bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ECHA ARN documents: chemical grouping without a toxicological rationale
Authors: Natsch Andreas , Adamsson Greg , Rocha Vanessa
Published: March 2023

The EU chemical strategy for sustainability (CSS) plans to use chemical grouping to “prioritise (…) substances for restrictions for all uses through grouping, instead of regulating them one by one”. Thus, toxicological grouping will become a key tool used by regulatory authorities in Europe. Over the last 2 years, ECHA has published a high number of documents labelled “Assessment of Regulatory Needs (ARN)” which are based on groups of chemicals based on structural considerations. The ARN documents are legally non-binding, yet they present the public impression of a conclusion about restrictions for groups or sub-groups of chemicals and hence may set a precedent for further binding actions. ECHA has set out definitions on what is considered a group in REACH Annex XI. However, as shown in this commentary based on five examples, the ARN do not follow these principles and propose toxicological groupings without taking into consideration mode of action and the toxicological information on the chemicals. Given the emphasis on grouping projected by the CSS, the groupings in the ARN set an unfortunate precedent on what a toxicological group means and they do not follow clear scientific standards or established toxicological principles. They also lead to a public image of guilt by association for chemicals, without any recourse for registrants to establish the scientific basis for their safe use, as presented within REACH registrations.
Curcumin protects against doxorubicin induced oxidative stress by regulating the Keap1-Nrf2-ARE and autophagy signaling pathways
Authors: Liao Dehua , Shangguan Danggang , Wu Yi , Chen Yun , Liu Ni , Tang Jingyi , Yao Dunwu , Shi Yingrui
Published: March 2023

Background

Doxorubicin (DOX)-induced neurotoxicity is widely reported in previous studies. Oxidative stress has been validated as a critical event involved in DOX-induced neurotoxicity. As a selective autophagy adaptor protein, p62 is reported to regulate Keap1-Nrf2-ARE antioxidant pathway in response to oxidative stress. Curcumin (CUR) relieves depressive-like state through the mitigation of oxidative stress and the activation of Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway. However, the exact mechanism of CUR in alleviating DOX-induced neurotoxicity is still unknown.

Materials and methods

The rats were randomly divided into three groups: control group, DOX group, and DOX + CUR group. At the end of 3 weeks, the behavior tests as sucrose preference test (SPT), forced swimming test (FST), and novelty-suppressed feeding test (NSFT) were performed to assess anxiety- and depression-like behaviors. The rats were sacrificed after behavior tests, and the brain tissues were collected for biochemical analysis.

Results

It was observed that the administration of CUR could effectively reverse DOX-induced depressive-like behaviors. The exposure of DOX activated autophagy and increased oxidative stress levels, and the administration of CUR could significantly inhibit DOX-induced autophagy and suppress oxidative stress. More importantly, we also found that Keap1-Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway was involved in DOX-induced neurotoxicity and oxidative stress regulated by autophagy.

Conclusion

Our study demonstrated that CUR could effectively reverse DOX-induced neurotoxicity through suppressing autophagy and mitigating oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress.
Singular Limits of Relative Entropy in Two Dimensional Massive Free Fermion Theory
Authors: Xu Feng
Published: March 2023

We show that certain singular limits of relative entropy of vacuum states in two dimensional massive free fermion theory exist and compute these limits. As an application we show that the c function computed by Casini and Huerta based on heuristic arguments arise naturally as a consequence of our results.
Hip Labral Morphological Changes in Patients with Femoroacetabular Impingement Speed Up the Onset of Early Osteoarthritis
Authors: Battistelli Michela , Tassinari Enrico , Trisolino Giovanni , Govoni Marco , Ruspaggiari Gianluca , De Franceschi Lucia , Dallari Dante , Burini Debora , Ramonda Roberta , Favero Marta , Traina Francesco , Grigolo Brunella , Olivotto Eleonora
Published: March 2023

Over the last decade, evidence has mounted for a prominent etiologic role of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) in the development of early hip osteoarthritis (OA). The aim of this study was to compare the ultrastructure and tissue composition of the hip labrum in healthy and pathological conditions, as FAI and OA, to provide understanding of structural changes which might be helpful in the future to design targeted therapies and improve treatment indications. We analyzed labral tissue samples from five healthy multi-organ donors (MCDs) (median age, 38 years), five FAI patients (median age, 37 years) and five late-stage OA patients undergoing total hip replacement (median age, 56 years). We evaluated morpho-functional by histology and transmission electron microscopy. Extracellular matrix (ECM) structure changes were similar in specimens from FAI compared to those from patients with OA (more severe in the latter) showing disorganization of collagen fibers and increased proteoglycan content. In FAI and in OA nuclei the chromatin was condensed, organelle degenerated and cytoplasm vacuolized. Areas of calcification were mainly observed in FAI and OA labrum, as well as apoptotic-like features. We showed that labral tissue of patients with FAI had similar pathological alterations of tissue obtained from OA patients, suggesting that FAI patients might have high susceptibility to develop OA.
Early Postoperative Volume Overload is a Predictor of 1-Year Post-Transplant Mortality in Pediatric Heart Transplant Recipients
Authors: Lim Michelle J. , Sim Myung-Shin , Pan Sylvia , Alejos Juan , Federman Myke
Published: March 2023

Fluid restriction and diuretic management are mainstays in the postoperative management of cardiac patients, at risk of volume overload and its deleterious effects on primary cardiac function and multi-organ systems. The importance of fluid homeostasis is further emphasized among orthotopic heart transplant recipients (OHT). We sought to investigate the relationship between postoperative volume overload, mortality, and allograft dysfunction among pediatric OHT recipients within 1-year of transplantation. This is a retrospective cohort study from a single pediatric OHT center. Children under 21 years undergoing cardiac transplantation between 2010 and 2018 were included. Cumulative fluid overload (cFO) was assessed as percent fluid accumulation adjusted for preoperative body weight. Greater than 10% cFO defined those with postoperative cFO and a comparison of postoperative cFO vs. no postoperative cFO (< 5%) is reported. 102 pediatric OHT recipients were included. Early cFO at 72 h post-OHT occurred in 14% and overall cFO at 1-week post-OHT occurred in 23% of patients. Risk factors for cFO included younger age, lower weight, and postoperative ECMO. Early cFO was associated with postoperative mortality at 1-year, OR 8.6 (95% CI 1.4, 51.6), p = 0.04, independent of age and weight. There was no significant relationship between cFO and allograft dysfunction, measured by rates of clinical rejection and cardiopulmonary filling pressures within 1-year of transplant. Early postoperative volume overload is prevalent and associated with increased risk of death at 1-year among pediatric OHT recipients. It may be an important postoperative marker of transplant survival, and this relationship warrants further clinical investigation.
The Emergency Surgery Frailty Index (EmSFI) in Elderly Patients with Acute Appendicitis: An External Validation of Prognostic Score
Authors: Fusario Daniele , Neri Alessandro , Carbone Ludovico , Resca Luca , Marano Luigi , Gassi Giulia , Calomino Natale , Verre Luigi , Roviello Franco , Marrelli Daniele
Published: March 2023

Background

Identification of reliable risk‐stratification tools is critical for surgical decision making, particularly in frail and elderly. The aim of the study is to validate the Emergency Surgery Frailty Index (EmSFI), in over 65 years old patients operated on for acute appendicitis.

Methods

An observational study was conducted enrolling elderly patients with diagnosis of acute appendicitis who underwent emergency appendicectomy or right colectomy, between 2016 and 2021. All patients were treated according to the last SIFIPAC/WSES/SICG/SIMEU guidelines.

Results

Overall, 61 patients were analyzed. Complication rate was higher for patients in the second EmSFI risk Class. Moreover, ROC analyses identified 3 as the best cutoff value in predicting risk of adverse postoperative events. Complication rate was higher in oldest elderly patients—over 80 years—(42.9 vs 22.5%; p 0.05) and was mainly related to medical complications (42.9 vs 12.5%, p 0.007). However, intestinal obstruction, peri‐appendicular abscess on preoperative CT, peritonitis and a longer duration of surgery are related with increased risk of complications in the group of patients under 80 years.

Conclusion

The EmSFI score results a valid prognostic marker for frailty status, and it may support the surgeon in emergency setting for acute appendicitis. Patients aged 80 years or older have a higher risk of complications, independent from those factors which relate to increased morbidity in younger elderly patients. Age alone is not a reliable indicator of the real surgical risk, but it must encourage the adoption of multidisciplinary collaborative models of care for this group of patients.
Modelling of viscoelastic materials using non-ordinary state-based peridynamics
Authors: Galadima Yakubu Kasimu , Oterkus Selda , Oterkus Erkan , Amin Islam , El-Aassar Abdel-Hameed , Shawky Hosam
Published: March 2023

This paper proposes a framework for implementing viscoelastic constitutive model from the classical continuum mechanics (CCM) theory within non-ordinary state-based peridynamics (NOSBPD). The motivation stems from the inadequacy of CCM to model very complex material behaviours such as initiation and propagation of cracks and nonlocal behaviour due to size effects. The proposed formulation leverages on the constitutive correspondence between NOSBPD and CCM to incorporate a CCM viscoelastic constitutive model based on hereditary integral into NOSBPD. The combination of hereditary constitutive model and NOSBPD effectively makes this formulation a nonlocal time–space viscoelastic framework where temporal nonlocality is incorporated by a hereditary viscoelastic model which stipulates that the behaviour of a material at any point in time depends on both the present action and the complete history of previous actions on the material, and spatial nonlocality on the other hand is incorporated via the nonlocal mechanism provided by the NOSBPD. For model validation, three benchmark problems were solved using the proposed framework. Results obtained were compared to results from analytical solution and solutions from referenced literature. In addition, parametric study was conducted to determine the influence of nonlocality on numerical prediction. Conclusions drawn from the validation studies presented are that the proposed framework is able to predict viscoelastic responses that agree well with local macro models as well as nonlocal micromodels/nanomodels as reported in the literature.
Short-term outcomes of thoracoscopic versus open lobectomy for congenital lung malformations
Authors: Raymond Steven L. , Sacks Marla A. , Hashmi Asra , Robertson Jason O. , Moores Donald , Tagge Edward P. , Radulescu Andrei , Islam Saleem , Khan Faraz A.
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Thoracoscopic and open approaches for the management of congenital lung malformations (CLM) has been debated. The aim of this study is to compare 30-day outcomes for non-emergent lobectomies in children.

Methods

The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program-Pediatric database was queried for patients undergoing CLM resection from 2013 to 2020. Outcomes were compared by operative technique in an intention-to-treat model and then propensity matched.

Results

2157 patients met inclusion criteria and underwent non-emergent pulmonary lobectomy for CLM. The intended operative approach was thoracoscopic in 57.7% of patients. Patients in the open group compared to the thoracoscopic were more likely to be born premature, have chronic lung disease, require preoperative oxygen support, and be ventilator dependent. After propensity matching, there was no statistically significant difference in 30-day mortality, unplanned readmission, and other complications between the thoracoscopic and open groups. Thoracoscopic approach was associated with a shorter length of stay. The proportion of cases approached via thoracoscopy increased over time from 48.8% in 2013 to 69.9% in 2020.

Conclusions

This large multicenter retrospective matched analysis demonstrates thoracoscopic lobectomy in children has similar favorable 30-day outcomes and shorter length of stay for the non-emergent management of CLM, compared to open thoracotomy.

Level of evidence

Level III.
Praktikable Sjögren-Diagnostik bei interstitieller Lungenerkrankung – ein Diskussionsbeitrag
Authors: Aringer Martin , Koschel Dirk , Dörner Thomas , Sewerin Philipp , Prasse Antje , Witte Torsten
Published: March 2023

Das Sjögren-Syndrom (SjS) stellt eine mögliche autoimmune Ursache einer interstitiellen Lungenerkrankung dar. Die Abklärung in Richtung SjS ist aber im Vergleich zu anderen systemischen Autoimmunerkrankungen bisher kaum standardisiert. Die subjektive Sicca-Symptomatik, die Anti-SS-A/Ro-Antikörper und selbst die ANA-Diagnostik als Suchtest haben alle relevante Einschränkungen in ihrer Sensitivität und/oder Spezifität. Vor diesem Hintergrund haben wir in einer interdisziplinären Diskussion einen Konsens für die SjS-Abklärung entwickelt, den wir hier für die breitere Diskussion vorstellen. Neben ANA sollten sowohl Anti-SS-A/Ro-Antikörper als auch Antikörper gegen α‑Fodrin bestimmt werden. Wichtig ist die Objektivierung der Trockenheit mittels Schirmer- und Saxon-Test und bei fehlenden typischen Autoantikörpern die Speicheldrüsenbiopsie.
Combinatorial Properties and Recognition of Unit Square Visibility Graphs
Authors: Casel Katrin , Fernau Henning , Grigoriev Alexander , Schmid Markus L. , Whitesides Sue
Published: March 2023

Unit square visibility graphs (USV) are described by axis-parallel visibility between unit squares placed in the plane. If the squares are required to be placed on integer grid coordinates, then USV become unit square grid visibility graphs (USGV), an alternative characterisation of the well-known rectilinear graphs. We extend known combinatorial results for USGV and we show that, in the weak case (i.e., visibilities do not necessarily translate into edges of the represented combinatorial graph), the area minimisation variant of their recognition problem is$${{\,\mathrm{{\textsf{N}}{\textsf{P}}}\,}}$$NP-hard. We also provide combinatorial insights with respect to USV, and as our main result, we prove their recognition problem to be$${{\,\mathrm{{\textsf{N}}{\textsf{P}}}\,}}$$NP-hard, which settles an open question.
Boosting capuchin search with stochastic learning strategy for feature selection
Authors: Abd Elaziz Mohamed , Ouadfel Salima , Ibrahim Rehab Ali
Published: March 2023

The technological revolution has made available a large amount of data with many irrelevant and noisy features that alter the analysis process and increase time processing. Therefore, feature selection (FS) approaches are used to select the smallest subset of relevant features. Feature selection is viewed as an optimization process for which meta-heuristics have been successfully applied. Thus, in this paper, a new feature selection approach is proposed based on an enhanced version of the Capuchin search algorithm (CapSA). In the developed FS approach, named ECapSA, three modifications have been introduced to avoid a lack of diversity, and premature convergence of the basic CapSA: (1) The inertia weight is adjusted using the logistic map, (2) sine cosine acceleration coefficients are added to improve convergence, and (3) a stochastic learning strategy is used to add more diversity to the movement of Capuchin and a levy random walk. To demonstrate the performance of ECapSA, different datasets are used, and it is compared with other well-known FS methods. The results provide evidence of the superiority of ECapSA among the tested datasets and competitive methods in terms of performance metrics.
Automatic stress detection in car drivers based on non-invasive physiological signals using machine learning techniques
Authors: Siam Ali I. , Gamel Samah A. , Talaat Fatma M.
Published: March 2023

Stress is now thought to be a major cause to a wide range of human health issues. However, many people may ignore their stress feelings and disregard to take action before serious physiological and mental disorders take place. The heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) are the most physiological markers used in various studies to detect mental stress for a human, and because they are captured non-invasively using wearable sensors, these markers are recommended to provide information on a person’s mental state. Most stress assessment studies have been undertaken in a laboratory-based controlled environment. This paper proposes an approach to identify the mental stress of automotive drivers based on selected biosignals, namely, ECG, EMG, GSR, and respiration rate. In this study, six different machine learning models (KNN, SVM, DT, LR, RF, and MLP) have been used to classify between the stressed and relaxation states. Such system can be integrated with a Driver Assistance System (DAS). The proposed stress detection technique (SDT) consists of three main phases: (1) Biosignal Pre-processing, in which the signal is segmented and filtered. (2) Feature Extraction, in which some discriminate features are extracted from each biosignal to describe the mental state of the driver. (3) Classification. The results show that the RF classifier outperforms other techniques with a classification accuracy of 98.2%, sensitivity 97%, and specificity 100% using the drivedb dataset.
Near-term climate change impacts on food crops productivity in East Africa
Authors: Choi Yeon-Woo , Eltahir Elfatih A. B.
Published: March 2023

Crop production in East Africa (i.e., Sudan and Ethiopia), where economy relies largely on rainfed agriculture, is facing significant challenges due to climate change, population growth, and the slow adoption rate of agricultural technology. However, a lack of consensus exists on how near-term climate change may affect food crop productivity in the region through changes in temperature and precipitation. Here, we empirically estimate optimal-growing temperature and precipitation for a select group of food crops using historical observations. We then project climate change impacts on crop yields based on a non-parametric empirical crop model using, as input, results from high-resolution (20 km) regional climate model driven by CMIP5/CMIP6 global climate models. Our projections consistently show increases in growing season temperature and precipitation during 2021–2050 under RCP8.5 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios, relative to 1976–2000. However, the projected climate change will exert dramatically different impacts on the agricultural sectors across the region. That is, the significant warming would likely cause overall negative impacts on agriculture in Sudan and mixed impacts on agriculture in Ethiopia. Meanwhile, the weak wetting trend may marginally affect crop growth in East Africa. The negative impacts of climate change can be mitigated at least partially by an accelerating rate of adoption of agricultural technology (use of fertilizers, better seeds, etc.) and probably by horizontal expansion of croplands where precipitation is projected to increase. Our results suggest that East Africa will need to take proactive adaptation measures to mitigate the projected food production challenges.
Pilot study of a comprehensive resource estimation method from environmental DNA using universal D-loop amplification primers
Authors: Yoshitake Kazutoshi , Yanagisawa Kyohei , Sugimoto Yuma , Nakamura Hiroshi , Mizusawa Nanami , Miya Masaki , Hamasaki Koji , Kobayashi Takanori , Watabe Shugo , Nishikiori Kazuomi , Asakawa Shuichi
Published: March 2023

Many studies have investigated the ability of environmental DNA (eDNA) to identify the species. However, when individual species are to be identified, accurate estimation of their abundance using traditional eDNA analyses is still difficult. We previously developed a novel analytical method called HaCeD-Seq (haplotype count from eDNA by sequencing), which focuses on the mitochondrial D-loop sequence for eels and tuna. In this study, universal D-loop primers were designed to enable the comprehensive detection of multiple fish species by a single sequence. To sequence the full-length D-loop with high accuracy, we performed nanopore sequencing with unique molecular identifiers (UMI). In addition, to determine the D-loop reference sequence, whole genome sequencing was performed with thin coverage, and complete mitochondrial genomes were determined. We developed a UMI-based Nanopore D-loop sequencing analysis pipeline and released it as open-source software. We detected 5 out of 15 species (33%) and 10 haplotypes out of 35 individuals (29%) among the detected species. This study demonstrates the possibility of comprehensively obtaining information related to population size from eDNA. In the future, this method can be used to improve the accuracy of fish resource estimation, which is currently highly dependent on fishing catches.
Relations between students’ well-being and academic achievement: evidence from Swedish compulsory school
Authors: Klapp Thea , Klapp Alli , Gustafsson Jan-Eric
Published: March 2023

The study aimed to investigate students’ psychological, cognitive, and social well-being in 6th Grade and the relations to academic achievement in compulsory school, as measured by grades in 9th Grade. Due to reports from Swedish authorities and research, students’ self-reported well-being has decreased during the last decade. Data from the Swedish longitudinal project Evaluation Through Follow-up was analyzed with confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. By using data from two birth cohorts (1998: N = 7 684 and 2004: N = 9 437), differences in well-being across the two cohorts could be investigated. Cognitive ability, parental education, and gender were also accounted for. Statistically significant cohort and gender differences were found, where cohort 2004 was disadvantaged in all three well-being dimensions, and girls were disadvantaged in psychological and social well-being. Psychological well-being was negatively related to academic achievement, indicating that students who experienced more school-related stress performed higher than students who experienced less stress. Cognitive well-being was positively related to academic achievement. Possible causes of the decrease in well-being may be changes in the educational and assessment system, which meant that cohort 2004 went through compulsory school with a stronger focus on results and grades than earlier cohorts.
Lifestyle and work-related correlates of psychosocial health among Australian teachers: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Corbett Lucy , Bauman Adrian , Peralta Louisa R. , Okely Anthony D. , Phongsavan Philayrath
Published: March 2023

Aim

This study examined the psychosocial (psychological distress, job-specific wellbeing, burnout) health of a large sample of teachers in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, specifically the association between psychosocial health, work-related factors, and lifestyle behaviours.

Subject & methods

An online survey collected lifestyle behaviours, work-related factors, and socio-demographics from primary and secondary school teachers in NSW from February to October 2021. Associations between work-related factors, lifestyle behaviours, and psychosocial health were modelled using logistic regression in R and adjusted for gender, age, and geographic location.

Results

In our sample (n = 1136), 75% were women and 28% of the sample worked in rural or remote areas. Women reported higher levels of psychological distress (51%), compared with men (42%), and over 30% of teachers reported high levels of burnout. Teachers who engaged in three or more positive health-related behaviours had lower odds of psychological distress and burnout as well as higher odds of job-specific wellbeing. Multiple work-related factors such as hours worked, teaching load, teaching experience, teacher type, and teacher role were associated with one or more aspects of psychosocial health after adjusting for socio-demographic variables.

Conclusion

More is needed to support the psychosocial health of teachers in NSW. Future lifestyle programs for this population should include psychosocial outcomes to further explore the relationship between teachers’ health-related behaviour and their psychosocial health.
Development of a risk score to identify patients at high risk for a severe course of COVID-19
Authors: Jacob Josephine , Tesch Falko , Wende Danny , Batram Manuel , Loser Friedrich , Weidinger Oliver , Roessler Martin , Seifert Martin , Risch Lisa , Nagel Oliver , König Christina , Jucknewitz Roland , Treskova-Schwarzbach Marina , Hertle Dagmar , Scholz Stefan , Stern Stefan , Ballesteros Pedro , Baßler Stefan , Bertele Barbara , Repschläger Uwe , Richter Nico , Riederer Cordula , Sobik Franziska , Schramm Anja , Schulte Claudia , Walker Jochen , Schmitt Jochen
Published: March 2023

Aim

We aimed to develop a risk score to calculate a person’s individual risk for a severe COVID-19 course (POINTED score) to support prioritization of especially vulnerable patients for a (booster) vaccination.

Subject and methods

This cohort study was based on German claims data and included 623,363 individuals with a COVID-19 diagnosis in 2020. The outcome was COVID-19 related treatment in an intensive care unit, mechanical ventilation, or death after a COVID-19 infection. Data were split into a training and a test sample. Poisson regression models with robust standard errors including 35 predefined risk factors were calculated. Coefficients were rescaled with a min–max normalization to derive numeric score values between 0 and 20 for each risk factor. The scores’ discriminatory ability was evaluated by calculating the area under the curve (AUC).

Results

Besides age, down syndrome and hematologic cancer with therapy, immunosuppressive therapy, and other neurological conditions were the risk factors with the highest risk for a severe COVID-19 course. The AUC of the POINTED score was 0.889, indicating very good predictive validity.

Conclusion

The POINTED score is a valid tool to calculate a person’s risk for a severe COVID-19 course.
Evaluating the optimal timing and capacity of investments in flexible combined heat and power generation for energy-intensive industries
Authors: Zormpas Dimitrios , Oggioni Giorgia
Published: March 2023

Substantial R &D efforts are currently directed towards the development of combined heat and power (CHP) systems that automatically and seamlessly connect to the power grid. In this paper we develop a real options model to assess the impact that the operational flexibility characterizing such systems will have on the optimal timing and capacity associated with investments in CHP plants. We take the viewpoint of a manufacturer operating in an energy-intensive industry who contemplates investing in CHP. We discuss and compare investments in two types of CHP systems: a standard one that is operationally rigid and a technologically advanced one that is operationally flexible. The interaction between temporal and operational flexibility under uncertainty and irreversibility is central to our analysis. We show that operational flexibility guarantees earlier investment but has an ambiguous effect in terms of capacity. In particular, when operational flexibility is very valuable the potential investor is opting for investing in a plant with larger productive capacity. The potential investor chooses a smaller CHP unit if otherwise. A numerical exercise calibrated using data from the Italian pulp and paper and electricity industries complements our theoretical analysis.
Norms of Public Argumentation and the Ideals of Correctness and Participation
Authors: Zenker Frank , van Laar Jan Albert , Cepollaro B. , Gâţă A. , Hinton M. , King C. G. , Larson B. , Lewiński M. , Lumer C. , Oswald S. , Pichlak M. , Scott B. D. , Urbański M. , Wagemans J. H. M.
Published: March 2023

Argumentation as the public exchange of reasons is widely thought to enhance deliberative interactions that generate and justify reasonable public policies. Adopting an argumentation-theoretic perspective, we survey the norms that should govern public argumentation and address some of the complexities that scholarly treatments have identified. Our focus is on norms associated with the ideals of correctness and participation as sources of a politically legitimate deliberative outcome. In principle, both ideals are mutually coherent. If the information needed for a correct deliberative outcome is distributed among agents, then maximising participation increases information diversity. But both ideals can also be in tension. If participants lack competence or are prone to biases, a correct deliberative outcome requires limiting participation. The central question for public argumentation, therefore, is how to strike a balance between both ideals. Rather than advocating a preferred normative framework, our main purpose is to illustrate the complexity of this theme.
College Women’s Perceptions of Judgements on Aggression and Risk of Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration in Potential Romantic Partners
Authors: Russo Lyric N. , Borelli Jessica L.
Published: March 2023

Purpose

This study examined whether female college students could accurately detect unknown male students’ propensity for aggression/intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration in romantic relationships after viewing their online dating profile, as well as whether individual differences in women’s IPV victimization history or attachment orientation predicted their accuracy.

Method

Heterosexual adult males (N = 9, Mage = 23.40), selected from a larger sample of N = 41 males, created de-identifiable dating profiles and reported on their history of aggression and IPV perpetration within relationships. Participants (N = 453 heterosexual adult females, Mage = 21.87) then viewed all 9 dating profiles and rated their perception of each male’s level of aggression/IPV perpetration risk (naïve to all other information about the person), as well as reported on their own individual characteristics (attachment, IPV victimization history).

Results

Female participants were able to discriminate between males at high/medium/low levels of aggression, but were only able to discriminate between males with high/low levels of IPV perpetration history. Attachment orientation predicted the magnitude of participants’ ratings of male aggression: Specifically, females higher in avoidance and lower in anxiety perceived males to be less aggressive. Additionally, participants’ attachment orientation was associated with their accuracy of identifying aggression, such that females higher in attachment anxiety and lower in avoidance were found to overestimate males’ aggression. Participants’ IPV victimization history was unrelated to their ratings of males’ aggression/IPV perpetration risk.

Conclusion

Attachment, but not IPV perpetration history, impacts females’ perceptions of propensity for IPV risk.
Using deep learning for pruning region detection and plant organ segmentation in dormant spur-pruned grapevines
Authors: Guadagna P. , Fernandes M. , Chen F. , Santamaria A. , Teng T. , Frioni T. , Caldwell D. G. , Poni S. , Semini C. , Gatti M.
Published: March 2023

Even though mechanization has dramatically decreased labor requirements, vineyard management costs are still affected by selective operations such as winter pruning. Robotic solutions are becoming more common in agriculture, however, few studies have focused on grapevines. This work aims at fine-tuning and testing two different deep neural networks for: (i) detecting pruning regions (PRs), and (ii) performing organ segmentation of spur-pruned dormant grapevines. The Faster R-CNN network was fine-tuned using 1215 RGB images collected in different vineyards and annotated through bounding boxes. The network was tested on 232 RGB images, PRs were categorized by wood type (W), orientation (Or) and visibility (V), and performance metrics were calculated. PR detection was dramatically affected by visibility. Highest detection was associated with visible intermediate complex spurs in Merlot (0.97), while most represented coplanar simple spurs allowed a 74% detection rate. The Mask R-CNN network was trained for grapevine organs (GOs) segmentation by using 119 RGB images annotated by distinguishing 5 classes (cordon, arm, spur, cane and node). The network was tested on 60 RGB images of light pruned (LP), shoot-thinned (ST) and unthinned control (C) grapevines. Nodes were the best segmented GOs (0.88) and general recall was higher for ST (0.85) compared to C (0.80) confirming the role of canopy management in improving performances of hi-tech solutions based on artificial intelligence. The two fine-tuned and tested networks are part of a larger control framework that is under development for autonomous winter pruning of grapevines.
Integrated Water Resources Management in Cities in the World: Global Challenges
Authors: Grison Chloé , Koop Stef , Eisenreich Steven , Hofman Jan , Chang I-Shin , Wu Jing , Savic Dragan , van Leeuwen Kees
Published: March 2023

Water scarcity and accessibility remain persistently amongst the most prominent global challenges. Although there is a wide agreement among international organizations that Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and water governance are key to overcome water-related challenges, global assessments of the progress made by cities is lacking. This paper for the first time analyses the challenges of water, wastewater, municipal solid waste and climate change in cities. We used empirical studies (125 cities) based on the City Blueprint Approach and developed a statistical estimation model to estimate IWRM performances of another 75 cities. These 200 cities in total represent more than 95% of the global urban population. This comprehensive global picture enables us to evaluate the existing gaps in achieving water-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation) and SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities). The best performing cities were Amsterdam and Singapore. Unfortunately, most cities do not yet manage their water resources wisely and are far from achieving the SDGs. For instance, targets regarding drinking water supply are still a challenge for many cities in Africa and Asia and challenges regarding sanitation are high in cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The same holds for solid waste management, climate adaptation, and people living in informal settlements. In another paper we will address the solution pathways to these global challenges.
Transport in electron-photon systems
Authors: Wang Jian-Sheng , Peng Jiebin , Zhang Zu-Quan , Zhang Yong-Mei , Zhu Tao
Published: March 2023

We review the description and modeling of transport phenomena among the electron systems coupled via scalar or vector photons. It consists of three parts. The first part is about scalar photons, i.e., Coulomb interactions. The second part is with transverse photons described by vector potentials. The third part is on φ = 0 or temporal gauge, which is a full theory of the electrodynamics. We use the nonequilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) formalism as a basic tool to study steady-state transport. Although with local equilibrium it is equivalent to the fluctuational electrodynamics (FE), the advantage of NEGF is that it can go beyond FE due to its generality. We have given a few examples in the review, such as transfer of heat between graphene sheets driven by potential bias, emission of light by a double quantum dot, and emission of energy, momentum, and angular momentum from a graphene nanoribbon. All of these calculations are based on a generalization of the Meir—Wingreen formula commonly used in electronic transport in mesoscopic systems, with materials properties represented by photon self-energy, coupled with the Keldysh equation and the solution to the Dyson equation.
Can Immune Therapy Cure Acute Myeloid Leukemia?
Authors: Gale Robert Peter
Published: March 2023

Opinion statement

Although safe and effective immune therapies have been developed in several cancers, this has not been so in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Studies of antibodies to CD33, CD123 and CLL-1 report with unconvincing efficacy and substantial adverse events. Lacking AML-specific target antigens, these approaches using non-specific antigen targets often cause unacceptable bone marrow toxicity and off-target adverse events. Studies of AML incidence in persons with immune deficiency indicate little if any immune surveillance against AML. In contrast, data studies of recipients of haematopoietic cell transplants support an effective allogeneic anti-AML effect associated with graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) and possibly a specific graft-versus-leukaemia (GvL) effect. A special problem in the immune therapy of AML is few neo-antigens compared with solid cancers because of a relatively low mutation frequency. Studies of CAR-T-, CAR-NK-adaptor CAR-T- and allogeneic NK-cells are progressing as are approaches using synthetic biology. Presently, there are no convincing data of efficacy of immune therapy in AML.
Cerebral Autoregulation, Cerebral Hemodynamics, and Injury Biomarkers, in Patients with COVID-19 Treated with Veno-Venous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation
Authors: Burzyńska Małgorzata , Uryga Agnieszka , Kasprowicz Magdalena , Czosnyka Marek , Goździk Waldemar , Robba Chiara
Published: March 2023

Background

This study aimed to describe the cerebrovascular dynamics, in particular cerebral autoregulation (CA), and cerebral biomarkers as neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in patients with a diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 and acute respiratory distress syndrome as well as undergoing veno-venous extracorporeal membrane treatment.

Methods

This was a single center, observational study conducted in the intensive care unit of the University Hospital in Wroclaw from October 2020 to February 2022. Transcranial Doppler recordings of the middle cerebral artery conducted for at least 20 min were performed. Cerebral autoregulation (CA) was estimated by using the mean velocity index (Mxa), calculated as the moving correlation coefficient between slow-wave oscillations in cerebral blood flow velocity and arterial blood pressure. Altered CA was defined as a positive Mxa. Blood samples for the measurement of NSE were obtained at the same time as transcranial Doppler measurements.

Results

A total of 16 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were enrolled in the study. The median age was 39 (34–56) years. Altered CA was found in 12 patients, and six out of seven patients who died had altered CA. A positive Mxa was a significant predictor of mortality, with a sensitivity of 85.7%. We found that three out of five patients with pathological changes in brain computed tomography and six out of ten patients with neurological complications had altered CA. NSE was a significant predictor of mortality (cutoff value: 28.9 µg/L); area under the curve = 0.83, p = 0.006), with a strong relationship between increased level of NSE and altered CA, χ2 = 6.24; p = 0.035; φ = 0.69.

Conclusions

Patients with coronavirus disease 2019–related acute respiratory distress syndrome, requiring veno-venous extracorporeal membrane treatment, are likely to have elevated NSE levels and altered CA. The CA was associated with NSE values in this group. This preliminary analysis suggests that advanced neuromonitoring and evaluation of biomarkers should be considered in this population.
Turning carbon dots into selenium bearing nanoplatforms with in vitro GPx-like activity and pro-oxidant activity
Authors: Perez-Garrido Laura , Ortega-Muñoz Mariano , Hernandez-Mateo Fernando , Javier Lopez-Jaramillo F. , Santoyo-Gonzalez Francisco
Published: March 2023

Selenium (Se) has been defined as the “Janus element”, with one face showing antioxidant activity and the other pro-oxidant activity. The biological effect of Se depends on both dose and speciation. Se nanoparticles are attracting major interest, although their large-scale preparation for biomedical applications is not trivial. We hypothesize that acid anhydride-coated carbon dots (AA-CD) are an attractive platform for preparing nanoparticles containing chemically defined Se. The reaction of AA-CD with 3-selenocyanatopropan-1-amine yields carbon dots bearing selenocyanate and carboxylate groups (CD-SeCN) that allow for tuning the hydrosolubility. CD-SeCN has a Se content of 0.36 µmol per mg of nanoparticles, and they show the typical photoluminescence of carbon dots. The selenocyanate groups (SeCN) exhibited glutathione peroxidase-like activity and cytotoxicity. Data show that antioxidant behavior differs between normal and tumor cells, and the evaluation on HEK293 and A549 cells reveals that the toxicity of CD-SeCN depends on dose, time, and intracellular glutathione (GSH) content. The toxicity of CD-SeCN decreases with the time of incubation and the cell death mechanism switches from necrosis to apoptosis, indicating that CD-SeCN is neutralized. Additionally, high levels of intracellular GSH exert a protective effect. These results support a pharmacological potential in cancers with low levels of intracellular GSH. The use of AA-CD as nanoplatforms is a general strategy that paves the way for the engineering of advanced nanosystems.
From failed democratization to the war against Ukraine: what happened to Russian institutions under Putin?
Authors: Klimovich Stanislav
Published: March 2023

This literature review unpacks the state of the art in Russian studies regarding regime dynamics and the functioning of authoritarian institutions. It covers three major fields of scientific debate in the discipline: 1) the role of structural and agency-driven factors in explaining failed democratization and complete autocratization in Russia; 2) the conceptualization of the Russian regime between electoral authoritarianism and personalist rule; 3) the development of authoritarian institutions under Vladimir Putin and the process of institutional degradation. It also outlines the promising research avenues of studying Russian authoritarianism, which can be relevant not only for the scientific community but also for the practitioners, especially in the context of the Russian war against Ukraine.
Public Health and the Risk Factor
Authors: Rothstein William G.
Published: March 2023

A look at how the concept of 'risk factor' has influenced public health and preventive medicine, with an emphasis upon the study of heart disease.
The Crucified Mind
Authors: Havard Robert
Published: March 2023

Alberti is the key in this study of the intense religious element in Spanish avant-garde poetry, art and film of the 1920s and 1930s.
The Letters of the Rozmberk Sisters
Authors: Klassen John , Dolezalová Eva , Szabo Lynn
Published: March 2023

Women in fifteenth-century Bohemia express themselves on marriage, companionship, daily castle life, and family relations.
Surveillance of surgical site infection after colorectal surgery: comprehensiveness and impact of risk factors
Authors: Malheiro Rui M. , Peleteiro Bárbara , Silva Goreti , Lebre Ana , Paiva José Artur , Correia Sofia
Published: March 2023

Objective:

The incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) is highest after colorectal surgery. We assessed the impact of risk factors for SSI using the population attributable fraction (PAF).

Design:

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting:

Portuguese hospitals performing regular surveillance.

Patients:

We identified patients who underwent colorectal procedures in hospitals that reported colorectal surgeries every year between 2015 and 2019. Among 42 reporting hospitals, 18 hospitals were included.

Methods:

Risk-factor incidence was estimated using the National Epidemiological Surveillance platform from 2015 to 2019. This platform follows the methodology recommended by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) physical classification, wound classification, open surgery, urgent operation, antibiotic prophylaxis, operation time, and male sex were included as risk factors. Measures of association were retrieved from published meta-analyses. PAFs were calculated using the Levin formula. To account for interaction between risk factors, communality of risk factors was used in a weighted-sum approach, providing a combined value that serves as a measure of the comprehensiveness of surveillance.

Results:

Among 11,219 reported procedures, the cumulative SSI incidence was 16.8%. The proportion of SSI attributed to all risk factors was 61%. Modifiable variables accounted for 31% of procedures; the highest was laparotomy (16.8%), and urgent operations (2.7%) had the lowest value. Nonmodifiable factors accounted for 28.7%; the highest was wound classification (14.3%).

Conclusions:

A relevant proportion (39%) of SSI remains unaccounted for by current surveillance. Almost one-third of SSI cases have potentially modifiable factors. Interventions focusing on shorter, less invasive procedures may be optimally effective in reducing the SSI incidence.
Turbulent plumes above a heated plate
Authors: Webb Jamie P. , Wise Nick H. , Hunt Gary R.
Published: March 2023

Our focus concerns the turbulent convective flow above a uniformly heated high-aspect-ratio rectangular plate on

$z=0$

. Prior to this study, classic plume theory could not be applied directly as the Richardson number is ill-defined at the plate. Guided by observation, conservation equations are posed for the near-plate region where the attached buoyant flow is predominantly horizontal. Analytical solutions under the Boussinesq approximation reveal this to be a dynamically invariant region where the attached ‘plumes’ grow linearly toward the plate centreline, their merger forming an ‘apparent’ source for the vertical plume above. Coupling predictions with data from flow visualisation and temperature measurement, we deduce the half-width

$0.72b_0$

, height

${z=0.46b_0}$

and finite Richardson number

$({\sim }18)$

of an apparent source from which plume theory can be applied to model the plume above a heated plate of width

$2b_0$

. Finally, practical implications of this advancement to the analytical theory of turbulent plumes are noted.