bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Detecting Bombs in X-Ray Images of Hold Baggage: 2D Versus 3D Imaging
Authors: Hättenschwiler Nicole , Mendes Marcia , Schwaninger Adrian 
Published: September 2018

Objective: This study compared the visual inspection performance of airport security officers (screeners) when screening hold baggage with state-of-the-art 3D versus older 2D imaging. Background: 3D imaging based on computer tomography features better automated detection of explosives and higher baggage throughput than older 2D X-ray imaging technology. Nonetheless, some countries and airports hesitate to implement 3D systems due to their lower image quality and the concern that screeners will need extensive and specific training before they can be allowed to work with 3D imaging. Method: Screeners working with 2D imaging (2D screeners) and screeners working with 3D imaging (3D screeners) conducted a simulated hold baggage screening task with both types of imaging. Differences in image quality of the imaging systems were assessed with the standard procedure for 2D imaging. Results: Despite lower image quality, screeners’ detection performance with 3D imaging was similar to that with 2D imaging. 3D screeners revealed higher detection performance with both types of imaging than 2D screeners. Conclusion: Features of 3D imaging systems (3D image rotation and slicing) seem to compensate for lower image quality. Visual inspection competency acquired with one type of imaging seems to transfer to visual inspection with the other type of imaging. Application: Replacing older 2D with newer 3D imaging systems can be recommended. 2D screeners do not need extensive and specific training to achieve comparable detection performance with 3D imaging. Current image quality standards for 2D imaging need revision before they can be applied to 3D imaging.
A cohort study of isolated brainstem infarction based on head MR imaging and clinical findings
Authors: Zhao Feng-li , Mi Dong-hua , Zhang Chang-qing , Song Qi-han , Liu Hong-shun , Dai Hai-lin , Liu Zhi-min , Ge Chang-qing , Wang Yong-jun , Liu Li-ping , Guo Li 
Published: September 2018

Objective The prognosis of patients with isolated brainstem infarction (BSI) differs on an individual patient basis. This study was undertaken to analyze the influences of different imaging and clinical features with the prognosis of patients with BSI. Methods The study population was derived from a multicenter study of intracranial atherosclerosis in China. In the present study, 300 patients were selected who had experienced non-cardiogenic brain stem infarction within the prior 7 days. Evaluations included clinical characteristics, location and size of the brainstem infarction, and whether the infarction was located in multiple perforating branches of the brainstem. Poor prognosis was defined as the presence of disability within 1 year from the onset of disease. Results In total, 281 patients were followed up at 1 year post-infarction. Of these 281 patients, 84 (29.9%) exhibited disability at 1 year; these patients showed a median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score of 6 on admission. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that patients with BSI located in the territory of multiple perforating arteries, who were discharged without administration of statins, showed a poor 1-year prognosis. Conclusion Isolated BSI involving multiple perforating arteries, without statin medication at discharge, indicated poor prognosis for patients with BSI.
Consumer Finance and Labor Exploitation
Authors: Lattanzi-Silveus Luke 
Published: September 2018

Lending to the working class is increasingly becoming an essential feature in modern capitalism. Marxist theory, however, does not possess an adequate account of this phenomenon, particularly its effect on labor exploitation. This paper seeks to show how Marxist economic theory could understand and account for this form of finance. It finds that lending to the working class enables increases in both absolute and relative surplus value. JEL Classification: B51, G21, J50
Bronchoscope-Guided Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy Tube Placement by Interventional Pulmonologists: A Feasibility and Safety Study
Authors: Folch Erik , Kheir Fayez , Mahajan Amit , Alape Daniel , Ibrahim Omar , Shostak Eugene , Majid Adnan 
Published: September 2018

Background: Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement is a procedure frequently done in the intensive care unit. The use of a traditional endoscope can be difficult in cases of esophageal stenosis and theoretically confers an increased risk of infection due to its complex architecture. We describe a technique using the bronchoscope, which allows navigation through stenotic esophageal lesions and also minimizes the risk of endoscopy-associated infections. Methods: Prospective series of patients who had PEG tube placement guided by a bronchoscope. Procedural outcomes including successful placement, duration of the entire procedure, time needed for passage of the bronchoscope from the oropharynx to the major curvature, PEG tube removal rate, and mortality were collected. Procedural adverse events, including infections and long-term PEG-related complications, were recorded. Results: A total of 84 patients underwent bronchoscope-guided PEG tube placement. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube insertion was completed successfully in 82 (97.6%) patients. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube placement was performed immediately following percutaneous tracheostomy in 82.1%. Thirty-day mortality and 1-year mortality were 11.9% and 31%, respectively. Overall, minor complications occurred in 2.4% of patients, while there were no major complications. No serious infectious complications were identified and no endoscope-associated hospital acquired infections were documented. Conclusions: The use of the bronchoscope can be safely and effectively used for PEG tube placement. The use of bronchoscope rather than a gastroscope has several advantages, which include the ease of navigating through complex aerodigestive disorders such as strictures and fistulas as well as decreased health-care utilization. In addition, it may have a theoretical advantage of minimizing infections related to complex endoscopes.
Evaluation of the Use of Low-Dose 4-Factor Prothrombin Complex Concentrate in the Reversal of Direct Oral Anticoagulants in Bleeding Patients
Authors: Allison Teresa A. , Lin Pei Jen , Gass Jennifer A. , Chong Kenneth , Prater Samuel J. , Escobar Miguel A. , Hartman Heather D. 
Published: September 2018

Objective: This study investigated the percentage of patients who achieved hemostasis with 4-factor prothrombin complex concentrate (4-factor PCC) 35 U/kg. The primary end point was to determine the effect of 4-factor PCC 35 U/kg on bleeding progression, assessed using computed tomography. Methods: This was a retrospective, observational, single-center study conducted in patients with a major bleed admitted to a level 1 trauma center from May 1, 2013, to June 15, 2015, who received 4-factor PCC 35 U/kg for reversal of a direct factor Xa inhibitor taken prior to admission. Results: Thirty-three patients were included in the study, with 31 patients in the final analysis. The mean (standard deviation) age was 73 (14.8) years; 54.5% of patients were female. Of the 33 patients, 13 presented with a traumatic brain injury, 9 with an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, 8 with an intracerebral hemorrhage, 1 with a gastrointestinal bleed, 1 with a hematoma with active extravasation, and 1 with an intra-abdominal bleed. The most frequently used direct factor Xa inhibitor was rivaroxaban (81.8%). Overall, 83.8% of patients achieved hemostasis with 4-factor PCC 35 U/kg. Progression of hemorrhage was observed in 4 patients on repeat computed tomography scan and 1 patient had continued surgical bleeding. No thromboembolic events were reported. Conclusions: Low-dose, 4-factor PCC 35 U/kg appeared to produce hemostasis in a majority of the patients. This may be an effective dosing regimen for anticoagulant reversal of factor Xa inhibitors in clinically bleeding patients.
Multidimensional Care Burden in Parkinson-Related Dementia
Authors: Vatter Sabina , McDonald Kathryn R. , Stanmore Emma , Clare Linda , Leroi Iracema 
Published: September 2018

Background and Objective: Providing care to people with Parkinson-related dementia (PwPRD) may result in significant stress, strain, and burden for life partners. A common measurement of life partner burden is the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), which considers “burden” as a unitary concept; however, burden is highly complex and most likely comprises several dimensions. This study aimed to explore the factor structure of the ZBI in life partners of PwPRD and to examine the relationships among the emerging factors and the demographic and clinical features. Methods: Life partners of PwPRD participated in home-based quantitative assessments and self-completed postal questionnaires. The assessment battery included ZBI, measures of relationship satisfaction, mood, stress, resilience, health, quality of life, feelings related to care provision, and sociodemographic questions. Data on PwPRDs’ motor and neuropsychiatric symptom severity were also elicited in home-based assessments. Results: An exploratory factor analysis (principal axis factoring) of ZBI, conducted with 127 life partners, revealed five burden dimensions: social and psychological constraints, personal strain, interference with personal life, concerns about future, and guilt. These burden factors were associated with lower relationship satisfaction, mental health, and resilience, and higher stress, anxiety, depression, resentment, negative strain, and PwPRD motor severity. In multiple linear regression analyses, where each factor score was the dependent variable, stress, negative strain, and resentment emerged as significant predictors of specific burden dimensions. Conclusions: Burden is a complex and multidimensional construct. Interventions should address specific types of burden among life partners of PwPRD to support couples’ relationships and maintain quality of life.
Reference values of pattern reversal visual evoked potentials in Bulgarian population
Authors: Mermeklieva Elena A 
Published: September 2018

Aims: The aim of this study is to evaluate pattern visual evoked potentials as an objective electrophysiological method and to create reference values for Bulgarian population. Methods and Materials: Standardized four-channel equipment ‘Neuro-MEP 4’ produced by ‘Neurosoft’ Company was used. A group of 47 healthy individuals (94 eyes) was studied. The stimulation was monocular, with a contrast-reversing pattern from black to white and vice versa. The investigation was performed with a three-channel recording with equipment adjustments according to the latest published ISCEV standard for pattern visual evoked potentials (2016). Based on a comprehensive overview of the available literature, a protocol of stimulating, amplifying and recording the obtained potentials has been created. The values of pattern visual evoked potential wave components, P50, N75, P100, N145 and P200, were measured. Results: Based on a created protocol, latency and amplitudes of the individual wave components of pattern visual evoked potentials were obtained. The results were statistically processed to create reference values of all pattern visual evoked potentials components, which are used as reference of the laboratory for the Bulgarian population. Conclusion: Pattern visual evoked potentials are objective electrophysiological method which is used to diagnose and monitor numerous ophthalmological and neurological diseases as well as for objective study of visual acuity and visual field in children and aggravation. The creation of pattern visual evoked potentials reference values for the Bulgarian population and its implementation in clinical practice are of particular importance for studying the visual analyser function.
Investment in Physical, Human Capital, Economic Growth and Life Expectancy in Bangladesh
Authors: Maitra Biswajit 
Published: September 2018

This article studies the efficacy of the public investment in human capital and physical capital to raise income in Bangladesh over the period 1980–2016. This article also assesses whether the investment in human capital and income have raised life expectancy of the country. The Johansen cointegration test identifies a long-run relation of income with investment on education, health care and physical capital. The error correction mechanism (ECM) based on the cointegrating relation followed by the Wald test of Granger causality has found that these investments have caused income to rise with some lag periods. Robustness of these findings is confirmed by involving an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model of cointegration followed by its ECM representation. On the other hand, the Johansen and ARDL methods of cointegration followed by their ECMs have also found a long-run relation of life expectancy with the investment in education, health care and income. A decisive role of the investment in health care and income on life expectancy is observed, while an unusual negative role of the investment in education is also found. However, positive value of the long-run coefficients of the education and health-care investments of the ECM-ARDL model indicate some long-run favourable impact of these investments on life expectancy in Bangladesh. JEL: I26, I15, C32
Efficacy of Percutaneous Thermal Ablation Combined With Transarterial Embolization for Recurrent Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Hepatectomy and a Prognostic Nomogram to Predict Survival
Authors: Yuan Zhuhui , Wang Yang , Hu Caixia , Gao Wenfeng , Zheng Jiasheng , Li Wei 
Published: September 2018

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of percutaneous thermal ablation combined with transarterial embolization for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatectomy and establish a prognostic nomogram to predict survival. Methods: One hundred seventeen patients with recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma receiving ablation from 2009 to 2014 were included in primary cohort to establish a prognostic nomogram. Between 2014 and 2016, 51 patients with recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma treated by ablation were enrolled in the validation cohort to validate the predictive accuracy of the nomogram. All patients underwent locoregional ablation. Overall survival was the primary end point, and progression-free survival was the second end point. The performance of the nomogram was assessed through concordance index and calibration curve and compared with 5 conventional hepatocellular carcinoma staging systems. Results: The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates of primary cohort were 88.4%, 70.7%, and 64.1%, respectively. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year progression-free survival rates of primary cohort were 44%, 14%, and 8.7%, respectively. The results of multivariate analysis showed that tumor size ( P = .0469; hazard ratio, 1.020; 95% confidence interval, 1.0004-1.040), preoperative extrahepatic disease ( P = .0675; hazard ratio, 2.604; 95% confidence interval, 0.933-7.264), and close to hepatic hilum <2 cm ( P = .0053; hazard ratio, 3.691; 95% confidence interval, 1.474-9.240) were predictive factors for overall survival. The study established a nomogram to predict survival (concordance index, 0.752; 95% confidence interval, 0.656-0.849). According to the predicted overall survival, patients with recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma were divided into 3 risk classes ( P < .05): low-risk group (total score <55; predicted 5-year overall survival rate, 82.9%), intermediate-risk group (55 ≤ total score < 99; predicted 5-year overall survival rate, 52.8%), and high-risk group (hazard ratio, total score ≥99; predicted 5-year overall survival rate, not available). Conclusion: Percutaneous thermal ablation appears to be an effective procedure for the treatment of recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatectomy. The proposed nomogram provides a mechanism to accurately predict survival and could stratify risk among patients with recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma treated by ablation therapy.
Prevalence of exertional oscillatory ventilation in continuous-flow left ventricular assist device recipients
Authors: Pistono Massimo , Gnemmi Marco , Imparato Alessandro , Komici Klara , Corrà Ugo 
Published: September 2018

Background Exercise oscillatory ventilation is an ominous outcome sign in heart failure due to reduced left ventricular ejection fraction; currently, the prevalence of exercise oscillatory ventilation is unknown in left ventricular assist device recipients. Methods We studied cardiopulmonary exercise testing in heart failure due to reduced left ventricular ejection fraction or left ventricular assist device patients and exercise oscillatory ventilation was defined according to Kremser's criteria. Results The occurrence of exercise oscillatory ventilation was similar in either heart failure due to reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (192 patients, 8%) or left ventricular assist device patients (85 recipients, 10%), even though the mean peak oxygen consumption and elevated ventilatory response to exercise slope was lower and higher in left ventricular assist device recipients, respectively, but the occurrence of exercise oscillatory ventilation was comparable among heart failure patients due to reduced left ventricular ejection fraction and left ventricular assist device, if those with impaired exercise capacity were considered. Of note, left ventricular assist device recipients with exercise oscillatory ventilation had a higher end-diastolic left ventricular volume and systolic pulmonary artery pressure at rest. Conclusions Using the largest cohort of left ventricular assist device patients performing cardiopulmonary exercise testing, we demonstrated that the occurrence of exercise oscillatory ventilation is similar in heart failure due to reduced left ventricular ejection fraction and left ventricular assist device patients. Recipients with exercise oscillatory ventilation might have haemodynamic and ventilatory dysfunction during exercise, but other factors could play a role, i.e. the duration and severity of heart failure before left ventricular assist device implantation together with the coexistence of morbidity.
Local and systemic humoral response to ovine mastitis caused by Staphylococcus epidermidis
Authors: Queiroga Maria Cristina 
Published: September 2018

Objectives: Mastitis is responsible for a decrease in milk yield and quality. Disease control is vital for producers’ profit and for consumer’s welfare. This study aimed at investigating the immune response to Staphylococcus epidermidis intramammary infection. Methods: A total of 14 S. epidermidis isolates from milk collected from ewes with subclinical mastitis were used. Protein extracts were prepared and analysed by sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Immunoblotting assay was performed for the detection of specific IgG and IgA in blood and milk from S. epidermidis mastitic ewes and from healthy animals. Results: The presence of pathogen-specific IgG was detected in blood of both infected and healthy animals. However, in milk, pathogen-specific IgG was only identified in infected animals, while IgA was found in both groups. Proteins with 59 and 43 kDa were recognized by all immunoglobulins screened in blood and milk provided by both healthy and mastitic ewes. In addition, in milk, IgG and IgA for proteins with 35 kDa were also detected. Conclusion: The results have lead to propose a theory for immunoglobulin dynamics in mammary gland’s defence: blood IgG1, specifically targeting intestinal antigens, is transported to the mammary gland with the main purpose of protecting the newborn, while IgG2 is specific for mammary pathogens and is transported to the mammary gland exclusively during inflammation. This study suggests that only local immunization should trigger IgG-producing cells in the mammary gland as a response to mastitis antigens. Moreover, IgA seems to be of crucial value for the defence of the ewe mammary gland, and stimulation strategies towards an increase in IgA should be addressed for mastitis prevention.
New perspectives on China’s foreign and trade policy
Authors: Murugesan Sendil 
Published: September 2018

AbstractThe rise of the Asian giants has shifted the economic focus away from Europe. Superficially there seems to be a developing cooperation between them leading to increased globalization. China’s ability to exercise power by economic means is now visible to all. Huge infrastructure projects, funded by soft loans is a characteristic feature of Chinese diplomacy. The consolidation of strength in the South China Sea is seen by its neighbours as evidence of China’s aggressive territorial ambitions. The Trump Administration’s plan to play safe with China by avoiding ratcheting up tensions will cede great freedom to the latter in its pursuit of its goals. The US has shown little interest in prolonging the Asia strategy formulated by Barrack Obama. It remains to be seen how well China can perform the balancing act: maintaining cordial relations with both Europe and the US.
Delay-Based Service Differentiation with Many Servers and Time-Varying Arrival Rates
Authors: Sun Xu , Whitt Ward 
Published: September 2018

We study the problem of staffing (specifying a time-varying number of servers) and scheduling (assigning newly idle servers to a waiting customer from one of [Formula: see text] classes) in the many-server V model with class-dependent time-varying arrival rates. In order to stabilize performance at class-dependent delay targets, we propose the blind (model-free) head-of-line delay-ratio (HLDR) scheduling rule, which extends an earlier dynamic-priority rule that exploits the head-of-line delay information. We study the HLDR rule in the quality-and-efficiency-driven many-server heavy-traffic (MSHT) regime. We staff to the MSHT fluid limit plus a control function in the diffusion scale. We establish a MSHT limit for the Markov model, which has dramatic state-space collapse, showing that the targeted ratios are attained asymptotically. In the MSHT limit, meeting staffing goals reduces to a one-dimensional control problem for the aggregate queue content, which may be approximated by recently developed staffing algorithms for time-varying single-class models. Simulation experiments confirm that the overall procedure can be effective, even for non-Markov models. The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/stsy.2018.0015 .