bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Group Justified Belief and Knowledge
Authors: Brown Jessica 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
This chapter focuses on one distinctive way in which groups can form beliefs, namely by aggregating the opinions of their members. I defend a novel non-summative account of when such beliefs are justified/knowledge which treats such beliefs on the model of testimony. On a reliabilist approach to the epistemology of individual testimony, a hearer’s belief formed on the basis of a speaker’s testimony is justified/knowledge only if the hearer is a reliable consumer of testimony and the speaker is a reliable testifier. Applying this model to groups, a group belief formed by aggregating the opinions of its members is justified/knowledge only if the group is a reliable consumer of testimony and most of the members who input into the aggregation process are reliable testifiers. I argue that the model outperforms the existing inferential and perceptual models of group beliefs formed via aggregating member opinions.
Group Excuse from Blameless Ignorance
Authors: Brown Jessica 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
This chapter examines what it is for a group to have an excuse for its wrongdoing from blameless ignorance. I argue that one cannot identify group blameless ignorance with an already theorized group epistemic state (e.g. lack of knowledge or justified false belief). Nor is group blameless ignorance a function of member blameless ignorance. For group blameless ignorance can come apart from member blameless ignorance in both directions: the members of a group might be blamelessly ignorant that p even though the group is not, and vice versa. In the light of these results, I provide a new non-summative account of what it is for a group’s ignorance to be blameless and what it is for a group to act on that ignorance.
‘I secretly wish. . .’ Caregivers’ expression of wish for death of persons with severe dementia
Authors: Balasubramanian Ishwarya , Chaudhry Isha , Poco Louisa Camille , Malhotra Chetna ,   PISCES study group, Østbye Truls , Seow Dennis , Yap Phillip , Tan Lay Ling , Tham Weng Yew , Vaingankar Janhavi , Foo Jason , Yeow Tan Boon , Tong Kamun , Chong Ng Wai , Carson Allen Jr John , Malhotra Rahul , Mooi Tan Weng , Liang Wee Shiou , Ling Ng Li , Goveas Richard , Mok Vanessa , Sim Alisson , Fern Ng Wei , Khuan Wong Hon , Balasundaram Bharathi , Qi Tan Rui , Sim Ong Pui , Cheong Chin Yee , Chung Pheng Alethea Yee , Tiong Christina , Hum Allyn , Lee Angel , Finkelstein Eric A 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Background
Qualitative evidence suggests that caregivers may express a wish for death of persons with severe dementia (PwSD). No study has assessed the extent to which it happens, stability of this wish over time and the factors associated with it.

Objectives
We examined caregivers’ wish for death of PwSDs overtime and the factors associated with this wish.

Methods
215 caregivers of community dwelling PwSDs were surveyed every 4 months for 2 years. Using the mixed-effects multinomial regression model, we assessed the PwSD and caregiver factors associated with caregivers’ wish for PwSDs’ death.

Results
At baseline, 27% caregivers expressed a wish for PwSDs’ life to end sooner. Overall, 43% of the caregivers expressed a wish for PwSDs’ death at least once during the study period and 11% expressed it consistently. Caregivers’ perception of PwSDs’ lower quality of life (RRR: 1.05, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.10), higher functional dependency (RRR: 1.1, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.21), eating difficulty (RRR: 2.25, 95% CI: 1.26, 4.04) and suffering (RRR: 1.92, 95% CI: 1.05, 3.52) were associated with this wish. Caregivers who were emotionally close to PwSDs were less likely (RRR: 0.25, 95% CI: 0.11, 0.55) while those who understood that dementia is a terminal illness were more likely (RRR: 2.01, 95% CI: 1.03, 3.92) to express this wish.

Conclusion
Caregivers’ wish for PwSDs’ death changed over time and was primarily driven by their perception of PwSDs’ poor well-being and awareness of their illness being terminal, indicating a need for increased support in this challenging caregiving context.
Self-Reported Executive Functioning in Young Adult Survivors of Childhood Bacterial Meningitis
Authors: El Tahir Omaima , Groenveld Julia , Jonge Rogier , Oostrom Kim , Goei Sui Lin , Pronk Jeroen , Furth Anne Marceline 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Objective
This study investigated executive functions (EFs) in young adult survivors of childhood bacterial meningitis (BM). These skills are important for normal development, and their potential vulnerability in early years suggests that childhood BM could affect executive functions in the longer term.

Method
The adult self-report Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function was administered to 474 young adult survivors of childhood BM who participated in the 20|30 Dutch Postmeningitis study. Average scores were compared to population-norm group scores. Subgroup scores were compared according to causative pathogen and age at onset.

Results
Young adult survivors of childhood BM scored lower on overall metacognition than the age-matched population norm group. Young adult survivors of childhood BM caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, S. agalactiae, or Escherichia coli had lower scores than cases caused by Neisseria meningitidis. Survivors with age-at-onset below 12 months had a higher (worse) overall EF score than survivors with age-at-onset above 12 months.

Conclusions
Young adult survivors of childhood BM experience difficulties in EF. However, most of the self-reported EF scores were within the norm. Future studies need to additionally assess EF in adult survivors of childhood BM using performance-based tests.
Examining the role of depression on the relationship between performance-based and self-reported cognitive functioning after sport-related concussion
Authors: Sakamoto McKenna S , Thomas Garrett A , Bradson Megan L , Arnett Peter A 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Objective
Little is known about the relationship between neuropsychological test performance, cognitive symptom reporting, and depressive symptoms after sport-related concussion. Accordingly, this cross-sectional study examined these relationships in collegiate athletes. It was hypothesized that depressive symptoms would moderate and mediate the relationship between performance-based and self-reported cognitive functioning after concussion.

Methods
After sustaining a sport-related concussion, 110 collegiate athletes completed a neuropsychological battery, the Post-Concussion Symptoms Scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory-Fast Screen. Neuropsychological test performance, depressive symptoms, and their interactions were entered into distinct hierarchical linear regression analyses with self-reported cognition as the dependent variable to assess moderation. Mediation was analyzed using the PROCESS macro with 5000 bootstrap samples and a 95% confidence interval.

Results
There was a significant interaction between the mean memory composite and depressive symptoms when predicting cognitive symptom reporting, p = 0.047. Simple effects tests revealed that for athletes who had a lower memory composite score, an increase in depressive symptoms led to an increase in self-reported cognitive dysfunction, p &lt; 0.001, ηp2 = 0.11. Depressive symptoms partially mediated the relationship between the memory composite and cognitive symptom reporting, indirect effect = −0.26, 95%CI[−0.58,0.001], but this relationship was not found for any other neurocognitive domain.

Conclusions
For tests of memory, depressive symptoms moderated and partially mediated the relationship between performance-based and self-reported cognitive functioning after sport-related concussion. Athletes reporting high depressive symptoms and cognitive dysfunction may need more comprehensive evaluations to inform return-to-play decisions, and depression could be a treatment target for athletes who report high levels of cognitive dysfunction after concussion.
Accurate prediction of antibody function and structure using bio-inspired antibody language model
Authors: Jing Hongtai , Gao Zhengtao , Xu Sheng , Shen Tao , Peng Zhangzhi , He Shwai , You Tao , Ye Shuang , Lin Wei , Sun Siqi 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
In recent decades, antibodies have emerged as indispensable therapeutics for combating diseases, particularly viral infections. However, their development has been hindered by limited structural information and labor-intensive engineering processes. Fortunately, significant advancements in deep learning methods have facilitated the precise prediction of protein structure and function by leveraging co-evolution information from homologous proteins. Despite these advances, predicting the conformation of antibodies remains challenging due to their unique evolution and the high flexibility of their antigen-binding regions. Here, to address this challenge, we present the Bio-inspired Antibody Language Model (BALM). This model is trained on a vast dataset comprising 336 million 40% nonredundant unlabeled antibody sequences, capturing both unique and conserved properties specific to antibodies. Notably, BALM showcases exceptional performance across four antigen-binding prediction tasks. Moreover, we introduce BALMFold, an end-to-end method derived from BALM, capable of swiftly predicting full atomic antibody structures from individual sequences. Remarkably, BALMFold outperforms those well-established methods like AlphaFold2, IgFold, ESMFold and OmegaFold in the antibody benchmark, demonstrating significant potential to advance innovative engineering and streamline therapeutic antibody development by reducing the need for unnecessary trials. The BALMFold structure prediction server is freely available at https://beamlab-sh.com/models/BALMFold.
IDMIR: identification of dysregulated miRNAs associated with disease based on a miRNA–miRNA interaction network constructed through gene expression data
Authors: Wu Jiashuo , Zhao Xilong , He Yalan , Pan Bingyue , Lai Jiyin , Ji Miao , Li Siyuan , Huang Junling , Han Junwei 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
Micro ribonucleic acids (miRNAs) play a pivotal role in governing the human transcriptome in various biological phenomena. Hence, the accumulation of miRNA expression dysregulation frequently assumes a noteworthy role in the initiation and progression of complex diseases. However, accurate identification of dysregulated miRNAs still faces challenges at the current stage. Several bioinformatics tools have recently emerged for forecasting the associations between miRNAs and diseases. Nonetheless, the existing reference tools mainly identify the miRNA-disease associations in a general state and fall short of pinpointing dysregulated miRNAs within a specific disease state. Additionally, no studies adequately consider miRNA–miRNA interactions (MMIs) when analyzing the miRNA-disease associations. Here, we introduced a systematic approach, called IDMIR, which enabled the identification of expression dysregulated miRNAs through an MMI network under the gene expression context, where the network’s architecture was designed to implicitly connect miRNAs based on their shared biological functions within a particular disease context. The advantage of IDMIR is that it uses gene expression data for the identification of dysregulated miRNAs by analyzing variations in MMIs. We illustrated the excellent predictive power for dysregulated miRNAs of the IDMIR approach through data analysis on breast cancer and bladder urothelial cancer. IDMIR could surpass several existing miRNA-disease association prediction approaches through comparison. We believe the approach complements the deficiencies in predicting miRNA-disease association and may provide new insights and possibilities for diagnosing and treating diseases. The IDMIR approach is now available as a free R package on CRAN (https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=IDMIR).
Sequential covariate-adjusted randomization via hierarchically minimizing Mahalanobis distance and marginal imbalance
Authors: Yang Haoyu , Qin Yichen , Li Yang , Hu Feifang 
Published: May 2024

ABSTRACT
In comparative studies, covariate balance and sequential allocation schemes have attracted growing academic interest. Although many theoretically justified adaptive randomization methods achieve the covariate balance, they often allocate patients in pairs or groups. To better meet the practical requirements where the clinicians cannot wait for other participants to assign the current patient for some economic or ethical reasons, we propose a method that randomizes patients individually and sequentially. The proposed method conceptually separates the covariate imbalance, measured by the newly proposed modified Mahalanobis distance, and the marginal imbalance, that is the sample size difference between the 2 groups, and it minimizes them with an explicit priority order. Compared with the existing sequential randomization methods, the proposed method achieves the best possible covariate balance while maintaining the marginal balance directly, offering us more control of the randomization process. We demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed method through a wide range of simulation studies and real data analysis, and also establish theoretical guarantees for the proposed method in terms of both the convergence of the imbalance measure and the subsequent treatment effect estimation.
Dissecting the colocalized GWAS and eQTLs with mediation analysis for high-dimensional exposures and confounders
Authors: Zhang Qi , Yang Zhikai , Yang Jinliang 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
To leverage the advancements in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping for traits and molecular phenotypes to gain mechanistic understanding of the genetic regulation, biological researchers often investigate the expression QTLs (eQTLs) that colocalize with QTL or GWAS peaks. Our research is inspired by 2 such studies. One aims to identify the causal single nucleotide polymorphisms that are responsible for the phenotypic variation and whose effects can be explained by their impacts at the transcriptomic level in maize. The other study in mouse focuses on uncovering the cis-driver genes that induce phenotypic changes by regulating trans-regulated genes. Both studies can be formulated as mediation problems with potentially high-dimensional exposures, confounders, and mediators that seek to estimate the overall indirect effect (IE) for each exposure. In this paper, we propose MedDiC, a novel procedure to estimate the overall IE based on difference-in-coefficients approach. Our simulation studies find that MedDiC offers valid inference for the IE with higher power, shorter confidence intervals, and faster computing time than competing methods. We apply MedDiC to the 2 aforementioned motivating datasets and find that MedDiC yields reproducible outputs across the analysis of closely related traits, with results supported by external biological evidence. The code and additional information are available on our GitHub page (https://github.com/QiZhangStat/MedDiC).
DOES THE USE OF POLYPROPYLENE INSTEAD OF STAINLESS-STEEL WIRE AFFECT THE SHORT-TERM RECURRENCE RATE AFTER SHOULDICE PRIMARY INGUINAL HERNIA REPAIR?
Authors: Paasch C , Mainprize M , Hunger R , Netto S 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Background
Determine if polypropylene is noninferior to stainless-steel wire (SSW) after Shouldice Primary Inguinal Hernia Repair (SPIHR) regarding recurrence rate at ≥ 1-year after surgery.

Method
A prospective follow-up of SPIHR patients at Shouldice Hospital (SH) from 6/12/2021-1/09/2022, was conducted. Data collection included calls and chart review. Patients were asked about recurrence(s)/recurrent surgery and any observed groin swelling/protrusion. Recurrences were differentiated by confirmed (ultrasound report/documented examination) and not confirmed (report of bulging/swelling and examination outside SH).

Results
1120 patients underwent SPIHR (males: 1057; females: 63). The median age and body mass index were 62 years and 25.2 kg/m2. Hernias were more commonly repaired on the right (53.4%) and an indirect inguinal (56.5%). Most patients had American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score II (39.7%, ASAI: 25.3%; ASAIII: 34.8%; ASAIV: 0.2%) and did not suffer from surgical site infection (98%), nor postoperative complications (98.4%). The median duration of surgery in patients with SSW and polypropylene were 47 and 49 minutes (p = .007), and median follow-up was 16- and 17-months (p &lt; .001), respectively. Patients with polypropylene had more large hernias (47.1% vs. 25.4%), SSW had more medium (63.6% vs. 41.3%), and incidence of small hernias was comparable (p &lt; .001). There were 18 recurrences (1.6%), 11 (0.98%) were confirmed, no difference between SSW and polypropylene (p &gt; 0.9). The median month to noting a recurrence was 6, and only one patient underwent reoperation for recurrent hernia 9-months later.

Conclusion
The use of polypropylene is non-inferior to the use of SSW in terms of the recurrence rate at a median follow-up period of 16 months after elective unilateral SPIHR.
THE LOCAL PARASTOMAL (LOPA) REPAIR: A NOVEL APPROACH TO PARASTOMAL HERNIA REPAIR
Authors: Al Mukhtar A , Petersson U , Lydrup M L , Montgomery A 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Background
Surgical repair of parastomal hernias (PH) is challenging due to high recurrence rates. This study describes and evaluates the short-term outcomes of the LoPa technique for local PH repair using a retromuscular synthetic mesh with an outward facing collar.

Methods
Patients who underwent LoPa repair at Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden, 2017–2022, were included. Medical history, operative details and 90-day complications, were collected retrospectively.

Results
Thirty-nine patients (twenty male) were included, with mean age 71 years and BMI 27 kg/m2. Twenty-five patients had a colostomy, 9 an ileal conduit and 5 an ileostomy. Eight patients had a prior retromuscular synthetic mesh: five with recurrence after earlier PH repair, and three with prophylactic mesh. Median (IQR) peroperative bleeding was 75 (20–120) ml. The median (IQR) operative time for those without prior mesh or undergoing concomitant procedures (n = 25) was 210 (144–296) minutes. Median length of stay (LOS) was 3 days. Two patients were readmitted and reoperated, one for bowel obstruction at the stoma site and the other for evacuation of fecal impaction, both were subsequently discharged without further complications. Four patients had surgical site infection, one classified as deep requiring radiology-assisted drainage.

Conclusions
Short-term outcomes of the LoPa technique for PH repair are promising with short LOS and few major complications. LoPa offers potential advantages such as avoiding midline laparotomy, minimizing adhesiolysis and reducing adhesion formation due to extraabdominal mesh placement. Upcoming studies will evaluate the long-term results of the LoPa technique including recurrence and potential benefits or drawbacks.
THE NEW ERA OF 3D-PRINTING TECHNIQUES IN A MEDICAL SETTING: EARLIER EXPERIENCE WITH THE USE OF BOTULINUM TOXIN FOR COMPLEX VENTRAL HERNIA
Authors: Caruso R , Ferri V , Vicente E , Quijano Y , Duran H , Diaz E , Fabra I , Malave L , Ruiz P 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Background
In the last years 3D printing has progressively gained widespread interest for its several applications in many medical fields. Among the most common diagnostic imaging techniques, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allow only two-dimensional images to obtain information on different pathologies. This requires excellent visualization skills from not specialized medical doctors. The 3D printing has been developed to overcome the current disadvantages of conventional imaging techniques. The 3D models are created from the diagnostic studies of the patient (MRI, CT, PET or a combination of those) with a process that fuse advanced medical imaging algorithms and medical image processing, which are supervised by specialized radiologists.

Method
Hereby we describe the cases of two patients with giant incisional hernias. The patients underwent 3D study before botulinum toxin treatment and another 3D model a months after the botulin toxin. With the 3D model we calculated the abdominal cavity volume before and after the treatment with botulinum toxin. Six weeks after the toxin we planned the surgery.

Results
The operation time was 180 min and 150 min respectively. The patient’s diet was resumed on the first day postsurgery, and the postoperative hospital stay was five days.

Conclusion
Our experience gives an overview of the current use of 3D-techniques, more specifically in the field of abdominal wall defect.
DOCTORS’ ORDERS: A REVIEW ON POSTOPERATIVE INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED TO PATIENTS AFTER ABDOMINAL WALL RECONSTRUCTION (AWR)
Authors: Holland A , Lorenz W , Mead B , Ayuso S , Scarola G , Kercher K , Augenstein V , Heniford B T 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Background
Prescribed physical limitations following AWR primarily focus on weight lifting restrictions. The questions of how much and for how long are poorly understood. Neither a consensus, guidelines, nor definitive data exist to validate surgeon recommendations. We sought to assess the literature on postoperative instructions for patients after AWR.

Methods
A systematic review was performed of the Wake Forest Library and PubMed in January 2024 for literature on postoperative physical recommendations after AWR. Three separate searches concerning restrictions following hernia repair yielded 573 publications.

Results
Of the 573 publications reviewed, only eight articles were directly related to postoperative instructions after AWR. Four were surveys; one was an ongoing randomized controlled trial; one compared two postoperative lifting programs; two were systematic reviews. Three additional studies measured intraabdominal pressure and abdominal wall elasticity in healthy patients with intentions to apply this to AWR patients.
There was variation in the duration of convalescence and weight limitation. For laparoscopic VHR, convalescence recommendations ranged from 1 day to 6 weeks. For laparotomy, convalescence ranged from 1–12 weeks postoperatively. Actions such as coughing, vomiting, and jumping caused higher intraabdominal pressure than lifting. Only one study used recurrence as the primary outcome after comparing postoperative activity regimens.

Conclusion
Despite hernia repair being one of the most commonly performed operations globally, surgeons lack validated and uniform postoperative instructions. There remains a need for higher quality of evidence concerning AWR recovery to optimize patient quality of life while balancing safe return to normal activities.