bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Modeled Multidecadal Trends of Lightning and (Very) Large Hail in Europe and North America (1950–2021)
Authors: Battaglioli Francesco , Groenemeijer Pieter , Púčik Tomáš , Taszarek Mateusz , Ulbrich Uwe , Rust Henning 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
We have developed additive logistic models for the occurrence of lightning, large hail (≥2 cm), and very large hail (≥5 cm) to investigate the evolution of these hazards in the past, in the future, and for forecasting applications. The models, trained with lightning observations, hail reports, and predictors from atmospheric reanalysis, assign an hourly probability to any location and time on a 0.25° × 0.25° × 1-hourly grid as a function of reanalysis-derived predictor parameters, selected following an ingredients-based approach. The resulting hail models outperform the significant hail parameter, and the simulated climatological spatial distributions and annual cycles of lightning and hail are consistent with observations from storm report databases, radar, and lightning detection data. As a corollary result, CAPE released above the −10°C isotherm was found to be a more universally skillful predictor for large hail than CAPE. In the period 1950–2021, the models applied to the ERA5 reanalysis indicate significant increases of lightning and hail across most of Europe, primarily due to rising low-level moisture. The strongest modeled hail increases occur in northern Italy with increasing rapidity after 2010. Here, very large hail has become 3 times more likely than it was in the 1950s. Across North America trends are comparatively small, apart from isolated significant increases in the direct lee of the Rocky Mountains and across the Canadian plains. In the southern plains, a period of enhanced storm activity occurred in the 1980s and 1990s.
West-WRF 34-Year Reforecast: Description and Validation
Authors: Cobb Alison , Steinhoff Daniel , Weihs Rachel , Delle Monache Luca , DeHaan Laurel , Reynolds David , Cannon Forest , Kawzenuk Brian , Papadopolous Caroline , Ralph F. M. 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
This study presents a high-resolution regional reforecast based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model, tailored for the prediction of extreme hydrometeorological events over the western United States (West-WRF) spanning 34 cool seasons (1 December–31 March) from 1986 to 2019. The West-WRF reforecast has a 9-km domain covering western North America and the eastern Pacific Ocean and a 3-km domain covering much of California. The West-WRF reforecast is generated by dynamically downscaling the control member of the Global Ensemble Forecasting System (GEFS) v10 reforecast. Verification of near-surface temperature, wind, and humidity highlight the added value in the reforecast relative to GEFS. Analysis of geopotential height indicates that West-WRF reduces the bias throughout much of the troposphere during early lead times. The West-WRF reforecast also shows clear improvement in atmospheric river characteristics (intensity and landfall) over GEFS. Analysis of mean areal precipitation (MAP) shows that at the basin scale, the reforecast can improve MAP relative to GEFS and reveals a consistent low bias in the reforecast for a coastal watershed (Russian) and a high bias observed in a Northern Sierra watershed (Yuba). The reforecast has a dry bias in seasonal precipitation in the northern Central Valley and Coast Mountain ranges, and a wet bias in the Northern Sierra Nevada, consistent with other operational high-resolution (<25 km) regional models. The applications of this high-resolution multiyear reforecast include process-based studies, assessment of model performance, and machine learning applications.
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Brain–Computer Interfaces for Improving Post-Stroke Recovery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Lima Eloise de Oliveira , Silva Letícia Maria , Melo Ana Luísa Vilar , D’arruda Julia Vitória Torres , Alexandre de Albuquerque Marlon , Ramos de Souza Neto José Maurício , Araújo de Oliveira Eliane , Andrade Suellen Marinho 
Published: September 2023

Objective This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation associated with brain–computer interface in stroke patients. Data sources The PubMed, Central, PEDro, Web of Science, SCOPUS, PsycINFO Ovid, CINAHL EBSCO, EMBASE, and ScienceDirect databases were searched from inception to April 2023 for randomized controlled studies reporting the effects of active transcranial direct current stimulation associated with brain–computer interface to a transcranial direct current stimulation sham associated with brain–computer interface condition on the outcome measure (motor performance and functional independence). Review methods We searched for full-text articles which had investigated the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation associated with brain–computer interface on motor performance in the upper extremities in stroke patients. The standardized mean differences derived from the change in scores between pretreatment and post-treatment were adopted as the effect size measure, with a 95% confidence interval. Possible sources of heterogeneity were analyzed by performing subgroup analyses in order to examine the moderating effects for one variable: the level of injury severity. Results Nine studies were included in the qualitative synthesis and the meta-analysis. The findings of the conducted analyses indicated there is not enough evidence to suggest that active transcranial direct current stimulation associated with brain–computer interface is more efficient in motor performance and functional independence when compared to sham transcranial direct current stimulation associated with brain–computer interface or brain–computer interface alone. In addition, the quality of evidence was rated very low. A subgroup analysis was performed for the motor performance outcome considering the injury severity level. Conclusion We found evidence that transcranial direct current stimulation associated with brain–computer interface was not more beneficial than sham transcranial direct current stimulation associated with brain–computer interface or brain–computer interface alone.
Prediction of Preterm Birth among Infants with Orofacial Cleft Defects
Authors: Ludorf Katherine L. , Benjamin Renata H. , Canfield Mark A. , Swartz Michael D. , Agopian A. J. 
Published: September 2023

Objective To develop risk prediction models for preterm birth among infants with orofacial clefts. Design Data from the Texas Birth Defects Registry for infants with orofacial clefts born between 1999-2014 were used to develop preterm birth predictive models. Logistic regression was used to consider maternal and infant characteristics, and internal validation of the final model was performed using bootstrapping methods. The area under the curve (AUC) statistic was generated to assess model performance, and separate predictive models were built and validated for infants with cleft lip and cleft palate alone. Several secondary analyses were conducted among subgroups of interest. Setting State-wide, population-based Registry data. Patients/Participants 6774 infants with orofacial clefts born in Texas between 1999-2014. Main Outcome Measure(s) Preterm birth among infants with orofacial clefts. Results The final predictive model performed modestly, with an optimism-corrected AUC of 0.67 among all infants with orofacial clefts. The optimism-corrected models for cleft lip (with or without cleft palate) and cleft palate alone had similar predictive capability, with AUCs of 0.66 and 0.67, respectively. Secondary analyses had similar results, but the model among infants with delivery prior to 32 weeks demonstrated higher optimism-corrected predictive capability (AUC = 0.74). Conclusions This study provides a first step towards predicting preterm birth risk among infants with orofacial clefts. Identifying pregnancies affected by orofacial clefts at the highest risk for preterm birth may lead to new avenues for improving outcomes among these infants.
Dose reduction and toxicity of lenalidomide-dexamethasone in multiple myeloma: A machine-learning prediction model
Authors: Maray Iván , Álvarez-Asteinza Cristina , Fernández-Laguna Clara Luz , Macía-Rivas Lola , Carbajales-Álvarez Mónica , Lozano-Blazquez Ana 
Published: September 2023

Purpose Lenalidomide remains an effective drug for multiple myeloma, but it is often associated with adverse events and requires dose adjustments. The objective of this study was to propose a model for predicting whether a patient would require dose adjustment. Methods This retrospective observational study included patients treated with lenalidomide and dexamethasone from June 2014 to September 2018 at a tertiary hospital. Demographic variables, patient functional status, disease, analytical data specific to myeloma, and treatment-related variables were collected. Univariate and machine learning (logistic regression and classification and regression trees model) analyses were also performed. Kaplan–Meier analysis was used to determine the time of toxicity onset. Only lenalidomide (and not dexamethasone) related dose reductions are included. Results A total of 64 patients received lenalidomide-dexamethasone. 69% (44) required dose reduction or discontinuation of treatment due to lenalidomide-related adverse events. The median time between treatment beginning and lenalidomide dose reduction or discontinuation was 8.0 months (95% CI: 6.0–17.0). Age, platelet count, and neutrophil count were related to dose reduction in the univariate model. In the multivariate models, age and neutrophil count were significant in the logistic regression model, renal clearance, and neutrophil count in the classification and regression trees model. Conclusion Elderly patients and those with low bone marrow reserves are prone to dose-limiting adverse events. This study can aid in making follow-up, prophylaxis, and dosing decisions to achieve better pharmacotherapeutic results.
Efficacy and safety of intense pulsed light of upper and lower eyelids in Meibomian gland dysfunction: A prospective multicentric study
Authors: Benitez-del-Castillo Jose Manuel , López-Pérez María Dolores , Cano-Ortiz Antonio , Peris-Martinez Cristina , Pinar-Sueiro Sergio , Gessa-Sorroche Maria , García-Franco-Zuñiga Carmen , Iradier Maria T , Amesty Maria A , Burgos-Blasco Barbara 
Published: September 2023

Purpose To demonstrate that intense pulsed light therapy (IPL) of the upper and lower eyelids with meibomian gland expression (MGX) is effective in improving dry eye disease due to meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). Methods Patients with ocular discomfort (Ocular Surface Disease Index -OSDI- above 13) and signs of MGD were recruited. All patients underwent OSDI, visual acuity (VA), intraocular pressure, Schirmer test, meibography, non-invasive tear breakup time (NITBUT), slit-lamp examination (corneal and conjunctival staining, hyperemia, gland expressibility, and meibum quality), tear osmolarity and lipid layer thickness. IPL was performed with Optima IPL (Lumenis Ltd.) following a standardized protocol on upper and lower eyelids of both eyes, with inferior eyelid MGX. Patients received four sessions separated by two weeks each. Four weeks after, examinations were repeated. Results 160 patients (320 eyes) were included, of which 108 (67.5%) were women and mean age was 59.2 ± 15.08 (range 20–89). After four sessions, VA, OSDI, tear osmolarity, lipid layer thickness, NITBUT, hyperemia, corneal and conjunctival staining, gland expressibility, meibum quality, inferior eyelid Meiboscore and Schirmer test improved (all, p < 0.027). Changes in OSDI, initial and average NITBUT increased with dry eye disease severity (according to OSDI). Increased pre-treatment OSDI, hyperemia, corneal and conjunctival staining and Schirmer test were associated with an improvement in OSDI (all, p < 0.040). No adverse events were noted. Conclusions The combination of IPL on upper and lower eyelids with MGX is safe and effective for the treatment of MGD. Patients with severe dry eye disease present greater improvements.
Understanding and interpreting CNN's decision in optical coherence tomography-based AMD detection
Authors: Azoad ahnaf S. M. , Saha Sajib , Frost Shaun , Atiqur Rahaman G. M. 
Published: September 2023

Introduction Automated assessment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) using optical coherence tomography (OCT) has gained significant research attention in recent years. Though a list of convolutional neural network (CNN)-based methods has been proposed recently, methods that uncover the decision-making process of CNNs or critically interpret CNNs’ decisions in the context are scant. This study aims to bridge this research gap. Methods We independently trained several state-of-the-art CNN models, namely, VGG16, VGG19, Xception, ResNet50, InceptionResNetV2 for AMD detection and applied CNN visualization techniques, namely, Grad-CAM, Grad-CAM++, Score CAM, Faster Score CAM to highlight the regions of interest utilized by the CNNs in the context. Retinal layer segmentation methods were also developed to explore how the CNN regions of interest related to the layers of the retinal structure. Extensive experiments involving 2130 SD-OCT scans collected from Duke University were performed. Results Experimental analysis shows that Outer Nuclear Layer to Inner Segment Myeloid (ONL-ISM) influences the AMD detection decision heavily as evident from the normalized intersection (NI) scores. For AMD cases the obtained average NI scores were respectively 13.13%, 17.2%, 9.7%, 10.95%, and 11.31% for VGG16, VGG19, ResNet50, Xception, and Inception ResNet V2, whereas, for normal cases, these values were respectively 21.7%, 21.3%, 16.85%, 10.175% and 16%. Conclusion Critical analysis reveals that the ONL-ISM is the most contributing layer in determining AMD, followed by Nerve Fiber Layer to Inner Plexiform Layer (NFL-IPL).
Pregnancy outcomes in the medical management of glaucoma: An international multicenter descriptive survey
Authors: Kaufman Aaron R , Ali Al-Djasim Leyla , Rivkin Angeline C , Al-Futais Muneera , Venkataraman Ganesh , Vimalanathan Menaka , Sahu Abhipsa , Ahluwalia Navjot Singh , Shakya Rakesh , Vajaranant Thasarat Sutabutr , Wilensky Jacob T , Edward Deepak P , Aref Ahmad A 
Published: September 2023

Purpose To determine if glaucoma medications are associated with pregnancy and/or postnatal complications. Methods Multicenter descriptive survey. Subjects were female patients 18–45 years who were previously pregnant with a diagnosis of glaucoma or ocular hypertension prior to pregnancy. Chart review queried diagnosis, glaucoma severity, and race. Survey questions were asked for each pregnancy and queried pregnancy age, medications used, and pregnancy outcomes/complications. Results 114 pregnancies of 56 patients (mean 2.0 pregnancies per patient) were included. Three pregnancies with therapeutic abortion were excluded from further analysis. Mean age during pregnancy was 29.1 ± 5.7 years. Of the 111 pregnancies, 20 (18.0%) used no medications and 91 (82.0%) used at least one medication. Medications were topical carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (n = 45), beta-blockers (n = 55), alpha-agonists (n = 56), and prostaglandin analogues (n = 28). Outcomes were: preterm contractions/labour (6.3%), miscarriage (4.5%), stillbirth (4.5%), induction of labour (11.9%), emergency/unplanned caesarean delivery (13.9%), neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) stay (15.8%), congenital anomalies (8.1%), and low birth weight (10.9%). Fisher exact test assessed outcome associations with individual agents, use of any agent, and different number of agents. Alpha-agonist use was associated with NICU stay: 25.5% rate ( p = 0.012) in alpha-agonist use. Most of the alpha-agonist use NICU stays occurred in pregnancies with third trimester use. All other associations were not statistically significant. Conclusions The data from this survey suggest an overall favourable safety profile for topical glaucoma medications in pregnancy, but further investigation is needed. Caution should be employed regarding third trimester alpha-agonist use owing to association with NICU stay.
Long-term complications according to silicone oil type. A single center cohort study
Authors: Vidal-Oliver Lourdes , Mataix Boronat Jorge , Palacios Pozo Elena , López-Prats M Jesús , Desco Esteban M Carmen 
Published: September 2023

Purpose To study the incidence of macular edema (ME), ocular hypertension (OHT), emulsification and migration to the anterior chamber (AC) of silicone oil (SO) in patients after complex retina surgery, stratified by SO type. Methods Retrospective, cohort study. Patients who underwent retina surgery with SO injection and extraction in our center were included. We compared the complication rates of ME, OHT, emulsification and migration to the AS according to SO type (1300cSt, 5700cSt and heavy SO). Data on age, sex, emulsification time, duration of the tamponade, previous retina surgeries and diagnosis were also gathered and included in a multivariate analysis. Results We included 163 patients (mean age of 64.8 years; mean duration of the tamponade: 11 months). Rates of emulsification, ME, OHT and SO migration to the AC were similar in all groups ( p = 0.998, 0.668, 0.915 and 0.360). ME was the most frequent complication (33.3–47.8%), which resolved after SO extraction in 77.6% of cases. The majority of cases with OHT persisted (61.7%). Emulsification was related to younger age (OR 0.94) and longer duration of the tamponade (OR 1.04). The odds of SO migration to the AC increased with emulsification (OR 2.78), recurrent retinal detachment (OR 0.99) and aphakia (OR 4.05). Conclusions We propose SO extraction as the preferred treatment for ME during SO tamponade. SO extraction should be performed sooner in younger patients to avoid emulsification. In selected patients, we suggest a longer duration of the tamponade up to 11 months with a reasonable safety profile, regardless of the SO type.
A Brazilian case of exudative perifoveal vascular anomalous complex responsive to aflibercept intravitreal injections
Authors: Cunha de Souza Eduardo , Tombolini Beatrice , Sacconi Riccardo , Bandello Francesco , Querques Giuseppe 
Published: September 2023

Purpose To report a case of exudative perifoveal exudative vascular anomalous complex (ePVAC) in a Brazilian healthy patient that underwent a complete resolution after aflibercept intravitreal injections. Case description A 41-year-old healthy Brazilian man complained of acute central vision loss in his right eye (RE). Fundus examination showed a perifoveal hemorrhagic aneurysmal lesion, accompanied by several hard exudates in RE. On fluorescein angiography, these abnormalities showed a progressive hyperfluorescence with surrounding leakage. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) revealed a deep, perifoveal hyporeflective cystic space with a hyperreflective wall and hyperreflective material inside of fibrin-like aspect. Around this aneurism, intraretinal hyporeflective spaces suggestive of exudation were detected. Nor pathological flow signal, or telangiectatic dilations were evidenced on OCT-angiography. Therefore, a diagnosis of exudative ePVAC in RE was hypothesized. After an initial observation, the patient underwent three monthly aflibercept intravitreal injections (0.05 ml/2 mg), with a significative anatomical and functional improvement after two weeks from first dose. On last follow-up at five months from baseline, patient experienced no evidence of new exudation and a stable visual acuity. Discussion Placental growth factor (PlGF) may impact on pericytes’ dropout, and thus on ePVAC development. In contrast to the other anti-VEGF drugs, aflibercept is the only molecule contrasting PlGF. Therefore, aflibercept would act on ePVAC not as an anti-VEGF drug, but rather as an anti-PlGF one. Conclusion This report encouraged the use of aflibercept as a therapeutic option for ePVAC. Further studies are required to confirm our result and the impact of PlGF on ePVAC pathogenesis.
Investigation of structural parameters of acoustic panels produced from post-industrial textile wastes containing different raw materials
Authors: Yalcin-Enis Ipek , Sezgin Hande 
Published: September 2023

Although noise pollution appears to be a minor issue, it worsens as a result of urbanization and population growth. Unwanted noises have a wide range of negative effects, including anxiety, hostility, high blood pressure, tinnitus, hearing loss, and sleep difficulties. The researchers are compelled to conduct a creative search in order to uncover future environmental solutions due to the noise problem, which is becoming each day worse. Moreover, the textile sector, which is growing day by day, generates huge amounts of waste with the effect of fast fashion trend. The objective of this study is to develop ecofriendly acoustic panels utilizing recycled textile waste and thermoplastic polypropylene (PP) fibers. Within the scope of the study, waste fabrics made of viscose, lyocell, flax, cotton, and polyester are shredded into fibers, and sandwich panels including waste fibers bonded together with PP fibers are generated using the hot press technique. In addition to the use of natural and synthetic fibers, the effects of surface shape (perforated-imperforated) and layer thickness (5 mm and 10 mm) on acoustic performance are examined. The results of the sound absorption and sound transmission loss tests reveal that the acoustic properties of the samples improve as the sample thickness increases, but the perforation process does not have the desired favorable impact on samples of the same thickness. Additionally, the outcomes demonstrate that around 2000 Hz, natural and regenerated fibers with high cellulose content had the best sound absorption coefficients around 0.60. The findings indicate that these eco-friendly panels can be used to reduce unwanted noise in open offices, co-working spaces, and meeting rooms.