bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The impact of hegemonic masculine ideals on self‐esteem in prostate cancer patients undergoing androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) compared to ADT‐naïve patients
Authors: Gentili Caterina , McClean Stuart , McGeagh Lucy , Bahl Amit , Persad Raj , Harcourt Diana
Published: July 2022

Purpose

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for Prostate Cancer (PCa) is associated with side effects that could lead to negative body image and low masculine self‐esteem of survivors. We compared a group of PCa survivors following ADT with ADT‐naïve patients, expecting the ADT group to show lower masculine self‐esteem. We also expected patients with hegemonic masculinity ideals to show poorer masculine self‐esteem and we hypothesized that ADT would moderate this relationship, expecting PCa patients on ADT with stronger hegemonic ideals to show the worst masculine self‐esteem scores among study participants.

Methods

We compared 57 PCa survivors on ADT (Mage = 64.16 (7.11)) to 59 ADT‐naïve patients (Mage = 65.25 (5.50)), on the Masculine Self‐Esteem Scale (MSES), Body Image Scale (BIS), and Hegemonic Masculinity Ideals Scale (HMIS).

Results

While the two groups did not significantly differ on masculine self‐esteem (F [1, 115] = 3.46, p = 0.065, ηp2 = 0.029) and body image (F [1, 115] = 3.46, p = 0.065, ηp2 = 0.029), younger age was significantly associated with higher body image issues (F [1, 115] = 8.63, p < 0.01, ηp2 = 0.071, β = −0.30). Hegemonic masculinity significantly predicted more masculine self‐esteem related issues (t (2, 114) = 2.31, β = 0.375, p < 0.05). ADT did not moderate this relationship.

Conclusions

The results suggest that endorsing hegemonic masculinity could represent a risk factor for low masculine self‐esteem regardless of ADT status and that younger age is associated with negative body image among PCa survivors.

Implications

These results suggest the importance of inclusion of topics related to hegemonic masculinity when providing support to PCa survivors, both when discussing treatment side effects, as well as in the later phases of survivorship. This pilot also suggests that younger PCa survivors might benefit from body‐image focused support regardless of treatment plan.
Continuous positive airway pressure care for pediatric obstructive sleep apnea: A long‐term quality improvement initiative
Authors: Xanthopoulos Melissa S. , Williamson Ariel A. , Burlingame Caroline C. , Afolabi‐Brown Olufunke , Tapia Ignacio E. , Cielo Christopher , Moore Melisa , Beck Suzanne E.
Published: July 2022

Successful treatment of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is challenging due to behavioral, technical, medical, and systems factors. We undertook a quality improvement (QI) initiative involving physicians, nurses, psychologists, and respiratory therapists to improve CPAP outpatient care and processes. We aimed to: (1) increase the proportion of patients with a follow‐up visit within 4 months of initiation of CPAP, (2) reduce the median time to first follow‐up visit to under 4 months, and (3) increase the proportion of patients obtaining a post‐initiation polysomnogram within 1 year to >50%. We also explored healthcare utilization (HCU) in a subsample of patients. Interventions focused on developing a tracking system and standardizing interdisciplinary clinical care. The proportion of patients returning to clinic within 4 months improved from 38.2% to 65.5% and median time to first follow‐up visit improved from 133 to 56 days. The percentage of patients who returned for a post‐initiation polysomnogram within 1 year was 71.1%. Subsample analyses showed significant reductions in the length of stay for emergency department visits from pre‐CPAP initiation (Mdn = 3.00 h; interquartile range [IQR] = 7.00) to post‐initiation (Mdn = 2.00 h, IQR = 5.00). The length of hospitalizations was also significantly shorter from pre (Mdn = 48.00 h, IQR = 243.00) to post‐CPAP initiation (Mdn = 0.00 h, IQR = 73.00). A standardized, tracked approach to interdisciplinary outpatient CPAP care can improve follow‐up care and potentially HCU.
Front Cover Image, Volume 78, Issue 8
Authors: Zhou Qian , Li Linwei , Liu Fei , Hu Jun , Cao Yan , Qiao Siwei , Zhou Yuxin , Wang Bi , Jia Yihe , Chen Yu , Xu Shu , Feng Xu
Published: July 2022

The front cover image is based on the Research Article Mining and characterization of oxidative stress‐related binding proteins of parthenolide in Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae by Qian Zhou et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.6961.

image
Resveratrol supplementation efficiently improves endothelial health: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Mohammadipoor Nazanin , Shafiee Fatemeh , Rostami Amirabbas , Kahrizi Mohammad Saeed , Soleimanpour Hamidreza , ghodsi Majid , Ansari Mohammad Javed , Bokov Dmitry Olegovich , Jannat Behrooz , Mosharkesh Erfan , Pour Abbasi Mohammad Sadegh
Published: July 2022

We perform a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to quantify the effect of resveratrol supplementation on endothelial function. A comprehensive search was performed in electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library up to February 2021 with no limitation in time and language. A meta‐analysis of eligible studies was performed using a random‐effects model to estimate the pooled effect size of flow‐mediated dilation (FMD), intracellular adhesion molecule‐1 (ICAM‐1), vascular adhesion molecule‐1 (VCAM‐1), fibrinogen, and plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1 (PAI‐1). In total, 21 arms from 17 studies were included. The meta‐analysis results showed that resveratrol significantly change the concentrations of FMD (WMD: 1.43%; 95% CI: 0.98 to 1.88, p < .001) and ICAM‐1 (WMD: −7.09 ng/ml, 95% CI: −7.45 to −6.73, p < .001). However, VCAM‐1, fibrinogen, and PAI‐1 did not change significantly after resveratrol supplementation. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that resveratrol supplementation can improve endothelial function which could be important, especially in patients with cardiovascular diseases.
Tracking control for the nonlinear complex dynamical network assisted with outgoing links dynamics
Authors: Gao Peitao , Wang Yinhe , Peng Yi , Zhang LiLi , Huang Yuanyuan
Published: July 2022

Along with the numerous highly interconnected nodes in real networks, a complex dynamical network shows the dynamic behaviors not only in the nodes but also in the links between nodes. This implies that the complex dynamical network can be considered to be composed of the two interconnected subsystems, the nodes subsystem (NS) and links subsystem (LS), and thus it has become evident that the dynamics of LS plays an important role in assisting NS to emerge the dynamic behavior. However, all the dynamic links are rarely considered to be the dynamic system as a whole in the existing literature. In this article, the outgoing links vector is introduced to describe the state of LS and the dynamics of LS is proposed and utilized to investigate the tracking task of NS. Here, the bounded uncertainties are considered in the dynamic model of NS and the nonlinearities are considered in the dynamic model of LS, which is rarely considered in the existing literature, by which the adaptive controller is synthesized to overcome the uncertainties and complete the tracking task of NS assisted with the constructed coupling term in LS. The results in this article show that when the controlled NS is tracking the given target, the LS is tracking the proposed auxiliary target. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed theoretic results is verified via the example.
EAPIOD: ECC based authentication protocol for insider attack protection in IoD scenario
Authors: Rajamanickam Siranjeevi , Vollala Satyanarayana , Ramasubramanian Natarajan
Published: July 2022

Drastic improvement in the progress of the Internet of Things environment increased the users' access to various information online. The upcoming Internet of Drones (IoD) has increased the reliability of the information that the users require in the different scenarios as it has several merits like low power consumption and navigation properties. At the same time, it becomes vital to protect the IoD from several severe security attacks specifically insider attacks which are devastating in their effects when compared to other security attacks. Numerous protocols proposed in recent times claim to protect IoD from all known security attacks but unfortunately, fail to prevent a few attacks especially, insider attacks. This article proposes “EAPIOD: ECC based authentication protocol for insider attack protection in IoD scenario” that protects IoD from several known attacks, especially insider attacks. EAPIOD is proved to be immune to security attacks. Security analysis in both ways formally by scyther tool and informally by cryptanalyzing EAPIOD. The evaluation of EAPIOD for its communication and computation cost exhibits that its performance is probably higher than several existing schemes on account of providing enhanced security.
Optimization of Process Conditions for Ultralightweight Steel with More Than 13 wt% of Al and 5 wt% of Cr
Authors: Kim Kyeong-Won , Kim Sung-Dae , Park Seong-Jun , Park Hyungkwon , Moon Joonoh , Hong Hyun-UK , Lee Chang-Hoon
Published: July 2022

An ultralightweight Fe–30Mn–13.2Al–1.6C–5Cr steel, which contains more than 13 wt% of Al and thereby reduces the density by 20%, is developed. The ultralightweight steel, which is very brittle due to high Al content, is fabricated by optimizing hot rolling and heat treatment conditions. Hot rolling is conducted after soaking at the temperature range of 1100–1200 °C for 2 h. The ultralightweight steel is hot‐rolled successfully after soaking at 1100 °C, whereas specimens soaked at 1150 and 1200 °C are intergranularly cracked after hot rolling, resulting from coarse grain and a large fraction and size of ferrite, which is transformed to ordered DO3 phase during cooling, at the grain boundaries. In homogenization heat treatment, water quenching and air cooling are performed, respectively, after holding at 1050 °C for 2 h. The air‐cooled steel has inferior tensile property due to the formation of brittle ordered DO3 phase at grain boundaries. Meanwhile, the water‐quenched steel shows an excellent tensile property, which is attributed to a uniform microstructure comprising austenite, fine κ‐carbide in austenite, and a very small fraction of the ordered DO3 phase.
Prophylactic evaluation of verubecestat on disease‐ and symptom‐modifying effects in 5XFAD mice
Authors: Oblak Adrian L. , Cope Zackary A. , Quinney Sara K. , Pandey Ravi S. , Biesdorf Carla , Masters Andi R. , Onos Kristen D. , Haynes Leslie , Keezer Kelly J. , Meyer Jill A. , Peters Jonathan S. , Persohn Scott A. , Bedwell Amanda A. , Eldridge Kierra , Speedy Rachael , Little Gabriela , Williams Sean‐Paul , Noarbe Brenda , Obenaus Andre , Sasner Michael , Howell Gareth R. , Carter Gregory W. , Williams Harriet , Lamb Bruce T. , Territo Paul R. , Sukoff Rizzo Stacey J.
Published: July 2022

Introduction

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. Beta‐secretase (BACE) inhibitors have been proposed as potential therapeutic interventions; however, initiating treatment once disease has significantly progressed has failed to effectively stop or treat disease. Whether BACE inhibition may have efficacy when administered prophylactically in the early stages of AD has been under‐investigated. The present studies aimed to evaluate prophylactic treatment of the BACE inhibitor verubecestat in an AD mouse model using the National Institute on Aging (NIA) resources of the Model Organism Development for Late‐Onset Alzheimer's Disease (MODEL‐AD) Preclinical Testing Core (PTC) Drug Screening Pipeline.

Methods

5XFAD mice were administered verubecestat ad libitum in chow from 3 to 6 months of age, prior to the onset of significant disease pathology. Following treatment (6 months of age), in vivo imaging was conducted with 18F‐florbetapir (AV‐45/Amyvid) (18F‐AV45) and 18‐FDG (fluorodeoxyglucose)–PET (positron emission tomography)/MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), brain and plasma amyloid beta (Aβ) were measured, and the clinical and behavioral characteristics of the mice were assessed and correlated with the pharmacokinetic data.

Results

Prophylactic verubecestat treatment resulted in dose‐ and region‐dependent attenuations of 18F‐AV45 uptake in male and female 5XFAD mice. Plasma Aβ40 and Aβ42 were also dose‐dependently attenuated with treatment. Across the dose range evaluated, side effects including coat color changes and motor alterations were reported, in the absence of cognitive improvement or changes in 18F‐FDG uptake.

Discussion

Prophylactic treatment with verubecestat resulted in attenuated amyloid plaque deposition when treatment was initiated prior to significant pathology in 5XFAD mice. At the same dose range effective at attenuating Aβ levels, verubecestat produced side effects in the absence of improvements in cognitive function. Taken together these data demonstrate the rigorous translational approaches of the MODEL‐AD PTC for interrogating potential therapeutics and provide insight into the limitations of verubecestat as a prophylactic intervention for early‐stage AD.
Mechanical and interfacial characterisation of leading‐edge protection materials for wind turbine blade applications
Authors: Katsivalis Ioannis , Chanteli Angeliki , Finnegan William , Young Trevor M.
Published: July 2022

Modern wind turbine blades experience tip speeds that can exceed 110 m/s. At such speeds, water droplet impacts can cause erosion of the leading edge, which can have a detrimental effect on the performance of the wind turbine blade. More specifically, rain erosion is leading to both reduced efficiency and increased repair costs. The industry is using polymeric coatings—leading‐edge protection (LEP) materials—to protect the blades but those are also prone to rain erosion. In this work, LEP materials that are currently used by the industry for the protection of wind turbine blades were selected and their performance assessed. The LEP materials were characterised in terms of mechanical properties by using different experimental methods, and they were also assessed in terms of durability by performing rain erosion testing (RET). Finally, the damage and failure mechanisms observed were further investigated using CT scanning. This paper provides an insight to the properties of LEP materials, their durability, and the damage and failure mechanisms they experienced during rain erosion.
Year‐long wastewater monitoring for SARS‐CoV‐2 signals in combined and separate sanitary sewers
Authors: Fahrenfeld Nicole L. , Morales Medina William R. , D'Elia Stephanie , Deshpande Aishwarya S. , Ehasz Genevieve
Published: July 2022

COVID‐19 wastewater‐based epidemiology has been performed in catchments of various sizes and sewer types with many short‐term studies available and multi‐seasonal studies emerging. The objective of this study was to compare weekly observations of SARS‐CoV‐2 genes in municipal wastewater across multiple seasons for different systems as a factor of sewer type (combined, separate sanitary) and system size. Sampling occurred following the first wave of SARS‐CoV‐2 cases in the study region (June 2020) and continued through the third wave (May 2021), the period during which clinical testing was widely available and different variants dominated clinical cases. The strongest correlations were observed between wastewater N1 concentrations and the cumulative clinical cases reported in the 2 weeks prior to wastewater sampling, followed by the week prior, new cases, and the week after wastewater sampling. Sewer type and size did not necessarily explain the strength of the correlations, indicating that other non‐sewer factors may be impacting the observations. In‐system sampling results for the largest system sampled are presented for 1 month. Removing wet weather days from the data sets improved even the flow‐normalized correlations for the systems, potentially indicating that interpreting results during wet weather events may be more complicated than simply accounting for dilution.

Practitioner Points

SARS‐CoV‐2 in wastewater correlated best with total clinical cases reported in 2 weeks before wastewater sampling at the utility level.

Study performed when clinical testing was widespread during the year after the first COVID‐19 wave in the region.

Sewer type and size did not necessarily explain correlation strength between clinical cases and wastewater‐based epidemiology results.

Removing wet weather days improved correlations for 3/4 utilities studied, including both separate sanitary and combined sewers.
White rot fungus mediated removal of mercury from wastewater
Authors: Sharma Kalu Ram , Naruka Anjali , Raja Manokaran , Sharma Rakesh Kumar
Published: July 2022

Heavy metal contamination creates numerous problems in environment and considered as big challenge for the society. Mercury (Hg) may exert several harmful effects on human heath including nervous system, digestive system, and immune system, along with damage in lungs and kidneys, which might be fatal. In this study, the removal of Hg from the wastewater by using a whiter rot fungus Phlebia floridensis was evaluated in a batch culture system for 7 days. The fungus was also evaluated for the tolerance level of Hg and the morphological changes were studied by SEM–EDX. The fungus could tolerate up to 100 μM of Hg concentration. Scanning electron microscopic images showed changes in the morphology and fine structures of the fungal hyphae. Atomic absorption spectroscopic analyses of the treated water sample revealed that the fungus could remove 70%–84% of Hg depending upon the initial concentration. The pH fluctuation was recorded from 5.8 to 6.8 during the experimental conditions at temperature 28°C ± 2°C. Thus, the study explores the use of this fungus for the application in metal containing wastewater treatment.

Practitioner Points

Hg contaminated water can be treated by using white rot fungus, Phlebia floridensis.

The fungus may accumulate mercury inside as well as on the surface of fungal mycelial biomass.

Change in hyphal morphology was observed in the presence of lower concentration of the metal.
A Complex Relationship: Large-Scale Land Acquisitions and Land Tenure Security
Authors: Nolte Kerstin , Nkonde Chewe , Samboko Paul , Herrmann Raoul , Holzapfel Sarah , Machina Henry , Subakanya Mitelo
Published: July 2022

This chapter highlights the increase in large-scale land acquisitions across the globe and how it is intertwined with land tenure security. Land tenure security, or the lack thereof, plays a key role in the locational choice of investors. Land tenure security may mitigate the outcomes but is also affected by the acquisition of land. These effects are reflected in de facto displacements, the perception of weakened land tenure security, and changes in the land governance system. We shed light on these relationships between land acquisitions and land tenure security by first providing a global overview, and then delving deeper into the Zambian context. We find that for land acquisitions to be implemented economically, socially, and in an environmentally sustainable manner, strong land tenure security is crucial.
Resilience at the Edge: Strategies of Small-Scale Societies for Long-Term Sustainable Living in Dryland Environments
Authors: Rosen Arlene
Published: July 2022

Modern Western communities have much to learn from the ways in which small-scale societies have survived and even thrived while cycling through phases of profoundly shifting moist to dry environmental conditions. In doing so, these small communities display a resilience developed from thousands of years of being rooted in what Western Society considers ‘marginal’ environments. The most important of the solutions they developed are sustainably rooted in deep-time and identifiable in archaeological records. The ability to live sustainably in these kinds of challenging environments emerges from a profound and long-term reservoir of ‘Traditional Ecological Knowledge’ that includes a keen awareness of the interface between human needs and natural processes. Although these traditional solutions may not apply to massive complex systems that drive the survival of large cities as a whole, we can benefit a great deal from the study of these past societies to help generate ideas for smaller segments and sub-systems of larger cities, such as neighborhood collectives, urban gardening, water conservation methods, and others that will lead us towards a more sustainable existence on our planet through the use ground-up solutions.
Resilience of Coupled Socio-Ecological Systems: Historic Rice Fields of the U.S. South
Authors: Fields-Black Edda L. , Hanks R. Daniel , Folk Travis F. , Baldwin Rob , Wiggers Ernie P. , Agha Andrew , Richter Daniel D. , Coen Richard H.
Published: July 2022

While resilience is defined differentially by social scientists and ecologists, sustainability is possible where resilient social and ecological systems meet and interact, and sustainable resilient systems promote societal use of ecosystem services supporting contemporary societal needs without risk to future generations. Yet it is possible for seemingly appropriate and rational decisions from individuals, and society at large, to be counter to long-term sustainable solutions. Historic rice field cultivation in the wetlands of the Carolinas and Florida provides an example of various forms of resilience and sustainability within the theoretical framework of alternate stable states, whereby a resilient system can exist in more than one state and where stability is achieved when disruptive variables are not so disruptive as to generate tipping points from one state to another. This contribution examines the changing role and political as well as environmental impacts of rice agriculture in the region with particular emphasis on the contingent processes of environmental and cultural transformation that took place between the seventeenth and twenty-first centuries.
The Integration of Settlers into Existing Socio-Environmental Settings: Reclaiming the Greek Lands After the Late Medieval Crisis
Authors: Liakopoulos Georgios C.
Published: July 2022

This chapter examines to what extent two late medieval nomadic groups in the southern Balkans adopted the economic practices of the areas they moved into, in order to achieve agricultural sustainability. In the fourteenth century, these two groups, Turk yörüks and transhumant Albanians, migrated to Greece in order to invigorate depopulated areas and reclaim lands in Thessaly and the Peloponnese respectively. Almost three generations after their establishment, Ottoman taxation cadastres cast light on their agricultural and pastoral activities. Even though these groups followed different trajectories in their sedentarisation—more or less dictated by their ethnocultural peculiarities—they both focused over time on farming basic, life-sustaining crops, such as cereals, which were complimentary to the manifold market-oriented farming activities of the long-settled local Greeks.
Concluding Remarks: Interdisciplinarity and Public Policy
Authors: Haldon John
Published: July 2022

The main lesson from our discussion and from the combined wisdom of the chapters in this volume is that both critical history and interdisciplinarity are the two essential and inseparable ingredients required to understand the nature of past human responses to environmental and climate challenges. The costs of resilience need to be considered more fully than hitherto, and future planning and policy must take these, and any structural social inequalities underlying unequal cost distribution, into account. The relationship between agency and structure is fundamental to understanding the causal associations behind the outcomes we see in our evidence. To contribute to the achievement of true ecological justice, which might be the only hope for our survival, historians need to challenge environmental and social-economic or cultural determinism while at the same time bearing in mind the realities and struggles of day-to-day lives and the beliefs that are integral to them.
Disjunctures of Practice and the Problems of Collapse
Authors: Jackson Rowan , Hartman Steven , Trump Benjamin , Crumley Carole , McGovern Thomas , Linkov Igor , Ogilvie AEJ
Published: July 2022

This chapter asks what insights long-term historical information from before the Great Acceleration and Anthropocene might offer to policy and practice in the twenty-first century. Conventional sustainability research usually focuses on shallower time horizons that could miss insightful environmental and social processes evolving over centuries to millennia. Although we push for increased engagement with historical researchers, parallels between pre-modern and contemporary environmental and societal challenges need to be treated with caution. So-called cases of societal collapse—often associated with environmental calamities—provide limited or at best flawed parallels with challenges faced today. The pitfalls of reductionism and determinism that often attend collapse discourse account for social agency and complexity in incomplete and unconvincing ways. Instead, we argue that historical evidence should serve as context to environmental problems faced today, as antecedents of the accelerated environmental change of later modernity rather than as direct analogies. Historical antecedents can be understood, to an extent, as previous experiments against which to test and improve theory or to structure possibilistic scenarios that help anticipate unexpected social and environmental challenges. In concluding, we suggest that researcher in historical sciences and the humanities require resources, space and incentives to explore sticky questions of uncertainty, risk, and vulnerability to environmental change together with global change researchers, policymakers, and environmental practitioners.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Authors: Fuchs Nike , Krause Gesche
Published: July 2022

The Digital Earth Project aims at a strong interdisciplinary collaboration of the various Earth science disciplines and data science, to foster digitalization and the application of data science methods. As this is a highly complex interdisciplinary endeavour that involves eight research centres and many scientists, a success evaluation was deployed after the first half of the project. A social science-oriented evaluation was conducted, in which a World Cafe and a survey were used to evaluate the success of the collaboration and opportunities for improvement. Results indicate a strong need among participating scientists to more clearly understand and advocate for the overarching goals, have more face-to-face interaction, optimize the use of existing research infrastructure, and develop a sound perspective for knowledge transfer and long-term continuation of the developed approaches. It was deduced that individuals shape the process and that digitization is more than just a technical matter, but depends heavily on individuals and the process of implementation.
SODALITE in Context
Authors: Tokmakov Kamil , Kumara Indika
Published: July 2022

This chapter will look at the application and integration of the SODALITE toolkit across various platforms in the Cloud, Edge, and HPC domains, with a specific focus on OpenStack, AWS EC2, Kubernetes, and PBS Torque/Slurm. While Chap. 7 provides a deep dive into the operational environment of the individual use cases, this chapter will focus more on general application and deployment patterns of SODALITE alongside existing deployments, demonstrating ways in which SODALITE can be leveraged more generally by SODALITE users in these respective environments.
Rough Pseudodifferential Operators on Hardy Spaces for Fourier Integral Operators II
Authors: Rozendaal Jan
Published: July 2022

We obtain improved bounds for pseudodifferential operators with rough symbols on Hardy spaces for Fourier integral operators. The symbols $$a(x,\eta )$$

a
(
x
,
η
)

are elements of $$C^{r}_{*}S^{m}_{1,\delta }$$

C

∗

r

S

1
,
δ

m

classes that have limited regularity in the x variable. We show that the associated pseudodifferential operator a(x, D) maps between Sobolev spaces $${\mathcal {H}}^{s,p}_{FIO}({{\mathbb {R}}^{n}})$$

H

FIO

s
,
p

(

R

n

)

and $${\mathcal {H}}^{t,p}_{FIO}({{\mathbb {R}}^{n}})$$

H

FIO

t
,
p

(

R

n

)

over the Hardy space for Fourier integral operators $${\mathcal {H}}^{p}_{FIO}({{\mathbb {R}}^{n}})$$

H

FIO

p

(

R

n

)

. Our main result is that for all $$r>0$$

r
>
0

, $$m=0$$

m
=
0

and $$\delta =1/2$$

δ
=
1
/
2

, there exists an interval of p around 2 such that a(x, D) acts boundedly on $${\mathcal {H}}^{p}_{FIO}({{\mathbb {R}}^{n}})$$

H

FIO

p

(

R

n

)

.
WDVV equations: symbolic computations of Hamiltonian operators
Authors: Vašíček Jakub , Vitolo Raffaele
Published: July 2022

We describe software for symbolic computations that we developed in order to find Hamiltonian operators for Witten–Dijkgraaf–Verlinde–Verlinde (WDVV) equations, and verify their compatibility. The computation involves nonlocal (integro-differential) operators, for which specific canonical forms and algorithms have been used.
Introducing a gatekeeping system for amyloid status assessment in mild cognitive impairment
Authors: Doering E. , Hoenig M. C. , Bischof G. N. , Bohn K. P. , Ellingsen L. M. , van Eimeren T. , Drzezga A. ,   for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Published: July 2022

Background

In patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), enhanced cerebral amyloid-β plaque burden is a high-risk factor to develop dementia with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Not all patients have immediate access to the assessment of amyloid status (A-status) via gold standard methods. It may therefore be of interest to find suitable biomarkers to preselect patients benefitting most from additional workup of the A-status. In this study, we propose a machine learning–based gatekeeping system for the prediction of A-status on the grounds of pre-existing information on APOE-genotype 18F-FDG PET, age, and sex.

Methods

Three hundred and forty-two MCI patients were used to train different machine learning classifiers to predict A-status majority classes among APOE-ε4 non-carriers (APOE4-nc; majority class: amyloid negative (Aβ-)) and carriers (APOE4-c; majority class: amyloid positive (Aβ +)) from 18F-FDG-PET, age, and sex. Classifiers were tested on two different datasets. Finally, frequencies of progression to dementia were compared between gold standard and predicted A-status.

Results

Aβ- in APOE4-nc and Aβ + in APOE4-c were predicted with a precision of 87% and a recall of 79% and 51%, respectively. Predicted A-status and gold standard A-status were at least equally indicative of risk of progression to dementia.

Conclusion

We developed an algorithm allowing approximation of A-status in MCI with good reliability using APOE-genotype, 18F-FDG PET, age, and sex information. The algorithm could enable better estimation of individual risk for developing AD based on existing biomarker information, and support efficient selection of patients who would benefit most from further etiological clarification. Further potential utility in clinical routine and clinical trials is discussed.
On some hyperbolic equations of third order
Authors: Colombini Ferruccio , Gramchev Todor , Orrù Nicola , Taglialatela Giovanni
Published: July 2022

We give sufficient conditions for the well posedness in $${\mathcal {C}}^\infty$$

C

∞

of the Cauchy problem for third-order equations with time-dependent coefficients.
Global marine biosecurity and ship lay-ups: intensifying effects of trade disruptions
Authors: Ruiz Gregory M. , Galil Bella S. , Davidson Ian C. , Donelan Sarah C. , Miller A. Whitman , Minton Mark S. , Muirhead Jim R. , Ojaveer Henn , Tamburri Mario N. , Carlton James T.
Published: July 2022

Recent global trade disruptions, due to blockage of the Suez Canal and cascading effects of COVID-19, have altered the movement patterns of commercial ships and may increase worldwide invasions of marine non-indigenous species. Organisms settle on the hulls and underwater surfaces of vessels and can accumulate rapidly, especially when vessels remain stationary during lay-ups and delays. Once present, organisms can persist on vessels for long-periods (months to years), with the potential to release propagules and seed invasions as ships visit ports across the global transportation network. Shipborne propagules also may be released in increasing numbers during extended vessel residence times at port or anchor. Thus, the large scale of shipping disruptions, impacting thousands of vessels and geographic locations and still on-going for over two years, may elevate invasion rates in coastal ecosystems in the absence of policy and management efforts to prevent this outcome. Concerted international and national biosecurity actions, mobilizing existing frameworks and tools with due diligence, are urgently needed to address a critical gap and abate the associated invasion risks.
Privacy Behaviour: A Model for Online Informed Consent
Authors: Burkhardt Gary , Boy Frederic , Doneddu Daniele , Hajli Nick
Published: July 2022

An online world exists in which businesses have become burdened with managerial and legal duties regarding the seeking of informed consent and the protection of privacy and personal data, while growing public cynicism regarding personal data collection threatens the healthy development of marketing and e-commerce. This research seeks to address such cynicism by assisting organisations to devise ethical consent management processes that consider an individual’s attitudes, their subjective norms and their perceived sense of control during the elicitation of consent. It does so by developing an original conceptual model for online informed consent, argued through logical reasoning, and supported by an illustrative example, which brings together the autonomous authorisation (AA) model of informed consent and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Accordingly, it constructs a model for online informed consent, rooted in the ethic of autonomy, which employs behavioural theory to facilitate a mode of consent elicitation that prioritises users’ interests and supports ethical information management and marketing practices. The model also introduces a novel concept, the informed attitude, which must be present for informed consent to be valid. It also reveals that, under certain tolerated conditions, it is possible for informed consent to be provided unwillingly and to remain valid: this has significant ethical, information management and marketing implications.
Turkish Stock Market from Pandemic to Russian Invasion, Evidence from Developed Machine Learning Algorithm
Authors: Alsayed Ahmed R. M.
Published: July 2022

In recent time, the two significant events; Coronavirus epidemic and Russian invasion are effecting all over the world in various aspects; healthily, economically, environmentally, and socially, etc. The first event has brought uncertainties to the economic situation in most countries based on the epidemic transmission. In addition to that, on 24th February 2022 the Russian invasion of Ukraine affected negatively almost all stock markets all over the world, but the effects are heterogeneous across countries according to their economic-political relationship or neighbourhood, etc. Due to that, the stock market price in Turkey has been affected dramatically over that period. This empirical study is the first attempts to explore the impact of Coronavirus epidemic and Russian invasion on the stock market index XU100 in Turkey by applying the developed statistical method namely elastic-net regression based on empirical mode decomposition which can precisely tackle the nonstationary and nonlinearity data. Then we performed the robustness check by applying a nonlinear techniques Markov switching regression. The data are collected from the beginning of the epidemic in Turkey from March 11, 2020 until May 31, 2022. The finding reveals that there is significant effect of the Coronavirus spreading on the Turkish stock market index, particularly during the first wave. Then after the Russian Invasion the XU100 index is effected more negatively. As the credit default swap and TL reference interest rate have a negative impact but the foreigner exchange rate has a positive significant impact on the XU100 index, and it varies according to the period of short term and long term. Moreover, the results obtained by using the robustness check shows a robust and consistent finding. In conclusion, understanding the impact of Coronavirus pandemic and Russian invasion on the Turkish stock market can provide important implications for investors, financial sectors, and policymakers.
Changes in students’ self-efficacy when learning a new topic in mathematics: a micro-longitudinal study
Authors: Street Karin E. S. , Malmberg Lars-Erik , Stylianides Gabriel J.
Published: July 2022

Self-efficacy in mathematics is related to engagement, persistence, and academic performance. Prior research focused mostly on examining changes to students’ self-efficacy across large time intervals (months or years), and paid less attention to changes at the level of lesson sequences. Knowledge of how self-efficacy changes during a sequence of lessons is important as it can help teachers better support students’ self-efficacy in their everyday work. In this paper, we expanded previous studies by investigating changes in students’ self-efficacy across a sequence of 3–4 lessons when students were learning a new topic in mathematics (nStudents = 170, nTime-points = 596). Nine classes of Norwegian grade 6 (n = 77) and grade 10 students (n = 93) reported their self-efficacy for easy, medium difficulty, and hard tasks. Using multilevel models for change, we found (a) change of students’ self-efficacy across lesson sequences, (b) differences in the starting point and change of students’ self-efficacy according to perceived task difficulty and grade, (c) more individual variation of self-efficacy starting point and change in association with harder tasks, and (d) students in classes who were taught a new topic in geometry had stronger self-efficacy at the beginning of the first lesson as compared to those who were taught a new topic in algebra (grade 10), and students in classes who were taught a new topic in fractions had steeper growth across the lesson sequence as compared to those who were taught a new topic in measurement (grade 6). Implications for both research and practice on how new mathematics topics are introduced to students are discussed.
The Dedalo Project, a Community-based Prevention Program for the Promotion of Healthy Behaviors in Adult Population: Model Description and Target Population Assessment
Authors: Bortoluzzi Sara , Coppo Alessandro , Alessi Daniela , Parovina Stefano , Napoletano Sara , Ammazzagatti Irene , Airoldi Chiara , Zibetti Angelica , Aleni Chiara , Caristia Silvia , Faggiano Fabrizio ,   DEDALO Coordinating Group, Coppo Alessandro , Alessi Daniela , Barale Antonella , Berti Maria Luisa , Taliano Claudia , Mento Marilena , Faggiano Fabrizio
Published: July 2022

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading global cause of death. The Italian National Prevention Plan (INPP) highlights the importance of health promotion and NCD prevention while avoiding health inequalities. In line with the INPP guidelines, we initiated a multicomponent community-based intervention program, named the Dedalo project, to promote healthy and active aging among population living around the Vercelli’s municipality, Italy. A cross-sectional analysis, that used the baseline data of a longitudinal study of the project, evaluated the program’s ability to enroll participants participants who represent the socioeconomic conditions present in the municipality. To this end, we compared the main social characteristics and behaviors of 40–74-year-old subjects (n = 155), who had attended at least one Dedalo activity, to those of same age individuals (n = 124) randomly extracted from the general population. We found that most participants were women (81.3%) and had a higher SES compared to the general population. Furthermore, they were healthier—OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.31–0.87 for self-reported diseases—and displayed healthier behaviors—OR 0.20, 95% CI 0.08–0.46 for smokers; 0.32 95%, CI 0.16–0.64 for fruit/vegetable consumers; and 0.36 95% CI 0.20–0.64 for sweet beverages consumers. Overall, our initial evaluation indicates that the Dedalo project has so far struggled to enroll individuals with low SES, men with any SES, and subjects displaying unhealthy behaviors, thereby failing to meet the INPP goal of preventing NCDs while avoiding health disparities. Thus, efforts should be made to ensure that this community-based intervention program can effectively reach all the target population, in particular those individuals most exposed to behavioral risk factors.
The Computational Cost of Blocking for Sampling Discretely Observed Diffusions
Authors: Mider Marcin , Jenkins Paul A. , Pollock Murray , Roberts Gareth O.
Published: July 2022

Many approaches for conducting Bayesian inference on discretely observed diffusions involve imputing diffusion bridges between observations. This can be computationally challenging in settings in which the temporal horizon between subsequent observations is large, due to the poor scaling of algorithms for simulating bridges as observation distance increases. It is common in practical settings to use ablocking scheme, in which the path is split into a (user-specified) number of overlapping segments and a Gibbs sampler is employed to update segments in turn. Substituting the independent simulation of diffusion bridges for one obtained using blocking introduces an inherent trade-off: we are now imputing shorter bridges at the cost of introducing a dependency between subsequent iterations of the bridge sampler. This is further complicated by the fact that there are a number of possible ways to implement the blocking scheme, each of which introduces a different dependency structure between iterations. Although blocking schemes have had considerableempiricalsuccess in practice, there has been no analysis of this trade-off nor guidance to practitioners on the particular specifications that should be used to obtain a computationally efficient implementation. In this article we conduct this analysis and demonstrate that the expected computational cost of a blocked path-space rejection sampler applied to Brownian bridges scales asymptotically at a cubic rate with respect to the observation distance and that this rate is linear in the case of the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process. Numerical experiments suggest applicability both of the results of our paper and of the guidance we provide beyond the class of linear diffusions considered.
The G20 emission projections to 2030 improved since the Paris Agreement, but only slightly
Authors: Nascimento Leonardo , Kuramochi Takeshi , Höhne Niklas
Published: July 2022

Many years passed since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, which invites countries to determine their own contributions to climate change mitigation efforts. The Agreement does not offer a standard to measure progress but relies on a process of periodic stocktakes to inform ambition-raising cycles. To contribute to this process, we compare 2021 greenhouse gas emission projections up to 2030 against equivalent projections prepared back in 2015. Both sets of projections were prepared using the same bottom-up modelling approach that accounts for adopted policies at the time. We find that 2021 projections for the G20 as a group are almost 15% lower (approximately 6 GtCO2eq) in 2030 than projected in 2015. Annual emissions grow 1% slower in the coming decade than projected in 2015. This slower growth mostly stems from the adoption of new policies and updated expectations on technology uptake and economic growth. However, around one-quarter of these changes are explained by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on short-term emissions and economic forecasts. These factors combined result in substantially lower emission projections for India, the European Union plus the UK (EU27 + UK), the Unites States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa. We observe a remarkable change in South African projections that changed from a substantial increase to now a decline, driven in part by the planned phase-out of most of its coal-based power. Emissions in India are projected to grow slower than in 2015 and in Indonesia faster, but emissions per capita in both countries remain below 5 tCO2eq in 2030, while those in the EU27 + UK decline faster than expected in 2015 and probably cross the 5 tCO2eq threshold before 2030. Projected emissions per capita in Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and the United States are now lower than projected in 2015 but remain above 15 tCO2eq in 2030. Although emission projections for the G20 improved since 2015, collectively they still slightly increase until 2030 and remain insufficient to meet the Paris Agreement temperature goals. The G20 must urgently and drastically improve adopted policies and actions to limit the end-of-century warming to 1.5 °C.
End-effector trajectory tracking of flexible link parallel robots using servo constraints
Authors: Morlock Merlin , Burkhardt Markus , Seifried Robert , Eberhard Peter
Published: July 2022

We apply the concept of servo constraints to end-effector trajectory tracking control of parallel robots with structural link flexibilities. Such servo constraints deliver the inverse robot model where solution approaches via projections are proposed, which transform the resulting differential-algebraic equations to ordinary differential equations. The applicable solution process depends on the existence and stability of the internal dynamics. When using the exact end-effector of flexible link robots as output, this internal dynamics is usually unstable. Then a two-point boundary value problem is considered in the framework of stable inversion to obtain the noncausal solution offline. This solution is used as a feedforward control, which is initially combined only with actuator feedback control. To also account for errors within the link flexibility, the well-known linear–quadratic regulator is adapted to end-effector trajectory tracking based on differential-algebraic equations. Finally, we propose a systematic input–output feedback linearization approach, which uses servo constraints for flexible link parallel robots. Here a minimum phase system is obtained by tracking a redefined end-effector output, which is an approximation of the exact end-effector position. All control concepts are validated experimentally with a parallel robot having a highly flexible link. The results allow us to compare different control approaches and show the superior performance of controllers that rely on a flexible multibody model in contrast to classical rigid multibody modeling.
The Edible Plant Crithmum maritimum Shows Nutraceutical Properties by Targeting Energy Metabolism in Hepatic Cancer
Authors: Gnocchi Davide , Sabbà Carlo , Mazzocca Antonio
Published: July 2022

In the past few years, evidence has supported the role of plants as a valuable tool for the development of promising therapeutic support options for many diseases, including cancer. We recently discovered that the edible wild plant Crithmum maritimum L. effectively inhibits the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and we provide insights into the biological mechanisms involved. Here, we aimed to characterize the effect of ethyl acetate extract of Crithmum maritimum on the bioenergetic phenotype of HCC cells and if this is associated with the anti-tumour effect we previously described. Results show that Crithmum maritimum significantly increases cellular respiration and reduces lactic fermentation in HCC cells, and that this reduction of the fermentative glycolytic phenotype is linked to inhibition of HCC growth. These data provide new preclinical evidence supporting the role of Crithmum maritimum L. as a nutraceutical option to expand the therapeutic opportunities in the management of HCC.