bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Non-HDL-C/TG ratio indicates significant underestimation of calculated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) better than TG level: a study on the reliability of mathematical formulas used for LDL-C estimation
Authors: Ćwiklińska Agnieszka , Wieczorek Ewa , Gliwińska Anna , Marcinkowska Marta , Czaplińska Monika , Mickiewicz Agnieszka , Kuchta Agnieszka , Kortas-Stempak Barbara , Gruchała Marcin , Dębska-Ślizień Alicja , Król Ewa , Jankowski Maciej 
Published: January 2021

Abstract

Objectives
Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is the main laboratory parameter used for the management of cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to compare measured LDL-C with LDL-C as calculated by the Friedewald, Martin/Hopkins, Vujovic, and Sampson formulas with regard to triglyceride (TG), LDL-C and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C)/TG ratio.

Methods
The 1,209 calculated LDL-C results were compared with LDL-C measured using ultracentrifugation-precipitation (first study) and direct (second study) methods. The Passing-Bablok regression was applied to compare the methods. The percentage difference between calculated and measured LDL-C (total error) and the number of results exceeding the total error goal of 12% were established.

Results
There was good correlation between the measurement and calculation methods (r 0.962–0.985). The median total error ranged from −2.7%/+1.4% (first/second study) for Vujovic formula to −6.7%/−4.3% for Friedewald formula. The numbers of underestimated results exceeding the total error goal of 12% were 67 (Vujovic), 134 (Martin/Hopkins), 157 (Samspon), and 239 (Friedewald). Less than 7% of those results were obtained for samples with TG >4.5 mmol/L. From 57% (Martin/Hopkins) to 81% (Vujovic) of underestimated results were obtained for samples with a non-HDL-C/TG ratio of <2.4.

Conclusions
The Martin/Hopkins, Vujovic and Sampson formulas appear to be more accurate than the Friedewald formula. To minimize the number of significantly underestimated LDL-C results, we propose the implementation of risk categories according to non-HDL-C/TG ratio and suggest that for samples with a non-HDL-C/TG ratio of <1.2, the LDL-C level should not be calculated but measured independently from TG level.
Phytochemicals as steel corrosion inhibitor: an insight into mechanism
Authors: Bhardwaj Nishant , Sharma Pooja , Kumar Vineet 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Corrosion is a spontaneous process that adversely affects strength and quality of economically vital materials including steel. Plant extracts are emerging as renewable, low cost and eco-friendly alternate to existing toxic chemical corrosion inhibitors. Physisorption, Chemisorption and retrodonation are the main mechanism of corrosion inhibition by plant extracts. Different functional groups of phytochemicals namely carbohydrate, lipids, terpenoids, phenolic acids, alkaloids and other nitrogen containing metabolites participate in physisorption, chemisorption and retrodonation with steel surface in presence of HCl and H2SO4 to act as corrosion inhibitors. Exact mechanism of inhibition depends upon presence of such phytochemical in the plant extracts.
Stir zone stress corrosion cracking behavior of friction stir welded AA7075-T651 aluminum alloy joints
Authors: Parasuraman Prabhuraj , Selvarajan Rajakumar , Visvalingam Balasubramanian , Ilamurugan Rajkumar , Subramanian Kavitha 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
AA7075 high-strength aluminum alloy, which has many applications in the aircraft, marine and automobile industries, happens to be susceptible to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) when exposed to corrosive environments, resulting in reduced service life of the components. Inappropriate fabrication processes may augment this behavior. The fabrication of AA7075 components using conventional fusion welding processes may produce defects that include hot cracking and porosity. Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state joining process that can avoid these problems and being widely used for components made of aluminum alloys. Because the joining occurs at a temperature that is lower than the melting point of the material, solidification cracking defects can be eliminated. This study investigates the SCC behavior of FSW AA7075-T651 joints. Horizontal-type SCC test was conducted on circumferential-notched tensile (CNT) specimens exposed to 3.5 wt. % NaCl solutions under various axial stress conditions. The different regions of the fractured specimens, such as the machined notch, SCC region and region of ultimate mechanical failure were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to establish the mechanism of SCC. The threshold stress of parent metal (PM) and stir zone (SZ) of the FSW joint were found to be 242 and 175 MPa, respectively.
Energy saving in batch distillation for separation of ternary zeotropic mixture integrated with vapor recompression scheme: dynamics and control
Authors: Radhika Gandu , Burolia Akash Kumar , Raghu Raja Pandiyan Kuppusamy , Ambati Seshagiri Rao , Patle Dipesh S. , Gara Uday Bhaskar Babu 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
In this work, tight composition control and in parallel the operation is integrated with vapor recompression scheme (VRC) is proposed to achieve energy savings and maximum product at a specified high purity for the separation of ternary zeotropic mixture in batch distillation. Firstly, the model representing a ternary system of hexanol/octanol/decanol has been simulated to analyze the open-loop and close-loop dynamics of the process. Secondly, the open-loop and closed-loop operations are integrated with single stage VRC scheme to achieve energy savings. Single stage VRC is operated at very high compression ratio (CR) due to the large temperature difference of the top and bottom streams in batch distillation column. To further improve the thermodynamic efficiency of single stage VRC, double stage compression without intercoolers between the stages of VRC is proposed. Two control schemes have been implemented for constant composition, namely proportional integral (PI) controller and nonlinear gain scheduling proportional integral (GSPI) with and without VRC in closed-loop. The results shows that double stage VRC with GSPI algorithm provides better performance than conventional in terms of energy, product amount and Integral Square Error (ISE).
Heterogeneous indirect effects for multiple mediators using interventional effect models
Authors: Loh Wen Wei , Moerkerke Beatrijs , Loeys Tom , Vansteelandt Stijn 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Decomposing an exposure effect on an outcome into separate natural indirect effects through multiple mediators requires strict assumptions, such as correctly postulating the causal structure of the mediators, and no unmeasured confounding among the mediators. In contrast, interventional indirect effects for multiple mediators can be identified even when – as often – the mediators either have an unknown causal structure, or share unmeasured common causes, or both. Existing estimation methods for interventional indirect effects require calculating each distinct indirect effect in turn. This can quickly become unwieldy or unfeasible, especially when investigating indirect effect measures that may be modified by observed baseline characteristics. In this article, we introduce simplified estimation procedures for such heterogeneous interventional indirect effects using interventional effect models. Interventional effect models are a class of marginal structural models that encode the interventional indirect effects as causal model parameters, thus readily permitting effect modification by baseline covariates using (statistical) interaction terms. The mediators and outcome can be continuous or noncontinuous. We propose two estimation procedures: one using inverse weighting by the counterfactual mediator density or mass functions, and another using Monte Carlo integration. The former has the advantage of not requiring an outcome model, but is susceptible to finite sample biases due to highly variable weights. The latter has the advantage of consistent estimation under a correctly specified (parametric) outcome model, but is susceptible to biases due to extrapolation. The estimators are illustrated using publicly available data assessing whether the indirect effects of self-efficacy on fatigue via self-reported post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms vary across different levels of negative coping among health care workers during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Synthesis of highly branched water-soluble polyester and its surface sizing agent strengthening mechanism
Authors: Duan Wangwang , Li Xiaorui , Shen Yiding , Yang Kai , Zhang Hua 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Solvent-free and highly branched water-soluble polyester (WPET) is prepared through self-emulsification methodology, using dimethyl terephthalate (DMT), sodium dimethyl isophthalate-5-sulfonate (SIPM), trimethylolpropane (TMP), and ethylene glycol (EG) by the transesterification and polycondensation. The WPET were first utilized as surface-sizing agents for cellulose fiber paper. The structure, average molecular weights, and physical properties of the water-soluble polyester were characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and dynamic rheometer. The effects of polymer structure and properties, as well as the surface sizing of the paper, were investigated. WPET displayed better surface sizing properties when it was prepared under the following conditions: –COO/–OH molar ratio of 1:2, the SIPM content of 17.98%, and TMP content of 11.10%. The relationships between the WPET structure and sized paper were clearly illustrated. The mechanical properties and water resistance of sized paper did not only depend on multi-branched hydroxyl groups of the WPET chains but also relied on the interactions among polymers and fibers, as well as the high toughness of surface sizing agent. The sizing paper possesses excellent mechanical properties as well as water resistance.
Learning, Dynamic Capabilities, and Firm Performance: The Case of Entrepreneurial Firms in the South Korean Fashion Industry
Authors: Shin Kilho , Singh Nitin Kumar , Pérez-Nordtvedt Liliana 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Given their small size and young age, entrepreneurial firms are resource deprived. However, to successfully compete in dynamic environments, these firms are still required to build their dynamic capabilities. Using the ever-changing Korean retail fashion industry, we suggest that entrepreneurial firms deprived of formal marketing departments can learn from their main external repositories of market and product knowledge and develop their strategic marketing (dynamic) capabilities as routines, which, in turn, improve the entrepreneurial firms’ performance. Moreover, following the microfoundations argument of dynamic capabilities, we argue that these strategic marketing capabilities in the form of routines can be further enhanced by the entrepreneurial firm’s human resource flexibility. Our data reveals support for our arguments.
Mtr4 RNA helicase structures and interactions
Authors: Olsen Keith J. , Johnson Sean J. 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Mtr4 is a Ski2-like RNA helicase that plays a central role in RNA surveillance and degradation pathways as an activator of the RNA exosome. Multiple crystallographic and cryo-EM studies over the past 10 years have revealed important insight into the Mtr4 structure and interactions with protein and nucleic acid binding partners. These structures place Mtr4 at the center of a dynamic process that recruits RNA substrates and presents them to the exosome. In this review, we summarize the available Mtr4 structures and highlight gaps in our current understanding.
Estimation of semi-Markov multi-state models: a comparison of the sojourn times and transition intensities approaches
Authors: Asanjarani Azam , Liquet Benoit , Nazarathy Yoni 
Published: January 2021

AbstractSemi-Markov models are widely used for survival analysis and reliability analysis. In general, there are two competing parameterizations and each entails its own interpretation and inference properties. On the one hand, a semi-Markov process can be defined based on the distribution of sojourn times, often via hazard rates, together with transition probabilities of an embedded Markov chain. On the other hand, intensity transition functions may be used, often referred to as the hazard rates of the semi-Markov process. We summarize and contrast these two parameterizations both from a probabilistic and an inference perspective, and we highlight relationships between the two approaches. In general, the intensity transition based approach allows the likelihood to be split into likelihoods of two-state models having fewer parameters, allowing efficient computation and usage of many survival analysis tools. Nevertheless, in certain cases the sojourn time based approach is natural and has been exploited extensively in applications. In contrasting the two approaches and contemporary relevant R packages used for inference, we use two real datasets highlighting the probabilistic and inference properties of each approach. This analysis is accompanied by an R vignette.
Adaptive relay settings for distribution network with distributed generation (DG) using Sugeno fuzzy inference
Authors: Samuel Anudevi , Shet Vinayak N. 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
The rapid increase in the power demand and the capacity shortage of transmission and distribution system drives the integration of Distributed Generation (DG) units in electrical power distribution networks. The integration of DG resources with distribution network can cause significant impacts in protection due to the bidirectional flow of current, particularly the changes in magnitude and direction of short circuit currents. It may also lead to false tripping or fail to trip the over current protection relays in the power system. The relay parameters have to adapt to the changes in the system to avoid unnecessary trippings. The proposed adaptive over current protection scheme, sets the parameters of the relays according to the changes in the network. This method determines the plug multiplier settings (PMS) and the time multiplier settings (TMS) using Sugeno Fuzzy Inference System (SFIS). The proposed methodology is tested for IEEE 13 bus system and 33 bus system and with the obtained adaptive relay settings, the validation for relay coordination is done using ETAP.
Effects of particle formation behavior on the properties of fish oil microcapsules fabricated using a micro-fluidic jet spray dryer
Authors: Xiong Xingxing , Zhang Shengyu , Fu Nan , Lei Hong , Wu Winston Duo , Chen Xiao Dong 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Fish oil was encapsulated with whey protein isolate (WPI) as wall material using a Micro-Fluidic Jet Spray Dryer. The effects of core/wall material ratio, drying temperature and total solids content on the properties of microcapsules were studied. Low core/wall material ratios at 1:5 and 1:3 resulted in high encapsulation efficiency (EE) and excellent oxidative stability of microparticles during storage. Reducing the inlet temperature from 160 to 110 °C remarkably decreased EE from around 99 to 64.8%, associated with substantial increases in peroxide value during storage. The total solids content mainly altered the morphology of microcapsules, showing little influence on EE and oxidative stability. We proposed that the different drying conditions impacted on particle formation behavior during spray drying, which could be a crucial factor responsible for the differences in the quality attributes of microparticles. A low core/wall material ratio and high drying temperature facilitated the formation of a rigid protein skin at droplet surface during drying, whereas a high solids fraction in the droplets could limit possible droplet shrinkage. These factors contributed positively to the encapsulation of the lipophilic core material.
Tri-frequency ultrasound as pretreatment to infrared drying of carrots: impact on enzyme inactivation, color changes, nutrition quality parameters and microstructures
Authors: Guo Yiting , Wu Bengang , Lu Daipeng , Pan Zhongli , Ma Haile 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
The effects of tri-frequency ultrasound as pretreatment on the peroxidase (POD) inactivation and infrared drying attributes of carrots were studied in the temperature range of 60–80 °C. Thermosonication (TS) treatment reduced 65.21, 73.33 and 81.43% POD activity after 5 min for the temperatures at 60, 70 and 80 °C, respectively, which were all higher than hot water (HW) blanching treated samples. The first-order kinetics fitted well for the POD inactivation curves. Similar retention ranges of vitamin C (VC) were observed after TS (88.41–82.51%) and HW (91.91–88.75%) treatments at the studied range of temperatures. Compared to HW treated samples, drying times of thermosonicated carrot slices were shortened by 13.6, 15 and 15.8% for blanching temperatures at 60, 70 and 80 °C, respectively. The aid of ultrasound showed a positive effect on the rehydration ration (RR) of samples. Sonicated dried samples exhibited higher hardness compared with thermal dried samples. No significant variation (p > 0.05) in the total color difference (ΔE) was attained for dried carrot slices pretreated by TS and HW processes.
A note on a sensitivity analysis for unmeasured confounding, and the related E-value
Authors: Sjölander Arvid 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Unmeasured confounding is one of the most important threats to the validity of observational studies. In this paper we scrutinize a recently proposed sensitivity analysis for unmeasured confounding. The analysis requires specification of two parameters, loosely defined as the maximal strength of association that an unmeasured confounder may have with the exposure and with the outcome, respectively. The E-value is defined as the strength of association that the confounder must have with the exposure and the outcome, to fully explain away an observed exposure-outcome association. We derive the feasible region of the sensitivity analysis parameters, and we show that the bounds produced by the sensitivity analysis are not always sharp. We finally establish a region in which the bounds are guaranteed to be sharp, and we discuss the implications of this sharp region for the interpretation of the E-value. We illustrate the theory with a real data example and a simulation.
Effectiveness of video game on bio- physiological parameters during intravenous cannulation among preschool children
Authors: Rackini M. Jaya , Shanmugapriya A. , David Anita 
Published: January 2021

Abstract

Background
Hospitalization is a completely new experience for infants and young children; they are too young to understand the stress of hospitalization. Distractions or diversions seek to divert the child’s attention to interesting or challenging tasks to draw attention away from painful or distressful medical procedure. Therefore, the present study assesses the effectiveness of video game on bio-physiological parameters during intravenous cannulation among preschool children admitted in paediatric ward.

Methods
A randomized true experimental research design was used to assess the effectiveness of video game technique on pain and bio-physiological parameters during Intravenous Cannulation among preschool children admitted in paediatric ward at Sri Ramachandra Hospital in Chennai. The collected data were grouped and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, to assess the effectiveness of video games.

Results
There was a significant difference in the mean score of oxygen saturation of post-test compare to pre-test for both groups. The number of children feeling severe pain was more in the control group during intervention and this difference was highly significant. Oxygen saturation was more in control but not significant, but the heart rate was significantly higher in control group during intervention. There was no association during pre- post-test and oxygen saturation, with selected demographic variables of the preschool children in both groups, apart from the fact that children from low income group had significant low heart rate during pre- and post-test

Discussion
Video game is an effective method in reducing pain in children undergoing intravenous cannulation. In this framework, the intervention (showing video game) reduced perception of pain and changes in bio-physiological parameters such as, heart rate and oxygen saturation, during intravenous cannulation.
The FIFA 11+ does not alter performance in amateur female basketball players—a randomized control trial
Authors: Nuhmani Shibili 
Published: January 2021

Abstract

Objectives
The FIFA-Medical and Assessment Research Centre (F-MARC) introduced the warm-up FIFA 11+ program to reduce injuries and promote fair play. Although the FIFA11+ program is a well-established warm-up protocol for injury prevention, studies on the program’s performance enhancement aspects have had controversial results. Therefore, the objective of the study is to investigate the efficacy of FIFA11+ program on sports performance parameters such as running speed, agility, and vertical jump performance in amateur female basketball players.

Methods
In this study, 59 amateur female basketball players were recruited and randomized into an experimental group (n=30) and a control group (n=29). The experimental group completed the FIFA 11+ program for 12 weeks (three times/week), while the control group members completed their regular training programs. The study adopted a pretest-posttest design. 20-yard sprint run, t test and vertical jump test were the outcome measures

Results
No statistically significant difference in the sports performance parameters (sprint test p=0.21, t test p=0.16, vertical jump test p=0.09) was found between groups’ post-test measurements. The paired sample t test revealed that the 12-week FIFA 11+ program did not demonstrate any significant improvement in the participants’ sprint, agility, and vertical jump performance (p>0.05).

Conclusions
The present study showed no enhancement in sports performance parameters such as sprint speed, agility, and vertical jump performance in amateur female basketball players. This lack of improvement in performance measures suggests that the program cannot be used as a training strategy for the targeted sports performance parameters.
Design of 320 Gbps hybrid AMI-PDM-WDM FSO link and its performance comparison with traditional models under diverse weather conditions
Authors: Chowdhury Ruhin , Choyon A. K. M. Sharoar Jahan 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
A comprehensive design is proposed for alternate mark inversion (AMI)-encoded free-space optical (FSO) communication system by hybridizing polarization division multiplexing (PDM) with wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) and its performance is investigated under diverse weather conditions. The WDM transmitter comprises eight channels transmitting 320 Gbps data over the atmospheric turbulent channel considering gamma–gamma (G–G) distribution for the FSO channel model. A PDM-WDM technique not only maximizes the link capacity of the FSO system but also enhances the spectral efficiency (SE) of the system. Besides, the proposed hybrid AMI-PDM-WDM FSO system performance is compared with the traditional AMI-WDM-PDM and AMI-WDM models to demonstrate the advantages of our proposed model for the design of FSO link. It is observed that our proposed hybrid system exhibits excellent performance under diverse weather conditions over the traditional models in terms of Q factor, received optical power, bit error rate (BER), eye diagrams and optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR).