bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Banks' holdings of and trading in government bonds
Authors: Manna Michele , Nobili Stefano 
Published: January 2021

AbstractIn this paper we examine the holdings of government securities by domestic banks along those of the foreign banks/non‐banks/official sector as well as the domestic central bank and domestic non‐banks, using data for 21 advanced economies from 2004Q1 to 2016Q2. The research offers four main insights. Firstly, banks are reluctant to undertake large changes in their holdings of domestic bonds but do accept frequent changes of more intermediate size. Secondly, the foreign official sector emerges as the clearest example of contrarian investor, which buys when prices fall and sells when prices rise. Thirdly, the yields of 10‐year benchmark sovereign bonds tend to be lower the larger the holdings by domestic and foreign banks are. Finally, we find in all countries of the sample a positive home bias in banks' sovereign holdings while foreign banks hold less than predicted by a neutral portfolio measure. These results suggest that banks regard domestic government bonds as a special asset class (hence the positive bias and the avoidance of large changes in inventories) which they manage in a flexible manner (hence the frequent intermediate changes and the lack of systematic timing of transactions) probably to meet requests from their customers. All in all, this behavior by domestic banks provides a positive contribution to the liquidity of the market as a whole.
Economic and demographic determinants of premium reserve in Western Balkan countries during and after the crisis
Authors: Novovic Buric Milijana , Kascelan Ljiljana , Kascelan Vladimir 
Published: January 2021

AbstractThis article aims at investigating the impact of economic and demographic factors on premium reserve and thus the possibility for life insurers to invest in the financial market of Western Balkan countries. Using the data panel including economic and demographic trends in the countries of this region in the period from year 2006 to 2016, it is determined that price stability and higher deposit rates may cause faster development of insurance market. Contrary to previous findings, which indicate wages and population ageing as key driving factors in developed countries, in this region these are the youth dependency and care for their schooling. This indicates that a higher significance is given to the component of insurance of death risk than the savings one. However, during crisis period, more than post‐crisis period, higher demand for this type of savings was determined due to the decline in confidence in banking sector.
The role of umbilical artery velocities in the clinical assessment of twin‐twin transfusion syndrome at stage
Authors: Liu Hong‐Li , Huang Shuai , Wang Xing , Qi Hong‐Bo , Li Jun‐Nan , Zhang Lan 
Published: January 2021

AbstractObjectiveTo analyze the discordances of the umbilical artery velocities between pregnancies with twin‐twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) at stage I and those with normal monochorionic‐diamniotic (MCDA) twins, and investigate the value of their discordances in predicting TTTS at stage I.MethodsWe recruited 58 twin pregnancies with TTTS at stage I and 60 normal MCDA twin pregnancies in a tertiary referral center retrospectively. The umbilical artery velocities and their discordances were compared between the normal and TTTS twins.ResultsThe discordances of umbilical artery mean diastolic velocity (UA‐MDV), umbilical artery time‐averaged maximum velocity (UA‐TAmax), umbilical artery peak systolic velocity (UA‐PSV), and umbilical artery end‐diastolic velocity (UA‐EDV) were higher in the TTTS group than in the normal group. In TTTS co‐twins, the UA‐MDV, UA‐TAmax, UA‐PSV, and UA‐EDV in recipients were higher than those in donors. The discordances of UA‐TAmax and UA‐PSV were found to be independent predicting factors for TTTS at stage I.ConclusionCo‐twin umbilical artery velocity discordances were significantly associated with stage I TTTS. The results suggest that UA‐TAmax and UA‐PSV might be new parameters for predicting TTTS at stage I.
Unifying Loss‐Driven Systems Engineering Activities
Authors: Brtis John , McEvilley Michael 
Published: January 2021

ABSTRACTSystems, by definition, deliver desired capability. Not surprisingly—much of systems engineering is capability‐driven; it focuses on developing systems to deliver desired capability. There are, however, non‐capability‐driven areas of systems engineering. Loss‐driven systems engineering is an example. Loss‐driven systems engineering concerns itself with addressing the possible losses associated with system development and use. This paper explores loss‐driven systems engineering's meaning, identify the existing systems engineering specialty areas under the loss‐driven systems engineering umbrella, and discuss the potential for unifying those specialty areas along the attributes they share. We believe the attributes for possible unification include: asset types, loss types, adversity types, requirements, and architecture and design solutions. We identify the likely benefits expected from such a unification, and we explore the effect such a unification will have on systems engineering throughout the system life cycle.
Duration-Dependent Increase of Human Bone Matrix Mineralization in Long-Term Bisphosphonate Users with Atypical Femur Fracture
Authors: Farlay Delphine , Rizzo Sébastien , Ste-Marie Louis-Georges , Michou Laëtitia , Morin Suzanne N , Qiu Shijing , Chavassieux Pascale , Chapurlat Roland D , Rao Sudhaker D , Brown Jacques P , Boivin Georges 
Published: January 2021

ABSTRACT
Bisphosphonates (BPs) are the most widely used drugs for the treatment of osteoporosis but prolonged use of BPs might increase the risk of atypical femur fracture (AFF). There are only a few studies that address the bone material quality in patients on long-term BP treatment with or without AFFs. We analyzed 52 trans-iliac bone biopsies from patients on long-term BP therapy with (n = 26) and without (n = 26) AFF. At the microscopic level, the degree of mineralization of bone (DMB) was assessed on whole bone by X-ray digitized microradiography while microhardness by Vickers microindentation, and bone matrix characteristics by Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (FTIRM) (mineral/organic ratio, mineral maturity and crystallinity, and collagen maturity) were measured at random focal areas. The AFF patients were treated longer than non-AFF patients (9.7 ± 3.3 years versus 7.9 ± 2.7 years). As expected, bone remodeling was low in both groups, without difference between them. The AFF group had significantly higher DMB in cortical bone (+2.9%, p = .001), which remained so after adjusting for treatment duration (p = .007), and showed a trend in cancellous bone (+1.6%, p = .05). Consistent with higher DMB, heterogeneity index (HI) was lower in the AFF than in the non-AFF group, illustrating lower heterogeneity of mineralization in the AFF group. A significant positive correlation between the duration of treatment and DMB in cortical bone was found in AFF, and not in the non-AFF group. Microhardness and bone matrix characteristics were similar between groups. We conclude that the AFF group had a duration-dependent increase in DMB leading to a significantly higher DMB than the non-AFF. Because BPs have high affinity to bone mineral and lining the walls of the osteocyte lacunae, the accumulation of matrix-bound BPs in AFF could lead to inhibition of the osteocyte cytoskeleton blunting their response to mechanical strains, a hypothesis to be further investigated. © 2021 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).
Introducing Pep McConst—A user‐friendly peptide modeler for biophysical applications
Authors: Schuhmann Fabian , Korol Vasili , Solov'yov Ilia A. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractWe are introducing Pep McConst—a software that employs a Monte‐Carlo algorithm to construct 3D structures of polypeptide chains which could subsequently be studied as stand‐alone macromolecules or complement the structure of known proteins. Using an approach to avoid steric clashes, Pep McConst allows to create multiple structures for a predefined primary sequence of amino acids. These structures could then effectively be used for further structural analysis and investigations. The article introduces the algorithm and describes its user‐friendly approach that was made possible through the VIKING online platform. Finally, the manuscript provides several highlight examples where Pep McConst was used to predict the structure of the C‐terminal of a known protein, generate a missing bit of already crystallized protein structures and simply generate short polypeptide chains.
Two‐step solvothermal synthesis of high capacity LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 cathode for Li‐ion batteries
Authors: Cheng Xiang , Wang Yingying , Wang Xinlu , Yu Wensheng , Liu Guixia , Dong Xiangting , Wang Jinxian 
Published: January 2021

AbstractLithium‐ion batteries are attracting increasing interest for a new type of green energy battery. Among many electrode materials, layered ternary LiNi1‐x‐yCoxMyO2 (M = Mn or Al) is considered a promising commercial prospect because of its low cost, excellent electrical conductivity, high discharge specific capacity, and environmentally friendly. In this paper, a ternary cathode material LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 with high specific capacity was prepared by a two‐step solvothermal method. The effects of solvothermal time and temperature on the morphology and electrochemical properties for the electrode materials were studied. It was found that the electrochemical performance of the LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 cathode material synthesized at 180°C for 12 hr was better.
Evaluation of the detection ability of uropathogen morphology and vaginal contamination by the Atellica UAS800 automated urine microscopy analyzer and its effectiveness
Authors: Nakamura Akihiro , Shinke Tetsuya , Noguchi Nobuyoshi , Komatsu Masaru , Yamanishi Hachiro 
Published: January 2021

AbstractBackgroundTo help combat the worldwide spread of multidrug‐resistant Enterobacterales, which are responsible for many causes of urinary tract infection (UTI), we evaluated the ability of the Atellica UAS800 automated microscopy system, the only one offering the capability of bacterial morphological differentiation, to determine its effectiveness.MethodsWe examined 118 outpatient spot urine samples in which pyuria and bacteriuria were observed using flow cytometry (training set: 81; cross‐validation set: 37). The ability of the Atellica UAS800 to differentiate between bacilli and cocci was verified. To improve its ability, multiple logistic regression analysis was used to construct a prediction formula.ResultsThis instrument's detection sensitivity was 106 CFU/ml, and reproducibility in that range was good, but data reliability for the number of cocci was low. Multiple logistic regression analysis with each explanatory variable (14 items from the Atellica UAS800, age and sex) showed the best prediction formula for discrimination of uropathogen morphology was a model with 5 explanatory variables: number of bacilli (p < 0.001), squamous epithelial cells (p = 0.004), age (p = 0.039), number of cocci (p = 0.107), and erythrocytes (p = 0.111). For a predicted cutoff value of 0.449, sensitivity was 0.879 and specificity was 0.854. In the cross‐validation set, sensitivity was 0.813 and specificity was 0.857.ConclusionsThe Atellica UAS800 could detect squamous epithelial cells, an indicator of vaginal contamination, with high sensitivity, which further improved performance. Simultaneous use of this probability prediction formula with urinalysis results may facilitate real‐time prediction of uropathogens and vaginal contamination, thus providing helpful information for empiric therapy.
Endocrine Adverse Events Caused by Different Types and Different Doses of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in the Treatment of Solid Tumors: A Meta‐Analysis and Systematic Review
Authors: Yang Yaxian , Liu Jingfang , Yang Kaili , Ma Yanqi , Fu Songbo , Tang Xulei , Wang Yan , Zhou Liyuan 
Published: January 2021

AbstractThe aim of this meta‐analysis was to assess the risks of endocrine adverse events in patients with malignancies treated with different types and different doses of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). PubMed and Embase were searched for randomized controlled trials on ICIs and endocrine adverse events since 2000, and meta‐analysis was carried out. Twenty‐six randomized controlled trials comprising 13 824 patients with malignancies were included. Compared with the other tumor therapies (used as a control group), patients treated with programmed death‐1 inhibitors appeared to be at higher risks of hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, thyroiditis, hypophysitis or hypopituitarism, and type 1 diabetes mellitus, while there was no difference in the risk of primary adrenal insufficiency. It was also found that patients treated with cytotoxic T‐lymphocyte–associated protein‐4 inhibitors were at higher risk of hypophysitis or hypopituitarism, primary adrenal insufficiency, and hypothyroidism. In comparison, patients treated with programmed death‐ligand 1 inhibitors were at higher risk of hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. Compared with the control group, both low‐dose and high‐dose ICI groups were at higher risk of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, and the low‐dose group had increased risk of thyroiditis and primary adrenal insufficiency. There was no significant difference in the risk of type 1 diabetes between the low‐dose group and the high‐dose group. The risk of hypophysitis or hypopituitarism in the high‐dose group (relative risk, 20.12; 95% confidence interval, 8.02‐50.46) was significantly higher than that in the low‐dose group (relative risk, 4.92; 95% confidence interval, 2.11‐11.47). The risk of endocrine adverse events was increased in patients treated with ICIs. Different types and doses of ICIs have varying characteristics of endocrine adverse events.
Brain MR patterns in inherited disorders of monoamine neurotransmitters: An analysis of 70 patients
Authors: Kuseyri Hübschmann Oya , Mohr Alexander , Friedman Jennifer , Manti Filippo , Horvath Gabriella , Cortès‐Saladelafont Elisenda , Mercimek‐Andrews Saadet , Yildiz Yilmaz , Pons Roser , Kulhánek Jan , Oppebøen Mari , Koht Jeanette Aimee , Podzamczer‐Valls Inés , Domingo‐Jimenez Rosario , Ibáñez Salvador , Alcoverro‐Fortuny Oscar , Gómez‐Alemany Teresa , de Castro Pedro , Alfonsi Chiara , Zafeiriou Dimitrios I. , López‐Laso Eduardo , Guder Philipp , Santer René , Honzík Tomáš , Hoffmann Georg F. , Garbade Sven F. , Sivri H. Serap , Leuzzi Vincenzo , Jeltsch Kathrin , García‐Cazorla Angeles , Opladen Thomas ,   International Working Group on Neurotransmitter Related Disorders (iNTD), Harting Inga 
Published: January 2021

AbstractInherited monoamine neurotransmitter disorders (iMNDs) are rare disorders with clinical manifestations ranging from mild infantile hypotonia, movement disorders to early infantile severe encephalopathy. Neuroimaging has been reported as non‐specific. We systematically analyzed brain MRIs in order to characterize and better understand neuroimaging changes and to re‐evaluate the diagnostic role of brain MRI in iMNDs. 81 MRIs of 70 patients (0.1‐52.9 years, 39 patients with tetrahydrobiopterin deficiencies, 31 with primary disorders of monoamine metabolism) were retrospectively analyzed and clinical records reviewed. 33/70 patients had MRI changes, most commonly atrophy (n = 24). Eight patients, six with dihydropteridine reductase deficiency (DHPR), had a common pattern of bilateral parieto‐occipital and to a lesser extent frontal and/or cerebellar changes in arterial watershed zones. Two patients imaged after acute severe encephalopathy had signs of profound hypoxic‐ischemic injury and a combination of deep gray matter and watershed injury (aromatic l‐amino acid decarboxylase (AADCD), tyrosine hydroxylase deficiency (THD)). Four patients had myelination delay (AADCD; THD); two had changes characteristic of post‐infantile onset neuronal disease (AADCD, monoamine oxidase A deficiency), and nine T2‐hyperintensity of central tegmental tracts. iMNDs are associated with MRI patterns consistent with chronic effects of a neuronal disorder and signs of repetitive injury to cerebral and cerebellar watershed areas, in particular in DHPRD. These will be helpful in the (neuroradiological) differential diagnosis of children with unknown disorders and monitoring of iMNDs. We hypothesize that deficiency of catecholamines and/or tetrahydrobiopterin increase the incidence of and the CNS susceptibility to vascular dysfunction.
SNB‐PSSM: A spatial neighbor‐based PSSM used for protein–RNA binding site prediction
Authors: Liu Yang , Gong Weikang , Yang Zhen , Li Chunhua 
Published: January 2021

AbstractProtein–RNA interactions play essential roles in a wide variety of biological processes. Recognition of RNA‐binding residues on proteins has been a challenging problem. Most of methods utilize the position‐specific scoring matrix (PSSM). It has been found that considering the evolutionary information of sequence neighboring residues can improve the prediction. In this work, we introduce a novel method SNB‐PSSM (spatial neighbor–based PSSM) combined with the structure window scheme where the evolutionary information of spatially neighboring residues is considered. The results show our method consistently outperforms the standard and smoothed PSSM methods. Tested on multiple datasets, this approach shows an encouraging performance compared with RNABindRPlus, BindN+, PPRInt, xypan, Predict_RBP, SpaPF, PRNA, and KYG, although is inferior to RNAProSite, RBscore, and aaRNA. In addition, since our method is not sensitive to protein structure changes, it can be applied well on binding site predictions of modeled structures. Thus, the result also suggests the evolution of binding sites is spatially cooperative. The proposed method as an effective tool of considering evolutionary information can be widely used for the nucleic acid–/protein‐binding site prediction and functional motif finding.
Rapid screening and quantitation of PAHs in water and complex sample matrices by solid‐phase microextraction coupled to capillary atmospheric pressure photoionization‐mass spectrometry
Authors: Mirabelli Mario F. , Zenobi Renato 
Published: January 2021

AbstractA capillary atmospheric pressure photoionization (cAPPI) source was used to analyze polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in complex matrices like grilled meat extract and urban dust reference material, as well as screening for PAHs in aqueous samples such as tap and lake water. A high‐throughput workflow was developed that allowed rapid screening of unknown samples by direct solid‐phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with cAPPI‐MS, with confirmatory gas chromatography performed only for samples containing trace amounts of PAHs. Extraction times were as low as 15 s, with a total analysis time of 2 min per sample for screening. Limits of detections were in the low pg/ml range and in the subpg/ml range for the direct and chromatographic approach, respectively, with a linear dynamic range between two and three orders of magnitude, as determined for 15 model PAHs. This rapid approach represents an attractive way to screen samples containing nonpolar compounds using an ambient ionization source.
Multiple reaction monitoring profiling as an analytical strategy to investigate lipids in extracellular vesicles
Authors: Edwards Madison E. , De Luca Thomas , Ferreira Christina R. , Collins Kimberly S. , Eadon Michael T. , Benson Eric A. , Sobreira Tiago J.P. , Cooks Robert Graham 
Published: January 2021

AbstractExtracellular vesicles (EVs) convey information used in cell‐to‐cell interactions. Lipid analysis of EVs remains challenging because of small sample amounts available. Lipid discovery using traditional mass spectrometry platforms based on liquid chromatography and high mass resolution typically employs milligram sample amounts. We report a simple workflow for lipid profiling of EVs based on multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) profiling that uses microgram amounts of sample. After liquid–liquid extraction, individual EV samples were injected directly into the electrospray ionization (ESI) ion source at low flow rates (10 μl/min) and screened for 197 MRM transitions chosen to be a characteristic of several classes of lipids. This choice was based on a discovery experiment, which applied 1,419 MRMs associated with multiple lipid classes to a representative pooled sample. EVs isolated from 12 samples of human lymphocytes and 16 replicates from six different rat cells lines contained an estimated amount of total lipids of 326 to 805 μg. Samples showed profiles that included phosphatidylcholine (PC), sphingomyelin (SM), cholesteryl ester (CE), and ceramide (Cer) lipids, as well as acylcarnitines. The lipid profiles of human lymphocyte EVs were distinguishable using principal component and cluster analysis in terms of prior antibody and drug exposure. Lipid profiles of rat cell lines EV's were distinguishable by their tissue of origin.
Long‐term changes in layered soil temperature based on ground measurements in Jiangsu Province, China
Authors: Shi Xiao , Wang Guojie , Chen Tiexi , Li Shijie , Lu Jiao , Hagan Daniel Fiifi T. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractWhile air temperature has been widely investigated to better understand the recent climate changes, the importance of soil temperature has been underestimated and rarely studied. Here, the long‐term soil temperature changes and the occurrence of extreme heats have been studied based on daily measurements in Jiangsu Province for 1970–2017. A general warming trend in soil temperature is observed at most stations, and these trends are more pronounced in the cold seasons than the warm seasons. Due to the asymmetric warming of maximum and minimum soil temperatures over the past 48 years, the diurnal range shows a long‐term decreasing trend with a rate of −0.34°C/10a. The occurrences of extreme soil temperatures have been analysed based on the probability density functions. It is found that the hot soil days have increased and cold soil days have decreased significantly, and these changes are particularly significant in the most recent decades.
Simulation of management strategies to mitigate nitrogen losses from crop rotations in Southland, New Zealand
Authors: Khaembah Edith N , Cichota Rogerio , Vogeler Iris 
Published: January 2021

AbstractBACKGROUNDNitrogen (N) fertiliser used on crops is among the main sources of water pollution. Reliable measurement of N losses from land uses in catchments is key to designing effective management strategies that minimise those losses at the same time as keeping farms profitable. In the present study, we used a management simulation tool within the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) to assess the effect of fertiliser management on N leaching from croplands in the Aparima catchment in Southland, New Zealand. The assessment was based on two N‐fertiliser regimes: (i) Scheduled (conventional) where, N‐fertiliser rates and timing of application followed a prescribed programme, and (ii) Soil‐test where, N‐fertiliser rates and timing depended on daily analysis of simulated soil N levels. Four rotations (continuous wheat, pasture‐wheat‐grain oats, wheat‐fodder beet‐peas and wheat‐green oats‐fodder beet‐peas) were used in the evaluation.RESULTSAPSIM simulated crop productivity with reasonable accuracy. Yields were 2% greater, fertiliser N input was 11% lower and leaching was 20% lower under the Soil‐test compared to the Scheduled fertiliser management. These results show the potential of a Soil‐test based fertiliser application to increase fertiliser‐N use efficiency and reduce the risk of N loss to the Southland catchment water systems.CONCLUSIONThe present study demonstrates a dynamic farm systems model can be a viable tool to generate valuable data for assessing the productivity and environmental effects of cropping systems at a catchment scale. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry