bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The importance of adjusting for enterococcus species when assessing the burden of vancomycin resistance: a cohort study including over 1000 cases of enterococcal bloodstream infections
Authors: Kramer Tobias Siegfried , Remschmidt Cornelius , Werner Sven , Behnke Michael , Schwab Frank , Werner Guido , Gastmeier Petra , Leistner Rasmus 
Published: November 2018

Abstract
Background
Infections caused by vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are on the rise worldwide. Few studies have tried to estimate the mortality burden as well as the financial burden of those infections and found that VRE are associated with increased mortality and higher hospital costs. However, it is unclear whether these worse outcomes are attributable to vancomycin resistance only or whether the enterococcal species (Enterococcus faecium or Enterococcus faecalis) play an important role. We therefore aimed to determine the burden of enterococci infections attributable to vancomycin resistance and pathogen species (E. faecium and E. faecalis) in cases of bloodstream infection (BSI).

Methods
We conducted a retrospective cohort study on patients with BSI caused by Enterococcus faecium or Enterococcus faecalis between 2008 and 2015 in three tertiary care hospitals. Data was collected on true hospital costs (in €), length of stay (LOS), basic demographic parameters, and underlying diseases including the results of the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI). We used univariate and multivariable regression analyses to compare risk factors for in-hospital mortality and length of stay (i) between vancomycin-susceptible E. faecium- (VSEm) and vancomycin-susceptible E. faecalis- (VSEf) cases and (ii) between vancomycin-susceptible E. faecium- (VSEm) and vancomycin-resistant E. faecium-cases (VREm). We calculated total hospital costs for VSEm, VSEf and VREm.

Results
Overall, we identified 1160 consecutive cases of BSI caused by enterococci: 596 (51.4%) cases of E. faecium BSI and 564 (48.6%) cases of E. faecalis BSI. 103 cases of E. faecium BSI (17.3%) and 1 case of E. faecalis BSI (0.2%) were infected by vancomycin-resistant isolates. Multivariable analyses revealed (i) that in addition to different underlying diseases E. faecium was an independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality and prolonged hospital stay and (ii) that vancomycin-resistance did not further increase the risk for the described outcomes among E. faecium-isolates. However, the overall hospital costs were significantly higher in VREm-BSI cases as compared to VSEm- and VSEf-BSI cases (80,465€ vs. 51,365€ vs. 31,122€ p < 0.001).

Conclusion
Our data indicates that in-hospital mortality and infection-attributed hospital stay in enterococci BSI might rather be influenced by Enterococcus species and underlying diseases than by vancomycin resistance. Therefore, future studies should consider adjusting for Enterococcus species in addition to vancomycin resistance in order to provide a conservative estimate for the burden of VRE infections.
Brazilian Curcuma longa L. attenuates comorbidities by modulating adipose tissue dysfunction in obese rats
Authors: Lo Angelo Thompson Colombo , Francisqueti Fabiane Valentini , Hasimoto Fabiana Kurokawa , Ferraz Ana Paula Costa Rodrigues , Minatel Igor Otávio , Garcia Jéssica Leite , dos Santos Klinsmann Carolo , Alves Pedro Henrique Rizzi , Lima Giuseppina Pace Pereira , Moreto Fernando , Ferron Artur Junio Togneri , Corrêa Camila Renata 
Published: November 2018

AbstractBackgroundAdipose tissue dysfunction is a condition characterized by inflammation and oxidative stress able to lead metabolic disorders.Curcuma longaL. (Cl) is a rhizome commonly used in Indian culinary which presents anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect ofin natura Curcuma longaL. on adipose tissue dysfunction and comorbidities in obese rats.MethodsMale Wistar rats (8 weeks old,n = 16) received standard chow + fructose in drinking water (30%) ad libitum for 16 weeks. After this period, animals were randomly divided to receive placebo treatment (fructose,n = 8) orCurcuma longaL. treatment (fructose +Cl,n = 8) for more 8 weeks, totalizing 24 weeks of experiment.Curcuma longaL. was mixed in water and gave to the animals by gavage in a dose of 80 mg/kg of body weight. Body composition, systolic blood pressure, metabolic, hormonal, inflammatory, and oxidative stress analysis were performed in plasma and adipose tissue.ResultsCurcuma longaL. reduced adiposity index and adipocyte hypertrophy, improved insulin resistance and systolic blood pressure, and reduced inflammation and oxidative stress in adipose tissue.ConclusionCurcuma longaL.in naturais able to modulate adipose tissue dysfunction, avoiding the development of comorbidities. It can be considered a phytochemical treatment strategy against obesity-related chronic diseases.
Knowledge of radiation legislation and radiation exposure in common radiological investigations among final year medical students, foundation doctors, specialist radiology registrars and radiographers at a UK university teaching hospital
Authors: Khan Muhammad Omar , Khan Muhammad Saddique , Janjua Osman , Ali Ahmed , Hussain Shahid 
Published: November 2018

Objective: Junior doctors routinely request radiological investigations for patients. Prior studies have noted that among this group there is a lack of knowledge on radiation legislation and radiation exposure in common radiological investigations. However, no studies have compared this against radiology trainees and radiographers. We compared knowledge of radiation legislation and radiation exposure in common radiological investigations among final year medical students (FYMS), foundation year doctors (FY1, FY2) against specialist radiology trainees (SRT) and radiographers (RG). Methods: A 12-question multiple choice questionnaire (MCQ) was distributed to FYMS, FY1, FY2, SRT and RG at a UK teaching hospital. Questions assessed knowledge of radiation legislation and radiation-dose estimates of common radiological investigations. Mean MCQ scores were compared using one-way ANOVA and Tukey post-test to determine statistical significance (p-value < 0.05). Results: 127 participants were included in the study. Mean scores (%) for FYMS (49.3%), FY1 (52.6%) and FY2 (51.1%) were significantly lower compared to SRT (64.4%) and RG (66.3%) (p-value < 0.05). Mean test scores between FYMS, FY1 and FY2 did not significantly differ (p-value > 0.05). Conclusion: FYMS, FY1 and FY2 knowledge of radiation legislation and radiation exposure in common radiological investigations was poor compared to SRT and RG. Patients require knowledge of radiation risk to provide informed consent as per IRMER regulations, thus we propose formal teaching on the subject matter to promote radiation safety culture among medical undergraduates and postgraduates. Advances in knowledge: First study to compare knowledge of radiation legislation and radiation exposure in common radiological investigations between medical students and junior doctors to radiology trainees and radiographers.
Understanding the cultural meanings of stroke in the Ghanaian setting: A qualitative study exploring the perspectives of local community residents
Authors: Sanuade Olutobi 
Published: November 2018

Background: Stroke has undergone different medical constructions over the years. While the medical profession posits that disease is a biological condition, universal and unchanging, social constructionists perceive illness as the social meaning of the biological condition. Even though the medical notion of stroke is monolithic and sometimes contradicts the representations by local community residents, little attention has been paid to understanding the cultural meanings of stroke. This study explores the cultural meanings of stroke in five different cultural settings across Ghana. Methods: 30 focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with local community members in five communities (Ga Mashie, Tafo, Gyegyeano, Chanshegu and Agorve) located in five regions in Ghana. The FGDs were conducted in Ga, Twi, Fante, Ewe and Dagbani, and were transcribed verbatim into English. The transcripts were analysed thematically. Results: The local words used for stroke in all the five cultural settings focused on physical disability associated with stroke after its onset, and this formed the dominant source of fear about the condition. Participants mentioned that spiritual and left-side stroke have the most debilitating impact on the sufferer. Although there was a general consensus that anyone can be at risk of stroke, there was a gender dynamics in the explanation of risk relativity. Participants believed that stroke can be cured through early detection and treatment, use of herbal medicines, and availability of financial resources. Compared to other disabling conditions, the community residents perceived stroke to be more severe due to the multifaceted disabilities associated with the condition. Conclusions: This study showed that the social meanings of stroke in the five communities are multifaceted, and reflected co-existence of biomedical and cultural frameworks. The findings showed the need to pay good attention to the sociocultural context when developing interventions strategies on stroke prevention and control in Ghana.
Clinical Annotation Reference Templates: a resource for consistent variant annotation
Authors: Yost Shawn , Münz Márton , Mahamdallie Shazia , Renwick Anthony , Ruark Elise , Rahman Nazneen 
Published: November 2018

Annotating the impact of a variant on a gene is a vital component of genetic medicine and genetic research. Different gene annotations for the same genomic variant are possible, because different structures and sequences for the same gene are available. The clinical community typically use RefSeq NMs to annotate gene variation, which do not always match the reference genome. The scientific community typically use Ensembl ENSTs to annotate gene variation. These match the reference genome, but often do not match the equivalent NM. Often the transcripts used to annotate gene variation are not provided, impeding interoperability and consistency. Here we introduce the concept of the Clinical Annotation Reference Template (CART). CARTs are analogous to the reference genome; they provide a universal standard template so reference genomic coordinates are consistently annotated at the protein level. Naturally, there are many situations where annotations using a specific transcript, or multiple transcripts are useful. The aim of the CARTs is not to impede this practice. Rather, the CART annotation serves as an anchor to ensure interoperability between different annotation systems and variant frequency accuracy. Annotations using other explicitly-named transcripts should also be provided, wherever useful. We have integrated transcript data to generate CARTs for over 18,000 genes, for both GRCh37 and GRCh38, based on the associated NM and ENST identified through the CART selection process. Each CART has a unique ID and can be used individually or as a stable set of templates; CART37A for GRCh37 and CART38A for GRCh38. We have made the CARTs available on the UCSC browser and in different file formats on the Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/tcvbq/. We have also made the CARTtools software we used to generate the CARTs available on GitHub. We hope the CARTs will be useful in helping to drive transparent, stable, consistent, interoperable variant annotation.
CARACTERÍSTICAS DISCURSIVAS EM LÍNGUA ESPANHOLA, UMA CONTRIBUIÇÃO À LINGUÍSTICA DE CORPUS.
Authors: Dias Barbara Soares da Silva 
Published: November 2018

Resumo: O suporte tecnológico por voz em língua estrangeira aos clientes passa a ser uma necessidade das empresas nacionais na medida em que a economia brasileira se internacionaliza. Embasado em pesquisa realizada para o desenvolvimento do Mestrado em Linguística Aplicada junto à Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo[1], o presente artigo analisa o Service Desk - prestação de serviço de TI dentro dos serviços de gerenciamento de Tecnologia da informação (ITSM) conforme definido pela metodologia ITIL (Biblioteca de Infraestrutura de Tecnologia da Informação) de uma empresa prestadora de serviços. O método da pesquisa consiste nos seguintes passos: um conjunto de ligações foi colhido, criando um corpus de 70 textos tendo sido completamente etiquetado com o etiquetador Biber Spanish Tagger. Segundo, os dados foram submetidos ao software estatístico SPSS, e uma anotação manual dos níveis de performance de qualidade e suas características linguísticas foi executada por meio de taxonomia desenvolvida para essa pesquisa, baseada em Michael Hoey (1983). Justifica-se a relevância do estudo como contribuição à Linguística de Corpus. Os resultados indicaram baixa recorrência de dificuldade de linguagem nas ligações para o que era esperado; embora esta baixa recorrência tenha causado impacto no departamento e, justifica que tais resultados possam ser trabalhados em uma rotina de treinamento.[1] DIAS, B.S.S. Relação de qualidade no atendimento e características linguísticas do discurso da microinformática (Service Desk) em língua espanhola: um estudo em Linguística de Corpus (Dissertação). Mestrado em Linguística Aplicada. Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, 2013.
Culpa in Contrahendo, Promissory Estoppel, Pre-Contractual Good Faith and Irredeemable Acts
Authors: Kovac Mitja 
Published: November 2018

Abstract
Concepts of pre-contractual good faith, culpa in contrahendo and promissory estoppel have received increasing attention from legal scholars, law makers and practitioners. Those concepts appear as fundamental in all civil and common law systems and yet as ones whose nature and contents are still ill-defined. Moreover, recent doctrinal developments in Chinese and in the modernized French Law of contracts call for further systematic assessment. This paper fills the gap by providing an evaluation of the English, French, German and Chinese law of contracts. It offers a comparative law and economics evaluation and argues that those duties serve as a multi-functional judicial mechanism enabling ex post screening between socially desirable and undesirable behavior. They set the behavioral standards and serve as deterrence mechanisms that attempt to discourage certain socially undesirable behaviour in the course of the negotiations. The paper seeks to find out what new light the comparative law and economic analysis can shed on the issues of pre-contractual good faith, culpa in contrahendo and promissory estoppel to help to clarify it.
On the origin and formation of the early Qin Culture
Authors: Liang Yun 
Published: November 2018

Abstract
The early Qin Culture refers to the Qin Culture from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring-and-Autumn Period. Considering its cultural composition, we will realize that it has three main sources, namely the Shang, Zhou, and Western Rong (Western Barbarian) Cultures. The elements derived from the Shang Culture comprised the furniture of waist pits and the custom of dog burial in graves, the use of human sacrifice, the interment of chariots and horses, the Shang-style pottery wares and the tradition of constructing huge-scale mausoleums. These elements reflect that the Qin people initially came from the east and had strong ties with the Shang Dynasty and were deeply influenced by the Shang Culture, and belonged to the Yin people (after the fall of the Shang Dynasty) in the broader sense. The elements absorbed from the Zhou Culture comprised the architectural types of ancestral temples and palaces, the adoption of the ritual vessels, the suspended musical instruments, the Zhou style pottery wares and the writing system. These elements indicate that the Qin people adopted the ritual and musical culture of the Western Zhou Dynasty, which had a great political significance at the early stage of Qin’s history. The factors derived from the cultures of the Western Rong ethnic group or the northern steppes included the flexed burial position, the golden body ornaments and chariots and horses, iron wares, animal motifs on utensils, recesses on the walls of the burial pits and the ditches around the graves, the use of bronze cauldrons and swords (daggers). Such elements reflect that during the development process in the Longyou region, the Qin people absorbed the cultures of the adjacent Western Rong ethnic group, the Eurasian steppes and farther beyond. The first kind of elements continued to predominate the Qin Culture down to the middle Western Zhou, then the second and the third ones arose from the late Western Zhou to the early Spring-and-Autumn Period, and simultaneously, the first were only present in the aristocratic burial activities. Based on the remnants of the Shang Culture, the early Qin Culture came into being by widely absorbing elements of the Zhou and Western Rong Cultures.
The development and formation of soldering technique on the bronze ritual vessel casting of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties
Authors: Zhang Changping 
Published: November 2018

Abstract
This paper concerns the development of soldering in early China. Soldering requires the use of an additional heating of metal to join two or more existing metal items together. The paper defines the different soft and hard soldering materials. It also describes the evolution from joining two pieces, an animal head and a vessel with additional pour of bronze as an extension of the casting process. The next step was the use of hard solder, using bronze or copper related materials. There were two ways to join the existing bronze sections: the most common was “tenon soldering”. Less common but equally significant was “injection soldering”. In the late Spring-and-Autumn Period, soft soldering with tin and lead was developed. This step allowed much more extravagant decoration of bronzes, leading to new bronze vessel styles and also to much greater sub-division of labor in the production process.
Effects of different exercise loads on the thyroid hormone levels and serum lipid profile in swimmers
Authors: Kocahan Sayad , Dundar Aykut 
Published: November 2018

Abstract

Background
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different exercise loads (short, medium and long swimming distances) on the thyroid hormone (THs) levels and serum lipid profiles of male professional swimmers.

Materials and methods
The participants in this study were 20 healthy male professional swimmers aged 18–22 years, who all competed at an elite level. The THs levels [thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4)] and serum lipid profile were also obtained.

Results
It was determined that the TSH and T4 values increased after exercise (p < 0.05). When compared to the pretest values, the increase in the TSH and T4 values following the L400 tests was statistically significant (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05). It was also determined that the changes in the cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and total glucose (TG) values were significant after exercise (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) values (p = 0.07). According to the results, the cholesterol counts for the M200 and L400 groups were lower than the pretest counts (p < 0.001). When compared to the pretest values, the decrease in the HDL counts for the M200 and L400 groups was higher than the pretest HDL counts (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05, respectively). Further, the triglycerides counts for the M200 and L400 groups were higher than the pretest counts (p < 0.001).

Conclusions
Different exercise loads can have a positive impact on the physical health of swimmers via their lipid profiles and THs. Additionally, swimming exercise could be considered an efficient protective strategy against metabolic disorders, as it serves to balance the serum lipid levels.
Direct and indirect effects of psychopharmacological treatment on the cardiovascular system
Authors: Kahl Kai G. 
Published: November 2018

Abstract

Background
Severe mental disorders, i.e. psychotic disorders, unipolar and bipolar disorders are associated with increased morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. The underlying cause of this association is complex and comprises disorder specific alterations such as dysfunctions of immunological and hormonal systems, body-composition changes and health associated behaviors (smoking, sedentary lifestyle, alcohol intake and treatment compliance). Furthermore, some psychopharmacological drugs may exert unwanted side effects that impact the cardiovascular system.

Methods
This paper reviews studies concerning commonly used antidepressant and antipsychotics drugs with a particular focus on direct and indirect cardiovascular side effects.

Results
Newer antidepressant drugs have a favorable cardiovascular safety profile compared to tricyclic antidepressants. However, QTc prolongation, increased blood pressure and potentially higher risks of bleeding have been observed in some newer antidepressants. Some second generation (atypical) antipsychotics have raised concern because of indirect cardiovascular, metabolic side effects such as weight gain and disturbances in lipid and glucose metabolism.

Conclusions
Psychiatrists need to be aware of potential direct and indirect cardiovascular side effects and to include them in the risk/benefit assessment when choosing a specific individualized treatment.
Begreifbare Learning Environments
Authors: Robben Bernard , Herzig Bardo , Klar Tilman-Mathies , Schelhowe Heidi 
Published: November 2018

Abstract
We propose a framework of Interaction Design for Reflective Experience (RED). “Begreifbare” (graspable, in the sense of tangible and comprehensible) learning environments embody a designed experience that combines abstraction and concreteness, perception and cognition, and thus emphasizes both the impact of tangible, embodied interactions and the importance of symbols and signs for reflective experience. Our framework is based on the categories of space and experience, model and reflection.
Embedded Computation versus Embodied Interaction: Connected Objects for Connected Thinking
Authors: Hemmert Fabian , Bradford Elizabeth , Caetano Erik , Kegel Friedrich , Licht Eva , Höwer Marco 
Published: November 2018

Abstract
What will future creativity-based work in collaboration with ubiquitous, AI-driven systems be like? In this paper, we argue that following a ‘tangible interaction’ approach can be beneficial in this context. We describe six connected objects that illustrate how the quality of future creative work could be designed. The objects aim to shape embedded computation in ways that support embodied interaction. They include a place for sacrificing one’s phone, an olfactory calendar, a reader/writer for cloud data in everyday objects, a concrete-based data logger, a slot machine for recombining old ideas into new ones, and a dimmer for artificial intelligence. We summarize the results of a critical reflection of the prototypes in an argument for designing interactions that foster collaborative creative processes between embodied humans in a world of embedded computation.