bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Introduction
Authors: Ahtiainen Raisa , Hanhimäki Eija , Leinonen Jaana , Risku Mika , Smeds-Nylund Ann-Sofie
Published: October 2023

This volume provides a comprehensive overview and in-depth coverage of contemporary aspects of leadership in the field of education. It brings together scholars to explore critically and discuss leadership in education in the Finnish education system in relation to international discourses around the topic. The aim is to unravel the nature of the Finnish approach to educational leadership regarding theory and practice and to discuss the theme in various educational contexts; how the Finnish educational success and wellbeing of children, youngsters and educational communities can be supported and enhanced through leadership. Moreover, this volume sheds light on the national characteristics and composition of leadership, policy and governance in education, and at the same time bridges the Finnish and international discussions. The purpose is to increase the knowledge concerning existing variations between countries in terms of the development and position of leadership within educational policy and governance and to provide a reflection surface for both Finnish and international readers to examine their national educational leadership arrangements.
Moral Professionalism in the Context of Educational Leadership
Authors: Hanhimäki Eija
Published: October 2023

This chapter aims to investigate moral professionalism in the context of educational leadership. Many researchers have investigated school administration ethics and ethical educational leadership based on case studies. However, the moral, ethical and nonrational aspects have been omitted from the discussion, even if they are present in school policies and practices. This chapter includes an analysis of data gathered as narratives in a study of educational leaders and teachers (N = 82) who participated in two educational leadership training programmes from 2019 to 2021 at one Finnish university. Based on the results, the kinds of ethical dilemmas the educational leaders encountered and how they worked as moral professionals were identified. The results showed that the main parties, in both ethically easy and ethically difficult dilemmas, were staff members. In the ethically easy dilemmas, the main theme concerning staff was interactions and conflicts; in the ethically difficult dilemmas, it was work arrangements. The most frequently mentioned principles and values in the ethical dilemmas were fairness, justice, equality, the child’s interest and well-being.
The Leadership Group as a Means for Teacher Participation and Leadership Distribution
Authors: Ahtiainen Raisa , Heikonen Lauri
Published: October 2023

For decades, discussion around school development and leadership has emphasised various collaborative practices, active participation, and distribution of responsibilities. The sharing of responsibilities in the decision-making processes exists in many forms in Finnish education, and there are some forms of leadership distribution in most schools, despite the school size. One of the typical ways of sharing responsibilities is to form a leadership group. In our chapter, we examine what meanings are given to leadership groups as leadership structures in school communities, and through which discourses teachers’ participation in decision-making is constructed. The data comprise principals (N = 56), teacher-leaders (N = 125), and teachers (N = 130) responses to two open-ended questions in an electronic survey in 2019. In this study, teacher-leader refers to a teacher with experience of being a member of the leadership group, whereas teacher refers to a teacher with no leadership group work experience. A range/determination approach to discourse was employed to reach an understanding regarding the research problem. The discourses on the practice of the leadership group and teacher participation were formed around positioning the leadership group in the school context, and elements that functioned as enablers or hindrances to teacher participation in decision-making.
Educational Policy, Governance, and Leadership
Authors: Alava Jukka , Kola-Torvinen Pia , Risku Mika
Published: October 2023

This chapter investigates the educational policy and governance, and also leadership in educational contexts in Finland from the 1950s into today’s on-going reforms. The investigation continues the debates of several Finnish researchers on past Finnish educational policy and administration. In addition, it follows the recent research on how school keeping has evolved into the present educational leadership in Finland. This research also presented the general definition for Finnish educational leadership applied in this chapter. As to the description and definition of educational policy and governance, the handling will follow research on the development of Finnish educational policy and governance in the Finnish complex and dynamic operational environment during the 2000s. Finally, the chapter investigates how Finland appears to be directing and developing its educational policy, governance, and leadership into the future. This includes the analysis of the Finnish government Education Policy Account 2021, which maps Finnish educational policy, governance, and leadership into 2040, and of other relevant topical education policy documents. With the analysis, we present both future aspirations and educational policy mechanisms, efforts, and experimentation to reach the aspired education policy goals.
Understanding Leadership in Educational Leadership Research in Finland
Authors: Korva Saana , Laine Pikka-Maaria
Published: October 2023

This systematic literature review focuses on previous academic research on leadership in the context of the Finnish education system for minors, including early childhood education and care through the secondary level. The aim is to examine how leadership is understood in the focal studies. This is accomplished by acknowledging the leadership concepts of the studies, identifying the locus of leadership in them and ontologically differentiating their understandings of collective. According to the results, leadership was mostly defined as a collective, social phenomenon in nature. Most of these studies drew from an entity-based ontology, meaning that collective forms of leadership were seen as different types of leadership the characteristics of which were studied. Only a few studies drew from process ontology examining collective to be constituted within a flow of relations. The results are discussed in light of international educational leadership research and from the perspective of leadership research approaches in management and organisation studies. Based on our study, we encourage the future research on educational leadership to draw from various ontoepistemological approaches to strengthen the understanding of educational leadership.
The Theory of Pedagogical Leadership: Enhancing High-Quality Education
Authors: Fonsén Elina , Lahtero Tapio
Published: October 2023

In this chapter, we introduce the pedagogical leadership theory of Finnish scholars Fonsén and Lahtero and provide ideas and tools to enhance understanding about the foundation of pedagogical leadership in the background of high-quality comprehensive education and early childhood education.

Dimensions that influence the success of pedagogical leadership are Value, Context, Organisational culture, Professionalism and Management of substance. From the viewpoint of the principal’s work, it is also essential to examine one of the organisational culture’s sub-cultures, leadership culture. The work of principal constitutes many tasks and duties, which can be defined as the indirect and direct pedagogical leadership using the idea of the broad-based pedagogical leadership. The four aspects of human capital that leaders need for pedagogical leadership are: The dimensions of increased knowledge, awareness of the quality of the implemented pedagogy, Skills to lead development, and Ability to argue for pedagogy.

In addition, we introduce Leadership competence model for leading pedagogy and curriculum implementation, and model for early childhood education teachers’ professional development towards pedagogical leadership.
(Re)Imagining the Relationship Between Society and Nature in Northern Chilean Patagonia: Encounters and (Mis)Encounters with the Modern World
Authors: Zunino Hugo Marcelo , Spirito Florencia
Published: October 2023

In this chapter, we examine the emergence of alternative ways for inhabiting the territory of Southern Chile which invite us to consider that other models of living are possible. First, we compare Indigenous and Western paradigms for sustainability. This serves as a framework through which we can then evaluate different alternative living projects. We document and describe three local community projects that are being developed in the mountainous area of the Araucanía region, which have raised awareness through a profound transformation of the way people relate to nature, to each other, and to themselves. The three projects are as follows: (1) a community project that recreates Mesoamerican Indigenous practices; (2) the Waldorf Educational Project, which represents a pedagogical counterproposal developed by the European spiritual thinker Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925); and (3) permaculture projects that seek other, new forms of food production through a close link with nature. We observe that although these projects open paths, they also present limitations and contradictions to re-imagining our relationship with the world. We suggest that in order to respond to the current multidimensional crisis we must construct new forms of living that break away from the dualistic ways of thinking that we have inherited from modernity.
Gemeinsam Musizieren und die Soziologie der Musik
Authors: Vollmer Theresa
Published: October 2023

Die in diesem Kapitel vorläufig leitende Fragestellung lautet: Wie musizieren Menschen in Streichensembles gemeinsam? (Kapitel II). Sie bildet die Grundlage für den hier dargelegten Forschungsstand der Soziologie der Streichensembles und wird am Schluss des Kapitels zur Forschungsfrage präzisiert. Da es sich um eine soziologische Arbeit handelt, scheint es zunächst naheliegend, sich auf soziologische Untersuchungen zu fokussieren.
Erratum to: Q-curvature and path integral complexity
Authors: Camargo Hugo A. , Caputa Pawel , Nandy Pratik
Published: October 2023

A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP04(2022)081
Predicting Postoperative Complications in Patients Undergoing Colorectal Surgery with an Enhanced Recovery Pathway
Authors: Ren Li , Lv Feng , Min Su , Jin Juying , Qin Peipei
Published: October 2023

Background

Reducing postoperative complications is the essential requirement of the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) program. This study aimed to identify the key perioperative components affecting postoperative complications in patients undergoing colorectal surgery with ERAS.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study included all patients who underwent major colorectal surgery with ERAS program between February 2019 and June 2020, all perioperative information was retrieved from a database. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify predictors for complications within 30 days postoperatively, and a nomogram model was drawn to visualize the model. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and calibration curve were used to evaluate the model performance.

Results

We enrolled 649 patients and 72 patients (11.1%) had at least 1 complication within 30 days postoperatively. Multivariate analyses showed that minimally invasive surgery [odds ratio (OR) 0.323; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.168–0.620] was associated with a decreased of the complications. However, preoperative anemia (OR 2.052; 95%CI 1.073–3.928) and old age (OR 1.927; 95%CI 1.022–3.632) were independent risk factors for complications within 30 days postoperatively. The C‐index of the nomogram was 0.735 (95%CI 0.694–0.776). Calibration curve showed a relatively good agreement between predicted value and observed outcome. In the validation set, the nomogram showed an area under the ROC curve of 0.729 (95%CI 0.680–0.778).

Conclusions

This study suggests that preoperative anemia, old age and minimally invasive surgery may individually influence the prognosis of patients undergoing major colorectal surgery with an enhanced recovery pathway.

Trial registration Clinical Trial Registry (number: ChiCTR2000037513).
The comorbidity and co-medication profile of patients with progressive supranuclear palsy
Authors: Greten Stephan , Wegner Florian , Jensen Ida , Krey Lea , Rogozinski Sophia , Fehring Meret , Heine Johanne , Doll-Lee Johanna , Pötter-Nerger Monika , Zeitzschel Molly , Hagena Keno , Pedrosa David J. , Eggers Carsten , Bürk Katrin , Trenkwalder Claudia , Claus Inga , Warnecke Tobias , Süß Patrick , Winkler Jürgen , Gruber Doreen , Gandor Florin , Berg Daniela , Paschen Steffen , Classen Joseph , Pinkhardt Elmar H. , Kassubek Jan , Jost Wolfgang H. , Tönges Lars , Kühn Andrea A. , Schwarz Johannes , Peters Oliver , Dashti Eman , Priller Josef , Spruth Eike J. , Krause Patricia , Spottke Annika , Schneider Anja , Beyle Aline , Kimmich Okka , Donix Markus , Haussmann Robert , Brandt Moritz , Dinter Elisabeth , Wiltfang Jens , Schott Björn H. , Zerr Inga , Bähr Mathias , Buerger Katharina , Janowitz Daniel , Perneczky Robert , Rauchmann Boris-Stephan , Weidinger Endy , Levin Johannes , Katzdobler Sabrina , Düzel Emrah , Glanz Wenzel , Teipel Stefan , Kilimann Ingo , Prudlo Johannes , Gasser Thomas , Brockmann Kathrin , Hoffmann Daniel C. , Klockgether Thomas , Krause Olaf , Heck Johannes , Höglinger Günter U. , Klietz Martin
Published: October 2023

Background

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is usually diagnosed in elderly. Currently, little is known about comorbidities and the co-medication in these patients.

Objectives

To explore the pattern of comorbidities and co-medication in PSP patients according to the known different phenotypes and in comparison with patients without neurodegenerative disease.

Methods

Cross-sectional data of PSP and patients without neurodegenerative diseases (non-ND) were collected from three German multicenter observational studies (DescribePSP, ProPSP and DANCER). The prevalence of comorbidities according to WHO ICD-10 classification and the prevalence of drugs administered according to WHO ATC system were analyzed. Potential drug–drug interactions were evaluated using AiDKlinik®.

Results

In total, 335 PSP and 275 non-ND patients were included in this analysis. The prevalence of diseases of the circulatory and the nervous system was higher in PSP at first level of ICD-10. Dorsopathies, diabetes mellitus, other nutritional deficiencies and polyneuropathies were more frequent in PSP at second level of ICD-10. In particular, the summed prevalence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases was higher in PSP patients. More drugs were administered in the PSP group leading to a greater percentage of patients with polypharmacy. Accordingly, the prevalence of potential drug–drug interactions was higher in PSP patients, especially severe and moderate interactions.

Conclusions

PSP patients possess a characteristic profile of comorbidities, particularly diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The eminent burden of comorbidities and resulting polypharmacy should be carefully considered when treating PSP patients.
Common pathogenic bacteria-induced reprogramming of the host proteinogenic amino acids metabolism
Authors: Li Xiao-yue , Zeng Zi-xin , Cheng Zhi-xing , Wang Yi-lin , Yuan Liang-Jun , Zhai Zhi-yong , Gong Wei
Published: October 2023

Apart from cancer, metabolic reprogramming is also prevalent in other diseases, such as bacterial infections. Bacterial infections can affect a variety of cells, tissues, organs, and bodies, leading to a series of clinical diseases. Common Pathogenic bacteria include Helicobacter pylori, Salmonella enterica, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Staphylococcus aureus, and so on. Amino acids are important and essential nutrients in bacterial physiology and support not only their proliferation but also their evasion of host immune defenses. Many pathogenic bacteria or opportunistic pathogens infect the host and lead to significant changes in metabolites, especially the proteinogenic amino acids, to inhibit the host’s immune mechanism to achieve its immune evasion and pathogenicity. Here, we review the regulation of host metabolism, while host cells are infected by some common pathogenic bacteria, and discuss how amino acids of metabolic reprogramming affect bacterial infections, revealing the potential adjunctive application of amino acids alongside antibiotics.
Comparison of computational fluid dynamics with transcranial Doppler ultrasound in response to physiological stimuli
Authors: Caddy Harrison T. , Thomas Hannah J. , Kelsey Lachlan J. , Smith Kurt J. , Doyle Barry J. , Green Daniel J.
Published: October 2023

Cerebrovascular haemodynamics are sensitive to multiple physiological stimuli that require synergistic response to maintain adequate perfusion. Understanding haemodynamic changes within cerebral arteries is important to inform how the brain regulates perfusion; however, methods for direct measurement of cerebral haemodynamics in these environments are challenging. The aim of this study was to assess velocity waveform metrics obtained using transcranial Doppler (TCD) with flow-conserving subject-specific three-dimensional (3D) simulations using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Twelve healthy participants underwent head and neck imaging with 3 T magnetic resonance angiography. Velocity waveforms in the middle cerebral artery were measured with TCD ultrasound, while diameter and velocity were measured using duplex ultrasound in the internal carotid and vertebral arteries to calculate incoming cerebral flow at rest, during hypercapnia and exercise. CFD simulations were developed for each condition, with velocity waveform metrics extracted in the same insonation region as TCD. Exposure to stimuli induced significant changes in cardiorespiratory measures across all participants. Measured absolute TCD velocities were significantly higher than those calculated from CFD (P range < 0.001–0.004), and these data were not correlated across conditions (r range 0.030–0.377, P range 0.227–0.925). However, relative changes in systolic and time-averaged velocity from resting levels exhibited significant positive correlations when the distinct techniques were compared (r range 0.577–0.770, P range 0.003–0.049). Our data indicate that while absolute measures of cerebral velocity differ between TCD and 3D CFD simulation, physiological changes from resting levels in systolic and time-averaged velocity are significantly correlated between techniques.
Identifying relevant psychosocial factors in the care of people with dementia: findings of a focus group study with health professionals and informal caregivers
Authors: Ross Sabrina D. , Ziegert Nadja , Rodriguez Francisca S.
Published: October 2023

Aim

The extent to which psychosocial factors are considered in the treatment and care of people with dementia is unknown, despite their promising treatment effects. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the relevance, implementation, and the challenges of integrating psychosocial factors in dementia care.

Subject and methods

A qualitative design, in adherence to the COREQ checklist, was used with three expert focus groups in the treatment and care of people with dementia (10 health professionals and 6 informal caregivers). The focus group discussions were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

Results

It emerged that psychosocial factors, particularly social contact, seem to come with a beneficial effect on daily life performance and general well-being. Psychosocial interventions also seem to aid people with dementia in experiencing competency. Findings also indicate that needs, interests, and preserved abilities should be the focus when deciding on the integration of psychosocial factors into care. Perceived barriers to the implementation of psychosocial factors in daily life were bureaucracy, inadequate staffing, cost, societal challenges, and limited offers of appropriate psychosocial services.

Conclusion

Psychosocial factors were consistently perceived as beneficial. Programs should be developed to address the barriers and implement model projects within the respective medical health care system to serve the dementia patients in the community as a whole.
Epistemological Implications of Perceptual Pluralism
Authors: Pantazakos Themistoklis
Published: October 2023

Perceptual systems that integrate different principles and/or a different architecture at large may produce substantially varied outputs from the same scene. I call this thesis perceptual pluralism and I bring related empirical evidence to bear on the epistemological debate on perception. I argue that perceptual pluralism, coupled with the position that at least some different kinds of perception are equally successful in guiding interaction with the world, serve to undermine the thesis that the typical human perception is uniquely veridical. Last, I consider perspectival realism as the epistemological stance that is prospectively best suited to this state of affairs, and provide a method for evaluating whether this prospect holds up.
Residual waste management in London, England: a reality check
Authors: Minhas Nadia , Gerassimidou Spyridoula , Iacovidou Eleni
Published: October 2023

Residual waste is a key fraction of municipal solid waste generated, yet its management is poorly understood and has gained little attention over the past years. Using London as a case study, the present study analyses the amount of residual waste collected and managed to check on how well ahead the UK is in making progress on achieving the circular economy principles. The study found that 5 Mt of residual waste is reported to be managed in London, of which 3.5 Mt is managed via recovery operations and 1.59 Mt is managed via disposal operations. For the latter, landfills are the principal disposal option taking in 0.82 Mt of residual waste each year. Amongst the recovery options, incineration with energy recovery, is the most prevalent, accounting for the management of 1.44 Mt of residual waste. This highlights the presence of an important technological lock-in that could jeopardise UK’s ability to achieve its net zero carbon ambition. It is worth noting that the data collated and analysed depicts the movements of residual waste rather than its final treatment, pointing to blind spots in the final fate of residual waste as well as potential double counting; both of which prevent decision- and policy-making. Therefore, the need for transparency in data recording and monitoring and the creation of a level playing field for all stakeholders involved in residual waste management are of paramount importance in gradually breaking reliance on destructive treatment processes. This could empower improved segregation of waste at source, and in turn, enable the better management of residual waste. The study underlines that residual waste has a significant role to play in making the transition to a circular economy and therefore is imperative to pave the way for future policy direction on residual waste management.
Using social norms to explain giving behavior
Authors: Eckel Catherine C. , Hoover Hanna G. , Krupka Erin L. , Sinha Nishita , Wilson Rick K.
Published: October 2023

Transfers of resources in dictator games vary significantly by the characteristics of recipients. We focus on social norms and demonstrate that variation in the recipient changes both giving and injunctive norms and may offer an explanation for differences in giving. We elicit generosity using dictator games, and social norms using incentivized coordination games, with two different recipient types: an anonymous student and a charitable organization. A within-subjects design ensures that other factors are held constant. Our results show that differences in giving behavior are closely related to differences in social norms of giving across contexts. Controlling for individual differences in beliefs about the norm, subjects do not weight compliance with the norms in the student recipient or charity recipient dictator game differently. These results suggest that the impact of context on giving co-occurs with an impact on social norms.
Comorbidity, Criminality, and Costs of Patients Treated for Gambling Disorder in Denmark
Authors: Vestergaard Søren Viborg , Ulrichsen Sinna Pilgaard , Dahl Christian Møller , Marcussen Thomas , Christiansen Christian Fynbo
Published: October 2023

Gambling disorder is associated with increased mental comorbidity, unhealthy lifestyle, criminality, and costs-of-illness, but the available evidence is mainly based on self-reported survey data. We examined the registry-recorded mental and somatic comorbidities, medication use, criminality, and costs-of-illness associated with gambling disorder. We identified individuals diagnosed with or treated for gambling disorder in hospitals or specialized treatment centers during 2013–2017 and matched them by age and sex to general population comparisons. Using individual-level healthcare and socioeconomic registries, we characterized their history of mental and somatic comorbidities, medication use, and criminality. We estimated their cost-of-illness of welfare services (direct) and lowered productivity (indirect) using the human capital approach. We identified 1381 individuals with gambling disorder, primarily young (median age: 34 years) men (87%). Individuals with gambling disorder more frequently than their comparisons had previous hospital-recorded comorbidity [e.g., myocardial infarction (0.8% vs. 0.5%)], medication use [e.g., respiratory system drugs (35.6% vs. 28.6%)], and hospital-recorded or pharmacologically treated mental comorbidity [e.g., depression (39.8% vs. 14.9%)]. Also, sentenced criminality was much more common in individuals with gambling disorder (7.0%) than in comparisons (1.1%). The estimated attributable direct costs were €4.0 M corresponding to €2.9 K per person with gambling disorder, and attributable indirect costs were €17.6 M, corresponding to €13.2 K per person with gambling disorder in 2018. In conclusion, individuals diagnosed with or treated for gambling disorder have a high burden of mental and somatic comorbidities as well as criminality compared with the general population. This needs attention to minimize the societal and personal costs of gambling disorder.
Fourteenth Annual ENBDC Workshop: Methods in Mammary Gland Biology and Breast Cancer
Authors: Chalmers Silke Blair , van der Wal Tanne , Fre Silvia , Jonkers Jos
Published: October 2023

The fourteenth annual workshop of the European Network for Breast Development and Cancer (ENBDC) on Methods in Mammary Gland Biology and Breast Cancer was held on April 26th − 29th in Weggis, Switzerland. For the first time, early career researchers organised and took part in an additional ECR workshop on the 26th of April, which was received with great enthusiasm. The topics of the main workshop included mammary branching and morphogenesis, novel experimental systems (model organisms), systemic influences on tumour progression and the tumour microenvironment. Novel and recent findings were shared across excellent oral and poster presentations.
Rational Emotive and Cognitive Behavior Coaching Intervention for Promoting College Students’ Financial Risk Tolerance and Attitudes Towards Financial Risk
Authors: Ololo Kennedy , Eseadi Chiedu , Nwali Anthony Chukwuma , Onuorah Adaorah R. , Abonor Lazarus Bassey , Kanu Catherine Chiugo , Okwuwa Charles Onuora , Eneogu Njideka , Umaru Musa Emmanuel , Ogbueghu Sylvester N. , Nnachi Robert Azu , Ohia Nkiru Christiana , Okoro Livinus Ugwu , Modum Ikenna Chijioke , Nnamani Chidiebere
Published: October 2023

In this study, we reported the effect of an online business coaching intervention based on the rational-emotive and cognitive behavior therapy coaching (RE-CBT coaching) approach that was tested to determine if it can improve college students’ financial risk tolerance and attitudes towards financial risk. The researchers used an open label, group randomized control design. During the study, fifty-four participants were part of the online business coaching group, whereas fifty-three participants were part of the control group. Prior to and immediately after the coaching program, as well as three months later, quantitative data was collected. Posttest data based on test of between-subjects effects revealed that online business coaching program based on RE-CBT coaching approach was significantly helpful in the improvement of students’ financial risk tolerance and attitudes toward financial risk compared to control group. Follow-up data based on test of between-subjects effects further revealed that the significantly helpful effects of online business coaching program based on RE-CBT coaching approach on students’ financial risk tolerance and attitudes toward financial risk were sustained when compared to control group. According to the findings, online business coaching based on RE-CBT coaching approach has the potential to enhance the financial risk tolerance and attitudes toward financial risk among college students.
Assessment of antioxidant activity of pure graphene oxide (GO) and composite V2O5/GO using DPPH radical and H2O2 scavenging assays
Authors: Sadiq Huma , Sadiq Hanan , Sohail Amir , Basit Abdul , Akhtar Naseem , Batool Kiran , Hisaindee Soleiman , Asghar Lubna
Published: October 2023

In this research, the Co precipitation method was utilized to synthesize a nanocomposite of vanadium oxide (V2O5) and graphene oxide (GO). Pure GO was synthesized by the modified hammers method. Using a 1:2 ratio of GO and V2O5 and heating in the oven at 70 °C leading to the formation of V2O5/GO nanocomposite. By grafting of GO on V2O5 surface, a high range of graphene oxidation in V2O5/GO allowed for better reduction with V2O5 metal-oxide. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra provide evidence of the distinct phase of graphene oxide formation. The antioxidant activity of V2O5/GO nanocomposite was conducted in two vitro assays, focusing on neutralization of 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and H2O2 radicals. The uniqueness of the nanocomposite was evident from its concentration-dependent antioxidant activities. Interestingly, the V2O5/GO samples has showed 60% antioxidant performance in the H2O2 assays compared to its constituent.
Synthesizing Retinal Images using End-To-End VAEs-GAN Pipeline-Based Sharpening and Varying Layer
Authors: Saeed Ali Q , Sheikh Abdullah Siti Norul Huda , Che-Hamzah Jemaima , Abdul Ghani Ahmad Tarmizi , Abu-ain Waleed Abdel karim
Published: October 2023

This study attempts to synthesize a realistic-looking fundus image from a morphologically changed vessel structure using the newly proposed sharpening and varying vessels technique (SVV). This technique sharpens the reconstructed vessels and introduces variation to their structure to generate multiple images from a single input mask. This helps to reduce the reliance on expensive and scarce annotated medical data. The study also aims to overcome the limitations of current methods, such as unrealistic optic disc boundaries, extreme vessel tortuosity, and missed optic discs. This is mainly due to the fact that existing models penalize their weights based on the difference between real and synthetic images using only a single mask. Therefore, their emphasis is on generating the input mask while disregarding other important fundoscopic features. Inspired by the recent progress in Generative Adversarial Nets (GANs) and Variational Autoencoder (VAE), the proposed approach was able to preserve the geometrical shape of critical fundus characteristics. Visual and quantitative results indicate that the produced images are considerably distinct from the ones used for training. However, they also exhibit anatomical coherence and a reasonable level of visual. The data utilized in this study and the programming code necessary to recreate the experiment can be accessed at https://github.com/AliSaeed86/SVV_GAN.
A consensus-based alternating direction method of multipliers approach to parallelize large-scale minimum-lap-time problems
Authors: Bartali L. , Grabovic E. , Gabiccini M.
Published: October 2023

Minimum-lap-time planning (MLTP) problems, which entail finding optimal trajectories for race cars on racetracks, have received significant attention in the recent literature. They are commonly addressed as optimal control problems (OCPs) and are numerically discretized using direct collocation methods. Subsequently, they are solved as nonlinear programs (NLPs). The conventional approach to solving MLTP problems is serial, whereby the resulting NLP is solved all at once. However, for problems characterized by a large number of variables, distributed optimization algorithms, such as the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM), may represent a viable option, especially when multicore CPU architectures are available.

This study presents a consensus-based ADMM approach tailored to solving MLTP problems through a distributed optimization algorithm. The algorithm partitions the problem into smaller subproblems based on different sectors of a track, distributing them among multiple processors. ADMM is then used to ensure consensus among the distributed computational processes. In particular, here the term “consensus” denotes the requirement for each subproblem to achieve mutual agreement across the junction areas. The paper also outlines specific strategies leveraging domain knowledge to improve the convergence of the distributed algorithm. The ADMM approach is validated against the serial approach, and numerical results are presented for both single-lap and multilap scenarios. In both cases, the ADMM approach proves superior for problem dimensions of 70k+ variables compared to serial methods. In planning scenarios with complex vehicle models on long track horizons, i.e., for problems with 1M+ variables, the efficiency gain of the ADMM approach is substantial, and it becomes the only viable option to maintain computational times within acceptable limits.
Identifying accounting conservatism in the presence of skewness
Authors: Jarva Henry , Lof Matthijs
Published: October 2023

The asymmetric timeliness (AT) coefficient as a measure of accounting conservatism has been subject to much debate. We clarify the conditions under which the AT coefficient identifies accounting conservatism in the presence of skewness. Specifically, using an extensive simulation-based approach, we examine the joint impact of return skewness, earnings skewness, and return endogeneity. We show that skewness of returns and earnings distorts the AT coefficient as a measure of conservatism when returns are endogenous. While earnings skewness is a predicted consequence of conditional conservatism, return skewness is arguably unrelated to conservative reporting and cannot be tackled by simple skew reducing transformations or outlier-robust estimators. Empirically, we analyze AT and skewness of firms sorted on size and MTB, highlighting the importance of constant skewness across groups for accurate comparisons of accounting conservatism.
Understanding Reciprocity and the Importance of Civic Friendship
Authors: Neves Catarina
Published: October 2023

This article aims to contribute to the existing literature on the virtues and challenges of political liberalism. It argues that the principle of reciprocity can only sustain political agreement under pluralism, if citizens share a relationship of civic friends, based on mutual recognition as equals (Lister in Anal Kritik 2011, pp. 91–112), a non-prudential concern for the interest of others (Leland and van Wietmarschen in J Moral Philos 14, 2017, pp. 142–167) and shared experiences that can foster interpersonal trust. Inasmuch as this thicker definition of civic friendship is sound, and breeds a successful ground for civic reciprocity, it is argued that this renders the concept of civic reciprocity culturally sensitive in at least four ways: how citizens commit to reciprocity, what political values and institutional arrangements they deem reasonable and how they choose to cooperate are all influenced by culture. While this makes the project of multiculturalism more challenging, it does not make it impossible. Rather, it reminds us that while the formal requirement of reciprocity is important, it is a relational value anchored in how citizens relate to one another. Therefore, for multiculturalism to be successful, policies that strengthen ties of civic friendship need to be implemented.
The policy-planning capacity of the American corporate community: corporations, policy-oriented nonprofits, and the inner circle in 1935–1936 and 2010–2011
Authors: Mills Tom , Domhoff G. William
Published: October 2023

Using a combination of network analysis and descriptive statistics, this study examines the extent to which six important and longstanding policy-oriented nonprofit organizations — foundations, think tanks, and policy-discussion groups — were connected via their directors with the 250 largest corporations in the United States in 1935–1936 and 2010–2011. The results demonstrate that the six nonprofit organizations included in the study were well integrated into corporate networks in both periods, and had an even greater integrative role in 2010–2011 than they did in 1935–1936. This finding supports the hypothesis that policy-oriented nonprofit organizations allow the corporate community to develop proposals, and to reach consensus, on major policy issues. This hypothesis is further supported by an overview of existing studies that illustrate the success of these organizations in shaping policy outcomes on a range of issues. Based on the overall results, the longstanding claim that corporations influence government primarily or solely at the “interest-group” level can be supplemented by the conclusion that policy-oriented nonprofits support a policy-planning process that links the corporate community to government on general issues. In addition, the findings cast doubt on the claim that the corporate community has lost its capacity for policy cohesion in recent decades, due primarily to a “fracturing” caused by a decline in bank centrality. Since general policies have been created within the policy-planning process since at least the mid-1930s, the decline in bank centrality is irrelevant to the corporate community’s ability to formulate general policy proposals.
Reimagining modern politics in the European mountains: confronting the traditional commons with the neo-rural conception of the common good
Authors: Vaccaro Ismael , Beltran Oriol , Del Mármol Camila
Published: October 2023

Since at least the 1970s, the countryside of Western Europe has been the site of a myriad of “new” communal initiatives. Rural areas that were abandoned during the last century have witnessed the arrival of new inhabitants. These newcomers often flock to the mountains escaping urban lifestyles characterized by individualism, mass-oriented livelihoods, and isolation. Many of these individuals move to areas like the Catalan Pyrenees, where common property and communal institutions have had a strong historical presence. In embracing rural life, these new inhabitants are looking for a more integrated social life in which the commons are, on the one hand, a form of collective private property, and, on the other, represent a more egalitarian way of life in which contributing to the collective effort is not only an efficient way of dealing with particularly harsh ecological conditions, but also an ideological statement that defines the community as something different: an alternative to urban capitalism. Two definitions of the commons are colliding in these mountains; two longstanding lines of political thought are converging and establishing a dialogue that is not always easy: (1) traditional ideologies of land ownership that defined common property over the centuries, not based on economic equality, but on private property and locally shared responsibility on the economic base of the community; and (2) utopian anti-capitalism that views the commons as an alternative mode of social organization and ownership based on egalitarianism.
Repeated Type III Burst Groups Associated with a B-Class Flare and a Narrow-Width CME
Authors: Pohjolainen Silja , McKay Derek , Talebpour Sheshvan Nasrin , Monstein Christian
Published: October 2023

We have analysed a solar event from 27 September 2021, which included a small GOES B-class flare, a compact and narrow-width CME, and radio type III bursts that appeared in groups. The long-duration, repeated metric type III burst emission indicates continuous electron acceleration at high altitudes. The flaring active region was surrounded by strong magnetic fields and large-scale loops, which guided the outflow of the CME plasmoid and hence the narrow, bullet-like appearance of the CME. Radio imaging and EUV observations confirmed the direction of particle propagation and the depletion of matter from the solar source region. We observed V-shaped type III burst emission lanes, which also explain the field configuration and suggest a possible location for repeated reconnection that occurred at a constant altitude.
Growth mindset and social comparison effects in a peer virtual learning environment
Authors: Sheffler Pamela , Cheung Cecilia S.
Published: October 2023

Peers become especially influential in adolescence, a developmental period marked by a nadir in school motivation. In the classroom, adolescents often engage in social comparison with their peers to ascertain their own academic competence, which can have substantial effects on their motivation and learning. The present experimental study examined how peer mindset and social comparison processes may interact to affect adolescents’ learning outcomes and responses to social comparison. Participants (N = 120, Mage = 12.73 years, 58% female) created avatars to virtually represent themselves and heard growth mindset or neutral statements from purported peer avatars. They then completed a series of online, self-report surveys measuring their learning outcomes, completed problem-solving tasks, and received feedback on their and their peers’ performance via a virtual leaderboard. Multivariate between-group comparison revealed growth mindset peers increased adolescents’ learning outcomes, while social comparison dampened outcomes. No interactions between peer growth mindset and social comparison were found.
Propulsive fractions of joint work during maximal sprint running
Authors: Simonsen E. B. , Stensvig M. , Andersen T. B. , Andersen M. S.
Published: October 2023

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to determine which of the ankle, knee or hip joint is the most important contributor to horizontal velocity during maximal sprint running. Furthermore, it was undertaken to quantify the fraction of propulsive power and work produced at each of the three joints.

Methods

Seven athletes of national class served as subjects for the study. One running cycle of each subject was recorded by four video cameras (240 f/s) and a recessed force platform. Inverse dynamics in 3D was calculated as well as an angle between joint moment and angular velocity to express propulsive power and propulsive joint work.

Results

Previous studies indicating the hip joint being the most important joint could not be confirmed by the present results due to large inter-individual differences for the hip joint. Averaged across all subjects, 64% of the normalized positive ankle joint work and 71% of the knee joint work were propulsive, while for the hip joint, four athletes showed 0%, one athlete 8%, and two athletes 96% and 97% propulsive work, respectively. For the whole leg, the propulsive fraction was 70% of the total positive work (range 40–87%). Normalized propulsive work was significantly correlated with maximal running velocity.

Conclusion

The whole leg should be considered as one functional unit in which one or more of the joints may dominate generation of propulsive joint work.
The effect of staggered boards on firm value during market shocks
Authors: Stenzaly Tristan Oliver
Published: October 2023

This paper analyzes the effect of staggered boards on firm value during market shocks, adding to the ongoing debate regarding whether staggered boards are value-enhancing or value-destroying. To examine the relationship between staggered boards, market shocks, and firm value, this study employs several alterations of an ordinary least squares regression, controlling for various firm-level characteristics. The findings suggest no homogeneous association between staggered boards and firm value during market shocks. Instead, the effect depends on specific firm characteristics such as R&D intensity, size, and S&P 1500 membership. I show that especially small non-S&P 1500 firms benefit from a staggered board during market shocks. The results support the theory that the effect of staggered boards is heterogeneous and that firms should therefore be allowed to decide independently whether to stagger their boards.
Buffered and Reduced Multidimensional Distribution Functions and Their Application in Optimization
Authors: Grechuk Bogdan , Zabarankin Michael , Mafusalov Alexander , Uryasev Stan
Published: October 2023

For a random variable, superdistribution has emerged as a valuable probability concept. Similar to cumulative distribution function (CDF), it uniquely defines the random variable and can be evaluated with a simple one-dimensional minimization formula. This work leverages the structure of that formula to introduce buffered CDF (bCDF) and reduced CDF (rCDF) for random vectors. bCDF and rCDF are shown to be the minimal Schur-convex upper bound and the maximal Schur-concave lower bound of the multivariate CDF, respectively. Special structure of bCDF and rCDF is used to construct an algorithm for solving optimization problems with bCDF and rCDF in objective or constraints. The efficiency of the algorithm is demonstrated in a case study on optimization of a collateralized debt obligation with bCDF functions in constraints.
Review of clinical and diagnostic imaging of the thymus: from age-related changes to thymic tumors and everything in between
Authors: Yamada Daisuke , Matsusako Masaki , Kurihara Yasuyuki
Published: October 2023

The thymus, a primary lymphoid organ of the immune system, undergoes several changes due to a variety of reasons, ranging from aging to pathological conditions. These changes can make distinguishing between benign and neoplastic changes in the thymus challenging, thereby complicating the histopathological diagnoses of thymic tumors. Moreover, most patients with thymic tumors are asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. Therefore, imaging plays an extremely important role in the evaluation of thymic lesions. In this review, we introduced the imaging characteristics of the thymus, ranging from benign findings, such as normal maturation and benign lesions, to neoplasms.
Die Begegnung von Gegensätzen als elementarer Baustein von Veränderungsprozessen in der Psychodrama-Psychotherapie
Authors: Canazei Markus , Fürst Jutta
Published: October 2023

Wie kommt das Neue in die Welt? In der Psychodrama-Psychotherapie braucht es hierfür Spontaneität und Kreativität. Verschiedene andere Disziplinen suchten auch nach Antworten auf diese Frage und beschrieben ein Prinzip: die Begegnung von Gegensätzen. Hector Sabelli konnte zeigen, dass lebende Systeme über bipolare Austauschprozesse mit der Umwelt Neues schaffen. Der vorliegende Artikel der Zeitschrift für Psychodrama und Soziometrie baut auf dieser Idee auf und beschreibt die Begegnung von Gegensätzen als bipolaren Austauschprozess. Die szenische Arbeit im Psychodrama schafft eine sichere Bühne für die Begegnung von Gegensätzen und ermöglicht bipolare Austauschprozesse. Mit dieser Interpretation tritt das Neue zentral über Begegnungsprozesse in die Welt.