bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Development and evaluation of a societal core robotic surgery accreditation curriculum for the UK
Authors: Boal Matthew W. E. , Afzal Asma , Gorard Jack , Shah Aishwarya , Tesfai Freweini , Ghamrawi Walaa , Tutton Matthew , Ahmad Jawad , Selvasekar Chelliah , Khan Jim , Francis Nader K.
Published: August 2024

Standardised proficiency-based progression is the cornerstone of safe robotic skills acquisition, however, is currently lacking within surgical training curricula. Expert consensuses have defined a modular pathway to accredit surgeons. This study aimed to address the lack of a formal, pre-clinical core robotic skills, proficiency-based accreditation curriculum in the UK. Novice robotic participants underwent a four-day pre-clinical core robotic skills curriculum incorporating multimodal assessment. Modifiable-Global Evaluative Assessment of Robotic Skills (M-GEARS), VR-automated performance metrics (APMs) and Objective Clinical Human Reliability Analysis (OCHRA) error methodology assessed performance at the beginning and end of training. Messick’s validity concept and a curriculum evaluation model were utilised. Feedback was collated. Proficiency-based progression, benchmarking, tool validity and reliability was assessed through comparative and correlational statistical methods. Forty-seven participants were recruited. Objective assessment of VR and dry models across M-GEARS, APMs and OCHRA demonstrated significant improvements in technical skill (p < 0.001). Concurrent validity between assessment tools demonstrated strong correlation in dry and VR tasks (r = 0.64–0.92, p < 0.001). OCHRA Inter-rater reliability was excellent (r = 0.93, p < 0.001 and 81% matched error events). A benchmark was established with M-GEARS and for the curriculum at 80%. Thirty (63.82%) participants passed. Feedback was 5/5 stars on average, with 100% recommendation. Curriculum evaluation fulfilled all five domains of Messick’s validity. Core robotic surgical skills training can be objectively evaluated and benchmarked to provide accreditation in basic robotic skills. A strategy is necessary to enrol standardised curricula into national surgical training at an early stage to ensure patient safety.
Developing and validating the charismatic leadership tactics scale: evidence from multi-source questionnaire studies, cognitive and behavioral assessments and a leadership training evaluation
Authors: Maran Thomas
Published: August 2024

Charisma in managers is a leadership vitamin that enables them to lead more effectively and improve organizational performance. However, existing questionnaire measures of leaders’ charisma suffer from several limitations, primarily that they almost exclusively assess leaders’ charisma in terms of its effects rather than the constituent behaviors, thus conflating cause and effect. Employing the signaling approach to leaders' charisma, I developed and validated the Charismatic Leadership Tactics Scale (CLTS) across ten studies to measure leaders' charisma as an exogenous variable. Scale items were derived from empirical research on distinct charismatic leadership tactics. First, I established the factorial structure and internal consistency of the CLTS with managers (Study 1) and employees (Study 2). Second, I tested the agreement between manager and employee ratings and the scale’s convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity (Studies 3, 4). Third, I demonstrated that the CLTS relate to objectively measured harismatic tactics, the cognitive abilities underlying leaders’ charisma, and the outcomes that leaders’ charisma is expected to influence (external validity; Studies 5, 6, 7). Fourth, I showed the scale’s sensitivity to change in a charisma training program for managers (Study 8). Finally, I present a cross-cultural adaptation of the CLTS with managers (Study 9) and employees (Study 10). Utilizing diverse methodologies, including cross-sectional studies, automated behavioral assessments, cognitive tests, negotiation tasks, and a quasi-experimental training evaluation, these studies establish the CLTS as a valid instrument. The CLTS matches or exceeds established charismatic leadership measures while disentangling its measurement from endogenous or conflicting influences.
Curcumin Treatment Ameliorates Hepatic Insulin Resistance Induced by Sub-chronic Oral Exposure to Cadmium LOAEL Dose via NF-κB and Nrf2 Pathways
Authors: Sarmiento-Ortega Victor Enrique , Moroni-González Diana , Diaz Alfonso , Brambila Eduardo , Treviño Samuel
Published: August 2024

Cadmium (Cd) is a global pollutant, and its accumulation in the liver causes oxidative stress, inflammation, insulin resistance (IR), and metabolic complications. This study investigated whether curcumin treatment could alleviate hepatic IR in Wistar rats exposed to sub-chronic cadmium and explored the underlying molecular pathways. Male Wistar rats were divided into a control group (standard normocaloric diet + cadmium-free water) and a cadmium group (standard normocaloric diet + drinking water with 32.5 ppm CdCl2) for 30 days. Oral glucose tolerance, insulin response, and IR were assessed using mathematical models. Liver tissue was analyzed for markers of oxidative stress, inflammation, and key regulatory pathways, including NF-κB, Nrf2, MAPKs (JNK and p38), and the IRS1-Akt pathway. We established an effective curcumin dose of 250 mg/kg for 5 days orally. Results demonstrated that after 30 days of exposure, cadmium accumulated in the liver, inducing an oxidative and inflammatory state. This was characterized by increased expression of NF-κB, JNK, and p38, along with diminished Nrf2 expression, hepatic IR, hyperglycemia, and hyperinsulinemia. Curcumin treatment effectively alleviated these metabolic disorders by restoring the balance between NF-κB and Nrf2 in the liver, modulating the MAPK pathway, and, consequently, improving oxidative and inflammatory balance. In conclusion, this study suggests that cadmium induces hepatic IR through an imbalance between NF-κB and Nrf2 signaling pathways. Curcumin treatment appears to improve these pathways, thereby ameliorating hepatic IR.
Connecting the dots: using a network approach to study the wellbeing spectrum
Authors: Landvreugd Anne , van de Weijer Margot P. , Pelt Dirk H. M. , Bartels Meike
Published: August 2024

In positive psychology, defining the wellbeing construct has been a challenge. We used the psychometric network approach to study the structure of wellbeing. The sample consisted of Dutch adults registered with the Netherlands Twin Register. The variables were measured through standardized surveys. The network was estimated using the Mixed Graphical Models method and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regularization to limit the number of spurious edges. We estimated a network in a trimming sample (N=1343, 63% females, Mage = 53.18, SDage = 9.45) and in an estimation sample (N=726, 75% females, Mage = 45.27, SDage = 11.12) to examine its performance and accuracy. Our final network consists of a positive cluster including satisfaction with life, subjective happiness, and flourishing items, and a negative cluster including depressive symptoms, loneliness, and neuroticism items. We identified the four most central nodes: one satisfaction with life item, one neuroticism item, and two depression items. This suggests that to get a general sense of the wellbeing construct, these items would serve as most informative.  The network approach clearly demonstrates the different, yet connected positive and negative clusters of wellbeing and therefore re-affirms the complex interconnectivity of wellbeing phenotypes. In addition, the network results reject the view of strictly delineated wellbeing domains. Having identified the most central nodes in the network, these can be used in futures studies with limited resources, as they are likely to be the most representative of the wellbeing spectrum.
Assessment of Human Health Risk Caused by Heavy Metals in Kiln Dust from Coal-Fired Clay Brick Factories in Türkiye
Authors: Turhan Şeref , Altuner Ergin Murat , Bakır Temel K. , Duran Celalettin , Hançerlioğulları Aybaba , Kurnaz Aslı
Published: August 2024

Heavy metal (HM) pollution from natural processes and different anthropogenic activities pose significant human and environmental health risks because of their stability, non-degradable properties, and high toxicity. HM released into the air in the form of dust can enter the human body via ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact. Keeping in mind the significance of estimating the risk from HM in different environments, the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks to workers caused by HM in kiln dust (KD) samples collected from coal-fired clay brick factories in the Western Black Sea Region of Türkiye were assessed for the first time in this study. The concentrations of major and minor oxides and HMs in the collected KD samples were analyzed using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. The average concentrations of Fe, Mn, Cr, Ni, V, Zn, Cu, As, Co and Pb analyzed in thirty-three KD samples were determined as 65444, 768, 251, 249, 248, 122, 60, 52, 42 and 16 mg/kg dw, respectively. The average levels of Ni, As, Cr, Co and Cu exceed the maximum contaminant levels recommended in the Turkish Regulation on Control of Soil Pollution. Carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic human health risk assessments for workers via three exposure pathways were carried out, estimating the hazard index (HI) and total carcinogenic risk (TCR) index, respectively. The HI values (< 1) revealed no possible non-carcinogenic health risk due to exposure to all HMs in the studied KD samples. The average TCR value revealed that the potential cancer risks for Ni, As, Cr, and Pb were slightly above the safe limit and required monitoring and further investigation for these HMs.
Construction materials and building techniques – Comparing anthropogenic sediments of three Middle Bronze Age sites from Hungary
Authors: Kovács Gabriella , Röpke Astrid , Anvari Jana , Fischl Klára P. , Kienlin Tobias L. , Kulcsár Gabriella , Vicze Magdolna , Pető Ákos
Published: August 2024

This paper compares various ‘earthen’ construction materials and building techniques from three Middle Bronze Age tell (multi-layered settlement) sites in Hungary: Százhalombatta-Földvár, Kakucs-Turján (Vatya material culture) and Borsodivánka-Marhajárás-Nagyhalom (Otomani-Füzesabony Cultural Circle (OFCC)). It employs microscopic analyses – archaeological soil micromorphology and phytolith analysis within thin sections – to examine floor, wall and fire installation materials at a high resolution. The term ‘earthen construction materials’ is used in archaeology extensively to refer to anything from soils to sediments that sometimes lack proper classification or terminology. Through a closer look at the types of materials used at the three analysed sites, we describe more clearly what comprises ‘earthen’ construction materials. Using this data, we then employ a chaîne opératoire approach to think through various stages in the sourcing and preparation of building materials. In analysing this, the paper makes visible the decisions by Bronze Age builders and discusses their possible reasons, which include environmental conditions and socially learned practices. Further, by comparing three contemporary sites within a micro-landscape, our analysis highlights that even small variations in the environment and therefore the available raw materials impact building materials and techniques, and that different groups of people can make different decisions even when facing similar environments.
Time for a change? Investigating shifts in agricultural economies and food in southern-central Norway (11th -16th c. AD)
Authors: Aniceti Veronica , Vedeler Marianne , Hufthammer Anne Karin
Published: August 2024

Cattle and, to a lesser extent, sheep/goat and pigs, were crucial components of Norway’s socio-cultural and economic dynamics in the Middle Ages. Zooarchaeological analyses of faunal samples from different urban sites reveal that changes in cattle husbandry practices occurred in Norway over the medieval period, and especially in its early phases. This is clearly demonstrated in the case of medieval Oslo, where an in-depth zooarchaeological study provides the first comprehensive review of cattle husbandry strategies. In the first centuries of the medieval period (11th -mid 12th c. AD), cattle were mainly raised for milk and meat production, while fewer young and more numerous older individuals, most of which probably oxen, were present from mid 12th -13th c. AD onwards. This hypothesis is supported by biometrical analyses of cattle postcranial bones, indicating changes in the sexual composition of cattle herds over time. Therefore, from ca. mid 12th -13th c. AD onward, cattle seem to have been more used for ploughing and, only once old, to have been culled for their meat. In turn, this evidence suggests that more arable lands had to be ploughed, especially in eastern and central Norway. Here, demographic growth and settlement expansion would have led to an increase in food demand; at the same time, more favourable climatic conditions might have contributed to an increase in the availability of arable fields. This article suggests that medieval Norwegian farming was not static as historically thought, but rather connected to wider-scale agricultural innovations characterising other parts of medieval Europe.
Industrial data ecosystems and data spaces
Authors: Möller Frederik , Jussen Ilka , Springer Virginia , Gieß Anna , Schweihoff Julia Christina , Gelhaar Joshua , Guggenberger Tobias , Otto Boris
Published: August 2024

Industrial data ecosystems are inter-organizational forms of cooperation emerging around sharing data. They arise from a digital infrastructure, giving data providers and data users a platform to share and (re-)use data. Data spaces are among the digital infrastructures frequently associated with data ecosystems, as they supply a shared digital space for its participants to share data in a sovereign way. Data spaces aim to close a gap in the digital infrastructure landscape, addressing concerns of organizations when sharing data, such as data misappropriation or a lack of control of shared data. They do this by implementing data sovereignty—typically through Usage Control Policies—that give data providers the means to formalize semantically and technically how data users are allowed to use their data. In this fundamentals article, we address the following issues: (1) contextualizing and demarcating data spaces and data ecosystems, (2) systematizing data spaces in the research and policy landscape, and (3) elaborating on a research agenda for Information Systems (IS) research.
Green lizards (Squamata, Lacertidae) from ?Pliocene deposits of Węże I in southern Poland, with comments on cranial features for selected lacertids
Authors: Čerňanský Andrej
Published: August 2024

I here describe lacertids from the classic Węże I locality in southern Poland (?Pliocene deposits) based on six previously undescribed jaws: an incomplete left maxilla, two dentaries and three mandibles. These jaws collectively provide considerable data on the morphology of the maxilla, dentary, teeth, coronoid, splenial, angular, surangular and prearticular. All six jaws can be unequivocally allocated to Lacertidae and five of those are allocated to European green lizards of the Lacerta viridis group. Currently, La. viridis has regionally extinct or probably extinct status in Poland. The material from Węże I provides evidence that European green lizards had a large geographic distribution in Europe, including Poland during the ?Pliocene. One mandible fragment appears to be slightly different and is allocated to Lacertidae indet. That mandible might point to a higher taxonomic diversity of lacertids in this locality. However, that interpretation needs to be viewed with caution, because based on such limited material, individual and/or ontogenetic variation cannot be ruled out. To reveal the real taxonomic palaeodiversity of lacertids in Węże I, new and more complete cranial material is needed. In addition, this article provides insights into the comparative osteology of skulls and selected cranial elements in lacertids.
Multiscale-integrated deep learning approaches for short-term load forecasting
Authors: Yang Yang , Gao Yuchao , Wang Zijin , Li Xi’an , Zhou Hu , Wu Jinran
Published: August 2024

Accurate short-term load forecasting (STLF) is crucial for the power system. Traditional methods generally used signal decomposition techniques for feature extraction. However, these methods are limited in extrapolation performance, and the parameter of decomposition modes needs to be preset. To end this, this paper develops a novel STLF algorithm based on multi-scale perspective decomposition. The proposed algorithm adopts the multi-scale deep neural network (MscaleDNN) to decompose load series into low- and high-frequency components. Considering outliers of load series, this paper introduces the adaptive rescaled lncosh (ARlncosh) loss to fit the distribution of load data and improve the robustness. Furthermore, the attention mechanism (ATTN) extracts the correlations between different moments. In two power load data sets from Portugal and Australia, the proposed model generates competitive forecasting results.
Analytically Confirmed Intentional Overdose of the Antidepressant Vortioxetine
Authors: Daneshmend Adam , Gould Allon , Hudson Simon , Archer John Robert Howard , Dargan Paul Ivor , Wood David Michael
Published: August 2024

Introduction

Vortioxetine is an antidepressant with a multimodal mechanism of action. It is used as a treatment option for patients with major depressive episodes. There have only been two previously reported non-fatal overdoses of vortioxetine; neither of these were analytically confirmed There has also been one case of serotonin syndrome potentially related to vortioxetine and two deaths where vortioxetine was detected. We report here a non-fatal analytically confirmed case of vortioxetine overdose.

Case report

A 32-year-old male presented to the emergency department (ED) 12–13 h after oral ingestion of 1,260 mg of vortioxetine and 350 mg of diazepam. A family member reported that he had been drowsy after the overdose, but his level of consciousness and observations (heart rate, blood pressure and temperature) were normal on review by the pre-hospital emergency services and on arrival to the ED. During a period of observation, he did not develop any features of serotonin syndrome or any other significant toxicity. Toxicological analysis of a blood sample taken in the ED detected vortioxetine (plasma concentration 457 ng/mL 10 h after ingestion) and sub-therapeutic concentrations of diazepam and pregabalin.

Discussion

Despite having a plasma vortioxetine concentration nearly 15-times therapeutic vortioxetine concentrations, this patient did not develop any significant toxicity. In particular he did not develop any clinical or biochemical features of serotonin toxicity that would be expected with this class of antidepressant. Additional reporting of analytically confirmed vortioxetine overdoses will allow clinicians and licensing authorities to further understand the safety of this medication in overdose.
A framework for analysis of stakeholder dynamics and value creation in industrial maintenance projects: the stakeholder ipot
Authors: Masarira Mufaro , Papadopoulou Kassandra A. , Rahbarimanesh Amir , Sinha Jyoti K. , Kumar Uday
Published: August 2024

This paper proposes a methodological approach that can be applied in practice for evaluating stakeholder dynamics and assessing projects against appropriate value propositions within an industrial maintenance project context. A conceptual framework is proposed and is demonstrated through a case analysis. It is expected that the proposed methodology, the Stakeholder Interdependent Performance Opportunities and Threats, (Stakeholder iPOT), can advance project management practice by offering a mechanism for analysing stakeholder expectations and responses to the opportunities and threats that different project events present. This study highlights the need for continued investigation not only within the context of industrial maintenance projects but also in other sectors to improve our understanding and ability to effectively manage stakeholder dynamics.
Jakarta groundwater modeling: a review
Authors: Nugraha Gumilar Utamas , Bakti Hendra , Lubis Racmat Fajar , Nur Andi Agus
Published: August 2024

Jakarta is the center of Indonesia’s economy and development. However, the city of Jakarta suffers from many problems related to groundwater, and good groundwater governance is needed to realize groundwater sustainability. Groundwater management can be initiated by undertaking conceptual and numerical groundwater modeling. This paper reviews several previous studies related to groundwater modeling of the Jakarta groundwater basin that have provided information about the groundwater system and groundwater quantity. However, improvements are required for any further studies. The critical challenges to providing a complete picture of the groundwater conditions in the Jakarta groundwater basin are the availability of reliable data and improved groundwater flow models.
Beyond the Digital Public Sphere: Towards a Political Ontology of Algorithmic Technologies
Authors: Viader Guerrero Jordi
Published: August 2024

The following paper offers a political and philosophical reading of ethically informed technological design practices to critically tackle the implicit regulative ideal in the design of social media as a means to digitally represent the liberal public sphere. The paper proposes that, when it comes to the case of social media platforms, understood along with the machine learning algorithms embedded in them as algorithmic technologies, ethically informed design has an implicit conception of democracy that parallels that of Jürgen Habermas’ procedural democracy (Habermas, J. (1994). THREE NORMATIVE MODELS OF DEMOCRACY.Jurgen Habermas,1(1).). That is, that democratic practices are encodable as procedures that produce valid discussion forums. Opposed to this, this paper suggests a turn to philosopher Jacques Rancière’s conception of politics as a guiding attitude towards technological design. This is done by, on the one side, using Rancière’s notions of “disagreement” and “distribution of the sensible” as the political starting point for the practice of design of algorithmic technologies. And, on the other, inspired by Karen Barad’s theories on agential realism (Barad, K. (2003). Posthumanist Performativity: Toward an Understanding of How Matter Comes to Matter.Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society,28(3), 801–831.https://doi.org/10.1086/345321), by putting forward a political ontology of algorithmic technologies that reconceptualizes them in terms of how they assemble open-ended practices between human bodies and technological devices.
Equity, curriculum form and state differences in Australian senior secondary education
Authors: O’Connor Kate , Roberts Philip , Di Gregorio Elisa
Published: August 2024

This article considers differences and similarities in curriculum form between the senior secondary certificates offered across Australia, drawing on three different understandings of curriculum form, one focused on the grid or map of the curriculum and its core categories and levels of specification, one on the cultural assumptions underpinning significant policy reforms, and one on the internal relations between curriculum contents and the divisions evident in the curriculum assigned to particular groups of students. It highlights differences between these perspectives and the value of engaging them collectively to understand the various senior secondary systems operating across Australia, how they have changed over time and their equity implications. It shows that the certificates continue to be different in multiple ways despite decades of standardising reform but that shifts have occurred within states once defined as progressive, with practices changing to align with larger states’ conservative agendas. The differences which do continue are also shown to be in some respects arbitrary, with common patterns evident in relation to the knowledges valued and the distinctions enforced between university and non-university pathways which are obfuscated by the highly complex rules and requirements evident in each jurisdiction. Further research and analysis considering the enactment of these requirements within schools is needed to better understand the equity implications of different requirements and approaches and to think about what kind of curriculum form might be needed to enable an equitable educational system in Australia.
Essential oil distillation residue as environmentally friendly feedstock in gasification: effect of dry air flow rate and temperature on gasification performance
Authors: Yılmaz Çinçin Roda Gökçe , Öngen Atakan , Ağdağ Osman Nuri
Published: August 2024

Despite the growing use of distillation to extract essential oils from aromatic plants, their residues pose a challenge due to their high cellulose-lignin content and resistance to biodegradation, requiring thermochemical treatment for removal. This paper presents the effect of flow rate of agent and operation temperature on the gasification of Oregano (Origanum onites L.) and Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) distillation residue in an updraft fixed bed reactor. The syngas composition, lower heating value of syngas, carbon conversion efficiency, cold gas efficiency, and amount of product are assessed during gasification process. In the experimental studies, a laboratory-scale upstream fixed-bed gasification reactor made of stainless steel heated with a ceramic heater resistant was used. The studies were carried out at temperatures of 700, 800, and 900 °C and a dry air flow rate of 0.05–0.4 L/min to find optimum conditions for gasification. Results showed that increasing the temperature and reducing the dry air flow rate led to higher syngas production and heating value. The maximum volume of H2 in the syngas was measured as 40%. The HHV varied between 5 and 13 MJ/Nm3. The optimum flow rate and temperature for gasification in the updraft fixed bed reactor were found to be 0.05–0.1 L/min and 900 °C, respectively.

Graphical Abstract
Interpretation of magnetic measurements of the CHAMP and Swarm-A satellites over the Pannonian Basin
Authors: Kis K I , Taylor P T , Puszta S , Toronyi B
Published: August 2024

The interpretation of the CHAMP and Swarm-A satellites magnetic anomalies is discussed. The vertical gradient of the Swarm-A anomalies is presented. The vertical gradient shows in detail the magnetic sources. The inversion of the CHAMP magnetic anomalies is also presented. The inversion shows the parameters of the selected forward model. The inversion is solved by numerical procedures: the nonlinear Simplex and Simulated Annealing methods. Possible origin of upper crust magnetization is summarized. The calculation of the error propagation is estimated.
Accuracy of lung ultrasound performed with handheld ultrasound device in internal medicine: an observational study
Authors: Lo Cricchio Anna , Storelli Andrea , Bertoletti Iacopo , Ciuti Gabriele , Fabbri Alessia , Martinelli Elisa , De Santis Maria Cristina , Mercatelli Paolo , El Aoufy Khadija , Bellando Randone Silvia , Moggi Pignone Alberto , Accogli Esterita , Bandini Giulia
Published: August 2024

Aims

Lung ultrasound (LUS) is increasingly used in Internal Medicine to complement medical examination, documenting pleural and lung conditions. This study aimed to compare the accuracy of handheld ultrasound device (HHUSD) with high-end ultrasound device (HEUSD) in patients with heart failure or pneumonia, also including the assessment of costs and time-savings.

Methods

In this observational study 72 patients (aged ≥ 18) admitted to Internal Medicine Unit for heart failure or pneumonia underwent LUS plus evaluation of inferior cava vein (ICV) when indicated, using both HHUSD and HEUSD. Each evaluation, independently performed by 2 different experienced operators, included B-lines number, pleural effusion, lung consolidations, ICV ectasia and its respiratory excursions.

Results

Concordance between HHUSD and HEUSD findings was 79.3% ± 17.7 (mean ± SD) for B-lines, 88.6% for pleural effusion, 82.3% for consolidations and 88.7% and 84.9% for ICV ectasia and its respiratory excursions respectively. BMI didn’t significantly influence concordance between the two methods. Moreover, examination time (as mean ± SD) was shorter with HHUSD (8 ± 1.5 min) compared to HEUSD (10 ± 2.5 min).

Conclusions

HHUSD demonstrated high accuracy in detecting B-lines, pleural effusions, lung consolidations and ICV evaluation when compared to HEUSD. Thus, HHUSD, not only is characterized by accessibility, portability, and easy handling due to its small size, but it also offers advantages in terms of saving costs and time, ultimately contributing to faster patient assessment compared to HEUSD.
Complex Trauma from Child Abuse and Neglect “I’m not Sure We’re even All Talking about the Same Thing and We’re Probably Not”:
Authors: Thain Eden , Cox Sarah , Paton Amanda , Shihata Sarah , Bromfield Leah
Published: August 2024

Rationale

Trauma from child abuse and neglect requires specialised assessment and intervention, especially for those experiencing complex trauma. Unfortunately, what constitutes complex trauma is contentious, alongside growing criticisms of diagnostic categories and labels. Recent literature critiques the symptom clusters and diagnostic categories/labels approach compared to focusing on the concrete impacts and functional nature of behavioural responses to trauma in context.

Aims

This research aimed to assess the conceptual maturity of complex trauma for children and young people who have experienced abuse and neglect by discussing the concept with Australian experts. The research aimed to conceptualise complex trauma through a dimensional lens and impacts-based approach. The overall aim was to increase understanding of the development and maintenance of complex trauma and its distinctiveness from other types of trauma.

Method

Group interviews were conducted, and reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. A member-checking survey helped review and improve the findings.

Results

Findings suggest a vast array of impacts from complex trauma, that diagnostic boxes may not be right for complex trauma, and that the potentially chaotic cycle of complex trauma perpetuates issues. Results from this pilot indicate that complex trauma may be an immature concept for expert clinicians and researchers alike.

Conclusions

Despite assessing complex trauma as an emerging or even immature concept, the discussion generates direction forward and suggests further research avenues. Associated ideas and emerging concepts begin a conceptual discussion of complex trauma.
Unraveling climate trends in the mediterranean: a hybrid machine learning and statistical approach
Authors: AlShafeey Mutaz
Published: August 2024

This study presents a comprehensive spatiotemporal analysis of sea surface temperatures (SST) and surface air temperatures (TAS) across 15 Mediterranean coastal stations, leveraging centennial-scale data to analyze regional climate dynamics. The modeling framework integrates three sequential phases: data preprocessing, statistical analysis, and advanced machine learning techniques, creating a robust analytical pipeline. The data preprocessing phase harmonizes diverse datasets, addresses missing values, and applies transformations to ensure analytical consistency. The statistical modeling employs the Pettitt test for change point detection and linear trend analysis to unveil underlying patterns. The machine learning phase utilizes K-means clustering for climate regime classification and implements tailored Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for cluster-specific future climate anomaly projections. Results unveil a marked anthropogenic climate signal, with contemporary observations consistently surpassing historical baselines. Breakpoint analyses and linear trend assessments reveal heterogeneous climatic shifts, with pronounced warming in the northern Mediterranean. Notably, Nice and Ajaccio exhibit the highest SST increases (0.0119 and 0.0113 °C/decade, respectively), contrasting with more modest trends in Alexandria (0.0052 °C/decade) and Antalya (0.0047 °C/decade) in the eastern Mediterranean. The application of clustering and CNN projections provides granular insights into differential warming trajectories. By 2050, cooler northwestern Mediterranean zones are projected to experience dramatic SST anomalies of approximately 3 °C above the average, with corresponding TAS increases of 2.5 °C. In contrast, warmer eastern and southern regions display more subdued warming patterns, with projected SST and TAS increases of 1.5–2.5 °C by mid-century. This research’s importance is highlighted by its potential to inform tailored adaptation strategies and contribute to the theoretical understanding of climate dynamics, advancing climate modeling and analysis efforts.
Pyrometallurgical Reduction of Copper Slag with Biochar for Metal Recovery
Authors: Attah-Kyei Desmond , Sukhomlinov Dmitry , Klemettinen Lassi , Michallik Radoslaw , O’Brien Hugh , Taskinen Pekka , Lindberg Daniel
Published: August 2024

Large amounts of slag are generated during pyrometallurgical processing in copper production. Due to the presence of valuable elements, the improper disposal of huge quantities of copper slag produced, results in significant loss of resources as well as environmental issues. Analyses of the copper slag show that it contains valuable metals, particularly copper and nickel. In this work, four biochars were employed as fossil-free reducing agents to recover valuable metals from the slag. Reduction experiments were performed in a vertical furnace at temperatures 1250, 1300 and 1350 °C for 60 min in order to investigate the effect of temperature. Moreover, the effect of time on reduction progress was studied at 1250 °C and the concentrations of CO and CO2 in the off-gas were measured with a gas analyzer. Copper slag was reacted with metallurgical coke for comparison and the products were analyzed with EPMA and LA-ICPMS. The results revealed that reduction rapidly progresses to the formation of metal alloy within 10 min. Valuable metals like copper, nickel and arsenic were the first to be reduced to the metal phase. As reduction time increased, iron was also reduced and combined with the metal droplet. The use of biochar as reductant was shown to be more effective than coke especially at lower temperatures. In addition, thermodynamic modelling was performed with FactSage and HSC and compared with the experimental results. The simulations with HSC showed the sequence of reactions taking place and the calculations by FactSage were in agreement with the experiments.

Graphical Abstract
The Idea of a “Flawed Treaty” and its Influence on Students’ Perceptions of the New Zealand Wars
Authors: Burns Christopher , Hetaraka Maia , Jones Alison
Published: August 2024

This article reports on students’ accounts of te Tiriti o Waitangi as a flawed agreement that was a cause of subsequent conflict. We examine how the notion of a “flawed treaty” is developed in history and educational texts. We argue that when the cause of conflict is attributed to the failures of those engaged in the historical production of the treaty documents, Māori perspectives on the sacred significance of the treaty are obscured, as is the contemporary relevance of the agreement. As much as possible, throughout this article, the capitalised phrase te Tiriti o Waitangi (or te Tiriti) is used to refer especially to the te reo Māori text and the Treaty of Waitangi (or the Treaty) to the English language text of the treaty. ‘The treaty’ (in lower case) refers to an agreement to an ongoing relationship, and where a specific text is not defined.
Artificial Intelligence as a Tool for Diagnosis of Cardiac Amyloidosis: A Systematic Review
Authors: Ahmadi-Hadad Armia , De Rosa Egle , Di Serafino Luigi , Esposito Giovanni
Published: August 2024

Purpose

Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is a highly underdiagnosed disease characterized by the accumulation of misfolded amyloid protein fragments in the heart, resulting in reduced heart functionality and myocardial stiffness. Artificial intelligence (AI) has garnered considerable interest as a potential tool for diagnosing cardiovascular diseases, including CA. This systematic review concentrates on the application of AI in the diagnosis of CA.

Methods

A comprehensive systematic search was performed on the databases of PubMed, Embase, and Medline, to identify relevant studies. The screening process was conducted in two stages, using predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria, and was carried out in a blinded manner. In cases where discrepancies arose, the reviewers discussed and resolved the issue through consensus.

Results

Following the screening process, a total of 10 studies were deemed eligible for inclusion in this review. These investigations evaluated the potential utility of AI models that analyzed routine laboratory data, medical records, ECG, transthoracic echocardiography, CMR, and WBS in the diagnosis of CA.

Conclusion

AI models have demonstrated utility as a diagnostic tool for CA, with comparable or in one case superior efficacy to that of expert cardiologists.
Towards intelligent environments: human sensing through 3D point cloud
Authors: Yamaguchi Hirozumi , Rizk Hamada , Amano Tatsuya , Hiromori Akihito , Ukyo Riki , Yamada Shota , Ohno Masakazu
Published: August 2024

To realize the concept of “Society 5.0”, which seeks to enhance well-being by integrating the Internet of Things to connect people, objects, and environments, intelligent environments are essential. These environments focus on creating sensor-enhanced spaces capable of recognizing and interpreting human behaviors and needs. This paper explores how we achieve intelligent environment by highlighting current technologies and applications of human sensing and tracking that enables such intelligent environments. Specifically, it introduces the development and application of LiDAR-based human sensing and tracking technologies, including the Hitonavi and Hitonavi-$$\mu $$
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systems, designed for multi-person tracking in extensive areas and for enabling person detection and activity recognition on edge devices, respectively. Moreover, the paper explains the services and applications of these methodologies to smart buildings, shopping malls, and elderly care, showcasing their potential to enhance safety, convenience, and understanding of human behavior within intelligent environments. Throughout this paper, we present our vision for creating reliable intelligent environments, which are fundamentally supported by sophisticated human sensing technologies.
Transformer models for Land Cover Classification with Satellite Image Time Series
Authors: Voelsen Mirjana , Rottensteiner Franz , Heipke Christian
Published: August 2024

In this paper we address the task of pixel-wise land cover (LC) classification using satellite image time series (SITS). For that purpose, we use a supervised deep learning model and focus on combining spatial and temporal features. Our method is based on the Swin Transformer and captures global temporal features by using self-attention and local spatial features by convolutions. We extend the architecture to receive multi-temporal input to generate one output label map for every input image. In our experiments we focus on the application of pixel-wise LC classification from Sentinel‑2 SITS over the whole area of Lower Saxony (Germany). The experiments with our new model show that by using convolutions for spatial feature extraction or a temporal weighting module in the skip connections the performance improves and is more stable. The combined usage of both adaptations results in the overall best performance although this improvement is only minimal. Compared to a fully convolutional neural network without any self-attention layers our model improves the results by 2.1% in the mean F1-Score on a corrected test dataset. Additionally, we investigate different types of temporal position encoding, which do not have a significant impact on the performance.
An application-layer plausibly deniable encryption system for wearable devices
Authors: Chen Niusen , Chen Bo , Shi Weisong
Published: August 2024

Wearable devices especially smartwatches are widely used in our daily life. With their increased use, a large amount of sensitive data are collected, stored, and managed in those devices. To protect sensitive data, encryption is often used but, traditional encryption is vulnerable to a novel coercive attack in which the adversary can capture the device’s user and coerce the user to disclose the decryption key. To defend against the coercive attack, Plausibly Deniable Encryption (PDE) has been designed which can allow the victim user to deny the existence of hidden sensitive data. The PDE systems have been explored broadly for smartphones. However, the PDE systems which are suitable for wearable devices are still missing in the literature. In this work, we have designed MobiWear, the first PDE system specifically designed for wearable devices. By leveraging PDE, image steganography as well as watermarking, MobiWear ensures plausible deniability and can be easily deployed at the application layer. In addition, MobiWear relies on sensors equipped with the wearable devices to enter passwords, accommodating the wearable devices which have small-size screens and are inconvenient for entering plaintext. Security analysis and experimental evaluation using a real-world prototype (ported to an LG G smartwatch) show that MobiWear can ensure the deniability with a small computational overhead as well as a tiny degradation of the perceived quality of the image.
Discovery of a novel whitefly- and aphid-transmitted polerovirus on rice plants with dwarfing and fewer tillering symptoms
Authors: Yu Jiaping , Zeng Ming , Zhou Yali , Wang Jirui , Zhou Xueping , Wu Jianxiang
Published: August 2024

Rice is the most important cereal grain worldwide and is cultivated mainly in Asian countries. Rice viral disease epidemics caused by insect-borne viruses are a major threat to rice production. However, to date, how many unknown viruses naturally infect rice plants in the field remains vague. Here, we identified a novel polerovirus tentatively named rice dwarf polerovirus (RDPV) via RNA-seq technology in rice plants showing dwarfing and fewer tillering symptoms collected from paddy fields in Hainan Province, China. The RDPV genome consists of a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA molecule that is 5832 nt in size and is deduced to encode seven viral proteins. Phylogenetic analyses based on the full-length genome sequence and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) amino acid sequence revealed that RDPV is in an evolutionary branch with known viruses in the Polerovirus genus. Interestingly, virus transmission experiments demonstrated that RDPV can be transmitted by two completely different vectors, i.e., whiteflies and aphids, from diseased rice plants to healthy rice seedlings. Furthermore, we constructed an infectious cDNA clone of RDPV and found that it can infect Nicotiana benthamiana plants via Agrobacterium-infiltrated inoculation. Thus, we concluded that RDPV is a novel whitefly- and aphid-transmitted rice polerovirus. These findings contribute to expanding our knowledge of rice polerovirus diversity, and developing efficient strategies to manage this rice viral disease.
Security, Society, and the Perennial Struggles over the Sacred: Revising the Wars of Religion in International Relations Theory
Authors: Bolton Derek
Published: August 2024

International relations theory tends to build on the conventional narrative of the Wars of Religion (WoR), which holds it was the irrationality of religious violence that generated the modern international system of pragmatic secular states—resulting in the presumed secularized, rational, and unemotive nature of politics. In contrast, this article reorients our focus to Durkheim's more social view of religion as a community of believers and to the continued role of the sacred and shared emotion/affect in social and political life. Specifically, it examines how modern communities (such as nations) remain constituted by a shared faith in conceptions of the sacred and how the corresponding sense of moral order is central to the enduring pursuit of ontological security. Therefore, it argues that international relations should focus on the perennial struggles over what communities hold sacred and that we can better understand the propensity for (“religious” or “secular”) violence by examining the continual interplay between the sacred, ontological security, and the hermeneutics of morality—with the so-called WoR being the locus classicus of this argument. Historical studies exploring how participants in the WoR navigated such struggles over the sacred thus allow us to explore these dynamics and further conceptualize our understanding of the sacred within modern “secular” politics. The article concludes by examining how the prospect for violence is interrelated with the perennial struggles over the sacred within, and between, political orders—a sentiment that brings into relief some of the hazards accompanying growing intrastate moral polarization and interstate ideological rivalry.
Kinematics Along the Qingchuan Fault and Deformation Pattern in the Eastern Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Sun Haoyue , He Honglin , Ikeda Yasutaka , Kano Ken'ichi , Gao Wei , Sun Wen , Shi Feng , Su Peng , Echigo Tomoo , Okada Shinsuke , Shirahama Yoshiki
Published: August 2024

The accommodation of the substantial eastward crustal motion of the Bayan Har block characterizes the dynamics of faults located at the eastern Tibetan Plateau. However, uncertainties persist concerning the manner and amount of deformation distributed on these faults, with slip senses and rates constituting critical factors. In the northeastern segment of the Longmenshan thrust zone, the contentious activity and the unknown geologic slip rate present challenges. This study, focusing on the Qingchuan fault, the predominant fault within the northeastern Longmenshan, employed satellite imagery interpretation, displaced fluvial terraces surveying, displacement measurements, and chronological analysis to comprehensively characterize its fault activity. Our investigation robustly demonstrates the Qingchuan fault has been active since the late Quaternary, and is primarily marked with a pronounced dextral slip at a rate of 0.6–1.0 mm/year. By quantitatively assessing the deformation rates of the faults at the eastern Tibetan Plateau, we propose that they sufficiently accommodate the entire eastward crustal movement of the Bayan Har block; thereby no additional deformation propagates beyond the Qingchuan fault. Furthermore, we introduce a subblock model to elucidate the regional crustal deformation pattern, wherein the eastward movement of the Bayan Har block transfers to the northeastward movement of the Bikou subblock. This movement results in reverse slip patterns for the Minjiang and Huya faults, while the Beichuan and Qingchuan faults predominantly experience dextral displacements. The complex strain partitioning within the northern Longmenshan range underscores the observed variations in slip patterns across different segments of the Longmenshan thrust zone, advancing our understanding of fault behavior and the orchestration of crustal deformation in this intricate tectonic framework.