bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The effects of warm weather on children’s outdoor heat stress and physical activity in a preschool yard in Gothenburg, Sweden
Authors: Wallenberg Nils , Lindberg Fredrik , Thorsson Sofia , Jungmalm Jonatan , Fröberg Andreas , Raustorp Anders , Rayner David
Published: September 2023

Hot weather conditions can have negative impacts on the thermal comfort and physical activity of vulnerable groups such as children. The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of warm weather on 5-year-old children’s thermal comfort and physical activity in a preschool yard in Gothenburg, Sweden. In situ measurements were conducted for 1–1.5 h in the early afternoon on 8 days in May, June, and August of 2022. The thermal comfort and physical activity was estimated with GPS-tracks, heart rate monitors, and step counts and compared to observed weather conditions. Results show that physical activity decreases under warmer weather conditions, depicted by a decrease in distance moved, step counts, and highest registered pulse. Moreover, on warm days, the children avoid sunlit areas. For 50% or more of the time spent in sunlit areas, the children are exposed to cautious levels of heat. In shaded areas, on the other hand, the children are less exposed, with five out of 8 days having 50% or more of the time at neutral levels. The study demonstrates the importance of access to shaded areas in preschool yards where children can continue their active play while simultaneously maintaining a safe thermal status.
Health-related quality of life 2 years after pedicle subtraction osteotomy for sagittal imbalance: a single-center experience of 65 patients
Authors: Girod Pierre-Pascal , Lener Sara , Kögl Nikolaus , Hartmann Sebastian , Abramovic Anto , Krismer Laura , Santer Markus , Ortler Martin , Thomé Claudius
Published: September 2023

Purpose

Pedicle subtraction osteotomy (PSO) as an invasive procedure with high reoperation and complication rates in an often elderly population has often been questioned. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the impact of PSO for sagittal imbalance (SI) on patient-reported outcomes including self-reported satisfaction and health-related quality of life 2 years postoperatively.

Methods

Consecutive patients who underwent correction of their spinal deformity by thoracolumbar PSO were assessed using self-reporting questionnaires 2 years postoperatively. Outcome was measured by visual analogue scale (VAS) for back and leg pain, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and EQ-5D scores. Additionally, a Patient Satisfaction Index (PSI) rated in four grades (A: very satisfied to D: not satisfied), walking range, and the Timed Up and Go (TUG) Test were evaluated.

Results

Sixty-five patients were included, and each parameter was assessed preoperatively and 24 months postoperatively. The intervention led to significant improvements in back pain (8.1 ± 1.2 vs. 2.9 ± 1.9; p < 0.001), as well as ODI scores (57.7 ± 13.9 vs. 32.6 ± 18.9; p < 0.001), walking range (589 ± 1676 m vs. 3265 ± 3405 m; p < 0.001), and TUG (19.2 s vs. 9.7 s; p < 0.05). 90.7% of patients (n = 59/65) reported a PSI grade “A” or “B” 24 months postoperatively.

Conclusion

Patient satisfaction 24 months after PSO for SI is high. Quality of life improved significantly by restoring sagittal balance.
Post-extraction volumetric analysis of alveolar ridge contour using subepithelial connective tissue graft in esthetic zone: a randomized controlled clinical trial
Authors: Gamal Nourhan , Shemais Nesma , Al-Nawawy Marwa , Ghallab Noha A.
Published: September 2023

Objectives

The aim of this randomized clinical trial was to assess the alveolar ridge contour after soft tissue augmentation using subepithelial connective tissue graft (SCTG) buccal to fresh extraction sockets in patients with thin buccal bone, versus minimally-traumatic extraction followed by spontaneous healing solely.

Materials and methods

Forty non-restorable maxillary teeth in the esthetic zone were randomly assigned into two groups: minimally-traumatic extraction with SCTG (test) and minimally-traumatic extraction followed by spontaneous healing (control). The outcomes assessed included linear volumetric change of buccal soft tissue contour, vertical tissue loss, gingival thickness (GT), and interdental papilla (IDP) height after 6 months.

Results

The SCTG group showed a significant improvement (P < 0.001) in all outcomes after 6 months. The SCTG group showed a statistically significant (P < 0.001) gain in the buccal soft tissue volumetric change compared to the control group. The SCTG group showed a statistically significant increase in GT (P < 0.001) and IDP height (P < 0.05) after 6 months compared to the control group.

Conclusions

The use of SCTG buccal to extraction sockets in the anterior maxilla might be considered as a predictable approach for preserving the alveolar ridge contour.

Clinical relevance

SCTG buccal to extraction sockets might counteract post-extraction hard and soft tissue alterations in the esthetic zone.
Can local explanation techniques explain linear additive models?
Authors: Rahnama Amir Hossein Akhavan , Bütepage Judith , Geurts Pierre , Boström Henrik
Published: September 2023

Local model-agnostic additive explanation techniques decompose the predicted output of a black-box model into additive feature importance scores. Questions have been raised about the accuracy of the produced local additive explanations. We investigate this by studying whether some of the most popular explanation techniques can accurately explain the decisions of linear additive models. We show that even though the explanations generated by these techniques are linear additives, they can fail to provide accurate explanations when explaining linear additive models. In the experiments, we measure the accuracy of additive explanations, as produced by, e.g., LIME and SHAP, along with the non-additive explanations of Local Permutation Importance (LPI) when explaining Linear and Logistic Regression and Gaussian naive Bayes models over 40 tabular datasets. We also investigate the degree to which different factors, such as the number of numerical or categorical or correlated features, the predictive performance of the black-box model, explanation sample size, similarity metric, and the pre-processing technique used on the dataset can directly affect the accuracy of local explanations.
Leaf physiology and histopathology of the interaction between the opportunistic phytopathogen Fusarium equiseti and Gossypium hirsutum plants
Authors: de Souza Marques Matheus Mendonça , Vitorino Luciana Cristina , Rosa Márcio , Dário Bruno Matheus Mendes , Silva Fabiano Guimarães , Bessa Layara Alexandre
Published: September 2023

Fungal diseases constitute a major challenge in the cultivation of the world's most important textile plant, cotton. Opportunistic fungi attack plants and promote physiological alterations and tissue damage, thereby causing losses in productivity. Herein, the hypothesis that Gossypium hirsutum L. plants are physiologically affected, depending on the phenological stage and site of infection (root system or leaf), when affected by the opportunistic phytopathogen Fusarium equiseti was tested. To this end, the photosynthetic pigment production, gas exchange, chlorophyll a fluorescence, and histopathological mechanisms involved in the plant-phytopathogen interaction were evaluated. This study aimed to diagnose the most aggressive route of infection by comparing infection via root with infection via the leaf, and to identify the developmental stage with the highest susceptibility by comparing different phenological stages. Cotton plants show metabolic losses at the maturation stage, resulting in low photosynthetic pigment concentrations, low photosynthetic rates, and photochemical stress. However, when infected by F. equiseti in the root region, the photosynthesis and photochemistry of these plants are more affected than plants inoculated in the leaf region. Low net photosynthesis (A) and water use efficiency (WUE) rates, but high light absorption flux (ABS/RC) and energy dissipation flux (DI0/RC) values were observed. Regardless of the phenological stage, the presence of F. equiseti in the roots of cotton plants caused high transpiratory rates in the plants, suggesting non-stomatic water loss and photochemical damage. In contrast, non-inoculated plants produced more photosynthetic pigments and showed higher WUE and photochemical efficiency, as indicated by the high PIABS values. Leaf histopathology assessment revealed more fragile regions of the epidermis, such as the contact region between the guard cells and adjacent epidermal cells, as well as the basal region of glandular trichomes as important access routes for F. equiseti to the inner leaf layers at all developmental stages. This study confirmed that the root colonization of cotton plants with F. equiseti can more intensely impact the physiological quality of the plants, regardless of the developmental stage.
How to shape communication for CO2-derived insulation boards considering different accepter profiles
Authors: Simons Lisanne , Ziefle Martina , Arning Katrin
Published: September 2023

Climate change is a constant global challenge. An approach to help mitigate climate change is carbon capture and utilization (CCU), in which captured CO2 is reused as raw material for consumer products. Because innovations like CCU are unfamiliar to the general public, their communication is critical for a successful rollout. To date, sustainability innovation research has largely neglected the empirical study of communication. The present study contributes to studying the information and communication needs of laypeople based on perceptions and acceptance patterns for CCU by focusing on acceptance profiles for CCU-based insulation boards. In an empirical two-step approach, a qualitative interview prestudy was followed by a quantitative questionnaire measurement (N = 643). Using k-means clustering, the respondents were divided into three acceptance groups: rejecters (15%), tentative accepters (51%), and strong accepters (34%). Analysis showed that regarding their demographics and personality traits, tentative accepters and rejecters were similar. All segments trusted science and health experts best, and only the rejecters distrusted some specific actors. Information on the product’s risks and functional properties was most important for all acceptance groups. Based on the study’s insights, both general and targeted managerial communication and policy guidelines were formulated.
Clinical Validation of a Primary Antibody Deficiency Screening Algorithm for Primary Care
Authors: Messelink Marianne A. , Welsing Paco M. J. , Devercelli Giovanna , Marsden Jan Willem N. , Leavis Helen L.
Published: September 2023

Purpose

The diagnostic delay of primary antibody deficiencies (PADs) is associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Therefore, a screening algorithm was previously developed for the early detection of patients at risk of PAD in primary care. We aimed to clinically validate and optimize the PAD screening algorithm by applying it to a primary care database in the Netherlands.

Methods

The algorithm was applied to a data set of 61,172 electronic health records (EHRs). Four hundred high-scoring EHRs were screened for exclusion criteria, and remaining patients were invited for serum immunoglobulin analysis and referred if clinically necessary.

Results

Of the 104 patients eligible for inclusion, 16 were referred by their general practitioner for suspected PAD, of whom 10 had a PAD diagnosis. In patients selected by the screening algorithm and included for laboratory analysis, prevalence of PAD was ~ 1:10 versus 1:1700–1:25,000 in the general population. To optimize efficiency of the screening process, we refitted the algorithm with the subset of high-risk patients, which improved the area under the curve–receiver operating characteristics curve value to 0.80 (95% confidence interval 0.63–0.97). We propose a two-step screening process, first applying the original algorithm to distinguish high-risk from low-risk patients, then applying the optimized algorithm to select high-risk patients for serum immunoglobulin analysis.

Conclusion

Using the screening algorithm, we were able to identify 10 new PAD patients from a primary care population, thus reducing diagnostic delay. Future studies should address further validation in other populations and full cost-effectiveness analyses.

Registration

Clinicaltrials.gov record number NCT05310604, first submitted 25 March 2022
Peripheral T Cell Populations are Differentially Affected in Familial Mediterranean Fever, Chronic Granulomatous Disease, and Gout
Authors: Al Burcu , Bruno Mariolina , Röring Rutger J. , Moorlag Simone J. C. F. M. , Suen Tsz Kin , Klück Viola , Liu Ruiqi , Debisarun Priya A. , Gaal Orsolya , Bhat Jaydeep , Kabelitz Dieter , van de Veerdonk Frank L. , Joosten Leo A.B. , Netea Mihai G. , Placek Katarzyna
Published: September 2023

Both innate errors of immunity, such as familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) and chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), and the common inflammatory disease gout are characterized by episodes of sterile inflammatory attacks in the absence of an infection. While these disorders encompass distinct pathologies due to differentially affected metabolic pathways and inflammasome activation mechanisms, their common features are the excessive production of interleukin (IL)-1ß and innate immune cell hyperreactivity. On the other hand, the role of T cells and innate-like lymphocytes such as gamma delta (γδ) T cells in these pathologies is ill-defined. In order to widen our understanding of T cell involvement in CGD, FMF and gout pathology, we developed multicolour immunophenotyping panels for flow cytometry to characterize γδ T cells as well as CD4 and CD8 T cell populations in terms of their cytokine production, activation status, memory or naive phenotypes, exhaustion status, homing receptor expression, and cytotoxic activity. Our study is the first deep immunophenotyping analysis of T cell populations in CGD, FMF, and gout patients. We found that CGD affects the frequencies and activation status of T cells, while gout impairs the cytokine production capacity of Vδ2 T cells. FMF was characterized by decreased percentages of regulatory T cells in circulation and attenuated IFN-γ production capacity by Vδ2 T cells. Autoinflammatory syndromes and congenital defects of phagocyte differentially affect T cell compartments. Future studies are warranted to assess whether these phenotypical changes are relevant for disease pathology.
Violent Entanglements: Intimate Partner Violence in LGBTIQ + People’s Relationships
Authors: Lahti Annukka
Published: September 2023

Purpose

This article analyzes violence and abuse in LGBTIQ + people’s former relationships. Combining assemblage theory with intersectionality, it rethinks queer and feminist understandings by analyzing intimate partner violence as assemblages. This offers a nuanced approach that does not rely on simplistic causal models.

Methods

The article draws on a dataset of interviews with separated LGBTIQ + people, 30 in Finland and 28 in England. It focuses on 13 interviewees who gave accounts of mental, physical, and sexual violence within previous relationships. Following a Deleuze-inspired rhizomatic methodology, the analysis “enters in the middle” of complex abusive assemblages and identifies the most central elements and affective entanglements that helped to maintain and/or diminish the abuse.

Results

Assemblages that engender and maintain abuse are complex and multiple. Nevertheless, they are not random: the rhizomatic workings of heteronormativity, the social status of LGBTIQ + relationships, and gender-related elements entangle in assemblages that amplify the effects of abuse and constrain participants’ bodies.

Conclusions

Abuse in LGBTIQ + people’s relationships can be understood through the posthuman theoretical idea of distributed agency: abuse gains force in and through its entanglements with other elements within an assemblage. This does not absolve abusive persons of responsibility for their actions. Rather, it reveals that the efficacy of agency depends on the interactive forces and elements within an assemblage. Abuse and violence often accumulate, as the exposure of bodies to injurious conditions produces affective relations that can become patterned in LGBTIQ + people’s lives.
Gambling Behavior of Excluded Gamblers in a Multi-venue Exclusion System: Results from a Three-Wave Survey Conducted in Switzerland
Authors: Lischer Suzanne , Schwarz Jürg , Wallimann Hannes , Mathys Jacqueline
Published: September 2023

Gamblers enrolled in the Swiss Multi-Venue Exclusion Program completed a written questionnaire three times, at six-month intervals. In addition to sociodemographic information, they provided details of their gambling behavior, and completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised (SOGS-R). The excluded gamblers were compared to a control group of non-excluded gamblers who also completed the questionnaire. The baseline survey demonstrated that there was a significant association between gamblers status (excluded n = 87 and non-excluded n = 259) and income (p = .039), as well as debt situation (p < .001) and SOGS-R score classification (p < .001). Over the course of three surveys, 242 gamblers participated. Of these, 133 respondents were not excluded from casinos at any time, 33 were excluded at the time of the first survey wave and remained so, while the exclusion status of 76 respondents changed over time, thus they were excluded for a minimum of one wave. Overall, 12.1% of excluded individuals stopped gambling altogether. Although exclusion is circumvented by some gamblers, it is associated with significant reductions in frequency, duration, and expenditure, as well as severity of problem gambling. The effects were more significant among gamblers who were excluded from casinos during the entire survey period. The results suggest that the duration of an exclusion should be at least six months instead of the current three months. 62.6% of the excluded gamblers had at least one exclusion lifted during the survey period. Further research is needed to investigate the implications of repeated exclusions for gambling-specific problems.
The Boomerang Effect of Suppression of Emotional Expression: Relationship Power, Affectivity and Adolescent and Youth Male-To-Female Dating Violence
Authors: Landa Silvia Ubillos , González Sandra Nieto , Martínez Alicia Puente , Leiva Marcela Gracia , Castro José Luis González
Published: September 2023

Scarce research has been performed on the role of power, affectivity, and suppression of emotional expression in the use of dating violence by adolescents and young men. This study aims to analyze a model of the associations between perceived power (control and dominance), affectivity (positive and negative affect), suppression of emotional expression and the frequency of use of male-to female dating violence. Participants in this cross-sectional and correlational study were 786 Spanish students aged between 13 and 25 years (M = 18.80; SD = 2.93) divided in two groups: 13–18 (316 adolescents, M = 15.58; SD = 1.02) and 18–25 (462 young men, M = 20.79; SD = 1.98) with 8 participants not stating their age. Different sequential mediation models confirmed that, only in young men, affectivity (negative and positive affect) and suppression of emotional expression mediate the relationship between power and the use of dating violence. Fostering equal relationships, associating them with positive emotional states, avoiding the frustration derived from low power perception, and providing young men with strategies for appropriately expressing their emotions may help decrease the use of dating violence.
To Me My X-Men: An Analysis of the European Union’s Engagement with International Intellectual Property Law Through the Prism of a Trade Agreement with the Mutant Nation of Krakoa
Authors: Sunner Liam
Published: September 2023

The purpose of this Article is to examine the European Union’s external relations with the hypothetical mutant nation of Krakoa through the perspective of intellectual property and human rights filtered through a trade agreement between the parties. In doing so, the potential trade agreement with Krakoa allows for the critical reflection of the scope and application of international intellectual property protection, enforcement, and development but also allows for challenges to this existing standard that are not possible elsewhere due to broader economic and political reasons. It discusses the progressive inclusion of TRIPS-Plus provisions in EU international agreements and how this sets the stage for this trade agreement. This paper identifies the extent to which the EU is seeking higher levels of intellectual property protection in the global sphere and discusses to what extent the use of TRIPS-Plus provisions has clashed with the objective of the promotion and protection of human rights in the EU external action. In essence, what can be learned from a trade agreement between the EU and Krakoa, and how this can be applied to future negotiations of the EU and its trading partners at the international level.
Redact to React: Deconstructing Justice with Erasure Poetry
Authors: Coyle Sarah-Jane
Published: September 2023

The purpose of this article is to consider the philosophy, form and function underpinning erasure poetry. Erasure is a creative practice involving redaction or the striking through of certain words, phrases, or paragraphs in found documents and materials. The poetic form is comprised of what is left behind. The form has grown in popularity in recent years due to the advent of social media and the fact that erasure poems’ pictorial format is easily shared online. This article suggests that the poststructuralist philosophy underpinning the form is also key to its traction insofar as it enables poets to expose the fallacy of justice communicated by official documents such as court transcripts and government reports. In examining traditional conceptions of the page as interface and the authority of inscription, I will explore the extent to which erasure poetry heralds a new collaborative and democratic form of poetics. By conducting a close reading of two erasure texts—M NourbeSe Philip’s Zong! and Nicole Sealey’s ‘Pages 1–4’, an excerpt from The Ferguson Report: An Erasure—I will argue that erasure poetry has the potential to reinvigorate postcolonial studies, drawing parallels between erasure and the censorship of black lives.
Serum long noncoding RNA H19/micro RNA-675-5p axis as a probable diagnostic biomarker in inflammatory bowel disease
Authors: Shaker Olfat G. , Safa Aya , Khairy Ahmed , Abozeid Naglaa F.
Published: September 2023

Background

A significant body of research strengthens the starring role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Here, we investigated the diagnostic utility of lncRNA H19 and miRNA-675-5p in IBD.

Methods

This study included 97 participants, thirty-five ulcerative colitis patients, thirty-two Crohn’s disease patients, and thirty IBD-free controls. History, staging, laboratory investigations, and colonoscopy were performed. Also, quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) for revealing of lncRNA H19 and miRNA-675-5p was done.

Results

The estimated serum levels for H19 and miRNA-675-5p in the UC and CD groups in comparison to the control group showed a high statistical difference (P = 0.0001 for each parameter). Based upon the severity of UC patients, both biomarkers showed significantly higher values between remission and moderate cases, with p-values 0.022 and 0.02, respectively. Meanwhile, in CD patients, both biomarkers revealed no statistical significance between remission and any active stage of the disease. Additionally, ROC analysis revealed that H19 could discriminate between UC and control subjects with 94.3% sensitivity and 90.0% specificity, and with 87.5% sensitivity, and 88.5% specificity in the CD group. Furthermore, miR-675-5p was able to discriminate between UC and control subjects with 85.7% sensitivity and 97.3% specificity and with 88.4% sensitivity, 95.2% specificity in the CD group. Logistic regression found a significant predictive utility of using miR-675-5p and H19 in IBD.

Conclusion

H19 and miRNA-675-5p can be used as diagnostic biomarkers in IBD, with superiority in UC patients with moderate activity.
Research on Hybrid Data Clustering Algorithm for Wireless Communication Intelligent Bracelets
Authors: Sun Jian-zhao , Yang Kun , Woźniak Marcin
Published: September 2023

Wireless communication smart bracelet data include motion data, sleep time data, heart rate and blood pressure data and positioning data, etc. These data have diversity and high complexity, and there are interconnections or interactions between the data, which have high clustering difficulty. To this end, a new data clustering algorithm is studied for wireless communication smart bracelets. The K-medoids algorithm is used to calculate the intra-cluster, inter-cluster, or overall similarity to complete the initial clustering of the bracelet data. Setting the clustering evaluation index can determine the optimal number of clusters. The data objects that are closely surrounded and relatively dispersed are selected as the initial clustering centers and combined with the new index IXB to complete the improvement of the data clustering algorithm. The test results show that the accuracy, recall, and F1 of the research algorithm for clustering the heart rate monitoring dataset, temperature monitoring dataset, energy consumption dataset, and sleep monitoring dataset are higher than 97%, which indicates that the data clustering effect of the algorithm is good.
A review of image watermarking for identity protection and verification
Authors: Sharma Sunpreet , Zou Ju Jia , Fang Gu , Shukla Pancham , Cai Weidong
Published: September 2023

Identity protection is an indispensable feature of any information security system. An identity can exist in the form of digitally written signatures, biometric information, logos, etc. It serves the vital purpose of the owners’ verification and provides them with a safety net against their imposters, so its protection is essential. Numerous security mechanisms are being developed to achieve this goal, and information embedding is prominent among all. It consists of cryptography, steganography, and watermarking; collectively, they are known as data hiding (DH) techniques. In addition to providing insight into various DH techniques, this review prominently covers the image watermarking works that have positively influenced its relevant research area. To that end, one of the main aspects of this study is its inclusive nature in reviewing watermarking techniques, via which itaimsto provide a 360$$^{\circ }$$∘view of the watermarking technology. The main contributions of this study are summarised below.

The proposed study covers more than 100 major watermarking works that have positively influenced the field and continue to do so. This approach makes the discussion effective as it allows us to pivot on the vital watermarking works that have positively influenced the research area instead of just highlighting as many existing methods as possible. Moreover, it also empowers us to provide the readers with an insight into the current research trends, the pros and cons of the state-of-the-art methods, and recommendations for future works.

In addition to reviewing the state-of-the-art watermarking works, this study solves the issue of reverse-engineering the main existing watermarking methods. For instance, most recent surveys have focused primarily on reviewing as many watermarking works as possible without probing into the actual working of the techniques. This approach can leave the readership without a vital understanding of implementing or reverse-engineering a watermarking method. This issue is especially prevalent among newcomers to the watermarking field; hence, this study presents the breakdown of the well-known watermarking techniques.

A new systematisation of classifying existing watermarking methods is proposed. It classifies watermarking techniques into two phases. The first phase divides watermarking methods into three categories based on the domain employed during watermark embedding. The methods are further classified based on other watermarking attributes in the following phase.
CISO: Co-iteration semi-supervised learning for visual object detection
Authors: Qi Jianchun , Nguyen Minh , Yan Wei Qi
Published: September 2023

Semi-supervised learning offers a solution to the high cost and limited availability of manually labeled samples in supervised learning. In semi-supervised visual object detection, the use of unlabeled data can significantly enhance the performance of deep learning models. In this paper, we introduce an end-to-end framework, named CISO (Co-Iteration Semi-Supervised Learning for Object Detection), which integrates a knowledge distillation approach and a collaborative, iterative semi-supervised learning strategy. To maximize the utilization of pseudo-label data and address the scarcity of pseudo-label data due to high threshold settings, we propose a mean iteration approach where all unlabeled data is applied to each training iteration. Pseudo-label data with high confidence is extracted based on an ever-changing threshold (average intersection over union of all pseudo-labeled data). This strategy not only ensures the accuracy of the pseudo-label but also optimizes the use of unlabeled data. Subsequently, we apply a weak-strong data augmentation strategy to update the model. Lastly, we evaluate CISO using Swin Transformer model and conduct comprehensive experiments on MS-COCO. Our framework showcases impressive results, outperforms the state-of-the-art methods by 2.16 mAP and 1.54 mAP with 10% and 5% labeled data, respectively.
What is research funding, how does it influence research, and how is it recorded? Key dimensions of variation
Authors: Thelwall Mike , Simrick Subreena , Viney Ian , Van den Besselaar Peter
Published: September 2023

Evaluating the effects of some or all academic research funding is difficult because of the many different and overlapping sources, types, and scopes. It is therefore important to identify the key aspects of research funding so that funders and others assessing its value do not overlook them. This article outlines 18 dimensions through which funding varies substantially, as well as three funding records facets. For each dimension, a list of common or possible variations is suggested. The main dimensions include the type of funder of time and equipment, any funding sharing, the proportion of costs funded, the nature of the funding, any collaborative contributions, and the amount and duration of the grant. In addition, funding can influence what is researched, how and by whom. The funding can also be recorded in different places and has different levels of connection to outputs. The many variations and the lack of a clear divide between “unfunded” and funded research, because internal funding can be implicit or unrecorded, greatly complicate assessing the value of funding quantitatively at scale. The dimensions listed here should nevertheless help funding evaluators to consider as many differences as possible and list the remainder as limitations. They also serve as suggested information to collect for those compiling funding datasets.
Testing Density-Dependent and Path-Dependent Population Dynamics in Greece with Spatial Quantile and Geographically Weighted Regressions
Authors: Ciaschini Clio , Rontos Kostas , Chelli Francesco , Cucci Marianna , Maggino Filomena , Salvati Luca
Published: September 2023

Regional variability in the spatial distribution of resident population and across-country density divides have consolidated heterogeneous demographic patterns at the base of modern urban systems in Europe. Although economic, historical, institutional, and cultural factors have demonstrated to affect the spatial distribution of resident population, density-dependence and path-dependence are mechanisms persistently shaping demographic dynamics at both local and regional scale. Analysis of density-dependent patterns of population growth (and decline) over sufficiently long time intervals allows a refined comprehension of socioeconomic processes underlying demographic divides. Despite a long settlement history, empirical investigation of the role of density-dependence in the long-term evolution of human populations along urban–rural gradients is relatively scarce especially in Mediterranean countries. The present study performs a comparative analysis of population distribution in 1033 Greek municipalities identifying (and testing the significance of) density-dependent and path-dependent mechanisms of population growth between 1961 and 2011, using spatially implicit and explicit econometric approaches. Results highlight a positive impact of density on population growth where settlements are concentrated. Assuming goodness of fit of the tested models as a proxy of density-dependence, the empirical findings clarify how density-dependent mechanisms were not significant all over the study period, being instead associated with specific phases of the city life cycle—basically urbanization with population concentrating in central locations. Density-dependence was less intense with suburbanization and counter-urbanization—when population sprawled over larger areas at medium–low density. An improved understanding of density-dependent and path-dependent mechanisms of population growth contributes to rethink spatial planning, regional development strategies, and socio-demographic policies adapting to heterogeneous (and rapidly changing) local contexts.
Evaluation of reciprocal F1 crosses of Fayoumi with two exotic chicken breeds 1: additive and non-additive effects on egg production traits
Authors: Negash Fikrineh , Abegaz Solomon , Tadesse Yosef , Jembere Temesgen , Esatu Wondmeneh , Dessie Tadelle
Published: September 2023

The present study estimates additive and non-additive effects on egg production traits in genotypes generated through pure mating and reciprocal crossing of Fayoumi (FM) with Koekoek (KK) and White Leghorn (WL). Age at first egg (AFE) and body weight at first egg (BWAFE) were determined when the first bird in the pen laid its first egg, and egg weight at first egg (EWAFE) was the average weight of eggs laid consecutively during the first 10 days. Egg number (EN) and egg weight (EW) were recorded daily from AFE to 40 weeks of age. Egg mass (EM) was the product of EN and EW. EN of hens initially housed and hens alive during the experiment were used to calculate hen-housed egg production (HHEP) and hen-day egg production (HDEP), respectively. All the traits showed statistically significant differences among the genotypes. The results revealed the importance of additive and non-additive effects, where purebred effect (PE), general combining ability (GCA), maternal effect (ME), specific combining ability (SCA), and residual reciprocal effect (RRE) significantly affected most of the traits. The KK and WL had a higher PE, and GCA was highest in KK, with FM and WL showing a higher ME. The FM x WL had higher SCA and RRE. The KK x FM and FM x WL outperformed their main and reciprocal crosses, respectively, and purebred contemporaries. Therefore, a synthetic breeding program involving KK as a sire and FM, WL, FM x WL, and KK x FM as a dam would be feasible.
FPGN: follower prediction framework for infectious disease prevention
Authors: Yu Jianke , Zhang Xianhang , Wang Hanchen , Wang Xiaoyang , Zhang Wenjie , Zhang Ying
Published: September 2023

In recent years, how to prevent the widespread transmission of infectious diseases in communities has been a research hot spot. Tracing close contact with infected individuals is one of the most severe problems. In this work, we present a model called Follower Prediction Graph Network (FPGN) to identify high-risk visitors, which is known as follower prediction. The model is designed to identify visitors who may be infected with a disease by tracking their activities at the exact location of infected visitors. FPGN is inspired by the state-of-the-art temporal graph edge prediction algorithm TGN and draws on the shortcomings of existing algorithms. It utilizes graph structure information based on ($$\alpha $$
α
, $$\beta $$
β
)-core, time interval statistics by using the statistics of timestamp information, and a GAT-based prediction module to achieve high accuracy in follower prediction. Extensive experiments are conducted on two real datasets, demonstrating the progress of FPGN. The experimental results show that FPGN can achieve the highest results compared with other SOTA baselines. Its AP scores are higher than 0.46, and its AUC scores are higher than 0.62.
A General Theorem and Proof for the Identification of Composed CFA Models
Authors: Bee R. Maximilian , Koch Tobias , Eid Michael
Published: September 2023

In this article, we present a general theorem and proof for the global identification of composed CFA models. They consist of identified submodels that are related only through covariances between their respective latent factors. Composed CFA models are frequently used in the analysis of multimethod data, longitudinal data, or multidimensional psychometric data. Firstly, our theorem enables researchers to reduce the problem of identifying the composed model to the problem of identifying the submodels and verifying the conditions given by our theorem. Secondly, we show that composed CFA models are globally identified if the primary models are reduced models such as the CT-C<mml:math xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:mnf="http://cambridge.org/core/manifest" xmlns:cup="http://contentservices.cambridge.org" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:m="http://cambridge.org/core/metadata" xmlns:core="http://cambridge.org/core" xmlns:c="http://cambridge.org/core/content">(M-1)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$(M-1)$$\end{document} model or similar types of models. In contrast, composed CFA models that include non-reduced primary models can be globally underidentified for certain types of cross-model covariance assumptions. We discuss necessary and sufficient conditions for the global identification of arbitrary composed CFA models and provide a Python code to check the identification status for an illustrative example. The code we provide can be easily adapted to more complex models.
The contributions of citizen science to SDG monitoring and reporting on marine plastics
Authors: Fraisl Dilek , See Linda , Bowers Rachel , Seidu Omar , Fredua Kwame Boakye , Bowser Anne , Meloche Metis , Weller Sarah , Amaglo-Kobla Tyler , Ghafari Dany , Bayas Juan Carlos Laso , Campbell Jillian , Cameron Grant , Fritz Steffen , McCallum Ian
Published: September 2023

The accumulation of plastic litter in marine environments is a major environmental challenge along with the difficulties in their measurement because of the massive size of the oceans and vast circulation of plastic litter, which is being addressed as part of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Citizen science, public participation in scientific research and knowledge production, represents a potential source of data for SDG monitoring and reporting of marine plastic litter, yet there has been no evidence of its use to date. Here, we show how Ghana has become the first country to integrate existing citizen science data on marine plastic litter in their official monitoring and reporting of SDG indicator 14.1.1b for the years 2016–2020, which has also helped to bridge local data collection efforts with global monitoring processes and policy agendas by leveraging the SDG framework. The results have been used in Ghana’s 2022 Voluntary National Review of the SDGs, and reported on the UN SDG Global Database, as well as helping to inform relevant policies in Ghana. In addition, here, we present a pathway that can be adopted by the relevant government authorities in other countries that have an interest in following a similar citizen science data validation and reporting process for this indicator and potentially others.
Gray matter abnormalities in patients with major depressive disorder and social anxiety disorder: a voxel-based meta-analysis
Authors: Liang Junquan , Yu Qiaoyun , Liu Yuchen , Qiu Yidan , Tang Rundong , Yan Luda , Zhou Peng
Published: September 2023

Background

Major depressive and social anxiety disorders have a high comorbidity rate and similar cognitive patterns. However, their unique and shared neuroanatomical characteristics have not been fully identified.

Methods

Voxel-based morphometric studies comparing gray matter volume between patients with major depressive disorder/social anxiety disorder and healthy controls were searched using 4 electronic databases from the inception to March 2022. Stereotactic data were extracted and subsequently tested for convergence and differences using activation likelihood estimation. In addition, based on the result of the meta-analysis, behavioral analysis was performed to assess the functional roles of the regions affected by major depressive disorder and/or social anxiety disorder.

Results

In total, 34 studies on major depressive disorder with 2873 participants, and 10 studies on social anxiety disorder with 1004 subjects were included. Gray matter volume conjunction analysis showed that the right parahippocampal gyrus region, especially the amygdala, was smaller in patients compared to healthy controls. The contrast analysis of major depressive disorder and social anxiety disorder revealed lower gray matter volume in the right lentiform nucleus and medial frontal gyrus in social anxiety disorder and lower gray matter volume in the left parahippocampal gyrus in major depressive disorder. Behavioral analysis showed that regions with lower gray matter volume in social anxiety disorder are strongly associated with negative emotional processes.

Conclusions

The shared and unique patterns of gray matter volume abnormalities in patients with major depressive and social anxiety disorder may be linked to the underlying neuropathogenesis of these mental illnesses and provide potential biomarkers.

PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021277546.
Towards data-driven decision making: the role of analytical culture and centralization efforts
Authors: Szukits Ágnes , Móricz Péter
Published: September 2023

The surge in data-related investments has drawn the attention of both managers and academia to the question of whether and how this (re)shapes decision making routines. Drawing on the information processing theory of the organization and the agency theory, this paper addresses how putting a strategic emphasis on business analytics supports an analytical decision making culture that makes enhanced use of data in each phase of the decision making process, along with a potential change in authorities resulting from shifts in information asymmetry. Based on a survey of 305 medium-sized and large companies, we propose a multiple-mediator model. We provide support for our hypothesis that top management support for business analytics and perceived data quality are good predictors of an analytical culture. Furthermore, we argue that the analytical culture increases the centralization of data use, but interestingly, we found that this centralization is not associated with data-driven decision making. Our paper positions a long-running debate about information technology-related centralization of authorities in the new context of business analytics.
Law Enforcement and Mental Health: The Limpid Kryptonite—A Clear and Present Danger
Authors: Singletary Gilbert
Published: September 2023

The job of a police officer is extremely stressful and members of the law enforcement community exhibit disproportionately higher incidents of depression, PTSD, suicide ideation, and other mental health issues. Unfortunately, these mental health concerns are becoming increasingly grave as negative interactions with the public are more highly publicized than ever before. The present study evaluated the relationship between officers’ regard for their role as a member of law enforcement, years of experience, and awareness of the media, with stress level and PTSD symptoms. Most notable among the findings were that officers with a higher regard for their role as law enforcement, and those with more media awareness, reported higher stress levels and other maladaptive behaviors that negatively impacted their mental health. The current study contributes to the extant literature by exploring the intersectionality between officers’ stress levels, years of experience, PTSD symptomology, perceived identity, and media awareness. The widespread use of social media to publicize the actions of a small minority of law enforcement officers is among the many elements discovered and discussed in the current research.
Concentration and Distribution of Toxic and Essential Elements in Traditional Rice Varieties of Sri Lanka Grown on an Anuradhapura District Farm
Authors: Lockwood Thomas E. , Banati Richard B. , Nikagolla Chandima , Violi Jake P. , Bishop David P.
Published: September 2023

Toxic heavy metals have been the focus of many investigations into chronic kidney disease of unknown aetiology (CKDu) within Sri Lanka. It has been hypothesised that exposure to nephrotoxic arsenic, cadmium and lead could play a role in the development of CKDu, and these metals have previously been found in unsafe concentrations in Sri Lankan rice. Traditional varieties of Sri Lankan rice remain popular due to their perceived health benefits, but their uptake of trace and toxic heavy metals remained unexplored. Here, we report a one-time, cross-sectional dataset on the concentrations of essential and toxic elements present in eleven samples of polished and unpolished traditional rice varieties, all regularly grown and sold in the Anuradhapura district, a CKDu hotspot. All rice was sourced from the same farm, with the exception of one store bought sample grown on another, unidentified farm. Cadmium concentrations varied significantly between varieties, and potentially unsafe concentrations of cadmium were detected in the store-bought sample (Suwadel, 113±13 μg kg−1). Elemental imaging of the grains revealed lead to be stored mainly in the rice bran, which is removed during polishing, while cadmium was distributed in the edible portion of the grain. Essential elements were generally higher in the traditional rice varieties than those reported for non-traditional varieties and are a potential source of trace elements for nutrient-deficient communities. The concentration of selenium, an element that plays a protective role in the kidneys, was too low to provide the minimum recommended intake. The methods developed in this study could be applied to a more comprehensive study of elemental uptake of rice under controlled growing conditions.