bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Complexes, residues and obstructions for log-symplectic manifolds
Authors: Ran Ziv
Published: November 2022

We consider compact Kählerian manifolds X of even dimension 4 or more, endowed with a log-symplectic structure $$\Phi $$
Φ
, a generically nondegenerate closed 2-form with simple poles on a divisor D with local normal crossings. A simple linear inequality involving the iterated Poincaré residues of $$\Phi $$
Φ
at components of the double locus of D ensures that the pair $$(X, \Phi )$$

(
X
,
Φ
)

has unobstructed deformations and that D deforms locally trivially.
Examining teachers’ behavioural intention for online teaching after COVID-19 pandemic: A large-scale survey
Authors: Khong Hang , Celik Ismail , Le Tinh T. T. , Lai Van Thi Thanh , Nguyen Andy , Bui Hong
Published: November 2022

Recently, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to rapid digitalisation in education, requiring educators to adopt several technologies simultaneously for online learning and teaching. Using a large-scale survey (N = 1740), this study aims to construct a model that predicts teachers’ extensive technology acceptance by extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and innovativeness. TAM has been a valuable tool to measure the adoption of new technology in various contexts, including education. However, TAM has been designed and principally applied to assess user acceptance of a specific technology implementation. This study has extended TAM to measure teachers’ technology-enabled practice (online teaching) with the adoption of various technologies. The proposed model explains teachers’ behavioural intention to teach online with a good fit. Our findings revealed the collective effects of TPACK, perceived usefulness (PU) of technology, and innovativeness on teachers’ behavioural intention to teach online post-pandemic. Moreover, the study identified training and support from school as a significant predictor for both teachers’ TPACK and PU. The novelty of this study lies in its model conceptualisation that incorporates both information-technology-based constructs and personal-competence-based features, including TPACK and innovativeness. Furthermore, our study contributes to the growing body of literature that addresses the online teaching adoption by schoolteachers in the post-pandemic era.
Assessment of high spatial resolution satellite imagery for monitoring riparian vegetation: riverine management in the smallholding
Authors: Rivas-Fandiño Paula , Acuña-Alonso Carolina , Novo Ana , Pacheco Fernando António Leal , Álvarez Xana
Published: November 2022

Riverine habitats are essential ecotones that bridge aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, providing multiple ecosystem services. This study analyses the potential use of high-resolution satellite imagery, provided by the WorldView-2 satellite, in order to assess its viability for monitoring riparian ecosystems. It is performed by calculating the riparian strip quality index (RSQI) and calibrating it with the riparian quality index (QBR). The methodology was implemented in the Umia River, which is characterised by elevated anthropogenic pressures (located in the northwest of Spain). The results obtained by the method have a 92% of veracity and a kappa coefficient of 0.88. The average quality value obtained for the RSQI index was 71.57, while the average value for the QBR was 55.88. This difference could be attributed to the fact that the former does not differ between autochthonous and non-autochthonous vegetation. The areas with more accurate mapping corresponded to stretches of vegetation with optimal cover (80–50%), with good connectivity with the adjacent forest ecosystem and few or no presence of invasive plants. The worst-scoring sites had the next characteristics: low connectivity (< 10%), low forest cover (< 10%) and a higher presence of invasive plants. The degradation of vegetation could be explained by the presence of agriculture and deficient land use rationing caused by the type of ownership of the study area. The application of this index through satellite images will facilitate the environmental governance of multiple ecosystems and in special riparian ecosystems, obtaining a quick and objective methodology, easily replicable in other basins.

Graphical Abstract
The Role of Pain Catastrophizing, Emotional Intelligence, and Pain Intensity in the Quality of Life of Cancer Patients with Chronic Pain
Authors: Anagnostopoulos Fotios , Paraponiari Aristi , Kafetsios Konstantinos
Published: November 2022

Pain catastrophizing (PC) is a negative cognitive distortion to actual or anticipated pain. This study aims to investigate the relationship between pain catastrophizing, emotional intelligence, pain intensity, and quality of life (QoL) in cancer patients with chronic pain. Eighty-nine outpatients with chronic pain attending pain clinics and palliative care units were recruited. Participants were men (42.7%) and women (57.3%) with an average age of 56.44 years (SD = 14.82). Self-report psychological measures were completed, including a measure of emotional intelligence, a standard measure of PC, a scale assessing pain intensity, and a scale measuring QoL. The PC scale was found to assess three correlated yet different dimensions of pain catastrophizing (helplessness, magnification, and rumination). Moreover, as expected, patients with PC scale scores ≥ 30 had lower scores in functional QoL dimensions and higher scores in the fatigue, pain, and insomnia symptom dimensions. Regression analyses demonstrated that PC (B = − 0.391, p = 0.004), pain intensity (B = − 1.133, p < 0.001), and education (B = 2.915, p = 0.017) remained the only significant variables related to QoL, when controlling for demographic and clinical confounders. Regarding mediating effects, PC and pain intensity were jointly found to be significant mediators in the relationship between emotional intelligence and QoL. Results are discussed in the context of the clinical implications regarding interventions designed to improve cancer patients’ quality of life and offer new insight, understanding, and evaluation targets in the field of pain management.
Promoting Diverse Youth’s Career Development through Informal Science Learning: The Role of Inclusivity and Belonging
Authors: Zhao Mengya , Mathews Channing J. , Mulvey Kelly Lynn , Hartstone-Rose Adam , McGuire Luke , Hoffman Adam J. , Winterbottom Mark , Joy Angelina , Law Fidelia , Balkwill Frances , Burns Karen P. , Butler Laurence , Drews Marc , Fields Grace , Smith Hannah , Rutland Adam
Published: November 2022

Little research has examined the associations between perceived inclusivity within informal science learning sites, youth program belonging and perceptions of program career preparation. This study explored relations between these factors at three timepoints (T1 = start of program, T2 = 3 months and T3 = 12 months after start). Participants were a diverse sample of 209 adolescents participating in STEM youth programs within informal science learning sites situated in the United States and United Kingdom (70% females: Mage = 15.27, SDage = 1.60), with 53.1% British and 64.1% non-White. Path analysis revealed that only perceptions of inclusivity for own social identity group (i.e., gender, ethnicity) at T1 were associated with T2 STEM youth program belonging. There was a significant indirect effect of T1 perceptions of inclusivity for one’s own social identity groups on T3 perceptions of program career preparation via T2 program belonging. This study highlights that, over time, perceptions of inclusivity around youth’s own social identity groups (i.e., gender and ethnicity/culture) are related to a sense of youth program belonging, which in turn is later associated with perceptions of program career preparation.
Diffusion tensor imaging changes in patients with glioma-associated seizures
Authors: Mader Marius Marc-Daniel , Deuter Daniel , Sauvigny Thomas , Borchert Patrick , Faizy Tobias D. , Bester Maxim , Westphal Manfred , Rosengarth Katharina , Schmidt Nils O. , Sedlacik Jan , Dührsen Lasse
Published: November 2022

Introduction

Structural white matter changes associated with certain epilepsy subtypes have been demonstrated using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). This observational study aims to identify potential water diffusion abnormalities in glioma patients with associated seizures.

Methods

Two cohorts from two centers were analyzed independently: (A) Prospectively recruited patients diagnosed with glioma who received preoperative DTI to measure mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) in regions-of-interest (ROIs) including the marginal tumor zone (TU), adjacent peritumoral white matter as well as distant ipsilateral and contralateral white matter and cortex. Data were compared between patients with and without seizures and tested for statistical significance. (B) A retrospective cohort using an alternative technical approach sampling ROIs in contrast enhancement, necrosis, non-enhancing tumor, marginal non-enhancing tumor zone, peritumoral tissue, edema and non-tumorous tissue.

Results

(A) The prospective study cohort consisted of 23 patients with 12 (52.2%) presenting with a history of seizures. There were no significant seizure-associated differences in MD or FA for non-tumor white matter or cortical areas. MD-TU was significantly lower in patients with seizures (p = 0.005). (B) In the retrospective cohort consisting of 46 patients with a seizure incidence of 50.0%, significantly decreased normalized values of MD were observed for non-enhancing tumor regions of non-glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cases in patients with seizures (p = 0.022).

Conclusion

DTI analyses in glioma patients demonstrated seizure-associated diffusion restrictions in certain tumor-related areas. No other structural abnormalities in adjacent or distant white matter or cortical regions were detected.
Astronomy and Culture
Authors: Salimpour Saeed , Fitzgerald Michael T.
Published: November 2022

Modern astronomy as a field of inquiry may be shaped by what we consider the “scientific” ways of knowing. However, the history of astronomy as a human endeavour dates back millennia before the “modern” notions of “science”. This long history means that astronomy is, at its core, built on a rich cultural diversity and history. This offers a rich potential that, while having been examined in various studies, has yet to be explored from a contextual pedagogical perspective. This paper offers an initial exploratory theoretical perspective on how social semiotics can be used to inform a conceptual framework. This approach not only brings notions of culture into the teaching and learning of astronomy but uses culture as the starting point in a way that does justice to the cultural diversity of the discipline and the world. In doing so, this paper develops two frameworks: (i) the Conceptual Framework for Culture in Astronomy Education and (ii) the Pedagogical Framework for Culture in Astronomy Education, both of these offer a novel approach to astronomy education.
Social Innovation: Drawing Lines Around the Appropriative Usage by Mainstream Sectors
Authors: Purna Nadeen , De Paoli Stefano
Published: November 2022

The conceptual malleability of the notion of social innovation has resulted in the appropriation of the concept in various sectors. The goal of the paper is to provide a critical view of such appropriation. We contend that this appropriation often includes the usage of the concept to advance agendas away from or opposed to that of the common good. This paper evaluates such problematic usage by identifying the distinguishing and core aspects of social innovation. These include the social need-meeting dimension geared towards marginalised or disadvantaged communities which is enacted via processes of social and/or power relations shifts of these groups. The paper locates the current trajectory of social innovation discourse to identify that it is in the actions of grassroots third sector initiatives, where the democratic side of social innovation is conserved, and calls for its advancement to prevent exploitation of disadvantaged communities and hogging of resources away from initiatives that are committed to it.
The efficacy of physical activity interventions in reducing antisocial behavior: a meta-analytic review
Authors: van der Sluys M. E. , Zijlmans J. , Ket J. C. F. , Marhe R. , Popma A. , Scherder E. J. A. , van der Laan P. H.
Published: November 2022

Objectives

This systematic review and meta-analysis examines the efficacy of physical activity interventions in the reduction of antisocial behavior in children and adults. Several possible moderators, including study design, sample characteristics (age, proportion male, and sample type), control group, and outcome characteristics (type of activity, duration, frequency), were also investigated.

Methods

A literature search was performed in the following databases: PubMed, Ebsco/SportDiscus, Ebsco/APA PsycINFO, Ebsco/ERIC, Ebsco/Criminal Justice Abstracts, Embase.com, and Clarivate Analytics/Web of Science Core Collection from inception to June 2021. Studies were eligible if they reviewed the effect of chronic physical activity interventions on antisocial behavior compared to wait-list, no-exercise, or attention control samples. The following studies were excluded: animal studies, studies reporting on acute exercise, studies including yoga or mindfulness as the sole measure of physical activity, and studies including substance (ab)use and/or smoking as the only outcome measure. A random effects model was used to calculate pooled effect sizes. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool (version 2).

Results

The search yielded 29 studies, of which 20 were included in the meta-analysis. Results indicate a significant small-to-medium effect (g =  − 0.26) with a 95% confidence interval ranging from − 0.48 to − 0.04 in favor of physical activity interventions. Significant moderators included type of control group, type of physical activity, and type of antisocial behavior, with larger effect sizes for comparisons with inactive control groups (g =  − 0.31), interventions containing walking, jogging, or running as the main type of physical activity (g =  − 0.87), and anger/hostility as an antisocial outcome measure (g =  − 0.42).

Conclusions

Physical activity interventions may be a promising way to reduce antisocial behavior in children and adults. However, due to the overall high risk of bias in the included studies, more sound evaluation research is needed to better understand the functioning and to improve the possible implementation of physical activity interventions.
A multi-analytical evaluation of the depositional pattern on open-air rock art panels at “Abrigo del Lince” (Badajoz, Spain)
Authors: Nicoli Maria , Eftekhari Negar , Vaccaro Carmela , Collado Giraldo Hipólito , Garcês Sara , Gomes Hugo , Lattao Virginia , Rosina Pierluigi
Published: November 2022

Microscopic observation correlated with chemical–mineralogical characterization was performed on pigment samples from “Abrigo del Lince” rock art site (V-IV millennium BC), in order to provide contributions to the study of prehistoric schematic art on granite in the province of Badajoz (Spain). The research objectives include the understanding of technological and cultural aspects, as well as of conservation and deterioration issues related to the pictographs. The multi-analytical approach encompasses the integration of microscopic observation, SEM–EDS analysis, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and ATR-FTIR and allowed to achieve a multispectral overview of the samples and to describe their varied composition and the alteration pattern which connects them. The main phases overlying the granitic bedrock and involved in this sequence are as follows: hematite, whewellite, and gypsum. While hematite could be stratigraphically considered the most ancient layer and assigned to the use of red ochre as a pigment, whewellite and gypsum are the main constituent of the alteration layer which forms a patina over the pictographs, due to weathering processes. Finally, the role of biofilms in rock art conservation is discussed, suggesting that, especially for what concern thin and homogenous layers of oxalates, their presence should not be necessarily considered an issue.
Multimodal medical image fusion algorithm based on pulse coupled neural networks and nonsubsampled contourlet transform
Authors: Ibrahim Sa.I. , Makhlouf M. A. , El-Tawel Gh.S.
Published: November 2022

Combining two medical images from different modalities is more helpful for using the resulting image in the healthcare field. Medical image fusion means combining two or more images coming from multiple sensors. This technology obtains an output image that presents more effective and useful information from two images. This paper proposes a multi-modal medical image fusion algorithm based on the nonsubsampled contourlet transform (NSCT) and pulse coupled neural networks (PCNN) methods. The input images are decomposed using the NSCT method into low- and high-frequency subbands. The PCNN is a fusion rule for integrating both low- and high-frequency subbands. The inverse of the NSCT method is to reconstruct the fused image. The results of medical image fusion help doctors with disease diagnosis and patient treatment. The proposed algorithm is tested on six groups of multi-modal medical images using 100 pairs of input images. The proposed algorithm is compared with eight fusion methods. We evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm using the fusion metrics: peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR), mutual information (MI), entropy (EN), weighted edge information (Q$$^{AB/F}$$

A
B
/
F

), nonlinear correlation information entropy (Q$$_{ncie}$$

ncie

), standard deviation (SD), and average gradient (AG). Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can perform better than other medical image fusion methods and achieve promising results.

Graphical abstract
When Islam goes to TED: features of a postsecular storytelling on Islam in new media
Authors: Mamalipurath Jasbeer Musthafa
Published: November 2022

New media studies on Islam are focused on investigating the characteristics of Islamic discourse or Muslim practices in digital landscape. Since there is increasing visibility of knowledge production on Islam by non-Islamic, secular middlebrow spaces such as TED, it is significant to examine their way of communicating Islamic ideas to a global audience. By conducting a discourse analysis of TED Talks on Islam, this study explores the dominant discursive strategies of TED Talks on Islam. By doing so, this study introduces how a more empirically and context-oriented understanding of the concept of the postsecular would benefit considerably from examining the discursive features of the contemporary nexus of Islam, new media, popular culture, and storytelling. Three main discourse features are found: (1) emphasis on a Judeo-Christian framework, (2) use of awe-inducing, personalized storytelling, and (3) secular translation of Islamic themes. While this emerging online-mediated discourse on Islam informs about new storytelling strategies, the language used adopts a highly attenuated perception of Islamic themes, and a great deal of traditional Islamic interpretation is replaced with excessively individualistic assumptions that are often tailored to cater to Western secular liberal mindsets.
A generalized Frank–Wolfe method with “dual averaging” for strongly convex composite optimization
Authors: Zhao Renbo , Zhu Qiuyun
Published: November 2022

We propose a simple variant of the generalized Frank–Wolfe method for solving strongly convex composite optimization problems, by introducing an additional averaging step on the dual variables. We show that in this variant, one can choose a simple constant step-size and obtain a linear convergence rate on the duality gaps. By leveraging the convergence analysis of this variant, we then analyze the local convergence rate of the logistic fictitious play algorithm, which is well-established in game theory but lacks any form of convergence rate guarantees. We show that, with high probability, this algorithm converges locally at rate O(1/t), in terms of certain expected duality gap.
Sustainable pathways towards climate and biodiversity goals in the UK: the importance of managing land-use synergies and trade-offs
Authors: Smith Alison C. , Harrison Paula A. , Leach Nicholas J. , Godfray H. Charles J. , Hall Jim W. , Jones Sarah M. , Gall Sarah S. , Obersteiner Michael
Published: November 2022

Agricultural and environmental policies are being fundamentally reviewed and redesigned in the UK following its exit from the European Union. The UK government and the Devolved Administrations recognise that current land use is not sustainable and that there is now an unprecedented opportunity to define a better land strategy that responds fully to the interconnected challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and sustainable development. This paper presents evidence from three pathways (current trends, sustainable medium ambition, and sustainable high ambition) to mid-century that were co-created with UK policymakers. The pathways were applied to a national integrated food and land-use model (the FABLE calculator) to explore potential synergies and trade-offs between achieving multiple sustainability targets under limited land availability and constraints to balance food supply and demand at national and global levels. Results show that under the Current Trends pathway all unprotected open natural land would be converted to urban, agriculture and afforested land, with the consequence that from 2030 onwards tree planting targets could not be met. In contrast, the two sustainable pathways illustrate how dietary change, agricultural productivity improvements and waste reduction can free up land for nature recovery and carbon sequestration. This enables a transition to a sustainable food and land-use system that provides a net carbon sink with up to 44% of land able to support biodiversity conservation. We highlight key trade-offs and synergies, which are important to consider for designing and implementing emerging national policies. These include the strong dependence of climate, food and biodiversity targets on dietary shifts, sustainable improvements in agricultural productivity, improved land-use design for protecting and restoring nature, and rapid reductions in food loss and waste.
Anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty in patients under 50 and over 80 years of age. Part 2
Authors: Raniga Sumit , Arenas-Miquelez Antonio , Bokor Desmond J.
Published: November 2022

Anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty is a widely used definitive surgical solution for end-stage glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis and is associated with good clinical outcomes. Anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty has a role for patients under 50 years of age who have exhausted nonoperative management and for patients over 80 years of age with an intact rotator cuff. Patients younger than 50 place greater demands on their replaced shoulders, raising concerns about implant survivorship and in particular the failure of the glenoid component. There are limited data on the long-term survivorship of anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty in patients under the age of 50 years in the literature. Modern bone-preserving designs utilizing newer materials may contribute to improved outcomes and survivorship. Achieving comparable functional outcomes in patients over 80 years of age remains a challenge with concerns related to rotator cuff failure. However, in appropriately selected patients over the age of 80 years, an anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty provides better pain relief and function than a reverse total shoulder arthroplasty.
A Township Complete in Itself: The London County Council Architects and the Building of Becontree, 1919–34
Authors: Metz Christopher
Published: November 2022

Between the first and second world wars, the London County Council (LCC) provided 82,000 working-class cottages and flats, of which 25,000 were built on the vast Becontree estate in the east of the metropolis. With these immense housing operations in hand, the LCC drastically increased its technical and administrative staff, becoming one of the largest municipal housing authorities in the world. This article sheds light on the organisation and functioning of the LCC Architect’s Department through analysis of the Becontree estate. Despite the extensive literature on municipal housing in the inter-war years, the council’s own architects during this period have remained almost entirely unknown. Contrary to the widespread preconception of the ‘official architect’, the LCC Architect’s Department evaluated and revised its organisational structure and managed to maintain a remarkable variety and complexity in its urbanistic approach — despite the overarching principles of standardisation and simplification, and despite its limited influence in relation to other departments within the LCC. Analysis of archival sources reveals the identity of these official architects and questions whether the organisational structure of the LCC Architect’s Department as a bureaucracy was reflected in the character of its housing estates.
Architecture and the Collective: Structures and Processes of Architectural Work in the GDR
Authors: Herold Stephanie
Published: November 2022

In the 1950s, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) undertook a strict centralisation and collectivisation of the construction industry, including the entire field of architecture. As a result, architecture was practised almost exclusively within the framework of state-controlled enterprises, the units of which formed ‘collectives’ that structured professional cooperation. In line with the political and organisational significance of the collective, the aim was continuously to enhance the efficiency of the construction industry and to integrate into the socialist system a branch — namely, the architectural profession — that tended to be perceived as bourgeois and individualistic. Against this background, both the role of the architect within the collective and the best functioning of such units on a creative and economic level were subjects of constant discussion. Yet the system also allowed various possibilities for latitude. Facilitated by individual personalities and intersubjective processes, personal and creative possibilities existed within an otherwise highly regulated system. This article explores the three levels of the meaning and function of the collective — as a political, bureaucratic and social space — by addressing its historical origins and nature and by examining two case studies in which, notwithstanding official theory, individual architects were able to exercise a considerable degree of creative autonomy.
Characterizing barriers to antibiotic stewardship for skin and soft-tissue infections in the emergency department using a systems engineering framework
Authors: Pulia Michael S. , Schwei Rebecca J. , Hesse Steven P. , Werner Nicole E.
Published: November 2022

Objective:

Skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs) account for 3% of all emergency department (ED) encounters and are frequently associated with inappropriate antibiotic prescribing. We characterized barriers and facilitators to optimal antibiotic use for SSTIs in the ED using a systems engineering framework and matched them with targeted stewardship interventions.

Design and participants:

We conducted semistructured interviews with a purposefully selected sample of emergency physicians.

Methods:

An interview guide was developed using the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) framework. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed iteratively until conceptual saturation was achieved. Themes were identified using deductive directed content analysis guided by the SEIPS model.

Results:

We conducted 20 interviews with physicians of varying experience and from different practice settings. Identified barriers to optimal antibiotic prescribing for SSTIs included poor access to follow-up (organization), need for definitive diagnostic tools (tools and technology) and fear over adverse outcomes related to missed infections (person). Identified potential interventions included programs to enhance follow-up care; diagnostic aides (eg, rapid MRSA assays for purulent infections and surface thermal imaging for cellulitis); and shared decision-making tools.

Conclusions:

Using a systems engineering informed qualitative approach, we successfully characterized barriers and developed targeted antibiotic stewardship interventions for SSTIs managed in the ED work system. The interventions span multiple components of the ED work system and should inform future efforts to improve antibiotic stewardship for SSTIs in this challenging care setting.
London Catholicism, embassy chapels, and religious tolerance in late Jacobean polemic
Authors: Allen Mark
Published: November 2022

Reacting sharply against the whiggish thesis that religious tolerance was a heritage of the Enlightenment, revisionist scholars have pointed to the many pragmatic concessions people made to tolerate those of other faiths prior to the eighteenth century. While they have underscored the contingent relationship of tolerance with neighbourliness in many important case studies, the historiography portrays early modern London as an essentially intolerant society for the city’s Catholics and a church on the margins. Through an examination of London’s embassy chapels reflected in vicious anti-Catholic polemic, this article argues that tolerance was not lacking in Jacobean London. It additionally shows how ambassadors’ chapels sustained a vibrant and visible form of Counter-Reformation Catholicism in the capital. Finally, it assesses how contemporaries connected both of these issues to tensions surrounding the ‘king’s two bodies’ and the execution of the royal prerogative. While this places London’s Catholics at the heart and centre of Jacobean religio-political tensions, the article concludes that it is ultimately the circular relationship between tolerance and intolerance that is key to understanding why a contested form of corporate Catholicism survived in the very heart of England’s Protestant kingdom.
‘Having drunk heresy with their (mother’s) milk’: English Protestant converts to Catholicism in Malta, 1600–1798
Authors: Ciappara Frans
Published: November 2022

This article analyses the conversion of 379 English Protestants to Catholicism in Malta between 1600 and 1798. It explores the motivations behind their recantation, the agents of their conversion and the role of dissimulation in discarding their Protestant faith. It ends with two remarks. First, people in the Mediterranean ‘knew no religious frontiers’.1 Malta, like other Mediterranean territories was a place with a mixed religious profile. Second, though English Protestants considered themselves to be the ‘elect’ and their country the new Israel, the two faiths were not mutually exclusive and could find common ground over the defence of Christendom.
Ecologies of Development: Ecophilosophies and Indigenous Action on the Tana River
Authors: Parker James D.
Published: November 2022

This article argues for a reorientation of African environmental history that incorporates localized ecophilosophies, racial ecologies, and environmental justice, and posits that doing so allows us to challenge the sociocultural and ecological implications of colonial and postcolonial environmental development more rigorously in East Africa. Focusing on Kenya, I argue that environmental justice-oriented histories of economic development elevate the subjectivities, cosmologies, and experiences of rural Kenyan populations rather than reducing the environment and its resources to their instrumental qualities On the Tana River, pastoral and riverine groups such as the Pokomo and Orma suffered and challenged the exigencies of water extraction in specific ways tied to their existing relationships with the local environment. By looking at the ways rural communities in arid regions framed their environmental relationships, we can begin to appreciate the specific modalities and cosmologies through which they resisted the imposition of cash crop agriculture and water development. The article demonstrates an interdisciplinary approach utilizing Black ecologies and environmental justice frameworks that restores vitality to the rural experience of imperialism and offers more rigorous critiques of global development dogmas under racial capitalism, particularly surrounding the omnipresent threat of ecocide driven by dispossession, resource extraction, toxicity, and climate change.
MARINE RESERVOIR EFFECT OF SPERMACETI, A WAX OBTAINED FROM THE HEAD OF THE SPERM WHALE: A FIRST ESTIMATION FROM MUSEUM SPECIMENS
Authors: Beck Lucile , Caffy Ingrid , Delqué-Količ Emmanuelle , Dumoulin Jean-Pascal , Hain Stéphane , Moreau Christophe , Perron Marion , Sieudat Marc , Thellier Bruno , Van Hove Charlotte
Published: November 2022

Spermaceti is a waxy substance found in the head cavities of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus and P. catodon). This substance had a variety of commercial applications from the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century, such as candles, soap, cosmetics and other compounds. Spermaceti was also occasionally used as wax for modeling sculptures. In order to date such artworks the marine reservoir effect (MRE) has to be considered. The chemical library of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris, France) contains samples of spermaceti studied by the French chemist M. E. Chevreul (1786–1889) at the beginning of the 19th century. Eight samples of substances preserved in their original containers were 14C dated. According to the whaling practices and the publications of Chevreul, we estimated that the spermaceti samples came from whales caught between 1805 and 1815. AMS 14C dating results are from 550 to 1180 ± 30 BP, R values between 393 and 1023 (± 34) 14C yr and ΔR between –168 and 504 (± 60) 14C yr. The values presented here are the first ever obtained for spermaceti. However, being based on museum specimens, further measurements on crude material would be necessary to refine these results.
Christology and Grace in the Additions to Augustine's De Haeresibus
Authors: EBER MICHAEL WOLFGANG
Published: November 2022

While a great number of manuscripts of Augustine's De haeresibus add to the text chapters on the Christological heresies that arose after Augustine's death, modern editions offer only a confused picture of their transmission. This article identifies three distinct sets of additional chapters, and analyses their sources, possible origins and theological implications. It demonstrates that their authors were taking distinct positions in the debate over neo-Chalcedonianism, the interpretation of Chalcedonian Christology that started to became dominant in the early sixth century. The additions also provide evidence that many neo-Chalcedonians saw an Augustinian understanding of grace as complementary to their Christology.
Vitamin D and smell impairment: a systematic literature review
Authors: Ang W W , Goh E T , Lai K , McKay-Davies I
Published: November 2022

Objective

Smell impairment affects 60–80 per cent of individuals aged over 80 years. This review aimed to identify any association between vitamin D deficiency and smell impairment, and determine the efficacy of vitamin D to treat smell impairment.

Methods

A literature search was conducted across four databases between the years 2000 and 2022. The literature screen was performed by two independent reviewers.

Results

Seven articles were included in this review. Four studies examined the association between vitamin D deficiency and smell impairment, with three studies identifying a significant relationship. Three studies investigated the use of vitamin D as treatment for smell impairment, which found complete resolution or significant symptom improvement after vitamin D deficiency was treated.

Conclusion

This review identified limited studies on this topic. As vitamin D supplementation is relatively cost-efficient, further large-scale studies should be carried out to investigate the efficacy of vitamin D for treating anosmia.
Hard ticks in Burmese amber with Australasian affinities
Authors: Chitimia-Dobler Lidia , Dunlop Jason A. , Pfeffer Timo , Würzinger Felix , Handschuh Stephan , Mans Ben J.
Published: November 2022

Three examples of metastriate hard ticks (Ixodida: Ixodidae) with apparent affinities to modern Australasian genera are described from the mid-Cretaceous (ca. 100 Ma) Burmese amber of Myanmar. Two nymphs of Bothriocroton muelleri sp. nov. represent the oldest (and only) fossil record of this genus, living members of which are restricted to Australia and predominantly feed on monitor lizards, snakes and echidnas. A female of Archaeocroton kaufmani sp. nov. shares its basis capitulum shape with the tuatara tick Archaeocroton sphenodonti (Dumbleton, 1943), the only extant member of this genus and an endemic species for New Zealand. The presence of 2 Australasian genera in Burmese amber is consistent with a previous record of an Ixodes Latreille, 1795 tick from this deposit which resembles Australian members of this genus. They further support an emerging hypothesis that fauna of the amber forest, which may have been on an island at the time of deposition, was at least partly Gondwanan in origin. A revised evolutionary tree for Ixodida is presented compiling data from several new Burmese amber ticks described in the last few years.
ADVANCES IN USING VECTOR AUTOREGRESSIONS TO ESTIMATE STRUCTURAL MAGNITUDES
Authors: Baumeister Christiane , Hamilton James D.
Published: November 2022

This paper surveys recent advances in drawing structural conclusions from vector autoregressions (VARs), providing a unified perspective on the role of prior knowledge. We describe the traditional approach to identification as a claim to have exact prior information about the structural model and propose Bayesian inference as a way to acknowledge that prior information is imperfect or subject to error. We raise concerns from both a frequentist and a Bayesian perspective about the way that results are typically reported for VARs that are set-identified using sign and other restrictions. We call attention to a common but previously unrecognized error in estimating structural elasticities and show how to correctly estimate elasticities even in the case when one only knows the effects of a single structural shock.
Large‐Scale Depletion of Nighttime Oxygen Ions at the Low and Middle Latitudes in the Winter Hemisphere
Authors: Li L. Y. , Zhou S. P. , Cao J. B. , Yang J. Y. , Berthelier J. J.
Published: November 2022

By analyzing the latitudinal distributions of ionospheric ions observed by the Detection of Electro‐Magnetic Emissions Transmitted from Earthquake Regions satellite at 670 km altitude in different seasons, we found that the large‐scale depletion of nighttime oxygen ions is prevalent at the low and middle latitudes of winter hemisphere (center ∼ 30°) under different geomagnetic conditions. The latitudinal width of the winter oxygen ion depletion (WOD) region is about 20°–60° at different longitudes, and its upper boundary latitudes are mostly lower than the midlatitude trough (|λ| ≥ 50°) of nighttime hydrogen ions (H+) near the plasmapause. In the WOD region, the density ratio of oxygen and hydrogen ions and that of their neutral densities (O and H) approximately agree with the chemical equilibrium relationship of charge exchange reactions (H + O+ ↔ H+ + O) predicted by previous theory, indicating that the charge exchange reactions are mainly responsible for the large‐scale oxygen ion depletion at the low and middle latitudes in winter hemisphere.
Solar Wind Impact on ENAs From Earth's Subsolar Magnetosheath
Authors: Starkey M. J. , Dayeh M. A. , Fuselier S. A. , Petrinec S. M. , McComas D. J. , Ogasawara K. , Szalay J. R. , Schwadron N. A. , Sokół J. M.
Published: November 2022

As the solar wind (SW) crosses Earth's bow shock, it is heated and decelerated, resulting in a hot and dense magnetosheath ion population. This increases the probability of charge exchange between a magnetosheath proton and a geocoronal Hydrogen atom, which produces energetic neutral atoms (ENAs). These ENAs propagate away from the magnetosheath carrying information about the inherent properties of the progenitor plasma. In this work, ENA fluxes from the subsolar magnetosheath, observed by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer, are compared to SW conditions. These comparisons reveal that the passband‐weighted average differential flux of ENAs is strongly influenced by the SW density, and that ENA spectra flatten with increasing SW speed and temperature, and steepen with increasing SW density. In addition, there is evidence from ENA spectra for different interplanetary magnetic field configurations that most of the ENAs observed by Interstellar Boundary Explorer come from the specularly reflected proton population in the magnetosheath.
Epigenome-wide DNA methylation analysis of whole blood cells derived from patients with GAD and OCD in the Chinese Han population
Authors: Guo Liangkun , Ni Zhaojun , Wei Guiming , Cheng Weiqiu , Huang Xuebing , Yue Weihua
Published: November 2022

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) had high comorbidity and affected more than 44 million people around the world leading to a huge burden on health and economy. Here, we conducted an epigenome-wide DNA methylation study employing 93 patients with GAD, 65 patients with OCD, and 302 health controls, to explore epigenetic alterations associated with the onset and differences of GAD and OCD. We identified multiple differentially methylated positions (DMPs) and regions (DMRs): three DMP genes included RIOK3 (cg21515243, p = 8.00 × 10−10), DNASE2 (cg09379601, p = 1.10 × 10−9), and PSMB4 (cg01334186, p = 3.70 × 10−7) and two DMR genes USP6NL (p = 4.50 × 10−4) and CPLX1 (p = 6.95 × 10−4) were associated with the onset of GAD and OCD; three DMPs genes included LDLRAP1 (cg21400344, p = 4.40 × 10−12), ACIN1 (cg23712970, p = 2.98×10−11), and SCRT1 (cg25472897, p = 5.60 × 10−11) and three DMR genes WDR19 (p = 3.39 × 10−3), SYCP1 (p = 6.41 × 10−3), and FAM172A (p = 5.74 × 10−3) were associated with the differences between GAD and OCD. Investigation of epigenetic age and chronological age revealed a different epigenetic development trajectory of GAD and OCD. Conclusively, our findings which yielded robust models may aid in distinguishing patients from healthy controls (AUC = 0.90–0.99) or classifying patients with GAD and OCD (AUC = 0.89–0.99), and may power the precision medicine for them.
SIRT2 promotes the viability, invasion and metastasis of osteosarcoma cells by inhibiting the degradation of Snail
Authors: Tian Yonghao , Liu Ruijuan , Hou Xiaoyan , Gao Zhixiao , Liu Xinyu , Zhang Weifang
Published: November 2022

Osteosarcomas (OS) are highly metastatic and usually lead to poor outcomes. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is reported to be a critical event in metastasis. SIRT2 exerts dual functions in many different tumors. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of SIRT2 in osteosarcoma cell metastasis and the question of whether SIRT2 regulates EMT have not been fully explored. In this study, we confirmed that SIRT2 was highly-expressed in human osteosarcoma MG63 and Saos-2 cell lines. The viability, migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells were inhibited by knockdown of SIRT2 and were enhanced by overexpression of SIRT2. Moreover, SIRT2 positively regulated EMT and upregulated the protein levels of the mesenchymal markers N-cadherin and Vimentin and the levels of MMP2 and MMP9. A xenograft mouse model showed that SIRT2 knockdown in osteosarcoma cells led to reduced tumor growth, decreased expression of mesenchymal markers and impaired lung and liver metastasis in vivo. Furthermore, we showed that SIRT2 interacted with and upregulated the protein level of the EMT-associated transcription factor Snail. SIRT2 inhibited Snail degradation via its deacetylase activity. Knockdown of Snail abrogated the promoting effects of SIRT2 on migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells. In conclusion, SIRT2 plays a crucial role in osteosarcoma metastasis by inhibiting Snail degradation and may serve as a novel therapeutic target to manage osteosarcoma.
Specialist multidisciplinary input maximises rare disease diagnoses from whole genome sequencing
Authors: Macken William L. , Falabella Micol , McKittrick Caroline , Pizzamiglio Chiara , Ellmers Rebecca , Eggleton Kelly , Woodward Cathy E. , Patel Yogen , Labrum Robyn ,   Genomics England Research Consortium, Ambrose J. C. , Arumugam P. , Bevers R. , Bleda M. , Boardman-Pretty F. , Boustred C. R. , Brittain H. , Brown M. A. , Caulfield M. J. , Chan G. C. , Giess A. , Griffin J. N. , Hamblin A. , Henderson S. , Hubbard T. J. P. , Jackson R. , Jones L. J. , Kasperaviciute D. , Kayikci M. , Kousathanas A. , Lahnstein L. , Lakey A. , Leigh S. E. A. , Leong I. U. S. , Lopez F. J. , Maleady-Crowe F. , McEntagart M. , Minneci F. , Mitchell J. , Moutsianas L. , Mueller M. , Murugaesu N. , Need A. C. , O’Donovan P. , Odhams C. A. , Patch C. , Perez-Gil D. , Pereira M. B. , Pullinger J. , Rahim T. , Rendon A. , Rogers T. , Savage K. , Sawant K. , Scott R. H. , Siddiq A. , Sieghart A. , Smith S. C. , Sosinsky A. , Stuckey A. , Tanguy M. , Taylor Tavares A. L. , Thomas E. R. A. , Thompson S. R. , Tucci A. , Welland M. J. , Williams E. , Witkowska K. , Wood S. M. , Zarowiecki M. , Phadke Rahul , Reilly Mary M. , DeVile Catherine , Sarkozy Anna , Footitt Emma , Davison James , Rahman Shamima , Houlden Henry , Bugiardini Enrico , Quinlivan Rosaline , Hanna Michael G. , Vandrovcova Jana , Pitceathly Robert D. S.
Published: November 2022

Diagnostic whole genome sequencing (WGS) is increasingly used in rare diseases. However, standard, semi-automated WGS analysis may overlook diagnoses in complex disorders. Here, we show that specialist multidisciplinary analysis of WGS, following an initial ‘no primary findings’ (NPF) report, improves diagnostic rates and alters management. We undertook WGS in 102 adults with diagnostically challenging primary mitochondrial disease phenotypes. NPF cases were reviewed by a genomic medicine team, thus enabling bespoke informatic approaches, co-ordinated phenotypic validation, and functional work. We enhanced the diagnostic rate from 16.7% to 31.4%, with management implications for all new diagnoses, and detected strong candidate disease-causing variants in a further 3.9% of patients. This approach presents a standardised model of care that supports mainstream clinicians and enhances diagnostic equity for complex disorders, thereby facilitating access to the potential benefits of genomic healthcare. This research was made possible through access to the data and findings generated by the 100,000 Genomes Project: http://www.genomicsengland.co.uk.