bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Machine learning methods for generating high dimensional discrete datasets
Authors: Manco Giuseppe , Ritacco Ettore , Rullo Antonino , Saccà Domenico , Serra Edoardo
Published: January 2022

The development of platforms and techniques for emerging Big Data and Machine Learning applications requires the availability of real‐life datasets. A possible solution is to synthesize datasets that reflect patterns of real ones using a two‐step approach: first, a real dataset is analyzed to derive relevant patterns and, then, to use such patterns for reconstructing a new dataset that preserves the main characteristics of . This survey explores two possible approaches: (1) Constraint‐based generation and (2) probabilistic generative modeling. The former is devised using inverse mining () techniques, and consists of generating a dataset satisfying given support constraints on the itemsets of an input set, that are typically the frequent ones. By contrast, for the latter approach, recent developments in probabilistic generative modeling () are explored that model the generation as a sampling process from a parametric distribution, typically encoded as neural network. The two approaches are compared by providing an overview of their instantiations for the case of discrete data and discussing their pros and cons.

This article is categorized under:

Fundamental Concepts of Data and Knowledge > Big Data Mining

Technologies > Machine Learning

Algorithmic Development > Structure Discovery
Climate Change and Crop Management in Indonesia
Authors: Matsuura Eri , Sakagami Nobuo
Published: January 2022

Rice is a daily staple for the most of Indonesian people, and rice consumption has increased every year as the population has increased (Suryani et al. 2016). Climate change has severely affected rice production by increasing minimum temperatures and changing rainfall patterns. The decline in rice yield due climate change could threaten national food security over the long term. To maintain the food self-supporting rate and support farmers, new technologies for adapting to climate change in farming systems are needed. Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Information Platform (AP-PLAT) (2020) reported that the Indonesian government published the National Action Plan for Climate Change Adaptation (Rencana Aksi Nasional Adaptasi Perubahan Iklim or RAN-API) in 2014, and the Ministry of the Environment of Japan (MOEJ) and the Ministry of National Development Planning, Indonesia (BAPPENAS) are cooperating to assess the impact of climate change for local adaptation planning in the Republic of Indonesia.
Water Resource Assessment and Management in Phuket, Thailand
Authors: Vongtanaboon Sukanya
Published: January 2022

Within the context of climate change, the province of Phuket in Thailand is the only province in Thailand without any large rivers, which means that it is potentially at risk from problems associated with water scarcity in the future. Phuket Island is also the largest island in Thailand with an area of 543 km2 comprised of three districts (Thalang, Muang and Kathu); 77% of the island is mountainous and 23% consists of plains, primarily in the central and eastern regions. Most water is derived from rainfall, which is stored in reservoirs, mine shafts, and groundwater sources. Due to geography, Phuket is a popular tourist destination. Rates of development in the hotel industry and residential areas, as well as the population, have been rapid in recent decades. However, these developments have severely degraded watershed areas. Economic growth and increases in the number of tourists has resulted in an increase in demand for water, and in the year 2020 consumption exceeded 100,000 m3/day (Provincial Waterworks Authority 2020). Moreover, trends of water use in Phuket are expected to increase by 12% annually, and it is forecasted that the water demand for local consumption and tourism will rise to 103.07 million m3/year in 2032 (Patong Municipality 2020). As the water supply in the three major reservoirs (Bang Wad, Bang Niew Dam and Klong Katha) are limited due to long periods of a dry weather (Provincial Waterworks Authority 2020), there are problems of water scarcity in Phuket and other areas with public water systems in the province. The droughts in 2002 and 2019–2020 caused severe water scarcity in Phuket, and this has become an important issue that the province needs to address.
Analysis of Measures for Preventing Desertification in Inner Mongolia in China
Authors: Ma Yulu
Published: January 2022

Since the early 1990s, with the economic development and population growth, desertification has increasingly attracted the attention of governments, international organizations, and scientists around the world. The evaluation of desertification has become a new interest in land science research. Inner Mongolia is a largely deserted province in China, with the deserted land covering 640,000 km2; 91.16%, 41.4%, and 41.0% of the desertification was caused by wind erosion, water erosion, and saline desertification, respectively. Desertification is so disastrous that it can cause additional ecological problems (Liu and Wang 2006; Ye 2008). The causes of desertification in Inner Mongolia can be classified into human and natural causes. Regarding human causes, irrational irrigation methods are the main causes, mainly due to the pressure of population growth, overgrazing (Fig. C8.1), the expansion of dry land reclamation (Fig. C8.2), woodcutting, and the harvesting of Chinese herbal medicine (Fig. C8.3). Regarding natural causes, climate change and the geographical environment are the main issues. Within Inner Mongolia, the arid, semi-arid, and sub-humid arid regions deep in the hinterland of the continent and far away from the ocean comprise the most arid and fragile environmental zone, which lies in the same latitude as areas with the lowest precipitation and highest evaporation. In the past 40 years, precipitation has shown a decreasing trend in parts of the arid, semi-arid, and sub-humid arid regions of Inner Mongolia, whereas the temperature in other areas has shown an increasing trend. These changes in the climate have led to an increase in evaporative power and contributed to soil salinization, which have exacerbated desertification to a certain extent.
The Power of Dialogical Tools in Participatory Learning
Authors: Kotera Akihiko
Published: January 2022

It seems that most of the complex problems in the world are made difficult to solve by a lack of dialogue. Needless to say, “dialogue” does not immediately solve everything, but at least we can find much more hope compared with a situation without dialogue.
Participatory Climate Change Adaptation Using Watershed Approach: Processes and Lessons from the Philippines
Authors: Pulhin Juan M. , Tapia-Villamayor Maricel A. , Garcia Josephine E. , De Luna Catherine C. , Cruz Rex Victor O. , Pulhin Florencia B. , Ramirez Mark Anthony M.
Published: January 2022

The Philippine’s National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) aims primarily to build the adaptive capacity of local communities and increase the resilience of natural ecosystems to climate change to promote climate-risk resilience. Climate change is expected to have far-reaching impacts on the structure, ecological conditions, and functions of various ecosystems, diminishing their capacity to support people and communities. Thus, it is important to anticipate the conditions of a socio-ecological system considering climate change, and to maintain its integrity through adaptation.
Small Coastal Island Ecosystems and Conservation Perspectives Within Adaptation Efforts
Authors: Bengen Dietriech Geoffrey
Published: January 2022

Indonesia, which consists of 16,671 named islands and 104,000 km of coastline, is the biggest archipelagic state and a host to precious and essential coastal and small island goods and services.
Geotechnical Approaches to Disaster Risk Reduction in Japan and Vietnam
Authors: Yasuhara Kazuya , Murakami Satoshi
Published: January 2022

One of the factors responsible for the increased severity of disasters in recent years is overlapping events that are caused by a combination of climate change- and climate change-non-associated events. These compound disasters are common in Japan and Vietnam. This study attempts to explore ways in which to increase resilience against the risk of disasters, particularly in cases where residents encounter such compound disasters, in Japan and Vietnam.
The Practice of Education for Disaster Risk Reduction in Vietnam: Lessons Learned from a Decade of Implementation 2010–2020
Authors: Tong Thi Thi My , Nguyen Duong Thi Hong , Nguyen Hung The , Park Tae Yoon
Published: January 2022

The education sector is one of the most impacted sectors due to natural disasters in Vietnam. Understand the situation, the Ministry of Education and Training has prioritized the implementation of disaster risk reduction education (DRRE) activities in schools since 2010s. Before the governmental programs were widely deployed, DRRE activities are mainly carried out by various organisations including United Nations organizations, non-governmental organizations, and other civil society organisations. This study will analyze 14 typical cases of DRRE in schools and provide implications for promoting DRRE in Vietnam.
Bootstrapping fermionic rational CFTs with three characters
Authors: Bae Jin-Beom , Duan Zhihao , Lee Kimyeong , Lee Sungjay , Sarkis Matthieu
Published: January 2022

Abstract

Recently, the modular linear differential equation (MLDE) for level-two congruence subgroups Γθ, Γ0(2) and Γ0(2) of SL2(ℤ) was developed and used to classify the fermionic rational conformal field theories (RCFT). Two character solutions of the second-order fermionic MLDE without poles were found and their corresponding CFTs are identified. Here we extend this analysis to explore the landscape of three character fermionic RCFTs obtained from the third-order fermionic MLDE without poles. Especially, we focus on a class of the fermionic RCFTs whose Neveu-Schwarz sector vacuum character has no free-fermion currents and Ramond sector saturates the bound hR ≥ $$ \frac{C}{24} $$

C
24

, which is the unitarity bound for the supersymmetric case. Most of the solutions can be mapped to characters of the fermionized WZW models. We find the pairs of fermionic CFTs whose characters can be combined to produce K(τ), the character of the c = 12 fermionic CFT for Co0 sporadic group.
Relationship between summer extreme precipitation anomaly in Central Asia and surface sensible heat variation on the Central-Eastern Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Wang Hui , Zhang Jie , Chen Lian , Li Dongliang
Published: January 2022

In the context of global warming, the frequency and intensity of extreme weather and climate events have increased, especially in Central Asia (CA). In this study, we investigate the characteristics of summer extreme precipitation (SEP) in CA and its relationship with the surface sensible heat (SSH) variation over the central–eastern Tibetan Plateau (CETP). The results suggest that the distribution of SEP in CA is extremely uneven, and the SEP thresholds range from 2 to 32 mm/day, and 80% of them are concentrated in 4–10 mm/day. Both the total amount of SEP and the number of SEP days show significant increasing trends, with the climatic tendencies of 4.4 mm/decade and 0.4 day/decade, respectively. The SSH anomalies over the CETP can affect the SEP and summer drought in CA by regulating the strength of South Asia High (SAH) and the subtropical jet over CA. The strong SSH anomalies over the CETP in late spring (April–May) can be transmitted from the lower to the upper layers through the continuous heating to the atmosphere and lead to the anomalously strong subtropical high over northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, the anomalously weak subtropical westerly jet over CA and the anomalously strong SAH in summer. At the same time, the Ural ridge strengthens, the CA trough weakens, and the northern CA is controlled by an anomaly of warm high-pressure ridge. Therefore, the anomaly of water vapor convergence in northern CA weakens. The SEP there will be abnormally less, and the summer drought intensifies. When the SSH over CETP is anomalously weak in late spring, the key circulations are just the opposite. Furthermore, the anomalous water vapor from the Arctic, North Atlantic and western Pacific converges in northern CA and northern Xinjiang, China, which is conducive to the generation of widespread extreme precipitation and the alleviation of summer drought in these regions.
Association of small vessel disease with tau pathology
Authors: Kapasi Alifiya , Yu L. , Petyuk V. , Arfanakis K. , Bennett D. A. , Schneider J. A.
Published: January 2022

Emerging evidence suggests that small vessel disease (SVD) is a risk factor for clinical dementia and may contribute to AD neuropathological changes. Watershed brain regions are located at the most distal areas between arterial territories, making them vulnerable to SVD-related changes. We examined the association of pathologic markers of SVD, specifically arteriolosclerosis in watershed brain regions, with AD pathologic changes. Participants (N = 982; mean age-at-death = 90; 69% women) were enrolled as part of one of two cohort studies of aging and dementia. At autopsy, neuropathological evaluation included semi-quantitative grading of arteriolosclerosis pathology from 2 cortical watershed regions: the anterior watershed (AWS) and posterior watershed (PWS), densities for cortical β-amyloid and tau-tangle pathology, and other common age-related pathologies. Linear regression models examined the association of watershed arteriolosclerosis pathology with β-amyloid and tau-tangle burden. In follow-up analyses, available ex-vivo MRI and proteomics data in a subset of decedents were leveraged to examine the association of whole brain measure of WMH, as a presumed MRI marker of SVD, with β-amyloid and tau-tangle burden, as well as to examine the association of watershed arteriolosclerosis with proteomic tau. Watershed arteriolosclerosis was common, with 45% of older persons having moderate-to-severe arteriolosclerosis pathology in the AWS region, and 35% in the PWS. In fully adjusted models that controlled for demographics and common age-related pathologies, an increase in severity of PWS arteriolosclerosis was associated with a higher burden of tau-tangle burden, specifically neocortical tau burden, but not with β-amyloid. AWS arteriolosclerosis was not associated with β-amyloid or tau pathology. Ex-vivo WMH was associated with greater tau-tangle pathology burden but not β-amyloid. Furthermore, PWS arteriolosclerosis was associated with higher abundance of tau phosphopeptides, that promote formation of tau aggregates. These data provide compelling evidence that SVD, specifically posterior watershed arteriolosclerosis pathology, is linked with tau pathological changes in the aging brain.
Mechanical thrombectomy does not increase the risk of acute symptomatic seizures in patients with an ischaemic stroke: a propensity score matching study
Authors: Kohlhase Konstantin , Tako Lisa Marie , Zöllner Johann Philipp , Golbach Rejane , Pfeilschifter Waltraud , Steinmetz Helmuth , Rosenow Felix , Strzelczyk Adam
Published: January 2022

Background

Mechanical thrombectomy and systemic thrombolysis are important therapies for stroke patients. However, there is disagreement about the accompanying risk of acute symptomatic seizures.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of patients with an acute ischaemic stroke caused by large vessel occlusion was performed. The patients were divided into four groups based on whether they received either mechanical thrombectomy (MT) or systemic thrombolysis (ST; group 1: MT+/ST−; group 2: MT+/ST+; group 3: MT−/ST+; group 4: MT−/ST−). Propensity score matching was conducted for each group combination (1:3, 1:4, 2:3, 2:4, 1:2, 3:4) using the covariates “NIHSS at admission”, “mRS prior to event” and “age”. The primary endpoint was defined as the occurrence of acute symptomatic seizures.

Results

A total of 987 patients met the inclusion criteria, of whom 208, 264, 169 and 346 belonged to groups 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Propensity score matched groups consisted of 160:160, 143:143, 156:156, 144:144, 204:204 and 165:165 patients for the comparisons 1:3, 1:4, 2:3, 2:4, 1:2 and 3:4, respectively. Based on chi-squared tests, there was no significant difference in the frequency of acute symptomatic seizures between the groups. Subgroups varied in their frequency of acute symptomatic seizures, ranging from 2.8 to 3.8%, 2.8–4.4%, 3.6–3.8% and 4.9–6.3% in groups 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively.

Conclusion

There was no association between MT or ST and an increased risk of acute symptomatic seizures in patients with an acute ischaemic stroke caused by large vessel occlusion who were treated at a primary stroke centre.
Volumetric growth of soft tissues evaluated in the current configuration
Authors: Zhuan X , Luo X Y
Published: January 2022

The growth and remodelling of soft tissues plays a significant role in many physiological applications, particularly in understanding and managing many diseases. A commonly used approach for soft tissue growth and remodelling is volumetric growth theory, introduced in the framework of finite elasticity. In such an approach, the total deformation gradient tensor is decomposed so that the elastic and growth tensors can be studied separately. A critical element in this approach is to determine the growth tensor and its evolution with time. Most existing volumetric growth theories define the growth tensor in the reference (natural) configuration, which does not reflect the continuous adaptation processes of soft tissues under the current configuration. In a few studies where growth from a loaded configuration was considered, simplifying assumptions, such as compatible deformation or geometric symmetries, were introduced. In this work, we propose a new volumetric growth law that depends on fields evaluated in the current configuration, which is residually stressed and loaded, without any geometrical restrictions. We illustrate our idea using a simplified left ventricle model, which admits inhomogeneous growth in the current configuration. We compare the residual stress distribution of our approach with the traditional volumetric growth theory, that assumes growth occurring from the natural reference configuration. We show that the proposed framework leads to qualitative agreements with experimental measurements. Furthermore, using a cylindrical model, we find an incompatibility index that explains the differences between the two approaches in more depth. We also demonstrate that results from both approaches reach the same steady solution published previously at the limit of a saturated growth. Although we used a left ventricle model as an example, our theory is applicable in modelling the volumetric growth of general soft tissues.
A low-cost wind tunnel for bird flight experiments
Authors: Grogger Herwig A. , Gossar Martin , Makovec Michael , Fritz Johannes , Neugebauer Katharina , Amann Frederik , Voelkl Bernhard
Published: January 2022

A blower-type wind tunnel for physiological bird flight experiments has been developed, constructed and evaluated. Since the birds to be investigated are rather big (Northern Bald Ibis, Geronticus eremita), the cross-sectional area of the test section measures 2.5 m × 1.5 m. The maximum achievable flow speed is approximately 16 ms−1. The wind tunnel exhibits a flexible outlet nozzle to provide up- and downdraft to allow for gliding and climbing flights. The current paper describes in detail the layout, design and construction of the wind tunnel including its control. Numerical simulations of the flow and measurements of the velocity distribution in the test section are presented. Apart from a non-homogeneous flow region in the mixing layer at the boundaries of the free jet, the test section exhibits a very even velocity distribution; the local speed deviates by less than two percent from the mean velocity. The turbulence intensity inside the test section was measured to be between 1 and 2%. As a constraint, a limited budget was available for the project. Four northern bald ibises were hand-raised and trained to fly in the wind tunnel.
Life span of a landslide dam on mountain valley caught on seismic signals and its possible early warnings
Authors: Yang Che-Ming , Chang Jui-Ming , Hung Chi-Yao , Lu Chih-Heng , Chao Wei-An , Kang Keng-Hao
Published: January 2022

Outburst flooding after a landslide dam breach causes global fatalities and devastation. Information on the timing, magnitude, and location of the landslide dam is crucial to hazard assessment. Despite recent efforts, successful real-time detection of landslide dams in mountain valleys and dam breakages is rare. Here, we present a series of seismic analysis including landslide detection, identification of landslide dam formations, and monitoring of dam breaches. We show the working of our analysis on a recent landslide dam that occurred in eastern Taiwan. The results indicate that our seismic analysis provides important information on the location and magnitude of landslides and the dam forming based on data acquired from a regional broadband seismic network. Furthermore, we see that the failure of the landslide dam is directly caught by the riverside seismic signals. To provide warning times for impending floods to downstream areas, we believe that proximal high-quality seismic signals along the river channel are viable options for an operational real-time monitoring system, for landslide dams occurring in mountain valleys. Our work can be a starting point to raise awareness in the community.
Editorial: The society for environmental geochemistry and health (SEGH): 50 years and beyond
Authors: Watts M. J. , Argyraki A. , Barbieri M. , Brown A. , Button M. , Finkelman R. , Gibson G. , Humphrey O. , Huo X. , Hursthouse A. S. , Kaninga B. , Marinho Reis P. , Middleton D. R. S. , Morton-Bermea O. , Nazarpour A. , Olatunji A. S. , Osano O. , Potgieter-Vermaak S. , Prater C. , Torrance K. , Wong M. H. , Zhang C. , Zia M.
Published: January 2022

When the SEGH international board released a short editorial paper back in 2019, we described an aim to increase the membership offering, whilst improving the diversity of input regionally, by scientific discipline and to ensure greater and more regular contact across the regions from 2020 onwards. Wider aspirations described in 2019 (Watts et al. 2019) are discussed within this short communication at the end of 2021 to evaluate progress made. In particular, how the SEGH community adapted to the unprecedented circumstances that have challenged each and every one of us throughout the COVID-19 pandemic since early 2020 and are likely to influence our activities for the foreseeable future.
Wire laser metal deposition of 22% Cr duplex stainless steel: as-deposited and heat-treated microstructure and mechanical properties
Authors: Baghdadchi Amir , Hosseini Vahid A. , Valiente Bermejo Maria Asuncion , Axelsson Björn , Harati Ebrahim , Högström Mats , Karlsson Leif
Published: January 2022

Duplex stainless steel (DSS) blocks with dimensions of 150 × 70x30 mm3 were fabricated by Laser Metal Deposition with Wire (LMDw). Implementation of a programmable logic control system and the hot-wire technology provided a stable and consistent process producing high-quality and virtually defect-free deposits. Microstructure and mechanical properties were studied for as-deposited (AD) material and when heat-treated (HT) for 1 h at 1100 °C. The AD microstructure was inhomogeneous with highly ferritic areas with nitrides and austenitic regions with fine secondary austenite occurring in a periodic manner. Heat treatment produced a homogenized microstructure, free from nitrides and fine secondary austenite, with balanced ferrite and austenite fractions. Although some nitrogen was lost during LMDw, heat treatment or reheating by subsequent passes in AD allowed the formation of about 50% austenite. Mechanical properties fulfilled common requirements on strength and toughness in both as-deposited and heat-treated conditions achieving the highest strength in AD condition and best toughness and ductility in HT condition. Epitaxial ferrite growth, giving elongated grains along the build direction, resulted in somewhat higher toughness in both AD and HT conditions when cracks propagated perpendicular to the build direction. It was concluded that high-quality components can be produced by LMDw and that deposits can be used in either AD or HT conditions. The findings of this research provide valuable input for the fabrication of high-performance DSS AM components.

Graphical Abstract
Environmental efficiency measurement when producers control pollutants under heterogeneous conditions: a generalization of the materials balance approach
Authors: Eder Andreas
Published: January 2022

This article provides a generalization of the materials balance-based production model introduced by Coelli et al. (2007). Based on this, some new environmental efficiency (EE) measures are presented. The Coelli et al. (2007) EE measure and its extension by Rødseth (2016) produce biased efficiency estimates if the material flow coefficients (MFCs) are heterogeneous across decision-making units and non-discretionary. Furthermore, the Coelli et al. (2007) measure fails to reward emission reductions by emission control. To overcome these shortcomings, this paper proposes production models which allow for heterogeneous MFCs reflecting differences of external environmental factors or non-controllable heterogeneities in inputs and outputs, and which properly take into account emission abatement activities. Based on this, EE measures are provided and decomposed into (i) a part reflecting emission control efficiency (ECE), (ii) a part measuring material input efficiency (MIE), and (iii) a part reflecting the efficient allocation between material and non-material inputs (environmental allocative efficiency, EAE). The approach is illustrated by an empirical application to arable farming in Austria utilizing data from 90 farms for the year 2011. Soil erosion is considered an undesirable output and land a material input. The average EE, ECE, MIE, and EAE are 0.53, 0.96, 0.69, and 0.79, respectively. The results indicate that actual output can be potentially achieved with 47% less soil loss. Most of the potential to improve EE is due to differences in MIE and EAE. Removing inefficiencies in the implementation of existing, subsidized erosion controls allows soil loss to be reduced by 4%.
Parallel border tracking in binary images using GPUs
Authors: Garcia-Molla Victor M. , Alonso-Jordá Pedro , García-Laguía Ricardo
Published: January 2022

Border tracking in binary images is an important kernel for many applications. There are very efficient sequential algorithms, most notably, the algorithm proposed by Suzuki et al., which has been implemented for CPUs in well-known libraries. However, under some circumstances, it would be advantageous to perform the border tracking in GPUs as efficiently as possible. In this paper, we propose a parallel version of the Suzuki algorithm that is designed to be executed in GPUs and implemented in CUDA. The proposed algorithm is based on splitting the image into small rectangles. Then, a thread is launched for each rectangle, which tracks the borders in its associated rectangle. The final step is to perform the connection of the borders belonging to several rectangles. The parallel algorithm has been compared with a state-of-the-art sequential CPU version, using two different CPUs and two different GPUs for the evaluation. The computing times obtained show that in these experiments with the GPUs and CPUs that we had available, the proposed parallel algorithm running in the fastest GPU is more than 10 times faster than the sequential CPU routine running in the fastest CPU.
Liquid Immiscibility and Thermodynamic Assessment of the Al2O3–TiO2–SiO2 System
Authors: Ilatovskaia M. , Fabrichnaya O.
Published: January 2022

Phase equilibria in the TiO2–SiO2 system have been studied experimentally using DTA and SEM/EDX. The thermodynamic parameters for the TiO2–SiO2 system have been assessed considering new experimental data of the present work and from the literature. Moreover, the miscibility of the liquid in the Al2O3–TiO2–SiO2 system has been studied at 2013 K in air and shrinkage of the miscibility gap at 3.8 mol% Al2O3 has been demonstrated. The experimental data obtained in the present work and literature as well as the thermodynamic databases for the binary Al2O3–TiO2, TiO2–SiO2, and Al2O3–SiO2 systems have been used to derive the thermodynamic description of the Al2O3–TiO2–SiO2 system using the CALPHAD approach. Solid phases have been modeled using the compound energy formalism. The liquid phase has been described by the two-sublattice partially ionic liquid model. A set of self-consistent parameters have been proposed, which resulted in a reasonably good agreement between the calculated and experimental data on the phase equilibria, liquid immiscibility, and thermodynamic properties in the Al2O3–TiO2–SiO2 system.
Analysis of PD-1, PD-L1, and T-cell infiltration in angiosarcoma pathogenetic subgroups
Authors: Tomassen T. , Weidema M. E. , Hillebrandt-Roeffen M. H. S. , van der Horst C. ,   PALGA group*, Desar I. M. E. , Flucke U. E. , Versleijen-Jonkers Yvonne M. H.
Published: January 2022

Angiosarcoma (AS) is a rare malignancy with a poor prognosis. It can develop spontaneously or due to previous radiotherapy (RT), ultraviolet (UV) radiation, or lymphoedema (Stewart Treves AS). Novel therapeutic approaches are needed, but progress is hindered because of the heterogeneity and rarity of AS. In order to explore the potential of immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI), we investigated the protein expression of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1), programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), and CD8 + T cells in 165 AS cases in relation to AS subgroups based on clinical classification and in relation to whole-genome methylation profiling based clusters (A1, A2, B1, B2). High PD-L1 and PD-1 expression were predominantly shown in UV-associated, visceral, and soft tissue AS. RT-associated AS showed predominantly high PD-1 expression. CD8 + T cell infiltration was present in the majority of AS samples. Within the UV-associated AS, two different clusters can be distinguished by DNA methylation profiling. Cases in cluster A1 showed higher PD-1 (p = 0.015), PD-L1 (p = 0.015), and CD8 + T cells (p = 0.008) compared to those in cluster B2, suggesting that these UV-AS tumors are more immunogenic than B2 tumors showing a difference even within one subgroup. In soft tissue AS, combined PD-1 and PD-L1 expression showed a trend toward poor survival (p = 0.051), whereas in UV-associated AS, PD-1 expression correlated with better survival (p = 0.035). In conclusion, we show the presence of PD-1, PD-L1, and CD8 + T cells in the majority of AS but reveal differences between and within AS subgroups, providing prognostic information and indicating to be predictive for ICI.
COVID-19-mediated patient delay caused increased total ischaemic time in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction
Authors: Sturkenboom H. N. , van Hattem V. A. E. , Nieuwland W. , Paris F. M. A. , Magro M. , Anthonio R. L. , Algin A. , Lipsic E. , Bruwiere E. , Van den Branden B. J. L. , Polad J. , Tonino P. , Tio R. A.
Published: January 2022

Background

The current study aimed to evaluate changes in treatment delay and outcome for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in the Netherlands during the first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, thereby comparing regions with a high and low COVID-19 hospitalisation rate.

Methods

Clinical characteristics, STEMI timing variables, 30-day all-cause mortality and cardiovascular complications of all consecutive patients admitted for STEMI from 1 January to 30 June in 2020 and 2019 to six hospitals performing a high volume of percutaneous coronary interventions were collected retrospectively using data from the Netherlands Heart Registry, hospital records and ambulance report forms. Patient delay, pre-hospital delay and door-to-balloon time before and after the outbreak of COVID-19 were compared to the equivalent periods in 2019.

Results

A total of 2169 patients were included. During the outbreak median total treatment delay significantly increased (2 h 51 min vs 2 h 32 min;p = 0.043) due to an increased patient delay (1 h 20 min vs 1 h;p = 0.030) with more late presentations > 24 h (1.1% vs 0.3%) in 2020. This increase was particularly evident during the peak phase of COVID-19 in regions with a high COVID-19 hospitalisation rate. During the peak phase door-to-balloon time was shorter (38 min vs 43 min;p = 0.042) than in 2019. All-cause 30-day mortality was comparable in both time frames (7.8% vs 7.3%;p = 0.797).

Conclusions

During the outbreak of COVID-19 patient delay caused an increase in total ischaemic time for STEMI, with a more pronounced delay in high-endemic regions, stressing the importance of good patient education during comparable crisis situations.
Quaternary groundwater aquifer suitability for drinking in Akhmim, Upper Egypt: an assessment using water quality index and GIS techniques
Authors: Hagage Mohammed , Madani Ahmed A. , Elbeih Salwa F.
Published: January 2022

The Quaternary aquifer has a special significance in Akhmim district, Upper Egypt, especially during the dry seasons, when surface water resources are insufficient and limited. In Akhmim district, the population mainly depends on groundwater for drinking, especially in spontaneous residential areas and inside agricultural lands. Therefore, assessing the groundwater quality is necessary to reduce diseases resulting from using polluted water in drinking. The Weighted Arithmetic Water Quality Index (WAWQI) was used for evaluating the groundwater quality, and it was classified according to the Egyptian and WHO standards and based on fifteen measured physicochemical parameters (TDS, Na, Cl, Ca, pH, Mg, NO3, SO4, TH, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, and Zn). To investigate the spatial distribution of WAWQI in Akhmim district, the spatial analyst tools (IDW method) were used. The WAWQI results showed a great diversity in groundwater viability for drinking due to the exposure of groundwater to many sources of degradation, identified through field verification and previous work about the study area. The groundwater of the Quaternary aquifer was divided into excellent, good, poor, very poor, and unsuitable. In addition, about 50% of Akhmim district wells are inappropriate for drinking with classes ranging from unsuitable to poor. To use groundwater for drinking, the sources of degradation to which the groundwater is exposed must first be reduced, and the water should be treated before drinking.
Biostimulants, soil improvers, bioprotectants: promoters of bio-intensification in plant production
Authors: Feldmann Falko , Jehle Johannes , Bradáčová Klára , Weinmann Markus
Published: January 2022

The paper summarizes, after defining the meaning and agreed-upon usage of crucial key-concepts, the different perspectives of participants of the 10th Symposium Plant Protection and Plant Health International held on 23rd November 2021 on “Biostimulants, soil improvers, bioprotectants: promoters of bio-intensification in plant production” and the state of the art in the research on this topic. In total, 254 participants from 24 countries from around the world participated in the symposium, representing regulatory bodies, universities, federal research institutions, non-governmental associations, industry, advisors for plant protection, and practitioners of modern agricultural approaches. The results of presentations, discussions and post-symposium reactions are reported in this article.
Immunities And Arbitration: A New Lex Specialis Regime
Authors: Talwar Mouland Satya
Published: January 2022

The interaction between immunities and jurisdiction is complex. One lacuna is whether the international legal principle of state immunity is a rule or principle in its own right or an exception to a pre-existing jurisdiction. In the context of international arbitration disputes, this distinction is significant. States have been relying on immunity to exclude the jurisdiction of national courts to support the international arbitral process. This Article argues there is now a growing set of common and consistent practice according to which state immunity operates as a rule or principle lex specialis to a more general set of rules or principles governing the enforcement jurisdiction of national courts.
The Role of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in Climate Litigation
Authors: van Zeben Josephine
Published: January 2022

Climate litigation has become a permanent fixture in the climate law and policy landscape. Across jurisdictions, climate litigation takes different shapes, with actions based on administrative, civil, or criminal law. An increasing number of cases incorporate human rights, leading to courts inter alia imposing more onerous mitigation obligations on governments and private actors in light of human rights provisions. Several landmark cases in this domain have come from European jurisdictions and have been argued with reference to both the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights. An analysis of case law from the European Member States shows that the emerging picture is one of the Charter playing a secondary role to the ECHR. Based on this jurisprudential analysis, this article reflects on the future role of the Charter in climate litigation, and by extension, in shaping environmental human rights.
The Precarious Rationality of International Law: Critiquing the International Rule of Recognition
Authors: Green Alex
Published: January 2022

Some scholars assume that the content and validity of international legal norms turns upon the existence of convergent attitudes and behaviors of state representatives and other ‘international legal officials’. By converging upon the criteria for what counts as a ‘formal source’ of international law and what does not, such officials provide a ‘rule of recognition’ in relation to which the normative content of the international legal system is determined. In this Article I present two theoretical problems with this view, arguing that, depending on exactly what role this rule is intended to fulfil within international legal theory, it is either metaphysically insupportable or fundamentally at odds with the disagreements that persist in relation to the formal sources of international law. Both problems risk undermining the rationality of international legal argumentation and that any reliance upon the existence of an international rule of recognition should be eschewed as a result.
The Climate Protection Order of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany and the North-South Divide
Authors: Krämer-Hoppe Rike
Published: January 2022

The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) in Germany has issued a landmark ruling with regard to climate change. It opens its jurisprudence for a new dimension of human rights: The intertemporal guarantee of freedom. It argues that the legislature has violated fundamental rights by failing to take sufficient precautionary measures today for the time after 2030. The emissions allowed in the Federal Climate Change Act until 2030 will nearly exhaust Germany’s remaining CO2 budget. After 2030, drastic legislative measures, which curtail nearly all activities that emit CO2, might be necessary. If emission reductions are delayed until 2030, the costs of climate protection will increase for future generations, and with it the risk that emission reductions will only be possible at the price of serious losses of freedom. Therefore, the legislature needs to act now and take the time after 2030 into consideration. The order might eventually influence climate change litigation in other areas of the world. The article will demonstrate the main arguments of the FCC order. The combat of climate change is an international task, which cannot be solved by Germany alone. The FCC takes this fact to some extent into account. It argues for international cooperation to combat climate change. Unfortunately, it does not fully evolve a jurisprudence which takes the core principle of common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR) seriously and addresses the questions of equity. The CBDR principle is one of the core principles which should solve the North-South divide and which should bring together the efforts of rich as well as poor countries to combat climate change. It is enshrined in the Paris Agreement. The FCC engages with this principle on the surface but misses the opportunity to truly and deeply engage.
Neubauer et al. versus Germany: Planetary Climate Litigation for the Anthropocene?
Authors: Kotzé Louis J.
Published: January 2022

The recent decision by the German Constitutional Court in Neubauer et al. versus Germany has been attracting considerable attention around the globe. The Court ordered the German legislature to correct and to significantly tighten up existing climate law provisions, to increase the ambition of these provisions, and to strengthen future mitigation pathways. Several commentators have hailed it as an example of what is possible when the judiciary steps in to fill gaps in global climate governance as a result of governments failing to act or acting inadequately. In this article, I explore the extent to which the Court in Karlsruhe has innovatively managed to embrace a holistic planetary view of climate science, climate change impacts, planetary justice, planetary stewardship, earth system vulnerability, and global climate law, within the context of a human-dominated geological epoch, to guide its reasoning and findings. My proposal is that courts will have to increasingly follow a planetary perspective that is grounded in the Anthropocene context when adjudicating matters related to global disruptors such as climate change. This decision offers a first, and important, example of a promising new paradigm that I term planetary climate litigation.
Introduction
Authors: Pérez Vanessa Casado , Orlando Emanuela
Published: January 2022

Acknowledging the exponential growth and global dimension of climate litigation, this introductory piece to this Special Section starts by situating this phenomenon in the context of the scholarly debate on polycentric and multi-level climate governance. It highlights both the strategic use of climate litigation as a tool to establish responsibilities and push for a more ambitious mitigation and adaptation agenda, but also as an opportunity to better understand the role of courts in public policy governance. The second part of the article then proceeds to discuss the main findings arising from the various contributions grouped in this section, and concludes by arguing that further research is needed in order to properly understand the role and contribution of climate change litigation to transnational climate governance.
Generation and characterization of fully developed state in open channel flow
Authors: Das S. , Balachandar R. , Barron R.M.
Published: January 2022

A fully developed approach flow is necessary in open channel studies to maintain commonality among datasets obtained from different facilities. Two-component planar particle image velocimetry is used to study the characteristics of fully developed smooth open channel flow at a constant Reynolds number of 3.9 × 104 based on the maximum velocity and flow depth. The near-bed boundary layer is tripped to achieve a fully developed state and compared with the under- and over-tripped cases. The Reynolds stresses and higher-order moments are used as indicators to establish the fully developed state. Flow properties are explored by identifying uniform momentum zones (UMZs) using the probability density function of streamwise velocities. The instances are grouped based on the number of UMZs (NUMZ) and conditional averaging of flow variables of each group is used to evaluate the difference in flow properties between the developed and the developing flow. Large-scale ejections are found in the logarithmic layer when NUMZ is higher, whereas a lower number indicates the existence of large-scale sweeping motions. The distribution of the conditionally averaged ratio of the shear contribution from ejections and sweeps and velocity deficits shows a vertical variability in the fully developed state. The large-scale and pointwise quadrant events are used simultaneously to depict variability in inner flow properties between developing and fully developed flow which cannot be recognized in the mean flow characteristics. The sweep events have much higher shear generation in the outer flow in the fully developed state whereas the shear stress contribution from ejection is lower than that in developing flow.
Spectral characterisation of inertial particle clustering in turbulence
Authors: Haugen Nils E.L. , Brandenburg Axel , Sandin Christer , Mattsson Lars
Published: January 2022

Clustering of inertial particles is important for many types of astrophysical and geophysical turbulence, but it has been studied predominately for incompressible flows. Here, we study compressible flows and compare clustering in both compressively (irrotationally) and vortically (solenoidally) forced turbulence. Vortically and compressively forced flows are driven stochastically either by solenoidal waves or by circular expansion waves, respectively. For compressively forced flows, the power spectrum of the density of inertial particles is a useful tool for displaying particle clustering relative to the fluid density enhancement. Power spectra are shown to be particularly sensitive for studying large-scale particle clustering, while conventional tools such as radial distribution functions are more suitable for studying small-scale clustering. Our primary finding is that particle clustering through shock interaction is particularly prominent in turbulence driven by spherical expansion waves. It manifests itself through a double-peaked distribution of spectral power as a function of Stokes number. The two peaks are associated with two distinct clustering mechanisms; shock interaction for smaller Stokes numbers and the centrifugal sling effect for larger values. The clustering of inertial particles is associated with the formation of caustics. Such caustics can only be captured in the Lagrangian description, which allows us to assess the relative importance of caustics in vortically and compressively forced turbulence. We show that the statistical noise resulting from the limited number of particles in the Lagrangian description can be removed from the particle power spectra, allowing us a more detailed comparison of the residual spectra. We focus on the Epstein drag law relevant for rarefied gases, but show that our findings apply also to the usual Stokes drag.