bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Reproducibility of pulse wave velocity and augmentation index derived from non‐invasive occlusive oscillometric tonometry analysis in adolescents
Authors: Haapala Eero A. , Veijalainen Aapo , Kujala Urho M. , Finni Taija 
Published: June 2018

SummaryThe aim of this study was to investigate the short‐term reproducibility of aortic pulse wave velocity (PWVao) and augmentation index (AIx%) assessed by the non‐invasive oscillometric device. Altogether of 55 (19 boys, 36 girls) adolescents 16–19‐years‐of‐age participated in the study. PWVao and AIx% were measured during the same laboratory visit at 2 min intervals using the Arteriograph™ device. Peak oxygen uptake (V̇O2peak) was assessed by the maximal exercise test on a cycle ergometer and body fat percentage by bioelectrical impedance analysis. We studied reproducibility using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), coefficient variation with the root‐means‐square method expressed as percentages (CV%), and 95% limit of agreement (95% LA) and coefficient repeatability of the Bland‐Altman plot. ICC for PWVao was 0·90, CV% 3·7 and the limits of agreement were −0·70 and 0·58 with a coefficient repeatability of 0·65. ICC for AIx% was 0·88, CV% 29·1%, and the limits of agreement were −6·8 and 7·1 with a coefficient repeatability of 6·9. No relevant differences in ICC, CV%, and coefficient repeatability for PWVao between adolescents with higher or lower V̇O2peak or body fat percentage were observed. For AIx%, ICC was lower, CV% higher and coefficient repeatability higher in adolescents with higher V̇O2peak or lower body fat percentage than in adolescents with lower V̇O2peak or higher body fat percentage. Short‐term reproducibility of Arteriograph™‐derived PWVao was relatively good and was not affected by V̇O2peak or adiposity. However, the reproducibility of AIx% was modest especially among adolescents with higher V̇O2peak and lower body fat percentage.
Achieving glycaemic control without weight gain, hypoglycaemia, or gastrointestinal adverse events in type 2 diabetes in the SUSTAIN clinical trial programme
Authors: DeVries J. Hans , Desouza Cyrus , Bellary Srikanth , Unger Jeffrey , Hansen Oluf K. H. , Zacho Jeppe , Woo Vincent 
Published: June 2018

AimTo evaluate the potential for semaglutide to help people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) achieve glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) targets while avoiding unwanted outcomes, such as weight gain, hypoglycaemia and gastrointestinal (GI) side effects.Materials and methodsData from the phase IIIa SUSTAIN 1 to 5 clinical trials were analysed. Participants had inadequately controlled T2D and were drug‐naïve (SUSTAIN 1) or on a range of background treatments (SUSTAIN 2 to 5). The main protocol‐specified composite endpoint was the proportion of participants achieving HbA1c <53 mmol/mol (7.0%) at end of treatment (30 or 56 weeks) without weight gain and with no severe or blood glucose (BG)‐confirmed symptomatic hypoglycaemia. A post hoc composite endpoint was the proportion of participants achieving the primary composite endpoint without moderate or severe GI adverse events (AEs).ResultsAcross the SUSTAIN trials 1 to 5, 3918 participants with T2D were randomized to once‐weekly subcutaneous semaglutide 0.5 mg, 1.0 mg, or comparators (placebo, sitagliptin 100 mg, exenatide extended release 2.0 mg or insulin glargine). The proportion of participants achieving HbA1c <53 mmol/mol (7.0%) with no weight gain and no severe/BG‐confirmed symptomatic hypoglycaemia was 47% to 66% (semaglutide 0.5 mg) and 57% to 74% (semaglutide 1.0 mg) vs 7% to 19% (placebo) and 16% to 29% (active comparators; all P < .0001). More participants achieved the primary composite endpoint with no moderate or severe GI AEs with semaglutide vs comparators (all P < .0001).ConclusionSemaglutide helped more people with T2D achieve HbA1c targets than did comparators in the SUSTAIN 1 to 5 trials, while avoiding unwanted outcomes such as weight gain, hypoglycaemia and GI side effects.
EncounteringSupai: An Ecology of Spiritual Perception in the Ecuadorian Amazon
Authors: Mezzenzana Francesca 
Published: June 2018

AbstractIn this article I set out to draw an “ecology” of spiritual perception among the Runa of the Ecuadorian Amazon. In particular, I look at the ways in whichsupaibeings—forest spirits—are perceived by the Runa through two main sensory modalities: smelling and dreaming. Inspired by recent advances in the anthropology of religious learning, I then explore how certain Runa people—those who have undertaken a bodily training known assasi—are more likely than others to encountersupaibeings. This ritual training is conceived ascorporeallearning. I conclude by suggesting that attention and self‐attention developed during such corporeal practices play a central role in the perception of forest spirits. [spirits, perception, attention, learning, Amazonia]
Mimesis, Metaphors, Models, and Feet in American Dreams
Authors: Mageo Jeannette 
Published: June 2018

AbstractDreamers copy images from memories, I ague in this article, to serve as metaphors for problems with a cultural model, but they change remembered images to comment on these problems. What this means is that dreaming is mimetic in nature. I define mimesis as copying with alterations, where the reproduction specifies a subject of thought and variations comment on that subject. In longer dreams, these alterations are of three types: (1) dreamers pose a question as a visually absent element of a memory; (2) dreamers re‐present the same question through a succession of different metaphors; and (3) dreamers blend images associated with a primary cultural model with images associated with a secondary cultural model. I base this argument on dream data collected from Northwestern American college students, zooming in on the dream of a young woman about her feet and about a cultural model I call “the Pinup” that is fundamental to the contemporary rating of female bodies.
Expected versus Ex Post Profitability in the Cross‐Section of Industry Returns
Authors: Detzel Andrew , Schaberl Philipp , Strauss Jack 
Published: June 2018

AbstractAsset pricing theory predicts a positive cross‐sectional relation between expected profitability and expected returns. However, empirical studies typically use lagged ex post profitability as a proxy for expected profitability. In this article, we use out‐of‐sample combination forecasts to estimate expected industry‐level operating profit, gross profit, operating cash flow, and net income. We then construct real‐time industry‐rotation strategies based on high and low expected profitability. For each measure except gross profit, these predicted‐profitability strategies earn significant alpha net of transaction costs and outperform strategies based on ex post profitability.
Human land use promotes the abundance and diversity of exotic species on Caribbean islands
Authors: Jesse Wendy A. M. , Behm Jocelyn E. , Helmus Matthew R. , Ellers Jacintha 
Published: May 2018

AbstractHuman land use causes major changes in species abundance and composition, yet native and exotic species can exhibit different responses to land use change. Native populations generally decline in human‐impacted habitats while exotic species often benefit. In this study, we assessed the effects of human land use on exotic and native reptile diversity, including functional diversity, which relates to the range of habitat use strategies in biotic communities. We surveyed 114 reptile communities from localities that varied in habitat structure and human impact level on two Caribbean islands, and calculated species richness, overall abundance, and evenness for every plot. Functional diversity indices were calculated using published trait data, which enabled us to detect signs of trait filtering associated with impacted habitats. Our results show that environmental variation among sampling plots was explained by two Principal Component Analysis (PCA) ordination axes related to habitat structure (i.e., forest or nonforest) and human impact level (i.e., addition of man‐made constructions such as roads and buildings). Several diversity indices were significantly correlated with the two PCA axes, but exotic and native species showed opposing responses. Native species reached the highest abundance in forests, while exotic species were absent in this habitat. Human impact was associated with an increase in exotic abundance and species richness, while native species showed no significant associations. Functional diversity was highest in nonforested environments on both islands, and further increased on St. Martin with the establishment of functionally unique exotic species in nonforested habitat. Habitat structure, rather than human impact, proved to be an important agent for environmental filtering of traits, causing divergent functional trait values across forested and nonforested environments. Our results illustrate the importance of considering various elements of land use when studying its impact on species diversity and the establishment and spread of exotic species.
Long‐Term Impacts on Groundwater and Reductive Dechlorination Following Bioremediation in a Highly Characterized Trichloroethene DNAPL Source Area
Authors: Schaefer Charles E. , Lavorgna Graig M. , Haluska Alexander A. , Annable Michael D. 
Published: May 2018

AbstractHigh‐resolution soil and groundwater monitoring was performed to assess the long‐term impacts of bioremediation using bioaugmentation with a dechlorinating microbial consortium (and sodium lactate as the electron donor) in a well‐characterized trichloroethene (TCE) dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) source area. Monitoring was performed up to 3.7 years following active bioremediation using a high‐density monitoring network that included several discrete interval multi‐level sampling wells. Results showed that despite the absence of lactate, lactate fermentation transformation products, or hydrogen, biogeochemical conditions remained favorable for the reductive dechlorination of chlorinated ethenes. In locations where soil data showed that TCE DNAPL sources persisted, local contaminant rebound was observed in groundwater, whereas no rebound or continuous decreases in chlorinated ethenes were observed in locations where DNAPL sources were treated. While ethene levels measured 3.7 years after active treatment suggested relatively low (2 to 30%) dechlorination of the parent TCE and daughter products, carbon stable isotope analysis showed that the extent of complete dechlorination was much greater than indicated by ethene generation and that the estimated first‐order rate constant describing the complete dechlorination of TCE at 3.7 years following active bioremediation was approximately 3.6 y–1. Overall, results of this study suggest that biological processes may persist to treat TCE for years after cessation of active bioremediation, thereby serving as an important component of remedial treatment design and long‐term attenuation.
Optimal R&D outsourcing
Authors: Leoni Patrick L. 
Published: May 2018

AbstractWe study optimal contracts when R&D is outsourced to another company. We find that, when a realistic assumption holds, the optimal contract always leads in equilibrium to low chances of having a successful technical innovation, given announced compensations. This assumption is significantly different from those used in the literature, and it is necessary for the result to hold. Our work shows that R&D outsourcing typically performs poorly.
Communication frictions, sentiments, and nonlinear business cycles
Authors: Xu Libo , Serletis Apostolos 
Published: June 2018

AbstractIn the context of a rational expectations macroeconomic model with communication frictions, we show that the level of economic activity is a nonlinear and time‐varying function of aggregate economic fundamentals and sentiment shocks. In particular, because of communication frictions, it is possible for small changes in sentiment shocks to cause large changes in aggregate output, and, similarly, for large changes in sentiment shocks to cause small changes in aggregate output. We also find that communication frictions have nonlinear effects on the variance of aggregate output, meaning that improving the communication does not always reduce the variance of aggregate output.
A retrospective review of great ape cardiovascular disease epidemiology and pathology
Authors: Strong V. J. , Martin M. , Redrobe S. , White K. , Baiker K. 
Published: June 2018

Cardiovascular disease is associated with significant mortality in zoo‐housed great apes, yet little is known about its epidemiology and aetiopathogenesis, and therefore its diagnosis, treatment and prevention. In this retrospective study, the frequency and patterns of cardiovascular disease‐associated mortality in zoo‐housed great apes is explored. Data relating to 71 great apes [Bonobos Pan paniscus (n = 13), Chimpanzees Pan troglodytes (n = 37), Western lowland gorillas Gorilla gorilla gorilla (n = 15), and Bornean orangutans Pongo pygmaeus and Sumatran orangutans Pongo abelii (n = 6)], which died between 2004 and 2014, were studied and key information relating to their signalment (taxa, age, sex), and manner and cause of death analysed. Male sex and increasing age were found to be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease‐associated death. Relative to the other taxa, orangutans appeared to be less at risk of heart disease‐associated mortality. Deaths were often found to be sudden and unexpected. Cardiomyopathies were the most frequently diagnosed cardiovascular disorder. Of these, a group of cardiomyopathies characterized by the presence of myocardial fibrosis were most common, although there were inconsistencies with regards the reporting of other histopathological features. The study identified potential risk factors involved in great ape cardiovascular disease aetiopathogenesis which warrant further exploration. The findings also suggest a need for proactive screening to identify those affected earlier in the disease course. Finally, the study highlights a critical need for improvements to be made to the current approach to post‐mortem investigation of great ape heart disease and the subsequent reporting of cardiovascular lesions.
Disparities in Water Quality in Indian Country
Authors: Conroy‐Ben Otakuye , Richard Rain 
Published: May 2018

AbstractTribal Nations in the United States are afflicted by a number of disparities including health, socioeconomics, education, and contaminant exposure to name a few. To understand drinking water quality disparities, we analyzed Safe Drinking Water Act violations in Indian Country found in the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) and compared them to violations in non‐tribal areas of the same state for the time period 2014 – 2017. The violations assessed were total point accumulations per year per 1,000 customers, health‐based maximum contaminant limit (MCL), reporting and monitoring, and public notice for each state reporting tribal data. Violation point disparities were evident, as tribal facilities acquired nearly six times the points of the national average. In some states, health‐based tribal water quality was better than in non‐tribal communities, however Arizona, Iowa, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming had MCL violations affecting a greater percentage of tribal populations than non‐tribal. Nation‐wide, monitoring and reporting violations affected tribal communities at nearly twice the rate of non‐tribal customers. Public notice reporting was high and comparable for both tribal and non‐tribal facilities. Finally, a comparison of small drinking water facilities, under which ∼97% of the surveyed tribal drinking water falls, confirmed state‐wide disparities. Solutions for the apparent disparities in Indian Country and on non‐tribal lands may be as simple as rectifying monitoring and reporting violations, though this correction will not shift the overall water quality difference. Addressing MCL and treatment violations is the next step to reduce the disparity.
Assessment of the genetic and economic impact of performance recording and genotyping in Australian commercial sheep operations
Authors: Santos B.F.S. , Amer P.R. , Granleese T. , Byrne T.J. , Hogan L. , Gibson J.P. , van der Werf J.H.J. 
Published: May 2018

SummaryWith the new opportunities from DNA technology, multitier breeding schemes have the potential to become more effective and more integrated. Integrated breeding schemes can also be better adapted to account for potential genotype by environment interactions (G × E) between tiers. In this case, phenotypic and genotype information from lower tiers becomes more valuable as it involves measurement of traits that directly represent the breeding objective. The objective of this study was to compare scenarios that represented different selection strategies and their economic effectiveness in fine‐wool commercial sheep operations that exploit multitier breeding structures. Genomic selection (GS) applied in the multiplier and the commercial tier presented the largest additional revenue among all scenarios, as it resulted in the largest amount of genetic progress. The largest benefits from GS were outweighed by the genotyping costs, which made DNA parentage the most feasible strategy for the multiplier tier, resulting in the highest cumulative net present value (CNPV). The benefits of phenotypes and genotype information from the commercial environment were larger in the presence of G × E between the nucleus and the commercial tier. The CNPV was larger with a 50% reduction in genotyping costs, which increased the returns of GS scenarios by 2.7‐fold on average. Higher selection intensity when selecting multiplier rams also resulted in larger benefits. In this case, returns for the breeding scheme were 3.5‐fold higher when 33% of multiplier males were selected based on commercial information, compared to scenarios selecting 50% of the available multiplier rams. The benefits of collecting commercial phenotypes and genotypes were long term, which means that return on investment often took more than 10 years to be achieved, and were largely dependent on two‐stage selection to reduce cost while maintaining selection efficiency and on the cost of a genotype test.
Effects of a modelling example for teaching information problem solving skills
Authors: Frerejean J. , van Strien J.L.H. , Kirschner P.A. , Brand‐Gruwel S. 
Published: May 2018

AbstractAlthough students often appear to be skilled in retrieving and making use of information from the internet, research shows that their information problem solving skills are overestimated. They show deficiencies in many of the necessary skills, such as generation of search terms, selection of sources, and critical processing of information. It is therefore necessary to design and develop effective instruction to foster information problem solving skills. Research shows that learning from examples can be an effective approach for teaching complex cognitive skills in ill‐structured domains, such as writing or communicating. To explore whether this also holds for information problem solving, this study investigates the effects of presenting a modelling example in an online information problem solving training. Results of two experiments show that viewing a modelling example, presented as a screencast of an expert thinking out loud and interspersed with cognitive prompts, leads to a higher posttest performance than performing a practice task. The effect persisted on a delayed posttest 1 week later. The results imply that information problem solving instruction in an online setting can benefit from employing video‐based modelling examples.
Analysis of the level of clinical skills of physician assistants tested with simulated intensive care patients
Authors: van Vught Anneke J.A.H. , van den Brink Geert T.W.J. , Hilkens Murielle G.E.C. , van Oers Jos A.H. 
Published: May 2018

AbstractRationale, aims, and objectivesSince adequate staffing in intensive care units (ICUs) is an increasing problem worldwide, we investigated whether physician assistants (PAs) are able to substitute medical residents (MR) in ICUs with at least the same quality of clinical skills. In this study, we analysed the level of clinical skills of PAs in direct comparison with those who traditionally performed these tasks, ie, MR with 6 to 24 months of work experience in the ICU.MethodPhysician assistants and MRs in the ICUs were observed on their clinical skills by means of a simulated ICU comprising 2 scenarios on a human patient simulator with typical ICU cases. The level of clinical skills of PAs and MRs was videotaped and scored with predefined checklists by 2 independent intensivists per scenario. Percentage of the total score was calculated, and means were compared by Student t test.ResultsA total of 11 PAs and 10 MRs participated in the study. Physician assistants and MRs scored equal (PA 66% ± 13% vs MR 68% ± 9%, P = .86) on their clinical performance in the simulated ICU setting.ConclusionThis study showed equal performance of PAs and MRs on clinical skills in the simulated ICU setting.
Endoscopic ultrasound‐guided fine‐needle aspiration used in diagnosing gastric linitis plastica: Metastatic lymph nodes can be valuable targets
Authors: Liu Yuan , Chen Ke , Yang Xiu‐Jiang 
Published: June 2018

AbstractBackground and AimThe aim of this study was to assess the performance of endoscopic ultrasound‐guided fine‐needle aspiration (EUS‐FNA) for the diagnosis of gastric linitis plastic (GLP).MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed all the cases undergoing EUS for suspected GLP from January 2012 to September 2017. We included patients with GLP confirmed pathologically with white‐light endoscopy (WLE)‐guided biopsy or EUS‐FNA. Diagnostic value of WLE biopsy and EUS‐FNA was further analyzed.ResultsA total of 107 cases of suspected GLP were referred for EUS examination in our center. Twenty‐six patients were eligible and included. GLP was confirmed in 15 cases by EUS‐FNA, nine cases by WLE biopsy, and eight cases by surgical pathology. The positive rate of EUS‐FNA and WLE biopsy for involved gastric wall was 71.43% (15/21) and 47.37% (9/19). EUS‐FNA of metastatic lymph nodes was also performed in 16 cases, and 15 (93.75%) were proved to be malignant, including all 13 that were positive for peri‐gastric lymph nodes, and two of three (66.67%) that were positive rate for retroperitoneal lymph nodes. Diameters of punctured lymph nodes ranged from 3.30 to 22.70 mm, with an average of 12.12 mm.ConclusionsPathological diagnosis of GLP by invasive endoscopy is still intractable, even at a late stage. Positive results can be obtained even in small or distant lymph nodes.