bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessing the economic trade‐offs between prevention and suppression of forest fires
Authors: Heines Betsy , Lenhart Suzanne , Sims Charles 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThe number of large‐scale, high‐severity forest fires occurring in the United States is increasing, as is the cost to suppress these fires. We use a technique developed by William Reed to incorporate the stochasticity of the time of a forest fire into our optimal control problem. Using this optimal control problem, we explore the trade‐offs between prevention management spending and suppression spending, along with the overall economic viability of prevention management spending. Our goal is to determine the optimal prevention management spending rate and the optimal suppression spending, which maximizes the expected value of a forest. We develop a parameter set reflecting the 2011 Las Conchas Fire and numerically solve our optimal control problem. Furthermore, we adapt this problem to simulate a sequence of fires and corresponding controls. Overall, our results support the conclusion that the prevention management efforts offset rising suppression costs and increase the value of a forest.Recommendations for Resource ManagersIncreasing wildfire size and increasing federal suppression costs have prompted investigations into alternative methods to help prevent and manage large wildfires.Fire prevention lowers the risk of experiencing large fire events, but investment in fire prevention is risky because its benefits are realized at an unknown time in the future.Results illustrate that there are real economic costs associated with using funding directed to fire prevention to fund immediate fire suppression.In our work with unknown fire sequences, we observe an 88% reduction in suppression spending on average with fire prevention, and a 55% reduction in spending overall.
Rationale for the clinical guidelines for myasthenia gravis in Japan
Authors: Murai Hiroyuki , Utsugisawa Kimiaki , Nagane Yuriko , Suzuki Shigeaki , Imai Tomihiro , Motomura Masakatsu 
Published: January 2018

AbstractAccording to the 2014 Japanese clinical guidelines for myasthenia gravis, the most important priority in treatment is maintaining patients’ health‐related quality of life. Therefore, the initial treatment goal is defined as maintaining a postintervention status of minimal manifestations or better (according to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America classification) with an oral prednisolone dose of 5 mg/day or less. Every effort should be made to attain this level as rapidly as possible. To achieve this goal, the guidelines recommend minimizing the oral prednisolone dose, starting calcineurin inhibitors early in the course of treatment, using intravenous methylprednisolone infusion judiciously (often combined with plasma exchange/plasmapheresis or intravenous immunoglobulin), and effectively treating patients with an early, fast‐acting treatment strategy. The early, fast‐acting treatment strategy enables more frequent and earlier attainment of the initial goal than other strategies. Thymectomy is considered an option for treating nonthymomatous early‐onset myasthenia gravis in patients with antiacetylcholine receptor antibodies and thymic hyperplasia in the early stages of the disease.
Acetylcholine receptor–specific immunosuppressive therapy of experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis and myasthenia gravis
Authors: Luo Jie , Lindstrom Jon 
Published: January 2018

AbstractExperimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) and myasthenia gravis (MG) are caused by autoantibodies to the extracellular domain of muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs). Autoantibodies to the cytoplasmic domain of AChRs do not cause EAMG because they cannot bind AChRsin vivo. The ideal MG therapy would quickly and permanently suppress only the pathological autoimmune response to AChRs. We have developed a specific immunosuppressive therapy for EAMG that involves immunizing rats with bacterially expressed cytoplasmic domains of human muscle AChRs. Therapy prevents onset of chronic EAMG, rapidly suppresses ongoing EAMG, and is potent, robust, long lasting, and safe, because the therapeutic antigen cannot induce EAMG. The therapy was developed using incomplete Freund's adjuvant, but is likely to work equally well with alum adjuvants routinely used for human immunizations. Therapeutic mechanisms may involve a combination of antibody‐mediated feedback suppression and regulatory T and/or B lymphocytes.
Challenging the current model of early‐onset myasthenia gravis pathogenesis in the light of the MGTX trial and histological heterogeneity of thymectomy specimens
Authors: Weis Cleo‐Aron , Schalke Berthold , Ströbel Philipp , Marx Alexander 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThe MGTX trial provided evidence that, in general, thymectomy is beneficial in adult patients up to 60 years of age with anti‐acetylcholine receptor–positive, nonthymomatous myasthenia gravis (MG). This finding supports the long‐held view that the pathogenesis of this type of MG (early‐onset MG (EOMG)) starts inside the thymus, results in the long‐term intrathymic recruitment of autoantibody‐producing B cells and plasma cells, and eventually spreads to the peripheral immune system. However, observed clinical responses to treatment in the MGTX trial were diverse. This might be due to heterogeneous epidemiological and genetic features of EOMG patients and variable durations of corticosteroid treatment before surgery, including a paucity of patients that were corticosteroid naive. Furthermore, the observed histological heterogeneity suggests that a single pathogenetic model may not fully reflect the spectrum of events that modify the course of EOMG. Here, we describe the morphology of the normal and MG‐associated thymus, how to evaluate morphological changes, and the current pathogenetic model of EOMG and discuss how it could be refined by integrating MGTX‐derived histological findings in thymectomy specimens and associated clinical observations.
Cost‐effectiveness of intravenous acetaminophen and ketorolac in adolescents undergoing idiopathic scoliosis surgery
Authors: Chidambaran Vidya , Subramanyam Rajeev , Ding Lili , Sadhasivam Senthilkumar , Geisler Kristie , Stubbeman Bobbie , Sturm Peter , Jain Viral , Eckman Mark H. 
Published: January 2018

SummaryBackgroundEnhanced recovery after surgery protocols increasingly use multimodal analgesia after major surgeries with intravenous acetaminophen and ketorolac, despite no documented cost‐effectiveness of these strategies.AimsThe goal of this prospective cohort study was to model cost‐effectiveness of adding acetaminophen or acetaminophen + ketorolac to opioids for postoperative outcomes in children having scoliosis surgery.MethodsOf 106 postsurgical children, 36 received only opioids, 26 received intravenous acetaminophen, and 44 received acetaminophen + ketorolac as analgesia adjuncts. Costs were calculated in 2015 US $. Decision analytic model was constructed with Decision Maker® software. Base‐case and sensitivity analyses were performed with effectiveness defined as avoidance of opioid adverse effects.ResultsThe groups were comparable demographically. Compared with opioids‐only strategy, subjects in the intravenous acetaminophen + ketorolac strategy consumed less opioids (P = .002; difference in mean morphine consumption on postoperative days 1 and 2 was −0.44 mg/kg (95% CI −0.72 to −0.16); tolerated meals earlier (P < .001; RR 0.250 (0.112‐0.556)) and had less constipation (P < .001; RR 0.226 (0.094‐0.546)). Base‐case analysis showed that of the 3 strategies, use of opioids alone is both most costly and least effective, opioids + intravenous acetaminophen is intermediate in both cost and effectiveness; and opioids + intravenous acetaminophen and ketorolac is the least expensive and most effective strategy. The addition of intravenous acetaminophen with or without ketorolac to an opioid‐only strategy saves $510‐$947 per patient undergoing spine surgery and decreases opioid side effects.ConclusionIntravenous acetaminophen with or without ketorolac reduced opioid consumption, opioid‐related adverse effects, length of stay, and thereby cost of care following idiopathic scoliosis in adolescents compared with opioids‐alone postoperative analgesia strategy.
Grapevine VpPR10.1 functions in resistance to Plasmopara viticola through triggering a cell death‐like defence response by interacting with VpVDAC3
Authors: Ma Hui , Xiang Gaoqing , Li Zhiqian , Wang Yuting , Dou Mengru , Su Li , Yin Xiao , Liu Ruiqi , Wang Yuejin , Xu Yan 
Published: January 2018

SummaryAs one of the most serious diseases in grape, downy mildew caused by Plasmopara viticola is a worldwide grape disease. Much effort has been focused on improving susceptible grapevine resistance, and wild resistant grapevine species are important for germplasm improvement of commercial cultivars. Using yeast two‐hybrid screen followed by a series of immunoprecipitation experiments, we identified voltage‐dependent anion channel 3 (VDAC3) protein from Vitis piasezkii ‘Liuba‐8’ as an interacting partner of VpPR10.1 cloned from Vitis pseudoreticulata ‘Baihe‐35‐1’, which is an important germplasm for its resistance to a range of pathogens. Co‐expression of VpPR10.1/VpVDAC3 induced cell death in Nicotiana benthamiana, which accompanied by ROS accumulation. VpPR10.1 transgenic grapevine line showed resistance to P. viticola. We conclude that the VpPR10.1/VpVDAC3 complex is responsible for cell death‐mediated defence response to P. viticola in grapevine.
A prospective randomized, controlled trial of eculizumab to prevent ischemia‐reperfusion injury in pediatric kidney transplantation
Authors: Kaabak Michael , Babenko Nadeen , Shapiro Ron , Zokoyev Allan , Dymova Olga , Kim Edward 
Published: January 2018

AbstractIschemia‐reperfusion injury has multiple effects on a transplanted allograft, including delayed or impaired graft function, compromised long‐term survival, and an association with an increased incidence of rejection. Eculizumab, a monoclonal antibody blocking terminal complement activation, has been postulated to be an effective agent in the prevention or amelioration of IRI. We performed a single‐center prospective, randomized controlled trial involving 57 pediatric kidney transplant recipients between 2012 and 2016. The immunosuppressive protocol included two doses of alemtuzumab; half of the patients were randomized to receive a single dose of eculizumab prior to transplantation. Maintenance immunosuppression was based on a combination of low‐dose tacrolimus and mycophenolate, without steroids. Eculizumab‐treated patients had a significantly better early graft function, less arteriolar hyalinosis and chronic glomerulopathy on a protocol biopsies taken on day 30, 1 year, and 3 years after transplantation. In the eculizumab group, four non‐vaccinated children lost their grafts during the course of a flu‐like infection. Eculizumab is associated with better early graft function and improved graft morphology; however, there was an unacceptably high number of early graft losses among the eculizumab‐treated children. While a promising strategy, the best approach to complement inhibition remains to be established.
Policy‐Seeking and Office‐Seeking: Categorizing Parties Based on Coalition Payoff Allocation
Authors: Evans Matt 
Published: January 2018

AbstractCharacterizations of political parties as policy‐seeking or office‐seeking have been vague, anecdotal, or theoretical. This research builds on coalition allocation research to develop an empirical determination of parties’ behavior. Through analysis of eight coalition governments in Israel from 1992 to 2015, this work classifies parties based on the degree to which the payoffs they obtain in coalition negotiations are conducive to their policy goals. The results indicate that nonformateur parties tend to be more policy‐seeking and formateur parties more office‐seeking. The research also reveals disparities in proportions of policy‐seeking and office‐seeking payoffs obtained by different types of parties. This work makes several research contributions, including development of an empirical method for identifying parties as policy‐seeking or office‐seeking, broadening allocation analysis to include deputy ministers and committee chairs, and providing a qualitative evaluation of coalition allocation based on the policy value of each payoff for the party obtaining it.Related Articles

Vercesi, Michelangelo. 2016. “.” Politics & Policy 44 (): 168‐219. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1747-1346

Posey, Kevin H. 1994. “.” Southeastern Political Review 22 (): 549‐557. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1747-1346

Mizrahi, Shlomo,
Fany Yuval, and
Nissim Cohen. 2014. “.” Politics & Policy 42 (): 850‐880. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1747-1346
The Behavioral‐Economics Basis of Mutual Accountability to Achieve Food Security
Authors: Oehmke James F. , Young Sera L. , Bahiigwa Godfrey , Keizire Boaz Blackie , Post Lori Ann 
Published: January 2018

AbstractMutual accountability is a social construct designed to overcome informational, transactional, and enforcement barriers to alignment and coordination among development stakeholders. In Africa, it has been implemented at the country and regional levels and will be presented at the African Union Summit in January 2018. However, the literature contains little on either the conceptual underpinnings of mutual accountability or its implementation in the African agricultural development context. Therefore, we reviewed the literature on mutual accountability to articulate its behavioral economics foundations. We also tested predictions using an adapted Prisoner's Dilemma model. We found several implications of mutual accountability for African development strategy within and beyond agricultural policy, including the importance of changing initial conditions to include cooperative action, the potential impermanence of cooperative action, and the importance of a critical mass of cooperating agents for maximum synergy. Finally, evidence suggests that mutual accountability processes increase the likelihood of achieving cooperative outcomes.Related ArticlesRaile,Eric D.,Amber N. W.Raile,Charles T.Salmon, andLoriAnn Post.2014. “.”Politics & Policy42():103‐130.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/polp.12063/abstractPost,Lori Ann,Amber N. W.Raile, andEric D.Raile.2010. “.”Politics & Policy38():653‐676.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2010.00253.x/abstractElliot‐Teague,Ginger.2011. “.”Politics & Policy39():835‐861.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2011.00318.x/abstractRelated Media.2014. “Mutual Accountability Explained.”http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/newfunct/pdf14/ma_guidance_note.pdfThis Place.2014. “The Prisoner's Dilemma.”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Lo2fgxWHwPost,Lori Ann.2017. “.”The World Bank.https://blogs.worldbank.org/publicsphere/generating-political-will-and-public-will-positive-social-change
“Pot”reneurial Politics: The Budgetary Highs and Lows of Recreational Marijuana Policy Innovation
Authors: Fisk Jonathan M. , Vonasek Joseph A. , Davis Elvis 
Published: January 2018

Public‐ and elite‐level interest concerning recreational marijuana is increasing, thanks in large part to the successful legalization campaigns in four states. Scholars, however, have yet to systemically assess how states allocate and manage marijuana‐related dollars. Some states likely prefer “tight” budgetary control, suggesting that remitted marijuana dollars are largely earmarked to specific purposes. Other states might opt for “looser” budgetary mechanisms, giving law makers more freedom in how they spend marijuana revenues. States may also vary in the tax rates applied to marijuana purchases with some states preferring to charge higher rates. Using information drawn from primary sources, we assess which factors are most helpful in accounting for the budgetary innovations related to recreational marijuana revenues.Related Articles

Lamothe, Scott. 2004. “.” Politics & Policy 32 (): 684‐707. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2004.tb00201.x/full

Bernick, Ethan M., and
Nathan Myers. 2012. “.” Politics & Policy 40 (): 131‐159. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2011.00340.x/full

Adams, Brian E. 2016. “.” Politics & Policy 44 (): 820‐849. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/polp.12172/full
Related Media
Brookings. 2014. “The Nation Continues to Embrace Marijuana Legalization.” November 5. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2014/11/05/the-nation-continues-to-embrace-marijuana-legalization/

C‐Span. 2014. “Ballot Measures on Marijuana.” November 8. https://www.c-span.org/video/?322625-5/washington-journal-john-hudak-ballot-measures-marijuana

Governing States and Localities. 2017. “State Marijuana Laws in 2017 Map.” http://www.governing.com/gov-data/state-marijuana-laws-map-medical-recreational.html
Effect of preceding home‐visit nursing on time to discharge in hospitalization for the treatment of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia among patients with limited familial care
Authors: Kitamura Tatsuru , Shiota Shigehito , Jinkawa Shigetoshi , Kitamura Maki , Hino Shoryoku 
Published: January 2018

BackgroundDuring hospitalization for behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), it is imperative to build a support system for each patient in the community for after they obtain symptom remission. To this end, patients lacking adequate family support are less likely to be discharged to their own homes and need stronger support systems to be established. This study therefore investigated the effects of home‐visit nursing before admission on time to home discharge among patients with limited familial care who were hospitalized for treatment of BPSD.MethodsA single‐centre chart review study was conducted on consecutive patients admitted from home between April 2013 and September 2015 for treatment of BPSD and who had lived alone or with a working family member. Time to home discharge was compared between patients who had home‐visit nursing before their admission and those who did not.ResultsIn total, 58 patients were enrolled in the study, of whom 12 had preceding home‐visit nursing (PHN group) and 46 did not (non‐PHN group). Patients in the PHN group were younger (77.7 ± 4.9 vs. 84.1 ± 6.1 years, P = 0.0011) and had higher Mini‐Mental State Examination scores (16.8 ± 7.2 vs 11.8 ± 7.3, P = 0.0287). A multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis adjusted for age and Mini‐Mental State Examination scores showed a higher likelihood of discharge to home in the PHN group (hazard ratio: 3.85; 95% confidence interval: 1.27–11.6;, P = 0.017) than in the non‐PHN group.ConclusionHome‐visit nursing before admission of BPSD patients for treatment could improve the rate of discharge to home among patients with limited familial care after subsequent hospitalization. Home‐visit nursing could also enhance collaborative relationships between social and hospital‐based care systems, and early implementation could improve the likelihood of vulnerable patient types remaining in their own homes for as long as possible.
Lognormal Approximations of Fault Tree Uncertainty Distributions
Authors: El‐Shanawany Ashraf Ben , Ardron Keith H. , Walker Simon P. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractFault trees are used in reliability modeling to create logical models of fault combinations that can lead to undesirable events. The output of a fault tree analysis (the top event probability) is expressed in terms of the failure probabilities of basic events that are input to the model. Typically, the basic event probabilities are not known exactly, but are modeled as probability distributions: therefore, the top event probability is also represented as an uncertainty distribution. Monte Carlo methods are generally used for evaluating the uncertainty distribution, but such calculations are computationally intensive and do not readily reveal the dominant contributors to the uncertainty. In this article, a closed‐form approximation for the fault tree top event uncertainty distribution is developed, which is applicable when the uncertainties in the basic events of the model are lognormally distributed. The results of the approximate method are compared with results from two sampling‐based methods: namely, the Monte Carlo method and the Wilks method based on order statistics. It is shown that the closed‐form expression can provide a reasonable approximation to results obtained by Monte Carlo sampling, without incurring the computational expense. The Wilks method is found to be a useful means of providing an upper bound for the percentiles of the uncertainty distribution while being computationally inexpensive compared with full Monte Carlo sampling. The lognormal approximation method and Wilks’s method appear attractive, practical alternatives for the evaluation of uncertainty in the output of fault trees and similar multilinear models.
Estimated Wold Representation and Spectral-Density-Driven Bootstrap for Time Series
Authors: Krampe Jonas , Kreiss Jens-Peter , Paparoditis Efstathios 
Published: January 2018

SummaryThe second-order dependence structure of purely non-deterministic stationary processes is described by the coefficients of the famous Wold representation. These coefficients can be obtained by factorizing the spectral density of the process. This relationship together with some spectral density estimator is used to obtain consistent estimators of these coefficients. A spectral-density-driven bootstrap for time series is then developed which uses the entire sequence of estimated moving average coefficients together with appropriately generated pseudoinnovations to obtain a bootstrap pseudo-time-series. It is shown that if the underlying process is linear and if the pseudoinnovations are generated by means of an independent and identically distributed wild bootstrap which mimics, to the extent necessary, the moment structure of the true innovations, this bootstrap proposal asymptotically works for a wide range of statistics. The relationships of the proposed bootstrap procedure to some other bootstrap procedures, including the auto-regressive sieve bootstrap, are discussed. It is shown that the latter is a special case of the spectral-density-driven bootstrap, if a parametric auto-regressive spectral density estimator is used. Simulations investigate the performance of the new bootstrap procedure in finite sample situations. Furthermore, a real life data example is presented.
Business of dialysis and the role of the medical director
Authors: Scheel Paul J. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractSince the inception of the Medicare End Stage Renal Disease Program in 1972, the medical director has been an important leader in the dialysis unit. The initial duties of the medical director were focused on quality and safety but were gradually expanded over the decades to include the development and oversight of protocols to manage metabolic bone disease and anemia. As the total cost of ESRD care has escalated, there have been progressive attempts to control costs through additional bundling and the creation of alternative payment schemes. While we await the financial and clinical outcomes of these initiatives, the medical director's role continues to expand in scope and now includes an enhanced role for not only clinical outcomes but financial outcomes as well.