bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An exploratory research report on brain mineralization in postoperative delirium and cognitive decline
Authors: Lammers‐Lietz Florian , Borchers Friedrich , Feinkohl Insa , Hetzer Stefan , Kanar Cicek , Konietschke Frank , Lachmann Gunnar , Chien Claudia , Spies Claudia , Winterer Georg , Zaborszky Laszlo , Zacharias Norman , Paul Friedemann 
Published: February 2024

AbstractDelirium is a severe postoperative complication associated with poor overall and especially neurocognitive prognosis. Altered brain mineralization is found in neurodegenerative disorders but has not been studied in postoperative delirium and postoperative cognitive decline. We hypothesized that mineralization‐related hypointensity in susceptibility‐weighted magnetic resonance imaging (SWI) is associated with postoperative delirium and cognitive decline. In an exploratory, hypothesis‐generating study, we analysed a subsample of cognitively healthy patients ≥65 years who underwent SWI before (N = 65) and 3 months after surgery (N = 33). We measured relative SWI intensities in the basal ganglia, hippocampus and posterior basal forebrain cholinergic system (pBFCS). A post hoc analysis of two pBFCS subregions (Ch4, Ch4p) was conducted. Patients were screened for delirium until the seventh postoperative day. Cognitive testing was performed before and 3 months after surgery. Fourteen patients developed delirium. After adjustment for age, sex, preoperative cognition and region volume, only pBFCS hypointensity was associated with delirium (regression coefficient [90% CI]: B = −15.3 [−31.6; −0.8]). After adjustments for surgery duration, age, sex and region volume, perioperative change in relative SWI intensities of the pBFCS was associated with cognitive decline 3 months after surgery at a trend level (B = 6.8 [−0.9; 14.1]), which was probably driven by a stronger association in subregion Ch4p (B = 9.3 [2.3; 16.2]). Brain mineralization, particularly in the cerebral cholinergic system, could be a pathomechanism in postoperative delirium and cognitive decline. Evidence from our studies is limited because of the small sample and a SWI dataset unfit for iron quantification, and the analyses presented here should be considered exploratory.
How close are we to a breakthrough? The hunt for blood biomarkers in Parkinson's disease diagnosis
Authors: Liu Cheng , Su Yang , Ma Xiaolong , Wei Yao , Qiao Rui 
Published: February 2024

AbstractParkinson's disease (PD), being the second largest neurodegenerative disease, poses challenges in early detection, resulting in a lack of timely treatment options to effectively manage the disease. By the time clinical diagnosis becomes possible, more than 60% of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) of patients have already degenerated. Therefore, early diagnosis or identification of warning signs is crucial for the prompt and timely beginning of the treatment. However, conducting invasive or complex diagnostic procedures on asymptomatic patients can be challenging, making routine blood tests a more feasible approach in such cases. Numerous studies have been conducted over an extended period to search for effective diagnostic biomarkers in blood samples. However, thus far, no highly effective biomarkers have been confirmed. Besides classical proteins like α‐synuclein (α‐syn), phosphorylated α‐syn and oligomeric α‐syn, other molecules involved in disease progression should also be given equal attention. In this review, we will not only discuss proposed biomarkers that are currently under investigation but also delve into the mechanisms underlying the disease, focusing on processes such as α‐syn misfolding, intercellular transmission and the crossing of the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Our aim is to provide an updated overview of molecules based on these processes that may potentially serve as blood biomarkers.
Colic signs caused by an unilateral abdominal seminoma in a Friesian stallion
Authors: Peeters Chantal M. P. , Sterk Teun , Grinwis Guy , Giglia Giuseppe , Rijkenhuizen Astrid B. M. 
Published: February 2024

SummaryThis case report describes the diagnosis and surgical treatment of a 12‐year‐old Friesian stallion that presented with colic and was diagnosed with an unilateral abdominal seminoma. The diagnostic work‐up included haematology, blood chemistry, rectal examination and ultrasonography before the tentative diagnosis of a neoplastic intra‐abdominal testicle was made. The mass was removed surgically and diagnosed as a seminoma via histopathology. Regular follow‐up was performed since suspected metastasis was seen on transrectal ultrasonography and laparoscopy. Unfortunately, the patient was subjected to euthanasia 18 months post‐surgery due to clinical deterioration. Post‐mortem examination was performed and confirmed the cause of clinical deterioration was due to metastasis of the previously removed seminoma. Colic is, to the author's knowledge, rarely seen in stallions with an abdominal testicular neoplasm, in contrast to humans and dogs.
The lexical content of high‐stakes national exams in French, German, and Spanish in England
Authors: Dudley Amber , Marsden Emma 
Published: February 2024

AbstractSurprisingly little is known about the number and frequency level of words that beginner‐to‐low‐intermediate 16‐year‐old learners of French, German, and Spanish are expected to know when taking high‐stakes national exams in England. This study presents exploratory analyses of the lexical content of the listening and reading tests of these exams, a corpus totaling 116,647 running words. Specifically, it seeks to understand the number and frequency level of words that (a) this demographic seems to be expected to know and (b) could be needed for awarding organizations to create exams year‐on‐year. Key findings include that the proportion of low(er)‐frequency words in the corpus of exam papers seemed large, given the stage of the learners and the purpose of the assessments. Critically, these low(er)‐frequency words changed at a high rate between papers, likely incurring a heavy reliance on the lexical inferencing abilities of these relatively inexperienced language learners.
Capping welfare payments for workless families increases employment and economic inactivity: Evidence from the UK's benefit cap
Authors: Reeves Aaron , Fransham Mark , Stewart Kitty , Reader Mary , Patrick Ruth 
Published: February 2024

AbstractIn this paper, we examine the labour market effects of lowering the UK's benefit cap in 2016. This policy limits the total amount a working‐age non‐disabled household with no‐one in employment can receive in social security. We treat the sharp reduction in this benefit cap as a natural experiment, comparing those at risk of being capped and those who were not before and after the cap was lowered. Drawing on data from ~500,000 individuals, we find that this reform reduced unemployment compared to those not at risk of being capped. The reform also increased economic inactivity, partly because the cap harmed mental health but also because those at risk of being capped were eligible to claim disability‐related welfare payments that made them exempt. Limiting total monthly welfare payments of low‐income families may increase employment for some but it can also push others out of the labour market altogether.
The geography of collective bargaining in French multi‐establishment companies
Authors: Askenazy Philippe , Cottineau Clémentine 
Published: February 2024

AbstractDespite growing interest in the firm bargaining process, little research focuses on the structure of bargaining within multi‐establishment firms. We question whether running negotiations at the workplace level and/or firm level is a strategic choice for employers. We hypothesize that the level chosen depends on the geography of the firm. Employers face a trade‐off: workplace bargaining is more efficient because it meets local conditions; yet higher level negotiations increase coordination costs for workers and weakens their bargaining power, which can benefit the employer. Using a French representative survey, we find a significant relation between the level of bargaining within a firm and the number, spatial distribution and heterogeneity of its establishments, suggesting that the structure of multi‐establishment firms can inform the level at which collective bargaining takes place.
How clinicians make decisions for patient management plans in telehealth
Authors: Zhang Yuhan , Stayt Louise , Sutherland Sheera , Greenway Kathleen 
Published: February 2024

AbstractAimThis systematic integrative literature review explores how clinicians make decisions for patient management plans in telehealth.BackgroundTelehealth is a modality of care that has gained popularity due to the development of digital technology and the COVID‐19 pandemic. It is recognized that telehealth, compared to traditional clinical settings, carries a higher risk to patients due to its virtual characteristics. Even though the landscape of healthcare service is increasingly moving towards virtual systems, the decision‐making process in telehealth remains not fully understood.DesignA systematic integrative review.Data SourcesDatabases include CINAHL, APA PsycInfo, Academic Search Complete, PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar.Review MethodsThis systematic integrative review method was informed by Whittemore and Knafl (2005). The databases were initially searched with keywords in November 2022 and then repeated in October 2023. Thematic synthesis was conducted to analyse and synthesize the data.ResultsThe search identified 382 articles. After screening, only 10 articles met the eligibility criteria and were included. Five studies were qualitative, one quantitative and four were mixed methods. Five main themes relevant to decision‐making processes in telehealth were identified: characteristics of decision‐making in telehealth, patient factor, clinician factor, CDSS factor and external influencing factor.ConclusionsThe decision‐making process in telehealth is a complicated cognitive process influenced by multi‐faceted components, including patient factors, clinician factors, external influencing factors and technological factors.ImpactTelehealth carries higher risk and uncertainty than face‐to‐face encounters. CDSS, rather than bringing unification and clarity, seems to bring more divergence and ambiguity. Some of the clinical reasoning processes in telehealth remain unknown and need to be verbalized and made transparent, to prepare junior clinicians with skills to minimize risks associated with telehealth.Patient or Public ContributionNot applicable.
The mediating role of coping strategies between caregiving burden and pre‐death grief among Chinese adult‐child caregivers of dementia patients
Authors: Wangliu Yiqi , Chen Ji‐Kang 
Published: February 2024

AbstractAimsThe objective of this study was to examine the relationship between caregiving burden and pre‐death grief, with a specific focus on adult‐child caregivers in mainland China. Additionally, the study explored whether coping strategies played a mediating role in this correlation.MethodsA convenience sample of 320 adult‐child caregivers of older parents with dementia from Kunming, mainland China, was recruited for the study. Data were collected using the Chinese version of the Marwit‐Meuser Caregiver Grief Inventory‐Short Form, the Burden Scale for Family Caregivers, and the Ways of Coping Checklist‐Revised.ResultsResults using linear regression and multiple mediation analysis with Hayes' process model indicated that caregiving burden was positively related to pre‐death grief and that active coping mediated the relationship between them. In the female group, active coping partially mediated the association between caregiving burden and pre‐death grief, but in the male group, this mediating effect did not exist.ConclusionThe study found evidence supporting the link between caregiving burden and pre‐death grief among adult‐child caregivers of older parents with dementia in mainland China. Furthermore, the caregiving burden prevented the use of active coping, and this decrease in coping increased the perception of pre‐death grief. These associations only existed in the female group.ImplicationsThis paper presented the importance of active coping skills in the dementia caregiving process.ImpactThe findings of this study emphasize the necessity for health practitioners to provide targeted interventions regarding pre‐death grief among dementia caregivers and strengthen caregivers' active coping strategies to reduce their pre‐death grief. Community‐based and personal care support services should be promoted to alleviate their caregiving burden.Reporting MethodWe have adhered to the transparent reporting of evaluations with quantitative design statements and the corresponding checklist was followed.Patient or Public Contribution‘No patient or public involvement’.
State Borrowing and Global Responsibilities
Authors: Pattison James 
Published: February 2024

ABSTRACTThis article explores the ethics of state borrowing to fulfil global responsibilities. Although borrowing may appear attractive in the face of budgetary pressures and an increased number of crises in a changing global order, the article argues that borrowing to fulfil global responsibilities is generally morally problematic. It presents two main objections to borrowing. First, borrowing is often likely to be unfair intergenerationally, violating the ‘Just Borrowing Principle’. Second, borrowing demonstrates a lack of sufficient commitment, violating the ‘Taking a Stand Principle’, and therefore weakens the expressivist justification of measures to fulfil global responsibilities.
Health professionals' education related to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A scoping review
Authors: Ailey Sarah H. , Bathje Molly , Tichá Renáta , Abery Brian , Khuu Belle K. , Angel Lisa 
Published: February 2024

AbstractBackgroundPeople with intellectual and developmental disabilities are among the most underserved in an inequitable healthcare system.MethodsUsing Arksey and O'Malley's methodology and a social determinants of health framework, we conducted a scoping review of literature on the state of practice in education of healthcare professionals in the health and healthcare needs of this population.ResultsSearches found 4948 articles, with 182 included in the final review. Themes identified included gaps of not being informed by workforce needs, continued use of the medical model of care, not addressing intersectionality with racial/ethnic and other discriminations, and lack of involvement of the population in developing/evaluating programs and promising trends of development of competency‐based interprofessional programs with experiential learning.ConclusionWe provide recommendations for best practices in a concerted effort to educate a healthcare workforce equipped with the knowledge and skills to address the health needs of this population.
Proteomic, miRNA and bacterial biomarker patterns in atopic dermatitis patients and their course upon anti‐IL‐4Rα therapy
Authors: Pažur K. , Francuzik W. , El‐Mahmoud H. , Kraft M. , Worm M. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractBackgroundIdentification of biomarkers is required for a systems medicine approach and personalized treatment in atopic dermatitis (AD). These biomarkers may not only aid in diagnosing but also might be suitable to predict the effectiveness of targeted treatment.ObjectiveWe aimed to identify proteomic, microbial and miRNA biomarkers in AD patients and investigated their course in relation to the clinical response upon anti‐IL‐4Rα therapy.MethodsProteomic and miRNA screening was performed in AD patients in comparison to healthy controls. Differentially regulated serum proteins, miRNA and selected skin microbiota were measured consecutively in 50 AD patients before and upon systemic dupilumab treatment. A random forest classifier was used to predict the outcome of dupilumab therapy based on the initial biomarker patterns.ResultsWe identified 27 proteomic candidates, miRNA and three microbial strains to be dysregulated in AD. CCL17, CCL13, CCL22, E‐selectin and BDNF were differently regulated and significantly associated with treatment response. In contrast, neither the microbial composition nor the miRNA pattern was associated with treatment response upon dupilumab treatment.ConclusionAD patients display defined dysregulations regarding their systemic proteomic serum profile, miRNA patterns and their skin microbiome. The proteomic profile and selected skin bacteria changed profoundly upon anti‐IL‐4Rα therapy which was associated with an overall clinical response. This was not seen in miRNA‐related biomarkers. Our findings support the hypothesis that biomarker profiles reflect treatment responses and may in the future be used to develop a personalized medicine approach for the treatment of AD patients.
Effort complementarity and role assignments in group contests
Authors: Kobayashi Katsuya 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThis study characterizes role assignments in maximizing a group's winning probability under the influence of the complementarity of group members' efforts in a group contest, in contrast to prize and multiple resource allocations. We use a constant elasticity of substitution effort aggregator function to parameterize the complementarity. While the prize and resource allocation rules depend on the complementarity, the assignment rule does not when multiple roles are assignable to a single group member: All roles are assigned only to the most productive group member. However, when only a single role per group member is assignable, the assignment rule depends on the complementarity: Roles from greater to less importance are assigned to group members in descending order of their productivity under strong complementarity; only the most important role is assigned to the most productive group member and the others have no effect under weak complementarity.
Functional and numerical response and mutual interference of Goniozus legneri (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) on Cydia pomonella (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae): Its implications for biological control
Authors: Cavallo María José , Romero Oscar Eduardo , Barros Lucas Ariel , Cichón Liliana , Garrido Silvina Alejandra , Diez Patricia Alejandra 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThe functional and numerical response and the potential for mutual interference are key components in the selection of parasitoids for biological control. In this study, functional and numerical responses of Goniozus legneri to different densities of fifth instar Cydia pomonella larvae and mutual interference of this parasitoid were studied under laboratory conditions. Logistic regression was used to find the type of functional response and the result was type II. The attack rate, handling time, the parasitoid searching efficiency and the maximum host mortality rate were estimated by fitting the Holling model to the data. The numerical response of the parasitoid did not vary based on the availability of codling moth larvae. The negative value of the interference coefficient (−0.228) in the mutual interference analysis showed an inverse relationship between parasitoid density and per capita searching efficiency. This suggests that when the density of G. legneri and C. pomonella larvae is equivalent, the parasitoid proves to be more effective in pest control. The findings of this study contribute to increasing the knowledge of G. legneri and its potential as a biocontrol agent.
CEO compensation complexity: Optimal contracts or agency problems?
Authors: Alolah Othman 
Published: February 2024

AbstractI construct a CEO pay complexity index based on grant‐level compensation data to test whether compensation complexity is consistent with optimal contracts or agency problems. Complexity may represent board efforts to contract optimally or a means by which the CEO camouflages agency issues and rent extraction. I find evidence supporting the agency view by showing how complexity is negatively related to firm value, profitability, and CEO turnover–performance sensitivity. I also examine the relation between complexity and CEO investment behavior and find mixed results. Overall, the findings relate to shareholders' dissatisfaction with the increased complexity of CEO compensation.
Simulation analysis and experimental testing of the grading performance of small potato grading device
Authors: Deng Weigang , Ren Zhiqi , Zhao Haohao , Yan Dong , Xie Shengshi 
Published: February 2024

AbstractExisting potato grading device has a complex structure and a large volume, which is not suitable for small‐scale potato farmers. However, traditional manual grading methods not only have low efficiency but also high labor costs. This article developed a small movable rotating plate (MRP)‐type potato grading device, and the influences of three factors (the height of the horizontal slide, the tilt angle of the inclined slide, and the chain speed) on the grading efficiency and accuracy were investigated using the discrete element method and virtual orthogonal experiments. It was found that the horizontal slide height of 185 mm, the inclined slide tilt angle of 3.5°, and the chain speed of 0.9 m/s yielded the optimal grading efficiency (13.84 t/h) and grading accuracy (94.11%). Finally, the potato grading process was tested and validated through indoor tests, and the optimal grading accuracy was 91.04%. The grading accuracy deviation between the test and simulation results was less than 8%.Practical ApplicationCurrently, most commercial potato grading machines are designed for large‐scale farms, which are not suitable for developing countries. The potato grading device designed in this article can not only be used independently by small‐scale farms, but also be integrated with potato combine harvesters to achieve potato harvest and grading joint operations. This grading device has a simple structure, small footprint (1700 × 1200 × 840 mm3), and a very low cost ($600). With a high grading efficiency and accuracy, it can significantly improve the grading productivity of small and medium‐sized potato farmers in developing countries, reduce the production costs, and save labors.
Tea bud detection based on multi‐scale convolutional block attention module
Authors: Gui Jiangsheng , Wu Dongwei , Xu Huirong , Chen Jianneng , Tong Junhua 
Published: February 2024

AbstractFor the sake of effectively identifying tea buds and improving the picking precision of mechanical picking, as a matter of fact, the traditional object detection algorithm has some problems such as poor detection effect and robustness under unstructured environment, the application of Yolo‐Tea object detection algorithm in tea bud detection under unstructured environment was explored. First, by introducing multi‐scale convolutional block attention module (MCBAM) and multi‐scale prediction layer into a network, the model gathers important information that is beneficial to tea buds classification and enhances the detection of small object tea buds in the dense scene. Then, based on the specific tea buds dataset, the anchor boxes are re‐clustered using K‐means and genetic algorithm. Finally, EIoU loss function is introduced into the boundary box regression stage to reduce the missed detection and speed up the convergence of the model. The multi‐detection box generated by the object is suppressed by soft‐non‐maximum suppression, the test effect image has a final boundary box, and the category score is output. The experiment results show that the mAP of the proposed algorithm for tea buds is 95.2%. Compared with the common object detection algorithm, the network shows superior performance in tea buds detection, which can effectively improve the recognition effect of tea buds under an unstructured environment.