bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The association of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) G894T gene polymorphism with responsiveness to a selective α1‐blocker in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia related lower urinary tract symptoms
Authors: Lee Yung‐Chin , Juan Yung‐Shun , Liu Chia‐Chu , Bao Bo‐Ying , Wang Chii‐Jye , Wu Wen‐Jeng , Huang Chun‐Nung , Huang Shu‐Pin 
Published: March 2016

ObjectiveTo prospectively investigate the association of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) G894T gene polymorphism with responsiveness to a selective α1‐blocker in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia related lower urinary tract symptoms (BPH/LUTS), as nitric oxide has recently gained increasing recognition as an important neurotransmitter of functions in the lower urinary tract.Patients and MethodsIn all, 136 men with BPH/LUTS were recruited from urology outpatient clinics in a university hospital. Oral therapy with doxazosin gastrointestinal therapeutic system (GITS) 4 mg once‐daily was given for 12 weeks. The drug efficacy was assessed by the changes from baseline in the total International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax) and post‐void residual urine volume (PVR) at 12 weeks of treatment. The ‘responders’ to doxazosin GITS were defined as those who had a total IPSS decrease of >4 points from baseline. eNOS G894T polymorphism was determined using the polymerase chain reaction‐restriction fragment length polymorphism method.ResultsPatients had statistically significant improvements in total IPSS, quality of life score, and Qmax (P < 0.01) after a 12‐week period of treatment. Using multiple logistic regression analysis adjusted for age and IPSS, our results showed that being a eNOS 894T allele carrier was an independent risk factor for being a drug non‐responder (P = 0.03, odds ratio 4.19). Moreover, a decreased responder rate (P = 0.01), as well as the lower improvements in IPSS (P = 0.02) and Qmax (P = 0.03) were significantly associated with increment in the T allele number.ConclusionsThe presence of the eNOS 894T allele had a significantly negative impact on responsiveness to a selective α1‐blocker in BPH/LUTS treatment, suggesting that eNOS G894T gene polymorphism may be a genetic susceptibility factor for α1‐blocker efficacy in men with BPH/LUTS.
Role of survivin expression in predicting biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy: a multi‐institutional study
Authors: Mathieu Romain , Lucca Ilaria , Vartolomei Mihai D. , Mbeutcha Aurélie , Klatte Tobias , Seitz Christian , Karakiewicz Pierre I. , Fajkovic Harun , Sun Maxine , Lotan Yair , Montorsi Francesco , Briganti Alberto , Rouprêt Morgan , Margulis Vitaly , Rink Michael , Rieken Malte , Kenner Lukas , Susani Martin , Wolgang Loidl , Shariat Shahrokh F. 
Published: March 2016

ObjectiveTo assess the association of survivin expression with clinicopathological features and biochemical recurrence (BCR) after radical prostatectomy (RP) in a large multi‐institutional cohort.MethodsSurvivin expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry on a tissue microarray of RP cores from 3 117 patients. Survivin expression was considered altered when at least 10% of the tumour cells stained positive. The association of altered survivin expression with BCR was evaluated using Cox proportional hazards regression models.ResultsSurvivin expression was altered in 1 330 patients (42.6%). Altered expression was associated with higher Gleason score on RP (P = 0.001), extracapsular extension (P = 0.019), seminal vesicle invasion (P < 0.001) and lymph node metastases (P = 0.009). The median (interquartile range) follow‐up was 38 (21–66) months. Patients with altered survivin expression had a shorter BCR‐free survival time than those with normal expression (5‐year BCR‐free survival estimates: 74.7 vs 79.0%; P = 0.008). Altered survivin expression did not retain its prognostic value, however, after adjustment for the effect of established clinicopathological factors (P = 0.73). Subgroup analyses also showed no independent prognostic value of survivin.ConclusionsSurvivin expression is commonly altered in patients undergoing RP. Altered survivin expression is associated with the clinicopathological features of biologically and clinically aggressive PCa. Survivin expression was associated with BCR only in univariable analysis, limiting its value in daily clinical decision‐making.
Preoperative diagnosis and prognosis in 40 Parathyroid Carcinoma Patients
Authors: Xue Song , Chen Haizhen , Lv Chunhui , Shen Xiaohui , Ding Jiazeng , Liu Jianmin , Chen Xi 
Published: March 2016

SummaryObjectiveParathyroid carcinoma (PC) is a rare disease which is difficult to diagnose preoperatively and predict prognosis. The goal of this study was to analyse the preoperative predictive factors and prognostic factors in PC patients and to evaluate the possibility of diagnosing PC preoperatively.Design, Setting and PatientsThis is a retrospective study from Jan 2000 to Aug 2015 conducted in Shanghai Ruijin Hospital.MeasurementsComparisons were made between 40 parathyroid carcinoma patients and 282 patients with benign parathyroid lesions during the same period. All patients underwent parathyroid surgery, and the results were certified by paraffin pathology. Prognostic factors were analysed in the 40 PC patients.ResultsPatients with higher levels of intact parathyroid hormone (P < 0·001, OR = 1·001, CI: 1·000–1·002), calcium (P = 0·008, OR = 3·395, CI: 1·382–8·341) and a larger parathyroid volume (P = 0·001, OR = 2·023, CI: 1·333–3·071) were more likely to have PC. Local excision (P = 0·008, OR = 4·992, CI: 1·533–16·252), stage III in the Schulte staging system (P = 0·039, OR = 9·600, CI: 1·12–82·322), high risk in the Schulte Risk Classification (P = 0·012, OR = 5·466, CI: 1·448–20·628) and first surgery by other medical teams (P = 0·008, OR = 4·992, CI: 1·496–15·037) were associated with PC recurrence. Calcium (P = 0·01, OR = 7·270, CI: 1·611–32·812), intact parathyroid hormone (P = 0·037, OR = 1·001, CI: 1·000–1·001), local excision (P = 0·009, OR = 6·875, CI: 1·633–28·936) and recurrence (P = 0·014, OR = 7·762, CI: 1·504–40·055) were associated with death.ConclusionsA preoperative diagnostic system may provide a new method to distinguish PC from benign parathyroid lesions before surgery. For PC patients who did not undergo en‐bloc resection at first operation, timely further surgery may offer a second chance of cure. Early diagnosis and surgery are pivotal to reduce mortality in PC patients.
Secular trends in antihyperglycaemic medication prescriptions in older adults with diabetes and chronic kidney disease: 2004–2013
Authors: Clemens K. K. , Liu K. , Shariff S. , Schernthaner G. , Tangri N. , Garg A. X. 
Published: March 2016

AimTo examine how antihyperglycaemic medications were prescribed to older adults with diabetes and chronic kidney disease over the last decade.MethodsWe conducted a population‐based study of 144 252 older adults with diabetes and chronic kidney disease (estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 ml/min/1.73 m2 or receiving chronic dialysis) in Ontario, Canada. In each study quarter (3‐month intervals from 1 April 2004 until 31 March 2013) we studied the proportion of treated and newly treated patients prescribed insulin, sulphonylureas, α‐glucosidase inhibitors, metformin, thiazolidinediones, meglitinides and dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 (DPP‐4) inhibitors. We further examined prescription trends by stage of chronic kidney disease.ResultsThe mean age of patients increased slightly (from 76 to 78 years) over the study period and the percentage with comorbidities declined. Metformin was the predominant therapy prescribed (prescribed to a mean of 56.1% of treated patients). Glyburide (glibenclamide) and thiazolidinedione prescriptions decreased (glyburide prescriptions declined from 45.5 to 9.5%, rosiglitazone from 3.6 to 0.2% and pioglitazone from 1.9 to 1.7%), while gliclazide and DPP‐4 inhibitor prescriptions increased (gliclazide prescriptions increased from 0.6 to 26.4%, sitagliptin from 0 to 15.3% and saxagliptin from 0 to 2.0%). Up to 48.6% of patients with stage 3a–5 chronic kidney disease or receiving chronic dialysis were prescribed glyburide, and up to 27.6% of patients with stage 4–5 disease or receiving chronic dialysis were prescribed metformin.ConclusionsIn patients with chronic kidney disease, there were trends towards safer antihyperglycaemic medication prescribing. A considerable number of patients, however, continue to receive medications that should be avoided.
Clinging to Hope through Education: The Consequences of Hope for Rural Laborers in Telangana, India
Authors: Jakimow Tanya 
Published: March 2016

AbstractEducation is for marginalized people in agrarian Telangana, India,themeans to getting ahead, at the same time that structural conditions have diminished its potential. This article considers the consequences of education's failures for parents’ positioning within a society that is purported to be “moving forward.” I draw upon Berlant (2011) and Ahmed (2010) as a starting point to explore the possibility that the idea of progress through education is critical to one's sense of self, anchoring the self to conventional hopes and desires as a way to survive present‐day uncertainties. Variations in the narratives of villagers complicate any straightforward analysis, however. Hope is precarious when faced with the improbability of the next generation escaping hardship, coexisting with relative resignation and a lack of agency. It is thealmostimpossibility of getting ahead through education that establishes its theoretical possibility and hence the obligation to pursue normative aspirations. Through close attention to the texture of hope in agrarian Telangana, I aim to reveal unintended consequences of the continued emphasis on education as a development goal.
Transnational Ties: Children's Reactions to Parental Emigration in Guayaquil, Ecuador
Authors: Rae‐Espinoza Heather 
Published: March 2016

AbstractCulture prominently shapes psychological adaptations and social adjustments for children facing potentially distressing circumstances. With three years of fieldwork on the children who stay after parental emigration in Guayaquil, Ecuador, I describe how children synthesize the competing values on émigré parents in wider society and in their transnational households that form a disjunctive socialization context. Children create a culturally constituted defense mechanism in their peer culture, which I call “transnational ties.” This defense allows children to view their geographically distant émigré parents as emotionally present by emphasizing continuing bonds, downplaying transitional periods, focusing on age‐graded care, and disconnecting family from the domestic unit. Children's personal practices reveal that enculturation is a social and psychological process.
Fatigue crack initiation prediction of cope hole details in orthotropic steel deck using the theory of critical distances
Authors: Zhou H. , Wen J. , Wang Z. , Zhang Y. , Du X. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractOrthotropic steel decks are vulnerable to fatigue cracking in welded connections and complex geometrical details. A total of three fatigue tests were conducted on segments of orthotropic steel deck to evaluate the fatigue performance of trough‐to‐crossbeam connections with various cut‐out configurations. In the tests, the specimens were subjected to cyclic three‐point bending load and the fatigue cracks were more likely to initiate from the cope holes in the crossbeam web rather than the trough‐to‐crossbeam fillet welds. Three‐dimensional finite element models (FEM) of the specimens were built and validated by the measured deflections and stresses. Using the validated FEM, the characteristic stresses based on the theory of critical distances (TCD) were calculated for the stress concentrations along the cope holes. The fatigue crack initiation life, predicted by the TCD‐based stress combined with the plain material S–N curve, agreed reasonably with the fatigue test results. The TCD method could further form a basis of fatigue crack propagation analysis using the fracture mechanics approaches.
Communal nesting under climate change: fitness consequences of higher incubation temperatures for a nocturnal lizard
Authors: Dayananda Buddhi , Gray Sarah , Pike David , Webb Jonathan K. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractCommunal nesting lizards may be vulnerable to climate warming, particularly if air temperatures regulate nest temperatures. In southeastern Australia, velvet geckos Oedura lesueurii lay eggs communally inside rock crevices. We investigated whether increases in air temperatures could elevate nest temperatures, and if so, how this could influence hatching phenotypes, survival, and population dynamics. In natural nests, maximum daily air temperature influenced mean and maximum daily nest temperatures, implying that nest temperatures will increase under climate warming. To determine whether hotter nests influence hatchling phenotypes, we incubated eggs under two fluctuating temperature regimes to mimic current ‘cold’ nests (mean = 23.2 °C, range 10–33 °C) and future ‘hot’ nests (27.0 °C, 14–37 °C). ‘Hot’ incubation temperatures produced smaller hatchlings than did cold temperature incubation. We released individually marked hatchlings into the wild in 2014 and 2015, and monitored their survival over 10 months. In 2014 and 2015, hot‐incubated hatchlings had higher annual mortality (99%, 97%) than cold‐incubated (11%, 58%) or wild‐born hatchlings (78%, 22%). To determine future trajectories of velvet gecko populations under climate warming, we ran population viability analyses in Vortex and varied annual rates of hatchling mortality within the range 78– 96%. Hatchling mortality strongly influenced the probability of extinction and the mean time to extinction. When hatchling mortality was >86%, populations had a higher probability of extinction (PE: range 0.52– 1.0) with mean times to extinction of 18–44 years. Whether future changes in hatchling survival translate into reduced population viability will depend on the ability of females to modify their nest‐site choices. Over the period 1992–2015, females used the same communal nests annually, suggesting that there may be little plasticity in maternal nest‐site selection. The impacts of climate change may therefore be especially severe on communal nesting species, particularly if such species occupy thermally challenging environments.
Beyond the American Colonization Society
Authors: Seeley Samantha 
Published: March 2016

AbstractThis article offers a critical review of scholarship on black colonization and emigration beyond the United States between the 1770s and the 1850s. In 1816, a group of elite white men founded the American Colonization Society (ACS), an organization committed to sending free African Americans outside the bounds of the nation. By 1821, the ACS had secured federal funding for the project and purchased land for the new black colony of Liberia in West Africa. Historians have long disagreed about the aims of the ACS beyond its prejudicial presumption that African Americans did not belong within the nation. This founding debate has obscured the much longer and more diffuse history of colonization thought across the American colonies and the new United States. Well before and after 1816, both black and white activists planned alternative black colonies outside the bounds of the United States in West Africa, Florida, Haiti, Canada, Texas, Mexico, and the American West. This essay briefly reviews the major arguments in the scholarship on the ACS before turning to examine work that has looked beyond Liberia to embrace creative approaches to the scattered field of black colonization and emigration across the Anglo‐Atlantic world. This growing body of scholarship demonstrates ever more forcefully that removal and migration were at the center of conceptions of race, citizenship, and freedom in the early United States.
African Mobility and Labor in Global History
Authors: Callebert Ralph 
Published: March 2016

AbstractPopular discourses on globalization and many global histories do not have much to say about Africa, despite significant advances in global history's engagements with Africa in recent decades. The continent generally only features to the extent that it trades, usually as subordinate partner, with the rest of the world or is penetrated by foreign merchants and colonizers. Such accounts approach the continent's integration into world marketsfrom without. This literature thus emphasizes colonial transport infrastructure, export trade, and forms of labor that feed directly into global markets, including wage labor and cash cropping. The historiography on African mobility and labor, however, opens up promising avenues for better integrating the continent into global history. African historians' growing focus on local mobility and informal trade, on the ways in which Africans took part in shaping connections with global markets, and on productive activities not geared towards export allows us to reframe Africa in global history as more than a passive victim of colonialism, the slave trade, or global capital.
A new alternative to cosmetics preservation and the effect of the particle size of the emulsion droplets on preservation efficacy
Authors: Fang B. , Yu M. , Zhang W. , Wang F. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractObjectiveThis study describes a new alternative combination preservative containing caprylyl glycol, phenethyl alcohol and glyceryl caprylate and investigates the effects of the particle size of the emulsion droplet on the anti‐microbial activity of the said blend in the formulation.MethodsThe anti‐microbial activity of the ingredients and the blend were determined via MIC, MBC, MFC and fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) determination using the broth microdilution method. The blend inhibited the micro‐organism contamination of the oil‐in‐water emulsion, and its performance was affected by the particle size of the emulsion droplet, as shown by the in vitro microbial challenge test.ResultsResults show that the MIC/MBC/MFC values of the blend were lower than those of any of the ingredients used alone. Any two of the ingredients presented no antagonistic activities against all the tested micro‐organisms, and synergism or additive effects were also observed. The challenge test also showed that the action of the blend against bacteria and yeast was only 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively, and mould was completely inhibited at 1.4%, meeting the requirements of the PCPC and European Pharmacopoeia. The results showed that anti‐microbial activity was gradually enhanced when the particle size of the emulsion droplets increased significantly in the range of 100–900 nm. A positive correlation was found between anti‐microbial activity and particle size.ConclusionThe synergistic performance of caprylyl glycol, phenethyl alcohol and glyceryl caprylate and the anti‐microbial activity of their blend suggest that their combination is effective and exhibits broad‐spectrum anti‐microbial activity. Furthermore, the results show a positive correlation between the anti‐microbial activity of the preservative and the particle size of the emulsion droplets in the range of 100–900 nm, when the same concentration of the blend is used in the same formulation. The particle size of the emulsion droplets is demonstrated to be a newly discovered factor that influences the preservation of cosmetic products.
Skin grafting for the treatment of chronic leg ulcers – a systematic review in evidence‐based medicine
Authors: Serra Raffaele , Rizzuto Antonia , Rossi Alessio , Perri Paolo , Barbetta Andrea , Abdalla Karim , Caroleo Santo , Longo Chiara , Amantea Bruno , Sammarco Giuseppe , de Franciscis Stefano 
Published: March 2016

AbstractSkin grafting is one of the most common surgical procedures in the area of non‐healing wounds by which skin or a skin substitute is placed over a wound to replace and regenerate the damaged skin. Chronic leg ulcers are an important problem and a major source of expense for Western countries and for which many different forms of treatment have been used. Skin grafting is a method of treatment that decreases the area of chronic leg ulcers or heals them completely, thus improving a patient's quality of life. Skin grafting is an old technique, rediscovered during the first and second world wars as the main treatment for wound closure. Nowadays, skin grafting has a pivotal role in the context of modern wound healing and tissue regeneration. The aim of this review was to track and to analyse the specific outcomes this technique achieved, especially in the last decade, in relation to venous, arterial, diabetic, rheumatoid and traumatic leg ulcers. Our main findings indicate that autologous split‐thickness skin grafting still remains the gold standard in terms of safety and efficacy for chronic leg ulcers; skin grafting procedures have greater success rates in chronic venous leg ulcers compared to other types of chronic leg ulcers; skin tissue engineering, also supported by genetic manipulation, is quickly expanding and, in the near future, may provide even better outcomes in the area of treatments for long‐lasting chronic wounds.
Nurse practitioners’ focus on health care in terms of cure and care: analysis of graduate theses using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health
Authors: Stallinga Hillegonda A. , Jansen Gerard J. , Kastermans Marijke C. , Pranger Albert , Dijkstra Pieter U. , Roodbol Petrie F. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractAimTo explore the focus of nurse practitioners on health care in terms of cure and care.BackgroundNurse practitioners are expected to act on the intersection of cure and care. However, in clinical practice and education, a clear model covering this area is lacking; therefore, it is unknown to what extent nurse practitioners are focused on this specific area. Graduate theses may reflect the focus of nurse practitioners.DesignSequential exploratory mixed method.MethodsIn total, 413 published abstracts of graduate theses of a Dutch Master of Advanced Nursing Practice (2000–2015) were analysed using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Data source included aim, question and outcome of each thesis and graduates’ characteristics. A qualitative deductive approach was used for the analyses. Theses were classified as focused on cure, care, or on the intersection of cure and care.ResultsA small majority of 53% (N = 219) of the graduate theses addressed patient's health status and could be classified in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Of the classified theses, 48% were focused on cure, 39% on the intersection of cure and care and 13% on care. While the percentage of theses addressing health status increased significantly over the 15‐year period, the percentage of theses focused on cure, care and on the intersection of cure and care remained the same.ConclusionThe graduate theses reflected that nurse practitioners are increasingly oriented towards patients’ health status. However, their focus is predominantly on cure rather than on the intersection of cure and care.