bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Electroweak phase transition in a right-handed neutrino superfield extended NMSSM
Authors: Borah Pankaj , Ghosh Pradipta , Roy Sourov , Saha Abhijit Kumar
Published: August 2023

Abstract

Supersymmetric models with singlet extensions can accommodate single- or multi-step first-order phase transitions (FOPT) along the various constituent field directions. Such a framework can also produce Gravitational Waves, detectable at the upcoming space-based interferometers, e.g., U-DECIGO. We explore the dynamics of electroweak phase transition and the production of Gravitational Waves in an extended set-up of the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM) with a Standard Model singlet right-handed neutrino superfield. We examine the role of the new parameters compared to NMSSM on the phase transition dynamics and observe that the occurrence of a FOPT, an essential requirement for Electroweak Baryogenesis, typically favours a right-handed sneutrino state below 125 GeV. Our investigation shows how the analysis can offer complementary probes for physics beyond the Standard Model besides the collider searches.
Das prozessierte EEG zur personalisierten Dosierung von Anästhetika während Allgemeinanästhesie
Authors: Lersch F. , Zingg T. J. G. , Knapp J. , Stüber F. , Hight D. , Kaiser H. A.
Published: August 2023

Die Elektroenzephalogramm(EEG)-gesteuerte Anästhesie ist aus modernen Operationssälen nicht mehr wegzudenken und hat sich als Standard-Monitoring etabliert. Viele Anästhesisten verlassen sich dabei auf die prozessierten EEG-Indizes und hoffen, dadurch ihren Patienten anästhesiebedingte Komplikationen wie intraoperative Awareness, postoperatives Delir oder andere kognitive Komplikationen zu ersparen. Diese Übersichtsarbeit fasst klinisch relevante Informationen und Studien über die 5 im Klinikalltag am häufigsten verwendeten Anästhesietiefe-Monitore zusammen. Messprinzipien, die den verschiedenen Monitoren zugrunde liegen, werden erläutert. Zudem wird eine praktische Anleitung im Umgang mit potenziellen Artefakten und irreführenden „Trendanzeigen“ im prozessiertem EEG angeboten.
Speech perception in modulated noise assessed in bimodal CI users
Authors: Weißgerber Tobias , Stöver Timo , Baumann Uwe
Published: August 2023

Background

Although good speech perception in quiet is achievable with cochlear implants (CIs), speech perception in noise is severely impaired compared to normal hearing (NH). In the case of a bimodal CI fitting with a hearing aid (HA) in the opposite ear, the amount of residual acoustic hearing influences speech perception in noise.

Objective

The aim of this work was to investigate speech perception in noise in a group of bimodal CI users and compare the results to age-matched HA users and people without subjective hearing loss, as well as with a young NH group.

Materials and methods

Study participants comprised 19 bimodal CI users, 39 HA users, and 40 subjectively NH subjects in the age group 60–90 years and 14 young NH subjects. Speech reception thresholds (SRTs) in noise were adaptively measured using the Oldenburg Sentence Test for the two spatial test conditions S0N0 (speech and noise from the front) and multisource-noise field (MSNF; speech from the front, four spatially distributed noise sources) in continuous noise of the Oldenburg Sentence Test (Ol-noise) and amplitude-modulated Fastl noise (Fastl-noise).

Results

With increasing hearing loss, the median SRT worsened significantly in all conditions. In test condition S0N0, the SRT of the CI group was 5.6 dB worse in Ol-noise than in the young NH group (mean age 26.4 years) and 22.5 dB worse in Fastl-noise; in MSNF, the differences were 6.6 dB (Ol-noise) and 17.3 dB (Fastl-noise), respectively. In the young NH group, median SRT in condition S0N0 improved by 11 dB due to gap listening; in the older NH group, SRTs improved by only 3.1 dB. In the HA and bimodal CI groups there was no gap listening effect and SRTs in Fastl-noise were even worse than in Ol-noise.

Conclusion

With increasing hearing loss, speech perception in modulated noise is even more impaired than in continuous noise.
Evaluating the wild Brauer group
Authors: Bright Martin , Newton Rachel
Published: August 2023

Classifying elements of the Brauer group of a variety $X$
X
over a $p$
p
-adic field by the $p$
p
-adic accuracy needed to evaluate them gives a filtration on $\operatorname{Br}X$
Br
X
. We relate this filtration to that defined by Kato’s Swan conductor. The refined Swan conductor controls how the evaluation maps vary on $p$
p
-adic discs: this provides a geometric characterisation of the refined Swan conductor. We give applications to rational points on varieties over number fields, including failure of weak approximation for varieties admitting a non-zero global 2-form.
Radiomics analysis from magnetic resonance imaging in predicting the grade of nonfunctioning pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors: a multicenter study
Authors: Zhu Hai-Bin , Zhu Hai-Tao , Jiang Liu , Nie Pei , Hu Juan , Tang Wei , Zhang Xiao-Yan , Li Xiao-Ting , Yao Qian , Sun Ying-Shi
Published: August 2023

Objectives

To explore the potential of radiomics features to predict the histologic grade of nonfunctioning pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (NF-PNET) patients using non-contrast sequence based on MRI.

Methods

Two hundred twenty-eight patients with NF-PNETs undergoing MRI at 5 centers were retrospectively analyzed. Data from center 1 (n = 115) constituted the training cohort, and data from centers 2–5 (n = 113) constituted the testing cohort. Radiomics features were extracted from T2-weighted images and the apparent diffusion coefficient. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator was applied to select the most important features and to develop radiomics signatures. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was performed to assess models.

Results

Tumor boundary, enhancement homogeneity, and vascular invasion were used to construct the radiological model to stratify NF-PNET patients into grade 1 and 2/3 groups, which yielded AUC of 0.884 and 0.684 in the training and testing groups. A radiomics model including 4 features was constructed, with an AUC of 0.941 and 0.871 in the training and testing cohorts. The fusion model combining the radiomics signature and radiological characteristics showed good performance in the training set (AUC = 0.956) and in the testing set (AUC = 0.864), respectively.

Conclusion

The developed model that integrates radiomics features with radiological characteristics could be used as a non-invasive, dependable, and accurate tool for the preoperative prediction of grade in NF-PNETs.

Clinical relevance statement

Our study revealed that the fusion model based on a non-contrast MR sequence can be used to predict the histologic grade before operation. The radiomics model may be a new and effective biological marker in NF-PNETs.

Key Points

The diagnostic performance of the radiomics model and fusion model was better than that of the model based on clinical information and radiological features in predicting grade 1 and 2/3 of nonfunctioning pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NF-PNETs).

Good performance of the model in the four external testing cohorts indicated that the radiomics model and fusion model for predicting the grades of NF-PNETs were robust and reliable, indicating the two models could be used in the clinical setting and facilitate the surgeons’ decision on risk stratification.

The radiomics features were selected from non-contrast T2-weighted images (T2WI) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) sequence, which means that the administration of contrast agent was not needed in grading the NF-PNETs.
Remote effects of Tibetan Plateau spring land temperature on global subseasonal to seasonal precipitation prediction and comparison with effects of sea surface temperature: the GEWEX/LS4P Phase I experiment
Authors: Xue Yongkang , Diallo Ismaila , Boone Aaron A. , Zhang Yang , Zeng Xubin , Lau William K. M. , Neelin J. David , Yao Tandong , Tang Qi , Sato Tomonori , Koo Myung-Seo , Vitart Frederic , Ardilouze Constantin , Saha Subodh K. , Materia Stefano , Lin Zhaohui , Takaya Yuhei , Yang Jing , Nakamura Tetsu , Qi Xin , Qin Yi , Nobre Paulo , Senan Retish , Wang Hailan , Zhang Hongliang , Zhao Mei , Nayak Hara Prasad , Pan Yan , Pan Xiaoduo , Feng Jinming , Shi Chunxiang , Xie Shaocheng , Brunke Michael A. , Bao Qing , Bottino Marcus Jorge , Fan Tianyi , Hong Songyou , Lin Yanluan , Peano Daniele , Zhan Yanling , Mechoso Carlos R. , Ren Xuejuan , Balsamo Gianpaolo , Chou Sin Chan , de Rosnay Patricia , van Oevelen Peter J. , Klocke Daniel , Ek Michael , Li Xin , Guo Weidong , Zhu Yuejian , Tang Jianping , Liang Xin-Zhong , Qian Yun , Zhao Ping
Published: August 2023

The prediction skill for precipitation anomalies in late spring and summer months—a significant component of extreme climate events—has remained stubbornly low for years. This paper presents a new idea that utilizes information on boreal spring land surface temperature/subsurface temperature (LST/SUBT) anomalies over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) to improve prediction of subsequent summer droughts/floods over several regions over the world, East Asia and North America in particular. The work was performed in the framework of the GEWEX/LS4P Phase I (LS4P-I) experiment, which focused on whether the TP LST/SUBT provides an additional source for subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) predictability. The summer 2003, when there were severe drought/flood over the southern/northern part of the Yangtze River basin, respectively, has been selected as the focus case. With the newly developed LST/SUBT initialization method, the observed surface temperature anomaly over the TP has been partially produced by the LS4P-I model ensemble mean, and 8 hotspot regions in the world were identified where June precipitation is significantly associated with anomalies of May TP land temperature. Consideration of the TP LST/SUBT effect has produced about 25–50% of observed precipitation anomalies in most hotspot regions. The multiple models have shown more consistency in the hotspot regions along the Tibetan Plateau-Rocky Mountain Circumglobal (TRC) wave train. The mechanisms for the LST/SUBT effect on the 2003 drought over the southern part of the Yangtze River Basin are discussed. For comparison, the global SST effect has also been tested and 6 regions with significant SST effects were identified in the 2003 case, explaining about 25–50% of precipitation anomalies over most of these regions. This study suggests that the TP LST/SUBT effect is a first-order source of S2S precipitation predictability, and hence it is comparable to that of the SST effect. With the completion of the LS4P-I, the LS4P-II has been launched and the LS4P-II protocol is briefly presented.
Analysis of gender differences with traditional posterior stabilized versus kinematic designs in total knee arthroplasty
Authors: Koettnitz Julian , Tigges Jara , Migliorini Filippo , Peterlein Christian D. , Götze Christian
Published: August 2023

Introduction

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a good treatment for end-stage knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Approximately 60% of the patients are females, and 40% are males. This study analyzed pre- and postoperative angle differences in the range of motion (ROM), and the occurrence of complications with traditional posterior stabilization versus kinematic TKA in relation to gender.

Methods

Data from 434 patients with primary cemented total knee arthroplasty from 2018 to 2021 were collected. Alpha and beta angles were determined pre- and postsurgery. The ROM was collected pre- and postoperatively and during follow-up. Additionally, perioperative complications, revision rate, and blood transfusion management were investigated.

Results

The pre- and postoperative alpha-angle between men and women was significantly different, as was the level of alpha-angle correction between men and women (p = 0.001; p = 0.003). Same-gender differences in pre- to postoperative alpha-angles between traditional and kinematic TKA were shown (women (w): p = 0.001; men (m); p = 0.042). High postoperative alpha angles led to less ROM in traditional TKA for women (p = 0.008). No significant gender differences in ROM, perioperative complications, or revision surgery and transfusion rates were found.

Conclusion

Despite high gender differences in pre- and postoperative angles, only female patients with traditional arthroplasty and high postoperative alpha angles showed less ROM in the follow-up. This leads to the assumption that gender-related pre- and postoperative angle differences, and the degree of angle correction, do not influence the ROM or perioperative occurrence of complications. Both designs present safe procedures for both genders with a wide spectrum of axis deformities.
Clinical performance, safety, and patient-reported outcomes of an active osseointegrated bone-conduction hearing implant system at 24-month follow-up
Authors: Cowan Robert , Lewis Aaran T. , Hallberg Carina , Tong Michael C. F. , Birman Catherine S. , Ng Iris H.-Y. , Briggs Robert
Published: August 2023

Purpose

To investigate 2-year post-operative hearing performance, safety, and patient-reported outcomes of hearing-impaired adults treated with the Osia® 2 System, an active osseointegrated bone-conduction hearing implant that uses piezoelectric technology.

Methods

A prospective, multicenter, open-label, single-arm, within-subject clinical study conducted at three tertiary referral clinical centers located in Melbourne, Sydney and Hong Kong. Twenty adult recipients of the Osia 2 System were enrolled and followed up between 12 and 24 months post-implantation: 17 with mixed or conductive hearing loss and 3 with single-sided sensorineural deafness. Safety data, audiological thresholds, speech recognition thresholds in noise, and patient-reported outcomes were collected and evaluated. In addition, pre-and 6-month post-implantation data were collected retrospectively for this recipient cohort enrolled into the earlier study (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04041700).

Results

Between 6- and 24-month follow-up, there was no statistically significant change in free-field hearing thresholds or speech reception thresholds in noise (p =  > 0.05), indicating that aided improvements were maintained up to 24 months of follow-up. Furthermore, improvements in health-related quality of life and daily hearing ability, as well as clinical and subjective measures of hearing benefit remained stable over the 24-month period. No serious adverse events were reported during extended follow-up.

Conclusions

These study results provide further evidence to support the longer term clinical safety, hearing performance, and patient-related benefits of the Osia 2 System in patients with either a conductive hearing loss, mixed hearing loss, or single-sided sensorineural deafness.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04754477. First posted: February 15, 2021.
Diagnostic odyssey in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: diagnostic criteria and reality
Authors: Maksymowicz Stanisław , Siwek Tomasz
Published: August 2023

Background

Diagnosing a rare disease, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a major challenge for physicians and patients. Despite detailed diagnostic criteria, this process often does not proceed as it should, exacerbating the problems of patients. In the following study, we show how the process, which in medical sciences has been called the “diagnostic odyssey”, proceeds and how it affects patients.

Materials and methods

Participants were recruited via a neurology clinic. Twenty-four patients with the diagnosed disease were interviewed using in-depth interviews and an author questionnaire: 9 females and 15 males ages ranging from 30–39 to 60–69.

Results

The median time from 1st symptoms to diagnosis was almost 12 months and mean almost 20 months (min. 3, max 106). Only 5 patients waited less than 6 months for being diagnosed. Over 80% of patients received an alternative diagnosis on the first attempt.

Conclusion

ALS is a fast-paced fatal disease, which requires immediate action to slow down the course of the disease and improve patients’ quality of life. However, in many cases, the disease is diagnosed too late. It also happens that a wrong diagnosis causes inaccurate treatment, which accelerates the development of ALS. For this reason, it is necessary to expand the clinical and communication competences of medical personnel already at the stage of medical studies. In addition, the diagnostic criteria should highlight the common problem with diagnosing ALS.
Sailing the Seven Seas: A Multinational Comparison of ChatGPT’s Performance on Medical Licensing Examinations
Authors: Alfertshofer Michael , Hoch Cosima C. , Funk Paul F. , Hollmann Katharina , Wollenberg Barbara , Knoedler Samuel , Knoedler Leonard
Published: August 2023

Purpose

The use of AI-powered technology, particularly OpenAI’s ChatGPT, holds significant potential to reshape healthcare and medical education. Despite existing studies on the performance of ChatGPT in medical licensing examinations across different nations, a comprehensive, multinational analysis using rigorous methodology is currently lacking. Our study sought to address this gap by evaluating the performance of ChatGPT on six different national medical licensing exams and investigating the relationship between test question length and ChatGPT’s accuracy.

Methods

We manually inputted a total of 1,800 test questions (300 each from US, Italian, French, Spanish, UK, and Indian medical licensing examination) into ChatGPT, and recorded the accuracy of its responses.

Results

We found significant variance in ChatGPT’s test accuracy across different countries, with the highest accuracy seen in the Italian examination (73% correct answers) and the lowest in the French examination (22% correct answers). Interestingly, question length correlated with ChatGPT’s performance in the Italian and French state examinations only. In addition, the study revealed that questions requiring multiple correct answers, as seen in the French examination, posed a greater challenge to ChatGPT.

Conclusion

Our findings underscore the need for future research to further delineate ChatGPT’s strengths and limitations in medical test-taking across additional countries and to develop guidelines to prevent AI-assisted cheating in medical examinations.
Context-adaptable radar-based people counting via few-shot learning
Authors: Mauro Gianfranco , Martinez-Rodriguez Ignacio , Ott Julius , Servadei Lorenzo , Wille Robert , P. Cuellar Manuel , Morales-Santos Diego P.
Published: August 2023

In many industrial or healthcare contexts, keeping track of the number of people is essential. Radar systems, with their low overall cost and power consumption, enable privacy-friendly monitoring in many use cases. Yet, radar data are hard to interpret and incompatible with most computer vision strategies. Many current deep learning-based systems achieve high monitoring performance but are strongly context-dependent. In this work, we show how context generalization approaches can let the monitoring system fit unseen radar scenarios without adaptation steps. We collect data via a 60 GHz frequency-modulated continuous wave in three office rooms with up to three people and preprocess them in the frequency domain. Then, using meta learning, specifically the Weighting-Injection Net, we generate relationship scores between the few training datasets and query data. We further present an optimization-based approach coupled with weighting networks that can increase the training stability when only very few training examples are available. Finally, we use pool-based sampling active learning to fine-tune the model in new scenarios, labeling only the most uncertain data. Without adaptation needs, we achieve over 80% and 70% accuracy by testing the meta learning algorithms in new radar positions and a new office, respectively.

Graphical abstract
Let me know your name: a study of chigger mites (Acariformes: Trombiculidae) associated with the edible dormouse (Glis glis) in the Carpathian–Balkan distribution gradient
Authors: Zajkowska Paula , Postawa Tomasz , Mąkol Joanna
Published: August 2023

Trombiculid mites were collected from the edible dormouse (Glis glis) within the Carpathian–Balkan distribution gradient of host species. Representatives of five genera (Leptotrombidium, Neotrombicula, Brunehaldia, Hirsutiella, Schoutedenichia) and 10 species of chiggers were discovered in the material, based on morphological and/or molecular data. Brunehaldia, new to the fauna of Greece, was recorded for the first time from the edible dormouse. Neotrombicula talmiensis was new to the fauna of Greece and Neotrombicula vulgaris was new to the fauna of North Macedonia. Successful amplification and sequencing of COI was carried out in relation to three genera and six species. The intraspecific variation of taxa hitherto distinguished based on morphological criteria was juxtaposed with molecular data, using the distance method and the phylogenetic approach. The molecular methods indicated wider than hitherto recognized, intraspecific morphological variation for Leptotrombidium europaeum and N. talmiensis. On the other hand, an inference limited to morphology proved to be insufficient for species delineation, which was confirmed by the relatively low identity (%) of examined COI sequences as well as the size of inter-/intraspecific K2P distance threshold. Our study provides support for integrative taxonomy that combines different sources of evidence and contributes to recognition of the scope of intraspecific variation. The high degree of hidden diversity revealed with the application of molecular tools, votes for a careful approach to the identification of chiggers. The confirmed cases of co-invasion, including the representatives of various genera (Leptotrombidium and Neotrombicula, Brunehaldia and Neotrombicula, Neotrombicula and Schoutedenichia, Hirsutiella and Schoutedenichia) additionally support the need to include all larvae found on a given host specimen in the identification process.
Energetic ion enhancements in sheaths driven by interplanetary coronal mass ejections
Authors: Kilpua Emilia , Vainio Rami , Cohen Christina , Dresing Nina , Good Simon , Ruohotie Julia , Trotta Domenico , Bale Stuart D. , Christian Eric , Hill Matt , McComas David J. , McNutt Ralph , Schwadron Nathan
Published: August 2023

We analyze here an energetic proton enhancement in a sheath ahead of a slow interplanetry coronal mass ejection (ICME) detected by Parker Solar Probe on June 30, 2021 at the heliospheric distance of 0.76 AU. The shock was likely quasi-parallel and had a high Mach number. However, the proton fluxes were not enhanced at the shock but about an hour later. The fluxes stayed elevated with a sporadic behaviour throughout the sheath. We suggest that some mechanism internal to the sheath was responsible for the energization. The observations show enhanced levels of magnetic field fluctuations in the sheath and frequent presence of highly reduced magnetic helicity structures ($\sigma _{m}$

σ
m

) at various time scales, representing either small-scale flux ropes or Alfvénic fluctuations that could have contributed to the energization. The correlation between the energetic proton fluxes and normalized fluctuation amplitudes/occurrence of high $\sigma _{m}$

σ
m

structures was generally weak or negligible. The most striking feature of the sheath was a strong enhancement of density (up to 50 cm−3) that implies the importance of compressive acceleration in the sheath. A statistical analysis of ion enhancements of 73 sheaths detected by ACE at ${\sim} 1$
∼
1
AU reveals that this sheath was peculiar as in ICME-driven sheaths preceded by strong shocks the ion fluxes typically peak at the shock and strongly decline through the sheath.
Challenging the status quo in invasive species assessment using mechanistic physiologically based demographic modeling
Authors: Ponti Luigi , Gutierrez Andrew Paul
Published: August 2023

The increased incidence of invasive species introductions is a hallmark of global change, but their associated environmental and economic impacts are vastly underestimated. Assessing and managing the impact of invasive species requires understanding their weather driven dynamics as a basis for predicting their potential geographic distribution and relative abundance. Current de-facto standards for invasive species assessment are correlative approaches lacking mechanistic underpinnings, and hence fail to capture the weather driven biology limiting their explanatory and predictive capacity to forewarn policy makers of species invasiveness (i.e., its potential geographic distribution and relative abundance under extant and/or climate change weather). The idiosyncratic time-place nature of biological invasions and the inability of correlative approaches to incorporate biological information call for development of a unifying prospective approach across species. Physiologically based demographic models (PBDMs) provide a holistic basis for assessment of invasive species addressing many limitations of correlative approaches while accommodating higher level of biological complexity using a similar number of parameters. We use the South American tomato pinworm Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) as a case study in the Palearctic and compare the predictions of our PBDM model to those of three analyses based on the correlative CLIMEX model. The PBDM outperformed CLIMEX with comparable CLIMEX predictions only after the pest had reached its potential geographic distribution (i.e., post hoc), using 6–10 vs. 13 parameters, respectively. We suggest creating dedicated laboratories to gather appropriate biological data and developing generalized software to build mechanistic models for assessing invasive species of any taxa.
The hub of the wheel or hitchhikers? The potential influence of large avian herbivores on other trophic levels in wetland ecosystems
Authors: Gunnarsson Gunnar , Kjeller Elsie , Holopainen Sari , Djerf Henric , Elmberg Johan , Pöysä Hannu , Söderquist Pär , Waldenström Jonas
Published: August 2023

Goose and swan populations have increased concurrently with environmental degradation of wetlands, such as eutrophication, vegetation losses, and decrease in biodiversity. An important question is whether geese and swans contribute to such changes or if they instead benefit from them. We collected data from 37 wetlands in southern Sweden April − July 2021 to study relationships between geese, swans and other waterbird guilds, macrophytes, invertebrates, as well as physical and water chemistry variables. Neither goose nor swan abundance was negatively correlated with other trophic levels (abundance, richness, or cover). On the contrary, goose or swan abundances were positively related to abundances of surface and benthic feeding waterbirds, cover of specific macrophytes, and to invertebrate richness and abundance. Moreover, invertebrates (number of taxa or abundance) were positively associated with abundance of several waterbird guilds and total phosphorous with surface feeders, whereas water colour was positively (surface feeders) or negatively (benthic feeders) related. We conclude that waterbirds are more abundant in productive wetlands and that geese and swans do not show clear deleterious effects on other trophic levels included in this study. However, patterns may be masked at the species level, which should be addressed in further studies, complemented with experimental studies of grazing impact.
Integral feedback in synthetic biology: negative-equilibrium catastrophe
Authors: Plesa Tomislav , Dack Alexander , Ouldridge Thomas E.
Published: August 2023

A central goal of synthetic biology is the design of molecular controllers that can manipulate the dynamics of intracellular networks in a stable and accurate manner. To address the fact that detailed knowledge about intracellular networks is unavailable, integral-feedback controllers (IFCs) have been put forward for controlling molecular abundances. These controllers can maintain accuracy in spite of the uncertainties in the controlled networks. However, this desirable feature is achieved only if stability is also maintained. In this paper, we show that molecular IFCs can suffer from a hazardous instability called negative-equilibrium catastrophe (NEC), whereby all nonnegative equilibria vanish under the action of the controllers, and some of the molecular abundances blow up. We show that unimolecular IFCs do not exist due to a NEC. We then derive a family of bimolecular IFCs that are safeguarded against NECs when uncertain unimolecular networks, with any number of molecular species, are controlled. However, when IFCs are applied on uncertain bimolecular (and hence most intracellular) networks, we show that preventing NECs generally becomes an intractable problem as the number of interacting molecular species increases. NECs therefore place a fundamental limit to design and control of molecular networks.
Uniqueness of the Gibbs Measure for the Anti-ferromagnetic Potts Model on the Infinite $$\Delta $$-Regular Tree for Large $$\Delta $$
Authors: Bencs Ferenc , Boer David de , Buys Pjotr , Regts Guus
Published: August 2023

In this paper we prove that for any integer$$q\ge 5$$q≥5, the anti-ferromagneticq-state Potts model on the infinite$$\Delta $$Δ-regular tree has a unique Gibbs measure for all edge interaction parameters$$w\in [1-q/\Delta ,1)$$w∈[1-q/Δ,1), provided$$\Delta $$Δis large enough. This confirms a longstanding folklore conjecture.
Emotion-specific AUs for micro-expression recognition
Authors: Leong Shu-Min , Phan Raphaël C.-W. , Baskaran Vishnu Monn
Published: August 2023

The Facial Action Coding System (FACS) comprehensively describes facial expressions with facial action units (AUs). It is a well-used technique by researchers in emotions research to understand human emotions better. Most micro-expression datasets provide FACS-coded AU ground truths corresponding to micro-expressions classes. It is commonly accepted in computer vision-based emotions research that certain emotions are reliably revealed when specific combinations of AUs occur. However, the reliability of the ground truth AUs in the micro-expression datasets is lower than that of normal expressions, as they have lower AU intensities. Moreover, these micro-expression datasets only report the overall reliability of all AUs. It could not be identified which AUs had been accurately coded. This work aims to revisit the ground truth AUs of popular micro-expression datasets, namely CASME II, SAMM and CAS(ME)$$^2$$

2

, and inspect whether any AUs crucial for micro-expression recognition may need to be reconsidered. This paper also provides a detailed AU analysis which yields new AU-based RoIs for each dataset. These new RoIs improve the micro-expression recognition performances compared to the baselines considered in this work. The proposed RoIs for CASME II, SAMM and CAS(ME)$$^2$$

2

improve the recognition rates by $$2\%$$

2
%

, $$1\%$$

1
%

and $$4\%$$

4
%

, respectively, when compared with the existing RoIs.
Challenges and Opportunities for Celecoxib Repurposing
Authors: Bąk Urszula , Krupa Anna
Published: August 2023

Drug repositioning, also known as drug repurposing, reprofiling, or rediscovery, is considered to be one of the most promising strategies to accelerate the development of new original drug products. Multiple examples of successful rediscovery or therapeutic switching of old molecules that did not show clinical benefits or safety in initial trials encourage the following of the discovery of new therapeutic pathways for them. This review summarizes the efforts that have been made, mostly over the last decade, to identify new therapeutic targets for celecoxib. To achieve this goal, records gathered in MEDLINE PubMed and Scopus databases along with the registry of clinical trials by the US National Library of Medicine at the U.S. National Institutes of Health were explored. Since celecoxib is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that represents the class of selective COX-2 inhibitors (coxibs), its clinical potential in metronomic cancer therapy, the treatment of mental disorders, or infectious diseases has been discussed. In the end, the perspective of a formulator, facing various challenges related to unfavorable physicochemical properties of celecoxib upon the development of new oral dosage forms, long-acting injectables, and topical formulations, including the latest trends in the pharmaceutical technology, such as the application of mesoporous carriers, biodegradable microparticles, lipid-based nanosystems, or spanlastics, was presented.
Weighted Poincaré Inequalities and Degenerate Elliptic and Parabolic Problems: An Approach via the Distance Function
Authors: Monticelli D. D. , Punzo F.
Published: August 2023

We obtain weighted Poincaré inequalities in bounded domains, where the weight is given by a symmetric nonnegative definite matrix, which can degenerate on submanifolds. Furthermore, we investigate uniqueness and nonuniqueness of solutions to degenerate elliptic and parabolic problems, where the diffusion matrix can degenerate on subsets of the boundary of the domain. Both the results are obtained by means of the distance function from the degeneracy set, which is used to construct suitable local sub– and supersolutions.
“Injury risk, concussions, race, and pay in the NFL”
Authors: Keefer Quinn A. W. , Kniesner Thomas J.
Published: August 2023

We make two main contributions to the literature on work-related injury risk and economic outcomes in the context of American professional football. One is to examine an increasingly important specific injury, concussions, and compare its subsequent economic effects to those of other types of football injuries. Our other contribution is to study the role of race in understanding injury risk and severity and their resulting economic consequences, which has been overlooked in previous sports injury research. Using a specific position, tight ends, which allows conditioning on fine-grained relevant measures of player demographics, playing time, and performance, we find that whether a player continues to play NFL football from year to year is affected by type of injury and the player’s race. We calculate that the average ex post loss in annual compensation from a concussion is about 7%. Moreover, the effect of games missed due to concussion on continued employment is triple that of other injuries. Being white positively affects length of playing career independent of the measured productivity of the players involved. The racial gap in career length is approximately equal to the effect of an additional game missed from concussion. With respect to heterogeneity in the effects of injuries, both concussions and other injury types affect ex post economic outcomes equally for white and nonwhite players. Both injuries and race affect compensation solely through their effects on career length.
Establishing an expert opinion framework for lung volume reduction in Ireland: a Delphi consensus technique
Authors: Mulryan Kathryn , Sorensen Jan , Redmond Karen
Published: August 2023

Background

Lung volume reduction (LVR) is an effective treatment option offered to patients with emphysema. There is no formalised LVR referral network in Ireland. A rigorous approach to agreeing and implementing a LVR referral framework in an Irish context is required. A Delphi process was used to provide a basis for a framework of multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) which can provide LVR as a management option. A Delphi process offers a framework for understanding variations and developing a consensus from expert opinion.

Aim

The aim of this study was to develop consensus on recommendations for LVR referral guidelines in an Irish context and provide a national scope based on current practice and evidence.

Design

In accordance with Guidance on Conducting and Reporting Delphi Studies, a consensus-building Delphi study was performed. Thirty-three statements informed from review of research literature were identified and presented to participants. Evaluation of the statements was performed by an expert panel using a 5-point Likert scale. ≥ 70% agreement was defined as consensus and items with a consensus rating of < 70% were revised during the process. In total, Delphi questionnaires were distributed to 18 experts with a response rate of 78% (n = 14) and a follow-up response-rate of 50% (n = 7).

Setting/participants.

The expert panel in Ireland consisted of representatives from respiratory medicine, cardiothoracic surgery and allied-health professionals with expertise in COPD care.

Results

Of the initial 33 statements in five dimensions, there were consensus regarding 31 statements.

Conclusions

The 31 statements agreed through this Delphi study clarify a coherent direction for development of a LVR framework in Ireland. The Delphi study methodology described is a useful process to reach consensus among multi-disciplinary experts.
Respiratory deposition dose of PM2.5 and PM10 during night and day periods at an urban environment
Authors: Cipoli Yago Alonso , Furst Leonardo , Feliciano Manuel , Alves Célia
Published: August 2023

Inhalation of particulate matter (PM) has been extensively associated with the worsening and onset of cardiorespiratory diseases, being responsible for millions of deaths annually. Assessment of PM deposition in the human respiratory tract is critical to better understand the health risks from environmental exposure of vulnerable age groups. In this study, PM2.5 and PM10 day-night monitoring campaigns during the cold season were carried out in Bragança, Portugal. The multiple-path particle dosimetry (MPPD) model was used to quantify total and regional depositions in the human respiratory tract for four different age groups: infant (3 months), child (9 years), adult (21 years) and elderly (65 years). The results showed that concentrations for both PM fractions were higher during the night, a period marked by the burning of biomass for residential heating. Regional deposition fractions (DF) for PM2.5 were in the ranges 17–38% (head), 4–14% (tracheobronchial) and 20–28% (pulmonary), while for PM10 were 24–67% (head), 4–27% (tracheobronchial) and 12–22% (pulmonary). Children and the elderly were found to be the most vulnerable groups to PM deposition, especially for the TB and H regions, respectively. The lifetime cancer and non-cancer risks associated with exposure to PM2.5 exceeded the recommended limits, especially for children <10 years old. These findings provide useful information to alert authorities to the need to take action to reduce the pollution burden and protect the health, in particular of those most susceptible.

Graphical Abstract
The Leipzig Leadership Model: Measuring leadership orientations
Authors: Meynhardt Timo , Steuber Josephina , Feser Maximilian
Published: August 2023

The Leipzig Leadership Model (LLM) connects theory and practice. Building on actor-world relations and insights from motivational psychology (actor-action relations), the LLM proposes a holistic framework able to integrate the existing plethora of leadership theories and styles. This opens up a new perspective on a comprehensive understanding of leadership roles. With its four leadership orientation dimensions of purpose, entrepreneurial spirit, responsibility, and effectiveness, the LLM enables leaders to identify and reflect on relevant leadership competencies. In order to facilitate future research on the LLM and its dimensions, we report on two studies that are developing and validating a 32-item LLM-based scale. We applied oblique bifactor target rotation in a bifactor Exploratory Structural Equation Model within CFA approach in a German sample (N = 309) with robust WLSMV-estimates to fit an LLM-based model to the data. The results suggest a good fit. Furthermore, as ECV, PUC and ARPB support the multidimensional nature of the scale, we report the appropriate bifactor statistical indices. After parallel back translation, an English version of the scale was tested in a second sample (N = 311) to replicate our earlier findings. This study facilitates future empirical research by providing a concise and integrative self-rating measure of leadership orientations. We further strengthen the scientific foundation of the LLM by empirically testing its conceptually developed four-factor structure. The scale provides a starting point for further research into leadership orientations (also as standalone subscales), and offers an applicable guideline for self-reflection and decision-making.
Debate and well-being in self-managed groups: the moderating role of divergent status perceptions
Authors: Röllmann Laura Frederike , Weiss Mona , Zacher Hannes
Published: August 2023

Research suggests that debate, that is, open discussion behavior in work groups, can affect group-level outcomes. Yet, little is known about how debate may affect group member well-being. Drawing from the literature on debate and open conflict norms, we hypothesize that debate and well-being are positively associated because differing views can be shared and discussed openly. Additionally, based on theories on status conflicts and diversity, we expect that this relationship is moderated by the divergence of status perceptions within the group. Specifically, we propose that the positive relationship between group-level debate and well-being is stronger when group members’ perceptions of the hierarchical social status distribution in their group diverge strongly (rather than little) because in this situation debate can help resolve differing status construals. Data for this study came from 163 members of 29 self-organized activist groups that pursued social and/or ecological goals. Group members reported the level of debate within their group, perceived status distribution, and their individual well-being. Results of multilevel modeling showed that debate and well-being were positively related and that divergence of status perceptions moderated this relationship. With our study, we expand research on debate by investigating its relationship with well-being. Our study adds to the literature on status dynamics by showing that not only the distribution of social status, but also the divergent perception of its distribution is an important feature of status dynamics. Finally, we advance the literature by applying constructs from work and organizational psychology to activist well-being.
Hope, career competency, and social well-being among non-engaged youth in Hong Kong: a longitudinal network analysis
Authors: Ngai Steven Sek-yum , Cheung Chau-Kiu , Zhou Qiushi , Zhang Jihong , Ng Yuen-hang , Yu Elly Nga-hin , Zhang Xuyang , Wong Laing-ming
Published: August 2023

Although it has been widely acknowledged that hope, career competency, and outcomes of social well-being (i.e., social integration, social contribution, and civic engagement) are key components of youth’s career and life development (CLD), those interrelationships, their predictive relationships, and the relative importance of the variables in the relationships remain poorly understood. To fill that gap, we conducted two network analyses on three waves of data collected in the CLAP@JC Community Intervention Project. A total of 4,220 non-engaged youth (NEY) from Hong Kong participated in the project, all of whom were 13–29 years old (M = 18.66, SD = 3.20) and 53.3% of whom were boys and young men. The first network analysis, conducted on the data at baseline, revealed a moderate correlation between career competency and hope and a strong correlation between civic engagement and social contribution. The second network analysis, conducted on the aggregated three-wave data, showed that career competency could predict all other variables and that only hope could positively impact career competency over time. We also observed that social contribution can positively influence hope. Overall, our findings highlight the central role of career competency in networks while also revealing the different roles of the examined variables within the networks. Our new findings on the functions of and the relationships among those variables provide insights for further theorizing CLD, while the information obtained can also help practitioners to develop effective intervention strategies for promoting CLD among NEY.
Vincristine-based nanoformulations: a preclinical and clinical studies overview
Authors: Shukla Rahul , Singh Ajit , Singh Kamalinder K.
Published: August 2023

Vincristine (VCR) is a chemotherapeutic agent obtained from natural alkaloid plant sourceCatharanthus roseus.VCR has been significantly useful in treatments of lung cancer, lymphocyte-based leukaemia, glioblastomas and acute myeloid leukaemia. VCR attaches to tubulin fibrils and prevents filament polymerization that permanently led to mitosis inhibition in cancer cells. Clinically, VCR is administered to patients in multidrug combination to reduce adverse drug effects and potential blockage of bone marrow inhibition due to prescribed monotherapy. However, VCR possesses low cancer tissue affinity and at higher dose often led to irreversible neurotoxicity. Conventional VCR injectables are successfully used in clinics, but lack of controlled release, non-specific biodistribution and consequent off-target side effects are still major challenges. Currently, nanotechnological drug delivery systems are being explored for improvement of VCR pharmacokinetic profile and tumour-specific targeting. Various nanomedicine formulations such as liposomes, lipid nanoparticles, and polymeric nanocarriers of VCR have been studied under various in vitro and in vivo models. In this review, we have summarised the chemotherapeutic role of VCR, evaluated the mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics and challenges associated with VCR delivery. Moreover, application of VCR in nanomedicine and effect on anticancer efficacy in preclinical and clinical setting are also being discussed.

Graphical Abstract
Platforms and possibilities: a scoping study of curriculum resources for global citizenship education
Authors: Phillips Louise Gwenneth , de Rivera Liberty , Harris Pauline
Published: August 2023

The Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration Goal two argues for young Australians ‘to understand their responsibilities as global citizens’. In these precarious times, children and youth require (and are demanding) education on how to address the myriad of convergent global challenges that is the focus of global citizenship education (GCE); however, perceived ambiguity is recognised as a barrier to greater GCE uptake. To support teacher uptake of global citizenship education, we searched for and mapped open-access GCE materials to create a systematic, research-based resource catalogue for teachers and students. We employed a scoping study to examine each resource’s alignments with Australian Curricula and global GCE frameworks and identified the areas where there is insufficient resourcing. Results showed that most resources were targeted to primary and secondary school students. More materials are needed for early childhood education as well as materials that engage learners of all ages to en/act on their understanding of what global citizenship entails.