bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The everchanging framework of autoinflammation
Authors: Manna Raffaele , Rigante Donato 
Published: May 2021

AbstractThe innate immunity works as a defence bullwark that safeguards healthy tissues with the power of detecting infectious agents in the human body: errors in the context of innate immunity identify autoinflammatory disorders (AIDs), which arise as bouts of aberrant inflammation with little or no involvement of T and B cells and neither recognized infections, nor associated autoimmune phenomena. Hereditary AIDs tend to have a pediatric-onset heralded by stereotyped inflammatory symptoms and fever, while AIDs without an ascertained cause, such as systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis, derive from the interaction of genetic factors with environmental noxae and are unevenly defined. A dysregulated inflammasome activation promotes the best-known family of AIDs, as well as several degenerative and metabolic disorders, but also nuclear factor κB- and interferon-mediated conditions have been framed as AIDs: the zenith of inflammatory flares marks different phenotypes, but diagnosis may go unnoticed until adulthood due to downplayed symptoms and complex kaleidoscopic presentations. This review summarizes the main AIDs encountered in childhood with special emphasis on the clinical stigmata that may help establish a correct framework and blueprints to empower young scientists in the recognition of AIDs. The description focuses inflammasomopathies as paradigms of interleukinopathies, nuclear factor-κB -related disorders and interferonopathies. The challenges in the management of AIDs during childhood have been recently boosted by numerous therapeutic options derived from genomically-based approaches, which have led to identify targeted biologic agents as rationalized treatments and achieve more tangible perspectives of disease control.
Interventional Radiology Approaches for Liver Metastases from Thyroid Cancer: A Case Series and Overview of the Literature
Authors: Nervo Alice , Ragni Alberto , Retta Francesca , Calandri Marco , Gazzera Carlo , Gallo Marco , Piovesan Alessandro , Arvat Emanuela 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Background
Liver metastases (LMs) from thyroid cancer (TC) are relatively uncommon in clinical practice and their management is challenging. Interventional radiology loco-regional treatments (LRTs), including radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and trans-arterial chemoembolization (TACE), have been successfully employed to treat LMs from various types of cancer.

Methods
We analyzed the role of LRTs in the management of unresectable LMs from differentiated and medullary TCs performed at our institution from 2015 to 2020. A review of the available English literature regarding this topic was also performed.

Results
Six hepatic LRTs were performed in 4 TC patients with LMs, in 2 cases after the start of treatment with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). A partial response was obtained in 2 patients; the diameter of the largest targeted lesion was 18 mm in both of them. The remaining procedures were performed on larger lesions and a stable disease was achieved in all but one case. Acute LRT-related complications were transient and mild. In literature, the largest studies were focused on TACE in LMs from MTC, showing good tolerance and remarkable disease control, especially in case of limited liver tumour involvement.

Conclusion
LRTs for LMs represent a valuable option for the treatment of metastatic TC in case of isolated hepatic progression or for symptoms relief, also after the start of TKI treatment as part of a multimodal approach. The best disease control is obtained when hepatic metastatic burden is limited. These procedures are generally well tolerated; however, a cautious multidisciplinary selection of the candidates is mandatory.
Challenges to competitive manufacturing in high-cost environments: checklist and insights from Swedish manufacturing firms
Authors: Edh Mirzaei Nina , Hilletofth Per , Pal Rudrajeet 
Published: May 2021

AbstractResearch on competitive manufacturing (CM) in high-cost environments has earlier indicated that firms struggle to remain competitive and that manufacturing operations often have been offshored to low-cost environments. The purpose of this research is to explore and create a compounded view of challenges related to both internal and external environments of firms when operating in high-cost environments. This issue has been investigated through a qualitative case study involving five manufacturing firms in Sweden. This research has empirically derived the challenges associated with sustaining CM in high-cost environments and developed a prescriptive checklist. Seven main categories of challenges have been identified, ranging from a micro level related to product characteristics and employee involvement, to a macro level related to supply chain collaborations and industry systems. This research contributes to the existing literature on CM in high-cost locations by explaining and detailing what constitutes challenges in this kind of environment.
Sugarcane Breeding in Reunion: Challenges, Achievements and Future Prospects
Authors: Dumont Thomas , Barau Laurent , Thong-Chane Audrey , Dijoux Jordan , Mellin Mathilde , Daugrois Jean , Hoarau Jean-Yves 
Published: May 2021

AbstractAll over the world, sugarcane breeding programs are developing new, high-yielding cultivars that are resistant to major diseases to improve the profitability and sustainability of the sugar-energy industries they serve. In Reunion Island, sugarcane genetic improvement efforts began in 1929. Many challenges had to be overcome. Continuous breeding efforts have been made to develop varietal resistances to control some major diseases and are still going on today. Given the extreme agroclimatic diversity that characterizes the different production areas of the industry, it was necessary to gradually develop a large network of seven decentralized breeding programs to support genetic progress throughout the whole industry. This article provides an overview of the sugarcane breeding program of Reunion. It describes historical achievements and gives detailed information about germplasm development, variety exchanges, breeding program and selection scheme and procedures. A review is also made on applied genetics research activities supporting variety improvement. Further progress depends on the optimized functioning of the current breeding program, which has never been so largely extended in terms of target environments. The article discusses prospects of genomics breeding applications in the complex genetic context of sugarcane, which will require large multidisciplinary collaborations.
Gamblified digital product offerings: an experimental study of loot box menu designs
Authors: Adam Martin , Roethke Konstantin , Benlian Alexander 
Published: May 2021

AbstractTo augment traditional monetization strategies, digital platform providers increasingly draw on gamblification (i.e., the use of gambling design elements). By means of gambling design elements (e.g., lottery tickets, scratch cards, loot boxes), platform providers do not only entertain users but also incentivize them to purchase digital products. Yet, despite the increasing prevalence of gamblified digital platforms, little is known about how gamblification influences user purchase behaviors. Drawing on prospect theory, we investigate gamblification in the form of loot box menu designs and the associated effects of uncertainty, loss experience and behavioral control on user purchase behavior. Specifically, we conducted a contest-based online experiment with 159 participants, finding that platform providers can profit from offering loot boxes with certain (vs. uncertain) rewards in loot box menus. Furthermore, this effect intensifies when participants previously experienced a loss and decreases when they perceive to have more control over the result. Thus, our findings provide theoretical and practical insights for a better understanding of gamblification in general and of loot box menu designs for enhancing digital business models in particular.
Image smoothing based on global sparsity decomposition and a variable parameter
Authors: Ma Xiang , Li Xuemei , Zhou Yuanfeng , Zhang Caiming 
Published: May 2021

AbstractSmoothing images, especially with rich texture, is an important problem in computer vision. Obtaining an ideal result is difficult due to complexity, irregularity, and anisotropicity of the texture. Besides, some properties are shared by the texture and the structure in an image. It is a hard compromise to retain structure and simultaneously remove texture. To create an ideal algorithm for image smoothing, we face three problems. For images with rich textures, the smoothing effect should be enhanced. We should overcome inconsistency of smoothing results in different parts of the image. It is necessary to create a method to evaluate the smoothing effect. We apply texture pre-removal based on global sparse decomposition with a variable smoothing parameter to solve the first two problems. A parametric surface constructed by an improved Bessel method is used to determine the smoothing parameter. Three evaluation measures: edge integrity rate, texture removal rate, and gradient value distribution are proposed to cope with the third problem. We use the alternating direction method of multipliers to complete the whole algorithm and obtain the results. Experiments show that our algorithm is better than existing algorithms both visually and quantitatively. We also demonstrate our method’s ability in other applications such as clip-art compression artifact removal and content-aware image manipulation.
Scalability of photochemical reactions in continuous flow mode
Authors: Donnelly Kian , Baumann Marcus 
Published: May 2021

AbstractContinuous flow photochemistry as a field has witnessed an increasing popularity over the last decade in both academia and industry. Key drivers for this development are safety, practicality as well as the ability to rapidly access complex chemical structures. Continuous flow reactors, whether home-built or from commercial suppliers, additionally allow for creating valuable target compounds in a reproducible and automatable manner. Recent years have furthermore seen the advent of new energy efficient LED lamps that in combination with innovative reactor designs provide a powerful means to increasing both the practicality and productivity of modern photochemical flow reactors. In this review article we wish to highlight key achievements pertaining to the scalability of such continuous photochemical processes.
Graphical abstract
Quasi-3D modeling of Li-ion batteries based on single 2D image
Authors: Takagishi Yoichi , Yamanaka Takumi , Yamaue Tatsuya 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Electrochemical physics-based simulations of Li-ion batteries using a mesoscale 3D structure of porous electrodes are one of the most effective approaches for evaluating the local Li concentration in active materials and the Li-ion concentration in electrolytes. However, this approach requires considerable computational resources compared with a simple 2D or 1D homogeneous simulation. In this work, we developed an advanced electrochemical physics-based simulation method for Li-ion batteries that enabled a quasi-3D simulation of charge/discharge using only a single 2D slice image. The governing equations were based on typical theories of electrochemical reactions and ion transport. From referencing the 2D plane, the model was able to simulate both the Li concentration in the active material and the Li-ion concentration in the electrolyte for their subsequent consideration in a virtual 3D structure. To confirm the validity of our proposed model, a full 3D discharge simulation with randomly packed active material particles was performed and compared with the results of the quasi-3D model and a simple-2D model. Results indicated that the quasi-3D model properly reproduced the sliced Li and Li-ion concentrations simulated by the full 3D model in the charge/discharge process, whereas the simple-2D simulation partially overestimated or underestimated these concentrations. In addition, the quasi-3D model made it possible to dramatically decrease the computation time compared to the full-3D model. Finally, we applied the model to an actual scanning electron microscopy equipped with a focused ion beam (FIB-SEM) image of a positive electrode.

Graphic abstract
Probabilistic assessment of geothermal resources and their development in Dikili-İzmir region
Authors: Turan A. , Artun E. , Saner S. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractDikili-Izmir Region (Western Turkey) has been an active area of development for the utilization of geothermal resources. In this study, we aim to quantify the untapped resource-potential in this region for both direct and indirect utilization purposes. After collecting geological data from the literature, probabilistic heat-in-place calculations are carried out. Yuntdağ Volcanites and Kozak Pluton are considered, and the latter is proposed as an enhanced geothermal system. It is shown that, with 50% probability, 75 MW$$_e$$

e

and 17 MW$$_e$$

e

of net electrical power can be produced from Yuntdağ and Kozak reservoir systems, respectively. When the unit volumes of reservoirs are considered, Kozak can produce 3.2 and 2.5 times of what Yuntdağ can produce in terms of electrical and thermal power, respectively. A sensitivity analysis is performed to understand the impact of reservoir characteristics on the reserves. Within the uncertainty ranges defined, reservoir size, temperature and recovery factor are found to be critical parameters that affect the net power output. Sustainability attributes are evaluated from both economic and environmental perspectives and potential benefits are discussed.
Geomechanical characterization of a heterogenous rock mass using geological and laboratory test results: a case study of the Niobec Mine, Quebec (Canada)
Authors: Heidarzadeh Shahriyar , Saeidi Ali , Lavoie Catherine , Rouleau Alain 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
To conduct a successful geomechanical characterization of rock masses, an appropriate interpretation of lithological heterogeneity should be attained by considering both the geological and geomechanical data. In order to clarify the reliability and applicability of geological surveys for rock mechanics purposes, a geomechanical characterization study is conducted on the heterogeneous rock mass of Niobec Mine (Quebec, Canada), by considering the characteristics of its various identified lithological units. The results of previous field and laboratory test campaigns were used to quantify the variability associated to intact rock geomechanical parameters for the different present lithological units. The interpretation of geomechanical similarities between the lithological units resulted in determination of three main rock units (carbonatite, syenite, and carbonatite-syenite units). Geomechanical parameters of these rock units and their associated variabilities are utilized for stochastic estimation of geomechanical parameters of the heterogeneous rock mass using the Monte Carlo Simulation method. A comparison is also made between the results of probabilistic and deterministic analyses to highlight the presence of intrinsic variability associated with the heterogeneous rock mass properties. The results indicated that, for the case of Niobec Mine, the carbonatite-syenite rock unit could be considered as a valid representative of the entire rock mass geology since it offers an appropriate geomechanical approximation of all the present lithological units at the mine site, in terms of both the magnitude and dispersion of the strength and deformability parameters.

Article Highlights

Evaluating the reliability and applicability of geological survey outcomes for rock mechanics purposes.

A geomechanical characterization study is conducted on the heterogeneous rock mass by considering the various identified rock lithotypes.

The geomechanical parameters of intact units and their associated variabilities are used to stochastically estimate the geomechanical parameters of the heterogeneous rock mass by employing the Monte Carlo Simulation.

A comparison is also made between the results of probabilistic and deterministic geomechanical analyses.

The results indicate that, in the case of Niobec Mine, the combined syenite-carbonatite rock unit could be considered as a valid representative of the entire rock mass.
The effect of randomly distributed natural fibers on some geotechnical characteristics of a lateritic soil
Authors: Lawer A. K. , Ampadu S. I. K. , Owusu-Nimo F. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractWeak lateritic subgrades are more often than not encountered during road construction in Ghana. This makes it necessary to find economically efficient ways to improve the engineering properties of these marginal lateritic soils. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of coconut fiber (30 mm, 60 mm and 90 mm fiber lengths) and palm fiber on some geotechnical characteristics of a weak lateritic subgrade. The lateritic soil was collected from the KNUST campus and blended with various percentages of the fibers varying between 0.1 and 1.0% by weight of dry soil. The mixed materials were then subjected to various laboratory tests including compaction, unconfined compression test and 4-day-soaked California bearing ratio test. From the results, it was observed that increasing the fiber content decreased the maximum dry density and increased the optimum moisture content. The inclusion of the fiber increased the soaked CBR from 7 to a maximum of 18, 22, and 25 at 30 mm, 60 mm and 90 mm fiber lengths, respectively. The unconfined compressive strength also increased from 140 to a maximum of 353 kPa, 398 kPa and 447 kPa, respectively, for 30 mm, 60 mm and 90 mm fiber lengths. Similarly, palm fiber inclusion recorded maximum soaked CBR value of 14% and UCS value of 352 kPa. These peak values were obtained at optimum fiber contents of 0.2%.
Prediction of Indian summer monsoon onset with high resolution model: a case study
Authors: Rajan Devaraj , Desamsetti Srinivas 
Published: May 2021

AbstractIndia is an agro-based country, receives nearly 80% of the annual rainfall during the summer monsoon season, and has a vital socioeconomic security link. The start of the Indian rainy season is observed over the country's southern tip (Kerala) and is referred to as the monsoon onset. The Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) onset is one of the key aspects and unique for each year. This paper aims the prediction of ISM onset for different years by using the operational numerical weather forecasts at medium-range time scales by using different atmospheric variables from UKMO, and NCMRWF deterministic (NCUM) and ensemble model (NEPS) weather forecasts. For predicting the 2018 onset, we have adopted objective methods like the rainfall criteria, daily circulation index, potential temperature, moisture transport etc. The results for an early onset year (2018) show that the models could predict the onset date agreeing with the observed India Meteorological Department (IMD) onset date of 29 May 2018 from both UKMO 5-day and NCUM 10-day forecasts. This study also emphasizes on the utilization of the medium-range numerical weather forecasts, providing enough time to plan the farming activities. We also present the models’ performance/ skill for assessing the onset dates for the delayed onset (2019) and timely onset (2020) monsoons with NCUM 10-days lead time, and the results agree with IMD dates. From the UKMO, NCUM, NEPS models’ rainfall forecast show that the onset date on 29 May 2018 as IMD. Similarly, the analysis from circulation index, potential temperature, vertically integrated moisture transport analysis, outgoing long wave radiation, tropospheric temperature index clearly shows the onset date agreeing with IMD observations. Similarly, for the late onset (2019) and timely onset (2020) years, the daily circulation index agrees with IMD observed onset dates. Finally, these results from the deterministic and probabilistic forecasts are consistent with the observed onset dates, and these medium range forecasts are highly helpful to compute the monsoon onset date with higher lead times (10 days) within the error of one day.
Wear of a rough disc in dry sliding contact with a smooth ball: experiment and modeling
Authors: Dzierwa Andrzej , Pawlus Pawel 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
The main objective of this work is to model wear of a disc which was subjected to dry contact with a ball in unidirectional sliding. Tribological tests of sliding pairs were carried out using a tribological tester T-11 in a ball-on disc configuration. Stationary balls made of 100Cr6 steel with a hardness of 62 ± 2 HRC co-acted with rotating discs with 42CrMo4 steel with a hardness of 40 ± 2HRC. Discs were machined by lapping, grinding, milling, and vapour blasting. The values of the Sq parameter of disc surfaces were between 0.1 and 5.86 µm. Wear volumes of the discs were lower for bigger roughness heights. The simulation of disc wear was conducted on the basis of the repetitive contact between sliding surfaces. Strong correlation was achieved between the modeled and measured volumetric wear levels.
Inter-rater and Intra-rater Reliability in the Radiographic Diagnosis of Growth Arrest in Paediatric Physeal Fractures
Authors: Banting Nicole , Schaeffer Emily K. , Bone Jeffrey , Habib Eva , Hooper Nikki , Reilly Christopher W. , Cooper Anthony , Mulpuri Kishore 
Published: May 2021

Abstract

Background
Fractures through the physis account for 18–30% of paediatric fractures and can lead to growth arrest in 5–10% of these cases. Long-term radiographic follow-up is usually necessary to monitor for signs of growth arrest at the affected physis. Given plain radiographs of a physeal fracture obtained throughout patient follow-up, different surgeons may hold different opinions about whether or not early growth arrest has occurred despite using identical radiographs to guide decision-making. This study aims to assess the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of early growth arrest diagnosis among orthopaedic surgeons given a set of identical plain radiographs.

Methods
A retrospective chart review was conducted on patients aged 2–18 years previously treated for a physeal fracture at a paediatric tertiary care hospital between 2011 and 2018. De-identified anteroposterior (AP) and lateral radiographs of 39 patients from the date of injury and minimum one-year post-injury were administered in a survey to international paediatric orthopaedic surgeons. Each surgeon was asked whether they would diagnose the patient with growth arrest based on the radiographs provided. Surgeons were asked to complete this process again two weeks after the initial review, but using identical shuffled radiographs. Inter-rater and intra-rater reliability was calculated using appropriate kappa statistics.

Results
A total of 11 paediatric orthopaedic surgeons completed the first round of the survey, and 9 of these 11 completed the second round. The inter-rater reliability for the first round was 0.22 [95% CI (0.06, 0.35)] and 0.21 [95% CI (0.02, 0.32)] for the second round. The average kappa for intra-rater reliability was − 0.05 [95% CI (− 0.31, 0.21)]. Comparison by injury side showed no significant variation in diagnosis {p = 0.509, OR = 0.90, [95% CI (0.67, 1.22)]}, while comparison by location of injury varied significantly (p = 0.003).

Conclusions
Radiographic diagnosis of growth arrest among paediatric orthopaedic surgeons demonstrated ‘fair’ inter-rater agreement and no intra-rater agreement, suggesting critical differences in identifying growth arrest on plain radiographs. Further research is necessary to develop an improved diagnostic approach for growth arrest among orthopaedic surgeons.

Level of Evidence
Diagnostic level III.