bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Outcomes in Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease: Time to System Revision
Authors: DECHERT BRYNN E. , BRADLEY DAVID J. , SERWER GERALD A. , DICK II MACDONALD , LAPAGE MARTIN J. 
Published: April 2016

BackgroundImplantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are intended to prevent sudden cardiac death yet also impose a risk of morbidity. This study describes the outcomes of ICDs in a pediatric and congenital heart disease (CHD) population from a single center.MethodsRetrospective cohort study of all patients with an ICD followed at the University of Michigan Congenital Heart Center from 2005–2013. The primary outcome was ICD system revision for any reason excluding routine generator change for battery depletion.ResultsThere were 191 ICD systems in 131 patients, including 57 with CHD, 24 with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and 45 with structurally normal hearts. Median age was 16 years at initial implant. Total follow‐up was 850 patient‐years; median 4.9 years/patient. There were 43 (33%) patients who required 60 ICD revisions; 70 revisions/1,000 patient‐years of follow‐up. Revisions included 25 lead extractions with replacement, 21 lead additions, five lead repositions, and four full system revisions. Kaplan‐Meier (K‐M) median time to appropriate shock was similar to the median time to system revision. K‐M time to system revision was significantly affected by recalled lead performance.ConclusionsThe need for ICD system revision is high in this pediatric and CHD population and occurs at a rate similar to the rate of receiving appropriate therapy. These results highlight the need for judicious implant criteria and improved device longevity.
Pediatric preoperative risk factors to predict postoperative ICU admission and death from a multicenter retrospective study
Authors: Lian Chunwei , Xie Zuokai , Wang Zhao , Huang Congcong , Zhang Mazhong , Ye Mao , Zhang Xiying , Zhang Jianmin , Lu Kaizhi , Li Liwei , Zhu Bo , Ma Daqing , Li Jun , Lian Qingquan , Shang Guan Wangning 
Published: April 2016

SummaryBackgroundAlthough some studies have investigated the potential predictors of perioperative mortality, there are few specifically for pediatrics.ObjectiveThe aim of the retrospective study was to analyze potential preoperative risk factors and to develop a pediatric preoperative risk prediction score (PRPS), and to predict postoperative ICU admission and the incidence of perioperative death in pediatric patients.MethodsPatients who postoperatively admitted to ICU or died (occurred within 30 days after the surgery) from 263 607 pediatric surgical patients with age from 1 day to 14 years old in eight centers in China from October 2010 to September 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. About 5500 non‐ICU admission and death patients were randomly selected from those 263 607 patients as controls for analysis comparison. Independent risk factors and a risk model were derived from these analyses, and were further assessed with the likelihood ratio test and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.ResultsThere were 1812 ICU admission or death patients but 187 patients’ records are incomplete. There were 487 patients with incomplete records among 5500 controls. Collectively, data from 6626 patients were enrolled in final analyses. With multiple logistic regression analysis, age, ASA physical status, SpO2, prematurity, and unfasted status were found to be independent predictors for critical patients. The AUC value of 0.905 indicated excellent predictive performance between critical and noncritical predictors.ConclusionsOur study revealed that age, ASA physical status, SpO2, prematurity, and unfasted status are risk factors to predict postoperative ICU admission and death in pediatric patients.
Correlation of serum sHLA‐G levels with cyst stage in patients with cystic echinococcosis: is it an immune evasion strategy?
Authors: Mariconti M. , Meroni V. , Badulli C. , Brunetti E. , Tinelli C. , De Silvestri A. , Tamarozzi F. , Genco F. , Casulli A. , Martinetti M. 
Published: April 2016

SummaryPatients with cystic echinococcosis (CE) can harbour cysts for years or even decades, apparently without effect of the immune system on the metacestode. Although several immune evasion mechanisms by echinococcal cysts have been described, it is unclear whether the human leucocyte antigen (HLA) system plays a role in the susceptibility or resistance to CE in humans. HLA‐G molecules are known to exert a suppressive action on dendritic cells maturation and on natural killer (NK) cells functions, therefore hampering T‐cell responses and NK cytolysis. HLA‐G plays an important role in immune tolerance, is involved in foetus and in allotransplant tolerance, and may be involved in tumoral and viral immune evasion. In this study, we assessed the presence and levels of soluble HLA‐G (sHLA‐G) in patients with CE using a commercial ELISA kit to determine whether host's HLA‐G may have a role in the course of human CE.
Science Use in Regulatory Impact Analysis: The Effects of Political Attention and Controversy
Authors: Costa Mia , Desmarais Bruce A. , Hird John A. 
Published: April 2016

AbstractScholars, policy makers, and research sponsors have long sought to understand the conditions under which scientific research is used in the policy‐making process. Recent research has identified a resource that can be used to trace the use of science across time and many policy domains. U.S. federal agencies are mandated by executive order to justify all economically significant regulations by regulatory impact analyses (RIAs), in which they present evidence of the scientific underpinnings and consequences of the proposed rule. To gain new insight into when and how regulators invoke science in their policy justifications, we ask: does the political attention and controversy surrounding a regulation affect the extent to which science is utilized in RIAs? We examine scientific citation activity in all 101 economically significant RIAs from 2008 to 2012 and evaluate the effects of attention—from the public, policy elites, and the media—on the degree of science use in RIAs. Our main finding is that regulators draw more heavily on scientific research when justifying rules subject to a high degree of attention from outside actors. These findings suggest that scientific research plays an important role in the justification of regulations, especially those that are highly salient to the public and other policy actors.
Policy Stalemate and Policy Change in Israel's Water Sector 1970–2010: Advocacy Coalitions and Policy Narratives
Authors: Menahem Gila , Gilad Shula 
Published: April 2016

AbstractThis paper seeks to explain policy stalemates that persist despite recognition of their risks and damages, as well as the factors and processes that enable a breakthrough and lead to policy change. The paper seeks to fill a gap in the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) theory by supplementing it with Narrative Analysis (NA). We claim that NA provides a link missing in the ACF that is required for the transformation of “necessary” conditions—like external and internal shocks to the system—into “sufficient” conditions for policy persistence or change. We use the ACF to delineate coalition members and their belief systems and policy positions, as well as external, internal, and structural shocks to the system. We rely on NA to analyze the narratives employed in the public arena, which turn conditions necessary both for hurting stalemates and for policy change into sufficient conditions. We illustrate the benefits of combining the two approaches through a study of Israel's water policy during four decades (1970s–2000s) based on government records and on information from interviews with key players.
Willingness to Pay for Solar Lanterns: Does the Trial Period Play a Role?
Authors: Yoon Semee , Urpelainen Johannes , Kandlikar Milind 
Published: April 2016

AbstractWhere electricity access is limited, solar lanterns are a viable and relatively inexpensive source of basic lighting for households. However, the creation of commercially viable business models for solar lanterns is difficult because the customers are poor and make decisions under tight liquidity constraints. To understand the economics of technology adoption in the case of solar lanterns, we conduct a field experiment on willingness to pay (WTP) for solar lanterns in rural Uttar Pradesh. Applying the Becker–DeGroot–Marschak method of eliciting WTP, we evaluate the ability of a trial period and postponed payment to increase sales. We find no evidence for the effectiveness of the trial period and only weak evidence for the positive effect of postponed payment. Overall, WTP for the product among the customers is low. There is no clear evidence for concerns about the uncertain quality of the product, liquidity constraints, or present‐bias. In this context, policies to subsidize very small solar lanterns would not correct a market failure, as people appear to have only a limited interest in the product.
Robust Inference in Two‐phase Sampling Designs with Application to Unit Nonresponse
Authors: Favre‐Martinoz Cyril , Haziza David , Beaumont Jean‐François 
Published: April 2016

AbstractInfluential units occur frequently in surveys, especially in business surveys that collect economic variables whose distributions are highly skewed. A unit is said to be influential when its inclusion or exclusion from the sample has an important impact on the sampling error of estimates. We extend the concept of conditional bias attached to a unit and propose a robust version of the double expansion estimator, which depends on a tuning constant. We determine the tuning constant that minimizes the maximum estimated conditional bias. Our results can be naturally extended to the case of unit nonresponse, the set of respondents often being viewed as a second‐phase sample. A robust version of calibration estimators, based on auxiliary information available at both phases, is also constructed.
Bayesian Conditional Mean Estimation in Log‐Normal Linear Regression Models with Finite Quadratic Expected Loss
Authors: Fabrizi Enrico , Trivisano Carlo 
Published: April 2016

AbstractLog‐normal linear regression models are popular in many fields of research. Bayesian estimation of the conditional mean of the dependent variable is problematic as many choices of the prior for the variance (on the log‐scale) lead to posterior distributions with no finite moments. We propose a generalized inverse Gaussian prior for this variance and derive the conditions on the prior parameters that yield posterior distributions of the conditional mean of the dependent variable with finite moments up to a pre‐specified order. The conditions depend on one of the three parameters of the suggested prior; the other two have an influence on inferences for small and medium sample sizes. A second goal of this paper is to discuss how to choose these parameters according to different criteria including the optimization of frequentist properties of posterior means.
From Dispositions to Goals to Ideology: Toward a Synthesis of Personality and Social Psychological Approaches to Political Orientation
Authors: Xu Xiaowen , Plaks Jason E. , Peterson Jordan B. 
Published: April 2016

AbstractWe review existing research on the associations between political orientation and Big Five traits such as Openness to Experience and Conscientiousness. We suggest that analyzing these traits at the aspect level sheds light on motivational mechanisms underlying these links. For example, we present evidence that only one of the two aspects of Conscientiousness (“Orderliness”) reliably predicts conservatism. To account for this relationship, and to more generally describe how traits translate into political orientation, we present a new model, the Disposition‐Goals‐Ideology (DiGI) Model. The DiGI model outlines specific interrelationships among dispositions, goals, and ideological beliefs that help to shape individual differences in political orientation.
Individual Differences in the Consideration of Future and (More) Immediate Consequences: A Review and Directions for Future Research
Authors: Joireman Jeff , King Skyler 
Published: April 2016

AbstractIn 1994, Strathman, Gleicher, Boninger, and Edwards (1994) introduced the 12‐item consideration of future consequences scale to measure individual differences in the extent to which people base their decisions on the immediate versus future consequences of their actions. After tracing the origin and development of the CFC construct, theoretical models, including the awareness and concern models, buffering and susceptibility models, and an integrative model of CFC are outlined. Next, a narrative review of work examining the role of CFC within several outcome domains is presented, including research in the areas of health, financial, work, ethical, and environmental behaviors and decision‐making. Measurement issues including the dimensionality of the scale and adaptation to specific domains (e.g., healthy eating) are subsequently considered, and eight directions for future research are discussed.
Führt Polarisierung zu politischem Engagement?
Authors: Kleiner Tuuli‐Marja 
Published: April 2016

ZusammenfassungPolitische Partizipation wird von Kontextfaktoren mitbestimmt. Die ideologische Polarisierung ist ein solcher Faktor. Während sich die Wahlforschung mit dem Einfluss von Elitenpolarisierung auf das individuelle Wahlverhalten beschäftigt, ist bislang nichts über den Einfluss der ideologischen Polarisierung der Bevölkerung auf das nicht‐elektorale Partizipationsverhalten der Bürger bekannt. In diesem Beitrag wird daher danach gefragt, in welchem Zusammenhang die nicht‐elektorale Partizipation von Individuen mit dem Ausmaß an ideologischer Polarisierung ihrer regionalen sozialen Umwelt steht. Vermutet wird, dass wachsende ideologische Polarisierung die Bürger mobilisiert. Mit Daten des European Social Survey (2002–2012) lässt sich ein solcher Effekt zeigen. Dabei werden zwei neue Vorschläge zur Messung ideologischer Polarisierung gemacht. Anschließend wird die allgemeine Annahme spezifiziert und die These aufgestellt, dass ideologische Polarisierung besonders auf politisch bereits sensibilisierte Bevölkerungsgruppen wie ein Mobilisierungsverstärker wirkt. Zum Teil bestätigen die folgenden Analysen diese Annahme. Insgesamt legen die Ergebnisse die Schlussfolgerung nahe, dass sich das Ausmaß an ideologischer Polarisierung auf das Partizipationsverhalten der Individuen ungleich auswirkt.
Which adherence measure – self‐report, clinician recorded or pharmacy refill – is best able to predict detectable viral load in a public ART programme without routine plasma viral load monitoring?
Authors: Mekuria Legese A. , Prins Jan M. , Yalew Alemayehu W. , Sprangers Mirjam A. G. , Nieuwkerk Pythia T. 
Published: April 2016

AbstractObjectiveCombination antiretroviral therapy (cART) suppresses viral replication to an undetectable level if a sufficiently high level of adherence is achieved. We investigated which adherence measurement best distinguishes between patients with and without detectable viral load in a public ART programme without routine plasma viral load monitoring.MethodWe randomly selected 870 patients who started cART between May 2009 and April 2012 in 10 healthcare facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Six hundred and sixty‐four (76.3%) patients who were retained in HIV care and were receiving cART for at least 6 months were included and 642 had their plasma HIV‐1 RNA concentration measured. Patients' adherence to cART was assessed according to self‐report, clinician recorded and pharmacy refill measures. Multivariate logistic regression model was fitted to identify the predictors of detectable viremia. Model accuracy was evaluated by computing the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.ResultA total of 9.2% and 5.5% of the 642 patients had a detectable viral load of ≥40 and ≥400 RNA copies/ml, respectively. In the multivariate analyses, younger age, lower CD4 cell count at cART initiation, being illiterate and widowed, and each of the adherence measures were significantly and independently predictive of having ≥400 RNA copies/ml. The ROC curve showed that these variables altogether had a likelihood of more than 80% to distinguish patients with a plasma viral load of ≥400 RNA copies/ml from those without.ConclusionAdherence to cART was remarkably high. Self‐report, clinician recorded and pharmacy refill non‐adherence were all significantly predictive of detectable viremia. The choice for one of these methods to detect non‐adherence and predict a detectable viral load can therefore be based on what is most practical in a particular setting.
Socio‐economic differences in HIV/AIDS mortality in South Africa
Authors: Probst Charlotte , Parry Charles D. H. , Rehm Jürgen 
Published: April 2016

AbstractObjectivesTo quantify socio‐economic differences in the risk of HIV/AIDS mortality in South Africa for different measures of socio‐economic status.MethodsSystematic literature search in Web of Knowledge and PubMed. Measures of relative risk (RR) were pooled separately for education, income, assets score and employment status as measures of socio‐economic status, using inverse‐variance weighted DerSimonian‐Laird random effects meta‐analyses.ResultsTen studies were eligible for inclusion comprising over 175 000 participants and 6700 deaths. For income (RR 1.55, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15–2.09), assets score (RR 1.63, 95% CI 1.12–2.36) and employment status (RR 1.52, 95% CI 1.21–1.92), persons of low socio‐economic status had an over 50% higher risk of dying from HIV/AIDS. The RR of 1.10 for education was not significant (95% CI 0.74–1.65).ConclusionsFuture research should identify effective strategies to reduce HIV/AIDS mortality and alleviate the consequences of HIV/AIDS deaths, particularly for poorer households.
Maternal obesity and Caesarean delivery in sub‐Saharan Africa
Authors: Cresswell Jenny A. , Campbell Oona M. R. , De Silva Mary J. , Slaymaker Emma , Filippi Veronique 
Published: April 2016

AbstractObjectivesTo quantify maternal obesity as a risk factor for Caesarean delivery in sub‐Saharan Africa.MethodsMultivariable logistic regression analysis using 31 nationally representative cross‐sectional data sets from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS).ResultsMaternal obesity was a risk factor for Caesarean delivery in sub‐Saharan Africa; a clear dose–response relationship (where the magnitude of the association increased with increasing BMI) was observable. Compared to women of optimal weight, overweight women (BMI 25–29 kg/m2) were significantly more likely to deliver by Caesarean (OR: 1.54; 95% CI: 1.33, 1.78), as were obese women (30–34.9 kg/m2 (OR: 2.39; 95%CI: 1.96–2.90); 35–39.9 kg/m2 (OR: 2.47 95%CI: 1.78–3.43)) and morbidly obese women (BMI ≥40 kg/m2 OR: 3.85; 95% CI: 2.46–6.00).ConclusionsBMI is projected to rise substantially in sub‐Saharan Africa over the next few decades and demand for Caesarean sections already exceeds available capacity. Overweight women should be advised to lose weight prior to pregnancy. Furthermore, culturally appropriate prevention strategies to discourage further population‐level rises in BMI need to be designed and implemented.
New Frontiers in Language Evolution and Development
Authors: Oller D. Kimbrough , Dale Rick , Griebel Ulrike 
Published: April 2016

AbstractThis article introduces the Special Issue and its focus on research in language evolution with emphasis on theory as well as computational and robotic modeling. A key theme is based on the growth of evolutionary developmental biology or evo‐devo. The Special Issue consists of 13 articles organized in two sections: A) Theoretical foundations and B) Modeling and simulation studies. All the papers are interdisciplinary in nature, encompassing work in biological and linguistic foundations for the study of language evolution as well as a variety of computational and robotic modeling efforts shedding light on how language may be developed and may have evolved.
P‐class pentatricopeptide repeat protein PTSF1 is required for splicing of the plastid pre‐tRNAIle in Physcomitrella patens
Authors: Goto Seiya , Kawaguchi Yasuhiro , Sugita Chieko , Ichinose Mizuho , Sugita Mamoru 
Published: April 2016

SummaryPentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins are widely distributed in eukaryotes and are mostly localized in mitochondria or plastids. PPR proteins play essential roles in various RNA processing steps in organelles; however, the function of the majority of PPR proteins remains unknown. To examine the function of plastid PPR proteins, PpPPR_4 gene knock‐out mutants were characterized in Physcomitrella patens. The knock‐out mosses displayed severe growth retardation and reduced effective quantum yield of photosystem II. Immunoblot analysis showed that knock‐out of PpPPR_4 resulted in a strongly reduced level of plastid‐encoded proteins, such as photosystem II reaction center protein D1, the β subunit of ATP synthase, and the stromal enzyme, Rubisco. To further investigate whether knock‐out of the PpPPR_4 gene affects plastid gene expression, we analyzed steady‐state transcript levels of protein‐ and rRNA‐coding genes by quantitative RT‐PCR. This analysis showed that the level of many protein‐coding transcripts increased in the mutants. In contrast, splicing of a spacer tRNAIle precursor encoded by the rrn operon was specifically impaired in the mutants, whereas the accumulation of other plastid tRNAs and rRNAs was not largely affected. Thus, the defect in tRNAIle splicing leads to a considerable reduction of mature tRNAIle, which may be accountable for the reduced protein level. An RNA mobility shift assay showed that the recombinant PpPPR_4 bound preferentially to domain III of the tRNAIle group‐II intron. These results provide evidence that PpPPR_4 functions in RNA splicing of the tRNAIle intron, and hence PpPPR_4 was named plastid tRNA splicing factor 1 (PTSF1).
The effects of topical diclofenac, topical flurbiprofen, and humidity on corneal sensitivity in normal dogs
Authors: Dorbandt Daniel M. , Labelle Amber L. , Mitchell Mark A. , Hamor Ralph E. 
Published: April 2016

AbstractPurposeTo determine the immediate and chronic effects of topical 0.1% diclofenac and 0.03% flurbiprofen on corneal sensitivity in normal canine eyes.Animals studiedEighteen normal, nonbrachycephalic dogs.MethodsA prospective, randomized, masked, crossover study was performed. To determine the immediate effects associated with treatment, the study drug was instilled into the eye every 5 min for five doses, and corneal sensitivity of treated and untreated eyes was obtained prior to treatment and every 15 min post‐treatment for 60 min. To determine the chronic effects, the study drug was instilled every 12 h for 30 days, and corneal sensitivity of treated and untreated eyes was obtained prior to treatment on days 0 and 30. A washout period of at least 30 days occurred between drug crossover. Ambient temperature and humidity were measured throughout the study.ResultsAfter multiple instillations, there was no difference in corneal sensitivity between eyes over time for diclofenac (P = 0.67) or flurbiprofen (P = 0.54), with a median sensitivity of 25 mm (1.8 g/mm2). After chronic dosing, there was no difference in corneal sensitivity between eyes over time for diclofenac (P = 0.82) or flurbiprofen (P = 0.56), with a median sensitivity of 35 mm (1.0 g/mm2). Decreasing ambient humidity was associated with an increase in sensitivity measurements (P = 0.0001).ConclusionsNeither diclofenac nor flurbiprofen had an effect on corneal sensitivity after multiple‐drops or twice‐daily dosing for 30 days. Ambient humidity may have an effect on corneal sensitivity measurements, with a longer filament length eliciting a blink response at lower humidity.