bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Robot‐assisted simple prostatectomy (RASP): does it make sense?
Authors: Matei Deliu V. , Brescia Antonio , Mazzoleni Federica , Spinelli Matteo , Musi Gennaro , Melegari Sara , Galasso Giacomo , Detti Serena , de Cobelli Ottavio 
Published: May 2012

Study Type – Therapy (case series)Level of Evidence 4What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?The open simple prostatectomy (OSP) is the ‘gold standard’ for high‐volume prostate adenomas. It shows very good functional results despite its invasiveness. Minimally invasive approaches, e.g. laparoscopy or holmium laser enucleation of the prostate, have been ‘tested’ but none have proved a substitute for the OSP.The robot‐assisted approach provides optimal functional results and is easy to perform for experienced robotic surgeons. Extending the indication of robotics to low‐incidence pathologies can take advantage of the opportunity to ‘see the procedure’ using available information technology, e.g. Youtube™ that presents as an unexpectedly useful tool.OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the outcome, feasibility and reproducibility of a robot‐assisted (RA) approach for simple prostatectomy (SP) in cases of high‐volume symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (HVS‐BPH).
PATIENTS AND METHODS
In all, 35 consecutive patients underwent RASP for HVS‐BPH using a previously described technique.
The mean prostate volume on preoperative transrectal ultrasonography was 106.6 mL.
All but two patients (with bladder calculi) had an adenoma volume of >65 mL and 27 (77.1%) >80 mL. Nine patients (25.7%) had an indwelling catheter.
The mean International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) was 28.
RESULTS
The median operative duration was 180 min and the mean hospital stay was 3.17 days.
The mean catheter duration was 7.4 days and discontinuous or continuous catheter irrigation was required in two and seven patients, respectively (25.1%).
In all, 10 patients (28.6%) had practically no blood loss. No patients had a transfusion.
The mean postoperative peak urinary flow was 18.9 mL/s (P < 0.001), while the mean IPSS was 7 (P < 0.001).
For costs, while superficially RASP appeared more expensive than open SP (OSP), when considering the higher costs of hospitalisation for OSP, RASP was cheaper. Also, bipolar‐TURP costs in patients with large‐volume prostates had rather similar costs to RASP.
CONCLUSIONS
RASP is a feasible and reproducible procedure with outcome advantages when compared with the open or with other minimally invasive techniques (laser or laparoscopy). As a result, a RA approach is worth considering in cases of high‐volume prostate adenomas.
Extending the indication of the RA approach, to the SP, requires firstly that the surgeon be proficient in RA surgery and secondly that as the incidence rate of HVS‐BPH is low, the surgeon has had the opportunity to ‘see the procedure’.
Legislating Morality: Scoring the Hart‐Devlin Debate after Fifty Years
Authors: BASSHAM GREGORY 
Published: May 2012

AbstractIt has now been more than 50 years since H. L. A Hart and Lord Patrick Devlin first squared off in perhaps the most celebrated jurisprudential debate of the twentieth‐century (1959–1967). The central issue in that dispute—whether the state may criminalize immoral behavior as such—continues to be debated today, but in a vastly changed legal landscape. In this article I take a fresh look at the Hart‐Devlin debate in the light of five decades of social and legal changes.
Asset Bubbles: an Application to Residential Real Estate
Authors: Scherbina Anna , Schlusche Bernd 
Published: May 2012

Abstract Behavioural models offer new insights into why bubbles are ubiquitous in residential real estate markets. These markets are dominated by unsophisticated households who often develop optimistic views by extrapolating from past returns. Rational investors cannot easily trade against an overvaluation of housing assets because of high transaction costs and a binding short sale constraint. Circumventing the effect of the latter, the supply of housing frequently increases in response to rising prices. This helps to mitigate bubbles but often leads to overbuilding, which slows down the recovery after a bubble bursts. Models that incorporate the effects of perverse incentives and limits to arbitrage are especially helpful in explaining the bubble that developed in mortgage‐backed securities and helped fuel the recent real estate bubble by relaxing home buyers’ borrowing constraints. The literature is ambiguous about whether governments should intervene to burst bubbles, as a better response may lie in improving incentives of key market players.
Urban Poverty, Spatial Representation and Mobility: Touring a Slum in Mexico
Authors: DÜRR EVELINE 
Published: May 2012

AbstractThis article draws attention to a controversial activity in poor urban neighborhoods. Slum tourism is a growing business worldwide and simultaneously it is a new form of encounter between the global South and the global North. Following the new mobilities paradigm, I investigate a particular form of slum tourism, which intertwines urban poverty and charity, representation and powerful imaginaries, tourist mobility and transnational lifestyles. This is the case in Mazatlán, Mexico, where a multidenominational church offers regular tours to the city's garbage dump. I scrutinize the various modes of (im)mobilities and their implications for peoples and places, interconnecting spheres which are conceived of as separate. In conclusion, I outline the ambiguous effects when marginalized spaces become integral parts of the urban representation.RésuméCet article attire l’attention sur une activité discutable qui se déroule dans les quartiers urbains pauvres. Un tourisme de la misère se développe dans tous les pays et, parallèlement, constitue un type original de confrontation Nord‐Sud. Le nouveau modèle de la mobilité permet d’étudier une forme particulière de ‘tourisme des bidonvilles’, qui mêle étroitement pauvreté urbaine et charité, représentation et imaginaires profonds, mobilité des touristes et styles de vie transnationaux. C’est le cas à Mazatlán, au Mexique, où une Église multiconfessionnelle propose régulièrement des excursions à la décharge municipale. Les divers modes de mobilités et d’immobilités, ainsi que leurs implications pour les populations et les lieux, sont étudiés en interconnectant des sphères qui sont censées être séparées. La conclusion expose brièvement les effets ambigus lorsque des espaces marginalisés deviennent des parties intégrantes de la représentation urbaine.
Novel Mutation in Potassium Channel related Gene KCTD7 and Progressive Myoclonic Epilepsy
Authors: Krabichler Birgit , Rostasy Kevin , Baumann Matthias , Karall Daniela , Scholl‐Bürgi Sabine , Schwarzer Christoph , Gautsch Kurt , Spreiz Ana , Kotzot Dieter , Zschocke Johannes , Fauth Christine , Haberlandt Edda 
Published: May 2012

SummaryProgressive myoclonic epilepsy (PME) is a heterogeneous group of epilepsies characterized by myoclonus, seizures and progressive neurological symptoms.The index patient was a 6‐year old boy showing early‐onset therapy resistant PME and severe developmental delay. Genome‐wide linkage analysis identified several candidate regions. The potassium channel tetramerization domain containing 7 gene (KCTD7) in the 7q11.21 linkage region emerged as a suitable candidate. Sequence analysis revealed a novel homozygous missense mutation (p.R94W) in a highly conserved segment of exon 2.This is the second family with PME caused by KCTD7 mutations, hence KCTD7 mutations might be a recurrent cause of PME.
Consumers' anger and coping strategies following appraisals of appliance failure
Authors: Donoghue Suné , de Klerk Helena M. 
Published: May 2012

AbstractWith the disconfirmation paradigm, Day and Landon's taxonomy of complaint behaviour, and the cognitive appraisal theory developed by Lazarus and colleagues as theoretical approach, this study explored and described consumers' anger and coping strategies following appraisals of appliance failure. In addition, consumers' reasons for engaging in particular complaint behavioural responses were investigated in terms of the cognitive and emotional types of reasoning underlying the different coping behaviours. A cross‐sectional survey was conducted among consumers who were dissatisfied with the performance of a major household appliance item and who resided in a major metropolitan area in South Africa. A self‐administered questionnaire was distributed by means of convenience sampling, which generated 216 usable responses. The results emphasize the importance of understanding consumers' reasoning behind their choice of a specific coping strategy. Respondents who took formal complaint action engaged in problem‐focused coping and those who took private action engaged in emotion‐focused coping and avoidance coping. Those who took no action experienced lower levels of anger.
The prognostic profile of subfertile couples and treatment outcome after expectant management, intrauterine insemination and in vitro fertilisation: a study protocol for the meta‐analysis of individual patient data
Authors: van den Boogaard NM , Hompes PGA , Barnhart K , Bhattacharya S , Custers IM , Coutifaris C , Goverde AJ , Guzick DS , Litvak PF , Steures PN , van der Veen F , Bossuyt P , Mol BWJ 
Published: May 2012

Please cite this paper as: Boogaard N van den, Hompes P, Barnhart K, Bhattacharya S, Custers I, Coutifaris C, Goverde A, Guzick D, Litvak P, Steures P, Veen F van der, Bossuyt P, Mol B. The prognostic profile of subfertile couples and treatment outcome after expectant management, intrauterine insemination and in vitro fertilisation: a study protocol for the meta‐analysis of individual patient data. BJOG 2012;119:953–957.Objective  The current evidence concerning the best treatment option for couples with unexplained and male subfertility is inconclusive. Most studies that have evaluated the effectiveness of treatment options, such as expectant management (EM), intrauterine insemination (IUI), with or without controlled ovarian stimulation (COS), and in vitro fertilisation (IVF), have not taken the couples’ prognosis into account. It is very likely that the individual prognosis of the couple influences the effect of treatment. Individual patient data analyses allow us to take these prognostic factors into account, and to evaluate their effect on treatment outcome. This study aims to use anonymised data from relevant published trials to perform an individual patient data meta‐analysis, evaluating the effect of couples’ prognosis on the effectiveness of EM, IUI, with or without COS, and IVF.Methods  Based on earlier systematic reviews and an updated search, randomised controlled trials will be considered for inclusion. Untreated subfertile couples with unexplained or male subfertility included in trials comparing EM, IUI, with or without COS, and IVF are included. Authors of the included studies will be invited to share their original anonymised data. The data will be assessed on validity, quality and completeness. The prognosis of the individual couple will be calculated with existing prognostic models. The effect of the prognosis on treatment outcome will be analysed with marker‐by‐treatment predictiveness curves, illustrating the effect of prognosis on treatment outcome. This study is registered in PROSPERO (registration number CRD42011001832).Conclusion  Ultimately, this study may help to select the appropriate fertility treatment, tailored to the needs of an individual couple.
Retrospective evaluation of presenting temperature of urethral obstructed male cats and the association with severity of azotemia and length of hospitalization: 243 cats (2006–2009)
Authors: Fults Mitchell , Herold Lee V. 
Published: May 2012

AbstractObjectivesTo evaluate whether the presenting rectal temperature and level of azotemia predicts the length of hospitalization (LOH) in a population of obstructed male cats. To describe the relationships between physical examination parameters, blood electrolytes, and azotemia in a clinical population of obstructed male cats.DesignRetrospective clinical study.SettingEmergency and referral specialty hospitals.AnimalsTwo hundred and forty‐three male cats that presented with urethral obstruction between 2006 and 2009.InterventionsNone.Measurements and Main ResultsNo significant association between the hours of hospitalization and rectal temperature was detected (P= 0.39). Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (CREA) concentrations were positively correlated with LOH (P< 0.01). BUN and CREA were significantly higher (P< 0.01) for the hypothermic group compared to the normothermic group. Potassium was negatively correlated to heart rate and rectal temperature but positively correlated to BUN and CREA.ConclusionNo association with regard to rectal temperature and LOH could be demonstrated in this population of cats. However, the presence of azotemia in obstructed male cats appears to provide the clinician with additional information regarding the necessary LOH and eventual cost to the client.
Protective effects of peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor agonists on human podocytes: proposed mechanisms of action
Authors: Miglio Gianluca , Rosa Arianna Carolina , Rattazzi Lorenza , Grange Cristina , Camussi Giovanni , Fantozzi Roberto 
Published: May 2012

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor (PPAR) agonists exert anti‐albuminuric effects. However, the nephroprotective effects of these drugs remain to be fully understood. We have investigated whether gemfibrozil, GW0742 and pioglitazone protect human podocytes against nutrient deprivation (ND)‐induced cell death and the role of mitochondrial biogenesis as a cytoprotective process.EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH Immortalized human podocytes were pre‐treated with the PPAR agonists and exposed to ND (5 h) under normoxia, hypoxia or in the presence of pyruvate. Cell death was measured at the end of the ND and of the recovery phase (24 h). Mitochondrial mass, cytochrome c oxidase (COX) subunits 1 and 4 were measured as markers of mitochondrial cell content, while membrane potential as an index of mitochondrial function. PGC‐1α, NRF1 and Tfam expression was studied, as crucial regulators of mitochondrial biogenesis.KEY RESULTS Cell pre‐treatment with gemfibrozil, GW0742, or pioglitazone significantly decreased the ND‐induced cell loss, necrosis and apoptosis. These effects were attenuated by hypoxia and potentiated by pyruvate. Pre‐treatment with these drugs significantly increased mitochondrial cell content, while it did not affect mitochondrial function. In all these experiments pioglitazone exerted significantly larger effects than gemfibrozil or GW0742.CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Gemfibrozil, GW0742 and pioglitazone may exert direct protective effects on human podocytes. Mitochondrial biogenesis is a cell response to the PPAR agonists related to their cytoprotective activity. These results provide a mechanistic support to the clinical evidence indicating PPAR agonists as disease‐modifying agents for glomerular diseases.
Anti‐angiogenic effects of the tubulysin precursor pretubulysin and of simplified pretubulysin derivatives
Authors: Rath S , Liebl J , Fürst R , Ullrich A , Burkhart JL , Kazmaier U , Herrmann J , Müller Rolf , Günther M , Schreiner L , Wagner E , Vollmar AM , Zahler S 
Published: May 2012

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The use of tubulin‐binding compounds, which act in part by inhibiting tumour angiogenesis, has become an integral strategy of tumour therapy. Recently, tubulysins were identified as a novel class of natural compounds of myxobacterial origin, which inhibit tubulin polymerization. As these compounds are structurally highly complex, the search for simplified precursors [e.g. pretubulysin (Prt)] and their derivatives is mandatory to overcome supply problems hampering clinical development. We tested the anti‐angiogenic efficacy of Prt and seven of its derivatives in comparison to tubulysin A (TubA).EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH The compounds were tested in cellular angiogenesis assays (proliferation, cytotoxicity, cell cycle, migration, chemotaxis, tube formation) and in vitro (tubulin polymerization). The efficacy of Prt was also tested in vivo in a murine subcutaneous tumour model induced with HUH7 cells; tumour size and vascularization were measured.KEY RESULTS The anti‐angiogenic potency of all the compounds tested ran parallel to their inhibition of tubulin polymerization in vitro. Prt showed nearly the same efficacy as TubA (EC50 in low nanomolar range in all cellular assays). Some modifications in the Prt molecule caused only a moderate drop in potency, while others resulted in a dramatic loss of action, providing initial insight into structure–activity relations. In vivo, Prt completely prevented tumour growth and reduced vascular density to 30%.CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Prt, a chemically accessible precursor of some tubulysins is a highly attractive anti‐angiogenic compound both in vitro and in vivo. Even more simplified derivatives of this compound still retain high anti‐angiogenic efficacy.
Characteristics of ACh‐induced hyperpolarization and relaxation in rabbit jugular vein
Authors: Itoh Takeo , Maekawa Takashi , Shibayama Yasushi 
Published: May 2012

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The roles played by endothelium‐derived NO and prostacyclin and by endothelial cell hyperpolarization in ACh‐induced relaxation have been well characterized in arteries. However, the mechanisms underlying ACh‐induced relaxation in veins remain to be fully clarified.EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH ACh‐induced smooth muscle cell (SMC) hyperpolarization and relaxation were measured in endothelium‐intact and ‐denuded preparations of rabbit jugular vein.KEY RESULTS In endothelium‐intact preparations, ACh (≤10−8 M) marginally increased the intracellular concentration of Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) in endothelial cells but did not alter the SMC membrane potential. However, ACh (10−10–10−8 M) induced a concentration‐dependent relaxation during the contraction induced by PGF2α and this relaxation was blocked by the NO synthase inhibitor Nω‐nitro‐l‐arginine. ACh (10−8–10−6 M) concentration‐dependently increased endothelial [Ca2+]i and induced SMC hyperpolarization and relaxation. These SMC responses were blocked in the combined presence of apamin [blocker of small‐conductance Ca2+‐activated K+ (SKCa, KCa2.3) channel], TRAM 34 [blocker of intermediate‐conductance Ca2+‐activated K+ (IKCa, KCa3.1) channel] and margatoxin [blocker of subfamily of voltage‐gated K+ (KV) channel, KV1].CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS In rabbit jugular vein, NO plays a primary role in endothelium‐dependent relaxation at very low concentrations of ACh (10−10–10−8 M). At higher concentrations, ACh (10−8−3 × 10−6 M) induces SMC hyperpolarization through activation of endothelial IKCa, KV1 and (possibly) SKCa channels and produces relaxation. These results imply that ACh regulates rabbit jugular vein tonus through activation of two endothelium‐dependent regulatory mechanisms.
Modelling the Linkages between Cross‐Compliance and Agri‐Environmental Schemes Under Asymmetric Information
Authors: Bartolini Fabio , Gallerani Vittorio , Raggi Meri , Viaggi Davide 
Published: May 2012

AbstractAgri‐environmental schemes (AESs) and cross‐compliance (CC) are the two main components of the common agricultural policy (CAP) that address environmental issues. Under regulation 1698/2005, agri‐environmental scheme design has been established in such a way as to use CC as the baseline against which prescriptions and payments are identified. In this framework, agri‐environmental payments to farmers are justified only for the component of public goods produced (if any) above the CC prescription level. This constraint has become a major determinant of the design of agri‐environmental schemes in all EU Member States in which both instruments are implemented. This paper investigates farmer participation, compliance choices and the socially optimal level of monitoring when CC and agri‐environmental schemes are jointly considered, and when information about compliance is asymmetrically distributed between farmers and the public regulator. The results show that the two policy instruments interact with each other, with agri‐environmental payments actually providing incentives for CC, when the CC monitoring and sanction system does not guarantee full compliance. However, the numerical example in Emilia‐Romagna (Italy) demonstrates that with the present combination of controls and sanctions, farmers have very little incentive to be compliant with both cross compliance and agri‐environmental schemes. Hence, the results highlight that monitoring in CC or in AES does not have the same effect on the farmers’ compliance. This underscores the need for further research in this field, particularly as provision of environmental goods becomes more important in the future CAP.
Changes in ant communities along an age gradient of cocoa cultivation in the Oumé region, central Côte d'Ivoire
Authors: KONE Mouhamadou , KONATE Souleymane , YEO Kolo , KOUASSI Philippe Kouassi , LINSENMAIR K. Eduard 
Published: May 2012

AbstractWe identified the extent to which ant diversity occurs despite conversion of forests into cocoa plantations by examining the communities across four age classes of plantations (classes I–IV with increasing age from 0–5 to 21–40 years) and in their original forests. An extensive sampling protocol consisting of pitfall trapping, leaf litter sampling, soil sampling and hand sampling was used to characterize ant species richness and composition in three replicates of each age class and in the remaining forest patches. A total of one hundred ant species was found in all habitats combined. While the forest was the richest habitat (73 species), species richness in the different plantation age classes varied as follows (sorted in descending order): class IV (69 species) > class III (57 species) > class I (52 species) > class II (43 species). Age gradient was thus significantly positively correlated with mean species richness and with the relative abundance of some subfamilies. The species composition differed greatly between some plantation age classes and the forest. The two youngest cocoa age classes (I and II) were most dissimilar to the forest. In contrast, forest ants were well represented in the old cocoa age classes (III and IV). Three functional guilds (generalist predators, specialist predators and territorially dominant arboreal species) were in their relative abundance significantly correlated to the age gradient. Overall, cocoa cultivations retaining a floristically diverse and structurally complex forest structure are a suitable management system for the conservation of ant species of the formerly forested habitats.