bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Predicting nepheline precipitation in waste glasses using ternary submixture model and machine learning
Authors: Lu Xiaonan , Sargin Irmak , Vienna John D. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractNepheline precipitation in nuclear waste glasses during vitrification can be detrimental due to the negative effect on chemical durability often associated with its formation. Developing models to accurately predict nepheline precipitation from compositions is important for increasing waste loading since existing models can be overly conservative. In this study, an expanded dataset of 955 glasses, including 352 high‐level waste glasses, was compiled from literature data. Previously developed submixture models were refitted using the new dataset, where a misclassification rate of 7.8% was achieved. In addition, nine machine learning (ML) algorithms (k‐nearest neighbor, Gaussian process regression, artificial neural network, support vector machine, decision tree, etc.) were applied to evaluate their ability to predict nepheline precipitation from glass compositions. Model accuracy, precision, recall/sensitivity, and F1 scores were systemically compared between different ML algorithms and modeling protocols. Model prediction with an accuracy of ~0.9 (misclassification rate of ~10%) was observed for different algorithms under certain protocols. This study evaluated various ML models to predict nepheline precipitation in waste glasses, highlighting the importance of data preparation and modeling protocol, and their effect on model stability and reproducibility. The results provide insights into applying ML to predict glass properties and suggest areas for future research on modeling nepheline precipitation.
Against Simple Removal: A Defence of Defacement as a Response to Racist Monuments
Authors: Bell Macalester 
Published: June 2021

ABSTRACTIn recent years, protesters around the world have been calling for the removal of commemorations honouring those who are, by contemporary standards, generally regarded as seriously morally compromised by their racism. According to one line of thought, leaving racist memorials in place is profoundly disrespectful, and doing so tacitly condones, and perhaps even celebrates, the racism of those honoured and memorialized. The best response is to remove the monuments altogether. In this article, I first argue against a prominent offense‐based account of the wrong of simply leaving memorials in place, unaltered, before offering my own account of this wrong. In at least some cases, these memorials wrong insofar as they express and exemplify a morally objectionable attitude of race‐based contempt. I go on to argue that the best way of answering this disrespect is through a process of expressively ‘dehonouring’ the subject. Removal of these commemorations is ultimately misguided, in many cases, because removal, by itself, cannot adequately dishonour, and simple removal does not fully answer the ways in which these memorials wrong. I defend a more nuanced approach to answering the wrong posed by these monuments, and I argue that public expressions of contempt through defacement have an ineliminable role to play in an apt dishonouring process.
Resistance at the Border: Kantian Political Theory and the Refugee Crisis
Authors: Messina James P. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractOn a certain orthodox Kantian view, when states violate migrants' rights to enter a foreign country , citizens of that country must comply with the laws and refrain from helping them gain access. After all, (i) philanthropic efforts are strictly subordinated to questions of right, and (ii) an important precondition of right is recognition of the state's authority to determine what counts as right in practice. Moreover, because the state has a mandate to control its borders, fixing rules for entry lies squarely within its jurisdiction. If its determination is unjust by some substantive standard, citizens ought to protest and campaign against it. But they may not violate it. Against this, I argue that the best understanding of Kantian political principles does not entail these conclusions. Rather, citizens may resist the state's pronouncements on matters like this and aid refugees in gaining entry to their target country, as long as they can do so without (a) compromising the stability of the state or (b) violating their neighbors' rights.
NRF2 signalling pathway: New insights and progress in the field of wound healing
Authors: Liu Yang , Yang Xiaofan , Liu Yutian , Jiang Tao , Ren Sen , Chen Jing , Xiong Hewei , Yuan Meng , Li Wenqing , Machens Hans‐Günther , Chen Zhenbing 
Published: June 2021

AbstractAs one of the most common pathological processes in the clinic, wound healing has always been an important topic in medical research. Improving the wound healing environment, shortening the healing time and promoting fast and effective wound healing are hot and challenging issues in clinical practice. The nuclear factor‐erythroid–related factor 2 (NFE2L2 or NRF2) signalling pathway reduces oxidative damage and participates in the regulation of anti‐oxidative gene expression in the process of oxidative stress and thus improves the cell protection. Activation of the NRF2 signalling pathway increases the resistance of the cell to chemical carcinogens and inflammation. The signal transduction pathway regulates anti‐inflammatory and antioxidant effects by regulating calcium ions, mitochondrial oxidative stress, autophagy, ferroptosis, pyroptosis and apoptosis. In this article, the role of the NRF2 signalling pathway in wound healing and its research progress in recent years are reviewed. In short, the NRF2 signalling pathway has crucial clinical significance in wound healing and is worthy of further study.
Trichomonas vaginalis and growing concern over drug resistance: a systematic review
Authors: Marques‐Silva M. , Lisboa C. , Gomes N. , Rodrigues A.G. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractIn the late 90s, a sharp increase of treatment failures of Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) infections with metronidazole (MTZ) was reported, representing a problem due to limited treatment options. We proposed to review the available evidence on the frequency of MTZ resistance by TV isolates and the relationship between treatment failure and in vitro resistance to MTZ. A systematic review based on the PRISMA guidelines was conducted by searching published studies in three different databases (PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science) up to December 2020. The extracted studies were uploaded to Covidence software; screening was guided based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Additionally, different articles were included through other sources. For each article, study design, objectives, study population and key outcomes were summarized. We found 403 references from the databases and four extra studies. After duplicate removal and screening of title, abstract and full text, 27 studies were included. The selected studies were published between 1983 and 2019; all except one addressed only vaginal TV infection. We identified four major populations in vitro MTZ resistance: two studies evaluated female adolescents; other two assessed HIV‐positive women. Fifteen studies considered MTZ resistance in newly diagnosed vaginal TV infection. Finally, eight articles studied in vitro susceptibility of isolates from women with clinical resistant trichomoniasis. High level of in vitro MTZ resistance was rare; low‐moderate level was described in most of the cases. Although clinical resistance to MTZ of trichomoniasis was widely reported, there was a paucity of prospective controlled studies. Our review unveiled the need to standardize susceptibility testing, to define breakpoints for detection of MTZ‐resistant isolates and to correlate with clinical outcome. It is important to establish criteria to define clinical resistance to MTZ. Such a consensus would foster the development of surveillance studies about clinical and microbiological response to MTZ treatment.
Tinea capitis asymptomatic carriers: what is the evidence behind treatment?
Authors: Aharaz A. , Jemec G.B.E. , Hay R.J. , Saunte D.M.L. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractTinea capitis is a fungal infection mostly affecting children. Epidemiology is changing over time due to migration, and it has been estimated that up to 40% of children from certain developing countries are affected. The mechanism of transmission is still unclear although asymptomatic carriage seems to have an influence in establishing persistent reservoirs that can cause or fuel epidemics. Screening and prophylactic treatment of close contacts of tinea capitis patients are therefore recommended by several international guidelines, but vaguely and not consistent. The treatments involved can be expensive, hard to integrate in everyday life, have well‐known side effects and some are not approved for the treatment of children. The aim of this review was to clarify the evidence behind treatment of human asymptomatic carriers of tinea capitis. Databases were searched for the ‘tinea capitis’, ‘carriers’ and ‘treatment’. Inclusion criteria were clinical trials, observational and interventional studies including case series (10+ cases) and case reports in English, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and French. Reviews, guidelines, unclear reports and in vitro trials were excluded. A systematic review identified 10 studies with low to moderate evidence levels. The topical treatments ketoconazole, povidone‐iodine, miconazole and the systemic antifungals terbinafine and itraconazole have all shown significant effects in the mycological eradication of fungal conidia. General prophylactic hygienic measures may have a benefit. The scientific evidence behind the treatment of asymptomatic carriage of scalp dermatophytes is sparse and not of high quality. Yet, both topical and systemic antifungal agents show treatment efficacy. Considering the possible adverse effects, topical agents are preferable, but with necessary attention to the compliance of asymptomatic contacts with treatment.
Perilesional sun damage as a diagnostic clue for pigmented actinic keratosis and Bowen’s disease
Authors: Weber P. , Sinz C. , Rinner C. , Kittler H. , Tschandl P. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractBackgroundChronic sun damage in the background is common in pigmented actinic keratoses and Bowen’s disease (pAK/BD). While explainable artificial intelligence (AI) demonstrated increased background attention for pAK/BD, humans frequently miss this clue in dermatoscopic images because they tend to focus on the lesion.AimTo analyse whether perilesional sun damage is a robust diagnostic clue for pAK/BD and if teaching this clue to dermatoscopy users improves their diagnostic accuracy.MethodsWe assessed the interrater agreement and the frequency of perilesional sun damage in 220 dermatoscopic images and conducted a reader study with 124 dermatoscopy users. The readers were randomly assigned to one of two online tutorials; one tutorial pointed to perilesional sun damage as a clue to pAK/BD (group A) the other did not (group B). In both groups, we compared the frequencies of correct diagnoses before and after receiving the tutorial.ResultsThe frequency of perilesional sun damage was higher in pAK/BD than in other types of pigmented skin lesions and interrater agreement was good (kappa = 0.675). The diagnostic accuracy for pAK/BD improved in both groups of readers (group A: +16.1%, 95%‐CI: 9.5–22.7; group B: +13.1%; 95%‐CI: 7.1–19.0; P for both <0.001), but the overall accuracy improved only in group A from (59.1% (95%‐CI: 55.0–63.1) to 63.5% (95%‐CI: 59.5–67.6); P = 0.002).ConclusionPerilesional sun damage is a good clue to differentiate pAK/BD from other pigmented skin lesions in dermatoscopic images, which could be useful for teledermatology. Knowledge of this clue improves the accuracy of dermatoscopy users, which demonstrates that insights from explainable AI can be used to train humans.
Effect of microwave pretreatment on the exchange energy of forage barley
Authors: Belov Alexander , Vasilyev Alexey , Dorokhov Alexey 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThe effect of microwave pretreatment on the exchange energy of forage barley was studied using the developed experimental setup. The novelty of the developed experimental setup in the summation of the power of microwave magnetrons in the waveguide, which provides an increase in productivity up to 50 kg/h while reducing energy consumption to 0.04 kW h/kg. The hypothesis of summation of the power of microwave magnetrons has been confirmed using a computer model in CST Studio. The average combined power of two magnetrons is 13 V A/m2. Using the method of planning the full factorial experiment, experimental studies of microwave pretreatment of forage barley of the second class with an exchange energy of 12 MJ/kg were carried out. Optimized significant factors affecting the pretreatment, such as grain moisture 16.5%, device power level 2, and the height of the waveguide end relative to the grain layer 41.7 mm. With these experimental parameters, the level of the exchange energy of forage barley will be 13.1 MJ/kg, which corresponds to forage barley of the first class. Microwave pretreatment of grain by increasing the exchange energy can increase the nutritional value of grain.Practical applicationsIncreasing the exchange energy and nutritional value of forage barley will increase its digestibility by animals. It is proposed to use the developed microwave setup in agricultural farms to reduce energy consumption for grain pretreatment before feeding animals.
Moving geroscience from the bench to clinical care and health policy
Authors: Sierra Felipe , Caspi Avshalom , Fortinsky Richard H. , Haynes Laura , Lithgow Gordon J. , Moffitt Terrie E. , Olshansky S. Jay , Perry Daniel , Verdin Eric , Kuchel George A. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractGeriatricians and others must embrace the emerging field of geroscience. Until recently geroscience research was pursued in laboratory animals, but now this field requires specialized expertise in the care of vulnerable older patients with multiple chronic diseases and geriatric syndromes, the population likely to benefit the most from emerging therapies. While chronological aging measures the inevitable passage of clock time that occurs equally for everyone, biological aging varies among individuals, and importantly, it is modifiable. Advances in our understanding of biological aging, the discovery of strategies for modifying its rate, and an appreciation of aging as a shared risk factor for chronic diseases have jointly led to the Geroscience Hypothesis. This hypothesis states that interventions modifying aging biology can slow its progression—resulting in the delay or prevention of the onset of multiple diseases and disorders. Here we wish to report on the Third Geroscience Summit held at National Institutes of Health on November 4–5, 2019, which highlighted the importance of engaging other disciplines including clinicians. Involvement by scientists with expertise in clinical trials, health outcomes research, behavioral and social sciences, health policy, and economics is urgently needed to translate geroscience discoveries from the bench to clinical care and health policy. Adding to the urgency of broadening this geroscience coalition is the emergence of biological aging as one the most important modifiable factors of COVID‐19, combined with the inability of our society to once again recognize and confront aging as a priority and opportunity when facing these types of public health emergencies.
Political connection, contract intensity, and OFDI: Evidence from China
Authors: Guo Guangyuan , Li Jing , Wang Dan , Zhang Lina 
Published: June 2021

AbstractA typical feature of business–government relationships in China is that many Chinese firms have politically connected managers or board members; thus, these firms have greater access to privileges and resources in the domestic market. In this context, we examine how this domestic political connection affects firms’ greenfield investments. We first present a simple heterogeneous firm framework by incorporating political connections and contract enforcement into a monopolistic model. The theoretical proposition shows that the negative effect of political connections on a firm's probability of conducting outward foreign direct investment (FDI) is more pronounced in sectors that are more reliant on contract enforcement. Using merged Chinese listed company data and the fDi Markets database from 2004 to 2017, we empirically test and provide solid support for the theory that more connected firms are less likely to conduct greenfield investments in sectors with higher degrees of contract intensity. In addition, the negative effect is found to be more pronounced for state‐owned firms, those with higher productivity, and those in which the firm's chairman is also the firm's chief executive officer (CEO); however, the effect decreases for the years after 2013, which is when a nationwide anticorruption campaign was initiated.
Strategic Decision Making in the Digital Age: Expert Sentiment and Corporate Capital Allocation
Authors: Nauhaus Steffen , Luger Johannes , Raisch Sebastian 
Published: June 2021

AbstractWe develop a theoretical perspective on how the increasing data availability in the digital age affects firms’ strategic decisions. Specifically, we explore whether, and under which conditions, external experts’ collective assessment of product‐technology domains impacts firms’ allocation of capital to their strategic business units engaged in these domains. Drawing on decision comprehensiveness theory, we propose that such expert sentiment has informational value for capital allocation decisions, and that this value is contingent on the available information’s determinacy and quantity. We find evidence for our propositions by studying 669 capital allocation decisions made by 85 pharmaceutical firms from 2005 to 2016, and by using supervised machine learning classifiers to analyse expert sentiment in almost 250,000 articles. Our study contributes to the behavioural theory of the firm by showing that, contrary to what scholars traditionally assume, decision makers broaden, rather than narrow, their information processing in comprehensive information environments.
Effects of dietary counselling on micronutrient intakes in pregnant women in Finland
Authors: Kinnunen Tarja , Liu Yangbo , Koivisto Anna‐Maija , Virtanen Suvi , Luoto Riitta 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThe intake of some micronutrients is still a public health challenge for pregnant women in Finland. This study examined the effects of dietary counselling on micronutrient intakes among pregnant women at increased risk of gestational diabetes mellitus in Finland. This study utilised data from was a cluster‐randomised controlled trial (n = 399), which aimed to prevent gestational diabetes. In the intervention group, the dietary counselling was carried out at four routine visits to maternity care and focused on dietary fat, fibre and saccharose intake. A validated 181‐item food frequency questionnaire was used for evaluating the participants' food consumption and nutrient intakes. The differences in changes in micronutrient intakes from baseline (pre‐pregnancy) to 36–37 weeks' gestation were compared between the intervention and the usual care groups using multilevel mixed‐effects linear regression models, adjusted for confounders. Based on the multiple‐adjusted model, the counselling increased the intake of niacin equivalent (coefficient 0.50, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.03–0.97), vitamin D (0.24, CI 0.05–0.43), vitamin E (0.46, CI 0.26–0.66) and magnesium (5.05, CI 0.39–9.70) and maintained the intake of folate (6.50, CI 1.44–11.56), from early pregnancy to 36 to 37 weeks' gestation. Except for folate and vitamin D, the mean intake of the micronutrients from food was adequate in both groups at baseline and the follow‐up. In conclusion, the dietary counselling improved the intake of several vitamins and minerals from food during pregnancy. Supplementation on folate and vitamin D is still needed during pregnancy.
RETRACTED: The genomics of mimicry: Gene expression throughout development provides insights into convergent and divergent phenotypes in a Müllerian mimicry system
Authors: Stuckert Adam M. M. , Chouteau Mathieu , McClure Melanie , LaPolice Troy M. , Linderoth Tyler , Nielsen Rasmus , Summers Kyle , MacManes Matthew D. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractA common goal in evolutionary biology is to discern the mechanisms that produce the astounding diversity of morphologies seen across the tree of life. Aposematic species, those with a conspicuous phenotype coupled with some form of defence, are excellent models to understand the link between vivid colour pattern variations, the natural selection shaping it, and the underlying genetic mechanisms underpinning this variation. Mimicry systems in which multiple species share the same conspicuous phenotype can provide an even better model for understanding the mechanisms of colour production in aposematic species, especially if comimics have divergent evolutionary histories. Here we investigate the genetic mechanisms by which vivid colour and pattern are produced in a Müllerian mimicry complex of poison frogs. We did this by first assembling a high‐quality de novo genome assembly for the mimic poison frog Ranitomeya imitator. This assembled genome is 6.8 Gbp in size, with a contig N50 of 300 Kbp R. imitator and two colour morphs from both Ranitomeya fantastica and R. variabilis which R. imitator mimics. We identified a large number of pigmentation and patterning genes that are differentially expressed throughout development, many of them related to melanocyte development, melanin synthesis, iridophore development and guanine synthesis. Polytypic differences within species may be the result of differences in expression and/or timing of expression, whereas convergence for colour pattern between species does not appear to be due to the same changes in gene expression. In addition, we identify the pteridine synthesis pathway (including genes such as qdpr and xdh) as a key driver of the variation in colour between morphs of these species. Finally, we hypothesize that genes in the keratin family are important for producing different structural colours within these frogs.