bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ventral distraction‐stabilization in 5 continuous sites for the treatment of cervical spondylomyelopathy in a Great Dane
Authors: Tuan Jayson , Solano Miguel A. , Fitzpatrick Noel 
Published: March 2019

AbstractObjectiveTo report the combined use of novel and commercially available implants for ventral distraction‐stabilization of 5 continuous compressive sites in a Great Dane with cervical spondylomyelopathy (CSM).Study designCase report.AnimalsOne 4‐year‐old male Great Dane weighing 78 kg.MethodsA tetraparetic 4‐year‐old Great Dane with osseous‐associated CSM (OA‐CSM) with 5 sites of dorsolateral compression was presented for surgical intervention. Custom designed Fitz intervertebral traction screws (FITS) and a commercially available polyaxial spinal system were used for ventral distraction‐stabilization of all lesions. Multiple neurological reevaluations were performed, with the final evaluation at 27 months postoperatively. Preoperative, immediate‐postoperative, and 27 month‐postoperative computed tomography (CT) images were retrospectively reviewed to compare the vertebral canal dimensions at the affected sites.ResultsMultilevel distraction‐stabilization technique resulted in improvement of the dog's neurological function by 10 days postoperatively. The vertebral canal measurements were revealed to have improved in over half of the measured variables when the 27‐month‐postoperative images were compared with the preoperative CT images. Increased vertebral canal dimensions were observed immediately after surgery, and some of these measurements continued to improve by 27 months postoperatively.ConclusionVentral distraction‐stabilization technique with custom‐designed FITS and a polyaxial spinal system resulted in both clinical improvement and objective improvement in spinal canal measurements in an OA‐CSM‐affected Great Dane.Clinical significanceAn indirect decompression technique can eliminate dynamic movements and result in regression of vertebral canal bony proliferation in dogs with OA‐CSM.
Myths and Methodologies: How loud is the story told by the transcranial magnetic stimulation‐evoked silent period?
Authors: Škarabot Jakob , Mesquita Ricardo N. O. , Brownstein Callum G. , Ansdell Paul 
Published: March 2019

New Findings
What is the topic of this review?
The origin, interpretation and methodological constraints of the silent period induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation are reviewed.

What advances does it highlight?
The silent period is generated by both cortical and spinal mechanisms. Therefore, it seems inappropriate to preface silent period with ‘cortical’ unless additional measures are taken. Owing to many confounding variables, a standardized approach to the silent period measurement cannot be suggested. Rather, recommendations of best practice are provided based on the available evidence and the context of the research question.

AbstractTranscranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the motor cortex evokes a response in the muscle that can be recorded via electromyography (EMG). One component of this response, when elicited during a voluntary contraction, is a period of EMG silence, termed the silent period (SP), which follows a motor evoked potential (MEP). Modulation of SP duration was long thought to reflect the degree of intracortical inhibition. However, the evidence presented in this review suggests that both cortical and spinal mechanisms contribute to generation of the SP, which makes prefacing SP with ‘cortical’ misleading. Further investigations with multi‐methodological approaches, such as TMS–EEG coupling or interaction of TMS with neuroactive drugs, are needed to make such inferences with greater confidence. A multitude of methodological factors can influence the SP and thus confound the interpretation of this measure; namely, background muscle activity, instructions given to the participant, stimulus intensity and the size of the MEP preceding the SP, and the approach to analysis. A systematic understanding of how the confounding factors influence the interpretation of SP is lacking, which makes standardization of the methodology difficult to conceptualize. Instead, the methodology should be guided through the lens of the research question and the population studied, ensuring greater reproducibility, repeatability and comparability of data sets. Recommendations are provided for the best practice within a given context of the experimental design.
Valoración de bienes de uso público en el modelo contable de entidades de gobierno en Colombia. Una aproximación desde los precios hedónicos
Authors: Díaz Jiménez Michael Andrés , Gutiérrez López Julián Alberto  , Patiño Jacinto Ruth Alejandra 
Published: March 2019

Países desarrollados y en vía de desarrollo han modificado su modelo contable como respuesta a los planteamientos de los entes de regulación internacional. Colombia en particular, ha decidido restructurar su Régimen de Contabilidad Pública tomando como referente el modelo internacional. Aunque la Contaduría General de la Nación ha definido una estructura completa, ésta ha presentado algunas dificultades por la falta de herramientas metodológicas para la medición de los bienes de no mercado. El propósito de este artículo es justamente proponer una técnica de medición para actualizar los bienes de uso público, a través de un modelo econométrico que permita determinar la disponibilidad a pagar por el espacio público a partir de precios hedónicos. El resultado alcanzado permite contar con un instrumento metodológico que puede ser utilizado para actualizar el valor de algunos bienes de uso público tanto del distrito capital como de aquellas entidades a nivel nacional e internacional que así lo requieran.
<p class="Body">Selective biorational treatments for managing the storage mites, Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) and Aleuroglyphus ovatus (Troupeau) under laboratory conditions
Authors: Bakr Anar , Selim Shady 
Published: March 2019

Mites have lately emerged as economically important pests of stored products. Recently, addition of natural origin compounds individually or as a combination with predators have provided a considerable value for controlling these pests. In this study, the efficacy of the bacterium-derived pesticides, spinosad and spinetoram, and the combination of each of them with the predator Cheyletus malaccensis Oudemans was evaluated against two storage mite pests, Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) and Aleuroglyphus ovatus (Troupeau) under optimal abiotic conditions for pest development. After 21d, the terminal density was estimated for both astigmatid mite species exposed to diet (experiment I) treated with either spinosad or spinetoram (concentrations range of 0.01-2 ppm). Estimation was also done with diet (experiment II) treated with either spinosad or spinetoram (0.5 ppm) and/or the predator at initial predator/prey ratio (0.02). The density of predator was also determined after 21 days. Application of spinosyns significantly reduced population of T. putrescentiae and A. ovatus. The reduction potential increased with increasing concentration. Complete control of T. putrescentiae and A. ovatus was achieved by the application of spinosad at 1 and 2 ppm, respectively. As measured by rC50 and rC90 (concentration for 50% and 90% suppress of population in comparison to control), spinosad was more toxic to T. putrescentiae and A. ovatus than spinetoram. Furthermore, T. putrescentiae was more susceptible to spinosad than A. ovatus. Conversely, it was less susceptible to spinetoram than A. ovatus. The populations of both mite species were successfully suppressed by the sole application of C. malaccensis. Although the density of predatory mites was not affected by the presence of 0.5 ppm spinosad, it was almost eradicated by spinetoram at 0.5 ppm. A combination of spinosad at 0.5 ppm with two individuals of C. malaccensis mites (ratio 0.02) outperformed spinosad used alone at the same former concentration in reduction efficiency of the pest populations by 12% for T. putrescentiae and 25% for A. ovatus within 21 days.
Impact of the Southwark and Lambeth Integrated Care Older People’s Programme on hospital utilisation and costs: controlled time series and cost-consequence analysis
Authors: Exley Josephine , Abel Gary A , Fernandez José-Luis , Pitchforth Emma , Mendonca Silvia , Yang Miaoqing , Roland Martin , McGuire Alistair 
Published: March 2019

ObjectivesTo estimate the impact on hospital utilisation and costs of a multi-faceted primary care intervention for older people identified as being at risk of avoidable hospitalisation.DesignObservational study: controlled time series analysis and estimation of costs and cost consequences of the Programme. General practitioner (GP)’s practice level data were analysed from 2009 to 2016 (intervention operated from 2012 to 2016). Mixed-effect Poisson regression models of hospital utilisation included comparisons with control practices and background trends in addition to within-practice comparisons. Cost estimation used standard tariff values.Setting94 practices in Southwark and Lambeth and 263 control practices from other parts of England.Main outcome measuresHospital utilisation: emergency department attendance, emergency admissions, emergency admissions for ambulatory sensitive conditions, outpatient attendance, elective admission and length of stay.ResultsBy the fourth year of the Programme, there were reductions in accident and emergency (A&E) attendance (rate ratio 0.944, 95% CI 0.913 to 0.976), outpatient attendances (rate ratio 0.938, 95% CI 0.902 to 0.975) and elective admissions (rate ratio 0.921, 95% CI 0.908 to 0.935) but there was no evidence of reduced emergency admissions. The costs of the Programme were £149 per resident aged 65 and above but savings in hospital costs were only £86 per resident aged 65 and above, equivalent to a net increase in health service expenditure of £64 per resident though the Programme was nearly cost neutral if set-up costs were excluded. Holistic assessments carried out by GPs and consequent Integrated Care Management (ICM) plans were associated with increases in elective activity and costs; £126 increase in outpatient attendance and £936 in elective admission costs per holistic assessment carried out, and £576 increase in outpatient and £5858 in elective admission costs per patient receiving ICM.ConclusionsThe Older People’s Programme was not cost saving. Some aspects of the Programme were associated with increased costs of elective care, possibly through the identification of unmet need.
A Retrospective cohort study on the risk factors of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) for patients with traumatic fracture at Honghui Hospital
Authors: Zhang Wenjuan , Huai Ying , Wang Wei , Xue Kaiyue , Chen Lei , Chen Chu , Qian Airong 
Published: March 2019

ObjectiveTo explore the risk factors of perioperative deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in patients with traumatic fracture after orthopaedic surgery and their potential diagnostic values in clinical.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingClinical Laboratory of Honghui Hospital, Xi’an JiaoTong University College of Medicine, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China.Materials and methodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted with surgically treated fracture patients in Honghui Hospital from 1 May 2016 to 31 February 2017.χ2test, independent sample t test and regression analysis were applied to examine the correlation between perioperative DVT and the factors of preoperative time, fracture sites, D-dimer value and chronic diseases (hypertension, diabetes and coronary disease).Results462 patients were enrolled for analysis. The preoperative time of patients with DVT was significantly longer than that of non-DVT patients (7.14±5.51 vs 5.45±3.75) (P<0.01).χ2test showed the significant differences in the rate of DVT among patients with different fracture sites (P<0.01). By the receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis, the cut-off value of preoperative D-dimer and postoperative D-dimer in diagnosing perioperative DVT was 4.01 µg/mL and 5.03 µg/mL, respectively. Area under the curve was 0.593 (95% CI 0.533 to 0.652) and 0.728 (95% CI 0.672 to 0.780), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of preoperative D-dimer for DVT diagnosis were 71.30% and 44.83%, and as for postoperative D-dimer were 63.90% and 70.51%.ConclusionsFracture site was correlated to the incidence of DVT; prolonged preoperative time and increased D-dimer value were independent risk factors for DVT in patients with lower extremity traumatic fractures.
Cannabis use among a nationally representative cross-sectional sample of smokers and non-smokers in the Netherlands: results from the 2015 ITC Netherlands Gold Magic Survey
Authors: Fix Brian Vincent , Smith Danielle , O’Connor Richard , Heckman Bryan W , Willemsen Marc C , Cummings Michael , Fong Geoffrey 
Published: March 2019

ObjectivesExisting evidence shows that co-occurring use of tobacco and cannabis is widespread. Patterns of co-use of tobacco and cannabis may change as more jurisdictions legalise medicinal and/or recreational cannabis sales. This analysis examined predictors of current cannabis use and characterised methods of consumption among smokers and non-smokers in a context where cannabis use is legal.SettingThe 2015 International Tobacco Control Netherlands—Gold Magic Survey conducted between July and August 2015.ParticipantsParticipants (n=1599; 1003 current smokers, 283 former smokers and 390 non-smokers) were asked to report their current (past 30-day) use of cigarettes and cannabis. Cigarette smokers reported whether they primarily used factory made of roll-your-own cigarettes. Those who reported any cannabis use in the last 30 days were asked about forms of cannabis used. X2and logistic regression analyses were used to assess relationships among combustible tobacco and cannabis use.ResultsPast 30-day cannabis use was somewhat higher among current tobacco (or cigarette) smokers (n=57/987=5.8%) than among former or never smokers (n=10/288=3.5% and n=6/316=1.9%, respectively). Joints were the most commonly used form of cannabis use for both current cigarette smokers (96.9%) and non-smokers (76.5%). Among those who smoked cannabis joints, 95% current smokers and 67% of non-smokers reported that they ‘always’ roll cannabis with tobacco.ConclusionsIn this Netherlands-based sample, most cannabis was reported to be consumed via smoking joints, most often mixed with tobacco. This behaviour may present unique health concerns for non-cigarette smoking cannabis users, since tobacco use could lead to nicotine dependence. Moreover, many non-cigarette smoking cannabis users appear to be misclassified as to their actual tobacco/nicotine exposure.
Protocol for the ORaClES study: an online randomised controlled trial to improve clinical estimates of survival using a training resource for medical students
Authors: Oostendorp Linda , White Nicola , Harries Priscilla , Yardley Sarah , Tomlinson Christopher , Ricciardi Federico , Gokalp Hulya , Stone Patrick 
Published: March 2019

IntroductionClinicians often struggle to recognise when palliative care patients are imminently dying (last 72 hours of life). A previous study identified the factors that expert palliative care doctors (with demonstrated prognostic skills) had used, to form a judgement about which patients were imminently dying. This protocol describes a study to evaluate whether an online training resource showing how experts weighted the importance of various symptoms and signs can teach medical students to formulate survival estimates for palliative care patients that are more similar to the experts’ estimates.Methods and analysisThis online double-blind randomised controlled trial will recruit at least 128 students in the penultimate or final year of medical school in the UK. Participants are asked to review three series of vignettes describing patients referred to palliative care and provide an estimate about the probability (0%–100%) that each patient will die within 72 hours. After the first series, students randomised to the intervention arm are given access to an online training resource. All participants are asked to complete a second series of vignettes. After 2 weeks, all participants are asked to complete a third series. The primary outcome will be the probability of death estimates (0%–100%) provided by students in the intervention and control arms for the second series of vignettes. Secondary outcomes include the maintenance effect at 2-week follow-up, weighting of individual symptoms and signs, and level of expertise (discrimination and consistency).Ethics and disseminationApproval has been obtained from the UCL Research Ethics Committee (8675/002) and local approvals will be obtained as appropriate. Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals using an open access format and presented at academic conferences. We will also publicise our findings on the Marie Curie website.Trial registration numberNCT03360812; Pre-results.
Using street imagery and crowdsourcing internet marketplaces to measure motorcycle helmet use in Bangkok, Thailand
Authors: Merali Hasan S. , Lin Li-Yi , Li Qingfeng , Bhalla Kavi 
Published: March 2019

IntroductionThe majority of Thailand’s road traffic deaths occur on motorised two-wheeled or three-wheeled vehicles. Accurately measuring helmet use is important for the evaluation of new legislation and enforcement. Current methods for estimating helmet use involve roadside observation or surveillance of police and hospital records, both of which are time-consuming and costly. Our objective was to develop a novel method of estimating motorcycle helmet use.MethodsUsing Google Maps, 3000 intersections in Bangkok were selected at random. At each intersection, hyperlinks of four images 90° apart were extracted. These 12 000 images were processed in Amazon Mechanical Turk using crowdsourcing to identify images containing motorcycles. The remaining images were sorted manually to determine helmet use.ResultsAfter processing, 462 unique motorcycle drivers were analysed. The overall helmet wearing rate was 66.7 % (95% CI 62.6 % to 71.0 %). Taxi drivers had higher helmet use, 88.4% (95% CI 78.4% to 94.9%), compared with non-taxi drivers, 62.8% (95% CI 57.9% to 67.6%). Helmet use on non-residential roads, 85.2% (95% CI 78.1 % to 90.7%), was higher compared with residential roads, 58.5% (95% CI 52.8% to 64.1%). Using logistic regression, the odds of a taxi driver wearing a helmet compared with a non-taxi driver was significantly increased 1.490 (p<0.01). The odds of helmet use on non-residential roads as compared with residential roads was also increased at 1.389 (p<0.01).ConclusionThis novel method of estimating helmet use has produced results similar to traditional methods. Applying this technology can reduce time and monetary costs and could be used anywhere street imagery is used. Future directions include automating this process through machine learning.
Identifying sociodemographic risk factors associated with residential fire fatalities: a matched case control study
Authors: Jonsson Anders , Jaldell Henrik 
Published: March 2019

ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the association between sociodemographic factors and residential fire fatalities in Sweden. A majority of fatal fires occur in housing. An understanding of risk factors and risk groups is a must for well-founded decisions regarding targeted prevention efforts. There is a lack of consideration of the interrelation between sociodemographic factors and fire fatalities and there is a lack of high quality large-scale studies.MethodsIn this matched case-control study, residential fire fatalities (cases, n=850) (age above 19 years old) were identified in the national register on fatal fires. Four controls per case were randomly matched by gender and age. ORs were calculated to assess the association between different sociodemographic factors with residential fire fatalities using conditional logistic regression.ResultsHaving low income, receiving social allowance and receiving health-related early retirement pension were associated with an increased risk of dying in residential fires. The results also show clearly that adults dying in residential fires to a significantly lower extent were living together with a partner, were in work, were highly educated and lived in urban areas. However, contrary to previous research, living in rented apartments appeared not to influence the risk of death.ConclusionsIn this study, we show that fatalities due to residential fires in Sweden are associated with some but not all of previously published sociodemographic risk factors. The results provide valuable information that can improve the guiding and targeting of fire mortality prevention strategies in Sweden.
Waiting it out: consultation delays prolong in-patient length of stay
Authors: Rahman Arifeen Sylvanna , Shi Siyu , Meza Pamela Katherine , Jia Justin Lee , Svec David , Shieh Lisa 
Published: March 2019

AbstractBackgroundDecreasing delays for hospitalised patients results in improved hospital efficiency, increased quality of care and decreased healthcare expenditures. Delays in subspecialty consultations and procedures can cause increased length of stay due to reasons outside of necessary medical care.ObjectiveTo quantify, describe and record reasons for delays in consultations and procedures for patients on the general medicine wards.MethodologyWe conducted weekly audits of all admitted patients on five Internal Medicine teams over 8 weeks. A survey was reviewed with attending physicians and residents on five internal medicine teams to identify patients with a delay due to consultation or procedure, quantify length of delay and record reason for delay.ResultsDuring the study period, 316 patients were reviewed and 48 were identified as experiencing a total of 53 delays due to consultations or procedures. The average delay was 1.8 days for a combined total of 83 days. Top reasons for delays included scheduling, late response to page and a busy service. The frequency in length of consult delays vary among different specialties. The highest frequency of delays was clustered in procedure-heavy specialties.ConclusionThis report highlights the importance of reviewing system barriers that lead to delayed service in hospitals. Addressing these delays could lead to reductions in length of stay for inpatients.