bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Meta-analysis of mortality-associated factors in primary Sjögren’s syndrome patients with interstitial lung disease
Authors: Pang Ruochen , Ma Xiaopeng , Guo Huifang , Qi Xuan 
Published: October 2024

Abstract
The study aims to conduct a meta-analysis on 5-year survival rate and mortality-related factors in the patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome concomitant with interstitial lung disease (pSS-ILD). Following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, we searched various platforms and databases until November 22, 2023. We used the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS) for quality assessment and extracted study characteristics and effect sizes. The pooled 5-year survival rate, hazard ratios (HRs), and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were then calculated. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Patients with pSS-ILD. Mortality in patients with pSS-ILD. Out of 188 articles, seven met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis estimated a 5-year survival rate of 82% (73%-91%). Mortality-related factors estimated by the meta-analysis included older age (HRs = 1.06, 95% CI 1.03–1.09, P < 0.0001), history of smoking (HRs = 3.44, 95% CI 2.14–5.53, P < 0.00001), anti-SSA antibody positivity (HRs = 0.41, 95% CI 0.20–0.85, P = 0.02), anti-SSB antibody positivity (HRs = 0.42, 95% CI 0.18–0.98, P = 0.04), reduced forced vital capacity (FVC; HRs = 0.96, 95% CI 0.95–0.98, P < 0.0001), reduced 6-min walk distance (6MWD; HRs = 0.99, 95% CI 0.99–1.00, P = 0.0008), presence of a reticular abnormality (HRs = 3.03, 95% CI 1.54–5.95, P = 0.001), and decreased arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) levels (HRs = 0.99, 95% CI 0.97–1.00, P = 0.04). The 5-year survival rate for pSS-ILD is 82%. Older age, history of smoking, anti-SSA antibody negativity, anti-SSB antibody negativity, reduced FVC, reduced 6MWD, presence of a reticular abnormality, and decreased PaO2 levels increase the mortality risk in pSS-ILD.
Trajectories and drivers signalling the end of agricultural abandonment in Trás-os-Montes, Portugal
Authors: Imbrechts Lien , Azevedo João C. , Verburg Peter 
Published: October 2024

AbstractAgricultural abandonment has given rise to novel landscape dynamics worldwide. This paper investigates abandonment and post-abandonment dynamics in continental Portugal as a hotspot of landscape change. We mapped the spatial patterns and drivers of recent (1995–2018) land use changes in a remote mountainous region as post-abandonment trajectories, based on detailed land use/land cover data made available by the Portuguese government. We showed that ‘Revegetation’ trajectories, indicative of agricultural abandonment, were still widespread between 1995 and 2007. However, between 2007 and 2018, the landscape was much more stable with ‘Return to agriculture’ as the dominant change trajectory. To understand what drives landscape changes after abandonment, we explored the influence of a wide range of potential biogeophysical and socio-economic drivers on the observed trajectories. We contrasted different landscape outcomes in binary logistic regression models with the potential underlying drivers as independent variables. The regressions revealed that the most significant determinants of these alternating dynamics are existing land use, climate, slope, protection regime and accessibility. The results of the regressions are at times counterintuitive and give important indications of the changing spatio-temporal scales at which these variables exert influence on the landscape outcomes. However, the regression models’ limited accuracies highlight the need for deeper investigation of the socio-economic and historic context of the observed changes. Improved understanding of the (drivers of) alternative dynamics following agricultural abandonment can help inform policy decisions regarding agriculture and cultural landscape preservation.
Regular Polygonal Vortex Filament Evolution and Exponential Sums
Authors: Chamizo Fernando , de la Hoz Francisco 
Published: October 2024

AbstractWhen taking a regular planar polygon of $M$
M
sides and length $2\pi $
2
π
as the initial datum of the vortex filament equation, $\mathbf{X}_{t}= \mathbf{X}_{s}\wedge \mathbf{X}_{ss}$

X
t

=

X
s

∧

X

s
s

, the solution becomes polygonal at times of the form $t_{pq} = (p/q)(2\pi /M^{2})$

t

p
q

=
(
p
/
q
)
(
2
π
/

M
2

)
, with $\gcd (p,q)=1$
gcd
(
p
,
q
)
=
1
, and the corresponding polygon has $Mq$
M
q
sides, if $q$
q
is odd, and $Mq/2$
M
q
/
2
sides, if $q$
q
is even. Moreover, that polygon is skew (except when $q = 1$
q
=
1
or $q = 2$
q
=
2
, where the initial shape is recovered), and the angle $\rho $
ρ
between two adjacent sides is a constant. In this paper, we give a rigorous proof of the conjecture that states that, at a time $t_{pq}$

t

p
q

, $\cos ^{q}(\rho /2) = \cos (\pi /M)$

cos
q

(
ρ
/
2
)
=
cos
(
π
/
M
)
, if $q$
q
is odd, and $\cos ^{q}(\rho /2) = \cos ^{2}(\pi /M)$

cos
q

(
ρ
/
2
)
=

cos
2

(
π
/
M
)
, if $q$
q
is even. Since the transition of one side of the polygon to the next one is given by a rotation in $\mathbb{R}^{3}$

R
3

determined by a generalized Gauss sum, the idea of the proof consists in showing that a certain product of those rotations is a rotation of angle $2\pi /M$
2
π
/
M
, which is equivalent to proving that some exponential sums with arithmetic content are purely imaginary.
Anti-ovarian cancer migration and toxicity characteristics of a platinum(IV) pro-drug with axial HDAC inhibitor ligands in zebrafish models
Authors: Begum Salma , Irvin Scheldon D. , Cox Carol K. , Huang Zhouyang , Wilson Justin J. , Monroe Jerry D. , Gibert Yann 
Published: October 2024

SummaryOvarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer related death in the United States. Cisplatin is a platinum-based anti-cancer drug used against ovarian cancer that enters malignant cells and then damages DNA causing cell death. Typically, ovarian cancer cells become resistant to cisplatin making it necessary to increase subsequent dosage, which usually leads to side-effects including irreversible damage to kidney and auditory system tissue. Ovarian cancer resistance is often associated with upregulation of histone deacetylase (HDAC) enzymes that cause DNA to adopt a closed configuration which reduces the ability of cisplatin to target and damage DNA. Compound B, a platinum(IV) complex with two axial phenylbutyrate (PBA) HDAC inhibitor ligands attached to a cisplatin core, can simultaneously inhibit HDAC activity and damage DNA causing decreased cancer cell viability in cisplatin-sensitive (A2780) and -resistant (A2780cis) ovarian cancer cell lines. However, compound B was not previously evaluated in vivo. As simultaneously inhibiting HDAC-mediated resistance with cisplatin treatment could potentiate the platinum drug’s effect, we first confirmed the anti-cancer effect of compound B in the A2780 and A2780cis cell lines using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide spectrophotometric assay. Then, we used zebrafish embryo and transgenic animal models to comparatively analyze the effect of cisplatin, compound B, and controls on general organismal, auditory, and renal system toxicity, and cancer metastasis. We found that lower dosages of compound B (0.3 or 0.6 µM) than of cisplatin (2.0 µM) could cause similar or decreased levels of general, auditory, and renal tissue toxicity, and at 0.6 µM, compound B reduces cancer metastasis more than 2.0 µM cisplatin.
Higher education in Nordic countries: analyzing the construction of policy futures
Authors: Kallo Johanna , Välimaa Jussi 
Published: October 2024

Abstract
In this special issue, we analyze how societies in different countries have responded and continue to respond to the fact that the future is and has always been unpredictable and unforeseeable. The starting point for these studies is the recognition that the world situation is more complex than ever before due to current and foreseeable global challenges. The most serious of these threats and challenges are climate crises, natural disasters, and habitat degradation. To address the growing uncertainties arising from these challenges, societies around the world are placing increasing expectations on higher education and science, and are adopting proactive measures, such as various foresight techniques, to improve their preparedness and long-term resilience. In this special issue, we aim to provide fresh perspectives on foresight and preparedness for the future, especially in the Nordic context in the fields of higher education and scientific research. The special issue focuses on four Nordic countries—Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden—while maintaining a global perspective on the changes occurring around them.
Raising Awareness of Plant Biodiversity and Combating Zoocentrism with Citizen Science: A Case Study of Undergraduate Students Pursuing Animal-Related Degrees in Northeast Brazil
Authors: Forti Lucas Rodriguez , Szabo Judit K. 
Published: October 2024

AbstractLow plant awareness has been described for the general public, academics, and students from elementary to university level. Here we describe the proportion of plants in biodiversity inventories conducted by 110 undergraduate students enrolled in animal-related degrees at a rural Brazilian university. Observations were collected during three practical courses and were submitted to a global citizen-science platform. Students collected a predetermined number of observations in three months, which probably contributed to the similar temporal patterns of animal and plant observations. In total, plants represented 60% of observations and plants-to-animals ratio per student was not affected by gender. While plants were better represented, most observations depicted planted urban trees and other cultivated or potted plants. Being sessile, plants are easier to observe and photograph than animals. Using a citizen-science platform can increase perception of plants as an essential part of local biodiversity, building a better ground for global plant conservation.
Quality of life after stereotactic radiosurgery for brain metastasis: an assessment from a prospective national registry
Authors: Pham Duy Q. , Sheehan Darrah E. , Sheehan Kimball A. , Katsos Konstantinos , Fadul Camilo E. 
Published: October 2024

Abstract
Purpose
Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is frequently used in the management of brain metastasis patients. However, there is an urgent need to evaluate post-treatment outcomes and quality of life metrics for patients undergoing SRS for brain metastases.

Methods
The NeuroPoint Alliance (NPA) SRS Quality Registry conducted prospective enrollment of patients undergoing SRS from 2017 to 2024. Patients with brain metastases from lung cancer, breast cancer, and melanoma were included in the analysis. Outcomes of interest included quality of life metrics, as captured by the five-dimension Euro-QOL (EQ-5D) at 6–12 months and last record follow-up, overall survival, local progression, out-of-field progression, and overall intracranial progression.

Results
522 patients comprised our analytic cohort, and 315 patients had available EQ-5D data at the time of SRS and final follow-up. 264 (47.8%), 197 (35.7%), and 91 (16.5%) patients had 1, 2–4, and 5–14 lesions pre-SRS, respectively. The median overall survival time from diagnosis was 27.3 months. The median time-to-local progression was not reached. At final follow-up, 107 (34.0%) patients had improvement, 51 (16.2%) patients had stable, and 113 patients (35.9%) had worsening EQ-5D scores when compared to baseline. For 44 (13.9%) patients mixed responses across the EQ-5D indices were reported. Linear regression analysis showed that male sex, smoking status, primary tumor type, time-to-overall progression, cumulative intracranial tumor volume (CITV), and baseline EQ-5D were statistically significantly associated with EQ-5D single index at the final follow-up.

Conclusion
Real-world data from the SRS NPA Registry demonstrated that most patients with brain metastasis had no change or improvement in quality of life after SRS. Baseline EQ-5D was predictive of EQ-5D single index at final follow-up, and, as such, EQ-5D at baseline would be a valuable assessment measure for brain metastasis patients undergoing SRS.
Science losing its way: examples from the realm of microbial N2-fixation in cereals and other non-legumes
Authors: Giller Ken E. , James Euan K. , Ardley Julie , Unkovich Murray J. 
Published: October 2024

Abstract

Background
Despite more than 50 years of research, no robust evidence suggests that inoculation of cereals and other non-legumes with free-living and/or endophytic bacteria leads to fixation of agronomically significant quantities of dinitrogen gas (N2) from the atmosphere. A plethora of new products claims to increase the growth and yields of major cereals and other crops through stimulating N2-fixation by inoculating with bacteria.

Scope
We review the literature on N2-fixation by bacteria in the rhizosphere and as endophytes in non-legume plants. We find no unequivocal evidence that these bacteria fix agriculturally significant amounts of N2 from the atmosphere in non-legumes. Research since the 1930s has followed repeated, overlapping cycles that have concluded that plant-growth-promoting hormones were the primary reason for crop response to microbial inoculants.

Conclusion
We contend that regulations are required to prevent the sale of inoculant products with unsubstantiated and spurious claims. Such regulations should require that unequivocal evidence is provided and independently verified, that: (i) the inoculant bacterium can fix N2 from the atmosphere (i.e. that it possesses all the genes required to make nitrogenase), (ii) it has a clear mechanism to protect nitrogenase from poisoning by free oxygen, (iii) the bacterium is present in sufficient numbers throughout the growth cycle of the plant, (iv) that enhanced respiration can be detected from the putative N2-fixing tissues, (v) that inoculation of the non-legume growing in an N-free medium leads to prolific growth and accumulation of nitrogen, and (vi) more than one method is used to confirm quantitatively significant inputs from N2-fixation in the field.
Survey response rates in European comparative surveys: a 20-year decline irrespective of sampling frames or survey modes
Authors: Jabkowski Piotr , Cichocki Piotr 
Published: October 2024

AbstractThis paper assesses trends in three survey outcome rates within four prominent crossnationalcomparative surveys conducted in European countries in the 21st century: theEuropean Quality of Life Survey, the European Social Survey, the European ValuesStudy, and the International Social Survey Programme. These projects are recognisedfor their high-quality sampling and fieldwork procedures, extensive track records, andcommitment to rigorous methodological standards. The analysis is based on 753national surveys conducted on probability samples of the general population in 36European countries from 1999 to 2018. We investigated whether two essential surveycharacteristics, namely sampling frames and data collection modes, moderated thedecrease of survey outcome rates over time. To analyse these relationships, thesurvey year was included as the explanatory variable, and we applied multi-level linearregressions with surveys nested within countries. Additionally, the project name wasincorporated as a fixed factor, and the sampling frame and mode of data collectionwere control variables for the effect of time. Our study provides valuable insights intothe challenges of conducting high-quality Pan-European cross-national comparativesurveys over nearly two decades. We observed a consistent decline in survey outcomerates, irrespective of country or project. Neither the sampling frame nor the datacollection mode moderated this decline. Hence, even though personal register samplesand Face-to-Face interviews are often regarded as enhancements to overall surveyquality, their application does not effectively counter the factors causing a decline insurvey outcome rates.
Implicit knowledge in unawareness structures
Authors: Belardinelli Gaia , Schipper Burkhard C. 
Published: October 2024

AbstractAwareness structures by Fagin, Halpern (Artif Intell 34:39–76, 1988) (FH) feature a syntactic awareness correspondence and accessibility relations modeling implicit knowledge. They are a flexible model of unawareness, and best interpreted from an outside modeler’s perspective. Unawareness structures by Heifetz et al. (J Econ Theory, 130:78–94, 2006, Games Econ Behav 62:305–324, 2008) (HMS) model awareness by a lattice of state spaces and explicit knowledge via possibility correspondences. Sublattices thereof can be interpreted as subjective views of agents. Open questions include (1) how implicit knowledge can be defined in HMS structures, and (2) in which way FH structures can be extended to model the agents’ subjective views. In this paper, we address (1) by defining implicit knowledge such that it is consistent with explicit knowledge in HMS models. We also introduce a variant of HMS models that instead of explicit knowledge, takes implicit knowledge and awareness as primitives. Further, we address (2) by introducing a category of FH models that are modally equivalent relative to sublanguages and can be interpreted as agents’ subjective views depending on their awareness. These constructions allow us to show an equivalence between HMS and FH models. As a corollary, we obtain soundness and completeness of HMS models with respect to the Logic of Propositional Awareness, based on a language featuring both implicit and explicit knowledge.
Assessment of indoor radon levels at multiple floors of an apartment building in the historic center of Rome (Italy): a comprehensive study
Authors: Soldati Gaia , Ciaccio Maria Grazia , Cannelli Valentina , Piersanti Antonio , Galli Gianfranco 
Published: October 2024

AbstractThe urbanized area of Rome is largely built over volcanic deposits, characterized by a significant radionuclides content and consequently a high radon emanation potential. An accurate monitoring of workplaces and residential dwellings constitutes a first step towards mitigating the indoor radon exposure. Since radon diffusion dynamics involves complex interactions among many environmental parameters on different time scales, a proper assessment of radon concentration variations can be better achieved by means of active monitoring approaches. We present here the results of 1 year of continuous measurements conducted in six premises (five apartments and a basement) at different floors of the same building in the Esquilino district, in the historical center of Rome. Collecting annual series of radon concentration enables us to identify fluctuations over a seasonal scale, with radon generally decreasing in the warm season. The simultaneous tracking of different floors should cancel the influence of geogenic radon and of building characteristics like age, typology, and construction materials. While the basement shows the highest radon concentration, indicating a major contribution from the ground, we observe indoor radon levels comparable at all the upper floors, questioning the common belief that high-risk exposure be limited to the lowest storeys. The use of active devices makes it possible to discriminate between average indoor radon measured during the day and overnight, when residents are more likely to be at home. Our analysis provides the characterization of the dynamics of the gas emanation and transport inside the buildings and of its temporal fluctuations, in relation to the environmental and meteorological conditions. Since the experiment was performed in the Roman urban contest, we cannot ignore the specificity of the retrieved data, affected not only by endogenous factors like life habits relative to ventilation and conditioning of the apartments, but also by exogenous factors, among which the warmer microclimate compared to the surrounding suburban and rural areas, due to the effects of urbanization (urban heat island effect).
An Annotated WWII Underwater Archaeology Bibliography
Authors: McKinnon Jennifer F. 
Published: October 2024

AbstractWith four decades of WWII underwater archaeology publications, the time is nigh to create a comprehensive bibliography and conduct an analysis of trends within the growing subfield. This paper presents a decade-by-decade analysis of academic publications accessible through a number of search engines and databases. It analyzes the papers through the categories of author gender, heritage type, region, and focus. Finally, it provides the data set by which this analysis was accomplished in a comprehensive bibliography.
Assessing the influence of latency variability on EEG classifiers - a case study of face repetition priming
Authors: Li Yilin , Sommer Werner , Tian Liang , Zhou Changsong 
Published: October 2024

AbstractData-driven strategies have been widely used to distinguish experimental effects on single-trial EEG signals. However, how latency variability, such as within-condition jitter or latency shifts between conditions, affects the performance of EEG classifiers has not been well investigated. Without explicitly considering and disentangling such attributes of single trials, neural network-based classifiers have limitations in measuring their contributions. Inspired by domain knowledge of subcomponent latency and amplitude from traditional cognitive neuroscience, this study applies a stepwise latency correction method on single trials to control for their contributions to classifier behavior. As a case study demonstrating the value of this method, we measure repetition priming effects of faces, which induce large reaction time differences, latency shifts, and amplitude effects in averaged event-related potentials. The results show that within-condition jitter negatively impacts classifier performance, but between-condition latency shifts improve accuracy, whereas genuine amplitude differences have no significant influence. While demonstrated in the case of priming effects, this methodology can be generalized to experiments involving many kinds of time-varying signals to account for the contributions of latency variability to classifier performance.
Application of feedforward and recurrent neural networks for model-based control systems
Authors: Krok Marek , Hunek Wojciech P. , Mielczarek Szymon , Buchwald Filip , Kolender Adam 
Published: October 2024

Abstract
In this paper, a new study concerning the usage of artificial neural networks in the control application is given. It is shown, that the data gathered during proper operation of a given control plant can be used in the learning process to fully embrace the control pattern. Interestingly, the instances driven by neural networks have the ability to outperform the original analytically driven scenarios. Three different control schemes, namely perfect, linear-quadratic, and generalized predictive controllers were used in the theoretical study. In addition, the nonlinear recurrent neural network-based generalized predictive controller with the radial basis function-originated predictor was obtained to exemplify the main results of the paper regarding the real-world application.