bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Management of adrenal emergencies in educated patients with adrenal insufficiency—A prospective study
Authors: Burger‐Stritt Stephanie , Kardonski Pavel , Pulzer Alina , Meyer Gesine , Quinkler Marcus , Hahner Stefanie 
Published: April 2018

SummaryObjectiveTo evaluate the management of adrenal emergencies (AE) requiring parenteral glucocorticoid (GC) treatment in patients with chronic adrenal insufficiency (AI).DesignProspective, multicentre, questionnaire‐based study.Patients and measurementsParticipating patients (n = 150) with chronic AI were provided with a questionnaire on the management of emergency situations, which had to be completed and sent back in case of an AE. In addition, patients were contacted by phone on a regular basis.ResultsFifty‐nine AE in 39 patients were documented. The time interval from contact to arrival of a medical professional was 20 minutes (1‐240). In total, in 43 AE, patients received parenteral GC by a medical professional. The time interval between showing the emergency card and GC injection by a medical professional was 60 minutes (5‐360). A total of 26 patients administered GC by self‐injection. The time from the beginning of symptoms to GC injection was significantly shorter in case of self‐injection (self‐injection vs injection by medical professional; 85 minutes [20‐280] vs 232.5 minutes [1‐3135]; P < .001). After self‐injection, 62% of the patients were treated outpatient, compared to 27% of the patients after exclusive injection by a medical professional (P = .008). To improve the emergency management, most of the patients (84%) indicated a need for an easier way of self‐injection.ConclusionWhile management of AE by both patients and medical professionals still shows high variability, patients profit from the option of self‐injection. Patient care, including education of patients and health‐professionals, as well as the way of GC administration, needs further optimization.
Small arteries stay stiff for a longer period following vibration exercises in combination with blood flow restriction
Authors: Karabulut Ulku , Karabulut Murat , James Eric G. 
Published: April 2018

SummaryPurposeThe aim of this study was to assess the effect of isometric exercises performed during whole‐body vibration (WBV) with and without blood flow restriction (BFR) on arterial elasticity and hemodynamic variables.MethodsEight male subjects performed static upper body (UB) and lower body (LB) exercises on a vibration platform with and without BFR. During BFR sessions, BFR cuffs were placed on the arms or legs and inflated to a target pressure. Exercises consisted of eight 45‐s sets for UB, and ten 1‐min sets for LB. Arterial elasticity and hemodynamic variables were assessed before, at 10 min and 40 min postexercise. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to test the mean differences in related variables.ResultsA significant condition (BFR versus no‐BFR) main effect was detected for small arterial elasticity (P<0·05). For heart rate (HR), there were significant time (P<0·01), condition (P = 0·02) and body (P = 0·04) main effects during exercise and condition (P<0·04) and time (P<0·01) main effects following exercise. Significantly lower values in systemic vascular resistance were detected at 10 min post compared to 40 min post (P<0·02) and UB compared to LB (P = 0·02).ConclusionsResults showed that small arteries stayed stiffer for a longer period of time after vibration exercises with BFR and BFR placed a greater demand on cardiovascular system. Findings also indicated that the type of exercises performed and/or the measurement location are very important and should be taken into account when examining arterial response.
Differential diagnosis between a granuloma and radicular cyst: effectiveness of magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Lizio G. , Salizzoni E. , Coe M. , Gatto M. R. , Asioli S. , Balbi T. , Pelliccioni G. A. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractAimTo investigate the diagnostic reliability and accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to differentiate periapical lesions of endodontic origin and to compare the results with histopathological information.MethodologyThe radiolucent periapical jaw lesions of 34 patients, which were surgically enucleated, were investigated by two radiologists using MRI, based on the same six criteria, to categorize the lesions as granulomas, radicular cysts or others. After apicoectomies, two oral pathologists (blinded to the radiologist's diagnoses) analysed all specimens by referring to seven specific parameters and diagnosed the specimens as granulomas, radicular cysts or other conditions. The inter‐rater agreements between the radiologists and pathologists in terms of MRI and histological diagnoses, respectively, along with the discriminant power of the adopted criteria and the accuracy of the MRI assessments compared with the histopathological results, were calculated. Cohen's kappa test was adopted to examine inter‐rater agreement between the two radiologists and two pathologists. Guttman's lambda coefficient (λ6) was used to evaluate the internal consistency of the items used for the differential diagnosis by radiologists. The accuracy resulted from a receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis.ResultsA strong inter‐rater reliability was observed between the two radiologists (k‐statistic = 0.86, P = 0.0001) and the two pathologists (k‐statistic = 0.88, P = 0.0001). The internal consistency of the diagnostic items was 0.605 for cysts and 0.771 for granulomas. The accuracy (true positives plus true negatives) of the radiologists was greater than that of the pathologists based on analysis (area under the curve = 0.87 and 0.91, respectively).ConclusionsThe reliability and accuracy of MRI were high and comparable to histopathological reliability, highlighting the usefulness of this noninvasive technique as a pre‐treatment diagnostic method for periapical endodontic lesions.
Effect of Obesity on Postacute Outcomes of Skilled Nursing Facility Residents with Hip Fracture
Authors: Kosar Cyrus M. , Thomas Kali S. , Gozalo Pedro L. , Ogarek Jessica A. , Mor Vincent 
Published: April 2018

ObjectivesTo examine the effect of obesity (body mass index (BMI)≥30.0 kg/m2) on outcomes of older adults admitted to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) for hip fracture postacute care (PAC).DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingU.S. Medicare‐ and Medicaid‐certified SNFs from 2008 to 2015.ParticipantsMedicare fee‐for‐service beneficiaries discharged to a SNF after hospitalization for hip fracture (N=586,683; n=82,768 (14.1%) meeting obesity criteria). Exclusion criteria were aged younger than 65, being underweight (BMI<18.5 kg/m2), and SNF use in the year prior to index hospitalization.MeasurementsResidents were divided into 4 BMI categories according to cutoffs that the World Health Organization has established: not obese (BMI 18.5–29.9 kg/m2), mild obesity (BMI 30.0–34.9 kg/m2), moderate obesity (BMI 35.0–39.9 kg/m2), and severe obesity (BMI≥40.0 kg/m2). Robust Poisson regression was used to compare differences in average nursing facility length of stay (LOS) and rates of 30‐day hospital readmission, successful discharge to community, and becoming a long‐stay resident (LOS>100) according to obesity level. Models were adjusted for individual‐level covariates and facility fixed effects.ResultsResidents with mild (adjusted relative risk (aRR)=1.16, 95% CI=1.12–1.19), moderate (aRR=1.27, 95% CI=1.20–1.35), and severe (aRR=1.67, 95% CI=1.54–1.82) obesity were more likely to be readmitted within 30 days than those who were not obese. The average difference in LOS between residents without obesity and those with mild obesity was 2.6 days (95% CI=2.2–2.9 days); moderate obesity, 4.2 days (95% CI=3.7–5.1 days); and severe obesity, 7.0 days (95% CI=5.9–8.2 days). Residents with obesity were less likely to be successfully discharged and more likely to become long‐stay nursing home residents.ConclusionObesity was associated with worse outcomes in postacute SNF residents with hip fracture. Efforts to provide targeted care to residents with obesity may be essential to improve outcomes. Obesity may be an overlooked risk adjuster in quality‐of‐care measures and in payment reforms related to PAC for individuals with hip fracture.
Complete Genome Sequence of
Epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus
Serotype 6, Isolated from Florida White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Authors: Ahasan Mohammad Shamim , Subramaniam Kuttichantran , Lednicky John A. , Loeb Julia C. , Sayler Katherine A. , Wisely Samantha M. , Waltzek Thomas B. 
Published: April 2018

ABSTRACT

Here, we report the complete genome sequence of
Epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus
(EHDV) serotype 6 (EHDV-6), isolated from a Florida white-tailed deer (
Odocoileus virginianus
) in 2016. To our knowledge, this is the first full genome sequence determined for an EHDV-6 isolate from Florida.
Draft Genome Sequences of Salmonella enterica Serovar Enteritidis and Kentucky Isolates from Retail Poultry Sources
Authors: Shi Zhaohao , Kaldhone Pravin R. , Khajanchi Bijay K. , Foley Steven L. , Ricke Steven C. 
Published: April 2018

ABSTRACT

The draft genome sequences of four
Salmonella enterica
serovar Enteritidis and Kentucky isolates were evaluated for biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance. The
Salmonella
serovar Kentucky strains CFS84 and CFS85 and
Salmonella
serovar Enteritidis strains CFS86 and CFS87 were isolated from retail poultry sources in Arkansas.
Draft Genome Sequence of the Basidiomycete White-Rot Fungus Phlebia centrifuga
Authors: Mäkelä Miia R. , Peng Mao , Granchi Zoraide , Chin-A-Woeng Thomas , Hegi Rosa , van Pelt Sake I. , Ahrendt Steven , Riley Robert , Hainaut Matthieu , Henrissat Bernard , Grigoriev Igor V. , de Vries Ronald P. , Hildén Kristiina S. 
Published: April 2018

ABSTRACT

Here, we report the genome sequence of wood-decaying white-rot fungus
Phlebia centrifuga
strain FBCC195, isolated from Norway spruce (
Picea abies
) in Finnish Lapland. The 34.66-Mb genome containing 13,785 gene models is similar to the genome length reported for other saprobic white-rot species.
Asymptotic Optimal Control of Markov-Modulated Restless Bandits
Authors: Duran Santiago , Verloop Ina Maria 
Published: April 2018

This paper studies optimal control subject to changing conditions. This is an area that recently received a lot of attention as it arises in numerous situations in practice. Some applications being cloud computing systems where the arrival rates of new jobs fluctuate over time, or the time-varying capacity as encountered in power-aware systems or wireless downlink channels.
To study this, we focus on a restless bandit model, which has proved to be a powerful stochastic optimization framework to model scheduling of activities. In particular, it has been extensively applied in the context of optimal control of computing systems. This paper is a first step to its optimal control when restless bandits are subject to changing conditions, the latter being modeled by Markov-modulated environments. We consider the restless bandit problem in an asymptotic regime, which is obtained by letting the population of bandits grow large, and letting the environment change relatively fast. We present sufficient conditions for a policy to be asymptotically optimal and show that a set of priority policies satisfies these. Under an indexability assumption, an averaged version of Whittle's index policy is proved to be inside this set of asymptotic optimal policies. The performance of the averaged Whittle's index policy is numerically evaluated for a multi-class scheduling problem in a wireless downlink subject to changing conditions. While keeping the number of bandits constant, we observe that the average Whittle index policy becomes close to optimal as the speed of the modulated environment increases.
Stroke Among Young West Africans
Authors: Sarfo Fred Stephen , Ovbiagele Bruce , Gebregziabher Mulugeta , Wahab Kolawole , Akinyemi Rufus , Akpalu Albert , Akpa Onoja , Obiako Reginald , Owolabi Lukman , Jenkins Carolyn , Owolabi Mayowa 
Published: April 2018

Background and Purpose—
Stroke in lower and middle-income countries affects a young and productive age group. Data on factors associated with stroke in the young are sorely lacking from lower and middle-income countries. Our objective is to characterize the nature of stroke and its risk factors among young West Africans aged <50 years old.

Methods—
The SIREN (Stroke Investigative Research and Educational Network) is a multicenter, case–control study involving 15 sites in Nigeria and Ghana. Cases included adults aged ≥18 years with computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging-confirmed stroke. Controls were age-and gender-matched stroke-free adults recruited from the communities in catchment areas of cases. Comprehensive evaluation for vascular, lifestyle, and psychosocial factors was performed. We used conditional logistic regression to estimate odds ratios and population attributable risks with 95% confidence intervals.

Results—
Five hundred fifteen (24.3%) out of 2118 cases enrolled were <50 years old. Among subjects <50 years old, hemorrhagic stroke proportion was 270 (52.5%) versus 245 (47.5%) for ischemic strokes. Etiologic subtypes of ischemic strokes included large artery atherosclerosis (40.0%), small vessel disease (28.6%), cardioembolism (11.0%), and undetermined (20.4%). Hypertension (91.7%), structural lesions (3.4%), and others (4.9%) were causally associated with hemorrhagic stroke. Six topmost modifiable factors associated with stroke in descending order of population attributable risk (95% confidence interval) were hypertension: 88.7% (82.5%–94.8%), dyslipidemia: 48.2% (30.6%–65.9%), diabetes mellitus: 22.6% (18.7%–26.5%), low green vegetable consumption: 18.2% (−6.8%–43.2%), stress: 14.5% (4.9%–24.1%), and cardiac disease: 8.4% (5.8%–11.1%).

Conclusions—
The high and rising burden of stroke among young Africans should be curtailed via aggressive, population-wide vascular risk factor control.
A Dependency Perspective on RST Discourse Parsing and Evaluation
Authors: Morey Mathieu , Muller Philippe , Asher Nicholas 
Published: April 2018

Computational text-level discourse analysis mostly happens within Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST), whose structures have classically been presented as constituency trees, and relies on data from the RST Discourse Treebank (RST-DT); as a result, the RST discourse parsing community has largely borrowed from the syntactic constituency parsing community. The standard evaluation procedure for RST discourse parsers is thus a simplified variant of PARSEVAL, and most RST discourse parsers use techniques that originated in syntactic constituency parsing. In this article, we isolate a number of conceptual and computational problems with the constituency hypothesis. We then examine the consequences, for the implementation and evaluation of RST discourse parsers, of adopting a dependency perspective on RST structures, a view advocated so far only by a few approaches to discourse parsing. While doing that, we show the importance of the notion of headedness of RST structures. We analyze RST discourse parsing as dependency parsing by adapting to RST a recent proposal in syntactic parsing that relies on head-ordered dependency trees, a representation isomorphic to headed constituency trees. We show how to convert the original trees from the RST corpus, RST-DT, and their binarized versions used by all existing RST parsers to head-ordered dependency trees. We also propose a way to convert existing simple dependency parser output to constituent trees. This allows us to evaluate and to compare approaches from both constituent-based and dependency-based perspectives in a unified framework, using constituency and dependency metrics. We thus propose an evaluation framework to compare extant approaches easily and uniformly, something the RST parsing community has lacked up to now. We can also compare parsers’ predictions to each other across frameworks. This allows us to characterize families of parsing strategies across the different frameworks, in particular with respect to the notion of headedness. Our experiments provide evidence for the conceptual similarities between dependency parsers and shift-reduce constituency parsers, and confirm that dependency parsing constitutes a viable approach to RST discourse parsing.
Neoliberalism Facing Its Subjects: A Metastructural Approach
Authors: Bidet Jacques 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThis paper deals with modern history and the contemporary subject. Marx’stheory of modern societymust be corrected and completed. The dominant class includes two social forces: the capitalists on the market and the ‘competent’ in the organisation, facing the fundamental or popular class. A ‘régime of hegemony’ is a mode of arrangement between these three forces. Under neoliberalism, when a World-State is emerging, the capitalists occupy an overwhelming position.The ‘neoliberal subject’ can be described as subjected to a universal commodification. But a realistic understanding supposes to confront this subject with the contradictory plurality of this régime of hegemony. The subject is ‘interpellated’ (see Althusser) from all sides of this social triangle, across all the scales of social life. Only in this local and universal context can the potential of the ordinary human being appear.
Latitudinal variation in body size in Fejervarya limnocharis supports the inverse of Bergmann’s rule
Authors: Liu Qiao , Feng Hao , Jin Long , Mi Zhi Ping , Zhou Zhao Min , Bo Liao Wen 
Published: April 2018

Abstract
Bergmann’s rule states that within a species of endotherms smaller individuals are found in warmer conditions, which is consistent for nearly all endotherms, while in ectotherms body size patterns are less consistent. As ectothermic vertebrates, the morphology of amphibians is likely impacted by climatic conditions. Here, we examined latitudinal variation in body size in the ranid frog, Fejervarya limnocharis, based on literature and our own data on mean body size of 3637 individuals from 50 populations and average age of 2873 individuals from 40 populations in China. The results showed that body size was positively correlated with environmental temperature, but not with precipitation. Body size was negatively correlated with latitude among populations in this species, which supported the inverse of Bergmann’s rule. Our findings suggest that a larger body size in low-latitude populations is associated with a longer growing season related to the higher environmental temperature.
Preliminary experience of tigecycline treatment in critically ill children with ventilator-associated pneumonia
Authors: Lin Shupeng , Liang Lingfang , Zhang Chenmei , Ye Sheng 
Published: April 2018

Objective Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a life-threatening complication for children who are treated in a paediatric intensive care unit. Tigecycline treatment of children with VAP has not been well studied. This study aimed to describe tigecycline use in children with VAP in a tertiary care hospital. Methods We conducted a retrospective chart review in a tertiary hospital from May 1, 2012 to May 1, 2017. Results Twenty-four children (20 girls) with median age of 8 months (range, 27 days to 6 years and 9 months) were treated with tigecycline. In-hospital mortality was 41.7% (10/24). The primary diagnosis was congenital heart disease (15/24). A total of 70.8% (17/24) of patients received a loading dose (1.5 mg/kg), followed by 1 mg/kg every 12 hours. The median duration of tigecycline therapy was 10.75 days (range, 3–21.5 days). Sulperazone was the most frequently used concomitant antibiotic. Eighteen pathogens were isolated in 16 cases. Tigecycline therapy failed in 41.6% (10/24) of patients and 20.8% (5/24) died. The pathogen was eradicated in 37.5% (6/16) of patients. No serious adverse effects were detected. Conclusion Tigecycline combined with other agents as salvage therapy in children with VAP is well tolerated. Our preliminary results show a positive clinical response.
Predicting Outcomes in Critically ill Patients with Acute Kidney Injury Undergoing Intermittent Hemodialysis - A Retrospective Cohort Analysis
Authors: Franzen Daniel , Rupprecht Cornelia , Hauri Dimitri , Bleisch Jorg A. , Staubli Max , Puhan Milo A. 
Published: April 2018

Purpose Despite advances in the management of critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI), the prognosis is poor. The evidence base on risk factors for poor outcomes in these patients is scarce. Our aim was to identify predictors of outcome in AKI patients undergoing intermittent hemodialysis (IHD). Methods We retrospectively analyzed patient records from consecutive, critically ill patients with AKI treated with IHD in one teaching secondary care hospital from 2002 to 2006. We used multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis to identify predictors of mortality, hemodynamical instability during hemodialysis and failing renal recovery. Results Totally, we included 39 patients with a mean APACHE II score of 20.1 (SD 7.5) who had an average of 5.1 ± 4.8 hemodialysis sessions. All-cause mortality was 35.9% (14/39 patients). In multivariate analysis, pre-existing cardiac co-morbidity (HR 1.92 [0.58–6.47]), metabolic acidosis (2.40 [0-74-7.74]) and presence of ARDS (1.83 [0.52–6.46]) were the strongest predictors. 7 patients (18%) sustained new hemodynamic instability during hemodialysis, for which ARDS (6.42 [0.64–64.03]) was a strong predictor. Among survivors, 20 patients (80%) had partial or complete renal recovery. Preexisting renal insufficiency (3.13 [0.34–29.13]) and high net ultrafiltration quantities (3.30 [0.40–26.90]) were the strongest predictors for failing renal recovery. As a consequence of the small samples size none of the associations was statistically significant. Conclusions Presence of ARDS and high net ultrafiltration rates seem to represent key factors affecting prognosis in patients with AKI undergoing IHD. Targeting these risk factors may improve the poor prognosis of these patients.