bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Data Collection, Privacy, and Children in the Digital Economy
Authors: Arewa Olufunmilayo B.
Published: March 2023

Technologies today facilitate widespread dissemination of information, including visual images, and rapid communication to billions of people across the globe. Digital economy firms increasingly shape how we create, disseminate, and access data and information. Data-driven business models increasingly influence companies’ aggregation and use of their customers’ personal information. The collection and use of data have a particular impact on children. Access to information about children may pose both short-term and long-term threats. Children potentially have different and perhaps even greater risks than adults because their relationships with digital spaces may be mediated by family relationships and the activities of other people who may have the authority to disclose their data. A significant percentage of children’s identity theft comes from persons known to them, such as family members. As a result, regulation of children’s data implicates family relationships in ways that are potentially difficult and complex. Existing legal and regulatory approaches may focus on data privacy after it has been collected, with insufficient attention to the effectiveness of consent in light of widespread data technology business models, as well as to extensive data collection and aggregation. While this may harm both adults and children, it places a particular burden on children.
Rethinking Finland’s Official Bilingualism in Education
Authors: From Tuuli
Published: March 2023

Finland is an officially bilingual country with two national languages, Finnish and Swedish. Comprehensive education is organised along two separate, monolingual strands. The separation of Swedish- and Finnish-medium schools has been presented as a precondition for protecting Swedish language. However, while the present educational policies promote multilingualism, some critical questions concerning the system based on language separation arise. In both Finnish-medium and Swedish-medium schools, the linguistic backgrounds of pupils are increasingly diverse. In the past decade, an increasing demand for bilingual educational solutions has emerged among the families where both national languages are spoken but also among non-Swedish-speaking families. Using a theoretical framework influenced by the notion of linguistic governance, this chapter illuminates how some educational practices are considered as thinkable and others as threatening the status quo of Finland’s societal bilingualism. Placing monolingual Finnish- and Swedish-medium schools in shared facilities has encountered resistance and revealed a monolingual spatial ideology. Instead, bilingual practices maintaining institutional separation, such as bilingual education for Finnish-speakers have been proposed as acceptable solutions. In the most recent of these debates, such as in the planning process of a bilingual public school in the capital, Helsinki, discourses of profit and commodification of language are starting to unfold. The chapter concludes that the question of state bilingualism in Finnish schooling might be heading towards increasing differentiation in relation to the national languages.
Religions and Worldviews as “The Problem” in Finnish Schools
Authors: Rissanen Inkeri , Poulter Saila
Published: March 2023

Finland has a rather unique model of non-confessional worldview education that draws on pupils’ “own worldview”. Internationally this model has been applauded for ensuring freedom of religion and belief, but in Finland it is regularly debated. In this chapter we employ a wider notion of worldview education that takes into account the role of worldviews in school culture and allows scrutiny of how all education is nested in a system of values and can be analysed as education into (and from) worldview. We introduce the foundations of worldview education in Finnish basic education, and analyse negotiations about the inclusion of worldview plurality in the every-day life of schools in light of our empirical studies. We argue that, despite the official multiculturalist and inclusivist ideals, unrecognised monoculturalism prevails in Finnish schools as majority worldviews are not seen as worldviews but deemed universal and therefore neutral. This universalism induces perceptions of religions and worldviews as “the problem” in school: while more superficial cultural differences are celebrated, recognition of diversity at the more profound ethical, ontological and epistemological level would demand willingness to question the universality of the core values and ideals of the education system. We discuss the necessity and prospects of departing from monoculturalism and moving towards critical worldview education.
Finland’s Ministry of Education and Culture in the Light of Its Working Groups
Authors: Kallunki Jarmo , Kauko Jaakko , Pizmony-Levy Oren
Published: March 2023

The Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) has traditionally been considered as the most central actor and the powerhouse in the education policy field in Finland. While the position of the MEC in the Finnish education policy system seems stable, there have been several organisational changes within the MEC over the past three decades. One of these is the disintegration of the committee system and its replacement by the working groups system, a trend that is part of a more general change from governing to governance since the 1990s. In this chapter we analyse data containing the MEC’s working groups and their members with social network analysis in order to understand the ways in which the working group system affects the MEC and its operation. Our analysis suggests that the MEC is organised rather strongly by departments: early childhood and general education, vocational education and training, higher education and research, culture and arts, and youth and sports. Analysing the network through the individual working group members we observed that, in addition to public officials, individuals representing interest organisations such as labour and trade unions were important links between the working groups.
A Progressive Force in Finnish Schooling?: Finland’s Education Union, OAJ, and Its Influence on School-Level Education Policy
Authors: Nivanaho Nina , Thrupp Martin
Published: March 2023

The Trade Union of Education in Finland, OAJ, is a large organisation covering early childhood education through to adult education and training. OAJ claims to have a key role in influencing education policy and often takes up progressive stances in the media. At the same time, there has been little evidence of it contesting government policy in any overt way. To explore whether OAJ really influences Finnish education policy and in what ways, this chapter looks at education policy concerning comprehensive schooling during the period of the centre-right Sipilä Government in power from 2015–19 and then at the interests and responses of the OAJ over the same period. Employing a thematic analysis of OAJ press releases and other publications, the authors argue that whereas the Sipilä Government’s education policy emphasised a more neo-liberal and individualistic approach to educational equity, the OAJ often sought to highlight a version of educational equality and its challenges associated with a democratic ideal of social justice. The OAJ also sought a longer-term perspective in Finnish education politics than was manifested in the various projects of the Sipilä Government. Overall, the chapter provides insights into Finnish education policy-making processes that involve decision-makers and working groups operating at both national and local (municipal) levels and the related positioning of the OAJ.
A Right-handed neutrino portal to the hidden sector: active neutrinos and their twins in an F-theory model
Authors: Kawamura Junichiro , Raby Stuart
Published: March 2023

Abstract

We analyze the neutrino phenomenology in an SU(5) F-theory model with both a visible sector and a twin hidden sector. At low energies, the strong and weak scales of the two sectors may differ but the spectrum of states is described by the MSSM (MSSM′) in the visible (twin) sectors. What is special about the model is that there are right-handed neutrinos which couple to both sectors via Yukawa couplings. As a result, assuming 3 right-handed neutrinos with a large mass much greater than the weak scale, at tree-level the seesaw mechanism results in 3 massive Majorana neutrinos and 3 massless ones. The massless neutrinos acquire mass via radiative corrections. In our analysis, the massless neutrinos are predominantly active neutrinos, while the massive neutrinos are predominantly sterile neutrinos. We fit the active neutrino masses and mixing angles and discuss the phenomenology of the lightest sterile neutrino. Finally we consider some possible scenarios for cosmology.
Effects of reduction technique for acute anterior shoulder dislocation without sedation or intra-articular pain management: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Baden D. N. , Visser M. F. L. , Roetman M. H. , Smeeing D. P. J. , Houwert R. M. , Groenwold R. H. H. , van der Meijden O. A. J.
Published: March 2023

Introduction

Anterior shoulder dislocations are commonly seen in the emergency department for which several closed reduction techniques exist. The aim of this systematic review is to identify the most successful principle of closed reduction techniques for an acute anterior shoulder dislocation in the emergency department without the use of sedation or intra-articular lidocaine injection.

Methods

A literature search was conducted up to 15-08-2022 in the electronic databases of PubMed, Embase and CENTRAL for randomized and observational studies comparing two or more closed reduction techniques for anterior shoulder dislocations. Included techniques were grouped based on their main operating mechanism resulting in a traction–countertraction (TCT), leverage and biomechanical reduction technique (BRT) group. The primary outcome was success rate and secondary outcomes were reduction time and endured pain scores. Meta-analyses were conducted between reduction groups and for the primary outcome a network meta-analysis was performed.

Results

A total of 3118 articles were screened on title and abstract, of which 9 were included, with a total of 987 patients. Success rates were 0.80 (95% CI 0.74; 0.85), 0.81 (95% CI 0.63; 0.92) and 0.80 (95% CI 0.56; 0.93) for BRT, leverage and TCT, respectively. No differences in success rates were observed between the three separate reduction groups. In the network meta-analysis, similar yet more precise effect estimates were found. However, in a post hoc analysis the BRT group was more successful than the combined leverage and TCT group with a relative risk of 1.33 (95% CI 1.19, 1.48).

Conclusion

All included techniques showed good results with regard to success of reduction. The BRT might be the preferred technique for the reduction of an anterior shoulder dislocation, as patients experience the least pain and it results in the fastest reduction.
Functional characterization and comparative analysis of gene repression-mediating domains interacting with yeast pleiotropic corepressors Sin3, Cyc8 and Tup1
Authors: Lettow Julia , Kliewe Felix , Aref Rasha , Schüller Hans-Joachim
Published: March 2023

Transcriptional corepressors Sin3, Cyc8 and Tup1 are important for downregulation of gene expression by recruiting various histone deacetylases once they gain access to defined genomic locations by interaction with pathway-specific repressor proteins. In this work we systematically investigated whether 17 yeast repressor proteins (Cti6, Dal80, Fkh1, Gal80, Mig1, Mot3, Nrg1, Opi1, Rdr1, Rox1, Sko1, Ume6, Ure2, Xbp1, Yhp1, Yox1 and Whi5) representing several unrelated regulatory pathways are able to bind to Sin3, Cyc8 and Tup1. Our results show that paired amphipathic helices 1 and 2 (PAH1 and PAH2) of Sin3 are functionally redundant for some regulatory pathways. WD40 domains of Tup1 proved to be sufficient for interaction with repressor proteins. Using length variants of selected repressors, we mapped corepressor interaction domains (CIDs) in vitro and assayed gene repression in vivo. Systematic comparison of CID minimal sequences allowed us to define several related positional patterns of hydrophobic amino acids some of which could be confirmed as functionally supported by site-directed mutagenesis. Although structural predictions indicated that certain CIDs may be α-helical, most repression domains appear to be randomly structured and must be considered as intrinsically disordered regions (IDR) adopting a defined conformation only by interaction with a corepressor.
Assessment of the perception of vertical subjectivity in children born preterm
Authors: Riera-Tur Laura , Lubián-Gutiérrez Manuel , Benavente-Fernández Isabel , Lubián-López Simón , Martín-Mateos Antonio J. , Lechuga-Sancho Alfonso M.
Published: March 2023

Children born preterm have increased rates of paediatric mortality and morbidity. Prematurity has been associated with impaired visual perception and visuo-motor integration. The alteration of the perception of verticality translates into alterations of the vestibular system at central and/or peripheral level, which may manifest itself in symptoms such as imbalance, dizziness or even vertigo. The aim of this study was to compare subjective visual vertical (SVV) test scores in children born preterm with those of children born at term at ages between 7 and 10. One hundred ten children with no neurodevelopmental disorder of 7 to 10 years of age were studied using a mobile application on a smartphone attached to a wall by means of a rotating plate. The SVV test was compared between two groups: a group of 55 preterm children (53 very preterm children born under 32 weeks of gestational age and 2 preterm with very low birth weight) and another group of 55 children born at term (after 37 weeks of gestational age). The SVV results were analysed for comparison with respect to prematurity, sex and age. We found no significant differences in the SVV study in the comparison between preterm and term children. In addition, no significant differences were observed regarding sex or age between 7 and 10 years.

  Conclusion: We found no alterations in the perception of vertical subjectivity in children between 7 and 10 years of age, with antecedents of very preterm birth and/or very low birth weight.

What is Known:

• The different studies published so far suggest the existence of balance disorders in premature children, although in most of these studies the children are examined at an age when the vestibular system is not mature and with non-specific tests for the study of the vestibular system.

What is New:

• We compared the results of the subjective visual vertical (SVV) test in a group of 55 preterm children (53 very preterm children born under 32 weeks of gestational age and 2 preterm with very low weight at birth) and in a group of 55 children born at term (after 37 weeks of gestational age), at the ages of 7 to 10 years and observed no differences.

• We conclude that, if there had been any vestibular alterations due to very premature birth, these must have been compensated by the age of 7.
Metabolomics analysis reveals cytotoxic effects of ouabain towards psoriatic keratinocytes via impairment of glutathione metabolism
Authors: Zhou Xuan , Fei Fei , Song Wei , Ma Hehua , Xu Zhenzhen , Yue Jing , Cao Bei , Sun Runbin , Zhao Yu , Yang Yuanxun , Jiang Junyi , Geng Yan , Weng Zuyi , Li Juan
Published: March 2023

Ouabain is a cardiac glycoside long studied for treating heart diseases, but the attempts to evaluate its anti-psoriatic activity have not been reported. We aimed to explore the effects of ouabain on proliferation and metabolism towards psoriatic keratinocytes. In human HaCaT keratinocytes, ouabain potently decreased viability, promoted apoptosis and caused G2/M cycle arrest. Metabolomics analysis indicated that ouabain markedly impaired glutathione metabolism. The solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11) is an amino acid transporter highly specific to cysteine, which is critical for glutathione synthesis. Ouabain downregulated SLC7A11, reduced cysteine uptake and subsequently inhibited glutathione synthesis, probably through inhibiting Akt/mTOR/beclin axis that regulate protein activity of SLC7A11. The impaired glutathione synthesis and oxidative stress caused by ouabain may contribute to its cytotoxicity towards psoriatic keratinocytes. Our results provide experimental evidence supporting further study of ouabain as a potential anti-psoriatic agent.
Intelligence at play: game-based assessment using a virtual-reality application
Authors: Simons Alexander , Wohlgenannt Isabell , Zelt Sarah , Weinmann Markus , Schneider Johannes , vom Brocke Jan
Published: March 2023

Several studies have shown that video games may indicate or even develop intellectual and cognitive abilities. As intelligence is one of the most widely used predictors of job performance, video games could thus have potential for personnel assessment. However, few studies have investigated whether and how virtual reality (VR) games can be used to make inferences about intelligence, even though companies increasingly use VR technology to recruit candidates. This proof-of-concept study contributes to bridging this gap between research and practice. Under controlled laboratory conditions, 103 participants played the commercial VR game Job Simulator and took the short version of the intelligence test BIS-4. Correlation and regression analysis reveal that, on average, participants who completed the game more quickly than others had higher levels of general intelligence and processing capacity, suggesting that VR games may provide useful supplementary tools in the prediction of job performance. Still, our results also indicate that game-based assessments have limitations that deserve researchers’ attention, which lead us to discuss directions for future research.
Regulation of MEK inhibitor selumetinib sensitivity by AKT phosphorylation in the novel BRAF L525R mutant
Authors: Nakai Chikako , Mimaki Sachiyo , Matsushima Koutatsu , Shinozaki Eiji , Yamazaki Kentaro , Muro Kei , Yamaguchi Kensei , Nishina Tomohiro , Yuki Satoshi , Shitara Kohei , Bando Hideaki , Suzuki Yutaka , Akagi Kiwamu , Nomura Shogo , Fujii Satoshi , Sugiyama Masaya , Nishida Nao , Mizokami Masashi , Koh Yasuhiro , Koshizaka Takuya , Okada Hideki , Abe Yukiko , Ohtsu Atsushi , Yoshino Takayuki , Tsuchihara Katsuya
Published: March 2023

Background

Oncogenic mutations inBRAFgenes are found in approximately 5–10% of colorectal cancers. The majority ofBRAFmutations are located within exons 11–15 of the catalytic kinase domains, withBRAFV600E accounting for more than 80% of the observedBRAFmutations. Sensitivity to BRAF- and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK) inhibitors varies depending onBRAFmutations and tumor cell types. Previously, we newly identified,BRAFL525R-mutation, in the activation segment of the kinase in colorectal cancer patient. Here, we characterized the function of theBRAFL525R mutation.

Methods

HEK293 cells harboring aBRAFmutation (V600E or L525R) were first characterized and then treated with cetuximab, dabrafenib, and selumetinib. Cell viability was measured using WST-1 assay and the expression of proteins involved in the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathways was evaluated using western blot analysis.

Results

The MEK inhibitor selumetinib effectively inhibited cell proliferation and ERK phosphorylation inBRAFL525R cells but not inBRAFV600E cells. Further studies revealed that AKT phosphorylation was reduced by selumetinib inBRAFL525R cells but not inBRAFV600E cells or selumetinib-resistantBRAFL525R cells. Moreover, the AKT inhibitor overcame the selumetinib resistance.

Conclusions

We established a model system harboringBRAFL525R using HEK293 cells.BRAFL525R constitutively activated ERK. AKT phosphorylation caused sensitivity and resistance to selumetinib. Our results suggest that a comprehensive network analysis may provide insights to identify effective therapies.
Gendered late working life trajectories, family history and welfare regimes: evidence from SHARELIFE
Authors: Schmitz Wiebke , Naegele L. , Frerichs F. , Ellwardt L.
Published: March 2023

Earlier employment choices based on family events in earlier life have an impact up until late working life, especially in welfare regimes that encourage the breadwinner-caretaker division. We investigate types of late employment patterns and how these are associated with earlier family events. We also test whether the association between early family history and late working life varies across five welfare regimes. Using retrospective life history data from SHARELIFE, our sample consists of 10,913 women and 10,614 men aged 65 years and older. Late working life trajectories are analyzed using gender-separate sequence analyses, which are summarized into eight groups applying cluster analyses. Using average marginal and interaction effects, we explain how the association between types of late working life, coresidential partnership history and parenthood history differs by welfare states. For instance, women’s late employment is either shaped by unpaid care or paid (full- or part-time) work but not both, whereas men’s late working life is mainly shaped by full-time work. Family history in earlier life is linked to unpaid care and part-time work—an association strongest in liberal and southern welfare regimes. However, among men earlier family events are linked to full-time work. Policymakers need gender-specific strategies to integrate workers into late working life. The implementation of new policies should aim to prevent these social inequalities in early life, as employment decisions caused by family history in earlier life stages—especially for women—tend to cumulate over the life course.
Simple approximative algorithms for free-support Wasserstein barycenters
Authors: Lindheim Johannes von
Published: March 2023

Computing Wasserstein barycenters of discrete measures has recently attracted considerable attention due to its wide variety of applications in data science. In general, this problem is NP-hard, calling for practical approximative algorithms. In this paper, we analyze a well-known simple framework for approximating Wasserstein-$${\varvec{p}}$$pbarycenters, where we mainly consider the most common case$${\varvec{p}}={\varvec{2}}$$p=2and$${\varvec{p}}={\varvec{1}}$$p=1, which is not as well discussed. The framework produces sparse support solutions and shows good numerical results in the free-support setting. Depending on the desired level of accuracy, this requires only$${\varvec{N}}-{\varvec{1}}$$N-1or$${\varvec{N(N}}-{\varvec{1)/2 }}$$N(N-1)/2standard two-marginal optimal transport (OT) computations between the$${\varvec{N}}$$Ninput measures, respectively, which is fast, memory-efficient and easy to implement using any OT solver as a black box. What is more, these methods yield a relative error of at most$${\varvec{N}}$$Nand$${\varvec{2}}$$2, respectively, for both$${\varvec{p}}={\varvec{ 1, 2}}$$p=1,2. We show that these bounds are practically sharp. In light of the hardness of the problem, it is not surprising that such guarantees cannot be close to optimality in general. Nevertheless, these error bounds usually turn out to be drastically lower for a given particular problem in practice and can be evaluated with almost no computational overhead, in particular without knowledge of the optimal solution. In our numerical experiments, this guaranteed errors of at most a few percent.
The b-symbol weight distributions of all semiprimitive irreducible cyclic codes
Authors: Vega Gerardo
Published: March 2023

Up to a new invariant $$\mu (b)$$

μ
(
b
)

, the complete b-symbol weight distribution of a particular kind of two-weight irreducible cyclic codes, was recently obtained by Zhu et al. (Des Codes Cryptogr 90(5):1113–1125, 2022). The purpose of this paper is to simplify and generalize the results of Zhu et al., and obtain the b-symbol weight distributions of all one-weight and two-weight semiprimitive irreducible cyclic codes.
The Diaptomidae (Copepoda, Calanoida) of Tunisia and the role of spatial and environmental factors as drivers of their distribution patterns
Authors: Marrone Federico , Stoch Fabio , Turki Souâd , Naselli-Flores Luigi
Published: March 2023

Even in a biodiversity hotspot such as the Mediterranean basin, aspects relating to the distribution of some groups of microcrustaceans still need clarification. In this paper, we critically analyse the available information on diaptomid copepods in Tunisian inland waters and, based on the largest sampling campaign to date carried out in the country, report new data on their distribution. In the frame of this study, 248 crustacean samples were collected from 190 sites, and 10 diaptomid species belonging to 7 genera and 2 subfamilies were found in the samples. Their distribution follows a climate gradient determined by precipitation, and ecological variables mainly affect diaptomid distribution in the study area, while pure spatial factors are of negligible importance. Diaptomid biodiversity is therefore strongly linked to the diversity of inland waters that characterise the country. This is especially true in the wetlands of the Medjerda alluvial plain, where six diaptomid species co-occurred sympatrically, with up to four or five species coexisting syntopically and synchronically in some sites. Unfortunately, the natural water bodies of this plain are currently strongly threatened by urban expansion and agricultural reclamation, and the risk of local extinction for the species they host is increasingly high.
Protective effects of curcumin and Ginkgo biloba extract combination on a new model of Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Assi Abdel-Azim , Farrag Magda M. Y. , Badary Dalia M. , Allam Essmat A. H. , Nicola Mariam A.
Published: March 2023

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative illnesses, and yet, no workable treatments have been discovered to prevent or reverse AD. Curcumin (CUR), the major polyphenolic compound of turmeric (Curcuma longa) rhizomes, and Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) are natural substances derived from conventional Chinese herbs that have long been shown to provide therapeutic advantages for AD. The uptake of curcumin into the brain is severely restricted by its low ability to cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Meanwhile, GBE has been shown to improve BBB permeability. The present study evaluated the neuroprotective effects and pharmacokinetic profile of curcumin and GBE combination to find out whether GBE can enhance curcumin’s beneficial effects in AD by raising its brain concentration. Results revealed that CUR + GBE achieved significantly higher levels of curcumin in the brain and plasma after 30 min and 1 h of oral administration, compared to curcumin alone, and this was confirmed by reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The effect of combined oral treatment, for 28 successive days, on cognitive function and other AD-like alterations was studied in scopolamine-heavy metal mixtures (SCO + HMM) AD model in rats. The combination reversed at least, partially on the learning and memory impairment induced by SCO + HMM. This was associated with a more pronounced inhibitory effect on acetylcholinesterase (AChE), caspase-3, hippocampal amyloid beta (Aβ1-42), and phosphorylated tau protein (p-tau) count, and pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukine-1beta (IL-1β), as compared to the curcumin alone-treated group. Additionally, the combined treatment significantly decreased lipid peroxidation (MDA) and increased levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), when compared with the curcumin alone. These findings support the concept that the combination strategy might be an alternative therapy in the management/prevention of neurological disorders. This study sheds light on a new approach for exploring new phyto-therapies for AD and emphasizes that more research should focus on the synergic effects of herbal drugs in future.

Graphical abstract
Stakeholder Perceptions of the Acceptability of Peer-Mediated Intervention for Minimally Speaking Preschoolers on the Autism Spectrum
Authors: O’Donoghue Michelle , Kennedy Norelee , Forbes John , Murphy Carol-Anne
Published: March 2023

Peer mediated intervention (PMI) is an evidence-based approach to supporting social and communication development for children on the autism spectrum. For PMI to be integrated into everyday practice, it needs to be acceptable to stakeholders. This article engaged with autistic individuals, early childhood educators, parents, and speech and language pathologists on the prospective acceptability of implementing PMI with minimally speaking preschoolers in inclusive preschool settings. Focus groups and semi-structured interviews were conducted. The transcriptions were analyzed qualitatively using reflexive thematic analysis. Stakeholders described PMI as an acceptable intervention approach for this population and provided valuable insights to inform the development and implementation of PMIs. Attention needs to be paid to how to support preschools to adopt a PMI-friendly philosophy.
Antimicrobial potential of Ericaria selaginoides extracts against Listeria monocytogenes in “mató”, a Catalan fresh cheese
Authors: Rubiño S. , Aymerich T. , Peteiro C. , Bover-Cid S. , Hortós M.
Published: March 2023

The objective of this work was to assess the antimicrobial effect of crude extracts and non-polar and mid-polar subfractions of the brown macroalga Ericaria selaginoides, using a mid-polarity extraction medium. The activity was evaluated through challenge testing against Listeria monocytogenes in Catalan “mató” (fresh cheese) selected as a food matrix. Three concentrations were tested, representing 2 ×, 4 × and 10 × Minimum Bactericidal Concentration values obtained for crude extract in previous in vitro assays. Ericaria selaginoides extracts inhibited L. monocytogenes growth in a dose-dependent manner. Intermediate concentrations of the three extracts were able to notably reduce the growth rate of the pathogen. Highest concentration of crude extract and non-polar subfraction were able to completely inhibit the growth of L. monocytogenes during the 10 days of storage at 8 °C. Moreover, a slight listericidal effect was observed in presence of the non-polar subfraction, reducing the L. monocytogenes level by ca. 3 log after 10 days of refrigerated storage. These results prove the potential of E. selaginoides extracts as a source of valuable antimicrobial compounds that can be used as natural food ingredients to develop safer fresh dairy food.
Cognitive Effects Following Offline High-Frequency Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (HF-rTMS) in Healthy Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Xu Mei , Nikolin Stevan , Samaratunga Nisal , Chow Esther Jia Hui , Loo Colleen K. , Martin Donel M.
Published: March 2023

High-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (HF-rTMS) is a commonly used form of rTMS to treat neuropsychiatric disorders. Emerging evidence suggests that ‘offline’ HF-rTMS may have cognitive enhancing effects, although the magnitude and moderators of these effects remain unclear. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to clarify the cognitive effects of offline HF-rTMS in healthy individuals. A literature search for randomised controlled trials with cognitive outcomes for pre and post offline HF-rTMS was performed across five databases up until March 2022. This study was registered on the PROSPERO international prospective protocol for systematic reviews (PROSPERO 2020 CRD 42,020,191,269). The Risk of Bias 2 tool was used to assess the risk of bias in randomised trials. Separate analyses examined the cognitive effects of excitatory and inhibitory forms of offline HF-rTMS on accuracy and reaction times across six cognitive domains. Fifty-three studies (N = 1507) met inclusion criteria. Excitatory offline HF-rTMS showed significant small sized effects for improving accuracy (k = 46, g = 0.12) and reaction time (k = 44, g = -0.13) across all cognitive domains collapsed. Excitatory offline HF-rTMS demonstrated a relatively greater effect for executive functioning in accuracy (k = 24, g = 0.14). Reaction times were also improved for the executive function (k = 21, g = -0.11) and motor (k = 3, g = -0.22) domains following excitatory offline HF-rTMS. The current review was restricted to healthy individuals and future research is required to examine cognitive enhancement from offline HF-rTMS in clinical cohorts.
Embodying Time in the Brain: A Multi-Dimensional Neuroimaging Meta-Analysis of 95 Duration Processing Studies
Authors: Naghibi Narges , Jahangiri Nadia , Khosrowabadi Reza , Eickhoff Claudia R. , Eickhoff Simon B. , Coull Jennifer T. , Tahmasian Masoud
Published: March 2023

Time is an omnipresent aspect of almost everything we experience internally or in the external world. The experience of time occurs through such an extensive set of contextual factors that, after decades of research, a unified understanding of its neural substrates is still elusive. In this study, following the recent best-practice guidelines, we conducted a coordinate-based meta-analysis of 95 carefully-selected neuroimaging papers of duration processing. We categorized the included papers into 14 classes of temporal features according to six categorical dimensions. Then, using the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) technique we investigated the convergent activation patterns of each class with a cluster-level family-wise error correction at p < 0.05. The regions most consistently activated across the various timing contexts were the pre-SMA and bilateral insula, consistent with an embodied theory of timing in which abstract representations of duration are rooted in sensorimotor and interoceptive experience, respectively. Moreover, class-specific patterns of activation could be roughly divided according to whether participants were timing auditory sequential stimuli, which additionally activated the dorsal striatum and SMA-proper, or visual single interval stimuli, which additionally activated the right middle frontal and inferior parietal cortices. We conclude that temporal cognition is so entangled with our everyday experience that timing stereotypically common combinations of stimulus characteristics reactivates the sensorimotor systems with which they were first experienced.
Polarization independent silicon on calcium fluoride-based MIR optical modulator
Authors: Abd-Elkader Ahmed El-Sayed , Younis B. M. , Hameed Mohamed Farhat O. , Obayya Salah S. A.
Published: March 2023

Efficient mid-infrared (MIR) optical modulator is reported and numerically analyzed for both the transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) polarized modes. The proposed design is based on the silicon-on-calcium-fluoride platform with vanadium dioxide (VO2) as a phase changing material. Due to the attractive property of its phase transition between dielectric (ON) and metallic (OFF) states under the effect of an applied electric field, VO2 is utilized to enable the modulation process. At an operating wavelength of 3.5 μm, the reported modulator realizes an extinction ratio (ER) of 10.9 dB/μm with an insertion loss (IL) of 0.24 dB/μm for the TE polarized mode. However, for the TM polarized mode, an ER, and IL of 9.5 dB/μm, and 0.19 dB/μm, respectively are achieved. Additionally, the suggested design has a good fabrication tolerance of ± 10% where the ER is better than 10.4 dB/μm and 8.6 dB/μm for the TE and TM polarized modes with IL less than 0.26 dB/ μm. Therefore, the suggested modulator can play a pivotal role in different MIR applications including imaging, sensing, security, and communications.
Entropy, prediction and the cultural ecosystem of human cognition
Authors: Fernandez Velasco Pablo
Published: March 2023

Major proponents of both Distributed Cognition and Predictive Processing have argued that the two theoretical frameworks are strongly compatible. An important conjecture supporting the union of the two frameworks is that cultural practices tend to reduce entropy —that is, to increase predictability— at all scales in a cultural cognitive ecosystem. This conjecture connects Distributed Cognition with Predictive Processing because it shows how cultural practices facilitate prediction. The present contribution introduces the following challenge to the union of Distributed Cognition and Predictive Processing: the problem of entropic cultural practices. The problem lies in the existence of multiple cultural practices that tend to increase entropy instead of reducing it. This paper discusses these entropic cultural practices and the nature of the problem at hand. Finally, the paper advances an expanded conception of cultural practices that could unite the two frameworks and explores the difficulties of committing to such a conception.
Face your heart: resting vagally mediated Heart Rate Variability Shapes Social Attributions from facial appearance
Authors: Bagnis Arianna , Ottaviani Cristina , Mattarozzi Katia
Published: March 2023

Phylogenetic theories suggest resting vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) as a biomarker for adaptive behavior in social encounters. Until now, no study has examined whether vmHRV can predict individual differences in inferring personality traits and intentions from facial appearance. To test this hypothesis, resting vmHRV was recorded in 83 healthy individuals before they rated a series of faces based on their first impression of trustworthiness, dominance, typicality, familiarity, caring, and attractiveness. We found an association between individual differences in vmHRV and social attributions from facial appearance. Specifically, higher levels of vmHRV predicted higher scores on ratings of caring and trustworthiness, suggesting that strangers’ faces are more likely to be perceived as safer. The present results suggest that higher levels of vmHRV (compared with lower levels of vmHRV) are associated with the tendency to minimize social evaluative threat and maximize affiliative social cues at a first glance of others’ faces.
Laws of Nature
Authors: Hildebrand Tyler
Published: March 2023

This Element provides an opinionated introduction to the metaphysics of laws of nature. The first section distinguishes between scientific and philosophical questions about laws and describes some criteria for a philosophical account of laws. Subsequent sections explore the leading philosophical theories in detail, reviewing the most influential arguments in the literature. The final few sections assess the state of the field and suggest avenues for future research.
What Will Become of the Children?
Authors: Bergmann Claire
Published: March 2023

Lost novel of a 'typical' German family in the waning days of the Weimar Republic.
The Consort Music of William Lawes, 1602-1645
Authors: Cunningham John
Published: March 2023

An examination of the work and music of the Royalist composer William Lawes.
Sustaining the Fleet, 1793-1815
Authors: Knight Roger , Wilcox Martin
Published: March 2023

An assessment of the work of the contractors who were commissioned by the Victualling Board to provision the fleet in this period.
Post–sign-off events in infectious disease consultation and the incidence of nonadherence to infectious disease recommendations in the post–sign-off period: A retrospective cohort study
Authors: Takamatsu Akane , Honda Hitoshi
Published: March 2023

Objective:

Infectious diseases (ID) consultation has contributed to improving outcomes in hospitalized patients. However, the timing of signing off on ID consultation varies, depending on the consulting ID physician. We studied the descriptive epidemiology of treatment-related adverse events (ADEs) occurring after the ID physician has signed off on consultation and the epidemiology and predictors of nonadherence to ID recommendations in the post–sign-off period.

Methods:

This retrospective cohort study was conducted at a Japanese tertiary-care center. All patients who received ID consultation between January and December 2019 and treatment recommendations for a confirmed or suspected infectious disease were included. The incidence of any treatment-related ADE after signing off, nonadherence to the final ID recommendations, and factors associated with nonadherence to the ID recommendations were identified.

Results:

In total, 367 patients receiving ID consultation were included. The incidence of post–sign-off events during index hospitalization was 59 (16.1%) of 367, with antimicrobial-associated ADEs accounting for 26 events (44.1%) and HAIs accounting for 13 events (22.0%). After excluding patients who discontinued treatment, nonadherence to ID recommendations was identified in 55 (15.7%) of 351 patients. Newly acquired HAIs during the index hospitalization after signing off on ID consultation was an independent risk factor for nonadherence to ID recommendations (adjusted odds ratio, 3.78; 95% confidence interval, 1.14–12.52).

Conclusions:

Post–sign-off events were common and led to nonadherence to ID recommendations during the post–sign-off period. Because this nonadherence occurs for various reasons, patients may require continued attention after signing off to ensure their safety.
Pseudo-Families as a Way of Coping with Incarceration by Female Offenders: An Explorative Study of Kgoši Mampuru II and Johannesburg Female Correctional Centres in the Gauteng Province of South Africa
Authors: Munarini Tshilidzi Peter , Thobane Mahlogonolo Stephina
Published: March 2023

This research sought to study how women cope with incarceration by exploring the pseudo-family phenomenon in female correctional centres, specifically in Kgoši Mampuru II and Johannesburg in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. The study employed a qualitative research approach to investigate the phenomenon. The research participants were selected through non-probability sampling, namely purposive, convenience and snowball methods. At the Kgoši Mampuru II centre, 21 offenders and seven officials were interviewed, while 15 offenders and six officials were interviewed at Johannesburg. In total, 36 offenders and 13 officials, including the two heads, were interviewed from both centres. The researchers chose theories on the sociology of corrections, specifically the deprivation and importation models, due to their suitability to explain the phenomenon under investigation. This study found that: (1) pseudo-families are structures or relationships that resemble families in general society; and (2) female offenders are motivated to join pseudo-families due to the need for protection, the need for belonging and comfort, and for smuggling contraband.
Understanding wind farm power densities
Authors: Stevens Richard J.A.M.
Published: March 2023

Kirby et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 953, 2022, A39) adapted the two-scale momentum theory (Nishino & Dunstan, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 894, A2) to large finite-sized farms. They demonstrated that analytical estimates agree excellently with large eddy simulations, and that the model provides a good upper limit of the power production for a given array density. Crucially, they introduced the concepts of farm-scale losses, caused by the atmospheric response to the whole farm, and turbine-scale losses, owing to internal flow interactions in the wind farm. These two new theoretical concepts offer a novel way to analyse the performance of extended wind farms. For large offshore wind farms, losses at the wind-farm scale are typically twice as high as at the turbine scale. This demonstrates that there is limited potential for layout optimizations of extended arrays. Instead, optimization strategies should focus on developing methods to increase the energy entrainment into the wind farm. This work provides an exciting roadmap for analysing the effective efficiency of large wind farms.
Systematic paleontology of macroalgal fossils from the Tonian Mackenzie Mountains Supergroup
Authors: Maloney Katie M. , Maverick Dakota P. , Schiffbauer James D. , Halverson Galen P. , Xiao Shuhai , Laflamme Marc
Published: March 2023

Proterozoic eukaryotic macroalgae are difficult to interpret because morphological details required for proper phylogenetic studies are rarely preserved. This is especially true of morphologically simple organisms consisting of tubes, ribbons, or spheres that are commonly found in a wide array of bacteria, plants, and even animals. Previous reports of exceptionally preserved Tonian (ca. 950−900 Ma) fossils from the Dolores Creek Formation of Northwestern Canada feature enough morphological evidence to support a green macroalgal affinity. However, the affinities of two additional forms identified on the basis of the size distribution of available specimens remain undetermined, while the presence of three unique algal forms supports other reports of increasing algal diversity in the early Neoproterozoic. Archaeochaeta guncho new genus new species is described as a green macroalga on the basis of its well-preserved morphology consisting of an unbranching, uniseriate thallus with uniform width throughout and possessing an elliptical to globose anchoring holdfast. A larger size class of ribbon-like forms is interpreted as Vendotaenia sp. A third size class is significantly smaller than Archaeochaeta n. gen. and Vendotaenia, but in the absence of clear morphological characters, it remains difficult to assign. As Archaeochaeta n. gen. and Vendotaenia represent photoautotrophic taxa, these findings support the hypothesis of increasing morphological complexity and phyletic diversification of macroalgae during the Tonian, leading to dramatic changes within benthic marine ecosystems before the evolution of animals.
Stochastic error and biases remain in blind wine ratings
Authors: Bodington Jeffrey
Published: March 2023

Analyses and aggregations of the ratings that wine critics and judges assign to wines are made difficult by stochastic error and biases that remain even when wines are assessed blind to price, label, capsule, and closure. Stochastic error is due to the partially random nature of ratings. Cognitive and omitted-variable biases are due to anchoring, expectation, serial position, commercial, and other factors. Differences in decanting, filtering, aeration, and temperature can also affect ratings.
Terrestrial ecosystem transformations in response to rapid climate change during the last deglaciation around Mono Lake, California, USA
Authors: Benfield Adam J. , Ivory Sarah J. , Hodelka Bailee N. , Zimmerman Susan R.H. , McGlue Michael M.
Published: March 2023

We examine major reorganizations of the terrestrial ecosystem around Mono Lake, California during the last deglacial period from 16,000–9,000 cal yr BP using pollen, microcharcoal, and coprophilous fungal spores (Sporormiella) from a deep-water sediment core. The pollen results record the assemblage, decline, and replacement of a mixed wooded community of Sierran and Great Basin taxa with Alkali Sink and Sagebrush Steppe biomes around Mono Lake. In particular, the enigmatic presence of Sequoiadendron-type pollen and its extirpation during the early Holocene hint at substantial biogeographic reorganizations on the Sierran-Great Basin ecotone during deglaciation. Rapid regional hydroclimate changes produced structural alterations in pine–juniper woodlands facilitated by increases in wildfires at 14,800 cal yr BP, 13,900 cal yr BP, and 12,800 cal yr BP. The rapid canopy changes altered the availability of herbaceous understory plants, likely putting pressure on megafauna populations, which declined in a stepwise fashion at 15,000 cal yr BP and 12,700 cal yr BP before final extirpation from Mono Basin at 11,500 cal yr BP. However, wooded vegetation communities overall remained resistant to abrupt hydroclimate changes during the late Pleistocene; instead, they gradually declined and were replaced by Alkali Sink communities in the lowlands as temperature increased into the Early Holocene, and Mono Lake regressed.