bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison principles for a class of general integro-differential inequalities with applications
Authors: Al-Refai Mohammed , Fernandez Arran
Published: February 2024

Comparison principles for fractional differential equations have been investigated in many papers using different types of fractional integral and derivative operators. We here prove the strongest such results so far, for a very broad class of operators that is even more general than those with Sonine kernels. Starting from inequalities valid at global extrema, we obtain comparison principles for these general operators, which are applied to prove bounds on solutions to related integro-differential equations. Many results in the literature will be considered as particular cases of the current study.
Effects of Serial Multiple Exemplar Training on Bidirectional Naming in Children with Autism
Authors: Salomonsen Roy , Eldevik Sigmund
Published: February 2024

This study examined the effect of a serial multiple exemplar training (S-MET) procedure on bidirectional naming (BiN) in four preschool children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A non-concurrent multiple baseline design was used to evaluate the effects of training listener and speaker behavior for one stimulus at a time until BiN occurred. When BiN occurred, probes were conducted to measure whether generalization occurred across settings and people. Three out of four participants’ responding met the mastery criterion for BiN, while the fourth participant improved her performance. The results of this study suggest that S-MET may be a promising intervention and contribute to our knowledge about learning histories required for BiN.
Schutzwirkung von chirurgischen Masken und FFP2-Masken vor feinen und ultrafeinen Aerosolen
Authors: Braun Markus , Klingelhöfer Doris , Dröge Janis , Groneberg David A.
Published: February 2024

Hintergrund

Aerosole sind eine Mischung fester oder flüssiger Partikel mit einer Größe zwischen 1 nm und mehreren 100 µm in einem Gas oder Gasgemisch. Nicht nur Berufsgruppen im Gesundheitswesen können von infektiösen Aerosolen betroffen sein. Zudem können auch nichtinfektiöse Aerosole, z. B. Pilzsporen, Nanopartikel, Stäube, Chemikaliendämpfe für viele Berufsgruppen gefährlich sein. Die Verwendung von Masken hat sich als effektive Maßnahme zum Schutz vor Aerosolen erwiesen. Ziel dieser Studie war es, die Bedeutung und Grenzen beim Tragen von OP- und FFP2-Masken zum Schutz vor feinen und ultrafeinen Aerosolen in einem realitätsnahen Umfeld zu zeigen.

Methoden

In einem Laborraum mit einer Grundfläche von 27 m2 und einem Rauminhalt von ca. 80 m3 wurden Aerosole (DEHS und wässriges Aerosol) künstlich generiert. Die erzeugten Aerosole wurden mit einem Spektrometer im Bereich zwischen 5,6 und 560 nm quantifiziert. Installierte Phantomköpfe am Aerosolgenerator (Emitter) und Spektrometer (Empfänger) konnten mit Masken ausgestattet und die Entfernung zueinander verändert werden.

Ergebnisse

Bei DEHS-Aerosol (Abstände Phantomköpfe Emitter – Empfänger 150 bis 300 cm) und wässrigem Aerosol (Abstand 100 cm) konnte eine sehr signifikante (p < 0,001) Minderung der Aerosolbelastung festgestellt werden, wenn am Emitter eine OP- oder FFP2-Maske befestigt war. War nur am Empfänger eine Maske befestigt, bot eine gut passende, am Phantomkopf abgeklebte FFP2-Maske signifikant (p < 0,001) den besten Schutz vor Aerosolen, deutlich vor nichtabgeklebter FFP2-Maske und OP-Maske.

Fazit

OP- und FFP2-Masken bieten einen guten Fremdschutz. Einen wirklich guten Selbstschutz bieten Masken nur, wenn sie wirklich gut und dicht sitzen. OP-Masken sind für den Selbstschutz nur sehr eingeschränkt geeignet.
SCFS-securing flying ad hoc network using cluster-based trusted fuzzy scheme
Authors: Gupta Shikha , Sharma Neetu
Published: February 2024

Flying Ad hoc Networks have emerged as a promising technology for number of real-time applications. However, the flexible and unstructured characteristics of these networks make them vulnerable to security threats posed by malicious nodes, such as denial of service attacks, node impersonation, and information breaches. Another major issue is the consideration of those nodes being unable to prove their trustworthiness due to factors like hardware or software failure, or by link interruptions, during the processing of detection of false nodes in the network. The existing mechanisms encompassing encryption, authentication, and intrusion detection highlight limitations to secure real-time applications and services due to the high speed of flying nodes and the absence of fixed network structures. To overcome these constraints, this research paper incorporates a novel framework for evaluating and improving the security of network by introducing an innovative cluster-based approach. Moreover, it presents a fuzzy model that dynamically estimates the trust levels of both individual nodes and clusters, by assigning weight to the parameters to address vulnerabilities. Additionally, a trust reconfiguration mechanism is further proposed to address the issue of nodes unable to substantiate their trust by providing them with additional chances based on the collective trust from previous evaluations. Further, the paper incorporates a dynamic reputation system to proficiently identify and separate malicious and selfish nodes from the network. Simulation results indicate a significant improvement in performance metrics, with a considerable reduction in delay and drop ratio by 41.46% and 36.37%, respectively, while the sufficient rise of 54.71% and 46.05% in throughput and coverage, respectively, comparing with the considered state-of-art.
Bi-DNE: bilayer evolutionary pattern preserved embedding for dynamic networks
Authors: Gu Xu , Chen Xiaoliang , Yang Min , Du Yajun , Tang Mingwei
Published: February 2024

Network embedding is a technique used to generate low-dimensional vectors representing each node in a network while maintaining the original topology and properties of the network. This technology enables a wide range of learning tasks, including node classification and link prediction. However, the current landscape of network embedding approaches predominantly revolves around static networks, neglecting the dynamic nature that characterizes real social networks. Dynamics at both the micro- and macrolevels are fundamental drivers of network evolution. Microlevel dynamics provide a detailed account of the network topology formation process, while macrolevel dynamics reveal the evolutionary trends of the network. Despite recent dynamic network embedding efforts, a few approaches accurately capture the evolution patterns of nodes at the microlevel or effectively preserve the crucial dynamics of both layers. Our study introduces a novel method for embedding networks, i.e., bilayer evolutionary pattern-preserving embedding for dynamic networks (Bi-DNE), that preserves the evolutionary patterns at both the micro- and macrolevels. The model utilizes strengthened triadic closure to represent the network structure formation process at the microlevel, while a dynamic equation constrains the network structure to adhere to the densification power-law evolution pattern at the macrolevel. The proposed Bi-DNE model exhibits significant performance improvements across a range of tasks, including link prediction, reconstruction, and temporal link analysis. These improvements are demonstrated through comprehensive experiments carried out on both simulated and real-world dynamic network datasets. The consistently superior results to those of the state-of-the-art methods provide empirical evidence for the effectiveness of Bi-DNE in capturing complex evolutionary patterns and learning high-quality node representations. These findings validate the methodological innovations presented in this work and mark valuable progress in the emerging field of dynamic network representation learning. Further exploration demonstrates that Bi-DNE is sensitive to the analysis task parameters, leading to a more accurate representation of the natural evolution process during dynamic network embedding.
Should Positive Psychology Researchers Control for Response Style?
Authors: De Beer L. T. , van der Vaart L. , Uziel L.
Published: February 2024

This study investigates self-deceptive enhancement (SDE) as a control for response style in measuring positive psychology constructs, focusing on work engagement and three self-reported individual performance components. Addressing the critiques of positive psychology, particularly its reliance on self-report measures and susceptibility to method variance, we examine the role of SDE—characterised by unconsciously inflated self-perceptions—in self-reported surveys. Using latent variable modelling with different model specifications, we assess the impact of controlling for SDE in the relationship between work engagement and self-reported performance outcomes in a sample of small and medium enterprise employees. Our results show that the baseline model, not accounting for SDE, indicates statistically significant paths between work engagement and all three performance outcomes. However, when SDE is controlled for as a marker variable or a predictor, these relationships change significantly, with a notable reduction in the explained variance for two of the three performance components. The results highlight how SDE can impact substantive findings, underscoring the importance of considering controlling for SDE as an unconscious response style in positive psychology research. All in all, controlling for SDE may become necessary for improving the accuracy and consistency of research results in this field.
Can biocontrol be the game-changer in integrated pest management? A review of definitions, methods and strategies
Authors: Galli Matteo , Feldmann Falko , Vogler Ute Katharina , Kogel Karl-Heinz
Published: February 2024

Global agriculture is heavily dependent on sustainable plant protection. Worldwide, the concept of integrated pest management (IPM) is being followed. IPM utilizes a range of strategies, with chemical synthetic pesticides being employed only as a last resort. However, in agricultural practice, farmers continue to rely primarily on this option. To further reduce this dependence, new strategies are being sought to strengthen the use of biological control within the IPM approach including the identification of novel non-synthetic natural compounds. Here, we discuss and report on the state of the art in biological control research in areas such as biocontrol agents and application of ecological principles. These practices can help to establish sustainable plant protection systems, with the greatest impact achieved when they are used in appropriate combinations. We highlight the conditions that currently prevent or hinder the increased use of biocontrol measures. On the background of agroecological experiences, we discuss why additional advancements in plant protection practices are imperative to more effectively break the life cycles of pests, diseases and weeds. We emphasize the significance of a judicious application of chemical control technologies, adapted to local conditions. Additionally, we highlight the key role and expertise of operators in implementing these practices and their knowledge thereof.
Error Culture, Auditors’ Error Communication, and the Performance of the Auditee: A Study Among German Local Public Sector Auditors
Authors: Lindermüller David , Lindermüller Irina , Nitzl Christian , Hirsch Bernhard
Published: February 2024

In the course of financial and value for money audits, public sector auditors are facing different types of errors: accounting and economic errors, respectively. This study examines the relations between error culture in public sector audit organizations, auditors’ communication of accounting and economic errors, and performance of the auditee. The analyses of survey data from German local public sector auditors show that a strong error culture within the audit organization positively affect the auditors’ communication of errors to the auditee, regardless of the error type. Additionally, a strong error culture positively mediates the performance of the audited institution through the auditors’ communication of economic errors. This implies that it is important for public sector audit organizations to build a strong error culture. In addition to its practical contrition, the study provides novel theoretical insights as it demonstrates that the error management of one organization (audit entity) matters for the performance of another organization (audited entity).
Postdigital Teaching of Critical Thinking in Higher Education: Non-Instrumentalised Sociality and Interactivity
Authors: Kerruish Erika
Published: February 2024

In the wake of the digital revolution, the digital teaching of critical thinking takes established forms in higher education. Its technologies are productively understood in postdigital terms as a diverse, inconsistent and cobbled-together collection of platforms and software. This paper considers the limits, problems and advantages of this messy and layered amalgam of technologies. Examining them shows that the benefits of digital critical thinking teaching are frequently bound up with digitisations’ support of sociability and interactivity. This is counterbalanced by difficulties and limits encountered in digitised teaching of critical thinking, often framed as deficiencies in students, teachers, institutions or technologies. However, following Bernard Stiegler’s work and postdigital scholarship, these distinctions can be countered to understand critical thinking technologies as performed within social, technical and psychic milieus processes. Stiegler’s emphasis on temporality allows for a critical analysis of the constraints of digital forms of sociality and interactivity. His notion of otium suggests that techniques cultivating interruptions and layering in digital critical thinking technologies engage their negativity and enable temporal zones in which reflective thought can emerge.
Internet of Artificial Intelligence (IoAI): the emergence of an autonomous, generative, and fully human-disconnected community
Authors: Banaeian Far Saeed , Imani Rad Azadeh
Published: February 2024

Article Highlights

The IoAI is an excellent human-disconnected community in solving its problems.

IoAI assistance to humans through innovative ideas, high-tech products, and energy-efficient tools.

IoAI provides many benefits for the improvement of people’s living standards.
Sol–gel‑templated bioactive glass scaffold: a review
Authors: Shoushtari Maryam Sarmast , Hoey David , Biak Dayang Radiah Awang , Abdullah Norhafizah , Kamarudin Suryani , Zainuddin Halimatun S.
Published: February 2024

Purpose

This review paper explores diverse synthesis strategies within the sol–gel technique for producing silicate bioglass with a focus on tailoring these materials for bone scaffold design.

Method

A comprehensive search was conducted across various databases, including ScienceDirect, Taylor & Francis, PubMed, Hindawi, Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), Wiley Online Library, ResearchGate, and Google Scholar, using keywords such as “silica bioglass,” “Sol–gel technique,” “Templating,” and “Bone scaffold.” The analysis considered variables such as the sol–gel method, the templating approach, and materials used to fabricate silica bioglass bone scaffolds. Out of 140 initially identified studies, 92 were selected for detailed review published within the last two decades.

Result and conclusion

In this study, the effect of the sol–gel fabrication technique on the improvement of the structure of silicate bioglass bone scaffolds has been reviewed, along with a consideration of the associated advantages and disadvantages. Specifically, the focus of this study was on the templating sol–gel method and its direct impact on morphology and pore structures. Consequently, these findings have evaluated the development of templating sol–gel fabrication techniques for enhancing the bioactivity and biocompatibility of bone scaffolds.
Coordinate-Adaptive Integration of PDEs on Tensor Manifolds
Authors: Dektor Alec , Venturi Daniele
Published: February 2024

We introduce a new tensor integration method for time-dependent partial differential equations (PDEs) that controls the tensor rank of the PDE solution via time-dependent smooth coordinate transformations. Such coordinate transformations are obtained by solving a sequence of convex optimization problems that minimize the component of the PDE operator responsible for increasing the tensor rank of the PDE solution. The new algorithm improves upon the non-convex algorithm we recently proposed in Dektor and Venturi (2023) which has no guarantee of producing globally optimal rank-reducing coordinate transformations. Numerical applications demonstrating the effectiveness of the new coordinate-adaptive tensor integration method are presented and discussed for prototype Liouville and Fokker-Planck equations.
Property status and wife beating justification in Ghana: an integrated theoretical approach
Authors: Owusu-Brown Bernice , Nketiah-Amponsah Edward
Published: February 2024

Intimate partner violence is a pervasive global human rights issue that has prompted the establishment of various international charters and national-level comprehensive legislative measures to combat this problem effectively. To attain success, it is also imperative to contextualize intimate partner violence within its underlying precursors and address them systematically and methodically. In this article, we focus on two obstacles hindering the effort of policymakers to eradicate intimate partner violence in Ghana: wife beating justification and restricted access to permanent or temporary shelters for victims. The aim is to investigate the correlation between these two indicators to determine if empowerment in property ownership can influence and unseat the belief that wife beating is justified. Leveraging data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, we utilized a comprehensive theoretical approach by integrating normalization, social learning, resource, and gendered resource theories. Subsequently, we estimated a stepwise logistic regression, which revealed that while a higher proportion of women justified wife beating than men, empowering women with landed properties (arable or otherwise) significantly reduced the odds of justifying wife beating. However, among the men, a different pattern was observed. The findings presented in this article emphasize the protective nature of property ownership and stress the significance of improving women’s access to property. This enhancement aims not only to support livelihoods but also to diminish the inclination to justify wife beating.
Development of a management-based ranking of beaches
Authors: de Oliveira Elaine Baroni , Newton Alice , Botero Camilo M.
Published: February 2024

Beach rankings are very frequent on the internet; however, the information provided on how these rankings are made is often unclear and their content is mostly subjective. In addition, the vast majority of these rankings do not take into account the fact that beaches are coastal eco-systems. The aim of the research was to develop an objective framework to rank the quality of beaches worldwide. The framework integrates indicators to assess the socio-ecological system quality and can be used as a basis for effective beach management. The methodology involved the collection, evaluation and grouping of indicators into domains and categories. Moreover, a measurement technique and a 5-point rating score for each indicator was used. Weights were calculated for different beach types using an analytical hierarchical process and the methodology was validated by a focus group of beach management experts. The quality value of each beach was calculated through equations and the results were presented in graphs inspired by the Circles of Sustainability and the Ocean Health Index. The theoretical application was tested on Portuguese beaches. The framework presents a holistic assessment of four domains: Recreation, Protection, Conservation and Sanitary. The resulting Beach Ranking Framework (BRF) is an objective, holistic framework designed to communicate with society, unlike the existing beach quality assessments.
Safety of primary nasotracheal intubation in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU)
Authors: Ducharme-Crevier Laurence , Furlong-Dillard Jamie , Jung Philipp , Chiusolo Fabrizio , Malone Matthew P. , Ambati Shashikanth , Parsons Simon J. , Krawiec Conrad , Al-Subu Awni , Polikoff Lee A. , Napolitano Natalie , Tarquinio Keiko M. , Shenoi Asha , Talukdar Andrea , Mallory Palen P. , Giuliano John S. , Breuer Ryan K. , Kierys Krista , Kelly Serena P. , Motomura Makoto , Sanders Ron C. , Freeman Ashley , Nagai Yuki , Glater-Welt Lily B. , Wilson Joseph , Loi Mervin , Adu-Darko Michelle , Shults Justine , Nadkarni Vinay , Emeriaud Guillaume , Nishisaki Akira ,   for the National Emergency Airway Registry for Children (NEAR4KIDS), Pediatric Acute Lung Injury, Sepsis Investigators (PALISI) Network
Published: February 2024

Background

Nasal tracheal intubation (TI) represents a minority of all TI in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). The risks and benefits of nasal TI are not well quantified. As such, safety and descriptive data regarding this practice are warranted.

Methods

We evaluated the association between TI route and safety outcomes in a prospectively collected quality improvement database (National Emergency Airway Registry for Children: NEAR4KIDS) from 2013 to 2020. The primary outcome was severe desaturation (SpO2 > 20% from baseline) and/or severe adverse TI-associated events (TIAEs), using NEAR4KIDS definitions. To balance patient, provider, and practice covariates, we utilized propensity score (PS) matching to compare the outcomes of nasal vs. oral TI.

Results

A total of 22,741 TIs [nasal 870 (3.8%), oral 21,871 (96.2%)] were reported from 60 PICUs. Infants were represented in higher proportion in the nasal TI than the oral TI (75.9%, vs 46.2%), as well as children with cardiac conditions (46.9% vs. 14.4%), both p < 0.001. Severe desaturation or severe TIAE occurred in 23.7% of nasal and 22.5% of oral TI (non-adjusted p = 0.408). With PS matching, the prevalence of severe desaturation and or severe adverse TIAEs was 23.6% of nasal vs. 19.8% of oral TI (absolute difference 3.8%, 95% confidence interval (CI): − 0.07, 7.7%), p = 0.055. First attempt success rate was 72.1% of nasal TI versus 69.2% of oral TI, p = 0.072. With PS matching, the success rate was not different between two groups (nasal 72.2% vs. oral 71.5%, p = 0.759).

Conclusion

In this large international prospective cohort study, the risk of severe peri-intubation complications was not significantly higher. Nasal TI is used in a minority of TI in PICUs, with substantial differences in patient, provider, and practice compared to oral TI.

A prospective multicenter trial may be warranted to address the potential selection bias and to confirm the safety of nasal TI.
Financial literacy and knowledge of the retirement income system in Canada
Authors: Boisclair David , Busby Colin , d’Astous Philippe
Published: February 2024

This paper examines financial literacy in Canada using a dataset from early 2023 that measures the knowledge of middle-aged Canadians regarding their retirement income system. We first document important financial literacy differences across gender, age, education, and labor market status. Using detailed questions on the four main aspects of the retirement income system, we then show a strong correlation between financial literacy and the knowledge of the retirement system in Canada. Finally, we provide evidence that general financial literacy and knowledge of the retirement system matter for retirement preparation, by showing that Canadians with higher financial literacy scores and better knowledge of the retirement system are more likely to have a plan for retirement.
Confucian Family Ideal and Same-Sex Marriage: A Feminist Confucian Perspective
Authors: Tan Sor-hoon
Published: February 2024

This article engages the views of PRC Confucian scholars who responded to the United States Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's citing of Confucius in his majority opinion on same-sex marriage in 2015. It questions their separation of tolerance for homosexuality from legalization of same-sex marriage and argue that tolerance is not enough. The arguments in the mainland Confucian discourse about same-sex marriage highlights the historical and persistent entanglement of Confucianism with patriarchy. Instead of reviving traditional patriarchal society, further entrenching and increasing gender inequality, contemporary Confucianism could shape its own unique modern society that aspires to (and hopefully one day achieving) gender equality together with sexual inclusivity by deconstructing the patriarchal Confucian family and reconstructing a different Confucian family ideal. Accepting same-sex marriage would lend weight to the latter, and there are Confucian reasons for legalizing same-sex marriage and recognizing its ethical value.
Taskla or The Creation of a New Literature
Authors: Aboulkacem El Khatir
Published: February 2024

Taskla means literature in Tamazight. A neologism, taskla has been used since the 1980s by a group of Kabyle cultural activists, who had joined together in the academic association Imdyazen, to refer to modern literary genres that have been emerging in the field of Amazigh creation since at least the 1960s. Members of the Moroccan Association for Research and Cultural Exchange (AMREC) also adopted the term to encapsulate the work they were doing to construct the new Amazigh literature. This article reconstructs the choices that Moroccan Amazigh activists undertook to establish a full-fledged literary field between 1967 and the early 2000s. Contextualizing this new literature in a longer history of lmāzghī (Amazigh writing in Arabic script), the article reveals how a process of intentionality and active construction of the field has led to the development and current flourishing albeit changing, landscape of Amazigh literature.
Bank Competition and Information Production
Authors: De Marco Filippo , Petriconi Silvio
Published: February 2024

We show that bank competition diminishes banks’ incentives to produce information about prospective borrowers. We exploit the deregulation of U.S. interstate branching as a shock to competition and use borrowers’ stock returns after loan announcements to measure bank information production. Positive loan announcement returns are reduced in states that deregulate interstate branching, especially for opaque and bank-dependent firms and smaller banks that rely on soft information. Existing (i.e., inside) banks reduce information production more than new (i.e., outside) banks after deregulation, suggesting that they do so to deter borrower poaching. Furthermore, the probability of a covenant violation increases following deregulation.
Discriminant inter and intrapopulation variation in sagittal otolith shape and morphometry inChelon ramada(Actinopterygii, Mugilidae) from the Boughrara and El Bibane lagoons in Tunisian waters
Authors: Adjibayo Houeto Madel Floriane , Mejri Marwa , Bakkari Wided , Bouriga Nawzet , Chalh Abdellah , Shahin Adel A. A. Basyouny , Quignard Jean-Pierre , Trabelsi Monia , Ben Faleh Abderraouf
Published: February 2024

Variations in sagittal otolith shape and morphometry, including length (Lo), width (Wo), area (Ao), and perimeter (Po), were investigated in two populations ofChelon ramadacollected from the Boughrara and El Bibane lagoons located in southeastern Tunisia. The objective was to assess the geographic variation in the sagittal otoliths' shape and morphometry and the effect of potential fluctuating asymmetry (FA) in morphometry on the stock structure ofC. ramadain the two lagoons to inform on appropriate management procedures. At the interpopulation level, analysis of sagittal otolith shape showed a statistically significant difference (P= 0.0001), i.e. there was a bilateral asymmetry, in the shape of left and right otoliths between individuals of the two populations. In addition, significant FA was found only inLobetween the left and right otoliths. At the intrapopulation level, a significant shape difference (P< 0.0001), particularly asymmetry, was observed in both left and right otoliths between males and females, indicating sexual dimorphism in shape within the Boughrara lagoon. However, significant shape similarity, i.e. symmetry, was observed in the left and right otoliths among individuals of the El Bibane lagoon. Moreover, a significant FA was detected inLobetween the left and right otoliths only among males, as well as between males and females of the Boughrara lagoon. However, a significant FA between the left and right otoliths was found only inWoamong males and in all morphometric dimensions among females andWobetween males and females of the El Bibane lagoon. Discriminant function analysis of the otolith contour shape confirmed the presence of two separateC.ramadastocks, one corresponding to the Boughrara lagoon and the other representing the El Bibane lagoon, which should be managed separately. The possible cause of morphological variation in the sagittal otoliths' shape and morphometry due to FA between individuals of the two populations was discussed in relation to the biotic and abiotic factors.
A review of Eunicoidea (Annelida) from Falkland Islands waters including a new species of Hyalinoecia
Authors: Darbyshire Teresa , Cameron Jacob
Published: February 2024

Historic species records of the families Onuphidae and Eunicidae, from the Falkland Islands region, are reviewed and updated, new records added from intertidal and nearshore localities on and around the Falkland Islands, and a new species of Hyalinoecia described. Eight genera are reported from around the region including eight taxa of Onuphidae and two of Eunicidae, although most are only known from deep offshore waters. Kinbergonuphis dorsalis is re-described from type material, Kinbergonuphis sp. from the Falkland Islands is described and discrepancies between the two descriptions are examined. Hyalinoecia falklandica sp. nov. is described and the history of the genus and its misidentification in the region is discussed. The new species is distinguished from all other species in the genus through a combination of simple, unidentate falcigers on chaetigers 1 and 2, ventral cirri present to chaetigers 3 or 4, and branchiae present from chaetigers 26 or 27 to the end of the body. The historic record of Marphysa aenea from the Falkland Islands is also shown to be a misidentification and the actual, as-yet-undetermined species present is described. Problems surrounding a correct identification of Marphysa species, other species that do not quite fit current descriptions, and additional Eunicoidea taxa that might be expected to occur in the region are also discussed.
Endocannabinoid levels in plasma and neurotransmitters in the brain: a preliminary report on patients with a psychotic disorder and healthy individuals
Authors: van Hooijdonk Carmen F. M. , Balvers Michiel G. J. , van der Pluijm Marieke , Smith Charlotte L. C. , de Haan Lieuwe , Schrantee Anouk , Yaqub Maqsood , Witkamp Renger F. , van de Giessen Elsmarieke , van Amelsvoort Therese A. M. J. , Booij Jan , Selten Jean-Paul
Published: February 2024

Background

Interactions between the endocannabinoid system (ECS) and neurotransmitter systems might mediate the risk of developing a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD). Consequently, we investigated in patients with SSD and healthy controls (HC) the relations between (1) plasma concentrations of two prototypical endocannabinoids (N-arachidonoylethanolamine [anandamide] and 2-arachidonoylglycerol [2-AG]) and (2) striatal dopamine synthesis capacity (DSC), and glutamate and y-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). As anandamide and 2-AG might reduce the activity of these neurotransmitters, we hypothesized negative correlations between their plasma levels and the abovementioned neurotransmitters in both groups.

Methods

Blood samples were obtained from 18 patients and 16 HC to measure anandamide and 2-AG plasma concentrations. For all subjects, we acquired proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy scans to assess Glx (i.e. glutamate plus glutamine) and GABA + (i.e. GABA plus macromolecules) concentrations in the ACC. Ten patients and 14 HC also underwent [18F]F-DOPA positron emission tomography for assessment of striatal DSC. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to investigate the relations between the outcome measures.

Results

A negative association between 2-AG plasma concentration and ACC Glx concentration was found in patients (p = 0.008). We found no evidence of other significant relationships between 2-AG or anandamide plasma concentrations and dopaminergic, glutamatergic, or GABAergic measures in either group.

Conclusions

Our preliminary results suggest an association between peripheral 2-AG and ACC Glx levels in patients.
Epistemic problems in Hayek’s defence of free markets
Authors: Benson Jonathan
Published: February 2024

Friedrich von Hayek’s classical liberalism argued that free markets allow individuals the greatest opportunity to achieve their ends. This paper develops an internal critique of this claim. It argues that once externalities are introduced, the forms of economic knowledge Hayek thought to undermine government action and orthodox utilitarianism also rule out relative welfarist assessments of more or less regulated markets. Given the pervasiveness of externalities in modern economies, Hayek will frequently be unable to make comparative welfarist claims, or he must relax his epistemic assumptions and allow for greater government action than his classical liberalism would wish to accept.
Community-based monitoring reveals low anthropogenic pressure on a game vertebrate population in a sustainable-use Amazonian protected area
Authors: Reis Yasmin Maria Sampaio dos , Benchimol Maíra
Published: February 2024

Biodiversity systematic monitoring programmes have been expanding across the globe, especially in protected areas (PAs). Amongst sustainable-use PAs, medium- to large-sized mammals and birds comprise crucial groups to monitor, given their importance to forest functionality and subsistence for local residents. Here, we used 6 years of community-based monitoring data from a sustainable-use PA in the Brazilian Amazonia (Tapajós–Arapiuns Extractive Reserve) to examine the influence of anthropogenic stressors and time on the density and biomass of forest mammal and bird game species. We further assessed trends in population density of target groups over the period. A total of 1915 km of line-transect surveys were completed by trained local monitors along eight established transects, providing data from 12 medium-sized and five large-sized game genera. Generalized linear mixed models of all medium-sized species, all large species and four individual taxa (Tinamidae, Dasyproctidae, primates and Cervidae) showed that some species (e.g., Dasyprocta croconota) exhibited great density, whereas others (e.g., Tapirus terrestris and Tayassu pecari) were rarely detected. Anthropogenic variables did not affect the density and biomass of the overall medium-sized and large vertebrates. Dasyproctidae, Tinamidae and primates were the only taxa influenced by anthropogenic stressors, with negative influence occurring only for Tinamidae. Moreover, density of groups and taxa remained stable throughout the period in the Reserve, although the frequency of some species may indicate past population losses. Continuation of this monitoring programme is required to improve understanding of population fluctuations, but over the 6 years studied, game population density and biomass were not linked to anthropogenic stressors.
Globalization in Indian sociology: The invisible and the hypervisible
Authors: Chaudhuri Maitrayee
Published: February 2024

This paper seeks to examine the new empirical realities in India that globalization has ushered in and to explore the reasons for the hypervisibility of some of these realities and the neglect of others. The two interrelated questions that this paper asks of Indian sociology are: Why did a globalization propelled by the rise of new urban spaces, an expanding middle class, and a culture of consumption draw so much attention from Indian sociology? And why was the simultaneous crisis of rural society, the precarious nature of labor, and the rise of cultural nationalism and its parochial bigotry so little taken into account? I suggest that the answers to these questions may be found in (i) the dominant intellectual traditions of Indian sociology; and (ii) its everyday local practices. This twofold approach stems from an understanding that Indian sociology’s tryst with globalization cannot be understood by a restricted focus on intellectual ideas alone but through the convoluted ways that the concept of globalization travelled into our classrooms, our syllabi and our common sense.
Effects of energy-restricted diets with or without nuts on weight, body composition and glycaemic control in adults: a scoping review
Authors: Mead Lauren C. , Hill Alison M. , Carter Sharayah , Coates Alison M.
Published: February 2024

Energy-restricted (ER) diets promote weight loss and improve body composition and glycaemic control. Nut consumption also improves these parameters. However, less is known about the combined benefit of these two strategies. This scoping review implemented a systematic search of Medline, Embase and Scopus to identify randomised controlled trials evaluating the effect of ER diets with or without nuts on body mass, body composition and glycaemic control in adults. After reviewing titles and abstracts, twenty-nine full-text articles were screened, resulting in seven studies reported in eight papers that met the inclusion criteria. Energy restriction was achieved by prescribing a set energy target or reducing intake by 1000–4200 kJ from daily energy requirements. Interventions ranged from 4 to 52 weeks in duration and contained 42–84 g/d of almonds, peanuts, pistachios or walnuts. While all studies reported that energy restriction resulted in significant weight loss, the addition of nuts to ER diets demonstrated significantly greater weight loss in only approximately half of the included studies (4/7 studies). There was limited evidence to support additional benefits from nuts for body composition measures or glycaemic control. Although improvements in weight loss and glycaemia were not consistent when nuts were included in ER diets, no study revealed an adverse effect of nut consumption on health outcomes. Future studies could explore the effect of consuming different types and amounts of nuts, combined with various levels of energy restriction on weight, body composition and glycaemic control.
Beyond form: The value of systems conceptualizations of function in increasing precision and novelty in the study of developmental psychopathology
Authors: Davies Patrick T. , Sturge-Apple Melissa L.
Published: February 2024

Developmental psychopathology has successfully advanced an understanding of risk and protective factors in multivariate models. However, many areas have relied on top-down approaches that define psychological constructs based largely or solely on their physical form. In this paper, we first describe how top-down approaches have significantly hindered progress by generating generic risk and protective models that yield little more than the conclusion that axiomatically positive and negative factors respectively beget an interchangeable array of positive and negative child sequelae. To advance precision and novelty as central priorities, we describe behavioral systems frameworks rooted in evolutionary theory that infuse both form (i.e., what it looks like) and function (what it is designed to do) into psychological constructs. We further address how this paradigm has generated new growing points for developmental models of interparental relationships and parenting. In the final section, we provide recommendations for expanding this approach to other areas of developmental psychopathology. Throughout the paper, we document how the focus on functional patterns of behavior in well-defined developmental contexts advance precision and novelty in understanding children’s response processes to threats, opportunities, and challenges in associations between their developmental histories and their psychological sequelae.
Caregiving relationships are a cornerstone of developmental psychopathology
Authors: Humphreys Kathryn L. , Garon-Bissonnette Julia , Hill Kaylin E. , Bailes Lauren G. , Barnett Whitney , Hare Megan M.
Published: February 2024

The interdisciplinary field of developmental psychopathology has made great strides by including context into theoretical and empirical approaches to studying risk and resilience. Perhaps no context is more important to the developing child than their relationships with their caregivers (typically a child’s parents), as caregivers are a key source of stimulation and nurturance to young children. Coupled with the high degree of brain plasticity in the earliest years of life, these caregiving relationships have an immense influence on shaping behavioral outcomes relevant to developmental psychopathology. In this article, we discuss three areas within caregiving relationships: (1) caregiver–child interactions in everyday, naturalistic settings; (2) caregivers’ social cognitions about their child; and (3) caregivers’ broader social and cultural context. For each area, we provide an overview of its significance to the field, identify existing knowledge gaps, and offer potential approaches for bridging these gaps to foster growth in the field. Lastly, given that one value of a scientific discipline is its ability to produce research useful in guiding real-world decisions related to policy and practice, we encourage developmental psychopathology to consider that a focus on caregiving, a modifiable target, supports this mission.
Zooming in on the semantics of French ingressives: a collostructional analysis
Authors: Verroens Filip
Published: February 2024

This article examines the semantic value of the infinitive in the ingressive constructions se mettre à (SMA) and commencer à (COMA) using a distinctive collexeme analysis. We find that the collexemes significant for the construction SMA are fairly homogeneous across the different corpora and can be grouped into the general category of expressive collexemes. The collexemes significant for COMA are more heterogeneous and belong to the category of cognitive collexemes and to semantic fields of sensory and creative acts. The results are compatible with the hypothesis put forward by Verroens and De Cuypere (2023) stating that the overall meaning of the SMA construction is intrinsically punctual. The punctual value of SMA is not only compatible with expressive collexemes, but, moreover, emphasizes their unforeseen and unintentional meaning. Conversely, the incremental value of COMA is consistent with the gradual onset of cognitive and sensory collexemes.
Public Reason Requirements in Bioethical Discourse
Authors: Holm Søren
Published: February 2024

This paper analyzes the use of public reason requirements in bioethical discourse and discusses when such requirements are warranted. By a “public reason requirement,” I mean a requirement that those involved in a particular discourse or debate only use reasons that can properly be described as public reasons. The first part of the paper outlines the concept of public reasons as developed by John Rawls and others and discusses some of the general criticisms of the concept and its importance. The second part then distinguishes between two types of public reason requirements in bioethics. One type is what I will call the orthodox public reason requirement since it hews closely to the original Rawlsian conception. The second is what I will call the expansive public reason requirement, which departs quite radically from the Rawlsian conception and applies the requirement not to policy discourse or policymaking, but to the actions of individuals. Both types of requirements will be analyzed, and some problems in applying public reason requirements in bioethics will be identified. It will be argued that the expansive public reason requirement is misguided. The concluding part argues that requirements of civic civility and what Rawls terms an “inclusive view” of public reason should be important in bioethical discourse.
Visual associative learning to detect early episodic memory deficits and distinguish Alzheimer’s disease from other types of dementia
Authors: Dubbelman Mark A. , Tomassen Jori , van der Landen Sophie M. , Bakker Els , Kamps Suzie , van Unnik Annemartijn A.J.M. , van de Glind Marie-Christine A.B.J. , van der Vlies Annelies E. , Koene Ted , Leeuwis Anna E. , Barkhof Frederik , van Harten Argonde C. , Teunissen Charlotte , van de Giessen Elsmarieke , Lemstra Afina W. , Pijnenburg Yolande A.L. , Ponds Rudolf W.H. , Sikkes Sietske A.M.
Published: February 2024

Objective:

We investigated how well a visual associative learning task discriminates Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia from other types of dementia and how it relates to AD pathology.

Methods:

3,599 patients (63.9 ± 8.9 years old, 41% female) from the Amsterdam Dementia Cohort completed two sets of the Visual Association Test (VAT) in a single test session and underwent magnetic resonance imaging. We performed receiver operating curve analysis to investigate the VAT’s discriminatory ability between AD dementia and other diagnoses and compared it to that of other episodic memory tests. We tested associations between VAT performance and medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA), and amyloid status (n = 2,769, 77%).

Results:

Patients with AD dementia performed worse on the VAT than all other patients. The VAT discriminated well between AD and other types of dementia (area under the curve range 0.70–0.86), better than other episodic memory tests. Six-hundred forty patients (17.8%) learned all associations on VAT-A, but not on VAT-B, and they were more likely to have higher MTA scores (odds ratios range 1.63 (MTA 0.5) through 5.13 for MTA ≥ 3, all p < .001) and to be amyloid positive (odds ratio = 3.38, 95%CI = [2.71, 4.22], p < .001) than patients who learned all associations on both sets.

Conclusions:

Performance on the VAT, especially on a second set administered immediately after the first, discriminates AD from other types of dementia and is associated with MTA and amyloid positivity. The VAT might be a useful, simple tool to assess early episodic memory deficits in the presence of AD pathology.
Beyond Babel: East India Company Genre and Colonial Romanticism in an Indo-Persian Diary
Authors: Choudhury Rishad
Published: February 2024

Scholarship largely holds that the “Persianate world”—a transregional sphere of cultural exchange mediated by an Indian Ocean lingua franca—was put paid to by a colonizing English East India Company. Against that historiography, this article reveals how colonial and Indo-Persian modern textual trends were coproduced. Reading a first-person account of the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, written in 1815–17 by a prince from a Mughal successor state under Company rule, the article argues that the travelogue's unprecedented form of a diary, and its uncharacteristically affective contents for Indo-Persian prose, drew on emerging genres and Romantic ideologies in British India. But while this resulted in a new kind of Indo-Persian ego-document, this text of Indian Ocean travel remained, however, anchored in Mughal concepts of moods and manners. As such it betrayed transitional tensions that compel a reconsideration of how colonialism led ultimately to the passing of a precolonial Persianate Babel.