bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Recurrent variational autoencoder approach for remaining useful life estimation
Authors: Costa Nahuel , Sánchez Luciano 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
A new method for evaluating aircraft engine monitoring data is proposed. Commonly, prognostics and health management systems use knowledge of the degradation processes of certain engine components together with professional expert opinion to predict the Remaining Useful Life (RUL). New data-driven approaches have emerged to provide accurate diagnostics without relying on such costly processes. However, most of them lack an explanatory component to understand model learning and/or the nature of the data. A solution based on a novel recurrent version of a VAE is proposed in this paper to overcome this gap. The latent space learned by the model, trained with data from sensors placed in different parts of these engines, is exploited to build a self-explanatory map that can visually evaluate the rate of deterioration of the engines. Besides, a simple regressor model is built on top of the learned features of the encoder in order to numerically predict the RUL. As a result, remarkable prognostic accuracy is achieved, outperforming most of the novel and state-of-the-art approaches on the available modular aero-propulsion system simulation data (C-MAPSS dataset) from NASA. In addition, a practical real-world application is included for Turbofan engine data. This study shows that the proposed prognostic and explainable framework presents a promising new approach.
Psychopathology and Metaphysics: Can One Be a Realist About Mental Disorder?
Authors: Iliadi Simoni 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Metaphysical realism about mental disorder is the thesis that mental disorder exists mind-independently. There are two ways to challenge metaphysical realism about mental disorder. The first is by denying that mental disorder exists. The second is by denying that mental disorder exists mind-independently. Or, differently put, by arguing that mental disorder is mind-dependent. The aim of this paper is three-fold: (a) to examine three ways in which mental disorder can be said to be mind-dependent (namely, by being causally dependent on the human mind, by being weakly dependent on human attitudes, and by being strongly dependent on human attitudes), (b) to clarify their differences, and (c) to discuss their implications regarding metaphysical realism about mental disorder. I argue that mental disorder being mind-dependent in the first two senses is compatible with metaphysical realism about mental disorder, whereas mental disorder being mind-dependent in the third sense is not.
(O-05) ESTRADIOL LEVELS IN MEXICAN MEN WITH ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION
Authors: Jiménez J , Rodríguez S , Sandoval C 
Published: March 2024

Abstract

Introduction and Objective
Erectile dysfunction is associated with various psychological and physiological causes, including hormone levels such as testosterone. The role of estradiol in male sexual function is controversial, and studies reporting its impact on erectile function have been inconsistent. The aim of this study was to describe the levels of testosterone and estradiol in Mexican men with erectile dysfunction, based on the severity of dysfunction.

Materials and Methods
Hormonal levels of TSH, T3, T4, LH, FSH, total and free testosterone, and estradiol were measured in men over 18 years of age with erectile dysfunction, attending a clinic in Mexico. Clinical variables were analyzed, estimating measures of central tendency and dispersion for numerical variables, and absolute and relative frequencies for categorical variables. The proportion of men with abnormal levels of estradiol and testosterone was calculated based on the severity of erectile dysfunction.

Results
A total of 70 participants were included. The average age was 53.9 years old (+/- 11.8); 18.5% had severe dysfunction, 65.7% had moderate dysfunction, 14.2% had mild to moderate dysfunction, and 1.4% had mild dysfunction. 35.7% were diabetic, and 34.2% were hypertensive. 62.8% had abnormal levels in at least one of the evaluated hormones: 5.7% had low TSH levels; 2.8% had low T3 levels; 1.4% had low T4 levels; 5.7% had low and 7.1% had high total testosterone levels; 12.8% had low and 2.8% had high free testosterone levels; 17.1% had high prolactin levels; 1.4% had low and 10% had high LH levels; 5.7% had high FSH levels. Estradiol level was high in 6 men (8.5%), 1 had mild-moderate and 5 moderate dysfunction; 8 men had low estradiol levels (11.42%), 1 had mild-moderate, 4 moderate and 3 severe dysfunction.

Conclusions
Alteration on the levels of Estradiol was common in the analyzed group of patients with erectile dysfunction, especially in men with moderate dysfunction, observed in 12.8% of them.

Financing
Boston Medical Group.
(O-13) TESTOSTERONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY AND PROSTATE CANCER PROGRESSION IN HYPOGONADAL MEN ON ACTIVE SURVEILLANCE: A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS
Authors: Moreno J , Khera M 
Published: March 2024

Abstract

Introduction
The use of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in hypogonadal men with prostate cancer (PC) on active surveillance (AS) has been controversial. However, recent studies have challenged this notion, warranting further investigation. We aim to assess the impact of TRT on PC progression in hypogonadal men on AS.

Methods
We conducted a retrospective chart review using data from a single hospital system between 2009 and 2022. The database included hypogonadal men with PC on AS who underwent TRT. Patients with prior PC treatment were excluded. PSA and total testosterone (TT) levels were recorded at various time points, including before and after TRT initiation. One-way ANOVA was used to analyze mean PSA and TT levels, and PC treatment progression was documented.

Results
A total of 25 men met the inclusion criteria. Mean PSA and TT levels at each time interval showed no significant difference in PSA (P = 0.283), while TT exhibited significant variation (P = 0.0052) throughout the 2-year study period. Mean TT before TRT initiation was 311.39 ng/dL, and after TRT, it increased to 773.04 ng/dL (P = 0.00011). Only one patient (4%) underwent radiation therapy for PC five years after starting TRT.

Conclusions
Initiating TRT in hypogonadal men on AS for PC did not result in a significant change in PSA levels, despite an increase in testosterone. As our database expands, we aim to strengthen the study's statistical power. These findings contribute to the growing evidence supporting the potential viability of TRT in hypogonadal men on AS.

Financing
No conflict.
(O-25) SURGICAL TREATMENT FOR CHRONIC TESTICULAR PAIN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Authors: de Freitas F C , Sanches M R , Dosatti AdC 
Published: March 2024

Abstract

Introduction and Objetives
Chronic testicular pain (CTP) is defined as 3 months of intermittent or constant testicular pain that is significantly bothersome to the patient. There exist a variety of different surgical treatment options for CTP. They are generally kept as second or even third-line option for persistent cases. This study aims to review and elucidate the literature about surgical treatment for chronic testicular pain.

Methods
We searched Pubmed, Embase and Cochrane for articles evaluating surgical treatments for CTP. Search terms included “orchialgia”, “spermatic cord”, “chronic scrotal pain”, “chronic testicular pain” and “surgery”.

Results
Microsurgical Denervation of the Spermatic Cord (MDSC) is the surgical standard when a procedure is indicated for idiopathic chronic orchialgia unresponsive to conservative therapies. The positive response to spermatic cord block is a predictor of MDSC response. Pain relief after MDSC ranges from 76% to 100%. Ultrasound-guided targeted cryoablation could be used in persistent CTP after MDSC with 75% success rate. Epididymectomy is better indicated for CTP in structural abnormality such as cyst, granuloma or mass, with pain relief reaching 50% to 92%. In case of post-vasectomy pain syndrome, vasectomy reversal and MDSC has an overall success from 50% to 100% and 71% to 81% respectively. Ilioinguinal and genitofemoral peripheral nerve stimulation could be used in persistant CTP, and spinal cord stimulation as well. Orchiectomy can be considered as a last resort in case patients do not respond to other forms of treatment, but do not delivers a 100% relief a pain.

Conclusion
Although it’s variables choices, there is not a gold standard surgical treatment for CTP, representing a challenge for clinicians. Large, controlled trials must be performed to establish strong and reliable evidence for the surgical treatment of CTP.

Financing
No conflict.
(PM-06) A RARE CASE OF SCROTAL URETHROCUTANEOUS FISTULA SECONDARY TO EROSION OF PENILE PROSTHESIS CONNECTOR TUBING
Authors: Garcia S , Santander J , Peña Rodríguez S , Diaz Ritter C , Pomar D , Azuero J , Mogollon M P 
Published: March 2024

Abstract

Objective
The scrotal urethrocutaneous fistula is an uncommon pathology which can lead to serious complications, such as infections, scrotal abscesses, or even Fournier’s gangrene. We present an unusual case of scrotal urethrocutaneous fistula secondary to erosion of a penile prosthesis tubing in a patient with a history of erectile dysfunction.

Case presentation
A 68-year-old patient with no previous comorbidities and a history of prostate adenocarcinoma that was treated with radical prostatectomy + lymphadenectomy, without the need for subsequent adjuvant therapy. He was diagnosed with erectile dysfunction after surgery, refractory to intracavernous therapy therefore required a 3-component penile implant placement procedure performed extra-institutionally. Two years after the surgery, he consulted with our institution for scrotal pain and urine leak from the scrotum during micturition. Physical examination shows extrusion of prosthesis tubes in the scrotal area with no signs of infection or exposure of the cylinders. The patient was hospitalized for management with antibiotics and to replace the penile implant.
A retrograde urethrography with contrast medium was performed during surgery. Fluoroscopy showed a fistulous pathway between the penile urethra and the scrotum. No passage of the contrast to the corpora cavernosa was seen. The urethral lesion and fistula were identified and repaired. A malleable prosthesis was used, considering the amount of scar tissue. The patient had an adequate postoperative period. A urethral catheter and a cystotomy were used for six weeks. After catheter removal, a voiding cystogram was performed, finding no fistulas. The patient was followed for 11 months with no complications.

Conclusion
Although scrotal urethrocutaneous fistulas are an infrequent complication after penile prosthesis implantation, a timely diagnosis is essential for conservative treatment and to avoid life-threatening complications.

Financing
No conflict.
Commercial Tobacco Endgame Goals: Early Experiences From Six Countries
Authors: Nip Janine , Thornley Louise , Schwartz Robert , Cunningham Rob , Hara Mervi , Clancy Luke , Evans David , Howell Fenton , Duffy Sheila , Gilljam Hans , Edwards Richard 
Published: March 2024

Abstract

Introduction
Tobacco use is a major threat to health globally. A number of countries have adopted “endgame goals” to minimize smoking prevalence. The INSPIRED project aims to describe and compare the experiences of the first six countries to adopt an endgame goal.

Aims and Methods
Data were collected on the initial experiences of endgame goals in Canada, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand (Aotearoa), Scotland, and Sweden up to 2018. Information was collated on the nature of the endgame goals, associated interventions and strategies, potential enablers and barriers, and perceived advantages and disadvantages.

Results
The INSPIRED countries had relatively low smoking prevalences and moderate-to-strong smoke-free policies. Their endgame goals aimed for smoking prevalences of 5% or less. Target dates ranged from 2025 to 2035. Except for New Zealand (Aotearoa), all countries had an action plan to support their goal by 2018. However, none of the plans incorporated specific endgame measures. Lack of progress in reducing inequities was a key concern, despite the consideration of equity in all of the country’s goals and/or action plans. Experience with endgame goals was generally positive; however, participants thought additional interventions would be required to equitably meet their endgame goal.

Conclusions
There was variation in the nature and approach to endgame goals. This suggests that countries should consider adopting endgame goals and strategies to suit their social, cultural, and political contexts. The experiences of the INSPIRED countries suggest that further and more significant interventions will be required for the timely and equitable achievement of endgame goals.

Implications
By 2018, six countries (Canada, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand (Aotearoa), Scotland, and Sweden) had introduced government-endorsed “endgame goals,” to rapidly reduce smoking prevalence to very low levels by a specified date. The nature and implementation of endgame goals were variable. Early experiences with the goals were generally positive, but progress in reducing smoking prevalence was insufficient, particularly for priority groups. This finding suggests more significant interventions (“endgame interventions”) and measures to reduce inequities need to be implemented to achieve endgame goals. Variation in the nature and experience of endgame goals demonstrates the importance of designing endgame strategies that suit distinct social, cultural, and political contexts.
Ecology and Colonialism in Late Chosŏn Korea: Ullŭngdo, 1882–1905
Authors: Sack Will 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
In the late nineteenth century, the Chosŏn state, which ruled the Korean peninsula from 1392 to 1910, moved settlers, animals and crops to the isolated oceanic island (do) of Ullŭng, displacing or killing the indigenous people, animals and possibly plant species living there. Having first sent observers to investigate Japanese settler colonialism in Hokkaido, the Chosŏn court accurately replicated its institutions and their impact during its settlement of Ullŭngdo. Documents from the settlement also mention non-Korean islanders uprooted by the state. Their presence shaped these events and the Chosŏn court’s policies, but the nature of their lives is now beyond reconstruction. Although the settlement of Ullŭngdo employed institutions and policies characteristic of settler colonialism, the lack of a self-identifying indigenous people, either at the time or surviving today, complicates the application to this case of the term ‘settler colonialism’. This offers an opportunity to discuss nationalizing settler colonialisms because, unlike the iconic settler colonies of North America and Oceania, settler colonialism in late Chosŏn Korea violently integrated outsiders into the emerging nation.
Dynamic relationships among pathways producing hydrocarbons and fatty acids of maize silk cuticular waxes
Authors: Chen Keting , Alexander Liza E , Mahgoub Umnia , Okazaki Yozo , Higashi Yasuhiro , Perera Ann M , Showman Lucas J , Loneman Derek , Dennison Tesia S , Lopez Miriam , Claussen Reid , Peddicord Layton , Saito Kazuki , Lauter Nick , Dorman Karin S , Nikolau Basil J , Yandeau-Nelson Marna D 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThe hydrophobic cuticle is the first line of defense between aerial portions of plants and the external environment. On maize (Zea mays L.) silks, the cuticular cutin matrix is infused with cuticular waxes, consisting of a homologous series of very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs), aldehydes, and hydrocarbons. Together with VLC fatty-acyl-CoAs (VLCFA-CoAs), these metabolites serve as precursors, intermediates, and end-products of the cuticular wax biosynthetic pathway. To deconvolute the potentially confounding impacts of the change in silk microenvironment and silk development on this pathway, we profiled cuticular waxes on the silks of the inbreds B73 and Mo17, and their reciprocal hybrids. Multivariate interrogation of these metabolite abundance data demonstrates that VLCFA-CoAs and total free VLCFAs are positively correlated with the cuticular wax metabolome, and this metabolome is primarily affected by changes in the silk microenvironment and plant genotype. Moreover, the genotype effect on the pathway explains the increased accumulation of cuticular hydrocarbons with a concomitant reduction in cuticular VLCFA accumulation on B73 silks, suggesting that the conversion of VLCFA-CoAs to hydrocarbons is more effective in B73 than Mo17. Statistical modeling of the ratios between cuticular hydrocarbons and cuticular VLCFAs reveals a significant role of precursor chain length in determining this ratio. This study establishes the complexity of the product–precursor relationships within the silk cuticular wax-producing network by dissecting both the impact of genotype and the allocation of VLCFA-CoA precursors to different biological processes and demonstrates that longer chain VLCFA-CoAs are preferentially utilized for hydrocarbon biosynthesis.
A wave of specific transcript and protein accumulation accompanies pollen dehydration
Authors: Sze Heven , Klodová Božena , Ward John M , Harper Jeffrey F , Palanivelu Ravishankar , Johnson Mark A , Honys David 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
In flowering plants, male gametes are immotile and carried by dry pollen grains to the female organ. Dehydrated pollen is thought to withstand abiotic stress when grains are dispersed from the anther to the pistil, after which sperm cells are delivered via pollen tube growth for fertilization and seed set. Yet, the underlying molecular changes accompanying dehydration and the impact on pollen development are poorly understood. To gain a systems perspective, we analyzed published transcriptomes and proteomes of developing Arabidopsis thaliana pollen. Waves of transcripts are evident as microspores develop to bicellular, tricellular, and mature pollen. Between the “early”- and “late”-pollen-expressed genes, an unrecognized cluster of transcripts accumulated, including those encoding late-embryogenesis abundant (LEA), desiccation-related protein, transporters, lipid-droplet associated proteins, pectin modifiers, cysteine-rich proteins, and mRNA-binding proteins. Results suggest dehydration onset initiates after bicellular pollen is formed. Proteins accumulating in mature pollen like ribosomal proteins, initiation factors, and chaperones are likely components of mRNA-protein condensates resembling “stress” granules. Our analysis has revealed many new transcripts and proteins that accompany dehydration in developing pollen. Together with published functional studies, our results point to multiple processes, including (1) protect developing pollen from hyperosmotic stress, (2) remodel the endomembrane system and walls, (3) maintain energy metabolism, (4) stabilize presynthesized mRNA and proteins in condensates of dry pollen, and (5) equip pollen for compatibility determination at the stigma and for recovery at rehydration. These findings offer novel models and molecular candidates to further determine the mechanistic basis of dehydration and desiccation tolerance in plants.
Ideational robustness of economic ideas in action: the case of European Union economic governance through a decade of crisis
Authors: Carstensen Martin B , Schmidt Vivien A 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Is it possible to develop a robust crisis management response in a system where governance is characterized by coercive power and adversarial bargaining rather than the diversity, inclusion, and openness highlighted by extant scholarship as conducive factors for robustness? Using two instances of crisis in the European Union—the Eurozone crisis (2010‒2015) and COVID-19 pandemic (2020‒2022)—the paper argues that how actors reinterpret existing rules and institutions offers an important source of robustness in crisis management. Based on the employment of a disaggregation of robustness into degrees of robustness, as well as the concepts of ideational and institutional power, we show how actors can counter the coercive power of dominant coalitions and open up for rule adaptation through reinterpretations of existing rules that, at least in the short term, can solidify the functioning of existing institutions faced by turbulence. In the context of the Eurozone crisis, ideational and institutional power thus enabled a moderately robust response without treaty reform. In the case of the pandemic, it was possible to convince (particularly German) policymakers of the need to employ new ideas about common debt. This meant less need to employ ideational and institutional power by other actors, leading to significantly more effective crisis management than in the Eurozone crisis, what the paper terms maximal robustness.
Dynamic Demand Estimation in Auction Markets
Authors: Backus Matthew , Lewis Greg 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
We study demand estimation in a large auction market. In our model, a dynamically evolving population of buyers with unit demand and heterogeneous and privately known preferences for a finite set of differentiated products compete in a sequence of auctions that occur in discrete time. We define an empirically tractable equilibrium concept in which bidders behave as though they are competing with the stationary distribution of opposing bids, characterize bidding strategies, and prove existence of equilibrium. Having developed this demand system, we prove that it is non-parametrically identified from panel data. We extend the model to consider a random coefficients demand system akin to workhorse demand models in industrial organization, and show that this too is non-parametrically identified. We apply the model to estimate demand and show how large sellers can exercise market power by using persistent reserve price policies, which induce higher bids and, therefore, revenues. Our analysis highlights the importance of both dynamic bidding strategies and panel data sample selection issues when analysing these markets.
The concept and necessity of ‘control’ in the use of emerging technologies in commercial transactions
Authors: Gabriel Henry Deeb 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
An understanding of the concept of ‘control’ is essential to understand recent developments in commercial law. This article charts the history of ‘control’, the need for this concept in contemporary commercial law, why ‘control’ is not the electronic equivalent of ‘possession’, and the necessary recent and future developments of this concept.