bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Strategies to Facilitate Service Utilization Among Youth at Risk for HIV: A Randomized Controlled Trial (ATN 149)
Authors: Swendeman Dallas , Rotheram-Borus Mary Jane , Arnold Elizabeth Mayfield , Fernández Maria Isabel , Comulada W. Scott , Ishimoto Kelsey , Gertsch William , Murphy Debra A. , Ocasio Manuel , Lee Sung-Jae , Lewis Katherine A. ,   The Adolescent HIV Medicine Trials Network (ATN) CARES Team, Abdalian Sue Ellen , Bolan Robert , Bryson Yvonne , Chaplin Antwon , Cortado Ruth , Donahue Catherine , Duan Naihua , Flynn Risa , Fournier Jasmine , Jimenez Sergio , Kerin Tara , Klausner Jeffrey , Kussin Jody , Lightfoot Marguerita , Milburn Norweeta , Mosafer Jasmine , Moses Aaron , Nielsen Karin , Ramos Wilson , Reback Cathy J. , Rezvan Panteha Hayati , Tang Wenze , Tapia Yara , Thomas Demi , Urauchi Stacey , Weiss Robert E.
Published: November 2024

Sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY) are vulnerable to acquiring HIV and need HIV prevention and health services, but may have competing needs. A prior analysis found that PrEP use reports increased in a combination intervention study arm with coaching, peer support, and automated text-messages. This paper examines ancillary support and healthcare services utilization as secondary intervention objectives. SGMY (N = 895, 40% Black, 29% Latino) in Los Angeles and New Orleans were recruited from May, 2017 to August, 2019 and randomized to four intervention conditions: (a) automated text-messaging and monitoring intervention (AMMI), (b) AMMI plus peer support online (AMMI+PS), (c) AMMI plus strengths-based coaching by near-peer paraprofessionals (AMMI+C), or (d) all three (AMMI+PS+C). Intent-to-treat multivariate regression analyses evaluated the interventions’ efficacy on past 4-month reports of ancillary support services use, having a regular healthcare provider, receiving care from doctor’s office or clinic and mental health specialists, and participation in mental health support groups and HIV prevention programs. Ancillary services utilization reports declined from 40% of youth reporting an average of 4.4 services at baseline to 22.6% reporting 2.5 services by 24 months. Food, housing, transportation, and other basic services were utilized most frequently. Youth in the two coaching interventions maintained higher reports of services use over time compared to AMMI-only (both OR 1.23, 95%CI 1.12–1.35) and to AMMI+PS (both OR 1.20 95%CI 1.08–1.33). Our coaching intervention may support SGMY to stay engaged in support services. Results may be limited by self-report biases. It is unclear if these services are related to better long-term outcomes.
LaCour!: enabling research on argumentation in hearings of the European Court of Human Rights
Authors: Held Lena , Habernal Ivan
Published: November 2024

Why does an argument end up in the final court decision? Was it deliberated or questioned during the oral hearings? Was there something in the hearings that triggered a particular judge to write a dissenting opinion? Despite the availability of the final judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), none of these legal research questions can currently be answered as the ECHR’s multilingual oral hearings are not transcribed, structured, or speaker-attributed. We address this fundamental gap by presenting LaCour!, the first corpus of textual oral arguments of the ECHR, consisting of 154 full hearings (2.1 million tokens from over 267 h of video footage) in English, French, and other court languages, each linked to the corresponding final judgment documents. In addition to the transcribed and partially manually corrected text from the video, we provide sentence-level timestamps and manually annotated role and language labels. We also showcase LaCour! in a set of experiments that explore the interplay between questions and dissenting opinions. Apart from the use cases in legal NLP, we hope that law students or other interested parties will also use LaCour! as a learning resource, as it is freely available in various formats at https://huggingface.co/datasets/TrustHLT/LaCour.
Elementary School Teachers’ and Counselors’ Decisions on Referring Students for Evaluation: The Impact of ADHD Traits, Achievement, and Giftedness
Authors: Tamsut Avital , Asadi Hattem , Sinai Gal Nahum , Saka Noa , Pollak Yehuda
Published: November 2024

The present study examined the effect of ADHD-related traits, academic-achievement level, and giftedness label on elementary school teachers’ and counselors’ referral recommendations for assessment. 532 teachers and counselors were presented with one of 12 vignettes describing a hypothetical pupil. Participants were asked to report the likelihood they would refer the pupil for ADHD diagnosis and address them during a high-level interdisciplinary school-team meeting (HISTM). High ADHD-related traits (effect size 0.359) and low academic-achievement (effect size 0.070) and their interaction were significantly related to a higher likelihood of referral. Further analysis revealed that lower academic achievement was related to a higher likelihood of referral only when ADHD-related traits were not indicated (p < .005). The status of giftedness label was not found to be significant (p > .05). These findings indicate that mainly ADHD-related traits and, to a lesser degree, low academic-achievement influence teachers’ decisions to refer pupils for ADHD diagnosis and address them in HISTM.
Teaching and learning cybersecurity for European youth by applying interactive technology and smart education
Authors: Blažič Andrej Jerman , Blažič Borka Jerman
Published: November 2024

This paper presents a new developed methodology for teaching and learning subjects that although are very important in the modern digital society are neglected in high school education programs: cybersecurity and cyber safety. A Study among the EU high schools in 2021–2022 revealed that computer science teachers are not regularly upgrading their knowledge and do not have cybersecurity topics included in the educational program for computer science and informatics. The development and the implementation of an interactive education program of cybersecurity topics for high school students enabled a flexible approach for teaching cybersecurity to be be implemented in several EU based high schools The new curriculum offer many tools for active learning like interactive videos, quizzes, games, and live cases of cyber threats and in the same time apply the teaching of the aligned protective methods. During the implementation of the cybersecurity education was found that the applied methodology enhances the interactions between the teachers and the students by presenting and discussing examples encountered when using digital services on the internet and by applying several innovative approaches presented in the 24 fiches. The effectiveness of the approach was evaluated through surveys and interviews but final assessment of the acquired student skills was done at the international Capture tThe Flag game contest. In the discussion section the paper provide an assessment of the applied model and recommendations.
Assessment of faecal sludge quality, heavy metal contamination, and ecological risk: implications for sustainable agriculture
Authors: Odirile Phillimon T. , Obuseng Veronica C. , Moshoeshoe Mohau , Tshenyego Lamong , Mbongwe Bontle
Published: November 2024

Pit latrines represent the predominant form of on-site sanitation in Botswana, posing unique challenges in faecal sludge (FS) management. The key concerns revolve around FS extraction, treatment, and safe disposal. Currently, co-treatment with wastewater is the primary approach, but it strains wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and compromises effluent quality. This study comprehensively assesses FS quality from pit latrines and evaluates the potential health risks when used in agriculture for soil improvement/amendment. Systematic sampling of soils at various depth intervals, approximately 30 cm apart, was conducted, followed by extensive laboratory analysis, including determination of heavy metals (copper, iron, lead, cadmium, zinc, manganese, and arsenic) using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and nutrient analysis using ion chromatography (IC). The findings unequivocally demonstrate that FS from VIP (ventilated improved pit) latrines poses no significant health risks due to heavy metal content. Specifically, Geo-accumulation Index (Igeo) values for nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), and arsenic (As) were consistently negative, indicating negligible risk of environmental contamination. Copper (Cu) concentrations averaged 40.36 mg/kg in samples collected from Mogoditshane and 591.61 mg/kg in those collected from Broadhurst (Gaborone, Botswana) with Igeo values indicating a moderate pollution risk. Nutrient analysis showed high levels of nitrogen (NO3−), with concentrations reaching 4.47 × 103 mg/kg in some samples, and phosphorus (PO43−) levels as high as 3.9 × 104 mg/kg. These findings highlight its agricultural potential for soil amendment, though prudent management is needed to mitigate eutrophication. The study advocates for separate FS treatment, resolving co-treatment operational challenges and enhancing sustainability. Implementing these recommendations promises to address FS management issues, bolster food security, and enhance Botswana’s ecological well-being.
Hierarchical Cubes: Gibbs Measures and Decay of Correlations
Authors: Jansen Sabine , Neumann Jan Philipp
Published: November 2024

We study a hierarchical model of non-overlapping cubes of sidelengths $$2^j$$

2
j

, $$j\in {\mathbb {Z}}$$

j
∈
Z

. The model allows for cubes of arbitrarily small size and the activities need not be translationally invariant. It can also be recast as a spin system on a tree with a long-range hard-core interaction. We prove necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of Gibbs measures, discuss fragmentation and condensation, and prove bounds on the decay of two-point correlation functions.
The Early Infancy of a Parent and Baby Mental Health Unit: A Reflection
Authors: Isobel Sophie , Green Alison , Lim-Gibson Sylvia
Published: November 2024

Purpose

This article describes the experience of establishing a new parent and baby mental health unit, including challenges in the first year of operation. The article aims to narrate the experience for the purpose of informing other new mental health services and contributing to service development knowledge.

Description

The analogy of the early infancy period is used to highlight the parallel process of adjustment, confidence and identity formation occurring as part of the unit development and by the parents who are admitted.

Assessment

Key challenges are presented as “We had a baby and moved house at the same time”, “We had a baby with someone we just met”, “We had ghosts in our communal nursery” and “We were juggling the baby and the bathwater”.

Conclusion

The establishment of a new unit provides an opportunity to reflect on the complexity of building workforce, service and clinical capacity within the constraints of public health services. The challenges along the way have helped to build empathy for the experiences of the admitted parents who equally find that things have not gone how they have planned, while finding emerging opportunities for growth, resilience and change.
Oxytocin Protects Against Corticosterone-Induced DA Dysfunction: An Involvement of the PKA/CREB Pathway
Authors: Chaipunko Sirinun , Sookkua Tichaporn , Nopparat Chutikorn , Chutabhakdikul Nuanchan
Published: November 2024

Chronic stress disrupts dopamine (DA) transmission, adversely affecting mood and contribution to neuropsychiatric disorders like ADHD, autism, schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, and drug addiction. The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) plays a key role in social cognition, bonding, attachment, and parenting behaviors. In addition, OXT can modulate the activity of the HPA axis, counteracting the effects of stress, and alleviating fear and anxiety. However, whether OXT can mitigate stress-induced DA dysfunction and the underlying mechanisms remains unclear. This study investigated the neuroprotective effects of OXT on corticosterone (CORT) induced DA dysfunction in the neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y. The results revealed that CORT decreases the levels of intracellular signaling molecules associated with DA function, including phosphorylated tyrosine hydroxylase (pTH), phosphorylated cAMP response element-binding protein (pCREB), and protein kinase A (PKA). Interestingly, pretreatment with OXT mitigated CORT-induced DA dysfunction through its potent PKA activator properties. In addition, the neuroprotective effect of OXT was abolished by atosiban (an OXT receptor antagonist) or H89 (a PKA inhibitor). Our results suggest that OXT protects dopaminergic neuroblastoma cells from CORT-induced DA dysfunction, potentially through the involvement of oxytocin receptors and the PKA/CREB signaling pathway. These findings contribute to the understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying stress resilience and highlight potential pathways for developing targeted treatments that leverage the neuroprotective properties of OXT to address disorders characterized by DA dysregulation and impaired stress responses.
Scientifically Together, Politically Apart?
Authors: Viciana Hugo , Astobiza Aníbal M. , Fasce Angelo , Hannikainen Ivar R.
Published: November 2024

Science education is generally perceived as a key facilitator in cultivating a scientifically literate society. In the last decade, however, this conventional wisdom has been challenged by evidence that greater scientific literacy and critical thinking skills may in fact inadvertently aggravate polarization on scientific matters in the public sphere. Supporting an alternative “scientific update hypothesis,” in a series of studies (total N = 2087), we show that increased science’s epistemology literacy might have consequential population-level effects on the public’s alignment with scientific results. In one exploratory study and a pre-registered national online survey, we first show that understanding scientific epistemology predicts refusal of pseudoscientific beliefs and higher scores in a methodology of science test. We also find and replicate a propensity for epistemologically literate citizens to endorse the norm of belief updating and the communicated scientific consensus following both ideologically congruent and incongruent scientific results. Notably, after 2 months of first being presented with scientific results on politically controversial issues, a one standard deviation higher score in epistemological literacy is associated with a 14% increase in the odds of individuals switching their beliefs to align with the scientifically communicated consensus. We close by discussing how, on the face of ideological incongruity, a general understanding of scientific epistemology might foster the acceptance of scientific results, and we underscore the need for a more nuanced appreciation of how education, public comprehension of scientific knowledge, and the dynamics of polarization intersect in the public sphere.
Die vielen „Zwei Welten“. Gelebte Diversität im ehemaligen Bonner Diplomatenstadtteil Bad Godesberg
Authors: Ebner Johannes
Published: November 2024

Obwohl von der Migrations- und Stadtforschung weitgehend übersehen, sind auch bürgerlich geprägte, prosperierende Stadtteile vermehrt mit migrationsbezogener Diversität und damit zusammenhängenden Konflikten konfrontiert. Dieser Beitrag untersucht verschiedene Facetten des alltäglichen Zusammenlebens in einem hochdiversen bürgerlichen Stadtteil mit großem muslimischem Bevölkerungsanteil. Auf der Grundlage fünfjähriger Feldforschung im ehemaligen Bonner Diplomatenstadtteil Bad Godesberg untersucht diese Studie die komplexe Gemengelage verschiedener Gruppen von „Etablierten“ und „Außenseitern“, die im Zuge mehrerer Transformations- und Migrationsschübe entstanden ist. Dazu schließt der Beitrag an zwei Forschungslinien an, die sich verschiedenen Facetten des „Making und Un-Making of Boundaries“ in hochdiversen urbanen Quartieren widmen: die rekonstruktive Diversitätsforschung und Norbert Elias’ relationale Theorie der Gruppenbeziehungen. Er zeigt, (1) wie sich das Zusammenleben durch den lokalen Strukturwandel (z. B. durch den Funktions- und Bedeutungsverlust von Stadt und Stadtbezirk und durch die zunehmende Etablierung der bildungsaffinen „arabischen Community“) verändert, (2) wie (in welchen Situationen und Konstellationen, entlang welcher Differenzkategorien etc.) dies verschiedene Godesbergerinnen und Godesberger wahrnehmen und erzählen, und (3) welche Orte zu Räumen der Begegnung oder des Konflikts werden. Die Analysen bieten Einblicke in lebensweltliche Konflikt‑, Grenzziehungs- und Aushandlungspraktiken und legen nahe, Polarisierung und Diversifizierung als tagesrhythmisches Nach- und sozialräumliches Nebeneinander zu begreifen.
Hospital to Funeral Home Hand-Off of the Decedent Patient with a Viral Hemorrhagic Fever
Authors: Patrick Amie , Yannie Marco , Santillán Perla , Bliley Eric , Diman Krystina , Reece Morris , Cooper Kaila , Doll Michelle
Published: November 2024

Purpose of Review

Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers (VHF), such as those caused by ebolavirus and Marburgvirus, present a global health threat due to their high fatality rates and potential for rapid transmission. We aim to develop a Standard Operational Plan (SOP) for the safe handoff transfer of highly infectious decedents from hospitals to funeral homes. This addresses the gap in existing protocols to ensure infection control and public health safety.

Recent Findings

Recent research highlights the necessity of infection prevention in handling the bodies of highly infectious decedents. The 2014–2015 Ebola outbreak underscored the role of funeral homes practices and hospitals handoff transfer procedure in disease transmission. However, a standardized handoff process between hospitals and funeral homes remains undeveloped.

Developing a SOP involved collaboration between healthcare professionals, funeral homes, and state health departments. Key findings include the preference for cremation for highly infectious decedents, removal of jewelry before hospital admission, and the use of decedent lifts to ensure safe handling. The SOP emphasizes collaboration and adherence to updated CDC and NETEC guidelines. This SOP is a model for other healthcare facilities, promoting public health safety and infection control during the handoff process of highly infectious decedents.
Fluctuations of prolonged grief disorder reactions in the daily life of bereaved people: an experience sampling study
Authors: Lenferink L. I. M. , Terbrack E. , van Eersel J. H. W. , Zuidersma M. , Franzen M. , Riese H.
Published: November 2024

Loss-adaptation has been described as being characterized by ‘waves of grief’, which may result in a Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD). Although this assumption about the fluctuating nature of grief is supported by theoretical work, it is not (yet) supported by empirical work. We are the first to explore to what extent PGD reactions fluctuate in everyday life and whether fluctuations in PGD reactions are related to overall PGD levels using experience sampling methodology (ESM). Data from 38 bereaved individuals (74% women, on average 6 years post-loss, 47% lost a parent) were analyzed. For two weeks, five times per day, participants reported on the severity of 11 PGD reactions in the past three hours (ESM-PGD). At baseline, overall PGD severity (B-PGD) in the past two weeks was assessed with telephone-interviews using the Traumatic Grief Inventory–Clinician Administered. Root Mean Square of Successive Differences (RMSSD) were calculated to reflect fluctuations in ESM-PGD. Spearman correlations between RMSSD values of the 11 ESM-PGD reactions and B-PGD scores were computed. Mean B-PGD scores were below the clinical cut-off. Some fluctuations in ESM-PGD reactions were found, as indicated by varying RMSSD values, but also floor effects were detected. B-PGD levels were related to RMSSD values for ESM-PGD (ρ between 0.37 and 0.68, all p <.05; and between 0.36 and 0.63 after removal of floor effects). We found that (some) ESM-PGD reactions fluctuated in everyday life. This may offer new theoretical insights into loss-adaptation, which may result in optimizing PGD treatment.
Alpha-synuclein Fibrils Inhibit Activation of the BDNF/ERK Signaling Loop in the mPFC to Induce Parkinson's Disease-like Alterations with Depression
Authors: Ma Zhuoran , Xu Yan , Lian Piaopiao , Wu Yi , Liu Ke , Zhang Zhaoyuan , Tang Zhicheng , Yang Xiaoman , Cao Xuebing
Published: November 2024

Depression (Dep) is one of the most common concomitant symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD), but there is a lack of detailed pathologic evidence for the occurrence of PD-Dep. Currently, the management of symptoms from both conditions using conventional pharmacological interventions remains a formidable task. In this study, we found impaired activation of extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK), reduced levels of transcription and translation, and decreased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of PD-Dep rats. We demonstrated that the abnormal phosphorylation of α-synuclein (pS129) induced tropomyosin-related kinase receptor type B (TrkB) retention at the neuronal cell membrane, leading to BDNF/TrkB signaling dysfunction. We chose SEW2871 as an ameliorator to upregulate ERK phosphorylation. The results showed that PD-Dep rats exhibited improvement in behavioral manifestations of PD and depression. In addition, a reduction in pS129 was accompanied by a restoration of the function of the BDNF/ERK signaling loop in the mPFC of PD-Dep rats.
Nonspecific increase of αβTCR+ double-negative T cells in pediatric rheumatic diseases
Authors: Dossybayeva Kuanysh , Zhubanova Gulsamal , Mussayeva Assel , Mukusheva Zaure , Dildabayeva Aiken , Nauryzbayeva Galiya , Akhmaltdinova Lyudmila , Orumbayeva Ulbolsyn , Tanko Matthew , Poddighe Dimitri
Published: November 2024

Background

An increased number of double-negative T (DNT) cells expressing the αβ T cell receptor (αβ+DNT cells) is one of the diagnostic criteria for autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS). Moreover, these cells are expanded in a widely used murine model for lupus. However, the homeostasis of αβ+DNT cells remains inadequately investigated in rheumatic disorders, especially in pediatric patients.

Methods

In this cross-sectional, prospective, and observational study, children with rheumatic disorders and healthy controls were recruited to analyze the quantity and characteristics of circulating DNT cells using flow cytometry.

Results

Overall, the two study groups did not differ in their total DNT cell pool in the bloodstream. However, the number of αβ+DNT cells was significantly higher in rheumatic children than that in the controls, whereas the γδ+DNT cells remained similar. This expansion in the circulating pool of αβ+DNT cells was comparable across different rheumatic diseases, all showing significant differences from the controls in this regard. Moreover, no significant correlation was found between αβ+DNT cell numbers and disease activity.

Conclusions

These preliminary results indicate that circulating αβ+DNT cells are significantly expanded in children with rheumatic disorders; however, this finding appears to be a nonspecific (disease-unrelated) marker of autoimmunity. Further and larger studies are necessary to better investigate and define the role of DNT cells in pediatric rheumatic diseases.

Graphical abstract
Interstitielle Lungenerkrankung bei systemischen autoimmunen rheumatischen Erkrankungen: Update zu Diagnostik und Monitoring
Authors: Maurer Britta
Published: November 2024

Patienten mit systemischen autoimmunen rheumatischen Erkrankungen (SARD) haben ein erhöhtes Risiko für die Entwicklung einer interstitiellen Lungenerkrankung (ILD), die häufig prognosebestimmend ist. Richtlinien zu Screening und Monitoring, die aufgrund des hohen Mortalitätsrisikos und der wachsenden medikamentösen Therapieoptionen besonders relevant sind, waren lange nicht verfügbar. Kürzlich wurden amerikanische Leitlinien von Rheumatologen und Pneumologen gemeinsam publiziert. Die europäischen Empfehlungen stehen kurz vor der Veröffentlichung. Zum Screening bei asymptomatischen Hochrisikopatienten oder symptomatischen Patienten wird die Kombination von HRCT und Lungenfunktionstest empfohlen, optional die Sauerstoffmessung vor und nach Belastung. Dasselbe gilt für das Monitoring bei diagnostizierter SARD-ILD, wobei es keine klaren Empfehlungen für eine serielle Bildgebung mittels HRCT gibt. Eine gute Datenlage für die Frequenz von Rescreening und Monitoring fehlt, sodass eine individuelle Abwägung basierend auf Risikofaktoren empfohlen wird. Dieser Artikel ordnet die aktuell verfügbaren Empfehlungen in einen größeren Kontext ein und berücksichtigt dabei auch die neue Datenlage. Das Management dieser Patienten sollte in einem interdisziplinären und interprofessionellen Team erfolgen, um der Komplexität dieser z. T. sehr seltenen Krankheitsbilder Rechnung zu tragen.
From Masters of Slaves to Lords of Lands
Authors: Whitman James Q.
Published: November 2024

Today we think of land as the paradigmatic example of property, while in the past, the paradigmatic example was often a slave. In this seminal work, James Q. Whitman asserts that there is no natural form of ownership. Whitman dives deep into the long Western history of this transformation in the legal imagination – the transformation from the ownership of humans and other living creatures to the ownership of land. This change extended over many centuries, coming to fruition only on the threshold of the modern era. It brought with it profound changes, not only in the way we understand ownership but also in the way we understand the state. Its most dramatic consequence arrived in the nineteenth century, with the final disappearance of the lawful private ownership of humans, which had been taken for granted for thousands of years.
A Woman's Job
Authors: Islam Asiya
Published: November 2024

Against the backdrop of rapid socio-economic change in post-1990 India, scholars and policy makers have expressed surprise at the low rate of women's participation in the workforce, particularly in urban areas. A Woman's Job presents a unique urban ethnography of young lower middle class women's lives in Delhi as they weave in and out of service employment, education, and domestic contracts. Urban, educated, and skilled, these young women seek employment in cafes, malls, call centres, and offices in the globalising landscape of Delhi. Their participation in work enables access to 'things', such as, jeans, smartphones, English language, and the metro, that symbolise global modernity. However, caught in a web of gender, class, and caste inequalities, their identification as 'working' women also generates social anxieties. The book shows how women adopt 'middle-ness' as a strategy of life-making at the multiple sites of work, home, and leisure.
Wake dynamics of wind turbines in unsteady streamwise flow conditions
Authors: Wei Nathaniel J. , El Makdah Adnan , Hu JiaCheng , Kaiser Frieder , Rival David E. , Dabiri John O.
Published: November 2024

The unsteady flow physics of wind-turbine wakes under dynamic forcing conditions are critical to the modelling and control of wind farms for optimal power density. Unsteady forcing in the streamwise direction may be generated by unsteady inflow conditions in the atmospheric boundary layer, dynamic induction control of the turbine or streamwise surge motions of a floating offshore wind turbine due to floating-platform oscillations. This study seeks to identify the dominant flow mechanisms in unsteady wakes forced by a periodic upstream inflow condition. A theoretical framework for the problem is derived, which describes travelling-wave undulations in the wake radius and streamwise velocity. These dynamics encourage the aggregation of tip vortices into large structures that are advected along in the wake. Flow measurements in the wake of a periodically surging turbine were obtained in an optically accessible towing-tank facility, with an average diameter-based Reynolds number of 300 000 and with surge-velocity amplitudes of up to 40 % of the mean inflow velocity. Qualitative agreement between trends in the measurements and model predictions is observed, supporting the validity of the theoretical analyses. The experiments also demonstrate large enhancements in the recovery of the wake relative to the steady-flow case, with wake-length reductions of up to 46.5 % and improvements in the available power at 10 diameters downstream of up to 15.7 %. These results provide fundamental insights into the dynamics of unsteady wakes and serve as additional evidence that unsteady fluid mechanics can be leveraged to increase the power density of wind farms.
Isometric dilations for representations of product systems
Authors: Barik Sibaprasad , Bhattacharjee Monojit , Solel Baruch
Published: November 2024

We discuss representations of product systems (of

$W^*$

-correspondences) over the semigroup

$\mathbb{Z}^n_+$

and show that, under certain pureness and Szegö positivity conditions, a completely contractive representation can be dilated to an isometric representation. For

$n=1,2$

this is known to hold in general (without assuming the conditions), but for

$n\geq 3$

, it does not hold in general (as is known for the special case of isometric dilations of a tuple of commuting contractions). Restricting to the case of tuples of commuting contractions, our result reduces to a result of Barik, Das, Haria, and Sarkar (Isometric dilations and von Neumann inequality for a class of tuples in the polydisc. Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 372 (2019), 1429–1450). Our dilation is explicitly constructed, and we present some applications.
On finite presentability of subsemigroups of the monogenic free inverse semigroup
Authors: Cho Jung Won , Ruškuc Nik
Published: November 2024

The monogenic free inverse semigroup

$FI_1$

is not finitely presented as a semigroup due to the classic result by Schein (1975). We extend this result and prove that a finitely generated subsemigroup of

$FI_1$

is finitely presented if and only if it contains only finitely many idempotents. As a consequence, we derive that an inverse subsemigroup of

$FI_1$

is finitely presented as a semigroup if and only if it is a finite semilattice.
Optimization of sampling structure on unmanned aerial vehicle for gas leakage monitoring in the atmosphere
Authors: Ma Denglong , Guo Sicheng , Zhou Yuxiang
Published: November 2024

In order to make a fast and accurate response to gas leakage event, e.g. gas leakage in hydrogen storage station, it is very important to identify and locate the leakage source accurately and quickly. Due to the flexibility and the adaptability of robots to harsh environments, leakage source tracing based on mobile robots has attracted more and more attention. However, the existing ground robots are limited by the ground environment and thus it is difficult to trace and locate the leakage in the complex environment with ground robots. Although unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can overcome the limitation of ground obstacles, there are still some problems in the accuracy and reliability of gas sampling due to the interference of flow field caused by UAV rotors to the surrounding gases. Based on computational fluid dynamic simulation, a simulation model of UAV with four rotors was established. Combined with test experiments, the influence of flow field around UAV on gas sampling under different UAV speeds, rotors assembly structures, leakage, and sampling conditions was analyzed and investigated. The optimized UAV assembly structure and gas sensor installation position were determined and verified by the simulations and experiments. The results showed that the sensor was less affected by the rotor airflow when the UAV rotor was reversely assembled and the gases were sampled above the UAV. This research can provide a guidance for gas sampling for emission source tracing with UAV for process safety management of energy gas storage.
A systematic evaluation of different indoor localization methods in robotic autonomous luggage trolley collection at airports
Authors: Sun Zhirui , Chen Weinan , He Can , Wang Jiankun
Published: November 2024

This article addresses the localization problem in robotic autonomous luggage trolley collection at airports and provides a systematic evaluation of different methods to solve it. The robotic autonomous luggage trolley collection is a complex system that involves object detection, localization, motion planning and control, manipulation, etc. Among these components, effective localization is essential for the robot to employ subsequent motion planning and end-effector manipulation because it can provide a correct goal position. This article explores four popular and representative localization methods for object localization in luggage trolley collection: radio frequency identification (RFID), Keypoints, ultrawideband (UWB), and Reflectors. A qualitative evaluation framework is constructed to assess performance, encompassing Localization Accuracy, Mobile Power Supplies, Coverage Area, Cost, and Scalability. Furthermore, a series of quantitative experiments concerning Localization Accuracy and Success Rate have been conducted on a real-world robotic autonomous luggage trolley collection system. The performance of various localization methods is further analyzed based on experimental results, indicating that the Keypoints method is optimally suited for indoor environments to facilitate luggage trolley collection. Significantly, these experiment results provide a valuable reference point, extending the application of indoor localization methods across diverse scenarios. A website about this work is available at https://sites.google.com/view/localization-evaluation/.
Policy Feedback, Energy Equity, and Climate Justice: Can Existing Policies Improve Solar Access for Low- and Moderate-Income Communities in the United States?
Authors: Datta Aparajita
Published: November 2024

Despite the proliferation of rooftop solar in the United States, its deployment and associated benefits have not been distributed equitably. Many states have adopted targeted incentives to improve access to rooftop solar and increase its uptake among low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities. This article examines the policy feedback effects of energy efficiency policies and electricity-sector portfolio standards on the adoption and diffusion of LMI solar incentives across states. Event History Analyses indicate that between 2010 and 2019, the adoption and diffusion of the incentives have been conditional on a state’s portfolio standards but independent of energy efficiency policies. Feedback effects from the portfolio standards in neighboring states are found to have a regressive impact on the likelihood of adoption. Hence, the feedback effects of previously adopted renewable energy policies are helping states to better serve vulnerable communities. However, there is no evidence of geographic clustering in the diffusion of incentives.
Paying attention to verb-noun collocations among returnees and heritage speakers: How vulnerable are L2 English collocations to attrition?
Authors: Alraddadi Hadil , Aveledo Fraibet , Hangelbroek Roland , Treffers-Daller Jeanine
Published: November 2024

It is well established that verb-noun collocations are difficult for L2 learners, but little is known about the extent to which such collocations are vulnerable to attrition under conditions of reduced input. The study is novel in that we focus on L2 attrition rather than L1 attrition, and because we focus on Saudi Arabian returnees, who have so far hardly been studied. These are compared to child, adolescent and adult heritage speakers in the US. Receptive knowledge of English collocations was measured with a novel online acceptability judgement task and an online gap-filling task. We found that child returnees experienced more difficulties than the adolescent returnees, because the child returnees had not acquired collocations to the same extent as the adolescent returnees, and they experienced more crosslinguistic influence from Arabic. The current study also provides some counter evidence against the claim that every bilingual is an attriter.
Strengthening the governance of food systems for nutrition in Africa: a political economy analysis of food policy in South Africa and Ghana
Authors: Thow Anne Marie , Neves David , Aidoo Robert , Aduku Linda Nana Esi , Moyo Busiso , Apprey Charles , Kroll Florian , Annan Reginald
Published: November 2024

Objective:

To examine underlying political economy factors that enable or impede the integration of nutrition considerations into food system governance.

Design:

Comparative political economy analysis of data collected through (1) value chain analyses of selected healthy and unhealthy commodities and (2) food system policy analyses, using a theoretical framework focused on power, politics, interests and ideas.

Setting:

Ghana and South Africa.

Participants:

Value chain actors relevant to healthy and unhealthy foods (Ghana n 121; South Africa n 72) and policy stakeholders from government (Health, Agriculture, Trade and Industry, Finance), academia, civil society, development partners, Civil Society Organization (CSO) and private sector (Ghana n 28; South Africa n 48).

Results:

Nutrition was a stated policy priority in both countries; however, policy responsibility was located within the health sector, with limited integration of nutrition into food system sectors (including Agriculture, Trade and Industry). Contributing factors included a conceptions of policy responsibilities for nutrition and food systems, dominant ideas and narratives regarding the economic role of the food industry and the purpose of food system policy, the influence of large food industry actors, and limited institutional structures for cross-sectoral engagement and coordination.

Conclusions:

Integrating nutrition into multi-sectoral food policy to achieve multiple food system policy goals will require strategic action across jurisdictions and regional levels. Opportunities included increasing investment in healthy traditional foods, strengthening urban/rural linkages and informal food systems, and strengthening institutional structures for policy coherence and coordination related to nutrition.
Early structured communication between general practitioner, sick-listed patient, and employer: Results and lessons learned from a pragmatic trial in the Capacity Note project
Authors: Nordling Paula , Nwaru Chioma , Nordeman Lena , Skoglund Ingmarie , Larsson Maria E.H. , Björkelund Cecilia , Hensing Gunnel
Published: November 2024

Background and Objective

Early and collaborative interventions are desirable to prevent long-term sick leave and promote sustainable return-to-work (RTW). The aim of this study was to evaluate if the use of the Capacity Note – a brief intervention promoting early and structured communication between general practitioners (GPs), patients, and employers – had an impact on length of sick leave in patients with common mental disorders (CMDs) in primary healthcare.

Method

In a pragmatic trial, GPs at eight primary healthcare centres were randomized to provide the intervention or control and recruited eligible patients: employed women and men, 18-64 years, who visited a GP due to CMD and became or were (<4 months) full- or part-time sick-listed. Patients in the intervention group (n=28) used the Capacity Note in addition to usual care. Patients in the control group (n=28) received usual care. Outcomes of interest were time until full RTW, sick leave status at end of follow-up (17 months), number of sick leave episodes during follow-up, and number of sick leave days at 6, 12, and 17 months of follow-up.

Results

The proportion of patients with full RTW at the end of follow-up was 79.2% in the intervention group and 84.6% in the control group. Time until full RTW was 102 and 90 days (median) in intervention and control group, respectively. We found no statistically significant differences between the groups for any of the outcomes.

Discussion

Despite efforts to increase the number of participants, the study ended up with a small sample. This prohibited us from drawing any final conclusions about the effect of the intervention. Obstacles to recruitment of patients and use of the intervention are discussed.
(Fear of) SARS-CoV-2 infection and psychological distress: a population-based cohort study in southern Switzerland
Authors: Sculco C. , Bano B. , Piumatti G. , Amati R. , Barbui C. , Crivelli L. , Purgato M. , Albanese E.
Published: November 2024

Aims

It is widely recognized that the COVID-19 pandemic exerted an impact on the mental health of the general population, but epidemiological evidence is surprisingly sparse. We aimed to explore the association between serologically confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and psychological distress – assessed by symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress – in the general adult population in southern Switzerland, a region widely affected by the pandemic. We also investigated whether this association varied over time and between pandemic waves from late 2020 through 2021.

Methods

We used data from 305 adults who participated in the Corona Immunitas Ticino prospective seroprevalence study in southern Switzerland, including results of the serological tests of SARS-CoV-2 infection collected in June 2021, and explored associations with depression, anxiety and stress scores as measured by the 21-item Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale at three time points between December 2020 and August 2021, accounting for socio-demographic and health characteristics.

Results

In our sample, 84.3% of the participants (mean age of 51.30 years, SD = ±.93) were seronegative at baseline. Seropositive (i.e., infected) participants had a decreasing probability of being depressed and anxious through the COVID-19 pandemic waves compared to the seronegative (non-infected) participants. Further, seropositivity at baseline was also associated with more rapid decline in depressive, anxiety and stress symptomatology, and younger age and the presence of chronic diseases were independently associated with mild anxiety (OR = .97; P = 0.013; 95% CI = 0.95, 0.99; OR = 3.47; P = 0.001; 95% CI = 1.71, 7.04) and stress (OR = .96; P = 0.003; 95% CI = .94, .99; OR = 2.56; P = 0.010; 95% CI = 1.25, 5.22).

Conclusions

Our results suggest that the MH consequences of the pandemic may not be due to the SARS-CoV-2 infection per se, but to fears associated with the risk of infection, and to the pandemic uncertainties.
A Comparison of the P300 Associated With the Visual Discrimination of Geometric Pictures, English Letters, and Chinese Radicals
Authors: Li Fei , Xu Xu
Published: November 2024

Abstract: The P300 in the oddball task has long been utilized to investigate the processing of a wide range of stimuli, including perceptual objects and linguistic items. The comparability of the features and thus the functions of the P300 across domains however needs a closer examination. In this study, 55 healthy participants (27 men and 28 women; mean age = 21.8±2.2 years) completed three separate tasks with an identical 3-stimulus (target, distractor, and standard) oddball paradigm, but different visual objects (geometric pictures, English letters, and Chinese radicals, respectively). Assessing the two subcomponents (P3b and P3a) of the P300 in terms of latency, amplitude, and topography, the analysis revealed that the ERPs associated with the visual discrimination of letters and radicals were different from those associated with pictures. Specifically, in the picture task, the target elicited the P3b with a centroparietal maximum, whereas the distractor elicited the P3a with a frontocentral maximum and an earlier peak, that is, the surprisal effect. Both the target and the distractor however generated the P3b in the letter and the radical tasks. Further, whereas the letter target, the radical target, and the radical distractor appeared similar in P3b latency and amplitude, the letter distractor showed an attenuated and delayed P3b, suggesting lesser interference. These P300 effects document the similarities and differences of processing English letters versus Chinese radicals, both different from processing geometric pictures, and help to promote more precise knowledge transfer and theory generalization across domains. The mechanisms underlying the visual discrimination of these different research objects are discussed in light of these comparisons.
Revisiting Tide‐Induced Near‐Field Mixing in the Abyssal Ocean
Authors: Hibiya Toshiyuki , Tanaka Yuki , Nagai Taira , Hirano Yusuke
Published: November 2024

Vertical two‐dimensional numerical experiments incorporating Garrett‐Munk (GM) internal waves are conducted to investigate tide‐induced near‐field mixing over a finite‐amplitude sinusoidal seafloor, conventionally attributed to the breaking of high‐wavenumber internal tidal waves. Turbulent mixing is characterized by tidal excursion parameter (Te) and topographic steepness parameter (Sp) measuring tidal current strength and seafloor slope gradient, respectively. Under strong tidal currents (Te > 1), high‐wavenumber internal lee waves propagate upward from the seafloor. Even when Te and Sp are set to produce nearly the same upward energy flux, the vertical profile of mixing hotspots varies with Sp. For Sp 0.2, near‐inertial currents above the seafloor rapidly amplify by absorbing energy of internal lee waves from below, hindering their upward propagation and creating “short mixing hotspots.” For Sp < 0.2, these near‐inertial currents diminish, allowing internal lee waves to propagate upward and interact with the GM background internal waves, creating “tall mixing hotspots.”
On the Size of Dominant Momentum Transporting Eddies in Stable Atmospheric Boundary Layers
Authors: Shao Xin , Zhang Ning , Li Dan , Sun Jianning
Published: November 2024

The size of dominant momentum transporting eddies in stable atmospheric boundary layers is poorly understood. This study demonstrates that the distance to the ground z is relevant in constraining in weakly stable conditions (, where is the stability parameter) and less relevant in moderately stable conditions (). The widely used Ozmidov scale, however, fails to represent in moderately stable conditions. The low‐wavenumber ends of the −5/3 scaling law regions in the spanwise and vertical velocity spectra correlate better with a shear‐related length scale. Based on the characteristics of velocity spectra and the balance between kinetic energy and potential energy, a new length scale is proposed to indicate for moderately stable conditions. Observational data show that this new length scale effectively characterizes in moderately stable conditions. These findings can help develop better turbulence parameterization schemes for stable atmospheric boundary layers.