bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Left ventricular myocardial performance index in prediabetic patients without coronary artery disease
Authors: Askin Lutfu , Cetin Mustafa , Tasolar Hakan , Akturk Erdal 
Published: February 2018

IntroductionPrediabetes is a high‐risk condition for diabetes mellitus type 2, which is an important public health issue. The myocardial performance index (MPI) is a noninvasive Doppler measurement of global ventricular function. We evaluated the MPI and left ventricular (LV) function in prediabetic patients who did not have coronary artery disease.MethodsIn total, 80 prediabetics (34 females and 46 males) and an equal number of sex‐matched healthy volunteers (35 females and 45 males) were enrolled prospectively. All subjects underwent laboratory analyses and echocardiographic examinations, including MPI measurements.ResultsThere was a moderate increase in MPI between healthy controls and prediabetics (P < .001). Prediabetes was strongly associated with MPI (r = .553, P < .001). We found that MPI was associated with prediabetes on multivariate logistic regression analysis (Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.967, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.574–2.459, P < .001).ConclusionsThe results of this study show that systolic functions and LV diastolic parameters were adversely affected in prediabetic patients. Prediabetes is closely associated with subclinical LV systolic and diastolic dysfunction as assessed by MPI.
The 2014 BCSH criteria and the 2016 WHO criteria for essential thrombocythemia: A comparison in a large‐scale cohort
Authors: Ochiai Tomonori , Yasuda Hajime , Araki Marito , Misawa Kyohei , Morishita Soji , Nudejima Mai , Hironaka Yumi , Shirane Shuichi , Edahiro Yoko , Gotoh Akihiko , Ohsaka Akimichi , Komatsu Norio 
Published: February 2018

AbstractObjectiveThere are currently 2 representative diagnostic criteria for essential thrombocythemia (ET), the 2014 British Committee for Standards in Hematology Guidelines (BCSH) criteria and the 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. We compare and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the 2 criteria.MethodWe applied the 2 criteria to 403 patients with thrombocytosis and suspected myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) and compared patient populations.ResultsThe BCSH criteria diagnosed ET in 279 patients (BCSH‐ET) whereas the WHO criteria diagnosed ET in 203 patients (WHO‐ET). There were 83 patients diagnosable only by the BCSH criteria (BCSH‐only‐ET), of which under the WHO classification, 69 patients fell under the category of MPN, unclassifiable (MPN‐u), 12 patients were PMF, prefibrotic/early stage (pre‐PMF), and 2 patients were polycythemia vera. Patient characteristics such as age, hemoglobin, hematocrit, platelet counts, lactate dehydrogenase levels, JAK2V617F allele burdens, prevalence of myelofibrosis and splenomegaly, and frequencies of thrombotic events and treatment did not differ between WHO‐ET and BCSH‐only‐ET, but BCSH‐only‐ET patients showed higher WBC counts and higher JAK2V617F mutation frequencies.ConclusionThe BCSH criteria diagnosed ET in a broader range of patients encompassing a significant number of patients who would otherwise be diagnosed as pre‐PMF or MPN‐u.
Variability and stability in predation landscapes: A cross‐ecosystem comparison on the potential for predator control in temperate marine ecosystems
Authors: Oken Kiva L , Essington Timothy E , Fu Caihong 
Published: February 2018

AbstractPredation can play an important role in population, community and ecosystem processes. When predator guilds are diverse, fluctuations in individual predator populations may have small influences on the guild at large, suggesting that predator diversity stabilizes the amount of predation prey experience. The strength of this phenomenon depends on how synchronously populations within predator assemblages vary and whether all predators are equally important consumers. We utilized a database of biomasses of fish species across ten temperate marine ecosystems paired with diet composition and feeding rate information from mass‐balance food web models to develop a predation index that weights the importance of predators on a prey based on predator feeding habits. Using the index, we asked how diverse sources of predation in these ecosystems are and how much diversity stabilizes variability in predation. Predator assemblages displayed a wide range of diversity; in one‐third of assemblages, a single predator group accounted for over half of all predation. Abundances of predator populations within assemblages generally varied independently of one another (neither synchronously nor asynchronously), implying an intermediate stabilization on predation intensity by predator diversity. Accounting for interaction strength (versus mere presence) is critical for interpreting the predator landscape; doing so led to a wider range in predator assemblage diversity and less synchronous assemblages. This work challenges conventional notions that marine food webs are diverse and therefore less susceptible to predator control. Future work should consider the temporal variability of the predator assemblages and account for differences in mortality induced by each predator population.
Clinical use of recombinant factor VIII Fc and recombinant factor IX Fc in patients with haemophilia A and B
Authors: Wang C. , Young G. 
Published: February 2018

IntroductionAlthough clinical trials have demonstrated extended half‐life (EHL) VIII and IX fusion proteins to be safe and efficacious in patients with haemophilia A and B, studies on real‐world clinical application have not been performed.AimTo retrospectively examine the real‐world experience of rFVIII Fc and rFIX Fc in patients.MethodsA retrospective review of existing medical records of patients with haemophilia A or haemophilia B who had been prescribed rFVIII Fc or rFIX Fc was conducted from the Children's Hospital Los Angeles Haemostasis and Thrombosis Centre database.ResultsA total of 36 male subjects enroled in the study (17 patients with haemophilia A and 19 patients with haemophilia B; 0‐18 years of age, N = 27; >18 years of age, N = 9). Patients had a reduction of their ABR and AJBR following initiation of EHL factors. For patients with haemophilia A, the ABR and ABJR fell from 2.3 and 1.8 to 1.3 and 0.71, respectively. For patients with haemophilia B, the ABR and ABJR fell from 2.5 and 2.1 to 0.82 and 0.37, respectively. Five of 36 patients reverted from EHL back to standard half‐life (SHL) factor treatment. Overall, treatment with EHL factors reduced factor consumption by nearly half compared to treatment with SHL factors in patients with haemophilia B.ConclusionThis study demonstrates the largely successful transition of 36 patients from SHL to EHL factor products.
CROSS‐BORDER MARRIAGE COSTS AND MARRIAGE BEHAVIOR: THEORY AND EVIDENCE
Authors: Weiss Yoram , Yi Junjian , Zhang Junsen 
Published: February 2018

AbstractThis article analyzes cross‐border marriages between mainland China and Hong Kong (HK). We examine the effects of a reduction in cross‐border marriage costs following an increase in marriage‐migration quotas and the handover of HK to China. We find that cross‐border marriages mainly involve men from the low tail of the HK attribute distribution. We also find that HK women's position in the marriage market and within households deteriorated following the reduction in cross‐border marriage costs and that their disadvantaged position exerts an incentive effect on their labor market behavior. These outcomes are consistent with our matching model.
Disseminated actinomycetoma due to Nocardia wallacei
Authors: Welsh Oliverio , Salinas‐Carmona Mario C. , Brown‐Elliott Barbara A. , Smith Terry , Cardenas‐De La Garza Jesus A. , Wallace Richard J. 
Published: February 2018

AbstractBackgroundActinomycetoma caused by Nocardia usually responds well to antibiotics. Emerging species of Nocardia, such as N. wallacei, can be a therapeutic challenge.AimsConfirm the therapeutic effectivity of linezolid in multidrug resistant Nocardia Wallacei actinomycetoma.Materials and MethodsWe evaluated the medical management of an 18‐year‐old man with multidrug resistant actinomycetoma of the left leg caused by N. transvalensis complex treated 17 years ago with linezolid 1200 mg a day. This bacteria was recently reclassified as Nocardia Wallacei by specific molecular biology technique.ResultsThe infection was cured after 3 months of treatment; the patient remained asymptomatic for the past 17 years. No adverse effects were found.DiscussionFrequently, strains of N. transvalensis complex have aminoglycoside resistance; in this case, we highlight the effectiveness of linezolid for the successful medical management of multidrug resistant actinomycetoma.ConclusionLinezolid can be an alternative for the treatment of multidrug resistant Nocardia Wallacei.
Emigration of Poles to the United Kingdom: history, present state and future prospects
Authors: Mąkosa Paweł Michał 
Published: February 2018

AbstractThe history of Polish immigration within the United Kingdom is several centuries old. Yet never in its history was such a mass migration as that after the Polish accession to the EU in 2004. During the over ten years that followed, almost a million Poles chose to settle in the United Kingdom. This article reviews and analyses past and present Polish emigration to the United Kingdom. It provides answers to questions regarding who the Polish immigrants are, what work they perform and how they have integrated within British society. It also considers the factors that have influenced the future dynamics of migration from Poland. Based on these, we have formed the hypothesis that while the years of 2004‐2016 saw, statistically, the largest emigration from Poland to the United Kingdom in recorded history, in the future, the number of Polish expatriates living in the United Kingdom will drop or at least the number of newcomers will decrease.
Creating a multilayered representational ‘package’ for subcontracted workers: the case of cleaners at Ben‐Gurion University
Authors: Preminger Jonathan 
Published: February 2018

AbstractResearch into the organising of subcontracted workers tends to focus on how such campaigns contribute to union revitalisation, the shortcomings of non‐union organisations in comparison with classic unionism and opposition rather than complementarity between strategies. Analysing the organising of subcontracted cleaners at a university, this article shifts this focus, evaluating the campaign in terms of how it assisted the workers, regardless of whether it contributed to union renewal, and in terms of complementarity between new and traditional industrial relations actors. Drawing on the power resources approach, it asserts that collaboration across different ‘paths to representation’ can create a multilayered representational ‘package’ in which different organisations with different power resources take on different aspects of what was once a (single) union's role, covering each other's shortcomings in a kind of de facto representational ‘division of labour’.
Epidemiology of seasonal influenza in the Middle East and North Africa regions, 2010‐2016: Circulating influenza A and B viruses and spatial timing of epidemics
Authors: Caini Saverio , El‐Guerche Séblain Clotilde , Ciblak Meral A. , Paget John 
Published: February 2018

BackgroundThere is a limited knowledge regarding the epidemiology of influenza in Middle East and North Africa.ObjectivesWe described the patterns of influenza circulation and the timing of seasonal epidemics in countries of Middle East and North Africa.MethodsWe used virological surveillance data for 2010‐2016 from the WHO FluNet database. In each country, we calculated the median proportion of cases that were caused by each virus type and subtype; determined the timing and amplitude of the primary and secondary peaks; and used linear regression models to test for spatial trends in the timing of epidemics.ResultsWe included 70 532 influenza cases from seventeen countries. Influenza A and B accounted for a median 76.5% and 23.5% of cases in a season and were the dominant type in 86.8% and 13.2% of seasons. The proportion of influenza A cases that were subtyped was 85.9%, while only 4.4% of influenza B cases were characterized. For most countries, influenza seasonality was similar to the Northern Hemisphere, with a single large peak between January and March; exceptions were the countries in the Arabian Peninsula and Jordan, all of which showed clear secondary peaks, and some countries had an earlier primary peak (in November‐December in Bahrain and Qatar). The direction of the timing of influenza activity was east to west and south to north in 2012‐2013 and 2015‐2016, and west to east in 2014‐2015.ConclusionsThe epidemiology of influenza is generally uniform in countries of Middle East and North Africa, with influenza B playing an important role in the seasonal disease burden.
La2O2SO4:RE/Yb new phosphors for near infrared to visible and near infrared upconversion luminescence (RE=Ho, Er, Tm)
Authors: Wang Xuejiao , Hu Zhipeng , Zhu Qi , Li Ji‐Guang , Sun Xudong 
Published: February 2018

AbstractThe 3 new upconversion (UC) phosphors of La2O2SO4:RE/Yb (RE=Ho, Er, and Tm, respectively) were derived via facile dehydration of their layered hydroxide precursors that were hydrothermally synthesized at 100°C. Rietveld XRD refinement found contracting cell dimension with decreasing RE3+ size, confirming the direct crystallization of solid solution. The Er3+ and Ho3+ activators both exhibited simultaneous green and red (dominant) emissions under 978‐nm near‐infrared (NIR) laser excitation (NIR‐Vis UC). Particularly, Tm3+ produced a Gaussian‐shaped pure NIR emission band at ~812 nm via its 3H4 → 3H6 transition (NIR‐NIR UC), which is highly desired for NIR biological application. Analysis of the excitation‐power dependent UC properties manifested a 3‐photon mechanism for the 3 phosphors, and the possible photon reactions leading to UC were illustrated.
ECG electrode reversals: An opportunity to learn from mistakes
Authors: Sakaguchi Scott , Sandberg Jeremy , Benditt David G. 
Published: February 2018

AbstractAn ECG with an “odd” appearance may raise the suspicion that ECG recording electrodes may have been reversed. Odd appearances include unexpected Q‐waves or R‐waves, markedly isoelectric leads, and abrupt changes from previous ECGs. A few examples of ECG electrode reversal provide the opportunity to review some fundamental principles of ECG recording. Some ECG electrode reversals will invert the QRS complex recorded in a lead. Other ECG leads may be affected in a manner that initially may seem unexpected. These patterns may be understood upon reviewing the genesis of the “unipolar” leads, particularly the “augmented” leads. Recording an ECG between electrodes placed on the two legs will produce a nearly isoelectric tracing. Elucidation of electrode reversals is often less difficult than it seems, may present an enjoyable intellectual challenge, and provides insight into the process of ECG recording.
Development of Asian parasitoids in larvae Of Drosophila Suzukii feeding on blueberry and artificial diet
Authors: Girod P. , Rossignaud L. , Haye T. , Turlings T. C. J. , Kenis M. 
Published: February 2018

AbstractIn just a few years, the Asian fly Drosophila suzukii has invaded several continents and has become a very serious pest of many fruit crops worldwide. Current control methods rely on chemical insecticides or expensive and labour‐intensive cultural practices. Classical biological control through the introduction of Asian parasitoids that have co‐evolved with the pest may provide a sustainable solution on condition that they are sufficiently specific to avoid non‐target effects on local biodiversity. Here, we present the first study on the development of three larval parasitoids from China and Japan, the Braconidae Asobara japonica and the Figitidae Leptopilina japonica and Ganaspis sp., on D. suzukii. The Asian parasitoids were compared with Leptopilina heterotoma, a common parasitoid of several Drosophilidae worldwide. The three Asian species were successfully reared on D. suzukii larvae in both, blueberry and artificial diet, in contrast to L. heterotoma whose eggs and larvae were encapsulated by the host larvae. All parasitoids were able to oviposit one day after emergence. Asobara japonica laid as many eggs in larvae feeding in blueberry as in artificial diet, whereas L. heterotoma oviposited more in larvae on the artificial diet and the Asian Figitidae oviposited more in larvae feeding on blueberry. Ganaspis sp. laid very few eggs in larvae in the artificial diet, suggesting that it may be specialized in Drosophila species living in fresh fruits. These data will be used for the development of a host range testing to assess the suitability of Asian parasitoids as biological control agents in invaded regions.
Interleukin‐2, ‐16, and ‐17 gene polymorphisms in Iranian patients with chronic periodontitis
Authors: Vahabi Surena , Nazemisalman Bahareh , Hosseinpour Sepanta , Salavitabar Simindokht , Aziz Alireza 
Published: February 2018

AbstractAimChronic periodontitis (CP) is a multifactorial disease and the most common type of periodontitis mainly caused by microbial plaque. CP can be brought on by, and progresses with, insufficient oral hygiene, and environmental and genetic susceptibilities. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between interleukin (IL)‐2 (T‐330G), IL‐16 (T‐295C), and IL‐17 (A‐7383G) gene polymorphisms and the susceptibility to CP in an Iranian population.MethodsNinety‐nine cases diagnosed with CP and 75 matched healthy controls engaged in the present study. 3 cc peripheral blood samples were obtained for DNA isolation. Genotype analysis was performed using restriction fragment length polymorphism polymerase chain reaction. Genotype distribution and allele frequencies within groups were compared using χ2‐test, and logistic regression analysis was used to recognize the independent relation between the disease and the absence or presence of alleles.ResultsThere was no polymorphism in IL‐2 (T‐330G) among our patients, and the TT genotype was present in both study groups. Moreover, none of the studied genotypes and alleles of IL‐16 (T‐295C) and IL‐17 (A‐7383G) was significantly associated with CP.ConclusionThe present study demonstrated no association between IL‐2 (T‐330G), IL‐16 (T‐295C), and IL‐17 (A‐7383G) genotypes and CP in an Iranian population.
Inferior alveolar nerve injury: Correlation between indicators of risk on panoramic radiographs and the incidence of tooth and mandibular canal contact on cone‐beam computed tomography scans in a Western Australian population
Authors: Winstanley Kate L. , Otway Lisa M. , Thompson Lionel , Brook Zoe H. , King Nigel , Koong Bernard , O'Halloran Michael 
Published: February 2018

AbstractAimThe aim of the present study was to assess risks prior to third molar removal. A 2‐D panoramic radiograph or a 3‐D cone‐beam computed tomography (CBCT) scan can be used to visualize the proximity of the third molar to the mandibular canal. We aimed to correlate panoramic indicators of risk with the incidence of contact between these two structures on CBCT scans.MethodsPatients were selected from a Western Australian population if they had a panoramic radiograph that illustrated signs of risk of inferior alveolar nerve injury and had a CBCT scan on file. Statistically‐significant relationships between the relative position and distance between the mandibular canal and third molar were investigated using χ2‐test and Fisher's exact test in Stata version 13.ResultsWithin the Western Australian sample (N = 100), of six possible panoramic indicators of risk, two were significantly associated with contact between the tooth and mandibular canal on CBCT: (a) interruption of the radiographic white line of the canal; and (b) darkening of the root(s).ConclusionsTwo panoramic radiograph risk signs are significantly more likely to indicate contact on the CBCT scans: interruption of the white line and darkening of the root(s). Further research is required to develop CBCT prescription guidelines for surgical planning.
Privacy at end of life in ICU: A review of the literature
Authors: Timmins Fiona , Parissopoulos Stelios , Plakas Sotirios , Naughton Margaret T , de Vries Jan MA , Fouka Georgia 
Published: February 2018

Aims and objectivesTo explore the issues surrounding privacy during death in ICU.BackgroundWhile the provision of ICU care is vital, the nature and effect of the potential lack of privacy during death and dying in ICUs have not been extensively explored.DesignA literature search using CINAHL and Pubmed revealed articles related to privacy, death and dying in ICU.MethodKeywords used in the search were “ICU,” “Privacy,” “Death” and “Dying.” A combination of these terms using Boolean operators “or” or “and” revealed a total of 23 citations. Six papers were ultimately deemed suitable for inclusion in the review and were subjected to code analysis with Atlas.ti v8 QDA software.FindingsThe analysis of the studies revealed eight themes, and this study presents the three key themes that were found to be recurring and strongly interconnected to the experience of privacy and death in ICU: “Privacy in ICU,” “ICU environment” and “End‐of‐Life Care”.ConclusionsResearch has shown that patient and family privacy during the ICU hospitalisation and the provision of the circumstances that lead to an environment of privacy during and after death remains a significant challenge for ICU nurses. Family members have little or no privacy in shared room and cramped waiting rooms, while they wish to be better informed and involved in end‐of‐life decisions. Hence, death and dying for many patients takes place in open and/or shared spaces which is problematic in terms of both the level of privacy and respect that death ought to afford.Relevance to clinical practiceIt is best if end‐of‐life care in the ICU is planned and coordinated, where possible. Nurses need to become more self‐reflective and aware in relation to end‐of‐life situations in ICU in order to develop privacy practices that are responsive to family and patient needs.