bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The role of local knowledge in snow observation and applied snow avalanche forecasting in Longyearbyen, Svalbard
Authors: Johannessen Stig , Haavik Torgeir Kolstø
Published: July 2024

In this article, we present the results of our study of knowledge in the actor-network of snow avalanche forecasters and observers in Longyearbyen, Svalbard. Our study aimed to understand how observers and forecasters make sense of snow conditions and snow avalanche risks. To do so, we conducted empirical investigations, which included interviews with key observation, forecasting, and decision-making actors in Longyearbyen’s risk governance system and autoethnographic participatory observation by the first author during the 36 months they worked closely with several informants in Longyearbyen. We draw on perspectives from literature on sensemaking, sensework, and tacit knowledge to conceptualize the modus operandi of observers and forecasters in a manner that allows for generalization to contexts beyond snow avalanche forecasting in Longyearbyen. We find that avalanche-related knowledge construction is highly dependent on the experiences of the observers from their non-professional interaction with the local topography and snow as part of their leisurely activities. Further, social relations and communication among observers and forecasters are essential in knowledge construction. Based on the different processes and resources entering the knowledge construction, we describe three dimensions of local knowledge involved in snow avalanche forecasting: situated, social knowledge; embodied knowledge; and synthetic knowledge. We elaborate on these dimensions of knowledge and discuss implications for the development and administration of avalanche warning systems in contexts characterized by a high degree of transience and change in phenomena.
Obesity awareness-insight is inversely associated with body composition and physical activity behaviour in women with obesity at the admission to a lifestyle modification program
Authors: Güneş Sümeyya Betül , Aytutuldu Güzin Kaya , Akıncı Buket
Published: July 2024

Aim

This study was conducted to examine obesity awareness-insight in relation to body composition and physical activity behaviour in women with obesity who were admitted to a lifestyle modification program.

Subject and methods

Eighty-two participants (age = 38.22 ± 12.49 years) were included. Body composition was assessed. The Obesity Awareness and Insight scale (OASIS), Sedentary Behavior Questionnaire (SBQ), and International Physical Activity Questionnaire–Short Form (IPAQ-SF) were applied.

Results

The OASIS total score was positively correlated with SBQ and body composition. OASIS “negative outcome awareness” score was negatively correlated with IPAQ-SF moderate physical activity (p < 0.05 for all). OASIS total score and “illness awareness” and “awareness of need for treatment” scores were higher in Class 2 and Class 3 obese participants than in Class 1 participants.

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that increased obesity awareness-insight correlated with deteriorating body composition and increased sedentary behaviour among women with obesity who were admitted to a lifestyle modification program. Furthermore, awareness of obesity-related adverse outcomes revealed an inverse association with physical activity.
Diagnostic performance of two-dimensional shear wave elastography and attenuation imaging for fibrosis and steatosis assessment in chronic liver disease
Authors: Kobayashi Tamaki , Nakatsuka Takuma , Sato Masaya , Soroida Yoko , Hikita Hiromi , Gotoh Hiroaki , Iwai Tomomi , Tateishi Ryosuke , Kurano Makoto , Fujishiro Mitsuhiro
Published: July 2024

Purpose

We investigated the diagnostic performance of two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) and attenuation imaging (ATI) in detecting fibrosis and steatosis in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD), comparing them with established methods.

Methods

In 190 patients with CLD, 2D-SWE and vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) were used for liver stiffness measurement (LSM), and ATI and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) were used for steatosis quantification. The correlations between these new and established methods were analyzed.

Results

Significant correlations were found between 2D-SWE and VCTE (r = 0.78, P < 0.001), and between ATI and CAP (r = 0.70, P < 0.001). Liver stiffness tended to be lower with 2D-SWE compared with that with VCTE, especially in cases with higher LSM, and ATI was less influenced by skin-capsular distance than CAP. Area under the receiver-operating characteristics curves (AUCs) and optimal cut-offs of 2D-SWE for diagnosing liver fibrosis stages F2, F3, and F4 were 0.73 (8.7 kPa), 0.79 (9.1 kPa), and 0.88 (11.6 kPa), respectively. The AUCs and optimal cut-offs of ATI for diagnosing hepatic steatosis grades S1, S2, and S3 were 0.91 (0.66 dB/cm/MHz), 0.80 (0.79 dB/cm/MHz), and 0.88 (0.86 dB/cm/MHz), respectively. A subgroup analysis of 86 patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease also demonstrated good performance for 2D-SWE and ATI.

Conclusion

2D-SWE and ATI performed comparably with conventional VCTE and CAP in evaluating CLD, offering reliable alternatives for diagnosing liver fibrosis and steatosis.
Parameterized complexity of candidate nomination for elections based on positional scoring rules
Authors: Schlotter Ildikó , Cechlárová Katarína , Trellová Diana
Published: July 2024

Consider elections where the set of candidates is partitioned into parties, and each party must nominate exactly one candidate. The Possible President problem asks whether some candidate of a given party can become the unique winner of the election for some nominations from other parties. We perform a multivariate computational complexity analysis of Possible President for several classes of elections based on positional scoring rules. We consider the following parameters: the size of the largest party, the number of parties, the number of voters and the number of voter types. We provide a complete computational map of Possible President in the sense that for each choice of the four possible parameters as (i) constant, (ii) parameter, or (iii) unbounded, we classify the computational complexity of the resulting problem as either polynomial-time solvable or -complete, and for parameterized versions as either fixed-parameter tractable or [1]-hard with respect to the parameters considered.
Air-Film Coupling in Prefilming Airblast Atomisers and the Implications for Subsequent Atomisation
Authors: Wetherell Jack R. J. , Garmory Andrew
Published: July 2024

Prefilming airblast atomisers are commonly used in gas turbine combustion system fuel injectors. As the film propagates across the prefilmer it interacts with the high velocity gas stream above it. In this paper a numerical investigation into this interaction is presented. A Coupled Level Set & Volume of Fluid method is used to simulate the development of the film along the KIT-ITS planar prefilmer (Gepperth et al., in: 23rd European conference on liquid atomization and spray systems (ILASS-Europe 2010), Brno, Czech Republic, September, 2010). Initial results showed the importance of correctly specifying the contact angle as too high a value leads to the formation of rivulets instead of a continuous film. An analysis of the film and air showed two-way coupling. The presence of the film increases the growth rate of the gas phase boundary layer, and the strength and size of the turbulent structures within it. Surface waves form in the film, initially driven by the turbulent fluctuations, but developing into transverse waves. These waves are shown to be independent, stochastic events instead of a periodic wave system. At the trailing edge of the prefilmer the increased turbulence level in the air, the variations in the film thickness and the associated change in fuel mass flow and momentum will have large implications for the atomisation process and subsequent fuel spray. These will also impact simulation of the atomisation, as the boundary condition complexity is much greater than commonly used, and the variations will require larger domains and longer simulation times to obtain fully converged atomisation statistics.
Palms predict the distributions of birds in southwestern Amazonia and are potential surrogates for land-use planning by citizen scientists
Authors: Menger Juliana , Santorelli Junior Sergio , Emilio Thaise , Magnusson William E. , Anciães Marina
Published: July 2024

In the absence of high-quality biodiversity data, land-use planners and conservationists often rely on biodiversity surrogates. Many studies have proposed surrogates based on assumptions about the environmental niches of species. However, the use of such assumptions is not always useful because biological processes and ecological interactions can operate at different scales due to the non-uniform geographical distribution of environmental conditions. In such cases, compositional heterogeneity across the same region can be expected but is often hidden by broad-scale environmental data. Furthermore, these assumptions may obscure important relationships between species and their environment. To elucidate this issue, we asked whether biotic interactions between two taxonomic groups are more important than other factors in reflecting the distribution of unsampled species. To do this, we compared the relationship between the distribution of bird species and the distribution of the five most-abundant palm species which are often considered indicators of bird communities. These species include Lepidocaryum tenue, Oenocarpus bataua, Oenocarpus bacaba, Mauritiella aculeata, and Attalea speciosa. Additionally, we considered environmental factors (precipitation, water-table levels, sand and clay contents) and the ecoregions along the Purus-Madeira interfluve as drivers of bird species composition. Our results show that bird-assemblage composition was strongly correlated with changes in palm-species abundance. The presence-absence data for bird-species showed that palm-species alone explained 25% and 19% of composition of all birds and only canopy birds, respectively. These palm species are abundant and can be easily identified and monitored by non-specialists, such as citizen scientists. Citizens are often involved in data acquisition but may not have the experience to sample large assemblages consisting of hundreds of species; thus, these five most-abundant palms species could serve as a cost-effective and efficient biodiversity surrogate for birds.
Regional foraging areas of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) nesting at Aldabra Atoll: insights from stable isotopes and satellite telemetry
Authors: Sanchez Cheryl L. , Casale Paolo , Bunbury Nancy , A’Bear Luke , Bielsa Maria , Jones Christopher W. , van Rooyen Martin C. , Souyana Brian , Fleischer-Dogley Frauke , Ceriani Simona A.
Published: July 2024

Sea turtles spend the majority of their lives at foraging grounds. These areas are important for population persistence but generally occur in coastal habitats, which are under increasing human pressure. Identifying key foraging areas is therefore an important step to understanding critical sea turtle habitats, and therefore their threats. Isotope ratios (δ15N, δ13C) from skin tissues of 90 green turtles (Chelonia mydas) nesting at the regionally important rookery of Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, were analyzed with samples collected during two periods: 51 samples from March to September 2021, and 39 samples from January to April 2022. These analyses were complemented by nine satellite tracks to identify key foraging areas. Hierarchical clustering and discriminant function analysis identified two main foraging areas: the East African coast (Tanzania and Somalia) and northern Madagascar. Isotopic values indicated that the majority of green turtles nesting at Aldabra forage at one of these two areas, with slightly more green turtles visiting the East African coast. Geographical isotopic patterns were not found latitudinally, suggesting a potential limit to this approach for coastal areas in the Western Indian Ocean. However, we found longitudinal variation of δ13C and δ15N that few studies have reported. This is the first study in this region to combine satellite telemetry and stable isotope analysis to assign likely foraging areas of green turtles and advances understanding of the complex migration patterns and foraging ecology of this species. We demonstrate the potential and the limitations of stable isotope analysis for identifying/characterizing green turtle foraging areas in this region.
Social justice implications of digital science, technology, engineering and mathematics pedagogy: Exploring a South African blended higher education context
Authors: Naidoo Jayaluxmi , Singh-Pillay Asheena
Published: July 2024

Higher Education institutions robustly adopted digital pedagogy during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This article reports on a study focussing on postgraduate students’ first-hand experiences of digital pedagogy for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. This study was conducted at one higher education institution in South Africa post-COVID-19. The study was framed by the technology acceptance model and a self-constructed conceptual model focusing on key concepts and ideas related to social justice. Forty-seven postgraduate STEM education students participated in the study. A mixed-methods approach guided the data generation for this study, whereby one questionnaire was used to generate quantitative data and four semi-structured focus group interviews assisted in generating qualitative data. Thematic coding, interpretative techniques and NVivo were used to analyse the qualitative data. Excel was used to analyse the quantitative data. The results exhibit the strengths, limitations and implications of digital STEM pedagogy for higher education in a developing country. This study adds to the developing knowledge concerning digital pedagogy for STEM education and social justice issues in developing countries. Using postgraduate STEM education students’ personal experiences of digital pedagogy, this study seeks to contribute to the growing body of research on the social justice implications of using digital pedagogy in higher education. By examining the implications of digital pedagogy for STEM education through a social justice lens, this research can inform curriculum development and pedagogical practices that encourage more inclusive and equitable learning environments.
Teleosemantics, Structural Resemblance and Predictive Processing
Authors: Pain Ross , Mann Stephen Francis
Published: July 2024

We propose a pluralist account of content for predictive processing systems. Our pluralism combines Millikan’s teleosemantics with existing structural resemblance accounts. The paper has two goals. First, we outline how a teleosemantic treatment of signal passing in predictive processing systems would work, and how it integrates with structural resemblance accounts. We show that the core explanatory motivations and conceptual machinery of teleosemantics and predictive processing mesh together well. Second, we argue this pluralist approach expands the range of empirical cases to which the predictive processing framework might be successfully applied. This is because our pluralism is practice-oriented. A range of different notions of content are used in the cognitive sciences to explain behaviour, and some of these cases look to employ teleosemantic notions. As a result, our pluralism gives predictive processing the scope to cover these cases.
Planning without Banning: Animal Research and the Argument from Avoidable Harms
Authors: Müller Nico Dario
Published: July 2024

The call for a planned phase-out is at the forefront of the political debate about animal experimentation. While authorities like the European Commission start taking a strategic approach to regulatory animal testing, they refuse to develop specific roadmaps for the phase-out of animal research. I articulate the central argument that is advanced against phase-out planning in animal research, the argument from avoidable harms: By restricting research, we may incur avoidable future harms and thus, while we may regret having to use animals in ways that harm them, for the sake of avoiding future harms we must not phase out animal research. The discussion of this argument yields two Conclusions: First, it applies only to ban-based phase-out plans, but not to plans consisting of a range of other interventions known from the literature on transformative governance. Second, the premises of the argument construe animal research as a necessary evil, thus as a conflict of unequal duties. But we have a duty not just to avoid avoidable harms, but also to avoid avoidable moral conflicts. This we can only do by taking a strategic approach. Thus, what initially looks like an argument against phase-out planning is in truth an argument for ban-free phase-out planning. This finding is important for practice because it shows that while government authorities’ reluctance to issue bans may be justified, their refusal to undertake strategic planning for the phase-out of animal research is not.
The Role of Implementation Climate in Moderating Educator Use of Evidence-Based Practices and Outcomes for Autistic Students
Authors: Stahmer Aubyn C. , Yu Yue , Suhrheinrich Jessica , Melgarejo Melina , Schetter Patricia
Published: July 2024

Ensuring effective use of evidence-based practice (EBP) for autism in schools is imperative due to the significantly increasing number of autistic students receiving school services each year. High-quality EBP use has proven challenging in schools. Research indicates implementation climate, or how EBP are supported, rewarded, and valued, and EBP resources are related to successful implementation. However, limited understanding of system-level contextual factors that impact EBP implementation for school-based providers makes development of appropriate implementation supports challenging. Understanding these factors is crucial for selecting and tailoring implementation strategies to support EBP scale up. In this observational study, California school-based providers (n = 1084) completed surveys related to implementation climate, leadership, autism experience and EBP implementation (use, competence, knowledge). Student outcomes included state level academic and behavioral indicators. Using an implementation science framework (Aarons et al., in Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research 38:4–23, 2011) and multilevel modeling, we examined the relationship between EBP Implementation and student outcomes and the moderation effects of provider and district level factors. Higher implementation climate predicted better EBP implementation outcomes, and proved more impactful when provider hands-on autism experience was low. Greater EBP resources predicted a higher percentage of students who met math standards only when district poverty level was high. Our findings suggested moderating effects on EBP implementation from both provider and system level factors. Implementation climate and resources may be especially key in addressing equity issues related to high poverty schools in which teachers often have less autism experience.
Fracture of the C15 CaAl2 Laves phase at small length scales
Authors: Best James P. , Kanjilal Anwesha , Ghafarollahi Alireza , Rehman Uzair , Tian Chunhua , Bishara Hanna , Bhat Mohammed Kamran , Christiansen Leon , Bitzek Erik , Stein Frank , Dehm Gerhard
Published: July 2024

The cubic C15 CaAl2 Laves phase is an important brittle intermetallic precipitate in ternary Mg–Al–Ca structural alloys. Although knowledge of the mechanical properties of the co-existing phases is essential for the design of improved alloys, the fracture toughness of the C15 CaAl2 intermetallic has not yet been studied experimentally due to limitations posed by macroscale testing of defect-free specimens. Here, miniaturised testing techniques like micropillar splitting and microcantilever bending methods are used to experimentally determine the fracture toughness of the CaAl2 Laves phase. It is found that the toughness value of ~ 1 MPa·√m obtained from pillar splitting with a sharp cube corner geometry is largely insensitive to sample heat treatment, the ion beam used during fabrication, micropillar diameter, and surface orientation. From correlative nanoindentation and electron channelling contrast imaging supported by electron backscatter diffraction, fracture is observed to take place mostly on {011} planes. Atomistic fracture simulations on a model C15 NbCr2 Laves phase showed that the preference of {011} cleavage planes over the more energetically favourable {111} planes is due to lattice trapping and kinetics controlling fracture planes in complex crystal structures, which may provide insights into the experimental results for CaAl2. Using rectangular microcantilever bending tests where the notch plane was misoriented to the closest possible {112} cleavage plane by ~ 8° and the closest {001}, {011}, and {111} planes by > 20°, a toughness of ~ 2 MPa·√m was determined along with the electron microscopy observation of significant deviations of the crack path, demonstrating that preferential crystallographic cleavage planes determine the toughness in this material. Further investigation using pentagonal microcantilevers with precise alignment of the notch with the cleavage planes revealed similar fracture toughness values for different low-index planes. The results presented here are the first detailed experimental study of fracture toughness of the C15 CaAl2 Laves phase and can be understood in terms of crack plane and crack front-dependent fracture toughness.

Graphical Abstract
Nepotism vs. intergenerational transmission of human capital in Academia (1088–1800)
Authors: Croix David de la , Goñi Marc
Published: July 2024

We have constructed a comprehensive database that traces the publications of father–son pairs in the premodern academic realm and examined the contribution of inherited human capital versus nepotism to occupational persistence. We find that human capital was strongly transmitted from parents to children and that nepotism declined when the misallocation of talent across professions incurred greater social costs. Specifically, nepotism was less common in fields experiencing rapid changes in the knowledge frontier, such as the sciences and within Protestant institutions. Most notably, nepotism sharply declined during the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment, when departures from meritocracy arguably became both increasingly inefficient and socially intolerable.
Psychiatric Experiments with “Community” Under Dictatorship and Authoritarianism: The Case of the Protected Commune Experience, 1980–1989
Authors: Montenegro Cristian
Published: July 2024

In Chile, a long and oppressive military regime (1973–1990) dismantled emergent initiatives for the deinstitutionalisation of psychiatric care, imposing a neoliberal constitution that opened public services to market forces and limited the state's role in health and social care. After being associated with communism and socialism, community-based mental health work was banned, and socialist psychiatrists were silenced through torture or exile. However, some therapeutic initiatives persisted, such as the “Protected Commune” (PC) initiative within the El Peral psychiatric asylum. The PC attempted to mimic a real town inside the asylum's gated perimeter. It featured an ecumenical chapel, a school, and various “council” departments like recreation, education, waste, economy, and health. Paths received names, wards became districts, and patients and workers were assigned new, democratic roles, all while the authoritarian regime entirely controlled the “outside” world. The initiative ceased with the return of democracy in 1990. Deemed an eccentric and negligible episode, the PC is often seen as an interruption to the radical community-based experiences of the pre-dictatorial era. Drawing on archival research and oral history interviews with participants, this paper examines how the PC harnessed the notion of community to navigate the complex socio-political landscape of the dictatorship. Differing from established accounts of the political uses of psychiatry under authoritarianism, the study positions the PC as a prism for understanding the contradictory ways in which the idea of 'community' has been able to transcend radically opposed social and political regimes, becoming a core feature in the vocabulary of mental health reform, despite its ambiguities.
Measuring Inflation During the Pandemic with the Benefit of Hindsight
Authors: Chowdhury Aftab , Dixon Huw
Published: July 2024

This study has adopted the actual household expenditure data from the national accounts to construct a true inflation rate (using the Fisher index) and found that the official inflation rate in the 33 OECD countries was an overestimate of true inflation for 23 and underestimate in 10 countries in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The result obtained for the countries where true inflation was higher than the official rate in this study matches the results obtained by Cavallo (Inflation with covid consumption baskets, 2020) and Reinsdorf (COVID-19 and the CPI: Is inflation underestimated?, 2020). However, a significant difference has been detected for the countries where the official inflation exceeds the true measure in this study. The core reason behind the discrepancies is in the use of appropriate expenditure weights. This suggests caution in using credit-card based expenditure data when spending behaviour has changed dramatically.
State Sovereignty: Concept and Conceptions
Authors: Núñez Jorge E.
Published: July 2024

The terms “sovereignty” and “state” are used very loosely in scholarly literature. “State sovereignty” is central to many scholarly disciplines and controversial real case scenarios, including territorial disputes; pandemics; arms, drug and human trafficking; terrorism; and the flow of refugees. Unsurprisingly, when academics apply the term “state sovereignty” disagreements can be expected. This paper reviews a series of conceptions pertaining to “state sovereignty” and proposes a shift from the current unidimensional understanding to a multidimensional approach. This is because state sovereignty is an intricate concept that includes several pluralisms, such as agents and the roles they play in their interrelations (e.g. individuals, communities and states), contexts (i.e. domestic, regional and international), realms (e.g. factual, normative and axiological) and modes of existence (i.e. ideal, natural, cultural and metaphysical elements and features). Hence, this paper argues that different understandings on state sovereignty are not due to ontological discrepancies but relate to either epistemological choices because different scholars and scientific disciplines are interested in a particular pluralism pertaining to state sovereignty rather than the concept as a whole, or to axiological choices tightly linked to individuals, communities and/or states often ignored or undisclosed views and perceptions. By applying a multidimensional approach and taking into account two variables—time and space—the paper explains why the different conceptions on state sovereignty are connected with value judgments that still refer to the same concept applied to the object or subject of study (ontology) but from particular epistemological presuppositions often hidden, ignored or neglected.
Spontaneous reoccurrence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis infections in Australian green tree frogs (Litoria caerulea) following apparently successful heat therapy: Case report
Authors: Holmes Madeleine L. , Shine Richard , Waddle Anthony W.
Published: July 2024

Heat therapy has been reported as a safe, effective, and readily available treatment method for heat-tolerant frogs infected with Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). We treated wild-caught Australian green tree frogs (Litoria caerulea) infected with Bd using two periods of elevated ambient room temperature (28.2–30.3 °C for 7 weeks followed by 28.9–34.1 °C for 4 weeks). Frogs exhibited persistent and even increasing infection loads in the first treatment period despite prolonged exposure to elevated temperatures, likely due to the presence of cooler microenvironments within their enclosure (25.5–27.0 °C). All frogs eventually returned negative qPCR tests for Bd at the end of the second treatment period, but detectable infections reoccurred one month after frogs were returned to standard housing temperatures (21.2–28.7 °C). Our findings suggest that elevated ambient temperature alone might not eliminate Bd in vivo but can reduce infections loads such that they are undetectable by qPCR analysis of skin swabs. Additional factors, such as cooler microenvironments within enclosures or relative humidity, may influence the success of heat therapy. We recommend further research into the combined effects of temperature and humidity during heat therapy and emphasize the importance of accurate temperature measurements as well as post-treatment monitoring at Bd-permissive temperatures to confirm successful clearance of infections.
Evaluating climate change impacts on snow cover and karst spring discharge in a data-scarce region: a case study of Iran
Authors: Zeydalinejad Nejat , Pour-Beyranvand Ali , Nassery Hamid Reza , Ghazi Babak
Published: July 2024

The incremental impacts of climate change on elements within the water cycle are a growing concern. Intricate karst aquifers have received limited attention concerning climate change, especially those with sparse data. Additionally, snow cover has been overlooked in simulating karst spring discharge rates. This study aims to assess climate change effects in a data-scarce karst anticline, specifically Khorramabad, Iran, focusing on temperature, precipitation, snow cover, and Kio spring flows. Utilizing two shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs), namely SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5, extracted from the CMIP6 dataset for the base period (1991–2018) and future periods (2021–2040 and 2041–2060), the research employs Landsat data and artificial neural networks (ANNs) for snow cover and spring discharge computation, respectively. ANNs are trained using the training and verification periods of 1991–2010 and 2011–2018, respectively. Results indicate projected increases in temperature, between + 1.21 °C (2021–2040 under SSP245) and + 2.93 °C (2041–2060 under SSP585), and precipitation, from + 2.91 mm/month (2041–2060 under SSP585) to + 4.86 mm/month (2021–2040 under SSP585). The ANN models satisfactorily simulate spring discharge and snow cover, predicting a decrease in snow cover between − 4 km2/month (2021–2040 under SSP245) and − 11.4 km2/month (2041–2060 under SSP585). Spring discharges are anticipated to increase from + 28.5 l/s (2021–2040 under SSP245) to + 57 l/s (2041–2060 under SSP585) and from + 12.1 l/s (2021–2040 under SSP585) to + 36.1 l/s (2041–2060 under SSP245), with and without snow cover as an input, respectively. These findings emphasize the importance of considering these changes for the sustainability of karst groundwater in the future.
Specifications tests for count time series models with covariates
Authors: Hudecová Šárka , Hušková Marie , Meintanis Simos G.
Published: July 2024

We propose a goodness-of-fit test for a class of count time series models with covariates which includes the Poisson autoregressive model with covariates (PARX) as a special case. The test criteria are derived from a specific characterization for the conditional probability generating function, and the test statistic is formulated as a

$$L_2$$

L
2

weighting norm of the corresponding sample counterpart. The asymptotic properties of the proposed test statistic are provided under the null hypothesis as well as under specific alternatives. A bootstrap version of the test is explored in a Monte–Carlo study and illustrated on a real data set on road safety.
The impact of respirable dust exposure on lung function parameters of motorcycle taxi drivers in Bangkok and adjacent provinces, Thailand
Authors: Samana Kamonwan , Ito Kimihito , Suthienkul Orasa , Ketsakorn Arroon
Published: July 2024

The motorcycle taxi drivers of Bangkok and adjacent provinces in Thailand may have been heavily exposed to ambient air pollution and the impact of this on their lungs has been neither documented nor studied. In this study, we recruited a total of 343 motorcycle taxi drivers in Bangkok and adjacent provinces in Thailand and their lung function parameters were analyzed using spirometry in May and June 2022. Of these, 153 participants were selected and their exposure to respirable dust during working was measured by personal air sampling. Respirable dust concentrations collected with personal air sampling suggested that motorcycle taxi drivers working at workstations where they were exposed to respirable dust at high concentrations tended to have a low percent predicted FEV1. Twelve% and 7.3% of motorcycle taxi drivers recruited in this study had the symptoms of chronic bronchitis and acute bronchitis, respectively. These results suggested that some motorcycle taxi drivers around Bangkok and adjacent provinces had a high risk of occupational exposure to ambient air pollution. The government needs to establish a medical check-up system for motorcycle taxi drivers to monitor their health status.
The relation between reading and externalizing behavior: a correlational meta-analysis
Authors: Pickren Sage E. , Torelli Jessica N. , Miller Anna H. , Chow Jason C.
Published: July 2024

Reading proficiency is important because it has life-long consequences and influences success in other academic areas. Many students with behavior problems are poor readers and many students with learning disabilities have more behavior problems than their typical peers. We conducted a correlational meta-analysis to examine the association between reading and externalizing behavior in students ages 5–12. We identified 33 studies that reported 88 effect sizes. Using a random-effects linear regression model with robust variance estimation, we found a significant, negative correlation (r= −0.1698, SE = 0.01, p < 0.0001) between reading and externalizing behavior. We tested several moderators related to measurement and sample characteristics. We found that rater type, behavior dimension (e.g., aggression), time between longitudinal measurement points, age of the sample, and percentage male of the sample moderated the relation between reading and behavior. Whether the reading assessment measured comprehension or word reading and socioeconomic status of the sample did not moderate the relation. Understanding the association between reading and externalizing behavior has implications for disability identification and intervention practices for children in elementary school. Future research should examine shared cognitive factors and environmental influences that explain the relation between the constructs.
Efficacy and safety outcomes in Japanese patients with low-risk polycythemia vera treated with ropeginterferon alfa-2b
Authors: Shimoda Kazuya , Qin Albert , Komatsu Norio , Kirito Keita
Published: July 2024

Polycythemia vera (PV) is a Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by clonal erythrocytosis. A phase 2 study reported that ropeginterferon alfa-2b is a well-tolerated and effective treatment for PV in Japanese patients. This post hoc analysis of the phase 2 data further evaluated outcomes in patients at low risk of thrombosis (low-risk PV). Among 20 patients with low-risk PV, 60.0% (12/20) and 85.0% (17/20) achieved < 45% hematocrit by weeks 24 and 52, respectively. The proportion of responders with complete hematologic response (CHR) was 60.0% (12/20) at week 52, and the median time to response was 11.9 months. The mean JAK2 V617F allele burden decreased from 75.8% at baseline to 53.7% at week 52. No patient experienced thrombosis or bleeding episodes. All patients experienced treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) related to ropeginterferon alfa-2b, but no grade ≥ 3 TEAEs or deaths related to ropeginterferon alfa-2b occurred, and no new safety concerns arose. This analysis indicated that ropeginterferon alfa-2b may be an effective treatment option for Japanese patients with low-risk PV.
Impact of pre-existing depression and food insecurity on the trajectory of depressive symptomatology during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in South Africa: A panel analysis of nationally representative South African data
Authors: Dladla-Jaca Philile , Ncama Busisiwe P. , Moodley Yoshan , Sobratee-Fajurally Nafiisa , Davids Rashieda , Ngidi Mjabuliseni Simon C. , Sutherland Catherine , Siwela Muthulisi , Mabhaudhi Tafadzwanashe , Modi Albert T. , Slotow Rob , Burns Jonathan K. , Tomita Andrew
Published: July 2024

We investigated the trajectory of depressive symptoms (“depression”) from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa (March 2020) until 2021, between individuals with and without pre-pandemic depression, specifically regarding the role of food security. Our investigation used publicly available panel data (N = 6,930) from the South African National Income Dynamics Study Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (SA-NIDS-CRAM from 2020–2021) on those who had also participated in the pre-pandemic South African National Income Dynamics Study (SA-NIDS, 2017) depression interview. We investigated trends in depressive symptomatology (based on a 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire) at SA-NIDS-CRAM Wave 2 (July 2020), Wave 3 (February 2021) and Wave 5 (May 2021). Generalized estimating equations (GEE) with post-estimation linear combinations of estimators were fitted to investigate the roles of pre-pandemic depression (based on 2017 SA-NIDS data) and food insecurity during the pandemic on depressive symptomatology. During the pandemic, the highest levels of depression were observed consistently among those with pre-pandemic depression and food insecurity; and were lowest among those without pre-pandemic depression and food security. Depressive symptomatology rose in nearly equal magnitude during the early phases of the pandemic in two groups: those without pre-pandemic depression but food insecure during the pandemic; as well as those with pre-pandemic depression but food secure during the pandemic. However, this dynamic changed later in the pandemic, when higher depressive symptomatology was observed in the group with both pre-pandemic depression and food insecurity, widening the gap between them from Wave 3 (adj β = 0.63, p < 0.01) to Wave 5 (adj β = 0.79, p < 0.01). Our results highlight the importance of addressing both population mental health and food insecurity, particularly at the early stages of a crisis/disaster. As we showed that mental health impact is linked to food insecurity during a pandemic, strengthening social protection measures, especially around food and nutrition, would help build resilience to crises in the long term.
Discrete superior dynamics of a generalized chaotic system
Authors: Renu  , Ashish  , Chugh Renu
Published: July 2024

In the past few decades, the discrete dynamics of difference maps have attained the remarkable attention of researchers owing to their incredible applications in different domains, like cryptography, secure communications, weather forecasting, traffic flow models, neural network models, and population biology. In this article, a generalized chaotic system is proposed, and superior dynamics is disclosed through fixed point analysis, time-series evolution, cobweb representation, period-doubling, period-3 window, and Lyapunov exponent properties. The comparative bifurcation and Lyapunov plots report the superior stability and chaos performance of the generalized system. It is interesting to notice that the generalized system exhibits superior dynamics due to an additional control parameter $$\beta $$
β
. Analytical and numerical simulations are used to explore the superior dynamical characteristics of the generalized system for some specific values of parameter $$\beta $$
β
. Further, it is inferred that the superiority in dynamics of the generalized system may be efficiently used for better future applications.
In Search of Living Law: How Should We Design for (Digital) Legal Interaction?
Authors: Koulu Riikka
Published: July 2024

In his work on human-centric design, urban theorist Christopher Alexander elaborated design patterns as a way to conceptualise and practice urban design together with its users. Alexander aspired to design “living places”, physical spaces created by the social interactions that take place there. In this article, I use this lens to uncover the “living places” of law, and what might be the “living law” that legal design patterns could capture? I explore law as a product of design, and design as an activity, an activity that produces the many material manifestations of law. These manifestations may be digital or analog, such as case files on paper or interactive online forms, courthouse architecture or institutional webpages, courtroom furniture or dispute resolution platforms. Although often overlooked in legal scholarship, such material manifestations shape legal interaction, privileging certain forms and actors over others. They reflect values and ideologies as well as legal concepts and doctrines. By thinking about law through legal design patterns, living law becomes defined through interaction. I explore this connection between spatial and material arrangements and legal interaction they manifest and enable. This analysis makes it possible to compare law’s old material manifestations with its new places and things that rely on digital technologies. This shift of focus to legal interaction enables us to ask what legal interaction is, how it should be designed, and by whom, reconceptualising the dynamics of law, technology, and design. Ultimately, legal design patterns may provide us with conceptual and methodological tools for designing user-centric justice.
Imprisonment for breach of injunctions: what is happening in the civil courts?
Authors: Hunter Caroline , Epstein Rona , Meers Jed
Published: July 2024

Drawing on a dataset of 263 contempt of court decisions, this paper examines a widespread but under-interrogated phenomenon: imprisonment for breach of injunctions. Across a wide range of contexts – from cases involving anti-social behaviour, protest, Gypsy and Traveller communities – courts across the country are using their civil contempt of court powers to imprison individuals for breaching injunctions. As the first research to date that explicitly examines this issue, the paper falls into four parts. First, it introduces the powers to make an injunction; in section 2 the courts’ powers on committal are outlined. Section 3 introduces the dataset on which this paper is based. Finally, section 4 explores the geographical distribution of cases, sentencing decisions, and the representation of defendants in these proceedings. We identify significant disparities in the application and enforcement of injunctions, raising critical questions about legal practices, fairness and equality. We advocate for ongoing academic research in this area.
Hydraulic Properties Within the Complete Moisture Range of Hydric Soil on the Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Wang X. , Wang Z. L. , Yang W. , Liu R.
Published: July 2024

The Tibetan Plateau is well‐known for its expansive wetland environments. Hydric soils, a fundamental component of these environments, exhibit diverse hydraulic characteristics attributable to their varied botanical and mineralogical composition and their inherent porous structures. Nonetheless, research on the hydraulic properties of such soils in Tibet remains notably underrepresented relative to European and Canadian regions. Consequently, in this study, we evaluate the effectiveness of different unsaturated hydraulic schemes in equilibrium and examine the parameter uncertainty of 14 undisturbed samples collected from four soligenous wetlands. The findings suggest that both the van Genuchten and Kosugi functions, when integrated with the Peters‐Iden‐Durner (PDI) model, yield a nearly consistent fit to experimental observations and demonstrate strong identifiability of parameters. This indicates that the PDI model can accurately characterize hydraulic properties across the complete moisture range of hydric soils. Analysis of samples with a low clay content and no sphagnum suggests that the intertwined, twisted, and hollow residues of herbaceous vascular tissues do not create a distinct, independent macro‐pore system. Therefore, the unimodal scheme integrating the PDI model is adequate. However, for samples that exhibit nonmonotonicity of the first‐order derivative of the retention curve, such as uncompacted samples containing sphagnum or samples rich in clay, the integration of the PDI model into the bimodal scheme boosts accuracy while having almost negligible impact on identifiability. The varied observed hydraulic properties of only 14 samples underscore the necessity for extensive hydric‐soil sampling and hydraulic analysis across the expansive and varied wetland landscapes on the Tibetan Plateau.
Snapshots of Coastal Ecology Using Multiproxy Analysis Reveals Insights Into the Preservation of Swamp and Marsh Environments Since the Late Pleistocene
Authors: Fontenot Kendall , DeLong Kristine L. , Schubert Brian A. , Warny Sophie , Wallace Davin J. , Miller Carrie M. , Culver‐Miller Erin , Polito Michael J. , Reese Carl A. , Garretson Kathryn , Xu Kehui , Harley Grant L. , Obelcz Jeffrey , Moran Kelli L. , Traphagan Julian , Jones Douglas , Caporaso Alicia
Published: July 2024

The southeastern United States Coastal Plain ecosystem contains baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) swamps and grass‐dominated marshes. These ecosystems also occurred on the exposed continental shelf during lower sea levels but are rarely preserved due to the mechanically erosive nature of transgression and regression. Two presently marine sites on the northeastern Gulf of Mexico's continental shelf contain well‐preserved woody terrestrial sediments that were the subject of previous studies. This study continues the investigation using geochemical (δ13C, δ15N, δ34S) and palynological characteristics of these formerly terrestrial sediments to determine if swamps and/or marshes existed at the time of deposition. The first site is located ∼20 km southeast of Horn Island, Mississippi (MS) and the core has terrestrial sediments radiocarbon dated to 11,066–10,228 (2σ) calibrated years BP (early Holocene). The second site is the “Alabama Underwater Forest” located ∼13 km south of Gulf Shores, Alabama (AL) and the cores have terrestrial sediments optically stimulated luminescence dated to 63 ka (±10 ka, 2σ) to 72 ka (±16 ka, 2σ) (late Pleistocene). Geochemical results for the MS sediments indicate a swamp‐to‐freshwater marsh transitional series, whereas the AL sediments indicate a swamp‐to‐saltwater marsh transitional series, both supported by palynological results. Further exploration of the geochemical results using linear discriminant analysis, trained with published geochemical data, supports the swamp and marsh interpretations. We conclude that the near‐pristine preservation of these woody deposits is not solely due to physical mechanisms, such as rapid burial, but is also coupled with anoxia‐ and euxinia‐driven biogeochemical reactions promoting wood and woody debris preservation in swamp and marsh environments.