bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Red cell distribution width: a new tool for the severity prediction of sleep apnoea syndrome in children
Authors: Morell-Garcia Daniel , Toledo-Pons Núria , Sanchis Pilar , Bauça Josep Miquel , Sánchez José María , Peña-Zarza José , Giménez Paloma , Pierola Javier , de la Peña-Bravo Mónica , Alonso-Fernández Alberto , Barceló Antònia 
Published: October 2020

IntroductionRed cell distribution width (RDW) is a parameter included in the complete blood count which informs about the size of the circulating red blood cell population and its distribution. In adults, an increase in RDW was shown to be associated both with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and with an increase in cardiovascular mortality. The aim of this study was to determine whether RDW is a potential biomarker for screening children with moderate–severe OSA.MethodsAn observational study in snoring patients was performed. All patients underwent a sleep study and were classified either as simple snorers (apnoea–hypopnoea index (AHI) <1 event·h−1) or as patients with OSA (mild AHI ≥1 to <5 events·h−1; moderate–severe AHI ≥5 events·h−1). Blood analyses (complete blood count and C-reactive protein) were performed for every individual.ResultsA total of 175 individuals were recruited. The mean age was 8.3±3.6 years. Correlation studies between RDW and several sleep-related parameters showed negative significant associations with minimum oxygen saturation, and positive significant associations with oxygen desaturation index (≥3% and ≥4%), AHI and the arousal index. A predictive model for paediatric severe OSA (AHI ≥5 events·h−1) was found based on mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) <34.9 g·dL−1and RDW >13.1% values, adjusting for body mass index z-score and age (area under the curve 0.657; p=0.004). In addition, differences were found in eosinophil count and C-reactive protein concentrations among the three subgroups.ConclusionsIn children, RDW stands out as a biomarker associated with the severity of OSA. The use of RDW and MCHC could be a simple but useful tool for the severity prediction of paediatric OSA in snoring patients.
Defining asthma in children: how well do parents, doctors and spirometry agree?
Authors: Korsten Koos , Naaktgeboren Christiana A. , Bont Louis J. , van der Ent Cornelis K. , de Hoog Marieke L.A. 
Published: October 2020

BackgroundBecause diagnosing asthma in school-aged children is challenging, a variety of proxies for asthma are used in clinical practice and research settings as indicators of this disease. We aimed to provide insight into the agreement between various asthma indicators based on parental report, medical diagnosis and spirometry.MethodsChildren from the WHISTLER birth cohort performed spirometry and were followed up with parental ISAAC (International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood) questionnaires about asthma at 5 and 8 years of age. Medical data were extracted from primary care records. We compared 15 asthma indicators based on parental report, medical diagnosis and spirometry using positive agreement, κ statistics and latent class cluster analysis.ResultsAt 5 years of age, 1007 children completed a study visit, while 803 children visited at 8 years of age. Depending on the indicator, the responder and child's age, the asthma prevalence ranged from 0.2% to 26.6%. Cluster analysis revealed classes related to the presence of recent symptoms and a decreased lung function. Agreement between parents and doctors was generally low with κ coefficients ranging from 0.07 (recent wheeze) to 0.52 (recent asthma medication). Additionally, parental report showed to be sensitive to recall bias over time.ConclusionsDependent on the asthma indicator, the responder and the age of the child, substantial differences in agreement were observed between commonly used indicators associated with asthmatic disease in school-aged children. Most agreement between parents and doctors was seen for objective and recent indicators such as the recent use of asthma medication. We advocate caution when literature with different asthma indicators is compared.
Adipose tissue area as a predictor for the efficacy of apatinib in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer: an exploratory imaging biomarker analysis of the AEROC trial
Authors: Huang Xin , Xie Chuanbo , Tang Jie , He Wenzhuo , Yang Fan , Tian Wenfang , Li Jundong , Yang Qiuxia , Shen Jingxian , Xia Liangping , Lan Chunyan 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
Background
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-targeted therapy is effective in patients with ovarian cancer. Whether adipose tissue (AT) could predict the efficacy of VEGF receptor (VEGFR) inhibitors in ovarian cancer is unknown. We aimed to evaluate the ability of distinct AT depots to predict the efficacy of apatinib, a VEGFR inhibitor, in recurrent ovarian cancers included in the AEROC trial.

Methods
The AEROC was a single-arm phase 2 trial of apatinib and oral etoposide in patients with platinum-resistant or platinum-refractory ovarian cancer. Apatinib was administered continuously, and oral etoposide was administered every 21 days for a maximum of six cycles. This was a post hoc study based on the AEROC trial. Areas of visceral AT (VAT), subcutaneous AT (SAT), and intermuscular AT (IMAT) were measured using computed tomography scan at baseline to assess their association with the objective response rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival.

Results
Of the 35 treated patients, 31 patients with at least one post-baseline efficacy assessment by computed tomography scan were included in this study. After adjusting for apatinib exposure, high VAT (odds ratio [OR], 0.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.03–0.90, P = 0.037) and SAT (OR, 0.16; 95% CI, 0.03–0.87, P = 0.034) were significantly associated with a higher objective response rate. Further, decreased risks of disease progression and death were associated with high VAT (hazard ratio [HR], 0.39; 95% CI, 0.17–0.92, P = 0.031, and HR, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.04–0.40, P < 0.001, respectively), SAT (HR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.15–0.83, P = 0.027, and HR, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.08–0.67, P = 0.007, respectively), and IMAT (HR, 0.20; 95% CI, 0.06–0.74, P = 0.016, and HR, 0.13; 95% CI, 0.03–0.62, P = 0.011, respectively).

Conclusions
High areas of VAT, SAT, and IMAT were significantly associated with better outcomes in patients with platinum-resistant or platinum-refractory ovarian cancer who received VEGFR inhibitors. AT assessments may be valuable as patient-specific imaging biomarkers for predicting response to VEGFR inhibitors.

Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02867956.
First confirmed occurrence of the yellow fever virus and dengue virus vector Aedes (Stegomyia) luteocephalus (Newstead, 1907) in Mozambique
Authors: Abílio Ana Paula , Kampango Ayubo , Armando Eliseu J. , Gudo Eduardo S. , das Neves Luís C. B. , Parreira Ricardo , Sidat Mohsin , Fafetine José M. , de Almeida António Paulo G. 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
Background
Mozambique, same as many other tropical countries, is at high risk of arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) diseases and recently two dengue virus (DENV) outbreaks occurred in the northern part of the country. The occurrence of some important vector species, such as Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (Linnaeus) and Ae. (Stg.) albopictus (Skuse), besides several other sylvatic vectors, have been reported in the country, which may indicate that the transmission of some arboviruses of public health importance may involve multiple-vector systems. Therefore, knowing the occurrence and distribution of existing and the new important vectors species, is crucial for devising systematic transmission surveillance and vector control approaches. The aim of this study was to map the occurrence and distribution of mosquito species with potential for transmitting arboviruses of human and veterinary relevance in Niassa Province, Northern Mozambique.

Methods
Field entomological surveys were undertaken in April 2016 in Lago District, Niassa Province, northern Mozambique. Breeding sites of mosquitoes were inspected and immature stages were collected and reared into adult. Mosquitoes in the adult stages were morphologically identified using taxonomic keys. Morphological identification of Aedes (Stegomyia) luteocephalus (Newstead) were later confirmed using dissected male genitalia and molecular based on the phylogenetic analyses of the sequenced barcode (cox1 mtDNA) gene.

Results
A total of 92 mosquito larvae collected developed into adults. Of these, 16 (17.39%) were morphologically identified as Ae. luteocephalus. The remaining specimens belonged to Ae. (Stg.) aegypti (n = 4, 4.35%), Ae. (Aedimorphus) vittatus (n = 24, 26.09%), Anopheles garnhami (n = 1, 1.09%), Culex (Culiciomyia) nebulosus (n = 28, 30.43%), Eretmapodites subsimplicipes (n = 18, 19.57%) and Toxorhynchites brevipalpis (n = 1, 1.09%), taxa already known to the country. Male genitalia and phylogenetic analyses confirmed the identity of Ae. luteocephalus specimens collected in this study.

Conclusions
To our knowledge, this is the first detection of Ae. luteocephalus in Mozambican territory, a vector species of yellow fever virus (YFV), Zika virus (ZIKV) and dengue virus (DENV) in Africa. Further studies are encouraged to investigate the role of Ae. luteocephalus in the transmission of arboviral diseases in Mozambique.
Advantages of using a prophylactic epidural closed drain and non-watertight dura suture in a craniotomy near the “parietal site”
Authors: Li Xin , Li Jing , Sui Jianfei , Niyazi Tuerdialimu , Yalikun Naibijiang , Wang Shuo 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
Background
In neurosurgery, the necessity of having a drainage tube is controversial. Subgaleal fluid collection (SFC) often occurs, especially in a craniotomy near the “parietal site”.
This study aimed to reassess the benefit of using a prophylactic epidural drainage (ED) and non-watertight dura suture in a craniotomy near the parietal site.

Methods
A retrospective review was conducted on 63 consecutive patients who underwent a craniotomy near the parietal site. The patients were divided into two groups according to different period. The deal group received ED and a non-watertight dura suture (drain group, DG), the control group that did not (non-drain group, NDG). Complications and patient recovery were evaluated and analysed.

Results
Three patients (11.5%, 26) in DG and 20 patients (54.1%, 37) in NDG presented with SFC (p < 0.05). One patient (3.8%) in DG and three patients (8.1%) in NDG presented with subdural tensile hydrops (STH) (p > 0.05). Six developed an infection in NDG (four intracranial infections, one abscess, one pulmonary infection), while none in DG (p > 0.05) developed infection. Three (11.5%) cases in DG and one (2.7%) case in NDG had muscle strength that improved postoperatively (p > 0.05). Fifteen (57.7%) in DG and 14 (37.8%) in NDG had epileptic seizures less frequently postoperatively (p < 0.05). The average temperature (37.4 °C vs 37.6 °C, p > 0.05), the maximum temperature (37.9 °C vs 38.1 °C, p > 0.05) on 3 PODs, the postoperative hospital stay day (7.5 days vs 8.0 days, p > 0.05), and the postoperative medicine fee (¥29762.0 vs ¥28321.0, p > 0.05) were analysed.

Conclusion
In patients who undergo a craniotomy near the parietal site, the prophylactic use of ED and a non-watertight dura suture helps reduce SFC, infection, and control epilepsy.
Scarlett Letter: A study based on experience of stigma by COVID-19 patients in quarantine
Authors: Imran Nazish , Afzal Hadia , Aamer Irum , Hashmi Ali Madeeh , Shabbir Bilquis , Asif Aftab , Farooq. Saeed 
Published: October 2020

Background and Objectives: Stigma around COVID-19 is a major barrier in global efforts to control the COVID 19 pandemic. Limited data is available regarding stigma faced by COVID-19 patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). The aim of the current study was to explore the stigma experienced by hospitalized patients with COVID-19 illness in Lahore, Pakistan.
Methods: Following Institutional Review Board approval and informed consent, patients were assessed using modified HIV short form stigma scale and open-ended questions. Questions focused on experiences, feelings, and opinions as to how patients feel and how they were treated prior to and during the hospitalization. Data analysis for quantitative data was performed using SPSS-20, while qualitative responses were interpreted by content analysis method.
Results: One hundred and fourteen patients were interviewed (Mean age 38.8 years + 15.3) with 53.5% being males. Widespread experience of stigma was reported by patients particularly for concerns about public attitudes (7.43 + 1.43) & disclosure (6.89 + 1.45). Main themes which emerged from the qualitative responses were social stigma and rejection, humiliating behaviour of others, breach of confidentiality, loss of trust/ respect, and impact of COVID-19 diagnosis on their business.
Conclusions: Existence of significant stigma among COVID-19 patients isolated in a tertiary care hospital in a LMIC highlights the need for culturally sensitive strategies to address it.
doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.7.3606
How to cite this:Imran N, Afzal H, Aamer I, Hashmi A, Shabbir B, Asif A, et al. Scarlett Letter: A study based on experience of stigma by COVID-19 patients in quarantine. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(7):1471-1477. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.7.3606
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You: An Empirical Study of Caller Behavior Under a Callback Option
Authors: Hathaway Brett A. , Emadi Seyed M. , Deshpande Vinayak 
Published: October 2020

Although call centers have recently invested in callback technology, the effects of this innovation on call center performance are not clearly understood. In this paper, we take a data-driven approach to quantify the operational impact of offering callbacks under a variety of callback policies. To achieve this goal, we formulate a structural model of the caller decision-making process under a callback option and impute their underlying preferences from data. Our model estimates shed light on caller preferences under a callback option. We find that callers experience three to six times less discomfort per unit of time while waiting for callbacks than while waiting in queue, suggesting that offering callbacks can increase service quality by channeling callers to an alternative service channel where they experience less discomfort while waiting. However, after controlling for expected waiting times, callers generally prefer waiting in a queue over accepting a callback and waiting offline. This suggests that managers of this call center may want to spend efforts in educating their customers on the benefits of the callback option. Using the callers’ imputed preferences, we are able to conduct counterfactual analyses of how various callback policies affect the performance of this call center. We find that in this call center, offering to hold the callers’ spot in line or to call back within a window (guaranteed timeframe) reduces average online waiting time (the average time callers wait on the phone) by up to 71% and improves service quality by decreasing callers’ average incurred waiting cost by up to 46%. Moreover, we find that offering callbacks as a demand postponement strategy during periods of temporary congestion reduces average online waiting time by up to 86%, increases service quality by up to 54%, and increases system throughput by up to 2.1%. This paper was accepted by Vishal Gaur, operations management.
The Bayesian Prophet: A Low-Regret Framework for Online Decision Making
Authors: Vera Alberto , Banerjee Siddhartha 
Published: October 2020

We develop a new framework for designing online policies given access to an oracle providing statistical information about an off-line benchmark. Having access to such prediction oracles enables simple and natural Bayesian selection policies and raises the question as to how these policies perform in different settings. Our work makes two important contributions toward this question: First, we develop a general technique we call compensated coupling, which can be used to derive bounds on the expected regret (i.e., additive loss with respect to a benchmark) for any online policy and off-line benchmark. Second, using this technique, we show that a natural greedy policy, which we call the Bayes selector, has constant expected regret (i.e., independent of the number of arrivals and resource levels) for a large class of problems we refer to as “online allocation with finite types,” which includes widely studied online packing and online matching problems. Our results generalize and simplify several existing results for online packing and online matching and suggest a promising pathway for obtaining oracle-driven policies for other online decision-making settings. This paper was accepted by George Shanthikumar, big data analytics.
Risk-Mitigating Technologies: The Case of Radiation Diagnostic Devices
Authors: Galasso Alberto , Luo Hong 
Published: October 2020

We study the impact of consumers’ risk perception on firm innovation. Our analysis exploits a major surge in the perceived risk of radiation diagnostic devices following extensive media coverage of a set of overradiation accidents involving computed tomography (CT) scanners in late 2009. Using data on radiation diagnostic device patents and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) product clearances, we find that the increased perception of radiation risk spurred the development of new technologies that mitigated such risk and led to a greater number of new products. Using CT scanners as a case study, we provide an in-depth characterization of two different types of risk-mitigating technologies that firms developed after the shock. Firm-level analysis shows that, although firms were similarly responsive in their patenting activities, large incumbents were significantly more responsive than smaller firms in terms of new product introductions, and, in the case of CT scanners, large incumbents were also significantly more responsive in terms of the more radical type of risk-mitigating technologies. We also provide qualitative evidence and describe patterns of equipment usage and upgrade that are consistent with increased risk perception and, consequently, a greater willingness to pay for safety. Overall, our findings suggest that changes in risk perception can be an important driver of innovation, can shape the direction of technological progress, and can impact market structure. This paper was accepted by Ashish Arora, entrepreneurship and innovation.
Do IPO Firms Misclassify Expenses? Implications for IPO Price Formation and Post-IPO Stock Performance
Authors: Liu Xiaotao (Kelvin) , Wu Biyu 
Published: October 2020

This study investigates whether initial public offering (IPO) firms inflate “core” earnings through classification shifting (i.e., misclassifying core expenses as income-decreasing special items) immediately prior to IPOs. We provide initial evidence that IPO firms engage in classification shifting in the pre-IPO period. Using hand-collected price and share information from IPO prospectuses, we find that pre-IPO classification shifting is positively associated with a price revision from the midpoint of the initial price range to the final offer price, suggesting that pre-IPO classification shifting influences IPO price formation. Furthermore, we find that pre-IPO classification shifting is negatively associated with post-IPO stock returns. Overall, our findings caution investors, auditors, and regulators that classification shifting, a seemingly innocuous accounting maneuver, can mislead investors in their IPO valuation and is associated with post-IPO underperformance. This paper was accepted by Brian Bushee, accounting.
An Axiomatization of the Proportional Rule in Financial Networks
Authors: Csóka Péter , Herings P. Jean-Jacques 
Published: October 2020

The most important rule to determine payments in real-life bankruptcy problems is the proportional rule. Many such bankruptcy problems are characterized by network aspects, and the values of the agents’ assets are endogenous as they depend on the extent to which claims on other agents can be collected. These network aspects make an axiomatic analysis challenging. This paper is the first to provide an axiomatization of the proportional rule in financial networks. Our main axiom is invariance to mitosis. The other axioms are claims boundedness, limited liability, priority of creditors, continuity, and impartiality. This paper was accepted by Manel Baucells, decision analysis.
Theory and Development of a VRI Decision Support System: The USDA-ARS ISSCADA Approach
Authors: Evett Steven R. , O’Shaughnessy Susan A. , Andrade Manuel A. , Colaizzi Paul D. , Schwartz Robert C. , Schomberg Harry S. , Stone Kenneth C. , Vories Earl D. , Sui Ruixiu 
Published: October 2020

HighlightsMulti-faceted research efforts converged to an automated irrigation decision support system (DSS).Low-cost, solar-powered, wireless plant abiotic and biotic stress sensors were developed to aid the DSS.Low-cost, accurate TDR soil water sensors and a wireless node and gateway system were developed for the DSS.Sensor systems and research-based algorithms were integrated into an automated irrigation DSS and control system.Abstract. Variable-rate irrigation (VRI) is now possible with every new center pivot irrigation system sold, either using sector (speed) control or both sector and zone (radial along the pipeline) control. However, decision support systems able to generate a prescription for spatially varying irrigation based on crop water need have lagged far behind VRI equipment. Irrigation based on crop water need has been shown to increase both crop water productivity and nutrient use efficiency, meaning that an effective VRI decision support system (DSS) could improve profitability while conserving resources. In this article, we report separately on a VRI DSS using sensor-based plant and soil water feedback as implemented in four U.S. states. This article describes the genesis and development of the Irrigation Scheduling Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (ISSCADA) system, of the integral plant and soil sensors, and of its wireless sensor network subsystems, as well as the role of multi-location research efforts and cooperative research and development agreements in the development of the needed plant and soil sensors and the ISSCADA and wireless sensor network systems. Keywords: Crop water productivity, Decision support system, Product development, Sensors, Variable-rate irrigation, VRI.