DEKTP case. This work provides mechanistic insights into the interactions among the bifunctional cyclic peroxide PDP and the MMA monomer and their influence on the polymerization kinetics. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem.2019,57, 997–1007
Efficacy of black seed (Nigella sativa L.) on kidney stone dissolution: A randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, clinical trial
Authors: Ardakani Movaghati Mohammad Reza , Yousefi Mahdi , Saghebi Seyed Ahmad , Sadeghi Vazin Mahmoud , Iraji Aida , Mosavat Seyed Hamdollah 
Published: March 2019

Preclinical studies have shown beneficial effects of black seed (Nigella sativa L.) in the prevention and treatment of renal stones. Hence, we designed a study to evaluate the renal‐stone‐dissolving efficacy of black seed. Sixty patients with renal stones were randomly enrolled in two arms of a randomized, triple‐blind, placebo‐controlled, clinical trial. The patients were treated by black seed capsules (500 mg) or placebo two times per day for 10 weeks. Patients were assessed in terms of size of renal stones by using sonography before and after intervention. In the black seed group, 44.4% of patients excreted their stones completely, and the size of the stones remained unchanged and decreased in 3.7% and 51.8% of patients, respectively. In contrast, in the placebo group, 15.3% of the patients excreted their stones completely, 11.5% had reduction in stone size, 15.3% had increase in stone size, and 57.6% had no change in their stone size. The difference in the mean size of renal stones after the study was significant between the two groups (p < 0.05). N. sativa L., as compared with placebo, is demonstrated to have significant positive effects on disappearance or reduction of size of kidney stones.
Location charts based on ranked set sampling for normal and non‐normal processes
Authors: Abbasi Saddam Akber 
Published: March 2019

AbstractControl charts, based on ranked set sampling schemes, had been proposed recently for efficient monitoring of process location. All the proposals in the literature are based on the ideal assumption of normally distributed quality characteristics. No study as of yet investigated the performance of location charts based on ranked set sampling for non‐normal processes. In this study, we investigated the location
chart based on simple random sampling (SRS) and three well‐known rank‐based schemes ie, ranked set sampling (RSS), median ranked set sampling (MRSS), and extreme ranked set sampling (ERSS), considering normal and a variety of non‐normal parent distributions. Both heavy‐tailed symmetric and skewed cases have been considered in this study. The performance of the charts is evaluated using average run length (ARL), extra quadratic loss (EQL), and relative ARL (RARL) measures. A real life example is also presented that details the monitoring of pH levels in water for an experiment conducted to study the reproduction of Mysids. The study will help quality practitioners to choose the
chart based on an efficient sampling scheme for normal and non‐normal processes.
Power approximations for failure‐time regression models
Authors: Johnson Thomas H. , Medlin Rebecca M. , Freeman Laura 
Published: March 2019

AbstractReliability experiments determine which factors drive product reliability. Often, the reliability or lifetime data collected in these experiments tend to follow distinctly non‐normal distributions and typically include censored observations. The experimental design should accommodate the skewed nature of the response and allow for censored observations, which occur when products do not fail within the allotted test time. To account for these design and analysis considerations, Monte‐Carlo simulations are frequently used to evaluate experimental design properties. Simulation provides accurate power calculations as a function of sample size, allowing researchers to determine adequate sample sizes at each level of the treatment. However, simulation may be inefficient for comparing multiple experiments of various sizes. We present a closed‐form approach for calculating power, based on the noncentral chi‐squared approximation to the distribution of the likelihood ratio statistic for large samples. The solution can be used to rapidly compare multiple designs and accommodate trade‐space analyses between power, effect size, model formulation, sample size, censoring rates, and design type. To demonstrate the efficiency of our approach, we provide a comparison to estimates from simulation.
Sampled‐data output feedback stabilization for a class of switched stochastic nonlinear systems
Authors: Mao Jun , Xiang Zhengrong , Zhai Guisheng 
Published: March 2019

SummaryThis paper investigates a global sampled‐data output feedback stabilization problem for a class of switched stochastic nonlinear systems whose output and system mode are available only at the sampling instants. An observer is designed to estimate the unmeasurable state and thus a sampled‐data controller is constructed with the sampled estimated state. As a distinctive feature, a merging virtual switching signal is introduced to describe the asynchronous switching generated by detecting the system mode via a sampler. By choosing an appropriate piecewise Lyapunov function, it is proved that the proposed sampled‐data controller with allowable sampling period can stabilize the considered switched stochastic nonlinear systems under an average dwell‐time condition. Finally, two simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Water control mechanism of byakkokaninjinto and its active components via aquaporins
Authors: Ikarashi Nobutomo , Aburada Takashi , Kon Risako , Sugiyama Kiyoshi 
Published: March 2019

ABSTRACTObjectiveByakkokaninjinto (BKN) is clinically used for conditions associated with thirst, polyuria, or cutaneous pruritus. Recently, it has also been used for improving thirst and polyuria observed in diabetes as well as pruritus associated with excessively dry skin. The aim of this study was to investigate aquaporins (AQP) in order to obtain scientific evidence regarding the mechanisms of BKN's effect.ResultsTreatment with BKN in a diabetic model of KKAy mice did not affect blood glucose but reduced both water intake and urine volume. Although the AQP5 level in the salivary glands remained unchanged, the AQP2 level in the kidneys increased significantly. This suggests that BKN causes an increase in AQP2 expression in the kidney, thereby suppressing polyuria as well as the associated thirst caused by diabetes. BKN was also shown to increase the expression of AQP3 in skin, which may suppress skin dryness and improve pruritus. In addition, Gypsum fibrosum (GF), the principal component of BKN, did not affect kidney AQP2 expression but increased skin AQP3 expression. The active ingredient of GF, CaSO4, was also shown to increase AQP3 expression via protein kinase C activation and to enhance phosphorylation of cAMP response element‐binding protein by increasing the Ca2+ concentration in skin.ConclusionAlthough there are many herbal medicines that are effective for correcting abnormal water metabolism, little is known regarding the mechanism of this activity. This study highlights the scientific basis of the effect of herbal medicines in improving water metabolism, with AQP as the primary targets.
Re-articulating Genealogy: Hegel on Kinship, Race and Reproduction
Authors: Lettow Susanne 
Published: March 2019

AbstractIn the decades around 1800, genealogical imaginaries, or the social, political, economic and cultural meanings of descent and kinship, underwent far-reaching change. Hegel was deeply concerned with these transformations in various respects and in different parts of his philosophy. By engaging with the issues of kinship and family, with the disputes over racial diversity as well as with the scientific debates about life, reproduction and the meaning of sexual difference, Hegel contributed to a philosophical re-articulation of genealogical relations, or to the shaping of a new vocabulary through which the political, social, cultural and epistemic transformations of the period were rendered intelligible in distinctive ways. Although Hegel did not draw explicit connections between his reflections on kinship, race and reproduction, my aim is to explore the semantic interrelations among his reflections on these issues.
Human resilience and resettlement among the Islands of Four Mountains, Aleutians, Alaska
Authors: Hatfield Virginia L. , Nicolaysen Kirsten , West Dixie L. , Krylovich Olga A. , Bruner Kale M. , Savinetsky Arkady B. , Vasyukov Dmitry D. , MacInnes Breanyn T. , Khasanov Bulat F. , Persico Lyman , Okuno Mitsuru 
Published: March 2019

AbstractCombined archaeological, ecological, and geologic research on Chuginadak and Carlisle Islands in the Islands of Four Mountains (IFM) probed questions about the sustainability of human settlements over the past 4000 years in the face of geologic, ecological, and social hazards. We use a human ecodynamics approach to frame the investigation and present original archaeological evidence from this poorly known region of the remote Aleutian Islands. Several village sites occupied during the last four millennia are clustered in locations that were not damaged by earthquake-induced tsunamis; however, new geologic evidence indicates that at least one volcanic eruption forced humans to abandon one or more prehistoric village sites. Combined archaeological, ecological, and geologic analyses demonstrate resilient Unangax̂ occupations of the IFM through long-term climate change as well as earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions with occasional community vulnerability to volcanic eruptions.
A new set of basaltic tephras from Southeast Alaska represent key stratigraphic markers for the late Pleistocene
Authors: Wilcox Paul S. , Addison Jason , Fowell Sarah J. , Baichtal James F. , Severin Ken , Mann Daniel H. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractThree new tephras have been identified in Southeast Alaska. An 8-cm-thick black basaltic tephra with nine discrete normally graded beds is present in cores from a lake on Baker Island. The estimated age of the tephra is 13,492 ± 237 cal yr BP. Although similar in age to the MEd tephra from the adjacent Mt. Edgecumbe volcanic field, this tephra is geochemically distinct. Black basaltic tephras recovered from two additional sites in Southeast Alaska, Heceta Island and the Gulf of Esquibel, are also geochemically distinct from the MEd tephra. The age of the tephra from Heceta Island is 14,609 ± 343 cal yr BP. Whereas the tephras recovered from Baker Island/Heceta Island/Gulf of Esquibel are geochemically distinct from each other, similarities in the ages of these tephras and the MEd tephra suggest a shared eruptive trigger, possibly crustal unloading caused by retreat of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet. The submerged Addington volcanic field on the continental shelf, which may have been subaerially exposed during the late Pleistocene, is a possible source for the Southeast Alaska tephras.
WOMEN INVESTORS AND THE VIRGINIA COMPANY IN THE EARLY SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Authors: EWEN MISHA 
Published: March 2019

AbstractThis article explores the role of women investors in the Virginia Company during the early seventeenth century, arguing that women determined the success of English overseas expansion by ‘adventuring’ not just their person, but their purse. Trading companies relied on the capital of women, and yet in seminal work on Virginia Company investors women have received no attention at all. This is a significant oversight, as studying the women who invested in trading companies illuminates broader issues regarding the role of women in the early English empire. This article explores why and how two women from merchant backgrounds, Rebecca Romney (d. 1644) and Katherine Hueriblock (d. 1639), managed diverse, global investment portfolios in the period before the Financial Revolution. Through company records, wills, letters, court depositions, and a surviving church memorial tablet, it reconstructs Romney's and Hueriblock's interconnected interests in ‘New World’ ventures, including in Newfoundland, the North-West Passage Company, Virginia colony, and sugar trade. Studying women investors reveals how trade and colonization shaped economic activity and investment practices in the domestic sphere and also elucidates how women, in their role as investors, helped give birth to an English empire.
A paradise for parasites? Seven new haemogregarine species infecting lizards from the Canary Islands
Authors: Tomé Beatriz , Pereira Ana , Harris D. James , Carretero Miguel A. , Perera Ana 
Published: March 2019

AbstractOceanic islands are hotspots of biodiversity due to their high levels of endemism, with the Canary Islands being a notable example. A previous molecular study on the biogeography and host associations of haemogregarines (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina) infecting lizards from this archipelago detected seven parasite haplogroups. These haplogroups exhibited high host-specificity and geographical structure, suggesting that they might correspond to distinct biological identities. In this study, along with sequencing a longer fragment of the 18S rRNA, we further explore the distinctiveness of these parasites by analysing their morphology, effects on host erythrocytes and parasitaemia levels. These lines of evidence together with their genetics, host associations, frequency of occurrence and geographical distribution support them as different biological entities. As such, we describe seven new species: Karyolysus canariensis sp. nov., Karyolysus galloti sp. nov., Karyolysus stehlini sp. nov., Karyolysus gomerensis sp. nov., Karyolysus atlanticus sp. nov., Karyolysus tinerfensis sp. nov. and Karyolysus makariogeckonis sp. nov. These new taxa are further examples of endemic diversity in the Canarian archipelago. They also contribute to clarify the taxonomy within the Apicomplexa, a phylum estimated to have one of the lowest percentages of described species.
Infection byTrypanosoma cruziin the central nervous system in non-human mammals: a systematic review
Authors: Villalba-Alemán Evaristo , Sarandy Mariáurea Matias , Morais-Santos Mônica , Novaes Rômulo Dias , Gonçalves Reggiani Vilela 
Published: March 2019

AbstractCurrently, the types and distribution of the lesions induced in the central nervous system (CNS) byTrypanosoma cruziremain unclear as the available evidence is based on fragmented data. Therefore, we developed a systematic review to analyse the main characteristics of the CNS lesions in non-human hosts infected. From a structured search on the PubMed/Medline and Scopus platforms, 32 studies were retrieved, subjected to data extraction and methodological bias analysis. Our results show that the most frequent alterations in the CNS are the presence of different forms ofT. cruziand intense lymphocytes infiltrates. The encephalon is the main target ofT. cruzi, and inflammatory changes in the CNS are more frequent and severe in the acute phase of infection. The parasite's genotype and phenotype are associated with the tropism and severity of the CNS lesions. The methodological limitations found in the studies were divergences in inoculation pathways, under-reporting of animal age and weight, sample calculation strategies and histopathological characterization. Since the changes were dependent on the pathogenicity and virulence of theT. cruzistrains, the genotype and phenotype characterization of the parasite are extremely relevant to predict changes in the CNS and the neurological manifestations associated with Chagas’ disease.