bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Infectious Complications in Children With Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Down Syndrome: Analysis of the Prospective Multicenter Trial AML‐BFM 2004
Authors: Hassler Angela , Bochennek Konrad , Gilfert Julia , Perner Corinna , Schöning Stefan , Creutzig Ursula , Reinhardt Dirk , Lehrnbecher Thomas 
Published: January 2016

BackgroundChildren with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and Down syndrome have high survival rates with intensity‐reduced chemotherapeutic regimens, although the optimal balance between dose intensity and treatment toxicity has not been determined. We, therefore, characterized infectious complications in children with AML and Down syndrome treated according to AML‐BFM 2004 study (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00111345; amended 2006 for Down syndrome with reduced intensity).ProcedureData on infectious complications were gathered from the medical records in the hospital where the patient was treated. Infectious complications were categorized as fever without identifiable source (FUO), or as microbiologically or clinically documented infections.ResultsA total of 157 infections occurred in 61 patients (60.5% FUO, 9.6% and 29.9% clinically and microbiologically documented infections, respectively). Almost 90% of the pathogens isolated from the bloodstream were Gram‐positive bacteria, and approximately half of them were viridans group streptococci. All seven microbiologically documented episodes of pneumonia were caused by viruses. Infection‐related mortality was 4.9%, and all three patients died due to viral infection.ConclusionsOur data demonstrate that a reduced‐intensity chemotherapeutic regimen in children with AML and Down syndrome is still associated with high morbidity. Although no patient died due to bacteria or fungi, viruses were responsible for all lethal events. Future studies, therefore, have to focus on the impact of viruses on morbidity and mortality of patients with AML and Down syndrome.
The importance of determining the limit of detection of non‐invasive prenatal testing methods
Authors: Fiorentino Francesco , Bono Sara , Pizzuti Francesca , Mariano Martina , Polverari Arianna , Duca Sara , Sessa Mariateresa , Baldi Marina , Diano Laura , Spinella Francesca 
Published: January 2016

AbstractObjectiveSeveral non‐invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) methods, which analyze circulating fetal cell‐free DNA (cfDNA) in maternal plasma, suggest a fetal fraction (FF) ≥4% for a reportable result, with the assumption that fetal aneuploidies may not be detectable at lower FF. This study determined the actual limit of detection (LOD) of a massively parallel sequencing‐based NIPT method and evaluated its performance in testing samples with low FF.MethodAn experimental model, involving the creation of artificial plasma mixtures with a final aneuploid FF ranging from 1% to 4%, simulated samples at different proportions of fetal cfDNA. We then analyzed 7103 blood samples, from pregnant women undergoing NIPT, to assess the impact of low FF on the performance of cfDNA testing.ResultsDetection of common aneuploidies in samples with an FF as low as 2% is well within the ability of this technology. Of 105 pregnancies confirmed chromosomally abnormal, 25 (23.8%) involving a 2% < FF < 4% were consistently detected. These high‐risk pregnancies would have not been identified using the suggested 4% FF cut‐off.ConclusionThis study underscores the importance of determining the actual LOD for each specific NIPT methodology. It may reduce the incidence of test cancelations and shorten the time required for the diagnosis of aneuploidy. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
High‐resistance GaN‐based buffer layers grown by a polarization doping method
Authors: Zhang Lian , Zhang Yun , Lu Hongxi , Wang Junxi , Li Jinmin 
Published: January 2016

AbstractA high‐resistance buffer layer is critical for GaN‐based high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) to suppress the drain leakage current and pre‐mature device breakdown. A typical method to obtain the HR buffer layers is the acceptor impurity doping that is able to provide holes to compensate the background electrons in the buffer layers. However, the intentional doped acceptor impurities such as Mg, Fe and C will result in current collapse in GaN‐based HEMTs. To address this issue, in this work, we employed a polarization doping method of holes by Al‐composition grading instead of the acceptor impurity doping. The sheet resistance of the GaN‐based buffer layer significantly increased due to the holes generated by the polarization field. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Model of photoluminescence temperature dependence in GaN/AlN quantum dot structures
Authors: Aleksandrov Ivan A. , Mansurov Vladimir G. , Vdovin Vladimir I. , Zhuravlev Konstantin S. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractTemperature dependence of photoluminescence intensity and lifetime of GaN/AlN quantum dots have been investigated and compared a theoretical model. Experimental photoluminescence lifetime is mainly determined by radiative process at low temperatures, but somewhat differs from the calculated radiative lifetime at room temperature. This difference corresponds to decrease in the nonradiative lifetime with temperature. Dependence of the nonradiative lifetime in GaN/AlN quantum dots on temperature and emission wavelength has been described by calculations assuming that the nonradiative recombination is caused by tunneling of carriers from quantum dots to nonradiative recombination centers. The tunneling probability has been calculated in the configuration coordinate model using the zero‐radius potential approximation. Temperature dependence of photoluminescence intensity of quantum dots does not follow the temperature dependence of the ratio of the photoluminescence lifetime to the radiative lifetime. Nonradiative recombination of carriers generated in a wetting layer has been taken into account to describe the temperature dependence of the photoluminescence intensity. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
MOCVD growth of DH‐HEMT buffers with low‐temperature AlN interlayer on 200 mm Si (111) substrate for breakdown voltage enhancement
Authors: Zhao Ming , Liang Hu , Kandaswamy Prem Kumar , Van Hove Marleen , Venegas Rafael , Vranken Evi , Favia Paola , Vanderheyden Annelies , Vanhaeren Danielle , Saripalli Yoga Nrusimha , Decoutere Stefaan , Langer Robert 
Published: January 2016

AbstractIn this work, we have systematically investigated the technique of low‐temperature AlN interlayer in MOCVD growth of double heterojunction high‐electron‐mobility transistors buffer stacks on 200 mm Si (111) substrates. We have demonstrated that a continuous compressive stress can be maintained by insertion of interlayers which compensated a large tensile stress during cooling for a thick buffer. This eventually led to a low wafer bow and a good surface quality that enabled wafers with full device stack meeting the specifications for processing in our 200 mm CMOS pilot line. We also demonstrated at both forward and reverse bias conditions a significantly improved vertical buffer breakdown voltage (which is defined at a leakage current of 1 µA/mm2 in the present work) of >500 V at 25 °C and >300 V at 150 °C, respectively. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Eutelsat HTS systems
Authors: Fenech H. , Tomatis A. , Amos S. , Soumpholphakdy V. , Serrano Merino J. L. 
Published: January 2016

SummaryKA‐SAT is the first of the second generation of high throughput satellite (HTS) systems. Constructed by Airbus, it was launched in 2010. It delivers over 90 Gbps capacity over 82 spots in Ka‐band over Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. It represents a complete infrastructure with the ground segment complement so as to deliver a suite of services including Internet access, broadcasting and satellite news gathering.The KA‐SAT HTS system includes an integrated ground and satellite infrastructure: the ground infrastructure comprises a network of ten gateways that are connected to the main European point of presences, to the Internet backbone, to the network operations centre and a centralised operational control centre by Skylogic in Turin. Skylogic interfaces with all the customers.Besides the operational KA‐SAT, there are four other HTS systems launched or to be launched by Eutelsat: EUTELSAT 3B launched in April 2014, EUTELSAT 36C in 2015, EUTELSAT 65 West A in 2016 and EUTELSAT 172B in 2017. These systems represent a range of HTS systems for Eutelsat, which push the envelope of applications and provide the performance critical to operators. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Maximizing quality of experience through context‐aware mobile application scheduling in cloudlet infrastructure
Authors: Mahmud Md. Redowan , Afrin Mahbuba , Razzaque Md. Abdur , Hassan Mohammad Mehedi , Alelaiwi Abdulhameed , Alrubaian Majed 
Published: January 2016

SummaryApplication software execution requests, from mobile devices to cloud service providers, are often heterogeneous in terms of device, network, and application runtime contexts. These heterogeneous contexts include the remaining battery level of a mobile device, network signal strength it receives and quality‐of‐service (QoS) requirement of an application software submitted from that device. Scheduling such application software execution requests (from many mobile devices) on competent virtual machines to enhance user quality of experience (QoE) is a multi‐constrained optimization problem. However, existing solutions in the literature either address utility maximization problem for service providers or optimize the application QoS levels, bypassing device‐level and network‐level contextual information. In this paper, a multi‐objective nonlinear programming solution to the context‐aware application software scheduling problem has been developed, namely, QoE and context‐aware scheduling (QCASH) method, which minimizes the application execution times (i.e., maximizes the QoE) and maximizes the application execution success rate. To the best of our knowledge, QCASH is the first work in this domain that inscribes the optimal scheduling problem for mobile application software execution requests with three‐dimensional context parameters. In QCASH, the context priority of each application is measured by applying min–max normalization and multiple linear regression models on three context parameters—battery level, network signal strength, and application QoS. Experimental results, found from simulation runs on CloudSim toolkit, demonstrate that the QCASH outperforms the state‐of‐the‐art works well across the success rate, waiting time, and QoE. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Preoperative Pneumonia and Postoperative Venous Thrombosis: A Cohort Study of 427,656 Patients Undergoing Major General Surgery
Authors: Masrouha Karim Z. , Musallam Khaled M. , Rosendaal Frits R. , Hoballah Jamal J. , Jamali Faek R. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractBackgroundThe literature is sparse regarding the association between pneumonia and venous thrombosis in surgical patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk of postoperative venous thrombosis in patients who fit the criteria for preoperative pneumonia using data from the ongoing American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) database while adjusting for potential confounders.MethodsThis is a cohort study using data from the ACS NSQIP database participating sites from 2008 (211 sites) and 2009 (237 sites). 427,656 patients undergoing major general surgery were included. The 30‐day risk of postoperative venous thrombosis including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) was evaluated in patients with preoperative pneumonia diagnosed before undergoing major general surgery.ResultsPatients with preoperative pneumonia had a higher incidence of both 30‐day DVT and PE than patients without preoperative pneumonia. After adjusting for all potential confounders, the effect estimates for the association between preoperative pneumonia and venous thrombosis were DVT, OR: 1.67 (95% CI 1.32–2.11) and PE, OR: 2.18 (95% CI 1.48–3.22).ConclusionsA large, multicenter database of surgical patients showed that preoperative pneumonia may increase risk for developing venous thrombosis. This adds to our understanding of risk factors for venous thrombosis and suggests a potential benefit of diagnosing preoperative pneumonia in patients undergoing major general surgery.
Severity of Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Injuries in Thyroid Surgery
Authors: Dionigi Gianlorenzo , Wu Che‐Wei , Kim Hoon Yub , Rausei Stefano , Boni Luigi , Chiang Feng‐Yu 
Published: January 2016

AbstractBackgroundFew studies in the literature have reported recovery data for different types of recurrent laryngeal nerve injuries (RLNIs). This study is the first attempt to classify RLNIs and rank them by severity.MethodsThis prospective clinical study analyzed 281 RLNIs in which a true loss of signal was identified by intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM), and vocal cord palsy (VCP) was confirmed by a postoperative laryngoscope. For each injury type, the prevalence of VCP, the time of VCP recovery, and physical changes on nerves were analyzed. Additionally, different RLNI types were experimentally induced in a porcine model to compare morphological change.ResultsThe overall VCP rate in at‐risk patients/nerves was 8.9/4.6 %, respectively. The distribution of RLNI types, in order of frequency, was traction (71 %), thermal (17 %), compression (4.2 %), clamping (3.4 %), ligature entrapment (1.6 %), suction (1.4 %), and nerve transection (1.4 %). Complete recovery from VCP was documented in 91 % of RLNIs. Recovery time was significantly faster in the traction group compared to the other groups (p < 0.001). The rates of temporary and permanent VCP were 98.6 and 1.4 % for traction lesion, 72 and 28 % for thermal injury, 100 and 0 % for compression injury, 50 and 50 % for clamping injury, 100 and 0 % for ligature entrapment, 100 and 0 % for suction injury, and 0 and 100 % for nerve transection, respectively. Physical changes were noted in 14 % of RLNIs in which 56 % of VCP was permanent. However, among the remaining 86 % IONM‐detectable RLNIs without physical changes, only 1.2 % of VCP was permanent. A porcine model of traction lesion showed only distorted outer nerve structure, whereas the thermal lesion showed severe damage in the inner endoneurium.ConclusionsDifferent RNLIs induce different morphological alterations and have different recovery outcomes. Permanent VCP is rare in lesions that are visually undetectable but detectable by IONM. By enabling early detection of RLNI and prediction of outcome, IONM can help clinicians plan intra‐ and postoperative treatment.
Sexual Anatomy and Function in Women with and Without Genital Mutilation: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Abdulcadir Jasmine , Botsikas Diomidis , Bolmont Mylène , Bilancioni Aline , Djema Dahila Amal , Bianchi Demicheli Francesco , Yaron Michal , Petignat Patrick 
Published: January 2016

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Female genital mutilation (FGM), the partial or total removal of the external genitalia for non-medical reasons, can affect female sexuality. However, only few studies are available, and these have significant methodologic limitations.

Aim
To understand the impact of FGM on the anatomy of the clitoris and bulbs using magnetic resonance imaging and on sexuality using psychometric instruments and to study whether differences in anatomy after FGM correlate with differences in sexual function, desire, and body image.

Methods
A cross-sectional study on sexual function and sexual anatomy was performed in women with and without FGM. Fifteen women with FGM involving cutting of the clitoris and 15 uncut women as a control group matched by age and parity were prospectively recruited. Participants underwent pelvic magnetic resonance imaging with vaginal opacification by ultrasound gel and completed validated questionnaires on desire (Sexual Desire Inventory), body image (Questionnaire d'Image Corporelle [Body Image Satisfaction Scale]), and sexual function (Female Sexual Function Index).

Main Outcome Measures
Primary outcomes were clitoral and bulbar measurements on magnetic resonance images. Secondary outcomes were sexual function, desire, and body image scores.

Results
Women with FGM did not have significantly decreased clitoral glans width and body length but did have significantly smaller volume of the clitoris plus bulbs. They scored significantly lower on sexual function and desire than women without FGM. They did not score lower on Female Sexual Function Index sub-scores for orgasm, desire, and satisfaction and on the Questionnaire d'Image Corporelle but did report significantly more dyspareunia. A larger total volume of clitoris and bulbs did not correlate with higher Female Sexual Function Index and Sexual Desire Inventory scores in women with FGM compared with uncut women who had larger total volume that correlated with higher scores.

Conclusion
Women with FGM have sexual erectile tissues for sexual arousal, orgasm, and pleasure. Women with sexual dysfunction should be appropriately counseled and treated.
Peripheral Neuropathy After Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for Clostridium difficile Infection: A Case Report
Authors: Didesch Michelle M. , Averill Allison , Oh‐Park Mooyeon 
Published: January 2016

AbstractWe present a case of a 71‐year‐old man with Clostridium difficile infection who underwent fecal transplantation. The patient was found to have a predominantly demyelinating sensorimotor peripheral polyneuropathy upon electrodiagnostic testing. To our knowledge, only one case of peripheral neuropathy after fecal transplantation has previously been reported. Although the exact cause of this patient's neuropathy cannot be confirmed, it has been speculated that the pathophysiology is an immune‐mediated process. Given the increasing incidence of C difficile infections and the emergence of fecal transplantation as treatment, it is important to note that peripheral neuropathy is a potential adverse complication.
Hierarchy in practice: Multilateral diplomacy and the governance of international security
Authors: Pouliot Vincent 
Published: January 2016

AbstractIn today’s world, a significant portion of international security politics is conducted through multilateral channels, often from the halls of international organisations such as the United Nations or NATO. This article theorises and empirically documents the production, reproduction, and contestation of local diplomatic hierarchies that practitioners often call ‘international pecking orders’. According to conventional wisdom in IR, the sources of international hierarchies are primarily structural, stemming from the interstate distribution of (material) capabilities. Yet the growing prevalence of multilateral diplomacy in the governance of international security generates distinctive forms of social stratification organised around a struggle for diplomatic competence. As they pursue their instructions and manage security politics, state representatives posted to international organisations make use of the opportunities and constraints of a given situation and compete for rank through the display of practical know-how. The article illustrates this process by looking at how a key set of multilateral practices lend themselves to pecking order dynamics, fromesprit de corpsto reporting through brokering. By taking the multilateralisation of security politics seriously, the article shows that international hierarchy, far from an unobservable reality, is actually part of parcel of each and every practice that makes the world go round.
The humanisation of security? Towards an International Human Protection Regime
Authors: Bellamy Alex J. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractOver the past few decades, genocidal killing and other mass atrocities have become less frequent and less lethal. At the same time, collective international responses have become more common and more comprehensive. What explains these two phenomena, and are they connected? This article suggests that the evidence of declining mass violence and growing international activism is not only compelling but that the two phenomena are connected by the emergence of a new international human protection regime. The article proceeds in three parts. The first examines the evidence for thinking that the world is experiencing both a decline in mass violence and an increase in international activism in response to such violence. The second outlines the emergence, scope, and limits of the human protection regime. The third considers whether the regime itself is associated with the changing practices of third parties to mass violence. The fourth part contrasts this explanation with potential alternatives.
Choice, voice, and exit: Consumer power and the self-regulation of the private security industry
Authors: Krahmann Elke 
Published: January 2016

AbstractPromoting Private Security Company (PSC) self-regulation has become a key focus due to high profile scandals during the military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Related efforts include the Montreux Document, the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers (ICoC), American National Standards Institute/ASIS certification, and the new International Standards Organization (ISO) Management System Standard for Private Security Operations. Implicit in industry self-regulation, however, is the assumption that the consumers of private security services will help facilitate and enforce professional standards by shifting their custom to PSCs which have signed up to these codes of conduct or certification schemes. This article investigates the validity of this assumption with regard to government contracting. To what degree are public agencies able – and willing – to let professional standards guide their contracting behaviour? To answer this question, this article develops a general framework for the analysis of public consumer influence through choice, voice, and exit which draws on insights from microeconomics and Albert Hirschman’s classical treatiseExit, Voice, Loyalty.Taking the United States government as an illustrative example, the analysis observes several obstacles to encouraging security industry self-regulation through consumer power.
CATEGORICITY IN QUASIMINIMAL PREGEOMETRY CLASSES
Authors: HAYKAZYAN LEVON 
Published: January 2016

AbstractQuasiminimal pregeometry classes were introduced by [6] to isolate the model theoretical core of several interesting examples. He proves that a quasiminimal pregeometry class satisfying an additional axiom, called excellence, is categorical in all uncountable cardinalities. Recently, [2] showed that the excellence axiom follows from the rest of the axioms. In this paper we present a direct proof of the categoricity result without using excellence.
Demand and Supply: Racial and Ethnic Minority Candidates in White Districts
Authors: Juenke Eric Gonzalez , Shah Paru 
Published: January 2016

AbstractDo voters in white districts systematically obstruct minority representation? Despite a great deal of public and scholarly attention, this question remains largely unresolved. We demonstrate that the narrow focus on the relationship between white voters and minority representation is inadequate to understand why we do not see more minority-elected officials in the United States. We use a matching technique to investigate three theoretical perspectives of descriptive representation using a unique dataset from the 2012 general elections for state legislative seats in 14 states, the first elections after the 2010 redistricting process. Our findings challenge the venerable notion that minority candidates consistently underperform in white districts, and complicate our understanding of the political expression of bigotry in the voting booth.