bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The gender wage gap among medical specialists: a quantitative analysis of the hourly pay of publicly employed senior doctors in New Zealand
Authors: Sin Isabelle , Bruce-Brand Bronwyn , Chambers Charlotte Nesta Louise 
Published: April 2021

ObjectivesTo estimate the gender gap in hourly wages earned by medical specialists in their main jobs after controlling for age, number of hours worked and medical specialty.DesignObservational using governmental administrative and survey data.SettingNew Zealand public employed medical workforce.Participants3510 medical specialists who were employed for wages or a salary in a medical capacity by a New Zealand district health board (DHB) at the time of the March 2013 census, whose census responses on hours worked were complete and can be matched to tax records of earnings to construct hourly earnings.Main outcome measuresHourly earnings in the DHB job calculated from usual weekly hours worked reported in the census and wage or salary earnings paid in the month recorded in administrative tax data.ResultsIn their DHB employment, female specialists earned on average 12.5% lower hourly wages than their male counterparts of the same age, in the same specialty, who work the same number of hours (95% CI 9.9% to 15.1%). Adding controls for a wide range of personal and work characteristics decreased the estimated gap only slightly to 11.2% (95% CI 8.6% to 13.8%). At most, 4.5 percentage points can be explained by gender differences in experience at the same age.ConclusionsMale specialists earn a large and statistically significant premium over their female colleagues. Age, specialty and hours of work do not appear to drive these wage gaps. These findings suggest that employment agreements that specify minimum wages for each level of experience, and progression through these levels, are insufficient to eliminate gender wage gaps between similar men and women with the same experience.
Experiences and views of receiving and delivering information about recovery in acquired neurological conditions: a systematic review of qualitative literature
Authors: Burton Louisa-Jane , Forster Anne , Johnson Judith , Crocker Thomas F. , Tyson Sarah F. , Wray Faye , Clarke David J. 
Published: April 2021

ObjectiveTo review and synthesise qualitative literature relating to the views, perceptions and experiences of patients with acquired neurological conditions and their caregivers about the process of receiving information about recovery; as well as the views and experiences of healthcare professionals involved in delivering this information.DesignSystematic review of qualitative studies.Data sourcesMEDLINE, Embase, AMED, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science and the Cochrane library were searched from their inception to July 2019.Data extraction and synthesisTwo reviewers extracted data from the included studies and assessed quality using an established tool. Thematic synthesis was used to synthesise the findings of included studies.ResultsSearches yielded 9105 titles, with 145 retained for full-text screening. Twenty-eight studies (30 papers) from eight countries were included. Inductive analysis resulted in 11 descriptive themes, from which 5 analytical themes were generated: the right information at the right time; managing expectations; it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it; learning how to talk about recovery and manage emotions; the context of uncertainty.ConclusionsOur findings highlight the inherent challenges in talking about recovery in an emotional context, where breaking bad news is a key feature. Future interventions should focus on preparing staff to meet patients’ and families’ information needs, as well as ensuring they have the skills to discuss potential recovery and break bad news compassionately and share the uncertain trajectory characteristic of acquired neurological conditions. An agreed team-based approach to talking about recovery is recommended to ensure consistency and improve the experiences of patients and their families.
Treatment choices for diabetic macular oedema: a guideline for when to consider an intravitreal corticosteroid, including adaptations for the COVID-19 era
Authors: Downey Louise , Acharya Nachiketa , Devonport Helen , Gale Richard , Habib Maged , Manjunath Vina , Mukherjee Rajarshi , Severn Philip 
Published: April 2021

First-line treatment of centrally involved diabetic macular oedema (CI-DMO) is often with an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agent. Although this can provide efficacy in the majority of eyes, a sizeable proportion do not respond sufficiently and many continue to receive anti-VEGF therapy after it may be optimal. This imposes a treatment burden on both patients and clinicians and, most importantly of all, can be sight threatening. Changing treatment to an intravitreal corticosteroid implant at the appropriate time may help optimise patient outcomes and reduce injection frequency, thereby reducing treatment burden.Eight retina specialists convened to discuss how to ensure eyes with CI-DMO receiving intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy are evaluated for a potential change to intravitreal corticosteroid therapy at the most effective time in their treatment journey. They concluded that clear criteria on when to consider changing treatment would be helpful and so developed a consensus guideline covering key decision points such as when and how to assess response to anti-VEGF therapy, when to consider a change to corticosteroid therapy and when and how to assess the response to corticosteroid therapy.The guideline was developed before the COVID-19 pandemic but, with the additional challenges arising from this including even greater pressure on clinic capacity, it is more important than ever to reconsider current working practices and adopt changes to improve patient care while also easing pressure on clinic capacity, reducing hospital visits and maintaining patient safety. This publication therefore also includes suggestions for adapting the guidelines in the COVID-19 era.
Unplanned hospitalisations in older people: illness trajectories in the last year of life
Authors: Szilcz Máté , Wastesson Jonas W , Johnell Kristina , Morin Lucas 
Published: April 2021

ObjectiveUnplanned hospitalisations can be burdensome for older people who approach the end of life. Hospitalisations disrupt the continuity of care and often run against patients’ preference for comfort and palliative goals of care. This study aimed to describe the patterns of unplanned hospitalisations across illness trajectories in the last year of life.MethodsLongitudinal, retrospective cohort study of decedents, including all older adults (≥65 years) who died in Sweden in 2015. We used nationwide data from the National Cause of Death Register linked at the individual level with several other administrative and healthcare registers. Illness trajectories were defined based on multiple-cause-of-death data to approximate functional decline near the end of life. Incidence rate ratios (IRR) for unplanned hospitalisations were modelled with zero-inflated Poisson regressions.ResultsIn a total of 77 315 older decedents (53% women, median age 85.2 years), the overall incidence rate of unplanned hospitalisations during the last year of life was 175 per 100 patient-years. The adjusted IRR for unplanned hospitalisation was 1.20 (95%CI 1.18 to 1.21) times higher than average among decedents who followed a trajectory of cancer. Conversely, decedents who followed the trajectory of prolonged dwindling had a lower-than-average risk of unplanned hospitalisation (IRR 0.66, 95% CI 0.65 to 0.68). However, these differences between illness trajectories only became evident during the last 3 months of life.ConclusionOur study highlights that, during the last 3 months of life, unplanned hospitalisations are increasingly frequent. Policies aiming to reduce burdensome care transitions should consider the underlying illness trajectories.
Association of census tract-level incarceration rate and life expectancy in New York State
Authors: Holaday Louisa W , Howell Benjamin , Thompson Keitra , Cramer Laura , Wang Emily Ai-hua 
Published: April 2021

BackgroundJail incarceration rates are positively associated with mortality at the county level. However, incarceration rates vary within counties, limiting the generalisability of this finding to neighbourhoods, where incarceration may have the greatest effects.MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional analysis of census tract-level state imprisonment rates in New York State (2010) and life expectancy data from the US Small-area Life Expectancy Estimates Project (2010–2015). We modelled fixed-effects for counties and controlled for tract-level poverty, racial makeup, education, and population density from the American Community Survey (2010–2014), and violent crime data from the New York City Police Department (2010). We also examined interactions between incarceration rate and poverty, racial makeup, and population density on life expectancy.ResultsLife expectancy at the highest quintile of incarceration was 5.5 years lower than in the lowest quintile, and over 2 years lower in a fully-adjusted model. Census tract-level poverty and racial makeup both moderated the association between incarceration and life expectancy.ConclusionCensus tract-level incarceration is associated with lower life expectancy. Decarceration, including alternatives to incarceration, and release of those currently incarcerated, may help to improve life expectancy at the neighbourhood level.
Experimental analysis of rolling dynamic compaction using transparent soils and particle image velocimetry
Authors: Chen Yue , Jaksa Mark B. , Kuo Yien-Lik , Airey David W. 
Published: April 2021

Rolling dynamic compaction (RDC) is a soil compaction technique, which is capable of improving thick layers of soil at a relatively fast operating speed. The paper presents the results of laboratory experiments conducted on 1:13 scale models of the four-sided, 8 and 12 t, Broons BH-1300 and BH-1300 HD impact rollers, respectively, to study the performance of the scale model at four different operating speeds. A series of laboratory tests is undertaken using transparent soils and the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique to investigate the effectiveness of the models. The transparent soil employed in this study consists of fused quartz and a pore fluid that matched the refractive index of the fused quartz. A one-particle thick layer of coloured fused quartz is embedded in the centre plane of the transparent soil to visualize soil internal displacements and a digital camera is used to capture the speckled pattern during the scale model testing process. The results show that the heavier module induces greater soil displacements at each operating speed. The optimal operating speed is approximately 299 mm/s for both module weights. The most significant soil displacements occur within the first 20 passes and no obvious ground improvement is observed after 35 passes. The results of this study demonstrate the unique capability of transparent soil to study soil displacements induced by the ground improvement scale models.
Productivity of coastal Douglas-fir and western redcedar in response to species mixture, planting density, and soil carbon:nitrogen ratio
Authors: Omari Kwadwo , Kranabetter John Marty , de Montigny Louise 
Published: April 2021

Mixed-species plantations have been suggested as ecologically and economically viable alternatives to monocultures. We examined the growth response of coastal Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) and western redcedar (Thuja plicata Donn ex D. Don in Lamb.) to different species mixtures (Douglas-fir : western redcedar mixtures of 1:0, 1:1, 1:3, and 0:1) and planting densities (500, 1000, and 1500 stems·ha−1) in a dry maritime forest on eastern Vancouver Island, Canada. Twenty-two years postplanting, species mixture significantly affected diameter and height growth (p < 0.001), with stand diameter and height generally decreasing with increasing redcedar composition. Inherent variation in soil productivity across the plantation (carbon:nitrogen ratio) equally constrained stand growth. The widest spacing had larger diameter than the closest spacing (p = 0.025) but the least stand basal area compared with the other spacing treatments (p = 0.003–0.031). Stand volume was significantly affected by mixture × density interaction (p = 0.024) and generally declined with increasing proportion of redcedar and decreasing stand density. In the first decades after plantation establishment, inherent species growth traits and soil fertility were most important in dictating stand productivity. Because of the differences in resource utilization of both species, stand dynamics may change as competition for light and soil resources increases. Evaluation of silvicultural recommendations regarding mixtures of both species will continue with plantation development.
Black holes in 4D Einstein–Maxwell–Gauss–Bonnet gravity coupled with scalar fields
Authors: Wang Yi-Li , Ge Xian-Hui 
Published: April 2021

AbstractEinstein–Maxwell–Gauss–Bonnet-axion theory in 4-dimensional spacetime is investigated in this paper through a “Kaluza–Klein-like” process. Dual to systems at finite temperature with background magnetic field on three dimensions, the four-dimensional dyonic black hole solution coupled with higher derivative terms is obtained. After the tensor-type perturbation is added, the shear viscosity to entropy density ratio is calculated at high temperature and low temperature separately. The behaviour of shear viscosity to entropy density ratio of uncharged black holes is found to be similar with that in 5-dimensional spacetime, violating the Kovtun–Starinets–Son bound as well when temperature becomes lower. In addition, the main feature of this ratio remains almost unchanged in 4 dimensions, which is characterised by $$(T/\varDelta )^2$$

(
T
/
Δ
)

2

at low temperature T, with $$\varDelta $$
Δ
proportional to the coefficient $$\beta $$
β
from scalar fields. The difficulty in causal analysis is also discussed, which is mainly caused by the vanishing momentum term in equations of motion.
The anomalous production of multi-leptons and its impact on the measurement of Wh production at the LHC
Authors: Hernandez Yesenia , Kumar Mukesh , Cornell Alan S. , Dahbi Salah-Eddine , Fang Yaquan , Lieberman Benjamin , Mellado Bruce , Monnakgotla Kgomotso , Ruan Xifeng , Xin Shuiting 
Published: April 2021

AbstractAnomalies in multi-lepton final states at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have been reported in Refs. (von Buddenbrock et al., J Phys G 45(11):115003, arXiv:1711.07874 [hep-ph], 2018; Buddenbrock et al., JHEP 1910:157, arXiv:1901.05300 [hep-ph], 2019). These can be interpreted in terms of the production of a heavy boson, H, decaying into a standard model (SM) Higgs boson, h, and a singlet scalar, S, which is treated as a SM Higgs-like boson. This process would naturally affect the measurement of the Wh signal strength at the LHC, where h is produced in association with leptons and di-jets. Here, h would be produced with lower transverse momentum, $$p_{Th}$$

p

Th

, compared to SM processes. Corners of the phase-space are fixed according to the model parameters derived in Refs. (von Buddenbrock et al., J Phys G 45(11):115003, arXiv:1711.07874 [hep-ph], 2018; von Buddenbrock et al., Eur Phys J C 76(10):580, arXiv:1606.01674 [hep-ph], 2016) without additional tuning, thus nullifying potential look-else-where effects or selection biases. Provided that no stringent requirements are made on $$p_{Th}$$

p

Th

or related observables, the signal strength of Wh is $$\mu (Wh)=2.41 \pm 0.37$$

μ
(
W
h
)
=
2.41
±
0.37

. This corresponds to a deviation from the SM of $$3.8\sigma $$

3.8
σ

. This result further strengthens the need to measure with precision the SM Higgs boson couplings in $$e^+e^-$$

e
+

e
-

, and $$e^-p$$

e
-

p

collisions, in addition to pp collisions.
Improvements on dipole shower colour
Authors: Holguin Jack , Forshaw Jeffrey R. , Plätzer Simom 
Published: April 2021

AbstractThe dipole formalism provides a powerful framework from which parton showers can be constructed. In a recent paper (Forshaw et al. 2020), we proposed a dipole shower with improved colour accuracy and in this paper we show how it can be further improved. After an explicit check at $${\mathcal {O}}(\alpha _{\mathrm {s}}^{2})$$

O
(

α

s

2

)

we confirm that our original shower performs as it was designed to, i.e. inheriting its handling of angular-ordered radiation from a coherent branching algorithm. We also show how other dipole shower algorithms fail to achieve this. Nevertheless, there is an $${\mathcal {O}}(\alpha _{\mathrm {s}}^{2})$$

O
(

α

s

2

)

topology where it differs at sub-leading $$N_{\mathrm {c}}$$

N
c

from a coherent branching algorithm. This erroneous topology can contribute a leading logarithm to some observables and corresponds to emissions that are ordered in $$k_t$$

k
t

but not angle. We propose a simple, computationally efficient way to correct this and assign colour factors in accordance with the coherence properties of QCD to all orders in $$\alpha _{\mathrm {s}}$$

α
s

.
Distributed Identity Management for Semantic Entities Based on Graph Signatures and owl:sameAs
Authors: Schönteich Falko , Scherp Ansgar , Kasten Andreas 
Published: April 2021

Distributed Identity Management (DIM) refers to the ability of defining distributed identities of agents and roles, i.e. a single agent is represented using multiple unique identifiers managed in different namespaces and may have various roles across those namespaces. We propose semDIM, a novel approach for Semantic DIM based on a Semantic Web architecture. For the first time, semDIM provides a framework for a distributed definition and management of entities such as persons being part of an organization, groups, and roles across namespaces. It is suitable for informal, i.e. social networks, as well as for professional networks such as cross-organizational collaborations. In addition, the framework ensures authenticity, authorization and integrity for such distributed identities by featuring certificate-based graph signatures. Beyond the capabilities of existing Identity Management solutions, we allow distributed identifiers and management of groups (consisting of agents and sub-groups) and roles as “first-class entities”. semDIM uses owl:sameAs relations to represent and verify distributed identities via formal reasoning. This concept enables novel functionalities for DIM, as these entities can be identified, related to one another, as well as be managed across namespaces. Our semDIM approach consists of a modular software architecture, a process model using a novel approach for pattern-based concurrency control, as well as a set of state-of-the-art formal OWL ontology patterns. The use of formal patterns ensures semantic interoperability, and extensibility for future requirements. Thereby, our approach can be combined with other applications based on the same or related patterns. We evaluate semDIM in the context of a real-world scenario of securely exchanging DIM information across organizations.
Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Improves Fatty Liver and Enhances Thermogenesis in Brown Adipose Tissue via Inhibiting BMP4-Related Signaling Pathway in High-Fat-Diet-Induced Obese Mice
Authors: Wang Xingchun , Ma Bingwei , Chen Jiaqi , You Hui , Sheng Chunjun , Yang Peng , Qu Shen 
Published: April 2021

Objective. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist is effective in decreasing blood glucose and body weight. It could improve fatty liver with unclear mechanisms. Hence, we aimed to explore whether GLP-1 could improve fatty liver by regulating the BMP4-related signaling pathway. Methods. Fifteen C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to 3 groups. Group A and Group B were fed with a high-fat diet (HFD) to induce fatty liver while Group C was fed with a regular diet (RD) for 24 weeks. Group A and Group B received a subcutaneous injection of exenatide and vehicle (0.9% NaCl), respectively, once daily at doses of 10 nmol/kg during the last 8 weeks. Bodyweight, liver weight, and lipid levels were measured. Histological analyses of liver tissue were performed. The expression of protein and gene measured by western blotting and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was compared. Results. Eight-week exenatide treatment significantly decreased body weight in Group A (from 44.08 ± 2.89 g to 39.22 ± 1.88 g,

P

= 0.045). Group A had lower body weight and liver weight than Group B at 24 weeks (39.22 ± 1.88 g vs. 47.34 ± 2.43 g,

P

= 0.001 and 1.70 ± 0.20 g vs. 2.48 ± 0.19 g,

P

= 0.001, respectively). Moreover, Group A showed significantly less liver steatosis than Group B. Additionally, Group A led to slightly decreased serum triglyceride (TG) and cholesterol (TC) levels compared to Group B. Western blotting showed that exenatide could prevent HFD-induced upregulation of BMP4 levels and downstream activation of Smad1/5/8 and the P38 MAPK signaling pathway in the liver. Furthermore, exenatide treatment could reduce BMP4 and enhance UCP-1 (an important thermogenin) in brown adipose tissue (BAT). Conclusion. Exenatide could improve HFD-induced hepatic steatosis and enhance thermogenesis in BAT, which may be partly attributed to the inhibition of the BMP4-related signaling pathway.
Investigation of the Large-Scale Pallet by Recycled Polypropylene and the Sequential Valve Gate System during the Injection Molding
Authors: Cheng Chun-Der , Tsai Hsi-Hsun , Liao Yi-Ling 
Published: April 2021

Plastic pallets are essential devices for the transport of industrial products within containers and can be made from recycled plastics to be more environmentally friendly. However, numerous thin reinforcing ribs are required to mold such large-size pallets, thereby requiring a large-scale injection-molding machine. Many filling gates can reduce the welding lines to enhance the structural strength of the pallet to achieve injection molding using a lower locking force machine. This study simulated the production of recycled polypropylene plastic pellets using a 3500-ton super-large injection-molding machine and the Moldex3D package to derive the flow analysis of the moldability. The PTC Creo software is used to construct plastic pallets (

1100

mm
×
1100

mm
×
140

mm

), filled by twelve gates using a baffle cooling system. During the four-stage filling of the sequential valve gate system, the flow front spreads from the central gate to the four corners of the pallet, decreasing the number of welding lines, with an average filling pressure of 19.23 MPa by a sequential valve gate scheme which is approximately 65% of the concurrent valve gate opening scheme. The maximum clamping force by this sequential valve gate opening scheme in the molding of plastic pallet is 874.6 tons, only half of the one by concurrent valve gate opening scheme. The average welding angle was 85.7° in the concurrent valve gate opening scheme, with smaller angles than that of the sequential gates controlled scheme. The maximum temperatures during the filling by the two schemes with the concurrent valve gates opened and the sequential gates controlled were 230.5 and 232.5°C, respectively. The sequential valve gate opening scheme’s warpages are smaller than the ones by the concurrent valve gate opening scheme. The warpages of the pallet by the sequential valve gate system are smaller than the ones by the concurrent valve gate system. A higher temperature of the cooling channel and a medium level of cooling time result in lower warpage of the pallet.