bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Burden of serious fungal diseases in Hungary
Authors: Sinkó János , Sulyok Mihály , Denning David W. 
Published: October 2015

SummaryValid data on the prevalence of serious fungal diseases are difficult to derive as in most countries these conditions are not reportable infections. To assess the burden of these infections in Hungary prevalence estimates from international peer‐reviewed papers and population statistics were utilised. In the intensive care unit (ICU) population at least 370 cases of serious yeast and 52 mould infections can be expected yearly. The total number of candidaemia cases may be as high as 1110 annually. In patients with acute leukaemia and recipients of haematopoietic stem cell and solid organ transplants the predicted incidence is more than 55 every year. Recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis – though not a life‐threatening condition – can adversely affect the quality of life of more than 177 000 Hungarian women. According to organisation for economic co‐operation and development (OECD), 4.7% of total population older than 15 will suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 4.4% from asthma, adding another very broad risk group to the aforementioned categories susceptible for mycotic complications. Here more than 17 000 can have severe asthma with fungal sensitisation (SAFS) and more than 13 000 are at risk for developing allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA). The incidence of dermatomycoses and other superficial fungal infections is even more difficult to assess but – according to international estimations – can effect around 14.3% of the total population. More than 1.6 million Hungarians may suffer from fungal diseases annually, with 33 000 cases being life threatening or very serious. This is an under‐recognised problem of special importance for public health.
Cryptococcal disease and the burden of other fungal diseases in Uganda; Where are the knowledge gaps and how can we fill them?
Authors: Parkes‐Ratanshi R. , Achan B. , Kwizera R. , Kambugu A. , Meya D. , Denning D. W. 
Published: October 2015

SummaryThe HIV epidemic in Uganda has highlighted Cryptococcus and Candida infections as important opportunistic fungal infections. However, the burden of other fungal diseases is not well described. We aimed to estimate the burden of fungal infections in Uganda. All epidemiological papers of fungal diseases in Uganda were reviewed. Where there is no Ugandan data, global or East African data were used. Recurrent vaginal candidiasis is estimated to occur in 375 540 Uganda women per year; Candida in pregnant women affects up to 651 600 women per year. There are around 45 000 HIV‐related oral and oesophageal candidosis cases per year. There are up to 3000 cases per year of post‐TB chronic pulmonary aspergillosis. There are an estimated 40 392 people with asthma‐related fungal conditions. An estimated 1 300 000 cases of tinea capitis occur in school children yearly in Uganda. There are approximately 800 HIV‐positive adults with Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) annually and up to 42 000 children with PJP per year. There are an estimated 4000 cryptococcal cases annually. There are an estimated 2.5 million fungal infections per year in Uganda. Cryptococcus and PJP cause around 28 000 deaths in adults and children per year. We propose replicating the model of research around cryptococcal disease to investigate and development management strategies for other fungal diseases in Uganda.
Burden of serious fungal infections in Tanzania
Authors: Faini Diana , Maokola Werner , Furrer Hansjakob , Hatz Christoph , Battegay Manuel , Tanner Marcel , Denning David W. , Letang Emilio 
Published: October 2015

SummaryThe incidence and prevalence of fungal infections in Tanzania remains unknown. We assessed the annual burden in the general population and among populations at risk. Data were extracted from 2012 reports of the Tanzanian AIDS program, WHO, reports, Tanzanian census, and from a comprehensive PubMed search. We used modelling and HIV data to estimate the burdens of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP), cryptococcal meningitis (CM) and candidiasis. Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and tuberculosis data were used to estimate the burden of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) and chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA). Burdens of candidaemia and Candida peritonitis were derived from critical care and/or cancer patients’ data. In 2012, Tanzania's population was 43.6 million (mainland) with 1 500 000 people reported to be HIV‐infected. Estimated burden of fungal infections was: 4412 CM, 9600 PCP, 81 051 and 88 509 oral and oesophageal candidiasis cases respectively. There were 10 437 estimated posttuberculosis CPA cases, whereas candidaemia and Candida peritonitis cases were 2181 and 327 respectively. No reliable data exist on blastomycosis, mucormycosis or fungal keratitis. Over 3% of Tanzanians suffer from serious fungal infections annually, mostly related to HIV. Cryptococcosis and PCP are major causes of mycoses‐related deaths. National surveillance of fungal infections is urgently needed.
Estimated burden of fungal infections in Germany
Authors: Ruhnke Markus , Groll Andreas H. , Mayser Peter , Ullmann Andrew J. , Mendling Werner , Hof Herbert , Denning David W. ,   The University of Manchester in association with the LIFE program
Published: October 2015

SummaryIn the late 1980's, the incidence of invasive fungal diseases (IFDs) in Germany was estimated with 36.000 IFDs per year. The current number of fungal infections (FI) occurring each year in Germany is still not known. In the actual analysis, data on incidence of fungal infections in various patients groups at risk for FI were calculated and mostly estimated from various (mostly national) resources. According to the very heterogenous data resources robust data or statistics could not be obtained but preliminary estimations could be made and compared with data from other areas in the world using a deterministic model that has consistently been applied in many countries by the LIFE program ( www.LIFE-worldwide.org). In 2012, of the 80.52 million population (adults 64.47 million; 41.14 million female, 39.38 million male), 20% are children (0–14 years) and 16% of population are ≥65 years old. Using local data and literature estimates of the incidence or prevalence of fungal infections, about 9.6 million (12%) people in Germany suffer from a fungal infection each year. These figures are dominated (95%) by fungal skin disease and recurrent vulvo‐vaginal candidosis. In general, considerable uncertainty surrounds the total numbers because IFDs do not belong to the list of reportable infectious diseases in Germany and most patients were not hospitalised because of the IFD but a distinct underlying disease.
Burden of serious fungal infections in Mexico
Authors: Corzo‐León D. E. , Armstrong‐James D. , Denning D. W. 
Published: October 2015

SummarySerious fungal infections (SFIs) could be more frequent than are recognised. Estimates of the incidence and prevalence of SFIs are essential in order to identify public health problems. We estimated the rates of SFIs in Mexico, following a methodology similar to that used in prior studies. We obtained information about the general population and populations at risk. A systematic literature search was undertaken to identify epidemiological reports of SFIs in Mexico. When Mexican reports were unavailable, we based our estimates on international literature. The most prevalent SFIs in Mexico are recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (5999 per 100 000) followed by allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (60 per 100 000), chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (15.9 per 100 000), fungal keratitis (10.4 per 100 000), invasive candidiasis (8.6 per 100 000) and SFIs in HIV (8.2 per 100 000); coccidioidomycosis (7.6 per 100 000), IA (4.56 per 100 000). These correspond to 2 749 159 people affected in any year (2.45% of the population), probably >10 000 deaths and 7000 blind eyes. SFIs affect immunocompromised and healthy populations. Most are associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Validation of these estimates with epidemiological studies is required. The burdens indicate that an urgent need to improve medical skills, surveillance, diagnosis, and management of SFIs exists.
Biocrust‐forming mosses mitigate the negative impacts of increasing aridity on ecosystem multifunctionality in drylands
Authors: Delgado‐Baquerizo Manuel , Maestre Fernando T. , Eldridge David J. , Bowker Matthew A. , Ochoa Victoria , Gozalo Beatriz , Berdugo Miguel , Val James , Singh Brajesh K. 
Published: October 2015

Summary

The increase in aridity predicted with climate change will have a negative impact on the multiple functions and services (multifunctionality) provided by dryland ecosystems worldwide. In these ecosystems, soil communities dominated by mosses, lichens and cyanobacteria (biocrusts) play a key role in supporting multifunctionality. However, whether biocrusts can buffer the negative impacts of aridity on important biogeochemical processes controlling carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) pools and fluxes remains largely unknown.

Here, we conducted an empirical study, using samples from three continents (North America, Europe and Australia), to evaluate how the increase in aridity predicted by climate change will alter the capacity of biocrust‐forming mosses to modulate multiple ecosystem processes related to C, N and P cycles.

Compared with soil surfaces lacking biocrusts, biocrust‐forming mosses enhanced multiple functions related to C, N and P cycling and storage in semiarid and arid, but not in humid and dry‐subhumid, environments. Most importantly, we found that the relative positive effects of biocrust‐forming mosses on multifunctionality compared with bare soil increased with increasing aridity. These results were mediated by plant cover and the positive effects exerted by biocrust‐forming mosses on the abundance of soil bacteria and fungi.

Our findings provide strong evidence that the maintenance of biocrusts is crucial to buffer negative effects of climate change on multifunctionality in global drylands.
Bilateral mandibular coronoid hyperplasia causing trismus – a case report
Authors: Jenkins S. , Smart K. , Mustafa S. , Evans R. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractMandibular coronoid process hyperplasia is a rare developmental condition. It commonly presents with progressive restriction of mouth opening, due to the impingement of the enlarged and elongated coronoid process on the distal aspect of the zygomatic arch during mandibular movement. It may present unilaterally or bilaterally. Surgical intervention to improve opening is advocated in cases with significant functional impairment, followed by post‐operative physiotherapy. A case of bilateral coronoid process hyperplasia in a 28‐year‐old man treated with bilateral coronoidectomy, with subsequent post‐operative relapse in degree of opening successfully treated via manipulation under intravenous sedation is presented.
Etiology and Programming Effects on Shock Efficacy in ICD Recipients
Authors: BERTOMEU‐GONZÁLEZ VICENTE , MORENO‐ARRIBAS JOSÉ , CASTILLO‐CASTILLO JESÚS , MARTÍNEZ‐FERRER JOSÉ , VIÑOLAS XAVIER , RODRÍGUEZ ANÍBAL , DÍAZ‐INFANTE ERNESTO , FERNÁNDEZ‐LOZANO IGNACIO , ALZUETA JAVIER , FONTENLA ADOLFO 
Published: October 2015

BackgroundWe sought to assess the efficacy of high‐energy shocks to restore rhythm and predictors of success in patients with sustained ventricular arrhythmias and implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).Methods and resultsData from 162 patients included in the UMBRELLA study that experienced one or more episodes of ventricular tachycardia (VT) for which ICD shocks of at least 30 Joules were delivered (appropriate high‐energy shocks) were analyzed. In total, 456 ventricular arrhythmia episodes were registered. Forty four episodes (9.6%) from 39 patients (24%) had at least one ineffective high‐energy shock delivered. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was more frequent among patients with unsuccessful shocks (10.3% vs 2.4%). Patients with ineffective shocks had higher proportion of sustained monomorphic ventricular arrhythmias (86.4%; the other 13.6% were sustained polymorphic and ventricular fibrillation [VF]) compared with patients with all their shocks effective (62.9%, P = 0.02). No statistical differences were found between groups in time from detection to the high‐energy shock delivery, in tachycardia cycle length, or in antitachycardia pacing, but patients with ineffective high‐energy shocks had higher proportion of previously ineffective low‐energy shock (9.1% vs 0.5%, P = 0.01).ConclusionWe found a substantial rate of ineffective high‐energy shocks for the treatment of VT or VF in patients with ICD. High‐energy shock efficacy seems to be reduced by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and by the administration of previous low‐energy shocks.
Estimating Sun Exposure of Children in Day Care Nurseries in South Oxfordshire, UK
Authors: Baczynska Katarzyna A. , Price Luke L. A. , Higlett Michael P. , O'Hagan John B. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractExposure to ultraviolet radiation and sunburn during childhood and adolescence is linked to increased risks of melanoma and basal cell carcinoma later in life. Infants and toddlers are thought to be unusually vulnerable to UVR because of lower levels of melanin, a thinner stratum corneum and a higher surface area/body mass ratio. The aim of this study was to assess variations in the available erythema effective radiant doses to young children in day care nurseries in South Oxfordshire, UK over 7 years between 2008 and 2014. The data were analyzed in three distinct seasons according to a series of realistic exposure scenarios taking into account nursery routines. The results indicate the time of year when high doses are to be expected and provide strong support for arguments in favor of raising public awareness of sun protection earlier in the year.
Predictors of Pseudomonas and methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus in hospitalized patients with healthcare‐associated pneumonia
Authors: Metersky Mark L. , Frei Christopher R. , Mortensen Eric M. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractBackground and objectivePatients with healthcare‐associated pneumonia (HCAP) are at high risk of infection with multidrug‐resistant (MDR) pathogens. Factors discriminating infection with MDR Gram‐negative (MDR‐GN) organism from infection with methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are not well understood and patients are often treated for both organisms. This study was performed to determine risk factors predicting pneumonia due to Pseudomonas versus MRSA.MethodsVeterans age ≥65 hospitalized with HCAP between 2002 and 2012 were identified from the Veterans Affairs administrative databases. Patients were identified with Pseudomonas pneumonia, MRSA pneumonia or neither according to the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification codes. We assessed unadjusted and adjusted associations of patient characteristics and HCAP due to Pseudomonas or MRSA.ResultsOf the 61 651 patients with HCAP, 1156 (1.9%) were diagnosed with Pseudomonas pneumonia, 641 (1.0%) with MRSA pneumonia and 59 854 (97.1%) with neither. MRSA pneumonia was positively associated with male gender, age >74, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), recent nursing home or hospital stay, recent exposure to fluoroquinolone or antibiotics treating Gram‐positive organisms, and severe pneumonia. MRSA pneumonia was negatively associated with complicated diabetes. Pseudomonas pneumonia was positively associated with recent hospital stay, immunocompromise, COPD, hemiplegia, recent exposure to inhaled corticosteroids, β‐lactam/cephalosporin/carbapenem antibiotics, antibiotics against Gram‐positive organisms, ‘other antibiotics’ and severe pneumonia. Pseudomonas pneumonia was negatively associated with age >84, higher socioeconomic status, drug abuse and diabetes.ConclusionsPatient characteristics may assist in identifying patients at risk for HCAP due to Pseudomonas or MRSA.
Information Policy in Tournaments with Sabotage
Authors: Gürtler Oliver , Münster Johannes , Nieken Petra 
Published: October 2015

AbstractSabotage is one of the main problems of tournament‐like reward schemes. Workers who are leading in a tournament are more dangerous rivals, and are therefore sabotaged more heavily. This implies that there is an extra cost to becoming a leader and, hence, to choosing high productive effort in the early stages of a tournament. The incentives to exert productive effort are thereby reduced. We show that this problem can be solved by concealing intermediate information on the performances of workers (i.e., by clever information management). Moreover, we offer experimental evidence indicating that such information management does increase productive efforts.
Choosing between Time and State Dependence: Micro Evidence on Firms' Price‐Reviewing Strategies
Authors: Dias Daniel A. , Marques Carlos Robalo , Martins Fernando 
Published: October 2015

AbstractBecause of recent findings based on survey data, it is now well known that firms differ from each other with respect to their price‐reviewing strategies. While some firms review their prices at fixed intervals of time, others prefer to perform price revisions in response to changes in economic conditions. Some theories have been suggested to explain this. However, empirical evidence on the relative importance of the factors that determine the different strategies of firms is virtually non‐existent. In this paper, we help to fill this gap by investigating the factors that explain why firms follow time‐dependent, state‐dependent, or both time‐ and state‐dependent price‐reviewing rules. We find that the strategies of firms vary with firm characteristics that have a bearing on the importance of information costs, with the variability of the optimal price, and with the sensitivity of profits to non‐optimal prices.
Economic Engineering and the Design of Matching Markets: The Contributions of Alvin E. Roth
Authors: Jackson Matthew O. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractAlvin Roth's research on, and design of, new economic systems has had a wide and large impact on human welfare, from the matching of residents to medical programs, to the assignment of students to schools, to the manner in which kidneys are allocated to patients needing transplants. This article discusses his important contributions to the understanding and improvement of matching markets, highlighting Roth's key roles in some of the most prominent successes of market design and the ascension of economic engineering.
Sabotage in Tournaments with Heterogeneous Contestants: Empirical Evidence from the Soccer Pitch
Authors: Deutscher Christian , Frick Bernd , Gürtler Oliver , Prinz Joachim 
Published: October 2015

AbstractIn this paper, we address the problem of sabotage in tournaments with heterogeneous contestants. In a first step, we develop a formal model, which yields the prediction that favorites exert higher productive effort, while underdogs are more tempted to engage in destructive actions (sabotage). This is because favorites have a higher return on productive effort and both types of effort are substitutes. In a second step, we use data from German professional soccer to test this prediction. In line with the model, we find that favorite teams win more tackles in a fair way, while underdog teams commit more fouls.
Domestic Credit Growth and International Capital Flows*
Authors: Lane Philip R. , McQuade Peter 
Published: October 2015

AbstractDuring the pre‐crisis period, Europe experienced substantial cross‐country variation in domestic credit growth and cross‐border capital flows. We investigate the inter‐relations between domestic credit growth and international capital flows during the period 1993–2008, with a special focus on the boom period of 2003–2008. We establish that domestic credit growth in European countries is strongly related to net debt inflows but not to net equity inflows. This pattern also holds for an extended sample of 54 advanced and emerging economies.
The Discursive Dilemma in Monetary Policy
Authors: Claussen Carl Andreas , Røisland Øistein 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe discursive dilemma implies that the decision of a board depends on whether the board votes directly on the decision (conclusion‐based procedure) or votes on the premises for the decision (premise‐based procedure). We derive results showing when the discursive dilemma might occur. Under majority voting, a discursive dilemma can occur either (i) if the relationship between the premise and the decision is non‐monotonic, or (ii) if the board members have different judgments on at least two of the premises. Normatively, a premise‐based procedure tends to give better decisions when there is disagreement on parameters of the model.
Markovian Social Security in Unequal Societies
Authors: Chen Kaiji , Song Zheng 
Published: October 2015

AbstractIn this paper, we develop a dynamic political‐economic theory of social security. We analytically characterize a Markov perfect equilibrium and find that the interaction between Markovian tax policy and tax distortion on private investment in human capital shapes an intertemporal policy rule, linking taxes positively over time. By allowing current taxpayers to influence their own future social security benefits, the positive intertemporal tax linkage provides political support for social security. Moreover, this positive tax linkage leads to a negative correlation between wage inequality and the size of a nation's social security system, consistent with the empirical pattern observed across OECD countries.
Accounting for the Changing Role of Family Income in Determining College Entry
Authors: Winter Christoph 
Published: October 2015

AbstractIn this paper, I analyze the determinants of college enrolment and the changes in these determinants over time. I propose a quantitative life‐cycle model with college enrolment. Altruistic parents provide financial support to their children. Using counterfactual experiments, I find that 24 percent of all households are financially constrained in their college decision. Constraints become more severe over time. I show that my model is consistent with a narrow college enrolment gap between students from rich and poor families, as previously reported in the empirical literature. The estimation of enrolment gaps is a popular reduced‐form approach for measuring the fraction of constrained households. My results suggest that these reduced‐form estimates are misleading, and that a structural model of parental transfers is needed to correctly identify constrained households. Further, I show that parental transfers are an important driver behind the changing role of family income as a determinant of college entry, a fact that is well documented for the US economy.
Decentralized Bribery and Market Participation
Authors: Popov Sergey V. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractI propose a bribery model that examines decentralized bureaucratic decision‐making. There are multiple stable equilibria. High levels of bribery reduce an economy's productivity because corruption suppresses small business, and reduces the total graft, even though the size of an individual bribe might increase. Decentralization prevents movement towards a Pareto‐dominant equilibrium. Anticorruption efforts, even temporary ones, might be useful to improve participation, if they lower the bribe levels demanded and thus encourage small businesses to participate.