bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Comparison of the reliability of scoring systems in the light of histopathological results in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis
Authors: Unal Ozdemir Zehra , Ozdemir Hakan , Sunamak Oguzhan , Akyuz Cebrail , Torun Mehmet 
Published: September 2018

Background:Acute appendicitis is a very common surgical emergency. Early and correct diagnosis and early intervention are necessary to prevent complications. It is often diagnosed on clinical signs and a certain ratio of negative appendectomy is acceptable. For early and accurate diagnosis, various scoring systems such as Alvarado, Ohmann, Eskelinen and more recently Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Appendicitis (RIPASA) have been developed.Objective:In this study, we aimed to compare the effectiveness and accuracy of scoring systems.Materials and methods:The patients who attended emergency department and operated with acute appendicitis pre-diagnosis were evaluated retrospectively. Alvarado, Ohmann, Eskelinen, and RIPASA scores were calculated and compared with histopathologic results by reviewing the patient files.Results:A total of 76 patients (44 males and 32 females) were included in the study. The mean age was 33.8 ± 13.2 years. Of which, 59 patients (77.6%) were diagnosed to have acute appendicitis on histopathological examination. The mean leukocyte count was 13.9 ± 3.7 × 103μL. Sensitivity and specificity of Alvarado, Ohmann, Eskelinen, and RIPASA were 36%–82%; 58%–71%; 36%–8%, and 68%–71%, respectively. Cut-off values were 8, 14, 55.63, and 10, respectively. RIPASA had the highest accuracy. The cut-off value of leukocyte counts was 13,900 × 103/μL. Sensitivity and specificity were 64% and 88%, respectively; positive predictive value was 95%. In the receiver operating curve analysis, the area under the curve was found to be 74%.Conclusion:The RIPASA scoring system is a more reliable scoring system than Ohmann, Eskelinen, and Alvarado scoring systems. In cases of suspected acute appendicitis, it may be useful to evaluate patients with RIPASA score in emergency departments by general practitioners, where there is no general surgeon. Thus, patients can be guided in a timely manner to reduce the complications that may arise from delays. The cut-off value of 13,900 × 103/μL is an important marker for the presence of acute appendicitis.
A new paradigm for mental-health quality and safety: are we ready?
Authors: Short Brooke , Marr Carrie , Wright Murray 
Published: September 2018

Objective: Development of a Mental Health Quality and Safety Framework with co-designed priority areas for improvement. Method: A qualitative and inductive approach was utilised, including a literature search, consultations with staff and focus groups with consumers and carers. Results: Thematic analysis resulted in 32 categories, grouped into seven key themes. Combined with the evidence base, these were distilled into component parts of the Framework. Conclusions: A change in strategy and culture is required, balancing a traditionally centralised top-down approach to health care governance and improvement, with a complementary localised bottom-up model that embeds improvement science principles involving frontline staff, consumers and carers. This Framework, that centres on patient safety and quality improvement, in combination with a corresponding cultural change, can enhance clinical outcomes, service efficiency, staff morale and staff retention rates.
Tax Rates and Tax Evasion
Authors: Weerasekera Harini 
Published: September 2018

The study empirically examines the relationship between tax rates and tax evasion for Sri Lanka. This is examined in the context of border tax evasion, where I test for the presence of evasion via the ‘evasion gap’: the discrepancy between exports to Sri Lanka (as reported by Sri Lanka’s trade partners) and imports by Sri Lanka (as reported by Sri Lanka) for products imported by Sri Lanka from its top seven import partners in 2014. The study focuses on two forms of border tax evasion: underreporting and mislabelling. In addition, the study estimates the effect of a policy to bring selected value-added tax (VAT)-exempt products into the VAT net, on the evasion gap. Results from OLS estimation suggest that both forms of evasion are present. The difference-in-difference results of the impact of the policy change on the evasion gap are insignificant, but require post-treatment data to arrive at a more concrete conclusion. JEL: H200, H260
Determinants of Financial Stress of Indian Banks
Authors: Kumar Nitin , Shrivastava Arvind , Singh D. P. , Kumar Purnendu 
Published: September 2018

The study examines factors influencing non-performing loans (NPLs) for Indian banks. The analysis contributes by including restructured advances also in addition to standard measures of asset quality that provides comprehensive picture of pressure on banks’ balance sheet. Moreover, Bayesian technique with multivariate t-distributed prior is applied for robust estimation. Utilizing quarterly dataset from 2005 to 2015, strong persistence of bad assets is clearly evident. Bank-specific characteristics such as growth of advances, profitability and net interest margin are significant determinants. Among macro-factors, high growth rate is having retarding impact on bad assets. Moreover, ownership effect is having differential behaviour with state-owned banks being most vulnerable. JEL: G21, C11, C23
Impact of diabetes type on treatment and outcome of patients with peripheral artery disease
Authors: Richter Lars , Freisinger Eva , Lüders Florian , Gebauer Katrin , Meyborg Matthias , Malyar Nasser M 
Published: September 2018

Background: The prevalence of diabetes mellitus and its associated complications such as peripheral artery disease is increasing worldwide. We aimed to explore the distinct impact of type 1 diabetes mellitus and type 2 diabetes mellitus on treatment and on short- and long-term outcome in patients with peripheral artery disease. Methods: Retrospective analysis of anonymized data of hospitalized patients covered by a large German health insurance. Assessment of patient’s characteristics (comorbidities, complications, etc.) and outcome using multivariable Cox regression and Kaplan–Meier curves. Results: Among 41,702 patients with peripheral artery disease, 339 (0.8%) had type 1 diabetes mellitus and 13,151 (31.5%) had type 2 diabetes mellitus. Patients with diabetes mellitus had more comorbidities and complications than patients without diabetes mellitus ( p < 0.001). Type 1 diabetes mellitus patients exhibited the highest risk for limb amputation at 4-year follow-up (44.6% vs 35.1%, p < 0.001), while type 2 diabetes mellitus patients had higher mortality than type 1 diabetes mellitus (43.6% vs 31.0%, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Although the fraction of type 1 diabetes mellitus among patients with peripheral artery disease and diabetes mellitus is low, it represents a subset of patients being at particular high risk for limb amputation. Research focused on elaborating the determinants of limb amputation and mortality in peripheral artery disease patients with diabetes mellitus is warranted to improve the poor prognosis of these patients.
The performance of Remicade®-optimized quantification assays in the assessment of Flixabi® levels
Authors: Magro F. , Rocha C. , Vieira A. I. , Sousa H. T. , Rosa I. , Lopes S. , Carvalho J. , Dias C. C. , Afonso J. 
Published: September 2018

Background: The advent of Remicade® biosimilars, Remsima®, Inflectra® and, more recently, Flixabi®, has brought along the potential to decrease the costs associated with this therapy, therefore increasing its access to a larger group of patients. However, and in order to assure a soft transition, one must make sure the assays and algorithms previously developed and optimized for Remicade perform equally well with its biosimilars. This study aimed to: (a) validate the utilization of Remicade-optimized therapeutic drug monitoring assays for the quantification of Flixabi; and (b) determine the existence of Remicade, Remsima and Flixabi cross-immunogenicity. Methods: Healthy donors’ sera spiked with Remicade, Remsima and Flixabi were quantified using three different Remicade-quantification assays, and the reactivity of anti-Remicade and anti-Remsima sera to Remicade and to its biosimilars was assessed. Results: The results show that all tested Remicade-infliximab-optimized assays measure Flixabi as accurately as they measure Remicade and Remsima: the intraclass correlation coefficients between theoretical and measured concentrations varied from 0.920 to 0.990. Moreover, the interassay agreement values for the same compounds were high (intraclass correlation coefficients varied from 0.936 to 0.995). Finally, the anti-Remicade and anti-Remsima sera reacted to the different drugs in a similar fashion. Conclusions: The tested assays can be used to monitor Flixabi levels. Moreover, Remicade, Remsima and Flixabi were shown to have a high cross-immunogenicity, which supports their high similarity but prevents their switching in nonresponders with antidrug antibodies.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Long noncoding RNA MLK7-AS1 promotes ovarian
cancer cells progression by modulating miR-375/YAP1 axis
Authors: Yan Huan , Li Hong , Li Pengyun , Li Xia , Lin Jianjian , Zhu Linlin , Silva Maria A. , Wang Xiaofang , Wang Ping , Zhang Zhan 
Published: September 2018

Abstract
Background
Long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs) have been reported to be abnormally
expressed in human ovarian cancer and associated with the proliferation and
metastasis of cancer cells. The objective of this study was to investigate the
role and the underlying mechanisms of LncRNA MAP3K20 antisense RNA 1 (MLK7-AS1)
in ovarian cancer.

Methods
The expression level of MLK7-AS1 was investigated in human ovarian
cancer tissues and cell lines. The effects of MLK7-AS1 knockdown on ovarian
cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis were evaluated in
vitro using MTT, colony formation assays, wound healing assays, transwell assays
and flow cytometry. Furthermore, the in vivo effects were determined using the
immunodeficient NSG female mice. Luciferase reporter assays were employed to
identify interactions among MLK7-AS1 and its target genes.

Results
In the current study, MLK7-AS1 was specifically upregulated in
ovarian cancer tissues and cell lines. Knockdown of MLK7-AS1 inhibited the
ability of cell migration, invasion, proliferation, colony formation and wound
healing, whereas promoted cell apoptosis in vitro. By using online tools and
mechanistic analysis, we demonstrated that MLK7-AS1 could directly bind to
miR-375 and downregulate its expression. Besides, MLK7-AS1 reversed the
inhibitory effect of miR-375 on the growth of ovarian cancer cells, which might
be involved in the upregulation of Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) expression.
Moreover, knockdown MLK7-AS1 expression inhibited primary tumor growth in ovary
and metastatic tumors in multiple peritoneal organs including liver and spleen
in vivo, which were partly abolished by miR-375 inhibition. Mechanically, we
found that MLK7-AS1 modulated the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)
process by interacting with miR-375/YAP1 both in vivo and vitro, which promoted
the expression of Slug.

Conclusions
Taken together, our study showed for the first time that MLK7-AS1
interacted with miR-375 to promote proliferation, metastasis, and EMT process in
ovarian cancer cells through upregulating YAP1.
Charcot neuroarthropathy patient education among podiatrists in Scotland: a modified Delphi approach
Authors: Bullen Benjamin , Young Matthew , McArdle Carla , Ellis Mairghread 
Published: September 2018

AbstractBackgroundThis evaluation sought to determine current Charcot neuroarthropathy (CN) diabetes patient education practices among Scottish National Health Service (NHS) and academic podiatrists and evaluate novel visual tools and develop expert consensus for future practice.MethodsQuestionnaires collected mixed qualitative and quantitative responses, analysed concurrently within a convergence coding matrix. Delphi methodology permitted member‐checking and agreement of consensus over two rounds.ResultsFourteen participants (16.28%) completed a Round One questionnaire, leading to the generation of four themes; Experience; Person‐Centred Care and the Content and Context of CN patient education. Seven consensus statements were subsequently developed and six achieved over 80% agreement among 16 participants (18.60%) with a Round Two questionnaire. Respondents agreed CN patient education should be considered for all ‘At‐risk’ individuals with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). Verbal metaphors, including the ‘rocker‐bottom’ foot, soft or brittle bones, collapsing, walking on honeycomb and a shattering lightbulb were frequently employed. Visual tools, including visual metaphors and The Charcot Foot Thermometer, were positively evaluated and made available online.ConclusionsKey findings included respondent's belief that CN education should be considered for all individuals with DPN and the frequent use of simile, analogy and metaphor in CN education. The concept of ‘remission’ proved controversial due to its potential for misinterpretation.
Analytic and clinical validity of thyroid nodule mutational profiling using droplet digital polymerase chain reaction
Authors: Biron Vincent L. , Matkin Ashlee , Kostiuk Morris , Williams Jordana , Cote David W. , Harris Jeffrey , Seikaly Hadi , O'Connell Daniel A. 
Published: September 2018

Background Recent guidelines for the management of thyroid nodules incorporate mutation testing as an adjunct for surgical decision-making, however current tests are costly with limited accuracy. Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) is an ultrasensitive method of nucleic acid detection that is particularly useful for identifying gene mutations. This study aimed to assess the analytic and clinical validity of RAS and BRAF ddPCR mutational testing as a diagnostic tool for thyroid fine needle aspirate biopsy (FNAB). Methods Patients with thyroid nodules meeting indication for FNAB were prospectively enrolled from March 2015 to September 2017. In addition to clinical protocol, an additional FNAB was obtained for ddPCR. Optimized ddPCR probes were used to detect mutations including HRASG12 V, HRASQ61K, HRASQ61R, NRASQ61R, NRASQ61K and BRAFV600E. The diagnostic performance of BRAF and RAS mutations was assessed individually or in combination with Bethesda classification against final surgical pathology. Results A total of 208 patients underwent FNAB and mutational testing with the following Bethesda cytologic classification: 26.9% non-diagnostic, 55.2% benign, 5.3% FLUS/AUS, 2.9% FN/SPN, 2.4% SFM and 7.2% malignant. Adequate RNA was obtained from 91.3% (190) FNABs from which mutations were identified in 21.1% of HRAS, 11.5% of NRAS and 7.4% of BRAF. Malignant cytology or BRAFV600E was 100% specific for malignancy. Combining cytology with ddPCR BRAF600E mutations testing increased the sensitivity of Bethesda classification from 41.7 to 75%. Combined BRAFV600E and Bethesda results had a positive predictive value (PPV) of 100% and negative predictive value (NPV) of 89.7% for thyroid malignancy in our cohort. Conclusions DdPCR offers a novel and ultrasensitive method of detecting RAS and BRAF mutations from thyroid FNABs. BRAFV600E mutation testing by ddPCR may serve as a useful adjunct to increase sensitivity and specificity of thyroid FNAB.
Adult safeguarding under the Care Act 2014
Authors: Johnson Katherine , Boland Billy 
Published: September 2018

SummarySafeguarding adults is everybody's business, and it is now standard practice for clinicians to undertake safeguarding training as part of their mandatory training in the UK. Nevertheless, safeguarding work is complex and can involve significant dilemmas for professionals. The Care Act 2014 has introduced a number of differences in the way safeguarding is approached, emphasising the overall well-being and choice of the patient rather than merely focusing on their safety. This paper sets out to illustrate evolving safeguarding demand and practice, and aid clinicians in protecting people at risk by describing how they can approach challenging presentations.Declaration of interestNone.
Policy analysis in French local government
Authors: Faure Alain , Négrier Emmanuel 
Published: September 2018

This chapter attempts to ‘deconstruct’ the French territorial question and demonstrate that territorial policy analysis can break free from the limitations imposed by this primarily ‘statist’ conceptual framework. The first part introduces the scale and nature of current political and administrative territorial structures, and discusses the paucity of academic research work on this subject. The second part analyses changes in the territorial framework of policy building, through an evolution from vertical to horizontal dialectic of powers and capacities. The third part focuses on territorialisation as the result of a double process: the evolving role of ideas in territorial policy building and dynamics of differentiation. In the conclusion, it argues that the joint influence of professionalization, pluralisation and differentiation prefigures an original political/policy model of democracy between institutionalisms and culturalisms.
Economics and policy analysis: ‘from state to market’?
Authors: Benamouzig Daniel , Lebaron Frédéric 
Published: September 2018

This chapter describes and analyses the progressive spread of economic "expertise" in the sphere of public policy. It sketches the historical process of the expansion of economic expertise in France, and discusses the way it involves a reshaping of the relations between the State, markets, universities, and other relevant institutional entities (e.g., political parties, unions, etc.), as well as society in general. Considered from this socio-historical viewpoint, economic expertise seems to have contributed to the opening of State-centered regulation to more pluralistic and market-driven public policies in a number of sectors. The analysis draws more specifically on the case of health care, which has been engaged in a clear transformation from a traditional (welfare) State-centered regulation to more open and economically-driven policy. Various components of economic expertise and its concrete uses are under scrutiny, such as classic macroeconomic/econometric forecasting and conjunctural analysis; sectorial expertise; think tanks and organization-related expertise or counter-expertise; academic knowledge in the sphere of policy advice and decision-making; and the production and diffusion of economic discourse through newspapers, magazines, books, etc.
Reflections on 50 years of policy advice in the United States
Authors: Lynn Laurence E. 
Published: September 2018

In 1965, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson directed all federal departments and agencies to use a Planning-Programming-Budgeting System (PPBS) to ensure that their annual budget requests were based on the systematic analysis of and justification for their policy and budget recommendations. From America’s earliest days, its political leaders have sought policy advice from experts. In this chapter, Johnson’s mandate will be shown to have been path-breaking in that it initiated the gradual institutionalization of policy planning, analysis, and evaluation at all levels of American government. Policymakers can now draw on the intellectual resources not only of their own organizations but, as well on those of universities, think tanks, consultancies, and non-profit organizations. Rational analysis has not displaced political calculation in policymaking, but it has greatly improved the bases on which public policy is made and implemented in the United States. The challenge to the policy analysis profession now is to vitality, unintellectual diversity and originality, and political relevance that are the basis for the respect it has earned over the years.
The practice and promise of policy analysis and program evaluation to improve decision making within the U.S. federal government
Authors: Maynard Rebecca A. 
Published: September 2018

This chapter draws on a 40-year history of patchwork efforts to use data to inform the development of public policy and shape its implementation. I begin with a description of the evolution of the policy process, drawing largely on experiences within the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and Labor. All three agencies have been major supporters of and contributors to advances in the methods of policy analysis and the use of program evaluation to guide decision making. The chapter draws on the roles of these agencies in laying the groundwork for the current emphasis on evidence-based policymaking, in part because of their leadership roles and in part because of the author’s first-hand experience working with these agencies. Of particular note is its attention to the lead up to the present context in which policy analysis and program evaluation are central to both the policy development and monitoring processes. The chapter ends with a discussion of the current movement to create and use credible evidence on the impacts and cost-effectiveness of programs, policies and practices as the foundation for more efficient and effective government and, where evidence is lacking, for integrating a knowledge-building agenda into the roll-out of strategies for change.
Résister par l’habitat
Authors: Rosenfelder Cécile 
Published: September 2018

Les nouvelles formules d’habitat pour personnes âgées émergent dans le contexte de vieillissement de la population. Parfois, ce sont les aînés eux-mêmes qui sont à l’initiative d’expérimentations innovantes. L’association A²MG présentée dans cet article est un exemple d’habitat autogéré et participatif imaginé pour proposer une alternative aux modalités traditionnelles de prise en charge de la fragilité liée à l’âge et de la fin de vie. Nous questionnerons le sens de ces initiatives et leur portée, en montrant comment elles oscillent entre empowerment et injonction au « bien vieillir ».
La migration régionale et entrepreneuriale des Libanais de Dakar, Abidjan et Ouagadougou
Authors: El Chab Marwa 
Published: September 2018

A contrario de l’analyse communautariste concernant la présence libanaise en Afrique de l’Ouest, nous proposons une grille de lecture qui prend en compte la mobilité régionale des Libanais en fonction des conditions sociopolitiques et des opportunités économiques. Sur la base d’une recherche doctorale en anthropologie sociale menée à Dakar, Abidjan et Ouagadougou, nous postulons l’existence de deux types de migrations régionales - l’une axée sur l’initiative personnelle, et l’autre sur l’initiative d’entreprises qui recrutent leurs cadres en fonction de leur appartenance nationale. Cette perception amène à réinterroger les concepts de « diaspora » et de middleman minorities classiquement mobilisés à propos de la présence libanaise en Afrique de l’Ouest mais entretenant des zones d’ombres, notamment autour de l’extraterritorialité des « communautés » et de leur mobilisation stratégique des nationalités africaines.
Re-chercher l’amour transnational
Authors: Geoffrion Karine 
Published: September 2018

Cet article explore l’expérience vécue de la relation amoureuse transnationale chez des femmes canadiennes en couple avec un homme non-occidental. Les périodes de co-présence physique et de séparation géographique avec l’amoureux ont été contrastées. Il en émerge une polarisation entre l’être-en-couple ensemble, temps associé aux émotions positives, euphoriques ; et l’être-en-couple séparé, temps associé aux émotions négatives. Ainsi, pour ces femmes, une vie commune avec leur partenaire, sous un même toit, dans un même pays, devient l’objectif ultime de leur relation amoureuse transnationale. Cependant, vu les contraintes à la mobilité de leur conjoint, cette vie commune ne peut se réaliser qu’à travers le processus laborieux de « parrainage » de l’immigration de leur conjoint au Canada.