bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Outcomes of Radioactive Iodine Versus Surgery for the Treatment of Graves’ Disease: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Authors: Salman Mohamed AbdAlla , Assal Mohamed Moustafa , Salman Ahmed , Elsherbiney Mohammed 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Graves’ disease (GD) is a systemic autoimmune disorder mainly affecting the thyroid gland. During GD management, the principal target is to control the hyperthyroid state. There have been three rather similarly effective modalities: medical therapy with antithyroid drugs (ATD), radioactive iodine (RAI), or surgical excision of the thyroid tissue (thyroidectomy). Defining the relative risks and benefits of each of the two potential definitive treatment options (RAI or thyroidectomy) is crucial for creating evidence-based therapy algorithms. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compare the outcomes of these two treatment options. This is a systematic review and meta-analysis that analyzed the studies comparing RAI and thyroidectomy to treat GD. Studies were obtained by searching on Scopus, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and PubMed central database. The surgically treated group showed significantly lower failure rates, non-significantly lower cardiovascular morbidities, non-significantly higher complication rates, and significantly lower mortality rates. The RAI-related complications were mostly the development or worsening of Graves’ ophthalmopathy. This review and meta-analysis comparing surgery and radioactive iodine for the treatment of Grave’s disease from 16 well-conducted trials has shown that although surgery viz., total thyroidectomy was less frequently utilized for the treatment of Grave’s disease, it controlled the symptoms with greater success and without any worsening of Grave’s ophthalmopathy.
Public health and democratic governance: COVID-19’s impact on South Africa’s democracy
Authors: Kotzé Dirk 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe research is motivated by the need to determine the impact of South Africa’s COVID-19 regulations on its quality of democracy. It takes into account the interests of individual (liberal) rights in competition with the state’s interests of public security. Theoretical assumptions, based on classical democratic theories, which rely on the separation of powers and checks-and-balance principles, were used. The South African government architecture is assessed, especially in the context of accountability and oversight requirements. For this purpose, the relationship between the legislature and executive is most relevant. The South African government decided on a state of disaster to manage the pandemic, but it is contrasted with a state of emergency as the constitutional alternative. Its implementation, especially the institutional framework used for it, is analysed. The role of Parliament during the pandemic is used as an important test of the quality of democracy. The conclusions are that South Africa’s democratic principles did not degenerate during the pandemic, as concluded by Freedom House, but the pandemic’s major impact was on the quality of democracy. The state of disaster’s institutions, for example, were not those prescribed by legislation. Moreover, Parliament’s involvement in the state of disaster’s decision-making was limited. The 2021 local government election, on the other hand, was judged free and fair and its outcomes have been implemented without any public challenges. The main negative outcome is the public’s trust deficit in the ANC government’s use and abuse of pandemic regulations.
Minimal Properties of a Natural Semiotic System: Response to Commentaries on “How Molecules Became Signs”
Authors: Deacon Terrence W. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractIn the target article “How molecules became signs” I offer a molecular “thought experiment” that provides a paradigm for resolving the major incompatibilities between biosemiotic and natural science accounts of living processes. To resolve these apparent incompatibilities I outline a plausible empirically testable model system that exemplifies the emergence of chemical processes exhibiting semiotic causal properties from basic nonliving chemical processes. This model system is described as an autogenic virus because of its virus-like form, but its nonparasitic self-repair and reproductive dynamics. The 16 commentaries responding to this proposal recognize its material plausibility but are divided on its value in resolving this basic biosemiotic challenge. In response, I have addressed some of the most serious criticisms raised and have attempted to diagnose the major sources of incompatible assumptions that distinguish the autogenic paradigm from other major paradigms. In particular, I focus on four main issues: the significance of the shift from a cellular to a viral perspective, the relevance of intrinsic versus extrinsic initiation and channeling of interpretive work, the insufficiency of molecular replication as a basis for grounding biological semiosis, and a (universal?) three step scaffolding logic that enables referential displacement of sign vehicle properties without loss of referential continuity (as exemplified by DNA-protein relations). Although I can’t conclude that this is the only way that biosemiotic properties can emerge from physical-chemical relations that otherwise lack these properties, I contend that this approach offers a biologically plausible demonstration that it is possible.
From EU Robotics and AI Governance to HRI Research: Implementing the Ethics Narrative
Authors: de Pagter Jesse 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
In recent years, the European Union has made considerable efforts to develop dedicated strategies and policies for the governance of robotics and AI. An important component of the EU’s approach is its emphasis on the need to mitigate the potential societal impacts of the expected rise in the interactive capacities of autonomous systems. In the quest to define and implement new policies addressing this issue, ethical notions have taken an increasingly central position. This paper presents a concise overview of the integration of this ethics narrative in the EU’s policy plans. It demonstrates how the ethics narrative aids the definition of policy issues and the establishment of new policy ideas. Crucially, in this context, robotics and AI are explicitly understood as emerging technologies. This implies many ambiguities about their actual future impact, which in turn results in uncertainty regarding effective implementation of policies that draw on the ethics narrative. In an effort to develop clearer pathways towards the further development of ethical notions in AI and robotics governance, this paper understands human-robot interaction (HRI) research as a field that can play an important role in the implementation of ethics. Four different complementary pathways towards ethics integration in (HRI) research are proposed, namely: providing insights for the improvement of ethical assessment, further research into the moral competence of artificial agents, engage in value-based design and implementation of robots, and participation in discussions on building ethical sociotechnical systems around robots.
Systematic Review of Affective Computing Techniques for Infant Robot Interaction
Authors: Filippini Chiara , Merla Arcangelo 
Published: March 2023

AbstractResearch studies on social robotics and human-robot interaction have gained insights into factors that influence people’s perceptions and behaviors towards robots. However, adults’ perceptions of robots may differ significantly from those of infants. Consequently, extending this knowledge also to infants’ attitudes toward robots is a growing field of research. Indeed, infant-robot interaction (IRI) is emerging as a critical and necessary area of research as robots are increasingly used in social environments, such as caring for infants with all types of disabilities, companionship, and education. Although studies have been conducted on the ability of robots to positively engage infants, little is known about the infants’ affective state when interacting with a robot. In this systematic review, technologies for infant affective state recognition relevant to IRI applications are presented and surveyed. Indeed, adapting techniques currently employed for infant’s emotion recognition to the field of IRI results to be a complex task, since it requires timely response while not interfering with the infant’s behavior. Those aspects have a crucial impact on the selection of the emotion recognition techniques and the related metrics to be used for this purpose. Therefore, this review is intended to shed light on the advantages and the current research challenges of the infants’ affective state recognition approaches in the IRI field, elucidates a roadmap for their use in forthcoming studies as well as potentially provide support to future developments of emotion-aware robots.
Fertility preferences in China in the twenty-first century
Authors: Lu Rui , Gauthier Anne , Stulp Gert 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThere is continuing debate on how low China’s fertility has reached and whether China has fallen into the “low fertility trap”. This paper addresses this debate by revisiting the trends in fertility preferences in the past decades in China based on a meta review. Moreover, the analysis contrasts distinct measurements of fertility preferences to capture different aspects of reproductive decision-making. This papers reviews 152 studies resulting in 137 estimates for the mean of preferred number of children, 104 estimates for the proportions of different numbers of children preferred and 66 estimates for the second-child preferences. We found that after the long-time decline of fertility preferences in the last century, the average family size remained at a low level but started to increase slowly since 2001. This upturn was observed for all three types of measurements of fertility preferences: ideal, desired, and planned family size. The results also indicate a strong two-child preference (more than 50% of respondents) in China, although 30% of people prefer one child and only a small fraction indicating an ideal family size for three or more children. Results on people’s preference for a second child were less consistent. We concluded that fertility is unlikely to increase rapidly in China even when the government adopts more relaxed family planning policy. Because the upward trend in fertility preferences was very minimal and the economic constraints will prevent many people to realise their preferences.
Social media discourse and voting decisions influence: sentiment analysis in tweets during an electoral period
Authors: Rita Paulo , António Nuno , Afonso Ana Patrícia 
Published: March 2023

AbstractIn a time where social media is fundamental for any political campaign and to share a message with an electoral audience, this study searches for a conclusion of the actual persuasion capacity of social media in the electors when they need to decide whom to vote for as their next government. For this, it compares the sentiment that Social Media users demonstrated during an electoral period with the actual results of those elections. For this analysis, it was used, as a case study, tweets mentioning the two major English parties, Conservative and Labor, their respective candidates for the position of prime minister, and terms that identified their political campaign during the electoral period of the General Elections of the United Kingdom that occurred on December 12, 2019. Data were collected using R. The treatment and analysis were done with R and RapidMiner. Results show that tweets’ sentiment is not a reliable election results predictor. Additionally, results also show that it is impossible to state that social media impacts voting decisions. At least not from the polarity of the sentiment of opinions on social media.
The university mathematics lecture: to record, or not to record, that is the question
Authors: Meehan Maria , Howard Emma 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
While recordings of lectures proved invaluable for students’ learning during the pandemic, as our university transitioned back to in-person teaching there was a call from many lecturers to remove the requirement to provide lecture recordings due to the perceived negative impact on attendance. To examine in detail the relationship between recordings and the corresponding face-to-face lectures, we conducted a study on the formats of lectures across our undergraduate mathematics programmes pre- and post-lockdown in March 2020, and students’ perceptions of how beneficial they felt each was for their learning. In May 2020, 156 mathematics students completed a survey containing both quantitative and qualitative questions. Findings indicate that pre-pandemic almost 70% of the lecture formats classified by students were traditional in nature, with 20% classified as containing some interactions, and the remainder as including group work. While students did not perceive great differences in terms of the benefits to learning between the face-to-face and online lecture formats in the majority of modules, those who experienced interactions or group work in lectures before lockdown, reported a greater drop than those who experienced a traditional lecture. Irrespective of preferences for face-to-face or online learning, students were clear about the value of lecture recordings and interactions with peers and lecturers to their learning. Based on our findings, and those of others, we discuss implications for mathematics lecturers’ practice. Specifically, we argue for the provision of lecture recordings or short pre-recordings, especially when the lecture is traditional in nature.
Significant clinical differences but not outcomes between Klebsiella aerogenes and Enterobacter cloacae bloodstream infections: a comparative cohort study
Authors: Laupland Kevin B. , Edwards Felicity , Harris Patrick N. A. , Paterson David L. 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Purpose
Although Klebsiella aerogenes (formerly Enterobacter aerogenes) and Enterobacter cloacae share many phenotypic characteristics, controversy exists as to whether they cause clinically distinguishable infections. The objective of this study was to determine the comparative incidence, determinants, and outcomes of K. aerogenes and E. cloacae bloodstream infections (BSI).

Methods
Population-based surveillance was conducted among residents aged ≥ 15 years of Queensland, Australia during 2000–2019.

Results
Overall 695 and 2879 incident K. aerogenes and E. cloacae BSIs were identified for incidence rates of 1.1 and 4.4 per 100,000 population, respectively. There was a marked increase in incidence associated with older age and with males with both species. Patients with K. aerogenes BSIs were older, were more likely male, to have community-associated disease, and to have a genitourinary source of infection. In contrast, E. cloacae were more likely to have co-morbid diagnoses of liver disease and malignancy and be associated with antimicrobial resistance. Enterobacter cloacae were significantly more likely to have repeat episodes of BSI as compared to K. aerogenes. However, no differences in length of stay or all cause 30-day case-fatality were observed.

Conclusion
Although significant demographic and clinical differences exist between K. aerogenes and E. cloacae BSI, they share similar outcomes.
An abnormal carbody swaying of intercity EMU train caused by low wheel–rail equivalent conicity and damping force unloading of yaw damper
Authors: Li Yixiao , Chi Maoru , Guo Zhaotuan , Liang Shulin 
Published: March 2023

AbstractLow-frequency carbody swaying phenomenon often occurs to railway vehicles due to hunting instability, which seriously deteriorates the ride comfort of passengers. This paper investigates low-frequency carbody swaying through experimental analysis and numerical simulation. In the tests, the carbody acceleration, the wheel–rail profiles, and the dynamic characteristics of dampers were measured to understand the characteristics of the abnormal carbody vibration and to find out its primary contributor. Linear and nonlinear numerical simulations on the mechanism and optimization measures were carried out to solve this carbody swaying issue. The results showed that the carbody swaying is the manifest of carbody hunting instability. The low equivalent conicity and the decrease of dynamic damping of the yaw damper are probably the cause of this phenomenon. The optimization measures to increase the equivalent conicity and dynamic damping of the yaw damper were put forward and verified by on-track tests. The results of this study could enrich the knowledge of carbody hunting and provide a reference for solving abnormal carbody vibrations.
HIL testing of wheel slide protection systems: criteria for continuous updating and validation
Authors: Pugi L. , Paolieri G. , Giorgetti M. , Berzi L. , Viviani R. , Cabrucci L. , Bocciolini L. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractAssessment of railway wheel slide protection (WSP) systems involves the execution of complex experimental activities that are quite expensive and time-consuming, since they involve the physical reproduction of degraded adhesion conditions on a real railway line. WSP is devoted to regulating applied braking forces to avoid excessive wheel sliding in case of degraded adhesion conditions between wheel and rail. WSP must be also compliant to safety specifications related to assured braking performances and consumed air. Hardware in the loop (HIL) testing offers an affordable and sustainable way to accelerate these activities optimizing cost, duration and safety of experimental activities performed online. HIL test rigs are subjected to continuous updates, customization and natural ageing of their components. This work investigates the criteria that can be adopted to assure a continuous monitoring and validation of a real WSP test rig, the Italian test rig of Firenze Osmannoro.
A parameterisation-invariant modification of the score test
Authors: Jupp P. E. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe null distribution of the score test statistic is asymptotically chi-squared for large samples. The error in this approximation is improved greatly by a cubic modification. The coefficients of this cubic that are given in the literature depend on the parameterisation. This paper provides parameterisation-invariant versions of the coefficients, expresses them in terms of appropriate tensors, and provides geometric interpretations.
Molecular typing guiding treatment and prognosis of endometrial cancer
Authors: Tabata Junya , Takenaka Masataka , Okamoto Aikou 
Published: March 2023

AbstractGenetic abnormalities, such asPTEN, PIK3CA,CTNNB1,ARID1A, andERBB2, which frequently occur in endometrial cancer (EC), are potential therapeutic targets. In 2013, integrated genomic analysis conducted by The Cancer Genome Atlas identified four molecular subtypes, including POLE ultra-mutated, microsatellite instability hypermutated, copy-number low, and copy-number high, which strongly correlate with prognosis. Surrogate markers-based molecular classification methods have been developed to make these molecular classifications accessible and affordable, achieving classification into POLEmut, mismatch repair deficient (MMRd), p53abn, and no specific molecular profile (NSMP) with normal p53 expression. Although POLEmut EC has aggressive pathologic features, there are few cases of advanced and/or recurrence. Therefore, the possibility of de-escalating adjuvant therapy can be considered. Additionally, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) may be a candidate for treating advanced and recurrent POLEmut EC because of their high immunogenicity. MMRd EC shows an intermediate prognosis between those of POLEmut and p53abn EC. MMRd EC is generally characterized by high immunogenicity similar to POLEmut EC, suggesting that ICI can also be a potential therapeutic agent. Among the four molecular subtypes, p53abn EC has the worst prognosis. However, some p53abn tumors have the molecular hallmark of homologous recombination deficiency and could be treated with poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors. In addition, some p53abn tumors overexpress the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, which can also be a potential therapeutic target. NSMP EC are a heterogeneous population because they lack characteristic molecular biological features. Approximately half of the NSMP EC show high expression of estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor, suggesting the possibility of hormonal therapy. In addition, the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway frequently altered in EC may be a therapeutic target. This review summarizes the molecular biological characteristics and potential therapeutic agents in molecularly featured EC. Several clinical trials are in progress to stratify EC into molecular classifications and demonstrate the efficacy and safety of molecularly matched treatment and management strategies.
Missing Links Between Crowds and Law
Authors: Pečarič Mirko 
Published: March 2023

AbstractAs homo socius, the man lives in a community. Because the law deals with relationships between people, it is necessary to know the fundamental characteristics of these relationships, which are established in a community between people. Because all major social changes involve crowds, legislation and regulation must know how to address collectives, how they are influenced, how collective emotions are formed, and how they can effectively deal with external behavior in and between groups. This Article presents basic elements of crowds that should be included in legal decisions, especially in general ones. The Article shows potential applications of crowd elements in the law presented as a systemic arrangement of complex adaptive systems that can be reflected in the determination of public opinion through crowds. When a legal system in the right meaning of the word “system” determines public opinion and implements actions through crowds, it could be more effective and efficient and thus also more legitimate.
Compassion as a Framework for Creating Individual and Group-Level Wellbeing in the Classroom: New Directions
Authors: Kirby James N. , Sherwell Chase , Lynn Sasha , Moloney-Gibb Dylan 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe success of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) interventions is thought to rely on teacher social emotional competency, student-teacher relationships, and the readiness of the school environment. From an evolutionary motivational systems perspective, an underlying driver behind these aspects is the motivational state of students and teachers. Providing a foundational framework for supporting SEL development may be a critical differentiating factor in successfully incorporating SEL into curriculum to enhance individual and group-level wellbeing. This article presents compassion as a motivational framework that can be used to support SEL. We review theoretical perspectives and empirical research applying compassion to help regulate emotional experience and provide a series of possible suggestions on how to integrate compassion into classrooms. Specifically, we provide a series of suggestions on how compassion can help with student and staff wellbeing. A compassionate approach to establishing a positive classroom environment and incorporating simple activities adapted from compassion-focused therapy may provide a baseline conducive context in which SEL is accepted and thrives.