bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
High‐Resolution Van der Waals Stencil Lithography for 2D Transistors
Authors: Song Wenjing , Kong Lingan , Tao Quanyang , Liu Qing , Yang Xiangdong , Li Jia , Duan Huigao , Duan Xidong , Liao Lei , Liu Yuan
Published: June 2021

2D semiconductors have attracted tremendous attention as an atomically thin channel for transistors with superior immunity to short‐channel effects. However, with atomic thin structure, the delicate 2D lattice is not fully compatible with conventional lithography processes that typically involve high‐energy photon/electron radiation and unavoidable polymer residues, posing a key limitation for high performance 2D transistors. Here, a novel van der Waals (vdW) stencil lithography technique based on dry mask lamination process is developed. By pre‐fabricating polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) resist with designed patterns, the whole PMMA mask layers could be mechanically released from the sacrifice wafer and physically laminated on top of various 2D semiconductors. The vdW stencil lithography ensures pristine 2D surface without any high‐energy electron/photon radiation, polymer residues, or chemical doping effects in conventional lithography process; and the soft nature of PMMA enables intimate contact between the mask and the 2D materials without physical gap, leading to ultra‐high resolution down to 60 nm. Together, by applying vdW stencil lithography for 2D semiconductors, high performance transistors are demonstrated. Our method not only demonstrates improved 2D transistor performance without lithography induced damages, but also provides a new vdW stencil lithography technique for 2D materials with high resolution.
Covalent Organic Frameworks with Low Surface Work Function Enabled Stable Lithium Anode
Authors: Chen Dongdong , Liu Peng , Zhong Lei , Wang Shuanjin , Xiao Min , Han Dongmei , Huang Sheng , Meng Yuezhong
Published: June 2021

Uniform deposition and distribution of lithium ion (Li+) on the surface of lithium metal anode is crucial for long‐life and high‐safety lithium metal batteries. However, the preparation of stable solid–electrolyte interphase (SEI) is mostly based on trial and error in the absence of guideline. Herein, covalent organic framework (COF) with high Young's modulus and low surface work function is in situ synthesized on Li anode to stabilize Li|electrolyte interface. Notably, Young's modulus, mechanical index for Li dendrite resistance, and surface work function, electrical index for Li+ distribution, can be regarded as macroscopically detectable indicators to evaluate the artificial SEI before battery assembly. The COFTpPa modified Li metal anodes delivered stable cycling over 1000 (2000) h at high current density of 5 (2) mA cm−2 in the ether‐based electrolyte, and the full cells with commercial LiFePO4 electrode (mass loading of 16.5 mg cm−2) demonstrate remarkably enhanced cycling performance with a high reversible capacity of 152.3 mAh g−1 (retention of 96.8%) after 300 cycles.
Intra‐day Dynamic Optimal Dispatch for Power System Based on Deep Q‐Learning
Authors: Tang Hao , Wang Shiping , Chang Kejun , Guan Jinyu
Published: June 2021

Source‐load stochasticity affects the safety, stability and economical operation of power grid, and makes it difficult to design optimal dispatch. Currently, due to the low accuracy of day‐ahead forecast for wind power and load, dynamic optimal dispatch based on ultra‐short‐term wind power prediction is an effective way to reduce the power deviation in power system and to relieve the operating pressure on automatic generation control (AGC) unit. In this paper, by comprehensively considering the source‐load stochasticity, the dispatch properties of unit, and the constraints of AGC regulating range, we establish a dynamic optimal dispatch model to minimize the running cost of the underlying power system, including the coal consumption cost of thermal unit, and the output adjustment cost of both the dispatchable unit and the AGC unit. Since each dynamic dispatch order has an impact, direct or indirect, on the subsequent system operation, we formulate the dynamic optimal dispatch problem as a Markov decision process (MDP) problem. In this framework, a deep Q‐learning method is provided to optimize the dispatch strategy. Finally, the feasibility and the effectiveness of the proposed method is validated by means of numerical experiments on IEEE 30‐node system. © 2021 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.
Sustainable eating: the future for pet food?
Authors: Gray Arabella
Published: June 2021

Alternative protein sources are big business in the human food sector, and now, as Arabella Gray discusses, that drive for more sustainable and meat‐free living is moving to the pet food market.
The utility of social network analysis for informing zoo management: Changing network dynamics of a group of captive hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas) following an introduction of two young males
Authors: Radosevich Louisa M. , Jaffe Karin Enstam , Minier Darren E.
Published: June 2021

Comprehensive knowledge of social groups within zoos allows for better understanding of the issues surrounding group stability and how to provide captive animals with optimal care. A developing area of sociality research that works to improve this understanding is social network analysis (SNA), which allows scientists to apply quantitative measures of group systems to represent social structure. In December 2015, Oakland Zoo introduced two new males to the hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas) exhibit. We examined the changing group structure of these baboons over the course of 6 months (July–December 2016) using social network analysis, specifically focusing on the changing social structure of the existing group and the utility of SNA methods for optimal care of captive animals. This study found that over time, the new males decreased their overall individual centrality, while some individuals had an increase in betweenness, a measure of an individual's intermediary role in the network. The results also illustrate the utility of social network analysis as tool for zoo management to examine how husbandry may have an impact on their animals, specifically for social species. Further research on the social networks of hamadryas baboon multi‐clan formation could provide more information about the societal structure of this primate species, as well as the use of social network analysis as a valuable tool in captive animal management.
Vector dark matter from a gauged SU(2) symmetry
Authors: Nomura Takaaki , Okada Hiroshi , Yun Seokhoon
Published: June 2021

Abstract

We propose a scenario of dark sector described by a hidden SU(2) gauge symmetry which is broken by a vacuum expectation value(VEV) of a scalar multiplet. We discuss a general mass relation among SU(2) gauge bosons after spontaneous symmetry breaking which is determined by weight of gauge group representation associated with a scalar multiplet developing VEV. Then a model with quintet and triplet scalar fields is discussed in which hidden gauge boson can be dark matter(DM) stabilized by remnant discrete Z2 symmetry and resonant dark matter annihilation is realized by mass relation between DM and mediator. We estimate relic density and spin independent DM-nucleon scattering cross section searching for allowed parameter region.
Photophilic hadronic axion from heavy magnetic monopoles
Authors: Sokolov Anton V. , Ringwald Andreas
Published: June 2021

Abstract

We propose a model for the QCD axion which is realized through a coupling of the Peccei-Quinn scalar field to magnetically charged fermions at high energies. We show that the axion of this model solves the strong CP problem and then integrate out heavy magnetic monopoles using the Schwinger proper time method. We find that the model discussed yields axion couplings to the Standard Model which are drastically different from the ones calculated within the KSVZ/DFSZ-type models, so that large part of the corresponding parameter space can be probed by various projected experiments. Moreover, the axion we introduce is consistent with the astrophysical hints suggested both by anomalous TeV-transparency of the Universe and by excessive cooling of horizontal branch stars in globular clusters. We argue that the leading term for the cosmic axion abundance is not changed compared to the conventional pre-inflationary QCD axion case for axion decay constant fa> 1012 GeV.
Clinical anatomy of the lumbar sinuvertebral nerve with regard to discogenic low back pain and review of literature
Authors: Quinones S. , Konschake M. , Aguilar L. L. , Simon C. , Aragones P. , Hernández L. M. , Abramovic A. , Tubbs R. S. , Bouzada J. , Valderrama-Canales F. J. , Vazquez T. , Sanudo J.
Published: June 2021

Purpose

Lumbar discogenic diffuse pain is still not understood. Authors describe the sinuvertebral nerve (SVN) as one possible cause. Body-donor studies are rare and controversial. Therefore, the aim was to revisit the origin, course and distribution in a body-donor study.

Methods

Six lumbar blocks (3 female, 3 male) aged between 59 and 94 years were dissected. After removal of the back muscles, lamina, dura mater and cauda equina, the anterior vertebral venous plexus, spinal artery and SVN were exposed and evaluated.

Results

43 nerves out of 48 levels could be evaluated. The origin of the SVN was constituted by two roots: a somatic and a sympathetic branch arising from the rami communicantes. In 4/48 intervertebral canals studied (8.3%), we found two SVN at the same level. In 35/48 cases, one SVN was found. In 9/48 cases, no SVN was found. The SVN had a recurrent course below the inferior vertebral notch; in the vertebral canal it showed different patterns: ascending branch (31/43, 72.1%), common branch diverging into two branches (10/43, 23.3%), double ascending branch (1/43, 2.3%) finalizing two levels above and a descending branch (1/43, 2.3%). In 12/43 cases (27.9%) the SVN had ipsilateral connections with another SVN. The distribution ended in the middle of the vertebral body supplying adjacent structures.

Conclusion

A thorough understanding of the anatomy of the SVN might lead to significant benefits in therapy of discogenic low back pain. We suggest blocking the SVN at the level of the inferior vertebral notch of two adjacent segments.

Level of evidence I

Diagnostic: individual cross-sectional studies with consistently applied reference standard and blinding
Environmental and economic issues concerning the use of wet scrubbers coupled to bagasse-fired boilers: a case study in the Brazilian sugarcane industry
Authors: de Mello Innocentini Murilo Daniel , Lovero Federico Giovanni , Ferreira Ariana Silva , Das Tapas K. , Tronville Paolo
Published: June 2021

For decades, wet scrubbers have been used to control particulate matter (PM) emitted by bagasse-fired boilers in the sugarcane industry. This choice was justified by their acceptable performance in meeting environmental standards, the abundance of water resources, and the fact that their operation was simpler and less expensive than other dry cleaning operations. However, the progressive tightening of PM emission limits, as well as the need for more rational water and wastewater management in these applications, has changed this aspect of the industry. Despite the extensive technical literature on wet scrubbers, the lack of up-to-date indicators of their performance in sugarcane industries has prevented the optimization of wet scrubbing processes. This paper clearly shows that the use of wet scrubbers can result in significant water and heat losses, as well as high operating costs for wastewater treatment stations (WTSs). Mass and energy balances were determined for a typical ethanol-sugar plant operating in Brazil, which is the world's largest sugarcane producer. The key boiler and scrubber performance indicators were evaluated experimentally over the course of a crop season and were compared to the legal particulate emission and water quality requirements in Brazil. The boiler processed an average of 114.8 t/h of bagasse containing 46.8% moisture and generated 4.75 t of gas and 28.2 kg of PM for each ton of dry burned bagasse. Of the total PM (ash and soot), 68% was collected as dry material in the grate, heat exchangers, and multicyclone; 25% was collected in the wet scrubber; and 7% was emitted to the atmosphere, in compliance with the Brazilian standards. The operation of the WTS linked to the gas cleaning system was inefficient, using 70% of the water to convey the dry PM retained in the boiler, heat exchangers, and multicyclone and only 30% to operate the wet scrubber. Evaporation caused the loss of 10.5% of the scrubbing water to the atmosphere. The transportation of moist cake (7.9 t/h, 78% wb) for disposal in fields resulted in significant fuel costs and water losses. The operation of the WTS accounted for 62% of the total capital expenditure of the cleaning system, while the wet scrubber accounted for only 38%. This work provides updated performance indicators and alternatives for optimizing a gas cleaning system to promote more rational water and wastewater management and savings for the sugarcane sector.

Graphic abstract

Required collection efficiency
for bagasse boilers based on the inlet PM concentration and emission limits imposed in Brazil, China, and most countries
Alarmingly High HIV Prevalence Among Adolescent and Young Men Who have Sex with Men (MSM) in Urban Indonesia
Authors: Johnston Lisa G. , Soe Phyumar , Widihastuti Asti Setiawati , Camellia Artha , Putri Tarinanda Adzani , Rakhmat Fani Fadillah , Nurwandani Risky Annisa , Prabhu Shirley Mark , Sulaiman Nurjannah , Pronyk Paul M.
Published: June 2021

Indonesia’s HIV epidemic is concentrated among key populations. While prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM) is high, transmission among young MSM (15–24-years-old) remains poorly understood. We conducted a respondent driven sampling survey of 211 young MSM in urban Bandung, Indonesia in 2018–2019 to estimate HIV prevalence and associated risk factors. Thirty percent of young MSM were HIV antibody positive. This is nearly 100-fold greater than Indonesia’s population prevalence and sevenfold higher than average estimates for young MSM across Asia and the Pacific Region. Individual risk factors associated with HIV infection were being 20–24 years old, having a steady partner and preferring the receptive position during sex. Issues of stigma, discrimination and social exclusion were common. Few young MSM who were open with friends and family members about their sexual identity. Among those that were, close to half reported experiencing feelings of aversion from these groups. Wider structural factors that reduce social tolerance, restrict the rights of young MSM and compel concealment of sexual identity are likely to fuel high-risk behaviors and limit access to essential testing care and support services including pre-exposure prophylaxis which is not yet widely available. Urgent health, social, legal and political actions are required to respond to these factors and reduce the disproportionate contribution of young MSM to Indonesia’s HIV epidemic.
Cartesian Differential Categories as Skew Enriched Categories
Authors: Garner Richard , Lemay Jean-Simon Pacaud
Published: June 2021

We exhibit the cartesian differential categories of Blute, Cockett and Seely as a particular kind of enriched category. The base for the enrichment is the category of commutative monoids—or in a straightforward generalisation, the category of modules over a commutative rigk. However, the tensor product on this category is not the usual one, but rather awarpingof it by a certain monoidal comonadQ. Thus the enrichment base is not a monoidal category in the usual sense, but rather askew monoidalcategory in the sense of Szlachányi. Our first main result is that cartesian differential categories are the same as categories with finite products enriched over this skew monoidal base. The comonadQinvolved is, in fact, an example of a differential modality. Differential modalities are a kind of comonad on a symmetric monoidalk-linear category with the characteristic feature that their co-Kleisli categories are cartesian differential categories. Using our first main result, we are able to prove our second one: that every small cartesian differential category admits a full, structure-preserving embedding into the cartesian differential category induced by a differential modality (in fact, a monoidal differential modality on a monoidal closed category—thus, a model of intuitionistic differential linear logic). This resolves an important open question in this area.
JWSAN: Japanese word similarity and association norm
Authors: Inohara Keisuke , Utsumi Akira
Published: June 2021

We present a new Japanese dataset, Japanese Word Similarity and Association Norm (JWSAN), comprising human rating scores of similarity and association for 2145 word pairs, with a clear distinction between word similarity and word association. Computational models of human semantic memory or mental lexicon, such as distributed semantic models, must predict not only association but also similarity. People can distinguish between word similarity and association. However, although the SimLex-999 dataset is publicly available for English, there is no Japanese similarity dataset with a clear distinction between the two types of word relatedness. JWSAN is the first large Japanese dataset with similarity and association ratings, containing noun, verb, and adjective word pairs. It is also characterized by data collection from a sufficient number of age- and-gender-controlled assessors, with similarity and association ratings obtained via a web-based survey conducted of 6450 native speakers of Japanese. In addition, the effects of the gender and age of the raters were also examined; these factors were only given scant consideration in the past. This dataset can act as a benchmark for improving distributed semantic models in Japanese.
Correction to: Exploring causal relationships qualitatively: An empirical illustration of how causal relationships become visible across episodes and contexts
Authors: Jensen Ruth
Published: June 2021

A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-021-09427-1
Effective Public Rental Housing governance: tenants’ perspective from the pilot city Chongqing, China
Authors: Yan Juan , Haffner Marietta , Elsinga Marja
Published: June 2021

In the past decade, Public Rental Housing (PRH) has become the program of providing affordable rental housing to low- and middle-income households in China. Even though descriptions of the governance results are numerous, the previous studies are not underpinned by a theoretical foundation from a governance perspective, nor have they empirically examined whether PRH governance works on the ground. This explorative and empirical paper aims to fill this gap of an outcome-oriented evaluation of the impacts of governance as perceived by the final user. Central government formulated the objective for PRH governance as maintaining stability in the society. Whether the tenants perceive the goal of social stability as achieved was measured along three governance outcome dimensions: satisfaction with housing quality, satisfaction with housing quantity, and willingness to communicate with the government about PRH governance. Data were collected from questionnaires to PRH-tenants in Chongqing, the most important pilot city of PRH provision in China. The findings show that the perceived governance outcomes were quite mixed as tenants were moderately satisfied with PRH housing quantity, but less satisfied with housing quality, and thought they could relatively easily communicate with local government. In view of these mixed outcomes, to strengthen the effectiveness of PRH governance in the eyes of the tenants, this study suggests local governments: (1) to rethink and redevelop the performance evaluation; (2) to rethink the relations with non-governmental actors and organise a monitoring system that will assist in optimizing housing quality; and (3) to facilitate tenants’ communication with local government.
How to measure uncertainty in uncertainty sampling for active learning
Authors: Nguyen Vu-Linh , Shaker Mohammad Hossein , Hüllermeier Eyke
Published: June 2021

Various strategies for active learning have been proposed in the machine learning literature. In uncertainty sampling, which is among the most popular approaches, the active learner sequentially queries the label of those instances for which its current prediction is maximally uncertain. The predictions as well as the measures used to quantify the degree of uncertainty, such as entropy, are traditionally of a probabilistic nature. Yet, alternative approaches to capturing uncertainty in machine learning, alongside with corresponding uncertainty measures, have been proposed in recent years. In particular, some of these measures seek to distinguish different sources and to separate different types of uncertainty, such as the reducible (epistemic) and the irreducible (aleatoric) part of the total uncertainty in a prediction. The goal of this paper is to elaborate on the usefulness of such measures for uncertainty sampling, and to compare their performance in active learning. To this end, we instantiate uncertainty sampling with different measures, analyze the properties of the sampling strategies thus obtained, and compare them in an experimental study.
Energy Spaces, Dirichlet Forms and Capacities in a Nonlinear Setting
Authors: Claus Burkhard
Published: June 2021

In this article we study lower semicontinuous, convex functionals on real Hilbert spaces. In the first part of the article we construct a Banach space that serves as the energy space for such functionals. In the second part we study nonlinear Dirichlet forms, as defined by Cipriani and Grillo, and show, as it is well known in the bilinear case, that the energy space of such forms is a lattice. We define a capacity and introduce the notion quasicontinuity associated with these forms and prove several results, which are well known in the bilinear case.
The Role of Discrete Capillary Rings in Mass Transfer From the Surface of a Drying Capillary Porous Medium
Authors: Mahmood Hafiz Tariq , Tsotsas Evangelos , Kharaghani Abdolreza
Published: June 2021

The mass exchange between the surface of a model capillary porous medium and the adjacent gas-side boundary layer is studied in the limiting condition of isothermal, slow drying. In order to quantify the role and significance of liquid films in the mass exchange process, three-dimensional pore network Monte Carlo simulations are carried out systematically in the presence and absence of discrete capillary rings. The pore network simulations performed with capillary rings show a noticeable delay in transition from the capillary-supported regime to the diffusion-controlled regime. These simulation results differ significantly from the predictions of classical pore network models without liquid films, and they appear to be more consistent with the experiments conducted with real porous systems. As compared to classical pore network models, the pore network model with rings seems to predict favorably the spatiotemporal evolution of wet and dry patches at the medium surface as well as of their relative contributions to the net mass exchange rate. This is apparent when the analytical solution of the commonly used Schlünder’s model is examined against the numerical simulations conducted using classical and ring pore network models.
Solving the Tower of Babel Problem for Patient-Reported Outcome Measures
Authors: Bjorner Jakob Bue
Published: June 2021

The PROsetta Stone Project, summarized in this issue by Schalet et al. (Psychometrika 86, 2021), is a major step forward in enabling comparability between different patient-reported outcomes measures. Schalet et al. clearly describe the psychometric methods used in the PROsetta Stone project and other projects from the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS): linking based on unidimensional item response theory (IRT), equipercentile linking, and calibrated projection based on multidimensional IRT. Analyses in a validation data set and simulation studies provide strong support that the linking methods are robust when basic assumptions are fulfilled. The links already established will be of great value to the field, and the methodology described by Schalet et al. will hopefully inspire the next series of linking studies. Among potential improvements that should be considered by new studies are: (1) a thorough evaluation of the content of the measures to be linked to better guide the evaluation of measurement assumptions, (2) improvements in the design of linking studies such as selection of the optimal sample to provide data in the score ranges where linking precision is most critical and using counterbalanced designs to control for order effects. Finally, it may be useful to consider how the linking algorithms are used in subsequent data analyses. Analytic strategies based on plausible values or latent regression IRT models may be preferable to the simple transformation of scores from one patient at the time.
The patterns of curriculum change processes that embed sustainability in higher education institutions
Authors: Weiss Marie , Barth Matthias , von Wehrden Henrik
Published: June 2021

Implementing education for sustainable development (ESD) in higher education institutions (HEIs) is critical to facilitating a transition toward sustainable development. However, little is known about the specific implementation processes that lead to the institutionalization of sustainability curricula in HEIs. This meta-study and cluster analysis uses 131 international case studies to shed light on six distinct implementation patterns: (1) collaborative paradigm change, (2) bottom-up, evolving institutional change, (3) top-down, mandated institutional change, (4) externally driven initiatives, (5) isolated initiatives, and (6) limited institutional change. A cluster comparison reveals two distinct implementation phases: ESD can be implemented from the bottom-up, from the top-down, or both, and the impetus can stem from manifold external or internal stakeholders. To achieve more comprehensive ESD implementation, open communication among all stakeholders should be facilitated and feedback as well as reflection encouraged. Maintaining a unified vision statement and active participation of all stakeholders fosters a sense of ownership in ESD implementation and ensures that it will be long-lasting. Collaboration between isolated ESD initiatives and various stakeholders leads to shared knowledge and resources. Strong informal collaboration and communication can compensate for a lack of formalized leadership support from the top. Moreover, thorough planning that involves creating a strategy with detailed steps, and balancing shared responsibilities among internal stakeholders further enables fuller implementation of ESD. This analysis represents a first synthesis of small-N case studies and facilitates a better understanding of sustainability curriculum implementation patterns, which are shared in different contexts. Most HEIs and practitioners can benefit from these findings by reflecting on the specific implementation pattern with which the most overlap is found and focusing on this pattern’s most pertinent drivers.
Wear Behavior of Ti6Al4V Surfaces Functionalized through Ultrasonic Vibration Turning
Authors: Bertolini R. , Ghiotti A. , Bruschi S.
Published: June 2021

Even if titanium alloys are widely used for biomedical applications, the tendency they show to wear is a matter of concern for their durability. In this research work, Ultrasonic Vibration Turning (UVT) was used to generate texturized surfaces on Ti6Al4V cylinders for improving their wear performances. To prove that, in vitro wear tests were performed, during which the UVT-ed Ti6Al4V cylinders were made to slide against polyethylene disks to replicate a currently used biomedical pair. It was shown that the UVT-ed Ti6Al4V cylinders were characterized by enhanced performances in terms of coefficient of friction and wear rate, which were reduced to 52 and 25%, respectively, compared to polished Ti6Al4V surfaces.
Is Gastric Involvement by Strongyloides stercoralis in an Immunocompetent Patient a Common Finding? A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Pecorella Irene , Okello Tom Richard , Ciardi Gaia , Ogwang David Martin
Published: June 2021

Purpose

Gastric infection withStrongyloides stercoralis(SS) usually occurs in immunocompromised patients. The unexpected observation of this parasite in an otherwise healthy young lady who had undergone upper endoscopy and biopsy sampling of the gastro-duodenal mucosa, prompted us to review the literature to ascertain the conditions favouring gastric colonization bySS.

Methods

Pathology files of gastroduodenal biopsies received at St. Mary’s hospital, Northern Uganda, between 2007 and 2017 were reviewed. Pubmed search was performed under the headings “Strongyloides stercoralis”, “Gastric parasitosis”.

Results

Histology of the only gastroduodenal biopsy with SS infection showed parasite eggs, immature rhabditiform larvae, and numerous adult worms in gastric pits and rhabditiform larvae in interepithelial parasitic tunnels, causing reactive changes of the glandular epithelium. There was no significant acute inflammatory cell infiltrate surrounding the parasites. Literature review showed that gastricSSinfection appears to be very uncommon and was, as expected, largely prevalent in immunodeficient individuals (84.2% of published cases). The rare gastricSSinfection is a complication of systemic strongyloidiasis, either hyperinfective, or disseminated form. It is also commonly associated with duodenal infection at microscopical examination.

Conclusion

Involvement of gastric mucosa in the absence of duodenal strongyloidiasis appears to be quite rare and false-negative histopathological exams are reported if only the stomach is biopsied.
Central limit theorem for linear processes generated by IID random variables under the sub-linear expectation
Authors: Liu Wei , Zhang Yong
Published: June 2021

In this paper, we investigate the central limit theorem and the invariance principle for linear processes generated by a new notion of independently and identically distributed (IID) random variables for sub-linear expectations initiated by Peng [19]. It turns out that these theorems are natural and fairly neat extensions of the classical Kolmogorov’s central limit theorem and invariance principle to the case where probability measures are no longer additive.
Social restrictions due to COVID-19 and the incidence of intoxicated patients in pediatric emergency department
Authors: Kuitunen Ilari
Published: June 2021

Background

Social restrictions set due to COVID-19 decreased pediatric emergency department (ED). The aim is to report epidemiology of intoxicated patients in pediatric ED during the first and second waves of COVID-19.

Methods

Data for this retrospective hospital discharge register study was gathered from January 2017 to December 2020. Patients aged <18 and intoxicated were included. Incidences are reported per 10,000 children and compared by incidence rate rations (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results

Incidence of ED visit for intoxicated patient was 65 per 10,000 in 2020 and 54 per 10,000 in 2017–2019 (IRR 1.20 CI 0.87–1.68). Incidence was lower during the lockdown compared to reference years (IRR 0.50 CI 0.17–1.44). Peak monthly incidence (12 per 10000) was recorded after lockdown in July 2020 (IRR 2.45 CI 1.01-5.92).

Discussion

Based on these results, the lockdown and social restrictions did not decrease heavy alcohol or drug consumption among adolescents in Finland.
Rationale and design of the PHOspholamban RElated CArdiomyopathy intervention STudy (i-PHORECAST)
Authors: te Rijdt W. P. , Hoorntje E. T. , de Brouwer R. , Oomen A. , Amin A. , van der Heijden J. F. , Karper J. C. , Westenbrink B. D. , Silljé H. H. W. , te Riele A. S. J. M. , Wiesfeld A. C. P. , van Gelder I. C. , Willems T. P. , van der Zwaag P. A. , van Tintelen J. P. , Hillege J. H. , Tan H. L. , van Veldhuisen D. J. , Asselbergs F. W. , de Boer R. A. , Wilde A. A. M. , van den Berg M. P.
Published: June 2021

Background

The p.Arg14del (c.40_42delAGA) phospholamban (PLN) pathogenic variant is a founder mutation that causes dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM). Carriers are at increased risk of malignant ventricular arrhythmias and heart failure, which has been ascribed to cardiac fibrosis. Importantly, cardiac fibrosis appears to be an early feature of the disease, occurring in many presymptomatic carriers before the onset of overt disease. As with most monogenic cardiomyopathies, no evidence-based treatment is available for presymptomatic carriers.

Aims

The PHOspholamban RElated CArdiomyopathy intervention STudy (iPHORECAST) is designed to demonstrate that pre-emptive treatment of presymptomatic PLN p.Arg14del carriers using eplerenone, a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist with established antifibrotic effects, can reduce disease progression and postpone the onset of overt disease.

Methods

iPHORECAST has a multicentre, prospective, randomised, open-label, blinded endpoint (PROBE) design. Presymptomatic PLN p.Arg14del carriers are randomised to receive either 50 mg eplerenone once daily or no treatment. The primary endpoint of the study is a multiparametric assessment of disease progression including cardiac magnetic resonance parameters (left and right ventricular volumes, systolic function and fibrosis), electrocardiographic parameters (QRS voltage, ventricular ectopy), signs and/or symptoms related to DCM and ACM, and cardiovascular death. The follow-up duration is set at 3 years.

Baseline results

A total of 84 presymptomatic PLN p.Arg14del carriers (n = 42 per group) were included. By design, at baseline, all participants were in New York Heart Association (NHYA) class I and had a left ventricular ejection fraction > 45% and < 2500 ventricular premature contractions during 24-hour Holter monitoring. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in any of the baseline characteristics. The study is currently well underway, with the last participants expected to finish in 2021.

Conclusion

iPHORECAST is a multicentre, prospective randomised controlled trial designed to address whether pre-emptive treatment of PLN p.Arg14del carriers with eplerenone can prevent or delay the onset of cardiomyopathy. iPHORECAST has been registered in the clinicaltrials.gov-register (number: NCT01857856).
Measuring dual career motivation among German student-athletes using the Student Athletes’ Motivation Toward Sports and Academics Questionnaire
Authors: Niehues Maike , Gerlach Erin , Sallen Jeffrey
Published: June 2021

With the 2012 EU guidelines on dual careers (DC), DC research gained increasing awareness in Europe focussing particularly on student-athletes’ motivation. The Student Athletes’ Motivation toward Sports and Academics Questionnaire (SAMSAQ), arguably the most prominent instrument in this research area, has been used in various cross-cultural studies assessing DC motivation. The present investigation contributes to the cross-cultural discourse aiming to (1) adapt the SAMSAQ for the German context and adolescent secondary school student-athletes, and (2) evaluate the German pre-version. A sample of 208 student-athletes (52.4% females, mean age = 17.4 years, 49.5% at squad level) at three German Elite Sport Schools participated in the study. The investigation was split into two parts. First, the SAMSAQ was adapted to the German context and tested. In the second part, the first pre-version was revised. A series of exploratory factor analyses were applied to verify the factor structure of both German SAMSAQ pre-versions. Eight different factor models based on item removal were compared. Neither model demonstrated good results for the replication of previous findings or a meaningful solution in terms of content. Reasons for the deviations between the original and target SAMSAQ factor structures can be found in the different target groups and the culturally different approaches to career assistant programmes as well as in the theoretical background of the instrument. Since neither model was identified as acceptable, the findings indicate that a new instrument needs to be developed for assessing student-athletes’ DC motivation along their pathways in different cross-cultural contexts.
Strengthening the policy framework to resolve lax implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan for agriculture
Authors: Brady Mark V. , Andersen Mikael Skou , Andersson Anna , Kilis Emils , Saarela Sanna-Riikka , Hvarregaard Thorsøe Martin
Published: June 2021

In this perspective article, we provide recommendations for strengthening the policy framework for protecting the Baltic Sea from agricultural nutrient pollution. The most striking weakness is the lax implementation of prescribed abatement measures, particularly concerning manure management, in most countries. Institutions of the EU should also be leveraged for achieving Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) goals. In contrast to the Helsinki Convention, the European Union has economic, political and legal mandates to further implementation and compliance. Equally important is the need for strengthening of local institutions, particularly Water Boards and independent agricultural advisory services in the eastern Baltic Sea Region countries. There is also an urgent need for implementation of voluntary land-use measures where EU funding available to farmers is more broadly and effectively used by providing it on the basis of estimated abatement performance, which can be realized through modelling. The enormous potential for funding performance-based schemes, manure management infrastructure and advisory services through the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy are currently underutilized.
Mitigation strategies against cascading failures within a project activity network
Authors: Ellinas Christos , Nicolaides Christos , Masuda Naoki
Published: June 2021

Successful on-time delivery of projects is a key enabler in resolving major societal challenges, such as wasted resources and stagnated economic growth. However, projects are notoriously hard to deliver successfully, partly due to their interconnected and temporal complexity which makes them prone to cascading failures. Here, we develop a cascading failure model and test it on a temporal activity network, extracted from a large-scale engineering project. We evaluate the effectiveness of six mitigation strategies, in terms of the impact of task failure cascading throughout the project. In contrast to theoretical arguments, our results indicate that in the majority of cases, the temporal properties of the activities are more relevant than their structural properties in preventing large-scale cascading failures. In practice, these findings could stimulate new pathways for designing and scheduling projects that naturally limit the extent of cascading failures.
Middle school students’ engagement in and beliefs about student misbehavior: A social domain approach
Authors: Daddis Christopher , Meadows Emily
Published: June 2021

Introduction

Through the lens of social domain theory, the present study examined how 7th grade students coordinated social and moral reasoning when thinking about transgressions.

Method

Eighty‐nine 7th‐grade students (Meanage = 13.05 years; 46 female students) were sampled to assess their beliefs about and engagement in school and classroom misbehavior. Interactive sorting tasks were employed to examine how participants coordinated competing social concerns inherent in everyday misbehaviors.

Results

Analyses revealed that engagement and reasoning were domain differentiated; students engaged most in conventional and contextually conventional transgressions and least in transgressions that involved harm to others (moral) or to the self (prudential). Sorting task responses revealed that, over and above domain‐consistent reasoning (e.g., moral reasoning used to justify decisions about moral transgressions), students appealed to conventional justifications like teacher authority, school rules, and peer norms when reasoning about all types of misbehavior (i.e., moral, conventional, contextually conventional, and prudential). Reasoning also differed by misbehavior groupings. Analyses also indicated that the number of social cognitive domains that a participant considered relevant when defining a transgression was negatively associated with engagement in that transgression. Finally, a multigroup path analysis model revealed that the association between type of reasoning and misbehavior was moderated by misbehavior group.

Conclusions

The findings from this study increased understanding of the ways that individuals coordinate social and moral concerns in everyday decision making. Moreover, discussion focused on how the results can be used to support domain‐based values education and in more effective teacher/administrator responses to student misbehavior.
Applying the principles of zero-trust architecture to protect sensitive and critical data
Authors: Greenwood David
Published: June 2021

In today's digital landscape, data is a company's most valuable asset, and energy companies, particularly electric, oil and gas, remain at risk of hacking attempts due to their major social and economic importance. Using key zero-trust principles can help to ensure that IT systems are protected, mitigating the risk to company operations and sensitive and critical data.

Data is a company's most valuable asset, and energy companies, particularly electric, oil and gas, remain at risk of hacking attempts due to their major social and economic importance.

Zero-trust principles can help to ensure that IT systems are protected, mitigating the risk to company operations and sensitive and critical data. However, as David Greenwood of ISN Solutions explains, this model often requires careful planning to ensure productivity and that access to data needed for daily work is maintained.
The Regime Change Consensus
Authors: Stieb Joseph
Published: June 2021

Why did the United States invade Iraq, setting off a chain of events that profoundly changed the Middle East and the US global position? The Regime Change Consensus offers a compelling look at how the United States pivoted from a policy of containment to regime change in Iraq after September 11, 2001. Starting with the Persian Gulf War, the book traces how a coalition of political actors argued with increasing success that the totalitarian nature of Saddam Hussein's regime and the untrustworthy behavior of the international coalition behind sanctions meant that containment was a doomed policy. By the end of the 1990s, a consensus belief emerged that only regime change and democratization could fully address the Iraqi threat. Through careful examination, Joseph Stieb expands our understanding of the origins of the Iraq War while also explaining why so many politicians and policymakers rejected containment after 9/11 and embraced regime change.
Contemporary Kinetic Theory of Matter
Authors: Dorfman J. R. , van Beijeren Henk , Kirkpatrick T. R.
Published: June 2021

Kinetic theory provides a microscopic description of many observable, macroscopic processes and has a wide range of important applications in physics, astronomy, chemistry, and engineering. This powerful, theoretical framework allows a quantitative treatment of many non-equilibrium phenomena such as transport processes in classical and quantum fluids. This book describes in detail the Boltzmann equation theory, obtained in both traditional and modern ways. Applications and generalizations describing non-equilibrium processes in a variety of systems are also covered, including dilute and moderately dense gases, particles in random media, hard sphere crystals, condensed Bose-Einstein gases, and granular materials. Fluctuation phenomena in non-equilibrium fluids, and related non-analyticities in the hydrodynamic equations are also discussed in some detail. A thorough examination of many topics concerning time dependent phenomena in material systems, this book describes both current knowledge as well as future directions of the field.
Revolution and Political Violence in Central Europe
Authors: Ablovatski Eliza
Published: June 2021

In the wake of the First World War and Russian Revolutions, Central Europeans in 1919 faced a world of possibilities, threats, and extreme contrasts. Dramatic events since the end of the world war seemed poised to transform the world, but the form of that transformation was unclear and violently contested in the streets and societies of Munich and Budapest in 1919. The political perceptions of contemporaries, framed by gender stereotypes and antisemitism, reveal the sense of living history, of 'fighting the world revolution', which was shared by residents of the two cities. In 1919, both revolutionaries and counterrevolutionaries were focused on shaping the emerging new order according to their own worldview. By examining the narratives of these Central European revolutions in their transnational context, Eliza Ablovatski helps answer the question of why so many Germans and Hungarians chose to use their new political power for violence and repression.
Arianism
Authors: Dunn Marilyn
Published: June 2021

This book surveys Arianism, a Christian creed of tremendous historical importance that once served as the faith of Roman emperors and the barbarians on the frontiers alike, while it simultaneously advances existing scholarship by integrating the approaches of history and theology with those drawn from the cognitive science of religion. This paradigm shift allows us to understand the initial support for the Arian creed and its eventual rejection by Roman emperors; to recognize the nature of intuitions of divinity amongst Germanic peoples before their conversion; to discern the way in which these were translated into Christian belief; and to differentiate the beliefs of Arius from those called 'Arians' by their opponents.
Antiracist Medievalisms
Authors: Hsy Jonathan
Published: June 2021

How do marginalized communities across the globe use the medieval past to combat racism, educate the public, and create a just world? Jonathan Hsy advances urgent academic and public conversations about race and appropriations of the medieval past in popular culture and the arts. Examining poetry, fiction, journalism, and performances, Hsy shows how cultural icons such as Frederick Douglass, Wong Chin Foo, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, and Sui Sin Far reinvented medieval traditions to promote social change. Contemporary Asian, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and multiracial artists embrace diverse pasts to build better futures.
Rural Society and Economic Change in County Durham
Authors: Brown A.T.
Published: June 2021

In the middle of the fifteenth century, the economy of north-east England was beset by crises: population was low, production was stagnant and many landowners faced penury. By the end of the sixteenth century, however, the precocious development of the coal industry and high levels of inflation provided opportunities for investment and profit in the Durham countryside. This book examines the development of agrarian capitalism; estate management; tenure and the land market; social mobility; the gentrification of merchant wealth and the emergence of the yeomanry during this period in the region. It looks at such questions as how the coal industry was affected by the fifteenth-century recession and the effects its rapid expansion had upon landed society; reasseses debates on the rise of the gentry and the 'crisis' of the aristocracy; and considers how the wholesale economic changes of this period affected the social structure of late-medieval and early-modern England. Although this period is often seen as a transitional era, this book argues that it needs to be studied as one long agrarian cycle, showing the degree to which patterns of landholding fixed during the fifteenth-century recession affected the distribution of profits between different types of lords and tenants in the sixteenth and early seventeenth century. A. T. Brown is an Addison Wheeler Fellow at Durham University.