bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of social support on memory ageing of middle-aged and older cancer survivors: a marginal structural modelling approach
Authors: Westrick Ashly C , Yu Xuexin , O’Shea Brendan , Kobayashi Lindsay C
Published: January 2025

Background

While social support is associated with better cognitive health among cancer-free individuals, this relationship is understudied among cancer survivors. We investigated whether overall social support before and after a cancer diagnosis is related to post-diagnosis memory ageing, overall and by sex/gender.

Methods

Data were from 2044 cancer survivors in the US Health and Retirement Study (HRS; n=1395) and English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA; n=649) from 2006 to 2018. Incident cancer diagnoses and memory function (immediate and delayed word recall) were assessed biennially. Social support was assessed every 4 years in the HRS and biennially in ELSA. We established three time points relative to a cancer diagnosis: pre-diagnosis (the wave prior to cancer diagnosis), time 1 post-diagnosis (the first wave after a cancer diagnosis) and time 2 post-diagnosis (the second wave after a cancer diagnosis). Multivariable-adjusted marginal structural models incorporating inverse probability of treatment and attrition weights estimated the relationship between overall social support and memory function post-diagnosis.

Results

Prior to a cancer diagnosis, 45.1% of participants reported high social support. Cancer survivors reporting higher social support at time 2 had better memory function post-diagnosis than those with lower social support (0.14 SD units; 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.24) which was stronger among women (0.18 SD units; 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.34) than men (0.10 SD units; 95% CI: −0.03 to 0.24).

Conclusions

Social support may help promote memory function after a cancer diagnosis in mid-to-later life. Further studies with a larger sample size and differentiation of social support are warranted.
Innovative Research on Physical Data Management of Football Players Under the Background of Smart Medical Treatment
Authors: Zhang Qianwei , Yu Lirong
Published: January 2025

With the intensification of the competition for public medical resources and the rapid development of smart medical technology, the demand for in-depth analysis of athletes’ basic information and decision support is growing day by day. However, the practice of applying smart medicine to athletes’ physical information management is still relatively limited. This paper aims to explore how to use smart medical decision technology to build an integrated athlete physical information management and decision support platform. Taking football players as the research object, this paper integrates data mining technology into a smart medical decision-making model, to achieve accurate analysis and effective management of athletes’ physical fitness information. The core of the research is to develop a smart healthcare decision model that can identify key information and patterns on the platform through data mining technology. In the selection of the decision algorithm, this paper adopts cluster analysis and association rule mining algorithms, which can deeply dig into the potential rules and correlations in the data. Through the application of an algorithm, we can accurately evaluate the physical condition of football players, and provide scientific guidance and suggestions for their subsequent physical training. The algorithm in this study is not only innovative in theory, but also shows good adaptability and effectiveness in practical application.
Adaptive Recognition of English Translation Errors Based on Improved Machine Learning Methods
Authors: Yang Minyi
Published: January 2025

The accurate identification of errors in machine-translated English textual content is both necessary and tough, with massive implications for natural language processing packages. current device translation structures, while an increasing number of sophisticated, nevertheless fall prey to quite a number of errors that may compromise which means and fluency. This paper addresses these shortcomings through offering a greater system mastering method for the adaptive recognition of translation errors. We gift a singular framework that integrates the Transformer version, famed for its efficacy in shooting contextual relationships within text sequences, with a robust attention mechanism that prioritizes salient data at some stage in translation. The innovation of this studies lies in the incorporation of meta-getting to know techniques, allowing the model to self-modify in response to various classes of mistakes, therefore refining the precision of errors recognition. We outline the technique in detail, emphasizing the systematic steps taken to enrich the model’s adaptability. The efficacy of our approach is substantiated through comparative experiments, which demonstrate extremely good upgrades in errors identification over existing techniques. The results suggest the capacity of our adaptive mechanism to decorate the excellent of machine translation, paving the method for greater, reliable and nuanced language translation tools.
Design of University Archives Business Data Push System Based on B/S Structure
Authors: Limei Sun
Published: January 2025

In view of the inaccurate results and poor real-time performance of college archives business data push, the college archives business data push system based on B/S structure is designed using ASP/NET, ADO.NET, and other technologies. The system consists of database management module, management maintenance module and query module. The database management module uses the archive business data classification method optimized based on the initial cluster center to classify and manage large-scale archive data. The management and maintenance module completes the encryption and decryption management of archive business data through key management technology and key verification. After the user enters a valid key to log in to the system, the query module uses the association rule-based file business data push method to extract the file data in the strong weighted association rule conditions from the database, feed it back to the front browser interface, and complete the file business data push. After testing, the average accuracy rate of this system for multiple file data push is greater than 0.95, and the maximum time consumption for file business data push after use is reduced by 748[Formula: see text]ms.
Program Correctness through Self-Certification
Authors: Namjoshi Kedar S. , Zuck Lenore D.
Published: January 2025

Self-certification is an alternative to daunting verification or capricious testing, designed to produce a correctness justification that can be validated easily and independently.
Software Engineering for Collective Cyber-Physical Ecosystems
Authors: Casadei Roberto , Aguzzi Gianluca , Audrito Giorgio , Damiani Ferruccio , Pianini Danilo , Scarso Giordano , Torta Gianluca , Viroli Mirko
Published: January 2025

Today's distributed and pervasive computing addresses large-scale cyber-physical ecosystems, characterised by dense and large networks of devices capable of computation, communication and interaction with the environment and people. While most research focuses on treating these systems as “composites” (i.e., heterogeneous functional complexes), recent developments in fields such as self-organising systems and swarm robotics have opened up a complementary perspective: treating systems as “collectives” (i.e., uniform, collaborative, and self-organising groups of entities). This article explores the motivations, state of the art, and implications of this “collective computing paradigm” in software engineering. In particular, it discusses its peculiar challenges, implied by characteristics like distribution, situatedness, large scale, and cooperative nature. These challenges outline significant directions for future research in software engineering, touching on aspects such as macro-programming, collective intelligence, self-adaptive middleware, learning/synthesis of collective behaviour, human involvement, safety and security in collective cyber-physical ecosystems.
The Current Challenges of Software Engineering in the Era of Large Language Models
Authors: Gao Cuiyun , Hu Xing , Gao Shan , Xia Xin , Jin Zhi
Published: January 2025

With the advent of large language models (LLMs) in the artificial intelligence (AI) area, the field of software engineering (SE) has also witnessed a paradigm shift. These models, by leveraging the power of deep learning and massive amounts of data, have demonstrated an unprecedented capacity to understand, generate, and operate programming languages. They can assist developers in completing a broad spectrum of software development activities, encompassing software design, automated programming, and maintenance, which potentially reduces huge human efforts. Integrating LLMs within the SE landscape (LLM4SE) has become a burgeoning trend, necessitating exploring this emergent landscape’s challenges and opportunities.

The paper aims at revisiting the software development life cycle (SDLC) under LLMs, and highlighting challenges and opportunities of the new paradigm. The paper first summarizes the overall process of LLM4SE, and then elaborates on the current challenges based on a through discussion. The discussion was held among more than 20 participants from academia and industry, specializing in fields such as software engineering and artificial intelligence. Specifically, we achieve 26 key challenges from seven aspects, including software requirement & design, coding assistance, testing code generation, code review, code maintenance, software vulnerability management, and data, training, and evaluation. We hope the achieved challenges would benefit future research in the LLM4SE field.
Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorder Stigma: Mapping Pathways Between Structures and Individuals to Accelerate Research and Intervention
Authors: Earnshaw Valerie A. , Mousavi Mohammad , Qiu Xueli , Fox Annie B.
Published: January 2025

Researchers, interventionists, and clinicians are increasingly recognizing the importance of structural stigma in elevating the risk of mental illnesses (MIs) and substance use disorders (SUDs) and in undermining MI/SUD treatment and recovery. Yet, the pathways through which structural stigma influences MI/SUD-related outcomes remain unclear. In this review, we aim to address this gap by summarizing scholarship on structural MI/SUD stigma and identifying pathways whereby structural stigma affects MI/SUD-related outcomes. We introduce a conceptual framework that describes how structural-level stigma mechanisms influence the MI/SUD treatment cascade via (a) interpersonal- and individual-level stigma mechanisms and (b) mediating processes among people with MI/SUD (i.e., access to resources, psychological responses, behavioral responses, social isolation). We consider intersections between MI/SUD stigma and stigma based on race/ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Finally, we discuss the implications of this review for future research, interventions, and clinical practice.
Property Righting: The Politics of Rights Over Land and Labor
Authors: Levi Margaret , Russell Emily
Published: January 2025

This essay focuses on property rights in land and labor, the ways in which they have been entangled since the development of early capitalism in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the extent to which they have realized—or failed to realize—desiderata in addition to economic productivity and growth. The definition and enforcement of property rights may reflect the power relations within a society, but their realization depends on state laws and capacities. Transformations of property rights tend to follow changes in the balance of power among elites and in state capacity or occur as a response to effective resistance by those who are harmed or excluded.
Análisis del presupuesto de libre competencia en Chile
Authors: Heresi José Ignacio , Marín Torres Amador
Published: January 2025

El artículo analiza el sistema de competencia chileno, compuesto por la Fiscalía Nacional Económica (FNE) y el Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia (TDLC). El estudio revela que el presupuesto de estas instituciones es significativamente menor que el promedio de la OCDE, con 11 millones de euros frente a 23 millones. A pesar de recursos limitados, el sistema ha generado beneficios fiscales por multas que superan su presupuesto. El artículo argumenta que sería socialmente rentable aumentar el presupuesto del sistema, dado su rol crítico en mantener la competencia justa y su efectividad demostrada.
Argentina: La inflación se derrumba y la economía despega
Authors: Ponce Carlos J.
Published: January 2025

El artículo examina el desempeño económico de Argentina durante 2023-2024, enfocándose en la significativa reducción de la inflación mensual del 25% al 2%. Documenta la recuperación económica del país, con un superávit fiscal logrado mediante una reducción sustancial del gasto público. El texto destaca la mejora en indicadores económicos clave, incluyendo una reducción en el riesgo país y una disminución en los niveles de pobreza, aunque reconoce que los desafíos persisten.
La evolución de la ética y el emprendimiento: Desafíos contemporáneos y perspectivas futuras
Authors: Geldes Cristian , Uriarte Sebastián
Published: January 2025

El artículo analiza la evolución de la relación entre ética y emprendimiento a través de una revisión de 516 artículos científicos (1988-2023). Identifica tres fases evolutivas y seis temas centrales, incluyendo género, tecnologías digitales, sostenibilidad y emprendimiento social. Propone cuatro líneas de investigación futura y enfatiza la importancia de promover un emprendimiento responsable que equilibre beneficios económicos con impacto social y ambiental.
MTHFD2 Enhances cMYC O-GlcNAcylation to Promote Sunitinib Resistance in Renal Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Liu Jinwen , Huang Gaowei , Lin Hao , Yang Rui , Zhan Wenhao , Luo Cheng , Wu Yukun , Chen Lingwu , Mao Xiaopeng , Chen Junxing , Huang Bin
Published: January 2025

Sunitinib is a first-line targeted therapy for patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC), but resistance represents a significant obstacle to the treatment of advanced and metastatic RCC. Metabolic reprogramming is a characteristic of RCC, and changes in metabolic processes might contribute to resistance to sunitinib. Here, we identified MTHFD2, a mitochondrial enzyme involved in one-carbon metabolism, as a critical mediator of sunitinib resistance in RCC. MTHFD2 was elevated in sunitinib resistant RCC cells, and loss of MTHDF2 conferred sensitivity to sunitinib. In patients, MTHFD2 was highly expressed in RCC and was associated with poor outcomes. Mechanistically, MTHFD2 stimulated UDP-GlcNAc biosynthesis and promoted cMYC O-GlcNAcylation by driving the folate cycle. O-GlcNAcylation enhanced cMYC stability and promoted MTHFD2 and CCND1 transcription. Targeting MTHFD2 or cyclin D1 sensitized tumor cells to sunitinib in vitro and in vivo. Consistently, development of a peptide drug capable of efficiently degrading MTHFD2 enabled reversal of sunitinib resistance in RCC. These findings identify a noncanonical metabolic function of MTHFD2 in cell signaling and response to therapy and reveal the interplay between one-carbon metabolism and sunitinib resistance in RCC. Targeting MTHFD2 could be an effective approach to overcome sunitinib resistance.
In situ detection of individual classical MHC-I gene products in cancer
Authors: Gonzalez-Ericsson Paula I. , Opalenik Susan R. , Sanchez Violeta , Palubinsky Amy , Hanna Ann , Sun Xiaopeng , Ocampo Andres A. , Garcia Guadalupe , Maldonado Leonel , Morante Zaida , Vidaurre Tatiana , Valencia Guillermo , Gomez Henry L. , Sanders Melinda E. , Kennedy Laura C. , Phillips Elizabeth , Balko Justin M.
Published: January 2025

Tumor-specific HLA class I expression is required for cytotoxic T-cell elimination of cancer cells expressing tumor-associated or neo-antigens. Cancers downregulate antigen presentation to avoid adaptive immunity. The highly polymorphic nature of the genes encoding these proteins, coupled with quaternary-structure changes after formalin fixation, complicate detection by immunohistochemistry. In this study we determined recognition of 16 specific HLA-A, B and C alleles by 15 antibodies commercially available for immunohistochemical use, identifying and validating pan and specific HLA-A, B, and C antibodies, providing a validated method that can be applied to investigate HLA-A, B and C molecule–specific loss in cancer. We applied this approach to a series of breast cancers as a proof of utility, identifying differential HLA-A, B and C loss, with a higher incidence of HLA-A and B loss in hormone-driven breast cancers, HLA-B loss in HER2+ cancers, and an equal loss of all three molecules in triple-negative disease. Additionally, we found that at the protein level, HLA-A and B loss were early events prevalent in premalignant lesions, while HLA-C loss was less common throughout tumor evolution. Effective response to immunotherapies such as checkpoint inhibitors and MHC-I–targeted cancer vaccines, which hinge on the carriage of specific allele groups, require MHC-I expression on tumor cells. These findings have implications for the success of checkpoint inhibitors and vaccine strategies.
Dois episódios petronianos em “Ci, Mãe do Mato”: um estudo de recepção dos clássicos em Macunaíma
Authors: Sparvoli Fabrício
Published: January 2025

Propõe este artigo um estudo de recepção dos clássicos no capítulo “Ci, Mãe do Mato”, da rapsódia de Mário de Andrade, Macunaíma, de 1928, particularmente de dois episódios do Satyricon, de Petrônio, o importante romance latino do século I d.C.: o do efebo de Pérgamo (Sat. 85-87) e o de Crotona (Sat. 116-141). Atentando-se para sua estrutura e conteúdo, analisa-se como eles são incorporados na fatura do capítulo, através de um complexo processo de adaptação em que se dissolvem as fronteiras entre mito ameríndio, literatura clássica e literatura brasileira.
Pensamento e ciência social no pós-1964: da crítica classista e afrocentrada do dualismo ao seu resgate
Authors: Perruso Marco Antonio , Pessoa Guilherme
Published: January 2025

Abordam-se, neste texto, as ciências sociais no pós-1964 e a recorrência do dualismo analítico nas interpretações do Brasil. Revisita-se o pensamento dos anos 1970-1980 que observou os movimentos populares, bem como o pensamento afro-brasileiro. São resumidas as mudanças na década de 1990, com destaque para a centralidade das políticas públicas, entendida como um retorno ao dualismo em nosso pensamento. Analisando marcadores sociais de classe, raça e gênero de autores canônicos, sugere-se uma explicação para a história das interpretações do Brasil, alterada radicalmente no final do século.
A dialética da demofobia em Florestan Fernandes: entre democracia forte e autocracia burguesa
Authors: Englander Alexander Couto , Souza Ronaldo Tadeu de , Aguiar Thais Florencio de
Published: January 2025

This article investigates the shift in Florestan Fernandes' sociological approaches to themes directly related to politics, since his reflections on fascism in Latin America, the autocratic-bourgeois model of capitalist transformation and the important course on authoritarianism, at PUC-SP. Therefore, we suggest that Fernandes presented to the public and intellectual debate theories that assess the barriers to democratization in Brazil. Emerges in his texts a strong democracy, restricted, which routinely adopts authoritarianism, characterized by what some contemporary theorists conceptualize as demophobia.
Effect of Soilless Substrate Volumetric Water Content on Particulate Matter Reduction in a Plant-Based Biofilter System
Authors: Lee Hyeong-Seok , Song Tae Eui , Kim Woo Young , Jeong Na Ra , Han Seung Won , Kim Jongyun
Published: January 2025

Background and objective: This study was conducted to quantify the reduction of particulate matter (PM) through a plant-based biofilter system, with the moisture content of the soilless substrate set at at different levels to enable comparison.Methods: For the experiment, a biofilter system (0.054 m3) consisting of an upper part with plants and soilless substrate acting as a filter and a lower part incorporating a wind blower for air circulation was constructed. Four Aglaonema commutatum 'Snow white' were planted in the biofilter system. Volumetric water content (VWC, %) of the substrate was set at different levels between 10% to 40%. The initial PM concentration in the sealed glass chamber (5.88 m3) was set to 500 μg⋅m-3, and the changes in PM concentration were measured 15 minutes after operation of the biofilter system.Results: As the substrate VWC in the biofilter system increased, the amount of PM2.5 and PM10 reduction decreased, with a linear response (p < .001), mostly due to increased pressure drop (PD) and decreased airflow rate (AFR) of the biofilter system. As the substrate VWC increased (from 10% to 40%), the PD increased (from 0.040 to 0.118 kPa), and AFR decreased (from 112.7 to 76.8 m3⋅h-1).Conclusion: Consequently, as the substrate VWC increased from 10% to 40%, the PD of the air passing through the substrate increased and the AFR decreased, resulting in a significant decrease in the PM reduction efficiency. Further research is required to determine the optimal substrate VWC that is effective in reducing PM without increasing the PD, while maintaining the proper growth of the plants.
Photo Zone Preference and Image Analysis for Invigorating Garden Tourism
Authors: Kim Inhea , Kim Si Hyeon , Kim Hae An , Yun Jaesung , Choi Kyoung Ok
Published: January 2025

Background and objective: Photo zones (PHZs) are important environmental factors in garden tourism. This study was conducted to evaluate PHZs that could contribute to the invigoration of garden tourism.Methods: After classifying PHZs into 16 types (6 natural types and 10 artificial types), a questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data on the general perception of PHZs, preferences for different PHZ types, and images that affect preferences. The data were subject to descriptive analysis, frequency analysis, one-way ANOVA, and multiple regression analysis.Results: Regarding the intention to use PHZs, 63.8% of the respondents responded positively. Landscape image was highly perceived as a selection criterion for PHZs, and the overall image was highly perceived as an important element of PHZ design. The frequency of the most preferred PHZ type was high in garden type, natural phenomenon type, and grotto type among the natural types, while it was high in character type, moon-shaped type, and heart-shaped type among the artificial types. The PHZ type preference was higher for natural types than for artificial types. PHZ types that showed high preference included garden type and natural phenomenon type among the natural types, and the moon-shaped type and historical symbol type among the artificial types. Multiple regression models showed that "beautiful" and "natural" were highly explanatory variables for the preference of overall PHZ types, and "interesting" was a highly explanatory variable for the preference of PHZ types composed of sculptures.Conclusion: The result that the garden type PHZs were evaluated highly suggests that gardens are valuable resources for local tourism. The classification of PHZs and the items for preference and image analysis applied in the study can provide a helpful evaluation tool for developing PHZs that increase the attractiveness of garden tourism as well as local tourism.
Planting Structures and Carbon Reduction Effects of Urban Greenspaces in Reclaimed Coastal Areas
Authors: Jo Hyun-Kil , Park Hye-Mi , Choi Seong-Gyeong , Kim Eun-Ja , Oh Ju-Yeon
Published: January 2025

Background and objective: In order to enhance the contribution of urban greenspaces to carbon uptake, it is essential to assess the carbon reduction effects of these areas. Accordingly, this study examined the planting structures and carbon reduction effects of urban greenspaces in reclaimed coastal areas (RCAs), which are characterized by unique growth conditions, such as high salinity, that distinguish them from inland areas.Methods: Field surveys were conducted across urban greenspaces in RCAs along the west and south coasts of Korea to document their planting structures and soil characteristics. Based on the obtained data, a quantitative analysis of the carbon reduction effect of trees and soil within these greenspaces was conducted.Results: It was found that the average tree cover in the surveyed greenspaces was 37.2%, while soil salinity and organic matter content were measured at 0.03% and 4.2%, respectively. The carbon storage per unit area of the greenspace, attributable to both trees and soil, reached 59.2 t/ha, with an estimated total annual carbon uptake of approximately 5.7 kt/year. This uptake is equivalent to offsetting the carbon emissions of about 153,000 people based on the energy consumption of residential buildings. Drawing on these results, this study proposed strategies to further enhance carbon reduction in reclaimed coastal greenspaces. The recommended strategies include optimizing soil conditions for plant growth, implementing multi-layered and clustered planting with medium and large trees, and selecting tree species that tolerate high salinity.Conclusion: Overall, this study makes a valuable contribution toward establishing a carbon uptake indicator for trees and soil in reclaimed coastal greenspaces, where relevant data are currently scarce. Future research should aim to include diverse types of greenspaces and larger sample sizes to more accurately capture annual soil carbon fluxes.
Enhanced speed sensorless control of IPMSM using integral synergetic observer
Authors: Boudouani Soufyane , Yahdou Adil , Benbouhenni Habib , Boudjema Zinelaabidine , Almalki Mishari Metab , Alghamdi Thamer AH
Published: January 2025

Owing to the benefits of uncomplicated design, compact dimensions, and superior power density, interior permanent magnet synchronous motors (IPMSMs) have garnered the attention of numerous researchers, both nationally and internationally. Nevertheless, conventional IPMSM models incorporating sensors, encoders, and additional apparatus often incur substantial equipment expenses and heavily depend on sensor accuracy for effective control. Consequently, the pursuit of sensorless control has emerged as a prominent trend in the domain of IPMSM control. In this work, a new sensorless control based on an integral synergetic observer (ISO) for an IPMSM is presented. The suggested observer has been developed to overcome the challenges posed by conventional observers, such as fragility against various disturbances, and establishing a sensorless control scheme capable of easily integrating into a modern application like electric vehicles. A comparison through numerical simulation tests using MATLAB software, between the proposed observer and the classic Luenberger observer (LO) clearly showed its qualities and its great importance. Notably, the ISO achieves improved performance metrics, such as the integral absolute error (IAE), integral square error (ISE), and integral time absolute error (ITAE). In low-speed control tests, the proposed ISO reduced the IAE by 56.90%, the ITAE by 55.83%, and the ISE by 75.82% compared to the LO.
Electrochemical performance study of polyaniline wrapped LiAlGdMn2O4 as a cathode material
Authors: Sharma Rahul , Nihal  , Sharma Mamta , Goswamy J.K.
Published: January 2025

The study investigates the effects of gadolinium and aluminium on LiMn2O4 nanocomposite, followed by synthesizing polyaniline and examining its effect on the LiAlGdMn2O4 nanocomposite. We studied the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to analyse internal bending and stretching, while X-ray Diffraction was used to study the structural properties. Additionally, the prepared sample's morphology and particle size were examined using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy. The crystalline composition of the samples was found to remain unchanged even after adding gadolinium, aluminium, or polyaniline. To Investigate the electrochemical performance, we studied the cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge, and impedance analysis of the prepared materials. The electrochemical performance test of LiMn2O4, LiAlGdMn2O4, and LiAlGdMn2O4/PANI nanocomposites showed specific capacities of 99.16 mAh/g, 106.96 mAh/g, and 128.07 mAh/g, respectively. After 100 cycles, the nanocomposite retained 66.92% of its initial capacity, 88.87%, and 92.12% of its initial capacity. The synergistic interactions between the components contributed to the system's stability. The nanocomposite's improved electrochemical performance and stability were attributed to its increased active surface area and enhanced intrinsic conductivity and electronic structure.
The Puzzle of Food Inflation: Exploring the Asymmetric Nexus Between Economic Policy Uncertainty and Food Prices in the Expanded BRICS Countries
Authors: Wang Yajun , Luan Shilin , Ali Sajid , Nazar Raima , Anser Muhammad Khalid
Published: January 2025

Fluctuations in economic policy often create ripple effects that can significantly impact commodity prices, including those of essential food items, with potential consequences for food security. The five emerging nations outlined as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) have most recently extended by including four new members (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE) on January 1, 2024. Additionally, Argentina and Saudi Arabia are anticipated to join the group soon. This enlargement will alter the geopolitical scenario, potentially fostering fresh collaboration and competition dynamics. This expansion will reshape the geopolitical landscape, possibly leading to new cooperation and competition dynamics. The core objective of the present work is to measure how economic policy uncertainty asymmetrically influences food prices in the expanded BRICS countries. Previous investigations have primarily relied on panel data methods, often overlooking heterogeneities in the policy uncertainty-food prices nexus across different countries. Conversely, this research applies the Quantile-on-Quantile method, which permits a more exact examination, providing a thorough worldwide overview and specific insights tailored to each country. The results indicate a significant increase in food prices due to economic policy uncertainty throughout different quantile ranges in the chosen economies. These outcomes accentuate the essentiality for policymakers to execute all-inclusive appraisals and effectively manage approaches connected to economic policy uncertainty and food inflation.
Unveiling Pediatric Neurosarcoidosis Mimicking Central Nervous System Tuberculosis: Diagnostic Challenges
Authors: Raza Mohammad , Tejani Isbaah , Ibrahim Shahnaz
Published: January 2025

Neurosarcoidosis is a rare chronic inflammatory disease affecting the nervous system. Owing to its varying manifestations that can mimic other central nervous system infectious or autoimmune diseases, and scarcity of literature, it proves to be a challenging diagnosis. We report two cases of possible neurosarcoidosis in the pediatric age group. Our first patient presented to us with seizures at the age of 13 years, whereas our second patient presented with headaches and vomiting at the age of 10 years. Both patients had elevated cerebrospinal fluid protein levels and leptomeningeal enhancement on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); however, one patient also had a pituitary lesion. Tests for tuberculosis were negative for both. One of the 2 patients exhibited normal angiotensin-converting enzyme levels at the start of symptoms but later showed raised angiotensin-converting enzyme levels. His diagnosis was delayed as he was treated initially for central nervous system infections. His disease course showed frequent relapses with varying clinical symptoms. After trying steroids and different immunosuppressive agents, he was given a rituximab infusion, and he went into remission. Our cases contribute to the literature for addressing diagnostic and management challenges in children with neurosarcoidosis.
A hybrid algorithm for the dimensional synthesis of parallel manipulators
Authors: Yang Chao , Zhang Hui , Huang Fengli , Ye Wei
Published: January 2025

Increasing the number of non-dominated solutions among multiple objectives is beneficial for determining the optimal comprehensive performance of parallel manipulators (PMs). In engineering, we often achieve this by increasing the population size of intelligent optimization algorithms, which leads to an exponential increase in computational costs, especially for high computationally intensive objective functions. How to increase the number of non-dominated solutions without significantly increasing computational costs is a challenge faced by the dimensional synthesis of PMs. A hybrid algorithm combing particle swarm optimization (PSO) and direct search algorithms was proposed in this work to fix this issue. And, a procedure for direct search algorithm to determine the Pareto optimal front is proposed. The proposed hybrid algorithm is implemented in three steps: (1) The design parameter space is coarsely meshed to determine the amplitude of objective functions to achieve its dimensionless purpose; (2) the PSO algorithm is adopted to obtain the approximate Pareto front, as well as the Pareto front hypersurface stretched by the optimal design parameter space; (3) the neighborhood of the approximate Pareto optimal set was finely meshed, and the direct search algorithm is proposed to update the non-dominated solutions that are closer to the real Pareto front. The proposed hybrid algorithm can obtain more non-dominated solutions while avoiding the significant increase in computational costs caused by increasing population size. The proposed algorithm was implemented using the dimensional synthesis of the 2UPR-RPU PM. Compared with the PSO algorithm, which produced 80 sets of non-dominated solutions, the proposed hybrid algorithm generated 242 sets of solutions with the computational costs only increased 32%.
Prognostic Significance of Tumor Budding in Ampullary Carcinomas
Authors: Akar Kadriye Ebru , Bagci Pelin
Published: January 2025

Objective. The presence of high tumor budding in colorectal carcinomas is a significant pathological feature indicative of a high potential for lymph node metastasis. Our aim was to investigate the prognostic impact of tumor budding in ampullary carcinomas. Materials and methods. We conducted a cohort of 101 consecutive ampullary carcinoma resections to evaluate tumor budding, macroscopic and microscopic subtypes, lymphatic/vascular/perineural invasions, and other histopathological parameters. Results. High tumor budding was observed in 49 (49%) of the tumors, and multivariate survival analysis evaluating the overall survival of these patients found tumor budding to be an independent poor prognostic indicator ( p = 0.013). Conclusion. Tumor budding should be reported in ampullary carcinomas as it serves as an independent predictor of a poor outcome.
Evaluating the impact of high-speed rail on local tourism economy in China: A quasi-natural experiment
Authors: Wang Jin
Published: January 2025

In the context of the green transformation, the tourism economy, as a model of the high-quality service industry, is the key driving force for regional economic growth. The high-speed rail (HSR) has rapidly expanded in China, which has a substantial impact on the tourism economies of cities along these routes. The importance of this study is that it highlights the economic impact of HSR on tourism, and it provides a new perspective on understanding how HSR shapes regional development. This study leverages the staggered differences-in-differences (DiD) method to assess HSR’s impact on local tourism economic development by treating its introduction as a quasi-natural experiment. Panel data from 348 prefectural-level cities in China spanning the period from 2007 to 2020 were collected. The findings indicate that HSR’s introduction significantly promotes the local economic growth of tourism, with the most pronounced effects observed in western cities, which are followed by cities in the central region. However, HSR’s impact on cities in the eastern region is not statistically significant. Furthermore, HSR’s positive impact on tourism is more substantial in larger cities. To fully harness the potential of HSR in fostering local tourism economic development, cities along the routes should optimize the integration of transportation infrastructure, implement differentiated tourism strategies, and enhance regional cooperation. Tailored tourism development strategies should be advocated, catering to the distinct needs of regions and cities with varying scales. These measures are essential for improving the quality of tourism services, increasing tourism attraction, and achieving mutually beneficial development across regions.
How People React to the Termination of an Intimate Relationship: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study
Authors: Apostolou Menelaos , Taliadoros Isaias , Lajunen Timo Juhani
Published: January 2025

Intimate relationships frequently come to an end, and in the current research, we have endeavored to examine how individuals would potentially react in the scenario where their intimate partner decides to terminate a relationship they wish to continue. More specifically, employing open-ended questionnaires on a sample of 219 Greek-speaking participants, we identified 79 possible reactions. Subsequently, using close-ended questionnaires on a sample of 442 Greek-speaking participants, we categorized these reactions into 13 broad factors. Participants indicated that they were more likely to feel sadness, inquire of their departing partners why they wish to end the relationship, and attempt to divert their thoughts elsewhere to avoid dwelling on the end of the relationship. Men indicated a higher likelihood than women to seek revenge sex, although significant sex differences were not observed in other reactions. Furthermore, we classified these 13 factors into three broader domains. The highest-rated domain was “Accept and forget,” followed by “Sadness and depression,” and “Physical and psychological aggression.” These findings could enable us to gain a better understanding of the process of relationship dissolution, and could potentially be employed to identify and prevent reactions that may have harmful repercussions for the individuals involved in the relationship.
The Impact of Contemporary Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists on the Onset, Severity, and Conversion to Arthroplasty in Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis
Authors: Porto Joshua R. , Lavu Monish S. , Hecht Christian J. , Kaelber David C. , Sculco Peter K. , Heckmann Nathanael D. , Kamath Atul F.
Published: January 2025

Background:

The growing popularity of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1-RAs) for weight loss could significantly impact joint preservation and arthroplasty. While this will in part be driven by the association between obesity, osteoarthritis (OA), and total joint arthroplasty (TJA), recent evidence also indicates that GLP-1-RAs may have direct joint-protective, anti-inflammatory effects.

Purpose:

To evaluate the association between GLP-1-RA use and the onset and progression of hip and knee OA in an obese population.

Study Design:

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods:

A national health network was queried for patients with an index visit between June 1, 2021, and January 1, 2023, and a body mass index (BMI) ≥30. Patients were stratified into groups without (n = 1,092,225) and with(n = 237,043) preexisting hip and/or knee OA. One-to-one propensity score matching was used to balance GLP-1-RA use based on age, sex, race, BMI, and comorbid type 2 diabetes mellitus. Primary outcomes were incidence of hip OA, knee OA, major joint injections, total hip arthroplasty (THA), and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) within 1 year. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) between cohorts prescribed and not prescribed GLP-1-RAs.

Results:

In patients with preexisting OA, GLP-1-RA use correlated with reduced odds of conversion to THA (1.1% vs 2.2%; HR, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.5 to 0.8) and TKA (1.4% vs 2.1%; HR, 0.8; 95% CI, 0.6 to 0.9) within 1 year. In patients without preexisting OA, GLP-1-RA use was associated with an increased incidence of hip OA (0.9% vs 0.7%; HR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.2 to 1.6), knee OA (2.1% vs 1.9%; HR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.2 to 3.1), major joint injections (2.2% vs 1.8%; HR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.3 to 1.5), and TKA (0.09% vs 0.04%; HR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.6 to 4.3). Comparing cohorts without prior OA, patients who were prescribed a GLP-1-RA demonstrated slightly greater decreases in BMI (–1.00; 95% CI, –1.06 to −0.96) at 1-year after the index visit compared with patients not prescribed a GLP-1-RA (–0.90; 95% CI, –0.94 to −0.84). However, in patients with a prior diagnosis of hip or knee OA, there was no difference noted in BMI change.

Conclusion:

GLP-1-RAs may provide direct disease-modifying behaviors in patients with preexisting OA diagnosis, per a reduced risk of conversion to TJA not attributable to weight loss. Further investigation is also needed to elucidate the association between GLP-1-RA use and the increased incidence of OA diagnosis and conversion to TKA in patients with no preexisting OA diagnosis.
Trochleoplasty Utilization in the Management of Patellofemoral Instability: Results From an International Survey of Surgeons
Authors: Williams Brendan A. , Batley Morgan G. , Schlechter John A. , Redler Lauren H. , Yaniv Moshe , Friel Nicole A. , Parikh Shital N. , Pace J. Lee , Shubin Stein Beth E. , Waldron Sean , Logterman Stephanie L. , Shea Kevin , Bradley Kendall E. , Crawford Eileen A. , Greenberg Elliot , Hannon Joseph , Kerrigan Alicia , Kuba Megan H.M. , Albaugh Jeffrey
Published: January 2025

Background:

Considerable variability exists in the described clinical and radiographic indications for use, surgical techniques, postoperative management, and risk profile after trochleoplasty for the management of patellofemoral instability (PFI). In areas of clinical uncertainty, a cohesive summary of expert opinion and identification of areas of variation in current practice can be useful in guiding current practice and future research efforts.

Purpose:

To assess the current indications for use, surgical techniques, postoperative rehabilitation practices, and observed complication profile for trochleoplasty in the management of PFI among surgeons who perform this procedure.

Study Design:

Cross-sectional study.

Methods:

A 21-item cross-sectional survey was developed to evaluate trochleoplasty in its current practice among surgeons around the world. The survey was distributed between December 2021 and April 2022 to the orthopaedic surgeon membership of multiple national and international knee, arthroscopy, and sports medicine societies to identify any surgeon with experience performing the trochleoplasty procedure in practice for the management of PFI. Descriptive statistics of survey responses were performed to address study aims, and univariate analyses were performed to compare differences between high- and low-volume trochleoplasty surgeons.

Results:

Survey distribution identified 32 orthopaedic surgeons with experience performing the trochleoplasty procedure. Procedural indications were most commonly felt to be met with Dejour classification of B or D on magnetic resonance imaging. Trochleoplasty was felt by most to be appropriate as a primary surgical intervention for PFI. A majority of surgeons utilized a Bereiter (thin-flap) trochleoplasty technique with suture-based fixation and performed concurrent medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction, but other concomitant procedures varied. Range-of-motion precautions and bracing practices varied among respondents, and arthrofibrosis was the most frequently cited observed complication. High- and low-volume trochleoplasty surgeons differed in their radiographic and age-based indications for the procedure.

Conclusion:

Study findings indicated that variation exists in the surgical indicators, technique, and postoperative rehabilitation practices of trochleoplasty surgeons, with specific differences noted between high- and low-volume trochleoplasty surgeons. The results of this survey identified areas of equipoise and treatment variation that should direct future research efforts in the study of the trochleoplasty procedure.
Democracy on the Sidelines: The Erosion and Potential of Youth Sports as Democratic Education
Authors: Stemhagen Kurt , Hytten Kathy
Published: January 2025

In this philosophical paper, we argue that youth sports, both in and out of schools, are a largely unrealized space for democratic/civic education. Where youth sports leagues used to be low cost, local, and inclusive, much has changed over the last several decades. We are now in the neoliberal era of exclusive, privatized, and professionalized youth sports. Drawing on Dewey’s robust conception of democracy and Talisse’s concerns about partisan polarization, we argue that youth sports should be spaces to develop democratic habits, dispositions, and values. We explore the benefits of youth sports as well as current challenges, including excessive costs and pressure, disrupted families, and hyperindividualism. We end by offering suggestions for reforming youth sports to recenter their educational and democratic potential and value, including supporting loosely structured play, modeling democratic behavior, teaching democratic habits directly, and learning from more progressive national sports models.
A high-resolution global time series of street-network sprawl
Authors: Barrington-Leigh Christopher , Millard-Ball Adam
Published: January 2025

Systems of street networks form a backbone for many aspects of human life and, once laid down, urban streets represent a nearly immutable influence on future urban form and concomitant travel, energy, and social outcomes. Moreover, as humanity is currently passing through its peak urbanization rate, decisions about how to design such networks at the local scale are being made faster than ever before. In this work, we quantify local street connectivity and provide a global, high-resolution time series of our Street Network Disconnectedness Index (SNDi) as an open data set. We derive a stylized version of the actual geographic road network from the 2023 vintage of OpenStreetMap by simplifying complex intersections, divided roads, and offset intersections. Using this functional representation of the network corrects systematic biases in derived properties of the network. We couple this simplified network with a newly available time series of urbanization in order to compute SNDi and provide a dynamic analysis to the year 2019 and a cross-sectional analysis for 2023. We release our data as the raw network of edges and nodes and as aggregates to a 1 km grid, to countries, and to five subnational administrative levels. We also provide interactive visualizations at sprawlmap.org . Overall, our findings present a picture of rapidly worsening street-network connectivity in many regions of the world.