bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Analyzing patient‐reported outcome data when completion differs between arms in open‐label trials: an application of principal stratification
Authors: Roydhouse Jessica K. , Gutman Roee , Bhatnagar Vishal , Kluetz Paul G. , Sridhara Rajeshwari , Mishra‐Kalyani Pallavi S. 
Published: August 2019

AbstractPurposeCancer trials are often open‐label and include patient‐reported outcomes (PROs). Previous work has demonstrated that patients may complete PRO assessments less frequently in the control arm compared with the experimental arm in open‐label trials. Such differential completion may affect PRO results. This paper sought to explore principal stratification methodology to address potential bias caused by the posttreatment intermediate variable of questionnaire completion.MethodsWe evaluated six randomized trials (five open‐label and one double‐blind) of anticancer therapies with varying levels of PRO completion submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We applied complete case analysis (CCA), multiple imputation (MI), and principal stratification to evaluate PRO results for quality of life (QOL) and the domains of physical, role, and emotional function (PF, RF, and EF). Assignment to potential principal strata was by the expectation maximization algorithm using patient baseline characteristics.ResultsCompletion rates in the experimental arm ranged from 66% to 94% and 51% to 95% in the control arm. Four trials had negligible completion differences between arms (1%‐2%), and two had large differences favoring the experimental arm (15%‐17%). For trials with negligible completion differences, principal stratification results were similar to CCA and MI results for all domains. Notable differences in point estimates may be observed in trials with large differences in completion rates. However, in the examined trials, the confidence intervals for the principal stratification estimates overlapped with the ones obtained using CCA.ConclusionsThe principal stratification estimand may be a useful additional analysis, especially if PRO completion differs between arms.
Half a century of discontinuous permafrost persistence and degradation in western Canada
Authors: Holloway Jean E. , Lewkowicz Antoni G. 
Published: August 2019

AbstractLong‐term field studies of permafrost change are needed to validate predictive models but few are possible because of a paucity of direct observations prior to the late 1970s. To help fill this knowledge gap, we resurveyed a transect of 68 sites, originally investigated in 1962, to evaluate change in the isolated patches and sporadic discontinuous permafrost zones between Keg River, Alberta (57.8°N) and Hay River, Northwest Territories (60.8°N). The goal was to establish the degree of permafrost degradation due to approximately 2°C of regional climate warming over the intervening 55 years, compounded at some sites by forest fire. By 2017–2018, permafrost had degraded at 36% of the 44 sites which exhibited it in 1962, but had persisted at a minimum of 50% with a further 14% potentially retaining permafrost. This is much less degradation than reported for a 1988–1989 survey of the same transect. Permafrost was maintained under thicker organic layers (86% > 40 cm) and at the majority of sites with fine‐grained substrates, while degradation occurred preferentially at sites with coarse soils and thinner organic layers. Forest fire did not enhance the degree of permafrost loss, but greater frost table depths were observed at some burned locations. This study demonstrates that while the trajectory of change is towards permafrost loss, thin permafrost in the discontinuous zone can be persistent, even when disturbed. It also underlines the importance of considering the range of landscape types when projecting the rate of future permafrost thaw.
Neurofibromatosis type‐1‐associated diffuse lung disease in children
Authors: Spinnato Paolo , Facchini Giancarlo , Tetta Cecilia , Lotrecchiano Ludovica , Colangeli Marco , Bazzocchi Alberto , Albisinni Ugo , Cutrera Renato , Tomà Paolo , Bartoloni Alessandra 
Published: August 2019

AbstractObjective: The purpose of the study was to investigate the occurrence of diffuse lung disease associated with neurofibromatosis type‐1 in the pediatric population. We also aimed at evaluating computed tomography (CT) findings of the disease.Introduction: Diffuse lung disease associated with neurofibromatosis type‐1 has been described mainly in the adult population; causes and connections between lung disease and the genetic disorder are still not completely understood. The occurrence of the disease in non‐smokers, the presence of blebs, bullae or cysts distinct from smoking‐related emphysema on CT and the histopathological pattern characterized by lymphoplasmocytic inflammation and fibrosis, are all factors that support the association of diffuse lung disease as a distinct manifestation of neurofibromatosis.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed, with “lung window,” all the spinal CTs performed in two institutions from 2004 to 2018 for scoliosis assessment in pediatric patients affected by neurofibromatosis type‐1 (group 1). Moreover, we retrospectively analyzed a control group of pediatric patients, affected by severe scoliosis without neurofibromatosis (group 2). Differences between the two groups were analyzed to ascertain whether the disease can be related to neurofibromatosis type‐1 rather than to scoliosis.Results: Six out of thirty one subjects from group 1 (19.4%) showed a condition of diffuse lung disease while none (0 of 31) in group 2. The differences between the two groups were statistically significant (P = .01). All six patients showed subpleural blebs, bullae, or cysts without basilar fibrosis.Conclusion: Our research consolidates the hypothesis that diffuse lung disease is a direct manifestation of neurofibromatosis type‐1 and that early onset is possible, even in pediatric patients.
Effects of Crystal Quality and Morphology on the Mechanical Performance of LLM‐105 Based PBXs
Authors: Yang Zhijian , Lin Congmei , Gong Feiyan , Zeng Chengcheng , Zhang Jianhu , Huang Fenglei 
Published: August 2019

AbstractMechanical performance is significant for the application of pressed polymer bonded explosives (PBXs) materials. In this research, several types of 2,6‐diamino‐3,5‐dinitropyrazine‐1‐oxide (LLM‐105) were selected to study the effects of crystal quality and morphology on the mechanical performance of LLM‐105 based PBXs. The surface bonding status of the LLM‐105 crystal and molding powder was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and contact angle analysis, and the moldability was evaluated by determining the relative density of pressed cylinders of corresponding PBXs. Besides, static and dynamic mechanical properties were studied and compared, presenting the compressive, tensile and creep curves. For LLM‐105 based PBXs, spherical morphology and rough surface could result improved mechanical strength and creep resistance, facilitating the structural and dimensional stability of charges. In this case, it can bring benefits for their reliability and safety performances during application.
Synthesis and Energetic Properties of 1,3,7,9‐Tetranitrobenzo[c]Cinnoline‐5‐Oxide (TNBCO)
Authors: Gutowski Łukasz , Gołofit Tomasz , Trzciński Waldemar , Szala Mateusz 
Published: August 2019

AbstractNew and efficient method for synthesis of 1,3,7,9‐tetranitrobenzo[c]cinnoline‐5‐oxide (TNBCO) via direct nitration of benzo[c]cinnoline‐5‐oxide was described. TNBCO and precursor were fully characterized by using spectroscopic (IR, NMR) and thermal analysis methods (DTA/TG). Activation energy of decomposition process was calculated by using Kissinger's equation. Standard enthalpy of formation was calculated by using experimentally determined heat of combustion. Detonation parameters were calculated with CHEETAH code and are comparable or higher than those known for E‐2,2’,4,4’,6,6’‐hexanitrostilbene (HNS) and 2,4,6‐trinitrotoluene (TNT).
Long‐duration fully autonomous operation of rotorcraft unmanned aerial systems for remote‐sensing data acquisition
Authors: Malyuta Danylo , Brommer Christian , Hentzen Daniel , Stastny Thomas , Siegwart Roland , Brockers Roland 
Published: August 2019

AbstractRecent applications of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to precision agriculture have shown increased ease and efficiency in data collection at precise remote locations. However, further enhancement of the field requires operation over long periods of time, for example, days or weeks. This has so far been impractical due to the limited flight times of such platforms and the requirement of humans in the loop for operation. To overcome these limitations, we propose a fully autonomous rotorcraft UAS that is capable of performing repeated flights for long‐term observation missions without any human intervention. We address two key technologies that are critical for such a system: full platform autonomy to enable mission execution independently from human operators and the ability of vision‐based precision landing on a recharging station for automated energy replenishment. High‐level autonomous decision making is implemented as a hierarchy of master and slave state machines. Vision‐based precision landing is enabled by estimating the landing pad's pose using a bundle of AprilTag fiducials configured for detection from a wide range of altitudes. We provide an extensive evaluation of the landing pad pose estimation accuracy as a function of the bundle's geometry. The functionality of the complete system is demonstrated through two indoor experiments with duration of 11 and 10.6 hr, and one outdoor experiment with a duration of 4 hr. The UAS executed 16, 48, and 22 flights, respectively, during these experiments. In the outdoor experiment, the ratio between flying to collect data and charging was 1–10, which is similar to past work in this domain. All flights were fully autonomous with no human in the loop. To our best knowledge, this is the first research publication about the long‐term outdoor operation of a quadrotor system with no human interaction.
Multi‐AUV motion planning for archeological site mapping and photogrammetric reconstruction
Authors: Wu Jane , Bingham Russell C. , Ting Samantha , Yager Kolton , Wood Zoë J. , Gambin Timmy , Clark Christopher M. 
Published: August 2019

AbstractThis paper presents coupled and decoupled multi‐autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) motion planning approaches for maximizing information gain. The work is motivated by applications in which multiple AUVs are tasked with obtaining video footage for the photogrammetric reconstruction of underwater archeological sites. Each AUV is equipped with a video camera and side‐scan sonar. The side‐scan sonar is used to initially collect low‐resolution data to construct an information map of the site. Coupled and decoupled motion planning approaches with respect to this map are presented. Both planning methods seek to generate multi‐AUV trajectories that capture close‐up video footage of a site from a variety of different viewpoints, building on prior work in single‐AUV rapidly exploring random tree (RRT) motion planning. The coupled and decoupled planners are compared in simulation. In addition, the multiple AUV trajectories constructed by each planner were executed at archeological sites located off the coast of Malta, albeit by a single‐AUV due to limited resources. Specifically, each AUV trajectory for a plan was executed in sequence instead of simultaneously. Modifications are also made by both planners to a baseline RRT algorithm. The results of the paper present a number of trade‐offs between the two planning approaches and demonstrate a large improvement in map coverage efficiency and runtime.
Water reclamation and reuse
Authors: Sun Huijuan , Zhang Huixin , Zou Xin , Li Ran , Liu Yang 
Published: August 2019

AbstractLiterature published in 2018 pertinent to water reclamation and reuse has been classified into five topics: safe reuse, treatment technologies, management, assessment, and case studies. Researches have been conducted to develop new technologies and improve conventional treatments for achieving sustainable wastewater reclamation, and increasing efforts have been made to facilitate safe water reuse.Practitioner Points

The way of publicity greatly influences people's acceptance of water reuse and willingness to purchase produce irrigated with recycled water.

Integrated process is the most commonly used treatment technology to reclaim water.

There is a lack of local or regional regulatory and policy for sustainable water management.
Mitigation techniques to reduce avian electrocution rates
Authors: Dixon Andrew , Rahman MD Lutfor , Galtbalt Batbayar , Bold Batbayar , Davaasuren Batmunkh , Batbayar Nyambayar , Sugarsaikhan Batkhuu 
Published: August 2019

ABSTRACTFrom August 2013, we undertook a 1‐year trial of mitigation techniques at an electricity power line in the Mongolian steppe with a high avian electrocution rate. We examined 2 mitigation methods at phase‐1 conductors on the top of power poles (i.e., reconfiguration of the insulator mount and insulation covers on the conductor wire) and 3 mitigation methods at phase‐2 and 3 conductors on pole cross‐arms (i.e., perch deflector brushes, rotating‐mirror perch deterrents, and insulation covers on the conductor wires). The perch management techniques selected for the trial are currently widely adopted by power line managers in Mongolia. In comparison with the control, with no mitigation, electrocution rates were reduced both by the reconfiguration of insulator mounts and insulation of conductor wires at phase‐1, though the reduction was greater for the former—73% mean reduction for reconfigured mounts and 59% for insulation covers. Electrocution rates were reduced by the placement of rotating‐mirrors and insulation of conductor wires at phases 2 and 3, with the reduction being greater for the former—91% mean reduction for mirrors and 66% for insulation covers. Deployment of metal perch deflector brushes at phases 2 and 3 had no effect on electrocution rates and should not be used as mitigation. Most electrocutions occurred at phase 1 on the top of the pole, indicating that mitigation should be prioritized at this phase. In terms of cost and efficacy, reconfigured mounts represented the best option as a permanent fix at phase 1. At phases on cross‐arms, the relative merits of mirrors and insulation covers need to be assessed over a longer period, and these temporary mitigation measures should be compared with alternative permanent fixes. © 2019 The Wildlife Society.
The impact of obesity and smoking on young individuals suffering from lumbar disc herniation: a retrospective analysis of 97 cases
Authors: Lener Sara , Wipplinger Christoph , Hartmann Sebastian , Thomé Claudius , Tschugg Anja 
Published: August 2019

Abstract
The negative impact on spinal diseases may apply not only to obesity but also to smoking. To investigate the influence of obesity and smoking on the development and recovery of lumbar disc herniation in young adults. Retrospective analysis of 97 patients who presented with lumbar disc herniation at the authors’ department between 2010 and 2017. Data were collected using the patients’ digital health records including demographics, clinical and neurological characteristics, treatment details, and outcomes. Ninety-seven patients between 17 and 25 years were included in this retrospective analysis. Patients were categorized into two groups according to their body mass index: obese (O, ≥ 30 kg/m2) and non-obese (NO, < 30 kg/m2). The proportion of obese patients in our cohort vs. in the overall population differed significantly (19.4% vs. 3.8–7.1%, RR 3.17; p < 0.01). Group NO showed a trend toward faster recovery of motor deficits (p = 0.067) and pain (p = 0.074). Also, the proportion of regular smokers differed significantly from the numbers of known smokers of the same age (62.4% vs. 30.2%, RR 2.0; p = 0.01). Obesity plus smoking showed a significantly negative impact on motor deficits postoperatively (p = 0.015) and at discharge (p = 0.025), as well as on pain values (p = 0.037) and on analgesic consumption (p = 0.034) at 6 weeks follow-up. The negative impact of obesity and smoking on the occurrence of lumbar disc herniation could be demonstrated for individuals aged 25 or younger. Furthermore, a trend to earlier recovery of motor deficits and significantly lower pain scales for non-obese and non-smoking patients could be shown.
A Multi-grained Log Auditing Scheme for Cloud Data Confidentiality
Authors: Yang Zhen , Wang Wenyu , Huang Yongfeng , Li Xing 
Published: August 2019

AbstractWith increasing number of cloud data leakage accidents exposed, outsourced data control becomes a more and more serious concern of their owner. To relieve the concern of these cloud users, reliable logging schemes are widely used to generate proof for data confidentiality auditing. However, high frequency operation and fine operation granularity on cloud data both result in a considerably large volume of operation logs, which burdens communication and computation in log auditing. This paper proposes a multi-grained log auditing scheme to make logs volume smaller and log auditing more efficient. We design a logging mechanism to support multi-grained data access with Merkle Hash Tree structure. Based on multi-grained log, we present a log auditing approach to achieve data confidentiality auditing and leakage investigation by making an Access List. Experiments results indicate that our scheme obtains about 54% log volume and 60% auditing time of fine-grained log auditing scheme in our scenario.
Improving employees' cyber security awareness
Authors: Kemper Grayson 
Published: August 2019

In 2019, employees still aren't convinced about their company's vulnerability to cybercrimes. While immensely frustrating for employers, employees’ disposition on this matter aligns with the general public's unawareness or failure to address data security. Employees still aren't convinced about their company's vulnerability to cybercrime, and this aligns with the general public's unawareness or failure to address data security. Employees are the primary vulnerability at a company, regardless of the size or scale. To reduce the risk they pose to your company's security, consider creative ways to engage and encourage employees to proactively contribute to your cyber security. Starting from the top of your organisation, design a cyber security policy and compliance plan that educates and incentivises employees to learn and follow security best practices, says Grayson Kemper of Clutch.
A Review on the Comparison of Different Treatments for Carotid In-Stent Restenosis
Authors: He Chizhong , Wang Shuo , Zhou Xiaohong , Yang Zhexian 
Published: August 2019

ABSTRACT:Different treatment options for carotid in-stent restenosis (ISR) have been reported with good outcome, including carotid endarterectomy (CEA), repeated carotid angioplasty stenting (CAS) and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) with drug-coated balloons (DCBs). However, the optimal treatment option for ISR has not yet been determined. A systematic literature search was performed in the databases of Medline, Embase, Cochrane library, and unpublished data from clinicaltrials.gov from 1990 to March 1, 2019. Studies were enrolled if they reported treatment strategies for carotid ISR treatment and met the inclusion criteria. After study inclusions, data were extracted and summarized. Totally 25 cross-sectional studies were included, containing 5 comparative studies, 16 studies using repeated PTA, and 4 studies adopting CEA treatment. Our study summarized the current available data, showing that all the studies could effectively relieve the carotid ISR by significantly improving the angiographic stenosis and decreasing the peak systolic velocity values. Meanwhile, CEA treatment had the best long-term effects in relieving restenosis, while re-PTA with stenting/balloon angioplasty had a certain rate of restenosis, ranging from 33% to 83%. Furthermore, re-PTA/stenting and balloon angioplasty treatment had less complications compared with CEA. Also, we analyzed the risk factors that might affect the long-term prognosis of carotid ISR patients. The therapeutic measures for carotid ISR had their own features, with CEA had the highest efficacy while re-PTA/stenting and balloon angioplasty were with less complications. More large-scale comparative clinical studies are needed to further ascertain the best strategies.
Plummeting and blinking eigenvalues of the Robin Laplacian in a cuspidal domain
Authors: Nazarov Sergei A. , Popoff Nicolas , Taskinen Jari 
Published: August 2019

We consider the Robin Laplacian in the domains Ω and Ωε, ε > 0, with sharp and blunted cusps, respectively. Assuming that the Robin coefficient a is large enough, the spectrum of the problem in Ω is known to be residual and to cover the whole complex plane, but on the contrary, the spectrum in the Lipschitz domain Ωε is discrete. However, our results reveal the strange behaviour of the discrete spectrum as the blunting parameter ε tends to 0: we construct asymptotic forms of the eigenvalues and detect families of ‘hardly movable’ and ‘plummeting’ ones. The first type of the eigenvalues do not leave a small neighbourhood of a point for any small ε > 0 while the second ones move at a high rate O(| ln ε|) downwards along the real axis ℝ to −∞. At the same time, any point λ ∈ ℝ is a ‘blinking eigenvalue’, i.e., it belongs to the spectrum of the problem in Ωε almost periodically in the | ln ε|-scale. Besides standard spectral theory, we use the techniques of dimension reduction and self-adjoint extensions to obtain these results.
Functional differences betweenl- andd-carnitine in metabolic regulation evaluated using a low-carnitine Nile tilapia model
Authors: Li Jia-Min , Li Ling-Yu , Zhang Yu-Xue , Jiang Zhe-Yue , Limbu Samwel M. , Qiao Fang , Degrace Pascal , Chen Li-Qiao , Zhang Mei-Ling , Du Zhen-Yu 
Published: August 2019

Abstractl-Carnitine is essential for mitochondrialβ-oxidation and has been used as a lipid-lowering feed additive in humans and farmed animals.d-Carnitine is an optical isomer ofl-carnitine anddl-carnitine has been widely used in animal feeds. However, the functional differences betweenl- andd-carnitine are difficult to study because of the endogenousl-carnitine background. In the present study, we developed a low-carnitine Nile tilapia model by treating fish with a carnitine synthesis inhibitor, and used this model to investigate the functional differences betweenl- andd-carnitine in nutrient metabolism in fish.l- ord-carnitine (0·4 g/kg diet) was fed to the low-carnitine tilapia for 6 weeks.l-Carnitine feeding increased the acyl-carnitine concentration from 3522 to 10 822 ng/g and alleviated the lipid deposition from 15·89 to 11·97 % in the liver of low-carnitine tilapia. However, as compared withl-carnitine group,d-carnitine feeding reduced the acyl-carnitine concentration from 10 822 to 5482 ng/g, and increased lipid deposition from 11·97 to 20·21 % and the mRNA expression of the genes involved inβ-oxidation and detoxification in the liver.d-Carnitine feeding also induced hepatic inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis. A metabolomic investigation further showed thatd-carnitine feeding increased glycolysis, protein metabolism and activity of the tricarboxylic acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. Thus,l-carnitine can be physiologically utilised in fish, whereasd-carnitine is metabolised as a xenobiotic and induces lipotoxicity.d-Carnitine-fed fish demonstrates increases in peroxisomalβ-oxidation, glycolysis and amino acid degradation to maintain energy homeostasis. Therefore,d-carnitine is not recommended for use in farmed animals.