bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Low-cost soybean input bundles impact women farmers’ subsistence livelihood traps: evidence from Ghana
Authors: Ragsdale Kathleen , Read-Wahidi Mary R. , Zhou Qian M. , Clark Kerry , Asigbee Mawuli A. K. , Tamimie Courtney , Goldsmith Peter
Published: March 2022

The Soybean Uptake and Network Survey was administered to a random sample of 832 smallholder male and female farmers in northern Ghana to explore gender and other factors related to soybean production. We investigated the effect of receiving a Soybean Success Kit (i.e., certified seed, fertilizer, inoculum) on soybean yield and income from soybean, controlling for factors such as gender. This analysis includes farmers who 1) resided in districts where Kits were distributed, 2) planted soybean in the past 12 months, and 3) for whom we had complete information for district and gender (n = 371). When results were disaggregated by gender among Kit recipients, average soybean yield (ASY) for males was 108% and average soybean income (ASI) was 97% of that for females. When results were disaggregated by gender among Kit non-recipients, ASY for males was 142% and ASI was 147% of that for females. When results for males were disaggregated by whether the respondent received a Kit, ASY for male Kit recipients was 113% and ASI was 112% of that for male non-recipients. When results for females were disaggregated by whether the respondent received a Kit, ASY for female Kit recipients was 148% and ASI was 170% of that for female non-recipients. These results suggest that providing smallholder female farmers with access to low-cost (˂USD6) input bundles to which they customarily have little or no access can help eliminate the gender gap in agricultural productivity. These results may be applicable to other sub-Saharan Africa countries, where targeting smallholder female farmers as input bundle beneficiaries may positively impact agricultural productivity.
Synthesis and evaluation of wound healing properties of hydro-diab hydrogel loaded with green-synthetized AGNPS: in vitro and in ex vivo studies
Authors: Ruffo Mariarosa , Parisi Ortensia Ilaria , Dattilo Marco , Patitucci Francesco , Malivindi Rocco , Pezzi Vincenzo , Tzanov Tzanko , Puoci Francesco
Published: March 2022

In diabetic patients, the presence of neuropathy, peripheral vascular diseases and ischemia, leads to the formation of foot ulcerations with a higher risk of infection because the normal response to bacterial infection is missing. In the aim to control and treat diabetic foot ulcerations (DFUs), wound dressings that are able to absorb exudate, to prevent infections, and to promote wound healing are needed. For this reason, the aim of the present research was to synthetize a biocompatible hydrogel (called HyDrO-DiAb) composed of carboxymethylcellulose loaded with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. In this study, AgNPs were obtained by a green synthesis and, then, were dissolved in a CMC hydrogel that, after a freeze drying process, becomes a flexible and porous structure. The in vitro and in ex vivo wound healing activity of the obtained HyDrO-DiAb hydrogel was evaluated.

Graphical abstract
Abundance of independent sequences in compact spaces and Boolean algebras
Authors: Avilés Antonio , Martínez-Cervantes Gonzalo , Plebanek Grzegorz
Published: March 2022

It follows from a theorem of Rosenthal that a compact space iscccif and only if its every Eberlein continuous image is metrizable. Motivated by this result, for a class of compact spaces$${\mathcal {C}}$$Cwe define its orthogonal$${\mathcal {C}}^\perp $$C⊥as the class of all compact spaces for which every continuous image in$${\mathcal {C}}$$Cis metrizable. We study how this operation relates classes where centeredness is scarce with classes where it is abundant (like Eberlein andccccompacta), and also classes where independence is scarce (most notably weakly Radon-Nikodým compacta) with classes where it is abundant. We study these problems for zero-dimensional compact spaces with the aid of Boolean algebras, and show the main difficulties that arise when we deal with general settings. Our main results are the constructions of several relevant examples.
Assessment on facile Diels–Alder approach of α-pyrone and terpenoquinone for the expedient synthesis of various natural scaffolds
Authors: Rammohan Aluru , Khasanov Albert F. , Kopchuk Dmitry S. , Gunasekar Duvvuru , Zyryanov Grigory V. , Chupakhin Oleg N.
Published: March 2022

The development of highly facile synthetic procedures for the expedient synthesis of complex natural molecules is always in demand. As this aspect, the Diels–Alder reaction (DAR) has a versatile approach to the synthesis of complex natural compounds and highly regio-/stereoselcetive heterocyclic scaffolds. Additionally, α-pyrone and terpenoquinone are two versatile key intermediates that are prevalent in various bioactive natural compounds for instance, (±)-crinine, (±)-joubertinamine, (±)-pancratistatin, (−)-cyclozonarone, and 8-ephipuupehedione, etc. Hence, the current review summarizes the Diels–Alder reaction application of α-pyrone and terpenoquinone to the constructive synthesis of various natural products over the past two decades (2001–2021). Equally, it serves as a stencil for the invention and development of new synthetic strategies for high-complex molecular structured natural and heterocyclic molecules.

Graphical Abstract
The relative contribution of diurnal and nocturnal glucose exposures to HbA1c in type 1 diabetes males: a pooled analysis
Authors: Campbell Matthew D. , West Daniel J. , O’Mahoney Lauren L. , Pearson Sam , Kietsiriroje Noppadol , Holmes Mel , Ajjan Ramzi A.
Published: March 2022

Purpose

The exact contribution of daily glucose exposure to HbA1c in people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) remains controversial. We examined the contribution of pre- and postprandial glycaemia, nocturnal and early-morning glycaemia, and glycaemic variability to HbA1c levels in T1D. In this analysis, we used clinical data, namely age, BMI and HbA1c, as well as glycaemic metrics (24-h glycaemia, postprandial, nocturnal, early-morning glycaemia, wake-up glucose, and glycaemic variability) obtained over a four-week period of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) wear in thirty-two males with T1D.

Methods

The trapezoid method was used estimate the incremental area under the glucose curve (iAUC) for 24-h, postprandial (3-h period following breakfast, lunch, and dinner, respectively), nocturnal (between 24:00–04:00 AM), and early-morning (2-h period 2-h prior to wake-up) glycaemia. Linear regression analysis was employed whereby CGM-derived glycaemic metrics were explanatory variables and HbA1c was the outcome.

Results

Thirty-two T1D males (mean ± SD: age 29 ± 4 years; HbA1c 7.3 ± 0.9% [56 ± 13 mmol/mol]; BMI 25.80 ± 5.01 kg/m2) were included in this analysis. In linear models adjusted for age and BMI, HbA1c was associated with 24-h mean glucose (r2 = 0.735, p < 0.001), SD (r2 = 0.643, p = 0.039), and dinner iAUC (r2 = 0.711, p = 0.001). CGM-derived metrics and non-glycaemic factors explained 77% of the variance in HbA1c, in which postprandial glucose accounted for 32% of the variance explained. The single greatest contributor to HbA1c was dinner iAUC resulting in 0.6%-point (~7 mmol/mol) increase in HbA1c per SD increase in dinner iAUC.

Conclusions

Using comprehensive CGM profiling, we show that postprandial glucose, specifically evening-time postprandial glucose, is the single largest contributing factor to HbA1c in T1D.

Trial registration number

NCT02204839 (July 30th 2014); NCT02595658 (November 3rd 2015).
The associations of psoas and masseter muscles with sarcopenia and related adverse outcomes in older trauma patients: a retrospective study
Authors: Varma Surabhi , Wilson Michael S. J. , Naik Mitesh , Sandhu Amandeep , Ota Helen Chidera Uchenna , Aylwin Christopher , Fertleman Michael , Peck George
Published: March 2022

Background

There is an emerging role for radiological evaluation of psoas muscle as a marker of sarcopenia in trauma patients. Older trauma patients are more likely to undergo cranial than abdomino-pelvic imaging. Identifying sarcopenia using masseter cross-sectional area (M-CSA) has shown correlation with mortality. We sought to determine the correlation between psoas: lumbar vertebral index (PLVI) and the M-CSA, and their association with health outcomes.

Methods

Patients aged 65 or above, who presented as a trauma call over a 1-year period were included if they underwent cranial or abdominal CT imaging. Images were retrospectively analysed to obtain PLVI and mean M-CSA measurements. Electronic records were abstracted for outcomes. Logistic regression methods, log scale analyses, Cox regression model and Kaplan–Meier plots were used to determine association of sarcopenia with outcomes.

Results

There were 155 eligible patients in the M-CSA group and 204 patients in the PLVI group. Sarcopenia was defined as the lowest quartile in each group. Pearson’s correlation indicated a weakly positive linear relationship (r = 0.35, p < 0.001) between these. There was no statistical association between M-CSA sarcopenia status and any measured outcomes. Those with PLVI sarcopenia were more likely to die in hospital (adjusted OR 3.38, 95% CI 1.47–9.73, p = 0.006) and at 2 years (adjusted HR 1.90, 95% CI 1.11–3.25, p = 0.02). Only 29% patients with PLVI sarcopenia were discharged home, compared with 58% without sarcopenia (p = 0.001).

Conclusion

Sarcopenia, defined by PLVI, is predictive of increased in-patient and 2-year mortality. Our study did not support prognostic relevance of M-CSA.
Some Characteristics and Arguments in Favor of a Science of Machine Behavior Analysis
Authors: Lanovaz Marc J.
Published: March 2022

Researchers and practitioners recognize four domains of behavior analysis: radical behaviorism, the experimental analysis of behavior, applied behavior analysis, and the practice of behavior analysis. Given the omnipresence of technology in every sphere of our lives, the purpose of this conceptual article is to describe and argue in favor of a fifth domain: machine behavior analysis. Machine behavior analysis is a science that examines how machines interact with and produce relevant changes in their external environment by relying on replicability, behavioral terminology, and the philosophical assumptions of behavior analysis (e.g., selectionism, determinism, parsimony) to study artificial behavior. Arguments in favor of a science of machine behavior include the omnipresence and impact of machines on human behavior, the inability of engineering alone to explain and control machine behavior, and the need to organize a verbal community of scientists around this common issue. Regardless of whether behavior analysts agree or disagree with this proposal, I argue that the field needs a debate on the topic. As such, the current article aims to encourage and contribute to this debate.
Estimated GFR in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease: errors of an unpredictable method
Authors: Rodríguez Rosa Miquel , Luis-Lima Sergio , Fernandez Juan Manuel , Gómez María Vanesa Pérez , Toledo Beatriz González , Cobo Marian , Delgado-Mallén Patricia , Escamilla Beatriz , Marco Cristina Oramas , Estupiñán Sara , Perera Coriolano Cruz , Mena Natalia Negrín , Martín Laura Díaz , Reyes Sergio Pitti , González Ibrahim Hernández , González-Rinne Federico , González-Delgado Alejandra , Ferrer-Moure Carmen , Zulueta Begoña López-Botet , Torres Armando , Rodriguez Pérez Jose Carlos , Gaspari Flavio , Ortiz Alberto , Porrini Esteban
Published: March 2022

Background

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) causes about 10% of cases of end stage renal disease. Disease progression rate is heterogeneous. Tolvaptan is presently the only specific therapeutic option to slow kidney function decline in adults at risk of rapidly progressing ADPKD with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 1–4. Thus, a reliable evaluation of kidney function in patients with ADPKD is needed.

Methods

We evaluated the agreement between measured (mGFR) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) by 61 formulas based on creatinine and/or cystatin-C (eGFR) in 226 ADPKD patients with diverse GFR values, from predialysis to glomerular hyperfiltration. Also, we evaluated whether incorrect categorization of CKD using eGFR may interfere with the indication and/or reimbursement of Tolvaptan treatment.

Results

No formula showed acceptable agreement with mGFR. Total Deviation Index averaged about 50% for eGFR based on creatinine and/or cystatin-C, indicating that 90% of the estimations of GFR showed bounds of error of 50% when compared with mGFR. In 1 out of 4 cases with mGFR < 30 ml/min, eGFR provided estimations above this threshold. Also, in half of the cases with mGFR between 30 and 40 ml/min, formulas estimated values < 30 ml/min.

Conclusions

The evaluation of renal function with formulas in ADPKD patients is unreliable. Extreme deviation from real renal function is quite frequent. The consequences of this error deserve attention, especially in rapid progressors who may benefit from starting treatment with tolvaptan and in whom specific GFR thresholds are needed for the indication or reimbursement. Whenever possible, mGFR is recommended.

Graphic abstract
A knee point-driven many-objective pigeon-inspired optimization algorithm
Authors: Zhao Lihong , Ren Yeqing , Zeng Youqian , Cui Zhihua , Zhang Wensheng
Published: March 2022

The number of solutions obtained is too large to provide a set of solutions with good performance in the nearby area of the true Pareto front when problem-specific preferences are unavailable. Therefore, this paper proposes a knee point-driven many-objective pigeon-inspired optimization algorithm (KnMAPIO). An environmental selection strategy based on knee-oriented dominance is proposed to improve selection pressure and population diversity. In addition, a new velocity updating equation with Gaussian distribution, Cauchy distribution and Levy distribution is proposed in this paper to provide new search directions and reduce the possibility of falling into local optima. Two types of experiments are carried out in this paper: one is to compare the proposed method with four other algorithms on the knee-oriented benchmark PMOPs to verify the algorithm’s performance in detecting the knee points and the knee region; another is to compare the proposed method with eight other state-of-the-art algorithms on the classic benchmark DTLZ and WFG. The results of both experiments verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm and the ability to approximate to the true Pareto front.
The Mechanical Behavior and Microstructure of Additively Manufactured Ti6AI4V for Different Material States and Loading Conditions
Authors: Schuch M. , Hahn T. , Herzig N. , Bleckmann M.
Published: March 2022

Selective laser melting (SLM) of Ti6Al4V is a very promising method to produce complex geometries for challenging impact applications. Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) is typically used to improve fatigue behavior, ductility and material reliability of parts produced by SLM. However, this treatment leads to an undesired deterioration of strength. The present study addresses that issue by investigating the effect of two different HIP conditions on the mechanical properties under compression and tensile loading for a strain rate range spanning up to 6 order of magnitudes and two different temperatures. We found a significant tensile-compression anisotropy in both flow stress and strain rate sensitivity depending on the HIP temperatures. These findings was correlated with microstructures and damage mechanisms.
Critical rationalism and metaethics
Authors: Engländer Armin
Published: March 2022

For Hans Albert, what is to be deemed morally right or wrong could either be based on human conventions (decisions) or on findings of facts (cognitions). As an ethical non-cognitivist Albert emphasizes that decision-based conventions are constitutive of ‘morals/ethics’. Yet, it has been claimed that Popper’s falsificationism applies to prescriptive moral theories roughly as it does to descriptive empirical theories and that this analogy justifies a variant of ethical cognitivism. It is argued in this paper, that such ethical cognitivism would require beyond empirical and analytical fact-finding other abilities of moral cognition which are to be rejected within Albert’s critical rationalism and realism.
Effectiveness of virtual team learning in entrepreneurship education: a survey study
Authors: Chen Li , Ifenthaler Dirk , Sun Wenting , Xu Tao , Yan Guanghao
Published: March 2022

This study examines the effectiveness of virtual team learning for entrepreneurship competence in the Chinese higher education sector. Related research on the effectiveness of virtual team learning is sparse, especially in the area of entrepreneurship education. We assumed four hypotheses to analyze two sorts of relationships: one between input, respondents’ demographics or characteristics, and mediators, namely virtual teamwork, virtual taskwork, information and communication technology; the other between mediators and output, thus the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education. An online survey was carried out to collect respondents’ perceptions of virtual team learning in entrepreneurship education from teamwork, taskwork, and information and communication technology aspects, considering respondents’ demographics or characteristics. By explaining factors of the team process, the findings show that virtual teamwork, taskwork, and information and communication technology positively affect the entrepreneurial outcome of virtual team learning. Additionally, individual characteristics, including gender, education degree, education field, entrepreneurial family history, and prior entrepreneurial experience have different effects on three elements of virtual teams. The applied model provides a holistic perspective on virtual team learning and explains the association between three sectors. These findings may provide an empirical basis for making decisions in the design and development of entrepreneurship learning and teaching offerings.
Neue Behandlungsstrategien bei adrenogenitalem Syndrom/21‑Hydroxylase-Mangel
Authors: Riedl Stefan
Published: March 2022

Seit seiner Entdeckung als „Substanz E“ und Verfügbarkeit als Medikament vor über 70 Jahren wird Cortison in der endokrinologischen Praxis bei Nebenniereninsuffizienz praktisch unverändert angewendet. Dabei kann aufgrund der kurzen Halbwertszeit von 3–4 h und Spezifika der ACTH-mediierten zirkadianen Cortisolrhythmik, insbesondere dem Anstieg ab den frühen Morgenstunden, ein physiologisches Profil mit zwei bis drei über den Tag verteilten Einnahmen kaum erreicht werden. Bei adrenogenitalem Syndrom (AGS) kann es dadurch leicht zu einer ungenügenden Supprimierung der adrenalen Androgensynthese kommen, was bei Kindern zu Pseudopubertas praecox, verminderter Endgröße und späterer Fertilitätsbeeinträchtigung führen kann. Andererseits besteht aufgrund der notwendigen supraphysiologischen Dosierung die Gefahr eines iatrogenen Cushing-Syndroms mit metabolischen, kardiovaskulären und osteologischen Langzeitfolgen. Neue Behandlungsstrategien, die bereits etabliert oder in klinischer Erprobung sind, zielen einerseits auf die Nachahmung eines möglichst physiologischen Cortisolprofils ab (Modified-Release-Hydrocortison), andererseits auf die Beeinflussung der Androgensynthese auf hypophysärer Ebene via Hemmung von adrenokortikotropem Hormon (ACTH) (CRF-Rezeptor1-Antagonisten), Hemmung auf adrenaler Ebene (Enzyminhibitoren) und Verminderung der Androgenwirkungen auf Zielorganebene (Antiandrogene). Als Effekt einer möglichst effektiven Androgenunterdrückung vermindert sich die notwendige Cortisondosis gegenüber herkömmlicher Behandlung bzw. ist lediglich eine physiologische Substitutionsdosis erforderlich. Zell- und genbasierte Therapien, die zu einer dauerhaften Wiederherstellung der Nebennierenfunktion führen, sind derzeit noch Zukunftsmusik.
Experimental Investigation of Droplet Generation by Post-Breaking Plunger Waves
Authors: Ramirez de la Torre R. G. , Vollestad Petter , Jensen Atle
Published: March 2022

Understanding the droplet cloud and spray dynamics is important for the study of the ocean surface and marine boundary layer. The role that the wave energy and the type of wave breaking play in the resulting distribution and dynamics of droplets are yet to be understood. The aim of this work was to generate violent plunging breakers in the laboratory and analyze the spray production post-breaking, i.e. after the crest of the wave impacts in the free surface. The droplet sizes and their dynamics were measured with imaging techniques and the effect of different wind speeds on the droplet production was also considered. It was found that the mean radius increases with the wave energy content and the number of large droplets (radius > 1 mm) in the vertical direction increases with the presence of wind. Furthermore, the normalized distribution of droplet sizes is consistent with the distribution of ligament-mediated spray formation. Also, indications of turbulence affecting the droplet dynamics at wind speeds of 5 m/s were found. The amount of large droplets (radius > 1 mm) found in this work was larger than reported in field studies.
Flourishing as a guide to intervention: a national multicenter study of general surgery residents
Authors: Greenberg Anya L. , Boscardin Christy , Lebares Carter C. ,   The General Surgery Research Collaborative on Resident Wellbeing, Divino Celia M. , Choi Jennifer N. , Hrabe Jennifer E. , Shelton Julia S. , Foglia Christopher M. , Sundaram Varuna M. , Gurland Brooke , Spain David A. , Hanlon Matthew J. , Meier Andreas H. , Haisley Kelly R. , Harzman Alan E. , Huang Emily , Preston Jennifer F. , Nfonsam Valentine N. , Riall Taylor S. , Palmer Barnard J. A. , Victorino Gregory P. , Donahue Tim R. , Sullins Veronica F. , Greenberg Anya L. , Hirose Kenzo , Lebares Carter C. , Reilly Linda M. , Jaiswal Kshama R. , Nehler Mark R. , Brunsvold Melissa E. , Kendrick Daniel E. , Nelson M. Timothy , Lim Robert B. , Horvath Karen D. , Langdale Lorrie A. , Maine Rebecca
Published: March 2022

Purpose

Physician wellbeing is critical to maximize patient experience, quality of care, and healthcare value. Objective measures to guide and assess efficacy of interventions in terms of enhanced thriving (as opposed to just decreased pathology) have been limited. Here we provide early data on modifiable targets, potential interventions, and comparative impact.

Methods

In this cross-sectional survey-based study of mixed-level residents at 16 academic General Surgery training programs, gender-identity, race, post-graduate year, and gap years were self-reported. Correlation between our primary outcome variable, flourishing, and measures of resilience (mindfulness, personal accomplishment [PA], workplace support, workplace control) and risk (depression, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, perceived stress, anxiety, workplace demand) were assessed.

Results

Of 891 recipients, 300 responded (60% non-male, 41% non-white). Flourishing was significantly positively correlated with all measured resilience factors and negatively correlated with all measured risk factors. In multivariable modelling, mindfulness, PA, and workplace support were positively and significantly associated with flourishing, with PA having the strongest resilience effect. Depression and anxiety were negatively and significantly associated with flourishing, with depression having the strongest risk effect.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that interventions that increase mindfulness, workplace support, and PA, as well as those that decrease depression and anxiety may particularly impact flourishing (i.e., global wellbeing) in surgical trainees. These findings provide preliminary guidance on allocation of resources toward wellbeing interventions. In particular, cognitive (i.e., mindfulness) training is a feasible intervention with modest but significant association with flourishing, and potential indirect effects through influence on PA, anxiety and depression.
Physical and chemical characterization of Corchorus olitorius leaves dried by different drying techniques
Authors: Ghellam Mohamed , Fatena Büşra , Koca İlkay
Published: March 2022

Molokhia,Corchorus olitorius, is a popular leafy vegetable, known in many world regions as a good source of nutritional and medicinal properties. Due to its short shelf life and the limited harvesting time, processing such as drying techniques permit to preserve and provide it throughout the year. In the present study, it was attempted to reveal the main physical and chemical characteristics of molokhia leaves. Also, three drying techniques, shade drying (SHD), convective drying (COD), and microwave drying (MID), have been applied to study the kinetics and their main physical and chemical effects. The analysis demonstrated that molokhia leaves are a good source of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and chlorophylls pigments. Those bioactive compounds have provided the leaves with considerable antiradical scavenging and reducing capacities. Drying time decreased from days, in the case of SHD, to some hours when using COD, and less than 20 min when using MID. Increasing drying temperature and power input have increased the drying rate. Modelling of drying kinetics of MID three power inputs (350, 500 and 750 W) and COD at 60 °C exhibited a high fitting for most empirical models (R2 > 0.980). SHD was less deleterious on leaves colour. Also, it preserved the content of phenolics, flavonoids, and thus the antioxidant activity of leaves. On the contrary, COD at 80 °C had a detrimental effect on previous components and their activity. Vega-Gálvez model can be presented as the best-fitted model to describe the rehydration kinetics of dried leaves. Rheological analysis of the aqueous extracts of the leaves demonstrated the effect of time and grinding on the increase of mucilage diffusion. The obtained results could help industrials to choose the convenient drying method and more analysis on the subject are recommended.
Medical Device Regulation: Should We Care About It?
Authors: Bianchini Elisabetta , Mayer Christopher Clemens
Published: March 2022

Medical devices are subject to strict regulatory and approval processes to enter the market and to be used by operators and patients. These are needed to guarantee the users’ safety. The different activities of these processes have important implications for all involved stakeholders and for the whole lifecycle of a medical device. The aim of this work is to provide an overview of some key aspects of the new EU Medical Device Regulation and to show why researchers, innovators and clinicians should care about it. Awareness of regulatory requirements can improve the innovation process and its efficiency in terms of both social and ethical impact, but this awareness needs to be raised in the upcoming months and years. One can shortly say “yes, one needs to take care” of the new EU Medical Device Regulation. First and foremost, it is crucial for the sake of the users’ safety, which is the regulation’s intrinsic goal. Second, it should not just be seen as an obstacle for new innovations in the medical domain, but as a chance as it can provide new opportunities.
An electric propulsion memoir
Authors: Turchi Peter J.
Published: March 2022

Based on over sixty years of working in electric propulsion research, a personal memoir attempts to observe the progress of electric propulsion from early explorations to the present successes in accomplishing attractive and practical systems. It includes several anecdotal remarks on the difficulties of achieving acceptance of electric propulsion for space missions, and concludes with notions for the future. The perspectives offered may be useful for a new generation of electric propulsion workers who have entered a field that is now successful.
Locating Translingualism
Authors: Lee Jerry Won
Published: March 2022

Encounters involving different cultures and languages are increasingly the norm in the era of globalization. While considerable attention has been paid to how languages and cultures transform in the era of globalization, their characteristic features prior to transformation are frequently taken for granted. This pioneering book argues that globalization offers an unprecedented opportunity to revisit fundamental assumptions about what distinguishes languages and cultures from each other in the first place. It takes the case of global Korea, showing how the notion of 'culture' is both represented but also reinvented in public space, with examples from numerous sites across Korea and Koreatowns around the world. It is not merely about locating spaces where translingualism happens but also about exploring the various ways in which linguistic and cultural difference come to be located via translingualism. It will appeal to anyone interested in the globalization of language and culture.
Paul and Religion
Authors: Gooch Paul W.
Published: March 2022

Paul and Religion demonstrates the continuing and contemporary relevance of the most important, and most controversial, figure of early Christianity. Paul Gooch interrogates the Pauline writings for their meaning as well as implications for religion as an entire form of life, a stance on the world expressed in distinctive practices. Bringing a philosophical approach to this topic, he connects Paul's ideas to lived experience. In a conversational style, Gooch explores Paul's experience of grace and his dismissal of distinctive markers of religious identity in favour of love as binding together a community. Contrary to common expectations, he finds within Paul's letters material for conversations about issues in our day, such as gender and sexuality. From his close reading of the Letters, Gooch argues that the Pauline religious form of life is not identical with institutional Christianity. Indeed, his conclusions may be welcome to those who belong to other faiths.
CALIBRATING THE LEE-CARTER AND THE POISSON LEE-CARTER MODELS VIA NEURAL NETWORKS
Authors: Scognamiglio Salvatore
Published: March 2022

This paper introduces a neural network (NN) approach for fitting the Lee-Carter (LC) and the Poisson Lee-Carter model on multiple populations. We develop some NNs that replicate the structure of the individual LC models and allow their joint fitting by simultaneously analysing the mortality data of all the considered populations. The NN architecture is specifically designed to calibrate each individual model using all available information instead of using a population-specific subset of data as in the traditional estimation schemes. A large set of numerical experiments performed on all the countries of the Human Mortality Database shows the effectiveness of our approach. In particular, the resulting parameter estimates appear smooth and less sensitive to the random fluctuations often present in the mortality rates’ data, especially for low-population countries. In addition, the forecasting performance results significantly improved as well.
Serving “the Uses of Life”: Gender, History, and Food Security in a Cassava Value Chain Scheme
Authors: Gengenbach Heidi , Comé Alcino Armindo , Nhabinde Justino Baptiste
Published: March 2022

Gengenbach, Comé, and Nhabinde historicize women’s responses to an agricultural “value chain” in Zavala, Mozambique. Inspired by the Green Revolution for Africa (GR4A), the initiative aims to reduce hunger by converting cassava to industrial use for SABMiller’s Impala beer. Women chafed at the proposed remaking of an agrarian foodway long anchored by this edible commodity. Cassava’s inseparable dietary and market value in precolonial times intensified under Portuguese rule even as colonizers disdained it as a feminine “subsistence” crop and then claimed its commercial potential. Weaponizing this gendered binary yet needing women’s support, the Impala scheme has struggled to achieve GR4A food security goals.
Access to Neurorehabilitation Interdisciplinary Outpatient Programs in British Columbia
Authors: Chen Nathan , Prescott Andre , Winston Paul
Published: March 2022

This survey explored access to British Columbia (BC) hospital-based neurorehabilitation outpatient programs (HB-NROPs). Fifteen rehabilitation-focused healthcare providers were interviewed. Wait times for HB-NROPs were up to 3 months for initial appointments, and inclusion criteria were variable. Two HB-NROPs had occasional access to specialized physicians. Informal communication methods were preferred modes of collaboration. BC HB-NROPs varied in access, use of interdisciplinary care, and outcome measures used to measure performance. The lack of coverage for nonphysician services may be a barrier to collaborative care in the community. Future projects should explore solutions to improve funding and equal access to BC HB-NROPs.
An operadic approach to substitution in Lie–Butcher series
Authors: Rahm Ludwig
Published: March 2022

The paper follows an operadic approach to provide a bialgebraic description of substitution for Lie–Butcher series. We first show how the well-known bialgebraic description for substitution in Butcher’s B-series can be obtained from the pre-Lie operad. We then apply the same construction to the post-Lie operad to arrive at a bialgebra

$\mathcal {Q}$

. By considering a module over the post-Lie operad, we get a cointeraction between

$\mathcal {Q}$

and the Hopf algebra

$\mathcal {H}_{N}$

that describes composition for Lie–Butcher series. We use this coaction to describe substitution for Lie–Butcher series.
Premature mortality of people with severe mental illness: a renewed focus for a new era
Authors: Byrne Peter
Published: March 2022

This perspective article applies public health principles to improve the physical health of selected populations with mental disorders. Two preventable adverse outcomes, poorer physical health and premature mortality, are described across mental disorders. Evidence of the lifetime effects of adverse childhood experiences and inequalities is presented: these are the ‘causes of the causes’. Seven drivers of physical disorders are illustrated that drive preventable deaths and as doctors, psychiatrists must lead from the front to reverse rising mortality. Evidence supports universal and selective interventions and even the most difficult challenges such as weight gain and opioid misuse are an opportunity for psychiatry to engage with individual patients and their organisations, public health colleagues, health systems and beyond. Interventions complement and do not replace existing clinical practices that reduce self-harm and prevent suicide. Mental health teams already do most of the work in this arena, and the case is made to refocus on physical health with task sharing. The top 10 recommendations within a personalised medicine framework are listed in this paper as a starting point.
Gyrotactic trapping of micro-swimmers in simple shear flows: a study directly from the fundamental Smoluchowski equation
Authors: Wang Bohan , Jiang Weiquan , Chen Guoqian
Published: March 2022

Thin phytoplankton layers with vertically compressed structures found in stratified lakes and coastal water bodies have been a hot-spot in marine science and fluid mechanics. Although extensive efforts have been made to explore gyrotactic trapping as a possible mechanism, obvious inconsistencies remain there between the generalised Taylor dispersion method and individual-based model. In this work, a study directly from the fundamental Smoluchowski equation is carried out on the gyrotactic trapping mechanism in representative simple shear flows. With no approximation made to the fundamental equation and applying a biorthogonal expansion to the local moments of the probability density function, the evolution and steady state of the transport process are in good agreement with results of individual-based model, thus removing the gap between the continuum approach and individual-based model. The influences of strongly varying shear rate and boundary effect are reasonably scrutinised. The average swimming orientation with fixed local shear is highlighted as time-dependent rather than steady as previously assumed. The variations of characteristic time of the transient thin layer as functions of the flow intensity, gyrotaxis intensity and swimming ability are characterised. Sedimentation of the micro-swimmers is considered in some cases to reflect that micro-organisms are possibly negatively buoyant, with corresponding boundary conditions devised. A steady thin layer can be realised in the solution by adding a small settling speed to counteract the gravitactic focusing at the upper surface.
DERGMs: Degeneracy-restricted exponential family random graph models
Authors: Karwa Vishesh , Petrović Sonja , Bajić Denis
Published: March 2022

Exponential random graph models, or ERGMs, are a flexible and general class of models for modeling dependent data. While the early literature has shown them to be powerful in capturing many network features of interest, recent work highlights difficulties related to the models’ ill behavior, such as most of the probability mass being concentrated on a very small subset of the parameter space. This behavior limits both the applicability of an ERGM as a model for real data and inference and parameter estimation via the usual Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms. To address this problem, we propose a new exponential family of models for random graphs that build on the standard ERGM framework. Specifically, we solve the problem of computational intractability and “degenerate” model behavior by an interpretable support restriction. We introduce a new parameter based on the graph-theoretic notion of degeneracy, a measure of sparsity whose value is commonly low in real-world networks. The new model family is supported on the sample space of graphs with bounded degeneracy and is called degeneracy-restricted ERGMs, or DERGMs for short. Since DERGMs generalize ERGMs—the latter is obtained from the former by setting the degeneracy parameter to be maximal—they inherit good theoretical properties, while at the same time place their mass more uniformly over realistic graphs. The support restriction allows the use of new (and fast) Monte Carlo methods for inference, thus making the models scalable and computationally tractable. We study various theoretical properties of DERGMs and illustrate how the support restriction improves the model behavior. We also present a fast Monte Carlo algorithm for parameter estimation that avoids many issues faced by Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithms used for inference in ERGMs.
IFAN CH.DIOP RADIOCARBON LABORATORY MEASUREMENTS II
Authors: Ndeye Maurice , Athie Adama Harouna , Kébé Demba , Sène Matar
Published: March 2022

New radiocarbon (14C) dates we obtained in our radiocarbon laboratory equipped with a liquid scintillation counter using BGO (Bi4Ge3012) tubes. The electronic stability of the counter gave a background below 0.2 cpm. Our 14C dates agree well with the interpretations done for the samples. Most of the results in these analyses were obtained on shell samples, charcoal samples, and tree leaves. Calibration of the dates with the appropriate software (Calib 7.0.4) allows better interpretation of the results and their importance in the studied regions. In this paper, we present 14C results from archaeological and environmental sites in Senegal, Mali, and Togo and report the results in our second laboratory date list.
Executive Pay: Board Reciprocity Counts
Authors: Godechot Olivier , Horton Joanne , Millo Yuval
Published: March 2022

We study the influence of the corporate board network on executive pay for 3,395 US firms between 1990 and 2015. We identify three elementary structures through which the interlocking network reflects forms of inter-group reciprocity across firms:restricted exchange, when two executives sit on each other’s respective boards;delayed exchange, whenysits on the board ofxafter the end ofx’s mandate on the board ofy; andgeneralized exchange, whenxsits on the board ofy, who sits on the board ofz, who sits on the board ofx. These ties, which are overrepresented, are related to higher executive pay, but are not related to firm performance, which we interpret as a form of rent extraction. We use the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002) as a natural experiment to confirm our results. The impact on pay disappears after 2004, once these types of exchanges are constrained.
Sanskrit and the labour of gender in early modern South India
Authors: Gomez Kashi
Published: March 2022

In the early eighteenth century, a husband and co-wife trio undertook a household project in Maratha-ruled Tanjavur. These migrants from the Western Deccan jointly authored a set of Sanskrit commentaries invested in the idea of ‘Maharashtrianness’. The unusual authoring of a Sanskrit commentary by these women alongside their husband exemplifies broader changes that were taking place in Sanskrit intellectual circles in early modern South India. Tracing new formulations of regional identity, changing ideologies of gender, and shifts in the very labour of Sanskrit intellectual production, I demonstrate how new avenues of access to Sanskrit emerged for women in early modern South India. These new avenues of access were facilitated by the growing importance of the household as a site of cultural production and the rise of new regional courts in the Karnatak and Coromandel Coast regions.
Targeting HDACs of apicomplexans: structural insights for a better treatment
Authors: de Siqueira Caroline de Moraes , Fragoso Mariana Sayuri Ishikawa , Severo Vanessa Rossini , Biembengut Isis Venturi , Nardelli Sheila Cristina , de Souza Tatiana de Arruda Campos Brasil
Published: March 2022

Aetiologic agents of diseases such as malaria and toxoplasmosis are found in representatives of the phylum Apicomplexa. Therefore, apicomplexan parasites are known to have a significant impact on public health. Epigenetic factors such as histone acetylation/deacetylation are among the main mechanisms of gene regulation in these parasites. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) have aroused a great deal of interest over the past 20 years for being promising targets in the development of drugs for treating several diseases such as cancer. In addition, they have also been shown to be effective for parasitic diseases. However, little is known about the structure of these proteins, as well as their interactions with specific ligands. In this paper, we modelled 14 HDACs from different apicomplexan parasites and performed molecular docking with 12 ligands analogous to the HDAC inhibitors FR235222 and apicidin, which had previously been tested againstToxoplasma gondiiandPlasmodium falciparum. In thisin silicostudy, we were able to gather relevant structural data regarding these proteins as well as insights into protein–ligand interactions for testing and developing drugs for these diseases.
Longitudinal changes in home confinement and mental health implications: a 17-month follow-up study in England during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Bu Feifei , Steptoe Andrew , Fancourt Daisy
Published: March 2022

Background

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought about significant behavioural changes, one of which is increased time spent at home. This could have important public health implications. This study aimed to explore longitudinal patterns of ‘home confinement’ (defined as not leaving the house/garden) during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the associated predictors and mental health outcomes.

Methods

Data were from the UCL COVID-19 Social Study. The analytical sample consisted of 25 390 adults in England who were followed up for 17 months (March 2020–July 2021). Data were analysed using growth mixture models.

Results

Our analyses identified three classes of growth trajectories, including one class showing a high level of persistent home confinement (the home-confined, 24.8%), one changing class with clear alignment with national containment measures (the adaptive, 32.0%), and one class with a persistently low level of confinement (the unconfined, 43.1%). A range of factors were associated with the class membership of home-confinement trajectories, such as age, gender, income, employment status, social relationships and health. The home-confined class had the highest number of depressive (diff = 1.34–1.68,p< 0.001) and anxiety symptoms (diff = 0.84–1.05,p< 0.001) at the end of the follow-up than the other two classes.

Conclusions

There was substantial heterogeneity in longitudinal patterns of home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. People with a persistent high level of confinement had the worst mental health outcomes, calling for special attention in mental health action plans, in particular targeted interventions for at-risk groups.
Changes in labour market histories and their relationship with paid work around state pension age: evidence from three British longitudinal studies
Authors: Glaser Karen , Di Gessa Giorgio , Corna Laurie , Stuchbury Rachel , Platts Loretta G. , Worts Diana , McDonough Peggy , Sacker Amanda , Price Debora
Published: March 2022

Many countries have implemented policies to extend working lives in response to population ageing, yet there remains little understanding of what drives paid work in later life, nor how this is changing over time. This paper utilises the 1988/89 Survey of Retirement and Retirement Plans, the 1999 British Household Panel Survey and the 2008 English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, to investigate drivers of paid work in the ten years surrounding state pension age (SPA) for women and men in, comparing cohorts born in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Using optimal matching analysis with logistic and multinomial regression models, the study assesses the relative importance of lifecourse histories, socio-economic circumstances and contemporaneous factors, in determining paid work in mid- and later life. Participation in paid work in the five years preceding and beyond SPA increased markedly for men and women across cohorts, with women's lifecourses and engagement with paid work changing considerably in these periods. However, for women, a lifetime history of paid work remained a crucially important predictor of paid work in later life, and this relationship has strengthened over time. Experiencing divorce has also become an important driver of paid work around SPA for the youngest cohort. Having children later, and still having a mortgage, also independently predict labour force participation for women and men. Across all cohorts and for women and men, working at these older ages was a function of higher income and better health. These findings suggest that policies which enable people to maintain ties to paid work across the lifecourse may be more effective at encouraging later-life employment than those concerned only with postponing the retirement transition.
Joint moments of discounted claims and discounted perturbation until ruin in the compound Poisson risk model with diffusion
Authors: Cheung Eric C. K. , Liu Haibo
Published: March 2022

This paper studies a generalization of the Gerber-Shiu expected discounted penalty function [Gerber and Shiu (1998). On the time value of ruin. North American Actuarial Journal 2(1): 48–72] in the context of the perturbed compound Poisson insurance risk model, where the moments of the total discounted claims and the discounted small fluctuations (arising from the Brownian motion) until ruin are also included. In particular, the latter quantity is represented by a stochastic integral and has never been analyzed in the literature to the best of our knowledge. Recursive integro-differential equations satisfied by our generalized Gerber-Shiu function are derived, and these are transformed to defective renewal equations where the components are identified. Explicit solutions are given when the individual claim amounts are distributed as a combination of exponentials. Numerical illustrations are provided, including the computation of the covariance between discounted claims and discounted perturbation until ruin.