bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prevalence, Characteristics, and Predictors of Pulmonary Vein Narrowing After Isolation Using the Pulmonary Vein Ablation Catheter
Authors: De Greef Yves , Tavernier Rene , Raeymaeckers Steven , Schwagten Bruno , Desurgeloose Didier , De Keulenaer Gilles , Stockman Dirk , De Buyzere Marc , Duytschaever Mattias 
Published: November 2011

Background—
The risk of pulmonary vein narrowing (PVN) after pulmonary vein isolation, using a novel multi-electrode ablation catheter, is unknown.

Methods and Results—

Left atrial volume and PV diameters were compared by computed tomography (CT) before and 3 months after pulmonary vein isolation using duty-cycled phased radio frequency energy (2:1 or 4:1 bipolar/unipolar ratio) in 50 patients. Pulmonary vein diameter was measured in a coronal and axial view at 3 levels (A, ostium; B, 1 cm more distal; C, 2 cm more distal). Moderate PVN was defined as a pulmonary vein diameter reduction of 25 to 50%, and severe PVN as >50%. Left atrial volume decreased by 12±12% (
P
<0.01). Axial pulmonary vein diameter shortened by a median of 16% (interquartile range [IQR] 28 to 5%), 13% (IQR 25 to 5%), and 9% (IQR 21 to −3%) at level A, B, and C, respectively (
P
<0.01 for all); coronal pulmonary vein diameter decreased by a median of 16% (IQR 24 to 7%), 11% (IQR 21 to 4%), and 8% (IQR 18 to −2%;
P
<0.01 for all). Moderate PVN occurred in 30% of the PVs, in 78% of the patients; severe PVN occurred in 4% of the PVs, in 15% of the patients. PV diameter reduction was not related to changes in left atrial volume.

Conclusions—
Isolation of the pulmonary veins using a multielectrode ablation catheter and duty cycled phased radiofrequency energy delivery results in a consistent moderate reduction of the PV diameters predominantly at the ostium. Severe PVN in 15% of patients raises concerns about the risk for clinical PV stenosis.
Binding at Birth: The Newborn Brain Detects Identity Relations and Sequential Position in Speech
Authors: Gervain Judit , Berent Iris , Werker Janet F. 
Published: November 2011

Abstract
Breaking the linguistic code requires the extraction of at least two types of information from the speech signal: the relations between linguistic units and their sequential position. Furthermore, these different types of information need to be integrated into a coherent representation of language structure. The brain networks responsible for these abilities are well known in adults, but not in young infants. Our results show that the neural architecture underlying these abilities is operational at birth. In three optical imaging studies, we found that the newborn brain detects identity relations, as evidenced by enhanced activation in the bilateral superior temporal and left inferior frontal regions. More importantly, the newborn brain can also determine whether such identity relations hold for the initial or final positions of speech sequences, as indicated by increased activity in the inferior frontal regions, possibly Broca's area. This implies that the neural foundations of language acquisition are in place from birth.
Visuo-tactile Integration in Personal Space
Authors: Longo Matthew R. , Musil Jason Jiri , Haggard Patrick 
Published: November 2011

Abstract
Integration of information across sensory modalities is enhanced when stimuli in both modalities are in the same location. This “spatial rule” of multisensory integration has been primarily studied in humans by comparing stimuli located either in the same versus opposite side of the body midline or in peripersonal versus extrapersonal space, both of which involve large, categorical differences in spatial location. Here we used psychophysics and ERPs to investigate visuo-tactile integration in personal space (i.e., on the skin surface). We used the mirror box technique to manipulate the congruence of visual and tactile information about which finger on either the right or left hand had been touched. We observed clear compatibility effects for both visual and tactile judgments of which finger on the left hand had been touched. No such effects, however, were found for judgments about the right hand. ERP data showed a similar pattern. Amplitude of the vertex P200 potential was enhanced and that of the N2 was reduced for congruent visuo-tactile events on the left, but not the right, hand. Similarly, a later positivity over posterior parietal cortices (P300) showed contralateral enhancement for congruent visuo-tactile events on both the left and right hands. These results provide clear evidence for spatial constraints on visuo-tactile integration defined in personal space and also reveal clear lateralization of these effects. Furthermore, these results link these “ultraprecise” spatial constraints to processing in the right posterior parietal cortex.
Incongruent Abstract Stimulus–Response Bindings Result in Response Interference: fMRI and EEG Evidence from Visual Object Classification Priming
Authors: Horner Aidan J. , Henson Richard N. 
Published: November 2011

AbstractStimulus repetition often leads to facilitated processing, resulting in neural decreases (repetition suppression) and faster RTs (repetition priming). Such repetition-related effects have been attributed to the facilitation of repeated cognitive processes and/or the retrieval of previously encoded stimulus–response (S-R) bindings. Although previous research has dissociated these two forms of learning, their interaction in the brain is not fully understood. Utilizing the spatial and temporal resolutions of fMRI and EEG, respectively, we examined a long-lag classification priming paradigm that required response repetitions or reversals at multiple levels of response representation. We found a repetition effect in occipital/temporal cortex (fMRI) that was time-locked to stimulus onset (EEG) and robust to switches in response, together with a repetition effect in inferior pFC (fMRI) that was time-locked to response onset (EEG) and sensitive to switches in response. The response-sensitive effect occurred even when changing from object names (words) to object pictures between repetitions, suggesting that S-R bindings can code abstract representations of stimuli. Most importantly, we found evidence for interference effects when incongruent S-R bindings were retrieved, with increased neural activity in inferior pFC, demonstrating that retrieval of S-R bindings can result in facilitation or interference, depending on the congruency of response between repetitions.
Direct Numerical Simulation of the Turbulent Ekman Layer: Evaluation of Closure Models
Authors: Marlatt Stuart , Waggy Scott , Biringen Sedat 
Published: November 2011

Abstract
A direct numerical simulation (DNS) at a Reynolds number of 1000 was performed for the neutral atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) using the Ekman layer approximation. The DNS results were used to evaluate several closure approximations that model the turbulent stresses in the Reynolds averaged momentum equations. Two first-order closure equations proposed by O’Brien and by Large, McWilliams, and Doney were tested; both models approximate the eddy diffusivity as a function of height using cubic polynomials. Of these two models, the O’Brien model, which requires data both at the surface layer and at the top of the boundary layer, proved superior. The higher-order k–ɛ model also agreed well with DNS results and more accurately represented the eddy diffusivity in this rotational flow.
A Diachronic Study of Initial Stress and other Prosodic Features in the French News Announcer Style: Corpus-based Measurements and Perceptual Experiments
Authors: de Mareüil Philippe Boula , Rilliard Albert , Allauzen Alexandre 
Published: November 2011

This study focuses on prosodic evolution in the French news announcer style, based on acoustic and perceptual analysis of French audiovisual archives. A 10-hour corpus covering six decades of broadcast news is investigated automatically. Two prosodic features, which may give an impression of emphatic style, are explored: word-initial stress and penultimate vowel lengthening, especially before a pause. Objective measurements suggest that the following features have decreased since the 40s: mean pitch, pitch rise associated with initial stress, vowel duration characterizing an emphatic initial stress, and prepausal penultimate lengthening. The onsets of stressed initial syllables have become longer while speech rate (measured at the phonemic level) has not changed. This puzzling outcome raises interesting questions for research on French prosody, suggesting that the durational correlates of word-initial stress have changed over time, in the French news announcer style. Three perceptual experiments were conducted using prosody transplantation (copy of fundamental frequency and duration parameters on a synthetic voice), delexicalization and imitation. Rather than manipulating the parameters of, say, word-initial stress, we selected a subset of the corpus to represent the different decades under investigation. Results show that, among other factors, fundamental frequency and duration correlates of prosody contribute to distinguishing early recordings from more recent ones. The higher the pitch and the greater the pitch movements associated with word-initial stress, the more the speech samples are perceived as dating back to the 40s or 50s.
Determining the Most Suitable Costal Cartilage Level for Rhinoplasty
Authors: Alkan Zeynep , Acioglu Engin , Yigit Ozgur , Bekem Aylin , Azizli Elad , Unal Ahmet , Sahin Feyzi 
Published: November 2011

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to compare the biomechanical properties of septal cartilage (SC) and costal cartilage (CC) grafts harvested from different ribs and to find at which level CC has characteristics closest to SC.Study DesignExperimental cadaver study.SettingIstanbul Training and Research Hospital.Material and MethodCartilage grafts were harvested from the 6th, 7th, and 8th ribs and the SC of 10 fresh cadavers. Shaped cartilage grafts were subjected to a bending test. Results were measured, and the force‐deflection curve was plotted. Flexural strength (σf) and flexural modulus of elasticity (Ef) were determined. Fractured surfaces were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).ResultsAccording to Fmax, it was determined that ribs 6, 7, and 8 have significantly more durability compared with the SC (Ps =. 030,. 004, and. 001). With regard to deflection, there was no significant difference between the SC and the 6th and 7th ribs and between the 6th and 7th ribs (Ps = 1.000,. 088, and. 306), while a significant difference was found between the SC and the 8th rib (P =. 001). According to σf, no differences were seen between the 6th and 7th rib (P =. 782), while difference was detected between the 6th and 8th and the 7th and 8th ribs (p =. 001). Similar trends were established in Ef values as in σf. These results were confirmed by SEM images.ConclusionThe 7th CC can be used as autograft because it shows similar properties to SC. However, the 6th CC is preferred if more flexibility is desired, and the 8th CC is preferred where more strength is needed.
Characteristics of Inpatient Thyroid Surgery at US Academic and Affiliated Medical Centers
Authors: Stack Brendan C. , Spencer Horace J. , Lee Christopher E. , Medvedev Sofia , Hohmann Samuel F. , Bodenner Donald L. 
Published: November 2011

ObjectiveDescribe data from patients undergoing thyroid surgeries for benign and malignant disease at US academic medical centers.Study DesignRetrospective, database search.SettingThe University Health System (UHC) Consortium (Oak Brook, Illinois) data compiled from discharge summaries.Subjects and MethodsDischarge data were collected from the first quarter of 2002 through the fourth quarter of 2009. Searching strategy was based on diagnosis of thyroid disease and patients undergoing thyroid surgery across all UHC facilities. Demographic information was collected as well as length of stay (LOS) and costs. Complications were evaluated in this analysis.ResultsDuring the study period, 68,014 thyroidectomies were performed, with 27,200 for thyroid cancer. During the same period 6365 neck dissections were performed, with 1539 as stand‐alone procedures. Total thyroidectomy was the procedure of choice for malignant disease. More total thyroidectomies and fewer hemithyroidectomies were being performed for benign thyroid disease in the inpatient setting. Almost all postoperative complications were more frequent after surgery for cancer except myocardial infarction and aspiration pneumonia. On average, LOS was longer for benign disease, but costs were higher for malignant disease.ConclusionThis is the largest series reporting inpatient LOS and mortality for thyroid surgery. The limitation of this study is that it reports patients whose stays were more than 23 hours, leaving out a significant number of thyroid surgeries that are performed as outpatients. Although the results contribute greatly to characterizing inpatient surgery, the results may not reflect current US trends for thyroid surgery.
Immigration and Integration: Perceptions of Community Policing Among Members of Six Ethnic Communities in Central Queens, New York City
Authors: Davis Robert C. , Miller Joel 
Published: November 2011

There is some evidence, based on past research, that community policing has not been as successful (in terms of awareness, participation, and impact) in Black and Latino communities as in White communities. We believed that there may be even less awareness of community policing in ethnic communities containing high proportions of recent immigrants. We conducted an investigation into the extent to which awareness of community policing had penetrated immigrant communities. From a multi-ethnic neighborhood in Queens, New York with a high proportion of foreign-born residents, we surveyed representative samples from six different ethnic groups. Two of the communities were well established and integrated into the city's political structure. The other four communities were composed largely of recent immigrants and had not yet developed a strong sense of political empowerment. Respondents were asked about awareness of community policing, sources of awareness, participation in community policing activities, and suggestions for improving police—community relations. Respondents from the long-etablished ethnic communities were far more likely to be aware of community policing than respondents in the recently established communities. The former respondents were also more likely to have participated in community policing activities. Increasing foot patrols and holding more meetings with the community were seen as the most effective means of improving police—community relations, especially among recently established Hispanic communities.
Child Protection or Child Liberation? Reflections on the Movement to Ban Physical Punishment by Parents and Educators
Authors: Sebba Leslie 
Published: November 2011

In recent years the debate on the legitimacy of the infliction of corporal punishment by parents on their children has been intensified. This traditional parental power has been challenged both at governmental and legislature levels and in the courts, in some cases leading to its prohibition — a policy which has now been endorsed by various international norm-setting bodies. This article traces the historical development of this abolitionist movement on the international plane and seeks to identify the ideologies which have motivated it. In particular, it assesses the respective roles of the child protection ideology, which is concerned with the prevention of victimization, and the children's rights perspective. The contravening role of the family rights ideology is also considered. The article also uses case-studies to analyse the interplay of these forces on the national level, and considers the usefulness of this analysis to predict abolition.
Reparation, Retribution and Rights
Authors: Cavadino Michael , Dignan James 
Published: November 2011

This article explores the relationship between the idea that offenders should make reparation to their victims and the principle of ‘just deserts’ or strict proportionality between seriousness of offence and severity of punishment. Some have queried whether these notions are compatible with each other, suggesting that there is relatively little scope for reparative measures in a criminal justice system soundly based on the principle of just deserts. We defend the reparative principle, arguing that reparation should play a significant rôle in a criminal justice system based on the human rights of victims as well as offenders. Such a rights-based approach also has an important place for the retributive notion of just deserts, but strict proportionality is rejected in favour of an approach whereby the offender's just deserts set upper and lower limits on the sanctions which may be imposed on the offender. Within these limits there should be scope for both victims and offenders to have a say in the nature, form and amount of reparation which is appropriate.
Victims and Police in Belgrade
Authors: Nikolić-Ristanović Vesna 
Published: November 2011

In this paper the author presents findings of the first (pilot) victimization survey carried out during 1996 in Belgrade (Serbia) as the part of International Crime (Victim) Survey. For the purposes of this survey standard ICS questionnaires and methodology, with some necessary corrections, were used. The random sample consisted of 1094 respondents living in central Belgrade's communes. The author focuses on data measuring respondents' willingness to report crimes, their reasons for not reporting crimes to the police and their attitudes toward the police, i.e. their level of confidence in and their reasons for dissatisfaction with the police. Survey findings are analyzed in connection with different crimes, bearing in mind macro factors, such as war and economic crises, which have contributed to the decrease in both the crime reporting rate and the level of confidence in the police. The author concludes that the survey draws attention to the sensitive relationship between citizens and police in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), suggesting an urgent need for radical reforms in the organization, control, training and education of the police concerning human rights in general and victims' rights in particular.
Engine performance and exhaust emissions in stoichiometric combustion engines fuelled with dimethyl ether
Authors: Cha J , Kwon S , Park S 
Published: November 2011

This paper describes the effects of stoichiometric combustion on the engine performance and exhaust emissions in a single-cylinder compression ignition engine fuelled with dimethyl ether. In order to realize stoichiometric combustion in a direct-injection compression ignition engine, high exhaust gas recirculation was used to control air-to-fuel ratios based on a lambda meter. The combustion pressure, heat release rate, and indicated mean effective pressure, which are the main indicators of the engine performance, were derived from in-cylinder pressure data in a single-cylinder direct-injection compression ignition engine. The test engine had a displacement volume of 373.3 cm3, a compression ratio of 17.8, and a common-rail injection system. Exhaust emissions characteristics were obtained from emission gas analysers at the tailpipe. The experimental results show that increasing the equivalence ratio dramatically reduced the indicated specific nitrogen oxide emissions (i.e. by over 90 per cent) owing to the high exhaust gas recirculation in the conventional diesel combustion regime. Furthermore, soot emissions were negligible owing to the chemical properties of the dimethyl ether fuel in the operation range of the injection timings. For injection timings near top dead centre, the indicated specific carbon monoxide emission levels rise excessively as the equivalence ratio increases and the maximum value is 80.9 g/kW h. However, for advanced injection timing (i.e. near 25° crank angle before top dead centre), the indicated specific carbon monoxide emission level shows minimal variation as the equivalence ratio changes. In contrast, the levels of indicated specific hydrocarbon emissions vary according to the injection timing. Increasing the equivalence ratio causes the indicated mean effective pressure to deteriorate slightly (i.e. up to 10 per cent loss) owing to the intake conditions for high exhaust gas recirculation, which results in a low oxygen concentration and a high carbon dioxide concentration.
Cardiovascular event in systemic lupus erythematosus in northern Sweden: Incidence and predictors in a 7-year follow-up study
Authors: Bengtsson C , Öhman M-L , Nived O , Dahlqvist S Rantapää 
Published: November 2011

Introduction. An increased rate of cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been suggested in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The risk for myocardial infarction (MI), coronary artery disease and stroke has been reported as particularly prevalent in younger females compared with the reference population. This study was performed to analyse the standard incidence ratio (SIR) of and predictors for cardiovascular events (CVEs) in patients with SLE from northern Sweden, with a fairly homogenous population. Methods. In 2000 all prevalent patients with SLE (≥4 American College of Rheumatology [ACR] criteria; n = 277) from the four northern-most counties of Sweden were assessed with clinical and laboratory analyses. Seven years follow-up data concerning MI and stroke were extracted from the national registers of hospitalization and death in Sweden. The incidence ratio among the patients was compared with that for the general population from the same catchment area using data from the same register and Statistics Sweden. To identify time to event and CVE predictors, two matched controls for each patient were used and disease related variables as CVD predictors. Results. The SIR for a CVE was 1.27 (95% CI 0.82–1.87) and for females separately aged 40–49 years was 8.00 (95% CI 1.65–23.38). The overall SIR for MI was 2.31 (95% CI 1.34–3.7), for females overall was 1.75 (95% CI 0.84–3.22) and for females aged between 40 and 49 years was 8.7 (95% CI 1.1–31.4). The time to an event was significantly shorter among SLE patients ( p < 0.001) and was predicted by hypertension adjusted for smoking and disease. High SLEDAI and anti-cardiolipin IgG antibodies predicted an event in Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusted for age and previous MI. Diabetes, smoking ever and sex did not affect the prediction models. Conclusion. The risk of a CVE, or MI, was eight- or nine-fold greater among middle-aged female SLE patients. Time to event was significantly shorter and CVE was associated with SLE-related factors including hypertension and age.