bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Scoring systems for outcome prediction in patients with perforated peptic ulcer
Authors: Thorsen Kenneth , Søreide Jon Arne , Søreide Kjetil 
Published: April 2013

AbstractBackgroundPatients with perforated peptic ulcer (PPU) often present with acute, severe illness that carries a high risk for morbidity and mortality. Mortality ranges from 3-40% and several prognostic scoring systems have been suggested. The aim of this study was to review the available scoring systems for PPU patients, and to assert if there is evidence to prefer one to the other.Material and methodsWe searched PubMed for the mesh terms “perforated peptic ulcer”, “scoring systems”, “risk factors”, ”outcome prediction”, “mortality”, ”morbidity” and the combinations of these terms. In addition to relevant scores introduced in the past (e.g. Boey score), we included recent studies published between January 2000 and December 2012) that reported on scoring systems for prediction of morbidity and mortality in PPU patients.ResultsA total of ten different scoring systems used to predict outcome in PPU patients were identified; the Boey score, the Hacettepe score, the Jabalpur score the peptic ulcer perforation (PULP) score, the ASA score, the Charlson comorbidity index, the sepsis score, the Mannheim Peritonitis Index (MPI), the Acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II), the simplified acute physiology score II (SAPS II), the Mortality probability models II (MPM II), the Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enumeration of Mortality and Morbidity physical sub-score (POSSUM-phys score). Only four of the scores were specifically constructed for PPU patients. In five studies the accuracy of outcome prediction of different scoring systems was evaluated by receiver operating characteristics curve (ROC) analysis, and the corresponding area under the curve (AUC) among studies compared. Considerable variation in performance both between different scores and between different studies was found, with the lowest and highest AUC reported between 0.63 and 0.98, respectively.ConclusionWhile the Boey score and the ASA score are most commonly used to predict outcome for PPU patients, considerable variations in accuracy for outcome prediction were shown. Other scoring systems are hampered by a lack of validation or by their complexity that precludes routine clinical use. While the PULP score seems promising it needs external validation before widespread use.
Surveillance of Endovascular Aneurysm Repair: An Audit of Sonographer-Led Ultrasound and Radiologist-Led Computed Tomography Services
Authors: Wolstenhulme S , Froggett Js , Nicholls Mj 
Published: April 2013

Objectives Postoperative complications associated with endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) mandate the need for lifelong surveillance. The aim of this audit was to compare the detection rates of endoleaks during the first 10 months of a combined sonographer-led colour Doppler ultrasound (CDUS) and radiologist-led contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT), postoperative EVAR surveillance programme, within a single National Health Service Hospital. Methods A prospective audit was carried out of all patients with EVAR, who had same-day CECT and CDUS surveillance examinations between March 2010 and January 2011. CECT examinations were reported by three consultant vascular radiologists. Of 66 CDUS examinations, 64 (97%) were performed and reported by four certified vascular sonographers. The reports of dual-modality, same-day scans were compared, to establish agreement on the presence and classification of the type, or absence of endoleaks. CECT was used as the gold standard, against which the sensitivity and specificity of CDUS in endoleak detection was determined. Results Sixty-six paired same-day CECT and CDUS reports were compared. Ten endoleaks were identified by CECT (15% incidence) and eight (80%) of 10 were type II. The number of observed agreements was 58 (88%) of 66; CDUS missed six endoleaks (five type II) and suggested two false-positives. CDUS had a sensitivity of 40% and a specificity of 96%. Conclusions: In our study, CDUS demonstrated an excellent specificity but had a low sensitivity for endoleak detection. We agree CDUS cannot effectively replace CECT as the sole imaging modality. Research to determine an international consensus for an effective and efficient postoperative EVAR surveillance patient pathway is required.
Serum β-2 microglobulin predicts mortality in people with diabetes
Authors: Cheung Ching-Lung , Lam Karen S L , Cheung Bernard M Y 
Published: April 2013

ObjectiveSerum β-2 microglobulin (B2M) level predicts mortality in chronic kidney disease. Glycation of B2M is cytotoxic and may contribute to the risk of mortality in diabetic patients. Our objective was to evaluate the relationship between B2M and mortality in diabetic patients.MethodsIn this prospective study, 896 participants of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey with diabetes were included in the analysis. Serum B2M level was used in multivariate Cox regression analysis to predict all-cause and diabetes-related mortality.ResultsDuring a median follow-up of 11.8 years (range 0.1–18.2 years) and 9220.5 person/years, 541 (42.4%) and 207 (16.8%) participants died from all causes and diabetes-related causes respectively. One natural-log unit of B2M was significantly associated with all-cause (hazard ratio (HR)=6.53, 95% CI 2.07–20.6) and diabetes mortality (HR=7.35, 95% CI 1.01–53.38) after multivariable adjustment. Similar results were obtained when B2M was analyzed as tertiles or in the threshold model (T1+T2 vs T3). Examination of regression splines suggests a linear increase in hazard for mortality with increasing B2M levels.ConclusionsSerum B2M level is a novel predictor of all-cause and diabetes-related mortality in people with diabetes regardless of renal function.
Decision Making Under Uncertainty: Applying the Least-Squares Monte Carlo Method in Surfactant-Flooding Implementation
Authors: Alkhatib A.. , Babaei M.. , King P.R.. R. 
Published: April 2013

SummaryThis study introduces a decision-making evaluation method for flexibility in surfactant flooding. The method aims to capture the effects of uncertainty in the time series for both technical and economic parameters and produce a near-optimal policy with respect to these uncertainties as they vary with time. The evaluation method used was the least-squares Monte Carlo (LSM) method, which is best-suited for evaluating flexibility in project implementation. The decision analyzed was that of finding the best time to start surfactant flooding during the lifetime of a field under uncertainty. The study was conducted on two reservoir models: a 3D homogeneous model and a 2D heterogeneous model. The technical uncertainties considered were the residual oil saturation (ROS) to the surfactant flood, surfactant adsorption, and reservoir heterogeneity, and the main economic uncertain parameters considered were oil price, surfactant cost, and water-injection and -production costs. The results show that the LSM method provides a decision-making tool that was able to capture the value of flexibility in surfactant-flooding implementation and provides some insight into the effect of uncertainty on decision making, which can help mitigate adverse circumstances should they arise or capture the upside potential if circumstances prove beneficial. The results found that the optimal policy obtained was reliable and that heterogeneity and different well-placement patterns affect the value of flexibility and optimal policy for different reservoir models. Furthermore, possible extensions to enhance the LSM method were discussed.
Simulation of Multicomponent Gas Flow and Condensation in Marcellus Shale Reservoir
Authors: Elamin Abdallah , Fathi Ebrahim , Ameri Samuel 
Published: April 2013

Abstract
The Marcellus shale formation, with more than 463 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of recoverable gas in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, will play a critical role in providing clean energy, environmental sustainability, and increased security for our nation. However, due to recent low gas prices, most of the operating companies have slowed down their activities in dry gas areas and refocused their attention in oil and condensate production from liquid-rich regions. This change in production plans requires detailed investigation of gas condensate bank developments and saturation dynamics in shale gas reservoirs that change greatly depending on reservoir rock and fluid properties and also operating conditions. An advanced level of understanding of the parameters affecting gas condensate phase behavior is necessary in order to make accurate predictions of these changes.
Phase behavior and critical properties of gas condensate in shale gas reservoirs is significantly different than that of gas condensate as bulk in the PVT cell. It is highly affected by shale pore size distribution leading to changes in gas compressibility, viscosity, formation volume and original gas in place calculations. In addition to pore size effect, fluid composition, natural and hydraulic fractures, reservoir anisotropy, rock compressibility and number of horizontal wells and their operating conditions could also significantly impact the condensate bank developments and saturation dynamics. To quantify the importance of these parameters experimental design model, i.e., Plackett-Burman, implemented following a systematic approach for two different cases (single well cylindrical model and actual Marcellus shale gas reservoir). Detailed uncertainty analysis of different parameters using Marcellus shale gas reservoir model show the significance of reservoir fluid composition, matrix anisotropy, rock compressibility and hydraulic fracture spacing on condensate bank developments where the pore size confinement effects has been ignored. They also show that gas condensation is not only a near wellbore phenomenon but it can happen deep into the reservoir causing severe formation damage. However, considering the nano-pore size characteristics of Marcellus shale gas reservoir by assuming average 2 nm pore size distribution the modified critical properties and fluid behavior, results in significant reduction in condensate saturations around the wellbore and inside the reservoir. This significantly alleviates the formation damage that has been seen in the absence of nano-pore wall confinement effects. Based on our study, critical properties and phase behavior of reservoir fluid under pore wall confinements have the most significant impact on production strategies and stimulation design for Marcellus shale gas reservoirs.
A Pore Scale Study Describing the Dynamics of Slickwater Distribution in Shale Gas Formations Following Hydraulic Fracturing
Authors: Hu Yinan , Devegowda Deepak , Striolo Alberto , Ho Tuan A. , Phan Anh , Civan Faruk , Sigal Richard 
Published: April 2013

Abstract
Hydraulic fracturing with slickwater to stimulate shale gas wells is routinely employed to enable increased contact with larger reservoir volumes and has the advantages of lower cost, the ability to create larger and more complex fractures, less formation damage and easier cleanup. However, a common observation is that during flow back only 10 to 20% of the frac water is recovered, even though a typical stimulation job requires several million gallons of water. Although there have been some attempts to address this phenomenon, the associated theories are lacking in scientific rigor.
Due to the nanoporous nature of shales where pore proximity effects and strong inter-molecular interactions may dominate, a fundamental pore-level analysis is employed in this work to better understand and leverage the dynamics of the physiochemical processes during and after fracturing. By varying pore size in organic and inorganic pores in shales, we study the dynamics of water and gas molecules, as well as that of ions. The results of our study demonstrate that the mechanics of water entrapment and the water and ions distribution are strongly linked to the pore-surface mineralogy.
Understanding the placement and distribution of frac water in both organic and inorganic pores in shales will potentially help in improved forecasting of well performance and address concerns related to the contamination of groundwater resources.
Recommendation-Forecast Consistency and Earnings Forecast Quality
Authors: Brown Lawrence D. , Huang Kelly 
Published: April 2013

SYNOPSIS:
We investigate the implications of recommendation-forecast consistency for the informativeness of stock recommendations and earnings forecasts and the quality of analysts' earnings forecasts. Stock recommendations and earnings forecasts are often issued simultaneously and evaluated jointly by investors. However, the two signals are often inconsistent with each other. Defining a recommendation-forecast pair as consistent if both of them are above or below their existing consensus, we find that 58.3 percent of recommendation-forecast pairs are consistent in our sample. We document that consistent pairs result in much stronger market reactions than inconsistent pairs. We show that analysts making consistent recommendation forecasts make more accurate and timelier forecasts than do analysts making inconsistent recommendation forecasts, suggesting that consistent analysts make higher-quality earnings forecasts. We extend the literature on informativeness of analyst research by showing that recommendation-forecast consistency is an important ex ante signal regarding both firm valuation and earnings forecast quality. Investors and researchers can use consistency as a salient, ex ante signal to identify more informative analyst research and superior earnings forecasts.
Data Availability: All data are available from public sources.
The Effects of Dividend Taxation on Short Selling and Market Quality
Authors: Thornock Jacob 
Published: April 2013

ABSTRACT:
This study examines the effects of dividend taxation on the primary parties involved in a short sale: the lender of the stock and the short seller. For stock lenders, dividend taxation is associated with a decrease in the supply of shortable shares and an increase in equity lending fees around the dividend record date. For short sellers, potential reimbursement costs are associated with a significant decrease in short volume before the ex-dividend date followed by a significant increase after the ex-date. Prior research shows that short selling improves price efficiency and formation. Hence, because of the negative effects of taxation on shorting, market quality declines along several dimensions: equity mispricing, increased loan search frictions, loan price inefficiencies, and market microstructure breakdown. In sum, this study documents that taxation constricts the shorting market around the dividend dates, which in turn has negative implications for market quality.
JEL Classifications: G11, G12, G23, H20
Book Reviews
Authors: McLain Karline , Trathen Paul K. , Ulmer Rivka , DeGilio-Bellemare Mario , McGivern Ronald 
Published: April 2013

Oropeza, B.J. ed. The Gospel According to Superheroes: Religion and Popular Culture, reviewed by Karline McLain Pahl, jon. Shopping Malls and Other Sacred Spaces: Putting God in Place., reviewed by Paul K. Trathen Hecker, Joel. Mystical Bodies, Mystical Meals: Eating and Embodiment in Medieval Kabbalah, reviewed by Rivka Ulmer Beal, Timothey, Religion and its Monsters, reviewed by Mario DeGiglio-Bellemare Kapell, Matthew, and William Doty, eds. Jacking in to The Matrix Franchise: Cultural Reception and Interpretation, reviewed by Ronald McGivern
Big Fish: Understanding Historical Narrative
Authors: Wilson Barrie 
Published: April 2013

Big Fish raises the hermeneutic question how narrative truth relates to factual truth—how “what is said happened” relates to “what really happened.” Will wants to know facts about his father’s life. His father, Edward, is dying but he never accedes to his son’s request for a factual autobiography, preferring to tell stories about the significant moments in his life and the people he encountered. Narrative truth is what Edward values, for it opens up the dimension of significance— “what an event means to the narrator.” The meaning of events narrated is dramatized in this film. Big Fish is a story about redemption and transformation. Everyone whom Edward encounters is redeemed or changed in a positive manner. Even his son, Will, is changed. Over time, he comes to see the value of story and vows to portray his father’s life the way he wanted it told. Big Fish poses hermeneutic problems on two levels. On the individual level, the conflict between narrative and factual truth arises when individuals seek to authenticate stories told by aged relatives or when therapists attempt to interpret accounts told them by patients. On a cultural level, the narrative versus factual truth issue is experienced by scholars puzzling over the historicity of ancient religious narratives. The importance of this issue is illustrated in relation to narratives about Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Not only do these texts stand at a distance from the events they purport to describe, we, too, as interpreters, are situated at a distance from their time of writing. The question arises, can we now move from narrative truth to factual truth (historicity)? If so, how? It is argued that with respect to ancient cultural historical narratives, we cannot now “get behind” the narratives to corroborate the historicity of actions and sayings. In contrast, Big Fish portrays Will ascertaining details about his father’s story by hearing the account of his birth firsthand, finding records and in speaking to people still alive in Specter, a town transformed by his father’s actions. In a sense the film “cheats,” that is, it portrays what is often not possible— historical corroboration—with respect to personal, therapeutic or scholarly hermeneutic situations. It is therefore contended that the film should have ended just with Will’s hearing the stories. That would have placed him squarely in the hermeneutic quandary.
Book Reviews
Authors: Mazur Eric Michael , Madonald Paul , Lindvall Terry 
Published: April 2013

Jacobs, A.J. The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible, reviewed by Eric Michael Mazur Vanhoozer, Kevin J., Charles A. Anderson and Michael J. Sleasman, eds. Everyday Theology: How to Read Cultural Texts and Interpret Trends, reviewed by Paul Macdonald Clark, David G. C.S. Lewis: A Guide to His Theology, reviewed by Terry Lindvall Schakel, Peter J. Is Your Lord Large Enough? How C.S. Lewis Expands Our View of God, reviewed by Terry Lindvall Baker, William J. Playing With God: Religion and Modern Sport, reviewed by Eric Michael Mazur
A Comparative Analysis of Three Locations of Ritual Activity at Saint Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal
Authors: Nixon Laurence 
Published: April 2013

L’Oratoire St. Joseph est le centre de pélerinage le plus populaire au Canada. A l’Oratoire il y a trois lieux principaux d’activités rituelles (la chapelle votive, la crypte et la basilique). Ces trois sites expriment trois types de religion (folklorique, populaire et élitiste). Un examen systématique de l’espace et des processus rituels nous montre qu’il y a une tension, sinon un conflit, entre l’expression folklorique et l’expression élitiste. A mon avis, cette tension est quelque peu diffusé par le cérémonial populaire de la crypte. St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal is the most popular centre of pilgrimage in Canada. At the Oratory there are three distinct locations of ritual activity, the votive chapel, the crypt church and the basilica, that are expressive of three different types of religion which can be interpreted along a continuum from folk to popular to elite Catholicism, respectively. A systematic examination of the ritual space and processes of these sites, as well as citations from the publications of the Oratory, make it clear that there is a tension between the elite and folk ritual expressions—a tension which I suggest is mediated, at least in part, by the locus of popular ritual activity, the crypt church.
Book Reviews
Authors: Wagner Rachel , Matties Gordon , Rycenga Jennifer , Baker Kelly J. , Mason Fred , Helmbold Anita 
Published: April 2013

Coates, Paul. Cinema, Religion, and the Romantic Legacy, reviewed by Rachel Wagner Reinhartz, Adele. Scripture on the Silver Screen, reviewed by Gordon Matties Sylvan, Robin. Traces of the Spirit: Religious Dimensions of Popular Music, reviewed by Jennifer Rycenga Plate, S. Brent, ed. Religion, Art, and Visual Culture: A Cross Cultural Reader, reviewed by Kelly J. Baker Henderson, Robert W. Ball, Bat, and Bishop: The Origin of Ball Games, reviewed by Fred Mason Neal, Connie, and Samuel F. (Skip) Parvin. The Gospel According to Harry Potter: Leader’s Guide for Group Study, reviewed by Anita Helmbold
Between external prescription and local practice	The uses of official knowledge by adult education professionals in Portugal
Authors: Caria Telmo , Cristóvão Artur , Loureiro Armando 
Published: April 2013

This article presents the results of research where the main objective was to achieve a	better understanding of the uses made by professionals in the adult education sphere of	the official knowledge that provides the framework and guidelines for their work. The	study was undertaken using Bernsteins theoretical model of the structure of official	pedagogical discourse, and employed an essentially ethnographic fieldwork	methodology to analyse the work of a team of adult education specialists working in a	local development association in the north of Portugal. The results of the study show	that the team was able to make both reproductive and recontextualising use of official	knowledge, thereby demonstrating that, even in workplaces where external prescription	is extremely influential, it is possible to put official knowledge to alternative i.e. more	effective, locally-adapted use.
La vie industrielle à Villedieu-les-Poêles au XVIIIe siècle
Authors: Vivier Emile 
Published: April 2013

Cette étude, relativement succincte (16 p.), est consacrée aux différentes formes d'artisanat qui firent la réputation de cette petite localité sous l'ancien régime. L'auteur a puisé sa documentation dans une source d'information, jusqu'ici peu utilisée : les archives notariales.
La majeure partie de ce travail concerne l'artisanat du cuivre. Pour chacune des branches de cette industrie : fabrication de poêles, chaudrons, ustensiles de cuisine ; fonderie de boucles, boulons, chandeliers, ferrures d'armoire, clochettes, etc., il s'est appliqué à décrire la méthode de travail (matière première, outillage), le commerce des objets fabriqués, et la condition des artisans (maîtres, compagnons» apprentis). Dans une seconde partie, il a fourni des renseignements nouveaux (puisés à la même source) sur d'autres formes d'artisanat pratiquées secondairement dans cette localité : celles des graveurs et orfèvres, des tanneurs et mégis- siers, des tamisiers et sassiers, des dentellières.
Il a tenu à recueillir et à expliquer les termes techniques, alors en usage, mais qui tendent aujourd'hui à disparaître avec l'utilisation de la cuivrerie.