bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Significance of determining the point of reperfusion failure in experimental torsion of testis
Authors: KEHINDE ELIJAH O , ANIM JEHORAM T , MOJIMINIYI OLUSEGUN A , AL‐AWADI FARIDA , OMU ALEXANDER E , VARGHESE RAMANI 
Published: January 2005

Abstract Background:  Experimental studies of the use of free radical scavengers in ischemic/reperfusion (I/R) injury following detorsion of the torted testis have yielded conflicting results due to differences in the period of ischemia used. The authors studied I/R injury in the rabbit model, to define the point beyond which there is reperfusion failure.Methods:  Ischemia/reperfusion injury of the testis was created in 3–6‐month‐old male New Zealand white rabbits by cross‐clamping the left spermatic cord for periods of ischemia lasting 0, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 180 min. There were eight animals per experimental group. The right testis served as internal control. Both testes were harvested after 24 h of reperfusion in four animals and after 3 months in the remaining four animals for each group. Testicular malondialdehyde (MDA), a measure of free radical damage, was determined by using the thiobarbituric acid reaction on testicular homogenates. Johnsen score was used to assess morphological damage caused by the ischemia.Results:  After 24 h of reperfusion, the mean testicular MDA in the control right testes at 0, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 180 min was 2.1, 2.5, 2.9, 2.4, 2.1 and 1.9 nmol/mg protein, respectively. The mean left testicular MDA at corresponding ischemic periods was 1.6, 2.0, 3.9, 10.0, 4.4, 6.1 and 1.0 nmol/mg protein, respectively. The maximum left testicular MDA was at 60 min (10.0 nmol/mg protein), following which the level dropped significantly to 1.0 nmol/mg protein at 180 min. At 3 months, the mean Johnsen scores for left testes subjected to 0, 60, 120 and 180 min ischemia were 9.4, 8.8, 2.3, 3.5, respectively.Conclusion:  The results suggest that following ischemia of up to 60 min in the rabbit testis, adequate reperfusion is possible, but ischemia lasting beyond 60 min results in inadequate reperfusion leading to irreversible damage. Thus, in experiments for assessing the effect of antioxidants on I/R injury of the testis in rabbits, periods up to 60 min of ischemia should be regarded as optimum to observe an effect.
Therapeutic effects of long‐term administration of an oral adsorbent in patients with chronic renal failure: two‐year study
Authors: TAKAHASHI NOBUYOSHI , KAWAGUCHI TOSHIAKI , SUZUKI TADASHI 
Published: January 2005

Abstract Background:  Kremezin is an oral adsorbent that attenuates the progression of chronic renal failure by removing uremic toxins and their precursors from the gastrointestinal tract. Previously two clinical studies based on reciprocal serum creatinine levels (1/Scr) have confirmed the efficacy of Kremezin (Kureha Chemical, Tokyo, Japan) in undialyzed patients who had been followed up for 6 months or 1 year. This is the first report to evaluate the therapeutic effects of long‐term administration (2 years.) of Kremezin in undialyzed patients.Methods:  Kremezin was given to 48 enrolled undialyzed patients with a median Scr level of 4.3 mg/dL. Rates of decline of 1/Scr, as well as the time for Scr level to reach 10 mg/dL, the critical value requiring dialysis, were compared before and after administration of Kremezin.Results:  During the 2‐year therapeutic period, 1/Scr gradients were significantly attenuated (P = 0.0083), and the estimated time to dialysis was prolonged from 16.3 ± 16.3 months to 29.8 ± 24.1 months (P = 0.002). When the patients were divided into two groups, based on of systolic blood pressure (SBP), defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) classification, a significantly smaller number of patients in the low blood pressure group (SBP < 160 mmHg) were introduced to dialysis (P = 0.0005), and the estimated time to dialysis was significantly extended in the low blood pressure group (P = 0.0125).Conclusion:  In addition to the control of blood pressure in undialyzed patients, Kremezin has additive salutary effects to halt the progressive loss of renal function, resulting in the delay of dialysis.
Spectrum of stone composition: structural analysis of 1050 upper urinary tract calculi from northern India
Authors: Ansari Mohd S , Gupta Narmada P , Hemal Ashok K , Dogra Premnath N , Seth Amlesh , Aron Monish , Singh Tej P 
Published: January 2005

Abstract Background:  The purpose of the present paper was to study the spectrum of stone composition of upper urinary tract calculi by X‐ray diffraction crystallography technique, in patients managed at All India Institute of Medical Sciences.Methods:  Between 30 April 1998 and 31 March 2003, a total of 1050 urinary calculi (900 renal, 150 ureteric) were analyzed. The stone fragments were collected after extracorporeal shock‐wave lithotripsy, or retrieval by endoscopic (percutaneous nephrolithotomy, ureterorenoscopy), laparoscopic and various open surgical procedures. The structural analysis of the stones was done using X‐ray diffraction crystallography.Results:  Four types of primary and three secondary X‐ray diffraction patterns were obtained. The primary patterns were as follows. Pattern A, well organized crystalline structure; pattern B, moderately organized crystalline structure; pattern C, poorly organized crystalline structure; pattern D, very poorly organized crystalline structure. The three secondary patterns mainly highlighted the mixed variety of stones. These patterns were further analyzed and compared with standard X‐ray diffraction (powder) photographs. Of the 1050 stones analyzed, 977 (93.04%) were calcium oxalate stones, out of which 80% were calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) and 20% were calcium oxalate dihydrate (COD). Fifteen were struvite (1.42%) and 19 were apatite (1.80%). Ten were uric acid stones (0.95%) and the remaining 29 (2.76%) were mixed stones (COM + COD and calcium oxalate + uric acid, calcium oxalate + calcium phosphate, and calcium phosphate + magnesium ammonium phosphate). A total of 89.98% of staghorn stones were made of oxalates (COM/+COD) and only 4.02% were struvite.Conclusion:  Urinary stone disease in the Indian population is different from that in Western countries, with a larger percentage of patients having calcium oxalate stones, predominantly COM. Also, the majority of staghorn stones (89.98%) were made of oxalates.
Female para‐urethral adenocarcinoma: Histological and immunohistochemical study
Authors: KATO HARUAKI , KOBAYASHI SHINYA , ISLAM AMH MANJURUL , NISHIZAWA OSAMU 
Published: January 2005

Abstract Background:  Female urethral cancer with a diverticular form is assumed to originate from the para‐urethral  duct,  which  is  embryologically  homologous  to  the  male  prostate  gland.  The  purpose  of the present paper was to investigate the female para‐urethral adenocarcinomas histologically and immunohistochemically.Methods:  Surgical specimens obtained from six female patients with para‐urethral adenocarcinomas were examined histologically, and an immunohistochemical study using antibodies against carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), prostate specific antigen (PSA), and chromogranin A was performed.Results:  On histologic examination, the female para‐urethral cancers were divided into five cases of mucin‐producing‐type adenocarcinoma and one case of clear cell‐type adenocarcinoma. All five mucin‐producing‐type adenocarcinomas were positive with anti‐CEA, and two of them showed neuroendicrine differentiation. One of them showed a focally positive area with anti‐PSA. The clear cell‐type adenocarcinoma had no positive reactions to these antibodies.Conclusions:  On the basis of histologic structure, positive CEA staining, and the presence of focal neuroendocrine differentiation, mucin‐producing‐type adenocarcinomas may arise from the proximal part of the para‐urethral duct.
Expression of thymidine phosphorylase in human superficial bladder cancer
Authors: SHIMABUKURO TOMOYUKI , MATSUYAMA HIDEYASU , BABA YOSHIKAZU , JOJIMA KAZUTAKA , SUYAMA KEN‐ICHI , AOKI AKIHIKO , SUGA AKINOBU , YAMAMOTO NORIO , NAITO KATSUSUKE 
Published: January 2005

Abstract Background:  The purpose of the present paper was to investigate the expression level of thymidine phosphorylase (TPase) in superficial bladder cancer tissues obtained by transurethral resection, and determine whether its expression correlates with tumor recurrence.Methods:  From March 1998 to December 2001, 99 patients with superficial bladder cancer were diagnosed and treated at eight affiliated hospitals. Tissue specimens obtained by transurethral resection of superficial bladder cancer (TURBT) were applied to immunohistochemical study using anti‐TPase antibody as well as pathological diagnosis. The data were subjected to statistical analysis.Results:  Using MoAb 654‐1 as the primary antibody, TPase was clearly stained in human bladder cancer tissues. The maximum TPase level measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method in normal bladder tissues was 18.7 U/mg protein. The TPase activity was 2.8‐fold higher in tumors than in normal bladder samples (P = 0.037). The TPase positivity rates determined by immunohistochemical and ELISA methods were distinctly correlated (P = 0.046). For the recurrence‐free rates in pT1 tumors treated by TURBT alone (n = 46), there were no statistically significant differences between Tpase‐positive or ‐negative cases.Conclusions:  The TPase expression determined by ELISA and immunohistochemistry is significantly up‐regulated in superficial bladder tumors compared with normal bladder samples. However, TPase expression by immunohistochemistry is not a predictive index of recurrence‐free rate for superficial bladder cancer treated with TURBT alone.
Altered messenger RNA and protein expressions for insulin‐like growth factor family members in clear cell and papillary renal cell carcinomas
Authors: CHEUNG CATHERINE , VESEY DAVID , COTTERILL ANDREW , DOUGLAS MEAGHAN , GOBE GLENDA , NICOL DAVID , JOHNSON DAVID 
Published: January 2005

Abstract Background:  The purpose of the present paper was to describe the pattern of expression of insulin‐like growth factor (IGF‐I) and its regulatory binding proteins (IGFBP) in renal cell carcinoma (RCC).Methods:  The expressions of mRNA and protein for various IGF members were assessed in 24 paired normal and malignant human renal tissues (16 clear cell and 8 papillary RCC) using semiquantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. Paired tissue samples were also obtained from six patients with oncocytoma in order to compare the specificity of changes in IGF/IGFBP expression between tumors derived from proximal (RCC) and distal (oncocytoma) tubular epithelium.Results:  Clear cell RCC were characterized by significant increases in the mRNA expression of IGF‐I, IGFBP‐3 and IGFBP‐6 while papillary RCC exhibited down‐regulated expression of IGF‐I, IGFBP‐4 and IGFBP‐5. The IGFBP‐2, IGFBP‐4 and IGFBP‐5 mRNA were down‐regulated in oncocytomas. Semiquantitative assessment of immunohistochemical staining demonstrated significant increases in epithelial associated IGF‐I and IGFBP‐3 in clear cell RCC, increased IGFBP‐5 protein in papillary RCC and no significant changes in IGF/IGFBP protein expression in oncocytoma.Conclusions:  The expression of IGF‐I and certain IGFBP is significantly altered in RCC compared with normal renal tissue and oncocytomas. This altered expression is differentially regulated according to the histologic subtype of RCC, and suggests that the IGF/IGFBP axis may play an important role in determining the malignant phenotype of RCC.
ENGINEERING GENETIC INJUSTICE
Authors: WENZ PETER 
Published: January 2005

ABSTRACTIn their jointly written book, From Chance to Choice: Genetics and Justice, Allen Buchanan, Dan Brock, Norman Daniels and Daniel Wikler defend ‘the development and deployment of genetic intervention technologies . . .’, including genetic enhancements, against charges that they exacerbate injustice. The present paper examines some of their arguments. The first section shows that the authors confuse real societies with just societies. The second shows that without this confusion, their arguments reveal the enormous justice‐impairing potential of deploying genetic enhancements in such societies as the United States.
BENEFICENCE, DETERMINISM AND JUSTICE: AN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE ARGUMENT FOR THE GENETIC SELECTION OF INTELLIGENCE
Authors: BIRCH KEAN 
Published: January 2005

ABSTRACTIn 2001, Julian Savulescu wrote an article entitled ‘Procreative Beneficence: Why We Should Select the Best Children’, in which he argued for the genetic selection of intelligence in children. That article contributes to a debate on whether genetic research on intelligence should be undertaken at all and, if so, should intelligence selection be available to potential parents. As such, the question of intelligence selection relates to wider issues concerning the genetic determination of behavioural traits, i.e. alcoholism. This article is designed as an engagement in the intelligence selection debate using an analysis of Savulescu's arguments to raise a series of problematic issues in relation to the ethics of parental selection of intelligence. These problematic issues relate to wider assumptions that are made in order to put forward intelligence selection as a viable ethical option. Such assumptions are more generic in character, but still relate to Savulescu's article, concerning issues of genetic determinism, private allocation and inequality, and, finally, individual versus aggregate justice. The conclusion focuses on what the implications are for the question of agency, especially if intelligence selection is allowed.
A THOMISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN DEATH1
Authors: EBERL JASON T. 
Published: January 2005

ABSTRACTI investigate Thomas Aquinas's metaphysical account of human death, which is defined in terms of a rational soul separating from its material body. The question at hand concerns what criterion best determines when this separation occurs. Aquinas argues that a body has a rational soul only insofar as it is properly organised to support the soul's vegetative, sensitive, and rational capacities. According to the ‘higher‐brain’ concept of death, when a body can no longer provide the biological foundation necessary for the operation of conscious rational thought and volition, a substantial change occurs in which the rational soul departs and the body left behind is a ‘humanoid animal’ or a mere ‘vegetable.’I argue that the separation of soul and body does not occur until the body ceases to function as a unified, integrated organism. A rational soul is not only the seat of a human being's rational capacities; it is also the principle of the body's sensitive and vegetative capacities. Since Aquinas defines a human being as a composite of soul and body, and not with merely the exercise of rational capacities, the determination of death requires incontrovertible evidence that the body has ceased all the operations that correspond to the soul's proper capacities. The evidence of this is the body's loss of its integrative organic unity and the criterion for determining when this loss occurs is the irreversible cessation of whole‐brain functioning.
THE BIRTH OF THE EMPIRICAL TURN IN BIOETHICS
Authors: BORRY PASCAL , SCHOTSMANS PAUL , DIERICKX KRIS 
Published: January 2005

ABSTRACTSince its origin, bioethics has attracted the collaboration of few social scientists, and social scientific methods of gathering empirical data have remained unfamiliar to ethicists. Recently, however, the clouded relations between the empirical and normative perspectives on bioethics appear to be changing. Three reasons explain why there was no easy and consistent input of empirical evidence into bioethics. Firstly, interdisciplinary dialogue runs the risk of communication problems and divergent objectives. Secondly, the social sciences were absent partners since the beginning of bioethics. Thirdly, the meta‐ethical distinction between ‘is’ and ‘ought’ created a ‘natural’ border between the disciplines. Now, bioethics tends to accommodate more empirical research. Three hypotheses explain this emergence. Firstly, dissatisfaction with a foundationalist interpretation of applied ethics created a stimulus to incorporate empirical research in bioethics. Secondly, clinical ethicists became engaged in empirical research due to their strong integration in the medical setting. Thirdly, the rise of the evidence‐based paradigm had an influence on the practice of bioethics. However, a problematic relationship cannot simply and easily evolve into a perfect interaction. A new and positive climate for empirical approaches has arisen, but the original difficulties have not disappeared.
THE DETERMINATION OF THE BEST INTERESTS IN RELATION TO CHILDHOOD IMMUNISATION*
Authors: DAWSON ANGUS 
Published: January 2005

ABSTRACTThere are many different ethical arguments that might be advanced for and against childhood vaccinations. In this paper I explore one particular argument that focuses on the idea that such vaccinations are justifiable because they are held to be in the best interests of a particular child. Two issues arise from this idea. The first issue is how best interests are to be determined in this case. The second issue is what follows from this to justify potential interventions within the family in relation to such vaccinations. I argue that best interests must be characterised objectively in such situations and that this means that, in at least some cases, parental decision‐making about vaccinating their children may be overridden.
Posturographic description of the regaining of postural stability following stroke
Authors: Rogind Henrik , Christensen Jon , Danneskiold‐Samsøe Bente , Bliddal Henning 
Published: January 2005

SummaryBackground:  Failing balance and increased liability to falling are common complaints among hemiplegic subjects. During rehabilitation much effort is put into regaining postural stability.Purpose:  To describe the regaining of postural stability during rehabilitation for the first year following stroke in hemiplegic patientsMaterials and methods:  Twenty‐six patients were included within 5 days of suffering a stroke resulting from a CT‐verified clearly defined thromboembolic lesion, localized in the vascular bed of middle cerebral artery on either side. Posturographic evaluation of sway was performed on a commercially available force plate system (Balance Master Pro®). Measured parameters included per cent maximum stability (PMS), per cent ankle strategy (AST), and average angular velocity (AVE). An additional parameter was derived by calculating the slope (SLP) of the linear relationship between stability and ankle strategy. SLP reflects the predisposition of the stroke patient to keep using ankle strategy when faced with increasingly difficult balance tasks. The presence of familiarization to the measurement method was examined by including a preliminary measurement not otherwise included in the analysis of changes during the first year of follow‐up. The temporal evolvement of sway was described by measuring sway parameters 1, 2, 4, 8 and 52 weeks following stroke. The proportions of the variation in sway caused by measurement error and between patients were compared.Results:  All parameters improved over time, as demonstrated by significant improvements from each of week 1, 2, 4 and 8 to week 52. There was evidence of familiarisation for PMS, AST and AVE, but not for SLP. Estimation of variance components showed that between patient variation accounts for between two‐thirds and four‐fifths of the total variation. A considerable part of this variation was caused by individual differences in the temporal improvement of sway over time. Patients considered the evaluation of postural sway demanding and time consuming resulting in a relatively large loss to follow‐up: 15 patients completed the 8‐week visit while seven completed the 1 year visit.Conclusion:  Postural stability increases for the first year following stroke. There is evidence of familiarization towards the measurements process for the traditional posturographic parameters PMS, AST and AVE, but not for the derived parameter SLP, which might make the latter a candidate for a sway parameter reflecting basic mechanisms of upholding upright stance in hemiplegic patients. The estimated variance components stress the considerable between‐patient variation and question the ability of the force plate method to monitor individual sway performance of such patients during the rehabilitation process.
Iodine 123‐metaiodobenzylguanidine imaging reflect generalized sympathetic activation in patients with left ventricular dysfunction
Authors: Yuyama Reisuke , Yuasa Fumio , Hikosaka Makoto , Mimura Jun , Kawamura Akihiro , Hatada Kengo , Motohiro Masayuki , Iwasaki Masayoshi , Sugiura Tetsuro , Iwasaka Toshiji 
Published: January 2005

SummaryBackground:  Iodine 123‐metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) imaging has been used to assess cardiac sympathetic nerve abnormalities. To determine the role of MIBG imaging as a measure of generalized sympathetic nerve activity, MIBG imaging was evaluated with muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) and plasma norepinephrine (noradrenaline) level in patients with old myocardial infarction.Methods:  Myocardial MIBG scintigraphy, MSNA and plasma norepinephrine measurement were performed within 3 days in 35 patients with old myocardial infarction. Patients were divided into three groups according to their ejection fraction (EF); preserved (EF ≥ 50%, 12 patients), intermediate (35% < EF < 50%, 13 patients), or depressed (EF ≤ 35%, 10 patients).The heart to mediastinum (H/M) ratio was obtained 4 h after tracer injection from the chest anterior view image. MIBG washout rate was calculated from the early and delayed images. MSNA was recorded by microneurography.Results:  Plasma norepinephrine level had weak negative correlations with early H/M ratio (r = 0·37, P<0·05) and delayed H/M ratio (r = 0·33, P<0·05), and a positive correlation with MIBG washout rate (r = 0·54, P<0·01). MSNA had weak negative correlations with early H/M ratio (r = 0·51, P<0·05) and delayed H/M ratio (r = 0·52, P<0·05). However, a strong correlation was found between MSNA and MIBG washout rate (r = 0·88, P<0·001). Despite no significant differences in plasma norepinephrine level and H/M ratio, patients with intermediate and depressed EF had higher MIBG washout rate and MSNA compared with those with preserved EF.Conclusions:  Increased in cardiac sympathetic nerve activity was associated with augmented sympathetic outflow of the skeletal muscle and hence, MIBG washout rate allow the assessment of general sympathetic nerve activity.