bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Eosinophilic airway inflammation is common in subacute cough following acute upper respiratory tract infection
Authors: Lai Kefang , Lin Ling , Liu Baojuan , Chen Ruchong , Tang Yan , Luo Wei , Chen Qiaoli 
Published: March 2016

AbstractBackground and objectivePatients presenting with refractory postinfectious cough may respond to glucocorticosteroids but it is unclear whether airway eosinophilic inflammation exists in those patients. We aimed to determine the airway inflammation and causes of subacute cough following acute upper respiratory tract infection (AURTI).MethodsOne hundred and sixteen patients with persistent cough lasting 3–8 weeks after upper respiratory tract infection were evaluated with differential cell count in induced sputum, spirometry and methacholine bronchial challenge testing.ResultsIn patients with subacute cough, sputum eosinophilia (median 8.5%,3.0–73.0%) was identified in 35 (33.6%) patients, 22 (18.5%) without bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) were diagnosed as non‐asthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis (NAEB), 13 (14.3%) of whom with BHR were diagnosed as cough variant asthma (CVA). Cough in patients with sputum eosinophilia improved after treatment with corticosteroids. Compared with postinfectious cough (PIC) and NAEB, CVA had significantly higher median eosinophil count in induced sputum (0.5% vs 7.5% vs 20.0%, P < 0.01). MMEF in CVA was significantly lower than PIC and NAEB (P < 0.05). The common causes of subacute cough following acute upper respiratory tract infection (AURTI) were PIC (37.8%), NAEB (18.5%), CVA (14.3%) and upper airway cough syndrome (UACS) (10.1%). Atopic cough (AC) (5.2%) and gastroesophageal reflux‐related cough (GERC) (3.4%) were less common in subacute cough following AURTI, while 9 (7.8%) patients had unexplained cough.ConclusionSubacute cough following AURTI can be attributed to different entities, eosinophilic airway inflammation is common. Induced sputum should be considered when evaluating patients with subacute cough following acute upper respiratory tract infection.
Mother's smoking and complex lung function of offspring in middle age: A cohort study from childhood
Authors: Perret Jennifer L. , Walters Haydn , Johns David , Gurrin Lyle , Burgess John , Lowe Adrian , Thompson Bruce , Markos James , Morrison Stephen , Thomas Paul , McDonald Christine , Wood‐Baker Richard , Hopper John , Svanes Cecilie , Giles Graham , Abramson Michael , Matheson Melanie , Dharmage Shyamali 
Published: March 2016

AbstractBackground and objectiveExisting evidence that supports maternal smoking to be a potential risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for adult offspring has barely been mentioned in major guideline documents, suggesting a need for more robust and consistent data. We aimed to examine whether such early life exposure can predispose to COPD in middle age, possibly through its interaction with personal smoking.MethodsThe fifth‐decade follow‐up of the Tasmanian Longitudinal Health Study cohort, which was first studied in 1968 (n = 8583), included a 2004 postal survey (n = 5729 responses) and subsequent laboratory attendance (n = 1389) for comprehensive lung function testing between 2006 and 2008. Multivariable linear and logistic regression models included sampling weights.ResultsPost‐bronchodilator airflow obstruction (less than fifth percentile) was detected for 9.3% (n = 123) of middle‐aged offspring. Its association with heavy maternal smoking (>20 cigarettes/day) during childhood was 2.7‐fold higher than for those without exposure (95% confidence interval [1.3, 5.7] P = 0.009). Maternal smoking per se approximately doubled the adverse effect of personal smoking on gas transfer factor (z‐score −0.46 [−0.6 to −0.3] vs −0.25 [−0.4 to −0.1], P[interaction] = 0.048) and was paradoxically associated with reduced residual volumes for non‐smokers.ConclusionsHeavy maternal smoking during childhood appears to predispose to spirometrically defined COPD. The interplay between maternal and personal smoking on gas transfer factor suggests that early life exposure increases an individual's susceptibility to adult smoking exposure. These findings provide further evidence to suggest that maternal smoking might be a risk factor for COPD and reinforce the public health message advocating smoking abstinence.
Serum activin‐A as a predictive and prognostic marker in critically ill patients with sepsis
Authors: Lee Jung‐Kyu , Choi Sun Mi , Lee Jinwoo , Park Young Sik , Lee Chang Hoon , Yim Jae‐Joon , Yoo Chul‐Gyu , Kim Young Whan , Han Sung Koo , Lee Sang‐Min 
Published: March 2016

AbstractBackground and objectiveThere are limited data regarding serum activin‐A as a biomarker for sepsis. We examined whether serum activin‐A concentration could predict sepsis severity and prognosis in the management of critically ill patients with sepsis.MethodsThe subjects were adult patients suspected of having sepsis and admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) from January 2013 to March 2014. Serum activin‐A concentration was measured in blood sampled within 48 h after ICU admission. The primary and secondary outcomes were the diagnostic value of serum activin‐A concentration as a biomarker of sepsis and the prognostic value for predicting the clinical outcomes of sepsis, respectively.ResultsOne hundred and thirty patients who had clinically suspected sepsis were included. Most (66.2%) were male; their median age was 65 years, and their Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score was 22.3. Serum activin‐A concentration tended to increase with sepsis severity and differed significantly between those with non‐sepsis and severe sepsis and between those with severe sepsis and septic shock. The risks of sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock were significantly higher in patients with a serum activin‐A concentration of 251, 319 and 432 pg/mL or greater, respectively. Serum activin‐A concentration was significantly associated with the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, Charlson comorbidity index and ICU mortality.ConclusionSerum activin‐A was a predictor of sepsis severity and a prognostic marker in critically ill patients with sepsis. Serum activin‐A concentration in the early phase of sepsis was associated with prognostic indexes on ICU admission and with ICU mortality.
Assessing Risk in Graphically Presented Financial Series
Authors: Sobolev Daphne , Harvey Nigel 
Published: March 2016

It has been argued that traders use their natural sensitivity to the fractal properties of price graphs to assess risk and that they are better able to do this when given price change as well as price level information. This approach implies that risk assessments should be higher when the Hurst exponents are lower, that this relationship should be stronger in the presence of price change information and that risk assessment should depend more strongly on the Hurst exponent than on the standard deviation of the series.Participants in Experiment 1 decided which of two assets was riskier by inspecting graphs of their price series. Graphs with lower Hurst exponents were selected only by those who were less emotionally stable and hence more sensitive to risk. However, when both price series and price change series were presented, the assets with lower Hurst exponents were selected by all participants.In a second experiment, participants were given both price level and price change series for a number of assets and rated the risk of trading in each one. Ratings depended more strongly on Hurst exponents than on other measures of volatility. They also depended on indicators of potential loss.Human risk assessment deviates from the way that risk is measured in modern finance theory: it requires integration of information relevant to both uncertainty and loss aversion, thereby imposing high attentional demands on traders. These demands may impair risk assessment but they can be eased by adding displays of price change information.
Assessment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Upon the Department of Energy Weatherization Assistance Program
Authors: Tonn Bruce , Hawkins Beth , Rose Erin 
Published: March 2016

AbstractThe Department of Energy (DOE) administers the national low‐income Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). Under this program, DOE provides grants to states (grantees), which then provide grants to local weatherization agencies (subgrantees), to weatherize income‐eligible homes for free. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 allocated $5 billion in funding to WAP, a very significant increase from an annual appropriation that ranged in the $200–250 million range for many years. As part of a major evaluation of WAP, states and local weatherization agencies were surveyed, in part, to assess their experiences during the ARRA period. The substantial funding increase created a number of issues for the national weatherization network: the political visibility of their programs increased significantly, organizational responsibilities were shifted, new laws and regulations were passed that impacted their programs, media attention of their programs increased, federal oversight of their programs increased; and programmatic costs increased because of the increased oversight and because ARRA required WAP to operate under the provisions of the Davis‐Bacon Act of 1931. There was some concern within the national weatherization network that the influx of ARRA funds would permanently damage nonfederal funding leveraging relationships. However, two‐thirds of grantees and over 40% of subgrantees stated that they believe that the long‐term impacts of ARRA on leveraging relationships will be positive.
Walking in the Shadow of Pressman and Wildavsky: Expanding Fiscal Federalism and Goal Congruence Theories to Single‐Shot Games
Authors: Terman Jessica N. , Kassekert Anthony , Feiock Richard C. , Yang Kaifeng 
Published: March 2016

AbstractWe advance and test a theory of grant compliance in single‐shot games by combining the insights on grant management from Pressman and Wildavsky's classic work with the role that goal congruence and local political institutions play in the intergovernmental grant process. One‐time grants, such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, require unique grant management techniques on the part of the federal government and local political institutions to foster credible commitments between federal and local authorities. Based on administrative records from the U.S. Department of Energy and a national survey of local government recipients of DOE grants, we predict delay in expending grant funds given that the goal of the federal government is to rapidly stimulate the economy and produce gains in energy efficiency. We employ survival modeling to estimate the time from receipt of a stimulus grant until the funds are expended. We find compelling evidence that effective grant management and local government institutions and policies are salient for limiting delays.
Energy Programs of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Authors: Carley Sanya 
Published: March 2016

AbstractThe American Recovery and Reinvestment Act injected approximately $840 billion into the U.S. economy to provide both short‐term economic stimulus and longer term technological advancement and infrastructure development. One of the primary recipients of stimulus funds in the United States and elsewhere around the world was the energy sector. This analysis reviews states’ experiences with Recovery Act energy programs, and highlights the perceived challenges and accomplishments that state officials encountered with these programs. Based on semi‐structured interviews conducted with state officials involved in Recovery Act implementation, the analysis focuses on the following main themes: compliance difficulties, spending preparedness, degree and quality of federal guidance, timing, efficiency, and perceptions of success and lasting benefits.
Adaptive and Responsive Survey Designs: A Review and Assessment
Authors: Tourangeau Roger , Michael Brick J. , Lohr Sharon , Li Jane 
Published: March 2016

Summary
The paper reviews the growing literature on responsive and adaptive designs for surveys. These designs encompass various methods for managing data collection, including front loading potentially difficult cases, tailoring data collection strategies to different subgroups, prioritizing effort according to estimated response propensities, imposing stop rules for ending data collection, monitoring key survey estimates throughout the field period, using two-phase or multiphase sampling for following up non-respondents and calculating indicators of non-response bias (such as the R-indicator) other than response rates to monitor and guide fieldwork. We give particular attention to efforts to evaluate these strategies experimentally or via simulations. Although the field seems to have embraced these new tools, most of the evaluation studies suggest they produce marginal reductions in cost and non-response bias. It is clearly difficult to lower survey costs without reducing some aspect of survey quality. Other issues limiting the effectiveness of these designs include weakly predictive auxiliary variables, ineffective interventions and slippage in the implementation of interventions in the field. These problems are not, however, unique to responsive or adaptive design. We give recommendations for improving such designs and for improving the management of data collection efforts in the current difficult environment for surveys.
Combining Labour Force Survey Data to Estimate Migration Flows: The Case of Migration from Poland to The UK
Authors: Wiśniowski Arkadiusz 
Published: March 2016

Summary
In May 2004, Poland and seven other countries from central and eastern Europe joined the European Union. This led to a massive emigration from Poland, especially to the UK. However, relatively little is known about the magnitude of migration flows after the 2004 enlargement of the European Union. In the paper Labour Force Survey data from the sending and receiving countries are utilized in a Bayesian model to estimate migration flows. The estimates are further combined with the output of the ‘Integrated modelling of European migration’ model. The combined results with accompanying measures of uncertainty can be used to validate other reported estimates of migration flows from Poland to the UK.
Unpacking the Determinants of Life Satisfaction: A Survey Experiment
Authors: Angelini Viola , Bertoni Marco , Corazzini Luca 
Published: March 2016

Summary
We present results of a survey experiment aimed at assessing context effects on reporting life satisfaction, exerted by raising awareness of fundamental life domains before eliciting overall life satisfaction, through questionnaire manipulations. Psychologists refer to similar context effects, generated by providing more details about the object of a subsequent evaluation, as ‘unpacking effects’. The longitudinal structure of our experimental design allows us to assess the effects of the questionnaire manipulation both between and within subject. In our sample of university students, asking subjects to report satisfaction with life domains before reporting overall satisfaction with life generates a robust unpacking effect, as it shifts upwards the subsequent mean overall life satisfaction evaluations. In addition, raising awareness about life domains significantly increases reliability and validity of self-reported life satisfaction, by reducing the dispersion of responses and increasing the association between life satisfaction and life domain evaluations. We also detect heterogeneous effects across subgroups of our sample—such as people with children or in bad health—and discuss implications of these findings for research on life satisfaction.
Multilevel Structural Equation Models For Longitudinal Data Where Predictors Are Measured More Frequently Than Outcomes: An Application to the Effects of Stress on the Cognitive Function of Nurses
Authors: Steele Fiona , Clarke Paul , Leckie George , Allan Julia , Johnston Derek 
Published: March 2016

Summary
Ecological momentary assessment is used to measure subjects' mood and behaviour repeatedly over time, leading to intensive longitudinal data. Variability in ecological momentary assessment schedules creates an analytical challenge because predictors are measured more frequently than responses. We consider this problem in a study of the effect of stress on the cognitive function of telephone helpline nurses, where stress is measured for each call and cognitive outcomes are measured at the end of a shift. We propose a flexible structural equation model which can handle multiple levels of clustering, measurement error, time trends and mixed variable types.
Physical Activity, Exercise Motivations, Depression, and Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury in Youth
Authors: Boone Shannon D. , Brausch Amy M. 
Published: March 2016

This study explored the relationship between physical activity, depression, and nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) in 167 high school and undergraduate students (mean age = 17.37, range 14–25). Results indicated that NSSI frequency had a significant negative relationship with physical activity, and physical activity moderated the relationship between depressive symptoms and self‐harm. Specifically, high levels of depressive symptoms and low levels of physical activity had the greatest frequency of NSSI. Lastly, appearance‐based exercise motivations were significantly related to increased frequencies of NSSI. Overall, physical activity may possess a protective nature against NSSI, especially in individuals with depressive symptoms.
Income Security During Sickness Absence. What Do British Middle‐classes Do?
Authors: Clasen Jochen 
Published: March 2016

AbstractIncome maintenance during sickness absence is an under‐researched field within social policy analysis, and yet it is conducive to exploring the interplay between statutory, corporate and private forms of income protection. Drawing on original qualitative interview data, the article shows that British middle‐class couples largely ignore or dismiss public provision, which is due to a relatively low level of sickness benefits, but also based on misconceptions about social rights and the role of employers as mandatory (and voluntary) sick pay providers. Despite a considerable degree of mistrust, mortgage‐related private sickness insurance mattered to some extent, although this does not necessarily reflect policyholders’ strategic choices vis à vis current household needs for income security. Other potential sources of income replacement, such as savings, are relied on much less. In general, the analysis shows a heavy middle‐class reliance on, and strong confidence in, employer‐based sickness pay. This finding may be contrasted with questions about the sustainability of voluntary corporate provision, as well as its capacity to provide income security for the workforce as a whole.
The Tyranny of Fit: Yet another Barrier to Mainstream Employment for Disabled People in Sheltered Employment
Authors: Hemphill Elizabeth , Kulik Carol T. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractPolicies that encourage the aspirations of disabled people for mainstream employment might be an effective way to increase their workforce participation rate. This study aims to determine which people in sheltered employment aspire to a job beyond their current sheltered employment job. We asked 64 people with sheltered employment jobs about their workplace and job fit, their intentions to stay in their current job and their future job aspirations. The key finding is that perceptions of fit indirectly and adversely affect aspirations via intention to stay. Participants who felt they fitted planned to keep working at their sheltered workplace, but a stronger intention to stay made it less likely that they could identify an alternative to sheltered employment. These results were not influenced by age or the time spent in sheltered employment. Policy should therefore support people in sheltered employment to develop realistic job aspirations. Helping disabled people to identify opportunities beyond sheltered employment can avoid complacency and free up sheltered job opportunities for other disabled people. But policy changes are required to leverage sheltered employment as a first step for disabled people to develop mainstream job aspirations and facilitate transitioning beyond sheltered employment job options.
Lobbygruppen im politischen Wettbewerb: Die Auswirkungen des Konkurrenzkampfes unter Interessengruppen auf deren Lobbyverhalten
Authors: Weiler Florian 
Published: March 2016

Deutsche ZusammenfassungLobbygruppen stehen in einem politischen Wettbewerb miteinander, wobei in manchen Themenfeldern ein sehr starker Konkurrenzkampf herrscht, während die Rivalität in anderen Bereichen eher gering ist. Dieser Artikel geht der Frage nach, wie sich diese unterschiedliche Intensität des Wettkampfs auf das Lobbyverhalten von Interessenorganisationen auswirkt. Basierend auf Daten einer Umfrage unter Deutschen und Schweizer Interessengruppen konnte festgestellt werden, dass sowohl direktes Lobbying bei Politikern (Insider Lobbying) als auch indirekte Einflussnahme über die Medien und die Öffentlichkeit (Outsider Lobbying) mit der Intensität des Konkurrenzdruckes zunimmt. Allerdings zeigt sich auch, dass Insider Lobbying stärker von dieser Zunahme betroffen ist, dass also Organisationen bei erhöhtem Wettbewerb insbesondere den direkten Zugang zu Entscheidungsträgern suchen.
Linked Fate and Latino Attitudes Regarding Health‐Care Reform Policy*
Authors: Sanchez Gabriel R. , Medeiros Jillian 
Published: March 2016

ObjectiveDespite the Latino electorate's increased political importance and their prominence among the uninsured population, there has been relatively little research focused on Latinos’ political attitudes, particularly in the substantively important area of health policy. We examine the foundations of Latino registered voters support for universal healthcare with a particular focus on the relationship between linked fate (a form of group identity) and support for expansion of health coverage to a wider segment of the population. We theorize that the obstacles to healthcare and health coverage the Latino community faces makes health policy a Latino‐salient policy area where group identity becomes relevant.MethodsWe use the Latino Decisions “100 Days” 2009 survey of Latino registered voters for our analysis, an ideal data set that provides a measure of linked fate, support for universal healthcare, and several key control variables.ResultsOur findings show that linked fate is a significant predictor of Latino registered voters' support for expansion of health‐care coverage, suggesting that healthcare is a salient policy for the Latino community.ConclusionsDespite being a tremendously diverse population, our results suggest that Latino policy preferences can be influenced by an underlying sense of group identity when the policy area cues ethnic identity.