bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of Literacy Programs Balancing Reading and Writing Instruction: A Meta‐Analysis
Authors: Graham Steve , Liu Xinghua , Aitken Angelique , Ng Clarence , Bartlett Brendan , Harris Karen R. , Holzapfel Jennifer 
Published: June 2017

AbstractReading and writing are critical to students’ success in and outside of school. Because they draw on common sources of knowledge and cognitive processes, involve meaning making, and can be used conjointly to accomplish important learning goals, it is often recommended that reading and writing should be taught together. This meta‐analysis tested this proposition by examining experimental intervention studies with preschool through high school students to determine whether literacy programs balancing reading and writing instruction strengthen students’ reading and writing performance. To be included in this review, no more than 60% of instruction could be devoted to either reading or writing. As predicted, these programs improved students’ reading, resulting in statistically significant effects when reading measures were averaged in each study (effect size [ES] = .39) or assessed through measures of reading comprehension (ES= .39), decoding (ES= .53), or reading vocabulary (ES= .35). The programs also statistically enhanced writing when measures were averaged in each study (ES= .37) or assessed via writing quality (ES= .47), writing mechanics (ES= .18), or writing output (ES= .69). These findings demonstrated that literacy programs balancing reading and writing instruction can strengthen reading and writing and that the two skills can be learned together profitably.
Optimal bulking threshold of batch service queues
Authors: Zeng Yun , Xia Cathy Honghui 
Published: June 2017

Abstract
Batch service has a wide application in manufacturing, communication networks, and cloud computing. In batch service queues with limited resources, one critical issue is to properly schedule the service so as to ensure the quality of service. In this paper we consider an M/G[a,b]/1/N batch service queue with bulking threshold a, max service capacity b, and buffer capacity N, where N can be finite or infinite. Through renewal theory, busy period analysis and decomposition techniques, we demonstrate explicitly how the bulking threshold influences the system performance such as the mean waiting time and time-averaged number of loss customers in batch service queues. We then establish a necessary and sufficient condition on the optimal bulking threshold that minimizes the expected waiting time. Enabled by this condition, we propose a simple algorithm which guarantees to find the optimal threshold in polynomial time. The performance of the algorithm is also demonstrated by numerical examples.
Everybody needs sphingolipids, right! Mining for new drug targets in protozoan sphingolipid biosynthesis
Authors: MINA JOHN G. M. , DENNY P. W. 
Published: June 2017

SUMMARYSphingolipids (SLs) are an integral part of all eukaryotic cellular membranes. In addition, they have indispensable functions as signalling molecules controlling a myriad of cellular events. Disruption of either the de novo synthesis or the degradation pathways has been shown to have detrimental effects. The earlier identification of selective inhibitors of fungal SL biosynthesis promised potent broad-spectrum anti-fungal agents, which later encouraged testing some of those agents against protozoan parasites. In this review we focus on the key enzymes of the SL de novo biosynthetic pathway in protozoan parasites of the Apicomplexa and Kinetoplastidae, outlining the divergence and interconnection between host and pathogen metabolism. The druggability of the SL biosynthesis is considered, alongside recent technology advances that will enable the dissection and analyses of this pathway in the parasitic protozoa. The future impact of these advances for the development of new therapeutics for both globally threatening and neglected infectious diseases is potentially profound.
Routine hospital management of self-harm and risk of further self-harm: propensity score analysis using record-based cohort data
Authors: Steeg S. , Emsley R. , Carr M. , Cooper J. , Kapur N. 
Published: June 2017

BackgroundThe care received by people presenting to hospital following self-harm varies and it is unclear how different types of treatment affect risk of further self-harm.MethodObservational cohort data from the Manchester Self-Harm Project, UK, included 16 456 individuals presenting to an Emergency Department with self-harm between 2003 and 2011. Individuals were followed up for 12 months. We also used data from a smaller cohort of individuals presenting to 31 hospitals in England during a 3-month period in 2010/2011, followed up for 6 months. Propensity score (PS) methods were used to address observed confounding. Missing data were imputed using multiple imputation.ResultsFollowing PS stratification, those who received a psychosocial assessment had a lower risk of repeat hospital attendance for self-harm than those who were not assessed [RR 0.87, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.80–0.95]. The risk was reduced most among people less likely to be assessed. Following PS matching, we found no associations between risks of repeat self-harm and admission to a medical bed, referral to outpatient psychiatry or admission to a psychiatric bed. We did not find a relationship between psychosocial assessment and repeat self-harm in the 31 centre cohort.ConclusionsThis study shows the potential value of using novel statistical techniques in large mental health datasets to estimate treatment effects. We found that specialist psychosocial assessment may reduce the risk of repeat self-harm. This type of routine care should be provided for all individuals who present to hospital after self-harm, regardless of perceived risk.
Occult HIV infection in a large sample of health-care users in Lombardy, Italy in 2014–2015: implications for control strategies
Authors: SCUDELLER L. , GENCO F. , BALDANTI F. , COMOLLI G. , ALBONICO G. , PRESTIA M. , MERONI V. 
Published: June 2017

SUMMARYWe estimated the number of people unaware of their human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in our province, Pavia (population 540 000) in Lombardy, Italy, by means of anonymous unlinked testing of 10 044 serum/plasma samples residual from clinical analyses at the outpatient clinic of Policlinico San Matteo in 2014 and 2015. Ethical and legal approval was obtained prior to study start. Samples were irreversibly anonymised, only retaining gender and 5-year age class. Five sample pools were tested for HIV using LIAISON® XL MUREX HIV Ab/Ag (DiaSorin, Saluggia, Italy). If the pool tested positive, individual samples underwent confirmatory tests, Innotest HIV Antigen mAb (Fujirebio Europe, Gent, Belgium) and HIV BLOT 2·2 (MP Diagnostics, Singapore). Among the 10 044 samples processed, eight were confirmed positive (0·08%, 95% confidence interval 0·03–0·16%), all were males and age was >50 in 3 (37·5%). If projected to the entire population of the Pavia province, this would result in approximately 1000 people unaware of their HIV infection, with age older than expected. In Italy, HIV testing is voluntary, universally free-of-charge and (upon request) anonymous. Nevertheless, this study demonstrates that it is suboptimally employed, and that new strategies and population-level actions will be needed to achieve better implementation of HIV testing and HIV control in our province.
Development and evaluation of the Dutch Healthy Diet index 2015
Authors: Looman Moniek , Feskens Edith JM , de Rijk Mariëlle , Meijboom Saskia , Biesbroek Sander , Temme Elisabeth HM , de Vries Jeanne , Geelen Anouk 
Published: June 2017

AbstractObjectiveTo update the Dutch Healthy Diet index, a measure of diet quality, to reflect adherence to the Dutch dietary guidelines 2015 and to evaluate against participants’ characteristics and nutrient intakes with the score based on 24 h recall (24 hR) data and FFQ data.DesignThe Dutch Healthy Diet index 2015 (DHD15-index) consists of fifteen components representing the fifteen food-based Dutch dietary guidelines of 2015. Per component the score ranges between 0 and 10, resulting in a total score between 0 (no adherence) and 150 (complete adherence).SettingWageningen area, the Netherlands, 2011–2013.SubjectsData of 885 men and women, aged 20–70 years, participating in the longitudinal NQplus study, who filled out two 24 hR and one FFQ, were used.ResultsMean (sd) score of the DHD15-index was 68·7 (16·1) for men and 79·4 (16·0) for women. Significant inverse trends were found between the DHD15-index and BMI, smoking, and intakes of energy, total fat and saturated fat. Positive trends were seen across sex-specific quintiles of the DHD15-index score with energy-adjusted micronutrient intakes. Mean DHD15-index score of the FFQ data was 15·5 points higher compared with 24 hR data, with a correlation coefficient of 0·56 between the scores. Observed trends of the DHD15-index based on FFQ with participant characteristics, macronutrient and energy-adjusted micronutrient intakes were similar to those with the DHD15-index based on 24 hR.ConclusionsThe DHD15-index score assesses adherence to the Dutch dietary guidelines 2015 and indicates diet quality. The DHD15-index score can be based on 24 hR data and on FFQ data.
Organic food consumption during pregnancy and its association with health-related characteristics: the KOALA Birth Cohort Study
Authors: Simões-Wüst Ana Paula , Moltó-Puigmartí Carolina , Jansen Eugene HJM , van Dongen Martien CJM , Dagnelie Pieter C , Thijs Carel 
Published: June 2017

AbstractObjectiveTo investigate the associations of organic food consumption with maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, hypertension and diabetes in pregnancy, and several blood biomarkers of pregnant women.DesignProspective cohort study.SettingPregnant women were recruited at midwives’ practices and through channels related to consumption of food from organic origin.SubjectsPregnant women who filled in FFQ and donated a blood sample (n 1339). Participant groups were defined based on the share of consumed organic products; to discriminate between effects of food origin and food patterns, healthy diet indicators were considered in some statistical models.ResultsConsumption of organic food was associated with a more favourable pre-pregnancy BMI and lower prevalence of gestational diabetes. Compared with participants consuming no organic food (reference group), a marker of dairy products intake (pentadecanoic acid) and trans-fatty acids from natural origin (vaccenic and rumenic acids) were higher among participants consuming organic food (organic groups), whereas elaidic acid, a marker of the intake of trans-fatty acids found in industrially hydrogenated fats, was lower. Plasma levels of homocysteine and 25-hydroxyvitamin D were lower in the organic groups than in the reference group. Differences in pentadecanoic acid, vaccenic acid and vitamin D retained statistical significance when correcting for indicators of the healthy diet pattern associated with the consumption of organic food.ConclusionsConsumption of organic food during pregnancy is associated with several health-related characteristics and blood biomarkers. Part of the observed associations is explained by food patterns accompanying the consumption of organic food.
Imaging quasiperiodic electronic states in a synthetic Penrose tiling
Authors: Collins Laura C. , Witte Thomas G. , Silverman Rochelle , Green David B. , Gomes Kenjiro K. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractQuasicrystals possess long-range order but lack the translational symmetry of crystalline solids. In solid state physics, periodicity is one of the fundamental properties that prescribes the electronic band structure in crystals. In the absence of periodicity and the presence of quasicrystalline order, the ways that electronic states change remain a mystery. Scanning tunnelling microscopy and atomic manipulation can be used to assemble a two-dimensional quasicrystalline structure mapped upon the Penrose tiling. Here, carbon monoxide molecules are arranged on the surface of Cu(111) one at a time to form the potential landscape that mimics the ionic potential of atoms in natural materials by constraining the electrons in the two-dimensional surface state of Cu(111). The real-space images reveal the presence of the quasiperiodic order in the electronic wave functions and the Fourier analysis of our results links the energy of the resonant states to the local vertex structure of the quasicrystal.
The gender difference and mortality-to-incidence ratio relate to health care disparities in bladder cancer: National estimates from 33 countries
Authors: Wang Shao-Chuan , Sung Wen-Wei , Kao Yu-Lin , Hsieh Tzuo-Yi , Chen Wen-Jung , Chen Sung-Lang , Chang Horng-Rong 
Published: June 2017

AbstractThe variation in the mortality-to-incidence ratio (MIR) between countries and genders reflects the complex etiology and intervention of bladder cancer. In this study, we investigated the MIR variation between genders and health care disparities among countries. Cancer incidence and mortality were obtained from the GLOBOCAN 2012 database. The ranking and the total expenditure on health of countries were obtained from the World Health Organization. Linear regression was used to estimate the significance between variables. We estimated the role of MIRs from 33 countries. Bladder cancer incidence and mortality rates were higher in more developed regions, Europe, and the Americas. The MIRs were higher in less developed regions. Analysis according to country revealed Germany to have the lowest MIR. High relative MIRs (female MIR/male MIR) for bladder cancer were noted in many developed countries. A correlation between MIR and health care disparities among countries was indicated by a significant association between the World Health Organization ranking and total expenditure on health/GDP with the MIR and relative MIR. Low bladder cancer MIR is prone to be more prevalent in countries with good health care system.
The life-course impact of smoking on hypertension, myocardial infarction and respiratory diseases
Authors: Gao Kaiye , Shi Xin , Wang Wenbin 
Published: June 2017

AbstractThe objective of this study was to examine the impact of smoking on respiratory diseases, hypertension and myocardial infarction, with a particular focus from a life-course perspective. In this study, 28,577 males from a Chinese longitudinal survey were analysed. The effects of smoking on the risk of respiratory diseases, hypertension and myocardial infarction were assessed from a life-course perspective and a current view separately. No significant associations were found between smoking and the risk of incident respiratory diseases, hypertension and myocardial infarction in the group younger than 35. Among study participants aged between 36–55 and 56–80, smoking was positively associated with the risk of incident respiratory diseases, hypertension and myocardial infarction from the life-course perspective, and the risk increased with age. In contrast, the results from a current view showed inverse associations between smoking and the risk of the diseases mentioned above. Our findings highlight that it is essential to quantify the effects of smoking from a life-course perspective in future research and to suggest that smokers quit smoking as soon as possible, regardless of the temporary side effects of quitting.
Brugada Syndrome and Exercise Practice: Current Knowledge, Shortcomings and Open Questions
Authors: Mascia Giuseppe , Arbelo Elena , Hernandez-Ojeda James , Solimene Francesco , Brugada Ramon , Brugada Josep 
Published: June 2017

AbstractSince its recognition as a clinical entity in 1992, the Brugada Syndrome (BrS), a hereditary disease characterized by a typical electrocardiogram (ECG) pattern potentially predisposing to sudden cardiac death (SCD), has attracted the attention of many physicians for its circadian pattern of ventricular arrhythmias (VA), mostly occurring at rest. Exercise may potentially worsen the ECG abnormalities in BrS patients, resulting in higher peak J-point amplitudes during the vasovagal reaction of the recovery period, possibly leading to an increased risk of cardiac events. Moreover, the enhanced vagal tone in athletes could be both a BrS risk factor and an exercise effect. Therefore, the true risk of a BrS patient during exercise is still unclear. This review summarizes current knowledge, shortcomings and open questions on BrS and exercise. The paper, in particular, underlines specific considerations including BrS diagnostic criteria and differential diagnosis in athletes, the genetic basis, the autonomic imbalance during exercise practice and the recommendations for athletic participation in this patient group.
The space for strategic manoeuvring in adjudicating a freedom of speech case in the Netherlands
Authors: Jansen Henrike 
Published: June 2017

Abstract
In this article it is shown that the institutional preconditions of the activity type adjudicating a freedom of speech case leave much room for strategic manoeuvring with topical selection. To this end, an analysis is presented of the argumentation of the District Court in a case against the Dutch anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders. In order to show the space for manoeuvring, this argumentation, resulting in acquittal, is compared with the argumentation put forward by the Court of Appeal, which had ordered, after the Public Prosecution Service’s refusal to do so, that Wilders be prosecuted. The analysis shows that the District Court made ample use of the space for manoeuvring provided at the normative level concerning the interpretation of legal rules and case law, and the space provided at the factual level of classifying the contested facts in light of the previously identified meaning of a rule.
Linguistic landscaping and the assertion of twenty-first century Māori identity
Authors: Johnson Diane 
Published: June 2017

Abstract
The Base, one of New Zealand’s largest retail and commercial centres, is situated approximately 7 km north-west of the central business district of Hamilton, New Zealand’s fourth largest city. It is built on a block of land which was requisitioned by the New Zealand government prior to World War II and used as an Air Force Base during the war. The land was returned to the Waikato-Tainui Māori tribal confederation in 1995 as part of a package of reparations relating to the Crown’s mistreatment of the tribe, including its misappropriation of tribal lands. The research reported here, located theoretically within the domain of critical discourse theory, suggests that the semiotoscape of The Base, including, in particular, its linguistic landscape, plays a role in the formation and assertion of contemporary Māori indigenous identity.
Variation and change in Norwegianwh-questions
Authors: Westergaard Marit , Vangsnes Øystein A. , Lohndal Terje 
Published: June 2017

AbstractIn this paper, we consider variation in Verb Second (V2) word order inwh-questions across Norwegian dialects by investigating data from the Nordic Syntax Database (NSD), which consists of acceptability judgments collected at more than 100 locations in Norway. We trace the geographical distribution of the two main variables: phrasal vs. monosyllabicwh-elements (the latter argued to be heads) and subject vs. non-subject questions. In subject questions, non-V2 is realized by inserting the complementizersomin second position instead of the verb. We also discuss the connection between non-V2 and the possibility of inserting the complementizersomunder extraction of awh-subject from an embedded clause, i.e. inthat-trace contexts. Based on synchronic data, we propose a diachronic account of the geographical distribution and argue that the development from V2 to non-V2 has started in subject questions, thus allowing us to relate the loss of the V2 requirement to changes in the properties of the complementizersom.
How bare are bare quantifiers?
Authors: Garzonio Jacopo , Poletto Cecilia 
Published: June 2017

AbstractIn this article we analyze the internal structure of bare universal and negative quantifiers in Italian varieties, taking into consideration both synchronic and diachronic variation. It is proposed that bare quantifiers are not standard QPs with a null DP restrictor, but deficient items where the Q-portion is paired with a classifier expressing the [+/− human]-feature, more specifically a special type of light noun. Items of this type are overtly realized in languages like English and in some Italian varieties. The overt realization of these items appears to be related to the surface position of the QP, as is crucially shown by some varieties that allow both variants. The paper also discusses some cases where these classifiers are still lexically ambiguous between a full noun and a light noun.
Effects of Danger, Usefulness, and Body-Object Interaction in picture naming
Authors: Van Havermaet Lisa R. , Wurm Lee H. 
Published: June 2017

Abstract
Several previous studies have shown that the time-course of word recognition is determined in part by an interaction between connotations of Danger and Usefulness. A small, mostly separate literature has investigated the role of Body-Object Interaction (BOI) in lexical processing. BOI is defined as the ease with which one can interact with an object. To date the lexical decision study of Van Havermaet and Wurm (2014) is the only study to include all three of these constructs. Stimuli in the current study were black-and-white line drawings corresponding to the common nouns used by Van Havermaet and Wurm (2014). Participants viewed the stimuli one at a time in a random order and had to name them as quickly as possible. Naming times revealed a significant three-way interaction between Danger, Usefulness, and BOI similar to that found for visual lexical decision: The familiar Danger x Usefulness interaction, observed in many previous studies, was observed only for items relatively lower on BOI. The interaction between semantic and embodied processing variables is not restricted to purely linguistic stimuli.
The influence of grammatical gender and suffix transparency in processing Italian written nouns
Authors: De Martino Maria , Bracco Giulia , Postiglione Francesca , Laudanna Alessandro 
Published: June 2017

Abstract
In some languages the grammatical gender of nouns can be probabilistically detected using formal cues; for instance, in Italian, the majority of feminine nouns end in ‘-a’(e.g., casa, ‘home’) and the majority of masculine nouns end in ‘-o’ (e.g., albero, ‘tree’). It has been hypothesized that the match/mismatch between the formal information of the suffix and the abstract grammatical information on gender affects lexical processing of nouns. An alternative account is that a default option available for gender poses constraints to mechanisms of lexical access for words exhibiting gender markers in the surface form.
In the present study, nouns with highly predictive gender suffix (regular), nouns whose gender cannot be recovered from surface form (opaque) and nouns with misleading gender suffix (irregular) were compared in two reading aloud and two lexical decision experiments. Results confirmed that regular nouns are processed better than irregular nouns. No difference was detected between masculine and feminine opaque nouns.
The results allow the conclusion that a formal gender feature (the gender orthographic regularity) is more likely to affect lexical processing of bare nouns than the activation of a gender default option.