bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Reconsideration of Multiple Equilibria in the Analysis of One-Period Government Bonds with Default Risk
Authors: Guo Yanling 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
In this paper, the author considers sovereign debt in the form of one-period government bonds with default risk, which can be purchased by and traded among domestic and foreign investors. She shows that the “good equilibrium” is the only stable equilibrium under some quite general assumptions, while the “bad equilibrium” is an unstable one—a possible explanation for why the former is observed in practice. Given the “good equilibrium”, the author further shows that the domestic debt share also determines the default risk: a higher domestic debt share means a lower default risk, ceteris paribus, which leads to a lower risk premium; while a lower domestic debt share means a higher default risk and a higher risk premium. Finally, she discusses some alternative interpretations of the domestic debt share.
RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY: A TOOL FOR ASSESSING THE ROLE OF COMPOUNDING INGREDIENTS IN PEROXIDE VULCANIZATION OF NATURAL RUBBER
Authors: Rajan Rejitha , Varghese Siby , Balachandran Meera , George K. E. 
Published: October 2015

ABSTRACT
Response surface methodology was used for assessing the role of various compounding ingredients, including zinc oxide, antioxidant, coagent, oil, and filler, in peroxide vulcanization of natural rubber. A face-centered central composite design with four factors at three different levels was used to obtain the relationship between vulcanizate properties and the level of ingredients. The four factors selected were filler and oil ratio and the contents of zinc oxide, antioxidant, and coagent. The filler and oil ratio was kept constant throughout the experiment. The vulcanizates were evaluated for their mechanical properties: tensile strength, elongation, modulus (M100), tear strength, hardness, compression set (70 and 100 °C), and crosslink density. Regression equations were generated to model the properties of interest, and response surfaces and contour diagrams were plotted.
The Women’S Perceptions About Unwanted Pregnancy: A Qualitative Study in Iran
Authors: Akbarzadeh Marzieh , Yazdanpanahi Zahra , Zarshenas Ladan , Sharif Farkhondeh 
Published: October 2015

<p><strong>BACKGROUND:</strong> Unwanted pregnancy has affected different aspects of our life. Researchers point out if a child’s birth is unwanted, an increase in maternal issues can be observed. The aim of this study was to describe the women’s viewpoints regarding unwanted pregnancy. <strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>METHOD: </strong>This qualitative study using content analysis was employed in Shiraz University in 2013-2014. 20 women with unwanted pregnancy were chosen using purposeful sampling. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and trustworthiness of them was evaluated.</p> <p><strong>RESULTS:</strong> Findings of this study, according to the participants’ experience, revealed maternal emotions like embarrassment for getting pregnant, mother’s own negative affection, concerns about missing family and other children, and terminating the pregnancy through illegal abortion, the husband’s disagreement about the termination, blaming themselves for thinking about abortion or illegal abortion, and concern about their guilt feeling. Another finding was family problems like husband’s behavior and his negative outlook towards his child and fetus. The next category belonged to anxiety about the future of their child, including economic, social and relational problems, and suppression of the children’s logical expectations. The last finding was the lack of maternal emotional support.</p> <p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>Unwanted pregnancy’s effects on the mothers and infants’ health are considerable. A closer observation by family and health care providers for unwanted pregnancies and its results is recommended; therefore, they should be taken care of as high risk pregnancies, requiring family support.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
The legacy and current relevance of Cappelletti and the Florence project on access to justice
Authors: Hubeau Bernard 
Published: October 2015

The legacy and current relevance of Cappelletti and the Florence project on access to justice
This contribution explains what access to justice can encompass and how the ideals about access to justice have developed in time. The way to do this is going back to the work of the famous scholars Cappelletti and Garth, who were responsible for a worldwide project on access to justice in the 1970s. Their main issue was to explain access to justice is more than the access to a judge and the organization of courts. Primarily, the system must be equally accessible to all, irrespective of social or economic status or other incapacity. But it also must lead to results that are individually and socially just and fair. Equal access and effective access are the central notions. Their work is put in perspective. The importance of their legacy and the question how we can get along with their work are stressed. Their definition is compared to a few other authoritative definitions. The waves in the history of access to justice are described and putting them in the current context illustrates why a fourth waved can be observed. The major question to be answered is how one can assess the challenges and obstacles of access to justice in the current context. Therefore, some recent dimensions and developments within access to justice are presented: the democratic dimension, the effectiveness of new social rights, the attention for poor and vulnerable people, further juridification, expanding frontiers of and monitoring access to justice, e-justice, and self-help. Finally, a few building blocks for reforms are presented.
Moving access to justice ‘upstream’ from the courts
Authors: Currie Ab 
Published: October 2015

Moving access to justice ‘upstream’ from the courts
A very large number of people experience everyday legal problems considered by them to be serious and difficult to resolve, the vast majority say it is important to resolve these problems, and virtually everybody experiencing legal problems takes some action to resolve them. However, the fact that very few people make use of the formal justice system suggests that the justice system is not meeting the legal needs of the public. One response would be to expand the traditional formal justice system to include an early-resolution services sector. An ERSS would encompass the early intervention and supported self-help objectives of many existing access to justice initiatives, but would go farther by conceiving what we mean by the justice system more broadly in a way that would accommodate what the everyday legal problems approach tells us about how the public experiences legal problems.
Responsibilities of the state and legal professions
Authors: Westerveld Mies , Terlouw Ashley 
Published: October 2015

Responsibilities of the state and legal professions
This contribution, which is based on the Dutch legal system, deals with the responsibilities of the State and legal professions in ensuring access to justice. The responsibilities of the four main players involved in bringing justice to the citizen are discussed: the legislator, the executive, the judiciary, and the legal profession. Responsibilities for access to justice do not only stem from the law, they do also evolve from societal problems and discussions. The contribution deals with both. Several actors share some of the responsibilities. One can think of responsibilities for information, for financing, and for being aware of vulnerabilities and other obstacles. What are the legal responsibilities and what other responsibilities are felt by the actors involved and how do they deal with them? And as a result: do they contribute to access to justice, do they form an obstacle, or both?
Access to justice in consumer law
Authors: Loos Marco 
Published: October 2015

Access to justice in consumer law
In many areas of private law, mandatory substantive law protects consumers. In this contribution, I will argue that awarding consumer rights without properly regulating the consumer’s access to the court system renders these rights unenforceable through the ordinary courts. Several obstacles to the proper enforcement of consumer rights by individuals are identified, ranging from consumers’ lack of knowledge of their rights to the formalities of proceedings, the use of complex jargon and the costs involved in court procedures. It is argued that these obstacles produce such disincentives for consumers to maintain their rights that the result is that they do so in an insufficient manner, which leads to under-enforcement of consumer law.
Social security and social welfare: barriers and retrograde policies, but cause for optimism?
Authors: Paz-Fuchs Amir 
Published: October 2015

Social security and social welfare: barriers and retrograde policies, but cause for optimism?
This contribution addresses the limits placed on access to justice in the context of social services, with a particular, but not exclusive, focus on the UK, across five central platforms: legal representation, the financial barriers, the structure of the programme, the attitude of the bureaucracy, and the personal attributes of the client. The contribution finds that there exist, for decades, problematic elements that constitute barriers to justice in this area: the means-tested element in the programmes and the bureaucracy’s double role as provider of services and detector of fraud. But to them, in recent years, significant barriers were added: recent cuts in legal aid and the imposition of tribunal fees in the UK are retrograde steps, reverting 40 years of impressive achievements in the field.
Merits testing in the English legal aid system: exploring its impact in asylum cases
Authors: Butter Tamara 
Published: October 2015

Merits testing in the English legal aid system: exploring its impact in asylum cases
In recent years, there has been much discussion on the legal aid cuts and reforms in England and Wales, and the possible consequences this would have on access to justice for vulnerable groups in society, including immigrants and asylum seekers. This contribution focuses on one element of the English legal aid system: merits testing by legal aid providers in asylum cases. It explores whether and, if so, how this aspect may affect the access to justice for asylum seekers lacking the financial means to pay privately for legal assistance and representation. The findings indicate that a merits test which makes access to legal aid on appeal conditional upon a case having at least 50% prospect of success and makes legal aid providers responsible for conducting this assessment may compromise asylum seekers’ ability to achieve justice both within and outside the existing body of law.
Symptomatic Management of Multiple Sclerosis–Associated Tremor Among Participants in the NARCOMS Registry
Authors: Meador William , Salter Amber R. , Rinker John R. 
Published: October 2015

Background: Tremor affects 25% to 58% of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and is associated with poor prognosis and increased disability. MS-related tremor is difficult to treat, and data regarding patient-reported characterization and response to treatment are limited. We describe the symptomatic treatment of tremor in 508 enrollees in the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS) Registry who self-reported tremor.
Methods: From 777 surveys sent to NARCOMS participants who indicated mild or greater tremor using the Tremor and Coordination Scale, we compiled data regarding disability, tremor severity, symptomatic medication use, and reported response to medications.
Results: Symptomatic medications reported to reduce tremor were used by 238 respondents (46.9%). Symptomatic medication use was associated with increased rates of unemployment and disability, and many other characteristics were similar between groups. Symptomatic drug use was more likely in participants reporting moderate (53.9%) or severe (51.3%) tremor than in those with mild (36.6%) or totally disabling (35.0%) tremor. This disparity held true across multiple tremor severity scores. The most commonly used drug classes were anticonvulsants (50.8%) and benzodiazepines (46.2%), with gabapentin and clonazepam used most often in their respective classes.
Conclusions: Tremor in MS remains poorly treated; less than half of the participants reported benefit from symptomatic medications. Patients with moderate-to-severe tremor are more likely to report tremor benefit than are those with mild or disabling tremor. γ-Aminobutyric acid–active medications were most commonly reported as beneficial.
Acoustic Properties of Breast Fat
Authors: Nasief Haidy Gerges , Rosado-Mendez Ivan M. , Zagzebski James A. , Hall Timothy J. 
Published: October 2015

ObjectivesThe American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI‐RADS) atlas for ultrasound (US) qualitatively describes the echogenicity and attenuation of a mass, where fat lobules serve as a standard for comparison. This study aimed to estimate acoustic properties of breast fat under clinical imaging conditions to determine the degree to which properties vary among patients.MethodsTwenty‐four women with solid breast masses scheduled for biopsy were scanned with a Siemens S2000 scanner and 18L6 linear array transducer (Siemens Medical Solutions, Malvern, PA). Offline analysis estimated the attenuation coefficient and backscatter coefficients (BSCs) from breast fat using the reference phantom method. The average BSC was calculated over 6 to 12 MHz to objectively quantify the BI‐RADS US echo pattern descriptor, and effective scatterer diameters were also estimated.ResultsA power law fit to the attenuation coefficient versus frequency yielded an attenuation coefficient of 1.28 dB·cm−1 MHz−0.73. The mean attenuation coefficient versus frequency slope ± SD at 7 MHz was 0.73 ± 0.23 dB·cm−1 MHz−1, in agreement with previously reported values. The BSC versus frequency showed close agreement among all patients, both in magnitude and frequency dependence, with a power law fit of (0.6 ± 0.25) ×10−4 sr−1 cm−1 MHz−2.49. The average backscatter in the 6–12‐MHz range was 0.004 ± 0.002 sr−1 cm−1. The mean effective scatterer diameter for fat was 60.2 ± 9.5 μm.ConclusionsThe agreement in parameter estimates for breast fat among these patients supports the use of fat as a standard for comparison with tumors. Results also suggest that objective quantification of these BI‐RADS US descriptors may reduce subjectivity when interpreting B‐mode image data.
Optimization of Region of Interest Drawing for Quantitative Analysis
Authors: Nakata Norio , Ohta Tomoyuki , Nishioka Makiko , Takeyama Hiroshi , Toriumi Yasuo , Kato Kumiko , Nogi Hiroko , Kamio Makiko , Fukuda Kunihiko 
Published: October 2015

ObjectivesThis study was performed to evaluate the diagnostic utility of quantitative analysis of benign and malignant breast lesions using contrast‐enhanced sonography.MethodsContrast‐enhanced sonography using the perflubutane‐based contrast agent Sonazoid (Daiichi Sankyo, Tokyo, Japan) was performed in 94 pathologically proven palpable breast mass lesions, which could be depicted with B‐mode sonography. Quantitative analyses using the time‐intensity curve on contrast‐enhanced sonography were performed in 5 region of interest (ROI) types (manually traced ROI and circular ROIs of 5, 10, 15, and 20 mm in diameter). The peak signal intensity, initial slope, time to peak, positive enhancement integral, and wash‐out ratio were investigated in each ROI.ResultsThere were significant differences between benign and malignant lesions in the time to peak (P < .05), initial slope (P < .001), and positive enhancement integral (P < .05) for the manual ROI. Significant differences were found between benign and malignant lesions in the time to peak (P < .05) for the 5‐mm ROI; the time to peak (P < .05) and initial slope (P< .05) for the 10‐mm ROI; absolute values of the peak signal intensity (P< .05), time to peak (P< .01), and initial slope (P< .005) for the 15‐mm ROI; and the time to peak (P < .05) and initial slope (P < .05) for the 20‐mm ROI. There were no statistically significant differences in any wash‐out ratio values for the 5 ROI types.ConclusionsKinetic analysis using contrast‐enhanced sonography is useful for differentiation between benign and malignant breast lesions.
Prenatal Diagnosis and Perinatal Outcomes of Congenital Megalourethra
Authors: Moaddab Amirhossein , Sananes Nicolas , Hernandez-Ruano Simone , Werneck Britto Ingrid Schwach , Blumenfeld Yair , Stoll François , Favre Romain , Ruano Rodrigo 
Published: October 2015

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the prenatal findings and postnatal outcomes in fetuses with congenital megalourethra.MethodsThis retrospective study reviewed our experience and the literature between 1989 and 2014. Prenatal findings were evaluated and compared with postnatal findings, including neonatal mortality and abnormal renal function (need for dialysis or renal transplantation).ResultsFifty fetuses with congenital megalourethra were analyzed, including 6 cases diagnosed in our centers. Most cases (n = 43 [86.0%]) were diagnosed in the second trimester. Only 1 case was diagnosed in the first trimester, whereas 6 cases (12.0%) were diagnosed in the third trimester. Thirty‐five fetuses (70.0%) survived. Bilateral hydroureters were associated with perinatal death (P= .024). Among the survivors, 41.9% of the neonates had renal impairment. The following factors were associated with postnatal renal impairment: presence of severe oligohydramnios/anhydramnios (P = .033), bilateral hydronephrosis (P = .008), and earlier gestational age at delivery (P = .022).ConclusionsIn fetal megalourethra, bilateral hydroureters, bilateral hydronephrosis, and severe oligohydramnios/anhydramnios are associated with neonatal mortality and renal impairment.
Quantitative Sonographic Texture Analysis in Preterm Neonates With White Matter Injury
Authors: You Sun Kyoung , Choi Young Hun , Park Sang Joon , Cheon Jung-Eun , Kim In-One , Kim Woo-Sun , Lee So Mi , Cho Hyun-Hae 
Published: October 2015

ObjectivesTo analyze the texture features on cranial sonography in preterm neonates with white matter injury quantitatively and to correlate these features with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).MethodsThe study included 33 preterm neonates treated in our neonatal intensive care unit who underwent serial cranial sonography and brain MRI near term. Patients were subdivided into 3 groups according to the presence and severity of white matter injury as revealed by MRI: normal (group 1; n = 20), mild (group 2; n = 5), and severe (group 3; n = 8). The periventricular echogenicity on sonography was evaluated quantitatively with second‐order gray‐level statistics (gray‐level co‐occurrence matrix [GLCM] method). Four GLCM texture features representing homogeneity were extracted in 12 directions: (1) angular second moment (ASM), (2) inverse differential moment (IDM), (3) contrast, and (4) entropy.ResultsThirty of 48 features showed a statistically significant difference between groups 1 and 3 (ASM in 9 directions, IDM in 6 directions, contrast in 3 directions, and entropy in all 12 directions). There were no significant differences observed between groups 1 and 2 or groups 2 and 3. The mean contrast and entropy values were generally lower in group 1 than group 3, whereas the mean ASM and IDM values were higher in group 1.ConclusionsSevere white matter injury could be identified by using GLCM texture analysis, whereas mild white matter injury observed on MRI could not be evaluated by GLCM analysis. Quantitative texture analysis using the GLCM may serve as a complementary tool for quantitative assessment of periventricular echogenicity.
Automated Measurement of Cerebral Hemorrhagic Contusions and Outcomes After Traumatic Brain Injury in the TRACK-TBI Study
Authors: Snider Samuel B. , Temkin Nancy R. , Sun Xiaoying , Stubbs Jacob L. , Rademaker Quinn J. , Markowitz Amy J. , Rosenthal Eric S. , Diaz-Arrastia Ramon , Fox Michael D. , Manley Geoffrey T. , Jain Sonia , Edlow Brian L. ,   TRACK-TBI Investigators
Published: August 2024

ImportanceBecause withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy based on perceived poor prognosis is the most common cause of death after moderate or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), the accuracy of clinical prognoses is directly associated with mortality. Although the location of brain injury is known to be important for determining recovery potential after TBI, the best available prognostic models, such as the International Mission for Prognosis and Analysis of Clinical Trials in TBI (IMPACT) score, do not currently incorporate brain injury location.ObjectiveTo test whether automated measurement of cerebral hemorrhagic contusion size and location is associated with improved prognostic performance of the IMPACT score.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis prognostic cohort study was performed in 18 US level 1 trauma centers between February 26, 2014, and August 8, 2018. Adult participants aged 17 years or older from the US-based Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in TBI (TRACK-TBI) study with moderate or severe TBI (Glasgow Coma Scale score 3-12) and contusions detected on brain computed tomography (CT) scans were included. The data analysis was performed between January 2023 and February 2024.ExposuresLabeled contusions detected on CT scans using Brain Lesion Analysis and Segmentation Tool for Computed Tomography (BLAST-CT), a validated artificial intelligence algorithm.Main Outcome and MeasureThe primary outcome was a Glasgow Outcome Scale–Extended (GOSE) score of 4 or less at 6 months after injury. Whether frontal or temporal lobe contusion volumes improved the performance of the IMPACT score was tested using logistic regression and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve comparisons. Sparse canonical correlation analysis was used to generate a disability heat map to visualize the strongest brainwide associations with outcomes.ResultsThe cohort included 291 patients with moderate or severe TBI and contusions (mean [SD] age, 42 [18] years; 221 [76%] male; median [IQR] emergency department arrival Glasgow Coma Scale score, 5 [3-10]). Only temporal contusion volumes improved the discrimination of the IMPACT score (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.86 vs 0.84; P = .03). The data-derived disability heat map of contusion locations showed that the strongest association with unfavorable outcomes was within the bilateral temporal and medial frontal lobes.Conclusions and RelevanceThese findings suggest that CT-based automated contusion measurement may be an immediately translatable strategy for improving TBI prognostic models.