bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Draft Genome Sequence of Candida saopaulonensis from a Very Premature Infant with Sepsis
Authors: Ning Ya-Ting , Dai Rong-Chen , Luo Zheng-Yu , Xiao Meng , Xu Yingchun , Yan Qun , Zhang Li
Published: April 2024

The rare fungus Candida saopaulonensis has never been reported to be associated with human infection. We report the draft genome sequence of the first clinical isolate of C. saopaulonensis, which was isolated from a very premature infant with sepsis. This is the first genome assembly reaching the near-complete chromosomal level with structural annotation for this species, opening up avenues for exploring evolutionary patterns and genetic mechanisms of pathogenesis.
Identifying anomalous patterns in ecological communities’ diversity: leveraging functional boxplots and clustering of normalized Hill’s numbers and their integral functions
Authors: Porreca Annamaria , Maturo Fabrizio
Published: April 2024

Diversity is fundamental in many disciplines, such as ecology, business, biology, and medicine. From a statistical perspective, calculating a measure of diversity, whatever the context of reference, always poses the same methodological challenges. For example, in the ecological field, although biodiversity is widely recognised as a positive element of an ecosystem, and there are decades of studies in this regard, there is no consensus measure to evaluate it. The problem is that diversity is a complex, multidimensional, and multivariate concept. Limiting to the idea of diversity as variety, recent studies have presented functional data analysis to deal with diversity profiles and their inherently high-dimensional nature. A limitation of this recent research is that the identification of anomalies currently still focuses on univariate measures of biodiversity. This study proposes an original approach to identifying anomalous patterns in environmental communities’ biodiversity by leveraging functional boxplots and functional clustering. The latter approaches are implemented to standardised and normalised Hill’s numbers treating them as functional data and Hill’s numbers integral functions. Each of these functional transformations offers a peculiar and exciting point of view and interpretation. This research is valuable for identifying warning signs that precede pathological situations of biodiversity loss and the presence of possible pollutants.
Conceptualizing the landscape of digital health entrepreneurship: a systematic review and research agenda
Authors: Weimar Sascha Noel , Martjan Rahel Sophie , Terzidis Orestis
Published: April 2024

Digital health, which encompasses the use of digital technology to enhance and support healthcare, can potentially transform the healthcare industry. As healthcare systems struggle to provide high-quality care, entrepreneurs and startups have turned to digital health technology to create innovative products and services that aim at improving healthcare outcomes and reducing costs. This has made digital health entrepreneurship a major driving force for achieving good health and high-quality care. The study aims to analyze the current state of research in digital health entrepreneurship by identifying contributing disciplines and common research themes. A comprehensive literature review based on state-of-the-art definitions of digital health entrepreneurship was conducted to achieve this goal. A total of 164 articles met the final inclusion criteria, and the subsequent inductive analysis revealed the presence of three contributing disciplines and ten distinct themes: Academia Transfer and Education, Ecosystem and Stakeholder, Product and Business Development, Business Model, Classification, Management and Strategy, Regulation, Digital Technology, Implementation and Adoption, and Evaluation. These themes were organized into a conceptual framework depicting the internal and external building blocks of digital health entrepreneurship. The review highlights the importance of a structured understanding of the industry, including its business models and regulatory environment, as well as the role of the various healthcare stakeholders. This analysis can guide researchers and entrepreneurs seeking to navigate the digital health landscape and proposes further research avenues.
Long-term exposure of endangered Danube sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) to bisphenol A (BPA): growth, behavioral, histological, genotoxic, and hematological evaluation
Authors: Minaz Mert , Kurtoğlu İlker Zeki
Published: April 2024

Danube sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) which is identified as endangered species can be exposed to pollutants such as bisphenol A (BPA) that have a disruptive effect on the endocrine system at any time. Starting from this motivation, the current study focused on BPA toxicity in A. gueldenstaedtii juvenile individuals and its adverse effects in sub-lethal concentration. The median lethal concentration (LC50) of BPA was 5.03 mg/L in 96th hour. In the chronic period, 0.625 mg/L and 1.25 mg/L BPA concentrations were evaluated based on the result of acute study. Accordingly, growth performance was significantly decreased in BPA groups (1.25 mg/L BPA group was significantly lowest) compared to control (p < 0.05). In the acute period, behavioral disorders were standing at the bottom/corner of tank, slowing and stopping of gill movement, decreased response to stimuli, and death, respectively. While vacuolization was severe in the liver tissue of the fish in the acute period, intense necrosis and melanomacrophage centers were observed in the chronic period. In terms of genotoxicity, longer DNA migration was observed in all groups exposed to BPA than in the control group. In addition, lower erythrocyte and hemoglobin were observed in the BPA groups compared to control. As a result, the current study revealed toxic effect of BPA on A. gueldenstaedtii juvenile individuals and its negative results on fish physiology.
The Puzzle of Dion and Theon Solved
Authors: Baber H. E.
Published: April 2024

Dion is a human person, Lefty is his left foot, and Theon is Lefty-Complement, a proper part of Dion. Lefty is annihilated and Dion survives left-footless. After Lefty’s annihilation Theon, if he survives, occupies the same region as Dion. I suggest that this scenario be understood as a fusion case in which Dion and Theon, initially overlapping but distinct, are identical after Lefty’s annihilation and propose an account of proper names that allows us to say that Dion and Theon have ‘become identical’ without commitment to occasional identity or other controversial metaphysical doctrines. The proposed solution employs the semantics developed by Wolfgang Schwarz to address the ‘paradox of occasional identity’, posed by puzzle cases of fission, to deal with the problem of Dion and Theon, a body-minus puzzle.
Advancing understanding of learning experience design: refining and clarifying definitions using an eDelphi study approach
Authors: Tawfik Andrew , Schmidt Matthew , Payne Linda , Huang Rui
Published: April 2024

We report findings from an eDelphi study that aimed to explore 16 expert panelists’ perspectives regarding the key attributes of learning experience design (LXD) as it relates to the following: design, disciplines, methods, and theory. Findings suggest consensus was reached regarding LXD’s focus on learner-centrism and incorporating human-centered design practices to design learning environments. LXD practitioners adapt methods and theories from fields such as human–computer interaction and user experience. Implications suggest a need to develop specific methods and theories within our own field.
Experimental investigations of water retention curves of fresh and decomposed municipal solid wastes under multiple drying and wetting cycles
Authors: Xie Yuekai , Xue Jianfeng
Published: April 2024

Municipal solid wastes (MSWs) disposed in landfills are generally exposed to drying and wetting cycles because of the variation in environmental conditions, decomposition of organics and leachate recirculation. This paper studies the water retention curves (WRCs) of fresh and degraded MSWs under various numbers of drying and wetting cycles with water and leachate exposure. The result indicates that the water retention capacities of MSWs decrease with drying and wetting cycles. The maximum hysteresis between the drying and wetting cycles is observed in the first cycles for all MSW samples. The WRCs of medium to highly decomposed MSWs under drying and wetting cycles are similar to those of soils. The WRCs of fresh MSWs can undergo substantial changes due to the discharge of intra-particle moisture caused by decomposition and compression. For both fresh and decomposed MSWs, the WRCs stabilize after 3 drying and wetting cycles. However, only the MSWs of one initial composition with similar void ratios were investigated. Further research should be conducted to investigate the water retention behavior of MSWs with diverse initial compositions (e.g., food contents) and void ratios.
Born Global Maturity: Strategic Aspects and Performance Consequences
Authors: Efrat Kalanit , Asseraf Yoel
Published: April 2024

Born global firms (BGs) contribute significantly to economic growth, but few studies have examined the post-internationalization stage of BGs. In addition, studies of the impact of changes in strategic aspects as BGs mature on BG performance and survival have yielded conflicting results. To address this gap in knowledge, the present study examines the relationships between intelligence generation and innovation orientation, and branding strategies as moderated by maturity. The data were received from 133 senior managers of BGs of various ages. The analysis shows that BG maturity negatively moderates the relationship between intelligence generation and functional branding strategy but does not influence the relationships of innovation orientation with branding strategies. Furthermore, emotional branding showed stable association with both financial and market performance indicators. This study demonstrates that maturity affects the orientations and performance of BGs and calls for a reassessment of the competitive international strategy of BGs at the post-entry stage.
An Approach to Evolutionary Sociology and its Implications for Theorizing on Socio-Cultural Evolution
Authors: Maryanski Alexandra , Turner Jonathan H.
Published: April 2024

A theoretical research program is outlined that seeks to use the Modern Synthesis in explaining human evolution, but also recognizes its limitations in explaining the evolution of socio-cultural systems. The universe, from a human perspective, is composed of physical, biological, and socio-cultural dimensions, each revealing unique properties and dynamics. In the case of the socio-cultural universe, modern evolutionary theory is relevant for some explanations, but not to the degree assumed by socio-biology, evolutionary psychology, and even co-evolutionary models. The program proposed is built around social network theory, cladistic analysis, and comparative neuro-anatomy, and outlines where biological analysis is appropriate and useful. An understanding of the biological basis of human behavior will allow sociologists to develop theoretical approaches to explaining the emergent properties of the socio-cultural universe. The strategy outlined will allow us to see what a mature evolutionary sociology can do: develop abstract theoretical laws about the dynamics of selection on socio-cultural formations in human societies.
Enhancing discharge decision-making through continuous monitoring in an acute admission ward: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Kant Niels , Garssen Sjoerd H. , Vernooij Carlijn A. , Mauritz Gert-Jan , Koning Mark V. , Bosch Frank H. , Doggen Carine J. M.
Published: April 2024

In Acute Admission Wards, vital signs are commonly measured only intermittently. This may result in failure to detect early signs of patient deterioration and impede timely identification of patient stability, ultimately leading to prolonged stays and avoidable hospital admissions. Therefore, continuous vital sign monitoring may improve hospital efficacy. The objective of this randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the effect of continuous monitoring on the proportion of patients safely discharged home directly from an Acute Admission Ward. Patients were randomized to either the control group, which received usual care, or the sensor group, which additionally received continuous monitoring using a wearable sensor. The continuous measurements could be considered in discharge decision-making by physicians during the daily bedside rounds. Safe discharge was defined as no unplanned readmissions, emergency department revisits or deaths, within 30 days after discharge. Additionally, length of stay, the number of Intensive Care Unit admissions and Rapid Response Team calls were assessed. In total, 400 patients were randomized, of which 394 completed follow-up, with 196 assigned to the sensor group and 198 to the control group. The proportion of patients safely discharged home was 33.2% in the sensor group and 30.8% in the control group (p = 0.62). No significant differences were observed in secondary outcomes. The trial was terminated prematurely due to futility. In conclusion, continuous monitoring did not have an effect on the proportion of patients safely discharged from an Acute Admission Ward. Implementation challenges of continuous monitoring may have contributed to the lack of effect observed. Trial registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05181111. Registered: January 6, 2022.
Sequences of Operators, Monotone in the Sense of Contractive Domination
Authors: Hassi S. , de Snoo H. S. V.
Published: April 2024

A sequence of operators $$T_n$$

T
n

from a Hilbert space $${{\mathfrak {H}}}$$
H
to Hilbert spaces $${{\mathfrak {K}}}_n$$

K
n

which is nondecreasing in the sense of contractive domination is shown to have a limit which is still a linear operator T from $${{\mathfrak {H}}}$$
H
to a Hilbert space $${{\mathfrak {K}}}$$
K
. Moreover, the closability or closedness of $$T_n$$

T
n

is preserved in the limit. The closures converge likewise and the connection between the limits is investigated. There is no similar way of dealing directly with linear relations. However, the sequence of closures is still nondecreasing and then the convergence is governed by the monotonicity principle. There are some related results for nonincreasing sequences.
Sociology and Sociological Education in Italy Between Universities and Upper Secondary Schools
Authors: Cubeddu Francesca , Scocco Marta
Published: April 2024

Sociology was first introduced to Italy in 1961, when Franco Ferrarotti became the first tenure track professor in 1960 at Rome’s Sapienza University. The Institute of Sociology was founded in the 1963/1964 academic year, and in 1962, the first Faculty of Sociology was established at the University of Trento. The process of formation is rather late when considering both the development of sociology as an autonomous science and the historical evolution of the various European universities. Sociology is now widely recognised as a discipline in Italy and is taught at universities as part of both bachelor’s and master's degree programmes, as well as in high schools (known as secondary schools of first level) for students aged 14 to 18/19. This work presents the development of sociology in Italy and its formation. Beginning with the development of sociology, it provides a historical analysis of its scientific recognition, role within the social system, and evolution as a science and association. It then explores the disciplin’s place in the Italian university educational system, analyzing its changes over the years. Finally, it discusses the formation of sociology within schools.
What’s the safest way home? Mapping safe transport routes in South Africa with (and without) crime data
Authors: Theron K. , Breetzke Gregory
Published: April 2024

Safety is arguably the single biggest daily concern for commuters. Popular navigation software systems such as Google Maps, TomTom and Waze do not however currently give the same weight of consideration to crime risk when directing road users to the safest and shortest routes as they do existing traffic knowledge. In this study we propose three simple methods to delineate the safest and shortest route between any two locations in South Africa considering crime risk. The first method uses historical crime data to delineate the safest and shortest route; the second method, uses only the location of so-called ‘risky facilities’ to determine the safest and shortest route; while the third method uses a combination of both historical crime data and facility data to delineate the optimal route. We contrast the resultant routes delineating by these three methods and speculate on the policy implications of integrating this knowledge into future navigation software systems.
Evaluation of the Patients with the Diagnosis of Pontocerebellar Hypoplasia: A Multicenter National Study
Authors: Cavusoglu Dilek , Ozturk Gulten , Turkdogan Dilsad , Kurul Semra Hiz , Yis Uluc , Komur Mustafa , Incecik Faruk , Kara Bulent , Sahin Turkan , Unver Olcay , Dilber Cengiz , Mert Gulen Gul , Gunay Cagatay , Uzan Gamze Sarikaya , Ersoy Ozlem , Oktay Yavuz , Mermer Serdar , Tuncer Gokcen Oz , Gungor Olcay , Ozcora Gul Demet Kaya , Gumus Ugur , Sezer Ozlem , Cetin Gokhan Ozan , Demir Fatma , Yilmaz Arzu , Gurbuz Gurkan , Topcu Meral , Topaloglu Haluk , Ceylan Ahmet Cevdet , Ceylaner Serdar , Gleeson Joseph G. , Icagasioglu Dilara Fusun , Sonmez F. Mujgan
Published: April 2024

Pontocerebellar hypoplasia (PCH) is a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders characterized by hypoplasia and degeneration of the cerebellum and pons. We aimed to identify the clinical, laboratory, and imaging findings of the patients with diagnosed PCH with confirmed genetic analysis. We collected available clinical data, laboratory, and imaging findings in our retrospective multicenter national study of 64 patients with PCH in Turkey. The genetic analysis included the whole-exome sequencing (WES), targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS), or single gene analysis. Sixty-four patients with PCH were 28 female (43.8%) and 36 (56.3%) male. The patients revealed homozygous mutation in 89.1%, consanguinity in 79.7%, pregnancy at term in 85.2%, microcephaly in 91.3%, psychomotor retardation in 98.4%, abnormal neurological findings in 100%, seizure in 63.8%, normal biochemistry and metabolic investigations in 92.2%, and dysmorphic findings in 51.2%. The missense mutation was found to be the most common variant type in all patients with PCH. It was detected as CLP1 (n = 17) was the most common PCH related gene. The homozygous missense variant c.419G > A (p.Arg140His) was identified in all patients with CLP1. Moreover, all patients showed the same homozygous missense variant c.919G > T (p.A307S) in TSEN54 group (n = 6). In Turkey, CLP1 was identified as the most common causative gene with the identical variant c.419G > A; p.Arg140His. The current study supports that genotype data on PCH leads to phenotypic variability over a wide phenotypic spectrum.
Augmenting sentiment prediction capabilities for code-mixed tweets with multilingual transformers
Authors: Hashmi Ehtesham , Yayilgan Sule Yildirim , Shaikh Sarang
Published: April 2024

People in the modern digital era are increasingly embracing social media platforms to express their concerns and emotions in the form of reviews or comments. While positive interactions within diverse communities can considerably enhance confidence, it is critical to recognize that negative comments can hurt people’s reputations and well-being. Currently, individuals tend to express their thoughts in their native languages on these platforms, which is quite challenging due to potential syntactic ambiguity in these languages. Most of the research has been conducted for resource-aware languages like English. However, low-resource languages such as Urdu, Arabic, and Hindi present challenges due to limited linguistic resources, making information extraction labor-intensive. This study concentrates on code-mixed languages, including three types of text: English, Roman Urdu, and their combination. This study introduces robust transformer-based algorithms to enhance sentiment prediction in code-mixed text, which is a combination of Roman Urdu and English in the same context. Unlike conventional deep learning-based models, transformers are adept at handling syntactic ambiguity, facilitating the interpretation of semantics across various languages. We used state-of-the-art transformer-based models like Electra, code-mixed BERT (cm-BERT), and Multilingual Bidirectional and Auto-Regressive Transformers (mBART) to address sentiment prediction challenges in code-mixed tweets. Furthermore, results reveal that mBART outperformed the Electra and cm-BERT models for sentiment prediction in code-mixed text with an overall F1-score of 0.73. In addition to this, we also perform topic modeling to uncover shared characteristics within the corpus and reveal patterns and commonalities across different classes.
A Systematic Review on the Technical Feasibility of Home-Polysomnography for Diagnosis of Sleep Disorders in Adults
Authors: Braun M. , Stockhoff M. , Tijssen M. , Dietz-Terjung S. , Coughlin S. , Schöbel C.
Published: April 2024

Purpose of Review

The increasing demand for sleep diagnostic studies represents a challenge for many healthcare systems. Home polysomnography (hPSG), either set up by a technician or self-applied by the patient, provides comprehensive sleep signals and has the potential to replace in-lab sleep studies in a large number of cases.The aim of this study is to assess the existing evidence regarding the technical feasibility of hPSG in a systematic review. A systematic literature search was conducted in MEDLINE, PubMed, and Google Scholar to identify relevant research. Using a priori-defined inclusion criteria, studies were reviewed by three researchers, and a quality assessment was conducted. Relevant data were extracted, and the pooled failure rate with hPSG was computed. Additional subgroup analyses were conducted to further assess factors influencing technical feasibility.

Recent Findings

Thirty studies totaling 14,465 patients were included (mean sample size 482 ± 1289 participants). Common deployment models for hPSG were at-home application by a technician (58%) and technician-led in-hospital set-up (31%), followed by at-home self-application by the patient (11%). Technical failure rate across the studies ranged from 0 to 23.4%, with a pooled failure rate of 7.8% (95% CI 5.5–10.1%). Depending on deployment models, failure rates varied slightly. Failures of hPSG were largely related to signal acquisition. No studies reported adverse events from hPSG. Patient preferences were assessed by eleven studies, with 56% (range 22–95%) preferring hPSG over in-lab recording.

Based on the research identified for this review, home PSG is safe and technically feasible with relatively low failure rates. Further research is required to better understand decision-making with this tool in comparison to other sleep diagnostic procedures.
Consistency-constrained RGB-T crowd counting via mutual information maximization
Authors: Guo Qiang , Yuan Pengcheng , Huang Xiangming , Ye Yangdong
Published: April 2024

The incorporation of thermal imaging data in RGB-T images has demonstrated its usefulness in cross-modal crowd counting by offering complementary information to RGB representations. Despite achieving satisfactory results in RGB-T crowd counting, many existing methods still face two significant limitations: (1) The oversight of the heterogeneous gap between modalities complicates the effective integration of multimodal features. (2) The absence of mining consistency hinders the full exploitation of the unique complementary strengths inherent in each modality. To this end, we present C4-MIM, a novel Consistency-constrained RGB-T Crowd Counting approach via Mutual Information Maximization. It effectively leverages multimodal information by learning the consistency between the RGB and thermal modalities, thereby enhancing the performance of cross-modal counting. Specifically, we first advocate extracting feature representations of different modalities in a shared encoder to moderate the heterogeneous gap since they obey the identical coding rules with shared parameters. Then, we intend to mine the consistent information of different modalities to better learn conducive information and improve the performance of feature representations. To this end, we formulate the complementarity of multimodality representations as a mutual information maximization regularizer to maximize the consistent information of different modalities, in which the consistency would be maximally attained before combining the multimodal information. Finally, we simply aggregate the feature representations of the different modalities and send them into a regressor to output the density maps. The proposed approach can be implemented by arbitrary backbone networks and is quite robust in the face of single modality unavailable or serious compromised. Extensively experiments have been conducted on the RGBT-CC and DroneRGBT benchmarks to evaluate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed approach, demonstrating its superior performance compared to the SOTA approaches.
A collective neurodynamic approach to distributed resource allocation with event-triggered communication
Authors: Cai Xin , Gao Bingpeng , Nan Xinyuan
Published: April 2024

To solve a distributed optimal resource allocation problem, a collective neurodynamic approach based on recurrent neural networks (RNNs) is proposed in this paper. Multiple RNNs cooperatively solve a global constrained optimization problem in which the objective function is a total of local non-smooth convex functions and is subject to local convex sets and a global equality constraint. Different from the projection dynamics to deal with local convex sets in the existing work, an internal dynamics with projection output is designed in the algorithm to relax the Slater’s condition satisfied by the optimal solution. To overcome continuous-time communication in a group of RNNs, an aperiodic communication scheme, called the event-triggered scheme, is presented to alleviate communication burden. It is analyzed that the convergence of the designed collective neurodynamic approach based on the event-triggered communication does not rely on global information. Furthermore, it is proved the freeness of the Zeno behavior in the event-triggered scheme. Two examples are presented to illustrate the obtained results
Shock Response of Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) Under Explosive Loading
Authors: Torres S. M. , Hargather M. J. , Kimberley J. , Robey R. E.
Published: April 2024

The dynamic response of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is well understood for one-dimensional planar impact shocks, but limited research has been performed on the response of PMMA under spherical shock loading. In this work, the shock decay of an explosively-driven shock wave into PMMA was experimentally measured. PMMA cubes of various geometries were explosively loaded with an RP-80 detonator to produce the explosive shock wave. High-speed schlieren imaging was implemented to measure the explosively-driven shock wave velocity throughout the PMMA cubes. Photon Doppler velocimetry (PDV) was used to measure the particle velocity imparted by the shock wave at the surface of the cubes. The material shock response was studied at distances from 21.91 to 133.3 mm from the explosive source. The particle velocity history measured by PDV was compared to the wave profile visualized in the high-speed images. The shock wave pulse amplitude decreased with increased distance from the source. The conducted experiments extend the PMMA shock Hugoniot relating to the lower shock and particle velocity regime.
Functional graded NiTi manufactured with powder bed fusion
Authors: Weber Rico , Tosoratti Enrico , Spierings Adriaan B. , Wegener Konrad
Published: April 2024

Nickel–titanium (NiTi) is a versatile material with unique inherent properties, such as shape recovery, superelasticity, and biocompatibility, that makes it suitable for various engineering applications. While NiTi can be additively manufactured using powder bed fusion for metals (PBF-LB/M), challenges arise due to the material sensitivity to process parameters and the challenge of achieving desired mechanical and functional properties. Mechanical and functional properties of NiTi are highly influenced by the alloy composition which in turn is affected by the process parameters. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of tailoring the properties of NiTi to manufacture functionally graded structures. Promising shape recovery strains of 4.16$$\%$$
%
and superelastic strains of 7$$\%$$
%
under compression are achieved with cycling stability outperforming the conventional manufactured NiTi. By varying the process parameters, the austenite finish temperature could be shifted between 29 ± 5 $$^\circ$$

∘

C and 72 ± 5 $$^\circ$$

∘

C, while achieving a maximum relative material density of 99.4$$\%$$
%
. Finally, the study demonstrates the potential of powder bed fusion to manufacture complex and functional graded structures, enabling spatial control. This potential is showcased through the sequential actuation of a demonstrator structure. The findings of this research highlight the promising capabilities of powder bed fusion in producing functional graded NiTi structures, with potential applications in robotics, aerospace, and biomedical fields.
Theoretical and experimental investigations of vanadium pentoxide–based electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline media
Authors: Alhawa Dima Abu , Badreldin Ahmed , El-Ghenymy Abdellatif , Hassan Noor , Wubulikasimu Yiming , Elsaid Khaled , Abdel-Wahab Ahmed
Published: April 2024

A key approach towards better realization of intermittent renewable energy resources, namely, solar and wind, is green electrochemical hydrogen production from water electrolysis. In recent years, there have been increasing efforts aimed at developing noble metal-free electrocatalysts that are earth-abundant and electroactive towards hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline electrolytes, wherein an initial water dissociation step is followed by a two-electron transfer cathodic reaction. Although relatively earth-abundant, vanadium-based electrocatalysts have been sparsely reported due to subpar electroactivity and kinetics towards water electrolysis in general and alkaline electrolysis in specific. Herein, we investigate the fine-tuning of orthorhombic V2O5-based electrocatalysts as candidates for HER through a scalable two-step sol–gel calcination procedure. Briefly, surface-induced anionic oxygen deficiencies and cationic dopants are synergistically studied experimentally and theoretically. To that end, first-principle facet-dependent density function theory (DFT) calculations were conducted and revealed that the coupling of certain dopants on V2O5 and co-induction of oxygen vacancies can enhance the catalytic HER performance by the creation of new electronic states near the Fermi level (EF), enhancing conductivity, and modulating surface binding of adsorbed protons, respectively. This was reflected experimentally through kinetically non-ideal alkaline electrochemical HER using Zn0.4V1.6O5 whereby − 194 mV of overpotential was required to attain − 10 mA/cm2 of current density, as opposed to pristine V2O5 which required 32% higher overpotential requirement at the same conditions. The disclosed work can be extended to other intrinsically sluggish transition metal (TM)–based oxides via the presented systematic tuning of surface and bulk microenvironment modulation.

Graphical Abstract
Experimental Study on Reutilization of Waste Rubber Chips with Sheetpiles as a Coupled-Wave Barrier to Reduce Ground-Borne Vibrations
Authors: Toygar Onur , Ulgen Deniz , Fidan Numan Burak
Published: April 2024

Purpose

Environmental and man-made vibrations due to various sources have become an environmental issue in recent years. Wave barriers such as open and in-filled trenches have been commonly used in the mitigation of these vibrations. Even though the open trench has exhibited better performance than the others, it may not be applicable or feasible in many cases. Therefore, soft and stiff barriers have been used for the same purpose. The present study aims to reveal the vibration isolation performance of not only single barriers such as rubber chips in-filled trenches and sheetpiles but also a novel barrier, rubber chips-sheetpile coupled barriers.

Methods

Rubber chips and sheetpiles were employed as soft and stiff wave barriers, respectively. The screening effectiveness of rubber chips, sheetpiles and their coupled form was examined through comprehensive field tests. Vibrations having frequencies in the range of 10–80 Hz were generated by a state-of-the-art mobile seismic shaker and measured by highly sensitive acceleration and velocity pickups in the absence and presence of these wave barriers. The effectiveness of the wave barriers was quantitatively determined.

Results and conclusion

While the sheetpile was more effective than rubber chips at low frequencies, the case was vice versa at higher frequencies. However, the coupled wave barrier outperformed other barriers in each case. If one barrier could not provide the required amount of isolation or is only effective within a limited range of frequency, using a coupled barrier with the installation of the other may significantly provide better vibration isolation.
The finite Jung constant in Banach spaces
Authors: Castillo Jesús M. F. , Papini Pier Luigi
Published: April 2024

We study in this paper the finite Jung constant, its interplay with Kottman’s constant and its meaning regarding the geometry of Banach spaces.
Association of trauma informed service learning with students’ knowledge, attitudes and confidence
Authors: Cabey Whitney V. , Tristani Kaelah , Strand Nicolle , Jones Nora , Sagin Hannah , Wright Steuart , Reeves Kathleen
Published: April 2024

Up to 90% of American adults have had prior exposure to trauma but medical education in Trauma Informed Care (TIC) remains limited. We integrated a TIC curriculum into a pre-clerkship medical student service learning program and measured its association with TIC knowledge, attitudes and confidence after year 1. 353 students participated in the pretest. 103 matched pairs are included in the final analysis. To assess gains from the curriculum, we utilized three instruments: Attitudes Towards Trauma Informed Care, a confidence instrument originally designed for social work students, and a knowledge assessment. We used paired t-tests to assess for score differences between administrations and fit a predictive model for change in score using a generalized estimating equations model. The average unadjusted sum score on the pretest was high—23.5 out of 30 (IQR 22.0–25.3). 69.7% of students somewhat or strongly agreed they had previously heard of TIC. Statistically significant negative associations were found between sum score, Black, Asian/PI, and biracial identities, second-year medical student status and prior familiarity with TIC. Average posttest scores in the matched cohort increased by 1.37 points (95% CI, 0.82–1.91). In the GEE model, Asian/PI race, biracial identity and being a second-year medical student remained statistically significant predictors of lower TIC scores, while identifying as a woman was positively associated. Further study is needed to contextualize these scores and to continue seeking effective resources for increasing clinicians’ capacity to practice TIC.
Inside the black mirror: current perspectives on the role of social media in mental illness self-diagnosis
Authors: Corzine Anjuli , Roy Ananya
Published: April 2024

The purpose of this article is to analyze the existing literature on the role of identity in mental illness and self-diagnostic behavior among individuals on social media. In this paper, we consolidate existing frameworks for illness identity formation based on principles of social contagion and community formation principles to conceptualize abnormal behaviors related to social media use, including Munchausen’s by Internet, mass social media-induced illness, and mass sociogenic illness. The importance of a diagnosis in personal identity formation and ingroup involvement is an emergent theme in this review. Social media communities represent a cultural antithesis of the medical establishment by rejecting healthcare expertise and creating spaces whose membership is only afforded through a psychiatric diagnosis for individuals to participate in shared experiences. Clinical implications of these findings include tools to identify and dismantle harmful self-pathologizing of normal behavioral variants in young adults who present with specific symptomatology.
The ambiguity of “true” in English, German, and Chinese
Authors: Reuter Kevin
Published: April 2024

Through a series of empirical studies involving native speakers of English, German, and Chinese, this paper reveals that the predicate “true” is inherently ambiguous in the empirical domain. Truth statements such as “It is true that Tom is at the party” seem to be ambivalent between two readings. On the first reading, the statement means “Reality is such that Tom is at the party.” On the second reading, the statement means “According to what X believes, Tom is at the party.” While there appear to exist some cross-cultural differences in the interpretation of the statements, the overall findings robustly indicate that “true” has multiple meanings in the realm of empirical matters.
Temperature imaging inside fluid devices using a ratiometric near infrared (NIR-II/III) fluorescent Y2O3: Nd3+, Yb3+, Er3+ nanothermometer
Authors: Umezawa Masakazu , Haraguchi Hikaru , Sugawara Gaku , Sato Konosuke , Kurahashi Hiroyuki , Oda Teiji , Okubo Kyohei , Soga Kohei
Published: April 2024

Luminescence thermometry is a non-contact method that can measure surface temperatures and the temperature of the area where the fluorescent probe is located, allowing temperature distribution visualizations with a camera. Ratiometric fluorescence thermometry, which uses the intensity ratio of fluorescence peaks at two wavelengths with different fluorescence intensity dependencies, is an excellent method for visualizing temperature distributions independent of the fluorophore spatial concentration, excitation light intensity and absolute fluorescence intensity. Herein, Nd3+/Yb3+/Er3+-doped Y2O3 nanomaterials with a diameter of 200 nm were prepared as phosphors for temperature distribution measurement of fluids at different temperatures. The advantages of this designed fluorescent material include non-aggregation in water and the fact that its near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence excitation (808 nm) is not absorbed by water, thereby minimizing sample heating upon irradiation. Under optical excitation at 808 nm, the ratio of the fluorescence intensities of Yb3+ (IYb; 975 nm) and Er3+ (IEr; 1550 nm), which exhibited different temperature responses, indicated the temperature distribution inside the fluid device. Thus, this technique using Nd3+/Yb3+/Er3+-doped Y2O3 is expected to be applied for temperature distribution mapping analysis inside fluidic devices as a ratiometric NIR fluorescence thermometer, which is unaffected by laser-induced heating.

Graphical abstract
Elastic surface wave attenuation in layered soil by metastructures
Authors: Zheng Xuan , Jin Yabin , Cai Runcheng , Rabczuk Timon , Zhu Hehua , Zhuang Xiaoying
Published: April 2024

Seismic metastructures are able to effectively attenuate or convert elastic surface waves, attracting increasing attention in different areas such as civil engineering. However, the effects of the source depth and layered characteristics of viscous soil on metastructures for elastic surface wave reduction with Bragg bandgap mechanism remain challenging, which are the key issues for practical applications. In this work, we calculate the dispersion and transmission of metastructures in layered soil and confirm that the metastructures can effectively attenuate the elastic surface waves within the bandgaps. Then, the influence of the embedded depth of the metastructures, the depth of the vibrating source, layered characteristics of viscous soil on the surface vibration reduction are further discussed. It is found that surface vibration attenuation is enhanced by increasing the embedded depth of the metastructures and the density of the first layer. The width of the bandgap increases with the introduction of soil viscosity. On the contrary, the surface vibration attenuation decreases if the vibrating source is placed at a certain depth which requires the bandgap of bulk waves of the metastructures. This study of the seismic metastructures in layered soil provides a guidance in surface vibration reduction in practice.
Distributed digital twins for health monitoring: resource constrained aero-engine fleet management
Authors: Hartwell A. , Montana F. , Jacobs W. , Kadirkamanathan V. , Ameri N. , Mills A. R.
Published: April 2024

Sensed data from high-value engineering systems is being increasingly exploited to optimise their operation and maintenance. In aerospace, returning all measured data to a central repository is prohibitively expensive, often causing useful, high-value data to be discarded. The ability to detect, prioritise and return useful data on asset and in real-time is vital to move toward more sustainable maintenance activities.

We present a data-driven solution for on-line detection and prioritisation of anomalous data that is centrally processed and used to update individualised digital twins (DT) distributed onto remote machines. The DT is embodied as a convolutional neural network (CNN) optimised for real-time execution on a resource constrained gas turbine monitoring computer. The CNN generates a state prediction with uncertainty, which is used as a metric to select informative data for transfer to a remote fleet monitoring system. The received data is screened for faults before updating the weights on the CNN, which are synchronised between real and virtual asset.

Results show the successful detection of a known in-flight engine fault and the collection of data related to high novelty pre-cursor events that were previously unrecognised. We demonstrate that data related to novel operation are also identified for transfer to the fleet monitoring system, allowing model improvement by retraining. In addition to these industrial dataset results, reproducible examples are provided for a public domain NASA dataset.

The data prioritisation solution is capable of running in real-time on production-standard low-power embedded hardware and is deployed on the Rolls-Royce Pearl 15 engines.
Unleashing collective intelligence for public decision-making: the Data for Policy community
Authors: Engin Zeynep , Gardner Emily , Hyde Andrew , Verhulst Stefaan , Crowcroft Jon
Published: April 2024

Since its establishment in 2014, Data for Policy (https://dataforpolicy.org) has emerged as a prominent global community promoting interdisciplinary research and cross-sector collaborations in the realm of data-driven innovation for governance and policymaking. This report presents an overview of the community’s evolution from 2014 to 2023 and introduces its six-area framework, which provides a comprehensive mapping of the data for policy research landscape. The framework is based on extensive consultations with key stakeholders involved in the international committees of the annual Data for Policy conference series and the open-access journal Data & Policy (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/data-and-policy), published by Cambridge University Press. By presenting this inclusive framework, along with the guiding principles and future outlook for the community, this report serves as a vital foundation for continued research and innovation in the field of data for policy.
Investigating Factors Influencing Disaster Preparedness Perception of Nurses in Turkey:A Meta-Analytic Approach
Authors: Ulupınar Fadime , Altınel Büşra , Aslan Manar
Published: April 2024

Aim and Background:

In contemporary healthcare, the crucial importance of disaster preparedness and response within the nursing profession has gained recognition. Considering the elevated probability of encountering numerous disasters in Türkiye, it is noteworthy that limited research has been conducted in this domain. This study, therefore, aims to investigate the related factors to nurses’ disaster preparedness Türkiye through a meta-analysis method.

Methods:

The study was conducted based on PRISMA guidelines. We searched the national databases in Türkiye and Web of Science Core Collection. Descriptive studies published in Turkish or English between 01.01.2000-31.12.2021 in Türkiye were included in the study to derive the pooled outputs.

Results:

A total of nine studies, encompassing a sample size of 3222 nurses, met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis’ results revealed that gender and prior experience with disasters did not exhibit a statistically significant impact on nurses’ disaster preparedness (p>0.05). Conversely, engaging in disaster education programs, familiarizing oneself with disaster plans, and actively participating in disaster drills were found to have a significant positive effect on nurses’ preparedness for disasters (p<0.05). However, it is worth noting that the analysis of disaster experience exhibited substantial heterogeneity (I2=85.6%), indicating variations among the included studies. Similarly, the analysis related to reading disaster plans also demonstrated high heterogeneity (I2=77.7%).

Conclusion:

Based on the available evidence from the meta-analysis, it can be concluded that receiving disaster education, reading disaster plans, and participating in disaster drills have a positive and significant impact on nurses’ perception of disaster preparedness.
The stepwise decrease of 4+ year ice extent and its linked survivability since around 2007
Authors: Shan Qi , Fan Ke , Liu Jiping
Published: April 2024

Recent studies have reported a shift in the Arctic sea ice to a younger state after around 2007. This study reveals that this shift can be primarily attributed to a stepwise-type reduction in the extent of 4 years or older (4+ year) ice and its linked survivability. After this shift, the fraction of 4+ year ice extent relative to the total ice changed from 30.5 to 10.0%. Sea-ice survivability can serve as a key indicator of sea-ice persistence in response to other factors. We demonstrate that the decrease of 4+ year ice is controlled by the decrease of its linked survivability in a non-linear manner, signifying small alterations in the survivability can result in relatively large changes in the extent of 4+ year ice. The decrease in survivability is affected by both winter and summer processes. Summer melting contributed the most, while the contribution of the export through Fram Strait was minor. However, the significant rise in residual loss during the growth season suggests that other winter processes may also have played an important role.