bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
SARS-CoV-2-related mortality and treatment delays for cancer patients in Austria
Authors: Berger Julia M. , Wohlfarth Phillipp , Königsbrügge Oliver , Knaus Hanna A. , Porpaczy Edit , Kaufmann Hannes , Schreiber Johanna , Mrva-Ghukasyan Tatevik , Winder Thomas , Severgnini Luciano , Wolf Dominik , Petzer Verena , Nguyen Van Anh , Weinlich Georg , Öhler Leopold , Wonnerth Anna , Miksovsky Aurelia , Engelhart Bert , Preusser Matthias , Berghoff Anna S. 
Published: February 2022

Summary
Background
Cancer patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have an increased risk of mortality. Here, we investigated predictive factors for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) associated mortality in patients with neoplastic diseases treated throughout Austria.

Methods
In this multicentric nationwide cohort study, data on patients with active or previous malignant diseases and SARS-CoV‑2 infections diagnosed between 13 March 2020 and 06 April 2021 were collected. Collected data included the stage of the malignant disease and outcome parameters 30 days after the diagnosis of SARS-CoV‑2 infection.

Results
The cohort consisted of 230 individuals of which 75 (32.6%) patients were diagnosed with hematologic malignancies and 155 (67.4%) with solid tumors. At a median follow-up of 31 days after COVID-19 diagnosis, 38 (16.5%) patients had died due to COVID-19. Compared to survivors, patients who died were older (62.4 vs. 71.4 years, p < 0.001) and had a higher ECOG performance status (0.7 vs. 2.43, p < 0.001). Furthermore, higher neutrophil counts (64.9% vs. 73.8%, p = 0.03), lower lymphocyte counts (21.4% vs. 14%, p = 0.006) and lower albumin levels (32.5 g/l vs. 21.6 g/l, p < 0.001) were observed to be independent risk factors for adverse outcomes. No association between mortality and systemic antineoplastic therapy was found (p > 0.05). In 60.6% of the patients, therapy was postponed due to quarantine requirements or hospital admission.

Conclusion
Mortality of Austrian cancer patients infected with SARS-CoV‑2 is comparable to that of other countries. Furthermore, risk factors associated with higher mortality were evident and similar to the general population. Treatment delays were frequently observed.
Bevacizumab and sunitinib mediate osteogenic and pro-inflammatory molecular changes in primary human alveolar osteoblasts in vitro
Authors: Hofmann Elena , Eggers Benedikt , Heim Nils , Kramer Franz-Josef , Nokhbehsaim Marjan , Götz Werner 
Published: February 2022

AbstractAntiangiogenic medications target the de novo blood vessel formation in tumorigenesis. However, these novel drugs have been linked to the onset of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ). The aim of this in vitro study was to examine the effects of the vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) antibody bevacizumab (BEV) and the receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (RTKI) sunitinib (SUN) on primary human osteoblasts derived from the alveolar bone. Primary human alveolar osteoblasts (HAOBs) were treated with BEV or SUN for 48 h. Cellular metabolic activity was examined by XTT assay. Differentially regulated genes were identified by screening of 22 selected osteogenic and angiogenic markers by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT2-PCR). Protein levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), collagen type 1, α1 (COL1A1) and secreted protein acidic and cysteine rich (SPARC) were examined by enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). Treatment with BEV and SUN did not exhibit direct cytotoxic effects in HAOBs as confirmed by XTT assay. Of the 22 genes examined by qRT2-PCR, four genes were significantly regulated after BEV treatment and eight genes in the SUN group as compared to the control group. Gene expression levels of ALPL, COL1A1 and SPARC were significantly downregulated by both drugs. Further analysis by ELISA indicated the downregulation of protein levels of ALP, COL1A1 and SPARC in the BEV and SUN groups. The effects of BEV and SUN in HAOBs may be mediated by alterations to osteogenic and catabolic markers. Therapeutic or preventive strategies in MRONJ may address drug-induced depression of osteoblast differentiation.
Proxying credit curves via Wasserstein distances
Authors: Michielon Matteo , Khedher Asma , Spreij Peter 
Published: February 2022

AbstractCredit risk plays a key role in financial modeling, and financial institutions are required to incorporate it in their pricing, as well as in capital requirement calculations. A common manner to extract credit worthiness information for existing and potential counterparties is based on the Credit Default Swap (CDS) market. Nonetheless, not all counterparties of a financial institution have (liquid) CDSs traded in the market. In this case, financial institutions shall employ a proxy methodology to estimate the default probabilities of these counterparties. Starting from the intersection methodology for credit curves, in this article we investigate whether it is possible to construct proxy credit curves from CDS quotes by means of (weighted) Wasserstein barycenters. We show how, under simple and common assumptions, this revised methodology leads to elementary and intuitive formulae to calculate distances between CDS-implied default probability distributions. Further, we illustrate how to use this information to construct proxy CDS quotes.
Analysing a built-in advantage in asymmetric darts contests using causal machine learning
Authors: Goller Daniel 
Published: February 2022

AbstractWe analyse a sequential contest with two players in darts where one of the contestants enjoys a technical advantage. Using methods from the causal machine learning literature, we analyse the built-in advantage, which is the first-mover having potentially more but never less moves. Our empirical findings suggest that the first-mover has an 8.6% points higher probability to win the match induced by the technical advantage. Contestants with low performance measures and little experience have the highest built-in advantage. With regard to the fairness principle that contestants with equal abilities should have equal winning probabilities, this contest is ex-ante fair in the case of equal built-in advantages for both competitors and a randomized starting right. Nevertheless, the contest design produces unequal probabilities of winning for equally skilled contestants because of asymmetries in the built-in advantage associated with social pressure for contestants competing at home and away.
Compressive performance of circular hollow section brace with eccentrically installed rib-stiffened splice plates
Authors: Tagawa Hiroshi , Akiyama Makoto , Chen Xingchen 
Published: February 2022

AbstractHollow section braces are often adopted in steel frame structures because of their superior performance. To connect tubular members with framing elements, field-bolted connections of the slotted-in single splice plate and gusset plate are majorly used because of their ease of construction. However, the eccentricity between the splice and gusset plate axes reduces the compressive strength of the brace and induces local connection failures under seismic excitations. To improve the compressive strength, this paper proposes a new connection configuration for circular hollow section braces in which cruciform rib-stiffened splice plates are eccentrically installed such that the gusset plate axis coincides with the brace axis. The concept of the proposed connection was first described with theoretical considerations. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed connections, compressive loading tests and subsequent cyclic loading tests were conducted for four test specimens. Furthermore, finite element analyses with long-brace models were performed to demonstrate the good performance of the proposed connection for a wide range of slenderness ratios.
The Impact of Community Mental Health Programs for Australian Youth: A Systematic Review
Authors: Savaglio Melissa , O’Donnell Renee , Hatzikiriakidis Kostas , Vicary Dave , Skouteris Helen 
Published: February 2022

AbstractAustralia has undergone significant youth mental health reform over the past 10 years, leading to numerous studies examining the effects of community-based mental health care programs for Australian youth. However, no synthesis of this literature currently exists. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to: (1) describe the types of community-based mental health programs that have been delivered to Australian youth in the past 10 years; and (2) examine their impact in improving young people’s mental health symptomology and psychosocial functioning. A systematic search of the peer-reviewed literature was conducted. Studies were included if they evaluated the extent to which such programs improved mental health symptomology (e.g., depression, anxiety, substance use) and/or psychosocial outcomes (e.g., social functioning, school engagement, employment) for Australian youth aged 10–25 years. Thirty-seven studies were included. Four types of community-based youth mental health care programs were identified: therapy (n = 16), case management (n = 9), integrated ‘one-stop-shop’ (n = 6) and lifestyle (n = 6) programs. The majority of therapeutic programs were effective in reducing mental health symptomology. Case management and integrated approaches consistently yielded significant improvements in both symptomology and psychosocial outcomes. Lifestyle programs were effective in alleviating depressive symptoms, but inconclusive for other outcomes. This review provides support for youth-friendly, systemic, multidisciplinary and integrated assertive outreach models of community mental health care to improve outcomes for young Australians experiencing mental health concerns. Several recommendations for future research are provided to strengthen the local evidence-base supporting community mental health programs to ultimately enhance young people’s life trajectory.
Heavy-tailed phase-type distributions: a unified approach
Authors: Bladt Martin , Yslas Jorge 
Published: February 2022

AbstractA phase-type distribution is the distribution of the time until absorption in a finite state-space time-homogeneous Markov jump process, with one absorbing state and the rest being transient. These distributions are mathematically tractable and conceptually attractive to model physical phenomena due to their interpretation in terms of a hidden Markov structure. Three recent extensions of regular phase-type distributions give rise to models which allow for heavy tails: discrete- or continuous-scaling; fractional-time semi-Markov extensions; and inhomogeneous time-change of the underlying Markov process. In this paper, we present a unifying theory for heavy-tailed phase-type distributions for which all three approaches are particular cases. Our main objective is to provide useful models for heavy-tailed phase-type distributions, but any other tail behavior is also captured by our specification. We provide relevant new examples and also show how existing approaches are naturally embedded. Subsequently, two multivariate extensions are presented, inspired by the univariate construction which can be considered as a matrix version of a frailty model. We provide fully explicit EM-algorithms for all models and illustrate them using synthetic and real-life data.
The antioxidant responses of gills, intestines and livers and blood immunity of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) exposed to salinity and temperature stressors
Authors: Dawood Mahmoud A. O. , Alkafafy Mohamed , Sewilam Hani 
Published: February 2022

AbstractAquaculture activity is affected by various environmental factors, including water salinity and high temperatures. The present study investigated the impact of using varying water salinity (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 ppt) on the growth behavior, immune responses and antioxidative responses of common carp. Fish were raised under optimal conditions except for water salinity for 8 weeks; fish were then subjected to high-temperature stress (32 °C) for 48 h. The results indicated a reduced final weight (FBW), weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR), condition factor (CF), feed intake and feed efficiency ratio (FER) in common carp reared in 15 and 20 ppt (p < 0.05). The lowest FBW, WG, SGR, CF, feed intake and FER values were observed in fish reared in 20 ppt water salinity (p < 0.05). In gills, the superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were markedly decreased, but malondialdehyde (MDA) levels increased in fish challenged with 15 and 20 ppt before they were subjected to heat stress (p < 0.05). After heat stress, the SOD, CAT and GPx were decreased, and the MDA increased in fish reared in varying salinity levels (p < 0.05). Before heat stress, the intestinal SOD, CAT and GPx markers were decreased by 15 and 20 ppt, while the MDA level was increased by 15 and 20 ppt (p < 0.05). Generally, heat stress lowered the SOD, CAT and GPx activity in the intestines and liver tissues but increased MDA levels in common carp stressed by varying salinity levels (p < 0.05). The most decreased lysozyme activity, SOD, CAT and GPx and increased MDA levels were observed in common carp exposed to 20 ppt before and after heat stress (p < 0.05). After heat stress, fish exposed to 15 and 20 ppt had lower NBT than the remaining groups, and fish exposed to 20 ppt had the lowest values (p < 0.05). Overall, the heat stress markedly suppressed the antioxidant and immune responses of common carp reared in hypersalinity conditions.
Application of Digital Twins in multiple fields
Authors: Guo Jinkang , Lv Zhihan 
Published: February 2022

AbstractWith the development of science and technology, the high-tech industry is developing rapidly, and various new-age technologies continue to appear, and Digital Twins (DT) is one of them. As a brand-new interactive technology, DT technology can handle the interaction between the real world and the virtual world well. It has become a hot spot in the academic circles of all countries in the world. DT have developed rapidly in recent years result from centrality, integrity and dynamics. It is integrated with other technologies and has been applied in many fields, such as smart factory in industrial production, digital model of life in medical field, construction of smart city, security guarantee in aerospace field, immersive shopping in commercial field and so on. The introduction of DT is mostly a summary of concepts, and few practical applications of Digital Twins are introduced. The purpose of this paper is to enable people to understand the application status of DT technology. At the same time, the introduction of core technologies related to DT is interspersed in the application introduction. Finally, combined with the current development status of DT, predict the future development trend of DT and make a summary.
Microneedle Mediated Iontophoretic Delivery of Tofacitinib Citrate
Authors: Dandekar Amruta A. , Garimella Harsha T. , German Carrie L. , Banga Ajay K. 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Purpose
To investigate in vitro transdermal delivery of tofacitinib citrate across human skin using microporation by microneedles and iontophoresis alone and in combination.

Methods
In vitro permeation studies were conducted using vertical Franz diffusion cells. Microneedles composed of polyvinyl alcohol and carboxymethyl cellulose were fabricated and successfully characterized using scanning electron microscopy. The microchannels created were further characterized using histology, dye binding study, scanning electron microscopy, and confocal microscopy studies. The effect of microporation on delivery of tofacitinib citrate was evaluated alone and in combination with iontophoresis. In addition, the effect of current density on iontophoretic delivery was also investigated.

Results
Total delivery of tofacitinib citrate via passive permeation was found out to be 11.04 ± 1 μg/sq.cm. Microporation with microneedles resulted in significant enhancement where a 28-fold increase in delivery of tofacitinib citrate was observed with a total delivery of 314.7±33.32 μg/sq.cm. The characterization studies confirmed the formation of microchannels in the skin where successful disruption of stratum corneum was observed after applying microneedles. Anodal iontophoresis at 0.1 and 0.5 mA/sq.cm showed a total delivery of 18.56 μg/sq.cm and 62.07 μg/sq.cm, respectively. A combination of microneedle and iontophoresis at 0.5 mA/sq.cm showed the highest total delivery of 566.59 μg/sq.cm demonstrating a synergistic effect. A sharp increase in transdermal flux was observed for a combination of microneedles and iontophoresis.

Conclusion
This study demonstrates the use of microneedles and iontophoresis to deliver a therapeutic dose of tofacitinib citrate via transdermal route.
How Meaningful is the Elite Quality Index Ranking?
Authors: Diebold Céline 
Published: February 2022

AbstractThe Elite Quality Index (EQx) attempts to measure the propensity of elites—on aggregate—to create value, rather than to rent seek. The index has attracted worldwide media and press attention. In their articles, journalists have based their analyses primarily on their own countries’ position in the EQx ranking. But how meaningful is the EQx ranking? How do the uncertainties underlying some of the assumptions made in the index propagate to the country rankings? We conduct a global uncertainty and sensitivity analysis (UA and SA) of the EQx and compute Sobol’ first and total order sensitivity indices using state of the art estimators, in order to scrutinise the implications of index assumptions and assess the reliability of the EQx ranking. The UA suggests that the EQx ranking of 2021 (EQx2021) is largely stable for the top 50 countries, but exhibits considerable uncertainties especially for middle and lower performing countries. The SA highlights the handling of missing data, the normalisation process and the weighting scheme as most important methodological choices, while the largest potential for improvement is observed in how raw missing indicator data is handled.
Insect “Bee&Bees” and pollinator penthouses: teaching students about pollinators and their services in an urban environment
Authors: Hane Elizabeth N. , Korfmacher Karl F. 
Published: February 2022

AbstractPollination services are a frequently overlooked component of urban ecosystems. As cities look to become more sustainable and incorporate more urban green spaces, these pollinator services are coming to the forefront, and educating the public about the habitat and foraging needs of urban pollinators is becoming more important. Increasingly popular features in urban gardens are “bug hotels”, which are artificial structures that humans can install to create habitat or shelter for urban insect pollinators. In a college-level Urban Ecology class, we use a structured classroom activity to teach students about pollinator needs, but also place the activity in a larger context of a discussion about the value of urban landscapes, as well as the importance of evaluating sources of information. Here we describe the steps of a research activity that students undertake to design a “bug hotel”, as well as suggestions for how to extend the activity beyond the classroom.
Psychodramatische-Selbsterfahrung im Gruppen- und Einzelsetting
Authors: Kern Sabine 
Published: February 2022

ZusammenfassungDieser Artikel der Zeitschrift Psychodrama und Soziometrie beschäftigt sich mit psychodramatischen Arrangements, die im Einzel- und Gruppensetting für das Vorankommen im Selbsterfahrungsprozess hilfreich sein können. Zu Beginn wird auf Unterschiede zwischen Selbsterfahrung und Psychotherapie eingegangen. Die Voraussetzungen für eine gewinnbringende und sichere Reise zum Selbst, wie etwa eine gute therapeutische Beziehung, Gruppenkohäsion und klare Gruppenregeln, werden angeführt. Danach werden Arrangements vorgestellt, die zum besseren Verständnis der Beziehung zum Selbst beitragen sollen und psychodramatische Aufgabenstellungen präsentiert, die unterstützen, mögliche belastende Erfahrungen aus der Kindheit oder Jugend aufzuspüren. Ebenso wird auf psychodramatische Übungen eingegangen, die rigide Beziehungsmuster unter die Lupe nehmen. Zuletzt wird erörtert, welche wichtige Funktion Rollenspiele in der Selbsterfahrung einnehmen. Ein Resümee schließt den Artikel ab.
Analysing the mathematical activity in a modelling process from the cognitive and onto-semiotic perspectives
Authors: Ledezma Carlos , Font Vicenç , Sala Gemma 
Published: February 2022

AbstractThe aim of this article is to carry out a work of networking theories which combines two perspectives on the mathematical activity involved in a modelling process, in order to answer the following question: To what extent does the application of the onto-semiotic tools complement the analysis from a cognitive perspective of a mathematical modelling process? To this end, we considered two theoretical frameworks: on the one hand, the onto-semiotic approach, which provides tools for the analysis of any mathematical activity and which here we applied to the activity of modelling; on the other hand, the modelling cycle from a cognitive perspective, which is a reflection on the specific mathematical activity of modelling. Then, we took a modelling problem that we applied to prospective mathematics teachers (at undergraduate and postgraduate level), and we analysed it from the perspective of both frameworks, in order to identify concordances and complementarities between these two ways of analysing the mathematical activity involved in the modelling process. The main conclusion is that both frameworks complement each other for a more detailed analysis of the mathematical activity that underlies the modelling process. Specifically, the analysis with the tools provided by the onto-semiotic approach reveals the phases or transitions of the modelling cycle as a conglomerate of mathematical practices, processes, and the primary objects activated in these practices.
A Practical Decision Tool to Evaluate and Rank Potential Solutions for Expected Downhole Drilling Problems During the Well-planning Phase
Authors: Elmgerbi Asad , Les Borna , Ashena Rahman , Atkin Timothy 
Published: February 2022

AbstractCurrently, the main objective of oil operating companies is to increase drilling efficiency and minimize drilling costs; this can be achieved in several ways. One of them is the curtailment of downhole events associated with trouble time by obtaining the key factors that drive the best proactive solutions in terms of cost and effectiveness. From this perspective, the core focus of this paper is to present a detailed description to develop an integrated decision tool that will assist well planner engineers in evaluating multiple solutions considered to address a downhole problem anticipated during the well construction process. The tool presented here provides the means of assessing a particular solution's cost and anticipated effectiveness by generating an evaluation matrix based on two intercorrelated decision-driving indices, technical and monetary. To theoretically validate the concept, an artificial case study was created to find the best solution in mitigating a bit balling problem. The results of the case study reveal that: the concept is indeed theoretically applicable. However, a real life case study must be performed to prove the concept practically.