bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
MLPA followed by target‐NGS to detect mutations in the dystrophin gene of Peruvian patients suspected of DMD/DMB
Authors: Guevara‐Fujita María Luisa , Huaman‐Dianderas Francia , Obispo Daisy , Sánchez Rodrigo , Barrenechea Victor , Rojas‐Málaga Diana , Estrada‐Cuzcano Alejandro , Trubnykova Milana , Cornejo‐Olivas Mario , Marca Victoria , Gallardo Bertha , Dueñas‐Roque Milagros , Protzel Ana , Castañeda Carlos , Abarca Hugo , Celis Luis , La Serna‐Infantes Jorge , Fujita Ricardo 
Published: July 2021

AbstractBackgroundWe report the molecular analysis of the DMD gene in a group of Peruvian patients with Duchenne/Becker dystrophinopathy. This is the first study to thoroughly characterize mutations in this population.MethodsWe used the combination of multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification (MLPA) and sequencing analysis of the DMD gene. We recruited Peruvian patients in 2 years from reference national hospitals. We performed DNA tests in 152 patients, checking first exon deletion/duplication by MLPA, and subsequently, if negative, samples were sequenced to detect point mutations.ResultsThe average age for diagnosis was 9.8 years, suggesting a delay for timely diagnosis and care. We found causal DMD mutations in 125 patients: 72 (57.6%) exon deletions/duplications (41.6% deletions, 16.0% duplications), and 53 (42.4%) point mutations (27.2% nonsense, 9.6% small indels, and 5.6% splice site).ConclusionDue to our genetic background, we expected a higher number of novel and recurrent causal mutations in our sample. Results showed 16% of novel mutations, similar to other well‐studied populations.
Angularly stable frequency selective surface for the gain enhancement of isolated multiple input multiple output antenna
Authors: Rahman Saeed Ur , Deng Hai , Sajjad Muhammad , Rauf Arshad , Shafiq Zeeshan , Ahmad Mushtaq , Iqbal Shahid 
Published: July 2021

AbstractA metasurface is highly useful for improving the performance of patch antennas and reducing their size due to their inherent and unique electromagnetic properties. In this research work, we design a wideband bandstop reflector‐based frequency selective surface (FSS). It consists of a periodic array of circular shape metallic rings with four stubs. The FSS unit cell resonates over a frequency band from 7.2 to 9.2 GHz and has excellent stability under different polarizations and incident angles. A microstrip patch‐based isolated multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna is designed that operates over a frequency band of 7.9GHz to 8.7 GHz. The MIMO antenna and FSS are printed on the one face of a substrate. The radiation performance such as gain and directivity of the antenna is improved due to parasitic radiation of the surface and coherent‐ superposition of energy in the far‐field, between the antenna and FSS unit cells. Where the other parameters such are efficiency, radiation pattern and isolation are well preserved. The designed structure shows low complexity during fabrication. The simulated and experimental results confirm the predicted antenna performance and gain enhancement.
Evidence for microscopic kurtosis in neural tissue revealed by correlation tensor MRI
Authors: Henriques Rafael Neto , Jespersen Sune N. , Shemesh Noam 
Published: July 2021

PurposeThe impact of microscopic diffusional kurtosis (µK), arising from restricted diffusion and/or structural disorder, remains a controversial issue in contemporary diffusion MRI (dMRI). Recently, correlation tensor imaging (CTI) was introduced to disentangle the sources contributing to diffusional kurtosis, without relying on a‐priori multi‐gaussian component (MGC) or other microstructural assumptions. Here, we investigated µK in in vivo rat brains and assessed its impact on state‐of‐the‐art methods ignoring µK.Theory and MethodsCTI harnesses double diffusion encoding (DDE) experiments, which were here improved for speed and minimal bias using four different sets of acquisition parameters. The robustness of the improved CTI protocol was assessed via simulations. In vivo CTI acquisitions were performed in healthy rat brains using a 9.4T pre‐clinical scanner equipped with a cryogenic coil, and targeted the estimation of µK, anisotropic kurtosis, and isotropic kurtosis.ResultsThe improved CTI acquisition scheme substantially reduces scan time and importantly, also minimizes higher‐order‐term biases, thus enabling robust µK estimation, alongside Kaniso and Kiso metrics. Our CTI experiments revealed positive µK both in white and gray matter of the rat brain in vivo; µK is the dominant kurtosis source in healthy gray matter tissue. The non‐negligible µK substantially were found to bias prior MGC analyses of Kiso and Kaniso.ConclusionsCorrelation Tensor MRI offers a more accurate and robust characterization of kurtosis sources than its predecessors. µK is non‐negligible in vivo in healthy white and gray matter tissues and could be an important biomarker for future studies. Our findings thus have both theoretical and practical implications for future dMRI research.
ILP‐based heuristics for a virtual network function placement and routing problem
Authors: Addis Bernardetta , Carello Giuliana , Gao Meihui 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThanks to the increased availability of computing capabilities in data centers, the recently proposed virtual network function paradigm can be used to keep up with the increasing demand for network services as internet and its applications grow. The problem arises then of managing the virtual network functions, that is, to decide where to instantiate the functions and how to route the demands to reach them. While it arises in an application field, the Virtual Network Function placement and routing problem combines location and routing aspects in an interesting, challenging problem. In this paper, we propose several ILP‐based heuristics and compare them on a dataset that includes instances with different sizes, network topologies, and service capacity. The heuristics prove effective in tackling even large size instances, with up to 50 nodes and more than 80 arcs.
The feasibility and advantages of immediate removal of urinary catheter after lobectomy: A prospective randomized trial
Authors: Zhang Lei , Yang Xueying , Tian Ye , Yu Qian , Xu Yang , Zhou Di , Wu Zhuo , Zhao Xitong 
Published: July 2021

AbstractAimThis study aims to evaluate the feasibility and advantages of immediate urinary catheter removal compared with prolonged indwelling catheterization in lung cancer lobectomy.DesignThis study was designed as a prospective, single‐centre, randomized and open‐label clinical study.MethodsPeople with lung cancer undergoing lobectomy/pneumonectomy were recruited and randomly allocated to two groups. One group had their urinary catheter removed immediately while the other group had it removed 48 hr after surgery.ResultsNo significant difference in the incidence of postoperative urinary retention (POUR) was observed between the two groups. However, the incidence of postoperative catheter‐associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) in the immediate removal group (6.7%) was lower than the control group (17.2%) (p = .030). Furthermore, the incidence of catheter‐associated emergence agitation (CAEA) in the control group (25.3%) was higher than the immediate removal group (8.9%) (p = .007). The average length of hospital stay of the immediate removal group [6.51(4–11) days] was shorter than the control group [7.20(5–12) days] (p = .002). Immediate removal of urinary catheter appeared to have fewer complications and shorter hospital stay than delayed removal.
Stress, health and demography at Charity Hospital Cemetery #2 (AD1847–1929)
Authors: Garcia‐Putnam Alex , Halling Christine , Seidemann Ryan 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThe physiological toll of poverty—from inadequate nutrition, higher disease loads, dangerous and taxing occupations, to limited health care—constitutes a form of structural violence. This violence is often embodied on skeletal tissues as signs of systemic biological stress. Here, we explore the skeletal manifestations of systemic biological stress on the bodies of those interred at Charity Hospital, an indigent hospital, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Given Charity's mission to serve the poorest residents of New Orleans, we expected to see widespread evidence of systemic biological stress in the skeletal remains of deceased patients from the hospital. Two skeletal collections from Charity Hospital Cemetery #2 were assessed for paleodemography and paleopathology, specifically this latter analysis focuses on the presence and severity of periosteal reactive new bone growth, linear enamel hypoplasia and porotic hyperostosis/cribra orbitalia, all skeletal signs of systemic stress throughout one's lifetime. We find that the remains show some signs of systemic stress. While this contradicts the trend shown in the hospital's records, it should be noted that indicators of systemic stress cannot map perfectly onto the health of a past population. It is possible that the individuals who comprised these two samples died of diseases and maladies that did not leave any skeletal indicators; an expectation that is reinforced by the fact that this cemetery was conceived as a response to multiple yellow fever epidemics in the 1840's, a disease that does not leave any skeletal signs.
Treatment‐induced cerebral sinus venous thrombosis in childhood acute lymphoblastic malignancies: New risk factors to consider
Authors: El‐Khoury Habib , Saifi Omran , Haddad Salame , Chahrour Mohamad , Ghanem Khaled M. , Mubarak Yaacoub , Tamim Hani , Makki Maha , Zakka Cyril , Chan Anthony K. , Mahfouz Rami , Tarek Nidale , El‐Solh Hassan , Abboud Miguel R. , Saab Raya , Muwakkit Samar A. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractBackgroundCerebral sinus venous thrombosis (CSVT) is one of the many side effects encountered during acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) therapy. Due to the rarity of cases, lack of data, and consensus management, no recommendations exist to target the population at risk.MethodsThis is a retrospective chart review of 229 consecutive patients diagnosed with ALL with an age range of 1–21 years, treated at the Children's Cancer Center of Lebanon between October 2007 and February 2018.ResultsThe incidence of CSVT was 10.5%. Using univariate analysis, increased risk of CSVT was observed with male gender, age >10 years, T‐cell immunophenotype, intermediate/high‐risk disease, maximum triglyceride (TG) level of >615 mg/dl, presence of mediastinal mass, and larger body surface area (BSA). With multivariate analysis, the only statistically significant risk factors were maximum TG level, BSA, presence of mediastinal mass, and risk stratification (intermediate/high risk).ConclusionOur study was able to unveil TG level of >615 mg/dl, mediastinal mass, and a larger BSA as novel risk factors that have not been previously discussed in the literature.
Characterization of physical and mechanical properties of recycled jute fabric reinforced polypropylene composites
Authors: Benhamadouche Lamia , Rokbi Mansour , Osmani Hocine , Jawaid Mohammad , Asim Mohammad , Supian Abu Bakar Mohd , Mekideche Salih , Moussaoui Nafissa , Fouad Hassan , Khiari Ramzi 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThis research designed to contribute to reduce the environmental impacts through the preparation of composites with recyclable materials to be used in different applications. To this end, composites have been developed based on jute recovered from packaging bags and polypropylene (PP) reclaimed from scraps obtained from the manufacture of PP yarns. The developed composites were then characterized. First of all, the optimum mass fraction was determined in order to achieve good mechanical performance. Several mass fractions (30%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 60%, and 70%) were experimented to find that the best characteristics were those of the biocomposite with 40% reinforcement (σ = 39.07 MPa, E = 4.60 GPa). With this ratio, jute–PP biocomposites were further developed with different jute architectures (Satin, Serge 2 × 2, Taffeta). A structural study of the different jute fabric wastes was carried out to confirm whether they are suitable for use with a thermoplastic matrix (i.e., at a processing temperature of ≥200°C). Tensile and bending tests were carried out on these composites to find out the effect of the weave structure of the reinforcement.
Factors associated with poor outcome in fetuses prenatally diagnosed with sacrococcygeal teratoma
Authors: van Heurn Lieke J. , Coumans Audrey B. C. , Derikx Joep P. M. , Bekker Mireille N. , Bilardo Katia M. , Duin Leonie K. , Knapen Maarten F. C. M. , Pajkrt Eva , Sikkel Esther , van Heurn L. W. Ernest , Oepkes Dick 
Published: July 2021

AbstractAim of the studyOutcome of fetuses, prenatally diagnosed with sacrococcygeal teratoma (SCT), is still poorly documented. This study assesses the incidence and prenatal predictors of outcome in all fetuses prenatally diagnosed with SCT.MethodsThis is a retrospective study on all fetuses prenatally diagnosed with SCT from 1998 to 2018 in the Netherlands. Poor outcome was defined as terminations of pregnancy (TOP) because of expected unfavorable outcome, intrauterine fetal death, or early neonatal death. Potential risk factors for poor outcome were analyzed.Main resultsEighty‐four fetuses were included. Sixteen (19.0%) TOPs were excluded from statistical analysis. Eleven of the remaining 68 fetuses had poor outcome. Overall mortality was 32.1%, with a mortality excluding TOPs of 13.1%. Thirteen fetal interventions were performed in 11 (13.1%) fetuses. Potential risk factors for poor outcome were the presence of fetal hydrops (OR: 21.0, CI: 2.6–275.1, p = 0.012) and cardiomegaly (OR: 10.3, CI: 1.9–55.8, p = 0.011).ConclusionsThe overall mortality of fetuses prenatally diagnosed with SCTs including tTOP was 32.1%. This high mortality rate was mainly due to termination of pregnancy. Mortality excluding TOP was 13.1%. Potential risk factors for poor outcome were fetal hydrops and cardiomegaly.
Structure–sequence features based prediction of phosphosites of serine/threonine protein kinases of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Authors: Nilkanth Vipul V. , Mande Shekhar C. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractElucidation of signaling events in a pathogen is potentially important to tackle the infection caused by it. Such events mediated by protein phosphorylation play important roles in infection, and therefore, to predict the phosphosites and substrates of the serine/threonine protein kinases, we have developed a Machine learning‐based approach for Mycobacterium tuberculosis serine/threonine protein kinases using kinase‐peptide structure–sequence data. This approach utilizes features derived from kinase three‐dimensional‐structure environment and known phosphosite sequences to generate support vector machine (SVM)‐based kinase‐specific predictions of phosphosites of serine/threonine protein kinases (STPKs) with no or scarce data of their substrates. SVM outperformed the four machine learning algorithms we tried (random forest, logistic regression, SVM, and k‐nearest neighbors) with an area under the curve receiver‐operating characteristic value of 0.88 on the independent testing dataset and a 10‐fold cross‐validation accuracy of ~81.6% for the final model. Our predicted phosphosites of M. tuberculosis STPKs form a useful resource for experimental biologists enabling elucidation of STPK mediated posttranslational regulation of important cellular processes.
Separation and the information theory surrogate evaluation approach: A penalised likelihood solution
Authors: Ensor Hannah , Weir Christopher J. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractSurrogate evaluation is an important topic in clinical trials research, the use of a surrogate in place of a primary endpoint of interest is a common occurrence but also a contentious issue that is much debated. Statistical techniques to assess potential surrogates are closely scrutinised by the research community given the complexities of such an assessment. One such technique is the information theory surrogate evaluation approach which is well‐established, practical and theoretically sound. In the context of discrete outcomes, we investigated issues of bias due to inefficiency, overfitting and separation (sparse data) that have not been recognised or addressed previously. The most serious cause of bias is separation in trial information. We outline the concerns surrounding this bias and conduct a simulation study to investigate whether a penalised likelihood technique provides an appropriate solution. We found that removing trials with separation from surrogacy evaluation resulted in a large amount of discarded data. Conversely, the penalised likelihood technique allows retention of all trial information and enables precise and reliable surrogate estimation. The information theory approach is a critical tool for conducting surrogate evaluation. This work strengthens the practical application of the information theory approach, allowing analyses to be adapted or the results summarised with appropriate caution to mitigate the biases highlighted. This is especially true where separation occurs. The adoption of the penalised likelihood technique into information theory surrogate evaluation is a useful addition that solves an issue likely to arise frequently in the context of categorical endpoints.
A case study of industry–academia communication in a joint software engineering research project
Authors: Rico Sergio , Bjarnason Elizabeth , Engström Emelie , Höst Martin , Runeson Per 
Published: July 2021

AbstractEmpirical software engineering research relies on good communication with industrial partners. Conducting joint research both requires and contributes to bridging the communication gap between industry and academia (IA) in software engineering. This study aims to explore communication between the two parties in such a setting. To better understand what facilitates good IA communication and what project outcomes such communication promotes, we performed a case study, in the context of a long‐term IA joint project, followed by a validating survey among practitioners and researchers with experience of working in similar settings. We identified five facilitators of IA communication and nine project outcomes related to this communication. The facilitators concern the relevance of the research, practitioners' attitude and involvement in research, frequency of communication and longevity of the collaboration. The project outcomes promoted by this communication include, for researchers, changes in teaching and new scientific venues, and for practitioners, increased awareness, changes to practice, and new tools and source code. Besides, both parties gain new knowledge and develop social‐networks through IA communication. Our study presents empirically based insights that can provide advise on how to improve communication in IA research projects and thus the co‐creation of software engineering knowledge that is anchored in both practice and research.
Sustainable transformation of sewage sludge ash and waste industrial additive into green cement blend
Authors: Goswami Shubham , Shukla Dharmendra Kumar , Singh Pramod Kumar 
Published: July 2021

AbstractCement is an essential construction material and its production and demand are becoming challenge for environmental (carbon dioxide emission) and sustainability (natural resources consumption) related issues. The sustainable alternative is a key requirement to fulfill the increasing demand for natural resources and reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emission. For sustainable development, ash generated from the thermal treatment of sewage sludge (SSA) and carbide lime sludge (CLS) has been used for the production of green cement. For the feasibility study, the influence of using SSA and CLS are compared in terms of the properties of fresh paste and hardened mortar with Portland Pozzolana cement (PPC) containing FA. The outcome of the study shows that up to 45% of ordinary Portland cement can be replaced by using SSA with CLS blends, which enhance the compressive strength, save the natural resources and reduce CO2 emission up to 52% when compared with FA substitution.
The holographic conformal manifold of 3d $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 2 S-fold SCFTs
Authors: Bobev Nikolay , Gautason Friðrik Freyr , van Muiden Jesse 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
We employ a non-compact gauging of four-dimensional maximal supergravity to construct a two-parameter family of AdS4 J-fold solutions preserving $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
= 2 supersymmetry. All solutions preserve $$ \mathfrak{u} $$
u
(1) × $$ \mathfrak{u} $$
u
(1) global symmetry and in special limits we recover the previously known $$ \mathfrak{su} $$
su
(2) × $$ \mathfrak{u} $$
u
(1) invariant $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
= 2 and $$ \mathfrak{su} $$
su
(2) × $$ \mathfrak{su} $$
su
(2) invariant $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
= 4 J-fold solutions. This family of AdS4 backgrounds can be uplifted to type IIB string theory and is holographically dual to the conformal manifold of a class of three-dimensional S-fold SCFTs obtained from the $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
= 4 T [U(N)] theory of Gaiotto-Witten. We find the spectrum of supergravity excitations of the AdS4 solutions and use it to study how the operator spectrum of the three-dimensional SCFT depends on the exactly marginal couplings.
Der Beitrag von epidemiologischen Modellen zur Beschreibung des Ausbruchsgeschehens der COVID-19-Pandemie
Authors: Priesemann Viola , Meyer-Hermann Michael , Pigeot Iris , Schöbel Anita 
Published: July 2021

ZusammenfassungNach dem globalen Ausbruch der COVID-19-Pandemie entwickelte sich eine Infektionsdynamik von immensen Ausmaßen. Seitdem wird versucht, das Infektionsgeschehen mit zahlreichen Maßnahmen unter Kontrolle zu bringen. Das gelang im Frühjahr 2020 sehr gut, während im darauffolgenden Herbst die Anzahl der Infektionen stark anstieg. Zur Vorhersage des Infektionsgeschehens werden epidemiologische Modelle eingesetzt, die grundsätzlich ein sehr wertvolles Werkzeug im Pandemiemanagement sind. Allerdings beruhen sie teils immer noch auf Vermutungen bzgl. der Übertragungswege und möglicher Treiber der Infektionsdynamik. Trotz zahlreicher einzelner Ansätze fehlen auch noch heute in vielen Bereichen systematische epidemiologische Daten, mit denen z. B. die Wirksamkeit einzelner Maßnahmen nachgewiesen werden könnte. In Studien generierte Daten werden aber benötigt, um möglichst belastbare Vorhersagen bzgl. des weiteren Verlaufs der Pandemie treffen zu können. Dabei entwickelt sich die Komplexität der Modelle Hand in Hand mit der Komplexität der zur Verfügung stehenden Daten. In diesem Artikel wird nach einer Abgrenzung zweier grundsätzlicher Modellklassen der Beitrag epidemiologischer Modelle zur Beurteilung verschiedener zentraler Aspekte des Pandemieverlaufs, wie z. B. Reproduktionszahl, Dunkelziffer, Infektionssterblichkeit, sowie zur Berücksichtigung der Regionalität aufgezeigt. Anschließend wird der Einsatz der Modelle zur Quantifizierung der Wirkung von Maßnahmen und der Effekte der Strategie des Testens, Nachverfolgens und Isolierens („test-trace-isolate strategy“) beschrieben. In der abschließenden Diskussion werden die Limitationen solcher Modellierungsansätze ihren Vorteilen gegenübergestellt.