bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cluster energy prediction based on multiple strategy fusion whale optimization algorithm and light gradient boosting machine
Authors: Wei Wu , Mengshan Li , Yan Wu , Lixin Guan
Published: January 2024

Background

Clusters, a novel hierarchical material structure that emerges from atoms or molecules, possess unique reactivity and catalytic properties, crucial in catalysis, biomedicine, and optoelectronics. Predicting cluster energy provides insights into electronic structure, magnetism, and stability. However, the structure of clusters and their potential energy surface is exceptionally intricate. Searching for the global optimal structure (the lowest energy) among these isomers poses a significant challenge. Currently, modelling cluster energy predictions with traditional machine learning methods has several issues, including reliance on manual expertise, slow computation, heavy computational resource demands, and less efficient parameter tuning.

Results

This paper introduces a predictive model for the energy of a gold cluster comprising twenty atoms (referred to as Au20 cluster). The model integrates the Multiple Strategy Fusion Whale Optimization Algorithm (MSFWOA) with the Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM), resulting in the MSFWOA-LightGBM model. This model employs the Coulomb matrix representation and eigenvalue solution methods for feature extraction. Additionally, it incorporates the Tent chaotic mapping, cosine convergence factor, and inertia weight updating strategy to optimize the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA), leading to the development of MSFWOA. Subsequently, MSFWOA is employed to optimize the parameters of LightGBM for supporting the energy prediction of Au20 cluster.

Conclusions

The experimental results show that the most stable Au20 cluster structure is a regular tetrahedron with the lowest energy, displaying tight and uniform atom distribution, high geometric symmetry. Compared to other models, the MSFWOA-LightGBM model excels in accuracy and correlation, with MSE, RMSE, and R2 values of 0.897, 0.947, and 0.879, respectively. Additionally, the MSFWOA-LightGBM model possesses outstanding scalability, offering valuable insights for material design, energy storage, sensing technology, and biomedical imaging, with the potential to drive research and development in these areas.

Graphical Abstract
ParaPET: non-invasive deep learning method for direct parametric brain PET reconstruction using histoimages
Authors: Vashistha Rajat , Moradi Hamed , Hammond Amanda , O’Brien Kieran , Rominger Axel , Sari Hasan , Shi Kuangyu , Vegh Viktor , Reutens David
Published: January 2024

Background

The indirect method for generating parametric images in positron emission tomography (PET) involves the acquisition and reconstruction of dynamic images and temporal modelling of tissue activity given a measured arterial input function. This approach is not robust, as noise in each dynamic image leads to a degradation in parameter estimation. Direct methods incorporate into the image reconstruction step both the kinetic and noise models, leading to improved parametric images. These methods require extensive computational time and large computing resources. Machine learning methods have demonstrated significant potential in overcoming these challenges. But they are limited by the requirement of a paired training dataset. A further challenge within the existing framework is the use of state-of-the-art arterial input function estimation via temporal arterial blood sampling, which is an invasive procedure, or an additional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan for selecting a region where arterial blood signal can be measured from the PET image. We propose a novel machine learning approach for reconstructing high-quality parametric brain images from histoimages produced from time-of-flight PET data without requiring invasive arterial sampling, an MRI scan, or paired training data from standard field-of-view scanners.

Result

The proposed is tested on a simulated phantom and five oncological subjects undergoing an 18F-FDG-PET scan of the brain using Siemens Biograph Vision Quadra. Kinetic parameters set in the brain phantom correlated strongly with the estimated parameters (K1, k2 and k3, Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.91, 0.92 and 0.93) and a mean squared error of less than 0.0004. In addition, our method significantly outperforms (p < 0.05, paired t-test) the conventional nonlinear least squares method in terms of contrast-to-noise ratio. At last, the proposed method was found to be 37% faster than the conventional method.

Conclusion

We proposed a direct non-invasive DL-based reconstruction method and produced high-quality parametric maps of the brain. The use of histoimages holds promising potential for enhancing the estimation of parametric images, an area that has not been extensively explored thus far. The proposed method can be applied to subject-specific dynamic PET data alone.
Effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation on appetite: a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials
Authors: Sasanfar Bahareh , Toorang Fatemeh , Salehi-Abarghouei Amin
Published: January 2024

Background

The current studies explore the effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on appetite.

Objective

To examine the effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) on appetite using a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials (CTs).

Patients and methods

Online databases including PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched up to January 2022. A random-effects model was used to compare the overall standardized mean difference in appetite scores between n-3 PUFAs supplemented and control individuals.

Results

Fifteen eligible CTs with 1504 participants (872 for n-3 PUFA supplementation and 632 for placebo groups) were included in our systematic review. The meta-analysis showed no significant difference in overall appetite score between n-3 PUFAs supplemented and control groups (standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.458, 95% confidence interval [CI] − 0.327, 1.242, P value = 0.25). However, the n-3 PUFA supplementation significantly increased the desire to eat (SMD = 1.07, 95% CI 0.116, 2.029, P = 0.02) compared to control.

Conclusion

Although we found no effect of omega-3 supplementation on overall appetite score, it modestly increases the desire to eat. Further CTs evaluating the effect of PUFAs on appetite are still needed to confirm these findings.
Decoding leukemia at the single-cell level: clonal architecture, classification, microenvironment, and drug resistance
Authors: Liu Jianche , Jiang Penglei , Lu Zezhen , Yu Zebin , Qian Pengxu
Published: January 2024

Leukemias are refractory hematological malignancies, characterized by marked intrinsic heterogeneity which poses significant obstacles to effective treatment. However, traditional bulk sequencing techniques have not been able to effectively unravel the heterogeneity among individual tumor cells. With the emergence of single-cell sequencing technology, it has bestowed upon us an unprecedented resolution to comprehend the mechanisms underlying leukemogenesis and drug resistance across various levels, including the genome, epigenome, transcriptome and proteome. Here, we provide an overview of the currently prevalent single-cell sequencing technologies and a detailed summary of single-cell studies conducted on leukemia, with a specific focus on four key aspects: (1) leukemia’s clonal architecture, (2) frameworks to determine leukemia subtypes, (3) tumor microenvironment (TME) and (4) the drug-resistant mechanisms of leukemia. This review provides a comprehensive summary of current single-cell studies on leukemia and highlights the markers and mechanisms that show promising clinical implications for the diagnosis and treatment of leukemia.
Association of the C allele of rs479200 in the EGLN1 gene with COVID-19 severity in Indian population: a novel finding
Authors: Harit Renuka , De Sajal , Singh Piyoosh Kumar , Kashyap Deepika , Kumar Manish , Sahu Dibakar , Yadav Chander Prakash , Mohan Mradul , Singh Vineeta , Tomar Ram Singh , Pandey Kailash C. , Vashisht Kapil
Published: January 2024

The present study investigated two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)—rs479200 and rs516651 in the host EGLN1/PHD2 gene for their association with COVID-19 severity. A retrospective cohort of 158 COVID-19 patients from the Indian population (March 2020 to June 2021) was enrolled. Notably, the frequency of C allele (0.664) was twofold higher than T allele (0.336) in severe COVID-19 patients. Here, we report a novel finding that the C allele of rs479200 in the EGLN1 gene imparts a high risk of severe COVID-19 (odds ratio—6.214 (1.84–20.99) p = 0.003; 9.421 (2.019–43.957) p = 0.004), in additive inheritance model (adjusted and unadjusted, respectively).
PLAXIS 3D numerical analysis of complex geotechnical problems of colossal built heritage
Authors: Hemeda Sayed
Published: January 2024

The paper aims to contribute to the preservation of high valuable historic masonry structures and historic urban landscapes through the combination of geotechnical, structural engineering. The main objective of the study is to conduct finite element analysis (FEA) of bearing saturated soft clay soil problems and induced structural failure mechanisms. This analysis is based on experimental and numerical studies using coupled PLAXIS 3D FE models. The paper presents a geotechnical analytical model for the measurement of stresses, deformations, and differential settlement of saturated clay soils under colossal stone/brick masonry structures. The study also discusses the behavior of soft clay soils under Qasr Yashbak through numerical analysis, which helps in understanding the studied behavior and the loss of soil-bearing capacity due to moisture content or ground water table (G.W.T) changes. The paper presents valuable insights into the behavior of soft clay soils under colossal stone/ brick masonry structures. The present study summarized specific details about the limitations and potential sources of error in Finite Element Modeling (FEM). Further field research and experimental analysis may be required to address these limitations and enhance the understanding of the studied soft clay soil behavior. The geotechnical problems in historic monuments and structures such as differential settlement are indeed important issues for their conservation since it may induce serious damages. It deserves more in-depth researches.
Neuromuscular organization of the benthic ctenophore, Vallicula multiformis
Authors: Mohri Kurato , Watanabe Hiroshi
Published: January 2024

Ctenophora is the earliest metazoan taxon with neurons and muscles. Recent studies have described genetic, physiological, and cellular characteristics of the neural and muscular systems of this phylogenically important lineage. However, despite the ecological diversity of ctenophore niches, including both pelagic and benthic forms, studies have focused predominantly on pelagic species. In the present study, we describe the neural and muscular architectures of the benthic ctenophore, Vallicula multiformis (Order Platyctenida), employing immunohistochemical analysis using antibodies against amidated neuropeptides with the C-terminal sequences VWYa, NPWa, FGLa, or WTGa to compare it to pelagic species. In V. multiformis, which lacks the characteristic comb rows seen in pelagic ctenophores, neural structures that develop beneath the comb were not detected, whereas the subepithelial and tentacle neural networks showed considerable similarity to those of pelagic species. Despite significant differences in morphology and lifestyle, muscle organization in V. multiformis closely resembles that of pelagic species. Detailed analysis of neurons that express these peptides unveiled a neural architecture composed of various neural subtypes. This included widely distributed subepithelial neural networks (SNNs) and neurosecretory cells located primarily in the peripheral region. The consistent distribution patterns of the VWYa-positive SNN and tentacle nerves between V. multiformis and the pelagic species, Bolinopsis mikado, suggest evolutionarily conserved function of these neurons in the Ctenophora. In contrast, NPWa-positive neurons, which extend neurites connecting the apical organ and comb rows in B. mikado, showed a neurite-less neurosecretory cell morphology in this flattened, sessile species. Evaluation of characteristics and variations in neural and muscular architectures shared by benthic and pelagic ctenophore species may yield valuable insights for unraveling the biology of this rapidly evolving yet enigmatic metazoan lineage. These findings also provide important insight into neural control modalities in early metazoan evolution.
The mechanism of spontaneous corrugation on the snowy and icy roads produced by the moving vehicles in cold regions
Authors: Zheng Hao , Cao Yu , Ma Chongqian , Kanie Shunji
Published: January 2024

Traffic safety in cold regions is seriously affected by the snow and ice brought by the extreme climate. The snowy and icy road cannot provide enough friction for the safe operation of vehicles due to its smooth and uneven surface. In this research, we are going to focus on the uneven corrugation occurred on snowy and icy roads and to investigate the formation mechanism of this spontaneous corrugation which can seriously threaten the traffic safety. According to field observations, we found that the corrugation phenomenon generated by moving vehicles is a complicated thermal–mechanical coupled process. In order to simplify this complicated process, we are going to focus on the mechanical process of the formation of spontaneous corrugation only at this stage. Field observation by time-lapse cameras has been conducted to disclose its forming process directly. Then, we adopted sand as the material to reproduce the spontaneous corrugation in the laboratory which can eliminate the influence of the thermal process. By considering the compressibility and mobility of the surface material comprehensively, a numerical model has been successfully constructed for imitating the forming process of corrugation. Then based on this proposed numerical model, a preliminary discussion on the influence of natural frequency on the number of the corrugation has been conducted. The relationship between the natural frequency which is decided by the vehicle itself and the corrugation is promising to be utilized in optimizing the vehicle design to improve the performance on the snowy and icy roads.
Proanthocyanidins supplemented diet alter anti-aging-markers and improved lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster model
Authors: Jaafaru Mohammed Sani , Muhammad Suleiman Alhaji , Mohammed Zainab Kasim , Aliyu Yakubu , Razis Ahmad Faizal Abdull
Published: January 2024

Background

It is unequivocally believed that phenolics and flavonoids from fruits and vegetables hold robust prevention potentials against age-related disease development through their abundant hydroxyl groups. This study explored the potential neuromuscular enhancement and anti-aging effects of dietary supplemented proanthocyanidins-rich fraction from Tamarindus indica on Drosophila melanogaster model. One- to three-day-old male and female D. melanogaster were fed with a proanthocyanidins-rich fraction-supplemented diet for 7 days at two different concentrations. Following the effective dose determination, longevity assay (rate of survival), behavioral assay (negative geotaxis and eclosion), and biochemical assays (aging and antioxidant enzymes activities) were conducted to assess the fraction’s longevity, antioxidant, and anti-aging effects on D. melanogaster model.

Result

The results showed a significant (p < 0.05) improvement in the rate of emergence and lifespan of the flies fed with proanthocyanidins-rich fraction-supplemented diet at both concentrations (1.5 mg/g and 2.5 mg/g) compared to the normal control. A significant decrease in acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity and the level of caspase-3 and caspase-9 were observed in the D. melanogaster flies fed with the fraction-containing diet when compared with the normal control. The supplemented diet also significantly increases the activity of catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione-s-transferase (GST) in a concentration-dependent manner but not nicotinamide quinone oxidoreductase one (NQO1) in D. melanogaster upon comparison with the normal control.

Conclusion

The observable changes in the experiment were attributed to the T. indica-derived proanthocyanidins, flavonoids with robust biological activities. The flavonoid-rich fraction proved its potential by enhancing the antioxidant system in D. melanogaster via the increase in the activities of some of the phase II antioxidant enzymes. The present study provides more insights into the wider perspectives of societies on the use of plant-derived natural compounds as the potential approach toward prevention against aging and age-related morbidities which enhance wellness and the quality of life in humans and animals.
Hooked on Mermaids
Authors: Pressman Jessica
Published: January 2024

This article is part reflection on how academic disciplines can stymie creative scholarship and part critical effort to break out of that orientation to reclaim the author’s personal passion for mermaids as subject for scholarly analysis. Pressman argues that contemporary mermaid literature has much to tell us about our most pressing social, cultural, and political issues. This article takes as its starting point the racist backlash over Disney’s 2019 casting announcement for its 2023 feature film and the 2020 antiracist graffiti on The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen as the complex site for assessing the entanglements and inner workings of cultural memory. Following Rita Felski’s call to pursue attachment over critical detachment in scholarship, this article enacts creative-critical attention via a focus on mermaids in contemporary public discourse.
Young minds, deeper insights: a recap of the BMAS Summer School 2023, ranging from basic research to clinical implications of bone marrow adipose tissue
Authors: Amorim Tânia , Trivanovic Drenka , Benova Andrea , Li Hongshuai , Tencerova Michaela , Palmisano Biagio
Published: January 2024

Bone marrow adiposity (BMA) is a rapidly growing yet very young research field that is receiving worldwide attention based on its intimate relationship with skeletal and metabolic diseases, as well as hematology and cancer. Moreover, increasing numbers of young scientists and students are currently and actively working on BMA within their research projects. These developments led to the foundation of the International Bone Marrow Adiposity Society (BMAS), with the goal to promote BMA knowledge worldwide, and to train new generations of researchers interested in studying this field. Among the many initiatives supported by BMAS, there is the BMAS Summer School, inaugurated in 2021 and now at its second edition. The aim of the BMAS Summer School 2023 was to educate and train students by disseminating the latest advancement on BMA. Moreover, Summer School 2023 provided suggestions on how to write grants, deal with negative results in science, and start a laboratory, along with illustrations of alternative paths to academia. The event was animated by constructive and interactive discussions between early-career researchers and more senior scientists. In this report, we highlight key moments and lessons learned from the event.
Constructive versus Toxic Argumentation in Debates
Authors: Mylovanov Tymofiy , Zapechelnyuk Andriy
Published: January 2024

Two debaters address an audience by sequentially choosing their information strategies. We compare the setting where the second mover reveals additional information (constructive argumentation) with the setting where the second mover obfuscates the first mover’s information (toxic argumentation). We reframe both settings as constrained optimization of the first mover. We show that when the preferences are zero-sum or risk-neutral, constructive debates reveal the state, while toxic debates are completely uninformative. Moreover, constructive debates reveal the state under the assumption on preferences that capture autocratic regimes, whereas toxic debates are completely uninformative under the assumption on preferences that capture democratic regimes. (JEL D72, D82, D83)
Two weighted Carleson embeddings on multi-trees and multi-disk
Authors: Ψαρομήλιγκος Γεώργιος
Published: January 2024

Λαμβάνοντας υπόψη δύο μέτρα μ,w σε ένα πολύδεντρο T^n, αποδεικνύουμε ένα θεώρημα δύο πολυπαραμέτρων με βάρη διαδικής εμβύθισης για τον τελεστή Hardy, υποθέτοντας ότι w είναι ένα βάρος-γινόμενο και ισχύει μια ορισμένη συνθήκη που την καλούμε "Box". Το κύριο αποτέλεσμα έχει αποδειχθεί από καιρό για τη διάσταση n = 1, ωστόσο, για μεγαλύτερες διαστάσεις το αποτέλεσμα δεν ήταν γνωστό. Υπήρχε μια γενική αίσθηση ότι μια τέτοια εμβύθιση δεν ήταν δυνατή υπό την συνθήκη Box, λόγω ενός διάσημου αντιπαραδείγματος του Lennart Carleson. Σε αυτό το αντιπαράδειγμα, το μέτρο μ ήταν το δισδιάστατο μέτρο Lebesgue, το οποίο είναι ένα μέτρο γινόμενο μαζί με ένα μη-γινόμενο βάρος w. Λίγο αργότερα, η A. Chang επέβαλε μια (αυστηρά) πιο γενική συνθήκη από την Box και έδειξε ότι είναι επαρκής για να επιτευχθεί η ίδια εμβύθιση στη διάσταση n = 2. Αυτό χρησιμοποιήθηκε αργότερα από τους A. Chang και R. Fefferman για να χαρακτηρίσουν τον δυαδικό n-διάστατο χώρο γινόμενο-BMO, που συμβολίζεται με BMO_{prod}^d(R^n). Πρόσφατα, εμφανίστηκε το ζήτημα της εμβύθισης του χώρου Dirichlet στον δις-δίσκο D^2 στο L^2(D^2). Αυτό ισοδυναμεί με το να είναι «Carleson» ένα γενικό μέτρο μ, για τον χώρο Dirichlet στο D^2. Οι συγγραφείς έδειξαν ότι η απόδειξη του (διακριτού) αναλόγου της εμβύθισης σε ένα δίδεντρο είναι αρκετή για να ληφθεί το ίδιο για το δίσκο. Για να γίνει αυτό, ωστόσο, πρέπει να αλλάξουμε τους περιορισμούς στα μέτρα. θα υποθέσουμε ότι το μ είναι γενικό και το w ως βάρος-γινόμενο. Δεδομένων αυτών των περιορισμών, καταφέραμε να αποδείξουμε το εκπληκτικό αποτέλεσμα ότι η συνθήκη Box είναι αρκετή για να υποδηλώσει την εμβύθιση για τις διαστάσεις n = 2, 3. Αυτό δεν είναι αντιφατικό με το αντιπαράδειγμα του Carleson, καθώς το βάρος w δεν ήταν γινόμενο.
Life under austerity
Authors: Κυριαζίδου Ηλέκτρα
Published: January 2024

Η διατριβή εξετάζει τις επιπτώσεις της λιτότητας σε εργατικές γειτονίες της δυτικής Θεσσαλονίκης. Καταγράφει και αναλύει απόψεις, σχέσεις και πρακτικές στην καθημερινή ζωή με λιτότητα, εστιάζοντας σε εμπειρίες επισφάλειας και συναισθηματικές συγγενικές και γειτονικές μορφές οικειότητας και πως αυτές σχετίζονται με παγκόσμιες και τοπικές ανισότητες. Η διατριβή ισχυρίζεται ότι η λιτότητα βιώνεται ως μια μορφή κρίσης στην καθημερινότητα, και παράγει ανισότητα και αποκλεισμό, που είναι υπό διαπραγμάτευση με πολιτισμικούς όρους. Δείχνει ότι οι αγώνες κατά της άνισης επίπτωσης της λιτότητας από γυναίκες που σηκώνουν το βάρος της της οικογενειακής επισφάλειας και απο νέους που αντιμετωπίζουν επισφαλείς εργασία, παρακινούν συνέχιες σε οικείες σχέσεις, ρόλους και ταυτότητες. Αλλά συνεπάγονται επίσης συγκρούσεις και εντάσεις που διακόπτουν αυτές τις συνέχιες μέσα από τις πιέσεις που προκαλούν στα πλαίσια της επισφάλειας. Σχέσεις οικειότητας μεταξύ γειτόνων επίσης εξετάζονται ως αντικρουόμενες μορφές μιας διαρκώς αμφισβητούμενης κοινωνικότητάς που μπορεί να προκαλέσει εχθρότητα και ρατσισμό αλλά και καλοσύνη και γενναιοδωρία. Προσοχή δίνετε σε ένα κοινό πολιτικό εγχείρημα οργανωμένο στη γειτονία, ένα αυτόνομο εγχείρημα αλληλεγγύης. Αυτό και άλλες μορφές σχέσεων γειτονίας που μελετά η διατριβή, δείχνουν ότι η γειτονία μπορεί να είναι ένα πολύτιμο κοινωνικό πλαίσιο για να αναπτυχθούν συμπεριληπτικές και ανοιχτές μορφές σχεσιακότητας και δέσμευσης με την επισφάλεια των "άλλων". Η κεντρική συνεισφορά της διατριβής είναι η αθροιστική εθνογραφική μαρτυρία μιας συγκεκριμένης κοινωνικής πραγματικότητας-της ζωής με επισφάλεια-που καταγράφεται εδώ ως μια σειρά από λεπτομερείς εθνογραφικές αφηγήσεις. Οι αφηγήσεις αυτές φωτίζουν τις οικείες και αβέβαιες διαδικασίες διαχείρισης του δημοσίου χρέους, τον τρόπο που η επισφάλεια παράγεται και πως διαμορφώνει οικιακές και γειτονικές μορφές οικειότητας και τις πολιτικές εκφράσεων που της εναντιώνονται. Διασταυρώσεις της επισφάλειας και της οικειότητας αποκαλύπτουν τη σχέση μεταξύ πολιτικοποίησης και αποπολιτικοποίησης, κριτικής και συνενοχής και των οξέων αντιφάσεων της καπιταλιστικής λιτότητας.
Lázaro e João Grilo: intersecções possíveis do gênero picaresco
Authors: Costa Alvaro Daniel
Published: January 2024

A presente resenha trata da obra “O filho do rio e o sertanejo: Lazarillo de Tormes e seu herdeiro João Grilo” , publicada pela editora Texto e Contexto no ano de 2021. O livro aborda o contexto do Século de Ouro da Espanha, bem como o conceito de gênero picaresco, além de uma análise comparativa entre Lázaro e João Grilo.
A forma nada avulsa dos homens avulsos, de Victor Heringer: vanguarda, herança e adaptações
Authors: Saldanha Fabio Pomponio
Published: January 2024

A partir de considerações a respeito dos escritos de Anatol Rosenfeld e Peter Bürger, busca-se mostrar como, mesmo em obras recentemente publicadas no mercado editorial brasileiro, especificamente O amor dos homens avulsos, de Victor Heringer (2016), o ato de esquecer-se da vanguarda ou, ainda, de processos formais e estilísticos, pelos quais se caracterizou a vanguarda e a modernidade nas artes (aqui, especificamente, o romance), é, quiçá, impossível e, ainda, improvável de se fazer. Através de uma revisão dos principais argumentos de Rosenfeld e Bürger, caminha-se para a chave analítica para o texto de Heringer, buscando observar como aquilo dito na teoria da vanguarda também pode ser observado nas escolhas formais e estruturais do romance heringeriano.
Na tessitura da linguagem, uma miscelânea de novas possibilidades
Authors: Oliveira Carla dos Santos e Silva , Azevedo Marcela Ansaloni de
Published: January 2024

Apresentação à Miscelânea, Vol. 23, N. 44 (2024).
Over-the-counter drugs and natural medicines and supplements
Authors: Parker Kathrine , Pogson Cathy
Published: January 2024

Over-the-counter medicines are generally considered safe, however, they may be problematic for people who have kidney disease. This article outlines advice for patients before taking any over-the-counter medicines, supplements or herbal medicines.
Mental capacity: ethical considerations
Authors: Ellis Peter
Published: January 2024

In this paper, Peter Ellis discusses the topic of mental capacity. What is mental capacity, and why is it so important?
What it means to show courage as a kidney care leader
Authors: Ellis Peter
Published: January 2024

Peter Ellis takes us through the importance of moral courage in great leaders
Depoliticisation, discourse and policy hegemony
Authors: Griggs Steven , Howarth David
Published: January 2024

This chapter sets out our theoretical approach to the dialectical complexities of politicisation and depoliticisation, and their impact on the struggle for policy hegemony. Using the resources of poststructuralist discourse theory, we begin by intervening in contemporary debates about the concept of depoliticisation to disclose a number of questions for further investigation and clarification. We then develop our core assumptions and show how the interacting logics of politicisation and depoliticisation are intimately intertwined, and how they can be further specified through the concept of hegemony and antagonism. In particular, we connect the dialectics of politicisation and depoliticisation to the logics of equivalence and difference, and the production and dissemination of fantasmatic images and narratives, before turning to the multiple rationalities, technologies and techniques through which government seeks to make controversial issues ‘governable’ and tractable. The chapter concludes by articulating the logic of depoliticisation, which consists of a process, a state of affairs and an accompanying set of practices, where all three elements are intimately connected to the primacy of politics. Finally, we connect these theoretical concepts and logics to the problems of policy analysis in the field of UK aviation and the struggle for policy hegemony.
Learning and training
Authors: Coulter Rory
Published: January 2024

This chapter uses Chapter 2’s life course conceptual toolbox to examine the two-way connections between education and housing dynamics. It begins by arguing that housing and educational careers are deeply interwoven in ways that tend to deepen social and spatial inequalities. Next, the chapter proceeds to discuss how processes of learning and training interact with two aspects of residential behaviour: (1) patterns of longer-distance migration and decisions about where to live, on the one hand, and (2) domestic living arrangements, housing tenure transitions and neighbourhood selection on the other. Overall, the chapter demonstrates that the connections between education and housing are not confined to young people but rather span the entirety of adulthood.
The bedroom tax and diminishing rights to home
Authors: Nowicki Mel
Published: January 2024

Chapter 2 focuses on the book’s first case study, the bedroom tax. To provide some context, the chapter begins with a brief history of social tenancy in the UK, before outlining the introduction of the 2012 Welfare Reform Act, which includes the bedroom tax. I go on to explore initial media and political responses to the policy, before turning focus to the financial and emotional hardships experienced by social tenants affected. The remainder of the chapter traces the multitude of ways in which social tenants are left struggling not only to remain in their homes, but also to assert their right to home in the first place. I explore how fear of forced eviction contributes to loss of autonomy and security regarding home. The chapter goes on to examine the impact of the bedroom tax on mental health and wellbeing. I then change tack slightly to consider how the Coalition government simultaneously introduced a range of welfare schemes designed to support middle-class people looking to buy their first property. I argue this is key in understanding how much rights to home differ along class lines. The chapter concludes by considering how social tenants internalise domicide, understanding themselves as undeserving of home.
How can we theorise better?
Authors: Hammond Michael
Published: January 2024

This final chapter looks back on what is meant by theory and theorising and suggests ways in which we can improve the way we theorise technology in education. It contains a proposal for a more distinctively educational research community focused on a critical exploration of digital tools and their contribution to education.
Introduction: Neighbourhood planners and the turn to participation
Authors: Yuille Andy
Published: January 2024

This chapter outlines the overall themes and content of the book. It introduces the places and the neighbourhood planning groups on which the case studies presented in the book are based, and the main issues motivating them. It describes the international turn to participation in which reforms to the English planning system are embedded, defining participatory democracy widely to include both ‘invited’ and ‘invented’ spaces. It provides some context and background to the other sites of participatory democracy that the book engages with: environmental justice movements, participatory rural development, and community organising in informal settlements. It concludes by providing an overview of the rest of the book.
Concepts, continuities and critique
Authors: Parker Jonathan
Published: January 2024

This chapter introduces the scope of the book and examines some of the reasons why social welfare in Britain is reproduced in the ways it is. It considers the driving forces underpinning welfare policies and practice exposing underlying dynamic and psychosocial links. The opposing elements of compassion for fellow human beings, and coercion to contribute and produce economically, form key elements within the development of welfare policy and practice throughout history. Often this involves hidden assumptions and underlying, unspoken beliefs about social welfare and we introduce elements of Foucault’s approach to discourse and Bourdieu’s notions of habitus, before conceptualising social welfare, in psychosocial terms, as an ambivalent activity and policy domain. The oppositional forces of good and bad recipients or deserving and undeserving ones are set within a context of psychosocial ambivalence. Social welfare is something which is both loved and feared, which helps explain the complexities arising within the diverse histories of welfare development, implementation and reform.
Policy analysis as a profession: the interaction between knowledge production and policy making
Authors: Díaz Cristina , Crudo Silvio A. , Monti María del Mar
Published: January 2024

This chapter reviews some theoretical developments in the field of policy analysis in Argentina, the field’s conceptual sources, and its interactions with the process of policy making. To do so, we will take as cases the academic production and professional biography of four contemporary Argentine authors who are prominent in the disciplinary space of public policy analysis. This chapter will reconstruct the frameworks of analysis of these authors, highlighting their main analytical categories, conceptual axes, and methodological approaches. We will then investigate the elements they take from the different current theoretical traditions and how they incorporate them into their corpus. In the third section of the chapter, we will show how these authors conceive the relationship between the production of knowledge in the field of public policy and the design, implementation, and evaluation of policies. We will conclude with a set of reflections on the relationship between policy analysis in the disciplinary field and public policy as a form of intervention on socially problematic issues. The sources used for the elaboration of this chapter will be the bibliographic corpus of each selected author, texts that analyze them by other authors, and in-depth interviews.
Prospective policy analysis: its development and application for Argentina
Authors: Cao Horacio , Blutman Gustavo
Published: January 2024

This chapter presents prospective analysis as a field of knowledge for the systematic and organized interrogation of the future. A large part of prospective studies is dedicated to anticipating certain vectors of social change over time. Possible and probable futures are determined by applying a methodology to perceive reality in an objective and intersubjective manner, and from there, use different tools to see how to intervene to achieve desirable results in the future. In this work, we will review the evolution of prospective schools around the world, and then develop the model proposed for Argentina. The future shows us three models that are more likely to prevail and appear in state and political programs. Using metaphorical language, we can talk about three aspects as ideal types of policies: the “continued dogma”, which represents neoliberal orthodoxy; “return to the future”; and “sinuous road”, both expressions of heterodox “heresies”.
Policy analysis at the subnational level: an exploration of a collaborative governance model
Authors: Fontana Silvia E. , Conrero Sofía
Published: January 2024

This chapter aims to identify and analyze the incorporation of international norms, rules, and discourses about disaster risk management in Córdoba province local governments’ policies and practices. In order to reach this objective, we designed a matrix collaboratively between both the academic sector and local government officials. The hypothesis that guides this study is the following: First, local governments incorporate changes at the discursive level (definition/design of policies) and in organizational design components. Second, the changes in the specific projects implementation related to the content of the policy are slower than in their design. Furthermore, local governments first adopted these modifications in centralized decision-making processes. Then, they added participatory processes that lead to a governance approach. Disaster risk management has been treated in governmental agendas as part of the policy-making process. This must be assumed by all sectors of society, especially taking into account UN Sustainable Development Goals. It comprises the planning and implementation of policies, strategies, and instruments. This approach to disaster risk management constitutes a great challenge for governments, which are challenged daily by the need to provide answers and solutions to crises generated by natural or anthropic phenomena, through social participation and collaborative work.
Policy analysis in Argentine local governments: a growing, heterogeneous, and controversial field of study
Authors: Grandinetti Rita M.
Published: January 2024

This chapter will characterize the production of public policies at the local level, based on the review of works on the subject carried out by academics, provincial and local governments, and public innovation spaces. We structure this work based on the following topics, which have been developed from the decentralization of the 1990s to the present day: first, the degrees of municipal autonomy in the federal regime of government: local governments have exclusive, complementary, and concurrent powers with the federal and provincial levels. However, this municipal autonomy is not a reality in all municipalities because each provincial constitution establishes different degrees of autonomy. Second, the different roles and functions of local levels of government: the decentralization of the 1990s changed municipalities towards an active local government, with an expansion of local functions. Third, local capacities for policy management: in this process of incorporating new roles and functions, municipalities have developed unequal capacities and knowledge for policy making. Fourth, the dominant types of intergovernmental relations in public policies: local governments develop a complex web of intergovernmental relations. We can characterize them according to their political or sectoral sign, horizontal or vertical, and cooperation or conflict.
Policy analysis by parties: political cadres formation and training for the public management in Argentina
Authors: Guardamagna Melina
Published: January 2024

The problem of the formation and training of political cadres for the management of the state is a concern that cuts across theory and political practice: what competencies do political cadres require for the management of the state? Where should these instances of formation and training be developed? How can we achieve their consolidation and institutionalization? This work is intended to contribute to the analysis of state policies aimed at the formation and training of political cadres. Argentina has not been able to stabilize a model for this formation, as prescribed in article 38 of the National Constitution. This is because successive administrations mixed the roles and needs of the state with the policy making. In the first place, we need theoretical conceptions and methodological strategies that guide the research. Then, we will analyze the policies formulated by the Argentine state at different times and under different theoretical-methodological paradigms. The interpretation and understanding of this process constitute an indispensable contribution in the search for possible solutions to a pending problem for Argentines, but which can also illuminate other cases in the region: the formation and training of our political elites.
Academic policy analysis: the development of production in public administration and policy studies in Argentina (2001–2019)
Authors: Rodríguez Exequiel , Rosconi Anabela
Published: January 2024

This study aims to investigate the development of the field of public policies and public administration in Argentina during the period 2001–2019. The purpose is to identify how this field has grown within the broader disciplinary area of political science. We will systematize and analyze papers, panels, and conferences presented at the National Congress of Political Science organized by the Argentine Society of Political Analysis between 2001 and 2019 and the National Congress of Studies in Public Administration organized by the Argentine Association of Public Administration Studies between 2001 and 2018. We will quantify the works presented at each conference according to the thematic area, line of research, and territorial and institutional distribution. This study will take into account social, political, and economic context at the national level and trends that respond to subnational level agendas.
Postgraduate university training in public administration, management, and public policy in Argentina: structure and distribution in the period 1990–2017
Authors: Montes Karina , Mansilla Gabriela , Agoff Sergio L.
Published: January 2024

The chapter shows the distribution and structure of the postgraduate university training offer in Argentina in the field of administration, management, and public policy in the last 30 years. Regarding distribution, it presents the proportion of this offer between public and private universities, as well as its location throughout the Argentine territory. Thus, we seek to account for the changes observed in the period under study. Concerning the structure, we seek to characterize the disciplinary biases of training, as well as the type of conformation of the curricula. The work shows the sustained growth of this type of offer, especially from the first decade of this century. At the same time, that we observe a certain tension between the formative structure and the purposes formally stated in the plans. Likewise, the distribution underlines the decisive weight of public universities in the consolidation of this field and their high concentration in the Metropolitan Region of Buenos Aires, which has also increased in the last 20 years. We tested our hypothesis of a mimetic isomorphism, which implies a structure with low heterogeneity at this level of observation.
Introduction: Contextual Safeguarding but not as you know it
Authors: Firmin Carlene , Lloyd Jenny
Published: January 2024

In this introductory chapter, we chart stages through which Contextual Safeguarding (CS) has been implemented since 2015. In doing so, we outline the four domains of the CS framework and indicate how the chapters in this edited collection deepen how each is understood. Reflecting on where we began, where we have got to and where we are going, this chapter explains why there is far more to understand about the implications of CS, and how the values underpinning the approach may assist on that learning journey. Viewing the domains of CS through the lens of its values brings us closer to an ethical adoption of the approach and illustrates the paradigm shift required in research, policy and practice for full system implementation to be realised.
From peers and parks to patriarchy and poverty: inequalities in young people’s experiences of extra-familial harm and the child protection system
Authors: Wroe Lauren , Lloyd Jenny , Manister Molly
Published: January 2024

A body of social work literature evidences the relationship between the wider contexts of young people’s lives, such as poverty, austerity, racism and so on, their experiences of harm and the child protection response to it. This literature casts a light on significant inequalities in outcomes for young people and stratified disparities in child protection intervention dependent on class, race, gender, sexuality, disability and faith. However, it is also established that the child protection system is increasingly detached from these wider contexts. Contextual Safeguarding (CS) has been developed as a framework for responding to ‘contextual’ harm, recognising that adolescents’ experiences of harm are often located in their peer groups, schools and neighbourhoods. The framework to date has supported local authorities, and their multi-agency partners, to understand and respond to harm in these spaces. Through this work, it is evident that inequalities shape young people’s experiences of extra-familial harm (EFH), their access to protective structures and systems and the extent to which they are identified as victims, or not, or diverted to youth justice spaces. Could CS, then, offer a framework for understanding and responding to context beyond, say, context as parks and peer groups to context as poverty or patriarchy – dynamics that structure these spaces? Could the CS framework also help us think about the role of multi-agency safeguarding work in reproducing inequalities in young people’s lives? Drawing on data from the CS research programme, this chapter expands our understanding of context to propose a holistic and structural approach to harm in adolescence.
Identifying and responding to structural and system drivers of extra-familial harm using a Contextual Safeguarding approach
Authors: Manister Molly , Wroe Lauren , Elias Carly Adams
Published: January 2024

As the previous chapter has shown, there is a case to be made for thinking about context beyond physical location and into how inequalities shape the places and spaces where young people spend their time. By exploring how racism, poverty, ableism, sexism and so on structure these contexts, we can gain a fuller understanding of the holistic nature of harm in young people’s lives. This leads to the question of how to think about, and respond to, structural harm when working with young people harmed in extra-familial contexts. Following on from the previous chapter, this chapter grounds a holistic understanding of harm in extra-familial contexts in the everyday practice of those tasked with responding. Using two case studies from the Contextual Safeguarding (CS) programme of work, we explore how inequalities have shaped young people’s experiences of harm and how a CS approach has been used to understand and address structural harm as a feature of young people’s contexts. Through these practice examples, we begin to reflect on ways forward for integrating a recognition of inequalities in a CS approach, both in direct work with young people and contexts and through child protection system change work. By building on theories of structural harm and its real-world application in CS practice, we can then consider how – moving forward – we develop a contextual response to extra-familial harm (EFH) that not only acknowledges structural harm and its impact on context but actively seeks to address it.
Value-informed approaches to peer mapping and assessment: learning from test sites
Authors: Elias Carly Adams , Thornhill Lisa Marie , Millar Hannah
Published: January 2024

Peer relationships are relevant to safeguarding young people affected by extra-familial harm (EFH) and, in recent years, local authorities have become increasingly interested in using peer mapping and peer assessment to support their safeguarding responses. This chapter explores some of the themes which have surfaced while reflecting on the developing practice with peers being piloted by the Contextual Safeguarding (CS) test sites. We foreground the views of young people to emphasise the importance of engaging and working alongside them in developing this practice. We use this to outline some potential benefits and risks identified in the data of safeguarding work with peer groups and reflect on what could happen when these practices are employed without the application of the values. The chapter explores three connected themes which have emerged from the data to help consider priorities for developing peer mapping and assessments. They include leading with a child welfare rather than crime detection lens, building relationships of trust over relationships of surveillance and moving beyond mapping to understand and respond to the social conditions of abuse. We contemplate the notion that how we undertake work with peers is as important as what we do.