bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Physical activity and cognitive function: A comparison of rural and urban breast cancer survivors
Authors: Page Lindsey L. , Kahn Christina J. , Severson Joan , Kramer Arthur F. , McAuley Edward , Ehlers Diane K.
Published: April 2023

Purpose

Increasing evidence suggests rural breast cancer survivors (BCS) may experience greater burden in symptoms known to be associated with cancer-associated cognitive decline (CACD). Yet, little is known about CACD in rural BCS. This study (1) examined differences in cognitive function, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and other CACD correlates and (2) tested the effects of MVPA on cognitive function in rural versus urban BCS.

Methods

Rural and urban BCS (N = 80), matched on age, education, and time since diagnosis from a larger study, completed cognitive tasks assessing processing speed (Trails-B, Mazes, Task-Switch) and working memory (spatial working memory) and questionnaires assessing subjective memory impairment (SMI), MVPA, and CACD correlates (i.e., sleep quality, fatigue, anxiety/depression). Some participants (n = 62) wore an accelerometer to objectively estimate MVPA. Multiple linear regression and multivariate analysis of covariance were used to test study aims.

Results

Rural BCS (n = 40, M = 61.1±8.4 years-old) performed significantly slower on Trails-B (p<0.01) compared with urban BCS (n = 40, M = 61.0±8.2 years-old) and engaged in less objectively-estimated daily MVPA (mean difference = 13.83±4.73 minutes; p = 0.01). No significant differences in SMI, self-reported MVPA, or CACD correlates were observed (all p>0.28). Regression models did not reveal a significant interaction between MVPA and cognitive performance (all p>0.1); however, estimated marginal means models indicated that the effect of MVPA on processing speed was evident only among rural BCS (Trails-B, p = 0.04; Mazes, p = 0.03).

Conclusions

Findings suggest rural BCS may suffer greater CACD and engage in less MVPA. Additional research is warranted to further examine CACD and more effectively promote MVPA in rural BCS.
A novel encoder-decoder model based on Autoformer for air quality index prediction
Authors: Feng Huifang , Zhang Xianghong
Published: April 2023

Rapid economic development has led to increasingly serious air quality problems. Accurate air quality prediction can provide technical support for air pollution prevention and treatment. In this paper, we proposed a novel encoder-decoder model named as Enhanced Autoformer (EnAutoformer) to improve the air quality index (AQI) prediction. In this model, (a) The enhanced cross-correlation (ECC) is proposed for extracting the temporal dependencies in AQI time series; (b) Combining the ECC with the cross-stage feature fusion mechanism of CSPDenseNet, the core module CSP_ECC is proposed for improving the computational efficiency of the EnAutoformer. (c) The time series decomposition and dilated causal convolution added in the decoder module are exploited to extract the finer-grained features from the original AQI data and improve the performance of the proposed model for long-term prediction. The real-world air quality datasets collected from Lanzhou are used to validate the performance of our prediction model. The experimental results show that our EnAutoformer model can greatly improve the prediction accuracy compared to the baselines and can be used as a promising alternative for complex air quality prediction.
A framework of interpretable match results prediction in football with FIFA ratings and team formation
Authors: Yeung Calvin C. K. , Bunker Rory , Fujii Keisuke
Published: April 2023

While forecasting football match results has long been a popular topic, a practical model for football participants, such as coaches and players, has not been considered in great detail. In this study, we propose a generalized and interpretable machine learning model framework that only requires coaches’ decisions and player quality features for forecasting. By further allowing the model to embed historical match statistics, features that consist of significant information, during the training process the model was practical and achieved both high performance and interpretability. Using five years of data (over 1,700 matches) from the English Premier League, our results show that our model was able to achieve high performance with an F1-score of 0.47, compared to the baseline betting odds prediction, which had an F1-score of 0.39. Moreover, our framework allows football teams to adapt for tactical decision-making, strength and weakness identification, formation and player selection, and transfer target validation. The framework in this study would have proven the feasibility of building a practical match result forecast framework and may serve to inspire future studies.
Sentential inference bridging between lexical/grammatical knowledge and text comprehension among native Chinese speakers learning Japanese
Authors: Tamaoka Katsuo , Sakai Hiromu , Miyaoka Yayoi , Ono Hajime , Fukuda Michiko , Wu Yuxin , Verdonschot Rinus G.
Published: April 2023

The current study explored the role of sentential inference in connecting lexical/grammatical knowledge and overall text comprehension in foreign language learning. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), causal relationships were examined between four latent variables: lexical knowledge, grammatical knowledge, sentential inference, and text comprehension. The study analyzed 281 Chinese university students learning Japanese as a second language and compared two causal models: (1) the partially-mediated model, which suggests that lexical knowledge, grammatical knowledge, and sentential inference concurrently influence text comprehension, and (2) the wholly-mediated model, which posits that both lexical and grammatical knowledge impact sentential inference, which then further affects text comprehension. The SEM comparison analysis supported the wholly-mediated model, showing sequential causal relationships from lexical knowledge to sentential inference and then to text comprehension, without significant contribution from grammatical knowledge. The results indicate that sentential inference serves as a crucial bridge between lexical knowledge and text comprehension.
Extraction optimization, structure features, and bioactivities of two polysaccharides from Corydalis decumbens
Authors: Wang Zhaojing , Luo Dianhui
Published: April 2023

Two polysaccharides (CPS1 and CPW2) from Corydalis decumbens were obtained to develop insights into natural medical resources. Optimal extraction conditions of total sugars were researched using the method of response surface methodology, polysaccharides were purified using a combination of ethanol precipitation and anion-exchange chromatography, and structure features were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Congo-red assay. The bioactivities were estimated in terms of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Total sugars were extracted with an experimental yield of 32.74% under optimum conditions. CPS1 and CPW2 were purified with yields of 12.01% and 8.23%, respectively. CPS1 was a unique polysaccharide with a molecular weight (Mw) of 360 kDa and consisted of glucose, galactose, mannose, and arabinose in a ratio of 4.9:2.0:1:1.9, and CPW2 was composed of glucose with the Mw of 550 kDa. CPS1 possessed a four-helix conformation, and CPW2 was identified as a linear molecule without branched and entangled chains. The mRNA expressions of TNF-α (71.80%), IL-1β (56.55%), IL-6 (43.98%), and COX-2 (91.88%) in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells were significantly inhibited by 75 μg/mL CPS1 (P < 0.0001), while CPW2 showed lower inhibitory effects than CPS1. Compared with CPW2, CPS1 showed stronger scavenging abilities for hydroxyl (EC50 = 520.46 μg/mL), ABTS (EC50 = 533.99 μg/mL), and superoxide (EC50 = 1512.06 μg/mL) radicals. CPS1 with four-helix conformation exhibited more outstanding bioactivities than CPW2 without entangled chains.
Effectiveness of physical rehabilitation interventions in critically ill patients—A protocol for an overview of systematic reviews
Authors: Gutierrez-Arias Ruvistay , Nydahl Peter , Pieper Dawid , González-Seguel Felipe , Jalil Yorschua , Oliveros Maria-Jose , Torres-Castro Rodrigo , Seron Pamela
Published: April 2023

Introduction

Adult and pediatric patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) requiring invasive ventilatory support, sedation, and muscle blockade may present neuromusculoskeletal deterioration. Different physical rehabilitation interventions have been studied to evaluate their effectiveness in improving critically ill patients’ outcomes. Given that many published systematic reviews (SRs) aims to determine the effectiveness of different types of physical rehabilitation interventions, it is necessary to group them systematically and assess the methodological quality of SRs to help clinicians make better evidence-based decisions. This overview of SRs (OoSRs) aims to map the existing evidence and to determine the effectiveness of physical rehabilitation interventions to improve neuromusculoskeletal function and other clinical outcomes in adult and pediatric critically ill patients.

Methods

An OoSRs of randomized and non-randomized clinical trials involving critically ill adult and pediatric patients receiving physical rehabilitation intervention will be conducted. A sensitive search of MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Cochrane Library, Epistemonikos, and other search resources will be conducted. Two independent reviewers will conduct study selection, data extraction, and methodological quality assessment. Discrepancies will be resolved by consensus or a third reviewer. The degree of overlap of studies will be calculated using the corrected covered area. The methodological quality of the SRs will be measured using the AMSTAR-2 tool. The GRADE framework will report the certainty of evidence by selecting the "best" SR for each physical rehabilitation intervention and outcome.

Discussion

The findings of this overview are expected to determine the effectiveness and safety of physical rehabilitation interventions to improve neuromusculoskeletal function in adult and pediatric critically ill patients based on a wide selection of the best available evidence and to determine the knowledge gaps in this topic by mapping and assessing the methodological quality of published SRs.

Registration number

CRD42023389672.
Environmental reservoirs of the drug-resistant pathogenic yeast Candida auris
Authors: Akinbobola Ayorinde B. , Kean Ryan , Hanifi Syed Manzoor Ahmed , Quilliam Richard S.
Published: April 2023

Candia auris is an emerging human pathogenic yeast; yet, despite phenotypic attributes and genomic evidence suggesting that it probably emerged from a natural reservoir, we know nothing about the environmental phase of its life cycle and the transmission pathways associated with it. The thermotolerant characteristics of C. auris have been hypothesised to be an environmental adaptation to increasing temperatures due to global warming (which may have facilitated its ability to tolerate the mammalian thermal barrier that is considered a protective strategy for humans against colonisation by environmental fungi with pathogenic potential). Thus, C. auris may be the first human pathogenic fungus to have emerged as a result of climate change. In addition, the release of antifungal chemicals, such as azoles, into the environment (from both pharmaceutical and agricultural sources) is likely to be responsible for the environmental enrichment of resistant strains of C. auris; however, the survival and dissemination of C. auris in the natural environment is poorly understood. In this paper, we critically review the possible pathways through which C. auris can be introduced into the environment and evaluate the environmental characteristics that can influence its persistence and transmission in natural environments. Identifying potential environmental niches and reservoirs of C. auris and understanding its emergence against a backdrop of climate change and environmental pollution will be crucial for the development of effective epidemiological and environmental management responses.
Beyond the Hero’s Journey: Creating Powerful and Original Character Arcs for the Screen, Anthony Mullins (2022)
Authors: Ferrell Rose
Published: April 2023

Review of: Beyond the Hero’s Journey: Creating Powerful and Original Character Arcs for the Screen, Anthony Mullins (2022)

Harpenden: Kamera Books, 320 pp.,

ISBN 978-0-85730-511-4, p/bk, AUD 27.95
Editorial
Authors: Doyle Denise
Published: April 2023

Virtual Creativity 12.2 brings together an eclectic range of research and practice from the community including computationality and play, embodying evil and the inner world of women’s bodies. Also in this issue is a review of the Venice Biennale 2022 curated by Cecilia Alemani, who highlights that, for the first time in its 127-year history, the Biennale includes a majority women or gender non-conforming artists. The issue concludes with an interview with Brazilian artist Raphael Arar who works at the nexus of complex systems, transdisciplinary design and arts-based research.
Understanding (apo-) soluble guanylate cyclase allosterism and its therapeutic implications
Authors: Petraina Alexandra , Elbatreek Mahmoud H. , Neullens Christopher T. , Saridaki Theodora , Dao Vu Thao-vi , Casas Ana I , Schmidt Harald HHW.
Published: April 2023

Nitric oxide (NO) is a widely distributed gasotransmitter binding to the heme of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) to stimulate the formation of the second messenger cyclic GMP. In disease, two pathomechanisms can occur, scavenging of NO by reactive oxygen species so that sGC is insufficiently stimulated, and oxidative damage of sGC resulting in heme loss and a NO-insensitive apo-form of sGC. To address this therapeutically, two pharmacological principles have entered the clinic or clinical development. sGC stimulators (sGCs) allosterically sensitize sGC for lower NO levels to reach physiological cGMP levels again; sGC activators (sGCa) bind to the empty heme pocket of apo-sGC to recover cGMP formation. Here we show in vitro and in vivo that this dichotomic pharmacology of sGCs/sGC and sGCa/apo-sGC is wrong. Instead apo-sGC is both activated by sGCa and allosterically modulated by sGC stimulators. The sGCs binding site in sGC and apo-sGC, however, is redox sensitive explaining why it has been previously missed in apo-sGC preparations generated for example by using heme oxidants such as 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ). Moreover, sGCs synergised with sGCa on apo-sGC in a supra-additive manner similar to the synergy between NO and sGCs on sGC. Our findings provide functional evidence including ischemic stroke, where apo-sGC rather than sGC is detectable, for identical modulation of sGC and apo-sGC by sGCs. This necessitates a revision of the dichotomic sGC/apo-sGC pharmacology and expands the therapeutic potential of sGCs and sGCa both individually and in combination.
Organizational Factors Driving Selection of Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Sedation in Veterans Health Administration and Community Settings
Authors: Adams Megan A. , Rubenstein Joel H. , Forman Jane H.
Published: April 2023

INTRODUCTION:

Previous studies suggest that unmeasured organizational factors drive variability in anesthesia-assisted sedation (AA) use.

METHODS:

A mixed-methods study of 11 Veterans Health Administration and community gastrointestinal endoscopy sites; qualitative interviews of key sedation decision-makers.

RESULTS:

Three key interview themes were identified: (i) Increased AA demand and changes in endoscopist sedation training in fellowship drove site-level AA capacity expansion; (ii) this expansion further influenced sedation decisions in favor of AA use; and (iii) additional organizational factors influencing AA use included site-level decision-making processes and differences between Veterans Health Administration and community practice economics/mission.

DISCUSSION:

Key organizational factors drive variability in AA use across settings.
Azathioprine-Induced Hypersensitivity Vasculitis
Authors: Sangiorgio Michael , Bhagwat Anil , Middleton Christopher , Davies Alex
Published: April 2023

Vasculitic skin rash is a rare but known manifestation of azathioprine hypersensitivity reactions, with several published case reports. In this report, we describe the case of a 63-year-old man on azathioprine for autoimmune hepatitis, who developed a delayed systemic hypersensitivity reaction with biopsy-proven vasculitis, approximately 10 months into his treatment. This resolved after azathioprine discontinuation and has not recurred to date after subsequent administration of 6-mercaptopurine. This case highlights the need for continued monitoring for delayed hypersensitivity reactions to azathioprine after initiation of therapy.
ANALISIS PELAKSANAAN LAYANAN SAPA PUSTAKAWAN ONLINE DI PERPUSTAKAAN IAIN KUDUS
Authors: Buwana Radiya Wira
Published: April 2023

The Sapa Pustakawan Online Service is an online-based information search service at the IAIN Kudus Library. The service utilizes Telegram's social media as a service medium for users. This study aims to analyze how the application of the Sapa Pustakawan Online service at the IAIN Kudus Library. This research was conducted using a qualitative research approach with a descriptive type of research. The data collection methods used in this study include observation, interview methods, and literature study methods. The observation method is used to make observations on service activities by librarians to users in the telegram group Sapa Pustakawan Online at IAIN Kudus Library. Then, the interview method was used to extract research data from the Head of the IAIN Kudus Library and the librarian at the IAIN Kudus Library regarding the application of the Sapa Pustakawan Online service. The method of collecting data through literature study is extracting data by using literature sources that are in accordance with the research theme. From the research, it can be concluded that the Sapa Pustakawan Online service is able to provide easy information search services, fast information search services, and capable information search services.
THE ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION OF SEYCHELLES
Authors: Gaswaga Duncan
Published: April 2023

On behalf of the Anti-Corruption Commission of Seychelles, allow me to welcome you all to this function as we formally open our doors to members of the public who have complaints about corruption. Our mandate is:to receive complaints from any person or entity, investigate, detect and prevent practices linked to corruption in both the public and private sector.This is the first public event organised by the Commission, and I must say that I am truly happy and humbled that you have honoured our invitation. Your presence here clearly signifies the importance of the need to eradicate corruption from our society.Today we denounce corruption in all its forms. By standing here with us in the open as we take the first steps in fighting corruption, you make history in this country. A person of integrity never fears to face the world at any time. As the leadership of this beautiful nation, we should be exemplary and not only condemn but also practically avoid and fight corruption. Each one of us should shun and desist from corruption if the citizens are to enjoy better services. The Commission shall not condone impunity. Not even the so-called small fish will be left swimming freely, because it is the widespread occurrence of such small acts of corruption that amount cumulatively to a big dent in the economy of a country.
PECUNIA NON OLET: DIRTY MONEY AS LEGAL FEES
Authors: Hamman Abraham , Koen Raymond
Published: April 2023

It is axiomatic that lawyers have to be paid for their services. Regrettably, lawyers who represent money launderers may be offered dirty money, that is, proceeds of crime as fee payments by their clients. This essay explores the question of such tainted legal fees in South Africa through an analysis of its anti-money laundering (AML) legislation. It then compares the South African position to the approaches taken in the USA and Canada. South African AML legislation criminalises tainted fees. The USA amended its AML legislation to decriminalise tainted fees. And tainted fees never have been criminalised in Canada. The South African approach threatens both the right of accused persons to legal representation and the right of lawyers to practise their profession. It is recommended that the South African AML statutes be amended to decriminalise tainted legal fees.
THE PROBLEM OF PRIVATE-TO-PRIVATE CORRUPTION
Authors: Tessema Marshet Tadesse , Koen Raymond
Published: April 2023

Corruption has huge detrimental effects, and private-to-private corruption contributes hugely to this detriment. Its consequences match those of public corruption, particularly in the contemporary world, when private entities not only are becoming more influential but also increasingly are engaged in the dispensing of public functions. Hence, to give more muscle to the war against corruption and for it to bear some fruit, proper attention should be given to confronting corruption within the private sector. Criminalisation is one of the pivotal tools in this regard. This paper explicates the regulation of private-to-private corruption under key international anti-corruption instruments which are relevant in the African context. It also discusses the criminalisation of private sector corruption by the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights.
ARBITRATION AND CORRUPTION: A TOOLKIT FOR ARBITRATORS
Authors: Betz Kathrin
Published: April 2023

In international commercial or investment arbitration proceedings, the appointed arbitral tribunal may suspect or one of the parties may allege that corruption, especially in the form of foreign public bribery, has influenced the underlying dispute between the parties. Over the past 25 years, the international and domestic legal frameworks to combat economic crime, including foreign public bribery, have become much stronger. Arbitrators therefore cannot ignore suspicions or allegations of corruption but, at the same time, they have limited means to address such suspicions or allegations, and they have to handle conflicting priorities. In short, they are in a dilemma. After introducing the wider context of international commercial and investment arbitration, this article outlines the arbitrators’ dilemma in more detail and presents a current effort to draft a so-called toolkit for arbitrators. The toolkit aims to help arbitrators address corruption issues in a comprehensive manner and to find solutions in accordance with the applicable laws.
CORRUPTION IN THE NEW PUBLIC PROCUREMENT REGIME IN NIGERIA
Authors: Ifejika Solomon I
Published: April 2023

Corruption in the public procurement system has been a major obstacle to Nigeria’s economic development and, as such, it has remained one of the prime concerns of successive governments, both military and civilian, since independence. Prior to the advent of the Fourth Republic, corruption was perceived to have been prevalent owing to weak and inadequate procurement law and obsolete and unprofessional procurement practice, prompting reforms in the sector following the restoration of democracy in 1999. However, despite the legal and institutional changes introduced by the reforms, corruption persists and permeates every facet of the nation’s new public procurement practice.
TRANSNATIONAL ECONOMIC CRIME: THE EXAMPLE OF “GOLD LAUNDERING”
Authors: Pieth Mark
Published: April 2023

Allow me first to thank the organisers of this conference for affording me the honour of giving this opening speech.The issues which the conference is addressing indeed are closely interlinked. Corruption almost always leads to money laundering. And, increasingly, new criminal methods are being developed, in particular the use blockchain technology.From the perspective of the black-letter lawyer, though, we have become used to treating the topics of corruption and money laundering separately, because we focus on concrete offences – and rightfully so.However, if you apply a social sciences approach or, even more so, if you look at the field of challenges from a development assistance perspective, a much broader picture emerges.
SECTION 9B OF THE PROTECTED DISCLOSURES AMENDMENT ACT 5 OF 2017: DISCOURAGING WHISTLEBLOWING IN SOUTH AFRICA?
Authors: Nortje Windell
Published: April 2023

The Protected Disclosures Act 26 of 2000 provides protection for individuals who blow the whistle on corrupt activities in South Africa. The Protected Disclosures Amendment Act 5 of 2017 widens the scope of the original Act. This article focuses on the provision in the amendment which criminalises the disclosure of false information by a potential whistleblower. It is argued that this provision may operate as a hurdle for those individuals contemplating divulging information related to corruption. Nevertheless, the amendment is an important one, since there have been cases where employees have provided false information concerning corrupt activities. However, at what cost will this amendment prevent future whistleblowers from disclosing valuable information necessary to detect and prosecute economic crimes? It is argued that the amendment could have an undesirable effect on the contribution of whistleblowing to the fight against corruption in South Africa. The amendment will be discussed against the backdrop of the important aims of the original Act and within the context of the prevention of corruption.
PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT OF EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES
Authors: Olaore Oladeji , Stapenhurst Rick
Published: April 2023

Africa has experienced a boom in extractive industries since the beginning of this century. Extractive companies often are exposed not just to government patronage, but also to requests to consider local third-party agents, vendors or applications for employment. But is corruption a necessary evil? While there is consensus that multi-faceted strategies are required to curb corruption, heretofore there has been little research on how legislative oversight can help reduce corruption in general and on legislative oversight of corruption in the extractive sector in particular.
ABUSING THE ACCUSED? UNPACKING THE USE OF ENTRAPMENT IN UGANDA’S FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION
Authors: Nanima Robert Doya
Published: April 2023

In Uganda, an accused person enjoys a right to a fair trial. It is a requirement that the circumstances surrounding the collection and admission of evidence do not violate this right. This article argues that the use of entrapment in cases of corruption may lead to an abuse of the fair trial rights of an accused. The lack of a legislative framework regulating entrapment, the institutional entrenchment of entrapment in the criminal justice system and the inadequate guidance from judgments substantiate this argument. This article recommends amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code Act with a view to preventing abuse of the accused by agents of the criminal justice system.
SPECIALISED ANTI-CORRUPTION COURTS: A MEANS OF PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE TRANSFORMATION IN AFRICA?
Authors: Maphosa Nkosana
Published: April 2023

Corruption is inimical to Africa’s quest for socio-economic transformation. Available empirical evidence highlights a sustained increase of corruption globally, with an equal emphasis on interdisciplinary interventions. There are also strong arguments for institutional specialisation in the judicature to buttress anti-corruption initiatives. As a result, specialised anti-corruption courts (SACCs) quickly are gaining traction in Africa, at the expense of conventional courts. This paper examines the rationale for SACCs and the variegated institutional SACC design choices by providing an overview of selected African countries. It highlights the position of these courts within the criminal justice system, their size and composition, their jurisdiction and, where relevant, synergies with other complementary institutions. In the main, SACCs provide much needed efficiency, integrity and expertise in the criminal justice system. The paper also examines challenges which SACCs encounter in Africa. Lastly, it provides a brief discussion of calls for an International Anti-Corruption Court.
The New Zimbabwean Government’s War on Corruption: A Lesson for Anti-Corruption and Transitional Justice Scholars and Practitioners?
Authors: Maguchu Prosper Simbarashe , Maja Innocent
Published: April 2023

There is ample academic writing and practical examples extending the principles of transitional justice to corruption. However, very little has been written on how a society’s existing anti-corruption mechanisms may be utilised in a manner compatible with the wider transitional justice processes. In Zimbabwe, the new government is taking a more rigorous approach towards anti-corruption than towards the protection of human rights, which is apparent in its pursuing corruption crimes but not crimes which violate physical integrity, such as torture, disappearances and killings. Using Zimbabwe as an example, this paper proposes ways in which transitional authorities could rely on anti-corruption mechanisms, yet go beyond them by addressing endemic corruption under the broader transitional justice mechanisms. This synchronisation will ensure that corruption is not addressed in a silo but as part of a wider redress of gross human rights violations. Such an articulation is all the more important given that societies perceived to be highly corrupt also tend to be those with poor human rights records. Moreover, the new government has acknowledged the endemic nature of corruption and has relied on the need to address it to justify the military intervention — a ground that resonated across society and appeared to legitimise the intervention. If, therefore, the new government’s anti-corruption campaign is to be trusted to end impunity with respect to physical abuses, it has to be consistent with, and grounded in, relevant domestic and international law.
THE NEED FOR STATUTORY PROTECTION FOR WHISTLEBLOWERS IN NIGERIA
Authors: Ifejika Solomon I
Published: April 2023

Whistleblowers are sentinels of society and of good governance. They are employees who risk their professions and even their lives in the interests of public safety and community well-being. Most countries, especially the developed societies, have formal legal mechanisms that seek to guarantee protection of whistleblowers and to encourage active participation by citizens in the government’s anti-corruption efforts through the disclosure corruption in both the public and private sectors. However, since independence in 1960, Nigeria has been fighting corruption without a comprehensive and dedicated statute that protects whistleblowers, which sets the country’s anti-corruption drive at odds with international best practices. It is against this backdrop that this paper interrogates Nigeria’s position regarding the enactment of whistleblower protection legislation under the current democratic dispensation.
THE VIABILITY OF LIFESTYLE AUDITS AS AN EMERGING ANTI- CORRUPTION TOOL IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: CONCEPTS, ESSENTIALS AND PROSPECTS
Authors: Sihanya Ben
Published: April 2023

Lifestyle audits are viable tools in the fight against corruption. Unfortunately, they have not been sufficiently developed or adopted despite their effectiveness in combatting corruption. For long, countries have deployed diverse anti-corruption strategies under various international, regional and national legal frameworks. Despite these efforts, corruption continues to permeate every sector of national economies, with debilitating effects on development goals and the well-being of populations. Most of the anti-corruption strategies adopted, focus on the integrity of the operational systems of public institutions on the one hand, and personal integrity of their public officials on the other.
THE PROLIFERATION OF CORRUPT ACTIVITIES IN PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEMS DURING THE GLOBAL COVID 19 PANDEMIC
Authors: Meini Bruno
Published: April 2023

The health-care sector should aim at maintaining and improving the quality of life and individual welfare of each patient, but this is difficult when corruption pervades one or more of the pillars of health-care services such as the structure, organisation, financing, and/or delivery systems. Health systems are particularly susceptible to corruption due to the very large amounts of monetary resources involved, information asymmetries, the large number and wide distribution of actors, system complexity and fragmentation, and the increasingly advanced international supply chain of medicines and medical equipment. Corruption weakens the effective functioning of health systems and usually contributes to their progressive deterioration.
THE ALEXANDRA TOWNSHIP DE DENSIFICATION PROJECT DURING THE COVID 19 CRISIS: CHALLENGES AND POTENTIAL LESSONS
Authors: Phakathi Mpumelelo
Published: April 2023

In response to the Covid-19 (hereafter referred to as ‘virus’) pandemic, the South Africa government established different measures to try to slow down the spread of the virus. One of the strategies was to focus on population density, specifically in informal settlements. The argument was that high population density in informal settlements could increase the risk of transmission of the virus. The Bloomberg CityLab reported in 2020 that urban density does play a role in the transmission of the virus.1 South Africa is no exception, as its major metropolitan areas have borne the brunt of Covid-19 infections, with Cape Town and Johannesburg classified as epicentres. However, there is debate amongst scholars and policy-makers as to whether de-densification is a good strategy, given the various ways in which urban life benefits from higher population densities, and whether density does or does not increase the spread of the virus.
CORRUPTION DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS RESPONSE IN UGANDA AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE RIGHT TO HEALTH
Authors: Mukiibi Paul
Published: April 2023

Uganda’s Covid-19 crisis response involved the mobilisation of resources from the international community and the private sector. The Ugandan parliament also appropriated a supplementary budget towards the response. To expedite the procurement of essential goods and supplies by government agencies, some public procurement procedures were not followed. As a result, tender prices were rigged, and the quality of products supplied was compromised. Fake vaccines were also sold to unsuspecting recipients. This article contends that acts of corruption did not only compromise health outcomes but also denied potential beneficiaries the right to health. This was despite existing anti-corruption laws and legal institutions. Some corruption-related suspects were arrested and prosecuted.
Veiled intent or advancing children’s right to education? The legality of payments for extra lessons in Zimbabwe’s education system
Authors: Sibanda Opal M
Published: April 2023

Extra lessons in Zimbabwe were initially designed by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to assist learners with lagging aspects of their formal school learning areas. However, in the past few years, extra lessons have taken a new dimension, including theintent to reinforce a learner’s knowledge and ability to understand lessons taught. Although payment for extra lessons in the formal education setting was declared illegal by the government, the practice continues to be a challenge in Zimbabwe as payments are stilldemanded for extra lessons conducted in and outside the school premises. The situation worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in some teachers taking advantage of the prolonged schools closure and conducting extra lessonsin their homes wherein parents and guardians had to pay a certain amount for their children to undertake these extra lessons. Extra lessons have become a mixture of entrepreneurship and exploitation, with many parents failing to afford and some children missing out.
From food to cash relief: How prepared are Uganda’s anti-corruption agencies to counter corruption in Covid-19 cash transfers?
Authors: Tiberindwa Zakaria
Published: April 2023

In July 2021, Uganda commenced the disbursement of telephonic cash transfers to the vulnerable urban poor, most adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, marking a policy shift from food relief to cash transfers to the vulnerable. Accountability hurdles had previously beset food relief interventions with allegations that the funds meant for food relief had been misappropriated. Some of these allegations led to the arrest of officials from the Office of the Prime Minister by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit. Whereas some of the previous studies have indicated cash transfers by telephone to be less prone to the fraud risks and challenges commonly associated with the bureaucracies of procurement, storage, transportation and distribution of in-kind items, there is also evidence that cash transfers may be susceptible to other risks such as political manipulation, ghost beneficiaries, and kickbacks from the local elites who may seek undue benefit from the cash transfer schemes.
Grappling with the scourge of money laundering during the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa
Authors: Wesso Coleta , Hamman Abraham
Published: April 2023

The deadly COVID-19 pandemic has unfortunately presented new opportunities for perpetrators to exploit. As such, hefty amounts of economic crimes such as money laundering and money laundering threats were committed from the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic, up to date of publication of this article. This criminal activity is highly likely to continue unless proficient solutions are efficiently activated and essentially carried out. This article sets out the ML and ML threat findings in South Africa as well as internationally during the pandemic, the South African anti-money laundering (AML) framework status quo, and what the way forward could be.
Angas-Sura etymologies XI
Authors: Takács Gábor
Published: April 2023

The paper as part of a long-running series is devoted to the etymological analysis of a new segment (namely that with initial dental *z-) of the Angas-Sura root stock, a small group of modern languages remotely and ultimately akin to pharaonic Egyptian and the well-known Semitic languages or Twareg in the Sahara etc. Doing so, I wish to continue the noble tradition initiated by J.H. Greenberg (1958), the founding father of modern Afro-Asiatic comparative linguistics (along with I.M. Diakonoff), who was the first scholar ever to have established by Neo-Grammarian the methods regular consonantal correspondences between Angas-Sura and ancient Egyptian in his pioneering (painfully isolated) paper on the ancient trichotomy of the word-initial labials in both branches. Nowadays our chances in following this path are substantially more favourable being equipped with our gigantic comparative root catalogue system of the Egyptian etymologies ever published (ongoing since 1994) and of the Afro-Asiatic parental lexical stock (ongoing since 1999).
veRification: an R Shiny application for laboratory method verification and validation
Authors: Wilkes Edmund H.
Published: April 2023

Objectives

According to international standards, clinical laboratories are required to verify the performance of assays prior to their implementation in routine practice. This typically involves the assessment of the assay’s imprecision and trueness vs. appropriate targets. The analysis of these data is typically performed using frequentist statistical methods and often requires the use of closed source, proprietary software. The motivation for this paper was therefore to develop an open-source, freely available software capable of performing Bayesian analysis of verification data.

Methods

The veRification application presented here was developed with the freely available R statistical computing environment, using the Shiny application framework. The codebase is fully open-source and is available as an R package on GitHub.

Results

The developed application allows the user to analyze imprecision, trueness against external quality assurance, trueness against reference material, method comparison, and diagnostic performance data within a fully Bayesian framework (with frequentist methods also being available for some analyses).

Conclusions

Bayesian methods can have a steep learning curve and thus the work presented here aims to make Bayesian analyses of clinical laboratory data more accessible. Moreover, the development of the application and seeks to encourage the dissemination of open-source software within the community and provides a framework through which Shiny applications can be developed, shared, and iterated upon.
Application of machine learning in material corrosion research
Authors: Ma Shuaijie , Du Yanxia , Wang Shasha , Su Yanjing
Published: April 2023

The application of machine learning (ML) to corrosion research has become an important trend in corrosion science in recent years. In this paper, the feature extraction method for corrosion data and the ML algorithms commonly used (including artificial neural networks, support vector machines, ensemble learning and other widely used algorithms) in corrosion field is introduced. Then, the characteristics of different algorithms and their application scenarios in the corrosion prediction are summarized. Finally, the development trend of ML in material corrosion field is prospected.
Asymmetric transmission in nanophotonics
Authors: Sheikh Ansari Abbas , Iyer Ashwin K. , Gholipour Behrad
Published: April 2023

In a reciprocal medium, transmission of electromagnetic (EM) waves is symmetric along opposite directions which restrict design and implementation of various systems in optics and photonics. Asymmetric transmission (AT) is essential for designing isolators and circulators in optics and photonics, and it benefits other applications such as photovoltaic systems, lasers, cloaking, and EM shielding. While bulky nonreciprocal devices based on magnetic field biases have been well known, creating AT in subwavelength structures is more challenging, and structures with a subwavelength thickness that show AT have drawn a lot of attention over the last decade. Various approaches have been reported to create metasurfaces featuring nonreciprocal transmission, such as plasmonic and dielectric metasurfaces that enhance Faraday rotation, nonlinear metasurfaces with intensity-dependent refractive indices, and implementing spatiotemporal modulation in a metasurface. On the other hand, AT has also been reported in reciprocal structures by creating multiple paths for the transmission of EM waves by changing the polarization of light or redirecting light to higher-order diffraction orders. Here, we present a review of various approaches implemented for realizing AT in subwavelength structures in both reciprocal and nonreciprocal systems. We also discuss the main design principles and limitations of AT achieved in various approaches.
Investigating the Early-to-Late Mesolithic Transition in Northeastern Italy: A Multifaceted Regional Perspective
Authors: Fontana Federica , Visentin Davide , Bertola Stefano , Cristiani Emanuela , Dipino Noemi , Flor Elisabetta , Fontana Alex
Published: April 2023

This article focuses on the Mesolithic record of northeastern Italy, one of the key European regions for studying the last prehistoric hunter-gatherer groups. Most specifically, it aims to compare the rich Early and Late Mesolithic evidence, trying to shed some light on the shift between these two periods. Such a topic is approached at a regional scale, that is to say, by comparing the overall record and trying to identify similarities and divergences concerning different aspects of past lifeways such as settlement strategies, technology, exploitation of faunal resources, ornamental traditions and burial rituals. Overall, by providing an updated regional synthesis, the presented data highlight aspects of continuity and discontinuity between these two periods and contribute significantly to the debate concerning the modalities in which this transition took place in Southern Europe.
Pit-houses of the Stone Age Belarus in the 4th millennium BC
Authors: Khrustaleva Irina , Yazepenka Ihar , Tkachova Maryia , Kalechits Elena , Kolosov Alexander , Kryvaltsevich Mikola , Kriiska Aivar
Published: April 2023

Fifty-eight Stone Age buildings discovered at 31 settlement sites are currently known in Belarus. Our attention is focused on 21 pit-houses, which are presumably dated to the 4th millennium BC and were found at 13 sites in southern Belarus. They are mainly related to the Eastern Polessye and Upper-Dnieper cultures of the Dnieper-Donets cultural complex, as well as to the Neman culture. Analysis of the shapes, sizes and constructive features of these pit-houses revealed both similarities (size up to 11 m2, depth ca. 0.3–0.5 m and the presence of rounded fireplaces without stones) and differences (rectangular or oval shapes for the Eastern Polessye culture and rounded for the Upper-Dnieper culture). Analogues of the Belarusian building remains exist on the territories of Ukraine and Lithuania. The distribution of these pit-houses indicates an architectural tradition that differs significantly from the second geographically well-defined pit-house area from the 4th millennium BC, which is located in Finland, north-western Russia and the northern coast of Estonia.
Benzo (a) pyrene in infant foods: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and health risk assessment
Authors: Sadighara Parisa , Abedini Amir Hossein , Mahvi Amir Hossein , Esrafili Ali , Mohammadi Ali Akbar , Tarahomi Arian , Yousefi Mahmood
Published: April 2023

Exposure of infants to chemicals during their development will have major effects on their health. One of the major exposures of infants to chemicals is through their food. The main structure of infant food is milk, which is high in fat. There is a possibility of accumulation of environmental pollution, including benzo (a) pyrene (BaP). In this systematic review, the amount of BaP in infant milk was surveyed for this purpose. The chosen keywords were: benzo (a) pyrene, BaP, Infant formula, dried milk, powdered milk, and baby food. A total of 46 manuscripts were found in the scientific database. After initial screening and quality assessment, 12 articles were selected for extraction of data. By meta-analysis, the total estimate of BaP in baby food was calculated to be 0.078 ± 0.006 μg/kg. Estimation of daily intake (EDI) and Hazard Quotient (HQ) for noncarcinogenic risk and Margin of exposure (MOE) for carcinogenic risk were also calculated for three age groups 0–6 months, 6–12 months, and 1–3 years. HQ was lower than 1 and MOE was more than 10,000 for three age groups. Therefore, there is no potential carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk for infant health.
Zur Abfolge im Mittelfeld des Deutschen. Eine methodische Etüde
Authors: Sternefeld Wolfgang
Published: April 2023

This article reviews foundational research on the problem of unmarked word order in German. Focussing on the two most influential seminal papers by Lenerz (1977) and Höhle (1982), I argue that their attempts to determine unmarked, normal word order (either by definition or by explication) is flawed by the fact that both authors presuppose a certain empirical data base without offering a complete grammatical analysis of the data in question. I contend that a more comprehensive, linguistically satisfying analysis of these data will in turn presuppose apre-givennotion of unmarked, normal word order, thus making for a circular definition or explication.

As is well-known, normal word order interacts with factors like point of view, thematic roles, animacy, and others. I will argue that influential suggestions for designing a precise theory of these interactions are unsuccessful on both methodological and empirical grounds. I suggest that the traditional modular analysis based on cumulation and treshold values is still the best model we have at present; however, a large and hitherto unresolved issue is the vast variety of contradicting acceptability judgments found in the literature. A careful analysis of these meta-data should enable us to determine paradigmatic core cases while, at the same time, leave room for deviations in various directions, and even for individual ad hoc preferences at the periphery.