bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Study on the factors determining home death of patients during home care: A historical cohort study at a home care support clinic
Authors: Kawagoe Seiji , Tsuda Toshihide , Doi Hiroyuki 
Published: December 2012

AimAssociations between markedly low activities of daily living (ADL) at the start of home visit care and patient home death were analyzed using data from a home care support clinic in Japan that has a low rate of home deaths.MethodsThe study was a historical cohort study. It involved patients who began to receive home visit care from a home visit care support clinic between 1 April 2006 and 31 March 2011. Using home death as a dependent variable and presence/absence of markedly low ADL and other parameters (cancer, the patient's desire for home death, etc.) as independent variables, the adjusted hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using the Cox proportional hazards model.ResultsMarkedly low ADL were associated with home death even after adjustment for factors that influence home death (adjusted hazard ratio 4.40; 95% CI 2.37–8.16). Cancer and the patient's desire for home death were statistically significant factors involved in home death. In a subgroup analysis according to the presence/absence of cancer, the association between markedly low ADL and home death was stronger in the cancer‐free group (adjusted hazard ratio 10.78; 95% CI 2.89–40.26) than in the cancer group (adjusted hazard ratio 5.58; 95% CI2.39–13.05).ConclusionPatients' desire for home death could be fulfilled if home care support clinics provide home visit services to not only terminal‐stage cancer patients, but also bedridden cancer‐free patients. We must establish systems for older adults to remain at home during the terminal period of their lives. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2012; 13: 874–880.
Migrant transnationalism and the choice of transfer channels for remittances: the case of Moldova
Authors: SIEGEL MELISSA , LÜCKE MATTHIAS 
Published: December 2012

AbstractMigrant remittances, particularly when transferred through the banking system, may contribute to financial development in migrants' home countries. We analyse the determinants of the choice of transfer channel (formal services versus informal operators or personal transfers) by Moldovan migrants in 2006. We estimate a multinomial logit model from household survey data. Our explanatory variables include socio‐economic characteristics of the migrant and other household members, the pattern of migration (destination country, legal status, duration), and financial information (average amount and frequency of payments). Key reasons not to use a formal transfer channel are a migrant's emphasis on low transfer cost (rather than speed, convenience or security), irregular legal status in the host country, and short migration spells. Our findings demonstrate that migrants' transnational capacities and activities in their entirety bear upon the choice of transfer channel; any policy interventions to promote the use of formal channels should reflect this.
Effect of non‐isothermal processing and moisture content on the anthocyanin degradation and colour kinetics of cherry pomace
Authors: Greiby Ibrahim , Siddiq Muhammad , Dolan Kirk D. , Kelkar Shantanu 
Published: December 2012

AbstractAnthocyanins (ACY) and colour changes in cherry pomace under non‐isothermal processing were investigated. Pomace at moisture levels of 70% (MC‐70), 41% (MC‐41) and 25% (MC‐25) was heated at 126.7 °C in a retort for 25, 40 and 60 min. Total ACY, Hunter colour values, total colour difference (ΔE), chroma, hue angle (h°) and browning index (BI) were analysed. Thermal degradation kinetics for colour parameters were determined using zero‐ and first‐order models. ACY degradation increased with heating time and ranged from 34 to 68% for 25 and 60 min heating, respectively. The half‐life of ACY was 38, 33 and 27 min for MC‐70, MC‐41 and MC‐25 pomace, respectively. The ΔE increased with increasing heating time, whereas BI exhibited an inverse trend. Except for ∆E for MC‐70, the zero‐order kinetic model showed better fit (R2 = 0.85–0.97) to experimental data than the first‐order kinetic model for Hunter colour b values and ∆E.
Changes in Spleen Size in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Pilot Observational Study
Authors: Sahota Preeti , Vahidy Farhaan , Nguyen Claude , Bui Thanh-Tung , Yang Bing , Parsha Kaushik , Garrett Jennifer , Bambhroliya Arvind , Barreto Andrew , Grotta James C. , Aronowski Jaroslaw , Rahbar Mohammad H. , Savitz Sean 
Published: December 2012

Background In animal models, the spleen contracts after acute ischemic stroke, followed by release of inflammatory cells leading to secondary brain injury. Aims We aim to characterize splenic responses in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods In this prospective observational study, we measured daily spleen sizes with abdominal ultrasound in 30 patients with suspected acute ischemic stroke. Splenic ultrasounds were also performed in 20 healthy individuals. Results A generalized estimating equation, longitudinal regression model for adjusted spleen measurements showed the difference between baseline spleen volume (within six-hours of stroke onset) and the volume at the last measured time point (up to seven-days) to be statistically significant (volume difference of 51·9 cm3, P = 0·04). Healthy controls had significantly smaller day-to-day variations; the maximum observed difference in mean spleen volume between any two time points was 9·5 cm3, with the average change over the period of observation being 1·24 cm3. A statistically significant negative association was also observed between the pattern of change of total white blood cell count and spleen volume ( P = 0·01). An analysis of individual cases demonstrated possible associations between daily spleen volume changes and clinical course. Conclusions We hypothesize that the spleen may initially contract after ischemic stroke followed by a re-expansion and that it contributes to ischemic brain injury mediated via cellular components. Characterization of the splenic response after stroke and its contribution to cerebral ischemic injury has the potential to provide new opportunities for the development of novel stroke therapies.
Characteristic Function‐based Semiparametric Inference for Skew‐symmetric Models
Authors: POTGIETER CORNELIS J. , GENTON MARC G. 
Published: December 2012

Abstract.Skew‐symmetric models offer a very flexible class of distributions for modelling data. These distributions can also be viewed as selection models for the symmetric component of the specified skew‐symmetric distribution. The estimation of the location and scale parameters corresponding to the symmetric component is considered here, with the symmetric component known. Emphasis is placed on using the empirical characteristic function to estimate these parameters. This is made possible by an invariance property of the skew‐symmetric family of distributions, namely that even transformations of random variables that are skew‐symmetric have a distribution only depending on the symmetric density. A distance metric between the real components of the empirical and true characteristic functions is minimized to obtain the estimators. The method is semiparametric, in that the symmetric component is specified, but the skewing function is assumed unknown. Furthermore, the methodology is extended to hypothesis testing. Two tests for a null hypothesis of specific parameter values are considered, as well as a test for the hypothesis that the symmetric component has a specific parametric form. A resampling algorithm is described for practical implementation of these tests. The outcomes of various numerical experiments are presented.
Between the Individual and the Community: Residential Patterns of the Haredi Population in Jerusalem
Authors: Alfasi Nurit , Flint Ashery Shlomit , Benenson Itzhak 
Published: December 2012

AbstractThis article examines how different levels of internal organization are reflected in the residential patterns of different population groups. In this case, the Haredi community comprises sects and sub‐sects, whose communal identity plays a central role in everyday life and spatial organization. The residential preferences of Haredi individuals are strongly influenced by the need to live among ‘friends’ — that is, other members of the same sub‐sect. This article explores the dynamics of residential patterns in two of Jerusalem's Haredi neighbourhoods: Ramat Shlomo, a new neighbourhood on the urban periphery, and Sanhedria, an old yet attractive inner‐city neighbourhood. We reveal two segregation mechanisms: the first is top‐down determination of residence, found in relatively new neighbourhoods that are planned, built and populated with the intense involvement of community leaders; the second is the bottom‐up emergence of residential patterns typical of inner‐city neighbourhoods that have gradually developed over time.
Grassland Restoration on Landfill Sites in the East Midlands,United Kingdom: An Evaluation of Floral Resources and Pollinating Insects
Authors: Tarrant Sam , Ollerton Jeff , Rahman Md Lutfor , Tarrant Joanna , McCollin Duncan 
Published: December 2012

AbstractPollinators are declining in Europe due to intensification of agriculture, habitat loss and fragmentation. Restored landfill sites are a significant potential reserve of semi‐natural habitat, so their conservation value for supporting populations of pollinating insects was here examined by assessing whether the plant and pollinator assemblages of restored landfill sites are comparable to reference sites of existing wildlife value. Floral characteristics of the vegetation and the species richness and abundance of flower‐visiting insect assemblages were compared between nine pairs of restored landfill sites and reference sites in the East Midlands of theUnited Kingdom, using standardized methods over two field seasons. No differences were found between the restored landfill and reference sites in terms of species richness or abundance of plants in flower and both types of site had similar assemblages of pollinators. However, plant and insect assemblages differed across the season, with species richness and abundance being lower for the restored landfill sites in the spring and higher in the autumn compared to the reference sites. The results indicate that in this region, landfill sites are being restored to a state comparable to that of the reference sites with regards to their provision of floral resources and the associated insect pollinator assemblages. Since there are currently 2,200 working landfill sites in England and Wales, covering 28,000 ha, and closing at a rate of 100 per year, this is potentially a significant reserve of land that could be restored.
Efficient Recapitalization
Authors: PHILIPPON THOMAS , SCHNABL PHILIPP 
Published: December 2012

ABSTRACTWe analyze government interventions to recapitalize a banking sector that restricts lending to firms because of debt overhang. We find that the efficient recapitalization program injects capital against preferred stock plus warrants and conditions implementation on sufficient bank participation. Preferred stock plus warrants reduces opportunistic participation by banks that do not require recapitalization, although conditional implementation limits free riding by banks that benefit from lower credit risk because of other banks’ participation. Efficient recapitalization is profitable if the benefits of lower aggregate credit risk exceed the cost of implicit transfers to bank debt holders.
Industry‐Specific Human Capital, Idiosyncratic Risk, and the Cross‐Section of Expected Stock Returns
Authors: EILING ESTHER 
Published: December 2012

ABSTRACTHuman capital is one of the largest assets in the economy and in theory may play an important role for asset pricing. Human capital is heterogeneous across investors. One source of heterogeneity is industry affiliation. I show that the cross‐section of expected stock returns is primarily affected by industry‐level rather than aggregate labor income risk. Furthermore, when human capital is excluded from the asset pricing model, the resulting idiosyncratic risk may appear to be priced. I find that the premium for idiosyncratic risk documented by several empirical studies depends on the covariance between stock and human capital returns.
Capital Budgeting versus Market Timing: An Evaluation Using Demographics
Authors: DELLAVIGNA STEFANO , POLLET JOSHUA M. 
Published: December 2012

ABSTRACTUsing demand shifts induced by demographics, we evaluate capital budgeting and market timing. Capital budgeting implies that industries anticipating positive demand shifts in the near future should issue more equity to finance greater capacity. To the extent that demand shifts in the distant future are not incorporated into equity prices, market timing implies that industries anticipating positive shifts in the distant future should issue less equity due to undervaluation. The evidence supports both theories: new listings and equity issuance respond positively to demand shifts during the next 5 years and negatively to demand shifts further in the future.
Liquidity Cycles and Make/Take Fees in Electronic Markets
Authors: FOUCAULT THIERRY , KADAN OHAD , KANDEL EUGENE 
Published: December 2012

ABSTRACTWe develop a model in which the speed of reaction to trading opportunities is endogenous. Traders face a trade‐off between the benefit of being first to seize a profit opportunity and the cost of attention required to be first to seize this opportunity. The model provides an explanation for maker/taker pricing, and has implications for the effects of algorithmic trading on liquidity, volume, and welfare. Liquidity suppliers’ and liquidity demanders’ trading intensities reinforce each other, highlighting a new form of liquidity externalities. Data on durations between trades and quotes could be used to identify these externalities.
Maternal Stress Exposures, Reactions, and Priorities for Stress Reduction among Low‐income, Urban Women
Authors: Bloom Tina , Glass Nancy , Curry Mary Ann , Hernandez Rebecca , Houck Gayle 
Published: December 2012

IntroductionMaternal psychosocial stress has been associated with adverse maternal‐child outcomes. Vulnerable women's experiences with stressors during pregnancy and their desires and priorities for appropriate and useful stress reduction interventions are not well understood.MethodsQualitative interviews with low‐income, urban women explored their stress exposures and reactions during pregnancy, ways that stressors overlapped and interacted, and their priorities for stress reduction. Quantitative measures (Perceived Stress Scale; My Exposure to Violence Instrument Danger Assessment; Center for Epidemiologic Studies of Depression Scale, Revised; and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist‐Civilian) supplemented qualitative descriptions of women's stress exposures and reactions. Analyses explored relationships between stressors and women's priorities for stress intervention. Lay advisors from the sample population reviewed qualitative interview guides for appropriateness, completeness, and language prior to interviews and reviewed study findings for validity. Study findings were returned to the community in newsletter form.ResultsTwenty‐four low‐income, urban women participated in interviews. Women in the sample reported high stress, lifetime violence exposure, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. The most common stressors reported were financial strain, violence exposure, and feelings of intense isolation and loneliness. Few participants reported having discussed psychosocial stressors with prenatal care providers. Participants in this study described connections with other women as desirable to relieve their stress and provided input on ways health care providers could facilitate such connections.DiscussionClinical and research implications of findings are discussed, including approaches that health care providers may find useful to facilitate connections among vulnerable pregnant women.
Resource allocation among sexual, clonal reproduction and vegetative growth of two Potamogeton species and their hybrid: Adaptability of the hybrid in relation to its parents
Authors: LIU Fan , ZHANG Xiao‐Lin , WANG Qing‐Feng , LIU Hui , WANG Guang‐Xi , LI Wei 
Published: December 2012

AbstractResource allocation, as well as the tradeoffs among different reproductive components, plays an important role in the adaptability of plants to different environments. The hybrid may exhibit a higher adaptability in life history in heterogeneous environments because of the genetic variation derived from its parents. In this study, we exploited three levels of water depths and two types of sediments to investigate the resource allocation pattern of the first generation of the natural hybrid Potamogeton ×intortifolius compared to its parents P. wrightii and P. perfoliatus. We also measured the ramet survivorship and the seed set of the hybrid P. ×intortifolius. Our results showed that P. ×intortifolius had higher ramet survival than its parents at 1.5‐m water depth on clay sediment. The possible tradeoffs showed that in P. ×intortifolius the tradeoff pattern between sexual and clonal reproduction was more pronounced in limiting environments. The individuals allocated more resources to sexual reproduction when the environment was limiting, which might confer a higher ability to utilize resources, to produce offspring and to found new populations. Although the seed set of P. ×intortifolius was lower than its parents, it had a higher ability to increase its seed set when the environment was limiting (sandy sediment) than its parents, which might benefit its future survival. These results indicated that the F1 hybrid P. ×intortifolius was more able to adapt to limiting environments than one or both of its two parental taxa.
Molecular evidence for natural hybridization between Rhododendron spiciferum and R. spinuliferum (Ericaceae)
Authors: YAN Li‐Jun , GAO Lian‐Ming , LI De‐Zhu 
Published: December 2012

AbstractRhododendron ×duclouxii is morphologically intermediate between Rhododendron spiciferum and Rhododendron spinuliferum, and was suspected to be a natural hybrid between these species. In this study, the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and chloroplast trnL‐F regions of 34 accessions of R. ×duclouxii and its putative parents were analyzed for evidence of hybridization. The results from molecular data supported by morphology demonstrated that R. ×duclouxii represents a natural hybrid between R. spiciferum and R. spinuliferum. It also implies that the hybridization between R. spiciferum and R. spinuliferum is bidirectional, and that populations of R. ×duclouxii represent hybrid swarms from backcrossing or selfing of F1 plants. The study is important for understanding the speciation processes in the genus since it demonstrates for the first time the existence of a natural homoploid hybrid in Rhododendron subgenus Rhododendron.
Agronomic Optimum Seeding Rate for Irrigated Maize in Texas is Concomitant to Growing Season Mean Daily Minimum Temperature
Authors: Thompson W. H. , Pietsch D. , Blumenthal J. M. , Ibrahim A. M. H. , Baltensperger D. D. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractOur study was conducted to determine agronomic optimum seeding rates (AOSR) for irrigated maize under a range of agroecological conditions in Texas. Environmental factors that affect irrigated maize production vary considerably across Texas. This variability imposes region‐specific limitations on statewide maize seeding rate recommendations. Our research examined the efficiency of varying seeding rates on irrigated maize grain yields in five USEPA Level IV Ecoregions that comprise most of the irrigated maize‐producing area of Texas. The selected sites span a distance of 1200 km from south to north Texas and elevations from 20 to 1218 m above mean sea level. We conducted the study over three growing seasons from 2005 through 2007 in two Level IV Ecoregions of the High Plains of North Texas (N), one in the East Central Plains (E), one in the Southern Plains and one in Western Gulf Coastal Plains of South Texas (S). We observed that maximum grain yields and AOSR to achieve maximum maize grain yields vary considerably among ecoregions. In South Texas, we observed grain yield response rates of 125–129, 151 kg 1000 seeds−1 in E and 163–199 kg 1000 seeds−1 in N. We show that growing season average daily minimum air temperature (TMIN) explains most of this variation (r2 = 0.98, P‐value < 0.01) and conclude that seeding rate efficiency is concomitant to TMIN. Maximum grain yields (GYMAX) determined with seeding rate response analysis also varied among ecoregions and with TMIN from south to north Texas, from a low of 8.3 Mg ha−1 in S to a high of 18.4 Mg ha−1 in N (r2 = 0.59, P‐value < 0.01). We conclude that development of agronomic management models by Level IV Ecoregions of Texas combined with site‐specific TMIN climatological data serve as a valid template for delivering robust and agroecozone‐specific irrigated maize seeding rate recommendations in Texas.
Implementation of Optimum Contributions Selection in endangered local breeds: the case of the Menorca Horse population
Authors: Solé M. , Valera M. , Gómez M.D. , Cervantes I. , Fernández J. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractLimiting the inbreeding rate (∆F) while maximizing genetic gain for any trait of economic interest is especially important in small populations of local breeds, like the Menorca Horse. In this breed, dressage performance is important for the profitability of the breed and should be accounted in the selection criterion. The aim of this study was to assess if a breeding programme aiming at improved dressage performance is feasible in such a small breed. To perform the analysis, animals that were currently available for breeding (between 3 and 20 years) were used. Selection was based on the estimated breeding values for dressage obtained by BLUP. The pedigree and molecular coancestry between potential breeding horses was used (separately or in combination) to account for the restriction on ∆F. Results show that it is possible to avoid large increases in inbreeding while obtaining acceptable levels of genetic gain (i.e. a ∆F of 1% would imply a maximum loss in genetic gain of 2%). Thus, the Menorca Horse population is suitable for a management procedure which jointly optimizes the response to selection and the levels of variability and inbreeding (Optimal Contribution selection). Regarding the source of information used to calculate the relationships, molecular information would provide a greater range of solutions to increase genetic gain than using pedigree coancestry (gain was 1–4% higher for the same levels of restriction on the increase in inbreeding).