bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Modified cellulose nanocrystals based on SI‐ATRP for enhancing interfacial compatibility and mechanical performance of biodegradable PLA/PBAT blend
Authors: Sun Minqi , Zhang Ling , Li Chunzhong
Published: April 2022

To make up for the brittleness of poly(lactic acid) (PLA), people usually introduce flexible poly(butylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate) (PBAT) which greatly reduces the strength and limits toughening effect due to unfavorable immiscibility of the blends. Herein, functionalized biodegradable cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were used as enhancement to simultaneously improve strength and toughness of PLA/PBAT blend. To improve the interaction between PLA and PBAT, poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) was grafted on the surface of CNC via a surface‐initiated atom transfer radical polymerization reaction. After the addition of CNC‐PGMA30, the phase size of PLA/PBAT (70/30 wt%) reduces dramatically, showing improved interfacial compatibility between PLA and PBAT. Meanwhile, prepared PLA/PBAT/CNC1.0‐PGMA30 composite has tensile strength of 49.6 MPa and elongation at break of 268.5%, demonstrating considerably increased strength and toughness in comparison to the pure PLA/PBAT blend.
Effects of incorporating ZnO nanowires on the moisture absorption and mechanical properties of composites
Authors: Kannan Manikandanbabu , Swaminathan Gowthaman , Venkat Natarajan
Published: April 2022

For the first time, this study explores how the incorporation of ZnO nanowires (ZnO NW) in the interface affects moisture absorption and resultant mechanical properties of glass and carbon composites. ZnO NW were coated onto glass and carbon fabrics to modify the fiber/matrix interface in the composites. Moisture absorption, longitudinal tension, short beam shear, and mode‐I fracture tests were conducted. While the moisture absorption was found to decrease the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) of glass composite, it was found to decrease the ILSS, tensile properties, and fracture toughness of carbon composites. The incorporation of ZnO NW was found to decrease the moisture absorption in both glass and carbon composites, increase the tensile modulus of dry and wet glass composites by ~17%, and prevent the delamination failure of wet carbon composites in tensile tests. Also, ZnO NW incorporation was found to increase the fracture toughness of all composites with a maximum of 141% improvement for dry carbon composite. Importantly, ZnO NW incorporation was believed to increase the stiffness and prevent bending failure of DCB arm in wet carbon composites. The uniqueness of this article includes demonstrating the benefits of ZnO NW to reduce the moisture absorption in composites and to reduce the extent of fiber/matrix interface degradation in wet carbon composites.
A Giant Dual‐Resonant in Magnetoelectric Composite Based on Electrical and Electromechanical Coupling Towards Enhanced Working Bandwidth and Frequency Tuning
Authors: Leung Chung Ming , Liu Yangchenbo , Li Qiang , Wang Feifei
Published: April 2022

Expanding the resonance bandwidth and achieving tunable frequency are crucial for applying magnetoelectric (ME) composites in variable environments to realize their application, including magnetic and current sensors, tunable microwave devices, energy harvesters, etc. Herein, a dual‐coupling mode of combining electrical and electromechanical to implement wide bandwidth and frequency tuning in a ME laminated composite connected to an external inductor is investigated. Furthermore, this dual‐coupling mode is theoretically and experimentally studied and two resonances based on an equivalent circuit method are predicted. When the ME composite is connected to an inductor of 0.5 mH with an internal resistance of 31.74 Ω, the experimental result shows that the bandwidth increased by 429.32% compared with the original. In contrast, while the ME composite is connected to an inductor of 0.5 mH with an internal resistance of 12.16 Ω, two ME voltage coefficients (αV) are dramatically increased by 302.29% and 356.80% at resonance peaks, and the resonance frequencies are proportionally tuned of 6.84% (Δf1 = 6.24 kHz) and 4.74% (Δf2 = 4.32 kHz), respectively. These experimental results are significantly in agreement with the theoretical analysis. Therefore, the proposed method effectively achieves bandwidth expansion, ME coupling coefficient enhancement, and resonance frequency tuning.
Tight bounds on the expected number of holes in random point sets
Authors: Balko Martin , Scheucher Manfred , Valtr Pavel
Published: April 2022

For integers and , a ‐hole in a set of points in general position in is a ‐tuple of points from in convex position such that the interior of their convex hull does not contain any point from . For a convex body of unit ‐dimensional volume, we study the expected number of ‐holes in a set of points drawn uniformly and independently at random from . We prove an asymptotically tight lower bound on by showing that, for all fixed integers and , the number is at least . For some small holes, we even determine the leading constant exactly. We improve the currently best‐known lower bound on by Reitzner and Temesvari (2019). In the plane, we show that the constant is independent of for every fixed and we compute it exactly for , improving earlier estimates by Fabila‐Monroy, Huemer, and Mitsche and by the authors.
Technical Appendix
Authors: Barrett Christopher B. , Benton Tim , Fanzo Jessica , Herrero Mario , Nelson Rebecca J. , Bageant Elizabeth , Buckler Edward , Cooper Karen , Culotta Isabella , Fan Shenggen , Gandhi Rikin , James Steven , Kahn Mark , Lawson-Lartego Laté , Liu Jiali , Marshall Quinn , Mason-D’Croz Daniel , Mathys Alexander , Mathys Cynthia , Mazariegos-Anastassiou Veronica , Miller Alesha , Misra Kamakhya , Mude Andrew , Shen Jianbo , Sibanda Lindiwe Majele , Song Claire , Steiner Roy , Thornton Philip , Wood Stephen
Published: April 2022

As detailed in Marshall et al. (Quinn Marshall, Jessica Fanzo, Christopher B. Barrett, Andrew D. Jones, Anna Herforth, and Rebecca McLaren, “Building a global food systems typology: A new tool for reducing complexity in food systems analysis,” Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, vol. 5 (November 2021): 746512), the food systemstypologies we and the Food Systems Dashboard use were developed using a method that began with a structured scoping review of the existing food systems literature.
The State of Agri-Food Systems and Agri-Food Value Chains in 2020
Authors: Barrett Christopher B. , Benton Tim , Fanzo Jessica , Herrero Mario , Nelson Rebecca J. , Bageant Elizabeth , Buckler Edward , Cooper Karen , Culotta Isabella , Fan Shenggen , Gandhi Rikin , James Steven , Kahn Mark , Lawson-Lartego Laté , Liu Jiali , Marshall Quinn , Mason-D’Croz Daniel , Mathys Alexander , Mathys Cynthia , Mazariegos-Anastassiou Veronica , Miller Alesha , Misra Kamakhya , Mude Andrew , Shen Jianbo , Sibanda Lindiwe Majele , Song Claire , Steiner Roy , Thornton Philip , Wood Stephen
Published: April 2022

One might reasonably invoke Dickens in describing AFSs and AVCs today: “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
Envisioning Four Design Objectives for 2045–2070
Authors: Barrett Christopher B. , Benton Tim , Fanzo Jessica , Herrero Mario , Nelson Rebecca J. , Bageant Elizabeth , Buckler Edward , Cooper Karen , Culotta Isabella , Fan Shenggen , Gandhi Rikin , James Steven , Kahn Mark , Lawson-Lartego Laté , Liu Jiali , Marshall Quinn , Mason-D’Croz Daniel , Mathys Alexander , Mathys Cynthia , Mazariegos-Anastassiou Veronica , Miller Alesha , Misra Kamakhya , Mude Andrew , Shen Jianbo , Sibanda Lindiwe Majele , Song Claire , Steiner Roy , Thornton Philip , Wood Stephen
Published: April 2022

Repeated episodes throughout history remind us that AFSs episodically undergo dramatic transformations, most of them purposeful—guided by incentives prevailing at the time—rather than purely random changes. Typically, these changes have taken decades or centuries. A major shock, like the COVID-19 pandemic, may help spark the more rapid transformation that we desperately need. Hence the value of explicitly envisioning AFS transformation to direct the transformative power unleashed by the pandemic towards desired outcomes.
A Profuse Pipeline of Promising Options
Authors: Barrett Christopher B. , Benton Tim , Fanzo Jessica , Herrero Mario , Nelson Rebecca J. , Bageant Elizabeth , Buckler Edward , Cooper Karen , Culotta Isabella , Fan Shenggen , Gandhi Rikin , James Steven , Kahn Mark , Lawson-Lartego Laté , Liu Jiali , Marshall Quinn , Mason-D’Croz Daniel , Mathys Alexander , Mathys Cynthia , Mazariegos-Anastassiou Veronica , Miller Alesha , Misra Kamakhya , Mude Andrew , Shen Jianbo , Sibanda Lindiwe Majele , Song Claire , Steiner Roy , Thornton Philip , Wood Stephen
Published: April 2022

Because AFSs are diverse, dynamic, and evolve continuously, they require massive continuous investment to enable ongoing discovery and adaptation merely to prevent backsliding.
Impact Pathways
Authors: Barrett Christopher B. , Benton Tim , Fanzo Jessica , Herrero Mario , Nelson Rebecca J. , Bageant Elizabeth , Buckler Edward , Cooper Karen , Culotta Isabella , Fan Shenggen , Gandhi Rikin , James Steven , Kahn Mark , Lawson-Lartego Laté , Liu Jiali , Marshall Quinn , Mason-D’Croz Daniel , Mathys Alexander , Mathys Cynthia , Mazariegos-Anastassiou Veronica , Miller Alesha , Misra Kamakhya , Mude Andrew , Shen Jianbo , Sibanda Lindiwe Majele , Song Claire , Steiner Roy , Thornton Philip , Wood Stephen
Published: April 2022

The complex pathways from innovation to impact mean that unintended spillover effects on non-target objectives are always likely. This generates a third reason—in addition to accelerators and complementarity in pursuit of target objectives—why socio-technical bundles are important. Herrero et al. (2020, 2021) demonstrated that food systems innovations can have mostly neutral or positive effects on the food systems SDGs (left-hand panel of Fig. 1).
Turkish Origins and Development
Authors: Weller Paul
Published: April 2022

Weller locates Hizmet’s origins and development in Turkey, emerging interactively with Fethullah Gülen as a Muslim scholar and teacher of a dynamic expression of Islam which inspired businesspeople and students to realise their faith through initiatives of hizmet, or service. The chapter discusses how these initiatives developed from the opening of educational opportunities to pious Muslims whose horizons had been previously restricted; through the creation of dialogue initiatives that provided fora for people to engage across deep historical fissures between the religious and the secular; to engagement in work for the relief of poverty. From these three foci, which became characteristic of Hizmet initiatives throughout the world, Hizmet further grew into a network of business associations and media organisations, thereby achieving considerable reach and influence in Turkey. Following the end of the USSR, the chapter traces how Hizmet’s educational initiatives spread into formerly Soviet Turkic countries and the Western Balkans.
Hizmet in European Hijrah
Authors: Weller Paul
Published: April 2022

This chapter forms the descriptive core and foundation for how the book subsequently moves into a more critical and evaluative discussion of a range of key issues within Hizmet’s transitions in Europe from its first appearance until the traumatic impact of the events of July 2016 in Turkey. Together with a European overview, the chapter especially traces Hizmet’s development within each of the countries of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the UK, before briefly touching on its presence and activity in a number of other Scandinavian, Eastern and Central European countries. In doing so, it especially draws upon primary research material derived from interviews with a range of key individuals in Hizmet who have been publicly associated with it in the countries concerned, while also setting these sources within the descriptive and analytical contributions of other relevant literature.
Pivotal Issues in Pivotal Times
Authors: Weller Paul
Published: April 2022

The chapter traces how what some see as a previously close relationship between Turkey’s ruling AKP party and Hizmet deteriorated from that of conflict over corruption charges in relation to the government; through the Gezi Park protests; and down to the events of July 2016 and their aftermath. It takes the MV Mavi Marmara incident as illustrative of the distinctive and differentiated approach to such issues taken by Fethullah Gülen compared with that of Turkish Islamists and nationalists. The profound trauma of 15 July 2016 and its aftermath is laid bare through personal interview testimonies of Hizmet asylum-seekers and others directly impacted by this, while its indirect effects upon Hizmet individuals and initiatives previously established in Europe are also discussed. Finally, Weller identifies the emergence in Europe of what he calls a “three-layered Hizmet” consisting of early migrants, a generation of more recently emerging leaders and the new arrivals post-July 2016.
New Foci for Old Questions
Authors: Weller Paul
Published: April 2022

The extent and depth of trauma experienced by Hizmet consequent upon the events of July 2016 and their aftermath should not be underestimated. Their impact has brought a new “layer” of Hizmet people to Europe who often bring with them cultural assumptions different to Hizmet people who grew up in Europe. Hizmet in Europe’s financial resource base and models have been challenged. However, in many other matters, the impact of July 2016 has, rather, intensified and accelerated debate around what were previously recognised issues, but which were being engaged with in a more evolutionary way. These included debates about: the extent of Hizmet’s Turkishness or otherwise; gender in transition; the relationship between charisma, structures and transparency in connection with civil society, politics and the state; relationships with other Muslims and Hizmet’s efforts to challenge terror in the name of Islam while in some quarters also being seen as terrorists.
Introduction: Embedding the Analysis of Housing Contention in the Sociopolitical Complexity of Structural Crises
Authors: Florea Ioana , Gagyi Agnes , Jacobsson Kerstin
Published: April 2022

The chapter introduces the main objectives of the book: (1) to develop an analytical approach able to account for the structural and ideological complexity of contemporary housing struggles, and (2) to illustrate the practical gains of this approach by a comparative study of housing contention in two capital cities in Europe, Budapest and Bucharest. The chapter situates the book in the context of current debates on housing mobilization, arguing that studies of the post-2008 housing contention wave have been overly focused on politically progressive movements in the West. However, a closer look reveals a higher ideological complexity of housing contention: mobilizations by different constituencies and with different agendas, sometimes occupying different ends of the ideological spectrum and seeing a continuously changing landscape of alliances and oppositions. The structural field of contention approach proposed is aimed to account for these complexities based on a multi-actor, contextually embedded approach to movement formation.
The Structural Field of Contention Approach
Authors: Florea Ioana , Gagyi Agnes , Jacobsson Kerstin
Published: April 2022

The chapter presents the analytical approach developed in this book, conceptualized as a ‘structural field of contention approach.’ We first discuss the benefits of existing field approaches in the study of social mobilization, as well as their limitations. Deriving inspiration from Nick Crossley’s notion of social movements as ‘fields of contention,’ we then elaborate our own analytical approach, which, more than Crossley’s, stresses the structural factors that formulate the conditions of group formation and struggle. Structural factors are conceived as elements of the field of contention which both produce the conflicts around which contention arises and influence relationship-making among actors. The chapter proposes an approach which can conceptualize both the antagonisms and solidarities in housing mobilization, as well as the parallel but ideologically polarized mobilizations of different groups in the same social-structural context. The approach developed is intended to capture and theorize such complexity of contemporary housing mobilizations.
Housing Contention in Budapest
Authors: Florea Ioana , Gagyi Agnes , Jacobsson Kerstin
Published: April 2022

This chapter traces housing-related tensions and mobilizations across Hungary’s regime change and transition in the 1990s, the debt-driven growth of the 2000s, and the new national conservative hegemony since 2010. It identifies two main areas where housing tensions manifest: housing poverty at the bottom of the housing hierarchy, and the hardships of housing access for low- to middle-income groups. These tensions came to be expressed politically in various ways across different periods and political regimes. Homelessness and social housing were addressed by different coalitions between affected groups, right, liberal, and left professionals, and lower-middle class allies, while other aspects of housing poverty remained politically less visible. The problem of low- to middle-income households’ housing access came to be expressed around maintenance problems during the regime change, and then through the parallel politicization of accessible rentals as an alternative to home-buying, and the debt problem created by mortgage lending.
Form factors and spectral densities from Lightcone Conformal Truncation
Authors: Chen Hongbin , Fitzpatrick A. Liam , Karateev Denis
Published: April 2022

Abstract

We use the method of Lightcone Conformal Truncation (LCT) to obtain form factors and spectral densities of local operators 𝒪 in ϕ4 theory in two dimensions. We show how to use the Hamiltonian eigenstates from LCT to obtain form factors that are matrix elements of a local operator 𝒪 between single-particle bra and ket states, and we develop methods that significantly reduce errors resulting from the finite truncation of the Hilbert space. We extrapolate these form factors as a function of momentum to the regime where, by crossing symmetry, they are form factors of 𝒪 between the vacuum and a two-particle asymptotic scattering state. We also compute the momentum-space time-ordered two-point functions of local operators in LCT. These converge quickly at momenta away from branch cuts, allowing us to indirectly obtain the time-ordered correlator and the spectral density at the branch cuts. We focus on the case where the local operator 𝒪 is the trace Θ of the stress tensor.
Boundary theories of critical matchgate tensor networks
Authors: Jahn A. , Gluza M. , Verhoeven C. , Singh S. , Eisert J.
Published: April 2022

Abstract

Key aspects of the AdS/CFT correspondence can be captured in terms of tensor network models on hyperbolic lattices. For tensors fulfilling the matchgate constraint, these have previously been shown to produce disordered boundary states whose site-averaged ground state properties match the translation-invariant critical Ising model. In this work, we substantially sharpen this relationship by deriving disordered local Hamiltonians generalizing the critical Ising model whose ground and low-energy excited states are accurately represented by the matchgate ansatz without any averaging. We show that these Hamiltonians exhibit multi-scale quasiperiodic symmetries captured by an analytical toy model based on layers of the hyperbolic lattice, breaking the conformal symmetries of the critical Ising model in a controlled manner. We provide a direct identification of correlation functions of ground and low-energy excited states between the disordered and translation-invariant models and give numerical evidence that the former approaches the latter in the large bond dimension limit. This establishes tensor networks on regular hyperbolic tilings as an effective tool for the study of conformal field theories. Furthermore, our numerical probes of the bulk parameters corresponding to boundary excited states constitute a first step towards a tensor network bulk-boundary dictionary between regular hyperbolic geometries and critical boundary states.
A path integral for the chiral-form partition function
Authors: Andriolo E. , Lambert N. , Orchard T. , Papageorgakis C.
Published: April 2022

Abstract

Starting from the recent action proposed by Sen [1, 2], we evaluate the partition function of the compact chiral boson on a two-dimensional torus using a path-integral formulation. Crucially, we use a Wick-rotation procedure obtained from a complex deformation of the physical spacetime metric. This directly reproduces the expected result including general characteristics for the theta functions. We also present results for the chiral 2-form potential in six dimensions which can be readily extended to 4k+2 dimensions.
Sociodemographic characteristics associated with parenthood amongst patients with a psychotic diagnosis: a cross-sectional study using patient clinical records
Authors: Radley Jessica , Barlow Jane , Johns Louise C.
Published: April 2022

Purpose

Estimates of parenthood in individuals with psychosis range from 27 to 63%. This number has likely increased due to the introduction of newer anti-psychotics and shorter hospital stays. The problems of psychosis can affect patients’ capacity to offer the consistent, responsive care required for healthy child development. The following research questions were assessed: (1) what proportion of these patients have their children correctly recorded in their clinical notes, (2) what proportion of patients in secondary care with a psychotic diagnosis have children, and (3) what sociodemographic characteristics are associated with parenthood in this population.

Methods

This study used CRIS (Clinical Record Interactive Search) to search for patients with a diagnosis of non-affective or affective psychosis (F20–29, F31.2 or F31.5) within a UK NHS Trust. A binomial regression model was fitted to identify the variables associated with parenthood.

Results

Fewer than half of the parents in the sample had their children recorded in the correct field in their clinical notes. Of 5173 patients with psychosis, 2006 (38.8%) were parents. Characteristics associated with parenthood included being female, older age, higher socioeconomic status, renting or owning, having ever been married, being unemployed, not being White (British) and not having a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Conclusion

Over one-third of patients with psychosis were parents, and the study indicates that not all NHS Trusts are recording dependants accurately. Many variables were strongly associated with parenthood and these findings may help target interventions for this population.
Cross-national examination of adolescent suicidal behavior: a pooled and multi-level analysis of 193,484 students from 53 LMIC countries
Authors: Abio Anne , Owusu Priscilla N. , Posti Jussi P. , Bärnighausen Till , Shaikh Masood Ali , Shankar Viswanathan , Lowery Wilson Michael
Published: April 2022

Introduction

Suicide is a leading cause of adolescent mortality worldwide. We aimed to estimate the prevalence and identify individual-level and country-level factors which might explain the variability in suicidal behavior among students in 53 low to middle income countries.

Methods

We used data on adolescents aged 12–16 years from the Global School-based Student Health Surveys from 2009–2016. The suicidal behaviors investigated included suicide ideation, suicidal planning and suicide attempt. The prevalence was estimated for 53 countries, while a multilevel logistic regression analysis (33 countries) was used to investigate the associations of these behaviors with individual and country-level contextual risk factors. The contextual variables included the Gini Coefficient, Gross Domestic Product per capita, pupil-to-teacher ratios, population density, homicide rates, law criminalizing suicide and the night light index.

Results

The overall prevalence of suicide ideation, making a plan and suicide attempt were 10.4%, 10.3% and 11.0%, respectively. The highest prevalence rates reported were from the Americas. The strongest risk factors associated with suicidal behavior included anxiety, loneliness, no close friends and the substance abuse. Among the country level variables, the night light index was associated with making a suicide plan and attempting suicide.

Conclusion

The non-significant country level findings were not entirely surprising given the mixed results from prior studies. Additional knowledge is thus achieved with regard to country level factors associated with suicidal behavior across adolescent populations.
Influence of the atmosphere and temperature on the properties of the oxygen-affine bonding system titanium-diamond during sintering
Authors: Denkena Berend , Bergmann Benjamin , Fromm Andreas , Klose Christian , Hansen Nils
Published: April 2022

Grinding tools can be manufactured from metal, vitrified, and resin bond materials. In combination with superabrasives like diamond grains, metal-bonded tools are used in a wide range of applications. The main advantages of metal over vitrified and resin bonds are high grain retention forces and high thermal conductivity. This paper investigates the influence of the atmosphere and manufacturing parameters such as sintering temperature on the properties of titanium-bonded grinding layers. Titanium is an active bond material, which can increase the retention of diamond grains in metal-bonded grinding layers. This can lead to higher bond stress and, consequently, decreased wear of grinding tools in use when compared to other commonly used bond materials like bronze. The reason for this is the adhesive bond between titanium and diamond due to the formation of carbides in the interface, whereas bronze can only form a mechanical cohesion with diamond grains. However, when using oxygen-affine metals such as titanium, oxidizing effects could limit the strength of the bond due to insufficient adhesion between Ti-powder particles and the prevention of carbide formation. The purpose of this paper is to show the influence of the sintering atmosphere and temperature on the properties of titanium-bonded diamond grinding layers using the mechanical and thermal characterization of specimens. A higher vacuum (Δpatm = − 75 mbar) reduces the oxidation of titanium particles during sintering, which leads to higher critical bond stress (+ 38% @ Ts = 900 °C) and higher thermal conductivity (+ 3.4% @Ts = 1000 °C, Ta = 25 °C). X-ray diffraction measurements could show the formation of carbides in the cross-section of specimens, which also has a positive effect on the critical bond stress due to an adhesive bond between titanium and diamond.
The acute effects of cannabidiol on emotional processing and anxiety: a neurocognitive imaging study
Authors: Bloomfield Michael A. P. , Yamamori Yumeya , Hindocha Chandni , Jones Augustus P. M. , Yim Jocelyn L. L. , Walker Hannah R. , Statton Ben , Wall Matthew B. , Lees Rachel H. , Howes Oliver D. , Curran Valerie H. , Roiser Jonathan P. , Freeman Tom P.
Published: April 2022

Rationale

There is growing interest in the therapeutic potential of cannabidiol (CBD) across a range of psychiatric disorders. CBD has been found to reduce anxiety during experimentally induced stress in anxious individuals and healthy controls. However, the mechanisms underlying the putative anxiolytic effects of CBD are unknown.

Objectives

We sought to investigate the behavioural and neural effects of a single dose of CBD vs. placebo on a range of emotion-related measures to test cognitive-mechanistic models of its effects on anxiety.

Methods

We conducted a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover, acute oral challenge of 600 mg of CBD in 24 healthy participants on emotional processing, with neuroimaging (viewing emotional faces during functional magnetic resonance imaging) and cognitive (emotional appraisal) measures as well as subjective response to experimentally induced anxiety.

Results

CBD did not produce effects on brain responses to emotional faces and cognitive measures of emotional processing, or modulate experimentally induced anxiety, relative to placebo.

Conclusions

Given the rising popularity of CBD for its putative medical benefits, these findings question whether further research is warranted to investigate the clinical potential of CBD for the treatment of anxiety disorders.
Non-destructive assessment of vitamin C in foods: a review of the main findings and limitations of vibrational spectroscopic techniques
Authors: Tirado-Kulieva Vicente Amirpasha , Hernández-Martínez Ernesto , Suomela Jukka-Pekka
Published: April 2022

The constant increase in the demand for safe and high-quality food has generated the need to develop efficient methods to evaluate food composition, vitamin C being one of the main quality indicators. However, its heterogeneity and susceptibility to degradation makes the analysis of vitamin C difficult by conventional techniques, but as a result of technological advances, vibrational spectroscopy techniques have been developed that are more efficient, economical, fast, and non-destructive. This review focuses on main findings on the evaluation of vitamin C in foods by using vibrational spectroscopic techniques. First, the fundamentals of ultraviolet–visible, infrared and Raman spectroscopy are detailed. Also, chemometric methods, whose use is essential for a correct processing and evaluation of the spectral information, are described. The use and importance of vibrational spectroscopy in the evaluation of vitamin C through qualitative characterization and quantitative analysis is reported. Finally, some limitations of the techniques and potential solutions are described, as well as future trends related to the utilization of vibrational spectroscopic techniques.
Statin discontinuation in persons with and without Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Vu Mai , Kettunen Raimo , Tolppanen Anna-Maija , Hartikainen Sirpa , Taipale Heidi
Published: April 2022

Background

Although statin use is reported to decrease after dementia diagnosis, time to statin discontinuation and factors associated with discontinuation have not been studied in persons with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We compared the risk of discontinuation and factors associated with discontinuation, including secondary and primary prevention indication, in statin users with and without AD.

Methods

The register-based Medication Use and Alzheimer’s Disease (MEDALZ) cohort includes community dwellers with a clinically verified AD diagnosed during 2005–2011 in Finland. On the AD diagnosis date (index date), each person with AD was matched with a comparison person without AD. We included 25,137 people with AD and 22,692 without AD who used statin on the index date or initiated within 90 days after. Cox regression models restricted to 4-year follow-up were conducted.

Result

The median time to statin discontinuation was 1.46 years in people with AD and 1.36 years in people without AD. People with AD were more likely to discontinue than people without AD (adjusted HR (aHR) 1.20 (95% CI 1.18–1.24)). This was observed for both primary (aHR 1.11 (1.06–1.16)) and secondary prevention (aHR 1.30 (1.25–1.35)) purpose. Factors associated with discontinuation included higher age and female gender, whereas concomitant cardiovascular drug use and previous statin use were associated with decreased risk.

Conclusion

The absolute difference in discontinuation rates was small, and the same factors were associated with statin discontinuation in people with and without AD. The findings suggest that cognitive decline plays a minor role on statin discontinuation.
Metal oxide semiconducting nanomaterials for air quality gas sensors: operating principles, performance, and synthesis techniques
Authors: Isaac N. A. , Pikaar I. , Biskos G.
Published: April 2022

To meet requirements in air quality monitoring, sensors are required that can measure the concentration of gaseous pollutants at concentrations down to the ppb and ppt levels, while at the same time they exhibiting high sensitivity, selectivity, and short response/recovery times. Among the different sensor types, those employing metal oxide semiconductors (MOSs) offer great promises as they can be manufactured in easy/inexpensive ways, and designed to measure the concentration of  a wide range of target gases. MOS sensors rely on the adsorption of target gas molecules on the surface of the sensing material and the consequent capturing of electrons from the conduction band that in turn affects their conductivity. Despite their simplicity and ease of manufacturing, MOS gas sensors are restricted by high limits of detection (LOD; which are typically in the ppm range) as well as poor sensitivity and selectivity. LOD and sensitivity can in principle be addressed by nanostructuring the MOSs, thereby increasing their porosity and surface-to-volume ratio, whereas selectivity can be tailored through their chemical composition. In this paper we provide a critical review of the available techniques for nanostructuring MOSs using chemiresistive materials, and discuss how these can be used to attribute desired properties to the end gas sensors. We start by describing the operating principles of chemiresistive sensors, and key material properties that define their performance. The main part of the paper focuses on the available methods for synthesizing nanostructured MOSs for use in gas sensors. We close by addressing the current needs and provide perspectives for improving sensor performance in ways that can fulfill requirements for air quality monitoring.

Graphical abstract
Determinants, outcomes, and feedbacks associated with microeconomic adaptation to climate change
Authors: Bartelet Henry A. , Barnes Michele L. , Cumming Graeme S.
Published: April 2022

Actors across all economic sectors of society will need to adapt to cope with the accelerating impacts of climate change. However, little information is currently available about how microeconomic actors are adapting to climate change and how best to support these adaptations. We reviewed the empirical literature to provide an overview of (1) the climate change adaptations that have been undertaken in practice by microeconomic actors (i.e. households and firms) and their determinants; and (2) the outcomes of these adaptations and the manner in which public policies have supported them. About a quarter of actors across the studies included in our review took no adaptation measures to climate change. Of those that did, the most commonly identified determinant of adaptation was assets, which were predominantly discussed as facilitating diversification within livelihoods. Few (14 out of 80) of the studies we reviewed which described empirical climate change adaptations evaluated the outcomes of these adaptations. Of those that did, evidence suggests that conflicts exist between the microeconomic outcomes of adaptations, social and environmental externalities, and long-term resilience. Different public policy interventions intended to support adaptation were discussed (57 in total); the provision of informational support was the most prevalent (33%). Our analysis suggests that microeconomic adaptation occurs as a cycle in which social and ecological feedbacks positively or negatively influence the adaptation process. Thus, efforts to facilitate adaptation are more likely to be effective if they recognize the role of feedbacks and the potential diversity of outcomes triggered by public policy incentives.
Sedimentary aspects of the onset of Middle Triassic continental rifting in the western end of Neotethys; inferences from the Silica and Torna Nappes, NE Hungary: a review
Authors: Hips Kinga
Published: April 2022

The initiation of continental rifting from the latest Early Triassic was reconstructed by correlation of sedimentary formations deposited in the western end of Neotethys (in the Dinaric–Alpine oceanic branch). The shallow-marine and basinal strata of the Silica Nappes and the Bódvarákó Series from the Torna Nappe (located in the southern part of the Inner Western Carpathians) were studied and compared to sedimentary successions described from the Alps, the Carpathians and the Dinarides. The depositional zonation, developed on the shelf during the Late Permian‒Early Triassic transgression, was dissected and rearranged from the latest Early Triassic. The facies pattern and the differential sedimentary evolution of the shelf domains suggest that the accelerated subsidence began in the latest Early Triassic, and was connected to the onset of continental rifting. Three stages are reconstructed in the studied time-frame. (1) Dark grey carbonates, very poor in fossils, were deposited in restricted and hypersaline intraplatform basins in many shelf domains. In the external domains, shallow-marine carbonates, depositional gaps and terrestrial deposits are typical (formations in the Southern Alps, the External Dinarides and the Serbian–Macedonian Massif). From the latest Early Triassic, this latter shelf segment formed a threshold that restricted water circulation from the intraplatform basins. (2) Shallowing-up carbonate successions mark the next stage that implies a period of tectonic quiescence on the shelf from the late Early Anisian to late Middle Anisian. A peculiar change in biota occurring in previously restricted domains was coeval in shallow-marine and deep-marine settings. The biotic change is revealed by observations that dark grey carbonates, which are very poor in fossils, are overlain by carbonate successions rich in fossils typical for normal-marine water. The biota and environmental changes indicate the opening of a passage which allowed the circulation of well-oxygenated and normal-salinity marine water towards the previously restricted depositional areas. The geodynamic setting switching from continental rifting to spreading in the southern sector of the Dinaric–Alpine oceanic branch (Hellenides and Albanides), triggered the opening of the gateway between the future continental margins, i.e., between the External Dinaridic domain (Adria) and Serbian–Macedonian Massif (Eurasia). (3) Following the biotic event in the northern sector of the shelf, subsidence accelerated and additional intraplatform basins opened from the latest Pelsonian.
Case report: the rare clinical picture of vasculitis of the pericardium in rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Nebert Clemens , Mayer Christian , Zirngast Birgit , Moser Lisa , Rainer Peter , D’Orazio Monica , Hermann Josef , Stangl Verena , Mächler Heinrich
Published: April 2022

Background

The cause of pericarditis is manifold. It can occur as a result of various diseases but may also be triggered by drugs. However, the data on drug-induced pericarditis are still scarce.

Case report

A 64-year-old female hypertensive patient with rheumatoid arthritis for 20 years presented with thoracic pain and recurrent pericardial and pleural effusions. For treatment of the recurrent effusions, the patient received glucocorticoids and colchicine in addition to the basic rheumatoid arthritis therapy, and treatment has only recently been expanded to include etanercept. On admission, she complained of malaise, dysphagia, and blood pressure was 85/55 mm Hg. She was normofrequent with elevated inflammatory parameters. On trans-thoracal echocardiography (TTE) and computer-tomography (CT), there was a 3-cm non-floating structure in the entire circumference of the pericardium. The indication for pericardiectomy was given because of hemodynamic impairment. After incision of the pericardium, 250 ml of a brown-reddish fluid drained, with brown crumbly necrotic masses visible underneath. Histopathologic findings revealed vasculitis-related chronic fibrinous pericarditis with vasculitic changes. A subclinical infection with Staphylococcus aureus was detectable by PCR analysis.

Conclusion

Based on the fact that tumor necrosis factor blockers can induce vasculitis, etanercept might have been responsible for the exacerbation of pericarditis. The underlying rheumatoid arthritis could also be considered as a trigger. The detection of Staphylococcus aureus DNA in the pericardium and the exacerbation of pericarditis could be attributed to secondary vasculitis after an infection with S. aureus, whereas the tendency to infection due to humoral immunodeficiency after years of immunosuppressive therapy has to be discussed as a trigger.
Stabilization of spline bases by extension
Authors: Chu Ba-Duong , Martin Florian , Reif Ulrich
Published: April 2022

We present a method to stabilize bases with local supports by means of extension. It generalizes the known approach for tensor product B-splines to a much broader class of functions, which includes hierarchical and weighted variants of polynomial, trigonometric, and exponential splines, but also box splines, T-splines, and other function spaces of interest with a local basis. Extension removes elements that cause instabilities from a given basis by linking them with the remaining ones by means of a specific linear combination. The two guiding principles for this process are locality and persistence. Locality aims at coupling basis functions whose supports are close together, while persistence guarantees that a given set of globally supported functions, like certain monomials in the case of polynomial splines, remain in the span of the basis after extension. Furthermore, we study how extension influences the approximation power and the condition of Gramian matrices associated with the basis, and present a series of examples illustrating the potential of the method.
Flow induced by a line sink near a vertical wall in a fluid with a free surface, Part II: finite depth
Authors: Mansoor Wafaa F. , Hocking Graeme C. , Farrow Duncan E.
Published: April 2022

Flow caused by a line sink near a vertical wall in an otherwise stagnant fluid with a free surface is studied. A linear solution for small flow rates is obtained and a numerical method based on fundamental singularities techniques is applied to the full nonlinear problem. The sink is located at an arbitrary location away from all boundaries and the fluid is of finite depth. Steady solutions are presented for various flow rates and sink location. It is shown that the numerical results and linear solutions are in good agreement for small flow rates. The results suggest that steady nonlinear solutions are limited to flow rates below some critical value. Some interesting surface shapes are obtained depending on the location of the sink.
Why and When is Pure Moral Motivation Defective
Authors: Heering David
Published: April 2022

Agents sometimes have a final, de dicto desire to do what is right. They desire to do what is right for its own sake and under this description. These agents have pure moral motivation (PMM). It is often surmised that PMM is in some sense defective. Most famously, it has been suggested that PMM manifests a kind of moral fetishism. However, it also seems defective if an agent shows no concern whatsoever for moral rightness in their motivations. In this paper, I attempt to resolve this puzzling tension. I argue, first, that PMM is defective insofar as it manifests a failure to respond to reasons. I argue, second, that not every instance of PMM manifests a responsiveness failure. In particular, we need to distinguish between the de dicto final desire to do what is right and the de dicto final desire to do what is right for the right reasons.
Hepatocyte expressed chemerin-156 does not protect from experimental non-alcoholic steatohepatitis
Authors: Pohl Rebekka , Eichelberger Laura , Feder Susanne , Haberl Elisabeth M. , Rein-Fischboeck Lisa , McMullen Nichole , Sinal Christopher J. , Bruckmann Astrid , Weiss Thomas S. , Beck Michael , Höring Marcus , Krautbauer Sabrina , Liebisch Gerhard , Wiest Reiner , Wanninger Josef , Buechler Christa
Published: April 2022

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a rapidly growing liver disease. The chemoattractant chemerin is abundant in hepatocytes, and hepatocyte expressed prochemerin protected from NASH. Prochemerin is inactive and different active isoforms have been described. Here, the effect of hepatocyte expressed muChem-156, a highly active murine chemerin isoform, was studied in the methionine–choline deficient dietary model of NASH. Mice overexpressing muChem-156 had higher hepatic chemerin protein. Serum chemerin levels and the capability of serum to activate the chemerin receptors was unchanged showing that the liver did not release active chemerin. Notably, activation of the chemerin receptors by hepatic vein blood did not increase in parallel to total chemerin protein in patients with liver cirrhosis. In experimental NASH, muChem-156 had no effect on liver lipids. Accordingly, overexpression of active chemerin in hepatocytes or treatment of hepatocytes with recombinant chemerin did not affect cellular triglyceride and cholesterol levels. Importantly, overexpression of muChem-156 in the murine liver did not change the hepatic expression of inflammatory and profibrotic genes. The downstream targets of chemerin such as p38 kinase were neither activated in the liver of muChem-156 producing mice nor in HepG2, Huh7 and Hepa1-6 cells overexpressing this isoform. Recombinant chemerin had no effect on global gene expression of primary human hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cells within 24 h of incubation. Phosphorylation of p38 kinase was, however, increased upon short-time incubation of HepG2 cells with chemerin. These findings show that muChem-156 overexpression in hepatocytes does not protect from liver steatosis and inflammation.
An 8-bit precision cipher for fast image encryption
Authors: Eyebe Fouda J. S. Armand , Koepf Wolfram
Published: April 2022

Implementing chaos based ciphers usually involves 32-bit floating-point arithmetics that is hardware resources costly. The limitation of the computational precision is hardware imposed and transforms chaotic orbits into limit cycles with short periods, hence alters their randomness. In cryptographic applications, short period dynamics and weak randomness result in security issues. In order to address this concern, we propose an 8-bit precision cipher that can be implemented with low-end microprocessors running 8-bit integer arithmetics. The cipher includes a quantized pseudo-random number generator (QPRNG) based on a 16-dimensional quantized Arnold’s cat map (QACM). We used entropy measure, statistical, sensitivity and key space analyses to evaluate its security level under limited computational precision. Simulation results attest that it is as highly secure as those involving real-number arithmetics, even for only 8-bit precision. We also showed that the period of the proposed QACM can be chosen such that Tx > 1027, which is very large as compared to existing QACM. Such a large period implies a high randomness of the derived QPRNG that is confirmed by statistical NIST tests. Contrary to existing ciphers that include other chaotic systems than the QACM for strengthening the security level, ours is exclusively based on the QACM and is fast, despite the included high-dimensional QACM.