bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Pharmacodynamic interactions of a solid formulation of sodium oxybate and ethanol in healthy volunteers
Authors: Pross Nathalie , Patat Alain , Vivet Philippe , Bidaut Michelle , Fauchoux Nicolas 
Published: March 2015

AimThe pharmacologic effects of sodium oxybate (SO) have a number of similarities with those of alcohol. This study evaluated the pharmacodynamic interaction of SMO.IR (a solid immediate release formulation of SO) and alcohol (0.7 (males) or 0.57 (females) g kg–1 alcohol using 40% vodka).MethodsIn a randomized, double‐blind, double‐dummy, crossover trial, 24 healthy volunteers received randomly a) 2.25 g SMO.IR and placebo alcohol preparation, b) 2.25 g f SMO.IR and alcohol, c) 2.25 g SMO.IR matching placebo and alcohol and d) 2.25 g of SMO.IR matching placebo and placebo alcohol preparation. Objective and subjective cognitive parameters, adverse events and vital signs were assessed before, 15 and 165 min after treatment administration.ResultsAlcohol produced the expected cognitive impairment and the expected subjective sedation rapidly after intake (from 15 min). The objective effects of SMO.IR were much less pronounced than those of alcohol. The reverse was observed for subjective complaints, which were related to lesser stimulation and greater sedation. Nevertheless, 165 min after administration this sedation feeling was less with SMO.IR than with alcohol. There was a significant interaction between SMO.IR and alcohol at 15 min (i.e. increase in alertness and stimulation and decrease in sedation). In addition, an isolated mild decrease in digit vigilance accuracy occurred at 165 min post‐dose after the combination. The co‐administration of SMO.IR and alcohol was safe and well‐tolerated.ConclusionSMO.IR and alcohol have distinct adverse effect profiles. The objective effects of SMO.IR are much less marked than those of alcohol. No deleterious interaction was observed.
A comparative analysis of robotic vs laparoscopic retroperitoneal lymph node dissection for testicular cancer
Authors: Harris Kelly T. , Gorin Michael A. , Ball Mark W. , Pierorazio Phillip M. , Allaf Mohamad E. 
Published: March 2015

ObjectiveTo compare the safety and perioperative outcomes of robotic retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (R‐RPLND) vs laparoscopic RPLND (L‐RPLND).Patients and MethodsOur Institutional Review Board‐approved retrospective testicular cancer registry was queried for patients who underwent a primary unilateral R‐RPLND or L‐RPLND by a single surgeon for a stage I testicular non‐seminomatous germ cell tumour. Groups were compared for differences in baseline and outcome variables.ResultsBetween July 2006 and July 2014, 16 R‐RPLND and 21 L‐RPLND cases were performed by a single surgeon. Intra‐ and perioperative outcomes including operative time, estimated blood loss, lymph node yield, complicate rate, and ejaculatory status were similar between groups (all P > 0.1).ConclusionsAs an early checkpoint, R‐RPLND appears comparable to L‐RPLND in terms of safety and perioperative outcomes. It remains unclear if R‐RPLND offers any tangible benefits over standard laparoscopy.
Impact of stage migration and practice changes on high‐risk prostate cancer: results from patients treated with radical prostatectomy over the last two decades
Authors: Fossati Nicola , Passoni Niccolò M. , Moschini Marco , Gandaglia Giorgio , Larcher Alessandro , Freschi Massimo , Guazzoni Giorgio , Sjoberg Daniel D. , Vickers Andrew J. , Montorsi Francesco , Briganti Alberto 
Published: March 2015

ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of year of surgery on clinical, pathological and oncological outcomes of patients with high‐risk prostate cancer.Patients and MethodsWe evaluated 1 033 patients with clinically high‐risk prostate cancer, defined as the presence of at least one of the following risk factors: preoperative prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) level >20 ng/mL, and/or clinical stage ≥T3, and/or biopsy Gleason score ≥8. Patients were treated between 1990 and 2013 at a single institution. The year‐by‐year trends in clinical and pathological characteristics were examined. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was used to test the relationship between year of surgery and oncological outcomes.ResultsWe observed a decrease over time in the proportion of patients with high‐risk disease (preoperative PSA >20 ng/mL or clinical stage cT3). A trend in the opposite direction was seen for biopsy Gleason score ≥8 tumours. We observed a considerable increase in the median number of lymph nodes removed, which was associated with an increased rate of lymph node invasion (LNI). On multivariable Cox regression analysis, year of surgery was associated with a reduced risk of biochemical recurrence (hazard ratio [HR] per 5‐year interval 0.90, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.84–0.96; P = 0.01) and distant metastasis (HR per 5‐year interval 0.91, 95% CI 0.83–0.99; P = 0.039), after adjusting for age, preoperative PSA, pathological stage, LNI, surgical margin status, and pathological Gleason score.ConclusionsIn this single‐centre study, an increased diagnosis of localized and less extensive high‐grade prostate cancer was observed over the last two decades. Patients with high‐risk disease who were selected for radical prostatectomy showed better cancer control over time. Better definitions of what constitutes high‐risk prostate cancer among contemporary patients are needed.
Predation Risk Drives Habitat‐Specific Sex Ratio in a Monomorphic Species, the Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus)
Authors: Hušek Jan , Panek Marek , Tryjanowski Piotr 
Published: March 2015

AbstractIn dimorphic species, sexual habitat segregation is generally explained by the differences in nutritional needs or by a trade‐off between fulfilling food requirements and avoiding predation. However, it remains unclear whether predation risk is strong enough to drive the differences in habitat use between sexes as predicted by the predation sensitivity hypothesis. Here we test in a monomorphic species, the brown hare (Lepus europaeus), the prediction that abundance of the gender more sensitive to predation is higher in safer habitat. We used data on 1645 individually marked hares in western Poland during autumn–winter seasons of 1966/1967–1978/1979 to estimate sex‐specific annual survival rates. We analyzed the stomach contents of 134 foxes shot in 1965/1966–1994/1995 to evaluate fox predation on hares. Finally, we employed data on 26 790 hares live‐trapped in 1965/1966–1994/1995 to analyze hare sex ratio across habitats. We found that male annual survival rate was lower than that of females and that the predation risk by foxes on hares was lower in agricultural than forest habitat. Our finding, that males were more often trapped by nets in agricultural than the forest habitat, provides indirect evidence for the predation sensitivity hypothesis. We conclude that predation risk can be a driving force for habitat‐specific sex ratio in a monomorphic species such as the brown hare.
Democracy in Europe: Why the Development of the EU into a Transnational Democracy Is Necessary and How It Is Possible
Authors: Habermas Jürgen 
Published: March 2015

AbstractCan the process of European unification lead to a form of democracy that is at once supranational and situated above the organisational level of a state? The supranational federation should be constructed in such a way that the heterarchical relationship between the Member States and the federation remains intact. The author finds the basis for such an order in the idea of the EU constituted by a ‘doubled’ sovereign—the European citizens and the European peoples (the States). In order to sustain such an order, reforms of the existing European treaties are needed. It is necessary to eliminate the legitimation deficits of the EU in a future Euro‐Union—that is, a more closely integrated core Europe. The European Parliament would have to gain the right to take legislative initiatives, and the so‐called ‘ordinary legislative procedure’, which requires the approval of both chambers, would have to be extended to all policy fields.
Obesity exacerbates imiquimod‐induced psoriasis‐like epidermal hyperplasia and interleukin‐17 and interleukin‐22 production in mice
Authors: Kanemaru Kaori , Matsuyuki Ayano , Nakamura Yoshikazu , Fukami Kiyoko 
Published: March 2015

AbstractPsoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder that is accompanied by an imbalance between the proliferation and differentiation of keratinocytes. A number of studies have suggested an association between obesity and severe psoriasis; however, it remains to be clarified whether obesity exacerbates psoriasis. To address this unsolved question, we induced psoriasiform dermatitis in mouse models for obesity. We found that obesity exaggerated the severity of psoriasiform dermatitis induced by topical application of the Toll‐like receptor (TLR) 7 agonist, imiquimod. Ear swelling and epidermal hyperplasia were more prominent in the obese mice than in the control mice. When compared to imiquimod‐treated control mice, imiquimod‐treated obese mice expressed higher levels of psoriasis mediators, interleukin‐17A (IL‐17A) and IL‐22 in the skin. Food intake restriction partially abrogated enhanced ear swelling and cytokine overproduction in obese mice. Furthermore, the obesity environment and imiquimod treatment synergistically induced an IL‐17A downstream molecule, regenerating islet‐derived 3γ (Reg3γ), which is a critical molecule for psoriatic epidermal hyperplasia. Palmitic acid, one of the fatty acids released by subcutaneous adipocytes, increased the expression of REG3A (a human homologue of mouse Reg3γ) in both the HaCaT keratinocyte cell line and normal human keratinocytes. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that obesity exacerbates psoriasiform dermatitis in mice by upregulating IL‐17A, IL‐22 and Reg3γ.
Chloride ion concentrations during the compression of rocks to extract pore water
Authors: Nakata K. , Hasegawa T. , Higashihara T. , Oyama T. 
Published: March 2015

AbstractPore water needs to be extracted from rocks with low permeabilities to allow the major ion concentrations in the pore water to be estimated. Compressing a rock is the most widely used method of extracting the pore water. However, ion concentrations have been found to change during compression in previous studies, and the mechanisms involved in such ion concentration changes have not yet been fully assessed. In this study, two natural rocks and four artificially prepared samples were compressed, and changes in the chloride ion (Cl−) concentrations as the compression pressure increased were investigated. Mechanisms that could have caused the changes observed were then assessed. The Cl− concentrations in squeezed water decreased as the pressure increased if the sample contained a significant amount of smectite. The strong dependence of Cl− concentration on the amount of smectite indicated that smectite played an important role in decreasing the Cl− concentration. The dilution of the pore water with interlayer water from the smectite appeared to be the dominant mechanism involved in the decrease in Cl− concentration found in a Kunigel‐V1 sample, because dilution of the pore water with interlayer water quantitatively explained the decrease in the Cl− concentration. The filter effect caused by the anion exclusion effect did not appear to be a dominant mechanisms in our case. However, Cl− concentration decrease found in natural rocks could not be fully explained by dilution with interlayer water, so other mechanisms must be involved the phenomenon in natural rocks.
Confirmation of a wintering ground of Ross's Gull Rhodostethia rosea in the northern Labrador Sea
Authors: Maftei Mark , Davis Shanti E. , Mallory Mark L. 
Published: March 2015

Ross's Gull Rhodostethia rosea is one of the world's least known seabirds; < 1% of the estimated global population can be accounted for at known breeding sites, and its wintering range has never been determined. Anecdotal reports over the last two centuries have prompted extensive speculation as to possible wintering areas used by this species in the north Pacific/Bering Sea region, but none has ever been confirmed. Using satellite and geolocator telemetry, we show that some Ross's Gulls from a colony in the Canadian Arctic winter in a restricted area of the northern Labrador Sea. Our discovery of a wintering area in the northwest Atlantic indicates that Ross's Gulls breeding in the Nearctic may be part of a disjunct population, or that birds breeding in the Palaearctic may winter off the east coast of North America.
Survey of bullous pemphigoid disease in northern Iran
Authors: Banihashemi Mahnaz , Zabolinejad Naghmeh , Vahabi Sadegh , Razavi Hamed S. 
Published: March 2015

AbstractBackgroundBullous pemphigoid is an autoimmune subepidermal blistering skin and mucous membrane disease that usually occurs in elderly people. This study was done to determine clinical features, paraclinical findings, incidence of mucosal lesions, prognosis, course of the disease, and mortality rate of patients with bullous pemphigoid.MethodRetrospective descriptive study that reviews the existing files of 122 patients with bullous pemphigoid referred to dermatology clinics of Ghaem and Imam Reza hospitals in Mashhad, Iran, from 1995 to 2010.ResultThe majority of patients were aged between 60 and 79 years, and 53% of them were women. The major prodromal lesions were erythematous and urticarial (36.8%) and eczematous lesions (32.7%); 84.3% of patients complained of pruritus, and mucosal lesions were observed in 31.1% of patients (all in the oral mucosa). The most frequent concurrent diseases with pemphigoid were hypertension and diabetes mellitus.ConclusionClinical features, paraclinical findings, incidence of mucosal lesions, prognosis, course of the disease, and mortality rate of bullous pemphigoid in the Khorasan region were approximately similar to results from other regions.
Oncological outcome after radical prostatectomy: Marital status does not make a difference
Authors: Schiffmann Jonas , Beyer Burkhard , Tennstedt Pierre , Boehm Katharina , Mehring Gisa , Schlomm Thorsten , Salomon Georg , Karakiewicz Pierre , Graefen Markus 
Published: March 2015

ObjectivesTo examine the impact of marital status on prostate cancer characteristics at radical prostatectomy and oncological outcome after surgery at a high‐volume center.MethodsWe relied on the Martini‐Clinic Prostate Cancer database and investigated 8088 prostate cancer patients treated with radical prostatectomy between January 2000 and March 2011. We analyzed differences in clinical and pathological characteristics according to marital status (married and partnership vs single). Additionally, we relied on multivariable Cox regression analyses to predict biochemical recurrence, metastases and death after radical prostatectomy. Finally, Kaplan–Meier analyses were used in a propensity score‐matched cohort, adjusted for clinical and pathological characteristics, to examine differences in biochemical recurrence‐free, metastases‐free and overall survival according to marital status.ResultsAccording to marital status, no significant differences were recorded within clinical and pathological characteristics (all P > 0.05). The impact of marital status on biochemical recurrence (hazard ratio 1.0, 95% confidence interval 0.9–1.3, P = 0.7), metastases (hazard ratio 1.3, 95% confidence interval 0.8–2.1, P = 0.3) and death (hazard ratio 0.8, 95% confidence interval 0.4–1.6, P = 0.6) after radical prostatectomy was not significant (median follow up 48 months). Kaplan–Meier analyses recorded no significant differences for biochemical recurrence‐free, metastases‐free and overall survival (all log–rank P > 0.05) according to marital status.ConclusionsMarital status does not affect the clinical and pathological characteristics of radical prostatectomy patients treated at a high‐volume center. Furthermore, marital status does not affect biochemical recurrence‐free and metastases‐free survival after radical prostatectomy.
Once‐daily oxybutynin patch improves nocturia and sleep quality in Japanese patients with overactive bladder: Post‐hoc analysis of a phase III randomized clinical trial
Authors: Yokoyama Osamu , Yamaguchi Akito , Yoshida Masaki , Yamanishi Tomonori , Ishizuka Osamu , Seki Narihito , Takahashi Satoru , Yamaguchi Osamu , Higo Naruhito , Minami Hidenao , Masegi Yu 
Published: March 2015

ObjectivesTo investigate the efficacy of a once‐daily oxybutynin patch for nocturia, and its influence on sleep quality in patients with overactive bladder.MethodsWe carried out post‐hoc analysis of a phase III, randomized, double‐blind, comparative study in which an oxybutynin patch was administered once daily for 12 weeks to Japanese patients with overactive bladder. Patients with a baseline mean of one or more episodes of nocturia per night (data from voiding diaries) were analyzed. The mean number of micturitions, mean voided volume per micturition, mean first voided volume at night, mean sleep duration, and hours of undisturbed sleep were compared between the once‐daily oxybutynin patch group and the placebo group. All parameters were expressed as the least squares mean values.ResultsThe analysis included 576 patients. The number of nocturia episodes decreased by 0.66 in the oxybutynin patch group versus 0.51 in the placebo group (P = 0.0249). Also, the voided volume per nocturnal micturition and the first voided volume at night showed a significant increase in the oxybutynin patch group compared with the placebo group (P = 0.0073 and P = 0.0005, respectively). The hours of undisturbed sleep showed significant prolongation by 76.14 min in the oxybutynin patch group versus 56.07 min in the placebo group (P = 0.0257).ConclusionsOxybutynin patch treatment reduces the number of nocturia episodes and prolongs the hours of undisturbed sleep, thus improving sleep quality and sleep‐related quality of life in patients with overactive bladder.
From modelling to inversion: designing a well‐adapted simulator
Authors: Symes William W. , Sun Dong , Enriquez Marco 
Published: March 2015

ABSTRACTThis paper describes a few mild design constraints that permit rapid adaptation of the modelling code for linear wave propagation to imaging/inversion or design optimization applications, retaining parallelism and other performance enhancements of the underlying simulator. It also describes an abstract software framework preserving the modularity of both optimization and modelling software in building inversion applications and illustrates this possibility via an example framework implemented in C++. Wave inverse problems tend to be afflicted by a variety of features, including extreme ill‐conditioning and nonlinearity, which degrade the performance of optimization formulations. Extended modelling variants of least‐squares inversion, motivated by migration velocity analysis, may relieve some of these difficulties. The framework described also accommodates these extensions to standard inversion.
On 3D modeling of seismic wave propagation via a structured parallel multifrontal direct Helmholtz solver
Authors: Wang Shen , de Hoop Maarten V. , Xia Jianlin 
Published: March 2015

ABSTRACTWe consider the modeling of (polarized) seismic wave propagation on a rectangular domain via the discretization and solution of the inhomogeneous Helmholtz equation in 3D, by exploiting a parallel multifrontal sparse direct solver equipped with Hierarchically Semi‐Separable (HSS) structure to reduce the computational complexity and storage. In particular, we are concerned with solving this equation on a large domain, for a large number of different forcing terms in the context of seismic problems in general, and modeling in particular. We resort to a parsimonious mixed grid finite differences scheme for discretizing the Helmholtz operator and Perfect Matched Layer boundaries, resulting in a non‐Hermitian matrix. We make use of a nested dissection based domain decomposition, and introduce an approximate direct solver by developing a parallel HSS matrix compression, factorization, and solution approach. We cast our massive parallelization in the framework of the multifrontal method. The assembly tree is partitioned into local trees and a global tree. The local trees are eliminated independently in each processor, while the global tree is eliminated through massive communication. The solver for the inhomogeneous equation is a parallel hybrid between multifrontal and HSS structure. The computational complexity associated with the factorization is almost linear in the size, n say, of the matrix, viz. between O(n log n) and O(n4/3 log n), while the storage is almost linear as well, between O(n) and O(n log n). We exploit the use of a regular (Cartesian) mesh common in many seismic applications.
Aqueous fluids at elevated pressure and temperature
Authors: LIEBSCHER A. 
Published: March 2015

AbstractThe general major component composition of aqueous fluids at elevated pressure and temperature conditions can be represented by H2O, different non‐polar gases like CO2 and different dissolved metal halides like NaCl or CaCl2. At high pressure, the mutual solubility of H2O and silicate melts increases and also silicates may form essential components of aqueous fluids. Given the huge range of P–T–x regimes in crust and mantle, aqueous fluids at elevated pressure and temperature are highly variable in composition and exhibit specific physicochemical properties. This paper reviews principal phase relations in one‐ and two‐component fluid systems, phase relations and properties of binary and ternary fluid systems, properties of pure H2O at elevated P–T conditions, and aqueous fluids in H2O–silicate systems at high pressure and temperature. At metamorphic conditions, even the physicochemical properties of pure water substantially differ from those at ambient conditions. Under typical mid‐ to lower‐crustal metamorphic conditions, the density of pure H2O is , the ion product Kw = 10−7.5 to approximately 10−12.5, the dielectric constant ε = 8–25, and the viscosity η = 0.0001–0.0002 Pa sec compared to , Kw = 10−14, ε = 78 and η = 0.001 Pa sec at ambient conditions. Adding dissolved metal halides and non‐polar gases to H2O significantly enlarges the pressure–temperature range, where different aqueous fluids may co‐exist and leads to potential two‐phase fluid conditions under must mid‐ to lower‐crustal P–T conditions. As a result of the increased mutual solubility between aqueous fluids and silicate melts at high pressure, the differences between fluid and melt vanishes and the distinction between fluid and melt becomes obsolete. Both are completely miscible at pressures above the respective critical curve giving rise to so‐called supercritical fluids. These supercritical fluids combine comparably low viscosity with high solute contents and are very effective metasomatising agents within the mantle wedge above subduction zones.