bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A cohort study on neuropathic pain of the saphenous nerve—factors influencing surgical outcome
Authors: Besmens Inga S. , Brackertz Sophie , Nietlispach Viviane , Schiller Andreas , Knipper Sophie , Giovanoli Pietro , Calcagni Maurizio 
Published: December 2022

Abstract

Background

Due to its partially superficial course, the saphenous nerve is vulnerable to injury by trauma or surgery potentially leading to painful neuroma formation. Different surgical techniques to treat neuroma have been described, but so far, no one has proven to be superior to the others. The aim of this study was therefore to identify factors influencing the outcome of revision surgery in saphenous nerve neuropathic pain in our department.

Methods
From 2010 to 2020, a total of 29 consecutive patients with neuropathic pain and suspected neuroma of the saphenous nerve underwent revision surgery. A medical chart review was performed to collect patient-, pain-, and treatment-specific factors. Outcomes were registered.

Results
Post revision surgery in neuropathic pain of the saphenous nerve, 16 (55.2%) patients suffered from persisting pain. In multivariable logistic regression models evaluating the risk of persisting pain post saphenous nerve revision surgery, both smoking and preoperative opiate consumption represented independent predictors of higher risk for persisting pain.

Conclusions
Patients with injury to the saphenous nerve should be coached toward smoking cessation. Whenever possible, forgoing opiate treatment might be beneficial.
Level of evidence: Level IV, Risk/Prognostic.
Comparison of liver iron concentration calculated from R2* at 1.5 T and 3 T
Authors: Pickles Elisabeth , Kumar Shravan , Brady Michael , Telford Alison , Pavlides Michael , Bulte Daniel 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
Purpose
R2*, a measurement obtained using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to estimate liver iron concentration (LIC). 3 T and 1.5 T scanners can be used but conversion of 3 T R2* to LIC is less well validated. In this study the aim was to compare 3 T-R2* LIC and 1.5 T-R2* LIC estimations to assess if they can be used interchangeably.

Methods
Thirty participants were scanned at both 1.5 T and 3 T. R2* was measured at both field strengths. 3 T R2* and 1.5 R2* were compared using linear regression and were converted to LIC using different calibration curves. Pearson’s rho and Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICCs) were used to assess correlation and agreement between 1.5 and 3 T LIC. Bland Altman plots were used to assess bias and limits of agreement.

Results
All 1.5 T and 3 T LIC comparisons gave Pearson’s rho of 0.99 (p < 0.001). ICC ranged from 0.83 (p = 0.005) to 0.96 (p < 0.001). Biases had magnitude of less than 0.2 mg/g dry weight.

Conclusion
Agreement and bias between 3 and 1.5 T-R2* LIC depended on the method used for conversion. There were instances when the agreement was excellent and bias was small, indicating that potentially 3 T-R2* LIC can be used alongside or instead of 1.5 T-R2* LIC but care needs to be taken over the conversion methods selected.

Trial registration number
Clinicaltrials.gov NCT03743272, 16 November 2018.

Graphical abstract
Fabrication and evaluation of novel sulfur/epoxy resin composites
Authors: Eldesouki M. , Abo-Shanab Z. L. , El-Shafie M. , Abo-Riya M. , El-Kholy S. A. 
Published: December 2022

AbstractIn recent years, and with the progress of oil and natural gas purification processes, it has been noticed that huge quantities of sulfur are produced with millions of tons as byproducts, which is considered a dangerous substance that may threaten the safety and health of the environment. So, this study aims to maximize elemental sulfur benefits in construction applications, especially in the coating sector. In this study, sulfur has been modified to be used with epoxy as a high-performance coating material. Firstly, sulfur was modified with linseed oil at 160 °C. The modified sulfur was chemically characterized by using FTIR and XRD. After that, epoxy was then partially replaced by polymeric sulfur with different weight percentages starting from 10 to 40%. Then, the hardener was added to form cured sulfur/epoxy composites. Different techniques were used to examine the morphology of the prepared composites such as AFM, polarizing microscope, and SEM. The thermal study was also conducted by TGA. In addition, the mechanical properties were comprehensively studied including Young’s modulus, toughness, tensile strength, hardness, and adhesion. The results approved that Young’s modulus, toughness, tensile strength, hardness, and adhesion of the PC4 composite have been improved by 54%, 87%, 15%, 40%, and 33%, respectively. Moreover, the prepared composites give high thermal stability than virgin epoxy. The overall results approved that the epoxy can be partially replaced by modified sulfur with high weight ratios reached to 40%.
Computation of Power Law Equilibrium Measures on Balls of Arbitrary Dimension
Authors: Gutleb Timon S. , Carrillo José A. , Olver Sheehan 
Published: December 2022

AbstractWe present a numerical approach for computing attractive-repulsive power law equilibrium measures in arbitrary dimension. We prove new recurrence relationships for radial Jacobi polynomials on d-dimensional ball domains, providing a substantial generalization of the work started in Gutleb et al. (Math Comput 9:2247–2281, 2022) for the one-dimensional case based on recurrence relationships of Riesz potentials on arbitrary dimensional balls. Among the attractive features of the numerical method are good efficiency due to recursively generated banded and approximately banded Riesz potential operators and computational complexity independent of the dimension d, in stark constrast to the widely used particle swarm simulation approaches for these problems which scale catastrophically with the dimension. We present several numerical experiments to showcase the accuracy and applicability of the method and discuss how our method compares with alternative numerical approaches and conjectured analytical solutions which exist for certain special cases. Finally, we discuss how our method can be used to explore the analytically poorly understood gap formation boundary to spherical shell support.
Validierung des „Total Morbidity Scores“ und Untersuchung der Wirksamkeit von Methotrexat bei der lokalisierten Sklerodermie
Authors: Hoppe Ann-Kathrin , Li Suzanne C. , Foeldvari Ivan 
Published: December 2022

Zusammenfassung
Hintergrund
Die lokalisierte Sklerodermie ist eine Autoimmunerkrankung aus der Gruppe der Kollagenosen, welche sich kutan und extrakutan manifestieren kann. Die extrakutanen Manifestationen können eine signifikante Morbidität haben, werden aber in bisherigen Scoresystemen nicht berücksichtigt. Aus diesem Grund wurde ein weiteres Scoringsystem, der „Total Morbidity Score“ (TMS), entwickelt. Dieser berücksichtigt auch die extrakutanen Symptome.

Methodik
Im Rahmen der retrospektiven monozentrischen Studie am Hamburger Zentrum für Kinder- und Jugendrheumatologie wurde der Total Morbidity Score bei Patienten von 2004 bis 2019, welche an lokalisierter Sklerodermie erkrankt sind, angewandt, die mindestens eine Kontrollvorstellung hatten. Zudem wurden die Daten nach den bisherigen etablierten Scoresystemen Localized Scleroderma Cutaneous Assessment Tool (LoSCAT) ausgewertet, um eine bessere Vergleichbarkeit zum TMS zu gewährleisten. Im Weiteren wurden die Scorewerte im Verlauf unter der Therapie mit Methotrexat betrachtet und verglichen.

Ergebnisse
Aufgrund fehlender Kontrollvorstellungen konnten von den 95 Patienten mit gesicherter Diagnose Daten von 51 Patienten in die retrospektive Auswertung einfließen. Die Behandlung dieser Patienten wurde über einen Zeitraum von 2 Jahren betrachtet, von der Erstvorstellung über mindestsens 3 weitere Kontrollvorstellungen. Der TMS Gesamtscore blieb weitestgehend konstant. Es zeigt sich ein schwacher Zusammenhang zwischen TMS-Gesamtscore und Localized Scleroderma Skin Damage Index (mLoSDI), welcher den Grad der Schädigung anzeigt. Zudem konnten unwesentliche Veränderungen des TMS-Gesamtscores über die Zeit unter MTX-Therapie gezeigt werden (T1/T4: −0,007).

Diskussion
Die Auswertung hat gezeigt, dass sich der TMS-Gesamtscore hauptsächlich aus den extrakutanen Manifestationen speist, was die Ungenauigkeit der bisherigen Scores aufzeigt. Ein weiterer Vorteil des TMS ist, dass verschiedene Punktwerte vergeben werden, je nachdem, ob das Merkmal neu auftritt, persistiert, sich verbessert oder gar verschlechtert. Der TMS ist zeitintensiver zu erheben, aber lässt eine genauere Beurteilung der Krankheitsaktivität zu.
Nonlocal operators of small order
Authors: Feulefack Pierre Aime , Jarohs Sven 
Published: December 2022

AbstractIn this work we study nonlocal operators and corresponding spaces with a focus on operators of order near zero. We investigate the interior regularity of eigenfunctions and of weak solutions to the associated Poisson problem depending on the regularity of the right-hand side. Our method exploits the variational structure of the problem and we prove that eigenfunctions are of class $$C^{\infty }$$

C
∞

if the kernel satisfies this property away from its singularity. Similarly in this case, if in the Poisson problem the right-hand is of class $$C^{\infty }$$

C
∞

, then also any weak solution is of class $$C^{\infty }$$

C
∞

.
The Interaction Between Leadership, the Patient-to-Nurse Ratio and Nurses’ Work-Life Balance in the Psychiatric Inpatient Setting in Switzerland: A Secondary Data Analysis of Cross-Sectional Data
Authors: Zraychikova Evgenia , Gehri Beatrice , Zúñiga Franziska , Bachnick Stefanie , Simon Michael 
Published: December 2022

AbstractPsychiatric nurses’ work environment factors, including long hours, heavy workloads and leadership issues, can serve as barriers to achieving a healthy work-life balance. However, for both individuals and organizations, that balance is crucial as it is a key determinant of job satisfaction and leaving intentions. To address the limiting evidence to that topic, this study had two objectives: (1) to describe the work-life balance of nurses working in psychiatric inpatient settings; and (2) to examine those nurses’ work-life balance and its associations with individual (i.e., age, gender), psychosocial (i.e., leadership) and structural factors (i.e., employment percentage). To analyze these factors and their impacts, we conducted a cross-sectional study in a sample of 1209 nurses from 116 units in 13 psychiatric hospitals of the German-speaking part of Switzerland and analyzed the resulting data via multilevel analysis. This led to three main results. First, nurses reported a high mean value regarding their work-life balance. Second, multivariable regression results indicated that their work-life balance ratings correlated directly with certain psychosocial work environment factors (leadership and support of nurses, perceived staffing resources) and inversely with structural factors (employment percentage, overtime). And third, we found an interaction between leadership and support of nurses and the patient-to-nurse ratio: the lower the leadership level, the stronger the inverse association between patient load and work-life balance. No individual factors were significantly associated with work-life balance. Overall, though, we found that organizational factors are vital to nurses’ work-life balance. Therefore, interventions to improve nurses’ work-life balance should be institution-level, and should focus on improving either leadership or structural factors, e.g., employment percentage, overtime, and patient-to-nurse ratios.
Bidirectional Causal Associations Between Same-Sex Attraction and Psychological Distress: Testing Moderation and Mediation Effects
Authors: Oginni Olakunle A. , Lim Kai X. , Rahman Qazi , Jern Patrick , Eley Thalia C. , Rijsdijk Frühling V. 
Published: December 2022

AbstractOnly one study has examined bidirectional causality between sexual minority status (having same-sex attraction) and psychological distress. We combined twin and genomic data from 8700 to 9700 participants in the UK Twins Early Development Study cohort at ≈21 years to replicate and extend these bidirectional causal effects using separate unidirectional Mendelian Randomization-Direction of Causation models. We further modified these models to separately investigate sex differences, moderation by childhood factors (retrospectively-assessed early-life adversity and prospectively-assessed childhood gender nonconformity), and mediation by victimization. All analyses were carried out in OpenMx in R. Same-sex attraction causally influenced psychological distress with significant reverse causation (beta = 0.19 and 0.17; 95% CIs = 0.09, 0.29 and 0.08, 0.25 respectively) and no significant sex differences. The same-sex attraction → psychological distress causal path was partly mediated by victimization (12.5%) while the reverse causal path was attenuated by higher childhood gender nonconformity (moderation coefficient = −0.09, 95% CI: −0.13, −0.04).
Exploring the intersectionality of race/ethnicity with rurality on breast cancer outcomes: SEER analysis, 2000–2016
Authors: Moore Justin Xavier , Andrzejak Sydney Elizabeth , Jones Samantha , Han Yunan 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
Purpose
Disparities in breast cancer survival have been observed within marginalized racial/ethnic groups and within the rural–urban continuum for decades. We examined whether there were differences among the intersectionality of race/ethnicity and rural residence on breast cancer outcomes.

Methods
We performed a retrospective analysis among 739,448 breast cancer patients using Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) 18 registries years 2000 through 2016. We conducted multilevel logistic-regression and Cox proportional hazards models to estimate adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and hazard ratios (AHRs), respectively, for breast cancer outcomes including surgical treatment, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, late-stage disease, and risk of breast cancer death. Rural was defined as 2013 Rural–Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC) of 4 or greater.

Results
Compared with non-Hispanic white–urban (NH-white–U) women, NH-black–U, NH-black–rural (R), Hispanic–U, and Hispanic–R women, respectively, were at increased odds of no receipt of surgical treatment (NH-black–U, AOR = 1.98, 95% CI 1.91–2.05; NH-black–R, AOR = 1.72, 95% CI 1.52–1.94; Hispanic–U, AOR = 1.58, 95% CI 1.52–1.65; and Hispanic–R, AOR = 1.40, 95% CI 1.18–1.67), late-stage diagnosis (NH-black–U, AOR = 1.32, 95% CI 1.29–1.34; NH-black–R, AOR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.22–1.36; Hispanic–U, AOR = 1.25, 95% CI 1.23–1.27; and Hispanic–R, AOR = 1.17, 95% CI 1.08–1.27), and increased risks for breast cancer death (NH-black–U, AHR = 1.46, 95% CI 1.43–1.50; NH-black–R, AHR = 1.42, 95% CI 1.32–1.53; and Hispanic–U, AHR = 1.10, 95% CI 1.07–1.13).

Conclusion
Regardless of rurality, NH-black and Hispanic women had significantly increased odds of late-stage diagnosis, no receipt of treatment, and risk of breast cancer death.
Estimating market power for the European manufacturing industry between 2000 and 2014
Authors: del Valle Adrián Rodríguez , Fernández-Vázquez Esteban 
Published: December 2022

AbstractThe study of market power has gained a lot of attention by scholars and policy-makers since De Loecker and Eeckhout (Global market power. Working paper 24768, National Bureau of Economic Research, 2018). In their work, they show the temporal evolution of market power worldwide using detailed data from the financial statements of thousands of firms. In this paper, we propose an alternative way of estimating market power using sectoral-based data. By utilizing the aggregates observable in a series of input–output tables and by applying an estimation procedure based on entropy; indicators of market power can be derived without requiring the use of micro-data. We document a heterogeneous evolution of market power across 28 European countries and 14 manufacturing sectors between 2000 and 2014. Market power is found to be rising for several central- and East-European countries, while decreasing in multiple South- and West-European nations. Globalisation and value chain positioning are both seen to have a significantly decreasing impact on markups.
Measuring the colocation of crime hotspots
Authors: Shiode Naru , Shiode Shino , Inoue Ryo 
Published: December 2022

AbstractCrimes tend to concentrate in high-risk places known as crime hotspots. While the size and locations of such hotspots vary between different types of crime as would the underlying conditions that trigger each crime, the extent of overlaps between their hotspots is understudied. Using crime data from Chicago aggregated at the community-area and the census-tract levels, this paper investigates the patterns of overlapping hotspots between different crime types to see whether a specific group of crime types regularly form a joint cluster. Specifically, we identify statistically significant hotspots for each crime and, using the frequent-pattern-growth algorithm, analyse the frequency of each combination of crimes sharing their hotspot locations across the study area. Results suggest that crime hotspots form stable multi-layered colocations and that each area holds its subset: namely, the pervasive, primary colocations consisting of assault, battery and criminal damage to property, which are frequently joined by 7 additional (e.g. street robbery, motor vehicle theft, weapons violation) crimes to comprise secondary colocations, some of which evolving to an even larger, tertiary colocation of hotspots with up to 11 additional crime types (e.g. homicide, criminal sexual assault, narcotics) to form crime-riddled neighbourhoods. This multi-layered structure of colocations as well as the crime colocation diagrams that show the most representative crimes at each colocation size would improve our understanding of the association between different crime types and the crime indicators of other crimes.
Are ‘Dirty Hands’ Possible?
Authors: de Wijze Stephen 
Published: December 2022

AbstractThis paper argues that ‘dirty hands’ (DH) scenarios, where an agent is forced to do wrong in order to do right, are conceptually coherent. The charge of incoherence is a widespread and common criticism made by deontologists and consequentialists alike. They argue that DH theorists erroneously assume the existence of real moral dilemmas and then compound this error by claiming that it is possible to engage in justified moral wrongdoing. However, such critics argue that there are only prima facie moral dilemmas and hence it is not only irrational and obtuse to argue for DH scenarios, but also undermines our search for sound moral judgments in very difficult situations. Given the gravity of these charges, surprisingly little has been written in defence of DH as a coherent and necessary part of our moral vocabulary. If there can be no successful defence of the possibility of DH, then all talk of such scenarios become futile. This paper responds to two influential and what initially appear to be strongly plausible arguments used by critics of DH. I call these the ‘Arguments from Deontic Logic’ and the ‘All-Things-Considered Argument’. I present three responses which seek to raise serious doubts about their efficacy. I then support the possibility of DH by exploring what we can learn about our moral reality from the moral emotion of ‘tragic remorse’. This approach endorses the role of emotions in determining moral knowledge. It also rejects the view that ethical theories ought to dismiss DH experiences as incoherent in favour of questionable theoretical a priori assumptions, which seek a reductionist account of our moral reality.
Dynamics of Newton-like root finding methods
Authors: Campos B. , Canela J. , Vindel P. 
Published: December 2022

AbstractWhen exploring the literature, it can be observed that the operator obtained when applying Newton-like root finding algorithms to the quadratic polynomials z2 − c has the same form regardless of which algorithm has been used. In this paper, we justify why this expression is obtained. This is done by studying the symmetries of the operators obtained after applying Newton-like algorithms to a family of degree d polynomials p(z) = zd − c. Moreover, we provide an iterative procedure to obtain the expression of new Newton-like algorithms. We also carry out a dynamical study of the given generic operator and provide general conclusions of this type of methods.
Periconceptional biomarkers for maternal obesity: a systematic review
Authors: Hojeij Batoul , Rousian Melek , Sinclair Kevin D. , Dinnyes Andras , Steegers-Theunissen Régine P. M. , Schoenmakers Sam 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
Periconceptional maternal obesity is linked to adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Identifying periconceptional biomarkers of pathways affected by maternal obesity can unravel pathophysiologic mechanisms and identify individuals at risk of adverse clinical outcomes. The literature was systematically reviewed to identify periconceptional biomarkers of the endocrine, inflammatory and one-carbon metabolic pathways influenced by maternal obesity. A search was conducted in Embase, Ovid Medline All, Web of Science Core Collection and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases, complemented by manual search in PubMed until December 31st, 2020. Eligible studies were those that measured biomarker(s) in relation to maternal obesity, overweight/obesity or body mass index (BMI) during the periconceptional period (14 weeks preconception until 14 weeks post conception). The ErasmusAGE score was used to assess the quality of included studies. Fifty-one articles were included that evaluated over 40 biomarkers. Endocrine biomarkers associated with maternal obesity included leptin, insulin, thyroid stimulating hormone, adiponectin, progesterone, free T4 and human chorionic gonadotropin. C-reactive protein was associated with obesity as part of the inflammatory pathway, while the associated one-carbon metabolism biomarkers were folate and vitamin B12. BMI was positively associated with leptin, C-reactive protein and insulin resistance, and negatively associated with Free T4, progesterone and human chorionic gonadotropin. Concerning the remaining studied biomarkers, strong conclusions could not be established due to limited or contradictory data. Future research should focus on determining the predictive value of the optimal set of biomarkers for their use in clinical settings. The most promising biomarkers include leptin, adiponectin, human chorionic gonadotropin, insulin, progesterone and CRP.