bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Partial masculinization of Aedes aegypti females by conditional expression of Nix
Authors: Kojin Bianca B. , Jakes Emma , Biedler James K. , Tu Zhijian , Adelman Zach N. 
Published: July 2022

Background
Aedes aegypti, the main vector of dengue, yellow fever, and other arboviruses thrives in tropical and subtropical areas around the globe putting half of the world’s population at risk. Despite aggressive efforts to control the transmission of those viruses, an unacceptable number of cases occur every year, emphasizing the need to develop new control strategies. Proposals for vector control focused on population suppression could offer a feasible alternative method to reduce disease transmission. The induction of extreme male-biased sex ratios has been hypothesized to be able to suppress or collapse a population, with previous experiments showing that stable expression of the male determining factor Nix in A. aegypti is sufficient to convert females into fertile males.

Methodology/Principal findings
Here, we report on the conditional expression of Nix in transgenic A. aegypti under the control of the tetracycline-dependent (Tet-off) system, with the goal of establishing repressible sex distortion. A masculinization phenotype was observed in three of the seven transgenic lines with females exhibiting male-like long maxillary palps and most importantly, the masculinized females were unable to blood feed. Doxycycline treatment of the transgenic lines only partially restored the normal phenotype from the masculinized transgenic lines, while RT-qPCR analysis of early embryos or adults showed no correlation between the level of masculinization and ectopic Nix expression.

Conclusions/Significance
While the conditional expression of Nix produced intersex phenotypes, the level of expression was insufficient to program full conversion. Modifications that increase both the level of activation (no tet) and the level of repression (with tet) will be necessary, as such this study represents one step forward in the development of genetic strategies to control vector-borne diseases via sex ratio distortion.
Award rate inequities in biomedical research
Authors: Zimmermann Alessandra , Klavans Richard , Offhaus Heather M. , Grieb Teri A. , Smith Caleb 
Published: July 2022

Purpose
The analysis of existing institutional research proposal databases can provide novel insights into science funding parity. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between race/ethnicity and extramural research proposal and award rates across a medical school faculty and to determine whether there was evidence that researchers changed their submission strategies because of differential inequities across submission categories.

Method
The authors performed an analysis of 14,263 biomedical research proposals with proposed start dates between 2010–2022 from the University of Michigan Medical School, measuring the proposal submission and award rates for each racial/ethnic group across 4 possible submission categories (R01 & Equivalent programs, other federal, industry, and non-profit).

Results
Researchers from each self-identified racial/ethnic group (Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino) pursued a different proposal submission strategy than the majority group (White). The authors found that Black/African American researchers experienced negative award rate differentials across all submission categories, which resulted in the lowest R01 & Equivalent and Other Federal submission rates of any racial/ethnic group and the highest submission rate to non-profit sources. The authors did not find support for the hypothesis that researchers changed submission strategies in response to award rate inequalities across submission categories.

Conclusions
Biomedical researchers from different racial/ethnic groups follow markedly different proposal submission strategies within the University of Michigan Medical School. There is also a clear relationship between race/ethnicity and rates of proposal award. Black/African American and Asian researchers appear disadvantaged across all submission categories relative to White researchers. This study can be easily replicated by other academic research institutions, revealing opportunities for positive intervention.
Agreement between maximum and mean handgrip strength measurements in cancer patients
Authors: de Almeida Marques Rayne , de Souza Vanusa Felício , do Rosario Thainá Cezini , da Silva Garcia Maria Rita Pereira , Pereira Taísa Sabrina Silva , Marques-Rocha José Luiz , Guandalini Valdete Regina 
Published: July 2022

Background and aim
Handgrip strength (HGS) can be used to identify probable sarcopenia, by measuring maximum strength and/or through the average of three measurements. This study analyzed the agreement between maximum and mean HGS measurements in identifying probable sarcopenia in cancer patients.

Methods
Adult individuals of both sexes diagnosed with malignant neoplasm were evaluated. HGS (kg/f) was measured in both hands and nutritional status defined by the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA). Bland-Altman, Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), and Cronbach’s Alpha tests were applied to assess the agreement between measurements.

Results
One hundred forty-one patients aged 60.0 ± 14.2 years were evaluated. There was a predominance of elderly (57.4%), male (53.2%), and non-white (58.2%) individuals, with tumors located in the lower gastrointestinal tract (GIT) (36.9%) and with suspected or some degree of malnutrition (61.0%). For men, the Bland-Altman test showed a mean error of 1.37 (95% CI—1.03 to 3.80) for dominant HGS (DHGS) and 1.50 (95% CI—1.60 to 4.60) for non-dominant HGS (NDHGS), while for women the values were 1.34 (95% CI—0.27 to 2.95) and 1.14 (95% CI—1.10 to 3.39), respectively. The ICC showed excellent reproducibility (> 0.90) and the Cronbach’s Alpha was satisfactory (0.99).

Conclusion
Despite the satisfactory agreement observed between maximum and mean HGS values, in this study, individuals of both sexes with probable sarcopenia were better identified through mean values.
Externally validated models for first diagnosis and risk of progression of knee osteoarthritis
Authors: McCabe Philippa Grace , Lisboa Paulo , Baltzopoulos Bill , Olier Ivan 
Published: July 2022

Objective
We develop and externally validate two models for use with radiological knee osteoarthritis. They consist of a diagnostic model for KOA and a prognostic model of time to onset of KOA. Model development and optimisation used data from the Osteoarthritis initiative (OAI) and external validation for both models was by application to data from the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study (MOST).

Materials and methods
The diagnostic model at first presentation comprises subjects in the OAI with and without KOA (n = 2006), modelling with multivariate logistic regression. The prognostic sample involves 5-year follow-up of subjects presenting without clinical KOA (n = 1155), with modelling with Cox regression. In both instances the models used training data sets of n = 1353 and 1002 subjects and optimisation used test data sets of n = 1354 and 1003. The external validation data sets for the diagnostic and prognostic models comprised n = 2006 and n = 1155 subjects respectively.

Results
The classification performance of the diagnostic model on the test data has an AUC of 0.748 (0.721–0.774) and 0.670 (0.631–0.708) in external validation. The survival model has concordance scores for the OAI test set of 0.74 (0.7325–0.7439) and in external validation 0.72 (0.7190–0.7373). The survival approach stratified the population into two risk cohorts. The separation between the cohorts remains when the model is applied to the validation data.

Discussion
The models produced are interpretable with app interfaces that implement nomograms. The apps may be used for stratification and for patient education over the impact of modifiable risk factors. The externally validated results, by application to data from a substantial prospective observational study, show the robustness of models for likelihood of presenting with KOA at an initial assessment based on risk factors identified by the OAI protocol and stratification of risk for developing KOA in the next five years.

Conclusion
Modelling clinical KOA from OAI data validates well for the MOST data set. Both risk models identified key factors for differentiation of the target population from commonly available variables. With this analysis there is potential to improve clinical management of patients.
Does knowing the influenza epidemic threshold has been reached influence the performance of influenza case definitions?
Authors: Soldevila Núria , Toledo Diana , Martínez Ana , Godoy Pere , Torner Núria , Rius Cristina , Jané Mireia , Domínguez Angela ,   the PIDIRAC Sentinel Surveillance Program of Catalonia
Published: July 2022

Background
Disease surveillance using adequate case definitions is very important. The objective of the study was to compare the performance of influenza case definitions and influenza symptoms in the first two epidemic weeks with respect to other epidemic weeks.

Methods
We analysed cases of acute respiratory infection detected by the network of sentinel primary care physicians of Catalonia for 10 seasons. We calculated the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the first two epidemic weeks and for other epidemic weeks.

Results
A total of 4,338 samples were collected in the epidemic weeks, of which 2,446 (56.4%) were positive for influenza. The most predictive case definition for laboratory-confirmed influenza was the WHO case definition for influenza-like illness (ILI) in the first two epidemic weeks (DOR 2.10; 95% CI 1.57–2.81) and in other epidemic weeks (DOR 2.31; 95% CI 1.96–2.72). The most predictive symptom was fever. After knowing that epidemic threshold had been reached, the DOR of the ILI WHO case definition in children aged <5 years and cough and fever in this group increased (190%, 170% and 213%, respectively).

Conclusions
During influenza epidemics, differences in the performance of the case definition and the discriminative ability of symptoms were found according to whether it was known that the epidemic threshold had been reached or not. This suggests that sentinel physicians are stricter in selecting samples to send to the laboratory from patients who present symptoms more specific to influenza after rather than before an influenza epidemic has been declared.
Economic impact of a machine learning-based strategy for preparation of blood products in brain tumor surgery
Authors: Tunthanathip Thara , Sae-heng Sakchai , Oearsakul Thakul , Kaewborisutsakul Anukoon , Taweesomboonyat Chin 
Published: July 2022

Background
Globally, blood donation has been disturbed due to the pandemic. Consequently, the optimization of preoperative blood preparation should be a point of concern. Machine learning (ML) is one of the modern approaches that have been applied by physicians to help decision-making. The main objective of this study was to identify the cost differences of the ML-based strategy compared with other strategies in preoperative blood products preparation. A secondary objective was to compare the effectiveness indexes of blood products preparation among strategies.

Methods
The study utilized a retrospective cohort design conducted on brain tumor patients who had undergone surgery between January 2014 and December 2021. Overall data were divided into two cohorts. The first cohort was used for the development and deployment of the ML-based web application, while validation, comparison of the effectiveness indexes, and economic evaluation were performed using the second cohort. Therefore, the effectiveness indexes of blood preparation and cost difference were compared among the ML-based strategy, clinical trial-based strategy, and routine-based strategy.

Results
Over a 2-year period, the crossmatch to transfusion (C/T) ratio, transfusion probability (Tp), and transfusion index (Ti) of the ML-based strategy were 1.10, 57.0%, and 1.62, respectively, while the routine-based strategy had a C/T ratio of 4.67%, Tp of 27.9%%, and Ti of 0.79. The overall costs of blood products preparation among the ML-based strategy, clinical trial-based strategy, and routine-based strategy were 30, 061.56$, 57,313.92$, and 136,292.94$, respectively. From the cost difference between the ML-based strategy and routine-based strategy, we observed cost savings of 92,519.97$ (67.88%) for the 2-year period.

Conclusion
The ML-based strategy is one of the most effective strategies to balance the unnecessary workloads at blood banks and reduce the cost of unnecessary blood products preparation from low C/T ratio as well as high Tp and Ti. Further studies should be performed to confirm the generalizability and applicability of the ML-based strategy.
Medios, jóvenes y fuerzas de seguridad. El tratamiento mediático de casos de violencia policial durante la pandemia en el Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires
Authors: Fernández Mariana Cecilia , Manrique Rodrigo , Muñoz Marcos 
Published: July 2022

Este artículo analiza el tratamiento mediático de casos de hostigamiento y homicidio producidos por policías y gendarmes hacia jóvenes durante la pandemia por Covid-19 en el Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires. Se trata de identificar cómo se caracterizan las circunstancias particulares en que suceden estos acontecimientos, los roles y responsabilidades atribuidas a sus protagonistas en los principales medios digitales del país. Para ello, el abordaje metodológico combina técnicas cuantitativas y cualitativas. En primer lugar, sistematizamos la totalidad de casos mediatizados de violencia policial entre marzo de 2020 y marzo de 2021. En segundo lugar, a partir de la selección de un conjunto de casos paradigmáticos, analizamos la cobertura informativa sobre las modalidades de intervención de las fuerzas de seguridad en Clarín, La Nación, Página 12 e Infobae. Algunos resultados nos permiten afirmar que el tratamiento informativo de casos de homicidio producidos por agentes policiales se legitimó en los medios a partir de argumentos vinculados a la transgresión de la víctima de las medidas de control para el cumplimiento de la cuarentena, a diferencia de los casos de hostigamiento en que los medios denunciaron la violencia policial por exceder los marcos de las medidas de aislamiento social preventivo y obligatorio.
RESOLUSI KONFLIK KEAGAMAAN BERBASIS KEARIFAN LOKAL: STUDI ATAS PELA GANDONG DI AMBON
Authors: Ismail Roni , Wakano Abidin , Leasiwal Genoveva 
Published: July 2022

Artikel ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis peran pela gandong sebagai resolusi konflik kultural dalam konflik Ambon 1999-2002. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan sosiologi konflik, teori reolusi konflik kultural, serta metode pengumpulan data observasi dan wawancara dengan warga Ambon Muslim dan Kristen, tulisan ini menemukan bahwa, pertama, etnosentrisme merupakan penyebab kultural utama konflik Ambon, dan, kedua, konflik Ambon diselesaikan dan kedamaian terbangun kokoh melalui resolusi konflik kultural pela gandong. Dengan nilai-nilai luhur utamanya persaudaraan, persamaan, kesetaraan, kebersamaan dan toleransi, pela gandong sangat efektif menjadi resolusi konflik kultural baik selama konflik Ambon terjadi, paska konflik maupun dalam membina damai hingga kini. Selama konflik Ambon terjadi, tidak ditemukan adanya konflik antara negeri-negeri Muslim dan Kristen yang terikat pela gandong. Paska konflik terjadi, pela gandong menjadi fondasi resolusi konflik kultural dalam membangun kembali perdamaian, menguatkan kapasitas warga Ambon “dari dalam”; membangun kembali hubungan mereka yang sempat retak; menegaskan kembali nilai bersaudara sesama orang Maluku; mengajarkan saling mengakui perbedaan agama dan budaya; mempercepat pemulihan dari trauma konflik; merajut kembali persaudaraan salam sarane; dan membangun saling percaya antara negeri-negeri Muslim dan Kristen. Sedangkan dalam proses bina damai hingga kini, pela gandong juga diakui warga Ambon efektif menangkal “tangan-tangan luar” yang terus mencoba mengeskalasikan kembali konflik karena setiap negeri di Ambon sudah ber-pela gandong dengan satu negeri.
Response and coping patterns of Nigerian professional associations
Authors: Oladele Femi , Akinsola Temiloluwa , Afrogha Olufolakemi , Binwai Pirdam , Kolawole Peace 
Published: July 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it a significant effect on professional associations’ ability to carry on their normal activities in forging professional competence among their members. We assess Nigerian professional accounting and finance associations’ response and coping pattern as well as readiness to sustain members’ professional competence in an emergency.
Using a two-pronged approach, we reviewed activities – response and coping patterns – of professional associations in Nigeria. First, we crawl their online presence (websites and social media handles) for activities relating to initial and continuing professional development. Secondly, we administered a questionnaire to aspiring professionals and professionals to understand from an insider point of view the activities of their professional association in sustaining their professional competence.
Aspiring professionals and professionals believe their professional associations can guide them through the pandemic and emerge stronger, however there are mild concerns. We also found that Zoom is the application of choice for virtual events among professionals in Nigeria.
The paper provides evidence-based realities among the major accounting and finance-based professional associations, giving insight to inform policy and strategy going forward.
Evaluating skills at secondary schools to increase their chance for studying in universities: a case study
Authors: Elghomati Ali , Babaqi Tareq 
Published: July 2022

Entrance to a university depends on the acquisition of skill sets to enhance transition success. A case study of secondary schools of the scientific branch about their quality of education to discover which students skills are needed for students to succeed in the transition phase between high schools and universities. 220 participants from three different schools: public school, private school, and elite public school were examined. The skills were classified into six categories: literacy and numeracy skills, critical thinking skills, leadership skills, Interpersonal skills, information technology skills, and school ethic skills with different items according to the type of skill. Univariate-ANOVAs were performed to explore differences in skills among demographics. Also hypothesizes that there is no difference between the different secondary schools in the six skills. The results show that there is a significant difference among the students’ perceptions of four of the six skills. Also revealed that the attitudes of elite public-school teachers were the highest, followed by the private school and, finally, the public school. This study Highlighted skills items of students’ scientific branch that should be emphasized in the secondary curriculum to enhance the transitions to universities.
Plumbing the depths: reading Bhavabhūti in seventeenth-century Kerala
Authors: Ollett Andrew , Venkatkrishnan Anand 
Published: July 2022

Abstract
Nārāyaṇa, a student of Mēlputtūr Nārāyaṇa Bhaṭṭa, wrote a commentary on Rāma’s Last Act (Uttararāmacaritam) by Bhavabhūti that “must be counted among the more careful and perceptive ever produced for a Sanskrit play” (Pollock). This essay examines the ways in which Nārāyaṇa related local meanings (of words, phrases, sentences, and verses) to the themes of the play as a whole, which Nārāyaṇa called its “deeper meanings.” Nārāyaṇa belongs to a tradition of literary commentary in Kerala that combined a sensitivity to and appreciation for dramatic art with deep scholarly knowledge. His attention to the complex emotions of the play’s characters, and to the development of heart-rending motifs—reliving the past, betrayed intimacy, the involution and intensification of experience—allows readers to appreciate Bhavabhūti’s play as one of the greatest portrayals of the experience of love in world literature.
Permitting the Compensation of Birth Mothers for Adoption Expenses and its Impact on Adoptions
Authors: Wallace Cullen T. 
Published: July 2022

Abstract
For seven decades, states have passed legislation to regulate the exchange of funds in the adoption process by either enabling or prohibiting prospective adoptive parents from compensating a matched birth mother for adoption-related expenses. In 1940, no state codes contained provisions for adoption compensation. By the mid-1980s, nearly half of states had passed such legislation, and today, 45 states have such laws. Leveraging this variation in state adoption laws governing compensation, I estimate how the allowance of monetary transfers affects the number of infant adoptions in a two-stage difference-in-differences framework. Results indicate that the number of private infant adoptions is not affected by the passage of such laws, and estimates are robust across multiple specifications. The findings suggesting that non-fiscal concerns or uncertainty in the matching process may overshadow potential compensation of medical, legal, or living expenses.
Causal inference in AI education: A primer
Authors: Forney Andrew , Mueller Scott 
Published: July 2022

Abstract
The study of causal inference has seen recent momentum in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in the domains of transfer learning, reinforcement learning, automated diagnostics, and explainability (among others). Yet, despite its increasing application to address many of the boundaries in modern AI, causal topics remain absent in most AI curricula. This work seeks to bridge this gap by providing classroom-ready introductions that integrate into traditional topics in AI, suggests intuitive graphical tools for the application to both new and traditional lessons in probabilistic and causal reasoning, and presents avenues for instructors to impress the merit of climbing the “causal hierarchy” to address problems at the levels of associational, interventional, and counterfactual inference. Finally, this study shares anecdotal instructor experiences, successes, and challenges integrating these lessons at multiple levels of education.
A deterministic algorithm for the discrete logarithm problem in a semigroup
Authors: Tinani Simran , Rosenthal Joachim 
Published: July 2022

Abstract
The discrete logarithm problem (DLP) in a finite group is the basis for many protocols in cryptography. The best general algorithms which solve this problem have a time complexity of

O

(

N

log
N

)

O\left(\sqrt{N}\log N)

and a space complexity of

O

(

N

)

O\left(\sqrt{N})

, where

N

N

is the order of the group. (If

N

N

is unknown, a simple modification would achieve a time complexity of

O

(

N

(

log
N

)

2

)

O\left(\sqrt{N}{\left(\log N)}^{2})

.) These algorithms require the inversion of some group elements or rely on finding collisions and the existence of inverses, and thus do not adapt to work in the general semigroup setting. For semigroups, probabilistic algorithms with similar time complexity have been proposed. The main result of this article is a deterministic algorithm for solving the DLP in a semigroup. Specifically, let

x

x

be an element in a semigroup having finite order

N

x

{N}_{x}

. The article provides an algorithm, which, given any element

y
∈

⟨

x

⟩

y\in \langle x\rangle

, provides all natural numbers

m

m

with

x

m

=
y

{x}^{m}=y

, and has time complexity

O

(

N

x

(

log

N

x

)

2

)

O\left(\sqrt{{N}_{x}}{\left(\log {N}_{x})}^{2})

steps. The article also gives an analysis of the success rates of the existing probabilistic algorithms, which were so far only conjectured or stated loosely.