bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Monitoring the Water Quality of the Tigris River and Producing Maps to Determine the Locations of Turbidity in the Water for the Year 2022 in Baghdad Governorate
Authors: Al-Ramahi Fouad K. Mashee , Mohammed Samaa B. , Hasan Mazin H.
Published: August 2023

Interest has recently increased in the sustainable development of the natural resources of the land cover, including the water resources stored in natural catchments such as lakes and marshes and flowing from the sources to the rivers, and in increasing human activities from cultivating and fertilizing the land, to establishing factories and throwing industrial waste into rivers to throwing bore water in addition to Clay silt as a result of weathering and erosion of the soil. The purpose of the study is to monitor and determine the quality of the Tigris River water from turbidity, industrial waste and the rest of the materials that pollute the Tigris River. The section of the Tigris River passing through the city of Baghdad was selected as a sample for the study, and the data were used. Remote sensing techniques in the investigation of the polluted area in the Tigris River in Baghdad. The Landsat 8 (OLI) image of Baghdad was used as the best sensor to measure the spectral reflectivity of land features, including water, with a spatial resolution of 30 m on October 18, 2020. The Arc GIS v10.8 application software package was used to process the image data and measure the normalized turbidity index using the green band (3) and the red band (4). Turbidity was calculated using Normalized Difference Turbidity Index (NDTI), and then classified based on the high and low values of (NDTI). The results indicated that three categories of water quality succeeded in assessing and mapping the turbidity of the water that pollutes the Tigris River. The study is worthwhile. I can be deal with the rest of the pollutants using remote sensing data as the best technology and results at the fastest costs.
Monitoring Changes in the Spectral Reflectivity of Baghdad City and the Impact of the Atmospheric Elements on it using R.S and GIS
Authors: Hassan Eman S. , Hasson Ahmed F. , Khanjer Ebtesam F.
Published: August 2023

Climate change in recent years has greatly affected the distribution of ground covers. Monitoring these changes has become very easy due to the development of remote sensitivity science and the use of satellites to monitor these changes. The aim of this research is to monitor changes in the spectral reflectivity of the Baghdad governorate center for the month (March, June, September, December) of the year 2021 using remote sensing and satellite images Sentinel 2 and knowing the climate imact on them. Fifty-one samples were selected for four types of ground cover (agricultural land, water, buildings and open space) and their spectral reflectivity was calculated using satellite images. Sentinel 2, where it was processed and analyzed, and then the spectral reflectivity values were calculated using the ArcGIS program. The effect of climate on the spectral reflectivity comes through its impact on the ground covers and thus changing the spectral signature of them. The relationship between temperature, spectral reflectivity, humidity, spectral reflectivity, and knowledge of the type of the relationship between them by means of mathematical equations. The results showed that the spectral reflection of the plant at the near-infrared beam has the most change than the rest of the ground covers.
Modis Satellite Data Evaluation for Detecting the Dust Storm Using Remote Sensing Techniques Over Iraq
Authors: Al-Khudhairy Aws A. , Shaban Auday H. , Al-Timimi Yaseen K.
Published: August 2023

The phenomena of Dust storm take place in barren and dry regions all over the world. It may cause by intense ground winds which excite the dust and sand from soft, arid land surfaces resulting it to rise up in the air. These phenomena may cause harmful influences upon health, climate, infrastructure, and transportation. GIS and remote sensing have played a key role in studying dust detection. This study was conducted in Iraq with the objective of validating dust detection. These techniques have been used to derive dust indices using Normalized Difference Dust Index (NDDI) and Middle East Dust Index (MEDI), which are based on images from MODIS and in-situ observation based on hourly wind speed and visibility during May 4-5 2022 and 25-26 June 2022. In this study, the appropriateness of two various MODIS-based techniques to discover dust in 13 stations in Iraq was examined. The results suggest NDDI index is the most appropriate index to identifying dust storms across Iraq. Also, the MEDI index has impairment to discover dust through multiple land-cover forms. Beside that MEDI consider an ineffective index to detect and discover dust storms throughout whole kinds of land cover over Iraq.
Calculating the Quantity and Cost of Distilled Water Produced by Solar Plants to Desalinate Drain Water and use it in Irrigation
Authors: Ibraheem Nagham T. , Ibrahim Ruaa M. , Hussain Hazim H.
Published: August 2023

Industrial and agricultural growth, population explosion, as well as climate change all over the world have led to a significant increase in demand for fresh water, so obtaining it in the simplest, cheapest and most appropriate way has become a challenge for many countries, including Iraq. The aim of the study is to invest free solar energy through the use of solar stills to desalinate water and use it in agricultural production through mixing and drip techniques. The results showed the possibility of obtaining arable water through the construction of a network of virtual solar stills, and through the process of mixing distilled water with an equal amount of drainage water and using drip irrigation, it was found that the cost of one liter of water used in agriculture is (1.077 IQD) (0.0007 $, i.e. 0.0007 $ Less than one cent) within 20 years (the lifespan of the project), where a group of agricultural crops can be grown according to the amount of water produced and according to the default design of the distillers and the amount of salt in produced water, such as chickpeas, cabbage and lentils.
Forecast Study on the Overall Coefficient for Passage of Single-Phase and Passage of Single-Phase in an Annular to Plain Tubes Heat Stream
Authors: Alsulaiei Zaher Mohammed Abed , Abid Haider Jabaur , Shakir R. , Ajimi Hawra Salah Hamid
Published: August 2023

To prevent buoyancy effects from increasing the overall heat transfer coefficient due to low heat flux, smooth vertical circular tubes require forced convection conjectures. Previous research has focused on mixed convection in turbulent regions and has limited studies on forced convective heat transfer. This study aims to investigate the predictable overall coefficients of heat transfer performance under specific conditions of forced convection, considering both vertical up flow and down flow through the smooth circular test section. The recommended Reynolds numbers for water are (7201.6–14577.4) and (3186.7–6396.75) for single-phase and single-phase annular passages, respectively, with a heat application range of (50–500 W). The overall coefficient of heat transfer is (333.91 - 432.95 W/m2.K) and (169.76 - 251.20 W/m2.K) for single-phase and single-phase annular passages, respectively. The flow was turbulent for all heat fluxes.
Propagation property of the abruptly auto-focusing multi-focus beam
Authors: Lin Danping , Tao Shaohua
Published: August 2023

The auto-focusing property of the optical beams plays an important role in contemporary optics. In this work, we introduce a method of abruptly auto-focusing multi-focus beam (AAMB) along the optical axis. The simulation results show that the AAMB can flexibly adjust the normalized focusing intensity, focal length, and the number of focus points by controlling different beam parameters. Experimental results show that our proposed method achieved a beam with double equal-intensity focus or three equal-intensity focus during propagation. The AAMB enriches the existing multi-focal beam. In addition, the flexible and controllable focusing properties of the beam may broaden the potential applications.
Socle degrees for local cohomology modules of thickenings of maximal minors and sub-maximal Pfaffians
Authors: Li Jiamin , Perlman Michael
Published: August 2023

Let

S
S

be the polynomial ring on the space of non-square generic matrices or the space of odd-sized skew-symmetric matrices, and let

I
I

be the determinantal ideal of maximal minors or

P
f

Pf

the ideal of sub-maximal Pfaffians, respectively. Using desingularizations and representation theory of the general linear group we expand upon work of Raicu–Weyman–Witt [Adv. Math. 250 (2014), pp. 596–610] to determine the

S
S

-module structures of

E
x

t
S
j

(
S

/

I
t

,
S
)

Ext^j_S(S/I^t, S)

and

E
x

t
S
j

(
S

/

P

f
t

,
S
)

Ext^j_S(S/Pf^t, S)

, from which we get the degrees of generators of these

E
x
t

Ext

modules. As a consequence, via graded local duality we answer a question of Wenliang Zhang [J. Pure Appl. Algebra 225 (2021), Paper No. 106789] on the socle degrees of local cohomology modules of the form

H

m

j

(
S

/

I
t

)

H^j_\mathfrak {m}(S/I^t)

.
Boundary estimates and a Wiener criterion for the fractional Laplacian
Authors: Björn Jana
Published: August 2023

Using the Caffarelli–Silvestre extension, we show for a general open set

Ω
⊂

R

n

\Omega \subset \mathbf {R}^n

that a boundary point

x
0

x_0

is regular for the fractional Laplace equation

(
−
Δ

)
s

u
=
0

(-\Delta )^su=0

,

0
>
s
>
1

0>s>1

, if and only if

(

x
0

,
0
)

(x_0,0)

is regular for the extended weighted equation in a subset of

R

n
+
1

\mathbf {R}^{n+1}

. As a consequence, we characterize regular boundary points for

(
−
Δ

)
s

u
=
0

(-\Delta )^su=0

by a Wiener criterion involving a Besov capacity. A decay estimate for the solutions near regular boundary points and the Kellogg property are also obtained.
The kinesin-5 tail and bipolar minifilament domains are the origin of its microtubule crosslinking and sliding activity
Authors: Nithianantham Stanley , Iwanski Malina K. , Gaska Ignas , Pandey Himanshu , Bodrug Tatyana , Inagaki Sayaka , Major Jennifer , Brouhard Gary J. , Gheber Larissa , Rosenfeld Steven S. , Forth Scott , Hendricks Adam G. , Al-Bassam Jawdat
Published: August 2023

Kinesin-5 crosslinks and slides apart microtubules to assemble, elongate, and maintain the mitotic spindle. Kinesin-5 is a tetramer, where two N-terminal motor domains are positioned at each end of the motor, and the coiled-coil stalk domains are organized into a tetrameric bundle through the bipolar assembly (BASS) domain. To dissect the function of the individual structural elements of the motor, we constructed a minimal kinesin-5 tetramer (mini-tetramer). We determined the x-ray structure of the extended, 34-nm BASS domain. Guided by these structural studies, we generated active bipolar kinesin-5 mini-tetramer motors from Drosophila melanogastor and human orthologues which are half the length of native kinesin-5. We then used these kinesin-5 mini-tetramers to examine the role of two unique structural adaptations of kinesin-5: 1) the length and flexibility of the tetramer, and 2) the C-terminal tails which interact with the motor domains to coordinate their ATPase activity. The C-terminal domain causes frequent pausing and clustering of kinesin-5. By comparing microtubule crosslinking and sliding by mini-tetramer and full-length kinesin-5, we find that both the length and flexibility of kinesin-5 and the C-terminal tails govern its ability to crosslink microtubules. Once crosslinked, stiffer mini-tetramers slide antiparallel microtubules more efficiently than full-length motors.
PredLLPS_PSSM: a novel predictor for liquid–liquid protein separation identification based on evolutionary information and a deep neural network
Authors: Zhou Shengming , Zhou Yetong , Liu Tian , Zheng Jia , Jia Cangzhi
Published: August 2023

The formation of biomolecular condensates by liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) has become a universal mechanism for spatiotemporal coordination of biological activities in cells and has been widely observed to directly regulate the key cellular processes involved in cancer cell pathology. However, the complexity of protein sequences and the diversity of conformations are inherently disordered, which poses great challenges for LLPS protein calculations and experimental research. Herein, we proposed a novel predictor named PredLLPS_PSSM for LLPS protein identification based only on sequence evolution information. Because finding real and reliable samples is the cornerstone of building predictors, we collected anew and collated the LLPS proteins from the latest versions of three databases. By comparing the performance of the position-specific score matrix (PSSM) and word embedding, PredLLPS_PSSM combined PSSM-based information and two deep learning frameworks. Independent tests using three existing independent test datasets and two newly constructed independent test datasets demonstrated the superiority of PredLLPS_PSSM compared with state-of-the-art methods. Furthermore, we tested PredLLPS_PSSM on nine experimentally identified LLPS proteins from three insects that were not included in any of the databases. In addition, the powerful Shapley Additive exPlanation algorithm and heatmap were applied to find the most critical amino acids relevant to LLPS.
Digital Ritual: Police–Public Social Media Encounters and ‘Authentic’ Interaction
Authors: Henry Alistair
Published: August 2023

This article formulates the concept of digital ritual to characterize the continuum of symbolic encounters enabled by social media affordances, and to explain their solidarity-enhancing potential. Applying digital ritual to police uses of social media confirms this promise but also reveals risks of mediated authenticity. The article cautions against influencer styles of engagement that risk privileging popularity over probity in ways dangerous for police legitimacy. It is argued that insights from conceptualizing online encounters as digital rituals can instead be marshalled to support an alternative ‘working personality of the digital cop’; one reflecting principles of candour and democratic policing that provide a sounder basis for establishing what ‘authentic’ online police–public interactions ought to look like.
The impact of interpersonal reporting heterogeneity on cross-country differences in Healthy Life Years in Europe
Authors: Luy Marc , Di Giulio Paola , Minagawa Yuka
Published: August 2023

Background

The European Union has used Healthy Life Years (HLY) as an indicator to monitor the health of its aging populations. Scholarly and popular interest in HLY across countries has grown, particularly regarding the ranking of countries. It is important to note that HLY is based on self-assessments of activity limitations, raising the possibility that it might be influenced by differences in health reporting behaviours between populations, a phenomenon known as differential item functioning (DIF).

Methods

We estimated DIF-adjusted HLY at age 50 for Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden to determine the extent to which differences in HLY might be influenced by reporting heterogeneity across countries. We used anchoring vignettes, taken from the 2004 Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, to estimate DIF-adjusted prevalence rates of activity limitations measured by the Global Activity Limitations Indicator (GALI). The Sullivan method was used to calculate DIF-adjusted HLY.

Results

Changes in HLY before and after adjustment ranged from a 1.20-year decrease for men in Italy to a 1.61-year increase for women in Spain. Adjustment for DIF produced changes in the rankings of the countries by HLY, with upward and downward movements of up to three positions.

Conclusion

Our results show that DIF is likely to affect HLY estimates, thereby posing a challenge to the validity of comparisons of HLY across European countries. The findings suggest that HLY should be used to monitor population health status within a country, rather than to make comparisons across countries.
Symptom profiles and their risk factors in patients with post-COVID-19 condition: a Dutch longitudinal cohort study
Authors: van Zon Sander K R , Ballering Aranka V , Brouwer Sandra , Rosmalen Judith G M ,   for the Lifelines Corona Research Initiative, Marike Boezen H , Mierau Jochen O , Lude Franke H , Dekens Jackie , Deelen Patrick , Lanting Pauline , Vonk Judith M , Nolte Ilja , Ori Anil P S , Claringbould Annique , Boulogne Floranne , Dijkema Marjolein X L , Wiersma Henry H , Warmerdam Robert , Jankipersadsing Soesma A , van Blokland Irene , de Bock Geertruida H , Rosmalen Judith G M , Wijmenga Cisca
Published: August 2023

Background

To improve research and care for patients with post-COVID-19 condition more insight into different subtypes of post-COVID-19 condition and their risk factors is urgently needed. We aimed to identify risk factors of post-COVID-19 condition in general and for specific symptom profiles.

Methods

This study is based on data collected within the Lifelines Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cohort (N = 76 503). Mean pre- and post-SARS-CoV-2 infection symptom scores were compared to classify post-COVID-19 condition. Latent Profile Analysis was used to identify symptom profiles. Logistic and multinomial regression analyses were used to examine the association between demographic, lifestyle and health-related risk factors and post-COVID-19 condition, and symptom profiles, respectively.

Results

Of the 3465 participants having had COVID-19, 18.5% (n = 642) classified for post-COVID-19 condition. Four symptom profiles were identified: muscle pain, fatigue, cardiorespiratory and ageusia/anosmia. Female sex was a risk factor for the muscle pain and fatigue profiles. Being overweight or obese increased risk for all profiles, except the fatigue profile. Having a chronic disease increased the risk for all profiles except the ageusia/anosmia profile, with the cardiorespiratory profile being only significant in case of multimorbidity. Being unvaccinated increased risk of the ageusia/anosmia profile.

Conclusions

Findings from this study suggest that Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may trigger different pathophysiological mechanisms that may result in different subtypes of post-COVID-19 condition. These subtypes have shared and unique risk factors. Further characterization of symptom profiles and quantification of the individual and societal impact of specific symptom profiles are pressing challenges for future research.
Qualitative and quantitative analysis of β-sitosterol marker in virgin camellia oil and virgin olive oil
Authors: Li Yang , Wu Minyu , Zhai Liang , Zhang Hui , Shen Lirong
Published: August 2023

Camellia oil and olive oil with superior economic value are easily adulterated with other, cheaper oils. It is difficult to identify both oils by traditional methods because of their similar fatty acid profiles. In the present study, a novel method for qualitative and quantitative analysis of β-sitosterol using GC/MS and GC/FID was developed to identify camellia oil and olive oil. The method validation of β-sitosterol analysis showed good linearity and satisfactory values for recovery, accuracy, precision, and repeatability. The linear regression coefficient (R2) of the calibration curve was 0.9985. An acceptable limit of detection (0.36 mg/100 g) and limit of quantification (1.20 mg/100 g) were achieved. The spiked recoveries were 95.0% to 100.3%. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of within-day precision was less than 3.26%, and the RSD of retention times and peak areas for repeatability were within 0.03% and 1.08%, respectively. The contents of β-sitosterol in virgin camellia oil and virgin olive oil were in the range of 14.1–30.2 mg/100 g and 94.3–173.2 mg/100 g, respectively, indicating that the β-sitosterol content in the former is seven times that in the latter, and β-sitosterol could be a potential marker for the authentication and adulteration detection of both oils.
Micronutrient Status and Prediction of Disease Outcome in Adults With Inflammatory Bowel Disease Receiving Biologic Therapy
Authors: Brownson Emily , Saunders Jayne , Jatkowska Aleksandra , White Bernadette , Gerasimidis Konstantinos , Seenan John Paul , Macdonald Jonathan
Published: August 2023

Background and Aims

Micronutrient deficiencies are common in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but whether they relate to disease outcomes remains unknown. This study assessed the micronutrient status of adults with IBD on treatment with biologic therapies and explored predictive relationships with disease outcomes.

Methods

Seventeen micronutrients were measured in the blood of 216 adults with IBD on biologic therapy. Of these, 127 patients (58%) had Crohn’s disease (CD), and the majority (70%) received treatment with infliximab. Patients were followed for 12 months and onset of adverse clinical outcomes (eg, requirement for treatment with corticosteroids, hospitalization, or surgical intervention) was recorded, and related to micronutrient status.

Results

Among all patients, the most common deficiencies were for vitamin C (n = 35 of 212 [16.5%]), ferritin (n = 27 of 189 [14.3%]), folate (n = 24 of 171 [14.0%]), and zinc (n = 27 of 210 [12.9%]). During follow-up, 22 (10%) of the 216 patients developed 1 or more adverse clinical outcomes. Patients with CD and zinc deficiency were significantly more likely to require surgery (P = .002) or treatment with corticosteroids (P < .001). In contrast, patients with ulcerative colitis and selenium deficiency were significantly more likely to have a clinical flare of disease (P = .001), whereas those with CD were not. This relationship with selenium remained significant after adjustment for confounders.

Conclusions

A substantial proportion of adults with IBD present deficiencies for certain micronutrients, with selenium and zinc deficiency predicting adverse disease outcomes. For other micronutrients, deficiencies were less common and should not warrant routine screening. Intervention studies should explore the effect of micronutrient supplementation in modifying disease outcomes in IBD.
Corticosteroids but not Anti-TNF Are Associated With Increased COVID-19 Complications in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Authors: Long Millie D , Parlett Lauren , Lewis James D , Haynes Kevin , Adimadhyam Sruthi , Hou Laura , Wolfe Audrey , Toh Sengwee , Burris Jessica , Dorand Jennifer , Kappelman Michael D
Published: August 2023

Background and Aims

Immunosuppressed individuals are at higher risk for COVID-19 complications, yet data in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are limited. We evaluated the risk of COVID-19- severe sequelae by medication utilization in a large cohort of patients with IBD.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study utilizing insurance claims data between August 31, 2019, and August 31, 2021.We included IBD patients identified by diagnosis and treatment codes. Use of IBD medications was defined in the 90 days prior to cohort entry. Study outcomes included COVID-19 hospitalization, mechanical ventilation, and inpatient death. Patients were followed until the outcome of interest, outpatient death, disenrollment, or end of study period. Due to the aggregate nature of available data, we were unable to perform multivariate analyses.

Results

We included 102 986 patients (48 728 CD, 47 592 UC) with a mean age of 53 years; 55% were female. Overall, 412 (0.4%) patients were hospitalized with COVID-19. The incidence of hospitalization was higher in those on corticosteroids (0.6% vs 0.3%; P < .0001; 13.6 per 1000 person-years; 95% confidence interval [CI], 10.8-16.9) and lower in those receiving anti-tumor necrosis factor α therapy (0.2% vs 0.5%; P < .0001; 3.9 per 1000 person-years; 95% CI, 2.7-5.4). Older age was associated with increased hospitalization with COVID-19. Overall, 71 (0.07%) patients required mechanical ventilation and 52 (0.05%) died at the hospital with COVID-19. The proportion requiring mechanical ventilation (1.9% vs 0.05%; P < .0001; 3.9 per 1000 person-years; 95% CI, 2.5-5.9) was higher among users of corticosteroids.

Conclusions

Among patients with IBD, those on corticosteroids had more hospitalizations and mechanical ventilation with COVID-19. Anti-tumor necrosis factor α therapy was associated with a decreased risk of hospitalization. These findings reinforce previous guidance to taper and/or discontinue corticosteroids in IBD.
Cancer risk in the siblings of individuals with major birth defects: a large Nordic population-based case-control study
Authors: Daltveit Dagrun Slettebø , Klungsøyr Kari , Engeland Anders , Ekbom Anders , Gissler Mika , Glimelius Ingrid , Grotmol Tom , Madanat-Harjuoja Laura , Ording Anne Gulbech , Sørensen Henrik Toft , Troisi Rebecca , Bjørge Tone
Published: August 2023

Background

Individuals with major birth defects are at increased risk of developing cancer, indicating a common aetiology. However, whether the siblings of individuals with birth defects are also at an increased risk of cancer is unclear.

Methods

We used nationwide health registries in four Nordic countries and conducted a nested case-control study. We included 40 538 cancer cases (aged 0–46 years) and 481 945 population controls (matched by birth year and country), born between 1967 and 2014. The relative risk of cancer among individuals whose siblings had birth defects was computed with odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), using logistic regression models.

Results

In the total study population (aged 0–46 years), we observed no overall difference in cancer risk between individuals whose siblings had birth defects and those who had unaffected siblings (OR 1.02; 95% CI 0.97–1.08); however, the risk of lymphoid and haematopoietic malignancies was elevated (1.16; 1.05–1.28). The overall risk of childhood cancer (0–19 years) was increased for siblings of individuals who had birth defects (1.09; 1.00–1.19), which was mainly driven by lymphoma (1.35; 1.09–1.66), neuroblastoma (1.51; 1.11–2.05) and renal carcinoma (5.03; 1.73–14.6). The risk of cancer also increased with the number of siblings with birth defects (Ptrend = 0.008).

Conclusion

Overall risk of cancer among individuals (aged 0–46 years) whose siblings had birth defects was not elevated, but the risk of childhood cancer (ages 0–19 years) was increased. Our novel findings are consistent with the common aetiologies of birth defects and cancer, such as shared genetic predisposition and environmental factors.
Effectiveness and durability of a second COVID-19 booster against severe outcomes among older people in Norway: a population-based cohort study comparing mono- and bivalent booster doses
Authors: Stecher Melanie , Kristoffersen Anja Bråthen , Lie Kristian , Andersen Svein Rune , Meijerink Hinta , Starrfelt Jostein
Published: August 2023

Background

Evidence on the durability of the protection of a fourth dose of a monovalent or bivalent messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among older people during the predominant Omicron period is needed.

Methods

We performed a population-based cohort study in Norway covering the time from 1 July 2022 to 15 January 2023, including individuals ≥75 years of age who had received at least a third dose. Using Cox proportional hazard models on severe COVID-19-associated outcome measures and all-cause mortality, we estimated the vaccine effectiveness of mono- and bivalent vaccines, comparing fourth- to third-dose recipients (>24 weeks ago). Vaccine status was included as a time-varying covariate and models were adjusted for potential confounders.

Results

We included 408 073 individuals. A fourth dose with either monovalent or bivalent mRNA vaccine showed increased protection against COVID-19-associated mortality relative to a third dose in individuals ≥75 years of age. We estimated a protective effect for the bivalent BA.1 vaccine [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 0.08, 95% CI 0.02–0.32] relative to the bivalent BA.4–5 (aHR 0.27, 95% CI 0.14–0.56) and a monovalent dose (aHR 0.34, 95% CI 0.26–0.45) 2–9 weeks after vaccination compared with recipients with a third dose >24 weeks ago. The increased protective effect waned with no added protection for the monovalent vaccine after 33 weeks compared with a third dose.

Conclusions

Our results indicate an increased protective effect of a fourth dose against severe outcomes compared with a third dose, with decreasing effect with time since the last dose.
Intersection Theory of Polymatroids
Authors: Eur Christopher , Larson Matt
Published: August 2023

Polymatroids are combinatorial abstractions of subspace arrangements in the same way that matroids are combinatorial abstractions of hyperplane arrangements. By introducing augmented Chow rings of polymatroids, modeled after augmented wonderful varieties of subspace arrangements, we generalize several algebro-geometric techniques developed in recent years to study matroids. We show that intersection numbers in the augmented Chow ring of a polymatroid are determined by a matching property known as the Hall–Rado condition, which is new even in the case of matroids.
Modelling Marburg Virus Disease in Syrian Golden Hamsters: Contrasted Virulence Between Angola and Ci67 Strains
Authors: Cross Robert W , Fenton Karla A , Foster Stephanie L , Geisbert Joan B , Geisbert Thomas W
Published: August 2023

Background

Marburg virus (MARV) has caused numerous sporadic outbreaks of severe hemorrhagic fever in humans. Human case fatality rates of Marburg virus disease (MVD) outbreaks range from 20% to 90%. Viral genotypes of MARV can differ by over 20%, suggesting variable virulence between lineages may accompany this genetic divergence. Comparison of existing animal models of MVD employing different strains of MARV support differences in virulence across MARV genetic lineages; however, there are few systematic comparisons in models that recapitulate human disease available.

Methods

We compared features of disease pathogenesis in uniformly lethal hamster models of MVD made possible through serial adaptation in rodents.

Results

No further adaptation from a previously reported guinea pig-adapted (GPA) isolate of MARV-Angola was necessary to achieve uniform lethality in hamsters. Three passages of GPA MARV-Ci67 resulted in uniform lethality, where 4 passages of a GPA Ravn virus was 75% lethal. Hamster-adapted MARV-Ci67 demonstrated delayed time to death, protracted weight loss, lower viral burden, and slower histologic alteration compared to GPA MARV-Angola.

Conclusions

These data suggest isolate-dependent virulence differences are maintained even after serial adaptation in rodents and may serve to guide choice of variant and model used for development of vaccines or therapeutics for MVD.
“It’s Just How Things Are Done”: Social Ecologies of Sexual Violence in Humanitarian Aid
Authors: de Koeijer Valerie , Parkinson Sarah E , Smith Sofia J
Published: August 2023

Increasing research on the humanitarian sector examines how its organizational cultures affect both aid outcomes and humanitarian workers’ private lives. The #MeToo movement and several public scandals have brought to light patterns of sexual violence in crisis zones perpetrated by humanitarian aid workers; surveys suggest rates of sexual assault within the humanitarian community comparable to, if not higher than, those on US college campuses. How do the conditions that produce sexual violence persist in a sector governed by strong, mission-centric principles, professional codes of conduct, and oversight?

This article uses participant observation in Iraq and Uganda, in-depth interviews, and textural analysis to examine the social origins of sexual violence in humanitarian communities. It builds on studies of aid organizations to argue that the humanitarian sector operates similarly to a “total institution” (Goffman 1961). Then, it draws upon recent work on sexual violence to demonstrate how within-sector social ecologies and informal socialization practices create the conditions of possibility for sexual violence. It identifies two key factors that constitute the emergency aid world—sexual scripts and projects, and sector-specific sexual geographies—and argues that they produce conditions that facilitate sexual violence while labeling them “just how things are done.”
Building Resilient Organisations
Authors: Deshpande Ashish
Published: August 2023

Ashish Deshpande FBCS is an independent consultant specialising in business systems that optimise operations in the global oil and gas industry. Here he takes a look at the importance of building resilience for today's businesses.
Meeting the AI Storm Chasers
Authors: Cooper Martin
Published: August 2023

Jebb Stewart, lead of the Informatics and Visualisation section at NOAA/ESRL Global Systems Laboratory, tells Martin Cooper MBCS about how AI is helping to improve weather forecasts and decision making.
From the Classroom to the Honours List
Authors: Temple Victoria
Published: August 2023

Julia Adamson, BCS' Managing Director for Education and Public Benefit, has been awarded an MBE in the King's Birthday Honours List for services to education. Victoria Temple talks to Julia about her life, passions and hopes for the future.
Futurology
Authors: Lucas Matt
Published: August 2023

Measuring software engineering efficiency has always been an impossible task. Matt Lucas FBCS reflects on the expansion of environmental, social and governance reporting requirements and what they mean for understanding sustainable software development.
Calculating and Computing the Weather
Authors: Burn James
Published: August 2023

James Burn, Senior Solutions Engineer and Meteorologist at IBM, explores how computers, and latterly AI, are used to calculate climate change and weather.
Pioneering Perspectives: Women in AI
Authors: Walker Lottie
Published: August 2023

BCS' Lottie Walker reports on the 2023 Karen Spärck Jones lecture which saw three women, all leaders in AI development and application, share insight about the technology's future.
SIGiST23: A Community to Foster Innovation
Authors: Clarke Beth
Published: August 2023

BCS' Special Interest Group in Software Testing (SIGiST) hosts an annual conference that brings together industry leaders and experts on topics related to testing and quality. Beth Clarke MBCS reports on the highlights of the recent BCS SIGiST event.
Prioritising Sustainability Over Profit
Authors: Newton Ona
Published: August 2023

Dr Ona Newton FBCS, Global Program Lead at Amazon, examines the reasons for businesses to embrace sustainability as their guiding principle, the many benefits of doing so, and why it is an essential ingredient for long-term success.
Sensing technologies, digital inclusion, and disability diversity
Authors: Nectoux Sarah , Magee Liam , Soldatic Karen
Published: August 2023

This article focuses on uses and experiences of everyday sensory technologies by racially and ethnically diverse persons with disabilites, bringing our research to the junction of critical technology studies, migration studies, and critical disability studies. We draw on a large-scale qualitative project that involves new and second-generation migrants with disabilities from a socio-economically disadvantaged area in Sydney, Australia. Findings show the negotiated exchanges of inclusion and exclusion that disabled people from diverse racial and ethnic minority backgrounds encounter with sensory and other technologies. While such technologies have rightfully been criticized for their roles in the surveillance, regulation, exclusion, and financialization of disability and ethnically diverse groups, these negotiations show how processes of agency, awareness, and peer support produce and in turn benefit from encounters with technology in complex ways. We argue the continued emergence of automation warrants both critique and cautious ongoing experimentation.
Nalaquq (“it is found”): a knowledge co-production framework for environmental sensing and communication in Indigenous arctic communities
Authors: Gleason Sean , Lim Jonathan , Church Lynn Marie , Jones Warren , Nicolai Carl , Pleasant Joe , Church Willard , Watterson Alice , Strunk Lonny Alaskuk , Knecht Richard , Hillerdal Charlotta
Published: August 2023

In 2007, the Yup’ik village of Quinhagak contacted archaeologists after locals found precontact artifacts on a nearby beach. This collaboration led to the subsequent excavation of Nunalleq, an important ancestral site threatened by climate change. Since then, an international research team has partnered with Yup’ik leadership in Quinhagak to address the larger impact of climate change. In turn, this article introduces Nalaquq—our framework for combining custom sensor networks with traditional knowledge to study ellavut (trans. “Our land and weather”). Doing so provides a guide for communication scholars interested in working alongside Indigenous circumpolar communities to visualize and communicate climate science.
Digital parenting divides: the role of parental capital and digital parenting readiness in parental digital mediation
Authors: Zhao Pengfei , Bazarova Natalie N , Valle Natercia
Published: August 2023

This study investigates digital parenting divides, or how parents' strategies for regulating their children’s online activities differ based on their available resources and digital parenting readiness (i.e., digital parenting self-efficacy, attitudes, and knowledge). We conducted a survey of 530 parents that reflected the composition of the U.S. population to explore how parents’ resources and digital parenting readiness predict their digital mediation strategies. The results indicate that parents’ economic, social, and cultural resources, as well as their digital parenting readiness, play a significant role in how they approach digital mediation. Furthermore, digital parenting readiness has emerged as an underlying mechanism explaining the relationship between parental resources and parental mediation strategies. The presence of digital parenting divides highlights the need for tailored interventions to support parents in effectively using digital mediation strategies based on their family’s circumstances.
Sensors as media and sensor-mediated communication: an introduction to the special issue
Authors: Özkul Didem , Halegoua Germaine R , Wilken Rowan , Humphreys Lee
Published: August 2023

This special issue examines mediated communication through the rise of sensors. Sensors are increasingly in the phones we carry, in the cars we drive, and throughout the homes and communities in which we live. In this introduction to the special issue, we define sensor-mediated communication (SMC) and argue the embedded, automatic, and datafied nature of sensors belie the glitches and biases in sensor mechanisms, networks, and infrastructure. The collection of articles in this issue explores SMC across a variety of contexts and cases, including municipal infrastructure, community, health, industry, and the domestic. They represent studies of voice assistants, self-tracking apps, self-driving cars, fitness games, home health care, as well as municipal sensor networks in urban, indigenous, and rural communities. Across them all we see the different ways through which mediated communication is initiated, transformed, and maintained by sensing technologies. Together they represent an important evolution in the study of computer-mediated communication.
Experimental research on the instability characteristics of the overlying strata structure that characterizes shallow interval goaf mining
Authors: Wang Bin , Zhang Jie , Qi Xiao Hua , Li Tong , Gao Shou Shi , Wang Li
Published: August 2023

Here, we analyze the instability characteristics of the overlying strata structure that characterize shallow-depth seams under insufficient goaf in Yushenfu mining area. To simulate the No. 20107 longwall interval working face situated in Nanliang Coal Mine, physical simulation, an acoustic emission (AE) monitoring system, a stress acquisition system and a total station were used. The results indicate that during interval goaf formation, which is correlated with mining, the immediate roof collapses, and the main roof strata remains stable. Gradually, the stress that acts on the temporary coal pillar (TCP) gradually exhibits the ‘uniform increase–accelerated increase catastrophe instability’ change characteristics. Due to the concentrated load of the overlying strata, the bearing capacity of the TCP gradually deteriorates until the catastrophic instability occurs, and the unstable roof strata forms a ‘W-shaped voussoir beam’ structure. The research results provide evidence for the strata control that is associated with shallow-seam mining.
Definitive treatment for head and neck mucosal melanoma
Authors: Nomura Motoo
Published: August 2023

Head and neck mucosal melanoma is a rare clinical subtype of melanoma or head and neck cancer. Mucosal melanoma is aetiologically and molecularly distinct from cutaneous melanoma. The therapeutic efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors for head and neck mucosal melanoma remains unclear. Surgery is considered as the mainstay of treatment for locally advanced head and neck mucosal melanoma, and adjuvant radiotherapy has a role in local disease control. New treatment modalities, such as targeted therapy and immunotherapy, have changed the treatment of cutaneous melanoma. However, patients with mucosal melanoma have been excluded from most Phase III clinical trials. Due to its rarity, outcome data for locally advanced head and neck mucosal melanoma are scarce and are mainly based on retrospective studies with limited case numbers. The objective of this review was to provide an update and overview of clinical trials, prospective observational studies and retrospective studies and discuss future directions for multimodal treatment of locally advanced head and neck mucosal melanoma.
Leadership and Management
Authors: Cook Tony
Published: August 2023

This chapter discusses how Senior Investigating Officers (SIOs) are expected to lead investigations as well as perform general management duties and responsibilities. This involves building and maintaining extensive knowledge of key facts, making investigative decisions, and retaining an overarching responsibility for all aspects of a complex case while effectively directing, controlling, and managing staff and resources. An SIO carries a legal duty of care for staff under their control, not only for performance and welfare but also standard setting, policy implementation, motivation, learning, professional development, and conflict resolution. Ultimately, style and approach to both leadership and management are a matter of professional judgment and personal choice. The chapter then identifies three different styles of leadership: autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire. It considers key areas such as managing diversity and applying high ethical standards in the workplace. Personal resilience also plays a role in managing the pressure and stress from investigating at the highest level.
Decision Making
Authors: Cook Tony
Published: August 2023

This chapter examines the concepts and methods for competent decision making of Senior Investigating Officers (SIOs). It begins by differentiating between fast-time decision making and slow-time decision making. The chapter then explains the ‘investigative mindset’, which is the theory of keeping an open mind and remaining receptive to alternative suggestions. An investigative mindset is achieved by acknowledging the risks associated with intuitive judgments and applying a more conscious, balanced, objective, and methodical approach to decision making. The chapter also looks at the ABC principle, the National Decision Model (NDM), and the 5WH principle. Ultimately, all decisions involve an element of problem solving by applying sequential logical processes to individual circumstances. Risk management is also a core professional skill and one intrinsically linked to most operational decision making.
Effective Communication Management
Authors: Cook Tony
Published: August 2023

This chapter describes effective communication management, which is an essential core skill and component part of the role of Senior Investigating Officers (SIOs). It begins by looking at two categories of investigative communication: internal and external. The chapter then examines the process of leading effective briefings and debriefings, as well as team meetings. Using and keeping to agendas, making every attendee feel part of the process and encouraged to contribute without talking over one another, and sticking to agreed timescales are key skills. Selecting the right style and language are also important so everyone understands what is being discussed by avoiding overuse of organisational acronyms and jargon that not everyone understands. The chapter also considers the submission of reports and media management.
Introductory Matters
Authors: Card Richard
Published: August 2023

This chapter provides a background on the branches of the law of particular relevance to police officers in England and Wales. It highlights two principal sources of English law: legislation and common law. It also explains that the common law is part of the law which is not the result of legislation, but it is the law which has been developed by the decisions and rulings of the judges, while legislation has played a preponderant part in the branches of the law. The chapter highlights the importance of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) taken together with the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998). It outlines the elements of criminal liability, which includes the outward conduct that must be proved against the defendant and the state of mind that must be proved the defendant had at the time of the relevant conduct.
Elements of Criminal Procedure
Authors: Card Richard
Published: August 2023

This chapter talks about prosecutions or criminal proceedings which are normally instituted on behalf of a police force, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), or a body with statutory powers, such as the Serious Fraud Office, a Secretary of State, or a local authority. It emphasizes that the DPP is the head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and is under the general supervision of the Attorney General. It also describes the criminal process which has involved prosecution, trial, and sentence. The chapter looks at other methods of prosecution which are being used to deal quickly and proportionately with low-level or first-time offenses. It explains how summons are issued as a result of a complaint, which is a written or verbal allegation made before a justice in respect of anything which is within the civil jurisdiction of a magistrates' court to make an order.
Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person
Authors: Card Richard
Published: August 2023

This chapter considers common assault and battery as separate summary offences and notes that they are punishable by up to six months' imprisonment or an unlimited fine. It describes a person that is guilty of the separate offence of assault for intentionally or recklessly causing another person to apprehend the immediate application to themselves of unlawful force. It also considers a person guilty of battery if they intentionally or recklessly apply unlawful force to another person. The chapter outlines offences of aggravated assault, such as assault with intent to rob or racially or religiously aggravated assault. It looks at the application of s 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 to an offence of assault or battery committed against an emergency worker acting in the exercise of its functions.