bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A quantile regression perspective on external preference mapping
Authors: Davino Cristina , Næs Tormod , Romano Rosaria , Vistocco Domenico
Published: April 2022

External preference mapping is widely used in marketing and R&D divisions to understand the consumer behaviour. The most common preference map is obtained through a two-step procedure that combines principal component analysis and least squares regression. The standard approach exploits classical regression and therefore focuses on the conditional mean. This paper proposes the use of quantile regression to enrich the preference map looking at the whole distribution of the consumer preference. The enriched maps highlight possible different consumer behaviour with respect to the less or most preferred products. This is pursued by exploring the variability of liking along the principal components as well as focusing on the direction of preference. The use of different aesthetics (colours, shapes, size, arrows) equips standard preference map with additional information and does not force the user to change the standard tool she/he is used to. The proposed methodology is shown in action on a case study pertaining yogurt preferences.
Transgender health content in medical education: a theory-guided systematic review of current training practices and implementation barriers & facilitators
Authors: van Heesewijk Jason , Kent Alex , van de Grift Tim C. , Harleman Alex , Muntinga Maaike
Published: April 2022

Health disparities faced by transgender people are partly explained by barriers to trans-inclusive healthcare, which in turn are linked to a lack of transgender health education in medical school curricula. We carried out a theory-driven systematic review with the aim to (1) provide an overview of key characteristics of training initiatives and pedagogical features, and (2) analyze barriers and facilitators to implementing this training in medical education. We used queer theory to contextualize our findings. We searched the PubMed/Ovid MEDLINE database (October 2009 to December 2021) for original studies that reported on transgender content within medical schools and residency programs (N = 46). We performed a thematic analysis to identify training characteristics, pedagogical features, barriers and facilitators. Most training consisted of single-session interventions, with varying modes of delivery. Most interventions were facilitated by instructors with a range of professional experience and half covered general LGBT+-content. Thematic analysis highlighted barriers including lack of educational materials, lack of faculty expertise, time/costs constraints, and challenges in recruiting and compensating transgender guest speakers. Facilitators included scaffolding learning throughout the curriculum, drawing on expertise of transgender people and engaging learners in skills-based training. Sustainable implementation of transgender-health objectives in medical education faces persistent institutional barriers. These barriers are rooted in normative biases inherent to biomedical knowledge production, and an understanding of categories of sex and gender as uncomplicated. Medical schools should facilitate trans-inclusive educational strategies to combat transgender-health inequities, which should include a critical stance toward binary conceptualizations of sex and gender throughout the curriculum.
Effects of Jet-to-Jet Spacing of Air-Jet Vortex Generators in Shock-Induced Flow-Separation Control
Authors: Ramaswamy Deepak Prem , Schreyer Anne-Marie
Published: April 2022

Experiments were carried out to assess the influence of spanwise spacing between adjacent orifices of an air-jet vortex-generator (AJVG) array on their separation-control effectiveness. The array was applied to a 24° compression-ramp-induced shock-wave / turbulent boundary-layer interaction at $$M_{\infty } = 2.52$$

M
∞

=
2.52

and $$Re_{\theta } = 8225$$

R

e
θ

=
8225

. Three spanwise oriented AJVG arrays of small, intermediate, and large jet spacings were studied. Their influence on the mean-flow organisation and turbulence quantities was assessed using flow visualisations and planar particle image velocimetry across multiple measurement planes. The streamwise vortices induced by the AJVGs incited different control effects depending on the degree of interaction between adjacent vortices. The array with intermediate spacing achieved the most favourable effects with reductions in separation length and area of about $$25\%$$

25
%

and $$52\%$$

52
%

, respectively. This reduction was brought about by the formation of stable, interacting streamwise-elongated coherent vortices downstream of jet injection and the associated entrainment of high-momentum fluid. The smallest jet spacing incites vortex interactions to adverse strength, breaking up the coherent structures and even increasing separation. The AJVGs with the largest spacing display characteristics similar to single jets in crossflow, with only a local modification of the separation region. Turbulent quantities are amplified both by the jets and the separation-inducing shock; AJVG control reduces the amplification across the shock-wave/boundary-layer interaction and the intermediate jet spacing is most effective also here.
Within and Between Subject Spectral Fingerprints of EEG-Microstate Parameters
Authors: Zulliger Johannes , Diaz Hernandez Laura , Koenig Thomas
Published: April 2022

Early reports have claimed that EEG microstate features (e.g. their mean duration or percent of time covered) are largely independent from EEG spectra. This has meanwhile been questioned for conceptual and empirical reasons, but so far, EEG spectral power map correlates of microstate features have not been reported. We present the results of such analyses, conducted both within and between subjects, and report patterns of systematic changes in local EEG spectral amplitude associated with the mean duration, frequency of occurrence and relative contribution of particular microstate classes. The combination of EEG microstate analysis with spectral analysis may therefore be helpful to come to a deeper understanding of local patterns of activation and inhibition associated with particular microstate classes.
The non-Mendelian behavior of plant B chromosomes
Authors: Chen Jianyong , Birchler James A. , Houben Andreas
Published: April 2022

B chromosomes, also known as supernumerary chromosomes, are dispensable elements in the genome of many plants, animals, and fungi. Many B chromosomes have evolved one or more drive mechanisms to transmit themselves at a higher frequency than predicted by Mendelian genetics, and these mechanisms counteract the tendency of non-essential genetic elements to be lost over time. The frequency of Bs in a population results from a balance between their effect on host fitness and their transmission rate. Here, we will summarize the findings of the drive process of plant B chromosomes, focusing on maize and rye.
Procedural and outcome impact of obesity in cryoballoon versus radiofrequency pulmonary vein isolation in atrial fibrillation patients
Authors: Scheurlen Cornelia , van den Bruck Jan-Hendrik , Filipovic Karlo , Wörmann Jonas , Arica Zeynep , Erlhöfer Susanne , Dittrich Sebastian , Heijman Jordi , Lüker Jakob , Steven Daniel , Sultan Arian
Published: April 2022

Purpose

Cryoballoon (CB) ablation and radiofrequency (RF) ablation are the most common techniques for pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) in patients with symptomatic atrial fibrillation (AF). An increasing number of patients undergoing PVI are obese.

To address the paucity of data on outcomes of CB- vs. RF-based PVI in relation to body mass index (BMI) of AF patients.

Methods

All patients undergoing de novo PVI between 01/2018 and 08/2019 at University Hospital Cologne were included in this retrospective analysis. Patients of each group (CB-PVI vs. RF-PVI) were analyzed based on their BMI. Hereafter, procedural characteristics and AF recurrence rate were compared regarding different BMI groups.

Results

A total of 526 patients (62% male, 65±11 years) underwent successful de novo PVI (320 CB and 206 RF). In obese patients, two differences in procedural characteristics were noted: A significantly increased contrast medium volume in CB group and a lower fluoroscopy dose in RF group: contrast medium: CB 50 [40-80] vs. RF 20 [20-30], p<0.001; fluoroscopy dose: CB 392.4 [197.9-995.9] vs. RF 282.5 [139.8-507.2], p<0.001. The complication rate was equal throughout all BMI groups, regardless of CB or RF usage. For obese patients, a trend toward a higher AF recurrence rate was revealed after RF-PVI as compared to CB-PVI. In line with previous studies, the overall procedure time was significantly shorter with CB-PVI regardless of BMI.

Conclusion

For obese patients, CB-PVI is similarly safe and effective as RF-PVI. The significantly shorter procedure time for CB-PVI may minimize potential obesity-related complications. However, the lower contrast medium quantity and fluoroscopy dose in RF-PVI must be considered. AF recurrence rates were comparable between CB-PVI and RF-PVI.
A virtual sensor for backlash in robotic manipulators
Authors: Giovannitti Eliana , Nabavi Sayyidshahab , Squillero Giovanni , Tonda Alberto
Published: April 2022

Gear backlash is a quite serious problem in industrial robots, it causes vibrations and impairs the robot positioning accuracy. Backlash estimation allows targeted maintenance interventions, preserving robot performances and avoiding unforeseen equipment breakdowns. However, a direct measure of the backlash is hard to obtain, and dedicated auxiliary sensors are required for the measurement. This paper presents a method for estimating backlash in robotic joints that does not require the installation of extra devices. It only relies on data gathered from the motor encoder, which is always present in a robotic joint. The approach is based on the observation of a characteristic vibration pattern arising on the motor speed signal when backlash affects the joint transmission. By looking at the amplitude of this vibration some information about the entity of the backlash in the joint is gathered. Experimental results on simulated data are reported in the study to show the robustness of the method, also with respect of noise. Furthermore, tests on real-world data, gathered from robots installed in a production plant, demonstrate the efficacy of the technique. The approach is cost-effective, fast, and easily automatable, therefore convenient for the industrial world.
Strength assessment of Al2O3 and MgAl2O4 using micro- and macro-scale biaxial tests
Authors: Gross Jürgen Peter , Malzbender Jürgen , Schwaiger Ruth
Published: April 2022

The application of ceramics in advanced functional applications often requires thicknesses below a few hundred micrometers, rendering an assessment of the materials’ strength particularly challenging. In this work, different testing methods are combined to elucidate the effect of the volume and the surface area of the specimens under tensile loading on the fracture strength of Alumina of different purities and Spinel. A ball-on-3-ball test has been implemented into a micro-indentation system permitting as novelty a high control and acquisition of loads and displacements to study the biaxial fracture stress of thin specimens. In addition, ring-on-ring tests are carried out for thicker specimens. Weibull statistics is applied to analyze the fracture stresses. Considering all individual data sets obtained using the two testing methods, the effective volume approach appears most suitable for the materials tested. This conclusion is confirmed by fractographic analysis, where pores could be identified as the main failure initiating defect. The combination of a micro-indentation system and a ball-on-3-ball test as micro-and macro-scale biaxial tests represents an easy, fast and reliable methodology to investigate small scale ceramic materials.
Simulating the complete pyrolysis and charring process of phenol–formaldehyde resins using reactive molecular dynamics
Authors: Purse Marcus , Holmes Ben , Sacchi Marco , Howlin Brendan
Published: April 2022

We examine the mechanism of pyrolysis and charring of large (> 10,000 atom) phenol–formaldehyde resin structures produced using pseudo-reaction curing techniques with formaldehyde/phenol ratios of 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0. We utilise Reactive Molecular Dynamics (RMD) with a hydrocarbon oxidation parameter set to simulate the high-temperature thermal decomposition of these resins at 1500, 2500 and 3500 K. Our results demonstrate that the periodic removal of volatile pyrolysis gasses from the simulation box allows us to achieve near complete carbonisation after only 2 ns of simulation time. The RMD simulations show that ring openings play a significantly larger role in thermal decomposition than has previously been reported. We also identify the major phases of phenolic pyrolysis and elucidate some of the possible mechanisms of fragment formation and graphitisation from the RMD trajectories and compute the thermal and mechanical properties of the final pyrolysed structures.

Graphical abstract
When Things Turn Sour: A Network Event Study of Organized Crime Violence
Authors: Niezink Nynke M. D. , Campana Paolo
Published: April 2022

Objective

This study examines the mechanisms underpinning the emergence of violence among individuals in the organized crime milieu.

Methods

Relying on criminal event data recorded by a UK Police Force, we apply a longitudinal network approach to study violent interactions among offenders. The data span the period from 2000 to 2016 and include 6,234 offenders and 23,513 organized crime-related events. Instead of aggregating these data over time, we use a relational event-based approach to take into consideration the order of events. We employ an actor-oriented framework to model offenders’ victim choices in 156 violent events in the OC milieu.

Results

We find that the choice of offenders to target a particular victim is strongly affected by their mutual history. A violent act is often preceded by a previous act of violence, both in the form of repeated violence and reciprocated violence. We show that violence is strongly associated with prior co-offending turning sour. We uncover a strong effect for previous harassment as a retaliation cum escalation mechanism. Finally, we find evidence of conflicts within organized crime groups and of violence being directed to offenders with the same ethnic background.

Conclusions

Relational effects on victimization are consistently stronger than the effects of individual characteristics. Therefore, from a policy perspective, we believe that relational red flags (or risk factors) should play a more central role. A focus on harassment could be valuable in the development of an early intervention strategy.
Distinguishing the Origin of Asteroid (16) Psyche
Authors: Elkins-Tanton Linda T. , Asphaug Erik , Bell James F. , Bierson Carver J. , Bills Bruce G. , Bottke William F. , Courville Samuel W. , Dibb Steven D. , Jun Insoo , Lawrence David J. , Marchi Simone , McCoy Timothy J. , Merayo Jose M. G. , Oran Rona , O’Rourke Joseph G. , Park Ryan S. , Peplowski Patrick N. , Prettyman Thomas H. , Raymond Carol A. , Weiss Benjamin P. , Wieczorek Mark A. , Zuber Maria T.
Published: April 2022

The asteroid (16) Psyche may be the metal-rich remnant of a differentiated planetesimal, or it may be a highly reduced, metal-rich asteroidal material that never differentiated. The NASA Psyche mission aims to determine Psyche’s provenance. Here we describe the possible solar system regions of origin for Psyche, prior to its likely implantation into the asteroid belt, the physical and chemical processes that can enrich metal in an asteroid, and possible meteoritic analogs. The spacecraft payload is designed to be able to discriminate among possible formation theories. The project will determine Psyche’s origin and formation by measuring any strong remanent magnetic fields, which would imply it was the core of a differentiated body; the scale of metal to silicate mixing will be determined by both the neutron spectrometers and the filtered images; the degree of disruption between metal and rock may be determined by the correlation of gravity with composition; some mineralogy (e.g., modeled silicate/metal ratio, and inferred existence of low-calcium pyroxene or olivine, for example) will be detected using filtered images; and the nickel content of Psyche’s metal phase will be measured using the GRNS.
A 1D Hypoplastic constitutive model for expansive soils
Authors: Grandas Tavera Carlos Eduardo , Nitsch Antonia , Machaček Jan
Published: April 2022

This paper presents a simple hypoplastic constitutive model that describes the essential features of the material behaviour of partially saturated clayey soils observed in oedometric compression tests. The model is formulated in terms of net stress and degree of saturation. The total strain rate is decomposed into a portion related to the changes in saturation and a portion for the evolution of net stress. However, no distinction is made between plastic and elastic strains. With this strain rate decomposition, the maximum swelling strain/stress are obtained by simulating wetting processes under constant stress/strain conditions. In addition to the void ratio, the model includes two scalar variables to track the loading history (preloading). The calibration of the model constants using common laboratory tests is discussed. Confined and unconfined swelling tests under oedometric conditions with subsequent loading and unloading phases carried out on three different materials were satisfactorily simulated by the model. Its promising results call for an extension to a 3D formulation.
Soziale Selektivität individueller und strukturierter Promotionsformen revisited
Authors: de Vogel Susanne
Published: April 2022

Die Studie „Wie beeinflussen Geschlecht und Bildungsherkunft den Übergang in individuelle und strukturierte Promotionsformen?“ von de Vogel aus dem Jahr 2017 gelangte auf Basis des vom Deutschen Zentrum für Hochschul- und Wissenschaftsforschung (DZHW) erhobenen Absolventenpanels 2005 zu dem Schluss, der Zugang zu strukturierten Promotions- und Stipendienprogrammen sei weniger selektiv als der Übergang in Individualpromotionen. Am Beispiel dieses Artikels zeigt Neumeyer in diesem Heft, dass die Berechnung und Interpretation absoluter Ungleichheitsmaße wie Average Marginal Effects in der Ausgangsstudie problematisch sein kann, wenn die Randverteilungen der Bildungsalternativen stark divergieren. Bei einer Reanalyse der Herkunftsdifferenzen mit relativen Ungleichheitsmaßen (Odds Ratios, Relative Risk Ratios und relativen Average Marginal Effects) gelangt er teils zu gegenteiligen Befunden. Daran anknüpfend erfolgt in diesem Beitrag eine Einordnung dieser Erkenntnisse in den laufenden methodischen Diskurs der Ungleichheitsforschung. Ergänzend bringt auch eine Reanalyse der Geschlechterunterschiede aus der Ausgangsstudie abweichende Ergebnisse hervor. Zieht man relative Ungleichheitsmaße heran, zeigen sich am Übergang in Promotionen im Rahmen von Anstellungen als wissenschaftlich Mitarbeitende zwar nach wie vor die größten Geschlechterunterschiede. Im Vergleich erweist sich der Zugang zu freien Promotionen aber als weniger selektiv als der Zugang zu strukturierten Promotions- und Stipendienprogrammen. Die Verwendung relativer statt absoluter Ungleichheitsmaße hat auch Auswirkungen auf die Ergebnisse der Dekompositionsanalysen. Die aktuelle Diskussion demonstriert, wie bedeutsam die Wahl der Analyseperspektive und Ungleichheitsmaße bei der Messung und Quantifizierung sozialer Ungleichheiten ist. Der vorliegende Beitrag macht zudem deutlich, dass zukünftige Studien neben der Wahl des Ungleichheitsmaßes auch mit alternativen Forschungsansätzen die Erkenntnislage zur Selektivität formaler Promotionsformen weiter absichern sollten.
A Review of FE-FFT-Based Two-Scale Methods for Computational Modeling of Microstructure Evolution and Macroscopic Material Behavior
Authors: Gierden Christian , Kochmann Julian , Waimann Johanna , Svendsen Bob , Reese Stefanie
Published: April 2022

The overall, macroscopic constitutive behavior of most materials of technological importance such as fiber-reinforced composites or polycrystals is very much influenced by the underlying microstructure. The latter is usually complex and heterogeneous in nature, where each phase constituent is governed by non-linear constitutive relations. In order to capture such micro-structural characteristics, numerical two-scale methods are often used. The purpose of the current work is to provide an overview of state-of-the-art finite element (FE) and FFT-based two-scale computational modeling of microstructure evolution and macroscopic material behavior. Spahn et al. (Comput Methods Appl Mech Eng 268:871–883, 2014) were the first to introduce this kind of FE-FFT-based methodology, which has emerged as an efficient and accurate tool to model complex materials across the scales in the recent years.
Water Use of Hybrid Poplar (Populus deltoides Bart. ex Marsh $$\times$$ P. nigra L. “AF2”) Growing Across Contrasting Site and Groundwater Conditions in Western Slovakia
Authors: Fontenla-Razzetto Gabriela , Wahren Filipa Tavares , Heilig Dávid , Heil Bálint , Kovacs Gábor , Feger Karl-Heinz , Julich Stefan
Published: April 2022

The water use by short rotation coppices (SRC) has been a focus of ongoing research in the last decades. Nevertheless, investigations that consider site factors and present long-term monitoring of the components of the water balance are rare. This research quantified the tree-based transpiration in the 4th growing season of uncoppiced 1st rotational hybrid poplar stands (Populus deltoides Bart. ex Marsh × P. nigra L. “AF2”) in western Slovakia. The aim of the study was to determine the influence of meteorological and soil-related site conditions on transpiration rates. Three experimental plots were located in the Morava River floodplains, on loamy sand-textured soils with different groundwater accessibilities: higher, low, and fluctuating groundwater level. We measured sap flow (Heat Ratio Method), volumetric water content, matric potential, groundwater level, and meteorological variables throughout the growing season in 2019. The results indicated that transpiration in the three sites was almost constant during that period, which was characterized by distinct conditions. The average cumulative transpiration at the site with a higher groundwater level (1105 mm) was larger than at the site with a lower groundwater level (632 mm) and the site with fluctuating groundwater (863 mm). A principal component analysis (PCA) and correlation analysis identified that the contribution of meteorological and soil-related site variables to transpiration differed among the sites. Soil water availability and groundwater accessibility are critical variables for the water use of poplar SRC. We concluded that the combination of site conditions needs to be reconsidered for the expansion of sustainable short rotation plantations in Europe.
A Rapid Routine Methodology Based on Chemometrics to Evaluate the Toxicity of Commercial Infant Milks Due to Hazardous Elements
Authors: Gredilla Ainara , de Vallejuelo Silvia Fdez-Ortiz , Arana Gorka , de Diego Alberto , Oliveira Marcos L. S. , da Boit Katia , Madariaga Juan Manuel , Silva Luis F. O.
Published: April 2022

The toxicity and the health risk assessment associated to the presence of some hazardous elements (HEs) in dried (infant formula and powdered) milks due to manufacturing and packaging process, raw materials used, environmental conditions, etc. need to be determined. With this aim, a new methodology based on the combination of health risk quotients and non-supervised (as cluster analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA)) chemometric techniques is proposed in this study. The methodology was exemplified using the concentration of 27 elements, some of them HEs, measured in 12 powdered milk samples produced for children and adults in Brazil and Colombia. The concentration values were obtained by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after acid microwave digestion. Elemental concentrations vary depending upon the type of milk (initiation, growing-up, follow-on milks and adult milks). However, hazard quotients (HQ) and carcinogenic risk (CR) values showed no risk associated to the presence of HEs on milks. The methodology designed made possible to conclude that adults’ milks are more characteristic of elements naturally present in milk. Children milks present major presence of trace and minor elements. Between infant milks, sample H, designed for babies between 12 and 36 months, was identified as of poor quality. Moreover, it was possible to deduce that while the fortification process applied to children powdered milks is a probable metal and metalloid source, together with the manufacturing, the skimming process is not a contamination source for milks.

Graphical abstract
Rights and overall life satisfaction of 10- and 12-year-old children in three countries
Authors: Casas Ferran , Bedin Lívia , González-Carrasco Mònica , Sarriera Jorge Castellá , Alfaro Jaime
Published: April 2022

Previous research has shown that knowledge of the rights of the child and their perceptions about their own participation may contribute to children’s subjective well-being (SWB), and that satisfaction with how adults listen to children and take what they say into account is highly related to children’s SWB in many countries. Thus, the aims of this article are: (a) exploring the contribution to children’s subjective well-being of several items related to their perceptions of their own participation rights in different contexts of their lives; (b) analysing whether or not the ways in which children are listened to and taken into account by adults are mediating the connection to SWB in these children’s participation perceptions; and (c) analysing whether the relationships between these variables differ depending on the country, age group and gender. This article includes the third wave of the Children’s Worlds dataset with 7,570 10- and 12-year-old participants (51% girls) from Brazil, Chile and Spain. There are nine rights-related items and a SWB scale (CW-SWBS) used in this analysis. The main results suggest that perceptions related to children’s rights and the opportunities to participate in decisions affecting them in three different contexts (home, school and area where the child lives) significantly contributed to their SWB. Advancing the research into this matter can provide an opportunity to invest in psychosocial interventions that focus on improving children’s well-being and empowering them through the knowledge of their rights and their role as agents of public policy changes.
Six new species of Danaea (Marattiaceae) and the synonymisation of Danaea quebradensis
Authors: Keskiniva Janina Sofia , Tuomisto Hanna
Published: April 2022

We describe six new species in the neotropical fern genusDanaeaSm. (Marattiaceae). These areD. alansmithiiTuomisto & Keskiniva in subgenusArthrodanaeaandD. gracilisTuomisto & Keskiniva,D. lanceolataTuomisto & Keskiniva,D. strictaTuomisto & Keskiniva,D. tenuicaulisTuomisto & Keskiniva, andD. vanderwerffiiTuomisto & Keskiniva in subgenusHolodanaea. Recent synonymisations in the genus are discussed, a former synonymisation ofD. lucensA.Rojas is reverted andD. quebradensisChristenh. is synonymised underD. lucens.
Formulation of lyotropic liquid crystal emulsion based on natural sucrose ester and its tribological behavior as novel lubricant
Authors: Guo Yumei , Li Jiusheng , Zhou Xiaojie , Tang Yuzhao , Zeng Xiangqiong
Published: April 2022

The tribological behavior of oil-in-water emulsions formulated with natural lyotropic liquid crystal (LLC) emulsifiers based on natural sucrose ester was studied for the first time. Polarized optical microscopy, synchrotron radiation small-angle X-ray scattering, wide-angle X-ray scattering, and synchrotron radiation infrared microspectroscopy demonstrated that LLC emulsifiers were tightly ordered at the oil—water interface with a distinct nematic texture. The viscosity of emulsion was observed to change over time. Moreover, the zeta potential and laser particle size distribution verified the emulsion’s satisfactory stability. The frictional shearing test proved that the coefficient of friction of the emulsion versus pure oil decreased by 34.2%. The coefficient of friction of the emulsion with liquid crystal decreased 10.1% versus that without liquid crystal. Although liquid crystal emulsion did not exhibit outstanding anti-wear performance compared with pure oil, its wear volume was 29.4% less than the emulsion without liquid crystal. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope—energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM—EDS) proved that the tribo-film of the emulsion with liquid crystal was formed synergistically by the liquid crystal phase with the base oil. The formulation affecting the lubricant quality was further studied by orthogonal experiments. The resulting Stribeck curve behavior suggested that proper composition with a slightly higher viscosity can better reduce friction in both boundary lubrication and mixed lubrication regimes. The lubrication mechanism indicated that the periodically ordered liquid crystal was transported to the sliding asperity in the form of emulsion droplets, which bored the pressure and released the oil to form a tribo-film. This LLC emulsion is environmentally friendly and potentially non-irritant to the skin. Thus, it has promising application prospects as novel water-based and biological lubricants.
Tribological behaviour of fused deposition modelling printed short carbon fibre reinforced nylon composites with surface textures under dry and water lubricated conditions
Authors: Luo Ming , Huang Siyu , Man Ziyan , Cairney Julie M. , Chang Li
Published: April 2022

Fused deposition modelling (FDM) printed short carbon fibre reinforced nylon (SCFRN) composites were fabricated. The friction and wear behaviour of printed materials were systematically investigated under both dry sliding and water lubricated conditions. The results showed that with short fibre enhancements, the printed SCFRN achieved a lower friction coefficient and higher wear resistance than nylon under all tested conditions. Further, under water lubricated conditions, the printed SCFRN exhibited a low, stable friction coefficient due to the cooling and lubricating effects of water. However, the specific wear rate of the printed specimens could be higher than that obtained under dry sliding conditions, especially when the load was relatively low. The square textured surface was designed and created in the printing process to improve materials’ tribological performance. It was found that with the textured surface, the wear resistance of the printed SCFRN was improved under dry sliding conditions, which could be explained by the debris collection or cleaning effect of surface texture. However, such a cleaning effect was less noticeable under lubricated conditions, as the liquid could clean the surface effectively. On the other hand, surface textures could increase the surface area exposed to water, causing surface softening due to the higher water absorption rate. As a result, the samples having surface textures showed higher wear rates under lubricated conditions. The work has provided new insights into designing wear resistant polymer materials using three-dimensional (3D) printing technologies, subjected to different sliding conditions.
Two-dimensional molybdenum carbide (MXene) as an efficient nanoadditive for achieving superlubricity under ultrahigh pressure
Authors: Yi Shuang , Guo Yitong , Li Jinjin , Zhang Yuxin , Zhou Aiguo , Luo Jianbin
Published: April 2022

In this study, a robust macroscale liquid superlubricity with a coefficient of friction of 0.004 was achieved by introducing molybdenum carbide (Mo2CTx) MXene nanoparticles as lubricating additives in a lithium hexafluorophosphate-based ionic liquid at Si3N4—sapphire interfaces. The maximal contact pressure in the superlubricity state could reach 1.42 GPa, which far exceeds the limit of the superlubricity regime in previous studies. The results indicate that a composite tribofilm (mainly containing molybdenum oxide and phosphorus oxide) that formed at the interface by a tribochemical reaction contributed to the excellent antiwear performance. Furthermore, the extremely low shear strength of the tribofilm and the interlayers of Mo2CTx MXene contributed to the superlubricity. This work demonstrates the promising potential of Mo2CTx MXene in improving superlubricity properties, which could accelerate the application of superlubricity in mechanical systems.
A reproducible methodology for absolute viral quantification and viability determination in mechanical inoculations of wheat streak mosaic virus
Authors: Ranabhat Nar B. , Bruce Myron A. , Fellers John P. , Shoup Rupp Jessica L.
Published: April 2022

Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) is a common wheat virus causing economic losses to production in the Great Plains of North America. Reproducible inoculation of WSMV by mechanical methods is essential to evaluate the resistance in breeding lines and relies on successful inoculation and infectivity of the virus particles. We used reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) for absolute quantification of viral genome copy numbers in both WSMV inoculum and in infected wheat leaves. A time-course study was designed to determine the viability of WSMV in inoculum over time as well as the copy number related to the phenotypic rating scale. In the phosphate inoculation buffer, WSMV was stable with average viral genome copy number 1.86 × 106 ± 4.85 × 105. Plants inoculated with this inoculation buffer using finger rub mechanical inoculation contained WSMV genome copy numbers in the infected leaves ranging between 2.66 × 104and 4.69 × 106at 21 to 28 days post-inoculation. Viral copy numbers were statistically similar between leaves inoculated immediately and those inoculated at later time points. There was a weak linear relationship between phenotypic rating score and copy number in infected leaves with the linear model explaining 40% of the variability (R2 = 0.40) indicating the difficulty in disease assessment based solely on phenotypic symptoms. This work describes an accurate methodology to quantify virus concentration in the inoculum and infected plants, as well as emphasizes the demand for absolute measurement of virus load to validate the subjective assessment for unbiased viral disease assessment.
An FA-SegNet Image Segmentation Model Based on Fuzzy Attention and Its Application in Cardiac MRI Segmentation
Authors: Yang Ruiping , Yu Jiguo , Yin Jian , Liu Kun , Xu Shaohua
Published: April 2022

Aiming at the medical images segmentation with low-recognition and high background noise, a deep convolution neural network image segmentation model based on fuzzy attention mechanism is proposed, which is called FA-SegNet. It takes SegNet as the basic framework. In the down-sampling module for image feature extraction, a fuzzy channel-attention module is added to strengthen the discrimination of different target regions. In the up-sampling module for image size restoration and multi-scale feature fusion, a fuzzy spatial-attention module is added to reduce the loss of image details and expand the receptive field. In this paper, fuzzy cognition is introduced into the feature fusion of CNNs. Based on the attention mechanism, fuzzy membership is used to re-calibrate the importance of the pixel value in local regions. It can strengthen the distinguishing ability of image features, and the fusion ability of the contextual information, which improves the segmentation accuracy of the target regions. Taking MRI segmentation as an experimental example, multiple targets such as the left ventricles, right ventricles, and left ventricular myocardium are selected as the segmentation targets. The pixels accuracy is 92.47%, the mean intersection to union is 86.18%, and the Dice coefficient is 92.44%, which are improved compared with other methods. It verifies the accuracy and applicability of the proposed method for the medical images segmentation, especially the targets with low-recognition and serious occlusion.
Ecclesiastes and the Meaning of Life in the Ancient World
Authors: Keefer Arthur
Published: April 2022

In this book, Arthur Keefer offers a timely assessment of Ecclesiastes and what it has to do with the meaning of life. Drawing on recent psychological research, he argues that this Hebrew Bible text associates the meaning of life with various types of suffering in life. Keefer here situates Ecclesiastes within its ancient intellectual world. Offering an analysis of contemporary texts from Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, he demonstrates that concerns about meaning and suffering were widespread in the greater Mediterranean world. Ecclesiastes, however, handled the matters of suffering and meaning in an unprecedented way and to an unprecedented degree. With its rigorous commitment to precise definitions of life's meaning, Keefer's book provides a comprehensive set of definitions for “the meaning of life” as well as a conclusive point of reference for interpreters of Ecclesiastes. It also opens avenues for the interdisciplinary interpretation of texts from the ancient world.
Pragmatic Inferences and Moral Factors in Treaty Interpretation—Applying Experimental Linguistics to International Law
Authors: Pirker Benedikt , Skoczeń Izabela
Published: April 2022

The article argues, based on results from massive online survey experiments, that, just as the utterances from ordinary conversation, legal rules can convey a surplus meaning, which is more than just the amalgam of the meanings of the words which are employed in the legal rule’s formulation. More precisely, the experiments check whether a typology of the types of this surplus meaning—pragmatic typology—describes adequately the psychological processing of, not only everyday speech, but also legal rules. In two experiments—total N = 733—we find that in morally neutral cases the pragmatic typology adequately describes the psychological processes involved in the interpretation of a legal rule. However, we also find that in morally valenced cases, it is rather the moral inferences carried by participants that shape the pragmatic inferences than the other way around.
How Insights on Bounded Rationality Could Inform the International Law of Environmental Assessments
Authors: van der Zee Eva
Published: April 2022

This article assesses how the bounded rationality of the public, planning authorities, and experts distorts the environmental assessment (EA) process and how the international law on EAs could overcome such distortions. Data was gathered through the analysis of relevant law and policy documents, as well as authoritative court texts. This article concludes that the current international law on EAs does not sufficiently take behavioral insights into account. Several ways as to how insights on bounded rationality could be incorporated into the international law on EAs are discussed.
Rotating opportunistic prevalence audit: A new pragmatic audit method is effective at identifying misuse of ciprofloxacin in a large academic hospital
Authors: Chen Justin Z. , Waldner David A. , Saxinger Lynora M.
Published: April 2022

The rotating opportunistic prevalence audit (ROPA) methodology is described with ciprofloxacin prescriptions in adults hospitalized at a tertiary-care center. Prescription appropriateness was assessed. ROPA captured 82% of all ciprofloxacin prescriptions; 69% were inappropriate. ROPA is feasible and may overcome resource barriers of prospective audit and feedback.
A unified theory of slender wings in asymmetric motion, with an application to a swimming sea snake
Authors: Iosilevskii Gil
Published: April 2022

The slender body theory is extended to accommodate cases where a wing, in generally non-uniform motion, sideslips at sufficiently large angle to make the flow separate from one of its long edges but not from any part of the other. In those cases, an approximately triangular wake forms to the side of the wing, rendering the pressure loads on the wing not only asymmetrical, but also dependent on the history of the wing's motion. The theory can have a wide range of possible applications, from estimating lift and drag of a slender wing in pronouncedly asymmetric flight, through analysing an aero-elastic stability of that wing, to estimating thrust, lift and power of a sea snake that swims at an angle to its body axis. Coherence of the theory is demonstrated through numerous numerical simulations.
On the enhancement of boundary layer skin friction by turbulence: an angular momentum approach
Authors: Elnahhas Ahmed , Johnson Perry L.
Published: April 2022

Turbulence enhances the wall shear stress in boundary layers, significantly increasing the drag on streamlined bodies. Other flow features such as free stream pressure gradients and streamwise boundary layer growth also strongly influence the local skin friction. In this paper, an angular momentum integral (AMI) equation is introduced to quantify these effects by representing them as torques that alter the shape of the mean velocity profile. This approach uniquely isolates the skin friction of a Blasius boundary layer in a single term that depends only on the Reynolds number most relevant to the flow's engineering context, so that other torques are interpreted as augmentations relative to the laminar case having the same Reynolds number. The AMI equation for external flows shares this key property with the so-called FIK relation for internal flows (Fukagata et al., Phys. Fluids, vol. 14, 2002, pp. L73–L76). Without a geometrically imposed boundary layer thickness, the length scale in the Reynolds number for the AMI equation may be chosen freely. After a brief demonstration using Falkner–Skan boundary layers, the AMI equation is applied as a diagnostic tool on four transitional and turbulent boundary layer direct numerical simulation datasets. Regions of negative wall-normal velocity are shown to play a key role in limiting the peak skin friction during the late stages of transition, and the relative strengths of terms in the AMI equation become independent of the transition mechanism a very short distance into the fully turbulent regime. The AMI equation establishes an intuitive, extensible framework for interpreting the impact of turbulence and flow control strategies on boundary layer skin friction.
Ringing in the papal restoration: Francesco Cancellieri's treatise on the Capitoline bells (1806)
Authors: Pattenden Miles
Published: April 2022

In 1806 the antiquarian Francesco Cancellieri wrote a treatise on the new bells fabricated for thecampanileof the Capitoline palaces, replacing earlier ones destroyed during the Roman Republic of 1798-9. Cancellieri's text, and the story of those bells which it contains, offers important insights into the significance of bells in early nineteenth-century Italian Catholicism and also about clerical responses to trauma and loss. Close reading shows how Cancellieri used historical techniques to reconstruct an auditory community around the bells, part of the wider programme of ‘resacralisation’ which took place in Rome at this time. His words also hint at a complex and nuanced perspective on how to reconcile Rome's papal and republican traditions, which contrasts to later, more reactionary endeavours.
Association of nightly fasting duration, meal timing and frequency with the metabolic syndrome among Iranian adults
Authors: Zeraattalab-Motlagh Sheida , Lesani Azadeh , Janbozorgi Nasim , Djafarian Kurosh , Majdi Maryam , Shab-Bidar Sakineh
Published: April 2022

Accumulative evidence indicates that meal timing is associated with cardiometabolic risks by deteriorating circadian rhythms. However, evidence is unclear. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the relation between nightly fasting duration, meal timing and frequency and metabolic syndrome (MetS) among Iranian adults. Eight hundred fifty adults were recruited in this study. Dietary data were collected by 24-h dietary recalls. Time-related eating patterns were determined as nightly fasting duration, occasions of eating, time and energy proportion of first and last meal and meal frequency on a day. The MetS was recognised on the basis of the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. A binary logistic regression was applied to examine the relation between meal timing and MetS. A significant inverse relation between habitual nightly fasting duration with MetS (OR = 0·74, 95 % CI 0·55, 0·99,P= 0·04) and ‘increased TAG’ (OR = 0·73, 95 % CI 0·55, 0·98,P= 0·03) was found after confounder adjustment. Also, habitual first and last meal energy had no significant connection with MetS. However, the odds of ‘increased fasting blood glucose’ were lower in subjects who consumed ≥25% of habitual energy intake in the last meal (OR = 0·60, 95 % CI 0·42, 0·85,P= 0·005). Having longer nightly fasting duration may be useful for decreasing the risk of both MetS and ‘elevated TAG’. These findings introduce a new insight that time-related eating patterns, instead of nightly fasting duration alone, might be related to cardiometabolic risks in Iranian adults.
Global stochastic optimization of stellarator coil configurations
Authors: Glas Silke , Padidar Misha , Kellison Ariel , Bindel David
Published: April 2022

In the construction of a stellarator, the manufacturing and assembling of the coil system is a dominant cost. These coils need to satisfy strict engineering tolerances, and if those are not met the project could be cancelled as in the case of the National Compact Stellarator Experiment (NCSX) project (R.L. Orbach, 2008,https://ncsx.pppl.gov/DOE_NCSX_052208.pdf). Therefore, our goal is to find coil configurations that increase construction tolerances without compromising the performance of the magnetic field. In this paper, we develop a gradient-based stochastic optimization model which seeks robust stellarator coil configurations in high dimensions. In particular, we design a two-step method: first, we perform an approximate global search by a sample efficient trust-region Bayesian optimization; second, we refine the minima found in step one with a stochastic local optimizer. To this end, we introduce two stochastic local optimizers: BFGS applied to the sample average approximation; and Adam, equipped with a control variate for variance reduction. Numerical simulations performed on a W7-X-like coil configuration demonstrate that our global optimization approach finds a variety of promising local solutions at less than$0.1\,\%$of the cost of previous work, which considered solely local stochastic optimization.
Dynamic occupancy modelling to determine the status of a Critically Endangered lizard
Authors: Turner Heléna , Griffiths Richard A. , Outerbridge Mark E. , Garcia Gerardo
Published: April 2022

Monitoring of cryptic or threatened species poses challenges for population assessment and conservation, as imperfect detection gives rise to misleading inferences about population status. We used a dynamic occupancy model that explicitly accounted for occupancy, colonization, local extinction and detectability to assess the status of the endemic Critically Endangered Bermuda skink Plestiodon longirostris. During 2015–2017, skinks were detected at 13 of 40 surveyed sites in Bermuda, two of which were new records. Ten observation-level and site-specific covariates were used to explore drivers of occupancy, colonization, extinction and detectability. Sites occupied by skinks tended to be islands with rocky coastal habitat and prickly pear cacti; the same variables were also associated with reduced risk of local extinction. The presence of seabirds appeared to encourage colonization, whereas the presence of cats had the opposite effect. The probability of detection was p = 0.45, and on average, five surveys were needed to reliably detect the presence of skinks with 95% certainty. However, skinks were unlikely to be detected on sites with cat and rat predators. Dynamic occupancy models can be used to elucidate drivers of occupancy dynamics, which in turn can inform species conservation management. The survey effort needed to determine population changes over time can be derived from estimates of detectability.