bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Pulsed electromagnetic therapy in cancer treatment: Progress and outlook
Authors: Xu Wenjun , Xie Xinjun , Wu Hanyang , Wang Xiaolin , Cai Jiancheng , Xu Zisheng , E Shiju 
Published: September 2022

AbstractCancer is one of the major diseases that endanger human health. Current treatment options have low patient tolerance, poor prognosis, and strong side effects. Pulsed electromagnetic therapy can selectively kill cancer cells by taking advantage of their own electromagnetic sensitivity specificity. Pulsed electric fields (PEFs), pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs), and cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) are three main means that have promising application in cancer therapy. Pulsed electromagnetic therapy showed significant anticancer ability in vitro and in vivo. In this paper, we summarize the basic principles, methods, and state of art research of PEFs, PEMFs, and PEMFs for cancer therapy. Based on cancer pro‐oxidation therapy, we propose a combination therapy of electromagnetic field‐enhanced CAP for cancer therapy.
Basic Concepts
Authors: Hendricks John S. , Swinhoe Martyn T. , Favalli Andrea 
Published: September 2022

AbstractThis guide for MCNP students and practitioners begins with the simplest possible example: neutrons in a single spherical surface void sphere. Examples are provided for running MCNP and plotting its geometries. Modifications to the starting geometry demonstrate the full combinatorial solid geometry capability of MCNP. Further problem input examples explain materials capabilities and physics options. Standard source capabilities enable modeling of almost any radiation particle source. Output tally and plotting options provide a full description of physical processes in a problem and what detectors see. And every MCNP calculation automatically assesses the statistical convergence of the underlying Monte Carlo sampling.
Secondary prevention in diabetic and nondiabetic coronary heart disease patients: Insights from the German subset of the hospital arm of the EUROASPIRE IV and V surveys
Authors: Ungethüm K. , Wiedmann S. , Wagner M. , Leyh R. , Ertl G. , Frantz S. , Geisler T. , Karmann W. , Prondzinsky R. , Herdeg C. , Noutsias M. , Ludwig T. , Käs J. , Klocke B. , Krapp J. , Wood D. , Kotseva K. , Störk S. , Heuschmann P. U. 
Published: September 2022

Abstract
Background
Patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) with and without diabetes mellitus have an increased risk of recurrent events requiring multifactorial secondary prevention of cardiovascular risk factors. We compared prevalences of cardiovascular risk factors and its determinants including lifestyle, pharmacotherapy and diabetes mellitus among patients with chronic CHD examined within the fourth and fifth EUROASPIRE surveys (EA-IV, 2012–13; and EA-V, 2016–17) in Germany.

Methods
The EA initiative iteratively conducts European-wide multicenter surveys investigating the quality of secondary prevention in chronic CHD patients aged 18 to 79 years. The data collection in Germany was performed during a comprehensive baseline visit at study centers in Würzburg (EA-IV, EA-V), Halle (EA-V), and Tübingen (EA-V).

Results
384 EA-V participants (median age 69.0 years, 81.3% male) and 536 EA-IV participants (median age 68.7 years, 82.3% male) were examined. Comparing EA-IV and EA-V, no relevant differences in risk factor prevalence and lifestyle changes were observed with the exception of lower LDL cholesterol levels in EA-V. Prevalence of unrecognized diabetes was significantly lower in EA-V as compared to EA-IV (11.8% vs. 19.6%) while the proportion of prediabetes was similarly high in the remaining population (62.1% vs. 61.0%).

Conclusion
Between 2012 and 2017, a modest decrease in LDL cholesterol levels was observed, while no differences in blood pressure control and body weight were apparent in chronic CHD patients in Germany. Although the prevalence of unrecognized diabetes decreased in the later study period, the proportion of normoglycemic patients was low. As pharmacotherapy appeared fairly well implemented, stronger efforts towards lifestyle interventions, mental health programs and cardiac rehabilitation might help to improve risk factor profiles in chronic CHD patients.
Attraction versus competition: A tale of two similarity effects in director selection of Chinese firms
Authors: Gao Renfei , Hu Helen Wei , Yoshikawa Toru 
Published: September 2022

Abstract
Extant research has focused primarily on the collaborative side of chair-director similarity in director selection, whereas the potential competitive side remains underexplored. Emphasizing the dual role of directors as both collaborators and competitors, as perceived by chairs, we incorporate both the similarity-attraction logic and the similarity-competition logic in director selection and develop a collaborative-competitive framework to reconcile the tension between them. Based on new director selection data from Chinese listed firms, we find that chair-director similarity in the competitive-oriented political background is negatively related to the likelihood of the director being selected—consistent with the similarity-competition logic, whereas chair-director similarity in the collaborative-oriented technological background is positively related to the likelihood of the director being selected—consistent with the similarity-attraction logic. Furthermore, we reveal how the similarity-derived effects are contingent on within-similarity heterogeneity. Our study advances research on director selection by providing a more fine-grained understanding of chair-director similarity in director selection.
On the number of fixed edges of automorphisms of vertex-transitive graphs of small valency
Authors: Barbieri Marco , Grazian Valentina , Spiga Pablo 
Published: September 2022

AbstractWe prove that, if $$\varGamma $$
Γ
is a finite connected 3-valent vertex-transitive, or 4-valent vertex- and edge-transitive graph, then either $$\varGamma $$
Γ
is part of a well-understood family of graphs, or every non-identity automorphism of $$\varGamma $$
Γ
fixes at most 1/3 of the edges. This answers a question proposed by Primož Potočnik and the third author.
Reconfigurable graphene-based metamaterial polarization converter for terahertz applications
Authors: Mabrouk A. M. , Seliem Asmaa G. , Donkol A. A. 
Published: September 2022

AbstractThis study proposes a high-gain polarization converter using a graphene-based metamaterial array, a rectangular array comprising 20 periodic unit-cell elements. Each graphene-based metamaterial unit-cell element contains a rectangular patch with four triangular-shaped graphene parts at its four corners placed over a rectangular substrate backed with a perfect electric conductor and has a relative permittivity of εsub = 3.38. The metamaterial characteristics of the proposed graphene-based metamaterial unit-cell element are obtained over frequencies of 1.5–2.2 terahertz (THz). The graphene-based metamaterial array is placed over a linearly polarized slot antenna operating at 1.8 THz, with a maximum gain of 5.5 dBi. The linearly polarized wave radiated from the slot antenna can be converted into reconfigurable right-handed or left-handed circular polarizations according to the graphene parts’ biasing states. Moreover, the slot antenna’s operating − 10 dB bandwidth (BW) is increased by 22.2%, and the gain is enhanced to 8 dBi at the same operating frequency. A reconfigurable polarization conversion for the slot antenna can be obtained over a wide 3 dB axial ratio BW from 1.75 to 1.92 THz (20%–3 dB BW).
Identifying key elements for user satisfaction of bike-sharing systems: a combination of direct and indirect evaluations
Authors: Julio Raky , Monzon Andres , Susilo Yusak O. 
Published: September 2022

AbstractBike-sharing systems (BSS) are gaining popularity in cities worldwide, as a part of a generalized strategy to mitigate the problems derived from motorized transportation (congestion, pollution, noise, etc.). These systems have proved to have positive effects on cities, moreover, many of them have reached a performance peak and require improvements to attract/retain users and compete against emerging soft mobility alternatives. Whilst there are broad studies evaluating BSS demand and design, less attention has been paid to user satisfaction and the complexities underlying the relationships between the system attributes importance. This study proposes a novel combination of two methodologies for satisfaction assessment that allows decision-makers to identify the most influential system attributes on user satisfaction. The combined methods are the direct, explicit, Importance Performance Analysis (IPA), and the nonlinear, implicit Three-Factor Theory (3FT), which combined generate a three-dimensional scheme that facilitates the comprehension of the results. The combination was applied to a dataset of Madrid´s BSS to identify the attributes that perform poorly, and then assess their implicit influence on satisfaction to establish improvement priorities. The results suggest that station occupancy and bicycle availability and totem functioning are key service attributes to enhance satisfaction. Also, the combination of the two methodologies makes it possible to differentiate that maintenance is a priority for subscribers and network extension for occasional users. The pedelec system is a key attribute that might help overcome Madrid´s unfavorable cycling environment. This user-centric evaluation is a valuable tool that guides precise measure implementation, service operation, future design, and planning oriented to increase ridership.
Employment protection legislation and household formation: evidence from Italy
Authors: Cerruti Gianluca , Mazzarella Gianluca , Migliavacca Mauro 
Published: September 2022

AbstractWhile many studies have investigated the determinants of household formation and fertility in young adults, only a few have focused on the impact of employment protection legislation (EPL) on these outcomes. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, no one has investigated how changes in EPL may alter the intentions of young individuals even before their realization. In this paper, we study the differential impact of the reduction in EPL associated with Italy’s 2015 Jobs Act on the household formation and fertility intentions of young Italians in various districts. We use data from a survey conducted on a sample of young people between the ages of 18-34 for the years 2012, 2015, 2016, and 2017. The identification strategy exploits local variation in the level of efficiency of the courts, measured in terms of the average duration of proceedings, to assess the existence of within-country and across-district heterogeneity in the reform’s impact. Indeed, firing costs used to be relatively greater in districts characterized by a longer duration of labor trials. The Jobs Act, by reducing firing costs and modifying the autonomy of judges, should have had a larger impact in districts with less efficient courts. According to our results, the reform seems to have indirectly leveled out the fertility and household formation intentions of young Italians living in districts with more and less efficient courts. Heterogeneities indicate that the results are mainly driven by older individuals and graduates who live in less disadvantaged areas.
There are no epistemic norms of inquiry
Authors: Thorstad David 
Published: September 2022

AbstractEpistemic nihilism for inquiry is the claim that there are no epistemic norms of inquiry. Epistemic nihilism was once the received stance towards inquiry, and I argue that it should be taken seriously again. My argument is that the same considerations which led us away from epistemic nihilism in the case of belief not only cannot refute epistemic nihilism for inquiry, but in fact may well support it. These include the argument from non-existence that there are no non-epistemic reasons for belief; the linguistic argument that epistemic norms of belief are needed to capture the semantics of ordinary epistemic talk; and the argument from theoretical roles that epistemic norms are needed to play key theoretical roles for rational belief. I conclude by sketching an alternative Gibbardian picture on which norms of inquiry are all-things-considered norms governing action.
Generic Identifiability of the DINA Model and Blessing of Latent Dependence
Authors: Gu Yuqi 
Published: September 2022

Cognitive diagnostic models are a powerful family of fine-grained discrete latent variable models in psychometrics. Within this family, the DINA model is a fundamental and parsimonious one that has received significant attention. Similar to other complex latent variable models, identifiability is an important issue for CDMs, including the DINA model. Gu and Xu (Psychometrika 84(2):468–483, 2019) established the necessary and sufficient conditions for strict identifiability of the DINA model. Despite being the strongest possible notion of identifiability, strict identifiability may impose overly stringent requirements on designing the cognitive diagnostic tests. This work studies a slightly weaker yet very useful notion, generic identifiability, which means parameters are identifiable almost everywhere in the parameter space, excluding only a negligible subset of measure zero. We propose transparent generic identifiability conditions for the DINA model, relaxing existing conditions in nontrivial ways. Under generic identifiability, we also explicitly characterize the forms of the measure-zero sets where identifiability breaks down. In addition, we reveal an interesting blessing-of-latent-dependence phenomenon under DINA—that is, dependence between the latent attributes can restore identifiability under some otherwise unidentifiable Q\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$${\mathbf {Q}}$$\end{document}-matrix designs. The blessing of latent dependence provides useful practical implications and reassurance for real-world designs of cognitive diagnostic assessments.
Understanding the drivers of woody plant diversity in urban parks in a snow climate city of China
Authors: Ma Zijun , Zhang Peng , Hu Nanlin , Wang Guodong , Dong Yulin , Guo Yujie , Wang Chengcong , Fu Yao , Ren Zhibin 
Published: September 2022

AbstractUrban parks are an important part of urban ecosystems and play an important role in biodiversity conservation. However, it is still unclear how park characteristics affect plant diversity which could hinder the conservation of urban biodiversity due to the ineffective design of urban parks. The diversity of woody plants in 33 parks of Changchun, China, was measured with plot measurements and linked with urban park characteristics (e.g., size and age of the park) to uncover the relationship between them. The results show that urban woody plant species were abundant, with 98 species belonging to 51 genera and 26 families in the snow climate city of Changchun. The variation in woody plant diversity was largely explained by internal patch characteristics (e.g., size, age, shape), and external factors surrounding the park (e.g., land use type and socioeconomic level) accounted for only 16.0% in our study. For internal patch characteristics, older urban parks with larger areas demonstrated a richer level of plant diversity and increased nonlinearly with increasing park area. The threshold size significantly affecting plant diversity variation was approximately 30 ha. Plant diversity had positive linear relationships with the ages of urban parks, supporting the legacy effect. In addition, woody plant diversity nonlinearly decreased with increasing park shape index, which suggested that the plant diversity could also be increased by optimizing the park shape. Regarding the external factors surrounding parks, the spatial distribution of woody plant diversity varied greatly from the urban center to the suburbs. House prices around the park had positive linear relationships with woody plant diversity in parks, supporting the luxury effect. However, building and road proportions, and green space proportion had no relationship with plant diversity in parks. This study can provide a robust reference for enriching plant diversity in urban parks, thus improving the development of urban sustainable cities.
‘Acute Heart Failure’: Should We Abandon the Term Altogether?
Authors: Straw Sam , Napp Andreas , Witte Klaus K. 
Published: September 2022

AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe distinction between ‘acute’ and ‘chronic’ heart failure persists. Our review aims to explore whether reclassifying heart failure decompensation more accurately as an event within the natural history of chronic heart failure has the potential to improve outcomes.Recent FindingsAlthough hospitalisation for worsening heart failure confers a poor prognosis, much of this reflects chronic disease severity. Most patients survive hospitalisation with most deaths occurring in the post-discharge ‘vulnerable phase’. Current evidence supports four classes of medications proven to reduce cardiovascular mortality for those who have heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction, with recent trials suggesting worsening heart failure events are opportunities to optimise these therapies.SummaryAbandoning the term ‘acute heart failure’ has the potential to give greater priority to initiating proven pharmacological and device therapies during decompensation episodes, in order to improve outcomes for those who are at the greatest risk.
Bloodlettings in Hemochromatosis Result in Increased Blood Lead (Pb) Concentrations
Authors: Yazdani Mazyar , Distante Sonia , Mørkrid Lars , Ulvik Rune J. , Bolann Bjørn J. 
Published: September 2022

AbstractHemochromatosis is a hereditary disorder, most often associated with mutations of the HFE (High FErrum) gene. If left untreated, it can result in severe parenchymal iron accumulation. Bloodletting is the mainstay treatment. We have previously shown that treatment of hemochromatosis by repeated bloodlettings may induce changes in the serum levels of several trace elements. The aim of this work was to evaluate if whole blood concentrations of the environmental pollutants lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and cadmium (Cd) could be affected by bloodlettings. We recruited 28 patients and 21 healthy individuals (control group). Whole blood and urine levels of Pb, Hg, and Cd were measured before the start and after the completion of treatment using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, together with serum iron and liver function tests. Concentrations of blood Pb, but not Hg or Cd, were significantly increased after treatment. The increase in Pb was higher in C282Y homozygous patients than in the other patients, and it was positively correlated with the serum concentration of alkaline phosphatase. Bloodlettings in hemochromatosis result in an increase in the blood concentration of Pb. Augmented absorption due to iron loss or Pb mobilization from bone may contribute to the higher blood Pb level.
Public health ethics: critiques of the “new normal”
Authors: Jamrozik Euzebiusz 
Published: September 2022

AbstractThe global response to the recent coronavirus pandemic has revealed an ethical crisis in public health. This article analyses key pandemic public health policies in light of widely accepted ethical principles: the need for evidence, the least restrictive/harmful alternative, proportionality, equity, reciprocity, due legal process, and transparency. Many policies would be considered unacceptable according to pre-pandemic norms of public health ethics. There are thus significant opportunities to develop more ethical responses to future pandemics. This paper serves as the introduction to this Special Issue of Monash Bioethics Review and provides background for the other articles in this collection.
Allergens from house dust and storage mites
Authors: Vrtala Susanne 
Published: September 2022

SummaryHouse dust mites are among the most important allergy triggers worldwide. While mites of the genus Dermatophagoides occur almost worldwide, the tropical mite Blomia tropicalis and storage mites are only of importance for certain areas or groups of people. The most important allergens of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus are Der p 1, Der p 2, and Der p 23 with immunoglobulin E (IgE)-binding frequencies of more than 70% and high allergenic activity. Also of importance are Der p 5, Der p 7, and Der p 21, which have IgE-binding frequencies of about 30%. According to the current state of knowledge, these six allergens are the allergens of clinical relevance which are also required for diagnosis and immunotherapy with individual components.
Activity-driven network modeling and control of the spread of two concurrent epidemic strains
Authors: Burbano Lombana Daniel Alberto , Zino Lorenzo , Butail Sachit , Caroppo Emanuele , Jiang Zhong-Ping , Rizzo Alessandro , Porfiri Maurizio 
Published: September 2022

AbstractThe emergency generated by the current COVID-19 pandemic has claimed millions of lives worldwide. There have been multiple waves across the globe that emerged as a result of new variants, due to arising from unavoidable mutations. The existing network toolbox to study epidemic spreading cannot be readily adapted to the study of multiple, coexisting strains. In this context, particularly lacking are models that could elucidate re-infection with the same strain or a different strain—phenomena that we are seeing experiencing more and more with COVID-19. Here, we establish a novel mathematical model to study the simultaneous spreading of two strains over a class of temporal networks. We build on the classical susceptible–exposed–infectious–removed model, by incorporating additional states that account for infections and re-infections with multiple strains. The temporal network is based on the activity-driven network paradigm, which has emerged as a model of choice to study dynamic processes that unfold at a time scale comparable to the network evolution. We draw analytical insight from the dynamics of the stochastic network systems through a mean-field approach, which allows for characterizing the onset of different behavioral phenotypes (non-epidemic, epidemic, and endemic). To demonstrate the practical use of the model, we examine an intermittent stay-at-home containment strategy, in which a fraction of the population is randomly required to isolate for a fixed period of time.
Protection forestall: Offshore firms against tariffs in their own industry
Authors: Lee Jieun , Osgood Iain 
Published: September 2022

AbstractFirms that offshore final production should oppose trade barriers “protecting” their own industry. This pits them against onshore firms, especially when comparative disadvantage is most pronounced, and so fundamentally alters trade policy coalitions. The US-China trade war's exclusion process, where US firms could request that tariffs not be applied to a product, provides a golden opportunity to test this contention. We show that coverage by a tariff in the trade war and firm characteristics associated with offshoring—size, multinationality, and heavy imports from China—interacted to generate firm requests for exclusion from the trade war's tariffs. This finding is robust to input-sourcing and fears of export retaliation as alternative explanations, and across multiple measures of firm size, tariff coverage, and exclusion requests. We therefore test a key piece of the firm-centered model of trade politics and show its value in interpreting the US-China trade war.