bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Empiric antibiotic choices for community‐acquired biliary tract infections
Authors: Chang Kuo‐Kuan , Chang Chin‐Lu , Tai Fang‐Ting , Wang Chun‐Hsiang , Lin Ruey‐Chang 
Published: April 2014

SummaryBackgroundThe study was conducted to reveal the most appropriate empiric antibiotics for the treatment of community‐acquired biliary tract infections (CA‐BTI) at a regional hospital in Taiwan.MethodsThe study was performed between October 1, 2010 and October 31, 2012. All positive bile culture results of presumptive community‐acquired origins were collected. The associated etiologic microorganisms and their antimicrobial susceptibilities were analyzed. The appropriateness of empiric therapy (defined as the effectiveness of the antibiotics against the etiologic agents) and the subsequent treatment response were examined through the review of medical records.ResultsA total of 115 patients (cholecystitis, 83 cases, 72.2%; cholangitis, 32 cases, 27.8%) and 189 isolates (136 Gram‐negative bacilli, 37 Gram‐positive cocci, and 16 anaerobes) were analyzed. The most frequent pathogens were Escherichia coli (n = 69, 36.5%), Klebsiella spp. (n = 37, 19.6%), enterococci (n = 29, 15.3%), and Bacteroides spp. (n = 11, 5.8%). Penicillin resistance (5.4%) was low in Gram‐positive cocci, whereas higher resistance (>20%) to cefazolin, cefuroxime, and ampicillin–sulbactam was found in Gram‐negative bacilli. Anaerobes also demonstrated high resistance to clindamycin (37.5%) but less to metronidazole (12.5%). Appropriate empiric therapy was found in 92 (80%) cases, and among them, 83 (90.2%) were treated successfully. The treatment success rate (69.6%) was significantly lower among the remaining 23 cases with inappropriate empiric therapy (16 of 23 vs. 83 of 92, p < 0.05). A high treatment success rate (97.2%) was observed among cases empirically treated with ceftriaxone plus metronidazole.ConclusionThe combination of ceftriaxone plus metronidazole appears to be the most appropriate empiric antibiotics for the treatment of CA‐BTI at this hospital. Because different hospitals may encounter microorganisms of different antimicrobial susceptibilities, similar approaches may be followed by other hospitals where appropriate empiric therapy has not yet been established for the treatment of CA‐BTI.
Thalidomide induces complete remission of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Chien Cheng‐Hung , Chien Rong‐Nan 
Published: April 2014

SummaryHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent human cancers in the world, but its prognosis is extremely poor. HCC is considered a hypervascular tumor. Thalidomide, which has been known to inhibit growth factor‐induced neovascularization, is a convenient alternative to target therapy such as sorafenib. We report a 65‐year‐old male patient with alcoholic liver cirrhosis that was diagnosed having multiple HCCs during surveillance. The patient was assessed as inoperable and unsuited for transhepatic arterial chemoembolization or systemic chemotherapy. After discussing the therapeutic alternatives, he decided to receive low‐dose thalidomide (100 mg daily) therapy. Fortunately, follow‐up liver biochemical tests, serum α‐fetoprotein level, and dynamic computed tomography showed complete remission of the HCCs 4.5 months after thalidomide treatment and this was documented for more than 22 months without evidence of tumor recurrence.
A POSTERIORI RATEMAKING WITH PANEL DATA
Authors: Boucher Jean-Philippe , Inoussa Rofick 
Published: April 2014

AbstractRatemaking is one of the most important tasks of non-life actuaries. Usually, the ratemaking process is done in two steps. In the first step, a priori ratemaking, an a priori premium is computed based on the characteristics of the insureds. In the second step, called the a posteriori ratemaking, the past claims experience of each insured is considered to the a priori premium and set the final net premium. In practice, for automobile insurance, this correction is usually done with bonus-malus systems, or variations on them, which offer many advantages. In recent years, insurers have accumulated longitudinal information on their policyholders, and actuaries can now use many years of informations for a single insured. For this kind of data, called panel or longitudinal data, we propose an alternative to the two-step ratemaking approach and argue this old approach should no longer be used. As opposed to a posteriori models of cross-section data, the models proposed in this paper generate premiums based on empirical results rather than inductive probability. We propose a new way to deal with bonus-malus systems when panel data are available. Using car insurance data, a numerical illustration using at-fault and non-at-fault claims of a Canadian insurance company is included to support this discussion. Even if we apply the model for car insurance, as long as another line of business uses past claim experience to set the premiums, we maintain that a similar approach to the model proposed should be used.
The Archaeological Potential for Reconstructing the History of Labor Relations in East Africa, c. 1500–1900
Authors: Lane Paul J. 
Published: April 2014

AbstractPrevious studies of past labor relations in different parts of Africa have relied almost entirely on documentary sources. While such records can provide valuable insights into the range of different labor categories that have existed and the relative proportions of the population involved, for much of the continent they are severely restricted in a temporal sense. Thus, for many areas suitable documentary materials covering the periods prior to 1850 are scarce; as is the case, for example, for much of East Africa. To extend scholarly understanding of the nature of labor relations prior to this date, alternative sources need to be utilized. This paper presents a brief overview of the potential scope for utilizing archaeological data, with specific reference to mainland Tanzania. The paper also highlights the many limitations of archaeological data and offers some thoughts on how these might be addressed from both a conceptual and methodological perspective. The paper concludes with an appeal for more studies oriented toward investigation of the archaeological remains of the last five hundred years and greater dialogue between the region’s historians and archaeologists.
Studying edge geometry in transiently turbulent shear flows
Authors: Chantry Matthew , Schneider Tobias M. 
Published: April 2014

AbstractIn linearly stable shear flows at moderate Reynolds number, turbulence spontaneously decays despite the existence of a codimension-one manifold, termed the edge, which separates decaying perturbations from those triggering turbulence. We statistically analyse the decay in plane Couette flow, quantify the breaking of self-sustaining feedback loops and demonstrate the existence of a whole continuum of possible decay paths. Drawing parallels with low-dimensional models and monitoring the location of the edge relative to decaying trajectories, we provide evidence that the edge of chaos does not separate state space globally. It is instead wrapped around the turbulence generating structures and not an independent dynamical structure but part of the chaotic saddle. Thereby, decaying trajectories need not cross the edge, but circumnavigate it while unwrapping from the turbulent saddle.
Phoretic self-propulsion at finite Péclet numbers
Authors: Michelin Sébastien , Lauga Eric 
Published: April 2014

AbstractPhoretic self-propulsion is a unique example of force- and torque-free motion on small scales. The classical framework describing the flow field around a particle swimming by self-diffusiophoresis neglects the advection of the solute field by the flow and assumes that the chemical interaction layer is thin compared to the particle size. In this paper we quantify and characterize the effect of solute advection on the phoretic swimming of a sphere. We first rigorously derive the regime of validity of the thin-interaction-layer assumption at finite values of the Péclet number (${Pe}$). Under this assumption, we solve computationally the flow around Janus phoretic particles and examine the impact of solute advection on propulsion and the flow created by the particle. We demonstrate that although advection always leads to a decrease of the swimming speed and flow stresslet at high values of the Péclet number, an increase can be obtained at intermediate values of${Pe}$. This possible enhancement of swimming depends critically on the nature of the chemical interactions between the solute and the surface. We then derive an asymptotic analysis of the problem at small${Pe}$which allows us to rationalize our computational results. Our computational and theoretical analysis is accompanied by a parallel study of the influence of reactive effects at the surface of the particle (Damköhler number) on swimming.
Geostrophic adjustment with gyroscopic waves: stably neutrally stratified fluid without the traditional approximation
Authors: Reznik G. M. 
Published: April 2014

AbstractWe examine nonlinear geostrophic adjustment in a rapidly rotating (small Rossby number Ro) stably neutrally stratified (SNS) fluid consisting of a stratified upper layer with $N>f$ ($N$ is the buoyancy frequency, $f$ the Coriolis parameter) and a homogeneous lower layer, the density and other fields being continuous at the interface between the layers. The angular speed of rotation is non-parallel to gravity; the traditional and hydrostatic approximations are not used. The wave spectrum in the model consists of internal and gyroscopic waves. During the adjustment an arbitrary long-wave perturbation is split in a unique way into slow quasi-geostrophic (QG) and fast ageostrophic components with typical time scales $(Ro\, f)^{-1}$ and $f^{-1}$, respectively. The QG flow is governed by two coupled nonlinear equations of conservation of QG potential vorticity (PV) in the layers. The fast component is a sum of internal waves and inertial oscillations (long gyroscopic waves) confined to the homogeneous layer and modulated by an amplitude depending on coordinates and slow time. On times $t\sim (\, f\, Ro)^{-1}$ the slow component is not influenced by the fast one but the inertial oscillations amplitude is coupled to the QG flow and obeys an equation practically coinciding with that in the barotropic case (Reznik, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 743, 2014, pp. 585–605). A non-stationary boundary layer with large vertical gradients of horizontal velocity develops in the stratified layer near the interface to prevent penetration of the inertial oscillations into the stratified fluid; an analogous weaker boundary layer arises near the upper rigid lid. At large times the internal waves gradually decay because of dispersion and the resulting motion consists of the slow QG component and inertial oscillations confined to the barotropic lower layer.
Liquid transfer from single cavities to rotating rolls
Authors: Campana Diego M. , Carvalho Marcio S. 
Published: April 2014

AbstractIn this work we study computationally the dynamics of a liquid bridge formed between a two-dimensional trapezoidal cavity, which represents an axisymmetric cell or a plane groove engraved in a roll, and a moving plate. The flow is a model of the liquid transfer process in gravure printing systems. The considered plate kinematics represents the actual motion of a roll-to-roll system, which includes extension, shear and rotation relative to the cavity. The fluid flow is modelled by solving the Stokes equations, discretized with the finite element method; the evolving free surfaces are accommodated by employing a pseudosolid mesh deforming algorithm. The results show that as the roll radius is reduced, thus increasing the lateral and rotational motions of the top plate relative to the cavity, a larger volume of liquid is transferred to the plate. However, due to lateral displacement of the contact lines, special care must be taken concerning the wettability properties of the substrate to avoid errors in the pattern fidelity. The predictions also show a strong nonlinear behaviour of the liquid fraction extracted from a cavity as a function of the capillary number. At high capillary numbers the fluid dynamics is mainly controlled by the extensional motion due to the strong contact line pinning. However, at low values of the capillary number, the contact lines have higher mobility and the liquid fraction primarily depends on the lateral and rotational plate velocity. These mechanisms tend to drag the fluid outside the cavity and increase the liquid fraction transferred to the plate, as has been observed in experiments.
Numerical study of collisional particle dynamics in cluster-induced turbulence
Authors: Capecelatro Jesse , Desjardins Olivier , Fox Rodney O. 
Published: April 2014

AbstractWe present a computational study of cluster-induced turbulence (CIT), where the production of fluid-phase kinetic energy results entirely from momentum coupling with finite-size inertial particles. A separation of length scales must be established when evaluating the particle dynamics in order to distinguish between the continuous mesoscopic velocity field and the uncorrelated particle motion. To accomplish this, an adaptive spatial filter is employed on the Lagrangian data with an averaging volume that varies with the local particle-phase volume fraction. This filtering approach ensures sufficient particle sample sizes in order to obtain meaningful statistics while remaining small enough to avoid capturing variations in the mesoscopic particle field. Two-point spatial correlations are computed to assess the validity of the filter in extracting meaningful statistics. The method is used to investigate, for the first time, the properties of a statistically stationary gravity-driven particle-laden flow, where particle–particle and fluid–particle interactions control the multiphase dynamics. Results from fully developed CIT show a strong correlation between the local volume fraction and the granular temperature, with maximum values located at the upstream boundary of clusters (i.e. where maximum compressibility of the particle velocity field exists), while negligible particle agitation is observed within clusters.
‘Hollering from across the yard’: fictive path in manner of speaking events
Authors: VERGARO CARLA , SANDFORD JODI L. , MASTROFINI ROBERTA , FORMISANO YHARA M. 
Published: April 2014

abstractThe aim of this study is to see how and to what extent the Talmyan notion of fictive motion is realized in the conceptual frame of speaking. Drawing from a previous in-depth analysis of the speaking event Manner component in English (cf. Vergaro, Sandford, Mastrofini, and Formisano, unpublished observations),1we investigate the realization of fictive path in 186 English manner of speaking (henceforth MoS) verb entries accessed through theCorpus of Contemporary American English(henceforth COCA). Fictive path is always involved in the conceptualization of the speaking event. Communication is elaborated through theconduit metaphor, which is, in turn, motivated by the embodied act of speaking. Fictive path is further considered in relation to image schemas and windowing. Different degrees of path windowing emerge from this study, illustrating how the speaker focuses attention on a specific portion of the speaking event. Image schema distribution and an implicational hierarchy of the various types of path elaboration also become evident in this study.
Real Asset Illiquidity and the Cost of Capital
Authors: Ortiz-Molina Hernán , Phillips Gordon M. 
Published: April 2014

AbstractWe show that firms with more illiquid real assets have a higher cost of capital. This effect is stronger when real illiquidity arises from lower within-industry acquisition activity. Real asset illiquidity increases the cost of capital more for firms that face more competition, have less access to external capital, or are closer to default, and for those facing negative demand shocks. The effect of real asset illiquidity is distinct from that of firms’ stock illiquidity or systematic liquidity risk. These results suggest that real asset illiquidity reduces firms’ operating flexibility and through this channel their cost of capital.
Motility of Fasciola hepatica miracidia assessed with a computer-assisted sperm analyser
Authors: Villa-Mancera A. , Reynoso-Palomar A. , Olivares-Pérez J. , Ortega-Vargas S. , Cruz-Mendoza I. , Quiroz-Romero H. 
Published: April 2014

AbstractThe motility parameters of Fasciola hepatica miracidia were assessed at different temperatures and times post-hatching using computer-assisted sperm analysis. Eggs were incubated at 22°C or 25°C for 14 days. Five motion parameters were evaluated at different incubation temperatures up to 10 h post-hatching. No differences were observed in the percentage that hatched after incubation at the two different temperatures. However, the straight-line velocity of miracidia following incubation at 22°C was significantly different from that observed at 25°C (P< 0.01). All miracidium motion parameters at different post-hatching temperatures showed an overall decrease at the end of the experiment. Those miracidia hatching from eggs incubated at 25°C had a higher velocity of 1673.3 μm/s compared with 1553.3 μm/s at 22°C. Velocity parameters increased as the post-hatching temperature increased from 22°C to 37°C.
Between qanungos and clerks: the cultural and service worlds of Hindustan's pensmen,c.1750–1850
Authors: BELLENOIT HAYDEN 
Published: April 2014

AbstractThis paper argues that our understanding of the transition to colonialism in South Asia can be enriched by examining the formation of revenue collection systems in north India between 1750 and 1850. It examines agrarian revenue systems not through the prism of legalism or landholding patterns, but by looking at the paper and record-based mechanisms by which wealth was actually extracted from India's hinterlands. It also examines the Kayastha pensmen who became an exponentially significant component of an Indo-Muslim revenue administration. They assisted the extension of Mughal revenue collection capabilities asqanungos (registrars) andpatwaris (accountants). The intensity of revenue assessment, extraction and collection had increased by the mid 1700s, through the extension of cultivation and assessment by regional Indian kingdoms. The East India Company, in its agrarian revenue settlements in north India, utilized this extant revenue culture to push through savage revenue demands. These Kayastha pensmen thus furnished the ‘young’ Company with the crucial skills, physical records, and legitimacy to garner the agrarian wealth which would fund Britain's Indian empire. These more regular patterns of paper-oriented administration engendered a process of ‘bureaucratization’ and the emergence of the modern colonial state.
Magic, Modernity, and Orientalism: Conjuring representations of Asia
Authors: GOTO-JONES CHRISTOPHER 
Published: April 2014

AbstractThis article inquires into the cultural and political nexus of secular (stage) magic, modernity, and Orientalism at the turn of the twentieth century. It argues that these three arenas interacted in important and special ways to both shape and reflect the politics of knowledge of the period. In doing so, it draws attention to the ways in which secular magic has been overlooked as a historical phenomenon and highlights its utility in furthering our understanding of the great problematics of modernity and Orientalism; in particular, it suggests that magic actually provides an unusually vibrant and clear lens through which to view the politics of the Other and through which to explore issues of tradition and the modern.Focusing on two historical cases—the ‘Indian Rope Trick’ challenge issued by the Magic Circle in the 1930s and the astonishing ‘duel’ between the ‘Chinese’ magicians Chung Ling Soo and Ching Ling Foo in 1905—this article considers the ways in which discourses of origination, popular ideas about esotericism and the ‘mystic East’, and questions of technical competence interacted and competed in the culture politics of the early twentieth century.
Child care by grandparents: changes between 1992 and 2006
Authors: GEURTS TEUN , VAN TILBURG THEO , POORTMAN ANNE-RIGT , DYKSTRA PEARL A. 
Published: April 2014

ABSTRACTThis study considers changes in child care by grandparents between 1992 and 2006 in relation to changes in mothers' need for and grandparents' opportunity to provide child care. Data from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam are used to compare two cohorts of Dutch grandparents aged 58–68 (N1992=181; N2006=350). Multi-level regression analysis shows that the probability that grandparents care for their adult daughters' children (N1992=261; N2006=484) increased from 0.23 to 0.41. The increase can be ascribed to higher maternal employment rates, growth in single motherhood, reduced travel time and a decline in the number of adult children. The increase would have been higher if the employment rate of grandparents had not risen.
Prevalence and correlates of HIV infection and sexually transmitted infections in female sex workers (FSWs) in Shanghai, China
Authors: REMIS R. S. , KANG L. , CALZAVARA L. , PAN Q. , LIU J. , MYERS T. , REN J. , TANG X. ,   Shanghai Health District Research Group
Published: April 2014

SUMMARYIn 2009, we examined HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in 750 female sex workers (FSWs) in Shanghai using a cross-sectional survey. Participants (mean age 27 years) were interviewed and tested for HIV and selected STIs. Prevalence was: HIV 0·13%, chlamydia 14·7%, gonorrhoea 3·5% and syphilis 1·3%. In a demographic multivariate model, younger age, higher income and originating from provinces other than Zhejiang and Shanghai were independently associated with STI. In a social and sexual behavioural model, women working in small venues with fewer clients per week, use of drugs, and higher price charged per sex act indicated a greater risk for STI. Although HIV appears rare in Shanghai FSWs, chlamydial infection is common, especially in women aged <25 years (prevalence 19·6%). Since STI and HIV share similar risk factors, preventive intervention measures should be implemented immediately based on the venues and characteristics of FSWs to prevent future spread of HIV.
Abnormal origins of the coronary arteries from the aortic root
Authors: Hoffman Julien I.E. 
Published: April 2014

AbstractAnomalous origin of a coronary artery from the aorta is a potentially serious anomaly that occurs in about 0.1–0.2% of the population. This percentage is small; however, it translates into about 4000 annual births with these anomalies. The clinical presentation of these anomalies is rare, and hence most are and will remain asymptomatic. The various anatomic anomalies are described, with anomalous origin of the left coronary artery that then passes between the aorta and pulmonary artery being the most serious of these anomalies. The pathophysiology resulting from these anomalies is described, as are methods for identifying those who require treatment; however, we still do not know the best methods of determining which patients need treatment.