bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exploring the impact of spatial correlations of earthquake ground motions in the catastrophe modelling process: a case study for Italy
Authors: Schiappapietra E. , Stripajová S. , Pažák P. , Douglas J. , Trendafiloski G.
Published: May 2022

Catastrophe models are important tools to provide proper assessment and financial management of earthquake-related emergencies, which still create the largest protection gap across all perils. Earthquake catastrophe models include three main components, namely: (1) the earthquake hazard model, (2) the exposure model and, (3) the vulnerability model. Simulating spatially distributed ground-motion fields within either deterministic or probabilistic seismic hazard assessments poses a major challenge when site-related financial protection products are required. In this framework, we develop ad hoc correlation models for different Italian regions (specifically northern, central and southern Italy) and thereafter we perform both deterministic scenario-based and probabilistic event-based hazard and risk assessments in order to advance the understanding of spatial correlations within the catastrophe modelling process. We employ the OpenQuake engine for our calculations. This is an open-source tool suitable for accounting for the spatial correlation of earthquake ground-motion residuals. Our outcomes, albeit preliminary, demonstrate the importance of considering not only the spatial correlation of ground motions, but also its associated uncertainty in risk analyses. Although loss exceedance probability curves for the return periods of interest for the (re)insurance industry show similar trends, both hazard and risk footprints in terms of average annual losses feature less noisy and more realistic patterns if spatial correlation is taken into account. Such results will have implications for (re)insurance companies evaluating the risk to high-value civil engineering infrastructures.
Commentary on Coram et al. (2021) on the use of Facebook to understand marine mammal stranding issues in Southeast Asia
Authors: Peter Cindy , Mustika Putu Liza Kusuma , Acebes Jo Marie Vera , Chansue Nantarika , Dolar Louella , Ham Gin Swen , Hines Ellen , Hte Wint , Minton Gianna , Ponnampalam Louisa Shobhini , Porter Lindsay , Vu Long , Westerlaken Rodney , Htay Yin Yin , Whitty Tara Sayuri
Published: May 2022

We reviewed Coram et al. (Biodivers Conserv 30:2341–2359, 2021, 10.1007/s10531-021-02196-6), a paper that highlights the use of social media data to understand marine litter and marine mammals in Southeast Asia. While we commend its intent, we find that the methodology used and conclusions drawn portray an incomplete and inaccurate perception of how strandings, stranding response, and analysis of stranding data have been conducted in the region. By focusing on investigative results revealed by a very limited search of one social media platform (Facebook), using only English keywords, and insufficient ground-truthing, Coram et al. (2021) have, unintentionally, given the perception that Southeast Asian scientists have not conducted even the bare minimum of investigation required to better understand the issue of marine litter and its impact on marine mammals. In this commentary we provide a more accurate account of strandings research in Asia and include recommendations to improve future studies using social media to assess conservation issues.
A Psychoeducational Support Group Intervention for People Who Have Attempted Suicide: An Open Trial with Promising Preliminary Findings
Authors: Maple Myfanwy , Wayland Sarah , Pearce Tania , Sanford Rebecca , Bhullar Navjot
Published: May 2022

Psychoeducational groups have been used to address many health needs. Yet, there are few such options available for people who have attempted suicide. This study presents preliminary findings from an open trial of Eclipse, an 8-week closed, psychoeducational group for people who have attempted suicide. It examined the effectiveness of the Eclipse program in reducing suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms, perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness, and increasing resilience and help-seeking. Results showed statistically significant improvements in depressive symptoms, perceived burdensomeness, resilience and help-seeking from baseline (T1) to immediate post-test (T2), and in perceived burdensomeness from T1 to 1-month follow-up (T3). A pervasiveness analysis showed that over half of the participants reported improvements in key study outcomes, respectively, as a result of participating in the Eclipse group. Psychoeducational support groups could provide broad application for those who have previously attempted suicide in decreasing severity of suicidal thinking by reductions in depressive symptoms, burdensomeness, and thwarted belongingness.
Targeting wild-type TP53 using AMG 232 in combination with MAPK inhibition in Metastatic Melanoma; a phase 1 study
Authors: Moschos Stergios J. , Sandhu Shahneen , Lewis Karl D. , Sullivan Ryan J. , Puzanov Igor , Johnson Douglas B. , Henary Haby A. , Wong Hansen , Upreti Vijay V. , Long Georgina V. , Flaherty Keith T.
Published: May 2022

Background

Targeting the MDM2-p53 interaction using AMG 232 is synergistic with MAPK inhibitors (MAPKi) in preclinical melanoma models. We postulated that AMG 232 plus MAPKi is safe and more effective than MAPKi alone in TP53-wild type, MAPKi-naïve metastatic melanoma.

Methods

Patients were treated with increasing (120 mg, 180 mg, 240 mg) oral doses of AMG 232 (seven-days-on, 15-days-off, 21-day cycle) plus dabrafenib (D) and trametinib (T) (Arm 1, BRAFV600-mutant) or T alone (Arm 2, BRAFV600-wild type). Patients were treated for seven days with AMG 232 alone before adding T±D. Safety and efficacy were assessed using CTCAE v4.0 and RECIST v1.1 criteria, respectively. Pharmacokinetic (PK) analysis was performed at baseline and steady-state levels for AMG 232.

Results

31 patients were enrolled. Ten and 21 patients were enrolled in Arm 1 and Arm 2, respectively. The most common AMG 232-related adverse events (AEs) were nausea (87%), diarrhea (77%), and fatigue (74%). Seven patients (23%) were withdrawn from the study due to AMG 232-related AEs. Three dose-limiting AEs occurred (Arm 1, 180 mg, nausea; Arm 2, 240 mg, grade 3 pulmonary embolism; Arm 2, 180 mg, grade 4 thrombocytopenia). AMG 232 PK exposures were not altered when AMG 232 was combined with T±D. Objective responses were seen in 8/10 (Arm 1) and 3/20 (Arm 2) evaluable patients. The median progression-free survival for Arm 1 and Arm 2 was 19.0 months-not reached and 2.8 months, respectively.

Conclusion

The maximum tolerated dose of AMG 232 for both arms was 120 mg. AMG 232 plus T±D exhibited a favorable PK profile. Although objective responses occurred in both arms, adding AMG 232 to T±D did not confer additional clinical benefit.
Experimental investigation of the near-surface flow dynamics in downburst-like impinging jets
Authors: Canepa Federico , Burlando Massimiliano , Romanic Djordje , Solari Giovanni , Hangan Horia
Published: May 2022

Downbursts are strong downdrafts that originate from thunderstorm clouds and create vigorous radial outflows upon hitting the ground. This study is part of the comprehensive experimental research on downburst outflows produced as large-scale impinging jets in the WindEEE Dome simulator at Western University, Canada. The 2800 tests carried out form the largest database of experimental measurements on downburst winds developed thus far, which is made available to the public in its whole and described in detail in a complementary study. Therefore, the current manuscript merely focuses on the data post-processing outcomes and interpretation of results from a selected subset of measurements. Impinging jets are here simulated as transient phenomena in which velocity time series are characterized by a sudden ramp-up of velocity, followed by the velocity peak, a short statistically stationary region, and the final velocity slowdown, as it is expected to occur in the actual downbursts. A dominant velocity peak that was systematically observed in all velocity records is associated with the radial advection of the primary vortex in the outflow. Depending on the radial distance from the downdraft, the primary vortex was sometimes preceded by a secondary, much smaller, vortex close to the surface. Vertical profiles of mean velocity and turbulence intensity are for the first time characterized through the extent of a downburst-like event in the spatiotemporal domain. Particularly, these profiles rapidly change in relation to the passage of the primary vortex and consequent variation of the surface layer thickness. This study lays out a foundation for an experimental model of non-stationary downburst outflows to come.
A conceptual model for unifying variability in space and time: Rationale, validation, and illustrative applications
Authors: Ananieva Sofia , Greiner Sandra , Kehrer Timo , Krüger Jacob , Kühn Thomas , Linsbauer Lukas , Grüner Sten , Koziolek Anne , Lönn Henrik , Ramesh S. , Reussner Ralf
Published: May 2022

With the increasing demand for customized systems and rapidly evolving technology, software engineering faces many challenges. A particular challenge is the development and maintenance of systems that are highly variable both in space (concurrent variations of the system at one point in time) and time (sequential variations of the system, due to its evolution). Recent research aims to address this challenge by managing variability in space and time simultaneously. However, this research originates from two different areas, software product line engineering and software configuration management, resulting in non-uniform terminologies and a varying understanding of concepts. These problems hamper the communication and understanding of involved concepts, as well as the development of techniques that unify variability in space and time. To tackle these problems, we performed an iterative, expert-driven analysis of existing tools from both research areas to derive a conceptual model that integrates and unifies concepts of both dimensions of variability. In this article, we first explain the construction process and present the resulting conceptual model. We validate the model and discuss its coverage and granularity with respect to established concepts of variability in space and time. Furthermore, we perform a formal concept analysis to discuss the commonalities and differences among the tools we considered. Finally, we show illustrative applications to explain how the conceptual model can be used in practice to derive conforming tools. The conceptual model unifies concepts and relations used in software product line engineering and software configuration management, provides a unified terminology and common ground for researchers and developers for comparing their works, clarifies communication, and prevents redundant developments.
Evolving software system families in space and time with feature revisions
Authors: Michelon Gabriela Karoline , Obermann David , Assunção Wesley K. G. , Linsbauer Lukas , Grünbacher Paul , Fischer Stefan , Lopez-Herrejon Roberto E. , Egyed Alexander
Published: May 2022

Software companies commonly develop and maintain variants of systems, with different feature combinations for different customers. Thus, they must cope with variability in space. Software companies further must cope with variability in time, when updating system variants by revising existing software features. Inevitably, variants evolve orthogonally along these two dimensions, resulting in challenges for software maintenance. Our work addresses this challenge with ECSEST (Extraction and Composition for Systems Evolving in Space and Time), an approach for locating feature revisions and composing variants with different feature revisions. We evaluated ECSEST using feature revisions and variants from six highly configurable open source systems. To assess the correctness of our approach, we compared the artifacts of input variants with the artifacts from the corresponding composed variants based on the implementation of the extracted features. The extracted traces allowed composing variants with 99-100% precision, as well as with 97-99% average recall. Regarding the composition of variants with new configurations, our approach can combine different feature revisions with 99% precision and recall on average. Additionally, our approach retrieves hints when composing new configurations, which are useful to find artifacts that may have to be added or removed for completing a product. The hints help to understand possible feature interactions or dependencies. The average time to locate feature revisions ranged from 25 to 250 seconds, whereas the average time for composing a variant was 18 seconds. Therefore, our experiments demonstrate that ECSEST is feasible and effective.
A comprehensive overview of software product management challenges
Authors: Springer Olga , Miler Jakub
Published: May 2022

The principal focus of software product management is to ensure the economic success of the product, which means to prolong the product life as much as possible with modest expenditures to maximizs profits. Software product managers play an important role in the software development organization while being responsible for the strategy, business case, product roadmap, high-level requirements, product deployment (release-management), and retirement plan. This article explores the problems that affect the software product management process, their perceived frequency and perceived severity. The data were collected by a systematic literature review (5 main databases were analyzed), interviews (10 software product managers from IT companies), and surveys (89 participants). 95 software product management problems assigned nonexclusively to 7 areas were identified. 27 commonly mentioned software product management problems were evaluated for their perceived frequency and perceived severity. The problems perceived as the most frequent are: determining the true value of the product that the customer needs, strategy and priorities change frequently, technical debt, working in silos, and balancing between reactive and proactive work. In total, 95 problems have been identified which have been narrowed down to 27 problems based on their occurrence in at least 3 interviews. These selected problems were prioritized by perceived frequency and perceived severity. Some of the identified problems spanned beyond the software product management process itself, but they all affect the work of software product managers.
Newcomer OSS-Candidates: Characterizing Contributions of Novice Developers to GitHub
Authors: Rehman Ifraz , Wang Dong , Kula Raula Gaikovina , Ishio Takashi , Matsumoto Kenichi
Published: May 2022

The ability of an Open Source Software (OSS) project to attract, onboard, and retain any newcomer is vital to its livelihood. Although, evidence suggests an upsurge in novice developers joining social coding platforms (such as GitHub), the extent to which their activities result in a OSS contribution is unknown. Henceforth, we execute the protocols of a registered report to study activities of a “Newcomer OSS-Candidate”, who is a novice developer that is new to that social coding platform, and has the intention to later onboard an OSS project. Using GitHub as a case platform, we analyze 171 identified Newcomer OSS-Candidates to characterize their contribution activities. Results show that Newcomer OSS-Candidates are likely to target software based repositories (i.e., 66%), and their first contributions are mainly associated with development (commits) and maintenance (PRs). Newcomer OSS-Candidates are less likely to practice social coding, but eventually end up onboarding (i.e., 30% quantitative, 70% follow-up survey) an OSS project. Furthermore, they cite finding a way to start as the most challenging barrier to contribute. Our work reveals insights on how newcomers to social coding platforms are potential sources of OSS contributions.
Fluently specifying taint-flow queries with fluentTQL
Authors: Piskachev Goran , Späth Johannes , Budde Ingo , Bodden Eric
Published: May 2022

Previous work has shown that taint analyses are only useful if correctly customized to the context in which they are used. Existing domain-specific languages (DSLs) allow such customization through the definition of deny-listing data-flow rules that describe potentially vulnerable or malicious taint-flows. These languages, however, are designed primarily for security experts who are expected to be knowledgeable in taint analysis. Software developers, however, consider these languages to be complex. This paper thus presents fluent TQL, a query specification language particularly for taint-flows. fluentTQL is internal Java DSL and uses a fluent-interface design. fluentTQL queries can express various taint-style vulnerability types, e.g. injections, cross-site scripting or path traversal. This paper describes fluentTQL’s abstract and concrete syntax and defines its runtime semantics. The semantics are independent of any underlying analysis and allows evaluation of fluent TQL queries by a variety of taint analyses. Instantiations of fluentTQL, on top of two taint analysis solvers, Boomerang and FlowDroid, show and validate fluent TQL expressiveness. Based on existing examples from the literature, we have used fluentTQL to implement queries for 11 popular security vulnerability types in Java. Using our SQL injection specification, the Boomerang-based taint analysis found all 17 known taint-flows in the OWASP WebGoat application, whereas with FlowDroid 13 taint-flows were found. Similarly, in a vulnerable version of the Java Spring PetClinic application, the Boomerang-based taint analysis found all seven expected taint-flows. In seven real-world Android apps with 25 expected malicious taint-flows, 18 taint-flows were detected. In a user study with 26 software developers, fluentTQL reached a high usability score. In comparison to CodeQL, the state-of-the-art DSL by Semmle/GitHub, participants found fluentTQL more usable and with it they were able to specify taint analysis queries in shorter time.
A Systematic Review of Autistic People and the Criminal Justice System: An Update of King and Murphy (2014)
Authors: Collins J. , Horton K. , Gale-St. Ives E. , Murphy G. , Barnoux M.
Published: May 2022

The purpose of this paper was to determine whether recommendations made by King & Murphy (Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 44:2717–2733, 2014) in their review of the evidence on autistic people in contact with the criminal justice system (CJS) have been addressed. Research published since 2013 was systematically examined and synthesised. The quality of 47 papers was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Findings suggest a limited amount of good quality research has been conducted that has focused on improving our understanding of autistic people in contact with the CJS since 2013. Methodological limitations make direct comparisons between autistic and non-autistic offenders difficult. Autistic people commit a range of crimes and appear to have unique characteristics that warrant further exploration (i.e., vulnerabilities, motivations for offending).
A new knowledge discovery approach for mining business trade barriers
Authors: Bounab Yazid , Oussalah Mourad
Published: May 2022

Cross-border trade barriers introduced by national authorities to protect local business and labor force cause substantial damage to international economical actors. Therefore, identifying such barriers beyond regulator’s audit reporting is of paramount importance. This paper contributes towards this goal by proposing a novel approach that uses natural language processing and deep learning method for uncovering Finnish-Russian trade barriers in the fish industry from selected business discussion forums. Especially, the approach makes use i) a three-leg ontology for data collection, ii) a BERT architecture for mapping Onkivisit-Shaw-Kananen trade barrier ontology to negative polarity posts and, iii) a new reverse-engineering clustering approach to identify the causes of individual trade-barrier types. A comparison with official statistical reports has been carried out to identify the salient aspects of trade-barriers that hold regardless of the time difference. The findings reveal the dominance of the Time-length barrier type in the Finnish discussion forum dataset and import vs export tariff discrepancy and product requirement barrier types in the Russian forum dataset. The developed framework can serve as a tool to assist companies or regulators in providing business-related recommendations to overcome the detected trade barriers.
Eating Problems in Youths with Type 1 Diabetes During and After Lockdown in Italy: An 8-Month Follow-Up Study
Authors: Troncone Alda , Chianese Antonietta , Cascella Crescenzo , Zanfardino Angela , Piscopo Alessia , Rollato Serena , Iafusco Dario
Published: May 2022

Eighty-five youths with T1D and 176 controls aged 8–19 years were asked to complete online questionnaires (ChEAT and EAT-26) measuring disordered eating behaviors (DEBs) during (baseline) and after (8-month follow-up) the lockdown. DEB symptoms in all participants (especially younger than 13 years), glycemic control, and zBMI were found unchanged from baseline to follow-up (all p > .05). After 8 months, the ChEAT/EAT-26 critical score frequency decreased significantly in controls (p = .004), as was the score for the ChEAT/EAT-26’s Oral Control subscale in both groups (T1D: p = .005; controls: p = .01). Participants with T1D, especially those older than 13 years, had higher ChEAT/EAT-26 Dieting scores (p = .037) and lower ChEAT/EAT-26 Oral Control scores (p = .046) than controls. Unchanged DEB symptoms suggest that the COVID-19 restrictions did not significantly affect participants’ eating behaviors and that a general adaptation to the challenges of lockdown and other pandemic containment measures occurred in both T1D and control participants.
Co-simulation with variable approximation order: order control algorithm for solver coupling approaches
Authors: Kraft J. , Schweizer B.
Published: May 2022

Considering co-simulation and solver coupling approaches, the coupling variables have to be approximated within a macro-time step (communication-time step), e.g., by using extrapolation/interpolation polynomials. Usually, the approximation order is assumed to be fixed. The efficiency and accuracy of a co-simulation may, however, be increased by using a variable approximation order. Therefore, a technique to control the integration order is required. Here, an order control algorithm for co-simulation and solver coupling methods is presented. The order controller is incorporated into the control algorithm for the macro-step size so that co-simulations with variable integration order and variable macro-step size can be carried out. Different numerical examples are presented, which illustrate the applicability and benefit of the proposed order control strategy. This contribution mainly focuses on mechanical systems. The presented techniques may, however, also be applied to nonmechanical dynamical systems.
London congestion charge: the impact on air pollution and school attendance by socioeconomic status
Authors: Conte Keivabu Risto , Rüttenauer Tobias
Published: May 2022

Air pollution negatively affects individuals’ health and human capital accumulation. For example, students’ school performance is hampered by air pollution as it decreases cognitive abilities and increases absences. Moreover, low-income students are the most exposed and vulnerable to the negative effects of air pollution as they lack protective resources and suffer from pre-existing health conditions. Here, we inquire how more stringent traffic regulations implemented in Central London from late 2015 affected pollution levels and school absences. First, we observe a substantive decrease in pollution in the area affected by the regulations from 2016 onwards. Secondly, we use a difference in differences approach to estimate the causal effect of the policy on school absences. For all schools combined, findings do not show any substantive improvement in attendance. However, when looking at the heterogeneous effects of the policy, we observe a significant decrease in absences for schools with a high share of students with low socioeconomic status (SES). Consequently, the findings highlight the efficacy of environmental policy in diminishing pollution levels and to benefit the poor.
Disentangling (new) labour market divides: outsiders’ and globalization losers’ socio-economic risks in Europe
Authors: Natili Marcello , Negri Fedra
Published: May 2022

In post-industrial and globalized economies, socio-economic risks have become ubiquitous for workers. Two segments of the labour force seem particularly exposed: namely, outsiders (atypical workers and unemployed individuals) and globalization losers (unskilled workers in offshorable employment sectors), with relevant consequences for party competition in Europe. The coexistence of these two segments of vulnerable workers has brought conceptual ambiguity. Using the original 2019 REScEU Mass Survey on ten European countries, we firstly clarify that outsiders and globalization losers do not constitute the same socio-economic group. Secondly, we look into the micro-foundations of outsiders’ and globalization losers’ redistributive preferences and political behaviours by showing that outsiderness, rather than exposure to international competition, constitutes a significant driver of income and employment insecurities, and of dependency on social protection and family financial aid.
Original position arguments and social choice under ignorance
Authors: De Coninck Thijs , Van De Putte Frederik
Published: May 2022

John Rawls famously argued that the Difference Principle would be chosen by any rational agent in the original position. Derek Parfit and Philippe Van Parijs have claimed, contra Rawls, that it is not the Difference Principle which is implied by Rawls’ original position argument, but rather the more refined Lexical Difference Principle. In this paper, we study both principles in the context of social choice under ignorance. First, we present a general format for evaluating original position arguments in this context. We argue that in this format, the Difference Principle can be specified in three conceptually distinct ways. We show that these three specifications give the same choice recommendations, and can be grounded in an original position argument in combination with the well-known maximin rule. Analogously, we argue that one can give at least four plausible specifications of the Lexical Difference Principle, which however turn out to give different recommendations in concrete choice scenarios. We prove that only one of these four specifications can be grounded in an original position argument. Moreover, this one specification seems the least appealing from the viewpoint of distributive justice. This insight points towards a general weakness of original position arguments.
Knocking down Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence by oral hypoglycemic metformin nano emulsion
Authors: Gomaa Salwa E. , Shaker Ghada H. , Mosallam Farag M. , Abbas Hisham A.
Published: May 2022

Long-term antibiotic treatment results in the spread of multi-drug resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa that complicates treatment. Anti-virulence agents can be viewed as alternative options that cripple virulence factors of the bacteria to facilitate their elimination by the host immunity. The use of nanoparticles in the inhibition of P. aeruginosa virulence factors is a promising strategy. This study aims to study the effect of metformin (MET), metformin nano emulsions (MET-NEs), silver metformin nano emulsions (Ag-MET-NEs) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on P. aeruginosa virulence factors’ expression. The phenotypic results showed that MET-NEs had the highest virulence inhibitory activity. However, concerning RT-PCR results, all tested agents significantly decreased the expression of quorum sensing regulatory genes of P. aeruginosa; lasR, lasI, pqsA, fliC, exoS and pslA, with Ag-MET-NEs being the most potent one, however, it failed to protect mice from P. aeruginosa pathogenesis. MET-NEs showed the highest protective activity against pseudomonal infection in vivo. Our findings support the promising use of nano formulations particularly Ag-MET-NEs as an alternative against multidrug resistant pseudomonal infections via inhibition of virulence factors and quorum sensing gene expression.
Studium Soziale Arbeit 2035
Authors: Mangold Katharina , Schröer Wolfgang
Published: May 2022

Einleitung in den Schwerpunkt „Studium 2035“, die die Hauptaspekte der Beiträge kurz skizziert und zudem drei studentische Zukunftsszenarien in Form fiktiver Tagebucheinträge präsentiert.
Adult content image recognition by Boltzmann machine limited and deep learning
Authors: Karamizadeh Sasan , Shojae Chaeikar Saman , Jolfaei Alireza
Published: May 2022

Adult content images have a detrimental effect on Internet users, a significant number of whom are minors. Therefore, it is essential to control and detecting adult content images using multimedia processing and computer vision techniques. Previous studies have typically focused on manual-engineered visual features that may be difficult to detect and analyze. This paper presents a new model that employs deep convolutional neural networks within a Gaussian-Bernoulli limited-time, for adult content image recognition of a wide variety in a precise and effective manner. There are various layers within Convolutional Neural Networks for feature extraction and classification. Gaussian-Bernoulli limited-time was used for feature extraction to describe the images, and these features were summarized using the Boltzmann machine limited in the feature summary phase. The benefit of such an approach is convenience in carrying out feature extraction. Additionally, when tested on the most modern criterion dataset, this finding is believed to be more precise compared to other state-of-the-art approaches. The results obtained prove that the proposed approach leads to a higher efficiency.
Torus Actions on Alexandrov 4-Spaces
Authors: Corro Diego , Núñez-Zimbrón Jesús , Zarei Masoumeh
Published: May 2022

We obtain an equivariant classification for orientable, closed, four-dimensional Alexandrov spaces admitting an isometric torus action. This generalizes the equivariant classification of Orlik and Raymond of closed four-dimensional manifolds with torus actions. Moreover, we show that such Alexandrov spaces are equivariantly homeomorphic to 4-dimensional Riemannian orbifolds with isometric $${T^{2}}$$

T
2

-actions. We also obtain a partial homeomorphism classification.
Two new species of Gondwanaspis (Trilobita, Odontopleurida) from the Givetian-Frasnian transition of the northern Rhenish Massif (Germany)
Authors: Helling Stephan , Becker Ralph Thomas
Published: May 2022

The cosmopolitan genus Gondwanaspis is one of two post-Taghanic (late Givetian to Frasnian) odontopleurid genera and the only genus of the Odontopleurida surviving the Lower Kellwasser Event, finally disappearing at the Upper Kellwasser Event. Although it is known from the Frasnian of Australia, Germany, France, Morocco, and Russia, findings of the genus are comparatively rare. Here we present Gondwanaspis eisbornensis n. sp. from the probable lower Frasnian of the Beul section near Eisborn (northern Sauerland) and Gondwanaspis schloesseri n. sp. from possibly top-Givetian strata of the Hofermühle South Quarry of the Bergisches Land (Velbert Anticline), both in the northern Rhenish Massif. Gondwanaspis schloesseri n. sp. represents one of the few species of which both the cephalon and pygidium are known, while the holotype of G. eisbornensis n. sp. is one of the largest known specimens within the genus.
A broken market: can increased access to broken rice decrease food insecurity in Haiti?
Authors: Richardson Matthew , Nalley Lawton L. , Durand-Morat Alvaro , Crandall Phil , Scruggs Andrew , Joseph Lesly , Chouloute Jérôme , Yang Wei
Published: May 2022

Haiti is a unique rice market in the sense that, despite the high poverty rates and dependency on rice as a staple, it relies on imports (80% of total consumption) of high-quality milled rice for which it pays a premium price. Haiti requires that all imported rice have a maximum of 4% broken kernels, which results in Haiti importing one of the most expensive non-fragrant long grain rice in the world. This study implements a non-hypothetical field experiment (300 observations) to elicit which rice attributes Haitians valued as revealed by their purchasing behavior in an open-air market setting. Specifically, we set out to estimate if Haitians would discount broken rice in such a manner that strict import regulations, which keeps cheaper imported broken rice out of domestic markets, continue to be warranted. Our findings suggest consumers (across locations and income groups) were not found to pay more for a reduced amount of broken rice, with the exception of the highest income group. This should signal to policy makers in Haiti that consumers are willing to consume rice with a higher percentage of brokens than the 4% importation standard. This is important from a food security standpoint as rice with a higher broken percentage provides the same nutritional value as rice with a lower broken rate, and can be sourced globally at a discounted price. Allowing imports of rice with higher broken rate could help alleviate food insecurity in Haiti by providing a cheaper alternative to relatively expensive domestic rice and imported rice, which currently has an inflated price due to its high-quality standards imposed by Haitian importers.
Psychological effects of 50-meter swimming: does tempo manipulation matter?
Authors: Ábel Krisztina , Szabó Rausz Attila , Szabo Attila
Published: May 2022

Swimming is one of the world’s most popular recreational exercises and sports. Scholastic writings consistently demonstrate their physical and mental benefits. In contrast to earlier works, the current field experiment examined whether an ultrashort 50 m bout of swimming could yield positive changes in affect. It also tested whether swimming aided by steady and augmenting tempo (drumbeats) could generate additional psychological benefits, abbreviate swim time, and increase heart rate and perceived effort. Forty-eight adults completed freestyle or breaststroke 50 m laps in three counterbalanced conditions. The tempo manipulation did not influence any of the measures. However, simmers’ core affect increased as manifested in higher self-reported feeling states and arousal, regardless of the experimental condition. Similarly, participants’ positive affect was also increased after 50 m laps, and it was higher in breaststroke than freestyle swimmers throughout the study. No changes emerged in negative affect due to floor effects. These results show that core and positive affect improve afterless than one minuteof swimming, which might be the shortest ever exercise interval associated with positive psychological changes in recreational exercise. Several possible explanations could account for these findings. Therefore, further research is needed to identify the specific mechanism(s) responsible for the current results.
Pancreatic cancer, stroma, and exosomes
Authors: Closa Daniel
Published: May 2022

In the pathogenesis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma, tumor stroma plays a key role in both aggressiveness, immune evasion, resistance to chemotherapy, and the ability to metastasize. Among the elements that characterize the behavior of the stroma, extracellular vesicles and, in particular, exosomes play an important role. These extracellular vesicles carry a wide range of bioactive molecules, from transcription factors to microRNAs, which can substantially alter the phenotype of the cellular components of the stroma. Exosomes are involved in the exchange of signals between tumor cells, tumor-associated macrophages, cancer-associated fibroblasts, and also with the healthy cells surrounding the tumor. They can transfer resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs, promote the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, modify the phenotype of macrophages, or induce the expression of molecules that alter the extracellular matrix to facilitate migration and metastasis. On the other hand, all these characteristics make these vesicles first-rate therapeutic targets, as controlling their functionality could greatly enhance the effectiveness of treatments that, today, are still far from be satisfactory.
Enhancing biogas production in anaerobic digestion by the addition of oxidized and non-oxidized biochars
Authors: Rosi Luca , Cenni Marco , Ciuffi Benedetta , Casini David , Maria Rizzo Andrea , Chiaramonti David
Published: May 2022

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a well-known biological conversion process to obtain a gaseous biofuel from organic matter: in fact, upgrading biogas to biomethane is a mean to substitute conventional natural gas. It is also known that biochar can improve the biogas production in AD processes. In this work, different biochars have been produced from various feedstocks at different process conditions. Biochars obtained from the carbonization of wheat straw (WS) and poplar (P) were produced in a Thermo Gravimetric Analyser at lab scale, at a temperature of 400 °C and 2 h of retention time at the maximum temperature, with a heating rate of 20 °C min−1. Another biochar from poplar (Pc) was also produced in a pilot plant (CarbOn, RE-CORD) working in oxidative pyrolysis conditions, at a temperature range between 500 and 600 °C. Biochars were oxidized with Oxone® using two different methods (ball-milling and simple aqueous solution mixing) to increase the amount of functional groups on their surface. Oxidized biochars (Ws_Ox and P_Ox) were characterized by FTIR, BET, and CEC, and their impact on biogas production was investigated through a lab scale biochemical methane potential (BMP) test using maize silage as substrate. 0.33 g of biochar was used for each treatment. BMP test shows that all batches containing biochar as additive produced more biogas than control (C). WS_Ox and P_Ox produced respectively a + 7.7% and + 11.3% of biogas than C, obtaining the higher productivities with respect to not oxidized biochars. The addition of P and Pc biochars were similar performances in AD, thus highlighting that no significant differences are due to different biochar production scales and process parameters from the same feedstock. This study highlights how in addition to the various examined parameters (nature of the feedstock, pyrolysis parameters, size of biochar and its concentration in AD), also the presence of specific functional groups on the biochar surface influences the AD performance.
Adapting despite “walls coming down”: Healthcare providers’ experiences of COVID-19 as an implosive adaptation
Authors: Cristancho Sayra , Field Emily , Taylor Taryn
Published: May 2022

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has been a daunting exercise in adaptation for healthcare providers. While we are beginning to learn about the challenges faced by teams during the COVID-19 pandemic, what remains underexplored are the strategies team members used to adapt to these challenges. The goal of this study is therefore to explore how healthcare providers navigated and adapted to on-the-ground challenges imposed by COVID-19.
Methods We interviewed 20 healthcare workers at various hospitals in Ontario, who provided care as part of clinical teams during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected and analyzed following Constructivist Grounded Theory principles including iteration, constant comparison and theoretical sampling.
Results Participants’ accounts of their experiences revealed the process of ‘implosive adaptation’. The ‘reality check’, the ‘scramble’ and the ‘pivot’ comprised this process. The reality check described the triggers, the scramble detailed the challenges they went through and the pivot prescribed the shifting of mindset as they responded to challenges. These stages were iterative, rather than linear, with blurred boundaries.
Discussion According to our participants, not all adaptations have to be successful during a crisis. The language of reality check, scramble and pivot provides a framework for teams to talk about and make sense of their approaches to crisis, even beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trajectory optimisation in collaborative robotics based on simulations and genetic algorithms
Authors: Zanchettin Andrea Maria , Messeri Costanza , Cristantielli Davide , Rocco Paolo
Published: May 2022

The separation distance between humans and robots in manufacturing shop-floors has been progressively reduced, thanks to the modern safety functionalities available in robot controllers. However, the activation of these safety criteria usually stops the production or reduces the productivity of machines and robots. With the aim of improving this situation, this paper presents a real-time trajectory optimisation method for collaborative robots. The robot trajectory is parameterised at instruction level, i.e. through the parameters characterizing the robot motion instruction. A genetic algorithm randomly modifies the parameters of the nominal trajectory of the robot, thus obtaining new sets of candidate trajectories. Each trajectory is simulated on a digital twin of the collaborative workspace, which allows to reproduce and simulate the robot motion, and to represent the volume of the work-cell occupied by the human operator. A lexicographic optimization is used to evaluate online the optimal robot trajectory that simultaneously minimizes the risk of collision with the human operator and the trajectory traversal time. The method is validated in an industrial scenario involving the ABB YuMi dual-arm robot for a small parts assembly task.
Toward a script relativity hypothesis: focused research agenda for psycholinguistic experiments in the science of reading
Authors: Pae Hye K.
Published: May 2022

The purpose of this paper is to extend the linguistic relativity hypothesis (i.e., the language we speak affects the way we think) to ascript relativity hypothesis(i.e., the script in which we read influences our thought). Based on the rich body of knowledge in the science of reading that shows the effects of literacy on our cognitive processes, the foundation, rationale, and converging evidence of script relativity are discussed. The tenable notion of script relativity is anchored in previous research into the connection between language and thought as well as a causal relationship from language to cognition. Further discussed is the application of linguistic relativity to reading in both first and second languages to elucidate the reading-to-cognition link and how reading affects our attention, perception, and thought. Focused research for script relativity is suggested in the areas of the operating principle of script (alphabetic vs. morphosyllabic), reading directionality (left-to-right vs. right-to-left), word configurations (linearity vs. block), literacy experience (literates vs. illiterates), and interword spaces (presence vs. absence of interword spaces). The article ends with further recommendations and future directions. It is suggested that linguistic and cultural effects on cognition be controlled in future studies to disentangle the true effects of script.
Cashew leaf and nut blight disease outbreaks under unimodal rainfall pattern in Tanzania
Authors: Nene Wilson , Kapinga Fortunus , Shomari Shamte , Assenga Bobnoel
Published: May 2022

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) which is an important cash crop in Tanzania, is susceptible to various abiotic and biotic stresses. Cashew leaf and nut blight disease caused by Cryptosporiopsis spp. is a devastating disease of cashew crop resulting in a significant reduction of nut production. We conducted a study to assess the association between weather variables, particularly rainfall and temperature, on cashew leaf and nut blight disease (CLNBD) outbreaks and establish a minimum wetness duration period for initiation and development of the disease. Poisson regression analysis indicated a significant association between rainfall and temperature with CLNBD incidence (df = 3, Chi Pr < 0.001). Rainfall was positively associated with CLNBD and a unit increase of 1 mm in rainfall caused a 2 percent increase in the percentage of disease incidence (e =  + 0.01995, p < 0.011). However, temperature was negatively associated with disease incidence and a unit increase of 1 °C in temperature caused a 21.56% decline in disease incidence (e = –0.2428, p < 0 .001). Blight incidence was significantly higher (p < 0.001) during the rainy season (range: 11.7 to 36.6%) compared to the dry season (1.4 to 11.5%). Cashew trees in Mtwara District recorded higher blight disease incidence as compared to the rest of the studied areas. This study also established that symptoms for blight disease on cashew leaves appear 8 h post exposure to continuous wet periods. Thus, it appears that for the blight pathogen to initiate and complete its infection processes, a continuous wet period of at least 8 h is required. Findings from this study, particularly the association of rainfall and temperature on disease epidemics, can be used as tools for forewarning incidences of CLNBD. This would help timely initiation of appropriate management strategies.
Genome wide association study for stripe rust resistance in spring bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)
Authors: El Messoadi Khalil , El Hanafi Samira , Gataa Zakaria EL , Kehel Zakaria , bouhouch Yassin , Tadesse Wuletaw
Published: May 2022

Stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) is one of the most destructive diseases of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) worldwide causing huge yield losses every year. Development and deployment of resistant varieties is the most economical and environment friendly approach for controlling this disease. However, because of the continuous evolution of the pathogen, resistant genes are easily overcome by new virulent Pst races, which necessitates a continuous identification and introgression of resistance genes to develop resistant wheat varieties. To identify effective source of resistance, a genome-wide association study was performed using 426 elite bread wheat genotypes based on 5176 polymorphic Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) markers. Adult-plant-resistance was evaluated under field conditions for yellow rust resistance for two consecutive years (2014 and 2015) at ICARDA Merchouch station, Morocco. Out of the 426 genotypes, 51.17% were highly resistant with 5–10% level of severity to yellow rust. Genome wide association studies (GWAS) using a mixed linear model (MLM) identified three DArT markers on chromosomes 1B, 2B and 7B which are significantly associated with stripe rust resistance at false discovery rate p ≤ 0.05. BLAST analysis confirmed that the marker 412,394 in chromosome 2B overlapped with two previously reported QTLs (QYrlu.cau-2BS1 Luke and QYrid.ui-2B.1_IDO444). However, the two other markers 542,318 (1B) and 583,038 (5B) were not mapped within any of the previously reported gene/QTL regions; therefore, these markers may represent novel resistance loci for yellow rust. The highly resistant elite genotypes and linked molecular markers are recommended for further gene introgression and pyramiding purposes in the wheat breeding programs after validation.
Promoting quality of extended education at primary schools in Sweden and Germany: A comparison of guidelines and children’s perspectives
Authors: Fischer Natalie , Elvstrand Helene , Stahl Lea
Published: May 2022

Internationally, provisions of extended education programs and related research are increasing. Over the past decade, many governments have established quality standards according to their specific goals. The aim of this comparative case study of School-Age Educare Centers in Sweden and all-day schools in Germany is to identify steps to ensure high quality of extended education in line with requirements for future education. We analyze the perspectives of policymakers, reflected in guidelines and quality standards and explore data from qualitative studies to determine how children define quality and relate it to their well-being and agency. Despite differences in quality standards in Sweden and Germany, children in both contexts describe similar experiences, shortcomings, and needs.