bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Changes in cervical cytokine profiles following focused ultrasound treatment for high‐risk human papillomavirus infection–related low‐grade cervical lesions
Authors: Wang Wenping , Zhou Honggui , Liu Yujuan , Ren Jiaojiao , Chen Liming
Published: April 2023

Objective

To evaluate the changes of cervical soluble immune markers after focused ultrasound (FU) treatment to explore the underlying local immune effects of FU in the treatment of high‐risk human papillomavirus (HR‐HPV) infection–related low‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL).

Methods

A total of 35 patients diagnosed with HR‐HPV infection–related histological LSIL who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in this prospective study and treated with FU. The authors used cytometric bead array to measure T‐helper type 1 (Th1) cytokine (interleukin [IL] 2, tumor necrosis factor, and interferon γ) and Th2 cytokine (IL‐4, IL‐5, IL‐6, and IL‐10) levels in the cervicovaginal lavage of patients before and 3 months after FU treatment.

Results

After FU treatment, the concentrations of Th2 cytokines IL‐5 and IL‐6 were significantly lower than those before FU treatment (P = 0.044 and P = 0.028, respectively). HR‐HPV infection was cleared in 27 patients, with a clearance rate of 77.1% (27 of 35). The concentration of IL‐4 in patients with HR‐HPV clearance after FU treatment was significantly lower than that in patients without HR‐HPV clearance (P = 0.045).

Conclusion

FU can inhibit the production of certain Th2 cytokines and may improve the local immune status of the cervix, thereby eliminating HR‐HPV infection.
Pricing and corporate social responsibility investment strategies for a manufacturer under information asymmetry
Authors: Lv Fei
Published: April 2023

We consider a supply chain comprising a dominant manufacturer and a supplier where both firms are socially concerned. The corporate social responsibility (CSR) cost of the supplier is private information. The manufacturer can determine its sales price before the supplier starts production (committed pricing) or postpone its pricing decision until after receiving components from the supplier (noncommitted pricing). Moreover, the manufacturer can determine its CSR investment level before (ex ante CSR investment) or after (ex post CSR investment) the supplier. Four scenarios are investigated to examine the optimal pricing and CSR investment strategies of the manufacturer. We find the following: First, under a noncommitted pricing strategy, the manufacturer always prefers ex post CSR investment. However, the reverse holds under the committed pricing strategy. Second, under the ex post CSR investment strategy, committed pricing benefits the manufacturer for most parameter combinations whereas noncommitted pricing benefits the manufacturer when facing consumers with high CSR awareness and low price awareness. Under the ex ante CSR investment strategy, the manufacturer always prefers committed pricing. Finally, the joint committed pricing with ex ante CSR investment strategy is optimal for the manufacturer.
Biocompatible Nanoarchitectonics of Water‐Soluble Vanadium Dichalcogenides Quantum Dots Functionalized with Capping Agents
Authors: Kumar Rahul , Sri Smriti , Dhiman Tarun Kumar , Solanki Pratima R. , Singh Kedar
Published: April 2023

Herein, three different water‐soluble functional groups capped vanadium disulfide quantum dots (VS2QDs), namely, L‐cysteine capped VS2QDs (L‐cys‐VS2QDs), thioglycolic acid capped VS2QDs (TGA‐VS2QDs), and 3‐mercaptopropionic acid capped VS2QDs (MPA‐VS2QDs) are synthesized via hydrothermal method. The comparison of the biocompatibility (MTT assay) of three differently capped VS2QDs is performed in RAW cell 264.7 cells with different concentrations (500, 250, 125, 62.5, 15.625, 7.812, and 3.906 μg mL−1). It is found that L‐cys‐VS2QDs show more biocompatibility than the TGA‐VS2QDs and MPA‐VS2QDs. However, at low concentrations, TGA‐VS2QDs also show better biocompatibility, whereas MPA‐VS2QDs show the least biocompatibility. Biocompatibility of L‐cys‐VS2QDs is also almost consistent with entire range of QDs concentrations may be due to L‐cys cellular inflammation and maintaining pH buffer.
Französische Rechtssachen und deutsche Schreibart. Zu Materialbezug und Übersetzungspraxis im Pitaval
Authors: Meierhofer Christian
Published: April 2023

Der Aufsatz untersucht anhand der beliebten Causes célèbres von Gayot de Pitaval das Verhältnis von juristischen Strafpraktiken und literarischer Aneignung sowie die Effekte eines veränderten Zeit- und Gegenwartsbewusstseins seit dem mittleren 18. Jahrhundert. Hierzu werden erstens die programmatischen Voraussetzungen, die Schreibintention und paratextuelle Legitimation des französischen Herausgebers Gayot und des anonymen deutschen Übersetzers beleuchtet. Zweitens konzentriert sich die Analyse beispielhaft auf den Fall der Madame Tiquet und den versuchten Meuchelmord an ihrem Ehemann sowie auf die intertextuellen Referenzen, die sich dabei ergeben. Drittens wird eine Heuristik vorgeschlagen, um die verschiedenen Dimensionen der Vergegenständlichung von Recht im Pitaval zu klassifizieren.
Zur Einführung: Kunstfreiheit versus Persönlichkeitsrecht
Authors: Arjomand-Zoike Daniel , Celik Nursan
Published: April 2023

Das juristische Kollisionsgefüge zwischen dem Rechtsgut der Kunstfreiheit einerseits und dem allgemeinen Persönlichkeitsrecht andererseits macht nicht davor Halt, mitunter selbst fiktionale Literatur zu einem literature-in-law-Fall werden zu lassen. Vergegenständlichungsprozesse von Literatur in der Variante von Verrechtlichungsprozessen sind der Literaturgeschichte nur allzu vertraut. Hierbei sind Fälle dezidiert ‚fiktionaler‘ Literatur besonders störanfällig und mindestens dem Anschein nach als aporetisch zu verzeichnen. Die (vermeintliche) Aporie äußert sich genau dann, wenn fiktionale Literatur Gegenstand eines juristischen Materialisierungsprozesses wird.
Massive color-kinematics duality and double-copy for Kaluza-Klein scattering amplitudes
Authors: Li Yao , Hang Yan-Feng , He Hong-Jian
Published: April 2023

Abstract

We study the structure of scattering amplitudes of massive Kaluza-Klein (KK) states under toroidal compactification. We present a shifting method to quantitatively derive the scattering amplitudes of massive KK gauge bosons and KK gravitons from the corresponding massless amplitudes in the noncompactified higher dimensional theories. With these we construct the massive KK scattering amplitudes by extending the double-copy relations of massless scattering amplitudes within the field theory framework, including both the BCJ and CHY methods, and build up their connections to the massive KK KLT relations. We present the massive BCJ-type double-copy construction of the N-point KK gauge boson/graviton scattering amplitudes, and as the applications we derive explicitly the four-point KK scattering amplitudes as well as the five-point KK scattering amplitudes. We further study the nonrelativistic limit of these massive scattering amplitudes with the heavy external KK states and discuss the impact of the compactified extra dimensions on the low energy gravitational potential. Finally, we analyze the four-point and N-point mass spectral conditions and newly propose a novel group theory approach to prove that only the KK theories under toroidal compactification can satisfy these conditions for directly realizing massive double-copy in the field theory framework.
Armonia Mundi and San Francesco della Vigna in Venice
Authors: Monteleone Cosimo
Published: April 2023

This essay deals with the construction of the church of San Francesco della Vigna in Venice. This church is an interesting case of proportions applied to architecture. The author analyzes the design, verifies the proportions, virtually reconstructs the unrealized facade by Jacopo Sansovino and compares it with the one built by Andrea Palladio.
Reversed-phase allergen microarrays on optical discs for multiplexed diagnostics of food allergies
Authors: Tortajada-Genaro Luis A. , Casañ-Raga Natalia , Mas Salva , Ibañez-Echevarria Ethel , Morais Sergi , Maquieira Ángel
Published: April 2023

A high percentage of the population suffers from multiple food allergies justifying  the importance of reliable diagnostic methods. Single-analyte solutions based on the determination of specific immunoglobulins E (sIgE) are safe and fast but are generally time-consuming and expensive. Thus sustainable microanalytical methods that provide multianalyte profiling information are highly demanded. This work presents the in vitro biosensing of specific IgE levels based on a reversed-phase allergen array. The approach consists of optical biosensing supported by direct multiplex immunoassays and on-disc technology. It identifies 12 sIgE associated with food allergies in a single analysis with a low serum sample volume (25 µL). After processing captured images, specific signals for each target biomarker correlate to their concentration. The assay analytically performs well with 0.3 IU/mL and 0.41 IU/mL as the detection and quantification limits in serum, respectively. This novel method achieves excellent clinical specificity (100%) and high sensitivity (91.1%), considering the diagnosis obtained by clinical history and ImmunoCAP analysis. The results demonstrate that microanalytical systems based on allergen arrays can potentially diagnose multiple food allergies and are easily implemented in primary care laboratory settings.

Graphical Abstract
A MILP approach combined with clustering to solve a special petrol station replenishment problem
Authors: Hajba Tamás , Horváth Zoltán , Heitz Dániel , Psenák Bálint
Published: April 2023

Vehicle routing problem is a well-known optimization problem in the logistics area. A special case of the vehicle routing problem is the station replenishment problem in which different types of fuel types have to be transported from the depots to the customers. In this paper we study the replenishment problem of a European petrol company. The problem contains several additional constraints such as time windows, different sized compartment vehicles, and restrictions on the vehicles that can serve a customer. We introduce a mixed integer linear programming model of the problem. To reduce the size complexity of the MILP model the customers are clustered and, based on the clusters, additional constraints are added to the MILP model. The resulting MILP model is tested on real problems of the company. The results show that combining the MILP model with clustering improves the effectiveness of the model.
Bridging the user equilibrium and the system optimum in static traffic assignment: a review
Authors: Morandi Valentina
Published: April 2023

Solving the road congestion problem is one of the most pressing issues in modern cities since it causes time wasting, pollution, higher industrial costs and huge road maintenance costs. Advances in ITS technologies and the advent of autonomous vehicles are changing mobility dramatically. They enable the implementation of a coordination mechanism, called coordinated traffic assignment, among the sat-nav devices aiming at assigning paths to drivers to eliminate congestion and to reduce the total travel time in traffic networks. Among possible congestion avoidance methods, coordinated traffic assignment is a valuable choice since it does not involve huge investments to expand the road network. Traffic assignments are traditionally devoted to two main perspectives on which the well-known Wardropian principles are inspired: the user equilibrium and the system optimum. User equilibrium is a user-driven traffic assignment in which each user chooses the most convenient path selfishly. It guarantees that fairness among users is respected since, when the equilibrium is reached, all users sharing the same origin and destination will experience the same travel time. The main drawback in a user equilibrium is that the system total travel time is not minimized and, hence, the so-called Price of Anarchy is paid. On the other hand, the system optimum is an efficient system-wide traffic assignment in which drivers are routed on the network in such a way the total travel time is minimized, but users might experience travel times that are higher than the other users travelling from the same origin to the same destination, affecting the compliance. Thus, drawbacks in implementing one of the two assignments can be overcome by hybridizing the two approaches, aiming at bridging users’ fairness to system-wide efficiency. In the last decades, a significant number of attempts have been done to bridge fairness among users and system efficiency in traffic assignments. The survey reviews the state-of-the-art of these trade-off approaches.
Tritrophic analysis of the prospective biological control of brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys, under extant weather and climate change
Authors: Gutierrez Andrew Paul , Sabbatini Peverieri Giuseppino , Ponti Luigi , Giovannini Lucrezia , Roversi Pio Federico , Mele Alberto , Pozzebon Alberto , Scaccini Davide , Hoelmer Kim A.
Published: April 2023

The highly destructive Asian brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys, BMSB) invaded Europe, Caucasus region, and North and South America. Efforts to control it are ongoing in the Palearctic European-Mediterranean Basin and North America by introducing and redistributing two Asian stenophagous scelionid egg parasitoids (Trissolcus japonicus and T. mitsukurii) that are attacked by an adventive oligophagous pteromalid Asian hyperparasitoid (Acroclisoides sinicus). Large BMSB nymphs and adults may be parasitized by new associations of oligophagous tachinid flies and immature stages by egg parasitoids and predators. The terms stenophagous and oligophagous are commonly used to define narrow and wider ranges, respectively, of food eaten, but here they refer to the range of hosts attacked by adult female parasitoids. A holistic weather-driven physiologically based demographic model (PBDM) of the tritrophic interactions was developed to evaluate prospectively the impact of natural enemies on the biological control of BMSB under current and climate change weather. Our study focuses on the European-Mediterranean region, with the results for the USA, Mexico, and Central America reported as supplementary information. The PBDM analysis suggests that biotypes of the egg parasitoids T. japonicus and T. mitsukurii with high search capacity could suppress BMSB regionally, but the requisite levels of parasitism by these parasitoids for economic control are not observed in their native range nor in invaded areas. The model suggests that the action of T. japonicus is greater than that of T. mitsukurii, but that joint interactions of the two egg parasitoids would provide higher mortality of BMSB. Field data and model results suggest that the egg hyperparasitoid A. sinicus has a modest negative impact on the suppression of BMSB. Moreover, tachinid parasitoids of adults could have an important supplemental role in suppressing BMSB densities. Analysis suggests that new biotypes of egg parasitoids and species of tachinid parasitoids of large nymphs and adults be sought.
The distribution of vertebrate roadkill varies by season, surrounding environment, and animal class
Authors: Arca-Rubio Jesús , Moreno-Rueda Gregorio , Ortega Zaida
Published: April 2023

Due to rapid human expansion in the last century, wildlife roadkill is becoming a concerning threat to biodiversity and human safety. The frequency of roadkill events depends on factors related to specific traits of the road—tortuosity or the presence of fences, among others—and the animal ecology—such as activity patterns, reproductive season, or thermoregulation. These, in turn, are related to environmental factors, with seasonal variations. Here, we assessed roadkill mortality of terrestrial vertebrates over the year. To do this, we sampled 10 road sections (of 3 km, by walk) in the south of Spain for a full year, registering the carcasses of run-over vertebrates. Then, we analysed the spatiotemporal patterns of roadkill events for the four vertebrates’ classes and the effects of road traits (presence of fence, tortuosity, distance to water point) and environmental variables (mean temperature and precipitation). Mammals suffered the highest mortality by roadkill (45.72%). The frequency of collisions was independent of tortuosity, presence of fences, and precipitation, while mean temperature significantly increased the probability of collision of mammals, birds, and reptiles. There was a seasonal effect in the number of collisions, which spatial pattern depended on the class of vertebrates. All this leads us to conclude that, to reduce the impact caused by roadkill mortality on wildlife, we need specific measures to be taken timely in each critical place and for each vertebrate group.
Characterization of noise in long-term ECG monitoring with machine learning based on clinical criteria
Authors: Holgado-Cuadrado Roberto , Plaza-Seco Carmen , Lovisolo Lisandro , Blanco-Velasco Manuel
Published: April 2023

Noise and artifacts affect strongly the quality of the electrocardiogram (ECG) in long-term ECG monitoring (LTM), making some of its parts impractical for diagnosis. The clinical severity of noise defines a qualitative quality score according to the manner clinicians make the interpretation of the ECG, in contrast to assess noise from a quantitative standpoint. So clinical noise refers to a scale of different levels of qualitative severity of noise which aims at elucidating which ECG fragments are valid to achieve diagnosis from a clinical point of view, unlike the traditional approach, which assesses noise in terms of quantitative severity. This work proposes the use of machine learning (ML) techniques to categorize different qualitative noise severity using a database annotated according to a clinical noise taxonomy as gold standard. A comparative study is carried out using five representative ML methods, namely, K neareast neighbors, decision trees, support vector machine, single-layer perceptron, and random forest. The models are fed by signal quality indexes characterizing the waveform in time and frequency domains, as well as from a statistical viewpoint, to distinguish between clinically valid ECG segments from invalid ones. A solid methodology to prevent overfitting to both the dataset and the patient is developed, taking into account balance of classes, patient separation, and patient rotation in the test set. All the proposed learning systems have demonstrated good classification performance, attaining a recall, precision, and F1 score up to 0.78, 0.80, and 0.77, respectively, in the test set by a single-layer perceptron approach. These systems provide a classification solution for assessing the clinical quality of the ECG taken from LTM recordings.
SlicerCBM: automatic framework for biomechanical analysis of the brain
Authors: Safdar Saima , Zwick Benjamin F. , Yu Yue , Bourantas George C. , Joldes Grand R. , Warfield Simon K. , Hyde Damon E. , Frisken Sarah , Kapur Tina , Kikinis Ron , Golby Alexandra , Nabavi Arya , Wittek Adam , Miller Karol
Published: April 2023

Purpose

Brain shift that occurs during neurosurgery disturbs the brain’s anatomy. Prediction of the brain shift is essential for accurate localisation of the surgical target. Biomechanical models have been envisaged as a possible tool for such predictions. In this study, we created a framework to automate the workflow for predicting intra-operative brain deformations.

Methods

We created our framework by uniquely combining our meshless total Lagrangian explicit dynamics (MTLED) algorithm for computing soft tissue deformations, open-source software libraries and built-in functions within 3D Slicer, an open-source software package widely used for medical research. Our framework generates the biomechanical brain model from the pre-operative MRI, computes brain deformation using MTLED and outputs results in the form of predicted warped intra-operative MRI.

Results

Our framework is used to solve three different neurosurgical brain shift scenarios: craniotomy, tumour resection and electrode placement. We evaluated our framework using nine patients. The average time to construct a patient-specific brain biomechanical model was 3 min, and that to compute deformations ranged from 13 to 23 min. We performed a qualitative evaluation by comparing our predicted intra-operative MRI with the actual intra-operative MRI. For quantitative evaluation, we computed Hausdorff distances between predicted and actual intra-operative ventricle surfaces. For patients with craniotomy and tumour resection, approximately 95% of the nodes on the ventricle surfaces are within two times the original in-plane resolution of the actual surface determined from the intra-operative MRI.

Conclusion

Our framework provides a broader application of existing solution methods not only in research but also in clinics. We successfully demonstrated the application of our framework by predicting intra-operative deformations in nine patients undergoing neurosurgical procedures.
Corporate digital responsibility (CDR) in Germany: background and first empirical evidence from DAX 30 companies in 2020
Authors: Merbecks Ute
Published: April 2023

Corporate digital responsibility (CDR) is a recently developing new management concept in response to the increasing challenges caused by digital transformation. In Germany, this self-governance approach influenced the political discussions and led to a more integrative and collaborative multi-policy strategy beyond pure regulatory regimes. The launch of the German CDR-code by the German action group in June 2021 is a milestone to capture ethical problems in digitalised firms by voluntary commitments from signatories. However, little empirical evidence on the current state of CDR-initiatives at German corporations is available up-to now. This article addresses the identified research gap by performing a qualitative analysis of the disclosed information on CDR in nonfinancial reports of the DAX 30 companies from 2020. After a brief introduction, a literature review on CDR-related research activities is presented in Sect. 2, and the context and background of the study are specified. Section 3 presents the results of the empirical study on disclosed CDR-related information by German DAX 30 companies. Section 4 concludes with a discussion and discovers future research avenues on CDR. Corporate responsibility in the digital economy is a field of research that is open for different disciplines and especially theoretical normative research on CDR should be accelerated.
Exploring “big picture” scenarios for resilience in social–ecological systems: transdisciplinary cross-impact balances modeling in the Red River Basin
Authors: Lazurko Anita , Schweizer Vanessa , Armitage Derek
Published: April 2023

Climate change is increasing the frequency and the severity of extreme events in river basins around the world. Efforts to build resilience to these impacts are complicated by the social–ecological interactions, cross-scale feedbacks, and diverse actor interests that influence the dynamics of change in social–ecological systems (SESs). In this study, we aimed to explore big-picture scenarios of a river basin under climate change by characterizing future change as emergent from interactions between diverse efforts to build resilience and a complex, cross-scale SES. To do so, we facilitated a transdisciplinary scenario modeling process structured by the cross-impact balances (CIB) method, a semi-quantitative method that applies systems theory to generate internally consistent narrative scenarios from a network of interacting drivers of change. Thus, we also aimed to explore the potential for the CIB method to surface diverse perspectives and drivers of change in SESs. We situated this process in the Red River Basin, a transboundary basin shared by the United States and Canada where significant natural climatic variability is worsened by climate change. The process generated 15 interacting drivers ranging from agricultural markets to ecological integrity, generating eight consistent scenarios that are robust to model uncertainty. The scenario analysis and the debrief workshop reveal important insights, including the transformative changes required to achieve desirable outcomes and the cornerstone role of Indigenous water rights. In sum, our analysis surfaced significant complexities surrounding efforts to build resilience and affirmed the potential for the CIB method to generate unique insights about the trajectory of SESs.
Representation Theorems for the Cauchy Transform in Weighted Bergman–Dirichlet Spaces
Authors: Thomaser T.
Published: April 2023

In this paper we analyse the integrability of Cauchy transforms of functions and measures. As an application of general Paley–Wiener theorems, we show that the integrability of the Cauchy transform of a function or measure is deeply related to the integrability of the Fourier transform of the corresponding function (measure). Our main results are representation theorems for the Cauchy transform in weighted spaces of Bergman–Dirichlet type.
What is Existence? A Matter of Co(n)text
Authors: Barbero Carola , Domaneschi Filippo , Enrici Ivan , Voltolini Alberto
Published: April 2023

In this paper, we present some experimental findings whose best explanation, first of all, provides a positive answer to a philosophical question in ontology as to whether, in the overall domain of beings, there are fictional characters (ficta) over and above concrete individuals. Moreover, since such findings arise out of different comparisons between fictional characters and concrete individuals on the one hand and fictional characters again and non-items that do not belong at all to such an overall domain on the other hand, they also suggest that ficta are allowed as inhabiting a particular subrealm of that domain distinct from the one inhabited by concrete individuals, as previous findings in cognitive psychology had suggested.
Dark-ego-vehicle principle: Narcissism as a predictor of anti-sexual assault activism
Authors: Bertrams Alex , Krispenz Ann
Published: April 2023

In this preregistered study, we tested the dark-ego-vehicle principle. This principle states that individuals with dark personalities, such as high narcissistic traits, are inclined to become involved in certain kinds of ideologies and political activism. We argue that narcissistic individuals can be attracted to anti-sexual assault activism because this form of activism may provide them with opportunities to obtain positive self-presentation (e.g., virtue signaling), gain status, dominate others, and engage in social conflicts to get their thrills. A diverse US sample (N = 313) completed online measures of narcissistic traits and involvement in anti-sexual assault activism. In addition, relevant covariates were assessed (i.e., age, gender, adult sexual assault history, sexual harassment myth acceptance, and altruism), and the interaction between narcissistic traits and gender was considered. The results of the multiple regression analysis showed that higher narcissistic traits predicted an individual’s higher involvement in anti-sexual assault activism over and above the covariates. However, this relationship was evident only for the women in this sample. Notably, a higher level of altruism in an individual was also substantially associated with higher involvement in anti-sexual assault activism. We discuss how the narcissism-by-gender interaction may be in line with the dark-ego-vehicle principle.
Drought hazards and stakeholder perception: Unraveling the interlinkages between drought severity, perceived impacts, preparedness, and management
Authors: Teutschbein Claudia , Albrecht Frederike , Blicharska Malgorzata , Tootoonchi Faranak , Stenfors Elin , Grabs Thomas
Published: April 2023

The future risk for droughts and water shortages calls for substantial efforts by authorities to adapt at local levels. Understanding their perception of drought hazards, risk and vulnerability can help to identify drivers of and barriers to drought risk planning and management in a changing climate at the local level. This paper presents a novel interdisciplinary drought case study in Sweden that integrates soft data from a nationwide survey among more than 100 local practitioners and hard data based on hydrological measurements to provide a holistic assessment of the links between drought severity and the perceived levels of drought severity, impacts, preparedness, and management for two consecutive drought events. The paper highlights challenges for drought risk planning and management in a changing climate at the local level and elaborates on how improved understanding of local practitioners to plan for climate change adaptation can be achieved.
Air quality changes in Taiwan over the past decades and during the COVID-19 crisis
Authors: Hung Chih-wen , Shih Ming-Fu
Published: April 2023

Over the past decades, Taiwan has achieved remarkable goals in air pollution reduction with the concentrations of several common air pollutants such as CO, NOx, PM10, PM2.5, and SO2 going down. In contrast to these achievements, the mitigation of O3 remains extremely tough due to the complexity of its formation process involving synergistic effects of precursor reductions and meteorological influences. During the local COVID-19 crises in Taiwan and the Level 3 alert in 2021, air pollutants directly emitted from the traffic such as CO and NOx present clear relationships with the drop of the recorded freeway traffic volume due to the alert, while PM10 and PM2.5 which are also relevant to the traffic do not show indications of being greatly influenced by the decrease of the traffic flow. Although road traffic is not regarded as a main source of SO2 by current understanding, the unusual SO2 variation patterns found in this study suggest a prolonged impact for months from the changes of travel behavior during the epidemic. In contrast, the epidemic did not exert influences on industrial SO2 concentration which accounts for a large portion of total SO2 in Taiwan, and a similar scenario is also seen in each type of O3 monitoring. Although some results discussed in this study are not in line with current consensuses and understandings in terms of the nation of certain air pollutants, these findings may disclose new perspectives which could be a potential benefit to air quality improvement projects in the future.
Eigenvalues and Eigenfunctions of One-Dimensional Fractal Laplacians
Authors: Tang Wei , Guo Jia
Published: April 2023

We study the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of one-dimensional weighted fractal Laplacians. These Laplacians are defined by self-similar measures with overlaps. We first prove the existence of eigenvalues and eigenfunctions. We then set up a framework for one-dimensional measures to discretize the equation defining the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions, and obtain numerical approximations of the eigenvalue and eigenfunction by using the finite element method. Finally, we show that the numerical eigenvalues and eigenfunctions converge to the actual ones and obtain the rate of convergence.
Calculation example of full cycle carbon emission of super deep foundation pit and carbon reduction measures
Authors: Hu Hexiang , Li Chaolai , Xu Zhonghua , Gui Yue , Zong Ludan , Shi Jingbin
Published: April 2023

The determination of carbon emission from foundation pit engineering is a tough and complex project owing to its characteristics including large material consumption, short use time, difficult recycling and no operation stage. To overcome these limitations, the calculation boundary and calculation method for carbon emission of foundation pit project are defined in this paper, which is successfully applied in the carbon emission analysis of the actual engineering project, i.e. the construction of large-scale foundation pit of Kunming comprehensive transportation international hub. All the carbon emissions coresponding to four working stages including building materials production, building materials transportation, construction and demolition were calculated and anatomized. The results revealed that the content of CO2 released in the stage of building materials production accounts for 89.3% of the total carbon emission, which means the amount of building materials consumed in the engineering project is the crucial factor to control the carbon emission. Besides, two kinds of carbon reduction measures, i.e. optimization design of support scheme and recycling waste materials of internal support demolition, were explored by analyzing the proportion and average value of carbon emission from different sub project of the support structure. A pronounced effect of carbon reduction was achieved. Furthermore, both a fast calculation method of carbon emission factor of unit work volume and general carbon reduction measures are proposed in this paper, which could provide a reference and new viewpoint for the engineers and designers to calculate and analyze the carbon emission and to take effective carbon reduction measures.
The Preferential Option of the Poor: Liberation Theology, Pentecostalism, and the New Forms of Sacralization
Authors: Zegarra Raúl E.
Published: April 2023

This paper argues that the alleged demise of liberation theology is the product of an oversimplification of the movement’s development,—one that depends on a church-focused understanding of the process of secularization. Yet, a different interpretation of this process may allow us to see secularization as a process capable of eliciting new forms of sacralization. My contention is that liberation theology has remained active in civil society, especially through faith-based organizations not supported by the Catholic Church. I argue that these civil-society organizations have become new sacred spaces that address the needs of the most vulnerable. To warrant these claims, I present a comparative study of the parallel development of liberation theology and Pentecostalism in Latin America, particularly in the case of Peru. Since both movements focus on the most disenfranchised and thus may compete for the same public, attention to the success or failure of their strategies will help to elucidate the current status of liberation theology.
Arrival of legal Salafism and struggle for recognition in Germany—reflection and adaptation processes within the German da'wa movement between 2001 and 2022
Authors: Emmerich Arndt
Published: April 2023

The article investigates the transformation within a specific branch of German Salafism from a publicly-assertiveda'wa(proselytizing) to a politically accommodating and legal advocacy movement. In doing so, a process analysis that focuses on internal and reflexive narrations among Salafi leaders and lay members, through a three year-long mosque-based ethnography (2018–2021) and textual analysis (2008–2022), is employed. Previous studies focused predominately on the “Salafi growth phase” (2005–2015) in Germany that is associated with the attraction of exclusive group boundaries, flat hierarchies and informal networks. Less research exists on the current “decline phase”, which has commenced a re-orientation and critical reflection on past strategies and new ways of civic engagement and legal pragmatism. By exploring this new phase, the article integrates a longitudinal dimension into conventional research protocols on contemporary Salafism. The paper concludes with a discussion on the converging struggles for recognition among Muslim and other religious minorities in Europe, while linking these transformations to domestic opportunity structures rather than transnational reconfigurations of so-called “global Salafism”.
Understanding the pathways between prenatal and postnatal factors and overweight outcomes in early childhood: a pooled analysis of seven cohorts
Authors: Zheng Miaobing , Hesketh Kylie D. , Vuillermin Peter , Dodd Jodie , Wen Li Ming , Baur Louise A. , Taylor Rachael , Byrne Rebecca , Mihrshahi Seema , Burgner David , Tang Mimi L. K. , Campbell Karen J.
Published: April 2023

Background/objectives

Childhood overweight and obesity are influenced by a range of prenatal and postnatal factors. Few studies have explored the integrative pathways linking these factors and childhood overweight. This study aimed to elucidate the integrative pathways through which maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), infant birth weight, breastfeeding duration, and rapid weight gain (RWG) during infancy are associated with overweight outcomes in early childhood from ages 3 to 5 years.

Subjects/methods

Pooled data from seven Australian and New Zealand cohorts were used (n = 3572). Generalized structural equation modelling was used to examine direct and indirect associations of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, infant birth weight, breastfeeding duration, and RWG during infancy with child overweight outcomes (BMI z-score and overweight status).

Results

Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was directly associated with infant birth weight (β 0.01, 95%CI 0.01, 0.02), breastfeeding duration ≥6 months (OR 0.92, 95%CI 0.90, 0.93), child BMI z-score (β 0.03, 95%CI 0.03, 0.04) and overweight status (OR 1.07, 95%CI 1.06, 1.09) at ages 3–5 years. The association between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and child overweight outcomes was partially mediated by infant birth weight, but not RWG. RWG in infancy exhibited the strongest direct association with child overweight outcomes (BMI z-score: β 0.72, 95%CI 0.65, 0.79; overweight status: OR 4.49, 95%CI 3.61, 5.59). Infant birth weight was implicated in the indirect pathways of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI with RWG in infancy, breastfeeding duration, and child overweight outcomes. The associations between breastfeeding duration (≥6 months) and lower child overweight outcomes were fully mediated by RWG in infancy.

Conclusions

Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, infant birth weight, breastfeeding duration and RWG in infancy act in concert to influence early childhood overweight. Future overweight prevention interventions should target RWG in infancy, which showed the strongest association with childhood overweight; and maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, which was implicated in several pathways leading to childhood overweight.
Targeting Fusobacterium nucleatum through chemical modifications of host-derived transfer RNA fragments
Authors: Yang Mengdi , Dong Pu-Ting , Cen Lujia , Shi Wenyuan , He Xuesong , Li Jiahe
Published: April 2023

Host mucosal barriers possess an arsenal of defense molecules to maintain host-microbe homeostasis such as antimicrobial peptides and immunoglobulins. In addition to these well-established defense molecules, we recently reported small RNAs (sRNAs)-mediated interactions between human oral keratinocytes and Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn), an oral pathobiont with increasing implications in extra-oral diseases. Specifically, upon Fn infection, oral keratinocytes released Fn-targeting tRNA-derived sRNAs (tsRNAs), an emerging class of noncoding sRNAs with gene regulatory functions. To explore potential antimicrobial activities of tsRNAs, we chemically modify the nucleotides of the Fn-targeting tsRNAs and demonstrate that the resultant tsRNA derivatives, termed MOD-tsRNAs, exhibit growth inhibitory effect against various Fn type strains and clinical tumor isolates without any delivery vehicle in the nanomolar concentration range. In contrast, the same MOD-tsRNAs do not inhibit other representative oral bacteria. Further mechanistic studies uncover the ribosome-targeting functions of MOD-tsRNAs in inhibiting Fn. Taken together, our work provides an engineering approach to targeting pathobionts through co-opting host-derived extracellular tsRNAs.
Quantifying the effects of risk-stratified breast cancer screening when delivered in real time as routine practice versus usual screening: the BC-Predict non-randomised controlled study (NCT04359420)
Authors: Gareth Evans D. , McWilliams Lorna , Astley Susan , Brentnall Adam R. , Cuzick Jack , Dobrashian Richard , Duffy Stephen W. , Gorman Louise S. , Harkness Elaine F. , Harrison Fiona , Harvie Michelle , Jerrison Andrew , Machin Matthew , Maxwell Anthony J. , Howell Sacha J. , Wright Stuart J. , Payne Katherine , Qureshi Nadeem , Ruane Helen , Southworth Jake , Fox Lynne , Bowers Sarah , Hutchinson Gillian , Thorpe Emma , Ulph Fiona , Woof Victoria , Howell Anthony , French David P.
Published: April 2023

Abstract

Background

Risk stratification as a routine part of the NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP) could provide a better balance of benefits and harms. We developed BC-Predict, to offer women when invited to the NHSBSP, which collects standard risk factor information; mammographic density; and in a sub-sample, a Polygenic Risk Score (PRS).

Methods

Risk prediction was estimated primarily from self-reported questionnaires and mammographic density using the Tyrer–Cuzick risk model. Women eligible for NHSBSP were recruited. BC-Predict produced risk feedback letters, inviting women at high risk (≥8% 10-year) or moderate risk (≥5–<8% 10-year) to have appointments to discuss prevention and additional screening.

Results

Overall uptake of BC-Predict in screening attendees was 16.9% with 2472 consenting to the study; 76.8% of those received risk feedback within the 8-week timeframe. Recruitment was 63.2% with an onsite recruiter and paper questionnaire compared to <10% with BC-Predict only (P < 0.0001). Risk appointment attendance was highest for those at high risk (40.6%); 77.5% of those opted for preventive medication.

Discussion

We have shown that a real-time offer of breast cancer risk information (including both mammographic density and PRS) is feasible and can be delivered in reasonable time, although uptake requires personal contact. Preventive medication uptake in women newly identified at high risk is high and could improve the cost-effectiveness of risk stratification.

Trial registration

Retrospectively registered with clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04359420).
Metaboverse enables automated discovery and visualization of diverse metabolic regulatory patterns
Authors: Berg Jordan A. , Zhou Youjia , Ouyang Yeyun , Cluntun Ahmad A. , Waller T. Cameron , Conway Megan E. , Nowinski Sara M. , Van Ry Tyler , George Ian , Cox James E. , Wang Bei , Rutter Jared
Published: April 2023

Metabolism is intertwined with various cellular processes, including controlling cell fate, influencing tumorigenesis, participating in stress responses and more. Metabolism is a complex, interdependent network, and local perturbations can have indirect effects that are pervasive across the metabolic network. Current analytical and technical limitations have long created a bottleneck in metabolic data interpretation. To address these shortcomings, we developed Metaboverse, a user-friendly tool to facilitate data exploration and hypothesis generation. Here we introduce algorithms that leverage the metabolic network to extract complex reaction patterns from data. To minimize the impact of missing measurements within the network, we introduce methods that enable pattern recognition across multiple reactions. Using Metaboverse, we identify a previously undescribed metabolite signature that correlated with survival outcomes in early stage lung adenocarcinoma patients. Using a yeast model, we identify metabolic responses suggesting an adaptive role of citrate homeostasis during mitochondrial dysfunction facilitated by the citrate transporter, Ctp1. We demonstrate that Metaboverse augments the user’s ability to extract meaningful patterns from multi-omics datasets to develop actionable hypotheses.
Pyrolysis and oxidation of benzene and cyclopentadiene by NOx: a ReaxFF molecular dynamics study
Authors: Wang Ying , Zhou Lei , Mao Qian , Wang Zhanyuan , Wei Haiqiao
Published: April 2023

This work describes the pyrolysis and oxidation of benzene and cyclopentadiene in the absence and presence of O2, NO and NO2 under combustion conditions, using a ReaxFF molecular dynamics method.
Design and synthesis of dinuclear cobalt(ii) complexes derived from strong π-acidic ligands: crystal structure and studies on the oxidation of sp3 C–H bonds
Authors: Singh Anshu , Boro Bishal , Maji Ankur , Singh Ovender , Singh Sain , Singh Udai P. , Ghosh Kaushik
Published: April 2023

Cobalt complexes (1 and 2) supported by strong π-acidic ligands were synthesized and characterized. These complexes were employed as catalysts for the oxidation of sp3 C–H bonds. Mechanistic pathways are proposed on the basis of experimental evidence.
Phosphorus–nitrogen compounds: part 70. Syntheses of tetraaminomono/bis(4-fluorobenzyl)spiro(N/N)cyclotriphosphazenes: structural characterization, Hirshfeld surface analysis and comparative evaluation of esterase activities of hCA I and hCA II isoenzymes
Authors: Okumuş Aytuğ , Elmas Gamze , Binici Arzu , Tunca Ekrem , Hökelek Tuncer , Kılıç Zeynel
Published: April 2023

The synthetic, spectral, and crystallographic properties, Hirshfeld surface analysis and the inhibitory effects on the esterase activities of newly tetraaminomono/bis(4-fluorobenzyl)spiro(N/N)cyclotriphosphazenes were researched comparatively.
Closed‐form angle estimation of unresolved targets in monopulse radar to counter the angular electronic attack
Authors: Rezaei Habib , Sebt Mohammad Ali , Zarei Nadali , Saadati Moghadam Goudarz
Published: April 2023

Typical monopulse radar cannot detect the angle of two closely‐spaced targets in one resolution cell. The authors propose a closed‐form technique to estimate the angle of two unresolved targets by using a single snapshot of four radar receiver channels. In this work, phase comparison and amplitude comparison problems for monopulse radar are resolved. The monopulse radar angle estimation system has been enhanced using the diagonal difference channel. Using a single pulse, this technique can accurately determine the angle and amplitude of the deceptive decoy and the real target. If both targets have the same direction, the proposed scheme cannot detect them; therefore, to estimate the angle of such targets, we used an additional antenna. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated by comparing the exact solutions and simulations.
Method for increasing the efficiency of ozone electrosynthesis process with periodic voltage pulses
Authors: Babayev Aziz , Xasanov Giyosbek , Kilichov Orifjon
Published: April 2023

This article presents the results of a scientific study to improve the efficiency of ozone electrosynthesis. The issues of applying another voltage as a periodic voltage pulse are considered. The analysis of the process of electrosynthesis of ozone when fed with periodic high-voltage pulses is given, as a result of which the stability of discharges in the discharge gap was achieved. Transient processes in the discharge gap in the pause between voltage pulses are considered. The results of studies of the energy indicators of pulsed and sinusoidal voltages are also presented. Where the analysis of the equations shows that the main part of the energy of periodic voltage pulses is spent on the discharge process, which is accompanied by ozone electrosynthesis, which leads to an increase in the efficiency of ozone electrosynthesis with a periodic pulse voltage.
Observation of the γγ → ττ process in Pb+Pb collisions and constraints on the τ-lepton anomalous magnetic moment with the ATLAS detector at LHC
Authors: Cavasinni Vincenzo
Published: April 2023

This paper reports the observation of τ-lepton pair production in ultraperipheral lead-lead collisions, Pb(γ)Pb(γ) → ττ and constraints on the τ-lepton anomalous magnetic moment, aτ, measured by the ATLAS experiment. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 1.44 nb−1 of LHC Pb+Pb collisions at $ \sqrt{S_{NN}}=5.02 {\rm TeV} $. Selected events contain one muon from a τ-lepton decay, an electron or charged-particle track(s) from the other τ-lepton decay, little additional central-detector activity, and no forward neutrons. The γγ → ττ process is observed in Pb+Pb collisions with a signal strength of µττ= 1.03$ _{-0.05}^{+0.06} $. To measure aτ, a template fit to the muon transverse-momentum distribution from τ-lepton candidates is performed, using a dimuon (γγ → µµ) control sample to constrain systematic uncertainties. The observed 95% confidence-level interval for aτ is (−0.057, 0.024).