bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
External electrical cardioversion in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices: Is it safe and is immediate device interrogation necessary?
Authors: Pluymaekers Nikki AHA , Dudink Elton AMP , Boersma Lucas , Erküner Ömer , Gelissen Marloes , van Dijk Vincent , Wijffels Maurits , Dinh Trang , Vernooy Kevin , Crijns Harry JGM , Balt Jippe , Luermans Justin GLM 
Published: August 2018

AbstractBackgroundAtrial tachyarrhythmias are common in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs). Restoration of sinus rhythm by external electrical cardioversion (eECV) is frequently used to alleviate symptoms and to ensure optimal device function.ObjectivesTo evaluate the safety of eECV in patients with contemporary CIEDs and to assess the need for immediate device interrogation after eECV.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective observational study of 229 patients (27.9% female, age 69 ± 10 years) with a CIED (104 pacemakers, 69 implantable cardioverter defibrillators, and 56 biventricular devices) who underwent eECV between 2008 and 2016 in two centers. Data from device interrogation before eECV, immediately afterwards, and at first follow‐up (FU) after eECV were collected. CIED‐related complications and adverse events during and after eECV were recorded.ResultsNo significant differences between right atrial (RA) and right ventricular (RV) sensing or threshold values before eECV, immediately afterwards, or at FU were observed. A small yet significant decrease was observed in RA and RV impedance immediately after eECV (484 Ω vs 462 Ω, P < 0.001 and 536 Ω vs 514 Ω, P < 0.001, respectively). The RV impedance did not recover to the baseline value (538 Ω vs 527 Ω, P = 0.02). The impedance changes were without clinical consequences. No changes in left ventricular lead threshold or impedance values were measured. No CIED‐related complications or adverse events were documented following eECV.ConclusioneECV in patients with contemporary CIEDs is safe. There seems to be no need for immediate device interrogation after eECV.
Photocrosslinking of G‐Quadruplex‐Forming Sequences found in Human Promoters
Authors: Smith‐Carpenter Jillian E. , Taylor John‐Stephen 
Published: August 2018

AbstractWhile is it well known that human telomeric DNA sequences can adopt G‐quadruplex structures, some promoters sequences have also been found to form G‐quadruplexes, and over 40% of promoters contain putative G‐quadruplex‐forming sequences. Because UV light has been shown to crosslink human telomeric G‐quadruplexes by cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) formation between T's on adjacent loops, UV light might also be able to photocrosslink G‐quadruplexes in promoters. To investigate this possibility, 15 potentially UV‐crosslinkable G‐quadruplex‐forming sequences found in a search of human DNA promoters were UVB irradiated in vitro, and three were confirmed to have formed nonadjacent CPDs by mass spectrometry. In addition to nonadjacent T=T CPDs found in human telomeric DNA, a nonadjacent T=U CPD was discovered that presumably arose from deamination of a nonadjacent T=C CPD. Analysis of the three sequences by circular dichroism, melting temperature analysis and chemical footprinting confirmed the presence of G‐quadruplexes that could explain the formation of the nonadjacent CPDs. The formation of nonadjacent CPDs from the sequences in vitro suggests that they might be useful probes for the presence of non‐B DNA structures, such as G‐quadruplexes, in vivo, and if they were to form in vivo, might also have significant biological consequences.
The French Exception: A Survey‐by‐Survey Account
Authors: Witte Anne E. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe European Social Survey and the values theories of Shalom Schwartz provide a robust conceptual framework to compare values espoused in 21 European countries. The case of France sheds light on contemporary challenges to European Union (EU) policy, considering a mounting populist base that struggles for preserving national identity problematized by a changing employment market, globalization, and immigration headlines. In light of the European Social Survey’s human values data for 21 European nations and other mainstream cross‐cultural surveys, France is a striking example of a mature democracy confronted with core identity challenges, asserting one worldview in its macro‐economic orientation but another in the street and public forum. France provides an interesting barometer within Europe, where antagonisms between the polity and the people exacerbate EU integration, challenging the priorities of political leadership in a struggle to modify historical arrangements that no longer prove feasible.
Anti‐epileptic drugs improved serial 7s scores on the Mini‐Mental State Examination in elderly with cognitive impairment and epileptiform discharge on electroencephalography
Authors: Shiozaki Kazumasa , Kajihara Satoshi 
Published: August 2018

AimAs the population ages, epilepsy among elderly people is increasing. Epileptic seizures in the elderly are mostly complex partial seizures without convulsions, so more caution is needed in the diagnosis of epilepsy. If epileptic seizures in the context of memory impairment are overlooked, epilepsy may be misdiagnosed as dementia. However, in older patients with epilepsy, there is a possibility that cognitive function may be impaired in the interictal phase. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of anti‐epileptic drug (AED) treatment for patients with cognitive impairment and interictal epileptiform discharge (IED) on electroencephalography.MethodsThe outcome of AED administration in 50 patients who exhibited IED was retrospectively investigated. Their cognitive functions were assessed by the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) at both baseline and after AED administration.ResultsIn all patients who underwent electroencephalography, IED were temporal spikes, and re‐examination of the 50 patients revealed that the frequency of temporal spikes had decreased or else disappeared in 41 patients (82%) after AED administration. In these 41 patients, the mean MMSE score significantly increased from 23.4 ± 3.7 at baseline to 24.7 ± 4.8 after AED treatment (P <0.01). Similarly, the mean serial 7s score (MMSE subscale) also improved significantly from 2.5 ± 1.8 to 3.6 ± 1.6 (P <0.01). The MMSE score was significantly improved only in the 41 patients with recovery of IED.ConclusionAED treatment for elderly amnestic patients with temporal spikes was effective in improving cognitive decline and related electroencephalographic abnormalities. A more thorough search of IED is necessary in elderly amnesic patients because there is a possibility that IED modifies cognitive function.
Medial temporal lobe atrophy is independently associated with behavioural and psychological symptoms in Alzheimer's disease
Authors: García‐Alberca José María , Florido Mercedes , Cáceres Marta , Sánchez‐Toro Alicia , Lara José Pablo , García‐Casares Natalia 
Published: August 2018

AimEvidence describing the contribution of cerebral white matter disease and medial temporal atrophy (MTA) to behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) has been conflicting. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and MTA observed on magnetic resonance imaging with BPSD among patients with Alzheimer's disease.MethodsIn a cross‐sectional study of a prospective cohort of patients attending a memory clinic, 46 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (mean age: 72.38 ± 7.05 years) were studied. Sociodemographic, cognitive, and BPSD data were collected. BPSD were assessed using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Magnetic resonance imaging, WMH, and MTA were rated using the Scheltens scales for the assessment of signal hyperintensities and atrophy of medial temporal lobes. For multivariate analysis, two binary logistic regression analyses were carried out, with presence or absence of each BPSD as the dependent variable and with WMH or MTA as the predictor variable. Results of the logistic regression were analyzed to see if the significance of the WMH or MTA score was maintained in a model that factored in other possible confounding variables identified in univariate analysis.ResultsThe results of binary logistic regression analysis showed that in models that accounted for confounding variables, increased total MTA was significantly associated with apathy (odds ratio = 1.605, adjusted P = 0.042) and disinhibition (odds ratio = 0.607, adjusted P = 0.042). WMH measures did not significantly predict any BPSD item.ConclusionsThese findings indicate that MTA potentially contributes to the aetiology of BPSD, and they provide evidence to support the hypothesis that Alzheimer's disease pathology itself can contribute to BPSD.
Is consciousness reflexively self‐aware? A Buddhist analysis
Authors: Finnigan Bronwyn 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThis article examines contemporary Buddhist defences of the idea that consciousness is reflexively aware or self‐aware. Call this the Self‐Awareness Thesis. A version of this thesis was historically defended by Dignāga but rejected by Prāsaṅgika Mādhyamika Buddhists. Prāsaṅgikas invoke a distinction between two truths or realities; they deny an ultimate reality but admit the use of conventional frameworks. This article asks whether some contemporary account can withstand Prāsaṅgika critique and be accepted as conventionally true. It analyses the commitments of contemporary versions of the Self‐Awareness Thesis into a fourfold taxonomy with distinct assessment criteria and shows how each can withstand four of the most prominent Prāsaṅgika objections. This article also discusses subtle differences in Prāsaṅgika criteria for distinguishing conventional truth and falsity and concludes by demonstrating that some defenses of the Self‐Awareness Thesis can provisionally satisfy some Prāsaṅgika criteria for conventional truth.
Prediction of stillbirth in Holstein‐Friesian dairy cattle by measuring metabolic and endocrine parameters during the peripartal period
Authors: Szenci Otto , Abdelmegeid Mohamed K. , Solymosi Norbert , Brydl Endre , Bajcsy Csaba Á. , Biksi Imre , Kulcsár Margit 
Published: August 2018

ContentsThe aim of this study was to determine whether measurements of certain metabolic (non‐esterified fatty acid, β‐hydroxybutyrate, glucose, total protein, albumin, urea‐nitrogen, aspartate aminotransferase, total calcium, inorganic phosphate and magnesium) and endocrine (cortisol, thyroxine, triiodothyronine, insulin and insulin‐like growth factor) parameters in the peripartal period (2 months and 3 weeks before expected calving and within 1 hr after calving) were related to the prevalence of stillbirth in a Holstein‐Friesian farm in Hungary. All together 155 dairy cattle (n = 22 primiparous, n = 133 multiparous cows) were monitored in two separate years selected randomly on the same farm. Overall, the prevalence of stillbirth was 11% (n = 17). Significantly higher stillbirth rate was detected in case of heifer calvings (OR = 8.5), and when ≥3 assistants (severe dystocia; OR = 8.9) were needed to assist at calving while the body condition score of the dams, the bodyweight and gender of the newborn calves, the percentage of posterior presentations had no significant effect on stillbirth rate. There were no significant differences between cows without and with stillbirth in case of any measured metabolic and endocrine parameters during the examined time periods. At the same time, some of the metabolic parameters (TP, AST and inorg.P) showed some significant differences among the stillbirth groups, but stillbirth could not be predicted by the measured parameters and therefore the role of metabolic and/or endocrine changes on the prevalence of stillbirth needs further elucidation.
Age‐related changes in the bovine corpus luteum function and progesterone secretion
Authors: Hori Konomi , Matsuyama Shuichi , Nakamura Sho , Iwata Hisataka , Kuwayama Takehito , Miyamoto Akio , Shirasuna Koumei 
Published: August 2018

ContentsDecreased fertility associated with maternal ageing is a well‐known critical problem, and progesterone (P4) concentration decreases during the menopause transition in women. The corpus luteum (CL) secretes P4, thereby supporting the implantation and maintenance of pregnancy. It is proposed that a bovine model is suitable for studying age‐associated decline of fertility in women because the physiology of cows is similar to that of women and cows have a greater longevity compared with other animal models. Thus, we investigated the age‐dependent qualitative changes and inflammatory responses in the bovine CL. In vivo experiment: Cows were divided into three groups, namely, young (mean age: 34.8 months), middle (80.1 months) and aged (188.9 months). Blood samples were collected on days 7 and 12 during the estrous cycle. In vitro experiments: Cows were divided into young (mean age: 27.6 months) and aged (183.1 months). The CL tissues of these groups were collected from a local slaughterhouse and used for tissue culture experiments. An in vivo experiment, plasma P4 concentration in aged cows was significantly lower than that in young cows, whereas no difference was found regarding the area of CL. An in vitro examination in the bovine CL tissues showed that the luteal P4 concentration, P4 secretion, and mRNA expression of StAR and 3β‐HSD were lower in aged cows compared with young cows, especially in the early luteal phase. However, no differences were detected in the mRNA expression of inflammation‐ and senescence‐related factors and inflammatory responses to lipopolysaccharides between the CL tissues from young and aged cows, indicating that an age‐dependent increase in inflammation is not involved in the luteal function. P4 production and secretion from the bovine CL diminish in old cows, especially during the early luteal phase, suggesting that senescence may affect the luteal function in cows.
Durfee Rectangles and Pseudo‐Wronskian Equivalences for Hermite Polynomials
Authors: Gómez‐Ullate David , Grandati Yves , Milson Robert 
Published: August 2018

AbstractWe derive identities between determinants whose entries are Hermite polynomials. These identities have a combinatorial interpretation in terms of Maya diagrams, partitions and Durfee rectangles, and serve to characterize an equivalence class of rational Darboux transformations. Since the determinants have different orders, we analyze the problem of finding the minimal order determinant in each equivalence class, and describe the solution using an elegant graphical interpretation. The results are applied to provide a more efficient representation for exceptional Hermite polynomials and for rational solutions of the Painlevé IV equation. The latter are expressed in terms of the Okamoto and generalized Hermite polynomials.
Dolomitization by hypersaline reflux into dense groundwaters as revealed by vertical trends in strontium and oxygen isotopes: Upper Muschelkalk, Switzerland
Authors: Adams Arthur , Diamond Larryn W. , Aschwanden Lukas 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe Trigonodus Dolomit is the dolomitized portion of the homoclinal ramp sediments of the Middle Triassic Upper Muschelkalk in the south‐east Central European Basin. Various dolomitizing mechanisms, followed by recrystallization, have been previously invoked to explain the low δ18O, high 87Sr/86Sr, extensive spatial distribution and early nature of the replacive matrix dolomites. This study re‐evaluates the origin, timing and characteristics of the dolomitizing fluids by examining petrographic and isotopic trends in the Trigonodus Dolomit at 11 boreholes in northern Switzerland. In each borehole the ca 30 m thick unit displays the same vertical trends with increasing depth: crystal size increase, change from anhedral to euhedral textures, ultraviolet‐fluorescence decrease, δ18OVPDB decrease from −1·0‰ at the top to −6·7‰ at the base and an 87Sr/86Sr increase from 0·7080 at the top to 0·7117 at the base. Thus, dolomites at the top of the unit record isotopic values similar to Middle Triassic seawater (δ18OVSMOW = 0‰; 87Sr/86Sr = 0·70775) while dolomites at the base record values similar to meteoric groundwaters from the nearby Vindelician High (δ18OVSMOW = −4·0‰; 87Sr/86Sr = >0·712). According to water–rock interaction modelling, a single dolomitizing or recrystallizing fluid cannot have produced the observed isotopic trends. Instead, the combined isotopic, geochemical and petrographic data can be explained by dolomitization via seepage‐reflux of hypersaline brines into dense, horizontally‐advecting groundwaters that already had negative δ18O and high 87Sr/86Sr values. Evidence for the early groundwaters is found in meteoric calcite cements that preceded dolomitization and in fully recrystallized dolomites with isotopic characteristics identical to the groundwaters following matrix dolomitization. This study demonstrates that early groundwaters can play a decisive role in the formation and recrystallization of massive dolomites and that the isotopic and textural signatures of pre‐existing groundwaters can be preserved during seepage‐reflux dolomitization in low‐angle carbonate ramps.
On the accuracy in high‐dimensional linear models and its application to genomic selection
Authors: Rabier Charles‐Elie , Mangin Brigitte , Grusea Simona 
Published: August 2018

AbstractGenomic selection is today a hot topic in genetics. It consists in predicting breeding values of selection candidates, using the large number of genetic markers now available owing to the recent progress in molecular biology. One of the most popular methods chosen by geneticists is ridge regression. We focus on some predictive aspects of ridge regression and present theoretical results regarding the accuracy criteria, that is, the correlation between predicted value and true value. We show the influence of singular values, the regularization parameter, and the projection of the signal on the space spanned by the rows of the design matrix. Asymptotic results in a high‐dimensional framework are given; in particular, we prove that the convergence to optimal accuracy highly depends on a weighted projection of the signal on each subspace. We discuss on how to improve the prediction. Last, illustrations on simulated and real data are proposed.
Predictive Validity of Proposed Diagnostic Criteria for the Suicide Crisis Syndrome: An Acute Presuicidal State
Authors: Yaseen Zimri S. , Hawes Mariah , Barzilay Shira , Galynker Igor 
Published: August 2018

BackgroundDetermining imminent risk of suicide continues to challenge psychiatrists. To this end, we test the clinical utility of a proposed set of diagnostic criteria for the suicide crisis syndrome (SCS) for prediction of imminent suicidal thoughts and behaviors prospectively.MethodOne hundred and seventy individuals hospitalized for suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) were evaluated within 72 hr of admission with measures assessing symptoms of the proposed SCS, history of STB, current ideation, and depression severity. Four‐eight weeks following discharge, STB were reassessed. Associations between SCS and postdischarge attempts were examined using chi‐square and logistic regression analyses. The receiver operator characteristic analysis was used to test the optimal number of symptoms required to meet proposed SCS criteria.ResultsThe syndrome was maximally informative about short‐term risk of postdischarge suicide behavior when all criteria were met. The syndrome conferred a sevenfold increase in risk of postdischarge suicide attempt, and significantly improved prediction by standard risk factors, which was null to limited.ConclusionsThe SCS diagnostic criteria are supported and appear to describe a clinically meaningful syndrome in a high‐risk population. Assessment of SCS may meaningfully improve clinical assessment of imminent suicide risk. Further study is needed to better understand the syndrome and its applicability in low‐risk populations.
Immigration and the British news media: Continuity or change?
Authors: Smith David , Deacon David 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThis article examines research carried out over the last 40 years in the area of media and migration in the British context. This thematic review of more than 60 empirical studies explores how U.K. media attention to the immigration issue has fluctuated over time, but has displayed consistent negativity in its terms of reference, exclusionary features, and significant interpretative limitations, not least in the conflation of distinct types of migration.
Selling slumber: American neoliberalism and the medicalization of sleeplessness
Authors: Barbee Harry , Moloney Mairead Eastin , Konrad Thomas R. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractSleeplessness is an ancient and cross‐cultural phenomenon that is socially structured and restructured against a backdrop of ideology and inequality. In an effort to make sense of sleeplessness, some scholars have invoked the medicalization framework, which highlights consumerism, managed care, biotechnology, and physicians as key “engines” that foster the transformation of this formerly “normal” condition to one that people view as a medical problem. However, this burgeoning literature has not answered the call of medical sociologists to situate the medicalization process in a political economic context. In this article, we employ the case study of sleeplessness and the creation of the “Sleep Industrial Complex” to expand the medicalization framework and illustrate how American neoliberalism creates an ideal environment for the primary engines of medicalization. We identify three critical features of American neoliberalism—enhancement culture, commodification of health, and a “productivity imperative”—that act in concert with the driving engines to foster an environment wherein medicalization not only survives but also thrives.
Parents Who Left College and Children's Postsecondary Educational Attainment
Authors: Fomby Paula , Cross Christina J. 
Published: August 2018

More than one in five U.S. adolescents resides in a household where neither parent holds a postsecondary degree but at least one parent spent some time in college. We consider how a distinctive combination of cultural and economic resources in college leaver families enables or constrains young adults’ educational pathways. Greater resources in college leaver families explains about half of the advantage in any college enrollment and four‐year college enrollment for young adults in these families compared to those from families where neither parent attended college. But this resource advantage is relatively small compared to families where either parent holds at least a bachelor's degree, and given any enrollment, children from college leaver families are no more likely to finish college than are their peers whose parents never attended. Results are robust to various specifications of parents’ college leaver status. Data are from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement and Transition into Adulthood Supplement (N = 2,334).