bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Using Resin‐Based 3D Printing to Build Geometrically Accurate Proxies of Porous Sedimentary Rocks
Authors: Ishutov Sergey , Hasiuk Franciszek J. , Jobe Dawn , Agar Susan 
Published: September 2017

AbstractThree‐dimensional (3D) printing is capable of transforming intricate digital models into tangible objects, allowing geoscientists to replicate the geometry of 3D pore networks of sedimentary rocks. We provide a refined method for building scalable pore‐network models (“proxies”) using stereolithography 3D printing that can be used in repeated flow experiments (e.g., core flooding, permeametry, porosimetry). Typically, this workflow involves two steps, model design and 3D printing. In this study, we explore how the addition of post‐processing and validation can reduce uncertainty in the 3D‐printed proxy accuracy (difference of proxy geometry from the digital model). Post‐processing is a multi‐step cleaning of porous proxies involving pressurized ethanol flushing and oven drying. Proxies are validated by: (1) helium porosimetry and (2) digital measurements of porosity from thin‐section images of 3D‐printed proxies. 3D printer resolution was determined by measuring the smallest open channel in 3D‐printed “gap test” wafers. This resolution (400 µm) was insufficient to build porosity of Fontainebleau sandstone (∼13%) from computed tomography data at the sample's natural scale, so proxies were printed at 15‐, 23‐, and 30‐fold magnifications to validate the workflow. Helium porosities of the 3D‐printed proxies differed from digital calculations by up to 7% points. Results improved after pressurized flushing with ethanol (e.g., porosity difference reduced to ∼1% point), though uncertainties remain regarding the nature of sub‐micron “artifact” pores imparted by the 3D printing process. This study shows the benefits of including post‐processing and validation in any workflow to produce porous rock proxies.
Acquired haemophilia in cancer: A systematic and critical literature review
Authors: Napolitano M. , Siragusa S. , Mancuso S. , Kessler C. M. 
Published: September 2017

AimThere is a paucity of data on the clinical presentation and management of cancer patients with acquired haemophilia (AH), we here report a systematic literature review on acquired haemophilia in the context of cancer.MethodsTreatment outcomes of AH were defined as complete response (CR), partial response (PR) or no response (NR), based on inhibitor eradication, coagulation factor VIII levels and bleeding control. Reported deaths were either related to cancer or bleeding.ResultsOverall, 105 cases were collected and analyzed according to classification of cancer and efficacy of treatments for inhibitor and malignancy. The mean age was 68 years for both males (range 37‐86 years) and females (range 43‐89 years), 39 patients were female subjects and 66 were males. A solid cancer was diagnosed in 60 subjects, while 45 patients suffered a haematological malignancy. Solid cancers affected mainly males; however, the incidence of solid tumours vs haematological malignancies was not statistically significant (P = .09). Not all patients were treated for their underlying cancer, bleeding and/or inhibitor, in two cases outcome is unavailable. CR was reported in 62.1% (64/103) cases, PR in 9.7% (10/103) cases, NR with or without death was reported in 28.1% (29/103) cases.ConclusionCR was best achieved when successful and complete elimination of autoantibodies occurred contemporaneously with the successful treatment of the underlying malignancy. In some cases, recurrent autoantibodies were harbingers of relapsed cancer. Type of cancer, inhibitor titer, treatments administered for bleeding control and inhibitor eradication did not significantly affect clinical outcome of analyzed cases.
Estimating currency misalignment using the Penn effect: It is not as simple as it looks
Authors: Cheung Yin‐Wong , Chinn Menzie , Nong Xin 
Published: September 2017

AbstractWe investigate the robustness of the Penn effect—the finding that the price level is higher in countries with a higher per capita income—over different samples, measures, and specifications. Testing for the Penn effect has been hampered by the imprecision of the price measures, so that use of different versions of the data set can lead to substantially different results. We find that the price level‐income elasticity is fairly consistently estimated across data sets. However, there is some evidence that the relationship is non‐linear. For developed economies, the quadratic term implies an inverted U‐shaped relationship. Developing economies, on the other hand, display a U‐shaped relationship. Estimates of misalignment differ, depending on the choice of specification and data sets. It appears that the Renminbi (RMB) was fairly valued by 2011. In contrast, the RMB's value was undervalued in 2005, and overvalued in 2014.
Systematic psychometric review of self‐reported instruments to assess patient safety culture in primary care
Authors: Desmedt Melissa , Bergs Jochen , Vertriest Sonja , Vlayen Annemie , Schrooten Ward , Hellings Johan , Vandijck Dominique 
Published: September 2017

AbstractAimsTo give an overview of empirical studies using self‐reported instruments to assess patient safety culture in primary care and to synthesize psychometric properties of these instruments.BackgroundA key condition for improving patient safety is creating a supportive safety culture to identify weaknesses and to develop improvement strategies so recurrence of incidents can be minimized. However, most tools to measure and strengthen safety culture have been developed and tested in hospitals. Nevertheless, primary care is facing greater risks and a greater likelihood of causing unintentional harm to patients.DesignA systematic literature review of research evidence and psychometric properties of self‐reported instruments to assess patient safety culture in primary care.Data SourcesThree databases until November 2016.Review MethodsThe review was carried out according to the protocol for systematic reviews of measurement properties recommended by the COSMIN panel and the PRISMA reporting guidelines.ResultsIn total, 1.229 records were retrieved from multiple database searches (Medline = 865, Web of Science = 362 and Embase = 2). Resulting from an in‐depth literature search, 14 published studies were identified, mostly originated from Western high‐income countries. As these studies come with great diversity in tools used and outcomes reported, comparability of the results is compromised. Based on the psychometric review, the SCOPE‐Primary Care survey was chosen as the most appropriate instrument to measure patient safety culture in primary care as the instrument had excellent internal consistency with Cronbach's alphas ranging from 0.70‐0.90 and item factor loadings ranging from 0.40‐0.96, indicating a good structural validity.ConclusionThe findings of the present review suggest that the SCOPE‐Primary Care survey is the most appropriate tool to assess patient safety culture in primary care. Further psychometric techniques are now essential to ensure that the instrument provides meaningful information regarding safety culture.
Ancient mitochondrial genomes reveal the demographic history and phylogeography of the extinct, enigmatic thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus)
Authors: White Lauren C. , Mitchell Kieren J. , Austin Jeremy J. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractAimThe Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, is an infamous example of a recent human‐mediated extinction. Confined to the island of Tasmania in historical times, thylacines were hunted to extinction <150 years after European arrival. Thylacines were also once widespread across the Australian mainland, but became extinct there c. 3,200 years before present (bp). Very little is known about thylacine biology and population history; the cause of the thylacines extirpation from the mainland is still debated and the reasons for its survival in Tasmania into the 20th century are unclear. In this study, we investigate the thylacine's phylogeography and demographic history leading up to their extinction on both the mainland and Tasmania to gain insight into this enigmatic species.LocationSouthern Australia.MethodsWe generated 51 new thylacine mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genome sequences from sub‐fossil remains and historical museum specimens, and analysed them to reconstruct the species’ phylogeography and demographic history.ResultsWe found evidence that thylacines had contracted into separate eastern and western populations prior to the Last Glacial Maximum (c. 25,000 yr bp), and that the ancient western population was larger and more genetically diverse than the historical Tasmanian population. At the time of European arrival in c. 1800 CE, Tasmanian thylacines had limited mtDNA diversity, possibly resulting from a bottleneck event broadly coincident with an El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) associated climate event, although we find some indication that the population was expanding during the late Holocene.Main ConclusionsThe timing of this putative expansion, in concert with a climate event, suggests that climate change had an influence on thylacine population dynamics. Given that ENSO effects are known to have been more severe on mainland Australia, we suggest that climate change, in synergy with other drivers, is likely to have contributed to the thylacine mainland extinction.
Real world MRI experience with nonconditional and conditional cardiac rhythm devices after MagnaSafe
Authors: Mason Steve , Osborn Jeffrey S. , Dhar Ritesh , Tonkin Allison , Ethington Jon‐David , Le Viet , Benuzillo Jose , Lappe Donald L. , Knowlton Kirk U. , Bunch T. Jared , Anderson Jeffrey L. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractIntroductionThe recent MagnaSafe Registry demonstrated safety of nonthoracic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with nonconditional cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs). However, independent validation and extension to thoracic MRIs are needed.Methods and resultsWe prospectively examined 178 consecutive patients with CIEDs who underwent 212 MRI scans (62 with implantable cardioverter/defibrillators) for clinical reasons between February 2014 and August 2016. Scans were done in standard modes with a limit of 2 W/kg. Pacing modes were ODO or OVO for intrinsic rates > 40 and DOO or VOO for rates ≤ 40. Patients were cleared prescan by both radiology and cardiology, and pre‐ and postscan CIED interrogations were performed. Primary outcome events were death and generator or lead failure. Secondary events included battery voltage loss > 0.04 V, decrease in P wave voltage > 50% or R wave voltage > 25%, threshold increase of > 0.5 V, and impedance change > 50 Ω. Scan sites were 87 (41%) C‐spine/head/neck, 28 (13%) T‐spine/cardiac/shoulder (thoracic), 69 (33%) L‐spine/abdomen/pelvis, and 28 (13%) lower extremity. No primary or secondary outcome events occurred, and no periscan disruption of pacing was noted.ConclusionIn a real‐world MRI experience in patients with CIEDs representing a broad range of models, types, and scan sites (including thoracic scans), no adverse safety signals were noted. This experience validates and extends that of the large but inclusion‐restricted MagnaSafe Registry, profiles MRI scanning in CIED patients in general clinical practice, and argues against replacing nonconditional with conditional devices when MRI is performed in a carefully controlled environment.
Real‐world treatment patterns and clinical outcomes in advanced cutaneous melanoma patients in France
Authors: Sassolas B. , Leccia M.T. , Godard C. , Benmahamed L. , Flinois A. , Levy‐Bachelot L. , Bédane C. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractBackgroundSince 2011, the management of advanced melanoma has radically changed with the availability of new therapies (immunotherapy and BRAF‐targeted therapy) and with BRAF testing.ObjectivesFollowing the introduction of these new therapies, the objectives of this AMEL study were to describe treatment patterns and evaluate overall survival (OS) among unresectable stage III/IV melanoma patients, in a real‐life setting in France.MethodsThe AMEL study is a multicentre retrospective record review study. Thirty‐three physicians working in 33 unique treatment centres participated in the study. Two hundred and sixty‐four patients diagnosed between 1 January 2012 and 31 October 2012 with unresectable stage III/IV melanoma were included in the study.Results94.7% of the patients received a first‐line antitumour drug treatment, 62.5% a second‐line treatment while 26.9% received a third‐line treatment with no significant differences between patients with a BRAF mutation (50.4%) and BRAF wild type (47.0%).First‐line treatment differs according to the BRAF status: 74.8% of patients with a BRAF mutation received a BRAF inhibitor while 79.3% of the BRAF wild‐type patients were treated with conventional chemotherapy. In second line and over, the treatment patterns were more heterogeneous, depending on the BRAF mutation, the treatment received previously, the speed of progression of the disease and the availability of immunotherapy at the time the treatment was initiated.ConclusionRegardless of the BRAF mutation status, the median OS of patients was 16 months (95% CI = 14–18). Compared to a similar study conducted in 2007 (MELODY), a gain of 4 months is observed. The gain seems to be higher for patients with a BRAF mutation (18 months) than for those without a BRAF mutation (14 months). The OS of patients who sequentially received both a BRAF inhibitor and ipilimumab (28 months) highlights the benefit of this treatment sequence.
Environmental contributions to gastrointestinal and liver cancer in the Asia–Pacific region
Authors: Ko Kwang‐Pil , Shin Aesun , Cho Sooyoung , Park Sue K , Yoo Keun‐Young 
Published: September 2017

AbstractIn the Asia–Pacific region, gastric, colorectal, and hepatocellular (liver) cancer show substantial regional variation in incidence consistent with the presence of important environmental factors. For gastric cancer, global incidence is concentrated in Asia with substantially higher rates in East Asia than in South‐East Asia and Australia. The differences in incidence rates for gastric cancer in the Asia–Pacific region may be due, in part, to differences in the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and the prevalence of H. pylori virulence factors. Smoking is also correlated with gastric cancer risk and is responsible for the highest population attributable fraction among men in East Asia. Colorectal cancer has increased rapidly in incidence to become the third most common digestive cancer in Asia. According to cohort studies in Asia, smoking, alcohol use, obesity, and physical inactivity increase the risk of colorectal cancer. Unlike West Asia, East Asia and Australia have high incidence rates for colorectal cancer that correlates to a high Human Development Index and a high prevalence of alcohol consumption and obesity. Liver cancer is the second most common digestive cancer in Asia. The high incidence of liver cancer in East Asia and South‐East Asia is concordant with the high prevalence of hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infection. Other important risk factors include alcohol use, smoking, and diabetes. The identification of the earlier and other environmental factors (currently under investigation) is central to the development and implementation of effective cancer control programs for the region.
Home Health Agency Performance in the United States: 2011–15
Authors: Wang Yun , Spatz Erica S. , Tariq Maliha , Angraal Suveen , Krumholz Harlan M. 
Published: September 2017

ObjectivesTo evaluate home health agency quality performance.DesignObservational study.SettingHome health agencies.ParticipantsAll Medicare‐certified agencies with at least 6 months of data from 2011 to 2015.MeasurementsTwenty‐two quality indicators, five patient survey indicators, and their composite scores.ResultsThe study included 11,462 Medicare‐certified home health agencies that served 92.4% of all ZIP codes nationwide, accounting for 315.2 million people. The mean composite scores were 409.1 ± 22.7 out of 500 with the patient survey indicators and 492.3 ± 21.7 out of 600 without the patient survey indicators. Home health agency performance on 27 quality indicators varied, with the coefficients of dispersion ranging from 4.9 to 62.8. Categorization of agencies into performance quartiles revealed that 3,179 (27.7%) were in the low‐performing group (below 25th percentile) at least one time during the period from 2011–12 to 2014–15 and that 493 were in the low‐performing group throughout the study period. Geographic variation in agency performance was observed. Agencies with longer Medicare‐certified years were more likely to have high‐performing scores; agencies providing partial services, with proprietary ownership, and those with long travel distances to reach patients had lower performance. Agencies serving low‐income counties and counties with lower proportions of women and senior residences and greater proportions of Hispanic residents were more likely to attain lower performance scores.ConclusionHome health agency performance on several quality indicators varied, and many agencies were persistently in the lowest quartile of performance. Still, there is a need to improve the quality of care of all agencies. Many parts of the United States, particularly lower‐income areas and areas with more Hispanic residents, are more likely to receive lower quality home health care.
Progressive evolution of whole‐rock composition during metamorphism revealed by multivariate statistical analyses
Authors: Yoshida Kenta , Kuwatani Tatsu , Hirajima Takao , Iwamori Hikaru , Akaho Shotaro 
Published: September 2017

AbstractThe geochemical evolution of metamorphic rocks during subduction‐related metamorphism is described on the basis of multivariate statistical analyses. The studied data set comprises a series of mapped metamorphic rocks collected from the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt in central Shikoku, Japan, where metamorphic conditions range from the pumpellyite–actinolite to epidote–amphibolite facies. Recent progress in computational and information science provides a number of algorithms capable of revealing structures in large data sets. This study applies k‐means cluster analysis (KCA) and non‐negative matrix factorization (NMF) to a series of metapelites, which is the main lithotype of the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt. KCA describes the structures of the high‐dimensional data, while NMF provides end‐member decomposition which can be useful for evaluating the spatial distribution of continuous compositional trends. The analysed data set, derived from previously published work, contains 296 samples for which 14 elements (Si, Ti, Al, Fe, Mn, Mg, Ca, Na, K, P, Rb, Sr, Zr and Ba) have been analysed. The KCA and NMF analyses indicate five clusters and four end‐members, respectively, successfully explaining compositional variations within the data set. KCA indicates that the chemical compositions of metapelite samples from the western (Besshi) part of the sampled area differ significantly from those in the east (Asemigawa). In the west, clusters show a good correlation with the metamorphic grade. With increasing metamorphic grade, there are decreases in SiO2 and Na2O and increases in other components. However, the compositional change with metamorphic grade is less obvious in the eastern area. End‐member decomposition using NMF revealed that the evolutional change of whole‐rock composition, as correlated with metamorphic grade, approximates a stoichiometric increase of a garnet‐like component in the whole‐rock composition, possibly due to the precipitation of garnet and effusion of other components during progressive dehydration. Thermodynamic modelling of the evolution of the whole‐rock composition yielded the following results: (1) the whole‐rock composition at lower metamorphic grade favours the preferential crystallization of garnet under the conditions of the garnet zone, with biotite becoming stable together with garnet in higher‐grade rock compositions under the same P–T conditions; (2) with higher‐grade whole‐rock compositions, more H2O is retained. These results provide insight into the mechanism suppressing dehydration under high‐P metamorphic conditions. This mechanism should be considered in forward modelling of the fluid cycle in subduction zones, although such a quantitative model has yet to be developed.
Effective absorption correction for energy dispersive X‐ray mapping in a scanning transmission electron microscope: analysing the local indium distribution in rough samples of InGaN alloy layers
Authors: WANG X. , CHAUVAT M.‐P. , RUTERANA P. , WALTHER T. 
Published: September 2017

SummaryWe have applied our previous method of self‐consistent k*‐factors for absorption correction in energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy to quantify the indium content in X‐ray maps of thick compound InGaN layers. The method allows us to quantify the indium concentration without measuring the sample thickness, density or beam current, and works even if there is a drastic local thickness change due to sample roughness or preferential thinning. The method is shown to select, point‐by‐point in a two‐dimensional spectrum image or map, the k*‐factor from the local Ga K/L intensity ratio that is most appropriate for the corresponding sample geometry, demonstrating it is not the sample thickness measured along the electron beam direction but the optical path length the X‐rays have to travel through the sample that is relevant for the absorption correction.
Differentiation of human hair by colour and diameter using light microscopy, digital imaging and statistical analysis
Authors: MILLS M. , BONETTI J. , BRETTELL T. , QUARINO L. 
Published: September 2017

SummaryThis research introduces and evaluates a novel method that offers the potential of providing objective criteria to forensic microscopical hair comparisons. The method combines hair diameter with numeric characterisations of red, green, and blue colour content as determined with the use of digital imaging at defined locations of the hair.Thirty hairs were collected from each of twenty participants, all with naturally coloured brown hair. The hairs were examined with an Olympus BX53® polarising light microscope and digital images were viewed with an Olympus DP72® camera under 400× magnification. Using Olympus cellSens™ Entry software, hair diameter was measured at 1000, 1500 and 2000 m from the base of the root. The Olympus cellSens™ Entry software uses a red, green and blue (RGB) colour model to quantitatively define the colour of each pixel on an image based on its composition of these three principal colour components. This software was used to collect numerical characterisations of hair colour at each distance interval.The diameter and colour values for each hair were compared using discriminant analysis (DA) and principal component analysis. Although a large amount of intrapersonal variation was observed, the degree of interpersonal variation was greater and enabled the statistical model to differentiate between the hair samples from each participant. The DA model achieved sample reclassification with an error rate of 7.33%. A validation study was conducted on a subset of hair samples from which 18 of the 20 were correctly assigned to the participant from whom they originated. These results support the potential of this method to provide an objective addition to current microscopical hair comparison practices.