bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Decision-making support: the impact of training on disability support workers who work with adults with cognitive disability
Authors: Koritsas Stella
Published: May 2022

There is growing recognition that people with disability have the right to be involved in making decisions that affect their lives. Decision-making support has emerged as one way to support people with cognitive disability to make decisions, however, there is a paucity of research that explores how disability support workers can be upskilled to provide decision-making support to this group. The aim of the research was to explore the impact of an evidence-based online training course on disability support workers of adults with cognitive disability. Changes in knowledge about decision-making support and confidence in providing decision-making support were explored, attitudes towards decision-making support, and facilitators and barriers. Participants completed an online training course and responded to a survey on three occasions: baseline, post-training, and at 2-month follow-up. Ninety-nine disability support workers across Australia participated in the online training and completed the baseline and post-training surveys. Thirty-six participants completed the training and all three surveys. The results revealed that there were statistically significant improvements in knowledge, confidence, and attitudes from baseline to post-training, which were maintained at 2-month follow-up. Barriers to decision-making support included service providers or other supporters, including the family of the person with cognitive disability, whilst a key enabler was knowing about the decision-making support principles. This research demonstrates that an evidence-based online training course about decision-making support can be effective in building capacity in disability support workers. There are, however, several barriers that must be addressed to facilitate the implementation of decision-making support.
From Modeled Topics to Areas of Law: A Comparative Analysis of Types of Proceedings in the German Federal Constitutional Court
Authors: Wendel Luisa , Shadrova Anna , Tischbirek Alexander
Published: May 2022

Quantitative approaches are gaining popularity in German legal research. The analysis of large corpora of legal text may be supported by text mining methods. In this study, we employ topic modeling—which aims at retrieving the “topics” of a corpus—to identify words related to certain areas of law present in the case law of the German Federal Constitutional Court (FCC). This information is then evaluated by legal experts and used to show significant content-related differences between the two most frequent types of proceedings before the FCC. Technical and somewhat unstable areas of law, such as tax law, social law, and civil service law, are significantly overrepresented in referrals for judicial review, whereas areas of law characterized by well-developed case law and judicial doctrine appear substantially more often in constitutional complaints. This insight may come as a surprise due to the fact that the Court’s material scope of review is identical in both types of proceedings. Our considerations do not, however, seem to apply to private law. Though we recognize the methodological and epistemological concerns regarding the heuristic nature of topic modeling, this study exemplifies its productive use in complementing, rather than replacing, more traditional techniques of analysis in legal studies.
Toward a Nonbinary Model of Gender/Sex Traits
Authors: Ziemińska Renata
Published: May 2022

I argue against the exclusive female/male divide, referring to the phenomenon of epistemic injustice in the cases of people with nonbinary gender identities and people with intersex traits. Such people have traits that are counterexamples to the binary female/male model. I have separated female and male traits into nine basic layers, five of which belong to sex (chromosomes, gonads, internal sex organs, external genitals, and secondary sex characteristics) and four to gender (gender identity, legal gender, external gender presentation, and gender pronouns). In every layer, I have found traits that are neither female nor male, and the application of the model to individuals provides examples of clusters of traits for which one layer is male and another female. Such traits and clusters of traits create the category of the nonbinary. Table 1 provides a sketch of a nonbinary model. The nonbinary category takes its name from the existing category of nonbinary gender identity; however, in the current model, it is a third category of traits, not of people. Under the nonbinary model, the basic gender concepts do not disappear.Sis a woman ifSis a human being with enough female traits, and the trait of having self-determined female gender identity is sufficient but not necessary.
Designers as Change Agents: Perceived Roles in Advancing Sustainability in Organizations on Different Design Utilization Levels
Authors: van der Marel F. , Björklund T.
Published: May 2022

Design scholarship has long roots in tackling wicked problems and sustainability, yet less is known about how professional designers interact with sustainability issues in practice. Based on interviews with 104 designers in 101 organizations in Finland, this study compares designer perceptions on the role of design in advancing sustainability. We identify six common roles, each with various foci on different design maturity levels in organisations. The findings support managers and designers in understanding which capabilities might be needed in advancing the role of design and sustainability.
Forecasting the Number of End-of-Life Vehicles: State of the Art Report
Authors: Xia H. , Han J. , Milisavljevic-Syed J.
Published: May 2022

Academics and practitioners have shown a growing interest in automobile reverse supply chain (RSC) management as a result of the rise of circular economy and the development of Industry 4.0. Accurate quantity prediction enhances the efficiency of all decision levels in automobile RSC, not only the recovery of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs). Therefore, a comprehensive state-of-the-art review, evaluating ELVs quantity forecasting methodologies and summarizing the main variables influencing forecasting outcomes, is conducted to throw shed light on future research directions.
Data-Driven Design Support for Additively Manufactured Heating Elements
Authors: Hilbig K. , Nowka M. , Redeker J. , Watschke H. , Friesen V. , Duden A. , Vietor T.
Published: May 2022

Additive Manufacturing (AM) enables innovative product designs. One promising research field is AM of integrated electrically structures, e.g. heating panels using Joule effect. A mayor challenge in designing heating panels using AM is the dependency of its resultant resistivity from material, process and geometry parameters. The goal-oriented design of heating panels with individual surface temperatures the interactions between these parameters need to be understand. Therefore, a data-driven design approach is developed that facilitates a design of heating panels with specific properties.
Evaluate Similarity of Requirements with Multilingual Natural Language Processing
Authors: Bisang U. , Brünnhäußer J. , Lünnemann P. , Kirsch L. , Lindow K.
Published: May 2022

Finding redundant requirements or semantically similar ones in previous projects is a very time-consuming task in engineering design, especially with multilingual data. Due to modern NLP it is possible to automate such tasks. In this paper we compared different multilingual embeddings models to see which of them is the most suitable to find similar requirements in English and German. The comparison was done for both in-domain data (requirements pairs) and out-of-domain data (general sentence pairs). The most suitable model were sentence embeddings learnt with knowledge distillation.
Design of an Intrinsically Motivating AR Experience for Environmental Awareness
Authors: Porro S. , Spadoni E. , Bordegoni M. , Carulli M.
Published: May 2022

Augmented Reality seems a promising tool to provide engaging and effective educational experiences, thanks to its potentiality in stimulating intrinsic motivation, that could influence the learning process and the attitude of the users towards behaviours. This paper presents the Resized Plastic Augmented Reality learning experience, designed on the basis of Dunleavy's framework to provide a systemic overview of the microplastics issue to allow users to understand its mechanisms, educate them about their role in the system and help them to connect this information to their everyday actions.
Exploiting 3D Variational Autoencoders for Interactive Vehicle Design
Authors: Saha S. , Minku L. L. , Yao X. , Sendhoff B. , Menzel S.
Published: May 2022

In automotive digital development, 3D prototype creation is a team effort of designers and engineers, each contributing with ideas and technical evaluations through means of computer simulations. To support the team in the 3D design ideation and exploration task, we propose an interactive design system for assisted design explorations and faster performance estimations. We utilize the advantage of deep learning-based autoencoders to create a low-dimensional latent manifold of 3D designs, which is utilized within an interactive user interface to guide and strengthen the decision-making process.
Digital Artefacts and The Role of Digital Affordance
Authors: Colombo S. , Montagna F. , Cascini G. , Palazzolo V. F.
Published: May 2022

This work investigates how the concept of affordance should be revised following the digital evolution. Starting from a review of the literature about affordance, the most acknowledged constructs are compared with the variegated definitions of digital artefacts. The paper proposes a definition of digital affordance, overcoming the inconsistencies identified in the literature. The study is enriched by a series of interviews to investigate the final users' perception of affordance. Finally, the paper shows the application of the proposed model with a case study related to food delivery services.
Understanding Industry 4.0 Digital Transformation
Authors: Brisco R.
Published: May 2022

The concept of Industry 4.0 has motivated large engineering sectors towards a common focus for improvement. Academics have capitalised on the common language, shared motivation and marketability of Industry 4.0. The potential and perceived benefits of Industry 4.0 are clear within academia and beyond. However, are engineering companies ready for the digital transformation associated? and, can Industry 4.0 be achieved by SMEs? In this paper, we investigate these questions through activity on project road mapping with 4 Scottish companies to reveal Industry 4.0 readiness and literacy.
Coping Asynchronous Modular Product Design by Modelling a Systems-in-System
Authors: Zuefle M. , Muschik S. , Bursac N. , Krause D.
Published: May 2022

This paper analyzes the potential of crossdisciplinary collaboration in the methodical development of Modular Design by harmonization asynchronous mechatronic system structures. Subsystem boundaries in multidisciplinary development processes are set disciplinespecific, resulting in inconsistencies in module fitting. Based on a case study, harmonization of disciplines is elaborated as a solution. This aligns discipline structures and reduces effects on the variety in system structures.This implementation shows support for modular design and enables an integrated view as a systems-in-system.
Pro2Booth: Towards an Improved Tool for Capturing Prototypes and the Prototyping Process
Authors: Giunta L. , Gopsill J. , Kent L. , Goudswaard M. , Snider C. , Hicks B.
Published: May 2022

The act of prototyping is a key element of the design process. However, capturing information on how prototypes evolve and influence one another is a complex problem. This paper presents an iterative evolution to a prototyping capture platform, termed Pro2Booth, designed to address the shortcomings encountered in previous systems. The Pro2Booth hardware and online software described in this paper provide a new baseline for future innovation and exploration of the prototype capture process.
A Procedure Model for the Systematic Sensor Selection and Integration into Technical Systems
Authors: Hausmann M. , Häfner L. , Kirchner E.
Published: May 2022

New sensor solutions are under development in the context of digitalization in order to integrate sensory functions into systems. When integrating sensors, the three domains of mechanical, electrical and information engineering must be considered. This results in complex development processes that require suitable procedure models. However, specific procedure models for sensor selection and integration are missing. This contribution proposes a procedure model for sensor selection and integration on the basis of the Munich Procedure Model (MPM) and gives an outlook on open research questions.
Toward a Method for Evaluating the Applicability of Aluminum Foam Sandwich
Authors: Hommel P. , Roth D. , Binz H. , Kreimeyer M.
Published: May 2022

Aluminum foam sandwich (AFS) is an innovative material for lightweight structures due to its various advantages (e.g. low specific mass). Today, many material properties (e.g. strength) are still not well researched, which is why AFS is not yet considered in current material selection processes. Therefore, AFS has rarely been used in the past and its application potential remains unused. This paper presents an approach toward an appropriate method for considering AFS in material selection processes to assist designers in evaluating whether the use of AFS in an application is profitable.
Procedure to Create an Automated Design Environment for Functional Assemblies
Authors: Osman A. , Kutay Y. , Mozgova I. , Lachmayer R.
Published: May 2022

Manually exploring the solution space for different variants of a product for a given set of requirements is ineffective regarding product development time and adaptation to dynamic customer requirements. Variant generation coupled to optimization algorithms offers possibilities to search the solution space in an automated way. This paper provides a framework to build a generative parametric design environment for functional assemblies by implementing analysis as well as synthesis methods in computer-aided tools. The procedure is presented using the example of a coffee machine.
Application of Expert Systems for Personalizing Financial Decisions
Authors: Shafiee S. , Marjani Rasmussen K. , Schäffer E. , Marr Nielsen M.
Published: May 2022

Due to the complexity of financial products, consumers with low financial literacy are left behind. However, few practical studies investigated the impact of digital advisory systems to improve customer experience. Configuration systems, as the most popular expert systems, have never been applied as a financial tool. In this study, we explore the application of configuration systems to educate consumers in achieving their financial goals. The results highlight multiple benefits from using the configurator, including greater financial literacy and improved individual financial decision-making.
Metamorphic evolution of the Sittampundi Layered Complex, India, during the Archaean–Proterozoic boundary: insight from pseudosection modelling and zircon U–Pb SHRIMP geochronology
Authors: Chatterjee Amitava , Oh Chang Whan , Lee Byung Choon , Das Kaushik , Hidaka Hiroshi
Published: May 2022

In the Palghat–Cauvery Shear/Suture Zone of the Southern Granulite Terrane, the Sittampundi Layered Complex occurs as a mappable unit. The Sittampundi Layered Complex consists of mafic, ultramafic and anorthositic rocks with chromitite layers and has been interpreted as an arc/ophiolite complex that formed in an Archaean suprasubduction zone arc setting. In the Sittampundi Layered Complex, reddish-black metabasites occur as layers or boudins with a rim of amphibolite within anorthosite. The peak metamorphic assemblage of the metabasites is garnet + clinopyroxene + quartz + rutile ± plagioclase ± orthopyroxene, and symplectite consisting of amphibole and plagioclase formed around the garnet during retrograde metamorphism. The protolith of metabasite may have intruded in a suprasubduction zone arc setting during the late Neoarchaean (c.2540–2520 Ma), and then underwent high-pressure granulite-facies peak metamorphism (900–800 °C and 11–14 kbar) in the early Palaeoproterozoic (c.2460–2440 Ma), followed by amphibolite-facies metamorphism (550–480 °C and 5.5–4.5 kbar) in the middle Palaeoproterozoic (c.1900–1850 Ma). The results obtained in this study, together with previous studies, indicate that: (1) the high-pressure granulite-facies metamorphism in the study area indicates that subduction occurred during the Archaean–Proterozoic boundary with a higher apparent average geothermal gradient (∼20–16 °C km−1) than the modern-day Earth, and (2) the apparent average geothermal gradient of the subduction zone was ∼29–14 °C km−1during the Archaean–Proterozoic boundary, which was still too high to enter the realm of eclogite-facies metamorphism.
A new approach to palynostratigraphy of the middle–late Famennian Gafo Formation, southern sector of the Pulo do Lobo Domain, SW Iberia (Portugal and Spain)
Authors: Mendes Márcia , Pereira Zélia , Vaz Nuno , Díez-Montes Alejandro , Matos João X. , Albardeiro Luis , Fernandes Paulo , Jorge Raul , Chew David
Published: May 2022

New palynological results from the Gafo Formation (southern sector of the Pulo do Lobo Domain, South Portuguese Zone) are integrated with recently studied sections and drillholes from the Portuguese and Spanish sectors. A total of 44 samples were studied, 27 of which were positive for palynomorph taxonomy. This research revealed well preserved palynological assemblages, including 73 spore species allocated to 28 genera, four acritarch genera, three prasinophyte algae genera plus common chitinozoan remains. Some additional forms were retained under open nomenclature. From this, the first complete age determination for the Gafo Formation in Portugal and Spain was achieved, indicating a middle Famennian (Grandispora gracilis–Grandispora famenensis, GF Biozone) to a late Famennian (Grandispora echinata, VH Biozone) age. A greywacke sample from the same Gafo Formation was dated by U–Pb zircon geochronology and a maximum depositional age of 369 ± 2.5 Ma was obtained. A correlation between these palynological and U–Pb zircon data and the palynoflora assemblages of previous authors was made, as well as with the ages of felsic volcanic rocks found intercalated in the Gafo Formation, confirming the complex stratigraphy of Pulo do Lobo Domain. The results are consistent with stratigraphic mapping and structural interpretations, allowing a middle–late Famennian age (GF and VH Biozone) to be assigned to the Gafo Formation sedimentary rocks. This work has also contributed to a reinterpretation of Gafo Formation depositional facies correlatives (e.g. the Santa Barbara Group in Spain) as being the same lithological unit.
The Last Embers of British Fundamentalism
Authors: RUOTSILA MARKKU MIKAEL
Published: May 2022

This article unearths the little-remembered history of British fundamentalist organisations of the Cold War era. These bodies constituted the last embers of an organised movement in Britain: the British Evangelical Council after 1953; the English Consultative Committee and the British Council of Protestant Christian Churches from the mid-1950s; the Christian Bible Unity Fellowship in the 1960s; and the British and European Reformation Fellowship in the 1980s. Based on archival and published material, the article argues that these organisations tried to render US-style fundamentalism into a new Anglicised version, but that each failed due to confessional disagreements and personal rivalries.
Natural history collections reveal species richness on a small isolated tropical island: the bats of Siberut
Authors: Aninta Sabhrina Gita , Noerfahmy Sephy , Wiantoro Sigit , Iskandar Djoko T.
Published: May 2022

The paucity of biodiversity assessments in the Palaeotropics has constrained recommendations for tropical forest conservation in areas such as Siberut, one of the Mentawai Islands in Indonesia known for its high endemicity. Taking advantage of information from museum collections amassed from the Indo-Malaya archipelago from the early 20th century onwards, we show how species records available through online databases of natural history collections can be used to assess the state of biodiversity when used in conjunction with a field survey, using bat species on Siberut as a study case. We obtained a total of 15 years of records from 1903 to 2013 (following searches of databases up to 2020), documenting 20 bat species on Siberut. Of these, our field survey contributed records of three additional species not previously recorded on the island. The species accumulation curve has not levelled off, suggesting that future surveys may discover additional bat species and highlighting Siberut's importance as bat habitat and source of tropical biodiversity.
Fiscal policy preferences, trade-offs, and support for social investment
Authors: Bremer Björn , Busemeyer Marius R.
Published: May 2022

A common finding in the literature is that social investment policies are broadly popular among citizens but still politically difficult to implement. This article provides a partial answer to this puzzle by exploring the fiscal trade-offs associated with such a recalibration. Based on survey data from eight Western European countries, it first explores citizens’ fiscal policy preferences with regard to the preferred size of the public sector and the distribution of spending across different subsectors. These preferences are then shown to be significantly associated with attitudes towards fiscal trade-offs regarding the expansion of social investment policies. The results reveal a political dilemma for policy-makers keen on expanding social investment: People who traditionally support a large public sector and more welfare state spending tend to oppose redistributing spending towards social investment, whereas support for such a recalibration is higher among those who have a sceptical view on public spending.
Towards a unified approach to superior responsibility in international criminal law: Establishing the links between participation to the crime and the superior responsibility doctrine
Authors: Kotzamani Panagiota
Published: May 2022

It has been widely evidenced that international crimes are collective in nature and involve individuals acting through an organized structure. Thus, besides punishing the physical perpetrators, an important task for international criminal law is to develop the proper doctrines to attribute responsibility to those on top of such organizations. In this direction, the concept of superior responsibility becomes highly relevant, attributing liability to military or civilian superiors for their failure to prevent the crimes of their subordinates. Nevertheless, international criminal law has not yet developed a concrete approach to the nature and application of the superior responsibility doctrine. To overcome this shortcoming, this article identifies the links between the superior responsibility doctrine and the theoretical framework of attributing criminal responsibility to the individual for the commission of international crimes. Developing on omission theory, it suggests an alternative theoretical approach to the superior responsibility doctrine, which combines the theory of control already applied in the case law of the International Criminal Court (ICC) with the mens rea requirements of the ICC Statute.
HIV epidemic amidst COVID-19 pandemic in India: a conundrum for the country's healthcare system
Authors: Ray Ishita , Hasan Mohammad Mehedi , Shah Pritik A , Sahito Abdul Moiz , Sarkar Anusua , Ghosh Diya , Bardhan Mainak , Mukerjee Nobendu , Essar Mohammad Yasir
Published: May 2022

India has the third-largest burden of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the world. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has only exposed the cracks in the Indian healthcare infrastructure concerning HIV. The prevalence of HIV in India is more among the destitute or sections of society shrouded by years of social stigma such as prostitutes, truck drivers, transsexuals and intravenous drug users. National AIDS Control Organisation and The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) organisation have many several efforts over the years to set up counselling and testing centres all over the country and spread awareness about HIV among the masses. COVID-19 pandemic has reversed years of progress made by the same. HIV patients are biologically more susceptible to COVID-19, and the lockdown has led to the loss of jobs, economic crises, shortage of drugs and necessities such as food and housing among this vulnerable population, which can result in lowered CD4-T cell counts in the coming months and make way for dangerous opportunistic infection outbreaks in this population increasing the overall HIV burden of India. This article explores how COVID-19 has impacted India's already existing HIV epidemic and tries to put forth recommendations based on the evidence found to be better prepared in treating the HIV-positive population in India in the face of another catastrophe like the COVID-19.
WALKING RURAL IN TZACAUIL, YUCATAN, MEXICO
Authors: Fisher Chelsea
Published: May 2022

How were so-called rural Maya settlements experienced by the people who lived in them? In this article, I focus on the archaeology of walking in the small site of Tzacauil, Yucatan (outlying the much larger site of Yaxuna), to explore how experiences of rurality were historically and socially contingent. Walking produces and reproduces embodied understandings of place—and, as such, can yield a more dynamic conceptualization of rurality. In Formative Tzacauil (ca. 300 b.c.–a.d. 250), grounded walking, incorporated with and sensitive to terrain, coexisted alongside groundless walking on artificial surfaces (i.e., sacbes and built walkways) imposed onto terrain. I argue that an understanding of everyday walking in Formative Tzacauil was not unlike that of urbanizing Yaxuna. I propose that only in Classic Tzacauil (ca. a.d. 550–1100) did walking become categorically different from Yaxuna, and I discuss how that shift opens new avenues for inquiry into rurality as an embodied experience of place that was always subject to change.
Smokeless tobacco use and public health nutrition: a global systematic review
Authors: Saxena Shikha , Singh Prashant Kumar , Singh Lucky , Kashyap Shekhar , Singh Shalini
Published: May 2022

Objective:

Tobacco consumption among low- and middle-income countries where food insecurity remains a challenge poses several concerns. This review examines the available global evidence linking smokeless tobacco (SLT) use with public health nutrition and its implications.

Design:

Systematic review of articles extracted from PubMed and Scopus from January 2000 to December 2020.

Setting:

Included studies that demonstrated the relationship between SLT and nutrition-related factors, that is, BMI, malnutrition, anaemia, poor birth outcomes and metabolic disorders. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines have been followed to conduct the systematic evidence review.

Participants:

A total of thirty-four studies were finally used in the systematic review, which included cross-sectional (thirty-one) and cohort (three).

Results:

SLT use has a huge impact on body weight, alteration in taste, poor oral health, and consumption of fruits and vegetables leading to malnutrition. Maternal use of SLT not only leads to anaemia but also hampers birth outcomes. Increased risk of metabolic syndrome and gallstone disease among SLT users are also well documented in the studies.

Conclusion:

The review highlights the linkages between SLT usage and poor nutritional outcomes. Tobacco control efforts should be convergent with public health nutrition to achieve overall health benefits. Attention is also required to explore suitable mechanisms for SLT cessation combined with enhancing food and nutrition security at the community level in sync with investments in public health nutrition intervention.
Electrostatic Contribution to the Photo-Assisted Piezoresponse Force Microscopy by Photo-Induced Surface Charge
Authors: Loo Chin Chyi , Ng Sha Shiong , Chang Wei Sea
Published: May 2022

The surging interest in manipulating the polarization of piezo/ferroelectric materials by means of light has driven an increasing number of studies toward their light-polarization interaction. One way to investigate such interaction is by performing piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) while/after the sample is exposed to light illumination. However, caution must be exercised when analyzing and interpreting the data, as demonstrated in this paper, because sizeable photo-response observed in the PFM amplitude image of the sample is shown to be caused by the electrostatic interaction between the photo-induced surface charge and tip. Through photo-assisted Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM), positive surface potential is found to be developed near the sample's surface under 405 nm light illumination, whose effects on the measured PFM signal is revealed by the comparative studies on its amplitude curves that are obtained using PFM spectroscopy mode with/without illumination. This work exemplifies the need for complementary use of KPFM, PFM imaging mode, and PFM spectroscopy mode in order to distinguish real behavior from artifacts.
Discursive alignment of trafficking, rights and crime control
Authors: Pinto Mattia
Published: May 2022

Since the 1990s, human trafficking has become the battleground for competing discourses on human rights and penality. While rights solutions are generally presented as in opposition to crime-control measures, in the context of anti-trafficking interventions, rights-based initiatives and criminal governance are often linked together both discursively and in practice. Drawing on the findings of Discourse Analysis of 120 texts about trafficking, this paper explores how dominant discourses and alternative voices construct the relationship between human rights and penality. It is contended that penality is framed as a crucial tenet of human rights. Dominant discourses (the ‘law enforcement’ and the ‘victims first’ discourses) link human rights to state coercive action, seen as a necessary component of their effectiveness. Alternative voices (the ‘incompatibility’ and the ‘transformative justice’ discourses) reject the appropriateness of penal intervention, but they end up preserving what they denounce.
Quantifying the Role of Seasonality in the Marine Carbon Cycle Feedback: An ESM2M Case Study
Authors: Fassbender Andrea J. , Schlunegger Sarah , Rodgers Keith B. , Dunne John P.
Published: May 2022

Observations and climate models indicate that changes in the seasonal amplitude of sea surface carbon dioxide partial pressure (A‐pCO2) are underway and driven primarily by anthropogenic carbon (Cant) accumulation in the ocean. This occurs because pCO2 is more responsive to seasonal changes in physics (including warming) and biology in an ocean that contains more Cant. A‐pCO2 changes have the potential to alter annual ocean carbon uptake and contribute to the overall marine carbon cycle feedback. Using the GFDL ESM2M Large Ensemble and a novel analysis framework, we quantify the influence of Cant accumulation on pCO2 seasonal cycles and sea‐air CO2 fluxes. Specifically, we reconstruct alternative evolutions of the contemporary ocean state in which the sensitivity of pCO2 to seasonal thermal and biophysical variation is fixed at preindustrial levels, however the background, mean‐state pCO2 fully responds to anthropogenic forcing. We find near‐global A‐pCO2 increases of >100% by 2100, under RCP8.5 forcing, with rising Cant accounting for ∼100% of thermal and ∼50% of nonthermal pCO2 component amplitude changes. The other ∼50% of nonthermal pCO2 component changes are attributed to modeled changes in ocean physics and biology caused by climate change. Cant‐induced A‐pCO2 changes cause an 8.1 ± 0.4% (ensemble mean ± 1σ) increase in ocean carbon uptake by 2100. This is because greater wintertime wind speeds enhance the impact of wintertime pCO2 changes, which work to increase the ocean carbon sink. Thus, the seasonal ocean carbon cycle feedback works in opposition to the larger, mean‐state feedback that reduces ocean carbon uptake by ∼60%.
Consistent Trends in Dry Spell Length in Recent Observations and Future Projections
Authors: Wainwright Caroline M. , Allan Richard P. , Black Emily
Published: May 2022

We identify global observed changes in dry‐spell characteristics that are consistent with future projections and involve common physical drivers. Future projections of longer dry spells in the dry season increase vegetation water stress and can negatively impact perennial vegetation. Lengthening dry season dry spells of up to ∼2 days per decade over South America and southern Africa and shortening of similar magnitude over West Africa display a qualitatively consistent pattern to future projected changes under the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 2‐4.5 intermediate greenhouse gas emissions scenario. By combining a range of present‐day climate model experiments, recent trends are linked with both natural and human‐caused drivers. Longer dry season dry spells over South America are associated with relative warming of North Atlantic sea surface temperatures and amplified warming over land compared with adjacent oceans; both of which are projected to continue under further warming, suggesting a common driver for recent trends and future projections.
Optimizing ExoMars Rover Remote Sensing Multispectral Science: Cross‐Rover Comparison Using Laboratory and Orbital Data
Authors: Grindrod P. M. , Stabbins R. B. , Motaghian S. , Allender E. J. , Cousins C. R. , Rice M. S. , Stephan K.
Published: May 2022

Multispectral imaging instruments have been core payload components of Mars lander and rover missions for several decades. In order to place into context the future performance of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover, we have carried out a detailed analysis of the spectral performance of three visible and near‐infrared (VNIR) multispectral instruments. We have determined the root mean square error (RMSE) between the expected multispectral sampling of the instruments and high‐resolution spectral reflectance data, using both laboratory spectral libraries and Mars orbital hyperspectral data. ExoMars Panoramic Camera (PanCam) and Mars2020 Perseverance Mastcam‐Z instruments have similar values of RMSE, and are consistently lower than for Mars Science Laboratory Mastcam, across both laboratory and orbital remote sensing data sets. The performance across mineral groups is similar across all instruments, with the lowest RMSE values for hematite, basalt, and basaltic soil. Minerals with broader, or absent, absorption features in these visible wavelengths, such as olivine, saponite, and vermiculite have overall larger RMSE values. Instrument RMSE as a function of filter wavelength and bandwidth suggests that spectral parameters that use shorter wavelengths are likely to perform better. Our simulations of the spectral performance of the PanCam instrument will allow the future use of targeted filter selection during ExoMars 2022 Rosalind Franklin operations on Mars.
Characterizing the Effect of Spatial Heterogeneity and the Deployment of Sampled Plots on the Uncertainty of Ground “Truth” on a Coarse Grid Scale: Case Study for Near‐Infrared (NIR) Surface Reflectance
Authors: Wen Jianguang , Wu Xiaodan , Wang Jingping , Tang Rongqi , Ma Dujuan , Zeng Qicheng , Gong Baochang , Xiao Qing
Published: May 2022

The quality of surface reflectance product is fundamentally important to ensure the information extracted from the downstream products can be trusted. However, ground validation of surface reflectance satellite products is challenging, because ground “truth” on a coarse grid scale based on sparse ground measurements is subject to uncertainty due to spatial heterogeneity. Based on a high‐resolution numerical simulation, this study quantifies the influence of spatial heterogeneity on the uncertainty of surface reflectance ground “truth” in different sampling cases (i.e., the number and positions of sampled plots). The effect of spatial heterogeneity is very small and even negligible when optimal locations are identified. By contrast, for the averaged condition without optimal sampling, spatial heterogeneity is almost the only source of uncertainty of ground “truth,” with determination coefficients of 0.94, 0.99, and 1 for 1, 2, and 3 sampled plots, respectively. The response coefficients between them are about 0.77, 0.55, and 0.47 for 1, 2, and 3 sampled plots, respectively. Optimal sampling plays a more important role in reducing the uncertainty of ground “truth” than increasing the number of sampled plots. Particularly, the latter is not helpful in reducing the uncertainty when the worst locations are adopted. Furthermore, the thresholds of spatial heterogeneity of surface reflectance to meet a predefined uncertainty of 0.01 (about 3.5% for surface reflectance over the study area) were given for different sampling cases over northern China. This study provides important guidance to aid in situ network design for the validation of 1 km satellite surface reflectance products.
Identification and epidemiological characterization of Type-2 diabetes sub-population using an unsupervised machine learning approach
Authors: Bej Saptarshi , Sarkar Jit , Biswas Saikat , Mitra Pabitra , Chakrabarti Partha , Wolkenhauer Olaf
Published: May 2022

Background

Studies on Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) have revealed heterogeneous sub-populations in terms of underlying pathologies. However, the identification of sub-populations in epidemiological datasets remains unexplored. We here focus on the detection of T2DM clusters in epidemiological data, specifically analysing the National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS-4) dataset from India containing a wide spectrum of features, including medical history, dietary and addiction habits, socio-economic and lifestyle patterns of 10,125 T2DM patients.

Methods

Epidemiological data provide challenges for analysis due to the diverse types of features in it. In this case, applying the state-of-the-art dimension reduction tool UMAP conventionally was found to be ineffective for the NFHS-4 dataset, which contains diverse feature types. We implemented a distributed clustering workflow combining different similarity measure settings of UMAP, for clustering continuous, ordinal and nominal features separately. We integrated the reduced dimensions from each feature-type-distributed clustering to obtain interpretable and unbiased clustering of the data.

Results

Our analysis reveals four significant clusters, with two of them comprising mainly of non-obese T2DM patients. These non-obese clusters have lower mean age and majorly comprises of rural residents. Surprisingly, one of the obese clusters had 90% of the T2DM patients practising a non-vegetarian diet though they did not show an increased intake of plant-based protein-rich foods.

Conclusions

From a methodological perspective, we show that for diverse data types, frequent in epidemiological datasets, feature-type-distributed clustering using UMAP is effective as opposed to the conventional use of the UMAP algorithm. The application of UMAP-based clustering workflow for this type of dataset is novel in itself. Our findings demonstrate the presence of heterogeneity among Indian T2DM patients with regard to socio-demography and dietary patterns. From our analysis, we conclude that the existence of significant non-obese T2DM sub-populations characterized by younger age groups and economic disadvantage raises the need for different screening criteria for T2DM among rural Indian residents.
Response of blood glucose and GLP-1 to different food temperature in normal subject and patients with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Hu Yun , Zhang Peng , Ding Bo , Cao Xin , Zhong Yi , Lee Kok-Onn , Ma Jian-Hua
Published: May 2022

Background

Eating behavior is a major factor in type 2 diabetes. We investigated the different responses of glucose-regulating hormones to cold and hot glucose solutions in normal subjects and patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods

In this crossover, self-controlled study, normal subjects (N = 19) and patients with type 2 diabetes (N = 22) were recruited and randomly assigned to a hot (50 °C) or a cold (8 °C) oral glucose-tolerance test (OGTT). The subsequent day, they were switched to the OGTT at the other temperature. Blood glucose, insulin, GIP, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), and cortisol were measured at 0, 5, 10, 30, 60, and 120 min during each OGTT. After the hot OGTT, all subjects ingested hot (>42 °C) food and water for that day, and ingested food and water at room temperature (≤24 °C) for the day after cold OGTT. All participants had continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) throughout the study.

Results

Compared to cold OGTT, blood glucose was significantly higher with hot OGTT in both groups (both P < 0.05). However, insulin and GLP-1 levels were significantly higher in hot OGTT in normal subjects only (both P < 0.05). The GIP and cortisol responses did not differ with temperature in both groups. CGM showed that normal subjects had significantly higher 24-h mean glucose (MBG) (6.11 ± 0.13 vs. 5.84 ± 0.11 mmol/L, P = 0.021), and standard deviation of MBG with hot meals (0.59 ± 0.06 vs. 0.48 ± 0.05 mmol/L, P = 0.043), T2DM patients had higher MBG only (8.46 ± 0.38 vs. 8.88 ± 0.39 mmol/L, P = 0.022).

Conclusions

Food temperature is an important factor in glucose absorption and GLP-1 response. These food temperatures elicited differences are lost in type 2 diabetes.
Depression history modulates effects of subthalamic nucleus topography on neuropsychological outcomes of deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Kratter Ian H. , Jorge Ahmed , Feyder Michael T. , Whiteman Ashley C. , Chang Yue-fang , Henry Luke C. , Karp Jordan F. , Richardson R. Mark
Published: May 2022

Patients with psychiatric symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, and visual hallucinations, may be at increased risk for adverse effects following deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus for Parkinson’s disease, but there have been relatively few studies of associations between locations of chronic stimulation and neuropsychological outcomes. We sought to determine whether psychiatric history modulates associations between stimulation location within the subthalamic nucleus and postoperative affective and cognitive changes. We retrospectively identified 42 patients with Parkinson’s disease who received bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation and who completed both pre- and postoperative neuropsychological testing. Active stimulation contacts were localized in MNI space using Lead-DBS software. Linear discriminant analysis identified vectors maximizing variance in postoperative neuropsychological changes, and Pearson’s correlations were used to assess for linear relationships. Stimulation location was associated with postoperative change for only 3 of the 18 neuropsychological measures. Variation along the superioinferior (z) axis was most influential. Constraining the analysis to patients with a history of depression revealed 10 measures significantly associated with active contact location, primarily related to location along the anterioposterior (y) axis and with worse outcomes associated with more anterior stimulation. Analysis of patients with a history of anxiety revealed 5 measures with location-associated changes without a predominant axis. History of visual hallucinations was not associated with significant findings. Our results suggest that a history of depression may influence the relationship between active contact location and neuropsychological outcomes following subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation. These patients may be more sensitive to off-target (nonmotor) stimulation.
Dentists in action: a profession on-screen (1913-2013)
Authors: Gierok Samuel , Mirza Shahzeb A. , Karenberg Axel
Published: May 2022

Background Fictional portrayals of dentists in feature films have remained largely unexamined to date. The aim of this review is consequently to catalogue and analyse available films produced by US entertainment industry that present 'dentists in action'.

Methods Relevant motion pictures were identified by means of keyword-based inquiries in search engines, online databases, websites and by handsearch.

Results Between 1913-2013, almost 60 American films with dental treatment as a motif were released. Dentists on-screen appeared mainly in comedies and mostly as supporting actors. Surgical treatments dominated in earlier films and tooth-preserving therapy in later films; other fields of dentistry were marginalised. The time lag between a dental innovation and its screen debut varied between 50 years (x-rays) and 10 years (turbine). For a long time, filmmakers refused to allow female dentists to appear on screen. Although there is no consistent stereotype of a dentist, the figure of 'Dr Awkward' can be attributed to the silent film era, 'Dr Prosperous' to the 1960s/1970s and 'Dr Evil' to the 1980s/1990s.

Discussion Popular media does not only reflect aspects of reality; they also create reality and establish a professional image. Thus, filmic representations of dentists have an immediate effect on an audience of millions of movie-goers and television viewers. Greater attention should be devoted to the interplay of cinematic and dental art by both dental professionals and film historians.
Management of acute traumatic dental injuries in the orthodontic patient
Authors: Patel Kishan , Mack Gavin , Djemal Serpil
Published: May 2022

Knowledge of managing traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) is imperative for all dental practitioners. With the number of adults undertaking orthodontic treatment increasing, and children and adolescents alike continually being treated for orthodontics under the NHS in the UK, it is imperative that all clinicians - specialists and generalists - are aware of how to manage the orthodontic appliance in a patient presenting with a TDI in their active phase of orthodontics.

This guidance will aid practitioners in implementing pragmatic approaches to manage the orthodontic appliance in a patient presenting with a TDI. Key focus will be given on fixed appliance therapy. Case examples and flow diagrams outlining best practice are given to manage the TDI and orthodontic appliance concurrently.
The streaming of plastic in the Mediterranean Sea
Authors: Baudena Alberto , Ser-Giacomi Enrico , Jalón-Rojas Isabel , Galgani François , Pedrotti Maria Luiza
Published: May 2022

Plastic debris is a ubiquitous pollutant on the sea surface. To date, substantial research efforts focused on the detection of plastic accumulation zones. Here, a different paradigm is proposed: looking for crossroad regions through which large amounts of plastic debris flow. This approach is applied to the Mediterranean Sea, massively polluted but lacking in zones of high plastic concentration. The most extensive dataset of plastic measurements in this region to date is combined with an advanced numerical plastic-tracking model. Around 20% of Mediterranean plastic debris released every year passed through about 1% of the basin surface. The most important crossroads intercepted plastic debris from multiple sources, which had often traveled long distances. The detection of these spots could foster understanding of plastic transport and help mitigation strategies. Moreover, the general applicability and the soundness of the crossroad approach can promote its application to the study of other pollutants.