bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Digitalisierung in Lebenswissenschaften und Medizin – das Dual-Use-Problem
Authors: Heinrichs Jan-Hendrik , Ergin Aslan Serap
Published: October 2024

Dual Use bezeichnet zunächst die Verwendbarkeit eines eigentlich für andere Zwecke intendierten Forschungsergebnisses oder -verfahrens für Zwecke, die die innere oder äußere Sicherheit einer Gesellschaft betreffen. Darunter fällt Forschung, die für militärische, geheimdienstliche, terroristische oder kriminelle Zwecke verwendet werden kann. Dual Use stellt seit über einem Jahrzehnt ein sich beständig verschärfendes Problem für viele Bereiche der Lebenswissenschaften und der Medizin dar, weil viele von deren Ergebnissen geeignet sind aufzuzeigen, wie Menschen, aber auch (Nutz‑)Tiere und Pflanzen manipuliert und attackiert werden können und welche Werkzeuge dafür besonders geeignet sind.

Die Digitalisierung in den Lebenswissenschaften hat im Hinblick auf das Dual-Use-Problem zwei voneinander unterscheidbare Einflüsse, nämlich einen verschärfenden und einen erweiternden. Dadurch, dass die Digitalisierung schnellere und umfangreichere Forschungs- und Entwicklungsprozesse ermöglicht, verschärft sie das bestehende Dual-Use-Problem, weil zugleich das Tempo steigt, in dem die Ergebnisse dieser Forschung für sicherheitsrelevante Zwecke nutzbar gemacht werden können. Zudem erweitert die Digitalisierung der Lebenswissenschaften das Dual-Use-Problem, denn einige der digitalen Werkzeuge, die in den Lebenswissenschaften entwickelt und gebraucht werden, können selbst militärische oder sicherheitsrelevante Verwendung finden.

Deshalb bedarf es einer breit angelegten Governance inklusive einer breiten Beteiligung der Stakeholder im Forschungsprozess und eines Informationsangebots zu Dual Use in der Ausbildung in guter wissenschaftlicher Praxis über Institutionen, Karrierestufen und Disziplinen hinweg.
Implementing the Resource Nexus approach: the contribution of internationalising German businesses
Authors: Schneider Christian P.
Published: October 2024

The Resource Nexus is an approach to sustainably manage environmental resources by considering the interlinkages, trade-offs and synergies between them. While a lot is known about this Resource Nexus framework and the impact this has on sustainable development and politics, far less is known about the technological, economic, and political situation required for the implementation of this approach. This paper considers the role of international business cooperation between German and Sub-Saharan African firms in facilitating this implementation. It explores the major barriers faced by German businesses looking to work in Sub-Saharan Africa and analyses the work of the German Außenhandelskammern (German Chambers of Commerce Abroad) as a replacement for the networks that are commonly seen as vital to business internationalisation. The findings have far-reaching implications for German and Sub-Saharan African politics, for business practices, and for the work of intermediary organisations looking to facilitate the internationalisation, as well as for those actors looking to implement a Resource Nexus approach across the world.
Characteristics and outcomes of inpatients aged 85 and older with thoracolumbar vertebral fractures: impact on hospital stay and mortality
Authors: Gräschke Erik , Jarvers Jan-Sven , Heyde Christoph-Eckhard , Spiegl Ulrich Albert Joseph
Published: October 2024

Background

There is a gap in evidence about medical outcomes in oldest-old patients (aged 85 and older) with vertebral fractures (VFs). The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of patient and fracture characteristics on “short-term” hospital outcomes.

Methods

All patients aged ≥ 85 presenting an acute or subsequent VF at our single level I spine center between 2019 and 2021 requiring hospital treatment were included. The data collection was conducted retrospectively. The primary parameters of interest were length of stay (LOS) and in-hospital mortality. Further outcome parameters were the occurrence of general (non-operative) complications and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission. For statistical analysis, linear and binary logistic regression modeling were performed.

Results

A total of 153 patients with an average age of 88.5 (range 85 to 99) met the inclusion criteria. Our patients were mostly female (68.6%) and moderately comorbid according to a Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) of 2.9. 58.8% had diagnosed osteoporosis. Fracture morphologies represented as “Osteoporotic Fracture” (OF) classification types were of central importance for undergoing operative treatment (OP) (p < 0.001), necessity for intensive care (p = 0.023), LOS (p = 0.014), and mortality (p = 0.018). 38.6% had OP. We recorded a complication rate of 59.5%, which highly influenced (p < 0.001) both primary outcome parameters. Overall, patients stayed 14.6 days with a mortality of 11.1%.

Conclusion

VFs are a severe event in oldest-old patients with a crucial risk of poor medical outcomes during hospitalization. The fracture morphologies are of central importance. However, little is known about the hospital stay of oldest-old inpatients with VFs. Considering an aging population, further investigations would be recommended.
An optimal ansatz space for moving least squares approximation on spheres
Authors: Hielscher Ralf , Pöschl Tim
Published: October 2024

We revisit the moving least squares (MLS) approximation scheme on the sphere $$\mathbb S^{d-1} \subset {\mathbb R}^d$$

S

d
-
1

⊂

R

d

, where $$d>1$$

d
>
1

. It is well known that using the spherical harmonics up to degree $$L \in {\mathbb N}$$

L
∈
N

as ansatz space yields for functions in $$\mathcal {C}^{L+1}(\mathbb S^{d-1})$$

C

L
+
1

(

S

d
-
1

)

the approximation order $$\mathcal {O}\left( h^{L+1} \right) $$

O

h

L
+
1

, where h denotes the fill distance of the sampling nodes. In this paper, we show that the dimension of the ansatz space can be almost halved, by including only spherical harmonics of even or odd degrees up to L, while preserving the same order of approximation. Numerical experiments indicate that using the reduced ansatz space is essential to ensure the numerical stability of the MLS approximation scheme as $$h \rightarrow 0$$

h
→
0

. Finally, we compare our approach with an MLS approximation scheme that uses polynomials on the tangent space of the sphere as ansatz space.
Prioritization of important plant areas for conservation of frailejones (Espeletiinae, Asteraceae) in the Northern Andes
Authors: Morales-Rozo Clara , Acuña-Rodríguez Ian S. , Benavides Juan C. , Rincón-Parra Víctor J. , Diazgranados Mauricio
Published: October 2024

The tropical Andes region harbors areas that are highly significant for biodiversity at both global and local scales. However, despite the severe conservation threats that this region has to confront, conservation initiatives are limited, by funding and because of the need for more information to decide which areas are priorities for conservation. Identifying Important Plant Areas (IPAs) offers a valuable methodology for establishing conservation priorities, a particularly complex task in a mega-biodiverse region such as the northern Andean tropics. Due to its iconic recognition and conservation value, this study focused on the Espeletiinae subtribe (Asteraceae) as a model group; hence, the distribution data for 138 species was compiled from 5560 georeferenced records. Using the IPA methodology, we divided the study area, this is, the distribution area of the subtribe in the Andean tropics, into 220 Units of Analysis (UA) represented by 10 × 10 km plots. Refined species’ distribution areas, incorporating richness, threatened species, and ecosystem-based richness distributions, were analyzed using newly generated maps to evaluate the conservation value of each UA. Our analysis identified 176 UAs with some level of relevance using sub-criterion cA1 (with 59 species) and 51 UAs using sub-criterion cB (with 76 species). Integrating both criteria, we classified 11 UAs as high-priority, 62 as medium-priority, and 147 as low-priority, highlighting the IPAs that require focused conservation efforts. Two identified high-priority IPAs are located in Venezuela and nine in Colombia, predominantly associated with the Eastern Cordillera. These areas concentrate between 7 and 12 species. They are mainly linked to the páramo complexes of Colombia and the Sierra Nevada in Venezuela, primarily within Cool Temperate Moist Grassland ecosystems on mountains. Our results provide a spatial planning procedure and analytical tool for decision-makers to guide conservation management and actions across northern Andes.
Exploring the role of project status information in effective code smell detection
Authors: Alkharabsheh Khalid , Alawadi Sadi , Crespo Yania , Taboada José A.
Published: October 2024

Repairing code smells detected in the code or design of the system is one of the activities contributing to increasing the software quality. In this study, we investigate the impact of non-numerical information of software, such as project status information combined with machine learning techniques, on improving code smell detection. For this purpose, we constructed a dataset consisting of 22 systems with various project statuses, 12,040 classes, and 18 features that included 1935 large classes. A set of experiments was conducted with ten different machine learning techniques by dividing the dataset into training, validation, and testing sets to detect the large class code smell. Feature selection and data balancing techniques have been applied. The classifier’s performance was evaluated using six indicators: precision, recall, F-measure, MCC, ROC area, and Kappa tests. The preliminary experimental results reveal that feature selection and data balancing have poor influence on the accuracy of machine learning classifiers. Moreover, they vary their behavior when utilized in sets with different values for the selected project status information of their classes. The average value of classifiers performance when fed with status information is better than without. The Random Forest achieved the best behavior according to all performance indicators (100%) with status information, while AdaBoostM1 and SMO achieved the worst in most of them (> 86%). According to the findings of this study, providing machine learning techniques with project status information about the classes to be analyzed can improve the results of large class detection.
Nutrient circularity of an anaerobic digestion project in a typical intensive rice cultivation village in the Vietnamese Mekong delta region: a regional material flow analysis and discussion of modeling practices
Authors: Fritze Albrecht , Rotter Vera Susanne
Published: October 2024

Rice is the third largest agricultural commodity in the world. Intensive rice production is associated with high fertilizer application, and vast quantities of rice straw are often disposed of by open burning. As emissions of N and P from fertilizer and their impacts are highly spatially disparate, it is crucial to locally assess potential solutions for nutrient circularity. A model framework was established to evaluate the potential impact of local N, P and C cycles along with suitable circularity indicators. This framework was applied for a case study in the typical intensive rice cultivation village Hậu Mỹ Bắc B in the Mekong Delta using STAN modeling software. A novel technique, based on a patented temperature-phased anaerobic digestion (TPAD) loop-reactor design was investigated as a measure to reduce rice straw open burning, generate bioenergy and recover digestate for nutrient recirculation. The case study showed that rice straw TPAD could reduce open burning by 60%, while the N recovery rate increased to 21% when 200 ± 34 Mg/a of inorganic fertilizer was replaced with digestate. For C and P, the recovery rates increased to 14% and 11%, respectively. Based on the results, we concluded that TPAD has a strong impact on local nutrient circularity in terms of recirculation and sufficiency. Furthermore, the developed framework is suitable to use for master planning of nutrient circularity and for technological impact assessments at local scale. However, versatile, dynamic, and comparable monitoring frameworks with harmonized indicators to identify options for nutrient circularity are required for the detailed modeling of regional nutrient management.
Are Sum Scores a Great Accomplishment of Psychometrics or Intuitive Test Theory?
Authors: Mislevy Robert J.
Published: October 2024

Sijtsma, Ellis, and Borsboom (Psychometrika, 89:84-117, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11336-024-09964-7 ) provide a thoughtful treatment in Psychometrika of the value and properties of sum scores and classical test theory at a depth at which few practicing psychometricians are familiar. In this note, I offer comments on their article from the perspective of evidentiary reasoning.
Novel approach for in-line process monitoring during ultrasonic metal welding of dissimilar wire/terminal joints based on the thermoelectric effect
Authors: Gester Andreas , Sprigode Toni , Wagner Guntram
Published: October 2024

Ultrasonic metal welding (USMW) is a manufacturing technique widely employed in the automotive and aerospace industries due to its efficiency in joining similar as well as dissimilar metals. Despite its prevalence, the lack of effective in-line process monitoring methods has resulted in high scrap rates, product recalls due to unrecognized scrap or financial losses due to pseudo-scrap, limiting its application in more sensitive industries. This paper presents a novel thermoelectric effect-based method for in-line process monitoring of USMW processes. This approach utilizes the thermoelectric properties, that manifest at the junctions of dissimilar metals during welding to accurately measure the temperature of the weld zone without the need of additional thermocouples, pyrometers or infrared cameras. An experimental setup was developed to validate the thermoelectric-based temperature measurement methodology. Key to this approach is the detection of thermoelectric voltage developed due to thermo diffusion when dissimilar materials are joined. The experiments showed a strong correlation between the thermoelectric voltage and the mechanical strength of the welds, suggesting that this parameter can effectively predict the quality of the weld. In the trials, a series of welded samples was created under controlled conditions to measure the generated thermoelectric voltage and correlate it with ultimate tensile strength tests. The data were analyzed using Spearman’s correlation coefficients to determine the correlation of the thermoelectric signals and joint strength. Results indicate that the thermoelectric voltage measurements correlate highly with the joint strength, with a Spearman’s correlation coefficient of over 0.94, thereby providing a promising predictive metric for assessing weld quality.
Sufficiency-related Strategies and Activities of Small Finnish Clothing Companies
Authors: Härri Anna , Jarkko Levänen , Lassi Linnanen
Published: October 2024

The current textile industry is characterised by unsustainable business models. There is a need to transform the industry towards sufficiency – that is a textile industry where consumption is decreased to a level that is adequate and within planetary boundaries. Through a literature review and interviews with small Finnish textile companies, our research synthesizes previous research and provides new information about business practices that companies can employ to advance sufficiency as part of their everyday business. We found that companies have various activities that can enable, promote or inspire decreased consumption and sufficiency. Activities relate to six categories: (1) valuing quality over quantity, (2) enabling multiple product lives, (3) provision of support services, (4) encouraging and enabling doing-it-yourself, (5) ethics-motivated communication and interaction and (6) embracing locality. The activities connected to each strategy are manifold and context specific including, for example, permanent collections, not having discounts, repair service, quality and curated second-hand products and interaction with users during the use phase. It is important to note, however, that the studied sufficiency strategies come with rebound risks and companies should identify the best activities that fit their context and measure their impact. Changing the paradigm from fast fashion to sufficiency will not be an easy task and will require efforts from consumer citizens, decision makers and companies alike.
The Role of Eco-industrial Parks in Promoting Regional Circular Economy: A Stakeholder Perspective
Authors: Nylén Erkki-Jussi , Anttiroiko Ari-Veikko , Tiensuu Akseli
Published: October 2024

In this paper, we discuss an eco-industrial park (EIP) formation process and its role in promoting regional circular economy (CE) policy from a stakeholder perspective. This case study adds to the knowledge of stakeholder engagement and the role of intermediation in EIP formation and related urban–regional CE policies. By reviewing the case of the ECO3 bioeconomy and CE industrial park in Tampere Region, Finland, we analyze the role of a city-owned development company in the EIP development as an intermediary between public and private stakeholder interests. Intermediation proved to be fruitful in the EIP formation process, as the intermediator sufficiently catalyzed the alignment of stakeholder interests, and various stakeholders thus contributed resources (stakes) to the development process, which furthered the growth of the EIP. The case illustrates how a hybrid actor, such as a city-owned development company, may serve as an important catalyst in regional CE promotion.
The rise of healthy longevity and healthspan in Saudi Arabia: from funding geroscience research to precision medicine and personalized digital twins
Authors: Murshid Ghassan A.
Published: October 2024

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is driving innovation across sectors. In the fields of healthy longevity and healthspan, the nation funds geroscience research and projects focusing on personalized medicine and artificial intelligence. This review explores how Saudi Arabia is promoting the clinical and preclinical sciences to advance the field of healthy longevity and aging science, which will help in achieving a healthy lifespan for all. The present review provides examples to demonstrate how Saudi organizations, academic institutes, medical and research centers, programs, and giga projects are pioneering in the following five domains: (1) aging, geroscience, and healthy longevity; (2) prevention; (3) genetics, genomics, epigenetics, precision and personalized medicine; (4) stem cell research and regenerative medicine; and (5) wellness and well-being.
6-hydroxy-3-succinoylsemialdehyde-pyridine as a potential inhibitor of schizophrenia-associated enzyme
Authors: Metin Mert , Kawano Tomonori
Published: October 2024

Schizophrenia’s cognitive deficits limit quality of life. Current drugs are ineffective. This study investigates 6-hydroxy-3-succinoylsemialdehyde-pyridine (6H3SAP), a nicotine derivative, as a potential inhibitor of KATII, an enzyme in the kynurenine pathway linked to cognitive dysfunction. Molecular docking was employed to assess the binding affinity of 6H3SAP to the KATII enzyme. The results indicated that 6H3SAP interacted with the KATII active site, demonstrating a binding affinity comparable to nicotine (previously suggested as a potential KATII blocker) but lower than NS1502, a well-established KATII inhibitor. Subsequent molecular dynamics simulations provided further insights into the interaction details between 6H3SAP and KATII. These simulations revealed the formation of stable interactions between 6H3SAP and key amino acid residues within the KATII binding pocket. Though promising, further research is needed to assess 6H3SAP’s efficacy and safety. Surprisingly, the molecular dynamics data also proposed that the nicotine-KATII tie is weak.
The Citizen of the World
Authors: Goldsmith Oliver
Published: October 2024

The Citizen of the World is a highly readable yet deceptively sophisticated text, using the popular eighteenth-century device of the imaginary observer. Its main narrator, the Chinese philosopher Lien Chi Altangi, draws on traditional ideas of Confucian wisdom as he tries (and sometimes fails) to come to terms with the commercial modernity and spectacle of imperial London. Goldsmith explores a moment of economic and social transformation in Britain and at the same time engages with the ramifications of a global conflict, the Seven Years' War (1756–63). He also uses his travelling Chinese narrator as a way of indirectly addressing his own predicament as an Irish exile in London. This edition provides a reliable, authoritative text, records the history of its production, and includes an introduction and explanatory notes which situate this enormously rich work within the political debates and cultural conflicts of its time, illuminating its allusiveness and intellectual ambition.
Comparing implementation strategies for training and supervising nonspecialists in Group Problem Management Plus: A hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial in Colombia
Authors: Greene M. Claire , Castellar Diany , Sangraula Manaswi , Camargo Natalia , Diaz Jennifer , Meriño Valeria , Miller-Suchet Lucy , Chamorro Coneo Ana Maria , Venegas Marcela , Cristobal Maria , Chávez David , Kohrt Brandon , Ventevogel Peter , Uribe Miguel , DeLuca Marilyn , Shultz James , Espinel Zelde , Snider Leslie , Marsch Lisa , Romero Sara , Ferrer Monica , Guerrero Gonzalez Abel , Ramirez Camilo , Trejos Herrera Ana Maria , Schojan Matthew , Bonz Annie G. , Brown Adam
Published: October 2024

Migrants and refugees face elevated risks for mental health problems but have limited access to services. This study compared two strategies for training and supervising nonspecialists to deliver a scalable psychological intervention, Group Problem Management Plus (gPM+), in northern Colombia. Adult women who reported elevated psychological distress and functional impairment were randomized to receive gPM+ delivered by nonspecialists who received training and supervision by: 1) a psychologist (specialized technical support); or 2) a nonspecialist who had been trained as a trainer/supervisor (nonspecialized technical support). We examined effectiveness and implementation outcomes using a mixed-methods approach. Thirteen nonspecialists were trained as gPM+ facilitators and three were trained-as-trainers. We enrolled 128 women to participate in gPM+ across the two conditions. Intervention attendance was higher in the specialized technical support condition. The nonspecialized technical support condition demonstrated higher fidelity to gPM+ and lower cost of implementation. Other indicators of effectiveness, adoption and implementation were comparable between the two implementation strategies. These results suggest it is feasible to implement mental health interventions, like gPM+, using lower-resource, community-embedded task sharing models, while maintaining safety and fidelity. Further evidence from fully powered trials is needed to make definitive conclusions about the relative cost of these implementation strategies.
Comparing the effectiveness of universal admission testing and risk-based testing at emergency admission for preventing nosocomial COVID-19: a multicenter retrospective cohort study in Japan
Authors: Iijima Kenta , Osako Hitomi , Iwata Kentaro
Published: October 2024

Objective:

To compare the effectiveness of universal admission testing (UAT) and risk-based testing (RBT) in preventing nosocomial coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) after the implementation of strict infection control measures.

Design:

Retrospective multicenter cohort study.

Setting:

Five community hospitals in Japan.

Patients:

14,028 adult patients admitted emergently from June 1, 2022, to January 31, 2023.

Methods:

We calculated crude incidence density rates of community-acquired COVID-19 (positive test ≤4 days postadmission), hospital-acquired COVID-19 (positive test ≥8 days postadmission), total postadmission COVID-19 (all cases of positive test postadmission), and primary cases (sporadic and index cases). A generalized estimating equation model was used to adjust for local incidence (new COVID-19 patients per 100,000 population), single-bed room proportion, and admission proportion of patients older than 65 years.

Results:

The weekly local incidence in the study areas was less than 1,800 per 100,000 population (1.8%). Two hospitals implemented RBT and 3 implemented UAT. The median admission testing rate was higher in the UAT group than in the RBT group (95% vs 55%; difference 45.2%, 95% CI, 40.3%–48.8%). Crude and adjusted analyses revealed no significant associations between incidence density rates (IRR; >1 indicates higher incidence with UAT) and admission strategies for any of the outcomes: community-acquired cases (adjusted IRR = 1.23; 95% CI, 0.46–3.31), hospital-acquired cases (1.46; 0.80–2.66), total postadmission COVID-19 (1.22; 0.79–1.87), and primary cases (0.81; 0.59–1.12).

Conclusions:

Compared with risk-based testing, universal admission testing may have limited additional benefits in preventing nosocomial COVID-19 transmission during a period of low-moderate local incidence.
Challenges of Uncertainty in Prenatal Decision-Making: Skeletal Dysplasias
Authors: Ramji Naila , Robinson Marie-Eve , Moore Gregory P.
Published: October 2024

When skeletal dysplasias are suspected in the prenatal period, investigation, counseling, and management become especially challenging. By better understanding the complex forces at play and parental values, prenatal health care providers may improve the ways in which they counsel patients to improve the decision-making process under conditions of significant uncertainty, including in cases of prenatally suspected skeletal dysplasia.
The 2024 U.S. Elections: Global Health Policy at a Crossroads
Authors: Meier Benjamin Mason , Palmquist Aunchalee E.L. , Dockery Meredith , Saggi Neha , Ekeigwe Kiara , Latorre Isabela , Yamey Gavin
Published: October 2024

The 2024 U.S. election will shape the future of global health policy, with crucial implications for continuing U.S. leadership in global health. The United States has long played a critical role in global health governance, through multilateral institutions under the United Nations (UN) and bilateral assistance to advance U.S. priorities. However, political shifts have challenged U.S. engagement in global health, with the politicization of global health policy threatening global governance under the World Health Organization (WHO) and dividing global health support across political parties. This political polarization in global health proved catastrophic in the COVID-19 pandemic response and influential in the 2020 Presidential Elections. With the United States again seeking to advance global health policy, the 2024 Elections present a clear contrast in global health visions across U.S. political parties – with sweeping impacts on global governance, health funding, sexual and reproductive health, corporate regulations, tax equity, humanitarian challenges, and climate change. The future of U.S. leadership in global health hangs in the balance of this election, raising an imperative for candidates to highlight their global health positions and for voters to consider the global health implications.
The Role of the Lawyer as Deal Maker in Health Care Acquisitions: From Amoral to Immoral?
Authors: Furrow Barry R.
Published: October 2024

This article proposes ethical — and legal — accountability for lawyers representing clients such as private equity (PE) firms who create ownership structures for nursing home systems. Using PE ownership as a case study, I will show that nursing home residents are often harmed and Medicaid costs inflated. I propose private law provides tools to compel such accountability, through (1) aiding and abetting doctrines and (2) fiduciary doctrines that require that the fiduciary be responsible for its vulnerable beneficiaries, not just ethically but for damages and equitable relief. I further propose that the teaching of Professional Responsibility needs to be changed to force law students to consider the effect of legal practice on third parties in situations like health care financing.
Telehealth after the Federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency: Implications and Future Directions
Authors: Kwon Minsoo , Jolin James René , Shachar Carmel
Published: October 2024

May 11, 2023, marked the end of the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). During the PHE, regulatory flexibilities allowed telehealth to more effectively connect physicians providing care and patients seeking it. This paper discusses the implications of the end of the PHE on telehealth coverage, payment, reimbursement, and licensure, and exposes inconsistencies and inequities in extant state regulations.
Charity Scott – A Masterful Teacher
Authors: Hoffmann Diane E.
Published: October 2024

In 2006, the University of Maryland Carey School of Law had the privilege of co-hosting the annual Health Law Professors Conference with the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics (ASLME). Coincidentally, as director of the Law & Health Care Program at Maryland, I had the opportunity to announce the winner of the Jay Healey Health Law Teachers’ Award at the conference. The award is given to “professors who have devoted a significant portion of their career to health law teaching and whose selection would honor Jay [Healey’s] legacy through their passion for teaching health law, their mentoring of students and/or other faculty and by their being an inspiration to colleagues and students.”1 Healey, a Professor in the Humanities Department at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, was the youngest recipient of the Society’s Health Law Teachers’ Award, which he received in 1990. He was passionate about teaching and had the idea to devote a session each year at the annual conference to teaching health law. It was always a plenary session at which he challenged us to be better teachers. Jay died in 1993, at the age of 46, not long after the Health Law Teachers conference that year, which he attended and which also happened to be held in Baltimore at the University of Maryland School of Law. Thereafter, the award was given in his name.
Reimagining Vaccine Access for Health Equity
Authors: Harrison Emily A.
Published: October 2024

The Covid-19 pandemic elevated global attention to the complex problem of allocating and disseminating newly approved vaccines. Following early calls for vaccine equity,1 global health leaders made progress but struggled to fully realize distribution goals.2 With respect to vaccination rates, low and middle income countries have not achieved full parity with high income countries.3 In this issue, Harmon, Kholina, and Graham follow longstanding critiques of market-based vaccine procurement to propose “legal and practical solutions for realizing a new access to vaccines environment”4 that will, they suggest, further the goal of global health justice.
Sublingual ranulas, is it time for a new classification? A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Lazzeroni Matteo , Del Fabbro Massimo , Gaffuri Michele , McGurk Mark , Novarria Gabriele Alessandro , Tartaglia Gianluca Martino , Pignataro Lorenzo , Capaccio Pasquale
Published: October 2024

Objectives

Sublingual ranulas present diagnostic and therapeutic challenges due to their heterogenous clinical presentations. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to synthesise treatment outcomes and proposes a new classification for this condition.

Methods

Following PRISMA guidelines, a thorough literature search identified studies on patients with sublingual ranulas receiving medical or surgical treatment. Proportion meta-analysis compared success rates among studies using a random-effects model.

Results

Forty-two studies were included, covering 686 endoral ranulas, 429 plunging ranulas, and 16 ranulas extending into the parapharyngeal space. Sublingual sialoadenectomy with or without pseudocyst wall excision showed low heterogeneity and the highest success rates. Consequently, a new classification system is proposed categorising ranulas by intraoral (Type 1), cervical (Type 2) or parapharyngeal space (Type 3) extension.

Conclusion

This study confirms the role of sublingual gland resection as standard of care and highlights the need for a revised classification to improve patient outcomes.
Stellarator optimization with constraints
Authors: Conlin Rory , Kim Patrick , Dudt Daniel W. , Panici Dario , Kolemen Egemen
Published: October 2024

In this work we consider the problem of optimizing a stellarator subject to hard constraints on the design variables and physics properties of the equilibrium. We survey current numerical methods for handling these constraints, and summarize a number of methods from the wider optimization community that have not been used extensively for stellarator optimization thus far. We demonstrate the utility of new methods of constrained optimization by optimizing a quasi-axisymmetric stellarator for favourable physics properties while preventing strong shaping of the plasma boundary, which can be difficult to create with external current sources.
Special homogeneous surfaces
Authors: LINDEMANN DAVID , SWANN ANDREW
Published: October 2024

We classify hyperbolic polynomials in two real variables that admit a transitive action on some component of their hyperbolic level sets. Such surfaces are called special homogeneous surfaces, and they are equipped with a natural Riemannian metric obtained by restricting the negative Hessian of their defining polynomial. Independent of the degree of the polynomials, there exist a finite number of special homogeneous surfaces. They are either flat, or have constant negative curvature.
Rethinking international law along with Amazonian ontologies: problematizing human-non-human divisions
Authors: Blanco Vizarreta Cristina
Published: October 2024

This article focuses on the nature-culture dimension in the Amazonian territory as an ontological question. It is argued that international law, as a product of modern Western societies, reflects and reproduces particular ideas about what the environment is. These ideas in turn reflect specific nature-culture relations that are not necessarily present in other societies. This is especially evident in contexts such as the Amazon, where the basic assumptions that modern Western society takes for granted cannot be extrapolated. The argument is illustrated through the Amazonian Kukama-Kukamiria people’s conception of the river, which was put on the ropes by the implementation of a development project. It is proposed that rethinking international law along with the Amazon means situating oneself in not only a geographically but also ontologically different place.
Development and validation of a new anthropometric equation to predict fat mass percentage in a heterogeneous Caucasian population
Authors: Rojano-Ortega Daniel , Moya-Amaya Heliodoro , Molina-López Antonio , Berral-Aguilar Antonio Jesús , Berral-de la Rosa Francisco José
Published: October 2024

Objective:

(1) To develop a new regression equation for estimating fat mass percentage (%FM) from anthropometric measurements in a heterogeneous Caucasian population and (2) to compare it with the Durnin and Womersley equation, which is one of the most used anthropometric equations for FM assessment.

Design:

Body mass, stature and four skinfolds (biceps, triceps, subscapular and supracrestal) were assessed by an accredited anthropometrist, according to the International Society for Advancement in Kinanthropometry. Participants completed a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) whole-body scan to determine their %FM. A new anthropometric equation to estimate %FM was developed using multiple forward regression analyses with DXA as the reference method. Tests for the accuracy of the different equations included mean differences, coefficient of determination, SE of the estimate (SEE), concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) and Bland–Altman plots.

Setting:

Spain.

Participants:

Two hundred and eighteen healthy Caucasian participants aged 18–65 years participated in this cross-sectional study.

Results:

Our proposed equation explained 89·9 % of the variance in the DXA-derived %FM, with a low random error (SEE = 3·00 %), a very strong agreement (CCC = 0·93), no fixed or proportional bias and a relatively low individual variability (5·84 %). However, the Durnin and Womersley equations obtained a fixed bias of –3·65 % when compared with DXA and a greater individual variability (6·74 %).

Conclusions:

The proposed equation can accurately estimate %FM in a heterogeneous Caucasian population with a wide age range (18–65 years). Additionally, the Durnin and Womersley equation was inadequate when applied to our participants.
Bilingualism Influences How Articulation Enhances Verbal Encoding
Authors: Brown Rachel M. , Roembke Tanja C.
Published: October 2024

Abstract: Learning information may benefit from movement: Items that are spoken aloud are more accurately remembered than items that are silently read (the production effect). Candidate mechanisms for this phenomenon suggest that speaking may enrich or improve the feature content of memory traces, yet research suggests that prior language skill also plays a role. Recent work showed a larger production effect in bilinguals for words in their second language (L2) compared to their first language (L1), potentially suggesting that bilinguals engage different or additional linguistic features when speaking L2 compared to L1 words. The current study examined whether the increased L2 production effect reduces for L2 and L1 pseudowords, which may similarly engage mainly phonological features. German (L1)–English (L2) bilinguals first read (out loud or silently) and subsequently recognized German or English words or pseudowords following German or English phonology. The production effect increased for L2 compared to L1 items and for words compared to pseudowords. Modest evidence suggested L2–L1 similarity in production effect scores for pseudowords, but different L2-L1 scores for words. Integrating feature models of memory with models of bilingual language production, we propose that speaking an L2 may engage more extensive and diverse linguistic features than an L1.
A Long and Winding Path Through Space Weather Research
Authors: Tsurutani Bruce T.
Published: October 2024

I have written my scientific bio concerning various topics of Space Weather with the aim of coming up with pointers to help young people with their careers. I have worked in other areas of Space Physics, but to include them would make this article even more disjoint than this article is already. I will introduce encounters with some of our scientific “luminaries” that were instrumental in my career. One of them, my thesis advisor at University of California at Berkeley, Kinsey Anderson said “whatever you do while doing science, have fun”. This is about the best piece of advice that I can pass down to you no matter what path you take, doing detailed data analysis research, theory or management. Moral #1. Listen to your elders. They can give you great advice! Sometimes. I will offer other pieces of advice, but will sometimes not call them out specifically.
Wildfire Emissions Offset More Permafrost Ecosystem Carbon Sink in the 21st Century
Authors: Zhu Xingru , Jia Gensuo , Xu Xiyan
Published: October 2024

Permafrost ecosystems in high‐latitudes stock a large amount of carbon and are vulnerable to wildfires under climate warming. However, major knowledge gap remains in the effects of direct carbon loss from increasing wildfire biomass burning on permafrost ecosystem carbon sink. In this study, we used observation‐derived data sets and Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) simulations to investigate how carbon emissions from wildfire biomass burning offset permafrost ecosystem carbon sink under climate warming in the 21st century. We show that the fraction of permafrost ecosystem carbon sink offset by wildfire emissions was 14%–25% during the past two decades. The fraction is projected to be 28%–45% at the end of this century under different warming scenarios. The weakening carbon sink is caused by greater increase in wildfire emissions than net ecosystem production in permafrost regions under climate warming. The increased fraction of ecosystem carbon sink offset by wildfire carbon loss is especially pronounced in continuous permafrost region during the past two decades. Although uncertainties exist in simulations of wildfire emissions and ecosystem carbon budget, results from different models still show that wildfire emissions offset more permafrost ecosystem carbon sink in the 21st century. These findings highlight that carbon sink capacity of permafrost ecosystems is increasingly threatened by wildfires under the warming climate.
Shifted Flood and Ecology Regimes Due To Channel Bar Greening and Increased Flow Resistance in a Large Dammed River
Authors: Hu Yong , Deng Jinyun , Li Dongfeng , Lu Xixi , Zhou Junxiong , Wang Chenglong , Li Yitian
Published: October 2024

Damming profoundly affects downstream flow‐sediment regimes, altering channel bar dynamics and thereby affecting floods and riverine biodiversity. Here, we investigate the response of bars to upstream damming by examining patterns, mechanisms, and impacts in the Middle Yangtze River (∼1,000 km). Over a decade of post‐damming observational data reveal substantial increases in bar revegetation and Leaf Area Index. Shorter flood duration and stable bar size collectively drive bar greening. Consequently, denser vegetation has slowed flow velocity by 17% ± 2% and increased flow resistance by 21% ± 5%, offsetting the water‐level decrease from channel expansion due to scouring and even causing a slight rise in floodwater levels. Furthermore, damming has markedly altered river connectivity, thermal regimes, and solute dynamics, detrimentally affecting fish habitats and aquatic life. These findings, along with refined river stage simulation considering flow‐sediment‐vegetation interactions, facilitate sustainable reservoir operation and river management in big river systems.
Development of a checklist for evaluation of shared decision-making in consultation for extremely preterm delivery
Authors: Guindon Michael , Feltman Dalia M. , Litke-Wager Carrie , Okonek Elizabeth , Mullin Kaitlyn T. , Anani Uchenna E. , Murray II Peter D. , Mattson Christopher , Krick Jeanne
Published: October 2024

Objective

Shared decision-making (SDM) between parents facing extremely preterm delivery and the medical team is recommended to develop the best course of action for neonatal care. We aimed to describe the creation and testing of a literature-based checklist to assess SDM practices for consultation with parents facing extremely preterm delivery.

Study design

The checklist of SDM counseling behaviors was created after literature review and with expert consensus. Mock consultations with a standardized patient facing extremely preterm delivery were performed, video-recorded, and scored using the checklist. Intraclass correlation coefficients and Cronbach’s alpha were calculated.

Result

The checklist was moderately reliable for all scorers in aggregate. Differences existed between subcategories within classes of scorer, and between scorer classes. Agreement was moderate between expert scorers, but poor between novice scorers. Internal consistency of the checklist was excellent (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.93).

Conclusion

This novel checklist for evaluating SDM shows promise for use in future research, training, and clinical settings.
Kynurenine-AhR reduces T-cell infiltration and induces a delayed T-cell immune response by suppressing the STAT1-CXCL9/CXCL10 axis in tuberculosis
Authors: Liu Xin , Yang Mengjie , Xu Ping , Du Mingwei , Li Shanshan , Shi Jin , Li Qiang , Yuan Jinfeng , Pang Yu
Published: October 2024

Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), is a critical global health issue that is complicated by the ability of the pathogen to delay the host’s T-cell immune response. This delay in T-cell recruitment to the site of infection is a pivotal survival strategy for Mtb, allowing it to establish a persistent chronic infection. To investigate the underlying mechanisms, this study focused on Mtb’s exploitation of host tryptophan metabolism. Mtb upregulates indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) in inflammatory macrophages, thereby increasing kynurenine (Kyn) production. Kyn then activates the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), leading to the upregulation of suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 and subsequent inhibition of the JAK-STAT1 signaling pathway. This results in reduced secretion of the chemokines CXCL9 and CXCL10, which are crucial for T-cell recruitment to the lungs. Supported by in vivo mouse models, our findings reveal that disrupting this pathway through AhR knockout significantly enhances T-cell infiltration and activity, thereby undermining Mtb-induced immunosuppression. In contrast, additional Kyn injection obviously inhibited T-cell infiltration and activity. These results highlight potential therapeutic targets of AhR and IDO1, offering new avenues for enhancing the host immune response against tuberculosis and guiding future vaccine development efforts.
Two founder variants account for over 90% of pathogenic BRCA alleles in the Orkney and Shetland Isles in Scotland
Authors: Kerr Shona M. , Klaric Lucija , Muckian Marisa D. , Cowan Emma , Snadden Lesley , Tzoneva Gannie , Shuldiner Alan R. , Miedzybrodzka Zosia , Wilson James F.
Published: October 2024

For breast and ovarian cancer risk assessment in the isolated populations of the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland (in Scotland, UK) and their diasporas, quantifying genetically drifted BRCA1 and BRCA2 pathogenic variants is important. Two actionable variants in these genes have reached much higher frequencies than in cosmopolitan UK populations. Here, we report a BRCA2 splice acceptor variant, c.517-2A>G, found in breast and ovarian cancer families from Shetland. We investigated the frequency and origin of this variant in a population-based research cohort of people of Shetland ancestry, VIKING I. The variant segregates with female breast and ovarian cancer in diagnosed cases and is classified as pathogenic. Exome sequence data from 2108 VIKING I participants with three or more Shetlandic grandparents was used to estimate the population prevalence of c.517-2A>G in Shetlanders. Nine VIKING I research volunteers carry this variant, on a shared haplotype (carrier frequency 0.4%). This frequency is ~130-fold higher than in UK Biobank, where the small group of carriers has a different haplotype. Records of birth, marriage and death indicate genealogical linkage of VIKING I carriers to a founder from the Isle of Whalsay, Shetland, similar to our observations for the BRCA1 founder variant c.5207T>C from Westray, Orkney. In total, 93.5% of pathogenic BRCA variant carriers in Northern Isles exomes are accounted for by these two drifted variants. We thus provide the scientific evidence of an opportunity for screening people of Orcadian and Shetlandic origins for each drifted pathogenic variant, particularly women with Westray or Whalsay ancestry.