bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Safe introduction of a new surgical technique: remote telementoring for posterior retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy
Authors: Miller Julie A. , Kwon David S. , Dkeidek Amira , Yew Ming , Hisham Abdullah An , Walz Martin K. , Perrier Nancy D. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractBackgroundPosterior retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy (PRA) is a safe and effective approach to adrenalectomy, offering less pain and faster recovery than open or laparoscopic surgery. Although the popularity of PRA is increasing, few surgical centres have extensive experience with the procedure. The ideal approach to achieve proficiency with any new technique involves on‐site observation of an experienced surgeon‐mentor, followed by mentored hands‐on experience of the surgeon‐learner. However, it is not always feasible for a surgeon‐mentor to offer on‐site supervision to the surgeon‐learner in his or her home institution. Advances in Internet applications have made remote telementoring a viable alternative to on‐site mentoring in selected situations.MethodsWe describe our experience in safely introducing PRA to Melbourne, Australia, where no highly experienced surgeon‐mentors were available. A surgeon with experience of 12 PRA procedures attended from interstate, along with live telementoring via Skype video link by an overseas surgeon who had performed more than 200 PRA procedures, to mentor the surgeon‐learner performing her first three cases.ResultsThe operating surgeon's first three PRA procedures proceeded uneventfully, with no complications, relatively short operative times and one‐night hospital stays for all three patients. Twenty‐two more have been performed since, without complications.ConclusionRemote telementoring is a safe and feasible way to assist surgeons in safely introducing new techniques. This strategy is particularly applicable in centres where no surgeon‐mentor is locally available. It is important that the surgeon‐learner has the skills and experience to complete the procedure using alternative techniques in the case of complications or technical failure.
Evaluation of teaching methods for students on hernias: an observational study
Authors: Peacock Oliver , Watts Edward , Foreman David , Lund Jonathan N. , Tierney Gillian M. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractBackgroundTeaching may be delivered through different media in different settings. We aimed to evaluate four teaching modalities for medical students on a common surgical topic. We compared learning, student preferences and experiences as outcome measures.MethodsThis is a prospective observational study of all medical students undertaking their first attachment in surgery. Students were randomly allocated into four groups: lecture, handout, website and patient‐based tutorial, all on the management of an inguinal hernia. Baseline knowledge was assessed prior to group allocations through a questionnaire. Students completed a 24‐h post‐intervention questionnaire and satisfaction survey.ResultsOne hundred fifty‐four students participated. There was no difference in the pre‐intervention knowledge scores between the groups. The post‐intervention knowledge scores significantly improved in the lecture and website groups. However, the website was significantly less engaging and clinically relevant form of teaching compared with the lecture. Despite being engaging and relevant, the tutorial group failed to improve knowledge scores. The handout did not improve knowledge scores, nor was it considered engaging or relevant.ConclusionKnowledge scores significantly improved with the lecture and website teaching methods. The lecture was more engaging, clinically relevant and instilled confidence. Students preferred the website/podcasts as additional information to facilitate their learning and increased their knowledge equivalent or superior to other standard media. However, despite being effective, the student experience was less positive than for non‐reusable contact teaching. If student satisfaction is to be a factor in achievement of learning outcomes, a balance has to be struck between different media delivery.
Shorter preparation to procedure interval for colonoscopy improves quality of bowel cleansing
Authors: Bryant R. V. , Schoeman S. N. , Schoeman M. N. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractBackgroundThe timing of bowel preparation for colonoscopy influences the quality of bowel cleansing and the success of the procedure.AimWe aimed to determine whether the interval between the end of bowel preparation and the start of colonoscopy influences preparation quality.MethodsWe retrospectively analysed 1785 colonoscopies performed between January 2010 and January 2011. The quality of bowel cleansing was compared between those who had a less than 8‐h interval between the end of bowel preparation to the start of the procedure versus those who had a greater than 8‐h interval. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses evaluated quality of bowel cleansing, preparation to procedure time, age, gender, hospital inpatient or outpatient status, indication for colonoscopy, caecal intubation rate, and segmental polyp detection.ResultsFifty‐three per cent of the cohort was male. Eighty‐nine per cent were outpatients. Bowel cleansing was reported as satisfactory/good in 87% and poor in 13%. A <8‐h preparation to procedure time was associated with a higher rate of satisfactory/good cleansing than a >8‐h interval (odds ratio (OR) 1.3, P = 0.04). In a multivariate analysis, female gender (OR 1.4, P = 0.02), outpatient status (OR 3.1 P = 0.001) and indication for procedure (P < 0.01) were significant predictors of adequate bowel preparation. Adequate bowel preparation was associated with a significant increase in caecal intubation rates (OR 5.3, P = 0.001).ConclusionsA shorter (<8 h) interval between end of bowel preparation and start of colonoscopy yielded better bowel cleansing than a longer (>8 h) interval. Adequate bowel preparation led to improved caecal intubation rates.
COOPERATION: THE POWER OF A SINGLE WORD? SOME EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE ON WORDING AND GENDER EFFECTS IN A GAME OF CHICKEN
Authors: Cabon‐Dhersin Marie‐Laure , Etchart‐Vincent Nathalie 
Published: September 2012

ABSTRACTFraming has been widely shown to affect decision making. In this paper, we investigate experimentally whether, and to what extent, cooperative behaviour in a Game of Chicken may be impacted by a very basic change in the labelling of the strategies. Our within‐subject experimental design involves two treatments. The only difference between them is that we introduce either a socially‐oriented wording (I cooperate/I do not cooperate) or colours (red/blue) to designate strategies. The level of cooperation appears to be higher in the socially‐oriented context, but only when uncertainty as regards the type of the partner is manipulated, and especially among females.
CALCULATING WELFARE COSTS OF INFLATION IN A SEARCH MODEL WITH PREFERENCE HETEROGENEITY: A CALIBRATION EXERCISE
Authors: de Araujo Pedro 
Published: September 2012

ABSTRACTUsing US cross‐sectional data, this paper calculates the welfare cost of a 10 percent inflation for different individuals and finds that the difference in cost between the poorest 20 percent, measured by their net worth, and the richest 20 percent is in the order of 102 percent. That is, a poor person is on average willing to forgive 102 percent more of their total consumption in order to have inflation reduced from 10 percent to 0. In absolute terms this represents a cost of 0.461 percent of consumption for the poorest and 0.228 percent for the richest. I accomplish this by introducing preference heterogeneity in a monetary search model first developed by Lagos and Wright, and calibrate the model to match each agent's type of cash holdings, approximated by their holdings in transactional accounts that bear almost no interest, as a fraction of their net worth using data from the Survey of Consumer Finances. I also show that this welfare difference increases to 130 percent (2.28 percent for the poorest 20 percent and 0.992 percent for the richest 20 percent) whenever frictions in the use of money are imposed (holdup problem). This distributional effect is further augmented if more frictions in the terms of trade are present. The ability to explicitly model these frictions is the advantage of using this model. Hence, inflation in this framework, as other studies have shown, acts as a regressive consumption tax; and this regressiveness is augmented with the holdup problem.
HIV‐associated fatigue in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy: novel biological mechanisms?
Authors: Payne BAI , Hateley CL , Ong ELC , Premchand N , Schmid ML , Schwab U , Newton JL , Price DA 
Published: September 2012

ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors for HIV‐associated fatigue in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).MethodsA cross‐sectional survey of 100 stable HIV‐infected out‐patients was carried out. Severity of fatigue was measured using the Fatigue Impact Scale (FIS). Symptoms of orthostatic intolerance (dysautonomia) were evaluated using the Orthostatic Grading Scale (OGS). Data for HIV‐infected patients were compared with those for 166 uninfected controls and 74 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)/myalgic encephalomyelitis (encephalopathy) (ME).ResultsNinety‐one per cent of HIV‐infected patients were on HAART and 78% had suppressed plasma HIV viral load (≤ 40 HIV‐1 RNA copies/mL). Fifty‐one per cent of HIV‐infected patients reported excessive symptomatic fatigue (FIS ≥ 40), and 28% reported severe fatigue symptoms (FIS ≥ 80). The mean FIS score among HIV‐infected patients was 50.8 [standard deviation (SD) 41.9] compared with 13.0 (SD 17.6) in uninfected control subjects, and 92.9 (SD 29.0) in CFS patients (P < 0.001 for comparison of HIV‐infected patients and uninfected controls). Among HIV‐infected patients, fatigue severity was not significantly associated with current or nadir CD4 lymphocyte count, HIV plasma viral load, or whether on HAART. Prior dideoxynucleoside analogue (d‐drug) exposure (P = 0.016) and the presence of clinical lipodystrophy syndrome (P = 0.011) were associated with fatigue. Additionally, fatigue severity correlated strongly with symptomatic orthostatic intolerance (r = 0.65; P < 0.001).ConclusionsFatigue is very common and often severe in HIV‐infected out‐patients, despite viral suppression and good immune function. In a subgroup of patients, prior d‐drug exposure may contribute to fatigue, suggesting a metabolic basis. Dysautonomia may also drive fatigue associated with HIV infection, as in other chronic diseases, and CFS/ME, and should be further evaluated with the potential for a shared therapeutic approach.
Managerial Overconfidence and Share Repurchases
Authors: Shu Pei‐Gi , Yeh Yin‐Hua , Chiang Tsui‐Lin , Hung Jui‐Yi 
Published: September 2012

AbstractFollowing prior studies, we use keywords in press portrayals to gauge managerial overconfidence. We hypothesize that managerial overconfidence is related to a manager's perception that the firm is undervalued. Results from 2744 share repurchase programs launched by 783 listed firms in Taiwan confirm this hypothesis. We find that managerial overconfidence is positively correlated with the intensity of share repurchasing, which is measured by scale, execution, frequency, and the difference between the announced price and post‐execution price. Moreover, the programs launched by overconfident managers were not undervalued and therefore were associated with reduced post‐announcement returns.
How to Reverse the Organ Shortage
Authors: Rippon Simon 
Published: September 2012

AbstractThousands of lives are lost each year because of a lack of organs available for transplant, but currently, in the UK and many other countries, organs cannot be taken from a deceased donor without explicit consent from the donor or his or her relatives. Switching to an ‘opt‐out’ (or ‘presumed consent’) system for organ donation could substantially increase the supply of organs, and save many lives. However, it has been argued in some quarters that there are serious ethical objections to an opt‐out policy, and that it would be better to adopt a different policy known as the ‘presumptive approach’, that requires explicit consent while also attempting to sway the choices of potential donors and family in the direction of donating, using various persuasive techniques. This article shows how reflection on the impact of a well‐known cognitive bias known as ‘status quo bias’ can explain (i) why moving from the status quo to an opt‐out policy might be effective in increasing organ availability, even without impinging on anyone's autonomous choices, (ii) why we might have overestimated the strength of the objections to an opt‐out policy, and (iii) why the presumptive approach is morally objectionable, while an opt‐out policy is not.
Alien and endangered plants in the Brazilian Cerrado exhibit contrasting relationships with vegetation biomass and N : P stoichiometry
Authors: Lannes Luciola S. , Bustamante Mercedes M. C. , Edwards Peter J. , Venterink Harry Olde 
Published: September 2012

Summary

Although endangered and alien invasive plants are commonly assumed to persist under different environmental conditions, surprisingly few studies have investigated whether this is the case. We examined how endangered and alien species are distributed in relation to community biomass and N : P ratio in the above‐ground community biomass in savanna vegetation in the Brazilian Cerrado.

For 60 plots, we related the occurrence of endangered (Red List) and alien invasive species to plant species richness, vegetation biomass and N : P ratio, and soil variables.

Endangered plants occurred mainly in plots with relatively low above‐ground biomass and high N : P ratios, whereas alien invasive species occurred in plots with intermediate to high biomass and low N : P ratios. Occurrences of endangered or alien plants were unrelated to extractable N and P concentrations in the soil.

These contrasting distributions in the Cerrado imply that alien species only pose a threat to endangered species if they are able to invade sites occupied by these species and increase the above‐ground biomass and/or decrease the N : P ratio of the vegetation. We found some evidence that alien species do increase above‐ground community biomass in the Cerrado, but their possible effect on N : P stoichiometry requires further study.
Spinal cord injuries in young children: a review of children injured at 5 years of age and younger
Authors: SCHOTTLER JENNIFER , VOGEL LAWRENCE C , STURM PETER 
Published: September 2012

Aim  To determine the epidemiology and complications of spinal cord injuries (SCIs) in children injured at 5 years of age and younger who were seen between 1981 and 2008 at a children’s hospital in the USA.Method  Complications studied were scoliosis, hip dysplasia, latex allergies, autonomic dysreflexia, pressure ulcers, spasticity, deep venous thrombosis, and kidney stones. Demographic and injury‐related factors included age at injury, etiology, level of injury, American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS), and SCIs without radiological abnormalities (SCIWORA).Results  Of the 159 individuals seen (92 males, 67 females) median age at injury was 2 years (range 0y–5y 11mo). Forty‐nine percent were injured in vehicular accidents, 60% had complete injuries, 66% had paraplegia, and 72% had SCIWORA. Ninety‐six percent developed scoliosis, 57% had hip dysplasia, and 7% had latex allergy. Thirty‐four percent with injuries at or above T6 experienced autonomic dysreflexia, 41% developed pressure ulcers, and 61% experienced spasticity. Of those without bowel or bladder control, 82% were on intermittent catheterization and 69% were on a bowel program. Median age of initiating wheelchair use was 3 years 4 months (range 1y 2mo–12y 5mo). Twenty‐four were community ambulators, and they were more likely to have AIS D lesions (half the key muscle functions below the level of injury have a muscle grade 3 or greater) and less likely to have skeletal complications.Interpretation  The epidemiology, complications, and manifestations of SCIs in children injured at a young age are unique and differ distinctively from adolescent and adult‐onset SCIs.
The effect of pediatric traumatic brain injury on behavioral outcomes: a systematic review
Authors: LI LINDA , LIU JIANGHONG 
Published: September 2012

Aim  To review systematically the empirical evidence on traumatic brain injury (TBI) during childhood and subsequent behavioral problems.Method  An initial literature search with keywords ‘brain injury,’‘children,’ and ‘behavior’ was conducted using Web of Knowledge and PubMed databases. Ancestry was also used. Original research studies published between 1990 and February 2012 focusing on behavioral outcomes of children sustaining TBI from ages 0 to 18 years were included.Results  Fifty studies, varying considerably in methodologies, were included in the review. Findings showed that up to 50% of brain‐injured children are at risk for presenting with specific behavioral problems and disorders. These problems may emerge shortly or several years after injury and often persist and even worsen with time. These behavioral impairments appear to be moderated by the family environment.Interpretation  Survivors of childhood TBI are at risk for developing and sustaining behavioral impairments. Stronger research is needed to identify cognitive and environmental factors that contribute to the onset and maintenance of these problems. Healthcare providers should ensure adequate follow‐up and assessment of a child’s behavioral, social, and neurocognitive domains. Caregivers should be encouraged to provide positive environments and parenting styles, which may help reduce chronic behavioral problems after brain injury.
Motivation and social capital among prospective blood donors in three large blood centers in Brazil
Authors: Gonçalez Thelma T. , Di Lorenzo Oliveira Claudia , Carneiro‐Proietti Anna Barbara F. , Moreno Elizabeth C. , Miranda Carolina , Larsen Nina , Wright David , Leão Silvana , Loureiro Paula , de Almeida‐Neto Cesar , Lopes Maria‐Inês , Proietti Fernando A. , Custer Brian , Sabino Ester ,   NHLBI Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study‐II (REDS‐II), International Component
Published: September 2012

BACKGROUND: Studies analyzing motivation factors that lead to blood donation have found altruism to be the primary motivation factor; however, social capital has not been analyzed in this context. Our study examines the association between motivation factors (altruism, self‐interest, and response to direct appeal) and social capital (cognitive and structural) across three large blood centers in Brazil.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted a cross‐sectional survey of 7635 donor candidates from October 15 through November 20, 2009. Participants completed self‐administered questionnaires on demographics, previous blood donation, human immunodeficiency virus testing and knowledge, social capital, and donor motivations. Enrollment was determined before the donor screening process.RESULTS: Among participants, 43.5 and 41.7% expressed high levels of altruism and response to direct appeal, respectively, while only 26.9% expressed high levels of self‐interest. More high self‐interest was observed at Hemope‐Recife (41.7%). Of participants, 37.4% expressed high levels of cognitive social capital while 19.2% expressed high levels of structural social capital. More high cognitive and structural social capital was observed at Hemope‐Recife (47.3 and 21.3%, respectively). High cognitive social capital was associated with high levels of altruism, self‐interest, and response to direct appeal. Philanthropic and high social altruism were associated with high levels of altruism and response to direct appeal.CONCLUSION: Cognitive and structural social capital and social altruism are associated with altruism and response to direct appeal, while only cognitive social capital is associated with self‐interest. Designing marketing campaigns with these aspects in mind may help blood banks attract potential blood donors more efficiently.
Temperature cycling improves in vivo recovery of cold‐stored human platelets in a mouse model of transfusion
Authors: Xu Fei , Gelderman Monique P. , Farrell John , Vostal Jaroslav G. 
Published: September 2012

BACKGROUND: Platelet (PLT) storage at room temperature (RT) is limited to 5 days to prevent growth of bacteria, if present, to high levels. Storage in cold temperatures would reduce bacterial proliferation, but cold‐exposed PLTs are rapidly cleared from circulation by the hepatic Ashwell‐Morell (AM) receptor, which recognizes PLT surface carbohydrates terminated by β‐galactose. We cycled storage temperature between 4 and 37°C to preserve PLT function and reduce bacterial growth.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Temperature‐cycled (TC) human PLTs were stored at 4°C for 12 hours and then incubated at 37°C for 30 minutes before returning back to cold storage. PLTs stored at RT or at 4°C (COLD) or TC for 2, 5, and 7 days were infused into SCID mice and the in vivo recovery was determined at 5, 20, and 60 minutes after transfusion.RESULTS: PLTs stored for 2 days in COLD had significantly lower in vivo recoveries than RT PLTs. TC PLTs had improved recoveries over COLD and comparable to RT PLTs. After 5‐ and 7‐day storage, TC PLTs had better recoveries than RT and COLD PLTs. PLT surface β‐galactose was increased significantly for both COLD and TC PLTs compared to RT. Blocking of the AM receptor by asialofetuin increased COLD but not TC PLT recovery.CONCLUSION: TC cold storage may be an effective method to store PLTs without loss of in vivo recovery. The increased β‐galactose exposure in TC PLTs suggests that mechanisms in addition to AM receptors may mediate clearance of cold‐stored PLTs.