bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evidence of interaction between humoral immunity and drug half-life in determining treatment outcome for artemisinin combination therapy in high transmission settings in western Kenya
Authors: Andagalu Ben , Lu Pinyi , Onyango Irene , Bergmann-Leitner Elke , Wasuna Ruth , Odhiambo Geoffrey , Chebon-Bore Lorna J. , Ingasia Luicer A. , Juma Dennis W. , Opot Benjamin , Cheruiyot Agnes , Yeda Redemptah , Okudo Charles , Okoth Raphael , Chemwor Gladys , Campo Joseph , Wallqvist Anders , Akala Hoseah M. , Ochiel Daniel , Ogutu Bernhards , Chaudhury Sidhartha , Kamau Edwin
Published: August 2020

The role of humoral immunity on the efficacy of artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) has not been investigated, yet naturally acquired immunity is key determinant of antimalarial therapeutic response. We conducted a therapeutic efficacy study in high transmission settings of western Kenya, which showed artesunate-mefloquine (ASMQ) and dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP) were more efficacious than artemether-lumefantrine (AL). To investigate the underlying prophylactic mechanism, we compared a broad range of humoral immune responses in cohort I study participants treated with ASMQ or AL, and applied machine-learning (ML) models using immunoprofile data to analyze individual participants’ treatment outcome. We showed ML models could predict treatment outcome for ASMQ but no AL with high (72-92%) accuracy. Simulated PK profiling provided evidence demonstrating specific humoral immunity confers protection in the presence of sub-therapeutic residual mefloquine concentration. We concluded patient humoral immunity and partner drug interact to provide long prophylactic effect of ASMQ.
Three different Ge environments in a new Sr5CuGe9O24phase synthesized at high pressure and high temperature
Authors: Klein Holger , Kodjikian Stéphanie , Philippe Rémy , Ding Lei , Colin Claire V. , Darie Céline , Bordet Pierre
Published: August 2020

In the framework of expanding the range of copper-based compounds in the pyroxene family, we have synthesized at high pressure and high temperature a powder containing a mixture of a new phase with stoichiometry Sr5CuGe9O24having two identified impurity phases. Electron crystallography showed that the new phase crystallizes in the monoclinic space groupP2/c, with unit-cell parametersa= 11.8 Å,b= 8.1 Å,c= 10.3 Å and β = 101.3°. We applied the recently developed low-dose electron diffraction tomography method to solve the structure by direct methods. The obtained structure model contains all 9 independent cation positions and all 13 oxygen positions. A subsequent refinement against powder X-ray diffraction data ascertained the high quality of the structure solution, in particular, the unusual structural arrangement that there are three different environments for Ge in this phase.
Morphology of the GdVO4crystal: first-principles studies
Authors: Andreici Eftimie Emiliana-Laura , Avram Nicolae M. , Jelsch Christian , Nicolov Mirela
Published: August 2020

The present paper reports a theoretical investigation based on first-principles density functional theory calculations to predict the external morphology of the tetragonal GdVO4crystal from its internal structure. The Bravais–Friedel–Donnay–Harker (BFDH) method, attachment energy (AE) method and surface energy (SE) method were used in this study. Slice energies (cohesive, attachment and specific surface) of the three main crystal faces having (110), (101) and (200) orientation and theirdhklthicknesses were computed usingCRYSTAL17code, in the frame of a 2D periodic slab model. The relative growth rate (Rhkl) and the morphological importance (MIhkl) for each unrelaxed and relaxed (hkl) face of interest were determined. Consequently, the crystal shapes predicted based upon BFDH, AE and SE methods were represented by the Wulff construction. The results of the morphology crystal predictions, based on the above methods, were compared both against each other and against the experimentally observed morphologies. A quite satisfactory agreement between the predicted and observed crystal morphologies is noticed.
The legal rights of workers and volunteers at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Authors: Middlemiss Sam
Published: August 2020

Purpose

Against the background of the biggest arts festival in the world, there have been some shocking findings recently about the treatment of performers and other workers at the Fringe. The purpose of this paper is to consider the type of treatment a significant number of Fringe workers experience and how it might be dealt with under the law. The mistreatment of workers includes being: required to work excessively long hours, paid low wages or no wages, subject to sexual or street harassment, lookism, ageism or deprivation of other employment rights. What is unusual about Fringe workers is they normally only work for a short time (often a maximum of two months). Also, in respect of performers and other theatre workers, they might be inclined to work on a voluntary, unpaid basis to gain the necessary experience to kickstart their careers. Employers will often be theatrical promoters in charge of productions at a number of venues. This paper highlights the issues surrounding working at the Fringe and identifies the employment law issues for its workers. This involves identifying likely breaches of legislation under the civil law and contract law by employers. Also, the consideration of how the criminal law could apply to the treatment of workers is undertaken. Finally, it involves an analysis of how the rights of Fringe workers could be better protected. The findings and recommendations in this paper will have application to any situation where someone is employed as a volunteer or worker in an artistic setting on a short-term basis.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a review of sources drawn from articles in law journals, newspapers, etc.

Findings

The findings of this paper suggest that there is a need for reform of the law.

Research limitations/implications

This paper focuses on improving the rights of Fringe workers who have a history of being neglected or abused.

Practical implications

This paper ensures improved rights for Fringe workers.

Social implications

This paper analyses issues that are relevant for all workers in the arts at festivals, etc., throughout the UK.

Originality/value

This paper is extremely original.
Master-slave control and evaluation of force sensing for robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery
Authors: Li Kun , Ji Shuai , Niu Guojun , Ai Yue , Pan Bo , Fu Yili
Published: August 2020

Purpose

Existing robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (RMIS) system lacks of force feedback, and it cannot provide the surgeon with interaction forces between the surgical instruments and patient’s tissues. This paper aims to restore force sensation for the RMIS system and evaluate effect of force sensing in a master-slave manner.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a four-DOF surgical instrument with modular joints and six-axis force sensing capability and proposes an incremental position mode master–slave control strategy based on separated position and orientation to reflect motion of the end of master manipulator to the end of surgical instrument. Ex-vivo experiments including tissue palpation and blunt dissection are conducted to verify the effect of force sensing for the surgical instrument. An experiment of trajectory tracking is carried out to test precision of the control strategy.

Findings

Results of trajectory tracking experiment show that this control strategy can precisely reflect the hand motion of the operator, and the results of the ex-vivo experiments including tissue palpation and blunt dissection illustrate that this surgical instrument can measure the six-axis interaction forces successfully for the RMIS.

Originality/value

This paper addresses the important role of force sensing and force feedback in RMIS, clarifies the feasibility to apply this instrument prototype in RMIS for force sensing and provides technical support of force feedback for further clinical application.
A novel technique for evaluating and ranking green airlines: benchmarking-base comparison
Authors: Alkhatib Saleh Fahed , Migdadi Yazan Khalid Abed-Allah
Published: August 2020

Purpose

This study aims to evaluate and rank green airlines by proposing a novel approach that integrates different multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques.

Design/methodology/approach

Three MCDM techniques were adopted: Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) addressed the impact relationships between Airline Green Operations (AGOs) and classified them into cause and effect; analytical hierarchy process (AHP) prioritized these actions and found their global and local weights; and Techniques to Order Preferences by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) used the weighted actions to evaluate and rank 20 green airlines as a case study.

Findings

DEMATEL outcomes provide the first AGOs impact relationships map (IRM), classify AGOs into cause and effect actions and provide better understanding how these green operations affect each other. According to the AHP outcomes, “GHG1and fuel” and “GHG2 and Energy” were the most important set of actions, respectively. Finally, a new evaluation and ranking for 20 green airlines has been presented.

Practical implications

The AGOs IRM provides a better understanding of the airline green operations and how they affect each other. The new evaluation and ranking technique helps airlines to identify their green strength and weakness areas and supports their sustainability processes.

Originality/value

The increasing importance of AGOs evaluation and analysis highlights the importance of green airlines studies like this one. This study analyzed AGOs, their impact relationships, developed their IRM and provided a new worldwide green airline benchmarking base.
Quality, understandability and actionability of online patient education material about hypertension
Authors: Ab Hamid Mohd Ramadan , Mohd Isamudin Mastura , Buhari Siti Sabariah , Khairul Ikram Emmy Hainida
Published: August 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the value of websites accessible to patients looking for Web-based information regarding hypertension management.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional research was carried out by finding out Malay and English language websites about hypertension. For this purpose, the keywords “hypertension and treatment” were entered on the Yahoo, Google, Ask.com, Bing and DuckDuckGo search engines, and the first five pages of the results obtained were inspected. The DISCERN tool was deployed for evaluating the quality of information. The actionability and understandability were assessed through the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT). Eight assessors were asked to assess and grade the involved websites.

Findings

Of the 216 websites, eight (4.0%) conformed to the inclusion norms. All websites were classified into private, 4 (50%); government, 2 (25%) and personal, 2 (25%). The general rating of the eight websites was good (mean 51.6 ± 8.2 on a 75-point scale); however, half of the websites were rated as fair (mean 45.3 ± 3.1 on a 75-point scale). All websites conformed to the standard score of ≥70% for understandability (mean 76.1 ± 11.4), but none for actionability (mean 52.8 ± 13.9). Analysis of variance indicated there was no statistical difference with regards to quality (p = 0.525), understandability (p = 0.484) and actionability (p = 0.188) among the three website sets.

Originality/value

Considering the surplus of websites dedicated to information on hypertension, an independent assessment of the quality of these websites will be advantageous. Patients should be rendered high understandability, quality and actionability to evade deceptive online information.
Leader-member exchange and subjective well-being: the moderating role of metacognitive cultural intelligence
Authors: Le Huong , Jiang Zhou , Radford Katrina
Published: August 2020

Purpose

This study examines employees' metacognitive cultural intelligence as a moderator in the relationship between leader-member exchange (LMX) and employees' subjective well-being.

Design/methodology/approach

We tested the conceptual model using regression analysis from a sample of 462 migrant workers in Australia.

Findings

The results demonstrated that employees' metacognitive cultural intelligence moderated the relationship between LMX and employees' subjective well-being in such a way that the effect was stronger among those employees with lower levels of metacognitive cultural intelligence.

Research limitations/implications

The cross-sectional design, with self-reporting at one point in time, could affect a causal relationship among variables, although each relationship was built on strong theoretical perspectives. However, prior research emphasizes that a single source is not considered to be an issue when interactions are examined.

Practical implications

One way to improve metacognitive cultural intelligence for global leadership effectiveness could be through the introduction of diversity and cross-cultural training, such as didactic programs provided either in-house or by external institutions.

Originality/value

Drawing on Conservation of Resources theory, this paper contributes to the literature by demonstrating that employees' metacognitive cultural intelligence is a boundary condition that alters the strengths of the LMX–subjective well-being relationship.
“Suffer Not the Evil One”: Unitarianism and the 1826 Maryland Jew Bill
Authors: Eisner Eric
Published: August 2020

The 1826 Maryland Jew Bill was the most protracted and heated fight over Jewish political rights in the United States. For eight years, in the legislature, in newspapers, and in elections, Marylanders debated whether Jews should be allowed to hold government office or positions of public trust, a struggle that garnered journalistic coverage from throughout the country. Historians have not explained why Maryland, a state with very few Jews in the early nineteenth century, was the site of the country's largest debate over their legal status. This study argues that Unitarianism, which did not claim many adherents in Maryland at the time of the Jew Bill but occupied an outsized role in the state's debates about religious rights and Christian orthodoxy, is a key part of the story of Jewish rights in Maryland; the state's unique experience with Unitarianism is one of the causes of the state's unique place in the story of Jewish rights in the United States.
Speculate a lot
Authors: Tang Edward C. H.
Published: August 2020

While the residential and commercial property markets in Hong Kong are extensively discussed, little attention is paid to the carpark market. This work contributes to fill the research gap in three ways. First, it provides a simple empirical model to explain carpark ratios in residential buildings. Second, it hand collects transaction‐level data and constructs a price index for the carpark market in Hong Kong. Third, it shows that changes in stamp duties increase the volatility in the carpark market. This research may shed light on the current debate on the effectiveness of the stamp duty in stabilizing the real estate market.
Devolving Skills: The Case of the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers*
Authors: Cavaglia Chiara , McNally Sandra , Overman Henry G.
Published: August 2020

One rationale for devolution is that local decision makers may be well placed to adapt national policies to the local context. We test whether such adaptation helps meet programme objectives in the case of the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers. Originally a national programme, aimed at incentivising employers to take on apprentices, reforms a few years into operation gave some Local Authorities negotiated flexibilities in how the scheme operated. We consider the impact of the national scheme and then use a difference‐in‐differences approach to test whether flexibility led to an increase in the number of apprenticeship starts in devolved areas relative to control groups. We find that flexibility had zero effect. There is suggestive evidence that this is because flexibilities were negotiated on the wrong margins.
Provider networks and health plan premium variation
Authors: Polsky Daniel , Wu Bingxiao
Published: August 2020

Objective

To examine how plan premiums are associated with physician network breadth, hospital network breadth, and hospital network quality on the Affordable Care Act's Health Insurance Marketplaces in all 50 states and the DC in 2016.

Data Sources

Data on plan premiums and characteristics came from 2016 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Insurance Exchange (HIX) Compare. Provider network information was obtained from Vericred. Hospital characteristics were obtained from CMS Hospital Compare and the American Hospital Association (AHA) survey.

Study Design

We analyzed how plan premiums were associated with variations in physician network breadth, hospital network breadth, and hospital network quality using ordinary least square regressions with state‐rating area fixed effects and carrier fixed effects.

Principal Findings

Plan premiums were positively associated with physician network breadth and hospital network breadth. We find the following statistically significant results: a one standard deviation increase in physician network breadth was linked to a premium increase of 2.8 percent or $101 per year; a one standard deviation increase in hospital network breadth was linked to a premium increase of 2.4 percent or $86 per year. There was no significant association between premiums and hospital network quality, as measured by hospital star ratings and the inclusion of teaching hospitals or the top‐20 hospitals nationwide.

Conclusions

Physician network breadth and hospital network breadth contributed positively to plan premiums. The roles of the two types of provider network breadth are quantitatively similar. Premiums appear to be insensitive to hospital network quality.
Impact of COVID‐19 pandemic on lung cancer treatment scheduling
Authors: Fujita Kohei , Ito Takanori , Saito Zentaro , Kanai Osamu , Nakatani Koichi , Mio Tadashi
Published: August 2020

The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic is associated with a heavy burden on the mental and physical health of patients, regional healthcare resources, and global economic activity. Many patients with lung cancer are thought to be affected by this situation. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID‐19 pandemic on lung cancer treatment scheduling. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of lung cancer patients who were undergoing anticancer treatment at the National Hospital Organization Kyoto Medical Center (600 beds) in Kyoto, Japan, between 1 March 2020 and 31 May 2020. After the medical records were reviewed, the patients were assigned to one of two groups, depending on whether their lung cancer treatment schedule was delayed. We assessed the characteristics, types of histopathology and treatment, and the reason for the delay. A total 15 (9.1%) patients experienced a delay in lung cancer treatment during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Patients with a treatment delay received significantly more immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) monotherapy than patients without a treatment delay (P = 0.0057). On the contrary, no patients receiving molecular targeted agents experienced a treatment delay during the COVID‐19 pandemic period (P = 0.0027). The treatments of most of the patients were delayed at their request. We determined that 9.1% lung cancer patients suffered anxiety and requested a treatment delay during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Oncologists should bear in mind that patients with cancer have more anxiety than expected under unprecedented circumstances such as the COVID‐19 pandemic.
Post‐operative opioid‐related adverse events with intravenous oxycodone compared to morphine: A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Cuvillon Philippe , Alonso Sandrine , L’Hermite Joel , Reubrecht Vanessa , Zoric Lana , Vialles Nathalie , Luc Faillie Jean , Kouyoumdjian Pascal , Boisson Christope , Raux Mathieu , Langeron Olivier
Published: August 2020

Background

The value of intravenous oxycodone compared to morphine remains controversial. The purpose of this trial was to compare opioid‐related adverse events (ORAES) of intravenous oxycodone and morphine after total hip arthroplasty.

Methods

Patients scheduled for total hip arthroplasty were enrolled in this study of post‐operative pain treatment with intravenous oxycodone or intravenous morphine (ratio 1:1). After surgery, patients received similar drug regimens for titration in the post‐operative care unit followed by intravenous patient‐controlled analgesia (PCA). The primary outcome was the number of patients with ≥1 ORAEs within the first 24 hours defined as either nausea, vomiting, respiratory depression, pruritus, urinary retention requiring evacuation, allergy, hallucinations. Secondary outcomes included pain scores and opioid consumption.

Results

The analysis included 238 patients with similar characteristics. There were 55 patients with at least one ORAEs in the oxycodone group vs 46 in the morphine group: 48% vs 40%, P = .19; relative risk = 1.22 (0.91:1.63). Intravenous oxycodone vs intravenous morphine requirements were respectively (median, IQR): 6 (0‐11) vs 8 (0‐12) mg (P = .06) for titration, 15 (8‐26) vs 8 (5‐16) mg (P = .001) for PCA, and 22 (12‐37) mg vs 19 (11‐28) mg for cumulated intravenous consumption (P = .048). During the first 24 hours, there was no difference in secondary outcomes (oxycodone vs morphine, respectively, in %): nausea (15 vs 13), vomiting (5 vs 5), urinary retention (20 vs 12) or pain scores.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that IV oxycodone did not significantly reduce ORAEs within the first 24 hours compared to similar ratio of IV morphine.
Director expectations gap and hindsight bias
Authors: Bryce Mitchell , Ali Muhammad Jahangir , Mather Paul R.
Published: August 2020

We evaluate the opinions of directors and other stakeholders and show that independent directors (IDs) are facing an expectations gap about their role. The results of an experiment also indicate that business journalists and investors provided lower evaluative judgements of decisions made by IDs than did directors and that evaluative judgements of financial decisions made by IDs were affected by outcome information (hindsight bias). It is important that regulators and the media, as a key information intermediary, remain cognisant of the effects of hindsight bias on their judgements about ID performance, especially after events such as corporate collapses.
Indirect effects of deer on insect pests and soybean plants
Authors: VanGorder Abigail E. , Mahon Michael B. , Penn Hannah J. , Crist Thomas O.
Published: August 2020

White‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianusZimmermann) and insect pests negatively affect soybean production; however, little is known about how these herbivores potentially interact to affect soybean yield. Previous studies have shown deer browse on non‐crop plants affects insect density and insect‐mediated leaf damage, which together reduce plant reproductive output. In soybeans, reproductive output is influenced by direct and indirect interactions of different herbivores.

Here, we quantified indirect interactions between two groups of herbivores (mammals and insects) and their effects on soybean growth and yield. We examined responses of insect pest communities along a gradient of deer herbivory (29% to 49% browsed stems) in soybean monocultures.

Structural equation models showed that deer browse had direct negative effects on soybean plant height and yield. Deer browse indirectly decreased insect‐mediated leaf damage by reducing plant height. Deer browse also indirectly increased pest insect abundance through reductions in plant height. Similarly, deer herbivory had an indirect positive effect on leaf carbon: nitrogen ratios through changes in plant height, thereby decreasing leaf nutrition.

These results suggest that pest insect abundance may be greater on soybean plants in areas of higher deer browse, but deer browse may reduce insect herbivory through reduced leaf nutrition.
Intertemporal Arbitrage of Water and Long‐Term Agricultural Investments: Drought, Groundwater Banking, and Perennial Cropping Decisions in California
Authors: Arellano‐Gonzalez Jesus , Moore Frances C.
Published: August 2020

In arid areas, irrigation water is an essential input into agricultural production. However, rainfall and, correspondingly, surface water supplies are often highly variable, creating uncertainty over the value of long‐term, water‐dependent investments in these cropping systems. Moreover, climate change is expected to increase both crop water requirements and the variability of seasonal rainfall, meaning the constraints imposed by variable water supplies are likely to grow in cost as climate change progresses. In this setting, storing water in wet years for use in dry years is valuable. In particular, it would be expected to increase the value of perennial crops, which require large up‐front investments that pay off gradually over the life of the tree. We first show, in a simple theoretical model, that given the timing of returns to investments in perennial crops, there is always some level of drought risk above which annual crops will be preferred to perennials. We then demonstrate this effect empirically using a unique institutional setting in which access to a relatively new form of water storage, groundwater banking, effectively created spatial variation in drought risk between irrigation districts in Kern County, California. Using a 22‐year dataset of individual cropping decisions, we provide evidence that access to a large groundwater banking project, the Kern Water Bank, increased the rate at which farmers switched from lower value annual crops such as wheat and alfalfa into high‐value perennial nut crops, primarily almonds and pistachio.
Immune checkpoint inhibitor‐related cutaneous adverse events
Authors: He Chunxia , Qu Tao
Published: August 2020

Cutaneous toxicities are the most prevalent immune‐related adverse events. Various reactions have been reported. In this review, we summarized the clinicopathologic manifestations, treatment strategies, relevance to tumor outcomes, and rechallenge considerations of cutaneous immune‐related adverse events.
A case of carbon dioxide embolism during the transperineal approach in total pelvic exenteration for advanced anorectal cancer
Authors: Matsumoto Yoshiko , Yoshimatsu Gumpei , Munechika Taro , Kajitani Ryuji , Taketomi Hirotaka , Nagano Hideki , Komono Akira , Morimoto Mitsuaki , Aisu Naoya , Yoshida Yoichiro , Hasegawa Suguru
Published: August 2020

The transanal and transperineal endoscopic approaches are useful advanced surgical options for removing rectal and anorectal cancers. Intraoperative carbon dioxide (CO2) embolisms, however, have been increasingly reported as potentially fatal complications associated with surgery employing these approaches. We report our experience with a CO2 embolism that was detected because of a sudden drop in end‐tidal CO2 with decreasing saturation of percutaneous arterial oxygen during total pelvic exenteration using the transperineal endoscopic approach under pneumopelvis/pneumoperitoneum. Transesophageal echocardiography confirmed that it was a CO2 embolus. We reversed the pneumopelvis and pneumoperitoneum, which alleviated the cardiopulmonary problems, and the surgery then proceeded to achieve R0 resection. The patient was discharged without severe complications other than the CO2 embolism.
Antibiotic is a safe and feasible option for uncomplicated appendicitis in pregnancy ‐ A retrospective cohort study
Authors: Liu Jianwen , Ahmad Muhammat , Wu Juwen , Tong Xiao Jun , Zeng Hui Zhi , Chan Fion Siu‐Yin , Fan Joe King Man
Published: August 2020

Introduction

Acute appendicitis is the commonest surgical emergency during pregnancy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the outcomes between antibiotic therapy and appendectomy in the management of uncomplicated appendicitis during gestation.

Methods

From January 2015 to April 2019, there were 2174 emergency appendicitis diagnosed in the University of Hong Kong‐Shenzhen Hospital. Among them, 54 pregnant women were diagnosed with acute uncomplicated appendicitis and the clinical records were reviewed. Clinical demographics and outcomes including gestational age at delivery, mode of delivery, birth weight, APGAR score at 1 minute, fetal loss and overall length of stay were compared between the operation group and the antibiotic treatment group.

Results

The baseline characteristics showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P > .05). In the appendectomy group (n = 20), one patient had wound infection while none of the patients in the antibiotic therapy group (n = 34) experienced any complication. In the antibiotic treatment group, appendicitis recurred in one patient during pregnancy and in two patients after deliveries, which were all treated with appendectomy. The mean hospital stay of the antibiotic treatment group was shorter than that of the appendectomy group, but there was no significant difference (4.94 ± 2.6 days vs 6.25 ± 3.5 days, P = .540). There was no difference in gestational age at delivery, mode of delivery, birth weight and APGAR scores between the two groups (P > .05).

Conclusions

For acute uncomplicated appendicitis during pregnancy, antibiotics treatment is a safe and feasible option.
Exposure‐response analysis of Raltitrexed assessing liver toxicity
Authors: Royer Bernard , Schmitt Antonin , Nguyen Thierry , Paillard Marie‐Justine , Jary Marine , Demarchi Martin , Vernerey Dewi , Henriques Julie , Jacquin Marion , Borg Christophe , Kim Stefano
Published: August 2020

Aim

Raltitrexed (RTX) is a thymidylate synthase inhibitor with large pharmacokinetics (PK) variability that can be administered in case of 5‐fluorouracil (5FU) intolerance or dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase deficiency. While it is a more potent thymidylate synthase inhibitor than 5FU, RTX failed to replace this drug for colorectal cancer patients, mainly due to its toxicity at the recommended dose of 3 mg/m2 every 3 weeks. However, every 2 weeks administration at 2 mg/m2 demonstrated a favourable toxicity profile.

Method

We performed a randomized crossover comparative population PK study between every 2 weeks TOMOX (RTX 2 mg/m2) and every 3 weeks TOMOX (RTX 3 mg/m2).

Results

A three‐compartment model and a proportional error model best describe the data. Creatinine clearance and sex, but not body surface area (BSA), were covariates of RTX clearance leading to decrease of its interindividual variability of 28%. Weight and body surface area were covariates of central and peripheral volumes of distribution, respectively, leading to decreases of interindividual variability of 34.6% and 100%, respectively. In contrast to the dose, AUC was a good predictor of liver toxicity (P = 0.006, OR = 3.91, 95%CI = [1.48‐10.34]). Using covariates to compute individual clearance and a threshold AUC (1.639, determined in this study), a covariates‐based dose was calculated, leading to less variability in AUC than observed with the actual BSA‐based or fixed doses.

Conclusion

These results advocate for the use of creatinine clearance and sex to determine the RTX dose instead of BSA.
A preliminary study on functional activation and connectivity during frustration in youths with bipolar disorder
Authors: Ross Andrew J. , Roule Alexandra L. , Deveney Christen M. , Towbin Kenneth E. , Brotman Melissa A. , Leibenluft Ellen , Tseng Wan‐Ling
Published: August 2020

Objectives

Frustration is associated with impaired attention, heightened arousal, and greater unhappiness in youths with bipolar disorder (BD) vs healthy volunteers (HV). Little is known about functional activation and connectivity in the brain of BD youths in response to frustration. This exploratory study compared BD youths and HV on attentional abilities, self‐reported affect, and functional activation and connectivity during a frustrating attention task.

Methods

Twenty BD (Mage = 15.86) and 20 HV (Mage = 15.55) youths completed an fMRI paradigm that differentiated neural responses during processing of frustrating feedback from neural responses during attention orienting following frustrating feedback. We examined group differences in (a) functional connectivity using amygdala, inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and striatum as seeds and (b) whole‐brain and regions of interest (amygdala, IFG, striatum) activation. We explored task performance (accuracy, reaction time), self‐reported frustration and unhappiness, and correlations between these variables and irritability, depressive, and manic symptoms.

Results

Bipolar disorder youths, relative to HV, exhibited positive IFG‐ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) connectivity yet failed to show negative striatum‐insula connectivity during feedback processing. Irritability symptoms were positively associated with striatum‐insula connectivity during feedback processing. Moreover, BD vs HV youths showed positive IFG‐parahippocampal gyrus (PHG)/periaqueductal gray (PAG) connectivity and negative amygdala‐cerebellum connectivity during attention orienting following frustration. BD was not associated with atypical activation patterns.

Conclusions

Positive IFG‐vmPFC connectivity and striatum‐insula decoupling in BD during feedback processing may mediate heightened sensitivity to reward‐relevant stimuli. Elevated IFG‐PAG/PHG connectivity in BD following frustration may suggest greater recruitment of attention network to regulate arousal and maintain goal‐directed behavior.
The role of inhibitory control in the development of analogical reasoning: From general to specific
Authors: Yu Xiao , Zhang Meng , Chen Yinghe , Deng Zhijun , Chen Yiqun , Zhang Han , Zhang YuXin , Chen Xin
Published: August 2020

This study examined the role of inhibitory control in the development of analogical reasoning using inter‐task priming paradigms. In Experiment 1, 25 seven‐year‐olds, 27 nine‐year‐olds, and 27 adults completed Stroop tasks, which activated general inhibitory control ability, before analogical reasoning tasks. Children and adults performed faster on analogical reasoning tasks when they were primed by Stroop tasks. This priming effect was found to be stronger in children than in adults. In Experiment 2, 25 seven‐year‐olds, 28 nine‐year‐olds, and 28 adults completed relative number matching tasks, a more task‐relevant inhibitory control task, before analogical reasoning tasks. The children and adults performed faster on analogical reasoning tasks when primed by relative number matching tasks. The priming effect was greater in seven‐year‐olds than in nine‐year‐olds and was greater in nine‐year‐olds than in adults. Thus, inhibitory control, whether assessed with general or specific tasks, played a priming role in analogical reasoning.
Incidence and predictors of early and late hospital readmission after transurethral resection of the prostate: a population‐based cohort study
Authors: Shamout Samer , Carlson Kevin , Brotherhood Hilary L. , Crump Trafford , Baverstock Richard
Published: August 2020

Objectives

To evaluate the incidence and predictors of hospital readmission and emergency department (ED) visits in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia treated by transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP).

Patients and Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study using a linked administrative dataset from Calgary, Canada. Participants were men who underwent their first TURP procedure between 2015 and 2017. We examined patient demographics, and type of surgery (elective or urgent). Comorbidities were scored using the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI). The primary outcomes were unplanned hospital readmissions and ED visits at 30, 60 and 90 days after TURP. The secondary aim was to identify potential predictors across these groups.

Results

We identified 3059 men, most of whom underwent elective TURP (83%). The mean (sd) patient age was 71.0 (10.0) years. A total of 224 patients (7.4%) were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, 290 (9.5%) within 60 days, and 339 (11.1%) within 90 days of discharge. The frequency of return visits within 30, 60 and 90 days of TURP were 21.4%, 26% and 28.6%, respectively. The most responsible diagnoses for ED visit within 90 days were haematuria (15.4%) and retention of urine (12.8%). Multivariable analysis showed that age (odds ratio [OR] 1.61, P < 0.001), surgery type (OR 2.20, P < 0.001), and CCI score (OR 2.03, P < 0.001) were independently associated with odds of readmission and ED visits at all time points.

Conclusion

Older age, poorer health and urgent surgery predicted return to ED or readmission after TURP; efforts should be made to improve selection, counselling and preoperative optimization based on these risks.
Dynamics of crude oil price shocks and major Latin American Equity Markets: A study in time and frequency domains
Authors: Adrangi Bahram , Chatrath Arjun , Macri Joseph , Raffiee Kambiz
Published: August 2020

We examine the impact of crude oil price fluctuations on equity markets for four emerging Latin American markets, namely, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. We adopt an approach that examines this relationship in both a time and frequency domains. The co‐spectral analysis confirmed that most of the observable coherence between crude oil and equity returns occurred at relatively short frequencies. The structural vector autoregression (SVAR) results suggest that shocks to crude oil price directed all equity markets into negative territory, though they typically reversed course after approximately twenty‐four months. Although the decomposition of the prediction error variance showed that crude oil prices were weakly exogenous in the SVAR model, in most cases Brazil's equity market may have been responsible for the higher percentage of variations in the remaining indices. The nonlinear Granger causality tests reveal, with the exception of the Merval index, the equity markets under study were responsive to crude oil price shocks.
Properties of Laplace Operators for Tetrahedral Meshes
Authors: Alexa Marc , Herholz Philipp , Kohlbrenner Maximilian , Sorkine‐Hornung Olga
Published: August 2020

Discrete Laplacians for triangle meshes are a fundamental tool in geometry processing. The so‐called cotan Laplacian is widely used since it preserves several important properties of its smooth counterpart. It can be derived from different principles: either considering the piecewise linear nature of the primal elements or associating values to the dual vertices. Both approaches lead to the same operator in the two‐dimensional setting. In contrast, for tetrahedral meshes, only the primal construction is reminiscent of the cotan weights, involving dihedral angles. We provide explicit formulas for the lesser‐known dual construction. In both cases, the weights can be computed by adding the contributions of individual tetrahedra to an edge. The resulting two different discrete Laplacians for tetrahedral meshes only retain some of the properties of their two‐dimensional counterpart. In particular, while both constructions have linear precision, only the primal construction is positive semi‐definite and only the dual construction generates positive weights and provides a maximum principle for Delaunay meshes. We perform a range of numerical experiments that highlight the benefits and limitations of the two constructions for different problems and meshes.
Integer‐Grid Sketch Simplification and Vectorization
Authors: Stanko Tibor , Bessmeltsev Mikhail , Bommes David , Bousseau Adrien
Published: August 2020

A major challenge in line drawing vectorization is segmenting the input bitmap into separate curves. This segmentation is especially problematic for rough sketches, where curves are depicted using multiple overdrawn strokes. Inspired by feature‐aligned mesh quadrangulation methods in geometry processing, we propose to extract vector curve networks by parametrizing the image with local drawing‐aligned integer grids. The regular structure of the grid facilitates the extraction of clean line junctions; due to the grid's discrete nature, nearby strokes are implicitly grouped together. We demonstrate that our method successfully vectorizes both clean and rough line drawings, whereas previous methods focused on only one of those drawing types.
Cost Minimizing Local Anisotropic Quad Mesh Refinement
Authors: Lyon M. , Bommes D. , Kobbelt L.
Published: August 2020

Quad meshes as a surface representation have many conceptual advantages over triangle meshes. Their edges can naturally be aligned to principal curvatures of the underlying surface and they have the flexibility to create strongly anisotropic cells without causing excessively small inner angles. While in recent years a lot of progress has been made towards generating high quality uniform quad meshes for arbitrary shapes, their adaptive and anisotropic refinement remains difficult since a single edge split might propagate across the entire surface in order to maintain consistency. In this paper we present a novel refinement technique which finds the optimal trade‐off between number of resulting elements and inserted singularities according to a user prescribed weighting. Our algorithm takes as input a quad mesh with those edges tagged that are prescribed to be refined. It then formulates a binary optimization problem that minimizes the number of additional edges which need to be split in order to maintain consistency. Valence 3 and 5 singularities have to be introduced in the transition region between refined and unrefined regions of the mesh. The optimization hence computes the optimal trade‐off and places singularities strategically in order to minimize the number of consistency splits — or avoids singularities where this causes only a small number of additional splits. When applying the refinement scheme iteratively, we extend our binary optimization formulation such that previous splits can be undone if this prevents degenerate cells with small inner angles that otherwise might occur in anisotropic regions or in the vicinity of singularities. We demonstrate on a number of challenging examples that the algorithm performs well in practice.
EGGS: Sparsity‐Specific Code Generation
Authors: Tang Xuan , Schneider Teseo , Kamil Shoaib , Panda Aurojit , Li Jinyang , Panozzo Daniele
Published: August 2020

Sparse matrix computations are among the most important computational patterns, commonly used in geometry processing, physical simulation, graph algorithms, and other situations where sparse data arises. In many cases, the structure of a sparse matrix is known a priori, but the values may change or depend on inputs to the algorithm. We propose a new methodology for compile‐time specialization of algorithms relying on mixing sparse and dense linear algebra operations, using an extension to the widely‐used open source Eigen package. In contrast to library approaches optimizing individual building blocks of a computation (such as sparse matrix product), we generate reusable sparsity‐specific implementations for a given algorithm, utilizing vector intrinsics and reducing unnecessary scanning through matrix structures. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our technique on a benchmark of artificial expressions to quantitatively evaluate the benefit of our approach over the state‐of‐the‐art library Intel MKL. To further demonstrate the practical applicability of our technique we show that our technique can improve performance, with minimal code changes, for mesh smoothing, mesh parametrization, volumetric deformation, optical flow, and computation of the Laplace operator.
Anderson Acceleration for Nonconvex ADMM Based on Douglas‐Rachford Splitting
Authors: Ouyang Wenqing , Peng Yue , Yao Yuxin , Zhang Juyong , Deng Bailin
Published: August 2020

The alternating direction multiplier method (ADMM) is widely used in computer graphics for solving optimization problems that can be nonsmooth and nonconvex. It converges quickly to an approximate solution, but can take a long time to converge to a solution of high‐accuracy. Previously, Anderson acceleration has been applied to ADMM, by treating it as a fixed‐point iteration for the concatenation of the dual variables and a subset of the primal variables. In this paper, we note that the equivalence between ADMM and Douglas‐Rachford splitting reveals that ADMM is in fact a fixed‐point iteration in a lower‐dimensional space. By applying Anderson acceleration to such lower‐dimensional fixed‐point iteration, we obtain a more effective approach for accelerating ADMM. We analyze the convergence of the proposed acceleration method on nonconvex problems, and verify its effectiveness on a variety of computer graphics including geometry processing and physical simulation.
The bean method as a tool to measure sensitive behavior
Authors: Jones Sorrel , Papworth Sarah , Keane Aidan M. , Vickery Juliet , St John Freya A. V.
Published: August 2020

Conservationists need to measure human behavior to guide decisions and evaluate their impact. However, activities can be misreported and reporting accuracy may change following conservation interventions, making it hard to verify any apparent changes. Techniques for asking sensitive questions are increasingly integrated into survey designs to improve data quality, but some can be costly or hard for nonexperts to implement. We demonstrate a straightforward, low‐cost approach, the bean method in which respondents give anonymous answers by adding a colored bean to a jar to denote a yes or no response. We applied the bean method to measure wild‐meat hunting and trading over 2 years at a conservation‐project (hunting reduction) site in Gola Forest, Liberia. We extended the technique to accommodate questions about hunting and meat‐selling frequency. We compared responses given using the bean method and direct questioning for groups that did and did not participate in conservation interventions. Results from the bean method corresponded to those from direct questioning, and there was no indication of change in question sensitivity following conservation interventions. Estimates from both methods indicated that wild‐meat trading decreased in project and nonproject households (from 36% to 20%) and that hunting decreased in 1 project group (38–28%). Where inconsistent answers were given (2–6% of respondents), differences were in both directions and were most likely attributable to measurement error. The bean method was quick and straightforward to administer in a low‐literacy setting. We showed how it can be modified for answers of more than 2 categories and consider it a valuable tool that could be adapted for a wide range of conservation settings.
DEPARTURE AND PROMOTION OF U.S. PATENT EXAMINERS: DO PATENT CHARACTERISTICS MATTER?
Authors: Langinier Corinne , Lluis Stéphanie
Published: August 2020

Using U.S. patent data, we wonder how examiners' career outcomes relate to aspects of the patenting process. We exploit longitudinal information about patents granted by a group of examiners between 1976 and 2006 and their yearly mobility between 1992 and 2006. We find consistent evidence from static, dynamic, and duration models of the importance of granting experience in specific technological fields, repeated interactions with the same inventor, and self‐citations in predicting departure or promotion. We find a positive (negative) association between self‐citation and likelihood of turnover (promotion) and a positive (negative) correlation between interaction with high (low) innovation firms and likelihood of turnover (promotion). (JEL J60, O34, M51)