bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Drama of Responsible Research and Innovation: The Ups and Downs of a Policy Concept
Authors: Griessler Erich , Braun Robert , Wicher Magdalena , Yorulmaz Merve
Published: October 2022

This contribution addresses the question why Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is facing problems to succeed as concept for research and innovation policy in the European Commission, despite the EC’s 20 years of history of funding research activities and coordination and support actions that address science and society relations. Our analysis highlights four interrelated elements that contribute to the instability of RRI as policy concept, i.e. semantic, legal, financial and institutional fragility. We use Sabatier’s advocacy coalition approach (1998) to explain how these elements of fragility developed and how the ups and downs of RRI as policy concept played out. We identify three opposing advocacy coalitions with regards to RRI and analyze their belief systems and resources.
Democratic Experimentation with Responsibility: A Pragmatist Approach to Responsible Research and Innovation
Authors: Cohen Joshua B. , Gianni Robert
Published: October 2022

Disruptive societal changes following from emerging science and technology have recently led to a growing interest in developing ethical frameworks. Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is such a framework that aims to improve the relationship between science and society. Now a decade after its conceptualization, it still seems to suffer from conceptual unclarity and lack of implementation. Since responsibility in research and innovation practice remains as important as ever, we propose to revive the normative potential of RRI by approaching it as a matter of collective democratic experimentation. To further develop this approach, we propose a pragmatist conceptualization inspired by John Dewey, his work on democracy as an ethical way of life and his attention to the contextual nature of responsibility. Furthermore, we show how his interest in social inquiring publics provides a particularly apt foothold from which to operationalize collective democratic experimentation with RRI. We will illustrate the utility of this approach, with specific attention to the social, experimental and public character of social inquiry, by connecting it to the recent call to use social labs methodology to experiment with RRI. From this we draw lessons for future collective democratic experimentation with responsibility in research and innovation practice.
Exploring the Ambivalent Nature of Diversity in Social Experimental Settings: First Insights from Social Labs Established to Promote Responsible Research and Innovation
Authors: Yorulmaz Merve , Bührer Susanne
Published: October 2022

Research has provided ample evidence for the performance-enhancing effect of diversity on a wide range of organizational outcomes (Terjesen et al. 2009). The positive effects are manifold and range from better decision-making and corporate governance through better financial performance (Post and Byron 2015), more creativity and innovativeness to more responsible and ethical business conduct (Pechersky et al. 2016). In the context of Research & Innovation (R & I), the cooperation of a diversity of stakeholders has been shown to promote more responsible or ethical business practices (Wood 2002).
Inter- und transdisziplinäre Perspektiven als Stärke der Teilhabeforschung – Ergebnisse einer de jure und de facto Betrachtung von Vermittlungsstellen nach der Werkstätten-Mitwirkungsverordnung (WMVO)
Authors: Schachler Viviane , Nachtschatt Eva
Published: October 2022

Die Teilhabeforschung ist Begegnungsort für verschiedene Disziplinen. Dieser Beitrag greift das Zusammenspiel der Rechtswissenschaft mit der Sozialen Arbeit auf. Er zeigt deren Zugänge und erarbeitet exemplarisch, wie sich Teilhabeforschung in einer interdisziplinären Zusammenarbeit methodisch ausgestalten kann. Eine spezielle Thematik, § 5 Abs. 3 WMVO, wird sowohl aus rechtlicher als auch sozialwissenschaftlicher Perspektive betrachtet. Mit der Zusammenarbeit ergibt sich ein transdisziplinärer Erkenntniszuwachs.
„Kommune Inklusiv“? – Potenziale und Herausforderungen inklusiver Sozialraumentwicklung
Authors: Trescher Hendrik , Hauck Teresa , Börner Michael
Published: October 2022

Die Begleitforschung des Projekts „Kommune Inklusiv“ untersucht anhand eines mehrperspektivischen Methodendesigns, inwiefern sich Sozialräume verändern, in denen Maßnahmen durchgeführt werden, die die Teilhabemöglichkeiten von Menschen erweitern sollen, die von Ausschluss bedroht oder betroffen sind. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die handlungspraktische inklusive Sozialraumentwicklung unbedingt einer theoretischen Fundierung sowie empirischen Überprüfung bedarf, um Inklusion als kritische Praxis betreiben zu können.
Der Beitrag der ökologischen Psychologie für die Teilhabeforschung
Authors: Dieckmann Friedrich
Published: October 2022

Eine psychologische Analyse von Teilhabe, die das relationale Konzept von Behinderung ernst nimmt und Veränderungswissen generieren will, bedarf theoretischer Konzepte, die das Zusammenspiel von sozial-physischer Umwelt und Person in Handlungskontexten abbilden. Ökologisch-psychologische Ansätze wie das Behavior Setting-Konzept von Roger Barker können hier einen Beitrag leisten. Das Potenzial des Behavior Setting-Konzepts für die Teilhabeforschung wird in drei Bereichen ausgelotet: inklusive Gestaltung von Settings, dyadisches Handeln eines Menschen mit Beeinträchtigung und einer Assistenzperson, Förderung von Begegnungen und Bekanntschaften im Sozialraum.
Thin-walled Higgs assisted Q-balls from pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone bosons
Authors: Bishara Fady , Lennon Olivier
Published: October 2022

Abstract

We consider the question of whether Q-balls can exist in a chiral Lagrangian truncated at leading order when, in addition, the Standard Model Higgs boson couples to the pseudo-Nambu-Golstone bosons (pNGBs). In particular, we consider the so-called thin-wall limit where volume energy dominates over surface energy. It is known that the leading order chiral Lagrangian alone does not support such multi-field solutions. Augmented by the Higgs, however, we do indeed find that such solutions exist. We then study their properties numerically and, in various limits, analytically. Furthermore, since we consider a mirror-world-like model where the pNGBs are composite states of fundamental fermions, the question of Fermi repulsion in the high density bulk of the Q-ball plays a central role in determining its properties. The main effect is that when the parameter controlling the Fermi repulsion increases beyond a critical value, the radius of the Q-ball increases and continues to increase while the Q-ball becomes more weakly bound. As a result, there are Q-ball solutions with radii well exceeding a femtometer which would interact with nuclei in direct detection experiments via momentum-dependent form factors making their signatures striking. We leave the question of the production and direct detection of these Q-balls to a future study.
Development of the Tracheostomy Well-Being Score in critically ill patients
Authors: Ull Christopher , Weckwerth Christina , Hamsen Uwe , Jansen Oliver , Spieckermann Aileen , Schildhauer Thomas Armin , Gaschler Robert , Waydhas Christian
Published: October 2022

Purpose

Little attention has been given to understanding the experiences and perceptions of tracheostomized patients. This study aimed to measure the impact of tracheostomy on well-being in critically ill patients with the development of the Tracheostomy Well-Being Score (TWBS).

Methods

This is a prospective, monocentric, observational study including critically ill patients with a tracheostomy without delirium. A 25-item questionnaire with items from six categories (respiration, coughing, pain, speaking, swallowing, and comfort) was used to select the 12 best items (two per category) to form the TWBS score after testing on two consecutive days. Item selection secured (1) that there were no skewed response distributions, (2) high stability from day 1 to day 2, and (3) high prototypicality for the category in terms of item-total correlation.

Results

A total of 63 patients with a mean age of 56 years were included. The 12 items of the TWBS were characterized by a high retest reliability (τ = 0.67–0.93) and acceptable internal consistency. The overlap with the clinician rating was low, suggesting that acquiring self-report data is strongly warranted.

Conclusion

With the TWBS, an instrument is available for the assessment of the subjective effects a tracheostomy has on in critically ill patients. The score potentially offers a chance to increase well-being of these patients. Additionally, this score could also increase their quality of life by improving tracheostomy and weaning management.

Clinical Trial Registration

German Clinical Trials Register Identifier DRKS00022073 (2020/06/02).
Standards of fracture care in polytrauma: results of a Europe-wide survey by the ESTES polytrauma section
Authors: Scherer Julian , Coimbra Raul , Mariani Diego , Leenen Luke , Komadina Radko , Peralta Ruben , Fattori Luka , Marzi Ingo , Wendt Klaus , Gaarder Christine , Pape Hans-Christoph , Pfeifer Roman
Published: October 2022

Introduction

Fixation of major fractures plays a pivotal role in the surgical treatment of polytrauma patients. In addition to ongoing discussions regarding the optimal timing in level I trauma centers, it appears that the respective trauma systems impact the implementation of both, damage control and safe definitive surgery strategies. This study aimed to assess current standards of polytrauma treatment in a Europe-wide survey.

Methods

A survey, developed by members of the polytrauma section of ESTES, was sent online via SurveyMonkey®, between July and November 2020, to 450 members of ESTES (European Society of Trauma and Emergency Surgery). Participation was voluntary and anonymity was granted. The questionnaire consisted of demographic data and included questions about the definition of “polytrauma” and the local standards for the timing of fracture fixation.

Results

In total, questionnaires of 87 participants (19.3% response rate) were included. The majority of participants were senior consultants (50.57%). The mean work experience was 19 years, and on average, 17 multiple-injured patients were treated monthly. Most of the participants stated that a polytrauma patient is defined by ISS ≥ 16 (44.16%), followed by the “Berlin Definition” (25.97%). Systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg, tachycardia or vasopressor administration (86.84%), pH deviation, base excess shift (48.68%), and lactate > 4 mmol (40.79%) or coagulopathy defined by ROTEM (40.79%) were the three most often stated indicators for shock. Local guidelines (33.77%) and the S-3 Guideline by the DGU® (23.38%) were mostly stated as a reference for the treatment of polytrauma patients. Normal coagulation (79.69%), missing administration of vasopressors (62.50%), and missing clinical signs of “SIRS” (67.19%) were stated as criteria for safe definite secondary surgery.

Conclusion

Different definitions of polytrauma are used in the clinical setting. Indication for and the extent of secondary (definitive) surgery are mainly dependent on the polytrauma patient`s physiology. The «Window of Opportunity» plays a less important role in decision making.
Die gesellschaftliche Akzeptanz von öffentlichem Stillen im zeitlichen Vergleich: Erfahrungen und Einstellungen der Bevölkerung und stillender Mütter 2016 und 2020
Authors: Lücke Stephanie , Koch Severine , Böl Gaby-Fleur , Flothkötter Maria
Published: October 2022

Hintergrund und Ziel

Deutschland ist nur moderat stillfreundlich, dies ergab eine systematische Bestandsaufnahme von 2019. Aufbauend auf einer Referenzstudie wurde eine Befragung zur Akzeptanz des Stillens in der Öffentlichkeit durchgeführt. Ziel der Arbeit ist es, Wahrnehmungen und Einstellungen zum öffentlichen Stillen im zeitlichen Vergleich zu erfassen. Zudem werden u. a. Unterschiede zwischen der Allgemeinbevölkerung und Müttern von kleinen Kindern sowie zwischen Müttern mit unterschiedlichem Bildungsstand betrachtet.

Material und Methoden

1007 Personen ab 16 Jahren und 307 Mütter mit Kindern bis 24 Monaten wurden im Jahr 2020 online zum Thema Stillen in der Öffentlichkeit befragt. Ergebnisse wurden mit einer früheren Befragung aus 2016 verglichen.

Ergebnisse

2020 stillt ein größerer Anteil von Müttern an öffentlichen Orten als 2016, es wird seltener vermieden. Mütter mit niedrigerem Bildungsstand stillen seltener, auch in der Öffentlichkeit, und berichten häufiger von gemischten Reaktionen. In der Bevölkerung ist die Akzeptanz für das öffentliche Stillen gesunken, z. B. in der Gastronomie. Etwa jede bzw. jeder Sechste (17 %) lehnt das öffentliche Stillen explizit ab. Das Wissen über gesundheitliche Effekte des Stillens ist in der Allgemeinbevölkerung niedriger als bei Müttern. Wie 2016 geht Wissen über die positiven Effekte des Stillens mit einer größeren Akzeptanz von öffentlichem Stillen einher.

Diskussion

Die Ergebnisse unterstreichen die Bedeutung von Maßnahmen, etwa um der Bevölkerung Wissen zu vermitteln, das Stillen in Massenmedien und durch positive Vorbilder häufiger zu zeigen und die Lebenswelten von Familien stillfreundlicher zu machen. Bei den Maßnahmen sind Frauen mit niedrigerem Bildungsstand besonders in den Blick zu nehmen.
Verockerung wasserbaulicher Filteranlagen: Stand der Wissenschaft und notwendige Untersuchungen
Authors: Tophoff Lukas , Kreyenschulte Moritz , Schüttrumpf Holger , Heimbecher Frank
Published: October 2022

In den letzten Jahrzehnten kam es in Einzelfällen zu schweren Schäden an wasserbaulichen geotextilen Filteranlagen infolge der Verstopfung durch ausgeflockte ockerhaltige Produkte. Durch eine starke Verminderung der Durchlässigkeit der Geokunststoffe in Kombination mit einem hohen hydrostatischen Druck wurden unter anderem die Deckschichten verschiedener Deckwerke in den tidebeeinflussten Wasserstraßen Ems und Weser angehoben und beschädigt. Bisher wurden die Milieubedingungen, d. h. Grundwasser- und Oberflächenwasserbeschaffenheit sowie Aquifer- und Deckwerksmaterial, unter denen die Ockerbildung in geotextilen und mineralischen Filteranlagen auftritt, noch nicht systematisch untersucht. Im Rahmen des vorliegenden Beitrags werden im ersten Schritt aus theoretischen Untersuchungen und Datenanalysen von Grundwasser- und Oberflächenwasseruntersuchungen Kriterien zur Bewertung der Verockerungsneigung abgeleitet. Diese Kriterien bzw. DOCP (decisive ochre clogging parameters) zeigen in den Ästuaren Ems, Weser und Elbe Beträge an, die Verockerungserscheinungen begünstigen bzw. ermöglichen. Auf Basis dieser Untersuchungen werden im zweiten Schritt Randbedingungen für zukünftige systematische In-situ-Untersuchungen an wasserbaulichen Filteranlagen sowie im experimentellen Modell abgeleitet.
Analysis of the accessibility of selected massive open online courses (MOOCs) for users with disabilities
Authors: Królak Aleksandra , Zając Piotr
Published: October 2022

The aim of this paper is to analyze the massive open online courses available on the platform “Coursera” from the perspective of their accessibility for users with disabilities. The analysis was carried out against the guidelines developed by the world wide web consortium in three ways: user testing, heuristic evaluation and automatic audit using selected online tools. Ten users, one of them being an accessibility expert, with different impairments were involved in the research procedure. Their task was to follow a course of their choice and to communicate their observations and comments on the courses with the use of a specially designed questionnaire. Despite the continuous development of Coursera platform, the introduction of new improvements and the implementation of an accessibility policy along with a subpage dedicated to this subject, the participants of the study still faced barriers to digital accessibility. Significant non-compliances with the aforementioned guidelines have been demonstrated through the analysis of the questionnaire results and through a simplified audit of the platform.
Analogical lightweight ontology of EU criminal procedural rights in judicial cooperation
Authors: Audrito Davide , Sulis Emilio , Humphreys Llio , Di Caro Luigi
Published: October 2022

This article describes the creation of a lightweight ontology of European Union (EU) criminal procedural rights in judicial cooperation. The ontology is intended to help legal practitioners understand the precise contextual meaning of terms as well as helping to inform the creation of a rule ontology of criminal procedural rights in judicial cooperation. In particular, we started from the problem that directives sometimes do not contain articles dedicated to definitions. This issue provided us with an opportunity to explore a phenomenon typically neglected in the construction of domain-specific legal ontologies. Whether classical definitions are present or absent, laws and legal sources in general are typically peppered with a number of hidden definitions (in the sense that they are not clearly marked out as such) as well as incomplete definitions, which may nevertheless help legal practitioners (and legal reasoning systems) to reason on the basis of analogy or teleology. In this article we describe the theoretical basis for building an analogical lightweight ontology in the framework of an EU project calledCrossJustice. We present our methodology for collecting the data, extracting the data fields and creating the ontology with WebProtégé, followed by our conclusions and ideas for future work.
Nominalism and Mathematical Objectivity
Authors: Luo Guanglong
Published: October 2022

We observe that Putnam’s model-theoretic argument against determinacy of the concept of second-order quantification or that of the set is harmless to the nominalist. It serves as a good motivation for the nominalist philosophy of mathematics. But in the end it can lead to a serious challenge to the nominalist account of mathematical objectivity if some minimal assumptions about the relation between mathematical objectivity and logical objectivity are made. We consider three strategies the nominalist might take to meet this challenge, and we argue that all these strategies are untenable.
Fictionalised Non-fiction Picturebooks for Preschoolers: Children’s Responses to Imaginary Constructs in Designed Reading Activities
Authors: Backman Anna
Published: October 2022

Contemporary non-fiction picturebooks for children are often fictionalised in one way or another. Many non-fiction picturebooks for children are thus hybrids between fiction and non-fiction but labelled as non-fiction for children and presented to children as non-fiction. Their purpose is to inform and teach, and at the same time entertain and elicit affective responses. To succeed in achieving this dual purpose, this study assumes that designed teaching can create opportunities to separate combined depictions in fictionalised non-fiction. The purpose of this study is to explore children’s responses to imaginary constructs in designed reading activities, and to answer what opens up for children when combined depictions in fictionalised non-fiction are separated and made discernible. This is studied in four reading activities with a teacher and six five-year-olds in a preschool setting, reading and discussing picturebooks about dinosaurs and their extinction. The analysis shows that when combined depictions in fictionalised non-fiction are separated by contrast, and thus made discernible as established knowledge and imaginary constructs, this opens up for the children’s interpretation, appreciation, and creation of imaginary constructs.
Ethical principles for artificial intelligence in education
Authors: Nguyen Andy , Ngo Ha Ngan , Hong Yvonne , Dang Belle , Nguyen Bich-Phuong Thi
Published: October 2022

The advancement of artificial intelligence in education (AIED) has the potential to transform the educational landscape and influence the role of all involved stakeholders. In recent years, the applications of AIED have been gradually adopted to progress our understanding of students’ learning and enhance learning performance and experience. However, the adoption of AIED has led to increasing ethical risks and concerns regarding several aspects such as personal data and learner autonomy. Despite the recent announcement of guidelines for ethical and trustworthy AIED, the debate revolves around the key principles underpinning ethical AIED. This paper aims to explore whether there is a global consensus on ethical AIED by mapping and analyzing international organizations’ current policies and guidelines. In this paper, we first introduce the opportunities offered by AI in education and potential ethical issues. Then, thematic analysis was conducted to conceptualize and establish a set of ethical principles by examining and synthesizing relevant ethical policies and guidelines for AIED. We discuss each principle and associated implications for relevant educational stakeholders, including students, teachers, technology developers, policymakers, and institutional decision-makers. The proposed set of ethical principles is expected to serve as a framework to inform and guide educational stakeholders in the development and deployment of ethical and trustworthy AIED as well as catalyze future development of related impact studies in the field.
Estimating Soil Thermal Conductivity by Weighted Average Models with Soil Solids as a Continuous Medium
Authors: Tarnawski V. R. , Leong W. H. , McCombie M. , Bovesecchi G.
Published: October 2022

In an attempt to further simplify and to refine the modeling of soil thermal conductivity (λ), two novel weighted average models (WAMs) were developed in which soil solids represent the continuous phase. In the first model, WAMs-1, the continuous phase consists of two distinctive minerals groups (quartz and compounded remaining soil minerals), while air and water are treated as dispersed components. In the second model, WAMs-2, all soil minerals are compounded and considered the continuous phase, while air and water are dispersed components. In contrast to de Vries’ original WAM with two continuous phases (soil air or soil water), the proposed models are very simple due to the following assumptions: using soil solids as a single continuous medium lead to eliminating the discontinuity of thermal conductivity when switching between soil air and soil water as continuous medium, and using the thermal conductivity of dry air simplifies a complex expression for an apparent thermal conductivity of humid soil air. Both models were successfully calibrated and validated using 39 Canadian Field Soil database and 3 Standard Sands and were successfully applied to 10 Chinese soils.
Determining Maximal Entropy Functions for Objective Bayesian Inductive Logic
Authors: Landes Juergen , Rafiee Rad Soroush , Williamson Jon
Published: October 2022

According to the objective Bayesian approach to inductive logic, premisses inductively entail a conclusion just when every probability function with maximal entropy, from all those that satisfy the premisses, satisfies the conclusion. When premisses and conclusion are constraints on probabilities of sentences of a first-order predicate language, however, it is by no means obvious how to determine these maximal entropy functions. This paper makes progress on the problem in the following ways. Firstly, we introduce the concept of a limit in entropy and show that, if the set of probability functions satisfying the premisses contains a limit in entropy, then this limit point is unique and is the maximal entropy probability function. Next, we turn to the special case in which the premisses are categorical sentences of the logical language. We show that if the uniform probability function gives the premisses positive probability, then the maximal entropy function can be found by simply conditionalising this uniform prior on the premisses. We generalise our results to demonstrate agreement between the maximal entropy approach and Jeffrey conditionalisation in the case in which there is a single premiss that specifies the probability of a sentence of the language. We show that, after learning such a premiss, certain inferences are preserved, namely inferences to inductive tautologies. Finally, we consider potential pathologies of the approach: we explore the extent to which the maximal entropy approach is invariant under permutations of the constants of the language, and we discuss some cases in which there is no maximal entropy probability function.
A new method for mining information of gut microbiome with probabilistic topic models
Authors: Xiong Xin , Li Minrui , Ren Yuyan , Yao Xusheng , Du Yuhui , Huang Qingsong , Kong Xiangyang , He Jianfeng
Published: October 2022

Microbiome is closely related to many major human diseases, but it is generally analyzed by the traditional statistical methods such as principal component analysis, principal coordinate analysis, etc. These methods have shortcomings and do not consider the characteristics of the microbiome data itself (i.e., the “probability distribution” of microbiome). A new method based on probabilistic topic model was proposed to mine the information of gut microbiome in this paper, taking gut microbiome of type 2 diabetes patients and healthy subjects as an example. Firstly, different weights were assigned to different microbiome according to the degree of correlation between different microbiome and subjects. Then a probabilistic topic model was employed to obtain the probabilistic distribution of gut microbiome (i.e., per-topic OTU (operational taxonomic units, OTU) distribution and per-patient topic distribution). Experimental results showed that the output topics can be used as the characteristics of gut microbiome, and can describe the differences of gut microbiome over different groups. Furthermore, in order to verify the ability of this method to characterize gut microbiome, clustering and classification operations on the distributions over topics for gut microbiome in each subject were performed, and the experimental results showed that the clustering and classification performance has been improved, and the recognition rate of three groups reached 100%. The proposed method could mine the information hidden in gut microbiome data, and the output topics could describe the characteristics of gut microbiome, which provides a new perspective for the study of gut microbiome.
Nonlinear effects of saturation in the car-following model
Authors: Martinovich Kristof , Kiss Adam K.
Published: October 2022

The goal of this paper is to provide insight about the effect of acceleration saturation in the car-following model. In this contribution, we consider a heterogeneous, mixed-traffic scenario which contains both human-driven and autonomous vehicles subjected to time delays. Corresponding stability charts are provided from which one can tune the control parameters of the automated vehicles to achieve smooth traffic flow. By taking into account the acceleration saturation, it modifies the global behaviour of the system and reduces the range of the optimal technological parameters. On a demonstrative example, we highlight the complex dynamical phenomenon induced by the saturation and we attempt to connect these nonlinear investigations to the engineering practice and point out their relevance.
Vote buying and redistribution
Authors: Guerra Alice , Justesen Mogens K.
Published: October 2022

Vote buying is a form of political clientelism involving pre-electoral transfers of money or material benefits from candidates to voters. Despite the presence of secret ballots, vote buying remains a pervasive phenomenon during elections in developing countries. While prior literature has focused on how vote buying is enforced by parties and political candidates and which types of voters are most likely targeted, we know much less about the behavioral spillover effects of vote buying on citizens’ demand for redistribution and contributions to the provision of public goods. In this paper, we provide evidence on how vote buying causally affects voters’ candidate choice, support for redistribution, and public goods provision. Using data from a laboratory experiment in Kenya, we find that vote buying is a double-edged sword for candidates using clientelist strategies: it attracts votes from those who were offered money and accepted it, but it also leads to negative reactions from those who rejected the offer as well as those who were not offered money. In line with its effect on voting behavior, vote buying has negative effects on subjects’ evaluations of the vote-buying candidate. Vote buying significantly reduces individuals’ stated preferences for more government spending on police and law enforcement—yet, surprisingly, not on other welfare areas such as unemployment benefits or health. We also find that open ballots—but not vote-buying campaigns—reduce individuals’ willingness to contribute to public goods provisions.
International perspectives on trends in paediatric sports-related concussion: knowledge, management, unanswered questions
Authors: Henley Stefan J. , Draper Nick
Published: October 2022

Purpose

In the last 20 years, concussion has received increased attention in the media, with distinct recognition of sports-related concussion (SRC). Much of this attention has centred on the paediatric population, due to concerns over adolescent brain development and the high numbers of teenagers playing contact sport. This qualitative study explored (1) what experts in the field of concussion perceive regarding trends in paediatric concussion awareness and management, and (2) how responses to these questions differ by country (US vs. NZ) and by discipline (research vs. sports coaching vs. sports medicine).

Methods

After the development of a semi-structured interview template, questions were coded for interviews of six (N = 6) experts in academia, medicine, and coaching: three in the United States (N = 3) and three in New Zealand (N = 3). Interviews were then transcribed and qualitatively analysed using a thematic narrative analysis. Emergent themes included concussion knowledge, management, and unanswered questions.

Results

Findings showed general commonalities on the importance of concussion education, the improvement of concussion awareness, compliance to concussion protocols, and the need to research long-term outcomes. Fewer commonalities were found regarding the level of concussion reporting, the impact of multiple concussions, whether paediatric and adult concussion should be treated similarly, and the utility of concussion tests.

Conclusions

Concussion experts agree on many areas; however, divergent opinions were apparent. Further original research is required within the paediatric population to analyse the efficacy of current concussion guidelines.
Familiäre Gesundheitsförderung bei Alleinerziehenden und ihren Kindern
Authors: Kuschick Doreen , Kuck Joachim , Rattay Petra , Pachanov Alexander , Geene Raimund
Published: October 2022

Hintergrund

Die Lebenslage von Alleinerziehenden und ihren Kindern geht oft mit besonderen Herausforderungen einher, die in Folge gesundheitliche Beeinträchtigungen mit sich bringen können. Es ist daher von Relevanz, für diese Zielgruppe wirksame Maßnahmen der Gesundheitsförderung zu identifizieren.

Ziel der Arbeit

Die vorliegende Arbeit gibt einen aktuellen Überblick zu Ansätzen der Gesundheitsförderung/Prävention bei Alleinerziehenden und ihren Kindern sowie deren Wirksamkeit.

Methode

Es erfolgte eine systematische Recherche in relevanten Datenbanken mit anschließendem mehrschrittigen Screeningprozess und einer narrativen Ergebnissynthese.

Ergebnisse

Es wurden 27 Studien eingeschlossen, in denen 22 Interventionsprogramme evaluiert wurden. Die Studienlage ist verhaltenspräventiv geprägt, die Evidenzlage ist heterogen. Es zeigen sich eingeschränkte Wirksamkeitsnachweise von Workshop-Formaten, Bildungsangeboten und Kompetenztrainings mit dem Ziel der psychosozialen Ressourcenstärkung bei Alleinerziehenden und ihren Kindern.

Schlussfolgerung

Die Belastbarkeit der Ergebnisse wird durch die mäßige methodische Qualität der Studien relativiert. Durch die Suchstrategie, die auf Studien mit Outcomes für Alleinerziehende fokussiert war, sowie die Methodik des systematischen Reviews wurden fast ausschließlich Angebote der Verhaltensprävention identifiziert. Für verhältnispräventive Interventionen liegen nur selten Studien vor, die explizit Auskunft zur Wirksamkeit bei Alleinerziehenden geben. Das gewählte Vorgehen war somit nur begrenzt in der Lage, das Handlungsfeld umfassend abzubilden. Das Review liefert dennoch einen Baustein eines evidenzbasierten Vorgehens in der Gesundheitsförderung für Alleinerziehende und ihre Kinder.
Free-breathing cardiovascular cine magnetic resonance imaging using compressed-sensing and retrospective motion correction: accurate assessment of biventricular volume at 3T
Authors: Takakado Masahiro , Kido Tomoyuki , Ogawa Ryo , Takimoto Yoshihiro , Tokuda Tsuyoshi , Tanabe Yuki , Kawaguchi Naoto , Pang Jianing , Komori Yoshiaki , Kido Teruhito
Published: October 2022

Purpose

We applied a combination of compressed-sensing (CS) and retrospective motion correction to free-breathing cine magnetic resonance (MR) (FBCS cine MoCo). We validated FBCS cine MoCo by comparing it with breath-hold (BH) conventional cine MR.

Materials and methods

Thirty-five volunteers underwent both FBCS cine MoCo and BH conventional cine MR imaging. Twelve consecutive short-axis cine images were obtained. We compared the examination time, image quality and biventricular volumetric assessments between the two cine MR.

Results

FBCS cine MoCo required a significantly shorter examination time than BH conventional cine (135 s [110–143 s] vs. 198 s [186–349 s], p < 0.001). The image quality scores were not significantly different between the two techniques (End-diastole: FBCS cine MoCo; 4.7 ± 0.5 vs. BH conventional cine; 4.6 ± 0.6; p = 0.77, End-systole: FBCS cine MoCo; 4.5 ± 0.5 vs. BH conventional cine; 4.5 ± 0.6; p = 0.52). No significant differences were observed in all biventricular volumetric assessments between the two techniques. The mean differences with 95% confidence interval (CI), based on Bland–Altman analysis, were − 0.3 mL (− 8.2 − 7.5 mL) for LVEDV, 0.2 mL (− 5.6 − 5.9 mL) for LVESV, − 0.5 mL (− 6.3 − 5.2 mL) for LVSV, − 0.3% (− 3.5 − 3.0%) for LVEF, − 0.1 g (− 8.5 − 8.3 g) for LVED mass, 1.4 mL (− 15.5 − 18.3 mL) for RVEDV, 2.1 mL (− 11.2 − 15.3 mL) for RVESV, − 0.6 mL (− 9.7 − 8.4 mL) for RVSV, − 1.0% (− 6.5 − 4.6%) for RVEF.

Conclusion

FBCS cine MoCo can potentially replace multiple BH conventional cine MR and improve the clinical utility of cine MR.
Future Challenges in Psychotherapy Research for Personality Disorders
Authors: Kramer Ueli , Eubanks Catherine F. , Bertsch Katja , Herpertz Sabine C. , McMain Shelley , Mehlum Lars , Renneberg Babette , Zimmermann Johannes
Published: October 2022

Purpose of Review

Individuals with personality disorders are frequently seen in mental health settings. Their symptoms typically reflect a high level of suffering and burden of disease, with potentially harmful societal consequences, including costs related to absenteeism at work, high use of health services, ineffective or harmful parenting, substance use, suicidal and non-suicidal self-harming behavior, and aggressiveness with legal consequences. Psychotherapy is currently the first-line treatment for patients with personality disorders, but the study of psychotherapy in the domain of personality disorders faces specific challenges.

Recent Findings

Challenges include knowing what works for whom, identifying which putative mechanisms of change explain therapeutic effects, and including the social interaction context of patients with a personality disorder. By following a dimensional approach, psychotherapy research on personality disorders may serve as a model for the development and study of innovative psychotherapeutic interventions.

We recommend developing the following: (a) an evidence base to make treatment decisions based on individual features; (b) a data-driven approach to predictors, moderators, and mechanisms of change in psychotherapy; (c) methods for studying the interaction between social context and psychotherapy.
Adjuvant radiation therapy for older women with early-stage breast cancer: a propensity-matched SEER analysis
Authors: Wu Nisha , Tan Qiao , Su Xiaohan , Yuan Yewei , Hou Lingmi , Li Junyan
Published: October 2022

Introduction

The purpose was to evaluate the effect of adjuvant radiation therapy on the survival prognosis of older women with early-stage breast cancer under different surgical treatments.

Methods

We collected patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. Elderly female patients (≥ 70 years) with stage I–IIB diagnosed with invasive carcinoma in 1988–2017 were included. After propensity score matching (PSM), the prognosis of patients who underwent breast-conserving surgery or mastectomy was calculated separately. The effects of radiotherapy on the survival of three special population groups (breast-conserving surgery + T1N0M0 + ER positive, mastectomy + T3N0M0 and mastectomy + T1-2N1M0) were analyzed selectively.

Results

Of 106,553 older women with early-stage breast cancer were identified. 48,630 patients had received radiotherapy, while 57,923 patients had not. After PSM, older women undergoing breast-conserving surgery benefited significantly from radiotherapy (both OS and BCSS p < 0.001), for patients with T1N0M0 and ER-positive breast cancer (both OS and BCSS p < 0.001). In the subgroup of T1-2N1M0 breast cancer treated by mastectomy, patients undergoing radiotherapy had a worse survival as well (OS p < 0.001; BCSS p = 0.0907). While in the subgroup of T3N0M0 breast cancer treated by mastectomy, survival analyses showed no statistical differences between patients receiving radiation or not (OS p = 0.1778, BCSS p = 0.6957).

Conclusions

This study indicated the clinical effects of radiation on older women who received different surgical treatments. Our study suggested that radiotherapy should be omitted in older women undergoing mastectomy + T3N0M0 or T1-2N1M0 and radiotherapy could be considered in women with T1N0M0 + ER-positive undergoing breast-conserving surgery.
Construction of miRNA–mRNA networks for the identification of lung cancer biomarkers in liquid biopsies
Authors: Espinosa Garcia Elena , Arroyo Varela Macarena , Larrosa Jimenez Rafael , Gomez-Maldonado Josefa , Cobo Dols Manuel Angel , Claros M. Gonzalo , Bautista Moreno Rocio
Published: October 2022

Lung cancer (LC) is the most common cause of cancer death worldwide mostly due to the low survival rate: 75% of cases are identified in advanced stages. In this study, the list of useful biomarkers to make an early diagnosis using liquid biopsies was expanded. A total of 30 samples of LC were analyzed to define potential miRNA biomarkers in liquid biopsies for LC. The biomarkers have been identified in interaction networks miRNA–mRNA. The potential biomarkers have been then validated in large cohorts. A total of 15 candidate miRNAs, that regulate the repression of 30 mRNAs, have been identified as a specific functional interaction network for squamous carcinoma, while the specific functional interaction network of adenocarcinoma consists of four candidate miRNAs that seem to handle the repression of five mRNA. Inspection of expression levels in larger cohorts validates the usefulness of the 11 candidates as biomarkers in liquid biopsies. The 11 candidate miRNAs found could be utilized to form diagnostic predictive biomarkers for LC in liquid biopsies.
Future orientation and perceived employability of chinese undergraduates: a moderated mediation model
Authors: Chen Hao , Wu Yunhong , Jiang Lin , Xu Binfeng , Gao Xiaopei , Cai Wenjing
Published: October 2022

Although scholars and practitioners have highlighted the significance of students’ attitudes for their future employment, few empirical examinations have attempted to determine the potential association between students’ future orientation and their perceived employability. Thus, drawing on career construction theory, we test the positive effect of students’ future orientation on their perceived employability by exploring the mediator of problem-based learning and the moderators of job market knowledge and proactive personality. Collecting our data via a time-lagged design (N = 368), we have found that the positive association between future orientation and employability is mediated by problem-based learning. Our moderation analyses further revealed that job market knowledge positively moderates the relationship between future orientation and problem-based learning and that students’ proactive personality positively moderates the relationship between problem-based learning and perceived employability.
Influence of hydrodynamic variables on scaling up of mechanical flotation cells
Authors: Saeed Mohazzam , De Souza Carolina Vivian , Chipakwe Vitalis , Chelgani Saeed Chehreh
Published: October 2022

Flotation performance is influenced by many hydrodynamic variables, such as impeller speed, airflow rate, and cell geometry. These variables’ effects and interactions remain unsatisfactorily explored, especially concerning scaling-up procedures. As an innovative approach, this study considered factorial-designed experiments to explore the effects of hydrodynamic factors (impeller tip speed and superficial gas velocity) on scaling up the Outotec GTK LabCell™ mechanical flotation machine cells, common equipment used as a benchmark for many industrial pre-feasibility studies. Therefore, the influence of hydrodynamic variables and their interactions on flotation performance was evaluated in two cells (2 L and 7.5 L). The evaluation was based on the flotation rate constant “k” calculated by first- and second-order equations. Analysis of the particle size distribution indicated that the performance of the two cells was different, as shown by the finer concentrate for the 2-L cell compared to the 7.5-L cell. The outcomes demonstrated that symmetrical design in the geometry of mechanical flotation cells would lead to an accurate scaling up based on the metallurgical responses. Otherwise, the scaling procedure could only be accurate under some specific conditions. As a criterion, the results showed that using k, the scaling-up process between these two GTK LabCell™ mechanical flotation machine cells (2 L and 7.5 L) would be possible only under a specific superficial gas velocity (0.14 cm/s) apart from the impeller tip speed (R2 = 1). These results could potentially be key for the future design and development of mechanical flotation cells.
Application of Palaeoecological and Geochemical Proxies in the Context of Tropical Peatland Degradation and Restoration: A Review for Southeast Asia
Authors: Ramdzan Khairun Nisha Mohamed , Moss Patrick T. , Heijnis Hendrik , Harrison Mark E. , Yulianti Nina
Published: October 2022

Tropical peatlands in Southeast Asia (SEA) have undergone large-scale degradation in recent times due to extensive land use changes and drainage associated with their conversion for economic gains, and resulting fires during dry periods. This has had detrimental impacts on key peatland ecosystem processes and services such as hydrology, peat formation, carbon storage, fire prevention and biodiversity. Palaeoecological and geochemical proxies have been increasingly used in tropical peatland studies to extend contemporary instrumental records of peat conditions. Despite not yet being used to actively inform tropical peatland degradation and restoration interventions, these proxies are able to provide long-term trends in responses, resilience (threshold) and feedback processes of vegetation dynamics, groundwater level, peat pH, peat decomposition and accumulation rates, and degradation history. In this review, through the assessment of relevant tropical peatland studies in SEA, the palaeoecological and geochemical proxies were evaluated for their potential to reconstruct long-term peatland responses to climatically and anthropogenically-driven degradation. This information can potentially be utilised to provide better understanding of the extent of degradation and assist with the development of restoration management plans in SEA through its application in peat-hydrology restoration models.
Cereal species mixtures: an ancient practice with potential for climate resilience. A review
Authors: McAlvay Alex C. , DiPaola Anna , D’Andrea A. Catherine , Ruelle Morgan L. , Mosulishvili Marine , Halstead Paul , Power Alison G.
Published: October 2022

Food security depends on the ability of staple crops to tolerate new abiotic and biotic pressures. Wheat, barley, and other small grains face substantial yield losses under all climate change scenarios. Intra-plot diversification is an important strategy for smallholder farmers to mitigate losses due to variable environmental conditions. While this commonly involves sowing polycultures of distinct species from different botanical families in the same field or multiple varieties of the same species (varietal mixtures), mixed plantings of multiple species from the same family are less well known. However, the sowing of maslins, or cereal species mixtures, was formerly widespread in Eurasia and Northern Africa and continues to be employed by smallholder farmers in the Caucasus, Greek Islands, and the Horn of Africa, where they may represent a risk management strategy for climate variability. Here, we review ethnohistorical, agronomic, and ecological literature on maslins with a focus on climate change adaptation, including two case studies from Ethiopian smallholder farmers. The major points are the following: (1) farmers in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Georgia report that mixtures are a strategy for ensuring some yield under unpredictable precipitation and on marginal soils; (2) experimental trials support these observations, demonstrating increased yield advantage and stability under certain conditions, making maslins a potentially adaptive practice when crops are impacted by new biotic and abiotic conditions due to climate change; (3) maslins may balance trade-offs between interfamilial species plantings and varietal mixtures, and expand the total portfolio of traits available for formulating mixtures from varietal mixtures alone; and (4) they may buffer against the impacts of climate trends through passive shifts in species composition in response to environmental pressures. We demonstrate the potential benefits of maslins as an agroecological intensification and climate adaptation strategy and lay out the next steps and outstanding questions regarding the applicability of these cropping systems.
The effect of graphene on the activation energy of grain growth for the nanocrystalline thermoelectric n-type Bi2Te2.7Se0.3
Authors: El-Makaty Farah M. , Pothuvattil Nandagopal S. , Hamouda Abdelmagid , Youssef Khaled M.
Published: October 2022

Even though bismuth telluride is frequently produced by mechanical alloying for thermoelectric materials, no data has been published addressing the thermal behavior and activation energy of the milled n-type Bi2Te2.7Se0.3powders. This paper studies the activation energy of grain growth for the nanocrystalline n-type Bi2Te2.7Se0.3and two graphene-Bi2Te2.7Se0.3composites with different graphene concentrations (0.05 and 0.5 wt.%). Grain size and structural analyses of these samples have been carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The thermal stability of the three samples is investigated by incorporating differential scanning calorimetry data with the Kissinger model. The activation energy of the pristine Bi2Te2.7Se0.3alloy is found to be 268 kJ/mol. For the composite samples, a lower graphene weight percentage (0.05 wt.%) increased the activation energy to 270 kJ/mol. In contrast, higher amounts of graphene (0.5 wt.%) reduced the activation energy significantly to 254 kJ/mol. The observed effect is found to be directly related to graphene’s exfoliation in the bismuth telluride matrix. These results offer a better understanding of the thermal behavior of the nanocrystalline pristine n-type Bi2Te2.7Se0.3and the influence of graphene nanofiller on the thermal stability of the bismuth telluride nanocomposites.