bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Supplementary Figure S16 from Autocrine 17-β-Estradiol/Estrogen Receptor-α Loop Determines the Response to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
Authors: Anobile Dario P. , Salaroglio Iris C. , Tabbò Fabrizio , La Vecchia Sofia , Akman Muhlis , Napoli Francesca , Bungaro Maristella , Benso Federica , Aldieri Elisabetta , Bironzo Paolo , Kopecka Joanna , Passiglia Francesco , Righi Luisella , Novello Silvia , Scagliotti Giorgio V. , Riganti Chiara
Published: June 2023

Molecular circuitries linking ERα and PD-L1.
ERα, activated by the binding of 17-β-estradiol and by the phosphorylation on Ser118 via the EGFR/Akt and EGFR/ERK1/2 axes, upregulates PD-L1 and predicts a better response to pembrolizumab. However, lowering the synthesis of 17-β-estradiol with letrozole or the activity of ERα with fulvestrant sensitizes non-small cell lung cancer to pembrolizumab, relieving the PD-L1-dependent immune-suppression, allowing the expansion and activity of anti-tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, such as CD8+T-cells, NK cells and Vγ9Vδ2+T cells. We suggest the existence of four possible scenarios, depending on sex, EGFR activity, 17-β-estradiol/ERα and PD-L1 status, with a differential sensitivity to pembrolizumab and aromatase inhibitors:1) male patients with low 17-β-estradiol synthesis, low EGFR signaling, low ERα amount/activity and low PD-L1 amount; 2) male patients with high EGFR signaling, high ERα amount/activity but low 17-β-estradiol synthesis, with intermediate PD-L1 amount; 3) female patients with low EGFR signaling, low ERα amount/activity but high 17-β-estradiol synthesis, with intermediate PD-L1 amount; 4) female patients with high EGFR signaling, high ERα amount/activity, high 17-β-estradiol synthesis and high PD-L1 amount. The efficacy of pembrolizumab and the additional benefit of aromatase inhibitors increased progressively from scenario 1 to 4.
Assessment of Homologous Recombination Deficiency in Ovarian Cancer
Authors: Garg Vikas , Oza Amit M.
Published: June 2023

Accurately assessing homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) to use as a predictive biomarker is an area of intense research in ovarian cancer. Validated assays have demonstrated utility in determining maintenance therapy following platinum sensitive chemotherapy. Novel functional assays promise the potential to reflect HRD in real time and predict response to PARP inhibitors.

See related articles by Pikkusaari et al., p. 3110 and Blanc-Durand et al., p. 3124
Supplemental Table 2 from Polymorphisms in the Nonhomologous End-joining DNA Repair Pathway are Associated with HPV Integration in Cervical Dysplasia
Authors: Geris Jennifer M. , Amirian E. Susan , Marquez-Do Deborah A. , Guillaud Martial , Dillon Laura M. , Follen Michele , Scheurer Michael E.
Published: June 2023

Supplemental Table 2: Integration assay primer and probe sequences
Supplemental Table S3 from Cost-effectiveness of p16/Ki-67 Dual-Stained Cytology Reflex Following Co-testing with hrHPV Genotyping for Cervical Cancer Screening
Authors: Harper Diane M. , Anderson Rye J. , Baker Ed , Yu Tiffany M.
Published: June 2023

Supplemental Table S3 shows the procedure codes, CMS fee schedule payments, and usage information used to develop cost inputs for screening visits, tests, and procedures
Data from Polymorphisms in the non-homologous end-joining DNA repair pathway are associated with HPV integration in cervical dysplasia
Authors: Geris Jennifer M. , Amirian E. Susan. , Marquez-Do Deborah A. , Guillaud Martial , Dillon Laura M. , Follen Michele , Scheurer Michael E.
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Previous evidence indicates that HPV integration status may be associated with cervical cancer development and progression. However, host genetic variation within genes that may play important roles in the viral integration process is understudied. The aim of this study was to examine the association between HPV16 and HPV18 viral integration status and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) DNA repair pathway genes on cervical dysplasia. Women enrolled in two large trials of optical technologies for cervical cancer detection and positive for HPV16 or HPV18 were selected for HPV integration analysis and genotyping. Associations between SNPs and cytology (normal, low-grade, or high-grade lesions) were evaluated. Among women with cervical dysplasia, polytomous logistic regression models were used to evaluate the effect of each SNP on viral integration status. Of the 710 women evaluated (149 HSIL, 251 LSIL, 310 Normal), 395 (55.6%) were positive for HPV16 and 192 (27%) were positive for HPV18. Tag-SNPs in 13 DNA repair genes, including RAD50, WRN, and XRCC4, were significantly associated with cervical dysplasia. HPV16 integration status was differential across cervical cytology, but overall, most participants had a mix of both episomal and integrated HPV16. Four tag-SNPs in the XRCC4 gene were found to be significantly associated with HPV16 integration status. Our findings indicate that host genetic variation in NHEJ DNA repair pathway genes, specifically XRCC4, are significantly associated with HPV integration, and that these genes may play an important role in determining cervical cancer development and progression.
Supplementary Table 3 from A Mendelian Randomization Analysis of 55 Genetically Predicted Metabolic Traits with Breast Cancer Survival Outcomes in the Pathways Study
Authors: Fiorica Peter N. , Sheng Haiyang , Zhu Qianqian , Roh Janise M. , Laurent Cecile A. , Ergas Isaac J. , Delmerico Jennifer , Kwan Marilyn L. , Kushi Lawrence H. , Ambrosone Christine B. , Yao Song
Published: June 2023

Time-varying covariates for Cox proportional hazard model
Supplementary Figure 1 from A Mendelian Randomization Analysis of 55 Genetically Predicted Metabolic Traits with Breast Cancer Survival Outcomes in the Pathways Study
Authors: Fiorica Peter N. , Sheng Haiyang , Zhu Qianqian , Roh Janise M. , Laurent Cecile A. , Ergas Isaac J. , Delmerico Jennifer , Kwan Marilyn L. , Kushi Lawrence H. , Ambrosone Christine B. , Yao Song
Published: June 2023

Dot plot of findings from analysis of 2,696 White individuals
FIGURE 1 from A Mendelian Randomization Analysis of 55 Genetically Predicted Metabolic Traits with Breast Cancer Survival Outcomes in the Pathways Study
Authors: Fiorica Peter N. , Sheng Haiyang , Zhu Qianqian , Roh Janise M. , Laurent Cecile A. , Ergas Isaac J. , Delmerico Jennifer , Kwan Marilyn L. , Kushi Lawrence H. , Ambrosone Christine B. , Yao Song
Published: June 2023

A dot plot summarizes the associations in the analysis of 3,902 women with breast cancer. The x-axis represents the 55 PGS for metabolic traits and the y-axis represents the seven survival outcomes. Each dot represents a PGS tertile (T3 vs. T1)-survival outcome association. The size of the point is inversely proportional to its P value. P values are from trend tests by treating T1, T2, and T3 as ordinal variables. The color of the point represents the HR. Bluer colors represent HR < 1.0, and more red colors represent HR > 1.0.
The observed preprocessing strategies for doing automatic text summarizing
Authors: Juna Muhammad Farhan , Hayaty Mardhiya
Published: June 2023

It is challenging for humans to keep up with the rapid creation of digital information due to the explosion of digital information. A written document can be analyzed to extract meaningful information using automatic text summarization. This research proposes 16 different experimental settings in which the model developed by IndoBERT will be applied in order to answer the question of how much of an impact preprocessing has on the quality of summaries produced by automatic text summarization. In order to answer this question, the researchers have devised this study. In this study, we will explicitly talk about preprocessing strategies by conducting tests with different combinations of preprocessing techniques. These techniques include data cleansing, stopwords, stemming, and case folding. After that, the recall-oriented understudy for gisting evaluation (ROUGE) assessment will be used to conduct the measurement of the research results. According to the findings of this research, the optimal level of performance may be accomplished by combining the processes of data cleaning and case folding with scores of 0.78, 0.60, and 0.68 for ROUGE-1, ROUGE-2, and ROUGE-L respectively.
Investigating the impact of data scaling on the k-nearest neighbor algorithm
Authors: Pagan Muasir , Zarlis Muhammad , Candra Ade
Published: June 2023

This study investigates the impact of data scaling techniques on the performance of the k-nearest neighbor (KNN) algorithm using ten different datasets from various domains. Three commonly used data scaling techniques, min-max normalization, Z-score, and decimal scaling, are evaluated based on the KNN algorithm's performance in terms of accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, runtime, and memory usage. The study aims to provide insights into the applicability and effectiveness of different scaling techniques in different contexts, aid in the design and implementation of machine learning systems, and help identify the strengths and weaknesses of each technique and their suitability for specific types of data. The results show that data scaling significantly affects the performance of the KNN algorithm, and the choice of scaling method can have significant implications for practical applications. Moreover, the performance of the three scaling techniques varies across different datasets, suggesting that the choice of scaling technique should be made based on the specific characteristics of the data. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of data scaling techniques on the KNN algorithm's performance and can help practitioners and researchers in the machine learning community make informed decisions when designing and implementing machine learning systems.
Middle-Aged and Older Patients With Left Ventricular Hypertrophy: Higher Mortality With Drug Treated Systolic Blood Pressure Below 130 mm Hg
Authors: Heimark Sondre , Mehlum Maria H. , Mancia Giuseppe , Søraas Camilla L. , Liestøl Knut , Wachtell Kristian , Larstorp Anne C. , Rostrup Morten , Mariampillai Julian E. , Kjeldsen Sverre E. , Julius Stevo , Weber Michael A.
Published: June 2023

BACKGROUND:

Approximately 40% of people with hypertension have left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) detected by ECG or echocardiography. Because patients with LVH have poor myocardial microcirculation, they may be too sensitive to lowering systolic blood pressure (SBP) too much due to a lack of myocardial perfusion pressure. We aimed to investigate whether the average achieved SBP <130 mm Hg may cause harm in patients with LVH in the Valsartan Antihypertensive Long-Term Use Evaluation trial (VALUE).

METHODS:

Of the 15 245 VALUE participants, we identified 13 803 patients without cardiovascular events during the first 6 months after randomization. Of these, 2458 patients had electrocardiographic LVH (ECG-LVH). Cox analyses adjusted for age, gender, and baseline variables compared cardiac and all-cause mortality and other prespecified end points for patients who achieved average SBP 130 to 139 mm Hg (No-LVH group n=4863; ECG-LVH group n=929) and <130 mm Hg (No-LVH group n=2107; ECG-LVH group n=305). Reference groups were patients who achieved average SBP ≥140 mm Hg following the first excluded 6 months (No-LVH group n=4375; ECG-LVH group n=1224).

RESULTS:

The No-LVH group achieving average SBP <130 mm Hg had a significantly lower incidence of several cardiovascular end points. The ECG-LVH group achieving average SBP <130 mm Hg had higher cardiac mortality (hazard ratio, 1.98 [95% CIs, 1.06–3.70];
P
=0.032) and all-cause mortality (hazard ratio, 1.74 [95% CIs, 1.17–2.60];
P
=0.007), and SBP <130 mm Hg was not associated with a reduction in any end point.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our findings may be seen as a signal that caution is warranted when treating middle-aged and older patients with electrocardiographic or echocardiographic LVH to SBP <130 mm Hg.
Cumulative Serum Uric Acid Exposure and Its Time Course With the Risk of Incident Stroke
Authors: Tian Xue , Chen Shuohua , Xu Qin , Wang Penglian , Zhang Yijun , Zhang Xiaoli , Luo Yanxia , Wu Shouling , Wang Anxin
Published: June 2023

BACKGROUND:

Evidence on the longitudinal associations between serum uric acid (SUA) and stroke was limited and yielded inconsistent conclusions. We aimed to investigate the associations of cumulative SUA (cumSUA), incorporating the time course of cumSUA accumulation, with the risk of stroke.

METHODS:

The prospective cohort study enrolled 50 871 participants from Kailuan, China. CumSUA from 2006 to 2010 was derived by calculating the means of SUA values between consecutive examinations and multiplying by time intervals between visits. Time course of cumSUA accumulation was categorized as the slope of SUA versus time or by splitting the overall accumulation into an early (cumSUA
06-08
) and late accumulation (cumSUA
08-10
). Participants were classified by cumSUA quartiles, SUA slope (negative versus positive), and the combined median cumSUA (1105.21 μmol/L×year) with SUA slope, respectively. The associations with incident stroke between 2010 and 2019 were evaluated with competing risk model.

RESULTS:

During a median follow-up of 9.02 years, 2217 cases of incident stroke were identified. In the multivariable-adjusted model, a higher risk of stroke was observed in participants with the highest quartile versus the lowest quartile of cumSUA (subdistribution hazard ratio, 1.15 [95% CI, 1.01–1.31]), and those with a negative versus positive SUA slope (subdistribution hazard ratio, 1.09 [95% CI, 1.01–1.19]). Consistently, a later accumulation of SUA was not associated with the risk of stroke after adjustment for an early accumulation, indicating early accumulation may contribute more to the risk of stroke than later accumulation. When cumSUA was incorporated with its time course, those with changes in cumSUA suggesting early accumulation had elevated risk of stroke (subdistribution hazard ratio, 1.17 [95% CI, 1.03–1.33]). Similar results were observed for ischemic stroke.

CONCLUSIONS:

Incident stroke risk was associated with cumulative exposure to SUA and its accumulation time course. Early SUA accumulation resulted in a greater risk compared with later accumulation, underscoring the importance of early control of SUA to an optimal level.
Real-World Outcomes for Basilar Artery Occlusion Thrombectomy With Mild Deficits: The National Inpatient Sample
Authors: Patel Karan , Taneja Kamil , Obusan Matthew B. , Yaghi Shadi , Nguyen Thanh N. , Thon Jesse M. , Kass-Hout Tareq , Brorson James R. , Prabhakaran Shyam , Siegler James E.
Published: June 2023

BACKGROUND:

Thrombectomy for basilar artery occlusion (BAO) has proven efficacy in patients with moderate-to-severe deficits, but has unclear benefits for those with mild symptoms.

METHODS:

Using an observational cohort design, the US National Inpatient Sample (2018–2020) was queried for adult patients with basilar artery occlusion and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) <10 for patients treated with thrombectomy versus medical management. The primary outcome of routine discharge (to home or self-care) was evaluated using multivariable logistic regression and propensity score matching, adjusted for baseline characteristics, stroke severity, and treatment with thrombolysis.

RESULTS:

Of 17 019 with basilar artery occlusion, 5795 patients met the criteria for inclusion criteria for our study, and 880 (15.4%) were treated with endovascular thrombectomy. In the propensity score–matched cohort, 880 patients were treated with medical management and endovascular thrombectomy, respectively. In multivariable regression, endovascular thrombectomy was associated with both an increased odds of routine discharge (odds ratio, 1.95 [95% CI, 1.31–2.90];
P
=0.001) and a decreased length of hospital stay (B, −0.74 [95% CI, −1.36 to −0.11];
P
=0.02) compared with medical management. In the propensity score matched cohort, endovascular thrombectomy remained associated with greater odds of routine discharge (2.01 [95% CI, 1.21–3.34];
P
=0.007) but no difference in length of hospital stay (B, −0.22 [95% CI, −0.90 to 0.46];
P
=0.53).

CONCLUSIONS:

Routine discharge was more common in this representative US cohort of patients with basilar artery occlusion and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale <10 who underwent thrombectomy compared to conventional medical management. These findings suggest thrombectomy may be associated with better functional outcomes despite lower National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale and should be validated in a clinical trial setting.
Counting Quality, Seeing Patterns
Authors: Muzaffar Ijlal
Published: June 2023

What does it mean to see Third World “development” as a problem of untapped creativity? This paper argues that quick celebrations of ingenuity across the world has been part of a new mode securing expertise and legitimizing intervention that emerges after the Second World War. Propelled by architects and planners, this mode bypasses the quantitative and historical questions of colonial drain and global financial regimes to project qualitative “patterns” across the Third World as a source of immanent and self-generative change.
On the Aspirations of Architecture and Design in 20th-Century South Asia
Authors: Khandelwal Vishal
Published: June 2023

This review compares The Museum of Modern Art's exhibition “The Project of Independence: Architectures of Decolonization in South Asia, 1947-1985” (2022) to Farhan Karim's Of Greater Dignity Than Riches: Austerity and Housing Design in India (2019). These two examples’ distinct approaches to architecture and design in twentieth-century South Asia are conditioned by their respective formats and scopes. Both the exhibition and the book draw attention to the ideas, ambitions, and aspirations undergirding architecture and design in the region, and as expressed by agents including architects, designers, bureaucrats, construction workers, intellectuals, and critics. They do so, however, towards variant critical ends that are juxtaposed and compared in this review. The final portion of this review discusses how questions of architectural and design production and conception, central towards understanding the intellectual contributions of architects, designers, and their collaborators, stand enhanced through a focus on issues of representation that also make their way into historical archives, and as such might be critically enfolded within historical narratives.
The vascular cambium revisited
Authors: Groover Andrew
Published: June 2023

The vascular cambium presents fundamental questions about the evolution and developmental biology of plants. Over time, our perspectives of the vascular cambium have changed as new molecular and genetic approaches have augmented anatomical observations and are now providing new insights into longstanding topics related to vascular cambium evolution, development and function. At the same time, practical applications of knowledge of the vascular cambium associated with climate change give new urgency to research of how the cambium produces varied wood anatomies both among species and within individual trees that influence response to drought and heat stress. Here, two topics are discussed that are generally related to the storied research of Sherwin Carlquist and his pursuits of the vascular cambium; the identity and function of cambium initials, and the plasticity of wood anatomical traits related to adaptive hydraulic traits. This short paper ends with a call for integrative research that could provide new insights into how trees respond to climate change that take advantage of the comparative wood anatomy framework so well-articulated by Carlquist.
A new fossil katydid of the genus Arethaea Stål (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) with exceptionally preserved internal organs from the Eocene Green River Formation of Colorado
Authors: HEADS SAM W. , THOMAS M. JARED , HEDLUND TYLER J. , WANG YINAN
Published: June 2023

Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids) are abundant and diverse in the lower–middle Eocene Green River Formation of the Piceance Basin in northwestern Colorado, though remain almost entirely unstudied. Here, we describe a new species of the katydid genus Arethaea Stål (Tettigoniidae: Phaneropterinae: Insarini) from the Parachute Creek Member at a locality near Meeker in Rio Blanco County. Arethaea solterae Heads, Thomas & Hedlund sp. nov. is the first fossil member of the genus and the first tettigoniid described from the Green River Formation. The holotype and only known specimen is remarkable for the exceptional preservation of internal organs including the anterior midgut (ventriculus) and what appear to be a testis, accessory glands, and possible fat body.
A new fossil species of the saucer bug genus Ilyocoris (Heteroptera, Naucoridae) from the Upper Miocene maar paleolake of la Montagne d’Andance (France)
Authors: JATTIOT ROMAIN , TRINCAL VINCENT , GARROUSTE ROMAIN , NEL ANDRÉ
Published: June 2023

The naucorid Ilyocoris andancensis sp. nov., first Miocene representative of its genus, is described on the basis of three compressed mummies found in the maar diatom paleolake of ‘La Montagne d’Andance’ (Ardèche, France). This new species differs from other extant and fossil representatives of the genus by the pattern of coloration of the abdomen and pronotum. The systematic positions of the other fossil taxa previously considered as Naucoridae are discussed.
Characterizing Spatial Heterogeneity in Reservoir Evaporation within the Rio Grande Basin Using a Coupled Version of the Weather, Research, and Forecasting Model
Authors: Holman Kathleen D. , Mikkelson Kristin M. , Llewellyn Dagmar K.
Published: June 2023

Increasing evaporative demand from storage reservoirs is aggravating water scarcity issues across the American West. In the Rio Grande basin, open water evaporation estimates represent approximately one-fifth of all water losses from the basin. However, most estimates of reservoir evaporation rely on outdated methods, point measurements, or simplistic models. Warming temperatures and increasing atmospheric evaporative demand are stressing overallocated resources, increasing the need for improved evaporation estimates. In response to this need, we develop open water evaporation estimates at Elephant Butte Reservoir (EBR), New Mexico, using three evaporation models and field measurements. Few studies quantify spatial heterogeneity in evaporation rates across large reservoirs; we therefore focus our efforts on using the Weather Research and Forecasting Model coupled to an energy budget lake model, WRF-Lake, to simulate evaporation across EBR over the course of two years. We compare results from WRF-Lake, which simulates lake heat storage, to results from the Complementary Relationship Lake Evaporation (CRLE) model and the Global Lake Evaporation Volume dataset (GLEV). Results indicate that monthly and annual evaporation totals from WRF-Lake and GLEV are similar, while CRLE overestimates annual evaporation totals, with monthly peak evaporation offset compared to WRF-Lake and GLEV. While WRF-Lake and GLEV appear to capture monthly and annual evaporation totals, only WRF-Lake simulates differences in evaporation totals across the reservoir surface. Average annual evaporation at EBR was approximately 1487 mm, yet annual totals differed by up to 545 mm depending on location. This study improves understanding of open water evaporation and elucidates limitations of extrapolating point in situ or bulk evaporation estimates across large reservoirs.

Significance Statement

Changes in climate are amplifying the loss of stored water in reservoirs due to increases in evaporation. Water managers need to account for this water loss, but many current methods do not accurately reflect the temporal and spatial variability in evaporation across large, heterogeneous reservoirs. To address this gap, we use a numerical weather prediction model coupled to a lake model to simulate spatial heterogeneity in reservoir evaporation on a subdaily time step. Our results suggest that bulk evaporation models may be sufficient for estimating evaporation at smaller, more homogeneous reservoirs, but more complex formulations may be more appropriate for estimating evaporation rates at large, complex reservoirs and for better understanding the heat storage affects that influence temporal variability of evaporation.
Stratification Breakdown in Antarctic Coastal Polynyas. Part I: Influence of Physical Factors on the Destratification Time Scale
Authors: Xu Yilang , Zhang Weifeng (Gordon) , Maksym Ted , Ji Rubao , Li Yun
Published: June 2023

This study examines the process of water-column stratification breakdown in Antarctic coastal polynyas adjacent to an ice shelf with a cavity underneath. This first part of a two-part sequence seeks to quantify the influence of offshore katabatic winds, alongshore winds, air temperature, and initial ambient stratification on the time scales of polynya destratification through combining process-oriented numerical simulations and analytical scaling. In particular, the often-neglected influence of wind-driven circulation on the lateral transport of the water formed at the polynya surface—which we call Polynya Source Water (PSW)—is systematically examined here. First, an ice shelf–sea ice–ocean coupled numerical model is adapted to simulate the process of PSW formation in polynyas of various configurations. The simulations highlight that (i) before reaching the bottom, majority of the PSW is actually carried away from the polynya by katabatic wind–induced offshore outflow, diminishing water-column mixing in the polynya and intrusion of the PSW into the neighboring ice shelf cavity, and (ii) alongshore coastal easterly winds, through inducing onshore Ekman transport, reduce offshore loss of the PSW and enhance polynya mixing and PSW intrusion into the cavity. Second, an analytical scaling of the destratification time scale is derived based on fundamental physical principles to quantitatively synthesize the influence of the physical factors, which is then verified by independent numerical sensitivity simulations. This work provides insights into the mechanisms that drive temporal and cross-polynya variations in stratification and PSW formation in Antarctic coastal polynyas, and establishes a framework for studying differences among the polynyas in the ocean.
Stratification Breakdown in Antarctic Coastal Polynyas. Part II: Influence of an Ice Tongue and Coastline Geometry
Authors: Xu Yilang , Zhang Weifeng (Gordon) , Maksym Ted , Ji Rubao , Li Yun
Published: June 2023

This is Part II of a study examining wintertime destratification in Antarctic coastal polynyas, focusing on providing a qualitative description of the influence of ice tongues and headlands, both common geometric features neighboring the polynyas. The model of a coastal polynya used in Part I is modified to include an ice tongue and a headland to investigate their impacts on the dispersal of water formed at the polynya surface, which is referred to as Polynya Source Water (PSW) here. The model configuration qualitatively represents the settings of some coastal polynyas, such as the Terra Nova Bay Polynya. The simulations highlight that an ice tongue next to a polynya tends to break the alongshore symmetry in the lateral return flows toward the polynya, creating a stagnant region in the corner between the ice tongue and polynya where outflow of the PSW in the water column is suppressed. This enhances sinking of the PSW and accelerates destratification of the polynya water column. Adding a headland to the other side of the polynya tends to restore the alongshore symmetry in the lateral return flows, which increases the offshore PSW transport and slows down destratification in the polynya. This work stresses the importance of resolving small-scale geometric features in simulating vertical mixing in the polynya. It provides a framework to explain spatial and temporal variability in rates of destratification and Dense Shelf Water formation across Antarctic coastal polynyas, and helps understand why some polynyas are sources of Antarctic Bottom Water while others are not.
On the Detection of Icing Conditions at Altitude in Conjunction with Mesoscale Convective Complexes Using Balloon Sondes
Authors: Liu Chuntao , Jörgensdóttir Laufey , Walter Paul , Morris Gary A. , Flynn James H. , Kucera Paul
Published: June 2023

Balloon-borne radiosondes are launched twice daily at coordinated times worldwide to assist with weather forecasting. Data collection from each flight is usually terminated when the balloon bursts at an altitude above 20 km. This paper highlights cases where the balloon’s turnaround occurs at lower altitudes and is associated with ice formation on the balloon, a weather condition of interest to aviation safety. Four examples of such cases are shown, where the balloon oscillates between 3- and 6-km altitude before rising to high altitudes and bursting. This oscillation is due to the accumulation and melting of ice on the balloon, causing the pattern to repeat multiple times. An analysis of National Weather Service radiosonde data over a 5-yr period and a global dataset from the National Centers for Environmental Information from 1980 to 2020 identified that 0.18% of soundings worldwide satisfied these criteria. This indicates that weather conditions important to aviation safety are not rare in the worldwide database. We recommend that soundings that show descent at altitudes lower than typically expected continue to be tracked, particularly given that these up–down-oscillating soundings can provide valuable information for weather forecasting on days with significant precipitation and icing conditions that might lead to aviation safety concerns.
What Is Student Voice Anyway? The Intersection of Student Voice Practices and Shared Leadership
Authors: Holquist Samantha E. , Mitra Dana L. , Conner Jerusha , Wright Nikki L.
Published: June 2023

Purpose: Educational leadership traditionally has defined school leadership as an adult-only space. An emerging group of scholars is expanding the field to challenge who should be considered an educational leader and whose voices should be centered in change processes. Examining the ways in which students serve as leaders in schools, student voice scholarship has expanded rapidly over the last two decades. However, it has not cohered around a shared understanding of the central components of the practice of student voice in classrooms and schools. Research Methods: Our process drew upon two different data sources in parallel—a systematic literature review and interviews/focus groups with students, teachers, and school leaders. We designed our process in this format to draw upon what has been done before and to understand whether the past still aligns with current practice. We hope that in addition to articulating student voice constructs, this article also can offer methodological contributions as demonstrating ways to understand educational practices based on past and new research. Findings: This article presents a framework of the core components of student voice in classrooms and schools: structures (setting, focus, and intent) and relationships (access, representative, roles, and responsiveness). Implications for Research and Practice: This framework provides a roadmap for students, teachers, school leaders, and academic scholars to understand how leadership at the school and classroom levels can envision and design student voice practices. Further, it offers a starting point for articulating the range of possibilities for student voice in classrooms and schools.
Inferring the Meaning of Idioms: Does Accuracy Matter for Retention in Memory?
Authors: Yu Xi , Boers Frank
Published: June 2023

There are grounds for believing that prompting language learners to infer the meaning of new lexical items is beneficial because inferring the meaning of lexical items and verifying one's inferences invites more cognitive investment than simply being presented with the meanings. However, concerns have been raised over the risk that wrong inferences interfere with later recall of the correct meanings. The present study examines the effect of inferencing on language learners’ retention of idiomatic expressions (e.g. jump the gun, pull your weight and stay the course). In a counter-balanced within-participant design, 26 advanced learners of English were presented with 21 idioms in contexts either with their meaning clarified from the start ( k = 7) or with the instruction to try and infer their meaning before receiving the clarification. The latter condition was designed so that accurate interpretations were more likely for some idioms ( k = 7) than for others ( k = 7). The learners’ responses at the inferencing stage were collected for analysis. One week later, the participants took an unannounced meaning-recall test. Recall was the most successful in the learning condition where the likelihood of accurate inferences was high. Items that had been inferred accurately stood a better chance (odds ratio 1.22) of being recalled than items whose interpretation had needed to be rectified. Approximately 13% of the wrong or imperfect inferences re-emerged in the post-test, suggesting that the learners did not readily discard them despite the corrective feedback. The findings indicate that, for inferencing procedures to be optimally useful, they need to be implemented in ways that ensure a high success rate.
Rethinking student placement to enhance efficiency and student agency
Authors: Baker Beverly , Arias Angel , Bibeau Louis-David , Qin Yiwei (Coral) , Norenberg Margret , St-John Jennifer
Published: June 2023

Placement tests are used to support a particular need in a local context—to determine the best starting place for a student entering a specific programme of language study. This brief report will focus on the development of an innovative placement test with self-directed elements for our local needs at a university in Canada for students studying English or French as a second language. Our goals are to produce a more efficient assessment instrument while allowing students more agency through the process. We hope that sharing these details will encourage others to consider the potential of incorporating self-directed elements in low-stakes placement decision-making.
Assessment of information literacy course for undergraduate students in higher education
Authors: Tachie-Donkor Gloria , Ezema Ifeanyi J.
Published: June 2023

This study assessed an information literacy skills course that has been running over two decades at the University of Cape Coast. The study established the usefulness of the course using data from questionnaires administered to 278 final year students mandated to conduct research projects at the end of their four-year programme. The results showed that irrespective of students’ competence in IL, they are sometimes confronted with information behaviour challenges in accessing relevant information for academic work. Based on this revelation, it is recommended that advanced hands-on training be introduced to enhance students’ skills in using search strategies to ensure low recall and high relevancy in the information retrieval process.
Clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of pyogenic liver abscess: a retrospective study
Authors: Wang Hui , Xue Xiujie
Published: June 2023

Objective

The incidence of pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) continues to rise, yet atypical clinical symptoms result in considerable incidence of misdiagnosis. This study was conducted to identify potential warning indicators and summarize efficacious diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for potential clinical guidelines.

Methods

Hospitalized patients aged ≥18 years and diagnosed with PLA were included in this retrospective study. Data were collected from participant’s clinical records. Patients were grouped according to type 2 diabetes mellitus status and ultrasound-guided percutaneous drainage (USPD). Between-group differences were analysed with Student’s t-test.

Results

A total of 104 hospitalized patients were included, 33 of whom (31.73%) had type 2 diabetes. Procalcitonin levels were raised in all patients, suggesting potential effectiveness and sensitivity as a warning marker for PLA. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography was the most frequently used method (63.46% of cases) for diagnosing PLA. Klebsiella pneumoniae was the main pathogen found in patients with PLA in southeast China (isolated in 92.86% [26/28] of positive blood cultures and 90.70% [39/43] of positive abscess fluid cultures). Duration of hospital stay was shorter in patients who received USPD versus those who did not (17.91 ± 6.84 days versus 21.47 ± 9.82 days).

Conclusion

Types of PLA-susceptible patients, infection markers, highly sensitive imaging techniques and clinical treatment options were identified. These results may help with early accurate diagnosis of patients with PLA, avoiding treatment delay.
Children under 6 years with acute headache in Pediatric Emergency Departments. A 2-year retrospective exploratory multicenter Italian study
Authors: Raucci Umberto , Parisi Pasquale , Ferro Valentina , Margani Erika , Vanacore Nicola , Raieli Vincenzo , Bondone Claudia , Calistri Lucia , Suppiej Agnese , Palmieri Antonella , Cordelli Duccio Maria , Savasta Salvatore , Papa Amanda , Verrotti Alberto , Orsini Alessandro , D’Alonzo Renato , Pavone Piero , Falsaperla Raffaele , Velardita Mario , Nacca Raffaella , Papetti Laura , Rossi Roberta , Gioè Daniela , Malaventura Cristina , Drago Flavia , Morreale Cristina , Rossi Lucia , Foiadelli Thomas , Monticone Sonia , Mazzocchetti Chiara , Bonuccelli Alice , Greco Filippo , Marino Silvia , Monte Gabriele , Versace Antonella , Masi Stefano , Di Nardo Giovanni , Reale Antonino , Villani Alberto , Valeriani Massimiliano
Published: June 2023

Background

Preschool age (i.e. children under six years of age) represents a red flag for requiring neuroimaging to exclude secondary potentially urgent intracranial conditions (PUIC) in patients with acute headache. We investigated the clinical characteristics of preschoolers with headache to identify the features associated with a greater risk of secondary “dangerous” headache.

Methods

We performed a multicenter exploratory retrospective study in Italy from January 2017 to December 2018. Preschoolers with new-onset non-traumatic headache admitted to emergency department were included and were subsequently divided into two groups: hospitalized and discharged. Among hospitalized patients, we investigated the characteristics linked to potentially urgent intracranial conditions.

Results

We included 1455 preschoolers with acute headache. Vomiting, ocular motility disorders, ataxia, presence of neurological symptoms and signs, torticollis and nocturnal awakening were significantly associated to hospitalization. Among the 95 hospitalized patients, 34 (2.3%) had potentially urgent intracranial conditions and more frequently they had neurological symptoms and signs, papilledema, ataxia, cranial nerves paralysis, nocturnal awakening and vomiting. Nevertheless, on multivariable logistic regression analysis, we found that only ataxia and vomiting were associated with potentially urgent intracranial conditions.

Conclusion

Our study identified clinical features that should be carefully evaluated in the emergency department in order to obtain a prompt diagnosis and treatment of potentially urgent intracranial conditions. The prevalence of potentially urgent intracranial conditions was low in the emergency department, which may suggest that age under six should not be considered an important risk factor for malignant causes as previously thought.
Long-Term Efficient Control of Structure-Borne Noise Inside Buildings Caused by Underground Railways by Using Novel Damping Fasteners
Authors: Gao Xin , Zhao Caiyou , Yang Yi , Shi Duojia , Wang Ping , Wang Xiaobin
Published: June 2023

Damping fasteners provide vibration isolation to railway tracks because of their low vertical stiffness and improve the in-service performance of the tracks. In this paper, a new type of high lateral stiffness and vertical damping fastener is developed. First, the vibration suppression frequency band of the new fastener was determined from a field test, the design vertical stiffness was determined by calculating the P2 resonance frequency, and the vertical stiffness before and after a fatigue load test was found. Then, field experiments were carried out in buildings with known excessive subway train-induced vibration problems to assess the effectiveness of the proposed fastener, which showed that the damping fasteners reduced the vertical and transverse vibrations of the tunnel wall by 10 dB without increasing the transverse displacements of the rail. Furthermore, the structure-borne noise reduction in all measured buildings exceeded 3 dB. The study demonstrated that the replacement of novel damping fasteners is a feasible solution for controlling vibrations and noise in buildings adjacent to subway lines.
The Disvalue of ‘Contingent Valuation’ and the Problem of the ‘Expectation Gap’
Authors: Westra Laura
Published: June 2023

‘Contingent Valuation’ is a method often used to make decisions about environmental issues. It is used to elicit citizens’ preferences at the location of a specific facility, new road and the like. I argue that even if we could elicit a truly informed and ‘free’ choice, the method would remain flawed, as 1) all ‘local’ activity also has far-reaching environmental consequences; 2) majority decisions may support chices that adversely affect minorities; 3) even with full information, consenting to harms like significant alterations of our normal functioning or health, or genetic mutations, may not be morally acceptable.
Immigration and Environment: Settling the Moral Boundaries
Authors: Chapman Robert L.
Published: June 2023

Large populations fuelled by immigration have damaging effects on natural environments. Utilitarian approaches to immigration (whether restrictive or permissive) are inadequate, since they fail to draw the appropriate boundaries between people, as are standard rights approaches buttressed by sovereignty concerns because they fail to include critical environmental concerns within their pantheon of rights. A right to a healthy environment is a basic/subsistence right to be enjoyed by everyone, resident and immigrant alike. Current political-economic arrangements reinforced by familiar ethical positions that support property rights and preference satisfaction favours (privileged) residents while directly or indirectly denying basic rights to potential immigrants and should be abandoned and a basic rights procedure adopted.
Tasks for Future Ecologists
Authors: Clark Mary E.
Published: June 2023

Apparent conflicts between human jobs and welfare and the interests of wildlife can frequently be resolved if man is perceived as part of Nature rather than in opposition to it. However, social and scientific paradigms emphasize individuality at the expense of connectedness, and competition at the expense of co-operation. Ecologists are well placed to address the important questions of how fast human societies can adapt to change; which cultures are most adaptable, and how satisfactory given adaptations are likely to prove in the longer term. A new perception of time is needed, with serious questioning of such practices as discounting the future. Ecologists may be able to help predict the long term effects of climate change, not only on the environment, but also on human social systems.
Rethinking the Relations of Nature, Culture, and Agency
Authors: Murphy Patrick D.
Published: June 2023

Beginning with a critique of the Enlightenment human/nature dualism, this essay argues for a new conception of human agency based on culturopoeia and an application of an ecofeminist dialogic method for analysing human-nature relationships, with the idea of volitional interdependence replacing ideas of free will and determinism. Further, it posits that we need to replace the alienational model of otherness based on a psychoanalytic model with a relational model of anotherness based on an ecological model, and concludes by encouraging attention to developing bioregional natured cultures in place of nation states and multinational corporations.
Environmental Economics, Ecological Economics, and the Concept of Sustainable Development
Authors: Munda Giuseppe
Published: June 2023

This paper presents a systematic discussion, mainly for non-economists, on economic approaches to the concept of sustainable development. As a first step, the concept of sustainability is extensively discussed. As a second step, the argument that it is not possible to consider sustainability only from an economic or ecological point of view is defended; issues such as economic-ecological integration, inter-generational and intra-generational equity are considered of fundamental importance. Two different economic approaches to environmental issues, i.e. neo-classical environmental economics and ecological economics, are compared. Some key differences such as weak versus strong sustainability, commensurability versus incommensurability and ethical neutrality versus different values acceptance are pointed out.
Determination of the Physician’s Experience of the Practices, Antecedents and Outcomes of Defensive Medicine Practices
Authors: Ünal Özgün , Akbolat Mahmut , Amarat Mustafa
Published: June 2023

This study was conducted to determine the practices, antecedents and outcomes of defensive medicine practices. For this purpose, this study was designed as a phenomenological research study using qualitative research methods. In-depth interviews were conducted with physicians who were practitioners and, thus, the experiencers of defensive medicine. The target population of the research consisted of 1,153 physicians working in the Sakarya city centre. The in-depth interviews were conducted with 21 physicians who agreed to participate. The resulting data were encoded and analysed using the NVIVO 12 software. As a result of this research, definitions of defensive medicine practices, positive defensive medicine and negative defensive medicine have been constructed using the expressions used by physicians. Besides, we obtained results indicating the practices of defensive medicine, the antecedents of defensive medicine and the outcomes of defensive medicine. The results of this study contribute to the literature in terms of providing comprehensive knowledge of defensive medicine.
Ideals Versus Actual Practice of Ethical Leadership: A Case Study Analysis of Public Sector Organizations in Pakistan
Authors: Hameed Ahmed Abdul , Waqas Muhammad , Fatima Tehreem , Anjum Zafar Uz Zaman
Published: June 2023

Ethical leadership has gained much attention after several high-profile failures such as Enron and Worldcom. However, most studies have been conducted in Western contexts. Ethical leadership in Muslim countries, including Pakistan, is understudied. The present study aimed to explore the perceived ideals of ethical leadership held by employees working in a public sector organization in Pakistan and the extent to which these ideals manifest in practice. Using the single case of a public sector firm as the basis for our research methodology, collecting data through 38 semi-structured interviews, and analysing using open, axial and selective coding, we revealed that employees idealize accountability, fairness, honesty and people orientation are the key features of ethical leadership. However, the manifestation of these features is often absent from the leaders’ behaviours, actions and decisions. The findings carry important implications for policymakers in Pakistan and elsewhere that can help them curb managers’ unethical behaviours similar to the case study organizations.