bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Predicting Ambulatory Capacity in Parkinson's Disease to Analyze Progression, Biomarkers, and Trial Design
Authors: Venuto Charles S. , Smith Greta , Herbst Konnor , Zielinski Robert , Yung Norman C.W. , Grosset Donald G. , Dorsey E. Ray , Kieburtz Karl
Published: June 2023

Background

In Parkinson's disease (PD), gait and balance is impaired, relatively resistant to available treatment and associated with falls and disability. Predictive models of ambulatory progression could enhance understanding of gait/balance disturbances and aid in trial design.

Objectives

To predict trajectories of ambulatory abilities from baseline clinical data in early PD, relate trajectories to clinical milestones, compare biomarkers, and evaluate trajectories for enrichment of clinical trials.

Methods

Data from two multicenter, longitudinal, observational studies were used for model training (Tracking Parkinson's, n = 1598) and external testing (Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative, n = 407). Models were trained and validated to predict individuals as having a “Progressive” or “Stable” trajectory based on changes of ambulatory capacity scores from the Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale parts II and III. Survival analyses compared time‐to‐clinical milestones and trial outcomes between predicted trajectories.

Results

On external evaluation, a support vector machine model predicted Progressive trajectories using baseline clinical data with an accuracy, weighted‐F1 (proportionally weighted harmonic mean of precision and sensitivity), and sensitivity/specificity of 0.735, 0.799, and 0.688/0.739, respectively. Over 4 years, the predicted Progressive trajectory was more likely to experience impaired balance, loss of independence, impaired function and cognition. Baseline dopamine transporter imaging and select biomarkers of neurodegeneration were significantly different between predicted trajectory groups. For an 18‐month, randomized (1:1) clinical trial, sample size savings up to 30% were possible when enrollment was enriched for the Progressive trajectory versus no enrichment.

Conclusions

It is possible to predict ambulatory abilities from clinical data that are associated with meaningful outcomes in people with early PD. © 2023 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
Mental health status of children who use foreign languages at home in Japan
Authors: Takahashi Michio , Nishimura Tomoko , Osuka Yuko , Tsukui Nobuaki , Adachi Masaki , Katayama Taiichi , Wakuta Manabu
Published: June 2023

Aim

Little is known about the mental health status of children in Japan whose roots are in foreign countries. The differences in language that are used every day may be a factor that makes adaptation difficult for these children. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to examine the mental health status of children who use foreign languages at home via a cross‐sectional survey in a large cohort.

Methods

The survey was conducted among children who attended public elementary and junior high schools in a large city in Japan. Data were received from 20,596 elementary school‐aged (above 4th grade) and 19,464 junior high school‐aged children. We compared mental health status evaluated by the Patient Health Questionnaire‐4 in the group based on language usage at home (only Japanese, only foreign languages, and both languages).

Results

We found that children who used foreign languages at home exhibited worse mental health status than children who used only Japanese at home. In addition, mental health status was slightly better among junior high school‐aged children who used only foreign languages at home than among elementary school‐aged children. This tendency was not observed in the group of children who used both languages at home.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that children in Japanese society who use foreign languages at home have worse mental health, therefore there is a need for support for these children living in Japan.
Novel Biocompatible Magnetoelectric MnFe2O4 Core@BCZT Shell Nano–Hetero‐Structures with Efficient Catalytic Performance
Authors: Chernozem Roman V. , Urakova Alina O. , Chernozem Polina V. , Koptsev Danila A. , Mukhortova Yulia R. , Grubova Irina Yu. , Wagner Dmitry V. , Gerasimov Evgeny Yu. , Surmeneva Maria A. , Kholkin Andrei L. , Surmenev Roman A.
Published: June 2023

Magnetoelectric (ME) small‐scale robotic devices attract great interest from the scientific community due to their unique properties for biomedical applications. Here, novel ME nano hetero‐structures based on the biocompatible magnetostrictive MnFe2O4 (MFO) and ferroelectric Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3 (BCZT) are developed solely via the hydrothermal method for the first time. An increase in the temperature and duration of the hydrothermal synthesis results in increasing the size, improving the purity, and inducing morphology changes of MFO nanoparticles (NPs). A successful formation of a thin epitaxial BCZT‐shell with a 2–5 nm thickness is confirmed on the MFO NPs (77 ± 14 nm) preliminarily treated with oleic acid (OA) or polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), whereas no shell is revealed on the surface of pristine MFO NPs. High magnetization is revealed for the developed ME NPs based on PVP‐ and OA‐functionalized MFO NPs (18.68 ± 0.13 and 20.74 ± 0.22 emu g−1, respectively). Moreover, ME NPs demonstrate 95% degradation of a model pollutant Rhodamine B within 2.5 h under an external AC magnetic field (150 mT, 100 Hz). Thus, the developed biocompatible core–shell ME NPs of MFO and BCZT can be considered as a promising tool for non‐invasive biomedical applications, environmental remediation, and hydrogen generation for renewable energy sources.
Counteracting sociocultural barriers in global software engineering using group activities
Authors: Yasin Affan , Fatima Rubia , Ali Khan Javed , Liu Lin , Ali Raian , Wang Jianmin
Published: June 2023

In modern times, internationally organized teams face a number of coordination problems owing to their different physical operating locations. These challenges usually come in temporal, cultural, and linguistic forms. To resolve some of these issues, we need more coordination, teamwork, and shared understanding in the requirements engineering phase. Many approaches have been introduced to overcome these challenges associated with global software engineering (GSE). The objective of this research study is to introduce amateurs to GSE and improve their understanding of its associated challenges through an activity‐based learning approach. Our method is primarily targeted toward students who already have theoretical knowledge on the topic but require first‐hand experience with GSE. With the aforementioned motivation in mind, we propose, designe, and empirically evaluate two different activities that can help enhance awareness of GSE challenges. For each activity, we simulate an environment wherein participants are made to go through various constructed coordination challenges related to communication, time management, team mistrust, linguistic barriers, cultural barriers, and distribution of tasks. The effectiveness of our proposed activities, captured by the extent to which participants were able to deal with GSE challenges, was judged through various techniques including (i) observation, (ii) post activities survey questionnaire, and (iii) brainstorming and discussion. We show that the proposed activities were effective in helping students learn and further their understanding of GSE concepts. In particular, discussion sessions and survey questionnaire results reflect their ability to identify critical GSE challenges (specifically related to teams) in a simulated scenario.
Higher derivative couplings of hypermultiplets
Authors: Chang Hao-Yuan , Sezgin Ergin , Tanii Yoshiaki
Published: June 2023

Abstract

We construct the four-derivative supersymmetric extension of (1, 0), 6D supergravity coupled to Yang-Mills and hypermultiplets. The hypermultiplet scalars are taken to parametrize the quaternionic projective space Hp(n) = Sp(n, 1)/Sp(n) × Sp(1)R. The hyperscalar kinetic term is not deformed, and the quaternionic Kähler structure and symmetries of Hp(n) are preserved. The result is a three parameter Lagrangian supersymmetric up to first order in these parameters. Considering the case of Hp(1) we compare our result with that obtained from the compactification of 10D heterotic supergravity on four-torus, consistently truncated to N = (1, 0), in which the hyperscalars parametrize SO(1, 4)/SO(4). We find that depending on how the Sp(1) is embedded in the SO(4), the results agree for a specific value of the parameter that governs the higher derivative hypermultiplet couplings.
PRECISE Scale: a quantitative classification for androgenetic alopecia and its application to hair transplantation
Authors: Pittella Felipe , Castro Carlo G. , Trivellini Roberto , Sethi Pradeep , La Padula Simone , Sanabria Baltazar , Paes Camila Q. , Palmieri Miguel G. S. , Pittella Frederico
Published: June 2023

Background

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a prevalent genetic condition that can affect both male and female, and is considered the most frequent form of hair loss. Traditional scales and methods of classifying AGA are basically qualitative.

Objective

This work aims to propose a quantitative scale to classify AGA in order to assist hair transplantation surgery.

Methods

Based on whole hairless and thinning areas that needs to receive follicular units in a hair transplantation procedure, basic equations to support the scale are proposed. Additionally, the study involves simulations that apply the classification system and compare its results with those of qualitative methods.

Results

The PRECISE scale utilizes a range of 0–10, using 30 cm2 as the measured standard of a bald area. For hair transplantation, 1500 follicular units (FU) are recommended for each score in the PRECISE scale. Technological and manual methods to measure the hairless and thinning areas are presented and discussed. This new quantitative classification, combined with different and complementary methods of measurement of hairless and thinning areas endorse the understanding of the clinical condition by the patient and the planning of a surgery procedure.

Conclusion

The developed PRECISE scale brings a different way of classifying Androgenetic alopecia (AGA), through an essentially quantitative evaluation. It can be used to elaborate the best strategy for the hair transplantation surgery and to improve the outcomes.

Level of Evidence V

This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these evidence-based medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.
Are volcanic melts less viscous than we thought? The case of Stromboli basalt
Authors: Valdivia Pedro , Zandonà Alessio , Kurnosov Alexander , Ballaran Tiziana Boffa , Deubener Joachim , Di Genova Danilo
Published: June 2023

Melt viscosity is one of the most critical physical properties controlling magma transport dynamics and eruptive style. Although viscosity measurements are widely used to study and model the flow behavior of magmas, recent research has revealed that nanocrystallization of Fe–Ti-oxides can compromise the reliability of viscosity data. This phenomenon can occur during laboratory measurements around the glass transition temperature (Tg) and lead to the depletion of iron and titanium in the residual melt phase, with a significant increase in viscosity. Accurate viscosity measurements play a crucial role in determining the reliability of empirical models for magma viscosity, which are used to evaluate eruptive scenarios in hazardous areas. Here, we quantify the reliability of empirical models by elaborating a new viscosity model of Stromboli basalt that relies exclusively on viscosity data obtained from nanocrystal-free samples. We show that empirical models so far used to estimate melt viscosity at eruptive conditions overestimate Stromboli viscosity by a factor ranging between 2 and 5. In the context of numerical modelling of magmatic processes at Stromboli volcano, we analyse and interpret this finding. Based on our findings, we draw the conclusion that Stromboli basalt is anticipated to ascend from the storage area to the vent at a faster rate than previously hypothesized.
Genetic risk factors of Alzheimer’s Disease disrupt resting-state functional connectivity in cognitively intact young individuals
Authors: Kucikova Ludmila , Zeng Jianmin , Muñoz-Neira Carlos , Muniz-Terrera Graciela , Huang Weijie , Gregory Sarah , Ritchie Craig , O’Brien John , Su Li
Published: June 2023

Background

Past evidence shows that changes in functional brain connectivity in multiple resting-state networks occur in cognitively healthy individuals who have non-modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer’s Disease. Here, we aimed to investigate how those changes differ in early adulthood and how they might relate to cognition.

Methods

We investigated the effects of genetic risk factors of AD, namely APOEe4 and MAPTA alleles, on resting-state functional connectivity in a cohort of 129 cognitively intact young adults (aged 17–22 years). We used Independent Component Analysis to identify networks of interest, and Gaussian Random Field Theory to compare connectivity between groups. Seed-based analysis was used to quantify inter-regional connectivity strength from the clusters that exhibited significant between-group differences. To investigate the relationship with cognition, we correlated the connectivity and the performance on the Stroop task.

Results

The analysis revealed a decrease in functional connectivity in the Default Mode Network (DMN) in both APOEe4 carriers and MAPTA carriers in comparison with non-carriers. APOEe4 carriers showed decreased connectivity in the right angular gyrus (size = 246, p-FDR = 0.0079), which was correlated with poorer performance on the Stroop task. MAPTA carriers showed decreased connectivity in the left middle temporal gyrus (size = 546, p-FDR = 0.0001). In addition, we found that only MAPTA carriers had a decreased connectivity between the DMN and multiple other brain regions.

Conclusions

Our findings indicate that APOEe4 and MAPTA alleles modulate brain functional connectivity in the brain regions within the DMN in cognitively intact young adults. APOEe4 carriers also showed a link between connectivity and cognition.
Parasites, depredators, and limited resources as potential drivers of winter mortality of feral honeybee colonies in German forests
Authors: Kohl Patrick L. , Rutschmann Benjamin , Sikora Luis G. , Wimmer Norbert , Zahner Volker , D’Alvise Paul , Hasselmann Martin , Steffan-Dewenter Ingolf
Published: June 2023

Wild honeybees (Apis mellifera) are considered extinct in most parts of Europe. The likely causes of their decline include increased parasite burden, lack of high-quality nesting sites and associated depredation pressure, and food scarcity. In Germany, feral honeybees still colonize managed forests, but their survival rate is too low to maintain viable populations. Based on colony observations collected during a monitoring study, data on parasite prevalence, experiments on nest depredation, and analyses of land cover maps, we explored whether parasite pressure, depredation or expected landscape-level food availability explain feral colony winter mortality. Considering the colony-level occurrence of 18 microparasites in the previous summer, colonies that died did not have a higher parasite burden than colonies that survived. Camera traps installed at cavity trees revealed that four woodpecker species, great tits, and pine martens act as nest depredators. In a depredator exclusion experiment, the winter survival rate of colonies in cavities with protected entrances was 50% higher than that of colonies with unmanipulated entrances. Landscapes surrounding surviving colonies contained on average 6.4 percentage points more cropland than landscapes surrounding dying colonies, with cropland being known to disproportionately provide forage for bees in our study system. We conclude that the lack of spacious but well-protected nesting cavities and the shortage of food are currently more important than parasites in limiting populations of wild-living honeybees in German forests. Increasing the density and diversity of large tree cavities and promoting bee forage plants in forests will probably promote wild-living honeybees despite parasite pressure.
Global analysis of seasonal changes in trematode infection levels reveals weak and variable link to temperature
Authors: Paterson Rachel A. , Poulin Robert , Selbach Christian
Published: June 2023

Seasonal changes in environmental conditions drive phenology, i.e., the annual timing of biological events ranging from the individual to the ecosystem. Phenological patterns and successional abundance cycles have been particularly well studied in temperate freshwater systems, showing strong and predictable synchrony with seasonal changes. However, seasonal successional changes in the abundance of parasites or their infection levels in aquatic hosts have not yet been shown to follow universal patterns. Here, using a compilation of several hundred estimates of spring-to-summer changes in infection by trematodes in their intermediate and definitive hosts, spanning multiple species and habitats, we test for general patterns of seasonal (temperature) driven changes in infection levels. The data include almost as many decreases in infection levels from spring to summer as there are increases, across different host types. Our results reveal that the magnitude of the spring-to-summer change in temperature had a weak positive effect on the concurrent change in prevalence of infection in first intermediate hosts, but no effect on the change in prevalence or abundance of infection in second intermediate or definitive hosts. This was true across habitat types and host taxa, indicating no universal effect of seasonal temperature increase on trematode infections. This surprising variation across systems suggests a predominance of idiosyncratic and species-specific responses in trematode infection levels, at odds with any clear phenological or successional pattern. We discuss possible reasons for the minimal and variable effect of seasonal temperature regimes, and emphasise the challenges this poses for predicting ecosystem responses to future climate change.
Contagious McKean–Vlasov systems with heterogeneous impact and exposure
Authors: Feinstein Zachary , Søjmark Andreas
Published: June 2023

We introduce a particular heterogeneous formulation of a class of contagious McKean–Vlasov systems, whose inherent heterogeneity comes from asymmetric interactions with a natural and highly tractable structure. It is shown that this formulation characterises the limit points of a finite particle system, deriving from a balance-sheet-based model of solvency contagion in interbank markets, where banks have heterogeneous exposure to and impact on the distress within the system. We also provide a simple result on global uniqueness for the full problem with common noise under a smallness condition on the strength of interactions, and we show that in the problem without common noise, there is a unique differentiable solution up to an explosion time. Finally, we discuss an intuitive and consistent way of specifying how the system should jump to resolve an instability when the contagious pressures become too large. This is known to happen even in the homogeneous version of the problem, where jumps are specified by a ‘physical’ notion of solution, but no such notion currently exists for a heterogeneous formulation of the system.
Climate policy must account for community-specific socio-economic, health, and biophysical conditions—evidence from coastal Alaska
Authors: Schwoerer Tobias , Berry Kevin , Rasmus Stacy M. , Joe Jorene Panigguaq , Naneng Nuyaq William , Ravens Thomas M.
Published: June 2023

Climate warming, sea level rise, and extreme weather events are creating intensifying and more frequent hazards for human populations inhabiting the coast. In Alaska’s remote coastal communities, flooding and erosion are rapidly increasing due to the combined effect of sea level rise, more frequent storm surges, and increasingly powerful wave action from lack of sea ice. This paper presents survey results documenting socio-economic and psychological livelihood impacts and relocation preferences as reported by residents of a remote coastal Indigenous community. We quantified direct costs of lost or damaged private property, affected community infrastructure, and interruption of public services and found that the resulting financial hardship adds to existing economic challenges and climate stressors. Findings underline a community-level preoccupation with coastal climate threats that manifests primarily in intrusive and distressing thoughts of consequences from storms and other destructive climatic events. We highlight the need to monitor more broadly livelihood impacts to inform the design of innovative risk management tools to moderate financial hardship and strengthen community-driven action. We conclude that new policy responding to the needs of remote Indigenous communities affected by repetitive environmental disasters needs to account for a complex array of community and culture-specific socio-economic, health, and biophysical factors that require frequent co-produced assessments to capture rapidly changing conditions at the local scale.
Who Cares About Data? Ambivalence, Translation, and Attentiveness in Asylum Casework
Authors: Nielsen Trine Rask , Menendez-Blanco Maria , Møller Naja Holten
Published: June 2023

Scholars across Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) increasingly focus on the topic of care when investigating data-driven technologies in contexts of re-humanizing technology design and usage. Previous studies have shown how care work eludes complex bureaucratic systems shaped by data, digitalization, and a restrictive political agenda. This research aims to understand how asylum stakeholders enact care as an aspect of asylum casework, while navigating what is largely acknowledged by NGOs, nation states, and the EU to be a broken asylum system (von der Leyen). We investigate care as a relational aspect of casework in which knowledge and technology of the implicated caseworker and asylum seeker are attuned to one another in a way that takes the unaccountable into account (following Mol 2010). We add to studies of care in CSCW by empirically expanding the research sites of care and data work. In this multi-sited ethnographically informed study, we conducted interviews (n = 19) and 160 h of observational studies amongst: 1) Danish Red Cross care workers; 2) Danish Refugee Council legal counsellors; and 3) Danish Immigration Service case officers. We contribute empirically grounded insights into the meanings of care in a datafied asylum context. We find that care is enacted by caseworkers in moments of ambivalence, translation, and attentiveness to “new substantial information” relevant for asylum decision-making. We find that these relational aspects of care in asylum casework impact the production of data about the asylum seeker. We end with a discussion of how a care perspective increases our sensitivity as CSCW researchers towards understanding the conditions for producing quality data and documentation in casework.
Comment on the paper “Analyzing the effect of dynamic properties of materials and operating medium on sensor parameters to increase the performance of diaphragmbased static/dynamic pressure sensors, Timuçin Emre Tabaru, Şekip Esat Hayber, Journal of Computational Electronics, 2021, 20:643–657”
Authors: Pantokratoras Asterios
Published: June 2023

Some errors exist in the above paper.
Multimodal preference heterogeneity in choice-based conjoint analysis: a simulation study
Authors: Goeken Nils , Kurz Peter , Steiner Winfried J.
Published: June 2023

The most commonly used variant of conjoint analysis is choice-based conjoint (CBC). Here, hierarchical Bayesian (HB) multinomial logit (MNL) models are widely used for preference estimation at the individual respondent level. A new and very flexible approach to address multimodal and skewed preference heterogeneity in the context of CBC is the Dirichlet Process Mixture (DPM) MNL model. The number and masses of components do not have to be predisposed like in the latent class (LC) MNL model or in the mixture-of-normals (MoN) MNL model. The aim of this Monte Carlo study is to evaluate the performance of Bayesian choice models (basic MNL, HB-MNL, MoN-MNL, LC-MNL and DPM-MNL models) under varying data conditions (especially under multimodal heterogeneity structures) using statistical criteria for parameter recovery, goodness-of-fit and predictive accuracy. The core finding from this Monte Carlo study is that the standard HB-MNL model appears to be highly robust in multimodal preference settings.
Senses of injustices-in-place: nature’s voice through Melbourne’s environmental stewards
Authors: Pineda-Pinto Melissa , Frantzeskaki Niki , Raymond Christopher M.
Published: June 2023

Ecological injustices are systemic acts and processes of misrepresentation, misrecognition, maldistribution of impacts, and destruction of fundamental capabilities, to both human and nonhuman living beings. Unpacking these context-specific injustices requires in-depth explorations of people and their experiences, perceptions, types of knowledge, actions, and relations to, for, and with nonhuman beings and their capacities. To explore these injustices-in-place, we used embedded case studies within Metropolitan Melbourne, Australia, and examined the data with the self–others–environment sense of place framework to uncover people’s understandings of ecological (in)justices. The findings reveal a sense of disempowerment, conflated by unrecognized environmental work, a disconnect between different groups and levels of society, and the anonymity of the nonhuman others. Through a contested self–others–environment lens, place meanings in the study sites show different ways of valuing nature, which is conveyed in the types of actions, stewardship behaviors, and attachment to place. This analysis introduces a new concept of ‘ecological injustice’ that bridges the sense of place and justice by visibilizing the senses of anonymity, collectivity, reciprocal nurturing, and contestation that unfold across human–nonhuman interactions. We discuss strategies to prevent and restore ecological injustices, which include building capacity through knowledge exchange, improved funding and governance mechanisms, raising social–ecological awareness, and finding ways to populate our cities with environmental stewards that can help to deanonymize and make the needs of the nonhuman others visible.
Geometric Morphometric Analysis of Ocular Patterns as a Species Identifier in the South African Endemic Trapdoor Spider Genus Stasimopus Simon, 1892 (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Stasimopidae)
Authors: Brandt Shannon , Sole Catherine , Lyle Robin , Pirk Christian
Published: June 2023

The identification of Stasimopus Simon, 1892 species as well as mygalomorph species has been a long-standing challenge. This is due to their conservative morphologies as well as the lack of quantifiable characters. Ocular patterns have historically been used to aid in identification, but have largely been vague and subjective. This study was the first to test for phylogenetic signal in this character to validate its use for species identification and description as well as to test the viability of it in morphospecies and species identification. The results show significant phylogenetic signal for ocular patterns in both sexes, validating its use. The results display the evolutionary change in ocular patterns across various species. Species and morphospecies show distinct clustering in morphospace, but there is overlap due to the continuous shape of the character. The methodology of applying geometric morphometrics to quantify ocular patterns can distinguish between morphospecies and shows great promise for distinguishing species.
Biomarker heatmaps: visualization of complex biomarker data to detect storm-induced source changes in fluvial particulate organic carbon
Authors: Kim Jieun , Blair Neal E.
Published: June 2023

Fluvial particulate organic carbon (POC) is a complex mixture that undergoes rapid and complicated shifts in source during storm events. High-temporal resolution sampling and source-sensitive chemical analyses, such as those for organic geochemical biomarkers, are necessary to investigate the dynamic POC source behaviour during storm events. However, experimental designs that accommodate those requirements inevitably yield large datasets that require a new data analysis approach. Here, we adapt one of the widely used data visualization techniques, heatmaps with clustering analysis, to seek patterns in source mobilization and transition and pinpoint their timing during storm events more effectively and intuitively. Biomarker concentration data are scaled and used to construct a biomarker heatmap using the ComplexHeatmap package in R. Hierarchical clustering is performed to reorder the biomarkers based on (dis)similarities in their concentration fluctuations during storm events. We implemented our approach to visualize our high-frequency biomarker data obtained from storm POC samples collected in the well-characterized field site of Clear Creek, Iowa. The results demonstrated clear sequential source changes from algal and microbial OC to vascular plants- and soil-rich OC during the event, with an additional source transition identified within the vascular plant biomarkers. The sensitivity analyses results showed that the additional source transition was lost as the temporal resolution of sampling was reduced to 25% of the original data. The sensitivity of the identified clustering to varying scaling methods and number of biomarkers was also examined. Comparison with principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the biomarker heatmap performed better in visualizing temporal changes of individual biomarkers. This biomarker heatmap approach will help scientists to understand the complex storm-induced POC source changes by offering a new perspective to explore the data and generate hypotheses to be tested in follow-up analyses.
Lateral dipole moments induced by all-cis-pentafluorocyclohexyl groups cause unanticipated effects in self-assembled monolayers
Authors: Fischer Christian , Das Saunak , Zhang Qingzhi , Liu Yangbiao , Weinhardt Lothar , O’Hagan David , Zharnikov Michael , Terfort Andreas
Published: June 2023

All-cis-hexafluoro- and all-cis-pentafluoro-cyclohexane (PFCH) derivatives are new kinds of materials, the structures and properties of which are dominated by the highly dipolar Janus-face motif. Here, we report on the effects of integrating the PFCH groups into self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanethiolates on Au(111). Monolayers with an odd (eleven) and even (twelve) number of methylene groups were characterized in detail by several complementary experimental tools, supported by theoretical calculations. Surprisingly, all the data show a high similarity of both kinds of monolayers, nearly lacking the typically observed odd-even effects. These new monolayers have a packing density about 1/3 lower than that of non-substituted alkanethiolate monolayers, caused by the bulkiness of the PFCH moieties. The orientations of the PFCH groups and the alkyl chains could be determined independently, suggesting a conformation similar to the one found in the solid state structure of an analogous compound. Although in the SAMs the PFCH groups are slightly tilted away from the surface normal with the axial fluorine atoms pointing downwards, most of the dipole moments of the group remain oriented parallel to the surface, which is a unique feature for a SAM system. The consequences are much lower water contact angles compared to other partly fluorinated SAMs as well as rather moderate work function values. The interaction between the terminal PFCH moieties results in an enhanced stability of the PFCH-decorated SAMs toward exchange reaction with potential molecular substituents in spite of the lower packing density of these films.
Prioritizing sub-watersheds for soil erosion using geospatial techniques based on morphometric and hypsometric analysis: a case study of the Indian Wyra River basin
Authors: Shekar Padala Raja , Mathew Aneesh , Abdo Hazem Ghassan , Almohamad Hussein , Abdullah Al Dughairi Ahmed , Al-Mutiry Motrih
Published: June 2023

The hydrological availability and scarcity of water can be affected by geomorphological processes occurring within a watershed. Hence, it is crucial to perform a quantitative evaluation of the watershed’s geometry to determine the impact of such processes on its hydrology. Geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) techniques have become increasingly significant because they enable decision-makers and strategists to make accurate and efficient decisions. To prioritize sub-watersheds within the Wyra watershed, this research employs two methods: morphometric analysis and hypsometric analysis. The watershed was divided into eleven sub-watersheds (SWs). The prioritization of sub-watersheds in the Wyra watershed involved assessing several morphometric parameters, such as relief, linear, and areal features, for each sub-watershed. Furthermore, the importance of the sub-watersheds was determined by computing hypsometric integral (HI) values using the elevation–relief ratio method. The final prioritization of sub-watersheds based on morphometric analysis was determined through the integration of principal component analysis (PCA) and weighted sum approach (WSA). SW2 and SW9 have had higher priorities using morphometric analysis, whereas SW6, SW7, and SW10 have obtained higher priorities using hypsometric analysis. SW4 is the most common SW that shares the same priority. The most vulnerable sub-watersheds are those with the highest priority, and therefore, programmes for soil and water conservation should pay more attention to them. The conclusions of the study may prove useful to various stakeholders involved in initiatives related to watershed development and management.
Metadata Extraction from User Queries for Self-Service Data Lake Exploration
Authors: Gunklach Jonas , Michalczyk Sven , Nadj Mario , Maedche Alexander
Published: June 2023

Data catalogs represent a promising solution for semantically classifying and organizing data sources and enriching raw data with metadata. However, recent research has shown that data catalogs are difficult to implement due to the complexity of the data landscape or issues with data governance. Moreover, data catalogs struggle to enable business analysts to find the data they need for their use cases. Against this backdrop, we develop a self-service system that automatically extracts metadata from a data lake and enables business analysts to explore the metadata through an easy-to-use interface. Specifically, instead of implementing the data catalog top-down, our system derives metadata from user queries bottom-up. Hereby, we conduct 15 interviews with business analysts to derive the underlying requirements of the system and evaluate its features with a focus group. Our findings illustrate that participants especially value the possibility to reuse queries from other users and appreciated the support in query validation as data preparation is a complex and time-consuming endeavour.
A review of sewage sludge dewatering and stabilisation in reed bed system: towards the process-based modelling
Authors: Tan Y. Y. , Huong Y. Z. , Tang F. E. , Saptoro A.
Published: June 2023

The sludge treatment reed bed is a sustainable sewage sludge management technology that offers promising sludge dewatering and stabilisation, due to its low energy and labour requirements, and minimal operating and maintenance costs. Despite numerous existing studies and increasing applications of sludge treatment reed bed in both developed and developing countries, the lack of standard system configurations and operating regimes led to several operational problems, including bed clogging and poor dewatering and mineralisation efficiency. Sludge dewatering and stabilisation in STBRs are complex processes governed by system- and operation-related factors such as the substrate media, macrophytes, loading regime, sludge characteristics, and climate conditions. Rather than the complex experimental study, process-based modelling has become a promising approach to investigating the influence of specific factors on the efficiency of sludge dewatering and stabilisation. This paper presents an overview of the critical system and operating parameters in sludge treatment reed beds and a summary of the interactions between the factors. Then, a framework of process-based modelling is proposed, which provides a useful platform to study the interactions of operating parameters and other factors in the complex processes of sludge dewatering and stabilisation, which supports the system design and optimisation of sludge treatment reed beds.
School quality and COVID-19-related compensatory measures
Authors: Helm Christoph , Huber Stephan Gerhard
Published: June 2023

In response to the proven negative effects of COVID-19-related school closures on students’ learning, Germany launched a 2-billion-euro catch up program that provides financial resources for a variety of compensatory measures. However, many schools had already reacted to the pandemic beforehand and implemented appropriate measures. Against the background of the many funded initiatives as well as the individual initiatives that have been implemented in German schools, this paper examines what determines whether schools offer compensatory measures. Exploiting data from a teacher survey (N = 1648 teachers in 104 schools) in Germany, we tested the predictive power of various school aspects for the degree of compensatory measures realized at the school site to help students make up for possible learning losses due to COVID-19-related distance learning. Our findings from latent regression analyses and relative weight analyses, both at teacher and at school level, confirm the significant role of the existing culture of inclusion at a school for predicting a school’s degree of compensatory measures offered. At the same time a range of other investigated school aspects only indirectly predicted compensatory measures, particularly via the culture of inclusion at school. We discuss the findings against the background of the theoretical foundation and the methodological limitations of the present study.
Contingent Electric Skin Shock: An Empirical or Ideological Issue?
Authors: Blenkush Nathan , O’Neill Dawn A. , O’Neill John
Published: June 2023

Intractable self-injury, aggressive, and other destructive behaviors are real human conditions. Contingent electric skin shock (CESS) is a technology, based on behavior-analytic principles, used to ameliorate such behaviors. However, CESS has always been extraordinarily controversial. The Association for Behavior Analysis (ABAI), commissioned an independent Task Force to examine the issue. After a comprehensive review, the Task Force suggested the treatment should be available for use in select cases through a largely accurate report. Yet, ABAI adopted a position indicating CESS is never appropriate. On the issue of CESS, we are extremely concerned behavior analysis departed from the fundamental epistemology of positivism and is misleading nascent behavior analysts and consumers of behavioral technology. Destructive behaviors are extremely difficult to treat. In our commentary, we outline clarifications regarding aspects of the Task Force Report, proliferation of falsehoods by leaders in our field, and limitations to the standard of care in behavior analysis. We recommend using science to answer important questions instead of propagating false information at the expense of current and future clients with treatment refractory behaviors.
Diagnostic policies on nephrolithiasis/nephrocalcinosis of possible genetic origin by Italian nephrologists: a survey by the Italian Society of Nephrology with an emphasis on primary hyperoxaluria
Authors: Ferraro Pietro Manuel , Caletti Chiara , Capolongo Giovanna , Lombardi Marco , Scolari Francesco , Vezzoli Giuseppe , Vitale Corrado , Gambaro Giovanni
Published: June 2023

Background

Primary hyperoxaluria is a genetic disorder of the metabolism of glyoxylate, the precursor of oxalate. It is characterized by high endogenous production and excessive urinary excretion of oxalate, resulting in the development of calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis, nephrocalcinosis, and, in severe cases, end-stage kidney disease and systemic oxalosis. Three different forms of primary hyperoxaluria are currently known, each characterized by a specific enzymatic defect: type 1 (PH1), type 2 (PH2), and type 3 (PH3). According to currently available epidemiological data, PH1 is by far the most common form (about 80% of cases), and is caused by a deficiency of the hepatic enzyme alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase.

Methods

A survey on rare forms of nephrolithiasis and nephrocalcinosis with a focus on primary hyperoxaluria in the setting of Italian Nephrology and Dialysis Centers, using an online questionnaire, was recently conducted by the Project Group “Rare Forms of Nephrolithiasis and Nephrocalcinosis” of the Italian Society of Nephrology, with the aim of assessing the impact and management of this disorder in clinical practice in Italy.

Results

Forty-five public and private Italian Centers participated in the survey, and responses to the questionnaire were provided by 54 medical professionals. The survey results indicate that 21 out of the 45 participating Centers are managing or have managed primary hyperoxaluria patients, most of whom are on dialysis, or are recipients of kidney transplants.

Conclusions

The data of this survey indicate the need to implement genetic testing in suspected cases of primary hyperoxaluria, not only in the setting of dialysis or transplantation, but also with the aim of encouraging early diagnosis of PH1, which is the only type of primary hyperoxaluria for which specific drug therapy is currently available.

Graphical abstract
Exploring the relationship between social connectedness and mental wellbeing: the mediating role of psychological resilience among adults in Azerbaijan
Authors: Rustamov Elnur , Musayeva Tunzala , Xalilova Xalida , Ismayilova Gultekin , Nahmatova Ulviyya
Published: June 2023

Social connectedness can have a significant impact on improving individuals' mental well-being by serving as a pathway through which psychological resilience is enhanced. The objective of this study was to investigate the mediating influence of psychological resilience on the association between social connectedness and mental wellbeing among adults in Azerbaijan. A total of 519 adults, ranging from 18 to 66 years old and representing various regions in Azerbaijan, participated in the research. They completed measures including the Social Connectedness Scale, the Brief Resilience Scale, and the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings from the SEM demonstrated that psychological resilience played a significant mediating role in the relationship between social connectedness and mental wellbeing among Azerbaijani adults. Specifically, when accounting for age and gender, it was observed that psychological resilience partially mediated the link between social connectedness and mental wellbeing. Thus, social connectedness emerges as a crucial factor in promoting individuals' mental well-being by fostering psychological resilience.
Identifying areas of animal welfare concern in different production stages in Danish pig herds using the Danish Animal Welfare Index (DAWIN)
Authors: Michelsen Anne Marie , Hakansson Franziska , Pedersen Lund Vibe , Kirchner Marlene Katharina , Otten Nina Dam , Denwood Matthew , Rousing Tine , Houe Hans , Forkman Björn
Published: June 2023

Animal welfare is of increasing public interest, and the pig industry in particular is subject to much attention. The aim of this study was to identify and compare areas of animal welfare concern for commercial pigs in four different production stages: (1) gestating sows and gilts; (2) lactating sows; (3) piglets; and (4) weaner-to-finisher pigs. One welfare assessment protocol was developed for each stage, comprising of between 20 and 29 animal welfare measures including resource-, management- and animal-based ones. Twenty-one Danish farms were visited once between January 2015 and February 2016 in a cross-sectional design. Experts (n = 26; advisors, scientists and animal welfare controllers) assessed the severity of the outcome measures. This was combined with the on-farm prevalence of each measure and the outcome was used to calculate areas of concern, defined as measures where the median of all farms fell below the value defined as ‘acceptable welfare.’ Between five and seven areas of concern were identified for each production stage. With the exception of carpal lesions in piglets, all areas of concern were resource- and management-based and mainly related to housing, with inadequate available space and the floor type in the resting area being overall concerns across all production stages. This means that animal-based measures were largely unaffected by perceived deficits in resource-based measures. Great variation existed for the majority of measures identified as areas of concern, demonstrating that achieving a high welfare score is possible in the Danish system.
“Invisible sisters, invincible brothers:” tracing masculine domination within the Turkish left
Authors: Türk H. Bahadır
Published: June 2023

A Bourdieusian analysis of gender relations within political organizations is highly instructive. This kind of analysis might provide insight into the intertwinement of gender and politics by illuminating the construction process of gendered political identities. Drawing upon memoirs written by the members of the left-wing organizations in Turkey and interviews conducted with them, this article argues that the narratives of members of the Turkish left reflect the multidimensional nature of what Pierre Bourdieu called masculine domination.
Democratic commitment in the Middle East: a conjoint analysis
Authors: Ridge Hannah M.
Published: June 2023

Polls from the Middle East/North Africa show high support for democracy. However, the veracity of this support has been called into question. This study uses a conjoint analysis to show that citizens support democratic institutions, as well as favoring an effective welfare state and a state religion. The results demonstrate that support for elected governance is not contingent on the state's providing economic benefits; citizens are more likely to favor participatory government at each level of economic outcome. Interest in incorporating religion in the state, however, is contingent on the political and economic profile described; the contingent effects suggest interest in Islamic governance is, at least partly, instrumental. Although pro-democracy public opinion alone does not secure democratization, it creates fertile ground for future democratization movements.