bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Quality of Institutions and the Allocation of Talent: Cross‐National Evidence
Authors: Natkhov Timur , Polishchuk Leonid 
Published: September 2019

SUMMARYStrong institutions attract talent to productive activities, whereas weak ones raise the appeal of redistribution. We find a strong positive cross‐country association between the quality of institutions and graduation of university students in science, and an even stronger negative correlation with graduation in law. These findings are robust to various specifications of empirical models. We also demonstrate that institutions dominate other factors affecting the allocation of talent. Finally, we present direct evidence that (mis)allocation of talent between productive and unproductive activities driven by institutional quality explains the discrepancy between private and public returns to education.
Host and geography together drive early adaptive radiation of Hawaiian planthoppers
Authors: Goodman Kari Roesch , Prost Stefan , Bi Ke , Brewer Michael S. , Gillespie Rosemary G. 
Published: September 2019

AbstractThe interactions between insects and their plant host have been implicated in driving diversification of both players. Early arguments highlighted the role of ecological opportunity, with the idea that insects “escape and radiate” on new hosts, with subsequent hypotheses focusing on the interplay between host shifting and host tracking, coupled with isolation and fusion, in generating diversity. Because it is rarely possible to capture the initial stages of diversification, it is particularly difficult to ascertain the relative roles of geographic isolation versus host shifts in initiating the process. The current study examines genetic diversity between populations and hosts within a single species of endemic Hawaiian planthopper, Nesosydne umbratica (Hemiptera, Delphacidae). Given that the species was known as a host generalist occupying unrelated hosts, Clermontia (Campanulaceae) and Pipturus (Urticaceae), we set out to determine the relative importance of geography and host in structuring populations in the early stages of differentiation on the youngest islands of the Hawaiian chain. Results from extensive exon capture data showed that N. umbratica is highly structured, both by geography, with discrete populations on each volcano, and by host plant, with parallel radiations on Clermontia and Pipturus leading to extensive co‐occurrence. The marked genetic structure suggests that populations can readily become established on novel hosts provided opportunity; subsequent adaptation allows monopolization of the new host. The results support the role of geographic isolation in structuring populations and with host shifts occurring as discrete events that facilitate subsequent parallel geographic range expansion.
Quality improvement in medical schools: vision meets culture
Authors: Blouin Danielle 
Published: September 2019

ContextMedical schools face growing pressures to develop quality improvement (QI) strategies to ensure the continuous quality of their education. To best achieve quality, both organisational processes and culture need to be oriented towards quality. Quality processes already exist at medical schools, at least externally driven by accreditation. However, the dominant culture in most medical schools is not typically oriented towards quality.ObjectivesThis study explores whether QI practices are recognised as such in organisations not culturally QI‐oriented. Specifically, it examines faculty members’ perceptions about the degree of QI implementation in their medical education programmes. Understanding this perception will inform medical school leadership on how best to use resources for a successful execution of the school's QI vision.MethodsLeaders, clinical teachers and formal teachers at 16 of the 17 Canadian medical schools were invited to complete the ‘Are We Making Progress?’ questionnaire of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award framework, the results of which have been broadly validated. The questionnaire measures the perceived level of QI implementation within organisations using 40 statements grouped under the framework's seven domains of performance excellence.ResultsA total of 491 respondents from 11 (69%) schools completed the questionnaire; 173 (35%) identified as clinical teachers, 150 (31%) as formal teachers, and 168 (34%) as leaders. Perceived QI implementation levels were low across programmes (0.70–1.90 in Rasch person measures) and for each category of respondents. This was especially true for the domains of ‘Strategy’, ‘Measurement/analysis/knowledge management’ and ‘Operations’. Leaders’ perceptions of QI implementation were higher than those of teachers.ConclusionsMedical schools’ existing QI processes are not recognised as QI activities. For QI strategies to succeed, a programme's culture must embrace QI. In the execution of their QI visions, medical schools should spend resources on embedding quality in the organisation culture in addition to strengthening existing QI practices, especially in the domains listed above.
Additional cavotricuspid isthmus block ablation may not improve the outcome of atrial fibrillation ablation
Authors: Lee Wei‐Chieh , Fang Hsiu‐Yu , Chen Huang‐Chung , Chen Yung‐Lung , Tsai Tzu‐Hsien , Pan Kuo‐Li , Lin Yu‐Sheng , Chen Mien‐Cheng 
Published: September 2019

AbstractAimsPulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is an effective procedure for atrial fibrillation (AF). The role of additional cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI) block ablation remains controversial in AF patients without atrial flutter (AFL). Therefore, this study aimed to explore the clinical outcome of additional CTI block ablation in patients without AFL.MethodsBetween January 2013 and December 2017, a total of 139 patients who did not have documented AFL and who underwent catheter ablation for AF were recruited. Fifty‐seven patients were classified in additional CTI block ablation group and 82 patients were classified in without CTI group. The incidence of early‐onset and late‐onset atrial arrhythmia recurrence was compared between the two groups.ResultsThe additional CTI group had a higher prevalence of persistent or long‐standing AF and larger left atrial volume. The additional CTI group had a higher incidence of late‐onset atrial arrhythmia recurrence (38.6% vs 12.2%; P < .001). When compared to without CTI group, additional CTI therapy did not have a better outcome in terms of freedom of atrial arrhythmia in subgroup analysis. The incidence of early‐onset and late‐onset atrial arrhythmia recurrence did not differ between additional CTI group and without CTI group in paroxysmal AF patients and nonparoxysmal AF patients after propensity scoring matching.ConclusionCTI block ablation in addition to PVI for AF patients without a history of AFL or inducible AFL during ablation may not improve the clinical outcome of AF ablation in the patients with larger LA volume, nonparoxysmal AF, or post‐PVI inducible AF.
Stress effects on learning and feedback‐related neural activity depend on feedback delay
Authors: Paul Marcus , Bellebaum Christian , Ghio Marta , Suchan Boris , Wolf Oliver T. 
Published: September 2019

AbstractDepending on feedback timing, the neural structures involved in learning differ, with the dopamine system including the dorsal striatum and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) being more important for learning from immediate than delayed feedback. As stress has been shown to promote striatum‐dependent learning, the current study aimed to explore if stress differentially affects learning from and processing of immediate and delayed feedback. One group of male participants was stressed using the socially evaluated cold pressor test, and another group underwent a control condition. Subsequently, participants performed a reward learning task with immediate (500 ms) and delayed (6,500 ms) feedback while brain activity was assessed with electroencephalography (EEG). While stress enhanced the accuracy for delayed relative to immediate feedback, it reduced the feedback‐related negativity (FRN) valence effect, which is the amplitude difference between negative and positive feedback. For the P300, a reduced valence effect was found in the stress group only for delayed feedback. Frontal theta power was most pronounced for immediate negative feedback and was generally reduced under stress. Moreover, stress reduced associations of FRN and theta power with trial‐by‐trial accuracy. Associations between stress‐induced cortisol increases and EEG components were examined using linear mixed effects analyses, which showed that the described stress effects were accompanied by associations between the stress‐induced cortisol increases and feedback processing. The results indicate that stress and cortisol affect different aspects of feedback processing. Instead of an increased recruitment of the dopamine system and the ACC, the results may suggest enhanced salience processing and reduced cognitive control under stress.
The Psychophysics of Terror Attack Casualty Counts
Authors: Baucum Matt , John Richard 
Published: September 2019

AbstractIn communicating the risk that terror attacks pose to the public, government agencies and other organizations must understand which characteristics of an attack contribute to the public's perception of its severity. An attack's casualty count is one of the most commonly used metrics of a terror attack's severity, yet it is unclear whether the public responds to information about casualty count when forming affective and cognitive reactions to terror attacks. This study sought to characterize the “psychophysical function” relating terror attack casualty counts to the severity of the affective and cognitive reactions they elicit. We recruited n = 684 Mechanical Turk participants to read a realistic vignette depicting either a biological or radiological terror attack, whose death toll ranged from 20 to 50,000, and rated their levels of fear and anger along with the attack's severity. Even when controlling for the perceived plausibility of the scenarios, participants’ severity ratings of each attack were logarithmic with respect to casualty count, while ratings of fear and anger did not significantly depend on casualty count. These results were consistent across attack weapon (biological vs. radiological) and time horizon of the casualties (same‐day or anticipated to occur over several years). These results complement past work on life loss valuation and highlight a potential bifurcation between the public's affective and cognitive evaluations of terror attacks.
Optimally Balanced Gaussian Process Propensity Scores for Estimating Treatment Effects
Authors: Vegetabile Brian G. , Gillen Daniel L. , Stern Hal S. 
Published: September 2019

SummaryPropensity scores are commonly employed in observational study settings where the goal is to estimate average treatment effects. The paper introduces a flexible propensity score modelling approach, where the probability of treatment is modelled through a Gaussian process framework. To evaluate the effectiveness of the estimated propensity score, a metric of covariate imbalance is developed that quantifies the discrepancy between the distributions of covariates in the treated and control groups. It is demonstrated that this metric is ultimately a function of the hyperparameters of the covariance matrix of the Gaussian process and therefore it is possible to select the hyperparameters to optimize the metric and to minimize overall covariate imbalance. The effectiveness of the Gaussian process method is compared in a simulation against other methods of estimating the propensity score and the method is applied to data from a study of Dehejia and Wahba in 1999 to demonstrate benchmark performance within a relevant policy application.
Association of sedentary time and physical activity levels with immunometabolic markers in early pregnancy: The GESTAFIT project
Authors: Acosta‐Manzano Pedro , Acosta Francisco M. , Femia Pedro , Coll‐Risco Irene , Segura‐Jiménez Víctor , Díaz‐Castro Javier , Ochoa‐Herrera Julio J. , Van Poppel Mireille N. M. , Aparicio Virginia A. 
Published: September 2019

ObjectivesTo analyze the association of sedentary time and physical activity (PA) intensity levels with immunometabolic markers during early pregnancy; and to examine if meeting the PA recommendations is associated with the immunometabolic profile of pregnant women.MethodsFifty Caucasian pregnant women (age: 32.8 ± 4.7 years old, body mass index: 24.2 ± 4.1kg/m2, gestational age: 17 ± 1.5weeks) participated in this cross‐sectional study (from September 2015 through May 2016). Sedentary time and PA intensity levels were objectively measured with triaxial accelerometer (seven consecutive valid days). Fasting serum glucose, total cholesterol, phospholipids, and triglycerides were assessed with standard methods. Serum pro‐inflammatory and anti‐inflammatory cytokines (fractalkine, interleukin‐1β, interleukin‐6, interleukin‐8, interleukin‐10, interferon‐γ, and tumor necrosis factor‐α) were measured using Luminex xMAP technology.ResultsSedentary time and PA were not correlated with any glycemic or lipid marker (P > .05). After adjusting for the potential confounders, vigorous PA showed a positive non‐significant association with interleukin‐6 (P = .06), and bouts of moderate‐vigorous PA was inversely associated with interleukin‐1β and interferon‐γ (P = .02 and P = .04, respectively). Meeting the PA guidelines was inversely associated with interleukin‐1β and positively associated with interleukin‐8 (P = .01 and P = .04, respectively). These associations disappeared after controlling for multiplicity.ConclusionsIncreasing the time spent in moderate‐vigorous PA, or meeting the PA recommendations, is associated with the cytokine profile of women without metabolic disruptions in early pregnancy. However, sedentary time and PA do not seem to be associated with glucose or lipid levels. These results should be interpreted cautiously in view of the discrepancies after adjusting for multiple comparisons. Future studies in this novel field of research are warranted before reaching any conclusion.
Parametric Model Based Approach for Consumer Load Prediction
Authors: Abdullateef Ayodele Isqeel , Akorede Mudathir Folohunso , Abdulkarim Abubakar , Eyiomika Salami Momoh-Jimoh 
Published: September 2019

Various load prediction techniques have been proposed to predict consumer load which represents the activities of the consumer on the distribution network. Usually, these techniques use cumulative energy consumption data of the consumers connected to the power network to predict consumer load. However, this data fails to reveal and monitor the activities of individual consumers represented by consumer load consumption pattern. A new approach of predicting individual consumer load based on autoregressive moving average model (ARMA) is proposed in this study. Sub- optimal technique of parameter estimation based on Prony method was used to determine the model order of the ARMA models ARMA (10, 8), ARMA (8, 6) and ARMA (6, 4). ARMA (6, 4) was found to be appropriate for consumer load prediction with an average mean square error of 0.00006986 and 0.0000685 for weekday and weekend loads respectively. The energy consumption data acquired from consumer load prototype for one week, with 288 data points per day used in our previous work, was used and 5-minute step ahead load prediction is achieved. Furthermore, a comparison between autoregressive AR (20) and ARMA (6, 4) was carried out and ARMA (6, 4) was found to be appropriate for consumer load prediction. This facilitates the monitoring of individual consumer activities connected on the power network.
Desafiando la formación de psicólogos organizacionales desde una perspectiva de aprendizajes situados en el ámbito micro-empresarial peruano
Authors: Vera Ruiz Angela , Llanco Gonzalez Cesar Andres , Guevara Rojas Luis Alberto 
Published: September 2019

Se presenta una experiencia de formación académica, donde estudiantes de pregrado de psicología organizacional, de una universidad peruana, realizan un trabajo de campo con microempresas para analizar su comportamiento organizacional. Bajo un enfoque de responsabilidad social universitaria, se reconoce a las microempresas como actores importantes en la economía nacional. Con la vinculación entre estudiantes y microempresas, se busca decolonizar conocimientos hegemónicos, impartidos en la formación tradicional, evidenciando la necesidad de pensar los saberes y prácticas organizacionales de una manera situada, crítica y compartida por todos los actores participantes. Se plantean los principales aspectos metodológicos y resultados generales operativos de la experiencia, como insumo pedagógico útil en contextos formativos del complejo e inequitativo mundo laboral y organizacional latinoamericano.
Risk factors for death among children aged 5–14 years hospitalised with pneumonia: a retrospective cohort study in Kenya
Authors: Macpherson Liana , Ogero Morris , Akech Samuel , Aluvaala Jalemba , Gathara David , Irimu Grace , English Mike , Agweyu Ambrose 
Published: September 2019

IntroductionThere were almost 1 million deaths in children aged between 5 and 14 years in 2017, and pneumonia accounted for 11%. However, there are no validated guidelines for pneumonia management in older children and data to support their development are limited. We sought to understand risk factors for mortality among children aged 5–14 years hospitalised with pneumonia in district-level health facilities in Kenya.MethodsWe did a retrospective cohort study using data collected from an established clinical information network of 13 hospitals. We reviewed records for children aged 5–14 years admitted with pneumonia between 1 March 2014 and 28 February 2018. Individual clinical signs were examined for association with inpatient mortality using logistic regression. We used existing WHO criteria (intended for under 5s) to define levels of severity and examined their performance in identifying those at increased risk of death.Results1832 children were diagnosed with pneumonia and 145 (7.9%) died. Severe pallor was strongly associated with mortality (adjusted OR (aOR) 8.06, 95% CI 4.72 to 13.75) as were reduced consciousness, mild/moderate pallor, central cyanosis and older age (>9 years) (aOR >2). Comorbidities HIV and severe acute malnutrition were also associated with death (aOR 2.31, 95% CI 1.39 to 3.84 and aOR 1.89, 95% CI 1.12 to 3.21, respectively). The presence of clinical characteristics used by WHO to define severe pneumonia was associated with death in univariate analysis (OR 2.69). However, this combination of clinical characteristics was poor in discriminating those at risk of death (sensitivity: 0.56, specificity: 0.68, and area under the curve: 0.62).ConclusionChildren >5 years have high inpatient pneumonia mortality. These findings also suggest that the WHO criteria for classification of severity for children under 5 years do not appear to be a valid tool for risk assessment in this older age group, indicating the urgent need for evidence-based clinical guidelines for this neglected population.
Designing and evaluating a novel mobile application for Helping Babies Breathe skills retention in Uganda: comparative study protocol
Authors: Merali Hasan Shamsh , Chan Natalie Hoi-Man , Mistry Niraj , Kealey Ryan , Campbell Douglas , Morris Shaun K , Data Santorino 
Published: September 2019

IntroductionOver 600 000 newborns die each year of intrapartum-related events, many of which are preventable in the presence of skilled birth attendants. Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) is a neonatal resuscitation training programme designed for low-resource settings that can reduce both early neonatal mortality and stillbirths. However, as in other similar educational programmes, knowledge and skill retention deteriorate over time. This trend may be counteracted by strategies such as regular simulated exercises. In this study, a mobile application (app) ‘HBB Prompt’ will be developed to assist providers in retaining HBB knowledge and skills.Methods and analysisThis is a comparative study in Uganda with two phases: an app development phase and an assessment phase. In the first phase, HBB trainers and providers will explore barriers and facilitators to enhance learning and maintenance of HBB skills and knowledge through focus group discussions (FGDs). The FGDs are designed with a human factors perspective, enabling collection of relevant data for the prototype version of HBB Prompt. The app will then undergo usability and feasibility testing through FGDs and simulations. In the second phase, a minimum of 10 healthcare workers from two district hospitals will receive HBB training. Only the intervention hospital will have access to HBB Prompt. All participants will be asked to practise HBB skills every shift and record this in a logbook. In the intervention site, app usage data will also be collected. The primary outcome will be comparing skills retention 12 months after training, as determined by Objective Structured Clinical Examination B scores.Ethics and disseminationThis study received ethics approval from The Hospital for Sick Children and Mbarara University of Science and Technology. The authors plan to publish all relevant findings from this study in peer-reviewed journals.Trial registration numberNCT03577054
Sex-specific differences in white matter microvascular integrity after ischaemic stroke
Authors: Etherton Mark R , Wu Ona , Cougo Pedro , Lorenzano Svetlana , Li Hua , Cloonan Lisa , Bouts Mark J R J , Lauer Arne , Arai Ken , Lo Eng H , Feske Steve K , Furie Karen L , Rost Natalia S 
Published: September 2019

Background and purposeFunctional outcomes after ischaemic stroke are worse in women, despite adjusting for differences in comorbidities and treatment approaches. White matter microvascular integrity represents one risk factor for poor long-term functional outcomes after ischaemic stroke. The aim of the study is to characterise sex-specific differences in microvascular integrity in individuals with acute ischaemic stroke.MethodsA retrospective analysis of subjects with acute ischaemic stroke and brain MRI with diffusion-weighted (DWI) and dynamic-susceptibility contrast-enhanced (DSC) perfusion-weighted imaging obtained within 9 hours of last known well was performed. In the hemisphere contralateral to the acute infarct, normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) microvascular integrity was measured using theK2coefficient and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values. Regression analyses for predictors ofK2coefficient, DWI volume and good outcome (90-day modified Rankin scale (mRS) score <2) were performed.Results105 men and 79 women met inclusion criteria for analysis. Despite no difference in age, women had increased NAWMK2coefficient (1027.4 vs 692.7×10–6/s; p=0.006). In women, atrial fibrillation (β=583.6; p=0.04) and increasing NAWM ADC (β=4.4; p=0.02) were associated with increased NAWMK2coefficient. In multivariable regression analysis, theK2coefficient was an independent predictor of DWI volume in women (β=0.007; p=0.01) but not men.ConclusionsIn women with acute ischaemic stroke, increased NAWMK2coefficient is associated with increased infarct volume and chronic white matter structural integrity. Prospective studies investigating sex-specific differences in white matter microvascular integrity are needed.