bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Epicardial Versus Endocardial Pacing in Paediatric Patients with Atrioventricular Block or Sinus Node Dysfunction: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Authors: Patsiou Vasiliki , Haidich Anna-Bettina , Baroutidou Amalia , Giannopoulos Andreas , Giannakoulas George
Published: July 2023

Pacing indications in children are clearly defined, but whether an epicardial (EPI) or an endocardial (ENDO) pacemaker performs better remains to be elucidated. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to directly compare the incidence of pacemaker (PM) lead-related complications, mortality, hemothorax and venous occlusion between EPI and ENDO in children with atrioventricular block (AVB) or sinus node dysfunction (SND). Literature search was conducted in MEDLINE (via PubMed), Scopus by ELSEVIER, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Web of Science, and OpenGrey databases until June 25, 2022. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed to assess the pacing method’s effect on lead failure, threshold rise, post-implantation infection and battery depletion and secondarily on all-cause mortality, hemothorax and venous occlusion. Several sensitivity analyses were also performed. Of 22 studies initially retrieved, 18 were deemed eligible for systematic review and 15 for meta-analysis. Of 1348 pediatric patients that underwent EPI or ENDO implantation, 542 (40.2%) had a diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD). EPI was significantly associated with higher possibility of PM-lead failure [pooled odds ratio (pOR) 3.00, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.05–4.39; I2 = 0%]; while possibility for threshold rise, post-implantation infection and battery depletion did not differ between the PM types. Regarding the secondary outcome, the mortality rates between EPI and ENDO did not differ. In sensitivity analyses the results were consistent results between the two PM types. The findings suggest that EPI may be associated with increased PM-lead failure compared to ENDO while threshold rise, infection, battery depletion and mortality rates did not differ.
Prognostic value of myocardial perfusion imaging by cadmium zinc telluride single-photon emission computed tomography in patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Assante Roberta , Zampella Emilia , Cantoni Valeria , Green Roberta , D’Antonio Adriana , Mannarino Teresa , Gaudieri Valeria , Nappi Carmela , Buongiorno Pietro , Panico Mariarosaria , Petretta Mario , Cuocolo Alberto , Acampa Wanda
Published: July 2023

Background

Aim of this study was to define the prognostic value of stress myocardial perfusion imaging by cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) for prediction of adverse cardiovascular events in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods and results

Studies published until November 2022 were identified by database search. We included studies using stress myocardial perfusion imaging by CZT-SPECT to evaluate subjects with known or suspected CAD and providing primary data of adverse cardiovascular events. Total of 12 studies were finally included recruiting 36,415 patients. Pooled hazard ratio (HR) for the occurrence of adverse events was 2.17 (95% confidence interval, CI, 1.78–2.65) and heterogeneity was 66.1% (P = 0.001). Five studies reported data on adjusted HR for the occurrence of adverse events. Pooled HR was 1.69 (95% CI, 1.44–1.98) and heterogeneity was 44.9% (P = 0.123). Seven studies reported data on unadjusted HR for the occurrence of adverse events. Pooled HR was 2.72 (95% CI, 2.00–3.70). Nine studies reported data useful to calculate separately the incidence rate of adverse events in patients with abnormal and normal myocardial perfusion. Pooled incidence rate ratio was 2.38 (95% CI, 1.39–4.06) and heterogeneity was 84.6% (P < 0.001). The funnel plot showed no evidence of asymmetry (P = 0.517). At meta-regression analysis, we found an association between HR for adverse events and presence of angina symptoms and family history of CAD.

Conclusions

Stress myocardial perfusion imaging by CZT-SPECT is a valuable noninvasive prognostic indicator for adverse cardiovascular events in patients with known or suspected CAD.
The effect of a goal-setting strategy with integrated feedback on goal attainment in inflammatory arthritis patients: a mixed method study
Authors: van Slingerland K. , de Jong P. H. P. , Dolhain R. J. E. M. , Pasma A.
Published: July 2023

Patients with Inflammatory Arthritis (IA) often experience difficulties in daily life as a result of their disease. Unfortunately, outpatient consultations in daily practice tend to focus on medical topics, thereby ignoring the impact of the disease on patients’ daily lives. Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs) can be used to understand this impact, but they are not enough for offering person-centered care. Because the patient’s true values and goals can only be ascertained during a proper conversation, which should include both medical as well as patient goals. Therefore, the aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of a goal management strategy with integrated feedback on goal attainment and Health-Related Quality of Life(HRQoL) in IA patients. IA patients with an active disease were given the opportunity to set and follow-up goals. In addition to goal setting, patients were asked to complete online questionnaires on various PROs, including HRQoL. Ninety-two IA patients participated in the study. The mean age was 51 years and most of them had rheumatoid arthritis. A total of 302 patient goals were set, of which 32% were achieved. In the entire population, HRQoL did not change over time, but patients who did not meet their goals tended to report a lower HRQoL. Incorporating a feedback mechanism in a goal-setting strategy has a positive effect on goal attainment. Yet no effect was seen on HRQoL, but this may due to the fact that general HRQoL measurement are not sensitive or specific enough to detect changes that are accompanied with goal setting and attainment.
A survey by the European Society of Breast Imaging on radiologists’ preferences regarding quality assurance measures of image interpretation in screening and diagnostic mammography
Authors: Michalopoulou Eleni , Clauser Paola , Gilbert Fiona J. , Pijnappel Ruud M. , Mann Ritse M. , Baltzer Pascal A.T. , Chen Yan , Fallenberg Eva Maria
Published: July 2023

Objectives

Quality assurance (QA) of image interpretation plays a key role in screening and diagnostic mammography, maintaining minimum standards and supporting continuous improvement in interpreting images. However, the QA structure across Europe shows considerable variation. The European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI) conducted a survey among the members to collect information on radiologists’ preferences regarding QA measures in mammography.

Materials and methods

An anonymous online survey consisting of 25 questions was distributed to all EUSOBI members and national breast radiology bodies in Europe. The questions were designed to collect demographic characteristics, information on responders’ mammography workload and data about QA measures currently used in their country. Data was analysed using descriptive statistical analysis, the χ2 test, linear regression, and Durbin-Watson statistic test.

Results

In total, 251 breast radiologists from 34 countries completed the survey. Most respondents were providing both screening and symptomatic services (137/251, 54.6%), working in an academic hospital (85/251, 33.9%) and reading 1000–4999 cases per year (109/251, 43.4%). More than half of them (133/251, 53%) had established QA measures in their workplace. Although less than one-third (71/251, 28.3%) had to participate in regular performance testing, the vast majority (190/251, 75.7%) agreed that a mandatory test would be helpful to improve their skills.

Conclusion

QA measures were in place for more than half of the respondents working in screening and diagnostic mammography to evaluate their breast imaging performance. Although there were substantial differences between countries, the importance of having QA in the workplace and implemented was widely acknowledged by radiologists.

Clinical relevance statement

Although several quality assurance (QA) measures of image interpretation are recommended by European bodies or national organisations, the QA in mammography is quite heterogenous between countries and reporting settings, and not always actively implemented across Europe.

Key Points

The first survey that presents radiologists’ preferences regarding QA measures of image interpretation in mammography.

Quality assurance measures in the workplace are better-established for breast screening compared to diagnostic mammography.

Radiologists consider that performance tests would help to improve their mammography interpretation skills.
Artificial intelligence to improve cytology performance in urothelial carcinoma diagnosis: results from validation phase of the French, multicenter, prospective VISIOCYT1 trial
Authors: Lebret Thierry , Paoletti Xavier , Pignot Geraldine , Roumiguié Mathieu , Colombel Marc , Savareux Laurent , Verhoest Grégory , Guy Laurent , Rigaud Jérome , De Vergie Stéphane , Poinas Grégoire , Droupy Stéphane , Kleinclauss François , Courtade-Saïdi Monique , Piaton Eric , Radulescu Camelia , Rioux-Leclercq Nathalie , Kandel-Aznar Christine , Renaudin Karine , Cochand-Priollet Béatrix , Allory Yves , Nivet Sébastien , Rouprêt Morgan
Published: July 2023

Purpose

Cytology and cystoscopy, the current gold standard for diagnosing urothelial carcinomas, have limits: cytology has high interobserver variability with moderate or not optimal sensitivity (particularly for low-grade tumors); while cystoscopy is expensive, invasive, and operator dependent. The VISIOCYT1 study assessed the benefit of VisioCyt® for diagnosing urothelial carcinoma.

Methods

VISIOCYT1 was a French prospective clinical trial conducted in 14 centers. The trial enrolled adults undergoing endoscopy for suspected bladder cancer or to explore the lower urinary tract. Participants were allocated either Group 1: with bladder cancer, i.e., with positive cystoscopy or with negative cystoscopy but positive cytology, or Group 2: without bladder cancer. Before cystoscopy and histopathology, slides were prepared for cytology and the VisioCyt® test from urine samples. The diagnostic performance of VisioCyt® was assessed using sensitivity (primary objective, 70% lower-bound threshold) and specificity (75% lower-bound threshold). Sensitivity was also assessed by tumor grade and T-staging. VisioCyt® and cytology performance were evaluated relative to the histopathological assessments.

Results

Between October 2017 and December 2019, 391 participants (170 in Group 1 and 149 in Group 2) were enrolled. VisioCyt®’s sensitivity was 80.9% (95% CI 73.9–86.4%) and specificity was 61.8% (95% CI 53.4–69.5%). In high-grade tumors, the sensitivity was 93.7% (95% CI 86.0–97.3%) and in low-grade tumors 66.7% (95% CI 55.2–76.5%). Sensitivity by T-staging, compared to the overall sensitivity, was higher in high-grade tumors and lower in low-grade tumors.

Conclusion

VisioCyt® is a promising diagnostic tool for urothelial cancers with improved sensitivities for high-grade tumors and notably for low-grade tumors.
Noradrenergic tone is not required for neuronal activity-induced rebound sleep in zebrafish
Authors: Benoit Eleanor , Lyons Declan G. , Rihel Jason
Published: July 2023

Sleep pressure builds during wakefulness, but the mechanisms underlying this homeostatic process are poorly understood. One zebrafish model suggests that sleep pressure increases as a function of global neuronal activity, such as during sleep deprivation or acute exposure to drugs that induce widespread brain activation. Given that the arousal-promoting noradrenergic system is important for maintaining heightened neuronal activity during wakefulness, we hypothesised that genetic and pharmacological reduction of noradrenergic tone during drug-induced neuronal activation would dampen subsequent rebound sleep in zebrafish larvae. During stimulant drug treatment, dampening noradrenergic tone with the α2-adrenoceptor agonist clonidine unexpectedly enhanced subsequent rebound sleep, whereas enhancing noradrenergic signalling with a cocktail of α1- and β-adrenoceptor agonists did not enhance rebound sleep. Similarly, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated elimination of the dopamine β-hydroxylase (dbh) gene, which encodes an enzyme required for noradrenalin synthesis, enhanced baseline sleep in larvae but did not prevent additional rebound sleep following acute induction of neuronal activity. Across all drug conditions, c-fos expression immediately after drug exposure correlated strongly with the amount of induced rebound sleep, but was inversely related to the strength of noradrenergic modulatory tone. These results are consistent with a model in which increases in neuronal activity, as reflected by brain-wide levels of c-fos induction, drive a sleep pressure signal that promotes rebound sleep independently of noradrenergic tone.
Meludia platform as a tool to evaluate music perception in pediatric and adult cochlear implant users
Authors: Calvino Miryam , Zuazua Alejandro , Sanchez-Cuadrado Isabel , Gavilán Javier , Mancheño Marta , Arroyo Helena , Lassaletta Luis
Published: July 2023

Purpose

Music perception is one of the greatest challenges for cochlear implant (CI) users. The aims of this study were: (i) to evaluate the music perception of CI users using the online Meludia music training program as music testing platform, (ii) to compare performance among three age groups, and (iii) to compare CI users with their normal hearing (NH) peers.

Methods

138 individuals participated, divided between children (6–10 y), adolescents (11–16 y), and adults (≥ 17 y). Five music perception tasks were evaluated: Rhythm, Spatialization, Stable/unstable, Melody, and Density. We also administered the music related quality of life (MuRQoL) questionnaire for adults, and a music questionnaire for pediatric population (6–16 y) (MuQPP).

Results

A significantly higher percentage of the adolescent CI users completed the five tasks compared to the other age groups. Both pediatric and adolescent CI users had similar performance to their NH peers in most categories. On the MuRQoL, adult NH listeners reported more music exposure than CI users (3.8 ± 0.6 vs 3.0 ± 0.6, p < 0.01), but both groups reported similar levels of perceived music importance (3.4 ± 0.7 vs 3.2 ± 1.1, p = 0.340). On the MuQPP, pediatric CI users who scored highly on music perception also had higher reported questionnaire scores (54.2 ± 12.9 vs 40.9 ± 12.1, p = 0.009).

Conclusions

Meludia can be used to evaluate music perception and to use for music training in CI users of all ages. Adolescents had the highest performance in most musical tasks. Pediatric CI users were more similar to their NH peers. The importance of music in adult CI users was comparable to their NH peers.
Apatite evidence for a fluid-saturated, crystal-rich magma reservoir forming the Quellaveco porphyry copper deposit (Southern Peru)
Authors: Nathwani Chetan L. , Large Simon J. E. , Brugge Emily R. , Wilkinson Jamie J. , Buret Yannick ,   EIMF
Published: July 2023

Large volume, intermediate-felsic magma reservoirs are the source of melt and mineralising fluids which generate porphyry copper deposits. Cooling and crystallisation of hydrous magmas drives the exsolution and expulsion of a magmatic volatile phase—a process which remains challenging to constrain in porphyry Cu systems where the record of magma volatile compositions is rarely preserved. Here, we use the halogen compositions of apatite inclusions shielded as inclusions within zircon to constrain volatile evolution in magma reservoirs which pre-date and are synchronous with porphyry Cu mineralisation at Quellaveco, Southern Peru. Geochemical and textural data confirm that the zircon-included apatites escaped re-equilibration with hydrothermal fluids, unlike apatites found in the groundmass of the same rocks. We, therefore, recommend that future studies attempting to reconcile magmatic volatile budgets using apatite in porphyry Cu systems should focus on apatite inclusions in zircon. By combining the apatite inclusion data with numerical modelling, we find evidence that the magma reservoir sourcing porphyry Cu mineralisation remained fluid-saturated for the entire period recorded by apatite crystallisation. By contrast, the pre-mineralisation batholith shows more variable, potentially fluid-undersaturated behaviour. Our modelling suggests that in order to attain the porphyry melt volatile compositions inferred from apatite, the magma reservoir must have exsolved a large proportion of its volatile budget, consistent with having been held at high crystallinity (40–60% crystals). This crystallisation interval coincides with peak chlorine and copper extraction from intermediate-felsic magmas, and would have permitted efficient fluid migration and accumulation at the roof of the system. We suggest that the storage of large-volume, long-lived, crystal-rich magma reservoirs in magmatic arcs may be a critical step in generating world-class porphyry copper deposits.
The crust-mantle transition beneath the Azores region (central-north Atlantic Ocean)
Authors: Zanon Vittorio , Silva Rita , Goulart Catarina
Published: July 2023

The Azores region straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and comprises volcanic islands and seamounts interspersed with non-magmatic oceanic basins arranged along subparallel slow-spreading systems. The cross-check of CO2-rich fluid inclusions barometry from lavas and tephras erupted during the last 20 ka with the sources of seismicity of the last 22 years traced the deepest magma accumulation zone at a regional scale. These zones are considered to represent the boundary between the dense rocks of magma systems and the lithospheric mantle. This boundary is at a depth range of ~ 17 to 20 km beneath the islands close to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which are younger than 500 ka, and up to ~ 29.4 km beneath the eastern island of S. Miguel, younger than 800 ka and the nearby Dom João de Castro Seamount and the Hirondelle Basin. The same method has been applied to the ~ 2 Ma-old volcanic products of Flores, the ~ 1.9 Ma old S. Jorge and the 5 Ma-old lavas of Santa Maria. Results revealed a depth of ~ 30.5 km beneath the Flores and ~ 26 km beneath the ~ 1.9 Ma-old S. Jorge. These two islands are west and east of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, within 200 km. Finally, the crust-mantle transition has been found below Santa Maria, the easternmost island, ~ 500 km away from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at a depth of ~ 33 km. Overall, repeated mafic magma injections at the base of each magma system generated vertically stacked layered ultramafic mush bodies, which thickened the crust overtime.
Disability in cerebellar ataxia syndromes is linked to cortical degeneration
Authors: Conrad Julian , Huppert Anna , Ruehl Ria Maxine , Wuehr Max , Schniepp Roman , zu Eulenburg Peter
Published: July 2023

Objective

We aimed to relate clinical measures of disability in chronic cerebellar degeneration to structural whole-brain changes using voxel-based and surface-based morphometry (vbm and sbm). We were particularly interested in remote effects of cerebellar degeneration in the cerebral cortex.

Methods

We recruited 30 patients with cerebellar degeneration of different aetiologies (downbeat nystagmus syndrome, DBN n = 14, spinocerebellar ataxia, SCA n = 9, sporadic adult late-onset ataxia, SAOA n = 7). All patients were thoroughly characterised in the motor, cognitive, vestibular and ocular–motor domains. Vbm and sbm were used to evaluate structural differences between cerebellar degeneration patients and a group of healthy age- and gender-matched volunteers. Linear regression models were used to correlate functional measures of disease progression and postural stability with whole brain volumetry.

Results

Patients with SCA and SAOA showed widespread volume loss in the cerebellar hemispheres and less prominently in the vermis. Patients with DBN showed a distinct pattern of grey matter volume (GMV) loss that was restricted to the vestibular and ocular–motor representations in lobules IX, X and V–VII. Falls were associated with brainstem white matter volume. VBM and SBM linear regression models revealed associations between severity of ataxic symptoms, cognitive performance and preferred gait velocity. This included extra-cerebellar (sub-)cortical hubs of the motor and locomotion network (putamen, caudate, thalamus, primary motor cortex, prefrontal cortex) and multisensory areas involved in spatial navigation and cognition.

Conclusion

Functional disability in multiple domains was associated with structural changes in the cerebral cortex.
Two sources of uncertainty in estimating tephra volumes from isopachs: perspectives and quantification
Authors: Yang Qingyuan , Jenkins Susanna F.
Published: July 2023

Calculating the tephra volume is important for estimating eruption intensity and magnitude. Traditionally, tephra volumes are estimated by integrating the area under curves fit to the square root of isopach areas. In this work, we study two sources of uncertainty in estimating tephra volumes based on isopachs. The first is model uncertainty. It occurs because no fitted curves perfectly describe the tephra thinning pattern, and the fitting is done based on log-transformed square root of isopach area. The second source of uncertainty occurs because thickness must be extrapolated beyond the available data, which makes it impossible to validate the extrapolated thickness. We demonstrate the importance of the two sources of uncertainty on a theoretical level. We use six isopach datasets with different characteristics to demonstrate their presence and the effect they could have on volume estimation. Measures to better represent the uncertainty are proposed and tested. For the model uncertainty, we propose (i) a better-informed and stricter way to report and evaluate goodness-of-fit, and (ii) that uncertainty estimations be based on the envelope defined by different well-fitted curves, rather than volumes estimated from individual curves. For the second source of uncertainty, we support reporting separately the volume portions that are interpolated and extrapolated, and we propose to test how sensitive the total volume is to variability in the extrapolated volume. The two sources of uncertainty should not be ignored as they could introduce additional bias and uncertainty in the volume estimate.
Forecasting air pollutants using classification models: a case study in the Bay of Algeciras (Spain)
Authors: Rodríguez-García M. I. , Ribeiro Rodrigues M. C. , González-Enrique J. , Ruiz-Aguilar J. J. , Turias I. J.
Published: July 2023

The main goal of this work is to obtain reliable predictions of pollutant concentrations related to maritime traffic (SO2, PM10, NO2, NOX, and NO) in the Bay of Algeciras, located in Andalusia, the south of Spain. Furthermore, the objective is to predict future air quality levels of the principal maritime traffic-related pollutants in the Bay of Algeciras as a function of the rest of the pollutants, the meteorological variables, and vessel data. In this sense, three scenarios were analysed for comparison, namely Alcornocales Park and the cities of La Línea and Algeciras. A database of hourly records of air pollution immissions, meteorological measurements in the Bay of Algeciras region and a database of maritime traffic in the port of Algeciras during the years 2017 to 2019 were used. A resampling procedure using a five-fold cross-validation procedure to assure the generalisation capabilities of the tested models was designed to compute the pollutant predictions with different classification models and also with artificial neural networks using different numbers of hidden layers and units. This procedure enabled appropriate and reliable multiple comparisons among the tested models and facilitated the selection of a set of top-performing prediction models. The models have been compared using several quality classification indexes such as sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and precision. The distance (d1) to the perfect classifier (1, 1, 1, 1) was also used as a discriminant feature, which allowed for the selection of the best models. Concerning the number of variables, an analysis was conducted to identify the most relevant ones for each pollutant. This approach aimed to obtain models with fewer inputs, facilitating the design of an optimised monitoring network. These more compact models have proven to be the optimal choice in many cases. The obtained sensitivities in the best models were 0.98 for SO2, 0.97 for PM10, 0.82 for NO2 and NOX, and 0.83 for NO. These results demonstrate the potential of the models to forecast air pollution in a port city or a complex scenario and to be used by citizens and authorities to prevent exposure to pollutants and to make decisions concerning air quality.
Non-stationary large-scale statistics of precipitation extremes in central Europe
Authors: Fauer Felix S. , Rust Henning W.
Published: July 2023

Extreme precipitation shows non-stationarity, meaning that its distribution can change with time or other large-scale variables. For a classical frequency-intensity analysis this effect is often neglected. Here, we propose a model including the influence of North Atlantic Oscillation, time, surface temperature and a blocking index. The model features flexibility to use annual maxima as well as seasonal maxima to be fitted in a generalized extreme value setting. To further increase the efficiency of data usage, maxima from different accumulation durations are aggregated so that information for extremes on different time scales can be provided. Our model is trained to individual station data with temporal resolutions ranging from one minute to one day across Germany. Models are chosen with a stepwise BIC model selection and verified with a cross-validated quantile skill index. The verification shows that the new model performs better than a reference model without large-scale information. Also, the new model enables insights into the effect of large-scale variables on extreme precipitation. Results suggest that the probability of extreme precipitation increases with time since 1950 in all seasons. High probabilities of extremes are positively correlated with blocking situations in summer and with temperature in winter. However, they are negatively correlated with blocking situations in winter and temperature in summer.
Surgical treatment of popliteomeniscal fascicles tears is associated with better patient-reported outcome measures. A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Masoni Virginia , Giustra Fortunato , Bosco Francesco , Camarda Lawrence , Rovere Giuseppe , Sciannameo Veronica , Berchialla Paola , Massè Alessandro
Published: July 2023

Purpose

Popliteomeniscal fascicles (PMFs) are a component of the popliteal hiatus complex in the knee, and their injury primarily affects young athletes participating in sports activities involving twisting movements. The identification of PMFs tears presents a challenge, often accompanied by lateral pain and a locking sensation. The objective of this systematic review (SR) and meta-analysis is to enhance the suspicion and recognition of PMFs tears, aiming to facilitate the treatment of this condition, particularly in symptomatic young patients.

Methods

A comprehensive search, focused on studies examining PMFs injuries and their treatment, was conducted in four databases, PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science. The ROBINS-I tool was used to evaluate the risks of bias. The PRISMA flow diagram was used to conduct the research and select the included studies. A meta-analysis was conducted for the Lysholm score, the Tegner Activity Scale, and the subjective IKDC score. The present SR and meta-analysis was registered on PROSPERO.

Results

Five clinical studies were included in the final analysis, comprising 96 patients. All the patients underwent a preoperative MRI assessment and a diagnostic arthroscopy to detect the PMFs tears, with a subsequent surgical procedure either open or arthroscopically performed. Surgery was associated with the resolution of symptoms. A statistically significant improvement in the Lysholm score (p: 0.0005) and the subjective IKDC score (p: 0.003) after the surgical procedure with respect to the preoperative evaluation was found.

Conclusion

This SR and meta-analysis showed a significant improvement in the Lysholm score and subjective IKDC score following surgery for PMFs tears. However, controversy persists regarding the optimal surgical approach, with current literature favoring arthroscopic procedures.

Level of evidence

IV.
Greek sign language recognition for an education platform
Authors: Papadimitriou Katerina , Potamianos Gerasimos , Sapountzaki Galini , Goulas Theodoros , Efthimiou Eleni , Fotinea Stavroula-Evita , Maragos Petros
Published: July 2023

Recent advances in sign language (SL) technologies, along with demand for SL education, have led to increased interest in developing tools that enable automatic assessment of learners’ SL video productions, helping both students and their instructors. At the very least, such tools should perform automatic SL recognition (SLR) of non-studio quality videos in a signer-independent (SI) fashion, thus providing simple binary feedback on learners’ signing under realistic usage scenarios. Motivated by the above and the lack of any such tools for the Greek SL (GSL), we have been developing the “SL-ReDu” education platform for both receptive and productive GSL learning and student assessment. In this paper, we present our SLR module for GSL, developed for and integrated to the “SL-ReDu” system. The module incorporates state-of-the-art deep-learning based visual detection, feature extraction, and classification, operates in an SI mode on web-cam videos, and accommodates a small-size vocabulary of isolated signs and continuously fingerspelled letter sequences. We train the module on collected GSL data and demonstrate its superiority over a number of alternative SLR algorithms. We then conduct its objective evaluation within the “SL-ReDu” system and carry out a subjective evaluation of the overall platform, obtaining very satisfactory results in both.
A homogenized constrained mixture model of cardiac growth and remodeling: analyzing mechanobiological stability and reversal
Authors: Gebauer Amadeus M. , Pfaller Martin R. , Braeu Fabian A. , Cyron Christian J. , Wall Wolfgang A.
Published: July 2023

Cardiac growth and remodeling (G&R) patterns change ventricular size, shape, and function both globally and locally. Biomechanical, neurohormonal, and genetic stimuli drive these patterns through changes in myocyte dimension and fibrosis. We propose a novel microstructure-motivated model that predicts organ-scale G&R in the heart based on the homogenized constrained mixture theory. Previous models, based on the kinematic growth theory, reproduced consequences of G&R in bulk myocardial tissue by prescribing the direction and extent of growth but neglected underlying cellular mechanisms. In our model, the direction and extent of G&R emerge naturally from intra- and extracellular turnover processes in myocardial tissue constituents and their preferred homeostatic stretch state. We additionally propose a method to obtain a mechanobiologically equilibrated reference configuration. We test our model on an idealized 3D left ventricular geometry and demonstrate that our model aims to maintain tensional homeostasis in hypertension conditions. In a stability map, we identify regions of stable and unstable G&R from an identical parameter set with varying systolic pressures and growth factors. Furthermore, we show the extent of G&R reversal after returning the systolic pressure to baseline following stage 1 and 2 hypertension. A realistic model of organ-scale cardiac G&R has the potential to identify patients at risk of heart failure, enable personalized cardiac therapies, and facilitate the optimal design of medical devices.
An ontology-based approach to engineering ethicality requirements
Authors: Guizzardi Renata , Amaral Glenda , Guizzardi Giancarlo , Mylopoulos John
Published: July 2023

In a world where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is pervasive, humans may feel threatened or at risk by giving up control to machines. In this context, ethicality becomes a major concern to prevent AI systems from being biased, making mistakes, or going rogue. Requirements Engineering (RE) is the research area that can exert a great impact in the development of ethical systems by design. However, proposing concepts, tools and techniques that support the incorporation of ethicality into the software development processes as explicit requirements remains a great challenge in the RE field. In this paper, we rely on Ontology-based Requirements Engineering (ObRE) as a method to elicit and analyze ethicality requirements (‘Ethicality requirements’ is adopted as a name for the class of requirements studied in this paper by analogy to other quality requirements studied in software engineering, such as usability, reliability, and portability, etc. The use of this term (as opposed to ‘ethical requirements’) highlights that they represent requirements for ethical systems, analogous to how ‘trustworthiness requirements’ represent requirements for trustworthy systems. To put simply: the predicates ‘ethical’ or ‘trustworthy’ are not meant to be predicated over the requirements themselves). ObRE applies ontological analysis to ontologically unpack terms and notions that are referred to in requirements elicitation. Moreover, this method instantiates the adopted ontology and uses it to guide the requirements analysis activity. In a previous paper, we presented a solution concerning two ethical principles, namely Beneficence and Non-maleficence. The present paper extends the previous work by targeting two other important ethicality principles, those of Explicability and Autonomy. For each of these new principles, we do ontological unpacking of the relevant concepts, and we present requirements elicitation and analysis guidelines, as well as examples in the context of a driverless car case. Furthermore, we validate our approach by analysing the requirements elicitation made for the driverless car case in contrast with a similar case, and by assessing our method’s coverage w.r.t European Union guidelines for Trustworthy AI.
Low cross-linked terpenes-based porous polymers with reduced content of divinylbenzene: synthesis, physicochemical properties and sorption abilities
Authors: Sobiesiak M. , Banaszek P.
Published: July 2023

The low cross-linked porous polymers were prepared using terpene compounds (citral, limonene and pinene) and divinylbenzene with a suspension method. The prepared materials were characterized by: ATR-FTIR, low temperature nitrogen adsorption–desorption, TGA, swelling ratio and solid phase extraction (SPE) experiments. ATR-FTIR verified the chemical structures of the polymers. All the materials had developed internal structure with SBET in the range of 45–190 m2/g and high thermal stability. Sorption properties of the terpene-based polymers were tested for phenolic compounds (phenol, 2-chlorophenol, 2,4-dichlorophenol and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol) and popular non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (aspirin, paracetamol and ibuprofen) and an antibiotic (ampicillin) with a dynamic solid phase extraction (SPE) method. The recoveries of 2,4-dichlorophenol and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol remained at a level 80–100% for all new materials even for 10–13 concentration cycles. Very high recoveries (70–100%) were also obtained for ibuprofen and aspirin from the citral- and limonene-based polymers using one-component solutions. However, when using ternary component solutions, the maximum recoveries of ibuprofen reached 70%. Paracetamol recoveries did not exceed 20%, while these for ampicillin ranged from 40 to 80%. The performed studies have proven that the process is affected by both chemical nature of adsorbents and adsorbates. Especially in the case of multicomponent solutions, the acid—base balance of solutes in the solution and on the polymer—solution interface should be taken into account as an important factor determining obtained recoveries.
High-frame rate homography and visual odometry by tracking binary features from the focal plane
Authors: Murai Riku , Saeedi Sajad , Kelly Paul H. J.
Published: July 2023

Robotics faces a long-standing obstacle in which the speed of the vision system’s scene understanding is insufficient, impeding the robot’s ability to perform agile tasks. Consequently, robots must often rely on interpolation and extrapolation of the vision data to accomplish tasks in a timely and effective manner. One of the primary reasons for these delays is the analog-to-digital conversion that occurs on a per-pixel basis across the image sensor, along with the transfer of pixel-intensity information to the host device. This results in significant delays and power consumption in modern visual processing pipelines. The SCAMP-5—a general-purpose Focal-plane Sensor-processor array (FPSP)—used in this research performs computations in the analog domain prior to analog-to-digital conversion. By extracting features from the image on the focal plane, the amount of data that needs to be digitised and transferred is reduced. This allows for a high frame rate and low energy consumption for the SCAMP-5. The focus of our work is on localising the camera within the scene, which is crucial for scene understanding and for any downstream robotics tasks. We present a localisation system that utilise the FPSP in two parts. First, a 6-DoF odometry system is introduced, which efficiently estimates its position against a known marker at over 400 FPS. Second, our work is extended to implement BIT-VO—6-DoF visual odometry system which operates under an unknown natural environment at 300 FPS.
Dietary and habitat specialization, eye size, clutch size, and aerial lifestyle predict avian fragmentation sensitivity in an Andean biodiversity hotpot
Authors: Jones Harrison H. , Bedoya-Durán María Juliana , Colorado Z. Gabriel J. , Londoño Gustavo , Robinson Scott K.
Published: July 2023

The fragmentation of tropical forests remains a major driver of avian biodiversity loss, particularly for insectivores, yet the mechanisms underlying area sensitivity remain poorly understood. Studies in lowland systems suggest that loss of food resources, changes to light microenvironments, increased nest predation, and dispersal limitation are possible mechanisms, but these are untested for montane tropical bird communities. In this study, we related avian functional traits to area sensitivity (quantified using beta estimates from a multi-species occupancy model) to test the above four hypotheses for a cloud forest bird community (both resident species and just resident insectivores) in the Colombian Western Andes. We found that species with more specialized diets and those that use the canopy and subcanopy (loss of food hypothesis), larger relative eye sizes (light microhabitat hypothesis), and larger clutch sizes (nest predation hypothesis) were significantly more area sensitive. By contrast, there was no support for the dispersal limitation hypothesis; instead, we found that insectivores with more pointed wing shapes, and more aerial lifestyles, were significantly more fragmentation sensitive. These results suggest that reduced vegetation structure, loss of late-successional plant species, and loss of epiphytic plants may reduce food availability in fragments. Similarly, the ability to tolerate higher light intensity near fragment edges, or when traversing matrix habitat, may be important for persistence in fragments and suggests that habitat configuration may be of special importance in fragmented Andean landscapes. Overall, a lack of information on foraging, movement, and breeding ecology complicates avian conservation in the Andes.
Animal sentience and the Capabilities Approach to justice
Authors: read eva , Birch Jonathan
Published: July 2023

Martha Nussbaum’s Justice for Animals calls upon humanity to secure for all sentient beings the central capabilities they need to flourish. This essay review critically examines the ethical and scientific foundations of Nussbaum’s position. On the ethical side, we explore the tension between a robust defence of animal rights and political liberalism, which requires tolerance of a range of reasonable views. On the scientific side, we reflect on how our uncertainty regarding the distribution of sentience in the natural world leaves us uncertain about how many claimants of justice there are and about the relative strength of their claims. We bring out some further problems with Nussbaum’s views on animal killing and pest control. We also reflect on how animal welfare science might be done differently if guided by Nussbaum’s framework.
On mean elements in artificial-satellite theory
Authors: Lara Martin
Published: July 2023

The merits of a perturbation theory based on a mean-to-osculating transformation that is purely periodic in the fast angle are investigated. The exact separation of the perturbed Keplerian dynamics into purely short-period effects and long-period mean frequencies is achieved by a non-canonical transformation, which, therefore, cannot be obtained by Hamiltonian methods. For this case, the evolution of the mean elements strictly adheres to the average behavior of the osculating orbit. However, due to the unavoidable truncation of perturbation solutions, the fact that this kind of theory confines in the mean variations the long-period terms of the semimajor axis, how tiny they may be, can have adverse effects in the accuracy of long-term semi-analytic propagations based on it.
The limitations of irony detection in Dutch social media
Authors: Maladry Aaron , Lefever Els , Van Hee Cynthia , Hoste Véronique
Published: July 2023

In this paper, we explore the feasibility of irony detection in Dutch social media. To this end, we investigate both transformer models with embedding representations, as well as traditional machine learning classifiers with extensive feature sets. Our feature-based methodology implements a variety of information sources including lexical, semantic, syntactic, sentiment features, as well as two new data-driven features to model common sense. Based on patterns in the syntactic structure of tweets, we aim to model the presence of contrasting sentiments, a phenomenon that is known to be indicative of verbal irony and sarcasm. Feature selection, as well as voting ensemble techniques were implemented to enhance the classification performance. The final systems reach F1-scores up to 0.79, which are promising results for a task as difficult as irony detection. Besides a quantitative analysis, this paper also describes a thorough qualitative analysis of the system output. Although lexical cues appear to be very important to express irony, our analysis also revealed the need for more advanced modeling of common-sense knowledge to detect more subtle examples of irony.
MarIA and BETO are sexist: evaluating gender bias in large language models for Spanish
Authors: Garrido-Muñoz Ismael , Martínez-Santiago Fernando , Montejo-Ráez Arturo
Published: July 2023

The study of bias in language models is a growing area of work, however, both research and resources are focused on English. In this paper, we make a first approach focusing on gender bias in some freely available Spanish language models trained using popular deep neural networks, like BERT or RoBERTa. Some of these models are known for achieving state-of-the-art results on downstream tasks. These promising results have promoted such models’ integration in many real-world applications and production environments, which could be detrimental to people affected for those systems. This work proposes an evaluation framework to identify gender bias in masked language models, with explainability in mind to ease the interpretation of the evaluation results. We have evaluated 20 different models for Spanish, including some of the most popular pretrained ones in the research community. Our findings state that varying levels of gender bias are present across these models.This approach compares the adjectives proposed by the model for a set of templates. We classify the given adjectives into understandable categories and compute two new metrics from model predictions, one based on the internal state (probability) and the other one on the external state (rank). Those metrics are used to reveal biased models according to the given categories and quantify the degree of bias of the models under study.
Fine-tuning language models to recognize semantic relations
Authors: Roussinov Dmitri , Sharoff Serge , Puchnina Nadezhda
Published: July 2023

Transformer-based pre-trained Language Models (PLMs) have emerged as the foundations for the current state-of-the-art algorithms in most natural language processing tasks, in particular when applied to context rich data such as sentences or paragraphs. However, their impact on the tasks defined in terms of abstract individual word properties, not necessary tied to their specific use in a particular sentence, has been inadequately explored, which is a notable research gap. Addressing this gap is crucial for advancing our understanding of natural language processing. To fill this void, we concentrate on classification of semantic relations: given a pair of concepts (words or word sequences) the aim is to identify the semantic label to describe their relationship. E.g. in the case of the pair green/colour, “is a” is a suitable relation while “part of”, “property of”, and “opposite of” are not suitable. This classification is independent of a particular sentence in which these concepts might have been used. We are first to incorporate a language model into both existing approaches to this task, namely path-based and distribution-based methods. Our transformer-based approaches exhibit significant improvements over the state-of-the-art and come remarkably close to achieving human-level performance on rigorous benchmarks. We are also first to provide evidence that the standard datasets over-state the performance due to the effect of “lexical memorisation.” We reduce this effect by applying lexical separation. On the new benchmark datasets, the algorithmic performance remains significantly below human-level, highlighting that the task of semantic relation classification is still unresolved, particularly for language models of the sizes commonly used at the time of our study. We also identify additional challenges that PLM-based approaches face and conduct extensive ablation studies and other experiments to investigate the sensitivity of our findings to specific modelling and implementation choices. Furthermore, we examine the specific relations that pose greater challenges and discuss the trade-offs between accuracy and processing time.