bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Uncommon Tumor, Uncommon Location: A Dermal-Based Spindle Cell/Pleomorphic Lipoma
Authors: Lincoln Mark , Royer Michael 
Published: February 2016

Abstract:
Spindle cell/pleomorphic lipoma is an uncommonly encountered benign neoplasm that is usually found in the subcutaneous tissues. Rare cases reported in the literature have an intradermal location. This lesion usually presents as a subcutaneous nodule on the neck, shoulders, or back of middle-aged to elderly males. Although spindle cell and pleomorphic lipoma are currently considered the same entity, they were historically categorized separately. The authors report a case of hyperpigmented papule with an associated subcutaneous nodule on the left cheek of a 56-year-old man, review the literature, and discuss several important diagnostic pitfalls of spindle cell/pleomorphic lipoma.
Colorectal Cancer Screening in a Nationwide High-deductible Health Plan Before and After the Affordable Care Act
Authors: Wharam J. Frank , Zhang Fang , Landon Bruce E. , LeCates Robert , Soumerai Stephen , Ross-Degnan Dennis 
Published: February 2016

Background:Little is known about the effect of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) elimination of out-of-pocket costs for preventive services. This policy likely reduced out-of-pocket colonoscopy costs most for high-deductible health plan (HDHP) members.Objectives:Determine the ACA’s impact on colorectal cancer screening among HDHP members.Research Design:Pre-post with comparison group, constructed before and after the ACA.Subjects:We studied 2003–2012 administrative claims data of a large national health insurer. HDHP members had 1 year of low-deductible (≤$500) plan enrollment followed by 1 year of HDHP (≥$1000) enrollment after an employer-mandated switch; HDHP enrollment occurred fully after the ACA for 21,605 members and fully before the ACA for 106,609 members. We propensity score-matched contemporaneous low-deductible (≤$500) control group members to both the before-ACA and after-ACA HDHP groups. We examined the 1-year impact of the HDHP switch separately in the before-ACA and after-ACA study cohorts, then compared these changes to estimate ACA effects.Measures:Overall colorectal cancer screening, colonoscopy, and fecal-occult blood testing annual rates.Results:Before the ACA, colorectal cancer screening tests declined by 37/10,000 (−71, −4) among HDHP members versus controls; after the ACA, HDHP members experienced a nonsignificant increase in screening [+52/10,000 (−19,124)]. Corresponding changes in colonoscopy were −55/10,000 (−81, −29) before and +20/10,000 (−38, 78) after the ACA. Thus, the ACA was associated with increased colorectal cancer screening rates [+89/10,000 (11, 168); relative: +9.1% (0.5–17.8)] and screening colonoscopies [+75/10,000 (12–139); relative: +16.4% (2.5–30.3)] among HDHP members.Conclusion:The ACA was associated with improved colorectal cancer screening among HDHP members.
Paediatric Rome III Criteria–Related Abdominal Pain Is Associated With Helicobacter pylori and Not With Calprotectin
Authors: Sýkora Josef , Huml Michal , Siala Konrad , Pomahačová Renáta , Jehlička Petr , Liška Jiří , Kuntscherová Jana , Schwarz Jan 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACTObjectives:Abdominal pain–related functional gastrointestinal disorders in children include functional dyspepsia, functional abdominal pain, irritable bowel syndrome, and abdominal migraine. We aimed to evaluate a possible association between functional abdominal pain disorders and Helicobacter pylori infection and faecal calprotectin level.Methods:Prospective observational study including consecutive children with functional gastrointestinal disorders fulfilling Rome III criteria (cases) and age/sex‐matched healthy controls. H pylori has been detected by biopsy‐based tests and stool‐antigen detection, faecal calprotectin by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay.Results:A total of 56 cases (27 with functional dyspepsia) and 56 controls were enrolled. H pylori being detected in 17 of 56 cases (30.4%) and 4 of 56 controls (7.1%, odds ratio: 5.7; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.8–18.2, P = 0.003). H pylori was detected significantly more frequently in cases with functional dyspepsia (14/27, 51.9% odds ratio: 14.0; 95% CI: 3.9–49.7, P = 0.00001) than in controls and not in cases with other well‐recognized functional gastrointestinal complaints (3/29, 10.3%). The median faecal calprotectin level was similar in cases (7.8 μg/g, 95% CI: 7.8–8.4) including those with gastritis, and controls (9.1 μg/g, 95% CI: 7.8–11.3). Gastritis features were more frequent in H pylori–infected and noninfected cases with functional dyspepsia (27/27, 100%) than in cases with other abdominal functional complaints (15/29, 51.7%, P = 0.007).Conclusions:H pylori gastritis and noninfectious gastritis were associated with functional dyspepsia in children referred for abdominal pain–related functional gastrointestinal disorders while faecal calprotectin is not a predictor of gastritis and is similar in children with functional abdominal pain symptoms and in controls.
The Experience of Participation in Suicide Research From the Perspective of Individuals With Bipolar Disorder
Authors: Owen Rebecca , Gooding Patricia , Dempsey Robert , Jones Steven 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Reasons underlying the elevated prevalence of suicide in bipolar disorder remain underresearched and poorly understood. Participation in suicide-focused research may pose a risk to vulnerable groups, such as those with bipolar disorder. Participants were asked to provide feedback about their experience of participating in a suicide-focused qualitative research interview. The data set was analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Qualitative themes were (1) talking about suicide was not distressing, (2) negative interview expectations, (3) personal benefits, (4) value of suicide research, (5) interview advice, and (6) talking about suicide was difficult. Suicide-focused research can be conducted with minimal participant distress. Sufficient procedures must be in place, both to identify those at risk of experiencing distress and to efficiently deal with any distress that might occur.
Patient-Ventilator Asynchrony During Assisted Ventilation in Children
Authors: Blokpoel Robert G. T. , Burgerhof Johannes G. M. , Markhorst Dick G. , Kneyber Martin C. J. 
Published: February 2016

Objective:
To describe the frequency and type of patient-ventilator asynchrony in mechanically ventilated children by analyzing ventilator flow and pressure signals.

Design:
Prospective observational study.

Setting:
Tertiary PICU in a university hospital.

Patients:
Mechanically ventilated children between 0 and 18 years old and who were able to initiate and maintain spontaneous breathing were eligible for inclusion. Patients with congenital or acquired neuromuscular disorders, those with congenital or acquired central nervous system disorders, and those who were unable to initiate and maintain spontaneous breathing from any other cause were excluded.

Interventions:
None.

Measurements and Main Results:
All patients were ventilated in a time-cycled, pressure-limited mode with flow triggering set at 1.0 L/min by using the Evita XL (Dräger, Lubeck, Germany). Patient-ventilator asynchrony was identified by a random 30-minute continuous recording and an offline analysis of the flow and pressure signals. Patient-ventilator asynchrony was categorized and labeled into four different groups: 1) trigger asynchrony (i.e., insensitive trigger, double triggering, autotriggering, or trigger delay), 2) flow asynchrony, 3) termination asynchrony (i.e., delayed or premature termination), and 4) expiratory asynchrony. Flow and pressure signals were recorded in 45 patients for 30 minutes. A total number of 57,651 breaths were analyzed. Patient-ventilator asynchrony occurred in 19,175 breaths (33%), and it was seen in every patient. Ineffective triggering was the most predominant type of asynchrony (68%), followed by delayed termination (19%), double triggering (4%), and premature termination (3%). Patient-ventilator asynchrony significantly increased with lower levels of peak inspiratory pressure, positive end-expiratory pressure, and set frequency.

Conclusions:
Patient-ventilator asynchrony is extremely common in mechanically ventilated children, and the predominant cause is ineffective triggering.
Inhibitory control of correlated intrinsic variability in cortical networks
Authors: Stringer Carsen , Pachitariu Marius , Okun Michael , Bartho Peter , Harris Kenneth , Latham Peter , Sahani Maneesh , Lesica Nicholas 
Published: February 2016

AbstractCortical networks exhibit intrinsic dynamics that drive coordinated, large-scale fluctuations across neuronal populations and create noise correlations that impact sensory coding. To investigate the network-level mechanisms that underlie these dynamics, we developed novel computational techniques to fit a deterministic spiking network model directly to multi-neuron recordings from different species, sensory modalities, and behavioral states. The model generated correlated variability without external noise and accurately reproduced the wide variety of activity patterns in our recordings. Analysis of the model parameters suggested that differences in noise correlations across recordings were due primarily to differences in the strength of feedback inhibition. Further analysis of our recordings confirmed that putative inhibitory neurons were indeed more active during desynchronized cortical states with weak noise correlations. Our results demonstrate that network models with intrinsically-generated variability can accurately reproduce the activity patterns observed in multi-neuron recordings and suggest that inhibition modulates the interactions between intrinsic dynamics and sensory inputs to control the strength of noise correlations.
User password repetitive patterns analysis and visualization
Authors: Yu Xiaoying , Liao Qi 
Published: February 2016

Purpose– Passwords have been designed to protect individual privacy and security and widely used in almost every area of our life. The strength of passwords is therefore critical to the security of our systems. However, due to the explosion of user accounts and increasing complexity of password rules, users are struggling to find ways to make up sufficiently secure yet easy-to-remember passwords. This paper aims to investigate whether there are repetitive patterns when users choose passwords and how such behaviors may affect us to rethink password security policy.Design/methodology/approach– The authors develop a model to formalize the password repetitive problem and design efficient algorithms to analyze the repeat patterns. To help security practitioners to analyze patterns, the authors design and implement a lightweight, Web-based visualization tool for interactive exploration of password data.Findings– Through case studies on a real-world leaked password data set, the authors demonstrate how the tool can be used to identify various interesting patterns, e.g. shorter substrings of the same type used to make up longer strings, which are then repeated to make up the final passwords, suggesting that the length requirement of password policy does not necessarily increase security.Originality/value– The contributions of this study are two-fold. First, the authors formalize the problem of password repetitive patterns by considering both short and long substrings and in both directions, which have not yet been considered in past. Efficient algorithms are developed and implemented that can analyze various repeat patterns quickly even in large data set. Second, the authors design and implement four novel visualization views that are particularly useful for exploration of password repeat patterns, i.e. the character frequency charts view, the short repeat heatmap view, the long repeat parallel coordinates view and the repeat word cloud view.
Marketing in SMEs: a “4Ps” self-branding model
Authors: Resnick Sheilagh Mary , Cheng Ranis , Simpson Mike , Lourenço Fernando 
Published: February 2016

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which traditional marketing theory and practice can be applied in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and consider how owner-managers perceive their own role in marketing within a small business setting.

Design/methodology/approach
–A qualitative exploratory approach using semi-structured in-depth interviews amongst owner-managers of SMEs in the UK.

Findings
– SME marketing is effective in that it embraces some relevant concepts of traditional marketing, tailors activities to match its customers and adds its own unique attribute of self-branding as bestowed by the SME owner-manager.

Research limitations/implications
– The study was limited to the UK and to a small sample of SMEs and as such the findings are not necessarily generalisable.

Originality/value
– A “4Ps” model for SME self-branding is proposed, which encompasses the attributes of personal branding, (co)production, perseverance and practice.
Credit risk management of Ghanaian listed banks
Authors: Apanga Michelle Ayog-Nying , Appiah Kingsley Opoku , Arthur Joseph 
Published: February 2016

Purpose– The study aims to assess credit risk management practices within financial institutions in Ghana. Specifically, the study compares credit risk management practices of listed banks in Ghana with Basel II (1999).Design/methodology/approach– The analysis is based on data gathered from varied sources, namely, use of questionnaires, analysis of internal credit policies and procedure manuals and semi-structured interviews and discussions with credit risk managers of the selected banks in May 2007 and October 2014.Findings– Overall, the credit risk management practices within listed banks in Ghana are in line with sound practices. The only dissimilarity, however, is the role of the board of directors in defining acceptable types of loans and maximum maturities for the various types of loans. The listed banks in Ghana are also exposed to credit risks associated with granting both corporate and small business commercial loans and the use of collaterals to mitigate their credit risk exposures.Practical implications– Banks in Ghana should consider developing the skills of all their personnel and appropriately motivating those involved in the credit risk management processes to ensure that they carry out this process efficiently.Originality/value– Research into credit risk management in the banking industry from the Ghanaian perspective remains scant. This study is, therefore, timely, and its findings are invaluable for the efficient management of credit risk in the banking industry. This study provides policy recommendations which will enhance shareholder value and, in this way, contribute to greater stability in the banking sector in developing countries, in particular.
Mobile payment technologies in retail: a review of potential benefits and risks
Authors: Taylor Emmeline 
Published: February 2016

Purpose
– Retailers and suppliers are facing the challenge of reconfiguring systems to accommodate increasingly mobile customers expecting multichannel options supporting quick and secure digital payment. The purpose of this paper is to harness the learning from the implementation of self-checkout and combines it with available information relating to mobile scanning and mobile point-of-sale (MPOS).

Design/methodology/approach
– In review of the literature, the paper provides an overview of different modes of mobile payment systems, and a consideration of some of the benefits that they offer to retailers and their customers. The main focus, drawing upon telephone interviews with retail security professionals in Australia and New Zealand, is on anticipating and mitigating against the potential risks, vulnerabilities and impact on shrinkage.

Findings
– With the market being flooded with software and products, retailers are exposed to a compelling case for mobile payment, but it was found that they are not as cognisant of the potential risks.

Research limitations/implications
– Further research is needed on the different permutations of mobile POS and how it impacts on the customer journey and rates of internal and external theft.

Practical implications
– Suggestions for future empirical research on the risks and vulnerabilities that moving to mobile payment can usher in are provided.

Originality/value
– The paper links research from diverse fields, in particular criminology, to elucidate the potential impact of mobile technologies on retail theft and internal technological and process issues, before offering possible solutions.
Socially interacting or indifferent neighbours? Randomization of movement paths to tease apart social preference and spatial constraints
Authors: Spiegel Orr , Leu Stephan T. , Sih Andrew , Bull C. Michael 
Published: February 2016

Summary

Understanding how animals interact with their physical and social environment is a major question in ecology, but separating between these factors is often challenging. Observed interaction rates may reflect social behaviour – preferences or avoidance of conspecifics or certain phenotypes. Yet, environmental spatiotemporal heterogeneity also affects individual space use and interaction rates. For instance, clumped and ephemeral resources may force individuals to aggregate independently of sociality.

Proximity‐based social networks (PBSNs) are becoming increasingly popular for studying social structures thanks to the parallel improvement of biotracking technologies and network randomization methods. While current methods focus on swapping individual identities among network nodes or in the data streams that underlies the network (e.g. individuals movement paths), we still need better tools to distinguish between the contribution of sociality and other factors towards those interactions.

We propose a novel method that randomizes path segments among different time stamps within each individual separately (Part I). Temporal randomization of whole path segments (e.g. full days) retains their original spatial structure while decoupling synchronization among individuals. This allows researchers to compare observed dyadic association rates with those expected by chance given explicit space use of the individuals in each dyad.

Further, since environmental changes are commonly much slower than the duration of social interactions, we can differentiate between these two factors (Part II). First, an individual's path is divided into successive time windows (e.g. weeks), and days are randomized within each time window. Then, by exploring how the deviations between randomized and observed networks change as a function of time window length, we can refine our null model to account also for temporal changes in the activity areas.

We used biased‐correlated random walk models to simulate populations of socially indifferent or sociable agents for testing our method for both false‐positive and negative errors. Applying the method to a data set of GPS‐tracked sleepy lizards (Tiliqua rugosa) demonstrated its ability to reveal the social organization in free‐ranging animals while accounting for confounding factors of environmental spatiotemporal heterogeneity. We demonstrate that this method is robust to sampling bias and argue that it is applicable for a wide range of systems and tracking techniques, and can be extended to test for preferential phenotypic assortment within PBSNs.
Country of origin labeling for complex supply chains: the case for labeling the location of different supply chain links
Authors: Bienenfeld Jason M. , Botkins Elizabeth R. , Roe Brian E. , Batte Marvin T. 
Published: February 2016

AbstractWe investigate the value of a country of origin label (COOL) that separately identifies the geographic location of different stages in a food product's supply chain. We estimate the willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) of U.S. consumers for a packaged cereal product where the key grain ingredient may be grown in one country and processed in a second country (multicountry supply chain) and compare it to equivalent products that have both stages located in a single country. We find consumer WTP for products with single‐country and multicountry supply chains are statistically different, meaning that simplifying a multicountry label by listing only the country where the ingredients are grown or only the country where the ingredients are processed can result in different consumer values. We also find that for countries with a poor quality reputation, consumers respond more negatively when that country has the “last touch” than when that country's involvement is limited to upstream supply chain links.
Pulsed dye laser treatment of capillary malformations in infants at 2‐weekly versus 3‐monthly intervals, reducing the need for general anaesthesia
Authors: Swan Bonnie C , Robertson Susan J , Tuxen Alana , Ma Ellen , Yip Leona , Ly Lena , Bingham Linda , Davidson Andrew , Bekhor Philip 
Published: February 2016

AbstractCapillary malformations (CM) cause significant psychosocial complications. Pulsed dye laser (PDL) treatment at 6–12‐weekly intervals under general anaesthesia (GA) commencing in infants at 6 months of age remains the standard of care in order to achieve maximal improvement prior to school age. The safety of repeated GA in children is controversial. Shortening the time between treatments increases the number that can be delivered prior to 6 months of age, thus reducing the number of subsequent treatments needed under GA. We investigated the safety and effectiveness of more frequent PDL treatment of CM in infancy via a pilot, prospective patient‐controlled study of 10 patients. Using 595 nm (Vbeam) PDL, the entire CM was treated initially, then half the CM randomly allocated to 2‐weekly and half to 3‐monthly intervals for two further treatments. Photographs of the CM taken 3 months after treatment completion were evaluated by an independent, blinded dermatologist. Nine infants completed the study. Three infants (33%) had more improvement on the 2‐weekly treated side and four (44%) had more improvement on the 3‐monthly treated side. Two patients (22%) showed no difference between sides. Treatments were well tolerated without complications. We conclude that 2‐weekly PDL treatments of CM in infants aged under 6 months is effective and well tolerated without adverse effects. Our preliminary data suggest a possible superior efficacy with 3‐monthly treatment intervals; however, larger studies are warranted for stronger evidence. More frequent non‐GA treatment of CM in infants should be further investigated to decrease the risk of repeated GA exposure in young children.