bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Psychosocial functioning in relation to symptomatic remission: A longitudinal study of first episode schizophrenia
Authors: Jaracz K. , Górna K. , Kiejda J. , Grabowska-Fudala B. , Jaracz J. , Suwalska A. , Rybakowski J.K. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractObjectivesThe aims of the study were: (1) to evaluate longitudinally symptomatic remission in first-episode (FE) schizophrenia, (2) to describe symptoms, social functioning and quality of life (Qol) in relation to remission status, and (3) to determine the long-term outcome of schizophrenia and its early predictors.MethodsSixty-four patients were assessed 1 month after a first hospitalization (T1), 12 months (T2), 4–6 years (T3), and 7–11 years (T4) after T1. The patients were allocated to three remission groups according to their remission status over the whole observation period, e.g. stable remission (SR), unstable remission (UR) and non-remission (NR). The PANSS, Social Functioning Scale and WHOQoL were used to evaluate the patients’ psychosocial functioning levels, symptomatic and functional remissions and satisfying QoL. A good outcome was defined as meeting, simultaneously, the criteria of symptomatic and functional remissions and satisfying QoL at T4, while failure to meet all of these criteria was defined as a poor outcome.ResultsAmong them, 17.2% patients were in stable remission, 57.8% in unstable remission and 25.0% were unremitted at all time points. The SR group had lower levels of psychopathological symptoms and reported better social functioning and QoL than the NR group. During the follow-up, the symptoms increased, social functioning slightly improved and QoL did not change. At T4, 53% of the sample had a poor outcome, which was independently predicted by the longer duration of untreated psychosis and a lack of satisfying QoL at T1.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate that: (1) the long-term course in schizophrenia is heterogeneous and that three illness trajectories exist, (2) social functioning and QoL are only partially connected with symptomatic remission (3), the risk of a poor outcome may potentially be reduced by appropriate interventions at an early stage of the illness.
Dynamic occupation assessment of executive function in adolescents with schizophrenia spectrum disorders: An initial report
Authors: Chubarov E. , Sommerfeld E. , Hermesh H. , Shoval G. , Weiser M. , Zalsman G. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractObjectiveThis study presents an initial evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Dynamic Occupation Assessment of Executive Function (DOAEF), a new tool designed to assess adolescents’ executive function (EF) in daily situations and offering two levels of mediation through the administration process.MethodIn the preliminary study, we tested 22 healthy adolescents. In the advanced stage, the instrument was administered to 105 healthy adolescents and to another 92 adolescents diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Information regarding EF was assessed by the DOAEF and Wisconsin Card Sorting Computer Version Test (WCST-CV-64).ResultsInter-rater, test–retest and internal consistency indices were found to be satisfactory. Correlation between the DOAEF and the WCST-CV-64 scores supports the DOAEF's convergent validity. Significant differences were found between the healthy participants and the adolescents diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, thus supporting the DOAEF's criterion validity.ConclusionThe DOAEF may be useful in assessing the level of mediation, which patients need for the comprehension of daily situations in which EFs are required.
Correlation of anorectal electromanometry and anorectal three-dimensional ultrasound findings in patients with fecal incontinence
Authors: Betinardi Tracy Mary , Lima Doryane Maria dos Reis , Kurachi Gustavo , Bonatto Mauro Willemann , Tanaka Tomaz Massayuki , Sagae Univaldo Etsuo 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
Objective To show the correlation of anorectal electromanometry and three-dimensional anorectal ultrasonography in patients with fecal incontinence.
Method Prospective study involving 34 women (mean age: 55 years) with a diagnosis of fecal incontinence. The samples were submitted to three-dimensional anorectal ultrasonography/Echodefecography and anorectal electromanometry.
Results Based on anorectal electromanometry data, 70.5% of 34 patients had hypotonia at rest, 64.7% had hypotonic contraction, 52.9% had both hypotonia at rest and hypotonic contraction, and 44.1% had anismus. By three-dimensional anorectal ultrasonography, 32.3% had internal anal sphincter injury, 79.4% had external anal sphincter injures, and 26.4% had both internal and external anal sphincter injuries. In 38.2%, anismus was suggested and 50% showed rectocele. Overall, only 5.8% had normal results for anorectal electromanometry combined with three-dimensional anorectal ultrasonography. Kappa index was 0.297 and the presence of anismus through anorectal electromanometry and three-dimensional anorectal ultrasonography was compared by Student's t test application, with p < 0.0001.
Conclusion We conclude that there was a reasonable agreement in the comparison of sphincter hypotonia by anorectal manometry and sphincter injury by anorectal three-dimensional ultrasonography in a group of patients with fecal incontinence. The incidence of anismus in patients with fecal incontinence is considerable, and the therapeutic approach in these patients should be modified.
Surgical Procedure Characteristics and Risk of Sharps-Related Blood and Body Fluid Exposure
Authors: Myers Douglas J. , Lipscomb Hester J. , Epling Carol , Hunt Debra , Richardson William , Smith-Lovin Lynn , Dement John M. 
Published: October 2015

OBJECTIVETo use a unique multicomponent administrative data set assembled at a large academic teaching hospital to examine the risk of percutaneous blood and body fluid (BBF) exposures occurring in operating rooms.DESIGNA 10-year retrospective cohort design.SETTINGA single large academic teaching hospital.PARTICIPANTSAll surgical procedures (n=333,073) performed in 2001–2010 as well as 2,113 reported BBF exposures were analyzed.METHODSCrude exposure rates were calculated; Poisson regression was used to analyze risk factors and account for procedure duration. BBF exposures involving suture needles were examined separately from those involving other device types to examine possible differences in risk factors.RESULTSThe overall rate of reported BBF exposures was 6.3 per 1,000 surgical procedures (2.9 per 1,000 surgical hours). BBF exposure rates increased with estimated patient blood loss (17.7 exposures per 1,000 procedures with 501–1,000 cc blood loss and 26.4 exposures per 1,000 procedures with >1,000 cc blood loss), number of personnel working in the surgical field during the procedure (34.4 exposures per 1,000 procedures having ≥15 personnel ever in the field), and procedure duration (14.3 exposures per 1,000 procedures lasting 4 to <6 hours, 27.1 exposures per 1,000 procedures lasting ≥6 hours). Regression results showed associations were generally stronger for suture needle–related exposures.CONCLUSIONSResults largely support other studies found in the literature. However, additional research should investigate differences in risk factors for BBF exposures associated with suture needles and those associated with all other device types.Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 2015;37(1):80–87
Mid-Cretaceous megaspore floras from Maryland, USA
Authors: Lupia Richard 
Published: October 2015

AbstractBulk maceration of unconsolidated Potomac Group sediments collected from 12 samples of middle–late Albian and early Cenomanian age on the Elk Neck Peninsula, Maryland, yielded 14 genera and 18 species of megaspores. The identified megaspores have affinities to both heterosporous ferns, e.g.,ArcellitesandMolaspora, and to heterosporous lycopsids, e.g.,Erlansonisporites,Minerisporites, andPaxillitriletes. Morphological variation within species is high, and most morphotypes differ from established taxa in one or more characters. Two new species—Dijkstraisporites praetextusandVerrutriletes diversus—are proposed. The composition of these middle–late Albian and early Cenomanian floras is a mixture of taxa previously recorded from Aptian and Santonian floras in North America. In addition, a fragmentary strobilus of selaginellalean affinity containing a megaspore and microspores is described.
Utilisation of Nicotine Replacement Therapy within a Hospital Pharmacist Initiated Smoking-Cessation Intervention – A Pragmatic Randomised Controlled Trial
Authors: Gupta D. , Winckel K. , Burrows J. , Ross J. , Upham J. W. 
Published: October 2015

Introduction:Hospital pharmacists currently play a limited role in the management of nicotine withdrawal and smoking-cessation. They have multiple tasks and limited time; a strong evidence base is required to determine importance of including smoking-cessation interventions into their routine practice.Aims:The aims of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of a hospital pharmacist initiated smoking-cessation intervention (SCI) in increasing the utilisation of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) in hospitalised smokers, and in increasing quit rates post-discharge.Methods:This study was conducted in a tertiary referral hospital using a pragmatic randomised control design. After screening, 100 inpatient smokers were enrolled and randomised by the research pharmacist (RP) to either the intervention or usual care arm (n= 50 for both arms). Smoking-cessation advice was available to all smokers during their hospital stay under the smoking management policy, which represented usual care. However, this approach is often unstructured and provided on an ad-hoc basis. Those in the intervention arm received brief SCI from the RP, who also facilitated NRT prescribing if required. Prescribing rates of NRT in the hospital and on discharge in both the groups were compared. Participants were contacted by phone three-months after enrolment to assess their seven-day point prevalence of abstinence (PPA) from smoking and use of NRT post-discharge.Results:A significantly higher proportion of participants in the intervention arm used NRT in the hospital (82% vs. 24%,Χ2= 33.8,p< 0.001) and at discharge (68% vs. 12%,Χ2= 32.7,p< 0.0001) and significantly more participants who received SCI from the RP continued to use NRT after discharge (OR 3.1, CI 1.2 to 8.2). A similar number of participants in both the groups claimed seven-day PPA after three-months (18% usual-care vs. 15% intervention-arm, OR 0.8, CI 0.24 to 2.67).Conclusions:Hospital pharmacist led brief SCI can enhance the utilisation of NRT in hospital and after discharge; there was no clear effect on cessation rates at three months. There is a need to explore feasible options for a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to smoking-cessation in hospital and across the continuum, which may have a greater impact on long term smoking-cessation rates.
Ownership and M&A Performance in a Transitional Economy: The Case of the Chinese Real Estate Industry
Authors: Yang Hongyan , Ru Jing , Ren Ting 
Published: October 2015

ABSTRACTIn a transitional economy such as China's, when resources are unevenly distributed across different sectors, the disadvantaged sector may seek a growth path that bypasses resource constraints. We investigated this phenomenon in the context of the Chinese real estate industry. By comparing the post–merger and acquisition (M&A) performance of acquiring firms between state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and privately-owned enterprises (POEs), we attempted to show that POEs are better performers in the market should they be granted equitable resources, and the superior performance is strengthened by market-oriented institutional environment. We used M&A events data of publicly listed real estate firms in China from 2004 to 2012, in conjunction with firm characteristics and province-level market environment data. We found the results to be consistent with our hypotheses. In particular, compared to SOEs, privately-owned acquiring firms tend to have better post-M&A performance when both the regions of the acquirer and the target have high level of marketization. The results suggest that the private sector in China's transitional economy is potentially more efficient than the state-owned sector, as long as the market environment is favorable.
Gut morphology and hepatic oxidative status of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) juveniles fed plant feedstuffs or fishmeal-based diets supplemented with short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides and xylo-oligosaccharides
Authors: Guerreiro Inês , Couto Ana , Pérez-Jiménez Amalia , Oliva-Teles Aires , Enes Paula 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe effects of short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides (scFOS) and xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) on gut morphology and hepatic oxidative status were studied in European sea bass juveniles weighing 60 g. Fish were fed diets including fishmeal (FM diets) or plant feedstuffs (PF diets; 30 FM:70 PF) as main protein sources (control diets). Four other diets were formulated similar to the control diets but including 1 % scFOS or 1 % XOS. At the end of the trial, fish fed PF-based diets presented histomorphological alterations in the distal intestine, whereas only transient alterations were observed in the pyloric caeca. Comparatively to fish fed FM-based diets, fish fed PF diets had higher liver lipid peroxidation (LPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities, and lower glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities. In fish fed the PF diets, prebiotic supplementation decreased SOD activity and XOS supplementation further decreased CAT activity. In fish fed the FM diets, XOS supplementation promoted a reduction of all antioxidant enzyme activities. Overall, dietary XOS and scFOS supplementation had only minor effects on gut morphology or LPO levels. However, dietary XOS reduced antioxidant enzymatic activity in both PF and FM diets, which indicate a positive effect on reduction of hepatic reactive oxygen species production.
Impact of nutritional labelling on 10-d energy intake, appetite perceptions and attitudes towards food
Authors: Carbonneau Elise , Perron Julie , Drapeau Vicky , Lamarche Benoît , Doucet Éric , Pomerleau Sonia , Provencher Véronique 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of nutritional labelling on energy intake, appetite perceptions and attitudes towards food. During a 10-d period, seventy normal-weight (BMI<25 kg/m2) and seventy-one obese women (BMI≥30 kg/m2) were given three meals per d under ad libitum conditions. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three experimental labelling groups in which the only difference was the label posted on lunch meal entrée: (1) low-fat label, (2) energy label (energy content of the entrée and average daily needs) and (3) no label (control). Average energy intake was calculated by weighing all foods before v. after daily consumption. Hunger and fullness perceptions were rated on visual analogue scales immediately before and after each meal. Satiety efficiency was assessed through the calculation of the satiety quotient (SQ). The appreciation and perceived healthiness of the lunch entrées were rated on eight-point Likert scales. There was no difference in energy intake, SQ and attitudes towards food between the three labelling groups. Fasting hunger perception was higher in the low-fat label group compared with the two others groups (P=0·0037). No interactions between labelling groups and BMI categories were observed. In conclusion, although labelling does not seem to influence energy intake, a low-fat label may increase women’s fasting hunger perceptions compared with an energy label or no label.
Backwardness Revisited: Time, Space, and Civilization in Rural Eastern Europe
Authors: Hann Chris 
Published: October 2015

AbstractAnthropology, the relativizing countercurrent to Enlightenment notions of civilization and progress, has long challenged notions of backwardness. By contrast, Marxist-Leninist regimes had no doubts about the world-historical backwardness of the largely agrarian societies in which they came to power, which they sought to transform through rapid industrialization. According to some indicators, this socialist civilizing mission was rather successful. Yet memories are mixed, and complicated by the reappearance of typical features of backwardness in the postsocialist era. This article explores changing political economies and the spatiotemporal imaginaries of elites and villagers in Hungary. Historical and theoretical insight is drawn from Ferenc Erdei (1910–1971), a left-leaning populist whose analysis of rural Hungary has more general relevance. Case materials are presented from a region of the Great Plain that in thelongue duréeexemplifies the “development of underdevelopment” on the margins of Western capitalism. Civilizational transformations were instigated from the east in the socialist decades, but their vehicle was a collectivist ideology that remained alien. The politics and economics of time now render villagers susceptible to populist imaginaries entirely different from those of Erdei.
Ottoman Infrastructures of the Saudi Hydro-State: The Technopolitics of Pilgrimage and Potable Water in the Hijaz
Authors: Low Michael Christopher 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe provisioning of potable water was a microcosm of the Ottoman state's incomplete projects of technopolitical modernization on the Arab frontier. Water questions sat at the intersection between international pressures surrounding cholera, drought, Wahhabi and Bedouin disorder, and the inability of the state to impose its will on the semi-autonomous Amirate of Mecca. To be sure, Ottoman public health reforms and increased attention to water infrastructure were partly a product of the intense international attention generated by the hajj's role in the globalization of cholera. However, like other projects with more overt military and strategic implications, most notably the Hijaz telegraph and railway, the Ottoman state also saw an opportunity to harness the increasing medicalization of the hajj to serve a broader set of efforts to consolidate the empire's most vulnerable frontier provinces. Through the lens of the technopolitical frontier this essay seeks to tell a larger story about the evolution of state building and development in Arabia, one that would otherwise be obscured without reference to both its late Ottoman and Saudi histories. By viewing the evolution of hydraulic management in the Hijaz as a continuous process unfolding across the long nineteenth century, we gain a new perspective on the role that Ottoman technopolitics played in shaping the Saudi state that eventually succeeded it. We find that the quest for water security in the Hijaz, particularly in Jidda, played a critical role in setting the stage for the discovery of the Saudi Arabia's massive petroleum reserves.
Facing Off and Saving Face: Covert Intervention and Escalation Management in the Korean War
Authors: Carson Austin 
Published: October 2015

AbstractStates pursue their cooperative and competitive goals using both public and private policy tools. Yet there is a profound mismatch between the depth, variety, and importance of covert activity and what scholars of International Relations (IR) know about it. This article addresses this gap by analyzing how adversaries struggle for influence within the covert sphere, why they often retreat to it, and when they abandon it. It focuses on secrecy among adversaries intervening in local conflicts and develops a theory about secrecy's utility as a device for creating sustainable limits in war. Drawing on insights about secrecy and face-work from the sociologist Erving Goffman, I show that major powers individually and collectively conceal evidence of foreign involvement when the danger of unintended conflict escalation is acute. Doing so creates a kind of “backstage” in which adversaries can exceed limits on war without stimulating hard-to-resist pressure to escalate further. An important payoff of the theory is making sense of puzzling cases of forbearance: even though adversaries often know about their opponent's covert activity, they often abstain from publicizing it. Such “tacit collusion” arises when both sides seek to manage escalation risks even as they compete for power and refuse to capitulate. The article evaluates the theory via several nested cases of external intervention in the Korean War. Drawing on newly available materials documenting the covert air war between secretly deployed Soviet pilots and Western forces, the cases show how adversaries can successfully limit war by concealing activity from outside audiences. Beyond highlighting the promise in studying the covert realm in world politics, the article has important implications for scholarship on coercive bargaining, reputation, state uses of secrecy, and how regime type influences conflict behavior.
Inequality in Urban America
Authors: SCHMALE ANITA , SCOTT-SMITH GILES 
Published: October 2015

When the English translation of Thomas Piketty's Le capital au XXIe siècle came out in the spring of 2014, it struck a raw nerve. It is rare for a weighty tome on economic theory to achieve widespread attention, but Piketty, a Parisian researcher known more for sober analysis than any Left Bank outbursts, has produced some conclusions on wealth creation and distribution that are both provocative and disturbing. His research analyses tax records spread over many decades and more than twenty countries, enabling him to study historical patterns and irregularities in the distribution of wealth. His main thesis is based on an economic formula: “The Central Contradiction of Capitalism: r > g.” In this equation, the return on capital (r) grows more rapidly than income or output (g). As a result, this drives relentlessly expanding levels of inequality, whereby “the entrepreneur inevitably tends to become a rentier, more and more dominant over those who own nothing but their labour.” There is plenty of evidence out there to support this view. Thus, a recent report from Credit Suisse:
Although the global economic environment has remained challenging, total global wealth has grown to a new record, rising by USD 20.1 trillion between mid-2013 and mid-2014, an increase of 8.3%, to reach USD 263 trillion – more than twice the USD 117 trillion recorded for the year 2000. With an 11.4% year-on-year increase, wealth creation was particularly strong in North America, where it now stands at USD 91 trillion, or 34.7% of total wealth … capital markets were a key source of wealth growth: equity market capitalization grew by 22.6% in the United States …