bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prevalence and pattern of focal and potential diffuse myocardial fibrosis in male and female marathon runners using contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance
Authors: Ragab Haissam , Lund Gunnar K. , Breitsprecher Lynn , Sinn Martin R. , Muellerleile Kai , Cavus Ersin , Stehning Christian , Tahir Enver , Blankenberg Stefan , Patten Monica , Pressler Axel , Adam Gerhard , Avanesov Maxim
Published: January 2023

Objectives

This study analyzed the prevalence and pattern of focal and potential diffuse myocardial fibrosis detected by late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) and extracellular volume (ECV) imaging in male and female marathon runners using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR).

Methods

Seventy-four marathon runners were studied including 55 males (44 ± 8 years) and 19 females (36 ± 7 years) and compared to 36 controls with similar age and sex using contrast-enhanced CMR, exercise testing, and blood samples.

Results

Contrast-enhanced CMR revealed focal myocardial fibrosis in 8 of 74 runners (11%). The majority of runners were male (7 of 8, 88%). LGE was typically non-ischemic in 7 of 8 runners (88%) and ischemic in one runner. ECV was higher in remote myocardium without LGE in male runners (25.5 ± 2.3%) compared to male controls (24.0 ± 3.0%, p < 0.05), indicating the potential presence of diffuse myocardial fibrosis. LV mass was higher in LGE + males (86 ± 18 g/m2) compared to LGE- males (73 ± 14 g/m2, p < 0.05). Furthermore, LGE + males had lower weight (69 ± 9 vs 77 ± 9 kg, p < 0.05) and shorter best marathon finishing times (3.2 ± 0.3 h) compared to LGE- males (3.6 ± 0.4 h, p < 0.05) suggesting higher training load in these runners to accomplish the marathon in a short time.

Conclusion

The high frequency of non-ischemic myocardial fibrosis in LGE + male runners can be related to increased LV mass in these runners. Furthermore, a higher training load could explain the higher LV mass and could be one additional cofactor in the genesis of myocardial fibrosis in marathon runners.

Key Points

• A high frequency of myocardial fibrosis was found in marathon runners.

• Myocardial fibrosis occurred typically in male runners and was typically non-ischemic.

• Higher training load could be one cofactor in the genesis of myocardial fibrosis in marathon runners.
Effect of herbivore load on VOC-mediated plant communication in potato
Authors: Vázquez-González Carla , Quiroga Violeta , Martín-Cacheda Lucía , Rasmann Sergio , Röder Gregory , Abdala-Roberts Luis , Moreira Xoaquín
Published: January 2023

Main conclusion

VOC emissions increased with herbivore load, but this did not result in concomitant increases in resistance in neighbouring plants, suggesting that communication occurred independently of herbivore load in emitter plants.

Herbivore-damaged plants emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can alert neighbours and boost their resistance. While VOC-mediated plant communication has been shown to be herbivore-specific, we know little about its contingency on variation in herbivore load. To address this knowledge gap, we tested herbivore load effects on VOC-mediated communication between potato plants (Solanum tuberosum) using the generalist herbivore Spodoptera exigua. First, we tested whether herbivore load (three levels: undamaged control, low, and high load) affected total VOC emissions and composition. Second, we matched emitter and receiver plants and subjected emitters to the same herbivore load treatments. Finally, we performed a bioassay with S. exigua on receivers to test for induced resistance due to VOC-mediated communication. We found that herbivory significantly increased total VOC emissions relative to control plants, and that such increase was greater under high herbivore load. In contrast, we found no detectable effect of herbivory, regardless of the load, on VOC composition. The communication experiment showed that VOCs released by herbivore-induced emitters boosted resistance in receivers (i.e., lower leaf damage than receivers exposed to VOCs released by control emitters), but the magnitude of such effect was similar for both levels of emitter herbivore load. These findings suggest that changes in VOCs due to variation in herbivore load do not modify the outcomes of plant communication.
Endoscopic fully covered self-expandable metal stent and vacuum-assisted drainage to treat postoperative colorectal cancer anastomotic stenosis with fistula
Authors: Deng Shenghe , Liu Ke , Gu Junnan , Cao Yinghao , Mao Fuwei , Xue Yifan , Jiang Zhenxing , Qin Le , Wu Ke , Cai Kailin
Published: January 2023

Background

Digestive tract reconstruction is required after the surgical resection of a colorectal malignant tumor. Some patients may have concomitant anastomotic complications, such as anastomotic stenosis with fistula (ASF), postoperatively. Therefore, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of endoscopic fully covered self-expandable metal stent and homemade vacuum sponge-assisted drainage (FSEM-HVSD) for the treatment of ASF following the radical resection of colorectal cancer.

Methods

Patients treated with FESM-HVSD were prospectively analyzed and followed up for ASF following colorectal cancer treatment in our medical center from 2017 to 2021 for the observation and evaluation of its safety and efficacy.

Results

Fifteen patients with a mean age of 55.80 ± 11.08 years were included. Nine patients (60%) underwent protective ileostomy. All 15 patients were treated with endoscopic FSEM-HVSD. The median time from the index operation to the initiation of FSEM-HVSD was 80 ± 20.34 days in patients who underwent protective ileostomy versus 11.4 ± 4.4 days in those who did not. The average number of endoscopic treatments per patient was 5.70 ± 1.25 times. The mean length of hospital stay was 27.60 ± 4.43 days. FSEM-HVSD treatment was successful in 13 patients, and no patients had any complications. The follow-up time was 1 year. Twelve of 15 (80%) patients achieved prolonged clinical success after FSEM-HVSD treatment, 1 experienced anastomotic tumor recurrence and underwent surgery again, and 1 patient required balloon dilation for anastomotic stenosis recurrence.

Conclusions

FSEM-HVSD is an effective, safe, and minimally invasive treatment for ASF following colorectal cancer treatment. This technique could be the preferred treatment strategy for patients with ASF.
Does kidney biopsy in pediatric lupus patients “complement” the management and outcomes of silent lupus nephritis? Lessons learned from a pediatric cohort
Authors: Mannemuddhu Sai Sudha , Shoemaker Lawrence R. , Bozorgmehri Shahab , Borgia R. Ezequiel , Gupta Nirupama , Clapp William L. , Zeng Xu , Modica Renee F.
Published: January 2023

Background

Silent lupus nephritis (SLN) is systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) without clinical and laboratory features of kidney involvement but with biopsy-proven nephritis. This study aims to describe and compare the baseline characteristics and outcomes of pediatric SLN with overt LN (OLN) and to identify associated risk factors and biochemical markers.

Methods

In this retrospective, observational study, multivariate logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses studied age, sex, race, serum complements, anti-double-stranded-DNA antibody, anti-Smith antibody, eGFR, and proliferative nephritis.

Results

In our cohort of 69 patients, 47 were OLN, and 22 were SLN. OLN (OR = 4.9, p = 0.03) and non-African Americans (AA) (OR = 13.0, p < 0.01) had higher odds, and increasing C3 and C4 were associated with lower odds of proliferative nephritis (OR 0.95 and 0.65 per one unit increase in C3 and C4, respectively, p < 0.01). They demonstrated a good discriminative ability to detect proliferative nephritis as assessed by the area under the ROC curve (C3 = 0.78, C4 = 0.78). C3 and C4 in proliferative SLN and OLN were comparable and significantly lower than their non-proliferative counterparts. No association was observed between age, sex, anti-double-stranded-DNA antibody, anti-Smith antibody, eGFR, and proliferative nephritis. Proliferative SLN and OLN patients received similar treatments. Adverse events were identified in the proliferative OLN only.

Conclusions

Lower complement levels are associated with proliferative lesions in pediatric LN—both SLN and OLN. The non-AA population had higher odds of having proliferative nephritis than the AA. Prospective, randomized, long-term follow-up of proliferative SLN patients is needed to ascertain the beneficial effect of early diagnosis and treatment.

Graphical abstract
Fabric evolution and strain localisation in inherently anisotropic specimens of anisometric particles (lentils) under triaxial compression
Authors: Pinzón Gustavo , Andò Edward , Desrues Jacques , Viggiani Gioacchino
Published: January 2023

Inherent anisotropy is often observed in natural soils and other granular materials formed during gravity deposition. Fabric characterisation and evolution have been mainly studied using numerical simulations, given the difficulty of retrieving the contact network and the kinematics of particles in physical experiments. This work presents the results of five triaxial compression tests on inherently anisotropic lentil specimens imaged with x-ray tomography. Each specimen is prepared in a way such that all the particles present a unique mean orientation, as results from gravity in natural soils deposits - this can be called “bedding effect”. Particles are identified and tracked from the first image all the way through the test using a novel tracking algorithm, enabling the measurement of particle and contact fabric evolution, as well as strain localisation within the specimens. The results reveal that the deformation processes take place essentially in a planar scenario, both at a micro and mesoscale. Additionally, it is observed that under deviatoric loading two mechanisms are responsible for fabric evolution: rotation of the main orientation of the fabric tensor, and increase of the anisotropy. Finally, the orientation of the shear band is found to be independent of the initial orientation of the particles.

Graphical abstract
The regional variation of a housing boom. Disparities of land prices in Austria, 2000–2018
Authors: Reiner Christian , Musil Robert
Published: January 2023

Debates accompanying the global housing boom have primarily focussed on the economic and social implications for urban housing markets. Against this background, this paper analyses the repercussions for regional land prices of a national housing boom in and beyond agglomerations. Convergence and divergence dynamics, regional price drivers, and spatial diffusion are investigated by examining average building-land prices of 95 Austrian regions between 2000 and 2018. The results indicate a clear increase in regional disparities in land prices, with the main rise taking place during a high price-growth period. Regions with high land prices are the main drivers of divergence, while a substantial number of peripheral regions with converging land prices were hardly affected by the national price boom. Land-price growth rates are positively affected by the number of households but negatively impacted by income growth, which points to a problematic decoupling of household income and land prices. Finally, the diffusion of the land-price boom occurs along the urban hierarchy as well as via neighbouring regions, confirming the ripple-effect hypothesis.
Assessing regional variation in yield from weathered basement aquifers in West Africa and modelling their future groundwater development and sustainability
Authors: Bianchi Marco , Palamakumbura Romesh N. , MacDonald Alan M. , Macdonald David M. J.
Published: January 2023

A data-driven modelling approach was applied to quantify the potential groundwater yield from weathered crystalline basement aquifers in West Africa, which are a strategic resource for achieving water and food security. To account for possible geological control on aquifer productivity, seven major geological domains were identified based on lithological, stratigraphic, and structural characteristics of the crystalline basement. Extensive data mining was conducted for the hydrogeological parameterisation that led to the identification of representative distributions of input parameters for numerical simulations of groundwater abstractions. These were calibrated to match distributions of measured yields for each domain. Calibrated models were then applied to investigate aquifer and borehole scenarios to assess groundwater productivity. Considering the entire region, modelling results indicate that approximately 50% of well-sited standard 60-m-deep boreholes could sustain yields exceeding 0.5 L/s, and 25% could sustain the yield required for small irrigation systems (> 1.0 L/s). Results also highlighted some regional differences in the ranges of productivities for the different domains, and the significance of the depth of the static water table and the lateral extent of aquifers across all geological domains. This approach can be applied to derive groundwater maps for the region and provide the quantitative information required to evaluate the potential of different designs of groundwater supply networks.
Flexural wave bandgap properties of phononic crystal beams with interval parameters
Authors: He Feiyang , Shi Zhiyu , Qian Denghui , Lu Y. K. , Xiang Yujia , Feng Xuelei
Published: January 2023

Uncertainties are unavoidable in practical engineering, and phononic crystals are no exception. In this paper, the uncertainties are treated as the interval parameters, and an interval phononic crystal beam model is established. A perturbation-based interval finite element method (P-IFEM) and an affine-based interval finite element method (A-IFEM) are proposed to study the dynamic response of this interval phononic crystal beam, based on which an interval vibration transmission analysis can be easily implemented and the safe bandgap can be defined. Finally, two numerical examples are investigated to demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the P-IFEM and A-IFEM. Results show that the safe bandgap range may even decrease by 10% compared with the deterministic bandgap without considering the uncertainties.
Perilesional resection technique of glioblastoma: intraoperative ultrasound and histological findings of the resection borders in a single center experience
Authors: Giussani Carlo , Carrabba Giorgio , Rui Chiara Benedetta , Chiarello Gaia , Stefanoni Giovanni , Julita Chiara , De Vito Andrea , Cinalli Maria Allegra , Basso Gianpaolo , Remida Paolo , Citerio Giuseppe , Di Cristofori Andrea
Published: January 2023

Introduction

The surgical goal in glioblastoma treatment is the maximal safe resection of the tumor. Currently the lack of consensus on surgical technique opens different approaches. This study describes the “perilesional technique” and its outcomes in terms of the extent of resection, progression free survival and overall survival.

Methods

Patients included (n = 40) received a diagnosis of glioblastoma and underwent surgery using the perilesional dissection technique at “San Gerardo Hospital”between 2018 and 2021. The tumor core was progressively isolated using a circumferential movement, healthy brain margins were protected with Cottonoid patties in a “shingles on the roof” fashion, then the tumorwas removed en bloc. Intraoperative ultrasound (iOUS) was used and at least 1 bioptic sample of “healthy” margin of the resection was collected and analyzed. The extent of resection was quantified. Extent of surgical resection (EOR) and progression free survival (PFS)were safety endpoints of the procedure.

Results

Thirty-four patients (85%) received a gross total resection(GTR) while 3 (7.5%) patients received a sub-total resection (STR), and 3 (7.5%) a partial resection (PR). The mean post-operative residual volume was 1.44 cm3 (range 0–15.9 cm3).During surgery, a total of 76 margins were collected: 51 (67.1%) were tumor free, 25 (32.9%) were infiltrated. The median PFS was 13.4 months, 15.3 in the GTR group and 9.6 months in the STR-PR group.

Conclusions

Perilesional resection is an efficient technique which aims to bring the surgeon to a safe environment, carefully reaching the “healthy” brain before removing the tumoren bloc. This technique can achieve excellent tumor margins, extent of resection, and preservation of apatient’s functions.
Strigolactones: diversity, perception, and hydrolysis
Authors: Guercio Angelica M. , Palayam Malathy , Shabek Nitzan
Published: January 2023

Strigolactones (SLs) are a unique and novel class of phytohormones that regulate numerous processes of growth and development in plants. Besides their endogenous functions as hormones, SLs are exuded by plant roots to stimulate critical interactions with symbiotic fungi but can also be exploited by parasitic plants to trigger their seed germination. In the past decade, since their discovery as phytohormones, rapid progress has been made in understanding the SL biosynthesis and signaling pathway. Of particular interest are the diversification of natural SLs and their exact mode of perception, selectivity, and hydrolysis by their dedicated receptors in plants. Here we provide an overview of the emerging field of SL perception with a focus on the diversity of canonical, non-canonical, and synthetic SL probes. Moreover, this review offers useful structural insights into SL perception, the precise molecular adaptations that define receptor-ligand specificities, and the mechanisms of SL hydrolysis and its attenuation by downstream signaling components.
Evaluating the response effort and data quality of established political solidarity measures: a pre-registered experimental test in an online survey of the German adult resident population in 2021
Authors: Goerres Achim , Höhne Jan Karem
Published: January 2023

This experimental study aims to check and improve the quality of 16 established survey measures of political solidarities and related concepts, such as redistribution and social trust. Political solidarities are defined as one’s willingness to share the costs that result from public redistribution that favours people other than oneself and thus constitute a subset of welfare state attitudes. The pre-registered study plan included suggestions for the development of improved rating scales, which we defined as five-point, end verbalized rating scales without non-substantive answer options. The overall results from an experimental online survey in Germany indicate differences in response effort in terms of response times but almost no differences in data quality in terms of criterion validity. Thus, the 16 survey measures show solid instrument validity as well as minor improvements in respondents’ response times. Indeed, the measures are (at least) in the online survey world of Germany of high-quality and warrant inclusion in future surveys with small efficiency gains still attainable.
Telomere Length: Implications for Atherogenesis
Authors: Yin Hao , Pickering J. Geoffrey
Published: January 2023

Purpose of Review

The purpose of the study is to explore the evidence linking telomere length with atherosclerotic ischemic disease.

Recent Findings

There has been a recent expansion in strategies for measuring telomere length, including analyzing genome sequence data and capitalizing on genomic loci that associate with telomere length. These, together with more established approaches, have been used to generate a more complete picture of telomere length relationships with ischemic disease. Whereas earlier meta-analyses suggested an association between short leukocyte telomeres and ischemic disease, several recent large population studies now provide particularly compelling data, including an association with cardiovascular mortality. In addition, whether short leukocyte telomeres might be causally related to ischemic disease has been interrogated using Mendelian randomization strategies, which point to shorter leukocyte telomeres as a determining risk factor. Importantly however, the wide, interindividual variability in telomere length still means that a single assessment of leukocyte telomere length in an individual does not reliably report on a biological aging process. In this regard, recent multi-tissue analyses of telomere length dynamics are providing both new mechanistic insights into how telomere length and shortening rates may participate in atherogenesis and risk prediction opportunities.

The balance of evidence indicates that short leukocyte telomeres confer a risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Moreover, an integrated analysis of telomere lengths in leukocytes and other tissues may provide a window into individualized telomere dynamics, raising new prospects for risk management.
Why do humans need thrombospondin-1?
Authors: Kaur Sukhbir , Roberts David D.
Published: January 2023

Matricellular proteins comprise several families of secreted proteins that function in higher animals at the interface between cells and their surrounding extracellular matrix. Targeted gene disruptions that result in loss of viability in mice have revealed critical roles for several matricellular proteins in murine embryonic development, including two members of the cellular communication network (CCN) gene family. In contrast, mice lacking single or multiple members of the thrombospondin (THBS) gene family remain viable and fertile. The frequency of loss of function mutants, identified using human deep exome sequencing data, provided evidence that some of the essential genes in mice, including Ccn1, are also essential genes in humans. However, a deficit in loss of function mutants in humans indicated that THBS1 is also highly loss-intolerant. In addition to roles in embryonic development or adult reproduction, genes may be loss-intolerant in humans because their function is needed to survive environmental stresses that are encountered between birth and reproduction. Laboratory mice live in a protected environment that lacks the exposures to pathogens and injury that humans routinely face. However, subjecting Thbs1−/− mice to defined stresses has provided valuable insights into functions of thrombospondin-1 that could account for the loss-intolerance of THBS1 in humans.

Graphical Abstract
Understanding passenger hostility in transit: a systematic review
Authors: Davis Melanie , Bradley Graham L. , Racz Jason I. , Ferguson Samantha , Buys Nicholas J.
Published: January 2023

Passenger hostility is commonplace in the transit industry. However, research investigating this job stressor is limited in both scope and quality. This systematic review examines three questions regarding passenger hostility: (a) what is its occurrence (incidence and prevalence); (b) what are its consequences; and (c) what factors are related to its occurrence, intensity, or consequences? Six databases were searched for studies published between 2010 and 2020 reporting the occurrence, consequences, or correlates of passenger hostility directed toward transit workers. Risk of bias was categorized using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme. Results were summarized in tables and narratively synthesized. Nineteen eligible studies (10 quantitative and nine qualitative or mixed methods) were identified. Evidence from 14 studies indicated that passenger hostility occurs frequently, and is often underreported, especially in its less severe forms. Sixteen studies reported correlates of the occurrence, intensity, or consequences of hostility, with these grouped into worker, passenger, organizational, environmental, and event categories. Immediate and long-term impacts were identified in ten studies. This review contributes to understanding the likely antecedents, correlates and consequences of passenger hostility directed at transit industry workers. It also highlights some common methodological limitations in past research and proposes solutions to them. As such, the paper provides suggestions for future explorations and intervention targets aimed at reducing this common workplace stressor.
Modeling and pricing cyber insurance
Authors: Awiszus Kerstin , Knispel Thomas , Penner Irina , Svindland Gregor , Voß Alexander , Weber Stefan
Published: January 2023

The paper provides a comprehensive overview of modeling and pricing cyber insurance and includes clear and easily understandable explanations of the underlying mathematical concepts. We distinguish three main types of cyber risks: idiosyncratic, systematic, and systemic cyber risks. While for idiosyncratic and systematic cyber risks, classical actuarial and financial mathematics appear to be well-suited, systemic cyber risks require more sophisticated approaches that capture both network and strategic interactions. In the context of pricing cyber insurance policies, issues of interdependence arise for both systematic and systemic cyber risks; classical actuarial valuation needs to be extended to include more complex methods, such as concepts of risk-neutral valuation and (set-valued) monetary risk measures.
Managing sustainable practices and logistics value to improve customer loyalty: importers vs. freight forwarders
Authors: Justavino-Castillo Milva Eileen , Gil-Saura Irene , Fuentes-Blasco Maria , Moliner-Velázquez Beatriz , Servera-Francés David
Published: January 2023

In B2B context, this study focuses on analysing the loyalty formation process from a set of antecedent multidimensional variables—sustainable practices and logistics value—and the moderating effect of type of customer in maritime transport from the user’s perspective. Based on a sample of 105 importing companies and freight forwarders in Panama, a structural equation model was estimated to test the research hypotheses. The results show the significant influences of sustainable practices on value and value on loyalty. The significant mediating effect of value in the relationship between sustainable practices and loyalty is also verified. It indicates the benefits of the presence of perceived logistics value in B2B relationships since it reinforces the intensity of the links between sustainable practices and loyalty. The moderating role of the type of business was confirmed. Amongst importers, sustainable practices show a significantly greater impact on logistics value than in the freight forwarders group.
A participatory and multi-actor approach to locally support crop diversification based on the case study of camelina in northern France
Authors: Leclère Margot , Loyce Chantal , Jeuffroy Marie-Hélène
Published: January 2023

Despite the acknowledged benefits of crop diversification, the transition towards more diversified cropping systems needs to be supported, mainly due to socio-technical lock-ins favoring major dominant crop species. This calls for the development of new approaches to support the design of locally tailored diversified cropping systems. This paper aims to present an original participatory and multi-actor design approach, developed to support the introduction of camelina (Camelina sativa) into the cropping systems of northern France and to provide some insights about the characteristics, the specificities, and the limits of this approach to support its use and adaptation to other contexts. For 3 years, and in connection with the development of an oilseed biorefinery, we gathered a variety of actors (farmers, advisors, engineers in agronomy, researchers, and industrialists) to locally support the introduction of camelina in the cropping systems. First, we illustrate the diversity of the modalities that have been collectively imagined to introduce and manage camelina in the local cropping systems. Then, we describe the originality and the diversity of the knowledge produced on camelina, especially during the assessment of some of these modalities within on-farm experiments. Finally, drawing on concepts and theories from design sciences, we show that (i) the pre-existence of networks of actors, (ii) the rationale involvement of the actors, (iii) the implementation of a situated design process fueled by action and distributed among actors, (iv) the sharing and the circulation of knowledge among a diversity of actors involved in the production and use of the new crop, and (v) the implementation of an effective network management contributed to foster the three key elements that we identified as crucial to support crop diversification, namely, the production of actionable knowledge, the exploration of new ideas/concepts, and the active participation of a diversity of actors of the agri-food system.
Factors Affecting Rate of Pleural Fluid Accumulation in Patients with Malignant Pleural Effusions
Authors: Sethi Dheeraj K. , Kouritas Vasileios , Mishra Eleanor
Published: January 2023

Purpose of Review

Malignant pleural effusions (MPEs) are initially treated with thoracocentesis but usually reaccumulate. There is wide variation in the rate of recurrence. Those with rapid recurrence could benefit from early definitive treatment, whilst those with slower recurrences may not. Here, we discuss pleural fluid homeostasis, MPE pathophysiology, and factors associated with reaccumulation.

Recent Findings

Few studies have investigated markers of MPE reaccumulation. Suggested features of rapid reaccumulation include lactate dehydrogenase, effusion size, positive cytology, and dyspnoea. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) correlates with MPE size and treatment response, but its association with reaccumulation rate is unknown. Some anti-VEGF therapies have shown promise in MPE management.

Summary

Further work is needed to validate hypothesised biomarkers of rapid recurrence and to characterise other biomarkers, such as VEGF. The Reaccumulation rate of Malignant Pleural Effusions After Therapeutic Aspiration (REPEAT) study aims to address these gaps in the literature and is currently in recruitment.
A Novel Methodology for the Thermographic Cooling Rate Measurement during Powder Bed Fusion of Metals Using a Laser Beam
Authors: Wenzler David L. , Bergmeier Katharina , Baehr Siegfried , Diller Johannes , Zaeh Michael F.
Published: January 2023

Powder bed fusion of metals using a laser beam (PBF-LB/M) is a process that enables the fabrication of geometrically complex parts. In this process, a laser beam melts a metallic powder locally to build the desired geometry. The melt pool solidifies rapidly, which results in high cooling rates. These rates vary during the process in line with the geometric characteristics of the part, which leads to a non-uniform microstructure along with anisotropic mechanical properties. The unknown part characteristics prevent the process from being used in safety-critical applications. Thermographic in situ process monitoring provides information about the thermal field, enabling predictions of the resulting material properties. This study presents a novel methodology for the thermographic measurement of cooling rates during the PBF-LB/M process using a high-speed thermographic camera. The cooling rates occurring during the manufacturing of 316L tower-like specimens were measured. The cooling rate decreased with increasing build height, due to the heat accumulation in the parts. The microhardness profile of the parts was tested perpendicularly and parallel to the build direction. A significant decrease in hardness values was observed along the build height. The measured cooling rate was correlated to the microhardness profile of the specimens using a Hall–Petch type relationship. The results show a high level of reproducibility of the cooling rates between different specimens in the same build job as well as between subsequent build jobs. The presented methodology allows studying the effects of the geometry on the cooling rates and the resulting mechanical properties of 316L specimens.
On remembering, unlearning, and creating new stories
Authors: Basil Priya , Buckley-Zistel Susanne , Koloma Beck Teresa
Published: January 2023

In this interview, Priya Basil—London-born author of fiction and essays who now lives in Berlin—reflects on colonial continuities and ruptures of Germany’s memoryscape. Taking the Humboldt Forum at the newly reconstructed Berlin Palace that houses Berlin’s ethnographic collections as a starting point, she talks about how the memory of the Holocaust and of colonial crimes committed by Germans connect yet also differ, what messages buildings such as the Berlin Palace communicate to visitors, whose voices are heard and silenced in the Humboldt Forum, and how this relates to some form of post-colonial justice—or not. She advocates for digging down into the provenance of objects in museums and exhibitions to unearth the dark histories that have led to their presence in Germany yet also in other former colonizing countries. To circumvent the master narrative of a collection, she argues it is paramount to let the objects “talk back” and to listen to their stories as opposed to the stories of the collectors and exhibitors.
Effects of best land management practices on the structure, composition and diversity of woody vegetation in agroforestry parklands: case of Dan Saga and Tabofatt villages in Niger republic
Authors: Salifou Saidou , Iro Dan Guimbo , Larwanou Mahamane , Karimou Ambouta Jean-Marie
Published: January 2023

The large-scale use of best land management practices has been instrumental in the accession of recent regreening in certain Sahelian areas. This study therefore aimed at highlighting the effect of the wide use of these practices on the structural and ecological parameters of the woody flora in agroforestry parklands. To this end, an inventory of ligneous vegetation was carried out on radial transects in an East–West and North–South direction in the villages clusters of Dan Saga and Tabofatt in Niger Republic. A variance comparison test was applied on the values from plots with practice compare to those from plots without practice (controls). In Dan Saga site, the results obtained show the significant effect of the practice of assisted natural tree regeneration on the density of trees (97 against 58 plants/ha for the control plots), on the basal area (3.04 against 1.98 m2/ha for the control plots), on regeneration (61.96% against 40.91% for the controls) and on floristic diversity (2.93 against 2.41 bits for the control plots) with a clear dominance of Combretaceae. On the other hand, this effect is relatively less significant in the case of Tabofatt site’s where the practice of planting trees coupled with water and runoff collection structures induced positive effect particularly on the basal area (2.29 against 1.90 m2/ha for plots controls), on the structure of the vegetation stood by the abundance of plants with average diameter (class from 5 to 10 cm) as well as the species diversity (2.54 against 2.18 bits for the controls) with a dominance of species of the Mimosaceae family. These results can be used as decision support tools to guide actions to scale up regreening in the Sahelian context.
Implementation of an Experiential Service-Learning Course in Biomedical Engineering Design for Undergraduate Students
Authors: Jaworski Justyn , Cho Michael
Published: January 2023

The unique characteristics of the training needed for today’s biomedical engineers can represent a challenge in curriculum design. Practical experiential learning for biomedical engineering undergraduates is important to prevent under-developed professional skills. In this teaching tips article, we provide an example of how to incorporate experiential learning into the biomedical engineering curriculum to address the need for undergraduates to gain the desired skillsets to serve as the next generation of leaders in engineering, medicine, and business all through the lens of civic engagement. Here we outline our implementation of a recently developed service-learning course for our sophomore students that allows introduction of biomedical engineering discipline-specific design process early on in their undergraduate studies. Student teams work to design, build, and test novel devices to solve the unmet need of community partners, and in doing so, the course prepares students in developing technologies that not only address public health needs but that are also embraced by the community. This course in team-based design can help train students in analyzing real world problems for needs-based biomedical engineering through projects identified by interaction with community partners. Providing specifics of how this course was implemented as well as our reflection on student learning, we offer an analysis of the areas of success, a discussion of how interactions with community partners benefits the student professional skills development, and considerations regarding implementation. Here we highlight the ability of this course to exercise students’ social awareness in the design of technologies to improve society by addressing the genuine needs of community partners.
Primary Health Center: Can it be made mobile for efficient healthcare services for hard to reach population? A state-of-the-art review
Authors: Akhtar Md Haseen , Ramkumar Janakarajan
Published: January 2023

Indian healthcare system is in immediate need of a new healthcare delivery model to increase healthcare accessibility and improve the health outcomes of the marginalized. Inaccessibility and underutilization of Primary Health Centers (PHCs) disproportionately affect people living in remote areas. It is thus imperative for the designers, engineers, health professionals, and policymakers to come together with a collaborative mindset to develop innovative interventions that sustainably manage the accessibility of PHCs at large, promote preventive health, and thus improve the health outcomes of hard-to-reach communities. This article examines the available literature on barriers to primary healthcare in Indian context, the reason of failure of PHCs and the way forward. The article further analysis literature on existing Mobile Medical Units (MMUs) as an alternate solution to conventional PHCs and attempt to extract the major lessons to propose a mobile Primary Health Center (mPHC) in contrast to the existing conventional static PHCs. The intention is to find out the research gaps in the existing literature and try to address the same for future researchers, designers, engineers, health professionals and policy makers to think forward to make this idea of a mobile Primary Health Center (mPHC), as the main delivery model to cater basic healthcare services to the underserved communities.
The JAPS Library: A collection about art
Authors: Romero Martha
Published: January 2023

Juan Antonio Pérez Simón has built one of the most extensive art collections in Mexico and it is well-known around the world. One of the least known facets of Juan Antonio Pérez Simón's collecting is that of a bibliophile, a facet that has led him to form one of the richest private libraries specializing in art in Mexico, known for its great expanse and diversity of themes, as well as for the importance of the works that comprise it. The Juan Antonio Pérez Simón (JAPS) Library is the custodian of Pérez Simón's book collection and strives to manage, research, and preserve the collection in order to strengthen and enrich it.
Artists’ Lives: The first thirty years
Authors: Courtney Cathy
Published: January 2023

An account of the first thirty years of National Life Stories oral history project, Artists’ Lives, covering its origins, context, aims, organisation, technology and dissemination. The project is housed in the British Library.
LARGE CARDINALS AS PRINCIPLES OF STRUCTURAL REFLECTION
Authors: BAGARIA JOAN
Published: January 2023

After discussing the limitations inherent to all set-theoretic reflection principles akin to those studied by A. Lévy et. al. in the 1960s, we introduce new principles of reflection based on the general notion of Structural Reflection and argue that they are in strong agreement with the conception of reflection implicit in Cantor’s original idea of the unknowability of the Absolute, which was subsequently developed in the works of Ackermann, Lévy, Gödel, Reinhardt, and others. We then present a comprehensive survey of results showing that different forms of the new principle of Structural Reflection are equivalent to well-known large cardinal axioms covering all regions of the large-cardinal hierarchy, thereby justifying the naturalness of the latter.
From “Pin Money” to Careers: Britain’s Late Move to Equal Pay, Its Consequences, and Broader Implications
Authors: Scott Peter
Published: January 2023

Despite its importance to gender inequality, household incomes, and labor markets, the reasons behind Britain being one of the last major Western nations to introduce equal pay have been relatively neglected. This article first examines the campaign for equal pay from the late Victorian era to its eventual introduction in 1970. Economists predicted that equal pay would produce substantial female unemployment, but policy makers correctly doubted this—as data collected from early adopters in West Europe and North America showed no significant rise in female unemployment. Female employment rose substantially during Britain’s equal pay implementation—while, in contrast to broadly static earnings differentials from 1950 to 1970, there was a significant reduction in the gender pay gap, followed by a longer-term trend of narrowing differentials. This article explores why equal pay expanded female employment, given the absence of any sudden rise in women workers productivity or substantial acceleration of structural change in favor of female-employing sectors. The article finds that equal pay compelled employers to reevaluate the real worth of female workers based on their substantial relative human capital growth since 1945. This had not hitherto been reflected in relative earnings, owing to barriers such as segmented labor markets, monopsonistic employers, and collective bargaining procedures that fossilized traditional gender pay differentials.
Locality of triad interaction and Kolmogorov constant in inertial wave turbulence
Authors: David Vincent , Galtier Sébastien
Published: January 2023

Using the theory of wave turbulence for rapidly rotating incompressible fluids derived by Galtier (Phys. Rev. E, vol. 68, 2003, 015301), we find the locality conditions that the solutions of the kinetic equation must satisfy. We show that the exact anisotropic Kolmogorov–Zakharov spectrum satisfies these conditions, which justifies the existence of this constant (positive) energy flux solution. Although a direct cascade is predicted in the transverse (

$\perp$

) and parallel (

$\parallel$

) directions to the rotation axis, we show numerically that in the latter case some triadic interactions can have a negative contribution to the energy flux, while in the former case all interactions contribute to a positive flux. Neglecting the parallel energy flux, we estimate the Kolmogorov constant at

$C_K \simeq 0.749$

. These results provide theoretical support for recent numerical and experimental studies.
First virtual endocast description of an early Miocene representative of Pan-Octodontoidea (Caviomorpha, Hystricognathi) and considerations on the early encephalic evolution in South American rodents
Authors: Arnaudo María E. , Arnal Michelle
Published: January 2023

The study of the cranial endocast provides valuable information to understand the behavior of an organism because it coordinates sensory information and motor functions. In this work, we describe for the first time the anatomy of the encephalon of an early Miocene pan-octodontoid caviomorph rodent (Prospaniomys priscus Ameghino, 1902) found in the Argentinean Patagonia, based on a virtual 3D endocast. This fossil rodent has an endocast morphology here considered ancestral for Pan-Octodontoidea and other South American caviomorph lineages, i.e., an encephalon with anteroposteriorly aligned elements, mesencephalon dorsally exposed, well-developed vermis of the cerebellum, and rhombic cerebral hemispheres with well-developed temporal lobes. Prospaniomys Ameghino, 1902 also has relatively small olfactory bulbs, large paraflocculi of the cerebellum, and low endocranial volume and degree of neocorticalization. Its encephalization quotient is low compared with Paleogene North American and European noncaviomorph rodents, but slightly higher than in several late early and late Miocene caviomorphs. Paleoneurological anatomical information supports the hypothesis that Prospaniomys was a generalist caviomorph rodent with terrestrial habits and enhanced low-frequency auditory specializations. The scarce paleoneurological information indicates that several endocast characters in caviomorph rodents could change with ecological pressures. This work sheds light on the anatomy and evolution of several paleoneurological aspects of this particular group of South American rodents.
Reconstructing Middle Horizon Camelid Diets and Foddering Practices: Microbotanical and Isotope Analyses of Dental Remains from Quilcapampa, Peru
Authors: Melton Mallory A. , Alaica Aleksa K. , Biwer Matthew E. , González La Rosa Luis Manuel , Gordon Gwyneth , Knudson Kelly J. , VanDerwarker Amber M. , Jennings Justin
Published: January 2023

This study uses isotope and microbotanical data from the analysis of teeth and dental calculus to investigate camelid diet and foddering practices at Quilcapampa (AD 835–900). By providing taxonomically specific evidence of foods consumed, botanical data from dental calculus complement the more general impressions of photosynthetic pathways obtained through isotopic analysis. Results suggest that the camelid diet incorporated maize (Zea mays), algarrobo (Prosopis sp.), potato chuño (Solanum sp.), and other resources. The life-history profile of one camelid (Individual 3) reveals dietary change from mainly C3 plants to more C4 plant contributions as the animal aged. This pattern is supported by carbonate isotope results indicating that this individual spent its youth in the mid-valley ecozone before becoming more mobile later in life. As this life-history example shows, isotopic and microbotanical analyses are complementary approaches, clarifying a pattern of seasonal transhumance that linked the lives of humans and animals along the Middle Horizon (AD 600–1000) caravan networks that crisscrossed the central Andes.
A paleothermometer for the northern Andes based on C3–C4 grass phytoliths
Authors: Crifò Camilla , Berrio Juan Carlos , Boom Arnoud , Giraldo-Cañas Diego A. , Bremond Laurent
Published: January 2023

Grass-dominated ecosystems cover ~40% of Earth's terrestrial surface, with tropical grasses accounting for ~20% of global net primary productivity. C3 (cool/temperate) and C4 (tropical and subtropical) grass distribution is driven primarily by temperature. In this work, we used phytolith assemblages collected from vegetation plots along an elevation and temperature gradient in the northern Andes (Colombia and Ecuador) to develop a paleothermometer for the region. To accomplish this, we created a transfer function based on the inverse relationship between mean annual temperature (MAT) and the phytolith-based climatic index (Ic), which is the proportion of C3 over C4 grass phytoliths (GSSCP). To evaluate how accurately the index reflects C4–C3 grass abundance in vegetation plots, we compared it with semiquantitative floristic estimates of C4–C3 grass abundance. To further evaluate the 1 − Ic index as a proxy for C4–C3 grass abundance, we compared it with corresponding δ13C values (an independent proxy for C4–C3 vegetation). Results indicate that (1) GSSCP assemblages correctly estimate C4–C3 grass abundance in vegetation plots; (2) the Ic index outperforms the δ13C record in estimating C4–C3 grass abundance, even in open-vegetation types; and (3) our Ic index–based model accurately predicts MAT. This new calibrated proxy will help improve paleotemperature reconstructions in the northern Andes since at least the emergence and spread of C4 grasses in the region during the late Miocene.