bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Usefulness of the United States National Weather Service Radar Display as Rated by Website Users
Authors: Saunders Michelle E. , Ash Kevin D. , Collins Jennifer M. 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
Weather radar is now widely viewed by the general public in the United States via television, computers/tablets, and smartphones. Anyone can consult near-real-time maps and animations of weather radar data when weather conditions are a factor. However, the usefulness of weather radar data for each user depends on a complex interaction of factors. There have been few studies providing conceptual arguments and empirical data to better understand what the most important factors are and to comprehend patterns of public weather radar use across the United States. The first part of this research provides a basic conceptual framework for research investigating the usefulness of weather radar displays as a source of weather information and as a decision aid. The second part aims to uncover several factors that influence the perceived usefulness rating of the National Weather Service (NWS) website’s weather radar display at both national and regional levels using variables gathered from the 2014 NWS customer satisfaction survey alongside relevant geographic and climatological variables. Data analyses include spatial clustering and ordinal regression utilized within a generalized linear model methodology. Overall, respondents who are more familiar with the NWS and their products, as well as those who indicate they are more likely to take action based on information provided by the NWS, are more likely to find the NWS radar display useful. Geographically, the NWS radar display is most useful to persons residing in the southern United States. Lightning is the most important hazard associated with higher radar usefulness ratings.
Tachyphylaxis and Dependence in Pharmacotherapy for Unexplained Chronic Cough
Authors: Bowen Andrew J. , Huang Tiffany L. , Nowacki Amy S. , Trask Douglas , Kaltenbach James , Taliercio Rachel , Benninger Michael S. , Milstein Claudio F. , Bryson Paul C. 
Published: July 2018

ObjectiveUnexplained chronic cough (UCC) is a perplexing condition treated with neuromodulators. Although previous literature describes the effectiveness of neuromodulators, there is little on the development of tachyphylaxis or dependence to neuromodulators over time. Our objective is to capture the experience of a large cohort of patients with UCC over an extended period, looking for these 2 phenomena.Study DesignCase series with chart review.SettingTertiary care hospital.Subjects and MethodsWe performed a retrospective review of patients diagnosed with UCC from 2010 to 2014. Patient outcomes were measured through percentage improvement scores. Treatment failures were attributed to no benefit, intolerable side effects, or tachyphylaxis. Tachyphylaxis was defined as the need for higher doses of medication following diminishing therapeutic benefit, while dependence was defined as a failure to stop therapy following attempted de‐escalation or resurgence following drug cessation.ResultsSixty‐eight patients were included in the study. Tachyphylaxis was observed among 35% of patients while dependence was observed among 27% of successfully treated patients, together effecting >50% of the cohort. Sixty‐eight percent of patients ultimately experienced successful treatment with neuromodulators, demonstrating strikingly distinct responses to different neuromodulator drug classes.ConclusionTachyphylaxis and dependence occur frequently during UCC treatment and have a major impact on treatment outcomes. Patients sometimes demonstrate distinct responses to different neuromodulator classes. The majority of patients will experience successful treatment for their cough, although several trials may be required.
Impact of ex-vivo extracorporeal membrane oxygenation circuitry on daptomycin
Authors: Cies Jeffrey J. , Moore Wayne S. , Giliam Nadji , Low Tracy , Enache Adela , Chopra Arun 
Published: July 2018

Background: The objective was to determine the alterations of daptomycin (DAP) in a contemporary neonatal/pediatric (1/4-inch) and adolescent/adult (3/8-inch) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) circuit including the Quadrox-i® oxygenator. Methods: Quarter-inch and 3/8-inch, simulated, closed-loop, ECMO circuits were prepared with a Quadrox-i pediatric and Quadrox-i adult oxygenator and blood primed. A one-time dose of DAP was administered into the circuit and serial pre- and post-oxygenator concentrations were obtained at 0-5 minutes and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 24-hour time points. DAP was also maintained in a glass vial and samples were taken from the vial at the same time periods for control purposes to assess for spontaneous drug degradation Results: For both the 1/4-inch and 3/8-inch circuits, there was no significant DAP loss at 24 hours. Additionally, the reference DAP concentrations remained relatively constant during the entire 24-hour study period. Conclusion: This ex-vivo investigation demonstrated no significant DAP loss within an ECMO circuit with both sizes of the Quadrox-i oxygenator at 24 hours. Therapeutic concentrations of DAP in the setting of ECMO may be anticipated with current recommended doses, depending on the amount of extracorporeal volume needed for circuit maintenance in comparison to the patient’s apparent volume of distribution. Additional studies with a larger sample size are needed to confirm these findings.
Experimental investigations of the aerated polymethylmethacrylate-based vertebral cement flow in capillaries
Authors: Tyfa Zbigniew , Witkowski Dariusz , Sobczak Krzysztof , Obidowski Damian , Jóźwik Krzysztof 
Published: July 2018

Introduction: A constant growth in the population suffering from osteoporotic vertebral weakening is observed. As a result, vertebroplasty procedures become more and more common. Unfortunately, they may be associated with several complications occurring during bone cement injection, including its leakage or overheating of tissues. Despite several experimental studies, there is a lack of data related to random aeration of the bone cement. Therefore, the main objective of the following investigations was to emphasize that random aeration of the bone cement, and, consequently, a compressibility factor, could not be treated as a negligible factor during the vertebroplasty procedure and had to be taken into account in the development of the mathematical model. Materials and methods: A special test rig to reproduce the vertebroplasty procedure was designed and built. The authors conducted numerous experiments on polymethylmethacrylate-based bone cement flows, analyzing different flow conditions, such as volume flow rate and flow channel diameter. Time periods of the flow front between characteristic sections and pressures (differential and gauge) were measured. Results: All investigations revealed that bone cements mixed in special mixing kits were characterized by a random level of aeration which led to varied flow parameters. Comparing the experimental results with the theoretical values of the continuity equation, the highest difference in the flow duration reached 140%. Discussion: It has been proven that the aeration of the bone cement alters the flow dynamics. Therefore, much more data are required for statistical analysis to validate a mathematical model of the bone cement flow.
Prevalence and Correlates of Criminal Behavior Among the Non-institutionalized Elderly: Results From the National Survey on Drug Use and Health
Authors: Ghossoub Elias , Khoury Rita 
Published: July 2018

Objectives: First to explore the prevalence of criminal behavior committed by the non-institutionalized geriatric American population. Second to determine the correlates of criminal behavior among this population. Methods: We used data of the non-institutionalized adults aged ≥65 years in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2008 through 2014. We compared socio-demographic and mental health profiles of arrestees to non-arrestees and lawbreakers to non-lawbreakers and then determined the correlates of being arrested and breaking the law through regression analyses. Results: Around 0.4% of the population reported being arrested, and 5% reported breaking the law in the past year. The most prevalent offense was driving while intoxicated. Arrestees were significantly more likely to be male and to have had an alcohol or a drug(s) use disorder in the past year. Lawbreakers had a significant likelihood of being male, having a high educational level, and having an alcohol or a drug(s) use disorder in the past year. Conclusions: Elderly lawbreakers seem to have distinct characteristics that not just separate them from non-offenders but also probably from younger lawbreakers.
Clinical and Dermoscopic Features of Lichenoid Keratosis: A Retrospective Case Study
Authors: Gori Alessia , Oranges Teresa , Janowska Agata , Savarese Imma , Chiarugi Alessandra , Nardini Paolo , Salvati Lorenzo , Maria Palleschi Giovanni , Scarfì Federica , Massi Daniela , Innocenti Alessandro , Covarelli Piero , De Giorgi Vincenzo 
Published: July 2018

Background: Lichenoid keratosis is a benign cutaneous lesion exhibiting many clinical faces and different dermoscopic features. Objective: This study aims to determine the pattern of different clinical subtypes of lichenoid keratosis and to establish whether there is any correlation between the clinical variants of lichenoid keratosis and their dermoscopic appearance. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records and clinical database of patients who had received a histological diagnosis of lichenoid keratosis. Based on the literature review and the clinical-dermoscopic features of lichenoid keratosis, we divided the lesions into 6 clinical subtypes to evaluate potential correlations between clinical and dermoscopic features in all subtypes. Results: Fifty-one lesions were included in this clinical study. Preoperatively, only 1.9% of cases were clinically diagnosed as lichenoid keratosis, and the most common misdiagnosis was basal cell carcinoma (52.9%). We identified 6 subtypes of lichenoid keratosis and their corresponding dermoscopic features and clues. Conclusion: Since lichenoid keratosis has no pathognomonic dermoscopic clues and it is commonly misdiagnosed as malignant skin neoplasms, such as basal cell carcinoma and melanoma, improving the knowledge of both clinical and dermoscopic variability of lichenoid keratosis may help dermatologists to reduce unnecessary surgery and to reduce health care spending.
Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid Alleviates H2O2-Induced Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis via Suppressing Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Neonatal Rat Cardiomyocytes
Authors: Zhang Lin , Wang Yanmin 
Published: July 2018

Introduction: We aimed to test the mechanism of protective effects of tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) on cardiovascular disease using cultured cardiomyocytes. Methods: Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCMs) were isolated and cultured and then the cells were divided into 4 groups based on the treatments: control group (cells treated with culture medium), H2O2/thapsigargin (TG) group (cells treated with oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum [ER] stress inducer), TUDCA group, and H2O2/TG + TUDCA group. The treated NRCMs were then subjected to serial analyses including flow cytometry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and Western blotting. Results: Tauroursodeoxycholic acid significantly attenuated H2O2-induced reactive oxygen species generation and lactate dehydrogenase release and restored H2O2-induced reductions of glutathione and superoxide dismutase levels in NRCMs. Tauroursodeoxycholic acid also alleviated H2O2-induced cardiomyocytes apoptosis, as well as the Bax/Bcl2 ratio compared with that of H2O2 treated alone. In addition, TUDCA suppressed TG-induced ER stress as reflected by inversing cell viability and the expression levels of glucose-regulated protein 78 kDa and C/enhancer-binding protein homologous protein. Conclusion: Our data indicated that TUDCA-mediated inhibition on H2O2-induced oxidative stress and cardiomyocytes apoptosis was through suppressing ER stress, and TUDCA possesses the potential to be developed as therapeutic tool in clinical use for cardiovascular diseases.
Treatment with exenatide in acute ischemic stroke trial protocol: A prospective, randomized, open label, blinded end-point study of exenatide vs. standard care in post stroke hyperglycemia
Authors: Muller Claire , Cheung N Wah , Dewey Helen , Churilov Leonid , Middleton Sandy , Thijs Vincent , Ekinci Elif I , Levi Chris , Lindley Richard , Donnan Geoffrey , Parsons Mark , Bladin Christopher 
Published: July 2018

Rationale Post-stroke hyperglycemia occurs in up to 50% of patients presenting with acute ischemic stroke. It reduces the efficacy of thrombolysis, increases infarct size, and worsens clinical outcomes. Insulin-based therapies have generally not been beneficial in treating post-stroke hyperglycemia as they are difficult to implement, may cause hypoglycaemia, possibly increase mortality and worsen clinical outcomes. Exenatide may be a safer, simpler, and more effective alternative to insulin in acute ischemic stroke. Design TEXAIS is a three year, Phase 2, multi-center, prospective, randomized, open label, blinded end-point trial comparing exenatide to standard of care. It aims to recruit 528 patients with a primary end point of major neurological improvement at 7 days defined as a ≥8-point improvement in NIHSS score, or NIHSS 0–1. Secondary outcomes of hyper- and hypoglycaemia at 5 days and NIHSS and mRS at 90 days will be measured. The treatment arm will receive exenatide 5 µg subcutaneously twice daily. The control arm will receive standard stroke unit care. Continuous glucose monitors will track the dynamic variability of glucose. Conclusion TEXAIS aims to show that exenatide is safe and effective in the treatment of post-stroke hyperglycemia. It has been designed to be highly generalizable with an ability to enroll a large percentage of patients with acute ischemic stroke, regardless of admission blood glucose level, diabetes status, or stroke severity, with very low risk of hypoglycemia. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov/ANZCTR NTA1127
Prospective Randomized Open-label Trial to evaluate risk faCTor management in patients with Unruptured intracranial aneurysms: Study protocol
Authors: Vergouwen Mervyn DI , Rinkel Gabriel JE , Algra Ale , Fiehler Jens , Steinmetz Helmuth , Vajkoczy Peter , Rutten Frans H , Luntz Steffen , Hänggi Daniel , Etminan Nima 
Published: July 2018

Rationale Unruptured intracranial aneurysms are currently left untreated if the presumed complication risk of preventive endovascular or neurosurgical intervention is higher than the risk of rupture. Aneurysm wall inflammation and blood pressure are attractive modifiable risk factors of aneurysm rupture and growth. Aim To investigate in patients with an unruptured intracranial aneurysm who do not qualify for preventive endovascular or neurosurgical intervention whether a treatment strategy of acetylsalicylic acid 100 mg/day plus intensive blood pressure treatment (targeted systolic blood pressure < 120 mmHg, monitored with a home blood pressure measuring device) reduces the risk of aneurysm rupture or growth compared with care as usual (no acetylsalicylic acid, targeted office systolic blood pressure < 140 mmHg, no home blood pressure measuring device). Sample size We aim to randomize 776 patients 1:1 to the intervention arm or care as usual. Design Bi-national (Germany and the Netherlands) multicenter, prospective, randomized, open-label phase III trial with blinded outcome assessment. Outcomes The primary outcome is aneurysm rupture or growth (increase in any aneurysm diameter by ≥ 1 mm) on repeated MR or CT angiography within 36 ± 6 months after randomization. Discussion The Prospective Randomized Open-label Trial to Evaluate risk faCTor management in patients with Unruptured intracranial aneurysms (PROTECT-U) is the first randomized trial to investigate if a medical strategy reduces the risk of rupture or growth of intracranial aneurysms in patients not undergoing preventive endovascular or neurosurgical aneurysm treatment. Clinical trial Registration: NCT03063541.
How Infrastructure Public–Private Partnership Projects Change Over Project Development Phases
Authors: South Andrew , Eriksson Kent , Levitt Raymond 
Published: July 2018

This research adds to work on the development of infrastructure public–private partnership projects (P3s), which is a rapidly growing mode of infrastructure service delivery. Infrastructure P3 projects typically have a long life cycle, but little is understood about the nature of the changes that such a project goes through over the phases of its life cycle. This article contributes to project research as it studies the changes that an infrastructure P3 project goes through over its life cycle and suggests how those changes can be governed over the life cycle of the project. The research is empirically informed from an in-depth case study of a highway transportation P3 in California over a 20-year period. This research shows that the developmental phases of P3s differ by dramatic changes in the composition of stakeholder networks and the use of institutional logic. First, employing social network analysis (SNA), we map the network of stakeholders in the P3 case and show how the stakeholder network changes over four phases. Second, we identify how different stakeholders use formal and informal institutional logic in their interactions, and demonstrate that the dominant institutional logic employed in the P3 changes from informal to formal over the P3’s life cycle. We further show how this change in the P3’s dominant institutional logic corresponds to the dynamism in the stakeholder network. We propose that infrastructure P3s should be analyzed and governed as the dynamic arrangements they are—constellations of stakeholders that change individually and undergo change collectively over a long life cycle of different phases.
TCF1 expression marks self-renewing human CD8+ T cells
Authors: Kratchmarov Radomir , Magun Arthur M. , Reiner Steven L. 
Published: July 2018

Key Points
Human blood CD8+ T cells express distinct levels of TCF1, defining quiescent vs effector populations. TCF1-hi cells proliferate and uniquely self-renew following T-cell receptor stimulation to produce both TCF1-hi and TCF1-low cells.
Additional sanogenetic effect of topiramate in the treatment of epilepsy in women of childbearing age
Authors: Filatova N. V. , Orekhova N. V. , Vlasov P. N. 
Published: July 2018

A relationship of epilepsy and a used antiepileptic drug (AED) with the menstrual cycle, overweight, and reproductive disorders in women has been studied in recent years. In this connection, topiramate engages attention as one of the AEDs that contribute to weight loss, but not gain.Objective: to investigate the efficacy/tolerability of topiramate in reproductive-aged women with menstrual disorders.Patients and methods. An analysis was made in a group of 58 patients of fertile age (18–35 years) with a long history of focal epilepsy (FE) (n = 44) or idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) (n = 14) who received mainly combined therapy with 2 AEDs. Different degrees of overweight was observed in 82.8% of the patients; 51.7% had one or another menstrual cycle disorders; however, the women had been followed up by a gynecologist in exceptional cases. Switching from one of the parent AEDs to topiramate or its incorporation into a treatment regimen as an additional drug substantially improved the course of the disease: remission at 12 months was achieved in 59.1% of the patients with FE and in 78.6% of those with IGE.Results. 29.3% of the patients receiving dual therapy, the second medication of which was topiramate, were noted to have lost weight not only if those had a high baseline body mass index (BMI), but also if those had normal BMI at baseline. 8.6% of all the patients and 16.7% of those with menstrual cycle disorder achieved normalization of menstrual function. Topiramate was discontinued only in 1 (1.7%) patient because of critical weight loss (BMI<15).Discussion. The use of topiramate that has a wide spectrum of action in different types of seizures and forms of epilepsy in patients with a long history of the disease could achieve seizure remission in 59.1% of the patients with FE and in 78.6% of those with IGE for a period of more than 12 months. One-third of all the cases were observed to have lost 3–13 kg (median, 6 kg) of weight during monotherapy or dual therapy with topiramate. The latter resulted in the normalization of menstrual function in 5 patients, which was 8.6% of all the patients and 16.7% of those with menstrual cycle problems.Conclusion. In addition to a significant improvement in the disease course, the use of topiramate in monotherapy or dual therapy for FE or IGE can contribute to the normalization of body weight and the menstrual cycle. The authors draw the attention of epileptologists to the need to monitor menstrual function in women with epilepsy.
The characteristics of social adaptation in reproductive-aged women with epilepsy and migraine
Authors: Odintsova G. V. , Aleksandrov M. V. , Nesterova S. V. 
Published: July 2018

Objective: to study and comparatively analyze the characteristics of social adaptation in reproductive-aged women with epilepsy and migraine in order to determine the social burden of the two most common neurological diseases.Patients and methods. The present study is a continuation of a prospective observational uncontrolled study of the adverse effects of antiepileptic drugs on the reproductive health of epilepsy women, which has been conducted since 2015 according to Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) Grant No. 16-15-00281 and since 2018 according to RFBR Grant No. 18-013-00222. There are data on the comparative characteristics of social adaptation indicators in reproductive-aged women with epilepsy (n = 155) and migraine (n = 99). Results and discussion. The reproductive-aged women with epilepsy were found to have a high educational level (only 7% had no secondary specialized or higher education). The unemployed were 30%; the disabled people were 23%. Migraine is more common in working women with a high educational level, has no disabling effect, but considerably reduces social activity and causes high unemployment rates. The severity of the main burden of neurological diseases is determined by medical and social indicators. Not only patients' health records, but also social adaptation, the indicators of which are criteria for treatment efficiency should be taken into consideration when evaluating the latter for epilepsy andmigraine.