bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis and laryngeal involvement: review of the literature and a cross-sectional prospective experience
Authors: Seccia V , Cristofani-Mencacci L , Dallan I , Fortunato S , Bartoli M L , Sellari-Franceschini S , Latorre M , Paggiaro P L , Baldini C 
Published: June 2018

AbstractBackgroundEosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis and granulomatosis with polyangiitis show variable otorhinolaryngological involvement. Up to 14 per cent of granulomatosis with polyangiitis patients have subglottis involvement; little is known about the laryngeal involvement in eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis.MethodA literature review was conducted, together with a prospective cross-sectional analysis of 43 eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis patients. All patients underwent fibre-optic laryngoscopy with narrow-band imaging, and completed health-related questionnaires.ResultsThe literature review showed only two cases of laryngeal involvement in eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis; in our cohort, no cases of subglottis stenosis were found, but local signs of laryngeal inflammation were present in 72 per cent of cases. Of the patients, 16.2 per cent had a pathological Reflux Finding Score (of 7 or higher).ConclusionLaryngeal inflammation in eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis is frequent. It is possibly due more to local factors than to eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis itself. However, ENT evaluation is needed to rule out possible subglottis inflammation. These findings are in line with current literature and worthy of confirmation in larger cohorts.
Cartilage rim augmented fascia tympanoplasty: a more effective composite graft model than temporalis fascia tympanoplasty
Authors: Kolethekkat A A , Al Abri R , Al Zaabi K , Al Marhoobi N , Jose S , Pillai S , Mathew J 
Published: June 2018

AbstractObjectiveTo validate a newly introduced cartilage rim augmented temporalis fascia tympanoplasty technique by statistically comparing it with the morphological and audiological outcomes of traditional temporalis fascia tympanoplasty.MethodsA retrospective comparative study was conducted on 115 patients who underwent tympanoplasty during 2013 and 2015. Fifty-eight patients underwent temporalis fascia tympanoplasty and 57 underwent cartilage rim augmented fascia tympanoplasty.ResultsIn the cartilage fascia group, graft healing was achieved in 94.7 per cent of cases; in the temporalis fascia group, the graft take-up rate was 70 per cent. In those with a normal ossicular chain, the post-operative air–bone gap was within 20 dB in 92.6 per cent of cartilage fascia group cases and in 69.7 per cent of the temporalis fascia group cases, which was a statistically significant difference. Among the defective ossicular chain cases, the post-operative air–bone gap was within 20 dB in 76.9 per cent in the cartilage fascia group, as against 57.1 per cent in the temporalis fascia group.ConclusionCartilage rim augmented temporalis fascia tympanoplasty has a definite advantage over the temporalis fascia technique in terms of superior graft take up and statistically significant hearing gain in those with normal ossicular mobility.
HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT FOR DECISION MAKING IN LATIN AMERICA: GOOD PRACTICE PRINCIPLES
Authors: Pichon-Riviere Andrés , Soto Natalie C. , Augustovski Federico Ariel , García Martí Sebastián , Sampietro-Colom Laura 
Published: June 2018

Objectives:The aim of this study was to identify good practice principles for health technology assessment (HTA) that are the most relevant and of highest priority for application in Latin America and to identify potential barriers to their implementation in the region.Methods:HTA good practice principles proposed at the international level were identified and then explored during a deliberative process in a forum of assessors, funders, and product manufacturers.Results:Forty-two representatives from ten Latin American countries participated. Good practice principles proposed at the international level were considered valid and potentially relevant to Latin America. Five principles were identified as priority and with the greatest potential to be strengthened at this time: transparency in the production of HTA, involvement of relevant stakeholders in the HTA process, mechanisms to appeal decisions, clear priority-setting processes in HTA, and a clear link between HTA and decision making. The main challenge identified was to find a balance between the application of these principles and the available resources in a way that would not detract from the production of reports and adaptation to the needs of decision makers.Conclusions:The main recommendation was to progress gradually in strengthening HTA and its link to decision making by developing appropriate processes for each country, without trying to impose, in the short-term, standards taken from examples at the international level without adequate adaptation of these to local contexts.
Post-immunisation fever and the antibody response to measles-containing vaccines
Authors: Carazo Perez S. , Bureau A. , De Serres G. 
Published: June 2018

AbstractFever is a common adverse event following measles vaccination, more frequent among older children and those receiving Measles-Mumps-Rubella-Varicella vaccinevs.Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccine, two factors associated with a better antibody response. However, the role of fever in the immunogenicity of measles-containing vaccines (MCV) is unclear. We performed a post-hoc pooled analysis of data of 5 216 11 to 22 month-old children receiving MCV from 2004 to 2012 in Europe and USA to evaluate the association between post-immunisation fever and antibody response, measured by geometric mean concentrations (GMCs). We further evaluated fever as an effect modifier or a mediator in the associations between the type of MCV or the age at first vaccination and vaccine immunogenicity. After the first dose, fever was associated with 60% higher GMCs (95% CI 1.51–1.68). For children vaccinated at ⩾12 months, the fever did not modify and minimally mediated (2% to 3%) the association between age and antibody response. Fever mediated 18% of the association between type of MCV and GMCs. In a model including fever, age and type of vaccine, fever was the strongest predictor of GMCs. These results suggest that fever is associated with a stronger measles antibody response independently of age and type of MCV.
Underlying trend, seasonality, prediction, forecasting and the contribution of risk factors: an analysis of globally reported cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus
Authors: Da'ar Omar B. , Ahmed Anwar E. 
Published: June 2018

AbstractThis study set out to identify and analyse trends and seasonal variations of monthly global reported cases of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). It also made a prediction based on the reported and extrapolated into the future by forecasting the trend. Finally, the study assessed contributions of various risk factors in the reported cases. The motivation for this study is that MERS-CoV remains among the list of blueprint priority and potential pandemic diseases globally. Yet, there is a paucity of empirical literature examining trends and seasonality as the available evidence is generally descriptive and anecdotal. The study is a time series analysis using monthly global reported cases of MERS-CoV by the World Health Organisation between January 2015 and January 2018. We decomposed the series into seasonal, irregular and trend components and identified patterns, smoothened series, generated predictions and employed forecasting techniques based on linear regression. We assessed contributions of various risk factors in MERS-CoV cases over time. Successive months of the MERS-CoV cases suggest a significant decreasing trend (P = 0.026 for monthly series and P = 0.047 for Quarterly series). The MERS-CoV cases are forecast to wane by end 2018. Seasonality component of the cases oscillated below or above the baseline (the centred moving average), but no association with the series over time was noted. The results revealed contributions of risk factors such as camel contact, male, old age and being from Saudi Arabia and Middle East regions to the overall reported cases of MERS-CoV. The trend component and several risk factors for global MERS-CoV cases, including camel contact, male, age and geography/region significantly affected the series. Our statistical models appear to suggest significant predictive capacity and the findings may well inform healthcare practitioners and policymakers about the underlying dynamics that produced the globally reported MERS-CoV cases.
Emerging trends: Artificial Intelligence, China and my new job at Baidu
Authors: CHURCH KENNETH WARD 
Published: June 2018

AbstractIt is amazing that I have written for more than a year on Emerging Trends without mentioning China’s investments in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Now that I have moved to Baidu, I would like to take this opportunity to share some of my personal observations with what’s happening in China over the past 25 years. The top universities in China have always been very good, but they are better today than they were 25 years ago, and they are on a trajectory to become the biggest and the best in the world. China is investing big time in what we do, both in the private sector and the public sector. Kai-Fu Lee is bullish on his investments in AI and China. There is a bold government plan for AI with specific milestones for parity with the West in 2020, major breakthroughs by 2025 and the envy of the world by 2030.
Cohort effects in mortality modelling: a Bayesian state-space approach
Authors: Fung Man Chung , Peters Gareth W. , Shevchenko Pavel V. 
Published: June 2018

AbstractCohort effects are important factors in determining the evolution of human mortality for certain countries. Extensions of dynamic mortality models with cohort features have been proposed in the literature to account for these factors under the generalised linear modelling framework. In this paper we approach the problem of mortality modelling with cohort factors incorporated through a novel formulation under a state-space methodology. In the process we demonstrate that cohort factors can be formulated naturally under the state-space framework, despite the fact that cohort factors are indexed according to year-of-birth rather than year. Bayesian inference for cohort models in a state-space formulation is then developed based on an efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo sampler, allowing for the quantification of parameter uncertainty in cohort models and resulting mortality forecasts that are used for life expectancy and life table constructions. The effectiveness of our approach is examined through comprehensive empirical studies involving male and female populations from various countries. Our results show that cohort patterns are present for certain countries that we studied and the inclusion of cohort factors are crucial in capturing these phenomena, thus highlighting the benefits of introducing cohort models in the state-space framework. Forecasting of cohort models is also discussed in light of the projection of cohort factors.
Global public–private partnerships and the new constitutionalism of the refugee regime
Authors: MACHACEK MARK 
Published: June 2018

Abstract:Since the early 2000s, regimes and institutions of global governance have undergone a paradigmatic shift in their relations with multinational corporations. The United Nations, in particular, has increasingly embraced big business as ‘partner’ in humanitarian response and development with the establishment of ‘global public–private partnerships’ (GP3s). This article situates this emerging mode of global governance within the recent academic discussions on Global Constitutionalism from a critical political economy perspective, focusing on the case of the UN Refugee Agency’s GP3s in refugee protection and assistance. Critically inquiring into GP3s not only as informal global constitutional arrangements but also as a set of political relations, this article asks: what is the constitutional and political nature of UNHCR–business partnerships? What impacts, if any, do they have on the agency? And, what does this mean for understanding global constitutionalism? The article argues that UNHCR partnerships are constituted as asymmetrical political relations in terms of their distributions of power, benefits, risks and commitments, that they are having neoliberal-oriented constitutive effects on the agency and that these constitutional dynamics challenge the more mainstream and liberal-based conceptualisations, analyses and promotion of current global constitutionalism processes.
Neodymium Evidence for Increased Circumpolar Deep Water Flow to the North Pacific During the Middle Miocene Climate Transition
Authors: Kender Sev , Bogus Kara A. , Cobb Ty D. , Thomas Deborah J. 
Published: June 2018

AbstractLow salinity surface water inhibits local deepwater formation in the modern North Pacific. Instead, southern‐sourced Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) fills the basin, which is the product of water masses formed from cold sinking centers in the Southern Ocean and North Atlantic. This CDW is responsible for transporting a significant amount of global heat and dissolved carbon in the deep Pacific Ocean. The history of its flow and the broader overturning circulation are widely assumed to be sensitive to climate perturbations. However, insufficient records exist of CDW presence in the deep North Pacific with which to evaluate its evolution and role in major climate transitions of the past 23 Ma. Here we report sedimentary coatings and fish teeth neodymium isotope values—tracers for water‐mass mixing—from deepwater International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1438 (4.7 km water depth) in the Philippine Sea, northwest Pacific Ocean. Our results indicate the water mass shifted from a North Pacific source in the early Miocene to a southern source by ~14 Ma. Within the age model and temporal constraints, this major reorganization of North Pacific water mass structure may have coincided with ice sheet build up on Antarctica and is most consistent with an increased northward flux of CDW due to enhanced sinking of cold water forced by Antarctic cooling. The northward extent of this flux may have remained relatively constant during much of the past 14 Ma.
Solar Wind Signatures Throughout the High‐Latitude Atmosphere
Authors: Francia P. , Regi M. , De Lauretis M. 
Published: June 2018

AbstractA series of studies during the last decade have shown clear evidence of solar wind‐related periodicities in the variations of different parameters of the lower (troposphere/stratosphere) and upper (thermosphere/ionosphere) atmosphere, over the high‐latitude regions. This commentary is prompted by a recent study of the fluctuations of neutral density, winds, and temperatures near 90 km, which provides evidence of such a solar wind‐related response in the mesosphere as well. It is timely to point out to the wider geophysical community that solar wind responses at different altitudes strongly indicate that the whole atmospheric column has a response to solar wind high‐speed streams, something that few atmospheric scientists would have anticipated 10 years ago. Reviews of the wider body of work in this research field, however, conclude that different processes of solar wind‐atmosphere coupling dominate at different altitudes and there remain unanswered questions about some of the details of these mechanisms and their relative importance. We therefore suggest that the studies considered here could usefully be extended in their methodology in order to constrain the mechanisms involved, rather than just identifying the solar wind driver. One example would be to examine time delays between the input, that is, the solar wind variations, and the response at different altitudes; another is to look for latitudinal variations in the amplitude of effects.
The Search for Active Marsquakes Using Subpixel Coregistration and Correlation: Best Practice and First Results
Authors: Grindrod Peter M. , Hollingsworth James , Ayoub Francois , Hunt Simon A. 
Published: June 2018

AbstractThe state of seismic activity on Mars is currently unknown. On Earth, coseismic displacement has been observed using visible wavelength images and subpixel coregistration and correlation techniques. We apply this method to Mars with the COSI‐Corr (Co‐registration of Optically Sensed Images and Correlation) software package using High‐Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) images, focusing on part of the Cerberus Fossae fault system. We derive best practices for applying this method to the study of coseismic displacements on Mars. Using a time series of eight overlapping HiRISE images, we achieve pixel coregistration with a mean accuracy of about 1/50 of a pixel. We see no clear evidence for coseismic displacement in this region during a time period of over 8 years. One possible displacement signal (1–2 m of west‐east displacement over a length scale of about 50 m) that has similarities to terrestrial coseismic deformation was dismissed as the result of incomplete correction of steep topography during the coregistration stage. Ancillary observations of recurring slope lineae (RSL) activity in the surrounding fault system offer no supporting evidence for the occurrence of coseismic displacement but do seem to suggest RSL activity that does not fit into previous seasonal timescales. Although it is unlikely that we have observed coseismic displacement in our study area during this time period, the best practice method and the accuracy of our results offer encouragement for future studies. HiRISE, Context Camera, and Color and Stereo Surface Imaging System images can be used to complement and independently verify in situ seismic observations by the InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport) lander or source location changes from the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter spacecraft.
Effects of the Invasive Freshwater Mussel Limnoperna fortunei on Sediment Properties and Accumulation Rates
Authors: Tokumon Romina , Boltovskoy Demetrio , Cataldo Daniel 
Published: June 2018

AbstractSince its introduction into South America around 1990, the freshwater bivalve Limnoperna fortunei (the golden mussel) has spread rapidly and is now a dominant component of the benthic and periphytic fauna in many rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Sizable impacts of this nonindigenous species on nutrient recycling, plankton abundance and composition, and trophic relationships with fishes have been reported, but its effects on the sediments have received little attention. In this work, we use eighteen 20‐L flow‐through experimental units with and without mussels where changes in the mass and characteristics of the sediments accumulated throughout a yearly cycle in monthly, biannual, and annual intervals are analyzed. Experimental units with mussels yielded almost 2 times more sediments than units without mussels and contained significantly higher loads of organic matter and total N. Total P was not affected by the presence of mussels. Sediments accumulated in the biannual and annual experimental units agreed well with the yields of the monthly units, but the vertical stratification of organic matter, N, and P was unpatterned. Seasonal changes in the volume of total sediments, biodeposits, and their organic matter and N contents were positively associated with ambient water temperature and with intermediate (~150–250 NTU, nephelometric turbidity units) turbidity. Our results suggest that ecosystem‐wide modifications in the living conditions of the benthic epifaunal and infaunal organisms in waterbodies invaded by the mussel are likely significant, although variable locally, regionally, and across taxa.
Past Carbonate Preservation Events in the Deep Southeast Atlantic Ocean (Cape Basin) and Their Implications for Atlantic Overturning Dynamics and Marine Carbon Cycling
Authors: Gottschalk Julia , Hodell David A. , Skinner Luke C. , Crowhurst Simon J. , Jaccard Samuel L. , Charles Christopher 
Published: June 2018

AbstractMicropaleontological and geochemical analyses reveal distinct millennial‐scale increases in carbonate preservation in the deep Southeast Atlantic (Cape Basin) during strong and prolonged Greenland interstadials that are superimposed on long‐term (orbital‐scale) changes in carbonate burial. These data suggest carbonate oversaturation of the deep Atlantic and a strengthened Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) during the most intense Greenland interstadials. However, proxy evidence from outside the Cape Basin indicates that AMOC changes also occurred during weaker and shorter Greenland interstadials. Here we revisit the link between AMOC dynamics and carbonate saturation in the deep Cape Basin over the last 400 kyr (sediment cores TN057‐21, TN057‐10, and Ocean Drilling Program Site 1089) by reconstructing centennial changes in carbonate preservation using millimeter‐scale X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) scanning data. We observe close agreement between variations in XRF Ca/Ti, sedimentary carbonate content, and foraminiferal shell fragmentation, reflecting a common control primarily through changing deep water carbonate saturation. We suggest that the high‐frequency (suborbital) component of the XRF Ca/Ti records indicates the fast and recurrent redistribution of carbonate ions in the Atlantic basin via the AMOC during both long/strong and short/weak North Atlantic climate anomalies. In contrast, the low‐frequency (orbital) XRF Ca/Ti component is interpreted to reflect slow adjustments through carbonate compensation and/or changes in the deep ocean respired carbon content. Our findings emphasize the recurrent influence of rapid AMOC variations on the marine carbonate system during past glacial periods, providing a mechanism for transferring the impacts of North Atlantic climate anomalies to the global carbon cycle via the Southern Ocean.
Spatter matters – distinguishing primary (eruptive) and secondary (non-eruptive) spatter deposits
Authors: Jones T. J. , Houghton B. F. , Llewellin E. W. , Parcheta C. E. , Höltgen L. 
Published: June 2018

AbstractSpatter is a common pyroclastic product of hawaiian fountaining, which typically forms vent-proximal ramparts or cones. Based on textural characteristics and field relations of spatter from the 1969 Mauna Ulu eruption of Kīlauea, Hawai’i, three spatter types were identified: (1) Primary spatter deposited as spatter ramparts and isolated cones during the peak of episode 1; (2) Late-stage spatter comprising dense, small volume, vent proximal deposits, formed at the end of episode 1; (3) Secondary spatter preserved in isolated mounds around tectonic ground cracks that we interpret to have formed by the disruption of overlying lava. We propose that not all spatter deposits are evidence of primary magmatic fountaining. Rather, deposits can be “secondary” in nature and associated with lava drain-back, disruption, and subsequent ejection from tectonic cracks. Importantly, these secondary pyroclastic deposits are difficult to distinguish from primary eruptive features based on field relations and bulk clast vesicularity alone, allowing for the potential misinterpretation of eruption vents, on Earth and in remotely sensed planetary data, thereby misinforming hazard maps and probabilistic assessments. Here, we show that vesicle number density provides a statistically-robust metric by which to discriminate primary and secondary spatter, supporting accurate identification of eruptive vents.