bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Antibacterial Potential of Bacterial Cellulose Impregnated with Green Synthesized Silver Nanoparticle Against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa
Authors: Shaaban Mohamed T. , Zayed Muhammad , Salama Hussein S. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractIn this study, bacterial cellulose (BC) impregnated with green synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is evaluated as an antimicrobial membrane for wound-healing treatment. Green synthesized silver nanoparticles using Moringa oleifera leaf extract were characterized using UV‒visible spectroscopy, FTIR, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The results confirmed that the resulted particles were Ag2O and metallic Ag in nanoscale with an average size ranged from 24 to 40 nm. The green synthesized nanoparticles incorporated within both bacterial cellulose and filter paper discs showed excellent antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027. There was no significant difference noticed between bacterial cellulose and filter paper holding capacity to nanoparticles and there was lack of interaction between bacterial cellulose and impregnated nanoparticles as elaborated by Fourier transform infrared spectral analyses. Scanning electron microscopy investigation showed major distortions effects of green synthesized silver nanoparticles on bacterial cell morphology.
Imprecise prediction of implant sizes with preoperative 2D digital templating in total knee arthroplasty
Authors: Riechelmann Felix , Lettner H. , Mayr R. , Tandogan R. , Dammerer D. , Liebensteiner M. 
Published: January 2023

Abstract
Purpose
To analyze the match between preoperatively determined implant size (2D templating) and intraoperatively used implant size in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Also examined were the factors that might influence templating accuracy (gender, surgeon experience, obesity, etc.).

Materials and methods
The study was retrospective and conducted in a specialized ENDOCERT arthroplasty center. Digital templating was done with the MediCAD software. If the planned and implanted TKA components (both femur and tibia) were the same size, the match was classified “exact.” A deviation of ± one size (at the femur or tibia or both) was classified “accurate.” A deviation of ± two or more sizes (at the femur or tibia or both) was classified “inaccurate.” Obesity, gender, implant type and surgeon experience were investigated for potential influence on templating accuracy. Chi-square tests and Cohen’s weighted kappa test were used for statistical analysis.

Results
A total of 482 cases [33.6% male, 66.4% female, age 69 ± 11, body mass index (BMI) 30.3 ± 5.8] were included. When the femur and tibia were taken together, exact size match was observed in 34% (95% CI 29.9–38.3%) of cases, accurate size match in 57.5% (95% CI 53–61.8%) and inaccurate size match in 8.5% (95% CI 6.3–11.2%). Inaccurate size match prolonged operative time (p = 0.028). Regarding the factors potentially influencing templating accuracy, only gender had a significant influence, with templating being more accurate in men (p = 0.004). BMI had no influence on accuracy (p = 0.87). No effect on accuracy was observed for implant type and surgeon experience.

Conclusions
The accuracy of 2D size templating in TKA is low, even in a specialized ENDOCERT arthroplasty center. The study findings challenge the usefulness of preoperative 2D size templating and highlight the importance of more reliable templating methods.

Level of evidence
Level III (retrospective observational study).
Rejection markers in kidney transplantation: do new technologies help children?
Authors: Peruzzi Licia , Deaglio Silvia 
Published: January 2023

Abstract
Recent insights in allorecognition and graft rejection mechanisms revealed a more complex picture than originally considered, involving multiple pathways of both adaptive and innate immune response, supplied by efficient inflammatory synergies. Current pillars of transplant monitoring are serum creatinine, proteinuria, and drug blood levels, which are considered as traditional markers, due to consolidated experience, low cost, and widespread availability. The most diffuse immunological biomarkers are donor-specific antibodies, which are included in routine post-transplant monitoring in many centers, although with some reproducibility issues and interpretation difficulties. Confirmed abnormalities in these traditional biomarkers raise the suspicion for rejection and guide the indication for graft biopsy, which is still considered the gold standard for rejection monitoring. Rapidly evolving new “omic” technologies have led to the identification of several novel biomarkers, which may change the landscape of transplant monitoring should their potential be confirmed. Among them, urinary chemokines and measurement of cell-free DNA of donor origin are perhaps the most promising. However, at the moment, these approaches remain highly expensive and cost-prohibitive in most settings, with limited clinical applicability; approachable costs upon technology investments would speed their integration. In addition, transcriptomics, metabolomics, proteomics, and the study of blood and urinary extracellular vesicles have the potential for early identification of subclinical rejection with high sensitivity and specificity, good reproducibility, and for gaining predictive value in an affordable cost setting. In the near future, information derived from these new biomarkers is expected to integrate traditional tools in routine use, allowing identification of rejection prior to clinical manifestations and timely therapeutic intervention. This review will discuss traditional, novel, and invasive and non-invasive biomarkers, underlining their strengths, limitations, and present or future applications in children.
Analysis of fair fee in guaranteed lifelong withdrawal and Markovian health benefits
Authors: D’Amico Guglielmo , Singh Shakti , Selvamuthu Dharmaraja 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThis study proposed and evaluated a new insurance product, i.e., the variable annuity product, accompanied by the health status and the guaranteed lifelong withdrawal benefit (GLWB). Due to specific problems, the insurance sector is now one of the riskiest industries. The aging of the population and rising medical service costs as a result of technological advancements are to blame for this. Thus one of the most basic needs in the health insurance sector is to design an innovative product. In this article, a mixed discrete-continuous time model is proposed to calculate the fair fee of the product, calculated using equilibrium condition between premium and benefits. We considered constant volatility and rate of interest along with health status benefits and hospitalization coverage. For an illustration of the capability of this product and some possible improvements in the product, a numerical study, and sensitivity analysis have been conducted. The results showed that the withdrawal amount and age have a significant impact on the cost. A rise in the initial insured age and withdrawal amount increases the fair fee of the product. The GLWB rider’s guaranteed amount and medical expenses are included in the withdrawal amount.
On the Steklov spectrum of covering spaces and total spaces
Authors: Polymerakis Panagiotis 
Published: January 2023

AbstractWe show the existence of a natural Dirichlet-to-Neumann map on Riemannian manifolds with boundary and bounded geometry, such that the bottom of the Dirichlet spectrum is positive. This map regarded as a densely defined operator in the$$L^2$$L2-space of the boundary admits Friedrichs extension. We focus on the spectrum of this operator on covering spaces and total spaces of Riemannian principal bundles over compact manifolds.
Unintentional Discrimination Against Patients with a Migration Background by General Practitioners in Mental Health Management: An Experimental Study
Authors: Duveau Camille , Wets Camille , Delaruelle Katrijn , Demoulin Stéphanie , Dauvrin Marie , Lepièce Brice , Ceuterick Melissa , De Maesschalck Stéphanie , Bracke Piet , Lorant Vincent 
Published: January 2023

AbstractPopulations with a migration background have a higher prevalence of mental health problems than their native counterparts. They are also more likely to have unmet medical needs and are less frequently referred to mental health services. One potential explanation for this is that physicians, such as general practitioners (GPs), may unintentionally discriminate against migrant patients, particularly when they lack humanization. To date, no experimental study has investigated this hypothesis. This paper assesses the influence of humanization on GPs’ discriminatory decisions regarding migrant patients with depression. A balanced 2 × 2 factorial experiment was carried out with Belgian GPs (N = 797) who received video-vignettes depicting either a native patient or a migrant patient with depression. Half of the respondents were exposed to a text that humanized the patient by providing more details about the patient’s life story. Decisions related to diagnosis, treatment and referral were collected, as well as the time spent on each video and text, and were analysed using ANOVA. Migrant patients’ symptoms were judged to be less severe than those of native patients (F = 7.71, p < 0.05). For almost all treatments, the decision was less favourable for the migrant patient. Humanization had little effect on medical decisions. We observed that GPs spent significantly more time on the vignette with the humanization intervention, especially for the migrant patients. The results indicate that ethnic differences in the management of depression persist in primary care. Humanization, however, does not mitigate those differences in medical decisions.
International cooperation to fight cancer’s late-stage presentation in low- and middle-income countries
Authors: Henke Oliver , Qader Abdul Qadir , Malle Goodluck Lincoln , Kuiate Jules Roger , Hennig Lisa , Demeke Tamiru , Stroetmann Clara , Henke Antje Anneliese , Alaric Tamuedjoun Talom , Rushanyan Marine , Enssle Cornell , Bussmann Hermann 
Published: January 2023

AbstractCancer is becoming a massive public health burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). 70% of all cancer deaths globally are attributed to LMIC while the incidence proportion is below 60%. The main reason for the higher mortality rate is “late-stage presentation” of patients with stage III or IV diseases when being diagnosed. Main reasons for this are limited (financial) resources, poor knowledge of health service provider about cancer, misbelieves and fear among patients as well as low health literacy rate. During the 1st International Conference on Hospital Partnerships, conducted by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), cancer specialists from seven LMIC and Germany discussed opportunities, challenges and solutions of the development of cancer services. Two days of in-depths discussion identified five topics to be playing a key role in the effort to reduce the cancer burden in LMIC: Health Policy & Financing, Barriers to Access, Capacity Building, Cancer Registries and Adapted Treatment Guidelines. By using mind-mapping technique, stakeholders, core topics, main and important topics were visualized and interconnections displayed. Many topics can be addressed through international cooperations but political willingness and commitment in the respective countries plays the crucial role. An essential contribution will be to assist policy makers in formulating and endorsing affordable and effective health policies. Another lesson learned from this workshop is the similarity of challenges among the participating representatives from different LMIC. The authors of this letter emphasize on the importance of building international long-term cooperations to advance oncology care on a global scale.
Conservation genomics reveals fine-scale population structuring and recent declines in the Critically Endangered Australian Kuranda Treefrog
Authors: Bertola Lorenzo V. , Higgie Megan , Zenger Kyall R. , Hoskin Conrad J. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe Kuranda Treefrog occurs in tropical north-east Australia and is listed as Critically Endangered due to its small distribution and population size, with observed declines due to drought and human-associated impacts to habitat. Field surveys identified marked population declines in the mid-2000s, culminating in very low abundance at most sites in 2005 and 2006, followed by limited recovery. Here, samples from before (2001–2004) and after (2007–2009) this decline were analysed using 7132 neutral genome-wide SNPs to assess genetic connectivity among breeding sites, genetic erosion, and effective population size. We found a high level of genetic connectivity among breeding sites, but also structuring between the population at the eastern end of the distribution (Jumrum Creek) versus all other sites. Despite finding no detectable sign of genetic erosion between the two times periods, we observed a marked decrease in effective population size (Ne), from 1720 individuals pre-decline to 818 post-decline. This mirrors the decline detected in the field census data, but the magnitude of the decline suggested by the genetic data is greater. We conclude that the current effective population size for the Kuranda Treefrog remains around 800 adults, split equally between Jumrum Creek and all other sites combined. The Jumrum Creek habitat requires formal protection. Connectivity among all other sites must be maintained and improved through continued replanting of rainforest, and it is imperative that impacts to stream flow and water quality are carefully managed to maintain or increase population sizes and prevent genetic erosion.
Commensurators of abelian subgroups of biautomatic groups
Authors: Valiunas Motiejus 
Published: January 2023

AbstractWe show that the commensurator of any finitely generated abelian subgroup H in a biautomatic group centralises a finite-index subgroup of H. We deduce that the CAT(0) groups introduced by Leary and Minasyan (Commensurating HNN-extensions: non-positive curvature and biautomaticity, Geom Topol 25:1819–1860, 2021) are either biautomatic or cannot arise as subgroups of biautomatic groups, answering a question posed in Leary and Minasyan (Commensurating HNN-extensions: non-positive curvature and biautomaticity, Geom Topol 25:1819–1860, 2021) and generalising an analogous result for Baumslag–Solitar groups. These are the first examples of CAT(0) groups that are not subgroups of biautomatic groups.
Virtual Training of Medical Students to Promote the Comfort and Cooperation of Patients with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities
Authors: Hoang Andrea Q. , Lerman Dorothea C. , Nguyen Jennifer Trang 
Published: January 2023

AbstractPatients with neurodevelopmental disabilities generally have less access to necessary medical care compared to those without disabilities. Barriers to adequate care include patient fear and uncooperative behavior during routine medical procedures and inadequate preparation of medical professionals to treat this population. Researchers have identified multiple behavior-analytic procedures for promoting comfort and cooperation during medical treatments. Efficient, cost-effective training programs are needed to widely disseminate behavior-analytic procedures to medical students and professionals. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of a virtual training to prepare medical students to implement behavioral procedures that could be easily incorporated into typical wellness examinations. Seven medical students received behavioral skills training (BST) delivered remotely via the Internet. Results showed that the training successfully increased students’ correct implementation of the procedures in roleplay with the experimenter and with patients with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Responding also maintained at high levels 2 weeks after the training. These findings suggest that virtual BST is an efficient, practical approach for training health care professionals to implement general behavior management strategies to increase the comfort and cooperation of patients with NDD.
Emoji Alter the Perception of Emotion in Affectively Neutral Text messages
Authors: Neel Louise A. G. , McKechnie Jacqui G. , Robus Christopher M. , Hand Christopher J. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractPrevious studies of emoji effects on text sentiment demonstrate mixed findings. Further, these studies are limited by confounds, e.g., underlying text sentiment, lack of ecological validity. We considered emoji effects on the emotional valence of affectively neutral English-language text messages. We additionally considered differences across US-American, British, and Danish participants. 217 participants considered screenshots of question-and-response text message exchanges with/without emoji, in a 4 (emoji type: no emoji, negative, neutral, positive) × 3 (nationality: American, British, Danish) mixed-factors design. Cumulative link mixed-effects models demonstrated that messages + negative emoji were rated more-negatively than any other emoji conditions. Responses + positive emoji were rated more-positively than any other emoji condition. Responses + neutral emoji and responses without emoji were perceived as equally emotive. There was no emoji type × nationality interaction, suggesting that emoji effects were consistent across participants. Findings are considered viz linguistic processing, social interactions, education, marketing, and public health interventions.
Constraint handling techniques for metaheuristics: a state-of-the-art review and new variants
Authors: Lagaros Nikos D. , Kournoutos Makis , Kallioras Nikos Ath. , Nordas Alexandros N. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractMetaheuristic optimization algorithms (MOAs) are computational randomized search processes which draw inspiration from physical and biological phenomena, with an application spectrum that extends to numerous fields, ranging from engineering design to economics. MOAs were originally developed for solving unconstrained NP-complete problems, and hence their application to constrained optimization problems (COPs) requires the implementation of specialized techniques that facilitate the treatment of performance and bound constraints. While considerable research efforts have been oriented towards the development and subsequent enhancement of novel constraint handling techniques (CHTs) for MOAs, a systematic review of such techniques has not been conducted hitherto. This work presents a state-of-the-art review on CHTs used with MOAs and proposes eight novel variants based on the feasibility rules and ε-constrained techniques. The distinctive feature of the new variants is that they consider the level and number of constraint violations, besides the objective function value, for selection of individuals within a population. The novel variant performance is evaluated and compared with that of four well-known CHTs from the literature using the metaheuristic pity beetle algorithm, based upon 20 single-objective benchmark COPs. The computational results highlight the accuracy, effectiveness, and versatility of the novel variants, as well as their performance superiority in comparison with existing techniques, stemming from their distinctive formulation. The complete code can be downloaded from GitHub (https://github.com/nikoslagaros/MOAs-and-CHTs).
New insights into high soil strength and crop plants; implications for grain crop production in the Australian environment
Authors: Unkovich Murray , McKenzie David , Parker Wayne 
Published: January 2023

AbstractHigh soil strength is a problem in grain production systems worldwide. It is most severe in deep sands where the high strength occurs at greater depth, and is therefore more difficult to remedy. High strength is not an intrinsic soil physical property but the outcome of abiotic, biotic, climatic and management factors. Consequently, soil strength needs to be measured in situ with a penetrometer which, despite imperfections, provides approximate benchmarks. Following examination of laboratory, glasshouse and field literature, we hypothesise that the primary effect of high soil strength on crops is a reduction in tillering or branching, resulting in reduced radiation interception, crop transpiration and grain density (grains m− 2). This effect appears to be manifestviastrigolactone hormones. While deep tillage allows deeper root growth and access to more water in deep soil layers, we contend that it is the direct effects of hormones on shoot development which has the largest effect on yield. The development of high soil strength cropping environments is not simply a function of soil properties and increased machinery mass and traffic frequency, it arises from a confluence of these with the farming system, the climate and perhaps plant breeding activities. An improved understanding of the relative importance of the unintended consequences of breeding, the effects of changes in fallowing practices, crop rotation, soil fertility, climate and traffic, along with a better understanding of the possible importance of bio- and macropores types provide avenues for improved management of high soil strength in grain crop production systems.
Empowering female entrepreneurs through university affiliation: evidence from Italian academic spinoffs
Authors: Civera Alice , Meoli Michele 
Published: January 2023

Abstract
Female entrepreneurship, despite increasing attention, is still largely understudied, especially in the academic context. By adopting the lenses of entrepreneurial ecosystems and feminist theories, the paper investigates the firm performance of female entrepreneurs. We provide empirical evidence of the underperformance of women-led firms, being academic spinoffs or not, compared to men-led firms in terms of growth and their overperformance in terms of survival rate. In addition, we focus on differences in the performance of women-led firms only by comparing Italian academic and nonacademic companies. In virtue of their university affiliation, women-led academic spinoffs result to grow more than women-led nonacademic spinoffs and tend to show lower survival rates, which makes them more similar to men-led companies.
A portmanteau-type test for detecting serial correlation in locally stationary functional time series
Authors: Bücher Axel , Dette Holger , Heinrichs Florian 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe portmanteau test provides the vanilla method for detecting serial correlations in classical univariate time series analysis. The method is extended to the case of observations from a locally stationary functional time series. Asymptotic critical values are obtained by a suitable block multiplier bootstrap procedure. The test is shown to asymptotically hold its level and to be consistent against general alternatives.