bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Control of the Public Health IT Physical Infrastructure: Findings From the 2015 Informatics Capacity and Needs Assessment Survey
Authors: Chester Kelley , Massoudi Barbara L. , Shah Gulzar H. 
Published: September 2016

Background:
Despite improvements in information technology (IT) infrastructure in public health, there is still much that can be done to improve the adoption of IT in state and local health departments, by better understanding the impact of governance and control structures of physical infrastructure.

Objective:
To report out the current status of the physical infrastructure control of local health departments (LHDs) and to determine whether there is a significant association between an LHD's governance status and control of the physical infrastructure components.

Design:
Data came from the 2015 Informatics Capacity and Needs Assessment Survey, conducted by Georgia Southern University in collaboration with the National Association of County and City Health Officials.

Participants:
A total of 324 LHDs from all 50 states completed the survey (response rate: 50%).

Main Outcome Measure(s):
Outcome measures included control of LHD physical infrastructure components. Predictors of interest included LHD governance category.

Results:
The majority of the control of the physical infrastructure components in LHDs resides in external entities. The type of governance structure of the LHD is significantly associated with the control of infrastructure.

Conclusions:
Additional research is needed to determine best practices in IT governance and control of physical infrastructure for public health.
Workforce Competencies in Syndromic Surveillance Practice at Local Health Departments
Authors: DeVore Katrina , Chughtai Sarah , Kan Lilly , Streichert Laura C. 
Published: September 2016

Context:
As the science and practice of syndromic surveillance (SyS) evolve, it has increasing utility for public health surveillance at the local level. Local health departments (LHDs) require specific organizational and workforce capabilities to use SyS data. In 2013, more than half of the LHDs reported using SyS, although little has been reported about LHD workforce capabilities in SyS.

Objective:
To conduct an assessment of self-reported knowledge and skills in SyS tasks to effectively target technical assistance to different levels of LHD need.

Design, Setting, and Participants:
A stratified sampling design based on LHD jurisdiction population and SyS status was employed. Data were drawn from the 2015 Biosurveillance Needs Assessment Survey, which captured variables related to LHD use of SyS, management of systems, and self-reported proficiencies in a typology of SyS functionalities developed by a workgroup of subject matter experts in SyS. Respondents were US-based LHD public health practitioners. Estimation weights were applied during analysis to determine the national representation of the responses.

Main Outcome Measures:
Respondents self-reported proficiency in 26 SyS tasks within 5 categories, analyzed by LHD jurisdiction size and respondents' years of SyS experience.

Results:
SyS expertise varied widely across LHDs. Less than 50% of workers who have access to SyS demonstrated overall proficiency within any of the task areas: communication, data use, data analysis, quality monitoring and assurance, and system design and development. SyS users were strongest in data use tasks. Proficiency in SyS practice corresponded directly with respondents' years of SyS experience and the LHD jurisdiction size.

Conclusion:
SyS practitioners display a wide range of proficiencies both within and across SyS tasks. Considerable gaps in proficiencies of all areas of SyS practice indicate a need for technical assistance and knowledge dissemination to improve SyS practice as an important component of an LHD surveillance strategy.
Seizures and Epileptiform Discharges in Patients With Acute Subdural Hematoma
Authors: Pollandt Sebastian , Ouyang Bichun , Bleck Thomas P. , Busl Katharina M. 
Published: September 2016

Purpose:
Subdural hematomas (SDH) are associated with seizures and epileptiform discharges, but little is known about the prevalence and impact of seizures, status epilepticus (SE), and epileptiform discharges on outcomes in patients with isolated acute SDH (aSDH).

Methods:
Continuous EEG reports from 76 adult patients admitted to Rush University Medical Center with aSDH between January 2009 and March 2012 were reviewed. Clinical and radiographic findings, comorbidities, treatment, and outcome parameters, such as mortality, discharge destination, need for tracheostomy/percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy placement, and length of stay (LOS), were assessed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess the impact of clinical seizures, SE, and epileptiform EEG on outcomes.

Results:
Of 76 patients with aSDH who underwent EEG monitoring, 74 (97.4%) received antiseizure prophylaxis. Thirty-two (41.1%) patients had seizures, most of which were clinical seizures. Twenty-four (32%) patients had epileptiform EEG findings. Clinical or nonconvulsive SE was diagnosed in 12 (16%) patients. Clinical seizures were not associated with outcome parameters. Epileptiform EEG findings were independently associated with longer hospital LOS (13 vs. 8 days, P = 0.04) and intensive care unit LOS (10 vs. 4 days, P = 0.002). The SE also predicted longer intensive care unit LOS (10 vs. 4 days, P = 0.002). Neither epileptiform EEG nor SE was significantly related to mortality, discharge destination, or need for tracheostomy/percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy placement.

Conclusions:
Seizures and epileptiform EEG findings are very common in patients with aSDH despite antiseizure prophylaxis. While clinical seizures did not affect outcomes, the presence of epileptiform EEG findings and SE was independently associated with longer intensive care unit LOS and hospital LOS.
pyMAP: a Python package for small and large scale analysis of Illumina 450k methylation platform
Authors: Mahpour Amin 
Published: September 2016

AbstractPyMAP is a native python module for analysis of 450k methylation platform and is freely available for public use. The package can be easily deployed to cloud platforms that support python scripting language for large-scale methylation studies. By implementing fast parsing functionality, this module can be used to analyze large scale methylation datasets. Additionally, command-line executables shipped with the module can be used to perform common analysis tasks on personal computers.Availability and implementation: PyMAP is implemented in Python and the source code is available under GPL v2 license fromhttp://aminmahpour.github.io/PyMAP/.
Physiological maturity at a critical life‐history transition and flight ability at fledging
Authors: Cornell Allison , Gibson Kate F. , Williams Tony D. 
Published: September 2016

Summary

Developmental maturity (e.g. body condition, body mass) at major life‐history transitions is known to affect fitness across a wide range of taxa.

Fledging (leaving the nest), a major life‐history transition in birds, is associated with high post‐fledging mortality and is widely assumed to be related to poor initial flight ability of fledglings, which, in turn, might be related to developmental maturity at fledging.

We investigated individual variation in developmental maturity of both somatic and physiological traits at this critical life‐history transition in different ecological contexts (year, first or second broods) to determine the importance of physiological traits related to oxygen‐carrying capacity (haematocrit, haemoglobin) for individual variation in initial flight ability at fledging.

Haemoglobin concentration and haematocrit at fledging had much higher variance than somatic traits and were more variable across ecological contexts. Furthermore, fledgling haemoglobin concentration was the least developmentally mature of all traits (on average, only 78% of adult concentration).

Fledglings from second broods, which are known to have lower post‐fledging survival, were less developmentally mature than fledglings from first broods for all traits (except tarsus), with haematocrit and haemoglobin concentration being the most developmentally immature traits (in first vs. second broods, haematocrit: 47·1% vs. 40·9%; haemoglobin: 13·3 vs. 11·6 g dL−1).

Models predicting individual variation in two aspects of initial flight ability (total energy gain, take‐off angle) were significantly improved when physiological traits (in particular haemoglobin) were incorporated into models based on somatic traits.

A lay summary is available for this article.
Slopes of an airborne electromagnetic resistivity model interpolated jointly with borehole data for 3D geological modelling
Authors: Reninger P.‐A. , Martelet G. , Perrin J. , Deparis J. , Chen Y. 
Published: September 2016

ABSTRACTWe investigate a novel way to introduce resistivity models deriving from airborne electromagnetic surveys into regional geological modelling. Standard geometrical geological modelling can be strengthened using geophysical data. Here, we propose to extract information contained in a resistivity model in the form of local slopes that constrain the modelling of geological interfaces. The proposed method is illustrated on an airborne electromagnetic survey conducted in the region of Courtenay in France. First, a resistivity contrast corresponding to the clay/chalk interface was interpreted confronting the electromagnetic soundings to boreholes. Slopes were then sampled on this geophysical model and jointly interpolated with the clay/chalk interface documented in boreholes using an implicit 3D potential‐field method. In order to evaluate this new joint geophysical–geological model, its accuracy was compared with that of both pure geological and pure geophysical models for various borehole configurations. The proposed joint modelling yields the most accurate clay/chalk interface whatever the number and location of boreholes taken into account for modelling and validation. Compared with standard geological modelling, the approach introduces in between boreholes geometrical information derived from geophysical results. Compared with conventional resistivity interpretation of the geophysical model, it reduces drift effects and honours the boreholes. The method therefore improves what is commonly obtained with geological or geophysical data separately, making it very attractive for robust 3D geological modelling of the subsurface.
Capital Inflows and Economic Growth in Nigeria: The Role of Macroeconomic Policies
Authors: Nwosa Philip Ifeakachukwu , Akinbobola Temidayo Oladiran 
Published: September 2016

AbstractThis study examined the role of macroeconomic policies (monetary, fiscal and trade policies) in the relationship between capital inflows (proxy by foreign direct investment, foreign aid and international workers’ remittances) and economic growth in Nigeria for the period 1970 to 2013. The study employed Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Bound co‐integration technique. The study found that macroeconomic policy plays a fundamental role in the relationship between capital inflows and economic growth in Nigeria.
Technical Change and Total Factor Productivity Growth in the Tunisian Manufacturing Industry: A Malmquist Index Approach
Authors: Kalai Maha , Helali Kamel 
Published: September 2016

AbstractThe main objective of this study is to measure technical change and total factor productivity in the Tunisian manufacturing sector using the Malmquist index approach. Applying non‐parametric frontiers techniques, we found that total factor productivity is decomposed on the basis of the technical efficiency variation and technological change for six manufacturing sectors. The results indicate that most sectors had very poor performance in terms of technological progress rate. In addition, any efficiency gain was proved to be, in large part, due to the improvement of technical rather than scale efficiency. Moreover, the total factor productivity improvement achieved, at an average rate of 1.93 per cent per year for the whole of the sample, is mainly due to the agricultural, food and chemical industries.
Comparison of methods used to quantify general practice‐type patients in the emergency department: A tertiary paediatric perspective
Authors: Borland Meredith , Skarin Dmitry , Nagree Yusuf 
Published: September 2016

AbstractObjectiveThe aim of this study was to compare methods for quantifying general practice‐type (GP‐type) patients in a paediatric ED to determine the robustness of current identification methods.MethodsData was sourced from the ED Information System for 5 years (2010–2014) from the tertiary paediatric hospital in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. A further detailed analysis of 2014 presentations established an independent sample for valid statistical comparison of the three methods used to identify GP‐type patients: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, ACEM and the Diagnosis.ResultsA total of 348 020 patients presented in 2010–2014, with the percentage of GP‐type patients identified varying from 38% to 68% by the three methods. Fewer GP‐type presentations occurred over each consecutive year and had significantly lower median medical consultation times and ED length of stay when compared with the total presentation sample. GP‐type presentations were evenly spread across the days and times of the week, with ACEM demonstrating only fewer presentations during office hours (P = 0.02). In 2014 there was only overlap in 36.6% cases for all three methods – 6.9% exclusively flagged by ACEM, 22.7% by Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and 0.2% by the Diagnosis method.ConclusionsWe demonstrated that current models to quantify perceived GP‐type presentations were inconsistent in paediatric patients. All methods flagged a high proportion of GP‐type presentations, and although the reasons for these presentations are multifactorial and not easily explained by access to GP services alone, they do represent a significant workload in the paediatric ED.
Water Management Decision Making in the Face of Multiple Forms of Uncertainty and Risk
Authors: Burnham Morey , Ma Zhao , Endter‐Wada Joanna , Bardsley Tim 
Published: September 2016

AbstractIn the Wasatch Range Metropolitan Area of Northern Utah, water management decision makers confront multiple forms of uncertainty and risk. Adapting to these uncertainties and risks is critical for maintaining the long‐term sustainability of the region's water supply. This study draws on interview data to assess the major challenges climatic and social changes pose to Utah's water future, as well as potential solutions. The study identifies the water management adaptation decision‐making space shaped by the interacting institutional, social, economic, political, and biophysical processes that enable and constrain sustainable water management. The study finds water managers and other water actors see challenges related to reallocating water, including equitable water transfers and stakeholder cooperation, addressing population growth, and locating additional water supplies, as more problematic than the challenges posed by climate change. Furthermore, there is significant disagreement between water actors over how to best adapt to both climatic and social changes. This study concludes with a discussion of the path dependencies that present challenges to adaptive water management decision making, as well as opportunities for the pursuit of a new water management paradigm based on soft‐path solutions. Such knowledge is useful for understanding the institutional and social adaptations needed for water management to successfully address future uncertainties and risks.
Reduced metabolic function and structural alterations in inherited retinal dystrophies: investigating the effect of peripapillary vessel oxygen saturation and vascular diameter on the retinal nerve fibre layer thickness
Authors: Bojinova Rossiana I. , Türksever Cengiz , Schötzau Andreas , Valmaggia Christophe , Schorderet Daniel F. , Todorova Margarita G. 
Published: September 2016

AbstractPurposeTo evaluate the relationship between the peripapillary metabolic alterations [retinal vessel Oximetry (RO)] and the structural findings [retinal vessel diameter and retinal nerve fibre layer thickness (RNFL)] in patients with inherited retinal dystrophies (IRD).MethodsPatients with IRD [24 patients with rod‐cone dystrophy (RCD), 15 patients with cone‐rod dystrophy, 13 patients with inherited maculopathy] and 18 age‐matched controls, who underwent RO imaging and spectral domain optical coherence tomography, were included. The average and quadrant oxygen saturation in all four major peripapillary retinal arterioles (A‐SO2) and venules (V‐SO2) were measured, and their difference (A‐V SO2) was calculated. The corresponding retinal vessel diameter of these arterioles (D‐A) and venules (D‐V) was measured. The data were compared to the peripapillary RNFL thickness within the IRD subgroups and to the data obtained in the controls.ResultsIn general, patients with IRD had higher average V‐SO2 values when compared to controls (p ≤ 0.029). Rod‐cone dystrophy (RCD) patients differed from controls, but also from patients with other IRDs, when the average and quadrant oxygen saturation values (A‐SO2 and V‐SO2) were evaluated (p ≤ 0.026). Within the RCD group, the correlations of RNFL thickness to V‐SO2, A‐V SO2, D‐A and D‐V were significant (p ≤ 0.030), thus indicating a different relationship between the RNFL thickness and the examined parameters, when compared to the other groups.ConclusionIt becomes evident from our combined metabolic–structural approach that a prediction model, to identify which individual is at risk of developing a photoreceptor degeneration of RCD type, can be proposed. It will take into account the peripapillary retinal oxygen saturation, the retinal vessel diameter and the RNFL thickness values.
Development of Expectancies About Own‐ and Other‐Gender Group Interactions and Their School‐Related Consequences
Authors: Andrews Naomi C. Z. , Martin Carol L. , Field Ryan D. , Cook Rachel E. , Lee Jieun 
Published: September 2016

This study examined children's expectancies about interactions with own‐ and other‐gender peers. Goals were to examine expectancies about the outcomes related to own‐ versus other‐gender group interactions, assess cohort and temporal changes in expectancies, and assess the effect of expectancies on school‐related outcomes. Students in second and fourth grades (N = 412, 47% girls,Mage = 7.15 and 9.10 years, respectively) were followed longitudinally for 1 year. Results supported hypotheses that social costs and inclusion–enjoyment that children expect in interactions with own‐ and other‐gender peers represent four constructs. Expectancies varied by gender, age, and differentially predicted school outcomes with inclusion expectancies more strongly relating to outcomes than cost expectancies. Implications of children's expectancies about gendered contexts are discussed.
BSACI guideline: prescribing an adrenaline auto‐injector
Authors: Ewan Pamela , Brathwaite Nicola , Leech Susan , Luyt David , Powell Richard , Till Stephen , Nasser Shuaib , Clark Andrew 
Published: September 2016

SummaryThis guidance for the prescription of an adrenaline auto‐injector has been prepared by the Standards of Care Committee (SOCC) of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology (BSACI). There is insufficient quality evidence‐based data in some areas, including the question of how often a second dose is required, and the optimal dose and absorption after subcutaneous vs. intramuscular injection. Thus, indications for adrenaline (which are partly opinion based) in guidelines from different countries vary slightly. The guideline is based on evidence as well as on expert opinion and is for use by both adult physicians and paediatricians practising allergy. During the development of these guidelines, all BSACI members were included in the consultation process using a web‐based system. Their comments and suggestions were carefully considered by the SOCC. Evidence from randomized controlled trials is lacking in anaphylaxis for ethical reasons. Consensus was reached by the experts on the committee. Included in this guideline are aetiology, risk of recurrence and management of anaphylaxis (after treatment of the acute episode), including allergen avoidance and written treatment plans. There are sections on dose and absorption of adrenaline, and adrenaline auto‐injectors, including indications for their prescription, risk assessment for the number required and training in their use. The guidelines are not intended to be prescriptive, and clinicians should use their clinical judgement. Finally, we have made recommendations for potential areas of future research.
Anatomy of a cline: dissecting anti‐predatory adaptations in a marine gastropod along the U.S. Atlantic coast
Authors: Kosloski Mary E. , Dietl Gregory P. , Handley John C. 
Published: September 2016

The scope of anti‐predatory adaptation is expected to be greater in warm than in cold environments. High temperatures lower the costs associated with the production and maintenance of energetically expensive traits and enable ecological interactions to intensify. We tested this hypothesis by characterizing the expression of anti‐predatory morphology within a marine gastropod species (the knobbed whelk Busycon carica) over a large (> 1400 km) geographic area that spans more than 10°C annual temperature variation. We also conducted experimental predation studies with a powerful durophagous predator, the stone crab Menippe, to verify the anti‐predatory advantages of a heavily ornamented shell morphology (e.g. increased thickness, pronounced spines), and we used repair scar data to assess clinal variation in selective pressure from predators. We predicted that repair scar rates would be greatest in warm southernmost latitudes, and that expression of energetically costly anti‐predatory morphology would peak in concert with elevated predation pressures.Experiments confirmed that whelks with energetically costly, heavily ornamented shells had higher survivorship rates than those with weakly ornamented shells. As predicted, we also found that the expression of anti‐predatory traits was greatest in the southern part of B. carica's range. After standardizing shells for size, shape, and exposure time to enemies, repair scar rates also peaked to the south. Taken together, these results suggest that the expression of anti‐predatory traits along the geographic cline is governed by the interaction of two selective factors: temperature and predation, with the former acting as the ultimate control on the scope of adaptation both by escalating predation pressure in the southern part of B. carica's range and by physically limiting (to the north) and facilitating (to the south) the production of anti‐predatory traits. Feedbacks between temperature and predation thus causally interact to enable and drive, respectively, the observed geographic cline in energy‐intensive anti‐predatory shell traits.