bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of Faecal Incontinence—A UEG/ESCP/ESNM/ESPCG collaboration
Authors: Assmann Sadé L. , Keszthelyi Daniel , Kleijnen Jos , Anastasiou Foteini , Bradshaw Elissa , Brannigan Ann E. , Carrington Emma V. , Chiarioni Giuseppe , Ebben Liora D. A. , Gladman Marc A. , Maeda Yasuko , Melenhorst Jarno , Milito Giovanni , Muris Jean W. M. , Orhalmi Julius , Pohl Daniel , Tillotson Yvonne , Rydningen Mona , Svagzdys Saulius , Vaizey Carolynne J. , Breukink Stephanie O.
Published: March 2022

Introduction

The goal of this project was to create an up‐to‐date joint European clinical practice guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of faecal incontinence (FI), using the best available evidence. These guidelines are intended to help guide all medical professionals treating adult patients with FI (e.g., general practitioners, surgeons, gastroenterologists, other healthcare workers) and any patients who are interested in information regarding the diagnosis and management of FI.

Methods

These guidelines have been created in cooperation with members from the United European Gastroenterology (UEG), European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP), European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (ESNM) and the European Society for Primary Care Gastroenterology (ESPCG). These members made up the guideline development group (GDG). Additionally, a patient advisory board (PAB) was created to reflect and comment on the draft guidelines from a patient perspective. Relevant review questions were established by the GDG along with a set of outcomes most important for decision making. A systematic literature search was performed using these review questions and outcomes as a framework. For each predefined review question, the study or studies with the highest level of study design were included. If evidence of a higher‐level study design was available, no lower level of evidence was sought or included. Data from the studies were extracted by two reviewers for each predefined important outcome within each review question. Where possible, forest plots were created. After summarising the results for each review question, a systematic quality assessment using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations) approach was performed. For each review question, we assessed the quality of evidence for every predetermined important outcome. After evidence review and quality assessment were completed, recommendations could be formulated. The wording used for each recommendation was dependent on the level of quality of evidence. Lower levels of evidence resulted in weaker recommendations and higher levels of evidence resulted in stronger recommendations. Recommendations were discussed within the GDG to reach consensus.

Results

These guidelines contain 45 recommendations on the classification, diagnosis and management of FI in adult patients.

Conclusion

These multidisciplinary European guidelines provide an up‐to‐date comprehensive evidence‐based framework with recommendations on the diagnosis and management of adult patients who suffer from FI.
Pre‐filtration followed by slow double‐layered filtration: Media clogging effects on hydraulic aspects and water quality
Authors: Lunardi Samuel , Martins Marcelle , Pizzolatti Bruno Segalla , Soares Marcus Bruno Domingues
Published: March 2022

This study evaluated clogging effects on head loss and water quality in sand prefiltration columns, followed by innovative double‐layered slow‐filter filtration technology using anthracite coal and sand. The study was divided into two phases. Phase 1 (filtration rate 11 m3/m2·d) had a layout of a pre‐filter (PF) system followed by a slow filter (SF). In Phase 2 (filtration rates of 5.5 and 11 m3/m2·d), two PF systems (PF1 and PF2) followed by SFs (SF1 and SF2) were monitored, be differed only by filtration rate. Phase 1 presents a mean turbidity removal of 45.6% in PF and 23.9% in SF. PF presented a lower head loss in the superficial layers of the filter media, whereas SF presented a more important contribution in the deeper layers of the bed. In Phase 2, the mean results obtained for turbidity removal in PF1 and SF1 were 84.7% and 22.4%, in that order. PF2 and SF2 promoted mean reductions of 84.5% and 22.0%, respectively. Greater clogging is observed in the PF's surface layers, whereas the SFs dissipate greater clogging with depth. Filtration rates and water quality were similar in filter media of different compositions.

Practitioner Points

Double‐layer filters show better use of the porous media in depth.

Different materials produce different forms of clogging.

Higher filtration rates increase the number of pre‐filter and slow filter runs.
Large diffeomorphisms and accidental symmetry of the extremal horizon
Authors: Porfyriadis Achilleas P. , Remmen Grant N.
Published: March 2022

Abstract

We uncover a symmetry of the linear Einstein equations near extremal horizons. Specifically, acting with a spherically symmetric linearized diffeomorphism on the perturbative solutions to the Einstein-Maxwell equations in the Bertotti-Robinson background, but not acting on the background itself, we find that there is a subset of such transformations under which the equations of motion remain satisfied, with or without additional matter. This represents an “accidental” symmetry in the sense that the set of transformations realizing the mapping among solutions is strictly larger than the SL(2) isometries of the background spacetime. We argue that our accidental symmetry can be thought of as an on-shell large diffeomorphism of AdS2, which we support in the context of Jackiw-Teitelboim theory.
Diamine oxidase knockout mice are not hypersensitive to orally or subcutaneously administered histamine
Authors: Karer Matthias , Rager-Resch Marlene , Haider Teresa , Petroczi Karin , Gludovacz Elisabeth , Borth Nicole , Jilma Bernd , Boehm Thomas
Published: March 2022

Objective

To evaluate the contribution of endogenous diamine oxidase (DAO) in the inactivation of exogenous histamine, to find a mouse strain with increased histamine sensitivity and to test the efficacy of rhDAO in a histamine challenge model.

Methods

Diamine oxidase knockout (KO) mice were challenged with orally and subcutaneously administered histamine in combination with the β-adrenergic blocker propranolol, with the two histamine-N-methyltransferase (HNMT) inhibitors metoprine and tacrine, with folic acid to mimic acute kidney injury and treated with recombinant human DAO. Core body temperature was measured using a subcutaneously implanted microchip and histamine plasma levels were quantified using a homogeneous time resolved fluorescence assay.

Results

Core body temperature and plasma histamine levels were not significantly different between wild type (WT) and DAO KO mice after oral and subcutaneous histamine challenge with and without acute kidney injury or administration of HNMT inhibitors. Treatment with recombinant human DAO reduced the mean area under the curve (AUC) for core body temperature loss by 63% (p = 0.002) and the clinical score by 88% (p < 0.001). The AUC of the histamine concentration was reduced by 81%.

Conclusions

Inactivation of exogenous histamine is not driven by enzymatic degradation and kidney filtration. Treatment with recombinant human DAO strongly reduced histamine-induced core body temperature loss, histamine concentrations and prevented the development of severe clinical symptoms.
A hierarchical kriging approach for multi-fidelity optimization of automotive crashworthiness problems
Authors: Kaps Arne , Czech Catharina , Duddeck Fabian
Published: March 2022

Multi-fidelity optimization schemes enriching expensive high-fidelity functions with cheap-to-evaluate low-fidelity functions have gained popularity in recent years. In the present work, an optimization scheme based on a hierarchical kriging is proposed for large-scale and highly non-linear crashworthiness problems. After comparison to other multi-fidelity techniques an infill criterion called variable-fidelity expected improvement is applied and evaluated. This is complemented by two innovative techniques, a new approach regarding initial sampling and a novel way to generate the low-fidelity model for crash problems are suggested. For the former, a modified Latin hypercube sampling, pushing samples more towards design space boundaries, increases the quality of sampling selection. For the latter, a projection-based non-intrusive model order reduction technique accelerates and simplifies the low-fidelity model evaluation. The proposed techniques are investigated with two application problems from the field of automotive crashworthiness—a size optimization problem for lateral impact and a shape optimization problem for frontal impact. The use of a multi-fidelity scheme compared to baseline single-fidelity optimization saves computational effort while keeping an acceptable level of accuracy. Both suggested modifications, independently and especially combined, increase computational performance and result quality in the presented examples.
Continuity of Derivatives of a Convex Solution to a Perturbed One-Laplace Equation by p-Laplacian
Authors: Giga Yoshikazu , Tsubouchi Shuntaro
Published: March 2022

We consider a one-Laplace equation perturbed by p-Laplacian with $$1<p<\infty $$

1
<
p
<
∞

. We prove that a weak solution is continuously differentiable $$(C^1)$$

(

C
1

)

if it is convex. Note that a similar result fails to hold for the unperturbed one-Laplace equation. The main difficulty is to show $$C^{1}$$

C
1

-regularity of the solution at the boundary of a facet where the gradient of the solution vanishes. For this purpose we blow-up the solution and prove that its limit is a constant function by establishing a Liouville-type result, which is proved by showing a strong maximum principle. Our argument is rather elementary, since we assume that the solution is convex. A few generalizations are also discussed.
Impacts of Topographic Complexity on Modeling Moisture Transport and Precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau in Summer
Authors: Li Gudongze , Chen Haoming , Xu Mingyue , Zhao Chun , Zhong Lei , Li Rui , Fu Yunfei , Gao Yanhong
Published: March 2022

The non-hydrostatic global variable resolution model (MPAS-atmosphere) is used to conduct the simulations for the South Asian Summer monsoon season (June, July, and August) in 2015 with a refinement over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) at the convection-permitting scale (4 km). Two experiments with different topographical datasets, complex (4-km) and smooth (60-km) topography, are designed to investigate the impacts of topographical complexity on moisture transport and precipitation. Compared with the observations and reanalysis data, the simulation can successfully capture the general features of key meteorological fields over the TP despite slightly underestimating the inflow through the southern TP. The results indicate that the complex topography can decrease the inward and outward moisture transport, ultimately increasing the total net moisture transport into the TP by ∼11%. The impacts of complex topography on precipitation are negligible over the TP, but the spatial distributions of precipitation over the Himalayas are significantly modulated. With the inclusion of complex topography, the sharper southern slopes of the Himalayas shift the lifted airflow and hence precipitation northward compared to the smooth topography. In addition, more small-scale valleys are resolved by the inclusion of complex topography, which serve as channels for moisture transport across the Himalayas, further favoring a northward shift of precipitation. Overall, the difference between the two experiments with different topography datasets is mainly attributed to their differing representation of the degree of the southern slopes of the Himalayas and the extent to which the valleys are resolved.
Factors influencing the outcome after surgical reconstruction of OTA type B and C tibial plateau fractures: how crucial is the restoration of articular congruity?
Authors: Rosteius Thomas , Rausch Valentin , Pätzholz Simon , Lotzien Sebastian , Königshausen Matthias , Schildhauer Thomas Armin , Geßmann Jan
Published: March 2022

Introduction

Only few and inconsistent data about the impact of articular congruity and tolerable residual intraarticular steps and gaps of the joint surface after tibial plateau fractures exist. Therefore, aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between OTA type B and C tibial plateau fracture outcomes and postoperative articular congruity using computed tomography (CT) data.

Materials and methods

Fifty-five patients with a mean age of 45.5 ± 12.5 years and treated for 27 type B and 28 C tibial plateau fractures with pre- and postsurgical CT data were included. Primary outcome measure was the correlation of postoperative intraarticular step and gap sizes, articular comminution area, the postoperative medial proximal tibial angle (MPTA), and the Lysholm and IKDC score. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to determine threshold values for step and gap heights according to the following outcome scores: IKDC > 70; Lysholm > 80. Secondary outcome measures were the correlation of fracture severity, the number of complications and surgical revisions and the outcome scores, as well as the Tegner activity score before injury and at final follow-up.

Results

After a mean follow-up of 42.4 ± 18.9 months, the mean Lysholm score was 80.7 ± 13.3, and the mean IKDC score was 62.7 ± 17.6. The median Tegner activity score was 5 before the injury and 4 at final follow-up (p < 0.05). The intraarticular step height, gap size, comminution area and MPTA deviation were significantly negatively correlated with the IKDC and Lysholm scores. The cutoff values for step height were 2.6 and 2.9 mm. The gap size threshold was 6.6 mm. In total, an average of 0.5 ± 0.8 (range 0–3) complications occurred, and on average, 0.5 ± 1.1 (range 0–7) surgical revisions had to be performed. The number of complications and surgical revisions also had negative impacts on the outcome. Neither fracture severity nor BMI or patient’s age was significantly correlated with the IKDC or Lysholm score.

Conclusions

Tibial plateau fractures are severe injuries, which lead to a subsequent reduced level of patient activity. Precise reconstruction of the articular surface with regard to intraarticular step and gap size, residual comminution area and joint angle is decisive for the final outcome. Complications and surgical revisions also worsen it.

Level of evidence

III.
Lactate infusion as therapeutical intervention: a scoping review
Authors: van Gemert Loes A. , de Galan Bastiaan E. , Wevers Ron A. , ter Heine Rob , Willemsen Michèl A.
Published: March 2022

Traditionally, clinicians consider lactate as a waste product of anaerobic glycolysis. Interestingly, research has shown that lactate may serve as an alternative fuel for the brain to protect it against harm. The increasing scientific awareness of the potential beneficial side of lactate, however, is entering the clinic rather slowly. Following this, and realizing that the application of potential novel therapeutic strategies in pediatric populations often lags behind the development in adults, this review summarizes the key data on therapeutic use of intravenous infusion of sodium lactate in humans. PubMed and clinicaltrial.gov were searched up until November 2021 focusing on interventional studies in humans. Thirty-four articles were included in this review, with protocols of lactate infusion in adults with diabetes mellitus, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, and cardiac disease. One study on lactate infusion in children was also included. Results of our literature search show that sodium lactate can be safely administrated, without major side effects. Additionally, the present literature clearly shows the potential benefits of therapeutic lactate infusion under certain pathological circumstances, including rather common clinical conditions like traumatic brain injury.

Conclusion: This review shows that lactate is a save, alternative energy source for the adult brain warranting studies on the potential therapeutic effects of sodium lactate infusion in children.

What is Known:• Lactate is generally considered a waste product of anaerobic glycolysis. However, lactate also is an alternative fuel for different organs, including the brain.• Lactate infusion is not incorporated in standard care for any patient population.

What is New:• Thirty-four studies investigated the therapeutic use of intravenous sodium lactate in different patient populations, all with different study protocols.• Literature shows that lactate infusion may have beneficial effects in case of hypoglycemia, traumatic brain injury, and cardiac failure without the risk of major side effects.
Proximity bounds for random integer programs
Authors: Celaya Marcel , Henk Martin
Published: March 2022

We study proximity bounds within a natural model of random integer programs of the type $$\max \;\varvec{c}^{\top }\varvec{x}:\varvec{A}\varvec{x}=\varvec{b},\,\varvec{x}\in {\mathbb {Z}}_{\ge 0}$$

max

c

⊤

x

:

A

x

=

b

,

x

∈

Z

≥
0

, where $$\varvec{A}\in {\mathbb {Z}}^{m\times n}$$

A

∈

Z

m
×
n

is of rank m, $$\varvec{b}\in {\mathbb {Z}}^{m}$$

b

∈

Z

m

and $$\varvec{c}\in {\mathbb {Z}}^{n}$$

c

∈

Z

n

. In particular, we seek bounds for proximity in terms of the parameter $$\Delta (\varvec{A})$$

Δ
(

A

)

, which is the square root of the determinant of the Gram matrix $$\varvec{A}\varvec{A}^{\top }$$

A

A

⊤

of $$\varvec{A}$$

A

. We prove that, up to constants depending on n and m, the proximity is “generally” bounded by $$\Delta (\varvec{A})^{1/(n-m)}$$

Δ

(

A

)

1
/
(
n
-
m
)

, which is significantly better than the best deterministic bounds which are, again up to dimension constants, linear in $$\Delta (\varvec{A})$$

Δ
(

A

)

.
Selection of investment portfolios with social responsibility: a multiobjective model and a Tabu search method
Authors: Pacheco Joaquín , Cepa Lara , Puche Julio , Casado Silvia
Published: March 2022

In this study, a model for the selection of investment portfolios is proposed with three objectives. In addition to the traditional objectives of maximizing profitability and minimizing risk, maximization of social responsibility is also considered. Moreover, with the purpose of controlling transaction costs, a limit is placed on the number of assets for selection. To the best of our knowledge, this specific model has not been considered in the literature to date. This model is difficult (NP-Hard), and therefore, only very small instances may be solved in an exact way. This paper proposes a method based on tabu search and multiobjective adaptive memory programming (MOAMP) strategies. With this method it is possible to obtain sets of nondominated solutions in short computational times. To check the performance of our method it is compared with adaptations of the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II), strength Pareto evolutionary algorithm (SPEA-II) and multiobjective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO). The results of different computational experiments show that our tabu search-MOAMP method performed best. The quality of the sets of solutions that were obtained and the speed of execution mean that our tabu search-MOAMP can be used as a tool for financial assessment and analysis (including online services). This tool, as we can see in this work with some examples, can take into account the social concerns of many clients and their overall risk profile (very conservative, conservative, moderate, or fearless). This approach is also in line with current legal regulations that oblige financial advisors to take the client profile into account to provide greater protection and propose good financial advice.
Corporate Purpose and Employee Sustainability Behaviors
Authors: Bhattacharya C. B. , Sen Sankar , Edinger-Schons Laura Marie , Neureiter Michael
Published: March 2022

This paper examines the effects of employees’ sense that they work for a purpose-driven company on their workplace sustainability behaviors. Conceptualizing corporate purpose as an overarching, relevant, shared ethical vision of why a company exists and where it needs to go, we argue that it is particularly suited for driving employee sustainability behaviors, which are more ethically complex than the types of employee ethical behaviors typically examined by prior research. Through four studies, two involving the actual employees of construction companies, we demonstrate that purpose drives the sustainability behaviors of employees by causing them to take psychological ownership of sustainability. In addition, we show that the sustainability-enhancing effect of purpose is stronger when employees perceive that they have higher autonomy in enacting their sustainability actions and for those employees for whom being moral is more central to their sense of self.
Nonsingular vectorial reformulation of the short-period corrections in Kozai’s oblateness solution
Authors: Izzo Paolo , Dell’Elce Lamberto , Gurfil Pini , Rosengren Aaron J.
Published: March 2022

We derive a new analytical solution for the first-order, short-periodic perturbations due to planetary oblateness and systematically compare our results to the classical Brouwer–Lyddane transformation. Our approach is based on the Milankovitch vectorial elements and is free of all the mathematical singularities. Being a non-canonical set, our derivation follows the scheme used by Kozai in his oblateness solution. We adopt the mean longitude as the fast variable and present a compact power-series solution in eccentricity for its short-periodic perturbations that relies on Hansen’s coefficients. We also use a numerical averaging algorithm based on the fast-Fourier transform to further validate our new mean-to-osculating and inverse transformations. This technique constitutes a new approach for deriving short-periodic corrections and exhibits performance that are comparable to other existing and well-established theories, with the advantage that it can be potentially extended to modeling non-conservative orbit perturbations.
Gender differences in state body satisfaction, affect, and body-related attention patterns towards one’s own and a peer’s body: an Eye-Tracking Study with Women and Men
Authors: Arkenau Rike , Bauer Anika , Schneider Silvia , Vocks Silja
Published: March 2022

Background

Body-related attentional biases are assumed to contribute to the development and maintenance of body-related concerns or specific mental disorders such as eating disorders. However, while studies have indicated gender-specific differences in body-related concerns, less is known about gender-specific differences in body-related attention allocation.

Methods

An eye-tracking paradigm was used to assess women’s (n = 41) and men’s (n = 42) attention patterns towards their own and a peer’s body. Additionally, state body satisfaction and affect were examined.

Results

While both women and men showed higher state positive and negative affect after viewing one’s own body than after viewing a peer’s body, only women displayed worse state body satisfaction after viewing one’s own body than after viewing a peer’s body. Conversely, both genders showed a similar deficit-oriented attention pattern, irrespective of the presented body type.

Conclusions

The findings provide evidence of gender-specific differences in state body satisfaction after viewing one’s own and a peer’s body. However, these differences do not seem to be reflected by gender differences in body-related attention allocation. As both women and men showed a deficit-oriented attentional bias, they might benefit from interventions which aim to establish a functional or self-serving way of looking at one’s own body.
Challenges and opportunities of water quality monitoring and multi-stakeholder management in small islands: the case of Santa Cruz, Galápagos (Ecuador)
Authors: Re V. , Rizzi J. , Tuci C. , Tringali C. , Mancin M. , Mendieta E. , Marcomini A.
Published: March 2022

Sustainable water resources management roots in monitoring data reliability and a full engagement of all institutions involved in the water sector. When competences and interests are overlapping, however, coordination may be difficult, thus hampering cooperative actions. This is the case of Santa Cruz Island (Galápagos, Ecuador). A comprehensive assessment on water quality data (physico-chemical parameters, major elements, trace elements and coliforms) collected since 1985 revealed the need of optimizing monitoring efforts to fill knowledge gaps and to better target decision-making processes. A Water Committee (Comité de la gestión del Agua) was established to foster the coordinated action among stakeholders and to pave the way for joint monitoring in the island that can optimize the efforts for water quality assessment and protection. Shared procedures for data collection, sample analysis, evaluation and data assessment by an open-access geodatabase were proposed and implemented for the first time as a prototype in order to improve accountability and outreach towards civil society and water users. The overall results reveal the high potential of a well-structured and effective joint monitoring approach within a complex, multi-stakeholder framework.
Impact of biopower generation on eastern US forests
Authors: Mirzaee Ashkan , McGarvey Ronald G. , Aguilar Francisco X. , Schliep Erin M.
Published: March 2022

Biopower, electricity generated from biomass, is a major source of renewable energy in the US. About ten percent of US non-hydro renewable electricity in 2020 was generated from biomass. Despite significant growth in woody biomass use for electricity in recent decades, a systematic assessment of associated impacts on forest resources is lacking. This study assessed associations between biopower generation, and selected timberland structure indicators and carbon stocks across 438 areas surrounding wood-using and coal-burning power plants in the Eastern US from 2005 to 2017. Timberland areas around plants generating biopower were associated with more live and standing-dead trees, and carbon in their respective stocks, than comparable areas of neighboring plants only burning coal. We also detected an inverse association between the number of biopower plants and number of live and dead trees, and respective carbon stocks. We discerned an upward temporal trajectory in carbon stocks within live trees with continued biopower generation. We found no significant differences related to the amount of MWh biopower generation within the analysis areas. Net impacts of biopower descriptors on timberland attributes point to a positive trend in selected ecological conditions and carbon balances. The upward temporal trend in carbon stocks with longer generation of wood-based biopower may point to a plausibly sustainable contribution to the decarbonization of the US electricity sector.
Present bias for monetary and dietary rewards
Authors: Cheung Stephen L. , Tymula Agnieszka , Wang Xueting
Published: March 2022

Economists model self-control problems through time-inconsistent preferences. Empirical tests of these preferences largely rely on experimental elicitation using monetary rewards, with several recent studies failing to find present bias for money. In this paper, we compare estimates of present bias for money with estimates for healthy and unhealthy foods. In a within-subjects longitudinal experiment with 697 low-income Chinese high school students, we find strong present bias for both money and food, and that individual measures of present bias are moderately correlated across reward types. Our experimental measures of time preferences over both money and foods predict field behaviors including alcohol consumption and academic performance.
Trying an Alternative Ansatz to Quantum Physics
Authors: Niehaus Arend
Published: March 2022

We report to which extent elementary particles and the nucleons can be described by an Ansatz that is alternative to the established standard model, and can still yield predicted results that reproduce the observed ones, without using the formalism of quantum mechanics. The different Ansatz is motivated by the attempt to explain known properties of elementary particles as a consequence of an inner structure, in contrast to the approach of the standard model, where the properties are ascribed to point-like particles. Based on the assumption of the existence of photons, the possibility of the creation of fermion and anti-fermion in an interaction of two photons of equal energy is shown. The properties of these created elementary material particles are found to agree with the ones observed. Also the possibility of the creation of a neutron by interaction of two photons of equal energy is shown. In this case, the newly formed neutron rests in the center of the collision system as a combined system of the localized two photons. The created neutron is shown to have the known properties of the neutron, and in addition, to have a definite shape of definite size. The proton is described as the particle formed by decay of the neutron, also owning the observed properties, and in addition a definite shape. For all particles described by the Ansatz, their properties are consequences of an inner structure. The merits of the alternative description as compared to the standard model and the application of quantum mechanics are discussed.
Indications of polymorphism in the behaviour and morphology of burbot (Lota lota) in a European lake
Authors: Marjomäki Timo J. , Mustajärvi Linda , Mänttäri Jesse , Kiljunen Mikko , Karjalainen Juha
Published: March 2022

In this study, polymorphism in behaviour, morphology, and stable isotope signatures of burbot from Lake Southern Konnevesi, Finland, Europe, was examined. First, local knowledge was collected on exceptional polymorphism of the spawning behaviour and morphology of burbot. These phenomena were then studied based on catch samples. Interviews and catch sample analyses suggested two morphs of burbot: one morph spawning in late February in the littoral zone and other in late March, in deep profundal, depths of about 30 m. Fish caught from the profundal zone had higher average proportional somatic body weights and wider heads than those caught from the littoral spawning sites in February. The length-at-age of the individuals from the littoral catch was longer than that of the profundal catch. Stable isotope analysis revealed differences in the mean carbon isotope ratio between sampling sites, suggesting differences in diet. Variability in several of the aforementioned variables was correlated. This study is the first to imply polymorphism in burbot populations from a lake in Eurasia, where burbot are considered as near-threatened species.
Are Second Person Masculine Generics Easier to Process for Men than for Women? Evidence from Polish
Authors: Szuba Agnieszka , Redl Theresa , de Hoop Helen
Published: March 2022

In Polish, it is obligatory to mark feminine or masculine grammatical gender on second-person singular past tense verbs (e.g., Dostałaś list ‘You received-F a letter’). When the addressee’s gender is unknown or unspecified, masculine but never feminine gender marking may be used. The present self-paced reading experiment aims to determine whether this practice creates a processing disadvantage for female addressees in such contexts. We further investigated how men process being addressed with feminine-marked verbs, which constitutes a pragmatic violation. To this end, we presented Polish native speakers with short narratives. Each narrative contained either a second-person singular past tense verb with masculine or feminine gender marking, or a gerund verb with no gender marking as a baseline. We hypothesised that both men and women would read the verbs with gender marking mismatching their own gender more slowly than the gender-unmarked gerund verbs. The results revealed that the gender-mismatching verbs were read equally fast as the gerund verbs, and that the verbs with gender marking matching participant gender were read faster. While the relatively high reading time of the gender-unmarked baseline was unexpected, the pattern of results nevertheless shows that verbs with masculine marking were more difficult to process for women compared to men, and vice versa. In conclusion, even though masculine gender marking in the second person is commonly used with a gender-unspecific intention, it created similar processing difficulties for women as the ones that men experienced when addressed through feminine gender marking. This study is the first one, as far as we are aware, to provide evidence for the male bias of second-person masculine generics during language processing.
High-dimensional correlation matrix estimation for general continuous data with Bagging technique
Authors: Wang Chaojie , Du Jin , Fan Xiaodan
Published: March 2022

High-dimensional covariance matrix estimation plays a central role in multivariate statistical analysis. It is well-known that the sample covariance matrix is singular when the sample size is smaller than the dimension of the variable, but the covariance estimate must be positive-definite. This motivates some modifications of the sample covariance matrix to preserve its efficient estimation of pairwise covariance. In this paper, we modify the sample correlation matrix using the Bagging technique. The proposed Bagging estimator is flexible for general continuous data. Under some mild conditions, we show theoretically that the Bagging estimator can ensure positive-definiteness with probability one in finite samples. We also prove the consistency of the bootstrap estimator of Pearson correlation and the consistency of our Bagging estimator when the dimension p is fixed. Simulation results and a real application are provided to demonstrate that our method strikes a better balance between RMSE and likelihood, and is more robust, than other existing estimators.
Empirical mode modeling
Authors: Park Joseph , Pao Gerald M. , Sugihara George , Stabenau Erik , Lorimer Thomas
Published: March 2022

Data-driven, model-free analytics are natural choices for discovery and forecasting of complex, nonlinear systems. Methods that operate in the system state-space require either an explicit multidimensional state-space, or, one approximated from available observations. Since observational data are frequently sampled with noise, it is possible that noise can corrupt the state-space representation degrading analytical performance. Here, we evaluate the synthesis of empirical mode decomposition with empirical dynamic modeling, which we term empirical mode modeling, to increase the information content of state-space representations in the presence of noise. Evaluation of a mathematical, and, an ecologically important geophysical application across three different state-space representations suggests that empirical mode modeling may be a useful technique for data-driven, model-free, state-space analysis in the presence of noise.
Testing pays off twice: Potentials of practice tests and feedback regarding exam performance and judgment accuracy
Authors: Naujoks Nick , Harder Bettina , Händel Marion
Published: March 2022

Two studies investigated the testing effects on performance and on metacognitive judgment accuracy in authentic learning settings. Across two educational psychology courses, undergraduate students had the opportunity to voluntarily participate in four different practice tests during the term—without feedback in Study 1 (N = 201 students) or with individual corrective feedback in Study 2 (N = 111 students). Across studies in real classroom settings with and without feedback, regression analyses indicated that a higher number of taken practice tests were related to higher performance in the final course exam and to two scores of metacognitive judgment accuracy (absolute accuracy and sensitivity). However, students’ preparation and post-processing practice tests, their perceived usefulness of tests for monitoring one’s performance, and metacognitive specificity differed depending on whether students received feedback or not. Overall, the studies convey considerable evidence on how participation in practice tests is related not only to performance but also to monitoring accuracy in authentic learning settings.
Superoscillating Sequences and Supershifts for Families of Generalized Functions
Authors: Colombo F. , Sabadini I. , Struppa D. C. , Yger A.
Published: March 2022

We construct a large class of superoscillating sequences, more generally of $${\mathscr {F}}$$
F
-supershifts, where $${\mathscr {F}}$$
F
is a family of smooth functions in (t, x) (resp. distributions in (t, x), or hyperfunctions in x depending on the parameter t) indexed by $$\lambda \in {\mathbb {R}}$$

λ
∈
R

. The frame in which we introduce such families is that of the evolution through Schrödinger equation $$(i\partial /\partial t - {\mathscr {H}}(x))(\psi )=0$$

(
i
∂
/
∂
t
-
H
(
x
)
)
(
ψ
)
=
0

($${\mathscr {H}}(x) = -(\partial ^2/\partial x^2)/2 + V(x)$$

H

(
x
)

=
-

(

∂
2

/
∂

x
2

)

/
2
+
V

(
x
)

), V being a suitable potential). If $${\mathscr {F}}= \{(t,x) \mapsto \varphi _\lambda (t,x)\,;\, \lambda \in {\mathbb {R}}\}$$

F
=
{

(
t
,
x
)

↦

φ
λ

(
t
,
x
)

;

λ
∈
R
}

, where $$\varphi _\lambda $$

φ
λ

is evolved from the initial datum $$x\mapsto e^{i\lambda x}$$

x
↦

e

i
λ
x

, $${\mathscr {F}}$$
F
-supershifts will be of the form $$\{\sum _{j=0}^N C_j(N,a) \varphi _{1-2j/N}\}_{N\ge 1}$$

{

∑

j
=
0

N

C
j

(
N
,
a
)

φ

1
-
2
j
/
N

}

N
≥
1

for $$a\in {\mathbb {R}}{\setminus }[-1,1]$$

a
∈
R
\
[
-
1
,
1
]

, taking $$C_j(N,a) =\left( {\begin{array}{c}N\\ j\end{array}}\right) (1+a)^{N-j}(1-a)^j/2^N$$

C
j

(
N
,
a
)

=

N

j

(
1
+
a
)

N
-
j

(
1
-
a
)

j

/

2
N

. Our results rely on the fact that integral operators of the Fresnel type govern, as in optical diffraction, the evolution through the Schrödinger equation, such operators acting continuously on the weighted algebra of entire functions $$\mathrm{Exp}({\mathbb {C}})$$

Exp
(
C
)

. Analyzing in particular the quantum harmonic oscillator case forces us, in order to take into account singularities of the evolved datum that occur when the stationary phasis in the Fresnel operator vanishes, to enlarge the notion of $${\mathscr {F}}$$
F
-supershift, $${\mathscr {F}}$$
F
being a family of $$C^\infty $$

C
∞

functions or distributions in (t, x), to that where $${\mathscr {F}}$$
F
is a family of hyperfunctions in x, depending on t as a parameter.
Development of an Accurate and Sensitive Diagnostic System Based on Conventional PCR for Detection of African Swine Fever Virus in Food Waste
Authors: Lee Siwon , Kwon Junhwa , Kim Bo-Young , Kim Jin-Ho
Published: March 2022

African swine fever virus (ASFV), a highly contagious virus, can cause diseases with high mortality rates in pigs, making it a pathogen of social and economic significance. ASFV has been reported to show potential long-term survival in living livestock, such as pigs, but also in leftover cooking meat and undercooked pork meat. Hence, it is possible that there could be direct reinfection or secondary infection through feed produced from household food waste and treatment facilities. Many polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based molecular diagnostic techniques to detect ASFV in clinical swine samples have been reported. However, those with applicability for food waste samples, which contain relatively low viral copy numbers and may contain various unknown inhibitors of PCR, are still lacking. In this study, we developed a conventional PCR-based diagnostic system that can detect ASFV with high sensitivity from food waste sample types. The technique shows a 10–100 times higher limit of detection compared to that of previously reported methods based on conventional PCR and quantitative real-time PCR. It is also capable of amplifying a sequence that is approximately 751 nucleotides, which is advantageous for similarity analysis and genotyping. Moreover, a ASFV-modified positive material different from ASFV that could synthesize 1400 nucleotide amplicons was developed to identify false-positive cases and thus enhance diagnostic accuracy. The method developed herein may be applicable for future ASFV monitoring, identification, and genotyping in food waste samples.
Knowledge-Grounded Dialogue Flow Management for Social Robots and Conversational Agents
Authors: Grassi Lucrezia , Recchiuto Carmine Tommaso , Sgorbissa Antonio
Published: March 2022

The article proposes a system for knowledge-based conversation designed for Social Robots and other conversational agents. The proposed system relies on an Ontology for the description of all concepts that may be relevant conversation topics, as well as their mutual relationships. The article focuses on the algorithm for Dialogue Management that selects the most appropriate conversation topic depending on the user input. Moreover, it discusses strategies to ensure a conversation flow that captures, as more coherently as possible, the user intention to drive the conversation in specific directions while avoiding purely reactive responses to what the user says. To measure the quality of the conversation, the article reports the tests performed with 100 recruited participants, comparing five conversational agents: (i) an agent addressing dialogue flow management based only on the detection of keywords in the speech, (ii) an agent based both on the detection of keywords and the Content Classification feature of Google Cloud Natural Language, (iii) an agent that picks conversation topics randomly, (iv) a human pretending to be a chatbot, and (v) one of the most famous chatbots worldwide: Replika. The subjective perception of the participants is measured both with the SASSI (Subjective Assessment of Speech System Interfaces) tool, as well as with a custom survey for measuring the subjective perception of coherence.
It’s all about the text: An experimental investigation of inconsistent reviews on restaurant booking platforms
Authors: Steur Andreas J. , Fritzsche Fabian , Seiter Mischa
Published: March 2022

Consumer-generated reviews play a decisive role in creating trust and facilitating transactions on digital platforms. However, prior research shows various problems, e.g., only a small number of consumers providing reviews, fake reviews, and inconsistent reviews. We use an experiment in the context of a restaurant booking platform to examine the impact of inconsistent reviews on the duration of consumers’ transaction decisions. In a second experiment, we investigate the relative importance of the review components in the case of inconsistent reviews. Drawing on the dual-process theory and media richness theory, we predict that inconsistent reviews result in a longer time required for consumers’ transaction decisions (H1) and lead to users’ transaction decisions being predominantly based on the qualitative component (H2). Although we do not find general support that inconsistent restaurant reviews negatively determine the duration of transaction decisions, we find evidence that in the case of inconsistent restaurant reviews, the polarity of the qualitative component is crucial for both the duration of the transaction decision and the decision itself.
From Generative Models to Generative Passages: A Computational Approach to (Neuro) Phenomenology
Authors: Ramstead Maxwell J. D. , Seth Anil K. , Hesp Casper , Sandved-Smith Lars , Mago Jonas , Lifshitz Michael , Pagnoni Giuseppe , Smith Ryan , Dumas Guillaume , Lutz Antoine , Friston Karl , Constant Axel
Published: March 2022

This paper presents a version of neurophenomenology based on generative modelling techniques developed in computational neuroscience and biology. Our approach can be described as computational phenomenology because it applies methods originally developed in computational modelling to provide a formal model of the descriptions of lived experience in the phenomenological tradition of philosophy (e.g., the work of Edmund Husserl, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, etc.). The first section presents a brief review of the overall project to naturalize phenomenology. The second section presents and evaluates philosophical objections to that project and situates our version of computational phenomenology with respect to these projects. The third section reviews the generative modelling framework. The final section presents our approach in detail. We conclude by discussing how our approach differs from previous attempts to use generative modelling to help understand consciousness. In summary, we describe a version of computational phenomenology which uses generative modelling to construct a computational model of the inferential or interpretive processes that best explain this or that kind of lived experience.
Quantification of the actual composition of polymeric nanocapsules: a quality control analysis
Authors: Berrecoso Germán , Crecente-Campo José , Alonso María José
Published: March 2022

Nanocapsules (NCs) are drug delivery nanosystems that contain an oily core, stabilized by a surfactant, and surrounded by a polymeric shell. The assembling of the components is based on physical and physicochemical forces, and, hence, usually, only a fraction of each component is finally part of the NCs’ structure, while the remaining amount might be solubilized or forming micelles in the NCs’ suspending medium. Usually, reports on the characterization of nanostructures simply indicate the association efficiency of the loaded drugs instead of their complete final composition. In this work, we have developed a liquid chromatography (LC) mass spectrometry (MS) methodology that allows the quantification of all the components of a series of NCs prepared by different techniques, namely dl-α-tocopherol; d-α-tocopherol polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate; benzethonium; lecithin; hexadecyltrimethylammonium; 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammoniumpropane; caprylic/capric triglycerides; macrogol 15-hydroxystearate; polysorbate 80; polysialic acid; hyaluronic acid; and polyethylene glycol polyglutamic acid. The LC–MS method was validated in terms of linearity (0.9383 < r2 < 0.9997), quantification limits, and recoveries of the isolated NCs’ and waste fractions. The final composition of the isolated NCs was found to strongly depend on their composition and preparation technique. In our view, the rigorous quantification of the exact composition of nanosystems is essential for the progress of nanotechnology. This quantitative analysis will allow researchers to draw more accurate conclusions about the influence of the nanosystems’ composition on their biological performance.

Graphical abstract
Dealing with Multisource Information for Estuarine Flood Risk Appraisal in Two Western European Coastal Areas
Authors: Rodrigues Rilo Ana , de Oliveira Soares Tavares Alexandre Manuel , dos Santos Freire Paula Maria , Zêzere José Luis
Published: March 2022

Estuaries are usually affected by compound flooding triggers that cause diverse territorial damages. While fluvial flood risk assessment frameworks are well established in the literature, integrated management instruments that deal with estuarine flood risk remain incomplete and often lacking. This research presents a methodology to extract relevant information from multiple sources post-event and a database building process that is applied to two contrasting estuaries (the Tagus River estuary in Portugal, and the Shannon River estuary in Ireland) in the Western European coastal area. Overall, a total of 274 documents were analyzed and the information was stored in two databases. Multiple correspondence analysis was applied to extract the most informative and relevant estuarine flood indicators. An integrated estuarine flood risk assessment framework is presented and discussed based on the extracted indicators. The framework is driven by two distinct dimensions (oceanic and hydrographic) and revealed the transversal position of triggers of estuarine floods, reflecting the compounding effects usually present in these areas. The results also highlight two levels of flood risk mostly based on damage typology.