bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Multivariate Kruskal_Wallis tests based on principal component score and latent source of independent component analysis
Authors: Mukherjee Amitava , Murakami Hidetoshi 
Published: August 2022

SummaryAnalysing multivariate and high_dimensional multi_sample data is essential in many scientific fields. One of the most crucial and popular topics in modern nonparametric statistics is multi_sample comparison problems for such multivariate and high_dimensional data. The Kruskal_Wallis test is widely used in the multi_sample problem. For multivariate or high_dimensional data, it is imperative to specify how to determine the ranks of individual vector_valued observations in terms of various distance metrics. Alternatively, one can combine the concept of principal component scores or independent component scores with the Kruskal_Wallis test. A simple but powerful Kruskal_Wallis test based on the principal component scores is discussed in this paper for the multivariate and high_dimensional data. Another type of Kruskal_Wallis test based on latent sources of independent component analysis is constructed as a competitor. These tests are suitable for testing the difference in the location vector, scale matrix or both and can be used with equal and unequal sample sizes. These tests_ power performances are thoroughly compared with traditional distance_based Kruskal_Wallis tests for multivariate data using simulation based on Monte Carlo for various population distributions. We include an illustration of the proposed tests using real data. The paper concludes with some remarks and directions for future research.
Simplified antibiotic treatment for paediatric osteoarticular infections achieved good outcomes
Authors: Ossurarson Freythor , Thors Valtyr , Haraldsson Asgeir 
Published: August 2022

AbstractAimEarly diagnosis of osteoarticular infections (OAI) in children and effective treatment prevents complications. The objective of this study was to evaluate effectiveness and safety of shortened intravenous antibiotic treatment of OAI. Incidence, diagnostics and pathogens of paediatric OAI were assessed.MethodsThis retrospective study included all paediatric OAI admissions to The Children's Hospital Iceland in 2006–2020. The treatment was evaluated by dividing the study cohort into two groups. The simplified treatment group received intravenous antibiotics for less than 7 days. The longer intravenous group received intravenous antibiotics for a minimum of 7 days.ResultsIn total, 205 cases of OAI were included: 106 osteomyelitis, 83 septic arthritis and 16 with both. Age standardised incidence was 17 per 100,000 children and decreased over the study period (p = 0.004). A pathogen was identified in 37% (75/205) of cases of which 65% (49/75) were Staphylococcus aureus and 12% (9/75) Kingella kingae. Simplified treatment was not associated with increased risk of complications.ConclusionThis study supports claims that simplified treatment for OAI is safe and effective. Further simplification of treatment might be viable. For uncertain reasons the incidence of OAI was decreasing in Iceland, predominantly in young children.
A survey on thromboprophylaxis and coagulation assessment in children and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in the Nordic and Baltic countries: Different practices of assessment and management
Authors: Andersson Nadine G. , Rathe Mathias , Mølle Ingolf , Jarvis Kirsten Brunswig , Hoffmann Marianne , Huurre Anu , Joelsson Joel , Albertsen Birgitte Klug , Lohi Olli , Långström Satu , Overgaard Ulrik , Saulyte Trakymiene Sonata , Vepsäläinen Kaisa , Vogt Hartmut , Ranta Susanna 
Published: August 2022

SummaryPatients undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) are at risk of coagulopathy, especially thromboembolism. We conducted a survey on practices in the assessment and management of coagulopathy during the new ALLTogether protocol in 29 (17 paediatric, 12 adult) Nordic and Baltic cancer centres. While 92% of adult centres used thromboprophylaxis with low‐molecular‐weight heparin, no paediatric centre did. Almost all providers performed baseline coagulation studies, but only 59% continued the assessment. Fibrinogen replacement was conducted in 59%, and antithrombin replacement in 28% of the centres. The survey highlights the need for guidelines in the management of coagulopathy during ALL therapy.
Should dexamethasone alone or in combination be the initial steroid for adult ITP: Still a relevant question
Authors: Skopec Barbara , Bussel James B. 
Published: August 2022

SummaryCorticosteroids are used in first‐line treatment in newly diagnosed immune thrombocytopenia. The goal of treatment is primarily to decrease autoantibody‐mediated platelet clearance. Ideally initial treatment would not just increase the platelet count but also provide a long‐term sustained remission. While many clinicians use prednisone (PDN) as their first choice of corticosteroid, others prefer dexamethasone. The controversy is the subject of debates. Short courses of higher‐dose corticosteroids were first reported by the Andersen study in 1994. The study posited high‐dose dexamethasone as a ‘cure’ for all ITP patients. Later, studies addressed the number of dexamethasone cycles, indications to repeat cycles and timing between cycles, with varied long‐term results. The results with dexamethasone were compared to PDN in some studies: the four‐day cycles of dexamethasone work faster in increasing platelet counts and appear to reduce the occurrence of severe adverse events. Therefore, it is probably a better option for patients with low platelet counts and bleeding diathesis; however, curative superiority, the initial reason to administer it, compared to PDN is not well demonstrated. Across the studies, treatment with high‐dose dexamethasone seems to be safer, with lower incidence of all adverse events compared to PDN, which might be a reflection of shorter treatment duration and possibly also lower cumulative steroid dose. Dexamethasone in combination with rituximab in first‐line treatment produced higher response rates with better long‐term results compared to high‐dose dexamethasone alone and is a particularly good option in younger women.
The mixed spongiotic and interface reaction pattern: A study of clinical and histopathologic findings
Authors: Ernst Madison , Lundgren Mia , Evans Michael D. , Miller Daniel , Giubellino Alessio 
Published: August 2022

AbstractBackgroundCategorization of biopsy specimens into inflammatory reaction patterns is central to dermatopathologic assessment. Mixed inflammatory patterns are poorly characterized and may represent clinicopathologic challenges. The purpose of this study was to identify clinical and histopathologic findings associated with the mixed spongiotic‐interface dermatitis (SID) histopathologic pattern.MethodsFifty‐one institutional biopsy specimens of SID were identified over a 2‐year period by retrospective natural language search. Histopathologic and clinical features were identified.ResultsThe most common histopathologic features associated with SID were mild spongiosis (51%), focal vacuolar interface change (72%), lymphocytic exocytosis (92%), and superficial–dermal lymphocytic infiltrate (94%) with variable eosinophils (61%). Clinically, 80% of subjects presented with a symmetric morbilliform eruption. Polypharmacy (94%), immunosuppression (47%), and history of malignancy (47%) were common. The most common diagnoses were drug reaction (37%), possible drug reaction (12%), and viral exanthem (12%). Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms represented 25% of all confirmed cutaneous adverse drug reactions (CADR). Average time from drug initiation to symptom initiation was 20 days (SD: 22.3, range: 0–90); median disease duration was 25.5 days. Spongiotic vesicles and Langerhans cells were less common in patients with a strong clinicopathologic diagnosis of drug reaction compared to non‐drug eruptions (p = 0.04).ConclusionsThe mixed SID pattern is commonly encountered in CADR but may represent a more subacute course, implying consideration for inciting medication(s) started before the typical 7‐ to 14‐day window.
Correlates of Odonata species composition in Amazonian streams depend on dissimilarity coefficient and oviposition strategy
Authors: Calvão Lenize B. , Siqueira Tadeu , Faria Ana Paula J. , Paiva Carina K. S. , Juen Leandro 
Published: August 2022

Abstract
Environmental and spatial heterogeneity affects the distribution of aquatic insects, determining or influencing the variation in local species composition. Dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) have different strategies for oviposition site selection that depend on environmental conditions. However, Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) can reduce the availability of suitable sites for Odonata oviposition through environmental homogenization.
We investigated the relationship between environmental and spatial heterogeneity and variation in species composition of Odonata with different oviposition strategies (endophytic, epiphytic and exophytic) in Amazonian streams in a gradient of LULC. We used the Jaccard and Bray‐Curtis coefficients and the Manhattan distance to estimate a continuum of variation in species composition.
Variation in the composition of endophytic and epiphytic species was explained by spatial heterogeneity. Using abundance data and the Manhattan distance, we found a relationship between variation in species composition and environmental heterogeneity. Endophytic species composition was related to perch heterogeneity, while exophytic species composition was related to perch and canopy cover heterogeneity. Exophytic and endophytic species could be used in biomonitoring as they respond to specific environmental predictors and because exophytic species do not have spatial patterns across the landscape.
Different dissimilarity coefficients provide complementary information about the responses of multispecies communities to land use, as some will represent strong effects (presence‐absence indexes) while others will represent more subtle effects (abundance‐based indexes). Land use can increase the environmental heterogeneity of some predictors (perches and canopy cover). Physical changes in streams such as hydromorphological alterations can modify specific habitats, affecting oviposition strategies and supporting tolerant species.
Coefficient of linear extensibility of soil can be estimated from hygroscopic water content or clay and organic carbon contents
Authors: Yan Fulai , Fu Yuting , Tall Andrej , Zhang Fucang , Arthur Emmanuel 
Published: August 2022

AbstractThe determination of the coefficient of linear extensibility (COLE) of soils is crucial for enhancing structural stability in civil engineering applications. Traditional methods for measuring COLE have some practical limitations. In routine soil analyses, clay and soil organic carbon (OC) are often measured, while soil hygroscopic water content (wh) is easy to determine on several soil samples simultaneously. The aims of the study were to (1) utilise two data partitioning approaches to develop regression models that estimate the soil COLE from hygroscopic water content, clay and OC contents, and (2) compare the model performance of the developed regression models. We used two data partitioning approaches. First, the calibration models were developed on 53 soil samples from Slovakia and validated with 24 soil samples from the United States (country‐wise). Second, the calibration models were built from 67% of the entire dataset and validated with 33% (mixed data). Regression models based on hygroscopic water content accurately estimated COLE regardless of sorption direction or data partitioning approach (RMSE: 0.014–0.023 cm cm−1). The inclusion of OC in multiple linear regression models of clay only marginally improved COLE estimation compared to clay alone. For all models, the mixed data partitioning method showed better model validation performance than the country‐wise approach. The COLE classes derived from the estimated COLE values compared favourably (72%–94% accurate) to the measured data. Thus, there is a great potential to estimate the COLE from readily available (clay and OC) or easily measurable (hygroscopic water content) soil properties.HighlightsHygroscopic water content (wh) is intimately linked to soil properties that determine COLE.Regression models based on wh or clay, and organic carbon content accurately estimated COLE.Data partitioning approach for modelling significantly impacted model performanceSamples with very high COLE were better estimated bywh‐based models than by other variables
A skewed literature: Few studies evaluate the contribution of predation‐risk effects to natural field patterns
Authors: Peacor Scott D. , Dorn Nathan J. , Smith Justine A. , Peckham Nicole E. , Cherry Michael J. , Sheriff Michael J. , Kimbro David L. 
Published: August 2022

AbstractA narrative in ecology is that prey modify traits to reduce predation risk, and the trait modification has costs large enough to cause ensuing demographic, trophic and ecosystem consequences, with implications for conservation, management and agriculture. But ecology has a long history of emphasising that quantifying the importance of an ecological process ultimately requires evidence linking a process to unmanipulated field patterns. We suspected that such process‐linked‐to‐pattern (PLP) studies were poorly represented in the predation risk literature, which conflicts with the confidence often given to the importance of risk effects. We reviewed 29 years of the ecological literature which revealed that there are well over 4000 articles on risk effects. Of those, 349 studies examined risk effects on prey fitness measures or abundance (i.e., non‐consumptive effects) of which only 26 were PLP studies, while 275 studies examined effects on other interacting species (i.e., trait‐mediated indirect effects) of which only 35 were PLP studies. PLP studies were narrowly focused taxonomically and included only three that examined unmanipulated patterns of prey abundance. Before concluding a widespread and influential role of predation‐risk effects, more attention must be given to linking the process of risk effects to unmanipulated patterns observed across diverse ecosystems.
Live‐fast‐die‐young: Carryover effects of heatwave‐exposed adult urchins on the development of the next generation
Authors: Minuti Jay J. , Byrne Maria , Campbell Hamish , Hemraj Deevesh A. , Russell Bayden D. 
Published: August 2022

AbstractWith rising ocean temperatures, extreme weather events such as marine heatwaves (MHWs) are increasing in frequency and duration, pushing marine life beyond their physiological limits. The potential to respond to extreme conditions through physiological acclimatization, and pass on resistance to the next generation, fundamentally depends on the capacity of an organism to cope within their thermal tolerance limits. To elucidate whether heat conditioning of parents could benefit offspring development, we exposed adult sea urchins (Heliocidaris erythrogramma) to ambient summer (23°C), moderate (25°C) or strong (26°C) MHW conditions for 10 days. Offspring were then reared at constant temperature along a thermal gradient (22–28°C) and development was tracked to the 14‐day juvenile stage. Progeny from the MHW‐conditioned adults developed through to metamorphosis faster than those of ambient conditioned parents, with most individuals from the moderate and strong heatwaves developing to the larval stage across all temperatures. In contrast, the majority of offspring from the control summer temperature died before metamorphosis at temperatures above 25°C (moderate MHW). Juveniles produced from the strong MHW‐conditioned adults were also larger across all temperatures, with the largest juveniles in the 26°C treatment. In contrast, the smallest juveniles were from control (current‐day summer) parents (and reared at 22 and 25°C). Surprisingly, initial survival was higher in the progeny of MHW exposed parents, even at temperatures hotter than predicted MHWs (28°C). Importantly, however, there was substantial mortality of juveniles from the strong MHW parents by day 14. Therefore, while carryover effects of parental conditioning to MHWs resulted in faster growing, larger progeny, this benefit will only persist beyond the more sensitive juvenile stage and enhance survival if conditions return promptly to normal seasonal temperatures within current thermal tolerance limits.
Most countries are vulnerable to novel pest invasions and under‐report the diversity of tree pests
Authors: Gougherty Andrew V. , Davies T. Jonathan 
Published: August 2022

AbstractAimTree pests have major impacts in both natural and agricultural systems. Despite their ecological and economic importance, it is likely that pests go unreported in many regions. Using a global dataset of tree pests and multiple metrics of pest diversity standardized for host availability, we describe the biogeography of under‐reporting and reveal potential for future pest invasions.LocationGlobal.Time periodContemporary.Major taxa studiedPathogens, insect pests and native tree hosts.MethodsWe assembled the global distributions of 3,828 tree pests and 2,689 host tree species across 226 countries, and calculated two metrics of pest diversity that account for host availability: pest saturation (i.e., the proportion of the known pests of native host trees present with countries) and pest deficit (the number of known pests of native trees that have not yet been reported in countries). We used Bayesian regression models to identify how sampling, socio‐economic variables, climate and ecological drivers affect estimates of pest saturation and deficit.ResultsWe show that most countries are reported to have fewer than 50% of the pests for which native hosts are available—corresponding to hundreds of additional pest species per country. Pest saturation was lowest in Africa and central Asia, while pest deficit was highest in eastern Europe. Accounting for research output, pest saturation was higher in warmer and wetter countries, while pest deficit was highest in countries with greater host phylogenetic diversity. Low saturation and high deficit even in well‐documented countries suggest a considerable potential for pest range expansion if barriers to dispersal are lowered.Main conclusionsOur findings indicate that, although all countries could potentially host additional pests, countries with low research output and high host diversity should be prioritized for future pest discovery and surveillance to ensure timely detection and implementation of pest mitigation strategies.
Use of smartphone photos to document the oral care status of nursing home residents
Authors: Bleiel Dirk , Rott Thea , Scharfenberg Isabel , Wicht Michael Jochen , Barbe Anna Greta 
Published: August 2022

ObjectiveInvestigate whether clinically assessed oral care status by an external dentist can be replicated using smartphone photographs.BackgroundMany people with care needs have poor oral hygiene. To help maintain oral health, caregivers require a simple way of communicating oral care status to the dental team.Materials and MethodsCross‐sectional study in which smartphone photographs of the oral and prosthetic care situation of N = 50 nursing‐home patients (mean age 85.6 [SD 6] years, 74% women) were assessed by two blinded, external examiners (D1/D2) and compared with clinical assessments made by the onsite dentist who also took the photographs (D0). Intraoral care status was clinically evaluated using the modified Plaque Index for Long‐Term Care (PI‐LTC) and Denture Hygiene Index (DHI). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) determined correlations between clinical and photographic findings.ResultsThe ICC was assessed for the PI‐LTC (upper jaw, n = 41; lower jaw, n = 49) and DHI (upper jaw, n = 25; lower jaw, n = 18). The DHI showed excellent reliability between clinical assessment and smartphone evaluation for the determination of positive surfaces (ICC: upper 0.91 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.83–0.96], P < 0.001; lower 0.95 [95% CI 0.89–0.98], P < 0.001). The PI‐LTC showed good reliability between clinical assessment (D0) and D1/D2 for determination of vestibular plaque (ICC: upper 0.84 [95% CI 0.74–0.91], P < 0.001; lower 0.87 [95% CI 0.79–0.92], P < 0.001).ConclusionsAlthough limited, this pilot study demonstrated that standardised smartphone photographs can simply communicate the intraoral care status of patients who have difficulties accessing their dentist. This should be considered when planning improved communication between dentists, care recipients, and their support network.
Long‐term joint outcomes in adolescents with moderate or severe haemophilia A
Authors: Schmidt David E. , Michalopoulou Aikaterini , Fischer Kathelijn , Motwani Jayashree , Andersson Nadine G. , Pergantou Helen , Ranta Susanna ,   the PedNet Study Group
Published: August 2022

AbstractIntroductionFavourable joint outcomes are expected with modern haemophilia A (HA) management. Evaluation of long‐term treatment outcomes is hampered by the delay between bleeding episodes during childhood and resulting joint outcomes in adulthood.AimTo measure the long‐term joint health of adolescents with moderate and severe HA, according to severity and inhibitor status.MethodsPilot cross‐sectional study of five European PedNet centres in moderate and severe HA patients aged 10–19 years. Structured assessment of joint status by physical examination (HJHS) and ultrasound (HEAD‐US).ResultsIn total, 141 HA patients were evaluable, 100 without inhibitors (81 severe, 19 moderate HA), and 41 severe HA with current/past inhibitors. On physical examination, 12/81 (15%) of severe HA without inhibitors, 3/19 (16%) of moderate HA, and 13/41 (32%) of severe HA patients with inhibitors exhibited joint abnormalities. Inhibitor persistence, longer inhibitor duration, and a high peak inhibitor level were associated with impaired joint health. Ultrasound showed joint damage (bone or cartilage) in 13/49 (27%) of severe HA without inhibitors, 1/12 (8%) of moderate HA, and 10/28 (36%) of severe HA patients with inhibitors. A discordant ankle evaluation by ultrasound versus physical examination was present in 53/169 joints (31%).ConclusionsMost adolescents with severe or moderate HA show favourable joint health. Future research with combined ultrasound and/or MRI is needed to better understand joint outcomes in the remaining patients. Patents with inhibitors showed a two‐fold increased proportion with joint deterioration. Ultrasound paired with physical examination increases sensitivity for detection of joint damage.