bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Understanding unforeseen production downtimes in manufacturing processes using log data-driven causal reasoning
Authors: Hagedorn Christopher , Huegle Johannes , Schlosser Rainer
Published: May 2022

In discrete manufacturing, the knowledge about causal relationships makes it possible to avoid unforeseen production downtimes by identifying their root causes. Learning causal structures from real-world settings remains challenging due to high-dimensional data, a mix of discrete and continuous variables, and requirements for preprocessing log data under the causal perspective. In our work, we address these challenges proposing a process for causal reasoning based on raw machine log data from production monitoring. Within this process, we define a set of transformation rules to extract independent and identically distributed observations. Further, we incorporate a variable selection step to handle high-dimensionality and a discretization step to include continuous variables. We enrich a commonly used causal structure learning algorithm with domain-related orientation rules, which provides a basis for causal reasoning. We demonstrate the process on a real-world dataset from a globally operating precision mechanical engineering company. The dataset contains over 40 million log data entries from production monitoring of a single machine. In this context, we determine the causal structures embedded in operational processes. Further, we examine causal effects to support machine operators in avoiding unforeseen production stops, i.e., by detaining machine operators from drawing false conclusions on impacting factors of unforeseen production stops based on experience.
Special entangled fermionic systems and exceptional symmetries
Authors: Lévay Péter
Published: May 2022

Special fermionic systems entered the realm of quantum chemistry in the seventies in the work of Borland and Dennis in the form of a toy model. This work was leading to a detailed study of the N-representability problem by Klyachko. The topic then has been reconsidered in the light of entanglement theory boiling down to the notion of entanglement polytopes. Recently building on certain properties of such special fermionic systems, a connection between the coupled cluster method and entanglement has been established. In this paper we show that precisely such a special class of systems also provides an interesting physical realization for structures related to the Lie algebras of exceptional groups. This result draws such exotic symmetry structures under the umbrella of entangled systems of physical relevance.
MiR-103-3p promotes hepatic steatosis to aggravate nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by targeting of ACOX1
Authors: Ding Jiexia , Xia Caixia , Cen Panpan , Li Siying , Yu Lifei , Zhu Jing , Jin Jie
Published: May 2022

Background

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a major risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma, and alterations in miRNA expression are related to the development of NAFLD. However, the role of miRNAs in regulating the development of NAFLD is still poorly understood.

Methods

We used qRT-PCR to detect the level of miR-103-3p in both cell and mouse models of NAFLD. Biochemical assays, DCF-DA assays, Oil red O staining and HE staining were used to detect the role of miR-103-3p in NAFLD development. Target genes of miR-103-3p were predicted using the TargetScan database and verified by qRT-PCR, western blot and dual-luciferase assays.

Results

The expression of miR-103-3p increased in both NAFLD model cells and liver tissues from the NAFLD mouse model. Inhibition of miR-103-3p significantly alleviated the accumulation of lipid droplets in free fatty acid-treated L02 cells and liver tissues from mice with NAFLD. Inhibition of miR-103-3p reduced the contents of H2O2, TG, ALT, and AST and ROS production while increasing the ATP content. Moreover, the miR-103-3p antagomir alleviated liver tissue lesions in mice with NAFLD. Further studies identified ACOX1, a key enzyme for the oxidation and decomposition of fatty acids, as a direct target of miR-103-3p.

Conclusions

These findings identified a negative regulatory mechanism between ACOX1 and miR-103-3p that promotes the pathogenesis of NAFLD and suggested that inhibition of miR-103-3p may be a potential treatment strategy for NAFLD.
Parameterizing Toxic Stress in Early Childhood: Maternal Depression, Maltreatment, and HPA-Axis Variation in a Pilot Intervention Study
Authors: Wagner Rachael E. , Jonson-Reid Melissa , Drake Brett , Kohl Patricia L. , Pons Laura , Zhang Yi , Fitzgerald Robert T. , Laudenslager Mark L. , Constantino John N.
Published: May 2022

Adverse experiences superseding a child’s capacity to sustain regulation of emotion and adaptive function are theorized to constitute “toxic stressors” when they induce a deleterious biological response within an individual. We ascertained presumptive parameters of toxic stress among 164 low-income infants and toddlers (ages 4–48 months) from 132 families enrolled in Early Head Start (EHS). We randomized a subset of these families into a pilot intervention arm of parenting education (the Incredible Years, TIY), which supplemented the EHS curriculum. Official report child abuse and neglect (CAN) and child behavior were serially ascertained over the course of the study. We observed relatively low associations among maternal depression, CAN, caregiver-child relationship quality, hair cortisol, and adverse child behavioral outcomes. Moreover, despite poverty and the high prevalence (51%) of CAN in this sample, the frequency of clinical-level internalizing and externalizing behavior among the children did not exceed that of the general population, by their parents’ report. The pilot supplementation of EHS with TIY improved attendance in group meetings but did not significantly reduce adverse behavioral outcomes or CAN. This study revealed marked independence of standard indices of toxic stress (child maltreatment, maternal depression, caregiver emotional unavailability) which have been presumed to be risk factors for the development of psychopathology. That they were weakly inter-correlated, and only modestly predictive of child behavioral outcomes in this EHS sample, caution against presumptions about the toxicity of individual stressors, highlight the importance of ascertaining risk (and compensatory influences) comprehensively, suggest buffering effects of programs like EHS, and demonstrate the need for greater understanding of what parameterizes resilience in early childhood.
Strength of preference and decisions under risk
Authors: Alós-Ferrer Carlos , Garagnani Michele
Published: May 2022

Influential economic approaches as random utility models assume a monotonic relation between choice frequencies and “strength of preference,” in line with widespread evidence from the cognitive sciences, which also document an inverse relation to response times. However, for economic decisions under risk, these effects are largely untested, because models used to fit data assume them. Further, the dimension underlying strength of preference remains unclear in economics, with candidates including payoff-irrelevant numerical magnitudes. We provide a systematic, out-of-sample empirical validation of these relations (both for choices and response times) relying on both a new experimental design and simulations.
Bribery, on-the-job training, and firm performance
Authors: Boikos Spyridon , Pinar Mehmet , Stengos Thanasis
Published: May 2022

The previous literature has extensively examined the effect of firm-level bribery on firm performance but not through on-the-job training. This paper investigates the impact of paying bribes on the firm’s investment decisions in on-the-job training and offers mediating implications of corruption on firm performance. We empirically examine the relationship between bribery and on-the-job training using firm-level data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys consisting of a sample of 94 developing countries with 20,601 firms. The findings show that bribery and on-the-job training intensity affects real annual sales growth rates negatively and positively, respectively. Furthermore, firms exposed to more bribery reduce their on-the-job training intensity. The results are robust to the different classifications of the firm’s size, different subsamples, and controls for the endogeneity of the on-the-job training and bribery.
Vertex transitivity, distance metric, and hierarchical structure of the dual-cube
Authors: Jha Pranava K.
Published: May 2022

The dual-cube, derivable from the hypercube, admits a number of good properties that render it as a good network topology, especially when the node size exceeds several million. This paper presents several other welcome characteristics of the graph. Prominent among them are: (1) vertex transitivity that facilitates the working of an algorithm meant for a “local” context in the global context as well, (2) an exact formula for the distance between two nodes, which leads to a precise result on the distance-wise node distribution of the graph and an exact formula for the average node distance, and (3) a hypercube-like hierarchical structure of the graph that is amenable to an inductive treatment.
Performances of Pressure Reducing Valves in Variable Demand Conditions: Experimental Analysis and New Performance Parameters
Authors: Ferrarese G. , Malavasi S.
Published: May 2022

Pressure Reducing Valves (PRV) play a critical role in Water Distribution Networks (WDN): they regulate pressure ensuring an efficient service to users and preventing damage to pipelines. In recent years, the attention of water utilities towards pressure management and leakage control led to the necessity of more flexible and responsive technologies that can guarantee a higher level of pressure control accuracy. Because of this the common performance parameters based on steady state conditions are no longer satisfactory to evaluate the effective behaviour of the devices when used in situations where demand can change. In the present paper the pressure control effectiveness of different types of PRV (electric actuated, pilot operated and direct acting) in variable demand conditions is discussed. The data used are from experimental tests, literature and field application. To assess valves’ pressure control performance, the use of new parameters, which consider the peak of pressure reached during control operations and the accuracy of target pressure regulation, has been proposed. The use of these parameters allows the comparison between different type of valves giving to WDN managers a direct overview on the valves ability to regulate pressure under variable demand conditions.
The antioxidant defense capacities and histological alterations in the livers and gills of two fish species, Oreochromis niloticus and Clarias gariepinus, as indicative signs of the Batts drain pollution
Authors: Moussa Moussa Attia , Mohamed Hanan Ramadan H. , Abdel-Khalek Amr Adel
Published: May 2022

The impacts of the Batts drain on two chronically exposed fish (O. niloticus and C. gariepinus) were assessed using multiple biomarkers. Concentrations of metals in water and sediments (Cu, Zn, Fe, Cd, Pb, and Al) showed significant elevations near the Batts discharges (site 2) compared to the reference site (site 1). The liver and gills of fish collected from site 2 showed marked elevations in the catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance levels. In addition, significant reductions in glutathione-reduced contents were also recorded. Tissue and species-specific antioxidant responses were associated with excessive generations of reactive oxygen species, which were visualized fluorescently. Various histological alterations were observed in the gills and livers of both species. These alterations varied between compensatory responses (ex: epithelial thickening and lifting) and irreversible damage (ex: necrotic degeneration). Based on the level of lipid peroxidation and the frequency of histopathological modifications, O. niloticus demonstrated greater resistance to the same level of pollution than C. gariepinus. Using integrated biomarkers to evaluate the real impacts of untreated discharges of the Batts drain is applied for the first time on the selected fish species at the studied sites.
Roadmap to sustainable plastic waste management: a focused study on recycling PET for triboelectric nanogenerator production in Singapore and India
Authors: Lai Wei Liang , Sharma Shreya , Roy Sunanda , Maji Pradip Kumar , Sharma Bhasha , Ramakrishna Seeram , Goh Kheng Lim
Published: May 2022

This study explores the implications of plastic waste and recycling management on recyclates for manufacturing clean-energy harvesting devices. The focus is on a comparative analysis of using recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) for triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) production, in two densely populated Asian countries of large economies, namely Singapore and India. Of the total 930,000 tonnes of plastic waste generated in Singapore in 2019, only 4% were recycled and the rest were incinerated. In comparison, India yielded 8.6 million tonnes of plastic waste and 70% were recycled. Both countries have strict recycling goals and have instituted different waste and recycling management regulations. The findings show that the waste policies and legislations, responsibilities and heterogeneity in collection systems and infrastructure of the respective country are the pivotal attributes to successful recycling. Challenges to recycle plastic include segregation, adulterants and macromolecular structure degradation which could influence the recyclate properties and pose challenges for manufacturing products. A model was developed to evaluate the economic value and mechanical potential of PET recyclate. The model predicted a 30% loss of material performance and a 65% loss of economic value after the first recycling cycle. The economic value depreciates to zero with decreasing mechanical performance of plastic after multiple recycling cycles. For understanding how TENG technology could be incorporated into the circular economy, a model has estimated about 20 million and 7300 billion pieces of aerogel mats can be manufactured from the PET bottles disposed in Singapore and India, respectively which were sufficient to produce small-scale TENG devices for all peoples in both countries.
Happy Unhappiness (and Other Stratified Contradictions)
Authors: d’Agostini Franca
Published: May 2022

Stratified properties such as ‘happy unhappiness’, ‘ungrounded ground’, ‘fortunate misfortune’, and evidently ‘true falsity’ may generate dialetheias (true contradictions). The aim of the article is to show that if this is the case, then we will have a special,conjunctive, kind of dialetheia: a true state description of the form ‘Fa and not Fa’ (for some property F and object a), wherein the two conjuncts, separately taken, are to be held untrue. The particular focus of the article is on happy unhappiness: people suffering from (or enjoying) happy unhappiness (if there is some situation or state of mind of this kind) cannot be truly said ‘happy’ or ‘unhappy’, but we can say they are both. In the first section three cases of conjunctive stratification are presented; in the second section the logic of stratified contradictions is explored. The last section focuses on eudemonistic ascriptions: stated thatais happy to be unhappy (or unhappy to be happy), should we sayais happy? unhappy? both? neither?
Intraoperative compensation of magnetic field distortions for fluoroscopic and electromagnetic hybrid navigation
Authors: Cavaliere Marco , Cantillon-Murphy Pádraig
Published: May 2022

Purpose

Hybrid navigation is a promising technique which combines the benefits of optical or electromagnetic tracking (EMT) and fluoroscopy imaging. Unfortunately, the fluoroscopy system is a source of metallic distortion for the EMT system. In this work, we present a new method for intraoperative calibration and real-time compensation of dynamic field distortions. The method was tested in the presence of a fluoroscopy C-arm, and sub-millimetre errors were obtained after distortion correction.

Methods

A hybrid navigation scenario was created by combining the open-source electromagnetic tracking system Anser EMT and a commercial fluoroscopy C-arm. The electromagnetic field generator was placed directly on top of the X-ray collimator, which introduced significant field distortion. Magnetic sensors were placed at known positions to capture the magnetic distortion, and virtual magnetic dipole sources were used to model the distortion magnetic field. The accuracy of the compensated EMT model was tested on a grid of test points.

Results

Error reduction was demonstrated from 12.01 to 0.35 mm and from 25.03 to 0.49 mm, for horizontal and vertical sensor orientations, respectively, over a volume of 16 × 16 × 6 cm. It is proposed that such sub-millimetre tracking errors meet the needs of most endoscopic navigation tasks.

Conclusions

We describe a method to model a magnetic field in real time, based on redundant electromagnetic field measurements, and we apply it to compensate for the distortion introduced by a fluoroscopy C-arm. The main limitation of the approach is the requirement for a high number of sensors, with possible occlusion of the operative space. Solutions might come from miniaturisation and wireless sensing.
Conservation planning implications of modeling seagrass habitats with sparse absence data: a balanced random forest approach
Authors: Aydin Orhun , Osorio-Murillo Carlos , Butler Kevin A. , Wright Dawn
Published: May 2022

This paper presents a species distribution model (SDM) to quantify relationships between environmental variables and habitat suitability using unbalanced presence-absence data common in ecology. The proposed model applies a stratified sample balancing scheme for the random forest classifier where every classification tree receives a balanced sample of presence and absence. The model is applied to the Australian coast's seagrass habitats, where seagrass populations have been on the decline. Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (ACEAS) seagrass presence-absence data is used to train the model. Seagrasses are observed at 97.6% of the survey locations, and seagrass absence is recorded at only 2.4% of the survey locations. The proposed model's accuracy is validated with an independent dataset on seagrass presence from the Coastal and Marine Resources Information System (CAMRIS). The environmental variables used in the analysis are obtained from the Ecological Marine Units (EMU) dataset. The variables on human-driven stressors to seagrass habitats due to ship traffic are obtained from World Port Index. The proposed model predicts seagrass absence at a recall rate of 80%, whereas the random forest recall rate is 24%. The model's variable importance profile aligns with the main drivers behind seagrass habitats reported in the literature. A case study is conducted for quantifying the impacts of two proposed ports in the Gulf of Carpenteria on the local seagrass habitats. Results show that balancing improves the explanatory and predictive capabilities of an SDM to define conditions resulting in a species' absence, aiding conservation planning with realistic species distributions.
Can Quantitative Pupillometry be used to Screen for Elevated Intracranial Pressure? A Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Pansell Jakob , Hack Robert , Rudberg Peter , Bell Max , Cooray Charith
Published: May 2022

Background

Elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) is a serious complication in brain injury. Because of the risks involved, ICP is not monitored in all patients at risk. Noninvasive screening tools to identify patients with elevated ICP are needed. Anisocoria, abnormal pupillary size, and abnormal pupillary light reflex are signs of high ICP, but manual pupillometry is arbitrary and subject to interrater variability. We have evaluated quantitative pupillometry as a screening tool for elevated ICP.

Methods

We performed a retrospective observational study of the association between Neurological Pupil index (NPi), measured with the Neuroptics NPi-200 pupillometer, and ICP in patients routinely monitored with invasive ICP measurement in the intensive care unit. We performed a nonparametric receiver operator curve analysis for ICP ≥ 20 mm Hg with NPi as a classification variable. We performed a Youden analysis for the optimal NPi cutoff value and recorded sensitivity and specificity for this cutoff value. We also performed a logistic regression with elevated ICP as the dependent variable and NPi as the independent variable.

Results

We included 65 patients with invasive ICP monitoring. A total of 2,705 measurements were analyzed. Using NPi as a screening tool for elevated ICP yielded an area under receiver operator curve of 0.72. The optimal mean NPi cutoff value to rule out elevated ICP was ≥ 3.9. The probability of elevated ICP decreased with increasing NPi, with an odds ratio of 0.55 (0.50, 0.61).

Conclusions

Screening with NPi may inform high stakes clinical decisions by ruling out elevated ICP with a high degree of certainty. It may also aid in estimating probabilities of elevated ICP. This can help to weigh the risks of initiating invasive ICP monitoring against the risks of not doing so. Because of its ease of use and excellent interrater reliability, we suggest further studies of NPi as a screening tool for elevated ICP.
Blood Pressure Variability Indices for Outcome Prediction After Thrombectomy in Stroke by Using High-Resolution Data
Authors: Inauen Corinne , Boss Jens M. , Katan Mira , Luft Andreas R. , Kulcsar Zsolt , Willms Jan F. , Bögli Stefan Y. , Keller Emanuela
Published: May 2022

Background

Blood pressure variability (BPV) is associated with outcome after endovascular thrombectomy in acute large vessel occlusion stroke. We aimed to provide the optimal sampling frequency and BPV index for outcome prediction by using high-resolution blood pressure (BP) data.

Methods

Patient characteristics, 3-month outcome, and BP values measured intraarterially at 1 Hz for up to 24 h were extracted from 34 patients treated at a tertiary care center neurocritical care unit. Outcome was dichotomized (modified Rankin Scale 0–2, favorable, and 3–6, unfavorable) and associated with systolic BPV (as calculated by using standard deviation, coefficient of variation, averaged real variability, successive variation, number of trend changes, and a spectral approach using the power of specific BP frequencies). BP values were downsampled by either averaging or omitting all BP values within each prespecified time bin to compare the different sampling rates.

Results

Out of 34 patients (age 72 ± 12.7 years, 67.6% men), 10 (29.4%) achieved a favorable functional outcome and 24 (70.6%) had an unfavorable functional outcome at 3 months. No group differences were found in mean absolute systolic BP (SBP) (130 ± 18 mm Hg,p = 0.82) and diastolic BP (DBP) (59 ± 10 mm Hg,p = 1.00) during the monitoring time. BPV only reached predictive significance when using successive variation extracted from downsampled (averaged over 5 min) SBP data (median 4.8 mm Hg [range 3.8–7.1]) in patients with favorable versus 7.1 mmHg [range 5.5–9.7] in those with unfavorable outcome, area under the curve = 0.74 [confidence interval (CI) 0.57–0.85;p = 0.031], or the power of midrange frequencies between 1/20 and 1/5 min [area under the curve = 0.75 (CI 0.59–0.86),p = 0.020].

Conclusions

Using high-resolution BP data of 1 Hz, downsampling by averaging all BP values within 5-min intervals is essential to find relevant differences in systolic BPV, as noise can be avoided (confirmed by the significance of the power of midrange frequencies). These results demonstrate how high-resolution BP data can be processed for effective outcome prediction.
Soziale Arbeit mit rechtsaffinen Adressat:innen: Forschungsfragen zur Theoriebildung über sozialpädagogische Professionalität
Authors: Janotta Lisa
Published: May 2022

Dieser Artikel arbeitet den empirischen Forschungsstand zur Sozialen Arbeit mit rechtsaffinen Adressat:innen auf und diskutiert Desiderate. Dazu werden zunächst methodologische Herausforderungen in Bezug auf die politische Sprengkraft des Gegenstands reflektiert. Anschließend werden die Forschungsgegenstände demokratische Professionalität und Rechtsextremismus aufgearbeitet. Empirische Studien werden diskutiert. Den Schluss bildet ein Ausblick auf das Potenzial empirischer Forschung zur Vertiefung von Professionalisierungsdebatten in der Sozialen Arbeit.
Correction to: Intelligent Assistants
Authors: Dhiman Hitesh , Wächter Christoph , Fellmann Michael , Röcker Carsten
Published: May 2022

A Correction to this paper has been published: 10.1007/s12599-022-00743-1
Social justice in medical education: inclusion is not enough—it’s just the first step
Authors: Machado Maria Beatriz , Ribeiro Diego Lima , De Carvalho Filho Marco Antonio
Published: May 2022

Introduction Medical schools worldwide are creating inclusion policies to increase the admission of students from vulnerable social groups. This study explores how medical students from vulnerable social groups experience belongingness as they join the medical community.
Methods This qualitative study applied thematic analysis to 10 interviews with medical students admitted to one medical school through an affirmative policy. The interviews followed the drawing of a rich picture, in which the students represented a challenging situation experienced in their training, considering their socio-economic and racial background. The analysis was guided by the modes of belonging (engagement, imagination, and alignment) described by the Communities of Practice framework.
Results Participants struggled to imagine themselves as future doctors because they lack identification with the medical environment, suffer from low self-esteem, aside from experiencing racial and social discrimination. Participants also find it troublesome to engage in social and professional activities because of financial disadvantages and insufficient support from the university. However, participants strongly align with the values of the public health system and show deep empathy for the patients.
Discussion Including students with different socio-economic and racial backgrounds offers an opportunity to reform the medical culture. Medical educators need to devise strategies to support students’ socialization through activities that increase their self-esteem and make explicit the contributions they bring to the medical community.
On the approximation of rough functions with deep neural networks
Authors: De Ryck Tim , Mishra Siddhartha , Ray Deep
Published: May 2022

The essentially non-oscillatory (ENO) procedure and its variant, the ENO-SR procedure, are very efficient algorithms for interpolating (reconstructing) rough functions. We prove that the ENO (and ENO-SR) procedure are equivalent to deep ReLU neural networks. This demonstrates the ability of deep ReLU neural networks to approximate rough functions to high-order of accuracy. Numerical tests for the resulting trained neural networks show excellent performance for interpolating functions, approximating solutions of nonlinear conservation laws and at data compression.
3d printing of column structures for architectural applications
Authors: Waldschmitt B. , Costanzi C. Borg , Knaack U. , Lange J.
Published: May 2022

Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) is a welding process used to build up three-dimensional structures in steel. Like other Additive Manufacturing technologies, it allows for geometrically-complex structures to be fabricated which are otherwise unfeasible to manufacture using traditional methods. This research paper presents an integrated design approach to the use of WAAM in the context of large-scaled applications, focusing on column variants of gradually-increasing geometric complexity as basis for architectural constructions. It combines material behavior and process para-meter research together with a rudimentary digital twin model, with the aim of providing a digital tool to design architectural structures for WAAM. To achieve the desired geometries, necessary welding parameters are stored and applied to the digital twin model. This is complimented by multiple process-control checks, which are implemented during the printing process to ensure that an object is generated as planned. Finally, the structures are manufactured and are subjected to a critical evaluation in order to identify the possible future potential. The challenge of combining geometric complexity with manufacturing for large scale represents a next step in the integration of WAAM in steel constructions for architectural applications.
Women and Letterpress Printing 1920–2020
Authors: Battershill Claire
Published: May 2022

This Element analyses the relationship between gender and literary letterpress printing from the early 20th century to the beginning of the 21st. Drawing on examples from modernist writer/printers of the 1920s to literary book artists of the early 21st, it offers a way of thinking about the feminist historiography of printing as we confront the presence and particular character of letterpress in a digital age. This Element is divided into four sections: the first, 'Historicizing' traces the critical histories of women and print through to the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The second section, 'Learning,' offers an analysis of some of the modes of discourse and training through which women and gender minorities have learned the craft of printing. The third section, 'Individualizing' offers brief biographical vignettes. The fourth section, 'Writing,' focuses on printers' own written reflections about letterpress. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Article 2(4) and Authoritarian International Law
Authors: Ginsburg Tom
Published: May 2022

In 1970, Thomas Franck asked a rhetorical question of enduring significance: Who Killed Article 2(4)? The reference is to the provision of the United Nations Charter that requires all member states to refrain “from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.” Vladimir Putin's gambit in Ukraine, conducted with the rhetorical purpose of eliminating the country as an independent state, is the latest in a series of events that periodically cause analysts to bemoan the end of the post-World War II international order. Will this time be different? Will it mark a definitive change in international law? This short essay will argue that, bloody as the Ukraine conflict has been, the immediate response has been to reinforce rather than reject traditional norms about sovereignty and territorial integrity. At the same time, the invasion and other states’ reaction to it illustrate both the character of, and limits to, authoritarian use of international law.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screening of asymptomatic healthcare workers in a low-prevalence setting: A single-center UK cohort study
Authors: Azamgarhi Tariq , Maynard-Smith Laura , Bysouth Hannah , Warren Simon
Published: May 2022

In this cohort study of UK healthcare workers, we evaluated the use of fortnightly polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screening to facilitate the safe resumption of elective surgery in a low-prevalence setting. We found that adherence to serial testing was poor, and the resource required to identify 1 asymptomatic case was substantial.
The impact on nudge acceptability judgements of framing and consultation of the targeted population
Authors: Rafaï Ismaël , Ribaillier Arthur , Jullien Dorian
Published: May 2022

The aim of this article is to better understand how judgements about nudge acceptability are formed and whether they can be manipulated. We conducted a randomized experiment with N = 171 participants to test whether acceptability judgements could be (1) more favourable when the decision to implement the nudges was made following a consultation with the targeted population and (2) influenced by the joint framing of the nudge's purpose and effectiveness (in terms of an increase in desirable behaviour versus decrease in undesirable behaviour). We tested these hypotheses on various nudge scenarios and obtained mixed results that do not clearly support our hypotheses for all nudge scenarios. A surprising result that calls for further work is that by mentioning that a nudge had been implemented through a consultation with the targeted population its acceptability could be lowered.
Leadership and administration to advance translational science: Environmental scan of adaptive capacity and preparedness of Clinical and Translational Science Award Program hubs
Authors: Volkov Boris B. , Ragon Bart , Holmes Kristi , Samuels Elias , Walden Anita , Herzog Keith
Published: May 2022

COVID-19 reinforced the need for effective leadership and administration within Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program hubs in response to a public health crisis. The speed, scale, and persistent evolution of the pandemic forced CTSA hubs to act quickly and remain nimble. The switch to virtual environments paired with supporting program operations, while ensuring the safety and well-being of their team, highlight the critical support role provided by leadership and administration. The pandemic also illustrated the value of emergency planning in supporting organizations’ ability to quickly pivot and adapt. Lessons learned from the pandemic and from other cases of adaptive capacity and preparedness can aid program hubs in promoting and sustaining the overall capabilities of their organizations to prepare for future events.
Fragile Bonds of Recognition: Exploring the Social Underpinnings of Sentiments of Exclusion in Post-1989 East Germany
Authors: Hilmar Till
Published: May 2022

Recently, as a corollary of intensified efforts to understand the rise of right-wing populism, the topic of social recognition has gained renewed attention in sociological research. It seems that a sense of misrecognition and exclusion is shaped as much by cultural as by economic factors. Just how these elements are interlinked, however, remains a black box. In this article, I offer an empirical contribution to this problem: I demonstrate that social recognition is nourished in everyday interpersonal relations and that people negotiate ideas of economic deservingness in their social surroundings—so much so, in fact, that they make social ties dependent on them. The article studies the case of the post-1989 societal shifts in formerly communist-ruled East Germany, a context marked by a pervasive sense of social exclusion today. In interviews with 41 individuals who lived through this rupturing process, I identify a crucial dynamic of social misrecognition in how respondents evaluate other peoples’ strategies of coping with the economic fallout of this time and how they draw—often deeply personal—boundaries between themselves and others on these grounds.
Curating duplicates: operationalizing similiarity in the Smithsonian Institution with Haida rattles, 1880–1926
Authors: Nichols Catherine A.
Published: May 2022

In the late nineteenth century, the anthropology curators of the Smithsonian Institution consulted their cataloguing systems and storerooms, assessing specimens in order to determine which could be designated as duplicate specimens and exchanged with museums domestically and abroad. The status of ‘duplicate’ for specimens was contingent on conceptions of similiarity impacted by disciplinary classification praxis, with particular emphasis on object nomenclature and formal attributes. Using rattles from Haida Gwaii collected between 1881 and 1885 by James Swan for the Smithsonian Institution, this article explores how anthropology curators designated rattles as exchangeable duplicate specimens. It considers cataloguing and spatial arrangements, as well as changing populations and formal characteristics of rattles, in order to explore how similarity was operationalized in the museum to produce duplicate anthropological specimens.
Between the Vatican and Moscow: The Lithuanian Imprint on the Death Throes of the Soviet Union (1979–1989)
Authors: Streikus Arūnas
Published: May 2022

By introducing different types of sources—published documents on Vatican's Eastern policy, archival material of the Soviet governmental agencies, egodocuments of local ecclesiastical leaders—this article tries to identify the role Lithuanian subjects have played in the field of Vatican-USSR relations during the first half of Pope John Paul II's pontificate. The research reveals that, since the end of 1970s, issues pertaining to the Lithuanian Catholic Church were considered priority agenda items—both within the halls of the Vatican and in the central government offices of the Soviet regime. An analysis of available sources illustrates also that interrelated issues of the boundaries of the Vilnius Archdiocese and the question of its further administration constituted the most acute node of issues during the period under review. The Soviet regime was the most interested in focusing on these issues, as it hoped thereby to dispel any mutual sympathies between Lithuanian Catholics and the Polish pope, put a stop to the emerging cooperation between Catholics in Lithuania and Poland, and bring an end to the politically costly case of Bishop Steponavičius, who by then had become a symbol of the Lithuanian Catholic Church's resistance. Suppressing of any attempts of the Holy See to be represented at commemoration of important events in Lithuania's history was yet another highly complicated task for the Soviet authorities.
Comparison of different response variables in genomic prediction using GBLUP and ssGBLUP methods in Iranian Holstein cattle
Authors: Afrazandeh Mohamadreza , Abdolahi-Arpanahi Rostam , Abbasi Mokhtar Ali , Kashan Nasser Emam Jomeh , Torshizi Rasoul Vaez
Published: May 2022

We compared the reliability and bias of genomic evaluation of Holstein bulls for milk, fat, and protein yield with two methods of genomic best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP) and single-step GBLUP (ssGBLUP). Four response variables of estimated breeding value (EBV), daughter yield deviation (DYD), de-regressed proofs based on Garrick (DRPGR) and VanRaden (DRPVR) were used as dependent variables. The effects of three weighting methods for diagonal elements of the incidence matrix associated with residuals were also explored. The reliability and the absolute deviation from 1 of the regression coefficient of the response variable on genomic prediction (Dev) using GBLUP and ssGBLUP methods were estimated in the validation population. In the ssGBLUP method, the genomic prediction reliability and Dev from un-weighted DRPGR method for milk yield were 0.44 and 0.002, respectively. In the GBLUP method, the corresponding measurements from un-weighted EBV for fat were 0.52 and 0.008, respectively. Moreover, the un-weighted DRPGR performed well in ssGBLUP with fat yield values for reliability and Dev of 0.49 and 0.001, respectively, compared to equivalent protein yield values of 0.38 and 0.056, respectively. In general, the results from ssGBLUP of the un-weighted DRPGR for milk and fat yield and weighted DRPGR for protein yield outperformed other models. The average reliability of genomic predictions for three traits from ssGBLUP was 0.39 which was 0.98% higher than the average reliability from GBLUP. Likewise, the Dev of genomic predictions was lower in ssGBLUP than GBLUP. The average Dev of predictions for three traits from ssGBLUP and GBLUP were 0.110 and 0.144, respectively. In conclusion, genomic prediction using ssGBLUP outperformed GBLUP both in terms of reliability and bias.
Volume of hippocampus-amygdala transition area predicts outcomes of electroconvulsive therapy in major depressive disorder: high accuracy validated in two independent cohorts
Authors: Xu Jinping , Li Wenfei , Bai Tongjian , Li Jiaying , Zhang Jinhuan , Hu Qingmao , Wang Jiaojian , Tian Yanghua , Wang Kai
Published: May 2022

Background

Although many previous studies reported structural plasticity of the hippocampus and amygdala induced by electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in major depressive disorder (MDD), yet the exact roles of both areas for antidepressant effects are still controversial.

Methods

In the current study, segmentation of amygdala and hippocampal sub-regions was used to investigate the longitudinal changes of volume, the relationship between volume and antidepressant effects, and prediction performances for ECT in MDD patients before and after ECT using two independent datasets.

Results

As a result, MDD patients showed selectively and consistently increased volume in the left lateral nucleus, right accessory basal nucleus, bilateral basal nucleus, bilateral corticoamygdaloid transition (CAT), bilateral paralaminar nucleus of the amygdala, and bilateral hippocampus-amygdala transition area (HATA) after ECT in both datasets, whereas marginally significant increase of volume in bilateral granule cell molecular layer of the head of dentate gyrus, the bilateral head of cornu ammonis (CA) 4, and left head of CA 3. Correlation analyses revealed that increased volume of left HATA was significantly associated with antidepressant effects after ECT. Moreover, volumes of HATA in the MDD patients before ECT could be served as potential biomarkers to predict ECT remission with the highest accuracy of 86.95% and 82.92% in two datasets (The predictive models were trained on Dataset 2 and the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of Dataset 2 were obtained from leave-one-out-cross-validation. Thus, they were not independent and very likely to be inflated).

Conclusions

These results not only suggested that ECT could selectively induce structural plasticity of the amygdala and hippocampal sub-regions associated with antidepressant effects of ECT in MDD patients, but also provided potential biomarkers (especially HATA) for effectively and timely interventions for ECT in clinical applications.
What's in a Name? Somatics and the Historical Revisionism of Thomas Hanna
Authors: Drury Lindsey
Published: May 2022

This article questions how the historically revisionist history of “the West,” as initiated by Thomas Hanna, informs systems of inclusion, exclusion, and power within the field of “somatics.” Hanna, who coined the termsomatics, sought in so doing to root the burgeoning field in a “Western” tradition of philosophy and science that he fundamentally misconstrued. Meanwhile, Hanna's work to formulate a historically and philosophically Western basis of a somatic field continues to provide cover for white somatic practitioners whose institutionally minted somatic forms extract philosophical and practical knowledge from non-white body-mind practices internationally. Subsequent accounts of somatics consequently articulate both the Western history of somatics and its “non-Western influences” on false grounds. This article theorizes the colonial and Western supremacist holdovers within a somatic field that nonetheless gives lip service to postcolonial discourse. Finally, by rebuilding an approach to the “deep time” history relatingsōmaand somatics, this article proposes how the field of somatics could reground its understanding of the “first-person experience of the body,” informed by Afropessimism, Black Accelerationism, and Afrofuturist thought.
Disorientation as Critical Practice: Confronting Anti-Black Perceptual Regimes and Activating the Otherwise in mayfield brooks's Improvising While Black Pedagogy
Authors: Bibler Zena
Published: May 2022

This article examines how mayfield brooks uses spatial, discursive, and vestibular disorientations to intervene within anti-Black regimes of perception in their Improvising While Black (IWB) workshops, which draw from their ongoing life/art project by the same name. Drawing from insights gathered through my participation in IWB workshops as well as through conversations with brooks and other workshop participants, I examine what brooks's guided disorientations do, that is, what they produce kinetically, perceptually, and relationally among participants. I show how brooks's disorientations expand on Sachi Sekimoto and Christopher Brown's conceptualization of racialized regimes of perception by revealing a set of choreographic tropes that undergird those regimes. These include perceiving from a vertical posture, leading movement from the head, navigating based on visual cues while inhibiting responsivity to other senses, turning away from cultural and ancestral context, and relating to self and others as individuals. Drawing on examinations of disorientation within contemporary dance practice and critical race theory, I argue that brooks guides participants into disorienting improvisations that draw attention to, refuse participation within, and generate otherwise possibilities to this choreography.
Coloured Swan: Moya Michael's Prowess in the Face of Fetishization in European Dance
Authors: Van Assche Annelies
Published: May 2022

In my ethnographic fieldwork in the contemporary dance scene in Brussels, I followed closely which struggles Moya Michael had to overcome as a South African maker in the European contemporary dance sector trying to sell her work. As a female artist of color, she cannot escape the fetishistic gaze emphasizing her exoticized body, a body imagined as exotic vis-à-vis institutional whiteness. This article examines how the work environment in the continental European contemporary dance sector forms a breeding ground for the fetishization of Afrodiasporic artists. After unpacking the general issues related to identity in the European contemporary dance sector, this article continues to discuss the dance solo Khoiswan, which Michael created in 2018 as the first part of an ongoing series called Coloured Swans. In this choreographic work, Michael centers and explores her multilayered identity on her own terms.
Herb–subshrub diversity in open savanna sites with distinct fire regimes in the Jalapão region, Brazil
Authors: Antar Guilherme Medeiros , Pivello Vânia Regina , Gerolamo Caian Souza , Nogueira Anselmo , Sano Paulo Takeo
Published: May 2022

The fire regime is essential in creating a mosaic of plant structure and diversity in South American open savannas, especially favouring herbs. However, studies investigating diversity patterns in Neotropical savannas rarely focus on the herb–subshrub layer. This study investigated the variation of the herb–subshrub layer under contrasting fire regimes in the most conserved site within the Cerrado Domain, the Jalapão region, Brazil. We selected four sites of open savanna physiognomy with similar topographic, climatic and edaphic features: three burned every 2 years, while the fourth site has remained unburned for at least the last 10 years. We randomly distributed 15 plots of 4 m2 in each site and identified all herbs and subshrubs in each plot to estimate density, richness, alpha diversity and species composition. The unburned site had lower herb–subshrub density, richness and diversity than the frequently burned sites. Species composition varied between frequently burned and unburned sites, partially explained by the fire frequency across sites. Although other ecological factors may explain the patterns detected, we cannot rule out the importance of fire in structuring plant communities in the Jalapão region. As in other savannas, our study in the Cerrado Domain reinforces the essential role of the fire regimes in modifying and maintaining the diversity of herbaceous plants at the landscape scale.