bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Scientific Study of Religion/Spirituality, Forgiveness, and Hope
Authors: Washington-Nortey Melissa , Worthington Everett L. , Ahmed Rihana
Published: November 2022

Within both positive psychology and the psychology of religion and spirituality (R/S), forgiveness and hope are considered key virtues or character strengths. When relationships are beset by transgressions, engaging in forgiveness is related to hope that the relationship is repairable. When people participate in forgiveness interventions, they increase their hope. There are religious and spiritual, empirical, and theoretical reasons why forgiveness and hope are interrelated. We explore these reasons using an evidence-based theoretical model of forgiveness and relational spirituality, which is at the intersection of positive psychology and the psychology of R/S. The forgiveness and relational spirituality model combines basic and intervention research to conceptualize how R/S is related to forgiving. The model posits a sacred dimension to the interrelationships among the victim, offender, and transgression, which are embedded in a particular forgiveness-relevant event. We incorporate hope into this theoretical model and review recent scientific research (2012–2020) on hope, forgiveness, and R/S conjointly (k = 27) and on forgiveness and R/S specifically (k = 72). Almost all this research has been cross-sectional and correlational. We hypothesize causal connections to guide future research and propose ways to guide practitioners as they help people navigate relational forgiveness with more hope.
On the Integration of Positive Psychology and the Psychology of Religion/Spirituality: Logical, Normative, and Methodological Questions
Authors: Porter Steven L. , Baehr Jason , Porter Tenelle , Roberts Robert C.
Published: November 2022

When it comes to the integration of positive psychology and the psychology of religion/spirituality (R/S), there are three second-order, philosophical questions that need answering: Can these two fields be integrated? Should these two fields be integrated? And, if so, how is it best to integrate these two fields? Although this chapter touches on the logical and normative questions, it is the third, methodological question that receives the greatest attention. We argue that although, from a philosophical perspective, there are no methodological barriers to integrating these two subfields, there is a methodological bonanza in their integration. The golden opportunity is for integrative researchers to abandon a methodological exclusivism that privileges the research methods of the natural sciences in favor of a methodological pluralism that critically engages the philosophical schools and religious/spiritual traditions within which features of human well-being and religious/spiritual life are located. This more eclectic epistemology will provide a broader evidential basis for integrative conclusions and will help connect those conclusions to the realities and complexities of human lives.
Future Directions for the Positive Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
Authors: Davis Edward B. , Schnitker Sarah A. , Worthington Everett L. , Lacey Ethan K.
Published: November 2022

In this chapter, we synthesize the content of this Handbook and call for scientists and practitioners to devote focused attention to the intersections of positive psychology, religion, and spirituality. First, we summarize key themes from the Handbook’s sections and chapters. We highlight deficiencies that are currently inhibiting progress at the intersections of positive psychology and the psychology of religion and spirituality. Finally, to address these deficiencies, we conclude the Handbook by proposing an integrated field—the positive psychology of religion and spirituality—and then offer a prospectus for guiding science and practice in this unified field.
The Netherlands as a Country of Immigration
Authors: Jennissen Roel , Bovens Mark , Engbersen Godfried , Bokhorst Meike
Published: November 2022

Migration is leaving its mark on Dutch society. The Netherlands may not be a ‘nation of immigrants’ like Australia, the United States or Canada, where the majority of people are descended from migrants or have a migrant background themselves. But it is a ‘country of immigration’. Approximately one person in four was born abroad or has at least one parent who was. We begin this chapter by sketching four current trends in this respect.
Societal Challenges
Authors: Jennissen Roel , Bovens Mark , Engbersen Godfried , Bokhorst Meike
Published: November 2022

This chapter examines the challenges facing Dutch society once migrants have settled here. Their great diversity by origin makes it complicated to live side by side in neighbourhoods or communities, which can lead to feelings of loss, unease and insecurity. In this chapter we outline the most important findings in this area from our previous empirical research, as well as presenting new ones concerning the local impact of high levels of transient migration. The nature and scale of these challenges, especially those around social cohesion and labour-market participation, differ substantially from place to place. We therefore pay particular attention to that variety.
Reassessing the Policy Agenda
Authors: Jennissen Roel , Bovens Mark , Engbersen Godfried , Bokhorst Meike
Published: November 2022

The Dutch government must pursue a more active policy to familiarize all new migrants with our society and to incorporate them into it as effectively as possible. That is the main message of this publication. In recent decades, policy in this area has been too variable and too reactive. An active policy is necessary because migration to the Netherlands is structural in nature. The Netherlands is now a dynamic migration society, attracting people from all parts of the world. As a result, its diversity by origin is increasing. In addition, we have to deal with more and more transient migration: many immigrants who come to the Netherlands are just ‘passing through’ and so eventually leave again.
Inhibition of mitochondrial respiration by general anesthetic drugs
Authors: Fedorov Anton , Lehto Alina , Klein Jochen
Published: November 2022

General anesthetic drugs have been associated with various unwanted effects including an interference with mitochondrial function. We had previously observed increases of lactate formation in the mouse brain during anesthesia with volatile anesthetic agents. In the present work, we used mitochondria that were freshly isolated from mouse brain to test mitochondrial respiration and ATP synthesis in the presence of six common anesthetic drugs. The volatile anesthetics isoflurane, halothane, and (to a lesser extent) sevoflurane caused an inhibition of complex I of the electron transport chain in a dose-dependent manner. Significant effects were seen at concentrations that are reached under clinical conditions (< 0.5 mM). Pentobarbital and propofol also inhibited complex I but at concentrations that were two-fold higher than clinical EC50 values. Only propofol caused an inhibition of complex II. Complex IV respiration was not affected by either agent. Ketamine did not affect mitochondrial respiration. Similarly, all anesthetic agents except ketamine suppressed ATP production at high concentrations. Only halothane increased cytochrome c release indicating damage of the mitochondrial membrane. In summary, volatile general anesthetic agents as well as pentobarbital and propofol dose-dependently inhibit mitochondrial respiration. This action may contribute to depressive actions of the drugs in the brain.
A tensor-based approach to cause-of-death mortality modeling
Authors: Cardillo Giovanni , Giordani Paolo , Levantesi Susanna , Nigri Andrea
Published: November 2022

In various situations, a researcher analyses data stored in a matrix. Often, the information is replicated on different occasions that can be time-varying or refer to different conditions. In these situations, data can be stored in a multi-way array or tensor. In this work, using the Tucker4 model, we apply a tensor-based approach to the mortality by cause of death, hence considering data stored in a four-dimensional array. The dataset here considered is provided by the World Health Organization and refers to causes of death, ages, years, and countries. A deep understanding of changing mortality patterns is fundamental for planning public policies. Knowledge about mortality trends by causes of death and countries can help Governments manage their health care costs and financial planning, including public pensions, and social security schemes. Our analysis reveals that the Tucker4 model allows for extracting meaningful demographic insights, which are useful to understand that the rise in survival during the twentieth century was mostly determined by a reduction of the main causes of death.
FiSH: fair spatial hot spots
Authors: P. Deepak , Sundaram Sowmya S.
Published: November 2022

Pervasiveness of tracking devices and enhanced availability of spatially located data has deepened interest in using them for various policy interventions, through computational data analysis tasks such as spatial hot spot detection. In this paper, we consider, for the first time to our best knowledge, fairness in detecting spatial hot spots. We motivate the need for ensuring fairness through statistical parity over the collective population covered across chosen hot spots. We then characterize the task of identifying a diverse set of solutions in the noteworthiness-fairness trade-off spectrum, to empower the user to choose a trade-off justified by the policy domain. Being a novel task formulation, we also develop a suite of evaluation metrics for fair hot spots, motivated by the need to evaluate pertinent aspects of the task. We illustrate the computational infeasibility of identifying fair hot spots using naive and/or direct approaches and devise a method, codenamed FiSH, for efficiently identifying high-quality, fair and diverse sets of spatial hot spots. FiSH traverses the tree-structured search space using heuristics that guide it towards identifying noteworthy and fair sets of spatial hot spots. Through an extensive empirical analysis over a real-world dataset from the domain of human development, we illustrate that FiSH generates high-quality solutions at fast response times. Towards assessing the relevance of FiSH in real-world context, we also provide a detailed discussion of how it could fit within the current practice of hot spots policing, as read within the historical context of the evolution of the practice.
Social Presence and Social Facilitation in Gambling: Some Comments on Yokomitsu et al. (2022)
Authors: Griffiths Mark D.
Published: November 2022

This brief commentary adds to the recent study by paper by Yokomitsu, Kono and Takada (2022). Their study examined social presence in gambling by experimentally investigating the effects of the presence of other people on risky betting among high-risk gamblers. This commentary argues that the paper by Yokomitsu et al. provided a highly selective review on available studies and omitted many of the key studies in the area of social presence and social facilitation in which their findings could have been compared. The commentary also briefly outlines a number of studies that have I co-authored in this area over the past three decades using a variety of different methodologies (e.g., non-participant observation studies, experiments, data mining of account-based tracking data), none of which were mentioned by Yokomitsu et al. despite their clear relevance to this area.
Contextual factors influencing medicines-related interventions to support safe transitions for care home residents post hospital discharge: a systematic review and meta-ethnographic synthesis
Authors: Kandiah Janani , Nazar Hamde , Blacklock Jeanette , Robinson Anna , Wright David
Published: November 2022

Background

Residents of care or nursing homes are at a higher risk of medication-related harm, especially during care transitions. No medicines-related intervention has been identified that supports the safe transition for these residents moving into their residence following hospital discharge. A model of care integrating a number of intervention components is suggested to be most effective

Aim

To investigate, via a systematic review and meta-ethnography, the factors which influence the impact of medicines related interventions.

Method

In December 2020, Pubmed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL Complete were systematically searched. All studies reporting on medicines-related interventions for residents following hospital discharge were included. Quality assessment was undertaken with a validated tool. Meta-ethnography was used to investigate the factors which influenced how interventions did, or did not work. Findings were mapped to a validated conceptual framework for integrated care.

Results

From 3884 studies, nine met the inclusion criteria and were analysed. These were generally of medium quality (n = 6). The interventions were diverse: some tackled the transition process, some tackled follow-up care and some interventions involved both. The meta-ethnography, using the a priori conceptual framework, captured factors reported within the studies that influenced implementation, delivery and/or outcomes.

Conclusion

The review and synthesis informed the development of a conceptual model for transitionary care for this population group. Researchers and decision-makers can use this as a tool to understand their local context and inform future intervention design, implementation and evaluation in this clinical area.
Comparison of three health-related quality of life instruments in relation to visual acuity: EQ-5D, 15D, and EUROHIS-QOL8
Authors: Purola Petri K. M. , Koskinen Seppo V. P. , Uusitalo Hannu M. T.
Published: November 2022

Purpose

To compare three health-related quality of life (HRQoL) instruments in detecting the effect of distance visual acuity (VA) on generic HRQoL in an adult population.

Methods

We used cross-sectional, population-based data from a nationwide health survey conducted in Finland in 2011–2012. It included three self-reported HRQoL instruments, EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D), 15D, and EUROHIS-QOL8, and a health examination in which habitual distance VA was measured binocularly. We assessed 3764 survey participants aged 30 years and older with information available on these parameters. The comparability and sensitivity of the instruments were evaluated using Pearson correlation coefficients and multivariable linear regression in different VA groups.

Results

EQ-5D and 15D index scores showed strong positive correlation (0.65–0.74) with each other regardless of distance VA, whereas EUROHIS-QOL8 index score showed moderate-to-strong correlation (0.46–0.79) with EQ-5D and 15D. All three instruments showed a negative trend with deteriorating VA, although EQ-5D and 15D showed better sensitivity than EUROHIS-QOL8. When adjusted for age, gender, and co-morbidities, adequate vision (VA 0.63–0.8), weak vision (VA 0.32–0.5), and impaired vision or worse (VA ≤ 0.25) were independently associated with declined EQ-5D and 15D, whereas declined EUROHIS-QOL8 was associated only with adequate and weak vision.

Conclusion

All three instruments can be viable tools in evaluating the relation between vision and HRQoL. While 15D is preferred due to its wide coverage of dimensions, EQ-5D can be an equal alternative, as it has less respondent burden. The feasibility of EUROHIS-QOL8 on detecting differences between lower VA levels may require further evidence.
The interdependence between market structure and the quality of audited reports: the case of non-audit services
Authors: Bleibtreu Christopher , Stefani Ulrike
Published: November 2022

This paper addresses the effects of a prohibition of providing non-audit services (NAS) to audit clients. By combining a strategic auditor–client game with a circular market-matching model that has an endogenous number of auditors, we take into account the interdependence between the auditors’ and clients’ incentives, the market structure, and the quality of audited reports. We show that the regulation’s effects depend on the preexisting audit market concentration and the types of blacklisted NAS. In sharp contrast to the effects that regulators desire, a prohibition of providing NAS to audit clients can further increase audit market concentration and decrease the quality of audited reports if the fees that auditors previously earned from providing the blacklisted NAS were relatively high, compared to the reduction in audit costs that result from spillovers. In contrast, a prohibition of the NAS that generate intense spillovers and low NAS fees can have the unexpected—but desired—effect of decreasing market concentration; however, reporting quality also decreases.
Constructing Universities for Democracy
Authors: Kristinsson Sigurður
Published: November 2022

Universities can sharpen their commitment to democracy through institutional change. This might be resisted by a traditional understanding of universities. The question arises whether universities have defining purposes that demarcate possible university policy, strategic planning, and priority setting. These are significant questions because while universities are among our most stable long-term institutions, there is little consensus on what they are, what they are for, and what makes them valuable. This paper argues that universities can in fact be organized around a wide variety of purposes without thereby becoming any less real as universities. Normative discourse around universities should therefore be unafraid to consider novel ideas that test the limits of our current university concept and our entrenched practices. The argument applies fresh insights from feminist philosophy. Haslanger’s (Haslanger, S. 2000. Gender and race: (What) are they? (What) do we want them to be? Noûs 34(1), 31-55, Haslanger, S. 2005. What are we talking about? The semantics and politics of social kinds. Hypatia 20(4): 10-26, Haslanger, S. 2012. Resisting reality: Social construction and social critique. Oxford University Press.) ameliorative account of gender and race provides a model for how to frame novel and critical ideas about universities. Ásta’s (Ásta. 2018. Categories we live by: The construction of sex, gender, race, and other social categories. New York: Oxford University Press.) conferralist framework explains how universities are socially constructed and where our university concept, social behavior, and normative discourse fits into that construction. Stakeholders have the power to create the social fact of whether an institution is a university and what being a university means in each context. However, stakeholders are a heterogenous group and contemporary universities are fragmented institutions in desperate need for an ameliorative account that would guide their construction toward democratic value. That account can build on a distinction between valuing universities as expressions of democracy, its symbols, components, and causal agents.
Pd-Doped SSZ-13 for Low-T NOx Adsorption: an Operando FT-IR Spectroscopy Study
Authors: Hamid Y. , Matarrese R. , Morandi S. , Castoldi L. , Lietti L.
Published: November 2022

In this study, mechanistic aspects of NO adsorption/desorption over a home-made Pd/SSZ-13 passive NOx adsorber (PNA) catalyst are investigated. Operando FT-IR spectroscopy and microreactor experiments are performed to envisage the performance of the catalyst and the pathway involved in NO adsorption, with particular emphasis to the impact of species such as C3H6 and CO. In the absence of C3H6 and CO, NO is observed to adsorb as nitrosyls (anhydrous and hydrated) over both Pd2+ and Pd+ species, and as nitrates. 80 μmolNOx/gcat (NO/Pd molar ratio of 0.8) are adsorbed. The stability of nitrosyls is higher in comparison to the nitrates in that the former initially dehydrate and further decompose at elevated temperatures (> 300 °C) leading to the evolution of NO. The presence of CO and C3H6 negatively affects the amounts of NO adsorbed (53 and 45 μmolNOx/gcat, respectively) due to the reduction of Pd sites. CO admission to the catalyst forms a variety of carbonyl species over Pd2+, Pd+ and Pd0 sites which upon NO admission are readily displaced and NO is adsorbed as hydrated/anhydrous nitrosyls of Pdn+. The nitrosyls so formed exhibit lower thermal stability in comparison to nitrosyls observed in the absence of CO and decompose below 300 °C. The addition of C3H6 leads to the apparent formation of oxidized species like acetone, acrolein and acetates, besides propylene adsorption. The NO adsorption in the presence of C3H6 leads to the formation of Pdn+(NO)(X) complexes; upon heating the decomposition of this complexes is observed at low temperatures along with propylene and water desorption. Formation of organic nitro-compounds is also observed that decompose at higher temperatures.
Recent advances in developing high-performance organic hole transporting materials for inverted perovskite solar cells
Authors: Sun Xianglang , Zhu Zonglong , Li Zhong’an
Published: November 2022

Inverted perovskite solar cells (PVSCs) have recently made exciting progress, showing high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 25% in single-junction devices and 30.5% in silicon/perovskite tandem devices. The hole transporting material (HTM) in an inverted PVSC plays an important role in determining the device performance, since it not only extracts/transports holes but also affects the growth and crystallization of perovskite film. Currently, polymer and self-assembled monolayer (SAM) have been considered as two types of most promising HTM candidates for inverted PVSCs owing to their high PCEs, high stability and adaptability to large area devices. In this review, recent encouraging progress of high-performance polymer and SAM-based HTMs is systematically reviewed and summarized, including molecular design strategies and the correlation between molecular structure and device performance. We hope this review can inspire further innovative development of HTMs for wide applications in highly efficient and stable inverted PVSCs and the tandem devices.

Graphical Abstract
Supplying a medieval metropolis: water management and agriculture in the hinterland of early Islamic Basra
Authors: Brown Peter J.
Published: November 2022

Following its foundation in the 630s CE, medieval Basra rapidly expanded to became one of the most populous cities of southern Iraq and the wider Gulf region. At its foundation, the city’s surrounding environment appears to have been poorly suited to sustaining a large urban population. This paper examines the different ways in which the early Islamic population of Basra transformed the immediate environs of the city to improve the urban water supply and the agricultural potential of the city’s hinterland. In particular, this included the construction of substantial canals connecting Basra with sources of water such as the marshes to the north of the city and the Shaṭṭ al-cArab—the river which forms at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates and flows past Basra to the Gulf. The tidal influence of the Gulf causes the water level of the Shaṭṭ al-cArab to rise and fall daily and, by exploiting this characteristic, the medieval population of Basra could irrigate large swathes of land surrounding the city. Analysis of historic satellite imagery reveals possible evidence for the infrastructure that made this possible—including the remains of field systems bounded by, and interspersed with, canals as well as large raised linear ridge features which occur in tandem with relict canal systems. This paper critically assesses the evidence for the dating of these features, potential scenarios for how they functioned and their relationship to the medieval city of Basra.
Organic agriculture, labour exchange, and social networks: a case study of smallholder farming in Bhutan
Authors: Tshotsho  , Lippert Christian , Feuerbacher Arndt
Published: November 2022

We examine the informal exchange of labour in farming villages with the successful adoption of labour-intensive farming practices. Previous studies have characterised the network pattern of labour exchange to relate such cooperative behaviour to the community’s social structure. We use network patterns from the literature and recreate the internal network structure of the labour exchange in selected Bhutanese villages to determine the type of social enforcement mechanisms used. Results show that labour exchange networks in these villages are characterised by a high prevalence of triad closure as an underlying social structure. These are completely connected structures within the labour exchange network in which any two farmers exchanging labour have a common farmer with whom both share labour. The results from our random graph modelling imply that villages with well-functioning labour exchange institutions may be most suitable for being promoted as “organic villages” as they can adapt to the high labour requirement that comes with organic farming. Future research should analyse how villages with different network structures produce different farm outcomes and how the village and farm-specific attributes affect their social enforcement mechanisms.
A systematic analysis of maximum tolerable tool wear in friction stir welding
Authors: Hasieber Michael , Wenz Felix , Grätzel Michael , Lenard James Andrew , Matthes Sebastian , Bergmann Jean Pierre
Published: November 2022

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state joining process with a wide range of applications in the E-mobility, automotive, aerospace and energy industries. However, FSW is subjected to specific challenges including comparatively high process forces and high requirements on the clamping technique as well as tool wear resulting from the tool-workpiece interaction and thermo-mechanical stresses. Geometric-related tool wear can cause premature tool failure, process instabilities or weld seam irregularities. Therefore, tool wear in general, wear limits and tool life are essential factors for the efficient and sustainable implementation of friction stir welding. Against this background, this study analysed areas of significant tool wear on the shoulder and probe as a function of process temperature, weld seam length and weld seam quality. This provided functional correlations for determining limiting conditions on maximum tolerable tool wear. Geometrical deviations of the tool, induced by wear, were detected experimentally at different measuring points on the probe and shoulder and varying weld seam length. The investigations were carried out using a force-controlled robotized welding setup in which AA-6060-T66 sheets with a thickness of 5 mm were joined by weld seams up to 500 m in length. To identify the maximum tolerable tool wear, the weld seam properties were determined by visual and metallographic inspections and by tensile tests at 50-m intervals on the weld seam. It was shown that a 50% reduction in rotational speed (lower temperatures) resulted in less wear and thus in an increase of tool life of up to 150%. In addition, it was shown that the shoulder, like the probe, was also subject to significant wear. These results can be incorporated into FSW maintenance schedules to maximize tool life and minimize scrap rates.
Weiterbildung und Geringqualifizierung in der Digitalisierung – Ein Review zu Kontextfaktoren der Weiterbildungsbeteiligung Geringqualifizierter
Authors: Mohajerzad Hadjar , Fliegener Luca , Lacher Sophie
Published: November 2022

Geringqualifizierte weisen im Vergleich zu anderen Qualifikationsgruppen die niedrigste Weiterbildungsbeteiligung auf. Vor dem Hintergrund der Digitalisierung und COVID-19-Pandemie wird Weiterbildung jedoch immer wichtiger für diese Zielgruppe. Mit Blick auf die betriebliche Weiterbildung wird eine soziale Selektivität von Geringqualifizierten deutlich. Mithilfe einer systematischen Literaturrecherche wurden Einflussfaktoren auf den Ebenen des Individuums, der Organisation, der Gesellschaft sowie der Politik auf die Weiterbildungsbeteiligung der Zielgruppe gesichtet. Insbesondere zeigt der Forschungsüberblick, dass häufiger quantitative Studien durchgeführt werden. Zugleich fehlt es noch an Studien, die institutionelle, organisationale und programmplanende Bedingungen untersuchen. Außerdem wurden während der COVID-19-Pandemie qualifikationsspezifische Unterschiede der Weiterbildungsbeteiligung deutlicher, woraus sich erste Indizien zur Weiterbildungsbeteiligung Geringqualifizierter unter Digitalisierungsbedingungen ableiten lassen.
Effect of honey and lemon juice on the physicochemical, nutritional, microbial and antioxidant properties of guava–pineapple jelly during storage periods
Authors: Molla Mohammad Mainuddin , Sabuz Ashfak Ahmed , Khan Md. Hafizul Haque , Chowdhury Md. Golam Ferdous , Miaruddin Md. , Alam Mahfujul , Khatun Anjumanara
Published: November 2022

Jellies are usually preserved by artificial preservatives where they have harmful side effects and health hazards especially to infants. Honey and fresh lemon extract juice is a natural preservative and is considered a good substitute for artificial preservative. Due to increasing level of demand regarding health concern issue safe food, an attempt has undertaken to formulate the artificial preservative free guava–pineapple jelly and their marketability, physicochemical, bioactive compounds, microbial and antioxidant properties analysis during storage. In this study, the jelly was formulated using artificial preservative potassium metabisulphite (KMS) (T1), natural preservative honey and fresh lemon extract juice (T2 and T3), without artificial and natural preservative (T4) using different proportion of guava–pineapple extracted juice. Results of different treated jelly showed that T2 and T3 jelly was nutritionally superior. Bioactive compounds and antioxidant properties was highly present in T2 and T3 jelly. The brightest color (L* and C*) and highest hue angle (H*) value was noted in honey and fresh lemon extract juice treated jelly T2 and T3 upto 8 months of storage but after 9 months, darkest color was noted gradually. The consumer acceptance was extended to honey and lemon extract juice treated jelly (T2 and T3) for their impressive color and flavor. High incidence of microbial load was recorded in preservative free (both natural and artificial) jelly (T4). Low incidence of microbial load obtained from this study gives an indication that T2 and T3 jelly is microbiologically safe as natural jelly. Shelf life of natural preservative treated jelly (T2 and T3) could be extended upto 8 months and artificial preservative treated jelly could be upto 9 months (T1) at ambient condition without any quality deterioration. Overall, honey and fresh lemon extract juice are valuable source of natural preservative for formulation of fruit jelly. The processors could process and preserve the fruit jelly with decent aroma by applying this technology as an alternative to artificial food additives.
Variation and change in Swiss German agreement morphology: Spatial, social, and attitudinal effects
Authors: Steiner Carina , Jeszenszky Péter , Leemann Adrian
Published: November 2022

This paper investigates the occurrence of inflected predicative adjectives, an optional yet distinguishing feature of German dialects spoken in southern Switzerland. We provide an in-depth analysis of the patterns of change of this morphosyntactic marker with a particular focus on extralinguistic factors. Historical records from 1950 were compared to contemporary data collected from 192 speakers across 49 localities in 2020–21. Our results corroborate previous reports indicating a substantial, real-time decline in inflected forms. Logistic mixed-effects modeling suggests that the inflection of predicative adjectives occurs more frequently among speakers who report tight social networks, have a strong local dialect identity, and regularly use one or more Romance languages. These findings support the claim that tight social networks and local dialect identity construction may lead to the preservation of conservative grammatical forms. Additionally, the effect of Romance languages highlights the role of transfer phenomena induced by language contact.
Evidence of large sturgeons in the Paleocene of North America
Authors: Brownstein Chase Doran
Published: November 2022

Ray-finned fishes comprise nearly half of extant vertebrate species and include several ancient lineages with fossil records that stretch over 200 Myr in time. One of these old clades, the sturgeons and paddlefishes, is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere and includes some of the largest known freshwater fishes. Yet, the fossil record of this lineage (Acipenseriformes) is poor compared to similarly ancient ray-finned fish clades. Here, I describe sturgeon fossils from two geological units in North America < 10 Myr younger than the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. Both come from individuals of ~1.5 m in length. These Paleogene forms establish the long history of large body size in Acipenseriforms and reveal sturgeons were some of the largest inhabitants of freshwater ecosystems that were still recovering from the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction.
Recovery of Laurentian cyclocystoids following Late Ordovician extinctions (Brassfield Formation, Llandovery; southwestern Ohio)
Authors: Ausich William I. , Zehler Nikki E.
Published: November 2022

Zygocycloides? foerstei n. sp. is described from the Llandovery (Aeronian) Brassfield Formation of southwestern Ohio. This is among the oldest reported Silurian cyclocystoids from North America and is the only North American Llandovery cyclocystoid that is preserved with a complete rim of marginal ossicles. Zygocycloides Smith and Paul, 1982 is most similar to Nicholsodiscus Glass et al., 2003 (Katian) and Perforocycloides Ewin et al., 2019 (Llandovery, Telychian), both from Anticosti Island, Québec. Cyclocystoids (Ordovician to Mississippian) survived Late Ordovician extinctions, and this discovery documents that this echinoderm clade was part of shallow-water, marine paleocommunities during the initial post-extinction transgression onto the Laurentian platform.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/3d3e092e-267b-4841-9245-6275d1eb79a1
THE INFLECTION POINTS IN FORMATIVE MAYA HISTORY: THE VIEW FROM CHAMPOTÓN, CAMPECHE, MEXICO
Authors: Ek Jerald
Published: November 2022

This study evaluates the degree of correspondence between chronological frameworks implemented in Maya studies and current archaeological evidence, focusing on dynamics in the Preclassic period in the Champotón River drainage, Campeche, Mexico. The earliest ceramics documented in Champotón, dating to the early facet of the Middle Preclassic, were part of a regional tradition that shared decorative modes with contemporary complexes across Mesoamerica. The transition between the early and late facets of the Middle Preclassic was an era of abrupt change, with communities in Champotón participating in the first widespread autochthonous material culture horizon of the Maya Lowlands. The ensuing centuries would be characterized by conservatism and growth, with spatial continuity in settlement locations and homogeneity in material culture through the Late Preclassic. These historical dynamics are not unique to coastal Campeche, but were embedded within broader historical developments during the Middle Preclassic period in the Maya Lowlands. Instead of forcing new evidence into an incongruent chronological framework, this article proposes a revision to the traditional periodization used in the Maya Lowlands.
Revisiting the Proof-Structure of Kant’s Transcendental Deduction
Authors: Kim Hyoung Sung
Published: November 2022

There is no consensus concerning how to understand the ‘two-step proof structure’ (§§15–20, 21–7) of the Transcendental Deduction in the B-edition of the Critique of Pure Reason. This disagreement invites a closer examination of what Kant might have meant by a ‘transcendental deduction’. I argue that the transcendental deduction consists of three tasks that parallel Kant’s broader project of a ‘critique’ of pure reason; first, an origin task to justify reason’s authority to use them; second, an analytical task that determines the conditions under which this authority can be legitimately exercised; and third, a dialectical task to determine the conditions under which this authority cannot be legitimately exercised. So long as we continue to read the B-Deduction solely in terms of its two-step proof structure, we overlook how Kant’s notion of ‘critique’ constitutes the real grounds for his argumentative strategy there.
Metformin abrogates Fusobacterium nucleatum-induced chemoresistance in colorectal cancer by inhibiting miR-361-5p/sonic hedgehog signaling-regulated stemness
Authors: Hong Xia-Lu , Yu Ta-Chung , Huang Xiao-Wen , Wang Ji-Lin , Sun Tian-Tian , Yan Ting-Ting , Zhou Cheng-Bei , Chen Hui-Min , Su Wen-Yu , Du Wan , Xiong Hua
Published: November 2022

Background

Chemotherapy resistance is the major cause of recurrence in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). A previous study found that Fusobacterium (F.) nucleatum promoted CRC chemoresistance. Additionally, metformin rescued F. nucleatum-induced tumorigenicity of CRC. Here, we aimed to investigate whether metformin could revert F. nucleatum-induced chemoresistance and explore the mechanism.

Methods

The role of metformin in F. nucleatum-infected CRC cells was confirmed using cell counting kit 8 assays and CRC xenograft mice. Stemness was identified by tumorsphere formation. Bioinformatic analyses were used to explore the regulatory molecules involved in metformin and F. nucleatum-mediated regulation of the sonic hedgehog pathway.

Results

We found that metformin abrogated F. nucleatum-promoted CRC resistance to chemotherapy. Furthermore, metformin attenuated F. nucleatum-stimulated stemness by inhibiting sonic hedgehog signaling. Mechanistically, metformin diminished sonic hedgehog signaling proteins by targeting the MYC/miR-361-5p cascade to reverse F. nucleatum-induced stemness, thereby rescuing F. nucleatum-triggered chemoresistance in CRC.

Conclusions

Metformin acts on F. nucleatum-infected CRC via the MYC/miR-361-5p/sonic hedgehog pathway cascade, subsequently reversing stemness and abolishing F. nucleatum-triggered chemoresistance. Our results identified metformin intervention as a potential clinical treatment for patients with chemoresistant CRC with high amounts of F. nucleatum.
Dietary long-chain omega 3 fatty acids modify sphingolipid metabolism to facilitate airway hyperreactivity
Authors: Heras Andrea , Gomi Rika , Young Madeline , Chang Chuchun L. , Wasserman Emily , Sharma Anurag , Wu Wenzhu , Gu Jinghua , Balaji Uthra , White Rachel , Permaul Perdita , Janahi Ibrahim , Worgall Tilla S. , Worgall Stefan
Published: November 2022

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) are essential nutrients that can affect inflammatory responses. While n-3 PUFAs are generally considered beneficial for cardiovascular disease and obesity, the effects on asthma, the most common inflammatory lung disease are unclear. While prenatal dietary n-3 PUFAs decrease the risk for childhood wheezing, postnatal dietary n-3 PUFAs can worsen allergic airway inflammation. Sphingolipid metabolism is also affected by dietary n-3 PUFAs. Decreased sphingolipid synthesis leads to airway hyperreactivity, besides inflammation, a cardinal feature of asthma, and common genetic asthma risk alleles lead to lower sphingolipid synthesis. We investigated the effect of dietary n-3 PUFAs on sphingolipid metabolism and airway reactivity. Comparing a fish-oil diet with a high n-3 PUFA content (FO) to an isocaloric coconut oil-enriched diet (CO), we found an n-3 PUFA-dependent effect on increased airway reactivity, that was not accompanied by inflammation. Lung and whole blood content of dihydroceramides, ceramides, sphingomyelins, and glucosylceramides were lower in mice fed the n-3 PUFA enriched diet consistent with lower sphingolipid synthesis. In contrast, phosphorylated long chain bases such as sphingosine 1-phosphate were increased. These findings suggest that dietary n-3 PUFAs affect pulmonary sphingolipid composition to favor innate airway hyperreactivity, independent of inflammation, and point to an important role of n-3 PUFAs in sphingolipid metabolism.
Nasal microbiome disruption and recovery after mupirocin treatment in Staphylococcus aureus carriers and noncarriers
Authors: Baede Valérie O. , Barray Anaïs , Tavakol Mehri , Lina Gérard , Vos Margreet C. , Rasigade Jean-Philippe
Published: November 2022

Nasal decolonization procedures against the opportunistic pathogen Staphylococcus aureus rely on topical antimicrobial drug usage, whose impact on the nasal microbiota is poorly understood. We examined this impact in healthy S. aureus carriers and noncarriers. This is a prospective interventional cohort study of 8 S. aureus carriers and 8 noncarriers treated with nasal mupirocin and chlorhexidine baths. Sequential nasal swabs were taken over 6 months. S. aureus was detected by quantitative culture and genotyped using spa typing. RNA-based 16S species-level metabarcoding was used to assess the living microbial diversity. The species Dolosigranulum pigrum, Moraxella nonliquefaciens and Corynebacterium propinquum correlated negatively with S. aureus carriage. Mupirocin treatment effectively eliminated S. aureus, D. pigrum and M. nonliquefaciens, but not corynebacteria. S. aureus recolonization in carriers occurred more rapidly than recolonization by the dominant species in noncarriers (median 3 vs. 6 months, respectively). Most recolonizing S. aureus isolates had the same spa type as the initial isolate. The impact of mupirocin-chlorhexidine treatment on the nasal microbiota was still detectable after 6 months. S. aureus recolonization predated microbiota recovery, emphasizing the strong adaptation of this pathogen to the nasal niche and the transient efficacy of the decolonization procedure.
Vitamin D status and severity of COVID-19
Authors: Nielsen Nete Munk , Junker Thor Grønborg , Boelt Sanne Grundvad , Cohen Arieh S. , Munger Kassandra L. , Stenager Egon , Ascherio Alberto , Boding Lasse , Hviid Anders
Published: November 2022

We explored the association between COVID-19 severity and vitamin D status using information from Danish nation-wide health registers, the COVID-19 surveillance database and stored blood samples from the national biobank. 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) was measured using tandem mass spectroscopy. The association between 25(OH)D levels and COVID-19 severity, classified hierarchical as non-hospitalized, hospitalized but not admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), admitted to ICU, and death, was evaluated by proportional odds ratios (POR) assuming proportionality between the four degrees of severity. Among 447 adults tested SARS-CoV-2 positive in the spring of 2020, low levels of 25(OH)D were associated with a higher risk of severe COVID-19. Thus, odds of experiencing more severe COVID-19 among individuals with insufficient (25 to < 50 nmol/L) and sufficient (≥ 50 nmol/L) 25(OH)D levels were approximately 50% of that among individuals with deficient levels (< 25 nmol/L) (POR = 0.49 (95% CI 0.25–0.94), POR = 0.51 (95% CI 0.27–0.96), respectively). Dividing sufficient vitamin D levels into 50 to < 75 nmol/L and ≥ 75 nmol/L revealed no additional beneficial effect of higher 25(OH)D levels. In this observational study, low levels of 25(OH)D were associated with a higher risk of severe COVID-19. A possible therapeutic role of vitamin D should be evaluated in well-designed interventional studies.
Highly ordered laser imprinted plasmonic metasurfaces for polarization sensitive perfect absorption
Authors: Tasolamprou Anna C. , Skoulas Evangelos , Perrakis George , Vlahou Matina , Viskadourakis Zacharias , Economou Eleftherios N. , Kafesaki Maria , Kenanakis George , Stratakis Emmanuel
Published: November 2022

We present polarization-sensitive gap surface plasmon metasurfaces fabricated with direct material processing using pulsed laser light, an alternative and versatile approach. In particular we imprint laser induced periodic surface structures on nanometer-thick Ni films, which are back-plated by a grounded dielectric layer with TiO2 and ZnO deposition followed by Au evaporation. The procedure results in a metal-insulator-metal type plasmonic metasurface with a corrugated top layer consisting of highly-ordered, sinusoidal shaped, periodic, thin, metallic nanowires. The metasurface sustains sharp, resonant gap surface plasmons and provides various opportunities for polarization control in reflection, which is here switched by the size and infiltrating material of the insulating cavity. The polarization control is associated with the polarization sensitive perfect absorption and leads to high extinction ratios in the near-IR and mid-IR spectral areas. Corresponding Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy measurements experimentally demonstrate that the fabrication approach produces metasurfaces with very well-defined, controllable, sharp resonances and polarization sensitive resonant absorption response which, depending on the insulating cavity size, impacts either the normal or the parallel to the nanowires polarization.
Serological fingerprints link antiviral activity of therapeutic antibodies to affinity and concentration
Authors: Fiedler Sebastian , Devenish Sean R. A. , Morgunov Alexey S. , Ilsley Alison , Ricci Francesco , Emmenegger Marc , Kosmoliaptsis Vasilis , Theel Elitza S. , Mills John R. , Sholukh Anton M. , Aguzzi Adriano , Iwasaki Akiko , Lynn Andrew K. , Knowles Tuomas P. J.
Published: November 2022

The effectiveness of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is highly variable. As target recognition of mAbs relies on tight binding affinity, we assessed the affinities of five therapeutic mAbs to the receptor binding domain (RBD) of wild type (A), Delta (B.1.617.2), and Omicron BA.1 SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.1.529.1) spike using microfluidic diffusional sizing (MDS). Four therapeutic mAbs showed strongly reduced affinity to Omicron BA.1 RBD, whereas one (sotrovimab) was less impacted. These affinity reductions correlate with reduced antiviral activities suggesting that affinity could serve as a rapid indicator for activity before time-consuming virus neutralization assays are performed. We also compared the same mAbs to serological fingerprints (affinity and concentration) obtained by MDS of antibodies in sera of 65 convalescent individuals. The affinities of the therapeutic mAbs to wild type and Delta RBD were similar to the serum antibody response, indicating high antiviral activities. For Omicron BA.1 RBD, only sotrovimab retained affinities within the range of the serum antibody response, in agreement with high antiviral activity. These results suggest that serological fingerprints provide a route to evaluating affinity and antiviral activity of mAb drugs and could guide the development of new therapeutics.