bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reconciling multiple institutional logics for ambidexterity: human resource management reforms in Chinese public universities
Authors: Xia Jie , Zhang Mingqiong Mike , Zhu Jiuhua Cherrie , Fan Di
Published: March 2023

Over the past several decades, Chinese universities have introduced various Western-style human resource management (HRM) practices to improve organizational performance. Such HRM innovations have resulted in new employment relations and paradoxical HR practices, which cannot be explained by the unitary institutional logic assumed by conventional HRM theories. Based on in-depth interviews of academic and administrative members, this study examines how Chinese universities struggle to reconcile competing institutional logics through HR innovations for ambidexterity. Our research reveals a unique transformation trajectory of personnel management in Chinese public universities. The findings indicate that human resource management in Chinese universities has been influenced by multiple logics of socialism, market, and corporation, heading along the neoliberal and managerial route while being shaped by strong state regulations. Chinese universities still have a long way to go to reconcile multiple institutional logics and achieve ambidexterity.
Do All Savings Matter Equally? Saving Types and Emotional Well-Being Among Older Adults: Evidence from Panel Data
Authors: Bialowolski Piotr , Xiao Jing Jian , Weziak-Bialowolska Dorota
Published: March 2023

Ill-being and mental ill-health have been on the rise in both Europe and the United States, especially among middle-aged and older adults. Although financial security has been shown to play a protective role in emotional well-being, little is known about the protective role of different types of family assets on mental health and well-being. Using longitudinal survey data from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) collected between 2004 and 2017, we examined the role of different types of family assets in emotional well-being and depression. A multivariate proportional hazard model with time-varying covariates was used. We found that family assets may play a significant protective role against depression, loneliness, and a decreased quality of life. Different forms of family assets may play diverse roles in protecting against the risks of ill-being and mental ill-health; however, their roles in increasing the chances of overcoming ill-being are less pronounced. Promotion of saving behaviours and proper financial management can help protect against adverse well-being and health outcomes in middle-aged and older adults.
BiCuSeO/GdH2 thermoelectric composite: a p-type to n-type promoter with superior charge transport
Authors: Bhoomika R. Bhat. , Gurukrishna K. , Madhukar N. P. , Shanubhogue U. Deepika , Rao Ashok , Huang Ruei-Yu , Kuo Yung-Kang , Nagaraja K. K.
Published: March 2023

We herein report on compositing highly conductive GdH2 with BiCuSeO, with an aim to modulate the electronic transport and the nature of conductivity in the high-temperature regime. The incorporation of GdH2 as a minor matrix in BiCuSeO, as confirmed by structural studies, has considerably enhanced electrical conductivity in the system, thereby demonstrating the existence of thermal activation of the charge carriers. The effect of minor matrix is directly on the conversion of p-type to n-type conductivity in BiCuSeO system at near room temperature. Electronic quality factor (BE) has identified the ambiguities in the transport behaviour at near room temperature due to the addition of minor matrix. Enhancement in the power factor is seen due to GdH2, with a highest attained value of 221 μW m K−2 at 700 K for the sample with x = 11 wt%, which is nearly twice the value of pristine BiCuSeO. Highest ZT of 0.011 is obtained for the pristine BiCuSeO sample at 380 K.
Non-osteopenic Bone Pathology After Allo-hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Patients with Inborn Errors of Immunity
Authors: Golwala Zainab M. , Bhat Nikita Gireesh , Xu-Bayford Jinhua , Stankova Tanja , Adams Stuart , Morris Emma C. , Qasim Waseem , Booth Claire , Worth Austen , Kusters Maaike A. , Elfeky Reem
Published: March 2023

Purpose

There is a lack of data on post-HSCT non-osteopenic bone pathology specifically for children with inborn errors of immunity (IEI). We collected data on non-osteopenic bone pathology in children with IEI post-HSCT over two decades in a large tertiary pediatric immunology center.

Methods

Descriptive study with data analysis of bone pathology in allo-HSCT for IEI was performed between 1/1/2000 to 31/12/2018 including patients alive at follow-up to July 2022. Records were analyzed for bone pathology and risk factors. Exclusion criteria included isolated reduced bone density, fractures, and skeletal anomalies due to underlying IEI and short stature without other bone pathology. Bone pathologies were divided into 5 categories: bone tumors; skeletal dysplasia; avascular necrosis; evolving bone deformities; slipped upper femoral epiphysis.

Results

A total of 429 children received HSCT between 2000 and 2018; 340 are alive at last assessment. Non-osteopenic bone pathology was observed post-HSCT in 9.4% of patients (32/340, mean 7.8 years post-HSCT). Eleven patients (34%) had > 1 category of bone pathology. Seventeen patients (17/32; 53%) presented with bilateral bone pathology. The majority of patients received treosulfan-based conditioning (26/32; 81.2%). Totally, 65.6% (21/32) of patients had a history of prolonged steroid use (> 6 months). Pain was the presenting symptom in 66% of patients, and surgical intervention was required in 43.7%. The highest incidence of bone pathologies was seen in Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) (n = 8/34; 23.5%) followed by hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis patients (n = 3/16; 18.8%).

Conclusion

Non-osteopenic bone pathology in long-term survivors of allo-HSCT for IEI is not rare. Most patients did not present with complaints until at least 5 years post-HSCT highlighting the need for ongoing bone health assessment for patients with IEI. Children presenting with stunted growth and bone pathology post-HSCT should undergo skeletal survey to rule out development of post-HSCT skeletal dysplasia. Increased rates and complexity of bone pathology were seen amongst patients with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome.
Housing adequacy in an informal built environment: case studies from Ahmedabad
Authors: Marnane Kali , Greenop Kelly
Published: March 2023

Informal settlement is a spatial manifestation of inequality, in that people turn to informal solutions for housing when formal ones are out of reach, usually because of financial constraints but also other factors such as social exclusion. However very little is known about the architectural and urban forms that constitute informal settlements, and thus how this inequality manifests spatially, and what specifically is inadequate in these settlements is not currently well understood. We use the framework of the United Nations Right to Adequate Housing as a benchmark to determine whether housing is contributing to inequality through one or more failures of adequacy, in which case we define these as being inequitable housing. We analyse the architecture of four cases within three informal settlements in Ahmedabad, Gujarat state, India, to examine how these urban forms both reflect and/or remedy multi-scalar urban housing inequalities. Four key physical spaces are found to be important: the dwelling’s site, resident’s control over dwelling design and construction, the design of the dwelling threshold, and the characteristics of shared open spaces. In the right combination, the quality of these physical spaces in informal settlements can contribute to informal settlement residents achieving housing adequacy. A better understanding of the built environment of informal settlements can enable designers and planners to harness the potential of informal settlement environments that are assets of the urban poor, create a context that stops informal settlements becoming ‘slum-like’ and help construct pathways towards urban equality.
Impacts of anthropogenic pressures on underwater light conditions and diatom functional group distributions in mountain lakes
Authors: Atti Sanna , Rantala Marttiina V. , Lami Andrea , Meyer-Jacob Carsten , Smol John P. , Weckström Jan , Nevalainen Liisa
Published: March 2023

Underwater light availability and exposure of ultraviolet radiation (UV) in mountain lakes is mainly controlled by dissolved organic matter and ice cover. However, both of these factors are affected by climate warming and other anthropogenic pressures. Still, little is known of the impacts of long-term fluctuations in underwater light conditions onto functional distribution of diatoms, species sensitive to changes in climate and UV penetration in mountain lakes. Two mountain lakes in the Italian Alps were analysed using paleolimnological approaches to investigate impacts of anthropogenic pressures (e.g., climate warming, acidification) on underwater light availability, exposure to UV and diatom functional group distributions, focusing on the post-industrial era. Contemporary diatom communities were collected from the main habitats in the shallow, high irradiance littoral zones of these lakes and geochemical proxies describing the development of lake-water transparency and carbon dynamics were analyzed from the sediment cores covering the time period from ca. 1400 CE to present. The geochemical data indicate that cultural acidification decreased lake-water organic carbon concentrations in both lakes, which suggests increased light availability and UV exposure during the past century. The responses of the studied lakes to anthropogenic pressures varied, as the lake situated at a lower altitude with a larger catchment showed only a few biotic changes indicating higher resilience, whereas the lake situated at higher altitude showed distinct changes in its ecological status. In this alpine lake, almost 30% of the diatom functional groups shifted from benthic to planktic during the post-industrial era. The role of increased light availability and UV exposure as a driver of diatom functional group distributions could not be unambiguously separated, and such diatom assemblage changes have been shown in many regions and most closely linked to a warming climate. However, low guild functional groups, prevalent also in the contemporary samples from the shallow littoral zone, dominated the diatom communities throughout the studied period, suggesting high tolerance to UV radiation.
Religious and Medical Pluralism Among Traditional Healers in Johannesburg, South Africa
Authors: Galvin Michael , Chiwaye Lesley , Moolla Aneesa
Published: March 2023

Religion and spirituality are powerful social forces in contemporary South Africa. Traditional Health Practitioners (THPs) are commonly consulted for both spiritual and medical ailments as a first line of care. Many studies have assessed African traditional health seeking behaviors but few have examined beliefs, practices, and behaviors of THPs themselves. This study sought to explore spiritual worldviews among South African THPs. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 THPs in Johannesburg, South Africa between January and May, 2022. Interviews were transcribed and translated into English. Data were managed using NVivo 12 software and thematically analyzed. The majority of THPs interviewed indicated that initiation as a THP was almost always preceded by a sickness accompanied by dreams/visions that represented an “ancestral calling” to become a healer. Most THPs also trained as both sangomas—who healed according to traditional beliefs—and prophets—who healed according to Christian beliefs. This reflects a syncretic relationship between traditional African beliefs and Christianity. However, not all churches are accepting of traditional beliefs and subsequently these THPs are members only at non-Pentecostal AIC churches who blend both African and Christian practices. Similar to these forms of religious pluralism melding Christianity and traditional beliefs, many THPs also often practice medical pluralism, mixing Western treatments with traditional practices/medicines. THPs are able to adapt elements of Western and African beliefs into healing practices that span multiple religious and medical fields. Thus, collaborative and decentralized healthcare services may be highly acceptable among such a pluralistic community.
Relative effects of urbanisation, deforestation, and agricultural development on mosquito communities
Authors: Perrin Antoine , Schaffner Francis , Christe Philippe , Glaizot Olivier
Published: March 2023

Context

Despite numerous studies that showed negative effects of landscape anthropisation on species abundance and diversity, the relative effects of urbanisation, deforestation, and agricultural development as well as the spatial extent at which they act are much less studied. This is particularly the case for mosquitoes, which are the most important arthropods affecting human health.

Objectives

We determined the scale of effect of these three landscape anthropisation components on mosquito abundance and diversity. We then assessed which landscape variables had the most effect as well as their independent positive or negative effects.

Methods

We used mosquito data collected by Schaffner and Mathis (2013) in 16 sampling sites in Switzerland. We measured forest, urban and agricultural amounts in 485 concentric landscapes (from 150 to 5000 m radius) around each sampling site. We then identified the spatial extent at which each landscape metric best predicted abundance and diversity of mosquito species and compared the effect size of each landscape component on each response variable.

Results

In Switzerland, urbanisation and deforestation have a greater influence on mosquito diversity than agricultural development, and do not act at the same scale. Conversely, the scale of effect on mosquito abundance is relatively similar across the different landscape anthropisation components or across mosquito species, except forCulex pipiens. However, the effect size of each landscape component varies according to mosquito species.

Conclusion

The scale of management must be selected according to the conservation concern. In addition, a multi-scale approach is recommended for effective mosquito community management.
Prognostic significance of the genetic variant of lymphotoxin alpha (p.Thr60Asn) in egyptian patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Alhelf Maha , Shoaib Rasha M. S. , Elsaid Afaf , Bastawy Nermeen , Elbeltagy Nanis S. , Salem Eman T. , Refaat Sherif , Abuelnadar Eman H.
Published: March 2023

Background

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide in terms of mortality, and susceptibility is attributed to genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Lymphotoxin alpha (LTA) has a crucial role in communicating the lymphocytes with stromal cells and provoking cytotoxic effects on the cancer cells. There are no reports on the contribution of the LTA (c.179 C>A; p.Thr60Asn; rs1041981) gene polymorphism to HCC susceptibility. The main aim of this study is to investigate the association of LTA (c.179 C>A; p.Thr60Asn; rs1041981) variant with the HCC risk in the Egyptian population.

Methods

This case-control study included 317 participants (111 HCC patients, and 206 healthy controls). The LTA (c.179 C>A; p.Thr60Asn; rs1041981) polymorphism was assessed by tetra-primer amplification refractory mutation system polymerase chain reaction (T-ARMS-PCR) technique.

Results

The frequencies of the dominant and recessive models (CA + AA; AA) of the LTA (c.179 C>A; p.Thr60Asn; rs1041981) variant were statistically significant among HCC patients in comparison to controls (p = 0.01; p = 0.007; respectively). The A-allele of LTA (c.179 C>A; p.Thr60Asn; rs1041981) variant was statistically significant in HCC patients in comparison to controls (p ˂ 0.001).

Conclusion

The LTA (c.179 C>A; p.Thr60Asn; rs1041981) polymorphism was independently associated with an increased risk for hepatocellular carcinoma in the Egyptian population.
3D Static Modeling and CO2 Static Storage Estimation of the Hydrocarbon-Depleted Charis Reservoir, Bredasdorp Basin, South Africa
Authors: Afolayan Blessing Ayotomiwa , Mackay Eric , Opuwari Mimonitu
Published: March 2023

An essential greenhouse gas effect mitigation technology is carbon capture, utilization and storage, with carbon dioxide (CO2) injection into underground geological formations as a core of carbon sequestration. Developing a robust 3D static model of the formation of interest for CO2 storage is paramount to deduce its facies changes and petrophysical properties. This study investigates a depleted oilfield reservoir within the Bredasdorp Basin, offshore South Africa. It is a sandstone reservoir with effective porosity mean of 13.92% and dominant permeability values of 100–560 mD (1 mD = 9.869233 × 10–16 m2). The petrophysical properties are facies controlled, as the southwestern area with siltstone and shale facies has reduced porosity and permeability. The volume of shale model shows that the reservoir is composed of clean sands, and water saturation is 10–90%, hence suitable for CO2 storage based on petrophysical characteristics. Static storage capacity of the reservoir as virgin aquifer and virgin oilfield estimates sequestration of 0.71 Mt (million tons) and 1.62 Mt of CO2, respectively. Sensitivity studies showed reservoir depletion at bubble point pressure increased storage capacity more than twice the depletion at initial reservoir pressure. Reservoir pressure below bubble point with the presence of gas cap also increased storage capacity markedly.
A Novel Vision Transformer Model for Skin Cancer Classification
Authors: Yang Guang , Luo Suhuai , Greer Peter
Published: March 2023

Skin cancer can be fatal if it is found to be malignant. Modern diagnosis of skin cancer heavily relies on visual inspection through clinical screening, dermoscopy, or histopathological examinations. However, due to similarity among cancer types, it is usually challenging to identify the type of skin cancer, especially at its early stages. Deep learning techniques have been developed over the last few years and have achieved success in helping to improve the accuracy of diagnosis and classification. However, the latest deep learning algorithms still do not provide ideal classification accuracy. To further improve the performance of classification accuracy, this paper presents a novel method of classifying skin cancer in clinical skin images. The method consists of four blocks. First, class rebalancing is applied to the images of seven skin cancer types for better classification performance. Second, an image is preprocessed by being split into patches of the same size and then flattened into a series of tokens. Third, a transformer encoder is used to process the flattened patches. The transformer encoder consists of N identical layers with each layer containing two sublayers. Sublayer one is a multihead self-attention unit, and sublayer two is a fully connected feed-forward network unit. For each of the two sublayers, a normalization operation is applied to its input, and a residual connection of its input and its output is calculated. Finally, a classification block is implemented after the transformer encoder. The block consists of a flattened layer and a dense layer with batch normalization. Transfer learning is implemented to build the whole network, where the ImageNet dataset is used to pretrain the network and the HAM10000 dataset is used to fine-tune the network. Experiments have shown that the method has achieved a classification accuracy of 94.1%, outperforming the current state-of-the-art model IRv2 with soft attention on the same training and testing datasets. On the Edinburgh DERMOFIT dataset also, the method has better performance compared with baseline models.
Comparison of Cognitive Intervention Strategies for Individuals With Alzheimer’s Disease: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis
Authors: Xiang Chunchen , Zhang Yumei
Published: March 2023

Accumulating evidence has shown the effectiveness of cognitive interventions, which can be divided into cognitive training (CT), cognitive stimulation (CS), cognitive rehabilitation (CR), and combined interventions (i.e., cognitive interventions combined with other non-pharmacological interventions such as physical exercise), in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the effectiveness of cognitive interventions varies greatly among studies and more comprehensive studies are required. We aimed to evaluate whether the current evidence shows that cognitive interventions are effective at improving cognition, neuropsychiatric symptoms, depression, quality of life, and basic activities of daily living among individuals with possible or probable AD. Randomized controlled trials of all types of cognitive intervention were identified for inclusion in pairwise and network meta-analyses. There was a moderate and statistically significant post-intervention improvement in global cognition among individuals with AD for all types of cognitive intervention compared to control interventions (39 studies, g = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.28 to 0.58, p < 0.01; Q = 102.27, df = 38, p < 0.01; I2 = 61.97%, τ2 = 0.13). Regarding the specific types of cognitive intervention, combined interventions had the highest surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) value (90.7%), followed by CT (67.8%), CS (53.4%), and lastly CR (28.9%). Significant effects of cognitive interventions were also found for working memory, verbal memory, verbal fluency, confrontation naming, attention, neuropsychiatric symptoms, basic activities of daily living, and quality of life.
Optical strain sensor with dual fibre Bragg grating topology
Authors: Palmowski Jacek , Barczak Kamil , Kubicka Natalia , Gołek Franek , Benson Luke , Maciak Erwin , Pustelny Tadeusz , Phang Sendy , Benson Trevor , Bereś-Pawlik Elżbieta
Published: March 2023

The paper presents the design, operation, and proof of principle realisation and validation of a relatively cheap fibre optic strain sensor based on two fibre Bragg grating (FBG) elements with different spectral responses. Its performance is compared with the measurement capabilities of a FBG-based sensor that uses an optical interrogator.
Exploring options for increasing maize yields and grain Zn concentrations in sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Breure Mirjam S. , Njoroge Samuel , Pasley Heather R. , Hoffland Ellis
Published: March 2023

Background

Increasing zinc (Zn) concentrations in maize grains could contribute to alleviating widespread human Zn deficiency in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, trade-offs between grain Zn concentrations and maize yields have been observed.

Scope

Using data from researcher-managed, on-farm and on-station field trials in Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe, we aimed (i) to confirm whether this trade-off is found in current farming systems in SSA and (ii) to explore whether genotypic and management options, relevant for the African context, can increase both yields and grain Zn concentrations across several environments.

Results

An overall negative, but weak relation between maize yields and grain Zn concentrations was found. High yields and high grain Zn concentrations did not co-occur. The negative relation between grain Zn concentrations and yields cannot be bypassed by selecting one of the commercially available varieties used in this study. Nitrogen application increased yields, but had contrasting effects on grain Zn concentrations depending on variety and site. Grain Zn concentrations were positively related with soil organic carbon and P and K availability.

Conclusions

Attaining grain Zn concentrations above the HarvestPlus target of 38 mg kg−1, considered adequate for reducing human Zn deficiency, with current commercially available maize varieties and presented management options, is not possible without compromising yield levels. Increasing soil organic matter content and balanced application of N, P and K fertilisers could increase grain Zn concentrations. These practices likely will also increase yields and could be a viable option to bypass the trade-off between maize yields and grain Zn concentrations.
Integrated Morphological, Physiological and Molecular Analysis of the Drought Response in Cultivated and Wild Prunus L. Subgenera Cerasus Species
Authors: Jalili Sara , Arzani Kazem , Prudencio Angela S. , Salazar Juan A. , Martínez-García Pedro J. , Bouzari Naser , Martínez-Gómez Pedro
Published: March 2023

Knowledge about the genetic potential of wild Prunus species is important for recognizing gene pools in germplasm and developing effective strategies for germplasm conservation and breeding. In this study, cultivated sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) and relative wild Cereus subgenus genotypes belonging to P. microcarpa Boiss and P. incana (Pall.) Batsch. species were assayed in controlled drought conditions performing an integrated morphological, physiological, genomic and transcriptomic analysis of the stress response. These analyses were performed under well-watered and water-deficient conditions analysing morphology of leaves, gas exchange parameters and chlorophyll content differently affected by drought, especially under long-term water deficiency. From a genomic point of view, these genotypes were characterized using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Finally, in the analysis of the transcriptional responses, drought tolerance candidate genes were analysed by quantitative PCR (qPCR). From a morphological point of view, P. microcarpa showed less leaf area, height and diameter in comparison to P. incana and mainly P. avium. The highest rate of photosynthesis in genotypes differently was observed in the control treatment and the lowest rate viewed during stress. The analysed genes showed different responses to drought in the genotypes, and more detailed analysis techniques to explain the molecular mechanisms of drought tolerance are needed in these genotypes. Our results provide a significant contribution to the understanding of how P. incana and P. microcarpa respond to drought stress, which may help to explain molecular and physiological mechanisms associated with the response to the drought of cherries. Additionally, these results show that wild cherries can be considered as a genetic source of drought resistance in breeding programs.
Boosting the Accuracy of Commercial Real Estate Appraisals: An Interpretable Machine Learning Approach
Authors: Deppner Juergen , von Ahlefeldt-Dehn Benedict , Beracha Eli , Schaefers Wolfgang
Published: March 2023

In this article, we examine the accuracy and bias of market valuations in the U.S. commercial real estate sector using properties included in the NCREIF Property Index (NPI) between 1997 and 2021 and assess the potential of machine learning algorithms (i.e., boosting trees) to shrink the deviations between market values and subsequent transaction prices. Under consideration of 50 covariates, we find that these deviations exhibit structured variation that boosting trees can capture and further explain, thereby increasing appraisal accuracy and eliminating structural bias. The understanding of the models is greatest for apartments and industrial properties, followed by office and retail buildings. This study is the first in the literature to extend the application of machine learning in the context of property pricing and valuation from residential use types and commercial multifamily to office, retail, and industrial assets. In addition, this article contributes to the existing literature by providing an indication of the room for improvement in state-of-the-art valuation practices in the U.S. commercial real estate sector that can be exploited by using the guidance of supervised machine learning methods. The contributions of this study are, thus, timely and important to many parties in the real estate sector, including authorities, banks, insurers and pension and sovereign wealth funds.
Governmental Restrictions and Real Estate Investor Risk Perception
Authors: Kaiser Carina , Freybote Julia , Schäfers Wolfgang
Published: March 2023

We investigate the impact of governmental restrictions on the short-term risk perception, as proxied by the going-in cap rate, of investors in regional and neighborhood shopping centers. We use the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural experiment and proxy for the length and severity of COVID-19 restrictions with the political affiliation of state governors. Using a sample of 40 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) across 27 states over the period of 2018 to 2021, we find that for states with Republican governors, which proxy for shorter and fewer COVID-19 restrictions, investors in regional malls required a lower going-in cap rate in the pandemic period than for states with Democratic governors. This effect does not exist for neighborhood shopping centers, whose tenants were not as affected by COVID-19 restrictions. Robustness checks suggest that our findings can be explained with mask mandates as one type of governmental restrictions, and that COVID-19 related restrictions do not impact the long-term risk perception of retail real estate investors. We furthermore find that the political attitudes of an MSA have an impact on investor risk perception.
Auctions of failed banks: an analysis of losing bidders
Authors: Zhou Tim M.
Published: March 2023

Between 2007 and 2013, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) used purchase and assumption (P&A) as a resolution method to auction 492 failed institutions to healthy banks. While existing studies reveal positive value effects on winning bidders of these auctions, this study finds that losing bidders experience negative abnormal stock returns. Furthermore, the losing bidders’ stockholders react negatively to a worsening market condition and an increased probability of failure. The returns, nevertheless, are related to the market power gains and distorted competitive condition post-auction. These results raise concerns that this type of intervention potentially gives rise to anticompetitive behavior among participating banks of FDIC auctions.
The First Survey of Quiet Sun Features Observed in Hard X-Rays with NuSTAR
Authors: Paterson Sarah , Hannah Iain G. , Grefenstette Brian W. , Hudson Hugh S. , Krucker Säm , Glesener Lindsay , White Stephen M. , Smith David M.
Published: March 2023

We present the first survey of quiet Sun features observed in hard X-rays (HXRs), using the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope ARray (NuSTAR), a HXR focusing optics telescope. The recent solar minimum, combined with NuSTAR’s high sensitivity, has presented a unique opportunity to perform the first HXR imaging spectroscopy on a range of features in the quiet Sun. By studying the HXR emission of these features, we can detect or constrain the presence of high temperature (> 5 MK) or non-thermal sources, to help understand how they relate to larger, more energetic solar phenomena, and determine their contribution to heating the solar atmosphere. We report on several features observed in the 28 September 2018 NuSTAR full-disk quiet Sun mosaics, the first of the NuSTAR quiet Sun observing campaigns, which mostly include steady features of X-ray bright points and an emerging flux region, which later evolved into an active region, as well as a short-lived jet. We find that the features’ HXR spectra are well fitted with isothermal models with temperatures ranging between 2.0 – 3.2 MK. Combining the NuSTAR data with softer X-ray emission from Hinode/XRT and EUV from SDO/AIA, we recover the differential emission measures, confirming little significant emission above 4 MK. The NuSTAR HXR spectra allow us to constrain the possible non-thermal emission that would still be consistent with a null HXR detection. We found that for only one of the features (the jet) was there a potential non-thermal upper limit capable of powering the heating observed. However, even here, the non-thermal electron distribution had to be very steep (effectively mono-energetic) with a low energy cut-off between 3 – 4 keV.
Materials selection in economic modeling
Authors: Boumans Marcel
Published: March 2023

Templates travel because they offer a tractable format that can be used for model-building in a variety of domains. It is often because of this quality that a particular template is chosen. But one cannot assume that there are always templates ready to model a new phenomenon, and moreover, templates have also been designed at some point. A critical aspect of this designing process is the choice of the mathematical objects with which one hopes to capture this phenomenon. This means that one has to assess which of the properties of different kinds of mathematical objects and which combinations of them are most appropriate. The selection of these objects is based on whether their properties enable the model to perform its function. This selection of mathematical objects is similar to the selection of materials in mechanical design.
How tracking technology is transforming animal ecology: epistemic values, interdisciplinarity, and technology-driven scientific change
Authors: Trappes Rose
Published: March 2023

Tracking technology has been heralded as transformative for animal ecology. In this paper I examine what changes are taking place, showing how current animal movement research is a field ripe for philosophical investigation. I focus first on how the devices alter the limitations and biases of traditional field observation, making observation of animal movement and behaviour possible in more detail, for more varied species, and under a broader variety of conditions, as well as restricting the influence of human presence and observer bias. I reconstruct these as shifts in scope, objectivity, accuracy and fruitfulness. The second transformation is slightly less obvious but equally significant for animal ecology. Tracking devices generate complex data that demands both statistical and biological expertise, which has led to increasingly frequent and intensive collaborations between statisticians and biologists. Based on interviews, I examine how researchers in these interdisciplinary collaborations negotiate the collection, analysis and interpretation of movement data, integrating research interests, methodological constraints, previous field observations, and background theory. Tracking technology is therefore also shifting which disciplinary considerations are brought to bear on research into animal movement and behaviour and how this research is conducted.
Efficient maintenance of highway cover labelling for distance queries on large dynamic graphs
Authors: Farhan Muhammad , Wang Qing
Published: March 2023

Graphs in real-world applications are typically dynamic which undergo rapid changes in their topological structure over time by either adding or deleting edges or vertices. However, it is challenging to design algorithms capable of supporting updates efficiently on dynamic graphs. In this article, we devise a parallel fully dynamic labelling method to reflect rapid changes on graphs when answering shortest-path distance queries, a fundamental problem in graph theory. At its core, our solution accelerates query processing through a fully dynamic distance labelling of a limited size, which provides a good approximation to bound online searches on dynamic graphs. Our parallel fully dynamic labelling method leverages two sources of efficiency gains: landmark parallelism and anchor parallelism. Furthermore, it can handle both incremental and decremental updates efficiently using a unified search approach and a bounded repairing inference mechanism. We theoretically analyze the correctness, labelling minimality, and time complexity of our method, and also conduct extensive experiments to empirically verify its efficiency and scalability on 10 real-world large networks.
The oral bioavailability of soil-borne risk elements for small terrestrial mammals: Microtus arvalis (Pallas, 1778) and Apodemus sylvaticus L. and its implication in environmental studies
Authors: Čadková Zuzana , Vořechovská Lenka , Javorská Denisa , Száková Jiřina , Tlustoš Pavel
Published: March 2023

The aims of this study were (i) to specify real risk elemetnt (RE) uptake by wild terresrial mammals (A. sylvaticusandM. arvalis), (ii) to describe RE distribution in critical organs such as the liver and kidney, and (iii) to determine potencial differences in RE toxicokinetics with regards to individual species or sex. Three groups of experimental animals were fed diets amended with soil and green biomass of hyperaccumulatorArabidopsis halleriwith different RE levels. The contents of As, Cd, and Pb in the liver and kidneys of the animals reflected the element contents in the diet. Higher Cd and Pb accumulation ability was observed inA. sylvaticuscompared toM. arvalistissues, and an opposite pattern was recorded for As. Zn contents in tissues of both species remained unchanged, and total contents of Zn in the exposed animals even tended to decrease compared to the controls. Results of this study indicate a generally similar response of both species to elevated RE contents in the diet, confirming these wild rodents as suitable models for RE biomonitoring in ecosystems. However, our data highlights some distinction in As toxicokinetics in wood mice compared to that of field voles and a significantly higher accumulation of Pb and Cd in females. Therefore, factors of species and sex should not be overlooked if relevant data are to be obtained in environmental studies conducted on small terrestrial rodents.
The HeDiCom framework: Higher Education teachers’ digital competencies for the future
Authors: Tondeur Jo , Howard Sarah , Van Zanten Manon , Gorissen Pierre , Van der Neut Irma , Uerz Dana , Kral Marijke
Published: March 2023

There is little consensus about the nature of teachers’ digital competencies in Higher Education. Moreover, existing digital competence frameworks have largely been developed for teachers in secondary education. In response to this, the current study focuses on developing and validating a framework of digital competencies for teachers in Higher Education. First, a review was conducted to determine the state of digital competence research regarding dimensions and definition of digital competence. In a next step, similarities and differences between existing digital competence frameworks were identified. Based on the outcomes of the review and the framework comparison, a framework was developed in an iterative process through expert meetings with policy makers, experts in the field of educational technology, and validated with practitioners. The new framework includes four dimensions of teachers’ digital competencies: (1) Teaching practice, (2) Empowering students for a digital society, (3) Teachers’ digital literacy, and (4) Teachers’ professional development. The resulting Higher Education Digital Competence (HeDiCom) framework will provide guidance and clearer expectations of teachers’ digital competency. Ultimately, improving teachers’ digital competencies will contribute to improving the quality of digital competencies of the students.
Genetische Diagnostik bei Nierenerkrankungen im Erwachsenenalter
Authors: Schultheiss Ulla T. , Hermle Tobias
Published: March 2023

Erkrankungen der Niere sind häufig genetisch bedingt, und über 600 beteiligte Gene wurden bereits identifiziert. Bei ungefähr 10 % der chronischen Nierenkrankheiten unklarer Genese lässt sich eine monogen vermittelte Ursache ermitteln. Dabei stellt eine DNA-Veränderung in einem einzigen Gen die molekulare Ursache der Erkrankung dar. Vielfach bleibt die genetische Diagnose derzeit noch unerkannt. Für die klinische Betreuung der Betroffenen hat eine genetische Diagnosestellung entscheidende Vorteile, da sich zum einen für eine Reihe von Diagnosen zusätzliche Therapieoptionen eröffnen und zum anderen auch auf belastende diagnostische und (bei genetischer Ursache erfolglose) therapeutische Maßnahmen verzichtet werden kann. Zusätzlich kann der genetische Befund im Rahmen einer reversen Phänotypisierung frühzeitig Hinweise auf die mögliche Beteiligung weiterer Organsysteme liefern. Dies ermöglicht entsprechende Vorsorgeuntersuchungen und die rechtzeitige Einbeziehung weiterer Fachgebiete. Nicht zuletzt erlaubt eine genetische Beratung auch für weitere Familienmitglieder eine Risikoeinschätzung, auch bei Kinderwunsch, sowie eine maßgeschneiderte Therapie und Prävention. Vor diesem Hintergrund ist eine breitere Implementierung genetischer Diagnostik in die klinische Praxis der Nephrologie sinnvoll. Das praktische Vorgehen bezüglich der Indikationsstellung zur Diagnostik und anschließend die Beurteilung der genetischen Befunde mit Übersetzung in ein personalisiertes Management sind Herausforderungen, welche eine enge interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit zwischen Nephrologie und Humangenetik erfordern. Zur optimalen Betreuung der Betroffenen wird darüber hinaus in Anbetracht des rasch expandierenden Wissens der Bedarf nach einer Subspezialisierung Nephrogenetik innerhalb des Fachgebiets deutlich.
The effect of adult education on health-related behaviours
Authors: Kohl Jonathan , Martin Andreas
Published: March 2023

Unhealthy behaviours continue to be pervasive and lead to premature death worldwide. According to previous research, school education appears to be a good predictor of unhealthy behaviours. The influence of adult education and training (AET) on health behaviour, on the other hand, has hardly been studied. Existing studies provide only indicative evidence on AET returns in terms of health-related behaviours, with no study to date examining the German context. Longitudinal data from NEPS SC6 (N = 7089) are used to examine whether participation in adult education affects changes in health-related behaviour positively, i.e., whether participants smoke or drink less and are more frequently active in sports. Hybrid regression models with interaction terms are estimated to test specific theoretical mechanisms. While participation in AET does not show any positive behavioural change in sports activity or alcohol consumption, participants in AET are more likely to smoke following AET participation within the last 12 or between the last 24 and 36 months. Implications are discussed and linked to the existing state of research.
Robust Local Light Field Synthesis via Occlusion-aware Sampling and Deep Visual Feature Fusion
Authors: Xing Wenpeng , Chen Jie , Guo Yike
Published: March 2023

Novel view synthesis has attracted tremendous research attention recently for its applications in virtual reality and immersive telepresence. Rendering a locally immersive light field (LF) based on arbitrary large baseline RGB references is a challenging problem that lacks efficient solutions with existing novel view synthesis techniques. In this work, we aim at truthfully rendering local immersive novel views/LF images based on large baseline LF captures and a single RGB image in the target view. To fully explore the precious information from source LF captures, we propose a novel occlusion-aware source sampler (OSS) module which efficiently transfers the pixels of source views to the target view’s frustum in an occlusion-aware manner. An attention-based deep visual fusion module is proposed to fuse the revealed occluded background content with a preliminary LF into a final refined LF. The proposed source sampling and fusion mechanism not only helps to provide information for occluded regions from varying observation angles, but also proves to be able to effectively enhance the visual rendering quality. Experimental results show that our proposed method is able to render high-quality LF images/novel views with sparse RGB references and outperforms state-of-the-art LF rendering and novel view synthesis methods.
Water-based fluorescent flexo-ink for security applications
Authors: Muthamma Kashmitha , Gouda Basana M. , Sunil Dhanya , Kulkarni Suresh D. , P.J. Anand
Published: March 2023

UV-readable fluorescent ink formulations find versatile applications in various fields including information encryption, automated identification systems, security markers and optical devices. In this context, a new bithiophene-based chalcone (BTCF) that exhibits good solution phase and solid-state fluorescence was synthesized as a colourant for formulating an eco-friendly UV fluorescent ink. The molecule demonstrated good thermal stability and photophysical features including intramolecular charge transfer, confirmed through emission studies in THF–hexane mixtures with varying hexane content. The intense greenish yellow solid-state fluorescence emission displayed by BTCF was exploited by using it as a colourant in a water-based fluorescent ink formulation. Further, the ink was used to print a fast-drying solid patch on an UV dull paper substrate using flexography technique. The analysis of colorimetric, densitometric and rub resistance properties of the printed paper samples demonstrated good fluorescence, moderate photostability and good rub resistance, and hence could be used for security printing applications.

Graphical abstract
Directed communication in games with directed graphs
Authors: Gavilán E. C. , Manuel C. , van den Brink R.
Published: March 2023

We introduce a novel concept of directed communication and a related connectedness in directed graphs, and apply this to model certain cooperation restrictions in cooperative games. In the literature on communication in directed networks or directed graphs, one can find different notions of connectedness, and different ways how directed communication restricts cooperation possibilities of players in a game. In this paper, we introduce a notion of connectedness in directed graphs that is based on directed paths. We assume that a coalition of players in a game can only cooperate if these players form a directed path in a directed communication graph. We define a restricted game following the same approach as Myerson for undirected communication situations, and consider the allocation rule that applies the Shapley value to this restricted game. We characterize this value by extended versions of the well-known component efficiency, fairness and balanced contributions axioms. Moreover, using the new notion of connectedness, we apply this allocation rule to define network centrality, efficiency and vulnerability measures for directed networks.
Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 infection in different animal species and human in Egypt during 2020–2021
Authors: AboElkhair Mohammed A. , Ahmed Mohamed M. , Moustapha Alaa El Din H. , Zaki Ali Mohammed , El Naggar Rania F. , Elhamouly Moustafa , Anis Anis
Published: March 2023

Coronaviruses cause respiratory and intestinal infections in animals and humans. By the end of 2019, there was an epidemic of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Coronaviruses have a highly mutable genome that makes them genetically and phenotypically modifiable with a potential transmission to new host species. Based on current sequence databases, all human coronaviruses have animal origins, so animals have important roles in virus spillover to humans. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of different animal species in the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Egypt. A pan-coronaviruses RT-PCR has been used for detection of possible coronaviruses infection in different species including bats, humans, birds, and dogs in Egypt during the period of November 2020 till June 2021. Ninety-two samples (46 from Rousettus aegyptiacus bats, 10 from human, 26 from wild birds, and 10 from dogs) were screened for SARS-CoV-2. Our results revealed that only human samples were SARS-CoV-2 positive for SARS-CoV-2 while all other animal and bird samples were negative. To recapitulate, our results suggest that animals may not actively transmit SARS-CoV-2 among people in Egypt during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Further structural surveillance and follow up screening for SARS-CoV-2 among domestic and wild animal populations in Egypt is crucially needed.