bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cardiovascular and other competing causes of death among patients with cancer from 2006 to 2015: An Australian population‐based study
Authors: Ye Yuanzi , Otahal Petr , Marwick Thomas H. , Wills Karen E. , Neil Amanda L. , Venn Alison J. 
Published: October 2018

BackgroundWith improved cancer survivorship, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and other noncancer events compete with cancer as the underlying cause of death, but the risks of mortality in competing‐risk settings have not been well characterized.MethodsThe authors identified 21,637 individuals who had a first cancer registered between 2006 and 2013, with follow‐up to 2015, in the Australian population‐based Tasmanian Cancer Registry. The cumulative incidence of deaths from specific competing events was assessed in competing‐risk analyses. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and absolute excess risks (AERs) for deaths from noncancer causes were calculated for comparison with the general population.ResultsOverall, 8844 deaths were observed, with 1946 (22%) from competing events. The cumulative incidence of deaths from CVD increased significantly with age at first cancer diagnosis and exceeded other competing events at age ≥65 years. The risk of death from CVD was more common than expected in the first year of follow‐up (SMR, 1.44 [95% confidence interval, 1.26‐1.64]; AER, 36.8 per 10,000 person‐years). The SMR and AER for CVD deaths varied by first cancer site, indicating increased risks after a first diagnosis of lung cancer, hematologic malignancy, and urinary tract cancer. For other noncancer events, the SMRs increased significantly for deaths from infectious disease and respiratory disease and were highest in the first year of follow‐up.ConclusionsCVD was the leading cause of competing mortality among Tasmanian patients with cancer who were diagnosed from 2006 to 2013. The higher than expected occurrence of death from CVD and other noncancer events during the first year after a cancer diagnosis highlights the importance of early preventive interventions.
Multifunctional Copper‐Based Quaternary Chalcogenide Semiconductors Toward State‐of‐the‐Art Energy Applications
Authors: Kush Priya , Deka Sasanka 
Published: October 2018

AbstractCu‐based quaternary chalcogenide semiconductors have been attractive materials in many aspects since the last decade. Most of the scientific literature about quaternary chalcogenides is dedicated to photovoltaic (PV) research with no astonishment as the material initially emerged as a cost‐effective replacement of expensive Si for PV applications. These materials possess all the important properties such as, abundant and non‐toxic constituent elements, efficient charge transport, optimum band gap, and high absorption coefficient for being an efficient PV material in either thin film or nanoparticle form. However, in the recent few years, a new range of quaternary materials Cu2MIMIIX4 (where, MI=Zn, Ni, Co, Fe, Mn, Cd and Hg; MII=Si, Sn and Ge and X=S and/or Se) have evolved and found applications in thermoelectrics, photocatalysis and photoelectrocatalysis, sensors and batteries etc. The combination of properties exhibited by these quaternary chalcogenides such as optical and electric, optical and magnetic, electric and thermal makes them potential materials, which could be utilized in multiple applications. Although the PV properties of these quaternary chalcogenides has been discussed earlier in many reports, the other versatile applications of the material have not been reviewed yet. The present article sheds light on the multifunctional aspects of various new Cu‐based quaternary chalcogenides, their synthesis, effect of doping on their properties, and then elaborating the discussion on their chemical and physical properties that are helpful in different applications along with photovoltaics. Here, we discuss synthetic methods bestowing enhanced features and also summarize their achieved efficiency in recent years.
Does the Electronic Structure of Möbius Annulenes Follow Heilbronner's Ideas?
Authors: Karadakov Peter B. , Cooper David L. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractIt is shown, on the example of the monocyclic cyclononatetraenyl cation,
, that the fully‐variational optimization of modern ab initio wavefunctions based on spin‐coupled generalized valence bond (SCGVB) theory vindicates, in a surprising level of detail, essential features of Heilbronner's ideas for the electronic structure of Möbius annulenes such as the arrangement of overlapping carbon 2p atomic orbitals along a Möbius strip, leading to a phase inversion between the first and last orbitals. In the SCGVB description, the aromaticity of this Möbius system with eight π electrons follows from the extensive resonance between VB structures.
Rapid and Efficient Genetic Transformation of Sorghum via Agrobacterium‐Mediated Method
Authors: Do Phat Tien , Lee Hyeyoung , Nelson‐Vasilchik Kimberly , Kausch Albert , Zhang Zhanyuan J. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractGenetic transformation via Agrobacterium‐mediated methodology has been used in many sorghum studies. However, the transformation efficiency still varies significantly due to high dependence on sorghum genotypes and technical expertise. In this article, we describe a sorghum transformation procedure in sufficient detail using a public genotype, P898012. This system utilizes a standard binary transgenic vector carrying the bar gene as a selectable marker and immature embryos as starting explants. Glufosinate is employed as the selective agent during callus and shoot induction. This procedure is relatively rapid, efficient, highly reproducible, and should be applicable for many other sorghum genotypes. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Unattended social wants and corporate social responsibility of leading firms: Relationship of intrinsic motivation of volunteering in proposed welfare programs and employee attributes
Authors: Hao Yunhong , Farooq Qamar , Zhang Yanni 
Published: October 2018

AbstractWith accelerated amelioration in service standards and expectations of stakeholders, enterprises need to undertake promising efforts for the real contribution to society. This paper is aimed to build a framework for examination of employee‐specific viability of five proposed philanthropic initiatives that can be launched by large corporations. Matchmaking, marriage arrangement, and poverty alleviation through skill development are discussed for new external corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, and anti‐sexual harassment awareness campaign at the workplace and assistance to low‐paid workers are projected as doable internal CSR initiatives. This article describes the importance of potential CSR activities with chief emphasis on exploring the impact of intrinsic motivation for volunteering of each proposed CSR program on employee's vital work attitudes. Drawing implications to advance the literature, we have developed the hypotheses that have formulated a testable model. On practical front, our work highlights the crucial need to consider implementation of new CSR programs with effective conceptualization of employee motivation and organizational outcomes.
Does it pay to be forthcoming? Evidence from CSR disclosure and equity market liquidity
Authors: Egginton Jared F. , McBrayer Garrett A. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractWe examine the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure strategies on equity market liquidity. Using data on CSR disclosure from Bloomberg, we find that equity market liquidity improves as firms increase their CSR disclosure transparency. Specifically, firms with more transparent CSR disclosure strategies have narrower spreads and exhibit improvements in common measures of equity market liquidity. Additionally, we document that improvements in equity market liquidity occur contemporaneously with changes in firms' CSR disclosure strategies, suggesting that markets respond to the transparent disclosure of CSR initiatives without necessarily knowing the ultimate efficacy of the initiative itself. We condition our findings on firm transparency and provide evidence that CSR disclosure transparency acts to reduce information asymmetry, thus acting as the mechanism to improve equity market liquidity. Overall, our results suggest that CSR disclosure transparency leads to reductions in asymmetric information, ultimately making financial markets more equitable.
The importance of official certifications in globalized companies' performance: An empirical approach to the shipbuilding industry
Authors: Para‐González Lorena , Mascaraque‐Ramírez Carlos 
Published: October 2018

AbstractCompanies belonging to broadly globalized sectors are looking for keys and guidelines that will allow them to stand out from their competitors in order to win the contracts tendered on a global scale. The study conducted in this research has found the importance of following the principles of the standards of Environmental Management (EM; ISO 14001), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR; ISO 26000), Quality Management (QM; ISO 9001), and Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OSHAS 18001) in the shipbuilding industry and its relationship with firms' performance. This research proposes a new measurement index that evaluates the degree of certification of the industry over time regarding EM, CSR, QM, and Occupational Health, demonstrating a link between the evolution of companies' results (in terms of orderbooks, completions, and new orders) and the implantation of official certifications and their maturity (time elapsed since certification).
Testing the effects of four urbanization filters on forest plant taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity
Authors: Lopez Bianca E. , Urban Dean , White Peter S. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractOngoing urban development has significant effects on ecosystems, including changes to land cover, environmental conditions, and species’ distributions. These various impacts may have opposing or interacting effects on plant communities, making it difficult to predict how plant biodiversity will respond to urban development. A frequently cited conceptual framework predicts how urban development influences plant taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity by simplifying multiple coincident effects of urbanization into four primary filters of biodiversity: habitat transformation, fragmentation, the urban environment, and human preferences. Each filter prevents some plant species from persisting in urban areas while promoting others, but species introductions according to human preferences are expected to cause a net increase in biodiversity while the other filters limit diversity. In this study, we used structural equation modeling to test these predictions and examine the relative importance of each filter on the taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of riparian forest plant species sampled along an urban‐to‐rural gradient in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. Most diversity measures declined with urbanization, but some (e.g., functional Rao's Q) increased with urbanization. We found support for some of the predicted relationships between urbanization filters and biodiversity, as well as some unexpected relationships, including positive effects of urban environments. Overall, urban environments and human preferences were stronger predictors than habitat transformation and fragmentation. Our approach could be used to test a general framework predicting the effects of urbanization on plant diversity across multiple cities and contribute to a more synthetic understanding of urban biodiversity.
The mechanisms of phenology: the patterns and processes of phenological shifts
Authors: Chmura Helen E. , Kharouba Heather M. , Ashander Jaime , Ehlman Sean M. , Rivest Emily B. , Yang Louie H. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractSpecies across a wide range of taxa and habitats are shifting phenological events in response to climate change. While advances are common, shifts vary in magnitude and direction within and among species, and the basis for this variation is relatively unknown. We examine previously suggested patterns of variation in phenological shifts in order to understand the cue–response mechanisms that underlie phenological change. Here, we review what is known about the mechanistic basis for nine factors proposed to predict phenological change (latitude, elevation, habitat type, trophic level, migratory strategy, ecological specialization, species’ seasonality, thermoregulatory mode, and generation time). We find that many studies either do not identify a specific underlying mechanism or do not evaluate alternative mechanistic hypotheses, limiting the ability of scientists to predict future responses to global change with accuracy. We present a conceptual framework that emphasizes a critical distinction between environmental (cue‐driven) and organismal (response‐driven) mechanisms causing variation in phenological shifts and discuss how this distinction can reduce confusion in the field and improve predictions of future phenological change.
A reconceptualization of open oak and pine ecosystems of eastern North America using a forest structure spectrum
Authors: Hanberry Brice B. , Bragg Don C. , Hutchinson Todd F. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractWe present a reconceptualization of forests in eastern North America by differentiating the ecological characteristics of open oak (Quercus) and pine (Pinus) forests from closed successional and old‐growth forests. Despite historical abundance of savannas and woodlands, the fundamental ecology of open forest ecosystems remains ill‐defined when compared to either closed forests or grasslands. Open forests were characterized by simple internal stand structure consisting of a single stratum of variably spaced, often very old overstory trees and limited midstory, maintained by understory disturbance that controlled tree regeneration and allowed instead a taxonomically rich herbaceous groundlayer. In contrast, closed forests have dense woody growth throughout the vertical profile, limiting herbaceous plants. To provide further clarity about these ecosystems, we developed a canopy closure spectrum model dependent on the interactions between prevailing disturbance regimes of the historical and current eras, which affect either the tree understory (regeneration) or overstory, and tree traits of fire and shade tolerance. Recognition of different stand structures, disturbance regimes, and their interrelationships should expand understanding of open forests and limit ecological misunderstandings and restoration misapplications, thereby improving management of these once historically extensive ecosystems.
Policy coherence and organizational cultures: Energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction targets
Authors: Skovgaard Jakob 
Published: October 2018

AbstractThis paper addresses coherence at the levels of policy objectives and instruments. The existing literature usually links policy coherence to strong hierarchical coordination mechanisms. This paper builds on two cases of, respectively, hierarchical imposition and deliberation within the European Commission (the step‐up to a 30% greenhouse gas reduction target on the one hand, and the energy efficiency target on the other), to show that coherence of policy objectives is negatively affected by conflicting organizational cultures. The analysis shows, first, that deliberation was possible when the disagreement between organizations was rooted in differing causal beliefs regarding policy instruments, while hierarchical imposition was used when the disagreement was rooted in differences in normative beliefs regarding policy objectives. Secondly, it appears that accommodation between differing causal and normative ideas concerning policy objectives and instruments can be solved both by power and by deliberation, the latter requiring more time and effort.
Policy coherence by subterfuge? Arenas and compromise‐building in the European Union's energy efficiency policy
Authors: Deters Henning 
Published: October 2018

AbstractThis paper looks at how policy‐makers use various alternative decision arenas to avoid internal policy incoherence. Inconsistency between goals and measures in a policy indirectly results from conflicting interests pulling in different directions within a heterarchical institutional setting. To avoid deadlock, negotiators rely on consensus‐building techniques such as watering down, issue redefinition, and the setting of targets without actions. These techniques facilitate moving away from the status quo, but they come at the expense of coherence. This paper shows that alternative decision arenas may bypass conflict, and thereby make the use of consensus‐building techniques unnecessary, resulting in more coherence. Examples from the emerging field of energy efficiency policy substantiate this claim.
Assessing health‐related quality of life in heart failure patients attending an outpatient clinic: a pragmatic approach
Authors: Gallagher Angela M. , Lucas Rebecca , Cowie Martin R. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractAimsImproving quality of life (QoL) in heart failure patients is a key management objective. Validated health‐related QoL (HR‐QoL) measurement tools have been incorporated into clinical trials but not routinely into daily practice. The aims of this study were to investigate the acceptability and feasibility of implementing validated HR‐QoL instruments into heart failure clinics and to examine the impact of patient characteristics on HR‐QoL.Methods and resultsOne hundred and sixty‐three patients attending heart failure clinics at a UK tertiary centre were invited to complete three HR‐QoL assessments: the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ); the EuroQoL 5D‐3L (EQ‐5D‐3L); and the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) in that order. Data on patient demographics, co‐morbidities, New York Heart Association (NYHA) class, plasma B‐type natriuretic peptide (BNP), renal function, and left ventricular ejection fraction were recorded. 94% of patients attending clinic were willing to participate. The EQ‐5D‐3L had all questions answered by 92% of patients, compared with 86% and 51% for the MLHFQ and KCCQ, respectively. HR‐QoL significantly correlated with NYHA class using each tool (MLHFQ, r = 0.59; KCCQ, r = −0.61; EQ‐5D‐3L, r = −0.44, all P < 0.01). However, within each NYHA class, there was a widespread of HR‐QoL scores. There was no association between patient demographics, left ventricular ejection fraction, plasma B‐type natriuretic peptide, or renal function with HR‐QoL using any tool.ConclusionsHealth‐related QoL assessment by validated questionnaire was acceptable to patients and feasible to perform in routine practice. Although NYHA class correlated significantly with HR‐QoL scores, there was high variability in HR‐QoL within each NYHA class, highlighting its limitation as the sole assessment of HR‐QoL. Clinicians should encourage the assessment of HR‐QoL to facilitate patient‐centred care and make more specific use of HR‐QoL measurement tools.
Disentangling Conscience Protections
Authors: Sawicki Nadia N. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractEarlier this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced its intent to strengthen enforcement of legal protections for health care providers' conscience rights. It proposed regulations that would give the DHHS Office of Civil Rights greater authority to ensure that recipients of federal funding comply with federal conscience laws. This recent development creates an opportunity for scholars and policy‐makers to revisit the perennial debate about whether and how law should protect health care providers' rights of conscience. Arguments about who should be protected, what actions should be protected, and whether there should be any limitations on the exercise of conscience rights have brought us no closer to a resolution. However, there is one remaining avenue for analysis that has, surprisingly, received very little attention—the question of how providers are protected, and from what consequences. Existing U.S. conscience laws immunize health care providers from a wide range of adverse consequences—including civil liability, criminal prosecution, administrative penalties, adverse action by employers, and discrimination by private actors, among others. However, academic and public policy debates rarely acknowledge the breadth of these protections. It is essential to disentangle this network of possible protections.
Patient‐Engaged Research: Choosing the “Right” Patients to Avoid Pitfalls
Authors: Largent Emily A. , Lynch Holly Fernandez , McCoy Matthew S. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractTo ensure that the information resulting from research is relevant to patients, the Patient‐Centered Outcomes Research Institute eschews the “traditional health research” paradigm, in which investigators drive all aspects of research, in favor of one in which patients assume the role of research partner. If we accept the premise that patient engagement can offer fresh perspectives that shape research in valuable ways, then at least two important sets of questions present themselves. First, how are patients being engaged—and how should they be engaged? Second, which patients are being engaged—and which patients should be? This set has received relatively less attention, and the neglect is surprising, given that the “who” question is conceptually prior to the question of “how.”This article focuses attention on the “who” of patient engagement in research. First, we provide background on the rationale for patient engagement, underscoring the importance of ensuring the representativeness of engaged patients. Second, we present what little is known about patients engaged in PCORI‐funded research. Third, we identify and discuss the ethical implications of ways in which current practices of patient identification and recruitment may lead to a lack of representativeness. These practices include reliance on the well‐connected and well‐informed, reliance on patients who are not well trained or well‐informed, and reliance on patient advocacy organizations. Finally, we consider several strategies for addressing these pitfalls in order to maximize the positive goals of patient engagement. Patient engagement is intended to address the inability of researchers, funders, and others to fully represent patient views and priorities, but without sufficient attention, the patients selected for this role may still leave important gaps.
Improving Long‐Term Care by Finally Respecting Home‐Care Aides
Authors: Osterman Paul 
Published: October 2018

AbstractThe American system of long‐term care is disorganized and expensive. Obtaining care for a loved one is a confusing and difficult journey. When it comes to paying for that care, a bit over half who receive care are supported at least partially by insurance, and those with no insurance pay entirely out of pocket. The costs are exorbitant. What makes the system function is reliance on unpaid family members, who care for their loved ones often at considerable cost to themselves.As the baby boom generation ages, this creaky system will become increasingly dysfunctional, and a likely shortage of caregivers will be at the heart of the difficulties. The supply of unpaid family caregivers will become limited, as the ratio of people in the category of ages forty‐five to sixty‐four compared to those who are eighty and older shrinks from just above seven to one in 2010 to just above four to one in 2030. Paid caregivers will be needed to take up the slack, yet they are poorly paid, work under very difficult conditions, and receive little respect from the health care system. In this essay, I discuss the circumstances facing these paid home‐care workers and a possible path forward, illustrating the current problems by drawing on interviews I conducted for a book‐length study published in 2017.