bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Einleitung
Authors: Nadile Stefan
Published: October 2024

Nach einer oftmals als lebensbedrohlich empfundenen Situation berichten Menschen manchmal von sogenannten Nahtoderfahrungen (NTE). Sie erzählen von einem Heraustreten aus dem eigenen Körper («Out-of-body-experience», OBE), von Begegnungen mit Verstorbenen oder religiösen bzw. übernatürlichen Wesen, von unfassbaren Ereignissen, Energien, von einer Lebensrückschau, von schwer zu treffenden Entscheidungen zwischen Leben und Tod und von regelrecht überwältigenden Gefühlen, die kaum in Worte zu fassen seien. Einige Berichtende sind in der Folge davon überzeugt, dass sie dem Tod gewissermassen «begegnet» seien und ihnen Einblick ins Jenseits gewährt wurde.
Thanatologie: Tod und Sterben als Forschungsgegenstand
Authors: Nadile Stefan
Published: October 2024

Die Thanatologie als Wissenschaft des Sterbens und des Todes beschäftigt sich aus unterschiedlichen wissenschaftlichen Disziplinen sowohl auf der Metaebene als auch anhand von konkreten Situationen mit dem Tod und dem Sterbeprozess bei dessen explizitem oder absehbarem Ein- und Auftreten. Dazu gehören auch die wissenschaftliche Auseinandersetzung mit religiösen Bestattungsriten oder mit professioneller Pflege von unheilbar Kranken, mit dem Umgang mit sterbenden Menschen, ethischen Fragestellungen zum Beispiel zu Hospizeinrichtungen, aktiver und passiver Sterbehilfe und Weiteres. Dabei wird der Sterbeprozess aus unterschiedlicher Perspektive analysiert und die Todesdefinitionen werden problematisiert, wobei alle sich darauf beziehenden Disziplinen den Anspruch erheben, sich wissenschaftlich mit dem Thema Sterben und Tod auseinanderzusetzen.
Multiboundary wormholes and OPE statistics
Authors: de Boer Jan , Liška Diego , Post Boris
Published: October 2024

Abstract

We derive higher moments in the statistical distribution of OPE coefficients in holographic 2D CFTs, and show that such moments correspond to multiboundary Euclidean wormholes in pure 3D gravity. The nth cyclic non-Gaussian contraction of heavy-heavy-light OPE coefficients follows from crossing symmetry of the thermal n-point function. We derive universal expressions for the cubic and quartic moments and demonstrate that their scaling with the microcanonical entropy agrees with a generalization of the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis. Motivated by this result, we conjecture that the full statistical ensemble of OPE data is fixed by three premises: typicality, crossing symmetry and modular invariance. Together, these properties give predictions for non-factorizing observables, such as the generalized spectral form factor. Using the Virasoro TQFT, we match these connected averages to new on-shell wormhole topologies with multiple boundary components. Lastly, we study and clarify examples where the statistics of heavy operators are not universal and depend on the light operator spectrum. We give a gravitational interpretation to these corrections in terms of Wilson loops winding around non-trivial cycles in the bulk.
Ground states of Class $$ \mathcal{S} $$ theory on ADE singularities and dual Chern-Simons theory
Authors: Albrychiewicz Emil , Valiente Andrés Franco , Ganor Ori J. , Ju Chao
Published: October 2024

Abstract

In radial quantization, the ground states of a gauge theory on ADE singularities ℝ4/Γ are characterized by flat connections that are maps from Γ to the gauge group. We study Class $$ \mathcal{S} $$
S
theory of type $$ {\mathfrak{a}}_1 $$

a
1

= $$ \mathfrak{su}(2) $$
su

2

on a Riemann surface of genus g > 1, without punctures. The fundamental building block of Class $$ \mathcal{S} $$
S
theory is the trifundamental Trinion theory — a low energy limit of two M5 branes compactified on the three-punctured Riemann sphere. We show, through the superconformal index, that the supersymmetric Casimir energy of the trifundamental theory imposes a constraint on the set of allowed flat connections, which agrees with the prediction of a duality relating the ground state Hilbert space of Class $$ \mathcal{S} $$
S
on ADE singularities to the Hilbert space of a certain dual Chern-Simons theory whose gauge group is given by the McKay correspondence. The conjecture is shown to hold for Γ = ℤk, agreeing with the previous results of Benini et al. and Alday et al. A non-abelian generalization of this duality is analyzed by considering the example of the dicyclic group Γ = Dic2, corresponding to Chern-Simons gauge group SO(8).
All-loop group-theory constraints for four-point amplitudes of SU(N), SO(N), and Sp(N) gauge theories
Authors: Naculich Stephen G. , Osathapan Athis
Published: October 2024

Abstract

In the decomposition of gauge-theory amplitudes into kinematic and color factors, the color factors (at a given loop order L) span a proper subspace of the extended trace space (which consists of single and multiple traces of generators of the gauge group, graded by powers of N). Using an iterative process, we systematically construct the L-loop color space of four-point amplitudes of fields in the adjoint representation of SU(N), SO(N), or Sp(N). We define the null space as the orthogonal complement of the color space. For SU(N), we confirm the existence of four independent null vectors (for L ≥ 2) and for SO(N) and Sp(N), we establish the existence of seventeen independent null vectors (for L ≥ 5). Each null vector corresponds to a group-theory constraint on the color-ordered amplitudes of the gauge theory.
On massive higher spin supermultiplets in d = 4
Authors: Zinoviev Yu. M.
Published: October 2024

Abstract

In this work we discuss the cubic interactions for massless spin 3/2 gravitino with massive higher spin supermultiplets using three superblocks (2, 3/2), (5/2, 2) and (3, 5/2) as the first non-trivial examples. We use gauge invariant formalism for the massive higher spin fields and, as is common in such cases, we face an ambiguity related with the possible field redefinitions due to the presence of Stueckelberg fields. From one hand, we show how this ambiguity can be used as one more way to classify possible cubic vertices. We also note that all these field redefinitions do not change the part of the Lagrangian which appears in the unitary gauge (where all Stueckelberg fields are set to zero) so we still have some important independent results. From the other hand, we show how using the so-called unfolded formalism one can fix these ambiguities and obtain consistent deformations for all massive field gauge invariant curvatures which is the most important step in the Fradkin-Vasiliev formalism. Unfortunately, this works for the massive fields only so the way to construct deformations for the massless field curvatures is still has to be found.
The infamous 95 GeV $$ \textrm{b}\overline{\textrm{b}} $$ excess at LEP: two b or not two b?
Authors: Janot Patrick
Published: October 2024

Abstract

A small deviation observed around 95 GeV in the diphoton invariant mass distribution in the LHC Run 2 data has been subject to considerable attention in the past couple of years. The interpretation of this excess as the manifestation of an additional scalar particle at this mass is often claimed to be supported by a previously observed, even smaller, excess in the $$ \textrm{b}\overline{\textrm{b}} $$
b

b
¯

invariant mass distribution in LEP data. This short note aims at confronting this claim to factual experimental observations, through a careful scrutiny of the detailed LEP public notes written at the time on the topic. It is found that the LEP data strongly disfavour the production of a new 95 GeV scalar particle, as well as any other new physics interpretation in the 95–100 GeV mass range.
On strongly m-convex stochastic processes
Authors: Bisht Jaya , Mishra Rohan , Hamdi Abdelouahed
Published: October 2024

In this paper, we introduce the concept of strongly m-convex stochastic processes and present some basic properties of these stochastic processes. We derive Hermite-Hadamard type inequalities for stochastic processes whose first derivatives in absolute values are strongly m-convex. The results presented in this paper are a generalization and extension of previously known results.
Protecting Distributed Primitives Against Leakage: Equivocal Secret Sharing and more
Authors: Hazay Carmit , Venkitasubramaniam Muthuramakrishnan , Weiss Mor
Published: October 2024

Leakage-resilient cryptography aims to protect cryptographic primitives from so-called “side channel attacks” that exploit their physical implementation to learn their input or secret state. Starting from the works of Ishai, Sahai and Wagner (CRYPTO‘03) and Micali and Reyzin (TCC‘04), most works on leakage-resilient cryptography either focus on protecting general computations, such as circuits or multiparty computation protocols, or on specific non-interactive primitives such as storage, encryption, and signatures. This work focuses on leakage resilience for the middle ground, namely for distributed and interactive cryptographic primitives. Our main technical contribution is designing the first secret sharing scheme that is equivocal, resists adaptive probing of a constant fraction of bits from each share, while incurs only a constant blowup in share size. Equivocation is a strong leakage-resilience guarantee, recently introduced by Hazay et al. (ITC, 2021). Our construction is obtained via a general compiler which we introduce, that transforms any secret sharing scheme into an equivocal scheme against adaptive leakage. An attractive feature of our compiler is that it respects additive reconstruction; namely, if the original scheme has additive reconstruction, then the transformed scheme has linear reconstruction. We extend our compiler to a general paradigm for protecting distributed primitives against leakage and show its applicability to various primitives, including secret sharing, verifiable secret sharing, function secret sharing, distributed encryption and signatures, and distributed zero-knowledge proofs. For each of these primitives, our paradigm transforms any construction of the primitive into a scheme that resists adaptive party corruptions, as well as adaptive probing leakage of a constant fraction of bits in each share when the share is stored in memory (but not when it is used in computations). Moreover, the transformation incurs only a constant blowup in the share size and respects additive reconstruction—an important feature for several of these primitives, such as function secret sharing and distributed encryption.
Generalized Multicategories: Change-of-Base, Embedding, and Descent
Authors: Prezado Rui , Nunes Fernando Lucatelli
Published: October 2024

Via the adjunction

$$ - *\mathbb {1} \dashv \mathcal V(\mathbb {1},-) :\textsf {Span}({\mathcal {V}}) \rightarrow {\mathcal {V}} \text {-} \textsf {Mat} $$

-

∗
1
⊣
V
(
1
,
-
)
:
Span
(
V
)
→
V
-
Mat

and a cartesian monad T on an extensive category

$$ {\mathcal {V}} $$

V

with finite limits, we construct an adjunction

$$ - *\mathbb {1} \dashv {\mathcal {V}}(\mathbb {1},-) :\textsf {Cat}(T,{\mathcal {V}}) \rightarrow ({\overline{T}}, \mathcal V)\text{- }\textsf{Cat} $$

-

∗
1
⊣
V

(
1
,
-
)

:
Cat

(
T
,
V
)

→

(

T
¯

,
V
)

-

Cat

between categories of generalized enriched multicategories and generalized internal multicategories, provided the monad T satisfies a suitable property, which holds for several examples. We verify, moreover, that the left adjoint is fully faithful, and preserves pullbacks, provided that the copower functor

$$ - *\mathbb {1} :\textsf {Set} \rightarrow {\mathcal {V}} $$

-

∗
1
:
Set
→
V

is fully faithful. We also apply this result to study descent theory of generalized enriched multicategorical structures. These results are built upon the study of base-change for generalized multicategories, which, in turn, was carried out in the context of categories of horizontal lax algebras arising out of a monad in a suitable 2-category of pseudodouble categories.
Lifetime Adversity and Risky Substance Use among Transgender Emerging Adults: Selected Interventions and Clinical Social Work Practice
Authors: Tubman Jonathan G. , Galo Gustavo E.
Published: October 2024

This study investigated multivariate relations between indicators of lifetime adversity and past year risky substance use reported by an Internet-recruited sample of transgender emerging adults from the United States (N = 248, age M = 22.61 years). Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) documented the canonical correlation between canonical variates in this sample (.362), as well as the amount of shared variance (13.1%) between set of variables representing lifetime adversity and past year risky substance use. Examination of the standardized canonical coefficients and structure coefficients highlighted the important contributions of (a) past year drug use and negative consequences of substance use to the synthetic criterion variable and (b) lifetime intimate partner violence to the synthetic predictor variable. Information generated in this study about how specific observed variables contributed to canonical variates may be used to tailor trauma-informed selected interventions in clinical socialwork practice with transgender emerging adults who report substance use problems.
Kripke contra Kripke – Semantic Reference as Conventionalized Speaker’s Reference
Authors: Smit J. P.
Published: October 2024

I argue that Kripke’s construal of the distinction between speaker’s reference and semantic reference, in ‘Speaker’s reference and semantic reference’ (Kripke in Midwest Stud Philos 2:255–276, 1977), in conjunction with an intuitive view of the nature of conventions, implies a theory of semantic reference that is distinct from his causal theory. On this theory, semantic reference is conventionalized speaker’s reference. The argument concerning Kripke has two general implications. First, any theory that features a notion of speaker’s reference will have great difficulty in avoiding the view that semantic reference is conventionalized speaker’s reference. Second, theories that deny that there is a viable notion of speaker’s reference, and thereby deny that semantic reference is conventionalized speaker’s reference, will face an uphill battle in meeting certain general constraints originating in the theory of conventions.
Does the Disclosure of Proprietary Information About Loan Losses Pose a Threat to Financial Stability?
Authors: Thinggaard Frank , Bartholdy Jan
Published: October 2024

Concerns have been expressed that public disclosure of outcomes from regulatory inspections of banks could lead to contagion and instability in the financial systems. This paper exploits Denmark's system of open inspection reports to analyze whether announcements of required increases in loan loss reserves by the Danish supervisory authorities, following an ordinary bank inspection, lead to contagion in financial markets. We find strong evidence of negative returns for the announcing banks over the period 2009–2020, suggesting that inspection reports containing proprietary information about loan losses provide value-relevant news to investors. We also find statistically significant contagion effects in the share price reactions among non-announcing peer banks. However, the reactions of other, non-affected banks are mild and confined to smaller banks, which is reassuring from a systemic risk perspective. Overall, our findings support the use of accounting disclosures as a policy tool for bank supervisors.
Biotic Deterioration and Homogenization: Why It Matters
Authors: Hessen Dag O.
Published: October 2024

Globally, locally, and regionally, there are different patterns of biotic diversity and community composition reflecting past evolutionary history shaped by differences in niches, productivity, climate, and other ambient factors, as well as migration barriers. Historically, humans have impacted and eroded these biotic patterns, notably by the impact of agriculture in a wide sense, but to an increasing extent also by logging, overharvesting, spreading of species, urbanization, and climate change. Besides causing (in most cases) a declining diversity, it also implies a biotic homogenization where ecosystem communities become spatially more similar, often by replacement of locally adopted specialist species with more widespread generalist species. Besides discussing these drivers of biotic degradation and homogenization, I also discuss why and how it matters both from a biocentric and anthropocentric point of view, how biotic and cultural homogenization are integrated via agricultural impacts, loss of habitats that also are home to indigenous people as well as by travel, trade, and consumption. In fact, the global cultural homogenization towards western consumerism is the overarching cause of biotic homogenization, biodiversity loss as well as climate change. Finally, solutions are discussed. There are local and regional means to counteract biotic losses and homogenization by retaining and restoring landscape elements, yet globally these trends can only be countered through systemic societal changes.
Exploring Twitter discourse with BERTopic: topic modeling of tweets related to the major German parties during the 2021 German federal election
Authors: Hellwig Nils Constantin , Fehle Jakob , Bink Markus , Schmidt Thomas , Wolff Christian
Published: October 2024

We present a study in the context of computational social science that explores the topics debated in the context of the 2021 German Federal Election by using the topic modeling technique BERTopic. The corpus consists of German language tweets posted by political party accounts of the major German parties, as well as tweets by the general public mentioning the party accounts. We examined the textual content of the tweets but also included the text in images that were posted into the analysis by extracting the text using optical character recognition (OCR). Our results show that the most frequently discussed topics are party-oriented policies (including call-to-action content), climate policy and financial policy, with these topics being discussed in tweets by both, the political party accounts and tweets by accounts mentioning them. In addition, we observed that some topics were discussed consistently throughout the year, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate policy or digitization, while other topics, such as the return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan or Israel were debated to a greater extent at limited time frames during the election year.
Exploring crisis management measures taken by school leaders at the unpredictable crisis – case COVID-19
Authors: Peltola Jussi-Pekka , Lindfors Eila , Luukka Emilia
Published: October 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic was an unpredictable crisis for schools. Schools transitioned their teaching from classrooms to teaching online. The holistic safety of the schools’ was under a serious threat. Various measures of crisis management aimed at upholding holistic school safety, which includes physical, social, psychological and pedagogical safety.

This review employs both narrative review method and thematic analysis to investigate the crisis management measures that school leaders undertook during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in terms of holistic school safety while modifying key operations of the school. In addition, the stressors and resources of school leaders’ were examined. The non-systematic, explorative search for literature conducted between autumn 2020 and spring 2021 yielded a total of 10 articles.

School leaders’ crisis management measures to maintain holistic school safety in 2020 comprised running the organization, supporting teachers, and supporting students. Extensive measures to limit physical contact posed a threat to psychological, social and pedagogical safety. School leaders worked in a stressful situation. Flexibility and human-centered approach were necessary to cope.

In future crises, predicting consequences at every level is important when preparing plans and considering leaders’ tasks as part of crisis management plans to ensure holistic school safety. In crisis situations, priority must be given to tackling the primary threat, but the overall impact of measures on school safety must be taken into account.
Crafting Subverses: A Narrative Analysis of the Experience of Losing a Parent through Intimate Partner Homicide
Authors: Marinkovic Chavez Katitza , Joy Kathryn , Frederick John , Eastwood Oliver , Morrice Hannah , Sakthiakumaran Ashwini , Vasileva Mira , Kurdi Zain , Houghton Claire , Devaney John , Humphreys Cathy , Alisic Eva
Published: October 2024

Purpose

Losing a parent due to intimate partner homicide is a traumatic experience, exacerbated by homicide and the associated grief being a taboo in many western cultures. This study investigated the experiences of young people and adults bereaved by parental intimate partner homicide during childhood, to gain a better understanding of how they make sense of and share their personal story after such a loss.

Methods

Within the context of a larger study, we conducted twelve semi-structured interviews with people with lived experience of such deaths in Australia and used narrative analysis to interpret the data.

Results

Participants were frequently confronted with imposed narratives (i.e., from family, practitioners, peers) about the homicide, their parents, and their own identities, leading to a deep sense of loneliness and feeling misunderstood, powerless, and silenced. In various ways, participants resisted imposed narratives and took control over their stories. This process was difficult but could lead to improved and more authentic relationships with oneself, family, and others. In this way, participants used their experiences to transform themselves and others, sometimes by becoming advocates or practitioners supporting others with similar experiences.

Conclusions

We named this process of taking control of one’s story “crafting subverses.” It involved making sense of and sharing experiences of trauma and grief for personal healing and social justice. Helping children craft their “subverses” may be an important aspect of gaining a deeper understanding of how to support them. Provision of carefully tailored peer mentoring, professional support and opportunities to influence programs and policy appear key to better support systems for those bereaved due to parental intimate partner homicide.
The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Life Satisfaction: Does Social Belonging Matter as a Mechanism and are There Differences by Age?
Authors: Handschuh Philipp , Kroh Jacqueline , Nester Markus
Published: October 2024

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on life satisfaction has been a topic of worldwide research, mostly indicating a drop in individual’s life satisfaction with some differences between subgroups. However, literature on related mechanisms is scarce. This study examines whether the sense of social belonging is a mechanism that explains pandemic-related changes in life satisfaction across different age groups. Using a rich longitudinal data set of the adult cohort of the German National Educational Panel Study and employing fixed effects panel regression models, we show that the COVID-19 pandemic is, on average, negatively associated with individual life satisfaction and social belonging. Yet, mediation and sensitivity analysis questions the general importance of social belonging as a relevant mechanism irrespective of individuals’ age. The results also suggest that the negative effects of the pandemic on social belonging were indeed significant for individuals with average or high pre-pandemic social belonging, while individuals with low pre-pandemic social belonging experienced an increase in their sense of social belonging. This leads to an expanded discussion of which groups of people are most affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and what other mechanisms can be hypothesized to explain this negative impact on people's life satisfaction.
Leveraging Uncertainty as a Means of Facilitating Sensemaking Within a Digital Wildfire Curriculum
Authors: Conrath Brandin , Farris Amy Voss , McDonald Scott
Published: October 2024

The changing landscape of geoscience learning has initiated growing interest in engaging science learners with climate data. One approach to teaching climate is the application of broadly accessible digital science curricula, which often include data tools such as visualizations, data representations, and simulations embedded within digital science curricula. We are specifically interested in how students and teachers grapple with scientific uncertainty in digital curricula. Our paper therefore examines how a 7th grade science class and their teacher leverage moments of uncertainty in their work within a digital geohazard curriculum to learn about wildfire risk and impact. We analyzed episodes of learners’ interactions, and those included scientific uncertainty related to key ideas about wildfires. We also attend to how the teacher orchestrates across class members’ ideas and the representations they were using. Our findings suggest that the digital curriculum elicited important sensemaking about wildfires and climate, including the interpretation of trends (Episode 1), working with simulations as a means of scientific investigation (Episode 2), and making meaning across disparate climate maps (Episode 3). Importantly, our analysis highlights the imperative work of the teacher in creating and leveraging productive sensemaking around the climate representations and simulations, yet outside of the predetermined curriculum. Our findings illustrate that maximizing students’ learning about climate in digital science curricula demands attention beyond teachers’ ad hoc adaptation, and rather, the intentional design of tools that support sensemaking about uncertainty as a dialogic process that is negotiated in response to students’ ideas.
Health-related quality of life dynamics: modeling insights from immunotherapy
Authors: Hasgul Zeynep , Spanjaart Anne , Javed Sumreen , Akhavan Ali , Kersten Marie José , Jalali Mohammad S.
Published: October 2024

Background

Understanding health-related quality of life (HRQoL) dynamics is essential for assessing and improving treatment experiences; however, clinical and observational studies struggle to capture their full complexity. We use simulation modeling and the case of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell therapy—a type of cancer immunotherapy that can prolong survival, but carries life-threatening risks—to study HRQoL dynamics.

Methods

We developed an exploratory system dynamics model with mathematical equations and parameter values informed by literature and expert insights. We refined its feedback structure and evaluated its dynamic behavior through iterative interviews. Model simulated HRQoL from treatment approval through six months post-infusion. Two strategies—reducing the delay to infusion and enhancing social support—were incorporated into the model. To dynamically evaluate the effect of these strategies, we developed four metrics: post-treatment HRQoL decline, recovery time to pre-treatment HRQoL, post-treatment HRQoL peak, and durability of the peak.

Results

Model captures key interactions within HRQoL, providing a nuanced analysis of its continuous temporal dynamics, particularly physical well-being, psychological well-being, tumor burden, receipt and efficacy of treatment, side effects, and their management. Model analysis shows reducing infusion delays enhanced HRQoL across all four metrics. While enhanced social support improved the first three metrics for patients who received treatment, it did not change durability of the peak.

Conclusions

Simulation modeling can help explore the effects of strategies on HRQoL while also demonstrating the dynamic interactions between its key components, offering a powerful tool to investigate aspects of HRQoL that are difficult to assess in real-world settings.
Strictly Positive Fragments of the Provability Logic of Heyting Arithmetic
Authors: de Almeida Borges Ana , Joosten Joost J.
Published: October 2024

We determine the strictly positive fragment $$\textsf{QPL}^+(\textsf{HA})$$

QPL
+

(
HA
)

of the quantified provability logic $$\textsf{QPL}(\textsf{HA})$$

QPL
(
HA
)

of Heyting Arithmetic. We show that $$\textsf{QPL}^+(\textsf{HA})$$

QPL
+

(
HA
)

is decidable and that it coincides with $$\textsf{QPL}^+(\textsf{PA})$$

QPL
+

(
PA
)

, which is the strictly positive fragment of the quantified provability logic of of Peano Arithmetic. This positively resolves a previous conjecture of the authors described in [14]. On our way to proving these results, we carve out the strictly positive fragment $$\textsf{PL}^+(\textsf{HA})$$

PL
+

(
HA
)

of the provability logic $$\textsf{PL}(\textsf{HA})$$

PL
(
HA
)

of Heyting Arithmetic, provide a simple axiomatization, and prove it to be sound and complete for two types of arithmetical interpretations. The simple fragments presented in this paper should be contrasted with a recent result by Mojtahedi [43], where an axiomatization for $$\textsf{PL}(\textsf{HA})$$

PL
(
HA
)

is provided. This axiomatization, although decidable, is of considerable complexity.
Patterns of a sexually selected trait are not predictable across urban and non-urban populations of a songbird, the dark-eyed junco
Authors: Diamant Eleanor S. , Kang Martin , Yeh Pamela J.
Published: October 2024

Urbanization can result in novel selective pressures that can cause phenotypic differences amongst urban-tolerant species across urban and non-urban habitats. Here, we compared the size of the white tail patch (“tail white”), a sexual signaling trait, in two urban populations of dark-eyed juncos in comparison to neighboring non-urban populations. Contrary to our expectations, urban phenotypes did not differ from local wildlands in San Diego and Los Angeles counties in similar directions. While the San Diego population showed lower tail white compared to its neighboring wildland population, the Los Angeles population did not. The tail white of the Los Angeles population was not statistically different from that of the San Diego population, suggesting that urban populations may share similar environmental conditions yet face different selective clines due to urbanization. There were, however, differences between wildland populations. Differences in evolutionary histories, environmental conditions, and selective pressures within and outside urban areas may affect how urbanization facilitates population differentiation, even across urban populations of the same species.
Design and implementation of an integrated OWC and RF network slicing-based architecture over hybrid LiFi and 5G networks
Authors: Khadmaoui-Bichouna Mohamed , Escolar Antonio Matencio , Alcaraz-Calero Jose M. , Wang Qi
Published: October 2024

Radio frequency (RF) systems tend to become congested and overused due to the increasing number of users, devices and the multiple technologies involved in their deployment. This leads to the downgrading of quality of service (QoS) further caused by interference with different signals. Optical Wireless communications (OWC) are emerging as a feasible alternative as they offer unlicensed, interference-free spectrum by using the frequency range located in the visible and invisible light spectrum. Its applications can be found in various fields such as healthcare, education, finance and industry 4.0. Moreover, it enhances the security and privacy of communications. Nevertheless, the limited spectrum in OWC also requires optimised resource allocation to support the QoS of different applications or users whilst lacking established infrastructure to manage this. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a novel 5G-LiFi framework able to ensure QoS requirements by introducing network slicing in Light Fidelity (LiFi) networks integrated with 5G infrastructure. This paper has developed and deployed a 5G-LiFi architecture capable of providing network slicing capabilities over the LiFi segment of the hybrid network. It allows a full control over the network traffic and tailored, improved QoS capabilities. The proposed solution has been empirically validated and evaluated in a realistic testbed employing real-world LiFi and 5G network equipment, and yielded promising results in terms of bandwidth, delay, jitter and packet loss. This work concludes that the use of heterogeneous networks integrating OWC with RF is a suitable solution and it can lead to a better use and exploitation of the different spectrums, improving the QoS offered to end-users.
Rejoinder to McNeish and Mislevy: What Does Psychological Measurement Require?
Authors: Sijtsma Klaas , Ellis Jules L. , Borsboom Denny
Published: October 2024

In this rejoinder to McNeish (2024) and Mislevy (2024), who both responded to our focus article on the merits of the simple sum score (Sijtsma et al., 2024), we address several issues. Psychometrics education and in particular psychometricians’ outreach may help researchers to use IRT models as a precursor for the responsible use of the latent variable score and the sum score. Different methods used for test and questionnaire construction often do not produce highly different results, and when they do, this may be due to an unarticulated attribute theory generating noisy data. The sum score and transformations thereof, such as normalized test scores and percentiles, may help test practitioners and their clients to better communicate results. Latent variables prove important in more advanced applications such as equating and adaptive testing where they serve as technical tools rather than communication devices. Decisions based on test results are often binary or use a rather coarse ordering of scale levels, hence, do not require a high level of granularity (but nevertheless need to be precise). A gap exists between psychology and psychometrics which is growing deeper and wider, and that needs to be bridged. Psychology and psychometrics must work together to attain this goal.
From source to sink: part 2—seasonal dispersion of microplastics discharged in the NW Mediterranean Sea by the Rhone River in southern France
Authors: Weiss Lisa , Estournel Claude , Marsaleix Patrick , Mikolajczak Guillaume , Constant Mel , Ghiglione Jean-François , Ludwig Wolfgang
Published: October 2024

As the largest individual contributor of freshwater inflow to the basin, the Rhone River is likely to be one of the main sources of microplastics (MPs) to the Mediterranean Sea. In order to predict the fate of MPs discharged by the Rhone River, an innovative 3D Lagrangian dispersion of its particles associated with vertical velocities was modeled in Mediterranean ocean currents. Through winter and summer scenarios, the seasonal variability of transfers and the corresponding accumulation areas were depicted in the Northwestern Basin according to hydrodynamic conditions on the continental shelf of the Gulf of Lion and to the frontal dynamics from the Pyrenees to the North Balearic fronts. Our results indicated that MP transfers were driven by mesoscale and sub-mesoscale structures, resulting in steep concentration gradients across fronts during summer, while winter energetic mixing favored a more efficient and homogeneous spreading. After a year of drift, high MP retention (up to 50%) occurred in the coastal zone of the Gulf of Lion near the river mouth, with a large contribution of sinking MPs and an increase in stranding during the highest freshwater inflows of the winter season. Conversely, up to 60% of the floating MPs were exported to the Algerian Basin and then to the Eastern Mediterranean. This west-to-east transfer led to significant stranding on the islands, prevailing on the northern coasts of the Balearic Islands in winter (6% of floating inputs) and on the western coasts of Corsica and Sardinia in summer (13%). The southern Mediterranean coasts, from Algeria to Tunisia, represented also a major sink for floating debris with stranding ranging from 9 to 35% of MPs discharged in winter and in summer, respectively. We estimated that 3.5 to 5 t of the Rhone MPs remained in the surface layer at the end of the year, with high concentrations in the Ionian Sea.

Graphical abstract

Seasonal distribution of floating and sinking MPs discharged by the Rhone River into the surface and bottom layers of the Mediterranean Sea.
White matter integrity and motor function: a link between cerebral myelination and longitudinal changes in gait speed in aging
Authors: Gong Zhaoyuan , Faulkner Mary E. , Akhonda Mohammad A. B. S. , Guo Alex , Bae Jonghyun , Laporte John P. , Church Sarah , D’Agostino Jarod , Bergeron Jan , Bergeron Christopher M. , Ferrucci Luigi , Bouhrara Mustapha
Published: October 2024

Gait speed is a robust health biomarker in older adults, correlating with the risk of physical and cognitive impairments, including dementia. Myelination plays a crucial role in neurotransmission and consequently affects various functions, yet the connection between myelination and motor functions such as gait speed is not well understood. Understanding this link could offer insights into diagnosing and treating neurodegenerative diseases that impair mobility. This study analyzed 437 longitudinal observations from 138 cognitively unimpaired adults, aged 22 to 94 years, to investigate the relationship between myelin content and changes in gait speed over an average of 6.42 years. Myelin content was quantified using a novel multicomponent magnetic resonance relaxometry method, and both usual and rapid gait speeds (UGS, RGS) were measured following standard protocols. Adjusting for covariates, we found a significant fixed effect of myelin content on UGS and RGS. Longitudinally, lower myelin content was linked to a greater decline in UGS, particularly in brain regions associated with motor planning. These results suggest that changes in UGS may serve as a reliable marker of neurodegeneration, particularly in cognitively unimpaired adults. Interestingly, the relationship between myelin content and changes in RGS was only observed in a limited number of brain regions, although the reason for such local susceptibility remains unknown. These findings enhance our understanding of the critical role of myelination in gait performance in unimpaired adults and provide evidence of the interconnection between myelin content and motor function impairment.
Fifty shades of green and blue: autopsy findings after administration of xenobiotics
Authors: Baumgarten J. , Greb I. , Holz F. , Nieß C. , Petzel-Witt S. , Birngruber Christoph G.
Published: October 2024

Unusual findings during an autopsy may come from peculiarities in the position, shape, size, weight, consistency, smell or color of organs. The following study was triggered by an autopsy case in which an unusual blue-green discoloration of organs, which changed during the autopsy, was noticed. A review of the local autopsy database, selected cases including the antemortem clinical documentation and the literature has been performed to clarify the etiology of these conspicuous discolorations and to evaluate their diagnostic value. The study showed that certain xenobiotics may lead to such discoloration. After systemic administration of methylene blue, darkening blue-green discoloration of organs, especially the brain and heart, can be observed. In addition, the systemic administration of toluidine blue also appears to be capable of causing such discoloration. Beyond that, drugs (like Rohypnol®) or other foreign substances (like detergents) containing warning colors, i.e. indigocarmin (E132) or Brilliant Blue FCF (E133) may cause discolorations of the upper gastrointestinal tract or the urinary bladder respectively. A blue-green, possibly darkening discoloration of organs during autopsy may point towards an antemortem administration of certain xenobiotics. The affected organs give an indication of the possible route of application and the type of substance. A differentiated interpretation of the etiology of such conspicuous discolorations at autopsy should only be made considering the (medical) history and, if necessary, complementary (toxicological) examinations.
The in vitro cross-reactivity and blood coagulation potential of recombinant porcine factor VIII in Japanese patients with acquired hemophilia A
Authors: Takeyama Masahiro , Sasai Kana , Miyaguchi Yasuo , Ogiwara Kenichi , Furukawa Shoko , Shimonishi Naruto , Nakajima Yuto , Ueda Hitoshi , Nogami Keiji
Published: October 2024

Recombinant porcine factor VIII (rpFVIII) is a hemostatic agent for acquired hemophilia A (AHA). Cross-reaction of auto-antibodies against rpFVIII has been reported, although no data are available in Japanese patients. This study investigated the cross-reactivity and coagulation potential of rpFVIII in plasma samples from Japanese patients with AHA. Cross-reactivity was calculated as the ratio of anti-porcine FVIII inhibitor titer (pFVIII-INH) to human FVIII inhibitor titer. Comprehensive coagulation potential was assessed by clot waveform analysis (CWA) and thrombin generation assay (TGA) in samples spiked with rpFVIII (equivalent to 200 U/kg). Nine of 16 plasma samples (56.3%) had positive pFVIII-INH, with a median cross-reactivity of 1.2%. FVIII activity (FVIII:C) was restored to > 100% in all samples upon spiking with rpFVIII, but was weakly correlated with pFVIII-INH. CWA parameters and most TGA parameters were restored to normal upon spiking with rpFVIII; correlation of these parameters with FVIII:C was similar to that observed in controls. Overall, cross-reactivity to rpFVIII in Japanese patients was similar to that reported in Caucasian patients. Our results suggest that an initial clinical dose of 200 U/kg rpFVIII could restore coagulation potential to normal, and that FVIII:C monitoring after rpFVIII administration may be more informative than pFVIII-INH before administration.
“It Was a Complete Violation of Everything”: LGBT + Veterans’ Experiences of Discrimination and Oppression Through the Exemptive UK Military “Gay Ban” Policy
Authors: McGill Gill , Allen Shannon , Osborne Alison K.
Published: October 2024

Introduction

This is the first empirical study carried out in the UK to examine the devasting impact of the policy to ban all gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender personnel under exemptive military laws and their resultant support needs as military veterans. The so-called “gay ban” policy was enforced with the rationale that homosexuality was incompatible with military service.

Methods

In the UK between 2021 and 2022, 15 LGBT + veterans took part in semi-structured interviews and 101 LGBT + veterans completed an online survey. The findings were triangulated to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of the “gay ban” policy.

Results

Three key overarching themes were identified: Emotional Impact, Changing to Adapt and Adapting to Change and Aftermath: Barriers to Help-Seeking.

Conclusions

Social cohesion, established during military service, was limited upon leaving the Armed Forces and LGBT + veterans reported feeling a loss of their identity and the ability to foster social relationships. The policy ban facilitated discrimination and harassment, causing emotional distress, mental ill health, social isolation and limited access to appropriate support following transition.

Policy Implications

Despite the lifting of the “gay ban” policy over 20 years ago, how inclusivity is represented in a historically heteronormative institution is unclear. The “gay ban” policy was weaponised with strategic power, leading to long-term, negative psychological consequences for those who were disempowered by the ban. Therefore, it is essential that confidence is restored, and that policy and institutional-level changes recognise the historical harm for the future of LGBT + military personnel and veterans. These findings will help to raise awareness and increase knowledge and, in turn, contribute to improving access and engagement with service provision and support.
Abstracts Najaarsvergadering NVU, 8 november 2024
Authors:   Bohn Stafleu van Loghum
Published: October 2024

Samenvatting

Deze studie onderzoekt de impact van de intraoperatieve katheterdiameter op postoperatieve uitkomsten na een distale hypospadie-operatie bij kinderen. Complicatie-percentages en maximale flow (Qmax) worden geëvalueerd.
The lattice of ideals of certain rings
Authors: Savin Diana
Published: October 2024

Let A be a unitary ring and let $$(\mathbf {I(A)},\subseteq )$$

(

I
(
A
)

,
⊆
)

be the lattice of ideals of the ring A. In this article, we will study the property of the lattice $$(\mathbf {I(A)},\subseteq )$$

(

I
(
A
)

,
⊆
)

to be Noetherian or not, for various types of rings A. In the last section of the article, we study certain rings that are not Boolean rings, not fields, but all their ideals are idempotent.
Recommendations for patch testing with patient’s own materials in occupational dermatology
Authors: Bieck Cara , Obermeyer Lara , Dicke Katja , Alberts Antje , Skudlik Christoph , John Swen Malte , Brans Richard
Published: October 2024

Allergic contact dermatitis is one of the most common occupational skin diseases. Due to the limited availability of commercial patch test preparations, patch testing patient’s own material (POM) is of great importance in the diagnosis of occupational contact dermatitis. In a research project (FB 317b) funded by the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV), a comprehensive assessment of the quality of patch testing with POM in individuals with suspected occupational skin diseases was carried out for the first time in Germany. The initial results show considerable deficiencies in the documentation and in some cases also in the performance of patch testing POMs. Therefore, recommendations for patch testing POM and in particular patch testing with workplace materials are presented.
Postgenomic understandings of fatness and metabolism
Authors: Chellappoo Azita
Published: October 2024

‘Obesity’ has, for decades, been a subject of intense scientific and public interest, and remains a key target for postgenomic science. I examine the emergence of determinism in research into ‘obesity’ in the postgenomic field of metabolomics. I argue that determinism appears in metabolomics research in two ways: firstly, fragmentation and narrow construal of the environment is evident in metabolomics studies on weight loss interventions, resulting in particular features of the environment (notably, dietary intake) having outsized influence while the wider social environment is neglected. Secondly, studies aiming to characterize the metabolic signature of ‘obesity’ are guided by a commitment to a deterministic connection between ‘obesity’ and dysfunction, leading to a neglect or distortion of metabolic heterogeneity across individuals regardless of body size.
Complexity and Complex Hope: Thinking Critically and Well in Education
Authors: McChesney Katrina , Locke Kirsten
Published: October 2024

As a thinker and scholar, Martin Thrupp was attuned to the complexity of real-world situations and challenges in education. Things were never simple, and there was never just one thing going on. This has been one of the characteristics we have most admired about Martin. In this piece, we articulate some of what we have learned from Martin and consider what it might mean to think critically and well about education in our present moment and context. We identify a number of directions in which we might all think—and seek to think critically and well—following Martin’s example. We reflect on how Martin, as a careful and critical thinker, was not always popular (including with governments and research fashions of the day) and was not always certain of the best way forward, yet remained committed to ideals of complex hope and the importance of us all raising our heads to contribute.