bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Current Research on Theory and Practice of Digital Libraries: Best Papers from TPDL 2019 & 2020
Authors: Aalberg Trond , Duchateau Fabien , Hall Mark , Merc̆un Tanja , Risse Thomas
Published: February 2022

This volume presents a special issue on selected papers from the 2019 & 2020 editions of the International Conference on Theory and Practice of Digital Libraries (TPDL). They cover different research areas within Digital Libraries, from Ontology and Linked Data to quality in Web Archives and Topic Detection. We first provide a brief overview of both TPDL editions, and we introduce the selected papers.
Planfeststellung und Plangenehmigung im Wasserhaushaltsrecht
Authors: Kümper Boas
Published: February 2022

Planfeststellung und Plangenehmigung sind etablierte Instrumente der Vorhabenzulassung und für
den Gewässerausbau bereits seit langem auch im Wasserhaushaltsrecht vorgesehen, nehmen dort aber eine
Sonderstellung ein, weil sie aufgrund der Vielfältigkeit der als Gewässerausbau zu qualifizierenden
Vorhaben teilweise eine andere Funktion haben als in den Materien der klassischen Infrastrukturplanung.
Sie haben dementsprechend im WHG eine spezifische gesetzliche Regelung erfahren. Die Besonderheiten resultieren
vor allem aus der in diesem Beitrag erörterten Reichweite des wasserhaushaltsrechtlichen Planfeststellungsvorbehalts
und kommen zudem in der wasserhaushaltsrechtlichen Ausformung alternativer Verfahrensgestaltungen –
der Plangenehmigung sowie der Freistellung von der Planfeststellungspflicht – zum Ausdruck.
A Canadian national guideline on the neoadjuvant treatment of invasive breast cancer, including patient assessment, systemic therapy, and local management principles
Authors: Gandhi Sonal , Brackstone Muriel , Hong Nicole J. Look , Grenier Debjani , Donovan Elysia , Lu Fang-I. , Skarpathiotakis Mia , Lee Justin , Boileau Jean-Francois , Perera Francisco , Simmons Christine , Joy Anil A. , Tran William T. ,   The Canadian National Neoadjuvant Breast Cancer Consortium, Tyono Ivan , Van Massop Althea , Khalfan Shelyna
Published: February 2022

Purpose

The neoadjuvant treatment of breast cancer (NABC) is a rapidly changing area that benefits from guidelines integrating evidence with expert consensus to help direct practice. This can optimize patient outcomes by ensuring the appropriate use of evolving neoadjuvant principles.

Methods

An expert panel formulated evidence-based practice recommendations spanning the entire neoadjuvant breast cancer treatment journey. These were sent for practice-based consensus across Canada using the modified Delphi methodology, through a secure online survey. Final recommendations were graded using the GRADE criteria for guidelines. The evidence was reviewed over the course of guideline development to ensure recommendations remained aligned with current relevant data.

Results

Response rate to the online survey was almost 30%; representation was achieved from various medical specialties from both community and academic centres in various Canadian provinces. Two rounds of consensus were required to achieve 80% or higher consensus on 59 final statements. Five additional statements were added to reflect updated evidence but not sent for consensus.

Conclusions

Key highlights of this comprehensive Canadian guideline on NABC include the use of neoadjuvant therapy for early stage triple negative and HER2 positive breast cancer, with subsequent adjuvant treatments for patients with residual disease. The use of molecular signatures, other targeted adjuvant therapies, and optimal response-based local regional management remain actively evolving areas. Many statements had evolving or limited data but still achieved high consensus, demonstrating the utility of such a guideline in helping to unify practice while further evidence evolves in this important area of breast cancer management.
Sexual activity and functioning in long-term breast cancer survivors; exploring associated factors in a nationwide survey
Authors: Smedsland Solveig K. , Vandraas Kathrine F. , Bøhn Synne K. , Dahl Alv A. , Kiserud Cecilie E. , Brekke Mette , Falk Ragnhild S. , Reinertsen Kristin V.
Published: February 2022

Purpose

Sexual health is a key quality of life issue. Knowledge concerning sexual health in long-term breast cancer survivors (BCSs) is limited. Within a nationwide sample, we aimed to assess the prevalence of sexual inactivity and to explore factors associated with sexual inactivity and reduced sexual functioning among long-term BCSs.

Methods

Long-term BCSs aged 20–65 years when diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in 2011–2012 were identified by the Cancer Registry of Norway in 2019 (n = 2803) and invited to participate in a nationwide survey. Sexual health was measured using the multidimensional Sexual Activity Questionnaire. Factors associated with sexual inactivity and reduced sexual functioning were explored using multivariable logistic- and linear regression analyses with adjustments for relevant sociodemographic, health-, and cancer-related variables.

Results

The final sample consisted of 1307 BCSs with a mean age of 52 years at diagnosis. Fifty-two percent of the BCSs were sexually inactive. Lack of interest was the most common reason for sexual inactivity. Treatment with aromatase inhibitor (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.23, 2.43) and poor body image (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.99, 0.995) were associated with sexual inactivity. Among sexually active BCSs, depression (B − 1.04, 95% CI − 2.10, − 0.02) and physical inactivity (B − 0.61, 95% CI − 1.21, − 0.02) were inversely related to sexual pleasure. Treatment with aromatase inhibitor (B 0.61, 95% CI 0.20, 1.01), sleep problems (B 0.37, 95% CI 0.04, 0.70), breast symptoms (B 0.01, 95% CI 0.003, 0.02), and chronic fatigue (B 0.43, 95% CI 0.05, 0.81) were associated with sexual discomfort. Chemotherapy (OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.23, 2.97), current endocrine treatment (OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.21, 3.25), and poor body image (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.98, 0.99) were associated with less sexual activity at present compared to before breast cancer.

Conclusion

Treatment with aromatase inhibitor seems to affect sexual health even beyond discontinuation. Several common late effects were associated with sexual inactivity and reduced sexual functioning. To identify BCSs at risk of sexual dysfunction, special attention should be paid to patients treated with aromatase inhibitor or suffering from these late effects.
Multiscale evaluation of CMIP5 models using wavelet-based descriptive and diagnostic techniques
Authors: Gallegati Marco
Published: February 2022

Time–frequency localization of model-data discrepancies may provide useful information for climate models inter-comparison, and especially for the goals of climate model refinement and improvement. CMIP5 models of the long-term historical (1850–2005) run experiment are compared using wavelet-based multiscale descriptive and diagnostic techniques with interesting results. Wavelet coherence maps can visualize the ability of alternative CMPI5 models to capture the observed climate variability at different time scales, while the performance of each CMIP5 model is assessed using goodness of fit relative measures on a scale-by-scale basis. Finally, the plots of wavelet decompositions of CMIP5 models and observed temperature series at different scales can detect and locate model/data disagreements across frequencies and over time, thus providing useful information to researchers for model diagnostic refinement and improvement.
Reading a Duty to Provide Accessible Pre-Contractual Information for Consumers with Disabilities into EU Consumer Protection Law
Authors: Waddington L.
Published: February 2022

This paper considers whether a duty to provide consumers with disabilities with pre-contractual information in an accessible format, or in an otherwise personalised format, can be read into EU consumer protection law. Such a duty could be regarded as a particular form of reasonable accommodation. The paper explores this issue in the context of three key consumer protection instruments: the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, the Consumer Credit Directive, and the Consumer Rights Directive. The paper argues that the Directives should be interpreted in light of the EU’s obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) which addresses,inter alia, the accessibility of information. Whilst consumer protection is an area of shared competence between the EU and its Member States, the three Directives examined in the paper largely provide for “full harmonisation,” thereby limiting the scope Member States have for taking action in these fields. In light of this, the paper argues that the EU has, to a large degree, taken on responsibility for complying with the CRPD in these fields, and that the Directives should be interpreted in light of those obligations. The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights can further bolster a human rights compatible interpretation of EU consumer protection directives. The paper also considers the extent to which the Directives allow Member States some residual competences to set requirements concerning pre-contractual information for persons with disabilities. To the extent that such competences exist, the paper argues that CRPD-compatible minimum requirements for pre-contractual information provided to consumers with disabilities should be read into the Directives by the European Court of Justice. Establishing CRPD-compatible minimum requirements in this field would reduce the need for individual Member States to take action to comply with the CRPD, and therefore reduce the risk of divergent national standards which could undermine the internal market goals of the relevant Directives. The paper concludes that a duty to provide a de facto reasonable accommodation, in terms of accessible and additional information, can be read into the Consumer Credit Directive and the Consumer Rights Directive. A more limited duty, concerning only the provision of additional information for persons with disabilities, can be read into the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. It is unclear whether case law of the Court of Justice can be interpreted as requiring the provision of accessible information under this last Directive.
Reducing carbon emissions in Egyptian roads through improving the streets quality
Authors: Moussa Rania Rushdy
Published: February 2022

The streetscape of any city reflects the natural built fabric of the street and adds to the experiential quality of that space. A sustainable streetscape ensures that the spaces are long-lasting and functional as a part of the greater sustainable eco-system. Over the past two centuries, mankind has increased the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere from 280 to more than 380 parts per million by volume, and it is still increasing every day. If Earth continues to emit carbon without control, the surface temperature is expected to rise by 3.4 °C by the end of this century. Climate change of that magnitude would likely have serious, long-lasting, and, in many cases, devastating consequences for the planet Earth. Egypt has become one of the biggest emitters of atmospheric pollutants from the transportation sector. The level of carbon emissions and its effect on air quality are placed high on the research agenda. The transportation sector has a great impact on increasing CO2 emissions. The transportation and traffic sectors produce a quarter of the global CO2 emissions due to the heavy use of fossil fuels. This research aims to study the effects of street shape and design on CO2 production. This paper presents an analysis of road transportation in Egypt, taking Helmiet EL-Zaitoun as the main case study, with a focus on energy demand and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Carbon emissions are measured using “Testo 315-3” as a measuring instrument to identify the relationship between street design and quality on the amount of carbon emissions produced. The results of this research suggest that street quality affects the amount of CO2 emissions produced. A car moving at a constant speed will produce fewer CO2 emissions than a car forced to start–stop every while because of external factors such as cracks in the roads occurring from bad streetscape elements. The presented research provides a set of guidelines to enhance the quality of the streetscape and design in order to reduce the amount of CO2 produced in the streets.
The art of crowdfunding arts and innovation: the cultural economic perspective
Authors: Handke Christian , Dalla Chiesa Carolina
Published: February 2022

Crowdfunding is an innovation from the cultural sector that has found broad applications in other aspects of the economy. We document that cultural economics provides a refined structure to explain much of the crowdfunding phenomenon, which will be useful for any research on this topic. Based on central themes of cultural economics (including quality and demand uncertainty, socially interdependent demand formation, public good attributes, and intrinsic motivation to create), we extend on the current understanding in the crowdfunding literature regarding three fundamental questions: (1) under what circumstances is crowdfunding a superior alternative to traded means of financing innovative projects? (2) What types of crowdfunding are best suited for specific (cultural and creative) industries (CCI)? (3) What is the potential of crowdfunding for cultural and creative industries? Overall, we describe crowdfunding as a flexible tool for mitigating various, fundamental challenges in CCI and beyond. We also identify limitations of crowdfunding, which for now, severely restrict its application. Arguably, the main boon of crowdfunding for cultural economics is not so much that it makes markets (for cultural products) much more efficient and fosters growth. Instead, crowdfunding enables sophisticated empirical research on central topics of cultural economics, and a rich and diverse literature has begun lifting that treasure.
The role of microstructural evolution during spark plasma sintering on the soft magnetic and electronic properties of a CoFe–Al2O3 soft magnetic composite
Authors: Belcher Calvin H. , Zheng Baolong , MacDonald Benjamin E. , Langlois Eric D. , Lehman Benjamin , Pearce Charles , Delaney Robert , Apelian Diran , Lavernia Enrique J. , Monson Todd C.
Published: February 2022

For transformers and inductors to meet the world’s growing demand for electrical power, more efficient soft magnetic materials with high saturation magnetic polarization and high electrical resistivity are needed. This work aimed at the development of a soft magnetic composite synthesized via spark plasma sintering with both high saturation magnetic polarization and high electrical resistivity for efficient soft magnetic cores. CoFe powder particles coated with an insulating layer of Al2O3 were used as feedstock material to improve the electrical resistivity while retaining high saturation magnetic polarization. By maintaining a continuous non-magnetic Al2O3 phase throughout the material, both a high saturation magnetic polarization, above 1.5 T, and high electrical resistivity, above 100 μΩ·m, were achieved. Through microstructural characterization of samples consolidated at various temperatures, the role of microstructural evolution on the magnetic and electronic properties of the composite was elucidated. Upon consolidation at relatively high temperature, the CoFe was to found plastically deform and flow into the Al2O3 phase at the particle boundaries and this phenomenon was attributed to low resistivity in the composite. In contrast, at lower consolidation temperatures, perforation of the Al2O3 phase was not observed and a high electrical resistivity was achieved, while maintaining a high magnetic polarization, ideal for more efficient soft magnetic materials for transformers and inductors.
210Po characteristic in selected thermal water sources in Northern Vietnam
Authors: Duong Van-Hao , Phan Trinh Trong , Nguyen Bach Thao , Dao Duc Bang , Hegedűs Miklós , Kovacs Tibor
Published: February 2022

There are eight famous thermal water sources, with medium temperature, neutral pH, high ranges of TDS values located in different carbonate formations in Northern Vietnam. The chemical composition results showed the major elements present were Na, K, Mg, Ca, Sr, while trace amounts of rare earth elements (REE), Ag, As, Pb, Th, U were observed. The 210Po activity concentration and the annual committed effective doses for adults, children, and infants in all study areas were far less than 100 mBq L−1 and 0.1 mSv y−1, respectively. Some significant correlations between 210Po and other chemical components have been observed.
On the inverse problem of vibro-acoustography
Authors: Kaltenbacher Barbara
Published: February 2022

The aim of this paper is to put the problem of vibroacoustic imaging into the mathematical framework of inverse problems (more precisely, coefficient identification in PDEs) and regularization. We present a model in frequency domain, prove uniqueness of recovery of the spatially varying nonlinearity parameter from measurements of the acoustic pressure at multiple frequencies, and derive Newton as well as gradient based reconstruction methods.
Homogeneity and trend analysis of rainfall and droughts over Southeast Australia
Authors: Yildirim Gokhan , Rahman Ataur
Published: February 2022

This study investigates rainfall and drought characteristics in southeastern Australia (New South Wales and Victoria) using data from 45 rainfall stations. Four homogeneity tests are adopted to determine inhomogeneities in the annual total rainfall (ATR) and monthly rainfall data, namely The Pettitt test, the SNHT, the Buishand range test and the Von Neumann ratio test at significance levels of 1%, 5%, and 10%. Temporal trends in rainfall (ATR, monthly, and seasonal) and droughts are examined using autocorrelated Mann–Kendall (A-MK) trend test at 1%, 5%, and 10% significance levels. We also assess meteorological droughts by using multiple drought indices (3-, 6-, 9-, 12-, 24-, and 36-month Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Effective Drought Index (EDI)). Furthermore, spatial variability of temporal trends in rainfall and drought are investigated through interpolation of Sen’s slope estimator. The results represent an increasing trend in ATR between 1920 and 2019. However, southeast Australia is highly dominated by a significant negative trend in the medium term between 1970 and 2019. Winter is found to be dominated by a significantly negative trend, whereas summer and spring seasons are dominated by a positive trend. April is detected as the driest month according to magnitude of Sen’s slope and the A-MK test result. Positive trends on droughts are observed at inner parts of the study area, whereas a negative trend is detected in the south, southeast, and northeast of the study area based on SPIs and EDI. The findings of this study help to understand changes in rainfall and droughts in southeastern Australia.
Covid-19 and Capital Flows: The Responses of Investors to the Responses of Governments
Authors: Goldbach Stefan , Nitsch Volker
Published: February 2022

This paper examines the effect of national government response measures to Covid-19 on German international capital flows. Analyzing highly disaggregated monthly data from the German balance of payments statistics over the period from January 2019 through January 2021, we find that bilateral financial interactions are negatively affected by stricter containment and closure policies as well as health system policies of a partner country, while German capital flows benefit from a partner’s economic support policies. Moreover, to the extent that public interventions to fight the pandemic affect financial interactions, the adjustment mainly takes place along the intensive margin.
Debiasing or regularisation? Two interpretations of the concept of ‘true preference’ in behavioural economics
Authors: Sugden Robert
Published: February 2022

I reconsider Bleichrodt, Pinto Prades and Wakker’s (BPW) 2001 paper about eliciting utility measures from stated preference surveys. That paper pioneers a method that is now widely used in behavioural economics to correct individuals’ ‘biases’ and to recover their ‘true preferences’. However, BPW propose this method as way of dealing with inconsistent responses to stated preference surveys, in contrast to more recent applications which aim to help individuals to avoid supposed mistakes in their private choices. I argue that the concepts of true preference and bias are empirically ungrounded, but that BPW’s approach can be interpreted as not invoking those concepts. By ‘regularising’ preferences revealed in actual choice, this approach constructs measures of individual welfare that are broadly aligned with actual preferences and consistent with normative standards of rationality that are appropriate for public decision-making. Public decision-makers’ normative judgements are made explicit, rather than being disguised as apparently empirical claims about true preferences.
Marine Snow-Oil Interaction Affects n-Alkane Biodegradation in Sediment
Authors: Rahsepar Shokouh , van Eenennaam Justine S. , Radović Jagoš R. , Oldenburg Thomas B. P. , Rijnaarts Huub H. M. , Murk Albertinka J. , Foekema Edwin M. , Langenhoff Alette A. M.
Published: February 2022

During the Deepwater Horizon (DwH) oil spill, an excessive production of marine snow was observed, and it was estimated that as much as 14% of the oil was transferred to the ocean floor by MOSSFA (Marine Oil Snow Sedimentation and Flocculent Accumulation). MOSSFA is an important pathway of transferring oil to the ocean floor. We performed experiments at laboratory scale in 15 aquaria, representing 5 exposures of marine snow with or without oil, only oil, and controls with only clay or sediment. We developed a method to produce artificial marine snow, which resembles the natural marine snow. Results showed 40% less biodegradation of alkanes in “marine snow with oil” compared to “only oil.” Most probably, this is due to preferred biodegradation of marine snow organics comparing to oil alkanes. Biodegradation of marine snow reduces the dissolved oxygen concentration, which might result in anaerobic conditions in the sediment layer. This finding can be projected to a potential ocean floor effect.
Black girls matter: A critical analysis of educational spaces and call for community-based programs
Authors: King Natalie S.
Published: February 2022

This forum paper dialogues with Crystal Morton and Demetrice Smith-Mutegi’s Making “it” matter: Developing African American girls and young women’s mathematics and science identities through informal STEM learning. Their article unveils the experiences of participants in Girls STEM Institute, and how they challenged beliefs about their ability to perform in science and mathematics. I extend the discussion to explore the importance of access through community-based initiatives and stand on the premise that we will continue to oxygenate master narratives and perpetuate inequities if the structure and function of our programs fail to challenge the status quo. Therefore, this paper serves as a call to action to (1) recognize and address spirit murdering from teachers and authority figures who dismiss the abilities of Black girls to perform in STEM; (2) create humanizing spaces within schools and the larger community for Black girls to access STEM with authenticity; and (3) leverage the multidimensional identities of Black girls in ways that validate their cultural resources and brilliance. When we commit ourselves to creating more equitable learning spaces in STEM, then our actions will align with our responsibility to make Black girls matter.
Once in a Bile — the Incidence of Bile Reflux Post-Bariatric Surgery
Authors: Eldredge Thomas A. , Bills Madison , Ting Ying Yang , Dimitri Mikayla , Watson Matthew M. , Harris Mark C. , Myers Jennifer C. , Bartholomeusz Dylan L. , Kiroff George K. , Shenfine Jonathan
Published: February 2022

Purpose

Excellent metabolic improvement following one anastomosis gastric bypass (OAGB) remains compromised by the risk of esophageal bile reflux and theoretical carcinogenic potential. No ‘gold standard’ investigation exists for esophageal bile reflux, with diverse methods employed in the few studies evaluating it post-obesity surgery. As such, data on the incidence and severity of esophageal bile reflux is limited, with comparative studies lacking. This study aims to use specifically tailored biliary scintigraphy and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy protocols to evaluate esophageal bile reflux after OAGB, sleeve gastrectomy (SG) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB).

Methods

Fifty-eight participants underwent OAGB (20), SG (15) or RYGB (23) between November 2018 and July 2020. Pre-operative reflux symptom assessment and gastroscopy were performed and repeated post-operatively at 6 months along with biliary scintigraphy.

Results

Gastric reflux of bile was identified by biliary scintigraphy in 14 OAGB (70%), one RYGB (5%) and four SG participants (31%), with a mean of 2.9% (SD 1.5) reflux (% of total radioactivity). One participant (OAGB) demonstrated esophageal bile reflux. De novo macro- or microscopic gastroesophagitis occurred in 11 OAGB (58%), 8 SG (57%) and 7 RYGB (30%) participants. Thirteen participants had worsened reflux symptoms post-operatively (OAGB, 4; SG, 7; RYGB, 2). Scintigraphic esophageal bile reflux bore no statistical association with de novo gastroesophagitis or reflux symptoms.

Conclusion

Despite high incidence of gastric bile reflux post-OAGB, esophageal bile reflux is rare. With scarce literature of tumour development post-OAGB, frequent low-volume gastric bile reflux likely bears little clinical consequence; however, longer-term studies are needed.

Clinical Trial Registry

Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry number ACTRN12618000806268.

Graphical abstract
A multi-surgeon learning curve analysis of overall and site-specific positive surgical margins after RARP and implications for training
Authors: Gandi Carlo , Totaro Angelo , Bientinesi Riccardo , Marino Filippo , Pierconti Francesco , Martini Maurizio , Russo Andrea , Racioppi Marco , Bassi PierFrancesco , Sacco Emilio
Published: February 2022

Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) is the most adopted treatment for localized prostate cancer. The aim of this study was to explore the learning curves (LC) for overall and site-specific positive surgical margins (PSM) occurrence after RARP of multiple surgeons within a step-structured mentor-initiated training program. The study included consecutive patients undergoing RARP between January 2013 and March 2020, by three surgeons: a mentor and his two trainees. Prospectively collected patients’ data were retrospectively analyzed. The cumulative summation (CUSUM) method was used to generate the LCs, with turning points indicating the number of cases to reach proficiency levels. Furthermore, the association between PSM and surgical experience was evaluated, adjusting for case mix. A total of 761 consecutive patients were included, 370 treated by the Mentor surgeon, 247 and 144 treated, respectively, by the two Trainees. Mentor and Trainees had similar PSM rates (31.6% vs 28.0% vs 31.3%, p = 0.6). CUSUM charts showed different LC shapes for different PSM locations (postero-lateral, bladder neck, apex, and multifocal/> 3 mm). Surgical experience was significantly associated with overall, postero-lateral, and multifocal/> 3 mm PSMs, in the Mentor series only. Trainees reached their turning points after far fewer cases then the Mentor, both for overall (12 and 31 vs 153), postero-lateral (24 and 30 vs 120), and multifocal/> 3 mm PSMs (9 and 31 vs 153). The achievement of stable SM proficiency takes involved different LCs depending on the prostatic location being considered. Monitoring site-specific LC can indicate the surgical steps for which there may be still room for further technical refinements, even when an apparent proficiency status seems achieved.
Research progress and prospects of complete ammonia oxidizing bacteria in wastewater treatment
Authors: Luo Shaoping , Peng Yi , Liu Ying , Peng Yongzhen
Published: February 2022

Complete ammonia oxidizing bacteria, or comammox bacteria (CAOB), can oxidize ammonium to nitrate on its own. Its discovery revolutionized our understanding of biological nitrification, and its distribution in both natural and artificial systems has enabled a reevaluation of the relative contribution of microorganisms to the nitrogen cycle. Its wide distribution, adaptation to oligotrophic medium, and diverse metabolic pathways, means extensive research on CAOB and its application in water treatment can be promoted. Furthermore, the energy-saving characteristics of high oxygen affinity and low sludge production may also become frontier directions for wastewater treatment. This paper provides an overview of the discovery and environmental distribution of CAOB, as well as the physiological characteristics of the microorganisms, such as nutrient medium, environmental factors, enzymes, and metabolism, focusing on future research and the application of CAOB in wastewater treatment. Further research should be carried out on the physiological characteristics of CAOB, to analyze its ecological niche and impact factors, and explore its application potential in wastewater treatment nitrogen cycle improvement.
A Mixed-methods Exploration of Young Adults’ Views of the Sexual Double Standard
Authors: Wesson Charlotte
Published: February 2022

The traditional sexual double standard occurs when men and women are evaluated differently for the same sexual behaviours. Typically, women are judged more punitively than their male counterparts regarding promiscuous behaviour. There is much research surrounding this double standard. However, there has been less investigation into what factors individuals consider responsible for this phenomenon. The present study aimed to use qualitative and quantitative methods to examine young adults’ attitudes to this double standard. Three main themes were observed and are discussed across this article. These themes include, Theme (1) Attitudes from the past, Theme (2) (Un)acceptability of behaviour and Theme (3) Media portrayal.
Psychophysiological stress response in SCUBA divers: The contribution of negative automatic thoughts and negative emotions
Authors: Zec Mirela , Antičević Vesna , Lušić Kalcina Linda , Valić Zoran , Božić Joško
Published: February 2022

The research questions in this study were to examine the contribution of negative automatic thoughts and negative emotions, measured by two newly-constructed questionnaires, to psychophysiological stress responses among more experienced military and less experienced recreational divers. Further, we examined whether daily variations in cortisol levels could be attributed to the impact of negative thoughts/emotions rather than diving experience. Altogether 15 recreational and 14 military male divers participated in the dive wherein stress responses were measured by anxiety measures (DASS-21 and STAI) and cortisol salivary concentrations. The results of factor analysis and principal component analysis demonstrated acceptable construct validity and internal consistency of both questionanires. Recreational and military divers did not differ significantly in the proportion of negative thoughts and emotions, while recreational divers had significantly higher levels of cortisol release after awakening and immediately before/after diving, indicating their more intense stress responses. A significant interaction between daily variations in cortisol secretion and negative emotions indicated a greater importance of emotions in response to diving stress rather than diving experience. Accordingly, using a multiple regression analysis showed that more pre-diving negative emotions predicted higher levels of pre-diving anxiety and depression as well as more cortisol release. More negative thoughts predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms, while belonging to a group of recreational divers was a significant predictor of higher pre-diving anxiety. This study points to the importance of considering cognitive and emotional experiences, particularly in recreational divers, for the purpose of prevention of negative psychophysiological stress responses prior to diving.
How humor is experienced: An embodied metaphor account
Authors: Xu Tingting , Liu Meichun , Wang Xiaolu
Published: February 2022

The study explores the humor-body association from the perspective of embodied cognition. According to the Conceptual Metaphor Theory, abstract concepts tend to be understood with concrete experiences through embodied mappings. Therefore, the current study attempts to investigate how humor, an understudied abstract concept, is perceived in the Chinese context by means of textual analysis and a behavioral experiment. Firstly, 6,500 entries of the corpus data related to laughter and humor in Chinese were used for the textual analysis. Extensive uses of embodied humor metaphors were found, which provided important linguistic evidence for the interaction between laughter, humor, and body. Secondly, a behavioral study was conducted based on some frequently-used embodied metaphorical expressions of humor (e.g.,pěngfù dàxiào捧腹大笑, meaning ‘to hold one’s sides laughing’) identified in the corpus. Specifically, the participants were instructed to either do embodied metaphor or non-metaphor actions as bodily primes (i.e., ‘holding one’s belly while bending forward and backward repeatedly’ vs. ‘turning one’s upper body from side to side with both hands on the back’) or perform no actions before completing the subsequent joke rating task and the mood rating task. Results showed that the participants who were primed with the embodied metaphor actions rated the jokes higher than those in the control groups who were primed with non-metaphor actions or had no primes. Also, there was no significant difference in the mood ratings across the groups. These findings suggest that embodied humor metaphors indeed affect humor experience and shape how humor is conceptualized. The current study supports not only the embodied view of humor understanding but also the conceptual metaphor account of abstract reasoning, which sheds new light on the theoretical development of the embodiment of abstract concepts.
Data-Augmentation Method for BERT-based Legal Textual Entailment Systems in COLIEE Statute Law Task
Authors: Aoki Yasuhiro , Yoshioka Masaharu , Suzuki Youta
Published: February 2022

A legal textual entailment task is a task to recognize entailment between a law article and its statements. In the Competition on Legal Information Extraction/Entailment (COLIEE), this task is designed as a task to confirm the entailment of a yes/no answer from the given civil code article(s). Based on the development of deep-learning-based natural language processing tools such as bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT), many participants in the task used such tools, and the best performance system of COLIEE 2020 was a BERT-based system. However, because of the limitation of the size of training data provided by the task organizer, training such tools to adapt to the variability of the questions is difficult. In this paper, we propose a data-augmentation method to make training data using civil code articles for understanding the syntactic structure of the questions and articles for entailment. Our BERT-based ensemble system, which uses this augmentation method, achieves the best performance (accuracy = 0.7037) in Task 4 of COLIEE 2021. We also introduce the results of additional experiments to discuss the characteristics of the proposed method.
Profile of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: An experience from a tertiary care center in India
Authors: Musunuri Balaji , Shetty Shiran , Bhat Ganesh , Udupa Karthik , Pai Ananth
Published: February 2022

Background

The prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is increasing worldwide and it is now the third most common cause of cancer-related death. HCC is becoming a major health burden with steadily increasing incidence globally.

Methods

This is an observational study over a 3-year period in a tertiary care center in India. Three hundred and thirty-nine patients diagnosed to have HCC were included in this study. Patients’ clinical, etiological, radiological and cytohistological data and therapy offered were recorded and analyzed.

Results

Cirrhosis of the liver was seen in 73.2% of the patients. 16.8% of patients were asymptomatic at the time of presentation. Ascites (57.2%) and jaundice (22.4%) were the most common signs of hepatic decompensation. The most common etiology of HCC was cryptogenic/non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in 51% of the patients, while hepatitis B and C were seen in 17.4% and 5.8% of the patients, respectively. Advanced and end-stage disease with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stages C and D were seen in 62.4% of patients. 56.6% had Albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score of 2, while 62.8% had Okuda stage II disease. High alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels (>400 ng/mL) were seen in 48.9% of patients. Macrovascular invasion and metastases were seen in 45.9% and 22.2% of the patients, respectively. 17.6% of patients had evidence of tumor thrombus. 14.5% of biopsy specimens showed associated steatosis/steatohepatitis along with confirmation of HCC. Only 26.6% of the cirrhotic HCC patients were diagnosed during surveillance.

Conclusions

HCC due to unknown cause/NAFLD appears to be overtaking hepatitis B as the commonest cause for HCC. Despite the advances in diagnostic methods and surveillance, most cases of HCC tend to be diagnosed at advanced stages.
An evaluation of the hydrogeology potential of Nsukka, Southern Nigeria, using geographic information system
Authors: Onwe Mkpuma Rock , Abraham Ema Michael , Ambrose Ngwu Tochukwu , Osike Osibe Kingsley
Published: February 2022

Groundwater potential has been adjudged a panacea to residential development and livelihood improvement. Negligence to its spatio-heterogeneity over an area of concern leads to mismatches, i.e. land use misappropriation. Pumping test data from 26 boreholes were used to produce both static water level and hydraulic head with static water level range of 221.6 m in Ede-oballa to 66.6 m in Obimo, while hydraulic head varies from 182.1 to 322.04 m in Okpuje and Opi, respectively. Elevation values range from 251 m in Okpuje to 536 m in Ede-Oballa. Using ArcGIS the thematic maps of static water level, hydraulic head and elevation were interpolated and simulated to generate groundwater potential distribution. The resultant groundwater potential indices were delineated and its capability evaluated. Result indicates that these have control or influence on groundwater potential. The map models produced in this study provide better understanding towards proper management and utilization of groundwater resources in the Nsukka region.
Risk analysis methods of water supply systems: comprehensive review from source to tap
Authors: Kombo Mpindou Gilver Odilon Mendel , Escuder Bueno Ignacio , Chordà Ramón Estela
Published: February 2022

Around 30–40 years ago, principles and methods were developed to conceptualise, assess and manage risk. These principles and methods are still, to a large extent, the foundation of the field. Over the past decade, many tools have been developed for risk analysis of water systems. Many advances have been made, both in the theoretical platform and in practical models and procedures. Various risk analysis approaches have been used to identify potential hazards, calculate the probability of accidents and assess the severity of consequences. The objective of this paper is to review these developments, focusing on the fundamental ideas and thinking behind them, considering their application at strategic, programmatic and operational levels of decision-making, in order to improve the understanding of stakeholders (researchers, regulators, etc.). To achieve this objective, scientific papers on risk analysis associated with water treatment systems were identified and reviewed, with particular focus on risk assessment methods (qualitative, semi-qualitative or quantitative, deterministic or probabilistic, etc.), tools (ETA, FTA, FMEA/FMECA, QMRA, HRA, Markov, etc.), applicability of these tools and results of case studies. A total of 141 references were selected on the basis of title sorting from databases as ScienceDirect, PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science or SpringerLink, and a total of 68 articles were selected for full-text analysis. Main conclusions of this review and analysis efforts are as follows: (1) the scientific foundation of risk assessment and risk management is still an open issue; (2) principles, theories and base methods applicable to water supply systems are in continuous development, existing tools are suitable, and a growing number of applications are available and of great interest; and (3) risk analysis methodologies are in their journey to gain the necessary broad technical, community and political acceptance in the water treatment sector, and some gaps and opportunities have been included in the discussion.
Therapeutic effects of dexamethasone-loaded hyaluronan nanogels in the experimental cholestasis
Authors: Di Matteo Sabina , Di Meo Chiara , Carpino Guido , Zoratto Nicole , Cardinale Vincenzo , Nevi Lorenzo , Overi Diletta , Costantini Daniele , Pinto Claudio , Montanari Elita , Marzioni Marco , Maroni Luca , Benedetti Antonio , Viola Marco , Coviello Tommasina , Matricardi Pietro , Gaudio Eugenio , Alvaro Domenico
Published: February 2022

A major function of the intrahepatic biliary epithelium is bicarbonate excretion in bile. Recent reports indicate that budesonide, a corticosteroid with high receptor affinity and hepatic first pass clearance, increases the efficacy of ursodeoxycholic acid, a choleretic agent, in primary biliary cholangitis patients. We have previously reported that bile ducts isolated from rats treated with dexamethasone or budesonide showed an enhanced activity of the Na+/H+ exchanger isoform 1 (NHE1) and Cl−/HCO3− exchanger protein 2 (AE2) . Increasing the delivery of steroids to the liver may result in three beneficial effects: increase in the choleresis, treatment of the autoimmune or inflammatory liver injury and reduction of steroids’ systemic harmful effects. In this study, the steroid dexamethasone was loaded into nanohydrogels (or nanogels, NHs), in order to investigate corticosteroid-induced increased activities of transport processes driving bicarbonate excretion in the biliary epithelium (NHE-1 isoform) and to evaluate the effects of dexamethasone-loaded NHs (NHs/dex) on liver injury induced by experimental cholestatis. Our results showed that NHs and NHs/dex do not reduce cell viability in vitro in human cholangiocyte cell lines. Primary and immortalized human cholangiocytes treated with NHs/dex show an increase in the functional marker expression of NHE1 cholangiocytes compared to control groups. A mouse model of cholangiopathy treated with NHs/dex shows a reduction in markers of hepatocellular injury compared to control groups (NHs, dex, or sham group). In conclusion, we believe that the NHs/dex formulation is a suitable candidate to be investigated in preclinical models of cholangiopathies.

Graphical abstract
Numerical analysis of thermoacoustically driven thermoacoustic refrigerator with a stack of parallel plates having corrugated surfaces
Authors: Bouramdane Zahra , Bah Abdellah , Alaoui Mohammed , Martaj Nadia
Published: February 2022

Most numerical research on thermoacoustic devices with a stack made of parallel plates has considered a rectangular form for the plate. However, a variety of plate shapes can improve the heat transfer and performance of the stack. In this paper, a 2D numerical model based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis is used to examine the efficiency of thermoacoustic couples using a diversity of plate surfaces. For this investigation, flat plates and others profiles with corrugated surfaces (rounded and triangular surfaces) were tested to compare their performances and the effect of plate form on thermoacoustic systems. The efficiency of the thermoacoustic engine (TAE) is measured in terms of the generated acoustic pressure and the performance of the thermoacoustic refrigerator (TAR) is considered in terms of the temperature gradient along the refrigeration stack. The results showed that plates profile with irregular surfaces improves the generated acoustic pressure due to the increase of the stack porosity known as the blockage ratio (BR). The triangular shape performed better with a 10% gain than using a flat plate, followed by rounded ripples with a 5.2% increase in pressure amplitude compared to flat surfaces. Unlike in TAR, it was revealed that the stack made of flatform could produce a higher temperature difference (∆T) among the refrigeration stack extremities. By using rounded ripples, ∆T undergoes a reduction up to 52%, and 65% if using triangular ripples compared to flatform. From this investigation, it is observed that the stack with corrugated plates is the most suitable for TAE; however, the flat plates generate a higher temperature difference in TAR.
On the limited policy relevance of evolutionary explanations
Authors: Sunstein Cass R.
Published: February 2022

Evolutionary explanations for behavioral findings are often both fascinating and plausible. But even so, they do not establish that people are acting rationally, that they are not making mistakes, or that their decisions are promoting their welfare. For example, present bias, optimistic overconfidence, and use of the availability heuristic can produce terrible mistakes and serious welfare losses, and this is so even if they have evolutionary foundations. There might well be evolutionary explanations for certain kinds of in-group favoritism, and also for certain male attitudes and actions toward women, and also for human mistreatment of and cruelty toward nonhuman animals. But those explanations would not justify anything at all. It is not clear that in Darwinia (a nation in which departures from perfect rationality have an evolutionary explanation), policymakers should behave very differently from Durkheimian policymakers (a nation in which departures from perfect rationality have a cultural explanation).
Dimensions of Ordinals: Set Theory, Homology Theory, and the First Omega Alephs
Authors: Bergfalk Jeffrey
Published: February 2022

We describe an organizing framework for the study of infinitary combinatorics. This framework is Čech cohomology. It describes ZFC principles distinguishing among the ordinals of the form
$\omega _n$
. More precisely, this framework correlates each
$\omega _n$
with an
$(n+1)$
-dimensional generalization of Todorcevic’s walks technique, and begins to account for that technique’s “unreasonable effectiveness” on
$\omega _1$
.

We show in contrast that on higher cardinals
$\kappa $
, the existence of these principles is frequently independent of the ZFC axioms. Finally, we detail implications of these phenomena for the computation of strong homology groups and higher derived limits, deriving independence results in algebraic topology and homological algebra, respectively, in the process.

Abstract prepared by Jeffrey Bergfalk.

E-mail: jeffrey.bergfalk@univie.ac.at