bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Co‐administration of ketoconazole with H1‐antagonists ebastine and loratadine in healthy subjects: pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic effects
Authors: Chaikin P. , Gillen M. S. , Malik M. , Pentikis H. , Rhodes G. R. , Roberts D. J. 
Published: March 2005

AimsTwo studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of coadministration of ketoconazole with two nonsedating antihistamines, ebastine and loratadine, on the QTc interval and on the pharmacokinetics of the antihistamines.MethodsIn both studies healthy male subjects (55 in one study and 62 in the other) were assigned to receive 5 days of antihistamine (ebastine 20 mg qd in one study, and loratadine 10 mg qd in the other) or placebo alone using a predetermined randomization schedule, followed by 8 days of concomitant ketoconazole 450 mg qd/antihistamine or ketoconazole 400 mg qd/placebo. Serial ECGs and blood sampling for drug analysis were performed at baseline and on study days 5 (at the end of monotherapy) and 13 (at the end of combination therapy). QT intervals were corrected for heart rate using the formula QTc = QT/RRα with special emphasis on individualized α values derived from each subject's own QT/RR relationship at baseline.ResultsNo significant changes in QTc interval from baseline were observed after 5 days administration of ebastine, loratadine or placebo. Ketoconazole/placebo increased the mean QTc (95% CI) by 6.96 (3.31–10.62) ms in the ebastine study and by 7.52 (4.15–10.89) ms in the loratadine study. Mean QTc was statistically significantly increased during both ebastine/ketoconazole administration (12.21 ms; 7.39–17.03 ms) and loratadine/ketoconazole administration (10.68 ms; 6.15–15.21 ms) but these changes were not statistically significantly different from the increases seen with placebo/ketoconazole (6.96 ms; 3.31–10.62 ms), P = 0.08 ebastine study, (7.52 ms; 4.15–10.89 ms), P = 0.26 loratadine study). After the addition of ketoconazole, the mean area under the plasma concentration–time curve (AUC) for ebastine increased by 42.5 fold, and that of its metabolite carebastine by 1.4 fold. The mean AUC for loratadine increased by 4.5 fold and that of its metabolite desloratadine by 1.9 fold following administration of ketoconazole. No subjects were withdrawn because of ECG changes or drug‐related adverse events.ConclusionsKetoconazole altered the pharmacokinetic profiles of both ebastine and loratadine although the effect was greater for the former drug. The coadministration of ebastine with ketoconazole resulted in a non significant mean increase of 5.25 ms (−0.65 to 11.15 ms) over ketoconazole with placebo (6.96 ms) while ketoconazole plus loratadine resulted in a nonsignificant mean increase of 3.16 ms (−2.73 to 8.68 ms) over ketoconazole plus placebo (7.52 ms). Changes in uncorrected QT intervals for both antihistamines were not statistically different from those observed with ketoconazole alone. The greater effect of ketoconazole on the pharmacokinetics of ebastine was not accompanied by a correspondingly greater pharmacodynamic effect on cardiac repolarization.
The effects of climate variability on zooplankton and basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) relative abundance off southwest Britain
Authors: COTTON PETER A. , SIMS DAVID W. , FANSHAWE SAM , CHADWICK MARK 
Published: March 2005

AbstractAt small spatial scales basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) forage selectively on zooplankton along thermal fronts, but the factors influencing broader scale patterns in their abundance and distribution remain largely unknown. Using long‐term sightings data collected off southwest Britain between 1988 and 2001, we show that the number of basking sharks recorded was highly correlated with abiotic factors, principally sea surface temperature (SST) and the lagged effect of SST in the previous month, but only very weakly to zooplankton density. This suggests that the changes in number of basking sharks recorded over large spatio‐temporal scales are more closely related to the availability of climate‐driven thermal resources than prey availability, whereas the converse is supported by previous studies at local scales. Taken together, these results imply scale‐dependent behavioural responses in basking sharks, with small‐scale foraging movements linked by broad scale responses to temperature variation.
How important is long‐distance seed dispersal for the regional survival of plant species?
Authors: Soons Merel B. , Ozinga Wim A. 
Published: March 2005

ABSTRACTLong‐distance seed dispersal is generally assumed to be important for the regional survival of plant species. In this study, we quantified the importance of long‐distance seed dispersal for regional survival of plant species using wind dispersal as an example. We did this using a new approach, by first relating plant species’ dispersal traits to seed dispersal kernels and then relating the kernels to regional survival of the species. We used a recently developed and tested mechanistic seed dispersal model to calculate dispersal kernels from dispersal traits. We used data on 190 plant species and calculated their regional survival in two ways, using species distribution data from 36,800 1 km2‐grid cells and 10,754 small plots covering the Netherlands during the largest part of the 20th century. We carried out correlation and stepwise multiple regression analyses to quantify the importance of long‐distance dispersal, expressed as the 99‐percentile dispersal distance of the dispersal kernels, relative to the importance of median‐distance dispersal and other plant traits that are likely to contribute to the explanation of regional survival: plant longevity (annual, biennial, perennial), seed longevity, and plant nutrient requirement. Results show that long‐distance dispersal plays a role in determining regional survival, and is more important than median‐distance dispersal and plant longevity. However, long‐distance dispersal by wind explains only 1–3% of the variation in regional survival between species and is equally important as seed longevity and much less important than nutrient requirement. In changing landscapes such as in the Netherlands, where large‐scale eutrophication and habitat destruction took place in the 20th century, plant traits indicating ability to grow under the changed, increasingly nutrient‐rich conditions turn out to be much more important for regional survival than seed dispersal.
Intrathecal fentanyl added to hyperbaric ropivacaine for transurethral resection of the prostate
Authors: Yegin A. , Sanli S. , Hadimioglu N. , Akbas M. , Karsli B. 
Published: March 2005

Background:  Our purpose was to evaluate the effect of intrathecal fentanyl 25 µg added to 18 mg of 6 mg ml−1 hyperbaric ropivacaine on the characteristics of subarachnoid block and postoperative pain relief in patients undergoing TURP surgery.Methods:  The patients were randomly assigned into two groups: Group S (saline group, n=16) received 3 ml of 18 mg hyperbaric ropivacaine + 0.5 ml saline – in total, a 3.5‐ml volume intrathecally; and Group F (fentanyl group, n=15) received 3 ml of 18 mg hyperbaric ropivacaine + 0.5 ml of 25 µg fentanyl – in total, a 3.5‐ml volume intrathecally. In both groups the onset and recovery times of the sensory block, degree and recovery times of the motor block and side‐effects were recorded and statistically compared.Results:  There was no significant difference between the groups in achieving the highest level of sensory block, and in the times taken to reach the peak level. Regression to L1 was significantly prolonged in the fentanyl group compared with the saline group (P=0.004). Times to the first feeling of pain and the first analgesic requirement were significantly prolonged in the fentanyl group compared with the saline group (P=0.011 and P=0.016, respectively). The frequency of pruritus was significantly higher in the fentanyl group compared with the saline group (P=0.022).Conclusion:  Addition of fentanyl 25 µg to hyperbaric ropivacaine 18 mg for spinal anesthesia in patients undergoing TURP may significantly improve the quality and prolong the duration of analgesia, without causing a substantial increase in the frequency of major side‐effects.
Long‐time outcome after transient transtentorial herniation in patients with traumatic brain injury
Authors: Skoglund T. S. , Nellgård B. 
Published: March 2005

Background:  This study investigates mortality and morbidity in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who developed episode(s) of transtentorial herniation. The transtentorial herniation was defined as a deterioration of consciousness accompanied by uni‐ or bilateral pupil dilatation.Methods:  The medical records of all patients with traumatic brain injury admitted during 1999 to the Neuro‐ or General Intensive Care Units at Sahlgrenska University Hospital were analyzed, and patients with at least one episode of transtentoryal herniation were included.Information regarding patient age, gender, type of trauma, initial GCS, precipitating reason for herniation, uni‐/bilateral pupil dilatation, treatment(s) and outcome after at least 6 months, assessed with the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS), was collected from medical records.Results:  The study included 27 patients, average age 44 years (range 6–81), with a male proportion of 81%. The majority of the patients were victims of traffic accidents and falls. The results demonstrated that 16/27(59%) of the patients had a favorable outcome (GOS 4/5), 4/27(15%) were severely disabled (GOS 3), none was vegetative (GOS 2) and 7/27(26%) died (GOS 1). When analyzing patient subgroups, best outcome was found in children where 3/4 (75%) had a GOS 4/5.Conclusion:  Transtentorial herniation is a serious consequence of supratentorial edema/mass lesions in patients with TBI. However, with aggressive neurointensive care and neurosurgical treatments we found a 59% patient incidence of a favorable outcome.
Preoperative caudal block prevents emergence agitation in children following sevoflurane anesthesia
Authors: Aouad M. T. , Kanazi G. E. , Siddik‐Sayyid S. M. , Gerges F. J. , Rizk L. B. , Baraka A. S. 
Published: March 2005

Background:  The frequency of emergence agitation in children is increased following sevoflurane anesthesia. However, controversies still exist concerning the exact etiology of this postanesthetic problem. Although this phenomenon is present with adequate pain relief or even following pain‐free procedures, pain is still regarded as a major contributing factor.Methods:  In a prospective, randomized, double‐blind study, we enrolled 48 premedicated and calm 2–6‐year‐old children undergoing inguinal hernia repair. We assigned children to one of two groups: children assigned to the caudal group (n = 24) received a caudal block to supplement sevoflurane, while children assigned to the fentanyl group (n = 24) received a bolus injection of 1 µg kg−1 intravenous fentanyl before skin incision to supplement sevoflurane. In the post anesthesia care unit, all children were received by their parent, and the incidence of emergence agitation and pain scores, as well as hemodynamic changes, were compared in both groups.Results:  Forty‐four children completed the study. In the fentanyl group, 59% of the children were agitated following emergence from anesthesia as compared to 4.5% in the caudal group (P < 0.001). Also, pain scores, mean values of heart rate and blood pressure as well as morphine requirement were significantly higher in the post anesthesia care unit in the fentanyl group compared to the caudal group.Conclusion:  Our results show that in children undergoing inguinal hernia repair, pain control with a preoperative caudal block as compared to intraoperative intravenous fentanyl significantly reduces the incidence of emergence agitation and pain scores following sevoflurane anesthesia.
Sperm function and assisted reproduction technology
Authors: HENKEL RALF , MAAß GESA , BÖDEKER ROLF‐HASSO , SCHEIBELHUT CHRISTINE , STALF THOMAS , MEHNERT CLAAS , SCHUPPE HANS‐CHRISTIAN , JUNG ANDREAS , SCHILL WOLF‐BERNHARD 
Published: March 2005

The evaluation of different functional sperm parameters has become a tool in andrological diagnosis. These assays determine the sperm's capability to fertilize an oocyte. It also appears that sperm functions and semen parameters are interrelated and interdependent. Therefore, the question arose whether a given laboratory test or a battery of tests can predict the outcome in in vitro fertilization (IVF).One‐hundred and sixty‐one patients who underwent an IVF treatment were selected from a database of 4178 patients who had been examined for male infertility 3 months before or after IVF. Sperm concentration, motility, acrosin activity, acrosome reaction, sperm morphology, maternal age, number of transferred embryos, embryo score, fertilization rate and pregnancy rate were determined. In addition, logistic regression models to describe fertilization rate and pregnancy were developed. All the parameters in the models were dichotomized and intra‐ and interindividual variability of the parameters were assessed. Although the sperm parameters showed good correlations with IVF when correlated separately, the only essential parameter in the multivariate model was morphology. The enormous intra‐ and interindividual variability of the values was striking. In conclusion, our data indicate that the andrological status at the end of the respective treatment does not necessarily represent the status at the time of IVF. Despite a relatively low correlation coefficient in the logistic regression model, it appears that among the parameters tested, the most reliable parameter to predict fertilization is normal sperm morphology. (Reprod Med Biol 2005; 4: 7–30)
Income Inequality and Living Standards: Changes in the 1970s and 1980s
Authors: JENKINS STEPHEN P. 
Published: March 2005

‘This country has the highest standard of living that it has ever known … Real incomes have increased throughout all income groups.’ Margaret Thatcher (Weekly Hansard, 27 April 1989, cols 1087–8)‘While the very rich have lost some of their riches to the less rich, over time, the poor have hardly profited proportionately.’ Neil Kinnock (The Future of Socialism, Fabian Tract no. 506, January 1986)
Women, Men and the Redistribution of Income
Authors: SUTHERLAND HOLLY 
Published: March 2005

AbstractThis paper explores the implications of examining the effect of policy changes on individual incomes rather than household incomes. Conceptual problems arise from the treatment of collective resources and responsibilities, particularly children. These are dealt with in a manner that is transparent with the aim of establishing a practical method of analysing policy at the individual (and gender‐specific) level. Two policy‐related issues are examined in this framework: the impact of a minimum wage and the effect of introducing a minimum pension guarantee. In each case, the implications of choosing the individual as the income unit are examined and analysis of the issue by gender is presented. JEL classification: C81, D31, H55, J16.
Consumption and Saving Behaviour: Modelling Recent Trends
Authors: ATTANASIO ORAZIO 
Published: March 2005

AbstractThis paper illustrates recent trends in household consumption and personal savings in the UK and the US and discusses some theoretical models that can be used to interpret them. The trends in these two countries are interesting for several reasons. The decline in personal saving rates in the US during the 1980s is an unresolved puzzle. The corresponding variable in the UK has undergone large fluctuations, as have several other variables ranging from projected demographic trends to female labour supply. This paper stresses the need to analyse individual data to shed some light on these aggregate trends. It also stresses the need to have a sound structural model to interpret observed patterns in the data.The theoretical framework discussed throughout the paper is the life‐cycle model, which views consumption and saving decisions as part of a dynamic optimisation process. The development of the model and the current research agenda and ways that it can be enriched with various degrees of sophistication are discussed. Particular attention is devoted to the discussion of the most recent developments. JEL classification Dl, E21.
A Cost–Benefit Approach to the Evaluation of Regional Selective Assistance
Authors: SWALES KIM 
Published: March 2005

AbstractThe ‘Green Book’ and the recent EGRUP report support exchequer cost per job as a key input in the ex‐ante appraisal of individual applications for Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) and the ex‐post evaluation of the RSA scheme as a whole. In this paper, following a recommendation in the House of Commons Trade and Industry Committee's report on regional policy, the merits of an alternative, explicitly cost‐benefit, framework are outlined. This approach incorporates the administration and compliance costs of the subsidy, costs at present ignored in RSA evaluation studies. An optimal ex‐ante appraisal rule is developed. This takes the form of a cost‐per‐job ceiling, and a representative value is calculated for this figure. JEL classification: H20.
Financial Markets, Ageing and Social Welfare
Authors: MILES DAVID 
Published: March 2005

AbstractThis paper considers some of the economic impacts that demographic change may have in developed economies over the next fifty years. I focus on the role that financial markets might play in economies where the pressure on government‐run unfunded pension systems is likely to rise. The role of unfunded schemes is considered in a world where financial markets are incomplete and important types of risk cannot easily be offset by trading. How demographic shifts might affect labour productivity, asset prices and aggregate output is investigated using a simulation model of an economy where population structure is changing.JEL classification: E21, E60, G10, H1.
Share Repurchases
Authors: SHIRLEY PHILIP 
Published: March 2005

AbstractThe UK government recently introduced legislation to treat the qualifying distribution on a repurchase of shares in the same way as ‘foreign income dividends’. This paper examines and criticises this reform from two perspectives. First, there is no underlying rationale for such an approach. Second, the legislation moves the tax system away from simplification. A better approach would have been to remove the advance corporation tax (ACT) charge on a repurchase. JEL classification: H25, K34.
Inequality, Mobility and Income Distribution Comparisons
Authors: CREEDY JOHN 
Published: March 2005

AbstractThis paper examines the relationship between the cross‐sectional and lifetime income distributions using a simple model of relative income mobility. It asks whether cross‐sectional comparisons between countries can provide a good indication of lifetime inequality differences if income mobility is similar, and whether lifetime inequality increases by less than cross‐sectional inequality if the latter increases as a result of higher mobility. Analytical and simulation methods are used to show that the answer to both questions is negative. Comparisons must allow for different types of mobility, the nature of the age‐income profile and the age distribution in each country. JEL classification: D31.
A Comment on the Viability of the Allowance for Corporate Equity
Authors: ISSAC JOHN 
Published: March 2005

AbstractThis article, acknowledging the potentially important general attractions of the allowance for corporate equity (ACE), looks at some of its more specific implications.On corporate taxes, the article looks at questions about the implied revenue‐neutral rate of corporation tax (and redistribution of the tax burden); the effects on cash flow of both government and companies; and what would become a crucially important charge on capital gains.On income tax, the article comments on the implications for self‐employed earnings (and also, potentially, employees); for investment income and the logically accompanying EXPEP (extended personal equity plan); and therefore for inheritance tax.For international investment, the article notes that unless and until other countries adopt an ACE as the basis for harmonisation, the interaction of the ACE and existing taxes would not always be helpful for outward investment; and on some inward investment, if the most optimistic assumptions are not borne out, the effects could be rather bleak. JEL classification: H25, K34.
Peculiar Institutions: A British Perspective on Tax Policy in the United States
Authors: KEEN MICHAEL 
Published: March 2005

AbstractBy both effect and example, tax policy in the United States has a huge impact on the rest of the world. This paper explores five features of the American tax system that seem, from a British and European perspective, to be both especially peculiar and potentially instructive. These are: the remarkably low overall level of taxation; the absence of a value added tax (or any other general national tax on consumption); the absence of any explicit interstate equalisation; the marginal subsidisation of low earnings under the Earned Income Tax Credit; and the fragmentation of power in policymaking, an important aspect of which is the role played by the Constitution. JEL classification: H10, H20, H50, H70.
Forecasting the PSBR Outside Government: The IFS Perspective
Authors: GILES CHRISTOPHER , HALL JOHN 
Published: March 2005

AbstractExpectations regarding the future state of the public finances are vital for public policy formation. The UK experience has been that forecast of the PSBR have been beset with problems since the mid‐1980s. Independent assessments of the accuracy and plausibility of public finance forecasts are an important check on government forecasts and serve to increase public debate over government finance issues. We examine the success of various possible methods available to those outside government. JEL classification: E6, H1, H6.
What Should Be Our Human Capital Investment Policy?
Authors: HECKMAN JAMES 
Published: March 2005

AbstractThis paper considers the magnitude of the human capital investment required to offset the increase in the inequality in labour earnings in the US economy since 1979. It considers the ineffectiveness of government training policies, the effectiveness of private sector training and the conflict between economic efficiency and the work ethic. It also considers revisions of the tax code. The importance of the distinction between the long view and the short view in analysing human resource policies is emphasised. JEL classification: J24, I28, H40.
The Dynamics of Male Retirement Behaviour
Authors: TANNER SARAH 
Published: March 2005

AbstractThis paper uses data from the two waves of the UK Retirement Survey to present a detailed descriptive analysis of the retirement behaviour of older men. The main motivation for doing this is the fall in the employment rates of older men over the last 20 years. A comparison of the labour market behaviour of men with and without an occupational pension suggests that increases in the coverage and levels of occupational pensions may not be enough to explain the long‐term trends in labour market behaviour, but that there are important differences in the retirement experiences of the two groups.JEL classification: J26.