bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessing Trauma Care Capabilities of the Health Centers in Northern Ghana
Authors: Tabiri Stephen , Nicks Bret A. , Dykstra Richard , Hiestand Brian , Hildreth Amy 
Published: July 2015

AbstractIntroductionTraffic‐related injury is a major and increasing cause of global mortality, especially in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). However, trauma systems, personnel, resources, and infrastructure are frequently insufficient to meet the needs of the population in this at‐risk population in LMICs. In addition, these resources are not uniformly distributed, coordinated, nor well described within most countries. Trauma care resources have not previously been characterized in the Northern Region of Ghana.MethodsWe performed uniform site evaluations and interviews at 92 hospitals in Northern Ghana. Trauma systems, material resources, and human resources were quantified. Equipment was characterized as available in the Emergency Department (ED), in the hospital only, or unavailable. Hospitals were categorized as primary, district, or referral.ResultsForty‐two primary hospitals, 48 district hospitals, 3 regional hospitals, and 1 teaching hospital were surveyed. Over 95 % of hospitals reported having no training or systems for the care of injured patients. Substantial clinical equipment deficits were found at most primary hospitals. In over 90 % of these hospitals, the majority of circulation and monitoring, airway and breathing, and diagnostic imagining resources were not available. Equipment was also frequently unavailable at district and regional hospitals. When available, these resources were infrequently present in the ED.ConclusionsAlthough resources may be unavoidably constrained, there are substantial opportunities to improve the systematic management of trauma care and improve the education of the medical providers regarding care of injured patients in the region studied.
Elimination of formate production in Clostridium thermocellum
Authors: Rydzak Thomas , Lynd Lee R , Guss Adam M 
Published: July 2015

Abstract
The ability of Clostridium thermocellum to rapidly degrade cellulose and ferment resulting hydrolysis products into ethanol makes it a promising platform organism for cellulosic biofuel production via consolidated bioprocessing. Currently, however, ethanol yield is far below theoretical maximum due to branched product pathways that divert carbon and electrons towards formate, H2, lactate, acetate, and secreted amino acids. To redirect carbon and electron flux away from formate, genes encoding pyruvate:formate lyase (pflB) and PFL-activating enzyme (pflA) were deleted. Formate production in the resulting Δpfl strain was eliminated and acetate production decreased by 50 % on both complex and defined medium. The growth rate of the Δpfl strain decreased by 2.9-fold on defined medium and biphasic growth was observed on complex medium. Supplementation of defined medium with 2 mM formate restored Δpfl growth rate to 80 % of the parent strain. The role of pfl in metabolic engineering strategies and C1 metabolism is discussed.
The Effect of Neighborhood Recorded Crime on Fear: Does Neighborhood Social Context Matter?
Authors: Pearson Amber L. , Breetzke Gregory , Ivory Vivienne 
Published: July 2015

AbstractA number of individual and neighborhood‐level factors may influence the relationship between recorded crime in one’s neighborhood and fear of crime. Understanding these factors may assist in reducing fear, which has been associated with poorer physical and mental health. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the effect of recorded crime rates on fear differs based on the neighborhood social context (social fragmentation) using hierarchical regression modelling, with separate analyses by crime type. Recorded crimes (2008–2010) and national (New Zealand) survey data were used. Higher crime in a neighborhood was associated with higher fear of crime, with only small effect size differences in feelings of fear by recorded type of crime. However, when stratified, the associations between violent and drug/alcohol crimes and fear of crime were larger for those living in highly fragmented neighborhoods compared with less fragmented neighborhoods. Efforts to alleviate fear of crime should focus on the broader neighborhood social context in which these feelings are espoused.
RISK MARGIN QUANTILE FUNCTION VIA PARAMETRIC AND NON-PARAMETRIC BAYESIAN APPROACHES
Authors: Dong Alice X.D. , Chan Jennifer S.K. , Peters Gareth W. 
Published: July 2015

AbstractWe develop quantile functions from regression models in order to derive risk margin and to evaluate capital in non-life insurance applications. By utilizing the entire range of conditional quantile functions, especially higher quantile levels, we detail how quantile regression is capable of providing an accurate estimation of risk margin and an overview of implied capital based on the historical volatility of a general insurers loss portfolio. Two modeling frameworks are considered based around parametric and non-parametric regression models which we develop specifically in this insurance setting. In the parametric framework, quantile functions are derived using several distributions including the flexible generalized beta (GB2) distribution family, asymmetric Laplace (AL) distribution and power-Pareto (PP) distribution. In these parametric model based quantile regressions, we detail two basic formulations. The first involves embedding the quantile regression loss function from the nonparameteric setting into the argument of the kernel of a parametric data likelihood model, this is well known to naturally lead to the AL parametric model case. The second formulation we utilize in the parametric setting adopts an alternative quantile regression formulation in which we assume a structural expression for the regression trend and volatility functions which act to modify a base quantile function in order to produce the conditional data quantile function. This second approach allows a range of flexible parametric models to be considered with different tail behaviors. We demonstrate how to perform estimation of the resulting parametric models under a Bayesian regression framework. To achieve this, we design Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling strategies for the resulting Bayesian posterior quantile regression models. In the non-parametric framework, we construct quantile functions by minimizing an asymmetrically weighted loss function and estimate the parameters under the AL proxy distribution to resemble the minimization process. This quantile regression model is contrasted to the parametric AL mean regression model and both are expressed as a scale mixture of uniform distributions to facilitate efficient implementation. The models are extended to adopt dynamic mean, variance and skewness and applied to analyze two real loss reserve data sets to perform inference and discuss interesting features of quantile regression for risk margin calculations.
Energy allocation during the maturation of adults in a long-lived insect: implications for dispersal and reproduction
Authors: David G. , Giffard B. , van Halder I. , Piou D. , Jactel H. 
Published: July 2015

AbstractEnergy allocation strategies have been widely documented in insects and were formalized in the context of the reproduction process by the terms ‘capital breeder’ and ‘income breeder’. We propose here the extension of this framework to dispersal ability, with the concepts of ‘capital disperser’ and ‘income disperser’, and explore the trade-off in resource allocation between dispersal and reproduction. We hypothesized that flight capacity was sex-dependent, due to a trade-off in energy allocation between dispersal and egg production in females. We usedMonochamus galloprovincialisas model organism, a long-lived beetle which is the European vector of the pine wood nematode. We estimated the flight capacity with a flight mill and used the number of mature eggs as a proxy for the investment in reproduction. We used the ratio between dry weights of the thorax and the abdomen to investigate the trade-off. The probability of flying increased with the adult weight at emergence, but was not dependent on insect age or sex. Flight distance increased with age in individuals but did not differ between sexes. It was also positively associated with energy allocation to thorax reserves, which increased with age. In females, the abdomen weight and the number of eggs also increase with age with no negative effect on flight capacity, indicating a lack of trade-off. This long-lived beetle has a complex strategy of energy allocation, being a ‘capital disperser’ in terms of flight ability, an ‘income disperser’ in terms of flight performance and an ‘income breeder’ in terms of egg production.
Effect of otitis media with effusion on cochlear implant surgery: technical difficulties, post-operative complications and outcome
Authors: Alzoubi F , Odat H , Nuseir A , Al Omari A , Al-Zuraiqi B 
Published: July 2015

AbstractObjective:This study evaluated the complications and outcomes of cochlear implantation in patients who had otitis media with effusion at the time of surgery.Methods:A retrospective chart review study was performed of 87 consecutive paediatric patients (age range 22 months to 10 years, mean 4.8 years) who underwent successful cochlear implantation, with follow-up periods of 5–6 years. All patients had unilateral implants, with eight on the left side. All devices were activated two weeks after implantation. The effect of the middle-ear condition on the procedure, post-operative complications and outcome were evaluated.Results:Unilateral ears of 17 otitis media with effusion patients were implanted with some surgical difficulties but no long-term post-operative complications.Conclusion:For children admitted for cochlear implantation who are subsequently found to have otitis media with effusion, surgeons should be aware of possible surgical difficulties. Greater intra-operative risks should be anticipated and more surgical time allowed for cochlear implantation in these patients.
Distinguishing bipolar from unipolar depression: the importance of clinical symptoms and illness features
Authors: Leonpacher A. K. , Liebers D. , Pirooznia M. , Jancic D. , MacKinnon D. F. , Mondimore F. M. , Schweizer B. , Potash J. B. , Zandi P. P. ,   NIMH Genetics Initiative Bipolar Disorder Consortium,   GenRED Consortium, Goes F. S. 
Published: July 2015

BackgroundDistinguishing bipolar disorder (BP) from major depressive disorder (MDD) has important relevance for prognosis and treatment. Prior studies have identified clinical features that differ between these two diseases but have been limited by heterogeneity and lack of replication. We sought to identify depression-related features that distinguish BP from MDD in large samples with replication.MethodUsing a large, opportunistically ascertained collection of subjects with BP and MDD we selected 34 depression-related clinical features to test across the diagnostic categories in an initial discovery dataset consisting of 1228 subjects (386 BPI, 158 BPII and 684 MDD). Features significantly associated with BP were tested in an independent sample of 1000 BPI cases and 1000 MDD cases for classifying ability in receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.ResultsSeven clinical features showed significant association with BPI compared with MDD: delusions, psychomotor retardation, incapacitation, greater number of mixed symptoms, greater number of episodes, shorter episode length, and a history of experiencing a high after depression treatment. ROC analyses of a model including these seven factors showed significant evidence for discrimination between BPI and MDD in an independent dataset (area under the curve = 0.83). Only two features (number of mixed symptoms, and feeling high after an antidepressant) showed an association with BPII versus MDD.ConclusionsOur study suggests that clinical features distinguishing depression in BPI versus MDD have important classification potential for clinical practice, and should also be incorporated as ‘baseline’ features in the evaluation of novel diagnostic biomarkers.
Introducing a two temperature plasma ignition in inertial confined targets under the effect of relativistic shock waves: The case of DT and pB11
Authors: Eliezer Shalom , Henis Zohar , Nissim Noaz , Pinhasi Shirly Vinikman , Martinez Val José Maria 
Published: July 2015

AbstractA criterion for a two temperature plasma nuclear fusion ignition is derived by using a common model. In particular, deuterium-tritium (DT) and proton–boron11 (pB11) are considered for pre-compressed plasma. The ignition criterion is described by a surface in the three-dimensional space defined by the electron and ion temperatures Te, Ti, and the plasma density times the hot spot dimension, ρ·R. The appropriate fusion ion temperatures Ti are larger than 10 keV for DT and 150 keV for pB11. The required value of ρ·R for pB11 ignition is larger by a factor of 50 or more than for DT, depending on the electron temperature. Furthermore, our ignition criterion obtained here for pB11 fusion is practically impossible for equal electron and ion temperatures. In this paper it is suggested to use a two temperature laser induced shock wave in the intermediate domain between relativistic and non-relativistic shock waves. The laser parameters required for fast ignition are calculated. In particular, we find that for DT case one needs a 3 kJ/1 ps laser to ignite a pre-compressed target at about 600 g/cm3. For pB11 ignition it is necessary to use more than three orders of magnitude of laser energy for the same laser pulse duration.
Did AIDS mortality decrease the number of lifetime sexual partners in Kenya: an ecological analysis?
Authors: KENYON C. R. , SCHWARTZ I. , BUYZE J. 
Published: July 2015

SUMMARYWe assessed if there has been a decline in the median number of reported lifetime sexual partners in Kenya following the AIDS epidemic. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used to compare the median and interquartile range (IQR) of the number of lifetime sexual partners for men aged 20–54 years in the 1993 and 2008 Kenyan Demographic Health Surveys. The median number of sexual partners in 1993 increased rapidly to 10 partners reported at age 30 years then plateaued at this level. In 2008, the median number of sexual partners plateaued at around half the value of the 1993 plateau. The median number of lifetime sexual partners for men aged 20–54 years declined from 10 (IQR 4-20) in 1993 to 3 (IQR 2-7) in 2008 (P< 0·001). This decline could be due to a combination of the effects of AIDS mortality and a misreporting bias.
Non-invasive assessment of endothelial function in children with obesity and lipid disorders
Authors: Hudgins Lisa C. , Annavajjhala Vidhya , Kovanlikaya Arzu , Frank Maura D. , Solomon Aliza , Parker Thomas S. , Cooper Rubin S. 
Published: July 2015

AbstractBackgroundDigital tonometry is designed to non-invasively screen for endothelial dysfunction by the detection of impaired flow-induced reactive hyperaemia in the fingertip. We determined whether digital reactive hyperaemia correlated with risk factors for atherosclerosis in two groups of children at increased risk for endothelial dysfunction.MethodsA total of 15 obese children and 23 non-obese, dyslipidaemic children, 8–21 years of age, were enrolled, and their medical histories, anthropometric measurements, carotid wall thickness by means of ultrasonography, and fasting blood samples for cardiovascular risk factors were obtained. The standard endoPAT index of digital reactive hyperaemia was modified to reflect the true peak response or the integrated response of the entire post-occlusion period. In each group, age, sex, pubertal status, carotid wall thickness, and multiple cardiovascular risk factors were tested as predictors of endothelial dysfunction.ResultsIn the non-obese, dyslipidaemic group, but not in the obese group, both indices strongly correlated with height (r=0.55, p=0.007, by peak response) followed by weight, waist circumference, and age. In both groups, neither index of reactive hyperaemia significantly correlated with any other cardiovascular risk factor.ConclusionsContrary to the known age-related increase in atherosclerosis, digital reactive hyperaemia increased with age and its correlates in non-obese, dyslipidaemic children and was not related to other cardiovascular risk factors in either group. The reason for the lack of this relationship with age in obese children is unknown. The age-dependent physiology of digital microvascular reactivity and the endothelium-independent factors controlling the peak hyperaemic response need further study in children with a wide age range.
Comparative analysis of dietary guidelines in the Spanish-Speaking Caribbean
Authors: Fuster Melissa 
Published: July 2015

AbstractObjectiveDietary guidelines are important education and policy tools to address local nutrition concerns. The current paper presents a comparative analysis of nutrition messages from three Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries (Cuba, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic) to explore how these dietary guidelines address common public health nutrition concerns, contextualized in different changing food environments and food culture similarities.DesignQualitative, comparative analysis of current dietary guideline documents and key recommendations.ResultsKey recommendations were categorized into sixteen themes (two diet-based, ten food-based and four ‘other’). Only the Cuban dietary guidelines included diet-based key recommendations. Of the ten food-based key recommendations, only four themes overlapped across the three dietary guidelines (the encouragement of fruits and vegetables, addressing protein sources and fat). Other overlaps were found between dietary guideline pairs, except between Cuba and Puerto Rico. Further analysis revealed differences in levels of specificity and acknowledgement of local dietary patterns and issues, as well as the need to revise the guidelines to account for current scientific advances.ConclusionsThe present study underscored the importance of context in the framing of dietary advice and the influence of national socio-economic and political situations on nutrition policy and education efforts. The results contribute to inform efforts to improve nutrition communication in the region and among migrant communities.
Gap geometry dictates epithelial closure efficiency
Authors: Ravasio Andrea , Cheddadi Ibrahim , Chen Tianchi , Pereira Telmo , Ong Hui Ting , Bertocchi Cristina , Brugues Agusti , Jacinto Antonio , Kabla Alexandre J. , Toyama Yusuke , Trepat Xavier , Gov Nir , Neves de Almeida Luís , Ladoux Benoit 
Published: July 2015

AbstractClosure of wounds and gaps in tissues is fundamental for the correct development and physiology of multicellular organisms and, when misregulated, may lead to inflammation and tumorigenesis. To re-establish tissue integrity, epithelial cells exhibit coordinated motion into the void by active crawling on the substrate and by constricting a supracellular actomyosin cable. Coexistence of these two mechanisms strongly depends on the environment. However, the nature of their coupling remains elusive because of the complexity of the overall process. Here we demonstrate that epithelial gap geometry in both in vitro and in vivo regulates these collective mechanisms. In addition, the mechanical coupling between actomyosin cable contraction and cell crawling acts as a large-scale regulator to control the dynamics of gap closure. Finally, our computational modelling clarifies the respective roles of the two mechanisms during this process, providing a robust and universal mechanism to explain how epithelial tissues restore their integrity.
Patient-reported side effects, concerns and adherence to corticosteroid treatment for asthma, and comparison with physician estimates of side-effect prevalence: a UK-wide, cross-sectional study
Authors: Cooper Vanessa , Metcalf Leanne , Versnel Jenny , Upton Jane , Walker Samantha , Horne Rob 
Published: July 2015

Abstract
Background:
Non-adherence to corticosteroid treatment has been shown to reduce treatment efficacy, thus compromising asthma control.

Aims:
To examine the experiences of treatment side effects, treatment concerns and adherence to inhaled (ICS) and oral corticosteroids (OCS) among people with asthma and to identify the degree of concordance between clinician estimates of side effects and the prevalence reported by patients.

Methods:
Asthma UK members were sent validated questionnaires assessing treatment concerns, experiences of side effects and adherence. Questionnaires measuring clinicians’ estimates of the prevalence of corticosteroid side effects were completed online.

Results:
Completed questionnaires were returned by 1,524 people taking ICS, 233 taking OCS and 244 clinicians (67% of clinicians were primary care nurses). Among people with asthma, 64% of those taking ICS and 88% of those taking OCS reported ⩾1 side effect. People reporting high adherence to ICS (t=−3.09, P<0.005) and those reporting low adherence to OCS (t=1.86, P<0.05; one-tailed test) reported more side effects. There was a disparity between clinicians’ estimates of the frequency of side effects and the frequency reported by people with asthma: e.g., although 46% of people taking ICS reported sore throat, clinicians estimated that this figure would be 10%. Patients who reported side effects had stronger concerns about both ICS (r=0.46, P<0.0001) and OCS (r=0.50, P<0.0001). Concerns about corticosteroids were associated with low adherence to ICS (t=6.90, P<0.0001) and OCS (t=1.71; P<0.05; one-tailed test).

Conclusions:
An unexpectedly large proportion of people with asthma experienced side effects and had strong concerns about their treatment, which compromised adherence. These findings have implications for the design of interventions to optimise asthma control through improved adherence.
Computing Arm Movements with a Monkey Brainet
Authors: Ramakrishnan Arjun , Ifft Peter J. , Pais-Vieira Miguel , Byun Yoon Woo , Zhuang Katie Z. , Lebedev Mikhail A. , Nicolelis Miguel A.L. 
Published: July 2015

AbstractTraditionally, brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) extract motor commands from a single brain to control the movements of artificial devices. Here, we introduce a Brainet that utilizes very-large-scale brain activity (VLSBA) from two (B2) or three (B3) nonhuman primates to engage in a common motor behaviour. A B2 generated 2D movements of an avatar arm where each monkey contributed equally to X and Y coordinates; or one monkey fully controlled the X-coordinate and the other controlled the Y-coordinate. A B3 produced arm movements in 3D space, while each monkey generated movements in 2D subspaces (X-Y, Y-Z, or X-Z). With long-term training we observed increased coordination of behavior, increased correlations in neuronal activity between different brains and modifications to neuronal representation of the motor plan. Overall, performance of the Brainet improved owing to collective monkey behaviour. These results suggest that primate brains can be integrated into a Brainet, which self-adapts to achieve a common motor goal.