bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Influence of Histological Differentiation Grade on the Outcome of Liver Resection for Hepatocellular Carcinomas 2 cm or Smaller in Size
Authors: Sasaki Kazunari , Matsuda Masamichi , Ohkura Yu , Kawamura Yusuke , Inoue Masafumi , Hashimoto Masaji , Ikeda Kenji , Kumada Hiromitsu , Watanabe Goro 
Published: October 2014

AbstractBackgroundSmall hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) with poorly differentiated components (PDC) are reportedly at risk of dissemination and needle tract seeding after percutaneous radiofrequency ablation, although it is the preferred treatment for HCC ≤ 2 cm because of the low rate of vascular invasion. On the other hand, the clinical outcomes after hepatectomy for these tumors are still unclear because of their rarity.MethodsA total of 233 cases of solitary HCC ≤ 2 cm were retrospectively reviewed and divided into two groups according to the presence of PDC: 199 without PDC (NP‐HCCs) and 34 with PDC (P‐HCCs). The clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis were compared.ResultsA comparison of clinicopathological characteristics showed that the elevation of the tumor markers alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) (>20 ng/mL) and des‐gamma‐carboxyprothrombin (DCP) (>40 AU/L) was significantly frequent in P‐HCCs. The 3‐ and 5‐year recurrence‐free survival rates for P‐HCCS were 39 and 29 %, respectively, which were significantly worse than those for NP‐HCCs (64 and 50 %, respectively) (p < 0.01). Initial recurrence of P‐HCCs was significantly more frequent, as well as extrahepatic recurrence and advanced recurrence in the early period after the operation. Recurrences with tumor dissemination were observed in 15 % of P‐HCCs and 4 % of NP‐HCCs (p = 0.03).ConclusionPDC is present in 15 % of HCC < 2 cm and should be suspected when the both tumor markers are elevated. Moreover, significantly worse post‐hepatectomy outcomes such as early advanced recurrence or recurrence with dissemination should be taken into account if PDC is present even in HCCs ≤ 2 cm.
Diagnostic and Therapeutic Strategies to Manage Post‐Pancreaticoduodenectomy Hemorrhage
Authors: Chen Jian‐feng , Xu Shi‐feng , Zhao Wei , Tian Yuan‐hu , Gong Lin , Yuan Wei‐sheng , Dong Jia‐Hong 
Published: October 2014

AbstractObjectiveTo explore the causes, diagnosis and treatment of post‐pancreaticoduodenectomy hemorrhages (PPHs).MethodsA database of 703 pancreaticoduodenectomy patients in our institution (January 2008–July 2013) was analyzed retrospectively.ResultsPPHs occurred in 62 patients of which, 38 had clear causes and 15 died because of uncontrolled bleeding and multiple organ failure. Pancreatic fistula and abdominal infection rates were significantly higher in the PPH group compared to the group who did not experience hemorrhages (P < 0.05) but did not significantly increase the mortality of PPH patients. Hemostasis was attempted by endotherapy in 7 patients and was successful in 4 (57.1 %). Angioembolization was performed in 12 patients and was successful in 10 (83.3 %) and relaparotomy in 24 patients successful in 13 (54.2 %). All deceased patients belonged to International Study Group of Pancreatic Surgery clinical grade C and sentinel bleeding occurred in 60 % of PPH mortalities (9/15) (P = 0.005).ConclusionPancreatic fistulae and abdominal infections are associated with PPH. Control of early mild upper gastrointestinal hemorrhages could be attempted by endotherapy, but angiography with intervention or surgical treatments were always required for delayed bleeding. The mortality in cases with sentinel bleedings was obviously increased.
“Neighborhood Matters”: Assessment of Neighborhood Social Processes
Authors: Henry David , Gorman-Smith Deborah , Schoeny Michael , Tolan Patrick 
Published: October 2014

AbstractNeighborhoods are important contexts for understanding development and behavior, but cost and difficulty have challenged attempts to develop measures of neighborhood social processes at the neighborhood level. This article reports the development, reliability, and validity of Neighborhood Matters, a collection of instruments assessing three aspects of neighborhood social processes, namely, norms (five subscales), informal social control (six subscales and total scale), social connection (two subscales), as well as individual scales for assessing neighborhood change, neighborhood resources, and neighborhood problems. Six hundred six residents of Chicago, chosen at random from 30 neighborhoods (defined by US Census tracts), completed the measures. Neighborhoods were selected randomly from pools that balanced poverty and predominant (African‐American vs. Latino Hispanic) ethnicity. Within each neighborhood 20 individuals were selected at random, balanced by age (18–24 vs. 30+) and gender. Scaling and item analysis permitted reduction of the number of items in each scale. All subscales had individual‐level internal consistency in excess of .7. Generalizability theory analysis using random effects regression models found significant shared variance at the neighborhood level for three norms subscales, four informal social control subscales, both social connection subscales, and the neighborhood change, resources and problems scales. Validity analyses found significant associations between neighborhood‐level scores on multiple Neighborhood Matters scales and neighborhood levels of violent, property, and drug‐related crime. Discussion focuses on potential applications of the Neighborhood Matters scales in community research.
The role of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPls) in infertile women: the long‐lasting experience
Authors: Ulcova‐Gallova Zdenka 
Published: October 2014

AbstractAntiphospholipid antibodies (aPls) are generally characterized as heterogeneous and non‐specific autoantibodies directed against various phospholipids such as cardiolipin, ph‐serine, ph‐inositol, ph‐acid, ph‐glycerol, ph‐sphyngomyelin, ph‐choline, annexins, and co‐factor β2‐glycoprotein I. aPls occur not only during autoimmune diseases but also during infectious diseases, essential hypertension, neurological complication, metabolic diseases, some drug abuse, and transplant loss. aPls are very often found in connection with reproductive failure such as repeated pregnancy loss and/or missed abortion, intrauterine fetal death, in preeclampsia, and repeated delivery of hypothrophic fetus. The presence of aPls, thrombosis, and fertility failure create primary or secondary antiphospholipid syndrome. This article explains some aspects and clinical and laboratory significance of the aPls in female infertility.
Historic Stroke Motor Severity Score Predicts Progression in TIA/Minor Stroke
Authors: Camden Marie-Christine , Hill Michael D. , Demchuk Andrew M. , Poppe Alexandre Y. , Shobha Nan , Barber Philip A. , Coutts Shelagh B. 
Published: October 2014

Background:transient ischemic attack (tIA) and minor stroke have a high risk of early neurological deterioration, and patients who experience early improvement are at risk of deterioration. We generated a score for quantifying the worst reported motor and speech deficits and assessed whether this predicted outcome.Methods:510 tIA or minor stroke (NIHSS>4) patients were included. the Historical Stroke Severity Score (HSSS) prospectively quantified the patient's description of the worst motor or speech deficits. the HSSS was rated at the time of first assessment with more severe deficits scoring higher. Motor HSSS included assessments of arm and leg motor power (score total 0-5). Speech HSSS assessed severity of dysarthria and aphasia (total 0-3). the association between motor and speech HSSS and symptom progression was assessed during the 90-day follow-up period.Results:the proportion of patients in each category of the motor HSSS was 0: 43% (216/510), 1: 22%(110/510), 2: 17% (89/510), 3: 7% (37/510), 4: 5% (28/510) and 5: 6% (30/510). Motor HSSS was associated with symptom progression (p=0.004) but not recurrent stroke. Speech HSSS was not associated with either progression or recurrent stroke. Motor HSSS predicted disability (p=0.002) and intracranial occlusion (p=0.012). Disability increased with increasing motor HSSS.Conclusions:taking a detailed history about the severity of motor deficits, but not speech, predicted outcome in tIA and minor stroke patients. A score based on the patient's description of the severity of motor symptoms predicted symptom progression, intracranial occlusion and functional outcome, but not recurrent stroke in a tIA and minor stroke population.
Ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay: MR and Clinical Results in Lower-Limb Musculature
Authors: Gazulla José , Mayayo-Sinués Esteban , Benavente Isabel , Modrego Pedro J. , Berciano José 
Published: October 2014

Objective:Peripheral neuropathy is a cardinal manifestation of the autosomal recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix- Saguenay (ARSACS), although its type of neuromuscular involvement has not been definitely established, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) plays an important role in the assessment of muscle and nerve diseases. The objective of this work has been to define the patterns of muscle weakness and of abnormal muscular MRI in ARSACS.Patients and Methods:Five patients with a molecular diagnosis of ARSACS, aged 39 to 59 years, whose electrophysiological findings were consistent with an axonal neuropathy of distal distribution superimposed on a developmental defect of myelinization, underwent neurological and MRI lower-limb examinations. Conventional FSE T1-weighted and STIR sequences were performed, looking for fatty infiltration and oedema in the musculature of the thighs, legs and feet, together with their distribution along the longitudinal axis of the muscle bellies.Results:On clinical examination, paralysis was apparent in foot muscles; moderate weakness, in leg musculature; and normal strength, in thigh muscles. MRI demonstrated massive fat deposition in the foot muscles and medial gastrocnemii in every case, distal fat infiltration and oedema in every leg muscle group, and preservation of thigh muscles, albeit with diffuse minimal non-specific fat infiltration. An inverse correlation between strength and degree of fat infiltration in lower-limb muscles became apparent.Conclusion:The preponderance of weakness and MRI abnormalities in distal muscle groups was concordant with the presence of a length-dependent axonopathy, as described in ARSACS.
Measuring Electoral Integrity around the World: A New Dataset
Authors: Norris Pippa , Frank Richard W. , Martínez i Coma Ferran 
Published: October 2014

ABSTRACTMany contentious elections end in disputes about alleged fraud, irregularities, and malpractices. How do we know when these claims are valid and when they are false complaints from sore losers? This article describes a new dataset developed by the Electoral Integrity Project. Based on a survey of election experts, the research provides new evidence to compare how national contests around the world are meeting international standards of electoral integrity. The questionnaire includes 49 key indicators clustered into 11 stages of the electoral cycle, as well as generating an overall summary Perception of Electoral Integrity (PEI) 100-point index. The evidence displays high levels of external validity, internal validity, and legitimacy. The PEI datasets allow researchers to gauge the perceived quality of elections worldwide. This study summarizes the PEI’s research design, compares the quality of elections around the globe, and illustrates how electoral integrity is linked with both democracy and development.
Political Scandal and Bias in Survey Responses
Authors: Goedert Nicholas 
Published: October 2014

ABSTRACTThis article provides evidence for bias in the polling of American political candidates who are accused of personal or financial scandal, wherein the support of the accused candidate is understated. Evidence for this phenomenon is found in the analysis of a dataset of district-level polls of US House elections during the 2002–2012 election cycles. This bias helps to explain several unanticipated outcomes in recent American legislative elections, in which scandal-tarred incumbents unexpectedly were reelected or defeated by surprisingly narrow margins. The article also finds evidence of a smaller bias, previously observed by practitioners, wherein support is overstated for incumbents who are not accused of scandal.
Effects of UVC254 nm on the photosynthetic activity of photobionts from the astrobiologically relevant lichens Buellia frigida and Circinaria gyrosa
Authors: Meeßen J. , Backhaus T. , Sadowsky A. , Mrkalj M. , Sánchez F.J. , de la Torre R. , Ott S. 
Published: October 2014

AbstractIn the past decade, various astrobiological studies on different lichen species investigated the impairment of viability and photosynthetic activity by exposure to simulated or real space parameters (as vacuum, polychromatic ultraviolet (UV)-radiation and monochromatic UVC) and consistently found high post-exposure viability as well as low rates of photosynthetic impairment (de Vera et al. 2003, 2004a; 2004b; de la Torre et al. 2010; Onofri et al. 2012; Sánchez et al. 2012, 2014; Brandt et al. 2014). To achieve a better understanding of the basic mechanisms of resistance, the present study subdued isolated and metabolically active photobionts of two astrobiologically relevant lichens to UVC254 nm, examined its effect on photosynthetic activity by chlorophyll a fluorescence and characterized the UVC-induced damages by quantum yield reduction and measurements of non-photochemical quenching. The results indicate a strong impairment of photosynthetic activity, photoprotective mechanisms and overall photobiont vitality when being irradiated in the isolated and metabolically active state. In conclusion, the present study stresses the higher susceptibility of photobionts towards extreme environmental conditions as UVC-exposure, a stressor that does not occur on the Earth. By comparison with previous studies, the present results highlight the importance of protective mechanisms in lichens, such as morphological–anatomical traits (Meeßen et al. 2013), secondary lichen compounds (Meeßen et al. 2014) and the symbiont's pivotal ability to pass into anhydrobiosis when desiccating.
Middle-Eastern plant communities tolerate 9 years of drought in a multi-site climate manipulation experiment
Authors: Tielbörger Katja , Bilton Mark C. , Metz Johannes , Kigel Jaime , Holzapfel Claus , Lebrija-Trejos Edwin , Konsens Irit , Parag Hadas A. , Sternberg Marcelo 
Published: October 2014

AbstractFor evaluating climate change impacts on biodiversity, extensive experiments are urgently needed to complement popular non-mechanistic models which map future ecosystem properties onto their current climatic niche. Here, we experimentally test the main prediction of these models by means of a novel multi-site approach. We implement rainfall manipulations—irrigation and drought—to dryland plant communities situated along a steep climatic gradient in a global biodiversity hotspot containing many wild progenitors of crops. Despite the large extent of our study, spanning nine plant generations and many species, very few differences between treatments were observed in the vegetation response variables: biomass, species composition, species richness and density. The lack of a clear drought effect challenges studies classifying dryland ecosystems as most vulnerable to global change. We attribute this resistance to the tremendous temporal and spatial heterogeneity under which the plants have evolved, concluding that this should be accounted for when predicting future biodiversity change.
W‐band piezoelectric transducer‐controlled low insertion loss variable phase shifter
Authors: Abdellatif A. , Taeb A. , Ranjkesh N. , Gigoyan S. , Safavi‐Naeini S. 
Published: October 2014

A low‐cost and low‐loss piezoelectric transducer‐controlled phase shifter for millimetre‐wave/sub‐terahertz applications is presented. The proposed idea is based on reducing the propagation constant of a high‐resistivity silicon image guide by a high dielectric constant slab loading. The proposed phase shifter has a measured insertion loss of <−2 dB across the range from 87 to 94 GHz. A phase shift of 85° at 90 GHz is obtained by a device length of 4 mm. The proposed phase shifter has an insertion loss variation of < 0.2 dB for 85° of phase shift at 90 GHz. Measurement results are in good agreement with the simulations.
Optically controlled reconfigurable band‐notched UWB antenna for cognitive radio systems
Authors: Zheng Shou Hui , Liu Xiongying , Tentzeris Manos M. 
Published: October 2014

A compact optically controlled ultra‐wideband (UWB) antenna with reconfigurable band‐notched characteristics is investigated for cognitive radio (CR) applications. The rejection mechanism is realised by etching one symmetric folded slot on the U‐shaped radiation patch and the essence of the reconfigurable function is achieved by laser controlling photoconductive switches to change the effective length of the folded slot. A prototype with an overall size of 25 × 25 × 0.8 mm3 is designed and constructed. On the basis of simulated and measured results, the proposed antenna exhibits good radiation behaviour and operates in a wide band with the performance of switchable band rejection of the wireless local area network (WLAN) 2.4 GHz (2.2–2.9 GHz), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) (3.2–4.7 GHz), WLAN 5 GHz (4.8–6.6 GHz) and the ITU 8 GHz (7.5–8.7 GHz).
Enhancing transconductance of ultra‐low‐power two‐stage folded cascode OTA
Authors: Akbari M. , Hashemipour O. 
Published: October 2014

Using the Gm‐C compensation technique, an ultra‐low‐power two‐stage operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) with rail‐to‐rail input/output swing is presented. The input stage of the proposed OTA has the benefit of transconductance enhancement compared to the conventional OTA with the same power consumption and silicon area. Simulation results in a 0.18 μm CMOS technology show a DC gain enhancement of 9.5 dB as well as 88% improvement in gain bandwidth compared to the conventional folded cascode input stage structure.
0.35 V time‐domain‐based instrumentation amplifier
Authors: Mohan R. , Yan L. , Gielen G. , Van Hoof C. , Yazicioglu R.F. 
Published: October 2014

A time‐domain‐based amplifier concept is proposed to obtain high‐voltage gains with low power consumption and at an ultra‐low supply voltage of 0.35 V. A prototype instrumentation amplifier designed using the proposed technique in the 180 nm technology consumes 210 nW of power and 0.1 mm2 of the active area.
Compact filtering antenna using CRLH resonator and defected ground structure
Authors: Chen L. , Luo Y.‐L. 
Published: October 2014

A compact ﬁltering antenna with high band‐edge gain selectivity using a composite right‐/left‐handed (CRLH) resonator and a defected ground structure is presented. The CRLH resonator resonates at the zeroth‐order mode and acts as the first stage of the corresponding filter; an octagonal patch acts as a radiator as well as the last stage of the ﬁlter. The design procedure follows the circuit approach – synthesis of bandpass ﬁlters. The ﬁltering antenna has two poles in the passband and two radiation nulls (zeros) at the band edges. Compared to the conventional patch antenna, the proposed filtering antenna, with little extra circuit area, has flat gain response within the passband, good selectivity at the passband edge and wider bandwidth. Measurement results show that the ﬁltering antenna can operate at 5.29 GHz, has a 430 MHz bandwidth and a 2.5 dBi antenna gain in the broadside (+Z) direction within the passband.
Autism as a disorder of prediction
Authors: Sinha Pawan , Kjelgaard Margaret M. , Gandhi Tapan K. , Tsourides Kleovoulos , Cardinaux Annie L. , Pantazis Dimitrios , Diamond Sidney P. , Held Richard M. 
Published: October 2014

Significance
Autism is characterized by diverse behavioral traits. Guided by theoretical considerations and empirical data, this paper develops the hypothesis that many of autism's salient traits may be manifestations of an underlying impairment in predictive abilities. This impairment renders an otherwise orderly world to be experienced as a capriciously “magical” one. The hypothesis elucidates the information-processing roots of autism and, thereby, can aid the identification of neural structures likely to be differentially affected. Behavioral and neural measures of prediction might serve as early assays of predictive abilities in infants, and serve as useful tools in intervention design and in monitoring their effectiveness. The hypothesis also points to avenues for further research to determine molecular and circuit-level causal underpinnings of predictive impairments.
Cost Savings of Universal Decolonization to Prevent Intensive Care Unit Infection: Implications of the REDUCE MRSA Trial
Authors: Huang Susan S. , Septimus Edward , Avery Taliser R. , Lee Grace M. , Hickok Jason , Weinstein Robert A. , Moody Julia , Hayden Mary K. , Perlin Jonathan B. , Platt Richard , Ray G. Thomas 
Published: October 2014

Objective.To estimate and compare the impact on healthcare costs of 3 alternative strategies for reducing bloodstream infections in the intensive care unit (ICU): methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nares screening and isolation, targeted decolonization (ie, screening, isolation, and decolonization of MRSA carriers or infections), and universal decolonization (ie, no screening and decolonization of all ICU patients).Design.Cost analysis using decision modeling.Methods.We developed a decision-analysis model to estimate the health care costs of targeted decolonization and universal decolonization strategies compared with a strategy of MRSA nares screening and isolation. Effectiveness estimates were derived from a recent randomized trial of the 3 strategies, and cost estimates were derived from the literature.Results.In the base case, universal decolonization was the dominant strategy and was estimated to have both lower intervention costs and lower total ICU costs than either screening and isolation or targeted decolonization. Compared with screening and isolation, universal decolonization was estimated to save $171,000 and prevent 9 additional bloodstream infections for every 1,000 ICU admissions. The dominance of universal decolonization persisted under a wide range of cost and effectiveness assumptions.Conclusions.A strategy of universal decolonization for patients admitted to the ICU would both reduce bloodstream infections and likely reduce healthcare costs compared with strategies of MRSA nares screening and isolation or screening and isolation coupled with targeted decolonization.