bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Quantification of MR spectra by deep learning in an idealized setting: Investigation of forms of input, network architectures, optimization by ensembles of networks, and training bias
Authors: Rizzo Rudy , Dziadosz Martyna , Kyathanahally Sreenath P. , Shamaei Amirmohammad , Kreis Roland
Published: December 2022

Purpose

The aims of this work are (1) to explore deep learning (DL) architectures, spectroscopic input types, and learning designs toward optimal quantification in MR spectroscopy of simulated pathological spectra; and (2) to demonstrate accuracy and precision of DL predictions in view of inherent bias toward the training distribution.

Methods

Simulated 1D spectra and 2D spectrograms that mimic an extensive range of pathological in vivo conditions are used to train and test 24 different DL architectures. Active learning through altered training and testing data distributions is probed to optimize quantification performance. Ensembles of networks are explored to improve DL robustness and reduce the variance of estimates. A set of scores compares performances of DL predictions and traditional model fitting (MF).

Results

Ensembles of heterogeneous networks that combine 1D frequency‐domain and 2D time‐frequency domain spectrograms as input perform best. Dataset augmentation with active learning can improve performance, but gains are limited. MF is more accurate, although DL appears to be more precise at low SNR. However, this overall improved precision originates from a strong bias for cases with high uncertainty toward the dataset the network has been trained with, tending toward its average value.

Conclusion

MF mostly performs better compared to the faster DL approach. Potential intrinsic biases on training sets are dangerous in a clinical context that requires the algorithm to be unbiased to outliers (i.e., pathological data). Active learning and ensemble of networks are good strategies to improve prediction performances. However, data quality (sufficient SNR) has proven as a bottleneck for adequate unbiased performance—like in the case of MF.
Incidence and causes of overdiagnosis of myasthenia gravis
Authors: Andrapalliyal Nirmal , Claytor Benjamin , Li Yuebing
Published: December 2022

Introduction/Aims

We have encountered non‐myasthenic patients being given a diagnosis of myasthenia gravis (MG). This study aims to investigate the frequency of, and factors contributing to, overdiagnosis of MG.

Methods

This is a retrospective analysis of patients referred to our tertiary neuromuscular center for evaluation due to a previously suspected/confirmed MG diagnosis during a 6‐year span.

Results

A total of 531 patients sought a second opinion regarding their MG diagnosis, and 77 (14.5%) were found to have non‐myasthenic conditions. A total of 11 patients tested positive for acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibodies. Repeated AChR antibodies became negative in five patients while in four patients, AChR binding antibody titers were persistently low. In seven patients, striational antibody was the only positive antibody identified. In 25 patients, a prior electrodiagnostic (EDX) study was deemed positive, including 14 patients with abnormal repetitive nerve stimulation (RNS) and 12 with abnormal single fiber electromyography (SFEMG). Technical issues were noted on prior RNS studies in 8 patients, and repeat RNS was negative in 10 patients. In eight patients with previously abnormal SFEMG, results showed minimal or equivocal abnormalities. In two patients, a repeat SFEMG was normal. Further analysis revealed atypical clinical presentation, deceptively positive ice pack test, clinically insignificant antibody result and misleading EDX finding as main contributors to MG overdiagnosis.

Discussion

Overdiagnosis of MG is not uncommon, and occurs more frequently in seronegative patients. To make an accurate diagnosis of MG, there is a need to recognize atypical presentations, and avoid overreliance on minor or non‐specific serological and electrodiagnostic findings.
Multi‐view side information‐incorporated tensor completion
Authors: Tian Yingjie , Yu Xiaotong , Fu Saiji
Published: December 2022

Tensor completion originates in numerous applications where data utilized are of high dimensions and gathered from multiple sources or views. Existing methods merely incorporate the structure information, ignoring the fact that ubiquitous side information may be beneficial to estimate the missing entries from a partially observed tensor. Inspired by this, we formulate a sparse and low‐rank tensor completion model named SLRMV. The ‐norm instead of its relaxation is used in the objective function to constrain the sparseness of noise. The CP decomposition is used to decompose the high‐quality tensor, based on which the combination of Schatten ‐norm on each latent factor matrix is employed to characterize the low‐rank tensor structure with high computation efficiency. Diverse similarity matrices for the same factor matrix are regarded as multi‐view side information for guiding the tensor completion task. Although SLRMV is a nonconvex and discontinuous problem, the optimality analysis in terms of Karush‐Kuhn‐Tucker (KKT) conditions is accordingly proposed, based on which a hard‐thresholding based alternating direction method of multipliers (HT‐ADMM) is designed. Extensive experiments remarkably demonstrate the efficiency of SLRMV in tensor completion.
Areas of Outstanding Nineteenth Century Beauty: Historic landscape characterisation analysis of protected areas in England
Authors: Stratigos Michael J. , Ward Caroline , Hatfield Jack H. , Finch Jonathan
Published: December 2022

Establishing and expanding protected areas (PAs) has become a key conservation tool in efforts to halt global declines in biodiversity. Given the ubiquity of past and present human influence, PAs inevitably include landscapes and seascapes with varying levels of human modification.

We briefly review the geographical biases in England's terrestrial PA network, noting that landscape‐scale PAs (National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) across England disproportionately occupy rugged upland terrain of low agricultural value as a result of the specific history of PA creation, but that this also biases which historic landscapes compose PAs.

We explore these biases using Historic Landscape Characterisation (HLC). Analysis of HLC revealed that PAs in our focal region in northern England are defined by land‐use changes and landscape reorganisation processes of the 18th and 19th centuries, primarily that of enclosure. The impact this landscape transformation had on biodiversity should now form a priority for further research.

This historic landscape influence on PA designation has resulted in PAs being typically owned by large estates with consequences for their biodiversity, management and wider social impact (e.g. greater wealth inequalities).

The results highlight that historic landscape perspectives are useful to address conservation priorities and practices related to the protection of biodiversity and could be especially helpful in understanding the interaction between biodiversity protection and historic land‐uses, ownership, management, access and other social impacts.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Highly interconnected porous monolithic and beaded polymers using high internal phase emulsion polymerization: tuning porous architecture through synthesis variables
Authors: Ponrathnam Timothy , Behere Isha , Ponrathnam Surendra , Ingavle Ganesh
Published: December 2022

Open porous polymeric materials have gained popularity due to their exceptional properties and applications in tissue engineering scaffolds, drug delivery, enzyme immobilization and catalysis support. This study developed a novel two‐stage approach to create networked, crosslinked poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate‐co‐N,N′‐methylenebisacrylamide) HEMA‐MBA beads. The first part involves producing an oil‐in‐water‐in‐oil high internal phase emulsion (HIPE). This is followed by suspension polymerization using a redox initiator pair. In this study, a mixed surfactant combination with low and high hydrophilicity–lipophilicity balance surfactants was identified and successfully utilized to prepare a stable oil‐in‐water‐in‐oil HIPE. The effect of crosslinker concentration (i.e. crosslink density), surfactant concentration and monomer‐to‐porogen ratio on pore architecture and surface area were successfully evaluated. In addition, a new protocol was developed to synthesize HEMA‐MBA monoliths using an oil‐in‐water HIPE method at ambient temperature using a redox initiator pair. The effect of crosslink density and oil phase on pore architecture and surface area was evaluated. Key variables affecting the morphology of porous HEMA‐MBA beads and monoliths were identified and quantified, allowing future development of porous HEMA‐based polymer beads and monoliths with tunable morphologies which are suitable for numerous applications, especially in the biomedical field. © 2022 Society of Industrial Chemistry.
Modeling protein–nucleic acid complexes with extremely large conformational changes using Flex‐LZerD
Authors: Christoffer Charles , Kihara Daisuke
Published: December 2022

Proteins and nucleic acids are key components in many processes in living cells, and interactions between proteins and nucleic acids are often crucial pathway components. In many cases, large flexibility of proteins as they interact with nucleic acids is key to their function. To understand the mechanisms of these processes, it is necessary to consider the 3D atomic structures of such protein–nucleic acid complexes. When such structures are not yet experimentally determined, protein docking can be used to computationally generate useful structure models. However, such docking has long had the limitation that the consideration of flexibility is usually limited to small movements or to small structures. We previously developed a method of flexible protein docking which could model ordered proteins which undergo large‐scale conformational changes, which we also showed was compatible with nucleic acids. Here, we elaborate on the ability of that pipeline, Flex‐LZerD, to model specifically interactions between proteins and nucleic acids, and demonstrate that Flex‐LZerD can model more interactions and types of conformational change than previously shown.
Effect of evolution of the C‐terminal region on chaperone activity of Hsp70
Authors: Zhang Hong , Hu Huimin , Wu Si , Perrett Sarah
Published: December 2022

Dynamic interdomain interactions within the Hsp70 protein is the basis for the allosteric and functional properties of Hsp70s. While Hsp70s are generally conserved in terms of structure, allosteric behavior, and some overlapping functions, Hsp70s also contain variable sequence regions which are related to distinct functions. In the Hsp70 sequence, the part with the greatest sequence variation is the C‐terminal α‐helical lid subdomain of substrate‐binding domain (SBDα) together with the intrinsically disordered region. Dynamic interactions between the SBDα and β‐sandwich substrate‐binding subdomain (SBDβ) contribute to the chaperone functions of Hsp70s by tuning kinetics of substrate binding. To investigate how the C‐terminal region of Hsp70 has evolved from prokaryotic to eukaryotic organisms, we tested whether this region can be exchanged among different Hsp70 members to support basic chaperone functions. We found that this region from eukaryotic Hsp70 members cannot substitute for the same region in Escherichia coli DnaK to facilitate normal chaperone activity of DnaK. In contrast, this region from E. coli DnaK and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Hsp70 (Ssa1 and Ssa4) can partially support some roles of human stress inducible Hsp70 (hHsp70) and human cognate Hsp70 (hHsc70). Our results indicate that the C‐terminal region from eukaryotic Hsp70 members cannot properly support SBDα–SBDβ interactions in DnaK, but this region from DnaK/Ssa1/Ssa4 can still form some SBDα–SBDβ interactions in hHsp70 or hHsc70, which suggests that the mode for SBDα–SBDβ interactions is different in prokaryotic and eukaryotic Hsp70 members. This study provides new insight in the divergency among different Hsp70 homologs and the evolution of Hsp70s.
Effects of insulin‐like peptide 7 in Bemisia tabaciMED on tomato chlorosis virus transmission
Authors: Xu HuiNan , Zhang ZhanHong , Zhang Zhuo , Peng Jing , Gao Yang , Li KaiLong , Chen Jianbin , Du Jiao , Yan Shuo , Zhang DeYong , Zhou XuGuo , Shi XiaoBin , Liu Yong
Published: December 2022

BACKGROUND

Tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV) is a semi‐persistent plant virus that is primarily transmitted by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). It causes a serious disease that lowers tomato yield. Insulin‐like peptide (ILP), an insulin homolog, regulates trehalose metabolism in a variety of insects. In a previous study, we discovered that trehalose metabolism is required for whiteflies to transmit ToCV effectively. Furthermore, transcriptome sequencing revealed that the BtILP7 gene was highly expressed in B. tabaci infected with ToCV. Therefore, the whitefly ILP7 gene may facilitate the transmission of ToCV and be an attractive target for the control of whiteflies and subsequently ToCV.

RESULTS

The ToCV content in B. tabaci MED was found to be correlated with BtILP7 gene expression. Subsequent RNA interference (RNAi) of the BtILP7 gene had a significant impact on B. tabaci MED's trehalose metabolism and reproductive capacity, as well as ability to transmit ToCV.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that the BtILP7 gene was closely related to ToCV transmission by regulating trehalose metabolism and reproduction behavior, thus providing a secure and environmentally friendly management strategy for the control of whiteflies and ToCV‐caused disease. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.
Field evaluation of glutathione and glutamic acid as host marking pheromones for control of Tephritid fruit flies in a mango orchard in Kenya
Authors: Cheseto Xavier , Kirwa Hillary , Mohamed Samira Abuelgasim , Ekesi Sunday , Beck John J , Torto Baldwyn
Published: December 2022

BACKGROUND

Tephritid fruit flies are a major constraint to the global production of horticultural crops. In Africa, an array of native and alien invasive fruit fly species represents a key challenge to the horticultural industry. In an effort to develop a safer management tool for these pests, we previously identified glutathione (GSH) and glutamic acid (GA), as the host marking pheromones (HMPs) of Ceratitis cosyra and Ceratitis rosa, respectively. Here, we report on the effectiveness of these compounds (GSH and GA) in reducing natural fruit fly population infestations in mango orchards. Mango trees at two different agroecological zones in Kenya were sprayed with HMPs, and the fruits sampled periodically and assessed for fruit fly emergence. Fruit fly emergence data were compared to two controls, the positive control using spot spraying of food bait (SS), and the negative control using water (W).

RESULTS

The two HMPs and SS substantially decreased fruit fly emergence from the sampled mangoes. GSH and GA treated mangoes showed reduced C. cosyra and C. rosa infestation by ~70–75% relative to control (W), and with variation noted in the pheromone applied and the recovered fruit fly species. The adult emergence in pheromone‐treated plants compared favorably with the positive control SS. However, the HMPs had little impact on reducing Bactrocera dorsalis infestation of mangoes.

CONCLUSION

The decrease in fruit fly emergence in sampled mango fruits from HMP treated trees corroborate previous laboratory results and support the prospect of using HMPs in the management of African fruit fly species. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.
Pressure‐based beat‐to‐beat right ventricular ejection fraction and Tau from continuous measured ventricular pressures in COVID‐19 ARDS patients
Authors: Gaertner Matthias , Glocker Raymond , Glocker Felix , Hopf Hans‐Bernd
Published: December 2022

We evaluated pressure‐based right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) and diastolic isovolumetric relaxation time constant (Tau) from continuously (up to 30 days) invasive measured right ventricular pressures in mechanically ventilated patients with severe COVID‐19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We retrospectively calculated beat‐to‐beat ejection fraction from right ventricular pressures and dp/dt maximum and minimum in 39 patients treated between October 1st, 2020 and June 30th, 2021. After performing a stepwise logistic regression with survival as a dependent variable, we divided the patients into survivors and nonsurvivors based on their 60‐day mortality. Independent outcome variables were the values of RVEF and Tau over time after insertion of the right ventricular probe along with right ventricular systolic and diastolic pressures (RVSP) and the estimated pulmonary artery diastolic pressure (ePAD). RVEF increased significantly over time in the survivors (estimate: 0.354; 95% confidence interval, CI: 0.18–0.53; p < 0.001) but remained unchanged in the nonsurvivors. Tau increased significantly in the nonsurvivors (estimate: 0.001; 95% CI: 0.0004–0.0018; p < 0.002) but not in the survivors. On the last measurement day, RVSP and ePAD were significantly lower while RVEF was significantly higher in the survivors compared to the nonsurvivors. In COVID‐19 ARDS patient's, calculation of beat‐to‐beat RVEF and Tau from continuously invasive measured right ventricular pressures seems to unravel contrary trends in RVEF with an increase in the surviving and a decrease in the nonsurviving patients. Tau remained unchanged in the surviving but increased in the nonsurviving patients over time.
Comparison of intravenous sildenafil with inhaled nitric oxide for acute vasodilator testing in pulmonary arterial hypertension
Authors: Kumar Shine , Memon Danish , Raj Manu , Sen Amitabh C. , Jayasankar Jessin P. , Leeladharan Sreelakshmi P. , Sudhakar Abish , Kumar Raman K.
Published: December 2022

Acute vasodilator testing (AVT) identifies acute responders for initiation of calcium channel blockers in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and operability in congenital heart disease (CHD). We sought to determine the feasibility of intravenous sildenafil (ivS) as an alternative to inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) in AVT. All patients with PAH undergoing cardiac catheterization for AVT (November 2015 to December 2020) were prospectively enrolled. Hemodynamic data were obtained at baseline, with iNO 20 ppm and ivS (0.25 mg/kg for children and 10 mg for adults). We studied 44 patients with a mean age of 20.5 ± 14.4 years (27 [61%] females and 20 [45%] children). There were 17 (38.6%) patients in the CHD group for operability assessment and 27 patients in non‐CHD group (idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension—16 [36.3%], residual PAH after shunt closure—7 [15.9%], and 2 cases [4.5%] each of familial PAH and portopulmonary hypertension). There was an excellent intraclass correlation for mean pulmonary artery pressures (0.903, 95% confidence interval, CI: 0.809–0.949, p < 0.001), mean aortic pressures (0.745, 95% CI: 0.552–0.858, p < 0.001), pulmonary vascular resistance index (0.920, 95% CI: 0.858–0.956, p < 0.001), systemic vascular resistance (SVR) index (0.828, 95% CI: 0.706–0.902, p < 0.001), and the ratio of pulmonary and SVR indices (0.857, 95% CI: 0.752–0.919, p < 0.001) between the two agents. There were two responders, both in non‐CHD group, and were identified by iNO and ivS. The hemodynamic effects of ivS show excellent correlation with iNO and could be a potential alternative agent for identifying acute responders during AVT.
Can lightning indicate genesis frequency of tropical cyclones over the South China Sea?
Authors: Xu Liangtao , Cao Xi , Wu Renguang , Dai Yifeng , Wang Zhibiao , Lan Xiaoqing , Zhang Wenjuan , Wang Yuanhao
Published: December 2022

The present study identifies a significant negative correlation of the South China Sea (SCS) summer–fall (JJASON) tropical cyclone (TC) genesis with the previous boreal spring (MAM) total lightning flash rate east of the Philippines during 1996–2013. The increased lightning flash rate east of the Philippines signifies an enhancement in deep convection, which induces cyclonic wind anomalies to the west via a Gill‐type atmospheric response and results in an increase in convection and cloud cover over the SCS during spring. The atmospheric changes lead to a decrease in sea surface temperature (SST) and ocean heat content (OHC) in the SCS by reducing downward short‐wave radiation and enhancing oceanic upwelling. The negative SST and OHC anomalies persist from spring to summer–fall and induce unfavourable thermodynamic anomalies, suppressing the SCS TC genesis during JJASON. Thus, the spring total lightning flash rate east of the Philippines, as an indicator of deep convection, may serve as a precursor of the SCS TC genesis.
Topological map‐based approach for localization and mapping memory optimization
Authors: Aguiar André S. , Santos Filipe N. dos , Santos Luis C. , Sousa Armando J. , Boaventura‐Cunha José
Published: December 2022

Robotics in agriculture faces several challenges, such as the unstructured characteristics of the environments, variability of luminosity conditions for perception systems, and vast field extensions. To implement autonomous navigation systems in these conditions, robots should be able to operate during large periods and travel long trajectories. For this reason, it is essential that simultaneous localization and mapping algorithms can perform in large‐scale and long‐term operating conditions. One of the main challenges for these methods is maintaining low memory resources while mapping extensive environments. This work tackles this issue, proposing a localization and mapping approach called VineSLAM that uses a topological mapping architecture to manage the memory resources required by the algorithm. This topological map is a graph‐based structure where each node is agnostic to the type of data stored, enabling the creation of a multilayer mapping procedure. Also, a localization algorithm is implemented, which interacts with the topological map to perform access and search operations. Results show that our approach is aligned with the state‐of‐the‐art regarding localization precision, being able to compute the robot pose in long and challenging trajectories in agriculture. In addition, we prove that the topological approach innovates the state‐of‐the‐art memory management. The proposed algorithm requires less memory than the other benchmarked algorithms, and can maintain a constant memory allocation during the entire operation. This consists of a significant innovation, since our approach opens the possibility for the deployment of complex 3D SLAM algorithms in real‐world applications without scale restrictions.
Toward sustainable development: Connecting systems thinking competency and carbon footprint knowledge
Authors: Ratinen Ilkka , Linnanen Lassi , Claudelin Anna , Halonen Vilma
Published: December 2022

Previous research on field of sustainable development has shown that individuals' systems thinking competency promotes and predicts their sustainability competency and pro‐environmental behavior well. Systems thinking competency also enables us to focus more on large‐scale climate change mitigation actions. Previous surveys indicated that Finns have changed their behavior for mitigating climate change, but this has been not reflected in decreased consumption‐based calculated carbon footprints because large‐scale mitigation measures have not materialized. The present study assessed Finns' systems thinking competency (n = 2006) and knowledge of how to reduce their household carbon footprint. The survey data collected were analyzed using explorative factor analysis, hierarchical regression analysis, t‐test, and analysis of variance. The results indicate that Finns view their own systems thinking competency related to climate change as not very high, and heir assessments vary widely. Moreover, their knowledge of how to reduce their household carbon footprint is somewhat low and is geared toward small‐scale mitigation actions. The results can be used to inform environmental policy and sustainability education priorities.
Defect‐Induced Atomic Arrangement in CoFe Bimetallic Heterostructures with Boosted Oxygen Evolution Activity
Authors: Zheng Lingxia , Ye Weiqing , Zhao Yijian , Lv Zhuoqing , Shi Xiaowei , Wu Qi , Fang Xiaosheng , Zheng Huajun
Published: December 2022

Three CoFe‐bimetallic oxides with different compositions (termed as CoFeOx‐A/N/H) are prepared by thermally treating metal‐organic‐framework (MOF) precursors under different atmospheres (air, N2, and NaBH4/N2), respectively. With the aid of vast oxygen vacancies (Ov), cobalt at tetrahedral sites (Co2+(Th)) in spinel Co3O4 is diffused into interstitial octahedral sites (Oh) to form rocksalt CoO and ternary oxide CoFe2O4 has been induced to give the unique defective CoO/CoFe2O4 heterostructure. The resultant CoFeOx‐H exhibits superb electrocatalytic activity toward water oxidation: overpotential at 10 mA cm−2 is 192 mV, which is 122 mV smaller than that of CoFeOx‐A. The smaller Tafel slope (42.53 mV dec−1) and higher turnover frequency (785.5 h−1) suggest fast reaction kinetics. X‐ray absorption spectroscopy, ex situ characterizations, and theoretical calculations reveal that defect engineering effectively tunes the electronic configuration to a more active state, resulting in the greatly decreased binding energy of oxo intermediates, and consequently much lower catalytic overpotential. Moreover, the construction of hetero‐interface in CoFeOx‐H can provide rich active sites and promote efficient electron transfer. This work may shed light on a comprehensive understanding of the modulation of electron configuration of bimetallic oxides and inspire the smart design of high‐performance electrocatalysts.
Processing and Properties of Garnet‐Type Li7La3Zr2O12 Ceramic Electrolytes
Authors: Chen Chao , Wang Kexin , He Hongying , Hanc Emil , Kotobuki Masashi , Lu Li
Published: December 2022

Garnet‐type solid electrolyte Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) is widely considered as one of the most promising candidates for solid state batteries (SSBs) owing to its high ionic conductivity and good electrochemical stability. Since its discovery in 2007, great progress has been made in terms of crystal chemistry, chemical and electrochemical properties, and battery application. Nonetheless, reliable and controllable preparation of LLZO ceramics with desirable properties still remains as big challenges. Herein, this review summarizes various synthetic routes of LLZO ceramics and examines the influence of various key processing parameters on the chemical and electrochemical properties. Focusing on correlation of processing parameters and properties, this review aims to provide new insights on a reliable and controllable production of high‐quality LLZO ceramic electrolytes for SSB application.
Stepwise Crystallization of Millimeter Scale Thorium Cluster Single Crystals as a Bifunctional Platform for X‐ray Detection and Shielding
Authors: Zheng Zhaofa , Lu Huangjie , Hou Huiliang , Bai Yaoyao , Qiu Jie , Guo Xiaofeng , Wang Jian‐Qiang , Lin Jian
Published: December 2022

Monitoring and shielding of X‐ray radiation are of paramount importance across diverse fields. However, they are frequently realized in separate protocols and a single material integrating both functions remained elusive. Herein, a hexanuclear cluster [Th6(µ3‐OH)4(µ3‐O)4(H2O)6](pba)6(HCOO)6 (Th‐pba‐0D) incorporating high‐Z thorium cations and 3‐(pyridin‐4‐yl)benzoate ligands that can function as a brand‐new dual‐module platform for visible detection and efficient shielding of ionizing radiation is demonstrated. Th‐pba‐0D exhibits rather unique reversible radiochromism upon alternating X‐ray and UV irradiation. Moreover, the millimeter scale crystal size of Th‐pba‐0D renders the penetration depth of X‐ray visible to naked eye and leads to the unearthing of its high X‐ray attenuation efficiency. Indeed, the shielding efficacy of Th‐pba‐0D is comparable to that of lead glass containing 40% PbO, and a Th‐pba‐0D pellet with a thickness of merely 1.2 mm can shield 99.73% X‐ray (16 keV). These studies portend the possible utilization of thorium‐bearing materials as a bifunctional platform for radiation detection and shielding.
Introduction
Authors: Szulecki Kacper , Erdal Marta Bivand , Stanley Ben
Published: December 2022

The chapter introduces the phenomenon of external voting, defined as exercising voting rights by citizens who are temporarily or permanently residing outside their country of origin. We delimit this form of electoral participation from similar forms of transnational politics and discuss the history and diffusion of expatriate enfranchisement, now covering a majority of countries in the world. We then go through the different features of external voting—where is it present, what sorts of elections are covered, what are the modes of organizing elections, how are ballots counted in different political systems, and what the criteria of eligibility might be. Finally, we review the extant literature on external voting, originating in comparative politics and in migration studies, and highlight some gaps that this book seeks to fill.
Emigration and Transnational Political Practices in Central and Eastern Europe After EU Enlargement 2004–2007
Authors: Szulecki Kacper , Erdal Marta Bivand , Stanley Ben
Published: December 2022

As the European Union expanded eastward in 2004 and 2007 to cover the formerly communist states of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), this triggered a wave of migration which saw millions of people moving to Western and Northern European countries. What impact did that migration have on the politics of CEE countries, and what might be the relationship between outward migration and the apparent democracy backsliding occurring in some parts of the region? This is the main puzzle of this book, which looks at the way external voting results can be used to assess migrant political preferences and their change over time, as well as their potential influence on domestic politics in sending countries. This chapter sketches the political context of CEE and introduces the data gathering procedure and methodology of the project on which the book draws.
Double-real-virtual and double-virtual-real corrections to the three-loop thrust soft function
Authors: Chen Wen , Feng Feng , Jia Yu , Liu Xiaohui
Published: December 2022

Abstract

We compute the $$ \mathcal{O} $$
O
($$ {\alpha}_s^3 $$

α
s
3

) double-real-virtual (RRV) and double-virtual-real (VVR) soft contributions to the thrust/zero-jettiness event shape. The result clears up one of the most stubborn obstacles toward the complete $$ \mathcal{O} $$
O
($$ {\alpha}_s^3 $$

α
s
3

) thrust soft function. The results presented here serve the key input to realize the next-to-next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic prime (N3LL’) resummation of the thrust event shape. The obtained results also constitutes the important ingredients of the N -jettiness-subtraction scheme at next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N3LO).
Cost minimizing planning of container inspection and repair in multiple facilities
Authors: Kovalyov Mikhail Y. , Lukashevich Mikhail N. , Pesch Erwin
Published: December 2022

A problem of optimal mid-term or long-term planning of inspection and repair of freight containers in multiple facilities is introduced and investigated. The containers are of different types and quality levels, which define their repair costs and workforce requirements. The objective function includes the total holding, inspection, repair, transportation and rejection costs. We propose a deterministic, time-dependent, integer linear min-cost multi-commodity network-flow formulation. The problem is shown to be polynomially solvable if there is a single facility, a single time period and all the containers are repairable and have to be repaired. It is shown to be NP-hard for three important special cases. The computational results of our experiments on randomly generated instances based on real data show that instances of sizes 3 facilities, 4 container types and up to 9 container quality levels can be solved with CPLEX in 5 minutes on a conventional PC, even for 30 periods, with an optimality gap of less than 3%. This is sufficient for medium-term or weekly planning or for short-term recovery planning. However, there are instances of the same magnitude, but with 360 periods of a considerably longer planning horizon, for which an optimality gap of 28% remained even after 10 hours of CPLEX computation.
Therapieansprechen und Komplikationen von älteren Patienten mit ANCA(antineutrophile cytoplasmatische Antikörper)-assoziierten Vaskulitiden
Authors: Schulte-Kemna Lena , Kühne David , Bettac Lukas , Herrmann Hannes , Ludwig Ulla , Kächele Martin , Schröppel Bernd
Published: December 2022

Hintergrund

Von ANCA(antineutrophile cytoplasmatische Antikörper)-assoziierten Vaskulitiden (AAV) sind v. a. Menschen höheren Alters betroffen, ohne dass adaptierte Therapiekonzepte für diese Patienten existieren.

Ziel der Studie

Ziel der Studie war es, Unterschiede in Verlauf und Outcome von Patienten mit AAV hinsichtlich des Alters zu analysieren.

Material und Methoden

62 Patienten wurden auf Therapieansprechen, 53 (85 %) davon konnten hinsichtlich unerwünschter Nebenwirkungen (AE und SAE), analysiert werden. Es wurden ältere (> 65 J.) mit jüngeren (< 65 J.) Patienten verglichen. Das Therapieansprechen wurde nach 6 Monaten, Komplikationen wurden über 18 Monaten beurteilt.

Ergebnisse

Das Therapieansprechen war in beiden Altersgruppen nicht unterschiedlich. In der multiplen logistischen Regression waren die pulmonale Beteiligung (OR = 6,9, KI = 1,7–27,8; p < 0,01) und die ΔGFR [ml/min] (OR = 0,93, KI = 0,89–0,97; p < 0,01) Prädiktoren für SAE. 14 Patienten hatten mehr als eine SAE; auch hier war eine pulmonale Manifestation bei Diagnose (28,2 % vs. 78,6 %, p < 0,01) Risikofaktor. Ältere Patienten (78,6 % vs. 43,6 %, p = 0,025) waren häufiger betroffen. Patienten mit mehreren SAE bekamen länger Glukokortikoiddosen über 5 mg/Tag (171 ± 65 Tage vs. 120 ± 70 Tage, p = 0,03).

Diskussion

Hinsichtlich des Therapieansprechens wurden keine Unterschiede zwischen älteren und jüngeren Patienten gefunden. Bei älteren Patienten traten häufiger mehrere SAE auf. Es bestand eine Korrelation zwischen pulmonaler Manifestation und Dauer einer Glukokortikoidgabe mit einem komplizierten Verlauf. Die häufigsten SAE waren Infektionen, welche einer stationären Aufnahme bedurften.

Schlussfolgerung

Die Therapie für ältere Patienten sollte individualisiert werden, mit dem Ziel einer raschen Reduktion von Glukokortikoiden. Ein besonderes Monitoring ist für ältere Patienten v. a. mit pulmonaler Manifestation bei Krankheitsbeginn angezeigt.
Managing post-conflict demolition wastes in Gaza Strip: a case study on May 2021 conflict
Authors: AbuHamed Hatem , Al Bursh Waheed , Abu Mfarreh Suleiman , Yoshida Mitsuo
Published: December 2022

Gaza Strip is considered as one of the armed conflicts prone areas in Middle East. Several intensive conflicts occurred in Gaza Strip in 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2021. These conflicts caused massive destroying the infrastructures, facilities, and buildings, which affected all services and activities in Gaza Strip. One of the major post-conflict issues in Gaza strip is the management of resulted demolition waste including its removal, sorting, recycling, and material recovery. In May 2021, over than 370,000 tons of demolition waste composed of rubbles and debris was generated during 11 days of armed conflict. The accumulated previous experience of rubbles and debris removal and recycling in Gaza Strip supported to perform a quick management approach for safe removal of the post-conflict demolition waste and reuse/recycle the resulted waste materials in various applications. The sorting and transporting process of concreate and non-concreate rubble elements of the waste were carried out in cooperation between local and international agencies as emergency recovery-funded projects. The most proportion of rubbles are concrete aggregates, thus, the material recovery was conducted through crushing process for concrete rubbles and then reusing it for road rehabilitation or producing concrete building blocks. The large concrete blocks reused to be placed for shoreline protection for specific area along Gaza beach. The recycling of post-conflict demolition waste management projects in Gaza Strip brought economic and social benefits through the reuse and recycle of resources and creation of job opportunities. In conclusion, although the post-conflict demolition waste management is quite different from municipal/industrial waste management in Gaza Strip, it is conducted through applying similar techniques of disaster waste management in waste removal, and those of construction and demolition (C&D) waste management in sorting, crushing, and sieving for recycling.
A Note on Humphreys’ Conjecture on Blocks
Authors: Westaway Matthew
Published: December 2022

Humphreys’ conjecture on blocks parametrises the blocks of a reduced enveloping algebra of the Lie algebras of a reductive algebraic group over an algebraically closed field of positive characteristic. It is well-known to hold under Jantzen’s standard assumptions. We note here that it holds under slightly weaker assumptions, by utilising the full generality of certain results in the literature. We also provide a new approach to prove the result in type G2 in characteristic 3, a case in which the previously mentioned weaker assumptions do not hold. This approach requires some dimensional calculations for certain centralisers, which we conduct in the Appendix for all the exceptional Lie algebras in bad characteristic.
Formalising Szemerédi’s Regularity Lemma and Roth’s Theorem on Arithmetic Progressions in Isabelle/HOL
Authors: Edmonds Chelsea , Koutsoukou-Argyraki Angeliki , Paulson Lawrence C.
Published: December 2022

We have formalised Szemerédi’s Regularity Lemma and Roth’s Theorem on Arithmetic Progressions, two major results in extremal graph theory and additive combinatorics, using the proof assistant Isabelle/HOL. For the latter formalisation, we used the former to first show the Triangle Counting Lemma and the Triangle Removal Lemma: themselves important technical results. Here, in addition to showcasing the main formalised statements and definitions, we focus on sensitive points in the proofs, describing how we overcame the difficulties that we encountered.
Caregiving Across International Borders: a Systematic Review of Literature on Transnational Carer-Employees
Authors: Sethi Bharati , Williams Allison , Leung Joyce L. S.
Published: December 2022

In diaspora and transnational studies little is known about the experiences of transnational carer-employees (TCEs). TCEs provide unpaid/informal care across international borders to an adult family member, friend, or relative with disability and/or age-related needs, while also working in paid employment in the country of resettlement. The primary focus of this systematic review was to examine how cultural and historical elements of transnational caregiving influence the economic, social, and health/well-being of TCEs. This systematic review draws on quantitative and qualitative peer-reviewed literature on TCEs’ experiences from Canada, the USA, or Australia between 1997 and 2017. In all, 16 articles that fulfilled the search inclusion criteria were selected. The articles were analyzed using content and thematic analysis. The review highlighted that transnational caregiving is a multi-dimensional phenomenon. There is a reciprocal relationship between adult children providing care to their parents and parents helping their children resettle in their new home. The findings suggest that TCEs provide practical, financial, and emotional care to their families abroad. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive systematic review of the experiences of TCEs. Increasingly complex immigration experiences of transnational families require innovative policy responses from a transnational and intersectionality lens. Immigrants need support to maintain solid transnational networks and simultaneously adapt to the country of resettlement. Employers can use the findings to support TCEs in balancing unpaid care across vast geographical distances while sustaining their economic and social well-being.
Another Day, Another Currency: Self-interest, Experience, and Attitudes Toward Dollarization in Ecuador
Authors: Bessen Brett R. , Connell Brendan J.
Published: December 2022

How, if at all, does self-interest bear on individuals’ economic policy preferences? Though conventional theories of preference formation usually assume a role for self-interest, the informational demands associated with understanding economic policies can prevent individuals from forming attitudes on an egocentric basis. Building on work showing that policy-specific information facilitates egocentrism, we argue that personal experience with alternative policy options is necessary for self-interested preferences to materialize. To test this argument, we leverage Ecuador’s adoption of the U.S. dollar (i.e., dollarization) and examine whether material-based preferences toward exchange rate policy are conditional on individuals experiencing the transition from the Ecuadorian sucre to the dollar. We find that lived experience with dollarization causes policy preferences to align more closely with citizens’ self-interest, as proxied by measures of capital ownership and skill level. In addition, personal experience with dollarization drives attitudes against a dollarized economy, but primarily among poor and low-skill workers—precisely the groups that benefit less from this policy shift. Rather than entirely discredit the role of economic self-interest, these findings suggest that scholars devote greater attention to how contextual factors can strengthen egocentric policy attitudes.
Health, consciousness, and the evolution of subjects
Authors: Veit Walter
Published: December 2022

The goal of this programmatic paper is to highlight a close connection between the core problem in the philosophy of medicine, i.e. the concept of health, and the core problem of the philosophy of mind, i.e. the concept of consciousness. I show when we look at these phenomena together, taking the evolutionary perspective of modern state-based behavioural and life-history theory used as the teleonomic tool to Darwinize the agent- and subject-side of organisms, we will be in a better position to make sense of them both as natural phenomena.
Energizing a transformation to a circular bioeconomy: mechanisms to spread, deepen and broaden initiatives
Authors: Schagen O. M. , Metze T. A. P. , de Olde E. M. , Termeer C. J. A. M.
Published: December 2022

Transformative change is necessary to reach a circular bioeconomy. In this context, a variety of societal and business initiatives have emerged, which in their everyday practices aim to increase their circular impact. These emerging circular initiatives, so-called small wins, continuously spread, deepen and broaden and as such contribute to transformative change. A small win spreads by becoming larger and more numerous, deepens by becoming more radical and circular, and broadens by connecting with other themes and domains. This paper explores how mechanisms drive these processes and, more in particular, how circular initiatives stay or become more transformative while developing. By building on existing literature about mechanisms that contribute to the development of initiatives—we extend the small wins framework by focusing on the interplay between mechanisms and spreading, deepening and broadening. We applied this framework to two illustrative cases in the Netherlands: a circular laying hen farm, Kipster, and the community farming initiative, Herenboeren. We empirically explored how the interplay of mechanisms constitutes continuous transformative change. The results indicate that deepening the small win is mainly driven by learning by doing; spreading takes place through professionalization and broadening by partnering. Both case studies indicate that the energizing and logic of attraction mechanisms are key in continuous transformative change.
Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety-Related Disorders: A Meta-Analysis of Recent Literature
Authors: Bhattacharya Shalini , Goicoechea Carmen , Heshmati Saeideh , Carpenter Joseph K. , Hofmann Stefan G.
Published: December 2022

Purpose of Review

Effective treatment of anxiety-related disorders is crucial, considering the prevalence of such disorders and their association with poor psychosocial functioning. To evaluate the most recent evidence on the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety-related disorders in adults, we conducted a meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials published since 2017.

Recent Findings

Ten studies with a total of 1250 participants met the inclusion criteria. Seven of these studies examined PTSD. The findings demonstrated small placebo-controlled effects of CBT on target disorder symptoms (Hedges’ g = 0.24, p < 0.05) and depression (Hedges’ g = 0.15, p = n.s). When examining only PTSD studies, effects were reduced (Hedges’ g = 0.14, p < 0.05). Heterogeneity in most analyses was very low, and no publication bias was found.

Effect sizes from placebo-controlled trials from the past 5 years appear to be smaller than those in prior meta-analyses. The findings are largely driven by research on PTSD, with few placebo-controlled trials of other anxiety-related disorders published since 2017.
Advanced functional nanofibers: strategies to improve performance and expand functions
Authors: Chen Xinyu , Cao Honghao , He Yue , Zhou Qili , Li Zhangcheng , Wang Wen , He Yu , Tao Guangming , Hou Chong
Published: December 2022

Nanofibers have a wide range of applications in many fields such as energy generation and storage, environmental sensing and treatment, biomedical and health, thanks to their large specific surface area, excellent flexibility, and superior mechanical properties. With the expansion of application fields and the upgrade of application requirements, there is an inevitable trend of improving the performance and functions of nanofibers. Over the past few decades, numerous studies have demonstrated how nanofibers can be adapted to more complex needs through modifications of their structures, materials, and assembly. Thus, it is necessary to systematically review the field of nanofibers in which new ideas and technologies are emerging. Here we summarize the recent advanced strategies to improve the performances and expand the functions of nanofibers. We first introduce the common methods of preparing nanofibers, then summarize the advances in the field of nanofibers, especially up-to-date strategies for further enhancing their functionalities. We classify these strategies into three categories: design of nanofiber structures, tuning of nanofiber materials, and improvement of nanofibers assemblies. Finally, the optimization methods, materials, application areas, and fabrication methods are summarized, and existing challenges and future research directions are discussed. We hope this review can provide useful guidance for subsequent related work.

Graphical abstract
Quantitative Sobolev Extensions and the Neumann Heat Kernel for Integral Ricci Curvature Conditions
Authors: Post Olaf , Olivé Xavier Ramos , Rose Christian
Published: December 2022

We prove the existence of Sobolev extension operators for certain uniform classes of domains in a Riemannian manifold with an explicit uniform bound on the norm depending only on the geometry near their boundaries. We use this quantitative estimate to obtain uniform Neumann heat kernel upper bounds and gradient estimates for positive solutions of the Neumann heat equation assuming integral Ricci curvature conditions and geometric conditions on the possibly non-convex boundary. Those estimates also imply quantitative lower bounds on the first Neumann eigenvalue of the considered domains.