bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Endoscopic ultrasound in diagnosis of solid pancreatic lesions: Elastography or contrast-enhanced harmonic alone versus the combination
Authors: Chantarojanasiri Tanyaporn , Hirooka Yoshiki , Kawashima Hiroki , Ohno Eizaburo , Kuwahara Takamichi , Yamamura Takeshi , Funasaka Kohei , Nakamura Masanao , Miyahara Ryoji , Ishigami Masatoshi , Watanabe Osamu , Hashimoto Senju , Hirakawa Akihiro , Ratanachu-ek Thawee , Goto Hidemi 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
Background and study aims Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) elastography (EUS-E) and contrast-enhanced harmonic EUS (CH-EUS) are useful methods for the diagnosis of pancreatic lesions. This study aims to compare the accuracy of combined EUS-E and CH-EUS with that of EUS-E or CH-EUS alone in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic solid lesions.
Patients and methods One hundred thirty-six patients with solid pancreatic lesions underwent EUS with both EUS-E and CH-EUS were included. Diagnoses were classified as adenocarcinoma, neuroendocrine tumor (NET), and inflammatory pseudotumor in 95, 22, and 19 patients, respectively. EUS records in each case were rearranged into 3 groups: EUS-E, CH-EUS, and combination. Each modality was randomly reviewed by 3 reviewers with different levels of clinical experience. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of each modality according to each diagnosis group were evaluated. For the combined diagnosis populations, the proportions of correct diagnoses among the 3 modalities were compared by using the multivariate logistic regression analysis.
Results The accuracies of EUS-E, CH-EUS, and the combination of them were 68.4 %, 65.4 %, and 75.7 %, respectively, for adenocarcinoma group; 83.8 %, 82.4 %, and 86.8 % for NET group; 80.1 %, 78.7 %, and 81.6 % for inflammatory pseudotumor group. The multivariate logistic regression analysis for the combined diagnosis populations showed that the proportion of correct diagnoses when EUS-E and CH-EUS were combined was slightly higher than with the other 2 modalities, although the significant differences among them were not observed.
Conclusion EUS-E and CH-EUS combined may improve differential diagnosis of solid pancreatic lesions compared with use of the individual modalities.
Neue orale Antikoagulantien (NOAK) in der
Schlaganfall-Therapie
Authors: Küpper Clemens , Kellert Lars , Tiedt Steffen , Wollenweber Frank Arne 
Published: November 2017

ZusammenfassungZur Prophylaxe des kardioembolischen Schlaganfalls stehen neben Vitamin
K-Antagonisten in Deutschland seit 2011 die sogenannten neuen oralen
Antikoagulantien (NOAK) zur Verfügung. Eine Zulassung besteht für
nicht-valvuläres Vorhofflimmern. Obwohl in Deutschland eine intensive
Kontroverse zu diesem Thema geführt wird, wird das Nutzen-Risiko-Verhältnis der
NOAK im Vergleich zu Vitamin K-Antagonisten von den neurologischen und
kardiologischen Fachgesellschaften als günstiger bewertet. Dieser Effekt wird
insbesondere durch die Risikoreduktion für intrazerebrale Blutungen vermittelt.
Ein spezifisches Antidot steht für Dabigatran zur Verfügung und ist für die
Faktor Xa-Inhibitoren in der klinischen Prüfung. Aus Mangel an direkten
Vergleichsstudien kann keines der NOAK dem anderen als überlegen angesehen
werden. Die Auswahl eines NOAK sollte sich daher unter Berücksichtigung der
Ergebnisse der Zulassungsstudien an praktischen Aspekten und Komorbiditäten des
einzelnen Patienten orientieren.
Preliminary experience with pancreatic sphincterotomy as treatment for intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm-associated recurrent pancreatitis
Authors: Bernardoni Laura , Crinò Stefano , De Conti Giorgia , Conti Bellocchi Maria , De Pretis Nicolò , Amodio Antonio , Frulloni Luca , Gabbrielli Armando 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
Background and study aims Pancreatic intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) are cystic tumors of the pancreas characterized by a malignant potential. IPMN have been associated with recurrent pancreatitis (RP). Obstruction of the main pancreatic duct by thick mucus has been postulated to be the cause of pancreatitis. In a few isolated reports, pancreatic sphincterotomy (PS) has been reported to reduce the frequency of pancreatitis. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of PS in patients with IPMN-associated RP.
Patients and methods We retrospectively identified patients with RP and IPMN who underwent PS from June 2010 to December 2015. Patients were included in two different groups: (a) main duct/mixed type IPMN (MD-IPMN) and (b) branch duct IPMN (BD-IPMN) with or without worrisome features/high risk stigmata. Other causes of RP were excluded. The number of pancreatitis episodes occurring during a comparable time period before and after PS was evaluated.
Results In total, 16 patients were analyzed (seven included in the MD-IPMN group and nine in the BD-IPMN group). The numbers of pancreatitis episodes occurring before and after PS were 3.5 ± 2.32 and 0.56 ± 1.03, respectively (P < 0.0001). Mean follow-up was 27.4 months (range 6 – 63 months). Complete, partial (reduction of pancreatitis episodes > 50 %), and no response were obtained in 11 (68.7 %), 3 (18.7 %), and 2 patients (12.5 %), respectively. One (6.25 %) case of mild post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) pancreatitis was observed. No cancer was detected in resected patients. None of the BD-IPMN group patients had or developed worrisome features/high risk stigmata during follow-up.
Conclusions PS seems to be effective in reducing the number of episodes of IPMN-associated pancreatitis and should be considered as a treatment option in selected clinical settings. However, active surveillance should be continued considering the malignant potential of IPMN. Further prospective controlled studies are needed to confirm our results.
Gender Differences in Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Metabolically Healthy Normal Weight Adults with Central Obesity
Authors: Šebeková Katarína , Csongová Melinda , Gurecká Radana , Krivošíková Zora , Šebek Jozef 
Published: November 2017

AbstractWe investigated whether metabolically healthy normal weight adults with central obesity display worse cardiometabolic profile compared with their centrally lean counterparts. This retrospective, cross-sectional study, comprised 1 135 subjects (64% females) aged 18-to-81 years, presenting ≤2 components of metabolic syndrome. They were classified as centrally lean (waist-to-height ratio (WHtR)<0.5 and waist circumference<80 cm in females and<94 cm in males) or presenting central obesity (WHtR ≥0.5, regardless of waist circumference). Data on blood pressure, glucose homeostasis, lipid profile, renal function, high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP), uric acid, adiponectin, leptin, and soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products were compared between the groups, separately in males and females. 5.7% of males and 6.9% of females presented WHtR ≥0.5. Compared with centrally lean subjects, those with central obesity had higher BMI-adjusted fasting plasma glucose (p<0.001), and leptin levels (p<0.05); females also presented higher blood pressure (p<0.001), while males had higher hsCRP concentrations (p=0.021). These changes associated with significantly higher BMI-adjusted odds to present fasting plasma glucose >5.6 mmol/l in both genders, higher odds to present hsCRP >3 mg/l in males, and those to present elevated blood pressure in females. Our analysis suggests that in metabolically healthy normal weight subjects WHtR ≥0.5 might indicate “early increased health risk”.
The Effect of Hypolipidemic Agents on Thyroid Autoimmunity in Women with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis Treated with Levothyroxine and Selenomethionine
Authors: Krysiak Robert , Szkróbka Witold , Okopień Bogusław 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
Background Levothyroxine and selenomethionine were found to reduce thyroid antibody titers in patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. The same effect was produced by intensive statin therapy. The aim of the present study was to assess whether hypolipidemic agents modulate the impact of thyroid hormone supplementation and selenomethionine on thyroid autoimmunity.
Methods The study included 62 women with Hashimoto's thyroiditis treated for at least 6 months with levothyroxine and selenomethionine. On the basis of plasma lipids, women were divided into three groups: women with isolated hypercholesterolemia (group A; n=20), women with isolated hypertriglyceridemia (group B; n=17), and women with normal plasma lipids (group C; n=25). Group A were then treated with atorvastatin (20 mg daily), while group B received micronized fenofibrate (200 mg daily). Serum titers of thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin antibodies, as well as serum levels of thyrotropin, free thyroxine and free triiodothyronine were measured at the beginning of the study and 6 months later.
Results Fenofibrate decreased triglycerides and increased HDL cholesterol, while simvastatin decreased total and LDL cholesterol. Fenofibrate reduced titers of thyroid peroxidase and, to a lesser extent, thyroglobulin antibodies. Atorvastatin tended to increase thyroid peroxidase antibodies. No changes in thyrotropin, free thyroxine and free triiodothyronine were observed in any treatment group. Fenofibrate-induced changes in thyroid antibody titers correlated with baseline antibody titers, as well as with treatment-induced changes in HDL cholesterol and insulin sensitivity.
Conclusions The obtained results indicate that only fibrates may potentiate the effect of selenomethionine and levothyroxine on thyroid autoimmunity in women.
Exploring multiband tunneling for uncoupled particles: A polynomial view
Authors: Marín Sara Zapata , Reyes-Retana J. A. , Fernández-Anaya G. , Mendoza-Álvarez A. , Flores-Godoy J. J. , Diago-Cisneros L. 
Published: November 2017

A new approach based on a polynomial-scattering formalism was developed and exercised for n-cell multi-channel layered heterostructures. The model reproduces the majority of considered experimental measurements, better than prior theoretical results. Closed analytical formulae of scattering quantities for uncoupled particles of multiband-multicomponent systems have been derived; furthermore, long-standing numerical difficulties of the transfer matrix scheme were overcome. We predict the earlier arrival of uncoupled holes and several patterns followed by the transmission rate, the two-probe Landauer total conductance, and the phase time. Anomalous events such as the Ramsauer-Townsend oscillations and the paradoxical Hartman effect of pure holes are confirmed in detail; besides, we predict other appealing structural-dependent features to be tuned as well. For such quasi-particles, we do not find evidence of the generalized Hartman effect. The relevant phase tunneling time limit of bandmixing-free holes when n→∞ has been resolved analytically as well as simulated, and it turns qualitatively comparable with that measured for photons.
At the request of the authors, this article is being retracted effective 17 November 2021.
Australia's Public Sector Higher Education Monopoly: The End of an Era
Authors: Bostock William W 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
Until the 1980s, Australia's higher education sector was a state monopoly. Modelled on the British civic universities but with participation rates more like those of North America, in later times government became critical of its expense. It was decided to deregulate and allow the establishment of Bond University and any other suitable project, and also allow the state universities to combine with private developers in mixed initiatives as a way of cutting costs and increasing provision of places, and it is now evident that the private sector will become a permanent feature of the Australian higher education landscape.
Rhetoric and Strategy: Australian Mining and the Conflict over Coronation Hill
Authors: Young Liz 
Published: November 2017

ABSTRACT
This paper considers the political mobilisation of the mining industry in response to increasing levels of popular concern regarding environmental issues. The focus is upon the rhetoric used by mining companies in their endeavour to gain government permission to mine Coronation Hill in Australia's Northern Territory. In order to ensure profitability mining companies will individually and collectively undertake political activities. In recent years a growing awareness of environmental degradation and a wave of popular concern for protecting the environment has left Australian mining companies worrying that their perceived right to exploit the environment is threatened. This is especially so for an industry so reliant on extracting resources from the natural environment. The mining industry has responded to this political challenge by developing various forms of rhetoric to justify its continued exploitation, and indeed degradation, of the natural environment.
Two and Two make One: The Collapse of the State Bank of South Australia
Authors: McCarthy Greg 
Published: November 2017

ABSTRACT
This paper is concerned with the construction of truth. The introduction gives the necessary background to the subsequent discussion of two publicly funded inquiries into the causes of the debt crises of the State Bank of South Australia (SBSA). The rest of the paper tells the story of these two inquiries using the metaphor of a circus, where the multiple reasons for the Bank's difficulties become reduced to a single truth; that of political failure. The article concludes with an epilogue saying that this truth has now displaced all others and has become metaphorically speaking a prologue for the privatisation and globalisation of the local economy.
The Australian National Training Reform Strategy and the Promises for Women Employed in the Service Sector
Authors: Roan Amanda 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
The National Training Reform Strategy identifies two broad policy goals that can be aided by reform of Australia's vocational training system. Implementation of the strategy is intended to improve Australia's competitiveness both internationally and domestically and also improve the quality of life of all Australians, including disadvantaged groups, through greater access to and quality in employment. Australia has been identified as one of the most gender segregated workforces amongst all industrial nations. Women are concentrated in service industries and in a small range of occupations which have not traditionally had their skills recognised or credentialised. The reform agenda offers a number of broad strategies that are designed to improve women's equity in employment. This paper sets out to explore the promise of reform for women workers in two areas of service sector employment: hospitality and retailing industries. It questions whether the training policy is adequately addressing structural biases faced by women in the workforce.
Fukuyama's Hijacking of Chinese Trust
Authors: Lever-Tracy Constance 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
Fukuyama's extolling of traditions of business trust, now under threat from a ‘culture of rights’, may have some validity, but attempts to associate such traditions with the emergence of large corporations are far from convincing. His counterposition of both to the claimed ‘low trust’ business traditions of Italians and Chinese is theoretically crude and empirically incorrect and it involves him in tangles with significant ‘anomalies’ some of which he himself acknowledges but does not resolve. In fact, as this paper argues, Chinese business culture is strongly focussed on the development and fostering of trust beyond the family and this is a major source of its strength.
Conflicting Mandates: The Australian Democrats and the Howard Government
Authors: Sugita Hiroya 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
During 1996 the Australian Democrats faced a number of challenges ranging from outside forces to those internal. The electoral battle against the national Green Party saw some success with the party securing its medium term future which appeared under threat post the 1993 federal election. Faced with the Coalition government's agenda, the process of opposition gave the Party and its leader Senater Kernot many opportunities to defeat or modify government legislation. But in the process, the first leader of the Australian Democrats, Don Chipp, criticised the nature aspects of Democrat opposition claiming that the party had no mandate to frustrate a government's key reforms. This paper argues that, as many voters vote differently for two houses of parliament, there exist two conflicting mandates; one given to the House of Representatives and the other given to the Senate. The Democrats' parliamentary activity during 1996 refects a continuity with its past opposition and review of Labor bills and, ultimately, this suggests the transformation of Australian politics from ‘majoritarian’ to ‘consensual’.
Selling Water: The Outsourcing of South Australia's Water Supply
Authors: McCarthy Greg 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
The following article tells the story of the selling of the South Australian water and sewerage supply to an overseas consortium. The paper argues that the contract was invested with the dual identity of the State's economic progress and the leadership aspirations of its chief advocate Minister John Olsen. The argument is that the contract was shallow and probing by Parliament and the media hardly touched the surface. The finding is that the combination of globalisation and media representation saw the erosion of Parliamentary accountability.
Money for nothing: The Ethics of Social Welfare
Authors: Allan Rodney 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
This article critically examines the main neo-conservative moral and economic arguments for cutting social welfare provision, and for dismantling or downsizing the welfare states established in the Western nations in the earlier post-war years. It argues that considerations of social ethics do not support slashing welfare expenditures, or the conservative projects of dismantling the universal dimensions of the welfare state and restricting welfare benefits to the ‘deserving poor’. On the contrary, there are good reasons for strengthening the welfare state and extending welfare provision and other forms of social income. The article argues for moral principles that would underpin generous and unconditional social welfare nets, and various forms of universal social income.
Debating Policy Issues—Facts and Values Concerning Euthanasia, Domestic Violence and Education Resource Allocation
Authors: Jewell Paul 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
The formation of policy necessarily requires consideration of both facts and values. Policies are proposed because it is predicted that they will lead to outcomes that are desired. Ideally, a policy proposal will provide a clear statement of values and desirability of objectives on the one hand, and on the other hand, an analysis of current circumstances along with plausible and justified predictions as to the likely circumstances with and without the adoption of the proposed policy. The public debate of social policy may fail to meet these standards. Such a failure can result in fundamental obstacles strewn in the path of the resolution of the debate.
Picking Industry Winners: Networks and the Australian Magnesium Industry
Authors: Riemens Wendy 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
The Australian debate over industry policy centers on arguments about tariffs, micro-economic reform, corporate welfare and tax incentives. It is not surprising then that our understanding of industry development is relatively poor. The key point missed by the standard economic models is that industries do not develop in isolation. This paper examines the complex social, political and economic relationships associated with the emergence of the Australian magnesium metal industry. The purpose of the paper is to show that ‘networks’ play an important part in industry development. They enable a company to cope with either technological uncertainty, lack of knowledge, skills or funding. The study illustrates the process of networking as a development strategy for a small company. Finally, it is argued that ‘innovation networks’ could be a means of policy reorientation. This approach recognises how essential it is to involve potential users in industry development. The case study shows the need of an activist industry policy in order to pick industry winners.
The Politics of Waterfront Reform in Australia
Authors: Stratton Simon 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
Waterfront reform represents a crucial arena for micro-economic reform in Australia. In recent months reform has stalled due to an ill conceived campaign by the Howard Government to undermine the labour supply monopoly exercised by the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA). Stevedore companies, themselves enjoying a duopoly, are cooperating with the government to discredit work practices by drawing upon dubious international comparisons regarding waterfront productivity. A propaganda war is being waged to win public opinion over to the government and, in the process, garner support for further deregulation of labour markets and anti-union legislation. Meanwhile goods lie idle in Australian ports. The stevedores and government may well have underestimated the MUA's power. In spite of the frequency of critical media, the union holds some trump cards in the form of its members support for their leaders and, significantly, the International Transport Federation (ITF). The ITF has threatened ship owners with world-wide bans if they use non-union labour in Australian ports. In this troubled industry it appears that the Howard Government dogmatic faith in deregulated labour markets, and crude industrial tactics by some stevedore company managers, will only harm the nation's exporters and actually setback the processes of forging genuine waterfront reform.
Interpreting China's strategic thinking about ASEAN from its response to the regional crisis
Authors: Zhang Jie 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
The word ‘crisis’ appears regularly in dispatches from Asia. As the East Asia financial crisis worsens and economic depression appears likely, especially so given the declining capacity of Japan to stimulate growth, attention shifts toward China's promise to avoid devaluing its currency (RMB). The focus of this article is on China's role in the crisis and in particular how to interpret China's growing power and its impact on neighbour states, especially those in Southeast Asia. I argue that the regional economic crisis provides China with a unique opportunity to accelerate its process of ‘confidence-building’ within the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN). Furthermore, the crisis offers China opportunities to enhance its power vis a vis the United States, Japan and the Southeast Asian region.
A Phoenix Arises
Authors: Fossum John Erik , Robinson P Stuart 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
Students of regional integration in Europe have found it difficult to identify the nature of the European Union (EU). For some, it is the product of states rationally deciding to belong to an inter-governmental organisation to promote their utilitarian goals. For others, it is a putative supranational polity whose development requires the progressive diminution of state sovereignty. The authors argue that it is more fruitful to see the EU as a unique kind of regional ‘institution’. Its endurance depends upon its ability to reflect and instantiate established social ‘practices’ rather than convergent ‘interests’ among member states.