bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Field-testing the explicit diagnostic criteria for transient ischemic attack: a diagnostic accuracy study
Authors: Scutelnic Adrian , auf der Maur Seraina Michèle , Branca Mattia , Beyeler Morin , Horvath Thomas , Bücke Philip , Meinel Thomas , Lebedeva Elena R. , Olesen Jes , Riederer Franz , Dobrocky Tomas , Gralla Jan , Arnold Marcel , Fischer Urs , Mattle Heinrich P. , Jung Simon , Schankin Christoph J. 
Published: December 2024

Abstract

Background and aim
Explicit diagnostic criteria for transient ischemic attack (TIA) (EDCT) have been recently proposed based on the assumption, that a migraine aura-like symptom is not typical for a TIA. However, migraine-like symptoms have been unexpectedly frequent in patients with confirmed ischemic stroke. This cross-sectional study aimed to field-test the EDCT to distinguish transient neurological symptoms caused by cerebral infarction from those caused by migraine aura.

Methods
The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of the EDCT score were calculated in samples of patients with (i) transient symptoms caused by cerebral infarction confirmed by imaging and (ii) patients with migraine with aura diagnosed according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders 3rd edition. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of the original and modified EDCT were calculated, as well as area under the curve adjusted for age and sex using the logistic regression method.

Results
The study population included 59 patients with cerebral infarction and 324 patients with migraine with aura. The median age of the stroke group was 72 (IQR 61–81) and of the migraine group 39 (IQR 29–53). There were 36 (61%) men in the stroke group and 221 (68%) women in the migraine group. For the detection of TIA with imaging-proven cerebral infarction, the original EDCT had a sensitivity of 90% (95%CI 79–96), a specificity 77% (95%CI 72–82), a positive predictive value of 42% (95%CI 33–51), and the negative predictive value 98% (95% CI 95–99). For the modified EDCT, the sensitivity was 81% (95%CI 69–90), the specificity 97% (95%CI 94–98), the positive predictive value 81% (95%CI 69–90), and the negative predictive value 97% (95%CI 94–98).

Conclusions
The original and modified EDCT criteria miss up to 1 of 10 and 1 of 5 patients, respectively, with transient symptoms due to cerebral infarction. However, the modified EDCT criteria are more specific but less sensitive in detection of ischemic events. The optimal combination of clinical markers to reliably distinguish TIA from migraine aura remains to be found.
Auditory processing deficits in subacute stroke
Authors: Abdulla Jawad , Koohi Nehzat , Lakshmanan Rahul , Hoskote Chandrashekar , Pavlou Menelaos , Warren Jason D. , Hardy Chris J. D. , Werring David J. , Bamiou Doris-Eva 
Published: December 2024

Abstract

Background
Stroke is the second leading cause of disability worldwide. Stroke results in focal neurological deficit and often leads to auditory problems due to its impact on the auditory pathway. Altered connections in the auditory pathway, caused by stroke, can result in hearing difficulties ranging from impaired sound detection to altered auditory perception. A better understanding of how stroke affects these early sound processing mechanisms will provide valuable insights into stroke recovery and rehabilitation options.

Methods
We recruited forty consecutive adult patients with stroke (30 males, 10 females) due to ischemic or intracerebral hemorrhage > 3 and up to 12 months after stroke (subacute stage). Brain MRIs were performed on all patients, and we calculated a central auditory nervous system stroke severity index (CANS SSI) according to number of CANS areas involved and an extended CANS definition of auditory responsive areas. All patients underwent cognitive screening assessment, basic audiological assessments, and a hierarchical central auditory processing assessment battery with the Queen Square Tests of Auditory Cognition (early perceptual processing, apperceptive processing, semantic Processing) and Gaps in Noise tests.

Results
When comparing patients with auditory responsive cortical lesions and with versus without Heschl’s gyrus involvement (primary auditory cortex), patients with Heschl’s gyrus involvement exhibited worse early perceptual scores. The CANS SSI showed a significant negative correlation with early perceptual test scores.

Conclusion
This study demonstrates a correlation between stroke severity, characterized by a higher number of lesions involving auditory areas in patients with subacute stroke, and worse early perceptual scores. Heschl’s gyrus involvement is associated with poorer early perceptual score.
Feasibility and safety of minimally invasive R1 vascular surgery for hepatocellular carcinoma: a cohort study
Authors: Abdelhadi Schaima , Sandra-Petrescu Flavius , Vassilev Georgi , Birgin Emrullah , Rahbari Nuh N. , Reissfelder Christoph 
Published: December 2024

Abstract

Background
In recent studies addressing colorectal liver metastases and HCC, R1 vascular surgery has demonstrated safety and oncological adequacy. Recognizing that patient prognosis after liver surgery for HCC depends more on preserving an adequate future liver remnant than on the width of the surgical margin, this surgical approach has achieved rising interest. However, data for its feasibility and safety for minimally invasive approaches for HCC resections are limited. Therefore, the aim of our study was to determine the feasibility and safety of minimally invasive R1 vascular surgery for HCC.

Methods
Consecutive patients who underwent curative hepatectomies between April 2018 and May 2023 were identified from a prospectively collected institutional database. Intraoperative ultrasound was performed to guide the resection, confirm the preoperative finding regarding the tumor’s relation to the main vessels, and exclude any undetected vascular invasion or additional lesions. Postoperative complications were graded according to the Clavien-Dindo classification.

Results
Among 58 patients included, 22 (38%) underwent minimally invasive R1vasc surgery for HCC and 36 (62%) non-R1vasc surgery. In the MI-R1vasc surgery group, there were significantly more infiltrated liver segments (2 vs. 1, p = 0.04) and a shorter tumor distance to the main hepatic veins (5 mm vs. 21 mm, p < 0.001) and Glissonean pedicles (4 mm vs. 26 mm, p < 0.001) than in MI-non-R1vasc surgery group. The comparisons of the type of surgical resection revealed similar findings between the study groups, with non-anatomic resections and segmentectomies being the most frequently performed resections. The median blood loss (600 ml vs. 500 ml, p = 0.41), operative time (264 min vs. 231 min, p = 0.13), and R1par resection rate (5% vs. 3%, p = 0.72) were comparable in both groups. Other intra- and postoperative outcomes were also comparable between the two groups.

Conclusion
Minimally invasive R1 vascular surgery is safe and feasible for patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma.
On the Minkowski problem for p-harmonic measures
Authors: Akman Murat , Mukherjee Shirsho 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
We study the Minkowski problem corresponding to the p-harmonic measures and obtain results previously known for harmonic measures due to Jerison (Invent Math 105(2):375–400, 1991). We show that a class of Borel measures on spheres can be prescribed by p-harmonic measures on convex domains.
Estimating the minimum clinically important difference (MCID) of the five-repetition sit-to-stand test in patients with lumbar disc herniation
Authors: Klukowska Anita M. , Dol Manon G. , Vandertop W. Peter , Schröder Marc L. , Staartjes Victor E. 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
Background
The impact of surgical interventions on lumbar disc herniation (LDH) is often assessed using objective functional impairment (OFI) tests like the five-repetition sit-to-stand (5R-STS) test. This study calculates the minimum clinically important difference (MCID) for 5R-STS improvement in patients with LDH one year after surgery.

Methods
Adult patients with LDH scheduled for surgery were prospectively recruited from a Dutch short-stay spinal clinic. The 5R-STS time, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ), Numeric Rating Scale for back and leg pain, EQ-5D-3L health-related quality of life questionnaire and EQ5D-VAS were recorded preoperatively, at 6-weeks and 1-year post-operatively. The MCID was calculated using anchor-based methods (within-patient change; between-patient change; and receiver-operating characteristic approaches) and distribution-based methods (0.5 standard deviation (SD); effect size; standard error of measurement; standardized response mean; and 95% minimum detectable change (MDC)). The final MCID value was based on the “gold standard”: an averaging of the anchor-based methods using ODI and RMDQ as the closest available anchors.

Results
We prospectively recruited 134 patients. One-year follow-up was completed by 103 (76.8%) of patients. The MCID values derived using different methods varied from 0.7 to 5.1 s (s). The final, averaged, anchor-based MCID for improvement was 3.6 s. Within distribution-based methods, 95% MDC and 0.5SD approach, yielded an MCID of 3.0 and 3.8 s, respectively, aligning closely with the overall anchor-derived MCID for 5R-STS.

Conclusion
In a patient with LDH, an improvement in 5R-STS performance of at least 3.6 s can be regarded as a clinically relevant improvement.
Brinkman-medium resistance hampers periodic motions of sedimenting particles
Authors: Gruca Marta , Bukowicki Marek , Ekiel-Jeżewska Maria L. 
Published: December 2024

AbstractThe dynamics of groups of non-touching particles settling under gravity in a crowded fluid medium are studied at the zero Reynolds number. It is assumed that the fluid velocity satisfies the Brinkman–Debye–Büche equations, and the particle dynamics are described in terms of the point-force model. The systems of particles at vertices of two or four horizontal regular polygons are considered that in the Stokes flow for a very long time do not destabilize, i.e., all the particles stay close to each other, performing periodic or quasiperiodic motions. It is known that such motions, as invariant manifolds, are essential for groups of particles at random initial positions to survive for a very long time and not destabilize. This work demonstrates that when the medium permeability is decreased, periodic motions cease to exist, and groups of particles split into smaller subgroups, moving away from each other. This mechanism seems to facilitate particle transport in a permeable medium.
Trends in the growing impact of group A Streptococcus infection on public health after COVID-19 pandemic: a multicentral observational study in Okayama, Japan
Authors: Fukushima Shinnosuke , Saito Takashi , Iwamoto Yoshitaka , Takehara Yuko , Yamada Haruto , Fujita Koji , Yoshida Masayo , Nakano Yasuhiro , Hagiya Hideharu 
Published: December 2024

Abstract

Purpose
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, group A Streptococcus (GAS) infection has been surging worldwide. We aimed to compare the disease burden between notified cases of streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) and unreported GAS infections.

Methods
This is a multicentral observational study, retrospectively performed at seven hospitals in Okayama prefecture in Japan from January 2022, to June 2024. Clinical and microbiological data of patients with positive cultures of GAS were collected from the medical records. Primary outcomes were defined as rates of surgical procedures, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and in-hospital mortality, which were compared among patients with locally-defined STSS, invasive GAS (iGAS), and non-iGAS infection.

Results
GAS was detected in 181 patients, with 154 active cases of GAS infection. The number of patients with GAS infection surged in late 2023. The most common source of infection was skin and soft tissue infections, accounting for 83 cases, including 15 cases of necrotizing fasciitis, and 12 cases (7.8%) were notified to public health authorities as STSS. Among the 25 unreported iGAS cases, 9 (36.0%) underwent surgical intervention, and 4 patients (16.0%) required ICU admission. The mortality rates in the unreported iGAS cases were comparable to those observed in the notified STSS.

Conclusions
We highlighted that the number of iGAS infections was twofold higher than that of notified STSS, with comparable mortality rate between these groups, indicating substantial underestimation of the true burden of iGAS. This epidemiological investigation has significant implications for enhancing infectious disease surveillance frameworks and public health policy development.
School-home identity fit, school climate, and student identification with religious values: The case of students from Masorti and Orthodox homes in Israeli religious high schools
Authors: Vaknin Inbal , Schachter Elli 
Published: December 2024

AbstractThis study examines the outcome of incongruence between home and school religious environments on predicting adolescent identification with religious values and worldview in Israeli religious high schools, and the possible mediating effects of general and identity-related aspects of school climate. The study compares Jewish students from religious observant Orthodox families with those from less-observant Masorti (traditionalist) families. A total of 9090 Israeli high school students from 76 religious public schools participated. Students identified their parent’s home as Religious or Masorti and filled out a measure on their own religious identification. School climate indices surveyed included aspects of good teacher-student and school-student relationships, and climate indices related to identity development processes. Results demonstrate that students from Masorti families experience school less favorably and identify less with school values. Identity climate indices were involved in mediating this relationship, demonstrating that school pedagogies fostering positive identity processes may play a key role in value formation in adolescence.
Machine-readable specification and intelligent cloud-based execution of logical test cases for automated driving functions
Authors: Meyer Max-Arno , Zouari Mehdi , Bannenberg Sebastian , Deppe Markus , Christiaens Sébastien , Lee Sung-Yong , Andert Jakob 
Published: December 2024

AbstractThe scenario-based verification and validation of highly automated driving functions requires extensive testing using a mix of interconnected test methods with varying degrees of virtualization, ranging from faster-than-real-time scenario exploration in software-in-the-loop simulations to in-vehicle testing. The efficiency of scenario-based test procedures is continuously improving, especially in the simulation domain with the introduction of parallel execution in the cloud, parameter variation algorithms and established standards for driving scenario specification. In contrast, current test case specifications are very tool- and project-specific and often not machine-readable, hindering the exchange, reuse and automation of scenario-based tests across all test platforms. This paper presents a novel machine-readable test specification format for scenario-based testing implemented as an XML schema. Its data structure incorporates logical or concrete scenarios within preconditions, inputs and pass criteria for automated driving functions following established test standards such as ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119. The format enables a tool-agnostic specification, reuse and exchange of scenario-based tests for simulation-based and in-vehicle testing. A cloud-simulation workflow has been developed that exploits the automation potential offered by the format. By means of testing a highway ramp-on function, a logical test case is generated and automatically imported into the simulator. For efficiently exploring the parameter space of the logical test case, a novel parameter variation method is applied. The combination of a dedicated test case format, intelligent scenario exploration methods and a state-of-the-art cloud simulation platform results in a highly efficient scenario-based test procedure.
Preparation and characterization of transparent cellulose nanocrystal film using freeze–thaw technique
Authors: Ghosh Ananya , Wei Jindong , Cheng Zhongyang , Jiang Zhihua 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
The objective of the study was to prepare self-assembled transparent cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) films utilizing freeze–thaw technique. To date, self-assembled transparent CNC solid film can be obtained through chemical doping. Here, an easy alternative route was demonstrated to produce such film without chemical modification. It was found that the freeze–thaw method completely eliminated the chiral nematic structure, resulting in completely transparent films without structural color. Detailed internal structure characterization using SEM, XRD, and UV–Vis spectroscopy coupled with optical property analysis revealed a remarkable improvement in the clarity and sharpness of freeze–thaw based CNC films without compromising transmittance and haze, showing promise of freeze–thaw based CNC films in packaging and coating applications.

Graphical abstract
Exploring Chinese doctoral graduates’ career choices and gender differences through the lens of rational choice theory
Authors: Tang Li , Ruan Nian , Zheng Gaoming 
Published: December 2024

AbstractThe expansion of doctoral education systems globally has spurred increased research into doctoral employment; however, there is a paucity of gender-based perspectives on the decisions of those who have entered the academic profession. This study delves into the career reflections of academics within the Chinese context, aiming to uncover gender differences in career choice of academic profession. Relying on the rational choice theory and a case study approach, the researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 40 academics (21 men and 19 women) at a prominent Chinese research university. Data analysis revealed that participants’ inclination towards an academic profession emerged from a nuanced assessment of preferential and constraining factors. Preferences were rooted in the potential for personal growth, better employment prospects within academia, societal expectations and a sense of comfort with the academic milieu. Furthermore, the discord between university research training and non-academic sector demands, coupled with the potential for disruption in personal research interests, created barriers to entering non-academic fields. Notably, this study unveils significant gender-based differences, with career prospects, societal norms, resource availability and gender biases all varying markedly between male and female academics in the context of Chinese society. The study’s findings about these gendered career considerations suggest that traditional Chinese culture may exert a profound influence on career trajectories, which calls for further investigation into how such cultural factors shape gender-specific career paths within China.
Anhedonia Links Sleep Problems and Suicidal Thoughts: An Intensive Longitudinal Study in High-Risk Adolescents
Authors: Patel Kinjal K. , Kearns Jaclyn C. , Foti Dan , Pigeon Wilfred R. , Kleiman Evan M. , Glenn Catherine R. 
Published: December 2024

AbstractGrowing research indicates that sleep problems are a robust independent risk factor for suicidal thoughts and behaviors among youth. However, relatively little is known about how this risk is conferred. This study used an intensive longitudinal design to investigate anhedonia as a mechanism linking sleep problems and next-day suicidal thoughts in a clinically high-risk sample of adolescents. Adolescents (N = 48; Mage=14.96; 77.1% white, 64.6% female) completed an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study design for 28 days following discharge from acute psychiatric care for suicide risk. Daily sleep diaries were used to assess prior night total sleep time and sleep onset latency. Ecological momentary assessment was used to assess anhedonia and suicidal thoughts up to six times per day. A series of multi-level structural equation models were used to examine facets of anhedonia as parallel mediators of the association between sleep problems and next-day suicidal thoughts. Significant direct effects were found between sleep problems and consummatory anhedonia, consummatory anhedonia and suicidal thoughts, and anticipatory anhedonia and suicidal thoughts. There were significant indirect (mediated) effects between sleep problems and next-day suicidal thoughts through consummatory anhedonia, but not anticipatory anhedonia. Findings provide initial evidence as to how sleep problems may confer risk for next-day suicidal thoughts– by increasing consummatory anhedonia. Future research is needed to replicate these findings in larger samples and investigate how modifying anhedonia may mitigate suicide risk in youth.
Probabilistic time integration for semi-explicit PDAEs
Authors: Altmann R. , Moradi A. 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
This paper deals with the application of probabilistic time integration methods to semi-explicit partial differential–algebraic equations of parabolic type and its semi-discrete counterparts, namely semi-explicit differential–algebraic equations of index 2. The proposed methods iteratively construct a probability distribution over the solution of deterministic problems, enhancing the information obtained from the numerical simulation. Within this paper, we examine the efficacy of the randomized versions of the implicit Euler method, the midpoint scheme, and exponential integrators of first and second order. By demonstrating the consistency and convergence properties of these solvers, we illustrate their utility in capturing the sensitivity of the solution to numerical errors. Our analysis establishes the theoretical validity of randomized time integration for constrained systems and offers insights into the calibration of probabilistic integrators for practical applications.