bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mechanics-based fragility curves for Italian residential URM buildings
Authors: Donà Marco , Carpanese Pietro , Follador Veronica , Sbrogiò Luca , da Porto Francesca 
Published: September 2020

AbstractSeismic risk assessment at the territorial level is now widely recognised as essential for countries with intense seismic activity, such as Italy. Academia is called to give its contribution in order to synergically deepen the knowledge about the various components of this risk, starting from the complex evaluation of vulnerability of the built heritage. In line with this, a mechanics-based seismic fragility model for Italian residential masonry buildings was developed and presented in this paper. This model is based on the classification of the building stock in macro-typologies, defined by age of construction and number of storeys, which being information available at national level, allow simulating damage scenarios and carrying out risk analyses on a territorial scale. The model is developed on the fragility of over 500 buildings, sampled according to national representativeness criteria and analysed through the Vulnus_4.0 software. The calculated fragility functions were extended on the basis of a reference model available in the literature, which provides generic fragilities for the EMS98 vulnerability classes, thus obtaining a fragility model defined on the five EMS98 damage states. Lastly, to assess the reliability of the proposed model, this was used to simulate damage scenarios due to the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake. Overall, the comparison between model results and observed damage showed a good fit, proving the model effectiveness.
Diagnostic analysis of new quantitative parameters of low-dose dynamic myocardial perfusion imaging with CZT SPECT in the detection of suspected or known coronary artery disease
Authors: Pang Zekun , Wang Jiao , Li Shuai , Chen Yue , Wang Xiaojie , Li Jianming 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe goal of this study is to explore and evaluate the diagnostic values of myocardial blood flow (MBF), myocardial flow reserve (MFR) and relative flow reserve (RFR) obtained with low-dose dynamic CZT SPECT for patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease (CAD). Fifty-seven consecutive patients who underwent low-dose dynamic CZT SPECT and CAG were enrolled. MBF, MFR and RFR were calculated on the vessel level with dedicated quantitative software, and the difference and correlation of each parameter was compared according to the reference standard of stenosis ≥ 50% or ≥ 75% on CAG, respectively. ROC curves were made by stress MBF (sMBF), rest MBF (rMBF), MFR and RFR. The optimal cut-off values and corresponding diagnostic efficacy were obtained and compared with each other. Results indicated that when stenosis ≥ 50% or ≥ 75% on CAG was used as the reference standard at the vessel level, there was no statistically significant difference in rMBF between the negative group and the positive group (P > 0.05), and the sMBF and MFR in positive groups were significantly lower than that in the negative group (all P < 0.05). There was a moderate to significant correlation between sMBF and MFR, sMBF and RFR, MFR and RFR (all P < 0.0001). These results indicate that low-dose dynamic CZT SPECT imaging can easily obtain the sMBF, MFR and RFR, and there is a good correlation among the three parameters, which has a certain diagnostic value for patients with suspected or known CAD, and is a useful supplement to the conventional qualitative or semi-quantitative diagnostic methods.
Risk of extreme high fatalities due to weather and climate hazards and its connection to large-scale climate variability
Authors: Franzke Christian L. E. , Torelló i Sentelles Herminia 
Published: September 2020

AbstractWeather and climate hazards cause too many fatalities each year. These weather and climate hazards are projected to increase in frequency and intensity due to global warming. Here, we use a disaster database to investigate continentally aggregated fatality data for trends. We also examine whether modes of climate variability affect the propensity of fatalities. Furthermore, we quantify fatality risk by computing effective return periods which depend on modes of climate variability. We find statistically significant increasing trends for heat waves and floods for worldwide aggregated data. Significant trends occur in the number of fatalities in Asia where fatalities due to heat waves and floods are increasing, while storm-related fatalities are decreasing. However, when normalized by population size, the trends are no longer significant. Furthermore, the number of fatalities can be well described probabilistically by an extreme value distribution, a generalized Pareto distribution (GPD). Based on the GPD, we evaluate covariates which affect the number of fatalities aggregated over all hazard types. For this purpose, we evaluate combinations of modes of climate variability and socio-economic indicators as covariates. We find no evidence for a significant direct impact from socio-economic indicators; however, we find significant evidence for the impact from modes of climate variability on the number of fatalities. The important modes of climate variability affecting the number of fatalities are tropical cyclone activity, modes of sea surface temperature and atmospheric teleconnection patterns. This offers the potential of predictability of the number of fatalities given that most of these climate modes are predictable on seasonal to inter-annual time scales.
Modified method for effective primary vascular smooth muscle progenitor cell culture from peripheral blood
Authors: Seong Jin-Hee , Song Yi-Sun , Joo Hyun-Woo , Park In-Hwa , Shen Guang-Yin , Shin Na-Kyoung , Lee A-Hyeon , Kwon Amy M. , Lee Yonggu , Kim Hyuck , Kim Kyung-Soo 
Published: September 2020

AbstractIn previous studies, vascular smooth muscle progenitor cells (vSMPCs) isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were cultured using medium containing platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) for 4 weeks. However, this method requires long culture periods of up to 4 weeks and yields low cell counts. Therefore, we proposed the modified method to improve the cell yield and purity and to reduce the cell culture period. PBMCs were isolated from human peripheral blood and cultured by the conventional method using medium containing PDGF-BB alone or the modified method using medium containing PDGF-BB, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and insulin-transferrin-selenium ITS for 4 weeks. The purity of vSMPCs was analyzed for the expression of a- smooth muscle actin (SMA) by flow cytometry and significantly higher in the modified method than conventional methods at the 1st and 2nd weeks. Also, mRNA expression of a-SMA by real-time PCR was significantly higher in the modified method than conventional method at the 2 weeks. The yield of vSMPCs by trypan blue exclusion assay was significantly higher in the modified method than conventional method at the 1st, 2nd and 3rd weeks. The primary culture using the modified method with PDGF-BB, bFGF, and ITS not only improved cell purity and yield, but also shortened the culture period, compared to the conventional culture method for vSMPCs. The modified method will be a time-saving and useful tool in various studies related to vascular pathology.
Gender Differences in Risk-Taking and Sensation-Seeking Behavior: Empirical Evidence from “ExtremeSports”
Authors: Frick Bernd 
Published: September 2020

AbstractDo men and women differ with respect to sensation-seeking behavior, an extreme form of risk preferences? In this paper, I use data from two different high-risk sports—cliff diving and free diving—to test for possible differences between the genders. My findings suggest that, first, women are under-represented in both sports, but that, second, for those who self-select into these occupations, no differences with respect to sensation-seeking behavior can be found between men and women.
Handling Lithium-Ion Batteries in Electric Vehicles: Preventing and Recovering from Hazardous Events
Authors: Bisschop Roeland , Willstrand Ola , Rosengren Max 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe demand for lithium-ion battery powered road vehicles continues to increase around the world. As more of these become operational across the globe, their involvement in traffic accidents and incidents is likely to rise. This can damage the lithium-ion battery and subsequently pose a threat to occupants and responders as well as those involved in vehicle recovery and salvage operations. The project this paper is based on aimed to alleviate such concerns. To provide a basis for fire safety systems to be applied to damaged EVs, hazards have been identified and means for preventing and controlling lithium-ion battery fires, including preventive measures during workshop and salvage activities were studied. Tests were also performed with fixed fire suppression systems applying suppressant inside traction batteries which showed to improve their safety.
Renal protection: a leading mechanism for cardiovascular benefit in patients treated with SGLT2 inhibitors
Authors: Margonato Davide , Galati Giuseppe , Mazzetti Simone , Cannistraci Rosa , Perseghin Gianluca , Margonato Alberto , Mortara Andrea 
Published: September 2020

AbstractInitially developed as glucose-lowering drugs, sodium-glucose co-transporter type 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) have demonstrated to be effective agents for the risk reduction of cardiovascular (CV) events in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Subsequently, data has emerged showing a significant CV benefit in patients treated with SGLT2i regardless of diabetes status. Renal protection has been initially evaluated in CV randomized trials only as secondary endpoints; nonetheless, the positive results gained have rapidly led to the evaluation of nephroprotection as primary outcome in the CREDENCE trial. Different renal and vascular mechanisms can account for the CV and renal benefits enlightened in recent literature. As clinical guidelines rapidly evolve and the role of SGLT2i appears to become pivotal for CV, T2DM, and kidney disease management, in this review, we analyze the renal effects of SGLT2, the benefits derived from its inhibition, and how this may result in the multiple CV and renal benefits evidenced in recent clinical trials.
Effects of negative social information on the willingness to support charities: the moderating role of regulatory focus
Authors: Le Nhat Quang , Supphellen Magne , Bagozzi Richard P. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractDonation campaigns that have an unsuccessful start often trigger negative social information in the social and mass media (e.g., “few others have donated so far”). Little research exists to shed light on the effects of such information in the context of donations. Across three studies involving different causes and different channels of communication, we find harmful effects of negative social information on the willingness to donate among prevention-focused consumers but tendencies of positive effects for consumers with a promotion focus. We identify response efficacy as a mediator of the harmful effect for prevention-focused consumers. This finding suggests that social proof theory is not sufficient to explain the harmful effect of negative social information. Alternative mediators are tested and rejected. The findings imply that an effective strategy to avoid harmful effects of negative social information is to trigger a promotion focus in target group members and communicate facts about charity effectiveness.
The Governance of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS): Aviation Law, Human Rights, and the Free Movement of Data in the EU
Authors: Pagallo Ugo , Bassi Eleonora 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe paper deals with the governance of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in European law. Three different kinds of balance have been struck between multiple regulatory systems, in accordance with the sector of the governance of UAS which is taken into account. The first model regards the field of civil aviation law and its European Union (EU)’s regulation: the model looks like a traditional mix of top-down regulation and soft law. The second model concerns the EU general data protection law, the GDPR, which has set up a co-regulatory framework summed up with the principle of accountability also, but not only, in the field of drones. The third model of governance has been adopted by the EU through methods of legal experimentation and coordination mechanisms for UAS. The overall aim of the paper is to elucidate the ways in which such three models interact, insisting on differences and similarities with other technologies (e.g. self-driving cars), and further legal systems (e.g. the US).
The dynamics of entropy in the COVID-19 outbreaks
Authors: Wang Ziqi , Broccardo Marco , Mignan Arnaud , Sornette Didier 
Published: September 2020

AbstractWith the unfolding of the COVID-19 pandemic, mathematical modelling of epidemics has been perceived and used as a central element in understanding, predicting, and governing the pandemic event. However, soon it became clear that long-term predictions were extremely challenging to address. In addition, it is still unclear which metric shall be used for a global description of the evolution of the outbreaks. Yet a robust modelling of pandemic dynamics and a consistent choice of the transmission metric is crucial for an in-depth understanding of the macroscopic phenomenology and better-informed mitigation strategies. In this study, we propose a Markovian stochastic framework designed for describing the evolution of entropy during the COVID-19 pandemic together with the instantaneous reproductive ratio. Then, we introduce and use entropy-based metrics of global transmission to measure the impact and the temporal evolution of a pandemic event. In the formulation of the model, the temporal evolution of the outbreak is modelled by an equation governing the probability distribution that describes a nonlinear Markov process of a statistically averaged individual, leading to a clear physical interpretation. The time-dependent parameters are formulated by adaptive basis functions, leading to a parsimonious representation. In addition, we provide a full Bayesian inversion scheme for calibration together with a coherent strategy to address data unreliability. The time evolution of the entropy rate, the absolute change in the system entropy, and the instantaneous reproductive ratio are natural and transparent outputs of this framework. The framework has the appealing property of being applicable to any compartmental epidemic model. As an illustration, we apply the proposed approach to a simple modification of the susceptible–exposed–infected–removed model. Applying the model to the Hubei region, South Korean, Italian, Spanish, German, and French COVID-19 datasets, we discover significant difference in the absolute change of entropy but highly regular trends for both the entropy evolution and the instantaneous reproductive ratio.
Critical appraisal of tobacco dependence treatment guidelines
Authors: El Hajj Maguy Saffouh , Jaam Myriam , Sheikh Ali Saba Abdal Salam , Saleh Rana , Awaisu Ahmed , Paravattil Bridget , Wilby Kyle John 
Published: September 2020

AbstractBackground Tobacco use is a leading preventable cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of tobacco use dependence are of varied scope and quality, making it challenging for users to select and apply recommendations. Objective The study objective is to identify and critically appraise the quality of existing clinical practice guidelines for tobacco cessation. Setting The study occurred between collaborative academic institutions located in Qatar and New Zealand. Methods A systematic literature search was performed for the period 2006–2018 through the following databases: PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, ISI Web of Science, Scopus, National Guideline Clearing House, Campbell Library, Health System Evidence, Joanna Briggs Institute Evidence-Based Practice Database, Academic Search Complete, ProQuest, PROSPERO, and Google Scholar. Relevant professional societies’ and health agencies’ websites were also searched. Two reviewers independently extracted and assessed guidelines’ quality using Appraisal of Guidelines, Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II) instrument. Main outcome measure Standardized domain scores according to the AGREE II instrument. Results 7741 hits were identified. After removing duplicates and screening, 24 guidelines were included. Highest guideline quality was for National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline with an overall ranking score of 87.56% and least quality was for Japanese Circulation Society Joint Working Group with an overall score of 29.34%. Domain 4 of AGREE II (clarity of presentation) had the highest average quality score (70.95%), while the lowest average quality scores were for Domain 2 (Rigour of Development) (50.21%) and Domain 5 (Applicability) (45.05%). Conclusion Seven guidelines were judged to be of high quality (overall score of ≥ 70%). Future guidelines for tobacco dependence treatment should use rigorous methods of development and provide applicable recommendations.
Kindergarten pre-reading skills predict Grade 9 reading comprehension (PISA Reading) but fail to explain gender difference
Authors: Manu Mari , Torppa Minna , Eklund Kenneth , Poikkeus Anna-Maija , Lerkkanen Marja-Kristiina , Niemi Pekka 
Published: September 2020

AbstractOne of the aims for compulsory education is to diminish or alleviate differences in children’s skills existing prior to school entry. However, a growing gender gap in reading development has increasingly been documented. Regrettably, there is scant evidence on whether differences between genders (favouring girls) have their roots in pre-reading skills or whether determining mechanisms are related to factors to do with schooling. We examined the extent to which pre-reading skills assessed in Kindergarten (age 6) predict reading comprehension in Grade 9 (age 15) and, whether the gender difference in reading comprehension can be explained by gender differences in the Kindergarten pre-reading skills. A sample of 1010 Finnish children were assessed on letter knowledge, phonological awareness, rapid naming, vocabulary, and listening comprehension in Kindergarten and on reading comprehension using PISA Reading tasks in Grade 9. Path models showed that gender as well as Kindergarten pre-reading skills except for phonological awareness were significant predictors of reading comprehension in Grade 9 accounting for 28% of the variance. There were gender differences in most of the measures, but the prediction model estimates were similar for boys and girls except that for boys, letter knowledge was a somewhat stronger predictor of reading comprehension than for girls. The gender effect on reading comprehension was only partially mediated via pre-reading skills. The findings suggest that Kindergarten pre-reading skills are powerful predictors of reading comprehension in Grade 9, but the gender difference found in PISA Reading in Finland does not appear to be pronounced in Kindergarten but rather emerges during the school years.
From Fingers to Faces: Visual Semiotics and Digital Forensics
Authors: Leone Massimo 
Published: September 2020

AbstractIdentification is a primary need of societies. It is even more central in law enforcement. In the history of crime, a dialectics takes place between felonious attempts at concealing, disguising, or forging identities and societal efforts at unmasking the impostures. Semiotics offers specialistic skills at studying the signs of societal detection and identification, including those of forensics and criminology. In human history, no sign more than the face is attached a value of personal identity. Yet, modern forensics realizes that the face can mislead and, inspired by eastern models (China, Japan, India), adopts fingerprinting. In the digital era, however, fingerprinting first goes digital, then it is increasingly replaced by facial recognition. The face is back in digital AI forensics, together with a tangle of sociocultural biases. Semiotics can play a key role in studying their surreptitious influence.
Does integration play a role? Academic self-concepts, self-esteem, and self-perceptions of social integration of elementary school children in inclusive and mainstream classes
Authors: Lohbeck Annette 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe concept of inclusion is based on the assumption that integrating students with SEN into regular (mainstream) classes would enhance students’ performance due to a more stimulating and demanding environment. However, research investigating the effects of inclusive education on students’ academic self-concepts has been scarce. For this reason, the present study aimed to examine the specific relationships and differences for math and verbal self-concepts, self-esteem, and self-perceptions of social integration using two samples of elementary school students from grades 2–4: One group of students attended inclusive classes (n = 178), whilst the other group attended mainstream classes (n = 188). In addition, measurement invariance across classroom setting and possible mediator effects of self-esteem were tested. Results provided support for strong invariance across classroom setting. All constructs were positively correlated with each other. In both math and verbal domains, self-esteem and self-perceptions of social integration proved to be significant predictors of academic self-concepts. Self-esteem was more highly pronounced in younger children, while there were no effects of classroom setting on academic self-concepts. Self-esteem became a significant mediator of the relationships between self-perceptions of social integration and academic self-concepts. No group differences in math and verbal self-concepts, self-esteem, and self-perceptions of social integration were evident.
Facilitating the learning process in parallel computing by using instant messaging
Authors: Guerrero-Higueras Ángel Manuel , Sánchez-González Lídia , Conde-González Miguel Ángel , Castejón-Limas Manuel 
Published: September 2020

AbstractParallel Programming skills may require a long time to acquire. “Think in parallel” is a skill that requires time, effort, and experience. In this work, we propose to facilitate the students’ learning process in parallel programming by using instant messaging. Our aim was to find out whether students’ interaction through instant messaging tools is beneficial for the learning process. In order to do so, we asked several students of an HPC course of the Master’s degree in Computer Science of the University of León to develop a specific parallel application, each of them using a different application program interface: OpenMP, MPI, CUDA, or OpenCL. Even though the used APIs are different, there are common points in the design process. We encouraged students to interact with each other by using Gitter, an instant messaging tool for GitHub users. Our analysis of the communications and results demonstrate that the direct interaction of students through the Gitter tool has a positive impact on the learning process.
Set and revealed preference axioms for multi-valued choice
Authors: Peters Hans , Protopapas Panos 
Published: September 2020

AbstractWe consider choice correspondences that assign a subset to every choice set of alternatives, where the total set of alternatives is an arbitrary finite or infinite set. We focus on the relations between several extensions of the condition of independence of irrelevant alternatives on one hand, and conditions on the revealed preference relation on sets, notably the weak axiom of revealed preference, on the other hand. We also establish the connection between the condition of independence of irrelevant alternatives and so-called strong sets; the latter characterize a social choice correspondence satisfying independence of irrelevant alternatives.