bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
No matter what the name, we’re all the same? Examining ethnic online discrimination in ridesharing marketplaces
Authors: Abramova Olga
Published: January 2022

Sharing marketplaces emerged as the new Holy Grail of value creation by enabling exchanges between strangers. Identity reveal, encouraged by platforms, cuts both ways: While inducing pre-transaction confidence, it is suspected of backfiring on the information senders with its discriminative potential. This study employs a discrete choice experiment to explore the role of names as signifiers of discriminative peculiarities and the importance of accompanying cues in peer choices of a ridesharing offer. We quantify users’ preferences for quality signals in monetary terms and evidence comparative disadvantage of Middle Eastern descent male names for drivers and co-travelers. It translates into a lower willingness to accept and pay for an offer. Market simulations confirm the robustness of the findings. Further, we discover that females are choosier and include more signifiers of involuntary personal attributes in their decision-making. Price discounts and positive information only partly compensate for the initial disadvantage, and identity concealment is perceived negatively.
Prevention of Recurrent Childhood Caries with Probiotic Supplements: A Randomized Controlled Trial with a 12-Month Follow-Up
Authors: Hasslöf P. , Granqvist L. , Stecksén-Blicks C. , Twetman S.
Published: January 2022

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of drops containing probiotic bacteria on the recurrence of dental caries in preschool children. The study employed a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded design with two parallel arms. 38 preschool children were enrolled after comprehensive restorative treatment under general anesthesia or conscious sedation (baseline), and they were followed up after 6 and 12 months. Parents of children in the test group were instructed to give 5 daily drops containing two strains of Limosilactobacillus reuteri (DSM 17938 and ATCC PTA 5289) at bedtime. The placebo drops were identically composed but lacked bacteria. The duration of the intervention was 12 months. The primary endpoint was recurrence of new caries lesions on subject level (yes/no), and secondary endpoints were presence of dental plaque and gingivitis. We found high rate of recurrent moderate and extensive lesions after 12 months (67%) but there were no significant differences between the groups. We observed no beneficial effects on dental plaque or gingival inflammation. The findings were however uncertain and inconclusive due to lack of power, a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. ClinTrials.gov Identifier: (NCT04929340), June 18, 2021; retrospectively registered.
Test–retest reliability of arterial spin labelling for cerebral blood flow in older adults with small vessel disease
Authors: Binnie Lauren R. , Pauls Mathilde M. H. , Benjamin Philip , Dhillon Mohani-Preet K. , Betteridge Shai , Clarke Brian , Ghatala Rita , Hainsworth Fearghal A. H. , Howe Franklyn A. , Khan Usman , Kruuse Christina , Madigan Jeremy B. , Moynihan Barry , Patel Bhavini , Pereira Anthony C. , Rostrup Egill , Shtaya Anan B. Y. , Spilling Catherine A. , Trippier Sarah , Williams Rebecca , Isaacs Jeremy D. , Barrick Thomas R. , Hainsworth Atticus H.
Published: January 2022

Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is common in older people and is associated with lacunar stroke, white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and vascular cognitive impairment. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is reduced in SVD, particularly within white matter.

Here we quantified test–retest reliability in CBF measurements using pseudo-continuous arterial spin labelling (pCASL) in older adults with clinical and radiological evidence of SVD (N=54, mean (SD): 66.9 (8.7) years, 15 females/39 males). We generated whole-brain CBF maps on two visits at least 7 days apart (mean (SD): 20 (19), range 7-117 days).

Test–retest reliability for CBF was high in all tissue types, with intra-class correlation coefficient [95%CI]: 0.758 [0.616, 0.852] for whole brain, 0.842 [0.743, 0.905] for total grey matter, 0.771 [0.636, 0.861] for deep grey matter (caudate-putamen and thalamus), 0.872 [0.790, 0.923] for normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) and 0.780 [0.650, 0.866] for WMH (all p<0.001). ANCOVA models indicated significant decline in CBF in total grey matter, deep grey matter and NAWM with increasing age and diastolic blood pressure (all p<0.001). CBF was lower in males relative to females (p=0.013 for total grey matter, p=0.004 for NAWM).

We conclude that pCASL has high test–retest reliability as a quantitative measure of CBF in older adults with SVD. These findings support the use of pCASL in routine clinical imaging and as a clinical trial endpoint.

All data come from the PASTIS trial, prospectively registered at: https://eudract.ema.europa.eu (2015-001235-20, registered 13/05/2015), http://www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02450253, registered 21/05/2015).
Tutorial. A Behavioral Analysis of Rationality, Nudging, and Boosting: Implications for Policymaking
Authors: Tagliabue Marco
Published: January 2022

As recent trends in policymaking call for increased contributions from behavioral science, nudging and boosting represent two effective and relatively economic approaches for influencing choice behavior. They utilize concepts from behavioral economics to affect agents’ concurrent suboptimal choices: in principle, without applying coercion. However, most choice situations involve some coercive elements. This study features a functional analysis of rationality, nudging, and boosting applied to public policy. The relationship between behavior and environmental variables is termed a “behavioral contingency,” and the analysis can include social and cultural phenomena by applying a selectionist perspective. Principles of behavioral control, whether tight or loose, may be exerted by policymakers or regulators who subscribe to paternalistic principles and may be met with demands of libertarianism among their recipients. This warrants discussion of the legitimacy and likelihood of behavioral control and influence on choices. Cases and examples are provided for extending the unit of analysis of choice behavior to achieve outcomes regulated by policies at the individual and group levels, including health, climate, and education. Further research and intervention comprise the study of macrocontingencies and metacontingencies. Advancing the understanding and application of behavioral science to policymaking may, therefore, benefit from moving from the relatively independent contributions of behavioral economics and behavior analysis to an inclusive selectionist approach for addressing choice behavior and cultural practices.
A Student's Guide to Special Relativity
Authors: Gray Norman
Published: January 2022

This compact yet informative Guide presents an accessible route through Special Relativity, taking a modern axiomatic and geometrical approach. It begins by explaining key concepts and introducing Einstein's postulates. The consequences of the postulates – length contraction and time dilation – are unravelled qualitatively and then quantitatively. These strands are then tied together using the mathematical framework of the Lorentz transformation, before applying these ideas to kinematics and dynamics. This volume demonstrates the essential simplicity of the core ideas of Special Relativity, while acknowledging the challenges of developing new intuitions and dealing with the apparent paradoxes that arise. A valuable supplementary resource for intermediate undergraduates, as well as independent learners with some technical background, the Guide includes numerous exercises with hints and notes provided online. It lays the foundations for further study in General Relativity, which is introduced briefly in an appendix.
Promoting Fair Private Governance in the Platform Economy: EU Competition and Contract Law Applied to Standard Terms
Authors: RUTGERS Jacobien , SAUTER Wolf
Published: January 2022

In recent years, a platform economy has emerged that is dominated by undertakings such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft. They have established a form of private governance vis-à-vis their consumers and customers by means of standard terms that create a risk of exploitation. This trend clashes with the internal market effort of the EU that is predicated on consumer rights and fair competition to address market failures such as market power, information asymmetry, and asymmetrical contractual dependency. In this article we examine how the resulting tensions can be addressed by means of EU competition and contract law. This is based on enforcing fairness by requiring (1) the implementation of proportionality—balancing interests—and (2) respect of the duty of care, in the sense of compliance by design. Jointly this can be seen as an expression of accountability that needs to be made explicit. Apart from pre-existing case law and legislation, we take into account the December 2020 Commission proposals for platform regulation, as well as behavioural insights into consumer behaviour.
Analyzing The Risk Thresholds For Banning Political Parties After NPD II
Authors: Hogan James
Published: January 2022

The recent global growth of anti-democratic sentiment has renewed the question of when a political party should be barred from the electoral arena. In modern democracies, even explicitly militant ones, constitutional mechanisms for banning political parties are rarely used. The recent decision by the German Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) not to ban the National Democratic Party, despite its neo-Nazi platform, is an example of this restraint, with the BVerfG introducing a new, stricter criterion called “potentiality” for the dissolution of a political party under the German Basic Law. This article draws on neo-institutionalism and comparative constitutional law to explore the democratic ramifications of three different European thresholds for banning an anti-democratic political party: the presumptive test previously used by the BVerfG, the new potentiality criterion introduced by the BVerfG, and the European Court of Human Rights’ requirement for the party in question to be an imminent threat before it can be dissolved.
Popular Sovereignty After Brexit
Authors: Daly Eoin
Published: January 2022

The Brexit referendum highlights the apparently anomalous role of the “people” in the constitutional order of the United Kingdom. Politically speaking, its verdict is acknowledged as unassailable and unaccountable, yet this “sovereign” status has no legal grounds. In turn, some commentators have argued that this discrepancy between “political” and “legal” understandings of popular sovereignty—or the failure to properly institutionalize popular sovereignty in a legal-constitutional form—represents a distinct site of constitutional crisis in its own right. However, I argue that such claims of constitutional anomaly, or of British exceptionalism in this regard, are misplaced. While the Brexit scenario seems to express the destabilizing and disruptive potential of a popular sovereign that exceeds or evades constitutional recognition, this is in no sense a peculiarity of the British constitutional order. By its nature, popular sovereignty is inexhaustible by constitutional recognition, and so it tends to retain such disruptive potential regardless of whatever constitutional form it is assigned. Thus, critics of the British constitutional status quo overestimate the capacity of constitutional law in general to regulate or domesticate the expression of popular sovereignty via referendums.
Inactivation of replication-competent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on common surfaces by disinfectants
Authors: Pope Zachary C. , Weisend Carla M. , Shah Aditya , Ebihara Hideki , Rizza Stacey A.
Published: January 2022

This experimental laboratory-based study evaluated two disinfectants’ efficacy against replication-competent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) on three surfaces. Disinfectants were effictive at eliminating the presence, viability, and subsequent replication of SARS-CoV-2 on all surfaces. Although SARS-CoV-2 likely spreads primarily via airborne transmission, layered mitigation should include high-touch surface disinfection.
Horizontal miscible displacements through porous media: the interplay between viscous fingering and gravity segregation
Authors: Nijjer Japinder S. , Hewitt Duncan R. , Neufeld Jerome A.
Published: January 2022

We consider miscible displacements in two-dimensional homogeneous porous media where the displacing fluid is less viscous and has a different density than the displaced fluid. We find that the dynamics evolve through nine possible regimes depending on the viscosity ratio, strength of density variations and the strength of the background flow, as characterized by the Péclet number. At early times the interface is dominated by longitudinal diffusion before undergoing a transition to a slumping regime where vertical flow is important. At intermediate times, vertical flow and diffusion can be neglected and there are three different limiting solutions: a fingering limit; an injection-driven gravity-current limit; and a density-driven gravity-current limit. Finally at late times, transverse diffusion becomes important and there is a transition from an apparent shutdown regime to a viscously enhanced Taylor-slumping regime. In each of the regimes, the dominant scalings are identified and reduced-order models for the evolution of the concentration field are developed. Lastly, three case studies are considered to illustrate the dominant physical balances in the geophysically relevant setting of geological

$\textrm {CO}_2$

storage.
On steady natural convection in a vertical porous slab with permeable boundaries
Authors: Vynnycky M. , Mitchell S.L.
Published: January 2022

In this paper, we consider the steady-state base flow for natural convection in a vertical porous slab with permeable boundaries. Although recent work proposed a one-dimensional solution for this flow, we make a strong case for this flow to be two-dimensional; this centres on an oversight in the use of the Oberbeck–Boussinesq approximation in the earlier work. Two-dimensional numerical solutions for this flow are then obtained using a pressure–temperature formulation, and the results are backed up using asymptotic analysis. The relevance of these findings to other recent work on the stability of convection in porous slabs with permeable boundaries is also briefly discussed.
Blood is Thicker Than Water: Elite Kinship Networks and State Building in Imperial China
Authors: WANG YUHUA
Published: January 2022

A long tradition in social sciences scholarship has established that kinship-based institutions undermine state building. I argue that kinship networks, when geographically dispersed, cross-cut local cleavages and align the incentives of self-interested elites in favor of building a strong state, which generates scale economies in providing protection and justice throughout a large territory. I evaluate this argument by examining elite preferences related to a state-building reform in eleventh century China. I map politicians’ kinship networks using their tomb epitaphs and collect data on their political allegiances from archival materials. A statistical analysis demonstrates that a politician’s support for state building increases with the geographic size of his kinship network, controlling for a number of individual, family, and regional characteristics. My findings highlight the importance of elite social structure in facilitating state development and help to advance our understanding of state building in China—a useful, yet understudied, counterpoint to the Eurocentric literature.
Inscribing Grievances, Litigation, and Local Community in Eighteenth-Century Korea
Authors: Kim Jungwon
Published: January 2022

As existing scholarship demonstrates, although the Chosŏn state (1392–1910) aimed to be a society “without litigation,” people understood the use of law and employed it to resolve various disputes in the local community. At the same time, a plethora of legal cases reveal that many parties chose alternative ways of airing their grievances rather than going directly to the local court. Centered on the eighteenth-century litigation over a case of attempted rape, this article examines the complex, multifaceted factors that influenced people's use of different strategies to appeal their justice at the local level. It asks what resources ordinary people in the late Chosŏn had in navigating legal conflicts, how they strategized over the choices they had, and why they finally exercised particular options when trying to win their cases. Investigating these questions, this article not only offers insights into the meaning of litigation that entailed strenuous document preparation to inscribe grievance, but also probes the impulses of individual actors in the legal terrain when attempting to achieve their goals through the dynamics of social interactions and existing resources in eighteenth-century Korea.
Visceral leishmaniasis in a recent transmission region: 27.4% infectivity rate among seronegative dogs
Authors: Gondim Carolina Novato , Ferreira Sidney de Almeida , Vasconcelos Beatriz Ketelin Sousa , Wouters Flademir , Fujiwara Ricardo Toshio , de Castro Joseane Camilla , Barçante Joziana Muniz de Paiva
Published: January 2022

American visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a parasitic disease whose main domestic reservoir in the urban environment is dog and is considered one of the most important zoonoses in the context of public health. Serological tests are typically used for the diagnostic screening of the disease. This study aimed to analyse the performance of different methodologies used in the diagnosis of VL in dogs sampled from a recent transmission area. The sample consisted of 52 dogs separated into groups based on the absence and presence of clinical signs of VL. The following serological techniques were carried out: the DPP® rapid test (RT), the ALERE® RT and an RT and immunoenzymatic assay with a recently developed protein (rKDDR-plus). In addition, molecular techniques were carried out with conjunctival swabs, and bone marrow aspirate samples and parasitological samples were obtained directly from bone marrow aspirates. It was concluded that 27.4% of seronegative dogs were infected, but the serological tests, used as screening tests, showed unsatisfactory sensitivity results (average: 51.2%) for dogs without clinical signs. It was suggested that polymerase chain reaction with conjunctival swabbing be used as a screening test for dogs without clinical signs, as this is a non-invasive collection technique with high-sensitivity values.
An improved inverse kinematics solution for 6-DOF robot manipulators with offset wrists
Authors: Zhou Xing , Xian Yaoqi , Chen Yuanhao , Chen Tongshu , Yang Lin , Chen Simin , Huang Jian
Published: January 2022

Efficiently solving inverse kinematics (IK) of robot manipulators with offset wrists remains a challenge in robotics due to noncompliance with Pieper criteria. In this paper, an improved method to solve the IK for 6-DOF robot manipulators with offset wrists is proposed. This method is based on the Newton iteration technique, but it does not require a selection of initial estimation of joint variables. The solution is divided into two parts: the first part is to reconstruct a simplified structure with analytical IK solution, and the second part is to obtain a numerical solution by iteration. Further, a robot manipulator HSR-BR606 with an offset wrist is used as an example to specifically elaborate the mathematical procedure of the method and to investigate the algorithm in terms of accuracy, efficiency, and application of motion planning. A comparative experiment is conducted with a typical IK algorithm, which demonstrates a higher accuracy and shorter calculation time of the proposed method. The mean calculation time for a single IK solution required for this algorithm is only 4% of the comparison algorithm.
Wild Galois representations: a family of hyperelliptic curves with large inertia image
Authors: COPPOLA NIRVANA
Published: January 2022

In this work we generalise the main result of [1] to the family of hyperelliptic curves with potentially good reduction over ap-adic field which have genus$g=({p-1})/{2}$and the largest possible image of inertia under the$\ell$-adic Galois representation associated to its Jacobian. We will prove that this Galois representation factors as the tensor product of an unramified character and an irreducible representation of a finite group, which can be either equal to the inertia image (in which case the representation is easily determined) or a$C_2$-extension of it. In this second case, there are two suitable representations and we will describe the Galois action explicitly in order to determine the correct one.
‘The household snake’: Detection and eradication of pests in the home by means of snakes, as reflected in Talmudic sources
Authors: SHEMESH ABRAHAM OFIR
Published: January 2022

Literary sources of the classical era (first-fifth centuries), both Greco-Roman and Jewish, indicate that snakes were used for different purposes, such as for medicine, as raw materials for manufacturing objects, and as pets. This article discusses the use of snakes to deal with pests in the ancient homes as reflected in the Talmudic sources as well as in classical literature. The Jerusalem Talmud (Yerushalmi) brings a story of how a house snake helped a family locate a wild snake that entered the house and left its venom in the food. The impression is that the origin of the story is from a non-Jewish environment, and not necessarily from Eretz Israel. It is not impossible that the story is one version of stories about Aesculapian snakes that helped exterminate and drive away pests, as related by Pliny. This narrative variation was absorbed by the sages from their own non-Jewish environment, who adapted the story to the religious-educational messages that they sought to convey. It seems that the practice of using snakes to exterminate domestic pests was relatively limited and less common than that of small predators, such as cats, mongooses or weasels.
Tax evasion and optimal corporate income tax rates in a growing economy
Authors: Hori Takeo , Maebayashi Noritaka , Morimoto Keiichi
Published: January 2022

We explore how tax evasion by firms affects the growth- and welfare-maximizing rates of corporate income tax (CIT) in an endogenous growth model with productive public service. We show that the negative effect of CIT on growth is mitigated in the presence of tax evasion. This increases the benefit of raising the CIT rate for public service provision. Thus, in contrast to Barro [(1990)Journal of Political Economy98, 103–125], the optimal tax rate is higher than the output elasticity of public service. Through numerical exercises, we demonstrate that the role of tax evasion by firms is quantitatively significant.
The burden in palliative care assistance: A comparison of psychosocial risks and burnout between inpatient hospice and home care services workers
Authors: Fattori Alice , Pedruzzi Matilde , Cantarella Carlo , Bonzini Matteo
Published: January 2022

Objective

Literature suggests that home care professionals could be at higher risk of burnout than their colleagues in hospital settings, but research on home-based palliative care is still limited. Our study investigates psychosocial risk factors and burnout among workers involved in palliative care, comparing inpatient hospice, and home care settings.

Method

A cross-sectional study was carried out in a single palliative care organization providing inpatient hospice-based and home care-based assistance in a large urban area of Northern Italy. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire collecting socio-demographic and occupational data, psychosocial risk factors, and burnout scales (Psychosocial Safety Climate 4; Conflict and Offensive Behavior — COPSOQ II; Work Life Boundaries; Work-home Interaction; Peer Support — HSE; Copenhagen Burnout Inventory).

Results

The study sample included 106 subjects (95% of the overall eligible working population) who were predominantly female (68%) and nurses (57%), with a mean age of 41 years. Compared to inpatient hospice staff, home care workers reported more frequent communications with colleagues (p = 0.03) and patients/caregivers (p = 0.01), while there were no differences in the perception of work intrusiveness. Inpatient hospice workers showed lower peer support (p = 0.08) and lower psychosocial safety climate (p = 0.001) than home care colleagues. The experience of aggressive behaviors was rare, and it was relatively more frequent among inpatient hospice workers, female workers, and health assistants. Average scores of burnout scales were similar for both groups except for caregiver-related burnout, which was higher among inpatient hospice workers compared to home care colleagues (p = 0.008). The number of subjects at risk for work-related burnout was similar for both groups.

Significance of results

Our study confirms the presence of psychological and physical fatigue in both home-based and inpatient hospice palliative care. Results suggest that home care assistance may not be characterized by higher psychological burden compared to inpatient hospice setting. Given the general tendency to increase home-based care in our aging population, it is essential to broaden the knowledge of psychosocial risks in this specific context to properly protect workers’ health.
Virtual reality for improving pain and pain-related symptoms in patients with advanced stage colorectal cancer: A pilot trial to test feasibility and acceptability
Authors: Kelleher Sarah A. , Fisher Hannah M. , Winger Joseph G. , Miller Shannon N. , Amaden Grace H. , Somers Tamara J. , Colloca Luana , Uronis Hope E. , Keefe Francis J.
Published: January 2022

Objective

Virtual reality (VR) has the potential to improve pain and pain-related symptoms. We examined the feasibility, acceptability, safety, and impact of a 30-min virtual underwater/sea environment (VR Blue) for reducing pain and pain-related symptoms in advanced colorectal cancer patients. A qualitative exit interview was conducted to understand preferences, thoughts, and feelings about the VR session.

Method

Participants (N = 20) had stage IV colorectal cancer and moderate-to-severe pain. Participants completed a 30-min VR Blue session that visually and aurally immersed them in virtual ocean scenarios. Feasibility was assessed by accrual (N = 20), protocol adherence (≥80% completing VR Blue), and completed data (≥80% assessment completion). Acceptability was determined by patients reporting ≥80% intervention satisfaction. Safety was determined by ≥80% of patients completing the session without self-reported side effects. Measures of pain, tension, relaxation, stress, anxiety, and mood were collected before, during, and after the VR Blue session. A semi-structured qualitative interview was conducted after VR Blue to assess participants’ VR experiences.

Results

All participants (100%) completed the VR Blue session. There was 100% data collection at the pre- and post-assessments. Satisfaction with VR Blue was high M = 3.3 (SD = 0.4) (83%). No significant side effects were reported. Pain decreased by 59% (Pre-M = 3 [1]; Post-M = 1 [1]). Tension decreased by 74% (Pre-M = 30 [24]; Post-M = 8 [13]). Relaxation improved by 38% (Pre-M = 62 [21]); Post-M = 86 [17]). Stress decreased by 68% (Pre-M = 24 [24]; Post-M = 8 [14]). Anxiety decreased by 65% (Pre-M = 20 [23]; Post-M = 7 [13]). Mood improved by 70% (Pre-M = 13 [16]; Post-M = 4 [11]). Qualitative data suggested a positive response to the VR Blue protocol.

Significance of results

This work supports the feasibility, acceptability, and safety of VR Blue for advanced colorectal cancer patients. Participants showed significant pre-post improvement in pain and pain-related symptoms hinting to the potential feasibility of VR interventions in this population. Larger, randomized trials with a control condition are needed to examine the efficacy of VR-based interventions for patients with advanced colorectal cancer and pain.
A qualitative exploration of the feasibility and acceptability of Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Cancer Caregivers
Authors: Applebaum A. J. , Roberts K. E. , Lynch K. , Gebert R. , Loschiavo M. , Behrens M. , Walsh L. E. , Polacek L. C. , Diamond E. L. , Breitbart W. S.
Published: January 2022

Objective

Caregivers of patients with cancer are at significant risk for existential distress. Such distress negatively impacts caregivers’ quality of life and capacity to serve in their role as healthcare proxies, and ultimately, contributes to poor bereavement outcomes. Our team developed Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Cancer Caregivers (MCP-C), the first targeted psychosocial intervention that directly addresses existential distress in caregivers.

Method

Nine caregivers of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) enrolled in a pilot randomized controlled trial evaluating the feasibility, acceptability, and effects of MCP-C, and completed in-depth interviews about their experience in the therapy. One focus group with three MCP-C interventionists was also completed.

Results

Four key themes emerged from interviews: (1) MCP-C validated caregivers’ experience of caregiving; (2) MCP-C helped participants reframe their “caregiving identity” as a facet of their larger self-identity, by placing caregiving in the context of their life's journey; (3) MCP-C enabled caregivers to find ways to assert their agency through caregiving; and (4) the structure and sequence of sessions made MCP-C accessible and feasible. Feedback from interventionists highlighted several potential manual changes and overall ways in which MCP-C can help facilitate caregivers’ openness to discussing death and engaging in advanced care planning discussions with the patient.

Significance of results

The overarching goal of MCP-C is to allow caregivers to concurrently experience meaning and suffering; the intervention does not seek to deny the reality of challenges endured by caregivers, but instead to foster a connection to meaning and purpose alongside their suffering. Through in-depth interviews with caregivers and a focus group with MCP interventionists, we have refined and improved our MCP-C manual so that it can most effectively assist caregivers in experiencing meaning and purpose, despite inevitable suffering.
Biometric data flows and unintended consequences of counterterrorism
Authors: Jacobsen Katja Lindskov
Published: January 2022

Examining unintended consequences of the makings and processing of biometric data in counterterrorism and humanitarian contexts, this article introduces a two-fold framework through which it analyzes biometric data-makings and flows in Afghanistan and Somalia. It combines Tilley's notion of “living laboratory” and Larkin's notion of infrastructure into a framework that attends to the conditions under which biometric data is made and to subsequent flows of such data through data-sharing agreements or unplanned access. Exploring such unintended consequences, attention needs to be paid to the variety of actors using biometrics for different purposes yet with data flows across such differences. Accordingly, the article introduces the notion of digital intervention infrastructures, with biometric databases as one dimension.
Glyphosate resistance in junglerice (Echinochloa colona) and alternative herbicide options for its effective control
Authors: Ndirangu Wangari Teresa , Mahajan Gulshan , Chauhan Bhagirath Singh
Published: January 2022

Control of glyphosate-resistant (GR) junglerice is a challenging task in eastern Australia. There is limited information on the efficacy and reliability of alternate herbicides for GR populations of junglerice, especially when targeting large plants and when temperatures are high. A series of experiments were conducted to confirm the level of glyphosate resistance in three populations of junglerice and to evaluate the efficacy of alternate herbicides for the control of GR junglerice populations. The LD50 of glyphosate of B17/7, B17/34, and B17/35 populations was found to be 298, 2,260, and 1,715 g ae ha–1, respectively, suggesting that populations B17/34 and B17/35 were highly resistant to glyphosate. Glyphosate efficacy was reduced at high-temperature (35 C day/25 C night) compared with low-temperature conditions (25 C day/15 C night), suggesting that control of susceptible populations may also be reduced if glyphosate is sprayed under hot conditions. Preemergence herbicides dimethenamid-P (1,000 g ai ha–1) and pendimethalin (1,500 g ai ha–1) provided 100% control of GR populations (B17/34 and 17/35). Postemergence herbicides, such as clethodim (60 or 90 g ai ha–1), glufosinate (750 g ai ha–1), haloxyfop (52 or 78 g ai ha–1), and paraquat (400 or 600 g ai ha–1), applied at the four-leaf stage provided 100% control of GR populations. For larger junglerice plants (eight-leaf stage), postemergence applications of paraquat (400 or 600 g ai ha–1) provided greater weed control than clethodim, glufosinate, and haloxyfop. A mixture of either glufosinate or haloxyfop with glyphosate provided poor control of GR junglerice populations compared with application of glufosinate or haloxyfop applied alone. Efficacy of glufosinate and haloxyfop for the control of GR populations decreased when applied in the sequential spray after glyphosate application. This study identified alternative herbicide options for GR junglerice populations that can be used in herbicide rotation programs for sustainable weed management.
Effects of sport therapy on psychosocial outcomes for forensic patients
Authors: Reimer Vanessa , Ross Thomas , Kanning Martina
Published: January 2022

Abstract. Physical activity has gained importance in psychiatric and psychosomatic treatment schemes, but there is little knowledge on the use of physical activity for forensic rehabilitation, including psychosocial outcomes. A systematic review of the literature on PubMed and Livivo found only one study that specifically addressed the effects of physical activity in forensic patients. Twenty-three studies reported on physical activity in the context of non-forensic patients suffering from mental illnesses similar to those commonly diagnosed in forensic patients. We summarize the effects of physical activity with respect to therapeutic objectives suggested by German sport therapists working with forensic patients. In forensic patients or patients suffering from mental illness typical of forensic patients, physical activity promotes social skills (4 studies), self-image, body experience, and personality growth (9 studies). Physical activity also helps to activate patients (12 studies), while reducing their tension and anger (1 study). Yet, there is a significant lack of specific scientific evidence as to whether sport therapy for forensic patients is effective in terms of the therapeutic objectives of this patient group. Future research must focus on longitudinal dose-effect outcome studies on forensic patients and should also concentrate on studies in the area of psychosis, personality disorders and addiction in relation to forensic sport therapeutic objectives.
Assessing the Modern Multi‐Decadal Scale Aridification Over the Northern China From a Historical Perspective
Authors: Qin Yanmin , Ning Liang , Li Longhui , Liu Zhengyu , Liu Jian , Yan Mi , Chen Kefan , Xue Jiao , Wang Liulin , Li Chuxin
Published: January 2022

Northern China (35°–50°N; 105°–125°E) has experienced a multidecadal aridification since 1950s, which was mainly manifested by multi‐decadal scale decreases of regional precipitation and soil moisture, and brought severe influences on societal and economic developments. However, the position of this aridification among the historical aridification events over northern China during the last millennium has not been fully assessed. Furthermore, the contributions from anthropogenic forcings, natural forcings, and internal variability on this aridification have not been quantitatively differentiated. In this study, observations, proxy reconstructions, and model simulations from community Earth system model last millennium ensemble archive were used to assess this aridification from a historical perspective, and differentiate the contributions from different forcings and internal variability. It was found that duration and magnitude of this aridification are more prominent than most of aridifications during the last millennium. The comparisons between control experiment and sensitivity experiments show that the external forcings, especially anthropogenic forcings, result in a significant larger aridification rate than other historical aridifications. Only combined impacts from internal variability (i.e., Pacific Decadal oscillation, PDO and Atlantic Multidecadal oscillation (AMO)) and anthropogenic forcings (e.g., greenhouses gas emission, anthropogenic aerosol emission, and land use cover changes) can result in such a severer aridification than historical aridifications. The results also confirm that the phase shifts of PDO and AMO trigger this aridification over the northern China, and, whether external forcings contribute to these phase shifts were also discussed.
Rain, Wind, and Dust Connections in the Sahel
Authors: Bergametti G. , Rajot J.‐L. , Marticorena B. , Féron A. , Gaimoz C. , Chatenet B. , Coulibaly M. , Koné I. , Maman A. , Zakou A.
Published: January 2022

The Sahel is a dust source region where dust emission could be drastically modified in the future due to climatic and land use changes. Based on observations of meteorological parameters and dust concentration for about 1,000 rain events, we investigated the processes leading to dust emission during the rainy season when Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCSs) regularly cross the Sahel. We show that the highest wind speed is strongly linked to the MCS cold pool intensity, which is characterized by a drop in surface temperature. This is observed during the premonsoon period (∼May to June) when the midtroposphere is still sufficiently dry to allow intense evaporation of raindrops. Because this coincides with the time of the year that the surface is the least protected by the vegetative residue, the premonsoon wind speed leads to the highest observed dust concentration in our record. Most of the highest wind speed occur before or just at the beginning of a rainy event allowing a large part of the dust raised to be transported ahead the rain limiting dust removal by wet scavenging. Finally, we show that the number of 5‐min dust concentration higher than 5,000 μg m−3 is almost only occurring during the rainy season. These results suggest that until the dust models fail to correctly resolve MCS, it will be difficulty to obtain reliable estimates of dust emission from the Sahel for the present or future scenarios.
Evaluating the Nature and Extent of Changes to Climate Sensitivity Between FGOALS‐g2 and FGOALS‐g3
Authors: Wang He , Li Lijuan , Chen Xiaolong , Wang Bin
Published: January 2022

Equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) and its related feedbacks are important metrics that can be used to measure the global mean surface temperature change in future climate projections, and the cloud feedback (CF) is considered to be the main contributor to ECS uncertainties. However, the use of different CF methods significantly affects the CF amplitudes, and the sign of the CF may also change. Combining the radiative kernel approach with a simplified CF method, the differences in the ECS and associated feedbacks between two versions of the Flexible Global Ocean–Atmosphere–Land System model (i.e., FGOALS‐g2 and FGOALS‐g3) were analyzed. Results show that the ECS of FGOALS‐g3 is smaller than that of FGOALS‐g2 (2.8 vs. 3.3 K). The main feedback processes that contribute to the ECS change in FGOALS‐g3 are the weaker surface albedo feedback and stronger negative shortwave CF. The reduced surface albedo feedback in FGOALS‐g3 can be attributed mainly to the differences in the simulations of sea ice area, surface temperature, and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, as well as their interactions, compared with FGOALS‐g2. The enhanced negative shortwave CF in FGOALS‐g3 is directly related to the strengthened feedback of cloud area fraction and liquid water path. Furthermore, these changes can be traced back to the different atmospheric moist processes, parameter tuning, ocean grid, and external forcings used in FGOALS‐g3, as these all affect the mean climate state of the model.
Insensitivity of Ecosystem Productivity to Predicted Changes in Fine‐Scale Rainfall Variability
Authors: Moustakis Yiannis , Fatichi Simone , Onof Christian , Paschalis Athanasios
Published: January 2022

Changes in rainfall associated with climate change are expected to affect the tightly coupled water‐carbon ecosystem dynamics. Here, we study the effects of altered rainfall at 33 sites in North America, as projected by the high‐resolution/high‐fidelity (∼4 km, 1 hr) continental‐wide Weather Research Forecasting (WRF) convection‐permitting model under a high‐emission scenario (RCP 8.5). We make use of a stochastic weather generator to extend WRF outputs, accounting for natural variability and simultaneously separate the changes in total rainfall, its seasonality, and its intraseasonal pattern. We used these rainfall scenarios to study ecosystem responses with the state‐of‐the‐art Tethys‐Chloris terrestrial biosphere model. Model simulations suggest that increases in mean annual rainfall dominate ecosystem responses at dry sites, while wet sites are less sensitive to rainfall changes. Sites of intermediate wetness face reductions in productivity, due to reduced growing season rainfall and increased water losses under altered seasonality, which outpace any possible benefits induced by increases in mean annual totals. Changes in the fine‐scale temporal structure of rainfall have an insignificant impact on ecosystem productivity and only alter hydrological dynamics, contradicting expectations based on some field experiments, which, however, are not tailored to directly quantify climate change impacts, but rather to understand the mechanisms leading to ecosystem responses. We further demonstrate how approaches following the “fewer but larger rainfall events” concept might exacerbate ecosystem responses.
Neogene Mass Accumulation Rate of Carbonate Sediment Across Northern Zealandia, Tasman Sea, Southwest Pacific
Authors: Sutherland R. , Dos Santos Z. , Agnini C. , Alegret L. , Lam A. R. , Westerhold T. , Drake M. K. , Harper D. T. , Dallanave E. , Newsam C. , Cramwinckel Marlow J. , Dickens G. R. , Collot J. , Etienne S. J. G. , Bordenave A. , Stratford W. R. , Zhou X. , Li H. , Asatryan G.
Published: January 2022

Sediment mass accumulation rate (MAR) is a proxy for paleoceanographic conditions, especially if biological productivity generated most of the sediment. We determine MAR records from pelagic calcareous sediments in Tasman Sea based on analysis of 11 boreholes and >3 million seismic reflection horizon picks. Seismic data from regions of 10,000–30,000 km2 around each borehole were analyzed using data from International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 371 and other boreholes. Local MAR was affected by deepwater currents that winnowed, eroded, or deposited seafloor sediment. Therefore, it is necessary to average MARs across regions to test paleoceanographic and productivity models. MARs during the Miocene Climate optimum (18–14 Ma) were slightly lower than Quaternary values but increased on southern Lord Howe Rise at 14–13 Ma, when global climate became colder. Intensification of the Indian and East Asian monsoons at ∼8 Ma and ∼3.6 Ma approximately corresponds to the start and end, respectively, of the Biogenic Bloom, which had MARs at least double Quaternary values. On northern Lord Howe Rise, we recognize peak MARs at∼7 Ma and ∼5 Ma. There is no correlation between Neogene MAR and ocean pH or atmospheric CO2 concentration. Neogene MARs are on average higher than Quaternary values. We posit that future long‐term productivity in the southwest Pacific could be higher than Quaternary values, but new computer models that can fit our observations are required to test this hypothesis.
Aberrant NF-κB activation in odontoblasts orchestrates inflammatory matrix degradation and mineral resorption
Authors: Yu Fanyuan , Huo Fengli , Li Feifei , Zuo Yanqin , Wang Chenglin , Ye Ling
Published: January 2022

Inflammation-associated proteinase functions are key determinants of inflammatory stromal tissues deconstruction. As a specialized inflammatory pathological process, dental internal resorption (IR) includes both soft and hard tissues deconstruction within the dentin-pulp complex, which has been one of the main reasons for inflammatory tooth loss. Mechanisms of inflammatory matrix degradation and tissue resorption in IR are largely unclear. In this study, we used a combination of Cre-loxP reporter, flow cytometry, cell transplantation, and enzyme activities assay to mechanistically investigate the role of regenerative cells, odontoblasts (ODs), in inflammatory mineral resorption and matrices degradation. We report that inflamed ODs have strong capabilities of matrix degradation and tissue resorption. Traditionally, ODs are regarded as hard-tissue regenerative cells; however, our data unexpectedly present ODs as a crucial population that participates in IR-associated tissue deconstruction. Specifically, we uncovered that nuclear factor-kappa b (NF-κB) signaling orchestrated Tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α)-induced matrix metalloproteinases (Mmps) and Cathepsin K (Ctsk) functions in ODs to enhance matrix degradation and tissue resorption. Furthermore, TNF-α increases Rankl/Opg ratio in ODs via NF-κB signaling by impairing Opg expression but increasing Rankl level, which utterly makes ODs cell line 17IIA11 (A11) become Trap+and Ctsk+multinucleated cells to perform resorptive actions. Blocking of NF-κB signaling significantly rescues matrix degradation and resorptive functions of inflamed ODs via repressing vital inflammatory proteinases Mmps and Ctsk. Utterly, via utilizing NF-κB specific small molecule inhibitors we satisfactorily attenuated inflammatory ODs-associated human dental IR in vivo. Our data reveal the underlying mechanisms of inflammatory matrix degradation and resorption via proteinase activities in IR-related pathological conditions.
Putting the “mental” back in “mental disorders”: a perspective from research on fear and anxiety
Authors: Taschereau-Dumouchel Vincent , Michel Matthias , Lau Hakwan , Hofmann Stefan G. , LeDoux Joseph E.
Published: January 2022

Mental health problems often involve clusters of symptoms that include subjective (conscious) experiences as well as behavioral and/or physiological responses. Because the bodily responses are readily measured objectively, these have come to be emphasized when developing treatments and assessing their effectiveness. On the other hand, the subjective experience of the patient reported during a clinical interview is often viewed as a weak correlate of psychopathology. To the extent that subjective symptoms are related to the underlying problem, it is often assumed that they will be taken care of if the more objective behavioral and physiological symptoms are properly treated. Decades of research on anxiety disorders, however, show that behavioral and physiological symptoms do not correlate as strongly with subjective experiences as is typically assumed. Further, the treatments developed using more objective symptoms as a marker of psychopathology have mostly been disappointing in effectiveness. Given that “mental” disorders are named for, and defined by, their subjective mental qualities, it is perhaps not surprising, in retrospect, that treatments that have sidelined mental qualities have not been especially effective. These negative attitudes about subjective experience took root in psychiatry and allied fields decades ago when there were few avenues for scientifically studying subjective experience. Today, however, cognitive neuroscience research on consciousness is thriving, and offers a viable and novel scientific approach that could help achieve a deeper understanding of mental disorders and their treatment.