End-Stage Renal Disease After Renal Surgery in Patients with Normal Preoperative Kidney Function: Balancing Surgical Strategy and Individual Disorders at Baseline

Although nephron-sparing surgery (NSS) has demonstrated benefit in terms of renal function preservation, it is unclear whether NSS might also decrease the risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) relative to radical nephrectomy (RN). In the current paper, we aimed to report the rate and the predictors of ESRD after surgery, accounting for detailed individual baseline characteristics and comorbidities. A multi-institutional collaboration among five European tertiary care centers allowed study of 2027 patients with normal preoperative renal function and a clinically localized T1abN0M0 renal mass. Cox regression analyses were used to predict the risk of ESRD (defined as the onset of a postoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate <15 ml/min per 1.73 m2) after adjusting for the individual baseline risk of developing chronic kidney disease. Univariable ESRD rates at 5 and 10 yr of follow-up were virtually equivalent for patients who underwent NSS (1.5% and 2.5%, respectively) versus RN (1.9% and 2.7%, respectively; hazard ratio [HR]: 0.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.4\ue2\u80\u931.6). However, diabetes, smoking, uncontrolled hypertension, and other comorbidities were consistently more frequent in the NSS group relative to their RN counterparts. After adjusting for detailed baseline individual characteristics, NSS was shown to have an independent protective effect relative to RN (HR: 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2\ue2\u80\u930.8; p = 0.02) at multivariable analyses. Patient summary After accounting for individual baseline characteristics, such as age, diabetes, uncontrolled hypertension, or other comorbidities, partial nephrectomy independently protects against end-stage renal disease and the consequent need for dialysis relative to radical nephrectomy

The Polarised Valence Quark Distribution from semi-inclusive DIS

The semi-inclusive difference asymmetry A^{h^{+}-h^{-}} for hadrons of opposite charge has been measured by the COMPASS experiment at CERN. The data were collected in the years 2002-2004 using a 160 GeV polarised muon beam scattered off a large polarised ^6LiD target and cover the range 0.006 < x < 0.7 and 1 < Q^2 < 100 (GeV/c)^2. In leading order QCD (LO) the asymmetry A_d^{h^{+}-h^{-}} measures the valence quark polarisation and provides an evaluation of the first moment of Delta u_v + Delta d_v which is found to be equal to 0.40 +- 0.07 (stat.) +- 0.05 (syst.) over the measured range of x at Q^2 = 10 (GeV/c)^2. When combined with the first moment of g_1^d previously measured on the same data, this result favours a non-symmetric polarisation of light quarks Delta u-bar = - Delta d-bar at a confidence level of two standard deviations, in contrast to the often assumed symmetric scenario Delta u-bar = Delta d-bar = Delta s-bar = Delta s.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, COMPASS, revised: details added, author list update

Direct Measurement of the Gluon Polarisation in the Nucleon via Charmed Meson Production

Alekseev M, Alexakhin VY, Alexandrov Y, et al. Direct Measurement of the Gluon Polarisation in the Nucleon via Charmed Meson Production. arXiv:0802.3023. 2008.We present the first measurement of the gluon polarisation in the nucleon based on the photon-gluon fusion process tagged by charmed meson production and decay to charged K and pi. The data were collected in polarised muon scattering off a polarised deuteron target by the COMPASS collaboration at CERN during 2002-2004. The result of this LO analysis is _x = -0.47 +- 0.44 (stat) +- 0.15 (syst) at ~= 0.11 and a scale mu^2 ~ 13 (GeV/c)^2

Hydrogen Activation by Frustrated Lewis Pairs: Insights from Computational Studies

Sterically encumbered Lewis acid–base pairs, the so-called frustrated Lewis pairs, can split dihydrogen heterolytically and act as transition metal free catalysts for the hydrogenation of unsaturated compounds. Here we review the results from our quantum chemical calculations aimed at the understanding of this remarkable class of reactions and we put them into the context of related works from other research groups. The thermodynamics of the H2 splitting reaction is discussed first; the role of acid–base properties, intramolecular cooperativity, and other factors is assessed, employing an energy partitioning scheme and also in the light of the latest experimental findings. The mechanism of hydrogen cleavage is then examined, and an overview about the applicability of our reactivity model involving synergistic electron transfers between H2 and preorganized Lewis acid/base centers is given. Finally, insights about catalytic cycles in FLP-mediated hydrogenations are summarized, pinpointing the diversity of the involved elementary steps and their possible sequences