bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Long‐Term Follow‐Up of Children with Heart Block Born from Mothers with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Retrospective Study from the Database Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease in University Hospitals Leuven
Authors: DE CALUWÉ EVA , VAN DE BRUAENE ALEXANDER , WILLEMS RIK , TROOST ELS , GEWILLIG MARC , REGA FILIP , BUDTS WERNER 
Published: June 2016

BackgroundChildren from mothers with systemic lupus erythematosus are frequently born with congenital heart block. This study aimed at evaluating long‐term outcome because long‐term data are scarce.MethodsIn the database of pediatric and congenital heart disease (University Hospitals Leuven), 19 children from systemic lupus erythematosus mothers and who were born with or developed atrioventricular block were identified. All records were reviewed for disease course and outcome.ResultsMedian follow‐up time was 7 years (interquartile ranges [IQR] 4.5–13 years). One child had no heart block at birth and developed only a first‐degree block during follow‐up. One had a second‐degree heart block and developed a complete heart block. Seventeen patients (89%) were born with a complete heart block. Seventeen patients (89%) needed a definitive pacemaker. In all, epicardial leads were used at first implantation. Eighty‐two percent received their pacemaker in the first year of life. The first battery had a median lifetime of 5 years (IQR 3.5–5 years), the second 6 years (IQR 4.5–6.3 years), and the third 5 years (IQR 5–6 years). Note that 47% of patients needed a lead replacement due to lead problems. Only one pericardial tamponade after pacemaker implantation. No device or lead infections occurred. The left ventricular systolic function at latest follow‐up was normal for all. No patients died.ConclusionIn children with heart block born from systemic lupus erythematosus mothers, an early need for pacemaker implantation was documented. The overall battery life was acceptable, but there was a high need for lead replacement. Complication rate was low. Late outcome was good.
Asymptomatic C‐reactive protein elevation in neutropenic children
Authors: Sugiura Shiro , Ito Tsuyoshi , Koyama Norihisa , Sasaki Noriko , Ikai Hiroshi , Imanaka Yuichi 
Published: June 2016

AbstractBackgroundFebrile neutropenia (FN) can be a life‐threatening complication in children with malignancies. There is no standardized preventive treatment for childhood FN, and information on C‐reactive protein (CRP) elevation in afebrile patients with neutropenia (CEAN) is limited. The aim of this study was therefore to identify the association between CEAN and FN onset, and evaluate the efficacy of broad‐spectrum antibiotics for FN prophylaxis.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 22 consecutive pediatric patients with hematologic malignancies (acute myeloid leukemia, n = 2; acute lymphoid leukemia, n = 20) admitted to the present institution between 2006 and 2011. CEAN was defined as CRP elevation ≥0.05 mg/dL between the two most recent blood tests with no fever. We identified CEAN before FN onset, and assessed the efficacy of broad‐spectrum antibiotics for FN prevention in CEAN. FN incidence within 48 h after CEAN detection was compared between prophylactic and non‐prophylactic episodes.ResultsCEAN was observed before FN onset in 20 (55.6%), of 36 FN episodes. Among the 95 analyzed CEAN episodes, broad‐spectrum antibiotics had been used for 30 episodes (prophylactic episodes), whereas these antibiotics had not been used in 60 episodes (non‐prophylactic episodes). Prophylactic episodes had a significantly lower FN incidence than non‐prophylactic episodes (6.7% and 31%, respectively, P < 0.01) within 48 h after CEAN detection. Bacteremia was observed in three non‐prophylactic episodes.ConclusionPatients with CEAN are at higher risk of FN, and physicians may consider the use of broad‐spectrum antibiotics to prevent FN development.
The erosion threshold for a sustainable agriculture in cultures of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) under conventional tillage and no‐tillage in Northern Nicaragua
Authors: Blanco Sepúlveda R. , Aguilar Carrillo A. 
Published: June 2016

AbstractSoil erosion by water is one of the main environmental problems of the tropical mountains of Central America. The fragility of these areas, the significant degree of human population pressure exerted and changes in traditional farming systems all contribute to the current state of degradation. In this study, we compare two types of agricultural management (conventional tillage with traditional ploughing and no‐tillage with a digging stick) and analyse the influence of land slope, the management of vegetation cover, and various soil features and properties related to erosion in fields dedicated to the cultivation of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) to determine the erosion thresholds. The study area was located in the hills around El Cuá, in northern Nicaragua. The results showed the system of no‐tillage (NT) to be more effective at controlling erosion than conventional tillage (CT), such that 28.7% less land was affected by erosion. Erosion in plots under CT did not present any statistically significant relationship with the factors analysed. Conversely, the erosion in the plots under NT was significantly related to the coverage of vegetation residues, and we calculated an erosion threshold of 40% of the level of vegetation coverage, which significantly reduces erosion.
Tariff Escalation and Vertical Market Structure
Authors: Hwang Hong , Mai Chao‐Cheng , Wu Shih‐Jye 
Published: June 2016

AbstractMany empirical studies have shown that most countries in the world reveal a specific form of tariff structure, referred to as tariff escalation, which is defined as tariff rates for final products being higher than those for intermediate goods, and the latter are higher than those for raw materials. However, trade theorists have paid scant attention to the causes of tariff escalation. To fill this gap, we set up a vertically related market model with n stages of successive monopolies. We find that a tariff on an imported good can be used to extract not only the profit of the foreign monopolist supplying this good, but also the rents acquired by all the foreign upstream monopolists through its effects on the prices of the upstream intermediate goods. Thus, as the number of production stages in the foreign country increases, the amount of rent captured by the foreign upstream producers rises and a higher tariff rate is therefore needed to extract the rent. This provides a theoretical explanation to the cause of tariff escalation.
Prospective Randomized Clinical and Radiographic Evaluation of a Novel Bioabsorbable Biocomposite Tibial Tuberosity Advancement Cage Implant
Authors: Barnhart Matthew D. , Watson Adam T. , Thatcher Lawrence G. , Wotton Harry , Naber Steven J. 
Published: June 2016

ObjectiveTo evaluate the suitability of a novel bioabsorbable biocomposite cage (BC) implant for use in tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA) surgery in dogs with cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL) disease and to compare radiographic osteotomy healing scores and complications between groups that received either a BC or stainless steel cage (SSC).Study DesignProspective randomized clinical study.AnimalsDogs with unilateral CrCL rupture (n=56).MethodsTTA was performed in 60 consecutive dogs using either a BC (30 dogs) or SSC (30 dogs). Patient parameters, 6 week and 6 month postoperative radiographic osteotomy healing scores, time elapsed to postoperative rechecks, and complications were compared between groups. Osteotomy healing was graded using a 5‐point (0–4) scale. Data were analyzed using Wilcoxon Rank Sum tests and χ2 tests with significance set at P<.05.ResultsFifty‐six dogs (30 BC, 26 SSC) had complete medical and radiographic records at 6 months for inclusion in data analysis. Three complications occurred in the BC group (1 major, 2 minor) and 2 occurred in the SSC group (2 minor). There was no statistical difference in patient parameters, 6 week healing scores, or complications between BC and SSC groups. Healing scores at 6 months were significantly higher in the BC group (3.3 ± 0.52) compared to the SSC group (2.9 ± 0.69; P=.04).ConclusionBased on improved BC osteotomy healing scores 6 months after surgery with no significant differences in complications compared to SSC, BC TTA cages are a viable alternative to SSC.
Cytokine and Growth Factor Concentrations in Canine Autologous Conditioned Serum
Authors: Sawyere Dominique M. , Lanz Otto I. , Dahlgren Linda A. , Barry Sabrina L. , Nichols Anne C. , Werre Stephen R. 
Published: June 2016

ObjectiveTo compare cytokine and growth factor concentrations in canine autologous conditioned serum (ACS) to canine plasma.Study DesignExperimental in vivo study.AnimalsClient‐owned, adult dogs (n=22).MethodsBlood collected from 16 medium to large breed dogs was used to produce ACS (Orthokine® vet irap 10 syringes) and citrated plasma (control). Canine‐specific ELISA assays were run per manufacturers’ instructions for interleukin (IL)‐10, IL‐4, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, insulin‐like growth factor (IGF)‐1, fibroblast growth factor (FGF)‐2, transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β1, IL‐1β, and interleukin‐1 receptor antagonist (IL‐1ra). Serum, in addition to plasma and ACS, was collected from an additional 6 dogs for TNF‐α, IL‐1β, and IL‐1ra analysis (total of 22 dogs). Data were analyzed for differences in each cytokine concentration using pairwise comparisons between ACS, plasma, and serum using Wilcoxon signed‐rank tests. Significance was set at P<.05.ResultsThere was a large variability in growth factor and cytokine concentrations in ACS and plasma for individual dogs. There were no significant differences in IL‐10, TNF‐α, IGF‐1, FGF‐2, and TGF‐β1 concentrations between ACS, plasma, and serum. The IL‐1β concentrations in ACS (median, range 46.3 pg/mL, 0–828.8) and IL‐4 (0.0 pg/mL, 0–244.1) were significantly higher than plasma (36.6 pg/mL, 0‐657.1 and 0.0 pg/mL, 0–0, respectively). The IL‐1ra concentration in ACS (median, range 3,458.9 pg/mL, 1,243.1–12,089.0) was significantly higher than plasma (692.3 pg/mL, 422.5–1,475.6). The IL‐1ra:IL‐1β ratio in ACS was significantly higher than plasma (39.9 vs. 7.2).ConclusionIL‐1ra concentrations in canine ACS were comparable to those published for people and horses and pro‐inflammatory cytokines remained low in canine ACS.
Turnover of Village Chickens Undermines Vaccine Coverage to Control HPAI H5N1
Authors: Villanueva‐Cabezas J. P. , Campbell P. T. , McCaw J. M. , Durr P. A. , McVernon J. 
Published: June 2016

SummaryHighly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) subtype H5N1 remains an enzootic disease of village chickens in Indonesia, posing ongoing risk at the animal–human interface. Previous modelling showed that the fast natural turnover of chicken populations might undermine herd immunity after vaccination, although actual details of how this effect applies to Indonesia's village chicken population have not been determined. We explored the turnover effect in Indonesia's scavenging and mixed populations of village chickens using an extended Leslie matrix model parameterized with data collected from village chicken flocks in Java region, Indonesia. Population dynamics were simulated for 208 weeks; the turnover effect was simulated for 16 weeks after vaccination in two ‘best case’ scenarios, where the whole population (scenario 1), or birds aged over 14 days (scenario 2), were vaccinated. We found that the scavenging and mixed populations have different productive traits. When steady‐state dynamics are reached, both populations are dominated by females (54.5%), and ‘growers’ and ‘chicks’ represent the most abundant age stages with 39% and 38% in the scavenging, and 60% and 25% in the mixed population, respectively. Simulations showed that the population turnover might reduce the herd immunity below the critical threshold that prevents the re‐emergence of HPAI H5N1 4–8 weeks (scavenging) and 6–9 weeks (mixed population) after vaccination in scenario 1, and 2–6 weeks (scavenging) and 4–7 weeks (mixed population) after vaccination in scenario 2. In conclusion, we found that Indonesia's village chicken population does not have a unique underlying population dynamic and therefore, different turnover effects on herd immunity may be expected after vaccination; nonetheless, our simulations carried out in best case scenarios highlight the limitations of current vaccine technologies to control HPAI H5N1. This suggests that the improvements and complementary strategies are necessary and must be explored.
Evaluation of the Control of West Nile Virus in Ontario: Did Risk Patterns Change from 2005 to 2012?
Authors: Thompson M. , Berke O. 
Published: June 2016

SummaryThe goal of this study was to evaluate and compare the risk distribution of human cases of West Nile virus (WNV) disease in Ontario in 2005 to 2012. The objectives were to: map the risk distribution of WNV in 2005 and 2012, identify clusters of human WNV disease and determine whether the clusters are significantly different between the years 2005 and 2012. West Nile virus surveillance data were used to calculate empirical Bayesian smoothed estimates of disease incidence in southern Ontario for 2005 and 2012. Choropleth maps were generated to visualize the spatial risk distribution, and the spatial scan test was performed to identify clusters of disease. Following identification of clusters for 2005 and 2012, a Poisson model was applied to the 2012 human WNV incidence adjusted for the smoothed human WNV incidence rate from 2005 and the scan test was repeated. Two significant clusters were identified in both the year 2005 and 2012. In 2005, the primary cluster was located in the Windsor‐Essex and Chatham‐Kent public health units (PHUs). For 2012, the primary cluster was identified in the Golden Horseshoe area. A cluster analysis for 2012 adjusted for those identified in 2005 resulted in one significant cluster in the Windsor‐Essex PHU. In 2012, the Windsor‐Essex PHU remained as a high‐risk area for human WNV disease when compared with the rest of southern Ontario. Although overall risk may change from year to year, public health programming should be employed to decrease the relative risk of WNV in this area.
Potential Pathogens Reported in Species of the Family Viverridae and Their Implications for Human and Animal Health
Authors: Wicker L. V. , Canfield P. J. , Higgins D. P. 
Published: June 2016

SummaryThe Viverridae is a family of nocturnal carnivores including civets, genets and African linsangs. While a list of known organisms isolated from a species is an essential tool for population management, this review represents the first attempt to collate published reports of organisms isolated from viverrids. A wide range of organisms, including 11 viruses, eight bacterial species, one internal arthropod species, representatives from eight genera of protozoan, 21 genera of nematode, seven genera of cestode, eight genera of trematode and six genera of external arthropod (mites, ticks and louse), have been reported in literature spanning over a century of research. Many of these are capable of infecting multiple hosts, including humans. This is of concern given the anthropogenic factors that bring humans and domestic species into close contact with viverrids, facilitating transmission and spillover of organisms between groups. These factors include trade in viverrids for human consumption, captive management in zoos, rescue centres or on commercial breeding farms, and the increasing overlap of free‐ranging viverrid distribution and human settlement.
ROBUST HOVERING CONTROLLER FOR UNCERTAIN MULTIROTOR MICRO AERIAL VEHICLES (MAVS) IN GPS-DENIED ENVIRONMENTS: IMAGE-BASED
Authors: Derawi Dafizal , Salim Nurul Dayana , Zamzuri Hairi , Abdul Rahman Mohd Azizi , Nonami Kenzo 
Published: June 2016

This paper proposes an image-based robust hovering controller for multirotor micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) in GPS-denied environments. The proposed controller is robust against the effects of multiple uncertainties in angular dynamics of vehicle which contain external disturbances, nonlinear dynamics, coupling, and parametric uncertainties. Based on visual features extracted from the image, the proposed controller is capable of controlling the pose (position and orientation) of the multirotor relative to the fixed-target. The proposed controller scheme consists of two parts: a spherical image-based visual servoing (IBVS) and a robust flight controller for velocity and attitude control loops. A robust compensator based on a second order robust filter is utilized in the robust flight control design to improve the robustness of the multirotor when subject to multiple uncertainties. Compared to other methods, the proposed method is robust against multiple uncertainties and does not need to keep the features in the field of view. The simulation results prove the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed controller.
COMPARISON OF PRODUCT QUALITY ESTIMATION OF PROPYLENE POLYMERIZATION IN LOOP REACTORS USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK MODELS
Authors: Jumari Nur Fazirah , Mohd-Yusof Khairiyah 
Published: June 2016

One of the major challenges in polymerization industry is the lack of online instruments to measure polymer end-used properties such as xylene soluble, particle size distribution and melt flow index (MFI). As an alternative to the online instruments and conventional laboratory tests, these properties can be estimated using model based-soft sensor. This paper presents models for soft sensors to measure MFI in industrial polypropylene loop reactors using artificial neural network (ANN) model, serial hybrid neural network (HNN) model and stacked neural network (SNN) model. All models were developed and simulated in MATLAB. The simulation results of the MFI based on the ANN, HNN, and SNN models were compared and analyzed. The MFI was divided into three grades, which are A (10-12g/10 min), B (12-14g/10 min) and C (14-16 g/10 min). The HNN model is the best model in predicting all range of MFI with the lowest root mean square error (RMSE) value, 0.010848, followed by ANN model (RMSE=0.019366) and SNN model (RMSE=0.059132). The SNN model is the best model when tested with each grade of the MFI. It has shown lowest RMSE value for each type of MFI (0.012072 for MFI A, 0.017527 for MFI B and 0.015287 for MFI C), compared to HNN model (0.014916 for MFI A, 0.041402 for MFI B and 0.046437 for MFI C) and ANN model (0.015156 for MFI A, 0.076682 for MFI B, and 0.037862 for MFI C).
FAST AND ROBUST STEREO MATCHING ALGORITHM FOR OBSTACLE DETECTION IN ROBOTIC VISION SYSTEMS
Authors: Samadi Masoud , Othman Mohd Fauzi , Talib Muhamad Farihin 
Published: June 2016

In this paper, we propose a new area-based stereo matching method by improving the classical Census transform. It is a difficult task to match the corresponding points in two images taken by stereo cameras, mostly under variant illumination and non-ideal conditions. The classic Census nonparametric transform offers some improvements in the accuracy of disparity map in these conditions but it also has some disadvantages. Because of the complexity of the algorithm, the performance is not suitable for real-time robotic systems. In order to solve this problem, this paper presents the differential transform using Maximum intensity differences of the pixel placed in the center of a defined window and the pixel in the neighborhood to reduce complexity and obtain better performance compared to the Census transform. Experimental results show that the proposed method, achieves better efficiency in terms of speed and memory consumption. Moreover, we have added a new feature to widen the depth detection range. With the help of the proposed method, robots can detect obstacles between 25cm to 400cm from robot cameras. The result shows that the method has the ability to work in a wide variety of lighting conditions, while the stereo matching performs the depth detection computation with speed of 30FPS.
School Day Energy Expenditure in Elementary School Children
Authors: Huddleston Holly R. , Barry Vaughn , Caputo Jennifer L. 
Published: June 2016

Background:The purpose was to characterize energy expenditure (EE) during academic subjects and activities during an elementary school day.Methods:Children in 2nd to 4th grades (N = 33) wore the SenseWear Armband (SWA) for 5 school days to measure EE. Teachers’ logs were compared with SWA data to extract information about EE throughout the day. Energy expenditure was also compared among grades.Results:After controlling for body mass, grade level was not a significant predictor of average daily caloric expenditure, F (2, 17.58) = .29, P = .75, ω2 = .05. When comparing activities throughout the day, relative rates of EE differed significantly, Wilks’ F (7, 23) = 52.2, P = .00, ηp2 = .94, with PE and recess having higher EE. When academic subjects were compared (math, science, language arts), relative rate of EE was also significantly different, Wilks’ F (2, 30) = 4.31, P = .02, ηp2 = .22. For the full sample, relative rate EE was higher in science than in language arts.Conclusions:The school day provides opportunity for EE for children. These data support the potential benefit of active instruction in language arts as a method to increase school day EE.
CCL19 as a Chemokine Risk Factor for Posttreatment Lyme Disease Syndrome: a Prospective Clinical Cohort Study
Authors: Aucott John N. , Soloski Mark J. , Rebman Alison W. , Crowder Lauren A. , Lahey Lauren J. , Wagner Catriona A. , Robinson William H. , Bechtold Kathleen T. 
Published: June 2016

ABSTRACT
Approximately 10% to 20% of patients optimally treated for early Lyme disease develop persistent symptoms of unknown pathophysiology termed posttreatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS). The objective of this study was to investigate associations between PTLDS and immune mediator levels during acute illness and at several time points following treatment. Seventy-six participants with physician-documented erythema migrans and 26 healthy controls with no history of Lyme disease were enrolled. Sixty-four cytokines, chemokines, and inflammatory markers were measured at each visit for a total of 6 visits over 1 year. An operationalized definition of PTLDS incorporating symptoms and functional impact was applied at 6 months and 1 year following treatment completion, and clinical outcome groups were defined as the return-to-health, symptoms-only, and PTLDS groups. Significance analysis of microarrays identified 7 of the 64 immune mediators to be differentially regulated by group. Generalized logit regressions controlling for potential confounders identified posttreatment levels of the T-cell chemokine CCL19 to be independently associated with clinical outcome group. Receiver operating characteristic analysis identified a CCL19 cutoff of >111.67 pg/ml at 1 month following treatment completion to be 82% sensitive and 83% specific for later PTLDS. We speculate that persistently elevated CCL19 levels among participants with PTLDS may reflect ongoing, immune-driven reactions at sites distal to secondary lymphoid tissue. Our findings suggest the relevance of CCL19 both during acute infection and as an immunologic risk factor for PTLDS during the posttreatment phase. Identification of a potential biomarker predictor for PTLDS provides the opportunity to better understand its pathophysiology and to develop early interventions in the context of appropriate and specific clinical information.
Whole-Genome Sequencing Elucidates Epidemiology of Nosocomial Clusters of Acinetobacter baumannii
Authors: Willems Stefanie , Kampmeier Stefanie , Bletz Stefan , Kossow Annelene , Köck Robin , Kipp Frank , Mellmann Alexander 
Published: June 2016

ABSTRACT

We characterized two epidemiologically similar
Acinetobacter baumannii
clusters from two separate intensive care units (ICU) using core genome multilocus sequence typing. Clonal spread was confirmed in ICU-1 (12 of 14 isolates shared genotypes); in ICU-2, all genotypes (13 isolates) were diverse, thus excluding transmissions and enabling adequate infection control measures.