bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Immunohistochemistry study of tumor vascular normalization and anti-angiogenic effects of sunitinib versus bevacizumab prior to dose-dense doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide chemotherapy in HER2-negative breast cancer
Authors: Yadav Kritika , Lim Joline , Choo Joan , Ow Samuel Guan Wei , Wong Andrea , Lee Matilda , Chan Ching Wan , Hartman Mikael , Lim Siew Eng , Ngoi Natalie , Tang Siau Wei , Ang Yvonne , Chan Gloria , Chong Wan Qin , Tan Hon Lyn , Tan Sing Huang , Goh Boon Cher , Lee Soo Chin 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Purpose
Tumor angiogenesis controlled predominantly by vascular endothelial growth factor and its receptor (VEGF-VEGFR) interaction plays a key role in the growth and propagation of cancer cells. However, the newly formed network of blood vessels is disorganized and leaky. Pre-treatment with anti-angiogenic agents can “normalize” the tumor vasculature allowing effective intra-tumoral delivery of standard chemotherapy. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis was applied to investigate and compare the vascular normalization and anti-angiogenic effects of two commonly used anti-angiogenic agents, Sunitinib and Bevacizumab, administered prior to chemotherapy in HER2-negative breast cancer patients.

Methods
This prospective clinical trial enrolled 38 patients into a sunitinib cohort and 24 into a bevacizumab cohort. All received 4 cycles of doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide chemotherapy and pre-treatment with either sunitinib or bevacizumab. Tumor biopsies were obtained at baseline, after cycle 1 (C1) and cycle 4 (C4) of chemotherapy. IHC was performed to assess the tumor vascular normalization index (VNI), lymphatic vessel density (LVD), Ki67 proliferation index and expression of tumor VEGFR2.

Results
In comparison to Bevacizumab, Sunitinib led to a significant increase in VNI post-C1 and C4 (p < 0.001 and 0.001) along with decrease in LVD post-C1 (p = 0.017). Both drugs when combined with chemotherapy resulted in significant decline in tumor proliferation after C1 and C4 (baseline vs post-C4 Ki67 index p = 0.006 for Sunitinib vs p = 0.021 for Bevacizumab). Bevacizumab resulted in a significant decrease in VEGFR2 expression post-C1 (p = 0.004).

Conclusion
Sunitinib, in comparison to Bevacizumab showed a greater effect on tumor vessel modulation and lymphangiogenesis suggesting that its administration prior to chemotherapy might result in improved drug delivery.

Trial registry
ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02790580 (first posted June 6, 2016).
Two N-of-1 self-trials on readability differences between anonymous inner classes (AICs) and lambda expressions (LEs) on Java code snippets
Authors: Hanenberg Stefan , Mehlhorn Nils 
Published: December 2021

AbstractIn Java, lambda expressions (LEs) were introduced at a time where the similar language construct anonymous inner class (AIC) already existed for years. But while LEs became quite popular in mainstream programming languages in general, their usability is hardly studied. From the Java perspective the need to study the relationship between LEs and AICs was and is quite obvious, because both language constructs co-exist. However, it is quite usual that new language constructs are introduced although they are not or hardly studied using scientific methods – and an often heard argument from programming language designers is that the effort or the costs for the application of the scientific method on language constructs is too high. The present paper contributes in two different ways. First, with respect to LEs in comparison to AICs, this paper presents two N-of-1 studies (i.e. randomized control trials executed on a single subject) where LEs and AICs are used as listeners in Java code. Both experiments had two similar and rather simple tasks (“count the number of parameters”, respectively “count the number of used parameters”) with the dependent variable being reaction time. The first experiment used the number of parameters, the second the number of used parameters as the controlled, independent variable (in addition to the technique LE and AIC). Other variables (LOC, etc.) were randomly generated within given boundaries. The main result of both experiments is that LEs without type annotations require less reading time (phs .2, reduction of reaction time of at most 35%). The results are based on 9,600 observations (one N-of-1 trial with eight replications). This gives evidence that the readability of LEs without type annotations improves the readability of code. However, the effect seems to be so small, that we do not expect this to have a larger impact on daily programming. Second, we see the contribution of this paper in the application of N-of-1 trials. Such experiments require relatively low effort in the data selection but still permit to analyze results in a non-subjective way using commonly accepted analysis techniques. Additionally, they permit to increase the number of selected data points in comparison to traditional multi–subject experiments. We think that researchers should take such experiments into account before planning and executing larger experiments.
Release of 3H and 14C during sampling and speciation in activated concrete
Authors: Leskinen Anumaija , Hokkinen Jouni , Kärkelä Teemu , Kekki Tommi 
Published: December 2021

AbstractCharacterisation of contaminated and activated decommissioning waste require sampling of the studied material for the analysis of different radionuclides. The volatility of 3H and 14C can lead to the loss of the analytes in sampling of solid materials since most often at least some heat is involved in the sampling technique. Especially 3H can be lost in cases when it is present as tritiated water (HTO) due to the evaporation of water even at low temperatures. Therefore, in this study, the 3H and 14C speciations are discussed. Consequently, a drilling sampling technique was developed in order to capture the released 3H and 14C in absorption solutions and measured using liquid scintillation counting. The sampling technique was tested on an activated concrete core. The collected samples were analysed for 3H and 14C (activity concentration and speciation) using a thermal oxidation technique. The results showed that a significant amount of 3H was released during sampling even though the majority of 3H was strongly bound in the activated concrete. The studied activated concrete did not contain measurable amount of 14C and therefore speciation studies were not possible.
Reassessment of contact restrictions and testing campaigns against COVID-19 via spatio-temporal modeling
Authors: Ganegoda Naleen Chaminda , Wijaya Karunia Putra , Páez Chávez Joseph , Aldila Dipo , Erandi K. K. W. Hasitha , Amadi Miracle 
Published: December 2021

AbstractSince the earliest outbreak of COVID-19, the disease continues to obstruct life normalcy in many parts of the world. The present work proposes a mathematical framework to improve non-pharmaceutical interventions during the new normal before vaccination settles herd immunity. The considered approach is built from the viewpoint of decision makers in developing countries where resources to tackle the disease from both a medical and an economic perspective are scarce. Spatial auto-correlation analysis via global Moran’s index and Moran’s scatter is presented to help modulate decisions on hierarchical-based priority for healthcare capacity and interventions (including possible vaccination), finding a route for the corresponding deployment as well as landmarks for appropriate border controls. These clustering tools are applied to sample data from Sri Lanka to classify the 26 Regional Director of Health Services (RDHS) divisions into four clusters by introducing convenient classification criteria. A metapopulation model is then used to evaluate the intra- and inter-cluster contact restrictions as well as testing campaigns under the absence of confounding factors. Furthermore, we investigate the role of the basic reproduction number to determine the long-term trend of the regressing solution around disease-free and endemic equilibria. This includes an analytical bifurcation study around the basic reproduction number using Brouwer Degree Theory and asymptotic expansions as well as related numerical investigations based on path-following techniques. We also introduce the notion of average policy effect to assess the effectivity of contact restrictions and testing campaigns based on the proposed model’s transient behavior within a fixed time window of interest.
A supersingular coincidence
Authors: Sankaran G. K. 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThe 15 primes 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 41, 47, 59, 71 are called the supersingular primes: they occur in several contexts in number theory and also, strikingly, they are the primes that divide the order of the Monster. It is also known that the moduli space of (1, p)-polarised abelian surfaces is of general type for these primes. In this note, we explain that apparently coincidental fact by relating it to other number-theoretic occurences of the supersingular primes.
A Symplectic Dynamics Proof of the Degree–Genus Formula
Authors: Albers Peter , Geiges Hansjörg , Zehmisch Kai 
Published: December 2021

AbstractWe classify global surfaces of section for the Reeb flow of the standard contact form on the 3-sphere (defining the Hopf fibration), with boundaries oriented positively by the flow. As an application, we prove the degree-genus formula for complex projective curves, using an elementary degeneration process inspired by the language of holomorphic buildings in symplectic field theory.
Peace, Protest and Precarity: Making Conceptual Sense of Young People’s Non-violent Dissent in a Period of Intersecting Crises
Authors: Bowman Benjamin , Pickard Sarah 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
The current young generation are living through socio-historically situated intersecting crises, including precarity and climate change. In these times of crisis, young people are also bearing witness to a distinctive global wave of youth-led activism involving protest actions. Much of this activism can be deemed dissent because many young activists are calling for systemic change, including the radical disruption, reimagining and rebuilding of the social, economic and political status quo. In this interdisciplinary article, between politics and peace studies, we investigate how the concept of peace plays an important role in some young dissent, and specifically the dissent of young people taking action on climate change. We observed that these young environmental activists often describe their actions in careful terms of positive peace, non-violence, kindness and care, in order to express their dissent as what we interpret as positive civic behaviour. They also use concepts grounded in peace and justice to navigate their economic, political and social precarity. Based on a youth-centred study, drawing on insightful face to face semi-structured interviews in Britain and France with school climate strikers, Friday For Future (FFF) and Extinction Rebellion (XR) activists, we explore how young environmental activists themselves related their dissent, and especially how they attached importance to it being non-violent and/or peaceful. Stemming from our findings, we discuss how young environmental activists’ vision of violence and non-violence adapted to the structural and personal violence they face at the complex intersections of young marginalization, global inequalities and injustices in the lived impact of climate change and the policing of protest.
Feasibility of an adjunctive cognitive task in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder
Authors: Badawi Amalia , Steel Zachary , Mahoney Christopher , Berle David 
Published: December 2021

AbstractVisuospatial cognitive tasks that influence memory reconsolidation may be of benefit in reducing intrusive memories for traumatic events when used as an adjunct to trauma-focused psychotherapy. We conducted a feasibility assessment of a protocol that involved the use of a visuospatial cognitive task, the Tetris intervention, alongside routine exposure-based treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Participants were inpatients attending for PTSD treatment at a psychiatric hospital. The Tetris intervention was administered on three occasions when imaginal exposure had formed part of the treatment session. Using a phone app, participants also monitored intrusive memories over a 3-week period. Feasibility outcomes were fully met for the demand, implementation, practicality and adaptability criteria. Only a single criterion was not met for each of the acceptability and implementation criteria. Limited-efficacy testing outcomes are also discussed. Overall, the findings from our feasibility study indicated viability of the protocol, which involved implementation of the Tetris intervention alongside routine exposure-based treatment for PTSD, in a clinical inpatient setting.
Impact of the War in Croatia (1991-1995) on the Differentiation of Age Structure between Serbs and Croats: A Case Study of the Banija Region
Authors: Kovjanić Aleksandar , Pavlović Mila , Živanović Vedran , Krstić Filip 
Published: December 2021

AbstractAging is the subject of various studies by the scientific community and monitoring by responsible institutions. The intensity of aging and the proportion of age groups among various communities differ due to different socio-economic conditions and characteristics. This article researches the impact of the war in Croatia 1991–1995 and postwar living conditions on the divergence of population aging in the ethnically heterogeneous Banija region. The first postwar census in 2001 recorded a population decline of 44.9% compared to the 1991 census. We analyze the effects of the war on changes in ethnic and age structure, as well as their interrelations. The quantitative and qualitative magnitude of these demographic changes in the inter-census period had a decisive influence on the correlation of age and ethnic structure. The article examines whether the relative share of Serbs or Croats in the total population of a settlement affects the average age of the settlement. The results confirmed that the Serbs are older than the Croats, and are in the phase of the most advanced demographic age. These changes raise the question of the demographic future and the biological viability of the Serbs, who were the majority in the region before the war.
Writing on Death: Plague Narratives. A Review Essay
Authors: Meng Michael 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThis essay discusses several books, ancient and recent, on plagues to ask the question: Can we face death without turning away from it through historical narration? Can we write about death, which only afflicts individuals, without stripping death of its individuality? After briefly addressing these questions, I discuss five books, one from the ancient period (Thucydides’s Peloponnesian War), one from the late medieval period (Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron), one from the early modern period (Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year), and two from the modern period (Mary Shelley’s The Last Man, and Frank Snowden’s Epidemics and Society). These books not only come from different eras but also reflect different written responses to death—ancient history, story/fable, reportage, futuristic novel, and contemporary history. The essay concludes by considering a counterargument to its focus on death, an argument developed by Baruch Spinoza which claims that humans should think nothing less than of death.
Childhood adversity predicts black young adults’ DNA methylation-based accelerated aging: A dual pathway model
Authors: Beach Steven R. H. , Gibbons Frederick X. , Carter Sierra E. , Ong Mei Ling , Lavner Justin A. , Lei Man-Kit , Simons Ronald L. , Gerrard Meg , Philibert Robert A. 
Published: December 2021

AbstractWe expand upon prior work (Gibbons et al., 2012) relating childhood stressor effects, particularly harsh childhood environments, to risky behavior and ultimately physical health by adding longer-term outcomes – deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) methylation-based measures of accelerated aging (DNAm-aging). Further, following work on the effects of early exposure to danger (McLaughlin et al., 2014), we also identify an additional pathway from harsh childhood environments to DNAm-aging that we label the danger/FKBP5 pathway, which includes early exposure to dangerous community conditions that are thought to impact glucocorticoid regulation and pro-inflammatory mechanisms. Because different DNAm-aging indices provide different windows on accelerated aging, we contrast effects on early indices of DNAm-aging based on chronological age with later indices that focused on predicting biological outcomes. We utilize data from Family and Community Health Study participants (N = 449) from age 10 to 29. We find that harshness influences parenting, which, in turn, influences accelerated DNAm-aging through the risky cognitions and substance use (i.e., behavioral) pathway outlined by Gibbons et al. (2012). Harshness is also associated with increased exposure to threat/danger, which, in turn, leads to accelerated DNAm-aging through effects on FKBP5 activity and enhanced pro-inflammatory tendencies (i.e., the danger/FKBP5 pathway).
The ransom of high-ranking captives, tributary relationships and the practice of diplomacy in northern Syria 442-522/1050-1128
Authors: WILSON JAMES 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThis article examines how the introduction of western European crusaders and settlers to northern Syria from 490/1097 onwards impacted upon two important mechanisms of regional diplomacy; the ransom of prominent political prisoners and tributary relationships. Discussion begins with a comparison of the capture and ransom of high-ranking captives in northern Syria between 442-522/1050-1128, where it is argued that the establishment of the crusader states led to an increase in both the rate at which prisoners of elite status were ransomed and the financial sums involved in these interactions. This is followed by a reassessment of the various peace treaties, tributary arrangements and condominia or munāṣafa agreements concluded between the rulers of Antioch and Aleppo during the late fifth/eleventh and early sixth/twelfth centuries. Ultimately, this article seeks to place key features of northern Syrian diplomacy from the early crusading period within the context of regional norms in the decades preceding the crusaders’ arrival.
Fantastic Fauna in a Global Perspective: understanding composites in early Eurasian Antiquity
Authors: Andreeva Petya 
Published: December 2021

AbstractAncient tombs and hoards across the Eurasian steppe call for a thorough revision of art-historical categories associated with pastoral societies from Mongolia to Crimea. This study focuses on one such category. “Animal style” is an umbrella term traditionally used to categorise portable precious metalwork ornamented with dynamic scenes of vigorous animal fights and entwined zoomorphic designs. With its emphasis on irregular animal anatomies and deeply rooted in a “pars-pro-toto” mode of expression, steppe imagery of fantastic fauna presents a useful case study in broader investigations of composites in the ancient world and their diffusion across cultural spheres. This study views beasts through a binary lens, the structured monsters of Greco-Roman thinkers and the organic composites of nomadic steppe artisans. In the Western canon, “composites” existed within a politically-manufactured framework of governable “otherness”, in which fantastic fauna conveys a certain tension with the exotic, unknown and uncontrollable East. Meanwhile, in the visual rhetoric of steppe artisans, monsters represented a tension with the (cyclical) shifts occurring in one's biota rather than the tumultuous events in one's constructed environment. This paper explores how the contrasting steppe pastoralist and sedentary imperial world-views came to define the various functions and meanings of “composites” in Eurasian Antiquity.
Du Bois and Brazil
Authors: Góes Juliana 
Published: December 2021

AbstractIn this article, I discuss Black transnational solidarity and liberation in the Americas by analyzing the historical relationship between W. E. B. Du Bois and Brazil from 1900 to 1940. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Du Bois was studying, writing, and publishing about Brazil. He was interested in creating international solidarity and cooperation among Black people. However, Du Bois (as well as other African Americans) promoted the idea that Brazil was a place without racism, a racial paradise. This idea served as a basis for a theory that oppressed Afro-Brazilians—the myth of racial democracy. In this article, I explore Du Bois’s relationship with Brazil, highlighting possible reasons why Du Bois engaged with the myth of racial democracy. In addition, I argue that this historical event teaches us that an Afro-diasporic liberation project must seriously consider global and material inequalities among Black people.
Partisan Strategy and the Adoption of Same-Day Registration in the American States
Authors: Caron Christian 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThis study seeks to explain state adoptions of same-day registration (SDR), with a focus on determining whether the Democratic (Republican) Party’s support of (resistance to) this impactful voting reform is driven by strategic electoral considerations. I find that states have an increased probability of enacting the reform when legislative Democrats are in the precarious position that comes with having just experienced minority status in one or both chambers. Relatedly, I demonstrate that the presence of a Republican legislature does not make adoption less likely until the size of the Black population reaches a certain threshold. In fact, provided the Black population is small enough, Republican control of the legislature encourages reform. The results offer conflicting evidence, however, that large Latino populations deter the GOP from establishing SDR. Considered together, the results cast doubt on the claim that either party’s position is informed by principle alone.