bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
RoboticSurgery4all: are discovery courses important for robotic surgery skills acquisition?
Authors: Gonçalves Mário Rui , Mück Björn , Faure Jean-Pierre , Topart Philippe , Sousa Miguel Castelo-Branco
Published: August 2024

Cost, logistics, and availability of robotic simulation opportunities suppose a real challenge for robotic surgery training. We aimed to test a new methodology for introduction to robotic surgery pre-congress courses. Two different “introduction to robotic surgery” pre-congress courses were developed. A new methodology using a sleeve/bypass, a ventral TAPP and an inguinal TAPP silicone models was implemented. After the session, the trainees answered a questionnaire to evaluate the course and the methodology using 1–5 Likert scales. A total of 21 participants participated in the courses and (72.2%) had no experience in robotic surgery. All trainees rated the course as good or excellent. There was a strong agreement between participants regarding the adequacy of the silicone models for this type of simulation/course. Trainees agree that the course gave them more confidence to perform a real robotic procedure, increased their interest in robotic surgery and made them feel ready to start their robotic surgery pathway. Congresses are a frequent way of contact between surgeons and robotic systems, mostly in the form of technical demonstrations or pre-congress courses. Our methodology showed that it is possible to allow for this contact in a low-cost way. This kind of courses is well received by congress delegates and have a positive educational impact. Despite of being "Discovery” courses, they have a positive impact on the congress, on the acquisition of robotic surgery skills and increase the interest in robotic surgery.
What Kind of ‘God’ do Hindu Arguments for the Divine Show? Five Novel Divine Attributes of Brahman
Authors: Frazier Jessica
Published: August 2024

This article describes the ultimate ground of reality, Brahman, as a single power unfolding in concert in all things. It uses counterfactual argumentation to imply that a cosmos must consist of telic causal orders or manifested ‘powers’ as its most granular building block – and that they must be unified into a single whole. It is based on an argument for a single causally-conditioning substrate of all things recorded in India’s classical Sāṃkhya Kārikā and Brahma Sūtras; this was used by scholastic Vedāntic thinkers including the non-dualist Śaṃkara and the ‘transformationist’ Bhedābheda thinker Śrīnivāsa. It takes up arguments for satkārya, the pre-existence of a thing’s various transformations in potentio within its substrate, and employs them to paint a picture of reality as an ordered yet entangled pattern of causal trajectories. These manifest as the changing world we know. While Vedānta’s main motivation for making the arguments was to prove monism, this conception of an ‘immanent cause’ of all was also seen as divine. We see how this accords with moves in contemporary analytic philosophy to shift away from a broadly Humean model of constant conjunctions (reminiscent of key Buddhist approaches) toward a Neo-Aristotelian ‘metaphysics of powers’. But we also indicate how it may go further than most modern powers-metaphysicians in proposing a deeper connection between powers and what it is for there to be a cosmos at all.
Minibond and earnings management: leveraging the signaling effect of minibond listing
Authors: Bertacchini Federico , Grasso Alessandro Giovanni , Lugli Ennio , Russo Ivan
Published: August 2024

Minibonds are a hybrid between bank debt and bond issuance introduced in Italy to expand the range of possible financing resources available to unlisted enterprises. This peculiar debt security was introduced as part of a regulatory reform in 2012 to diversify funding sources and facilitate access to capital markets for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). In this study, we investigate whether firms that decide to issue and list a minibond engage in earnings management (EM) to leverage the growth-signaling effect generated by the listing of this security. Listing bonds on a financial market is not mandatory, but a strategic choice. Collecting a sample of 136 minibond listings during 2013–2020, we use panel analysis to show that issuers tend to manage their earnings in the year of listing. We argue that this behavior is undertaken in order to provide a better representation of their economic and financial situation and consequently to better impress current or future stakeholders. Moreover, we also find that larger minibond size partially discourages EM, thus confirming the role of debt as a means of control over management. Overall, we argue that stakeholders should be aware that, even though minibond issuers are sound firms on average, they tend to inflate their earnings in the year of listing in order to reinforce the signaling effect of the quotation.
Chronic pain in breast cancer survivors is linked with an impairment on emotion-based decisions and fatalistic time orientation
Authors: Masiero Marianna , Durosini Ilaria , Filipponi Chiara , Campanini Maria Luisa , Pravettoni Gabriella
Published: August 2024

After breast cancer diagnosis, individuals have to cope with various psychological, social, and physical consequences. One such consequence is chronic pain, which can persist even after the completion of active treatments and detrimentally impact quality of life. The published literature highlights the impact of chronic pain on cognitive functions and on decision-making processes. However, little is known about the imbalance in decision-making among cancer survivors suffering from chronic pain. This study aims to explore the cognitive impairment associated with risky decision-making in breast cancer survivors experiencing chronic pain, using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Sixty women voluntarily participated in this prospective, cross-sectional study. Among them, twenty had a history of breast cancer and exhibited a significant level of chronic pain, twenty had previously received a cancer diagnosis but did not experience chronic pain, and twenty had not been diagnosed with cancer. The results revealed that women with chronic pain tend to make significantly more disadvantageous choices in the IGT compared to the other groups. Moreover, participants with chronic pain tend to believe that circumstances will change regardless of their efforts to achieve something. This way of thinking may contribute to reinforcing the observed imbalance in decision-making. Our hypothesis suggests that chronic pain may trigger a “Cascade Effect”, exerting multiple influences on decision-making and behaviors. The cognitive overload provoked by chronic pain in breast cancer survivors may not only affect individual cognitive functions, but also have a “Cascade Effect” on other psychological dimensions.
Urban transport during the COVID-19 pandemic: a case study of Poland
Authors: Zajfert Michal
Published: August 2024

Ongoing improvement in the quality of public transport calms and slows road traffic while causing desirable changes in the transport behaviours of residents and the urban structure of city centres. These efforts were thwarted by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a significant decrease in public transport ridership. Its scope varied with the passage of time and with the dynamics of the pandemic itself, which were significantly different for individual cities. This article undertakes an analysis of these changes in Poland and identifies factors describing public transport accessibility that may influence them. The novelty of this article is examining the correlation of changes in public transport ridership in 17 Polish cities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic with the presented range of factors and conducted longitudinal studies. A multiple regression analysis was made possible by collecting data describing various aspects of public transport and populations. The introduction of remote work and learning also had a noticeable impact in public transport ridership during this period. In some sectors and fields, they have proven to be at least as efficient, but less expensive than their traditional forms, which suggests that they may have an impact on reducing the public transport ridership after the end of the pandemic.
Unveiling Thermal and Athermal Effects in Strain Hardening Removal of A6061 Aluminum Alloy
Authors: Yu Xiaoming , Gu Shaojie , Wang Guodong , Kimura Yasuhiro , Ju Yang , Toku Yuhki
Published: August 2024

This study explored the application of a high-density pulsed electric current (HDPEC) to mitigate strain hardening in a cold-rolled A6061 aluminum alloy while examining the simultaneous application of HDPEC with furnace heating to reveal the contributions of thermal and athermal effects. The results showed that significant strain-hardening relief was achieved through the HDPEC treatment, particularly at 300 A/mm² for 260 ms, resulting in a 23% reduction in strength and an 86% increase in ductility. Microstructural analysis revealed a shift to fine and equiaxed grains with reduced dislocation density, which was primarily attributed to thermal effects. HDPEC annealing exhibits superior efficiency compared to the conventional annealing treatment, offering cost and time advantages. In addition, this study validated the synergistic impact of HDPEC and furnace heating, with furnace heating supplementing energy requirements, facilitating practical HDPEC implementation. These findings suggest that the HDPEC method and the combined method with conventional heating are promising alternatives for strain-hardening alleviation in A6061 aluminum alloy manufacturing, supporting the development of an eco-friendly and efficient process.

Graphical Abstract
Watt’s Next? Leveraging Process Flexibility for Power Cost Optimization
Authors: Hermann Julia , Rusche Simon , Moder Linda , Weibelzahl Martin
Published: August 2024

The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources poses major challenges for balancing increasingly weather-dependent power supply and demand. Although demand-side energy flexibility, offered particularly by industrial companies, is seen as a promising and necessary approach to address these challenges and realize benefits for companies, its implementation is not yet common practice. Often facing highly complex process landscapes and operational systems, process mining provides significant potential to increase transparency of actual process flows and to discover or reflect existing dependencies and interrelationships of activities, instances or resources. It facilitates the implementation of energy flexibility measures and enables the realization of monetary benefits associated with flexible process operation. This paper contributes to the successful integration of energy flexibility into process operations by presenting a design science research artifact called PM4Flex. This is a prescriptive process monitoring approach that uses linear programming to generate recommendations for pending process flows optimized under fluctuating power prices by utilizing established energy flexibility measures. Thereby, event logs and corresponding company- as well as process-specific constraints are considered. PM4Flex is demonstrated and evaluated based on its implementation as a software prototype, its application to exemplary data from two real-world processes exhibiting power cost savings of up to 75% compared to the original execution, and based on semi-structured expert interviews. PM4Flex provides new design knowledge at the interface of prescriptive process monitoring and the energy domain providing decision support to optimize industrial energy procurement costs.
Circulating miR-122-5p, miR-151a-3p, miR-126-5p and miR-21-5p as potential predictive biomarkers for Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease assessment
Authors: Tobaruela-Resola Ana Luz , Milagro Fermín I. , Elorz Mariana , Benito-Boillos Alberto , Herrero José I. , Mogna-Peláez Paola , Tur Josep A. , Martínez J. Alfredo , Abete Itziar , Zulet M. Ángeles
Published: August 2024

Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) is a worldwide leading cause of liver-related associated morbidities and mortality. Currently, there is a lack of reliable non-invasive biomarkers for an accurate of MASLD. Hence, this study aimed to evidence the functional role of miRNAs as potential biomarkers for MASLD assessment. Data from 55 participants with steatosis (MASLD group) and 45 without steatosis (control group) from the Fatty Liver in Obesity (FLiO) Study (NCT03183193) were analyzed. Anthropometrics and body composition, biochemical and inflammatory markers, lifestyle factors and liver status were evaluated. Circulating miRNA levels were measured by RT-PCR. Circulating levels of miR-122-5p, miR-151a-3p, miR-126-5p and miR-21-5p were significantly increased in the MASLD group. These miRNAs were significantly associated with steatosis, liver stiffness and hepatic fat content. Logistic regression analyses revealed that miR-151a-3p or miR-21-5p in combination with leptin showed a significant diagnostic accuracy for liver stiffness obtaining an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.76 as well as miR-151a-3p in combination with glucose for hepatic fat content an AUC of 0.81. The best predictor value for steatosis was obtained by combining miR-126-5p with leptin, presenting an AUC of 0.95. Circulating miRNAs could be used as a non-invasive biomarkers for evaluating steatosis, liver stiffness and hepatic fat content, which are crucial in determining MASLD.

Clinical trial registration

• Trial registration number: NCT03183193 (www.clinicaltrials.gov).

• Date of registration: 12/06/2017.
Agency as an Inherent Property of Living Organisms
Authors: Rosslenbroich Bernd , Kümmell Susanna , Bembé Benjamin
Published: August 2024

A central characteristic of living organisms is their agency, that is, their intrinsic activity, both in terms of their basic life processes and their behavior in the environment. This aspect is currently a subject of debate and this article provides an overview of some of the relevant publications on this topic. We develop the argument that agency is immanent in living organisms. There is no life without agency. Even the basic life processes are an intrinsic activity, which we call the organismic level of agency. In addition to this we describe several further levels. These capture different qualities that occur or transform during evolution. In addition to the organismic level, we propose an ontogenetic level, a level of directed agency, directed agency with extended flexibility, and a level that includes the capacities to follow preconceived goals. A further property of organisms is their autonomy. It has been shown that the capacity for autonomy changed during evolution. Here we propose that the two organismic properties autonomy and agency are closely related. Enhanced physiological and behavioral autonomy extends the scope of self-generated, flexible actions and reactions. The increase in autonomy through the evolution of a widened scope of behavioral possibilities and versatility in organisms coincides with extended levels of agency. Especially the human organization, including the sophisticated brain, is the basis for an extended level of agency referring to the capacities to follow preconceived goals. However, it is important for the understanding of the phenomenon of agency not only to assume this latter form, but also to look at the different levels of agency.
The real-world safety profile of tirzepatide: pharmacovigilance analysis of the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database
Authors: Caruso I. , Di Gioia L. , Di Molfetta S. , Caporusso M. , Cignarelli A. , Sorice G. P. , Laviola L. , Giorgino F.
Published: August 2024

Purpose

Randomized controlled trials with tirzepatide (TZP) displayed unprecedented glucose and body weight lowering efficacy in individuals with type 2 diabetes and/or obesity and a safety profile similar to that of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA), mainly characterized by gastrointestinal (GI) adverse events (AE). Concerns on diabetic retinopathy, pancreato-biliary disorders, and medullary thyroid cancer were also addressed. We aimed to investigate whether the same safety issues emerged from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) post-marketing surveillance database.

Methods

OpenVigil 2.1-MedDRA-v24 and AERSMine (data 2004Q1-2023Q3) were used to query the FAERS database. Reports of GI AE, diabetic retinopathy, pancreato-biliary disorders, and medullary thyroid cancer were investigated. The analysis was then filtered for age, gender, and designation as primary suspect. AE occurrence with TZP was compared to insulin, sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, metformin, and GLP-1RA.

Results

Disproportionate reporting of GI [i.e., nausea (ROR 4.01, 95% CI 3.85–4.19)] and pancreato-biliary disorders [i.e., pancreatitis (ROR 3.63, 95% CI 3.15–4.19)], diabetic retinopathy (ROR 4.14, 95% CI 2.34–7.30), and medullary thyroid cancer (ROR 13.67, 95% CI 4.35–42.96) was detected. TZP exhibited a similar risk of GI AE and medullary thyroid cancer and a lower risk of most pancreato-biliary AE and diabetic retinopathy vs. GLP-1RA.

Conclusions

TZP was associated with an increased risk of specific AE. However, its safety profile was similar to that of GLP-1RA, without increased risk of pancreato-biliary AE, diabetic retinopathy, and medullary thyroid cancer.
Selection of Negative Charged Acidic Polar Additives to Regulate Electric Double Layer for Stable Zinc Ion Battery
Authors: Fan Xing , Chen Lina , Wang Yongjing , Xu Xieyu , Jiao Xingxing , Zhou Peng , Liu Yangyang , Song Zhongxiao , Zhou Jiang
Published: August 2024

Zinc-ion batteries are promising for large-scale electrochemical energy storage systems, which still suffer from interfacial issues, e.g., hydrogen evolution side reaction (HER), self-corrosion, and uncontrollable dendritic Zn electrodeposition. Although the regulation of electric double layer (EDL) has been verified for interfacial issues, the principle to select the additive as the regulator is still misted. Here, several typical amino acids with different characteristics were examined to reveal the interfacial behaviors in regulated EDL on the Zn anode. Negative charged acidic polarity (NCAP) has been unveiled as the guideline for selecting additive to reconstruct EDL with an inner zincophilic H2O-poor layer and to replace H2O molecules of hydrated Zn2+ with NCAP glutamate. Taking the synergistic effects of EDL regulation, the uncontrollable interface is significantly stabilized from the suppressed HER and anti-self-corrosion with uniform electrodeposition. Consequently, by adding NCAP glutamate, a high average Coulombic efficiency of 99.83% of Zn metal is achieved in Zn|Cu asymmetrical cell for over 2000 cycles, and NH4V4O10|Zn full cell exhibits a high-capacity retention of 82.1% after 3000 cycles at 2 A g−1. Recapitulating, the NCAP principle posted here can quicken the design of trailblazing electrolyte additives for aqueous Zn-based electrochemical energy storage systems.
A modelling study to explore the effects of regional socio-economics on the spreading of epidemics
Authors: Snellman Jan E. , Barrio Rafael A. , Kaski Kimmo K. , Korpi–Lagg Maarit J.
Published: August 2024

Epidemics, apart from affecting the health of populations, can have large impacts on their social and economic behavior and subsequently feed back to and influence the spreading of the disease. This calls for systematic investigation which factors affect significantly and either beneficially or adversely the disease spreading and regional socio-economics. Based on our recently developed hybrid agent-based socio-economy and epidemic spreading model we perform extensive exploration of its six-dimensional parameter space of the socio-economic part of the model, namely, the attitudes towards the spread of the pandemic, health and the economic situation for both, the population and government agents who impose regulations. We search for significant patterns from the resulting simulated data using basic classification tools, such as self-organizing maps and principal component analysis, and we monitor different quantities of the model output, such as infection rates, the propagation speed of the epidemic, economic activity, government regulations, and the compliance of population on government restrictions. Out of these, the ones describing the epidemic spreading were resulting in the most distinctive clustering of the data, and they were selected as the basis of the remaining analysis. We relate the found clusters to three distinct types of disease spreading: wave-like, chaotic, and transitional spreading patterns. The most important value parameter contributing to phase changes and the speed of the epidemic was found to be the compliance of the population agents towards the government regulations. We conclude that in compliant populations, the infection rates are significantly lower and the infection spreading is slower, while the population agents’ health and economical attitudes show a weaker effect.
Effect of water chestnut based edible coating on the physicochemical quality and shelf life of apples
Authors: Mahnoor  , Ainee Ammara , Hussain Ashiq , Kausar Tusneem , Bibi Barira , Kabir Khurram , Ayesha Amina , Yaqub Shazia , Firdous Nida , Nisar Rizwan , Mahdi Amer Ali , Korma Sameh A.
Published: August 2024

Preservation of perishable fruits and vegetables through edible coatings having functional roles, has gained importance now a days. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of water chestnut powder-based edible coatings on the quality and shelf life of apples (Kala kullu). Two treatments, T1 and T2, were developed by utilizing two different concentrations of heated water chestnut powder (2% and 2.5%, respectively). Whereas, 2% guar gum (T0+) was accustomed as positive control, and uncoated apples as negative control (T0−). Before developing emulsions, water chestnut powder was subjected to chemical, functional and structural analysis, after that emulsions developed were used to coat apples, which were investigated for physicochemical and sensory parameters, during 80 days storage at 20 °C. The findings indicated that emulsion capacity, emulsion stability, foaming capacity and viscosity of the coatings was significantly high (p ≤ 0.05) for T2, as compared to T1. During the storage of apples, significant (p ≤ 0.05) decrease in the weight loss and decay percentage was observed in T2. Increased pH and decrease in titratable acidity were also noted in T2. Coated apples (both T2 and T1) maintained the firmness of apples during storage duration, as compared to the uncoated ones. Significantly high (p ≤ 0.05) total phenolic contents and antioxidant capacity was shown by T2 as compared to other treatments, as during storage a comparatively lesser decrease in the values of these parameters was observed for T2. Sensory analysis results showed that T2 was given high scores for color, texture, taste, flavor and overall acceptability, as compared to other treatments. It was noted that T2 showed better outcomes in terms of sensory and physiochemical attributes, thus edible coatings having 2.5% water chestnut powder could be used to increase the shelf life of fruits.

Graphical abstract
Compost quality, earthworm activities and microbial communities in biochar-augmented vermicomposting of dewatered activated sludge: the role of biochar particle size
Authors: Peng Wei , Wang Yue , Cui Guangyu , Xu Qiyong , Zhang Hua , He Pinjing , Lü Fan
Published: August 2024

Vermicomposting utilizes the synergistic effect of earthworms with microorganisms to accelerate the stabilization of organic matter in biowastes. Nevertheless, the exact mechanism behind the maturity of vermicompost and the growth of earthworms exposed to biochar of varying particle sizes remains unclear. This study presents an investigation of the effect of biochar particle size on earthworm (Eisenia fetida) survival, microbial diversity, and the quality of vermicompost products. To address these issues, pelletized dewatered sludge samples from a municipal sewage treatment plant were amended with pine-based biochar with particle sizes of 1–2 mm, 25–75 μm, 200 nm, and 60 nm as the substrate for vermicomposting. This study revealed that the addition of millimeter-scale biochar and micron-scale biochar significantly promoted the degradation of organic matter since the organic matter in the treatment with 1–2 mm biochar at the end of the vermicomposting experiment decreased by 12.6%, which was equivalent to a 1.9-fold increase compared with that of the control. Excessive nanopowdering of nanobiochar significantly affected the survival of earthworms and led to 24.4–33.3% cumulative mortality, while millimeter-scale (mm) biochar and micron-scale (μm) biochar achieved zero mortality. The findings of this study could be used for evaluating the potential impact of nanoscale biochar to earthworms and guiding biochar-augmented vermicomposting.

Graphical Abstract
A systematic review: increasing mental health literacy in students through “The Guide”
Authors: Nazari Abouzar , Garmaroudi Gholamreza , Rabiei Marzie
Published: August 2024

Background

Ensuring mental health literacy among students aged 10–25 is of utmost importance, and the efficacy of educational programs in this domain holds significant value. This systematic review assesses the influence of The Guide (Mental Health and High School Curriculum Guide) on mental health literacy within this demographic.

Materials and methods

This review examined how effective The Guide was in increasing students’ mental health literacy, help-seeking attitudes, and stigma reduction. It also looked at what factors influenced its implementation and sustainability in different settings. It followed the PRISMA guidelines and searched for studies that used The Guide or a modified version of it with students aged 10–25 from 1975 to 2023. Studies were assessed for quality using the QuADS Quality Appraisal tool.

Results

Our systematic review encompassed a comprehensive analysis of 10 reports derived from five primary articles originating from six countries, with a combined participant pool of 4298 individuals. The selected studies exhibited variations in design, duration, delivery modes, and outcome measures. The synthesized findings underscored the positive impact of The Guide educational program on enhancing students' mental health literacy. However, the effects on students' help-seeking attitudes and stigma were varied. Additionally, the results illuminated that the success and sustainability of The Guide were contingent on several factors, including the mode of delivery, the role of facilitators or teachers, and the unique characteristics of the student population.

Conclusion

The review showed that The Guide was effective in improving students’ mental health literacy in different settings. It also suggested that The Guide needed to be adapted and tailored to the local context and culture, and that the facilitators or teachers and the students needed to be trained and involved in the process.
Separation of iodate, bromide, nitrite, nitrate, and iodide in seawater by ion chromatography using 1-aminoundecyl group chemically bonded silica columns
Authors: Ito Kazuaki , Noguchi Michinari , Horioka Yuuta , Ohshita Joji , Hirokawa Takeshi
Published: August 2024

The separation and detection of six common inorganic anions (iodate (IO3−), bromate (BrO3−), bromide (Br−), nitrite (NO2−), nitrate (NO3−), and iodide (I−)) in pure water and 35 ‰ artificial seawater were examined by ion chromatography (IC). As packing materials of separation columns, 1-aminoundecyl group chemically bonded silica (AUS) gels were prepared. Separation of the anions in pure water was achieved using separation columns (150 mm × 4.6 mm i.d.) packed with the AUS gels, 0.1 M NaCl + 5 mM phosphate buffer (pH 4.5) as eluent, and a UV detector (wavelength 225 nm). The anions in artificial seawater were separated and detected with a 300 mm-long column without interferences by matrix anions such as chloride (Cl−) and sulfate (SO42−). The stationary phases have high-capacity anion-exchange/hydrophilic/hydrophobic interaction mixed-modes. The IC system was applied to five inorganic anions, IO3−, Br−, NO2−, NO3−, and I− in seawater of the Seto-Inland Sea, Japan. The detection limits (DLs, S/N = 3) were 11 µg L−1 (IO3−), 93 (Br−), 1.3 (NO2−), 1.4 (NO3−), and 1.1 (I−) for a 100-µL sample injection.

Graphical abstract
Nitride coatings for environmental barriers: the key microscopic mechanisms and momentous applications of first-principles calculations
Authors: He Qinsheng , Liu Dongyang , Zhou Youqi , Sun Tian-Yu , Huang Liang-Feng
Published: August 2024

Protective nitride coatings are widely used in various industrial fields due to their exceptional mechanical, structural, and chemical stabilities under various harsh environments. Many nitride coatings have the inherent barrier function against the attack of environmental agents, making them splendid materials for, e.g., hydrogen permeation barriers, high-temperature-environment barriers, and tribocorrosion coatings. However, the long-term contact with aggressive environments may still result in the degradation of these coatings, where many processes occuring on various atomistic microstructures (e.g., surfaces, vacancies, grain boundaries, and coating/substrate interfaces) usually play the key roles. Here, we make a timely review on the microscopic mechanisms associated with the interactions between various microstructural entities and environmental agents, for which the first-principles calculations will be powerful in quantitatively revealing the essential interatomic bondings and thermodynamic/kinetic trends therein. Many successful application cases and possible future directions of first-principles calculations for these three kinds of nitride coatings are discussed here, which can shed much light on more optimization ways towards superior and durable nitride coatings through precise chemical tuning and structural design in the future.
Rural Radicalism in the Capital City: The Impact of Histories of Inequitable Safety on Patterns of Violence
Authors: Pendle Naomi , Maror Deng
Published: August 2024

Around the world, armed conflict is increasingly occurring in capital cities and governments are relying on pro-government, rurally recruited, militia to suppress anti-government political violence. Pendle and Maror draw lessons from South Sudan where recruits from rural areas were brought to Juba to help defend the government. Drawing on ethnographic observations and qualitative interviews with combatants, this article uses “rural radicalism” to argue that patterns of violence by these rurally recruited forces were shaped by histories of rural violence over previous decades and can be read to include a political objective that challenges the inequities in safety and security between rural areas and the capital city.
Experimental study on the settling motion of coral grains in still water
Authors: Chen Jie , Yao Zhen , He Fei , Jiang Changbo , Jiang Chao , Wu Zhiyuan , Deng Bin , Long Yuannan , Bian Cheng
Published: August 2024

Understanding settling motion of coral grains is important in terms of protection of coral reef systems and resotoration of the associated ecosystems. In this paper, a series of laboratory experiments was conducted to investigate the settling motion, using optical microscopy to measure shape parameters of coral grains and the particle-filtering-based object tracking to reconstruct the three-dimensional trajectory. Three characteristic descent regimes, namely, tumbling, chaotic and fluttering, are classified based on the three-dimensional trajectory, the spiral radius variation and the velocity spectrum. It is demonstrated that if one randomly picks up one coral grain, then the probabilities of occurrence of the three regimes are approximately

$26\,\%$

,

$42\,\%$

and

$32\,\%$

, respectively. We have shown that first, the dimensionless settling velocity generally increases with the non-dimensional diameter and Corey shape factor and second, the drag coefficient generally decreases with the Reynolds number and Corey shape factor. Based on this, the applicability of existing models on predicting settling velocity and drag coefficient for coral grains is demonstrated further. Finally, we have proposed extended models for predicting the settling velocity. This study contributes to better understanding of settling motion and improves our predictive capacity of settling velocity for coral grains with complex geometry.
Effects of wall temperature on hypersonic shock wave/turbulent boundary layer interactions
Authors: Zhang Ji , Guo Tongbiao , Dang Guanlin , Li Xinliang
Published: August 2024

Wall temperature has a significant effect on shock wave/turbulent boundary layer interactions (STBLIs) and has become a non-negligible factor in the design process of hypersonic vehicles. In this paper, direct numerical simulations are conducted to investigate the wall temperature effects on STBLIs over a 34° compression ramp at Mach number 6. Three values of the wall-to-recovery-temperature ratio (0.50, 0.75 and 1.0) are considered in the simulations. The results show that the size of the separation bubble declines significantly as the wall temperature decreases. This is because the momentum profile of the boundary layer becomes fuller with wall cooling, which means the near-wall fluid has a greater momentum to suppress flow separation. An equation based on the free-interaction theory is proposed to predict the distributions of the wall pressure upstream of the corner at different wall temperatures. The prediction results are generally consistent with the simulation results (Reynolds number Reτ ranges from 160 to 675). In addition, the low-frequency unsteadiness is studied through the weighted power spectral density of the wall pressure and the correlation between the upstream and downstream. The results indicate that the low-frequency motion of the separation shock is mainly driven by the downstream mechanism and that wall cooling can significantly suppress the low-frequency unsteadiness, including the strength and streamwise range of the low-frequency motions.
Fluid dynamics and venous hemodynamics in the lower	extremities
Authors: Guven Hakan
Published: August 2024

Summary: Chronic venous disease is a vascular disorder characterized by impaired venous return and a progressive dysfunction of the venous system. Pathological reflux can occur due to abnormal dilation and weakening of the vein wall. The circulatory system is a natural structure in which physical laws, such as the law of closed containers and gravity, operate. The malfunctions in the system also adhere to these laws of nature. This article explains how the principles of fluid dynamics apply to the flow of blood in the veins of the legs. I am discussing the principles of Pascal’s law, Torricelli’s law, Bernoulli’s law, and Poiseuille’s law, and how they are relating to the anatomy and physiology of the venous system.
Integrierte Regelwerke für medizinisch-pflegerische Versorgung in der Langzeitpflege: qualitative Ergebnisse der Prozessevaluation
Authors: Bunjes-Schmieger Sabine , Burkholder Iris , Renaud Dagmar
Published: August 2024

Zusammenfassung: Hintergrund: Die zumeist von Multimorbidität betroffenen Pflegebedürftigen in der Langzeitpflege sind auf eine angemessene medizinisch-pflegerische Versorgung angewiesen. Unzureichende interdisziplinäre Kooperationsstrukturen und -prozesse stellen bei Zustandsverschlechterung von Bewohner_innen für die Pflege eine Herausforderung dar und können zu Krankenhauseinweisungen führen, die potenziell vermeidbar wären. Ziel: Im Rahmen des Innovationsfonds-Projektes SaarPHIR „Saarländische PflegeHeim Versorgung Integriert Regelhaft“ wurden Strukturen und Prozesse der interdisziplinären Kooperation entwickelt und umgesetzt. Ziele des qualitativen Teils der Prozessevaluation waren die subjektive Bewertung der Struktur- und Prozessebene der komplexen Intervention über alle Projektphasen aus Sicht der Beteiligten sowie eine Analyse der Kontextfaktoren. Methode: Zur Erfassung der subjektiven Erfahrungen in Durchführung und Auswirkung der komplexen Intervention wurden qualitative Befragungen mit allen teilnehmenden Einrichtungen und den im Rahmen des Projektes gebildeten ärztlichen Versorgergemeinschaften durchgeführt. Die Datenanalyse erfolgte mittels qualitativer Inhaltsanalyse. Ergebnisse: Beide Berufsgruppen nehmen einen strukturellen Organisationswandel wahr, der sich positiv auf die interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit auswirkt. Der Nutzen hinsichtlich der Versorgung wird als hoch bewertet. Schlussfolgerung: Verschiedene Maßnahmen (z.B. Vor-Wochenend-Visite, erweiterte Rufbereitschaft) auf der Struktur- und Prozessebene sollten bei Überführung in die Regelversorgung beibehalten werden.
IMO2020 Regulations Accelerate Global Warming by up to 3 Years in UKESM1
Authors: Jordan G. , Henry M.
Published: August 2024

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) introduced new regulations on the sulfur content of shipping emissions in 2020 (IMO2020). Estimates of the climatic impact of this global reduction in anthropogenic sulfate aerosols vary widely. Here, we contribute to narrowing this uncertainty with two sets of climate model simulations using UKESM1. Using fixed sea‐surface temperature atmosphere‐only simulations, we estimate an IMO2020 global effective radiative forcing of 0.139 ± 0.019 Wm−2 and show that most of this forcing is due to aerosol‐induced changes to cloud properties. Using coupled ocean‐atmosphere simulations, we note significant changes in cloud top droplet number concentration and size across regions with high shipping traffic density, and—in the North Atlantic and North Pacific—these microphysical changes translate to a decrease in cloud albedo. We show that IMO2020 increases global annual surface temperature on average by 0.046 ± 0.010°C across 2020–2029; approximately 2–3 years of global warming. Furthermore, our model simulations show that IMO2020 helps to explain the exceptional warming in 2023, but other factors are needed to fully account for it. The year 2023 also had an exceptionally large decrease in reflected shortwave radiation at the top‐of‐atmosphere. Our results show that IMO2020 made that more likely, yet the observations are within the variability of simulations without the reduction in shipping emissions. To better understand the climatic impacts of IMO2020, a model intercomparison project would be valuable whilst the community waits for a more complete observational record.
The Many Adventures of Nitrogen in the Arctic Ocean
Authors: Dieckman Emily
Published: August 2024

New research reviews how our atmosphere’s most abundant element cycles through the Arctic Ocean—and how climate change could affect the process.
Regulation of Hippo/YAP axis in colon cancer progression by the deubiquitinase JOSD1
Authors: Sun Yanan , Liu Dongyi , Zhang Xiaobo , Su Peng , Li Xin , Li Zhongbo , Gai Yingwen , Li Jingying , Yang Zhiyong , Ding Yinlu , Zhu Jian , Tan Xiaodong
Published: August 2024

Colon cancer is a prevalent malignancy, while recent studies revealed the dys-regulation of Hippo signaling as the important driver for colon cancer progression. Several studies have indicated that post-translational modifications on YAP play crucial roles in both Hippo signaling activity and cancer progression. This raises a puzzling question about why YAP/TAZ, an auto-inhibitory pathway, is frequently over-activated in colon cancer, despite the suppressive cascade of Hippo signaling remaining operational. The protein stability of YAP is subject to a tiny balance between ubiquitination and deubiquitination processes. Through correlation analysis of DUBs (deubiquitinases) expression and Hippo target gene signature in colon cancer samples, we found JOSD1 as a critical deubiquitinase for Hippo signaling and colon cancer progression. JOSD1 could facilitate colon cancer progression and in colon cancer, inhibition of JOSD1 via shRNA has been demonstrated to impede tumorigenesis. Furthermore, molecular mechanism studies have elucidated that JOSD1 enhances the formation of the Hippo/YAP transcriptome by impeding K48-linked polyubiquitination on YAP. ChIP assays have shown that YAP binds to JOSD1’s promoter region, promoting its gene transcription. These results suggest that JOSD1 is involved in both activating and being targeted by the Hippo signaling pathway in colon cancer. Consequently, a positive regulatory loop between JOSD1 and Hippo signaling has been identified, underscoring their interdependence during colon cancer progression. Thus, targeting JOSD1 may represent a promising therapeutic approach for managing colon cancer.
TFEB activation hallmarks antigenic experience of B lymphocytes and directs germinal center fate decisions
Authors: Münchhalfen Matthias , Görg Richard , Haberl Michael , Löber Jens , Willenbrink Jakob , Schwarzt Laura , Höltermann Charlotte , Ickes Christian , Hammermann Leonard , Kus Jan , Chapuy Björn , Ballabio Andrea , Reichardt Sybille D. , Flügel Alexander , Engels Niklas , Wienands Jürgen
Published: August 2024

Ligation of the B cell antigen receptor (BCR) initiates humoral immunity. However, BCR signaling without appropriate co-stimulation commits B cells to death rather than to differentiation into immune effector cells. How BCR activation depletes potentially autoreactive B cells while simultaneously primes for receiving rescue and differentiation signals from cognate T lymphocytes remains unknown. Here, we use a mass spectrometry-based proteomic approach to identify cytosolic/nuclear shuttling elements and uncover transcription factor EB (TFEB) as a central BCR-controlled rheostat that drives activation-induced apoptosis, and concurrently promotes the reception of co-stimulatory rescue signals by supporting B cell migration and antigen presentation. CD40 co-stimulation prevents TFEB-driven cell death, while enhancing and prolonging TFEB’s nuclear residency, which hallmarks antigenic experience also of memory B cells. In mice, TFEB shapes the transcriptional landscape of germinal center B cells. Within the germinal center, TFEB facilitates the dark zone entry of light-zone-residing centrocytes through regulation of chemokine receptors and, by balancing the expression of Bcl-2/BH3-only family members, integrates antigen-induced apoptosis with T cell-provided CD40 survival signals. Thus, TFEB reprograms antigen-primed germinal center B cells for cell fate decisions.
Probing coherent quantum thermodynamics using a trapped ion
Authors: Onishchenko O. , Guarnieri G. , Rosillo-Rodes P. , Pijn D. , Hilder J. , Poschinger U. G. , Perarnau-Llobet M. , Eisert J. , Schmidt-Kaler F.
Published: August 2024

Quantum thermodynamics is aimed at grasping thermodynamic laws as they apply to thermal machines operating in the deep quantum regime, where coherence and entanglement are expected to matter. Despite substantial progress, however, it has remained difficult to develop thermal machines in which such quantum effects are observed to be of pivotal importance. In this work, we demonstrate the possibility to experimentally measure and benchmark a genuine quantum correction, induced by quantum friction, to the classical work fluctuation-dissipation relation. This is achieved by combining laser-induced coherent Hamiltonian rotations and energy measurements on a trapped ion. Our results demonstrate that recent developments in stochastic quantum thermodynamics can be used to benchmark and unambiguously distinguish genuine quantum coherent signatures generated along driving protocols, even in presence of experimental SPAM errors and, most importantly, beyond the regimes for which theoretical predictions are available (e.g., in slow driving).
Deforestation amplifies climate change effects on warming and cloud level rise in African montane forests
Authors: Abera Temesgen Alemayehu , Heiskanen Janne , Maeda Eduardo Eiji , Muhammed Mohammed Ahmed , Bhandari Netra , Vakkari Ville , Hailu Binyam Tesfaw , Pellikka Petri K. E. , Hemp Andreas , van Zyl Pieter G. , Zeuss Dirk
Published: August 2024

Tropical montane forest ecosystems are pivotal for sustaining biodiversity and essential terrestrial ecosystem services, including the provision of high-quality fresh water. Nonetheless, the impact of montane deforestation and climate change on the capacity of forests to deliver ecosystem services is yet to be fully understood. In this study, we offer observational evidence demonstrating the response of air temperature and cloud base height to deforestation in African montane forests over the last two decades. Our findings reveal that approximately 18% (7.4 ± 0.5 million hectares) of Africa’s montane forests were lost between 2003 and 2022. This deforestation has led to a notable increase in maximum air temperature (1.37 ± 0.58 °C) and cloud base height (236 ± 87 metres), surpassing shifts attributed solely to climate change. Our results call for urgent attention to montane deforestation, as it poses serious threats to biodiversity, water supply, and ecosystem services in the tropics.
The gold content of mafic to felsic potassic magmas
Authors: Chang Jia , Audétat Andreas , Pettke Thomas
Published: August 2024

Many epithermal gold and gold-rich porphyry-type ore deposits are associated with potassic magmas. Hence, potassic magmas are commonly assumed to have been unusually Au-rich or to have contained high Au/Cu ratios. However, these hypotheses remain poorly tested. Here, we report Au concentrations and Au/Cu ratios in silicate melt inclusions analyzed in potassic rocks worldwide. The results suggest that mafic potassic magmas generally contain only 2‒7 ng/g Au, despite common sulfide exhaustion during partial mantle melting. Both the absolute Au concentrations and Au/Cu ratios are comparable to those of mafic calc-alkaline magmas, and they vary little during subsequent magma differentiation because magmatic sulfide precipitation is strongly dominated by monosulfide solid solution that is relatively poor in Au and Cu. We thus suggest that the close association of Au-rich deposits with potassic magmas is not due to Au enrichment in the magma, but rather due to selective Au precipitation at the hydrothermal stage.
COVID-19 and influenza vaccine uptake among pregnant women in national cohorts of England and Wales
Authors: Gu Xinchun , Agrawal Utkarsh , Midgley William , Bedston Stuart , Anand Sneha N. , Goudie Rosalind , Byford Rachel , Joy Mark , Jamie Gavin , Hoang Uy , Ordóñez-Mena Jose M. , Robertson Chris , Hobbs F. D. Richard , Akbari Ashley , Sheikh Aziz , de Lusignan Simon
Published: August 2024

Vaccines against COVID-19 and influenza can reduce the adverse outcomes caused by infections during pregnancy, but vaccine uptake among pregnant women has been suboptimal. We examined the COVID-19 and influenza vaccine uptake and disparities in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic to inform vaccination interventions. We used data from the Oxford-Royal College of General Practitioners Research and Surveillance Centre database in England and the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage Databank in Wales. The uptake of at least one dose of vaccine was 40.2% for COVID-19 and 41.8% for influenza among eligible pregnant women. We observed disparities in COVID-19 and influenza vaccine uptake, with socioeconomically deprived and ethnic minority groups showing lower vaccination rates. The suboptimal uptake of COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, especially in those from socioeconomically deprived backgrounds and Black, mixed or other ethnic groups, underscores the necessity for interventions to reduce vaccine hesitancy and enhance acceptance in pregnant women.