bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Coarse-graining black holes out of equilibrium with boundary observables on time slice
Authors: Takeda Daichi 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
In black hole thermodynamics, defining coarse-grained entropy for dynamical black holes has long been a challenge, and various proposals, such as generalized entropy, have been explored. Guided by the AdS/CFT, we introduce a new definition of coarse-grained entropy for a dynamical black hole in Lorentzian Einstein gravity. On each time slice, this entropy is defined as the horizon area of an auxiliary Euclidean black hole that shares the same mass, (angular) momenta, and asymptotic normalizable matter modes with the original Lorentzian solution. The entropy is shown to satisfy a generalized first law and, through holography, the second law as well. Furthermore, by applying this thermodynamics to several Vaidya models in AdS and flat spacetime, we discover a connection between the second law and the null energy condition.
Top-quark pole mass extraction at NNLO accuracy, from total, single- and double-differential cross sections for $$ t\overline{t} $$ + X production at the LHC
Authors: Garzelli M. V. , Mazzitelli J. , Moch S.-O. , Zenaiev O. 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
We extract the top-quark mass value in the on-shell renormalization scheme from the comparison of theoretical predictions for pp → $$ t\overline{t} $$
t

t
¯

+ X at next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) QCD accuracy with experimental data collected by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations for absolute total, normalized single-differential and double-differential cross-sections during Run 1, Run 2 and the ongoing Run 3 at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). For the theory computations of heavy-quark pair-production we use the MATRIX framework, interfaced to PineAPPL for the generation of grids of theory predictions, which can be efficiently used a-posteriori during the fit, performed within xFitter. We take several state-of-the-art parton distribution functions (PDFs) as input for the fit and evaluate their associated uncertainties, as well as the uncertainties arising from renormalization and factorization scale variation. Fit uncertainties related to the datasets are also part of the extracted uncertainty of the top-quark mass and turn out to be of similar size as the combined scale and PDF uncertainty. Fit results from different PDF sets agree among each other within 1σ uncertainty, whereas some datasets related to $$ t\overline{t} $$
t

t
¯

decay in different channels (dileptonic vs. semileptonic) point towards top-quark mass values in slight tension among each other, although still compatible within 2.5 σ accuracy. Our results are compatible with the PDG 2022 top-quark pole-mass value. Our work opens the road towards more complex simultaneous NNLO fits of PDFs, the strong coupling αs(MZ) and the top-quark mass, using the currently most precise experimental data on $$ t\overline{t} $$
t

t
¯

+ X total and multi-differential cross sections from the LHC.
Contesting the public works domain: examining the factors affecting presence and success of SMES in public procurement
Authors: Nemec Peter 
Published: May 2024

AbstractThis study investigates the effects of procurement tools to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in public contracts by analysing contract awards for public works published on Tenders Electronic Daily in 2018–2022. Focusing on dividing contracts into smaller lots, a key feature of the 2014 EU modernised procurement framework, this study’s findings reveal that splitting contracts might not necessarily attract SMEs to bid but increases their chances of winning such contracts. Other factors, such as using open and unrestricted bidding procedures and allowing SMEs to showcase their specialisation by awarding contracts based on the best price-quality ratio, positively affect the SMEs’ bidding. The findings of this study emphasise the importance of thoroughly considering individual contract characteristics and overall procurement settings to accommodate SMEs’ limited resource capacities and foster their performance in the public procurement marketplace.
Phylogenetic Analysis and Comparative Genomics of Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis Strains in Egypt
Authors: Elrashedy Alyaa , Nayel Mohamed , Salama Akram , Zaghawa Ahmed , Abdelsalam Nader R. , Hasan Mohamed E. 
Published: May 2024

AbstractBrucellosis is a notifiable disease induced by a facultative intracellular Brucella pathogen. In this study, eight Brucella abortus and eighteen Brucella melitensis strains from Egypt were annotated and compared with RB51 and REV1 vaccines respectively. RAST toolkit in the BV-BRC server was used for annotation, revealing genome length of 3,250,377 bp and 3,285,803 bp, 3289 and 3323 CDS, 48 and 49 tRNA genes, the same number of rRNA (3) genes, 583 and 586 hypothetical proteins, 2697 and 2726 functional proteins for B. abortus and B. melitensis respectively. B. abortus strains exhibit a similar number of candidate genes, while B. melitensis strains showed some differences, especially in the SRR19520422 Faiyum strain. Also, B. melitensis clarified differences in antimicrobial resistance genes (KatG, FabL, MtrA, MtrB, OxyR, and VanO-type) in SRR19520319 Faiyum and (Erm C and Tet K) in SRR19520422 Faiyum strain. Additionally, the whole genome phylogeny analysis proved that all B. abortus strains were related to vaccinated animals and all B. melitensis strains of Menoufia clustered together and closely related to Gharbia, Dameitta, and Kafr Elshiek. The Bowtie2 tool identified 338 (eight B. abortus) and 4271 (eighteen B. melitensis) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) along the genomes. These variants had been annotated according to type and impact. Moreover, thirty candidate genes were predicted and submitted at GenBank (24 in B. abortus) and (6 in B. melitensis). This study contributes significant insights into genetic variation, virulence factors, and vaccine-related associations of Brucella pathogens, enhancing our knowledge of brucellosis epidemiology and evolution in Egypt.
Kommunikation innerhalb der Familie und Symptome der posttraumatischen Belastungsstörung nach einer politischen Inhaftierung
Authors: Weißflog Gregor , Brähler Elmar , Böhm Maya 
Published: May 2024

ZusammenfassungViele ehemalige politische Gefangene der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik (DDR) leiden langfristig an psychischen Folgen der politischen Inhaftierung. In Studien aus anderen Kontexten hat sich gezeigt, dass die Offenlegung („disclosure“) traumatischer Erfahrungen im näheren sozialen Umfeld positive Auswirkungen auf die Verringerung posttraumatischer Beeinträchtigungen haben kann. Wenig ist jedoch darüber bekannt, ob dieser Effekt je nach Kommunikationspartner:in innerhalb der Familie unterschiedlich ausfällt. Daher untersucht diese Pilotstudie die Assoziation zwischen Symptomen der posttraumatischen Belastungsstörung (PTBS) und der Kommunikation mit verschiedenen Familienmitgliedern bei 135 ehemals inhaftierten Personen (84 % männlich) im Alter von 39 bis 86 Jahren. Die Studienteilnehmer:innen machten im Rahmen einer Fragebogenerhebung Angaben zum Ausmaß posttraumatischer Belastungssymptome (Impact of Event Scale – Revised, IES-R) und zum Kommunikationsverhalten in Bezug auf die politische Inhaftierung. Es ergaben sich Hinweise auf eine chronische Belastung durch Symptome der PTBS für einen Teil der Stichprobe. Das Ausmaß der posttraumatischen Symptombelastung unterscheidet sich in Abhängigkeit vom Kommunikationspartner. Teilnehmer:innen, die berichten, ihre traumatischen Erfahrungen ihren Partnern bzw. Kindern mitgeteilt zu haben, weisen geringere Intrusions- bzw. Hyperarousal-Werte auf (wenn mit den Kindern kommuniziert wurde: zusätzlich geringere Vermeidung). Es ergibt sich kein Zusammenhang zwischen der Richtung der intrafamiliären Kommunikation und der Inanspruchnahme psychosozialer Hilfen. Zukünftige Forschung zur familiären Bewältigung bei Opfern politischer Gewalt sollte diese Erkenntnisse stärker berücksichtigen.
Bridging realities: training visuo-haptic object recognition models for robots using 3D virtual simulations
Authors: Ruiz Conrado , de Jesús Òscar , Serrano Claudia , González Alejandro , Nonell Pau , Metaute Arnau , Miralles David 
Published: May 2024

AbstractThis paper proposes an approach for training visuo-haptic object recognition models for robots using synthetic datasets generated by 3D virtual simulations. In robotics, where visual object recognition has witnessed considerable progress due to an abundance of image datasets, the scarcity of diverse haptic samples has resulted in a noticeable gap in research on machine learning incorporating the haptic sense. Our proposed methodology addresses this challenge by utilizing 3D virtual simulations to create realistic synthetic datasets, offering a scalable and cost-effective solution to integrate haptic and visual cues for object recognition seamlessly. Acknowledging the importance of multimodal perception, particularly in robotic applications, our research not only closes the existing gap but envisions a future where intelligent agents possess a holistic understanding of their environment derived from both visual and haptic senses. Our experiments show that synthetic datasets can be used for training object recognition in haptic and visual modes by incorporating noise, performing some preprocessing, data augmentation, or domain adaptation. This work contributes to the advancement of multimodal machine learning toward a more nuanced and comprehensive robotic perception.
Personalized hairstyle and hair color editing based on multi-feature fusion
Authors: Xu Jiayi , Zhang Chenming , Zhu Weikang , Zhang Hongbin , Li Li , Mao Xiaoyang 
Published: May 2024

AbstractIn the metaverse era, virtual design of hairstyle becomes very popular for personalized aesthetics. As hair design tasks can be decomposed into hair attribute editing and generation, the development of generative adversarial networks (GANs) has significantly prompted its development. The majority of the existing algorithms focus on transferring the overall hair region from one face to another, which ignore fine control over the color and geometric features. Furthermore, these algorithms may result in unnatural generation results. In this paper, we propose a hair modification framework that learns hairstyle information from a reference face mask and color information from a guidance face image. Firstly, the features of the input face image and reference images are extracted through a group of encoders, and then divided into feature vectors of coarse, medium, and fine levels. Secondly, multi-level feature vectors are fused in the latent space using attention-based modulation modules. Finally, the fused feature vector is passed through a StyleGAN generator to generate face images with specified hairstyle and hair color. Experimental results show that the proposed method can finely simulate the hairstyle transition between long and short hair under the constraint of the reference mask, and can produce realistic fusion effects in the hair-covered regions, such as ears, neck, and forehead. Various hair dyeing effects that adapt to personalized characteristics are demonstrated, as facial features including skin color and hair texture are preserved when transferring the hair color.
Clinical features and treatment of heterotopic pancreas in children: a multi-center retrospective study
Authors: Yang Xiaofeng , Liu Chen , Sun Shuai , Dong Chao , Zhao Shanshan , Bokhary Zaitun M. , Liu Na , Wu Jinghua , Ding Guojian , Zhang Shisong , Geng Lei , Liu Hongzhen , Fu Tingliang , Gao Xiangqian , Niu Qiong 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
Objective
Heterotopic pancreas, an uncommon condition in children, can present with diagnostic and treatment challenges. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical features and treatment options for this disorder in pediatric patients.

Methods
We conducted a retrospective analysis, including patients diagnosed with heterotopic pancreas at four tertiary hospitals between January 2000 and June 2022. Patients were categorized into symptomatic and asymptomatic groups based on clinical presentation. Clinical parameters, including age at surgery, lesion size and site, surgical or endoscopic approach, pathological findings, and outcome, were statistically analyzed.

Results
The study included 88 patients with heterotopic pancreas. Among them, 22 were symptomatic, and 41 were aged one year or younger. The heterotopic pancreas was commonly located in Meckel’s diverticulum (46.59%), jejunum (20.45%), umbilicus (10.23%),ileum (7.95%), and stomach (6.82%). Sixty-six patients had concomitant diseases. Thirty-three patients had heterotopic pancreas located in the Meckel’s diverticulum, with 80.49% of cases accompanied by gastric mucosa heterotopia (GMH). Patients without accompanying GMH had a higher prevalence of heterotopic pancreas-related symptoms (75%). Treatment modalities included removal of the lesions by open surgery, laparoscopic or laparoscopic assisted surgery, or endoscopic surgery based on patient’s age, the lesion site and size, and coexisting diseases.

Conclusions
Only one-fourth of the patients with heterotopic pancreas presented with symptoms. Those located in the Meckel’s diverticulum have commonly accompanying GMH. Open surgical, laparoscopic surgical or endoscopic resection of the heterotopic pancreas is recommended due to potential complications. Future prospective multicenter studies are warranted to establish rational treatment options.
Assessing the applicability of the 2023 international MOGAD panel criteria in real-world clinical settings
Authors: Rechtman Ariel , Freidman-Korn Tal , Zveik Omri , Shweiki Lyne , Hoichman Garrick , Vaknin-Dembinsky Adi 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
Introduction
Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) is a recently identified demyelinating disorder with a diverse clinical spectrum. Diagnosing MOGAD traditionally relies on clinical judgment, highlighting the necessity for precise diagnostic criteria. Banwell et al. proposed criteria, aiming to refine the diagnostic spectrum. This study evaluates these criteria in a real-life cohort, comparing their performance with clinical judgment and describe the cohort of MOGAD patients.

Methods
This retrospective study, conducted at Hadassah Medical Center, included 88 patients with MOG-IgG antibodies. Patients with a positive or borderline MOG-IgG antibodies by cell-based assay were included. Demographics, clinical and MRI data were recorded. Cases were divided into definite MOGAD and Non-MOGAD groups as determined by the treating physician. We assessed the sensitivity and specificity of the new criteria in comparison to treating physicians’ evaluations. Additionally, we examined clinical differences between the MOGAD and Non-MOGAD groups.

Results
We observed a strong concordance (98%) between the new MOGAD criteria and treating physicians' diagnoses. Clinical disparities between MOGAD and Non-MOGAD groups included lower EDSS scores, normal MRI scans, preserved brain volume, negative OCB results, and distinct relapse patterns. Also, compared to relapsing patients, monophasic MOGAD patients have greater brain volume and a lower age at onset.

Conclusion
The study demonstrates robust accuracy of new MOGAD criteria, emphasizing their potential to enhance diagnostic precision. Treatment response integration into the MOGAD diagnosis is crucial, as it could aid in distinguishing MOGAD from other demyelinating disorders. Distinct clinical profiles highlight the importance of informed decisions in managing MOGAD and similar disorders.
Incorporating the inflammation-related parameters enhances the performance of the nomogram for predicting local control in lung cancer patients treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy
Authors: Huang Bao-Tian , Lin Pei-Xian , Luo Li-Mei , Wang Ying 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to investigate whether including the inflammation-related parameters would enhance the accuracy of a nomogram for local control (LC) prediction in lung cancer patients undergoing stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT).

Methods
158 primary or metastatic lung cancer patients treated with SBRT were retrospectively analyzed. The clinical, dosimetric and inflammation-related parameters were collected for the Cox regression analysis. The ACPB model was constructed by employing the clinical and dosimetric factors. And the ACPBLN model was established by adding the inflammation-related factors to the ACPB model. The two models were compared in terms of ROC, Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), C-index, time-dependent AUC, continuous net reclassification index (NRI), integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), calibration plots and decision curve analysis (DCA).

Results
Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that six prognostic factors were independently associated with LC, including age, clinical stage, planning target volume (PTV) volume, BED of the prescribed dose (BEDPD), the lymphocyte count and neutrocyte count. The ACPBLN model performed better in AIC, bootstrap-corrected C-index, time-dependent AUC, NRI and IDI than the ACPB model. The calibration plots showed good consistency between the probabilities and observed values in the two models. The DCA curves showed that the ACPBLN nomogram had higher overall net benefit than the ACPB model across a majority of threshold probabilities.

Conclusion
The inflammation-related parameters were associated with LC for lung cancer patients treated with SBRT. The inclusion of the inflammation-related parameters improved the predictive performance of the nomogram for LC prediction.
Soil compaction reversed the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on soil hydraulic properties
Authors: David Püschel , Jana Rydlová , Radka Sudová , Jan Jansa , Michael Bitterlich 
Published: May 2024

AbstractArbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) typically provide a wide range of nutritional benefits to their host plants, and their role in plant water uptake, although still controversial, is often cited as one of the hallmarks of this symbiosis. Less attention has been dedicated to other effects relating to water dynamics that the presence of AMF in soils may have. Evidence that AMF can affect soil hydraulic properties is only beginning to emerge. In one of our recent experiments with dwarf tomato plants, we serendipitously found that the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (Rhizophagus irregularis ‘PH5’) can slightly but significantly reduce water holding capacity (WHC) of the substrate (a sand–zeolite–soil mixture). This was further investigated in a subsequent experiment, but there we found exactly the opposite effect as mycorrhizal substrate retained more water than did the non-mycorrhizal substrate. Because the same substrate was used and other conditions were mostly comparable in the two experiments, we explain the contrasting results by different substrate compaction, most likely caused by different pot shapes. It seems that in compacted substrates, AMF may have no effect upon or even decrease the substrates’ WHC. On the other hand, the AMF hyphae interweaving the pores of less compacted substrates may increase the capillary movement of water throughout such substrates and cause slightly more water to remain in the pores after the free water has drained. We believe that this phenomenon is worthy of mycorrhizologists’ attention and merits further investigation as to the role of AMF in soil hydraulic properties.
Clinical outcome after dorso-ventral stabilization of the thoracolumbar and lumbar spine with vertebral body replacement and dorsal stabilization
Authors: Jäckle K. , Assmann L. , Roch P. J. , Klockner F. , Meier M-P , Hawellek T. , Lehmann W. , Weiser L. 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
Purpose
Surgical stabilization of the spine by vertebral body replacement (VBR) is used for spinal disorders such as traumatic fractures to provide an anatomical re-adjustment of the spine to prevent late detrimental effects and pain [1–4]. This study addresses the clinical outcome after a ventral intervention with VBR and bisegmental fusion.

Methods
The study includes 76 patients (mean age: 59.34 ± 15.97; 34 females and 42 males) with fractures in the lower thoracic and lumbar spine. They were selected from patients of our hospital who received an anterolateral VBR surgery on the corresponding lower spine region over a nine-year period. Only patients were examined with X-rays and complete follow-up records. Exclusion criteria were changes due to degeneration and pathological fractures. Patients were divided into two groups, the thoracotomy group (Th10-L1) and the lumbotomy group (L2-5), respectively. Minimum one year after surgery, patients were asked about their well-being using a precasted questionnaire.

Results
No significant differences with respect to the subjective impression of the patients concerning their back pain, spinal functional impairment, their general functional status and their quality of life impairment. Unfortunately, however, only a rather modest but significant increase of the post-surgical life quality was reported.

Conclusions
Patients who underwent VBR in the lower thoracic or lumbar spine show modest long-term well-being. The results suggest that injuries to the lower thoracic or lumbar spine requiring vertebral body replacement should be classified as severe injuries since they adversely affect the patients’ long-term well-being.

Trial registration
Study of clinical outcome of patients after vertebral body replacement of the ventral thoracal and lumbal spine, DRKS00031452. Registered 10th March 2023 - Prospectively registered. Trial registration number DRKS00031452.
Speeding up the Euler scheme for killed diffusions
Authors: Çetin Umut , Hok Julien 
Published: May 2024

AbstractLet $X$
X
be a linear diffusion taking values in $(\ell ,r)$
(
ℓ
,
r
)
and consider the standard Euler scheme to compute an approximation to $\mathbb{E}[g(X_{T}){\mathbf{1}}_{\{T<\zeta \}}]$
E
[
g
(

X
T

)

1

{
T
<
ζ
}

]
for a given function $g$
g
and a deterministic $T$
T
, where $\zeta =\inf \{t\geq 0: X_{t} \notin (\ell ,r)\}$
ζ
=
inf
{
t
≥
0
:

X
t

∉
(
ℓ
,
r
)
}
. It is well known since Gobet (Stoch. Process. Appl. 87:167–197, 2000) that the presence of killing introduces a loss of accuracy and reduces the weak convergence rate to $1/\sqrt{N}$
1
/

N

with $N$
N
being the number of discretisations. We introduce a drift-implicit Euler method to bring the convergence rate back to $1/N$
1
/
N
, i.e., the optimal rate in the absence of killing, using the theory of recurrent transformations developed in Çetin (Ann. Appl. Probab. 28:3102–3151, 2018). Although the current setup assumes a one-dimensional setting, multidimensional extension is within reach as soon as a systematic treatment of recurrent transformations is available in higher dimensions.