bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ten-year Experience with Percutaneous Cholecystostomy for Acute Cholecystitis in Men
Authors: Grisotti Gabriella , King Joseph T. , Bhattacharya Bishwajit , Schlessel Robert B. , Gunabushanam Gowthaman , Perkal Melissa F. 
Published: December 2017

Objective:
To retrospectively analyze the treatment outcomes of male patients who underwent emergent percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) for biliary decompression in acute cholecystitis.

Methods:
A single-institution retrospective analysis of 132 patients from 2003 to 2013. Outcome measures were survival, cholecystostomy drain outcomes, and definitive treatment with surgical cholecystectomy.

Results:
The patient population was all male, with a mean age of 70.6 years. 79 patients (59.9%) were admitted for biliary disease and 34 patients (25.8%) were in an intensive care unit (ICU) when diagnosed. 18 patients (13.6%) died within 30 days of PC, an additional 12 (9%) died within 6 months of PC, and the median survival was 4.9 years. Multivariate logistic regression showed a direct relationship between 1 month and 6-month mortality with total bilirubin and an inverse relationship with hematocrit. Cox regression analysis for long-term survival revealed increased mortality associated with respiratory failure (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.40, P = 0.023) and total bilirubin (HR: 1.11, P < 0.001); lower mortality was associated with a primary diagnosis of cholecystitis (HR: 0.29, P = 0.010), higher hematocrit (HR: 0.89, P < 0.001), and ICU (HR: 0.17, P = 0.003) and floor (HR: 0.34, P = 0.029) diagnosis location. Only 55 patients (41.7%) proceeded to surgical cholecystectomy. Outcomes at 1 year (n = 110) were 40% alive after surgery, 25.5% alive without surgery or a drain, 2.7% alive without surgery but with a drain, and 31.8% dead.

Conclusions:
Although PC is associated with a high early mortality, 25.5 % of our patients were definitively treated with cholecystostomy alone. Certain biomarkers and patient characteristics may help model survival after PC.
Disjunctive temporal networks with uncertainty via SMT: Recent results and directions
Authors: Micheli A. 
Published: December 2017

Many Planning and Scheduling systems are designed assuming that the system under control is able to decide the duration of all the activities being executed. However, in many application scenarios this assumption is not acceptable because the actual timing of actions is not under direct control of the plan executor. Hence, new Planning and Scheduling techniques are needed to deal with this temporal uncertainty explicitly. In this paper, we summarize and systematize a series of works in which we addressed this uncertainty problem in the realm of temporal network scheduling. We show how Satisfiability Modulo Theory (SMT) solvers can be exploited to quickly solve different kinds of query in this setting. In particular, we focus on the framework of Disjunctive Temporal Networks with Uncertainty and address the three degrees of controllability for the fully-disjunctive class of problems, solving several open problems in the literature and experimentally showing the performance of the developed techniques. Finally, we outline and discuss several foreseeable directions of research in this field.
SN 1986J VLBI. IV. The Nature of the Central Component
Authors: Bietenholz Michael F. , Bartel Norbert 
Published: December 2017

Abstract
We report on Very Large Array measurements between 1 and 45 GHz of the evolving radio spectral energy distribution (SED) of SN 1986J, made in conjunction with very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) imaging. The SED of SN 1986J is unique among supernovae, and shows an inversion point and a high-frequency turnover. Both are due to the central component seen in the VLBI images, and both are progressing downward in frequency with time. The optically thin spectral index of the central component is almost the same as that of the shell. We fit a simple model to the evolving SED consisting of an optically thin shell and a partly absorbed central component. The evolution of the SED is consistent with that of a homologously expanding system. Both components are fading, but the shell is fading more rapidly. We conclude that the central component is physically inside the expanding shell, and not a surface hotspot central only in projection. Our observations are consistent with the central component being due to interaction of the shock with the dense and highly structured circumstellar medium that resulted from a period of common-envelope evolution of the progenitor. However, a young pulsar-wind nebula or emission from an accreting black hole can also not be ruled out at this point.
Contribution of Field Strength Gradients to the Net Vertical Current of Active Regions
Authors: Vemareddy P. 
Published: December 2017

Abstract
We examined the contribution of field strength gradients for the degree of net vertical current (NVC) neutralization in active regions (ARs). We used photospheric vector magnetic field observations of AR 11158 obtained by Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board SDO and Hinode. The vertical component of the electric current is decomposed into twist and shear terms. The NVC exhibits systematic evolution owing to the presence of the sheared polarity inversion line between rotating and shearing magnetic regions. We found that the sign of shear current distribution is opposite in dominant pixels (60%–65%) to that of twist current distribution, and its time profile bears no systematic trend. This result indicates that the gradient of magnetic field strength contributes to an opposite signed, though smaller in magnitude, current to that contributed by the magnetic field direction in the vertical component of the current. Consequently, the net value of the shear current is negative in both polarity regions, which when added to the net twist current reduces the direct current value in the north (B

z
> 0) polarity, resulting in a higher degree of NVC neutralization. We conjecture that the observed opposite signs of shear and twist currents are an indication, according to Parker, that the direct volume currents of flux tubes are canceled by their return currents, which are contributed by field strength gradients. Furthermore, with the increase of spatial resolution, we found higher values of twist, shear current distributions. However, the resolution effect is more useful in resolving the field strength gradients, and therefore suggests more contribution from shear current for the degree of NVC neutralization.
On the Dependence of the X-Ray Burst Rate on Accretion and Spin Rate
Authors: Cavecchi Yuri , Watts Anna L. , Galloway Duncan K. 
Published: December 2017

Abstract
Nuclear burning and its dependence on the mass accretion rate are fundamental ingredients for describing the complicated observational phenomenology of neutron stars (NSs) in binary systems. Motivated by high-quality burst rate data emerging from large statistical studies, we report general calculations relating the bursting rate to the mass accretion rate and NS rotation frequency. In this first work, we ignore general relativistic effects and accretion topology, although we discuss where their inclusion should play a role. The relations we derive are suitable for different burning regimes and provide a direct link between parameters predicted by theory and what is to be expected in observations. We illustrate this for analytical relations of different unstable burning regimes that operate on the surface of an accreting NS. We also use the observed behavior of the burst rate to suggest new constraints on burning parameters. We are able to provide an explanation for the long-standing problem of the observed decrease of the burst rate with increasing mass accretion that follows naturally from these calculations: when the accretion rate crosses a certain threshold, ignition moves away from its initially preferred site, and this can cause a net reduction of the burst rate due to the effects of local conditions that set local differences in both the burst rate and stabilization criteria. We show under which conditions this can happen even if locally the burst rate keeps increasing with accretion.
BAT AGN Spectroscopic Survey. V. X-Ray Properties of the Swift/BAT 70-month AGN Catalog
Authors: Ricci C. , Trakhtenbrot B. , Koss M. J. , Ueda Y. , Del Vecchio I. , Treister E. , Schawinski K. , Paltani S. , Oh K. , Lamperti I. , Berney S. , Gandhi P. , Ichikawa K. , Bauer F. E. , Ho L. C. , Asmus D. , Beckmann V. , Soldi S. , Baloković M. , Gehrels N. , Markwardt C. B. 
Published: December 2017

Abstract
Hard X-ray (≥10 keV) observations of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) can shed light on some of the most obscured episodes of accretion onto supermassive black holes. The 70-month Swift/BAT all-sky survey, which probes the 14–195 keV energy range, has currently detected 838 AGNs. We report here on the broadband X-ray (0.3–150 keV) characteristics of these AGNs, obtained by combining XMM-Newton, Swift/XRT, ASCA, Chandra, and Suzaku observations in the soft X-ray band (

keV) with 70-month averaged Swift/BAT data. The nonblazar AGNs of our sample are almost equally divided into unobscured (

) and obscured (

) AGNs, and their Swift/BAT continuum is systematically steeper than the 0.3–10 keV emission, which suggests that the presence of a high-energy cutoff is almost ubiquitous. We discuss the main X-ray spectral parameters obtained, such as the photon index, the reflection parameter, the energy of the cutoff, neutral and ionized absorbers, and the soft excess for both obscured and unobscured AGNs.
The Brightest Known H2CO Maser in the Milky Way: G339.88-1.26
Authors: Chen Xi , Shen Zhi-Qiang , Ellingsen Simon P. , Li Xiao-Qiong , Yang Kai , Chen Hong-Ying , Dong Jian 
Published: December 2017

Abstract
We report the detection of the strongest

6 cm H2CO emission in our Galaxy. The detection toward the massive star-forming region G339.88-1.26 was made using the Shanghai Tianma radio telescope (TMRT). The G339.88-1.26 star formation region hosts one of the strongest 6.7 GHz methanol masers and has an accompanying collimated, ionized jet seen in radio continuum free–free emission. The peak flux density of the detected H2CO emission is ∼19 Jy, one order of magnitude stronger than the nine previously known H2CO maser sources. The corresponding luminosity is also brighter than has been observed in previous H2CO maser sources, even those detected in the Central Molecular Zone of our Galaxy. A TMRT on-the-fly map of the region shows a point-like source structure and this, combined with the spectral characteristics of the H2CO emission (multiple, narrow components), leads us to conclude that the detected H2CO emission is masing (with a brightness temperature in excess of 104 K). The detection of a very strong H2CO maser in G339.88-1.26 suggests that ionized jet/outflow environments might provide efficient maser pumping for this transition, with the ionized jet/outflow-driven shock causing collisional excitation, and are also able to provide additional seed photons for maser amplification of the radio continuum emission.
A Study of External Magnetic Reconnection that Triggers a Solar Eruption
Authors: Zhou G. P. , Zhang J. , Wang J. X. , Wheatland M. S. 
Published: December 2017

Abstract
External magnetic reconnection (EMR) is suggested to play an essential role in triggering a solar eruption, but is rarely directly observed. Here, we report on a filament eruption on 2014 October 3 that apparently involves the process of an early EMR. A total of 1.7 × 1020 Mx flux was first canceled along the filament-related polarity inversion line over 12 hr, and then the filament axis started to brighten in extreme ultraviolet (EUV). An impulsive EUV brightening began 30 minutes later, and we attribute this to EMR, as it is located at the center of a bidirectional outflow with a velocity of 60–75 km s−1 along large-scale magnetic loops from active regions NOAA 12178 and 12179, respectively, and over the filament mentioned above. Following the EMR, the filament was activated; then, partial eruption occurred 6 minutes later in the west, in which the decay index above the magnetic flux rope (MFR) reached the critical value of 1.5. The observations are interpreted in terms of underlying magnetic flux cancelation leading to the buildup and eventual formation of the MFR with a filament embedded in it, and the MFR is elevated later. The activated MFR rises and pushes the overlying sheared field and forms a current sheet causing the EMR. The EMR in turn weakens the constraining effect of the overlying field, leading to the arising of the MFR, and subsequently erupting due to torus instability.
Internet-Generation Nursing Students' View of Technology-Based Health Care
Authors: van Houwelingen Cornelis T.M. , Ettema Roelof G.A. , Kort Helianthe S.M. , ten Cate Olle 
Published: December 2017

Background:
Today's nursing school applicants are considered “digital natives.” This study investigated students' views of new health care technologies.

Method:
In a cross-sectional survey among first-year nursing students, 23 common nursing activities and five telehealth nursing activities were presented along with three statements: “I consider this a core task of nursing,” “I look forward to becoming trained in this task,” and “I think I will do very well in performing this task.”

Results:

Internet-generation nursing students (
n
= 1,113) reported a significantly (
p
⩽ .001) less positive view of telehealth activities than of common nursing activities. Median differences were 0.7 (effect size [ES], −0.54), 0.4 (ES, −0.48), and 0.3 (ES, −0.39), measured on a 7-point scale.

Conclusion:

Internet-generation nursing students do not naturally have a positive view of technology-based health care provision. The results emphasize that adequate technology and telehealth education is still needed for nursing students. [
J Nurs Educ.
2017;56(12):717–724.]
Assessing the role of socio-economic values on entrepreneurial intentions among university students in Cape Town
Authors: Kalitanyi Vivence , Bbenkele Edwin 
Published: December 2017

Background: This article presents the findings of an empirical fieldwork study conducted in Cape Town, South Africa.Aim: The aim of the study was to establish how socio-economic values (income, economic development, employment or unemployment in the university students’ direct environment) shape their entrepreneurial intentions.Setting and method: The study was built on Ajzen’ psychological model on entrepreneurial intentions, and used a semi-structured questionnaire to collect data from 274 entrepreneurship university students. Cronbach’s alpha was used to measure the reliability of the questionnaire, where six variables out of nine, had a coefficient alpha of more than 0.7, while the remaining three had a coefficient alpha of between 0.5 and 0.7. This instrument was assessed by both statisticians and academics who are experts in their fields to ensure its validity. Multivariate tests of statistical significance were conducted, where correlation and regression statistics were used to analyse the data.Results: Findings suggest that socio-economic factors have an impact in shaping entrepreneurial intentions of the university students.Conclusion: The study formulates the recommendations to the government, businesses, civil society organisations as well as the community within which students live.
Bone turnover markers in HIV-infected women on tenofovir-based antiretroviral therapy
Authors: Mulubwa Mwila , Viljoen Michelle , Kruger Iolanthe M. , Kruger Herculina S. , Rheeders Malie 
Published: December 2017

Background: Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) antiretroviral therapy is associated with disruption of the bone turnover process.Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the association between tenofovir (TFV) plasma concentration and various bone turnover markers and compare these markers in HIV-infected women and HIV-uninfected controls.Method: A cross-sectional sub-study included 30 HIV-infected women on TDF and 30 HIV-uninfected matched participants. Serum calcium (SrCa), serum phosphate (SrP), C-terminal telopeptide (CTx), parathyroid hormone (PTH), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), C-reactive protein (CRP), vitamin D (VitD) and bone mineral density (BMD) were measured. Plasma TFV was assayed on HPLC-MS/MS. The statistical tests applied were Mann–Whitney test, unpaired t-test, analysis of covariance, regression and correlation analysis.Results: In HIV-infected women, no correlation existed between plasma TFV concentration and CTx, PTH, ALP, SrCa, SrP, VitD or BMD (p > 0.05). After adjusting for smoking and alcohol use, ALP (p < 0.001), CTx (p = 0.027) and PTH (p = 0.050) were significantly higher in HIV-infected compared to HIV-uninfected women. Women with TFV concentration ≥ 120 ng/mL had higher PTH concentrations (p = 0.037) compared to those with ≤ 100 ng/mL. Significant correlations between SrCa and PTH and SrCa and SrP including CTx and PTH (p < 0.05) were present in HIV-uninfected women while absent in HIV-infected counterparts (p > 0.05).Conclusion: The results indicate possible increased bone turnover at higher TFV concentrations. The normal regular bone turnover processes in HIV-infected women on TDF therapy are altered. Larger studies are warranted to confirm these results.
A comparative study of human T-cell lymphotropic virus-associated myelopathy in HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients in KwaZulu-Natal
Authors: Paruk Hoosain F. , Bhigjee Ahmed I. , Marais Suzaan 
Published: December 2017

Background: KwaZulu-Natal is an endemic area for HIV and human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV) infection. The main neurological manifestation of HTLV is HTLV-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). The effect of HIV co-infection in patients with HAM/TSP is not well documented.Aims: To determine the prevalence of HIV seropositivity in patients with HAM/TSP and compare the clinical, laboratory and radiological features of patients mono-infected with HTLV and those dually infected with HTLV and HIV.Methods: Adult patients referred to the Neurology Department at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, for the period 01 January 2004 to 31 December 2015 with a positive HTLV serology were identified from the National Health Laboratory Service database. A retrospective chart review was conducted to identify all patients who had a diagnosis of HAM/TSP and to record their HIV status. Clinical, laboratory and radiological data were compared for HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients.Results: A total of 52 patients with HAM/TSP were identified. HIV results were available in 44 patients of whom 23 (52%) patients were HIV co-infected. Patients who were HIV-positive had a younger age of presentation compared to HIV-negative patients (median: 31 vs 50 years, p = 0.002). HIV-positive patients had a median duration of symptoms at presentation of 12 months compared to 16 months for HIV-negative patients, but the difference did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.082). The CD4 cell counts of HIV-positive patients were well preserved with a median count of 781 cells/µL.Conclusions: HIV co-infection is commonly seen in the setting of HAM/TSP in KwaZulu-Natal. An interaction between the viruses may accelerate the development of HAM/TSP, leading to a younger age of presentation. Co-infection may have treatment implications because of CD4 counts being preserved in these patients.
Approche expérimentale de l’érection réflexe chez le rat
Authors: Rampin Olivier , Bernabe Jacques , Gougis Sylvette , Rousseau Jean-Paul 
Published: December 2017

Les fibres du nerf dorsal du pénis véhiculent la sensibilité du pénis et constituent le versant afférent des réflexes sexuels. Leur stimulation par des chocs de faible durée provoque une augmentation réflexe de la pression intracaverneuse, qui est supprimée par la section bilatérale des nerfs pelviens efférents. Lorsqu’on augmente la durée des chocs, la réponse réflexe n’est obtenue qu’après section de la moelle en T8, suggérant la possibilité d’un contrôle inhibiteur descendant de ce réflexe d’érection.
Chez les rats spinaux, la réponse réflexe diminue d’amplitude, lorsque l’on augmente l’intensité de la stimulation. Cette inhibition segmentaire n’est pas due au recrutement de fibres sensitives inhibitrices. Elle pourrait résulter de la mise en jeu d’un réflexe sympathique antiérectile s’opposant au réflexe d’érection.
The potential of using remote sensing data to estimate air–sea CO2 exchange in the Baltic Sea
Authors: Parard Gaëlle , Rutgersson Anna , Raj Parampil Sindu , Charantonis Anastase Alexandre 
Published: December 2017

Abstract. In this article, we present the first climatological map of air–sea CO2 flux over the Baltic Sea based on remote sensing data: estimates of pCO2 derived from satellite imaging using self-organizing map classifications along with class-specific linear regressions (SOMLO methodology) and remotely sensed wind estimates. The estimates have a spatial resolution of 4 km both in latitude and longitude and a monthly temporal resolution from 1998 to 2011. The CO2 fluxes are estimated using two types of wind products, i.e. reanalysis winds and satellite wind products, the higher-resolution wind product generally leading to higher-amplitude flux estimations. Furthermore, the CO2 fluxes were also estimated using two methods: the method of Wanninkhof et al. (2013) and the method of Rutgersson and Smedman (2009). The seasonal variation in fluxes reflects the seasonal variation in pCO2 unvaryingly over the whole Baltic Sea, with high winter CO2 emissions and high pCO2 uptakes. All basins act as a source for the atmosphere, with a higher degree of emission in the southern regions (mean source of 1.6 mmol m−2 d−1 for the South Basin and 0.9 for the Central Basin) than in the northern regions (mean source of 0.1 mmol m−2 d−1) and the coastal areas act as a larger sink (annual uptake of −4.2 mmol m−2 d−1) than does the open sea (−4 mmol m−2 d−1). In its entirety, the Baltic Sea acts as a small source of 1.2 mmol m−2 d−1 on average and this annual uptake has increased from 1998 to 2012.
Compiled records of carbon isotopes in atmospheric CO2 for historical simulations in CMIP6
Authors: Graven Heather , Allison Colin E. , Etheridge David M. , Hammer Samuel , Keeling Ralph F. , Levin Ingeborg , Meijer Harro A. J. , Rubino Mauro , Tans Pieter P. , Trudinger Cathy M. , Vaughn Bruce H. , White James W. C. 
Published: December 2017

Abstract. The isotopic composition of carbon (Δ14C and δ13C) in atmospheric CO2 and in oceanic and terrestrial carbon reservoirs is influenced by anthropogenic emissions and by natural carbon exchanges, which can respond to and drive changes in climate. Simulations of 14C and 13C in the ocean and terrestrial components of Earth system models (ESMs) present opportunities for model evaluation and for investigation of carbon cycling, including anthropogenic CO2 emissions and uptake. The use of carbon isotopes in novel evaluation of the ESMs' component ocean and terrestrial biosphere models and in new analyses of historical changes may improve predictions of future changes in the carbon cycle and climate system. We compile existing data to produce records of Δ14C and δ13C in atmospheric CO2 for the historical period 1850–2015. The primary motivation for this compilation is to provide the atmospheric boundary condition for historical simulations in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6 (CMIP6) for models simulating carbon isotopes in the ocean or terrestrial biosphere. The data may also be useful for other carbon cycle modelling activities.