bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Recent Nanotechnologies to Overcome the Bacterial Biofilm Matrix Barriers
Authors: Lv Xinyi , Wang Leichen , Mei Anqing , Xu Yan , Ruan Xiaohong , Wang Wenjun , Shao Jinjun , Yang Dongliang , Dong Xiaochen
Published: December 2022

Bacterial biofilm‐related infectious diseases severely influence human health. Under typical situations, pathogens can colonize inert or biological surfaces and form biofilms. Biofilms are functional aggregates that coat bacteria with extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). The main reason for the failure of biofilm infection treatment is the low permeability and enrichment of therapeutic agents within the biofilm, which results from the particular features of biofilm matrix barriers such as negatively charged biofilm components and highly viscous compact EPS structures. Hence, developing novel therapeutic strategies with enhanced biofilm penetrability is crucial. Herein, the current progress of nanotechnology methods to improve therapeutic agents’ penetrability against biofilm matrix, such as regulating material morphology and surface properties, utilizing the physical penetration of nano/micromotors or microneedle patches, and equipping nanoparticles with EPS degradation enzymes or signal molecules, is first summarized. Finally, the challenges, perspectives, and future implementations of engineered delivery systems to manage biofilm infections are presented in detail.
Bewertung klinischer Arzneimittelprüfungen durch Ethikkommissionen: Änderungen durch die neue EU-Verordnung 536/2014 (CTR) und nötige Harmonisierungsmaßnahmen
Authors: Raffauf-Seufert Claudia , Grass Guido
Published: December 2022

Nach Wirksamwerden der Verordnung (EU) Nr. 536/2014 (Clinical Trials Regulation – CTR) des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates am 31.01.2022 hat sich das Antragsverfahren für klinische Prüfungen grundlegend geändert. In diesem Beitrag werden die grundlegenden Verfahrensänderungen und die daraus für Deutschland und insbesondere für die Ethikkommissionen folgenden Veränderungen dargestellt. Auf die Harmonisierungsbestrebungen der Ethikkommissionen auf der EU-Ebene wird eingegangen.

Nach der neuen EU-Verordnung ist in Deutschland nur noch jeweils eine einzige Ethikkommission in die Genehmigung einer klinischen Arzneimittelprüfung eingebunden. Das bisherige Benehmensverfahren unter Einbeziehung mehrerer lokal zuständiger Ethikkommissionen wurde abgelöst. An dessen Stelle ist eine engere Zusammenarbeit der Ethikkommissionen mit den Bundesoberbehörden durch die Erstellung eines gemeinsamen Bewertungsberichts (Assessment-Report) sowie mit den anderen EU-Mitgliedsländern im Rahmen der Konsolidierung der jeweiligen länderspezifischen Anforderungen getreten. Der zuvor mit dem Benehmensverfahren einhergegangene regelmäßige gegenseitige Austausch der Ethikkommissionen hatte jedoch dazu beigetragen, Entscheidungskriterien, aber auch die Ermessensentscheidungen zu harmonisieren. Durch den Wegfall dieses Austauschs sind zum einen detailliertere Verfahrensempfehlungen erforderlich, aber auch regelmäßige andere Austauschmöglichkeiten, um die bereits bestehenden Harmonisierungen nicht nur beizubehalten, sondern auch weiter voranzutreiben. Der Arbeitskreis Medizinischer Ethik-Kommissionen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland e. V. (AKEK) steht dazu als Vertretung der einzelnen Ethikkommissionen auch in intensivem Austausch mit Bundesoberbehörden, Antragstellern, anderen europäischen Ethikkommissionen und europäischen Institutionen.
Is the self-reporting of mental health problems sensitive to public stigma towards mental illness? A comparison of time trends across English regions (2009–19)
Authors: Gagné Thierry , Henderson Claire , McMunn Anne
Published: December 2022

Purpose

The prevalence of mental health problems has rapidly increased over time. The extent to which this captures changes in self-reporting due to decreasing stigma is unclear. We explore this by comparing time trends in mental health and stigma-related indicators across English regions.

Methods

We produced annual estimates of self-reported mental disorders (SRMDs) across waves of the Health Survey for England (2009–18, n = 78,226) and three stigma-related indicators (knowledge, attitudes, and intended behaviour) across waves of the Attitudes Towards Mental Illness survey (2009–19, n = 17,287). Differences in trends were tested across nine Government Office Regions using linear models, adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, marital status, and social class.

Results

In 2009, SRMDs did not vary by region (p = 0.916), whereas stigma-related indicators did (p < 0.001), with London having the highest level of stigma and the North East having lowest level of stigma. Between 2009 and 2018, the prevalence of SRMDs increased from 4.3 to 9.1%. SRMDs increased and stigma-related indicators improved at different rates across regions over time (SRMDs p = 0.024; stigma-related indicators p < 0.001). London reported the lowest increase in SRMDs (+ 0.3 percentage point per year) yet among the largest improvements in attitudes and intended behaviour across regions.

Conclusions

Improvements in attitudes towards mental illness did not mirror changes in self-reported mental health problems across English regions over the past decade. The findings do not support the argument that changes in public stigma, at least when defined at this regional scale, have been driving the increase in self-reported mental health indicators in recent years.
Tropical representations and identities of the stylic monoid
Authors: Aird Thomas , Ribeiro Duarte
Published: December 2022

We exhibit a faithful representation of the stylic monoid of every finite rank as a monoid of upper unitriangular matrices over the tropical semiring. Thus, we show that the stylic monoid of finite rankngenerates the pseudovariety$$\varvec{{\mathcal {J}}}_n$$Jn, which corresponds to the class of all piecewise testable languages of heightn, in the framework of Eilenberg’s correspondence. From this, we obtain the equational theory of the stylic monoids of finite rank, show that they are finitely based if and only if$$n \le 3$$n≤3, and that their identity checking problem is decidable in linearithmic time. We also establish connections between the stylic monoids and other plactic-like monoids, and solve the finite basis problem for the stylic monoid with involution.
Cxcr3 constrains pancreatic cancer dissemination through instructing T cell fate
Authors: Burrack Adam L. , Spartz Ellen J. , Rollins Meagan R. , Miller Ebony A. , Firulyova Maria , Cruz Eduardo , Goldberg Michael F. , Wang Iris X. , Nanda Hezkiel , Shen Steven , Zaitsev Konstantin , Stromnes Ingunn M.
Published: December 2022

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is a lethal and metastatic malignancy resistant to therapy. Elucidating how pancreatic tumor-specific T cells differentiate and are maintained in vivo could inform novel therapeutic avenues to promote T cell antitumor activity. Here, we show that the spleen is a critical site harboring tumor-specific CD8 T cells that functionally segregate based on differential Cxcr3 and Klrg1 expression. Cxcr3+ Klrg1- T cells express the memory stem cell marker Tcf1, whereas Cxcr3-Klrg1 + T cells express GzmB consistent with terminal differentiation. We identify a Cxcr3+ Klrg1+ intermediate T cell subpopulation in the spleen that is highly enriched for tumor specificity. However, tumor-specific T cells infiltrating primary tumors progressively downregulate both Cxcr3 and Klrg1 while upregulating exhaustion markers PD-1 and Lag-3. We show that antigen-specific T cell infiltration into PDA is Cxcr3 independent. Further, Cxcr3-deficiency results in enhanced antigen-specific T cell IFNγ production in primary tumors, suggesting that Cxcr3 promotes loss of effector function. Ultimately, however, Cxcr3 was critical for mitigating cancer cell dissemination following immunotherapy with CD40 agonist + anti-PD-L1 or T cell receptor engineered T cell therapy targeting mesothelin. In the absence of Cxcr3, splenic Klrg1 + GzmB + antitumor T cells wain while pancreatic cancer disseminates suggesting a role for these cells in eliminating circulating metastatic tumor cells. Intratumoral myeloid cells are poised to produce Cxcl10, whereas splenic DC subsets produce Cxcl9 following immunotherapy supporting differential roles for these chemokines on T cell differentiation. Together, our study supports that Cxcr3 mitigates tumor cell dissemination by impacting peripheral T cell fate rather than intratumoral T cell trafficking.
How can I help you? Design principles for task-oriented speech dialog systems in customer service
Authors: Oesterreich Thuy Duong , Anton Eduard , Schuir Julian , Brehm Alexander , Teuteberg Frank
Published: December 2022

Organizations are increasingly delegating customer inquiries to speech dialog systems (SDSs) to save personnel resources. However, customers often report frustration when interacting with SDSs due to poorly designed solutions. Despite these issues, design knowledge for SDSs in customer service remains elusive. To address this research gap, we employ the design science approach and devise a design theory for SDSs in customer service. The design theory, including 14 requirements and five design principles, draws on the principles of dialog theory and undergoes validation in three iterations using five hypotheses. A summative evaluation comprising a two-phase experiment with 205 participants yields positive results regarding the user experience of the artifact. This study contributes to design knowledge for SDSs in customer service and supports practitioners striving to implement similar systems in their organizations.
Three-dimensional echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular geometric changes following acute myocardial infarction
Authors: El-Naggar Heba M. , Osman Alaa S. , Ahmed Mohamed A. , Youssef Amr A. , Ahmed Tarek A. N.
Published: December 2022

Acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is associated with left ventricular (LV) structural and functional consequences. We aimed to elucidate LV geometric changes following STEMI using three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography (3DE) and to assess their functional implications using two-dimensional (2D) speckle tracking echocardiography (STE). The study included 71 patients with STEMI who underwent baseline and 6-month follow-up 2D- and 3DE. Measured parameters included LV dimensions, biplane volumes, wall motion assessment, 2D LV global longitudinal strain (GLS), and 3D LV volumes, sphericity index and systolic dyssynchrony index. According to 3DE, LV geometric changes were classified as, adverse remodeling, reverse remodeling, and minimal LV volumetric changes. The occurrence of in-hospital and follow-up major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) was assessed among the study population. The incidence of developing adverse remodeling was 25.4% while that of reverse remodeling was 36.6%. Adverse remodeling patients had significantly higher in-hospital MACE. Reverse remodeling was associated with significantly improved GLS, that was less evident in those with minimal LV geometric changes, and non-significant improvement for adverse remodeling group. LV baseline 2D GLS significantly correlated with follow-up 3D volumes among both reverse and adverse remodeling groups. Female gender and higher absolute GLS change upon follow-up were significantly associated with reverse remodeling. ROC-derived cutoff for adverse remodeling reallocated a substantial number of patients from the minimal change group to the adverse remodeling. Following acute STEMI, two-dimensional GLS was associated with and potentially predictive of changes in LV volumes as detected by three-dimensional echocardiography.
CircSTAM inhibits migration and invasion of trophoblast cells by regulating miR-148a-5p/PTEN axis
Authors: Chen Lingfeng , Yan Jinyu , Zhang Haiyan , Xu Jia , Chen Xiaopei
Published: December 2022

Background

The mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of preeclampsia (PE) remains unclear. Exploring the molecular players in PE progression can provide insights into targeted therapy.

Methods

The expression levels of circSTAM in placental chorionic tissues of PE patients and normal pregnant women were compared by RT-qPCR. CircSTAM was knocked down by small interfering RNA to investigate its role in migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) of trophoblast HTR-8/SVneo cells. The downstream target of circSTAM was predicted using online bioinformatics resources, and their molecular interaction was examined by luciferase reporter assay.

Results

CircSTAM was upregulated in PE placenta tissues in comparison to normal placental tissues. CircSTAM knockdown significantly enhanced cellular invasion, migration, as well as EMT. Mir-148a-5p was identified as a target of circSTAM to regulate cell migration and invasion. Mir-148a-5p negatively regulated PTEN expression in trophoblast HTR-8 /SVneo cells.

Conclusion

In summary, circSTAM upregulation in PE trophoblasts promoted the invasion, migration and EMT. CircSTAM may modulate trophoblast phenotype by impinging on mir-148a-5p/PTEN axis. These data provided novel insights into the pathogenesis of PE.
Deconvoluted DSC curves of intestinal muscle layer following warm and cold ischaemic injury
Authors: Ferencz Andrea , Vértes Zsuzsanna , Lőrinczy Dénes
Published: December 2022

Increasingly evidence seems that from the biological samples—mainly the summation of DSC scans of the human blood plasma—can be separated into main and well-known components by deconvolution method. This fact alone could be an important advance in thermoanalytical research, but mostly, it has not been detected in soft tissues yet. The other main reason was that in our previous studies, the histological examinations did not show any significant abnormalities in the intestinal wall muscle layer. Thus, the aim of current research was to measure the small intestinal muscular tissue scans by deconvolution method following different long warm and cold ischaemia animal experiments. Retrospectively, DSC curves obtained from the thermoanalysis of intestinal tissue in animal experiments investigated by deconvolution mathematical methods. Different warm ischaemic insults caused mild decrease after 3 and 6 h in Tm3 and Tm4 transitions in the myosin assigned transition and actin filament transition. After cold storage, the separated 5 melting components appeared in similar order, but the decreases were lesser than after warm ischaemia. Meanwhile, the calorimetric enthalpy which is a good monitor of intervention is decreased in a time-dependent manner after 1 and 3 h in warm and cold ischaemia cases. In contrast, the enthalpy increased above the control value after 6-h warm or cold tissue damage. These results confirmed that both warm and cold ischaemic injuries are detectable by deconvolution of DSC curves in the muscular intestinal layers.
Linearization-based state-transition model for the discrete extended Kalman filter applied to multibody simulations
Authors: Pyrhönen Lauri , Jaiswal Suraj , Garcia-Agundez Alfonso , García Vallejo Daniel , Mikkola Aki
Published: December 2022

This study investigates the discrete extended Kalman filter as applied to multibody systems and focuses on accurate formulation of the state-transition model in the framework. The proposed state-transition model is based on the coordinate-partitioning method and linearization of the multibody equations of motion. The approach utilizes the synergies between the integration of states and estimator covariances without overly simplifying the integrator structure. The proposed method is analyzed with a forward dynamics analysis of a four-bar mechanism. The results show that the stability of the state-transition model in the forward dynamics analysis is significantly enhanced with the proposed method compared with the forward Euler-based methods. The computational efficiency of the novel method was significantly lower in comparison to forward Euler-based methods, which was found to be mainly due to the computation of the Jacobian matrix of the nonlinear state equation. However, the increase in computational cost can be considered acceptable in Kalman-filtering applications, where the exact Jacobian of the state equation is needed.
Dust in and Around the Heliosphere and Astrospheres
Authors: Sterken Veerle J. , Baalmann Lennart R. , Draine Bruce T. , Godenko Egor , Herbst Konstantin , Hsu Hsiang-Wen , Hunziker Silvan , Izmodenov Vladislav , Lallement Rosine , Slavin Jonathan D.
Published: December 2022

Interstellar dust particles were discovered in situ, in the solar system, with theUlyssesmission’s dust detector in 1992. Ever since, more interstellar dust particles have been measured inside the solar system by various missions, providing insight into not only the composition of such far-away visitors, but also in their dynamics and interaction with the heliosphere. The dynamics of interstellar (and interplanetary) dust in the solar/stellar systems depend on the dust properties and also on the space environment, in particular on the heliospheric/astrospheric plasma, and the embedded time-variable magnetic fields, via Lorentz forces. Also, solar radiation pressure filters out dust particles depending on their composition. Charge exchanges between the dust and the ambient plasma occur, and pick-up ions can be created. The role of the dust for the physics of the heliosphere and astrospheres is fairly unexplored, but an important and a rapidly growing topic of investigation. This review paper gives an overview of dust processes in heliospheric and astrospheric environments, with its resulting dynamics and consequences. It discusses theoretical modeling, and reviews in situ measurements and remote sensing of dust in and near our heliosphere and astrospheres, with the latter being a newly emerging field of science. Finally, it summarizes the open questions in the field.
Short-term Runoff Prediction Optimization Method Based on BGRU-BP and BLSTM-BP Neural Networks
Authors: He Sheng , Sang Xuefeng , Yin Junxian , Zheng Yang , Chen Heting
Published: December 2022

Runoff forecasting is one of the important non-engineering measures for flood prevention and disaster reduction. The accurate and reliable runoff forecasting mainly depends on the development of science and technology, many machine learning models have been proposed for runoff forecasting in recent years. Considering the non-linearity and real-time of hourly rainfall and runoff data. In this study, two runoff forecasting models were proposed, which were the combination of the bidirectional gated recurrent unit and backpropagation (BGRU-BP) neural network and the bidirectional long short-term memory and backpropagation (BLSTM-BP) neural network. The two models were compared with the gated recurrent unit (GRU), long short-term memory (LSTM), bidirectional gated recurrent unit (BGRU), and bidirectional long short-term memory (BLSTM) models. The research methods were applied to simulate runoff in the Yanglou hydrological station, Northern Anhui Province, China. The results show that the bidirectional models were superior to the unidirectional model, and the backpropagation (BP) based bidirectional models were superior to the bidirectional models. The bidirectional propagation was conducive to improving the generalization ability of the model, and BP neural network could better guide the model to find the optimal nonlinear relationship. The results also show that the BGRU-BP model performs equally well as the BLSTM-BP model. The BGRU-BP model has few parameters and a short training time, so it may be the preferred method for short-term runoff forecasting.
Kulturelle Jugendbildung und Digitalität
Authors: Rohde Julia
Published: December 2022

Das Wissen um die Einbindung von Heranwachsenden in die digitale Kultur wirft u. a. Fragen nach der Notwendigkeit und den Möglichkeiten des Einbezugs digitaler Medien in kulturelle Bildungsangebote auf. Entlang von empirischen Erkenntnissen zum Stand der Digitalisierung im Feld Kultureller Jugendbildung werden diese Fragen im Beitrag ausgelotet und diskutiert.
Valence framing induces cognitive bias
Authors: Iotzov Vassil , Weiß Martin , Windmann Sabine , Hein Grit
Published: December 2022

Valence framing effects refer to inconsistent choice preferences in response to positive versus negative formulation of mathematically equivalent outcomes. Here, we manipulate valence framing in a two-alternative forced choice dictator game using gains and losses as frames to investigate the cognitive mechanisms underlying valence framing. We applied a Drift-Diffusion Model (DDM) to examine whether gain (i.e., “take” money) and loss (i.e., “give” money) frames evoke a cognitive bias as previous research did not consistently reveal framing effects using reaction times and response frequency as dependent variables. DDMs allow decomposing the decision process into separate cognitive mechanisms, whereby a cognitive bias was repeatedly associated with a shift in the starting point of the model. Conducting both a laboratory (N = 62) and an online study (N = 109), female participants allocated money between themselves and another person in a prosocial or selfish way. In each study, one group was instructed to give money (give frame), the other to take money (take frame). Consistent with previous studies, no differences were found in response times and response frequencies. However, in both studies, substantial bias towards the selfish option was found in the take frame groups, captured by the starting point of the DDM. Thus, our results suggest that valence framing induces a cognitive bias in decision processing in women, even when no behavioral differences are present.
Experimental study on the law of transitional gas flow in porous media
Authors: Miao Jian , Jia Haojie , Li Peibo , Feng Guanzheng
Published: December 2022

There are many nanoscale pores in deep low permeability coal seams. The flow of coalbed methane (gas) in nanoscale pores belongs to the gas flow in porous media with medium and high Knudsen numbers. Its flow mechanism is one of the key unsolved scientific problems. In order to explore the gas transport law in nanopores of coal, a gas transport model based on microscopic boundary restriction was adopted to describe the gas flow law, and its rationality was verified by experimental data. The Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope was used to scan the nanopores of customized anodized aluminum membrane. Then, the Maximally Stable Extremal Regions (MSER) algorithm of MATLAB and binarization algorithm were employed to quantify the pore structure parameters (equivalent pore size and porosity) of the membrane nanoscale pores. Finally, PMI micro-flow permeability tester was used to carry out different rarefied degree gas penetration experiments through anodized aluminum membranes, and the adopted gas transport model was verified. The results show that the binarization method is more accurate to characterize sample whose theoretical pore sizes are 20–35 nm, while MSER characterizes samples whose theoretical pore sizes are 110–150 nm and 200–300 nm more accurately. In other words, binarization method is more accurate for characterizing mesopores, while MSER algorithm is more accurate for macropores. The results have important reference value for more accurate extraction of nanopore parameters of porous media. Compared with traditional gas transport model, the adopted model considering the microscopic boundary restriction in this paper is closer to the experimental results. Moreover, it is suitable for describing the gas flow law in multiscale nanopores. The study provided important guiding significance for ascertaining the gas migration law in low permeability coal seam, improving the prediction accuracy of gas extraction and taking effective measures to increase production. The research results can further enrich the theoretical system of gas transport in coal, which is conducive to the efficient gas extraction, and is of great significance to promote the realization of carbon peak and carbon neutrality.
Trends in premarital pregnancy among Chinese women
Authors: Li Wenzhen
Published: December 2022

Consequent to the spread of liberalism, individualism and sexual liberation, premarital pregnancy is gradually becoming more common in China. Data from a national reproductive history review reveal that more than 20% of Chinese women born since 1957 have experienced a premarital pregnancy, and that such pregnancies occur more frequently in younger cohorts. Although data from the second demographic transition in the West would lead us to conclude otherwise, an overwhelming majority of premarital pregnancies in China have translated into marriages. Compared with the OECD countries, China is one of several countries with a very low out-of-wedlock birth rate. Premarital pregnancy points to a separation between sex and marriage, whilst the high rate of births within marriage is reflective of a strong bond between marriage and childbearing. The partial loosening of the “sex-marriage–childbearing” linkage not only lays bare the strong influence of values such as individualism, but also illustrates the exceptional resilience of China’s “family” culture that continues to compel people to maintain the inherent link between childbearing and marriage. Pregnancy may occur before marriage, but childbearing is only allowed within marriage. Premarital cohabitation and premarital pregnancy mark a preparatory or transitional stage rather than alternatives to marriage and childbearing. When considering how to deal with marriage, pregnancy, and childbearing, the choices Chinese women make are informed by both the second demographic transition and China’s traditional family values.
Why Study the Middle Ages?
Authors: Tracy Kisha G.
Published: December 2022

The study of the Middle Ages in every aspect of the modern liberal arts-the humanities, STEM, and the social sciences-has significant importance for society and the individual. There is a common belief that the peoples of the past were somehow exempt from (positive, especially) human nature, had less of a sense of morality (by any definition) than we do now, or were unaware of basic human dilemmas or triumphs. Relegating the Middle Ages to 'primitive' distances us from close examination of what has not changed in society-or what has, which might not be for the better. Exploring and exploding these (mis)conceptions is essential to experience the benefits of a liberal education.
Medieval Syphilis and Treponemal Disease
Authors: Salmon Marylynn
Published: December 2022

Leaders in the field of paleopathology have found enough evidence to prove that treponematosis, including syphilis, existed in ancient and medieval Afro-Eurasia, settling a decades-long debate. Yet documentary and artistic evidence to support this important work remains scarce. After summarizing the confirmed cases of treponematosis detected to date, this book turns to contemporary accounts about the death of the English king, Edward IV, that strongly indicate syphilis as the cause. It then considers further evidence suggesting contemporary awareness that elites tended to experience the disease more severely than commoners, and includes numerous examples from medical treatises and artworks that are highly suggestive that both endemic and venereal treponematosis (bejel and syphilis) were present in late medieval Europe. In doing so, the author hopes to spark a conversation not only about the existence of the disease in various places and times, but also its wider impact on premodern society and culture.
Stigmatics and Visual Culture in Late Medieval and Early Modern Italy
Authors: Warr Cordelia
Published: December 2022

This book places the discourse surrounding stigmata within the visual culture of the late medieval and early modern periods, with a particular focus on Italy and on female stigmatics. Echoing, and to a certain extent recreating, the wounds and pain inflicted on Christ during his passion, stigmata stimulated controversy. Related to this were issues that were deeply rooted in contemporary visual culture such as how stigmata were described and performed and whether, or how, it was legitimate to represent stigmata in visual art. Because of the contested nature of stigmata and because stigmata did not always manifest in the same form - sometimes invisible, sometimes visible only periodically, sometimes miraculous, and sometimes self-inflicted - they provoked complex questions and reflections relating to the nature and purpose of visual representation.
Irrationalities in Islam and Media in Nineteenth-Century Iran
Authors: Ghajarjazi Arash
Published: December 2022

This book deals for the first time with the cultural history of media in nineteenth-century Iran, a history that deals with how modern techniques of representation and communication were received in the Iranian Shi'a society. This reception history is examined in religious photography, military reforms, Persian passion plays, Shi'a medicine, and the burgeoning telegraphic culture. The problematic relationship between Shi'a Islam and 19th-century media is conceptualised and contextualised, especially through the lens of the first Polytechnique college (Dar al-Fonun, 1851) in Iran. This college is conceptualised as a media laboratory, where the technological sphere in Iran was fundamentally transforming. It is also contextualised in the age of reform, a period in which the Middle East was undergoing widespread social, political, and military changes. Islamic (art) history, Iranian Studies, and cultural analysis form an interdisciplinary analytic framework to create new knowledge about the historical complexity of nineteenth-century Iran.
The effectiveness of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine in the prevention of post–COVID-19 conditions: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis
Authors: Marra Alexandre R. , Kobayashi Takaaki , Suzuki Hiroyuki , Alsuhaibani Mohammed , Hasegawa Shinya , Tholany Joseph , Perencevich Eli , Maezato Aline Miho , Ricardo Victoria Catharina Volpe , Salinas Jorge L. , Edmond Michael B. , Rizzo Luiz Vicente
Published: December 2022

Background:

Although multiple studies have revealed that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines can reduce COVID-19–related outcomes, little is known about their impact on post–COVID-19 conditions. We performed a systematic literature review and meta-analysis on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination against post–COVID-19 conditions (ie, long COVID).

Methods:

We searched PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scopus, and Web of Science from December 1, 2019, to April 27, 2022, for studies evaluating COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against post–COVID-19 conditions among individuals who received at least 1 dose of Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, or Janssen vaccine. A post–COVID-19 condition was defined as any symptom that was present 3 or more weeks after having COVID-19. Editorials, commentaries, reviews, study protocols, and studies in the pediatric population were excluded. We calculated the pooled diagnostic odds ratios (DORs) for post–COVID-19 conditions between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Vaccine effectiveness was estimated as 100% × (1 − DOR).

Results:

In total, 10 studies with 1,600,830 individuals evaluated the effect of vaccination on post–COVID-19 conditions, of which 6 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled DOR for post–COVID-19 conditions among individuals vaccinated with at least 1 dose was 0.708 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.692–0.725) with an estimated vaccine effectiveness of 29.2% (95% CI, 27.5%–30.8%). The vaccine effectiveness was 35.3% (95% CI, 32.3%–38.1%) among those who received the COVID-19 vaccine before having COVID-19, and 27.4% (95% CI, 25.4%–29.3%) among those who received it after having COVID-19.

Conclusions:

COVID-19 vaccination both before and after having COVID-19 significantly decreased post–COVID-19 conditions for the circulating variants during the study period although vaccine effectiveness was low.
The Politics of Localizing Human Rights: Chinese Policies and Corporate Practices in Latin America
Authors: Merino Roger
Published: December 2022

The ‘Going Out’ strategy that China began in 1999 escalated to a global level with the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ in 2013. However, the lack of a clear international framework for corporate accountability accentuates the risks of human rights’ affectation by Chinese corporations, considering their controversial performance in Latin America. This article engages with the scholarly framework of international norm localization to analyze the enactment of Chinese business and human rights standards and their concrete application. This assessment relies on an extensive review of academic and policy research and the analysis of social conflicts around one of the largest copper mines in the region, Las Bambas, located in the highlands of Peru. The case shows that the main problem is not the lack of incorporation of business and human rights standards into national laws and the guidelines of companies’ home regulators, but the different ways they are interpreted by social actors on the ground. Local communities are not passive receptors of those norms but norm makers who appropriate them and provide new meanings in line with their self-determination. Chinese and national authorities and firms, therefore, need to engage with those norms from the perspective of local people.
“I Could Never Hope for Anything More Rewarding”: Pleasure, Selfhood, and Emotional Practices in the Forming of the Highland Folk Museum in the 1930s
Authors: Hill Kate
Published: December 2022

The actions of Dr. Isabel Grant in creating the Highland Folk Museum in Scotland in the 1930s reflect how pleasure interacted with gendered identities to form modern feminine selves in the mid-twentieth century. In examining the subjectivity of Grant and her associates through material, textual, and visual sources from the museum, I interrogate both emotional and representational aspects of her development of living history. I suggest that, along with a sense of care and duty in such museums, women such as Grant were attracted by the opportunities of imaginative play and that they formed identities that were not reducible to either traditional or modern women's roles; instead, they were drawn to a form of historical engagement that allowed them to work outside such labels, sometimes as eccentrics. Their play was more serious and nonironic than were many other forms of interwar modern culture, and living history initiatives since then have built on this modern-but-not-modern appeal.
New Roman milestones and other Latin inscriptions from Bani Walid, Tripolitania
Authors: Elmayer Abdulhafid F. , Salway Benet
Published: December 2022

This paper publishes the texts of three new Roman milestones and two other Latin texts from the vicinity of Bani Walid. These stones were found lying on the ground in the western suburbs of the city, apparently having been collected up and put aside by the landowners in clearing their fields to grow crops on their farms. Although previously postulated, these milestones are the first confirmation that a Roman road ran through Bani Walid. As a group these new texts offer new insight into the development of the transport infrastructure and agricultural economy of this Pre-Desert zone in the third century AD.
Applications of artificial intelligence in dementia research
Authors: Tsoi Kelvin K. F. , Jia Pingping , Dowling N. Maritza , Titiner Jodi R. , Wagner Maude , Capuano Ana W. , Donohue Michael C.
Published: December 2022

More than 50 million older people worldwide are suffering from dementia, and this number is estimated to increase to 150 million by 2050. Greater caregiver burdens and financial impacts on the healthcare system are expected as we wait for an effective treatment for dementia. Researchers are constantly exploring new therapies and screening approaches for the early detection of dementia. Artificial intelligence (AI) is widely applied in dementia research, including machine learning and deep learning methods for dementia diagnosis and progression detection. Computerized apps are also convenient tools for patients and caregivers to monitor cognitive function changes. Furthermore, social robots can potentially provide daily life support or guidance for the elderly who live alone. This review aims to provide an overview of AI applications in dementia research. We divided the applications into three categories according to different stages of cognitive impairment: (1) cognitive screening and training, (2) diagnosis and prognosis for dementia, and (3) dementia care and interventions. There are numerous studies on AI applications for dementia research. However, one challenge that remains is comparing the effectiveness of different AI methods in real clinical settings.
Lemongrass essential oil reduces whole-plant sorghum silage gas losses and does not affect silage in vitro degradation
Authors: Del Valle T. A. , Cantoia Júnior R. , Azevedo E. B. , Santos R. M. , Facco F. B. , Garcia T. M. , Capucho E. , Campana M. , Morais J. P. G.
Published: December 2022

Lemongrass essential oil (LEO) has been evaluated as a silage additive to improve silage fermentation and reduce fermentative losses. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of increasing levels of LEO on whole-plant sorghum silage (WPSS) fermentation profile, fermentation losses, chemical composition, dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) in vitro degradation and aerobic stability. Five cultivars and fifty experimental silos were used to evaluate the following LEO levels: 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 ml kg−1 DM of WPSS. The material was compacted (650 kg m−2) and the silos were sealed, weighed and stored at room temperature for 167 days. The addition of LEO linearly decreased butyric acid content and the ratio between lactic and acetic acids. Intermediate levels of LEO increased NH3-N and reduced lactic and acetic acids content. LEO linearly decreased silage gas losses. However, LEO did not affect total silage losses and DM recovery. Intermediate levels of LEO addition decreased organic matter and crude protein in the WPSS. The addition of LEO did not affect other chemical composition parameters, DM and NDF in vitro degradation, and pH and temperature of the silage after aerobic exposure. Thus, LEO supply in WPSS reduces gas losses, butyric acid concentration, and the ratio between lactic and acetic acids. However, LEO does not improve the chemical composition, in vitro degradation, and aerobic stability of WPSS.
The best game in town: The reemergence of the language-of-thought hypothesis across the cognitive sciences
Authors: Quilty-Dunn Jake , Porot Nicolas , Mandelbaum Eric
Published: December 2022

Mental representations remain the central posits of psychology after many decades of scrutiny. However, there is no consensus about the representational format(s) of biological cognition. This paper provides a survey of evidence from computational cognitive psychology, perceptual psychology, developmental psychology, comparative psychology, and social psychology, and concludes that one type of format that routinely crops up is the language-of-thought (LoT). We outline six core properties of LoTs: (i) discrete constituents; (ii) role-filler independence; (iii) predicate–argument structure; (iv) logical operators; (v) inferential promiscuity; and (vi) abstract content. These properties cluster together throughout cognitive science. Bayesian computational modeling, compositional features of object perception, complex infant and animal reasoning, and automatic, intuitive cognition in adults all implicate LoT-like structures. Instead of regarding LoT as a relic of the previous century, researchers in cognitive science and philosophy-of-mind must take seriously the explanatory breadth of LoT-based architectures. We grant that the mind may harbor many formats and architectures, including iconic and associative structures as well as deep-neural-network-like architectures. However, as computational/representational approaches to the mind continue to advance, classical compositional symbolic structures – that is, LoTs – only prove more flexible and well-supported over time.
Being pragmatic about syntactic bootstrapping
Authors: HACQUARD Valentine
Published: December 2022

Words have meanings vastly undetermined by the contexts in which they occur. Their acquisition therefore presents formidable problems of induction. Lila Gleitman and colleagues have advocated for one part of a solution: indirect evidence for a word’s meaning may come from its syntactic distribution, via syntactic bootstrapping. But while formal theories argue for principled links between meaning and syntax, actual syntactic evidence about meaning is noisy and highly abstract. This paper examines the role that syntactic bootstrapping can play in learning modal and attitude verb meanings, for which the physical context is especially uninformative. I argue that abstract syntactic classifications are useful to the child, but that something further is both necessary and available. I examine how pragmatic and syntactic cues can combine in mutually constraining ways to help learners infer attitude meanings, but need to be supplemented by semantic information from the lexical context in the case of modals.
LAW AND MORALITY IN HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION
Authors: Eggert Linda
Published: December 2022

This paper examines what prevents us from legally enforcing the moral imperative of protecting human rights during military operations carried out for distinctly humanitarian purposes. The answer, I argue, lies not in familiar objections to bringing the law into greater congruence with morality, but in international law's indeterminacy regarding the use of force. Preserving stability within the nascent international legal system comes at the cost of a law that eschews the protection of individual rights even in cases in which the protection of human rights is what justifies military action. The tension between state sovereignty and the protection of human rights thus not only generates well-known controversies about the lawfulness of military intervention. It also prevents us from devising laws to protect human rights during wars whose very purpose it is to stop human rights violations. Protecting human rights during humanitarian interventions may thus remain an undertaking as quixotic as it is morally urgent.
On the first probe to transit between two interstellar civilizations
Authors: Smith Graeme H.
Published: December 2022

If a space-faring civilization embarks on a program to send probes to interstellar destinations, the first probe to arrive at such a destination is not likely to be one of the earliest probes, but one of much more advanced capability. This conclusion is based on a scenario in which an extraterrestrial civilization (ETC) embarks upon an interstellar program during which it launches increasingly sophisticated probes whose departure speed increases as a function of time throughout the program. Two back-of-the-envelope models are considered: one in which the launch velocity of an outgoing vehicle increases linearly with the time of launch, and a second in which the increase is exponential with launch date. In this paper consideration is directed to an hypothesized probe arriving within the Solar System from a non-terrestrial civilization. Within the above scenarios, a first-encounter probe will be one that was launched well after the initiation of an interstellar program by an ETC. Consequently, such a probe would be the product of a relatively advanced phase of that ETC's technology. The more distant the site from which an ETC is launching probes, the greater will be the technology gap between a first-encounter probe and terrestrial technology. One possible ramification may pertain to interpreting the nature of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP). Are flight characteristics of any UAP singular enough as to be consistent with an origin from a distant ETC?
Catholicism and Modernity in Irish Political Thought: The Case of Aodh de Blácam
Authors: Donnelly Seán
Published: December 2022

The political thought of Ireland's revolutionary generation has, in recent years, attracted increasing attention from scholars. However, the historiography of the Irish revolution and its aftermath remains marked by an enduring tendency to critique, rather than contextualize, the types of nationalist and religious motivations proffered commonly to justify political action in the early decades of the twentieth century. Focusing on the intellectual output of one highly original and conspicuously under-researched thinker, Aodh de Blácam, this article seeks to make some contribution towards redressing this historiographical deficit. In addition to highlighting the richness of the engagement with international debates in political theory that obtained among many members of Ireland's revolutionary generation, de Blácam's work illustrates vividly the heterodox range of influences that shaped Irish nationalism between the wars and the diverse conceptions of modernity that were formulated in response to the social and economic upheaval of the period.
CCHZ‐DISO: A Timely New Assessment System for Data Quality or Model Performance From Da Dao Zhi Jian
Authors: Hu Zengyun , Chen Deliang , Chen Xi , Zhou Qiming , Peng Yuzhuo , Li Jianfeng , Sang Yanfang
Published: December 2022

With the rapid development of big data, assessment of data quality or model performance has become a hot scientific question. However, most existing lots of metrics focus on specific aspects of the assessment, and comprehensive assessment is rare. Therefore, it is very necessary to develop new assessment system. To address this problem, a new assessment system is constructed which is named after Chen, Chen, Hu, and Zhou (CCHZ)‐distance between indices of simulation and observation (DISO) according to the contributions of Xi Chen, Deliang Chen, Zengyun Hu, and Qiming Zhou. CCHZ‐DISO system builds on the Euclidean Distance and flexible determination of statistical metrics and their numbers. Due to its simplicity and flexibility, CCHZ‐DISO can be readily and widely applied to any subject of science. Therefore, it follows the principle of the Chinese philosopher Lao Zi's Da Dao Zhi Jian which means that the most basic truth is very simple.
Impact of Higher Spatial Resolution on Precipitation Properties Over Australia
Authors: Nishant Nidhi , Sherwood Steven , Prasad Abhnil , Ji Fei , Singh Ajit
Published: December 2022

Coarse resolution datasets often poorly capture precipitation properties. It is commonly expected that skill at the local level should increase by refining spatial resolution. Here, we examine the influence of spatial resolution on the accuracy of means and extremes in precipitation by comparing high‐resolution dynamically downscaled data against the driving lower‐resolution reanalysis. We show that the higher‐resolution data are less accurate than lower‐resolution data for both mean and extreme precipitation. The quantitative deterioration (increase in the domain averaged relative error) from coarse to high resolution varies typically between 1%–8% and 5%–30% for mean and extreme precipitation, respectively. We also find that the finer‐scale variability resolved only by the higher‐resolution system and successfully predicted by that system is of negligible magnitude compared to the overall error (less than 1%). We conclude that finer‐scale resolution by itself does not necessarily bring a meaningful improvement in local simulation accuracy.