bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Erectile and Ejaculatory Function Preserved with Convective Water Vapor Energy Treatment of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Secondary to Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: Randomized Controlled Study
Authors: McVary Kevin T. , Gange Steven N. , Gittelman Marc C. , Goldberg Kenneth A. , Patel Kalpesh , Shore Neal D. , Levin Richard M. , Rousseau Michael , Beahrs J. Randolf , Kaminetsky Jed , Cowan Barrett E. , Cantrill Christopher H. , Mynderse Lance A. , Ulchaker James C. , Larson Thayne R. , Dixon Christopher M. , Roehrborn Claus G. 
Published: April 2016

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Most surgical treatments for male lower urinary tract symptoms and benign prostatic hyperplasia affect erectile and ejaculatory functions negatively, leading to patient dissatisfaction.

Aim
To determine whether water vapor thermal therapy, when conducted in a randomized controlled trial, would significantly improve lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia and urinary flow rate while preserving erectile and ejaculatory functions.

Methods
Men at least 50 years old with International Prostate Symptom Scores of at least 13, a peak flow rate of at least 5 to no higher than 15 mL/s, and prostate volume of 30 to 80 cm3 were randomized 2:1 between Rezūm System thermal therapy and control. Thermal water vapor (103°C) was injected into lateral and median lobes as required for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. The control procedure entailed rigid cystoscopy with simulated active treatment sounds.

Main Outcome Measures
Blinded group (active = 136, control = 61) comparison occurred at 3 months and the active arm was followed to 12 months for International Prostate Symptom Score, peak flow rate, and sexual function using the International Index of Erectile Function and the Male Sexual Health Questionnaire for Ejaculatory Function. The minimal clinically important difference in erectile function perceived by subjects as beneficial was determined for each erectile function severity category. Subjects not sexually active were censored from sexual function analysis.

Results
No treatment- or device-related de novo erectile dysfunction occurred after thermal therapy. International Index of Erectile Function and Male Sexual Health Questionnaire for Ejaculatory Function scores were not different from the control group at 3 months or from baseline at 1 year. Ejaculatory bother score improved 31% over baseline (P = .0011). Also, 32% of subjects achieved minimal clinically important differences in erectile function scores at 3 months, and 27% at 1 year, including those with moderate to severe erectile dysfunction. International Prostate Symptom Score and peak flow rate were significantly superior to controls at 3 months and throughout 1 year (P &lt; .0001).

Conclusion
Convective water vapor thermal therapy provides sustainable improvements for 12 months to lower urinary tract symptoms and urinary flow while preserving erectile and ejaculatory functions.
The incremental information content of innovations in implied idiosyncratic volatility
Authors: Moll Cliff R. , Huffman Stephen P. 
Published: April 2016

AbstractMotivated by mixed evidence related to the pricing of measures of risk, we investigate the information content of innovations in implied idiosyncratic volatility. Using both cross‐sectional and time‐series methodologies, we find that innovations in implied idiosyncratic volatility explain future returns for a sample of 2864 optionable firms examined during the 1999–2010 sample period. We find that long‐short portfolios formed using innovations in implied idiosyncratic volatility produce much larger abnormal returns than long‐short portfolios formed using the level of implied idiosyncratic volatility. We also find that significant (both statistically and economically) abnormal returns continue to be generated for portfolios formed using innovations in implied idiosyncratic volatility when the sample is partitioned by: firm size, book‐to‐market equity, implied idiosyncratic volatility persistence, volatility risk, jump risk and option skewness. Our cross‐sectional results lead to similar conclusions and are robust to the inclusion of traditional risk factors. Therefore, our results provide evidence of a significant and, to this point, undetected ex ante measure of risk.
Chalcophile elements in black shales of the Bazhenov Formation, West Siberian sea basin
Authors: Zanin Yu.N. , Zamirailova A.G. , Eder V.G. 
Published: April 2016

Abstract
The contents and distribution of chalcophile elements in the Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous Bazhenov Formation (black shales), West Siberian sea basin, are related to the composition of rocks, sedimentation rate, and redox conditions of sedimentation. The total content of chalcophile elements in the argillaceous–siliceous and argillaceous mudstones of normal sections (1360.7 and 498.4 ppm, respectively) is higher than the clarkes for black shales of this type, while that in the silty argillaceous mudstones of anomalous sections (186.7 ppm) corresponds to average contents for clays. On the other hand, the contents of Zn, Cu, As, Se, Cd, and In in the argillaceous–siliceous mudstones are above the clarkes, those of Pb, Ga, Ag, Hg, and Te are close to the clarkes, and the contents of Tl, Ge, Bi, and Sn are below the clarkes. In the argillaceous mudstones of normal sections, the first group of elements includes Zn, As, and Ga; the second, Cu, Pb, Sb, Tl, Ge, and Bi; and the third, Se, Ag, In, Sn, Hg, and Te. In the silty argillaceous mudstones of anomalous sections, the first group includes Ga, Ag, Ge, Bi, and Te (?); the second, Cu, As, Cd, Pb, and In; and the third, Zn, Se, Sb, and Hg. We have found that S, Cu, Zn, As, Ge, Se, Ag, Cd, In, Sb, and Hg are associated with pyrite and organic matter in the formation, whereas Ga, Sn, Pb, Bi, and Tl are mainly of terrigenous origin (which was earlier substantiated by Ya.E. Yudovich and M.P. Ketris for the first four elements) and are associated with clay material.
Trilobites and biostratigraphy of the Kuonamka Formation, northern Siberian Platform (Olenek River)
Authors: Korovnikov I.V. , Shabanov Yu.Ya. 
Published: April 2016

Abstract
A study of triobite distribution allowed a biostratigraphic subdivision of the Kuonamka Formation section exposed in the middle reaches of the Olenek River (18 km downstream of the village of Olenek). Through detailed description of the section, a biostratigraphic subdivision down to the level of biozones and faunal beds was performed. These are beds with Calodiscus–Triangulaspis annio, Delgadella ultima–Bergeroniellus expansus Zone, Lermontovia dzevanovskii–Neopagetina orbiculata Zone, Anabaraspis Zone, Cheiruroides arcticus– Pagetia horrida Zone, Kounamkites Zone, Triplagnostus gibbus Zone, and beds with Tomagnostus fissus–Paradoxides sacheri. These biostratigraphic subdivisions were correlated with regional zones of the Siberian Platform. The study also provides analysis of trilobite assemblages from the Lower/Middle Cambrian boundary interval, which was identified in the studied section and other previously described sections (Nekekit, Molodo, Boroulakh Rivers). In the studied section, the base of the Middle Cambrian is defined by the FAD of Cheiruroides arcticus, i.e., at the base of the Cheiruroides arcticus–Pagetia horrida Zone. This level correlates with a presumed lower boundary of Stage 5 of a new International Stratigraphic Chart for the Cambrian System.
Latitude dependence of amplitude factor δ for degree 2 tides
Authors: Spiridonov E.A. 
Published: April 2016

Abstract
The study updates the theory of tides by specifying latitude dependence of the gravimetric factor (amplitude factor δ) for diurnal and semidiurnal tidal waves in the oceanless elastic Earth. The strain of an elastic flattened gravitating sphere with latitude-dependent geopotential, density, and Lamé constants is described by a system of sixth-order ordinary differential equations. The elliptical sphere is presented as consisting of layers, with density and elasticity varying as a function of latitude along the sphere surface as mean radiuses of equidensity and equielasticity ellipsoids that cross this surface. Dissipation is taken into account as a logarithmic creep function. Integration of the derived equations allows avoiding the use of approximate methods. The predicted δ factors for degree 2 tides depend on latitude and increase from the equator to the pole by 0.12 to 0.18% for different reference Earth models. The obtained latitude dependences are compared with superconducting gravimeter (SG) data after including effects associated with the inertial and Coriolis forces, as well as dynamic resonance. The theoretical predictions and the observations show good fit, to hundredths of percent. The average δ factors predicted in this study for the PREM model are intermediate between those computed with the hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic tidal gravity models of Dehant, Defraigne, and Wahr (DDW/H and DDW/NH), while the estimates obtained with reference to the IASP91 model coincide with the DDW/NH results to the fifth decimal digit.
EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITIES IN REPEAT ABORTION: A LONGITUDINAL REGISTER STUDY IN FINLAND 1975–2010
Authors: Väisänen Heini 
Published: April 2016

SummaryThe proportion of repeat abortions among all abortions has increased over the last decades in Finland. This study examined the association of education with the likelihood of repeat abortion, and the change in this association over time using reliable longitudinal data. A unique set of register data from three birth cohorts were followed from age 20 to 45, including about 22,000 cases of repeat abortion, and analysed using discrete-time event-history models. Low education was found to be associated with a higher likelihood of repeat abortion. Women with low education had abortions sooner after the preceding abortion, and were more often single, younger and had larger families at the time of abortion than more highly educated women. The educational differences were more significant for later than earlier cohorts. The results show a lack of appropriate contraceptive use, possibly due to lack of knowledge of, or access to, services. There is a need to improve access to family planning services, and contraceptives should be provided free of charge. Register data overcome the common problems of under-reporting of abortion and attrition ensuring the results are reliable, unique and of interest internationally.
TEM modes influenced electron acceleration by Hermite–Gaussian laser beam in plasma
Authors: Ghotra Harjit Singh , Kant Niti 
Published: April 2016

AbstractElectron acceleration by a circularly polarized Hermite–Gaussian (HG) laser beam in the plasma has been investigated theoretically for the different transverse electromagnetic (TEM) mode indices (m, n) as (0, 1), (0, 2), (0, 3), and (0, 4). HG laser beam possesses higher trapping force compared with a standard Gaussian beam owing to its propagation characteristics during laser–electron interaction. A single-particle simulation indicates a resonant enhancement in the electron acceleration with HG laser beam. We present the intensity distribution for different TEM modes. We also analyze the dependence of beam width parameter on electron acceleration distance, which effectively influences the electron dynamics. Electron acceleration up to longer distance is observed with the lower modes. However, the higher electron energy gain is observed with higher modes at shorter distance of propagation.
A distributed control algorithm for area search by a multi-robot team
Authors: Baranzadeh Ahmad , Savkin Andrey V. 
Published: April 2016

SUMMARYIn this paper, we present a novel algorithm for exploring an unknown environment using a team of mobile robots. The suggested algorithm is a grid-based search method that utilizes a triangular pattern which covers an area so that exploring the whole area is guaranteed. The proposed algorithm consists of two stages. In the first stage, all the members of the team make a common triangular grid of which they are located on the vertices. In the second stage, they start exploring the area by moving between vertices of the grid. Furthermore, it is assumed that the communication range of the robots is limited, and the algorithm is based on the information of the nearest neighbours of the robots. Moreover, we apply a new mapping method employed by robots during the search operation. A mathematically rigorous proof of convergence with probability 1 of the algorithm is given. Moreover, our algorithm is implemented and simulated using a simulator of the real robots and environment and also tested via experiments with Adept Pioneer 3DX wheeled mobile robots.
DECISIONAL NONCONSEQUENTIALISM AND THE RISK SENSITIVITY OF OBLIGATION
Authors: Spector Horacio 
Published: April 2016

Abstract:A good deal of contemporary moral nonconsequentialism assumes that agents have perfect knowledge about the various features and consequences of their options. This assumption is unrealistic. More often than not, moral agents can only assess with a certain degree of probability the factual circumstances that are morally relevant for their decision making. My aim in this essay is to discuss the problem of moral decisions under risk from the point of view of nonconsequentialism. Basically, I analyze how objective moral principles can be transformed into subjective, decisional prescriptions, and argue that the standard nonconsequentialist approach to moral decision making, which focuses on probability thresholds, is wrong. In accordance with the fundamental postulates of nonconsequentialism, I seek to solve the problem of risk in moral choice by proposing a theory about the marginal moral value of various options. Actions can vary along various dimensions, and each of these dimensions can offer a different moral value function. Nonconsequentialist marginalism can level the playing field with consequentialism. Whereas consequentialism can simply borrow the notion of expected utility from economics, nonconsequentialism must introduce the notion of expectational obligation to formulate a general principle of moral choice under risk. I finally suggest that further empirical work is needed to delineate the shape of various moral value functions that are critical for applying the general principle of moral decision making under risk to well-known cases.
THE PURE THEORY OF PUBLIC JUSTIFICATION
Authors: Wall Steven 
Published: April 2016

Abstract:The ideal of public justification holds, at a minimum, that the most fundamental political and legal institutions of a society must be publicly justified to each of its members. This essay proposes and defends a new account of this ideal. The account defended construes public justification as an ideal of rational justification, one that is grounded in the moral requirement to respect the rational agency of persons. The essay distinguishes two kinds of justifying reasons that bear on politics and shows how they inform the ideal of public justification. It also decouples public justification from contractualist political morality. The result is a novel account of public justification that departs markedly from how the ideal is commonly characterized, but shows how it retains its distinctiveness as an ideal of politics.
Using Religion to Resist Rural Dispossession: A Case Study of a Hui Muslim Community in North-west China
Authors: Luo Qiangqiang , Andreas Joel 
Published: April 2016

AbstractIn this paper, we examine the role played by religion in a struggle waged by Hui Muslim villagers against land expropriation. Religion can provide powerful resources for protest movements, especially for religious minorities, but it can also be dangerous. This is particularly true in China where the state has had little toleration of autonomous organization and has long been suspicious of religious organization, especially among ethnic minorities. Scholarly literature about collective action by religious minorities in China has focused on protests about cultural and political issues – and the repression of such protests – but there has been relatively little scholarship about protests by religious minorities over economic issues. The number of protests over economic conflicts has increased in recent years, and the state has been more tolerant of economic than of political protests. These conditions have shaped the following questions: what happens when villagers employ religious ideas and use religious organization to advance economic demands? How effective are religious ideas and organization as tools of mobilization? How do government authorities respond?
State Consent and Disagreement in International Law-Making.Dissolving the Paradox
Authors: BESSON SAMANTHA 
Published: April 2016

AbstractThis article starts with a paradox: international law-making is ridden with reasonable disagreement and yet no state can be bound by international law without its consent and hence without agreement. Breaking away from the pragmatic resignation that prevails among international law scholars on this question, the article proposes an interpretation of the role of state consent that both fits and justifies its central role in the practice of international law-making and, hopefully, strengthens the latter's legitimacy in the future. Its proposed justification actually lies in the circumstances of reasonable disagreement among democratic states and this proposal dissolves the paradox. The article argues that, in international law as it is the case domestically, consent is neither a criterion of validity of law nor a ground for its legitimate authority. It also dispels two myths about state consent: its necessary relationship to legal positivism and state sovereignty. Instead, the article argues, the role of democratic state consent is that of an exception to the legitimate authority of international law and hence to its bindingness in a concrete case. While the legitimacy of international law is not democratic, the democratic nature of states and their democratic accountability to their people matter. This is especially the case in circumstances of widespread and persistent reasonable disagreement as they prevail among democratic states in international law-making. In these circumstances, respecting the sovereign equality of democratic states by requiring their consent is the way to grant an equal voice to their people. Of course, there are limits to the democratic state exception that are inherent to both its democratic dimension (it requires respecting basic political equality) and its consensual dimension (it requires that consent is expressed in a free, fair and informed fashion). The article concludes by showing how the proposed disagreement-attuned account of democratic state consent explains various characteristics of the main international law-making processes, i.e., treaties and custom.
The Concept(s) of Accountability: Form in Search of Substance
Authors: RACHED DANIELLE HANNA 
Published: April 2016

AbstractAccountability has become a cornerstone of current discussion on the prospects of legitimate and effective global governance. In spite of its rather high currency, accountability does not partake in the select group of first-order political ideals: democracy, human rights, constitutionalism and rule of law have all been historically uttered in much more vocal tones and still remain at the forefront of public demands for legitimate authority. Rather than radiating a comprehensive legal or political vision, accountability supplies a power-constraining toolbox that allows for a variety of more or less attractive permutations. This rather commonplace story, though, tells very little about the concrete configurations, underlying values and ends of accountability. The concept of accountability remains unstable because, among other things, its descriptive and normative aspects lack a clearer articulation; traditional taxonomies fail to precisely illuminate its political and extra-political instantiations, and their respective connection with law; the relevant descriptive variables that shape accountability arrangements are not yet systematized in a comprehensive way; the specific normative goals that lurk behind the calls for more accountability tend to be taken for granted, and the trade-offs or internal tensions that necessarily occur are usually camouflaged. Conceptual clarification, thus, is indispensable whenever one comes across such multifaceted umbrella terms. The article attempts to diagnose such shortcomings, to elucidate a minimalist concept of accountability and to provide a large analytical map that can aid both the description and the critical assessment of accountability arrangements in light of their potential purposes. This analytical exercise is a pivotal starting point if accountability is to get a better grip on the debates about the improvement of global governance.
Towards a Humanized International “Constitution”?
Authors: TZEVELEKOS VASSILIS P. , LIXINSKI LUCAS 
Published: April 2016

AbstractThe article argues that, by bringing a number of changes of systemic proportions in the order of international law, the internationalization of national constitutional human rights law has led to the ‘constitutionalization’ of international law. To build that argument, the paper first critically assesses the constitutionalization narrative. To that end it explains the reasons for its agnostic stance vis-à-vis the constitutionalization narrative and highlights the fact that international law has always contained some general, “constitutional” features that are particular to its systemic physiognomy. The article then explains how human rights law, as a special branch of international law, expands beyond the so-called humanization of international law narrative, acting as an important ingredient in a number of other narratives such as the constitutionalization of international law and the ones that are comparable to it, like legal pluralism and fragmentation. As to the systemic changes the internationalization of human rights has brought to the order of public international law, the examples given are those of collective enforcement at the decentralized level for the protection of common interests/values, sui generis normative hierarchy beyondjus cogensand the idea of the responsibility of states to act in a protective manner linked with the principle of due diligence and the so-called positive effect that human rights develop.
Climate-Resilient Crops and International Climate Change Adaptation Law
Authors: SAAB ANNE 
Published: April 2016

AbstractThis article explores the role of international climate change adaptation law in promoting the use of genetically engineered crops as an adaptation strategy. The severity of climate change impacts and the realization that, by now, some adverse effects are inevitable, has intensified the urgency to devise effective adaptation strategies. Genetically engineered climate-resilient crops are presented as one possible means to adapt to the predicted adverse impacts of climate change on agriculture and crop yields. Despite increased attention on the research and development of climate-resilient crops, particularly by private sector seed corporations, there are many controversies surrounding this proposed adaptation strategy. The key contentions relate to apprehensions about genetically engineered crops more generally, the effectiveness of climate-resilient crops, and the involvement of the private sector in international climate change adaptation initiatives.The main argument in this article is that the emerging field of international climate change adaptation law contributes to promoting genetically engineered climate-resilient crops as a possible means of adaptation. Moreover, international adaptation law creates an enabling environment for the active engagement of private sector corporations in devising adaptation strategies. Notwithstanding controversies over genetically engineered crops and the role of the private sector, there has been little consideration so far of the influence of the growing international legal regime on climate change on the types of adaptation strategies that are devised and promoted.