bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Memory for abstract control states does not decay with increasing retrieval delays
Authors: Schiltenwolf Moritz , Kiesel Andrea , Frings Christian , Dignath David
Published: August 2023

Recent studies have suggested that abstract control states (i.e., internal attentional states independent from concrete stimuli and responses) can be stored in episodic memory and retrieved subsequently. However, the duration of such a control state memory remains unclear. Previous research has found a quick and complete decay for stimulus–response bindings after 2000–5000 ms. Here, we tested a possible decay of control state bindings with retrieval delays of 2000, 3000, or 5000 ms. Five preregistered experiments used a confound-minimized prime-target task to measure the congruency sequence effect (CSE) separately for trials in which a nominally irrelevant context feature changed or repeated across trials. Analyses of the individual experiments did not result in conclusive evidence. A mega-analysis integrating the data of all experiments (Ntotal = 326) replicated evidence for binding and retrieval of control states, in that larger CSEs were found for context repetition trials. Importantly, Bayesian analysis indicated that this effect was not modulated by the length of retrieval delay. While this finding suggests that bindings of abstract control states can be relatively robust, we also discuss possible limitations of the present research.
Altered corpus callosum structure in adolescents with cerebral palsy: connection to gait and balance
Authors: Jaatela Julia , Nurmi Timo , Vallinoja Jaakko , Mäenpää Helena , Sairanen Viljami , Piitulainen Harri
Published: August 2023

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common motor disorder in childhood. Recent studies in children with CP have associated weakened sensorimotor performance with impairments in the major brain white-matter (WM) structure, corpus callosum (CC). However, the relationship between CC structure and lower extremity performance, specifically gait and balance, remains unknown. This study investigated the transcallosal WM structure and lower limb motor stability performance in adolescents aged 10–18 years with spastic hemiplegic (n = 18) or diplegic (n = 13) CP and in their age-matched controls (n = 34). The modern diffusion-weighted MRI analysis included the diffusivity properties of seven CC subparts and the transcallosal lower limb sensorimotor tract of the dominant hemisphere. Children with CP had comprehensive impairments in the cross-sectional area, fractional anisotropy, and mean diffusivity of the CC and sensorimotor tract. Additionally, the extent of WM alterations varied between hemiplegic and diplegic subgroups, which was seen especially in the fractional anisotropy values along the sensorimotor tract. The diffusion properties of transcallosal WM were further associated with static stability in all groups, and with dynamic stability in healthy controls. Our novel results clarify the mechanistic role of the corpus callosum in adolescents with and without CP offering valuable insight into the complex interplay between the brain’s WM organization and motor performance. A better understanding of the brain basis of weakened stability performance could, in addition, improve the specificity of clinical diagnosis and targeted rehabilitation in CP.
A solution for resource allocation through complex systems in fog computing for the internet of things
Authors: Faraji Fatimah , Javadpour Amir , Sangaiah Arun Kumar , Zavieh Hadi
Published: August 2023

To manage the IoT resources to process the massive amount of collected data in complex systems, Allocation of tasks to nodes to increase user satisfaction has been noticed by researchers. In allocating tasks, the necessity of a powerful auxiliary platform is felt. Cloud and fog networks are two suitable options for performing and completing tasks on the Internet of Things. In the cloud network, due to offloading tasks to remote computing centers, problems such as increasing complete time, increasing traffic in the network, and high energy consumption for the Internet of Things network occur. The fog network solves the problem of completing tasks due to reducing the geographical distance between Internet of Things devices and processor nodes. The devices in the fog network cooperate with the Internet of Things network’s diverse and variable nodes with time computing, storage, and processing resources. In this heterogeneous environment, the non-cooperation and dishonesty of malicious fog nodes through misrepresentation of shared resources and non-completion of tasks can disrupt the performance of the Internet of Things network. As a result, two fundamental challenges in the heterogeneous fog network include providing resources to allocate tasks and recognizing valid fog nodes. This paper focuses on creating a resource provider network to allocate tasks to authentic fog nodes with appropriate resources. When an Internet of Things node faces a shortage of resources and link prediction, it can form a resource supply network with neighboring nodes to solve the two stated challenges. For this purpose, in the first stage, efforts are made to select the most appropriate options among the neighboring nodes based on specific criteria. In the second step, reliable nodes are identified based on a trust mechanism, including resource trust and entity trust. In the last step, tasks are divided among reliable devices with sufficient resources. The evaluation of the proposed method in the OMNET++ simulator shows that the trust mechanism can lead to the identification of reliable sources and, as a result, reduce the time to complete tasks.
Stochastic-based vulnerability curves for the out-of-plane seismic safety assessment of URM walls
Authors: Bernardo Vasco , Campos Costa Alfredo , Lourenço Paulo B.
Published: August 2023

Earthquakes are a major cause of damage and human losses to the built environment, including cultural heritages, monumental buildings and historical centers. In the last decades, the seismic performance of buildings has received special attention due to the interest in the built heritage conservation and protection of human life, particularly with respect to masonry structures which have shown evidence of poor behavior once subjected to seismic loads. The present work contributes to the seismic safety assessment of the out-of-plane behavior of unreinforced masonry walls through a displacement-based approach, providing the capacity for different out-of-plane geometric indexes and its seismic response in different earthquake-prone regions. The analyses are conducted using a seismic probabilistic framework, considering the most common out-of-plane mechanisms, different material properties, various slenderness ratios, and a wide range of seismicity levels to cover the seismic hazard in Europe. The results presented can be useful for seismic safety assessment and to incorporate vulnerability models for seismic risk analysis.
Revising vulnerability assessments of montane birds in the colombian páramo to account for threats from climate change
Authors: Wheatley Christopher J , Beale Colin M , White Piran C L , Villaseñor Adrián , Sanchez Adriana , Cunningham Charles A , Hill Jane K
Published: August 2023

Tropical montane ecosystems are highly vulnerable to global climate change, but their species-level conservation vulnerability assessments generally do not incorporate climate threats. The Colombian páramo is a highly diverse montane ecosystem but it contains relatively few species currently identified as threatened on the IUCN Red List. We explore whether current assessments need revising to account for climate change threats for páramo species. We use a climate change vulnerability assessment framework to evaluate the risks and opportunities from climate change for 60 bird species within the Colombian páramo. We explore two potential climate change scenarios (RCP 2.6 and RCP 8.5), representing best and worst-case projections. We find that more than half (52–68%, depending on the scenario) of bird species will be threatened by climate change by the end of the century, but a very poor agreement between the current conservation status of species and their climate vulnerability score. We find ~ 90% of species identified as climate-threatened are not currently identified as being of conservation concern, representing a substantial new suite of priority species within the Colombian páramo. Overall, we identify up to 34 páramo bird species that are threatened by climate change but not currently listed as being of conservation concern. Similar mismatches may also occur in other montane taxa and so updating species risk assessments to account for climate change is urgently needed. Implementation of appropriate conservation actions is also needed to reduce species’ risks from climate change.
Asymmetric Bipartite Consensus of Nonlinear Agents with Communication Noise
Authors: Mondal Sabyasachi , Tsourdos Antonios
Published: August 2023

In this paper, the asymmetric bipartite consensus problem of a nonlinear multi-agent system is solved using Distributed Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion (DNDI) based controller. The application of DNDI is new in the context of asymmetric bipartite consensus, and it inherits all the advantages of NDI and works efficiently to solve the asymmetric bipartite problem. The mathematical details presented provide theoretical proof of its efficiency. A realistic simulation study is performed to establish the claims. The controller’s performance has been tested in the presence of communication noise, and the results are promising.
Allogeneic HSCT for Symptomatic Female X-linked Chronic Granulomatous Disease Carriers
Authors: Tsilifis Christo , Torppa Tuulia , Williams Eleri J. , Albert Michael H. , Hauck Fabian , Soncini Elena , Kang Elizabeth , Malech Harry , Schuetz Catharina , von Bernuth Horst , Slatter Mary A. , Gennery Andrew R.
Published: August 2023

X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (XL-CGD) is an inherited disorder of superoxide production, causing failure to generate the oxidative burst in phagocytes. It is characterized by invasive bacterial and fungal infections, inflammation, and chronic autoimmune disease. While XL-CGD carriers were previously assumed to be healthy, a range of clinical manifestations with significant morbidity have recently been described in a subgroup of carriers with impaired neutrophil oxidative burst due to skewed lyonization. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the standard curative treatment for CGD but has rarely been reported in individual symptomatic carriers to date. We undertook a retrospective international survey of outcome of HSCT for symptomatic XL-CGD carriers. Seven symptomatic female XL-CGD carriers aged 1–56 years underwent HSCT in four centers, indicated for severe and recurrent infection, colitis, and autoimmunity. Two patients died from transplant-related complications, following donor engraftment and restoration of oxidative burst. All surviving patients demonstrated resolution of their neutrophil oxidative burst defect with concordant reduction in infection and inflammatory symptoms and freedom from further immunosuppressive therapy. In conclusion, allogeneic HSCT may cure the phagocyte defect in symptomatic XL-CGD carriers and improve their recurrent and disabling infective and inflammatory symptoms but risks transplant-related complications.
Collusion Revisited: Polyadic Collusions and Their Contextual Determinants
Authors: Stiefel F. , Saraga M , Bourquin C
Published: August 2023

At the core of collusions are unconscious unresolved issues shared by two or more participants, interlocked in a defensive maneuver. The issue at stake is avoided at an intrapsychic level and externalized in the interpersonal space. Unresolved issues may pertain to control, intimacy, loss, dependency, domination, boundaries and so on.

This critical narrative review is based on a comprehensive consultation of the psychoanalytic, general system theory, family therapy and social psychology literature and is informed by our experience as psychotherapists, supervisors, and researchers. When working with the concept of collusion, be it as a clinician, supervisor or researcher, collusions must be delineated from other group dynamics. This might not always be easy. Moreover, reports on polyadic collusions and their contextual determinants are scattered in the literature of different psychotherapeutic approaches and lack precision at times. We therefore engage in a critical dialog with the literature and define different types of polyadic collusions, helping the reader gain a quick overview of this somehow neglected concept. Collusions occur in the psychiatric, psychotherapeutic, and medical setting, but especially in settings which ignore the unconscious and the impact of the wider social determinants on collusions.

Collusion is a very useful concept since it brings together different therapeutic orientations but also patients and clinicians, the personal and professional of the caregiver, as well as psychotherapy, psychiatry, medicine, and the social sciences.
Numerical investigation of thermo-hydraulic performance in an annular heat exchanger with sinusoidal vortex generators
Authors: Wang Yanru , Oon Cheen Sean , Foo Ji-Jinn , Tran Manh-Vu , Nair Sayshar Ram , Low Foo Wah
Published: August 2023

This study investigates thermal performance enhancement by utilizing vortex generators (VGs). VGs come in many designs, and this paper proposes optimizations for the sinusoidal vortex generator (SVG) when used in an annular conduit to improve heat transfer with minimal pressure drop. Two vital parameters of the SVG are analyzed, namely, blockage ratios (BRs) (0.1 and 0.2) and attack angles (α) (0–90°). The investigated fluid regime is turbulent, with the Reynolds number (Re) ranging from 5973 to 11,947. Three rows of SVGs are fitted on the surface of the inner pipe, where constant heat flux is applied, while the outer pipe wall is entirely insulated. The results indicate that the highest Nusselt number is enhanced by 20.4% over the smooth pipe when the case with BR = 0.2 and α = 90° is used at Re = 5973. However, the friction factor increases by 56.5% for the same case. Two types of transverse vortices are identified, where one type has its rotational axis normal to the inner pipe surface, and the other has its rotational axis parallel to the inner pipe surface. Those vortices with the axis perpendicular to the pipe surface merge with the fluid above the SVG to develop longitudinal vortices in different BRs and α. The case with BR = 0.2 and α = 15° yields the greatest average performance evaluation criterion (PEC) compared to other tested cases with a value of 1.054. This study finds that SVGs can contribute to a more efficient annular pipe-based heat transfer system.
Multi-objective structural optimization of vehicle wheels: a method for preliminary design
Authors: Stabile P. , Ballo F. , Gobbi M. , Previati G.
Published: August 2023

The paper proposes an optimization procedure to be adopted by wheels design engineers for the identification of preliminary solutions to design lightweight and safe wheels. In particular, decisions related to the sizing of the wheel rim, to the number and type of spokes and to the spokes structural layout are addressed. The process relies on the combination of a simplified finite element model of the tire/wheel assembly and artificial neural networks used for global approximation, within a multi-objective optimization framework. Mass and compliance of the wheel are minimized at the same time, with constraints on structural safety and manufacturing. The method is applied to the preliminary design of the wheel of a lightweight electric vehicle specifically designed for energy efficiency competitions and allows to derive simple and general design guidelines for developing efficient products.
Gender differences in item nonresponse in the PISA 2018 student questionnaire
Authors: Marcq Kseniia , Braeken Johan
Published: August 2023

Gender differences in item nonresponse are well-documented in high-stakes achievement tests, where female students are shown to omit more items than male students. These gender differences in item nonresponse are often linked to differential risk-taking strategies, with females being risk-averse and unwilling to guess on an item, even if it could gain them credits. In low-stakes settings, similar trends should not apply, as the students carry no consequence for their performance. Instead, test-taking motivation is argued to be the pivoting factor, with female students seen as more motivated and omitting fewer items than male students. In contrast to the high- and low-stakes achievement tests, less is known about gender differences in item nonresponse in student background questionnaires. Using cross-classified mixed effects models, we examined gender differences in item nonresponse on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 student questionnaire across 80 countries and 71 scales. On average, the odds of male students omitting a questionnaire item were double the odds of female students, consistent with the expected trend in the low-stakes setting. However, we show that gender differences in item nonresponse are not merely a function of the stakes involved for individual students but a more complex phenomenon that is context-dependent and not necessarily stable across countries, scales’ formats, and contents. We argue that examining differences in item nonresponse patterns could serve as a source of additional information about the students’ test-taking behaviour and the quality of the questionnaire.
Laws beyond spacetime
Authors: Lam Vincent , Wüthrich Christian
Published: August 2023

Quantum gravity’s suggestion that spacetime may be emergent and so only exist contingently would force a radical reconception of extant analyses of laws of nature. Humeanism presupposes a spatiotemporal mosaic of particular matters of fact on which laws supervene; primitivism and dispositionalism conceive of the action of primitive laws or of dispositions as a process of ‘nomic production’ unfolding over time. We show how the Humean supervenience basis of non-modal facts and primitivist or dispositionalist accounts of nomic production can be reconceived, avoiding a reliance on fundamental spacetime. However, it is unclear that naturalistic forms of Humeanism can maintain their commitment to there being no necessary connections among distinct entities. Furthermore, non-temporal conceptions of production render this central concept more elusive than before. In fact, the challenges run so deep that the survival of the investigated analyses into the era of quantum gravity is questionable.
Joint Latent Space Model for Social Networks with Multivariate Attributes
Authors: Wang Selena , Paul Subhadeep , De Boeck Paul
Published: August 2023

In social, behavioral and economic sciences, researchers are interested in modeling a social network among a group of individuals, along with their attributes. The attributes can be responses to survey questionnaires and are often high dimensional. We propose a joint latent space model (JLSM) that summarizes information from the social network and the multivariate attributes in a person-attribute joint latent space. We develop a variational Bayesian expectation–maximization estimation algorithm to estimate the attribute and person locations in the joint latent space. This methodology allows for effective integration, informative visualization and prediction of social networks and attributes. Using JLSM, we explore the French financial elites based on their social networks and their career, political views and social status. We observe a division in the social circles of the French elites in accordance with the differences in their attributes. We analyze user networks and behaviors in multimodal social media systems like YouTube. A R package “jlsm” is developed to fit the models proposed in this paper and is publicly available from the CRAN repository https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/jlsm/jlsm.pdf.
The Revised Compound Psychological Capital Scale (CPC-12R): Validity and Cross-Cultural Invariance in an Organizational Context
Authors: Prochazka Jakub , Kacmar Pavol , Lebedova Tereza , Dudasova Ludmila , Vaculik Martin
Published: August 2023

This study aims to validate the revised Compound Psychological Capital scale (CPC-12R) which is a recently published inventory for measuring psychological capital across contexts. The data from three representative samples of employees from the U.S. (n = 456), the Czech Republic (n = 966), and Slovakia (n = 965) revealed a weak measurement invariance across the three cultures, a high internal consistency of all subscales and a good fit of the data to the theoretical model of psychological capital. The data obtained by means of the English version of the CPC-12R showed a very strong correlation with the established Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ), medium to strong positive correlations with work engagement, job satisfaction and positive affect, and a weak negative correlation with negative affect. Therefore, this study demonstrates the reliability and factorial, concurrent and convergent validity of CPC-12R in the context of organizations. The study also provides indicative norms for measuring psychological capital in three populations and refers to the limitations of the CPC-12R, in particular, the very small residual variance in first-order factors and the lack of strong invariance across cultures, which prevents a meaningful comparison of factor means across countries.
Foreign Equity Valuations of Emerging Market Firms: The Effects of Institutional Distance and Information Spillovers
Authors: Purkayastha Anish , Filatotchev Igor
Published: August 2023

This paper investigates the so far unexplored theoretical tension associated with foreign investor valuations of emerging market firms (EMFs) that tap into global capital markets. One line of argument expands the liability of foreignness perspective into the capital market domain where a foreign firm faces legitimacy and unfamiliarity issues. In contrast, there is recognition of the benefits to global investors in EMFs associated with geographic portfolio diversification. Our core premise is that EMFs face a cost–benefit trade-off associated with the extent of institutional distance when venturing abroad in search of financial resources. Based on a theoretical model grounded in institutional theory, we find a curvilinear effect of institutional distance on foreign equity valuations. Furthermore, we show that information spillovers through a focal firm’s domestic capital market and international product market strategies moderate this relationship.
Adsorption limitation investigation on olefins for Cu-BTC
Authors: Yang Xiao , Wang Yunbo , Cao Weihua , Jiang Ruizheng , Xie Guoxin , Cao Yuying , Qi Xiaowen
Published: August 2023

To utilize Cu-benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate (Cu-BTC) adsorbed lubricant oils in the self-lubricating field, the adsorption properties of Cu-BTC on different 1-olefins must be clarified. In this work, 1-hexene, 1-octene, 1-nonene, 1-decene, 1-undecene, and 1-dodecene were studied by the Monte Carlo method and experimentally. The adsorption limit of Cu-BTC for n-olefins was determined as 1-undecene by the adsorption isotherms. This suggested a limit for even straight-chain molecules to the adsorption of Cu-BTC. The maximum ratio of the olefin length of the largest pore diameter (L/D) of Cu-BTC was approximately 1.57. Furthermore, theoretical calculations (radial distribution function (RDF)) and experiments (infrared (IR) spectra) confirmed the interaction of n-olefin adsorbates and the Cu-BTC framework occurred between the -CH= of olefins and the Cu and O atoms of the Cu-BTC framework. This work adds to the understanding and investigation of the adsorption of liquid lubricants using Cu-BTC as a metal-organic framework (MOF).
Direct Alcohol Fuel Cells: A Comparative Review of Acidic and Alkaline Systems
Authors: Berretti Enrico , Osmieri Luigi , Baglio Vincenzo , Miller Hamish A. , Filippi Jonathan , Vizza Francesco , Santamaria Monica , Specchia Stefania , Santoro Carlo , Lavacchi Alessandro
Published: August 2023

In the last 20 years, direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs) have been the subject of tremendous research efforts for the potential application as on-demand power sources. Two leading technologies respectively based on proton exchange membranes (PEMs) and anion exchange membranes (AEMs) have emerged: the first one operating in an acidic environment and conducting protons; the second one operating in alkaline electrolytes and conducting hydroxyl ions. In this review, we present an analysis of the state-of-the-art acidic and alkaline DAFCs fed with methanol and ethanol with the purpose to support a comparative analysis of acidic and alkaline systems, which is missing in the current literature. A special focus is placed on the effect of the reaction stoichiometry in acidic and alkaline systems. Particularly, we point out that, in alkaline systems, OH− participates stoichiometrically to reactions, and that alcohol oxidation products are anions. This aspect must be considered when designing the fuel and when making an energy evaluation from a whole system perspective.

Graphical Abstract
Why Mourning for Minks Matters: Rebellious Grief as Practice of Solidarity
Authors: Honnacker Ana
Published: August 2023

The paper advocates the idea of grief as a key emotion for transformation. Following Judith Butler’s concept of grievability, it agues that a critical reflection on who (or what) is mourned reveals the normative orders of a society as well as its possible blind spots. As a particularly telling case, the mass culling of Danish minks that took place in 2020 as a preventive public health measure in the Covid-19 pandemic is examined. The response to the case sheds light on the various barriers of broadening the moral community. The paper explores some of the reasons for the practical disability to mourn for animals bred for use and argues that it is part misleading to focus on the species-line. Rather, it is a question of selective moral responsiveness which is dependent on the specific cultural context and way of life. In the last part of the paper, it is suggested that ecological grief work is a means to move from grief to empathy and solidarity and finally resistance. When others are discovered as grievable, they are acknowledged as vulnerable fellow beings which have to be morally considered. Grief, then, can be understood as a disruptive emotion which questions the current understanding of normality.
Rapid detection and quantification of Aphanomyces cochlioides in sugar beet
Authors: Rossi Valentina , Bengtsson Julia , Kiselev Andrei , Gaulin Elodie , Holmquist Louise , Grenville-Briggs Laura J.
Published: August 2023

Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) is an economically important crop in temperate climates providing nearly 30% of sugar production worldwide. The oomycete Aphanomyces cochlioides is the causative agent of seedling damping-off and root rot disease in sugar beet. The pathogen is responsible for plant degeneration and drastic yield losses in all major sugar beet producing areas. The identification of resistant germplasm is essential to reduce the use of chemical treatments as well as the costs of protective measures and to effectively limit the damage caused by the pathogen. In this study we aimed to establish a qPCR-based method to quantify the pathogen DNA in infected plants and to predict the resistance levels of different sugar beet genotypes in response to A. cochlioides. The difference in the response to A. cochlioides isolates with different geographical origins was investigated. In addition, confocal microscopy was performed in order to observe the spatial and temporal colonization pattern in infected seedlings of susceptible and partially resistant breeding lines. The research presented in this article provides a tool to understand the progress of the infection in infected tissues and to identify the genetic background of resistance to A. cochlioides that can be used to support breeding programs.
Characteristics and changes in Japanese public administration research: statistical content analyses of article titles in Public Administration Review Quarterly (1978–2019)
Authors: Moteki Yasutoshi
Published: August 2023

The objective of this study is to understand features of Japan’s public administration research and the changes it has undergone, by using content analyses. To this end, this study quantitatively explains research trends in postwar administrative studies in Japan by statistically analyzing article titles from the Public Administration Review Quarterly over the course of nearly 40 years. Co-occurrence network and correspondence analyses revealed the changes in research interests. There was substantially more research on administrative reforms through the postwar Showa and Heisei eras. The configuration of the correspondence analysis indicates that the first dimension is concerned with administrative reforms, the second with historical events or administrative systems, and the third with evaluations and kaizen. The co-occurrence network analysis show that two extracted compound words—the United States and the United Kingdom—were very common in studies during the Showa era (1978–1988). This suggests that Japan’s public administration was influenced by the West during this period. Japan’s policies and institutions became a feature of these studies during the Heisei era (1989–2018). The results of this analysis is partially similar to the author’s previous studies on another Japanese administrative studies journal. One commonality of the results of the analysis is that the dimension related to administrative reform was found in the correspondence analysis. In this study, the first principal component was administrative reform, and Moteki’s (Hiroshima Law J 43:205–235, 2020) correspondence analysis also found “reform,” “policy evaluation” and “governance” as characteristic extracted terms in the 2000s.
Whole Person Modeling: a transdisciplinary approach to mental health research
Authors: Felsky Daniel , Cannitelli Alyssa , Pipitone Jon
Published: August 2023

The growing global burden of mental illness has prompted calls for innovative research strategies. Theoretical models of mental health include complex contributions of biological, psychosocial, experiential, and other environmental influences. Accordingly, neuropsychiatric research has self-organized into largely isolated disciplines working to decode each individual contribution. However, research directly modeling objective biological measurements in combination with cognitive, psychological, demographic, or other environmental measurements is only now beginning to proliferate. This review aims to (1) to describe the landscape of modern mental health research and current movement towards integrative study, (2) to provide a concrete framework for quantitative integrative research, which we call Whole Person Modeling, (3) to explore existing and emerging techniques and methods used in Whole Person Modeling, and (4) to discuss our observations about the scarcity, potential value, and untested aspects of highly transdisciplinary research in general. Whole Person Modeling studies have the potential to provide a better understanding of multilevel phenomena, deliver more accurate diagnostic and prognostic tests to aid in clinical decision making, and test long standing theoretical models of mental illness. Some current barriers to progress include challenges with interdisciplinary communication and collaboration, systemic cultural barriers to transdisciplinary career paths, technical challenges in model specification, bias, and data harmonization, and gaps in transdisciplinary educational programs. We hope to ease anxiety in the field surrounding the often mysterious and intimidating world of transdisciplinary, data-driven mental health research and provide a useful orientation for students or highly specialized researchers who are new to this area.
Direct and quantitative assessments of near-infrared light attenuation and spectroscopic detection depth in biological tissues using surface-enhanced Raman scattering
Authors: Lin Li , He Haoqi , Xue Ruiyang , Zhang Yumin , Wang Ziwen , Nie Shuming , Ye Jian
Published: August 2023

Optical imaging and spectroscopic modalities are of broad interest for in-vivo molecular imaging, fluorescence guided cancer surgery, minimally invasive diagnostic procedures, and wearable devices. However, considerable debate still exists as to how deeply visible and near-infrared (NIR) light could penetrate normal and diseased tissues under clinically relevant conditions. Here we report the use of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) nanotags embedded in ex-vivo animal tissues for direct and quantitative measurements of light attenuation and spectroscopic detection depth at both the NIR-I and NIR-II spectral windows. SERS nanotags are well suited for this purpose because of their sharp spectral features that can be accurately differentiated from fluorescence and background emission. For the first time, the spectroscopic detection depth is quantitatively defined and measured as the maximal thickness of tissues through which the embedded SERS nanotags are still detected at a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of three (99.7% confidence level). Based on data from six types of fresh ex-vivo tissues (brain, kidney, liver, muscle, fat, and skin), we find that the maximum detection depth values range from 1—3 mm in the NIR-I window, to 3—6 mm in the NIR-II window. The depth values are largely determined by two factors – the intrinsic optical properties of the tissue, and the overall SNRs of the system without the tissue (system SNR, a result of nanotag brightness, instrument efficiency, and data acquisition parameters). In particular, there is an approximately linear-logarithmic relationship between the system SNR and maximum detection depth. Thus, the detection of hidden or occult lesions can be improved by three strategies – reducing tissue attenuation, minimizing background noise, and maximizing the system’s performance as judged by SNR.

Graphical Abstract
Entrepreneurs in Contemporary China
Authors: Qi Xiaoying
Published: August 2023

Entrepreneurs in Contemporary China explores emerging business practices and related phenomena in contemporary China. It examines new forms of business practices and argues that an emerging strata of private entrepreneurs has entered the economy in recent decades, an under-researched sector of Chinese society. It draws on extensive interviews with business founders and CEOs in present-day China and shows why business-related themes are important to understanding society itself, the forces that underpin social relationships more broadly, and the basis and nature of social change. In capturing the experiences of individuals and their companies amid social and economic challenges, and by uncovering innovative strategies employed by business owners, this book makes a significant contribution to the sociological as well as the business studies literature both through its empirical richness and theoretical innovation regarding considerations of trust, social networks, crisis, gender, and social exchange.
Investigating cohesive sediment dynamics in open waters via grain-resolved simulations
Authors: Vowinckel Bernhard , Zhao Kunpeng , Zhu Rui , Meiburg Eckart
Published: August 2023

Cohesive particulate flows play an important role in environmental fluid dynamics, as well as in a wide variety of civil and process engineering applications. However, the scaling laws, constitutive equations and continuum field descriptions governing such flows are currently less well understood than for their non-cohesive counterparts. Grain-resolved simulations represent an essential tool for addressing this shortcoming, along with theoretical investigations, laboratory experiments and field studies. Here we provide a tutorial introduction to simulations of fine-grained sediments in viscous fluids, along with an overview of some representative insights that this approach has yielded to date. After a brief review of the key physical concepts governing van der Waals forces as the main cohesive effect for subaqueous sediment suspensions, we discuss their incorporation into particle-resolved simulations based on the immersed boundary method. We subsequently describe simulations of cohesive particles in several model turbulent flows, which demonstrate the emergence of a statistical equilibrium between the growth and break-up of aggregates. As a next step, we review the influence of cohesive forces on the settling behaviour of dense suspensions, before moving on to submerged granular collapses. Throughout the article, we highlight open research questions in the field of cohesive particulate flows whose investigation may benefit from grain-resolved simulations.
Anticoncentration in Ramsey graphs and a proof of the Erdős–McKay conjecture
Authors: Kwan Matthew , Sah Ashwin , Sauermann Lisa , Sawhney Mehtaab
Published: August 2023

An n-vertex graph is called C-Ramsey if it has no clique or independent set of size

$C\log _2 n$

(i.e., if it has near-optimal Ramsey behavior). In this paper, we study edge statistics in Ramsey graphs, in particular obtaining very precise control of the distribution of the number of edges in a random vertex subset of a C-Ramsey graph. This brings together two ongoing lines of research: the study of ‘random-like’ properties of Ramsey graphs and the study of small-ball probability for low-degree polynomials of independent random variables.

The proof proceeds via an ‘additive structure’ dichotomy on the degree sequence and involves a wide range of different tools from Fourier analysis, random matrix theory, the theory of Boolean functions, probabilistic combinatorics and low-rank approximation. In particular, a key ingredient is a new sharpened version of the quadratic Carbery–Wright theorem on small-ball probability for polynomials of Gaussians, which we believe is of independent interest. One of the consequences of our result is the resolution of an old conjecture of Erdős and McKay, for which Erdős reiterated in several of his open problem collections and for which he offered one of his notorious monetary prizes.
Causal learning with interrupted time series data
Authors: Zhang Yiwen , Rottman Benjamin M.
Published: August 2023

People often test changes to see if the change is producing the desired result (e.g., does taking an antidepressant improve my mood, or does keeping to a consistent schedule reduce a child’s tantrums?). Despite the prevalence of such decisions in everyday life, it is unknown how well people can assess whether the change has influenced the result. According to interrupted time series analysis (ITSA), doing so involves assessing whether there has been a change to the mean (‘level’) or slope of the outcome, after versus before the change. Making this assessment could be hard for multiple reasons. First, people may have difficulty understanding the need to control the slope prior to the change. Additionally, one may need to remember events that occurred prior to the change, which may be a long time ago. In Experiments 1 and 2, we tested how well people can judge causality in 9 ITSA situations across 4 presentation formats in which participants were presented with the data simultaneously or in quick succession. We also explored individual differences. In Experiment 3, we tested how well people can judge causality when the events were spaced out once per day, mimicking a more realistic timeframe of how people make changes in their lives. We found that participants were able to learn accurate causal relations when there is a zero pre-intervention slope in the time series but had difficulty controlling for nonzero pre-intervention slopes. We discuss these results in terms of 2 heuristics that people might use.
Getting into Good Debt: Race, Debt, and the Pursuit of Freedom
Authors: Garrett-Scott Shennette
Published: August 2023

#BankBlack. #BuyBlack. In the wake of deadly police murders of unarmed Black women and men, calls for greater investment in Black business emerged as one panacea for the myriad divisions rending the very flesh of the American promise. In July 2016, hip-hop artist and business owner Michael “Killer Mike” Render issued a call to action days after the police murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. “We owe them our outrage,” he stressed in a call-in to a town hall meeting sponsored by cable television channels MTV and BET and hosted by a popular local Atlanta radio station. “But,” he countered, “we don't have to burn our city down.” Instead of burning, he challenged 1 million people to open a 100-dollar account at a Black bank. Days following Killer Mike's call to “bank Black,” about 8,000 Atlanteans opened accounts in Citizens Trust Bank, a Black-owned bank started in 1921. Riding a catchy hashtag and waves of discontent, the #BankBlack movement quickly spread beyond Atlanta. In less than a year, people around the world moved an estimated $60 million into Black-owned banks.
Salt of the Empire: the making of an Ottoman monopoly, 1838–1881
Authors: Bayraktar Uğur
Published: August 2023

The present article is a study of the fiscal history of the Ottoman salt monopoly before 1881, when it was taken over by local and European creditors. It brings a novel perspective to the literature on Ottoman finances by highlighting a case of centralized collection of an indirect tax. It argues that the interplay between the government’s urge to raise indirect contributions and the consumers’ proclivity to illicit salt determined the enterprise’s sustainability. Not merely a security for European credit, the salt monopoly was a genuine Ottoman institution in the transformation to a modern fiscal state.
Chemotrophy-based phosphatic microstromatolites from the Mississippian at Drewer, Rhenish Massif, Germany
Authors: Zwicker Jennifer , Smrzka Daniel , Gothieu Matthias , Libowitzky Eugen , Joachimski Michael M. , Ernst Böttcher Michael , Peckmann Jörn
Published: August 2023

The Drewer quarry located in the Rhenish Massif is a well-studied outcrop that comprises Upper Devonian (Famennian) to Lower Carboniferous (Viséan) strata. Within the Drewer deposits two black shale intervals have been described that are linked to two global oceanic anoxic events, the Hangenberg Event and the Lower Alum Shale Event. The black shales associated with the Middle Tournaisian Lower Alum Shale Event contain abundant phosphatic concretions, which were investigated using thin section petrography, powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy. The concretions formed during several growth phases under anoxic and at least episodically sulphidic conditions within the sediment and served as a substrate for subsurface microbial mats that formed phosphatic microstromatolites. The microstromatolites occur either as partially branched columns of up to 600 µm in length attached to the phosphatic concretions or as smaller, bulbous aggregates surrounding the concretions. Element mapping identified the presence of pyrite and other metal sulphides within the phosphatic microstromatolites. The carbon and oxygen stable isotopic composition of phosphate-associated carbonate within the phosphatic microstromatolites suggests that the mat-forming microorganisms were probably anaerobic, chemotrophic microbial communities dwelling in the anoxic environment during the Lower Alum Shale Event. Such interpretation agrees with the deeper-water depositional setting of the Lower Alum Black Shale and its high content of organic matter, suggesting that chemotrophic microbial mats are potent agents of phosphogenesis in general, and of the formation of phosphatic stromatolites in particular.
Effect of Lolium perenne population differences on shoot tissue nitrogen concentrations when grown on a peat soil
Authors: Pijlman Jeroen , Hoekstra Nyncke , Deru Joachim , Erisman Jan Willem , van Eekeren Nick
Published: August 2023

Grass nitrogen (N) concentrations of dairy grasslands are higher on peat soil than on mineral soils. This can lead to increased N losses to air and water from dairy farming systems on peat soils. Our hypothesis was that the use of low-N perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) genotypes could be a means to lower grass N concentrations, when grown on peat soils. Our objective was to determine whether perennial ryegrass populations with different shoot tissue N concentrations, recorded on a sandy soil, would show different shoot tissue N concentrations and N use efficiencies (NUE) or N uptake efficiencies (NUptE) when grown on a peat soil. First, a pot experiment lasting 62 days was carried out with nine diploid and seven tetraploid populations, followed by a field experiment with two diploid and two tetraploid populations and a control lasting 30 months. Both experiments had three N fertilization levels. In the pot experiment, populations explained 3% of the variation in shoot tissue N concentration among tetraploids, 5 and 7% of the variation in NUE among diploids and tetraploids and 12% of the variation in NUptE among diploids. In the field experiment, populations explained 44% of the variation in NUptE. A higher NUE coincided with lower shoot tissue N concentrations among tetraploid populations in the pot experiment. We conclude that there is potential to alter the shoot tissue N concentrations of perennial ryegrass grown on peat soil, via selection for shoot tissue N concentrations and NUE.