bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Analysis of strength characteristics and microstructure of alkali-activated slag cement fluidized solidified soil
Authors: Liu Lin , Chen Sanshan , Chen Feng , He Liang , Shen Shilin 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
In order to solve such as difficulties in backfilling narrow foundation trenches in engineering, it was proposed to use alkali-activated slag cement (AASC) instead of traditional Portland cement to solidify silt and form AASC fluidized solidified soil. The effect of the content of AASC and the curing period on fluidized solidified soil has been studied by unconfined compression strength test, SEM and EDS. Moreover, the root cause for the improvement of the strength by the microstructure was explored. The results showed that: The fluidity increased first and then decreased with the increase of the content of AASC; 40% was the optimal content; in the same curing period, the unconfined compression strength increased with the increase of the content; 40% was the optimal content; the soil with different contents could reach the most of the 28d strength on Day 7; AASC generated a lot of low-Ca/Si C-S-H gel that consolidated soil particles into a denser structure. These results provide a theoretical basis for the application of AASC in fluidized solidified soil engineering.
Combining unsupervised constraints on weakly supervised semantic segmentation of skin cancer
Authors: Yan Hao , Wang Pingping , Jia Yetong , Si Xingyong , Wei Benzheng 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
Precise segmentation for skin cancer lesions at different stages is conducive to early detection and further treatment. Considering the huge cost of obtaining pixel-perfect annotations for this task, segmentation using less expensive image-level labels has become a research direction. Most image-level label weakly supervised segmentation uses class activation mapping (CAM) methods. A common consequence of this method is incomplete foreground segmentation, insufficient segmentation, or false negatives. At the same time, when performing weakly supervised segmentation of skin cancer lesions, ulcers, redness, and swelling may appear near the segmented areas of individual disease categories. This co-occurrence problem affects the model's accuracy in segmenting class-related tissue boundaries to a certain extent. The above two issues are determined by the loosely constrained nature of image-level labels that penalize the entire image space. Therefore, providing pixel-level constraints for weak supervision of image-level labels is the key to improving performance. To solve the above problems, this paper proposes a joint unsupervised constraint-assisted weakly supervised segmentation model (UCA-WSS). The weakly supervised part of the model adopts a dual-branch adversarial erasure mechanism to generate higher-quality CAM. The unsupervised part uses contrastive learning and clustering algorithms to generate foreground labels and fine boundary labels to assist segmentation and solve common co-occurrence problems in weakly supervised skin cancer lesion segmentation through unsupervised constraints. The model proposed in the article is evaluated comparatively with other related models on some public dermatology data sets. Experimental results show that our model performs better on the skin cancer segmentation task than other weakly supervised segmentation models, showing the potential of combining unsupervised constraint methods on weakly supervised segmentation.
Coordinating the pore size of paper substrates and aspect ratio of silver nanowires to improve printed electronics
Authors: Renaud Lauren J , Mechael Sara S , Carmichael Tricia Breen 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
The internet of things is advancing toward a world of ubiquitous electronic devices, composed in large part of low-cost printed electronics (PE) such as sensors. PE typically use plastic substrates, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), but these materials are not biodegradable. The proliferation of PE devices and their degradation to form micro- and nanoplastics pose significant environmental hazards. Paper is a promising substrate to replace PET for greener PE due to its recyclability, affordability, and compatibility with many printing processes. However, the porous cellulosic structure of paper can be an obstacle when trying to print active inks due to wicking of the ink into the paper pores, which disperses the functional ink and negatively impacts electronic performance. Filling the pores of paper with a polymer to planarize the surface is a commonly used remedy, although this approach can compromise recyclability. Here, we present an approach to manage the dispersion of silver nanowires, a widely used and printable 1D nanomaterial ink, in paper substrates. We deposit solutions of short (20–30 μms) and long (100–200 μms) silver nanowires onto various graded filter papers that differ in pore size and examine the trends in wicking distance, wicking speed, and electrical properties. We show that with careful selection of AgNW length and the pore size of the paper, it is possible to control the lateral spreading of the ink and minimize the concentration of the AgNWs needed to achieve a specific electrical performance.
Coincident learning for unsupervised anomaly detection of scientific instruments
Authors: Humble Ryan , Zhang Zhe , O’Shea Finn , Darve Eric , Ratner Daniel 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
Anomaly detection is an important task for complex scientific experiments and other complex systems (e.g. industrial facilities, manufacturing), where failures in a sub-system can lead to lost data, poor performance, or even damage to components. While scientific facilities generate a wealth of data, labeled anomalies may be rare (or even nonexistent), and expensive to acquire. Unsupervised approaches are therefore common and typically search for anomalies either by distance or density of examples in the input feature space (or some associated low-dimensional representation). This paper presents a novel approach called coincident learning for anomaly detection (CoAD), which is specifically designed for multi-modal tasks and identifies anomalies based on coincident behavior across two different slices of the feature space. We define an unsupervised metric,

F
^

β

, out of analogy to the supervised classification F

β
statistic. CoAD uses

F
^

β

to train an anomaly detection algorithm on unlabeled data, based on the expectation that anomalous behavior in one feature slice is coincident with anomalous behavior in the other. The method is illustrated using a synthetic outlier data set and a MNIST-based image data set, and is compared to prior state-of-the-art on two real-world tasks: a metal milling data set and our motivating task of identifying RF station anomalies in a particle accelerator.
Tailoring esophageal tumor spheroids on a chip with inverse opal scaffolds for drug screening
Authors: Shi Ruolin , Wu Xiangyi , Zhao Yuanjin , Gao Shegan , Liang Gaofeng 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
Esophageal cancer (EC) is characterized by high morbidity and mortality, and chemotherapy has become an indispensable means for comprehensive treatment. However, due to the limitation of the effective in vitro disease model, the development of chemotherapeutic agents still faces great challenges. In this paper, we present a novel tumor spheroid on a chip platform based on inverse opal hydrogel scaffolds to screen chemotherapeutic agents for EC treatment. With the microfluidic emulsion approach, the inverse opal hydrogel scaffolds were generated with tunable and organized pores, which could provide spatial confinement for cell growth. Thus, the suspended KYSE-70 cells could successfully form uniform cell spheroids on the inverse opal hydrogel scaffolds. It was demonstrated that the tumor cell spheroids could recapitulate 3D growth patterns in vivo and exhibited higher sensitivity to the chemotherapy agents compared with monolayer cells. Besides, by employing the scaffolds into a microfluidics to construct esophageal tumor on a chip, the device could realize high-throughput tumor cell spheroids generation and drug screening, indicating its promising role in chemotherapy drug development.
The Law and Politics of International Human Rights Courts
Authors: Stone Sweet Alec , Sandholtz Wayne 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
The Law and Politics of International Human Rights Courts addresses three key topics. First, the book provides an account of the origins and evolution of six regional human rights courts. In each, judges sought to overcome political forces and legal obstacles that threatened to neutralize the regime and render it irrelevant to the daily lives of the people. Second, it analyzes the emergence of a common “jurisprudence of effectiveness,” the express purpose of which has been to raise standards of rights protection within nascent, multi-level “transnational systems of justice.” A transnational system of justice is comprised of three components: a charter of rights, a court tasked with enforcing the charter, and the right of individuals to petition the court with a claim that their rights have been violated. The book analyzes the case law on diverse topics, covering both absolute rights (the right to life and prohibitions of torture and slavery) and selected qualified rights (self-determination, abortion and privacy, family law, and indigenous rights to property). Third, the book examines how state officials respond to the development of systems of transnational justice (STJs), in particular, the extent to which the prospect of more effective rights protection is embraced by state officials. In each of the cases, the activities of the STJ have generated significant political “backlash,” leading some states to seek to curb the court’s authority or to exit the regime. The book describes and evaluates these attempts, the results of which have been mixed, with most court-curbing exercises failing.
The European Court of Human Rights
Authors: Stone Sweet Alec , Sandholtz Wayne 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
This chapter traces the evolution of the European system of rights protection. At its origin, states rejected giving the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) compulsory jurisdiction over individual complaints. The acceptance of compulsory jurisdiction became a requirement of regime membership only four decades later, with Protocol no. 11 to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The Court’s caseload exploded after 1998, engendering a crisis that would threaten the system itself. The ECtHR has sought to manage this crisis by gradually fashioning itself as a type of transnational “constitutional” court. Protocol no. 11 also provided the foundations for complex forms of constitutional pluralism: national judges have asserted their own competence when enforcing the ECHR in domestic legal orders, while the ECtHR has demanded their fidelity to the principles underlying its own major precedents. In the 2000s, some member states sought to curb the Court’s authority, but ultimately failed.
The Inter-American System of Human Rights
Authors: Stone Sweet Alec , Sandholtz Wayne 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
Since the 1990s, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has built a rich and innovative body of case law and established itself as the core of an authentically regional system of rights and justice. It adopted key principles that had emerged at the European Court of Human Rights, including evolutive interpretation of rights and the erga omnes effects of its judgments. The docket of the Court was, for many years, dominated by violations of absolute rights, including torture, disappearances, and extrajudicial killings. However, it has also issued judgments in new domains, such as LGBTQ rights and the rights of indigenous communities. It has produced doctrinal innovations, including the pro persona principle and conventionality control. The principle of conventionality control is particularly far-reaching, holding that national courts must apply rights set out in the American Convention on Human Rights, taking into account the Inter-American Court’s interpretation of those rights.
Associations of Coping Strategies With Glycemic and Psychosocial Outcomes Among Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes Experiencing Diabetes Distress
Authors: Straton Emma , Anifowoshe Kashope , Moore Hailey , Streisand Randi , Jaser Sarah S 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Background
Many adolescents with type 1 diabetes experience diabetes distress which is associated with suboptimal glycemic and psychosocial outcomes. The ways in which adolescents respond to diabetes distress may serve as a risk or protective factor for these outcomes, but few studies have examined the coping strategies adolescents use to manage diabetes distress.

Purpose
To examine the association of coping strategies with glycemic and psychosocial outcomes among adolescents experiencing diabetes distress.

Methods
Participants included 198 adolescents with elevated diabetes distress who completed baseline data for a randomized controlled trial (Mage = 15.3 ± 1.4, 58% female, 58% non-Hispanic White, MA1c = 9.1 ± 2.1%). Adolescents reported on their use of coping strategies related to diabetes stressors, including primary control engagement coping (e.g., problem-solving), secondary control engagement coping (e.g., positive thinking), and disengagement coping (e.g., avoidance). Adolescents also completed measures of diabetes distress, quality of life, and resilience. HbA1c data were extracted from electronic medical records and at-home kits.

Results
Higher use of primary control engagement coping was associated with better glycemic and psychosocial outcomes. Secondary control engagement coping was associated with better psychosocial outcomes but not glycemic outcomes. Greater use of disengagement coping strategies was associated with poorer glycemic and psychosocial outcomes. All associations were significant after adjusting for adolescent sex, age, race/ethnicity, and continuous glucose monitor use.

Conclusions
These results build on prior findings by including a more diverse sample of adolescents and highlight the value of promoting engagement coping strategies and discouraging the use of disengagement coping strategies among adolescents experiencing diabetes distress.

Clinical Trial information
NCT03845465.
Analytical and operational considerations of measuring glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activity using a fully automated assay
Authors: Zilka Sarah , Wei Ruhan , Payto Drew , Doyle Kelly , Hockings Jennifer , Colón-Franco Jessica M 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Objectives
This study determined the performance characteristics of a quantitative glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) assay with automated lysis and evaluated the robustness of the operational workflow following implementation in a hospital laboratory.

Methods
The G6PD activity was measured in whole blood using an enzymatic quantitative test on a Roche cobas c501 analyzer with onboard lysis configuration and normalized to hemoglobin (Hb). The performance characteristics of the method and stability of G6PD in whole blood collected in EDTA-containing tubes were evaluated, and the reference interval was established on a population of healthy individuals (n = 279). The robustness of this automated workflow for sample lysis was evaluated during validation and after implementation for routine clinical use for 18 months and in 2,181 patients.

Results
The G6PD assay was linear from 0.7 to 16.5 U/g Hb. Inter- and intra-assay precision using control and patient samples was below 12%. The G6PD results correlated well with a reference laboratory method (r = 0.96, y = 0.9615x – 1.222). The reference interval in our population was 9.8 to 15.5 U/g Hb. There were no interferences by lipemia and icteria, although grossly hemolyzed specimens may be affected. The testing workflow requires analyzing samples within minutes from mixing and loading into the instrument to avoid sample sedimentation. Measures to repeat samples with Hb 8.0 g/dL or less identified sedimented samples. In our patient population, 10.6% and 5.8% of the total males and females tested were G6PD deficient, respectively.

Conclusions
The G6PD assay with automated lysis is acceptable for patient testing. Several measures ensured the robustness of this workflow in a hospital laboratory.
Insights into COVID-19 epidemiology and control from temporal changes in serial interval distributions in Hong Kong
Authors: Ali Sheikh Taslim , Chen Dongxuan , Lau Yiu-Chung , Lim Wey Wen , Yeung Amy , Adam Dillon C , Lau Eric H Y , Wong Jessica Y , Xiao Jingyi , Ho Faith , Gao Huizhi , Wang Lin , Xu Xiao-Ke , Du Zhanwei , Wu Peng , Leung Gabriel M , Cowling Benjamin J 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
The serial interval (SI) distribution of an epidemic is used to approximate the generation time distribution, an essential parameter for inferring the transmissibility (${R}_t$) of an infectious disease. However, SI distributions may change as an epidemic progresses. We examined detailed contact tracing data on laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Hong Kong, China, during the 5 COVID-19 waves from January 2020 to July 2022. We reconstructed the transmission pairs and estimated time-varying effective SI distributions and factors associated with longer or shorter intervals. Finally, we assessed the biases in estimating transmissibility using constant SI distributions. We found clear temporal changes in mean SI estimates within each epidemic wave studied and across waves, with mean SIs ranging from 5.5 days (95% credible interval, 4.4-6.6) to 2.7 days (95% credible interval, 2.2-3.2). The mean SIs shortened or lengthened over time, which was found to be closely associated with the temporal variation in COVID-19 case profiles and public health and social measures and could lead to biases in predicting ${R}_t$. Accounting for the impact of these factors, the time-varying quantification of SI distributions could lead to improved estimation of ${R}_t$, and could provide additional insights into the impact of public health measures on transmission.
Prognostic Value of Mild Asymptomatic Intracranial Atherosclerotic Stenosis in Patients With Hypertension
Authors: Zhang Jin , Tang Xiaofeng , Qian Yuesheng , Ma Jing , Wang Qin , Ling Huawei , Chen Kemin , Li Yan , Gao Pingjin , Wang Yan , Zhu Dingliang 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Mild asymptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (aICAS) is common in Chinese patients with hypertension. However, there are no data on its prognostic value in this population. The aim of the present study was to clarify the prevalence and associated cardiovascular risk factors of mild aICAS and determine its prognostic value for overall and cardiovascular mortality in patients with hypertension.

METHODS
In total, 1,813 participants were evaluated for aICAS using computed tomographic angiography. The predictive effect of mild to severe aICAS on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression analyses.

RESULTS
The prevalence rate of mild aICAS was 35.7%. Poorly controlled hypertension, in combination with diabetes and dyslipidemia, was associated with aICAS. Patients with aICAS had an independently significant increase in the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular death, with adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for mild to severe stenosis ranging from 1.56 to 3.30 for all-cause death and from 2.48 to 6.38 for cardiovascular death. Among the patients with mild aICAS, only those with more than two stenoses had increased mortality after adjustment, with an HR of 2.44 (95% CI: 1.42–4.18) for total death and 4.49 (95% CI: 1.82–11.05) for cardiovascular death.

CONCLUSIONS
A significant association between mild aICAS and mortality in stroke-free patients with hypertension was revealed. The results indicate that mild aICAS might be an imaging marker for cerebrovascular lesions in patients with hypertension and poor control of blood pressure and lipids in this population requires further research.
EVALPAX: Evaluation of a pharmacist-driven protocol for nirmatrelvir/ritonavir prescribing in a community hospital system
Authors: Bomkamp John P , Isom Caleb , Wells Makayla L 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this study was to evaluate pharmacist prescribing of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir to ensure this method of increasing access to treatment is safe and effective.

Methods
This multicenter, retrospective observational study included patients receiving a prescription for nirmatrelvir/ritonavir by a physician, nurse practitioner (NP), physician assistant (PA), or pharmacist at an Indiana University (IU) Health West Central Region site over a 3-month period. Patients were divided into two groups: those who received nirmatrelvir/ritonavir prescribed by a pharmacist (the pharmacist prescribed group) and those who received nirmatrelvir/ritonavir prescribed by other providers (the physician/NP/PA prescribed group). Electronic health record (EHR) reviews were performed to assess the appropriateness of prescriptions based on the presence of risk factors and symptoms, day of symptom onset, and dosing. The primary endpoint was the overall appropriateness of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir prescriptions in the two study groups based on emergency use authorization inclusion and exclusion requirements. Secondary endpoints included appropriateness of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir dosing and medically attended visits or mortality within 30 days. Statistical analysis of the endpoints occurred post hoc utilizing the Fisher’s exact test.

Results
A total of 259 patients were included in the pharmacist prescribed group and 265 patients in the physician/NP/PA prescribed group. Overall appropriate nirmatrelvir/ritonavir prescribing occurred in 258 patients (99.6%) and 232 patients (87.5%) in the pharmacist and physician/NP/PA prescribed groups, respectively (P &lt; 0.0001). Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir dosing was appropriate in 256 patients (98.8%) and 240 patients (90.6%) in the pharmacist and physician/NP/PA prescribed groups, respectively (P &lt; 0.0001). The 30-day rates of medically attended visits were similar between groups. No patients died within 30 days of treatment in either group.

Conclusion
Pharmacist prescribing of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir may result in a higher likelihood of prescriptions meeting overall appropriateness criteria. Pharmacists represent an important healthcare professional resource to improve nirmatrelvir/ritonavir prescribing and utilization.