bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Increasing Users’ Privacy Awareness in the Internet of Things: Design Space and Sample Scenarios
Authors: Prange Sarah , Alt Florian
Published: August 2023

An increasing number of devices and sensors in the environments we access daily are capable of collecting personal data about us. Surveillance cameras in public spaces, smart speakers in friends’ living rooms, or smartphones carried by individuals are just a few examples. At the same time, many users are unaware of sensors being in place, in particular, those deployed in unfamiliar environments. Hence, it becomes increasingly challenging for users to keep control over their personal data being tracked and/or processed. Crucially, for users to be able to make informed decisions and privacy choices, they first of all need to be aware of potential privacy intrusions in their surroundings. In this chapter, we address this by exploring means to increase users’ privacy awareness in the Internet of Things. In particular, we illustrate the design space for such privacy awareness mechanisms, including what information should be displayed, and how this information can be made accessible for various target groups such as (to-be) device owners or passers-by. We also introduce and compare three sample scenarios in which privacy awareness mechanisms can support users: (1) privacy-relevant information for purchase decisions, (2) on-demand privacy-relevant information for active device search, and (3) in situ privacy-relevant information and guidance. The chapter is complemented by a discussion on future approaches to raising privacy awareness.
Challenges, Conflicts, and Solution Strategies for the Introduction of Corporate Data Protection Measures
Authors: Bosse Christian K. , Feth Denis , Schmitt Hartmut
Published: August 2023

As the digital transformation of the economy relies on the processing of personal data, employee data protection is an important prerequisite. When implementing data protection, there is typically a discussion of technical and organizational measures. However, since virtually all data protection measures can be regarded as socio-technical, the consideration of a third aspect is a critical but often neglected aspect of their implementation: the social sphere. In this chapter, we present the impact of the social sphere on the introduction of data protection measures. We discuss three main challenges, namely: (1) the lack of consideration of the interactions between the technical, organizational, and social spheres; (2) companies exploiting the gray areas of employee data protection; and (3) inherent conflicts between different quality characteristics. Furthermore, we show solution approaches for these challenges.
Toward Valid and Reliable Privacy Concern Scales: The Example of IUIPC-8
Authors: Groß Thomas
Published: August 2023

Valid and reliable measurement instruments are crucial for human factors in privacy research. We expect them to measure what they purport to measure, yielding validity, and to measure this consistently, offering us reliability. While there is a range of privacy concern instruments available in the field and their investigation continues unabated, we shall focus on a brief form of the scale Internet users? Information privacy concerns (IUIPC-8) as an example. We not only present IUIPC-8 itself, but also consider methods for the evaluation of valid and reliable measurement instruments. In this, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) serves us as a valuable tool. Our inquiry takes into account the ordinal and non-normal data yielded by the IUIPC questionnaire, compares multiple models to confirm the three-dimensionality is a fixed term, typically written with hyphen of the scale, examines global and local fit, and, finally, estimates construct validity and internal consistency reliability metrics. We offer a comparison between IUIPC-10 and IUIPC-8 drawing on two independent samples. In conclusion, we highlight properties of the scale and considerations for its use in practice.
What HCI Can Do for (Data Protection) Law—Beyond Design
Authors: Jakobi Timo , Grafenstein Maximilian von
Published: August 2023

Usable Privacy often works at the intersection of regulation to thrive for more usable solutions to normative provisions. The regulatory provisions themselves, or the legal standards of their implementation, however, typically remain unquestioned in the design process. This way, HCI falls short of its potential to inform regulation with insights on human expectations, attitudes, and behavior in the real world, to make law more effective. In this chapter, we present the extensive impulses that are also coming from legal sciences themselves motivating a more substantial collaboration of HCI and legal sciences. We turn to the example of data protection legislation and discuss the legislative intentions surrounding the landmark case of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We show how GDPRs’ requirement of “effectiveness” of technical and organizational protection measures opens the door for more in-depth collaboration with HCI and provide examples of high potential for such joint research.
Generalized Linear Mixed Models for Counts
Authors: Salinas Ruíz Josafhat , Montesinos López Osval Antonio , Hernández Ramírez Gabriela , Crossa Hiriart Jose
Published: August 2023

Data in the for of counts regularly appear in studies in which the number of occurrences is investigated, such as the number of insects, birds, or weeds in agricultural or agroecological studies; the number of plants transformed or regenerated using modern breeding techniques; the number of individuals with a certain disease in a medical study; and the number of defective products in a quality improvement study, among others. These counts can be counted per unit of time, area, or volume. When using a generalized linear model (GLM) with a Poisson distribution, it is often found that there is excessive dispersion (extra variation) that is no longer captured by the Poisson model. In these cases, the data must be modeled with a negative binomial distribution that has the same mean as the Poisson distribution but with a variance greater than the mean. Most experiments have some form of structure due to the experimental design (completely randomized design (CRD), randomized complete block design (RCBD), incomplete block, or split-plot design) or the sampling design, which must be incorporated into the predictor to adequately model the data.
Generalized Linear Mixed Models for Repeated Measurements
Authors: Salinas Ruíz Josafhat , Montesinos López Osval Antonio , Hernández Ramírez Gabriela , Crossa Hiriart Jose
Published: August 2023

Repeated measures data, also known as longitudinal data, are those derived from experiments in which observations are made on the same experimental units at various planned times. These experiments can be of the regression or analysis of variance (ANOVA) type, can contain two or more treatments, and are set up using familiar designs, such as CRD (Completely Randomized design), randomized complete block design (RCBD), or randomized incomplete blocks, if blocking is appropriate, or using row and column designs such as Latin squares when appropriate. Repeated measures designs are widely used in the biological sciences and are fairly well understood for normally distributed data but less so with binary, ordinal, count data, and so on. Nevertheless, recent developments in statistical computing methodology and software have greatly increased the number of tools available for analyzing categorical data.
Effects of Energy Price Shocks on Germany’s Economy and Private Households
Authors: Lutz Christian , Becker Lisa
Published: August 2023

The massive rise in energy prices in the wake of the Ukraine crisis and the Western sanctions against Russia is putting a great strain on the economy and consumers. Germany is particularly dependent on Russian energy imports. With the desire to reduce dependence on Russian imports, the pressure for climate neutrality is intensifying. The reports of the IPCC recently show again the high pressure to act. The EU is aiming for climate neutrality by 2050, and Germany would like to reach the target by 2045.

This chapter aims to examine the macroeconomic effects of the drastic price increase for energy sources in Germany. For this purpose, a scenario in which energy prices on the world market experience a significant shock is compared with a reference scenario until 2030. The scenarios are implemented in the economy–energy–environment model PANTA RHEI. The scenario comparison shows the different effects of energy price increase on important macroeconomic variables such as price level for consumers, GDP, and employment. Distributional effects across income classes are considered with particular attention to low-income households, which spend higher shares of their income for energy and cannot afford to pay for energy efficiency improvement. A brief comparison with other modelling studies shows that climate mitigation has a positive effect on the economy as a whole and can be an important lever for containing the losses caused by the current high energy prices.
Vulnerability to Motor Fuel Price Increases: Socio-Spatial Patterns in Italy
Authors: Mattioli Giulio , Dugato Marco , Philips Ian
Published: August 2023

Environmental taxes and oil market fluctuations can increase road fuel prices significantly and are likely to play a big role in the future. This raises social justice issues, as some low-income households rely on cars for access to services and opportunities but struggle to afford related expenses. The impacts of fuel price increases are unevenly spatially distributed, as shown by transport, planning and urban research. We investigate spatial patterns of vulnerability to fuel price increases in Italy, a country where the problem is particularly pronounced due to high motorisation rate relative to income, and high fuel prices. We define vulnerability as the combination of high exposure (high car use), high sensitivity (low income) and low adaptive capacity (high car dependence). Based on municipality-level data on motorisation and the journey to work from the 2011 Italian Census and official income tax revenue data for 2012 (as a proxy for income) we derive a composite indicator of vulnerability. The results show: i) a co-location of low-income and high car use on the periphery of many Italian city regions; ii) stark interregional differences, with lower income levels in the South driving high levels of vulnerability, despite lower levels of car ownership and use.
Structural and stereochemical determinants for hGAT3 inhibition: development of novel conformationally constrained and substituted analogs of (S)-isoserine
Authors: Bavo F. , Kickinger S. , Lie M. E. K. , Avgerinos C. , Xu Y , Wilhelmsen K. S. , Wellendorph P. , Frølund B.
Published: August 2023

The GABA transporter 3 (GAT3) is a member of the GABA transporter (GAT) family proposed to have a role in regulating tonic inhibition. The GAT3-preferring substrate (S)-isoserine has shown beneficial effects in a mouse model of stroke accompanied by an increased GAT3 expression, indicating a molecular mechanism mediated by GAT3. However, (S)-isoserine is not ideally suited for in vivo studies due to a lack of selectivity and brain permeability. To elucidate the structural determinants of (S)-isoserine for GAT3 inhibition, and to optimize and inform further ligand development, we here present the design, synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of a series of conformationally constrained isoserine analogs with defined stereochemistry. Using [3H]GABA uptake assays at recombinant human GAT3, we identified the azetidine and pyrrolidine analogs (2S,2´S)-6 and (2S,2´S)-7 as the most potent inhibitors. To further elaborate on the selectivity profile both compounds were tested at all GATs, the taurine transporter (TauT) and GABAA receptors. Although (2S,2´S)-6 and (2S,2´S)-7 are comparable to (S)-isoserine with respect to potency, the selectivity vs. the taurine transporter was significantly improved (at least 6 and 53 times more activity at hGAT3, respectively). A subsequent comprehensive structure-activity study showed that different connectivity approaches, stereochemical variations, simple or larger α- and N-substituents, and even minor size enlargement of the heterocyclic ring all abrogated GAT3 inhibition, indicating very strict stereochemical and size requirements. The observed structure activity relationships may guide future ligand optimization and the novel ligands ((2S,2´S)-6 and (2S,2´S)-7) can serve as valuable tools to validate the proposed GAT3-mediated effect of (S)-isoserine such as in functional recovery after stroke and thus help corroborate the relevance of targeting GAT3 and tonic inhibition in relevant brain pathologies.
Optimal Temperature Distribution for a Nonisothermal Cahn–Hilliard System with Source Term
Authors: Colli Pierluigi , Gilardi Gianni , Signori Andrea , Sprekels Jürgen
Published: August 2023

In this note, we study the optimal control of a nonisothermal phase field system of Cahn–Hilliard type that constitutes an extension of the classical Caginalp model for nonisothermal phase transitions with a conserved order parameter. The system couples a Cahn–Hilliard type equation with source term for the order parameter with the universal balance law of internal energy. In place of the standard Fourier form, the constitutive law of the heat flux is assumed in the form given by the theory developed by Green and Naghdi, which accounts for a possible thermal memory of the evolution. This has the consequence that the balance law of internal energy becomes a second-order in time equation for the thermal displacement or freezing index, that is, a primitive with respect to time of the temperature. Another particular feature of our system is the presence of the source term in the equation for the order parameter, which entails additional mathematical difficulties because the mass conservation of the order parameter, typical of the classic Cahn–Hilliard equation, is no longer satisfied. In this paper, we analyze the case that the double-well potential driving the evolution of the phase transition is differentiable, either (in the regular case) on the whole set of reals or (in the singular logarithmic case) on a finite open interval; nondifferentiable cases like the double obstacle potential are excluded from the analysis. We prove the Fréchet differentiability of the control-to-state operator between suitable Banach spaces for both the regular and the logarithmic cases and establish the solvability of the corresponding adjoint systems in order to derive the associated first-order necessary optimality conditions for the optimal control problem. Crucial for the whole analysis to work is the boundedness property stating that the order parameter attains its values in a compact subset of the interior of the effective domain of the nonlinearity. While this property turns out to be generally valid for regular potentials in three dimensions of space, it can be shown for the logarithmic case only in two dimensions.
Theoretical and Computational Analysis of the Thermal Quasi-Geostrophic Model
Authors: Crisan D. , Holm D. D. , Luesink E. , Mensah P. R. , Pan W.
Published: August 2023

This work involves theoretical and numerical analysis of the thermal quasi-geostrophic (TQG) model of submesoscale geophysical fluid dynamics (GFD). Physically, the TQG model involves thermal geostrophic balance, in which the Rossby number, the Froude number and the stratification parameter are all of the same asymptotic order. The main analytical contribution of this paper is to construct local-in-time unique strong solutions for the TQG model. For this, we show that solutions of its regularised version $$\alpha $$
α
-TQG converge to solutions of TQG as its smoothing parameter $$\alpha \rightarrow 0$$

α
→
0

and we obtain blow-up criteria for the $$\alpha $$
α
-TQG model. The main contribution of the computational analysis is to verify the rate of convergence of $$\alpha $$
α
-TQG solutions to TQG solutions as $$\alpha \rightarrow 0$$

α
→
0

, for example, simulations in appropriate GFD regimes.
Incidence and survival of adenocarcinoma with mixed subtypes in patients with colorectal cancer
Authors: Zhang Fan , Xu Boqi , Peng Yao , Mao Zhongqi , Tong Shan
Published: August 2023

Background

Limited attention was paid to adenocarcinoma with mixed subtypes (AM) of the colon and rectum due to its low incidence. This study aims to assess the frequency and survival rates of tumors in the population.

Methods

The data were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 2000 and 2019. The incidence of tumors was evaluated based on patient gender, age, race, and location. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were performed to identify risk factors associated with tumor survival. Additionally, a nomogram was constructed using these risk factors to predict cancer-specific survival (CSS) at 1, 2, and 3 years. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and calibration curves were applied to examine the model’s accuracy.

Results

The overall incidence of colorectal AM reached its highest level in 2016 (2.350 (95% CI: 2.241–2.462)). AM is more frequent in elderly patients and predominantly located in the rectum. By forest plot for multivariable Cox regression analysis, patient age, the number of regional positive lymph nodes and lymph nodes removed, tumor N/M stage, and postoperative chemotherapy were identified as independent risk indicators for CSS. Nomogram was constructed and validated as a feasible prediction model of CSS in patients with colorectal AM.

Conclusion

The presence of colorectal AM in elderly patients, particularly in the rectum, is frequent and often associated with poor prognosis. Our nomograms can offer a relatively accurate prediction of CSS of patients with AM after tumor resection.
Eu- or hypoglycemic ketosis and ketoacidosis in children: a review
Authors: Meoli Martina , Lava Sebastiano A. G. , Bronz Gabriel , Goeggel-Simonetti Barbara , Simonetti Giacomo D. , Alberti Ilaria , Agostoni Carlo , Bianchetti Mario G. , Scoglio Martin , Vismara Stefano A. , Milani Gregorio P.
Published: August 2023

The last decade has been characterized by exciting findings on eu- or hypoglycemic ketosis and ketoacidosis. This review emphasizes the following five key points: 1. Since the traditional nitroprusside-glycine dipstick test for urinary ketones is often falsely negative, the blood determination of β-hydroxybutyrate, the predominant ketone body, is currently advised for a comprehensive assessment of ketone body status; 2. Fasting and infections predispose to relevant ketosis and ketoacidosis especially in newborns, infants, children 7 years or less of age, and pregnant, parturient, or lactating women; 3. Several forms of carbohydrate restriction (typically less than 20% of the daily caloric intake) are employed to induce ketosis. These ketogenic diets have achieved great interest as antiepileptic treatment, in the management of excessive body weight, diabetes mellitus, and in sport training; 4. Intermittent fasting is more and more popular because it might benefit against cardiovascular diseases, cancers, neurologic disorders, and aging; 5. Gliflozins, a new group of oral antidiabetics inhibiting the renal sodium-glucose transporter 2, are an emerging cause of eu- or hypoglycemic ketosis and ketoacidosis. In conclusion, the role of ketone bodies is increasingly recognized in several clinical conditions. In the context of acid–base balance evaluation, it is advisable to routinely integrate both the assessment of lactic acid and β-hydroxybutyrate.
Multi-mmlg: a novel framework of extracting multiple main melodies from MIDI files
Authors: Zhao Jing , Taniar David , Adhinugraha Kiki , Baskaran Vishnu Monn , Wong KokSheik
Published: August 2023

As an essential part of music, main melody is the cornerstone of music information retrieval. In the MIR’s sub-field of main melody extraction, the mainstream methods assume that the main melody is unique. However, the assumption cannot be established, especially for music with multiple main melodies such as symphony or music with many harmonies. Hence, the conventional methods ignore some main melodies in the music. To solve this problem, we propose a deep learning-based Multiple Main Melodies Generator (Multi-MMLG) framework that can automatically predict potential main melodies from a MIDI file. This framework consists of two stages: (1) main melody classification using a proposed MIDIXLNet model and (2) conditional prediction using a modified MuseBERT model. Experiment results suggest that the proposed MIDIXLNet model increases the accuracy of main melody classification from 89.62 to 97.37%. In addition, this model requires fewer parameters (71.8 million) than the previous state-of-art approaches. We also conduct ablation experiments on the Multi-MMLG framework. In the best-case scenario, predicting meaningful multiple main melodies for the music are achieved.
How can sleep disorders affect our reaction towards external stressors: a lesson from the COVID-19 outbreak
Authors: Castelletti Gloria , Misirocchi Francesco , Zilioli Alessandro , Salvatelli Marcello Luigi , Rausa Francesco , Pizzarotti Silvia , Zinno Lucia , Florindo Irene , Pedrazzi Giuseppe , Parrino Liborio , Mutti Carlotta
Published: August 2023

Background

The COVID-19 outbreak produced extensive psychological consequences, especially among vulnerable populations. Sleep was identified as one of the most common “indirect targets” of the pandemia, with up to 74.8% of patients surviving from COVID-19 complaining of new-onset sleep disorders. However, so far, the clinic-psychological impact of the outbreak in patients affected by pre-existing sleep disorders has not been examined in details.

Materials and methods

In the present study, we aim to assess the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak in a cohort of 190 adult patients affected by sleep disorders, compared to 265 age and sex-matched healthy sleepers. The assessment was implemented throughout the use of ad hoc anamnestic questions, exploration of dream content, and validated questionnaires, aiming to capture the broad range of the neuropsychological nuances of the COVID-19 impact.

Results

Subjects with pre-existent sleep disorders faced a more severe impact in terms of sleep quality and amount compared to healthy sleepers, presenting longer sleep latency, reduced sleep efficacy, and greater use of hypnotics and medications. On the other hand, healthy sleepers experienced deeper variation in sleeping habits, sleep duration, and greater impact on dream activity in terms of content, emotionality, and presence of recurrent dreams. Finally, in our sample, being female represents an important aggravating factor in the pandemic experience, both in terms of sleep deterioration and with respect to physical and mental health. For instance, females indeed presented the highest scores of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) both in cases and control groups (respectively 10 ± 3.8 vs 7.3 ± 3.9 in cases and 6.6 ± 3.6 vs 6.0 ± 3.4 in controls, p-value < 0.001).

Conclusion

Pre-existent sleep disorders and the female sex might represent risk factors increasing the clinic-psychological burden in dramatic scenarios, such as the COVID-19 pandemia, requiring dedicated attention from clinicians.
Hardness of candidate nomination
Authors: Cechlárová Katarína , Lesca Julien , Trellová Diana , Hančová Martina , Hanč Jozef
Published: August 2023

We consider elections where the set of candidates is split into parties and each party can nominate just one candidate. We study the computational complexity of two problems. The Possible President problem asks whether a given party candidate can become the unique winner of the election for some nominations from other parties. The Necessary President is the problem to decide whether a given candidate will be the unique winner of the election for any possible nominations from other parties. We consider several different voting rules and show that for all of them the Possible President problem is NP-complete, even if the size of each party is at most two; for some voting rules we prove that the Necessary President is coNP-complete. Further, we formulate integer programs to solve the Possible President and Necessary President problems and test them on real and artificial data.
Stratiformator vulcanicus gen. nov., sp. nov., a marine member of the family Planctomycetaceae isolated from a red biofilm in the Tyrrhenian Sea close to the volcanic island Panarea
Authors: Kumar Gaurav , Kallscheuer Nicolai , Jogler Mareike , Wiegand Sandra , Heuer Anja , Boedeker Christian , Rohde Manfred , Jogler Christian
Published: August 2023

A novel planctomycetal strain, designated Pan189T, was isolated from biofilm material sampled close to Panarea Island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Cells of strain Pan189T are round grain rice-shaped, form pink colonies and display typical planctomycetal characteristics including asymmetric cell division through polar budding and presence of crateriform structures. Cells bear a stalk opposite to the division pole and fimbriae cover the cell surface. Strain Pan189T has a mesophilic (optimum at 24 °C) and neutrophilic (optimum at pH 7.5) growth profile, is aerobic and heterotrophic. Under laboratory-scale cultivation conditions, it reached a generation time of 102 h (µmax = 0.0068 h−1), which places the strain among the slowest growing members of the phylum Planctomycetota characterized so far. The genome size of the strain is with 5.23 Mb at the lower limit among the family Planctomycetaceae (5.1–8.9 Mb). Phylogenetically, the strain represents a novel genus and species in the family Planctomycetaceae, order Planctomycetales, class Planctomycetia. We propose the name Stratiformator vulcanicus gen. nov., sp. nov. for the novel taxon, that is represented by the type strain Pan189T (= DSM 101711 T = CECT 30699 T).
Studies on Vibrio campbellii as a newly emerging pathogen affecting cultured seabream (Sparus aurata) in Egypt
Authors: Aly Salah M. , Elatta Mohamed A. , ElBanna Noha I. , El-Shiekh Mustafa A. , Kelany Mahmoud S. , Fathi Mohamed , Mabrok Mahmoud
Published: August 2023

Aquaculture has become a crucial solution for addressing food scarcity worldwide, including Egypt. However, the intensification of aquaculture practices has led to water quality degradation and the emergence of new fish diseases, such as vibriosis. This study aimed to investigate the molecular typing, prevalence, pathogenicity, and environmental risk factors associated with Vibrio campbellii (V. campbellii) in cultured seabream. A total of 160 gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata (40 fish/season), along with 48 water samples (n = 12/season) were collected randomly and seasonally from private fish farms in the Suez Canal area over the course of a year for laboratory examinations. Clinical and postmortem inspections revealed characteristic signs and lesions similar to those observed in well-known vibrios infections. Bacteriological tests revealed the presence of V. campbellii strains in various internal organs. The isolated bacteria were identified morphologically, biochemically, and molecularly by targeting the 16S rRNA conserved gene. Histopathological examination was performed, providing insights into pathogen-induced tissue damage and septicemic disease progression. The prevalence of V. campbellii showed variable patterns across seasons, with higher proportions of cases in the summer. To examine the diagnostic performance of several water quality measures, the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed. The results showed various levels of predictive performance for the outcome variable V. campbellii, with ammonia serving as a significant predictor for the variable of interest. The challenge results indicated a 100% survival rate in the controls, whereas the challenged group exhibited a mortality number of 6.00 ± 0.58, resulting in a survival rate of 70.00 ± 2.89%. The current study emphasizes how crucial it is to take into account seasonal parameters to comprehend the prevalence and seriousness of vibriosis in mariculture. The findings add to a better understanding of the impact of water quality on fish disease emergence and can benefit the creation of appropriate management measures to ensure aquaculture populations’ health and well-being.
Demonstrating the use of a professional skills framework to support the assessment of dispositions in IT education
Authors: Bowers David S. , Sabin Mihaela
Published: August 2023

The skills and competencies of IT professionals are often described using employer-led skills frameworks. They express competencies as technical knowledge and skills combined with a range of personal qualities. Employers have indicated the importance of developing such qualities for new graduates. In response, recent ACM/IEEE curricular recommendations have shifted their emphases from bodies of knowledge to the development of competencies. The IT2017 ACM/IEEE Curriculum Guidelines for Baccalaureate Degree Programs proposed a model of IT competency comprising three interrelated components: content knowledge, skills, and dispositions, where dispositions represent personal qualities desirable in the workplace. The ACM/IEEE Computing Curricula 2020 (CC2020) report enriched the IT2017 disposition concept by identifying eleven dispositions that all computing programs should include for the career preparation of their graduates. However, developing and assessing dispositions in a degree program remain challenges, often involving internships, work placements and similar student opportunities. A recent mapping of the eleven CC2020 dispositions to the responsibility characteristics of the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA), a widely used professional skills framework, suggested a promising approach to addressing this challenge. Inspired by this mapping, this paper aims to help educators assess students’ achievement of CC2020 dispositions by mapping real-world experiences they have recorded in individual portfolios against the SFIA responsibility characteristics. First, the selection of SFIA to operationalize the CC2020 dispositions is validated by demonstrating that alternative frameworks pose significant challenges for any assessment approach that needs to be independent of particular technical skills. A tool is described that maps demonstration of SFIA responsibility characteristics to CC2020 dispositions, applying a simple, consistent assessment algorithm. Finally, the assessment process and outcomes are illustrated using a fictional student portfolio, constructed to reflect one author’s experience of work placement students’ achievements.
Infusing Physical Activity into Early Childhood Classrooms: Guidance for Best Practices
Authors: McGowan Amanda L. , Chandler Madison C. , Gerde Hope K.
Published: August 2023

Self-regulation is a critical emergent developmental competency that lays the foundation for children’s later psychosocial health and academic achievement. Recent work indicates that physical activity and energetic play opportunities support children’s self-regulation in the early childhood classroom. Many early childhood programs offer opportunities for children to engage in play, but teachers are rarely seen modeling physically active behaviors and face barriers to integrating opportunities for energetic play with early academic skills. Early childhood educational settings hoping to support children’s self-regulation development can provide multiple opportunities for children to observe teachers modeling physical activity, provide teacher support and scaffolding for physically active learning centers, and engage children in meaningful energetic play while promoting a range of academic skills. This article provides 10 research-based guidelines for supporting children’s self-regulation development through physical activity in early childhood classrooms.
Culture of Meritocracy, Political Hegemony, and Singapore’s Development
Authors: Cheang Bryan , Choy Donovan
Published: August 2023

Why have Singapore’s unique developmental state arrangements persisted in a region which has experienced democratic change? This paper argues that this is due to the PAP state’s successful legitimation of its unique brand of meritocracy, one which has both competitive and interventionist elements. During the colonial era, a culture of economic meritocracy evolved in a bottom-up process through social and commercial interactions between the British class and Chinese community. This was then transmuted by the PAP’s top-down imposition of the institutions and discourses of political meritocracy. This cultural hybrid allows the state to sustain its hegemony in the face of progressive social change. Accordingly, our emphasis on the wider institutional environment within which merit is conceived helps to better illuminate Singapore’s challenges of encouraging organic innovation, alleviating social stratification, and opening up its political arena. This paper suggests that the problems in these areas stem not from meritocracy per se, but from the PAP’s “monocentric meritocracy” where merit is narrowly defined and singularly imposed in the post-colonial era.
Socialization, Education, and Learning for the Internet (SELFI): A Pilot RCT of a Social Media Skills Group Program for Autistic Adults
Authors: Osuna Anthony , Sabini Katie , Yamane Eryca , Flores Jaqueline , Pierce Naomi , Lemus-Valle Jocelyn , Vernon Ty
Published: August 2023

Many autistic adults report preference for computer-mediated communication and social media use. Despite many benefits to online socialization, there are many challenges including anxiety and cyber-victimization. To date, support is limited related to helping autistic adults with safe and effective internet use. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the novel SELFI program. This pilot study utilized a randomized controlled trial design. A total of 25 autistic adults enrolled in the study and were randomized to the nine-week SELFI program or a waitlist control condition. Feasibility assessed enrollment, attrition, and fidelity of delivery. Acceptability examined attendance and feedback from participants and peer mentors. Efficacy evaluated change in Facebook activity, social media utility/anxiety, and individualized goals. Regarding feasibility, the recruitment goal was met within one month, there was limited attrition, and therapists delivered the program with high fidelity. Participants attended a majority of scheduled sessions and feedback from participants reflected high levels of agreement with several facets of the program. Compared to the control group, more participants assigned to the SELFI condition were perceived by autistic and non-autistic raters as having improved Facebook activity. SELFI participants also reported reduced difficulty meeting their individualized goal. Findings support the piloted SELFI program as feasible and acceptable with signals of preliminary efficacy. This study establishes an exciting foundation regarding an innovative social media skills program, however more research is necessary.
Improved syntheses of P2X7 ligands based on substituted benzyl amide of pyroglutamic acid motif labelled with iodine-123 or iodine-125
Authors: Marešová Anna , Jurášek Michal , Zimmermann Tomáš , Drašar Pavel , Petřík Miloš , Džubák Petr , Lindegren Sture , Cumming Paul , Pichler Robert , Popkov Alexander
Published: August 2023

P2X7 sites are emerging targets for molecular imaging research, notably in the context of neurodegeneration and inflammatory conditions. Therefore, we prepared a precursor for (radio)iodination of the P2X7 ligand VPGIS191. We then developed a radioiodination method with 123I for SPECT with a radiochemical yield of 71 ± 13% and 125I for autoradiography with a radiochemical yield of 85 ± 6% Autoradiography of [125I]VPGIS191 in mouse brain cryostat sections demonstrated approximately 36 nM binding affinity and Bmax of approximately 400 pmol/gram tissue for P2X7 binding sites. VPGIS191 (cis) had a two-fold lower affinity compared to its geometric trans-isomer TZ6019.

Graphical abstract
Two-stage multi-dimensional convolutional stacked autoencoder network model for hyperspectral images classification
Authors: Bai Yang , Sun Xiyan , Ji Yuanfa , Fu Wentao , Zhang Jinli
Published: August 2023

Deep learning models have been widely used in hyperspectral images classification. However, the classification results are not satisfactory when the number of training samples is small. Focused on above-mentioned problem, a novel Two-stage Multi-dimensional Convolutional Stacked Autoencoder (TMC-SAE) model is proposed for hyperspectral images classification. The proposed model is composed of two sub-models SAE-1 and SAE-2. The SAE-1 is a 1D autoencoder with asymmetric structre based on full connection layers and 1D convolution layers to reduce spectral dimensionality. The SAE-2 is a hybrid autoencoder composed of 2D and 3D convolution operations to extract spectral-spatial features from the reduced dimensionality data by SAE-1. The SAE-1 is trained with raw data by unsupervised learning and the encoder of SAE-1 is employed to reduce spectral dimensionality of raw data. The data after dimension reduction is used to train the SAE-2 by unsupervised learning. The fine-tuning of SAE-2 encoder and the training of classifier are implemented simultaneously with small number of samples by supervised learning. Comparative experiments are performed on three widely used hyperspectral remote sensing data. The extensive comparative experiments demonstrate that the proposed architecture can effectively extract deep features and maintain high classification accuracy with small number of training samples.
The Possible Role of Anoxic Alkaline High Subcritical Water in the Formation of Ferric Minerals, Methane and Disordered Graphitic Carbon in a BARB3 Drilled Sample of the 3.4 Ga Buck Reef Chert
Authors: Bassez Marie-Paule
Published: August 2023

The present article reports Raman spectroscopic observations of siderite, hematite, disordered graphitic carbon and possibly greenalite inside the quartz matrix of a banded iron sample from the BARB3 core drilled inside the 3.4 Ga Buck Reef Chert of the Barberton Greenstone Belt in South Africa. The article also reports Raman spectroscopic observations of quartz cavities, concluding in the presence of water, methane and sodium hydroxide at high concentration leading to pH ~ 15 inside the inclusion, suggesting an Archean water which was strongly basic. FeIII-greenalite may also be present inside the inclusion. The possible role of anoxic alkaline high subcritical water in the formation of ferric minerals and the CO required for the synthesis of molecules of biological interest has been demonstrated theoretically since 2013 and summarized in the concept of Geobiotropy. The present article experimentally confirms the importance of considering water in its anoxic strongly alkaline high subcritical domain for the formation of quartz, hematite, FeIII-greenalite, methane and disordered graphitic carbon. Methane is proposed to form locally when the carbon dioxide that is dissolved in the Archean anoxic alkaline high subcritical water, interacts with the molecular hydrogen that is emitted during the anoxic alkaline oxidation of ferrous silicates. The carbon matter is proposed to form as deposition from the anoxic methane-rich fluid. A detailed study of carbon matter from diverse origins is presented in a supplementary file. The study shows that the BARB3_23B sample has been submitted to ~ 335 °C, a temperature of the high subcritical domain, and that the graphitic structure contains very low amounts of oxygen and no hydroxyl functional groups. The importance of considering the structure of water is applied to the constructions of the Neoproterozoic and Archean banded iron formations. It is proposed that their minerals are produced inside chemical reaction chambers containing ferrous silicates, and ejected from the Earth’s oceanic crust or upper mantle, during processes involving subduction events or not.
Availability and transfer of non-essential elements in a rehabilitated bauxite residue grassland system
Authors: Dillon L. , Courtney R.
Published: August 2023

Aims

This study investigated a 7 yr old rehabilitated grassland established on a bauxite residue storage areas(RSA) in order to assess the availability and ecosystem transfer of both nutrient and trace elements, and to determine if defined rehabilitation criteria were sustained.

Methods

Rehabilitated residue/soil was sampled over depth (0–10 and 10-20 cm) and season (Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter) and plant growth stage (green vs. senescent) to determine both essential and non-essential element (Ca, Mg, Na, Al and V) content. Invertebrates samples from both decomposer and predator specimens were assessed to determine if foodchain transfer occurred.

Results

Residue-soil results showed sustained rehabilitation with pH, EC and ESP all within recommended criteria levels. Further, bioavailable fractions of Al and V remained low. Vegetation analysis revealed seasonal variation for both essential and non-essential elements and highlights the need for wider monitoring parameters. Elemental content in invertebrate samples did not indicate foodchain transfer and results were comparable to a reference site.

Conclusion

Results show sustained rehabilitation with low bioavailability of non-essential elements and foodchain transfer.
Innovation Diffusion and Strategic Outside Option in a Bargaining Game
Authors: Vergari Cecilia , Filippini Luigi
Published: August 2023

We develop an optimal licensing model of a product innovation in which the (external) patent holder negotiates sequentially a two-part tariff contract with two potential licensees that have a positive and strategic outside option. We study the role of this strategic outside option in determining technology diffusion and efficiency of the bargaining. Although rich enough contracts allow the solution of the well known opportunism problem, the strategic outside option of the second negotiator implies deviation from industry profit maximization, which reduces the profitability of nonexclusive licensing. As a result, exclusive licensing still prevails under certain conditions. We extend our analysis to assess the profitability for the innovator to integrate vertically with either firm in the market. The internal patent holder always sells the innovation to the rival non-affiliate as a way to co-opt the latter and improve the profits of the former. As a result, vertical integration as compared with vertical separation may imply a positive quality improving effect. The private and social profitability of vertical integration depends on the type of bargaining between the negotiators and on the distribution of their bargaining power.
Principles for accurate GHG inventories and options for market-based accounting
Authors: Brander Matthew , Bjørn Anders
Published: August 2023

Purpose

Market-based GHG accounting allows companies to report their emissions based on the purchase of emission attributes. This practice is widespread for reporting ‘scope 2’ electricity emissions and has recently been proposed for both ‘scope 1’ (direct) and ‘scope 3’ (other value chain) emission sources. However, the market-based method has been criticised for undermining the accuracy of GHG disclosures, and it is therefore highly important to explore the requirements for accurate GHG inventories and the solutions to market-based accounting.

Methods

This paper uses two methods: firstly, thought experiments are used to identify principles for accurate corporate GHG inventories and, secondly, formal prescriptions are developed for possible solutions to market-based accounting.

Results and discussion

The findings identify six principles for accurate corporate GHG inventories, which are then used to inform the development of two possible solutions. The first solution is to report changes in emissions caused by company actions separately from the GHG inventory, including any changes caused by the purchase of emission attribute certificates. The second solution proposes a causality requirement for the use of emission attributes in GHG inventories. Although the analysis focuses on corporate or organisational GHG inventories, the principles and solutions apply equally to attributional product carbon footprinting and life cycle assessment more broadly.

Conclusions

We emphasise that inventories are only one form of accounting method, and their accuracy should not be undermined by attempting to fulfil functions that are best served by other methods.
Three-Dirac-fermion approach to unexpected universal gapless surface states in van der Waals magnetic topological insulators
Authors: Wang Dinghui , Wang Huaiqiang , Xing Dingyu , Zhang Haijun
Published: August 2023

Layered van der Waals (vdW) topological materials, especially the recently discovered MnBi2Te4-family magnetic topological insulators (TIs), have aroused great attention. However, there has been a serious debate about whether the surface states are gapped or gapless for antiferromagnetic (AFM) TI MnBi2Te4, which is crucial to the prospect of various magnetic topological phenomena. Here, a minimal three-Dirac-fermion approach is developed to generally describe topological surface states of nonmagnetic/magnetic vdW TIs under the modulation of the interlayer vdW gap. In particular, this approach is applied to address the controversial issues concerning the surface states of vdW AFM TIs. Remarkably, topologically protected gapless Dirac-cone surface states are found to arise due to a small expansion of the interlayer vdW gap on the surface, when the Chern number equals zero for the surface ferromagnetic layer; while the surface states remain gapped in all other cases. These results are further confirmed by our first-principles calculations on AFM TI MnBi2Te4. The theorectically discovered gapless Dirac-cone states provide a unique mechanism for understanding the puzzle of the experimentally observed gapless surface states in MnBi2Te4. This work also provides a promising way for experiments to realize the intrinsic magnetic quantum anomalous Hall effect in MnBi2Te4 films with a large energy gap.