bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Comparison of subconjunctival TRIamcinolone acetonide injection and intravitreal dexamethasone (OZurdex) injection for uveitic and postoperative macular oedema: the TRIOZ study
Authors: Couret Chloé , Quintart Pierre-Antoine , Poinas Alexandra , Vibet Marie-Anne , Le Lez Marie-Laure , Labalette Pierre , Bodaghi Bahram , Labetoulle Marc , Rougier Marie-Bénédicte , Angioi Karine , Chiquet Christophe , Titah Cherif , Kodjikian Laurent , Baillif Stephanie , Creuzot-Garcher Catherine , Errera Marie-Hélène , Weber Michel 
Published: August 2024

Aims
To compare effectiveness of subconjunctival triamcinolone acetonide injections and intravitreal injections of dexamethasone 700 µg implants in reducing central macular thickness (CMT) in uveitic and postoperative macular oedema (ME).

Methods
We conducted an open-label, French multicentre randomised comparative trial with a logarithmic CMT non-inferiority margin set at 0.06. Patients were adults with non-infectious inflammatory ME, without any contraindication to the treatments. They were randomised 1:1 to receive either triamcinolone or dexamethasone. The primary endpoint was the difference in CMT among treated eyes between baseline and 2 months, measured with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Secondary outcomes included visual acuity, laser flare, vitreous haze, duration of action, tolerance to injections and adverse events.

Results
Between January 2016 and January 2020, 106 patients were enrolled (54 in the triamcinolone group and 52 in the dexamethasone group). Subconjunctival triamcinolone injections seemed to be non-inferior to intravitreal dexamethasone injections, especially at month 3 (and nearly at month 1). Nevertheless, we could not demonstrate it, with a treatment effect at month 2 of 0.05 (0.01 ; 0.09) (p value=0.001). This was corroborated by post hoc analyses in the postoperative subgroup, for whom the non-inferiority was nearly demonstrated at month 2 with a treatment effect of 0.02 (−0.03 ; 0.08) (p=0.37). There was no significant difference in the occurrence of adverse effects.

Conclusion
We could not demonstrate the non-inferiority of triamcinolone injections at month 2. Nevertheless, they showed some efficacity, particularly in treating postoperative ME, being as safe as dexamethasone injections, without any loss of chance if a therapeutic switch is necessary.
CD64+fibroblast-targeted vilanterol and a STING agonist augment CLDN18.2 BiTEs efficacy against pancreatic cancer by reducing desmoplasia and enriching stem-like CD8+T cells
Authors: Zhou Tianxing , Hou Xupeng , Yan Jingrui , Li Lin , Xie Yongjie , Bai Weiwei , Jiang Wenna , Zou Yiping , Li Xueyang , Liu Ziyun , Zhang Zhaoyu , Xu Bohang , Mao Guohua , Wang Yifei , Gao Song , Wang Xiuchao , Zhao Tiansuo , Wang Hongwei , Sun Hongxia , Zhang Xiufeng , Yu Jun , Huang Chongbiao , Liu Jing , Hao Jihui 
Published: August 2024

ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to improve the efficacy of CLDN18.2/CD3 bispecific T-cell engagers (BiTEs) as a promising immunotherapy against pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).DesignHumanised hCD34+/hCD3e+, Trp53R172HKrasG12DPdx1-Cre (KPC), pancreas-specific Cldn18.2 knockout (KO), fibroblast-specific Fcgr1 KO and patient-derived xenograft/organoid mouse models were constructed. Flow cytometry, Masson staining, Cell Titer Glo assay, virtual drug screening, molecular docking and chromatin immunoprecipitation were conducted.ResultsCLDN18.2 BiTEs effectively inhibited early tumour growth, but late-stage efficacy was significantly diminished. Mechanically, the Fc fragment of BiTEs interacted with CD64+cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) via activation of the SYK-VAV2-RhoA-ROCK-MLC2-MRTF-A-α-SMA/collagen-I pathway, which enhanced desmoplasia and limited late-stage infiltration of T cells. Molecular docking analysis found that vilanterol suppressed BiTEs-induced phosphorylation of VAV2 (Y172) in CD64+CAFs and weakened desmoplasia. Additionally, decreased cyclic guanosine-adenosine monophosphate synthase/stimulator of interferon genes (STING) activity reduced proliferation of TCF-1+PD-1+stem-like CD8+T cells, which limited late-stage effects of BiTEs. Finally, vilanterol and the STING agonist synergistically boosted the efficacy of BiTEs by inhibiting the activation of CD64+CAFs and enriching proliferation of stem-like CD8+T cells, resulting in sustained anti-tumour activity.ConclusionVilanterol plus the STING agonist sensitised PDAC to CLDN18.2 BiTEs and augmented efficacy as a potential novel strategy.
Maternal cigarette smoking before or during pregnancy increases the risk of severe neonatal morbidity after delivery: a nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study
Authors: Yang Lili , Yang Liu , Wang Huan , Guo Yajun , Zhao Min , Bovet Pascal , Xi Bo 
Published: August 2024

Background
The association of maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy with severe neonatal morbidity (SNM) is still inconclusive. We aimed to examine the associations of the timing and the intensity of maternal cigarette smoking with infant SNM in the USA.

Methods
We used birth certificate data of 12 150 535 women aged 18–49 years who had live singleton births from the 2016–2019 US National Vital Statistics System. Women self-reported the daily number of cigarettes they consumed before pregnancy and in each trimester of pregnancy. Composite SNM was defined as one or more of the following complications: assisted ventilation immediately following delivery, assisted ventilation for >6 hours, neonatal intensive care unit admission, surfactant replacement therapy, suspected neonatal sepsis, and seizure.

Results
Maternal cigarette smoking either before pregnancy or during any trimester of pregnancy significantly increased the risk of infant SNM, even at a very low intensity (ie, 1–2 cigarettes per day). For example, compared with women who did not smoke before pregnancy, the adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (OR, 95% CI) of composite SNM in the newborn from women who smoked 1–2, 3–5, 6–9, 10–19, and ≥20 cigarettes per day before pregnancy were 1.16 (1.13 to 1.19), 1.22 (1.20 to 1.24), 1.26 (1.23 to 1.29), 1.27 (1.25 to 1.28), and 1.31 (1.30 to 1.33), respectively. Furthermore, smokers who stopped smoking during pregnancy still had a higher risk of composite SNM than never smokers before and throughout pregnancy.

Conclusions
Maternal cigarette smoking before or during pregnancy increased the risk of infant SNM, even at a low dose of 1–2 cigarettes/day. Interventions should emphasise the detrimental effects of even light smoking before and during pregnancy.
Half-dose ticagrelor versus standard-dose clopidogrel in a dual antiplatelet regimen for stent-assisted coiling or flow diversion of unruptured intracranial aneurysms: a cohort study
Authors: Li Yi-Chen , Yi Man-Man , Wang Rong , Xu Man-Man , Liu Tao , Na Shi-Jie , Shao Teng-Fei , Ding Lan-Ping , Ge Wei-Hong , Peng Yu-Zhu , Zhuang Zong 
Published: August 2024

BackgroundIntracranial hemorrhage is the major safety concern of standard-dose ticagrelor (90 mg twice daily) based dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT). The bleeding avoidance strategy through dose de-escalation has been investigated in interventional cardiology. However, the preserved antithrombotic efficacy and better safety of half-dose (45 mg twice daily) ticagrelor remains unverified in patients undergoing stent-assist coiling (SAC) or flow diversion (FD) treating unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIA).MethodsA single-center, prospective, cohort study was conducted to compare DAPT with aspirin 100 mg daily plus half-dose ticagrelor vs standard-dose clopidogrel (75 mg daily) in UIA patients. The adenosine diphosphate inhibition (ADPi) rate was utilized to quantify the antagonization of adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-induced platelet aggregation. The patients were followed-up at 6 month after discharge. The primary efficacy outcome was the major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE), and the primary safety outcome was major bleeding. The secondary outcome was minor hemorrhage.ResultsOur study included 322 UIA patients, of which 254 patients were eventually enrolled after propensity score matching. The ADPi of half-dose ticagrelor (51.56%±31.46%) was comparable (P=0.089) to that of clopidogrel (57.44%±22.76%). The outcomes were also comparable. Five (3.94%) patients in the ticagrelor group and eight (6.30%) patients in the clopidogrel group reported MACCE (P=0.393). One patient in the ticagrelor group was diagnosed with asymptomatic intracranial hemorrhage 1 month after stenting. There were 36 (28.35%) minor hemorrhagic events in the ticagrelor group and 35 (27.56%) in the clopidogrel group, (P=0.889).ConclusionHalf-dose ticagrelor was effective and safe as a potential alternative to clopidogrel in the DAPT regimen for patients undergoing SAC/FD for UIA.
Stacking consecutive similar neuroendovascular cases is associated with reduced turnover time and procedure time
Authors: Fleming Charles , Terwiesch Christian , Reavey-Cantwell John 
Published: August 2024

BackgroundAcross a wide range of tasks it has been shown that workers switching between different activities have ‘switching costs’ due to slower performance and increased errors. Scheduling similar cases consecutively, or ‘stacking cases’, allows an operating room (OR) team to avoid switching costs and might therefore result in increased efficiency.ObjectiveTo investigate whether stacking neuroendovascular cases decreases turnover and procedure time.MethodsA retrospective case series was identified of 4386 endovascular cases performed by vascular neurosurgeons between 2015 and 2023 at an academic center. A ‘stacked case’ was defined as a binary variable, which counted as ‘yes’ when the preceding case was the same procedure. Primary outcomes were turnover time and procedure time.ResultsDiagnostic angiograms (n=2575) and aneurysm embolizations (n=517) had a sufficient number of cases for statistical analysis.Stacked diagnostic angiograms were associated with significantly faster turnover time (7 min, P=1e-12) in a multivariate regression model. Turnover time decreased with additional stacked cases, with a 4 min reduction for a single stacked case, up to 11 min for a fifth stacked angiogram.For angiograms and aneurysm embolizations, stacked cases were associated with shorter procedure times: 4 min for angiograms (P<0.0001) and 20 min for aneurysm embolizations (P=0.0057).ConclusionThis project demonstrates that stacking similar cases is associated with reduced turnover and procedure time, after controlling for other variables that affect the flow of an OR day. Stacking cases is a zero-cost intervention that offers significant efficiency gains in the OR schedule.
Mindful breathing for cancer pain: efficacy of a single 20-minute session – a randomised controlled study
Authors: Tan Seng Beng , Chai Chee Shee , Ng Diana Leh Ching , Zainuddin Sheriza Izwa , Capelle David Paul , Lam Chee Loong , Ang Chui Munn , Chai Win Lin , Ishak Nik Natasha Nik , Ong Yu Xiang , Ngu Ying Xi 
Published: August 2024

Objectives
Cancer pain is a prevalent and challenging symptom affecting a significant number of patients globally, with inadequate control remaining a substantial challenge despite advancements in pain management. Non-pharmacological interventions, including mindfulness-based approaches, have shown promise in alleviating cancer-related pain. This study aimed to explore the efficacy of a single session of 20-minute mindful breathing in reducing pain among patients with cancer.

Methods
A randomised controlled study was conducted at the University of Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia, involving adult cancer inpatients with a pain score of ≥4/10. Participants were randomly assigned to a 20-minute mindful breathing intervention or a 20-minute supportive listening control group. Outcome measures included pain intensity, pain unpleasantness and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale score, assessed before and after the intervention.

Results
The 20-minute mindful breathing sessions demonstrated significant efficacy in reducing pain intensity, pain unpleasantness and anxiety compared with the control group.

Conclusion
This research broadens the repertoire of cancer pain management by highlighting the rapid and holistic benefits of a single session of 20-minute mindful breathing. The findings suggest the potential integration of brief mindfulness exercises into routine cancer care to enhance pain management and overall well-being.
Capital Market Consequences of Information about Individual Auditors
Authors: Wu Bin , Liu Yunjing , Zhang Min , Zhang Ziyi 
Published: August 2024

Synopsis The research problem This study examines the capital market consequences of the voluntary disclosure of individual auditor information. Specifically, we examined whether and how the disclosure of auditor qualification certificates is associated with information asymmetry and investors’ responses to earnings. Motivation Regulators have recently started to focus on disclosing auditor information beyond their names such as in China, where it is increasingly important in practice. Although prior studies have demonstrated benefits associated with the mandatory disclosure of partners’ names, there is relatively little evidence of the usefulness of additional information about individual auditors that could be provided voluntarily. This study sheds light on the economic consequences of disclosing detailed information about individual auditors and extends the voluntary disclosure literature. The test hypotheses We tested the following hypotheses in this study: (a) voluntary disclosure of auditor qualification certificates is associated with lower information asymmetry and (b) voluntary disclosure of auditor qualification certificates is not associated with investors’ reactions to corporate earnings announcements. Target population Stakeholders of listed companies and audit firms, including company managers, investors, and accounting regulators. Adopted methodology Ordinary least squares regressions, archival data, interviews, and machine learning methods to obtain initial data. Analyses We first crawled the annual audit reports of listed companies in China and used machine learning methods to capture voluntary disclosure of auditor qualification certificates. In a sample of more than 14,000 Chinese company-years from 2012 to 2018, we identified 10.5% of the observations voluntarily disclosing auditor qualification certificates. We used the bid-ask spread as the proxy of information asymmetry, and the earnings response coefficient refers to the coefficient on unexpected earnings to the cumulative abnormal returns. Findings We found that the voluntary disclosure of auditor qualification certificates is associated with lower information asymmetry and stronger market reaction to earnings announcements. The main results hold through various robustness tests. Cross-sectional analyses show that this association is less pronounced when a company employs a larger audit firm or has higher analyst coverage. Further, the specific information conveyed by the auditor qualification certificate, such as the auditor’s facial trustworthiness, helps explain the economic consequences associated with voluntary auditor qualification certificate disclosure. Moreover, an initial disclosure of auditor qualification certificates is associated with greater effects.
Bounding the beta invariant of 3-connected graphs
Authors: Xiao Jerry 
Published: August 2024

The beta invariant is closely related to the Chromatic and Tutte Polynomials and has been extensively studied, see Brylawski [A combinatorial model for series-parallel networks, Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 154 (1971) 1–22], Crapo [A higher invariant for matroids, J. Combin. Theory 2 (1967) 406–417], Lee and Wu [Bounding the beta invariant of 3-connected matroids, Discrete Math. 354 (2022) 1–11], Oxley [On Crapo’s beta invariant for matroids, Stud. Appl. Math. 66(3) (1982) 267–277], and others. Lee and Wu [Bounding the beta invariant of 3-connected matroids, Discrete Math. 354 (2022) 1–11] established that a [Formula: see text]-connected graph with [Formula: see text] vertices possesses a beta invariant of at least [Formula: see text], reaching equality only when the graph is a wheel or the Prism. Additionally, Oxley [On Crapo’s beta invariant for matroids, Stud. Appl. Math. 66(3) (1982) 267–277] provided characterizations for matroids with beta invariant values of two, three, and four. This paper extends the findings of Lee and Wu by offering a comprehensive characterization of all [Formula: see text]-connected graphs with [Formula: see text] vertices that have a beta invariant of either [Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text]. As a consequence, we prove that any [Formula: see text]-connected graph with at least [Formula: see text] vertices other than a Wheel has a beta invariant of at least [Formula: see text].
Overdispersion in Gate Tomography: Experiments and Continuous, Two-Scale Random Walk Model on the Bloch Sphere
Authors: Nowak Wolfgang , Bruennette Tim , Schalkers Merel Annelise , Möller Matthias 
Published: August 2024

Noisy intermediate-scale quantum computers (NISQ) are computing hardware in their childhood, but they are showing high promise and growing quickly. They are based on so-called qubits, which are the quantum equivalents of bits. Any given qubit state results in a given probability of observing a value of zero or one in the readout process. One of the main concerns for NISQ machines is the inherent noisiness of qubits, i.e., the observable frequencies of zeros and ones do not correspond to the theoretically expected probability, as the qubit states are subject to random disturbances over time and with each additional algorithmic operation applied to them. Models to describe the influence of this noise exist.
In this study, we conduct extensive experiments on quantum noise. Based on our data, we show that existing noise models lack important aspects. Specifically, they fail to properly capture the aggregation of noise effects over time (or over an algorithm’s runtime), and they are underdispersed. With underdispersion, we refer to the fact that observable frequencies scatter much more between repeated experiments than what the standard assumptions of the binomial distribution would allow for. Based on these shortcomings, we develop an extended noise model for the probability distribution of observable frequencies as a function of the number of gate operations. The model roots back to a known continuous random walk on the (Bloch) sphere, where the angular diffusion coefficient can be used to characterize the standard noisiness of gate operations. Here, we superimpose a second random walk at the scale of multiple readouts to account for overdispersion. Further, our model has known, explicit components for noise during state preparation and measurement. The interaction of these two random walks predicts theoretical, runtime-dependent bounds for probabilities. Overall, it is a three-parameter distributional model that fits the data much better than the corresponding one-scale model (without overdispersion), and we demonstrate the better fit and the plausibility of the predicted bounds via Bayesian data-model analysis.
Exploring Scalability of BFT Blockchain Protocols through Network Simulations
Authors: Berger Christian , Toumia Sadok Ben , Reiser Hans P. 
Published: August 2024

Novel Byzantine fault-tolerant (BFT) state machine replication protocols improve scalability for their practical use in distributed ledger technology, where hundreds of replicas must reach consensus. Assessing that BFT protocol implementations meet their performance expectations requires careful evaluation. We propose a new methodology using scalable network simulations to predict BFT protocol performance. Our simulation architecture allows for the integration of existing BFT implementations without modification or re-implementation, offering a cost-effective alternative to large-scale cloud experiments. We validate our method by comparing simulation results with real-world cloud deployments, showing that simulations can accurately predict performance at larger scales when network limitations dominate.
In our study, we applied this methodology to assess the performance of several “blockchain-generation” BFT protocols, including HotStuff, Kauri, Narwhal & Tusk, and BullShark, under realistic network conditions (with constrained 25 Mbit/s bandwidth) and induced faults. Kauri emerges as the top performer, achieving 6,742 operations per second (op/s) with 128 replicas, outperforming BullShark (2,318 op/s) and Tusk (1,952 op/s). HotStuff, using secp256k1 and BLS signatures, reaches 494 op/s and 707 op/s, respectively, demonstrating the efficiency of BLS-signature aggregation for saving bandwidth. This study demonstrates that state-of-the-art asynchronous BFT protocols can achieve competitive throughput in large-scale, real-world scenarios.
Tailoring the Magnetic, Structural and Shielding Characteristics of Nano Er2O3 via Ni Doping
Authors: Heiba Zein K. , Mohamed Mohamed Bakr , Badawi Ali 
Published: August 2024

We investigated the effects of Ni-doping amount on the structural, magnetic, and shielding properties of nano Er2O3. Nano Er2−xNixO3 (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15) samples were fabricated by a pechini scheme and characterized via X-ray diffraction. Rietveld refinement was used to discover the distribution of cations on the two crystallographic sites. Cation ordering in the two nonequivalent sites of the structure and the variation of the oxygen bond lengths of octahedra with the composition x were also investigated. A consistent reduction in the average bond lengths of (Er/Ni)O6 octahedra around 8b and 24d as x progresses was observed. Average crystallite size reduced while average lattice micro-strain increased with increasing Ni doping. The correlation between magnetization and temperature for all samples under a magnetic field of 200 Oe was studied. Curie-Weiss law was applied to find the magnetic moments and the types of magnetic structure. The μ
eff in the Er2−xNixO3 samples dropped from 9.7 to 9.36 μB as the nickel doping level rose from 0 to 0.15. Calculated magnetic moments, μ
cal, were found to drop from 9.4 to 9.02 μB as the nickel doping level changed from x = 0 to x = 0.15 in Er2−xNixO3 samples. Curie paramagnetic temperature (θ) for all samples has been observed to rise from −10.6 to −19.34. The theoretical gamma-ray attenuation parameters for nano Er2−xNixO3 samples were acquired through the Phy-X/PSD software. The nano Er2−xNixO3 samples have been proven to possess remarkable magnetic and neutron shielding applications.