bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Systematic review of pelvic floor interventions during pregnancy
Authors: Schreiner Lucas , Crivelatti Isabel , de Oliveira Julia M. , Nygaard Christiana C. , dos Santos Thais G. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractBackgroundPelvic floor interventions during pregnancy could reduce the impact of pregnancy and delivery on the pelvic floor.ObjectiveTo determine the effects of pelvic floor interventions during pregnancy on childbirth‐related and pelvic floor parameters.Search strategyPubMed, Embase, and LILACS were searched for reports published during between 1990 and 2016 in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. The search terms were “pregnancy,” “pelvic floor muscle training,” and related terms.Selection criteriaRandomized controlled trials with healthy pregnant women were included.Data collection and analysisBaseline and outcome data (childbirth‐related parameters, pelvic floor symptoms) were compared for three interventions: EPI‐NO (Tecsana, Munich, Germany) perineal dilator, pelvic floor muscle training, and perineal massage.Main resultsA total of 22 trials were included. Two of three papers assessing EPI‐NO showed no benefit. The largest study investigating pelvic floor muscle training reported a significant reduction in the duration of the second stage of labor (P<0.01), and this intervention also reduced the incidence of urinary incontinence (evaluated in 10 trials). Two of six trials investigating perineal massage reported that a lower rate of perineal pain was associated with this intervention.ConclusionPelvic floor muscle training and perineal massage improved childbirth‐related parameters and pelvic floor symptoms, whereas EPI‐NO showed no benefit.
Panzi score as a parsimonious indicator of urogenital fistula severity derived from Goh and Waaldijk classifications
Authors: Mukwege Denis , Peters Lisa , Amisi Christine , Mukwege Alain , Smith Abigail R. , Miller Janis M. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractObjectiveTo derive a comprehensive system that allows a single score to define relative fistula severity.MethodsThe present observational study included women with urogenital fistula treated at the Panzi Hospital, Democratic Republic of Congo, or its outreach clinics across the Democratic Republic of Congo between September 1, 2013, and December 31, 2014. Fistula severity was assessed by Goh and Waaldijk classifications and surgical success was ascertained. Logistic regression was used to select fistula characteristics predictive of surgical failure, and to preliminarily verify the newly derived Panzi score.ResultsOverall, 837 women were included in the analysis. Goh or Waaldijk fistula descriptors associated with a higher probability of poor surgical outcomes in the unadjusted bivariate analysis were circumferential defect (P=0.007), proximity to the external urethral orifice (P=0.001), and size (P=0.001). These fistula characteristics were used to construct the Panzi score, which varied from 3 (most severe) to 0 (minor fistula). For each increase above 0, the odds of surgical failure increase by a factor of 1.65 (P<0.001).ConclusionThe Panzi score of urogenital fistula provided a data‐driven, simple, comprehensive, and parsimonious score. It could be used to report group data, to provide continuous level data for use in higher order statistics, and to resolve issues such as the cut‐off point for referring women to hospital in accordance with fistula complexity.
Genetic distance, trade, and the diffusion of development
Authors: Bove Vincenzo , Gokmen Gunes 
Published: May 2018

SummaryThe determinants of countries' long‐term income differences feature prominently in the literature. Spolaore and Wacziarg (The diffusion of development, Quarterly Journal of Economics, , 124, 469–529) argue that cultural differences, measured by countries' genetic distance, are an important barrier to the diffusion of development from the world's technological frontier. We revisit their findings in three ways. First, we successfully reproduce their results and confirm the robustness of their baseline findings. Second, we estimate their models for different time periods and find that the impact of genetic distance on income differences did not significantly change over time. Finally, we explore one of the underlying mechanisms of technology adoption and show that bilateral trade is one channel through which cultural differences retard the diffusion of development.
Use of diffusion kurtosis imaging and quantitative dynamic contrast‐enhanced MRI for the differentiation of breast tumors
Authors: Li Ting , Yu Tao , Li Lyu , Lu Lunbo , Zhuo Yaoyao , Lian Jingge , Xiong Yun , Kong Dexing , Li Kangan 
Published: May 2018

BackgroundBreast MRI is a sensitive imaging technique to assess breast cancer but its effectiveness still remains to be improved.PurposeTo evaluate the diagnostic performance of diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI), diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI), and quantitative dynamic contrast‐enhanced (DCE)‐MRI in differentiating malignant from benign breast lesions independently or jointly and to explore whether correlations exist among these parameters.Study TypeRetrospective.PopulationIn all, 106 patients with breast lesions (47 malignant, 59 benign).SequenceDKI sequence with seven b values and quantitative DCE sequence on 3.0T MRI.AssessmentDiffusion parameters (mean diffusivity [MD], mean diffusivity [MK], and apparent diffusion coefficient [ADC]) from DKI and DWI and perfusion parameters from DCE (Ktrans, kep, ve, and vp) were calculated by two experienced radiologists after postprocessing. Disagreement between the two observers was resolved by consensus.Statistical TestsThe parameters in benign and malignant lesions were compared by Student's t‐test. The diagnostic performances of DKI and quantitative DCE, either alone or in combination, were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The Spearman correlation test was used to evaluate correlations among the diffusion parameters and perfusion parameters.ResultsMK, MD, ADC, Ktrans, and kep values were significantly different between breast cancer and benign lesions (P < 0.05). MK from DKI demonstrated the highest AUC of 0.849, which is significantly higher than ADC derived from conventional DWI (z = 3.345, P = 0.0008). The specificity of DCE‐MRI‐derived parameters was improved when combining diffusion parameters, such as ADC and MK. The highest diagnostic specificity (93.2%) was obtained when kep and ADC were combined. kep was correlated moderately positively with MK (r = 0.516) and moderately negatively with MD (r = –0.527). Ktrans was weakly positively correlated with MK with an r of 0.398 and weakly negatively correlated with MD with an r of –0.450.Data ConclusionDKI is more valuable than conventional DWI in distinguishing between benign and malignant breast lesions. DKI exhibits promise as a quantitative technique to augment quantitative DCE‐MRI. Diffusion parameters derived from DKI were statistically correlated with perfusion parameters from quantitative DCE‐MRI.Level of Evidence: 3Technical Efficacy: Stage 2J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;47:1358–1366.
Implicitly enriched Galerkin methods for numerical solutions of fourth‐order partial differential equations containing singularities
Authors: Kim Sinae , Oh Hae‐Soo , Palta Birce , Kim Hyunju 
Published: May 2018

Highlights are the following:

For any integer , we construct ‐continuous partition of unity (PU) functions with flat‐top from B‐spline functions to have numerical solutions of fourth‐order equations with singularities. B‐spline functions are modified to satisfy clamped boundary conditions.
To handle singularity arising in fourth‐order elliptic differential equations, these modified B‐spline functions are enriched either by introducing enrichment basis functions implicitly through particular geometric mappings or by adding singular basis functions explicitly.
To show the effectiveness of the proposed implicit enrichment methods (mapping method), the accuracy, the number of degrees of freedom (DOF), and matrix condition numbers are computed and compared in the h‐refinement, the p‐refinement, and the k‐refinement of the approximation space of B‐spline basis functions.
Using Partition of unity (PU) functions with flat‐top, B‐spline functions are modified to satisfy boundary conditions of the fourth‐order equations. Since the standard isogeometric analysis (IGA) as well as the conventional FEM have limitations in handling fourth‐order differential equations containing singularities, we consider two enrichment methods (explicit and implicit) in the framework of the p‐, the k, and the h‐refinements of IGA. We demonstrate that both enrichment methods yield good approximate solutions, but explicit enrichment methods give large (almost singular) matrix condition numbers and face integrating singular functions. Because of these limitations of external enrichment methods, we extensively investigate implicit enrichment methods (mapping methods) that virtually convert fourth‐order elliptic problems with singularities to problems with no influence of the singularities. Effectiveness of the proposed mapping method extensively tested to one‐dimensional fourth‐order equation with singularities. The implicit enrichment (mapping) method is extended to the two‐dimensional cases and test it to fourth‐order partial differential equations on cracked domains.
Synthesis of chromophores and polyimides with a green chemistry approach for second‐order nonlinear optical applications
Authors: Doddamani Radha V. , Tasaganva Raghavendra G. , Inamdar Sanjeev R. , Kariduraganavar Mahadevappa Y. 
Published: May 2018

This article presents the synthesis of nonlinear optical responsive chromophores by adopting a green chemistry approach by coupling N‐methyl‐N‐(2‐hydroxyethyl)‐4‐amino benzaldehyde with barbituric acid, 1,3‐indanedione, and 1,3‐diethyl‐2‐thiobarbituric acid as the acceptors through stilbene linkage. We performed the synthesis in less than 10 minutes at room temperature with water as a solvent without catalyst. Two different side‐chain polyimides were synthesized from poly(hydroxy‐imide)s with chromophores by Mitsunobu reaction. The chromophores were characterized by Fourier transform infrared, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and elemental analysis. However, the polyimides were characterized by Fourier transform infrared and 1H NMR. The inherent viscosities (ηinh) of polyimides were determined by Ubbelohde viscometer, which ranged between 0.1793 and 0.1890 dL/g. The molecular weights of the polyimides were determined using gel permeation chromatography and were in range of 23 000 to 26 000. Polyimides demonstrated an excellent solubility in polar aprotic solvents, indicating good processability. Thermal behavior of these polyimides was studied by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. The Tg's were in the range of 185°C to 255°C. The change in the molecular orientation in the polymer films after electrical poling was ascertained using ultraviolet‐visible spectrophotometer and atomic force microscopy. The thicknesses and refractive indices of the thin films were determined by an ellipsometer. The second harmonic generation coefficients of the corona‐poled polymer films at Topt's, determined by the Maker fringe technique, ranged between 59.33 and 77.82 pm/V. High thermal endurance observed for the polyimides is attributed to the extensive hydrogen bonds in the matrix. The developed polyimides showed no decay in second harmonic generation signals below 110°C, indicating the acceptance for nonlinear optical devices.
Mikromaschinen für die Medizin
Authors: Rahmer Jürgen , Gleich Bernhard 
Published: May 2018

ZusammenfassungMagnetfelder haben großes Potenzial zur Steuerung von Mikromaschinen und Implantaten im menschlichen Körper. Die Kombination aus homogenen und inhomogenen Magnetfeldern erlaubt eine räumlich selektive Kontrolle von identischen magnetischen Mikromaschinen. Damit können einzelne Mitglieder einer Gruppe von Maschinen individuell angesteuert werden, was neue Möglichkeiten in der lokalen Therapie eröffnen kann. Das Grundprinzip der Steuerung beruht auf rotierenden Magnetfeldern. Es lässt sich sehr einfach mit Hilfe von Dauermagneten demonstrieren.
A scoping review of studies exploring physical activity among adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer
Authors: Brunet Jennifer , Wurz Amanda , Shallwani Shirin M. 
Published: May 2018

AbstractObjectivePhysical activity can improve health, functional capacity, and quality of life among children and adults diagnosed with cancer. Physical activity may also offer important benefits to adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer (AYAs). We conducted a scoping review to: determine the extent, range, and nature of published studies on physical activity among AYAs; identify knowledge gaps; and provide directions for future research.MethodsWe searched 4 electronic databases for published studies. Two authors independently scanned the titles, abstracts, and full‐texts against inclusion criteria: original research with humans, published in an English‐language peer‐reviewed journal, ≥50% of participants were diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 15 and 39 years, and included at least 1 measure of physical activity behavior. Data were extracted from studies meeting these criteria and subsequently summarized narratively.ResultsOur search yielded 4729 articles; 32 met inclusion criteria. These included 18 cross‐sectional and 4 longitudinal studies that explored descriptive (ie, sociodemographic or medical), physical, personal/psychological, social, other health behaviors, and/or other factors as antecedents or correlates of physical activity. The remaining 10 were intervention studies that focused on changing physical activity behavior or on testing the effects of physical activity.ConclusionsWe can conclude that physical activity is not well researched among AYAs. More high‐quality research adopting longitudinal or intervention study designs that incorporate a range of descriptive, physical, personal/psychological, social, and environmental measures are warranted to better inform the development of behavior change interventions as well as to establish the benefits of physical activity for AYAs.
Utilization of health care services in cancer patients with elevated fear of cancer recurrence
Authors: Champagne Alexandra , Ivers Hans , Savard Josée 
Published: May 2018

AbstractBackgroundCancer patients commonly report experiencing fear of cancer recurrence (FCR), which may lead to several negative consequences. This study aimed at examining whether clinical levels of FCR are linked to a greater use of health care services.MethodThis is a secondary analysis of a longitudinal study of 962 cancer patients on the epidemiology of cancer‐related insomnia. They completed the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory—Short form (FCRI‐SF) and reported information on their consultations (medical, psychosocial, and complementary and alternative medicine [CAM]) and medication usage (anxiolytics/hypnotics and antidepressants) at 6 time points over an 18‐month period.ResultsResults indicated that clinical FCR at baseline was associated with greater consultation rates of medical and psychosocial professionals and a greater usage of anxiolytics/hypnotics and antidepressants. No significant association was found between the FCR level and use of CAM services. While consultation rates of medical and CAM professionals and usage of antidepressants generally increased over time, consultation rates of psychosocial professionals and usage of anxiolytics/hypnotics tended to decrease.ConclusionsCancer patients with clinical levels of FCR are more likely to consult health care providers and to use psychotropic medications, which may translate into significant costs for society and the patients themselves.
Accurate spectroscopic constants of the lowest three electronic states in halonitrenes with multireference configuration interaction
Authors: Shan Shimin , Yin Shuang , Lian Yi , Xu Haifeng , Yan Bing 
Published: May 2018

AbstractInternally contracted multireference configuration interaction (icMRCI) calculations of the ground state (X3Σ−), the first excited state (a1Δ) as well as the second excited state (b1Σ+) have been performed for a series of halogenated nitrenes NXs (X = Cl, Br, and I). Accurate spectroscopic constants of these lowest three electronic states of each NX were obtained in this work using MRCI methods with aug‐cc‐pVXZ (X = T, Q, 5) basis sets and complete basis set (CBS) limit. In addition, various corrections, including the Davidson correction, scalar relativistic effect, core‐valence correlation, and spin‐orbit coupling effect, have been studied in calculating spectroscopic constants, especially for heavy‐atom nitrenes. Comparisons have been made with previous computational and experimental results where available. The icMRCI + Q calculations presented in this work provide a comprehensive series of results at a consistent high level of theory for all of the halogenated nitrenes.
Using integrated modeling to support the global eradication of vaccine‐preventable diseases
Authors: Duintjer Tebbens Radboud J. , Thompson Kimberly M. 
Published: May 2018

AbstractThe long‐term management of global disease eradication initiatives involves numerous inherently dynamic processes, health and economic trade‐offs, significant uncertainty and variability, rare events with big consequences, complex and interrelated decisions, and a requirement for cooperation among a large number of stakeholders. Over the course of more than 16 years of collaborative modeling efforts to support the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we developed increasingly complex integrated system dynamics models that combined numerous analytical approaches, including differential equation‐based modeling, risk and decision analysis, discrete‐event and individual‐based simulation, probabilistic uncertainty and sensitivity analysis, health economics and optimization. We discuss the central role of systems thinking and system dynamics in the overall effort and the value of integrating different modeling approaches to appropriately address the trade‐offs involved in some of the policy questions. We discuss practical challenges of integrating different analytical tools and we provide our perspective on the future of integrated modeling.Copyright © 2018 System Dynamics Society
Anisotropic Strain Relaxation of Graphene by Corrugation on Copper Crystal Surfaces
Authors: Deng Bing , Wu Juanxia , Zhang Shishu , Qi Yue , Zheng Liming , Yang Hao , Tang Jilin , Tong Lianming , Zhang Jin , Liu Zhongfan , Peng Hailin 
Published: May 2018

AbstractCorrugation is a ubiquitous phenomenon for graphene grown on metal substrates by chemical vapor deposition, which greatly affects the electrical, mechanical, and chemical properties. Recent years have witnessed great progress in controlled growth of large graphene single crystals; however, the issue of surface roughness is far from being addressed. Here, the corrugation at the interface of copper (Cu) and graphene, including Cu step bunches (CuSB) and graphene wrinkles, are investigated and ascribed to the anisotropic strain relaxation. It is found that the corrugation is strongly dependent on Cu crystallographic orientations, specifically, the packed density and anisotropic atomic configuration. Dense Cu step bunches are prone to form on loose packed faces due to the instability of surface dynamics. On an anisotropic Cu crystal surface, Cu step bunches and graphene wrinkles are formed in two perpendicular directions to release the anisotropic interfacial stress, as revealed by morphology imaging and vibrational analysis. Cu(111) is a suitable crystal face for growth of ultraflat graphene with roughness as low as 0.20 nm. It is believed the findings will contribute to clarifying the interplay between graphene and Cu crystal faces, and reducing surface roughness of graphene by engineering the crystallographic orientation of Cu substrates.
A new species of burnetiid (Therapsida, Burnetiamorpha) from the early Wuchiapingian of South Africa and implications for the evolutionary ecology of the family Burnetiidae
Authors: Day Michael O. , Smith Roger M. H. , Benoit Julien , Fernandez Vincent , Rubidge Bruce S. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractBurnetiidae is a family of basal therapsids that is known from sequences of late Permian (Lopingian) age from southern and eastern Africa and European Russia. Recent discoveries of related genera within the broader clade Burnetiamorpha have added to our understanding of morphological variation in the group but have eroded the list of characters defining the family Burnetiidae. We describe a new burnetiid taxon, Leucocephalus wewersi gen. et sp. nov., and argue that Burnetiidae can be defined by, among other characters, the presence of two bosses on the ventrolateral surface of suborbital bar and zygomatic arch, high skull angulation between the orbits, and a median frontal crest that becomes wider and lower posteriorly. The new specimen was found in the early Wuchiapingian Tropidostoma Assemblage Zone of the Main Karoo Basin and, along with previous discoveries, indicates that the family reached its greatest diversity and abundance in the early Wuchiapingian. Diversity declined into the later Wuchiapingian and Changhsingian. Although the clade Burnetiamorpha, including the family Burnetiidae, contains at least 11 genera, each of these is exceptionally rare, with most represented by only one specimen. This could be attributed to a genuine ecological characteristic or may be the result of biogeographical factors, particularly if the Main Karoo Basin was on the periphery of their range.
Modelling the effects of environmental conditions on wind turbine failures
Authors: Reder Maik , Melero Julio J. 
Published: May 2018

AbstractOperation and maintenance is one of the main cost drivers of modern wind farms and has become an emerging field of research over the past years. Understanding the failure behaviour of wind turbines (WTs) can significantly enhance operation and maintenance processes and is essential for developing reliability and strategic maintenance models. Previous research has shown that especially the environmental conditions, to which the turbines are exposed to, affect their reliability drastically. This paper compares several advanced modelling techniques and proposes a novel approach to model WT system and component failures based on the site‐specific weather conditions. Furthermore, to avoid common problems in failure modelling, procedures for variable selection and complexity reduction are discussed and incorporated. This is applied to a big failure database comprised of 11 wind farms and 383 turbines. The results show that the model performs very well in several situations such as modelling general WT failures as well as failures of specific components. The latter is exemplified using gearbox failures.
Dynamical structure of Carrollian Electrodynamics
Authors: Basu Rudranil , Chowdhury Udit Narayan 
Published: May 2018

AbstractWe present an action of ultra-relativistic electrodynamics on a flat Carroll manifold. The model exhibits a couple of physical degrees of freedom per space-point. We observe that the action of the conformal Carroll algebra on the phase space is Hamiltonian in 4 space-time dimensions. Moreover the elements of the algebra give rise to an infinite number of conserved charges and the charge algebra is an exact realization of the kinematical algebra.