bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sources of persistent and mobile chemicals in municipal wastewater: a sewer perspective in Leipzig, Germany
Authors: Seelig Alina H. , Zahn Daniel , Reemtsma Thorsten
Published: April 2024

Persistent and mobile (PM) chemicals spread in the water cycle and have been widely detected, yet information about their sources is still scarce. In this study, 67 PM chemicals were analyzed in 19 wastewater samples taken in the sewer system of the city of Leipzig, Germany, covering different industrial, clinical, and domestic discharges. A total of 37 of these analytes could be detected, with highly variable median concentrations between substances (median: 0.5–800 µg L−1) and for single substances between samples (e.g., 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane) by up to three orders of magnitude, with the highest single concentration exceeding 10 mg L−1 (p-cumenesulfonic acid). The emission of PM chemicals into the sewer system was classified as stemming from diffuse (14 analytes) or point sources (23 analytes), while 9 analytes fulfill both criteria. Many so-called industrial chemicals were also discharged from households (e.g., tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate or 1H-benzotriazole). Examples for analytes showing specific sources are tetrafluoroborate (traffic-related industry and metal production and finishing), ε-caprolactam (large-scale laundry), or cyanuric acid (likely swimming pool). Furthermore, a correlation between 1-cyanoguanidine and guanylurea was observed for the traffic-related industry. This study outlines that sewer sampling can provide valuable information on the sources of PM chemicals. This knowledge is a prerequisite for their future emission control at source or substitution as an alternative to end-of-pipe treatment in municipal wastewater treatment plants.

Graphical Abstract
The Arnold conjecture for singular symplectic manifolds
Authors: Brugués Joaquim , Miranda Eva , Oms Cédric
Published: April 2024

In this article, we study the Hamiltonian dynamics on singular symplectic manifolds and prove the Arnold conjecture for a large class of $$b^m$$

b
m

-symplectic manifolds. Novel techniques are introduced to associate smooth symplectic forms to the original singular symplectic structure, under some mild conditions. These techniques yield the validity of the Arnold conjecture for singular symplectic manifolds across multiple scenarios. More precisely, we prove a lower bound on the number of 1-periodic Hamiltonian orbits for $$b^{2m}$$

b

2
m

-symplectic manifolds depending only on the topology of the manifold. Moreover, for $$b^m$$

b
m

-symplectic surfaces, we improve the lower bound depending on the topology of the pair (M, Z). We then venture into the study of Floer homology to this singular realm and we conclude with a list of open questions.
Durable Effects of Acupuncture for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Authors: Chen He , Shi Hangyu , Gao Shuai , Fang Jiufei , Yi Jiamin , Wu Wenhui , Liu Xinkun , Liu Zhishun
Published: April 2024

Purpose of Review

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a degenerative joint disease which can result in chronic pain and disability. The current interventions available for KOA often fail to provide long-lasting effects, highlighting the need for new treatment options that can offer durable benefits. Previous studies have suggested the efficacy of acupuncture for knee osteoarthritis (KOA) with its durability remaining uncertain. In this review, we aimed to investigate the durability of the efficacy after completion of treatment.

Recent Findings

We performed thorough searches of PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from inception to November 4, 2023. The outcomes were assessed at all available time points after completion of treatment. Primary outcomes were changes from baseline in pain and function measured using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) pain and function subscales. Secondary outcomes included response rate, overall pain, the WOMAC stiffness subscale, total WOMAC index, and physical and mental health components of 12/36-item Short-Form Health Survey. A total of 10 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 3221 participants were included. Pooled estimates suggested that acupuncture may offer potential improvements in function and overall pain for 4.5 months post-treatment versus sham acupuncture (SA). Acupuncture may provide durable clinically important pain relief and functional improvement up to 5 months post-treatment versus usual care, and up to 6 months post-treatment versus diclofenac. For acupuncture versus no treatment, one trial with large sample size indicated that improvements in pain and function persisted for 3 months post-treatment, while the other trial reported that significant pain reduction and functional improvement were only observed at the end of the treatment, not at 9 months post-treatment. However, acupuncture as adjunct to exercise-based physical therapy (EPT) showed no superiority to SA as an adjunct to EPT or EPT alone up to 11.25 months after completion of treatment.

Acupuncture may provide pain alleviation and functional improvements in KOA patients for 3 to 6 months after completion of treatment with a good safety profile.
False Authorities
Authors: Jäger Christoph
Published: April 2024

An epistemic agent A is a false epistemic authority for others if they falsely believe A to be in a position to help them accomplish their epistemic ends. A major divide exists between what I call epistemic quacks, who falsely believe themselves to be relevantly competent, and epistemic charlatans, i.e., false authorities who believe or even know that they are incompetent. Neither type of false authority covers what Lackey (2021) calls predatory experts: experts who systematically misuse their social-epistemic status as a cover for predatory behavior. Qua experts, predatory experts are competent and thus could (and maybe sometimes do) help their clients. But should we count them as genuine epistemic authorities? No. I argue that they are false epistemic authorities because in addition to their practical and moral misconduct, such experts systematically deceive their clients, thereby thwarting the clients’ epistemic ends.
Livestock management during times of transition. Exploring the relationship between animal size and diet from Roman to early medieval Augusta Raurica (Switzerland)
Authors: Grau-Sologestoa Idoia , Deschler-Erb Sabine , Gerling Claudia
Published: April 2024

Zooarchaeological research all over Europe has suggested a generalised pattern of livestock size decrease during the transition between the Roman times and the Early Middle Ages. Different reasons have been proposed to explain this pattern, including a change in management and feeding practices, in the context of a shift of animal husbandry from large to small scale production. This paper is based on faunal material from Roman and early medieval Augusta Raurica, north-western Switzerland, and provides a first attempt to test this hypothesis, by combining zooarchaeological information (taxonomic frequencies and biometrical analysis) and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data from bone collagen of cattle and pig. The results suggest important changes in livestock management, such as a shift towards pig husbandry, and evidence for increased use of pannage and forest pastures has been found.
Automated Computation of Therapies Using Failure Mode and Effects Analysis in the Medical Domain
Authors: Luttermann Malte , Baake Edgar , Bouchagiar Juljan , Gebel Benjamin , Grüning Philipp , Manikwadura Dilini , Schollemann Franziska , Teifke Elisa , Rostalski Philipp , Möller Ralf
Published: April 2024

Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is a systematic approach to identify and analyse potential failures and their effects in a system or process. The FMEA approach, however, requires domain experts to manually analyse the FMEA model to derive risk-reducing actions that should be applied. In this paper, we provide a formal framework to allow for automatic planning and acting in FMEA models. More specifically, we cast the FMEA model into a Markov decision process which can then be solved by existing solvers. We show that the FMEA approach can not only be used to support medical experts during the modelling process but also to automatically derive optimal therapies for the treatment of patients.
From Material to Field Test: An Improved Under Sleeper Pad Model
Authors: Ulu Arif , Metin Muzaffer , Arikoglu Aytac , Demir Ozgur
Published: April 2024

This study aims to determine the stiffness values of under sleeper pad (USP) and rail pad (RP) components to reduce the high-amplitude vibrations that occur in the transition zones of some specific structures such as viaducts in ballasted railways. The conventional method of simulating USPs and RPs as spring–dashpot elements in the Kelvin–Voigt model is inadequate due to the absence of frequency and temperature dependencies in the model. The study proposes a new analytical model that considers USPs and RPs as viscoelastic (VE) materials and integrates them into the ballasted railway superstructure model by adding unit masses avoiding mathematical singularity. The process includes material testing, field measurements, and validation of the proposed model with finite element model analysis. The effect of ambient temperature and material modelling on the superstructure’s dynamic response in the frequency domain is analysed in detail. To account for VE behaviours of the resilient elements, the generalised Maxwell model (GMM) is chosen via unit mass implementation compared to other VE models. The obtained results show that the dynamic response of the railway superstructure is 8–10 times sensitive to temperature variation. This demonstrates how important it is to include the temperature-dependent dynamics of the elastomer material in the model. According to the other results that were obtained, the use of USP in transition zones does not solve the vibration problem radically. Bridge dynamic responses are also sensitive to the mass of the bridge rather than its stiffness.
BRAF-mutant microsatellite-stable rectal cancer with acquired KRAS mutation leading to drug resistance in liver metastasis
Authors: Shigeyasu Kunitoshi , Yamamoto Hideki , Takahashi Toshiaki , Moriwake Kazuya , Kayano Masashi , Takeda Sho , Matsumi Yuki , Umeda Yuzo , Kondo Yoshitaka , Teraishi Fuminori , Yasui Kazuya , Fuji Tomokazu , Kagawa Shunsuke , Fujiwara Toshiyoshi
Published: April 2024

BRAF-mutant microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer (CRC), metastasized to distant sites, is associated with a poor prognosis. However, the BEACON CRC regimen, comprising a BRAF inhibitor, MEK inhibitor, and anti-EGFR antibody, offered a prolonged prognosis. Nonetheless, resistance to this regimen may occur, as observed in our reported case of CRC, where a KRAS mutation was identified in addition to the BRAF V600E mutation. Here, we present a case of 74-year-old woman with rectal cancer (pT4bN1bM0 Stage IIIc) harboring the BRAF V600E mutation. After resection of the primary tumor and during adjuvant chemotherapy using CAPOX (capecitabine and oxaliplatin), liver and lung metastases became apparent, and a companion diagnosis test revealed the presence of a BRAF V600E mutation. The new lesions were deemed resistant to the CAPOX regimen, and we decided to introduce encorafenib and cetuximab. After resection of liver metastases, encorafenib and cetuximab were reintroduced, but a new lesion appeared in hepatic S7, indicating resistance to the encorafenib and cetuximab regimen. The resistant liver metastasis was subsequently resected. To elucidate the resistance mechanism, we conducted a comprehensive analysis using the FoundationOne CDx cancer gene panel test, revealing the presence of a KRAS Q61H mutation alongside the BRAF V600E mutation. Subsequent liquid biopsy after liver recurrence confirmed the persistence of the KRAS Q61H mutation. Our results highlight the significance of cancer genome profiling tests (CGP tests) and liquid biopsies in guiding treatment strategies for BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer. Therefore, CGP testing offers valuable information for treatment, even if it does not lead to new drug administrations.
Response of Cassava Root Manihot esculenta to Potassium-Rich Biostimulants Manufactured from Red Seaweed Gracilaria salicornia Under Semi-Arid Condition
Authors: Munisamy Shanmugam , Ramamoorthy Gopi Krishna
Published: April 2024

Seaweed extracts are proven to be potent biostimulants due to the presence of wide range of nutrients including mineral like potassium and other macro-micronutrients, plant growth hormones, amino acids, vitamins, glycine betaines and quaternary ammonium compounds in them. In the present study, potassium-rich powders were obtained from some commercially important tropical red seaweeds viz. Kappaphycus alvarezii, Gracilaria salicornia, G. edulis, G. firma and G. heteroclada and Eucheuma spinosum and checked for their biostimulant effect through green gram seedling bioassay study on in vitro using WinRhizo software, and we found that extracts of all species increased the root development at significant level (p < 0.05) as compared to standard nutrient medium. G. salicornia of Indian origin which is naturally available on a commercial level (>1000 t dry per year) was taken for further studies and manufactured 3 variants of potassium-rich biostimulants, viz. concentrated seaweed extract (CSE), potassium-rich water-soluble powder (PSP) and seaweed fortified granule (SFG), and tested their biostimulant activity on cassava root at farmer’s field and found to increase the tuber yield to 17.40%, 20.09% and 22.19%, respectively, with high starch content, less incidence of cassava brown streak virus disease (CBSD) and increased nutrient use efficiency over control plants. Based on the results of present study, potassium-rich biostimulant obtained from G. salicornia can be applied to cassava for yield and quality improvement.
Multi-sensor Attitude Estimation using Quaternion Constrained GNSS Ambiguity Resolution and Dynamics-Based Observation Synchronization
Authors: Farkas Márton , Rózsa Szabolcs , Vanek Bálint
Published: April 2024

Recently, high accuracy and low-cost navigation hardware is becoming increasingly available that can be efficiently used for the control of autonomous vehicles. We present a sensor fusion method providing tightly coupled integration of pseudorange, carrier phase, and Doppler satellite measurements taken at multiple vehicle-mounted GNSS antennas with onboard inertial sensor observations. The key of accurate GNSS position and orientation estimation is the successful integer ambiguity resolution. We propose a method that uses the quaternion states as constraints to improve ambiguity resolution and to increase the accuracy of the GNSS based attitude determination. Generally, the low-cost hardware neither allows a hardware-level time synchronization between the GNSS receivers due to a lack of a common external oscillator nor provides the clock steering function available in geodetic GNSS receivers. The lack of observation synchronization causes several degrees of error in attitude estimation. To eliminate this effect, a dynamics-based solution is presented that synchronizes the observations by taking the dynamics of the moving platform into account. Compared to common external oscillator based sensor setups, our solution allows to increase both the number of rover receivers on the platform and the baselines between them easily, thus it opens up new possibilities in the attitude determination of large vehicles. We validate our approach against a tactical grade inertial navigation system. The results show that our approach using low-cost sensors provides the ambiguity success rate of 100% for the moving baselines, and the positioning and attitude error reached the centimeter and half a degree level, respectively.
The association of socioeconomic status on kidney transplant access and outcomes: a nationwide cohort study in Taiwan
Authors: Chung Tung-Ling , Chen Nai-Ching , Yin Chun-Hao , Lee Ching-Chih , Chen Chien-Liang
Published: April 2024

Background

Conflicting evidence exists regarding the relationship between socioeconomic status and access to or outcomes after kidney transplantation. This study analyzed the effects of individual and neighborhood socioeconomic status on kidney transplant access and outcomes in Taiwan.

Methods

We used a retrospective cohort study design and performed comparisons using the Cox proportional hazards model after adjusting for risk factors. Data were collected from the National Health Insurance Bureau of Taiwan data (2003–2012).

Results

Patients with high individual and neighborhood socioeconomic status had higher chances of receiving kidney transplants than those with low individual and neighborhood socioeconomic status [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 2.04; 95% CI: (1.81–2.31), p < 0.001]. However, there were no significant differences in post-transplant graft failure or patient mortality in Taiwan between individuals of varying socioeconomic status after five years. When we stratified kidney transplants by domestic and overseas transplantation, there were no significant differences in post-transplant mortality and graft failure, but individuals who received a kidney graft in Taiwan with high individual and neighborhood socioeconomic status experienced lower risks of graft failure (aHR = 0.55; [95% CI 0.33–0.89], p = 0.017).

Conclusion

A relevant disparity exists in accessing kidney transplantation in Taiwan, depending on individual and neighborhood socioeconomic status. However, results post transplantation were not different after five years. Improved access to waitlisting, education, and welfare support may reduce disparities.

Graphical Abstract
A fuzzy Gaussian process regression function approach for forecasting problem
Authors: Egrioglu Erol , Bas Eren , Chen Mu-Yen
Published: April 2024

A fuzzy regression function approach is a fuzzy inference system method whose rules cannot be determined based on expert opinion, unlike a classical fuzzy inference system. In a fuzzy regression function approach, an input matrix consists of memberships obtained by the fuzzy clustering method and lagged variables of the time series. In the fuzzy regression function approach, the output vector corresponding to this input matrix is also created and the parameter estimation for the method is carried out with the ordinary least square method. As it is known, the ordinary least square method assumes that the data are linear. In addition, although it is very useful to include a priori information describing the formation of the data in the model, in most cases this information is not available. It is also inappropriate to use a model that does not accurately characterize the data. However, it is not appropriate to estimate parameters for nonlinear data using the ordinary least square method. One of the methods to be used in such a situation is the Gaussian process regression method. While the parameters of a selected basis function are fitted in the ordinary least squares regression method, how all measured data are related is determined in the Gaussian process regression. Besides, Gaussian process regression is a Bayesian approach, it can provide uncertainty measurements on forecasts. In this study, a fuzzy Gaussian process regression function is proposed. The contribution of this paper is to propose a new fuzzy inference system that can be used to solve nonlinear data by proposing a fuzzy Gaussian process regression function. The performance of the newly proposed method is evaluated based on the closing values of the Bitcoin and Crude oil time series. The performance comparison of the proposed method is evaluated with many different forecasting methods and it is concluded that the proposed method has superior forecasting performance.
Enhancing Multiple Object Analysis Skills Across Early and Late Adulthood Through Diverse Tasks
Authors: Tagliabue Chiara F. , Fornari Chiara , Varesio Greta , Mazza Veronica
Published: April 2024

Tasks on multiple targets involve, to some extent, at least two capacity-limited classes of mechanisms: attentional individuation and visuo-spatial working memory (vWM). It is also known that these mechanisms tend to decline with aging. In this study, we hypothesized that if both mechanisms underlie the analysis of multiple objects, then training one task involving multiple objects should benefit other tasks requiring multiple object processing, regardless of task contents or instructions. In addition, we predicted that older adults would benefit more from the training protocol. To test these hypotheses, we trained two groups of young and older participants, one with a delayed match-to-sample (DMTS) task and one with rapid enumeration. Training effects (compared to test/re-test effects of a passive control group) were assessed on both DMTS and rapid enumeration. Results indicated a training-related benefit within and across tasks, regardless of age. Older adults’ gain from training was larger compared to the young counterpart. In addition, and irrespective of age, individual differences in baseline performance correlate with training outcomes, with compensatory activity likely occurring for low-performing individuals.
Comparison of contrast-enhanced voiding urosonography using second-generation contrast agents and voiding cystourethrogram
Authors: Biswas Som , Cohen Harris L. , Tipirneni-Sajja Aaryani , Shrestha Utsav , Sandhu Preet K.
Published: April 2024

Voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) has been considered the gold standard for detecting and evaluating vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) among children. However, ionizing radiation exposure is a concern for this diagnostic modality. Contrast-enhanced voiding urosonography (ceVUS) is an alternative technique for the detection of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) using ultrasound and intravesical administration of an ultrasound (US) contrast agent. ceVUS is a radiation-free, effective, and safe method for identifying and grading VUR. We performed a study specifically for our hospital. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of contrast-enhanced voiding urosonography (ceVUS) in the detection of vesicoureteral reflux and its grading in children, compared to voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG). If we consider VCUG as the gold standard, the sensitivity of ceVUS in our study was 83%, specificity was 100% and accuracy was 94%. Our positive cases had Grade II to V reflux on ceVUS and Grade I to V reflux on VCUG. In our small sample of 18 patients, the detection of vesicoureteral reflux by ceVUS was comparable to that of VCUG. ceVUS can be used as a radiation-free alternative to VCUG for the detection of VUR in children. A benefit of ceVUS is the ability to do cyclical assessment without the fear of increasing radiation dose, as you would with VCUG.
De novo assembly-based transcriptome analysis of resistant and susceptible potato varieties to Phytophthora infestans
Authors: Mahfouze Heba A. , El-Sayed O. E.
Published: April 2024

An effective tool for discovering differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to late blight (LB) resistance is the transcriptome sequencing of potatoes. The aim of this study was to compare transcriptome expression analysis in incompatible and compatible interactions via high-throughput sequencing. Furthermore, we performed a bioinformatics analysis to screen a large number of specific transcription factors (TFs) and DEGs linked to Phytophthora infestans infection. Two locally cultivated potato varieties were chosen from evaluation assays conducted in two consecutive seasons and based on the disease severity (DS) values. These varieties were the highly resistant Jelly (HR) to P. infestans and the moderately susceptible Annabelle (MS). Ribonucleic acid-sequencing (RNA-seq) was achieved for the two varieties with their controls through the BGISEQ-500 sequencing platform. The RNA-seq analysis identified P. infestans-responsive genes and their expression in potatoes. The mechanism of the response of these cultivars to the P. infestans pathogen by TFs and DEG genes, which play an important role in defense response, was investigated. The Gene Ontology (GO) analysis classified 46,248 unigenes in the HR and 26,921 unigenes in MS into the following three categories: biological process, cellular component, and molecular functions. More genes were responsible for the cellular component category, biological process, and molecular functions in HR compared to MS. Moreover, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis showed that the significantly enriched DEGs were included in the plant–pathogen interaction, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, and ribosome. In addition, 1874 transcription factor genes belonging to 85 families were indicated in the DEGs, of which MYB and AP2-EREBP genes were the most abundant. Besides, multiple genes related to LB resistance showed differential expression during infection. It also sheds light on the molecular mechanisms behind potato resistance to P. infestans infection.
Thermal and viscous slip effects on electroosmotic Casson nanofluid flow with microorganisms in peristaltic porous media
Authors: Riaz Arshad , Shehzadi Mehpara , Muhammad Taseer , Khan Ilyas , Niazai Shafiullah
Published: April 2024

Current work focuses on increasing heat transmission in thermal systems with the incorporation of gyrotactic motile microbes, promoting the creation of structured fluids useful for bio-cooling and nanotechnology. This study explores the effects of electroosmosis and slip boundary conditions in a non-Newtonian Casson nanofluid with mass transfer. Specifically, it looks at bio-convection peristaltic events and conducts a thermodynamic analysis. The Arrhenius activation energy in an asymmetric channel is considered in this study. In addition, the authors evaluate viscous resistance, thermophoresis diffusion, porous surface properties, coupled convection, Brownian diffusion, and thermal viscosity behavior. The results obtained from mathematical expressions together with surface conditions are handled by means of a numerical algorithm implemented by means of the shooting technique through traditional program Mathematica, with the aid of its built-in tool, NDSolve. Many physical parameters, such as entropy generation, the Bejan number, velocity profiles, the density of gyrotactic motile microbes, and the accumulation profile of nanoparticles, are depicted graphically. The graphical study shows that entropy generation increases with a greater Helmholtz-Smoluchowski factor by 10%, but declines as the heat generation/absorption factor increases with same percentage. The Bejan number tends to increase with stronger heat sources by 5%. Application possibilities include improved control and effectiveness in mechanisms that include microfluidic equipment, systems for delivering medications, and biotechnological operations.
The Effect of Carob (Ceratonia Siliqua) on Sperm Parameters of Infertile Men: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Karaahmet Aysu Yıldız , Gençtürk Nuran , Kınık Emine
Published: April 2024

Carob (Ceratonia siliqua) supplements can increase sperm quality. This study aimed to summarize the available evidence about the effects of carob (Ceratonia siliqua) supplements on sperm quality and reproductive hormones in infertile men. Systematic searches of five databases were conducted from inception to October 20, with the last update on November 20, 2023. Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that compared carob (Ceratonia siliqua) supplements with nonintervention control groups on infertile man. Risk of bias and certainty of evidence were assessed by the Cochrane risk of bias tool 2. Summary effect size measures were calculated using a random-effects model estimation and are reported as standardized mean differences and 95% confidence intervals. Reporting followed the PRISMA guidelines. The analysis included four studies involving 236 infertile men. It was found that sperm motility of infertile men improved after carob intervention (MD:11.30, 95% CI:5.97 to 16.64, Z = 4.15, p < 0.00001), and there was a significant difference compared to control groups. The effect size of carob on semen quantity in infertile men was positive, and the relationship was statistically significant (MD:5.42, 95% CI:1.58 to 9.42, Z = 2.77, p = 0.006). When hormone parameters of infertile men were analyzed, the MDA (malondialdehyde) value decreased compared to the control group (MD = -4.81, 95% CI: -10.18 to 0.56, Z = 1.76, p = 0.08), and there was a significant difference between them. Carob (Ceratonia siliqua) supplements was associated with improvement in sperm quality compared with nonintervention control groups in infertile man. However, high-quality, larger RCTs are required to draw more definitive conclusions.
Emergent neo-customary land tenure and non-indigene smallholders’ access to farmlands in peri-urban Ghana
Authors: Abdulai Ibrahim Abu
Published: April 2024

Land dispossession within the emerging neo-customary land tenure system is not a novel phenomenon in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, the landholding systems across SSA are as diverse as the societies themselves. In Ghana, research on peri-urban land dispossession primarily focuses on centralized areas and indigene landholders, neglecting acephalous and non-indigene smallholders. This gap in knowledge hinders our understanding of how neo-customary land tenure affects land access for non-indigenous smallholder farmers. This paper examines how non-indigene smallholders navigate neo-customary land tenure in peri-urban Wa, Ghana. The study employed a qualitative research design, conducting in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with 56 participants. The findings reveal that large-scale appropriation, covert land sales, and speculation are the primary drivers of land dispossession. The previously unconditional access to land for non-indigene smallholders, based on perpetual usufructuary interest, has also become temporary and conditional on their acceptance of roles as caretaker farmers or sharecroppers. The resulting dispossession and its consequences, such as inadequate subsistence food production, have led to socially undesirable outcomes. The study recommends that the Municipal Assembly and civil society organizations utilize Ghana's Land Act (Act 1036) to advocate for and safeguard the usufructuary interest of non-indigene individuals in land tenure.
From static snapshots to dynamic panoramas: the evolution and future vision of palliative care atlas in cross-national perspectives
Authors: Tripodoro Vilma A. , Pons Juan José , Bastos Fernanda , Garralda Eduardo , Montero Álvaro , Béjar Ana Cristina , Centeno Carlos
Published: April 2024

Palliative care is essential to global health services as it improves the quality of life of patients, their families and caregivers. The ATLANTES Global Observatory of Palliative Care (University of Navarra) was created a decade ago to promote a positive attitude towards patients with advanced illness in society and medicine. To do so, and over the past 15 years, ATLANTES has mapped palliative care data worldwide using public health, macro and comparative perspectives in different atlases. These have enabled data to be contextualised and good examples to be identified concisely and graphically. Atlases have been widely employed as advocacy tools within international institutions and ministries of health. While the aim and the perspective have remained unalterable over time, the methods and design have evolved throughout the publications from sober cartography and static infographics to big interactive data visualisation web tools. By embracing technology, ATLANTES has developed an open-access web mapping tool reuniting information from regional atlases, favouring global access to data. In 2022, matching the increasingly recognised need for robust monitoring of palliative care worldwide, ATLANTES became a WHO Collaborating Centre for the Global Monitoring of Palliative Care Development. This attempt to bridge the gap and ensure equitable care information in countries with limited palliative care access has resulted today in more accessible, self-explanatory, and visually appealing palliative care data.
Emotions and Monotheism
Authors: Corrigan John
Published: April 2024

The emotional turn in scholarship has changed the way in which historians of religion think about monotheistic traditions. New histories of religion have adapted and incorporated the totalizing sensibilities of twentieth century annalistes, the granular view of social historians, groundbreaking philosophical investigations, and the spirit of interdisciplinary collaboration between historical analysis, anthropology, and psychology. Religion as a principal bearer of culture has shaped emotional life profoundly, just as human emotion has constituted religious life. Taking a qualified constructivist approach to emotion enables understanding of the dynamism, fluidity, and ambiguity in emotional experience, alongside continuities, and facilitates analysis of how that feeling has animated religious life in monotheistic traditions. It equally sharpens insight into how monotheistic religion itself has made emotion. Affect, emotion, and mixed emotions are three categories of feelings evidenced in monotheistic religions. Each is illustrated with respect to the similarities and differences among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
HISTORY AND LORE: INTERPRETIVE EMPLOTMENT AND “EMPTY WRITING” IN THE “HEREDITARY HOUSE OF ZHAO”
Authors: Qin Amelia Ying
Published: April 2024

This study identifies two textual strata in the “Zhao shijia” of the Shi ji: the “wo 我 stratum” and the “legendary stratum.” While the “wo stratum” points to the existence of Zhao local historical records, the “legendary stratum” reveals an interpretive framework that guides the chapter's presentation of the Zhao history toward the central concern and anxiety over the succession of lineage and power. The series of prophetic dreams and supernatural encounters that were emplotted in the narrative of Zhao history comprise this “legendary stratum” and point toward a key figure, King Wuling of Zhao, during whose time the Zhao state reached its pinnacle of power and prosperity. Accounts that are clearly fabrications, such as the story of the orphan of Zhao and later prophecies of the decline of the Zhao, show hidden connections to the personal experience of Sima Qian and to possible political dissent and discourses criticizing Emperor Wu of Han. In identifying such fabricated “empty writing” hidden in the chapter's framework of interpretive emplotment, this article aims to offer one way to read the Shi ji's account for the hereditary house of Zhao that follows a coherent pattern on the meta-level of historical narrative.
The Global Jukebox and the Celestial Monochord: Alan Lomax and Harry Smith Compute Folk Music in Cold War America
Authors: Kramer Michael J.
Published: April 2024

Typically understood only within the cultural history of the post–World War II folk music revival, documentarian Alan Lomax's “Cantometrics” research and artist Harry Smith'sFolkways Anthology of American Musicalso deserve to be positioned within the broader Cold War–era rise of the digital computer and tactics of computation in American society. Linking what Ross Cole describes as the “folkloric imagination” to what we might call the Cold War “computational imagination,” Lomax and Smith each examined folk music not through conventional ethnographic or musicological modes, but rather through computational lenses of data analysis, systems theory, informatics, and cybernetics. Both sought to expand cultural democracy by doing so, carrying Popular Front ideals into the postwar milieu while also presaging dilemmas found in today's fraught context of data analytics, artificial intelligence, and the application of digital technologies to almost all aspects of human culture.
Polymorphisms in ERBB4 and TACR1 associated with dry mouth in clozapine-treated patients
Authors: Puolakka Hanna , Solismaa Anssi , Lyytikäinen Leo-Pekka , Viikki Merja , Seppälä Niko , Mononen Nina , Lehtimäki Terho , Kampman Olli
Published: April 2024

Background:

Sialorrhea is a common and uncomfortable adverse effect of clozapine, and its severity varies between patients. The aim of the study was to select broadly genes related to the regulation of salivation and study associations between sialorrhea and dry mouth and polymorphisms in the selected genes.

Methods:

The study population consists of 237 clozapine-treated patients, of which 172 were genotyped. Associations between sialorrhea and dry mouth with age, sex, BMI, smoking, clozapine dose, clozapine and norclozapine serum levels, and other comedication were studied. Genetic associations were analyzed with linear and logistic regression models explaining sialorrhea and dry mouth with each SNP added separately to the model as coefficients.

Results:

Clozapine dose, clozapine or norclozapine concentration and their ratio were not associated with sialorrhea or dryness of mouth. Valproate use (p = 0.013) and use of other antipsychotics (p = 0.015) combined with clozapine were associated with excessive salivation. No associations were found between studied polymorphisms and sialorrhea. In analyses explaining dry mouth with logistic regression with age and sex as coefficients, two proxy-SNPs were associated with dry mouth: epidermal growth factor receptor 4 (ERBB4) rs3942465 (adjusted p = 0.025) and tachykinin receptor 1 (TACR1) rs58933792 (adjusted p = 0.029).

Conclusion:

Use of valproate or antipsychotic polypharmacy may increase the risk of sialorrhea. Genetic variations in ERBB4 and TACR1 might contribute to experienced dryness of mouth among patients treated with clozapine.
Curcumin effects on age-related changes in oral immunity: an in vivo study
Authors: Uemura Ippei , Takahashi-Suzuki Natsuko , Sano Akari , Yamada Shogo , Nakata Akifumi , Satoh Takashi
Published: April 2024

The current study aimed to investigate the effects of ageing on oral immunity using β-defensin (DEFB) 1/2 as a marker and evaluate the effects of curcumin (CUR) on these processes. The study sample included thirty male C57BL/6J mice divided into three groups based on the treatment method used. The young control (YC) and old control (OC) groups received 0·5 % methylcellulose-400 (CUR vehicle) orally for 5 days, whereas the CUR group of older mice received a CUR solution suspended in 0·5 % methylcellulose-400 (dose: 3·0 mg/kg body). DEFB1/2 and immune indicator levels were measured in the saliva and salivary glands post-treatment. The saliva volume and protein content were significantly reduced in the OC group compared with the YC group. CUR administration restored these parameters, decreased DEFB1 expression in the salivary gland and increased DEFB1/2 secretion and DEFB2 expression. These findings were supported by epigenetic gene regulation and partial cytokine activation from changes in WD40 repeat protein 5, TNF alpha and IL-1beta. CUR can partially restore age-related changes in oral immune responses and promote oral health, thereby preventing frailty in the older population through a nutritional therapeutic pathway.
Longitudinal changes in resting-state functional connectivity as markers of vulnerability or resilience in first-degree relatives of patients with bipolar disorder
Authors: Macoveanu Julian , Fortea Lydia , Kjærstad Hanne Lie , Coello Klara , Faurholt-Jepsen Maria , Fisher Patrick M. , Knudsen Gitte Moos , Radua Joaquim , Vieta Eduard , Frangou Sophia , Vinberg Maj , Kessing Lars Vedel , Miskowiak Kamilla Woznica
Published: April 2024

Background

There is a significant contribution of genetic factors to the etiology of bipolar disorder (BD). Unaffected first-degree relatives of patients (UR) with BD are at increased risk of developing mental disorders and may manifest cognitive impairments and alterations in brain functional and connective dynamics, akin to their affected relatives.

Methods

In this prospective longitudinal study, resting-state functional connectivity was used to explore stable and progressive markers of vulnerability i.e. abnormalities shared between UR and BD compared to healthy controls (HC) and resilience i.e. features unique to UR compared to HC and BD in full or partial remission (UR n = 72, mean age = 28.0 ± 7.2 years; HC n = 64, mean age = 30.0 ± 9.7 years; BD patients n = 91, mean age = 30.6 ± 7.7 years). Out of these, 34 UR, 48 BD, and 38 HC were investigated again following a mean time of 1.3 ± 0.4 years.

Results

At baseline, the UR showed lower connectivity values within the default mode network (DMN), frontoparietal network, and the salience network (SN) compared to HC. This connectivity pattern in UR remained stable over the follow-up period and was not present in BD, suggesting a resilience trait. The UR further demonstrated less negative connectivity between the DMN and SN compared to HC, abnormality that remained stable over time and was also present in BD, suggesting a vulnerability marker.

Conclusion

Our findings indicate the coexistence of both vulnerability-related abnormalities in resting-state connectivity, as well as adaptive changes possibly promoting resilience to psychopathology in individual at familial risk.
Macrolide resistance ofMycoplasma pneumoniaein several regions of China from 2013 to 2019
Authors: Jiang Yue , Dou Haiwei , Xu Bo , Xu Baoping , Zhou Wei , Wang Hong , Ge Lixia , Hu Yinghui , Han Xiaohua , Qin Xuanguang , Li Jing , Ye Leping , Wu Liqun , Zuo Huimin , Zhang Qi , Liu Ling , Hu Wenjuan , Shao Junyan , Yin Qiaomian , Han Lina , Fu Xiaoyan , Dong Xiaopei , Dong Yan , Fu Yulin , Zhao Mengmeng , Sun Qing , Huo Jingwei , Liu Die , Liu Wenkao , Li Yunjuan , Wang Yang , Xin Deli , Shen Kunling
Published: April 2024

This paper retrospectively analysed the prevalence of macrolide-resistantMycoplasma pneumoniae(MRMP) in some parts of China. Between January 2013 and December 2019, we collected 4,145 respiratory samples, including pharyngeal swabs and alveolar lavage fluid. The highest PCR-positive rate of M. pneumoniae was 74.5% in Beijing, the highest resistance rate was 100% in Shanghai, and Gansu was the lowest with 20%. The highest PCR-positive rate ofM. pneumoniaewas 74.5% in 2013, and the highest MRMP was 97.4% in 2019; the PCR-positive rate ofM. pneumoniaefor adults in Beijing was 17.9% and the MRMP was 10.48%. Among the children diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), the PCR-positive and macrolide-resistant rates ofM. pneumoniaewere both higher in the severe ones. A2063G in domain V of 23S rRNA was the major macrolide-resistant mutation, accounting for more than 90%. The MIC values of all MRMP to erythromycin and azithromycin were ≥ 64 μg/ml, and the MICs of tetracycline and levofloxacin were ≤ 0.5 μg/ml and ≤ 1 μg/ml, respectively. The macrolide resistance varied in different regions and years. Among inpatients, the macrolide-resistant rate was higher in severe pneumonia. A2063G was the common mutation, and we found no resistance to tetracycline and levofloxacin.
New and improved bounds on the contextuality degree of multi-qubit configurations
Authors: Muller Axel , Saniga Metod , Giorgetti Alain , de Boutray Henri , Holweck Frédéric
Published: April 2024

We present algorithms and a C code to reveal quantum contextuality and evaluate the contextuality degree (a way to quantify contextuality) for a variety of point-line geometries located in binary symplectic polar spaces of small rank. With this code we were not only able to recover, in a more efficient way, all the results of a recent paper by de Boutray et al. [(2022). Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical55 475301], but also arrived at a bunch of new noteworthy results. The paper first describes the algorithms and the C code. Then it illustrates its power on a number of subspaces of symplectic polar spaces whose rank ranges from 2 to 7. The most interesting new results include: (i) non-contextuality of configurations whose contexts are subspaces of dimension 2 and higher, (ii) non-existence of negative subspaces of dimension 3 and higher, (iii) considerably improved bounds for the contextuality degree of both elliptic and hyperbolic quadrics for rank 4, as well as for a particular subgeometry of the three-qubit space whose contexts are the lines of this space, (iv) proof for the non-contextuality of perpsets and, last but not least, (v) contextual nature of a distinguished subgeometry of a multi-qubit doily, called a two-spread, and computation of its contextuality degree. Finally, in the three-qubit polar space we correct and improve the contextuality degree of the full configuration and also describe finite geometric configurations formed by unsatisfiable/invalid constraints for both types of quadrics as well as for the geometry whose contexts are all 315 lines of the space.
An Artistic Challenge to the Culture of Forgetting in Serbia: Audiovisual Discontinuity in Ognjen Glavonić's Depth 2
Authors: Obradović Dragana
Published: April 2024

This article examines audio-visual discontinuity in Ognjen Glavonić's 2015 documentary Depth 2 and argues that this approach to sound and screen allows the audience to engage with the difficult topic of war crimes in a novel manner in order to address a failure in cultural memory in Serbian society. The documentary explores war crimes committed against Kosovo Albanian civilians by Serbian state forces and paramilitaries in the spring of 1999. Depth 2 cinematically recontextualizes recorded testimonies of both survivors and perpetrators from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), defamiliarizing the archive by anonymizing the source material and by removing the synchrony between voice and image. The lack of concordance between voice and screen is a key aesthetic strategy through which the film comments on pressing ethical, political, and historical issues in Serbian society.
Inversions of Surface Displacements in Scaled Experiments of Analog Magma Intrusion
Authors: Poppe S. , Wauthier C. , Fontijn K.
Published: April 2024

Standard geodetic models simplify magma sheet injection to the opening of geometrically simple dislocations in a linearly elastic, homogeneous medium. Intrusion geometries are often complex, however, and non‐elastic deformation mechanisms can dominate the response of heterogeneous rocks to magma‐induced stresses. We used three‐dimensional near‐surface displacements of a scaled laboratory experiment in which a steeply inclined analog magma sheet was injected into granular material. We ran forward models and inverted for eight parameters of an “Okada‐type” tensile rectangular dislocation in a homogeneous, isotropic, and linearly elastic half‐space. Displacements generated by a forward model largely mismatch the experimental displacements, but full or restricted non‐linear inversions of geometrical parameters reduce the residual displacements. The intrusion opening, dip, depth, and to a lesser degree length and width mismatch the most between the experiment and inversion results, whereas location and strike mismatch the least. Our results challenge assumptions made by many analytical and geodetic models.