bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Use of a Distributed Micro-sensor System for Monitoring the Indoor Particulate Matter Concentration in the Atmosphere of Ferroalloy Production Plants
Authors: Myklebust Håkon , Aarhaug Thor Anders , Tranell Gabriella
Published: October 2022

Airborne particulate matter (PM) is a concern for both occupational health and the environment, and, in the ferroalloy industry, the level of such particles in the air can be considerable. Small, low-cost sensors for measuring PM have generated interest in recent years, providing widespread monitoring of PM levels in the environment. However, such sensors have not yet been sufficiently tested under conditions relevant for the indoor environment of the metallurgical industry. This study aims to bridge this gap by benchmarking the commercial, low-cost Nova PM SDS011 particle sensor in two different ferroalloy plants. Benchmarking was performed against the Fidas 200S, which has been suitability-tested and certified according to the latest EU requirements (EN 15267, EN 16450). Twelve Nova sensors were tested over 3 months at a silicomanganese alloy (SiMn) plant, and 35 sensors were tested during 1 month at a silicon (Si) plant. The results showed that the low-cost Nova sensors exhibited all the same trends and peaks in terms of PM concentration, but measured lower dust concentrations than the Fidas 200S. The difference was larger at the silicon plant, which is in line with expectations, due to the size and mass fractions of particles in Si dust compared to SiMn dust, and to the larger measurement range of the Fidas, measuring down to 180 nm compared to the Nova which measures down to 300 nm. Despite the difference in absolute values, the Nova sensors were found to provide data for comparing dust levels over time for different processes, at different locations, and under different operational conditions.
The relative class number one problem for function fields, I
Authors: Kedlaya Kiran S.
Published: October 2022

We reduce the classification of finite extensions of function fields (of curves over finite fields) with the same class number to a finite computation; complete this computation in all cases except when both curves have base field $$\mathbb {F}_2$$

F
2

and genus $$>1$$

>
1

; and give a conjectural answer in the remaining cases. The conjecture will be resolved in subsequent papers.
Die Reversibilität des idiopathischen, isolierten Wachstumshormonmangels
Authors: Tischlinger Katharina , Laurer Elisabeth , Högler Wolfgang
Published: October 2022

Der idiopathische, isolierte Wachstumshormonmangel („idiopathic isolated growth hormone deficiency“, IGHD) ist eine seltene Erkrankung. Die Diagnose wird aufgrund diagnostischer Unschärfen jedoch im Kindesalter zu häufig gestellt. Zur Bestätigung eines IGHD sind zwei pathologische Wachstumshormon („growth hormone“, GH)-Stimulationstests erforderlich, welche ein hohes Risiko falsch-positiver Ergebnisse mit sich bringen. Aufgrund dessen muss die Indikationsstellung zur Durchführung solcher Stimulationstests und deren Interpretation mit hoher Sorgfalt und unter Berücksichtigung potenzieller Einflussfaktoren erfolgen. Daten aus der Literatur zeigen hohe Reversibilitätsraten eines IGHDs nach Abschluss des Längenwachstums. Diese Reversibilität ist nicht ausreichend geklärt, lässt jedoch Zweifel an der initialen Diagnosefindung aufkommen. Eine weitere Hypothese zur Reversibilität betrifft die Nachreifung der GH-Achse unter dem Einfluss der Sexualhormone während der Pubertät. Eine rezente Metaanalyse zeigt, dass je nach GH-Grenzwert bei Reevaluierung des IGHD („Retesting“) 55–80 % der Patienten eine ausreichende endogene GH-Produktion zeigen und somit kein IGHD mehr vorliegt. Ein frühzeitiges Retesting bereits nach Einsetzen der Pubertät und nicht erst bei Erreichen der Endlänge wird deshalb intensiv diskutiert und Studien darüber laufen. Frühes Retesten hätte, durch den Wegfall der täglichen Injektionen und damit eine Reduktion von potenziellen Nebenwirkungen, nicht nur Vorteile für den Patienten selbst, auch das Gesundheitssystem könnte sowohl Kosten als auch Ressourcen damit schonen.
Comparison of biomass and deoxynivalenol production of northern European and southern European Fusarium graminearum isolates in the infection of wheat and oat grains
Authors: Yli-Mattila Tapani , Hussien Taha , Abbas Asmaa
Published: October 2022

The 3ADON chemotype of Fusarium graminearum predominates in northern Europe, whereas the 15ADON chemotype is predominant in central and southern Europe. Therefore, it has been suggested that there are two F. graminearum populations in Europe, which may have been specialized to different host plants. The aim of the present work was to test this hypothesis by comparing southern European isolates (15ADON chemotype) from southern Russia and northern European isolates (3ADON chemotype) from Finland in the infection of grains in wheat cultivar Wellamo and oat cultivar Venla. F. graminearum biomass levels were measured by TaqMan (2018) and SYBR Green (2019) qPCR, while DON levels were measured by chromatographic methods. Most of the qPCR and DON results are supporting the hypothesis that in F. graminearum the 15ADON isolates from southern Russia are more specialized to wheat than the 3ADON isolates from Finland. In oat, there were not as clear differences between the 15ADON and 3ADON isolates, but in 2018 higher F. graminearum DNA levels and in 2019 higher DON and F. graminearum DNA levels were found in oat samples inoculated with 3ADON isolates. Our results are in line with literature according to which F. graminearum DNA and DON levels are also highest in oat in northern Europe, while in southern Europe they are highest in wheat and maize.
Behavior of Kreiss bounded $$C_0$$-semigroups on a Hilbert space
Authors: Arnold L.
Published: October 2022

We prove that a Kreiss bounded$$C_0$$C0semigroup$$(T_t)_{t \ge 0}$$(Tt)t≥0on a Hilbert space has asymptotics$$\left\| T_t\right\| = {\mathcal{O}}\big (t/\sqrt{\log (t)}\big ).$$Tt=O(t/log(t)).Then, we give an application to perturbed wave equation.
Urban land cover mapping with Sentinel-2: a spectro-spatio-temporal analysis
Authors: Xu Fei , Heremans Stien , Somers Ben
Published: October 2022

Because of its high spatial resolution (10 m and 20 m), rich spectral information (10 spectral bands), and short revisit period (5 days), Sentinel-2 provides new opportunities for earth observation. However, in urban environments, data limitations in the spatial and spectral dimensions constrain Sentinel-2’s performance: (i) the spatial resolution of Sentinel-2 is not sufficient to resolve the heterogeneous urban landscapes, and the prevalence of mixed pixels lowers the performance of image classifiers; (ii) the spectral resolution of Sentinel-2 is not able to fully account for the spectral variability of urban surface materials, which increases the probability that image classifiers mislabels urban land covers. Also, the 5-day temporal resolution makes Sentinel-2 image data suitable for time series analysis, but its contribution to urban land cover mapping still needs to be quantified. This study evaluated Sentinel-2’s performance in mapping urban land covers by mitigating the effect of spectral variability (using FDA, Fisher Discriminant Analysis), improving the spatial resolution of images (using UnFuSen2, a state-of-art Sentinel-2 image fusion approach), and utilizing temporal and spectral characteristics from image time series. Overall, we found that the image time series processed by UnFuSen2 enables the classifiers of k nearest neighbor (KNN), maximum likelihood (MLC), and random forests (RF) to perform the best, and multiple endmember spectra mixture analysis (MESMA) is suitable for classifying image time series that have been jointly processed by FDA and UnFuSen2. Besides, we found a significant contribution of spring and summer imagery to the improvement of land cover mapping accuracy in the Brussels Capital Region.
Vietnam’s exceptional educational achievement: a thematic review of the emerging literature
Authors: Boman Björn
Published: October 2022

The World Bank and other global actors were impressed by the fact that the relatively poor Southeast Asian country Vietnam made significant success in the PISA evaluation in 2012, placing ahead of several Western countries like the US, UK, Australia, and Sweden. In this article, recent research that focuses on educational achievement, specifically PISA performance, in Vietnam has comprehensively been reviewed (N = 20 studies), using a systematic literature review. Further, it discusses the decrease in PISA 2015 and interprets this negative trend based on relevant data disentangled from the literature review. The findings suggest that the structural changes that were implemented in the aftermath of the Đổi Mới reforms in 1986 have paved the way for increasing quality and quantity of education, which affect scores in assessments such as PISA. Furthermore, cognitive ability and an education-oriented national culture which fosters diligence among students have further enhanced the results. However, there are still large equity disparities between the majority Kinh group and various minority groups that seem to affect academic achievement.
A Consistent Lack of Consistency in Defining the Acute and Chronic Phases of Peyronie's Disease: A Review of the Contemporary Literature
Authors: Piraino Javier , Chaudhary Hira , Ames Kyle , Okoye Frederick , Sterling Matthew , Clavell-Hernandez Jonathan , Levine Laurence , Ziegelmann Matthew J
Published: October 2022

Introduction

Treatment recommendations for Peyronie's Disease (PD) differ based on whether a patient is in the acute/active versus chronic/stable phase of the disease, yet there are no agreed upon criteria for defining these clinical entities.

Objectives

To review the criteria used to define acute and chronic phase PD in modern PD intervention studies

Methods

We performed a search engine review to identify indexed publications for PD intervention studies and review articles / meta-analyses from the year 2011-2020. Outcomes results were catalogued and summarized across articles. As a result of the substantial heterogeneity of outcome measures and follow-up intervals, meta-analytic techniques were not applied to the data analysis.

Results

We identified a total of 104 studies that met inclusion criteria and had available information for review (n = 79 primary intervention studies; n = 25 review articles/meta-analyses/guidelines). Among the queried studies, we were unable to identify a consensus with respect to the criteria used to define acute and chronic phases of PD. 33% of primary intervention studies did not specifically define their criteria for acute and chronic phase PD, despite referencing these populations as part of the inclusion criteria in many instances. Studies used heterogenous criteria including total symptom duration, duration of “stable” symptoms, and presence/absence of pain.

Conclusion

Due to varying definitions across the literature, we were unable to create a standardized definition of acute and chronic phase Peyronie's in terms of time. Our findings emphasize the need for greater consensus in defining the treatment cohorts with future studies that assess treatment for men with PD.
Treatment of Sexual Dysfunction in Women with Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Disorders: A Systematic Review
Authors: Baniotopoulos Pantelis , Pyrgidis Nikolaos , Minopoulou Ioanna , Tishukov Maksim , Sokolakis Ioannis , Hatzichristodoulou Georgios , Dimitroulas Theodoros
Published: October 2022

Introduction

Female sexual dysfunction (SD) is an under-recognized and undertreated problem in patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic disorders (SARDs).

Objectives

To summarize and evaluate the existing treatment modalities for SD in females with SARDs.

Methods

A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. Electronic databases were searched up to April 2022 for studies that assessed the use of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment modalities for the management of SD in females with SARDs. Randomized and observational studies were included. (PROSPERO: CRD42022296381).

Results

Seven studies with 426 females with SD were included. Seven different treatment modalities belonging to 5 different classes (androgen therapy, phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors, exercise, education and local creams) were evaluated in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis and systemic sclerosis. The majority of the studies were of low methodological quality. Standardized patient education and 8-week aerobic walking programs were successful in improving female SD. Local creams improved dyspareunia in females with systemic sclerosis. Testosterone did not significantly improve SD in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Accordingly, tadalafil did not result in a significant improvement of SD in females with systemic sclerosis, based on the Female Sexual Function Index.

Conclusion

There is a lack of sufficient evidence to recommend a certain management strategy for SD in females with SARDs. Nonpharmacological therapy and lubricant creams may be beneficial in females with SARDs. No benefit was demonstrated after androgen therapy or tadalafil. Still, no definite conclusions can be drawn due to the important limitations of the available literature. Overall, our results may be considered preliminary and further research in the field is mandatory.
The Villa Farnesina
Authors: Turner James Grantham
Published: October 2022

The frescoes of Peruzzi, Raphael and Sodoma still dazzle visitors to the Villa Farnesina, but they survive in a stripped-down environment bereft of its landscape, sealed so it cannot breathe. Turner takes you outside that box, restoring these canonical images to their original context, when each element joined in a productive conversation. He is the first to reconstruct the architect-painter Peruzzi's original, well-proportioned, well-appointed building and to re-visualize his lost façade decoration‒erotic scenes and mythological figures who make it come alive and soar upward. More comprehensively than any previous scholar, he reintegrates painting, sculpture, architecture, garden design, topographical prints and drawings, archaeological discoveries and literature from the brilliant circle around the patron Agostino Chigi, the powerful banker who 'loved all virtuosi' and commissioned his villa-palazzo from the best talents in multiple arts. It can now be understood as a Palace of Venus, celebrating aesthetic, social and erotic pleasure.
Atlantic Piracy in the Early Nineteenth Century
Authors: Craze Sarah
Published: October 2022

Skilfully uses this notorious episode to illuminate the nature and extent of piracy in the period.
Non-ideal instabilities in sinusoidal shear flows with a streamwise magnetic field
Authors: Fraser A.E. , Cresswell I.G. , Garaud P.
Published: October 2022

We investigate the linear stability of a sinusoidal shear flow with an initially uniform streamwise magnetic field in the framework of incompressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) with finite resistivity and viscosity. This flow is known to be unstable to the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability in the hydrodynamic case. The same is true in ideal MHD, where dissipation is neglected, provided the magnetic field strength does not exceed a critical threshold beyond which magnetic tension stabilizes the flow. Here, we demonstrate that including viscosity and resistivity introduces two new modes of instability. One of these modes, which we refer to as an Alfvénic Dubrulle–Frisch instability, exists for any non-zero magnetic field strength as long as the magnetic Prandtl number

${{{Pm}}} < 1$

. We present a reduced model for this instability that reveals its excitation mechanism to be the negative eddy viscosity of periodic shear flows described by Dubrulle & Frisch (Phys. Rev. A, vol. 43, 1991, pp. 5355–5364). Finally, we demonstrate numerically that this mode saturates in a quasi-stationary state dominated by counter-propagating solitons.
Buoyancy-modulated Lagrangian drift in wavy-walled vertical channels as a model problem to understand drug dispersion in the spinal canal
Authors: Alaminos-Quesada J. , Coenen W. , Gutiérrez-Montes C. , Sánchez A.L.
Published: October 2022

This paper investigates flow and transport in a slender wavy-walled vertical channel subject to a prescribed oscillatory pressure difference between its ends. When the ratio of the stroke length of the pulsatile flow to the channel wavelength is small, the resulting flow velocity is known to include a slow steady-streaming component resulting from the effect of the convective acceleration. Our study considers the additional effect of gravitational forces in configurations with a non-uniform density distribution. Specific attention is given to the slowly evolving buoyancy-modulated flow emerging after the deposition of a finite amount of solute whose density is different from that of the fluid contained in the channel, a relevant problem in connection with drug dispersion in intrathecal drug delivery (ITDD) processes, involving the injection of the drug into the cerebrospinal fluid that fills the spinal canal. It is shown that when the Richardson number is of order unity, the relevant limit in ITDD applications, the resulting buoyancy-induced velocities are comparable to those of steady streaming. As a consequence, the slow time-averaged Lagrangian motion of the fluid, involving the sum of the Stokes drift and the time-averaged Eulerian velocity, is intimately coupled with the transport of the solute, resulting in a slowly evolving problem that can be treated with two-time-scale methods. The asymptotic development leads to a time-averaged, nonlinear integro-differential transport equation that describes the slow dispersion of the solute, thereby circumventing the need to describe the small concentration fluctuations associated with the fast oscillatory motion. The ideas presented here can find application in developing reduced models for future quantitative analyses of drug dispersion in the spinal canal.
Direct numerical simulation of elastic turbulence in the Taylor–Couette flow: transition pathway and mechanistic insight
Authors: Song Jiaxing , Liu Nansheng , Lu Xi-Yun , Khomami Bamin
Published: October 2022

Three-dimensional elastic turbulence in Taylor–Couette flows of dilute polymer solutions has been realized and thoroughly investigated via direct numerical simulations. A novel flow transition pathway from elastically dominated turbulence to solitary vortex pairs (or diwhirls) and eventually to elastic turbulence is observed by decreasing the fluid inertia (

$Re$

) over seven orders of magnitude, i.e. from

$Re=1000$

to

$0.0001$

. The dominant spatio-temporal flow features in the elastic turbulence regime are those of large-scale unsteady diwhirls and small-scale axial and azimuthal travelling waves in the outer and inner halves of the gap, respectively. Moreover, it is conclusively shown that production of turbulent kinetic energy in purely elastic turbulence solely arises due to the stochastic nature of polymer stretch/relaxation. Overall, based on this comprehensive numerical investigation, the differences in the underlying fluid physics that give rise to turbulent fluctuations in elastically dominated and purely elastic turbulence have been delineated.
Anomalous recurrence of Markov chains on negatively curved manifolds
Authors: Armstrong John , King Tim
Published: October 2022

We present a recurrence–transience classification for discrete-time Markov chains on manifolds with negative curvature. Our classification depends only on geometric quantities associated to the increments of the chain, defined via the Riemannian exponential map. We deduce that a recurrent chain that has zero average drift at every point cannot be uniformly elliptic, unlike in the Euclidean case. We also give natural examples of zero-drift recurrent chains on negatively curved manifolds, including on a stochastically incomplete manifold.
Altruism at Work: An Integrated Approach to Voluntary Service among Private Practice Lawyers
Authors: Kay Fiona M. , Granfield Robert
Published: October 2022

Explanations of altruism remain fragmented across disciplinary lines and focus heavily on phenomena such as philanthropy, the nonprofit sector, and volunteering outside the workplace. Yet numerous professions, including law, claim a duty of service that calls on their members to volunteer. Using a mixed methods approach that draws on thirty interviews and a survey of 845 lawyers, the authors develop an integrated framework on altruism to account for how volunteering takes place in the course of law practice. The analysis reveals psychological traits, collective norms, exchange relationships, and organizational dimensions that shape lawyers’ volunteering. In particular, a cultural norm endorsing volunteer efforts is a powerful driver of volunteering legal services. At the same time, organizational features, such as time constraints, condition cultural norms to hinder volunteering, while business opportunities for client recruitment condition cultural norms to foster volunteering. We conclude with directions for advancing our integrated approach to altruism in the context of lawyers’ professional service.
Exploring a Craft Learning Model for Reviewing Patrol Officer Decision-Making in Encounters with the Public
Authors: Willis James J. , Toronjo Heather
Published: October 2022

Since the 1960s, police departments have turned to rules and procedures to help control how patrol officers, as legal decision-makers, exercise their discretionary authority. The logic of the administrative rulemaking model depends on the development and enforcement of bureaucratic rules and regulations. The public outcry over high-profile incidents of police abuses of authority has renewed interest in this approach. This article conceptualizes a complementarycraft learning modelto supplement rulemaking. This model harnesses patrol officers’ knowledge and skills, learned through experience, to the development of criteria for assessing and guiding how they use their discretion in less dramatic encounters with the public. Using in-depth interviews with thirty-eight patrol officers reacting to a video clip of a fairly routine and low-key neighbor dispute, we derive seven evaluative standards (accountability, lawfulness, problem diagnosis, repair of harm, economy, fairness, and safety and order). We then explore how these standards could be used by first-line supervisors to structure reviews of patrol officer decision-making through a process of reflection-in-action. Our purpose is to imagine a reform strategy that tries to account for the complex technical and normative dimensions of everyday police work to facilitate more deliberate, transparent, and principled decisions.
Contested masculinities and political imaginations in “New Turkey” and Çukur as authoritarian spaces of protection
Authors: Bulut Ergin , Serinkaya Winter Zeynep
Published: October 2022

Initially known as “the Turkish Godfather,” Turkish TV series Çukur (2017–2021) occasionally received criticism from government ministers and the government’s media regulatory board. This was surprising because Turkey’s and Çukur’s cultural universes converged around the masculinist protection of family and territory. So, why this political backlash despite the convergence? Wouldn’t that convergence of masculinity produce similar political imaginations? In this article we argue that in shaping the family and urban space, Çukur’s masculinities remain precarious vis-à-vis the hegemonic masculinity in “New Turkey.” Rather than being the society’s building blocks, Çukur’s families are suffocating spaces. At the same time, as opposed to cultivating neoliberal responsibility, Çukur’s familialism emerges as a space of solidarity in a precarious neighborhood to which state forces can hardly enter. Therefore, the neighborhood (mahalle) is not a space of consumption and surveillance but a haven against urban precarities. Despite their hierarchies and authoritarianism, Çukur’s men reject unquestioned political loyalty, conspicuous consumption, and entrepreneurship while endorsing the various impasses in family and urban life. Showing that absolute political obedience and economic dependence is not the only way out of neoliberal authoritarianism, Çukur confirms popular culture’s power in representing liminal spaces outside the state’s oppressive power and the markets’ commodifying logics.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of prophylactic medication of vestibular migraine
Authors: Yiannakis C , Hamilton L , Slim M , Kontorinis G
Published: October 2022

Objective

Vestibular migraine is in the process of recognition as an individual clinical entity. At present, no guidelines exist for its management. This study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the effectiveness of available prophylactic medication.

Method

A literature search was performed using PubMed, Ovid and Embase databases. Qualitative and quantitative analysis were performed as well as risk of bias analysis. Meta-analysis for the mean differences for pre- and post-treatment impact based on Dizziness Handicap Inventory and Vertigo Symptom Scale were performed. Proportionate transformation meta-analysis for the successful event rate based on complete symptoms control was explored.

Results

Thirteen publications were identified: 3 were randomised, controlled trials and 10 were non-randomised, controlled trials. Propranolol and venlafaxine improved the Vertigo Symptom Scale score by −13.31 points and −4.16 points, respectively, and the Dizziness Handicap Inventory score by −32.24 and −21.24, respectively. Only propranolol achieved statistically significant impact with 60 per cent of patients achieving complete symptom control.

Conclusion

Propranolol should be offered as the first-line treatment for vestibular migraine followed by venlafaxine. Amitriptyline, flunarizine and cinnarizine showed a trend for symptom improvement, but this was not statistically significant.
Jesting international politics: The productive power and limitations of humorous practices in an age of entertainment politics
Authors: Malmvig Helle
Published: October 2022

Humour has recently emerged as an important research topic in International Politics. Scholars have investigated how states and state leaders practice humour as part of their diplomatic exchanges, in misinformation campaigns, and nation-branding. Important knowledge has been gained as to how humorous practices partake in constituting identities, managing recognition, and international anxieties or contesting global orders. Yet, little attention has been devoted to interrogating the risk that humorous practices may give rise to in international politics, to the underside of humour's productive power. This article aims to begin unpacking these risks both theoretically and empirically. To do so, it engages with the critical thinking on humour by Kierkegaard and Foster Wallace in particular, suggesting three challenging implications: (1) humorous entrapments; (2) facile forms of detached engagement; and (3) ambiguous blurring of fiction and reality. It then shows how these unfold empirically in: Iran's meme war with the US, a Yes Men's parody during COP15, and the Pyongyang Nuclear Summit, developing a three-pronged analytical strategy for studying humorous practices and their different relations to formations of power/knowledge.
‘We Already Carry Out a National Assignment’: Indigenous Performance and the Struggle for a Sámi National Theatre in Sweden
Authors: GINDT DIRK
Published: October 2022

Since the early 2010s, the arts and culture in Sweden have taken a stand against the prevailing epistemic ignorance of the country's Indigenous Sámi people by confronting majoritarian society with the realities of settler colonialism. This article suggests that theatre and performance form part of this Sámi cultural activism and highlights the decolonial labour of Giron Sámi Teáhter, the oldest professionally driven touring company in the Swedish part of Sápmi. Taking one specific production as a springboard, the article demonstrates the larger, structural issues at stake. Giron Sámi Teáhter deploys the stage as a vibrant, decolonial forum where the history of settler colonialism and the Sámi people's struggle toward self-determination is performed, celebrated and encouraged. The company has long striven to gain official status as the national theatre for Sámi performing arts in Sweden and the article therefore also outlines the financial and political impediments encountered by Giron Sámi Teáhter.
Facing ambiguity: Social threat sensitivity mediates the association between peer victimization and adolescent anxiety
Authors: Schacter Hannah L. , Marusak Hilary A. , Borg Breanna A. , Jovanovic Tanja
Published: October 2022

Peer victimization is a developmentally salient stressor that elevates adolescents’ risk for anxiety disorders. However, modifiable mechanisms that explain this link and can be targeted via therapeutic interventions remain poorly understood. Drawing from psychobiological models implicating aberrant threat sensitivity in the development and maintenance of psychopathology, the current study investigated sensitivity to peer-related social threats as a mechanism underlying the association between peer victimization and anxiety. A sample of 197 dyads of early adolescents (Mage = 12.02; 46% female) and parents/guardians (Mage = 41.46; 90% female) completed online surveys assessing peer victimization, sensitivity to potential (i.e., ambiguous) social threats, and anxiety. Controlling for potentially confounding demographic and psychosocial factors, both self- and parent-reported peer victimization were positively associated with adolescent anxiety symptoms. Additionally, there were significant indirect effects from self- and parent-reported peer victimization to anxiety via social threat sensitivity. Supplemental analyses indicated unique effects of covert, but not overt, peer victimization on social threat sensitivity and anxiety. The findings provide initial evidence that peer victimization experiences lower adolescents’ threshold for interpreting threats in ambiguous social situations, which contributes to heightened anxiety. These results implicate social threat sensitivity as a potential therapeutic target for interrupting links from peer victimization to psychological distress.
Variation in provider compliance with sports restriction guidelines in children with an isolated bicuspid aortic valve
Authors: Yamauchi Melissa S.W. , Puchalski Michael D. , Weng Hsin-Yi , Pinto Nelangi M. , Etheridge Susan P. , Presson Angela P. , Minich L. LuAnn , Williams Richard V.
Published: October 2022

Background:

Published guidelines for sports restriction for children with a bicuspid aortic valve remain controversial. We sought to describe practice variation and factors influencing sports restrictions in these children.

Methods:

This retrospective single-centre study included children (7–18 years old) with an isolated bicuspid aortic valve at baseline from 1 January, 2005 to 31 December, 2014. Sports restrictions, factors potentially influencing decision-making, and outcomes were collected. Descriptive statistics and multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression models were performed with providers and patients as random effects. Provider variation was estimated using intraclass correlation coefficients. Odds ratios, 95% confidence intervals, and p-values were reported from the models.

Results:

In 565 encounters (253 children; 34 providers), 41% recommended no sports restrictions, 40% recommended high-static and high-dynamic restrictions, and 19% had no documented recommendations. Based on published guidelines, 22% of children were inappropriately restricted while 30% were not appropriately restricted. The paediatric cardiology provider contributed to 37% of observed practice variation (p < 0.001). Sports restriction was associated with older age, males, greater ascending aorta z-score, and shorter follow-up interval. There were no aortic dissections or deaths and one cardiac intervention.

Conclusion:

Physicians frequently fail to document sports restrictions for children with a bicuspid aortic valve, and documented recommendations often conflict with published guidelines. Despite this, no adverse outcomes occurred. Providers accounted for a significant proportion of the variation in sports restrictions. Further research to provide evidence-based guidelines may improve provider compliance with activity recommendations in this population.
Reducing carbon footprint by replacing generators with solar PV systems: a contingent valuation study in Lagos, Nigeria
Authors: Nduka Eleanya
Published: October 2022

Nigeria is endowed with abundant sunshine year-round; thus, solar PV would solve the environmental problems associated with petrol-powered generators. However, it is unclear whether households are willing to transition. Thus, we analyze households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for solar PV under four scenarios: (i) WTP when a solar PV is complemented with a generator, (ii) WTP when a solar PV completely displaces a generator, (iii) WTP when a solar PV is complemented with a generator, plus a subsidy, and (iv) WTP when a solar PV completely displaces a generator, given a subsidy. We find that WTP for solar PV is higher when it can displace generators completely. Subsidy plus monthly rather than upfront payment would scale up the adoption of solar PV by about 6 per cent. Furthermore, the cost benefit analysis results show that solar PV investment is profitable. Thus, there is a need to implement policies aimed at scaling up the energy transition.
Trust in pension funds, or the importance of being financially sound
Authors: van Dalen Hendrik P. , Henkens Kène
Published: October 2022

Is the trust that participants have in their pension fund affected by its funding ratio (i.e., asset/liabilities ratio)? Based on survey, carried out in October 2021, among Dutch pension fund participants we link our survey data to the funding ratio of their pension fund as registered by the pension regulator. First, we show that the level of the funding ratio of their pension fund is positively associated with the trust level of participants. Pension funds with large buffers are associated with a high level of trust. Second, sub-group analyses show that the trust of younger participants is weakly related to the level of the funding ratio and this association is strong and positive for older (55+)/retired participants. It suggests that an interest in or awareness about the financial health of one's pension fund is associated with a higher responsiveness of participants in terms of trust. And third, firm-based pension funds enjoy a higher level of trust compared to sector-based pension funds.
Mineralogical, Elemental, and Spatial Variability of Volcaniclastics in Fluvio‐Coastal‐Aeolian Sedimentary Systems and Their Insights for Mineral Sorting on Mars
Authors: Argadestya Ignatius , Amao Abduljamiu O. , Bedford Candice C. , Soupios Pantelis , Al‐Ramadan Khalid
Published: October 2022

This study investigates the mineralogical, elemental, and spatial variability from source (proximal) to sink (distal) of Merapi basalt‐andesitic stratovolcano (Java, Indonesia) to better constrain volcaniclastic mineral sorting in fluvial, aeolian, and coastal environments. Merapi volcaniclastics are products of an active volcano with an ongoing quadrennial eruption, which can provide insights to constrain Mars' older and more recent volcaniclastics by focusing on anorthite, albite, and pyroxenes found on Mars' surface. We collected stream sediment samples across the Opak River that connects Merapi with the Indian Ocean. In addition to grain size analysis, all collected samples were subjected to X‐ray diffractometer and X‐ray fluorescence to quantify their mineralogical and elemental composition, respectively, like the CHEMIN instrument used by the Curiosity rover on Mars to investigate the geochemistry and mineralogy of geological units in Gale crater. Implementation of multivariate statistical analysis based on principal component analysis and Hierarchical Clustering of Principal Component are able to discriminate between fluvial, fluvio‐coastal‐aeolian, and marine influenced deposits. The quantitative assessment shows that the dominant mineralogy is influenced by pyroclastic materials dominated by plagioclase feldspars (albite and anorthite), followed by pyroxenes (augite and enstatite). Alteration modeling of Merapi samples favors a fluvial depositional environment rather than mass‐wasting from the crater rim for Gale crater rocks (i.e., Pahrump Hills, Hartmann's Valley, Karasburg, Sutton Island member) on Mars.
Atmosphere‐Snow Exchange Explains Surface Snow Isotope Variability
Authors: Wahl S. , Steen‐Larsen H. C. , Hughes A. G. , Dietrich L. J. , Zuhr A. , Behrens M. , Faber A.‐K. , Hörhold M.
Published: October 2022

The climate signal imprinted in the snow isotopic composition allows to infer past climate variability from ice core stable water isotope records. The concurrent evolution of vapor and surface snow isotopic composition between precipitation events indicates that post‐depositional atmosphere‐snow humidity exchange influences the snow and hence the ice core isotope signal. To date, however, this is not accounted for in paeleoclimate reconstructions from isotope records. Here we show that vapor‐snow exchange explains 36% of the summertime day‐to‐day δ18O variability of the surface snow between precipitation events, and 53% of the δD variability. Through observations from the Greenland Ice Sheet and accompanying modeling we demonstrate that vapor‐snow exchange introduces a warm bias on the summertime snow isotope value relevant for ice core records. In case of long‐term variability in atmosphere‐snow exchange the relevance for the ice core signal is also variable and thus paleoclimate reconstructions from isotope records should be revisited.
The Unprecedented Character of California's 20th Century Enhanced Hydroclimatic Variability in a 600‐Year Context
Authors: Zamora‐Reyes Diana , Broadman Ellie , Bigio Erica , Black Bryan , Meko David , Woodhouse Connie A. , Trouet Valerie
Published: October 2022

Recently, year‐to‐year swings in California winter precipitation extremes have resulted in drought, wildfires, and floods causing billions of dollars in damage. These recent precipitation swings represent an increasing trend in variability of California's hydroclimate over the past decades. Here, we put this trend in a longer‐term context using tree‐ring‐based precipitation, streamflow, and snow water equivalent reconstructions. We show that the statewide rise in hydroclimate variability in the 20th century is driven by an increasing trend in the magnitude of wet extremes. A prior period of strong variability in the 16th century, in contrast, is related to an increasing trend in the magnitude of dry extremes. Our results are consistent with climate model simulations that suggest an increasingly volatile future for California's hydroclimate and highlight the importance of collaboration between scientists and water resource managers to incorporate this increased variability into their decision‐making and planning, acknowledging higher risks for compound events.
Millennial‐Scale Climate Oscillations Triggered by Deglacial Meltwater Discharge in Last Glacial Maximum Simulations
Authors: Romé Yvan M. , Ivanovic Ruza F. , Gregoire Lauren J. , Sherriff‐Tadano Sam , Valdes Paul J.
Published: October 2022

Our limited understanding of millennial‐scale variability in the context of the last glacial period can be explained by the lack of a reliable modeling framework to study abrupt climate changes under realistic glacial backgrounds. In this article, we describe a new set of long‐run Last Glacial Maximum experiments where such climate shifts were triggered by different snapshots of ice‐sheet meltwater derived from the early stages of the last deglaciation. Depending on the location and the magnitude of the forcing, we observe three distinct dynamical regimes and highlight a subtle window of opportunity where the climate can sustain oscillations between cold and warm modes. We identify the Eurasian Arctic and Nordic Seas regions as being most sensitive to meltwater discharge in the context of switching to a cold mode, compared to freshwater fluxes from the Laurentide ice sheets. These cold climates follow a consistent pattern in temperature, sea ice, and convection, and are largely independent from freshwater release as a result of effective AMOC collapse. Warm modes, on the other hand, show more complexity in their response to the regional pattern of the meltwater input, and within them, we observe significant differences linked to the reorganization of deep water formation sites and the subpolar gyre. Broadly, the main characteristics of the oscillations, obtained under full‐glacial conditions with ice‐sheet reconstruction derived meltwater patterns, share similar characteristics with δ18O records of the last glacial period, although our experiment design prevents detailed conclusions from being drawn on whether these represent actual Dansgaard‐Oeschger events.
Reconfigurable nonlinear photonic activation function for photonic neural network based on non-volatile opto-resistive RAM switch
Authors: Xu Zefeng , Tang Baoshan , Zhang Xiangyu , Leong Jin Feng , Pan Jieming , Hooda Sonu , Zamburg Evgeny , Thean Aaron Voon-Yew
Published: October 2022

Photonic neural network has been sought as an alternative solution to surpass the efficiency and speed bottlenecks of electronic neural network. Despite that the integrated Mach–Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) mesh can perform vector-matrix multiplication in photonic neural network, a programmable in-situ nonlinear activation function has not been proposed to date, suppressing further advancement of photonic neural network. Here, we demonstrate an efficient in-situ nonlinear accelerator comprising a unique solution-processed two-dimensional (2D) MoS2 Opto-Resistive RAM Switch (ORS), which exhibits tunable nonlinear resistance switching that allow us to introduce nonlinearity to the photonic neuron which overcomes the linear voltage-power relationship of typical photonic components. Our reconfigurable scheme enables implementation of a wide variety of nonlinear responses. Furthermore, we confirm its feasibility and capability for MNIST handwritten digit recognition, achieving a high accuracy of 91.6%. Our accelerator constitutes a major step towards the realization of in-situ photonic neural network and pave the way for the integration of photonic integrated circuits (PIC).
Strong interlayer coupling and stable topological flat bands in twisted bilayer photonic Moiré superlattices
Authors: Yi Chang-Hwan , Park Hee Chul , Park Moon Jip
Published: October 2022

The moiré superlattice of misaligned atomic bilayers paves the way for designing a new class of materials with wide tunability. In this work, we propose a photonic analog of the moiré superlattice based on dielectric resonator quasi-atoms. In sharp contrast to van der Waals materials with weak interlayer coupling, we realize the strong coupling regime in a moiré superlattice, characterized by cascades of robust flat bands at large twist-angles. Surprisingly, we find that these flat bands are characterized by a non-trivial band topology, the origin of which is the moiré pattern of the resonator arrangement. The physical manifestation of the flat band topology is a robust one-dimensional conducting channel on edge, protected by the reflection symmetry of the moiré superlattice. By explicitly breaking the underlying reflection symmetry on the boundary terminations, we show that the first-order topological edge modes naturally deform into higher-order topological corner modes. Our work pioneers the physics of topological phases in the designable platform of photonic moiré superlattices beyond the weakly coupled regime.
Molecular pathways of major depressive disorder converge on the synapse
Authors: Fries Gabriel R. , Saldana Valeria A. , Finnstein Johannes , Rein Theo
Published: October 2022

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a psychiatric disease of still poorly understood molecular etiology. Extensive studies at different molecular levels point to a high complexity of numerous interrelated pathways as the underpinnings of depression. Major systems under consideration include monoamines, stress, neurotrophins and neurogenesis, excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission, mitochondrial dysfunction, (epi)genetics, inflammation, the opioid system, myelination, and the gut-brain axis, among others. This review aims at illustrating how these multiple signaling pathways and systems may interact to provide a more comprehensive view of MDD’s neurobiology. In particular, considering the pattern of synaptic activity as the closest physical representation of mood, emotion, and conscience we can conceptualize, each pathway or molecular system will be scrutinized for links to synaptic neurotransmission. Models of the neurobiology of MDD will be discussed as well as future actions to improve the understanding of the disease and treatment options.
Cancer metastasis chemoprevention prevents circulating tumour cells from germination
Authors: Xie Xiaodong , Li Yumei , Lian Shu , Lu Yusheng , Jia Lee
Published: October 2022

The war against cancer traces back to the signature event half-a-century ago when the US National Cancer Act was signed into law. The cancer crusade costs trillions with disappointing returns, teasing the possibility of a new breakthrough. Cure for cancer post-metastases still seems tantalisingly out of reach. Once metastasized, cancer-related death is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to be reversed. Here we present cancer pre-metastasis chemoprevention strategy that can prevent circulating tumour cells (CTCs) from initiating metastases safely and effectively, and is disparate from the traditional cancer chemotherapy and cancer chemoprevention. Deep learning of the biology of CTCs and their disseminating organotropism, complexity of their adhesion to endothelial niche reveals that if the adhesion of CTCs to their metastasis niche (the first and the most important part in cancer metastatic cascade) can be pharmaceutically interrupted, the lethal metastatic cascade could be prevented from getting initiated. We analyse the key inflammatory and adhesive factors contributing to CTC adhesion/germination, provide pharmacological fundamentals for abortifacients to intervene CTC adhesion to the distant metastasis sites. The adhesion/inhibition ratio (AIR) is defined for selecting the best cancer metastasis chemopreventive candidates. The successful development of such new therapeutic modalities for cancer metastasis chemoprevention has great potential to revolutionise the current ineffective post-metastasis treatments.