bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Statin Use After Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis and Survival: A Population-Based Cohort Study
Authors: Cardwell Chris R. , Hicks Blanaid M. , Hughes Carmel , Murray Liam J. 
Published: August 2014

Purpose To investigate whether statins used after colorectal cancer diagnosis reduce the risk of colorectal cancer-specific mortality in a cohort of patients with colorectal cancer. Patients and Methods A cohort of 7,657 patients with newly diagnosed stage I to III colorectal cancer were identified from 1998 to 2009 from the National Cancer Data Repository (comprising English cancer registry data). This cohort was linked to the United Kingdom Clinical Practice Research Datalink, which provided prescription records, and to mortality data from the Office of National Statistics (up to 2012) to identify 1,647 colorectal cancer–specific deaths. Time-dependent Cox regression models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) for cancer-specific mortality and 95% CIs by postdiagnostic statin use and to adjust these HRs for potential confounders. Results Overall, statin use after a diagnosis of colorectal cancer was associated with reduced colorectal cancer–specific mortality (fully adjusted HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.61 to 0.84). A dose-response association was apparent; for example, a more marked reduction was apparent in colorectal cancer patients using statins for more than 1 year (adjusted HR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.79). A reduction in all-cause mortality was also apparent in statin users after colorectal cancer diagnosis (fully adjusted HR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.66 to 0.84). Conclusion In this large population-based cohort, statin use after diagnosis of colorectal cancer was associated with longer rates of survival.
Disparities in Stage at Diagnosis, Treatment, and Survival in Nonelderly Adult Patients With Cancer According to Insurance Status
Authors: Walker Gary V. , Grant Stephen R. , Guadagnolo B. Ashleigh , Hoffman Karen E. , Smith Benjamin D. , Koshy Matthew , Allen Pamela K. , Mahmood Usama 
Published: August 2014

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the association of insurance status with disease stage at presentation, treatment, and survival among the top 10 most deadly cancers using the SEER database. Patients and Methods A total of 473,722 patients age 18 to 64 years who were diagnosed with one of the 10 most deadly cancers in the SEER database from 2007 to 2010 were analyzed. A Cox proportional hazards model was used for multivariable analyses to assess the effect of patient and tumor characteristics on cause-specific death. Results Overall, patients with non-Medicaid insurance were less likely to present with distant disease (16.9%) than those with Medicaid coverage (29.1%) or without insurance coverage (34.7%; P < .001). Patients with non-Medicaid insurance were more likely to receive cancer-directed surgery and/or radiation therapy (79.6%) compared with those with Medicaid coverage (67.9%) or without insurance coverage (62.1%; P < .001). In a Cox regression that adjusted for age, race, sex, marital status, residence, percent of county below federal poverty level, site, stage, and receipt of cancer-directed surgery and/or radiation therapy, patients were more likely to die as a result of their disease if they had Medicaid coverage (hazard ratio [HR], 1.44; 95% CI, 1.41 to 1.47; P < .001) or no insurance (HR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.42 to 1.51; P < .001) compared with non-Medicaid insurance. Conclusion Among patients with the 10 most deadly cancers, those with Medicaid coverage or without insurance were more likely to present with advanced disease, were less likely to receive cancer-directed surgery and/or radiation therapy, and experienced worse survival.
Brain-to-Brain (mind-to-mind) interaction at distance: a confirmatory study
Authors: Tressoldi Patrizio E. , Pederzoli Luciano , Bilucaglia Marco , Caini Patrizio , Fedele Pasquale , Ferrini Alessandro , Melloni Simone , Richeldi Diana , Richeldi Florentina , Accardo Agostino 
Published: August 2014

This study reports the results of a confirmatory experiment testing the hypothesis that it is possible to detect coincidences of a sequence of events (silence-signal) of different length, by analyzing the EEG activity of two human partners spatially separated when one member of the pair receives the stimulation and the second one is connected only mentally with the first.Seven selected participants with a long friendship and a capacity to maintain focused mental concentration, were divided into two groups located in two different laboratories approximately 190 km apart. Each participant acted both as a “stimulated” and as a “mentally connected” member of the pair for a total of twenty sessions overall.The offline analysis of EEG activity using a special classification algorithm based on a support vector machine, detected the coincidences in the sequence of events of the stimulation protocol between the EEG activity of the “stimulated” and the “mentally connected” pairs.Furthermore the correlation of the power spectra of the five EEG frequency bands between each of the twenty pairs of data was analyzed using a bootstrap procedure.The overall percentage of coincidences out of 88 events was 78.4% and the statistically significant average correlations between the EEG alpha and gamma bands among the pairs of participants, which confirmed the results observed in a pilot study, support the hypothesis that it is possible to connect two brains and hence two minds at distance.
Bredon cohomological dimensions for proper actions and Mackey functors
Authors: Degrijse Dieter 
Published: August 2014

Abstract
For groups with a uniform bound on the length of chains of finite subgroups, we study the relationship between the Bredon cohomological dimension for proper actions and the notions of cohomological dimension one obtains by restricting the coefficients of Bredon cohomology to (cohomological) Mackey functors or fixed point functors. We also investigate the closure properties of the class of groups with finite Bredon cohomological dimension for Mackey functors.
Fuzzy Set Regression Method to Evaluate the Heterogeneity of Misclassifications in Disease Screening with Interval-Scaled Variables: Application to Osteoporosis (KCIS No. 26)
Authors: Chen Li-Sheng , Yen Ming-Fang , Chiu Yueh-Hsia , Chen Hsiu-Hsi 
Published: August 2014

AbstractAlthough the trade-off between the two misclassifications (false-positive fraction and false-negative fraction), corresponding to type I and type II error in statistical hypothesis testing based on Neyman–Pearson lemma, to determine the optimal cutoff in the province of evaluating the accuracy of medical diagnosis and disease screening using interval-scaled biomarkers has been attempted by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, the heterogeneity of the two misclassifications in relation to the utility or individual preference for relative weights between the two errors has been barely addressed and has increasingly gained attention in disease screening when the optimal subject-specific or subgroup-specific cutoff (the heterogeneity of ROC curve) is underscored. We proposed a fuzzy set regression method to achieve such a purpose. The proposed method was illustrated with data on screening for osteoporosis with bone mineral density.
Behavioral economics and policy evaluation
Authors: Brennan Timothy J. 
Published: August 2014

Abstract:Behavioral economics posits a number of cognitive biases and limitations, which raises questions as to whether revealed willingness to pay equals true willingness to pay. If so, benefit-cost analysis, with a number of methodological advantages, would need to be replaced. Prior analyses of the issue by Sunstein, Sugden, and Bernheim and Rangel fail to offer guidance that would avoid substituting centralized judgments for decentralized information on benefits and costs. Alternatives including using post-implementation valuations, libertarian paternalism, and direct democracy on policy issues also have conceptual or practical limitations. A tentative suggestion is democratic delegation, somewhat appealing because it is already applied to cope with bounded rationality and non-efficiency values. Viewing benefit-cost analysis as a market analogue, and restricting the domain of behavioral economics to uninformed consumers, may be useful guides. The most important guidance may be to require very strong evidence of substantial choice failure before abandoning benefit-cost analysis.
The effect of gender on a frequency discrimination task in children
Authors: Zaltz Yael , Roth Daphne Ari-Even , Gover Hilla , Liran Shay , Kishon-Rabin Liat 
Published: August 2014

Abstract

Background: Physiological and behavioral sex-related differences have been previously reported in the human auditory system, although data are limited to adults and are equivocal. While physiological evidence showed some advantage for females, psychophysical data tended to show greater sensitivity for males in several auditory tasks. Possible explanations for the gender effect in the auditory system include differences between the sexes in physical dimensions of the ear, brain anatomy, exposure to androgens prenatally and/or at puberty, and/or environmental factors (e.g., auditory experience). The purpose of the present study was to investigate sex-related differences in an auditory frequency discrimination task in children prior to puberty.

Methods: A total of 24 normal-hearing children were divided into two age groups: 7- and 8-year-olds, with six girls and six boys in each age group. All children took part in a testing session that consisted of three Difference Limen for Frequency (DLF) measurements. Cognitive tests were also conducted.

Results: Results showed that (a) boys outperformed the girls regardless of age; (b) age effect was significant, with older children performing better than the younger ones, irrespective of gender; (c) intrameasurement variance was smaller for the older children; and (d) age, gender, and auditory working memory and capacity explained over 65% of the variance in DLF thresholds. This is the first evidence of a gender effect in the auditory system in children prior to puberty.

Conclusions: This evidence suggests that it is more likely that inherent physiological differences between the sexes influence the differential outcomes reported in the present study.
Initiation of growth hormone therapy in idiopathic short stature: do gender differences exist?
Authors: Ben-Ari Tal , Lebenthal Yael , Phillip Moshe , Lazar Liora 
Published: August 2014

AbstractGrowth hormone (GH) registries indicate that boys receive preferential GH treatment for idiopathic short stature (ISS). The aim was to determine whether age, auxological parameters, pubertal status, and target height differ between genders at GH initiation.Review of the computerized files of the endocrine department of a tertiary pediatric medical center identified 184 patients who started GH therapy for ISS between 2003–2011. Data on auxologic parameters, predicted height, parental height, and pubertal status were collected and compared between boys and girls.Boys accounted for a significantly higher percentage of the study group (65.8%, p<0.001). At onset of GH therapy, there were no significant differences between boys and girls in age (10.2±3.1 vs. 9.9±2.4 years), height-standard deviation score (SDS) (–2.64±0.5 vs. –2.79±0.5), body mass index-SDS[(–0.65±1.01) vs. (–0.80±1.13)], or pubertal status (66% vs. 63.5% prepubertal). Predicted height-SDS was significantly higher in boys (–1.95±1.05 vs. –2.56±0.73, p<0.001). Midparental height-SDS was similar in the two groups, as were paternal and maternal height.The similar age, height deficit, and pubertal status at onset of GH treatment in boys and girls suggests that gender differences do not exist. Male predominance may stem from family preferences to treat boys. Future studies are warranted to assess the psychosocial aspects in the decision to initiate therapy.
Efficient transduction and optogenetic stimulation of retinal bipolar cells by a synthetic adeno‐associated virus capsid and promoter
Authors: Cronin Therese , Vandenberghe Luk H , Hantz Péter , Juttner Josephine , Reimann Andreas , Kacsó Ágota–Enikő , Huckfeldt Rachel M , Busskamp Volker , Kohler Hubertus , Lagali Pamela S , Roska Botond , Bennett Jean 
Published: August 2014

AbstractIn this report, we describe the development of a modified adeno‐associated virus (AAV) capsid and promoter for transduction of retinal ON‐bipolar cells. The bipolar cells, which are post‐synaptic to the photoreceptors, are important retinal targets for both basic and preclinical research. In particular, a therapeutic strategy under investigation for advanced forms of blindness involves using optogenetic molecules to render ON‐bipolar cells light‐sensitive. Currently, delivery of adequate levels of gene expression is a limiting step for this approach. The synthetic AAV capsid and promoter described here achieves high level of optogenetic transgene expression in ON‐bipolar cells. This evokes high‐frequency (~100 Hz) spiking responses in ganglion cells of previously blind, rd1, mice. Our vector is a promising vehicle for further development toward potential clinical use.
Adaptive Fixation in Two-Locus Models of Stabilizing Selection and Genetic Drift
Authors: Wollstein Andreas , Stephan Wolfgang 
Published: August 2014

AbstractThe relationship between quantitative genetics and population genetics has been studied for nearly a century, almost since the existence of these two disciplines. Here we ask to what extent quantitative genetic models in which selection is assumed to operate on a polygenic trait predict adaptive fixations that may lead to footprints in the genome (selective sweeps). We study two-locus models of stabilizing selection (with and without genetic drift) by simulations and analytically. For symmetric viability selection we find that ∼16% of the trajectories may lead to fixation if the initial allele frequencies are sampled from the neutral site-frequency spectrum and the effect sizes are uniformly distributed. However, if the population is preadapted when it undergoes an environmental change (i.e., sits in one of the equilibria of the model), the fixation probability decreases dramatically. In other two-locus models with general viabilities or an optimum shift, the proportion of adaptive fixations may increase to &gt;24%. Similarly, genetic drift leads to a higher probability of fixation. The predictions of alternative quantitative genetics models, initial conditions, and effect-size distributions are also discussed.
Mode of Obstetrical Delivery and Type 1 Diabetes: A Sibling Design Study
Authors: Khashan Ali S. , Kenny Louise C. , Lundholm Cecilia , Kearney Patricia M. , Gong Tong , Almqvist Catarina 
Published: August 2014

OBJECTIVES:
We investigated the association between cesarean section (CS) and type 1 diabetes (T1D), and if the association remains after accounting for familial confounding by using a sibling-control design.

METHODS:
We conducted a population-based cohort study of all singleton live births in Sweden between 1982 and 2009, followed by sibling-control analyses. T1D diagnoses were identified from the Swedish National Patient Register. Mode of delivery was categorized into unassisted vaginal delivery (reference group), instrumental vaginal delivery (IVD), emergency CS, and elective CS. The statistical analysis was conducted in 2 steps: firstly log-linear Poisson regression with aggregated person-years by using the full cohort; secondly, conditional logistic regression for sibling-control analyses. The sibling analysis included siblings who were discordant for both mode of delivery and T1D.

RESULTS:
In the cohort analyses (N = 2 638 083), there was an increased risk of childhood T1D among children born by elective CS (adjusted relative risk [RR] = 1.15 [95% confidence interval: 1.06–1.25]) and IVD (RR=1.14 [1.06–1.23]) but not emergency CS (RR = 1.02 [0.95–1.11]) when compared with children born by unassisted vaginal birth. However, the effect of elective CS and IVD on childhood T1D almost disappeared and became nonsignificant in the sibling-control analyses.

CONCLUSIONS:
The present findings suggest a small association between elective CS and IVD and T1D. The sibling-control results, however, suggest that these findings are not consistent with causal effects of mode of delivery on T1D and may be due to familial confounders such as genetic susceptibility and environmental factors.
Cognitive Function and the Risk for Diabetes Among Young Men
Authors: Twig Gilad , Gluzman Israel , Tirosh Amir , Gerstein Hertzel C. , Yaniv Gal , Afek Arnon , Derazne Estela , Tzur Dorit , Karasik Avraham , Gordon Barak , Fruchter Eyal , Lubin Gadi , Rudich Assaf , Cukierman-Yaffe Tali 
Published: August 2014

OBJECTIVEDiabetes is a risk factor for an accelerated rate of cognitive decline and dementia. However, the relationship between cognitive function and the subsequent development of diabetes is unclear.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSWe conducted a historical-prospective cohort study merging data collected at premilitary recruitment assessment with information collected at the Staff Periodic Examination Center of the Israeli Army Medical Corps. Included were men aged 25 years or older without a history of diabetes at the beginning of follow-up with available data regarding their general intelligence score (GIS), a comprehensive measure of cognitive function, at age 17 years.RESULTSAmong 35,500 men followed for a median of 5.5 years, 770 new cases of diabetes were diagnosed. After adjustment for age, participants in the lowest GIS category had a 2.6-fold greater risk for developing diabetes compared with those in the highest GIS category. In multivariable analysis adjusted for age, BMI, fasting plasma glucose, sociogenetic variables, and lifestyle risk factors, those in the lowest GIS category had a twofold greater risk for incident diabetes when compared with the highest GIS category (hazard ratio 2.1 [95% CI 1.5–3.1]; P &lt; 0.001). Additionally, participants in the lowest GIS category developed diabetes at a mean age of 39.5 ± 4.7 years and those in the highest GIS group at a mean age of 41.5 ± 5.1 years (P for comparison 0.042).CONCLUSIONSThis study demonstrates that in addition to a potential causal link between diabetes and enhanced cognitive decline, lower cognitive function at late adolescence is independently associated with an elevated risk for future diabetes.
Conceptual Model of the Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research Platform of Engure Ecoregion, Latvia
Authors: Melecis Viesturs , Kļaviņš Māris , Laiviņš Māris , Rūsiņa Solvita , Spriņģe Gunta , Vīksne Jānis , Krišjāne Zaiga , Strāķe Solvita 
Published: August 2014

Abstract
The article discusses the results of the national project aimed at elaboration of a conceptual integrated model of the Engure LT(S)ER (Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research) platform of Latvia. The platform represents the drainage basin of costal Lake Engure (644 km2) together with the coastal marine zone of the Gulf of Rîga. The core zone of the ecoregion is the Lake Engure Nature Park (LENP), which is a Ramsar site. The conceptual model is a slightly modified version based on the DPSIR (Drivers-Pressures-States-Impacts-Responses) concept. The socioecological system was spatially demarcated and drivers were subdivided in two groups - external and local ones. The Engure ecoregion was subdivided into seven zones or sub-regions mostly demarcated by natural geological and geographical barriers. Each zone has a specific set of drivers and pressures as well as a specific ecosystem structure and elements of biodiversity. Analysis of the governing drivers and pressures was performed separately for each sub-region during three time periods: 19th century - beginning of 20th century, period of Soviet occupation (1940-1991), and period after restoration of independence of Latvia (1991 - up to now). Characteristics of the state of ecosystems and biodiversity are given. Responses of the socioeconomic component of the socio-ecological system are represented mainly by external factors to the ecoregion, including environmental legislation and funding necessary for research and ecological management. Two alternative scenarios of the development of the Engure ecoregion are discussed: (i) depopulation and land abandonment, and (ii) intensification of agriculture, small-scale industry and building construction. In both cases the present state of ecosystems and the structure of species diversity would be subjected to significant change. Sustainable development of the ecoregion can be provided only by implementation of certain environmental management measures accompanied by long-term socio-ecological research and ecological monitoring.
Dynamic Modeling for Environmental Processes: A Case Study of Lake Engure
Authors: Zariņš Mārcis , Blumberga Andra , Klaviņš Māris , Melecis Viesturs 
Published: August 2014

Abstract
This focus of the study was on system dynamic models that could be useful for modelling environmental processes in Lake Engure. The paper considers the system dynamic model development principles, the most important elements and structure. The aim of the study was to describe possible methods of ecosystem process modelling that allow to represent the actual state of ecosystems and provide opportunities to predict further processes. The methods of ecosystem modelling considered in the paper reveal interactive factors of anthropogenic and environmental processes that influence changes in ecosystems. System dynamic models indicate not only interactions between various factors in the environment but also the most important driving forces. These models are based on flowchart and algorithm systems, which represent changes using mathematical functions in a graphic or tabular form. In the case study of Lake Engure, connections between factors that influence ecosystems in the study area were identified. Specialised software, PowerSim Studio Academic 9.0, was used for modelling. The model consists of qualitative and multifactor data of Lake Engure ecosystems, such as water chemical, physical and hydrological parameters, biological, ornithological and other data collected in the study area. Development of this modelling method will make it possible to evaluate the impact of various processes on biological diversity changes in the study area and to identify the most important problems. Furthermore, this method could improve environmental management practice in the surrounding municipalities, and it will also be possible to make similar models of ecosystem quality in other regions.