bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Intralesional bivalent and quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccines didn’t significantly enhance the response of multiple anogenital warts when co-administered with intralesional Candida antigen immunotherapy. A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Fawzy Manal , Nofal Eman , Abdelkhalek Naglaa , Ehab Rana 
Published: August 2023

AbstractTreatment of anogenital warts (AGWs) is challenging. Candida antigen immunotherapy has been proven to be a safe and relatively effective therapeutic modality; nevertheless, some patients may experience a partial or no response. Combining Candida antigen with other immunotherapies has been proposed to improve the cure rate. Immunotherapy with human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines has been tried with conflicting outcomes. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of intralesional Candida antigen, either alone or in combination with intralesional bivalent or quadrivalent HPV vaccines, for treating multiple AGWs. Eighty patients with multiple AGWs were included and randomly assigned to four equal groups: group A treated with intralesional Candida antigen only; group B treated with intralesional bivalent HPV vaccine (Cervarix) and Candida; group C treated with intralesional quadrivalent HPV vaccine (Gardasil) and Candida; and group D (control) treated with intralesional saline. Complete clearance of lesions was detected in 40%, 20%, and 60% of patients in Candida monotherapy, Cervarix/Candida, and Gardasil/Candida groups, respectively, whereas 40%, 60%, and 20% of patients in the three groups, respectively, showed partial response. Only 10% of the control group had a partial response. Therapeutic outcomes were significantly better in the three treatment groups compared to the control group, with no statistically significant difference between the Candida monotherapy group and the combination groups, but the response was significantly better in the Gardasil/Candida group than in the Cervarix/Candida group. No statistically significant difference was found between the studied groups regarding the development of side effects. Moreover, no recurrence was detected in any of the groups throughout the 3-month follow-up period. Based on our results, combining intralesional HPV vaccines with Candida antigen immunotherapy may have no significant benefit for treating multiple AGWs. Candida antigen may be recommended as a relatively effective and inexpensive therapeutic modality. The combination of Gardasil and Candida was also effective but very expensive. The results of the Cervarix/Candida combination were unsatisfactory. This clinical trial was registered and approved prospectively by the ethical review board at Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University.
Prognostic accuracy of Neonatal SOFA score versus SIRS criteria in preterm infants with late-onset sepsis
Authors: Poggi Chiara , Ciarcià Martina , Miselli Francesca , Dani Carlo 
Published: August 2023

AbstractNeonatal SOFA score was reported as an accurate predictor of mortality while the prognostic accuracy of SIRS criteria is unknown. The aim was to compare neonatal SOFA and SIRS criteria for the prediction of late onset sepsis-related mortality in preterm newborns. Newborns ≤ 32 weeks with late onset sepsis were retrospectively studied. Neonatal SOFA and SIRS criteria were calculated at onset of sepsis (T0), and after 6 ± 1 (T1), 12 ± 3 (T2) and 24 ± 3 h (T3). Outcome was death during antibiotic treatment for late onset sepsis. We studied 112 newborns with gestational age 26.9 ± 2.3 weeks; 11% met the study outcome. Neonatal SOFA was significantly higher in non-survivors vs. survivors at all time intervals; SIRS criteria were significantly higher in non-survivors vs. survivors at T1, T2 and T3. Neonatal SOFA increased over time in non-survivors (p = 0.003). At T0, the area under receiver operating characteristics curve was significantly higher for neonatal SOFA score than SIRS criteria (0.950 vs. 0.569; p = 0.0002), and the best calculated cut-off for T0 neonatal SOFA score was 4. In multivariate analysis T0 and T1 neonatal SOFA were predictors of late onset sepsis-related mortality (p = 0.048 and p < 0.001). Conclusion: Neonatal SOFA score showed greater discriminatory capacity for mortality than SIRS criteria and might be helpful to plan management for patients at higher risk of death.

What is Known:• Neonatal SOFA score may be an accurate prognostic tool.• No prognostic score has been fully standardized for septic newborns in NICU.

What is New:• Neonatal SOFA score outperformed SIRS criteria for the prediction of prognosis in preterm infants with late onset sepsis.• Neonatal SOFA score assessed at onset of sepsis and 6 hrs later is a predictor of mortality.
The Visible-Volume Function of a Set of Cameras is Continuous, Piecewise Rational, Locally Lipschitz, and Semi-Algebraic in All Dimensions
Authors: Rambau Jörg 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThe visible-volume function assigns to a configuration of cameras and a flexible environment in a convex room the volume that can be supervised by the cameras. It is of interest to configure the cameras and the environment in such a way that the visible volume is maximized. Some methods of global optimization can take profit from desirable analytic properties of the visible-volume function. Earlier work has only considered this function in dimensions two and three or for static environments implicitly defined by level-set functions. In this paper it is shown, that the visible-volume function for a flexible environment modeled explicitly by a parametrized simplicial complex is continuous, piecewise rational, locally Lipschitz, and semi-algebraic in all dimensions.
The general class of Wasserstein Sobolev spaces: density of cylinder functions, reflexivity, uniform convexity and Clarkson’s inequalities
Authors: Sodini Giacomo Enrico 
Published: August 2023

AbstractWe show that the algebra of cylinder functions in the Wasserstein Sobolev space$$H^{1,q}(\mathcal {P}_p(X,\textsf{d}), W_{p, \textsf{d}}, \mathfrak {m})$$H1,q(Pp(X,d),Wp,d,m)generated by a finite and positive Borel measure$$\mathfrak {m}$$mon the$$(p,\textsf{d})$$(p,d)-Wasserstein space$$(\mathcal {P}_p(X, \textsf{d}), W_{p, \textsf{d}})$$(Pp(X,d),Wp,d)on a complete and separable metric space$$(X,\textsf{d})$$(X,d)is dense in energy. As an application, we prove that, in case the underlying metric space is a separable Banach space$$\mathbb {B}$$B, then the Wasserstein Sobolev space is reflexive (resp. uniformly convex) if$$\mathbb {B}$$Bis reflexive (resp. if the dual of$$\mathbb {B}$$Bis uniformly convex). Finally, we also provide sufficient conditions for the validity of Clarkson’s type inequalities in the Wasserstein Sobolev space.
Requirements quality research: a harmonized theory, evaluation, and roadmap
Authors: Frattini Julian , Montgomery Lloyd , Fischbach Jannik , Mendez Daniel , Fucci Davide , Unterkalmsteiner Michael 
Published: August 2023

AbstractHigh-quality requirements minimize the risk of propagating defects to later stages of the software development life cycle. Achieving a sufficient level of quality is a major goal of requirements engineering. This requires a clear definition and understanding of requirements quality. Though recent publications make an effort at disentangling the complex concept of quality, the requirements quality research community lacks identity and clear structure which guides advances and puts new findings into an holistic perspective. In this research commentary, we contribute (1) a harmonized requirements quality theory organizing its core concepts, (2) an evaluation of the current state of requirements quality research, and (3) a research roadmap to guide advancements in the field. We show that requirements quality research focuses on normative rules and mostly fails to connect requirements quality to its impact on subsequent software development activities, impeding the relevance of the research. Adherence to the proposed requirements quality theory and following the outlined roadmap will be a step toward amending this gap.
Groundwater recharge influenced by ephemeral river flow and land use in the semiarid Limpopo Province of South Africa
Authors: Lindle J. , Villholth K. G. , Ebrahim G. Y. , Sorensen J. P. R. , Taylor R. G. , Jensen K. H. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractDetermining the sustainability of groundwater use in drylands with high climate variability is complex. Central to this determination is an understanding of groundwater recharge and associated processes and controls. Groundwater recharge in drylands can occur by diffuse and focused recharge (focused recharge being associated with intense episodic rainfall events and ephemeral river flow, predicted to increase and intensify with climate change). This study evaluated the relative significance and dominant controls on these two recharge processes. Ten groundwater hydrographs with multidecadal observations were collated from the Limpopo Province, South Africa, based on their proximity to river channels and rain gauges, representing diversity in local climate, landscape, vegetation, and hydrogeological conditions. The hydrographs showed that groundwater-level rises are sensitive to rainfall intensity during the rainy season, with generally larger increases after years with large episodic rainfall events, which disproportionately contribute to groundwater replenishment. Recharge processes and annual recharge volumes were quantified using the water-table fluctuation method and the numerical model HYDRUS-1D. This allowed for the inference of additional recharge contributions from focused recharge in proximity to ephemeral rivers, up to a factor of five relative to diffuse recharge. The analysis revealed synchronicity and linear correlation between annual river discharge and recharge close to the river, substantiating the importance of focused recharge close to the river network. The study showed that recharge in drylands is subject to large spatial and temporal variation and that consideration of focused and episodic recharge is critically important for managing groundwater resources at various scales in these regions.
Effect of low-level laser therapy on quadriceps and foot muscle fatigue in children with spastic diplegia: a randomized controlled study
Authors: Abdelhalim Sarah Mohamed , Shoukry Kamal Elsayed , Alsharnoubi Jehan 
Published: August 2023

AbstractSpastic diplegia is the most common form of cerebral palsy; children with spastic diplegia are suffering from muscle fatigue and spasticity which lead to decreasing power of muscles, impaired motor control, and many functional abilities. The effect of low-level laser (LLL) has a good result as it improves muscles pain and spasticity and in decreasing lactate levels. Forty children were selected with spastic diplegia and were divided into two groups: A and B. Group A received low-level laser treatment (LLLT) with physiotherapy treatment. Group B got physiotherapy sessions. Pain intensity was assessed by the visual analog scale (VAS) of pain which is reliable from age 5, before treatment and after 1-month follow-up. Muscle fatigue and power were assessed by maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) before treatment and after 1-month follow-up. Also, we tested blood lactate level in both groups; all evaluations were done before treatment and after 1-month follow-up. We found a significant difference between the two groups in VAS and MVIC and blood lactate level test regarding low-level therapy after 1-month follow-up. There is a good effect of low-level laser in increasing muscle power, decreasing blood lactate level, and improving pain.
Recycled and non-recycled exhaustible resource: an optimal control strategy for input allocation
Authors: Bertarelli Silvia , Lodi Chiara , Ragni Stefania 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThe United Nations aim to perform a transition toward a sustainable environment where people can live by decoupling economic growth from resource use. Through the definition of the Agenda 2030 and the corresponding sustainable development goals, this transition asks for a lower dependence on non-renewable resources and for the use of recycled materials in a finite term perspective. In this respect, we provide an optimal control model which searches for an efficient allocation of labor between non-recycling and recycling sectors exploiting a given non-renewable resource. The optimization process is carried out over a finite time horizon in accordance with the need of rapidly achieving the targets imposed by the ecological transition. By employing the classical tools of optimal control theory, a complete theoretical analysis of the model well-posedness is developed under the assumption of linear production in both sectors. The approach is applied in order to simulate a hypothetical test case.
Exploring the role of PPP–RTK network configuration: a balance of server budget and user performance
Authors: Hu Jiahuan , Cui Bobin , Li Pan , Bisnath Sunil , Zheng Kai 
Published: August 2023

AbstractWith atmospheric corrections generated from the server, precise point positioning real-time kinematic (PPP–RTK) can achieve high-precision solutions in a fast convergence. PPP–RTK users are concerned about how to use the corrections and the level of performance that can be achieved; thus, our research has focused on correction methods, a priori stochastic modeling, and positioning performance evaluation. Conversely, it is crucial for the server to improve the precision of corrections provided and to consider the balance between cost, computation burden and user performance, especially for commercial applications. We use different scales of the national GPS network of France to generate ionospheric and tropospheric corrections, and corresponding uncertainty information is generated by establishing error functions with respect to an inter-station distance. The quality of corrections and corresponding user performance are analyzed with inter-station distances varying from 22 to 251 km. The results show that the precision of atmospheric corrections can be improved with an increasing number of stations in the network, but the improvement is not significant when the inter-station distances are smaller than 50 km. Regarding user performance, compared to conventional PPP solutions with ambiguity resolution, the convergence time can be reduced by a maximum of 93% and 85% in the horizontal and vertical components, respectively, when the inter-station distance is about 23 km. However, a station spacing within 100 km can still support a 3-min convergence; thus, a balance of server budget and user performance should be considered instead of a dense network.
SELF-EdiT: Structure-constrained molecular optimisation using SELFIES editing transformer
Authors: Piao Shengmin , Choi Jonghwan , Seo Sangmin , Park Sanghyun 
Published: August 2023

AbstractStructure-constrained molecular optimisation aims to improve the target pharmacological properties of input molecules through small perturbations of the molecular structures. Previous studies have exploited various optimisation techniques to satisfy the requirements of structure-constrained molecular optimisation tasks. However, several studies have encountered difficulties in producing property-improved and synthetically feasible molecules. To achieve both property improvement and synthetic feasibility of molecules, we proposed a molecular structure editing model called SELF-EdiT that uses self-referencing embedded strings (SELFIES) and Levenshtein transformer models. The SELF-EdiT generates new molecules that resemble the seed molecule by iteratively applying fragment-based deletion-and-insertion operations to SELFIES. The SELF-EdiT exploits a grammar-based SELFIES tokenization method and the Levenshtein transformer model to efficiently learn deletion-and-insertion operations for editing SELFIES. Our results demonstrated that SELF-EdiT outperformed existing structure-constrained molecular optimisation models by a considerable margin of success and total scores on the two benchmark datasets. Furthermore, we confirmed that the proposed model could improve the pharmacological properties without large perturbations of the molecular structures through edit-path analysis. Moreover, our fragment-based approach significantly relieved the SELFIES collapse problem compared to the existing SELFIES-based model. SELF-EdiT is the first attempt to apply editing operations to the SELFIES to design an effective editing-based optimisation, which can be helpful for fellow researchers planning to utilise the SELFIES.
Combining remote sensing, habitat suitability models and cellular automata to model the spread of the invasive shrub Ulex europaeus
Authors: Gränzig Tobias , Clasen Anne , Fassnacht Fabian Ewald , Cord Anna , Förster Michael 
Published: August 2023

AbstractModeling the past or future spread patterns of invasive plant species is challenging and in an ideal case requires multi-temporal and spatially explicit data on the occurrences of the target species as well as information on the habitat suitability of the areas at risk of being invaded. Most studies either focus on modeling the habitat suitability of a given area for an invasive species or try to model the spreading behavior of an invasive species based on temporally or spatially limited occurrence data and some environmental variables. Here we suggest a workflow that combines habitat suitability maps, occurrence data from multiple time steps collected from remote sensing data, and cellular automata models to first reconstruct the spreading patterns of the invasive shrub Ulex europaeus on the island Chiloé in Chile and then make predictions for the future spread of the species. First, U. europaeus occurrences are derived for four time steps between 1988 and 2020 using remote sensing data and a supervised classification. The resulting occurrence data is combined with occurrence data of the native range of U. europaeus from the GBIF database and selected environmental variables to derive habitat suitability maps using Maxent. Then, cellular automata models are calibrated using the occurrence estimates of the four time steps, the suitability map, and some additional geo-layer containing information about soils and human infrastructure. Finally, a set of calibrated cellular automata models are used to predict the potential spread of U. europaeus for the years 2070 and 2100 using climate scenarios. All individual steps of the workflow where reference data was available led to sufficient results (supervised classifications Overall Accuracy > 0.97; Maxent AUC > 0.85; cellular automata Balanced Accuracy > 0.91) and the spatial patterns of the derived maps matched the experiences collected during the field surveys. Our model predictions suggest a continuous expansion of the maximal potential range of U. europaeus, particularly in the Eastern and Northern part of Chiloé Island. We deem the suggested workflow to be a good solution to combine the static habitat suitability information—representing the environmental constraints—with a temporally and spatially dynamic model representing the actual spreading behavior of the invasive species. The obtained understanding of spreading patterns and the information on areas identified to have a high invasion probability in the future can support land managers to plan prevention and mitigation measures.
Automated and semi-automated 3D echocardiographic software for aortic annulus sizing in transcatheter aortic valve implantation helps bridge the gap between expert and novice operators
Authors: Massie Charles , Parent Martine , Berthelot-Richer Maxime , Kouz Rémi , Palisaitis Donald , Le Viet , Poulin Frédéric 
Published: August 2023

Abstract3D-transesophageal echocardiography (3D-TEE) is an alternative to multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT) for aortic annulus (AoA) sizing in preparation for Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). We aim to evaluate how the fully automated (auto) and semi-automated (SA) TEE methods perform compared to conventional manual TEE method and the gold standard MDCT for annulus sizing both in expert and novice operators. In this prospective cohort study, eighty-nine patients with severe aortic stenosis underwent multimodality imaging with 3D-TEE and MDCT. Annular measurements were collected by expert echocardiographers using 3D auto, SA and manual methods and compared to MDCT. A novice in the field of echocardiography retrospectively measured the AoA for all patients using the same methods. TEE measurements, independently of the method used, had good to very good agreement to MDCT. They significantly underestimated aortic annular area and circumference vs. MDCT with the auto method underestimating it the most and the manual method the least (6.5% and 1.3% respectively for area and circumference). For experts, the manual TEE method offered the least systematic bias while the SA method had narrower limits of agreement (LOA). For the novice operator, SA method provided the least bias and narrower LOA vs. MDCT. There is good agreement between novice and experts for all 3 TEE methods but better agreement with auto and SA methods as opposed to manual one. Our study supports the use of 3D-TEE as a complementary method to MDCT for aortic annular sizing. The newer auto and SA software, that requires minimal operator intervention, is an easy to use, reliable and reproducible tool for aortic annulus sizing for experienced operators, and especially less experienced ones.
Antifa’s Political Violence on Twitter: a Grounded Theory Approach
Authors: Jaccoud Lachlan , Molnar Lorena , Aebi Marcelo F. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThis paper explores antifa activists’ use of doxing on Twitter against individuals perceived as alt-right militants. Following the principles of Grounded Theory, we collected 4690 tweets published by antifa users between September 2019 and September 2020 and analysed a random subsample of 1638. Results show that antifa users perceive alt-right activists as a serious threat to their worldview and seek to neutralise their activism even at the cost of making them social pariahs. To achieve that goal, antifa activists collect personal data on persons they suspect of being alt-right activists to “build a case” and then disseminate that information through different virtual social networks to the largest audience possible. The aim of doxing is to encourage other social actors to react and take actions that could be detrimental to the individual targeted. The article discusses practical and ethical implications of this kind of political-based harassment and suggests that future research on doxing could focus on antifa blogs and websites, which include sensitive information forbidden on Twitter.
“Not in Our Daycare”? Commitments and Obstacles to Antiracism in Finnish ECEC
Authors: Loukola Saara 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
The aim of this article is to contribute to the under-researched topic of racism in Finnish early childhood education and care (ECEC) by posing three questions: What kind of racism do ECEC teachers recognize in ECEC? How are teachers committed to opposing racism in their work? What kind of obstacles to committing to antiracism are recognized in ECEC? These questions are answered through discourse analysis on interviews with six Finnish ECEC teachers. This article demonstrates how racism is evident in many forms in early education, such as racist assumptions, all-White learning material and structures. The teachers recognized the urgency to resist racism in their work. They committed to antiracism through conscious pedagogical solutions, e.g., broadening representations in learning materials and critically reflecting on their privileges and racialised stereotypes. Yet adopting an antiracist approach in ECEC faces obstacles, such as the hectic everyday work, difficulty intervening in racist situations, and co-workers’ lack of self-reflection in multi-professional teams. Thus, it is vital to find ways to recognize racism in multi-professional teams, to improve the ability for self-reflection, and to ensure that teachers have the resources to continue their work against racism.