bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cancer risks of firefighters: a systematic review and meta-analysis of secular trends and region-specific differences
Authors: Casjens Swaantje , Brüning Thomas , Taeger Dirk 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the cancer risks among firefighters in the time course and from different geographical areas.

Method
A PubMed search was performed to identify cohort studies about cancer risk and firefighting presented with standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) or standardized mortality ratios (SMRs). Using random-effect models, meta-relative risk estimates (mSIRs, mSMRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were assessed. Cohort studies with employment starting before 1950 were classified as “old”, studies starting between 1950 and 1970 as “medium”, and later studies as “new”.

Results
The general cancer risk of firefighters was similar to the general population, but mSMR decreased over time (new studies: mSMR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.70–0.92). We observed an increase of mSIR for melanoma of the skin and prostate cancer as well as a decrease of mSIR for stomach cancer with later employment onset. For those cancer sites, we did not observe a secular trend of mSMRs. Regional differences between relative cancer risks were particularly observed for bladder cancer.

Conclusions
Among other things, innovative firefighting techniques and better personal protective equipment have provided a safer and healthier working environment for firefighters over time leading to a reduction of overall cancer incidence and mortality ratios. Increased general preventive medical checkups and possible additional screenings for firefighters might have led to more findings of malignant melanoma of the skin and prostate cancer in the recent past.
Treatment discontinuation and re-initiation of anti-PD-(L)1 agents in metastatic cancers
Authors: Tikkanen Antti , Iivanainen Sanna , Koivunen Jussi P. 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Introduction
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are approved in multiple indications for cancer care. Most of the clinical trials have not questioned shorter than until disease progression approaches. In this study, we present results from a cohort of multiple advanced cancers treated with restricted anti-PD-(L)1 therapy.

Methods
All patients with advanced cancers treated with anti-PD-(L)1 therapy outside clinical trials at Oulu University Hospital 2014–19 were retrospectively identified from pharmacy records. Clinical variables, treatment history and survival were collected.

Results
106 patients with median age of 66 years with lung cancer (n = 45, 42.5%), melanoma (n = 30, 28.3%), renal and bladder cancers (GU cancers) (n = 26, 24.5%), head and neck (H&N) cancer (n = 4, 3.8%), and colorectal cancer (n = 1, 0.9%) were included in the study. The median (m) OS for the whole population was 14 months (CI 9.7–18.3), 9 months (CI 6.3–11.7) for patients with no IO-free period (n = 64, 62.1%), and 27.0 months (CI 20.6–33.4, p = 0.000001) for patients (n = 39) with IO-free period. The mIO-free survival was 10.0 months (CI 7.1–12.9) for the whole cohort, 8.0 months (CI 1.7–14.3) for lung cancer, 23.0 months (CI 2.6–43.4) for melanoma, and 14.0 months (CI 0.0–20.4) for GU cancer. From the IO-free cohort, 19 patients needed re-treatment during follow-up, of which 8 were re-challenged with anti-PD-(L)1 therapy. The clinical benefit rate of anti-PD-(L)1 re-challenge was 37.5%.

Conclusions
Our study shows that long IO-free periods can be achieved with limited duration of anti-PD-(L)1 therapy with excellent survival outcomes, and that anti-PD-(L)1 re-challenge is feasible in clinical practice.
Combining 3D seismics, eyewitness accounts and numerical simulations to reconstruct the 1888 Ritter Island sector collapse and tsunami
Authors: Karstens Jens , Kelfoun Karim , Watt Sebastian F. L. , Berndt Christian 
Published: April 2020

AbstractThe 1888 Ritter Island volcanic sector collapse triggered a regionally damaging tsunami. Historic eyewitness accounts allow the reconstruction of the arrival time, phase and height of the tsunami wave at multiple locations around the coast of New Guinea and New Britain. 3D seismic interpretations and sedimentological analyses indicate that the catastrophic collapse of Ritter Island was preceded by a phase of deep-seated gradual spreading within the volcanic edifice and accompanied by a submarine explosive eruption, as the volcanic conduit was cut beneath sea level. However, the potential impact of the deep-seated deformation and the explosive eruption on tsunami genesis is unclear. For the first time, it is possible to parameterise the different components of the Ritter Island collapse with 3D seismic data, and thereby test their relative contributions to the tsunami. The modelled tsunami arrival times and heights are in good agreement with the historic eyewitness accounts. Our simulations reveal that the tsunami was primarily controlled by the displacement of the water column by the collapsing cone at the subaerial-submarine boundary and that the submerged fraction of the slide mass and its mobility had only a minor effect on tsunami genesis. This indicates that the total slide volume, when incorporating the deep-seated deforming mass, is not directly scalable for the resulting tsunami height. Furthermore, the simulations show that the tsunamigenic impact of the explosive eruption energy during the Ritter Island collapse was only minor. However, this relationship may be different for other volcanogenic tsunami events with smaller slide volumes or larger magnitude eruptions, and should not be neglected in tsunami simulations and hazard assessment.
Urban storage heat flux variability explored using satellite, meteorological and geodata
Authors: Lindberg F. , Olofson K. F. G. , Sun T. , Grimmond C. S. B. , Feigenwinter C. 
Published: April 2020

AbstractThe storage heat flux (ΔQS) is the net flow of heat stored within a volume that may include the air, trees, buildings and ground. Given the difficulty of measurement of this important and large flux in urban areas, we explore the use of Earth Observation (EO) data. EO surface temperatures are used with ground-based meteorological forcing, urban morphology, land cover and land use information to estimate spatial variations of ΔQSin urban areas using the Element Surface Temperature Method (ESTM). First, we evaluate ESTM for four “simpler” surfaces. These have good agreement with observed values. ESTM coupled to SUEWS (an urban land surface model) is applied to three European cities (Basel, Heraklion, London), allowing EO data to enhance the exploration of the spatial variability in ΔQS. The impervious surfaces (paved and buildings) contribute most to ΔQS. Building wall area seems to explain variation of ΔQSmost consistently. As the paved fraction increases up to 0.4, there is a clear increase in ΔQS. With a larger paved fraction, the fraction of buildings and wall area is lower which reduces the high values of ΔQS.
Enhancing the substrate tolerance of DszC by a combination of alanine scanning and site-directed saturation mutagenesis
Authors: Li Lu , Ye Lei , Lin Ying , Zhang Wei , Liao Xihao , Liang Shuli 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
The biodesulfurization 4S pathway can specifically desulfurize an aromatic S heterocyclic compound (which is difficult to desulfurize by hydrodesulfurization) and maintain the integrity of its combustion value. The four Dsz enzymes in the pathway convert the model compound dibenzothiophene (DBT) into the sulfur-free compound 2-hydroxybiphenyl (HBP). DszC is the first enzyme in the 4S pathway and is subject to feedback inhibition and substrate inhibition. This study is the first attempt to further modify the DszC mutant AKWC to improve its tolerance to DBT. Alanine scanning was performed on the dimeric surface of the DszC mutant AKWC, and the HBP yield of the BAD (AKWCP413A) strain was increased compared to the BAD (AKWC) strain. Site-directed saturation mutagenesis was performed on the 413th amino acid of AKWC, and the substrate inhibition parameter KI value of the mutant AKWCPI was 5.6 times higher than that of AKWC. When the DBT concentration was 0.25 mM, the HBP production of the recombinant strain overexpressing AKWCPI was increased by approximately 1.4-fold compared to the BL21(DE3)/BADC*+C* strain. The protein engineering of DszC further improved the substrate tolerance after overcoming the feedback inhibition, which provided a reference for the analysis of the inhibition mechanism of DszC substrate. Overexpression of DszC-beneficial mutants also greatly improved the efficiency of desulfurization.
A note on deterministic updating and van Fraassen’s symmetry argument for conditionalization
Authors: Pettigrew Richard 
Published: April 2020

AbstractIn a recent paper, Pettigrew (Philos Stud, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-019-01377-y) argues that the pragmatic and epistemic arguments for Bayesian updating are based on an unwarranted assumption, which he calls deterministic updating, and which says that your updating plan should be deterministic.
In that paper, Pettigrew did not consider whether the symmetry arguments due to Hughes and van Fraassen make the same assumption (Hughes and van Fraassen in: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association. pp. 851–869, 1984; van Fraassen in: Rescher N (ed) Scientific inquiry in philosophical perspective. University Press of America, Lanham, pp. 183–223, 1987). In this note, I show that they do.
Why do females choose to study humanities or social sciences, while males prefer technology or science? Some intrapersonal and interpersonal predictors
Authors: Trusz Sławomir 
Published: April 2020

AbstractThe article attempts to answer the question why females prefer humanities/social studies, whereas males opt for technology/science. For this purpose, the study majors selected by 445 females and 431 males were linked by logit functions with: (1) parents’ and (2) teachers’ expectancies, (3) students’ self-expectancies, (4) their self-concepts of abilities and (5) time spent on learning mathematics and (6) literacy, (7) test results in mathematics and (8) literacy, (9) gender of mathematics, and (10) literacy teacher in the 12th grade. Interaction effects of the mathematics and literacy teacher’s gender with the abovementioned predictors were also quantified. Females’ selections were mostly influenced by teachers’ expectancies, while for males, by their self-concepts. The teacher’s gender modified tested relations in five (females) and nine (males) cases. The results were discussed on the grounds of the theory of intra- and interpersonal expectancies as learning regulators.
Hydrodynamic modelling of traffic-related microplastics discharged with stormwater into the Göta River in Sweden
Authors: Bondelind Mia , Sokolova Ekaterina , Nguyen Ailinh , Karlsson Dick , Karlsson Anna , Björklund Karin 
Published: April 2020

AbstractMicroplastics (MP) are transported from land-based sources from rivers to marine waters. However, there is currently little knowledge about MP fate from land sources to marine waters. Traffic is estimated to be one of the largest sources of MP; hence, stormwater is expected to be an important transportation route of MP to marine waters. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the size and density of tyre wear particles in road run-off on their fate in the Göta River in Sweden using hydrodynamic modelling. The model of the stretch of Göta River, Sweden’s largest river, passing through Gothenburg (Sweden’s second largest city) and out to the sea, was set up using MIKE 3 FM software. Literature data were used to define the MP characteristics: concentrations in stormwater, prevalent particle sizes, density of MP commonly occurring in road run-off and settling velocities. Results show that higher concentrations of MP are found on the south side of the river, compared with the north side, due to higher annual average daily traffic loads along the south side of the river. The mixing processes in the river and the MP concentrations were generally influenced by the vertical water density gradient caused by saline water from the Kattegat strait. While most MP with higher density and larger size settle in the river, smaller MP with density close to 1.0 g/cm3 do not settle in the river and therefore reach the Kattegat strait and the marine environments. Further research is needed to describe the fate and transport of microplastics in the stormwater system, including treatment facilities, i.e. biofouling, aggregation, degradation and/or further fragmentation and settling.
Chromium (VI) in phosphorus fertilizers determined with the diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) technique
Authors: Vogel Christian , Hoffmann Marie C. , Krüger Oliver , Murzin Vadim , Caliebe Wolfgang , Adam Christian 
Published: April 2020

AbstractPhosphorus (P) fertilizers from secondary resources became increasingly important in the last years. However, these novel P-fertilizers can also contain toxic pollutants such as chromium in its hexavalent state (Cr(VI)). This hazardous form of chromium is therefore regulated with low limit values for agricultural products even though the correct determination of Cr(VI) in these fertilizers may be hampered by redox processes, leading to false results. Thus, we applied the novel diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) technique for Cr(VI) in fertilizers and compared the results with the standard wet chemical extraction method (German norm DIN EN 15192) and Cr K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. We determined an overall good correlation between the wet chemical extraction and the DGT method. DGT was very sensitive and for most tested materials selective for the analysis of Cr(VI) in P-fertilizers. However, hardly soluble Cr(VI) compounds cannot be detected with the DGT method since only mobile Cr(VI) is analyzed. Furthermore, Cr K-edge XANES spectroscopy showed that the DGT binding layer also adsorbs small amounts of mobile Cr(III) so that Cr(VI) values are overestimated. Since certain types of the P-fertilizers contain mobile Cr(III) or partly immobile Cr(VI), it is necessary to optimize the DGT binding layers to avoid aforementioned over- or underestimation. Furthermore, our investigations showed that the Cr K-edge XANES spectroscopy technique is unsuitable to determine small amounts of Cr(VI) in fertilizers (below approx. 1% of Cr(VI) in relation to total Cr).
Phytotoxicity and phytogenotoxicity of soil and air in the vicinity of a petrochemical plant in Płock (Poland)
Authors: Karaczun Zbigniew M. , Obidoska Grażyna , Żarska Barbara 
Published: April 2020

AbstractPetrochemical industries have been widely recognised as important emission sources of airborne contaminants including heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAHs, which affect the quality of air, soil and vegetation. In this study, our aim was to examine the phytotoxicity and phytogenotoxicity of soils and air in the vicinity of a petrochemical plant, in order to assess the potential threat of such industrial objects for crops and natural vegetation, in the cases when the allowable concentrations of contaminants are not exceeded and the plants in the vicinity visually do not seem to be affected. For phytotoxicity and phytogenotoxicity assessment, the Phytotoxkit and respectively Vicia RTA and TRAD MCN bioassays were used. According to our results, in spite of relatively low content of heavy metals and PAHs (hardly any exceedance of standards), the phytotoxicity and especially phytogenotoxicity of soil samples collected up to 18 km from the refinery were detected by the bioindicators. The phytogenotoxicity of air was also indicated within the distance of up to 12 km. We concluded that to obtain the complete view of the environmental risks in a surveyed area, a combination of chemical analysis of environmental samples with the bioindication methods should be implemented. In addition, setting the acceptable levels of contaminants should involve a more extensive use of bioindication methods (especially genotoxicity assessment).
Relationships Between Vitamin D Status and PTH over 5 Years After Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: a Longitudinal Cohort Study
Authors: Hewitt Stephen , Kristinsson Jon , Aasheim Erlend Tuseth , Blom-Høgestøl Ingvild Kristine , Aaseth Eirik , Jahnsen Jørgen , Eriksen Erik Fink , Mala Tom 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Purpose
Secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) after obesity surgery may affect bone health. Optimal vitamin D levels have not been established to prevent SHPT postoperatively. We investigated whether SHPT differed across threshold levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (S-25(OH)D) from 6 months up to 5 years after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB).

Materials and Methods
We included 554 patients at follow-up 5 years postoperatively. Blood samples were analysed for S-25(OH)D, ionized calcium (iCa) and parathyroid hormone (PTH) during follow-up.

Results
PTH and prevalence of SHPT increased from 6 months to 5 years postoperatively, while S-25(OH)D and iCa decreased (all P < 0.001). PTH and SHPT development are related with S-25(OH)D, and PTH differed between all subgroups of S-25(OH)D. SHPT occurred less frequently across all subgroups of S-25(OH)D ≥ 50 nmol/l during follow-up: odds ratio (OR) 0.44 (95% CI 0.36–0.54) in patients with S-25(OH)D ≥ 50 nmol/l, OR 0.38 (0.30–0.49) with S-25(OH)D ≥ 75 nmol/l and OR 0.19 (0.12–0.31) with S-25(OH) D ≥ 100 nmol/l, all compared with S-25(OH)D < 50 nmol/l. At 5 years, 208/554 patients (38%) had SHPT; SHPT was found in 94/188 patients (50%) with S-25(OH)D < 50 nmol/l, in 69/222 (31%) with S-25(OH)D 50–74 nmol/l, in 40/117 (34%) with S-25(OH)D 75–99 nmol/l and in 5/27 (19%) with S-25(OH)D ≥ 100 nmol/l. An interaction existed between S-25(OH)D and iCa. Bone alkaline phosphatase remained increased with SHPT.

Conclusions
A significant relationship existed between S-25(OH)D and development of PTH and SHPT. The prevalence of SHPT was lower with threshold levels 25(OH)D ≥ 50 nmol/l and ≥ 75 nmol/l over the 5 years, and lowest with S-25(OH)D ≥ 100 nmol/l.
FEMfuns: A Volume Conduction Modeling Pipeline that Includes Resistive, Capacitive or Dispersive Tissue and Electrodes
Authors: Vermaas M. , Piastra M. C. , Oostendorp T. F. , Ramsey N. F. , Tiesinga P. H. E. 
Published: April 2020

AbstractApplications such as brain computer interfaces require recordings of relevant neuronal population activity with high precision, for example, with electrocorticography (ECoG) grids. In order to achieve this, both the placement of the electrode grid on the cortex and the electrode properties, such as the electrode size and material, need to be optimized. For this purpose, it is essential to have a reliable tool that is able to simulate the extracellular potential, i.e., to solve the so-called ECoG forward problem, and to incorporate the properties of the electrodes explicitly in the model. In this study, this need is addressed by introducing the first open-source pipeline, FEMfuns (finite element method for useful neuroscience simulations), that allows neuroscientists to solve the forward problem in a variety of different geometrical domains, including different types of source models and electrode properties, such as resistive and capacitive materials. FEMfuns is based on the finite element method (FEM) implemented in FEniCS and includes the geometry tessellation, several electrode-electrolyte implementations and adaptive refinement options. The code of the pipeline is available under the GNU General Public License version 3 athttps://github.com/meronvermaas/FEMfuns. We tested our pipeline with several geometries and source configurations such as a dipolar source in a multi-layer sphere model and a five-compartment realistically-shaped head model. Furthermore, we describe the main scripts in the pipeline, illustrating its flexible and versatile use. Provided with a sufficiently fine tessellation, the numerical solution of the forward problem approximates the analytical solution. Furthermore, we show dispersive material and interface effects in line with previous literature. Our results indicate substantial capacitive and dispersive effects due to the electrode-electrolyte interface when using stimulating electrodes. The results demonstrate that the pipeline presented in this paper is an accurate and flexible tool to simulate signals generated on electrode grids by the spatiotemporal electrical activity patterns produced by sources and thereby allows the user to optimize grids for brain computer interfaces including exploration of alternative electrode materials/properties.
Preliminary aerodynamic design of a reusable booster flight experiment
Authors: Merrem C. , Wartemann V. , Eggers Th. 
Published: April 2020

AbstractThe Reusable Flight Experiment (ReFEx) is an experimental vehicle currently in development by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), which simulates the reentry of a winged reusable booster stage. The topic covered in this paper is the aerodynamic design through the Mach number range from 5.0 to 0.8, including the transonic regime, by CFD simulations using the DLR TAU-Code. For steering and lift generation, the vehicle is equipped with multiple aerodynamic surfaces: canards, wings and a vertical fin. A VSB30 was chosen as the carrier rocket, leading to numerous limiting conditions that had to be fulfilled. The resulting tradeoffs are discussed. Also the process to achieve a configuration that meets all needs regarding stability during ascent and descent, controllability and energy management to autonomously follow a desired trajectory is explained. Since this vehicle is under development, the presented geometry is not necessarily the final shape. However, the completed design iterations strongly indicate that only details will differ between the presented state to the final and flyable ReFEx, scheduled to fly in 2022.
Effect of extrusion on the polymerization of wheat glutenin and changes in the gluten network
Authors: Jia Feng , Wang Jinshui , Wang Qi , Zhang Xia , Di Chen  , Chen Yu , Zhang Changfu 
Published: April 2020

AbstractThe changes in the gluten network during extrusion treatment were studied by assessing the polymerization behavior of glutenin. Gluten samples were extruded at different barrel temperatures, screw speeds, and flow rates. The results indicated that high molecular weight glutenin subunits increased while free sulfhydryl groups and low molecular weight glutenin subunits decreased as the screw speeds and flow rates increased during extrusion treatment. Specific β-sheet structures of gluten clearly increased, while α-helices and β-turns fluctuated during extrusion processing, thus forming a tight gluten network. The characteristics of the protein network were evaluated by confocal laser scanning microscopy. The results showed that a homogeneous and denser gluten network was formed at higher extrusion temperatures during the extrusion process, which may be related to the polymerization of low-molecular-weight glutenin subunits. This study provides a theoretical basis for the improvement and regulation of extrusion quality during the gluten extrusion process.