bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Large intradiploic arachnoid cyst of the skull in child—a case report and new terminology proposition
Authors: Drożdż Adrian , Wojciechowski Tomasz , Ciszek Bogdan , Stopa Zygmunt 
Published: December 2023

AbstractWe present a rare finding of the arachnoid matter invaginating into the base of middle cranial fossa and creating an abnormal space. Presented entity was incidentally found in head CT scan of 12-year-old male. Based on the radiological characteristics in CT scans and MR images, the diagnosis of intradiploic arachnoid cyst (AC) was suggested. After surgical intervention and histopathological analysis of the specimen, the diagnosis was confirmed. We assume this is the first description of large intrasphenoid AC without any traumatic or iatrogenic cause. The literature provides many different terms for the phenomenon. We are proposing the term intradiploic arachnoid diverticulum as the more accurate for capturing the essence of the phenomenon. It provides clear differentiation of the entities from classical arachnoid cysts since they are of different anatomical localization (intradural vs. extradural) and etiopathogenesis. Management with arachnoid diverticulum is not yet established, but observation with serial imaging studies should be recommended as primary management in case of asymptomatic cyst. When cyst is symptomatic, surgical treatment may be required.
Folate deficiency modifies the risk of CIN3+ associated with DNA methylation levels: a nested case–control study from the ASCUS-COL trial
Authors: Agudelo María C. , Agudelo Samuel , Lorincz Attila , Ramírez Arianis Tatiana , Castañeda Kelly Melisa , Garcés-Palacio Isabel , Zea Arnold H. , Piyathilake Chandrika , Sanchez Gloria Ines 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Purpose
To our knowledge, there are very few studies evaluating if the levels of folate modify the risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 and higher (CIN2+ and CIN3+) associated with the levels of HPV genome methylation, two cofactors related to single carbon metabolism and independently associated with cervical cancer in previous studies. We conducted a case–control study nested in a three-arm randomized clinical pragmatic trial (ASCUS-COL trial) to evaluate the risk of CIN3+ associated with methylation levels according to serum folate concentrations.

Methods
Cases (n = 155) were women with histologically confirmed CIN2+ (113 CIN2, 38 CIN3, and 4 SCC) and controls were age and follow-up time at diagnosis-matched women with histologically confirmed ≤ CIN1 (n = 155), selected from the 1122 hrHPV + women of this trial. The concentrations of serum folate were determined by the radioimmunoassay SimulTRAC-SNB-VitaminB12/Folate-RIAKit and the methylation levels by the S5 classifier. Stepwise logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between folate or methylation levels and CIN2+ or CIN3+. The joint effect of folate levels and methylation on the risk of CIN3+ was estimated using combinations of categorical stratifications.

Results
Folate levels were significantly lower in women with CIN3+ than in other diagnostic groups (p = 0.019). The risk of CIN3+ was eight times higher (OR 8.9, 95% CI 3.4–24.9) in women with folate deficiency and high methylation levels than in women with normal folate and high methylation levels (OR 1.4, 95% CI 0.4–4.6).

Conclusion
High methylation and deficient folate independently increased the risk of CIN3+ while deficient folate combined with high methylation was associated with a substantially elevated risk of CIN3+.
Efficacy and safety of V-Loc™ barbed sutures versus conventional suture techniques in gynecological surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Hafermann Juliane , Silas Ubong , Saunders Rhodri 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Purpose
One of the most challenging tasks in laparoscopic gynecological surgeries is suturing. Knotless barbed sutures are intended to enable faster suturing and hemostasis. We carried out a meta-analysis to compare the efficacy and safety of V-Loc™ barbed sutures (VBS) with conventional sutures (CS) in gynecological surgeries.

Methods
We systematically searched PubMed and EMBASE for studies published between 2010 and September 2021 comparing VBS to CS for OB/GYN procedures. All comparative studies were included. Primary analysis and subgroup analyses for the different surgery and suturing types were performed. Primary outcomes were operation time and suture time; secondary outcomes included post-operative complications, surgical site infections, estimated blood loss, length of stay, granulation tissue formation, and surgical difficulty. Results were calculated as weighted mean difference (WMD) or risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) with a random effects model, and a sensitivity analysis for study quality, study size, and outlier results was performed. PROSPERO registration: CRD42022363187.

Results
In total, 25 studies involving 4452 women undergoing hysterectomy, myomectomy, or excision of endometrioma. VBS were associated with a reduction in operation time (WMD – 17.08 min; 95% CI – 21.57, – 12.59), suture time (WMD – 5.39 min; 95% CI – 7.06, – 3.71), surgical site infection (RR 0.26; 95% CI 0.09, 0.78), estimated blood loss (WMD – 44.91 ml; 95% CI – 66.01, – 23.81), granulation tissue formation (RR 0.48; 95% CI 0.25, 0.89), and surgical difficulty (WMD – 1.98 VAS score; 95% CI – 2.83, – 1.13). No difference between VBS and CS was found regarding total postoperative complications or length of stay. Many of the outcomes showed high heterogeneity, likely due to the inclusion of different surgery types and comparators. Most results were shown to be robust in the sensitivity analysis except for the reduction in granulation tissue formation.

Conclusion
This meta-analysis indicates that V-Loc™ barbed sutures are safe and effective in gynecological surgeries as they reduce operation time, suture time, blood loss, infections, and surgical difficulty without increasing post-operative complications or length of stay compared to conventional sutures.
An agent-based heuristics optimisation model for production scheduling of make-to-stock connector plates manufacturing systems
Authors: Madi Faris , Al-Bazi Ammar , Buckley Steve , Smallbone John , Foster Karl 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThe manufacturing systems’ success directly relates to their accurate, reliable and flexible schedules, including how production is planned and scheduled and which constraints are considered in generating the schedules. The study's objective arises from the need to generate an optimal production scheduling system in a connecting plates manufacturing company that works on a Make-To-Stock basis. This research investigates the impact of demand and operational constraints on production schedules, including the facility capacity, operators and machines availability, raw materials availability, inventory level and warehouse capacity. A multi-agent-based optimisation model is developed to face the complexity of considering demand and operational constraints and reflects their impact on generating a reliable production schedule. This model involves a proposed heuristic algorithm that considers demand and operations constraints in such a manufacturing environment and optimises the production schedule based on these restrictions/requirements. A real-life case study based on a connecting plates manufacturer company is used as a test bench of the proposed agent-based heuristic optimisation model. The proposed algorithm is compared with other related approaches to check its superiority based on key criteria, including inventory levels, missed/unsatisfied orders and total production time. Results show that the proposed heuristics algorithm reduced the number of missed orders by 34% compared with similar approaches.
Bias dependence in statistical random telegraph noise analysis based on nanoscale CMOS ring oscillators
Authors: Ramazanoglu Semih , Michalowska-Forsyth Alicja , Deutschmann Bernd 
Published: December 2023

AbstractRandom Telegraph Noise (RTN) is one of the major reliability concerns in nanoscale complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technologies. In this paper, we discuss the characterization of RTN in 40 nm CMOS technology using Ring Oscillators (ROSCs). We used different types of ROSCs to study the temporal and spectral characteristics of the RTN. We conducted measurements on one of the arrays with 128 identical ROSC cells. These results enabled statistical characterization of the RTN amplitude strength and its frequency characteristics in different supply voltage variations from 0.5 V to 0.7 V. At power supply of 0.65 V, dominant and observable RTN amplitude above 0.37%$$\Delta f/f_{\text{mean}}$$Δf/fmeanis found in 60% of cells in the array. Further, the capture and emission time constant$$\tau_{e//c}$$τe//ccan be extracted from the measurements, the values observed ranging from 0.2 $$\upmu$$μs to 10 ms.
In-vitro digestibility and methane gas emission of indigenous and introduced grasses in the rangeland ecosystems of south eastern Kenya
Authors: Maweu Annastacia Nduku , Bebe Bockline Omedo , Kuria Simon Gichuru , Kashongwe Olivier Basole 
Published: December 2023

AbstractVarious grass species with high biomass yield and low moisture demand have been introduced in the rangelands of Kenya to realize increased ruminant productivity that could not be achieved with the low quality of the indigenous grasses. However, this intervention ignores the different methane emission of the indigenous and introduced grasses, a necessary consideration for realizing increased productivity while minimizing greenhouse gas emissions. This study determined in-vitro digestibility and methane emission of three indigenous grasses: Eragrostis superba (E. superba), Cenchrus ciliaris (C. ciliaris), Enteropogon macrostachyus (E. macrostachyus) and two introduced grasses (two varieties of Chloris gayana; Boma rhodes and Extozi rhodes. Samples of these five grasses (whole plant above ground) were collected from established pasture plots in South Eastern rangelands of Kenya. The grass samples were collected at bloom stage using one-meter square quadrats for proximate analysis and determination of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent lignin (ADL) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) using AOAC (1990) methods. On average, relative to the indigenous grasses, the introduced grasses were higher in crude protein (74.05 g Kg-1 dry matter (DM) vs. 52.11 g Kg-1 DM), organic matter digestibility 62.7% vs 53.6%) and in NDF (712.7 g Kg-1 DM vs. 708.0 g Kg-1 DM), metabolizable energy (16.35 vs 12.90 MJ/kg DM), methane emission (25.61 ml vs 15.93 ml) but with lower in-vitro-dry matter digestibility 54.24% vs 58.12%. Methane production positively correlated with crude protein, NDF, metabolizable energy, ADF and in-vitro organic matter digestibility. Hence, utilizing the introduced grasses to boost cattle production would achieve increased productivity but a point of concern are the higher methane emissions, not to mention the ecosystem change caused by the introduction of new species, which should affect the sustainability of the rangeland ecosystem.
Education governance and digitization: Inherent conflicts and potential safeguards for a new social contract
Authors: Patil Lara 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThis article highlights inherent conflicts between technology industry incentives and a new social contract for education, while arguing for safeguards to mitigate the risk of technology industry engagement in education governance. Business strategies often utilize economies of scale, standardization, and internationalization to maximize profits. These strategies are diametrically opposed to education as a public endeavor and as a reflection of humanity’s diverse ways of knowing and being in various local contexts. Technology industry strategies tend to emphasize the disruption of sectors and encourage entrepreneurialism and innovation with an emphasis on outputs, measurement, and impact. These strategies often recast the “good” of education from public to private returns. While appropriate engagement of non-state technology actors in education governance can offer solutions in support of global education goals and a new social contract for education, I argue that such mobilization is multi-sided, simultaneously pushing through innovative, yet untested, education agendas. The article identifies potential risks to systems of public education and reflects upon safeguards, which fall into two main categories: issues of transparency, accountability and legitimacy; and issues of technology management and governance. Proactively addressing inherent conflicts and potential safeguards, I argue, is a key step to identifying ways to strengthen motivations for corporations to forge meaningful long-term investment in a new social contract for education and for the development of education governance structures that are equitable and democratic.
Linking metacercariae and adults of Microphallus basodactylophallus (Digenea: Microphallidae), based on larval stages from ctenophores and adult parasites from aquatic birds found in Mexico
Authors: Aldama-Prieto Yeraldin , Navarro-Serralde Jorge L. , Ruíz Enrico Alejandro , Sereno-Uribe Ana L. , García-Varela Martín 
Published: December 2023

AbstractMembers of the genus Microphallus Ward, 1901, are endoparasites mainly of birds and mammals distributed worldwide. Unencysted metacercariae of Microphallus sp., were collected from the mesoglea of ctenophores of the genus Pleurobrachia Fleming; adult digeneans were recovered from the intestines of Eudocimus albus Linnaeus (Threskiornithidae) and Buteogallus urubitinga Gmelin (Accipitridae), in four locations from southeastern Mexico. Adult specimens were identified as M. basodactylophallus (Bridgman, 1969) based on the following features: body pyriform entirely covered by minute spines, prepharynx short, oesophagus very long, caeca short and widely divergent, testes slightly symmetrical and excretory vesicle short and V-shaped. Sequences from D1–D3 domain of the large subunit of ribosomal DNA (LSU) were generated, aligned, and compared with those of congeneric species available in GenBank. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that the metacercariae and adults formed a clade together with an isolate identified as M. basodactylophallus from Florida, USA (GenBank: AY220628). The intraspecific genetic divergence among isolates was low ranged from 0.0% to 0.6%, allowing the link between the two stages of the life cycle. We observed phenotypic plasticity in the morphological traits of M. basodactylophallus adults in definitive hosts (mammals and birds) throughout the distribution, which ranged from the USA to southeastern Mexico. Finally, the unencysted metacercariae identified as M. basodactylophallus represent the first report of a microphallid in ctenophores.
On parabolic subgroups of Artin groups
Authors: Möller Philip , Paris Luis , Varghese Olga 
Published: December 2023

AbstractGiven an Artin group AΓ, a common strategy in the study of AΓ is the reduction to parabolic subgroups whose defining graphs have small diameter, i.e., showing that AΓ has a specific property if and only if all “small” parabolic subgroups of AΓ have this property. Since “small” parabolic subgroups are the building blocks of AΓ one needs to study their behavior, in particular their intersections. The conjecture we address here says that the class of parabolic subgroups of AΓ is closed under intersection. Under the assumption that intersections of parabolic subgroups in complete Artin groups are parabolic, we show that the intersection of a complete parabolic subgroup with an arbitrary parabolic subgroup is parabolic. Further, we connect the intersection behavior of complete parabolic subgroups of AΓ to fixed point properties and to automatic continuity of AΓ using Bass–Serre theory and a generalization of the Deligne complex.
A novel prognostic model for predicting patient survival and immunotherapy responsiveness in hepatocellular carcinoma: insights into the involvement of T-cell proliferation
Authors: Tang Shengjie , Sun Rui , Tang Kechao , Wei Xiang , Liu Ming , Zhang Huabing 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Background
The cancer-associated biological mechanisms and the implementation of immunotherapy are heavily impacted by the activities of T cells, consequently influencing the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions. Nevertheless, the mechanistic actions of T-cell proliferation in response to immunotherapy and the overall prognosis of individuals diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains insufficiently understood. The present work seeks to present a comprehensive analysis immune landscape in the context of HCC.

Methods
To achieve this objective, both clinical data and RNA sequencing data were acquired from authoritative databases such as The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO).

Results
Through the utilization of consensus clustering techniques, distinct molecular subtypes associated with T-cell proliferation were delineated. Following this, seven genes of prognostic significance were identified via a combination of Cox and Lasso regression analyses. By integrating these genes into a prognostic signature, the predictive capability of the model was verified through an examination of internal and external datasets. Moreover, immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR tests have verified the reliability of prognostic markers. Notably, the high-risk group exhibited elevated expression of immune checkpoint genes as well as higher benefit in terms of drug sensitivity testing, as determined by the Chi-square test (P < 0.001). The risk score derived from the prognostic signature depicted considerable efficacy in predicting the survival outcomes of HCC cases.

Conclusions
Overall, prognostic markers may become valuable predictive tool for individuals diagnosed with HCC, allowing for the prediction of their prognosis as well as the assessment of their immunological condition and response to immunotherapy.
Unlocking the Potential of Participatory Planning: How Flexible and Adaptive Governance Interventions Can Work in Practice
Authors: Hakiman Kamran , Sheely Ryan 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThe past two decades have witnessed the rapid diffusion of participatory planning models, including Community-Driven Development and Participatory Budgeting. Despite enormous funding outlays, studies paint a mixed picture about whether and when these programs “work” to improve welfare, governance, or social change. To better understand these questions, our paper takes an in-depth approach to understanding the sub-national application of a single participatory planning intervention implemented across Northern Kenya, using qualitative process tracing to understand the mechanisms operating across five counties. Our findings suggest the potential for participatory planning interventions to succeed is contingent on three factors which are insufficiently understood by both practitioners and academics. (1) At the institutional level, participatory planning interventions need to address genuine governance gaps by fulfilling functions that are not met by formal or informal institutions. (2) The rule-based design of participatory institutions often requires adaptation at the sub-national level in response to contextual factors, and the success of this adaptation mediates whether rules function as intended. (3) Ground-level implementers exercise far more discretion than officially recognized during implementation, suggesting they function as a poorly understood source of variation between and within programs.
Reinforcement learning as data-driven optimization technique for GMAW process
Authors: Mattera Giulio , Caggiano Alessandra , Nele Luigi 
Published: December 2023

AbstractWelding optimization is a significant task that contributes to enhancing the final welding quality. However, the selection of an optimal combination of various process parameters poses different challenges. The welding geometry and quality are influenced differently by several process parameters, with some exhibiting opposite effects. Consequently, multiple experiments are typically required to obtain an optimal welding procedure specification (WPS), resulting in the waste of material and costs. To address this challenge, we developed a machine learning model that correlates the process parameters with the final bead geometry, utilizing experimental data. Additionally, we employed a reinforcement learning algorithm, namely stochastic policy optimization (SPO), with the aim to solve different optimization tasks. The first task is a setpoint‐based optimization problem that aims to find the process parameters that minimize the amount of deposited material while achieving the desired minimum level of penetration depth. The second task is an optimization problem without setpoint in which the agent aims to maximize the penetration depth and reduce the bead area. The proposed artificial intelligence-based method offers a viable means of reducing the number of experiments necessary to develop a WPS, consequently reducing costs and emissions. Notably, the proposed approach achieves better results with respect to other state-of-art metaheuristic data-driven optimization methods such as genetic algorithm. In particular, the setpoint‐based optimization problem is solved in 8 min and with a final mean percentage absolute error (MPAE) of 2.48% with respect to the 42 min and the final 3.42% of the genetic algorithm. The second optimization problem is also solved in less time, 30 s with respect to 6 min of GA, with a higher final reward of 5.8 from the proposed SPO algorithm with respect to the 3.6 obtained from GA.