bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Romiplostim treatment for children with immune thrombocytopenia: Results of an integrated database of five clinical trials
Authors: Tarantino Michael D. , Despotovic Jenny , Roy John , Grainger John , Cooper Nichola , Beam Donald , Raj Ashok , Maschan Alexey , Kim June , Eisen Melissa
Published: September 2020

Background

Treatment for chronic immune thrombocytopenia (cITP) in children is largely limited to immunosuppressive agents. Thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TRAs) have been used to treat cITP in adults for over a decade. The objective of this integrated analysis was to examine the safety and efficacy of the TRA romiplostim in children with ITP.

Methods

We examined efficacy and safety in children with ITP across five romiplostim trials: final data from two double‐blind placebo‐controlled trials and two open‐label extensions, and interim data from an ongoing single‐arm trial.

Results

Patients (n = 24 initially placebo; n = 262 initially romiplostim) had a median age of 10.0 years (Q1: 6.0, Q3: 13.0), ITP duration of 1.9 years (Q1: 1.0, Q3: 4.0), and baseline platelet count of 14.3 × 109/L (Q1: 7.5, Q3: 23.0). Among 282 patients receiving romiplostim, median treatment duration was 65 weeks (range 8‐471 weeks) and median weekly dose was 6.6 μg/kg (range 0.1‐9.7 μg/kg). Overall, 89% of romiplostim‐treated patients had platelet responses. Nineteen patients (7%) maintained treatment‐free responses for ≥6 months while withholding all ITP therapy. Grade 3 and 4 adverse events of bleeding occurred in 10% and <1% of romiplostim‐treated patients, respectively. Twenty‐five percent of patients had a serious adverse event, most commonly epistaxis (6%). Seven patients (2%) had neutralizing antibodies against romiplostim postbaseline and none had neutralizing antibodies against endogenous thrombopoietin. Efficacy and safety results appeared similar between children with ITP for ≤12 months and >12 months at baseline.

Conclusions

Across five pediatric clinical trials, romiplostim was well tolerated. Most patients had a platelet response; some maintained responses for at least 6 months while withholding all ITP therapy.
On Automatic Conversion from E-born PDF into Accessible EPUB3 and Audio-Embedded HTML5
Authors: Suzuki Masakazu , Yamaguchi Katsuhito
Published: September 2020

As a promising method to make digital STEM books in PDF accessible, a new assistive technology to convert inaccessible PDF into accessible digital books in some different-type formats are shown. E-born PDF is initially converted into text-based EPUB3, and then, it is converted into audio-embedded HTML5 with JavaScript (ChattyBook). In the conversion, various local languages can be chosen for reading out STEM contents.
Magnetic field driven enhancement of the weak decay width of charged pions
Authors: Coppola Maximo , Dumm Daniel Gomez , Noguera Santiago , Scoccola Norberto N.
Published: September 2020

Abstract

We study the effect of a uniform magnetic field $$ \overrightarrow{B} $$

B
→

on the decays $$ {\pi}^{-}\to {l}^{-}{\overline{\nu}}_l $$

π
−

→

l
−

ν
¯

l

, where l− = e−, μ−, carrying out a general analysis that includes four π− decay constants. Taking the values of these constants from a chiral effective Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model, it is seen that the total decay rate gets strongly increased with respect to the B = 0 case, with an enhancement factor ranging from ∼ 10 for eB = 0.1 GeV2 up to ∼ 103 for eB = 1 GeV2. The ratio between electronic and muonic decays gets also enhanced, reaching a value of about 1 : 2 for eB = 1 GeV2. In addition, we find that for large B the angular distribution of outgoing antineutrinos shows a significant suppression in the direction of the magnetic field.
Searching for the Higgsino-Bino sector at the LHC
Authors: Liu Jia , McGinnis Navin , Wagner Carlos E. M. , Wang Xiao-Ping
Published: September 2020

Abstract

We study the search for electroweakinos at the 13 TeV LHC in the case of heavy scalar superpartners. We consider both the direct production mode and the one associated with the decay of heavy Higgs bosons, and concentrate on the case of light Higgsinos and Binos. In this case, the direct production searches becomes more challenging than in the light Wino scenario. In the direct production mode, we use the current experimental searches to set the reach for these particles at larger luminosities, and we emphasize the relevance of considering both the neutral gauge boson and the neutral Higgs decay modes of the second and third lightest neutralino. We show the complementarity of these searches with the ones induced by the decay of the heavy Higgs bosons, which are dominated by the associated production of the lightest neutralino with the second and third lightest ones, with the latter decaying into gauge bosons. We show that, depending on the value of tan β, the Higgs boson decay channel remains competitive with the direct production channel up to heavy Higgs boson masses of about 1 TeV. Moreover, this search is not limited by the same kinematic considerations as the ones in the direct production mode and can cover masses up to the kinematic threshold for the decay of the heavier electroweakinos into the lightest neutralino. This decay mode provides also an alternative way of looking for heavy Higgs bosons in this range of masses and hence should be a high priority for future LHC analyses.
Adduct of the blistering warfare agent sesquimustard with human serum albumin and its mass spectrometric identification for biomedical verification of exposure
Authors: Blum Marc-Michael , Richter Annika , Siegert Markus , Thiermann Horst , John Harald
Published: September 2020

Apart from the well-known sulfur mustard (SM), additional sulfur-containing blistering chemical warfare agents exist. Sesquimustard (Q) is one of them and five times more blistering than SM. It is a common impurity in mustard mixtures and regularly found in old munitions but can also be used in pure form. Compared to the extensive literature on SM, very little experimental data is available on Q and no protein biomarkers of exposure have been reported. We herein report for the first time the adduct of Q with the nucleophilic Cys34 residue of human serum albumin (HSA) formed in vitro and introduce two novel bioanalytical procedures for detection. After proteolysis of this HSA adduct catalyzed either by pronase or by proteinase K, two biomarkers were identified by high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (MS/HR MS), namely a dipeptide and a tripeptide, both alkylated at their Cys residue, which we refer to as HETETE-CP and HETETE-CPF. HETETE represents the Q-derived thio-alkyl moiety bearing a terminal hydroxyl group: “hydroxyethylthioethylthioethyl.” Targeting both peptide markers from plasma, a micro liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method working in the selected reaction monitoring mode (μLC-ESI MS/MS SRM) was developed and validated as well suited for the verification of exposure to Q. Fulfilling the quality criteria defined by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the novel methods enable the detection of exposure to Q alone or in mixtures with SM. We further report on the relative reactivity of Q compared to SM. Based on experiments making use of partially deuterated Q as the alkylating agent, we rule out a major role for six-membered ring sulfonium ions as relevant reactive species in the alkylation of Cys34. Furthermore, the results of molecular dynamics simulations are indicative that the protein environment around Cys34 allows adduct formation with elongated but not bulky molecules such as Q, and identify important hydrogen bonding interactions and hydrophobic contacts.
Mutual influence of polyphenols and Lactobacillus spp. bacteria in food: a review
Authors: Piekarska-Radzik Lidia , Klewicka Elżbieta
Published: September 2020

This paper presents the effect of polyphenols on microorganisms inhabiting the human gastrointestinal tract (mainly bacteria belonging to theLactobacillusgenus) and pathogenic microorganisms classified as the most common food contaminants. Plant secondary metabolites have the ability to modulate the growth of many microorganisms. Due to the metabolic changes induced by their presence in the environment, many pathogenic microorganisms are unable to grow, which in turn cause a significant reduction in their pathogenic potential. These processes include primarily the induction of ruptures in the cell membrane and disturbance of cell respiration. Often, the lack of integrity of cell membranes also leads to the disturbance of intracellular homeostasis and leakage of cellular components, such as proteins, ATP molecules or intracellular ions. Autoxidizing polyphenols also act as pro-oxidative substances. Hydrogen peroxide formed in the process of oxidation of polyphenolic compounds acts as a bactericidal substance (by induction of DNA breaks). With regard to intestinal microbiota, polyphenols are considered prebiotic substances that increase the number of commensal bacteria. They can positively influence the growth ofLactobacillusbacteria, which have the ability to metabolize undigested antioxidants in the digestive tract of humans and animals. Depending on the pH of the environment and the presence of ions, plant polyphenols in the human digestive tract can act as substances with antioxidant potential or become pro-oxidants. Thus, combining functional food with polyphenols andLactobacillusbacteria not only protects food products against the development of undesirable and pathogenic microbiota, but also has a positive effect on human health. The paper also describes the possibility of changes in the genome ofLactobacillusbacteria (under the influence of polyphenols) and the influence ofLactobacillusspp. bacteria on the antimicrobial properties of polyphenols. The enzymatic abilities of bacteria of the genusLactobacillus, which influence the transformation of polyphenolic compounds, were also described.
Characterizing Tractability of Simple Well-Designed Pattern Trees with Projection
Authors: Mengel Stefan , Skritek Sebastian
Published: September 2020

We study the complexity of evaluating well-designed pattern trees, a query language extending conjunctive queries with the possibility to define parts of the query to be optional. This possibility of optional parts is important for obtaining meaningful results over incomplete data sources as it is common in semantic web settings. Recently, a structural characterization of the classes of well-designed pattern trees that can be evaluated in polynomial time was shown. However, projection—a central feature of many query languages—was not considered in this study. We work towards closing this gap by giving a characterization of all tractable classes of simple well-designed pattern trees with projection (under some common complexity theoretic assumptions). Since well-designed pattern trees correspond to the fragment of well-designed {, }-SPARQL queries this gives a complete description of the tractable classes of queries with projections in this fragment that can be characterized by the underlying graph structures of the queries. For non-simple pattern trees the tractability criteria for simple pattern trees do not capture all tractable classes. We thus extend the characterization for the non-simple case in order to capture some additional tractable cases.
Planar droplet sizing for studying the influence of ethanol admixture on the spray structure of gasoline sprays
Authors: Koegl Matthias , Mishra Yogeshwar Nath , Baderschneider Kevin , Conrad Chris , Lehnert Bastian , Will Stefan , Zigan Lars
Published: September 2020

A novel planar droplet sizing (PDS) technique based on laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and Mie-scattering is utilized for the characterization of the spray structure under gasoline direct-injection spark-ignition (DISI) conditions. Fuel effects on the spray structure and cyclic variations are studied for a gasoline surrogate fuel (Toliso, consisting of 65 vol.% isooctane and 35 vol.% toluene) and the gasoline-ethanol blend E20 (20 vol.% ethanol admixture). Sauter mean diameter (SMD) results are compared with those from phase-Doppler anemometry (PDA) measurements showing good agreement especially at early points in time (up to 1.2 ms after start of injection). The liquid spray propagation and SMD are very similar for both fuels indicating similar atomization behavior. Both investigated fuels show comparable cyclic variations of the spray shape. A larger width and slightly larger droplet sizes are observed for the E20 spray when stronger evaporation occurs (at 2 ms). At these later points in time, the PDS-measured droplet sizes differ from the PDA-results. Here the limitation of the PDS-technique becomes obvious as a partial evaporation of the droplets may lead to large systematic errors. A numerical simulation of single droplets is provided for clarification of issues of droplet evaporation in PDS.

Graphic abstract
Isolated choroidal melanocytosis: clinical update on 37 cases
Authors: Augsburger James J. , Brooks Cassandra C. , Correa Zelia M.
Published: September 2020

Purpose

Isolated choroidal melanocytosis is a congenital melanocytic hyperpigmentation involving the choroid that is not associated with iridic or scleral features of ocular melanocytosis. The purpose of this work was to describe the clinical features and course of a relatively large series of patients with this disorder.

Methods

A retrospective clinical study of 37 patients with isolated choroidal melanocytosis encountered in a single practice 1986–2018 was done. All lesions were 5 mm or larger in the largest basal diameter, homogeneously melanotic, and completely flat by conventional ocular ultrasonography.

Results

The 37 patients ranged in age from 2 weeks to 87 years (mean 31.5 years, median 18 years) at initial diagnosis of the melanotic choroidal lesion. Arc length largest basal diameter of the melanotic choroidal lesion ranged from 5.5 to 37 mm (mean 14.6 mm, median 13 mm). The lesion extended beneath the fovea in 18 eyes and to the optic disc margin in 6 eyes. Ten of the lesions straddled the ocular equator, but the center point of all of the lesions was posterior to the equator. The retina was fully attached and appeared normal over the melanotic choroidal lesion in each of these eyes. None of the melanotic choroidal lesions exhibited clumps of orange pigment or drusen on its surface. The lesion was unilateral and unifocal in 36 of the 37 patients. One patient had bilateral choroidal melanocytosis that was isolated in one eye but associated with partial iris melanocytosis in the fellow eye. Three adult patients had a choroidal melanoma localized to the patch of choroidal melanocytosis at baseline. One other adult patient had a choroidal melanoma in the fellow eye at baseline. One pediatric patient had viable unilateral non-familial retinoblastoma in the fellow eye and two adult patients had a classic choroidal nevus in the fellow eye. None of the flat patches of choroidal melanocytosis that were monitored periodically after initial diagnosis expanded appreciably during follow-up ranging from 4.9 months to 15.2 years (mean 5.0 years, median 2.3 years).

Conclusions

Isolated choroidal melanocytosis is a distinct clinical entity that must be distinguished from broad-based choroidal nevus, choroidal melanocytoma, small choroidal malignant melanoma, acquired bilateral patchy-streaky choroidal melanocytic fundopathy associated with disorders such as cutaneous vitiligo and Waardenburg syndrome, acquired bilateral zonal choroidal melanocytic fundopathy, and diffuse uveal melanocytic proliferation associated with systemic cancer. This disorder appears to predispose affected eyes to development of choroidal melanoma arising from the hypermelanotic patch.
The caesium phosphates Cs3(H1.5PO4)2(H2O)2, Cs3(H1.5PO4)2, Cs4P2O7(H2O)4, and CsPO3
Authors: Weil Matthias , Stöger Berthold
Published: September 2020

The caesium phosphates Cs3(H1.5PO4)2(H2O)2 and Cs3(H1.5PO4)2 were obtained from aqueous solutions, and Cs4P2O7(H2O)4 and CsPO3 from solid state reactions, respectively. Cs3(H1.5PO4)2, Cs4P2O7(H2O)4, and CsPO3 were fully structurally characterized for the first time on basis of single-crystal X-ray diffraction data recorded at − 173 °C. Monoclinic Cs3(H1.5PO4)2 (Z = 2, C2/m) represents a new structure type and comprises hydrogen phosphate groups involved in the formation of a strong non-symmetrical hydrogen bond (accompanied by a disordered H atom over a twofold rotation axis) and a very strong symmetric hydrogen bond (with the H atom situated on an inversion centre) with symmetry-related neighbouring anions. Triclinic Cs4P2O7(H2O)4 (Z = 2, P$$\bar{1}$$

1

¯

) crystallizes also in a new structure type and is represented by a diphosphate group with a P–O–P bridging angle of 128.5°. Although H atoms of the water molecules were not modelled, O···O distances point to hydrogen bonds of medium strengths in the crystal structure. CsPO3 is monoclinic (Z = 4, P21/n) and belongs to the family of catena-polyphosphates (MPO3)n with a repetition period of 2. It is isotypic with the room-temperature modification of RbPO3. The crystal structure of Cs3(H1.5PO4)2(H2O)2 was re-evaluated on the basis of single-crystal X-ray diffraction data at − 173 °C, revealing that two adjacent hydrogen phosphate anions are connected by a very strong and non-symmetrical hydrogen bond, in contrast to the previously described symmetrical bonding situation derived from room temperature X-ray diffraction data. In the four title crystal structures, coordination numbers of the caesium cations range from 7 to 12.

Graphic abstract
Heterogeneity and uncertainty in a multistate framework
Authors: Tabakova D. , Pitacco E.
Published: September 2020

This research develops the scheme proposed in the paper Pollard [J Inst Actuar 96(2): 251–264, 1970], which is based on a two-state model for the analysis of 1-year mortality, but the results are also valid for the probabilities related to other types of insurance events such as disablement and accidents. We extend the Pollard’s original scheme into time-discrete models with more states (active-invalid-dead) together with further investigation into multi-year time horizon. Additionally, hypotheses for real-valued individual frailty are assumed in the models. As the baseline probabilistic structure, we have adopted a traditional three-state model in a Markov context. We focus on an insurance portfolio. Our outputs of interest are based on the probability distributions of the annual payouts for term insurance policies providing lump sum benefits both in case of death and in case of permanent disability. The analysis of the probability distributions allows us to assess the risk profile of the insurance portfolio, and thus to suggest appropriate actions in terms of premiums and capital allocation. In this regards, we adopt the percentile principle.
Management of gallbladder polyps
Authors: Öfner Dietmar
Published: September 2020

A gallbladder polyp (GP) is defined as an elevation of the gallbladder mucosa that protrudes into the gallbladder lumen. Gallbladder polyps (GPs) have an estimated prevalence in adults of 0.3–12.3%. However, only 5% of polyps are considered “true” GPs that have malignant potential or are even already cancerous. The most important imaging method for diagnosis and follow-up of GPs is transabdominal ultrasound, but it fails to discriminate between true and pseudo polyps at a clinically relevant level. Although gallbladder cancer (GBC) arising from polyps is a rare event, malignancy is significantly more common among polyps from a size of 10 mm. In light of this, the consensus, which is reflected in current guidelines, is that surgery should be considered for polyps of 10 mm or greater. However, 10 mm is an arbitrary cutoff, and high-quality evidence to support this is lacking. Lowering the threshold for cholecystectomy when patients have additional risk factors for gallbladder malignancy may improve the cancer detection rate in polyps smaller than 10 mm. Nevertheless, the evidence behind this is also weak. This review shows the shortcomings in the available evidence and underlines the decision-making process regarding the surgical indication, surveillance, or both.
DeepTable: a permutation invariant neural network for table orientation classification
Authors: Habibi Maryam , Starlinger Johannes , Leser Ulf
Published: September 2020

Tables are a common way to present information in an intuitive and concise manner. They are used extensively in media such as scientific articles or web pages. Automatically analyzing the content of tables bears special challenges. One of the most basic tasks is determination of the orientation of a table: In column tables, columns represent one entity with the different attribute values present in the different rows; row tables are vice versa, and matrix tables give information on pairs of entities. In this paper, we address the problem of classifying a given table into one of the three layouts horizontal (for row tables), vertical (for column tables), and matrix. We describe DeepTable, a novel method based on deep neural networks designed for learning from sets. Contrary to previous state-of-the-art methods, this basis makes DeepTable invariant to the permutation of rows or columns, which is a highly desirable property as in most tables the order of rows and columns does not carry specific information. We evaluate our method using a silver standard corpus of 5500 tables extracted from biomedical articles where the layout was determined heuristically. DeepTable outperforms previous methods in both precision and recall on our corpus. In a second evaluation, we manually labeled a corpus of 300 tables and were able to confirm DeepTable to reach superior performance in the table layout classification task. The codes and resources introduced here are available athttps://github.com/Marhabibi/DeepTable.
The Relation Between Students’ Effort and Monitoring Judgments During Learning: A Meta-analysis
Authors: Baars Martine , Wijnia Lisette , de Bruin Anique , Paas Fred
Published: September 2020

Research has shown a bi-directional association between the (perceived) amount of invested effort to learn or retrieve information (e.g., time, mental effort) and metacognitive monitoring judgments. The direction of this association likely depends on how learners allocate their effort. In self-paced learning, effort allocation is usually data driven, where the ease of memorizing is used as a cue, resulting in a negative correlation between effort and monitoring judgments. Effort allocation is goal driven when it is strategically invested (e.g., based on the importance of items or time pressure) and likely results in a positive correlation. The current study used a meta-analytic approach to synthesize the results from several studies on the relationship between effort and monitoring judgments. The results showed that there was a negative association between effort and monitoring judgments (r = − .355). Furthermore, an exploration of possible moderators of this association between effort and monitoring was made. The negative association was no longer significant when goal-driven regulation was manipulated. Furthermore, it was found that the type of monitoring judgment (i.e., a weaker association for prospective judgments) and type of task (stronger association for problem-solving tasks relative to paired associates) moderated the relation between effort and monitoring. These results have important implications for future research on the use of effort as a cue for monitoring in self-regulated learning.
Formal methods in dependable systems engineering: a survey of professionals from Europe and North America
Authors: Gleirscher Mario , Marmsoler Diego
Published: September 2020

Context

Formal methods (FMs) have been around for a while, still being unclear how to leverage their benefits, overcome their challenges, and set new directions for their improvement towards a more successful transfer into practice.

Objective

We study the use of formal methods in mission-critical software domains, examining industrial and academic views.

Method

We perform a cross-sectional on-line survey.

Results

Our results indicate an increased intent to apply FMs in industry, suggesting a positively perceived usefulness. But the results also indicate a negatively perceived ease of use. Scalability, skills, and education seem to be among the key challenges to support this intent.

Conclusions

We present the largest study of this kind so far (N = 216), and our observations provide valuable insights, highlighting directions for future theoretical and empirical research of formal methods. Our findings are strongly coherent with earlier observations by Austin and Graeme (1993).
High-density linkage map reveals QTL for Type-I seed coat cracking in RIL population of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]
Authors: Kang Beom Kyu , Seo Jeong Hyun , Jo Hyun , Kulkarni Krishnanand P. , Choi Man Soo , Kim Hyun Tae , Lee Jeong Dong , Dhungana Sanjeev K. , Kim Hong Sik , Oh Jae Hyeon , Park Ji Hee , Shin Sang Ouk , Baek In Youl
Published: September 2020

Seed coat cracking (SCC), particularly the Type-I irregular cracking, is critical in determining the quality of appearance and commercial value of soybean seeds. The objective of this study was to identify the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for SCC with high-density genetic map. One hundred sixty-seven recombinant inbred lines (RILs) developed from a cross between Uram (SCC-resistant) and Chamol (SCC-susceptible) were evaluated for SCC over 2 years (2016–2017). The QTL analysis identified 12 QTLs located on chromosomes 2 (D1b), 6 (C2), 8 (A2), 9 (K), 10 (O), 12 (H), 19 (L), and 20 (I). Out of the 12 QTLs, qSC2-1, qSC9, SC10-1, qSC10-2, and qSC12 were novel QTLs and the other seven QTLs (qSC2-2, qSC2-3, qSC6, qSC8, qSC19-1, qSC19-2, and qSC20) were found to co-localize with the previously identified QTLs. The mean SCC of the RILs of early maturity group was significantly higher than that of the late maturity group, suggesting an association between SCC and maturity loci. In addition, although 10 QTLs were distantly located from the maturity loci (E1, E3, E4, E7, and E10), qSC10-1 and qSC10-2 co-localized with the maturity loci E2. The results obtained in this study provide useful genetic information on SCC which could be used in the SCC breeding programs.
Indian Travellers’ Adoption of Airbnb Platform
Authors: Tamilmani Kuttimani , Rana Nripendra P. , Nunkoo Robin , Raghavan Vishnupriya , Dwivedi Yogesh K.
Published: September 2020

Much of the existing scholarly debate on sharing economy to date has focused on the use of technology in developed countries. However, the recent upsurge of mobile technology adoption in developing countries has provided suitable breeding ground for sharing economy. The lack of native theories in tourism and hospitality sector with scare utilization of unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) provide necessity for this research. This study adapted meta-UTAUT model as theoretical lens and extended the model with hedonic motivation, trust, and self-efficacy. Based on data from 301 potential Indian consumers, the results underscored the central role of attitude that significantly mediated the effects of effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions on consumer intention to use Airbnb. Meanwhile, performance expectancy emerged as significant direct determinant of intention alongside attitude, trust, and self-efficacy. The proposed model explained as much as 65% variance on Indian consumer’s intention to use Airbnb.
How Poor Are the Poor? Looking beyond the Binary Measure of Income Poverty
Authors: Kyzyma Iryna
Published: September 2020

This paper contributes to the literature by analysing how poor the income poor are in European countries. Using data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, I go beyond average estimates of the intensity of poverty and analyse the distribution of individual-level poverty gaps in each country of interest. As a next step, I identify which personal and household characteristics predict how far away incomes of the poor fall from the poverty line. The results indicate that, in most European countries, half of the poor have income shortfalls not exceeding 30% of the poverty line whereas only a few percent of the poor have income deficits of 80% and more. The results also suggest that traditional poverty correlates (e.g. age, gender, educational background) are not always significantly associated with the size of normalised poverty gaps at the individual level, or the nature of these associations differs as compared to when the same characteristics are linked to the probability of being poor.
Religious Struggle and Life Satisfaction Among Adult Christians: Self-esteem as a Mediator
Authors: Szcześniak Małgorzata , Timoszyk-Tomczak Celina
Published: September 2020

The religious dimension of life represents an important source of human strength, meaning, and coping for many people. However, the religious life is not always “smooth and easy” and can be associated with weak personal adjustment, poorer psychological well-being, and lower satisfaction. Yet, besides the direct relationship between these variables, some researchers postulate the existence of an indirect association that has not been fully explained by various psychosocial mediators. The aim of the present study was to verify whether self-esteem could be a potential mediator between religious strain and life satisfaction. The sample consisted of 607 adult Christians (49.6% women) aged between 18 and 79. We used the Religious Comfort and Strain Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Consistent with our hypotheses, life satisfaction positively correlated with religious comfort and was negatively associated with fear/guilt, negative emotions toward God, and negative social interactions surrounding religion. The same pattern of results was shown in the case of self-esteem. Moreover, the outcomes obtained from bootstrap sampling (5000) with a 95% confidence interval indicated a significant role of self-esteem as a mediator in all of the relationships between: (1) religious comfort and life satisfaction; (2) fear/guilt and life satisfaction; (3) negative emotions toward God and life satisfaction; and (4) negative social interactions surrounding religion and life satisfaction.
Variable cant angle winglets for improvement of aircraft flight performance
Authors: Guerrero J. E. , Sanguineti M. , Wittkowski K.
Published: September 2020

Traditional winglets are designed as fixed devices attached at the tips of the wings. The primary purpose of the winglets is to reduce the lift-induced drag, therefore improving aircraft performance and fuel efficiency. However, because winglets are fixed surfaces, they cannot be used to control lift-induced drag reductions or to obtain the largest lift-induced drag reductions at different flight conditions (take-off, climb, cruise, loitering, descent, approach, landing, and so on). In this work, we propose the use of variable cant angle winglets which could potentially allow aircraft to get the best all-around performance (in terms of lift-induced drag reduction), at different flight phases. By using computational fluid dynamics, we study the influence of the winglet cant angle and sweep angle on the performance of a benchmark wing at Mach numbers of 0.3 and 0.8395. The results obtained demonstrate that by adjusting the cant angle, the aerodynamic performance can be improved at different flight conditions.
The influence of climate model uncertainty on fluvial flood hazard estimation
Authors: Beevers Lindsay , Collet Lila , Aitken Gordon , Maravat Claire , Visser Annie
Published: September 2020

Floods are the most common and widely distributed natural hazard, threatening life and property worldwide. Governments worldwide are facing significant challenges associated with flood hazard, specifically: increasing urbanization; against the background of uncertainty associated with increasing climate variability under climate change. Thus, flood hazard assessments need to consider climate change uncertainties explicitly. This paper explores the role of climate change uncertainty through uncertainty analysis in flood modelling through a probabilistic framework using a Monte Carlo approach and is demonstrated for case study catchment. Different input, structure and parameter uncertainties were investigated to understand how important the role of a non-stationary climate may be on future extreme flood events. Results suggest that inflow uncertainties are the most influential in order to capture the range of uncertainty in inundation extent, more important than hydraulic model parameter uncertainty, and thus, the influence of non-stationarity of climate on inundation extent is critical to capture. Topographic controls are shown to create tipping points in the inundation–flow relationship, and these may be useful and important to quantify for future planning and policy. Full Monte Carlo analysis within the probabilistic framework is computationally expensive, and there is a need to explore more time-efficient strategies which may result in a similar estimate of the full uncertainty. Simple uncertainty quantification techniques such as Latin hypercube sampling approaches were tested to reduce computational burden.
Mechanistic Multilayer Quantitative Model for Nonlinear Pharmacokinetics, Target Occupancy and Pharmacodynamics (PK/TO/PD) Relationship of D-Amino Acid Oxidase Inhibitor, TAK-831 in Mice
Authors: Yoneyama Tomoki , Sato Sho , Sykes Andy , Fradley Rosa , Stafford Stuart , Bechar Shyam , Howley Eimear , Patel Toshal , Tagawa Yoshihiko , Moriwaki Toshiya , Asahi Satoru
Published: September 2020

Purpose

TAK-831 is a highly selective and potent inhibitor of D-amino acid oxidase (DAAO) currently under clinical development for schizophrenia. In this study, a mechanistic multilayer quantitative model that parsimoniously connects pharmacokinetics (PK), target occupancy (TO) and D-serine concentrations as a pharmacodynamic (PD) readout was established in mice.

Methods

PK, TO and PD time-profiles were obtained in mice and analyzed by mechanistic binding kinetics model connected with an indirect response model in a step wise fashion. Brain distribution was investigated to elucidate a possible mechanism driving the hysteresis between PK and TO.

Results

The observed nonlinear PK/TO/PD relationship was well captured by mechanistic modeling framework within a wide dose range of TAK-831 in mice. Remarkably different brain distribution was observed between target and reference regions, suggesting that the target-mediated slow binding kinetics rather than slow penetration through the blood brain barrier caused the observed distinct kinetics between PK and TO.

Conclusion

A quantitative mechanistic model for concentration- and time-dependent nonlinear PK/TO/PD relationship was established for TAK-831 in mice with accounting for possible rate-determining process. The established mechanistic modeling framework will provide a quantitative means for multilayer biomarker-assisted clinical development in multiple central nervous system indications.
An item response theory analysis of an item pool for the recovering quality of life (ReQoL) measure
Authors: Keetharuth Anju Devianee , Bjorner Jakob Bue , Barkham Michael , Browne John , Croudace Tim , Brazier John
Published: September 2020

Purpose

ReQoL-10 and ReQoL-20 have been developed for use as outcome measures with individuals aged 16 and over, experiencing mental health difficulties. This paper reports modelling results from the item response theory (IRT) analyses that were used for item reduction.

Methods

From several stages of preparatory work including focus groups and a previous psychometric survey, a pool of items was developed. After confirming that the ReQoL item pool was sufficiently unidimensional for scoring, IRT model parameters were estimated using Samejima’s Graded Response Model (GRM). All 39 mental health items were evaluated with respect to item fit and differential item function regarding age, gender, ethnicity, and diagnosis. Scales were evaluated regarding overall measurement precision and known-groups validity (by care setting type and self-rating of overall mental health).

Results

The study recruited 4266 participants with a wide range of mental health diagnoses from multiple settings. The IRT parameters demonstrated excellent coverage of the latent construct with the centres of item information functions ranging from − 0.98 to 0.21 and with discrimination slope parameters from 1.4 to 3.6. We identified only two poorly fitting items and no evidence of differential item functioning of concern. Scales showed excellent measurement precision and known-groups validity.

Conclusion

The results from the IRT analyses confirm the robust structure properties and internal construct validity of the ReQoL instruments. The strong psychometric evidence generated guided item selection for the final versions of the ReQoL measures.
Assessing Subaquatic Mass Movement Hazards: an Integrated Observational and Hydrodynamic Modelling Approach
Authors: Råman Vinnå Love , Bouffard Damien , Wüest Alfred , Girardclos Stéphanie , Dubois Nathalie
Published: September 2020

High-resolution lake and reservoir bathymetric surveys can pinpoint locations that may experience underwater landslides (subaquatic sedimentary mass movements). These can pose a risk to underwater and shoreline infrastructure. This paper outlines an approach for using spatial variation in sedimentary patterns to identify areas susceptible to subaquatic mass movements in lakes and reservoirs. This study focusses on Lake Biel (Switzerland), which has experienced a protracted history of upstream alteration of river flow. Altered flow patterns increase risk of unstable sedimentary features and subaquatic mass movements. Data from sediment traps and cores, Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers and results from a 3D hydrodynamic model gave a consistent picture of spatial and temporal variation in weather-related sedimentation. Erosion caused by short-term rain events contributes the largest proportion of sediments to the lake. Strong rain events combine with typical wind patterns to drive lake circulation. The net effect results in preferential sedimentation onto a steeply sloping shelf prone to subaquatic slides. The integrated approach outlined here incorporates short- and long-term sediment dynamics to provide a systematic assessment of lake sedimentation and potential mass movement hazards. This research represents a first step in developing a risk-evaluation tool for aquatic hazard evaluation.
Stimmzettel nutzerfreundlicher gestalten: Empfehlungen auf Grundlage eines Survey-Experimentes
Authors: Nyhuis Dominic , Jankowski Michael , Münchow Felix , Harmening Morten , Bruns Jannik , Holly Max , Karacic Josip , Hönnige Christoph
Published: September 2020

Die vorliegende Arbeit nimmt die große empirische Vielfalt in der Gestaltung von Stimmzetteln zum Anlass, um sich mit Frage zu beschäftigen, welche Stimmzettelmerkmale von Wählerinnen und Wählern gewünscht werden. Dazu greift die Studie auf ein Discrete-Choice-Experiment im Rahmen eines Online-Surveys mit rund 1200 deutschen Teilnehmenden zurück. Im Experiment entscheiden sich die Teilnehmenden zwischen fiktiven Stimmzetteln, die sich im Hinblick auf die Informationen zum Wahlsystem, die Informationen zu den Kandidierenden und das Design unterschieden. Im Ergebnis zeigt sich, dass die Teilnehmenden einer zu ausführlichen, aber auch einer zu knappen Erläuterung des Wahlsystems kritisch gegenüberstehen. Weiterhin schätzen die Teilnehmenden die Angabe von Beruf und Alter der Kandidierenden, während die Angabe von Kandidatenadressen skeptischer bewertet wird. Zudem kann festgestellt werden, dass die Verständlichkeit das wichtigste Kriterium für die Bewertung von Stimmzetteln ist. Auf Grundlage der Befunde werden Merkmale geeigneter Stimmzettel herausgearbeitet und ein gelungener Stimmzettel vorgestellt.
Higher order interactions and species coexistence
Authors: Singh Pragya , Baruah Gaurav
Published: September 2020

Higher order interactions (HOIs) have been suggested to stabilize diverse ecological communities. However, their role in maintaining species coexistence from the perspective of modern coexistence theory is not known. Here, using generalized Lotka-Volterra model, we derive a general rule for species coexistence modulated by HOIs. We show that where pairwise species interactions fail to promote species coexistence in regions of extreme fitness differences, negative HOIs that intensify pairwise competition, however, can promote coexistence provided that HOIs strengthen intraspecific competition more than interspecific competition. In contrast, positive HOIs that alleviate pairwise competition can stabilize coexistence across a wide range of fitness differences, irrespective of differences in strength of inter- and intraspecific competition. In addition, we extend our three-species analytical result to multispecies communities and show, using simulations, that multispecies coexistence is possible provided that strength of negative intraspecific HOIs is higher than interspecific HOIs. Our work sheds light on the underlying mechanisms through which HOIs can maintain species diversity.
Cutaneous Hypersensitivity as an Indicator of Visceral Inflammation via C-Nociceptor Axon Bifurcation
Authors: Fang Yehong , Han Shu , Li Xiaoxue , Xie Yikuan , Zhu Bing , Gao Xinyan , Ma Chao
Published: September 2020

Pain on the body surface can accompany disorders in the deep tissue or internal organs. However, the anatomical and physiological mechanisms are obscure. Here, we provided direct evidence of axon bifurcation in primary C-nociceptive neurons that innervate both the skin and a visceral organ. Double-labeled dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons and Evans blue extravasation were observed in 3 types of chemically-induced visceral inflammation (colitis, urocystitis, and acute gastritis) rat models. In the colitis model, mechanical hypersensitivity and spontaneous activity were recorded in vivo from double-labeled C-nociceptive neurons in S1 or L6 DRGs. These neurons showed significantly enhanced responses to both somatic stimulation and colorectal distension. Our findings suggest that the branching of C-nociceptor axons contribute to cutaneous hypersensitivity in visceral inflammation. Cutaneous hypersensitivity on certain locations of the body surface might serve as an indicator of pathological conditions in the corresponding visceral organ.
Mucinous cystic adenoma with inflammatory cell infiltration around the splenic artery mimicking pancreatic cancer: a case report
Authors: Okuse Hiroaki , Yamada Reiko , Tanaka Kyosuke , Horiki Noriyuki , Takei Yoshiyuki
Published: September 2020

A 45-year-old woman presented with upper abdominal and back pain. A cystic lesion in the pancreas and inflammation around the splenic artery were detected by computed tomography. Although imaging studies were difficult to exclude malignancy, pathological and cytological findings of a fine-needle aspiration showed no signs of malignancy. The patient was, therefore, followed-up for 3 months, during which time the cyst increased in size and developed a cyst-in-cyst structure. She was diagnosed with mucinous cyst neoplasm and underwent distal pancreatectomy. Histologically, the patient was diagnosed as low-grade mucinous cystic adenoma. Soft tissue shadows around the splenic artery were considered to indicate fibrosis and infiltration of inflammatory cells. After distal pancreatectomy, the patient has been uneventful with symptom resolution. This case highlights the potentially atypical presentation of mucinous cystic neoplasms with inflammatory cell infiltration around the splenic artery.
Implementation of the 2015 European Society of Cardiology guidelines for the management of infective endocarditis in the Netherlands
Authors: Wahadat A. R. , Deckers J. W. , Budde R. P. J. , van der Meer J. T. M. , Natour E. H. , ten Oever J. , Kortlever-van der Spek A. L. J. , Stegeman B. H. , Verkaik N. J. , Roos-Hesselink J. W. , Tanis W.
Published: September 2020

Because the occurrence of infective endocarditis (IE) continues to be associated with high mortality, a working group was created by the Dutch Society of Cardiology to examine how the most recent European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines for IE management could be implemented most effectively in the Netherlands. In order to investigate current Dutch IE practices, the working group conducted a country-wide survey. Based on the results obtained, it was concluded that most ESC recommendations could be endorsed, albeit with some adjustments. For instance, the suggested pre-operative screening and treatment of nasal carriers of Staphylococcus aureus as formulated in the ESC guideline was found to be dissimilar to current Dutch practice, and was therefore made less restrictive. The recently adapted ESC diagnostic criteria for IE were endorsed, while the practical employment of the relevant diagnostic techniques was simplified in an adapted flowchart. In addition, the presence of a multidisciplinary, so-called ‘endocarditis team’ in tertiary centres was proposed as a quality indicator. An adapted flowchart specifically tailored to Dutch practice for microbiological diagnostic purposes was constructed. Lastly, the working group recommended the Stichting Werkgroep Antibioticabeleid (SWAB; Dutch Working Party on Antibiotic Policy) guidelines for IE treatment instead of the antibiotic regimens proposed by the ESC.
The effects of precipitation variability on the canopy cover of forage species in arid rangelands, Iran
Authors: Joneidi Hamed , Azizi Nahid , Osati Khaled , Bandak Isa
Published: September 2020

This research was conducted to monitor changes in canopy cover of typical species during a 10-year period in the part of arid rangelands, to find out the relationship between two important climate variables (precipitation and temperature) and canopy cover changes. For that reason, canopy cover percentages of six dominant perennials and all annual plant species combined were measured during a 10-year period at phenological maturity of plant in thirty 2 m × 2 m plots which were placed along two 250-m transect lines. The results demonstrated that the maximum canopy cover for water year 2006–2007 (wet year) and the minimum value for water year 2012–2013 (drought) were 15 and 5.5%, respectively. The canopy cover was modeled by linear regression in which precipitation and temperature variables were considered independent variables. April precipitation explained 65% of changes in the canopy cover percentage of Artemisia sieberi at 95% confidence level (RRMSE = 0.26 and MAE = 0.49). The best simple linear regression models for estimating canopy cover percentages of Stipa barbata and Zygophyllum eurypterum corresponded to cumulative 4-month precipitation from March to June and March precipitation respectively, representing 77% (at 99% confidence level) and 67% (at 95% confidence level) of changes correspondingly. Considering the dominance of A. sieberi, S. barbata, and Z. eurypterum in floristic composition of the study area, it can be concluded that most changes in canopy cover of the studied rangeland are predicted by variability of precipitation during growing seasons.
Men’s Health 2020
Authors: Maessen Aniek , Hennus Pauline M.L.
Published: September 2020

Samenvatting

De eerste dag van het virtuele EAU20-congres werd afgesloten met een themasessie: ‘Men’s Health 2020’. Het eerste centrale onderwerp van het eerste deel van de sessie was ‘De Uroloog’ als bewaker van de mannelijke gezondheid. Bewaker omdat bijvoorbeeld lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) en erectiele disfunctie (ED) een eerste aanwijzing kunnen zijn voor een systemische ziekte die een rol speelt in de toename van morbiditeit en mortaliteit van mannen. Drs. Aniek Maessen aios urologie Dr. Pauline M. L. Hennus uroloog