bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adding Preferences and Moral Values in an Agent-Based Simulation Framework for High-Performance Computing
Authors: Marin Gutierrez David , Vázquez-Salceda Javier , Alvarez-Napagao Sergio , Gnatyshak Dmitry
Published: December 2023

Agent-Based Simulation is a suitable approach used now-a-days to simulate and analyze complex societal environments and scenarios. Current Agent-Based Simulation frameworks either scale quite well in computation but implement very simple reasoning mechanisms, or employ complex reasoning systems at the expense of scalability. In this paper we present our work to extend an agent-based HPC platform, enabling goal-driven agents with HTN planning capabilities to scale and run parallelly. Our extension includes preferences over their objectives, preferences over their plans, actions, and moral values. We show the expresiveness of the extended platform with a sample scenario.
Pelvic flexion/extension and its impact on functional acetabular alignment and stability following total hip replacement
Authors: Hafez Mahmoud A , Jaramaz Branislav , DiGioia Anthony M
Published: December 2023

Purpose

Dislocation following total hip arthroplasty (THA) remains a significant clinical problem and can occur even with optimal implant alignment. We hypothesized that different patterns of pelvic flexion/extension (PFE) during daily activities may influence acetabular alignment and contribute to impingement and instability following THA. Recently, there has been an increased interest in spinopelvic alignment and its impact on THA. Therefore, this study aimed to identify different patterns of PFE that could be predictive of instability following THA.

Methods

A range of motion (ROM) simulator was used to demonstrate the effects of different patterns of PFE on ROM and impingement. The findings were applied to PFE measurements obtained from 84 patients in standing and sitting positions.

Results

Three different categories of PFE were identified: normal, hypermobile, and stiff. ROM simulator revealed that changes in PFE had affected ROM and impingement significantly. Patients in the stiff pelvis category, even with “optimal” implant alignment, were more susceptible to implant impingement.

Conclusions

The different patterns of PFE during daily activities could affect acetabular alignment and stability following THA. We propose a classification system that can identify different types of PFE and predict their effects on the stability of prostheses following THA. Hence, we believe that patients with unfavorable PFE may require modified cup alignment.
Skull fractures by glass bottles tested on cadaveric heads
Authors: Lorente Ana I. , Maza-Peón Samuel , Hidalgo-García César , López-de-Celis Carlos , Rodríguez-Sanz Jacobo , Pérez-Bellmunt Albert , Maza-Frechín Mario
Published: December 2023

Head trauma is frequently related to the misuse of drinking vessels as weapons. Forensic reports usually evaluate these blunt injuries as having occurred in scenarios where the alcohol intake is high. Fatal consequences are seen in blows with glass bottles aiming at the head. To prove the outcome that a glass bottle thrown to the head could cause, three intact human cadaver heads were impacted with 1-liter glass bottles at 9.5 m/s using a drop-tower. The impact location covered the left temporal bone, sphenoid bone, and zygomatic arch. The contact between the head and the bottle was produced at an angle of 90° with (1) the valve of the bottle, (2) the bottom of the bottle, and (3) with the head rotated 20° in the frontal plane touching again with the bottom of the bottle. The three bottles remained intact after the impact, and the injury outcomes were determined by computed tomography (CT). The alterations were highly dependent on the impact orientation. The outcome varied from no injury to severe bone fractures. In the most injurious case (#3), fractures were identified in the cranial base, sphenoid bone, and zygomatic bone. These testing conditions were selected to replicate one specific legal case, as required by the plaintiff. Physical disputes with bar glassware can lead to complex combinations of blunt and sharp-force injuries. Controlled biomechanical studies can benefit forensic analyses of violence involving glassware by providing a better understanding of the underlying injury mechanisms.
Viscosity, Interfacial Tension, and Density of 2-Propanol and Acetone up to 423 K by Surface Light Scattering and Conventional Methods
Authors: Kerscher Manuel , Braun Lena M. , Jander Julius H. , Rausch Michael H. , Koller Thomas M. , Wasserscheid Peter , Fröba Andreas P.
Published: December 2023

Despite the extensive use of 2-propanol and acetone in a wide range of applications in the chemical industry and in energy engineering, there is a lack of experimental data in the literature for their thermophysical properties including viscosity, interfacial tension, and density, especially at elevated temperatures beyond the respective normal boiling points. In the present study, the liquid viscosity and interfacial tension were determined simultaneously by surface light scattering (SLS) with average expanded uncertainties of (1.7 and 0.9)% at or close to saturation conditions for temperatures between (273 and 403) K. Furthermore, capillary viscometry (CV) and vibrating-tube densimetry were employed to measure the liquid viscosity at ambient pressure of 0.1 MPa from (283 to 353) K and the liquid density close to saturation conditions between (278 and 423) K. The obtained density data were used for the evaluation of both SLS and CV experiments. In comparison with literature data, the present density data show agreement for 2-propanol over the entire temperature range. In contrast, deviations of up to 0.5% at the maximum temperature can be found for acetone. For the viscosity and interfacial tension at low temperatures, agreement of the measurement results among each other and with literature data is mostly found. At elevated temperatures, the increasing deviations of the present experimental viscosity and interfacial tension data from recommended correlations indicate a lack of reliable data needed for their development. Overall, this work contributes to an improvement of the database for viscosity, interfacial tension, and density of 2-propanol and acetone over a wide temperature range up to 423 K.
Sustainability assessment of peri-urban organic horticulture — A case study in the United Kingdom
Authors: Ali Mustafa , Koh Lenny , Acquaye Adolf , Leake Jonathan , Nickles Jacob , Evans Toby P. , Roberts Gareth , Kemp Douglas
Published: December 2023

Purpose

There is a growing concern about the resilience and sustainability of horticultural production in the United Kingdom (UK) as a result of high energy costs and insufficient local labour, causing over-reliance on imports. In this study, we present an integrated environmental and economic assessment of organic peri-urban horticulture using primary data from a farm in Sheffield.

Methods

This study includes a farm-to-gate hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) using the ReCIPE (H) approach for the functional unit of 1-kg tomatoes produced in an unheated polytunnel without supplementary lighting, and 1 kg of field-grown courgettes. All analyses were conducted in SimaPro software using environmental data from the ecoinvent database. Results were compared with those from a systematic literature review of similar studies.

Results

We found that the production of organic tomatoes and courgettes resulted in a global warming potential (GWP) of 0.61 kg CO2-eq and 0.11 kg CO2-eq respectively using a process-based LCA approach. Using a hybrid LCA approach, however, yielded a GWP of 3.53 kg CO2-eq and 1.70 kg CO2-eq for the production of organic tomatoes and courgettes respectively. An additional scenario included farmgate-to-warehouse transportation for both domestic and imported produce from Spain, but found that the GWP of tomatoes in the case study was 1.87 times higher than those from Spain. Economic analysis showed that the marginal increase in the prices of tomatoes and courgettes from the case study farm was 4.6 and 5.15 times less than the market prices.

Conclusion

We conclude that the studied production system is both economically and environmentally sustainable as compared to the existing scenario. Other potential benefits of peri-urban organic horticulture include employment, mental health, community cohesion, which remain to be explored in a future qualitative study. The present study is novel as it appears to be the first application of hybrid LCA to UK horticulture. The findings are highly topical given the recent horticultural supply constraints in the UK.
Smart Diagnosis of Urinary Tract Infections: is Artificial Intelligence the Fast-Lane Solution?
Authors: Naik Nithesh , Talyshinskii Ali , Shetty Dasharathraj K. , Hameed B. M. Zeeshan , Zhankina Rano , Somani Bhaskar K.
Published: December 2023

Purpose of Review

Artificial intelligence (AI) can significantly improve physicians’ workflow when examining patients with UTI. However, most contemporary reviews are focused on examining the usage of AI with a restricted quantity of data, analyzing only a subset of AI algorithms, or performing narrative work without analyzing all dedicated studies. Given the preceding, the goal of this work was to conduct a mini-review to determine the current state of AI-based systems as a support in UTI diagnosis.

Recent Findings

There are sufficient publications to comprehend the potential applications of artificial intelligence in the diagnosis of UTIs. Existing research in this field, in general, publishes performance metrics that are exemplary. However, upon closer inspection, many of the available publications are burdened with flaws associated with the improper use of artificial intelligence, such as the use of a small number of samples, their lack of heterogeneity, and the absence of external validation. AI-based models cannot be classified as full-fledged physician assistants in diagnosing UTIs due to the fact that these limitations and flaws represent only a portion of all potential obstacles. Instead, such studies should be evaluated as exploratory, with a focus on the importance of future work that complies with all rules governing the use of AI.

AI algorithms have demonstrated their potential for UTI diagnosis. However, further studies utilizing large, heterogeneous, prospectively collected datasets, as well as external validations, are required to define the actual clinical workflow value of artificial intelligence.
Review of substitutive assistive tools and technologies for people with visual impairments: recent advancements and prospects
Authors: Muhsin Zahra J. , Qahwaji Rami , Ghanchi Faruque , Al-Taee Majid
Published: December 2023

The development of many tools and technologies for people with visual impairment has become a major priority in the field of assistive technology research. However, many of these technology advancements have limitations in terms of the human aspects of the user experience (e.g., usability, learnability, and time to user adaptation) as well as difficulties in translating research prototypes into production. Also, there was no clear distinction between the assistive aids of adults and children, as well as between “partial impairment” and “total blindness”. As a result of these limitations, the produced aids have not gained much popularity and the intended users are still hesitant to utilise them. This paper presents a comprehensive review of substitutive interventions that aid in adapting to vision loss, centred on laboratory research studies to assess user-system interaction and system validation. Depending on the primary cueing feedback signal offered to the user, these technology aids are categorized as visual, haptics, or auditory-based aids. The context of use, cueing feedback signals, and participation of visually impaired people in the evaluation are all considered while discussing these aids. Based on the findings, a set of recommendations is suggested to assist the scientific community in addressing persisting challenges and restrictions faced by both the totally blind and partially sighted people.
(Neo)adjuvant approaches: pavement on the road to cure—breast cancer
Authors: Klocker Eva Valentina
Published: December 2023

During the past few decades, major advances have been achieved in the treatment of early breast cancer (BC) resulting in improvements of inavasive disease free survival and overall survival. New treatment substances have been established in neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings. On the other hand, deescalation strategies are studied to get more tailored treatment concepts.
Impact of Bonding Capital and Bridging Capital on Scientific Results of Research Groups
Authors: Barrios-Hernández Karelis , García-Villaverde Pedro Manuel , Ruiz-Ortega María José
Published: December 2023

This article aims to analyze the impact of bonding capital and bridging capital on the scientific results of research groups. The paper contributes to the literature on social capital by going beyond the idea of a linear relationship and reviews the balance between the advantages and disadvantages of bonding capital and its interaction with bridging capital. An empirical study was carried out with 1127 Colombian university research groups from the field of engineering and technology. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the proposed hypotheses. The results show that the benefits of bonding social capital are maintained up to a level of centrality, above which the returns of the groups are reduced, adopting an inverted U shape. Moreover, when the members of the research groups diversify their research activities and fulfil relationships that go beyond the limits of their group, this curvilinear relationship is moderated, improving the opportunity to successfully exploit the social capital derived from dense and cohesive ties. The novel contribution of this study lies in linking different types of social capital —bonding and bridging capital—to test their impact on the results of the research groups and in the proposal and testing of a moderate curvilinear relationship, which allows us to advance in this line of research.
Conceptual Spaces for Conceptual Engineering? Feminism as a Case Study
Authors: Bendifallah Lina , Abbou Julie , Douven Igor , Burnett Heather
Published: December 2023

Recently, there has been much research into conceptual engineering in connection with feminist inquiry and activism, most notably involving gender issues, but also sexism and misogyny. Our paper contributes to this research by explicating, in a principled manner, a series of other concepts important for feminist research and activism, to wit, feminist political identity terms. More specifically, we show how the popular Conceptual Spaces Framework (CSF) can be used to identify and regiment concepts that are central to feminist research, focusing especially on feminism in France. According to the CSF, concepts can be represented geometrically, as regions in similarity spaces. A particular strength of the CSF framework is its empirically-focused methodology, which allows researchers to infer the boundaries of concepts from empirical data, thus eliminating the need to strongly rely on intuitions about meanings. This is shown to be especially valuable for the explication of concepts relating to feminist political identity, given that the intuitions of feminist scholars and activists about what would appear to be core concepts in the area tend to be poorly aligned or even conflicting. We report the results from an empirical categorization study conducted among French feminists and show how they support the view that the CSF can contribute to both the conceptual engineering project and our understanding of the structure of social reality.
Order Restricted Randomized Block Designs
Authors: Ozturk Omer , Jarrett Richard , Kravchuk Olena
Published: December 2023

Field experiments are run under two competing objectives, high precision and minimal cost. The precision can be increased either by using sound experimentation techniques that account for the sources of variation with reasonable statistical models or by increasing the sample size. Large sample sizes usually increase the cost of the experiment and may not be feasible. This paper uses order restricted randomized designs (ORRD) to increase the precision while keeping the sample size and cost of the experiment minimal. The ORRD described here starts with a randomized block design but adds a second layer of blocking by ranking plots within each block. This creates a two-way lay-out, blocks and ranking groups, and uses a restricted randomization to improve the precision of estimation of the treatment parameters. Ranking groups create a correlation structure for within-block units. The restricted randomization uses this correlation structure to reduce the error variance of the experiment. The paper computes the expected mean square for each source of variation in the ORRD design under a suitable linear model. It also provides approximate F-tests for treatment and ranking group effects. The efficiency of the ORRD is investigated through empirical power studies. Finally, an example based on a uniformity field trial illustrates the use of the method in a split-plot experiment. Supplementary material to this paper is provided online.
Generation of iPSC lines (KAIMRCi003A, KAIMRCi003B) from a Saudi patient with Dravet syndrome carrying homozygous mutation in the CPLX1 gene and heterozygous mutation in SCN9A
Authors: Alowaysi Maryam , Al-Shehri Mohammad , Badkok Amani , Attas Hanouf , Aboalola Doaa , Baadhaim Moayad , Alzahrani Hajar , Daghestani Mustafa , Zia Asima , Al-Ghamdi Khalid , Al-Ghamdi Asayil , Zakri Samer , Aouabdi Sihem , Tegner Jesper , Alsayegh Khaled
Published: December 2023

The most prevalent form of epileptic encephalopathy is Dravet syndrome (DRVT), which is triggered by the pathogenic variant SCN1A in 80% of cases. iPSCs with different SCN1A mutations have been constructed by several groups to model DRVT syndrome. However, no studies involving DRVT-iPSCs with rare genetic variants have been conducted. Here, we established two DRVT-iPSC lines harboring a homozygous mutation in the CPLX1 gene and heterozygous mutation in SCN9A gene. Therefore, the derivation of these iPSC lines provides a unique cellular platform to dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying the cellular dysfunctions consequent to CPLX1 and SCN9A mutations.
Comparison of SGLT2 inhibitors vs. DPP4 inhibitors for patients with metabolic dysfunction associated fatty liver disease and diabetes mellitus
Authors: Suzuki Y. , Kaneko H. , Okada A. , Ohno R. , Yokota I. , Fujiu K. , Jo T. , Takeda N. , Morita H. , Node K. , Yasunaga H. , Komuro I.
Published: December 2023

Purpose

This study aimed to examine the potential benefit of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors for patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and diabetes mellitus (DM) using a real-world database.

Methods

We analyzed individuals with MAFLD and DM newly initiated on SGLT2 or dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) inhibitors from a large-scale administrative claims database. The primary outcome was the change in the fatty liver index (FLI) assessed using a linear mixed-effects model from the initiation of SGLT2 or DPP4 inhibitors. A propensity score-matching algorithm was used to compare the change in FLI among SGLT2 and DPP4 inhibitors.

Results

After propensity score matching, 6547 well-balanced pairs of SGLT2 and 6547 DPP4 inhibitor users were created. SGLT2 inhibitor use was associated with a greater decline in FLI than DPP4 inhibitor use (difference at 1-year measurement, − 3.8 [95% CI − 4.7 to − 3.0]). The advantage of SGLT2 inhibitor use over DPP4 inhibitor use for improvement in FLI was consistent across subgroups. The relationship between SGLT2 inhibitors and amelioration of FLI was comparable between individual SGLT2 inhibitors.

Conclusions

Our analysis using large-scale real-world data demonstrated the potential advantage of SGLT2 inhibitors over DPP4 inhibitors in patients with MAFLD and DM.
Semhybridnet: a semantically enhanced hybrid CNN-transformer network for radar pulse image segmentation
Authors: Liu Hongjia , Xiao Yubin , Wu Xuan , Li Yuanshu , Zhao Peng , Liang Yanchun , Wang Liupu , Zhou You
Published: December 2023

Radar signal sorting is a vital component of electronic warfare reconnaissance, serving as the basis for identifying the source of radar signals. However, traditional radar signal sorting methods are increasingly inadequate and computationally complex in modern electromagnetic environments. To address this issue, this paper presents a novel machine-learning-based approach for radar signal sorting. Our method utilizes SemHybridNet, a Semantically Enhanced Hybrid CNN-Transformer Network, for the classification of semantic information in two-dimensional radar pulse images obtained by converting the original radar data. SemHybridNet incorporates two innovative modules: one for extracting period structure features, and the other for ensuring effective integration of local and global features. Notably, SemHybridNet adopts an end-to-end structure, eliminating the need for repetitive looping over the original sequence and reducing computational complexity. We evaluate the performance of our method through conducting comprehensive comparative experiments. The results demonstrate our method significantly outperforms the traditional methods, particularly in environments with high missing and noise pulse rates. Moreover, the ablation studies confirm the effectiveness of these two proposed modules in enhancing the performance of SemHybridNet. In conclusion, our method holds promise for enhancing electronic warfare reconnaissance capabilities and opens new avenues for future research in this field.
A linear programming approach to Fuglede’s conjecture in $$\mathbb {Z}_p^3$$
Authors: Malikiosis Romanos Diogenes
Published: December 2023

We present an approach to Fuglede’s conjecture in $$\mathbb {Z}_p^3$$

Z
p
3

using linear programming bounds, obtaining the following partial result: if $$A\subseteq \mathbb {Z}_p^3$$

A
⊆

Z
p
3

with $$p^2-p\sqrt{p}+\sqrt{p}<|A|<p^2$$

p
2

-
p

p

+

p

<

|
A
|

<

p
2

, then A is not spectral.
Who is the human in the machine? Releasing the human–machine metaphor from its cultural roots can increase innovation and equity in AI
Authors: Sutherlin Gwyneth
Published: December 2023

Computer science and cognitive science have a shared past, with many intertwined goals and perspectives. The conceptual metaphor, shaping the discoveries of these fields for decades, has been the human mind–machine. New cross-cultural findings indicate that it is time that we interrogate the origin of the metaphor and develop a more global representation of attributes labeled human. This paper describes a gap in fairness research in cross-cultural bias affecting international participation in the field. It further outlines opportunities to diversify and test core concepts inspiring design and increasing equity. The proposed adaptation would shift our approach to knowledge and technology creation by (1) altering the attributes of the human mind–machine metaphor that define intelligence, memory, categorization, logic, inference, perception, concepts of time and space, concepts of personhood, and other cognitive terms which both fields study; (2) interrogating the universality implied by the conceptual metaphor to both machine and end-user; and (3) seizing the broadened conceptual metaphor to create new math, science, and disrupt the current paradigm scripting the inferences of research findings in computer science and cognitive science. A more globally attuned conceptual metaphor, updated to enfranchise the full membership the term human implies, will increase our collective ability to investigate, describe, and develop new science and technology and increase the equity of those involved in the process.
Computer vision: AI imaginaries and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Authors: Law Harry
Published: December 2023

This paper explores the way in which computer scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) constructed visions of the future in 1960s America to direct the AI and computing research agendas. It argues that MIT computer scientists resisted attempts by the state to control the future of computing by fabricating imaginaries to covertly exert influence over the research environment. The paper examines the impact of the Cold War military–industrial complex on academia, which provided opportunities for research to take place whilst introducing challenges to autonomy. It makes the case that computer scientists such as Marvin Minsky and Fernando J. Corbato carefully shaped narratives across film, television and the media to promote desirable futures centering their own technical approaches. Acknowledging that instruments of the state appealed to the future to guide research towards strategically sensitive areas in the context of Cold War technoscientific contest, it asserts that intensifying ties between military and academic institutions afforded researchers both the latitude and motivation to construct independent visions of the future. In doing so, the paper aims to complicate assumptions about imaginaries as solely tools of governance by highlighting scientists' creativity in navigating institutional constraints to wrest back control of the future.
Semantic Adversarial Attacks on Face Recognition Through Significant Attributes
Authors: Khedr Yasmeen M. , Xiong Yifeng , He Kun
Published: December 2023

Face recognition systems are susceptible to adversarial attacks, where adversarial facial images are generated without awareness of the intrinsic attributes of the images in existing works. They change only a single attribute indiscriminately. To this end, we propose a new Semantic Adversarial Attack using StarGAN (SAA-StarGAN), which manipulates the facial attributes that are significant for each image. Specifically, we apply the cosine similarity or probability score to predict the most significant attributes. In the probability score method, we train the face verification model to perform an attribute prediction task to get a class probability score for each attribute. Then, we calculate the degree of change in the probability value in an image before and after altering the attribute. Therefore, we perform the prediction process and then alter either one or more of the most significant facial attributes under white-box or black-box settings. Experimental results illustrate that SAA-StarGAN outperforms transformation-based, gradient-based, stealthy-based, and patch-based attacks under impersonation and dodging attacks. Besides, our method achieves high attack success rates on various models in the black-box setting. In the end, the experiments confirm that the prediction of the most important attributes significantly impacts the success of adversarial attacks in both white-box and black-box settings and could improve the transferability of the generated adversarial examples.
Explainable AI and Law: An Evidential Survey
Authors: Richmond Karen McGregor , Muddamsetty Satya M. , Gammeltoft-Hansen Thomas , Olsen Henrik Palmer , Moeslund Thomas B.
Published: December 2023

Decisions made by legal adjudicators and administrative decision-makers often found upon a reservoir of stored experiences, from which is drawn a tacit body of expert knowledge. Such expertise may be implicit and opaque, even to the decision-makers themselves, and generates obstacles when implementing AI for automated decision-making tasks within the legal field, since, to the extent that AI-powered decision-making tools must found upon a stock of domain expertise, opacities may proliferate. This raises particular issues within the legal domain, which requires a high level of accountability, thus transparency. This requires enhanced explainability, which entails that a heterogeneous body of stakeholders understand the mechanism underlying the algorithm to the extent that an explanation can be furnished. However, the “black-box” nature of some AI variants, such as deep learning, remains unresolved, and many machine decisions therefore remain poorly understood. This survey paper, based upon a unique interdisciplinary collaboration between legal and AI experts, provides a review of the explainability spectrum, as informed by a systematic survey of relevant research papers, and categorises the results. The article establishes a novel taxonomy, linking the differing forms of legal inference at play within particular legal sub-domains to specific forms of algorithmic decision-making. The diverse categories demonstrate different dimensions in explainable AI (XAI) research. Thus, the survey departs from the preceding monolithic approach to legal reasoning and decision-making by incorporating heterogeneity in legal logics: a feature which requires elaboration, and should be accounted for when designing AI-driven decision-making systems for the legal field. It is thereby hoped that administrative decision-makers, court adjudicators, researchers, and practitioners can gain unique insights into explainability, and utilise the survey as the basis for further research within the field.
Topology-aware universal adversarial attack on 3D object tracking
Authors: Cheng Riran , Wang Xupeng , Sohel Ferdous , Lei Hang
Published: December 2023

3D object tracking based on deep neural networks has a wide range of potential applications, such as autonomous driving and robotics. However, deep neural networks are vulnerable to adversarial examples. Traditionally, adversarial examples are generated by applying perturbations to individual samples, which requires exhaustive calculations for each sample and thereby suffers from low efficiency during malicious attacks. Hence, the universal adversarial perturbation has been introduced, which is sample-agnostic. The universal perturbation is able to make classifiers misclassify most samples. In this paper, a topology-aware universal adversarial attack method against 3D object tracking is proposed, which can lead to predictions of a 3D tracker deviating from the ground truth in most scenarios. Specifically, a novel objective function consisting of a confidence loss, direction loss and distance loss generates an atomic perturbation from a tracking template, and aims to fail a tracking task. Subsequently, a series of atomic perturbations are iteratively aggregated to derive the universal adversarial perturbation. Furthermore, in order to address the characteristic of permutation invariance inherent in the point cloud data, the topology information of the tracking template is employed to guide the generation of the universal perturbation, which imposes correspondences between consecutively generated perturbations. The generated universal perturbation is designed to be aware of the topology of the targeted tracking template during its construction and application, thus leading to superior attack performance. Experiments on the KITTI dataset demonstrate that the performance of 3D object tracking can be significantly degraded by the proposed method.
The moderating effect of income inequality on the relationship between economic growth and political economy, human capital, innovation, and saving channels in Ethiopia
Authors: Hordofa Dereje Fedasa
Published: December 2023

Background

This research focuses on examining the relationship between income inequality and economic growth in Ethiopia over the period from 1981 to 2020. The study aims to understand the various channels through which income inequality affects economic growth and explores the role of different factors such as political economy, innovation, human capital, and saving channels.

Method

To analyze the relationship between income inequality and economic growth in Ethiopia, the researchers employ the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. They also conduct the Bayer Hanck (BH) Cointegration Test using four different methods: Engle-Granger, Johansen, Banerjee, and Boswijk. These techniques help determine whether there is a long-term connection, or cointegration, between the variables under investigation.

Results

The findings of this study indicate strong evidence of cointegration between income inequality and economic growth in Ethiopia, except in the Engle-Granger test. This suggests a long-term relationship between these variables. The researchers analyze various channels through which income inequality affects economic growth. They discover that income inequality significantly hampers economic growth in Ethiopia. On the other hand, the development of human capital, as measured by school enrollment, has a positive and significant impact on economic growth. However, other channel variables such as gross domestic saving, gross fixed capital formation, high-technology exports, general government revenue, and general government total expenditure do not exert a significant influence on economic growth.

Conclusions

Based on the research findings, the study emphasizes the role of government expenditure as a moderating factor that can mitigate the adverse effects of income inequality on economic growth in Ethiopia. It also highlights the importance of savings channels, particularly gross fixed capital formation, in fostering economic growth. Moreover, the study suggests that innovation, represented by high-technology exports, may indirectly influence economic growth by promoting the development of human capital. Overall, this research provides valuable insights into the intricate relationships between income inequality and economic growth in Ethiopia, exploring both direct and moderating effects through various transmission channels.
An Investment Case for the Scale-up and Use of Insecticide-Treated Nets Halfway into the SDG Targets
Authors: Shretta Rima , Ngwafor Anye Randolph
Published: December 2023

This article examines a policy of scaling up LLINs by 10 percentage points from 2020 levels with a 90% cap in the 29 highest-burden countries in Africa along with social and behavioral change (SBC) and information education and communication (IEC) campaigns to increase the use and effectiveness of LLINs. The incremental cost of this scenario compared to a baseline of maintaining malaria interventions at 2020 levels has a present-day (2023) value of 5.7 billion US$ 2021 discounted at 8% over the period 2023–2030 (undiscounted starting at US$ 416 million in 2023 increasing to US$ 1.4 billion in 2030). This investment will prevent 1.07 billion clinical cases and save 1,337,069 lives. With standardized Copenhagen Consensus Center assumptions, the mortality benefit translates to a present value of US$ 225.9 billion. The direct economic gain is also substantial: the incremental scenarios lead to US$ 7.7 billion in reduced health system expenditure from the reduced treatment of cases, a reduction in the cost of delivering malaria control activities, and reduced household out-of-pocket expenses for malaria treatment. The productivity gains from averted employee and caretaker absenteeism and presenteeism add benefits with a present value of US$ 41.7 billion. Each dollar spent on the incremental scenario delivers US$ 48 in social and economic benefits.
Analytic solution for pulse wave propagation in flexible tubes with application to a patient-specific arterial tree
Authors: Wu Peishuo , Zhu Chi
Published: December 2023

In this paper, we present an analytic solution for pulse wave propagation in a flexible arterial model with tapering, physiological boundary conditions and variable wall properties (wall elasticity and thickness). The change of wall properties follows a profile that is proportional to

$r^\alpha$

, where

$r$

represents the lumen radius and

$\alpha$

is a material coefficient. The cross-sectionally averaged velocity and pressure are obtained by solving a hyperbolic system derived from the mass and momentum conservations, and they are expressed in Bessel functions of order

$(4-\alpha )/(3-\alpha )$

and

$1/(3-\alpha )$

, respectively. The solution is successfully validated by comparing it with numerical results from three-dimensional (3-D) fluid–structure interaction simulations. Subsequently, the solution is employed to study pulse wave propagation in an arterial model, revealing that the wall properties and the physiological outlet boundary conditions, such as the resistor–capacitor–resistor (RCR) model, play a crucial role in characterizing the input impedance and reflection coefficient. At low-frequency range, the input impedance is found to be insensitive to the wall properties and is primarily determined by the RCR parameters. At high-frequency range, the input impedance oscillates around the local characteristic impedance, and the oscillation amplitude varies non-monotonically with

$\alpha$

. Expressions for the input impedance at both low-frequency and high-frequency limits are presented. This analytic solution is also successfully applied to model flow inside a patient-specific arterial tree, with the maximum relative errors in pressure and flow rate never exceeding

$1.6\,\%$

and

$9.0\,\%$

when compared with results from 3-D numerical simulations.
Exploring metaphorical conceptualizations of ENVY in English and Chinese: A multifactorial corpus analysis
Authors: Wu Shuqiong , Liu Dilin
Published: December 2023

Adopting a multifactorial analysis, this corpus-based comparative study examines the metaphorical conceptualizations of ENVY in American English and Chinese. All the metaphorical occurrences of ENVY in the two languages were collected from the corpora and then submitted to a detailed semantic and usage analysis. The qualitative and quantitative analyses show both striking similarities and differences in the metaphorical structuring of ENVY across the two languages. Both languages resort to largely the same common conceptual metaphors but use divergent elements from these metaphors’ source domains in their conceptualizations of ENVY. Moreover, a correspondence analysis of the most frequently used envy metaphors in relation to four important factors reveals some noticeable cross-language differences in their behavioural profiles. Based on the corpus findings, this study also explores the motivations underlying the similarities and differences in the metaphorical structuring of ENVY. The results indicate that the similarities are grounded mainly in common bodily experiences, whereas the differences are motivated by either differential cultural experiences or differential cognitive preferences.
Suicides, drug poisonings, and alcohol-related deaths cluster with health and social disadvantage in 4.1 million citizens from two nations
Authors: Richmond-Rakerd Leah S. , D'Souza Stephanie , Milne Barry J. , Andersen Signe Hald
Published: December 2023

Background

Deaths from suicides, drug poisonings, and alcohol-related diseases (‘deaths of despair’) are well-documented among working-age Americans, and have been hypothesized to be largely specific to the U.S. However, support for this assertion–and associated policies to reduce premature mortality–requires tests concerning these deaths in other industrialized countries, with different institutional contexts. We tested whether the concentration and accumulation of health and social disadvantage forecasts deaths of despair, in New Zealand and Denmark.

Methods

We used nationwide administrative data. Our observation period was 10 years (NZ = July 2006–June 2016, Denmark = January 2007–December 2016). We identified all NZ-born and Danish-born individuals aged 25–64 in the last observation year (NZ = 1 555 902, Denmark = 2 541 758). We ascertained measures of disadvantage (public-hospital stays for physical- and mental-health difficulties, social-welfare benefit-use, and criminal convictions) across the first nine years. We ascertained deaths from suicide, drugs, alcohol, and all other causes in the last year.

Results

Deaths of despair clustered within a population segment that disproportionately experienced multiple disadvantages. In both countries, individuals in the top 5% of the population in multiple health- and social-service sectors were at elevated risk for deaths from suicide, drugs, and alcohol, and deaths from other causes. Associations were evident across sex and age.

Conclusions

Deaths of despair are a marker of inequalities in countries beyond the U.S. with robust social-safety nets, nationwide healthcare, and strong pharmaceutical regulations. These deaths cluster within a highly disadvantaged population segment identifiable within health- and social-service systems.
Internalisierte Transnegativität, Resilienzfaktoren und psychische Gesundheit in einer Stichprobe geschlechtlicher Minderheiten in Deutschland und der Schweiz
Authors: Stein Katharina van , Kleinn Noah , Randall Ashley K. , Lannutti Pamela J. , Gandhi Yuvamathi , Martos Tamás , Meuwly Nathalie , Rosta-Filep Orsolya , Siegel Magdalena , Ditzen Beate , Fischer Melanie S.
Published: December 2023

Zusammenfassung: Theoretischer Hintergrund: Trans*, inter* und nichtbinäre Personen erfahren Diskriminierung und weisen im Vergleich zur Gesamtpopulation eine höhere Prävalenz von affektiven und Angststörungen auf. Fragestellung: Diese präregistrierte Studie überprüft basierend auf dem Minderheiten-stressmodell den Zusammenhang zwischen Selbststigmatisierung (internalisierte Transnegativität) und psychischer Gesundheit und untersucht Resilienzfaktoren als Moderatoren. Methode: In einer Stichprobe deutscher und Schweizer trans*, inter* und nichtbinärer Personen ( N = 243) wurden multiple lineare Regressions- und Moderationsanalysen berechnet, um Zusammenhänge zwischen internalisierter Transnegativität und Angst- und depressiver Symptomatik sowie Resilienzfaktoren zu prüfen. Ergebnisse: Die Ergebnisse zeigen positive Zusammenhänge zwischen internalisierter Transnegativität und Angst- und depressiver Symptomatik. Die Resilienzfaktoren soziale Unterstützung und Verbundenheit mit der LGBT+ Community sind negativ mit internalisierter Transnegativität assoziiert. Keiner der Resilienzfaktoren moderierte die Zusammenhänge zwischen internalisierter Transnegativität und psychischer Gesundheit. Schlussfolgerungen: Die Studie bestätigt internationale Befunden zum Zusammenhang zwischen internalisierter Transnegativität und psychischer Gesundheit. Mehr Forschung ist nötig, um die Rolle der Resilienzfaktoren im Minderheitenstressmodell zu klären.
Coupled Changes in the Arctic Carbon Cycle Between the Land, Marine, and Social Domains
Authors: Wu Xiaodong , Macdonald Robie , Wu Tonghua
Published: December 2023

The Arctic has experienced rapid change associated with warming since the 1970s. The rapid retreat of the terrestrial cryosphere can release a large amount greenhouse gas from the permafrost regions into the air, and the sea ice decline will affect the CO2 and CH4 balance in the ocean. Changes in the Arctic provide feedback mechanisms that can also impinge on the global ocean’s thermohaline circulation. During the past years, the overall natural processes in the Arctic have been studied although the magnitude and timing of carbon release from the cryosphere changes require further investigation. However, few studies have been conducted to link the natural and social systems in the Arctic. Scientists and policymakers must consider the coupled Arctic land, ocean, and social systems in their decisions for coping with climate change.
Deriving the Terrestrial Water Storage Anomaly From GRACE Spherical Harmonic Coefficients Using a Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: Zhang Qingquan , Pan Yun , Zhang Chong , Gong Huili
Published: December 2023

Terrestrial water storage anomaly (TWSA), derived from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites, has been widely used in hydrology studies. The inversion is commonly achieved by truncating and filtering spherical harmonic coefficients (SHC), whereby the result is characterized by leakage error and low resolution. It remains unclear whether machine learning methods can help resolve this challenging issue. In this study, we present a convolutional neural network (CNN) approach to correct TWSA from GRACE SHC by leveraging the knowledge of the leakage effect determined from global hydrological models (GHMs) and land surface models (LSMs). The CNN approach is implemented in three representative regions in China, that is, the human‐impacted Haihe River Basin, the nature‐impacted Yangtze River Basin and the model‐limited Tibetan Plateau. The results show the following: (a) The recovery performance of CNN at the basin scale is better than that at the grid scale, and the grid‐scale recovery is significantly influenced by the spatial heterogeneity of TWSA and the input GHM/LSMs; (b) The more accurate the GHM/LSMs used for training, the better the recovery performance of CNN; and (c) The trained model retains comparable performance in deriving the TWSA time series from GRACE SHC when compared to that derived from other methods (i.e., scaling factor and mass concentration solutions) with average r = 0.90 and RMSE = 21.50 mm. This study highlights the potential of machine learning to supplement conventional correction methods when deriving the TWSA from GRACE SHC by utilizing signal restoration knowledge learned from multiple accurate GHMs/LSMs.
Reconstructing Late Quaternary Paleovalley Systems of Italy Through mHVSR: A Tool for Seismic Hazard Assessment in Modern Coastal Lowlands
Authors: Di Martino Andrea , Sgattoni Giulia , Di Paola Gianluigi , Berti Matteo , Amorosi Alessandro
Published: December 2023

Effective site characterization in highly urbanized coastal lowlands requires accurate stratigraphic and geophysical investigations. In these regions, which typically host shallowly buried paleovalley systems formed in response to Quaternary glacio‐eustatic fluctuations, the marked lithologic contrast between soft sediment paleovalley fills and the adjacent, stiff substrate has the potential to modify earthquake motions, and assessment of critical parameters, such as shear wave velocities (VS) and resonance frequencies (f), should be coupled with detailed stratigraphic architecture. To evaluate the potential of the microtremor horizontal‐to‐vertical spectral ratio (mHVSR) for paleovalley recognition and mapping, we performed mHVSR measurements along the Adriatic coastal plain of Italy, where two paleovalley systems (Pescara and Manfredonia) have been recently identified. In both areas, we detected rapid lateral variations in resonance frequencies and highlighted laterally continuous impedance contrasts. Relying on a robust stratigraphic framework, we carefully evaluated the relation between geological and geophysical data and identified the stratigraphic surfaces responsible for the observed resonances. We derived VS models for the sediment fill, reconstructing the geometry of the two buried paleovalleys. We address the importance of evaluating the geological context when designing microzonation studies, for a reliable interpretation of changes in resonance frequencies.