bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Randomized Open-Label Trial with a Crossover Comparison of Sexual Self-Confidence and Other Treatment Outcomes Following Tadalafil Once a Day Vs. Tadalafil or Sildenafil On-Demand in Men with Erectile Dysfunction
Authors: Rubio-Aurioles Eusebio , Porst Hartmut , Kim Edward D. , Montorsi Francesco , Hackett Geoff , Morales Antonio Martin , Stuckey Bronwyn , Būttner Hartwig , West Teena M. , Huynh Ngan N. , Lenero Enrique , Burns Patrick , Kopernicky Vladimir 
Published: March 2012

ABSTRACT

Aim
To compare Sexual Self-Confidence and other treatment outcomes following 8 weeks of treatment with tadalafil 5 mg once a day (OaD) vs. tadalafil 20 mg or sildenafil 100 mg as needed (pro re nata [PRN]) in patients with erectile dysfunction (ED).

Methods
A randomized, open-label, crossover study in men ≥18 years of age with history of ED and satisfactory response to current oral phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitor PRN. Data were analyzed with a mixed effects model for crossover design.

Main Outcome Measures
The primary outcome measure was the Sexual Self-Confidence domain of the Psychological and Interpersonal Relationship Scales (PAIRS) between tadalafil OaD and sildenafil PRN.

Secondary Outcomes Included
Time Concerns and Spontaneity domains of PAIRS, and the Self-Esteem and Relationship (SEAR) scale.

Results
Men naive to tadalafil OaD were enrolled (N = 378), with 61–69% prior PDE5 inhibitor use. There were improvements in all PAIRS domains from baseline when comparing tadalafil OaD and PRN with sildenafil PRN (P &lt; 0.001). The Sexual Self-Confidence domain improved from baseline and was 0.50 ± 0.78 following tadalafil OaD, 0.5 ± 0.72 for tadalafil PRN, and 0.39 ± 0.67 for sildenafil PRN. The difference in least-squares mean was 0.12 ± 0.04 (confidence interval [CI] = 0.04, 0.19; P = 0.001) between tadalafil OaD and sildenafil PRN and 0.01 ± 0.04 (CI = −0.06, 0.08; P = 0.872) between tadalafil OaD and tadalafil PRN. The Time Concerns domain score was lower with tadalafil OaD than tadalafil PRN (P &lt; 0.001). There were no differences in SEAR scores between treatments.

Conclusions
Tadalafil OaD and tadalafil PRN compared with sildenafil PRN demonstrated greater improvements in Sexual Self-Confidence, Time Concerns, and Spontaneity. There was no significant difference in Sexual Self-Confidence between tadalafil OaD and tadalafil PRN. Changes in SEAR, the erectile function domain of the International Index of Erectile Function, and the Erectile Dysfunction Inventory of Treatment Satisfaction scores from baseline to end point were similar.
Activation of Gastrin-releasing Peptide Receptors in the Lumbosacral Spinal Cord is Required for Ejaculation in Male Rats
Authors: Kozyrev Natalie , Lehman Michael N. , Coolen Lique M. 
Published: March 2012

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Ejaculation is a complex reflex mediated by a spinal ejaculation generator located in the lumbosacral spinal cord and consisting of a population of lumbar spinothalamic (LSt) neurons. LSt neurons and their intraspinal axonal projections contain several neuropeptides, including gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP).

Aim
To test the hypothesis that GRP is critically involved in mediating ejaculation by acting in autonomic and motor areas of the lumbosacral spinal cord, utilizing a physiological paradigm to investigate ejaculatory reflexes in isolation of supraspinal inputs.

Methods
Dual immunohistochemistry for GRP and galanin was performed to investigate co-expression of GRP in LSt cells of control male rats. Next, anesthetized, spinalized male rats received intrathecal infusions of either GRP antagonist RC-3095 (0, 10, or 20 nmol/10 µL) or GRP (0, 0.2, 0.5 nmol/10 µL). Ejaculatory reflexes were induced by electrical stimulation of the dorsal penile nerve (DPN) which reliably triggers rhythmic increases in seminal vesicle pressure (SVP) and contractions of the bulbocavernosus muscle (BCM), indicative of the emission and expulsion phases of ejaculation, respectively.

Main Outcome Measures
GRP in LSt cells was expressed as percentages of co-expression. SVP and electromyographic recording (EMG) of BCM activity following drug treatment and DPN stimulation were recorded and analyzed for numbers of SVP increases, BCM events and bursts.

Results
GRP was exclusively expressed in LSt cells and axons. Intrathecal infusion of RC-3095, but not saline, blocked SVP increases and BCM bursting induced by DPN stimulation. Intrathecal infusions of GRP, but not saline, triggered SVP increases and BCM bursting in 43–66% of animals and facilitated SVP increases and BCM bursting induced by subthreshold DPN stimulation in all animals.

Conclusion
These data support a critical role for GRP for control of the emission and expulsion phases of ejaculation in male rats by acting in LSt target areas in the lumbosacral spinal cord.
Soil Carbon and Nutrient Changes Associated with Deforestation for Pasture in Southern Costa Rica
Authors: Huth Timothy , Porder Stephen , Chaves Joaquin , Whiteside Jessica H. 
Published: March 2012

AbstractWe assessed the effects of deforestation on soil carbon (C) and nutrient stocks in the premontane landscape near Las Cruces Biological Station in southern Costa Rica, where forests were cleared for pasture in the mid‐1960s. We excavated six soil pits to a depth of 1 m in both pasture and primary forest, and found that C stocks were ~20 kg C/m2 in both settings. Nevertheless, soil δ13C suggests ~50 percent of the forest‐derived soil C above 40 cm depth has turned over since deforestation. Soil nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) stocks derived from the soil pits were not significantly different between land uses (P = 0.43 and 0.61, respectively). At a larger spatial scale, however, the ubiquity of ruts produced by cattle‐induced erosion indicates that there are substantial soil effects of grazing in this steep landscape. Ruts averaged 13 cm deep and covered ~45 percent of the landscape, and thus are evidence of the removal of 0.7 Mg C/ha/yr, and 70, 9 and 40 kg/ha/yr of N, P and potassium (K), respectively. Subsoils in this region are ~10 times less C‐ and N‐rich, and ~2 times less P‐ and K‐rich than the topsoil. Thus, rapid topsoil loss may lead to a decline in pasture productivity in the coming decades. These data also suggest that the soil C footprint of deforestation in this landscape may be determined by the fate of soil C as it is transported downstream, rather than C turnover in situ.
Rethinking Territory: Social Justice and Neoliberalism in Latin America’s Territorial Turn
Authors: Bryan Joe 
Published: March 2012

AbstractThe “territorial turn” in Latin America describes the trend towards state recognition of community property rights. This partial recognition of indigenous peoples’ and Afro‐descendants’ demands for territory has become a focal point for expanding neoliberal approaches to governance through the extension of new property rights regimes. This partial recognition of social movements’ demands has resulted in widespread efforts to rethink territory by social movements and scholars alike in order to better understand the conceptual work that the term does, its historical constitution, and its relevance to struggles for social justice. Those debates provide a grounded critique of territory, drawing attention to the calculative techniques used to bring it into being and their role in marginalizing other understandings of space and rights with far‐reaching implications for processes of subject formation. This review uses those debates to argue for a reconsideration of territory as process, highlighting the ways in which governing works through the term and how it constrains approaches to social justice.
Ecological Disaster or the Limits of Observation? Reconciling Modern Declines with the Long‐Term Dynamics of Whitebark Pine Communities
Authors: Larson Evan R. , Kipfmueller Kurt F. 
Published: March 2012

AbstractThe history of whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) forests over the past century exemplifies modern environmental change and the particular challenges faced in reconciling the scales of human observation with long‐term ecological changes. A number of factors are implicated in driving observed declines in whitebark pine populations including fire suppression, climate change, the exotic pathogenCronartium ribicolaand associated white pine blister rust, and mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) outbreaks, yet the actual effects of these factors vary widely across the range of whitebark pine that encompasses considerable environmental heterogeneity. Furthermore, the specific effects of these agents are difficult to isolate or predict in a forest type where disturbance regimes and succession operate on scales of centuries rather than decades. The resulting situation is highly complex, yet the urgency for restoration in some areas is leading to generalizations elsewhere that do not always account for the diversity of forests considered as whitebark pine communities. Our research reviews the current state of knowledge on the biogeography, disturbance regimes, and mechanisms of decline in whitebark pine communities. We then use an expanded temporal perspective based on dendroecological case studies to critically assess the potential effects of fire suppression in whitebark pine communities and the ecological relationship between whitebark pine and mountain pine beetle. Based on our findings, it appears that fire suppression is not the ubiquitous factor leading to whitebark pine declines, as often implicated in the published literature, and that whitebark pine may be well adapted to recover following mountain pine beetle outbreaks in areas that have not been impacted too severely from white pine blister rust.
Mastodons and Mammoths in the Great Lakes Region, USA and Canada: New Insights into their Diets as they Neared Extinction
Authors: Yansa Catherine H. , Adams Kristin M. 
Published: March 2012

AbstractThe conventional image of Ice Age environments of North America includes mammoths feeding on grasses in open tundra or steppe habitats and mastodons browsing on spruce branches in forests. However, re‐examination of plant and animal fossil research in the Great Lakes region of the USA and adjacent Ontario, Canada provides new insights into the changing diets of mammoths and mastodons in this region, particularly as these animals neared extinction between 13,500 and 13,000 calendar years Before Present (cal yr BP). This paper reconstructs the following scenario at the end of the Ice Age. Woolly mammoths primarily inhabited tundra adjacent to the northward receding margin of the Laurentide ice sheet. Meanwhile, to the immediate south, Jefferson mammoths grazed on grasses, sedges and herbs around the edges of wetlands, while American mastodons consumed mainly the leaves and branches of spruce and other trees in first an anomalous spruce parkland/sedge wetland environment and later in spruce‐dominated forest. However, mammoth and mastodon populations began to dwindle at a time when the succeeding vegetation became a closed forest with a lesser amount of spruce trees, grasses and sedges and a greater abundance of invading deciduous trees. The last mammoths and mastodons in the Great Lakes region bear signs of stress and competition for the same foods in dense coniferous‐deciduous forest, which contributed to the extinction of these magnificent beasts by ∼13,000 cal yr BP. This extinction event highlights the fragility of mammal populations under stress; an important lesson given that numerous species today are similarly challenged by climate and landscape change.
Intracameral acetylcholine effectively contracts pupils after dilatation with intracameral mydriatics
Authors: Bäckström Gunnie , Lundberg Björn , Behndig Anders 
Published: March 2012

Abstract.Purpose:  To determine whether intracameral acetylcholine can contract pupils dilated with intracameral mydriatics in phacoemulsification cataract surgery.Methods:  A total of 60 patients were included in this prospective randomized masked study performed at Örnsköldsviks Hospital Eye Clinic. The patients were randomized and were given either topical placebo and an intracameral mydriatic solution (ICM) (cyclopentolate 0.1%, phenylephrine 1.5% and xylocaine 1%) (n = 30) or topical mydriatics (TM) (cyclopentolate 0.85% and phenylephrine 1.5%) and xylocaine 1% intracamerally (n = 30) at the start of surgery. After intraocular lens (IOL) implantation, 0.15 ml 1% acetylcholine was given intracamerally in all cases. The pupil size was registered preoperatively, 45 seconds after intracameral injection, after ophthalmic viscosurgical device (OVD) evacuation, 30 seconds after acetylcholine injection, 2 min after acetylcholine injection and the day after surgery.Results:  The pupil contraction and pupil size after acetylcholine injection showed no significant differences at 30 seconds (contraction 1.0 ± 0.4 in ICM group versus 0.9 ± 0.4 in TM group; p = 0.75; size 4.8 ± 1.1 in the ICM group versus 5.2 ± 1.1 in the TM group; p = 0.24) or at 2 min (contraction 1.5 ± 0.6 in the ICM group versus 1.4 ± 0.6 in the TM group; p = 0.63; size 4.3 ± 0.9 in the ICM group versus 4.7 ± 1.0 in the TM group; p = 0.13). No difference in baseline pupil size after ophthalmic viscosurgical device (OVD) evacuation was seen between the two groups (5.8 ± 0.9 in the ICM group versus 6.1 ± 1.2 in the TM group; p = 0.28).Conclusion:  We here show that intracameral acetylcholine contracts pupils as effectively after dilatation with intracameral mydriatics as after dilatation with topical mydriatics. Cataract surgeons can feel comfortable and safe when using intracameral mydriatics, even if pupil contraction with acetylcholine should be required.
Donor cornea transfer from Optisol GS to organ culture storage: a two‐step procedure to increase donor tissue lifespan
Authors: Haug Kristiane , Azqueta Amaya , Johnsen‐Soriano Siv , Shahdadfar Aboulghassem , Drolsum Liv K. , Moe Morten C. , Røger Magnus T. , Romero Francisco J. , Collins Andrew R. , Nicolaissen Bjørn 
Published: March 2012

Abstract.Purpose:  Storage time for donor corneas in Optisol GS is limited compared to Eye Bank Organ Culture (EBOC). We here examine the epithelium on donor corneoscleral rims after primary storage in Optisol GS and subsequent incubation in EBOC.Methods:  Morphology was monitored by light and electron microscopy, expression of phenotypic and genotypic markers by immunohistochemistry and RT‐PCR and changes in oxidative lipid and DNA damage by ELISA and COMET assay.Results:  A prominent loss of cells was observed after storage in Optisol GS. After maintenance in EBOC, spreading apical cells were Occludin+, while the staining for E‐cadherin and Connexin‐43 was less intense. There were an upregulation of Occludin and a downregulation of E‐cadherin and Connexin‐43. Eye Bank Organ Culture was associated with an ongoing proliferative activity and a downregulation of putative progenitor/stem cell marker ABCG2 and p63. Staining for 8‐OHdG and Caspase‐3 did not increase, while levels of malondialdehyde and number of DNA strand breaks and oxidized bases increased.Conclusions:  This dual procedure should be pursued as an option to increase the storage time and the pool of available donor corneas. The observed downregulation of markers associated with stemness during EBOC is relevant considering the potential use of donor epithelium in the treatment of ocular surface disorders.
Expression of 12 cytokines in aqueous humour of uveal melanoma before and after combined Ruthenium‐106 brachytherapy and transpupillary thermotherapy
Authors: Lee Christopher Seungkyu , Jun Ik Hyun , Kim Tae‐im , Byeon Suk Ho , Koh Hyoung Jun , Lee Sung Chul 
Published: March 2012

Abstract.Purpose:  To determine the aqueous humour levels of 12 cytokines in eyes with uveal melanoma and whether their expression changes after combined Ru‐106 brachytherapy and transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT).Methods:  Aqueous humour samples were collected from 20 patients with previously untreated uveal melanoma undergoing combined Ru‐106 brachytherapy and TTT, both at the time of plaque placement and removal. Using multiplex biochip array technology, 12 different cytokines were measured, including interleukin (IL)‐1α, IL‐1β, IL‐2, IL‐4, IL‐6, IL‐8, IL‐10, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, interferon (IFN)‐γ, epidermal growth factor (EGF) and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)‐1. Aqueous humour from 20 patients undergoing cataract surgery was used as control.Results:  IL‐6, IL‐8, IFN‐γ and MCP‐1 were highly expressed in uveal melanoma, whereas IL‐2, IL‐10 and TNF‐ α were low in expression. There was a positive correlation between tumour height and IL‐8 level (p = 0.020). Vascular endothelial growth factor tends to be highly expressed in melanoma‐containing eyes (p = 0.056). Levels of IL‐6, IL‐8 and IL‐1β increased after the mean 117 ± 38 hrs of brachytherapy and adjunctive TTT with a tumour apex dose of 61 ± 28 Gy and a scleral contact dose of 786 ± 226 Gy. Increase in levels of IL‐6 (p = 0.003) and IL‐8 (p = 0.046) positively correlated with scleral contact dose.Conclusions:  Cytokines such as IL‐6, IL‐8, IFN‐γ and MCP‐1 may be implicated in the progression of uveal melanoma. Ocular irradiation from a Ru‐106 plaque promoted an increase in the levels of IL‐6, IL‐8 and IL‐1β, modulation of which could be useful in managing radiation‐related side effects.
Engineering an in-vitro model of rodent cartilage
Authors: Rogers Catherine M , Woolley Terry S , Cruwys Simon C , Buttery Lee D K , Rose Felicity R A J , Shakesheff Kevin M 
Published: March 2012

Abstract

Objectives
The purpose of this study was to identify a cell source, scaffold substrate and culture environment suitable for use in engineering an in-vitro model of rodent cartilage.

Methods
The chondrogenic activity and stability of cells isolated at Day 18 of gestation was assessed under normoxia and hypoxia using a cytokine stimulation assay and gene expression analysis. The ability of the selected cells seeded in fibrous electrospun scaffolds to form cartilaginous tissue during longterm static and dynamic culture was assessed using immunocytochemistry and biochemical analysis.

Key findings
Rodent fetal chondrocytes appear to have enhanced phenotypic stability compared with other cell sources. Following 16 weeks under static culture, the engineered constructs were found to have greater cellularity and collagen content that native rodent cartilage.

Conclusions
A cell source, scaffold and culture environment have been identified that support the generation of in-vitro rodent cartilage. In future work, cytokine treatment of the engineered tissues will take place to generate in-vitro osteoarthritis models.
Regulation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and asymmetric dimethylarginine by matrine attenuates isoproterenol-induced acute myocardial injury in rats
Authors: Li Xiaobing , Wang Xiao , Guo Yafang , Deng Ning , Zheng Ping , Xu Qingbin , Wu Yang , Dai Guidong 
Published: March 2012

Abstract

Objectives
This study was designed to investigate the cardioprotective effects of matrine on regulation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) in isoproterenol-induced acute myocardial ischaemic rats.

Methods
Male Sprague–Dawley rats were pretreated with matrine (200, 100 and 50 mg/kg) orally for 10 days. Acute myocardial injury was induced in rats by subcutaneous injection of isoproterenol. Serum and haemodynamic parameters, histopathological variables and expression of protein levels were analysed.

Key findings
Oral administration of matrine (200, 100 and 50 mg/kg) significantly attenuated isoproterenol-induced cardiac necrosis and left ventricular dysfunction. Matrine treatment restored impaired ventricular Akt and eNOS protein expression with concomitant increased phosphorylation of Akt (Ser473) and eNOS (Ser1177), and also restored glycogen synthase kinase 3β activity, as indicated by increased phosphorylation at Ser 9. Moreover, treatment with matrine had no effect on the isoproterenol-induced elevated protein arginine methyltransferase 1 protein expression, but could significantly normalize the reduced dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase 2 expression and attenuate the increased serum level of ADMA. The expression of catechol-o-methyltransferase and monoamine oxidase did not differ among all groups (all P &gt; 0.05).

Conclusions
Our results suggested that matrine protects against isoproterenol-induced myocardial ischaemia via eNOS and ADMA pathway.
The chick chorioallantoic membrane imaging method as a platform to evaluate vasoactivity and assess irritancy of compounds
Authors: Tay Stephanie L M , Heng Paul W S , Chan Lai Wah 
Published: March 2012

Abstract

Objective
To determine if the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) is a potential alternative that is capable of screening test substances for vasoactivity in terms of vessel diameter changes. The CAM was also evaluated as a tool for irritancy screening.

Methods
Visual assessment of the CAM for irritancy after the application of the test substance or solvent to its surface was made. An imaging based-in-vivo CAM model was developed by imaging CAM blood vessels in a pre-defined area using a semi-automatic image processing and analysis technique to measure blood vessel diameters. Solvents and drugs such as 70% v/v ethanol, normal saline, 5% w/v glucose monohydrate, glycerin, glucagon, N-methylpyrrolidone, nicotine, glyceryl trinitrate, glucagon, propranolol and caffeine were tested on the CAM.

Key findings
Propranolol, nicotine and glycerin were irritants on CAM. Changes in the diameters of fine blood vessels were accurately measured by high resolution image analysis. Vasoconstriction was seen with 70% v/v ethanol while vasodilation was displayed with glucagon and caffeine. The results reflected expected trends with evidence of feedback mechanisms ensuring homeostasis.

Conclusion
The CAM model can be applied to assess pharmaceutical and cosmetic formulations in early development work to gain useful insights to potential irritancy and biological effects of components and formulations.