bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
CEO characteristics and environmental disclosure of listed firms in an emerging economy: Does sustainability reporting format matter?
Authors: Oware Kofi Mintah , Awunyo‐Vitor Dadson 
Published: April 2021

AbstractThe study's purpose examines chief executive officer (CEO) characteristics, sustainability reporting format, and environmental disclosure of listed firms in India. Eight hundred firm‐year observations across India's firms applied panel regression with random effect assumptions and general method of moment. The first findings show that reporting format has a positive and statistically significant association with environmental disclosure. The second findings show that CEO age and CEO tenure have an insignificant association, but CEO duality negatively associates with environmental disclosure. The third findings show that CEO characteristics (tenure and duality) × report format is insignificant. However, the CEO age × report format has a positive and statistically significant association with listed firms' environmental disclosure in India. The strategic implication shows that the choice of a stand‐alone sustainability reporting in environmental communication disclosure is a strategic benefit that secures strategic investors and investment in the firm. For the firm to be recognized as a strategic partner in global sustainable development goals, CEOs with longer tenure and aged CEOs engagements are an unsuitable investment, which Indian firms must not pursue. Endogeneity problems across panels are addressed in this study. This study's novelty examines the interactive effect of CEO characteristics and sustainability report format on environmental disclosure in India.
Trends in the proportion of second or later primaries among all newly diagnosed malignant cancers
Authors: Anderson Chelsea , Mayer Deborah K. , Nichols Hazel B. 
Published: April 2021

BACKGROUNDImprovements in cancer survival mean that an increasing number of survivors may live long enough beyond their initial cancer to be diagnosed with additional independent primary cancers. The proportion of newly diagnosed cancers that are second‐ or higher‐order primaries and how this proportion has changed over the past several decades were examined.METHODSData from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program were used to identify incident malignant primaries diagnosed between 1975 and 2017. Using the SEER sequence number, the authors tabulated the proportion of all cancers in each calendar year that were second‐ or higher‐order primaries. The average annual percent change (AAPC) was then calculated to assess how this proportion has changed over time.RESULTSAnalyses included nearly 4.9 million incident cancers diagnosed during 1975‐2017. The proportion of all cancers that were second‐ or higher‐order increased steadily from 9.77% during 1975‐1984 to 21.03% during 2015‐2017, reflecting an AAPC of 2.41% (95% CI, 2.16%‐2.65%). In 2015‐2017, second‐ or higher‐order cancers were most prevalent among cancers of the bladder (28.79%), followed by lung and bronchus (28.07%), melanoma (27.88%), and leukemia (26.10%). The highest AAPCs over the study period were observed for melanoma (4.05%), leukemia (3.51%), and lung and bronchus (3.36%).CONCLUSIONSThe proportion of newly diagnosed cancers that are second‐ or higher‐order has grown rapidly over the past several decades and currently exceeds 20%. Continued monitoring of second and later primaries will be critical for anticipating the future impact on cancer treatment and survivorship care.
Mathematical formulation and hybrid meta‐heuristic algorithms for multiproduct oil pipeline scheduling problem with tardiness penalties
Authors: Khalili Goudarzi Farzaneh , Maleki Hamid Reza , Niroomand Sadegh 
Published: April 2021

SummaryThe system under investigation contains a single refinery, a unique distribution center, and a multiproduct pipeline. The basic aim is to plan the optimal sequence for pumping products to achieve financial benefit and satisfy the customers with on‐time delivery. In this study, some restrictions (such as batch sizing, discharging rate, forbidden sequences, and settling periods) are considered and the problem is formulated as a MILP model. Although the multiproduct pipeline scheduling problem has high time complexity, meta‐heuristic algorithms have been used rarely in the literature. Another contribution of this work is to develop several meta‐heuristic algorithms to solve the proposed MILP effectively. Therefore, as a novelty, some classical meta‐heuristics like population‐based simulated annealing and population‐based variable neighborhood search are hybridized by the gravitational search algorithm for obtaining better performance. Parameters of the algorithms are tuned by an optimization problem and then all algorithms are compared by numerical examples. The achieved results demonstrate the validity of the model and the efficient performance of the proposed algorithms against exact methods. These algorithms also lead to better solutions in much lower computational time. Among them, the hybrid algorithm obtained by combining the SA and GSA meta‐heuristics are superior to the other algorithms.
Evaluation of tobacco lines and hybrids carrying Beinhart‐1000 alleles at the Phn15.1 locus for agronomic and disease resistance characteristics
Authors: Heim Crystal , Ma Justin , Willard Eric , Shelton Cameron , Lewis Ramsey S. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractIntrogression of novel components of partial resistance to P. nicotianae can be used to increase the range, level, and durability of resistance to the black shank disease of tobacco. Here we describe the development and evaluation of BC9F3 sub‐sub‐NILs of elite flue‐cured tobacco cultivar ‘K326’ carrying a favorable allele(s) for resistance at the Phn15.1 quantitative trait locus derived from cigar cultivar ‘Beinhart 1000.’ We were able to identify a series of genotypes with significantly improved black shank resistance relative to K326 and, importantly, that possessed a mutant allele of NtCPS2, a closely linked gene involved in the biosynthesis of Z‐abienol (an undesirable flavor and aroma compound for flue‐cured tobacco). Some evidence of a potential influence of Phn15.1 on resistance to bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum was also observed. The Beinhart 1000 allele(s) at Phn15.1 acted in an additive manner to affect resistance to black shank. No significant reductions in cured leaf yields were found to be associated with Phn15.1‐mediated black shank resistance. Although not statistically significant, trends of slightly reduced physical cured leaf quality were observed as the zygosity of the Beinhart 1000 Phn15.1 allele(s) increased. Increases in percent total alkaloids and reductions in percent reducing sugars were also found as the zygosity at Phn15.1 increased. These changes probably did not result in cured leaf chemistry being outside of the bounds of commercial acceptability, however. The derived genetic materials enhanced for partial genetic resistance to black shank should be of value for future flue‐cured tobacco cultivar development efforts.
Diagnostic performance of Milan system for reporting salivary gland cytopathology: A prospective study
Authors: Hosseini S. Mohsen , Resta Isabella Tondi , Baloch Zubair W. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractBackgroundFine‐needle aspiration (FNA) is a well‐established modality for diagnosing salivary gland pathologies. The Milan System for Reporting Salivary Gland Cytopathology (MSRSGC) provides a standardized uniform framework leading to an evidence‐based risk of malignancy (ROM). Based on the current literature, ROM in the 6‐tier MSRSGC ranges from <5% for neoplasm‐benign to >90% for the malignant category. Here, we report our institutional experience adopting MSRSGC.MethodsThe cytopathology group at our institution implemented MSRSGC at the end of 2018. Through a query of our laboratory information system, we identified all salivary gland FNA cases from 27 November 2018 to 26 October 2020. The pertinent surgical pathology follow‐up was also extracted. After manual curation, data was analyzed in Rv4.0.2.ResultsOur cohort comprised of 315 patients undergoing 343 salivary gland FNA biopsies, predominantly on the parotid (90%), 162 with a surgical pathology follow‐up. The risk of malignancy ranged from 3.2% in neoplasm‐benign (IVA) to 100% in suspicious for malignancy (V) and malignant (VI) categories. ROM in the other categories was: 12.5% for non‐diagnostic, 0 for non‐neoplastic, 33.3% for atypia of undetermined significance, and 41.9% for salivary gland neoplasm of uncertain malignant potential (SUMP). Most SUMP cases had a basaloid or oncocytoid cytomorphology with similar ROM. In distinguishing benign and malignant salivary gland lesions, FNA had adequacy of 93.6%, a diagnostic yield of 62.2%, a sensitivity of 93.1% and a specificity of 100%.ConclusionsMSRSGC was successfully adopted by our cytology group and clinicians, with overall diagnostic performance similar to previous studies.
SARS‐CoV‐2 Human Challenge Trials: Rethinking the Recruitment of Healthy Young Adults First
Authors: Matsui Kenji , Inoue Yusuke , Yamamoto Keiichiro 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACTIn the midst of the ongoing Covid‐19 pandemic, researchers across the globe are still working to develop effective vaccines. To expedite this process even further, human challenge trials have been proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an alternative to conventional approaches. In such trials, healthy volunteers are deliberately infected with the pathogen of interest, enabling scientists to study the infection process and facilitate further research on treatments or prophylactics, including vaccines. While human challenge trials would offer a collective benefit to society, minimizing the risks is always difficult. Ethical controversy thus inevitably surrounds these trials. Typically, healthy young adults are recruited to serve as the first candidate subjects for human challenge trials because they are generally considered to represent a low‐risk population. Here, we present three reasons for doubt about this healthy‐young‐adults‐first criterion and give justification for also recruiting healthy older adults (or not‐young adults), meaning those over 30 years of age, to participate in such trials for SARS‐CoV‐2.
Condition and size of the non‐native pikeperch Sander lucioperca (Linnaeus, 1758) in Portuguese river basins
Authors: Gago João , Neves Ana , Gkenas Christos , Ribeiro Diogo , Ribeiro Filipe 
Published: April 2021

AbstractWe studied life‐history traits focusing on the growth and condition of the pikeperch Sander lucioperca to evaluate its phenotypic plasticity when introduced to new environments. Pikeperch is a non‐native fish introduced to Iberian freshwater fauna in 1998 that quickly spread to other river basins through human‐mediated activities, occupying now a wide variety of habitats along mainland Portugal. Condition (K and SMI), fork length at age, and length–weight relationships were studied for Portuguese populations. Pikeperch fork length for ages 1, 2, 3, and 4 was different between several populations. We applied generalized linear models (GLM) to study the influence of habitat type, latitude, altitude, time after first detection, and fish prey richness on pikeperch populations size at age 4 and condition. We observed higher condition values on populations from lower altitudes at lentic systems more recently introduced. But higher fork length at age 4 was found in populations from higher altitudes, on older populations with higher prey richness. Habitat type, time since first detection, and fish fauna composition are discussed as the main environmental factors explaining the observed phenotypic plasticity with concerns on predatory impact on native fauna.
Interactive effects of body mass changes and species‐specific morphology on flight behavior of chick‐rearing Antarctic fulmarine petrels under diurnal wind patterns
Authors: Dehnhard Nina , Klekociuk Andrew R. , Emmerson Louise 
Published: April 2021

AbstractFor procellariiform seabirds, wind and morphology are crucial determinants of flight costs and flight speeds. During chick‐rearing, parental seabirds commute frequently to provision their chicks, and their body mass typically changes between outbound and return legs. In Antarctica, the characteristic diurnal katabatic winds, which blow stronger in the mornings, form a natural experimental setup to investigate flight behaviors of commuting seabirds in response to wind conditions. We GPS‐tracked three closely related species of sympatrically breeding Antarctic fulmarine petrels, which differ in wing loading and aspect ratio, and investigated their flight behavior in response to wind and changes in body mass. Such information is critical for understanding how species may respond to climate change. All three species reached higher ground speeds (i.e., the speed over ground) under stronger tailwinds, especially on return legs from foraging. Ground speeds decreased under stronger headwinds. Antarctic petrels (Thalassoica antarctica; intermediate body mass, highest wing loading, and aspect ratio) responded stronger to changes in wind speed and direction than cape petrels (Daption capense; lowest body mass, wing loading, and aspect ratio) or southern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialoides; highest body mass, intermediate wing loading, and aspect ratio). Birds did not adjust their flight direction in relation to wind direction nor the maximum distance from their nests when encountering headwinds on outbound commutes. However, birds appeared to adjust the timing of commutes to benefit from strong katabatic winds as tailwinds on outbound legs and avoid strong katabatic winds as headwinds on return legs. Despite these adaptations to the predictable diurnal wind conditions, birds frequently encountered unfavorably strong headwinds, possibly as a result of weather systems disrupting the katabatics. How the predicted decrease in Antarctic near‐coastal wind speeds over the remainder of the century will affect flight costs and breeding success and ultimately population trajectories remains to be seen.
Increased bleeding risk with phosphodiesterase‐5 inhibitors after left ventricular assist device implantation
Authors: Jakstaite Aiste‐Monika , Luedike Peter , Schmack Bastian , Pizanis Nikolaus , Riebisch Matthias , Weymann Alexander , Kamler Markus , Ruhparwar Arjang , Rassaf Tienush , Papathanasiou Maria 
Published: April 2021

AbstractAimsTherapy with phosphodiesterase‐5 inhibitors (PDE5Is) after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation has been associated with lower mortality and device thrombosis but increased risk for post‐operative and gastrointestinal bleeding. We aimed to evaluate the impact of long‐term PDE5Is on the overall bleeding risk after LVAD implantation.Methods and resultsWe retrospectively included patients who received a continuous‐flow LVAD at our site and were prescribed with long‐term oral PDE5Is after discharge from the index hospitalization. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of bleeding at 12 month follow‐up. Secondary endpoints were all‐cause death and the combination of bleeding and all‐cause death. Our analysis included 109 patients of whom 75 (69%) received long‐term PDE5Is. Mean age was 56 years, and 85% were male. At 12 months, 19 (17%) patients experienced at least one bleeding event. Patients on PDE5Is had higher bleeding rates (23% vs. 6%, P = 0.03) and more bleeding events per patient‐year (0.32 vs. 0.06, P = 0.03) compared with patients not on PDE5Is. While overall bleeding incidence was excessively higher in the PDE5I group, there were no significant differences in the incidence of major bleeding (19% vs. 6%, P = 0.08) and gastrointestinal bleeding (11% vs. 3%, P = 0.18). Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed higher cumulative incidence of bleeding for the PDE5I group (log rank = 0.04) with no difference on all‐cause death (log rank = 0.67) and the combination of bleeding and all‐cause death (log rank = 0.13). Hospitalizations for bleeding and their duration were numerically higher in the PDE5I group (0.28 vs. 0.03, P = 0.07 and 2.4 vs. 0.2, P = 0.07, respectively).ConclusionsPhosphodiesterase‐5 inhibitor treatment after LVAD implantation is associated with increased bleeding risk after LVAD implantation. The safety of long‐term PDE5Is in LVAD patients remains unclear and needs to be further clarified in prospective studies with randomized study design.
Performance analysis of coherent free‐space optics transmission link using in‐phase quadrature modulator‐based polarization multiplexed‐256‐quadrature amplitude modulation
Authors: Konda Ramachandra Reddy , Thirunavvukkarasu Velayudham Narmadha , Venkatesan PG Ramesh 
Published: April 2021

AbstractA single‐channel high information rate free‐space optics transmission link is presented incorporating in‐phase quadrature modulator‐based polarization multiplexed‐256‐quadarature amplitude modulation scheme. An information rate of 160 Gbit/s with 10 Gbaud symbol rate is achieved for free‐space information transmission. Advanced digital signal processing techniques at the receiver along coherent detection have been used to compensate the losses incurred by the information signal propagating the free‐space media. The transmission performance of the proposed link has been enhanced by using different optical amplifiers, that is, Erbium‐doped fiber amplifier and semiconductor optical amplifier, and their performance has been compared. The link performance is analyzed for required laser line width, launch power requirements, increasing transmission range, increasing beam divergence angle and optical power required at the receiver. Bit error rate and error vector magnitude metrics have been used to analyze the link performance. A maximum transmission of 3.9 km for clear weather atmospheric conditions is achieved. The proposed link has the potential to meet the last‐mile access needs and to provide high‐bandwidth high‐speed information links required for future fifth generation wireless communication and Internet of Things applications.
SI‐AKAV: Secure integrated authentication and key agreement for cellular‐connected IoT devices in vehicular social networks
Authors: Esfahani Alireza , Decouchant Jérémie , Völp Marcus , Mumtaz Shahid , Konstantin Igorevich Kostromitin 
Published: April 2021

AbstractVehicular social networking (VSN), as a novel communication paradigm, exploits opportunistic encounters among vehicles for mobile social networking, collaborative content dissemination, and to provide a variety of services for users and their vehicles. VSNs promise to solve problems such as the ever‐increasing number of road accidents, or traffic congestion, by forming networks of vehicles whose users share common interests. However, in particular in urban regions, VSNs benefit from extending far beyond vehicular networks with their road side units, by integrating all kinds of sensors to provide higher accuracy and additional information in increasingly crowded areas. Integrating such sensors turns VSNs into networks of cellular‐connected IoT devices with mobile cells and raises the question how to authenticate all these units in a scalable, efficient, and anonymous manner. In this article, we present SI‐AKAV, an efficient group‐local authentication scheme for cellular‐connected IoT devices, which is specifically tailored to overcome the high computational costs of existing schemes, while improving in all of the above dimensions. For example, compared with the state‐of‐the‐art authentication and key agreement protocol (AKA), SI‐AKAV reduces communication volume by 29% and computation overhead by 41%.
Late Holocene relative sea‐level fluctuations and crustal mobility at Bataneh (Najirum) archaeological site, Persian Gulf, Iran
Authors: Pourkerman Majid , Marriner Nick , Morhange Christophe , Djamali Morteza , Lahijani Hamid , Amjadi Sedighe , Vacchi Matteo , Jelodar Mohammad E. , Spada Giorgio , Tofighian Hossein , Beni Abdolmajid N. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractThe impacts of relative sea‐level (RSL) variations and crust mobility on the development of ancient harbours in the northern Persian Gulf are poorly understood. Many unanswered questions remain with regard to the main reasons for a shift in the location of the most important ancient harbours in the northern part of the Persian Gulf coastal since 50 BC. Furthermore, some important early Islamic harbours, such as Siraf, have ancient city quarters that are today below the present sea level. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between halokinesis and RSL changes using geophysical models and multidisciplinary geoarchaeological methods at the ancient Sassanid–Islamic site of Bataneh (presently known as Najirum) located at the foothill of an active Darang salt diapir. The results reveal that after the mid‐Holocene highstand, RSL regression was not continuous. The studied facies have recorded three RSL oscillations. The oscillations are correlated with the eustatic sea‐level position. During the first lowstand, important Sassanid harbours shifted from Rishar to Apologus. The second lowstand is consistent with the transition of maritime trade from Apologus to Siraf, during the Abbasid dynasty. Uplift of the Bataneh coastal zone exposed the city to risks from flooding and fluvial debris flows. With a modification of the local watershed, runoff water originating from the salt anticlinal was controlled and used for the extraction of gypsum in evaporation ponds. The economic expansion of Siraf led to Bataneh being abandoned with a shift in trade to Kish Island.
The diagnostic value of urine heat shock protein 70 and prostatic exosomal protein in chronic prostatitis
Authors: Tang Yinghua , Pan Aiping , Liu Yonggang , Yin Lianli 
Published: April 2021

AbstractObjectiveTo explore the diagnostic value of the levels of prostatic exosomal protein (PSEP) and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) in the urine of patients with chronic prostatitis (CP).MethodUrine samples from 210 CP patients (70 cases of the USA National Institutes of Health Category II [NIH‐II], 70 NIH‐IIIa, and 70 NIH‐IIIb patients) and 70 control subjects were collected between May 2018 and February 2020. The levels of PSEP and HSP70 in urine were detected by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. The differences in urine PSEP and HSP70 levels between the groups were analyzed, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to analyze the clinical value of PSEP and HSP70 in the diagnosis of CP.ResultsThe PSEP levels of CP patients were significantly higher than those of the control group (p < 0.001), but there was no difference in PSEP levels among CP subgroups. The level of HSP70 in the urine of the NIH‐II patients was significantly lower than the levels in the NIH‐IIIa and NIH‐IIIb subgroups and the control group, but there was no difference in HSP70 levels between the NIH‐IIIa and NIH‐IIIb subgroups and the control group. ROC curve analysis results showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of PSEP for the NIH‐II, NIH‐IIIa, and NIH‐IIIb patients was 0.751, 0.776, and 0.731, respectively. The AUC of HSP70 in NIH‐II patients was 0.784, and the AUC of combined detection of PSEP and HSP70 in NIH‐II patients was 0.858.ConclusionUrine PSEP can be used as a marker for the diagnosis of CP, but it cannot distinguish between the various types of CP, and HSP70 can be used as a diagnostic index for NIH‐II classification.