bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Building a sustainable future: Closing the gap in radiotherapy and brachytherapy resources to achieve the sustainable development agenda 2030 goals for cervical cancer control in Africa
Authors: Drokow Emmanuel Kwateng , Effah Clement Yaw , Agboyibor Clement , Budu Jemima Twumwaah , Arboh Francisca , Xiao Yao , Zhang Fan , Wu Irene X. Y.
Published: June 2023

Though radiation therapy services have been launched or expanded in several countries, there have also existed brief or seemingly ongoing infrastructure gaps. The purpose of this health policy study is to provide an overview of the radiation therapy resources available in Africa and to assess how well they align with the agenda 2030 goals, with a specific focus on the role of radiation therapy (both radiotherapy and brachytherapy) in reducing the incidence of cervical cancer. The study consulted publicly accessible datasets to gather information on each nation's radiation therapy equipment, cervical cancer mortality and incidence, gross domestic product (GDP), gross national income (GNI) and population size. This information was used to generate a final dataset for analysis across various African nations, identifying any gaps or areas where improvement is needed. We compared the external beam units (or brachytherapy afterloaders) and unmet needs across nations that had access to either external beam radiation therapy or brachytherapy using a straightforward linear regression. R studio was used for the statistical analysis. Africa's overall unmet need for radiotherapy service was 71.5%. Megavoltage units per cancer incidence and megavoltage units per million population had a strong significant association with economic status (GDP [r2 = 0.83; p < .001]: and GNP [r = 0.83; p < .001]). Additionally, the unmet cervical cancer needs based on the available brachytherapy capacity is about 60%. Interestingly, there was a strong correlation between cervical cancer incidence and brachytherapy capacity. Overall, the study provides valuable insights that can inform policy and decision‐making related to the provision of radiation therapy services in Africa. We expect that international organisations, African Union entities and governments will utilise the Directory of Radiotherapy Centres (DIRAC) initiative as a blueprint for establishing benchmarks and invest in radiotherapy and brachytherapy services in Africa.
Integrating First Nations peoples' cultural capital for sustainable development
Authors: Abeysekera Indra
Published: June 2023

First Nations peoples occupy one‐quarter of the world's land area, safeguarding 80% of its biodiversity. Sustainable development frameworks acknowledge and include culture's role but fail to give it a special place, specifically First Nations peoples' (Indigenous) cultures. Hence, this study presents a sustainable development model that recognises their cultures—the underlying motivation is that adopting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) as the 2030 Sustainability Agenda for these peoples' cultural capital development has posed two challenges. First, the goal‐related targets and indicators are objectified, encouraging these to be attained as separate goals, but since First Nations cultures are based on relationships and interconnectedness, thinking linearly about these goals misaligns with these cultures. Second, these targets and indicators are not framed to provide special recognition and inclusion of these peoples' cultural knowledge as crucial for sustainable development. Therefore, this study uses the Gaia theory, the theory of distributive justice and the interaction theory of First Nations cultures to propose an empirically testable structural equation model for analysing empirical data using the UN SDGs as goal posts, towards advancing sustainable development. A model application is proposed for non‐governmental organisations serving First Nations peoples. The integrated model shows the interrelationships between various types of capital, including these peoples' cultural capital, required for sustainable development.
Sample size for partially nested designs and other nested or crossed designs with a continuous outcome when adjusted for baseline
Authors: Teerenstra Steven , Kasza Jessica , Leontjevas Ruslan , Forbes Andrew B.
Published: June 2023

In a randomized controlled trial, outcomes of different subjects may be independent at baseline, but correlated at a follow‐up measurement due to treatment. This treatment‐related clustering at follow‐up can arise for instance because the treatment is given in a group or because subjects are treated individually but by the same therapist (therapist effect). There is substantial literature on the design and analysis of such trials when estimation of the intervention effect is based on a follow‐up measurement (eg, directly after treatment or at a later time point). However, often the baseline measurement of the outcome is highly correlated with the follow‐up measurement, and this information can be used in the analysis. For a randomized design with a baseline and a follow‐up measurement, we compare sample size requirements for analyses with and without adjustment for this baseline measure. We show that adjusting for baseline reduces required sample size. This reduction depends on the variance of the difference between arms at baseline, the variance of this difference at follow‐up, and the correlation between the two. From this, we derive sample size formulas for partially or fully nested designs, and cluster randomized trials with treatment as a partially or fully cross‐classified factor. Also, we discuss situations where clusters are already present at baseline or where treatment by cluster interaction is present. For the partially nested design, we work out practical design considerations (eg, use of content‐matter input, design factors and optimal allocation ratio) and investigate small sample properties of the sample size formula.
Accumulative Rolling Mg/PLLA Composite Membrane with Lamellar Heterostructure for Enhanced Bacteria Inhibition and Rapid Bone Regeneration
Authors: Wang Xianli , Qian Yuxin , Wang Shuang , Wang Mingxi , Sun Ke , Cheng Zhaojun , Shao Yi , Zhang Shixuan , Tang Chunbo , Chu Chenglin , Xue Feng , Tao Li , Lu Mengmeng , Bai Jing
Published: June 2023

Developing composite materials with optimized mechanics, degradation, and bioactivity for bone regeneration has long been a crucial mission. Herein, a multifunctional Mg/Poly‐l‐lactic acid (Mg/PLLA) composite membrane based on the “materials plain” concept through the accumulative rolling (AR) method is proposed. Results show that at a rolling ratio of 75%, the comprehensive mechanical properties of the membrane in the rolling direction are self‐reinforced significantly (elongation at break ≈53.2%, tensile strength ≈104.0 MPa, Young's modulus ≈2.13 GPa). This enhancement is attributed to the directional arrangement and increased crystallization of PLLA molecular chains, as demonstrated by SAXS and DSC results. Furthermore, the AR composite membrane presents a lamellar heterostructure, which not only avoids the accumulation of Mg microparticles (MgMPs) but also regulates the degradation rate. Through the contribution of bioactive MgMPs and their photothermal effect synergistically, the membrane effectively eliminates bacterial infection and accelerates vascularized bone regeneration both in vitro and in vivo. Notably, the membrane exhibits outstanding rat skull bone regeneration performance in only 4 weeks, surpassing most literature reports. In short, this work develops a composite membrane with a “one stone, four birds” effect, opening an efficient avenue toward high‐performance orthopedic materials.
Machine learning testing in an ADAS case study using simulation‐integrated bio‐inspired search‐based testing
Authors: Moghadam Mahshid Helali , Borg Markus , Saadatmand Mehrdad , Mousavirad Seyed Jalaleddin , Bohlin Markus , Lisper Björn
Published: June 2023

This paper presents an extended version of Deeper, a search‐based simulation‐integrated test solution that generates failure‐revealing test scenarios for testing a deep neural network‐based lane‐keeping system. In the newly proposed version, we utilize a new set of bio‐inspired search algorithms, genetic algorithm (GA), and evolution strategies (ES), and particle swarm optimization (PSO), that leverage a quality population seed and domain‐specific crossover and mutation operations tailored for the presentation model used for modeling the test scenarios. In order to demonstrate the capabilities of the new test generators within Deeper, we carry out an empirical evaluation and comparison with regard to the results of five participating tools in the cyber‐physical systems testing competition at SBST 2021. Our evaluation shows the newly proposed test generators in Deeper not only represent a considerable improvement on the previous version but also prove to be effective and efficient in provoking a considerable number of diverse failure‐revealing test scenarios for testing an ML‐driven lane‐keeping system. They can trigger several failures while promoting test scenario diversity, under a limited test time budget, high target failure severity, and strict speed limit constraints.
Rheological and Biological Impact of Printable PCL‐Fibers as Reinforcing Fillers in Cell‐Laden Spider‐Silk Bio‐Inks
Authors: Schaefer Natascha , Andrade Mier Mateo S. , Sonnleitner David , Murenu Nicoletta , Ng Xuen Jen , Lamberger Zan , Buechner Margitta , Trossmann Vanessa T. , Schubert Dirk W. , Scheibel Thomas , Lang Gregor
Published: June 2023

The development of bio‐inks capable of being 3D‐printed into cell‐containing bio‐fabricates with sufficient shape fidelity is highly demanding. Structural integrity and favorable mechanical properties can be achieved by applying high polymer concentrations in hydrogels. Unfortunately, this often comes at the expense of cell performance since cells may become entrapped in the dense matrix. This drawback can be addressed by incorporating fibers as reinforcing fillers that strengthen the overall bio‐ink structure and provide a second hierarchical micro‐structure to which cells can adhere and align, resulting in enhanced cell activity. In this work, the potential impact of collagen‐coated short polycaprolactone‐fibers on cells after being printed in a hydrogel is systematically studied. The matrix is composed of eADF4(C16), a recombinant spider silk protein that is cytocompatible but non‐adhesive for cells. Consequently, the impact of fibers could be exclusively examined, excluding secondary effects induced by the matrix. Applying this model system, a significant impact of such fillers on rheology and cell behavior is observed. Strikingly, it could be shown that fibers reduce cell viability upon printing but subsequently promote cell performance in the printed construct, emphasizing the need to distinguish between in‐print and post‐print impact of fillers in bio‐inks.
P‐DNN: Parallel DNN based IDS framework for the detection of IoT vulnerabilities
Authors: B S Sharmila , Nagapadma Rohini
Published: June 2023

The rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) in our daily life has recently received attention from hackers in releasing novel attacks. This is because the existing traditional Intrusion Detection System (IDS) uses an alert‐based approach that cannot detect new emerging attacks, making it unfeasible for devices with limited resources. The study presents the deployment of a Parallel Deep Neural Network (P‐DNN) IDS framework to improve the detection rate and resource constraint issues. To validate the framework for detecting the latest IoT vulnerabilities, we generated a proprietary dataset created under the IoT environment. The experimental results reveal that the P‐DNN IDS framework proposed in this study outperformed the K‐nearest Neighbour (KNN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Naive Bayes algorithms with respect to performance metrics. In addition, a comparative analysis of the P‐DNN framework with Snort and Suricata IDS results demonstrates a significant reduction in CPU consumption, memory utilization, and processing time. The results of this investigation indicate that the deployment of the P‐DNN framework has the capability to detect vulnerabilities in resource‐constraint IoT environments effectively.
A Combination of Chaotic Harris Hawks Optimizer‐Stacking Model and Kernel Density Estimation Method for Pressing Force Prediction During Slab Sizing Press Process
Authors: Wu Wenteng , Peng Wen , Wang Wenbo , Liu Jinyun , Cao Guangming , Li Xudong , Sun Jie , Zhang Dianhua
Published: June 2023

During the slab sizing press (SP) process, the pressing force corresponds to the slab profile, which guides the production schedule design and the final profile control. To accomplish the prediction of pressing force for SP, an improved ensemble method based on chaotic Harris hawks optimizer (CHHO) and stacking is proposed. A mechanistic knowledge is introduced for feature selection that enhances the rationality of input features. Subsequently, 11 machine learning models are compared and 5 of them are selected as candidate learners for the stacking method. Based on the candidates learners, 8 stacking strategies are constructed, which the stacked model with extratree regressor, gradient boosted decision trees, and kernel ridge regression (KRR) as base‐learners and KRR as meta‐learner performs the best. The R2, MAE, mean square error, mean squared log error, and mean absolute percentage error for the test dataset are 0.9912, 0.0856, 0.0167, 0.0005, and 2.00%, respectively, and 95% of the prediction errors are less than 0.15 MN. Then, sensitivity analysis and predictive analysis based on Shapley Additive Explanations are performed to demonstrate the good alignment of the proposed model with physical reality. Furthermore, to cope with the complexity and uncertainty of the production process, the proposed CHHO‐stacking model and the kernel density estimation method are integrated to model the prediction interval.
Hepatoprotective effect of Artemisia Argyi essential oil on bisphenol A‐induced hepatotoxicity via inhibition of ferroptosis in mice
Authors: Cui Weiqi , Zhou Hui , Zhang Jingxian , Zhang Junwei , Wu Deqiao , Rong Ying , Liu Fanglin , Liu Junhui , Liu Haiyan , Wei Bo , Tang Youcai , Liao Xinglin , Xu Xia
Published: June 2023

The environmental pollutant bisphenol A (BPA), used in the manufacture of plastic packaging materials for various diets, is widely distributed in the environment and causes severe hepatotoxicity by inducing oxidative stress. Artemisia argyi essential oil (AAEO), a volatile oil component isolated from Artemisia argyi H.Lév. & Vaniot, has pharmacological effects, especially for hepatoprotective actions. However, the potential effect of AAEO in BPA induced hepatotoxicity has not been characterized. First, we analyzed the chemical composition in AAEO by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Herein, we investigated the effect of AAEO on hepatic metabolic changes in mice exposed to BPA. Results showed that compared with the BPA group, AAEO could reduce the level of liver function enzymes in BPA mice serum, and ameliorate hepatic lesions and fibrosis. Additionally, 20 differential metabolites screened by metabolomics were mainly involved in the reprogramming of glutathione metabolism, purine metabolism, and polyunsaturated fatty acid synthesis. Moreover, AAEO could reduce hepatic ferroptosis induced by BPA, as demonstrated by reducing xanthine oxidase activity, up‐regulating the activities of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), superoxide dismutase, and catalase and the expression of SLC7A11 to promote the glutathione synthetic, while inhibiting transferrin receptor 1 (TFR1) expression to reduce the accumulation of Fe2+ in cells. Therefore, our study identified AAEO as a hepatic protectant against BPA‐induced hepatotoxicity by reversing the occurrence of ferroptosis.
A Roadmap for Working with Children Who Are Immigrants or Refugees
Authors: López‐Robertson Julia
Published: June 2023

As the number of children who are immigrants or refugees continues to grow due to a variety of issues taking place around the world, i.e., war, political unrest, famine, and persecution, how do schools meet their needs? The article provides advice on working with children who are immigrants or refugees and the importance of viewing them through an asset‐based lens.
Identifying factors associated with UK veterinary nurse resignations through examination of veterinary practice data
Authors: Schofield Imogen , Jacklin Ben D.
Published: June 2023

Background

This study aimed to identify demographic, practice and job‐specific factors that are associated with veterinary nurses resigning from UK companion animal veterinary practices.

Methods

Employment data from nurses working across a group of practices at the end of 2020 were included. Nurses were categorised into those who remained at, or resigned from, their practice in 2021. Proposed risk factors for future resignations were analysed using multivariable binary logistic regression modelling.

Results

In total, 278 of 1642 (16.9%) nurses across 418 practices resigned in 2021. The most frequently recorded reasons for nurses resigning included ‘career progression’ (n = 102; 36.7%), ‘personal reasons’ (n = 36; 12.9%) and ‘better pay or benefits’ (n = 33; 11.9%). Factors associated with lower odds of future nurse resignations included longer tenure (p < 0.001), higher practice property and facilities rating (p = 0.049) and being a head or student nurse (p = 0.008).

Limitations

Data were collected retrospectively and were not recorded for research purposes.

Conclusions

This study highlights key factors that are predictive of veterinary nurse resignations. With known difficulties in staff retention within veterinary practices, analysis of these data is an important addition to the evidence base surrounding the complex issue of nurse retention and could help steer future retention strategies.
Determining the decreasing trend of maternal immunity against small ruminant morbillivirus in goat kids
Authors: Abdollahi Mostafa , Lotfi Mohsen , Lotfollahzadeh Samad , Adibi Maryam , Kamalzadeh Morteza , Firuzyar Sajjad
Published: June 2023

Background

Small ruminant morbillivirus (SRMV) is the etiological agent of Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) disease. PPR is one of the most important viral diseases of small ruminant husbandry. In the endemic countries, vaccination is the main way to control this disease. Administering the first PPR vaccine in goat kids requires decreased maternal immunity.

Objective

The aim of this study was to determine the decreasing trend of maternal immunity against SRMV in goat kids born from vaccinated goats.

Methods

Twenty Saanen goat kids were studied in two groups including control (n = 5, receiving colostrum from unvaccinated goats) and treatment (n = 15, receiving colostrum from vaccinated goats). Virus neutralisation (VN) test was used to evaluate serum specific antibodies against SRMV in goat kids from birth to 100 days of age.

Results

The first goat kid (n = 1) in the treatment group was seronegative at the age of 28 days. All the goat kids were seronegative at the age of 100 days. The average serum titre of the goat kids at the age of 70–100 days became negative.

Conclusions

Some goat kids became seronegative before reaching the age of receiving the first PPR vaccine. The age of 70–100 days could be a good age range to give the first dose of PPR vaccine to the goat kids, but more studies were needed on the effectiveness of this vaccine at this age range.
A step toward calculating the uncertainties in combined GIXRF‐XRR
Authors: Melhem Stephanie , Ménesguen Yves , Nolot Emmanuel , Lépy Marie‐Christine
Published: June 2023

The combination of X‐ray reflectivity (XRR) and grazing incidence X‐ray fluorescence (GIXRF) is a surface sensitive analytical method, which can be used for the characterization of thin films and multilayered materials. Both of these techniques are implemented on the same experimental setup and make use of similar mechanical processes and the same fundamental physical concept required for a combined data analysis. The combination of these techniques removes ambiguous results for the characterization of nanometer layers, as well as nanometer depth profiles, resulting in more accurate characterization of thickness, roughness, density, and elemental composition. Due to the vast number of fitting parameters, the estimation of the thin film sample structure is a challenging task. In this paper, we propose a recursive method for estimating the uncertainties of data from GIXRF‐XRR analysis, based on a Bootstrap statistical method. This approach relies on re‐sampling a dataset to estimate statistics on a population by applying random weights. We applied this method on an as‐deposited chalcogenide germanium, antimony, and tellurium (GST) thin film with a carbon‐capping layer. We found good agreement between the experimental and the theoretical XRR‐GIXRF values for a sample structure model, of which the parameters were determined within a confidence interval using the bootstrap method. We also propose an approach for calculating the uncertainty on the solid angle of detection based on Monte Carlo simulations.
Interplay Between Company-Internal and -External Perspectives on the Internet of Production: Implications for Governance, Organization, Capabilities, and Interfaces
Authors: Lüttgens Dirk , Mertens Alexander , Millan Michael , Nitsch Verena , Piller Frank T. , Pütz Sebastian
Published: June 2023

The Internet of Production (IoP), the global and integrated use of production data, will completely reshape how organizations operate and interact with each other. We introduce how these developments will affect the usage phase including value creation and capture in the future manufacturing ecosystem. Our analysis highlights requirements and implications for governance, organization, capabilities, and interfaces. These factors are considered from both a company internal and a company external perspective on usage as well as in terms of their interplay. The internal perspective focuses on the role of humans in interacting with IoP-based technology in future socio-technical production systems. The external perspective describes how value is captured and shared between stakeholders by incorporating data based on platform-based industrial ecosystems. The interplay of the two perspectives is exemplarily discussed using a foresight study on next-generation manufacturing.
Time to Act! Means of Reducing Positive Illusions
Authors: Kulesza Wojciech , Doliński Dariusz
Published: June 2023

Since it is clear that biased perceptions of great global health risks are harmful, we now turn your attention to tested methods of possible reduction of these biased perceptions. This chapter offers – on the one hand – a promise that it is possible: people may become more realistic, making their health more preventable in future pandemics. Unfortunately, on the other hand, this chapter also outlines some failures in reaching this goal: we present mechanisms that should make us more reasonable when facing COVID-19’s global and deadly consequences but ultimately failed to do so.

This chapter addresses several goals. Firstly, it invites more researchers to explore promising mechanisms in illusion reduction. Secondly, it highlights the first tools to be used by public health experts and policy-makers interested in curbing ongoing COVID-19 and future pandemics.
Opportunistic CP violation
Authors: Bonnefoy Quentin , Gendy Emanuele , Grojean Christophe , Ruderman Joshua T.
Published: June 2023

Abstract

In the electroweak sector of the Standard Model, CP violation arises through a very particular interplay between the three quark generations, as described by the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) mechanism and the single Jarlskog invariant J4. Once generalized to the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT), this peculiar pattern gets modified by higher-dimensional operators, whose associated Wilson coefficients are usually split into CP-even and odd parts. However, CP violation at dimension four, i.e., at the lowest order in the EFT expansion, blurs this distinction: any Wilson coefficient can interfere with J4 and mediate CP violation. In this paper, we study such interferences at first order in the SMEFT expansion, 𝒪(1/Λ2), and we capture their associated parameter space via a set of 1551 linear CP-odd flavor invariants. This construction describes both new, genuinely CP-violating quantities as well as the interference between J4 and CP-conserving ones. We call this latter possibility opportunistic CP violation. Relying on an appropriate extension of the matrix rank to Taylor expansions, which we dub Taylor rank, we define a procedure to organize the invariants in terms of their magnitude, so as to retain only the relevant ones at a given precision. We explore how this characterization changes when different assumptions are made on the flavor structure of the SMEFT coefficients. Interestingly, some of the CP-odd invariants turn out to be less suppressed than J4, even when they capture opportunistic CPV, demonstrating that CP-violation in the SM, at dimension 4, is accidentally small.
Evaluating master integrals in non-factorizable corrections to t-channel single-top production at NNLO QCD
Authors: Wu Zihao , Long Ming-Ming
Published: June 2023

Abstract

We studied the two-loop non-factorizable Feynman diagrams for the t-channel single-top production process in quantum chromodynamics. We present a systematic computation of master integrals of the two-loop Feynman diagrams with one internal massive propagator in which a complete uniform transcendental basis can be built. The master integrals are derived by means of canonical differential equations and uniform transcendental integrals. The results are expressed in the form of Goncharov polylogarithm functions, whose variables are the scalar products of external momenta, as well as the masses of the top quark and the W boson. We also gave a discussion on the diagrams with potential elliptic sectors.
Impact of dimension-8 SMEFT operators on diboson productions
Authors: Degrande Céline , Li Hao-Lin
Published: June 2023

Abstract

We for the first time identify all the dimension-8 (dim-8) SMEFT operators that can have an interference with the SM withE4/Λ4enhancement in the high energy limit for the processes$$ q\overline{q}\to WW/ WZ $$qq¯→WW/WZ. Our results therefore explicitly show that the non-interference observed for the dimension-six does not extend to dimension-eight. We compute the contributions of those dimension-8 operators to the cross-section at the 14 TeV Large Hadron Collider and compare the results with dimension-6 (dim-6) originated corrections at the order of dim-6-SM interference and dim-6 squared. We find one (two) dim-8 operator(s) can generate amplitudes of a similar order of magnitude compared with their dim-6 squared counterparts assuming unity dimensionless Wilson coefficients. During the study, new non-interference scenarios are found due to the selection rule of angular momentum as well as strong suppression due to the symmetric initial state for the proton-proton collider.
Deformation of d = 4, $$ \mathcal{N} $$ ≥ 5 supergravities breaks nonlinear local supersymmetry
Authors: Kallosh Renata , Yamada Yusuke
Published: June 2023

Abstract

We study d = 4, $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
≥ 5 supergravities and their deformation via candidate counterterms, with the purpose to absorb UV divergences. We generalize the earlier studies of deformation and twisted self-duality constraint to the case with unbroken local $$ \mathcal{H} $$
H
-symmetry in presence of fermions. We find that the deformed action breaks nonlinear local supersymmetry. We show that all known cases of enhanced UV divergence cancellations are explained by nonlinear local supersymmetry.

This result implies, in particular, that if $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
= 5 supergravity at five loop will turn out to be UV divergent, the deformed theory will be BRST inconsistent. If it will be finite, it will be a consequence of nonlinear local supersymmetry and E7-type duality.
Strong convergence of weighted gradients in parabolic equations and applications to global generalized solvability of cross-diffusive systems
Authors: Fuest Mario
Published: June 2023

In the first part of the present paper, we show that strong convergence of $$(v_{0 \varepsilon })_{\varepsilon \in (0, 1)}$$

(

v

0
ε

)

ε
∈
(
0
,
1
)

in $$L^1(\Omega )$$

L
1

(
Ω
)

and weak convergence of $$(f_{\varepsilon })_{\varepsilon \in (0, 1)}$$

(

f
ε

)

ε
∈
(
0
,
1
)

in $$L_{\text {loc}}^1({{\overline{\Omega }}} \times [0, \infty ))$$

L

loc

1

(

Ω
¯

×

[
0
,
∞
)

)

not only suffice to conclude that solutions to the initial boundary value problem $$\begin{aligned} {\left\{ \begin{array}{ll} v_{\varepsilon t} = \Delta v_\varepsilon + f_\varepsilon (x, t) &{} \text {in }\Omega \times (0, \infty ), \\ \partial _\nu v_\varepsilon = 0 &{} \text {on }\partial \Omega \times (0, \infty ), \\ v_\varepsilon (\cdot , 0) = v_{0 \varepsilon } &{} \text {in }\Omega , \end{array}\right. } \end{aligned}$$

v

ε
t

=
Δ

v
ε

+

f
ε

(
x
,
t
)

in

Ω
×
(
0
,
∞
)
,

∂
ν

v
ε

=
0

on

∂
Ω
×
(
0
,
∞
)
,

v
ε

(
·
,
0
)

=

v

0
ε

in

Ω
,

which we consider in smooth, bounded domains $$\Omega $$
Ω
, converge to the unique weak solution of the limit problem, but that also certain weighted gradients of $$v_\varepsilon $$

v
ε

converge strongly in $$L_{\text {loc}}^2({{\overline{\Omega }}} \times [0, \infty ))$$

L

loc

2

(

Ω
¯

×

[
0
,
∞
)

)

along a subsequence. We then make use of these findings to obtain global generalized solutions to various cross-diffusive systems. Inter alia, we establish global generalized solvability of the system $$\begin{aligned} {\left\{ \begin{array}{ll} u_t = \Delta u - \chi \nabla \cdot (\frac{u}{v} \nabla v) + g(u), \\ v_t = \Delta v - uv, \end{array}\right. } \end{aligned}$$

u
t

=
Δ
u
-
χ
∇
·

(

u
v

∇
v
)

+
g

(
u
)

,

v
t

=
Δ
v
-
u
v
,

where $$\chi > 0$$

χ
>
0

and $$g \in C^1([0, \infty ))$$

g
∈

C
1

(

[
0
,
∞
)

)

are given, merely provided that ($$g(0) \ge 0$$

g
(
0
)
≥
0

and) $$-g$$

-
g

grows superlinearly. This result holds in all space dimensions and does neither require any symmetry assumptions nor the smallness of certain parameters. Thereby, we expand on a corresponding result for quadratically growing $$-g$$

-
g

proved by Lankeit and Lankeit (Nonlinearity 32(5):1569–1596, 2019).
Total intravenous anesthesia for geriatric hip fracture with severe systemic disease
Authors: Huang Yu-Yi , Hui Chung-Kun , Lau Ngi-Chiong , Ng Yuet-Tong , Lin Tung-Yi , Chen Chien-Hao , Wang Ying-Chih , Tang Hao-Che , Chen Dave Wei-Chih , Chang Chia-Wei
Published: June 2023

Purpose

Our study aimed to determine the impact of a novel technique of anesthesia administration on the clinical outcomes and complications in geriatric patients with severe systemic disease undergoing hip surgery.

Methods

We retrospectively identified patients aged > 65 years with severe systemic disease that was a constant of life [American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) IV] who underwent surgery for hip fracture between January 2018 and January 2020. The patients were divided into two groups: Group I [fascia iliaca compartment block plus propofol-based total intravenous anesthesia (FICB + TIVA)] and Group II [general anesthesia (GA)]. The primary outcomes were 30-day and 1-year mortality. The secondary outcomes included length of hospital stay, length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, postoperative morbidity, Visual Analog Scale score, and consumption of analgesics.

Results

There was no significant difference in the 30-day mortality (5 vs. 3.8%, p = 0.85) and 1-year mortality (15 vs. 12%, p = 0.73) between the groups. Group I had significantly lower ICU requirements (p = 0.01) and shorter lengths of ICU stay (p < 0.001) and hospital stay (p < 0.001). Moreover, a smaller proportion of patients in Group I required postoperative morphine or oral opiates.

Conclusion

Geriatric patients who underwent hip surgery under FICB + TIVA required fewer ICU admissions, shorter lengths of ICU and hospital stay, and had lesser postoperative opioid consumption than those who were under GA. Hence, we recommend the novel FICB + TIVA technique for hip fracture surgery in geriatric patients with poor general health status and high surgical risks (ASA IV).
One more trip to Barcetona: on the special status of visual similarity effects in city names
Authors: Perea Manuel , Labusch Melanie , Fernández-López María , Marcet Ana , Gutierrez-Sigut Eva , Gómez Pablo
Published: June 2023

Previous research has shown that, unlike misspelled common words, misspelled brand names are sensitive to visual letter similarity effects (e.g., is often recognized as a legitimate brand name, but not ). This pattern poses problems for those models that assume that word identification is exclusively based on abstract codes. Here, we investigated the role of visual letter similarity using another type of word often presented in a more homogenous format than common words: city names. We found a visual letter similarity effect for misspelled city names (e.g., was often recognized as a word, but not ) for relatively short durations of the stimuli (200 ms; Experiment 2), but not when the stimuli were presented until response (Experiment 1). Notably, misspelled common words did not show a visual letter similarity effect for brief 200- and 150-ms durations (e.g., was not as often recognized as a word than ; Experiments 3–4). These findings provide further evidence that the consistency in the format of presentations may shape the representation of words in the mental lexicon, which may be more salient in scenarios where processing resources are limited (e.g., brief exposure presentations).
Clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of triple-negative breast cancer invasive ductal carcinoma with ductal carcinoma in situ
Authors: Liu Yang , Yu Tong
Published: June 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of patients with invasive ductal carcinoma coexisting with ductal carcinoma in situ (IDC-DCIS) and invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), and to explore the factors affecting the prognosis, so as to provide new ideas for clinical diagnosis and treatment of these patients.

Methods

The patients with TNBC underwent surgery in the Department of Breast Surgery of Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital from October 2012 to December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed and divided into IDC-DCIS group and IDC group. The clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of the two groups were compared. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

A total of 358 patients were enrolled. There were significant differences in age (P = 0.002), family history (P = 0.016), menopausal status (P = 0.003), KI-67% (P < 0.001), lymphovascular invasion (P = 0.010), histologic grade of IDC (P < 0.001) and multifocal (P < 0.001) between the two groups. The disease-free survival (DFS) of the IDC-DCIS group was better than that of the IDC group (the 5-year DFS was 87.9% vs. 82.6%, P = 0.045), but the overall survival (OS) of the two groups was not statistically significant (the 5-year OS was 96.2% vs. 96.0%, P = 0.573). In addition, the coexistence of DCIS (P = 0.030), lymph node pathologic stage (P = 0.001), tumor location (P = 0.011), and adjuvant chemotherapy (P < 0.001) were independent prognostic factors for DFS.

Conclusion

In TNBC, the IDC-DCIS group had less invasive biological characteristics. The DFS of the IDC-DCIS group was better than that of the IDC group, but there was no statistical difference in OS between the two groups. In addition, the coexistence of DCIS, lymph node stage, tumor location and adjuvant chemotherapy may be independent prognostic factors for DFS.
Integration of bulk RNA sequencing data and single-cell RNA sequencing analysis on the heterogeneity in patients with colorectal cancer
Authors: Zhang Jiawei , Wu Yangsheng , Shen Zhong
Published: June 2023

The cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)-stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway has emerged as a critical innate immune pathway that could virtually impact nearly all aspects of tumorigenesis including colorectal cancer. This work aimed to develop and validate molecular subtypes related to cGAS-STING pathways for colorectal cancer using Bulk RNA-seq and single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) data. Bulk RNA-seq data were acquired from The Cancer Genome Atlas dataset (training dataset) and Gene Expression Omnibus dataset (validation dataset). Univariate COX survival analysis was utilized to identify prognostic differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from 6 immune pathways related to cGAS-STING. ConsensusClusterPlus package was used to classify different subtypes based on DEGs. scRNA-seq data were used to validate differences in immune status between different subtypes. Two clusters with distinct prognosis were identified based on 27 DEGs. The six cGAS-STING-related pathways had different levels of significance between the two clusters. Clust1 had most number of amplified CNVs and clust2 had the most number of loss CNVs. TP53 was the top mutated gene of which missense mutations contributed the most of single-nucleotide variants. Immune score of clust1 was higher than that in clust2, as reflected in macrophages, T cells, and natural killer cells. Three unfavorable genes and 31 protection factors were screened between the two clusters in three datasets. ScRNA-seq data analysis demonstrated that macrophages were more enriched in clust1, and tumor cells and immune cells had close interaction. We classified two distinct subtypes with different prognosis, mutation landscape, and immune characteristics.
Model-Guided Design and Optimization of CPA Perfusion Protocols for Whole Organ Cryopreservation
Authors: Han Zonghu , Rao Joseph Sushil , Ramesh Srivasupradha , Hergesell Jan , Namsrai Bat-Erdene , Etheridge Michael L. , Finger Erik B. , Bischof John C.
Published: June 2023

Vitrification could enable long-term organ preservation, but only after loading high-concentration, potentially toxic cryoprotective agents (CPAs) by perfusion. In this paper, we combine a two-compartment Krogh cylinder model with a toxicity cost function to theoretically optimize the loading of CPA (VMP) in rat kidneys as a model system. First, based on kidney perfusion experiments, we systematically derived the parameters for a CPA transport loading model, including the following: Vb = 86.0% (ra = 3.86 μm), Lp = 1.5 × 10–14 m3/(N·s), ω = 7.0 × 10–13 mol/(N·s), σ = 0.10. Next, we measured the toxicity cost function model parameters as α = 3.12 and β = 9.39 × 10–6. Combining these models, we developed an improved kidney-loading protocol predicted to achieve vitrification while minimizing toxicity. The optimized protocol resulted in shorter exposure (25 min or 18.5% less) than the gold standard kidney-loading protocol for VMP, which had been developed based on decades of empirical practice. After testing both protocols on rat kidneys, we found comparable physical and biological outcomes. While we did not dramatically reduce toxicity, we did reduce the time. As our approach is now validated, it can be used on other organs lacking defined toxicity data to reduce CPA exposure time and provide a rapid path toward developing CPA perfusion protocols for other organs and CPAs.
Big data optimisation and management in supply chain management: a systematic literature review
Authors: Alsolbi Idrees , Shavaki Fahimeh Hosseinnia , Agarwal Renu , Bharathy Gnana K , Prakash Shiv , Prasad Mukesh
Published: June 2023

The increasing interest from technology enthusiasts and organisational practitioners in big data applications in the supply chain has encouraged us to review recent research development. This paper proposes a systematic literature review to explore the available peer-reviewed literature on how big data is widely optimised and managed within the supply chain management context. Although big data applications in supply chain management appear to be often studied and reported in the literature, different angles of big data optimisation and management technologies in the supply chain are not clearly identified. This paper adopts the explanatory literature review involving bibliometric analysis as the primary research method to answer two research questions, namely: (1) How to optimise big data in supply chain management? and (2) What tools are most used to manage big data in supply chain management? A total of thirty-seven related papers are reviewed to answer the two research questions using the content analysis method. The paper also reveals some research gaps that lead to prospective future research directions.
Automated market maker inventory management with deep reinforcement learning
Authors: Vicente Óscar Fernández , Fernández Fernando , García Javier
Published: June 2023

Stock markets are the result of the interaction of multiple participants, and market makers are one of them. Their main goal is to provide liquidity and market depth to the stock market by streaming bids and offers at both sides of the order book, at different price levels. This activity allows the rest of the participants to have more available prices to buy or sell stocks. In the last years, reinforcement learning market maker agents have been able to be profitable. But profit is not the only measure to evaluate the quality of a market maker. Inventory management arises as a risk source that must be under control. In this paper, we focus on inventory risk management designing an adaptive reward function able to control inventory depending on designer preferences. To achieve this, we introduce two control coefficients, AIIF (Alpha Inventory Impact Factor) and DITF (Dynamic Inventory Threshold Factor), which modulate dynamically the behavior of the market maker agent according to its evolving liquidity with good results. In addition, we analyze the impact of these factors in the trading operative, detailing the underlying strategies performed by these intelligent agents in terms of operative, profitability and inventory management. Last, we present a comparison with other existing reward functions to illustrate the robustness of our approach.

Graphic Abstract
Safety, feasibility, and hemodynamic response of regadenoson for stress perfusion CMR
Authors: Muñiz-Sáenz-Diez Javier , Ezponda Ana , Caballeros Meylin , de la Fuente Ana , Gavira Juan J. , Bastarrika Gorka
Published: June 2023

Owing to its pharmacodynamics and posology, the use of regadenoson for stress cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has potential advantages over other vasodilators. We sought to evaluate the safety, hemodynamic response and diagnostic performance of regadenoson stress-CMR in routine clinical practice. All regadenoson stress-CMR examinations performed between May 2017 and July 2020 at our institution were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 698 studies were included for the final analysis. A conventional stress/rest protocol was performed using a 1.5T MRI scanner (Magnetom Aera, Siemens Healthineers, Erlangen, Germany). Adverse events, clinical symptoms, and hemodynamic response were assessed. Diagnostic accuracy of the test was evaluated in patients who underwent invasive coronary angiography. Nearly half of patients (48.5%) remained asymptomatic. Most common clinical symptoms included dyspnea (137, 19.6%), chest pain (116, 16.6%) and flushing (44, 6.3%). Two patients (0.28%) could not complete the examination due to severe hypotension or unbearable chest pain. Overall, an increase in heart rate (HR) response (36.2% [IQR: 22.5?50.9]) and a decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) (median systolic BP response of -5% [IQR: -11.5-0.6]; median diastolic BP response of -6.3 mmHg [IQR: -13.4-0]) was observed. Patients with symptoms induced by regadenoson showed higher HR response (40.3%, IQR: 26.4?56.1 vs. 32.4%, IQR: 19-45.6, p < 0.001), whereas a blunted HR response was observed in diabetic (29.6%, IQR: 18.4?42 p < 0.001), obese (31.7%, IQR: 20.7?46.2 p = 0.005) and patients aged 70 years or older (32.9%, IQR: 22.6?43.1 p < 0.001). Overall, regadenoson stress-CMR showed 95.65% (IQ 91.49?99.81) sensitivity, 54.84% (IQ 35.71?73.97) specificity, 86.99% (IQ 82.74?94.68) positive predictive value, and 77.27% (IQ 57.49?97.06) negative predictive value for detecting significant coronary stenosis as compared with invasive coronary angiography. Regadenoson is a well-tolerated vasodilator that can be safely employed for stress perfusion CMR, with high diagnostic performance.
Exploring fish functional trait assemblages in Eastern Mediterranean rivers: a study across multiple scales using network analysis
Authors: Tachos Vassilis , Koutsikos Nicholas , Dimitrakopoulos Panayiotis G. , Zogaris Stamatis
Published: June 2023

Functional traits of river fish assemblages have rarely been studied in the Eastern Mediterranean region. A dataset of 254 Greek electrofished near-natural sites (427 samples) was analyzed to explore native fish functional structure across three spatial scales: (a) among six ecoregions, (b) within a single ecoregion, and (c) in a river basin. Overall, 76 native fish species were assigned eight functional categories, involving 24 different traits. Bipartite networks were used to interpret spatial patterns of species trait data. Two major trait assemblage types were detected in all three spatial scales: the upland type, dominated by insectivorous, benthic, rheophilic, intolerant species, and the lowland type, incorporating omnivorous, limnophilic, phytophilic, and tolerant species. In order to provide further insights between traits and key environmental variables, redundancy analysis (RDA) was employed. The RDA depicted a strong upstream–downstream environmental gradient. Upland and lowland assemblage types form two distinct functional zones along the upstream and downstream river stretches, respectively. Yet, no consistent boundary criteria seem to exist between them. Notably, within a region of high fish assemblage heterogeneity such as the Eastern Mediterranean, functional patterns follow well-established phenomena along the upstream–downstream longitudinal profile of temperate lotic waters.
Whole genome sequencing and disease pattern in patients with juvenile polyposis syndrome: a nationwide study
Authors: Jelsig Anne Marie , van Overeem Hansen Thomas , Gede Lene Bjerring , Qvist Niels , Christensen Lise-Lotte , Lautrup Charlotte Kvist , Ljungmann Ken , Christensen Louise Torp , Rønlund Karina , Tørring Pernille Mathiesen , Bertelsen Birgitte , Sunde Lone , Karstensen John Gásdal
Published: June 2023

Juvenile polyposis syndrome (JPS) is a hereditary hamartomatous polyposis syndrome characterized by gastrointestinal juvenile polyps and increased risk of gastrointestinal cancer. Germline pathogenic variants are detected in SMAD4 or BMPR1A, however in a significant number of patients with JPS, the etiology is unknown. From Danish registers, and genetic department and laboratories, we identified all patients in Denmark with a clinical diagnosis of JPS and/or a pathogenic variant in BMPR1A or SMAD4. In patients where no variant had been detected, we performed genetic analysis, including whole genome sequencing. We collected clinical information on all patients to investigate the phenotypic spectrum. Sixty-six patients (mean age 40 years) were included of whom the pathogenic variant was unknown in seven patients. We detected a pathogenic variant in SMAD4 or PTEN in additional three patients and thus ≈ 95% of patients had a pathogenic germline variant. Endoscopic information was available in fifty-two patients (79%) and of these 31 (60%) fulfilled the clinical criteria of JPS. In 41 patients (79%), other types of polyps than juvenile had been removed. Our results suggest that almost all patients with a clinical diagnosis of JPS has a pathogenic variant in mainly BMPR1A, SMAD4, and more rarely PTEN. However, not all patients with a pathogenic variant fulfil the clinical criteria of JPS. We also demonstrated a wide clinical spectrum, and that the histopathology of removed polyps varied.