bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Agile Transformations on Organizational Performance: A Survey of Teams, Programs and Portfolios
Authors: Stettina Christoph Johann , van Els Victor , Croonenberg Job , Visser Joost
Published: June 2021

While many organizations embark on agile transformations, they can lack insight into the actual impact of these transformations across organizational layers.
In this paper, we collect new and study existing evidence on the impact of agile transformations on organizational performance across teams, programs and portfolios. We conducted an international survey collecting the perceptions of agile coaches, transformation leads and other relevant roles, and we correlated levels of agile maturity to the perceptions on dimensions of organizational performance. Based on 134 responses from 29 countries across 16 industries, (1) we consolidated understanding of the benefits of agile transformations based on prior evidence and our data from a more diverse and larger sample, (2) we identified the dimensions impacted by agile transformations as being productivity, responsiveness, quality, workflow health and employee satisfaction & engagement and (3) we traced specific benefits on those dimensions to individual organizational layers of teams, programs and portfolios, showing the magnitude of impact of each dimension per layer. Overall, we can conclude that agile transformations have a variety of strong organizational benefits. This aggregated evidence allows reflection on transformation trends, but also enables organizations to optimize their agile transformation efforts.
Measuring Software Delivery Performance Using the Four Key Metrics of DevOps
Authors: Sallin Marc , Kropp Martin , Anslow Craig , Quilty James W. , Meier Andreas
Published: June 2021

The Four Key Metrics of DevOps have become very popular for measuring IT-performance and DevOps adoption. However, the measurement of the four metrics deployment frequency, lead time for change, time to restore service and change failure rate is often done manually and through surveys - with only few data points. In this work we evaluated how the Four Key Metrics can be measured automatically and developed a prototype for the automatic measurement of the Four Key Metrics. We then evaluated if the measurement is valuable for practitioners in a company. The analysis shows that the chosen measurement approach is both suitable and the results valuable for the team with respect to measuring and improving the software delivery performance.
3d conformal fields with manifest sl(2, ℂ)
Authors: Ponomarev Dmitry
Published: June 2021

Abstract

In the present paper we construct all short representation of so(3, 2) with the sl(2, ℂ) symmetry made manifest due to the use of sl(2, ℂ) spinors. This construction has a natural connection to the spinor-helicity formalism for massless fields in AdS4 suggested earlier. We then study unitarity of the resulting representations, identify them as the lowest-weight modules and as conformal fields in the three-dimensional Minkowski space. Finally, we compare these results with the existing literature and discuss the properties of these representations under contraction of so(3, 2) to the Poincare algebra.
Universal axion backreaction in flux compactifications
Authors: Grimm Thomas W. , Li Chongchuo
Published: June 2021

Abstract

We study the backreaction effect of a large axion field excursion on the saxion partner residing in the same $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
= 1 multiplet. Such configurations are relevant in attempts to realize axion monodromy inflation in string compactifications. We work in the complex structure moduli sector of Calabi-Yau fourfold compactifications of F-theory with four-form fluxes, which covers many of the known Type II orientifold flux compactifications. Noting that axions can only arise near the boundary of the moduli space, the powerful results of asymptotic Hodge theory provide an ideal set of tools to draw general conclusions without the need to focus on specific geometric examples. We find that the boundary structure engraves a remarkable pattern in all possible scalar potentials generated by background fluxes. By studying the Newton polygons of the extremization conditions of all allowed scalar potentials and realizing the backreaction effects as Puiseux expansions, we find that this pattern forces a universal backreaction behavior of the large axion field on its saxion partner.
Development and validation of a cardiovascular risk prediction model in type 1 diabetes
Authors: McGurnaghan Stuart J. , McKeigue Paul M. , Read Stephanie H. , Franzen Stefan , Svensson Ann-Marie , Colombo Marco , Livingstone Shona , Farran Bassam , Caparrotta Thomas M. , Blackbourn Luke A. K. , Mellor Joseph , Thoma Ioanna , Sattar Naveed , Wild Sarah H. , Gudbjörnsdottir Soffia , Colhoun Helen M. ,   on behalf of the Swedish National Diabetes Register and the Scottish Diabetes Research Network Epidemiology Group
Published: June 2021

Aims/hypothesis

We aimed to report current rates of CVD in type 1 diabetes and to develop a CVD risk prediction tool for type 1 diabetes.

Methods

A cohort of 27,527 people with type 1 diabetes without prior CVD was derived from the national register in Scotland. Incident CVD events during 199,552 person-years of follow-up were ascertained using hospital admissions and death registers. A Poisson regression model of CVD was developed and then validated in the Swedish National Diabetes Register (n = 33,183). We compared the percentage with a high 10 year CVD risk (i.e., ≥10%) using the model with the percentage eligible for statins using current guidelines by age.

Results

The age-standardised rate of CVD per 100,000 person-years was 4070 and 3429 in men and women, respectively, with type 1 diabetes in Scotland, and 4014 and 3956 in men and women in Sweden. The final model was well calibrated (Hosmer–Lemeshow testp > 0.05) and included a further 22 terms over a base model of age, sex and diabetes duration (C statistic 0.82; 95% CI 0.81, 0.83). The model increased the base model C statistic from 0.66 to 0.80, from 0.60 to 0.75 and from 0.62 to 0.68 in those aged <40, 40–59 and ≥ 60 years, respectively (allpvalues <0.005). The model required minimal calibration in Sweden and had a C statistic of 0.85. Under current guidelines, >90% of those aged 20–39 years and 100% of those≥40 years with type 1 diabetes were eligible for statins, but it was not until age 65 upwards that 100% had a modelled risk of CVD≥10% in 10 years.

Conclusions/interpretation

A prediction tool such as that developed here can provide individualised risk predictions. This 10 year CVD risk prediction tool could facilitate patient discussions regarding appropriate statin prescribing. Apart from 10 year risk, such discussions may also consider longer-term CVD risk, the potential for greater benefits from early vs later statin intervention, the potential impact on quality of life of an early CVD event and evidence on safety, all of which could influence treatment decisions, particularly in younger people with type 1 diabetes.

Graphical abstract
Are people with metabolically healthy obesity really healthy? A prospective cohort study of 381,363 UK Biobank participants
Authors: Zhou Ziyi , Macpherson John , Gray Stuart R. , Gill Jason M. R. , Welsh Paul , Celis-Morales Carlos , Sattar Naveed , Pell Jill P. , Ho Frederick K.
Published: June 2021

Aims/hypothesis

People with obesity and a normal metabolic profile are sometimes referred to as having ‘metabolically healthy obesity’ (MHO). However, whether this group of individuals are actually ‘healthy’ is uncertain. This study aims to examine the associations of MHO with a wide range of obesity-related outcomes.

Methods

This is a population-based prospective cohort study of 381,363 UK Biobank participants with a median follow-up of 11.2 years. MHO was defined as having a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 and at least four of the six metabolically healthy criteria. Outcomes included incident diabetes and incident and fatal atherosclerotic CVD (ASCVD), heart failure (HF) and respiratory diseases.

Results

Compared with people who were not obese at baseline, those with MHO had higher incident HF (HR 1.60; 95% CI 1.45, 1.75) and respiratory disease (HR 1.20; 95% CI 1.16, 1.25) rates, but not higher ASCVD. The associations of MHO were generally weaker for fatal outcomes and only significant for all-cause (HR 1.12; 95% CI 1.04, 1.21) and HF mortality rates (HR 1.44; 95% CI 1.09, 1.89). However, when compared with people who were metabolically healthy without obesity, participants with MHO had higher rates of incident diabetes (HR 4.32; 95% CI 3.83, 4.89), ASCVD (HR 1.18; 95% CI 1.10, 1.27), HF (HR 1.76; 95% CI 1.61, 1.92), respiratory diseases (HR 1.28; 95% CI 1.24, 1.33) and all-cause mortality (HR 1.22; 95% CI 1.14, 1.31). The results with a 5 year landmark analysis were similar.

Conclusions/interpretation

Weight management should be recommended to all people with obesity, irrespective of their metabolic status, to lower risk of diabetes, ASCVD, HF and respiratory diseases. The term ‘MHO’ should be avoided as it is misleading and different strategies for risk stratification should be explored.

Graphical abstract
Costless delay in negotiations
Authors: Herings P. Jean-Jacques , Houba Harold
Published: June 2021

We study bargaining models in discrete time with a finite number of players, stochastic selection of the proposing player, endogenously determined sets and orders of responders, and a finite set of feasible alternatives. The standard optimality conditions and system of recursive equations may not be sufficient for the existence of a subgame perfect equilibrium in stationary strategies (SSPE) in case of costless delay. We present a characterization of SSPE that is valid for both costly and costless delay. We address the relationship between an SSPE under costless delay and the limit of SSPEs under vanishing costly delay. An SSPE always exists when delay is costly, but not necessarily so under costless delay, even when mixed strategies are allowed for. This is surprising as a quasi SSPE, a solution to the optimality conditions and the system of recursive equations, always exists. The problem is caused by the potential singularity of the system of recursive equations, which is intimately related to the possibility of perpetual disagreement in the bargaining process.
Consuming Different Structural Parts of Bamboo Induce Gut Microbiome Changes in Captive Giant Pandas
Authors: Yan Zheng , Xu Qin , Hsu Walter H. , Esser Stephan Schmitz , Ayala James , Hou Rong , Yao Ying , Jiang Dandan , Yuan Shibin , Wang Hairui
Published: June 2021

Giant pandas consume different structural parts of bamboo (shoots, leaves and culms) during different seasons. Previous research showed different bamboo parts have varying nutritional content and that a long-term diet consisting of a single part of bamboo resulted in remarkable metabolic changes within captive giant pandas. However, the effects on the gut microbiome of giant pandas, as a result of a single bamboo part diet, have not been investigated. Here, we evaluated the changes in gut microbial communities based on single bamboo part diets and their potential implications by using 16S rRNA gene-based amplicon sequencing and metagenome shotgun sequencing. We found that the composition and function of the gut microbiome from captive giant pandas fed exclusively culms were significantly different from that of individuals fed shoots or leaves. During the culm feeding period, the gut microbiome showed strongest digestive capabilities for cellulose, hemicellulose and starch, and had the highest potential abilities for the biosynthesis of bile acids, fatty acids and amino acids. This suggests the microbiome aids in breaking down culm, which is more difficult for giant pandas to digest, as a means to compensate for the nutrient poor content of the culm. Genes related to fatty acid metabolism and tricarboxylic acid cycle enzymes were more abundant during the leaf stage diet than that in the shoot and culm stages. Thus, the microbiome may help giant pandas, which typically have low lipase levels, with fat digestion. These results illustrate that adaptive changes in the gut microbiome community and function may be an important mechanism to aid giant panda digestion when consuming different structural parts of bamboo.
A phenomenological spiking model for octopus cells in the posterior–ventral cochlear nucleus
Authors: Rebhan Michael , Leibold Christian
Published: June 2021

Octopus cells in the posteroventral cochlear nucleus exhibit characteristic onset responses to broad band transients but are little investigated in response to more complex sound stimuli. In this paper, we propose a phenomenological, but biophysically motivated, modeling approach that allows to simulate responses of large populations of octopus cells to arbitrary sound pressure waves. The model depends on only few parameters and reproduces basic physiological characteristics like onset firing and phase locking to amplitude modulations. Simulated responses to speech stimuli suggest that octopus cells are particularly sensitive to high-frequency transients in natural sounds and their sustained firing to phonemes provides a population code for sound level.
Forty years after the first totally implantable venous access device (TIVAD) implant: the pure surgical cut-down technique only avoids immediate complications that can be fatal
Authors: Toro Adriana , Schembari Elena , Fontana Emanuele Gaspare , Di Saverio Salomone , Di Carlo Isidoro
Published: June 2021

Aim

Even though TIVADs have been implanted for a long time, immediate complications are still occurring. The aim of this work was to review different techniques of placing TIVAD implants to evaluate the aetiology of immediate complications.

Methods

A systematic literature review was performed using the PubMed, Cochrane and Google Scholar databases in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. The patient numbers, number of implanted devices, specialists involved, implant techniques, implant sites and immediate complication onsets were studied.

Results

Of the 1256 manuscripts reviewed, 36 were eligible for inclusion in the study, for a total of 17,388 patients with equivalent TIVAD implantation. A total of 2745 patients (15.8%) were treated with a surgical technique and 14,643 patients (84.2%) were treated with a percutaneous technique. Of the 2745 devices (15.8%) implanted by a surgical technique, 1721 devices (62.7%) were placed in the cephalic vein (CFV). Of the 14,643 implants (84.2%) placed with a percutaneous technique, 5784 devices (39.5%) were placed in the internal jugular vein (IJV), and 5321 devices (36.3%) were placed in the subclavian vein (SCV). The number of immediate complications in patients undergoing surgical techniques was 32 (1.2%) HMMs. In patients treated with a percutaneous technique, the number of total complications were 333 (2.8%): 71 PNX (0.5%), 2 HMT (0.01%), 175 accidental artery punctures AAP (1.2%) and 85 HMM (0.6%). No mortality was reported with either technique.

Conclusion

The percutaneous approach is currently the most commonly used technique to implant a TIVAD, but despite specialist’s best efforts, immediate complications are still occurring. Surgical cut-down, 40 years after the first implant, is still the only technique that can avoid all of the immediate complications that can be fatal.
Scheduling in the Random-Order Model
Authors: Albers Susanne , Janke Maximilian
Published: June 2021

Makespan minimization on identical machines is a fundamental problem in online scheduling. The goal is to assign a sequence of jobs to m identical parallel machines so as to minimize the maximum completion time of any job. Already in the 1960s, Graham showed that Greedy is $$(2-1/m)$$

(
2
-
1
/
m
)

-competitive. The best deterministic online algorithm currently known achieves a competitive ratio of 1.9201. No deterministic online strategy can obtain a competitiveness smaller than 1.88. In this paper, we study online makespan minimization in the popular random-order model, where the jobs of a given input arrive as a random permutation. It is known that Greedy does not attain a competitive factor asymptotically smaller than 2 in this setting. We present the first improved performance guarantees. Specifically, we develop a deterministic online algorithm that achieves a competitive ratio of 1.8478. The result relies on a new analysis approach. We identify a set of properties that a random permutation of the input jobs satisfies with high probability. Then we conduct a worst-case analysis of our algorithm, for the respective class of permutations. The analysis implies that the stated competitiveness holds not only in expectation but with high probability. Moreover, it provides mathematical evidence that job sequences leading to higher performance ratios are extremely rare, pathological inputs. We complement the results by lower bounds, for the random-order model. We show that no deterministic online algorithm can achieve a competitive ratio smaller than 4/3. Moreover, no deterministic online algorithm can attain a competitiveness smaller than 3/2 with high probability.
Correction to: Comparison between microcatheter and nebulizer for generating Pressurized IntraPeritoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC)
Authors: Toussaint Laura , Sautkin Yaroslav , Illing Barbara , Weinreich Frank‑Jürgen , Nadiradze Giorgi , Königsrainer Alfred , Wichmann Dörte
Published: June 2021

A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-021-08577-w
Computing the Sound of the Sea in a Seashell
Authors: Ben-Artzi Jonathan , Marletta Marco , Rösler Frank
Published: June 2021

The question of whether there exists an approximation procedure to compute the resonances of any Helmholtz resonator, regardless of its particular shape, is addressed. A positive answer is given, and it is shown that all that one has to assume is that the resonator chamber is bounded and that its boundary is $${{\mathcal {C}}}^2$$

C

2

. The proof is constructive, providing a universal algorithm which only needs to access the values of the characteristic function of the chamber at any requested point.
How to train your differentiable filter
Authors: Kloss Alina , Martius Georg , Bohg Jeannette
Published: June 2021

In many robotic applications, it is crucial to maintain a belief about the state of a system, which serves as input for planning and decision making and provides feedback during task execution. Bayesian Filtering algorithms address this state estimation problem, but they require models of process dynamics and sensory observations and the respective noise characteristics of these models. Recently, multiple works have demonstrated that these models can be learned by end-to-end training through differentiable versions of recursive filtering algorithms. In this work, we investigate the advantages of differentiable filters (DFs) over both unstructured learning approaches and manually-tuned filtering algorithms, and provide practical guidance to researchers interested in applying such differentiable filters. For this, we implement DFs with four different underlying filtering algorithms and compare them in extensive experiments. Specifically, we (i) evaluate different implementation choices and training approaches, (ii) investigate how well complex models of uncertainty can be learned in DFs, (iii) evaluate the effect of end-to-end training through DFs and (iv) compare the DFs among each other and to unstructured LSTM models.
Cost-efficiency assessments of marine monitoring methods lack rigor—a systematic mapping of literature and an end-user view on optimal cost-efficiency analysis
Authors: Hyvärinen Heini , Skyttä Annaliina , Jernberg Susanna , Meissner Kristian , Kuosa Harri , Uusitalo Laura
Published: June 2021

Global deterioration of marine ecosystems, together with increasing pressure to use them, has created a demand for new, more efficient and cost-efficient monitoring tools that enable assessing changes in the status of marine ecosystems. However, demonstrating the cost-efficiency of a monitoring method is not straightforward as there are no generally applicable guidelines. Our study provides a systematic literature mapping of methods and criteria that have been proposed or used since the year 2000 to evaluate the cost-efficiency of marine monitoring methods. We aimed to investigate these methods but discovered that examples of actual cost-efficiency assessments in literature were rare, contradicting the prevalent use of the term “cost-efficiency.” We identified five different ways to compare the cost-efficiency of a marine monitoring method: (1) the cost–benefit ratio, (2) comparative studies based on an experiment, (3) comparative studies based on a literature review, (4) comparisons with other methods based on literature, and (5) subjective comparisons with other methods based on experience or intuition. Because of the observed high frequency of insufficient cost–benefit assessments, we strongly advise that more attention is paid to the coverage of both cost and efficiency parameters when evaluating the actual cost-efficiency of novel methods. Our results emphasize the need to improve the reliability and comparability of cost-efficiency assessments. We provide guidelines for future initiatives to develop a cost-efficiency assessment framework and suggestions for more unified cost-efficiency criteria.
Mars and the ESA Science Programme - the case for Mars polar science
Authors: Thomas Nicolas , Becerra P. , Smith I. B.
Published: June 2021

Current plans within the European Space Agency (ESA) for the future investigation of Mars (after the ExoMars programme) are centred around participation in the Mars Sample Return (MSR) programme led by NASA. This programme is housed within the Human and Robotic Exploration (HRE) Directorate of ESA. This White Paper, in response to the Voyage 2050 call, focuses on the important scientific objectives for the investigation of Mars outside the present HRE planning. The achievement of these objectives by Science Directorate missions is entirely consistent with ESA’s Science Programme. We illustrate this with a theme centred around the study of the Martian polar caps and the investigation of recent (Amazonian) climate change produced by known oscillations in Mars’ orbital parameters. Deciphering the record of climate contained within the polar caps would allow us to learn about the climatic evolution of another planet over the past few to hundreds of millions of years, and also addresses the more general goal of investigating volatile-related dynamic processes in the Solar System.
PI/PID controller stabilizing sets of uncertain nonlinear systems: an efficient surrogate model-based approach
Authors: Urrea-Quintero Jorge-Humberto , Fuhg Jan N. , Marino Michele , Fau Amélie
Published: June 2021

Closed forms of stabilizing sets are generally only available for linearized systems. An innovative numerical strategy to estimate stabilizing sets of PI or PID controllers tackling (uncertain) nonlinear systems is proposed. The stability of the closed-loop system is characterized by the sign of the largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE). In this framework, the bottleneck is the computational cost associated with the solution of the system, particularly including uncertainties. To overcome this issue, an adaptive surrogate algorithm, the Monte Carlo intersite Voronoi (MiVor) scheme, is adopted to pertinently explore the domain of the controller parameters and classify it into stable/unstable regions from a low number of nonlinear estimations. The result of the random analysis is a stochastic set providing probability information regarding the capabilities of PI or PID controllers to stabilize the nonlinear system and the risk of instabilities. The minimum of the LLE is proposed as tuning rule of the controller parameters. It is expected that using a tuning rule like this results in PID controllers producing the highest closed-loop convergence rate, thus being robust against model parametric uncertainties and capable of avoiding large fluctuating behavior. The capabilities of the innovative approach are demonstrated by estimating robust stabilizing sets for the blood glucose regulation problem in type 1 diabetes patients.
Communities of Practice in Acute and Forensic Psychiatry: Lessons Learned and Perceived Effects
Authors: Gerritsen Sylvia , Van Melle Anne Laura , Zomer Lieke Johanna Cornelia , Widdershoven Guy Antoine Marie , Voskes Yolande
Published: June 2021

In the Netherlands, two new approaches have been developed for acute and forensic psychiatry, called High and Intensive Care (HIC) and Forensic High and Intensive Care (FHIC). The models provide standards for temporary high-quality clinical care for patients in crisis and combine practices to reduce seclusion. To support the implementation of these approaches, Communities of Practice (CoPs) were created, including peer providers, mental health nurses, psychiatrists and managers. CoPs are increasingly used in healthcare. However, CoPs vary greatly in form and objective, and more insight is needed in the organisation and facilitation of CoPs. Therefore, the aim of this study is to gain insight into the lessons learned and perceived effects of the CoPs. A qualitative approach was used. Data were collected through focus groups (n = 3) with participants in the CoPs, feedback meetings with teams implementing HIC (n = 78) or FHIC (n = 23), and observations by the researchers. Data were analysed thematically. Lessons learned are: 1) create an ambassador role for CoP participants, 2) organize concrete activities, 3) take care of a multidisciplinary composition, and 4) foster shared responsibility and work on sustainability. Perceived effects of the CoPs were: 1) support of HIC and FHIC implementation, 2) creation of a national movement, and 3) further development of the HIC and FHIC approaches. The audits served as an important vehicle to activate the CoPs, and stimulated the implementation of HIC and FHIC. The findings may help others in creating a CoP when it comes to the implementation of best practices and improving healthcare.
Orthogonal functions related to Lax pairs in Lie algebras
Authors: Groenevelt Wolter , Koelink Erik
Published: June 2021

We study a Lax pair in a 2-parameter Lie algebra in various representations. The overlap coefficients of the eigenfunctions of L and the standard basis are given in terms of orthogonal polynomials and orthogonal functions. Eigenfunctions for the operator L for a Lax pair for $$\mathfrak {sl}(d+1,\mathbb {C})$$

sl
(
d
+
1
,
C
)

is studied in certain representations.
Libertarianism, Climate Change, and Individual Responsibility
Authors: Torpman Olle
Published: June 2021

Much has been written about climate change from an ethical view in general, but less has been written about it from a libertarian point of view in particular. In this paper, I apply the libertarian moral theory to the problem of climate change. I focus on libertarianism’s implications for our individual emissions. I argue that (i) even if our individual emissions cause no harm to others, these emissions cross other people’s boundaries, (ii) although the boundary-crossings that are due to our ‘subsistence emissions’ are implicitly consented to by others, there is no such consent to our ‘non-subsistence emissions’, and (iii) there is no independent justification for these emissions. Although offsetting would provide such a justification, most emitters do not offset their non-subsistence emissions. Therefore, these emissions violate people’s rights, which means that they are impermissible according to libertarianism’s non-aggression principle.
Unity of the intellectual virtues
Authors: Wilson Alan T.
Published: June 2021

The idea that moral virtues form some sort of “unity” has received considerable attention from virtue theorists. In this paper, I argue that the possibility of unity among intellectual virtues has been wrongly overlooked. My approach has two main components. First, I work to distinguish the variety of different views that are available under the description of a unity thesis. I suggest that these views can be categorised depending on whether they are versions ofstandard unityor ofstrong unity.Standard unityclaims that the possession of one virtue implies possession of all the others.Strong unityclaims that the virtues are, in some sense, all the same thing. By exploring what these different versions of unity would look like when applied to intellectual virtues, I aim to provide a menu of options for future work in virtue epistemology. I then develop and defend one of these options in more detail, arguing that the initially less plausiblestrong unityhas merit when applied to the intellectual sphere. In these two ways, I aim to show that the possibility of unity among the intellectual virtues is deserving of serious consideration.
Effects of temperature alteration on viscosity, polymerization, and in-vivo arterial distribution of N-butyl cyanoacrylate-iodized oil mixtures
Authors: Mine Takahiko , Yasui Daisuke , Saito Hidemasa , Ueda Tatsuo , Yokoyama Taro , Ikeda Shinpei , Mizushima Shohei , Happoh Seigoh , Kumita Shin-ichiro
Published: June 2021

Purpose

Temperature alteration can modify the polymerization of n-butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA)-iodized oil mixtures during vascular embolization; its effects on viscosity, polymerization time, and intra-arterial distribution of the NBCA-iodized oil mixture were investigated.

Materials and methods

In vitro, the viscosities of NBCA, iodized oil, and NBCA-iodized oil mixtures (ratio, 1:1–8) were measured at 4–60 ºC using a rotational rheometer. The polymerization times (from contact with blood plasma to stasis) were recorded at 0–60 ºC using a high-speed video camera. In vivo, the 1:2 mixture was injected into rabbit renal arteries at 0, 20, and 60 ºC; intra-arterial distribution of the mixture was pathologically evaluated.

Results

The mixtures’ viscosities decreased as temperature increased; those at 60 ºC were almost four to five times lower than those at 4 ºC. The polymerization time of NBCA and the 1:1–4 mixtures increased as temperature decreased in the 0–30 ºC range; the degree of time prolongation increased as the percentage of iodized oil decreased. The 0 ºC group demonstrated distributions of the mixture within more peripheral arterial branches than the 20 and 60 ºC groups.

Conclusion

Warming reduces the mixture’s viscosity; cooling prolongs polymerization. Both can be potential factors to improve the handling of NBCA-iodized oil mixtures for lesions requiring peripheral delivery.

Secondary abstract

Temperature alteration influences the polymerization time, viscosity, and intra-arterial distribution of NBCA-iodized oil mixtures. Warming reduces the viscosity of the mixture, while cooling prolongs polymerization.
Land systems’ asymmetries across transnational ecoregions in South America
Authors: Piquer-Rodríguez M. , Gasparri N. I. , Zarbá L. , Aráoz E. , Grau H. R.
Published: June 2021

The landscape configuration of socio-ecological land systems results from the interaction between the environmental conditions (relatively homogeneous within ecoregions) and country-level management and land-use decisions. However, social, land-use and sustainability research disciplines often study each independently. We used Euclidean distance analyses of five indicators of land systems functioning to explore the geographical patterns of across-border human-induced asymmetries in transnational ecoregions of South America. The most asymmetric transnational ecoregions occurred in the tropical rainforest biome which also showed the widest range of asymmetry values compared to other biomes. In contrast, transnational ecoregions in montane grasslands showed comparatively little asymmetries, and tropical dry forests showed intermediate asymmetry values. This pattern indicates that major asymmetries occur in land systems located in productive biomes with a comparatively recent history of development, whereas mature socio-ecosystems with a long history of human land use are more homogeneous across borders. In some cases, asymmetries may stabilize as a consequence of reinforcing feedbacks that promote contrasting land-use decisions across borders, including, for example, the establishment of protected areas, or the promotion of agro-industrial activities. Transnational socio-ecological land systems can be used to evaluate alternatives for sustainable development because they highlight the influence of institutions under different governance regimes in defining the spatial configuration and ecological properties of regions. We invite land-use and sustainability scientists to consider political border interactions as valuable “natural experiments” to better understand the interrelations between biophysical and political systems in defining planetary geographical-ecology in the Anthropocene.
Fluoride ions in groundwater of the Turkana County, Kenya, East Africa
Authors: Rusiniak Piotr , Sekuła Klaudia , Sracek Ondra , Stopa Piotr
Published: June 2021

Groundwater samples were evaluated throughout Turkana County (Kenya, East Africa) while looking for drinking water sources. Some samples showed high concentrations of fluoride with values in the range of 0.15–5.87 mg/L. Almost 50% of the samples exceeded the WHO and Kenyan potable water standard guideline value of 1.5 mg/L for drinking water quality. The hydrogeochemical studies revealed that the dominant cation in water is Na+ and the dominant anion is HCO3− resulting in Na-HCO3 type of groundwater, followed by Ca/Mg-HCO3 or Na-SO4 and Na-Cl in a few cases. Speciation modelling revealed that the groundwater is undersaturated with respect to gypsum and anhydrite, mostly undersaturated with respect to fluorite (6 samples are at equilibrium), and supersaturated or at equilibrium with respect to calcite (CaCO3). Precipitation of calcite favours the dissolution of F-rich minerals in the alkaline medium. Simultaneously, groundwater is enriched with sodium and bicarbonate, probably as a result of chemical weathering of Na-feldspar. Investigated groundwater can be presumably used for drinking purposes from 17 wells, but a detailed investigation of other trace element concentrations is necessary.
Genetic diversity and population structure of Robinia pseudoacacia from six improved variety bases in China as revealed by simple sequence repeat markers
Authors: Guo Qi , Cao Sen , Dong Li , Li Xiuyu , Zhang Jiangtao , Zhang Yuanshuai , Zhang Zijie , Sun Yuhan , Long Cui , Fan Yingming , Han Chao , Han Peiyao , Liu Xiaodi , Li Yun
Published: June 2021

Robinia pseudoacaciais an important afforestation tree introduced to China in 1878. In the present study, we examined the genetic diversity among 687 strains representing four improved varieties and two secondary provenances, comprising 641 clones and 46 seedlings. Ninety-one simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were selected through segregation analysis and polymorphism characterization, and all sampled individuals were genotyped using well-characterized SSR markers. After excluding loci with non-neutral equilibrium, missing locus data and null alleles, we used 36 primer pairs to assess the genetic diversity of these germplasm resources, revealing vast genetic differentiation among the samples, with an average of 8.352 alleles per locus and a mean Shannon′s index of 1.302. At the population level, the partitioning of variability was assessed using analysis of molecular variance, which revealed 93% and 7% variation within and among collection sites, respectively. Four clusters were detected usingstructureanalysis, indicating a degree of genetic differentiation among the six populations. Insights into the genetic diversity and structure ofR. pseudoacaciaprovide a theoretical basis for the conservation, breeding and sustainable development in China.
NMR resonance assignments of the PR-10 allergens Act c 8 and Act d 8 from golden and green kiwifruit
Authors: Zeindl Ricarda , Tollinger Martin
Published: June 2021

Kiwifruits have become one of the most common food sources triggering allergic reactions. In patients suffering from birch pollen related food allergy, reactions result from initial sensitization to the birch (Betula verrucosa) pollen allergen Bet v 1, followed by immunological cross-reactivity to structurally homologous proteins in kiwifruit. Clinical symptoms range from scratching and itching of the oral cavity to more severe immunological reactions such as rhino conjunctivitis. In this work we assigned backbone and side chain 1H, 13C and 15N chemical shifts of the 17 kDa PR-10 allergens Act c 8.0101 and Act d 8.0101 from golden (Actinidia chinesis) and green (Actinidia deliciosa) kiwifruit by solution NMR spectroscopy. The chemical shift data confirm the characteristic Bet v 1 fold for both proteins, consisting of a seven-stranded antiparallel β-sheet interrupted by two short α-helices, along with a long C-terminal α-helix. Our data provide the basis for determining the three-dimensional solution structures of these proteins and characterizing their immunological cross-reactivity on a structural basis.
On the Kinetic Behavior of Recycling Precious Metals (Au, Ag, Pt, and Pd) Through Copper Smelting Process
Authors: Wan Xingbang , Kleemola Lotta , Klemettinen Lassi , O’Brien Hugh , Taskinen Pekka , Jokilaakso Ari
Published: June 2021

The recycling and recovery of precious metals from secondary materials, such as waste-printed circuit boards, are an important area of circular economy research due to the limited existing resources and increasing amount of e-waste produced by the rapid development of technology. In this study, the kinetic behavior of precious metals Au, Ag, Pt, and Pd between copper matte and iron-silicate slag was investigated at a typical flash smelting temperature of 1300 °C in both air and argon atmospheres. SEM–EDS, EPMA, and LA-ICP-MS-advanced analysis methods were used for sample characterization. The results indicate that precious metals favor the matte phase over slag, and the deportment to matte occurred swiftly within a short time after the system had reached the experimental temperature. With increasing contact times, the precious metals were distributed increasingly into the sulfide matte. The distribution coefficients, based on experimentally measured element concentrations, followed the order of palladium > platinum > gold > silver in both air and argon, and the matte acted as an efficient collector of these precious metals. The obtained results can be applied to industrial copper matte smelting processes, and they also help in upgrading CFD models to simulate the flash smelting process more precisely.

Graphical Abstract
Analysis-Specific Fast Simulation at the LHC with Deep Learning
Authors: Chen C. , Cerri O. , Nguyen T. Q. , Vlimant J. R. , Pierini M.
Published: June 2021

We present a fast-simulation application based on a deep neural network, designed to create large analysis-specific datasets. Taking as an example the generation of W + jet events produced in $$\sqrt{s}=$$

s

=

 13 TeV proton–proton collisions, we train a neural network to model detector resolution effects as a transfer function acting on an analysis-specific set of relevant features, computed at generation level, i.e., in absence of detector effects. Based on this model, we propose a novel fast-simulation workflow that starts from a large amount of generator-level events to deliver large analysis-specific samples. The adoption of this approach would result in about an order-of-magnitude reduction in computing and storage requirements for the collision simulation workflow. This strategy could help the high energy physics community to face the computing challenges of the future High-Luminosity LHC.
Therapiemöglichkeiten der weiblichen Belastungsinkontinenz
Authors: Anding Ralf , Müller Stefan , Seifert Helge
Published: June 2021

Die Jahrtausendwende ging in Bezug auf das Thema weibliche Inkontinenz mit vielen wesentlichen Änderungen einher, der Begriff Stressinkontinenz wurde von Belastungsinkontinenz abgelöst, die Integraltheorie von Petros u. Ulmsten sowie das Hammock-Modell von DeLancey erweiterten das Verständnis der weiblichen Inkontinenz, das TVT (Tension-free vaginal tape) setzte sich in kurzer Zeit weltumspannend als Therapiestandard durch. Die vielversprechend gestartete Stammzelltherapie wird trotz inzwischen vorliegender klinischer Studien kontrovers beurteilt. Etablierte Therapieverfahren sind zunächst die konservative Therapie mit gezieltem Beckenbodentraining, minimal-invasive Verfahren wie die suburethrale Injektion, klassische Operationsverfahren wie die Faszienzügelplastik und die Kolposuspension mit ihren Modifikationen sowie die alloplastischen suburethralen Bänder (TVT, TOT [Transobturator tape], SIS [Single incision sling]), entweder spannungsfrei oder adjustierbar. Die Operationsmethoden liefern auch im Langzeitverlauf insgesamt gute Ergebnisse bei geringerer Morbidität der Bandverfahren. In Anbetracht der weltweiten Zulassungsbeschränkungen alloplastischer Bänder sollten die urogynäkologische Expertise in klassischen Operationstechniken aufrechterhalten werden und neue Entwicklungen den IDEAL (Innovation, Development, Exploration, Assessment, Long-term study)-Empfehlungen folgen.
Promoter analysis of the SPATULA (FvSPT) and SPIRAL (FvSPR) genes in the woodland diploid strawberry (Fragaria vesca L.)
Authors: Hidvégi Norbert , Gulyás Andrea , Teixeira da Silva Jaime A. , Wicaksono Adhityo , Kiss Erzsébet
Published: June 2021

The aim of this study was to identify transcription factor (TF) binding sites and cis-regulatory elements (CREs) on the promoters of FvSPR1-like2 (SPIRAL) and FvSPT (SPATULA) genes in the woodland diploid strawberry (Fragaria vesca L.). We identified: (1) MYB59, WRKY25 and WRKY8 TFs which play a role in ethylene signaling; (2) ARF family of TFs which play a role in ARF-mediated auxin signaling on the promoter of FvSPR1-like2 gene; (3) ARR family of TFs which play a role in cytokinin signaling; (4) ERF family of TFs which play a role in ethylene signaling on the promoter of FvSPT. This bioinformatic analysis of TFs and CREs may provide a better understanding of the function of genes involved in, and the mechanism underlying, non-climateric ripening during strawberry fruit maturation.
How Relevant is the Systemic Oxytocin Concentration for Human Sexual Behavior? A Systematic Review
Authors: Cera Nicoletta , Vargas-Cáceres Sebastián , Oliveira Cátia , Monteiro Jéssica , Branco David , Pignatelli Duarte , Rebelo Sandra
Published: June 2021

Introduction

Despite its role in social cognition and affiliative behavior, less is known about the role played by oxytocin in human sexual behavior.

Aim

In the present systematic review, we aimed to find the levels of oxytocin related to human sexual arousal and orgasm.

Methods

We conducted the study according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. We performed a systematic search in the principal databases for studies that reported collection of salivary or plasmatic samples, with dosage of oxytocin in relation to sexual activity during induction of sexual arousal and orgasm.

Results

414 articles were obtained. After duplicates removal and the application of pre exclusion criteria, 16 articles were considered eligible and 13 articles were included with a Cohen's k of 0.827. Most of the studies used sexual self-stimulation and collected plasmatic or salivary samples to measure oxytocin. The sexual arousal and orgasm were assessed based on subjective reports.

Main Outcome Measure

The primary outcomes were the oxytocin levels collected during the induction of sexual arousal and orgasm.

Conclusions

Several studies collected only subjective reports about the sexual arousal and the orgasm. Most of the studies found higher levels of oxytocin during the orgasm or ejaculation. Given the sexual arousal evoked by self-stimulation in which sexual fantasies play an important role, it should be possible to postulate for a role of the oxytocin in sexual desire. In particular, we hypothesize a complex role of the oxytocin in the modulation of sexual fantasies and thoughts that are relevant in the sexual desire and help to trigger genital and sexual arousal.
Writing Old Age and Impairments in Late Medieval England
Authors: Rogers Will
Published: June 2021

The old speaker in Middle English literature often claims to be impaired because of age. This admission is often followed by narratives that directly contradict it, as speakers, such as the Reeve in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales or Amans in Gower's Confessio Amantis, proceed to perform even as they claim debility. More than the modesty topos, this contradiction exists, the book argues, as prosthesis: old age brings with it debility, but discussing age-related impairments augments the old, impaired body, while simultaneously undercutting and emphasizing bodily impairments. This language of prosthesis becomes a metaphor for the works these speakers use to fashion narrative, which exist as incomplete yet powerful sources.
Parisian Music-Hall Ballet, 1871-1913
Authors: Gutsche-Miller Sarah
Published: June 2021

This pioneering study of Parisian music-hall ballet brings to light a vibrant dance culture that was central to the renewal of French ballet at the turn of the twentieth century. Long thought a lost period for ballet in France, the fin de siècle in fact saw a flourishing of choreographic activity. More than four hundred ballets were created to great acclaim, half of which were full-scale pantomime-ballets, with entertaining narratives, catchy music, titillating choreography, lavish sets and costumes, appealing corps girls, and star ballerinas. Most of these productions were staged not at the elite Paris Opéra but in the city's trendiest commercial venues: music halls.

Between 1871 and 1913, the Folies-Bergère, the Olympia, and the Casino de Paris brought together the era's leading authors of light theatre and comic opera to produce a flurry of imaginative ballets that combined the conventional structures of high art with the popular idioms of mass entertainment. They also drew unprecedented numbers of people who had never before attended ballet. 'Parisian Music-Hall Ballet, 1871-1913' rediscovers this repertoire and culture, supplying a missing chapter in the history of French dance.

Sarah Gutsche-Miller is assistant professor of musicology at the University of Toronto.
Venanzio Rauzzini in Britain
Authors: Rice Paul F.
Published: June 2021

Venanzio Rauzzini (1746-1810), the celebrated Italian castrato, is best known for his performance in Mozart's Lucio Silla in 1772, with which Mozart was so pleased that he composed for the singer the famous motet Exsultate Jubilate. In 1774, Rauzzini moved to London where he performed three seasons of serious operas at the King's Theatre. From 1777 until his death in 1810, he was the director of the concert series in Bath, a series that matched the prestige of any that were given in London. In addition, he composed prolifically, writing music for eleven operas. This book is a study of Rauzzini's remarkable yet often overlooked career in Britain. Paul Rice chronicles Rauzzini's performances at the King's Theatre and examines his leadership of the Bath subscription concerts from 1780-1810, recovering much of the repertory. Rice shows in detail how Rauzzini responded musically to the social and political conditions of his adopted country, and analyzes the castrato's reception, as well as compositional choices, shedding new light on changing musical tastes in late eighteenth-century Britain. Paul F. Rice is professor of musicology at the School of Music, Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Bedřich Smetana
Authors: St. Pierre Kelly
Published: June 2021

This book reveals Czech composer Bedřich Smetana as a dynamic figure whose mythology has been rewritten time and again to suit shifting political perspectives.