bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Canadian Registry of Electronic Device Outcomes: remote monitoring outcomes in the Abbott battery performance alert—a multicentre cohort
Authors: Kumar Sharath , Davis Jason , Thibault Bernard , Mangat Iqwal , Coutu Benoit , Bennett Matthew , Philippon Francois , Sandhu Roopinder , Sterns Laurence , Essebag Vidal , Nery Pablo , Wells George , Yee Raymond , Exner Derek , Krahn Andrew , Parkash Ratika 
Published: January 2021

Abstract

Aims
Cardiac implantable electronic devices with device advisories have the potential of device malfunction. Remote monitoring (RM) of devices has been suggested to allow the identification of abnormal device performance and permit early intervention. We sought to describe the outcomes of patients with and without RM in devices subject to the Abbott Premature Battery Depletion (PBD) advisory with data from a Canadian registry.

Methods and results
Patients with an Abbott device subject to the PBD advisory from nine implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implanting centres in Canada were included in the registry. The use of RM was identified from baseline and follow-up data in the registry. The primary outcome was detection of PBD and all-cause mortality. A total of 2666 patients were identified with a device subject to the advisory. In all, 1687 patients (63.2%) had RM at baseline. There were 487 deaths during follow-up. At a mean follow-up of 5.7 ± 0.7 years, mortality was higher in those without a remote monitor compared with RM at baseline (24.7% vs. 14.5%; P &lt; 0.001). Pre-mature battery depletion was identified in 36 patients (2.1%) with RM vs. 7 (0.7%) without RM (P = 0.004). Time to battery replacement was significantly reduced in patients on RM (median 5 vs. 13 days, P = 0.001).

Conclusion
The use of RM in patients with ICD and cardiac resynchronization therapy under advisory improved detection of PBD, time to device replacement, and was associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality. The factors influencing the association with mortality are unknown and deserve further study.
National recruitment system for pre-registration pharmacist trainees in England and Wales: context, process and outcomes
Authors: Paudyal Vibhu , Gunner Ellie , Bowen Matthew , Dehele Inderpal , Shamim Atif , Khan Khalid , Fleming Gail 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
In England and Wales, a new National Recruitment Scheme (NRS) for pre-registration pharmacists was introduced in 2017. The NRS replaced the traditional method of employer-led recruitment or the national recruitment system previously limited to some hospital training programmes. NRS uses assessment methodology involving Multiple-Mini Interviews, Situational Judgement Tests and numeracy skills in ranking and appointing candidates to their preferred training providers through a centralised procedure. This commentary will describe the background, assessment methodology, outcomes of preliminary evaluations and priority research areas for the future in the context of the NRS.
Calculating prescription rates and addiction probabilities for the four most commonly prescribed opioids and evaluating their impact on addiction using compartment modelling
Authors: Rivas Samantha R , Tessner Alex C , Goldwyn Eli E 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
In 2016, more than 11 million Americans abused prescription opioids. The National Institute on Drug Abuse considers the opioid crisis a national addiction epidemic, as an increasing number of people are affected each year. Using the framework developed in mathematical modelling of infectious diseases, we create and analyse a compartmental opioid-abuse model consisting of a system of ordinary differential equations. Since $40\%$ of opioid overdoses are caused by prescription opioids, our model includes prescription compartments for the four most commonly prescribed opioids, as well as for the susceptible, addicted and recovered populations. While existing research has focused on drug abuse models in general and opioid models with one prescription compartment, no previous work has been done comparing the roles that the most commonly prescribed opioids have had on the crisis. By combining data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (which tracked the proportion of people who used or misused one of the four individual opioids) with data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (which counted the total number of prescriptions), we estimate prescription rates and probabilities of addiction for the four most commonly prescribed opioids. Additionally, we perform a sensitivity analysis and reallocate prescriptions to determine which opioid has the largest impact on the epidemic. Our results indicate that oxycodone prescriptions are both the most likely to lead to addiction and have the largest impact on the size of the epidemic, while hydrocodone prescriptions had the smallest impact.
Prescribing practices at a secondary healthcare setting of Islamabad, Pakistan: a descriptive cross-sectional study
Authors: Abbas Mateen , Inam Ayisha , Tahira Erum , Qamar Hiba , Shakil Javeria , Bashir Samra 
Published: January 2021

Abstract

Objectives
Irrational drug utilization is one of the key factors behind therapeutic failure, the emergence of antibiotic resistance, and a high incidence of adverse effects worldwide. This study was designed to assess drug use patterns, based on World Health Organization (WHO)/INRUD core drug use indicators and some additional parameters, in the secondary healthcare hospital of Islamabad, Pakistan.

Methods
The outpatient department (OPD) of the healthcare facility was randomly visited from December 2019 to March 2020 to prospectively collect data from the prescriptions and conduct patient interviews. A total of 2290 prescriptions were included in this study. The data analysis was done through SPSS software v23.0.

Key findings
The average number of drugs prescribed per encounter was 3.37. Polypharmacy was positively correlated with the age of the patients. Only 4.8% of the drugs were prescribed by generic name. There was frequent (41.5%) use of antibodies. However, the proportion of injectable drugs (12.3%) was within the optimum limit. Essential components of a prescription notably diagnosis, dosage form, method of administration, and duration of therapy were frequently missing. 87% of the prescribed drugs were from the National Essential Medicines List. 80% of the total prescribed drugs were available in the hospital pharmacy. Only 30% of the patients had correct dosage information, while only 20% of the drugs were correctly labelled.

Conclusion
This study suggests frequent non-compliant prescribing practices including polypharmacy, use of a brand name, antibiotics overuse, compromised legibility and completeness of prescription and inadequate patient counselling and drug labelling, in the secondary healthcare hospital of Islamabad, Pakistan.
Small Mammals as Reservoir for Zoonotic Agents in Afghanistan
Authors: Essbauer Sandra , Baumann Kathrin , Schlegel Mathias , Faulde Michael K , Lewitzki Jens , Sauer Sabine C , Frangoulidis Dimitrios , Riehm J M , Dobler Gerhard , Teifke Jens P , Meyer Hermann , Ulrich Rainer G 
Published: January 2021

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Rodents and other small mammals can serve as reservoirs for a large number of zoonotic pathogens. A higher risk of infection with rodent-borne pathogens exists for humans with direct contact to rodents and/or their excretions, e.g., soldiers in operation areas. To date, little is known about endemic human pathogenic disease agents that are naturally associated with small mammals in Afghanistan. The aim of this study was to screen abundant rodents and insectivores collected from 2009 to 2012 in four field camps of the German Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) in Northern Afghanistan for the presence of different pathogens.

Materials and Methods
Isolated nucleic acids from ear pinna were screened by real-time PCR for spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae and from liver samples for Francisella spp., Coxiella burnetii, Brucella spp., Yersinia pestis, and poxvirus. Chest cavity lavage (CCL) samples were tested for antibodies against SFG and typhus group (TG) rickettsiae, as well as against flaviviruses using an indirect immunofluorescence assay.

Results
Rickettsial DNA was detected in 7/750 (1%) ear pinna samples with one being identified as Rickettsia conorii. Antibodies against SFG rickettsiae were detected in 15.3% (n = 67/439) of the small mammals; positive samples were only from house mice (Mus musculus). Antibodies against TG rickettsiae were found in 8.2% (n = 36/439) of the samples, with 35 from house mice and one from gray dwarf hamster (Cricetulus migratorius). Flavivirus-reactive antibodies were detected in 2.3% (n = 10/439) of the investigated CCL samples; again positive samples were exclusively identified in house mice. All 199 investigated liver-derived DNA preparations were negative in the Francisella spp., C. burnetii, Brucella spp., Y. pestis, and poxvirus-specific PCRs.

Conclusions
Further investigations will have to prove the potential value of rodents in army camps as sentinel animals.
Does the Unity of Grounding Matter?
Authors: Akhlaghi Farbod 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Is the notion of grounding arguably prevalent throughout moral philosophy the same as that found in metaphysics? Selim Berker has argued it is. This, he claims, has a ‘surprising’ consequence: many central claims in normative ethics become claims within both normative ethics and meta-ethics. I argue that whatever important consequences the unity of grounding may have for moral philosophy, it does not, pace Berker, entail anything significant regarding the relationship between normative ethics and meta-ethics.
Breaking the degeneracy between gas inflow and outflows with stellar metallicity: insights on M 101
Authors: Kang Xiaoyu , Chang Ruixiang , Kudritzki Rolf-Peter , Gong Xiaobo , Zhang Fenghui 
Published: January 2021

ABSTRACT
An analytical chemical evolution model is constructed to investigate the radial distribution of gas-phase and stellar metallicity for star-forming galaxies. By means of the model, the gas-phase and stellar metallicity can be obtained from the stellar-to-gas mass ratio. Both the gas inflow and outflow processes play an important role in building the final gas-phase metallicity, and there exists degeneracy effect between the gas inflow and outflow rates for star-forming galaxies. On the other hand, stellar metallicity is more sensitive to the gas outflow rate than to the gas inflow rate, and this helps to break the parameter degeneracy for star-forming galaxies. We apply this analysis method to the nearby disc galaxy M 101 and adopting the classical χ2 methodology to explore the influence of model parameters on the resulted metallicity. It can be found that the combination of gas-phase and stellar metallicity is indeed more effective for constraining the gas inflow and outflow rates. Our results also show that the model with relatively strong gas outflows but weak gas inflow describes the evolution of M 101 reasonably well.
Cosmic rays across the star-forming galaxy sequence – I. Cosmic ray pressures and calorimetry
Authors: Crocker Roland M , Krumholz Mark R , Thompson Todd A 
Published: January 2021

ABSTRACT
In the Milky Way (MW), cosmic rays (CRs) are dynamically important in the interstellar medium (ISM), contribute to hydrostatic balance, and may help regulate star formation. However, we know far less about the importance of CRs in galaxies whose gas content or star formation rate (SFR) differ significantly from those of the MW. Here, we construct self-consistent models for hadronic CR transport, losses, and contribution to pressure balance as a function of galaxy properties, covering a broad range of parameters from dwarfs to extreme starbursts. While the CR energy density increases from ∼1 eV cm−3 to ∼1 keV cm−3 over the range from sub-MW dwarfs to bright starbursts, strong hadronic losses render CRs increasingly unimportant dynamically as the SFR surface density increases. In MW-like systems, CR pressure is typically comparable to turbulent gas and magnetic pressure at the galactic mid-plane, but the ratio of CR to gas pressure drops to ∼10−3 in dense starbursts. Galaxies also become increasingly CR calorimetric and gamma-ray bright in this limit. The degree of calorimetry at fixed galaxy properties is sensitive to the assumed model for CR transport, and in particular to the time CRs spend interacting with neutral ISM, where they undergo strong streaming losses. We also find that in some regimes of parameter space hydrostatic equilibrium discs cannot exist, and in Paper II of this series we use this result to derive a critical surface in the plane of star formation surface density and gas surface density beyond which CRs may drive large-scale galactic winds.
Economic conditions, task shares, and overqualification
Authors: Summerfield Fraser 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
This article demonstrates that economic conditions affect job match quality by influencing the task shares of available jobs. Cognitive (reasoning/communication) and physical (sensory/coordination) task shares and education-based overqualification measures are generated from Canada’s Labour Force Survey, the Career Handbook, and the Occupational Information Network database. In unfavourable labour markets, cognitive task intensity decreases and physical task intensity rises. The task content of newly formed jobs is then shown to be an important empirical determinant of overqualification. A calibrated search model that accounts for these findings quantifies the costs of increased overqualification. Each percentage point increase in unemployment raises overqualification by 5.8 percentage points, partly due to changes in task shares. Economic output subsequently decreases by about 0.6%.
Performance of GeneXpert MTB/RIF for Diagnosing Tuberculosis Among Symptomatic Household Contacts of Index Patients in South Africa
Authors: Velen Kavindhran , Podewils Laura J , Shah N Sarita , Lewis James J , Dinake Tiro , Churchyard Gavin J , Reichler Mary , Charalambous Salome 
Published: January 2021

Abstract

Background
We describe the performance of GeneXpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) for diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) among symptomatic household contacts (HHCs) of rifampicin-resistant and drug-sensitive index cases.

Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional study among HHCs of recently diagnosed (&lt;2 weeks) smear-positive and Xpert-positive index cases in the Bojanala District, South Africa. The HHCs were screened for TB symptoms; persons with ≥1 TB symptom provided 1 sputum for smear microscopy, Xpert, and mycobacterial growth indicator tube (MGIT) culture. Diagnostic test performance of Xpert was determined using MGIT as the reference standard.

Results
From August 2013 to July 2015, 619 HHCs from 216 index cases were enrolled: 60.6% were female, median age was 22 years (interquartile range, 9–40), and 126 (20.4%) self-reported/tested human immunodeficiency virus positive. A total of 54.3% (336 of 619) of contacts had ≥1 TB symptom (cough, fever, night sweats, weight loss), 297 of 336 (88.4%) of which provided a sputum; 289 (97.3%) had complete testing and 271 were included in the analysis. In total, 42 (6.8%) of 619 HHCs had microbiologically confirmed TB. The MGIT identified 33 HHCs as positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis; of these, 7 were positive on Xpert resulting in a sensitivity of 21.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 9.0–38.9), specificity of 98.3% (95% CI, 95.6–99.5), positive predictive value of 63.6% (95% CI, 30.8–89.1), and negative predictive value of 90.0 (95% CI, 85.7–93.4).

Conclusions
Among symptomatic HHCs investigated for TB, Xpert performed suboptimally compared with MGIT culture. The poor performance of Xpert for diagnosing TB suggests that a more sensitive test, such a Xpert Ultra or culture, may be needed to improve yield of contact investigation, where feasible.
How the Field of Infectious Diseases Can Leverage Digital Strategy and Social Media Use During a Pandemic
Authors: Marcelin Jasmine R , Cortés-Penfield Nicolás , del Rio Carlos , Desai Angel , Echenique Ignacio , Granwehr Bruno , Lawal Folake , Kuriakose Kevin , Lee Dong Heun , Malinis Maricar , Ruidera Diandra , Siddiqui Javeed , Spec Andrej , Swartz Talia H 
Published: January 2021

AbstractRapid information dissemination is critical in a world changing rapidly due to global threats. Ubiquitous internet access has created new methods of information dissemination that are rapid, far-reaching, and universally accessible. However, inaccuracies may accompany rapid information dissemination, and rigorous evaluation of primary data through various forms of peer review is crucial. In an era in which high-quality information can save lives, it is critical that infectious diseases specialists are well versed in digital strategy to effectively disseminate information to colleagues and the community and diminish voices spreading misinformation. In this study, we review how social media can be used for rapid dissemination of quality information, benefits and pitfalls of social media use, and general recommendations for developing a digital strategy as an infectious diseases specialist. We will describe how the Infectious Diseases Society of America has leveraged digital strategy and social media and how individuals can amplify these resources to disseminate information, provide clinical knowledge, community guidance, and build their own person brand. We conclude in providing guidance to infectious diseases specialists in aiming to build and preserve public trust, consider their audience and specific goals, and use social media to highlight the value of the field of infectious diseases.
Intrinsic Justifications for Large-Cardinal Axioms
Authors: McCallum Rupert 
Published: January 2021

ABSTRACTWe shall defend three philosophical theses about the extent of intrinsic justification based on various technical results. We shall present a set of theorems which indicate intriguing structural similarities between a family of “weak” reflection principles roughly at the level of those considered by Tait and Koellner and a family of “strong” reflection principles roughly at the level of those of Welch and Roberts, which we claim to lend support to the view that the stronger reflection principles are intrinsically justified as well as the weaker ones. We consider connections with earlier work of Marshall.
Widespread Pain Hypersensitivity and Lumbopelvic Impairments in Women Diagnosed with Endometriosis
Authors: Lara-Ramos Ana , Álvarez-Salvago Francisco , Fernández-Lao Carolina , Galiano-Castillo Noelia , Ocón-Hernández Olga , Mazheika Maryna , Salinas-Asensio Ma Mar , Mundo-López Antonio , Arroyo-Morales Manuel , Cantarero-Villanueva Irene , Artacho-Cordón Francisco 
Published: January 2021

Abstract

Objective
To explore hypersensitivity to pain and musculoskeletal impairments in the lumbopelvic area in women with and without endometriosis.

Methods
This cross-sectional study included 66 women (41 women with endometriosis and 25 healthy women). Pain and related catastrophizing thoughts were assessed through a numeric rating scale, pressure pain thresholds (PPTs), the slump test, and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale. Lumbopelvic muscles were evaluated through ultrasound imaging, flexor/extensor resistance tests, and the lumbopelvic stability test.

Results
Women with endometriosis showed increased self-reported intensity of current pelvic pain (CuPP), reduced local PPTs (42.8–64.7% in the affected area, P-value &lt;.001) and higher prevalence of lumbar nerve root impingement/irritation pain and catastrophizing thoughts (P-value ≤.002). Moreover, affected women showed decreased thickness of transversus abdominis, reduced resistance of flexor and extensor trunk muscles and lower lumbopelvic stability (P-values &lt;.030). Endometriosis stage and severity of CuPP were related to worse results in these parameters.

Conclusions
The presence of pain sensitization signs and lumbopelvic impairments, more pronounced in patients with stage IV endometriosis and moderate/severe CuPP, warrants the development of rehabilitation interventions targeting pain and lumbopelvic impairments in women with endometriosis.
Transfinitely Transitive Value
Authors: Kowalczyk Kacper 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
This paper develops transfinite extensions of transitivity and acyclicity in the context of population ethics. They are used to argue that it is better to add good lives, worse to add bad lives, and equally good to add neutral lives, where a life's value is understood as personal value. These conclusions rule out a number of theories of population ethics, feed into an argument for the repugnant conclusion, and allow us to reduce different-number comparisons to same-number ones. Challenges to these arguments are addressed, including the issue of comparing existence and non-existence in terms of personal value, the possibility of minimal quanta of time and life, and the meaningfulness of measuring closeness between outcomes with different population sizes. An asymmetry is uncovered between transfinite cycles of worseness and betterness, supporting a version of the weak procreative asymmetry. Transfinite transitivity principles are also favourably compared to the better-known principles of continuity.
A hybrid seesaw model and hierarchical neutrino flavor structures based on A4 symmetry
Authors: Aoki Mayumi , Kaneko Daiki 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
We propose a hybrid seesaw model based on $A_{4}$ flavor symmetry, which generates a large hierarchical flavor structure. In our model, tree-level and one-loop seesaw mechanisms predict different flavor structures in the neutrino mass matrix and generate a notable hierarchy among them. We find that such a hierarchical structure gives a large effective neutrino mass that can be accessible by next-generation neutrinoless double beta decay experiments. Majorana phases can also be predictable. The $A_{4}$ flavor symmetry in the model is spontaneously broken to the $Z_{2}$ symmetry, leading to a dark matter candidate that is assumed to be a neutral scalar field. The favored mass region of the dark matter is obtained by numerical computations of the relic abundance and the cross section of the nucleon. We also investigate the predictions of several hierarchical flavor structures based on $A_{4}$ symmetry for the effective neutrino mass and the Majorana phases, and find characteristic features depending on the hierarchical structures.