bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessing the association between vitamin D receptor and dental age variability
Authors: Küchler Erika Calvano , Carelli Julia , Morais Nathaly D. , Brancher João Armando , de França Lopes Celia Maria Condeixa , Baratto-Filho Flares , Paddenberg Eva , de Menezes Oliveira Maria Angélica Hueb , Moro Alexandre , Kirschneck Christian 
Published: August 2021

AbstractObjectivesTo explore the association between genetic polymorphisms invitamin D receptor(VDR), vitamin D serum levels, and variability in dental age.Material and methodsThis cross-sectional study was based on an oral examination, panoramic radiograph analysis, and genotype analysis from biological samples. Dental age was evaluated using two different methods: Demirjian et al. (Hum Biol 45:211–227, 1973) and Hofmann et al. (J Orofac Orthop.78:97–111, 2017). The genetic polymorphisms BglI (rs739837) and FokI (rs2228570) inVDRwere genotyped through real-time PCR. The vitamin D level was also measured in the serum. Delta (dental age–chronological age) was compared among genotypes inVDRin the co-dominant model. Multiple linear regression analysis was also performed. An established alpha of 5% was used.ResultsGenotype distributions of BglI and FokI were not associated with dental maturity (p > 0.05). In the logistic regression analyses, genotypes in BglI and FokI and vitamin D levels were not associated with variability in dental age (p > 0.05).ConclusionsThe genetic polymorphisms BglI and FokI inVDRand the vitamin D levels were not associated with variability in dental age.Clinical relevanceTo unravel the factors involved in dental maturity can improve dental treatment planning in pediatric and orthodontic practice.
6G and the UN SDGs: Where is the Connection?
Authors: Matinmikko-Blue Marja , Yrjölä Seppo , Ahokangas Petri , Ojutkangas Kirsi , Rossi Elina 
Published: August 2021

AbstractSustainability has entered all aspects of life, calling for an active approach from the wireless and mobile communications community to help in solving fundamental challenges facing societies. Societal, economic, and environmental aspects of sustainability have become increasingly important design criteria in developing future technologies, along with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) framework that sets specific goals and targets to be achieved by 2030. The role of mobile communications is important in supporting nations and organizations in meeting the UN SDGs in a timely manner, but the whole ICT sector itself, with its critical role as the backbone of society, can create a significant sustainability burden. Research on the next-generation mobile communication networks (6G) has started, aiming at first deployments in 2030, in a new era where sustainability defines its development. Therefore, sustainability, especially through the UN SDGs, and the future 6G wireless networks, cannot be treated in isolation, but a clear connection between them is urgently needed. This paper extends from traditional green communications and energy efficiency considerations in wireless communications to establishing a close connection between 6G and the triple bottom line of economic sustainability, societal sustainability, and environmental sustainability. The paper outlines open research challenges for sustainable 6G development and provides a set of research questions encouraging especially the researchers and engineers in the wireless and mobile communications community to address to realize a sustainable future.
Mechanical design and analysis of a novel variable stiffness actuator with symmetrical pivot adjustment
Authors: Liu Yiwei , Cui Shipeng , Sun Yongjun 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThe safety of human-robot interaction is an essential requirement for designing collaborative robotics. Thus, this paper aims to design a novel variable stiffness actuator (VSA) that can provide safer physical human-robot interaction for collaborative robotics. VSA follows the idea of modular design, mainly including a variable stiffness module and a drive module. The variable stiffness module transmits the motion from the drive module in a roundabout manner, making the modularization of VSA possible. As the key component of the variable stiffness module, a stiffness adjustment mechanism with a symmetrical structure is applied to change the positions of a pair of pivots in two levers linearly and simultaneously, which can eliminate the additional bending moment caused by the asymmetric structure. The design of the double-deck grooves in the lever allows the pivot to move freely in the groove, avoiding the geometric constraint between the parts. Consequently, the VSA stiffness can change from zero to infinity as the pivot moves from one end of the groove to the other. To facilitate building a manipulator in the future, an expandable electrical system with a distributed structure is also proposed. Stiffness calibration and control experiments are performed to evaluate the physical performance of the designed VSA. Experiment results show that the VSA stiffness is close to the theoretical design stiffness. Furthermore, the VSA with a proportional-derivative feedback plus feedforward controller exhibits a fast response for stiffness regulation and a good performance for position tracking.
The geometric phase in nonlinear frequency conversion
Authors: Karnieli Aviv , Li Yongyao , Arie Ady 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThe geometric phase of light has been demonstrated in various platforms of the linear optical regime, raising interest both for fundamental science as well as applications, such as flat optical elements. Recently, the concept of geometric phases has been extended to nonlinear optics, following advances in engineering both bulk nonlinear photonic crystals and nonlinear metasurfaces. These new technologies offer a great promise of applications for nonlinear manipulation of light. In this review, we cover the recent theoretical and experimental advances in the field of geometric phases accompanying nonlinear frequency conversion. We first consider the case of bulk nonlinear photonic crystals, in which the interaction between propagating waves is quasi-phase-matched, with an engineerable geometric phase accumulated by the light. Nonlinear photonic crystals can offer efficient and robust frequency conversion in both the linearized and fully-nonlinear regimes of interaction, and allow for several applications including adiabatic mode conversion, electromagnetic nonreciprocity and novel topological effects for light. We then cover the rapidly-growing field of nonlinear Pancharatnam-Berry metasurfaces, which allow the simultaneous nonlinear generation and shaping of light by using ultrathin optical elements with subwavelength phase and amplitude resolution. We discuss the macroscopic selection rules that depend on the rotational symmetry of the constituent meta-atoms, the order of the harmonic generations, and the change in circular polarization. Continuous geometric phase gradients allow the steering of light beams and shaping of their spatial modes. More complex designs perform nonlinear imaging and multiplex nonlinear holograms, where the functionality is varied according to the generated harmonic order and polarization. Recent advancements in the fabrication of three dimensional nonlinear photonic crystals, as well as the pursuit of quantum light sources based on nonlinear metasurfaces, offer exciting new possibilities for novel nonlinear optical applications based on geometric phases.
Atto-Foxes and Other Minutiae
Authors: Fowler A. C. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThis paper addresses the problem of extinction in continuous models of population dynamics associated with small numbers of individuals. We begin with an extended discussion of extinction in the particular case of a stochastic logistic model, and how it relates to the corresponding continuous model. Two examples of ‘small number dynamics’ are then considered. The first is what Mollison calls the ‘atto-fox’ problem (in a model of fox rabies), referring to the problematic theoretical occurrence of a predicted rabid fox density of$$10^{-18}$$10-18(atto-) per square kilometre. The second is how the production of large numbers of eggs by an individual can reliably lead to the eventual survival of a handful of adults, as it would seem that extinction then becomes a likely possibility. We describe the occurrence of the atto-fox problem in other contexts, such as the microbial ‘yocto-cell’ problem, and we suggest that the modelling resolution is to allow for the existence of a reservoir for the extinctively challenged individuals. This is functionally similar to the concept of a ‘refuge’ in predator–prey systems and represents a state for the individuals in which they are immune from destruction. For what I call the ‘frogspawn’ problem, where only a few individuals survive to adulthood from a large number of eggs, we provide a simple explanation based on a Holling type 3 response and elaborate it by means of a suitable nonlinear age-structured model.
Increased Fracture Risk After Bariatric Surgery: a Case-Controlled Study with a Long-Term Follow-Up
Authors: Alsaed Omar Suhail , Al-Allaf Abdul-Wahab , Elgenaied Isra , Jebril Rawand Abdelnaser , Sasi Sreethish , Ahmed Ashraf Omer , Boussarsar Rabab , Ibrahim Mohamed Izham Mohamed , Abdulmomen Ibrahim , Elhag Wahiba , Alemadi Samar A. Al Razaq 
Published: August 2021

Abstract
Purpose
Bariatric surgeries are common procedures due to the high prevalence of obesity. This study aimed to investigate whether bariatric surgery increases fracture risk.

Material and Methods
It was a case-controlled study. Patients who underwent bariatric surgery during 2011 and 2012 were matched for age (± 5 years) and gender to patients on medical weight management during the same period with a ratio of 1:2. The index date was defined as the date of bariatric surgery for both groups. The subject’s electronic medical records were reviewed retrospectively to identify fractures documented by radiology during January 2020.

Results
Randomly selected 403 cases were matched to 806 controls with a median age of 36.0 years (IQR 14.0) and 37.0 years (IQR 14.0), respectively. Seventy per cent of the cohort were females. Eighty per cent received sleeve gastrectomy, and the remaining (17%) underwent gastric bypass. The mean duration of follow-up was 8.6 years. The fracture rate was higher in the surgical group as compared to the controls (9.4% vs 3.5%) with a crude odds ratio of 2.71 (95% CI 1.69–4.36). The median duration for time to fracture was 4.17 years for the surgical group and 6.09 years for controls (p-value = 0.097). The most common site of fractures was feet, followed by hands. Apart from a few wrist fractures, there was no typical osteoporotic sites fracture.

Conclusion
Subjects who underwent bariatric procedures had more non-typical osteoporotic site fractures affecting mainly feet and hands, and fractures tend to occur earlier as compared to controls.

Graphical abstract
Bearing the Burdens we (don’t Tend to) Bare
Authors: Moyse Ashley John 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThe burdens of older life, during what Peter Laslett calls the fourth-age, exaggerate feelings of fear and desire while resourcing despair. Some such burdens are borne from human corporeality. Others are socially constructed and afflict older persons further. A typology of burdens is introduced, identifying reflexive, transitive, and accusative burdens. The reflexive dirge of the person grieving their losses of competence, self-sufficiency, and independence includes a transitive counterpart, where a person’s self-perceived burden includes also the sense that one has become a burden to others. The accusative burden is experienced when persons are marked by others, catastrophically, as a burden. Regardless, these burdens must be given attention while attending to the ideations that prioritise independence but risk despair. Thus the relation between burdened self-image, despair, and late modern and policy preoccupations with independence will further focus such attention. Specifically, the prominence of independence in narratives of successful ageing will be interrogated, while inviting theological reflection on the reality of dependence and the nature of bodily life, together. That the Christian theological tradition teaches that human beings are bodies and are mutually dependent presses back against dogmas that prioritise independence and other icons of discrete subjectivity. Pointing toward Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s understanding of vicarious representative action, the reader is invited to consider again the kind of language in policy and for practice that might humanise persons in exchanges of responsible care(giving) and mutual dependence throughout the life course.
Prediction of river suspended sediment load using machine learning models and geo-morphometric parameters
Authors: Asadi Maryam , Fathzadeh Ali , Kerry Ruth , Ebrahimi-Khusfi Zohre , Taghizadeh-Mehrjardi Ruhollah 
Published: August 2021

AbstractEstimating sediment load of rivers is one of the major problems in river engineering that has been using various data mining algorithms and variables. It is desirable to obtain accurate estimates of sediment load while using techniques that limit computational intensity when datasets are large. This study investigates the usefulness of geo-morphometric factors and machine learning (ML) models for predicting suspended sediment load (SSL) in several river basins in Lorestan and Gilan, Iran. Six ML models, namely, multiple linear regression (MLR), artificial neural networks (ANN), K-nearest neighbor (KNN), Gaussian processes (GP), support vector machines (SVM), and evolutionary support vector machines (ESVM), were evaluated for estimating minimum and average SSL for the study regions. Geo-morphometric parameters and river discharge data were utilized as the main predictors in modeling process. In addition, an attribute reduction technique was applied to decrease the algorithm complexity and computational resources used. The results showed that all models estimated both target variables well. However, the optimal models for predicting average sediment load and minimum sediment load were the GP and ESVM models, respectively.
The cardiac nanoenvironment: form and function at the nanoscale
Authors: Singh Jashan P. , Young Jennifer L. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractMechanical forces in the cardiovascular system occur over a wide range of length scales. At the whole organ level, large scale forces drive the beating heart as a synergistic unit. On the microscale, individual cells and their surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM) exhibit dynamic reciprocity, with mechanical feedback moving bidirectionally. Finally, in the nanometer regime, molecular features of cells and the ECM show remarkable sensitivity to mechanical cues. While small, these nanoscale properties are in many cases directly responsible for the mechanosensitive signaling processes that elicit cellular outcomes. Given the inherent challenges in observing, quantifying, and reconstituting this nanoscale environment, it is not surprising that this landscape has been understudied compared to larger length scales. Here, we aim to shine light upon the cardiac nanoenvironment, which plays a crucial role in maintaining physiological homeostasis while also underlying pathological processes. Thus, we will highlight strategies aimed at (1) elucidating the nanoscale components of the cardiac matrix, and (2) designing new materials and biosystems capable of mimicking these features in vitro.
Morphological characteristics of ephyrae of Aurelia coerulea derived from planula strobilation
Authors: Takauchi Satsuki , Miyake Hiroshi , Hirata Naoya , Nagai Momoka , Suzuki Nobuo , Ogiso Shouzo , Ikeguchi Shinichiro 
Published: August 2021

AbstractEphyrae are produced through the strobilation of polyps in the general life cycle of Aurelia coerulea. However, it has been reported that planulae can also metamorphose directly into ephyrae, without passing through the polyp stage. There is a mixture of ephyrae developed from planulae (planula-strobilated ephyrae) and ephyrae developed from polyps (polyp-strobilated ephyrae) in the ephyra population. However, the effect of the planula-strobilated ephyrae on the ephyra population is yet to be determined, since their morphological characteristics have not yet been elucidated. This study aimed to determine the morphological characteristics to distinguish between planula-strobilated and polyp-strobilated ephyrae. The differences in body dimensions, such as total body diameter (TBD), central disc diameter (CDD), lappet stem length (LStL), rhopalial lappet length (RLL), and total marginal lappet length (TMLL) were compared between the two types of ephyra. Thus, we show that body proportions can be used to identify planula- and polyp-strobilated ephyrae. The ranges for identifying planula-strobilated ephyra were 35.0–38.3% for CDD/TBD, 56.7–64.9% for LStL/CDD, 84.7–99.5% for TMLL/CDD, and 31.0–37.5% for RLL/TMLL. This method could be an important basis for devising countermeasures for jellyfish blooms in areas where ephyrae deriving from planula strobilation occur.
Diagnosing hospital bacteraemia in the framework of predictive, preventive and personalised medicine using electronic health records and machine learning classifiers
Authors: Garnica Oscar , Gómez Diego , Ramos Víctor , Hidalgo J. Ignacio , Ruiz-Giardín José M. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractBackgroundThe bacteraemia prediction is relevant because sepsis is one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality. Bacteraemia prognosis primarily depends on a rapid diagnosis. The bacteraemia prediction would shorten up to 6 days the diagnosis, and, in conjunction with individual patient variables, should be considered to start the early administration of personalised antibiotic treatment and medical services, the election of specific diagnostic techniques and the determination of additional treatments, such as surgery, that would prevent subsequent complications. Machine learning techniques could help physicians make these informed decisions by predicting bacteraemia using the data already available in electronic hospital records.ObjectiveThis study presents the application of machine learning techniques to these records to predict the blood culture’s outcome, which would reduce the lag in starting a personalised antibiotic treatment and the medical costs associated with erroneous treatments due to conservative assumptions about blood culture outcomes.MethodsSix supervised classifiers were created using three machine learning techniques, Support Vector Machine, Random Forest and K-Nearest Neighbours, on the electronic health records of hospital patients. The best approach to handle missing data was chosen and, for each machine learning technique, two classification models were created: the first uses the features known at the time of blood extraction, whereas the second uses four extra features revealed during the blood culture.ResultsThe six classifiers were trained and tested using a dataset of 4357 patients with 117 features per patient. The models obtain predictions that, for the best case, are up to a state-of-the-art accuracy of 85.9%, a sensitivity of 87.4% and an AUC of 0.93.ConclusionsOur results provide cutting-edge metrics of interest in predictive medical models with values that exceed the medical practice threshold and previous results in the literature using classical modelling techniques in specific types of bacteraemia. Additionally, the consistency of results is reasserted because the three classifiers’ importance ranking shows similar features that coincide with those that physicians use in their manual heuristics. Therefore, the efficacy of these machine learning techniques confirms their viability to assist in the aims of predictive and personalised medicine once the disease presents bacteraemia-compatible symptoms and to assist in improving the healthcare economy.
A Grid for all Seasons: Enhancing the Integration of Variable Solar and Wind Power in Electricity Systems Across Africa
Authors: Sterl Sebastian 
Published: August 2021

Abstract
Purpose of review
This review paper assesses recent scientific findings around the integration of variable renewable electricity (VRE) sources, mostly solar PV and wind power, on power grids across Africa, in the context of expanding electricity access while ensuring low costs and reducing fossil fuel emissions.

Recent findings
In this context, significant research attention has been given to increased cross-border transmission infrastructure between African countries to harness the spatiotemporal complementarities between renewable electricity resources, as well as to storage options, such as battery storage and power-to-gas.

Summary
Much of the recent, model-based literature suggests that a combination of increased interconnections in and between Africa’s power pools, leveraging spatiotemporal complementarities between solar PV, wind and hydropower, as well as a large-scale deployment of storage options could help African countries meet their burgeoning power demand with largely decarbonized electricity supply.
Congenital Intracranial Teratoma—An Intractable Enigma: A Case Report and Review of Literature
Authors: Sabu Brinda , Khan Tazeen , Vidyalekshmy R , Jain Naveen 
Published: August 2021

AbstractCongenital intracranial tumors are rare, accounting for 0.5–1.9% of pediatric tumors. Though antenatal detection rates have improved with ultrasound (US) and MRI, histopathology gives a definite diagnosis. Prognosis is guarded as there is no effective postnatal treatment. We present a fetus incidentally diagnosed with intracranial teratoma by US and MRI at 36 weeks of gestation. Elective cesarean was performed for anticipated labor dystocia. A female baby with head circumference > 99th centile was delivered. Due to the invasive growth potential of the tumor, the baby succumbed at 4 months of palliative care. Further research is required for devising new treatment modalities to tackle this intractable condition.
The Causal Structure of the Effort-Reward Imbalance Model and Absenteeism in a Cohort Study of German Employees
Authors: Montano Diego , Peter Richard 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThe present study contributes to previous research by assessing the validity of the causal structure of the Effort-Reward Imbalance model in relation to the psychosocial mechanisms involved in sickness absenteeism. To this end, data from the German Cohort Study on Work, Age, Health and Work Participation are analysed (lidA Study, n = 6,270). The main hypotheses concerning short- and long-term sick-leave rates are investigated with six hurdle regression models. The results suggest that a high effort-reward imbalance, and high efforts and low rewards at work are associated with an increasing likelihood of sick leave. However, the combination of high effort-reward imbalance and high overcommitment was associated with lower sick-leave rates, in contradiction to the hypothesis postulating cumulative adverse effects of increased effort-reward imbalance and high overcommitment on health-related outcomes. Long-term sick-leave rates among workers of higher occupational and educational status were substantially lower in comparison to those among workers of lower status categories. Even though most hypotheses of the Effort-Reward Imbalance model are suitable for explaining the patterns of absenteeism in this sample, the results point to more complex motivational processes and socioeconomic characteristics of employees moderating and mediating the associations between perceived efforts and rewards at work and absenteeism.