bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Forecasting Mortality Associated Emergency Department Crowding with LightGBM and Time Series Data
Authors: Nevanlinna Jalmari , Eidstø Anna , Ylä-Mattila Jari , Koivistoinen Teemu , Oksala Niku , Kanniainen Juho , Palomäki Ari , Roine Antti
Published: January 2025

Emergency department (ED) crowding is a global public health issue that has been repeatedly associated with increased mortality. Predicting future service demand would enable preventative measures aiming to eliminate crowding along with its detrimental effects. Recent findings in our ED indicate that occupancy ratios exceeding 90% are associated with increased 10-day mortality. In this paper, we aim to predict these crisis periods using retrospective time series data such as weather, availability of hospital beds, calendar variables and occupancy statistics from a large Nordic ED with a LightGBM model. We predict mortality associated crowding for the whole ED and individually for its different operational sections. We demonstrate that afternoon crowding can be predicted at 11 a.m. with an AUC of 0.82 (95% CI 0.78-0.86) and at 8 a.m. with an AUC up to 0.79 (95% CI 0.75-0.83). Consequently we show that forecasting mortality-associated crowding using time series data is feasible.
Ammonia and beyond – biomarkers of hepatic encephalopathy
Authors: Gallego Juan-José , Ballester María-Pilar , Fiorillo Alessandra , Casanova-Ferrer Franc , López-Gramaje Adrià , Urios Amparo , Arenas Yaiza María , Ríos María-Pilar , Durbán Lucía , Megías Javier , San-Miguel Teresa , Benlloch Salvador , Lluch Paloma , Jalan Rajiv , Montoliu Carmina
Published: January 2025

Ammonia is a product of amino acid metabolism that accumulates in the blood of patients with liver cirrhosis, leading to neurotoxic effects and hepatic encephalopathy (HE). HE manifestations can range from mild, subclinical disturbances in cognition, or minimal HE (mHE) to gross disorientation and coma, a condition referred to as overt HE. Many blood-based biomarkers reflecting these neurotoxic effects of ammonia and liver disease can be measured in the blood allowing the development of new biomarkers to diagnose cirrhosis patients at risk of developing HE. The effect of ammonia on the brain is modulated by severity of systemic inflammation, and both hyperammonemia and inflammation can induce oxidative stress, which may mediate the neurological alterations associated to HE. This review aims to provide the latest evidence on biomarkers of HE beyond ammonia. We present different approaches to predict overt HE based on the combination of blood ammonia with some analytical and clinical parameters. Magnetic resonance analysis of brain images could also provide sensitive diagnostic biomarkers based on neuroimaging parameters. Some reports suggest that markers of systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, and central nervous system-derived components, may serve as additional biomarkers of HE. The involvement of extracellular vesicles and microbiota in the pathophysiology of mHE and HE has recently acquired importance and it would be interesting to explore their usefulness as early biomarkers of the disease. It is important to have a biomarker or a combination of them for early diagnosis of mHE to improve its treatment and prevent progression to overt HE.
Strategic Communication and Evaluation to Improve the Capacities of Local Administration for Climate Change Adaptation: A Case Study on Dresden, Germany
Authors: Olfert Alfred , Hutter Gérard
Published: January 2025

Climate change increasingly affects human health, prosperity and the quality of life and increases the probability of disasters, thus calling for consistent answers by local administrations. The paper presents a case study on Capacity Building through professional training in Dresden, a local frontrunner in Germany. A minimum-standard design to output-to-outcome evaluation of the trainings is applied. Results show a highly differentiated effect on motivation factors and that the influence on the intention to act can remain weak even if other factors are enhanced. Hence, a strategic and comprehensive approach to Capacity Building is essential for disaster risk reduction.
Parametric insurance for climate adaptation in fisheries and aquaculture
Authors: Hobday Alistair J. , Little L. Richard , Watson James R. , Spillman Claire M.
Published: January 2025

Ensuring resilience and adaptability of the seafood sector in the face of accelerating climate change involves risk management and risk reduction. In a world where climate patterns are rapidly evolving, innovative financial instruments have a role to play in managing environmental risks and reducing exposure to these risks through climate adaptation. Here, we consider the application of parametric insurance—when a predetermined amount is paid out based on parameters chosen based on expected losses associated with extreme events. We offer insights into its utility, implementation, and limitations. We emphasise the role of ocean forecasting in developing and pricing parametric insurance products to help mitigate and adapt to climate-related risks in aquaculture and fisheries. Forecasting is essential for anticipating changing environmental conditions at a range of spatial and temporal scales and thus informing decision-making regarding resource allocation and adaptation strategies. Through both climate-aware insurance policy design and the provision of education, capacity-building programs, and financial support for industry transition, parametric insurance has the potential to help seafood producers navigate the challenges posed by climate change. Use of parametric insurance can facilitate a managed retreat from vulnerable or non-viable areas to more sustainable alternatives or livelihoods by reducing climate risk in a measured environment. This approach can also contribute to the long-term resilience of seafood industries and coastal communities while protecting the health of marine ecosystems.
Effect of administration of nanoparticles of human chorionic gonadotropin on testicular hemodynamics, testicular volume, testicular echotexture, and circulating testosterone and nitric oxide in pubescent goat bucks under heat stress conditions
Authors: Essam Mayada , ElSayed Mohamed A. I. , Youssef Fady Sayed , Samir Haney
Published: January 2025

The current study investigated the effect of a single administration of human chorionic gonadotropin hormone (hCG) and its nanoparticles (NPs) on testicular hemodynamics using Doppler ultrasonography, testicular volume, testicular echotexture (PIX), and circulating testosterone and nitric oxide (NO) in pubescent goat bucks during summer months. Fifteen Baladi goats were divided into three groups (5 in each) and subjected to a single intramuscular administration of one ml of physiological saline ( control group), one ml containing 500 IU of hCG (hCG group) or one ml containing 125 IU of hCG NPs (hCG NPs group). Testicular hemodynamics assessment was done just before administration (0 h), and at 2, 4, 6, 24, and daily till 7 days after administration. Testicular volume and PIX were measured and analyzed by B-mode ultrasonography and computer analysis software. Testosterone and NO concentrations were measured using commercial kits. Results revealed significant decreases (P ˂0.05) in Doppler indices values (resistance index and pulsatility index) especially at 24 h in the hCG group (0.314 ± 0.01, 0.382 ± 0.01, respectively) compared with the hCG NPs group (0.428 ± 0.01, 0.567 ± 0.02, respectively), and the control group (0.464 ± 0.006, 0.64 ± 0.01, respectively). There were significant increases (P < 0.001) in testicular volume, PIX, testosterone, and NO concentrations in hCG NPs and hCG groups compared to the control group. There were no significant differences between the hCG NPs and hCG groups (P ˃ 0.05) in testicular volume and PIX, while testosterone significantly increased in the hCG group compared to the hCG NPs group and NO was significantly increased in the hCG NPs group compared to the hCG group. In conclusion, a single administration of hCG or its NPs improved testicular vascularization, testicular volume, and circulating testosterone and NO in pubescent goat bucks. So, hCG NPs could be recommended for improving the reproductive performance of goat bucks under heat-stress conditions.
Unsupervised Semantic Segmentation of Urban Scenes via Cross-Modal Distillation
Authors: Vobecky Antonin , Hurych David , Siméoni Oriane , Gidaris Spyros , Bursuc Andrei , Pérez Patrick , Sivic Josef
Published: January 2025

Semantic image segmentation models typically require extensive pixel-wise annotations, which are costly to obtain and prone to biases. Our work investigates learning semantic segmentation in urban scenes without any manual annotation. We propose a novel method for learning pixel-wise semantic segmentation using raw, uncurated data from vehicle-mounted cameras and LiDAR sensors, thus eliminating the need for manual labeling. Our contributions are as follows. First, we develop a novel approach for cross-modal unsupervised learning of semantic segmentation by leveraging synchronized LiDAR and image data. A crucial element of our method is the integration of an object proposal module that examines the LiDAR point cloud to generate proposals for spatially consistent objects. Second, we demonstrate that these 3D object proposals can be aligned with corresponding images and effectively grouped into semantically meaningful pseudo-classes. Third, we introduce a cross-modal distillation technique that utilizes image data partially annotated with the learnt pseudo-classes to train a transformer-based model for semantic image segmentation. Fourth, we demonstrate further significant improvements of our approach by extending the proposed model using a teacher-student distillation with an exponential moving average and incorporating soft targets from the teacher. We show the generalization capabilities of our method by testing on four different testing datasets (Cityscapes, Dark Zurich, Nighttime Driving, and ACDC) without any fine-tuning. We present an in-depth experimental analysis of the proposed model including results when using another pre-training dataset, per-class and pixel accuracy results, confusion matrices, PCA visualization, k-NN evaluation, ablations of the number of clusters and LiDAR’s density, supervised finetuning as well as additional qualitative results and their analysis.
Deep Radiogenomics Sequencing for Breast Tumor Gene-Phenotype Decoding Using Dynamic Contrast Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Authors: Shiri Isaac , Salimi Yazdan , Mohammadi Kazaj Pooya , Bagherieh Sara , Amini Mehdi , Saberi Manesh Abdollah , Zaidi Habib
Published: January 2025

Purpose

We aim to perform radiogenomic profiling of breast cancer tumors using dynamic contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) genes.

Methods

The dataset used in the current study consists of imaging data of 922 biopsy-confirmed invasive breast cancer patients with ER, PR, and HER2 gene mutation status. Breast MR images, including a T1-weighted pre-contrast sequence and three post-contrast sequences, were enrolled for analysis. All images were corrected using N4 bias correction algorithms. Based on all images and tumor masks, a bounding box of 128 × 128 × 68 was chosen to include all tumor regions. All networks were implemented in 3D fashion with input sizes of 128 × 128 × 68, and four images were input to each network for multi-channel analysis. Data were randomly split into train/validation (80%) and test set (20%) with stratification in class (patient-wise), and all metrics were reported in 20% of the untouched test dataset.

Results

For ER prediction, SEResNet50 achieved an AUC mean of 0.695 (CI95%: 0.610–0.775), a sensitivity of 0.564, and a specificity of 0.787. For PR prediction, ResNet34 achieved an AUC mean of 0.658 (95% CI: 0.573–0.741), a sensitivity of 0.593, and a specificity of 0.734. For HER2 prediction, SEResNext101 achieved an AUC mean of 0.698 (95% CI: 0.560–0.822), a sensitivity of 0.750, and a specificity of 0.625.

Conclusion

The current study demonstrated the feasibility of imaging gene-phenotype decoding in breast tumors using MR images and deep learning algorithms with moderate performance.
First Detection of Arsenophonus in Potato Crop in Switzerland: A Threat for the Processing Industry?
Authors: Mahillon Mathieu , Bussereau Floriane , Dubuis Nathalie , Brodard Justine , Debonneville Christophe , Schumpp Olivier
Published: January 2025

The phloem-restricted phytopathogenic bacterium Candidatus Arsenophonus phytopathogenicus (Ap) causes the “syndrome basses richesses” (SBR), which has recently emerged as a major burden for sugar beets in several countries of Western Europe. Here, we report the first identification of Ap and its planthopper vector Pentastiridius leporinus in potato fields in Switzerland in 2023. The bacterium was detected in potato plants and tubers exhibiting phytoplasma-like symptoms and collected from cantons currently experiencing SBR outbreaks. Although our analyses indicate the absence of the Stolbur phytoplasma, the pathogenicity of Ap in potato remains unclear, a fortiori in the context of the poor phytosanitary status of crops in Switzerland in 2023. In infected tubers, we show that Ap can be detected after dormancy from the stem end to the emerging sprouts with decreasing titers. Importantly, Ap might induce threadlike sprouts and the browning of the flesh upon frying, raising strong concerns for varieties marketed for chips production. Altogether, our results align with recent studies performed in Germany, highlighting the host shift of Ap and its vector from sugar beet to potato crops. Our data should raise awareness in other European countries where the presence of the bacterium has been recently described.
Supporting innovating employees: how managerial coaching affects four dimensions of innovative work behavior
Authors: Pajuoja Maria , Viitala Riitta , Henttonen Kaisa
Published: January 2025

SMEs rely on innovation, and individual employees come up with and implement ideas to act as the microfoundations of organizational innovation. Managers play a critical role in encouraging employees’ innovative work behavior. However, thus far, this relationship has been studied utilizing a one-dimensional construct, and little is known about whether a determinant affects all phases of the innovation process equally. We investigate the effect of managerial coaching– managers coaching their employees to improve performance– on four dimensions of innovative work behavior. We show that managerial coaching positively influences innovative behavior in organizations, but is least important when employees explore ideas and most important when they implement ideas. We also find that employees tend to be more comfortable exploring and generating ideas than championing and implementing them, indicating innovation potential at the employee level which can be unlocked if managers know how to coach employees at the right time.
Twenty Years of Neuroinformatics: A Bibliometric Analysis
Authors: Guillén-Pujadas Miguel , Alaminos David , Vizuete-Luciano Emilio , Merigó José M. , Van Horn John D.
Published: January 2025

This study presents a thorough bibliometric analysis of Neuroinformatics over the past 20 years, offering insights into the journal’s evolution at the intersection of neuroscience and computational science. Using advanced tools such as VOS viewer and methodologies like co-citation analysis, bibliographic coupling, and keyword co-occurrence, we examine trends in publication, citation patterns, and the journal’s influence. Our analysis reveals enduring research themes like neuroimaging, data sharing, machine learning, and functional connectivity, which form the core of Neuroinformatics. These themes highlight the journal’s role in addressing key challenges in neuroscience through computational methods. Emerging topics like deep learning, neuron reconstruction, and reproducibility further showcase the journal’s responsiveness to technological advances. We also track the journal’s rising impact, marked by a substantial growth in publications and citations, especially over the last decade. This growth underscores the relevance of computational approaches in neuroscience and the high-quality research the journal attracts. Key bibliometric indicators, such as publication counts, citation analysis, and the h-index, spotlight contributions from leading authors, papers, and institutions worldwide, particularly from the USA, China, and Europe. These metrics provide a clear view of the scientific landscape and collaboration patterns driving progress. This analysis not only celebrates Neuroinformatics’s rich history but also offers strategic insights for future research, ensuring the journal remains a leader in innovation and advances both neuroscience and computational science.
Bulbophyllum halmaherae (Orchidaceae), an unusual species of section Polymeres from Halmahera, Maluku, Indonesia
Authors: Mustaqim Wendy A. , Yudistira Yuda R. , Jacop Sandy , Schuiteman André
Published: January 2025

Bulbophyllum halmaherae Mustaqim, Yudistira, Jacop & Schuit. (Orchidaceae), a distinctive new species of sect. Polymeres, is described and illustrated. A detailed description, morphological comparisons, habitat information, a preliminary conservation assessment and a brief discussion are provided.
Locking in hydro-engineered pathways: the lower river Murray, Australia, 1880–1940
Authors: Cook Margaret
Published: January 2025

Located downstream from substantial irrigation extraction at the “end” of the Murray–Darling River system, South Australia (SA) struggles to maintain flows and the health of the rivers within its borders. Analysis of early twentieth century engineering reports reveals that this problem is not new, beginning in the 1880s with the growth of irrigation in Australia and the riparian demands of the eastern, upstream states. I use the theory of path dependency to analyse the history of the Murray–Darling Basin from a South Australian perspective to argue that the state’s current water issues stem from cultural, institutional, and technological lock-ins shaped by its geo-political position that made it vulnerable to upstream demands for water. As SA’s negotiations for a larger water allocation failed, it turned to construction of an enviro-technical network of weirs, locks and barrages designed to assist navigation, regulate the river’s flow, keep water fresh for landholders and towns, prevent the ingress of salty sea water, and mitigate the consequences of upstream irrigation. With construction of each component the state’s hydro-engineering scheme engineers warned that with increasing extraction these strategies would only buy time and bigger-scale structures would be essential in the future to alleviate accelerating problems. Within decades SA experienced the foretold problems of diminishing flows, increasing salinity, environmental degradation and declining water quality, problems that continue and with climate change are likely to grow worse. Only a fundamental shift in cultural, institutional, and technological lock-ins can change a future trajectory that could improve the health of the river.
Retrospective matched case–control comparison of Totally Robotic Sleeve Gastrectomy (RSG) during the learning curve with Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy (LSG): why is operative time different?
Authors: Vitiello Antonio , Berardi Giovanna , Calabrese Pietro , Spagnuolo Maria , Calenda Fabrizia , Salzillo Giuseppe , Peltrini Roberto , Pilone Vincenzo
Published: January 2025

Robotic approach is slowly rising in metabolic surgery, and laparoscopy is still considered the gold standard for Sleeve Gastrectomy. Aim of our study was to assess and compare outcomes of RSG through a matched comparison with LSG. Retrospective search of prospectively maintained database of our surgical department was carried out find all consecutive patients who underwent RSG from April 2023 to August 2024. Each subject who underwent RSG was matched one-to-one with a patient treated with LSG in the same period. Operative time (docking + console time for the robotic procedures), length of stay, need for rescue drugs, and perioperative complications were recorded calculated and compared. A total number of 50 patients (25 RSG and 25 LSG) were included in the present analysis. Operative time in the LSG group was significantly shorter than in the RSG group (57.8 ± 12.3 VS 80.6 ± 16.6 min, p < 0.01), but it was comparable to console time (57.8 ± 12.3 VS 56.9 ± 19.6, p = 0.85). Mean docking time was 23.7 ± 11 min. Length of stay, readmissions, conversion to laparoscopy/open surgery, early complications, and rescue drugs administration were comparable between the two groups. Age, sex, and BMI were not good predictors neither of laparoscopic nor robotic operative time. RSG during the learning curve proved as safe as LSG, but it was associated with longer operative time due to the duration of the docking step. Operation length may become comparable once the learning curve plateau is reached. Age, BMI, and sex are not good criteria of choice between the two approaches.
Carbon nanotube/bentonite @ polyvinylidene fluoride tri-flouro ethylene nanocomposite matrix for surpior elimination of carcinogenic dye from wastewater
Authors: Mohamed F. M. , Hashem F. S. , El-Aassar M. R. , Mekewi M. A. , Khalifa R. E. , Ibrahim O. M. , Rafea M. Abdel , Gamal M. El
Published: January 2025

This study examines the sorption behavior of Congo Red (CR) dye from water-based solutions using a synergistic nanocomposite made of Bentonite (BT), multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), and a Poly (vinylidene fluoride tri-flouroethylene) (P(VDF-TRFE)) polymer matrix with exceptional adsorption capacity for the selective removal of Congo red dye from aqueous solutions. This is done in order to address the urgent concerns surrounding the health and environmental implications of CR dye. Utilizing modern analytical technique such as FTIR, XRD, SEM, TEM, and TGA, the adsorption physicochemical interaction and nanocomposite manufacturing were carefully investigated, offering thorough insights into the composite's general properties. Nanocomposite structures of between 31 and 37 nm in diameter were discovered by TEM examination. The adsorption process was pH dependent, reaching a peak removal effectiveness of 94.5% at pH 3.0. The correlation coefficients obtained from kinetic modeling using pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order equations were 0.97389 and 0.96802, respectively, suggesting that the adsorption mechanism adhered to first-order rate kinetics. Thermodynamic investigation revealed an exothermic and spontaneous reaction, with a negative ΔG value between − 7.45 and − 7.95 J/mol. The nanocomposite outperformed the capacities reported for individual components in earlier investigations, with an impressive monolayer sorption capacity (qmax) of 143.88 mg/g. As a result, there is great potential for this innovative nanocomposite to be a very successful adsorbent for treating industrial wastewater.

Graphical Abstract
A general Volterra integral problem of Riemann–Liouville type
Authors: Jornet Marc
Published: January 2025

We study a Volterra convolution equation of the second kind, based on a combination of Riemann–Liouville integrals. The problem can be reformulated involving the Caputo fractional derivative, hence the equation becomes of differintegral type. The modeling interpretation is based on a non-Markovian state function, where the Riemann–Liouville multi-orders are memory coefficients that decrease hazard risks of change. We prove the validity of the reformulations with fractional-calculus theory, local existence with fixed-point tools, and global uniqueness with a Gronwall-type argumentation. We show some examples and their associated physics. We also solve the general linear equation by means of the algebraic formalism of Mikusiński operational calculus, which is superior to Laplace transforms or Picard’s iterations. Multivariate Mittag–Leffler functions play a key role. We relate the emerging closed-form solution with the fractional power series that one may expect for these types of models.
The Effect of Cooperation with Conspecifics on a Pigeon’s Behavior under the Random Ratio Schedule
Authors: Kono Masanori , Takada Takuhiro , Yokomitsu Kengo
Published: January 2025

Social behavior involves interactions among individuals of the same species, and the presence or behavior of other individuals plays important roles. An individual’s performance in any particular task is improved or facilitated when others are present. The phenomenon of social facilitation has been studied for over a century, and it has implications for important behaviors like substance use, gambling, or choice behavior. The present study aimed to explore how the presence of conspecifics affects the behaviors of pigeons under a random ratio schedule. Four homing pigeons were used in various conditions to analyze response rates and bout-pause patterns. Experimental conditions were set up to examine the effects of conspecifics based on the following factors: the mere presence of conspecifics, simultaneous engagement in the same task, and sharing gains. Pigeon performance in each condition was compared based on the response rate and bout-and-pause patterns of key pecking behavior. The results suggest that sharing gain would work as an abolishing operation, although it does not produce a systematic effect on bout-pause patterns.
A mini review for hydrogen production routes toward carbon neutrality
Authors: Hu Teng , Song Yihong , Zhang Xiao , Lin Saisai , Liu Peng , Zheng Chenghang , Gao Xiang
Published: January 2025

Hydrogen energy is essential to establishing a sustainable and reliable energy system. The continuously growing demand for hydrogen is driven by the challenges associated with greenhouse gas emissions and resource depletion. This paper investigates and summarizes some intriguing hydrogen production processes that have evolved from laboratory stages to mature commercial applications. The analysis of techno-economic, environmental effects and investment trends of these processes are included. Currently, hydrogen is dominantly produced by methods with fossil fuels as feed. These technology processes are relatively mature and account for the majority of the world's hydrogen production, around 99%. However, these results in significant carbon emissions. Around 1400 million tons of carbon dioxide are emitted into the atmosphere. To achieve carbon neutral strategy, the hydrogen production from hydrocarbon fuels needs to become clean. Equipping carbon capture, utilization, and storage system is a promising way to reduce carbon emissions. In addition, hydrogen production schemes with zero carbon emissions like electrolytic and photocatalysis are attracting increasing attention. The survey results suggest that the price of hydrogen production associated with the addition of carbon capture equipment ranges from 1.47 to 6.04 USD/kg, which is higher than the value for the price without the additional facility (1.03–2.08 USD/kg). The introduction of carbon tax is expected to narrow the cost gap between the two. Besides, the cost of electrolysis remains expensive (6.25–12.2 USD/kg), depending on the energy source and electrolytic cell equipment. The high-pressure autothermal reforming technique coupled with carbon capture and electrolytic technique powered by renewable energy are favored by global commercial investment. Finally, key challenges and opportunities for clean hydrogen production are discussed in this paper. More attention should be paid to catalyst blockage or deactivation and the cost of carbon capture equipment for fossil fuel hydrogen production. For the new zero-carbon hydrogen production method, designing efficient, economical catalysts and electrolysis materials is essential for its large-scale application.
Multiple Pregnancy
Authors: Hamer Jack , Tamblyn Jennifer , Castleman James , Morris R. Katie
Published: January 2025

Multiple pregnancy affects 0.9-3.1% of births worldwide. Prevalence rates vary significantly due to differences in dizygotic twinning rates and use of assisted reproduction. Both maternal and fetal/neonatal complications are more common in multiple compared to singleton pregnancies, and there are specific problems for the fetuses related to monochorionicity. Multiple pregnancies require specialised and individualised care. Complicated multiple pregnancies should be managed in a tertiary care centre where there is additional expertise, such as the laser ablation needed to treat monochorionic monozygotic pregnancies with conjoined circulations. Cornerstones of management in pregnancy are the need for accurate fetal measurement to optimise dating of gestational age, and documentation of chorionicity. High-level ultrasound expertise is needed. The mothers need frequent assessment to detect hypertension and anemia, and early identification and management of preterm labour.
The Social Life of Islam
Authors: Jaffer Amen
Published: January 2025

How do Islamic discourses, practices and symbols become a concrete and meaningful facet of the lives of individuals and communities in the cities of contemporary Pakistan? How do they constitute relationships between neighbors, friends, relatives, strangers, and various urban groups? In other words, how is Islam woven into and how does it shape the social fabric of urban Pakistan? The Social Life of Islam addresses these questions through an ethnography of Sufi shrines in Pakistan's second largest metropolitan center, Lahore. It argues that Sufi shrines' position as a vital hub of metropolitan public life is critical to their capacity to serve as a conduit for Islam. Connecting urban studies with the study of religion, this book explores the minutiae of social interactions in everyday life that constitute Sufi shrines as a key social, political and religious space for the mediation, contestation and reproduction of social relations in the city and for producing a distinct embodiment of Islam.
Gender, Ethnicity, and Intersectionality in Cabinets
Authors: Liu Amy H. , Hlatky Roman , Chew Keith Padraic , Power Eoin L. , Selsky Sam , Compton Betty , Xu Meiying
Published: January 2025

What explains patterns of representation – of women and ethnic minorities – in government cabinets? The authors argue governments diversify their cabinets when (1) a minority group – and it need not be ethnic – is sizable and can mobilize (political competition); and/or (2) the general population believes in and expects the inclusion of minorities (popular norms). The authors test their argument using original cabinet data from Asia and Europe (N=93) 1960-2015 and a most-similar design of four case studies. They identify the gender and ethnicity of 91,000 country-year-minister observations – with consideration of the rank of their ministerial portfolio. They find evidence that in countries where there is political competition and/or popular norms, cabinets have fewer double-hegemons. However, this does not necessarily suggest minorities are holding portfolios of substantive prestige. This project offers a way to study intersectionality in democratic representation and political institutions.
Between Rules and Implementation: The Difficulty in Relying on International Law in Military Courts in Criminal Law
Authors: Farber Shai , Benichou Nethanel , Amer Rani
Published: January 2025

The West Bank, also referred to as Judea and Samaria, has been subject to belligerent occupation since 1967, and its legal framework is grounded primarily in international law. This legal foundation of belligerent occupation emanates from the international law of occupation, which regulates the legislative, judicial and executive powers of the occupying state in the occupied territory. However, the utilisation of international law in adjudicating criminal matters within military courts in this region is sporadic. The underlying reasons for this practice call for inquiry and prompt a reconsideration of the optimal configuration of the legal regime.

This article contends that despite a recent uptake in integrating international law into military court decisions, its effectiveness in addressing criminal issues within these courts is limited. Moreover, in most cases presented before military courts, international law lags behind domestic legal doctrines, including Israeli criminal law. Despite its overarching authority, international law falls short of providing a pragmatic solution to the challenges confronted by military courts. Consequently, these courts are compelled to turn to alternative legal sources. The article proposes an integrated model, advocating reliance on international law for fundamental, constitutional-level issues while deferring to the Israeli criminal justice system for specific practical criminal matters.
Semantic taxonomy, direct compositionality, and unlike nominal coordinations in Korean
Authors: Lee Juwon
Published: January 2025

This paper investigates Korean nominal coordination, a distant conjunct of which is semantically incompatible with the subcategorizing verb in a sentence. This type of nominal coordination is supported by both corpus-based and experimental data. Such coordinations pose a challenge to previous approaches to coordination in the literature. Specifically, any theory directly linking the subcategorizing verb to such a distant conjunct encounters the issue of semantic incompatibility. To address this issue, based on Lee (2020), I propose associating the distant conjunct with a direct hypernym of the verb. While the primary focus is on conjunctive nominal coordinations, the hypothesis also extends to disjunctive nominal coordinations. This semantic taxonomy-based account is then formally implemented in Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (Pollard & Sag 1994; Sag et al. 2003), adapting the generalized conjunction from Partee & Rooth (1983). Furthermore, I argue that this analysis can serve as a basis for explaining other related constructions in Korean.
Bilingual children reach early language milestones at the same age as monolingual peers
Authors: Muszyńska Karolina , Krajewski Grzegorz , Dynak Agnieszka , Garmann Nina Gram , Romøren Anna Sara H. , Łuniewska Magdalena , Alcock Katie , Katsos Napoleon , Kołak Joanna , Simonsen Hanne Gram , Hansen Pernille , Krysztofiak Magdalena , Sobota Krzysztof , Haman Ewa
Published: January 2025

In this longitudinal study, we compare the age of reaching early developmental milestones in bilingual and monolingual children and between the bilinguals’ two languages. We present data from 302 Polish bilinguals (living outside of Poland with various majority languages) and 302 Polish monolinguals, aged M = 12.78 months on study entry (range: 0–24 months), matched on sex, age at study entry, duration of parental reporting, and parental education. The milestones under investigation include crawling, walking, babbling, first, 10th, 50th word, and first multi-word utterances. The data was collected with a specially designed mobile app, in which parents reported their children’s development repeatedly. Using this relatively big sample and looking at a wide range of investigated milestones, we present evidence that typical bilingual development follows a trajectory similar to monolingual development. We also evaluate the feasibility and usefulness of online data collection using mobile apps to study early language development.
The Stable Model Semantics for Higher-Order Logic Programming
Authors: BOGAERTS BART , CHARALAMBIDIS ANGELOS , CHATZIAGAPIS GIANNOS , KOSTOPOULOS BABIS , POLLACI SAMUELE , RONDOGIANNIS PANOS
Published: January 2025

We propose a stable model semantics for higher-order logic programs. Our semantics is developed using Approximation Fixpoint Theory (AFT), a powerful formalism that has successfully been used to give meaning to diverse non-monotonic formalisms. The proposed semantics generalizes the classical two-valued stable model semantics of Gelfond and Lifschitz as well as the three-valued one of Przymusinski, retaining their desirable properties. Due to the use of AFT, we also get for free alternative semantics for higher-order logic programs, namely supported model, Kripke-Kleene, and well-founded. Additionally, we define a broad class of stratified higher-order logic programs and demonstrate that they have a unique two-valued higher-order stable model which coincides with the well-founded semantics of such programs. We provide a number of examples in different application domains, which demonstrate that higher-order logic programming under the stable model semantics is a powerful and versatile formalism, which can potentially form the basis of novel ASP systems.
The Semantics of Metaprogramming in Prolog
Authors: WARREN DAVID SCOTT
Published: January 2025

This paper describes a semantics for pure Prolog programs with negation that provides meaning to metaprograms. Metaprograms are programs that construct and use data structures as programs. In Prolog a primary mataprogramming construct is the use of a variable as a literal in the body of a clause. The traditional Prolog 3-line metainterpreter is another example of a metaprogram. The account given here also supplies a meaning for clauses that have a variable as head, even though most Prolog systems do not support such clauses. This semantics naturally includes such programs, giving them their intuitive meaning. Ideas from Denecker and his colleagues form the basis of this approach. The key idea is to notice that if we give meanings to all propositional programs and treat Prolog rules with variables as the set of their ground instances, then we can give meanings to all programs. We must treat Prolog rules (which may be metarules) as templates for generating ground propositional rules, and not as first-order formulas, which they may not be. We use parameterized inductive definitions to give propositional models to Prolog programs, in which the propositions are expressions. Then the set of expressions of a propositional model determine a first-order Herbrand Model, providing a first-order logical semantics for all (pure) Prolog programs, including metaprograms. We give examples to show the applicability of this theory. We also demonstrate how this theory makes proofs of some important properties of metaprograms very straightforward.
Abstract Environment Trimming
Authors: JURJO-RIVAS DANIEL , MORALES JOSE F. , LÓPEZ-GARCÍA PEDRO , HERMENEGILDO MANUEL V.
Published: January 2025

Variable sharing is a fundamental property in the static analysis of logic programs, since it is instrumental for ensuring correctness and increasing precision while inferring many useful program properties. Such properties include modes, determinacy, non-failure, cost, etc. This has motivated significant work on developing abstract domains to improve the precision and performance of sharing analyses. Much of this work has centered around the family of set-sharing domains, because of the high precision they offer. However, this comes at a price: their scalability to a wide set of realistic programs remains challenging and this hinders their wider adoption. In this work, rather than defining new sharing abstract domains, we focus instead on developing techniques which can be incorporated in the analyzers to address aspects that are known to affect the efficiency of these domains, such as the number of variables, without affecting precision. These techniques are inspired in others used in the context of compiler optimizations, such as expression reassociation and variable trimming. We present several such techniques and provide an extensive experimental evaluation of over 1100 program modules taken from both production code and classical benchmarks. This includes the Spectector cache analyzer, the s(CASP) system, the libraries of the Ciao system, the LPdoc documenter, the PLAI analyzer itself, etc. The experimental results are quite encouraging: we have obtained significant speedups, and, more importantly, the number of modules that require a timeout was cut in half. As a result, many more programs can be analyzed precisely in reasonable times.
On Lower Bounding Minimal Model Count
Authors: KABIR MOHIMENUL , MEEL KULDEEP S
Published: January 2025

Minimal models of a Boolean formula play a pivotal role in various reasoning tasks. While previous research has primarily focused on qualitative analysis over minimal models; our study concentrates on the quantitative aspect, specifically counting of minimal models. Exact counting of minimal models is strictly harder than
$\#\mathsf{P}$
, prompting our investigation into establishing a lower bound for their quantity, which is often useful in related applications. In this paper, we introduce two novel techniques for counting minimal models, leveraging the expressive power of answer set programming: the first technique employs methods from knowledge compilation, while the second one draws on recent advancements in hashing-based approximate model counting. Through empirical evaluations, we demonstrate that our methods significantly improve the lower bound estimates of the number of minimal models, surpassing the performance of existing minimal model reasoning systems in terms of runtime.
Towards Probabilistic Inductive Logic Programming with Neurosymbolic Inference and Relaxation
Authors: HILLERSTRÖM FIEKE , BURGHOUTS GERTJAN
Published: January 2025

Many inductive logic programming (ILP) methods are incapable of learning programs from probabilistic background knowledge, for example, coming from sensory data or neural networks with probabilities. We propose Propper, which handles flawed and probabilistic background knowledge by extending ILP with a combination of neurosymbolic inference, a continuous criterion for hypothesis selection (binary cross-entropy) and a relaxation of the hypothesis constrainer (NoisyCombo). For relational patterns in noisy images, Propper can learn programs from as few as 8 examples. It outperforms binary ILP and statistical models such as a graph neural network.
The use of facial recognition for targeting under international law
Authors: Rosenzweig Ido , Pacholska Magdalena
Published: January 2025

In the quest for “identity dominance” over the enemy, armed forces are increasingly leveraging biometrics for a variety of purposes. This paper focuses on the combat employment of one of them – facial recognition, which, unlike other biometrics, does not appear to have been widely utilized for targeting purposes yet. With the purchasing patterns of advanced militaries suggesting that such a development is around the corner, this paper assesses the compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL) of the use of facial recognition technologies for targeting purposes. It peruses the applicable legal framework to demonstrate that IHL is neutral towards the use of new technologies and that the right to privacy under international human rights law does not preclude the use of biometrics in hostilities. The analysis zooms in on two specific use cases in which facial recognition is likely to be employed on the battlefield, namely (1) targeted killings against combatants and (2) targeted killings against civilians directly participating in hostilities. The paper closes with an acknowledgment that while facial recognition does have obvious operational benefits, it also has the potential to exacerbate targeting practices that stretch the limits of IHL.
Artificial Intelligence in Predicting Postpartum Hemorrhage in Twin Pregnancies Undergoing Cesarean Section
Authors: Dogru Sukran , Ezveci Huriye , Akkus Fatih , Bahçeci Pelin , Karanfil Yaman Fikriye , Acar Ali
Published: January 2025

This study aimed to create a risk prediction model with artificial intelligence (AI) to identify patients at higher risk of postpartum hemorrhage using perinatal characteristics that may be associated with later postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) in twin pregnancies that underwent cesarean section. The study was planned as a retrospective cohort study at University Hospital. All twin cesarean deliveries were categorized into two groups: those with and without PPH. Using the perinatal characteristics of the cases, four different machine learning classifiers were created: Logistic regression (LR), support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), and multilayer perceptron (MLP). LR, RF, and SVM models were created a second time by including class weights to manage the underlying imbalances in the data. A total of 615 twin pregnancies were included in the study. There were 150 twin pregnancies with PPH and 465 without PPH. Dichorionity, PAS, and placenta previa were significantly higher in the PPH-positive group (p = .045, p = .004, p = .001 respectively). In our model, LR with class weight was the best model with the highest negative predictive value. The AUC in our LR with class weight model was %75.12 with an accuracy of 70.73%, a PPV of 47.92%, and an NPV of 85.33% in our data. Although the application of machine learning to create predictive models using clinical risk factors and our model’s 70% accuracy rate are encouraging, it is not sufficient. Machine learning modeling needs further study and validation before being incorporated into clinical use.
Impact of Spring Snow Cover Anomaly Over the Russian Far East on the Early Summer Precipitation Variability in Northeast China
Authors: Zhang Taotao , Wang Xiaoyi , Song Yaoming , Chen Haishan
Published: January 2025

The summer precipitation in Northeast China (NEC) exerts vital effects on the local crop yield and food security of our country, however, the prediction skill of it is still limited as yet. This study investigated the impact of snow cover anomaly over the Russian Far East during spring (March–April) on the succeeding early summer (May–June) precipitation variability in NEC as well as the underlying physical mechanisms during the years 1961–2020 based on diagnostic analyses and model simulation. The results showed that, on the interannual timescale, the decreased (increased) spring snow cover over the Russian Far East is conducive to the increased (decreased) NEC early summer precipitation. Further analyses indicated that the negative anomaly of spring snow cover can persist into early summer, which then enhances the diabatic heating and thereby warms the overlying atmosphere via the snow‐albedo effect. The warming atmosphere favors the intensified Okhotsk High and an associated prominent anticyclonic circulation over northeast Asia. The anomalous southeast winds on the southwest flank of the anticyclone could bring abundant water vapor to the NEC, induce moisture convergence and ascending motion, and eventually contribute to the above‐than‐normal precipitation. These physical processes operate in the opposite manner in the case of the positive anomaly of spring snow cover. Our findings are beneficial to further improve the understanding and prediction ability of the summer precipitation variability over NEC.