bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Lytic effects of water on cancer cells: Implications for post‐operative irrigation
Authors: Nandurkar Ruchira , Sluka Pavel , Wardan Hady , Davis Ian D. , Sengupta Shomik 
Published: August 2021

AbstractBackgroundIntraoperative tumour spillage can be concerning during cancer excisions, given it can lead to tumour‐cell re‐implantation and local recurrence. Examples include bladder tumour recurrences post‐transurethral resection, or peritoneal spillage during laparotomy/laparoscopy for bowel and ovarian cancers. One approach to reducing implantation is mechanical wash out of free‐floating tumour cells. Irrigation with water may have additional effectiveness compared to iso‐osmotic irrigants (e.g. saline) by causing osmotic cytolysis, but this is not well‐characterised. This in vitro study aimed to ascertain the time‐course of osmotic effects of water on various cancer cell lines to provide guidance for clinical usage.MethodsAssays were conducted on six cancer cell lines (bladder [HT1197, HT1376], colon [KM12, LIM2405], kidney [SKRC52], and ovarian [COV434]). Cells were exposed to water or 0.9% saline and cell counts were performed using a haemocytometer at 10, 20, 40, 60, 120 and 180 min. Cell viability was determined using Trypan Blue exclusion.ResultsIn all cell lines, exposure to water led to 100% cell lysis within a median time of 40 min (range 10–180 min), while exposure to saline led to a gradual decline in cell viability (median 50.2%, range 6.7%–100.0%) over 3 h, and did not result in complete cell lysis. An increase in osmotic gradient equivalent to a concentration of 5% NaCl was sufficient to impede the effects of water‐mediated cell lysis.ConclusionOur studies suggest that water has a rapid osmolytic effect on cancer cells. The required exposure time to reach 0% cell viability varied between individual cell lines.
Media visibility and board gender diversity
Authors: Peña‐Martel Devora , Pérez‐Alemán Jerónimo , Santana‐Martín Domingo J. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractDespite the efforts of governments and market regulators, the under‐representation of women on corporate boards continues to be a global concern. In this context, this study extends prior literature by investigating the relationship between media visibility and gender diversity on boards of directors. We examine a sample of 101 Spanish nonfinancial listed firms over the period 2003–2016. We find that media visibility positively affects board gender diversity. This finding is robust to alternative measures of media visibility and different econometric specifications. This research contributes to the existing literature on the relationship between media and board composition by suggesting the role of the media as a driver of board gender diversity. Results support the notion that the media are able to discipline managers and dominant owners by inflicting reputational costs.
Procedural fairness for radiotherapy priority setting in a low resource context
Authors: DeBoer Rebecca J. , Nguyen Cam , Mutoniwase Espérance , Ho Anita , Umutesi Grace , Bigirimana Jean Bosco , Triedman Scott A. , Shyirambere Cyprien 
Published: August 2021

AbstractRadiotherapy is an essential component of cancer treatment, yet many countries do not have adequate capacity to serve their populations. This mismatch between demand and supply creates the need for priority setting. There is no widely accepted system to guide patient prioritization for radiotherapy in a low resource context. In the absence of consensus on allocation principles, fair procedures for priority setting should be established. Research is needed to understand what elements of procedural fairness are important to decision makers in diverse settings, assess the feasibility of implementing fair procedures for priority setting in low resource contexts, and improve these processes. This study presents the views of decision makers engaged in everyday radiotherapy priority setting at a cancer center in Rwanda. Semi‐structured interviews with 22 oncology physicians, nurses, program leaders, and advisors were conducted. Participants evaluated actual radiotherapy priority setting procedures at the program (meso) and patient (micro) levels, reporting facilitators, barriers, and recommendations. We discuss our findings in relation to the leading Accountability for Reasonableness (AFR) framework. Participants emphasized procedural elements that facilitate adherence to normative principles, such as objective criteria that maximize lives saved. They ascribed fairness to AFR's substantive requirement of relevance more than transparency, appeals, and enforcement. They identified several challenges unresolved by AFR, such as conflicting relevant rationales and unintended consequences of publicity and appeals. Implementing fair procedure itself is resource intensive, a paradox that calls for innovative, context‐appropriate solutions. Finally, socioeconomic and structural barriers to care that undermine procedural fairness must be addressed.
The epigenetic mechanisms involved in mitochondrial dysfunction: Implication for Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Chen Zixuan , Rasheed Madiha , Deng Yulin 
Published: August 2021

AbstractMitochondrial dysfunction is one of the crucial factors involved in PD’s pathogenicity, which emerges from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. These factors cause differential molecular expression in neurons, such as varied transcriptional regulation of genes, elevated oxidative stress, α‐synuclein aggregation and endogenous neurotoxins release, which induces epigenetic modifications and triggers energy crisis by damaging mitochondria of the dopaminergic neurons (DN). So far, these events establish a complicated relationship with underlying mechanisms of mitochondrial anomalies in PD, which has remained unclear for years and made PD diagnosis and treatment extremely difficult. Therefore, in this review, we endeavored to discuss the complex association of epigenetic modifications and other associated vital factors in mitochondrial dysfunction. We propose a hypothesis that describes a vicious cycle in which mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress act as a hub for regulating DA neuron's fate in PD. Oxidative stress triggers the release of endogenous neurotoxins (CTIQs) that lead to mitochondrial dysfunction along with abnormal α‐synuclein aggregation and epigenetic modifications. These disturbances further intensify oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage, amplifying the synthesis of CTIQs and works vice versa. This vicious cycle may result in the degeneration of DN to hallmark Parkinsonism. Furthermore, we have also highlighted various endogenous compounds and epigenetic marks (neurotoxic and neuroprotective), which may help for devising future diagnostic biomarkers and target specific drugs using novel PD management strategies.
Sediment provenance, routing and tectonic linkages in the Nankai forearc region, Japan
Authors: Ramirez S. G. , Hayman N. W. , Gulick S. P. S. , Milliken K. L. , Stockli D. F. , Masago H. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractUnderstanding sedimentary routing systems at continental margins can be challenging in tectonically active regions such as forearc basins. Here, we combine sand modal composition and detrital zircon U‐Pb data from the Kumano Basin and surrounding Nankai Trough region of Japan to explore sedimentation in an active forearc and its linkages to the regional tectonic history. Our analyses are on Miocene‐to‐Pleistocene samples collected by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) at inner and outer forearc basin sites C0009 and C0002, river samples from onshore Honshu, and published results from other Nankai IODP sites. Results show the sediments of many IODP samples are similar to that of the modern rivers. Data from C0009 demonstrate that the early accretionary prism already contained slope basins fed by sediments similar to those in the modern Kumano River by 7.1 Ma. The more distal C0002 section was predominantly fed by a system similar to the modern Yodo River, located to the west‐southwest. We conclude that the section was therefore tectonically transported, in agreement with the ‘mobile model’ of oblique tectonic convergence across SW Japan during late Miocene time. Deposition resumed after a ca. 5.6–3.8 Ma hiatus, with sediments primarily fed from the paleo‐Kumano River, with some input from the paleo‐Tenryu and Kiso/Nagara rivers located to the northeast. Input from the paleo‐Tenryu and Kiso/Nagara rivers was likely re‐routed towards the trench by ca. 1.3 Ma. Sediments similar to those of the distal Yodo River also make up part of the Kumano basin fill and are best explained by erosion of uplifted older accretionary prism sediments along the Megasplay Fault that bounds the forearc basin. Despite the temporal variability in sedimentation routed to the basin, basin‐fill dynamics appear to have been governed primarily by the critical‐wedge style dynamics driven by variations in frontal accretion and in‐ or out‐of‐sequence thrusting response.
Gender and public sector careers: The motivations of Master of Public Administration students
Authors: DeRiviere Linda , Wranik Wiesława Dominika , Grace Joan 
Published: August 2021

AbstractWhy are graduate school applicants interested in public service? Who are these individuals and how do they convey their preference for a career in the public sector? We present an exploratory qualitative study on gender differences in deciding to undertake a master’s degree in public administration with the intent of seeking public sector employment. Our findings reveal that female applicants are particularly interested in influencing policy changes around social justice causes, while male applicants exhibit a strong desire to understand how the public policy process and government bureaucracies work. This research has important practical implications because understanding graduate students’ motivations for pursuing a career in public administration is critical for human resources recruitment, retention, and employee management.
Roominoes: Generating Novel 3D Floor Plans From Existing 3D Rooms
Authors: Wang Kai , Xu Xianghao , Lei Leon , Ling Selena , Lindsay Natalie , Chang Angel X. , Savva Manolis , Ritchie Daniel 
Published: August 2021

AbstractRealistic 3D indoor scene datasets have enabled significant recent progress in computer vision, scene understanding, autonomous navigation, and 3D reconstruction. But the scale, diversity, and customizability of existing datasets is limited, and it is time‐consuming and expensive to scan and annotate more. Fortunately, combinatorics is on our side: there are enough individual rooms in existing 3D scene datasets, if there was but a way to recombine them into new layouts. In this paper, we propose the task of generating novel 3D floor plans from existing 3D rooms. We identify three sub‐tasks of this problem: generation of 2D layout, retrieval of compatible 3D rooms, and deformation of 3D rooms to fit the layout. We then discuss different strategies for solving the problem, and design two representative pipelines: one uses available 2D floor plans to guide selection and deformation of 3D rooms; the other learns to retrieve a set of compatible 3D rooms and combine them into novel layouts. We design a set of metrics that evaluate the generated results with respect to each of the three subtasks and show that different methods trade off performance on these subtasks. Finally, we survey downstream tasks that benefit from generated 3D scenes and discuss strategies in selecting the methods most appropriate for the demands of these tasks.
Discrete Optimization for Shape Matching
Authors: Ren Jing , Melzi Simone , Wonka Peter , Ovsjanikov Maks 
Published: August 2021

AbstractWe propose a novel discrete solver for optimizing functional map‐based energies, including descriptor preservation and promoting structural properties such as area‐preservation, bijectivity and Laplacian commutativity among others. Unlike the commonly‐used continuous optimization methods, our approach enforces the functional map to be associated with a pointwise correspondence as a hard constraint, which provides a stronger link between optimized properties of functional and point‐to‐point maps. Under this hard constraint, our solver obtains functional maps with lower energy values compared to the standard continuous strategies. Perhaps more importantly, the recovered pointwise maps from our discrete solver preserve the optimized for functional properties and are thus of higher overall quality. We demonstrate the advantages of our discrete solver on a range of energies and shape categories, compared to existing techniques for promoting pointwise maps within the functional map framework. Finally, with this solver in hand, we introduce a novel Effective Functional Map Refinement (EFMR) method which achieves the state‐of‐the‐art accuracy on the SHREC'19 benchmark.
Delaunay Meshing and Repairing of NURBS Models
Authors: Xiao X. , Alliez P. , Busé L. , Rineau L. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractCAD models represented by NURBS surface patches are often hampered with defects due to inaccurate representations of trimming curves. Such defects make these models unsuitable to the direct generation of valid volume meshes, and often require trial‐and‐error processes to fix them. We propose a fully automated Delaunay‐based meshing approach which can mesh and repair simultaneously, while being independent of the input NURBS patch layout. Our approach proceeds by Delaunay filtering and refinement, in which trimmed areas are repaired through implicit surfaces. Beyond repair, we demonstrate its capability to smooth out sharp features, defeature small details, and mesh multiple domains in contact.
On Landmark Distances in Polygons
Authors: Gotsman C. , Hormann K. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractWe study the landmark distance function between two points in a simply connected planar polygon. We show that if the polygon vertices are used as landmarks, then the resulting landmark distance function to any given point in the polygon has a maximum principle and also does not contain local minima. The latter implies that a path between any two points in the polygon may be generated by steepest descent on this distance without getting “stuck” at a local minimum. Furthermore, if landmarks are increasingly added along polygon edges, the steepest descent path converges to the minimal geodesic path. Therefore, the landmark distance can be used, on the one hand in robotic navigation for routing autonomous agents along close‐to‐shortest paths and on the other for efficiently computing approximate geodesic distances between any two domain points, a property which may be useful in an extension of our work to surfaces in 3D. In the discrete setting, the steepest descent strategy becomes a greedy routing algorithm along the edges of a triangulation of the interior of the polygon, and our experiments indicate that this discrete landmark routing always delivers (i.e., does not get stuck) on “nice” triangulations.
Early motor outcomes in infants with critical congenital heart disease are related to neonatal brain development and brain injury
Authors: Stegeman Raymond , Sprong Maaike C A , Breur Johannes M P J , Groenendaal Floris , de Vries Linda S , Haas Felix , van der Net Janjaap , Jansen Nicolaas J G , Benders Manon J N L , Claessens Nathalie H P ,   CHD LifeSpan Study Group Utrecht
Published: August 2021

AimTo assess the relationship between neonatal brain development and injury with early motor outcomes in infants with critical congenital heart disease (CCHD).MethodNeonatal brain magnetic resonance imaging was performed after open‐heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. Cortical grey matter (CGM), unmyelinated white matter, and cerebellar volumes, as well as white matter motor tract fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity were assessed. White matter injury (WMI) and arterial ischaemic stroke (AIS) with corticospinal tract (CST) involvement were scored. Associations with motor outcomes at 3, 9, and 18 months were corrected for repeated cardiac surgery.ResultsFifty‐one infants (31 males, 20 females) were included prospectively. Median age at neonatal surgery and postoperative brain magnetic resonance imaging was 7 days (interquartile range [IQR] 5–11d) and 15 days (IQR 12–21d) respectively. Smaller CGM and cerebellar volumes were associated with lower fine motor scores at 9 months (CGM regression coefficient=0.51, 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.15–0.86; cerebellum regression coefficient=3.08, 95% CI=1.07–5.09) and 18 months (cerebellum regression coefficient=2.08, 95% CI=0.47–5.12). The fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity of white matter motor tracts were not related with motor scores. WMI was related to lower gross motor scores at 9 months (mean difference −0.8SD, 95% CI=−1.5 to −0.2). AIS with CST involvement increased the risk of gross motor problems and muscle tone abnormalities. Cerebral palsy (n=3) was preceded by severe ischaemic brain injury.InterpretationNeonatal brain development and injury are associated with fewer favourable early motor outcomes in infants with CCHD.
Epilepsy in children with cerebral palsy: a data linkage study
Authors: Szpindel Aliya , Myers Kenneth A , Ng Pamela , Dorais Marc , Koclas Louise , Pigeon Nicole , Shevell Michael , Oskoui Maryam 
Published: August 2021

AimTo compare the prevalence of epilepsy in children with cerebral palsy (CP) to peer controls and their differences in healthcare utilization.MethodThe Quebec CP registry was linked to the provincial administrative health database. Two CP cohorts were identified from the registry (n=302, 168 males, 1y 2mo–14y) and administrative data (n=370, 221 males, 2y 2mo–14y). A control cohort (n=6040, 3340 males, 10–14y) was matched by age, sex, and region to the CP registry cohort. Administrative data algorithms were used to define epilepsy cases. Data on hospitalizations and emergency department presentations were obtained.ResultsUsing the most sensitive epilepsy definition, prevalence was 42.05% in the CP registry, 43.24% in the CP administrative data, and 1.39% in controls. Prevalence rose with increasing Gross Motor Function Classification System level. Children with CP and epilepsy had increased number and length of hospitalizations and emergency department presentations compared to children with CP or epilepsy alone. Epilepsy accounted for approximately 5% of emergency department presentations and 10% of hospitalizations in children with epilepsy, with and without CP.InterpretationChildren with CP have an increased risk of epilepsy compared to their peers. Children with CP and coexisting epilepsy represent a unique subset with complex developmental disability and increased healthcare service utilization.
Intracranial aneurysm wall enhancement as an indicator of instability: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Molenberg Rob , Aalbers Marlien W. , Appelman Auke P.A. , Uyttenboogaart Maarten , van Dijk J. Marc C. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractBackground and purposeAneurysm wall enhancement (AWE) of intracranial aneurysms on magnetic resonance imaging has been described in previous studies as a surrogate marker of instability. With this study, an updated literature overview and summary risk estimates of the association between AWE and different specific outcomes (i.e., rupture, growth or symptomatic presentation) for both cross‐sectional and longitudinal studies are provided.MethodsThe PRISMA guideline was followed and a search was performed of PubMed and Embase to 1 January 2021 for studies that reported on AWE and aneurysm instability. In cross‐sectional studies, AWE was compared between patients with stable and unstable aneurysms. In longitudinal studies, AWE of stable aneurysms was assessed at baseline after which patients were followed longitudinally. Risk ratios were calculated for longitudinal studies, prevalence ratios for cross‐sectional studies and then the ratios were pooled in a random‐effects meta‐analysis. Also, the performance of AWE to differentiate between stable and unstable aneurysms was evaluated.ResultsTwelve studies were included with a total of 1761 aneurysms. In cross‐sectional studies, AWE was positively associated with rupture (prevalence ratio 11.47, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.05–32.46) and growth or symptomatic presentation (prevalence ratio 4.62, 95% CI 2.85–7.49). Longitudinal studies demonstrated a positive association between AWE and growth or rupture (risk ratio 8.00, 95% CI 2.14–29.88). Assessment of the performance of AWE showed high sensitivities, mixed specificities, low positive predictive values and high negative predictive values.ConclusionsAlthough AWE is positively associated with aneurysm instability, current evidence mostly supports the use of its absence as a surrogate marker of aneurysm stability.
A novel method to uniquely determine the parameters in Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman model
Authors: Zhang Tairui , Lu Kai , Mano Akihiro , Yamaguchi Yoshihito , Katsuyama Jinya , Li Yinsheng 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThe Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman (GTN) model is promising in failure prediction as it takes the micromechanical behavior of ductile metals into consideration. However, its engineering applications have scarcely progressed due to the difficulty in determining its eight strongly coupled parameters. Taking the physical background of GTN model into consideration, a set of methods was established to determine all parameters in the GTN model. The knowledge of continuum damage mechanics was introduced to experimentally determine the development of void volume fraction through an interrupted uniaxial tensile test, by which the three parameters regarding void nucleation were analytically derived. Other parameters in the GTN model were also uniquely determined through a joint use of the chemical composition analysis, the cell model analyses, and the inverse finite element method. Reliability of this novel parameter determination method was verified through failure predictions on both cracked and un‐cracked specimens of STPT410.
Ghana’s economic growth: Directing our focus on the contributing influences of innovation activities and trade
Authors: Bakpa Ernest Kay , Xuhua Hu , Aboagye Abigail Konadu 
Published: August 2021

AbstractInnovation and international trade are crucial determinants of economic growth. Research on economic growth has mainly focused on the possible link between innovation and economic growth as well as the link between international trade and economic growth. Yet, research on the nexus that exists among innovation, international trade, and economic growth has remained unexplored. Moreover, research on the individual contributing factor of innovation and international trade to economic growth in the same study has equally remained unexplored. Thus, to address these gaps, this study evaluated the connection among all three variables. It further examined the individual contributing factor of innovation and international trade to economic growth. Annual time‐series data of the Ghanaian economy over a period of 2000–2019 was employed in this study. The findings established that all three variables: innovation, international trade, and economic growth cointegrated. This implies that there was a long‐run equilibrium association between all three variables. The study further estimated long‐run cointegration parameters using the fully modified ordinary least squares and dynamic ordinary least squares. The results proved that there was evidence of a positive correlation between economic growth and innovation, while there was a negative correlation between economic growth and international trade.