bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Why do Firms Purchase Used Assets?
Authors: Baxamusa Mufaddal , Javaid Saima , Harery Khadija 
Published: April 2016

AbstractWe hypothesize that the increase in expectation about future technological change decreases the likelihood for the purchase of new assets because the change may make the new assets obsolete. To test this hypothesis, we use patents and citations data to represent the expected technological change. We find that the purchases of and the amount spent on used assets increase with the expectation of technological change, while time to completion of the purchase and the number of bids decrease with the increase in expectations about technological change. We exploit industry deregulations to establish identification. In contrast to the literature, we find no empirical support for financial constraint as a reason for purchasing used assets.
University of Texas Roundtable on Financing and Managing Energy Investments in a Low‐Price Environment
Authors: Adkins Marshall , Beard Greg , Clark Bernard “Buddy” , Shepherd Gene , Vaughan George , Titman Sheridan 
Published: April 2016

During the past 18 months, the U.S. oil industry has seen oil prices plunge from well over $100 a barrel to under $30. In a session that was part of a recent Private Equity Conference at the University of Texas in Austin, the CEO of a small independent producer and a representative of a large global oil and gas company discussed the challenges of financing and operating energy companies in today's low‐price environment with the director of energy research at a brokerage firm, the senior partner responsible for the natural resource investments of a well‐known private equity firm, and the head of the oil and gas restructuring practice of a national law firm.The panelists appeared to reach a consensus on at least the following three arguments:
Although the causes of the oil price crash of 2014–2015 are often identified as the weakness of global (and particularly Chinese) demand, and the unwillingness of OPEC nations to cut production in the face of the slowdown, the more fundamental cause has been the dramatic increase in the productivity of the U.S. oil and gas industry and the doubling of U.S. oil output since 2008 attributable to the new shale gas technology. But if large price drops are the expected consequence of such technological change and productivity gains, most of the panelists also believe that the current supply‐demand imbalance will disappear in the next few years and prices will return to a level at which efficient “marginal” U.S. producers earn acceptable returns—a level the collective best guess put at around $60–65 a barrel.
The greatest financial opportunity involves the purchase of the debt—some of which now trades for as little as 20% of face value—of highly leveraged and distressed U.S. “E&P” companies, possibly (though not necessarily) with the aim of gaining control of the company. But if such price discounts represent investment opportunities for private equity and other distressed investors, they also present opportunities for the companies themselves find a way to increase their own values by either renegotiating or finding a way to buy back their discounted debt.
The industry has collectively failed to do a good job of hedging its oil price risk, which has proved especially destructive for those companies operating with significant financial leverage. For those companies that have hedged, the typical hedges have extended only 12–18 months forward, thereby failing to provide protection against exposures created by oil reserve lives (on which debt financings are often premised) that typically run as long as 10–20 years.
Joy and happiness: a simultaneous and evolutionary concept analysis
Authors: Cottrell Laura 
Published: April 2016

AbstractAimTo report a simultaneous and evolutionary analysis of the concepts of joy and long‐term happiness.BackgroundJoy and happiness are underrepresented in the nursing literature, though negative concepts are well represented. When mentioned in the literature, neither joy nor happiness is adequately defined, explained, or clearly understood. To promote further investigation of these concepts in nursing and to explore their relationship with health and healing, conceptual clarity is an essential first step.DesignConcept analysis.Data sourcesThe following databases were searched, without time restrictions, for articles in English: Academic Search Complete, Anthropology Plus; ATLA Religious Database with ATLASerials; Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL); Education Research Complete; Humanities International Complete; Psych EXTRA; and SocINDEX with Full Text. The final sample size consists of 61 articles and one book, published between 1978–2014.MethodAn adapted combination of Rodgers' Evolutionary Model and Haase et al.'s Simultaneous Concept Analysis (SCA) method.ResultsThough both are positive concepts, joy and happiness have significant differences. Attributes of joy describe a spontaneous, sudden and transient concept associated with connection, awareness, and freedom. Attributes of happiness describe a pursued, long‐lasting, stable mental state associated with virtue and self‐control.ConclusionFurther exploration of joy and happiness is necessary to ascertain their relationship with health and their value to nursing practice and theory development. Nurses are encouraged to consider the value of positive concepts to all areas of nursing.
Cost‐effectiveness of a nurse practitioner‐family physician model of care in a nursing home: controlled before and after study
Authors: Lacny Sarah , Zarrabi Mahmood , Martin‐Misener Ruth , Donald Faith , Sketris Ingrid , Murphy Andrea L. , DiCenso Alba , Marshall Deborah A. 
Published: April 2016

AbstractAimsTo examine the cost‐effectiveness of a nurse practitioner‐family physician model of care compared with family physician‐only care in a Canadian nursing home.BackgroundAs demand for long‐term care increases, alternative care models including nurse practitioners are being explored.DesignCost‐effectiveness analysis using a controlled before‐after design.MethodsThe study included an 18‐month ‘before’ period (2005–2006) and a 21‐month ‘after’ time period (2007–2009). Data were abstracted from charts from 2008–2010. We calculated incremental cost‐effectiveness ratios comparing the intervention (nurse practitioner‐family physician model;n = 45) to internal (n = 65), external (n = 70) and combined internal/external family physician‐only control groups, measured as the change in healthcare costs divided by the change in emergency department transfers/person‐month. We assessed joint uncertainty around costs and effects using non‐parametric bootstrapping and cost‐effectiveness acceptability curves.ResultsPoint estimates of the incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio demonstrated the nurse practitioner‐family physician model dominated the internal and combined control groups (i.e. was associated with smaller increases in costs and emergency department transfers/person‐month). Compared with the external control, the intervention resulted in a smaller increase in costs and larger increase in emergency department transfers. Using a willingness‐to‐pay threshold of $1000CAD/emergency department transfer, the probability the intervention was cost‐effective compared with the internal, external and combined control groups was 26%, 21% and 25%.ConclusionDue to uncertainty around the distribution of costs and effects, we were unable to make a definitive conclusion regarding the cost‐effectiveness of the nurse practitioner‐family physician model; however, these results suggest benefits that could be confirmed in a larger study.
Accuracy of computed tomographic angiography in the diagnosis of patients with inferior vena cava partial obstruction in Budd–Chiari syndrome
Authors: Liu Shi‐Yi , Xiao Ping , Cao Hui‐Cun , Jiang Hao‐Sheng , Li Tian‐Xiao 
Published: April 2016

AbstractBackground and AimThe diagnosis of the partially obstructed inferior vena cava (IVC) in Budd–Chiari syndrome (BCS) patients has received little attention. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of computed tomographic angiography (CTA) for patients with BCS and a partially obstructed IVC.MethodsA total of 329 patients with BCS and an obstructed IVC were endovascularly treated with balloon dilation and/or stent placement. All patients underwent a CTA examination prior to endovascular treatment, and the data were retrospectively reviewed. The presence of a round, oval, irregular shape or jet sign low‐density area without enhancement within the enhanced proximal IVC was considered a sign of a partially obstructed IVC. Digital subtraction angiography was used as the gold standard.ResultsThe results from the digital subtraction angiography revealed a partially obstructed IVC in 108 BCS patients and a complete obstruction in 221 patients. The CTA discovered a partially obstructed IVC in 99 patients and a completely obstructed IVC in 230 patients. From the CTA results, 15 were false negatives, and six were false positives. The patient‐based evaluation yielded an accuracy of 93.6%, a sensitivity of 86.1%, specificity of 97.3%, positive predictive value of 93.9%, and negative predictive value of 93.5% for the detection of BCS patients with a partial IVC obstruction.ConclusionsComputed tomographic angiography offered a high diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity in BCS patients with a partially obstructed IVC. The low‐density area within the enhanced proximal IVC above the membrane in artery phase can be considered a reliable indicator of a stenotic IVC in BCS patients.
Cost‐effectiveness analysis of antiviral therapy in patients with advanced hepatitis B virus‐related hepatocellular carcinoma treated with sorafenib
Authors: Zhang Pengfei , Yang Yu , Wen Feng , Wheeler John , Fu Ping , Li Qiu 
Published: April 2016

AbstractBackground and AimAntiviral therapy has been demonstrated to significantly improve the survival in patients with advanced hepatitis B virus (HBV)‐related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of the study was to investigate the cost‐effectiveness of antiviral therapy in patients with advanced HBV‐related HCC treated with sorafenib.MethodsTo conduct the analysis, a Markov model comprising three health states (progression‐free survival, progressive disease, and death) was created. The efficacy data were derived from medical records. Cost data were collected based on the Chinese national drug prices. Utility data came from the previously published studies. One‐way sensitivity analyses as well as probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to explore model uncertainties.ResultsIn the base‐case analysis, addition of antiviral therapy to sorafenib generated an effectiveness of 0.68 quality‐adjusted life years (QALYs) at a cost of $25 026.04, while sorafenib monotherapy gained an effectiveness of 0.42 QALYs at a cost of $20 249.64. The incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio (ICER) was $18 370.77/QALY for antiviral therapy group versus non‐antiviral therapy group. On the other hand, the ICER between the two groups in patients with high or low HBV‐DNA load, with or without cirrhosis, normal or elevated alanine aminotransferase/aspartate aminotransferase were $16 613.97/QALY, $19 774.16/QALY, $14 587.66/QALY, $19 873.84/QALY, $17 947.07/QALY, and $18 785.58/QALY, respectively.ConclusionsBased on the cost‐effectiveness threshold ($20 301.00/QALY in China), addition of antiviral therapy to sorafenib is considered to be a cost‐effective option compared with sorafenib monotherapy in patients with advanced HBV‐related HCC in China from the patient's perspective.
Low‐dose intensive insulin therapy in patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome accompanied by Left Ventricular Failure: audit of two UK hospitals
Authors: Manning Nicola , Albarran John W 
Published: April 2016

Aims and ObjectivesTo determine whether a low‐dose intravenous insulin regimen reduces blood glucose levels at a timely rate and associated side effects among patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome and Left Ventricular Failure.BackgroundInduced hypoglycaemia and the associated risks have questioned the benefits of intensive insulin therapy in patients presenting with raised blood glucose levels and Acute Coronary Syndromes. Local audit data identified that patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome and Left Ventricular Failure experienced more hypoglycaemic episodes than those with Acute Coronary Syndrome alone. Consequently, a new regimen of low‐dose insulin for this group was implemented and audited over 12 months.DesignAudit.MethodsThirty‐six consecutive patient notes with a diagnosis of Acute Coronary Syndrome and blood glucose of ≥10 mmol/l treated with a new insulin therapy regimen were analysed. Data were extracted using a standardised form and entered into an Excel spreadsheet for analysis.ResultsThe mean age of the sample was 70 years with 66% of subjects being men and 50% presenting with Acute Coronary Syndrome and Left Ventricular Failure. The low‐dose regimen was effective in achieving normoglycaemia, (range 4–8 mmol/l) for a consecutive six‐hour period. This was achieved in 72% of patients and within a median time of 13 hours.ConclusionThe audit suggests that a low‐dose insulin regimen can effectively stabilise blood glucose in patients presenting with both Acute Coronary Syndrome and Left Ventricular Failure. The importance of regularly monitoring blood sugar levels is vital and highlights the role of nurses in minimising patient risk and promoting safety.Relevance to practiceNurses are instrumental in the safe implementation of intensive insulin guidelines. Close monitoring of patients is essential, enabling timely adjustments to treatments and ensuring patient safety. Regular audits allow nurses to evaluate care provision and continue to drive practice forward.
Comparison of the effectiveness of three different methods in decreasing pain during venipuncture in children: ball squeezing, balloon inflating and distraction cards
Authors: Aydin Diler , Şahiner Nejla Canbulat , Çiftçi Esra Karaca 
Published: April 2016

Aims and objectivesThis study aimed to investigate three different distraction methods (squeezing a soft ball, balloon inflation and distraction cards) on pain and anxiety relief in children during phlebotomy.BackgroundNeedle‐requiring medical procedures such as venipuncture, phlebotomy and intramuscular injections are common and significant sources of pain for children, and these cause anxiety, distress and fear.DesignThis study was a prospective, randomised controlled trial.MethodsThe sample consisted of children (n = 120) who required blood tests. Data were obtained through face‐to‐face interviews with the children, their parents and the observer before and after the procedure. The children's pain levels were assessed and reported by the parents and observers, and the children themselves who self‐reported using Wong–Baker FACES. The children's anxiety levels were also assessed using the Children's Fear Scale.ResultsOne hundred and twenty children (mean age: 9·64 ± 2·07 years) were included. No difference was found between the groups in the self‐, parent‐ and observer‐reported procedural pain levels (p = 0·446, p = 0·467, p = 0·318 respectively). Furthermore, no significant differences were observed between the groups in procedural child anxiety levels according to the parents and observer (p = 0·323, p = 0·144 respectively).ConclusionPain and anxiety relief was seen in the three methods used during phlebotomy; however, no statistically significant difference was observed.Relevance to clinical practiceThis study contributes to the literature on nonpharmacologic pain relief methods during phlebotomy in children.
Incubation temperature affects development order of morphological features and staging criteria in turtle embryos
Authors: Dormer J. , Old J. M. , Van Dyke J. U. , Spencer R.‐J. 
Published: April 2016

AbstractEmbryonic development is strongly affected by incubation temperature in most animals, and the effects of incubation temperature continue after partition. However, relatively little is known about the effects of incubation temperature on the development of morphological features in reptiles. As a result, whether developmental rates of different traits change uniquely in response to incubation temperature remains unknown. In this study, we compared embryonic development of an Australian turtle incubated at different temperatures. We examined 43 internal and external morphological features of embryos at each week of development and compared presence and absence of each feature within and across weeks and temperature treatments, using a multivariate statistical approach. We identified morphological features that develop at different rates in turtle embryos incubated at different temperatures. Embryos incubated at 30°C hatched 3 weeks earlier, grew to hatchling size faster, and developed advanced morphological features earlier than those incubated at 26°C. Furthermore, embryonic features that appear late in development appeared progressively earlier in embryos incubated at 30°C. Embryos incubated at 26°C also retained some early embryonic features for longer periods of time during development, especially from weeks 2–4. Despite temperature effects, some traits appeared at the same week of development in embryos from both treatments, including a clearly distinguishable carapace and distinct gut villi at week 3. Variation in appearance and retention of features means that not all external features consistently appear in the same order, depending on incubation temperature. From a practical perspective, cool‐ and warm‐incubated embryos may exhibit different sets of embryological features, which may not be captured by previously published embryological staging guides.
On the Existence and Characterization of Unequal Exchange in the Free Trade Equilibrium
Authors: Yoshihara Naoki , Kaneko Soh 
Published: April 2016

AbstractAs in Roemer (, chapter 1), this article considers a simple international trade model and examines the existence and characterization of free trade equilibria involving the unequal exchange of labor (UE). The article provides an almost complete characterization of the domain of economies in which free trade equilibria with incomplete specialization exist. Moreover, the necessary and sufficient conditions for free trade equilibrium to involve UE is identified. It suggests that the emergence of free trade equilibria with UE cannot be entailed by the competitive mechanism of markets and unequal distribution of wealth alone, but might be understood as an outcome of equilibrium selection on the basis of Nash bargaining between rich and poor nations.
Microvascular Response in Patients with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome as Measured by Laser Doppler Imaging
Authors: Gorodkin Rachel , Herrick Ariane L. , Murray Andrea K. 
Published: April 2016

AbstractObjectivesOur aim was to investigate the hypothesis that microvascular dysfunction occurs in patients with CRPS. Specifically, whether there were functional differences in either deeper cutaneous blood vessels or more superficial nutritive vessels between the affected and unaffected limb in patients with CRPS, and between CRPS patients and healthy control subjects.MethodsTwenty‐two patients with CRPS (five male; mean age 45 years; eight upper limb involvement, 14 lower limb) and 23 healthy control subjects (one male; 43 years) were recruited. Microvascular flow at affected and unaffected contralateral sites was measured, following local heating, using laser Doppler imaging (red/green wavelengths). Corresponding sites were imaged in healthy controls. Maximum flux level and area under the curve (first 20 scans, AUC20) were measured.ResultsVasodilator responses to heat were similar in affected and unaffected limbs, and in healthy controls. For example, median (IQR) “red” AUC20 in CRPS was 138.6 (120.0–152.9)% change from baseline in affected limb and 135.0 (120.7–166.8)% in unaffected limb, and (in healthy controls) 133.1 (117.2–145.9)% and 139.1% (126.0–162.1) in limb 1 and 2.ConclusionsWe found no impairment of vasodilation in cutaneous microvessels in CRPS. The vasomotor changes in CRPS may relate to larger vessel dysfunction.
A novel block of plant virus movement genes
Authors: Lazareva Ekaterina A. , Lezzhov Alexander A. , Komarova Tatiana V. , Morozov Sergey Y. , Heinlein Manfred , Solovyev Andrey G. 
Published: April 2016

SummaryHibiscus green spot virus (HGSV) is a recently discovered and so far poorly characterized bacilliform plant virus with a positive‐stranded RNA genome consisting of three RNA species. Here, we demonstrate that the proteins encoded by the ORF2 and ORF3 in HGSV RNA2 are necessary and sufficient to mediate cell‐to‐cell movement of transport‐deficient Potato virus X in Nicotiana benthamiana. These two genes represent a specialized transport module called a ‘binary movement block’ (BMB), and ORF2 and ORF3 are termed BMB1 and BMB2 genes. In agroinfiltrated epidermal cells of N. benthamiana, green fluorescent protein (GFP)‐BMB1 fusion protein was distributed diffusely in the cytoplasm and the nucleus. However, in the presence of BMB2, GFP‐BMB1 was directed to cell wall‐adjacent elongated bodies at the cell periphery, to cell wall‐embedded punctate structures co‐localizing with callose deposits at plasmodesmata, and to cells adjacent to the initially transformed cell. Thus, BMB2 can mediate the transport of BMB1 to and through plasmodesmata. In general, our observations support the idea that cell‐to‐cell trafficking of movement proteins involves an initial delivery to membrane compartments adjacent to plasmodesmata, subsequent entry of the plasmodesmata cavity and, finally, transport to adjacent cells. This process, as an alternative to tubule‐based transport, has most likely evolved independently in triple gene block (TGB), double gene block (DGB), BMB and the single gene‐coded transport system.
Coarticulation and Gesture: an Analysis of Melodic Movement in South Indian Raga Performance
Authors: PEARSON LARA 
Published: April 2016

ABSTRACTThis article presents an analysis of small‐scale melodic movement in South Indian rāga performance employing the concept of coarticulation, defined here as the tendency for the performance of a unit to be influenced by that which precedes or follows it. Coarticulation has been much studied in phonetics and also explored to some extent in sign language and the kinematics of instrumental performance. Here I seek to account for variation in the performance of Karnatak musical units known as svaras (the scale degrees of a rāga) and gamakas (ornaments) through the phenomenon of coarticulation, thus providing an analysis of small‐scale melodic movement that focuses on the dynamic processes which form the style rather than on the categorisation of discrete elements.The material investigated is a video recording of ālāpana (improvisation) in rāga Toḍi performed by the Karnatak violinist T. V. Ramanujacharlu in Tamil Nadu, South India. A section of the recording is transcribed into staff notation and visualised through pitch‐contour graphs created in Praat sound‐analysis software. The hand movements required to produce the musical phrases are described from observation of the video alongside figures showing motion‐tracking data. Interviews with musicians, participant observation and the author's experience as a student of Karnatak violin provide the foundation for interpretation of the material. Results show that coarticulation can be seen between svaras through the oscillatory gamakas with which they are performed. Atomistic and gestural conceptions of South Indian music are discussed, following which suggestions are made for the implications of this research in modelling the Karnatak style, as well as for potential applications in musical information retrieval (MIR).