bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Knowledge and Governance: Can Systemic Risk in Financial Markets Be Managed? The Case of the Euro Crisis
Authors: Bell Stephen , Hindmoor Andrew
Published: January 2021

The crystallization of systemic risk in financial markets occurs when financial actors collectively (if unwillingly) bring on a major financial crisis through the withholding of credit and asset fire sales. The management and prevention of such calamities is our focus. We introduce the tools of political science, especially governance and institutional analysis, to help us probe the key dynamics at work. We then show that where appropriate knowledge and governance arrangements can be put in place, collective action may be arranged to help prevent the crystallization of systemic risk. We use the euro crisis to help illustrate our arguments.
The (De-)Contextualization of Geographical Knowledge in Forest Fire Risk Management in Chile as a Challenge for Governance
Authors: Handke Michael
Published: January 2021

Chilean society is confronted with increasing risk from wildfires. Individual rather than collective risk management solutions predominate. Large forest companies, for example, reduce the probability of wildfires affecting their tree plantations with hierarchically-ordered management routines. Additionally, they purchase insurance policies to protect themselves from economic losses. Other stakeholders in the Chilean forest regions, however, do not have the same access to these forms of risk management due to the high degree of technical knowledge and organizational competences required. In his contribution, Michael Handke assesses the strengths and weaknesses of interacting hierarchical and market forms of risk management and calls for a deeper geographical approach to risk governance. He reveals that detailed geographical knowledge of wildfires is explicitly decontextualized and even ignored in current risk management practices. As a result, essential knowledge about the causes and effects of arson, which seem to be on the rise in Chile, is lost.
Carbon Markets, Values, and Modes of Governance
Authors: Knox-Hayes Janelle , Hayes Jarrod , Hughes Erik-Logan
Published: January 2021

Market governance of climate change is situated at the interface of two competing logics: universalistic governance predicated on technocratic norms and the particularities of politics embedded in local cultures. Actors implementing technocratic prescriptions for resolving climate change that rely on metrics to measure the effects of climate change, establish quantitative baselines and price emissions often miss the cultural values and social norms that shape markets. These logics of governance represent important axes along which climate policy can be mapped and assessed. This chapter assesses how policy intersects with these axes and in the process provides a broad-based qualitative and quantitative assessment of how geographically specific socio-cultural factors shape intersubjective understandings of carbon markets in particular. The authors of this chapter adopt a cross-national perspective, examining and evaluating the intersubjective meanings of carbon-market formation drawn from interview data of market makers across the United States, Australia, China, the EU, Japan, and South Korea.
NLO gravitational quartic-in-spin interaction
Authors: Levi Michèle , Teng Fei
Published: January 2021

Abstract

In this paper we derive for the first time the complete gravitational quartic-in-spin interaction of generic compact binaries at the next-to-leading order in the post-Newtonian (PN) expansion. The derivation builds on the effective field theory for gravitating spinning objects, and its recent extensions, in which new type of worldline couplings should be considered, as well as on the extension of the effective action of a spinning particle to quadratic order in the curvature. The latter extension entails a new Wilson coefficient that appears in this sector. This work pushes the precision frontier with spins at the fifth PN (5PN) order for maximally-spinning compact objects, and at the same time informs us of the gravitational Compton scattering with higher spins.
Field-theoretic derivation of bubble-wall force
Authors: Mancha Marc Barroso , Prokopec Tomislav , Świeżewska Bogumiła
Published: January 2021

Abstract

We derive a general quantum field theoretic formula for the force acting on expanding bubbles of a first order phase transition in the early Universe setting. In the thermodynamic limit the force is proportional to the entropy increase across the bubble of active species that exert a force on the bubble interface. When local thermal equilibrium is attained, we find a strong friction force which grows as the Lorentz factor squared, such that the bubbles quickly reach stationary state and cannot run away. We also study an opposite case when scatterings are negligible across the wall (ballistic limit), finding that the force saturates for moderate Lorentz factors thus allowing for a runaway behavior. We apply our formalism to a massive real scalar field, the standard model and its simple portal extension. For completeness, we also present a derivation of the renormalized, one-loop, thermal energy-momentum tensor for the standard model and demonstrate its gauge independence.
Real estate listings and their usefulness for hedonic regressions
Authors: Kolbe Jens , Schulz Rainer , Wersing Martin , Werwatz Axel
Published: January 2021

Real estate platforms provide a new source of data which has already been used as a substitute for transaction data in hedonic regression applications. This paper asks whether it is valid to do so in the established research areas of (1) willingness to pay estimation, (2) automated valuations, and (3) price index construction. It therefore compares listings and transaction data and regression results derived from them. We find that ask prices stochastically dominate sale prices, mainly because the composition of characteristics differs between the two data sets. But estimates of implicit prices also differ. As a result, willingness to pay estimates from listings data can be widely off when compared with estimates from transaction data. Listings data are not very useful to predict market values of individual houses either, as these predictions suffer from upward bias and large error variance. We find, however, that an ask price index complements a sale price index, as it is useful for nowcasting.
Bacterial Community in the Skin Microbiome of Frogs in a Coldspot of Chytridiomycosis Infection
Authors: Mutnale Milind C. , Reddy Gundlapally S. , Vasudevan Karthikeyan
Published: January 2021

Chytridiomycosis is a fungal disease caused by the pathogens, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and B. salamandrivorans (Bsal), which has caused declines in amphibian populations worldwide. Asia is considered as a coldspot of infection, since adult frogs are less susceptible to Bd-induced mortality or morbidity. Using the next-generation sequencing approach, we assessed the cutaneous bacterial community composition and presence of anti-Bd bacteria in six frog species from India using DNA isolated from skin swabs. All the six frog species sampled were tested using nested PCR and found Bd negative. We found a total of 551 OTUs on frog skin, of which the bacterial phyla such as Proteobacteria (56.15% average relative abundance) was dominated followed by Actinobacteria (21.98% average relative abundance) and Firmicutes (13.7% average relative abundance). The contribution of Proteobacteria in the anti-Bd community was highest and represented by 175 OTUs. Overall, the anti-Bd bacterial community dominated (51.7% anti-Bd OTUs) the skin microbiome of the frogs. The study highlights the putative role of frog skin microbiome in affording resistance to Bd infections in coldspots of infection.
Radiographic analysis of the proximal femoral anatomy in the Croatian population
Authors: Mokrovic Hrvoje , Komen Simona , Gulan Leo , Gulan Gordan
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The goal of total hip endoprosthesis is to achieve painless and functional hip for long term. Accurate reconstruction of hip anatomy largely depends on the implant design. In order to select an implant in correspondence with the native hip, the proximal femoral morphology has been in focus of many studies in the past years. The purpose of this study is to analyze proximal femoral geometry in the Croatian population by radiographic evaluation.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective study analyzing conventional radiographies of the hip, obtained within the last four years from the database of Clinic for Orthopaedic Surgery Lovran. The number of studied patients was 300,168 women and 132 men. The proximal femoral geometric parameters assessed were as follows: femoral head diameter, femoral neck length, neck-shaft angle, angle of femoral neck anteversion, and lateral femoral offset. The results obtained were compared between genders and with results of other studies.

Results

Proximal femoral anatomy differed in femoral head diameter and lateral femoral offset between males and females in our group of patients, while femoral neck length, femoral neck shaft angle, and femoral neck anteversion have shown similar values in both genders. Our study also showed specificity of the Croatian population in almost all parameters of proximal femoral anatomy, in comparison with other ethnic groups.

Conclusion

Our results support the observation on high diversity in the morphology of the proximal femur and the specificity of the proximal femoral anatomy of the Croatian population.
Behandlung komplexer Beinbeschwerden nach dem Fasziendistorsionsmodell
Authors: Bangerter Christian , Boss Roman
Published: January 2021

Hintergrund

Beschwerden am Bewegungsapparat sind häufig und verursachen hohe Kosten im Gesundheitswesen. In der heutigen Medizin existieren viele Behandlungskonzepte und Modelle, die zum Ziel haben, die komplexe Realität zu vereinfachen und ein praktisches Handeln am Patienten zu erleichtern. Das Fasziendistorsionsmodell (FDM) nach Stephen Typaldos ist ein medizinisches Diagnose- und Behandlungskonzept, bei dem Beschwerden und Funktionseinschränkungen am Bewegungsapparat, unter Berücksichtigung der Beschwerdegestik des Patienten, interpretiert und entsprechend behandelt werden.

Ziel

Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es, die Herangehensweise, Diagnostik und Behandlung im FDM anhand eines Patienten mit komplexen Beinbeschwerden vorzustellen.

Patient und Methoden

Der 29-jährige Patient leidet seit Langem an beidseitigen dorsalen Oberschenkel- und Wadenschmerzen, die ihn v. a. beim Sitzen und Sporttreiben stark einschränken. Nach umfangreicher schulmedizinischer Diagnostik erhielt er die Diagnose „muskuläre Dysbalance“. In der körperlichen Untersuchung konnten die Oberschenkelbeschwerden des Patienten einzig durch „pinching“ (Kneifen) reproduziert werden. Die Wadenbeschwerden traten bei Dehnung, Druckpalpation und „pinching“ auf. Nach dem FDM wurden die Beschwerden als eine Kombination von Zylinderdistorsionen und Triggerbändern interpretiert. Über einen Zeitraum von 3 Monaten wurden 8 halbstündige Behandlungen durchgeführt. Die eingesetzten Maßnahmen beinhalteten sowohl Zylindertechniken (Pinch-Technik, „cupping“, Squeegee-Technik) als auch die Triggerbandtechnik und Heimübungen.

Ergebnisse

Die Beschwerden des Patienten ließen sich durch die Therapie deutlich reduzieren. Der Patient ist im Alltag und in der Freizeit kaum noch eingeschränkt und kann seinen sportlichen Aktivitäten wieder nachgehen.

Schlussfolgerung

In der medizinischen Welt wird zunehmend gefordert, dass eingesetzte diagnostische und therapeutische Interventionen evidenzbasiert und kosteneffektiv sein sollen. Das FDM wird sich dieser Prüfung weiter stellen müssen, um von Geldgebern, der Gesellschaft und von Fachpersonen als wirksames und effektives medizinisches Konzept anerkannt zu werden.
Feigning ADHD and stimulant misuse among Dutch university students
Authors: Fuermaier Anselm B. M. , Tucha Oliver , Koerts Janneke , Tucha Lara , Thome Johannes , Faltraco Frank
Published: January 2021

The increasing number of university students seeking diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and findings of an increased stimulant misuse among university students, has raised concerns regarding the credibility of the symptoms of those students. However, most of our current knowledge refers to university students in North America and less is known about this issue on European campuses. The present survey aimed to collect opinions on feigning ADHD and to estimate the prevalence of stimulant misuse among 1071 university students in the Netherlands. The majority of students expressed liberal attitudes towards feigning ADHD. Also, a substantial number of respondents considered feigning ADHD themselves or know someone who feigns ADHD. Furthermore, 68% of students assumed benefits of taking stimulants without prescription and 16% have indeed already taken stimulants without prescription. Feigning ADHD and misuse of prescription medication are prevalent issues among Dutch students. The results underline the need for a careful diagnostic evaluation of individuals for ADHD. Furthermore, efforts are required in order to prevent stimulant drug trafficking and misuse among university students.
Mechanismen der Kardiotoxizität onkologischer Therapien
Authors: Lehmann L. H. , Fröhling S.
Published: January 2021

Hintergrund

Onkologische Therapien zeigen am Herz-Kreislauf-System eine Reihe unerwünschter Wirkungen. Insbesondere neuere Therapien sind diesbezüglich unzureichend verstanden, und klinische Daten fehlen bei der Interpretation neuer kardialer Komplikationen.

Ziel der Arbeit

Der vorliegende Beitrag bietet einen Überblick über die Mechanismen kardialer Nebenwirkungen bestimmter onkologischer Therapien.

Material und Methoden

Die Übersichtsarbeit bezieht sich im Wesentlichen auf Daten präklinischer Untersuchungen.

Ergebnisse

Zahlreiche toxische Nebenwirkungen wurde bereits in präklinischen Modellen vorbeschrieben. Für bestimmte Gruppen von Medikamenten (z. B. Anthrazykline, Tyrosinkinaseinhibitoren, Immun-Checkpoint-Inhibitoren) sind die zugrunde liegenden molekularen Mechanismen aber nicht abschließend geklärt.

Schlussfolgerung

Basierend auf den bekannten molekularen Mechanismen von Kardiotoxizität erschließen sich möglicherweise verbesserte klinische Entscheidungswege. Ein besseres Verständnis ermöglicht auch neue Einblicke in die Pathophysiologie kardialer Erkrankungen. Ziel wird sein, die Ergebnisse translational zu nutzen und in geeigneten kardioonkologischen Einheiten klinisch umzusetzen.
The Prisoners’ Dilemma in collaborative carriers’ request selection
Authors: Gansterer Margaretha , Hartl Richard F.
Published: January 2021

Logistics providers have to utilize available capacities efficiently in order to cope with increasing competition and desired quality of service. One possibility to reduce idle capacity is to build coalitions with other players on the market. While the willingness to enter such coalitions does exist in the logistics industry, the success of collaborations strongly depends on mutual trust and behavior of participants. Hence, a proper mechanism design, where carriers do not have incentives to deviate from jointly established rules, is needed. We propose to use a combinatorial auction system, for which several properties are already well researched but little is known about the auction’s first phase, where carriers have to decide on the set of requests offered to the auction. Profitable selection strategies, aiming at maximization of total collaboration gains, do exist. However, the impact on individual outcomes, if one or more players deviate from jointly agreed selection rules is yet to be researched. We analyze whether participants in an auction-based transport collaboration face a Prisoners’ Dilemma. While it is possible to construct such a setting, our computational study reveals that carriers do not profit from declining the cooperative strategy. This is an important and insightful finding, since it further strengthens the practical applicability of auction-based trading mechanisms in collaborative transportation.
A comparison of the clinical effects of thinning and drilling on laser-assisted hatching
Authors: Wang Yujiang , Chen Chuangqi , Liang Jiaying , Fan Lin , Liu Dun , Zhang Xiqian , Liu Fenghua
Published: January 2021

To systematically investigate the effects of two methods used for laser-assisted hatching (LAH) on clinical outcomes after day 4 (D4) on frozen-embryo-transfer (FET) cycles. Data from 11471 infertile patients who underwent FET cycles between January 2014 and October 2018 was retrospectively analyzed. The 1410 patients who met the inclusion criteria were further categorized into two groups based on the hatching procedure used: the thinning laser-assisted hatching group (T-LAH, 716 patients), and the drilling laser-assisted hatching group (D-LAH, 694 patients). The baseline characteristics of the patients were consistent between the two groups. However, the rates of implantation and clinical pregnancy were significantly higher in the T-LAH group compared to the D-LAH group (32.73% vs. 29.09%, P < 0.01, and 50.98% vs. 43.95%, P < 0.01). The proportion of live birth was also higher in the T-LAH group, but the difference was insignificant (39.11% vs. 36.89%, P > 0.05). Moreover, there were no significant differences in rates of miscarriages, multiple pregnancies, ectopic pregnancies, preterm births, and congenital disabilities between the two groups. Nonetheless, significantly higher rates of implantation and pregnancy were reported in the T-LAH group compared to the D-LAH group among patients aged <35 years, patients with at least one previously failed cycle, and patients with an endometrial thickness of 8–10 mm. T-LAH is superior to D-LAH in improving clinical implantation and pregnancy outcomes in D4 FET, particularly in patients aged <35 years with at least one previously failed cycle or an endometrial thickness of 8–10 mm. The findings of this study provide theoretical support for clinical individualized diagnosis and treatment of patients with infertility.
Seaweed farming pressure affects seagrass and benthic macroalgae dynamics in Chwaka Bay (Zanzibar, Tanzania)
Authors: Moreira-Saporiti Agustín , Hoeijmakers Dieuwke , Msuya Flower E. , Reuter Hauke , Teichberg Mirta
Published: January 2021

Farming of Eucheuma denticulatum is a major activity in Zanzibar affecting seagrass ecosystems primarily through shading and trampling. The aim of this study was to test the impacts of shading and trampling during seaweed farming on seagrass meadows composed by Halophila stipulacea and Thalassia hemprichii and their associated benthic macroalgae. Areas covered by these species were selected for the building of seaweed farms in three treatments: seaweed farm plots (with shading and trampling effects), trampling plots (with trampling effects only), and control plots (with no shading or trampling effects). Reduction of light within the plots was recorded over 9 weeks. Percentage cover of seagrasses and macroalgae and shoot density of seagrasses were measured over 12 weeks to assess the impact of shading and trampling by seaweed farming activities. Light was significantly reduced in the seaweed farm plots by 75 to 90% by the end of a seaweed growth cycle. H. stipulacea, despite its capacity for rapid growth, was significantly affected by the combination of shading and trampling under the seaweed farm treatment, while the climax seagrass species T. hemprichii was unaffected. Due to the decline in H. stipulacea, benthic macroalgae cover increased in the seaweed farm treatment, suggesting a change in seagrass community dynamics. In contrast, trampling had a negative effect on the benthic macroalgae as an isolated disturbance, which suggests that seagrasses are more resistant to trampling than macroalgae and would likely dominate the benthic macrophyte community under these conditions.
Involvement of medical students in a surgery congress: impact on learning motivation, decision-making for a career in surgery, and educational curriculum
Authors: Alkatout Ibrahim , Günther Veronika , Brügge Sandra , Ackermann Johannes , Krüger Magret , Bauerschlag Dirk , Maass Nicolai , Lippross Sebastian , Cascorbi Ingolf , Egberts Jan-Hendrik , Becker Thomas , Osmonov Daniar , Jünemann Klaus-Peter , Wedel Thilo
Published: January 2021

During the preclinical period of medical school, the clinical relevance of theoretical knowledge is given little attention. Medical students of the second year were invited to participate in an interdisciplinary congress for robot-assisted and digital surgery. The students had to evaluate the impact of the congress on their learning motivation, decision-making for a career in surgery, and relevance for their educational curriculum. Participation in the congress increased their learning motivation for preclinical subjects, and significantly increased their interest in a surgical career. Most students considered active involvement in medical congresses a valuable supplement to the medical curriculum. Congress participation during the preclinical period was ranked positively by medical students. Greater learning motivation and enthusiasm for the pilot teaching project as well as for surgical disciplines were registered. Thus, early involvement of medical students in scientific congresses should be an integral part of their educational curriculum.
Multi-GPU approach to global induction of classification trees for large-scale data mining
Authors: Jurczuk Krzysztof , Czajkowski Marcin , Kretowski Marek
Published: January 2021

This paper concerns the evolutionary induction of decision trees (DT) for large-scale data. Such a global approach is one of the alternatives to the top-down inducers. It searches for the tree structure and tests simultaneously and thus gives improvements in the prediction and size of resulting classifiers in many situations. However, it is the population-based and iterative approach that can be too computationally demanding to apply for big data mining directly. The paper demonstrates that this barrier can be overcome by smart distributed/parallel processing. Moreover, we ask the question whether the global approach can truly compete with the greedy systems for large-scale data. For this purpose, we propose a novel multi-GPU approach. It incorporates the knowledge of global DT induction and evolutionary algorithm parallelization together with efficient utilization of memory and computing GPU’s resources. The searches for the tree structure and tests are performed simultaneously on a CPU, while the fitness calculations are delegated to GPUs. Data-parallel decomposition strategy and CUDA framework are applied. Experimental validation is performed on both artificial and real-life datasets. In both cases, the obtained acceleration is very satisfactory. The solution is able to process even billions of instances in a few hours on a single workstation equipped with 4 GPUs. The impact of data characteristics (size and dimension) on convergence and speedup of the evolutionary search is also shown. When the number of GPUs grows, nearly linear scalability is observed what suggests that data size boundaries for evolutionary DT mining are fading.
Concordance of the 21-gene assay between core needle biopsy and resection specimens in early breast cancer patients
Authors: Qi Peng , Yang Yu , Bai Qian-ming , Xue Tian , Ren Min , Yao Qian-lan , Yang Wen-tao , Zhou Xiao-yan
Published: January 2021

Background

Adjuvant therapy decisions may be partly based on the results of a multigene quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-based assay: the 21-gene recurrence score (RS) test of resection specimens. When necessary, core needle biopsy (CNB) may be considered as a surrogate. Here, we evaluated the concordance in gene expression according to results from RT-PCR-based RS testing between paired CNBs and resection specimens.

Methods

CNBs and resection specimens from 50 breast cancer (BC) patients were tested to calculate RSs. First, we examined the concordance of the ER, PR and HER-2 status of tissue samples indicated by immunohistochemical (IHC) and RT-PCR analyses. Then, we compared the IHC findings of ER, PR, HER-2 and Ki-67 staining across paired samples. Ultimately, the RS and single-gene results for ER, PR, HER-2 and Ki-67 were explored between paired samples.

Results

The concordance between IHC and RT-PCR was 100%, 80.0% and 100% for ER, PR and HER-2, respectively, in both resection specimens and CNBs. The concordance for IHC ER, PR, HER-2 and Ki-67 status was 100%, 94.0%, 52.0% and 82.0%, respectively, between paired samples. RS results from paired samples showed a strong correlation. The overall concordance in RS group classification between samples was 74%, 72% and 78% based on traditional cutoffs, TAILORx cutoffs and ASCO guidelines, respectively. ER, PR, HER-2 and Ki-67 were modestly- to- strongly correlated between paired samples according to the RT-PCR results.

Conclusion

A modest- to- strong correlation of ER, PR, HER-2 and Ki-67 gene expression and RS between CNBs and resection specimens was observed in the present study. The 21-gene RS test could be reliably performed on CNBs. ER, PR and HER-2 status showed remarkable concordance between the IHC and RT-PCR analyses. The concordance between paired samples was high for the IHC ER, PR and Ki-67 results and low for HER-2.
TuLeD (Tupían lexical database): introducing a database of a South American language family
Authors: Gerardi Fabrício Ferraz , Reichert Stanislav , Aragon Carolina Coelho
Published: January 2021

The last two decades witnessed a rapid growth of publicly accessible online language resources. This has allowed for valuable data on lesser known languages to become available. Such resources provide linguists with opportunities for advancing their research. Yet despite the proliferation of lexical and morphological databases, the ca. 456 languages spoken in South America are poorly represented, particularly the Tupían family, which is the largest on the continent. This paper therefore introduces and discusses TuLeD, a lexical database exclusively devoted to a South American language family. It provides a comprehensive list of lexical items presented in a unified transcription for all languages with cognacy assignment and relevant (cultural or linguistic) notes. One of the main goals of TuLeD is to become a full-fledged database and a benchmark for linguistic studies on South American languages in general and the Tupían family in particular.
“We Became Rich and We Lost Everything”: Ethnobotany of Remote Mountain Villages of Abruzzo and Molise, Central Italy
Authors: Mattalia Giulia , Sõukand Renata , Corvo Paolo , Pieroni Andrea
Published: January 2021

Profound socioeconomic changes affected mountains of Central Italy during the last century and many traditional agro-pastoral activities were abandoned. A few ethnobotanical studies in this area have specifically documented local wild plants used decades ago, but without analyzing in-depth how and why Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) has eroded or changed over time. In this study, we 1) document ethnobotanical uses of four high-altitude remote villages of Central Italy, 2) discuss how these uses have changed over time, comparing them with fieldwork that was conducted 40 years earlier; and 3) assess how plant uses have changed across space, particularly whether the remoteness of villages or the occurrence of Sacred Natural Sites (SNS) have affected TEK linked to wild plants. Sixty semi-structured interviews revealed the use of 83 taxa belonging to 35 families. We did not find any relationship between SNS and the richness of TEK, as these SNS were not inhabited by monastic communities that could have shared their scholarly knowledge. There was not a relationship between remoteness and richness of TEK. The common statement emerging from the field, “We became rich and lost everything”, revealed how socio-economic changes resulted in the rapid abandonment of traditional practices, while the ubiquity of pharmacies may have contributed to the erosion of ethnomedicinal knowledge.
Obtaining spores for the production of Saccharina latissima: seasonal limitations in nature, and induction of sporogenesis in darkness
Authors: Boderskov Teis , Rasmussen Michael Bo , Bruhn Annette
Published: January 2021

When cultivating the kelp Saccharina latissima, knowledge on the availability of seeding material for the production is essential. Applying a spore seeding approach requires spores from the reproductive organs of the fertile sporophytes (sori). As sori are generally not present during the time of seeding in late summer, the production of spores (sporogenesis) can be artificially induced by removing the meristematic part of the sporophyte and keeping the sporophyte under short day, temperate, and nutrient-replete conditions. Only limited information is available on the effect of light intensities including darkness on the sporogenesis of S. latissima. This study examined the natural pattern of sporogenesis in S. latissima from Middelfart, Denmark, and the effect of four different light regimes (0, 20, 60, or 120 μmol photons m−2 s−1) on the artificial induction of sporogenesis in S. latissima. Natural reproductivity and availability of spores in Denmark peaked in early winter, with 86% of the population being reproductive in November. Reproductive material was available from October until late spring, but with a variable spore release from 11 × 103 to 1.2 × 106 spores cm−2 sori. The artificial induction of sporogenesis was optimal in darkness with > 90% of sporophytes developing sori after 49 days, with an average spore release density of 1.15 ± 0.38 × 106 spores cm−2 sori. The results confirmed that S. latissima in Denmark follows the general pattern of reproduction of S. latissima in North Atlantic regions and demonstrated for the first time that sporogenesis in S. latissima can be efficiently induced in darkness.
The one, the true, the good… or not: Badiou, Agamben, and atheistic transcendentality
Authors: Leung King-Ho
Published: January 2021

This article offers a reading of the “transcendental” character of Alain Badiou’s and Giorgio Agamben’s ontologies. While neither Badiou nor Agamben are “transcendental” philosophers in the Kantian sense, this article argues that their respective projects of ontology both recover aspects of the “classical” conception of the transcendentals. Not unlike how pre-modern philosophers conceived of oneness, truth and goodness as transcendental properties of all things, both Badiou’s and Agamben’s ontologies present various structures which can be universally predicated of all being. However, as opposed to the essentialist or even theological tendencies of traditional metaphysics, Badiou’s and Agamben’s ontologies are committedly “inessential” and atheistic at their very core. By replacing the divine names of the one, the true and the good in traditional metaphysics with a new yet quasi-classical transcendental notion of “the void” as a universal predicate of all beings, Badiou’s and Agamben’s works may be regarded as projects that go beyond both the pre-Kantian “theological” and the post-Kantian “subjective” conceptions of transcendental philosophy, thereby marking a new development in the history of western metaphysics.
Protein recovery as a resource from waste specifically via membrane technology—from waste to wonder
Authors: Shahid Kanwal , Srivastava Varsha , Sillanpää Mika
Published: January 2021

Economic growth and the rapid increase in the world population has led to a greater need for natural resources, which in turn, has put pressure on said resources along with the environment. Water, food, and energy, among other resources, pose a huge challenge. Numerous essential resources, including organic substances and valuable nutrients, can be found in wastewater, and these could be recovered with efficient technologies. Protein recovery from waste streams can provide an alternative resource that could be utilized as animal feed. Membrane separation, adsorption, and microbe-assisted protein recovery have been proposed as technologies that could be used for the aforementioned protein recovery. This present study focuses on the applicability of different technologies for protein recovery from different wastewaters. Membrane technology has been proven to be efficient for the effective concentration of proteins from waste sources. The main emphasis of the present short communication is to explore the possible strategies that could be utilized to recover or restore proteins from different wastewater sources. The presented study emphasizes the applicability of the recovery of proteins from various waste sources using membranes and the combination of the membrane process. Future research should focus on novel technologies that can help in the efficient extraction of these high-value compounds from wastes. Lastly, this short communication will evaluate the possibility of integrating membrane technology. This study will discuss the important proteins present in different industrial waste streams, such as those of potatoes, poultry, dairy, seafood and alfalfa, and the possible state of the art technologies for the recovery of these valuable proteins from the wastewater.

Graphical abstract
Two pleosporalean root-colonizing fungi, Fuscosphaeria hungarica gen. et sp. nov. and Delitschia chaetomioides, from a semiarid grassland in Hungary
Authors: Pintye Alexandra , Knapp Dániel G.
Published: January 2021

In this study, we investigated two unidentified lineages of root-colonizing fungi belonging to the order Pleosporales (Dothideomycetes), which were isolated from Festuca vaginata (Poaceae), a dominant grass species in the semiarid sandy grasslands of Hungary. For molecular phylogenetic studies, seven loci (internal transcribed spacer, partial large subunit and small subunit region of nrRNA, partial transcription elongation factor 1-α, RNA polymerase II largest subunit, RNA polymerase II second largest subunit, and ß-tubulin genes) were amplified and sequenced. Based on morphology and multilocus phylogenetic analyses, we found that one lineage belonged to Delitschia chaetomioides P. Karst. (Delitschiaceae), and the isolates of the other lineage represented a novel monotypic genus in the family Trematosphaeriaceae (suborder Massarineae). For this lineage, we proposed a new genus, Fuscosphaeria, represented by a single species, F. hungarica. In both lineages, only immature and degenerated sporocarps could be induced. These were sterile, black, globose, or depressed globose structures with numerous mycelioid appendages submerged in culture media or on the surface of autoclaved plant materials. Both species are first reported here as root-colonizing fungi.
The Challenge of Mysticism: a Primer from a Christian Perspective
Authors: Spencer Daniel
Published: January 2021

In this article, I discuss the relevance of the study of mysticism for Christian analytic theologians and philosophers of religion. I begin with a brief consideration of some reasons Christian academics might be reluctant to enter this field, and indicate that, somewhat surprisingly, the study of mysticism is something but seldom addressed in Christian analytic circles. With this background in place, I proceed to the primary two sections of the article. Section I deals with demarcating mysticism: for the purposes of this article alone, an experience will count as mystical if and only if it is strongly unitive, transcends everyday consciousness, and (allegedly) conveys epistemic certainty as to the veracity of the insights acquired. These three criteria are discussed in some depth. Section II turns to the challenge mysticism in this sense might present to the Christian philosopher or theologian. I argue that the phenomenon of mysticism might be seen plausibly to imply one of two conclusions, both of which appear to be unpalatable for the Christian. First, it might suggest certain metaphysical views whichprima faciecall key tenets of orthodox Christianity into question. Secondly, mystical experience might be understood as the ‘inner meaning’ of Christianity which renders the better part of orthodox Christian belief equally problematic (as evidenced in three Christian mystics I discuss). I then conclude with a reflection on how the discussion might proceed, suggesting once more that Christian analytic theologians and philosophers of religion have scarcely begun to ask the relevant questions, let alone answer them in any persuasive manner.
Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Children: Emerging Paradigms in Genetics and New Approaches to Therapy
Authors: Conneely Shannon E. , Stevens Alexandra M.
Published: January 2021

Purpose of Review

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in children remains a challenging disease to cure with suboptimal outcomes particularly when compared to the more common lymphoid leukemias. Recent advances in the genetic characterization of AML have enhanced understanding of individualized patient risk, which has also led to the development of new therapeutic strategies. Here, we review key cytogenetic and molecular features of pediatric AML and how new therapies are being used to improve outcomes.

Recent Findings

Recent studies have revealed an increasing number of mutations, including WT1, CBFA2T3-GLIS2, and KAT6A fusions, DEK-NUP214 and NUP98 fusions, and specific KMT2A rearrangements, which are associated with poor outcomes. However, outcomes are starting to improve with the addition of therapies such as gemtuzumab ozogamicin and FLT3 inhibitors, initially developed in adult AML.

The combination of advanced risk stratification and ongoing improvements and innovations in treatment strategy will undoubtedly lead to better outcomes for children with AML.
Quantitative Sensory Testing to Predict Postoperative Pain
Authors: Braun Matthias , Bello Corina , Riva Thomas , Hönemann Christian , Doll Dietrich , Urman Richard D. , Luedi Markus M.
Published: January 2021

Purpose of Review

We review the relevance of quantitative sensory testing (QST) in light of acute and chronic postoperative pain and associated challenges.

Recent Findings

Predicting the occurrence of acute and chronic postoperative pain with QST can help identify patients at risk and allows proactive preventive management. Generally, central QST testing, such as temporal summation of pain (TSP) and conditioned pain modulation (CPM), appear to be the most promising modalities for reliable prediction of postoperative pain by QST. Overall, QST testing has the best predictive value in patients undergoing orthopedic procedures.

Current evidence underlines the potential of preoperative QST to predict postoperative pain in patients undergoing elective surgery. Implementing QST in routine preoperative screening can help advancing traditional pain therapy toward personalized perioperative pain medicine.
Localized Water Quality Improvement in the Choptank Estuary, a Tributary of Chesapeake Bay
Authors: Fisher Thomas R. , Fox Rebecca J. , Gustafson Anne B. , Koontz Erika , Lepori-Bui Michelle , Lewis James
Published: January 2021

Chesapeake Bay has a long history of nutrient pollution resulting in degraded water quality. However, we report improvements in chlorophyll a in surface waters and dissolved oxygen in bottom waters at one of three estuarine stations in the Choptank tributary of Chesapeake Bay. We updated a previous nutrient budget for the estuary constructed for reference year 1998 using rates of atmospheric deposition, inputs of watershed diffuse sources (primarily agriculture), and discharges of point sources (primarily human waste) for reference year 2017. Parallel trends suggest that improvements in water quality at the one station were likely due to 20% reductions in direct atmospheric deposition on the estuary’s surface and 78–95% reductions in wastewater N and P due to installation of tertiary treatment. The agricultural sector, the dominant source of N and P, appeared to provide little contribution to improved water quality during this period. Although efforts to reduce nutrient losses from agriculture are common throughout the Choptank basin, widespread reductions from agricultural diffuse sources could make large contributions to improved water quality at all stations in the estuary. The response in the Choptank is similar to those observed elsewhere in the USA, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand due to improved wastewater treatment. Similar to our findings, the upper Potomac River of Chesapeake Bay saw improvements driven by reductions in atmospheric deposition. Unfortunately, few studies elsewhere have shown improvements in water quality due to agricultural management. The data presented here indicate that public and industrial investments in reductions of atmospheric emissions and upgrades to wastewater treatment plants have improved estuarine water quality in the Choptank.
ASCO 2020 non-small lung cancer (NSCLC) personal highlights
Authors: Horvath Lena , Pircher Andreas
Published: January 2021

In this article we summarize our personal non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) highlights of the virtual ASCO 2020 meeting, covering developments in early and advanced-stage NSCLC. Until recently early stage NSCLC patients were treated independently of their genetic profile. Now the ADAURA study proved that postoperative osimertinib significantly prolongs disease-free survival compared to standard chemotherapy in EGFR-mutated NSCLC , underlining the high efficacy of targeted therapies in early stages. In advanced-stage disease, of course immunotherapy (IO) was at the center of attention. Final analysis of KEYNOTE-189 (pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone) and 3‑year update of CheckMate 227 (nivolumab plus ipilimumab versus standard chemotherapy) proved the long-term overall survival benefit of IO combinations in the first-line setting independent of PD-L1 status. The innovative CheckMate 9LA study demonstrated rapid disease control with limited-course chemotherapy plus IO doublet, while sparing chemotoxicity and may soon become a new clinical treatment choice. Moreover, the phase II CITYSCAPE trial presented significant response rates of the TIGIT-inhibitor tiragolumab plus atezolizumab in PD-L1 positive NSCLC. For HER2-mutated patients a highly effective drug conjugate trastuzumab deruxtecan was presented in a phase II study, extending targeted agents in genetically driven NSCLC. Altogether, ASCO 2020 could excite with inspiring new data for an optimized and more individualized NSCLC treatment regimen, contributing to a better outcome for both early and late-stage diseased patients and continuing to decrease lung cancer mortality.
Organic consumers’ profile beyond the mean
Authors: Furno Marilena , Del Giudice Teresa , Cicia Gianni
Published: January 2021

The European organic food market is characterized by very different consumer segments. There are significant differences concerning motivations for organic food consumption, preferences for various attributes, and frequency of purchase among consumers. Although the organic food sector has been studied for about 20 years, little is known about consumer behavior at different levels of consumption. The aim of this study was to investigate the determinants of organic food consumption in various market segments characterized by different purchasing frequencies. The determinants of purchase frequency in Italy and Germany are analyzed not only at the mean regression, by OLS, but also at the median and at the mode. Differing estimates at these measures of central tendency generally occur with asymmetric distributions, and this occurs in the following analysis as well. Moreover, since in Germany the dependent variable presents more than one peak/mode, interpretation of the mode regression becomes problematic and a different tool is implemented, namely the finite mixture model. The latter clusters the observations in homogeneous groups while computing the regression coefficients within each group. Buyers are split into two groups, frequent and rare consumers of organic food, and two different sets of estimated coefficients explain frequency of purchases within each group.
Evaluation for the optimization of two conceptual 200,000 m3/day capacity RO desalination plant with different intake seawater of Oman Sea and Caspian Sea
Authors: Yusefi Fatemeh , Zahedi Mir Mahdi , Ziyaadini Morteza
Published: January 2021

Iran has faced with water scarcity problem for a long time. There is a strong tendency to desalinate seawater from Oman or the Caspian Sea as intake seawater and transfer it to central parts of the country. These projects face significant technical, economic, and environmental challenges. In this work, utilizing available economic theories about single-stage reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plants, the cost analysis of a conceptual plant with a production capacity of 200,000 m3/day, was accomplished assuming the use of Oman and Caspian seawater as feed. The effect of important parameters such as applied pressure, recovery ratio, total salt content of the feed, and produced water and the temperature has been studied theoretically. The results show that under the same working conditions, the final product price per cubic meter of freshwater from the Caspian Sea is $ 0.69 versus $ 1.24 for the Oman Sea, which is about 50% cheaper. The lower salinity of the Caspian Sea compared to the Oman Sea is the main reason, which lead to reduce in the capital cost of the RO membrane (62% difference), cost of the intake and pretreatment (20%), and cost of membrane elements replacement (13%) regardless of water transfer cost.
Hydro-morphometric characterization and prioritization of sub-watersheds for land and water resource management using fuzzy analytical hierarchical process (FAHP): a case study of upper Rihand watershed of Chhattisgarh State, India
Authors: Ghosh Milan , Gope Dipti
Published: January 2021

Rihand reservoir is continuously experiencing siltation due to erosion in upper basin; thus study of morphometric-based prioritization of sub-watershed has become prerequisite for implementation of measures for conservation of soil and water resource. In present study an attempted has been made to analyze characterization and prioritization of sub-watersheds in upper basin of Rihand watershed based on hydro-morphometric parameters, in an environment of Geographical Information System (GIS), with the help of Multicriteria Decision Making through Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) techniques in order to identify critical sub-watersheds for conservation and management of soil and water resource. The morphometric characterization has been done through measurement of linear, areal and relief aspect of over seven sub-watersheds using SOI topographical sheet and SRTM data with the help of Q GIS 3.10 and White box software. In the purpose prioritization of sub-watersheds FAHP method has been implemented through assigning fuzzy membership function to each of 15 morphometric parameters by deriving their relationships with erosional hazard and criterion weight has been obtained using Saaty’s (Fundamentals of decision making and priority theory with analytical hierarchical process, RWS Publications University of Pittsburgh, Pittusburgh, 1980) proposed method. Based on prioritization approach the entire sub-watershed has divided into 3 vulnerable zones, i.e., high, medium and low. This study reveals that about 29% area of the watershed is falls under high vulnerable zone as they obtained high priority value and required immediate measures. In addition, ideal locations for measure structure to prevent soil erosion and maximize infiltration has been proposed which will be useful to the decision maker for land and water resource conservation, management, and sustainable agricultural development.