bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Functional tissue engineering of articular cartilage for biological joint resurfacing—The 2021 Elizabeth Winston Lanier Kappa Delta Award
Authors: Guilak Farshid , Estes Bradley T. , Moutos Franklin T.
Published: November 2021

Biological resurfacing of entire articular surfaces represents a challenging strategy for the treatment of cartilage degeneration that occurs in osteoarthritis. Not only does this approach require anatomically sized and functional engineered cartilage, but the inflammatory environment within an arthritic joint may also inhibit chondrogenesis and induce degradation of native and engineered cartilage. Here, we present the culmination of multiple avenues of interdisciplinary research leading to the development and testing of bioartificial cartilage for tissue‐engineered resurfacing of the hip joint. The work is based on a novel three‐dimensional weaving technology that is infiltrated with specific bioinductive materials and/or genetically‐engineered stem cells. A variety of design approaches have been tested in vitro, showing biomimetic cartilage‐like properties as well as the capability for long‐term tunable and inducible drug delivery. Importantly, these cartilage constructs have the potential to provide mechanical functionality immediately upon implantation, as they will need to replace a majority, if not the entire joint surface to restore function. To date, these approaches have shown excellent preclinical success in a variety of animal studies, including the resurfacing of a large osteochondral defect in the canine hip, and are now well‐poised for clinical translation.
Patient‐specific apparent diffusion maps used to model nutrient availability in degenerated intervertebral discs
Authors: Shalash Ward , Ahrens Sonia R. , Bardonova Liudmila A. , Byvaltsev Vadim A. , Giers Morgan B.
Published: November 2021

Introduction

In this study, magnetic resonance imaging data was used to (1) model IVD‐specific gradients of glucose, oxygen, lactate, and pH; and (2) investigate possible effects of covariate factors (i.e., disc geometry, and mean apparent diffusion coefficient values) on the IVD’s microenvironment. Mathematical modeling of the patient’s specific IVD microenvironment could be important when selecting patients for stem cell therapy due to the increased nutrient demand created by that treatment.

Materials and Methods

Disc geometry and water diffusion coefficients were extracted from MRIs of 37 patients using sagittal T1‐weighted images, T2‐weighted images, and ADC Maps. A 2‐D steady state finite element mathematical model was developed in COMSOL Multiphysics® 5.4 to compute concentration maps of glucose, oxygen, lactate and pH.

Results

Concentration of nutrients (i.e., glucose, and oxygen) dropped with increasing distance from the cartilaginous endplates (CEP), whereas acidity levels increased. Most discs experienced poor nutrient levels along with high acidity values in the inner annulus fibrosus (AF). The disc’s physiological microenvironment became more deficient as degeneration progressed. For example, minimum glucose concentration in grade 4 dropped by 31.1% compared to grade 3 (p < 0.0001). The model further suggested a strong effect of the following parameters: disc size, AF and CEP diffusivities, metabolic reactions, and cell density on solute concentrations in the disc (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

The significance of this work implies that the individual morphology and physiological conditions of each disc, even among discs of the same Pfirrmann grade, should be evaluated when modeling IVD solute concentrations.
A method to choose water depths for zooplankton samples in lakes
Authors: Rippey Brian , Macintosh Katrina A. , McElarney Yvonne , Douglas Richard
Published: November 2021

As methods in the literature to sample zooplankton in lakes mostly offered general guidance on the sample depths, a new one was developed. Using the principle of volume‐weighted sampling of the lake volume and an empirical function for the hypsometric curve, formulae for the volumes and areas of five equal sections of the lake were derived, which were then used to calculate section mean depths. Vertical net hauls taken at the mean depths are combined using a relation between their mean depths to produce one unbiased composite sample of the zooplankton. While generic formulae were derived, starting values for the depths that divide the lake volume into five equal sections are needed in order to apply the method, which then optimizes the depths; the method is implemented in a spreadsheet. The method was applied to four hypothetical lakes of maximum depth 12 m that cover a wide variation of lake form and how the sample depths vary with form was described; as lake form becomes more convex, the sample depths decrease, reflecting that more of the lake volume is at shallower depth. The method was used to estimate the whole‐lake abundance of zooplankton in 51 lakes and no practical difficulties were encountered. It can be used in lakes up to a few tens of km2 in area.
Fluorine and Siloxane Free Waterborne Near Superhydrophobic Organic Coating Based on Styrene Acrylic Polymer Emulsion through Surface Engineering
Authors: Mirchandani Girish , Basutkar Sachin , Raghavendra Venugopal B. , Samanta Sarthik , Bhavsar Ritesh , Shyamroy Subarna , Singha Nikhil K.
Published: November 2021

A superhydrophobic coating, free of fluorinated and siloxane materials, has been prepared via reactive compatibilization of all organic blends of hydrophilic and hydrophobic materials. In this case, styrene acrylic emulsion and a combination of hydrophobic waxes (functional rice bran wax and functional polypropylene wax) are blended together in the presence of polycarbodiimide as the reactive compatibilizer. The effect of blending and crosslinking on surface morphology is studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis, microscopy analyses (SEM and AFM), contact angle, and surface energy measurements. After heat treatment and crosslinking, synergistic improvements of surface properties with a gradual trend toward superhydrophobicity are observed (water contact angle ≈144° and roll‐off angle of <10°). The system is free of nanoparticles, and the desired surface morphology and microstructure is formed from the mixture of renewable (rice bran) wax and petrochemical (polypropylene) wax. These coatings are shown to have easy‐cleaning as well as self‐cleaning characteristics. Further, the coatings can withstand exposure to solvents as well as mechanical abrasion.
Chemoinformatics and Machine Learning Approaches for Identifying Antiviral Compounds
Authors: John Lijo , Soujanya Yarasi , Mahanta Hridoy Jyoti , Narahari Sastry G.
Published: November 2021

Current pandemics propelled research efforts in unprecedented fashion, primarily triggering computational efforts towards new vaccine and drug development as well as drug repurposing. There is an urgent need to design novel drugs with targeted biological activity and minimum adverse reactions that may be useful to manage viral outbreaks. Hence an attempt has been made to develop Machine Learning based predictive models that can be used to assess whether a compound has the potency to be antiviral or not. To this end, a set of 2358 antiviral compounds were compiled from the CAS COVID‐19 antiviral SAR dataset whose activity was reported based on IC50value. A total 1157 two‐dimensional molecular descriptors were computed among which, the most highly correlated descriptors were selected using Tree‐based, Correlation‐based and Mutual information‐based feature selection methods. Seven Machine Learning algorithms i. e., Random Forest, XGBoost, Support Vector Machine, KNN, Decision Tree, MLP Classifier and Logistic Regression were benchmarked. The best performance was achieved by the models developed using Random Forest and XGBoost algorithms in all the feature selection methods. The maximum predictive accuracy of both these models was 88 % with internal validation. Whereas, with an external dataset, a maximum accuracy of 93.10 % for XGBoost and 100 % for Random Forest based model was achievable. Furthermore, the study demonstrated scaffold analysis of the molecules as a pragmatic approach to explore the importance of structurally diverse compounds in data driven studies.
Superiorization versus regularization: A comparison of algorithms for solving image reconstruction problems with applications in computed tomography
Authors: Guenter Maria , Collins Steve , Ogilvy Andy , Hare Warren , Jirasek Andrew
Published: November 2021

Purpose

A system matrix can be built in order to account for the refractions in an optical computed tomography (CT) system. In order to utilize this system matrix, iterative methods are employed to solve the image reconstruction problem. The purpose of this study is to compare potential iterative algorithms to solve this image reconstruction problem. Comparisons examine both solution time and the quality of the reconstructed image. While our work is motivated by optical CT, the results can be extended more generally to CT.

Methods

A collection of 21 algorithms for solving the image reconstruction problem were evaluated. Specifically, algorithms using (i) superiorization techniques and (ii) regularization to avoid overfitting were compared. Multiple test problems are investigated using 18 different image phantoms, parallel‐beam and fan‐beam system matrices, and varying noise levels. Comparison of the algorithms is done using performance profiles on three different performance measures.

Results

The results for both the synthetic and clinical test problems show that there is not one single algorithm outperforming all others, but instead a set of top algorithms that give the best values on the performance profiles. When qualitative analyses such as reliance on stopping conditions, number of input parameters, and run time are also considered, FISTA‐TV shows slight advantages over the other top algorithms.

Conclusions

There is a set of top algorithms that all show good results in the performance profiles with a mix of superiorized and regularized model algorithms. As to which of these top algorithms outperforms the rest is undetermined and further research needs to be investigated.
Nursing home nurses' turnover intention: A systematic review
Authors: Lee Jiyeon
Published: November 2021

Aim

This review aimed to examine and describe the published research on nursing home (NH) nurses' turnover intentions in their workplace.

Design

This study is a systematic review following PRISMA guidelines.

Methods

An electronic search was conducted for English and Korean articles to identify research studies published between 2009–2019 using CINAHL, PubMed, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, RISS, and DBpia.

Results

A total of six studies met the inclusion criteria and revealed NH nurses' turnover intentions. The factors influencing NH nurses' turnover intentions were identified and classified as individual and organizational factors. Among the various factors above, this study found that job satisfaction was the most influential factor in nurses' turnover intentions. Therefore, further efforts are required to increase NH nurses' job satisfaction to decrease turnover intention.
The Obesity Society is turning 40: A history of the early years
Authors: Bray George A. , Greenwood M. R. C. , Hansen Barbara C.
Published: November 2021

The North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO), the precursor of The Obesity Society (TOS), was founded in 1981 and turns 40 years old in 2021. The Society was organized by George Bray along with John Brunzell, C. Wayne Callaway, M.R.C. Greenwood, and Judith Stern. It held its foundational meeting with a theme of “Types of Obesity: Animal Models and Clinical Applications” at Vassar College in the fall of 1982 along with symposia and an NIH workshop titled “Methods of Characterizing Human Obesity.” At a follow‐up meeting during the Fourth International Congress on Obesity, Barbara Hansen was elected President, Judith Stern Secretary, and Anne Sullivan Treasurer. Incorporation of NAASO occurred in 1984.
Food insecurity, housing instability, and dietary quality among children with sickle cell disease: Assessment from a single urban center
Authors: Fernández Cristina R. , Licursi Maureen , Wolf Randi , Lee Margaret T. , Green Nancy S.
Published: November 2021

Background

Food insecurity and housing instability, both social determinants of health (SDoH), disproportionately affect economically unstable, under‐resourced US communities in which children with sickle cell disease (SCD) live. Association between these SDoH markers and dietary quality among children with SCD is unknown.

Procedures

We assessed a cross‐sectional sample of dyadic parent–child patients and young adult patients up to age 21 from one pediatric SCD center. Food insecurity, housing instability, and dietary quality were measured using validated US instruments and a food frequency questionnaire. Better dietary quality was defined using US dietary guidelines. Multivariate regression assessed for associations among dietary quality and food insecurity with or without (±) housing instability and housing instability alone.

Results

Of 100 enrolled participants, 53% were Black and 43% Hispanic; mean age 10.6 ± 5.6 years. Overall, 70% reported less than or equal to one economic instability: 40% housing instability alone and 30% both food insecurity and housing instability. Eighty percent received more than or equal to one federal food assistance benefit. Compared to no economic instability, food insecurity ± housing instability was significantly associated with higher intake of higher dairy and pizza, while housing instability alone was significantly associated with higher dairy intake. Food insecurity ± housing instability was significantly associated with lower intake of whole grains compared to housing instability alone.

Conclusions

Our sample reported high frequencies of both food insecurity and housing instability; having more than or equal to one SDoH was associated with elements of poorer diet quality. Screening families of children with SCD for food insecurity and housing instability may identify those with potential nutrition‐related social needs.
Determination of critical testing frequency of the short fiber‐reinforced plastics for efficient fatigue test
Authors: Jang Jinhyeok , Pang Hyonwoo , Choi Jae‐Hyuk , Cho Jeong‐Min , Yu Woong‐Ryeol
Published: November 2021

Heat generated by viscous energy dissipation and friction during high‐frequency fatigue testing can reduce the fatigue life of short fiber‐reinforced plastics. Herein, we proposed new method of determining an appropriate testing frequency, taking into consideration the temperature increase in SFRPs during fatigue testing. An experimental procedure was developed to obtain viscoelastic and thermal parameters in a theoretical model using dynamic mechanical analyses and fatigue tests with an infrared camera. Then, according to the stress levels under tension in fatigue tests, a critical frequency was calculated to allow a temperature increase within 10°C. Finally, experimental fatigue tests at low stress levels and high frequencies were performed, demonstrating the applicability of the current method to design fatigue tests that take into account stress levels at a given frequency and a limited temperature rise.
Does recorded oximetry utilizing a consensus‐based algorithm compare to polysomnography in discontinuing home oxygen therapy in premature infants?
Authors: White Heather , Sobelman Celia , Kremer Ted , Lee Austin , Rhein Lawrence M. ,   the RHO Study Group
Published: November 2021

Background

Approximately a third of all extremely preterm infants diagnosed with bronchopulmonary dysplasia will require home oxygen therapy (HOT). Lack of consensus‐based guidelines has led to significant variability in outpatient HOT management in the United States. A common assessment performed before discontinuing oxygen is a formal polysomnogram (PSG). PSGs are potentially undesirable due to cost, lack of convenient access, and parental stress, so alternative testing to determine the optimal timing of safe oxygen discontinuation are needed.

Methods

We compared nocturnal recorded home oximetry (RHO) with PSG data in a cohort of patients from the RHO trial for patients who had recordings performed simultaneously to or within 24 h of their PSG. The RHO trial was a randomized, unblinded, multi‐center trial comparing two oxygen management strategies. Parameters of oxygenation were compared between PSG and RHO, and nonoximegtry findings from the PSG that changed clinical management were identified.

Results

A total of 53 infants randomized to obtain a PSG as part of the RHO trial (55%) completed a PSG, and of those, 32 (64%) completed both a PSG with comparison RHO. There were more white infants in both groups than other races and ethnicities. Bland–Altman analysis showed a strong agreement of oxygen saturation time below 90% SpO2 between PSG and RHO results (slope = 1.014, p = 0.24). Results agreed in 96% of cases.

Conclusion

RHO is a safe and effective alternative to PSG to assist in determination of discontinuing HOT in infants with BPD without other risks for sleep‐disordered breathing.
A novel chimeric protein with enhanced cytotoxic effects on breast cancer in vitro and in vivo
Authors: Hazrati Fereshte , Saidijam Massoud , Ahmadyousefi Yaghoub , Nouri Fatemeh , Ghadimipour Hamidreza , Moradi Mohammadreza , Haddadi Rasool , Soleimani Meysam
Published: November 2021

In our previous study, we reported the design and recombinant production of the p28‐apoptin as a novel chimeric protein for breast cancer (BC) treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the inhibitory activity of the chimeric protein against BC cells in vitro and in vivo. We developed a novel multifunctional protein, consisting of p28, as a tumor‐homing killer peptide fused to apoptin as a tumor‐selective killer. The chimeric protein showed significantly higher toxicity in BC cell lines dose‐dependently than in non‐cancerous control cell lines. IC50 values were 1.41, 1.38, 6.13, and 264.49 μM for 4T1, MDA‐MB‐468, Vero, and HEK293 cells, respectively. The protein showed significantly enhanced uptake in 4T1 cancer cells compared with non‐cancerous Vero cells. We also showed that the p28‐apoptin chimeric protein binds significantly higher to human breast cancer tumor sections than the normal human breast tissue section. Also, significant apoptosis induction and tumor growth inhibition were observed in established tumor‐bearing mice accompanied by a decreased frequency of metastases. Our results support that the chimeric protein has inhibitory activity in vitro and in vivo, making it a promising choice in targeted cancer therapy.
A conditional autoregressive model for genetic association analysis accounting for genetic heterogeneity
Authors: Shen Xiaoxi , Wen Yalu , Cui Yuehua , Lu Qing
Published: November 2021

Converging evidence from genetic studies and population genetics theory suggest that complex diseases are characterized by remarkable genetic heterogeneity, and individual rare mutations with different effects could collectively play an important role in human diseases. Many existing statistical models for association analysis assume homogeneous effects of genetic variants across all individuals, and could be subject to power loss in the presence of genetic heterogeneity. To consider possible heterogeneous genetic effects among individuals, we propose a conditional autoregressive model. In the proposed method, the genetic effect is considered as a random effect and a score test is developed to test the variance component of genetic random effect. Through simulations, we compare the type I error and power performance of the proposed method with those of the generalized genetic random field and the sequence kernel association test methods under different disease scenarios. We find that our method outperforms the other two methods when (i) the rare variants have the major contribution to the disease, or (ii) the genetic effects vary in different individuals or subgroups of individuals. Finally, we illustrate the new method by applying it to the whole genome sequencing data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.
A pilot study on dietary and faecal calcium/phosphorus ratios in different types of captive ruminating herbivores
Authors: Böswald Linda , Dobenecker Britta , Lücht Maike , Gohl Christine , Kienzle Ellen
Published: November 2021

Quantitative differences in calcium and phosphorus metabolism between domestic species exist and can be visualised using data on calcium and phosphorus intake and faecal excretion. The parameter for analysing the results was defined as Δ = dietary calcium/phosphorus (Ca/P) ratio – faecal Ca/P ratio. In previous studies, hindgut fermenters had significantly higher Δ values than ruminants (sheep, cattle, goats), which was explained by the high calcium digestibilities in hindgut fermenters in contrast to highly efficient phosphorus recycling in ruminants. The first hypothesis of the present study was that different types of ruminants (grazer, browser, intermediate feeder) would show differences in Δ as a proxy for quantitative calcium and phosphorus metabolism. The second hypothesis was that camelids as functional, but not taxonomic ruminants would show Δ values similar to ruminants. We used herbivorous zoo animals (17 species, hindgut and foregut fermenters), which were kept on their regular diet without variation for 1 week. Then, faecal samples were obtained from the individual animals. Feed items and faecal samples were analysed for calcium and phosphorus, and dietary and faecal Ca/P ratios as well as Δ were calculated. A comparison of the species groups (one‐way ANOVA on ranks, p < 0.05) showed that zoo hindgut fermenters had significantly higher Δ values (0.67 ± 0.34) than camelids and zoo ruminants (–1.07 ± 0.35 and –1.87 ± 1.56). There was no significant difference between camelids, grazers (–1.49 ± 1.31), browsers (–1.63 ± 0.88) and intermediate feeders (–2.11 ± 1.76). The ruminant species from this study had markedly lower Δ than domestic ruminants from literature data. Especially intermediate feeders had low Δ, possibly due to more efficient phosphorus recycling than the domestic ruminants.
Caring as Critical Proximity: A Call for Toolmaking in Digital Migration Studies
Authors: Munk Anders
Published: November 2021

Reading across the contributions of this book, this comment argues for a “Caring for big data” in critical proximity with the tools and techniques of data scientific practices. Contrary to a critically distant position, caring for big data in critical proximity is to practice it differently. It raises the question of how tools for data harvest, analysis, and visualization should be designed if the task was taken on from inside digital migration studies.
Fostering Critical Thinking as a Life Skill to Prevent Child Marriage in Honduras: The Case of Holistic Education for Youth (HEY!)
Authors: Pacheco-Montoya Diana , Murphy-Graham Erin
Published: November 2021

This chapter presents findings from a design-based research project between the University of California, Berkeley and a Honduran non-governmental organization, Bayan Association called Holistic Education for Youth (HEY!). We explain why critical thinking is a crucial life skill to prevent child marriage in rural areas of Honduras and illustrate how critical thinking (specifically around gender inequality and marriage) was incorporated into a secondary school curriculum. We describe the pedagogies used to develop this curriculum and offer insights about its implementation. Finally, using classrooms observation and interview data, we discuss how students developed critical thinking and decision-making skills related to the gender inequality in society that has perpetuated the practice of child marriage.
Are We Losing Control?
Authors: Lee Edward A.
Published: November 2021

This chapter challenges the predominant assumption that humans shape technology using top-down, intelligent design, suggesting that technology should instead be viewed as the result of a Darwinian evolutionary process where humans are the agents of mutation. Consequently, we humans have much less control than we think over the outcomes of technology development.
Humanism and the Great Opportunity of Intelligent User Interfaces for Cultural Heritage
Authors: Stock Oliviero
Published: November 2021

In the spirit of the modern meaning of the word humanism, if technology aims at the flourishing of humans, it is of the greatest value to empower each human being with the capability of appreciating culture, in an inclusive, individual-adaptive manner. In particular, in this brief chapter, the case is made for the opportunity that intelligent user interfaces can offer specifically in the area of culture, beyond the obvious infrastructural advantages we are all familiar with. Insight is provided on research aimed at the continuous personal enriching of individuals at cultural sites, approaching the ancient humanistic vision of connecting us to our cultural past, now made possible for all, not just for an elite.
Personalization, Fairness, and Post-Userism
Authors: Burke Robin
Published: November 2021

The incorporation of fairness-aware machine learning presents a challenge for creators of personalized systems, such as recommender systems found in e-commerce, social media, and elsewhere. These systems are designed and promulgated as providing services tailored to each individual user’s unique needs. However, fairness may require that other objectives, possibly in conflict with personalization, also be satisfied. The theoretical framework of post-userism, which broadens the focus of design in HCI settings beyond the individual end user, provides an avenue for this integration. However, in adopting this approach, developers will need to offer new, more complex narratives of what personalized systems do and whose needs they serve.
Educational Requirements for Positive Social Robotics
Authors: Seibt Johanna
Published: November 2021

Social robotics does not create tools but social ‘others’ that act in the physical and symbolic space of human social interactions. In order to guide the profound disruptive potential of this technology, social robotics must be repositioned—we must reconceive it as an emerging interdisciplinary area where expertise on social reality, as physical, practical, and symbolic space, is constitutively included. I present here the guiding principles for such a repositioning, “Integrative Social Robotics,” and argue that the path to culturally sustainable (value-preserving) or positive (value-enhancing) applications of social robotics goes via a redirection of the humanities and social sciences. Rather than creating new educations by disemboweling, the humanities and social sciences, students need to acquire full disciplinary competence in these disciplines, as well as the new skill to direct these qualifications toward membership in multidisciplinary developer teams.
Geopolitics and Digital Sovereignty
Authors: Martin Ciaran
Published: November 2021

The geopolitical dialogue about technology has, for a quarter of a century, essentially revolved around a single technological ecosystem built by the American private sector. An assumption took hold that, over time, clearer “rules of the road” for this digital domain would take hold. But progress toward this has been surprisingly slow; we sometimes refer to “grey zone” activity, because the rules, insofar as they exist, are fuzzy.

In the meantime, the digital climate is changing. China’s technological ambitions are not to compete on the American-built, free, open Internet, but to design and build a completely new, more authoritarian system to supplant it. This is forcing a bifurcation of the Internet, and organizations like the European Union and countries across the world have to rethink whether the regulation of American technology is really where the focus should be, rather than working with the USA to contest China’s ambitions.
Geopolitics, Digital Sovereignty…What’s in a Word?
Authors: Werthner Hannes
Published: November 2021

An overlay of digital networks and services often operated by global players encircles and “shrinks” the planet. At the same time, the geopolitical dynamics have entered a cycle of feud for leadership between trade blocs who compete for economic and industrial leadership but also on ethics, values, and political outlook. In this context, governments and lawmakers are struggling to combine the need for global cooperation in digital matters with the imperative to protect their jurisdiction from undue influence and provide economic agents with the means to compete on a global scale. The concept of “digital sovereignty” was carved to address this. Words matter a lot especially when they are meant to translate political goals. We argue that “digital sovereignty” lacks meaning and teeth, while the concept of “strategic autonomy” is more operative, contains in itself the elements of strategic planning, and should lead EU to aim at genuine “digital non-alignment.”
Why Don’t You Do Something to Help Me? Digital Humanism: A Call for Cities to Act
Authors: Stampfer Michael
Published: November 2021

Cities across the globe face the challenge of managing massive digitization processes to meet climate goals and turn urban agglomerations into more livable places. Digital Humanism helps us to see and define how such transformations can be done through empowerment of citizens and administrations, with a strong political agenda calling for inclusion, quality of life, and social goals. Such an approach appears to be much more promising than top-down technological fantasies as often provided by large companies in fields like housing, transport, the use of public space, or healthcare. The title refers to a question put to Stan Laurel by Oliver Hardy in countless movies. Here the latter stands for a city calling industry for help. The delivery as we know can lead straight to disaster, but in real life it is less funny than with the two great comedians.
Digital Humanism: Navigating the Tensions Ahead
Authors: Nowotny Helga
Published: November 2021

The assumption of digital humanism that a human-centered approach is possible in the design, use, and further development of AI entails an alignment with human values. If the more ambitious goal of building a good digital society along the co-evolutionary path between humans and the digital machines invented by them is to be reached, inherent tensions need to be confronted. Some of them are the result of already existing inequalities and divergent economic, social, and political interests, exacerbated by the impact of digital technologies. Others arise from the question what makes us human and how our interaction with digital machines changes our identity and relations to each other. If digital humanism is to succeed, a widely shared set of practices and attitudes is needed that sensitize us to the diversity of social contexts in which digital technologies are deployed and how to deal with complex, non-linear systems.
Interdisciplinarity: Models and Values for Digital Humanism
Authors: Wyatt Sally
Published: November 2021

This chapter starts from the recognition that the world is facing major challenges and that these may be best addressed by people working together, across different disciplinary domains and between universities, civil society, governments, and industry. After sketching these problems, I provide an overview of the meanings of discipline and of multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinarity. I then provide a brief historical overview of how disciplines emerge. Examples from computer sciences, social sciences, and the humanities, and collaborations between them, are used to illustrate these definitions and overview. In the final part, I reflect on what this means for digital humanism, drawing on different models and values of collaboration.
The Internet Is Dead: Long Live the Internet
Authors: Zarkadakis George
Published: November 2021

Social exclusion, data exploitation, surveillance, and economic inequality on the web are mainly technological problems. The current web of centralized social media clouds delivers by design a winner-takes-all digital economy that stifles innovation and exacerbates power asymmetries between citizens, governments, and technology oligopolies. To fix the digital economy, we need a new, decentralized web where citizens are empowered to own their data, participate in disintermediated peer-to-peer marketplaces, and influence policy-making decisions by means of innovative applications of participatory and deliberative democracy. By reimagining “web 3.0” as a cloud commonwealth of networked virtual machines leveraging blockchains and sharing code, it is possible to design new digital business models where all stakeholders and participants, including users, can share the bounty of the Fourth Industrial Revolution fairly.
Distributed Green Technologies for Regenerating Greyfields
Authors: Newton Peter W. , Newman Peter W. G. , Glackin Stephen , Thomson Giles
Published: November 2021

Greening the Greyfields uses ‘greening’ as a term related to the regeneration of an urban area, as well as to the choice of environmentally beneficial (or at least neutral) technology for new urban development. This chapter will outline how new twenty-first-century green urban infrastructures can help realise the value proposition of regenerating established middle suburbs. The technologies covered include energy, water, and waste systems, along with smart information and communications technology (ICT) systems that are needed to make the ‘distributed green technology’ work efficiently and equitably. Micro-mobility (scooters and bikes) is likely to help accessibility at a precinct scale and will be discussed in the next chapter, although they certainly fit within the new distributed infrastructure model. While this chapter looks at ‘greening’ in terms of ‘green tech’, Chapter 5 will look at nature-based solutions more broadly. Greening the greyfields provides the opportunity for new ‘green tech’ to be introduced in urban development in an integrated way.
Integrating Transition Processes for Regenerating the Greyfields
Authors: Newton Peter W. , Newman Peter W. G. , Glackin Stephen , Thomson Giles
Published: November 2021

This book has introduced two new (linked) models for greyfield precinct regeneration—place-activated and transit-activated GPR—with a new set of processes to enable them. The need for new design, planning, and engagement tools that must be integrated into all urban development is also seen as key to unlocking greyfield regeneration.Designsfor such precincts have proliferated, but planning systems are still hindering their implementation, especially those systems related to land-assembly issues in the established, occupied middle greyfield suburbs.Planningmust change, and a potential way ahead involves the planning processes demonstrated in this book. A first step involves district greenlining, which enables identification of strategic planning challenges and priorities for action at a district scale along a transit corridor (transit-activated GPR) or in precinct-scale areas in typical middle suburbs with high redevelopment potential (place-activated GPR). Their key attributes are gleaned from the previous chapters and summarised in this chapter. A final plea is made here for partnerships to be created from theengagementof all stakeholders: government, community and civil society, innovators, and developers. Greyfield Precinct Redevelopment Authorities established within state governments as part of a federalBetter Cities 2.0program could guide this transition.
Cosmological particle production and pairwise hotspots on the CMB
Authors: Kim Jeong Han , Kumar Soubhik , Martin Adam , Tsai Yuhsin
Published: November 2021

Abstract

Heavy particles with masses much bigger than the inflationary Hubble scale H*, can get non-adiabatically pair produced during inflation through their couplings to the inflaton. If such couplings give rise to time-dependent masses for the heavy particles, then following their production, the heavy particles modify the curvature perturbation around their locations in a time-dependent and scale non-invariant manner. This results into a non-trivial spatial profile of the curvature perturbation that is preserved on superhorizon scales and eventually generates localized hot or cold spots on the CMB. We explore this phenomenon by studying the inflationary production of heavy scalars and derive the final temperature profile of the spots on the CMB by taking into account the subhorizon evolution, focusing in particular on the parameter space where pairwise hot spots (PHS) arise. When the heavy scalar has an $$ \mathcal{O} $$
O
(1) coupling to the inflaton, we show that for an idealized situation where the dominant background to the PHS signal comes from the standard CMB fluctuations themselves, a simple position space search based on applying a temperature cut, can be sensitive to heavy particle masses M0/H* ∼ $$ \mathcal{O} $$
O
(100). The corresponding PHS signal also modifies the CMB power spectra and bispectra, although the corrections are below (outside) the sensitivity of current measurements (searches).
Universal scalar leptoquark action for matching
Authors: Dedes Athanasios , Mantzaropoulos Kostas
Published: November 2021

Abstract

In this study we present a universal effective action for one-loop matching of all scalar leptoquarks. We use both the Universal One-Loop Effective Action (UOLEA) and covariant diagrams to evaluate the Wilson coefficients directly in the Green basis for up to dimension-6 operators. On the technical side, we use the newly developed method of evaluating supertraces, to further validate the results stemming from the use of covariant diagrams. As an application, we perform a fully functional matching onto Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT) of a model with two scalar leptoquark fields: a weak isospin singlet and a doublet. We demonstrate its use by calculating several observables, such as lepton magnetic and electric dipole moments, neutrino masses, proton decay rate, while we comment upon fine tuning issues in this model. Apart from its phenomenological interest, this model generates the majority of dimension-6 operators and provides an EFT benchmark towards future matching automation.
One-loop corrections to ALP couplings
Authors: Bonilla J. , Brivio I. , Gavela M. B. , Sanz V.
Published: November 2021

Abstract

The plethora of increasingly precise experiments which hunt for axion-like particles (ALPs), as well as their widely different energy reach, call for the theoretical understanding of ALP couplings at loop-level. We derive the one-loop contributions to ALP-SM effective couplings, including finite corrections. The complete leading-order — dimension five — effective linear Lagrangian is considered. The ALP is left off-shell, which is of particular impact on LHC and accelerator searches of ALP couplings to γγ, ZZ, Zγ, WW, gluons and fermions. All results are obtained in the covariant Rξ gauge. A few phenomenological consequences are also explored as illustration, with flavour diagonal channels in the case of fermions: in particular, we explore constraints on the coupling of the ALP to top quarks, that can be extracted from LHC data, from astrophysical sources and from Dark Matter direct detection experiments such as PandaX, LUX and XENON1T. Furthermore, we clarify the relation between alternative ALP bases, the role of gauge anomalous couplings and their interface with chirality-conserving and chirality-flip fermion interactions, and we briefly discuss renormalization group aspects.
COVID-19 in der geburtshilflichen Anästhesie
Authors: Sitter Magdalena , Schlesinger Tobias , Reinhold Ann-Kristin , Scholler Axel , von Heymann Christian , Welfle Sabine , Bartmann Catharina , Wöckel Achim , Kleinschmidt Stefan , Schneider Sven , Gottschalk André , Greve Susanne , Wermelt Julius Z. , Wiener Roland , Schulz Frank , Chappell Daniel , Brunner Maya , Neumann Claudia , Meybohm Patrick , Kranke Peter ,   Weitere Mitglieder des COALA-Registers, Brenner A. , Foer A. , Bremerich D. , Lotz G. , Girard T. , Zausig Y. , Kaufner L. , Fingerhut M.-L. , Schick M. , Wenk M. , Klaschik S. , Zink W.
Published: November 2021

Hintergrund

Im Rahmen der Pandemie des SARS-CoV-2-Virus erlangte das Patientenkollektiv der Schwangeren früh Aufmerksamkeit. Initial wurde angesichts sich früh abzeichnender Krankheitsfälle bei jüngeren Patienten mit einem erheblichen Aufkommen peripartal zu betreuender, COVID-19-positiver Schwangerer gerechnet.

Ziel der Arbeit

Diese Arbeit vermittelt einen Einblick in die SARS-CoV-2-Infektionszahlen im Rahmen der geburtshilflichen Anästhesie zu Beginn der Pandemie sowie während der zweiten Infektionswelle in Deutschland.

Methoden

Über das COALA-Register (COVID-19 related Obstetric Anaesthesia Longitudinal Assessment-Registry) wurden sowohl von März bis Mai 2020 als auch von Oktober 2020 bis Februar 2021 in Deutschland und der Schweiz wöchentlich prospektiv Daten zu Verdachts- und bestätigten SARS-CoV-2-Fällen bei Schwangeren zum Zeitpunkt der Geburt erhoben. Betrachtet wurden die Verteilung dieser auf die Anzahl der Geburten, Zentren und Erhebungswochen sowie mütterliche Charakteristika und Krankheitsverläufe.

Ergebnisse

Neun Zentren haben im Verlauf 44 SARS-CoV-2-positive Schwangere zum Zeitpunkt der Geburt bei 7167 Geburten (0,6 %) gemeldet (3 Fälle auf 2270 Geburten (0,4 %) und 41 Fälle auf 4897 Geburten (0,8 %)). Berichtet wurden 2 schwere COVID-19-Verläufe (n = 1 mit Todesfolge nach ECMO, n = 1 mit ECMO überlebt). Bei 28 (68 %) Patientinnen verlief die Infektion asymptomatisch. Ein Neugeborenes wurde im Verlauf positiv auf SARS-CoV‑2 getestet.

Schlussfolgerung

Mithilfe des Registers konnte das Auftreten von Fällen zu Beginn der Pandemie zeitnah eingeschätzt werden. Es traten sporadisch Verdachtsfälle bzw. bestätigte Fälle auf. Aufgrund fehlender flächendeckender Testung muss aber von einer Dunkelziffer asymptomatischer Fälle ausgegangen werden. Während der zweiten Infektionswelle wurden 68 % asymptomatische Fälle gemeldet. Jedoch kann es bei jungen, gesunden Patientinnen ohne das Vorliegen typischer Risikofaktoren zu schwerwiegenden Verläufen kommen.
Analytical modeling and dimensionless characteristics of open wet clutches in consideration of gravity
Authors: Leister Robin , Najafi Amir F. , Kriegseis Jochen , Frohnapfel Bettina , Gatti Davide
Published: November 2021

Wet clutches are widely used in power transmission, but lack of the fact of an energy loss in open state condition. The flow conditions in the fluid flow of an open wet clutches are analyzed by analytical means. The requisite simplifications that result in an analytically integrateable solution are stated in detail. Special emphasis is put on the role of gravitation in the equations of fluid motion. This force component leads to a slightly earlier aeration than stated in earlier conditions. The simplifications and the resultant solutions are considered by means of dimensionless quantities. Despite the actual geometric parameters the drag torque can be described as $$\zeta_{\mathrm{m}}=\pi/\mathrm{Re}_{\mathrm{l}}$$

ζ
m

=
π
/

Re
l

. An additional aeration condition is introduced, which is based on the back flow of the radial velocity. This quantity can be described as non-dimensional volumetric flow rate $$Q^{*}$$

Q
*

. With these equations at hand the theoretical considerations are transferred to an evaluation with grooves, where a backward curved groove appears as beneficial for further investigations.
Reweighting of Binaural Localization Cues in Bilateral Cochlear-Implant Listeners
Authors: Klingel Maike , Laback Bernhard
Published: November 2021

Normal-hearing (NH) listeners rely on two binaural cues, the interaural time (ITD) and level difference (ILD), for azimuthal sound localization. Cochlear-implant (CI) listeners, however, rely almost entirely on ILDs. One reason is that present-day clinical CI stimulation strategies do not convey salient ITD cues. But even when presenting ITDs under optimal conditions using a research interface, ITD sensitivity is lower in CI compared to NH listeners. Since it has recently been shown that NH listeners change their ITD/ILD weighting when only one of the cues is consistent with visual information, such reweighting might add to CI listeners’ low perceptual contribution of ITDs, given their daily exposure to reliable ILDs but unreliable ITDs. Six bilateral CI listeners completed a multi-day lateralization training visually reinforcing ITDs, flanked by a pre- and post-measurement of ITD/ILD weights without visual reinforcement. Using direct electric stimulation, we presented 100- and 300-pps pulse trains at a single interaurally place-matched electrode pair, conveying ITDs and ILDs in various spatially consistent and inconsistent combinations. The listeners’ task was to lateralize the stimuli in a virtual environment. Additionally, ITD and ILD thresholds were measured before and after training. For 100-pps stimuli, the lateralization training increased the contribution of ITDs slightly, but significantly. Thresholds were neither affected by the training nor correlated with weights. For 300-pps stimuli, ITD weights were lower and ITD thresholds larger, but there was no effect of training. On average across test sessions, adding azimuth-dependent ITDs to stimuli containing ILDs increased the extent of lateralization for both 100- and 300-pps stimuli. The results suggest that low-rate ITD cues, robustly encoded with future CI systems, may be better exploitable for sound localization after increasing their perceptual weight via training.
Filter made of cuprammonium regenerated cellulose for virus removal: a mini-review
Authors: Ide Shoichi
Published: November 2021

In 1989, Asahi Kasei commercialized a porous hollow fiber membrane filter (Planova™) made of cuprammonium regenerated cellulose, making it possible for the first time in the world to “remove viruses from protein solutions by membrane filtration”. Planova has demonstrated its usefulness in separating proteins and viruses. Filters that remove viruses from protein solutions, i.e., virus removal filters (VFs), have become one of the critical modern technologies to assure viral safety of biological products. It has also become an indispensable technology for the future. The performance characteristics of VFs can be summarized in two points: 1) the virus removal performance increases as the virus diameter increases, and 2) the recovery rate of proteins with molecular weights greater than 10,000 exceeds the practical level. This paper outlines the emergence of VF and its essential roles in the purification process of biological products, requirements for VF, phase separation studies for cuprammonium cellulose solution, comparison between Planova and other regenerated cellulose flat membranes made from other cellulose solutions, and the development of Planova. The superior properties of Planova can be attributed to its highly interconnected three-dimensional network structure. Furthermore, future trends in the VF field, the subject of this review, are discussed.
Whole-Body Imaging to Assess Cell-Based Immunotherapy: Preclinical Studies with an Update on Clinical Translation
Authors: Sato Noriko , Choyke Peter L.
Published: November 2021

In the past decades, immunotherapies against cancers made impressive progress. Immunotherapy includes a broad range of interventions that can be separated into two major groups: cell-based immunotherapies, such as adoptive T cell therapies and stem cell therapies, and immunomodulatory molecular therapies such as checkpoint inhibitors and cytokine therapies. Genetic engineering techniques that transduce T cells with a cancer-antigen-specific T cell receptor or chimeric antigen receptor have expanded to other cell types, and further modulation of the cells to enhance cancer targeting properties has been explored. Because cell-based immunotherapies rely on cells migrating to target organs or tissues, there is a growing interest in imaging technologies that non-invasively monitor transferred cells in vivo. Here, we review whole-body imaging methods to assess cell-based immunotherapy using a variety of examples. Following a review of preclinically used cell tracking technologies, we consider the status of their clinical translation.