bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Levofloxacin prophylaxis in hospitalized children with leukemia: A cost‐utility analysis
Authors: Maser Brandon , Pelland‐Marcotte Marie‐Claude , Alexander Sarah , Sung Lillian , Gupta Sumit 
Published: August 2020

AbstractBackgroundInfections are common and are a major cause of morbidity and mortality during treatment of childhood leukemia. We evaluated the cost effectiveness of levofloxacin antibiotic prophylaxis, compared to no prophylaxis, in children receiving chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).ProceduresA cost‐utility analysis was conducted from the perspective of the single‐payer health care system using a lifetime horizon. A comprehensive literature review identified available evidence for effectiveness, safety, costs of antibiotic prophylaxis in children with leukemia, and health utilities associated with the relevant health states. The effects of levofloxacin prophylaxis on health outcomes, quality‐adjusted life‐years (QALY), and direct health costs were derived from a combined decision tree and state‐transition model. One‐way deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to test the sensitivity of results to parameter uncertainty.ResultsThe literature review revealed one randomized controlled trial on levofloxacin prophylaxis in childhood AML and relapsed ALL, by Alexander et al, that showed a significant reduction in rates of fever and neutropenia (71.2% vs 82.1%) and bacteremia (21.9% vs 43.4%) with levofloxacin compared to no prophylaxis. In our cost‐utility analysis, levofloxacin prophylaxis was dominant over no prophylaxis, resulting in cost savings of $542.44 and increased survival of 0.13 QALY. In probabilistic sensitivity analysis, levofloxacin prophylaxis was dominant in 98.8% of iterations.ConclusionsThe present analysis suggests that levofloxacin prophylaxis, compared to no prophylaxis, is cost saving in children receiving intensive chemotherapy for AML or relapsed ALL.
Deformation and energy absorption characters of Al‐CFRP hybrid tubes under quasi‐static radial compression
Authors: Zha Yibin , Ma Qihua , Gan Xuehui , Cai Ming , Zhou Tianjun 
Published: August 2020

AbstractTo take into account the lightweight and collision safety of the energy absorber, metal‐composite hybrid thin‐walled tubes have been widely studied, which combine the low‐cost metal and high‐strength composites. Therefore, the deformation mechanism and the characteristics of the carbon fiber reinforced plastic wound thin‐walled aluminum tube (Al‐CFRP) were investigated under radial compression condition. Firstly, aluminum tubes, CFRP tubes, and four winding angles of Al‐CFRP hybrid tubes (27°, 45°, 74°, 90°) are experimentally analyzed. The contrastive results show that the stability and energy absorption of the Al‐CFRP hybrid tube are improved and the winding angle is one of the important factors that affects the radial compression performance of the hybrid tube. And then based on the hybrid model, some theoretical relations are derived to forecast the initial collapse force and energy absorption quickly. The theoretical analysis shows that the radial force on the hybrid tube during the compression is also dependent on the thickness ratio of Al‐CFRP layers complicatedly except the winding angle. Therefore, the effects of the winding angle (0‐90°) and thickness ratio of Al‐CFRP layers (0.25‐3.5) on the radial compression performance are investigated. The theoretical predication results show that the hybrid with the winding angle of 90° and thickness ratio of Al‐CFRP layers of 0.25 performs over six times of the initial collapse force than the Al tube. Finally, the simulated model based on ANSYS and LS‐DYNA is established to explain the reason for the better radial compression performance (A5C10S90) and the deformation mechanism of the hybrid tube, through the stress analysis of inner Al tube, inner CFRP layer, and outer CFRP layer, respectively. It is found that the Al‐CFRP hybrid tube (especially 90°) under radial compression shows better bearing capacity which represents the higher initial collapse force, total energy absorption and specific energy absorption, due to the supporting of the inner Al tube and the protection of the outer CFRP tube.
Effect of multi‐walled carbon nano‐tube on mechanical behavior of glass laminate aluminum reinforced epoxy composites
Authors: Logesh K. , Hariharasakthisudhan P. , Rajan B. Surya , Moshi A. Arul Marcel , Khalkar V. 
Published: August 2020

AbstractThis research work is focused on development of epoxy based fiber metal laminate (FML) that comprised of multi‐walled carbon nano‐tube (MWCNT), glass fiber, and aluminum metal sheet. The hand layup technique was employed to fabricate the sandwich FML with different weight percentages (3, 4, and 5 wt%.) of MWCNT. The mechanical properties of the developed FMLs were determined through tensile, flexural, lap shear, and hardness tests following ASTM and IS standards. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to characterize the failure mechanism of composites. The FML with MWCNT offered superior tensile and shear properties up to the addition of 4 wt%. The MWCNTs were found to be agglomerated in the epoxy when added more than 4 wt%. The FML's showed larger deformation before complete failure in shear mode with respect to the addition of MWCNTs. However, there was no considerable improvement recorded in the flexural and impact behavior of the FML composition. The addition of MWCNT fillers in the epoxy turned it more brittle and exhibited comparatively less deformation before failure in flexural mode.
Congenital isolated clubfoot: Correlation between prenatal assessment and postnatal degree of severity
Authors: Lanna Mariano , Casati Daniela , Torre Clelia , Monforte Sergio , Andreacchio Antonio , Faiola Stefano , Cetin Irene , Rustico MariaAngela 
Published: August 2020

AbstractObjectiveSince prenatal diagnosis of isolated clubfoot has a false positive rate (FP) of 10%‐40%, fetal parameters that might correlate with post‐natal confirmation and grade of severity were investigated.MethodRetrospective analysis (2013‐2019) of cases analysed with three‐dimensional multiplanar view. The following data were recorded: the angle between the long axis of foot and lower leg; width, length and width‐to‐length ratio (W/L) of the foot; tibia length and calf width (T/C) ratio. Severity after birth was assessed using the Pirani classification.ResultsDiagnosis was confirmed in 45/53 neonates (84.9%, FP 15%). Values were higher for both angle and W/L in true vs false positive cases (median angle 100.4° versus 69.55°, p <.000; median W/L 0.53 vs 0.45, p = .001), no difference for T/C (3.77 vs 3.48, p = .8). The area under the curve for angle was 0.98 (CI 0.94‐1.00), with a diagnostic cut‐off of 84.7° (PPV of 100%, NPV of 66.7%). Median Pirani score, available for 33 neonates (73.3%) was 3 (IQR 3‐4): only angle correlated with Pirani score (Spearman coefficient 0.36, p = .04)ConclusionMeasuring the angle between the foot and lower leg can reduce the FP rate of prenatal congenital clubfoot diagnosis and better predict the need for postnatal treatment.
Fortnightly surveillance of monochorionic diamniotic twins for twin to twin transfusion syndrome: Compliance and effectiveness
Authors: Brock Clifton O. , Sibai Baha M. , Soto Eleazar E. , Moise Kenneth J. , Johnson Anthony , Blackwell Sean C. , Hernandez Andrade Edgar A. , Papanna Ramesha 
Published: August 2020

AbstractObjectivesTo determine the compliance and effectiveness of fortnightly ultrasound surveillance for detection of twin‐twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) in monochorionic diamniotic (MCDA) twin gestations.MethodsThis is a retrospective study of ultrasound surveillance of MCDA twins for TTTS. Our surveillance protocol requires fortnightly ultrasounds starting at 16 weeks of gestational age (GA) continuing until delivery. Compliance was assessed by determining the GA of surveillance initiation and time between ultrasounds. GA and Quintero Stage at diagnosis were evaluated to determine whether TTTS was detected prior to advanced disease (Quintero Stage III +) or fetal demise.ResultsOf 442 women, 264 (59.7%) initiated surveillance after 16 weeks; follow‐up ultrasounds were late in 17.4% of cases. TTTS was diagnosed in 43 (9.7%) women at a median GA of 19.7 [17.4, 23.9] weeks. Of 25/43 (58.1%) cases diagnosed during protocol compliance, 12 had advanced disease and two had fetal demise. A similar proportion of diagnoses (n = 18), made while non‐compliant, exhibited advanced disease (11/18, 61.1%, P = .40). Thirteen diagnoses occurred during periods of increased ultrasound frequency due to abnormalities (ie, fluid/estimated fetal weight discrepancies or Doppler abnormalities).ConclusionsIn this population, fortnightly ultrasound compliance was suboptimal. Advanced disease and fetal demise occurred during protocol compliance.
Chain‐growth polycondensation via the substituent effect: Investigation of the monomer structure on synthesis of poly(N‐octyl‐benzamide)
Authors: Prehn Frederick C. , Etz Brian D. , Reese Caleb J. , Vyas Shubham , Boyes Stephen G. 
Published: August 2020

AbstractA systematic study of the behavior of different leaving groups on a variety of ester‐based monomers was performed for the chain‐growth polycondensation synthesis of poly(N‐octyl benzamide). Linear and branched alkane esters were compared with their phenyl analogs using both computational and experimental methods. Kinetic experiments along with qualitative solubility observations were used, with the aid of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and gel‐permeation chromatography, to determine progress of the reaction, molecular weights, and molecular weight distributions. It was found that the reactivity of the monomer's ester group depends more on the stability of the leaving alkoxide than the electrophilicity of the carbonyl carbon, which contradicts previous literature. The order of reactivity increases for the alkyl esters with decreasing steric hindrance and decreasing pKa of the substituent. For the phenyl ester derivatives, the more electron withdrawing character of a para substituent increases the reactivity of the ester group, due to the higher resonance stabilization of the leaving phenoxide anion, not due to an increase in the electrophilicity of the carbonyl carbon.
Optimizing the management of castration‐resistant prostate cancer patients: A practical guide for clinicians
Authors: Shore Neal D. , Drake Charles G. , Lin Daniel W. , Ryan Charles J. , Stratton Kelly L. , Dunshee Curtis , Karsh Lawrence I. , Kaul Sanjeev , Kernen Ken , Pieczonka Christopher , Sieber Paul , Stewart Christopher , Williams Michael , Concepcion Raoul S. 
Published: August 2020

AbstractBackgroundAdvanced prostate cancer (PC) patients, especially those with metastatic prostate cancer (mPC), often require complex management pathways. Despite the publication of clinical practice guidelines by leading urological and oncological organizations that provide a substantial and comprehensive framework, there are numerous clinical scenarios that are not always addressed, especially as new treatments become available, new imaging modalities are developed, and advances in genetic testing continue.MethodsA 14‐member expert review panel comprised of urologists and medical oncologists were chosen to provide guidance on addressing specific topics and issues regarding metastatic castration‐resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients. Panel members were chosen based upon their experience and expertise in the management of PC patients. Four academic members (two urologists and two medical oncologists) of the panel served as group leaders; the remaining eight panel members were from Large Urology Group Practice Association (LUGPA) practices with proven experience in leading their advanced PC clinics. The panel members were assigned to four separate working groups, each assigned a specific mCRPC topic to review and discuss with the entire panel.ResultsThis article describes the practical recommendations of an expert panel on the management of mCRPC patients. The target reading audience for this publication is all providers (urologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, or advanced practice providers) who evaluate and manage advanced PC patients, regardless of their practice setting.ConclusionThe panel has provided recommendations for managing mCRPC with regard to specific issues: (a) biomarker monitoring and the role of genetic and molecular testing; (b) rationale, current strategies, and optimal sequencing of the various approved therapies, including hormonal therapy, cytotoxic chemotherapy, radiopharmaceuticals and immunotherapy; (c) adverse event management and monitoring; and (d) imaging advanced PC patients. These recommendations seek to complement national guidelines, not replace them, and a discussion of where the panel agreed or disagreed with national guidelines is included.
An enhanced approach for the progressive mean control charts: A discussion and comparative analysis
Authors: Riaz Muhammad , Abid Muhammad , Abbas Zameer , Nazir Hafiz Zafar 
Published: August 2020

AbstractRecently, a new double progressive mean (DPM) control chart has been proposed in the literature of statistical process control. In the said proposal, an important term is missing in the variance expression of the DPM statistic that affects the detection ability of the proposed chart. In this study, we have derived and provided the correct version of the said variance along with its corresponding control limits. The run length profiles of the DPM chart are investigated, and the results are updated for the new version of the limits. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis between DPM and progressive mean charts based on the different choices of the design parameter is also included in this study. It is revealed that the revised version offers even more efficient outcomes than the previous ones. In addition, a real dataset application is also presented for practical considerations of the refined version.
Adaptive output‐feedback control for damped wave equations with unknown damping coefficient and corrupted boundary measurement
Authors: Xu Zaihua , Liu Yungang , Li Fengzhong , Li Jian 
Published: August 2020

SummaryAdaptive output‐feedback control is investigated for a class of uncertain damped wave equations. The remarkable features of the system in question are as follows: (i) Unknown damping is allowed at the boundary; (ii) The boundary measurement is corrupted by an unknown harmonic disturbance. These features make the control problem essentially different from those in the related literature. To solve the problem, a novel adaptive output‐feedback control scheme is established for the system. Specifically, an ingenious observer is first introduced to reconstruct the unmeasured system state in the space domain. Based on this, a certain compensation mechanism is designed for the unknown damping coefficient and output disturbance by adaptive technique based on projection operator. Then, an output‐feedback controller is successfully designed by the backstepping method for ODEs, which guarantees that all states of the resulting closed‐loop system are bounded, and the original system state ultimately converges to an arbitrarily prescribed small neighborhood of the origin. Finally, a simulation example is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Active learning for efficiently training emulators of computationally expensive mathematical models
Authors: Ellis Alexandra G. , Iskandar Rowan , Schmid Christopher H. , Wong John B. , Trikalinos Thomas A. 
Published: August 2020

AbstractAn emulator is a fast‐to‐evaluate statistical approximation of a detailed mathematical model (simulator). When used in lieu of simulators, emulators can expedite tasks that require many repeated evaluations, such as sensitivity analyses, policy optimization, model calibration, and value‐of‐information analyses. Emulators are developed using the output of simulators at specific input values (design points). Developing an emulator that closely approximates the simulator can require many design points, which becomes computationally expensive. We describe a self‐terminating active learning algorithm to efficiently develop emulators tailored to a specific emulation task, and compare it with algorithms that optimize geometric criteria (random latin hypercube sampling and maximum projection designs) and other active learning algorithms (treed Gaussian Processes that optimize typical active learning criteria). We compared the algorithms' root mean square error (RMSE) and maximum absolute deviation from the simulator (MAX) for seven benchmark functions and in a prostate cancer screening model. In the empirical analyses, in simulators with greatly varying smoothness over the input domain, active learning algorithms resulted in emulators with smaller RMSE and MAX for the same number of design points. In all other cases, all algorithms performed comparably. The proposed algorithm attained satisfactory performance in all analyses, had smaller variability than the treed Gaussian Processes, and, on average, had similar or better performance as the treed Gaussian Processes in six out of seven benchmark functions and in the prostate cancer model.
Lateral force distribution in the inelastic state for seismic design of high‐strength steel framed‐tube structures with shear links
Authors: Zhang Hao , Lian Ming , Su Mingzhou , Cheng Qianqian 
Published: August 2020

SummaryHigh‐strength steel framed‐tube structures with shear links (HSSFT‐SLs) exhibit better performance under seismic loading than conventional steel framed‐tube structures. In this study, the optimum lateral force distribution considering the higher mode effects in an inelastic state for the seismic design of HSSFT‐SLs was investigated to overcome the shortcomings of existing lateral force distribution patterns. A series of example structures with expected yield mechanisms were designed, and their finite element (FE) models were developed by using OpenSees program. The modeling approach was verified using experimental data. The influence of several important parameters on the lateral force distribution in the inelastic state was investigated. An optimum lateral force distribution in inelastic state was obtained by using the relative distribution of the maximum story shears of the FE models obtained from nonlinear time history analyses. The accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed lateral force distribution were assessed through comparison with code‐specified lateral load patterns. The suggested lateral force distribution exhibits more rational and higher precision than other patterns in the inelastic state and may provide a useful reference for further research regarding the design of HSSFT‐SL systems.
Pathology of the outbreak of subgenotype 2.5 classical swine fever virus in northern Vietnam
Authors: Izzati Uda Zahli , Hoa Nguyen Thi , Lan Nguyen Thi , Diep Nguyen Van , Fuke Naoyuki , Hirai Takuya , Yamaguchi Ryoji 
Published: August 2020

AbstractClassical swine fever (CSF) is an endemic disease in southeastern Asia and is one of the most important swine diseases in Vietnam. This study was conducted to characterize the pathology of natural cases of CSF in northern Vietnam in 2018 and their genetic prevalence. A total of 10 representative pigs were collected from four provinces (Hung Yen, Ha Noi, Quang Ninh and Thai Binh) during five outbreaks and examined pathologically. The gross and histopathological findings showed the disease was expressed as the acute or the subacute to chronic form of CSF, depending on the age of the animals. The most consistently observed lesions associated with infection by the classical swine fever virus (CSFV) included lymphoid depletions in tonsils, lymph node and spleen; histiocytic hyperplasia in spleen; cerebral haemorrhage; perivascular cuffing in the brain; renal erythrodiapedesis; urothelial vacuolation and degeneration and interstitial pneumonia. The immunohistochemical findings showed a ubiquitous CSFV antigen mainly in the monocytes/macrophages and in the epithelial and endothelial cells in various organs. CSFV neurotropism was also found in the small neurons of the cerebrum and the ganglia of the myenteric plexus. Analysis of the full‐length envelope protein (E2) genome sequence showed that all strains were genetically clustered into subgenotype 2.5, sharing a nucleotide identity of 94.0%–100.00%. Based on the results of this study, the strain was categorized as a moderately virulent CSFV.
Quality of care in surgical/interventional vascular medicine: what can routinely collected data from the insurance companies achieve?
Authors: Peters F. , Kreutzburg T. , Kuchenbecker J. , Marschall U. , Remmel M. , Dankhoff M. , Trute H.‑H. , Repgen T. , Debus E. S. , Behrendt C.-A. 
Published: August 2020

AbstractThe complexity and diversity of surgical/interventional vascular medicine necessitate innovative and pragmatic solutions for the valid measurement of the quality of care in the long term. The secondary utilization of routinely collected data from social insurance institutions has increasingly become the focus of interdisciplinary medicine over the years. Owing to their longitudinal linkage and pan-sector generation, routinely collected data make it possible to answer important questions and can complement quality development projects with primary registry data. Various guidelines exist for their usage, linkage, and reporting. Studies have shown good validity, especially for endpoints with major clinical relevance. The numerous advantages of routinely collected data face several challenges that require thorough plausibility and validity procedures and distinctive methodological expertise. This review presents a discussion of these advantages and challenges and provides recommendations for starting to use this increasingly important source of data.
Evaluation of magnetic resonance imaging artifacts caused by fixed orthodontic CAD/CAM retainers—an in vitro study
Authors: Roser Christoph , Hilgenfeld Tim , Sen Sinan , Badrow Tobias , Zingler Sebastian , Heiland Sabine , Bendszus Martin , Lux Christopher J. , Juerchott Alexander 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Objectives
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) image quality can be severely impaired by artifacts caused by fixed orthodontic retainers. In clinical practice, there is a trend towards using computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) retainers. This study aimed to quantify MRI artifacts produced by these novel CAD/CAM retainers.

Material and methods
Three CAD/CAM retainers and a stainless-steel retainer (“Twistflex”; clinical reference standard) were scanned in vitro at 3-T MRI using a high-resolution 3D sequence. The artifact diameters and three-dimensional artifact volumes (AV) were determined for all mandibular (AVmand) and maxillary (AVmax) retainers. Moreover, the corresponding ratio of artifact volume to retainer volume (AV/RVmand, AV/RVmax) was calculated.

Results
Twistflex caused large artifact volumes (AVmand: 13530 mm3; AVmax: 15642 mm3; AV/RVmand: 2602; AV/RVmax: 2235). By contrast, artifact volumes for CAD/CAM retainers were substantially smaller: whereas artifact volumes for cobalt–chromium retainers were moderate (381 mm3; 394 mm3; 39; 31), grade-5 titanium (110 mm3; 126 mm3; 12; 12) and nickel–titanium (54 mm3; 78 mm3; 12; 14) both produced very small artifact volumes.

Conclusion
All CAD/CAM retainers caused substantially smaller volumes of MRI artifacts compared to Twistflex. Grade-5 titanium and nickel–titanium CAD/CAM retainers showed the smallest artifact volumes.

Clinical relevance
CAD/CAM retainers made from titanium or nickel–titanium may not relevantly impair image quality in head/neck and dental MRI. Artifacts caused by cobalt–chromium CAD/CAM retainers may mask nearby dental/periodontal structures. In contrast, the large artifacts caused by Twistflex are likely to severely impair diagnosis of oral and adjacent pathologies.