bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Partial body cryotherapy exposure drives acute redistribution of circulating lymphocytes: preliminary findings
Authors: Rose Catriona L. , McGuire Helen , Graham Kenneth , Siegler Jason , de St Groth Barbara Fazekas , Caillaud Corinne , Edwards Kate M.
Published: November 2022

Partial body cryotherapy (PBC) is proposed to alleviate symptoms of exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) by reducing associated inflammation. No studies have assessed acute PBC exposure on peripheral blood mononuclear cell mobilisation or compared these with cold water immersion (CWI), which may inform how PBC impacts inflammatory processes. This trial examined the impact of a single PBC exposure on circulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells compared to CWI or a control. 26 males were randomised into either PBC (3 min at − 110 to − 140 °C), CWI (3 min at 9 °C), or control (3 min at 24 °C), with blood samples, heart rate, and blood pressure taken before and after exposure. Cytometric analysis determined that CD8+T-cell populations were significantly elevated after treatments, with PBC increasing CD8+T cells to a greater degree than either CWI or CON. Natural killer cell counts were also elevated after PBC, with the increase attributed specifically to the CD56loCD16+cytotoxic subset. This provides the first evidence for the effect of PBC exposure on redistribution of immune cells. An increase in circulating leukocyte subsets such as CD8+T cells and CD56loCD16+natural killer cells suggests that PBC may induce a transient mobilisation of lymphocytes. PBC may thus enable a more efficient trafficking of these cells from the circulation to the site of initial cellular insult from exercise, potentially accelerating the process of cellular recovery. This provides novel evidence on the use of PBC as a recovery treatment and may also have applicability in other clinical settings involving the recovery of damaged skeletal muscle.
Learning and generalization of repetition-based rules in autism
Authors: Bettoni Roberta , Addabbo Margaret , Ghidina Chiara , Pezzana Chiara , Vagni David , Turati Chiara , Bulf Hermann
Published: November 2022

Rule Learning (RL) allows us to extract and generalize high-order rules from a sequence of elements. Despite the critical role of RL in the acquisition of linguistic and social abilities, no study has investigated RL processes in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Here, we investigated RL in high-functioning autistic adolescents with ASD, examining whether their ability to extract and generalize rules from a sequence of visual elements is affected by the social vs. non-social nature of the stimulus and by visual working memory (WM). Using a forced-choice paradigm, ASD adolescents and typically developing (TD) peers were tested for their ability to detect and generalize high-order, repetition-based rules from visual sequences of simple non-social stimuli (shapes), complex non-social stimuli (inverted faces), and social stimuli (upright face). Both ASD and TD adolescents were able to generalize the rule they had learned to new stimuli, and their ability was modulated by the social nature of the stimuli and the complexity of the rule. Moreover, an association between RL and WM was found in the ASD, but not TD group, suggesting that ASD might have used additional or alternative strategies that relied on visual WM resources.
Vitamin requirements during stem cell transplantation: a systematic review
Authors: Segon Bronwyn , Lam Leroy , Chan Hei Yan , Andersen Sarah , Brown Teresa , Kenway D’Arcy , Bauer Judy
Published: November 2022

Patients undergoing stem cell transplantation (SCT) are at high risk of malnutrition during the acute post-transplantation period. This systematic review aimed to collate and analyse the evidence for vitamin requirements post-SCT. A systematic search of five databases was conducted to include studies published until March 2021. The review utilised the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) framework. Inclusion criteria consisted of adults undergoing SCT who received vitamin supplementation or had their vitamin levels monitored up to 100 days post-SCT. Studies with paediatric patients or those that looked at vitamin derivates such as folinic acid were excluded. Main outcomes included vitamin deficiency and relevant clinical outcomes. Eleven studies (n = 11) were eligible for inclusion with five rated as neutral quality and six as positive quality. Five studies focused on allogenic SCT, two on autologous SCT and the remaining included a mix of both. Eight studies monitored vitamins levels post-SCT, and seven studies provided vitamin supplementation. Three studies (one provided supplementation) found a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (23–60%) prior to SCT. Findings indicate an unclear association between vitamin deficiency and post-SCT complications including acute graft-versus-host-disease, oral mucositis, and mortality. The GRADE certainty of evidence across these outcomes was low or very low. It is unclear if supplementation is needed during SCT, though assessing vitamin D levels prior to transplant should be considered. Further large observational studies or randomised control trials are required to establish vitamin requirements and guide supplementation protocols during SCT.
Sleep and health-related quality of life in women following a cancer diagnosis: results from the Women’s Wellness after Cancer Program in Australia
Authors: Edmed Shannon L. , Huda M. Mamun , Smith Simon S. , Seib Charrlotte , Porter-Steele Janine , Anderson Debra , McCarthy Alexandra L.
Published: November 2022

Purpose

Sleep disturbance after cancer treatment could compromise recovery. This paper examined the associations between post-treatment sleep problems and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and the effectiveness of an e-enabled lifestyle intervention on sleep outcomes.

Methods

The Women’s Wellness after Cancer Program (WWACP) was examined in a single blinded, multi-centre randomised controlled trial. Data were collected from 351 women (Mage = 53.2, SD = 8.8; intervention n = 175, control group n = 176) who had completed surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy for breast, gynaecological or blood cancers within the previous 24 months. Participants completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) at baseline (prior to intervention randomisation), and at 12 and 24 weeks later. Sociodemographic information, menopausal symptoms (Greene Climacteric Scale) and HRQoL (36-Item Short Form Health Survey; SF-36) were also collected. Linear panel regression was used to examine the association between sleep variables and SF36 Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS) scores. A difference-in-difference regression model approach was used to examine the intervention effect on the sleep outcomes.

Results

After adjustment for potential confounders, the sleep variables (except sleep duration) significantly predicted physical, but not mental, HRQoL. There was no statistically significant effect of the intervention on sleep outcomes at 12 or 24 weeks.

Conclusion

Women who have completed treatment for cancer experience sleep problems that are associated with decreased physical HRQoL. Improving sleep through targeted interventions should improve their physical HRQoL. Improved targeting of the sleep components of the WWACP should be explored.
An exploration of the use of photobiomodulation for management of oral mucositis in children and young people undergoing cancer treatment in the UK
Authors: Heggie Claudia , Gray-Burrows Kara A. , Day Peter F. , Phillips Bob
Published: November 2022

Purpose

Oral mucositis affects up to 80% of children and young people (CYP) receiving chemotherapy. This can result in pain, reduced oral intake and, in severe cases, hospitalisation for parental nutrition and pain relief. Photobiomodulation is recommended by multiple bodies for mucositis management for those undergoing cancer treatments. The current use of photobiomodulation within the UK, and the barriers and facilitators to implementation is unknown.

Method

An online mixed-methods survey was administered to representatives from the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG) between October 2021 and March 2022. This explored: use of photobiomodulation, planned future use, barriers and facilitators to implementation and dental assessment. Quantitative data underwent descriptive statistics. Barriers and facilitators to the implementation of photobiomodulation were analysed using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF).

Results

All UK CCLG centres responded (n = 20, a response rate of 100%). Two units in Scotland were delivering photobiomodulation. A further four units were planning to implement a service. Most units, 65% (n = 13) utilised specialist Paediatric Dentistry services for dental assessment. In the TDF analysis, five domains were most frequently populated: knowledge, skills, environmental context and resources, social influences, and social/professional role and identity.

Conclusion

Photobiomodulation was only available in Scotland in two children’s cancer units. Lack of knowledge and skills, and insufficient environmental resources were identified as barriers. Collaboration with paediatric dental services was identified as a facilitator. The establishment of a national network of Paediatric Dentists and Oncologists would promote collaboration to standardise protocols and to address the identified barriers to wider implementation of photobiomodulation.
A cross-diffusion system obtained via (convex) relaxation in the JKO scheme
Authors: Ducasse Romain , Santambrogio Filippo , Yoldaş Havva
Published: November 2022

In this paper, we start from a very natural system of cross-diffusion equations, which can be seen as a gradient flow for the Wasserstein distance of a certain functional. Unfortunately, the cross-diffusion system is not well-posed, as a consequence of the fact that the underlying functional is not lower semi-continuous. We then consider the relaxation of the functional, and prove existence of a solution in a suitable sense for the gradient flow of (the relaxed functional). This gradient flow has also a cross-diffusion structure, but the mixture between two different regimes, that are determined by the relaxation, makes this study non-trivial.
On torsional rigidity and ground-state energy of compact quantum graphs
Authors: Mugnolo Delio , Plümer Marvin
Published: November 2022

We develop the theory of torsional rigidity—a quantity routinely considered for Dirichlet Laplacians on bounded planar domains—for Laplacians on metric graphs with at least one Dirichlet vertex. Using a variational characterization that goes back to Pólya, we develop surgical principles that, in turn, allow us to prove isoperimetric-type inequalities: we can hence compare the torsional rigidity of general metric graphs with that of intervals of the same total length. In the spirit of the Kohler-Jobin inequality, we also derive sharp bounds on the ground-state energy of a quantum graph in terms of its torsional rigidity: this is particularly attractive since computing the torsional rigidity reduces to inverting a matrix whose size is the number of the graph’s vertices and is, thus, much easier than computing eigenvalues.
Sulfonated graphene nanomaterials for membrane antifouling, pollutant removal, and production of chemicals from biomass: a review
Authors: Tawfik Ahmed , Eraky Mohamed , Khalil Mohamed N. , Osman Ahmed I. , Rooney David W.
Published: November 2022

Water pollution and the unsustainable use of fossil fuel derivatives require advanced catalytic methods to clean waters and to produce fine chemicals from modern biomass. Classical homogeneous catalysts such as sulfuric, phosphoric, and hydrochloric acid are highly corrosive and non-recyclable, whereas heterogeneous catalysts appear promising for lignocellulosic waste depolymerization, pollutant degradation, and membrane antifouling. Here, we review the use of sulfonated graphene and sulfonated graphene oxide nanomaterials for improving membranes, pollutant adsorption and degradation, depolymerization of lignocellulosic waste, liquefaction of biomass, and production of fine chemicals. We also discuss the economy of oil production from biomass. Sulfonated graphene and sulfonated graphene oxide display an unusual large theoretical specific surface area of 2630 m2/g, allowing the reactants to easily enter the internal surface of graphene nanosheets and to reach active acid sites. Sulfonated graphene oxide is hydrophobic and has hydrophilic groups, such as hydroxyl, carboxyl, and epoxy, thus creating cavities on the graphene nanosheet’s surface. The adsorption capacity approached 2.3–2.4 mmol per gram for naphthalene and 1-naphthol. Concerning membranes, we observe an improvement of hydrophilicity, salt rejection, water flux, antifouling properties, and pollutant removal. The nanomaterials can be reused several times without losing catalytic activity due to the high stability originating from the stable carbon–sulfur bond between graphene and the sulfonic group.
Adaptive machine learning-based surrogate modeling to accelerate PDE-constrained optimization in enhanced oil recovery
Authors: Keil Tim , Kleikamp Hendrik , Lorentzen Rolf J. , Oguntola Micheal B. , Ohlberger Mario
Published: November 2022

In this contribution, we develop an efficient surrogate modeling framework for simulation-based optimization of enhanced oil recovery, where we particularly focus on polymer flooding. The computational approach is based on an adaptive training procedure of a neural network that directly approximates an input-output map of the underlying PDE-constrained optimization problem. The training process thereby focuses on the construction of an accurate surrogate model solely related to the optimization path of an outer iterative optimization loop. True evaluations of the objective function are used to finally obtain certified results. Numerical experiments are given to evaluate the accuracy and efficiency of the approach for a heterogeneous five-spot benchmark problem.
Combining adaptive expertise and (critically) reflective practice to support the development of knowledge, skill, and society
Authors: Ng Stella L , Forsey Jacquelin , Boyd Victoria A , Friesen Farah , Langlois Sylvia , Ladonna Kori , Mylopoulos Maria , Steenhof Naomi
Published: November 2022

Adaptive expertise (AE) and reflective practice (RP), two influential and resonant theories of professional expertise and practice in their own right, may further benefit health professions education if carefully combined. The current societal and systemic context is primed for both AE and RP. Both bodies of work position practitioners as agentive, learning continually and thoughtfully throughout their careers, particularly in order to manage unprecedented situations well. Similar on the surface, the roots and practices of AE and RP diverge at key junctures and we will focus on RP’s movement toward critically reflective practice. The roots of AE and RP, and how they relate to or diverge from present-day applications matter because in health professions education, as in all education, paradigmatic mixing should be undertaken purposefully. This paper will explore the need for AE and RP, their shared commitments, distinctive histories, pedagogical possibilities both individually and combined, and next steps for maximizing their potential to positively impact the field. We argue that this exploration is urgently needed because both AE and RP hold much promise for improving health care and yet employing them optimally—whether alone or together—requires understanding and intent. We build an interprofessional education case situated in long-term care, throughout the paper, to demonstrate the potential that AE and RP might offer to health professions education individually and combined. This exploration comes just in time. Within the realities of uncertain practice emphasized by the pandemic, practitioners were also called to act in response to complex and urgent social movements. A combined AE and RP approach, with focus on critically reflective practice in particular, would potentially prepare professionals to respond effectively, compassionately, and equitably to future health and social crises and challenges.
Constructing legitimacy for technologies developed in response to environmental regulation: the case of ammonia emission-reducing technology for the Flemish intensive livestock industry
Authors: van der Velden Daniel , Dessein Joost , Klerkx Laurens , Debruyne Lies
Published: November 2022

This study is focused on unsustainable agri-food systems, especially intensive livestock farming and its resulting environmental harms. Specifically we focus on the development of technologies that seek to mitigate these environmental harms. These technologies are generally developed as incremental innovations in response to government regulation. Critics of these technological solutions allege that these developments legitimate unsustainable food production systems and are incapable of supporting agri-food systems transformation. At the same time, technology developers and other actors seek to present these technologies as the legitimate solution to agri-environmental harms. Our study seeks to explore the perceptions and constructions of legitimacy for technologies that are developed to reduce ammonia emissions in intensive livestock farming in Flanders (Belgium). We use a qualitative case study, employing semi-structured interviews and workshops, with technology developers of ammonia-emission reducing technologies and stakeholders in the intensive livestock farming industry in Flanders. What our study shows is that technologies developed to reduce emissions are dependent on regulative legitimacy. The normative and cognitive legitimacy of these technologies is lacking, both due to ties to the intensive livestock industry and due to uncertainty over the performance of these technologies. With the delegitimation of intensive livestock farming, the legitimacy of these technologies is also under threat. In response, technology developers are looking to (re-)construct this legitimacy through knowledge claims over the performance of their technologies. We show several ways for other actors to deal with this, centred on either re-legitimising technologies to maintain the status quo, or to contest these knowledge claims and use them to disrupt path dependencies.
Not by demography alone: Neanderthal extinction and null hypotheses in paleoanthropological explanation
Authors: Currie Adrian , Meneganzin Andra
Published: November 2022

Neanderthal extinction is a matter of intense debate. It has been suggested that demography (as opposed to environment or competition) could alone provide a sufficient explanation for the phenomenon. We argue that demography cannot be a ‘stand-alone’ or ‘alternative’ explanation of token extinctions as demographic features are entangled with competitive and environmental factors, and further because demography should not be conflated with neutrality.
Tubulin Cytoskeleton in Neurodegenerative Diseases–not Only Primary Tubulinopathies
Authors: Cyske Zuzanna , Gaffke Lidia , Pierzynowska Karolina , Węgrzyn Grzegorz
Published: November 2022

Neurodegenerative diseases represent a large group of disorders characterized by gradual loss of neurons and functions of the central nervous systems. Their course is usually severe, leading to high morbidity and subsequent inability of patients to independent functioning. Vast majority of neurodegenerative diseases is currently untreatable, and only some symptomatic drugs are available which efficacy is usually very limited. To develop novel therapies for this group of diseases, it is crucial to understand their pathogenesis and to recognize factors which can influence the disease course. One of cellular structures which dysfunction appears to be relatively poorly understood in the light of neurodegenerative diseases is tubulin cytoskeleton. On the other hand, its changes, both structural and functional, can considerably influence cell physiology, leading to pathological processes occurring also in neurons. In this review, we summarize and discuss dysfunctions of tubulin cytoskeleton in various neurodegenerative diseases different than primary tubulinopathies (caused by mutations in genes encoding the components of the tubulin cytoskeleton), especially Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, prion diseases, and neuronopathic mucopolysaccharidoses. It is also proposed that correction of these disorders might attenuate the progress of specific diseases, thus, finding newly recognized molecular targets for potential drugs might become possible.
An Alternative Bootstrap for Proxy Vector Autoregressions
Authors: Bruns Martin , Lütkepohl Helmut
Published: November 2022

We propose a new bootstrap algorithm for inference for impulse responses in structural vector autoregressive models identified with an external proxy variable. Simulations show that the new bootstrap algorithm provides confidence intervals for impulse responses which often have more precise coverage than and similar length to the competing moving-block bootstrap intervals. An empirical example shows how the new bootstrap algorithm can be applied in the context of identifying monetary policy shocks.
Extended loneliness. When hyperconnectivity makes us feel alone
Authors: Candiotto Laura
Published: November 2022

In this paper, I analyse a specific kind of loneliness that can be experienced in the networked life, namely “extended loneliness”. I claim that loneliness—conceived of as stemming from a lack of satisfying relationships to others—can arise from an abundance of connections in the online sphere. Extended loneliness, in these cases, does not result from a lack of connections to other people. On the contrary, it consists in the complex affective experience of both lacking and longing for meaningful relationships while being connected to many people online. The recursive interaction with a digital assistant in a smart flat is my key example for defining the contours of this specific kind of loneliness that emerges when hyperconnectivity becomes pervasive in the user’s daily-life. Drawing on Sherry Turkle’s work and employing the conceptual framework of the extended mind, I analyse the specific characteristics of extended loneliness and explore its phenomenology.
Automating anticorruption?
Authors: Ceva Emanuela , Jiménez María Carolina
Published: November 2022

The paper explores some normative challenges concerning the integration of Machine Learning (ML) algorithms into anticorruption in public institutions. The challenges emerge from the tensions between an approach treating ML algorithms as allies to an exclusively legalistic conception of anticorruption and an approach seeing them within an institutional ethics of office accountability. We explore two main challenges. One concerns the variable opacity of some ML algorithms, which may affect public officeholders’ capacity to account for institutional processes relying upon ML techniques. The other pinpoints the risk that automating certain institutional processes may weaken officeholders’ direct engagement to take forward-looking responsibility for the working of their institution. We discuss why both challenges matter to see how ML algorithms may enhance (and not hinder) institutional answerability practices.
Conditions for finiteness and bounds on moments of record values from iid continuous life distributions
Authors: Rychlik Tomasz , Szymkowiak Magdalena
Published: November 2022

We consider the standard andkth record values arising in sequences of independent identically distributed continuous and positive random variables with finite expectations. We determine necessary and sufficient conditions on the type of recordk, its numbernand moment orderrso that therth moment of thenvalue ofkth record is finite for every parent distribution. Under the conditions we present the optimal upper bounds on these moments expressed in the scale units being the respective powers of the first population moment. The theoretical results are illustrated by some numerical evaluations.
Asymptotic behavior of an intrinsic rank-based estimator of the Pickands dependence function constructed from B-splines
Authors: Bücher Axel , Genest Christian , Lockhart Richard A. , Nešlehová Johanna G.
Published: November 2022

A bivariate extreme-value copula is characterized by its Pickands dependence function, i.e., a convex function defined on the unit interval satisfying boundary conditions. This paper investigates the large-sample behavior of a nonparametric estimator of this function due to Cormier et al. (Extremes 17:633–659, 2014). These authors showed how to construct this estimator through constrained quadratic median B-spline smoothing of pairs of pseudo-observations derived from a random sample. Their estimator is shown here to exist whatever the order $$m \ge 3$$

m
≥
3

of the B-spline basis, and its consistency is established under minimal conditions. The large-sample distribution of this estimator is also determined under the additional assumption that the underlying Pickands dependence function is a B-spline of given order with a known set of knots.
Elementary School Students’ Length Estimation Skills—Analyzing a Multidimensional Construct in a Cross-Country Study
Authors: Hoth Jessica , Heinze Aiso , Huang Hsin-Mei E. , Weiher Dana Farina , Niedermeyer Inga , Ruwisch Silke
Published: November 2022

Measurement estimation skills are relevant for our everyday life and should be addressed in the mathematics classroom. Although students’ measurement estimation skills were examined in several empirical studies, a structure model to describe these skills is still missing. The current research aimed at analyzing the structure of length estimation skills as one basic measurement estimation skill. Taking into account the different kinds of estimation situations, a test on length estimation skills was developed and administered in two contrasting samples of 3rd- and 4th-grade students from Germany and Taiwan in two studies. Study 1 (N = 248) followed an exploratory approach to analyze the structure of length estimation skills (research question 1). Exploratory factor analysis suggested a 3-dimensional model of length estimation skills, dividing the dimensions (1) estimating lengths of small objects, (2) estimating lengths of objects that are not small but touchable, and (3) estimating lengths of objects that are not small and not touchable. This 3-dimensional structure could be confirmed using confirmatory factor analyses in study 2 (N = 903). In addition, the test on students’ length estimation skills proved to be partially measurement invariant across the two groups (research question 2). The cross-national comparison (research question 3) revealed differences between Taiwanese and German students’ length estimation skills that correspond to the educational traditions in each country. Taiwanese students reached better results on the dimensions small as well as not small and touchable while German students were ahead in the dimension not small and not touchable.
Stability modeling for chatter avoidance in self-aware machining: an application of physics-guided machine learning
Authors: Greis Noel P. , Nogueira Monica L. , Bhattacharya Sambit , Spooner Catherine , Schmitz Tony
Published: November 2022

Physics-guided machine learning (PGML) offers a new approach to stability modeling during machining that leverages experimental data generated during the machining process while incorporating decades of theoretical process modeling efforts. This approach addresses specific limitations of machine learning models and physics-based models individually. Data-driven machine learning models are typically black box models that do not provide deep insight into the underlying physics and do not reflect physical constraints for the modeled system, sometimes yielding solutions that violate physical laws or operational constraints. In addition, acquiring the large amounts of manufacturing data needed for machine learning modeling can be costly. On the other hand, many physical processes are not completely understood by domain experts and have a high degree of uncertainty. Physics-based models must make simplifying assumptions that can compromise prediction accuracy. This research explores whether data generated by an uncertain physics-based milling stability model that is used to train a physics-guided machine learning stability model, and then updated with measured data, domain knowledge, and theory-based knowledge provides a useful approximation to the unknown true stability model for a specific set of factory operating conditions. Four novel strategies for updating the machine learning model with experimental data are explored. These updating strategies differ in their assumptions about and implementation of the type of physics-based knowledge included in the PGML model. Using a simulation experiment, these strategies achieve useful approximations of the underlying true stability model while reducing the number of experimental measurements required for model update.
Exact and Numerical Solutions of the Riemann Problem for a Conservative Model of Compressible Two-Phase Flows
Authors: Thein Ferdinand , Romenski Evgeniy , Dumbser Michael
Published: November 2022

In this work we study the solution of the Riemann problem for the barotropic version of the conservative symmetric hyperbolic and thermodynamically compatible (SHTC) two-phase flow model introduced in Romenski et al. (J Sci Comput 42(1):68, 2009, Quart Appl Math 65(2):259–279, 2007). All characteristic fields are carefully studied and explicit expressions are derived for the Riemann invariants and the Rankine–Hugoniot conditions. Due to the presence of multiple characteristics in the system under consideration, non-standard wave phenomena can occur. Therefore we briefly review admissibility conditions for discontinuities and then discuss possible wave interactions. In particular we will show that overlapping rarefaction waves are possible and moreover we may have shocks that lie inside a rarefaction wave. In contrast to nonconservative two phase flow models, such as the Baer–Nunziato system, we can use the advantage of the conservative form of the model under consideration. Furthermore, we show the relation between the considered conservative SHTC system and the corresponding barotropic version of the nonconservative Baer–Nunziato model. Additionally, we derive the reduced four equation Kapila system for the case of instantaneous relaxation, which is the common limit system of both, the conservative SHTC model and the non-conservative Baer–Nunziato model. Finally, we compare exact solutions of the Riemann problem with numerical results obtained for the conservative two-phase flow model under consideration, for the non-conservative Baer–Nunziato system and for the Kapila limit. The examples underline the previous analysis of the different wave phenomena, as well as differences and similarities of the three systems.
Effect of vanadium precursor on dip-coated vanadium oxide thin films
Authors: Bouzbib Mohammed , Rohonczy János , Sinkó Katalin
Published: November 2022

The effect of chemical substances is reported on the structure, surface morphology, and material properties of vanadium oxide thin films. The study of the chemical substances concentrated on the effects of initial materials (e.g., NH4VO3, NaVO3, VO2, vanadyl acetylacetonate, ammonium decavanadate) and various additives (e.g., acids, chelate ligand, reduction reagent, and tensides). The syntheses are based on sol-gel chemistry. The important aim of the sol-gel technique was to optimize the chemical conditions such as catalyst and solvent for the preparation of perfect V5+-containing layers. The other aim was to check the controllability of the V4+/V5+ ratios. The control was performed in the air by using a reducing agent and in a nitrogen atmosphere. The atomic and bond structures were investigated by 51V MAS NMR, IR, and UV spectroscopies. The supramolecular structures were determined by SEM, EDX, and GIXRD techniques.
Responses of avian assemblages to spatiotemporal landscape dynamics in urban ecosystems
Authors: Fraissinet Maurizio , Ancillotto Leonardo , Migliozzi Antonello , Capasso Silvia , Bosso Luciano , Chamberlain Dan E. , Russo Danilo
Published: November 2022

Context

Urbanization and its associated impacts on biodiversity are increasing globally. There is a need to enhance our understanding of species responses to inform strategies for sustainable urbanization.

Objectives

Three extensive bird monitoring campaigns took place over the last three decades in the city of Naples, Italy, providing a comprehensive longitudinal dataset to analyse occurrence trends of urban birds. We aimed to assess both species-specific and assemblage-level changes in urban birds according to land cover dynamics.

Methods

We extracted bird data for the periods 1990–95, 2000–05, and 2014–18, and explored the spatial and temporal relationships between bird presence/avian assemblage composition, and land cover variation.

Results

The species richness of breeding birds remained stable over time, despite a notable species turnover, influenced by changes in the species’ key land cover classes. Species associated with forest and urban land cover tended to colonise the area, while those dependent on abandoned and cultivated areas decreased or went locally extinct. Birds changed their degree of dependence upon their key habitat type over time, as species from marginal and open habitat types needed larger amounts of habitat to persist within the area, while forest species showed an opposite trend.

Conclusions

Habitat-driven changes in avian assemblages within the urban landscape led to an increase in forest-associated species, and a decrease in birds associated with declining habitat types. Our findings may inform urban planning to promote more wildlife-friendly cities, which for our study area should prioritise open and marginal habitats.
Boolean Mereology
Authors: Wu Xinhe
Published: November 2022

Most ordinary objects - cats, humans, mountains, ships, tables, etc. - have indeterminate mereological boundaries. If the theory of mereology is meant to include ordinary objects at all, we need it to have some space for mereological indeterminacy. In this paper, we present a novel degree-theoretic semantics - Boolean semantics - and argue that it is the best degree-theoretic semantics for modeling mereological indeterminacy, for three main reasons: (a) it allows for incomparable degrees of parthood, (b) it enforces classical logic, and (c) it is compatible with all the axioms of classical mereology. Using Boolean semantics, we will also investigate the connection between vagueness in parthood and vagueness in existence/identity. We show that, contrary to what many have argued, the connection takes neither the form of entailment nor the form of exclusion.
A Mixed Methods Process Evaluation of a Food Hygiene Intervention in Low-Income Informal Neighbourhoods of Kisumu, Kenya
Authors: Simiyu Sheillah , Aseyo Evalyne , Anderson John , Cumming Oliver , Baker Kelly K. , Dreibelbis Robert , Mumma Jane Awiti Odhiambo
Published: November 2022

Objectives

Diarrhoea is a leading cause of infant mortality with the main transmission pathways being unsafe water and contaminated food, surfaces and hands. The ‘Safe Start’ trial evaluated a food hygiene intervention implemented in a peri-urban settlement of Kisumu, Kenya, with the aim of reducing diarrhoeagenic enteric infections among infants. Four food hygiene behaviours were targeted: handwashing with soap before preparation and feeding, boiling infant food before feeding, storing infant food in sealed containers, and exclusive use of designated utensils during feeding.

Methods

A process evaluation of the intervention was guided by a theory of change describing the hypothesised implementation and receipt of the intervention, mechanisms of change, and the context. These were assessed by qualitative and quantitative data that included debriefing sessions with the delivery teams and Community Health Volunteers (CHVs), and structured observations during food preparation.

Results

The intervention achieved high coverage and fidelity with over 90% of 814 eligible caregivers participating in the intervention. Caregivers in the intervention arm demonstrated an understanding of the intervention messages, and had 1.38 (95% CI: 1.02–1.87) times the odds of washing hands before food preparation and 3.5 (95% CI: 1.91–6.56) times the odds of using a feeding utensil compared to caregivers in the control group. Contextual factors, especially the movement of caregivers within and outside the study area and time constraints faced by caregivers influenced uptake of some intervention behaviours.

Conclusion

Future interventions should seek to explicitly target contextual factors such as secondary caregivers and promote food hygiene interventions as independent of each other.
Reductionist methodology and the ambiguity of the categories of race and ethnicity in biomedical research: an exploratory study of recent evidence
Authors: Malinowska Joanna K. , Żuradzki Tomasz
Published: November 2022

In this article, we analyse how researchers use the categories of race and ethnicity with reference to genetics and genomics. We show that there is still considerable conceptual “messiness” (despite the wide-ranging and popular debate on the subject) when it comes to the use of ethnoracial categories in genetics and genomics that among other things makes it difficult to properly compare and interpret research using ethnoracial categories, as well as draw conclusions from them. Finally, we briefly reconstruct some of the biases of reductionism to which geneticists (as well as other researchers referring to genetic methods and explanations) are particularly exposed to, and we analyse the problem in the context of the biologization of ethnoracial categories. Our work constitutes a novel, in-depth contribution to the debate about reporting race and ethnicity in biomedical and health research. First, we reconstruct the theoretical background assumptions about racial ontology which researchers implicitly presume in their studies with the aid of a sample of recent papers published in medical journals about COVID-19. Secondly, we use the typology of the biases of reductionism to the problem of biologization of ethnoracial categories with reference to genetics and genomics.
On the power of boundary rule application in membrane computing
Authors: Battyányi Péter
Published: November 2022

In this paper, it is investigated how different features of membrane systems can be simulated by the boundary rule application. Firstly, it is discussed how the effect of maximally parallel mode can be obtained by non-cooperative boundary rules applied only in sequential mode, then it is also demonstrated how membrane dissolution, or the application of using promoters and inhibitors can be simulated.
HBK-15, a Multimodal Compound, Showed an Anxiolytic-Like Effect in Rats
Authors: Lustyk Klaudia , Sałaciak Kinga , Jakubczyk Magdalena , Jastrzębska-Więsek Magdalena , Partyka Anna , Wesołowska Anna , Marona Henryk , Pytka Karolina
Published: November 2022

Anxiety is a common mental disorder, and its prevalence has lately increased because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, the available anxiolytics are often ineffective, and most possess addictive potential. Thus, searching for novel compounds is essential. In our previous studies, we selected a multimodal compound, HBK-15, which showed a fast antidepressant-like effect in animal models of depression. HBK-15 demonstrated a high affinity for serotonin 5-HT1A receptors and moderate for 5-HT7, dopamine D2, and α1-adrenoceptors. Based on the receptor profile and preliminary studies, we aimed to investigate the anxiolytic potential of HBK-15 using the conditioned-response rat model of anxiety, i.e., the Vogel drinking test. We performed hot plate and free-drinking tests to exclude false positive results in the Vogel test. Using radioligand binding studies, we also investigated the affinity of the compound for the selected biological targets, which play a role in anxiety. Our experiments revealed that HBK-15 showed an anxiolytic-like effect in rats (5 mg/kg) without influencing the pain threshold or the amount of water consumed in the free-drinking test. Furthermore, the tested compound did not show a significant affinity for the selected biological targets, which suggests that its anxiolytic-like mechanism of action could be connected with the interaction with other receptors. This study indicates that multimodal compounds with a receptor profile similar to HBK-15 could be an attractive therapeutic option for patients with a generalized anxiety disorder. However, more studies are required to determine the exact mechanism of action of HBK-15 and its safety profile.
The lived, living, and behavioral sense of perception
Authors: Netland Thomas
Published: November 2022

With Jan Degenaar and Kevin O’Regan’s (D&O) critique of (what they call) ‘autopoietic enactivism’ as point of departure, this article seeks to revisit, refine, and develop phenomenology’s significance for the enactive view. Arguing that D&O’s ‘sensorimotor theory’ fails to do justice to perceptual meaning, the article unfolds by (1) connecting this meaning to the notion of enaction as a meaningful co-definition of perceiver and perceived, (2) recounting phenomenological reasons for conceiving of the perceiving subject as a living body, and (3) showing how the phenomenological perspective does a better job at fulfilling D&O’s requirement for grounding notions of mentality in ‘outer’ criteria than they do. The picture that thus emerges is one of perceptual meaning as an integration of lived, living, and behavioral aspects – a structure of behavior that cannot be captured by appeal to sensorimotor capacities alone but that is adequately illuminated by the enactive notion of adaptive autonomy.
Multi-Spacecraft Observations of an Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection Interacting with Two Solar-Wind Regimes Observed by the Ulysses and Twin-STEREO Spacecraft
Authors: Maunder Megan L. , Foullon Claire , Forsyth Robert , Barnes David , Davies Jackie
Published: November 2022

We present a combined study of a coronal mass ejection (CME), revealed in a unique orbital configuration that permits the analysis of remote-sensing observations on 27 June 2007 from the twin Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO)-A and -B spacecraft and of its subsequent in situ counterpart outside the ecliptic plane, the interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) observed on 04 July 2007 by Ulysses at 1.5 AU and heliographic-Earth-ecliptic coordinates system (HEE) 33° latitude and 49° longitude. We apply a triangulation method to the STEREO Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation (SECCHI) COR2 coronagraph images of the CME, and a self-similar expansion fitting method to STEREO/SECCHI Heliospheric Imager (HI)-B. At Ulysses we observe: a preceding forward shock, followed by a sheath region, a magnetic cloud, a rear forward shock, followed by a compression region due to a succeeding high-speed stream (HSS) interacting with the ICME. From a minimum variance analysis (MVA) and a length-scale analysis we infer that the magnetic cloud at Ulysses, with a duration of 24 h, has a west-north-east configuration, length scale of ≈0.2 AU, and mean expansion speed of 14.2 km s−1. The relatively small size of this ICME is likely to be a result of its interaction with the succeeding HSS. This ICME differs from the previously known over-expanding types observed by Ulysses, in that it straddles a region between the slow and fast solar wind that in itself drives the rear shock. We describe the agreements and limitations of these observations in comparison with 3D magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) heliospheric simulations of the ICME in the context of a complex solar-wind environment.
Automatic Zig-Zag sampling in practice
Authors: Corbella Alice , Spencer Simon E. F. , Roberts Gareth O.
Published: November 2022

Novel Monte Carlo methods to generate samples from a target distribution, such as a posterior from a Bayesian analysis, have rapidly expanded in the past decade. Algorithms based on Piecewise Deterministic Markov Processes (PDMPs), non-reversible continuous-time processes, are developing into their own research branch, thanks their important properties (e.g., super-efficiency). Nevertheless, practice has not caught up with the theory in this field, and the use of PDMPs to solve applied problems is not widespread. This might be due, firstly, to several implementational challenges that PDMP-based samplers present with and, secondly, to the lack of papers that showcase the methods and implementations in applied settings. Here, we address both these issues using one of the most promising PDMPs, the Zig-Zag sampler, as an archetypal example. After an explanation of the key elements of the Zig-Zag sampler, its implementation challenges are exposed and addressed. Specifically, the formulation of an algorithm that draws samples from a target distribution of interest is provided. Notably, the only requirement of the algorithm is a closed-form differentiable function to evaluate the log-target density of interest, and, unlike previous implementations, no further information on the target is needed. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated against canonical Hamiltonian Monte Carlo, and it is proven to be competitive, in simulation and real-data settings. Lastly, we demonstrate that the super-efficiency property, i.e. the ability to draw one independent sample at a lesser cost than evaluating the likelihood of all the data, can be obtained in practice.
A mini-review: environmental and metabolic factors affecting aminoglycoside efficacy
Authors: Webster Calum M. , Shepherd Mark
Published: November 2022

Following the discovery of streptomycin from Streptomyces griseus in the 1940s by Selman Waksman and colleagues, aminoglycosides were first used to treat tuberculosis and then numerous derivatives have since been used to combat a wide variety of bacterial infections. These bactericidal antibiotics were used as first-line treatments for several decades but were largely replaced by ß-lactams and fluoroquinolones in the 1980s, although widespread emergence of antibiotic-resistance has led to renewed interest in aminoglycosides. The primary site of action for aminoglycosides is the 30 S ribosomal subunit where they disrupt protein translation, which contributes to widespread cellular damage through a number of secondary effects including rapid uptake of aminoglycosides via elevated proton-motive force (PMF), membrane damage and breakdown, oxidative stress, and hyperpolarisation of the membrane. Several factors associated with aminoglycoside entry have been shown to impact upon bacterial killing, and more recent work has revealed a complex relationship between metabolic states and the efficacy of different aminoglycosides. Hence, it is imperative to consider the environmental conditions and bacterial physiology and how this can impact upon aminoglycoside entry and potency. This mini-review seeks to discuss recent advances in this area and how this might affect the future use of aminoglycosides.