bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Decompressive hemicraniectomy in pediatric malignant arterial ischemic stroke: a case-based review
Authors: Carlhan-Ledermann Audrey , Bartoli Andrea , Gebistorf Fabienne , Beghetti Maurice , Sologashvili Tornike , Rebollo Polo Monica , Fluss Joel
Published: July 2023

Purpose

Malignant stroke is a life-threatening emergency, with a high mortality rate (1–3). Despite strong evidence showing decreased morbidity and mortality in the adult population, decompressive hemicraniectomy (DCH) has been scarcely reported in the pediatric stroke population, and its indication remains controversial, while it could be a potential lifesaving option.

Methods and results

We performed an extensive literature review on pediatric malignant arterial ischemic stroke (pmAIS) and selected 26 articles reporting 97 cases. Gathering the data together, a 67% mortality rate is observed without decompressive therapy, contrasting with a 95.4% survival rate with it. The median modified Rankin score (mRS) is 2.1 after surgery with a mean follow-up of 31.8 months. For the 33% of children who survived without surgery, the mRS is 3 at a mean follow-up of 19 months. As an illustrative case, we report on a 2-year-old girl who presented a cardioembolic right middle cerebral artery stroke with subsequent malignant edema and ongoing cerebral transtentorial herniation in the course of a severe myocarditis requiring ECMO support. A DCH was done 32 h after symptom onset. At the age of 5 years, she exhibits an mRS of 3.

Conclusion

Pediatric stroke with malignant edema is a severe condition with high mortality rate if left untreated and often long-lasting consequences. DCH might minimize the vicious circle of cerebral swelling, increasing intracranial pressure and brain ischemia. Our literature review underscores DCH as an efficient therapeutic measure management of pmAIS even when performed after a significant delay; however, long-lasting morbidities remain high.
Diagnostic accuracy of artificial intelligence-aided capsule endoscopy (TOP100) in overt small bowel bleeding
Authors: Giordano Antonio , Escapa Miriam , Urpí-Ferreruela Miquel , Casanova Gherzon , Fernández-Esparrach Gloria , Ginès Àngels , Llach Josep , González-Suárez Begoña
Published: July 2023

Background

Capsule endoscopy (CE) is the first-choice exploration in case of overt small bowel bleeding (SBB). An early CE is known to increase diagnostic yield, but long reading times may delay therapeutics. The study evaluates the diagnostic performance of the artificial intelligence tool TOP100 in patients with overt SBB undergoing early CE with Pillcam SB3.

Methods

Patients who underwent early CE (up to 14 days from the bleeding episode) for suspected overt SBB were included. One experienced endoscopist prospectively performed standard reading (SR) and a second blind experienced endoscopist performed a TOP100-based reading (TR). The primary endpoint was TR diagnostic accuracy for lesions with high bleeding potential (P2).

Results

A total of 111 patients were analyzed. The most common clinical presentation was melena (64%). CE showed angiodysplasias in 40.5% of patients (45/111). In per-patient analysis, TR showed a sensitivity of 90.48% (95% CI 82.09–95.80), specificity of 100% (95% CI 87.23–100) with a PPV of 100% (95% CI 94.01–100), NPV of 77.14% (95% CI 63.58–86.71) and diagnostic accuracy of 92.79 (86.29–96.84). At multivariate analysis, adequate intestinal cleansing was the only independent predictor of concordance between TR and SR (OR 2.909, p = 0.019). The median reading time for SR and TR was 23 min (18.0–26.8) and 1.9 min (range 1.7–2.1), respectively (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

TOP100 provides a fast-reading mode for early CE in case of overt small bowel bleeding. It identifies most patients with active bleeding and angiodysplasias, aiding in the prioritization of therapeutic procedures. However, its accuracy in detecting ulcers, varices and P1 lesions seems insufficient.

Graphical abstract
Bilateral Asymmetry in Knee and Hip Musculoskeletal Loading During Stair Ascending/Descending in Individuals with Unilateral Mild-to-Moderate Medial Knee Osteoarthritis
Authors: Liu Sirui , Amiri Pouya , McGregor Alison H. , Bull Anthony M. J.
Published: July 2023

Most cases of unilateral knee osteoarthritis (OA) progress to bilateral OA within 10 years. Biomechanical asymmetries have been implicated in contralateral OA development; however, gait analysis alone does not consistently detect asymmetries in OA patient gait. Stair ambulation is a more demanding activity that may be more suited to reveal between-leg asymmetries in OA patients. The objective of this study was to investigate the between-leg biomechanical differences in patients with unilateral mild-to-moderate knee OA. Sixteen unilateral mild-to-moderate medial knee OA patients and 16 healthy individuals underwent kinematic and kinetic analysis of stair ascent and descent. Stair ascent produced higher loading and muscle forces in the unaffected limb compared to the OA limb, and stair descent produced lower loading on the OA limb compared to healthy subjects. These biomechanical differences were apparent in the ankle, knee, and hip joints. The implications of these findings are that OA patients rely more heavily on their unaffected sides than the affected side in stair ascent, a strategy that may be detrimental to the unaffected joint health. The reduction in affected limb loading in stair descent is thought to be related to minimizing pain.
Charitable food provision as a strategic action field: introducing a meso-level perspective on food support organizing
Authors: Oncini Filippo
Published: July 2023

Building on 42 semi-structured interviews with directors and stakeholders of food charities based in Greater Manchester (UK), alongside online data and Factiva references trends, I argue that the charitable food provision (CFP) sector can be effectively conceptualized as a strategic action field (SAF). To do so, I first focus on the shared rules, understandings and practices characterising the organizations that belong to the field and on the broader field environment that imposes constraints and provides opportunities to the field actors. Subsequently, I examine the characteristics of five particularly relevant charities to describe the social positions and position-takings of the incumbent, the challengers and the group I refer to as sideliners of the field. Hence, I briefly touch upon the Covid-19 outbreak as an exogenous shock to discuss the effect of the campaign carried out by a ‘socially skilled actor’ - football player Marcus Rashford. I conclude by suggesting future research directions to enhance the application of SAF theory as a tool for investigating food support organizing within and across countries.
Clothing and the Discovery of Science
Authors: Gilligan Ian
Published: July 2023

In addition to natural curiosity, science is characterized by a number of psychological processes and perceptions. Among the psychological features, scientific enquiry relates to uncovering—or discovering—aspects of a world perceived as hidden from humans. A speculative theoretical model is presented, suggesting the evolution of science reflects psychological repercussions of wearing clothes. Specifically, the natural world is perceived as hidden due to the presence of clothing. Three components of scientific enquiry may arise from clothing: detachment from sensual experience, a perception that the world is veiled in mystery, and an intellectual desire to uncover the hidden structure of nature. Rather than beginning with the emergence of Homo sapiens, the proposed connection with clothing implies that psychological foundations for science began to develop during the last ice age, with the invention of complex clothes that fully covered the human body. After the end of the last ice age, elements of scientific thinking began to emerge in societies where clothing was worn routinely for psychosocial reasons, including modesty. Notably, a scientific attitude was essentially absent in hunter-gatherer communities where nakedness remained the norm. This novel perspective aims to advance the history and philosophy of science, revealing the emergence of science as a situated phenomenon contingent on humans being covered.
GAAMmf: genetic algorithm with aggressive mutation and decreasing feature set for feature selection
Authors: Izabela Rejer , Krzysztof Lorenz
Published: July 2023

This paper introduces a modified version of a genetic algorithm with aggressive mutation (GAAM), one of the genetic algorithms (GAs) used for feature selection. The modification proposed in this study expands the original GAAM’s capabilities by allowing not only feature selection but also feature reduction. To obtain this effect, we applied the concept of ranks used in the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA) and the concept of penalty term used in the Holland genetic algorithm. With those two concepts, we managed to balance the importance of two competing criteria in the GAAM fitness function: classification accuracy and the feature subset’s size. To assess the algorithm’s effectiveness, we evaluated it on eleven datasets with different characteristics and compared the results with eight reference methods: GAAM, Melting GAAM, Holland GA with a penalty term, NSGA-II, Correlation-based Feature Selection, Lasso, Sequential Forward Selection, and IniPG (an algorithm for particle swarm optimisation). The main conclusion drawn from this study is that the genetic algorithm with aggressive mutation and decreasing feature set (GAAMmf) introduced in this paper returned feature sets with a significantly smaller number of features than almost all reference methods. Furthermore, GAAMmf outperformed most of the methods in terms of classification accuracy (except the original GAAM). In contrast to Holland GA and NSGA-II, GAAMmf was able to perform the feature reduction task for all datasets, regardless of the initial number of features.
Intraspecific trait variability is relevant in assessing differences in functional composition between native and alien aquatic plant communities
Authors: Koleszár Gergő , Szabó Sándor , Kékedi Levente , Löki Viktor , Botta-Dukát Zoltán , Lukács Balázs András
Published: July 2023

The loss of plant functional diversity associated with biological invasion is a main subject of invasion biology, but still understudied in case of aquatic plants. We calculated functional richness, evenness, divergence and community-weighted mean trait values of aquatic plant communities for 20 plots, half invaded and half non-invaded by alien species, in a thermal effluent of West Hungary. Three traits [specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf area (LA)] were considered to explain how alien species alter ecosystem function. We differentiated interspecific and intraspecific trait variation and investigate its effect on the community-level functional diversity. We found that alien species invasion causes significant changes in the functional composition of aquatic plants whereby alien species become able to absorb light more efficiently, which will directly enhance their increased biomass production. Our study highlights the importance of local adaptation, showing that calculating functional diversity with global pooling of trait measurements causes significant over- or underestimation of functional diversity indices. Consequently, this can potentially result in erroneous conclusions regarding the impact of invasion.
Effect of cell size on the response to solution and aging heat treatments of open-cell Al-4.5Cu (wt.%) foams
Authors: Azamar Manuel F. , Hernández Brenda J. , Figueroa Ignacio A. , Hernández Ricardo , González Gonzalo , Novelo-Peralta Omar , Alfonso Ismeli
Published: July 2023

Open-cell Al-4.5Cu (wt.%) foams were produced by the replication casting technique in cell sizes of 2.00–2.38 and 3.35–4.75 mm. The fabricated foams were subjected to solution and aging treatments to assess the effect of such heat treatments on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the foams as a function of cell size. Solution and aging heat treatments were carried out at 535 °C for 5.5 h and 170 °C for 8 h, respectively. The porosity and relative density of all produced samples were estimated by He pycnometer. In addition, the average cell wall thickness was assessed by image analysis to correlate this variable with the response to heat treatments of the material. The microstructural evolution of the heat-treated samples was analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry. The mechanical characterization of the studied samples was carried out using uniaxial compression tests and microhardness tests. It was found that the foams did present different responses to both solution and aging treatments as a function of cell size, attributing these outcomes to the cell wall thickness variations, which presumably conditioned the cooling rates after heat treatments, thereby influencing the resulting microstructures and precipitation of Al-Cu second phases.

Graphical abstract
Sustainable and photoresponse triboelectric nanogenerators based on 2D-gC3N4 and agricultural wastes
Authors: Kheirabadi Noushin Raeisi , Karimzadeh Fathallah , Enayati Mohammad Hossein , Kalali Ehsan Naderi
Published: July 2023

Two bio-friendly and photoactive triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) are introduced, employing sustainable and biocompatible materials as functional components. The TENGs utilize corn husk and coconut coir fibers as the positive layers and incorporate two-dimensional graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets as negative layers. Upon simple biomechanical forces, the optimized devices fabricated from corn husk and coconut fibers produce a maximum output voltage of 630 V and 581 V, respectively. Under short-circuit conditions, the measured current was approximately 0.79 mA for corn husk-TENG and 11.47 mA for coconut fibers-TENG. Also, the maximum output power of 131 mW and 1980 mW were achieved over a 2 × 2 cm2 area of corn husk-TENG and coconut fibers-TENG. The TENGs were also tested under blue commercial lights and UV light, and an increase of approximately 1.5 times was observed in the output voltages of both TENGs under UV light. These g-C3N4-based TENGs perform superior under UV illumination and can be used as nanogenerators and active photosensors. This paper proposes two eco-environmentally friendly and robust electronic devices for energy harvesting and photo-sensing applications based on two agricultural wastes, corn husk, and coconut coir fibers.
A comparison of ZnO nanowires grown using hexamethylenetetramine and ammonium hydroxide on Al:ZnO nanoparticle seed layer
Authors: Matheson Ewan D. , Qu Yongtao , Kartopu Giray , Etherington Marc K. , Zoppi Guillaume , Barrioz Vincent , Beattie Neil S.
Published: July 2023

ZnO is a low-cost material which can be easily manipulated into different morphologies using hydrothermal synthesis. In this study, ZnO nanowires are grown using hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) and ammonium hydroxide as bases for the hydrothermal method. The growth time and temperature are varied and the nanowires are characterised structurally and optically. Electron microscopy images of the nanowires show that ammonium hydroxide forms pointed tips whereas HMTA forms flat tips. This is attributed to the chelating properties of HMTA. X-ray diffraction patterns show strong c-axis preferred orientation exhibited by ammonium hydroxide grown nanowires with large variability in crystallinity, whereas HMTA produced nanowires that show random orientation. The optical band gap is observed to decrease with solution temperature for both types of bases, however surface oxygen vacancy defects are observed in photoluminescence measurements of the ammonium hydroxide grown nanowires.
The Overlaps between Intergenerational (Dis)Continuity of Child Protection Services Involvement and Mental Illness Diagnoses from Hospital Admissions
Authors: McKenzie Emma F. , Thompson Carleen M. , Tzoumakis Stacy , Ogilvie James , Hurren Emily , Stewart Anna
Published: July 2023

Purpose

This study examines the relationship between mental illness diagnoses and four intergenerational patterns of child protection services involvement: cycle breakers, cycle maintainers, cycle initiators, and a comparison group (no maltreatment). Existing research is limited and inconsistent, and rarely incorporates multiple categories of mental illness or considers variation between mental illnesses.

Methods

Data were drawn from an administrative population-based data repository in Queensland, Australia and includes 32,494 individuals identified as biological parents. Child protection data were obtained from the Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs and mental illness diagnoses were obtained from Queensland Health hospital admissions. Any mental illness diagnosis, age at onset (adolescence or adulthood), and diagnosis types (common, severe, personality disorders, childhood-onset, adolescent- and adult-onset, and substance use) were examined. Multinomial and logistic regressions were conducted to investigate whether the mental illness diagnosis variables distinguished the four intergenerational patterns of child protection service involvement.

Results

Overall, 10.4% of individuals had at least one hospital admission involving a mental illness diagnosis. The prevalence of mental illness diagnoses significantly differed across the intergenerational patterns. Cycle maintainers and cycle initiators received the highest rates of diagnoses (50% and 38.8%, respectively), compared to cycle breakers (21.1%) and the comparison group (7.7%).

Conclusions

Our findings underline the need for early access to mental health supports for families involved with the child protection system, which could help prevent the cycle of maltreatment.
Spectrum of Lévy–Khintchine Random Laplacian Matrices
Authors: Campbell Andrew , O’Rourke Sean
Published: July 2023

We consider the spectrum of random Laplacian matrices of the form $$L_n=A_n-D_n$$

L
n

=

A
n

-

D
n

where $$A_n$$

A
n

is a real symmetric random matrix and $$D_n$$

D
n

is a diagonal matrix whose entries are equal to the corresponding row sums of $$A_n$$

A
n

. If $$A_n$$

A
n

is a Wigner matrix with entries in the domain of attraction of a Gaussian distribution, the empirical spectral measure of $$L_n$$

L
n

is known to converge to the free convolution of a semicircle distribution and a standard real Gaussian distribution. We consider real symmetric random matrices $$A_n$$

A
n

with independent entries (up to symmetry) whose row sums converge to a purely non-Gaussian infinitely divisible distribution, which fall into the class of Lévy–Khintchine random matrices first introduced by Jung [Trans Am Math Soc, 370, (2018)]. Our main result shows that the empirical spectral measure of $$L_n$$

L
n

converges almost surely to a deterministic limit. A key step in the proof is to use the purely non-Gaussian nature of the row sums to build a random operator to which $$L_n$$

L
n

converges in an appropriate sense. This operator leads to a recursive distributional equation uniquely describing the Stieltjes transform of the limiting empirical spectral measure.
Smooth multi-patch scaled boundary isogeometric analysis for Kirchhoff–Love shells
Authors: Reichle Mathias , Arf Jeremias , Simeon Bernd , Klinkel Sven
Published: July 2023

In this work, a linear Kirchhoff–Love shell formulation in the framework of scaled boundary isogeometric analysis is presented that aims to provide a simple approach to trimming for NURBS-based shell analysis. To obtain a global $$C^1$$

C
1

-regular test function space for the shell discretization, an inter-patch coupling is applied with adjusted basis functions in the vicinity of the scaling center to ensure the approximation ability. Doing so, the scaled boundary geometries are related to the concept of analysis-suitable $$G^1$$

G
1

parametrizations. This yields a coupling of patch boundaries in a strong sense that is restricted to $$G^1$$

G
1

-smooth surfaces. The proposed approach is advantageous to trimmed geometries due to the incorporation of the trimming curve in the boundary representation that provides an exact representation in the planar domain. Since the coupling of star-shaped blocks is feasible, a mesh generation also for complex domains is implementable. The potential of the approach is demonstrated by several problems of untrimmed and trimmed geometries of Kirchhoff–Love shell analysis evaluated against error norms and displacements. Lastly, the applicability is highlighted in the analysis of a violin structure including arbitrarily shaped patches.
A deep-learning framework running on edge devices for handgun and knife detection from indoor video-surveillance cameras
Authors: Berardini Daniele , Migliorelli Lucia , Galdelli Alessandro , Frontoni Emanuele , Mancini Adriano , Moccia Sara
Published: July 2023

The early detection of handguns and knives from surveillance videos is crucial to enhance people’s safety. Despite the increasing development of Deep Learning (DL) methods for general object detection, weapon detection from surveillance videos still presents open challenges. Among these, the most significant are: (i) the very small size of the weapons with respect to the camera field of view and (ii) the need of a real-time feedback, even when using low-cost edge devices for computation. Complex and recently-developed DL architectures could mitigate the former challenge but do not satisfy the latter one. To tackle such limitation, the proposed work addresses the weapon-detection task from an edge perspective. A double-step DL approach was developed and evaluated against other state-of-the-art methods on a custom indoor surveillance dataset. The approach is based on a first Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) for people detection which guides a second CNN to identify handguns and knives. To evaluate the performance in a real-world indoor environment, the approach was deployed on a NVIDIA Jetson Nano edge device which was connected to an IP camera. The system achieved near real-time performance without relying on expensive hardware. The results in terms of both COCO Average Precision (AP = 79.30) and Frames per Second (FPS = 5.10) on the low-power NVIDIA Jetson Nano pointed out the goodness of the proposed approach compared with the others, encouraging the spread of automated video surveillance systems affordable to everyone.
Quantitative evaluation of flood damage methodologies under a portfolio of adaptation scenarios
Authors: Boulange Julien , Hirabayashi Yukiko , Tanoue Masahiro , Yamada Toshinori
Published: July 2023

Flood risk is anticipated to increase, driven by climate change and socioeconomic development. Flood impact assessments rely heavily on models, and understanding the effects of uncertainties encompassed in the modelling chain is critical to adequately interpret flood risk and the development of effective flood adaptation measures. Previous research has focused on the effects of processes embedded in models, and flood frequency analysis of flood risk. However, no study has yet evaluated the cascading effects of flood damage assessment methodologies on uncertainty in the estimation of expected annual damage (EAD), optimal flood protection, and residual flood damage (RFD). Here, using an updated global river and inundation model forced by the latest climate data and employing a standard flood methodology, we found that global EAD will increase by $16.2 (USD throughout) and $44.5 billion yr−1 during 2020–2100 under low- and high-emissions scenarios, respectively. During the same period, despite the adoption of optimal levels of flood protections, global total RFD remained high under both low- and high-emissions scenarios, at $25.8 and $36.2 billion yr−1, respectively. Our results demonstrate that, under current levels of flood protection, EAD will approximately double with a switch in methodology. Aggregating data at the regional scale revealed conflicting trends between methodologies for developing and high-income countries, driven by existing levels of flood protection as well as the intensity, evolution, and distribution of gross domestic product at the administrative unit scale. Flood damage methodology is the dominant source of uncertainty, followed by unit construction cost and discount rate.
Impact of the Economic Crisis on Body Mass Index in Spain: An Intersectional Multilevel Analysis Using a Socioeconomic and Regional Perspective
Authors: Hernández-Yumar Aránzazu , Wemrell Maria , Abásolo-Alessón Ignacio , González López-Valcárcel Beatriz , Merlo Juan
Published: July 2023

The Great Recession hit Spain deteriorating the living conditions of many Spanish people, increasing the prevalence of several chronic health issues, including obesity, and affecting health inequalities. We analyse the impact of this economic crisis on body mass index (BMI) disparities in Spain, from two perspectives: the socioeconomic and the territorial, through the application of an intersectional multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory accuracy. We use data from the Spanish National Health Surveys of 2006/2007, 2011/2012 and 2016/2017 to build multilevel linear regression models and estimate BMI averages and components of variance. We find a greater increase in the overall average BMI and a widening of the socioeconomic disparities during the hardest years of the crisis. However, these differences decreased when the economic situation in the country began to improve. Both socioeconomic and geographical information contribute to mapping the distribution of BMI in the population. However, according to the ICC values, considering the regional perspective provides a better understanding of the distribution of the BMI, during the period of economic crisis, in the Spanish population. Therefore, regional policies can play an important role in counteracting obesity in times of crisis.
In vivo sensing to monitor tomato plants in field conditions and optimize crop water management
Authors: Vurro Filippo , Manfredi Riccardo , Bettelli Manuele , Bocci Gionata , Cologni Alberto Luigi , Cornali Sandro , Reggiani Roberto , Marchetti Edoardo , Coppedè Nicola , Caselli Stefano , Zappettini Andrea , Janni Michela
Published: July 2023

Irrigation is key to increasing crop yield and meeting the global demand for food. This study reports the assessment of tomato water consumption by bioristor, a new in vivo an Organic ElectroChemical Transistor-based biosensor. Bioristor enables direct, real-time acquisition of biophysical information about the plant’s water requirements directly from the plant sap, and thus the water input can be adjusted accordingly.

The aim of this study is to demonstrate the efficacy of bioristor in rapidly detecting changes in the plant’s water status enhancing water use and irrigation efficiency in tomato cultivation with significant savings in the water supply. To this end, experiments were carried out in 2018 and 2020 in Parma (Italy) in tomato fields under different water regimes. The sensor response index (R) produced by bioristor recorded the real time plant health status, highlighting an excess in the water supplied as well as the occurrence of drought stress during the growing season. In both years, bioristor showed that the amount of water supplied could have been reduced by 36% or more. Bioristor also measured the timing and duration of leaf wetting: 438 h and 409 h in 2018 and 2020, respectively. These results open up new perspectives in irrigation efficiency and in more sustainable approaches to pesticide application procedures.
A Comparative Investigation of Gender Terminology in the Egyptian and Tunisian Constitutions
Authors: El-Farahaty Hanem
Published: July 2023

Gendered language is becoming a matter of serious concern for legal drafters and policymakers because 'it is always changing as societal views change' (The University of Calgary: Office of diversity, equity and protected disclosure 2017:1). Many western countries have made considerable progress towards using inclusive legal language. However, inclusive language is not implemented in other parts of the World; the Arab World is no exception. This may be due to the violation of language rules, the decline of language, and the lack of enough evidence that changing the language will change society (Brown in ABA J, 2019) and (Brown in ABA J: 24–26, 2018). In this paper, I explore the challenging socio-cultural and linguistic factors that may hinder the implementation of gender-inclusive language in Arabic and explain the current situation in two current constitutions of Egypt and Tunisia in particular. The main aim of this paper is to conduct a comparative analysis of terminology representing gender in the Egyptian (2014, amended 2019) and Tunisian (2014) Arabic-English Constitutions using corpus-based tools. The analysis shows inconsistent attempts at a more inclusive source text through using neutral terms and adding inclusive pre-modifiers to these terms. It also shows inconsistent translation of gender-specific terminology and pronominal references. Both constitutions explicitly stress the ‘eradication of violence against women’ and express parity between ‘women’ and ‘men’ in terms of ‘equal rights’ and ‘appropriate political representation’ (e.g. in the Egyptian House of Representatives (28%) and the Tunisian Assembly of People’s Representatives (26%)) (International Institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance, IDEA 2021). Although these percentages are not far away from the representation of women in European countries such as the United Kingdom (35%) (International Institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance, IDEA 2021), it is the reality of women’s actual roles, change they initiate and their impact in the society that counts.
Monitoring and modelling the glutamine metabolic pathway: a review and future perspectives
Authors: Mirveis Zohreh , Howe Orla , Cahill Paul , Patil Nitin , Byrne Hugh J.
Published: July 2023

Background

Analysis of the glutamine metabolic pathway has taken a special place in metabolomics research in recent years, given its important role in cell biosynthesis and bioenergetics across several disorders, especially in cancer cell survival. The science of metabolomics addresses the intricate intracellular metabolic network by exploring and understanding how cells function and respond to external or internal perturbations to identify potential therapeutic targets. However, despite recent advances in metabolomics, monitoring the kinetics of a metabolic pathway in a living cell in situ, real-time and holistically remains a significant challenge.

Aim

This review paper explores the range of analytical approaches for monitoring metabolic pathways, as well as physicochemical modeling techniques, with a focus on glutamine metabolism. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each method and explore the potential of label-free Raman microspectroscopy, in conjunction with kinetic modeling, to enable real-time and in situ monitoring of the cellular kinetics of the glutamine metabolic pathway.

Key scientific concepts

Given its important role in cell metabolism, the ability to monitor and model the glutamine metabolic pathways are highlighted. Novel, label free approaches have the potential to revolutionise metabolic biosensing, laying the foundation for a new paradigm in metabolomics research and addressing the challenges in monitoring metabolic pathways in living cells.
Mechanism of nitrogen loss driven by soil and water erosion in water source areas
Authors: Wang Rongjia , Zhang Jianfeng , Cai Chunju , Wang Shufeng
Published: July 2023

Nitrogen (N) present in drinking water as dissolved nitrates can directly affect people’s health, making it important to control N pollution in water source areas. N pollution caused by agricultural fertilizers can be controlled by reducing the amount of fertilizer applied, but pollution caused by soil and water erosion in hilly areas can only be controlled by conservation forests. The catchment area around Fushi Reservoir was selected as a test site and mechanisms of N loss from a vertical spatial perspective through field observations were determined. The main N losses occurred from June to September, accounting for 85.9–95.9% of the annual loss, with the losses in June and July accounting for 46.0% of the total, and in August and September for 41.9%. The N leakage from the water source area was effectively reduced by 38.2% through the optimization of the stand structure of the conservation forests. Establishing well-structured forests for water conservation is crucial to ensure the security of drinking water. This preliminary research lays the foundation for revealing then loss mechanisms in water source areas and improving the control of non-point source pollution in these areas.
Epistemic virtue in higher education: testing the mechanisms of intellectual character development
Authors: Orona Gabe Avakian , Pritchard Duncan , Arum Richard , Eccles Jacqueline , Dang Quoc-Viet , Copp David , Herrmann Daniel Alexander , Rushing Bruce , Zitzmann Steffen
Published: July 2023

Epistemic virtues are character traits conducive to principled ways of thinking, leading to a life of flourishing. Recent years have witnessed an emergence of theoretical accounts describing how they develop. However, few if any studies have conducted rigorous empirical investigation into the mechanisms of intellectual virtue development. In this study, we review several significant frameworks before utilizing a randomized, pretest/posttest control trial design to understand the impacts of a novel thinking disposition intervention on intellectual virtue growth. We ascertain the direct and indirect effects of the intervention on four key intellectual virtues: curiosity, humility, integrity, and tenacity. Additionally, we test theoretical mediators of virtue learning. Clear evidence favoring a theory-inspired mediator is observed, though we observe weaker signals of direct effects, with nuances across the virtues. For instance, tenacity and curiosity variables appear to respond more to the intervention than do humility and integrity. Findings are discussed in light of contemporary theoretical perspectives.
Mathematical aspects of quasicrystals
Authors: Sbordone Carlo , Guida Margherita
Published: July 2023

A two-dimensional model of a quasi-crystal is the Penrose tiling (1974), which is an aperiodic “disjoint” covering of the plane generated by two rhombi $$\displaystyle R_{36^{\circ }}$$

R

36
∘

and $$\displaystyle R_{72^{\circ }}$$

R

72
∘

with equal side lengths. It is crucial that the areas’ ratio is irrational $$\begin{aligned} \displaystyle \varphi = \frac{\textrm{area} \,R_{72^{\circ }}}{\textrm{area}\, R_{36^{\circ }}} = \frac{1+\sqrt{5}}{2}\, (\mathrm{golden\, ratio})\, (\varphi ^2 - \varphi - 1 = 0), \end{aligned}$$

φ
=

area

R

72
∘

area

R

36
∘

=

1
+

5

2

(

golden

ratio

)

(

φ
2

-
φ
-
1
=
0
)

,

which in turn reveals a local five-fold symmetry, forbidden for crystals. Recent advances on “Wang tiles”, that is square tiles that cover the plane but cannot do it in a periodic fashion, are due to Jeandel and Rao (An aperiodic set of 11 Wang tiles, Advances in Combinatorics, pp 1–37, 2021), giving a definitive answer to the problem raised by Hao Wang in 1961. Other recent applications to variational problems in Homogenization are also mentioned (Braides et al. in C R Acad Sci Paris 347(11–12):697–700, 2009).
Detecting anomalous cryptocurrency transactions: An AML/CFT application of machine learning-based forensics
Authors: Pocher Nadia , Zichichi Mirko , Merizzi Fabio , Shafiq Muhammad Zohaib , Ferretti Stefano
Published: July 2023

In shaping the Internet of Money, the application of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) to the financial sector triggered regulatory concerns. Notably, while the user anonymity enabled in this field may safeguard privacy and data protection, the lack of identifiability hinders accountability and challenges the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation (AML/CFT). As law enforcement agencies and the private sector apply forensics to track crypto transfers across ecosystems that are socio-technical in nature, this paper focuses on the growing relevance of these techniques in a domain where their deployment impacts the traits and evolution of the sphere. In particular, this work offers contextualized insights into the application of methods of machine learning and transaction graph analysis. Namely, it analyzes a real-world dataset of Bitcoin transactions represented as a directed graph network through various techniques. The modeling of blockchain transactions as a complex network suggests that the use of graph-based data analysis methods can help classify transactions and identify illicit ones. Indeed, this work shows that the neural network types known as Graph Convolutional Networks (GCN) and Graph Attention Networks (GAT) are a promising AML/CFT solution. Notably, in this scenario GCN outperform other classic approaches and GAT are applied for the first time to detect anomalies in Bitcoin. Ultimately, the paper upholds the value of public–private synergies to devise forensic strategies conscious of the spirit of explainability and data openness.
Do the Behaviors of Early Childhood Education Teachers Promote Children's Progressive Autonomy? The Role of Interpersonal Emotional Regulation and its Consequences for Teachers' Occupational Well-Being
Authors: Etchebehere Gabriela , Crego Antonio , Martínez-Iñigo David
Published: July 2023

Despite its centrality within the Convention on the Rights of the Child, teachers’ behaviors promoting progressive autonomy, the psychological processes involved in their implementation and their consequences for teachers’ well-being has been neglected. Two studies assess early childhood teachers’ promoting progressive autonomy behaviors and their relationship with their strategies to regulate children’s emotions and their own job well-being. Overall, results support the presence of a virtuous circle where teachers use of strategies improving children’s emotions is associated to higher levels of progressive autonomy promotion and job well-being which in turn has been related to willingness to use affect improvement strategies.
Use of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as new technique to remove polystyrene from aqueous medium: modeling, optimization, and performance
Authors: Zahmatkesh Anbarani Mohaddeseh , Esmaeili Nasrabadi Afsaneh , Bonyadi Ziaeddin
Published: July 2023

MPs are widely found in various environments. PS is the second most common microplastic in sediments, freshwater, soil, and coastal ecosystems. S. cerevisiae was studied as a biocoagulant due to its advantages such as ease of use, non-toxicity, large-scale cultivability and low cost. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of S. cerevisiae in removing PS from aqueous solutions. BBD was used to determine the optimal removal conditions. The MPs were washed, dried, crushed, sieved, and kept in a closed container to avoid exposure to light and moisture. PS removal was measured under various parameters such as the dose of S. cerevisiae (100–300 mg/L), the concentration of PS (200–900 mg/L), and the pH (4–10). The suspension of PS and S. cerevisiae was stirred and subjected to variable speeds to disperse yeast cells and contact with PS particles. The formed clots were settled under static conditions, and the suspended MPs in the aqueous solution were measured by filtering through Whatman filter paper and recording its weight after drying. The maximum PS removal efficiency was 98.81% under optimized conditions, i.e., the PS concentration of 550 mg/L, the yeast dose of 200 mg/L, and the pH of 7. With regard to the mentioned results, it can be said that S. cerevisiae can be used as a natural and environmentally friendly biocoagulant to remove PS.
Dark Energy Cosmological Models in Lyra Geometry for Bianchi-I Space Time
Authors: Bishi Binaya Kumar , Lepse Pratik Vijay , Beesham Aroonkumar
Published: July 2023

We construct cosmological models for dark energy based on Lyra’s geometry for the Bianchi-I space-time to understand the evolution of the universe. The specific choice of the deceleration parameter $$q=-\frac{\alpha _1}{t^2}+\alpha _2-1$$

q
=
-

α
1

t
2

+

α
2

-
1

is used to determine the exact solutions of the field equations in Lyra geometry. The parameter $$\alpha _1$$

α
1

has a dimension equal to the square of time. Further, we have discussed two cosmological models depending on the parameter $$\alpha _2$$

α
2

. Several physical parameters are obtained and the results in both the models are analyzed and presented graphically for the analysis of the results.
Towards a sustainable use of shower water: Habits and explanatory factors in southern Spain
Authors: Ibáñez-Rueda Nazaret , Guardiola Jorge , López-Ruiz Samara , González-Gómez Francisco
Published: July 2023

One of the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6 is the efficient use of water resources in all sectors in order to tackle water shortages. In the home, showering is one of the main water consuming activities. How can people make more sustainable use of shower water? To answer this question, this research analyses showering habits and explanatory factors of shower use. The study is carried out with data from 945 students of the University of Granada, Spain. Significant differences are observed in shower use during the summer and winter months: the average duration is 8.8 and 11.6 min, respectively, and the frequency is greater in summer (with an average frequency of eight showers per week). Determinants of different shower water use include gender, ideology, pro-environmental actions, inherent values, and connectedness to nature, among others. Those variables relate differently to duration and frequency of showers, according to the season, thus highlighting the importance of seasonality. The results show that there is room to achieve a more sustainable use of the shower, in terms of frequency and duration, through awareness measures that are tailored to groups that make a less sustainable use of showers. The main recommendation is that awareness campaigns should be designed on the basis of the user profile as well as the season.
A cost-based multi-layer network approach for the discovery of patient phenotypes
Authors: Puga Clara , Niemann Uli , Schlee Winfried , Spiliopoulou Myra
Published: July 2023

Clinical records frequently include assessments of the characteristics of patients, which may include the completion of various questionnaires. These questionnaires provide a variety of perspectives on a patient’s current state of well-being. Not only is it critical to capture the heterogeneity given by these perspectives, but there is also a growing demand for developing cost-effective technologies for clinical phenotyping. Filling out many questionnaires may be a strain for the patients and therefore, costly. Our goal is then to provide a strategy that refrains from the more expensive questionnaires while maintaining phenotype quality. In this work, we propose COBALT—a cost-based layer selector model for detecting phenotypes using a community detection approach. Our goal is to minimize the number of features used to build these phenotypes while preserving its quality. We test our model using questionnaire data from chronic tinnitus patients and represent the data in a multi-layer network structure. The model is then evaluated by predicting post-treatment data using baseline features (age, gender, and pre-treatment data) as well as the identified phenotypes as a feature. For some post-treatment variables, prediction models using phenotypes from COBALT as features outperformed those using phenotypes detected by traditional clustering methods. Moreover, using phenotype data to predict post-treatment data proved beneficial in comparison with prediction models that were solely trained with baseline features.
An assistant algorithm model for a mobile robot to pass through a concave obstacle area
Authors: Cao Yanjie , Mohamad Nor Norzalilah , Samad Zahurin
Published: July 2023

When a mobile robot passes through a concave obstacle area, the limitations of the traditional control algorithm add a significant challenge to the mobile robot to move through the concave obstacle area efficiently. Improving the conventional path planning algorithm is a common choice to solve this problem. However, because various path planning algorithms adapt to the fixed scene and the algorithm steps are complex, it is difficult to popularize these algorithms. In addition, conventional path planning algorithms usually encounter difficulties when passing through recessed obstacle areas or cause robot deadlock. An auxiliary algorithm strategy is proposed to help mobile robots avoid concave obstacles quickly. The algorithm strategy plays an auxiliary role by incorporating the judgment of the starting position of the mobile robot, the building of a virtual wall to shield the concave obstacle area, and the judgment of the moving direction of the mobile robot. The advantage of this algorithm strategy is that it does not change the operation mechanism of traditional path-planning algorithms and is highly adaptable. The results of the comparison of simulation experiments with the APF (Artificial Potential Field), the ACO (Ant Colony Optimization), the RRT (Rapidly-Exploring Random Trees), the A-star algorithm, and the Dijkstra algorithm show the inclusion of the auxiliary algorithm strategy resulted in a significant increase in the efficiency of the mobile robot through the depressed obstacle zone.

Article Highlights

●This auxiliary algorithm strategy can avoid the self-locking caused by the mobile robot falling into the concave obstacle area.

●This auxiliary algorithm strategy does not change the mechanism of the traditional path planning algorithm, and it is simple and easy to be used.

●This auxiliary algorithm has wide adaptability (it can assist the mainstream path planning algorithm and adapt to various scenarios).
A Stochastic Modelling and Optimization for the Design of an LNG Refuelling System in the Piraeus Port Region
Authors: Charis Ntakolia  , Douloumpekis Michalis , Papaleonidas Christos , Tsiampa Violetta , Lyridis Dimitrios V.
Published: July 2023

Port activity is assumed to be an integral part of maritime activity. Ships are supplied with water, food, fuel, electricity, spare parts and consumables when they are berthed in ports. Therefore, the purpose of the service system is to reduce the waiting cost, from the time the ship’s arrival until its service. Delays in the system, and particularly in the queuing system, could occur due to irregularities in the ships’ arrival time causing uncertainty in time of service. On the contrary, a complex waiting system would require an increased commitment of capital for the construction and maintenance of appropriate infrastructure. As such an optimum size and operation of the port service system must be identified. To address this problem, this study presents a method for maximizing port administrator’s profit, by modelling and optimizing the waiting system based on Monte Carlo simulation techniques. Port of Piraeus is used to test the method. The case study assumes increased bunkering port calls due to the addition of a liquified natural gas (LNG) refuelling station. The results showed that a range of 3 to 5 stations generate high profit while using too many service stations could lead to deteriorations of the profit.