bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Daseinstufe
Authors: Farred Grant 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Beginning with the premise that “liquidity” is an abstraction, this essay takes up liquidity as the condition for thinking capital, race, and racism, the ways in which capital shapes the possibilities of being—black—in the world. Using a range of theorists, from Karl Marx to Carl Schmitt to Martin Luther King Jr., and a host of cultural figures, most prominently Colin Kaepernick, the author explores how the black body, in its stillness and in its movement, provides us with a singular opportunity for thinking the “abstraction of liquidity” across (and within) a range of registers: some that reinforce one another, others that throw each into sharp relief, and still others that, surprisingly, confound expectations. Liquidity, then, as that vehicle which evinces the capacity to give new form(s) to thinking some of the critical difficulties of our moment.
Head and neck single- and dual-energy CT: differences in radiation dose and image quality of 2nd and 3rd generation dual-source CT
Authors: Lenga Lukas , Lange Marvin , Martin Simon S , Albrecht Moritz H , Booz Christian , Yel Ibrahim , Arendt Christophe T , Vogl Thomas J , Leithner Doris 
Published: April 2021

Objectives:
To compare radiation dose and image quality of single-energy (SECT) and dual-energy (DECT) head and neck CT examinations performed with second- and third-generation dual-source CT (DSCT) in matched patient cohorts.

Methods:
200 patients (mean age 55.1 ± 16.9 years) who underwent venous phase head and neck CT with a vendor-preset protocol were retrospectively divided into four equal groups (n = 50) matched by gender and BMI: second (Group A, SECT, 100-kV; Group B, DECT, 80/Sn140-kV), and third-generation DSCT (Group C, SECT, 100-kV; Group D, DECT, 90/Sn150-kV). Assessment of radiation dose was performed for an average scan length of 27 cm. Contrast-to-noise ratio measurements and dose-independent figure-of-merit calculations of the submandibular gland, thyroid, internal jugular vein, and common carotid artery were analyzed quantitatively. Qualitative image parameters were evaluated regarding overall image quality, artifacts and reader confidence using 5-point Likert scales.

Results:
Effective radiation dose (ED) was not significantly different between SECT and DECT acquisition for each scanner generation (p = 0.10). Significantly lower effective radiation dose (p &lt; 0.01) values were observed for third-generation DSCT groups C (1.1 ± 0.2 mSv) and D (1.0 ± 0.3 mSv) compared to second-generation DSCT groups A (1.8 ± 0.1 mSv) and B (1.6 ± 0.2 mSv). Figure-of-merit/contrast-to-noise ratio analysis revealed superior results for third-generation DECT Group D compared to all other groups. Qualitative image parameters showed non-significant differences between all groups (p &gt; 0.06).

Conclusion:
Contrast-enhanced head and neck DECT can be performed with second- and third-generation DSCT systems without radiation penalty or impaired image quality compared with SECT, while third-generation DSCT is the most dose efficient acquisition method.

Advances in knowledge:
Differences in radiation dose between SECT and DECT of the dose-vulnerable head and neck region using DSCT systems have not been evaluated so far. Therefore, this study directly compares radiation dose and image quality of standard SECT and DECT protocols of second- and third-generation DSCT platforms.
Intraluminal catheter plasty. An alternative technique to remove tethered abdominal surgical drains
Authors: Patel Virjen , Thomson Benedict , Thulasidasan Narayanan , Diamantopoulos Athanasios 
Published: April 2021

Objective: Retained surgical drains can lead to significant complications including gastrointestinal fistulae, abscess formation and intestinal obstruction. Today, there is little in the literature describing the role of Interventional Radiology (IR) in assisting the removal of surgical drains. We describe the use of the well-established intraluminal catheter plasty technique, previously used for the removal of adhered central venous catheters, in order to remove a tethered abdominal drain. Methods and materials: A 67-year-old female was referred to the IR department for the removal of a 24 Fr Robinson’s intra-abdominal surgical drain that could not be removed by conventional methods, as there was a concern that it was kinked internally. Both fluoroscopy and cone beam CT were performed, which identified the drain to be sited within the pelvis with no kinks. A first attempt to remove the drain over a 0.035 stiff wire was unsuccessful due to resistance and patient discomfort. We suspected that this was due to adhesions surrounding the drain. Consequently, a 9 × 40 mm angioplasty balloon was used over the wire with serial dilatations along the drain to disrupt the adhesions. Several areas of waisting were identified. The drain was gently withdrawn over the wire with minimal resistance. Ex-vivo inspection of the drain showed no evidence of structural damage and fluoroscopic imaging confirmed no retained fragments. Conclusion: We describe a safe and effective novel technique of intraluminal catheter plasty used to remove a tethered surgical drain following failed conventional methods.
Approaches and Methods for Causal Analysis of Panel Data in the Area of Morbidity and Mortality
Authors: Hoffmann Rasmus , Doblhammer Gabriele 
Published: April 2021

We aim to give an overview of the state of the art of causal analysis of demographic issues related to morbidity and mortality. We will systematically introduce strategies to identify causal mechanisms, which are inherently linked to panel data from observational surveys and population registers. We will focus on health and mortality, and on the issues of unobserved heterogeneity and reverse causation between health and (1) retirement, (2) socio-economic status, and (3) characteristics of partnership and fertility history.
The boundaries between demographic research on mortality and morbidity and the neighbouring disciplines epidemiology, public health and economy are often blurred. We will highlight the specific contribution of demography by reviewing methods used in the demographic literature. We classify these methods according to important criteria, such as a design-based versus model-based approach and control for unobserved confounders. We present examples from the literature for each of the methods and discuss the assumptions and the advantages and disadvantages of the methods for the identification of causal effects in demographic morbidity and mortality research.
The differentiation between methods that control for unobserved confounders and those that do not reveal a fundamental difference between (1) methods that try to emulate a randomised experiment and have higher internal validity and (2) methods that attempt to achieve conditional independence by including all relevant factors in the model. The latter usually have higher external validity and require more assumptions and prior knowledge of relevant factors and their relationships. It is impossible to provide a general definition of the sort of validity that is more important, as there is always a trade-off between generalising the results to the population of interest and avoiding biases in the estimation of causal effects in the sample. We hope that our review will aid researchers in identifying strategies to answer their specific research question.
* This article belongs to a special issue on "Identification of causal mechanisms in demographic research: The contribution of panel data".
Pure green emission self-crystallization CsPbBr3 quantum dot glass with Ag+ doping for stable light-emitting devices
Authors: Lu Yang , Li Panpan , Xie Wenqing , Duan Yongmin , Xu Shiqing , Zhang Junjie 
Published: April 2021

Recently, cesium lead bromide perovskite glass has been recognized as a potential material to fabricate green light emission devices because of their high stability and excellent optical performance. However, the low photoluminescence efficiency and poor color purity (

<

525

n
m

) of

C
s
P
b
B
r

3

quantum dot (QD) glass restricts its practical application. In this work, self-crystallization

C
s
P
b
B
r

3

QD glasses are successfully prepared via the melt quenching method, and the photoluminescence efficiency increases 10-fold compared with regular thermal treatment

C
s
P
b
B
r

3

QD glass without

A
g

+

doping. The green light-emitting devices based on bulk self-crystallization

C
s
P
b
B
r

3

QD glass with 0.4 mol.%

A
g

+

doping achieves a luminescence efficiency of 20.85 lm/W with a CIE (0.2084, 0.6026) under a 20 mA driving current. The present results provide new, to the best of our knowledge, insight into the application of

C
s
P
b
B
r

3

QD glass in the optoelectronic field.
Adverse pregnancy outcomes are associated with Plasmodium vivax malaria in a prospective cohort of women from the Brazilian Amazon
Authors: Dombrowski Jamille Gregório , Barateiro André , Peixoto Erika Paula Machado , Barros André Boler Cláudio da Silva , Souza Rodrigo Medeiros de , Clark Taane Gregory , Campino Susana , Wrenger Carsten , Wunderlich Gerhard , Palmisano Giuseppe , Epiphanio Sabrina , Gonçalves Lígia Antunes , Marinho Claudio Romero Farias 
Published: April 2021

BackgroundMalaria in Brazil represents one of the highest percentages of Latin America cases, where approximately 84% of infections are attributed toPlasmodium(P.) vivax. Despite the high incidence, many aspects of gestational malaria resulting fromP.vivaxinfections remain poorly studied. As such, we aimed to evaluate the consequences ofP.vivaxinfections during gestation on the health of mothers and their neonates in an endemic area of the Amazon.Methods and findingsWe have conducted an observational cohort study in Brazilian Amazon between January 2013 and April 2015. 600 pregnant women were enrolled and followed until delivery. After applying exclusion criteria, 329 mother-child pairs were included in the analysis. Clinical data regarding maternal infection, newborn’s anthropometric measures, placental histopathological characteristics, and angiogenic and inflammatory factors were evaluated. The presence of plasma IgG against theP.vivax(Pv) MSP119protein was used as marker of exposure and possible associations with pregnancy outcomes were analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed thatP.vivaxinfections during the first trimester of pregnancy are associated with adverse gestational outcomes such as premature birth (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 8.12, 95% confidence interval [95%CI] 2.69–24.54,p< 0.0001) and reduced head circumference (aOR 3.58, 95%CI 1.29–9.97,p= 0.01). Histopathology analysis showed marked differences between placentas fromP.vivax-infected and non-infected pregnant women, especially regarding placental monocytes infiltrate. Placental levels of vasomodulatory factors such as angiopoietin-2 (ANG-2) and complement proteins such as C5a were also altered at delivery. Plasma levels of anti-PvMSP119IgG in infected pregnant women were shown to be a reliable exposure marker; yet, with no association with improved pregnancy outcomes.ConclusionsThis study indicates thatP.vivaxmalaria during the first trimester of pregnancy represents a higher likelihood of subsequent poor pregnancy outcomes associated with marked placental histologic modification and angiogenic/inflammatory imbalance. Additionally, our findings support the idea that antibodies against PvMSP119are not protective against poor pregnancy outcomes induced byP.vivaxinfections.
Prediction of confirmed cases of and deaths caused by COVID-19 in Chile through time series techniques: A comparative study
Authors: Barría-Sandoval Claudia , Ferreira Guillermo , Benz-Parra Katherine , López-Flores Pablo 
Published: April 2021

Background
Chile has become one of the countries most affected by COVID-19, a pandemic that has generated a large number of cases worldwide. If not detected and treated in time, COVID-19 can cause multi-organ failure and even death. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the behavior of the spread of COVID-19 as well as the projection of infections and deaths. This information is very relevant so that public health organizations can distribute financial resources efficiently and take appropriate containment measures. In this research, we compare different time series methodologies to predict the number of confirmed cases of and deaths from COVID-19 in Chile.

Methods
The methodology used in this research consisted of modeling cases of both confirmed diagnoses and deaths from COVID-19 in Chile using Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA henceforth) models, Exponential Smoothing techniques, and Poisson models for time-dependent count data. Additionally, we evaluated the accuracy of the predictions using a training set and a test set.

Results
The dataset used in this research indicated that the most appropriate model is the ARIMA time series model for predicting the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, whereas for predicting the number of deaths from COVID-19 in Chile, the most suitable approach is the damped trend method.

Conclusion
The ARIMA models are an alternative to modeling the behavior of the spread of COVID-19; however, depending on the characteristics of the dataset, other methodologies can better predict the behavior of these records, for example, the Holt-Winter method implemented with time-dependent count data.
Effects of subthreshold nanosecond laser therapy in age-related macular degeneration using artificial intelligence (STAR-AI Study)
Authors: Hanna Verina , Oakley Jonathan , Russakoff Daniel , Choudhry Netan 
Published: April 2021

Purpose
To investigate changes in retinal thickness, drusen volume, and visual acuity following subthreshold nanosecond laser (SNL) treatment in patients with age-related macular degeneration (ARMD).

Design
Retrospective chart review.

Methods
Patients with intermediate ARMD treated with a single session of SNL (2RT®, Ellex R&D Pty Ltd, Adelaide, Australia) were included. Swept-source optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging (Triton; Topcon Medical Systems, Tokyo, Japan) was performed within 6 months before and after SNL treatment. Retinal layers were segmented using the artificial intelligence-enabled Orion® software (Voxeleron LLC, San Francisco, USA). The macular region was analyzed according to the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study map. Mean difference and standard deviation in baseline and post-treatment retinal layer thicknesses are reported.

Results
37 eyes from 25 patients were included in this study (mean age 74.7±9.2 years). An average of 51±6 spots were applied around the macula of each study eye, with a mean spot power of 0.33±0.04mJ. Increases in total retinal thickness were observed within the outer temporal and inferior sectors (P<0.05). Within the annulus, there was an increase in thickness of the sub-retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) space [0.88±2.41μm, P = 0.03], defined between the RPE and Bruch’s membrane. An increase in thickness of 1.13±2.55μm (P = 0.01) was also noted in the inferior sector of the photoreceptor complex, defined from the inner and outer segment junction to the RPE. Decreases in thickness were observed within the superior sector of the inner nuclear layer (INL) [-1.08±2.55μm, P = 0.01], and within the annulus of the outer nuclear layer (ONL) [-1.44±3.55μm, P = 0.02].

Conclusions
At 6 months post-SNL treatment, there were sectoral increases in OPL, photoreceptor complex, and sub-RPE space thicknesses and sectoral decreases in INL and ONL thicknesses. This pilot study demonstrates the utility of OCT combined with artificial intelligence-enabled software to track retinal changes that occur following SNL treatment in intermediate ARMD.
Epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory findings for patients of different age groups with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a hospital in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Ibrahim Mutasim E. , AL-Aklobi Obaid S. , Abomughaid Mosleh M. , Al-Ghamdi Mushabab A. 
Published: April 2021

Background
Although the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to rage worldwide, clinical and laboratory studies of this disease have been limited in many countries. We investigated the epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory findings of COVID-19 infected patients to identify the effective indicators correlated with the disease.

Methods
A retrospective study was conducted at King Abdullah Hospital in Bisha Province, Saudi Arabia, from March 20 to June 30, 2020. Patients of different age groups were confirmed as having COVID-19 infection using a real-time polymerase chain reaction. The demographic, clinical, and laboratory data of the patients were statistically analyzed.

Results
Of the 132 patients, 85 were male and 47 were female, with a mean age of 50.9 years (SD±16.7). The patients were elderly (n = 29) and adults (n = 103). Of these, 54 (40.9%) had comorbidities, (25%) were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), and 12 (9.1%) died. On admission, the main clinical manifestations were fever (84.1%), cough (64.4%), shortness of breath (25%), chest pain (20.5%), and fatigue (18.2%). In all patients, increased neutrophils and decreased lymphocytes were observed. Patients’ lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was elevated. C-reactive protein (CRP) was elevated in 48.5%, D-dimer in 43.2%, and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in 40.9% of patients. The elderly showed higher neutrophil (p = 0.011) and lower lymphocyte (p = 0.009) counts than adults. Glucose, creatine kinase-MB, LDH, bilirubin, D-dimer, and ESR were significantly higher in the elderly than in the adults. The COVID-19 death group had a higher leucocyte count (p = 0.036), and higher urea (p = 0.029) and potassium (p = 0.022) than the recovered group but had a lower hemoglobin concentration (p = 0.018). A significant association was determined between COVID-19 death and the presence of cardiovascular disease (χ2(1) = 16.297, p<0.001), hypertension (χ2(1) = 12.034, p = 0.001), renal failure (χ2(1) = 3.843, p = 0. 05), old age (t (130) = 4.9, p <0.001), and ICU admission (χ2(1) = 17.6 (1), p<0.001).

Conclusions
Investigating some of the laboratory and clinical parameters could help assess the disease progression, risk of mortality, and follow up patients who could progress to a fatal condition.
Four-year-performance of oak and pine seedlings following mechanical site preparation with lightweight excavators
Authors: Dumas Noé , Dassot Mathieu , Pitaud Jonathan , Piat Jérôme , Arnaudet Lucie , Richter Claudine , Collet Catherine 
Published: April 2021

Mechanical site preparation methods that used tools mounted on lightweight excavators and that provided localised intensive preparation were tested in eight experimental sites across France where the vegetation was dominated either by (L.) Moench or (L.) Kuhn. Two lightweight tools (Deep Scarifier: DS; Deep Scarifier followed by Multifunction Subsoiler: DS+MS) were tested in pine ( L., var. (Loudon) Hyl. or Aiton) and oak ( (Matt.) Liebl. or L.) plantations. Regional methods commonly used locally (herbicide, disk harrow, mouldboard plow) and experimental methods (repeated herbicide application; untreated control) were used as references in the experiments. Neighbouring vegetation cover, seedling survival, height and basal diameter were assessed over three to five years after plantation. For pines growing in , seedling diameter after four years was 37% and 98% greater in DS and DS+MS, respectively, than in the untreated control. For pines growing in , it was 62% and 107% greater in the same treatments. For oak, diameter was only 4% and 15% greater in , and 13% and 25% greater in , in the same treatments. For pines, the survival rate after four years was 26% and 32% higher in and 64% and 70% higher in , in the same treatments. For oak, it was 3% and 29% higher in and 37% and 31% higher in . Herbicide, when applied for three or four years after planting, provided the best growth performances for pines growing in and and for oaks growing in . For these species and site combinations, DS+MS and DS treatments reduced the neighbouring vegetation cover for one to four years following site preparation.Molinia caeruleaPteridium aquilinumPinus sylvestrisPinus nigracorsicanaPinus pinasterQuercus petraeaQuercus roburM. caeruleaP. aquilinumM. caeruleaP. aquilinumM. caeruleaP. aquilinumM. caeruleaP. aquilinumM. caerulea P. aquilinumP. aquilinum
Two Finite Difference Schemes for Multi-Dimensional Fractional Wave Equations with Weakly Singular Solutions
Authors: Shen Jinye , Stynes Martin , Sun Zhi-Zhong 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
A time-fractional initial-boundary value problem of wave type is considered, where the spatial domain is

(
0
,
1
)

d

(0,1)^{d}

for some

d
∈

{
1
,
2
,
3
}

d\in\{1,2,3\}

.
Regularity of the solution 𝑢 is discussed in detail.
Typical solutions have a weak singularity at the initial time

t
=
0

t=0

: while 𝑢 and

u
t

u_{t}

are continuous at

t
=
0

t=0

, the second-order derivative

u

t
⁢
t

u_{tt}

blows up at

t
=
0

t=0

.
To solve the problem numerically, a finite difference scheme is used on a mesh that is graded in time and uniform in space with the same mesh size ℎ in each coordinate direction.
This scheme is generated through order reduction: one rewrites the differential equation as a system of two equations using the new variable

v
:=

u
t

v:=u_{t}

; then one uses a modified L1 scheme of Crank–Nicolson type for the driving equation.
A fast variant of this finite difference scheme is also considered, using a sum-of-exponentials (SOE) approximation for the kernel function in the Caputo derivative.
The stability and convergence of both difference schemes are analysed in detail.
At each time level, the system of linear equations generated by the difference schemes is solved by a fast Poisson solver, thereby taking advantage of the fast difference scheme.
Finally, numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of both numerical methods.
A user workflow for combining process simulation and pinch analysis considering ecological factors
Authors: Ong Benjamin H. Y. , Lucas Edward J. , Olsen Donald G. , Roth Simon , Wellig Beat 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
This paper aims to develop an innovative and practical method to accelerate Pinch Analysis problems using a combination of process integration, process simulation tools, and life cycle assessment techniques to design effective industrial energy efficiency measures rapidly. Data extraction and analysis is accelerated using the workflow, reducing pinch analysis duration, and therefore cost. This lowers financial barriers and is expected to help facilitate an increase in the number of conducted pinch analyses each year. An innovative ecological targeting step has been included in the workflow, which represents the option for end-users to further their CO2 savings, once energy targeting has been completed on a purely cost basis. It is expected that optimizing for costs first will enable the implementation of heat recovery solutions in industry. The methodology is applied to an example case study, and the learnings from industrial application is reported.