bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessment of knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding cholera among people living in a cholera-endemic health zone in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Authors: Kayembe Ntumba Harry César , Taty Nadège , Mako Sandra , Batumbo Doudou Boloweti
Published: February 2025

Objectives

To assess cholera-related knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) and identify associated factors in a cholera endemic health zone in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Design

A community-based cross-sectional study.

Setting

The study was conducted in Kalemie health zone, which is located in the Tanganyika province in eastern DRC.

Participants

A total of 455 participants were enrolled in this study using a three-stage random sampling procedure.

Main outcome measures

Sociodemographic characteristics, cholera and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)-related KAP, and their associated factors.

Results

The study revealed that the population demonstrated a good knowledge (64%), a positive attitude (73.6%) and good WASH practices (73.8%) regarding cholera. The identification of cholera symptoms, modes of transmission and means of prevention ranged from 79.6% to 94.3%, 38.2% to 41.5% and 32.5% to 56.3%, respectively. It was also noted a high prevalence of tap water use (93.4%) and limited access to water treatment (43.1% to 57.1%), as well as a significant proportion of latrine access (70.8%) with the presence of open defecation (16.3%). In multivariable logistic regression, poor knowledge about cholera was associated with being aged 18 years or younger, having limited education and practising poor WASH habits. No significant factors influenced participants’ attitudes. Poor WASH practices were associated with being from households with daily expenditures of less than 1 USD and 5 USD, as well as having poor knowledge about cholera. In addition, believers from Catholic and Muslim backgrounds were less likely to have poor WASH practices.

Conclusions

Our findings indicate that health education initiatives targeting younger demographics should be intensified to enhance awareness of cholera prevention and household water treatment. Furthermore, there is a need for targeted interventions to provide public standpipes and community boreholes, as well as to improve the coverage of covered pit latrines, especially for poorer households.
Threats to grant peer review: a qualitative study
Authors: Sims Gould Joanie , Lasinsky Anne M , Mota Adrian , Khan Karim M , Ardern Clare L
Published: February 2025

Background and objectives

Peer review is ubiquitous in evaluating scientific research. While peer review of manuscripts submitted to journals has been widely studied, there has been relatively less attention paid to peer review of grant applications (despite how crucial peer review is to researchers having the means and capacity to conduct research). There is spirited debate in academic community forums (including on social media) about the perceived benefits and limitations of grant peer review. The aim of our study was to understand the experiences and challenges faced by grant peer reviewers.

Methods

Therefore, we conducted qualitative interviews with 18 members of grant review panels—the Chairs, peer reviewers and Scientific Officers of a national funding agency—that highlight threats to the integrity of grant peer review.

Results

We identified three threats: (1) lack of training and limited opportunities to learn, (2) challenges in differentiating and rating applications of similar strength, and (3) reviewers weighting reputations and relationships in the review process to differentiate grant applications of a similar strength. These threats were compounded by reviewers’ stretched resources or lack of time. Our data also highlighted the essential role of the Chair in ensuring transparency and rigorous grant peer review.

Conclusions

As researchers continue to evaluate the threats to grant peer review, the reality of stretched resources and time must be considered. We call on funders and academic institutions to implement practices that reduce reviewer burden.
Engaging adolescents for sexual and reproductive health and rights and family planning advocacy in Pakistan: a qualitative study protocol
Authors: Meherali Salima , Najmi Hina , Nausheen Sidra , Lassi Zohra , Memon Zahid Ali , Mian Abeer , Saleem Sarah
Published: February 2025

Introduction

Adolescents and young people aged 10–24 years comprise 32% of the total population of Pakistan. Adolescents and young people are a heterogeneous group—in different stages of development, living in different circumstances and with differing and changing needs. Neglect of specific adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs can pose serious challenges and affect physical and mental health, future employment, economic well-being and adolescents’ ability to reach their full potential. Evidence suggests that adolescents in Pakistan have poor access to SRH services, including access to contraception and limited knowledge of SRH and rights (SRHR), contributing to unplanned pregnancies, very early childbearing, short birth intervals, pregnancy complications, maternal death and disability. Despite recognising adolescence as an important developmental period, research on SRHR needs and access to SRH information among adolescents in Pakistan is scarce. This project will use a participatory action research (PAR) approach based on the principles of public engagement in science and innovation to develop a national SRHR and Family Planning Advocacy Toolkit for adolescents in Pakistan.

Methods and analysis

We will use the PAR framework to guide our study. This research project will be conducted in three stages with cyclical recurring activities involving planning, acting, observing and reflecting, as informed by the PAR framework. The three stages are: (1) establishment of youth advisory groups and identification and prioritisation of SRHR concerns, (2) planning and co-designing an appropriate intervention (ie, SRHR and Family Planning Advocacy Toolkit) and (3) implementation and usability testing of advocacy Toolkit. This project leverages strong, well-established partnerships among researchers, clinicians, lady health workers (LHWs) and adolescent communities living in rural parts of Pakistan.

Ethics and dissemination

This study has received ethics approval from the University of Alberta Research Ethics Board (Pro00129101_REN1) and the Ethics Review Committee at Aga Khan University (2023-8671-26021). We will actively engage adolescent advisory group members, youth partners and LHWs in the dissemination of the Toolkit to ensure that it will reach end users in the rural community. In collaboration with governmental platforms, community non-governmental organisations and educational campaigns, the Toolkit will be disseminated to ensure SRH knowledge is readily available to young adolescents. We will also publish our study findings for peer-reviewed publications, digital stories and conference presentations.
The safety and health paradox of workers at social venues: a regulatory compliance gap analysis of the existing relevant legislation and the unwritten rules at social venues in Uganda
Authors: Babirye Susan , Michielsen Kristien , Robijn Lenzo , Keygnaert Ines , Ssengooba Freddie
Published: February 2025

Objectives

This study aims to analyse the disparity between the rules and procedures at social venues in Uganda and the current regulatory requirements concerning venue worker safety.

Methods

Between 2021 and 2023, we analysed national laws/policies impacting the safety and health of venue workers in Uganda. This analysis was complemented by data collected from 66 in-depth interviews with venue workers. Additionally, we organised two subnational/national dialogues with key stakeholders in Uganda.

Results

Our findings revealed minimal adherence to national regulations concerning workplace safety and health at venues. Many rules/procedures implemented at these venues directly contradicted the principles outlined in national regulations. There were barely any laws explicit to the safety and health of workers at social venues with the exception of the Hotels Act, 2000, which only applies to venues offering accommodation services. The identified significant regulatory compliance gaps in social venues include inconsistent and low wages, discriminatory recruitment practices such as a preference for young and beautiful females and the employment of underage workers.

Conclusion

Employment in social venues continues to lack regulations that address the unique occupational hazards, many of which are linked with increased risk of HIV acquisition. Furthermore, existing regulations relevant to the sector are not complied with by social venues, and consequently safe workplace in these environments remains a significant challenge.
Mitigating Geotechnical Challenges in Deep Mining: Lessons Learned from Shaft Station Excavations at Extreme Depths
Authors: Lindsay Jared , Hall Alex , Cai Ming , Simser Brad
Published: February 2025

This paper presents the geotechnical challenges experienced while excavating two shaft stations at the depths of 2490 m and 2550 m in highly stressed grounds, along with engineering solutions that effectively reduce exposure and risk associated with the excavations and help improve safety. Although proactive measures were implemented to ensure the successful construction of the 2490 shaft station, adverse stress conditions and a localized geological fault resulted in damage to the shaft concrete liner and significant overbreak of the station floor, leading to the bowling of the station floor. These unanticipated conditions resulted in project delays and increased risk for the operators working at the face. Based on detailed observations made while excavating the 2490 shaft station, instrumentation, and microseismic monitoring data, the methodology for excavating the 2550 shaft station was modified to mitigate the risk and increase safety. The modifications include reinforcing the shaft concrete liner, reducing the size of the initial shaft station blast, and pre-sinking and supporting the shaft below the station floor before the excavation of the shaft station, leading to cost savings and valuable insights into the geotechnical intricacies and excavation strategies essential to improving the safety of deep mining projects.
Research progress on carbon dioxide curing of cementitious materials：a review
Authors: Xie Fating , Zhou Daocheng , zhang maohua
Published: February 2025

The process of CO2 curing in cementitious materials involves a semi-dry carbonation reaction that transpires between carbon dioxide (CO2) and cementitious substances in the presence of water following initial molding. This reaction facilitates carbon fixation, contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions and the production of low-carbon, high-value-added building materials. Cementitious materials subjected to CO2 curing exhibit effective CO2 sequestration and demonstrate improvements in mechanical properties and durability to a certain degree.
The timing of vein hosted copper mineralization and its structural setting in the Upper Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of Southwest Ireland
Authors: Lang Jürgen , Meere Patrick A. , Unitt Richard P. , Selby David
Published: February 2025

This study provides a new insight into the genetic and chronological development of the vein hosted copper sulfide mineralization in the Late Paleozoic Munster Basins of SW Ireland. Field mapping, supported by drone photogrammetry, petrography, microthermometry and geochronology of selected historic mining sites in West Cork reveal elementary data for a reinterpretation of the mineralization processes. Structural investigations define two distinct ore forming episodes: The initial vein precipitation is directly related to syn-basinal, extensional E-W to ENE-WSW striking normal faults. Smaller sediment hosted Cu sulfide occurrences are related to the extensional fault systems. The second mineralization phase occurred during the early stage of the late Carboniferous Variscan compression by reactivation of early extensional, basinal fault systems. Copper mineralization related molybdenite samples from the historical Ballycummisk Mines on Mizen Peninsula produced Re-Os dates of 315.5 ± 1.6 Ma and 311.8 ± 1.6 Ma. This Pennsylvanian (Upper) Carboniferous sulfide emplacement is related to this second stage, syn-Variscan compressional mineralization event. The discovery of the two distinct Cu mineralizing events in SW Ireland provides an important contribution to the understanding of the development of the Irish Ore Field including the Pb-Zn Midlands Deposits.
A Review of Pseudonym Change Strategies for Location Privacy Preservation Schemes in Vehicular Networks
Authors: Benarous Leila , Zeadally Sherali , Boudjit Saadi , Mellouk Abdelhamid
Published: February 2025

Location privacy protection in vehicular networks has been a primary priority to ensure because of its direct impact on human physical safety. Leakage and violation of road users’ location privacy may be perilous beyond simple curiosity as it may scale to cyber-stalking and tracking. This may lead to road users being subjected to mental and physical distress, from blackmailing to targeted advertising, and trap planning. The results of tracking may be fatal to road users. Over the past 17 years, researchers have been actively investigating location privacy protection mechanisms for vehicular networks. Numerous research results have been published that examined the use of pseudonym change strategies which have been considered as the most appropriate solution that maintains the trade-off between ease of application, good protection level and the correct functionality of the network. We evaluate, classify, and analyze pseudonym change strategies aimed at location privacy preserving solutions for vehicular networks and discuss their performance. We also review the simulation tools used for evaluating pseudonym change techniques used in location privacy preserving solutions for the vehicular environment. The results of this survey will help researchers in this field to develop more robust, efficient, and cost-effective location privacy protection schemes in the future.
CoDÆN: Benchmarks and Comparison of Evolutionary Community Detection Algorithms for Dynamic Networks
Authors: Paoletti Giordano , Gioacchini Luca , Mellia Marco , Vassio Luca , Almeida Jussara
Published: February 2025

Web data are often modelled as complex networks in which entities interact and form communities. Nevertheless, web data evolves over time, and network communities change alongside it. This makes Community Detection (CD) in dynamic graphs a relevant problem, calling for
evolutionary
CD algorithms. The choice and evaluation of such algorithm performance is challenging because of the lack of a comprehensive set of benchmarks and specific metrics. To address these challenges, we propose CoDÆN – COmmunity Detection Algorithms in Evolving Networks – a benchmarking framework for evolutionary CD algorithms in dynamic networks, that we offer as open source to the community. CoDÆN allows us to generate synthetic community-structured graphs with known ground truth and design evolving scenarios combining nine basic graph transformations that modify edges, nodes, and communities. We propose three complementary metrics (i.e. Correctness, Delay, and Stability) to compare evolutionary CD algorithms.

Armed with CoDÆN, we consider three evolutionary modularity-based CD approaches, dissecting their performance to gauge the trade-off between the stability of the communities and their correctness. Next, we compare the algorithms in real Web-oriented datasets, confirming such a trade-off. Our findings reveal that algorithms that introduce memory in the graph maximise stability but add delay when abrupt changes occur. Conversely, algorithms that introduce memory by initialising the CD algorithms with the previous solution fail to identify the split and birth of new communities. These observations underscore the value of CoDÆN in facilitating the study and comparison of alternative evolutionary community detection algorithms.
1-in-3
vs.
Not-All-Equal
: Dichotomy of a broken promise
Authors: Ciardo Lorenzo , Kozik Marcin , Krokhin Andrei , Nakajima Tamio-Vesa , Živný Stanislav
Published: February 2025

The
1-in-3
and
Not-All-Equal
satisfiability problems for Boolean CNF formulas are two well-known NP-hard problems. In contrast, the
promise
1-in-3
vs. 
Not-All-Equal
problem can be solved in polynomial time. In the present work, we investigate this constraint satisfaction problem in a regime where the promise is weakened from either side by a
rainbow-free
structure, and establish a complexity dichotomy for the resulting class of computational problems.
Genetic Studies Through the Lens of Gene Networks
Authors: Subirana-Granés Marc , Hoffman Jill , Zhang Haoyu , Akirtava Christina , Nandi Sutanu , Fotso Kevin , Pividori Milton
Published: February 2025

Understanding the genetic basis of complex traits is a longstanding challenge in the field of genomics. Genome-wide association studies have identified thousands of variant–trait associations, but most of these variants are located in noncoding regions, making the link to biological function elusive. While traditional approaches, such as transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS), have advanced our understanding by linking genetic variants to gene expression, they often overlook gene–gene interactions. Here, we review current approaches to integrate different molecular data, leveraging machine learning methods to identify gene modules based on coexpression and functional relationships. These integrative approaches, such as PhenoPLIER, combine TWAS and drug-induced transcriptional profiles to effectively capture biologically meaningful gene networks. This integration provides a context-specific understanding of disease processes while highlighting both core and peripheral genes. These insights pave the way for novel therapeutic targets and enhance the interpretability of genetic studies in personalized medicine.
Preparation of Titanium Foam-based SnO2-Sb Electrode for Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Phenol
Authors: Zhao Mingming , Sun Hong , Liu Zhigang , Zhao Hong
Published: February 2025

The titanium foam-based SnO2-Sb electrode has received more and more attention due to its high electrocatalytic activity, which is enabled by the unique porous structure of the titanium foam substrate. However, the electrode is constrained by the preparation method, exhibiting poor stability and a limited service life. An electrodeposition method was developed for preparing a high-efficiency, low-energy-consuming, and long-lasting foam titanium-based SnO2-Sb electrode, with the regulation of experimental parameters, including current density, counter electrode materials, and electrodeposition cycles. The results demonstrate that the prepared electrode coatings are well dispersed with improved grain refinement. The electrode surface exhibited multiple catalytically active sites and exhibited a low phenol decomposition potential (1.74 V). It achieved 98.39% phenol removal and 91.85% chemical oxygen demand removal within 180 min with high current efficiency (30.56%) and low reaction energy consumption of 0.13 kWh/g. The electrode life is extended when electrodeposition is performed twice, resulting in an actual service life of 1130.20 hours. In conclusion, this study presents a novel approach to the fabrication of foamed titanium-based SnO2-Sb electrodes with high performance for the electrochemical oxidation process.
Common Fixed Point Results on b‐Metric Spaces for Generalized Rational Type (ϑ, ψ, φ)‐Weakly Contractive Mappings With Applications
Authors: Kalo Albray Gebremariam , Tola Kidane Koyas , Yesuf Haider Ebrahim
Published: February 2025

This paper focuses on existence and uniqueness of common fixed points for a pair of self‐mapping satisfying generalized rational type (ϑ, ψ, φ)‐weak contractive condition in which one of the mapping is α‐admissible with respect to the other and weakly compatible mappings in the framework of b‐metric spaces. The results presented herein generalize and improve some well‐known results in the existing literature. Furthermore, we draw some corollaries from our results and provide an example for illustrating the validity of our findings. As an application of our result, we discuss the existence of a solution to a fractional order differential equation.
Lyapunov‐Based Novel Integral Backstepping and Integral Sliding Mode Controllers Design for Efficient Voltage Regulation of Resilient DC Microgrid
Authors: Feroze Fozia , Zeb Kamran , Uddin Waqar , Imran Muhammad , Khalid Muhammad , Ullah Zahid
Published: February 2025

Microgrids (MGs) offer a more efficient and reliable energy provision than conventional grids due to their ability to function autonomously from the primary grid. This work investigates a stand‐alone direct current MG (DCMG) with multipower sources of photovoltaic (PV), wind, and storage devices such as batteries, ultracapacitors (UCs), and hydrogen technology. Voltage stability is a critical challenge for a DCMG rigorously controlled by the DC/DC converters. Since converters exhibit nonlinear characteristics and are uncertain about renewable energy resources (RESs), a robust control mechanism is required. Further, traditional controllers encounter difficulties with system parameter variation and load deviations. Hence, a novel integral backstepping controller (IBC) and integral sliding mode controller (ISMC) are designed to achieve two main objectives: power balance and bus voltage regulation of DCMG. Moreover, the Lyapunov stability criterion ensures the asymptotic stability of the designed system. Simulations are carried out in MATLAB/Simulink, and the performance of the controllers is verified by comparing the IBC results with ISMC and conventional SMCs. Results confirm that the proposed controllers are reliable, more accurate, stable, and robust compared with SMC. Also, a processor‐in‐loop (PIL) experiment is performed further to verify the real‐time efficacy of the designed DCMG.
The Zero Product of Toeplitz Operators on the 2‐Analytic Weighted Bergman Space
Authors: Wang Xia , Shi Yanyue , Zhang Bo , Wei Changguo
Published: February 2025

Two‐analytic weighted Bergman space is a nonanalytic function space which is closely related to analytic functions. In this paper, we mainly discuss the zero product problem for Toeplitz operators on the 2‐analytic weighted Bergman space.
A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Elastic Compressive Dressing and the TR Band After Transradial Coronary Intervention
Authors: Daralammouri Yunis , Awwad Fateh , Azamtta Murad , A. Salim Hamza , M. Zakaria Ghaith , Musmar Basel , S. Mosleh Yahya , Alkaissi Aidah
Published: February 2025

Background: Transradial coronary intervention has been shown to be both safe and effective, with several benefits, such as limited access to site complications and earlier patient discharge. Radial compression devices, on the other hand, add to the total expense of the procedure and have not been adequately compared to traditional compressive dressings. The purpose of this study is to compare the safety and efficacy of elastic compressive dressing with gauze swabs and crepe bandages to balloon compression devices with the TR Band (Terumo) for maintaining radial hemostasis following cardiac procedures.

Method: A total of 402 patients were randomly assigned to receive either a TR band or an elastic compressive dressing for radial hemostasis following cardiac intervention in a prospective, partially blinded, randomized clinical study. The main outcome was the hemostasis time and the occurrence of hematoma. Patient satisfaction, postprocedure pain, vascular problems, and the cost of the compression device used were all secondary outcomes.

Results: The two groups had similar baseline characteristics and procedural data. The majority of patients (79%) were very satisfied with both hemostasis techniques. The elastic dressing group achieved hemostasis significantly faster than the TR band group (83.8 ± 142.8 min vs. 116.3 ± 122.7, p = 0.017). Significant differences in the incidence of hematoma (8% elastic dressing vs. 18.4% TR band, p = 0.003) and postprocedural pain (0.84 ± 1.2 elastic dressing vs. 1.39 ± 1.4 TR band, p ≤ 0.001) were observed. The incidence of early radial artery occlusion was higher in the elastic dressing group (7 patients) than in the TR band group (2 patients), although the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.09). Finally, the TR band was significantly more expensive than the elastic dressing used in the trial.

Conclusion: Elastic compressive dressings are a safe, low‐cost, and effective alternative to TR band. They decrease hemostasis time, enhance patient comfort, and reduce both the number and size of hematomas. When compared to the TR band, these dressings have a similar rate of radial artery patency at discharge.

Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05409716
Neighborhood disinvestment predicts shorter cancer survival time among Black women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer
Authors: Plascak Jesse J. , Xing Cathleen Y. , Mooney Stephen J. , Rundle Andrew G. , Schootman Mario , Qin Bo , Zeinomar Nur , Llanos Adana A M. , Iyer Hari S. , Pawlish Karen S. , Ambrosone Christine B. , Demissie Kitaw , Hong Chi-Chen , Bandera Elisa V.
Published: February 2025

Background: Observed neighborhood disinvestment is a chronic social determinant that is understudied in relation to cancer outcomes. This study investigated associations between neighborhood disinvestment, stage at diagnosis, and breast cancer-specific survival time. Methods: Individual-level data included 844 women, diagnosed 2013-2019, from the Women’s Circle of Health Follow-up Study, a population-based cohort of breast cancer survivors self-identifying as Black or African American. Neighborhood disinvestment was from a virtual audit of 6 indicators – garbage, graffiti, dumpsters, building conditions, yard conditions, abandoned buildings – within 14,671 Google Streetview streetscapes estimated at residential addresses using Universal Kriging. We fit accelerated failure time models of breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) time as functions of neighborhood disinvestment by stage, adjusted for covariates (sociodemographic, lifestyle, tumor and treatment-related factors). Participants not experiencing an event at the end of follow-up (August 13, 2023) were right-censored. Results: With median follow-up time of 89 months, there were 91 breast cancer-specific deaths. Disinvestment and stage statistically interacted (p < 0.01). For stage III and stage II diagnoses, BCSS time decreased by 27% (95% CI: 1%, 48%) and 37% (95% CI: 5%, 58%), respectively, with each standard deviation increase in disinvestment after adjustment for covariates. There was little evidence of associations between disinvestment and survival time among stages I and IV. Conclusions: The tumor stage-dependent association between greater neighborhood disinvestment and shorter survival time could reflect chronic stress exposures suspected to adversely accumulate over time. Impact: Neighborhood disinvestment might be an important, independent marker of social disadvantage impacting breast cancer survival.
The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Gynecologic Oncology Decision Making: A Feasibility Study
Authors: Psilopatis Iason , Sipulina Nadezda , Stuebs Frederik A. , Heindl Felix , Poeschke Patrik , Bader Simon , Krueckel Annika , Fasching Peter A. , Beckmann Matthias W. , Emons Julius
Published: February 2025

Objective: To examine the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in gynecologic oncology decision making.
Design: Feasibility study.
Setting: Fictive.
Participants: Fictitious case vignettes of gynecologic carcinomas.
Methods: Fictitious case vignettes of gynecologic carcinomas were created and evaluated by physicians with varying levels of professional experience, as well as by language models including Chat-GPT 4.0, Google Gemini, and Bing-Copilot. Treatment approval decisions were based on standardized clinical and laboratory criteria.
Results: Two cases of breast cancer, one case of ovarian cancer, one case of cervical cancer and one case of endometrial cancer were evaluated. All three language models were able to evaluate all clinical cases and make therapy-relevant suggestions, with Chat-GPT providing the most clear and concise recommendations that were in three cases totally consistent with physician assessments.
Conclusions: The study demonstrates that AI models, such as Chat-GPT, can to some extent evaluate clinical cases, recognize clinical and/or laboratory abnormalities and make therapy-related suggestions. Despite high overall agreement, differences were predominantly noted in the more complex cases, rendering human interpretation necessary. The findings underscore the benefits of AI in terms of clarity, time efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. Future research should further explore the application of AI to real patient data and development of hybrid decision models to optimize integration into clinical practice.
Limitations: Feasibility study with five fictitious case vignettes.
Igualdad y libertad: Franciscus van den Enden y Baruch Spinoza
Authors: Cernadas Gonzalo Ricci
Published: February 2025

The article seeks to elucidate whether van den Enden shaped in some way the theories that Spinoza later developed. To do this, we will first analyze the life of van den Enden and how Spinoza came to establish a relationship with him. Then, we will examine van den Enden’s political theory in order to systematize it in key points that allow a comparison with Spinoza. Finally, we will analyze whether it can be adduced if there is a proximity or distance between the proposals of both authors.
On the use of the Doubly Stochastic Matrix models for the Quadratic Assignment Problem
Authors: Santucci Valentino , Ceberio Josu
Published: February 2025

Permutation problems have captured the attention of the combinatorial optimization community for decades due to the challenge they pose. Although their solutions are naturally encoded as permutations, in each problem, the information to be used to optimize them can vary substantially. In this article, we consider the Quadratic Assignment Problem (QAP) as a case study, and propose using Doubly Stochastic Matrices (DSMs) under the framework of Estimation of Distribution Algorithms. To that end, we design efficient learning and sampling schemes that enable an effective iterative update of the probability model. Conducted experiments on commonly adopted benchmarks for the QAP prove doubly stochastic matrices to be preferred to other four models for permutations, both in terms of effectiveness and computational efficiency. Moreover, additional analyses performed on the structure of the QAP and the Linear Ordering Problem (LOP) show that DSMs are good to deal with assignment problems, but they have interesting capabilities to deal also with ordering problems such as the LOP. The article concludes with a description of the potential uses of DSMs for other optimization paradigms, such as genetic algorithms or model-based gradient search.
Divergent and Convergent Creativity Relate to Different Aspects of Semantic Control
Authors: Krieger-Redwood Katya , Lanzoni Lucilla , Gonzalez Alam Tirso RJ , Jackson Rebecca L. , Smallwood Jonathan , Jefferies Elizabeth
Published: February 2025

Past work has demonstrated a link between semantic memory and verbal creativity. Yet, few studies have considered this relationship through the lens of the controlled semantic cognition account, which anticipates that multimodal concepts in long-term memory interact with semantic control processes to generate goal and context-appropriate patterns of retrieval. In particular, while the creativity literature has distinguished divergent and convergent aspects of creativity, little is known about their relationship with separable aspects of semantic control, or the semantic intrinsic functional architecture of the brain. We investigated whether tasks with greater reliance on controlled semantic retrieval (assessed through weak association) versus semantic selection (assessed through semantic feature matching) were differentially linked to divergent creativity (assessed with the unusual uses task; UUT) and convergent creativity (assessed with the remote associates task; RAT). Better performance on the RAT was linked to semantic selection, while stronger performance on UUT was linked to more efficient retrieval of weak associations. We also examined individual differences in the intrinsic functional architecture of the semantic system using resting-state fMRI. Greater coupling between the anterior temporal lobe (multimodal semantic store) and left inferior frontal gyrus (in the semantic control network) was linked to stronger convergent creativity. This pathway also correlated with semantic feature matching performance, but not the retrieval of weak associations. In contrast, better divergent creativity was linked to greater coupling between left inferior frontal gyrus and language-related auditory-motor regions, and decoupling from the default mode and frontoparietal networks. These connections correlated with the retrieval of weak associations. Interestingly, while decoupling of LIFG with default mode and frontoparietal networks correlated with the retrieval of weak associations, coupling of LIFG with these networks correlated with semantic feature matching. These behavioural and neurocognitive dissociations show that semantic control and creativity are highly related yet multifaceted constructs that depend on the underlying intrinsic architecture of key sites related to semantic cognition.
Africa Rising
Authors: Bamidele Seun
Published: February 2025

This study explores the evolving dynamics of multilateralism in the context of Africa’s geopolitics and growing involvement in global governance. Historically, multilateral institutions have been dominated by Western powers, but the shifting global balance of power has given rise to new actors, including African nations. Studies have argued that Africa’s position and growing influence is gradually changing long-held narratives about Africa’s role in global decision-making, international relations and the governance structures of multilateral institutions, but the extent is largely unknown. They provide the basis for interrogating Africa’s growing influence in multilateral organisations and the implications of this influence on the continent and across the entire globe. Through an analysis of key case studies and recent developments in international diplomacy, this study examines the constraints and opportunities faced by Africa in its efforts to influence global policies. The findings suggest pathways for strengthening Africa’s geopolitical agency and advancing a more inclusive and equitable global order.
Testing the Relative Influence of Three Key Factors in Mind-Based Models of Religion: Template Categories, Utility, and Threat
Authors: Fleming Shannon , Robertson Paul , Turek Daniel , Tanrikulu Ömer Dağlar
Published: February 2025

The traditional Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR) mind-based model suggests that humans understand the world through ontological categories and make socially strategic inferences to avoid threats and focus on utility. This study used an image choice task to test three key factors – category templates, threat, and utility – believed to influence people’s preferences within the CSR framework. The study had three main goals: (1) to refine previous CSR research by providing a more accurate, empirically scaled measure of these three factors using the image choice task; (2) to assess how each factor affected participants’ image preferences; and (3) to explore any interactions between these factors. In a pilot study, we first quantified the threat and utility levels for each image stimulus. Our main study found that, contrary to some previous findings, category templates significantly influenced image preferences, though not in the hierarchy proposed by traditional CSR models. Threat and utility also had independent, significant effects on preferences. However, category templates had the strongest influence on participant choices. The effects of threat and utility varied depending on whether the influence of category templates was accounted for. These findings support certain CSR theories but challenge the proposed hierarchical structure. We also confirmed some previous findings, clarified the relative impact of the three factors, and provided empirical measures of template typicality, utility, and threat for future research.
Silvestro Pietrsanta (1590–1647) on Ancient Coins: Symbols of Nobility and Moral Education
Authors: Czarski Bartłomiej
Published: February 2025

In this article, I discuss the presence of ancient coins in the works of the Jesuit scholar Silvestro Pietrasanta (1590–1647). I focus primarily on the treatise De symbolis heroicis. First, however, I present the author’s profile and review his writings. Then I discuss the relationship of ancient numismatics to emblematics and its place in the set of universal symbols. The article primarily discusses the second book of De symbolis heroicis, where Pietrasanta presents coins, mainly Roman, as carriers of individual symbols related to coats of arms and impresas. The author categorizes the coins into distinct groups based on the iconography depicted on their surface. The Jesuit scholar identifies two principal categories of monuments. The initial group evokes the past through the portrayal of a family’s progenitor or commemoration of a distinguished ancestor’s achievements. The subsequent group encompasses representations that foreshadow future events and are predominantly propagandistic in nature. Pietrasanta treats Roman coins from the republican and imperial periods separately. With regard to the latter group, he demonstrates a particular interest in the monuments associated with Christian iconography. For the author, ancient coins served as a pedagogical tool for moral education. They provide visual evidence of virtue and significant accomplishments, thereby bearing resemblance to pre-heraldic symbols.
About the Jesuits of Paris and Their Coin Collections: A Study of the 1763–64 Auction Catalogs
Authors: Rambach Hadrien J.
Published: February 2025

The two seats of the Paris Jesuits, the professed house and the Clermont college, each had a separate library, both of which owned books on coins as well as a numismatic collection. The discovery of their respective catalogs, annotated with auction results—prices and buyers’ names—has enabled an analysis of their contents and fates. The auction catalogs describe around fifteen thousand and thirteen thousand “medals” over just a few pages, but the descriptions are too brief to identify individual items, save for a Roman weight now preserved in the Louvre Museum. The Paris Jesuits owned many more ancient coins than modern ones, and their commercial value was much higher than modern coins. However, in both cases, the value of the coin cabinets was only a fraction of the total value of the libraries themselves.
“Bellum Pollanum”: A Numismatic War of Pens in Eighteenth-Century Vienna and Joseph Eckhel’s First Publication on Ancient Coinage
Authors: Woytek Bernhard
Published: February 2025

This is the first full analysis of a scholarly controversy in the 1760s regarding the authenticity of a bronze coin depicting Vespasia Polla, the mother of the Roman emperor Vespasian. The piece (in the collection of Johann Joseph Hauer in Vienna) was correctly identified as a fake by the Jesuit numismatist Joseph Khell in a 1761 publication. Five years later, the ex-Jesuit Joseph Monsperger defended the coin as genuine in a book written in the collector’s name, thereby triggering a flood of additional articles on the topic. The present contribution, partly based on unpublished archival material, discusses a new specimen of a Polla fake of the same type as Hauer’s and argues that the early Joseph Eckhel participated in the debate: in all probability, he authored a twelve-page-article in support of Khell upon the latter’s request, under the pseudonym “Houyhnhnm,” a name taken from Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. This was Eckhel’s first numismatic publication, which hitherto went unrecognized.
The Man-Statue
Authors: Falque Emmanuel , Emma-Adamah Victor
Published: February 2025

The touching-touched does not only originate with Husserl and Merleau-Ponty. It also has its source in the debate between Condillac and Maine de Biran, around the famous example of the marble statue. Rooted in Aristotle’s question of touch, this discussion about the “first man” (Buffon) takes on particular importance when it comes to the question of whether everything comes from me (proper body) or whether there is something foreign in me (improper body). This confrontation between Condillac and Maine de Biran is not confined to auto-affection or the flesh (Michel Henry), but endeavors to show that I am sometimes hetero-affected, or even outside myself. In this way, the entire history of philosophy will be read differently, beginning with Maine de Biran, in the notion of an “outside-in-itself,” that gives rise to a new image of the thinker of Bergerac.
The Experience of Weakness and Power in Maine de Biran
Authors: Emma-Adamah Victor
Published: February 2025

The originality of Maine de Biran’s philosophy is his discovery of the apperceptive intuition of effort as the basis for the constitution of the conscious (my)self. Yet, although Biran routinely associates this effort with the exercise of force, his late philosophy is often characterized as a philosophy of the renunciation of power for a quietist embrace of passivity. Biran’s life-long struggle with physical debilitation perhaps speaks in support of a philosophy of weakness over strength. However, this paper takes the opposite view and sees in Biran’s personal experience of sickness, not weakness but ‘phenomenology’ of a will to triumphing power. Further, it argues that in this desire for strength is a Biranian theological opening to a power, which impossible to give myself, is the ground for a transcending aspiration into the power of God. The experience of weakness is the experience of a deeper longing for the transformation of effort.
The Illusion of Evidence-Based Policy: Climate Change and Migrant Women in the MENA Region
Authors: Saggiomo Valeria
Published: February 2025

Is climate-induced migration addressed by policies and projects aimed at protecting women from being more vulnerable to poverty?

In the last decade there is a growing understanding of the phenomenon of climate change induced migration, also with a gender perspective, in the MENA Region and above. Increased knowledge and understanding however, scarcely impact the policy domain in transit countries and therefore hardly generate social change in development and humanitarian contexts. This leads to what we call the illusion of evidence-based policy.

An evaluation in Jordan conducted by the author serves as a case to reflect on what mechanism can facilitate the link between knowledge, evidence and policy making, providing explanatory cases in which research generates a positive impact on the lives of migrants in certain circumstances, and cases and circumstances in which impact is hindered.

This article suggests that there is a missing link between research on climate-change induced migrations and social change that lies in the “distance” between those who promote research and the policymakers and in the absence of a diplomacy space where researchers, policy makers and humanitarian actors gather and take decisions grounded on evidence and needs, in the best interest of the vulnerable.

The article concludes that when conducted with an open-ended approach to discover the dynamics of social change, evaluation can produce knowledge useful for reading climate change phenomena with a gender perspective, providing policy directions for international cooperation and local governance, and contributing to improving the lives of migrants, particularly women. In addition, evaluative research can facilitate the creation of a diplomacy space for its proximity to institutional stakeholders in humanitarian and development contexts, and for being at the intersection between sound evidence-based research and the policy domain.
The Empowering Kitchen: Women, Cooking, and the Environment in Egypt
Authors: Soliman Mounira
Published: February 2025

This paper explores the relation between women, community kitchens, and climate change. Community kitchens in Egypt have mushroomed in recent years. Most of them are run by women. These kitchens have shown diverse ways of addressing climate change through local sourcing, seasonal menus, reducing food waste, etc. They have also helped in preserving the Egyptian culinary heritage by collecting traditional recipes, organising training workshops on traditional local cuisine, and outsourcing to the community. Women have played a significant role in adapting to climate change. By raising their awareness of the impact of climate change upon their immediate ecosystem and enhancing their capacities to deal with it, women develop a more resilient and creative approach to the global warming crisis.
The Role of the Paris Agreement in Addressing Gender-Based Violence through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC s): A Comparative Study of Egypt and Tunisia
Authors: Shaheen Haneen Mahmoud
Published: February 2025

This paper explores the extent to which the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC s) of Egypt and Tunisia align with the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) to mitigate gender-based violence (GBV) exacerbated by climate change. The study involves a comprehensive review and analysis of the NDC s and related policies of both countries, assessing their responsiveness to the gender dimensions of climate action. While both countries recognize the importance of gender considerations in their climate policies, the analysis reveals significant disparities in the integration and operationalization of gender-sensitive approaches within their NDC frameworks. The paper suggests that despite some progress, substantial gaps remain, particularly in addressing the specific needs and vulnerabilities of women in the context of climate-induced GBV.
Application of Ensemble Sensitivity for Hurricane Track Forecast Sensitivity and Flight Planning
Authors: Torn Ryan D. , Brennan Michael J. , Dunion Jason P.
Published: February 2025

The forecast motion of tropical cyclones (TCs) critically depends on the evolution of the layer-average steering flow, which is associated with features proximate and remote to the TC. Given this, it is of interest to objectively identify locations and aspects of the steering flow that will have the biggest impact on subsequent TC track forecasts, which in turn could be used to identify where to take supplemental observations, such as from aircraft, or extra rawinsondes. This paper describes the application of the ensemble-based sensitivity method to evaluate the sensitivity of TC track forecasts, which was used for synoptic surveillance flight planning for 55 potential missions during the 2019-2021 seasons. TC track sensitivity can be calculated from either operational ECMWF and GEFS ensemble output (following the GEFS upgrade to version 12). Several automated methods are developed and described that provide sensitivity guidance that is useful and can be quickly interpreted, including a time-integrated track metric, and defining the steering wind within a coordinate framework along the axis of greatest position variability, or vorticity. For the majority of cases, the sensitivity to the steering wind is maximized within 500 km of the TC center, particularly in the vicinity of nearby weaknesses in the subtropical ridge, with comparatively less sensitivity to upstream midlatitude features.