bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Intraoperative variability of corneal epithelium thickness in photorefractive keratectomy
Authors: Barequet Dana , Levinger Eliya , Rosenblatt Amir , Levinger Samuel , Barequet Irina S. 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
Purpose
To evaluate the intraoperative central corneal epithelial thickness (ET) as measured by optical coherence pachymetry (OCP) in myopic eyes undergoing alcohol-assisted photorefractive keratectomy (PRK).

Methods
A retrospective review of patients who underwent alcohol-assisted PRK was performed. Data were abstracted on age, gender, contact lens (CL) wear, preoperative refractive errors, keratometry, topographic and ultrasonic pachymetry, and intraoperative OCP measurements before and after epithelium removal. The central ET was calculated by subtracting OCP measurement after epithelium removal from the OCP measurement prior to epithelium removal.

Results
The study comprised of 162 consecutive eyes from 81 patients. Mean age was 26.73 ± 6.47 years, 50.6% were males. CL was used in 92 eyes (56.8%). The mean sphere and spherical equivalent were −3.60 ± 1.84 D and −3.26 ± 1.85D, respectively. The mean intraoperative ET was 58.22 ± 17.53 µm (range, 15–121µm). Fifty-five percent of the eyes had an ET measurement above or below the range of 40-60µm. ET was significantly higher in the second operated eye compared to the first operated eye (p = 0.006), and an association was found to CL-wear (p = 0.03). There was no significant difference in thickness between genders (p = 0.62), and no correlation to patient age (p = 0.45, rp = 0.06), refractive errors (p > 0.30,rp=−0.07–0.08), nor keratometry(p > 0.80, rp=−0.01− (−0.02)).

Conclusion
The intraoperative assessment of ET in alcohol-assisted PRK showed a high variability of the central corneal epithelium, with a significant difference between the first and second operated eyes. This difference may have implications when the epithelium is not included in the surgical planning in surface ablation.
Switch to faricimab after initial treatment with aflibercept in eyes with diabetic macular edema
Authors: Pichi Francesco , Abdi Abdulhamid , Aljneibi Shaikha , El Ghrably Ibraheem , Agarwal Aniruddha , Ghazi Nicola G. 
Published: June 2024

AbstractPurposeTo assess the effectiveness of a switch to faricimab in individuals affected by DME and previously treated with aflibercept.MethodsIn this retrospective, single-center study, DME patients previously treated with at least 3 injections of aflibercept then switched to faricimab were enrolled. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central subfield thickness (CST) were recorded at baseline, at the time of the switch and at 6 months follow-up. At transition to faricimab, patients were categorized as "good visual responders" (≥ 5 letters from baseline) or "poor visual responders" (< 5 letters), and as "good anatomical responders" (any reduction in edema compared to baseline) or "poor anatomical responders" (no reduction or worsening of edema). Changes in BCVA and CST were recorded at 6 months after the switch to faricimab.Results100 eyes of 100 patients (61 female, 61%) were switched to faricimab after a mean of 6.8 ± 3.3 aflibercept injections. At the 6 months follow-up, only “poor visual responders” (N = 62) demonstrated a meaningful increase in BCVA (Δswitch-6M =  + 5 letters;P = 0.007), coupled with a reduction in CST (Δswitch-6M = − 67.9 µm;P = 0.004); participants with “poor anatomical response” upon transitioning exhibited a significant functional gain (Δswitch-6M =  + 4.5 letters;p = 0.05) but limited CST enhancements (Δswitch-6M = − 95.1 µm;p = 0.05).ConclusionsFaricimab shows a positive impact on anatomical and functional metrics in DME cases refractory to aflibercept.
Exploiting Shared Sub-Expression and Materialized View Reuse for Multi-Query Optimization
Authors: Gurumurthy Bala , Bidarkar Vasudev Raghavendra , Broneske David , Pionteck Thilo , Saake Gunter 
Published: June 2024

AbstractQuerying in isolation lacks the potential of reusing intermediate results, which ends up wasting computational resources. Multi-Query Optimization (MQO) addresses this challenge by devising a shared execution strategy across queries, with two generally used strategies: batched or cached. These strategies are shown to improve performance, but hardly any study explores the combination of both. In this work we explore such a hybrid MQO, combining batching (Shared Sub-Expression) and caching (Materialized View Reuse) techniques. Our hybrid-MQO system merges batched query results as well as caches the intermediate results, thereby any new query is given a path within the previous plan as well as reusing the results. Since caching is a key component for improving performance, we measure the impact of common caching techniques such as FIFO, LRU, MRU and LFU. Our results show LRU to be the optimal for our usecase, which we use in our subsequent evaluations. To study the influence of batching, we vary the factor - - which represents the similarity of the results within a query batch. Similarly, we vary the cache sizes to study the influence of caching. Moreover, we also study the role of different database operators in the performance of our hybrid system. The results suggest that, depending on the individual operators, our hybrid method gains a speed-up between 4x to a slowdown of 2x from using MQO techniques in isolation. Furthermore, our results show that workloads with a generously sized cache that contain similar queries benefit from using our hybrid method, with an observed speed-up of 2x over sequential execution in the best case.
Deep-level transient spectroscopy analysis of interface defects in Ce:ZnO/p-Si heterostructures
Authors: Öztel Halim Onur , Akçay Namık , Algün Gökhan 
Published: June 2024

AbstractThis study reports the investigation of the effect of cerium (Ce) dopant concentration on defect levels in Ce-doped ZnO/p-type Si (p-Si) heterojunctions (HJs) by deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). Undoped ZnO (uZnO) and Ce-doped ZnO (Ce:ZnO) were synthesized at different molar ratios using the sol–gel method, and n-Ce:ZnO/p-Si heterojunctions were fabricated on p-Si via spin coating. According to energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) data, no foreign atoms are present in the synthesized nanoparticles. A critical observation is that the oxygen content increases with Ce doping. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images revealed uniform spherical grains, with a decrease in grain size as Ce dopant concentration increased. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed a hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure for all nanostructures. I–V measurements documented that the structures have a good rectifying behavior and that the structure exhibiting the best diode character is the Ce:ZnO/p-Si heterostructure containing 2 mol% Ce with an ideality factor of 3.36. DLTS revealed that Ce doping deepened defect levels below the conduction band edge (Ec), with trap level positions calculated as Ec − 0.079, Ec − 0.311, Ec − 0.290, and Ec − 0.386 eV for undoped, 1, 2, and 5 mol% Ce-doped ZnO/p-Si, respectively. The trap concentration decreases with the addition of Ce into the ZnO lattice. The study underlines the tunability of the electrical properties of ZnO/p-Si HJs through Ce doping and the optimizability of their efficiency.
Evidence for regional-scale declines in carabid beetles in old lowland beech forests following a period of severe drought
Authors: Weiss Fabio , Winter Susanne , Pflugmacher Dirk , Kolling Thomas , Linde Andreas 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
Context
Evidence for declines in insect populations is growing with climate change being one suspected driver. Forests, however, are still underrepresented in the relevant research. Recent droughts (2018–2020) have severely affected forests in Central Europe and have been linked to declines in carabid abundance, biomass as well as changes in species traits at the local scale.

Objective
We tested drought effects on forest carabids at regional scale. We additionally investigated whether variability in drought effects could be explained with the initial community composition and the local environmental context.

Methods
We used generalized linear mixed models to compare data from 1999 to 2001 and 2020 to 2022 across eleven old beech forest sites of high conservation interest in North-East Germany and investigated changes in carabid abundance, biomass, Hill numbers and selected species traits. We then tested additional community-related and environmental predictors to explain spatial variability in changes in biomass.

Results
We found significant declines in biomass of 65% and in abundance of 51%. There were no significant changes in Hill numbers. We found consistent evidence that declines affected especially larger and less mobile species. Declines and changes in species traits also occurred in strictly protected old-growth beech forests. Among environmental predictors, landscape composition explained local variability in biomass declines best with stronger decline at forest sites with less forest area in their vicinity.

Conclusions
Our findings reveal large-scale declines in forest carabids in the context of recent droughts and highlight the exceptional role of landscape composition in this regard. Future insect conservation strategies need to incorporate the landscape context and potential exposure to extreme weather.
Spatio-temporal dynamics of fairy circles in Namibia are driven by rainfall and soil infiltrability
Authors: Getzin Stephan , Holch Sönke , Ottenbreit Johanna M. , Yizhaq Hezi , Wiegand Kerstin 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
Context
Namibia’s fairy circles (FCs) form an extraordinary vegetation pattern along the Namib Desert. Recent evidence from multiple fieldwork activities is increasingly supporting the view that FCs result from biomass-water feedbacks and plant self-organization.

Objectives
To shed light on these biomass-water feedbacks, we focused here on a temporal analysis of the spatial FC patterns with regard to vegetation response after rainfall events.

Methods
We analyzed the distribution of FCs in 10 drone-mapped study plots of the Namib and related their spatial patterns to the soil infiltrability. Additionally, we mapped three plots repeatedly during the rainfall seasons 2020–2023 to assess how the emerging grasses within FCs changed the FC patterns after rainfall.

Results
We found that the most regular, spatially periodic, FCs occurred in areas with deep aeolian sands where rain water infiltrates very quickly and homogenously across the study plot, which enables the most symmetric competitive interactions between the grasses. After ample rainfall following a drought period, between 58 and 34% of all mature FCs revegetated. These 1092 closing FCs were 73 times more than the 15 new FCs that formed during the same time. The closing FCs occurred in areas where there was locally a higher density of FCs, which act as underground water sources for the surrounding grasses.

Conclusions
Our study shows that the dynamic vegetation response to rainfall and soil water is the key driver of the FC patterns. Overall, the research underlines that Namibia’s fairy circles are a self-organized emergent vegetation pattern that is driven by biomass-water feedbacks and the competition of grasses for limiting water resources.
Comparison of deacclimation and reacclimation of silver birch, Norway spruce and Scots pine seedlings during winter warm and cold spells in Nordic boreal conditions
Authors: Luoranen Jaana , Kivimäenpää Minna , Riikonen Johanna 
Published: June 2024

AbstractClimate change means that in many areas in boreal region, the duration and thickness of the winter snow cover is decreasing. Young seedlings are exposed to fluctuating winter temperatures in the absence of protecting snow cover. Responses to winter warm and cold spells were studied with Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.), and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karts.) container seedlings in Finland. The frost hardiness of whole seedlings and buds was determined for seedlings sampled directly from outdoor overwintering conditions, after 7-day deacclimation (+5 °C; +7 °C in late March) and deacclimation combined with 7-day reacclimation ( − 7 °C) treatments between January and late March. The frost hardiness of buds and whole seedlings in Scots pine was between  − 40 and  − 30 °C from January to early March. Norway spruces tolerated at least  − 50 °C in midwinter, but their frost hardiness in outdoor conditions decreased more rapidly in March than that of Scots pines. Silver birch tolerated  − 30 °C in February. During simulated warm spells, the Scots pine and silver birch deacclimated without an ability to reacclimate during simulated cold spells. The buds and whole seedlings of Norway spruces also deacclimated, but they had some ability to reacclimate in February and early March, but not in late March. In Nordic boreal conditions, one-year-old Scots pines and silver birches respond strongly to fluctuating winter temperatures during snowless winters, whereas Norway spruces can tolerate typical winter temperatures in midwinter, but their frost hardiness may reduce during warm spells in March.
Understanding flood risk in urban environments: spatial analysis of building vulnerability and hazard areas in the Lisbon metropolitan area
Authors: Santos Pedro Pinto , Pereira Susana , Zêzere José Luís , Reis Eusébio , Oliveira Sérgio Cruz , Garcia Ricardo A. C. , Ferreira Tiago Miguel 
Published: June 2024

AbstractClimate change has brought about new risks while exacerbating existing ones, with floods now accounting for about 45% of global disasters. This trend indicates that the exposure to floods and resulting damages will continue to rise. This paper aims to contribute to the global efforts to enhance flood resilience in urban areas by introducing a physical vulnerability index for buildings in flood-prone urban areas and exploring its connection with flood hazard, as defined by the European Union Directive 2007/60/EC. An index-based methodology is proposed to assess the physical vulnerability of buildings to flooding, utilising the Portuguese Census and Georeferenced Buildings Database, collected on a nationwide scale. The physical vulnerability of buildings is evaluated in the context of the Lisbon metropolitan area (LMA) in Portugal, and the results are compared across different scales, contrasting flood hazard information for the entire LMA with the areas identified under the Flood Directive as having significant potential flood risk. Using cluster analysis, spatial patterns of flood risk are identified, highlighting areas where high flood depth and flood velocity overlap the high vulnerability of buildings. Lastly, potential adaptation paths are discussed, considering the diverse nature of the flood hazard and the lessons learnt from other flood events.
Optimizing soil core fine root collection and characterization: significant time reduction with a sub-sampling approach
Authors: Pardi Raimondo , Gargano Maria Letizia , Lasorella Cecilia , Terzaghi Mattia 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
Background and aims
The quantification of plant roots from soil represents a pivotal step in many studies in plant ecology and soil science. However, the substantial time investment required for this process often represents a considerable impediment to research progress. The objective of this study is to evaluate and propose a time-saving method to minimize the time required for collecting roots without compromising data integrity compared to traditional approaches.

Methods
The proposed Sub-sample Approach (SA) requires collecting fine roots from a sub-sample and subsequently leading calculations to estimate total root traits (mass, length, and length distribution among diameters) within the sampled soil core. A comparative analysis was carried out on root harvesting time between meticulous sample cleaning (Conventional Approach, CA) and SA. Moreover, these methods were assessed across different sites including grassland, oak forest, and olive orchard.

Results
The analysis conducted across many sites resulted in high heterogeneity of processing time when employing the CA (ranging from 2.6 to 27.6 h per sample). Conversely, the adoption of SA reduced processing time and resulted in less variation between samples (ranging from 37 to 112 min per sample). Remarkably, root trait data obtained using SA showed similarity to those obtained through the CA.

Conclusion
The SA offers a remarkable advantage over the CA by significantly reducing the time needed for root collection from soil core samples. Moreover, SA exhibits lower variability among different collection sites, while maintaining consistency in qualitative and quantitative data compared to the CA.
Does Twitter Data Mirror the European North–South Family Ties Divide? A Comparative Analysis of Tweets About Family
Authors: Gil-Clavel Sofia , Mulder Clara H. 
Published: June 2024

AbstractPrevious research on the relationship between geographical distance and the frequency of contact between family members has shown that the strength of family ties differs between Northern and Southern Europe. However, little is known about how family ties are reflected in peoples’ conversations on social media, despite research showing the relevance of social media data for understanding users’ daily expressions of emotions and thoughts based on their immediate experiences. This work investigates the question of whether Twitter use patterns in Europe mirror the North–South divide in the strength of family ties by analyzing potential differences in family-related tweets between users in Northern and Southern European countries. This study relies on a longitudinal database derived from Twitter collected between January 2012 and December 2016. We perform a comparative analysis of Southern and Northern European users’ tweets using Bayesian generalized multilevel models together with the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software. We analyze the association between regional differences in the strength of family ties and patterns of tweeting about family. Results show that the North–South divide is reflected in the frequency of tweets that are about family, that refer to family in the past versus in the present tense, and that are about close versus extended family.
The contribution of innovation to farm-level productivity
Authors: Parikoglou Iordanis , Emvalomatis Grigorios , Läpple Doris , Thorne Fiona , Wallace Michael 
Published: June 2024

AbstractInnovation is a key driver of productivity growth. This paper proposes a novel methodology in order to explore the impact of farm-level innovations on farm productivity and its components (i.e. technology, efficiency and scale) using representative data from Irish dairy farms. We measure innovation by an index based on employed production practices, continuous innovation activity and knowledge weighted by expert opinions. The results suggest that more innovative Irish dairy farmers are more productive. Specifically, all farmers improve their production technology and efficiency through their use of innovations, but farmers at specific levels of innovativeness may experience a decrease in productivity due to the small scale at which they operate. This indicates that innovation has a non-linear effect on productivity. We discuss the policy implications for reducing the unequal gains of innovation across farmers.
Watching intensity and media franchise engagement
Authors: Ameri Mina , Honka Elisabeth , Xie Ying 
Published: June 2024

AbstractThe rapid adoption of online streaming and over-the-top services has fundamentally changed at-home entertainment media consumption and given rise to new behaviors which are often characterized by a high intensity of watching (e.g., binge-watching). In this paper, we investigate how the watching intensity affects consumers’ engagement with media franchises in two areas: personal and interactive engagement. The former involves consumers’ adoption and consumption of franchise extensions and the latter concerns consumers’ content generation related to a focal media product they watched. Using individual-level data from an online anime (Japanese cartoons) platform, we find inverse U-shaped effects of watching intensity with the largest effects around three to five hours of watching per day on personal engagement and two to four hours a day on interactive engagement. The positive effects of watching intensity are larger for sequels than other types of franchise extensions. For interactive engagement, our results show that conditional on rating submission, higher watching intensity is associated with higher valence of anime ratings, the most prevalent form of UGC on the platform. We interpret this result as evidence that watching intensity can induce liking.
Lower extremity physical function and quality of life in patients with stroke: a longitudinal cohort study
Authors: Ryan Michelle , Rössler Roland , Rommers Nikki , Iendra Laura , Peters Eva-Maria , Kressig Reto W. , Schmidt-Trucksäss Arno , Engelter Stefan T. , Peters Nils , Hinrichs Timo 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
Purpose
Lower extremity physical function (LEPF) is a key component for mobility and is impacted in stroke-related disability. A reduction in LEPF can have a significant impact on an individual’s Quality of Life (QoL). The aim of this study is to characterise the relationship between LEPF and QoL.

Methods
The MOBITEC-Stroke Study is a longitudinal cohort-study including patients with their first occurrence of ischaemic stroke. Using a linear mixed-effects model, the relationship between LEPF (timed up-and-go performance (TUG); predictor) and QoL (Stroke Specific Quality of Life scale (SS-QoL); outcome) at 3 and 12 months post stroke was investigated and adjusted for sex, age, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), fear of falling (Falls Efficacy Scale-International Version, FES-I), and stroke severity (National Institute of Stroke Severity scale, NIHSS), accounting for the repeated measurements.

Results
Data of 51 patients (65 % males, 35% females) were analysed. The mean age was 71.1 (SD 10.4) years, median NIHSS score was 2.0. SS-QoL was 201.5 (SD 20.5) at 3 months and 204.2 (SD 17.4) at 12 months; the mean change was 2.7 (95% CI -2.4 to 7.7), p= 0.293. A positive association was found between baseline TUG performance (estimate log score -13.923; 95% CI -27.495 to -0.351; p=0.048) and change in SS-QoL score in multivariate regression analysis.

Conclusion
Higher LEPF (i.e better TUG performance) at baseline, was associated with an improvement in QoL from 3- to 12-months post stroke. These results highlight the critical role of physical function, particularly baseline LEPF, in influencing the QoL of stroke survivors.
Financial information and diverging beliefs
Authors: Armstrong Christopher S. , Heinle Mirko S. , Luneva Irina 
Published: June 2024

AbstractStandard Bayesians’ beliefs converge when they receive the same piece of new information. However, when agents initially disagree and have uncertainty about the precision of a signal, their disagreement might instead increase, despite receiving the same information. We demonstrate that this divergence of beliefs leads to a unimodal effect of the absolute surprise in the signal on trading volume. We show that this prediction is consistent with the empirical evidence using trading volume around earnings announcements of U.S. firms. We find evidence of elevated volume following moderate surprises and depressed volume following more extreme surprises, a pattern that is more pronounced when investors hold more distant prior beliefs and are more uncertain about earnings’ precision. The evidence is consistent with the model where investors disagree about stocks’ expected returns and do not know the precision of earnings as a signal about the firm’s value.