bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Improving Abundance Estimates of Spring–Summer Snake River Chinook Salmon for Fisheries Management
Authors: Coykendall D. Katharine , Delomas Thomas A. , Belnap Matthew , Campbell Matthew R.
Published: August 2022

The Columbia River basin is home to a run of spring–summer Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha that returns to the Snake River drainage of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington in the Pacific Northwest. Historically, the run was one of the more productive throughout the Columbia River basin. However, Snake River spring–summer Chinook Salmon have experienced declines in abundance due to overfishing, habitat degradation, and dams. Several stocks are listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and are supported by mitigation hatcheries funded by Idaho Power Company, the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan, and the Bonneville Power Administration. To maximize tribal and state harvest of returning hatchery adults, minimize impacts on wild fish, and ensure that enough hatchery fish return to meet broodstock needs, careful fisheries management is required. Since 2008, managers have used hatchery adults, PIT-tagged as juveniles and detected at Lower Granite Dam, to generate adult abundance estimates. In season, these estimates inform state and tribal harvest shares and ensure that broodstock needs are met. Postseason, they provide smolt-to-adult survival and return rates. Since 2012, parentage-based tagging (PBT) has provided an alternative method to estimate stock- and age-specific returns at Lower Granite Dam, since returning hatchery adults sampled at Lower Granite Dam can be assigned to their parents. We compared stock-specific abundance estimates between PIT- and PBT-derived methodologies for return years 2016–2019. Across all years, PIT tag estimates accounted for 65% of the PBT-based estimates at Lower Granite Dam across all age-groups and release sites combined. This underrepresentation across all groups equated to 49,833 fish that were not accounted for in PIT tag abundance estimates. It is clear that PBT-based estimates should aide in-season harvest management and postseason run reconstruction to avoid the known bias of estimates from PIT tags, especially during years of low returns when increased accuracy is critical.
Evaluation of a computer‐assisted letter sound tutoring program: An application to preschool English language learners
Authors: Long Stephanie , Volpe Robert J. , Briesch Amy M.
Published: August 2022

The importance of letter sound knowledge (LSK) as a precursor to later literacy skills has been well‐documented. Since English language learners (ELLs), or students who first acquired a language other than English, continue to underperform in reading compared to their English‐speaking peers, they are particularly at‐risk for reading and academic difficulties. The current study examines the utility and acceptability of teaching letter sounds to four ELL preschoolers through a software‐based incremental rehearsal tool (Tutoring Buddy). All students demonstrated increases in LSK, with large effect sizes derived through percentage of all nonoverlapping data analyses. Increases were also noted in the students' generalization of letter sounds to measures of letter sound fluency and nonsense word fluency, signified by small to large effect sizes. Large effect sizes generated for real word fluency measures indicated that all students were able to apply LSK to decoding real, consonant‐vowel‐consonant words. All students rated Tutoring Buddy as helpful for their letter sound learning, and varied in how enjoyable they found the intervention to be. Overall, the results support the use of Tutoring Buddy as an effective and acceptable method for teaching letter sounds to young ELLs. Implications for school‐based professionals working with ELL and future directions for research are discussed.
Relationships between roots, the stay‐green phenotype, and agronomic performance in barley and wheat grown in semi‐arid conditions
Authors: Williams Jessica L. , Sherman Jamie D. , Lamb Peggy , Cook Jason , Lachowiec Jennifer A. , Bourgault Maryse
Published: August 2022

Stay‐green is a phenotype that crop breeders could use to improve drought adaptation. It increases the duration of grain fill in several species including barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), maintaining yield in semi‐arid conditions. Evidence from controlled environment experiments suggests a connection between stay‐green and root systems. These belowground structures are understudied and thus represent opportunity for crop improvement if relationships to agronomics can be understood. Minirhizotrons facilitate study of these relationships by allowing repeated nondestructive root measurements in field conditions. However, this is time‐consuming, and proxies would be useful for increasing throughput capacity of root research. Here we present results from field trials with minirhizotrons in a semi‐arid environment, as well as greenhouse seedling assays conducted on stay‐green and non‐stay‐green barley and wheat lines. In barley, stay‐green and greater yield were primarily associated with greater deep root length and delayed root senescence, whereas in wheat, yield was most strongly correlated with total root length, and root system differences for stay‐green were not as apparent. We speculate that the physiology of stay‐green is different between these two species, and that barley may use a more efficient root system to withstand drought whereas wheat relies on a larger one. Several seedling traits related consistently to field root traits, but correlation directions were often opposite between barley and wheat. The connections between traits presented here could be useful for breeders seeking to improve crop adaptation to drought, but more genotypes and environments will need to be tested.
Exploring the Defects and Vacancies with Photoluminescence and XANES Studies of Gd3+‐Substituted ZnO Nanoparticles
Authors: Sahu Jyoti , Kumar Sudhish , Vats Vikram Shri , Alvi Parvez Ahmed , Dalela Bhawana , Kumar Shalendra , Phase Devdutt M. , Gupta Mukul , Dalela Saurabh
Published: August 2022

Undoped ZnO and Zn1−xGdxO nanoparticles are made using a sono‐chemical co‐precipitation approach. X‐ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy investigations verified the formation of a wurtzite structure with spherical geometry. All the samples are found to be nanocrystalline by transmission electron microscopy, with crystallite diameters ranging from 14 to 22 nm. The optical constants are calculated via diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The Urbach energy and photoluminescence spectrum both showed that all doped nanoparticle samples contained defects and disorder due to vacancies. The band structure finding suggest that the forbidden gap of ZnO may change due to the conduction band shift, Burstein‐Moss shift, and shrinkage effect. The near band emission in the ultraviolet region and deep level emission of the photoluminescence spectrum are both strong and decreased with increasing Gd3+ concentration. Studies using X‐ray absorption near edge spectroscopy revealed that the host nano‐lattice Zn sites are substituted with Gd3+ cations to preserve the symmetry with minor distortion. Investigations into charge transfer through the oxygen bands (Gd‐O‐Zn) are made using O K‐edge spectra. The defect emission bands identified through Gd doping indicated that these emissions may be changed for ZnO samples, which could be advantageous for applications in phosphors and light‐emitting devices.
A Liquid Stratification Model to Predict Failure in Thermally Damaged EBW Detonators
Authors: Hobbs Michael L. , Coronel Stephanie A.
Published: August 2022

In previous work, commercially available downward facing exploding bridgewire detonators (EBWs) were exposed to elevated temperatures. These detonators were then initiated using a firing set which discharged a high amplitude short duration electrical pulse into a thin gold bridgewire. Responses of the detonators were measured using photonic doppler velocimetry (PDV) and high‐speed photography. A time delay of 2 μs between EBW initiation and first movement of an output flyer separated operable detonators from inoperable detonators or duds. In the current work, we propose a simple method to determine detonator operability from the calculated state of the detonator at the time the firing set is initiated. The failure criterion is based on the gap distance between the exploding bridgewire (EBW) and the adjacent initiating explosive within the detonator which is low‐density pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) that melts between 413–415 K (140–142 °C). The gap forms as PETN melts and flows to the bottom of the input pellet. Melting of PETN is modeled thermodynamically as an energy sink using a normal distribution spread over a temperature range between the onset temperature of 413 K and the ending temperature of 415 K. The extent of the melt is determined from the average temperature of the PETN. The PETN liquid is assumed to occupy the interstitial gas volume in the lower part of the input pellet. The vacated volume from the relocated liquid forms the gap between the EBW and the PETN. The remaining sandwiched layer consists of solid PETN particles and gas filling interstitial volume. We predict that a threshold gap between 17–27 μm separates properly functioning detonators from duds.
Ameliorative effect of dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) peptides on benzo(a)pyrene‐induced oxidative stress and inflammation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells
Authors: Cai Zhixiang , Yan Tao , Li Siwen , Zhang Jianyi , Wang Xianyue , Li Li , Wang Huailing , Chen Hanwei , Tang Yukuan
Published: August 2022

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is widely consumed as a health food and a traditional medicine. However, the protective effect of dandelion bio‐active peptides (DPs) against polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon‐induced blood vessel inflammation and oxidative damage is not well documented. In the current study, four novel DPs were isolated using an activity tracking method. The protective activity of the DPs against benzo(a)pyrene (Bap)‐induced human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) damage was explored. The results indicated that DP‐2 [cycle‐(Thr‐His‐Ala‐Trp)] effectively inhibited Bap‐induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) overproduction and reinforced antioxidant enzyme activity while inhibiting the production of inflammatory factors in HUVECs. Moreover, DP‐2 increased NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1, heme oxygenase‐1, and nuclear factor E2‐releated factor 2 expression levels by activating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. In addition, DP‐2 attenuated Bap‐induced HUVEC apoptosis via the Bcl‐2/Bax/cytochrome c apoptotic pathway. These results suggest that DP‐2 is a promising compound for protecting HUVECs from Bap‐induced inflammatory and oxidative damage.
A contemporary estimate for the abundance of juvenile American Eel Anguilla rostrata attempting to migrate past a barrier in the Ottawa River
Authors: Woods Steven M. , Bower Shannon D. , Lapointe Nicolas W. R.
Published: August 2022

American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) travels from the Sargasso Sea to fresh waters of eastern North America and back in a lifetime, and once provided one of the most abundant eel fisheries in the world. Many American Eel populations are now at risk worldwide. Dams act as barriers to the upstream migration of juvenile American Eels, which can be partially mitigated by installing eel ladders. To inform mitigation decisions and provide baseline data, the number of eels approaching barriers should be estimated; however, estimation is difficult for this now rare and cryptic species, especially in large rivers. In St. Lawrence and Ottawa River system, American Eels are among the largest and most fecund of the species, and local populations in the Ottawa River are almost entirely composed of large, female eels. American Eel in this area has declined to less than 1% of historic abundance, yet no local population estimates are available to inform recovery strategies and management actions. We, therefore, evaluated data from an unpublished study to estimate the abundance of American Eel attempting to migrate upstream past a barrier. American Eels (n = 339) were captured at the Carillon Generating Station over 36 days (July 12, 2010–August 17, 2010). Results were fit to the POPAN Jolly‐Seber model in program MARK. Future studies could be improved by sampling throughout the migration season and deploying multiple traps spanning downstream features. While confidence intervals in the best‐fitting model were wide, the estimate nonetheless provides a baseline to inform future work and management.
Widespread drought‐induced leaf shedding and legacy effects on productivity in European deciduous forests
Authors: Descals Adrià , Verger Aleixandre , Yin Gaofei , Filella Iolanda , Peñuelas Josep
Published: August 2022

Heatwaves and droughts are becoming more common and severe in Europe, causing changes in tree phenology, disrupting the sequestration of carbon and causing tree mortality on a continental scale. The responses of leaf shedding to heatwaves and droughts remain uncertain, although temperate deciduous forests may shed their leaves if exposed to extreme heat and water stress. Little information, however, is available about the extent and recurrence of early leaf shedding induced by drought, likely because it occurs in small forest patches and can be discriminated only during a few weeks. We used highly spatiotemporal Sentinel‐2 data as evidence of widespread drought‐induced early leaf shedding in Europe during 2017–2021. We estimated the timing of leaf shedding from NDVI time series and a threshold‐based method that extracts the end of the growing season. Then, we evaluated the heatwave and drought impacts at the end of season by analysing the z‐score of Landsat‐7 and ‐8 land surface temperature and the ERA5‐Land air temperature and aridity index. The 10‐m resolution Sentinel‐2 data identified early leaf shedding not detected by the low‐resolution (250 m) MODIS sensor. Early leaf shedding was observed across Europe during the entire study period and its occurrence was linked to preceding anomalously high temperatures and arid conditions. Our results also indicated that mean summer NDVI decreased significantly in the years following early leaf shedding, suggesting a legacy decline in vegetation productivity. Our study demonstrates that decametric satellite data can be used to monitor the responses of forests to extreme climate events at the canopy level and indicates that early leaf shedding associated with heatwaves and droughts is more widespread and frequent across the continent than previously thought.
Emulsion‐templated synthesis of 3D evaporators for efficient solar steam generation
Authors: Chen Jinxing , Lee Michael , Qiu Yinghua , Wu Chaolumen , Li Bo , Yin Yadong
Published: August 2022

Interfacial solar steam generation holds great promise in water desalination thanks to its high energy efficiency by heating only the top layer of water for evaporation. While three‐dimensional (3D) evaporators have been proven to increase the evaporation rate by harnessing the energy from the surroundings, further development is still required in terms of convenient fabrication with potential scalability. Herein, we propose to overcome this challenge by using a high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) to template the synthesis of 3D hierarchically porous evaporators. The HIPE‐templated synthesis combined with a molding process can efficiently fabricate the desired 3D shape without wasting any materials and generate a hierarchically porous internal structure for continuous water supply. Engineering the overall shape and internal pores produces a 3D evaporator that can suppress conduction heat loss and efficiently collect thermal energy from its surroundings, boosting the evaporation rate to 2.82 kg/(m2 h) under 1‐sun illumination, which is significantly higher than conventional 2D evaporators. HIPE‐templating synthesis is an easy but effective way to produce various porous polymers, promising for a wide range of applications where easy production, excellent shape control, and potential scalability are critical.
Effect of Electromagnetic Brake on Transient Asymmetric Flow, Solidification, and Inclusion Transport in a Slab Continuous Casting
Authors: Lu Haibiao , Zhong Yunbo , Ren Weili , Ren Zhongming , Lei Zuosheng
Published: August 2022

A large eddy simulation model is developed to investigate the transient fluid flow, solidification, and inclusion transport in a slab continuous casting mold under different electromagnetic brake (EMBr) magnetic flux densities. The accuracy of the mathematical model is demonstrated by comparing the magnetic flux density and flow field to measured data. The results show that the flow field is transiently asymmetric and fluctuant without EMBr; the variation of the solidified shell and the distribution of captured inclusion are closely related to the flow pattern. EMBr can significantly alter the flow pattern inside the mold, improve the transient asymmetry of the flow field, and reduce the percentage of captured inclusions. When the upper magnetic field (B
U) is not applied, the flow velocity at the upper region of the mold increases, which can promote inclusion removal from the top surface, whereas the solidified shell fluctuates visibly. When the magnitude of B
U is increased, the flow near the meniscus is suppressed, the uniformity of solidified shell thickness is improved, and the rate of captured inclusions inside the solidified shell decreases, while the large B
U would causes a stagnant flow field near the meniscus.
Enhancing structural design with a parametric FEM toolbox
Authors: Apellániz Diego , Vierlinger Robert
Published: August 2022

The Parametric FEM Toolbox is a plug‐in for the visual programming environment Grasshopper which implements the RF‐COM API of the Dlubal RFEM finite element software to establish a connection between these two platforms. Both the transfer of data from Grasshopper into RFEM and back from RFEM into Grasshopper are supported. Thus, new possibilities are enabled beyond the options of the conventional graphical user interface (GUI) of RFEM: the use of the Rhino 3D modelling tools to create NURBS curves and surfaces; the possibility of the parametric modification of an existing FE model or part of it; the export and processing of FE model data, which sometimes is not even available through the program GUI, e.g. 3D shapes of beam elements; etc. With these functionalities, the object‐oriented structure and compact GUI, this tool can easily be adapted to numerous workflows and optimization processes. This paper explores which possibilities exist for implementing a commercial FEM software in a parametric design platform. Existing approaches are reviewed, the development of the Parametric FEM Toolbox is described and some of the possible workflows with this new tool are explored through a collection of real‐world case studies.
Systems integration implications of component reuse
Authors: Grumbach Joshua Logan , Thomas Lawrence Dale
Published: August 2022

Component and subsystem reuse has been an important tool in controlling the cost and schedule requirements of developing new aerospace systems. Although the mere utilization of component reuse cannot be shown to influence system integration success significantly, previous research has shown that interactions between reuse and other integration principles do significantly influence integration success. The research described in this paper leverages historical system data to characterize these interactions and assess the influence of these interactions on integration success. This research identifies four characterizations of interactions between reuse and the other principles that significantly influence system integration success when component reuse is included in the system design.
Rare metabolic disease mimicking COL4A1/COL4A2 fetal brain phenotype
Authors: Coste T. , Aloui C. , Petit F. , Moutton S. , Devisme L. , Wells C. F. , Leboucq N. , Verpillat P. , Yvert M. , Rivier F. , Tournier‐Lasserve E.
Published: August 2022

Pathogenic variants of collagen type IV alpha 1 and 2 (COL4A1/COL4A2) genes cause various phenotypic anomalies, including intracerebral hemorrhage and a wide spectrum of developmental anomalies. Only 20% of fetuses referred for COL4A1/COL4A2 molecular screening (fetuses with a suspected intracerebral hemorrhage) carry a pathogenic variant in these genes, raising questions regarding the causative anomaly in the remaining 80% of these fetuses. We examined, following termination of pregnancy or in‐utero fetal death, a series of 113 unrelated fetuses referred for COL4A1/COL4A2 molecular screening, in which targeted sequencing was negative. Using exome sequencing data and a gene‐based collapsing test, we searched for enrichment of rare qualifying variants in our fetal cohort in comparison to the Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD) control cohort (n = 71 702). Qualifying variants in pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 subunit alpha 1 (PDHA1) were overrepresented in our cohort, reaching genome‐wide significance (P = 2.11 × 10–7). Heterozygous PDHA1 loss‐of‐function variants were identified in three female fetuses. Among these three cases, we observed microcephaly, ventriculomegaly, germinolytic pseudocysts, agenesis/dysgenesis of the corpus callosum and white‐matter anomalies that initially suggested cerebral hypoxic‐ischemic and hemorrhagic lesions. However, a careful a‐posteriori reanalysis of imaging and postmortem data showed that the observed lesions were also consistent with those observed in fetuses carrying PDHA1 pathogenic variants, strongly suggesting that these two phenotypes may overlap. Exome sequencing should therefore be performed in fetuses referred for COL4A1/COL4A2 molecular screening which are screen‐negative, with particular attention paid to the PDHA1 gene. © 2022 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Overview of the Regional Practices and Challenges on Environmental Protection in Four Industries
Authors: Pavlova Margarita
Published: August 2022

The greening of all industries in order to help reduce their ecological footprint is an important factor in transitioning to an environmentally sustainable world and meeting many SDG targets. Governments in the Asia and the Pacific region (APR) have recognised these challenges and have taken a range of measures (including the introduction of laws and regulations) to work towards green economic restructuring.
Case Study: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People’s Republic of China. Realities of MSME: What Green Skills Are Included in the RVAs?
Authors: Pavlova Margarita
Published: August 2022

This chapter presents and analyses the results of a Hong Kong SAR, PRC, study. Sixteen micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) were interviewed in Hong Kong SAR, PRC: four in automotive, four in waste management and eight in the catering sectors. Data collection on PVC manufacturing was not feasible due to the inactivity of that industry in Hong Kong SAR, PRC. The automotive and waste management industries are regulated by the government, so all results were obtained from the formal sector. Regarding the catering industry, both formal and informal companies were interviewed and visited for observations. Results revealed that some green practices have been applied by MSME, and employers stated that the successful implementation of environmentally friendly operations greatly depends on the attitudes and behaviour of staff, in many cases even more than on particular skills. Across three sectors the majority of owner/managers had not heard about recognition, validation and accreditation (RVA) mechanism. They believed that adding RVA processes could be somewhat unhelpful, particularly for the automotive industry, as an apprenticeship scheme was in place and was used to certify obtained skills. MSME believe that the inclusion of green skills in RVA might negatively affect the hiring processes in the industry. The findings demonstrate that inclusion of green skills in RVA mechanism in Hong Kong SAR, PRC, requires a strong political push from the government. An awareness campaign for industries and the private sector is vital to clarify the benefits of RVA and greening. Key performance indicators, clearly defined targets and available support for MSME are essential. Education has a clear role to play in developing green mind-sets.
Global Propagator for the Massless Dirac Operator and Spectral Asymptotics
Authors: Capoferri Matteo , Vassiliev Dmitri
Published: August 2022

We construct the propagator of the massless Dirac operatorWon a closed Riemannian 3-manifold as the sum of two invariantly defined oscillatory integrals, global in space and in time, with distinguished complex-valued phase functions. The two oscillatory integrals—the positive and the negative propagators—correspond to positive and negative eigenvalues ofW, respectively. This enables us to provide a global invariant definition of the full symbols of the propagators (scalar matrix-functions on the cotangent bundle), a closed formula for the principal symbols and an algorithm for the explicit calculation of all their homogeneous components. Furthermore, we obtain small time expansions for principal and subprincipal symbols of the propagators in terms of geometric invariants. Lastly, we use our results to compute the third local Weyl coefficients in the asymptotic expansion of the eigenvalue counting functions ofW.
The Polyopticon: a diagram for urban artificial intelligences
Authors: Sherman Stephanie
Published: August 2022

Smart city discourses often invoke the Panopticon, a disciplinary architecture designed by Jeremy Bentham and popularly theorized by Michel Foucault, as a model for understanding the social impact of AI technologies. This framing focuses attention almost exclusively on the negative ramifications of Urban AI, correlating ubiquitous surveillance, centralization, and data consolidation with AI development, and positioning technologies themselves as the driving factor shaping privacy, sociality, equity, access, and autonomy in the city. This paper describes an alternative diagram for Urban AI—the Polyopticon: a distributed, polyvalent, multi-modal network of synthetic intelligences. It posits that fourth industrial revolution technologies change the political, social, and psychodynamic relationships of sentience and witness in the city, shifting the effects of watching and watched beyond the exclusive domain of top-down surveillance and discipline. The Polyopticon poses a more expansive and ambivalent spectrum of possibilities for Urban AI scenarios, one that undermines the totalizing, singular, and cerebral notion of intelligence that so often characterizes Urban AI and smart city critiques.
Adolescent self-administration of the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist JWH-018 induces neurobiological and behavioral alterations in adult male mice
Authors: Margiani Giulia , Castelli Maria Paola , Pintori Nicholas , Frau Roberto , Ennas Maria Grazia , Pagano Zottola Antonio C. , Orrù Valeria , Serra Valentina , Fiorillo Edoardo , Fadda Paola , Marsicano Giovanni , De Luca Maria Antonietta
Published: August 2022

Rationale

The use of synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) is growing among adolescents, posing major medical and psychiatric risks. JWH-018 represents the reference compound of SCRA-containing products.

Objectives

This study was performed to evaluate the enduring consequences of adolescent voluntary consumption of JWH-018.

Methods

The reinforcing properties of JWH-018 were characterized in male CD1 adolescent mice by intravenous self-administration (IVSA). Afterwards, behavioral, neurochemical, and molecular evaluations were performed at adulthood.

Results

Adolescent mice acquired operant behavior (lever pressing, Fixed Ratio 1–3; 7.5 µg/kg/inf); this behavior was specifically directed at obtaining JWH-018 since it increased under Progressive Ratio schedule of reinforcement, and was absent in vehicle mice. JWH-018 IVSA was reduced by pretreatment of the CB1-antagonist/inverse agonist AM251. Adolescent exposure to JWH-018 by IVSA increased, at adulthood, both nestlet shredding and marble burying phenotypes, suggesting long-lasting repetitive/compulsive-like behavioral effects. JWH-018 did not affect risk proclivity in the wire-beam bridge task. In adult brains, there was an increase of ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 (IBA-1) positive cells in the caudate-putamen (CPu) and nucleus accumbens (NAc), along with a decrease of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunoreactivity in the CPu. These glial alterations in adult brains were coupled with an increase of the chemokine RANTES and a decrease of the cytokines IL2 and IL13 in the cortex, and an increase of the chemokine MPC1 in the striatum.

Conclusions

This study suggests for the first time that male mice self-administer the prototypical SCRA JWH-018 during adolescence. The adolescent voluntary consumption of JWH-018 leads to long-lasting behavioral and neurochemical aberrations along with glia-mediated inflammatory responses in adult brains.
Correction to: Fuzzy forward dynamics of distinct gait phases with a prosthetic foot
Authors: Scheiterer Eduard S. , Leyendecker Sigrid
Published: August 2022

A Correction to this paper has been published: 10.1007/s00466-022-02167-w
The direct immersion solid phase microextraction coupled with the LC–MS method for ex vivo determination of selected date-rape drugs in the human blood samples
Authors: Stelmaszczyk Paweł , Iwan Mateusz , Wietecha-Posłuszny Renata
Published: August 2022

Nowadays, solid phase microextraction is developing rapidly. The use of this extraction technique allowed for the reduction of toxic solvents usage, easy automatization, and integration with other techniques. In this study, the use of DI-SPME/LC–MS to determine selected date-rape drugs (benzodiazepines, ketamine, and cocaine) is presented. The determined values of validation parameters: limits of detection (LOD = 0.6–4.9 ng cm−3), and quantification (LOQ = 25 or 50 ng cm−3), intra-day and inter-day precision (CV = 0.87–10.7% and 4.96–16.1%, respectively), recovery (RE = 94.6–106.7%) and matrix effect (81.7–116.5%) indicated that the tested method could be used to determine the concentration of date-rape drugs in blood samples. The evaluation of the method according to the principles of White Analytical Chemistry showed that the DI-SPME/LC–MS method was characterized by satisfactory analytical quality, greenness, and economical use. The use of this method met the requirements of Green Chemistry. The significant advantages of this method were the quick analytical procedure, partial automation of the extraction stages, high sensitivity, lower sample, and reagent consumption.

Graphical abstract
Using cultural historical activity theory to reflect on the sociocultural complexities in OSCE examiners’ judgements
Authors: Wong Wai Yee Amy , Thistlethwaite Jill , Moni Karen , Roberts Chris
Published: August 2022

Examiners’ judgements play a critical role in competency-based assessments such as objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs). The standardised nature of OSCEs and their alignment with regulatory accountability assure their wide use as high-stakes assessment in medical education. Research into examiner behaviours has predominantly explored the desirable psychometric characteristics of OSCEs, or investigated examiners’ judgements from a cognitive rather than a sociocultural perspective. This study applies cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) to address this gap in exploring examiners’ judgements in a high-stakes OSCE. Based on the idea that OSCE examiners’ judgements are socially constructed and mediated by their clinical roles, the objective was to explore the sociocultural factors that influenced examiners’ judgements of student competence and use the findings to inform examiner training to enhance assessment practice. Seventeen semi-structured interviews were conducted with examiners who assessed medical student competence in progressing to the next stage of training in a large-scale OSCE at one Australian university. The initial thematic analysis provided a basis for applying CHAT iteratively to explore the sociocultural factors and, specifically, the contradictions created by interactions between different elements such as examiners and rules, thus highlighting the factors influencing examiners’ judgements. The findings indicated four key factors that influenced examiners’ judgements: examiners’ contrasting beliefs about the purpose of the OSCE; their varying perceptions of the marking criteria; divergent expectations of student competence; and idiosyncratic judgement practices. These factors were interrelated with the activity systems of the medical school’s assessment practices and the examiners’ clinical work contexts. Contradictions were identified through the guiding principles of multi-voicedness and historicity. The exploration of the sociocultural factors that may influence the consistency of examiners’ judgements was facilitated by applying CHAT as an analytical framework. Reflecting upon these factors at organisational and system levels generated insights for creating fit-for-purpose examiner training to enhance assessment practice.
Making space to learn about teaching: expanding teaching horizons through postgraduate education
Authors: Aitken Gillian , Fawns Tim , Warran Katey , Jones Derek
Published: August 2022

Clinicians develop as teachers via many activities, from on-the-job training to formal academic programmes. Yet, understanding how clinicians develop the sensibilities of an educator and an appreciation of the complexity of educational environments is challenging. Studies of teacher development have maintained a relatively narrow definition of educational practice. A more expansive view encompasses clinical teachers’ roles in relation to elements beyond learners or content, such as the cultures and other structures of healthcare institutions. In our online Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Education, space and structure are intentionally created for teachers to think and talk about education with colleagues in other disciplinary contexts. We interviewed 17 students about how their approaches to teaching had changed over a year of part-time study, using their teaching philosophies, written at the start of the programme, as points of contrast. We took an abductive approach to data analysis, drawing on the literature and, unavoidably, our own reflexive interpretations of our practice outside of the research context, such as conversations with students and colleagues; our experiences of teaching and our concurrent research and scholarship. Our themes of repertoire building, perspective shifting, embodied practice, and appreciation of context, describe the increasing complexity of individuals’ considerations of teaching. We use our analysis as the basis for a discussion of the blurring of boundaries between staff and students on such programmes as both groups are engaged in an ongoing continuum of development as all teachers, continue to be learners of educational practice. These insights can inform the ways in which postgraduate programmes can make space for clinical teachers to share and reflect on practices, perspectives and contexts.
Classifying Regions of High Model Error Within a Data-Driven RANS Closure: Application to Wind Turbine Wakes
Authors: Steiner Julia , Viré Axelle , Dwight Richard P.
Published: August 2022

Data-driven Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) turbulence closures are increasing seen as a viable alternative to general-purpose RANS closures, when LES reference data is available—also in wind-energy. Parsimonious closures with few, simple terms have advantages in terms of stability, interpret-ability, and execution speed. However experience suggests that closure model corrections need be made only in limited regions—e.g. in the near-wake of wind turbines and not in the majority of the flow. A parsimonious model therefore must find a middle ground between precise corrections in the wake, and zero corrections elsewhere. We attempt to resolve this impasse by introducing a classifier to identify regions needing correction, and only fit and apply our model correction there. We observe that such classifier-based models are significantly simpler (with fewer terms) than models without a classifier, and have similar accuracy, but are more prone to instability. We apply our framework to three flows consisting of multiple wind-turbines in neutral conditions with interacting wakes.
High Expression of circ_0001821 Promoted Colorectal Cancer Progression Through miR-600/ISOC1 Axis
Authors: Li Cheng , Gao Xudong , Zhao Yi , Chen Xin
Published: August 2022

It has been reported that circRNAs play an important regulatory role in the progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the molecular role of circ_0001821 in CRC development is unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the regulatory role and molecular mechanisms of circ_0001821 in CRC. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and western blot assays were used to detect the expression of circ_0001821, miR-600 and isochorismatase domain containing 1 (ISOC1) in CRC tissues as well as its cell lines. Colony formation assay and EDU assay were used to detect the proliferative capacity of cells. Transwell assay was used to assess cell migration and invasion ability. Flow cytometry was used to analyze cell apoptosis. ELISA was used to measure the glycolytic capacity of cells. Dual-luciferase reporter assay and RNA pull-down assay were used to analyze the relationships between circ_0001821, miR-600 and ISOC1. Animal experimentation was used to validate the functional study of circ_0001821 in vivo. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) of Ki67 staining analysis was conducted to assess tumor growth. Circ_0001821 and ISOC1 were significantly increased in CRC tissues and its cell lines, and miR-600 was significantly decreased in CRC tissues and its cell lines. Silencing circ_0001821 inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion and glycolytic capacity, while inducing apoptosis. And it could inhibit tumor growth in vivo. Circ_0001821 could act as a sponge for miR-600 to regulate CRC processes. ISOC1 was identified as a downstream regulator of miR-600, also miR-600 could regulate the expression of ISOC1. In addition, circ_0001821 could regulate ISOC1 expression changes through miR-600. Mechanistically, either miR-600 inhibitor or overexpression of ISOC1 could reverse the effects of knockdown of circ_0001821 on cell biological properties. Circ_0001821 regulated the developmental process of CRC through miR-600/ISOC1 axis.
On the use of generic types for smart contracts
Authors: Spoto Fausto , Migliorini Sara , Gambini Mauro , Benini Andrea
Published: August 2022

This paper shows that generic types (generics) are useful for writing more abstract and more general smart contracts, but this comes with some security risks, reporting a concrete security issue found while using generics for writing smart contracts that implement shared entities for the Hotmoka blockchain. That issue can be used to steal the remuneration of validator nodes. This paper proposes a patch based on appropriate code rewriting. Namely, smart contracts are pieces of code that are deployed and executed in the context of a blockchain infrastructure in order to automatically enforce some effects when particular events occur. The writing of smart contracts is a complex and critical activity that can benefit from the use of high-level features of programming languages, and generics is one of them. In many programming languages, such as Java, generics are implemented by erasure, i.e. replaced by their upper bound type during compilation into bytecode. This is safe at source level, since the compiler takes care of checking that types are correct, before erasure. However, the erased types of the generated bytecode are consequently weaker. In a permissionless blockchain, where every user can call the bytecode of smart contracts installed by other users, these weaker types pose a risk of attack.
Conditions for Children’s Language and Literacy Learning in Swedish Preschools: Exploring Quality Variations with ECERS-3
Authors: Nasiopoulou Panagiota , Mellgren Elisabeth , Sheridan Sonja , Williams Pia
Published: August 2022

This article aims to explore the conditions for children’s language and literacy learning in 153 Swedish preschools with children one to five years. The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS-3) is used to evaluate preschool quality, focusing on the subscale of Language and literacy activities. The study draws on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory to highlight the conditions for children’s language and literacy learning in preschool. Significant differences were found in the quality of the 153 preschools as a whole and the five subscales in ECERS-3, giving children unequal conditions for learning and development in the studied areas. Within the Language and literacy subscale, items related to children’s oral language development scored a higher average quality compared with written language-relateditems. Individualized teaching, Staff–child interaction, and Whole-group activities were moderately correlated with activities supporting language development. The results are discussed in terms of an ecological perspective on preschool quality in which intentional teaching needs to be directed at language and literacy learning in both individual, small, and whole-group interactions.
Connecting characterizations of equivalence of expressions: design research in Grade 5 by bridging graphical and symbolic representations
Authors: Tondorf Alexandra , Prediger Susanne
Published: August 2022

One typical challenge in algebra education is that many students justify the equivalence of expressions only by referring to transformation rules that they perceive as arbitrary without being able to justify these rules. A good algebraic understanding involves connecting the transformation rules to other characterizations of equivalence of expressions (e.g., description equivalence that both expressions describe the same situation or figure). In order to overcome this disconnection even before variables are introduced, a design research study was conducted in Grade 5 to design and investigate an early algebra learning environment to establish stronger connections between different mental models and representations of equivalence of expressions. The qualitative analysis of design experiments with 14 fifth graders revealed deep insights into complexities of connecting representations. It confirmed that many students first relate the representations in ways that are too superficial without establishing deep connections. Analyzing successful students’ processes helped to identify an additional characterization that can support students in bridging the connection between other characterizations, which we call restructuring equivalence. By including learning opportunities for restructuring equivalence, students can be supported to compare expressions in graphical and symbolic representation simultaneously and dynamically. The design research study disentangles the complex requirements for realizing the design principle of connecting multiple representations, which should be of relevance beyond the specific concept of equivalence and applicable to other mathematical topics.
Visual system plasticity is differently mediated by cone opsin expression and chromophore composition in closely related cichlid species
Authors: Wilwert Elodie , Etienne Rampal S. , van de Zande Louis , Maan Martine E.
Published: August 2022

Phenotypic plasticity allows organisms to rapidly adjust to environmental changes. Cichlid fish inhabit a wide range of light environments and show a large diversity in visual system properties, which makes them a good model system to address the role of phenotypic plasticity in visual adaptation. Cichlid retinal cone pigments consist of opsin proteins bound to Vitamin A1or A2-derived chromophores. Plasticity in expression has been shown for cichlidopsingenes, but less is known about the contribution ofcyp27c1,the enzyme that converts Vitamin A1into A2,. Here, we studied bothopsinandcyp27c1expression patterns for three closely related cichlid species from different visual habitats in Lake Victoria, across different light treatments. We found differences incyp27c1as well as inopsinexpression patterns between the three species. Experimental light treatments affected the developmental trajectory ofcyp27c1expression in one species andopsinexpression in all three species. Within each species, we found large individual variation incyp27c1expression levels and no consistent association withopsinexpression levels. These results indicate that visual system plasticity of even closely related species can be differentially mediated byopsinandcyp27c1expression, possibly associated with species differences in visual niche.
Influence of pressure and composition on electronic properties, phonon frequencies, and sound velocity for the zinc-blende GaAs1-xNx alloy
Authors: Al Maaitah Ibtisam F. , Elkenany Elkenany B.
Published: August 2022

We investigated the electronic, phonon frequencies, and sound velocity of GaAs1-xNx ternary semiconductor alloys with the zinc-blende crystal structure over the entire nitrogen concentration range (with x from 0 to 1) using the empirical pseudo-potential model within the virtual crystal approximation including the compositional disorder effect. The pressure-dependent electronic, phonon frequencies and sound velocity of GaAs1-xNx ternary alloy have been studied. Our findings and the existing experimental data are found to be in good agreement. According to the dependence on pressure, a rising bandgap is predicted for GaAs1-xNx alloys at high-pressure values. According to the findings of this study, the GaAs1-xNx characteristics could have substantial optoelectronic applications in the infrared and mid-infrared spectral ranges.
Fourth Order Schrödinger Equation with Mixed Dispersion on Certain Cartan-Hadamard Manifolds
Authors: Casteras Jean-Baptiste , Holopainen Ilkka
Published: August 2022

This paper is devoted to the study of the following fourth order Schrödinger equation with mixed dispersion on $$M^N$$

M
N

, an N-dimensional Cartan-Hadamard manifold. Namely we consider $$\begin{aligned} {\left\{ \begin{array}{ll} i\partial _t\psi = -\Delta _M^2\psi +\beta \Delta _M \psi +\lambda |\psi |^{2\sigma }\psi \quad \text {in }\mathbb {R}\times M,\\ \psi (0,\cdot )=\psi _0\in X, \end{array}\right. } \end{aligned}$$

i

∂
t

ψ
=
-

Δ
M
2

ψ
+
β

Δ
M

ψ
+
λ

|
ψ
|

2
σ

ψ

in

R
×
M
,

ψ

(
0
,
·
)

=

ψ
0

∈
X
,

where $$\beta \ge 0$$

β
≥
0

, $$\lambda =\{-1,1\}$$

λ
=
{
-
1
,
1
}

, $$0<\sigma < 4/(N-4)_+$$

0
<
σ
<
4
/

(
N
-
4
)

+

, $$\Delta _M$$

Δ
M

is the Laplace-Beltrami operator on M and $$X=L^2 (M)$$

X
=

L
2

(
M
)

or $$X=H^2 (M)$$

X
=

H
2

(
M
)

. At first, we focus on the case where M is the hyperbolic space $$\mathbb {H}^N$$

H

N

. Using the fact that there exists a Fourier transform on this space, we prove the existence of a global solution to (4NLS) as well as scattering for small initial data provided that $$N\ge 4$$

N
≥
4

and $$0<\sigma < 4/N$$

0
<
σ
<
4
/
N

if $$X=L^2 (\mathbb {H}^N)$$

X
=

L
2

(

H

N

)

or $$0<\sigma < 4/(N-4)_+$$

0
<
σ
<
4
/

(
N
-
4
)

+

if $$X=H^2 (\mathbb {H}^N)$$

X
=

H
2

(

H

N

)

. Next, we obtained weighted Strichartz estimates for radial solutions to (4NLS) on a large class of rotationally symmetric manifolds by adapting the method of Banica and Duyckaerts (Dyn. Partial Differ. Equ., 07). Finally, we give a blow-up result for a rotationally symmetric manifold relying on a localized virial argument.