bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Antiplane shear of an asymmetric sandwich plate
Authors: Kaplunov Julius , Prikazchikova Ludmila , Alkinidri Mohammed 
Published: January 2021

AbstractAn asymmetric three-layered laminate with prescribed stresses along the faces is considered. The outer layers are assumed to be much stiffer than the inner one. The focus is on long-wave low-frequency anti-plane shear. Asymptotic analysis of the original dispersion relation reveals a low-frequency harmonic supporting a slow quasi-static (or static at the limit) decay along with near cut-off wave propagation. In spite of asymmetry of the problem, the leading order shortened polynomial dispersion relation factorises into two simpler ones corresponding to the fundamental mode and the aforementioned harmonic. The associated 1D equations of motion derived in the paper are also split into two second-order operators in line with the factorisation of the shortened dispersion relation. Asymptotically justified boundary conditions are established using the Saint-Venant’s principle modified by taking into account the high-contrast properties of the laminate.
Complete scalar-flat Kähler metrics on affine algebraic manifolds
Authors: Aoi Takahiro 
Published: January 2021

AbstractLet $$(X,L_{X})$$

(
X
,

L
X

)

be an n-dimensional polarized manifold. Let D be a smooth hypersurface defined by a holomorphic section of $$L_{X}$$

L
X

. We prove that if D has a constant positive scalar curvature Kähler metric, $$X {\setminus } D$$

X
\
D

admits a complete scalar-flat Kähler metric, under the following three conditions: (i) $$n \ge 6$$

n
≥
6

and there is no nonzero holomorphic vector field on X vanishing on D, (ii) the average of a scalar curvature on D denoted by $${\hat{S}}_{D}$$

S
^

D

satisfies the inequality $$0< 3 {\hat{S}}_{D} < n(n-1)$$

0
<
3

S
^

D

<
n

(
n
-
1
)

, (iii) there are positive integers $$l(>n),m$$

l
(
>
n
)
,
m

such that the line bundle $$K_{X}^{-l} \otimes L_{X}^{m}$$

K

X

-
l

⊗

L

X

m

is very ample and the ratio m/l is sufficiently small.
Ivabradine use in pregnant women—treatment indications and pregnancy outcome: an evaluation of the German Embryotox database
Authors: Hoeltzenbein Maria , Lehmann Marie-Louise , Beck Evelin , Dathe Katarina , Schaefer Christof 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Purpose
Ivabradine has been approved for the treatment of chronic heart failure and chronic stable angina pectoris in Europe. Based on adverse outcomes of reproductive animal studies and the lack of human data, ivabradine is considered contraindicated during pregnancy. The aim of this observational study is to analyse ivabradine use before and during pregnancy.

Methods
We evaluated all ivabradine-related requests to the German Embryotox Institute from 2007 to 2019. Exposed pregnancies were analysed as to their outcome.

Results
Off-label use for supraventricular tachycardia was frequent in women of childbearing age. Of 38 prospectively ascertained pregnancies with ivabradine exposure and completed follow-up, 32 resulted in live births, 3 in spontaneous abortions, and 3 were electively terminated. One neonate presented with major birth defects (atrial septal defect and cleft palate). In 33/38 patients, ivabradine was discontinued after confirmation of pregnancy without cardiac deterioration and 5/38 women continued ivabradine throughout pregnancy. In addition, there were 3 retrospectively reported pregnancies including one major birth defect (tracheal atresia).

Conclusion
This case series represents the largest cohort of ivabradine-exposed pregnancies, published so far. According to our findings, ivabradine appears not to be a major teratogen. However, established drugs of choice with strong evidence of low risk for the unborn should be preferred in women planning pregnancy. After inadvertent exposure during pregnancy or lack of treatment alternatives, fetal ultrasound for structural anomalies and growth restriction is recommended. In addition, close monitoring is necessary in pregnant women with supraventricular arrhythmias or cardiac disease.
Early autologous and allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation for adult patients with acute B and T cell precursor neoplasms: a 12-year single center experience
Authors: Steiner Normann , Brunelli L. , Hetzenauer G. , Lindner B. , Göbel G. , Rudzki J. , Peschel I. , Nevinny-Stickel M. , Nussbaumer W. , Mayer W. , Loacker L. , Kircher B. , Gunsilius E. , Wolf D. , Nachbaur D. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractAdult acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (ALL/LBL) is a rare and heterogeneous malignancy characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of B or T cell precursor cells. Here, we retrospectively analyzed the outcome of early autologous stem cell transplantation in standard-risk patients in first complete remission (n=24) and of allogeneic transplantation in high and highest risk, and relapsed/refractory patients (n=35). The 10-year overall survival after autologous transplantation was 45%. The 10-year overall survival after allogeneic transplantation was 58%. The cumulative incidence of relapse was 29% after allogeneic and 67% after autologous transplantation. The cumulative incidence of non-relapse mortality was 0% after autologous and 12% after allogeneic transplantation. This retrospective single center analysis in a limited number of standard-risk patients clearly demonstrates that early autologous transplantation in first complete remission leads to an acceptable long-term outcome with a short overall treatment duration of less than 6 months compared with more than 2 years with conventional chemotherapy. More sensitive and standardized methods to detect minimal residual disease (MRD) will further help to identify those patients more accurately who are most likely to benefit from such a short and intensive treatment strategy (i.e., MRD negative standard-risk patients) or those who require early targeted therapy (e.g., blinatumomab) in case of MRD positivity. Early allogeneic transplantation results in long-term survival/cure in nearly two-thirds of all high and highest risk, and relapsed/refractory patients.
Estimating the extent of glioblastoma invasion
Authors: Engwer Christian , Wenske Michael 
Published: January 2021

AbstractGlioblastoma Multiforme is a malignant brain tumor with poor prognosis. There have been numerous attempts to model the invasion of tumorous glioma cells via partial differential equations in the form of advection–diffusion–reaction equations. The patient-wise parametrization of these models, and their validation via experimental data has been found to be difficult, as time sequence measurements are mostly missing. Also the clinical interest lies in the actual (invisible) tumor extent for a particular MRI/DTI scan and not in a predictive estimate. Therefore we propose a stationalized approach to estimate the extent of glioblastoma (GBM) invasion at the time of a given MRI/DTI scan. The underlying dynamics can be derived from an instationary GBM model, falling into the wide class of advection-diffusion-reaction equations. The stationalization is introduced via an analytic solution of the Fisher-KPP equation, the simplest model in the considered model class. We investigate the applicability in 1D and 2D, in the presence of inhomogeneous diffusion coefficients and on a real 3D DTI-dataset.
Prognostic value of albumin to globulin ratio in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer
Authors: Quhal Fahad , Pradere Benjamin , Laukhtina Ekaterina , Sari Motlagh Reza , Mostafaei Hadi , Mori Keiichiro , Schuettfort Victor M. , Karakiewicz Pierre I. , Rouprêt Morgan , Enikeev Dmitry , Rink Michael , Abufaraj Mohammad , Shariat Shahrokh F. 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Purpose
To investigate the prognostic value of preoperative serum albumin to globulin ratio (AGR) in patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) treated with transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURB) with or without intravesical therapy (IVT).

Materials and methods
We retrospectively reviewed 1,096 consecutive patients with NMIBC. Levels of albumin and globulin were obtained before TURB and used to calculate the preoperative AGR level. Multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed to assess the prognostic effect of preoperative AGR on oncologic outcomes. Subgroup analyses were performed in patients based on the European Association of Urology (EAU) risk groups for NMIBC.

Results
Low AGR levels were observed in 389 (35.5%) patients. The median follow-up was 63.7 months (IQR 25.3–111). On multivariable Cox regression analysis, low AGR was associated with increased risk of progression to muscle-invasive BCa (MIBC) (HR 1.81, 95% CI 1.22–2.68, P = 0.003). The addition of AGR only minimally improved the discrimination ability of a base model that included established clinicopathologic features (C-index = 0.7354 vs. C-index = 0.7162). Low preoperative AGR was not significantly associated with the risk of disease recurrence (P = 0.31). In subgroup analyses based on patients’ EAU risk groups, low preoperative AGR was not associated with recurrence-free survival (RFS) (P = 0.59) or progression-free survival (PFS) (P = 0.22) in any of the risk groups. Additionally, in patients treated with Bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG) for intermediate- or high-risk NMIBC, low AGR failed to predict disease recurrence or progression.

Conclusion
Preoperative serum AGR levels independently predicted the risk of disease progression in patients with NMIBC. However, it was not found to be associated with either RFS or PFS in NMIBC patients based on their EAU risk group. This marker seems to have a limited role in NMIBC at the present time. However, further research is needed to investigate this marker in combination with other systemic inflammatory markers to help improve prediction in this heterogeneous group of patients.
The potential association between a new angiogenic marker fractalkine and a placental vascularization in preeclampsia
Authors: Szewczyk Grzegorz , Pyzlak Michał , Pankiewicz Katarzyna , Szczerba Ewa , Stangret Aleksandra , Szukiewicz Dariusz , Skoda Marta , Bierła Joanna , Cukrowska Bożena , Fijałkowska Anna 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Purpose
Impaired angiogenesis is one of the most common findings in preeclamptic placentas. A new angiogenetic role of fractalkine (CX3CL1) is recently recognized apart from inflammatory activity. In this study, a link between CX3CL1 and the development of placental vasculature in preeclampsia was examined.

Methods
The study comprised 52 women allocated to Group 1 (normotensive, n = 23) and Group 2 (preeclampsia, n = 29). In each group Doppler parameters, serum levels of CX3CL1, soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1), and placental growth factor (PlGF) were assessed between 30 and 32 week of pregnancy. After the delivery, placental samples were taken and the vascularization and expression of CX3CR1 receptor were assessed after immunostaining.

Results
CX3CL1 and sFlt-1 serum levels were significantly higher levels in Group 2 vs Group 1, while PlGF serum levels was significantly lower in Group 2. Lower cerebroplacental ratio (CPR) was observed in Group 2. The vascular/extravascular tissue index (V/EVTI) was significantly lower in Group 2, while compared to Group 1, with the lowest value in the fetus growth restriction (FGR) subgroup (0.18 ± 0.02; 0.24 ± 0.03; 0.16 ± 0.02, respectively). The expression of examined CX3CR1 was higher in Group 2, while compared to Group 1, reaching the highest values in FGR subgroup. There was a moderate negative correlation between birth weight, V/EVTI and CX3CL1 serum level and CX3CR1 placental expression in the group of pregnancies complicated with preeclampsia.

Conclusion
The significant underdevelopment of placental vascular network in preeclampsia is associated with the change in the CX3CL1/CX3CR1 system, especially in FGR complicated pregnancies.
Reduced ribosomal DNA transcription in the prefrontal cortex of suicide victims: consistence of new molecular RT-qPCR findings with previous morphometric data from AgNOR-stained pyramidal neurons
Authors: Krzyżanowska Marta , Rębała Krzysztof , Steiner Johann , Kaliszan Michał , Pieśniak Dorota , Karnecki Karol , Wiergowski Marek , Brisch Ralf , Braun Katharina , Jankowski Zbigniew , Kosmowska Monika , Chociej Joanna , Gos Tomasz 
Published: January 2021

AbstractPrefrontal cortical regions play a key role in behavioural regulation, which is profoundly disturbed in suicide. The study was carried out on frozen cortical samples from the anterior cingulate cortex (dorsal and ventral parts, ACd and ACv), the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and the dorsolateral cortex (DLC) obtained from 20 suicide completers (predominantly violent) with unknown psychiatric diagnosis and 21 non-suicidal controls. The relative level of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) as a marker of the transcriptional activity of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) was evaluated bilaterally in prefrontal regions mentioned above (i.e. in eight regions of interest, ROIs) by reverse transcription and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The overall statistical analysis revealed a decrease in rDNA activity in suicide victims versus controls, particularly in male subjects. Further ROI-specific post hoc analyses revealed a significant decrease in this activity in suicides compared to non-suicides in five ROIs. This effect was accentuated in the ACv, where it was observed bilaterally. Our findings suggest that decreased rDNA transcription in the prefrontal cortex plays an important role in suicide pathogenesis and corresponds with our previous morphometric analyses of AgNOR-stained neurons.
The Bayesian Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered model for the outbreak of COVID-19 on the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship
Authors: Lai Chao-Chih , Hsu Chen-Yang , Jen Hsiao-Hsuan , Yen Amy Ming-Fang , Chan Chang-Chuan , Chen Hsiu-Hsi 
Published: January 2021

AbstractThe outbreak of COVID-19 on the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship provides an unprecedented opportunity to estimate its original transmissibility with basic reproductive number (R0) and the effectiveness of containment measures. We developed an ordinary differential equation-based Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovery (SEIR) model with Bayesian underpinning to estimate the main parameter of R0 determined by transmission coefficients, incubation period, and the recovery rate. Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) estimation method was used to tackle the parameters of uncertainty resulting from the outbreak of COVID-19 given a small cohort of the cruise ship. The extended stratified SEIR model was also proposed to elucidate the heterogeneity of transmission route by the level of deck with passengers and crews. With the application of the overall model, R0 was estimated as high as 5.70 (95% credible interval: 4.23–7.79). The entire epidemic period without containment measurements was approximately 47 days and reached the peak one month later after the index case. The partial containment measure reduced 63% (95% credible interval: 60–66%) infected passengers. With the deck-specific SEIR model, the heterogeneity of R0 estimates by each deck was noted. The estimated R0 figures were 5.18 for passengers (5–14 deck), mainly from the within-deck transmission, and 2.46 for crews (2–4 deck), mainly from the between-deck transmission. Modelling the dynamic of COVID-19 on the cruise ship not only provides an insight into timely evacuation and early isolation and quarantine but also elucidates the relative contributions of different transmission modes on the cruise ship though the deck-stratified SEIR model.
Efficient and effective training of sparse recurrent neural networks
Authors: Liu Shiwei , Ni’mah Iftitahu , Menkovski Vlado , Mocanu Decebal Constantin , Pechenizkiy Mykola 
Published: January 2021

AbstractRecurrent neural networks (RNNs) have achieved state-of-the-art performances on various applications. However, RNNs are prone to be memory-bandwidth limited in practical applications and need both long periods of training and inference time. The aforementioned problems are at odds with training and deploying RNNs on resource-limited devices where the memory and floating-point operations (FLOPs) budget are strictly constrained. To address this problem, conventional model compression techniques usually focus on reducing inference costs, operating on a costly pre-trained model. Recently, dynamic sparse training has been proposed to accelerate the training process by directly training sparse neural networks from scratch. However, previous sparse training techniques are mainly designed for convolutional neural networks and multi-layer perceptron. In this paper, we introduce a method to train intrinsically sparse RNN models with a fixed number of parameters and floating-point operations (FLOPs) during training. We demonstrate state-of-the-art sparse performance with long short-term memory and recurrent highway networks on widely used tasks, language modeling, and text classification. We simply use the results to advocate that, contrary to the general belief that training a sparse neural network from scratch leads to worse performance than dense networks, sparse training with adaptive connectivity can usually achieve better performance than dense models for RNNs.
Differences in perceived intra-oral dryness in various dry-mouth patients as determined using the Regional Oral Dryness Inventory
Authors: Assy Z. , Bots C. P. , Arisoy H. Z. , Gülveren S. S. , Bikker F. J. , Brand H. S. 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Objectives
Recently, it was shown that the Regional Oral Dryness Inventory (RODI) could determine differences in dry-mouth perception at different intra-oral locations. The main aim of this study was to determine whether the RODI might help to discriminate between various causes of oral dryness in dry-mouth patients. The second aim was to ascertain whether the RODI could become an additional diagnostic tool in dry-mouth patients.

Materials and methods
Data were collected retrospectively from patients who visited a specialized saliva clinic. Salivary flow rates, Xerostomia Inventory scores, and RODI scores were extracted from the medical records. Patients were stratified into subgroups according to their health status.

Results
Five hundred twenty-eight patients participated in this study (mean age of 59.6 ± 16.0 years; 68.4% female). Specific patient groups differed with regard to the region of the mouth they experienced as the most and least dry. The posterior palate was the area perceived as most dry by controls and Sjögren patients. In patients using limited or multiple medications, it was the anterior tongue. RODI scores also differed significantly among dry-mouth patient groups: whereas controls and patients using limited medication had the lowest RODI scores and experienced less intra-oral dryness, Sjögren patients had the highest RODI scores.

Conclusion
Our use of the RODI questionnaire showed that perceived intra-oral dryness differed between the various dry-mouth patients.

Clinical relevance
The RODI can be a valuable clinical diagnostic tool in dry-mouth diagnostics, in which it can be used to discriminate between the various causes of oral dryness in patients.
Effects of improved pigeonpea fallows on biological and physical soil properties and their relationship with maize yield
Authors: Musokwa Misheck , Mafongoya Paramu L. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractDeclining soil properties have triggered lower maize yields among smallholder famers in South Africa. Legume trees such as pigeonpea can be used as improved fallows to replenish degraded soils. The objectives of the study were to: (1) examine the effects of improved pigeonpea fallows on enhancing biological, physical soil properties and maize yield responses and (2), analyze the relationship of maize grain yield to biological and physical soil properties after improved pigeonpea fallows at Wartburg, South Africa. Pigeonpea fallows were established in 2015/16 season and terminated in 2017 and subsequently maize was planted. A randomized complete block design replicated three times was used with five treatments: continuous sole maize without fertilizer (T1), natural fallow then maize (T2), pigeonpea + grass—pigeonpea then maize (T3), maize + pigeonpea—pigeonpea then maize (T4), two-year pigeonpea fallow then maize (T5). Improved pigeonpea fallows increased maize yields through improvement in soil macrofauna species abundance, richness and diversity, aggregate stability, infiltration rate. Pigeonpea fallows increased maize yield by 3.2 times than continuous maize without fertilizer. The maize grain yield (3787 kg ha−1), was the highest on two-year pigeonpea fallows while continuous maize without fertilizer had the least (993 kg ha−1). There was a significant positive correlation between soil macrofauna indices and physical soil properties to maize yields. Smallholders who have limited access to fertilizers can sustainably use improved fallows to restore degraded soils to achieve higher maize yields in South Africa.
Entomopathogenic nematodes and fungi to control Hyalesthes obsoletus (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cixiidae)
Authors: Moussa Abdelhameed , Maixner Michael , Stephan Dietrich , Santoiemma Giacomo , Passera Alessandro , Mori Nicola , Quaglino Fabio 
Published: January 2021

AbstractHyalesthes obsoletus Signoret (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cixiidae) is a univoltine, polyphagous planthopper that completes its life cycle, including the subterranean nymph cryptic stage, on herbaceous weeds. In vineyards, it can transmit ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’, an obligate parasitic bacterium associated with bois noir (BN) disease of grapevine, from its host plants to grapevine when occasionally feeding on the latter. The main disease management strategies are based on vector(s) control. Insecticide treatments on grapevine canopy are completely inefficient on H. obsoletus, due to its life cycle. Consequently, control of this planthopper focuses on the nymphs living on the roots of their host plants. Such practices, based on herbicide application and/or weed management, can reduce vector density in the vineyard but can impact the environment or may not be applicable, highlighting the necessity for alternative strategies. In this study, the efficacy of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs; Steinernema carpocapsae, S. feltiae, Heterorhabditis bacteriophora) and fungi (EPFs; Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, Isaria fumosorosea, Lecanicillium muscarium) against H. obsoletus nymphs (EPNs) and adults (EPNs and EPFs) was assessed under laboratory and greenhouse conditions. The majority of examined EPNs and EPFs were able to kill H. obsoletus exhibiting a range of effectiveness. S. carpocapsae (among EPNs) and I. fumosorosea (among EPFs) were found to be the most effective biocontrol agents in all trials carried out. Advantages and limitations of such promising biocontrol agents were discussed. Ecological competency and conditions that can impede or enhance the EPNs and EPFs performance should be investigated to optimize their performance under field conditions.