bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of International Contemporary Operative Outcomes and Management Trends Associated With Esophagectomy
Authors: Kuppusamy Madhan K. , Low Donald E. ,   On Behalf of the International Esodata Study Group (IESG)
Published: October 2020

Objective:
This study aims to verify the utility of international online datasets to benchmark and monitor treatment and outcomes in major oncologic procedures.

Background:
The Esophageal Complication Consensus Group (ECCG) has standardized the reporting of complications after esophagectomy within the web-based Esodata.org database. This study will utilize the Esodata dataset to update contemporary outcomes and to monitor trends in practice in an era of rapid technical change.

Methods:
This observational study, based on a prospectively developed specific database, updates esophagectomy outcomes collected between 2015 and 2018. Evolution in patient and operative demographics, treatment, complications, and quality outcome measures were compared between patients undergoing surgery in 2015 to 2016 and 2017 to 2018.

Results:
Between 2015 and 2018, 6022 esophagectomies from 39 centers were entered into Esodata. Most patients were male (78.3%) with median age 63. Patients having minimally invasive esophagectomy constituted 3177 (52.8%), a chest anastomosis 3838 (63.7%), neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy 2834 (48.7%), and R0 resections 5441 (93.5%). For quality measures, 30- and 90-day mortality was 2.0% and 4.5%, readmissions 9.7%, transfusions 12%, escalation in care 22.1%, and discharge home 89.4%. Trends in quality measures between 2015 and 2016 (2407 patients) and 2017 and 2018 (3318 patients) demonstrated significant (P < 0.05) improvements in readmissions 11.1% to 8.5%, blood transfusions 14.3% to 10.2%, and escalation in care from 24.5% to 20% A significantly (P < 0.05) reduced incidence in pneumonia (15.3%–12.8%) and renal failure (1.0%–0.4%) was observed. Anastomotic leak rates increased from 11.7% to 13.1%, whereas leaks requiring surgery decreased 3.3% and 3.0%, respectively.

Conclusions:
The Esodata database provides a valuable resource for assessing contemporary international outcomes. This study highlights an increased application of minimally invasive approaches, a high percentage of complications, improvements in pneumonia and key quality metrics, but with anastomotic leak rates still >10%.
Development and Validation of a Predictive Model for Internal Hernia After Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass in a Multicentric Retrospective Cohort
Authors: Giudicelli Guillaume , Poletti Pierre-Alexandre , Platon Alexandra , Marescaux Jacques , Vix Michel , Diana Michele , Lapergola Alfonso , Worreth Marc , Saadi Alend , Bugmann Aurélie , Morel Philippe , Toso Christian , Mönig Stefan , Hagen Monika E. , Jung Minoa K. 
Published: October 2020

Objective:
The aim of this study was to develop and validate a prediction score for internal hernia (IH) after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB).

Summary Background Data:
The clinical diagnosis of IH is challenging. A sensitivity of 63% to 92% was reported for computed tomography (CT).

Methods:
Consecutive patients admitted for abdominal pain after RYGB and undergoing CT and surgical exploration were included retrospectively. Potential clinical predictors and radiological signs of IH were entered in binary logistic regression analysis to determine a predictive score of surgically confirmed IH in the Geneva training set (January 2006–December 2014), and validated in 3 centers, Geneva (January 2015–December 2017) and Neuchâtel and Strasbourg (January 2012–December 2017).

Results:
Two hundred twenty-eight patients were included, 80 of whom (35.5%) had surgically confirmed IH, 38 (16.6%) had a negative laparoscopy, and 110 (48.2%) had an alternate diagnosis. In the training set of 61 patients, excess body weight loss >95% (odds ratio [OR] 6.73, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.13–39.96), swirl sign (OR 8.93, 95% CI: 2.30–34.70), and free liquid (OR 4.53, 95% CI: 1.08–19.0) were independent predictors of IH. Area under the curve (AUC) of the score was 0.799. In the validation set of 167 patients, AUC was 0.846. A score ≥2 was associated with an IH incidence of 60.7% (34/56), and 5.3% (3/56) had a negative laparoscopy.

Conclusions:
The score could be incorporated in the clinical setting. To reduce the risk of delayed IH diagnosis, emergency explorative laparoscopy in patients with a score ≥ 2 should be considered.
Is Hospital Occupancy Rate Associated With Postoperative Outcomes Among Patients Undergoing Hepatopancreatic Surgery?
Authors: Hyer J. Madison , Paredes Anghela Z. , Tsilimigras Diamantis , Pawlik Timothy M. 
Published: October 2020

Objective:
To define the association between hospital occupancy rate and postoperative outcomes among patients undergoing hepatopancreatic (HP) resection.

Summary Background Data:
Previous studies have sought to identify hospital-level characteristics associated with optimal surgical outcomes and decreased expenditures. The present study utilized a novel hospital quality metric coined “occupancy rate” based on publicly available data to assess differences in postoperative outcomes among Medicare beneficiaries undergoing HP procedures.

Methods:
Medicare beneficiaries who underwent an elective HP surgery between 2013 and 2017 were identified. Occupancy rate was calculated and hospitals were categorized into quartiles. Multivariable logistic regression was utilized to assess the association between occupancy rate and clinical outcomes.

Results:
Among 33,866 patients, the majority underwent a pancreatic resection (58.5%; n = 19,827), were male (88.4%; n = 7,488), or white (88.4%; n = 29,950); median age was 72 years [interquartile range (IQR): 68–77] and median Charleston Comorbidity Index was 3 (IQR 2–8). Hospitals were categorized into quartiles based on hospital occupancy rate (cutoffs: 48.1%, 59.4%, 68.2%). Most patients underwent an HP operation at a hospital with an above average occupancy rate (n = 20,865, 61.6%), whereas only a small subset of patients had an HP procedure at a low occupancy rate hospital (n = 1,218, 3.6%). On multivariable analysis, low hospital occupancy rate was associated with increased odds of a complication [(OR) 1.35, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.18–1.55) and 30-day mortality (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.27–1.97). Even among only high-volume HP hospitals, patients operated on at hospitals that had a low occupancy rate were at markedly higher risk of complications (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.03–1.97), as well as 30 day morality (OR 2.20, 95% CI 1.27–3.83).

Conclusions:
Among Medicare beneficiaries undergoing an elective HP resection, more than 1 in 4 hospitals performing HP surgeries utilized less than half of their beds on average. There was a monotonic relationship between hospital occupancy rate and the odds ofexperiencing a complication, as well as 30-day mortality, independent of other hospital level characteristics including procedural volume.
Development and validation of a five-factor score for prediction of pathologic pneumatosis
Authors: Rieser Caroline J. , Dadashzadeh Esmaeel R. , Handzel Robert M. , Clancy Kadie J. , Kaltenmeier Christof T. , Moses JB , Forsythe Raquel M. , Wu Shandong , Rosengart Matthew R. 
Published: October 2020

BACKGROUND
The significance of pneumatosis intestinalis (PI) remains challenging. While certain clinical scenarios are predictive of transmural ischemia, risk models to assess the presence of pathologic PI are needed. The aim of this study was to determine what patient factors at the time of radiographic diagnosis of PI predict the risk for pathologic PI.

METHODS
We conducted a retrospective cohort study examining patients with PI from 2010 to 2016 at a multicenter hospital network. Multivariate logistic regression was used to develop a predictive model for pathologic PI in a derivation cohort. Using regression-coefficient–based methods, the final multivariate model was converted into a five-factor–based score. Calibration and discrimination of the score were then assessed in a validation cohort.

RESULTS
Of 305 patients analyzed, 102 (33.4%) had pathologic PI. We identified five factors associated with pathologic PI at the time of radiographic diagnosis: small bowel PI, age 70 years or older, heart rate 110 bpm or greater, lactate of 2 mmol/L or greater, and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio 10 or greater. Using this model, patients in the validation cohort were assigned risk scores ranging from 0 to 11. Low-risk patients were categorized when scores are 0 to 4; intermediate, score of 5 to 6; high, score of 7 to 8; and very high risk, 9+. In the validation cohort, very high-risk patients (n = 17; 18.1%) had predicted rates of pathologic pneumatosis of 88.9% and an observed rate of 82.4%. In contrast, patients labeled as low risk (n = 37; 39.4%) had expected rates of pathologic pneumatosis of 1.3% and an observed rate of 0%. The model showed excellent discrimination (area under the curve, 0.90) and good calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit, p = 0.37).

CONCLUSION
Our score accurately stratifies patient risk of pathologic pneumatosis. This score has the potential to target high-risk individuals for expedient operation and spare low-risk individuals invasive interventions.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
Prognostic Study, Level III.
Dihydro-alpha-lipoic acid binds to human serum albumin at Sudlow I binding site
Authors: Gligorijević Nikola , Šukalović Vladimir , Miljuš Goran , Nedić Olgica , Penezić Ana 
Published: October 2020

ABSTRACTBinding of dihydro-alpha-lipoic acid (DHLA) to human serum albumin (HSA) was characterised in detail in this study. Binding process was monitored by spectroscopic methods and molecular docking approach. HSA binds DHLA with moderate affinity, 0.80 ± 0.007 × 104M−1. Spectroscopic data demonstrated that the preferential binding site for DHLA on HSA is IIA (Sudlow I). Hydrogen bonds and electrostatic interactions were identified as the key binding interactions. DHLA binding thermally stabilized HSA, yet it had no effect on HSA structure and its susceptibility to trypsin digestion. Molecular docking confirmed that Sudlow I site accommodated DHLA in a certain conformation in order for binding to occur. Molecular dynamic simulation showed that formed complex is stable. Reported results offer future perspectives for investigations regarding the use of DHLA as a dietary intervention but also raise concerns about the effectiveness of alpha-lipoic acid and DHLA in treatment of patients with COVID-19.
Place cells in head-fixed mice navigating a floating real-world environment
Authors: Go Mary Ann , Rogers Jake , Gava Giuseppe P. , Davey Catherine , Prado Seigfred , Liu Yu , Schultz Simon R. 
Published: October 2020

ABSTRACTThe hippocampal place cell system in rodents has provided a major paradigm for the scientific investigation of memory function and dysfunction. Place cells have been observed in area CA1 of the hippocampus of both freely moving animals, and of head-fixed animals navigating in virtual reality environments. However, spatial coding in virtual reality preparations has been observed to be impaired. Here we show that the use of a real-world environment system for head-fixed mice, consisting of a track floating on air, provides some advantages over virtual reality systems for the study of spatial memory. We imaged the hippocampus of head-fixed mice injected with the genetically encoded calcium indicator GCaMP6s while they navigated circularly constrained or open environments on the floating platform. We observed consistent place tuning in a substantial fraction of cells with place fields remapping when animals entered a different environment. When animals re-entered the same environment, place fields typically remapped over a time period of multiple days, faster than in freely moving preparations, but comparable with virtual reality. Spatial information rates were within the range observed in freely moving mice. Manifold analysis indicated that spatial information could be extracted from a low-dimensional subspace of the neural population dynamics. This is the first demonstration of place cells in head-fixed mice navigating on an air-lifted real-world platform, validating its use for the study of brain circuits involved in memory and affected by neurodegenerative disorders.
The Brain Knows enough to take into account Light and Shadow
Authors: Yamamoto Masahiro , Shimojo Shinsuke 
Published: October 2020

ABSTRACTVisual perception requires to infer object and light source color to maintain constancy. This study demonstrates the influences of environmental sunlight color trajectory (blue-white-yellow-red), and associated color of scattered light in shadows on color perception. In Adelson’s checkerboard shadow illusion, squares of equal luminance appear lighter or darker depending on whether they are inside or outside a cast shadow1. In some color variations, illusion magnitude is attenuated by specific colors of the cast shadow. Particularly in the green monotone environment (green checkerboard under green ambient and diffusion light), illusion magnitude reduces down nearly to zero. In contrast, shading by structure is not affected by the color environment. Thus, the cast shadow and shading by structure have distinct effects on surface color constancy. This illusion attenuation may be related to the absence of green in the natural environmental light spectrum, including in cast shadows. The brain may utilize the implicit learned trajectory of natural light to resolve ambiguity in surface reflectance. Our results provide a new formula not only to understand, but also to generate new variations of other illusions such as #The Dress.
Similarity isometries of point packings
Authors: Arias Jeanine Concepcion H. , Loquias Manuel Joseph C. 
Published: October 2020

A linear isometryRof {\bb R}^{d} is called a similarity isometry of a lattice \Gamma\subseteq{\bb R}^{d} if there exists a positive real number β such that βRΓ is a sublattice of (finite index in) Γ. The set βRΓ is referred to as a similar sublattice of Γ. A (crystallographic) point packing generated by a lattice Γ is a union of Γ with finitely many shifted copies of Γ. In this study, the notion of similarity isometries is extended to point packings. A characterization for the similarity isometries of point packings is provided and the corresponding similar subpackings are identified. Planar examples are discussed, namely the 1 × 2 rectangular lattice and the hexagonal packing (or honeycomb lattice). Finally, similarity isometries of point packings about points different from the origin are considered by studying similarity isometries of shifted point packings. In particular, similarity isometries of a certain shifted hexagonal packing are computed and compared with those of the hexagonal packing.
Relationship meaningfulness and social loafing in Mexican workers
Authors: Hernandez-Pozas Olivia 
Published: October 2020

PurposeThis paper examines social loafing (SL) in Mexican workers, introducing relationship meaningfulness (RM) and revisiting the impact of expectation on co-workers (ECW) and task meaningfulness (TM) on SL.Design/methodology/approachThis research study used 697 questionnaires reporting results on descriptive statistics, correlations and the analysis of variance (ANOVA).FindingsResults indicated that ECW, RM and SL are negatively related and there is no significant relationship between TM and SL for the Mexican sample.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper links three relevant fields: SL, work meaningfulness (WM) and Latin American management and expands workplace theories of effort by adding RM and demonstrating this negatively relates to SL. Also, by showing RM may be more relevant than TM on reducing SL in Mexican workers.Practical implicationsThis paper assists in the control for conditions that can cause SL and helps to devise interventions that motivate Mexican workers.Originality/valueNovelty resides in the inclusion of RM as a new variable in SL studies. Also, in showing how RM fits better than TM as means to motivate Mexican workers, connecting with WM. Finally, proving relevance of examining co-workers and not only supervisors' evaluations.
Internalization of quality in public organizations
Authors: Tarí Juan José , Molina-Azorín José F. , Pereira-Moliner Jorge , López-Gamero María D. 
Published: October 2020

PurposeThis paper examines the relationships between: (1) motives for internalization of a quality system, (2) the internalization of a quality system and (3) customer results, employee results and social results in public organizations by means of replication researchDesign/methodology/approachFirst, the work applies a quantitative study to test hypotheses using structural equations based on the Partial Least Squares (PLS) approach. Then, a qualitative study is carried out to support the quantitative results obtainedFindingsResults show that internal and external motives affect internalization, and that the most important issues for internalization are commitment, communication, training, recognition and follow-up. In addition, continuous improvement is key in order to enhance customer results, employee results and social resultsOriginality/valueThe contribution of this work is that it provides empirical support to prior research on internalization focused on manufacturing and service organizations, and extends these results to the case of public organizations
A literature review of DEA efficiency methodology in defence sector
Authors: Solana Ibáñez José , Caravaca Garratón Manuel , Soto Meca Antonio 
Published: October 2020

PurposeThe improvement in the efficiency of public management leads to an increase in the quality of services, boosting confidence in institutions and thus generating a multiplier effect. This paper aims to update the literature on the data envelopment analysis (DEA), which uses a frontier methodology, for measuring the efficiency applied to the defence sector.Design/methodology/approachTwo main research areas are related through this study: Defence Economics and Efficiency and Productivity Analysis. The frontier methods for measuring technical efficiency are grouped into parametric, non-parametric and semi-parametric. The DEA literature review in the selected sector allows to identify three main fields of work that are discussed in detail.FindingsExisting empirical research has hardly applied bootstrapping methods to remove bias from the estimates. No empirical work has applied an analysis of efficiency determinants by the inclusion of exogenous variables.Originality/valueThe managerial implications of efficiency are numerous. A line of research is proposed to examine the extent to which efficiency improvements have an impact on reputation and, therefore, on the image of and confidence in institutions. The link between Defence Economics and Corruption Economics is also considered.
Recruiting passionate job seekers for better performance
Authors: David Jannifer Gregory 
Published: October 2020

PurposeThis research examines how job seekers' levels of harmonious work passion (HWP) and obsessive work passion (OWP) affect the importance job seekers place upon job and organizational elements in recruiting messages.Design/methodology/approachEmployees who had recently completed job searches read multiple recruiting messages and ranked the importance of different elements in the messages.FindingsGeneral linear modeling found statistical differences between the importance of recruiting message elements for participants with varying levels of HWP and OWP.Research limitations/implicationsThe participants were information technology, engineering and human resource professionals limiting the generalizability of these results to other professions.Practical implicationsRecruiters should vary the information in their recruiting messages depending on the levels of HWP and OWP they want to attract to their applicant pools.Originality/valueThis research adds harmonious and obsessive work passion to the constructs considered in the recruiting message development process.
4D BIM models for smart utility relocation management in urban infrastructure projects
Authors: Vilventhan Aneetha , Razin Sanu , Rajadurai R. 
Published: October 2020

Purpose
The relocation of existing underground utilities in urban environments is complex because of the existence of multiple utility agencies being responsible for numerous utilities and over constrained space and time to execute maintenance works. Unfamiliar location and insufficient records of maintenance data hamper the flow of work, causing unnecessary delays and conflicts. The aim of the paper is to explore 4 dimensional Building Information Modeling as a smart solution for the management of multiple utility data for a relocation project in an urban setting.

Design/methodology/approach
An empirical case-based research methodology is used to collect data and develop the BIM models. Two ongoing construction projects in an urban city are empirically studied, and 4D BIM models of identified utilities are developed to assist management and relocation of existing utilities.

Findings
The developed BIM models enabled the location of existing sub-surface utilities through 3D visualization and also enabled clash detection. The 4D simulation of BIM model enabled the tracking of actual progress of relocation works and thereby helped in taking necessary actions to minimize forthcoming delays. The evaluation of the developed model showed that the application of 4D BIM improved communication and coordination during utility relocation works.

Practical implications
4D BIM for utility infrastructure provides better management of utility information. They provide utility stakeholders an efficient way to coordinate, manage utility relocation processes through improved visualization and communication with a reduction in delays and conflicts.

Originality/value
Limited efforts were made using 3D BIM for sub-surface utility infrastructure in visualization and management of utility information. Efforts using 4D BIM in coordination and management of utility projects are left unexplored. This study adds value to the current literature through the application of 4D BIM for utility relocation projects.