bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Outcomes of Early Rhythm Control Therapy in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and a High Comorbidity Burden in Large Real-World Cohorts
Authors: Dickow Jannis , Kany Shinwan , Roth Cardoso Victor , Ellinor Patrick T. , Gkoutos Georgios V. , Van Houten Holly K. , Kirchhof Paulus , Metzner Andreas , Noseworthy Peter A. , Yao Xiaoxi , Rillig Andreas 
Published: March 2023

Background:
A recent subanalysis of the EAST-AFNET 4 (Early Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation for Stroke Prevention Trial) suggests a stronger benefit of early rhythm control (ERC) in patients with atrial fibrillation and a high comorbidity burden when compared to patients with a lower comorbidity burden.

Methods:

We identified 109 739 patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in a large United States deidentified administrative claims database (OptumLabs) and 11 625 patients in the population-based UKB (UK Biobank). ERC was defined as atrial fibrillation ablation or antiarrhythmic drug therapy within the first year after atrial fibrillation diagnosis. Patients were classified as (1) ERC and high comorbidity burden (CHA
2
DS
2
-VASc score ≥4); (2) ERC and lower comorbidity burden (CHA
2
DS
2
-VASc score 2–3); (3) no ERC and high comorbidity burden; and (4) no ERC and lower comorbidity burden. Patients without an elevated comorbidity burden (CHA
2
DS
2
-VASc score 0–1) were excluded. Propensity score overlap weighting and cox proportional hazards regression were used to balance patients and compare groups for the primary composite outcome of all-cause mortality, stroke, or hospitalization with the diagnoses heart failure or myocardial infarction as well as for a primary composite safety outcome of death, stroke, and serious adverse events related to ERC.

Results:

In both cohorts, ERC was associated with a reduced risk for the primary composite outcome in patients with a high comorbidity burden (OptumLabs: hazard ratio, 0.83 [95% CI 0.72–0.95];
P
=0.006; UKB: hazard ratio, 0.77 [95% CI, 0.63–0.94];
P
=0.009). In patients with a lower comorbidity burden, the difference in outcomes was not significant (OptumLabs: hazard ratio, 0.92 [95% CI, 0.54–1.57];
P
=0.767; UKB: hazard ratio, 0.94 [95% CI, 0.83–1.06];
P
=0.310). The comorbidity burden interacted with ERC in the UKB (interaction-
P
=0.027) but not in OptumLabs (interaction-
P
=0.720). ERC was not associated with an increased risk for the primary safety outcome.

Conclusions:

ERC is safe and may be more favorable in a population-based sample of patients with high a comorbidity burden (CHA
2
DS
2
-VASc score ≥4).
Understanding Social Robots: Attribution of Intentional Agency to Artificial and Biological Bodies
Authors: Ziemke Tom 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Much research in robotic artificial intelligence (AI) and Artificial Life has focused on autonomous agents as an embodied and situated approach to AI. Such systems are commonly viewed as overcoming many of the philosophical problems associated with traditional computationalist AI and cognitive science, such as the grounding problem (Harnad) or the lack of intentionality (Searle), because they have the physical and sensorimotor grounding that traditional AI was argued to lack. Robot lawn mowers and self-driving cars, for example, more or less reliably avoid obstacles, approach charging stations, and so on—and therefore might be considered to have some form of artificial intentionality or intentional directedness. It should be noted, though, that the fact that robots share physical environments with people does not necessarily mean that they are situated in the same perceptual and social world as humans. For people encountering socially interactive systems, such as social robots or automated vehicles, this poses the nontrivial challenge to interpret them as intentional agents to understand and anticipate their behavior but also to keep in mind that the intentionality of artificial bodies is fundamentally different from their natural counterparts. This requires, on one hand, a “suspension of disbelief ” but, on the other hand, also a capacity for the “suspension of belief.” This dual nature of (attributed) artificial intentionality has been addressed only rather superficially in embodied AI and social robotics research. It is therefore argued that Bourgine and Varela’s notion of Artificial Life as the practice of autonomous systems needs to be complemented with a practice of socially interactive autonomous systems, guided by a better understanding of the differences between artificial and biological bodies and their implications in the context of social interactions between people and technology.
Modern Artificial Neural Networks: Is Evolution Cleverer?
Authors: Bahmer Andreas , Gupta Daya , Effenberger Felix 
Published: March 2023

AbstractMachine learning tools, particularly artificial neural networks (ANN), have become ubiquitous in many scientific disciplines, and machine learning-based techniques flourish not only because of the expanding computational power and the increasing availability of labeled data sets but also because of the increasingly powerful training algorithms and refined topologies of ANN. Some refined topologies were initially motivated by neuronal network architectures found in the brain, such as convolutional ANN. Later topologies of neuronal networks departed from the biological substrate and began to be developed independently as the biological processing units are not well understood or are not transferable to in silico architectures. In the field of neuroscience, the advent of multichannel recordings has enabled recording the activity of many neurons simultaneously and characterizing complex network activity in biological neural networks (BNN). The unique opportunity to compare large neuronal network topologies, processing, and learning strategies with those that have been developed in state-of-the-art ANN has become a reality. The aim of this review is to introduce certain basic concepts of modern ANN, corresponding training algorithms, and biological counterparts. The selection of these modern ANN is prone to be biased (e.g., spiking neural networks are excluded) but may be sufficient for a concise overview.
From Pavlov Conditioning to Hebb Learning
Authors: Agliari Elena , Aquaro Miriam , Barra Adriano , Fachechi Alberto , Marullo Chiara 
Published: March 2023

AbstractHebb's learning traces its origin in Pavlov's classical conditioning; however, while the former has been extensively modeled in the past decades (e.g., by the Hopfield model and countless variations on theme), as for the latter, modeling has remained largely unaddressed so far. Furthermore, a mathematical bridge connecting these two pillars is totally lacking. The main difficulty toward this goal lies in the intrinsically different scales of the information involved: Pavlov's theory is about correlations between concepts that are (dynamically) stored in the synaptic matrix as exemplified by the celebrated experiment starring a dog and a ringing bell; conversely, Hebb's theory is about correlations between pairs of neurons as summarized by the famous statement that neurons that fire together wire together. In this letter, we rely on stochastic process theory to prove that as long as we keep neurons' and synapses' timescales largely split, Pavlov's mechanism spontaneously takes place and ultimately gives rise to synaptic weights that recover the Hebbian kernel.
Automatic Hyperparameter Tuning in Sparse Matrix Factorization
Authors: Kawasumi Ryota , Takeda Koujin 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
We study the problem of hyperparameter tuning in sparse matrix factorization under a Bayesian framework. In prior work, an analytical solution of sparse matrix factorization with Laplace prior was obtained by a variational Bayes method under several approximations. Based on this solution, we propose a novel numerical method of hyperparameter tuning by evaluating the zero point of the normalization factor in a sparse matrix prior. We also verify that our method shows excellent performance for ground-truth sparse matrix reconstruction by comparing it with the widely used algorithm of sparse principal component analysis.
Radical Ecological Economics: Decolonizing Our Work
Authors: Barkin David 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Who are the peasants/Indigenous people and what is their role in the history and future of Mexico? Questioning the dominant version of the socio-political dynamics, I start with corn, a grain created in Mesoamerica, to develop one of most admired agroecological systems in the world. It contributes to good nutrition and health, (re)shaping social structures and the territory itself. Today’s communities, transformed into a Communitarian Revolutionary Subject provide a model for post-capitalist societies. I apply the framework of Radical Ecological Economics to illustrate and accompany this dynamic.
Community Participation in National Addresses and Postcode System Establishment in Tanzania
Authors: Kabujanja Yuslida 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
This study seeks to understand whether the Tanzanian community participated in the establishment of national addresses and postcode systems following the need of the government of Tanzania to establish residential addresses and postcodes through the guidance of the electronic and postal communications act of 2003 for the purpose of identifying streets by indicating specific names and business centers as well as naming the number of houses. Through the participatory theory approach and communication theory, this article analyses the contents which describe the involvement of Tanzanians in establishing the national address and postcode systems. Through in-depth interviews, the study findings indicate that community participation in selecting and establishing names for the streets and post code systems was relatively low. This was characterized by low awareness of the community concerning; less communication within the community through which the project was taking place; within the society; and poor involvement of people within the society. This finding concludes that community participation in any project has the potential for both social and economic development activities within and outside of society.
Post-Colonial Agriculture Policy and Agrarian Change in Malawi, 1964–1979
Authors: Nkhono-Mvula Tamani , Kayuni Happy M. , Mulwafu Wapulumuka O. 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Agriculture has always been the main occupation and a source of livelihood for the majority of people in Malawi since time immemorial. This implies that any institutional reform implemented on land, agricultural production and marketing of agricultural enterprises directly affects the farming communities. The interest of the article covers institutional reforms from the years 1964 to 1979. The article briefly analyses the colonial era policies and further explores how the post-colonial government took up a very populist approach to change most of the colonial era ordinances not only as a means of consolidating power but also transferring ownership of the means of production like land to the African farmers. However, though these changes were well intentioned, both the colonial and post-colonial institutional frameworks turned out to be the means through which the peasant farmers were oppressed. This state of affairs of systematic oppression of the peasantry experienced through these policies and laws thwarted the attempts for the transformation of peasantry into capitalist or semi-capitalist farmers. The argument of this article, therefore, is that the current state of the peasantry and underdevelopment of the smallholder sector in Malawi draws its origin from the institutions and structures created in the colonial and immediate post-colonial period. It concludes that a positive change in the state of agrarian communities could be hampered more by the very institutional framework set up for agricultural development. Using a qualitative approach in data collection and analysis, the article explores how the post-colonial policies and practices assisted in bringing about agrarian change in Malawi.
The Impact of Cash Transfers on Intimate Partner Violence: A Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Tanzania
Authors: Kinyondo Abel A. , Ntegwa Magashi J. 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
The prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) among women remains high around the world. Cash transfers (CTs) are one potential avenue that can be used to reduce violence through women’s empowerment. The present study uses a mixed method, where both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed to compare the difference in the prevalence of IPV between CT recipients and non-recipients of CTs and among different categories of CTs. For quantitative data, a single difference estimation of the end-line cross-section data was used to assess the impact of Tanzania’s CTs on IPV. Results show that CTs have no impact on different forms of IPV, except a negligible impact in reducing physical violence. Moreover, thematic analysis of qualitative data suggests that cultural norms that subordinate women to men irrespective of women’s socioeconomic status are the channels through which IPV is perpetuated in Tanzania. Therefore, we recommend that CTs be designed in a manner that progressively transforms power relations in Tanzania. This would necessarily include having tailor-made gender training programs; promoting efforts that seek to reform the legal framework that preserves masculine culture in Tanzania’s society as well as improving the functioning of police-based gender desks and social work departments across the country.
New Media, New Literary Theory, and New Literature from an Interological Horizon
Authors: Zhang Peter 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
This article discusses new developments in the field of literary theory and literary praxis in the era of new media from the perspectives of media theory and interology. It takes new media as a McLuhanesque formal cause and holds that a conspicuous characteristic of literary works in the era of new media lies in the salience and normalization of interality. This development means art forms like mosaic and Pointillism have acquired a paradigmatic significance as a result. In revealing this new paradigm, the article also points to some current social maladies that have come with new media. It holds that literary writing should go beyond the mere embodiment of symptoms and make an intervention in media-induced maladies. The article affirms the irreplaceability of experimental literature and serious literature in an era of attention deficit, and points out that form should occupy a paramount position in literary theory, literary criticism, and literary praxis.
Exploring Dynamics of Changes in Psychological Skills in the Development of Talented Athletes
Authors: Hauw Denis , Gesbert Vincent , Crettaz von Roten Fabienne 
Published: March 2023

In this study we examined changes in a psychological skill set, defined as crucial for the growth of talented athletes, through repeated assessments of the six-factor Psychological Characteristics of Development Excellence Questionnaire (PCDEQ). In a first phase of this study, we built and evaluated a French adaptation of the PCDEQ: the PCDEQ-SV (18 items). After confirmatory factor analysis, Cronbach’s alpha revealed that scales for its six factors ranged from very good to just below minimally acceptable as a model fit. The mean inter-item correlations for the scales, built on three items per scale, were optimal, leading us to assume that this short version was reliable. In the second phase, we analyzed the changes in the skill sets of 67 talented Swiss athletes who were given the PCDEQ-SV three times over 1 year. Feedback on the scores was provided to participants in comparison to the test’s cutoffs after T1 and T2. The analysis then focused on those who scored below the cutoffs and their resources for skill improvements. We found that the highest number of participants scored below the cutoffs at testing times, T1 and T2 on Factors 2, 6 and 1. Changes in scores were characterized by overall dynamics of improvement. The resources most used to effect those changes were “personal work with no outside help,” “discussions with significant others,” and “specific work with the coach.” The results are discussed in relation to the iGen’s resources for self-determination of psychological skills improvement.
The need for a course to complete urological education for consultant practice using a simulated ‘boot camp’ structure at the end of specialist training: A survey-based study
Authors: Pang Karl H , Jain Sunjay , Biyani Chandra Shekhar , Payne Stephen R 
Published: March 2023

Background and aims To obtain opinions from urology trainees and consultants regarding the need for, and structure of, a post-specialty training Urology Simulation Boot Camp (USBC) for consultant practice. Methods and results A survey-based study was conducted, and ‘Google Forms’ were distributed electronically via social media. Urology specialist trainees (ST) in years 5–7 (ST5-ST7), post-certification of completion of training (CCT) fellows and ST3 boot camp faculty consultants in practice for ≤5 years and >5 years were included. One hundred and seven responses were received. 97.2% of responders thought a pre-consultant USBC was worthwhile; 55.1% selected the course duration to be 2 days. 47.7% felt that the USBC should be delivered post-exam in ST7. 91.6%, 43.9%, 73.8%, 87.9% and 74.8% considered that modules in emergency operative procedures, novel uro-technologies, delivering multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings, non-clinical consultant roles and responsibilities, stress and burnout to be important, respectively. 62.6% and 31.8% felt that the course should be wholly or part-funded by Health Education England (HEE). Conclusions A post-specialty training, pre-consultant, USBC delivered post-exam in ST7, is worthwhile and should include modules on emergency operative procedures, leading MDTs, non-clinical roles and responsibilities and managing stress and burnout in consultant careers. Ideally, it should be fully/part-funded by HEE.
Can Ki-67 predict radiotherapy response in neuroendocrine tumors? Retrospective analysis of a monocentric series of patients
Authors: Zerini Dario , Rotondi Marco , Volpe Stefania , Pisa Eleonora , Frigo Emanuele , Pedone Cristiana , Flospergher Michele , Bagnardi Vincenzo , Frassoni Samuele , Fodor Cristiana Iuliana , Spada Francesca , Fazio Nicola , Alterio Daniela , Jereczek-Fossa Barbara Alicja 
Published: March 2023

Background The impact of radiotherapy (RT) in neuroendocrine neoplasms is still unknown, and outcomes could be improved by a better insight in RT response predictors. This retrospective analysis investigates the potential correlation between Ki-67 and RT response to evaluate its role as biological marker of radiosensitivity. Material and methods Data from patients treated at an Italian NET-referral center between 2015 and 2020 were retrieved. Inclusion criteria included: histologically-proven diagnosis of NEN, Ki-67 status, indication (symptomatic and/or ablative) and at least one post-RT radiological assessment. Results Forty-two patients and 63 different treatment lines were included. Primary tumors presented Ki-67 values < 3% in 21% of cases, between 3 and 20% in 45% and >20% in the remaining 33%. Almost all patients were metastatic at the time of RT, which was performed with symptomatic purpose in 43% of cases. At a median time of three months, a complete response on the target lesion was observed in nine cases (14%), a partial response in 17 (27%), stability in 23 (37%) and local progression in 14 (22%). With median FU of 22.8 months, OS does not show statistically significant differences among three Ki-67 groups. Considering all lines of therapy, the relationship between ORR and Ki-67, did not show statistically significant differences, even following adjustments for drug types and delivered RT doses. Conclusion No association between Ki67 and local tumor response to RT could be observed in the present cohort, regardless of whether the evaluation was performed on a categorical or continuous scale.
Student-led occupational performance coaching in a university setting
Authors: Egan Mary Yvonne , Toal-Sullivan Darene , Kessler Dorothy , Kristjansson Elizabeth , Del Bel Michael Joseph 
Published: March 2023

Introduction: University students are at a high risk for mental health difficulties. Occupational performance coaching is an action-oriented and strengths-based approach that can help clients set and accomplish personally valued goals. We carried out a pilot project to evaluate a tele-rehabilitation occupational performance coaching service for university students within an occupational therapy fieldwork placement. Method: A pretest post-test design was used. Severity of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress and goal achievement were measured before and after the intervention and semi-structured interviews were carried out with student clients and student therapists. Development of student therapist competencies were noted. Results: Thirty-five student clients enrolled in occupational performance coaching and participated in 1–6 sessions. They identified academic, health, social and vocational goals. Through occupational performance coaching, clients made important progress on their goals. Following occupational performance coaching, clients demonstrated statistically significant improvement in anxiety and depression. The occupational therapy students attained competencies comparable in number and level to those achieved in more traditional placements. Conclusion: Occupational performance coaching is a potentially valuable addition to student mental health services. Such a service can be provided by supervised fieldwork students.
Pleural CEA, CA-15-3, CYFRA 21-1, CA-19-9, CA-125 discriminating malignant from benign pleural effusions: Diagnostic cancer biomarkers
Authors: Fazli Khalaf Farzaneh , Asadi Gharabaghi Mehrnaz , Balibegloo Maryam , Davari Hamidreza , Afshar Samaneh , Jahanbin Behnaz 
Published: March 2023

Introduction There is a need for a rapid, accurate, less-invasive approach to distinguishing malignant from benign pleural effusions. We investigated the diagnostic value of five pleural tumor markers in exudative pleural effusions. Methods By immunochemiluminescence assay, we measured pleural concentrations of tumor markers. We used the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis to assess their diagnostic values. Results A total of 281 patients were enrolled. All tumor markers were significantly higher in malignant pleural effusions than benign ones. The area under the curve of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen (CA) 15-3, cytokeratin fragment 19 (CYFRA) 21-1, CA-19-9, and CA-125 were 0.81, 0.78, 0.75, 0.65, and 0.65, respectively. Combined markers of CEA + CA-15-3 and CEA + CA-15-3 + CYFRA 21-1 had a sensitivity of 87% and 94%, and specificity of 75% and 58%, respectively. We designed a diagnostic algorithm by combining pleural cytology with pleural tumor marker assay. CEA + CYFRA 21-1 + CA-19-9 + CA-15-3 was the best tumor markers panel detecting 96% of cytologically negative malignant pleural effusions, with a negative predictive value of 98%. Conclusions Although cytology is specific enough, it has less sensitivity in identifying malignant pleural fluids. As a result, the main gap is detecting malignant pleural effusions with negative cytology. CEA was the best single marker, followed by CA-15-3 and CYFRA 21-1. Through both cytology and suggested panels of tumor markers, malignant and benign pleural effusions could be truly diagnosed with an accuracy of about 98% without the need for more invasive procedures, except for the cohort with negative cytology and a positive tumor markers panel, which require more investigations.