bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A semi-mechanistic exposure–response model to assess the effects of verinurad, a potent URAT1 inhibitor, on serum and urine uric acid in patients with hyperuricemia-associated diseases
Authors: Leander Jacob , Sunnåker Mikael , Rekić Dinko , Aksenov Sergey , Eriksson Ulf G. , Johansson Susanne , Parkinson Joanna 
Published: March 2021

AbstractVerinurad, a uric acid transporter 1 (URAT1) inhibitor, lowers serum uric acid by promoting its urinary excretion. Co-administration with a xanthine oxidase inhibitor (XOI) to simultaneously reduce uric acid production rate reduces the potential for renal tubular precipitation of uric acid, which can lead to acute kidney injury. The combination is currently in development for chronic kidney disease and heart failure. The aim of this work was to apply and extend a previously developed semi-mechanistic exposure–response model for uric acid kinetics to include between-subject variability to verinurad and its combinations with XOIs, and to provide predictions to support future treatment strategies. The model was developed using data from 12 clinical studies from a total of 434 individuals, including healthy volunteers, patients with hyperuricemia, and renally impaired subjects. The model described the data well, taking into account the impact of various patient characteristics such as renal function, baseline fractional excretion of uric acid, and race. The potencies (EC50s) of verinurad (reducing uric acid reuptake), febuxostat (reducing uric acid production), and oxypurinol (reducing uric acid production) were: 29, 128, and 13,030 ng/mL, respectively. For verinurad, symptomatic hyperuricemic (gout) subjects showed a higher EC50 compared with healthy volunteers (37 ng/mL versus 29 ng/mL); while no significant difference was found for asymptomatic hyperuricemic patients. Simulations based on the uric acid model were performed to assess dose–response of verinurad in combination with XOI, and to investigate the impact of covariates. The simulations demonstrated application of the model to support dose selection for verinurad.
Permeability of commercial landscapes: integrating plantation forest trackways into ecological networks
Authors: Wolstenholme Paul , Pedley Scott M. 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Context
Reconnecting fragmented habitat is a major challenge in biodiversity conservation. It is especially important in landscapes that have undergone significant change through agriculture and forestry conversion. This is particularly prevalent within heathland regions across Western Europe where remaining fragments are significantly isolated in intensely managed landscapes.

Objectives
This study examines to what extent forest trackways can facilitate connectivity between open patches, and how invertebrate dispersal ability (terrestrial or aerial) influences functional landscape connectivity. We also investigate a range of management scenarios to examine the efficacy of landscape management plans to facilitate connectivity for vulnerable invertebrate communities.

Methods
We develop the Path-Cost Index (PCI) that combines multiple environmental factors to quantify species-specific habitat suitability within forestry trackways. The PCI generates dispersal cost values for resistance-based connectivity models that represent specific forest environments and species/guild responses. We demonstrate the use of this index through the modelling of least-cost pathways for heathland invertebrates and test management scenarios (clustered and contiguous habitat improvements) developed to support heathland biodiversity.

Results
The plantation landscape provided significant barriers for vulnerable heathland invertebrate guilds. Landscape metrics indicate that management plans incorporating contiguous corridors would provide significantly greater improvements over clustered corridors for target invertebrate guilds in our study landscape.

Conclusion
The PCI presented in this study delivered easily definable resistance costs allowing comparative assessment of landscape enhancements plans. The PCI can be easily adapted to other linear features and landscapes, affording a low-cost tool to assist the evaluation of management plans and biological networks.
Minding the Gaps: The Role of Finnish Civil Society Organizations in the Labour Market Integration of Migrants
Authors: Bontenbal Ilona , Lillie Nathan 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe growing role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in welfare service provision is sometimes portrayed as a threat to welfare state universalism in Nordic societies. In Finland, CSOs co-produce integration services alongside comprehensive official integration programmes, compensating for gaps and shortcomings in those services. We identify three “gaps”, which are (1) limited availability of services in terms of time and target group, (2) lack of direct labour market contacts and (3) limited flexibility to serve individual needs. We assess how CSOs target these gaps with their service offerings through qualitative interviews with policy implementers, CSO workers and migrants. However, CSOs’ role in labour market integration is inherently limited by their services being small scale, short term and project based. We find that due to their independence and limited role, CSOs operate synergistically with official services, extending rather than undermining universalism.
Sustainability concerns on consumers’ attitude towards short food supply chains: an empirical investigation
Authors: Wang Meng , Kumar Vikas , Ruan Ximing , Saad Mohammed , Garza-Reyes Jose Arturo , Kumar Anil 
Published: March 2021

AbstractWhile industrialized agro-food supply systems have gained tremendous success in recent decades, it has been increasingly criticized for its adverse environmental and social impact. Amongst this criticism, Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) have emerged as a promising sustainable alternative to the industrialized agri-food supply systems. In recent years there have been some attempts to explore the relationship between SFSCs and sustainability, but these are mostly theoretical discussions and lacks empirical validation. This study, therefore, attempts to provide empirical validation of the SFSCs and sustainability linkages. Additionally, from the theoretical perspective, our work extends the traditional triple bottom line constructs and explores two extra dimensions of sustainability in the food supply chain system, namely, governance and culture, thus exploring five dimensions of sustainability. Furthermore, while SFSCs have proven to improve farmers’ livelihoods and reconnect producers with consumers, little or no attention has been given to understand the consumers' attitudes towards the SFSC practices. Therefore, this study aims to explore the customers’ attitudes towards participating in SFSCs through the concept of a moral economy and personal relationship. Based on the 532 valid responses from Chinese consumers, our study shows that all five pillars of sustainability, moral economy and Chinese relationship have a positive influence on consumers’ participation in SFSCs. With its intuitive benefits, the economic pillar emerged as the most approved factor by the participants. Interestingly our findings show that the social aspect is less prominent than others, which is contrary to existing studies conducted in developed countries.
Attitudes to Cryptocurrencies: A Comparative Study Between Sweden and Japan
Authors: Grassman Rickard , Bracamonte Vanessa , Davis Matthew , Sato Maki 
Published: March 2021

AbstractIn this paper, we explore how cryptocurrencies have been received in Sweden and Japan, and what specific attitudes and discourses may reveal about the ethical implications surrounding this new technology. By way of topic modelling prevalent discourses on social media among users of cryptocurrencies, and teasing out the more culturally situated significance in such interactions through discourse analysis, our aim is to unpack the way certain tropes and traces around the notion of autonomy may provide a fruitful lens through which we may discern how this technology has been received in each respective country. The ultimate aim of the paper is to shed light on the attitudes that inform the way this technology is perceived and the cultural and ideological nuances that this brings to the fore, as well as how this culturally nuanced view may help us better discern the potential advantages and ethical challenges associated with this new technology.
Diabetic retinopathy detection and classification using capsule networks
Authors: Kalyani G. , Janakiramaiah B. , Karuna A. , Prasad L. V. Narasimha 
Published: March 2021

AbstractNowadays, diabetic retinopathy is a prominent reason for blindness among the people who suffer from diabetes. Early and timely detection of this problem is critical for a good prognosis. An automated system for this purpose contains several phases like identification and classification of lesions in fundus images. Machine learning techniques based on manual extraction of features and automatic extraction of features with convolution neural network have been presented for diabetic retinopathy detection. The recent developments like capsule networks in deep learning and their significant success over traditional machine learning methods for a variety of applications inspired the researchers to apply them for diabetic retinopathy diagnosis. In this paper, a reformed capsule network is developed for the detection and classification of diabetic retinopathy. Using the convolution and primary capsule layer, the features are extracted from the fundus images and then using the class capsule layer and softmax layer the probability that the image belongs to a specific class is estimated. The efficiency of the proposed reformed network is validated concerning four performance measures by considering the Messidor dataset. The constructed capsule network attains an accuracy of 97.98%, 97.65%, 97.65%, and 98.64% on the healthy retina, stage 1, stage 2, and stage 3 fundus images.
A survival analysis in the assessment of the influence of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the probability and intensity of decline in the value of stock indices
Authors: Bieszk-Stolorz Beata , Dmytrów Krzysztof 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe aim of the study is to assess the strength of the world stock exchanges reaction to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic at the turn of 2019–2020. We analyze the risk and intensity of the decline in the values of the basic stock indices by means of selected methods of survival analysis. The spreading pandemic within a few months covered all continents and had a significant impact on the socio-economic situation of all countries. We studied the time of the 20% drop in stock market indices. This is a value that is taken as a sign of a crisis. In order to assess the probability of indices’ value decrease, we use the Kaplan–Meier’s estimator. We determine the risk of decline by means of a logit model and the intensity of the decline by means of an empirical hazard estimator and the Cox proportional hazard model. The intensity and risk of the decline of stock indices varied from continent to continent. The obtained results show that the intensity is highest in the fourth and eighth week after the peak and is the highest on European exchanges and then American and Asian exchanges (including Australia). The risk of falling the stock indices’ prices is the highest in America, followed by Europe, Asia and Australia, and lowest in Africa. Half of the analyzed indices record a 20% drop in value after 52 days (median duration). The study is a prelude to further analyses related to the crisis and the normalization of the situation on world stock exchanges. It allows to learn about the impact of the pandemic on the economic situation and to detect the differences between the continents.
Rational functions, cotangent sums and Eichler integrals
Authors: Franke Johann 
Published: March 2021

AbstractWith the help of so called pre-weak functions, we formulate a very general transformation law for some holomorphic functions on the upper half plane and motivate the term of a generalized Eisenstein series with real-exponent Fourier expansions. Using the transformation law in the case of negative integers k, we verify a close connection between finite cotangent sums of a specific type and generalized L-functions at integer arguments. Finally, we expand this idea to Eichler integrals and period polynomials for some types of modular forms.
Hospital Admission and Readmission Among US Patients Receiving Umeclidinium/Vilanterol or Tiotropium as Initial Maintenance Therapy for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Authors: Slade David , Ray Riju , Moretz Chad , Germain Guillaume , Laliberté François , Shen Qin , Duh Mei Sheng , MacKnight Sean D. , Hahn Beth 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Introduction
Patients hospitalized for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations are at risk of further readmissions, increased treatment costs, and excess mortality. This study evaluated inpatient admissions and readmissions in patients receiving initial maintenance therapy with umeclidinium/vilanterol (UMEC/VI) versus tiotropium (TIO).

Methods
This retrospective, matched cohort study identified patients with COPD who initiated maintenance therapy with UMEC/VI or TIO from Optum’s de-identified Clinformatics Data Mart database between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2018 (index date defined as earliest dispensing). Eligibility criteria included: ≥ 1 medical claim for COPD pre-index or on the index date; ≥ 12 months of continuous eligibility pre-index; age ≥ 40 years at index; no pre- or post-index asthma diagnosis; and no pre-index claims for medications containing inhaled corticosteroids, long-acting β2-agonists, or long-acting muscarinic antagonists. Outcomes included time to first on-treatment COPD-related inpatient admission, rate of on-treatment COPD-related admissions, and rate of all-cause and COPD-related readmissions within 30 and 90 days. Propensity score matching was used to adjust for potential confounders.

Results
Matched UMEC/VI and TIO cohorts each included 7997 patients and were balanced on baseline characteristics (mean age 70.9 years; female 47.1–47.6%). Over 12 months, patients initiating UMEC/VI had significantly reduced risk (hazard ratio [95% CI]: 0.87 [0.79, 0.96]; p = 0.006) and rates (rate ratio [95% CI]: 0.80 [0.72, 0.92]; p = 0.008) of COPD-related inpatient admissions compared with TIO. While all-cause readmission rates were similar between treatment cohorts, readmission rates among patients with an initial admission length of stay of 1–3 days were numerically lower for UMEC/VI versus TIO (30-day readmissions: 10.5% vs. 12.4%; 90-day readmissions: 15.5% vs. 19.8%). Similar patterns were observed for COPD-related readmissions.

Conclusions
These findings highlight the real-world benefits of dual therapy with UMEC/VI versus TIO in reducing inpatient admissions and readmissions in patients with COPD, which may translate to lower healthcare costs.
The fluid limit of a random graph model for a shared ledger
Authors: King Christopher 
Published: March 2021

AbstractA shared ledger is a record of transactions that can be updated by any member of a group of users. The notion of independent and consistent record-keeping in a shared ledger is important for blockchain and more generally for distributed ledger technologies. In this paper we analyze a stochastic model for the shared ledger known as the tangle, which was devised as the basis for the IOTA cryptocurrency. The model is a random directed acyclic graph, and its growth is described by a non-Markovian stochastic process. We first prove ergodicity of the stochastic process, and then derive a delay differential equation for the fluid model which describes the tangle at high arrival rate. We prove convergence in probability of the tangle process to the fluid model, and also prove global stability of the fluid model. The convergence proof relies on martingale techniques.
Model-independent pricing with insider information: a skorokhod embedding approach
Authors: Acciaio Beatrice , Cox Alexander M. G. , Huesmann Martin 
Published: March 2021

AbstractIn this paper we consider the pricing and hedging of financial derivatives in a model-independent setting, for a trader with additional information, or beliefs, on the evolution of asset prices. In particular, we suppose that the trader wants to act in a way which is independent of any modelling assumptions, but that she observes market information in the form of the prices of vanilla call options on the asset. We also assume that both the payoff of the derivative, and the insider’s information or beliefs, which take the form of a set of impossible paths, are time-invariant. In this way we accommodate drawdown constraints, as well as information/beliefs on quadratic variation or on the levels hit by asset prices. Our setup allows us to adapt recent work of [12] to prove duality results and a monotonicity principle. This enables us to determine geometric properties of the optimal models. Moreover, for specific types of information, we provide simple conditions for the existence of consistent models for the informed agent. Finally, we provide an example where our framework allows us to compute the impact of the information on the agent’s pricing bounds.
From the hospital toilet to the ward: A pilot study on microbe dispersal to multiple hospital surfaces following hand drying using a jet air dryer versus paper towels
Authors: Moura Ines B. , Ewin Duncan , Wilcox Mark H. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractUsing a bacteriophage to represent microbial contamination, we investigated virus transmission to the hospital environment following hand drying. The use of paper towels resulted in lower rates of virus contamination on hands and clothing compared with a jet air dryer and, consequently, lower contamination of multiple hospital surfaces.
Reflections on the Role of Ubuntu as an Antidote to Afro-Phobia
Authors: Kaungu Gideon Muchiri 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThis article argues that xenophobic acts towards black foreigners remain a human rights challenge in South Africa. Foreign nationals, mostly black Africans, continue to experience physical attacks, discrimination and looting of businesses, as well as targeted crime. Prevalent xenophobic attitudes continue to trouble the conscience of all well-meaning South Africans. There is ample evidence that xenophobia has morphed into afro-phobia, the hatred of black foreigners. Xenophobia continues to evolve and attackers are increasingly linking the presence of foreign nationals to socio-economic challenges facing the country. This article argues that, even though South Africa's Constitution does not expressly identify Ubuntu as a national value, it does recognize customary law and many of its provisions are anchored in Ubuntu philosophy. This article proposes Ubuntu, or African “humanness” whose “natural home” should be located in South Africa, as a pragmatic social intervention and a morally sustainable solution to address xenophobia that would be acceptable to both South Africans and foreign nationals.
Unfolding Africa's Impact on the Development of International Refugee Law
Authors: Palacios-Arapiles Sara 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThis article traces the contributions of African states to the development of international refugee law and explores the role African human rights supervisory bodies have played in the interpretation and application of this field of law. While Africa's contributions to international refugee law are often overlooked, this article sets out to identify Africa's involvement in the drafting process of the UN Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. It also explores the legal framework for refugees in Africa, in particular the OAU Refugee Convention and the Bangkok Principles on Status and Treatment of Refugees, and the extent to which these two instruments have enriched international refugee law. The article argues that some of their provisions may provide evidence of customary rules of international law. Lastly, it examines some of the authoritative pronouncements made by African human rights supervisory bodies, in so far as they adopt a progressive approach to interpreting the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers.
Effects of full-time v. part-time grazing on seasonal changes in milk coagulation properties and fatty acid composition
Authors: Akert Franziska S. , Kreuzer Michael , Kunz Carmen , Reidy Beat , Berard Joel 
Published: March 2021

AbstractFor this research communication our objective was to investigate to what extent milk coagulation properties and milk fatty acid (FA) composition were affected by different feeding systems, season and their interaction. Eighteen cows in total were subjected to one of three different feeding system treatments: full-time grazing or part-time grazing combined with indoor feeding of fresh grass with low or high concentrate supplementation. Milk was sampled in spring, summer and autumn. Milk coagulation time was 15.0, 19.0 and 17.7 min, coagulation dynamics 1.67, 3.41 and 1.79 min, and curd firmness 52.7, 32.4 and 47.0 mm in spring, summer and autumn, respectively. Thus, milk coagulation properties of the milk were lower during summer. There were strong seasonal effects on milk FA proportions, but there were not always changes with progressing season, or changes were different with respect to the impact of the feeding systems (system × season interaction). The milk fat was favourably rich in oleic acid, conjugated linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid and had a low n-6/n-3 fatty acid ratio in all systems. Factors like seasonal variations in grass composition and the energy balance of the cows were considered relevant for the milk FA composition. Overall, seasonal variations in milk quality were less pronounced with part-time grazing with fresh grass indoors as compared to full-time grazing without concentrate.
Providing instrumental support to older parents of multi-child families in China: are there different within-family patterns?
Authors: Chen Jia , Zhou Xiaochen , Lu Nan 
Published: March 2021

AbstractOlder parents in China rely heavily on their adult children for instrumental assistance. In different multi-child families, multiple offspring may co-operate in providing instrumental support to older parents in distinct ways in terms of how much support they provide on average and how much differentiation exists between them when they provide such support within a family. We aimed to identify different within-family patterns in relation to multiple offspring's instrumental support to an older parent in Chinese multi-child families, and to investigate potential predictors for different within-family patterns. Using data from the China Family Panel Studies (2016), we had a working sample of 5,790 older adults aged 60+ (mean = 68.54, standard deviation = 6.60). We employed latent profile analysis (LPA) to classify within-family patterns and multinomial logistic regression to investigate predictors. Our findings identified three within-family patterns: dissociated (59.10%), highly differentiated (29.60%) and united-filial (11.30%). Older parents in the highly differentiated families tended to be older, mothers, divorced/widowed and to have poorer physical health compared to their counterparts in the dissociated families. In contrast, the composition characteristics of multiple adult children played more important roles in determining the united-filial within-family pattern. The united-filial families were more likely to have fewer adult children, at least one adult daughter and at least one co-residing adult child.