bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Determining the impact of economic indicators on water, energy and food nexus for sustainable resource security
Authors: David Love Opeyemi , Adepoju Omoseni , Nwulu Nnamdi , Aigbavboa Clinton
Published: November 2023

Water, energy, and food are economic resources whose security and sustainability affect human livelihood. This paper is dedicated to exploring the influence of economic indicators on the security and sustainability of these resources within the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus. The research employed a quantitative approach, gathering data through a structured questionnaire from 282 WEF management professionals in South Africa. The collected data were subjected to statistical analyses, including mean score ranking, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM) using EQS and SPSS software. The results of this study highlight the significant impact of economic indicators on the sustainable security of WEF resources. The mean ranking revealed that there is a need to understand people’s economic power for resource sustainability. The CFA and SEM analyses identify four key economic indicators that influence resource security: WEF resource pricing mechanisms, employment rates in the WEF sectors, WEF resource importation, and WEF resource exportation. In conclusion, managing economic indicators within the WEF nexus calls for strategic investment based on comparative advantage. The study provides valuable policy recommendations to support this approach.

Graphical Abstract
On a minimizing movement scheme for mean curvature flow with prescribed contact angle in a curved domain and its computation
Authors: Eto Tokuhiro , Giga Yoshikazu
Published: November 2023

We introduce a capillary Chambolle-type scheme for mean curvature flow with prescribed contact angle. Our scheme includes a capillary functional instead of just the total variation. We show that the scheme is well-defined and has consistency with the energy minimizing scheme of Almgren–Taylor–Wang type. Moreover, for a planar motion in a strip, we give several examples of numerical computation of this scheme based on the split Bregman method instead of a duality method.
Discussion: Development of a Single-Point Method to Determine Soil Plastic Limit Using Fall-Cone Data [Geotech Geol Eng 41:4473–4485, 2023]
Authors: O’Kelly Brendan C. , Soltani Amin
Published: November 2023

This discussion article presents a critical appraisal of three empirical correlations developed via multiple regression analysis and presented in the Kayabali et al. [Geotech Geol Eng 41:4473–4485, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-023-02527-0] (the Authors’) investigation for the determination of the soil consistency limits. Specifically, based solely on British Standard (BS) fall-cone (FC) test data, the Authors purport that the correlations given by Equations 2 and 3 of their paper can be used to predict the ASTM rolling-plate plastic limit (i.e., PLRP), while their Equation 4 can be used to predict the BS FC liquid limit (i.e., LLFC). The Authors demonstrated that these correlations gave good predictions of the measured LLFC and PLRP water contents (i.e., wL(FC) and wP(RP), respectively) for 87 fine-grained soils they sourced from different parts of Central Turkey. Employing newly compiled large and diverse consistency limits databases assembled from the published research literature, this discussion article confirms that the Authors’ Equations 2 and 3 generally produce poor wP(RP) predictions for the fine-grained soils comprising these databases, invariably overestimating (often seriously) their measured plastic limit values. Hence, the Discussers recommend that the Authors’ Equations 2 and 3 (being generally unreliable beyond the investigated Turkish soils) should not be used in geotechnical engineering practice. While the Authors’ single-point LLFC method given by their Equation 4 broadly appears as a good wL(FC) predictor for the newly compiled database soils, it is noted that there already exist well-established and standardised single-point LLFC methods.
Investigating Relevant Data in Automotive Procurement Departments: External Shocks as Transparency Creator for Data Deficits in Decision-Making
Authors: Klee Sven , Janson Andreas
Published: November 2023

Uncertainty becomes the new normal for organizations worldwide. Many organizations are dependent on complex global supply chains. COVID-19, but also environmental disasters or the war in Ukraine, demonstrate the volatility of supply chains. Procurement departments are the central interface between internal and external stakeholders and must manage the supply chain stability what requires fast and accurate decision-making. External shocks and sudden disruptions of central supply chains illustrated that data analytics could not prevent disruptions, although sound research on competitive advantages and numerous investments should have enabled organizations to data-driven decision-making. Rather, it became transparent, that there are numerous data deficits in organizations. We did an interview-based study with 23 procurement and supply chain experts about relevant data sets and the status of its usability. We contribute to theory and practice by uncovering relevant aspects of data and provide theoretical propositions on how decision-making can be improved in automotive procurement departments.
Identifying Longer-Term Health Events and Outcomes and Health Service Use of Low Birthweight CALD Infants in Australia
Authors: Karger Shae , Ndayisaba Emmanuel U. , Enticott Joanne , Callander Emily J.
Published: November 2023

Introduction

Approximately one-third of all births in Australia each year are by culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) women. CALD women are at an increased risk of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes including prematurity and low birthweight. Infants born weighing less than 2500 g are susceptible to increased risk of ill health and morbidities such as cognitive defects including cerebral palsy, and neuro-motor functioning.

Methods

An existing linked administrative dataset, Maternity 1000 was utilized for this study which has identified all children born in Queensland (QLD), Australia, between 1st July 2012 to 30th June 2018 from the QLD Perinatal Data Collection. This has then been linked to the QLD Hospital Admitted Patient Data Collection, QLD Hospital Non-Admitted Patient Data Collection, QLD Emergency Department Data Collection, and Medicare Benefits Schedule and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme Claims Records between 1 and 2012 to 30th June 2019.

Results

Culturally and linguistically diverse infants born with low birthweight had higher mean and standard deviation of all health events and outcomes; potentially preventable hospitalisations, hospital re-admissions, ED presentations without admissions, and development of chronic diseases compared to non-CALD infants born with low birthweight.

Discussion

Results from this study highlight the disparities in health service use and health events and outcomes associated with low birthweight infants, between both CALD and Australian born women. This study has responded to the knowledge gap of low birthweight on the Australian economy by identifying that there are significant inequalities in access to health services for CALD women in Australia, as well as increased health events and poor birth outcomes for these infants when compared to those of mothers born in Australia.
What counts as investment? Productive and unproductive expenditures
Authors: Block Fred
Published: November 2023

There have been significant changes in what economists include in the category of investment over the last six decades. The US government agency that compiles national income date, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, has tried to keep up with these changes, but it has not succeeded. The resulting tension between economic theory and official data can be overcome by adopting a different theoretical lens. Work on social reproduction and social investment suggests a more coherent definition of investment than that offered by mainstream economists. The paper then contrasts the measurement of investment in the government data with a calculation of investment derived from this new approach. The results show that business investment is dwarfed by the combined investment made by government and households. This finding suggests that business investment is not the key engine that powers the economy. This has significant implications for economic and social policies.
Evaluation of Feature Selection Methods in Estimation of Precipitation Based on Deep Learning Artificial Neural Networks
Authors: Sattari Mohammad Taghi , Avram Anca , Apaydin Halit , Matei Oliviu
Published: November 2023

Precipitation is the most important element of the water cycle and an indispensable element of water resources management. This paper’s aim is to model the monthly precipitation in 8 precipitation observation stations in the province of Hamadan, Iran. The effects and role of different feature weights pre-processing methods (Weight by deviation, Weight by PCA, Weight by correlation and Weight by Support Vector Machine) on artificial intelligence modeling were investigated. Deep learning method based on a multi-layer feed-forward artificial neural network that is trained with Stochastic Gradient Descent using back-propagation (DL-SGD) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) modelling were applied. The precipitation of each station is modeled using the precipitation values of the other stations. The best result, among all scenarios, at the Vasaj station according to the DL-SGD method (CC = 0.9845, NS = 0.9543 and RMSE = 10.4169 mm) and at the Varayineh station according to the CNN method (CC = 0.9679, NS = 0.9362 and RMSE = 16.0988 mm) were estimated.
Can organizational size moderate the relationship between sustainable-driven financial management and business competitiveness?
Authors: Campos Vanessa , Sanchis Joan R. , Ejarque Ana T.
Published: November 2023

Extant literature has pointed to a positive relationship between sustainable-driven management and business competitiveness and organizational size as a moderating factor in such a relationship. In this vein, the Economy for the Common Good is a sustainability framework based on stakeholders’ management that allows embedding sustainable behavior into business strategy and counts with a version adapted to organizations working at a smaller scale like entrepreneurial ventures and SMEs. Hence, the present study aims to assess the impact of sustainable financial management implemented using the Economy for the Common Good framework on business competitiveness and the possible moderating effects of organizational size on this relationship. To do so, the authors apply hierarchical regression analysis to data gathered from 206 European enterprises that implemented sustainable-driven financial management using the Economy for the Common Good framework. Results confirmed the positive impact of sustainable financial management on business competitiveness. However, organizational age and size resulted in nonsignificant variables. Thus, we conclude that sustainable financial management using the Economy for the Common Good framework is a suitable tool for implementation in entrepreneurial ventures and SMEs.
Correlations between insulin-degrading enzyme and metabolic markers in patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and healthy controls: a comparative study
Authors: Kullenberg Helena , Rossen Jenny , Johansson Unn-Britt , Hagströmer Maria , Nyström Thomas , Kumlin Maria , Svedberg Marie M.
Published: November 2023

Purpose

This study aimed to explore correlations between insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) and markers of metabolic function in a group of patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) or Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and metabolically healthy volunteers.

Method

We included 120 individuals (47 with T2DM, 9 with AD, and 64 healthy controls). Serum levels of IDE were measured with commercial kits for ELISA. Differences in IDE levels between groups were analyzed with non-parametric ANCOVA, and correlations were analyzed with Spearman’s rank correlations. We also investigated the influence of age, sex, and the use of insulin on the correlation using a non-parametric version of partial correlation.

Results

Patients diagnosed with T2DM had higher IDE levels than patients diagnosed with AD and healthy controls after adjustment for age and sex. IDE was increasingly associated with body mass index (BMI), fasting blood glucose, C-peptide, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), insulin resistance, and triglycerides. In stratified analyses, we found a decreasing partial correlation between IDE and HbA1c in patients diagnosed with AD and a decreasing partial correlation between IDE and C-peptide in healthy controls. In patients diagnosed with T2DM, we found no partial correlations.

Conclusion

These results indicate that IDE is essential in metabolic function and might reflect metabolic status, although it is not yet a biomarker that can be utilized in clinical practice. Further research on IDE in human blood may provide crucial insights into the full function of the enzyme.
Sociocultural Context, Reference Scholars and Contradictions in the Origin and Development of Sociology in Italy
Authors: Mangone Emiliana , Picarella Lucia
Published: November 2023

The beginnings of sociology in Italy correspond more or less to those of the birth of sociology as an autonomous science in France by Durkheim (considered the founding father of the discipline except for the term that, as is well known, was coined by Comte). Its origins, therefore, can be traced back to the second half of the 19th century and its development substantially follows the socio-political development of Italy, which can be substantially divided into three historical phases (the Savoy monarchy between 1861 and 1922; the authoritarian fascist regime with totalitarian characteristics between 1922 and 1943, and the period of the democratic republic from 1946 onwards can be considered as the “rebirth” not only of Italy but also of sociology). This article aims to outline these phases through an in-depth examination of some of the Italian sociologists who, in the different phases (up to our contemporary times), have had greater relevance and influence, even outside the Italian context.
Enhancement of Biogas Production from Vegetable Waste by Application of Mineral Fertilizers
Authors: Borowski Sebastian , Cieciura-Włoch Weronika , Liczbiński Przemysław
Published: November 2023

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of using mineral fertilizers on biogas production from vegetable waste. A mixture of wastes from a fruit and vegetable processing plant was used in the experiments, together with two commercial fertilizers, Substral and Agrecol. Experiments were conducted in 5-L anaerobic reactors operated semi-continuously at 35 °C. The application of Substral at a dose of 1 g/kg increased the production of methane and hydrogen by 40% and 78%, up to 420 LCH4/kgVS and 34 LH2/kgVS, respectively. In contrast, with Agrecol supplementation, the average yields of methane and hydrogen were 365 LCH4/kgVS and 27.7 LH2/kgVS, respectively. The beneficial effects of supplementation were due to the compositions of the mineral fertilizers, which contained nutrients and metals that stimulate the growth of microorganisms and build the structures of enzymes. The addition of mineral fertilizers changed the microbial communities of the digestates. At a family level, the main bacteria groups reported were Lactobacillaceae, Anaerolineaceae, Clostridiaceae, Synergistaceae, and Bacteroidetes vadin HA17. The predominant methanogens were Methanosarcinaceae and Methanosaetaceae. There was no clear relationship between the supplementation type and dose and the growth of individual microbial groups. However, the addition of mineral fertilizers increased the relative abundance of Lactobacillaceae and Anaerolineaceae, which are responsible for the hydrolysis and fermentation of polysaccharides into lactic acid, hydrogen, and acetic acid.
Cranial fluctuating asymmetry in Danish populations from the Neolithic to the Early Modern Age
Authors: Olsen Trine Bottos , García-Martínez Daniel , Lynnerup Niels , Jørkov Marie Louise Schjellerup , Villa Chiara
Published: November 2023

Fluctuating asymmetry are random deviations of an otherwise symmetrical body plan and arises from instability in development. Earlier studies suggest that levels of cranial fluctuating asymmetry may be influenced by lifestyle and quality of life in a population. It may, therefore, be useful as a stress indicator. We investigated whether cranial fluctuating asymmetry has changed in archaeological Danish populations over time, and between grave sites from the same time period. Our sample consisted of 219 adult individuals from the Neolithic Age (approx. 3000BC) to the Early Modern Age (approx. 1850). We collected 27 3-dimensional landmarks from the face, calvarium, and base of the cranium. Levels of shape variation were analyzed using Procrustes analysis of variance and principal component analysis. Cemeteries, time periods, and sex were compared using linear mixed models, one-way analysis of variance, and Kruskal-Wallis test. We found no statistically significant differences in cranial FA between grave sites from the same time period, nor did we find any statistically significant difference between time periods. We found that sex did not have an influence on levels of cranial FA. We found no measurable difference in levels of cranial FA between Danish populations over time. Further knowledge on genetics and other stress indicators in our sample may give more insight into the relationship between cranial fluctuating asymmetry and developmental instability.
The use of hand-sanitiser gel facilitates combined morphological and genetic analysis of shelled pteropods
Authors: Choo L. Q. , Spagliardi G. , Peijnenburg K. T. C. A.
Published: November 2023

There is a lack of standardised imaging methods for marine zooplankton due to the difficulty of manipulating small and often fragile specimens. Yet, standardised 2D photographs and 3D scans provide important morphological information to accompany DNA-barcoded specimens for reference databases such as the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD). Shelled pteropods are considered as bio-indicators to study impacts of ocean acidification, and thus, it is especially important to obtain high-quality records of their fragile aragonitic shells. We used alcohol-based hand sanitiser gel as a medium for photographing pteropods of the genus Limacina prior to micro-CT scanning and destructive DNA analysis. The high viscosity and transparency of the hand sanitiser enabled easy handling of the specimens so that they could be positioned in a standardised orientation and photographed with a stacking microscope. The high-quality photographs provide a record of morphology and allow for subsequent geometric morphometric analyses. This method did not impact the downstream micro-CT and molecular analyses of the same specimens and resulted in publicly available 2D and 3D digital vouchers as well as ten reference DNA barcodes (partial Cytochrome Oxidase I gene sequences). While alcohol-based hand sanitiser entered our daily lives due to a distressing pandemic, we could make use of it as a cheap and easily available resource to make high quality voucher photographs of shelled pteropods. Digital vouchers serve as a record of their morphology for further taxonomic analyses and facilitate studies assessing shell growth and impacts of ocean acidification.
Spatial Confounding and Spatial+ for Nonlinear Covariate Effects
Authors: Dupont Emiko , Augustin Nicole H.
Published: November 2023

Regression models for spatially varying data use spatial random effects to reflect spatial correlation structure. Such random effects, however, may interfere with the covariate effect estimates and make them unreliable. This problem, known as spatial confounding, is complex and has only been studied for models with linear covariate effects. However, as illustrated by a forestry example in which we assess the effect of soil, climate, and topography variables on tree health, the covariate effects of interest are in practice often unknown and nonlinear. We consider, for the first time, spatial confounding in spatial models with nonlinear effects implemented in the generalised additive models (GAMs) framework. We show that spatial+, a recently developed method for alleviating confounding in the linear case, can be adapted to this setting. In practice, spatial+ can then be used both as a diagnostic tool for investigating whether covariate effect estimates are affected by spatial confounding and for correcting the estimates for the resulting bias when it is present. Supplementary materials accompanying this paper appear online.
Tracking the structure and sentiment of vaccination discussions on Mumsnet
Authors: Silva Miguel E. P. , Skeva Rigina , House Thomas , Jay Caroline
Published: November 2023

Vaccination is one of the most impactful healthcare interventions in terms of lives saved at a given cost, leading the anti-vaccination movement to be identified as one of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019 by the World Health Organization. This issue increased in importance during the COVID-19 pandemic where, despite good overall adherence to vaccination, specific communities still showed high rates of refusal. Online social media has been identified as a breeding ground for anti-vaccination discussions. In this work, we study how vaccination discussions are conducted in the discussion forum of Mumsnet, a UK-based website aimed at parents. By representing vaccination discussions as networks of social interactions, we can apply techniques from network analysis to characterize these discussions, namely network comparison, a task aimed at quantifying similarities and differences between networks. Using network comparison based on graphlets—small connected network subgraphs—we show how the topological structure of vaccination discussions on Mumsnet differs over time, in particular before and after COVID-19. We also perform sentiment analysis on the content of the discussions and show how the sentiment toward vaccinations changes over time. Our results highlight an association between differences in network structure and changes to sentiment, demonstrating how network comparison can be used as a tool to guide and enhance the conclusions from sentiment analysis.
The ASHES 2021 special issue at JCEN
Authors: Chang Chip-Hong , Katzenbeisser Stefan , Mukhopadhyay Debdeep , Rührmair Ulrich
Published: November 2023

This brief editorial gives a short, two-page overview of the ASHES 2021 workshop. It shall serve as an introduction for this special issue at JCEN.
Usefulness of Drug Allergy Alert Systems: Present and Future
Authors: Quan Paola Leonor , Sánchez-Fernández Sergio , Parrado Gil Lucía , Calvo Alonso Alfonso , Bodero Sánchez José Miguel , Ortega Eslava Ana , Luri Marta , Gastaminza Lasarte Gabriel
Published: November 2023

Purpose of Review

The goal of this paper is to review drug allergy alert systems (DAAS), to summarise their key components, and to overview potential benefits and challenges associated with these tools. Methods for validation of their effects on patient safety, alternative uses, and strategies to streamline DAAS’ functions and reduce system fatigue are discussed.

Recent Findings

DAAS are clinical decision support systems (CDSS) that focus on preventing drug adverse events within healthcare settings. The advent of electronic medical records has facilitated the development of digital DAAS. Existing versions use different methods to document diagnosed allergies, and rely on distinct rules and matching strategies for the generation of real-time alerts. DAAS promote the automation of several processes, facilitate prompt patient referral, and may be customised. Information overload, alert overrides by clinicians, and the development of “alert fatigue” may interfere with their usefulness. The newest strategies to streamline the function of DAAS include the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other predictive techniques.

The rising prevalence of drug allergies underscores the importance of effective DAAS. Further research is needed to evaluate their usefulness, to optimise their performance, to explore different algorithms and data sources, and to enhance the standardised integration of these systems into clinical practice.
Numerical analysis of water-alternating-CO2 flooding for CO2-EOR and storage projects in residual oil zones
Authors: Liu Boyu , Yao Jun , Sun Tunan
Published: November 2023

Residual oil zones (ROZs) have high residual oil saturation, which can be produced using CO2 miscible flooding. At the same time, these zones are good candidates for CO2 sequestration. To evaluate the coupled CO2-EOR and storage performance in ROZs for Water-Alternating-CO2 (WAG) flooding, a multi-compositional CO2 miscible model with molecular diffusion was developed. The effects of formation parameters (porosity, permeability, temperature), operation parameters (bottom hole pressure, WAG ratio, pore volume of injected water), and diffusion coefficient on the coupled CO2-EOR and storage were investigated. Five points from the CO2 sequestration curve and the oil recovery factor curve were selected to help better analyze coupled CO2-EOR and storage. The results demonstrate that enhanced performance is observed when formation permeability is higher and a larger volume of water is injected. On the other hand, the performance diminishes with increasing porosity, molecular diffusion of gas, and the WAG ratio. When the temperature is around 100 °C, coupled CO2-EOR and storage performance is the worst. To achieve optimal miscible flooding, it is recommended to maintain the bottom hole pressure (BHP) of the injection well above 1.2 minimum miscibility pressure (MMP), while ensuring that the BHP of the production well remains sufficiently high. Furthermore, the tapered WAG flooding strategy proves to be profitable for enhanced oil recovery, as compared to a WAG ratio of 0.5:1, although it may not be as effective for CO2 sequestration.
Resource-Efficient Manufacturing Technology for Titanium Aluminide Aerospace Components
Authors: Bünck Matthias , Salber Roland , Stoyanov Todor
Published: November 2023

Titanium aluminide (TiAl) has been identified as a key material for achieving significant emission reductions in aircraft jet engines due to its high-temperature properties combined with its very low weight compared with conventional nickel-based alloys. Well-known engine manufacturers, therefore, introduced TiAl low-pressure turbine blades in their engines. To enter the market, all manufacturers initially relied on enormous machining allowances for safety reasons, thus accepting a poor buy-to-fly ratio: MTU Aero Engines AG used the casting/forging route with the alloy TNM [Ti–43.5Al–4Nb–1Mo–0.1B (at.-%)] for the highly stressed GTF (geared turbofan), Safran used machining of the alloy GE48-2-2 (Ti–33Al–2.6Cr–4.8Nb (wt.-%)) from the solid, and GE (General Electric) used ‘massive-overstock’ investment casting and 3D printing of GE48-2-2. More cost-effective and material-efficient processes are needed for titanium aluminide to establish itself sustainably in new aerospace applications in the long term. Access has, therefore, developed an economical TiAl investment casting process to industrial maturity, realizing a minimum machining allowance of 0.7 mm in a process-safe manner. In a study, it was evaluated that carbide cutters with AlTiN coating are excellently suited for machining TiAl. Extensive studies of the economic viability of TiAl investment casting have shown that it is competitive.
The first distributed-mass high-performance programmable optoelectromechanical steerable motion-wave sensors focused on sophisticated biomedical applications
Authors: Hussein Ali Abdulsattar
Published: November 2023

This paper introduces the first high-performance distributed-mass acoustic sensor made of cascaded differential phase shift suspended slot waveguide sections in a Mach–Zehnder interferometer optical transducer circuit. The heavyweight seismic mass used in traditional optoelectromechanical sensors is replaced by an fg lightweight coupling arm yielding an extra compact fast responding structure enabling utilizing over $$64$$

64

cascaded sections and resulting in enhancing the performance by hundreds of times. The transducer operation relies on converting the acoustic vibration into phase modulation of the light for a splendid performance. The novel sensor architecture challenges achieving optical sensitivities higher than $$33\times {10}^{3} \%/\mathrm{g}$$

33
×

10

3

%
/
g

(33 times supersensitive), operating at ultrasonic acoustic speeds higher than 27 MHz, and recognizing resolutions in the 1 ng order. The programmable sensor is voltage-controlled supporting the operation in multimodes. Four operation modes are elucidated including the natural aspiration force, turbo electrostatic force open-loop voltage control, zero-force closed-loop voltage control, and dynamic turbo-force closed-loop voltage control. Wide dynamic ranges for controlling the optical sensitivity and maximum measurable acceleration up to 115.5 dB are reported. Steering capabilities of the acoustic beam in the azimuth plane are demonstrated utilizing two-spoke and three-spoke directional architectures supporting $$116.64^\circ$$

116
.

64
∘

and $$360^\circ$$

360
∘

of respective steering angles. Potential acoustic biosignal-based applications in the medical field are outlined.
Sub-inhibitory concentrations of ceftriaxone induce morphological alterations and PIA-independent biofilm formation in Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Azzam Ahmed , Shawky Riham M. , El-Mahdy Taghrid S.
Published: November 2023

The exposure of bacteria to sub-inhibitory concentrations of antibiotics is of biological significance since it can occur in vivo under many circumstances, including low-dose treatment, poor adherence to a regimen, poor drug penetration, drug-drug interactions, and antibiotic resistance of the pathogen. In this study, we investigated the effects of subinhibitory concentrations of four antibiotics: ampicillin, ceftriaxone, gentamicin, and norfloxacin, which are commonly used in clinical settings and on cell morphology and biofilm formation in Staphylococcus aureus as one of the leading causes of nosocomial and biofilm-associated infections. Nine clinical S. aureus biofilm-producing isolates and two known biofilm-producing reference strains, S. aureus ATCC 29213 and S. aureus ATCC 6538, were used in this study. Sub-MICs of beta-lactam antibiotics (ampicillin and ceftriaxone) significantly induced biofilm formation in S. aureus ATCC 29213 and S. aureus ATCC 6538 and in six clinical isolates out of the nine selected isolates when compared with the antibiotic-free control group (P < 0.05), with an approximately 2- to 2.5-fold increase. Gentamicin and norfloxacin induced biofilms in S. aureus ATCC 29213 and S. aureus ATCC 6538, while gentamicin and norfloxacin induced biofilms only in three and two of the nine tested isolates, respectively (P < 0.05). The chemical nature of the biofilm matrix produced by half the MIC of ceftriaxone in the six isolates that showed increased biofilm was all non-polysaccharide in composition (PIA-independent). Gene expression of biofilm-encoding genes atl and sarA in biofilms of the two tested strains (S. aureus ATCC 6538) and clinical strain (S. aureus 16) showed a significant upregulation after exposure to half MIC of ceftriaxone. Additionally, the bacterial cell morphological changes in planktonic cells caused by half MIC of ceftriaxone were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, which demonstrated a significant cell enlargement when compared with the antibiotic-free control (P < 0.05), and some deformed cells were also noticed. In S. aureus clinical isolates, sub-MICs of ampicillin, ceftriaxone, gentamicin, and norfloxacin may stimulate substantial production of biofilm, which could have important clinical significance and make infection treatment challenges. Further, in vivo research is needed to fully comprehend how sub-MIC of antibiotics can affect biofilm formation in clinical settings. Additionally, more research is required to reveal the clinical implications of the morphological alterations in S. aureus brought on by exposure to ceftriaxone at concentrations below its MIC.

Graphical Abstract
Evaluation of the difficulty of laparoscopic cholecystectomy during COVID-19 pandemic using externally validated prediction models: A retrospective cohort study
Authors: Hatampour Kasra , Ebrahimian Manoochehr , Zamani Amir , Zardoui Arshia , Ramezani Amirreza , Ghahremanloo Kimia , Mirhashemi Seyed Hadi , Soori Mohsen , Rashnoo Fariborz , Asil Rouzbeh Shadidi , Hajinasrollah Esmaeil
Published: November 2023

Abstract

Introduction

During the COVID-19 pandemic, elective surgeries suspension, led to delayed hospital visits for non-emergent diseases like acute cholecystitis. Although nonsurgical treatment was successful in numerous cases, there are some warnings about the progression of the disease to more advanced stages for laparoscopy. In this study, we aimed to find out if COVID-19 had adverse effects on the difficulty of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC).

Methods

In a retrospective cohort study at a referral center for minimally-invasive surgeries, medical records from February 2019 to February 2020 (before the pandemic) and from February 2020 until 2021 (during the outbreak) were reviewed and various data were extracted. Using two different preoperative scoring systems, we estimated the rate of difficulty of LCs, and the results compared to each other with appropriate statistical methods.

Results

A total of 531 LCs were performed. Pre-COVID and post-COVID patients had a mean age of 46 ± 15 and 44 ± 14 years old, respectively, and less than 35 % of patients in each group were males. LCs decreased notably during the pandemic (161 vs. 369, p < 0.001). Besides, elective surgeries were reduced in this period (36.6 % vs. 55.7 %, p < 0.001). Despite no significant changes in operation duration (123 ± 42 vs. 129 ± 40, p = 0.16), scoring models revealed a remarkable change in difficulties.

Conclusion

Using two well-established scoring models, we concluded that LCs were done with less difficulty during that period. However, there was a remarkable decrease in elective surgeries, and higher volume studies are required to confirm our results.

Highlights
Treating Functional Abdominal Pain in Children
Authors: Zucker Nancy L. , Loeb Katharine L. , Gagliano Martha E.
Published: November 2023

This playful and practical handbook presents one of the first clinically tested treatment protocols for Functional Abdominal Pain (FAP) in young children. Created and tested by Dr. Nancy Zucker with support from the National Institutes of Health, this intervention teaches children to become “FBI agents” (Feeling and Body Investigators) – detectives who investigate and learn to manage their symptoms. Kids develop a newfound trust in their bodies by using strategies that transform fear and confusion into curiosity and humor. This clinical manual provides a detailed step-by-step guide to treatment, including session plans, worksheets and activities, and is supplemented by diagrams, excerpts from case dialogues, references and cartoons. Downloadable full color materials are available online to print and use in individual or group sessions. Offering an effective and fun approach firmly rooted in science, this manual guides clinicians in implementing FBI in their own practices, enabling more children to access this novel treatment.
Repertoires of Slavery
Authors: Adams Sarah
Published: November 2023

Through the lens of a hitherto unstudied repertoire of Dutch abolitionist theatre productions, Repertoires of Slavery pries open the conflicting ideological functions of antislavery discourse within and outside the walls of the theatre and examines the ways in which abolitionist protesters wielded the strife-ridden question of slavery to negotiate the meanings of human rights, subjecthood, and subjection. The book explores how dramatic visions of antislavery provided a site for (re)mediating a white metropolitan-and at times a specifically Dutch-identity. It offers insight into the late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century theatrical modes, tropes, and scenarios of racialised subjection and considers them as materials of the 'Dutch cultural archive,' or the Dutch 'reservoir' of sentiments, knowledge, fantasies, and beliefs about race and slavery that have shaped the dominant sense of the Dutch self up to the present day.
Desecularizing the Christian Past
Authors: Beltramini Enrico
Published: November 2023

The essential objective of this study is to unpack the complicity between historians and secularization theory in the study of late ancient and early medieval Christianity, and then suggest a way out. In this work of historiography of religion, Enrico Beltramini argues that religious history is inherently secular and produces distorted representations of the Christian past. He suggests moving from an epistemological to a hermeneutical approach so that the supernatural worldview of the Christian past can be addressed on its own terms. This work also engages Markus's saeculum and replaces Markus's secularized relationship between the Kingdom and the government of the civitas with the Augustinian association of the Kingdom and divine government.
A Shallow‐Deep Unified Stochastic Mass Flux Cumulus Parameterization in the Single Column Community Climate Model
Authors: Khouider B. , Goswami B. B. , Phani R. , Majda A. J.
Published: November 2023

Cumulus parameterization (CP) in state‐of‐the‐art global climate models is based on the quasi‐equilibrium assumption (QEA), which views convection as the action of an ensemble of cumulus clouds, in a state of equilibrium with respect to a slowly varying atmospheric state. This view is not compatible with the organization and dynamical interactions across multiple scales of cloud systems in the tropics and progress in this research area was slow over decades despite the widely recognized major shortcomings. Novel ideas on how to represent key physical processes of moist convection‐large‐scale interaction to overcome the QEA have surged recently. The stochastic multicloud model (SMCM) CP in particular mimics the dynamical interactions of multiple cloud types that characterize organized tropical convection. Here, the SMCM is used to modify the Zhang‐McFarlane (ZM) CP by changing the way in which the bulk mass flux and bulk entrainment and detrainment rates are calculated. This is done by introducing a stochastic ensemble of plumes characterized by randomly varying detrainment level distributions based on the cloud area fraction of the SMCM. The SMCM is here extended to include shallow cumulus clouds resulting in a unified shallow‐deep CP. The new stochastic multicloud plume CP is validated against the control ZM scheme in the context of the single column Community Climate Model of the National Center for Atmospheric Research using data from both tropical ocean and midlatitude land convection. Some key features of the SMCM CP such as it capability to represent the tri‐modal nature of organized convection are emphasized.
The Temperature Control of Cloud Adiabatic Fraction and Coverage
Authors: Lu Xin , Mao Feiyue , Rosenfeld Daniel , Zhu Yannian , Zang Lin , Pan Zengxin , Gong Wei
Published: November 2023

The fraction of cloud water compared to its adiabatic value is defined as the adiabatic fraction, fad. The accuracy of cloud representation in climate models is highly sensitive to mixing rate, manifested in fad. Here, we present the first fad distribution of marine boundary layer clouds over global oceans, retrieved by satellite observations. The fad is shown to decrease exponentially with cloud base temperature (CBT) and cloud depth, in agreement with the increasing evaporation capacity of entrained warmer air. Cloud cover decreases with increasing CBT, but to a much lesser extent than fad. The dependence of fad on CBT has little dependence on relative humidity or precipitation. The relationship between CBT and fad highlights the importance of CBT as a core control factor on cloud evaporation. The simultaneous decrease in cloud water content and cover with increasing CBT can lead to positive cloud feedback, resulting in greater future climate warming.
Asymmetry of AMOC Hysteresis in a State‐Of‐The‐Art Global Climate Model
Authors: van Westen René M. , Dijkstra Henk A.
Published: November 2023

We study hysteresis properties of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) under a slowly‐varying North Atlantic (20°N–50°N) freshwater flux forcing in state‐of‐the‐art global climate model (GCM), the Community Earth System Model. Results are presented of a full hysteresis simulation (4,400 model years) and show that there is a hysteresis width of about 0.4 Sv. This demonstrates that an AMOC collapse and recovery do not only occur in conceptual and idealized climate models, but also in a state‐of‐the‐art GCM. The AMOC recovery is about a factor six faster than the AMOC collapse and this asymmetry is due to the major effect of the North Atlantic sea‐ice distribution on the AMOC recovery. The results have implications for projections of possible future AMOC behavior and for explaining relatively rapid climate transitions in the geological past.
Summertime Near‐Surface Temperature Biases Over the Central United States in Convection‐Permitting Simulations
Authors: Qin Hongchen , Klein Stephen A. , Ma Hsi‐Yen , Van Weverberg Kwinten , Feng Zhe , Chen Xiaodong , Best Martin , Hu Huancui , Leung L. Ruby , Morcrette Cyril J. , Rumbold Heather , Webster Stuart
Published: November 2023

Convection‐Permitting Model (CPM) simulations of the Central United States climate for the summer of 2011 are studied to understand the causes of warm biases in 2‐m air temperature (T2m) and related underestimates of precipitation including that from mesoscale convective systems (MCSs). Based on 10 CPM simulations and 9 coarser‐resolution model simulations, we quantify contributions from evaporative fraction (EF) and radiation to the T2m bias with both types of models overestimating T2m largely because they underestimate EF. The performance of CPMs in capturing MCS characteristics (frequency, rainfall, propagation) varies. The pre‐summer precipitation bias has large correlation with mean summertime T2m bias but the relationship between summertime MCS mean rainfall bias and T2m bias is non‐monotonic. Analysis of lifting condensation level deficit and convective available potential energy suggests that models with T2m warm biases and low EF have too dry and stable boundary layers, inhibiting the formation of clouds, precipitation and MCSs. Among the CPMs with differing model formulations (e.g., transpiration, infiltration, cloud macrophysics and microphysics), evidence suggests that altering the land‐surface model is more effective than altering the atmospheric model in reducing T2m biases. These results demonstrate that land‐atmosphere interactions play a very important role in determining the summertime climate of the Central United States.
Fast Calculation on Atmospheric Rayleigh Scattering Extinction Optical Depth for Day/Night Band Radiative Transfer Model With Periodic Lunar Illumination
Authors: Liu Shuyue , Min Min , Di Di
Published: November 2023

Rayleigh scattering effect inspired by tiny atmospheric molecules generates significant extinction at relatively short wavelength, such as Day/Night Band (DNB) covering visible (VIS, 0.4–0.76 μm) and near‐infrared (NIR, 0.76–1.0 μm) wavelengths. This salient extinction effect coupled with periodic changes in lunar illumination and wide DNB will further lead to increased complexity in nocturnal fast radiative transfer model (RTM) calculation of DNB. For these reasons, this study is aimed at developing a precise and robust fast calculation method on Rayleigh scattering extinction optical depth (RayOD) for pertinent fast RTM calculation of DNB. Firstly, we coupled the lunar spectral irradiance model and the parameterized Rayleigh scattering extinction calculation module into a RTM for forward simulations. Moreover, we find that the errors in DNB‐averaged RayOD calculated from the classical fast algorithm from RTTOV (Radiative Transfer for TOVS) of training the DNB instrument coefficients (about 20% of relative error in reflectance) and the parameterization method using the central wavelength of DNB (about 5%) are too large to be tolerable in fast RTM. Finally, to address this issue, we skillfully conceptualize a new equivalent optimal central wavelength algorithm to retrieve a dynamically wavelength in DNB using observation scattering and lunar phase angles for rapidly calculating DNB‐averaged RayOD. The relative errors in simulated reflectance from coupled RTM aforementioned are subtle nuances, which are about 10−5∼10−6 order of magnitude. Besides, this robust algorithm can also correct the relative error of about 1% at dark surface caused by periodic changes in lunar illumination.
10Be Exposure Age Dating of Moraine Boulders and Glacially Polished Bedrock Surfaces in Karakoram and Ladakh Ranges, NW Himalaya: Implications in Quaternary Glaciation Studies
Authors: Jena Partha Sarathi , Bhushan Ravi , Sharma Shubhra , Dabhi Ankur J. , Ajay Shivam , Raj Harsh , Juyal Navin
Published: November 2023

Terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) dating has emerged as one of the most useful techniques in the last two decades for quantifying geomorphological processes and building the chronology of late Quaternary glacial advances/retreats. The chronology based on TCN and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of glacial landforms from the northwestern (NW) Himalaya suggests that glaciers responded to a complex interaction between temperature and moisture essentially derived from either of the climate systems, the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) and the Mid‐latitude Westerlies (MLW). The discrepancies between the TCN ages obtained on moraine boulders/bedrock surfaces, and the OSL ages on the stratigraphically equivalent deposits, highlighted the need for a detailed investigation. The present study attempts to build the chronology of Quaternary glaciation events in the Karakoram and Ladakh Ranges using TCN dating of stratigraphically constrained moraine boulders and striated bedrock surfaces. The TCN ages from glacially eroded surfaces (GES) having prominent striations are narrowly clustered around the Marine Isotopic Stage‐2 (MIS‐2). Agreement between GES TCN ages and OSL ages on the stratigraphically equivalent moraines suggests negligible geological inheritance. The glacial advance during MIS‐2 can be attributed to the combined effect of reduction in north hemispheric insolation and enhanced westerly precipitation. However, relict non‐glacial surfaces and moraine boulders with minimal ice flow modifications yield wide age distributions, most likely suggesting denudational events (interglacials) and/or contribution from tributary valley flanks.