bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The practice of IFSB guiding principles of risk management by Islamic banks
Authors: Rosman Romzie , Abdul Rahman Abdul Rahim 
Published: August 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this study is to examine the nature of the risk management practices of Islamic banks as recommended by the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) in managing their unique risks. This study also explores the differences in risk management practices based on the country, size, type and age of the bank.Design/methodology/approach– A questionnaire was developed to investigate the risk management practices. The main reference for the questionnaire was the IFSB Guiding Principles of Risk Management and the respondents were either the chief risk officers or holders of other senior positions involved in risk management in the Islamic banks. A non-parametric test was then conducted to explain the difference in mean scores for the unique risk management practices by the Islamic banks.Findings– A lack of effective risk management practices was found in relation to liquidity risk, displaced commercial risk and equity investment risk by Islamic banks. However, Islamic banks were comparatively good in managing operational risk/Shari’ah non-compliance risk. The study found that there was a significant difference in the practice of equity investment risk management based on the size, type and age of the Islamic bank. In addition, a significant difference was found between the Islamic banks in the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) and Asian countries concerning the practice of both displaced commercial risk and operational risk/Shari’ah non-compliance risk management.Research limitations/implications– In spite of the limitations in non-parametric analysis, this analysis was preferred inasmuch as the data were measured on an ordinal scale with a small sample size.Originality/value– This study is among the few studies that examine and explore the risk management practices of Islamic banks internationally by explaining the unique risks encountered in Islamic finance.
Immersion Vacuum‐Cooling as a Novel Technique for Cooling Meat Products: Research Advances and Current State‐of‐the Art
Authors: Feng Chao‐Hui , Li Cheng 
Published: August 2015

AbstractIn order to achieve a rapid cooling rate and to increase the industrial yield of the products without compromising their quality attributes, immersion vacuum‐cooling (IVC) is now widely applied for cooling of both small and large food items. However, the lower cooling rate compared with vacuum‐cooling has initiated numerous studies to improve this technique. Substantial efforts, such as combination of IVC with other cooling methods, using different initial water temperatures, or employment of agitation during IVC, have been made to optimize cooling parameters while also maintaining quality properties and complying with strict food safety requirements. This review presents and discusses the IVC evolution and recent developments directed at the ready‐to‐eat meat products industry. The principle of IVC and its applications are discussed first. Then future prospects and suggestions are covered, especially for the cooling of ready‐to‐eat meat products.
Sudden Death Due To Acute Cocaine Toxicity—Excited Delirium in a Body Packer
Authors: Shields Lisa B. E. , Rolf Cristin M. , Hunsaker John C. 
Published: August 2015

AbstractExcited delirium denotes a life‐threatening medical condition characterized by the acute onset of agitated and violent behavior that often results in a sudden and unexplained death. Cocaine‐induced excited delirium refers to fatal cocaine intoxication with the following symptoms occurring sequentially: hyperthermia, delirium with agitation, respiratory arrest, and death. We present a case of cocaine‐induced excited delirium in a cocaine “body packer” or a “mule”, specifically an individual who attempts to smuggle cocaine within the body. Investigators at the scene initially suspected homicide due to the victim's sharp and blunt force injuries. Three rubber packets containing cocaine were removed from the victim's rectum. Blood toxicological analysis revealed an alcohol concentration of 0.016 g/100 and cocaine >1 mg/L. The forensic pathologist should consider cocaine‐induced excited delirium when an individual exhibits aggressive behavior, unexpected strength, and resistance to pain who dies suddenly. Further analysis should be performed during the scene investigation and autopsy for evidence of body packing.
Growth, Poverty and Development Assistance: When Does Foreign Aid Work?
Authors: Sumner Andy , Glennie Jonathan 
Published: August 2015

AbstractThis is a survey paper on aid effectiveness in terms of the contribution of development assistance to economic growth and poverty reduction. The article focuses primarily on the most recent generation of cross‐country studies. It concludes that there is a set of broad areas where the evidence reviewed shows signs of convergence that have direct relevance for policy decisions on aid and for aid‐effectiveness discussions. These areas are: aid levels (meaning if the level of aid is too low or too high); domestic political institutions (including political stability and the extent of decentralisation); the composition of aid (including sectors, modalities, objectives and time horizons); and the volatility and fragmentation of aid. We also identify two areas where there is little sign of convergence in the evidence: the importance or otherwise of ‘good’, meaning orthodox macroeconomic policies and whether grants are more effective than loans.
Impact of the new IADPSG gestational diabetes diagnostic criteria on pregnancy outcomes in Western Australia
Authors: Laafira Aminath , White Scott W. , Griffin Christopher J. , Graham Dorothy 
Published: August 2015

BackgroundThere is debate as to the most appropriate diagnostic criteria to diagnose gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The proposed International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups (IADPSG) criteria have recently been endorsed by various bodies, but there remains no national consensus.AimTo assess the perinatal outcomes of women with GDM classified according to the 1998 Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society (ADIPS) criteria compared to those with GDM by the IADPSG criteria.Materials and MethodsResults of glucose tolerance tests performed between January 2011 and January 2014 were linked with the perinatal data of those who delivered singleton fetuses after 24 weeks' gestation. Analysed data included birthweight, gestational age at birth, macrosomia, mode of delivery, perinatal mortality, nursery admission, maternal body mass index, and gestational weight gain.ResultsOf 3571 women, 466 (13%) and 559 (16%) met the criteria for the 1998 ADIPS and IADPSG criteria for GDM, respectively. Those with GDM according to the IADPSG criteria only (6%) were more obese (95% CI 2.3–4.8 kg/m2), delivered neonates on average 106 g heavier (95% CI 19–193 g) and had more fetal macrosomia (18% vs 11%, P = 0.002) than those with normal glucose tolerance.ConclusionsThe IADPSG criteria for GDM identified a group of women at previously unrecognised increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes. Adopting the IADPSG criteria would increase the number of women diagnosed with GDM by 20%; however, the improvements in perinatal morbidity, in addition to potential long‐term benefits, may justify the increase in healthcare workload.
Prediction of subsequent miscarriage risk in women who present with a viable pregnancy at the first early pregnancy scan
Authors: Stamatopoulos Nicole , Lu Chuan , Casikar Ishwari , Reid Shannon , Mongelli Max , Hardy Nigel , Condous George 
Published: August 2015

ObjectivesTo generate and evaluate a new prediction model for miscarriage in women who present with a viable intrauterine pregnancy (IUP) at the primary early pregnancy scan and to compare this new model to a previously published model.Materials and MethodsData were collected prospectively from women presenting to the early pregnancy unit with a viable IUP between November 2006 and January 2013. More than 30 historical, clinical and ultrasonographic variables were recorded on a standardised datasheet at the first visit. Women were followed until the final outcome was known at the end of the first trimester: viable IUP or miscarriage. A new multinomial logistic regression model was developed retrospectively on training cases and tested prospectively on test cases. The performance of the new prediction model was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and compared to a previously published model. After removing cases with missing values for the model of Oates, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was also calculated for the new model and the Oates model.ResultsA total of 1115 consecutive first‐trimester women presented to the early pregnancy unit. Eight hundred and sixty‐two women with a viable IUP at the first scan whose outcome was known at the end of the first trimester were included in the final analysis. Five hundred and sixty‐six women were included in the training set and 296 in the test set. 92.1% were viable and 7.9% had miscarried at the end of the first trimester. The most significant independent prognostic variables for the logistic regression model were as follows: maternal age, embryonic heart rate (EHR), logarithm [gestational sac (GS) volume/crown‐rump length (CRL)], CRL and the presence or absence of clots per vagina (PV) at presentation. The performance of the new model compared with the Oates model gave an AUC of 0.870 vs 0.847 for the training set and 0.783 vs 0.744 for the test set. After removing cases with missing values for the model of Oates 2013, the performance of the new model compared to the Oates model gave an AUC of 0.887 vs 0.861 for the training set and 0.816 vs 0.734 for the test set (P‐value <0.04).ConclusionsWe have developed a new prediction model which indicates the likelihood of miscarriage. In women who present with a viable IUP at the primary scan, advancing maternal age in the presence of clots PV increases the probability of subsequent miscarriage. Whereas, in women with a higher EHR in the presence of an increased GS volume/CRL ratio, the likelihood of subsequent miscarriage is reduced. This new model outperforms the previously published model developed in our unit.
What factors determined restoration success of a salt marsh ten years after de‐embankment?
Authors: Chang Esther R. , Veeneklaas Roos M. , Bakker Jan P. , Daniels Petra , Esselink Peter 
Published: August 2015

AbstractQuestionsHow successful was the restoration of a salt marsh at a former summer polder on the mainland coast of the Dutch Wadden Sea 10 yr after de‐embankment? What were the most important factors determining the level of restoration success?LocationNoard‐Fryslân Bûtendyks, northwest Netherlands.MethodsThe frequencies of target plant species were recorded before de‐embankment and monitored thereafter (1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 10 yr later) using permanent transects. Vegetation change was monitored using repeated mapping 14 yr before and 1, 7 and 10 yr after de‐embankment. A large‐scale factorial experiment with 72 sampling plots was set up to determine the effects of distance to a breach point, distance to a creek and grazing treatment on species composition. Abiotic data were also collected from the permanent transects and sampling plots on elevation, soil salinity and redox potential.ResultsTen years after de‐embankment, permanent transect data showed that 78% to 96% of the target species were found at the restoration site. Vegetation mapping, however, showed that the diversity of salt marsh communities was low, with 50% of the site covered by the secondary pioneer marsh community. A multivariate analogue of ANOVA indicated that the most important experimental factor determining species composition was the interaction between distance to the nearest creek and livestock grazing. The combination of proximity to a creek and exclusion from livestock grazing always resulted in development of the high marsh community. In contrast, the combination of being located far from a creek, grazed and situated at low elevation with accompanying high salinity resulted in development of the secondary pioneer marsh community.ConclusionsUsing target species as criteria, restoration success could be claimed 10 yr after de‐embankment. However, the diversity of communities in the salt marsh was lower than desired. Variable grazing regimes should be applied to high‐elevation areas to prevent dominance by single species of tall grasses and to promote formation of vegetation mosaics. Low‐elevation areas need lower grazing pressure. Also, an adequate soil drainage network should be preserved or constructed in low‐elevation areas before de‐embankment.
Local-aggregate Modeling for Big Data via Distributed Optimization: Applications to Neuroimaging
Authors: Hu Yue , Allen Genevera I. 
Published: August 2015

Summary
Technological advances have led to a proliferation of structured big data that have matrix-valued covariates. We are specifically motivated to build predictive models for multi-subject neuroimaging data based on each subject's brain imaging scans. This is an ultra-high-dimensional problem that consists of a matrix of covariates (brain locations by time points) for each subject; few methods currently exist to fit supervised models directly to this tensor data. We propose a novel modeling and algorithmic strategy to apply generalized linear models (GLMs) to this massive tensor data in which one set of variables is associated with locations. Our method begins by fitting GLMs to each location separately, and then builds an ensemble by blending information across locations through regularization with what we term an aggregating penalty. Our so called, Local-Aggregate Model, can be fit in a completely distributed manner over the locations using an Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) strategy, and thus greatly reduces the computational burden. Furthermore, we propose to select the appropriate model through a novel sequence of faster algorithmic solutions that is similar to regularization paths. We will demonstrate both the computational and predictive modeling advantages of our methods via simulations and an EEG classification problem.
Time-dependent Prognostic Score Matching for Recurrent Event Analysis to Evaluate a Treatment Assigned During Follow-up
Authors: Smith Abigail R. , Schaubel Douglas E. 
Published: August 2015

Summary
Recurrent events often serve as the outcome in epidemiologic studies. In some observational studies, the goal is to estimate the effect of a new or “experimental” (i.e., less established) treatment of interest on the recurrent event rate. The incentive for accepting the new treatment may be that it is more available than the standard treatment. Given that the patient can choose between the experimental treatment and conventional therapy, it is of clinical importance to compare the treatment of interest versus the setting where the experimental treatment did not exist, in which case patients could only receive no treatment or the standard treatment. Many methods exist for the analysis of recurrent events and for the evaluation of treatment effects. However, methodology for the intersection of these two areas is sparse. Moreover, care must be taken in setting up the comparison groups in our setting; use of existing methods featuring time-dependent treatment indicators will generally lead to a biased treatment effect since the comparison group construction will not properly account for the timing of treatment initiation. We propose a sequential stratification method featuring time-dependent prognostic score matching to estimate the effect of a time-dependent treatment on the recurrent event rate. The performance of the method in moderate-sized samples is assessed through simulation. The proposed methods are applied to a prospective clinical study in order to evaluate the effect of living donor liver transplantation on hospitalization rates; in this setting, conventional therapy involves remaining on the wait list or receiving a deceased donor transplant.
Joint Frailty Models for Zero-Inflated Recurrent Events in the Presence of a Terminal Event
Authors: Liu Lei , Huang Xuelin , Yaroshinsky Alex , Cormier Janice N. 
Published: August 2015

SummaryRecurrent event data arise frequently in longitudinal medical studies. In many situations, there are a large portion of subjects without any recurrent events, manifesting the “zero-inflated” nature of the data. Some of the zero events may be “structural zeros” as patients are unsusceptible to recurrent events, while others are “random zeros” due to censoring before any recurrent events. On the other hand, there often exists a terminal event which may be correlated with the recurrent events. In this article, we propose two joint frailty models for zero-inflated recurrent events in the presence of a terminal event, combining a logistic model for “structural zero” status (Yes/No) and a joint frailty proportional hazards model for recurrent and terminal event times. The models can be fitted conveniently in SAS Proc NLMIXED. We apply the methods to model recurrent opportunistic diseases in the presence of death in an AIDS study, and tumor recurrences and a terminal event in a sarcoma study.
A Bayesian joint model of menstrual cycle length and fecundity
Authors: Lum Kirsten J. , Sundaram Rajeshwari , Buck Louis Germaine M. , Louis Thomas A. 
Published: August 2015

SummaryMenstrual cycle length (MCL) has been shown to play an important role in couple fecundity, which is the biologic capacity for reproduction irrespective of pregnancy intentions. However, a comprehensive assessment of its role requires a fecundity model that accounts for male and female attributes and the couple's intercourse pattern relative to the ovulation day. To this end, we employ a Bayesian joint model for MCL and pregnancy. MCLs follow a scale multiplied (accelerated) mixture model with Gaussian and Gumbel components; the pregnancy model includes MCL as a covariate and computes the cycle‐specific probability of pregnancy in a menstrual cycle conditional on the pattern of intercourse and no previous fertilization. Day‐specific fertilization probability is modeled using natural, cubic splines. We analyze data from the Longitudinal Investigation of Fertility and the Environment Study (the LIFE Study), a couple based prospective pregnancy study, and find a statistically significant quadratic relation between fecundity and menstrual cycle length, after adjustment for intercourse pattern and other attributes, including male semen quality, both partner's age, and active smoking status (determined by baseline cotinine level 100 ng/mL). We compare results to those produced by a more basic model and show the advantages of a more comprehensive approach.
Factors affecting long‐term outcome of transoral surgery for submandibular stones: a follow‐up study of 125 patients
Authors: Kim J.K. , Shin S.M. , Lee H. , Lee S. 
Published: August 2015

ObjectiveTo investigate the long‐term results of transoral surgery for submandibular stones and assess factors that may affect the long‐term outcomes.Study designA follow‐up study including retrospective review of medical records and prospective telephone survey.SettingTertiary Hospital.ParticipantsA total of 125 patients who had undergone transoral surgery for submandibular stones and responded to telephone survey.Main outcome measuresRecurrent obstructive symptoms, tongue paraesthesia.ResultsThe period between transoral surgery and telephone survey was mean 54.8 months. Eighteen (14.4%) of 125 patients had recurrent obstructive symptoms, and 7 (5.6%) patients showed tongue paraesthesia. Proximal stones (P = 0.041) and partially removed stones (P = 0.003) had significant impact on the development of recurrent obstructive symptoms via multivariate analysis. No significant factors for increased risk of tongue paraesthesia were identified. Recurred symptoms could be managed by subsequent transoral surgeries or conservative management.ConclusionsComplete removal of proximal stones and gland‐preserving management of recurred symptoms are the essential elements to achieve good long‐term outcome of transoral surgery for the submandibular stones.
Predicting Short‐Term Remembering as Boundedly Optimal Strategy Choice
Authors: Howes Andrew , Duggan Geoffrey B. , Kalidindi Kiran , Tseng Yuan‐Chi , Lewis Richard L. 
Published: August 2015

AbstractIt is known that, on average, people adapt their choice of memory strategy to the subjective utility of interaction. What is not known is whether an individual's choices are boundedly optimal. Two experiments are reported that test the hypothesis that an individual's decisions about the distribution of remembering between internal and external resources are boundedly optimal where optimality is defined relative to experience, cognitive constraints, and reward. The theory makes predictions that are tested against data, not fitted to it. The experiments use a no‐choice/choice utility learning paradigm where the no‐choice phase is used to elicit a profile of each participant's performance across the strategy space and the choice phase is used to test predicted choices within this space. They show that the majority of individuals select strategies that are boundedly optimal. Further, individual differences in what people choose to do are successfully predicted by the analysis. Two issues are discussed: (a) the performance of the minority of participants who did not find boundedly optimal adaptations, and (b) the possibility that individuals anticipate what, with practice, will become a bounded optimal strategy, rather than what is boundedly optimal during training.
Epileptic activity is a surrogate for an underlying etiology and stopping the activity has a limited impact on developmental outcome
Authors: Korff Christian M. , Brunklaus Andreas , Zuberi Sameer M. 
Published: August 2015

SummaryThe concept of epileptic encephalopathy is important in clinical practice, but its relevance to an individual must be assessed in the appropriate context. Except in rare situations, epileptic activity is a surrogate for an underlying etiology, and stopping the activity has a limited impact on developmental outcome. Labeling a group of epilepsies as “the epileptic encephalopathies,” risks minimizing the impact of epileptic activity on cognition and behavior more widely in epilepsy. Similarly, describing the encephalopathy associated with many infantile onset epilepsies as “epileptic” may be misleading. Finally, concentrating on the epileptic activity alone and not considering the wider consequences of the underlying etiology on cognitive and behavioral development, may focus research efforts and the search for improved therapies on too narrow a target. Therefore, epileptic encephalopathies should not be considered as a specific group of epilepsies but, rather, the concept of epileptic encephalopathy should be applicable to all types of epilepsies and epilepsy syndromes, whenever it is relevant in the clinical course of a particular individual, at any age.