bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia: epidemiological and clinical data from the comprehensive Italian retrospective multicenter study
Authors: Suppressa Patrizia , Maiorano Eugenia , Gaetani Eleonora , Matti Elina , Lenato Gennaro Mariano , Serio Ilaria , Masala Maristella Salvatora , Passali Giulio Cesare , Aguglia Maria , Crocione Claudia , Lopalco Pietro Luigi , Caneschi Francesca , Musella Valeria , De Silvestri Annalisa , Gambini Giulia , Spinozzi Giuseppe , Sabbà Carlo , Pagella Fabio
Published: May 2023

Rare Disease patients manifested high concern regarding the possible increased risk of severe outcomes and worsening of disease-specific clinical manifestation due to the impact of COVID-19. Our aim was to assess the prevalence, outcomes, and impact of COVID-19 in patients with a rare disease such as Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT) in Italian population. A nationwide, multicentric, cross-sectional observational study was conducted on patients with HHT from five Italian HHT centers by online survey. The association between COVID-19-related signs and symptoms and nosebleeds worsening, the impact of personal protective equipment on nosebleeds pattern, and the relationship between the presence of visceral AVMs and severe outcomes were analyzed. Out of 605 total survey responses and eligible for analysis, 107 cases of COVID-19 were reported. A mild-course COVID-19 disease, not requiring hospitalization, was observed in 90.7% of patients, while the remaining eight cases needed hospitalization, two of them requiring intensive-care access. No fatal outcome was recorded and 79.3% of patients reported a complete recovery. No difference in infection risk and outcome between HHT patients and general population was evidenced. No significative interference of COVID-19 on HHT-related bleeding was found. The majority of patients received COVID-19 vaccination, with relevant impact on symptoms and need for hospitalization in case of infection. COVID-19 in HHT patients had an infection profile similar to the general population. COVID-19 course and outcome were independent from any specific HHT-related clinical features. Moreover, COVID-19 and anti-SARS-CoV-2 measures did not seem to affect significantly HHT-related bleeding profile.
Enhancement of Water Hyacinth Juice Treatment in an Anaerobic Sequential Batch Reactor with Coffee Husk–Derived Biochar
Authors: Maruyama Daiki Ogasawara , Akizuki Shin-ichi , Sekine Mutsumi , Fujita Akinori , Habtu Nigus Gabbiye , Sato Shinjiro , Toda Tatsuki
Published: May 2023

The proliferation of water hyacinths is a global issue with significant environmental and social implications, and its proper management is a critical issue. Anaerobic digestion (AD) of compressed water hyacinth juice (WHJ) is key to efficiently utilizing water hyacinth biomass, but a simpler and more cost-effective method has yet to be established. In this study, the effectiveness of biochar carriers derived from local waste biomass (i.e., coffee husk) for WHJ treatment was evaluated in a sequential batch reactor. This was compared to conventional AD carriers (polyurethane sponge) and no-carrier conditions. The no-carrier condition resulted in process failure after 40 days due to the accumulation of volatile fatty acids from the substrate overload. In contrast, the biochar condition showed a significant CH4 yield (472 mL/g-VS) and total organic carbon removal (88.6%), comparable to the sponge carrier condition. Scanning electron microscope observation revealed an aggregation of mainly rod-shaped microorganisms in the biochar pores, indicating biofilm formation and a rise in microbial concentration. Nano-archaea (Candidatus Diapherotrites archaeon ADub.Bin253), which have a symbiotic relationship with methanogens, were detected, particularly in carrier-filled conditions, with a relative archaea abundance of 12.9–28.6%. This study highlights the effectiveness of using coffee husks to treat WHJ, which can both exist in the same region, and suggests an alternative way of using locally generated biomass for local waste treatment.
Atypical Capsular Contracture with Delayed Intracapsular Hematoma After Breast Implantation for Reconstruction
Authors: Kim Sung-Eun , Kim Se Hun , Shim Jeong Su
Published: May 2023

Late spontaneous hematoma (> 6 months postoperatively) after breast reconstruction using implant is rare complication. We experienced a case of capsular contracture with a unique clinical form of intracapsular hematoma 13 years after implantation of smooth saline filled implants. This report presented the mechanism of complication examined through chart-review, histological morphological analysis, and literature review to help evaluation and treatment of various symptoms around the breast implant capsule. A 51-year-old woman underwent a unilateral breast reconstruction using tissue expander insertion in 2005, and underwent saline implant insertion after a year. A patient has been assessed through computed tomography (CT) and ultrasonography annually for cancer screening in General Surgery department, and in 14 years after implantation, she was referred to the Plastic Surgery department as a finding intracapsular multi-layering lesion around implant. She underwent implant removal and capsulectomy. The excised capsule was sent for histological evaluation. There were no trauma event, calcifications, or implant rupture. Symptoms of swelling and stiffness gradually developed. The etiology of late hematoma following implantation has been poorly characterized. There are opinions that delayed hematoma can be induced by capsule microfracture, which may be due to the rigidity of the contracted capsule, and that it may be caused by friction between the capsule and the implant when there is pathological contracture. It is thought to be an old hematoma capsule contracture that can be mistaken for tumor lesions, and it was concluded that our case corresponds.
What is Appropriate? On the Assessment of Human-Robot Proxemics for Casual Encounters in Closed Environments
Authors: Neef Nicolas E. , Zabel Sarah , Lauckner Mathis , Otto Siegmar
Published: May 2023

Increasingly autonomous robots become more and more prevalent in daily life and their proximity to humans may affect human well-being and comfort. Consequently, researchers have begun to study the effect of robotic presence on humans and to establish distance rules. However, studies on human-robot proxemics rely on various concepts (e.g. safety, comfort, perceived safety and expectation conformity) to measure the appropriateness of distances which can affect the outcomes. The impact of using diverging operationalization has not been studied explicitly, thus the first aim of our research was to fill this gap. In two experiments (combinedN = 80), placing participants in indirect hallway human-robot interactions, we found that the way appropriateness is operationalized has a significant impact on the results for lateral passing and frontal approaches. The second goal was to gain new insights into the influence of robot appearance on appropriate proximity. Using an ad-hoc created appropriateness scale we reveal that for robots displaying human faces on screens, closer distances are perceived to be appropriate. Our study provides valuable insights into the relationship between measurement methods, robot appearance, and appropriateness, and offers practical recommendations for future research and development in the field of social robotics.
Petrophysical characterization of the heterogeneous shale-rich oil reservoirs: a case study of the Cenomanian Clastics, Abu Sennan Concession, North Western Desert of Egypt
Authors: Saleh Ahmed H. , Henaish Ahmed , Ramadan Fatma S. , Fatah Mohamed O. Abd El , Leila Mahmoud
Published: May 2023

Shale-rich reservoirs present a long-standing challenge for reservoir geologists because the clay minerals often induce a large-scale heterogeneity in the reservoir pore system. This work aims to understand the impact of clay distribution and mineralogy which would enhance the predictability of the best reservoir facies. We integrate seismic, well-log datasets to investigate the petrophysical characteristics of the clay-rich Cenomanian Clastics in the GPY oil field, north Western Desert of Egypt. These Clastics comprise the sandstone intervals which are the most prolific hydrocarbon reservoirs. Seismic data were used to interpret the main structural patterns as well as the different seismic facies. The well log data were utilized to interpret the lithologic variations and the type of clays in the reservoir as well as the different petrophysical parameters. Based on variations in their lithological and petrophysical characteristics, the Bahariya sandstones were sub-divided into three different rock units: Bahariya-3 (B-3), Bahariya-2 (B-2), and Bahariya-1 (B-1), separated by thick laminated clay intervals. AR/G Member is dominated by clays with relatively lower reservoir quality. Spectral gamma ray log values reveal that smectite is the dominant clay mineral in all the studied intervals. Laminated clays are dominant in B-1 and B-2 units, whereas, B-3 unit and Abu Roash G Member are enriched in structural clays. The quartzose sand content decreases from B-3 to AR/G and clay content increases from B-3 to AR/G. Therefore, the best reservoir facies and fluid flow conduits with best pore system characteristics are hosted in B-3 and the smectite clay streaks act as a good seal for hydrocarbons in the quartzose sandstone pay zone.
Food production and agricultural systems on the southwestern frontier of the Han Empire: archaeobotanical remains from the 2016 excavation of Hebosuo, Yunnan
Authors: Yang Wei , Jiang Zhilong , Yao Alice , Dal Martello Rita , Jiang Jieming , Xie Huomin , Chen Xuexiang
Published: May 2023

Dian Basin in Yunnan province is an important center for both early agricultural production and centralized state formation. Settled agricultural villages are present in the province since at least the third millennium BC, and by the first millennium BC, the Dian Culture, a highly specialized bronze polity, flourished in the Dian Basin and surrounding area, until it was conquered by the Han in 109 BC. The increased deployment of flotation at recent archaeological excavations in Yunnan allowed the reconstruction of agricultural practices from the Neolithic to the early Bronze Age, documented at Baiyangcun, Haimenkou, and Xueshan among others. However, archaeobotanical evidence relating to the pivotal period right before and after the Han conquest have so far been lacking, with only limited written records about agricultural production in the Shiji by Sima Qian. Here we present for the first time direct archaeobotanical evidence relating to this transitional period as revealed by rich Han period deposits found during the 2016 excavation of Hebosuo, the largest Dian settlement investigated in Yunnan so far, dated by direct AMS on charred cereal grains and artefactual evidence as spanning from between 850 BC–220 AD. Following the Han conquest, the main components of the agricultural system did not undergo radical changes, but the weedy flora indicates a heavier reliance of wet-land rice systems, evidencing a higher level of water management or even irrigation practices, and the consequent intensification of the agricultural production. These findings on shifting agricultural regimes in Yunnan also contribute to current debates about the interplay between intensification, food risk, and ecology in times of political instability.
Daily middle-term probabilistic forecasting of power consumption in North-East England
Authors: Baviera Roberto , Messuti Giuseppe
Published: May 2023

Probabilistic forecasting of power consumption in a middle-term horizon (few months to a year) is a main challenge in the energy sector. It plays a key role in planning future generation plants and transmission grid. This paper proposes a novel model that (i) incorporates seasonality and autoregressive features in a traditional time-series analysis and (ii) includes weather conditions in a parsimonious machine learning approach, known as Gaussian Process. Applying to a daily power consumption dataset in North East England, provided by one of the largest energy suppliers, we obtain promising results in Out-of-Sample density forecasts up to one year, even using a small dataset, with only a two-year calibration set. For the evaluation of the achieved probabilistic forecasts, we consider the pinball loss—a metric common in the energy sector—and we assess the coverage—a procedure standard in the banking sector after the introduction of Basel II Accords—also running the conditional and unconditional tests for probability intervals. Results show that the proposed model outperforms benchmarks in terms of both accuracy and reliability.
Nutrients in tropical and temperate rivers and floodplains – comparison of the Rivers Songkhram (Thailand) and Narew (Poland)
Authors: Walalite Tanapipat , Dekker Stefan C. , Schot Paul P. , Kardel Ignacy , Okruszko Tomasz , Wassen Martin J.
Published: May 2023

Ecological processes in floodplains may function differently across climate regions. We compared the river discharge, water chemistry, and nutrient budget and balance of floodplain vegetation in a temperate climate (River Narew, Poland) with those in a tropical climate (River Songkhram, Thailand). Both rivers show a discharge regime with a flood pulse, following snowmelt (Narew) or monsoon rainfall (Songkhram), with peak discharges roughly 25 times higher in the River Songkhram. Electrical Conductivity (EC) values of both rivers are generally comparable, while nutrient concentrations are somewhat higher in the temperate River Narew (with total phosphorus (TP) approximately 1.5 and total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) approximately 2.2 times higher than in Songkhram). A comparison of the nutrient budget of floodplain vegetation suggests that soil is the most important source of nutrients for most vegetation types, i.e., Narew sedge (N), Narew forest floor (N and P), Songkhram bamboo (N and P), and Songkhram grass (P). Additionally, floodwater is the main input source of P for the Narew sedge and a secondary input source for Songkhram grass. Vegetation close to the river tends to have higher productivity, emphasizing the nutrient-filtering function of floodplain vegetation. For both rivers, nutrient input into the floodplains by floodwater is higher than nutrient export from the floodplains, indicating that both floodplains have a nutrient sink function. These findings demonstrate that the floodwater pulse is a source of nutrient input for floodplain vegetation in both temperate and tropical climates, with the soil playing a vital role in the nutrient budgets and balance.
Convergence analysis of approximation formulas for analytic functions via duality for potential energy minimization
Authors: Hayakawa Satoshi , Tanaka Ken’ichiro
Published: May 2023

We investigate the approximation formulas that were proposed by Tanaka & Sugihara (IMA J. Numer. Anal. 39(4):1957–1984, 2019), in weighted Hardy spaces, which are analytic function spaces with certain asymptotic decay. Under the criterion of minimum worst error of n-point approximation formulas, we demonstrate that the formulas are nearly optimal. We also obtain the upper bounds of the approximation errors that coincide with the existing heuristic bounds in asymptotic order by a duality theorem for the minimization problem of potential energy.
Opportunities and challenges of bio-based fertilizers utilization for improving soil health
Authors: Kurniawati Ari , Toth Gergely , Ylivainio Kari , Toth Zoltan
Published: May 2023

Bio-based fertilizers (BBFs) have been promoted as a solution to help manage bio-waste problems and improve soil health conditions. Their potential is to replace mineral fertilizers due to nonrenewable energy dependency and the accumulation that threatens environmental issues. Currently, laboratory and field-based literature have been growing since European Union (EU) looks BBFs as the future of agriculture bio-based products. Nevertheless, it is worth to summarizing the results on a regular basis. The added value of this work is to study the opportunities of bio-based fertilizer utilization to sustain plant productivity and investigate the challenges to water footprints and human health. This study found that contamination of heavy metals and pathogens is the main problems of BBFs implementation which need more attention to develop the technology process including the environmental risk assessments. Furthermore, compared to mineral fertilizers, BBFs have obstacles to getting social acceptance due to the challenges of transportation and production cost, the concentration of nutrients, matching crops, and policy framework. To sum up, BBF is a long-run scheme that should be started to tackle global issues since the potency as energy alternative sources to support the circular economy paradigm.
A novel pyroptosis-associated lncRNA LINC01133 promotes pancreatic adenocarcinoma development via miR-30b-5p/SIRT1 axis
Authors: Li Jingwei , Lin Jiewei , Ji Yuchen , Wang Xuelong , Fu Da , Wang Weishen , Shen Baiyong
Published: May 2023

Purpose

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) remains a highly aggressive gastrointestinal malignancy with a dismal prognosis. Pyroptosis has a key role in tumor development. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in tumorigenesis and pyroptosis regulation. However, the prognostic potential and function of pyroptosis-related lncRNAs (PRLs) in PAAD remain unclear. We aimed to identify PRLs with promising predictive value for PAAD prognosis and investigate the mechanism by which PRLs affect pyroptosis and PAAD development.

Methods

Key genes that regulate pyroptosis were determined from previous studies, and PRLs were identified from lncRNAs shown to be co-expressed in The Cancer Genome Atlas. Cox analysis and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression model was used to establish a prognostic PRL signature. The clinical significance and functional mechanisms of LINC01133 were explored in vitro and in vivo.

Results

A seven-lncRNA signature was established and the high-risk subgroup exhibited a shorter survival time. With lower immune infiltration abundance, poor immune function, and higher tumor mutational burden (TMB), the high-risk subgroup reflected a more immunosuppressive status with a greater scope for benefiting from immunotherapy. After LINC01133 knockdown, PAAD cells showed lower viability and higher pyroptosis-related gene expression. LINC01133 functioned as a competing endogenous RNA to sequester miR-30b-5p from sponging SIRT1 mRNA to inhibit PAAD pyroptosis.

Conclusion

With significant prognostic value, our PRL signature are involved in the biological processes of PAAD cells and associated with the immune environment. LINC01133 suppresses pyroptosis to promote PAAD development and could serve as a potential target for PAAD treatment.
Case report. Urosymfyseale fistels na prostaatkankerbehandeling
Authors: Maassen van den Brink Martijn , Hermans Tom J. N. , Jonkers Frank L. G. , Koldewijn Evert L.
Published: May 2023

Samenvatting

Wij presenteren casuïstiek van drie patiënten met een urosymfyseale fistel (USF), een zeldzame complicatie na behandeling van het prostaatcarcinoom. Een USF ontstaat meestal als gevolg van een chirurgische behandeling van een prostaatcarcinoom in combinatie met aanvullende radiotherapie en/of postoperatieve endoscopische interventies. Recidiverende urineweginfecties, (chronische) pubische of perineale pijn tijdens mobilisatie en/of tekenen van osteomyelitis kunnen duiden op de aanwezigheid van een USF. Diagnostiek vindt plaats op basis van een urethrocystoscopie en een MRI-scan van het bekken. Met deze casus laten wij zien dat bij falen van conservatieve therapie patiënten succesvol behandeld kunnen worden middels een chirurgische resectie van het fistelkanaal, het aanleggen van een urinedeviatie en lokale en systemische behandeling van de osteomyelitis.
Integration or separation? The future of the English small-scale coastal fishery
Authors: Korda Rebecca , Gray Tim , Stead Selina M.
Published: May 2023

The decline of inshore or small-scale coastal fisheries (SSCF) in many countries across the world has been well-documented in major studies published during the last 10 years. Researchers report decreasing stocks of marketable fish, inadequate fish quota allocations, and virtual exclusion from fisheries management decision-making bodies. The situation in England is a case in point, where many SSCF are subject to these pressures to the point that their livelihoods are threatened. A recent initiative sponsored by an industry agency to safeguard the position of the inshore sector aims to protect SSCF in England from decline and possible extinction by integrating it into the mainstream fishing industry and ensuring its representation on a proposed co-management body which would share decision-making between industry and government. However, drawing on the literature, archival documents, newspaper articles, and personal communications, we conclude that integrating all parts of the fleet together and setting up shared co-management arrangements is not a guarantee of SSCF survival because integration would tie SSCF down to the agenda of the large-scale fisheries (LSF) sector with no certainty that the special needs of SSCF would be met if they conflicted with the interests of LSF. Instead, our findings lead us to recommend forging a separatist path for SSCF, recognising its distinctive identity as an inshore fishery closely connected with coastal communities. We propose, therefore, two independent fisheries each with its own mode of management: SSCF governed by a regime of community quotas and exclusive spatial access to inshore waters; and LSF governed by a regime of individual transferable quotas (ITQs).
Clinical Trial Data Transparency in the EU: Is the New Clinical Trials Regulation a Game-Changer?
Authors: Zemła-Pacud Żaneta , Lenarczyk Gabriela
Published: May 2023

The benefits of access to clinical trial data are related to their inestimable value from the perspective of clinical trial participants, society as a whole, public health systems and scientific progress. In light of the development of innovative data analysis technologies, access to raw clinical trial data opens up an ever-widening array of possibilities: it can profoundly facilitate machine data analysis for, inter alia, hypothesis generation, risk modelling, counterfactual simulation and – finally – drug repurposing and development. The enactment of the new Clinical Trials Regulation (EU) No. 536/2014 (CTR) and introduction of the Clinical Trials Information System (CTIS) were heralded as ensuring a level of transparency in clinical trials that is sufficient to contribute to protecting public health and fostering the innovation capacity of European medical research, while recognizing the legitimate economic interests of sponsors. This paper presents the hitherto binding rules for the disclosure of clinical trial data and, against this background, their new framework, introduced by the CTR. In addition to assessing whether the CTR’s objectives are fulfilled, this paper examines whether the latest changes impact the hitherto existing rules on protection of regulatory data via regulatory exclusivities. Finally, it points out concerns regarding whether data gathered in the CTIS can be efficiently used by innovative data analysis technologies for further processing for both commercial and non-commercial purposes.
Entwicklung des Concept-Inventory CCCI-422 zu den naturwissenschaftlichen Grundlagen des Klimawandels
Authors: Schubatzky Thomas , Wackermann Rainer , Wöhlke Carina , Haagen-Schützenhöfer Claudia , Jedamski Marko , Lindemann Hannes , Cardinal Kai
Published: May 2023

Der aktuelle Klimawandel stellt unsere Gesellschaft, besonders zukünftige Generationen, vor große Herausforderungen. Ein grundlegendes Verständnis des Klimawandels kann nicht nur Jugendlichen dabei helfen, falsche oder widersprüchliche Darstellungen besser einzuschätzen, um so am gesellschaftlichen Diskurs zum Thema Klimawandel teilhaben zu können. Um Aussagen über das Verständnis von zentralen fachlichen Inhalten zum Klimawandel zuverlässig treffen zu können, braucht es geeignete Testinstrumente. Für die Entwicklung eines Concept Inventories zu den naturwissenschaftlichen Grundlagen des Klimawandels (den wir CCCI-422 nennen) wurden zentrale fachliche Inhalte identifiziert, offene Aufgaben entwickelt und schließlich Distraktoren und Attraktoren aus insgesamt über 50 Interviews abgeleitet. Anschließend wurde der Concept Inventory in mehreren Pilotierungs- und Validierungsstudien eingesetzt, um so unterschiedliche Argumente, die für den Einsatz des CCCI-422 sprechen, zu sammeln. Es wurde etwa eine Teilstudie durchgeführt, um ein Argument für die externe Validität der Testwertinterpretation zu formulieren. Dabei zeigten sich theoretisch angenommene Unterschiede auch in den Personenfähigkeiten. In zwei weiteren Teilstudien konnten zusätzlich Argumente für die Instruktionssensitivität des Concept Inventories formuliert werden. Als Argument für die Konstruktvalidität lässt sich zudem auf Basis von Dimensionsanalysen eine eindimensionale sowie fünfdimensionale Struktur ableiten. Diese fünf Dimensionen entsprechen den fünf theoretisch abgeleiteten Inhaltsbereichen, wobei tendenziell Unterschied Wetter – Klima der leichteste und Atmosphäre unserer Erde der schwerste Inhaltsbereich sind. Wir plädieren daher dafür, dass der CCCI-422 abhängig vom Einsatzzweck als eindimensionaler oder fünfdimensionaler Concept Inventory genutzt werden kann. In diesem Beitrag wird der entwickelte Concept Inventory inklusive seinem Entstehungsprozess vorgestellt, der als Onlinematerial zur Nutzung zur Verfügung gestellt wird.
Modelling 3D dynamics of offshore lattice jib cranes by means of the rigid finite element method
Authors: Iwona Adamiec-Wójcik , Lucyna Brzozowska , Łukasz Drąg , Marek Metelski , Stanisław Wojciech
Published: May 2023

Offshore cranes require particularly careful design due to the difficult environmental conditions in which they work. This paper presents a 3D model of the dynamics of an offshore crane with a truss jib formulated by means of the rigid finite element method. The inertial features of the truss members are assigned to nodes whose rotational and translational displacements are degrees of freedom. Flexible features of the truss members are modelled by massless and dimensionless spring–damping elements (sde). The computer programme developed on the basis of the model is verified and validated, and good correspondence of the authors’ own results with those obtained using commercial FEM package is achieved. Computer simulations are carried out for the light crane used on the wind platforms. The influence of the base movements (sea waves) on the system are also investigated. Lifting a load from a supply vessel and the load on the system during rotational movement of the crane are simulated too. Finally, conclusions concerning the influence of the movement conditions on the overload coefficient and deflections of the crane boom are formulated.
Attention-based spatial–temporal multi-graph convolutional networks for casualty prediction of terrorist attacks
Authors: Hou Zhiwen , Zhou Yuchen , Wu Xiaowei , Bu Fanliang
Published: May 2023

At present, terrorism has become an important factor affecting world peace and development. As the time series data of terrorist attacks usually show a high degree of spatial–temporal correlation, the spatial–temporal prediction of casualties in terrorist attacks is still a significant challenge in the field of counter-terrorism. Most of the existing terrorist attack prediction methods lack the ability to model the spatial–temporal dynamic correlation of the time series data of terrorist attacks, so they cannot yield satisfactory prediction results. In this paper, we propose a novel Attention-based spatial–temporal multi-graph convolutional network (AST-MGCN) for casualty prediction of terrorist attacks. Specifically, we construct the spatial adjacency graph and spatial diffusion graph based on the different social-spatial dynamic relationships of terrorist attacks and determine the multi-scale period of time series data of terrorist attacks by using wavelet transform to model the temporal trend, period and closeness properties of terrorist attacks. The AST-MGCN mainly consists of spatial multi-graph convolution for extracting social-spatial features in multi-views and temporal convolution for capturing the transition rules. In addition, we also use the spatial–temporal attention mechanism to effectively capture the most relevant spatial–temporal dynamic information. Experiments on public datasets demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms the state-of-the-art baselines.
Introduction and Clinical Analyses of an Accelerometer-Based Mobile Gait Assessment to Evaluate Neuromotor Sequelae of Concussion in Adolescents and Adults
Authors: Lecci Len , Williams Mark , Dugan Kelly , Zeiger Ken , Laney Sophia , Bruin Christine , Cummings Pete , Keith Julian
Published: May 2023

A growing consensus among concussion experts is that a formal gait assessment is an essential component in return-to-play decisions. Concussion research illustrates that gait variables follow a pattern of recovery that may be more protracted than cognitive recovery, suggesting that gait dynamics may be more sensitive to the sequelae of concussion, and accelerometer data may enhance that sensitivity. However, pediatric neuropsychologists have few available options for quantitatively assessing gait. We here introduce a novel gait technology, the BioKinetoGraph (BKG), that provides multiple metrics for assessing gait, including within the domains of power, stride, balance (stability), and symmetry. We demonstrate how BKG data can be collected using a mobile application called SportGait, which is available for use on any smartphone. We present data illustrating the test–retest reliability of the mobile BKG in a sample of 4150 ostensibly healthy individuals, with an overall mean correlation coefficient of .79 between two walks across the assessed domains. We also provide quantitative and qualitative data to illustrate recovery, including a presentation of norm- and self-referenced comparisons. Additional recovery data is presented using qualitative information in the form of stabilogram and displacement graphs. Because the BKG is broadly available, reliable, valid, and does not require extensive or costly equipment (i.e., only requiring a mobile device and the App), it represents a significant advancement in quantifying gait in a wide range of settings.
Total Orderization Invariant Maps on Distributive Lattices
Authors: Schwanke Christopher Michael
Published: May 2023

Given any finite subset A of order n of a distributive lattice and $$k\in \{1,\ldots ,n\}$$

k
∈
{
1
,
…
,
n
}

, there is a natural extension of the median operation to n variables which generalizes the notion of the kth smallest element of A. By applying each of these operations to A, a totally ordered set to(A) is obtained. We refer to to(A) as the total orderization of A. After developing a brief theory of total orderization invariant maps on distributive lattices, it is shown in this paper how these functions generalize and provide new characterizations for symmetric continuous positively homogeneous functions, bounded orthosymmetric multilinear maps, and certain power sum polynomials on vector lattices. These theorems generalize several results by Bernau, Huijsmans, Kusraev, Azouzi, Boulabiar, Buskes, Boyd, Ryan, and Snigireva and in turn reveal novel properties of the various maps studied in this paper.
Effects of user factors on user experience in virtual reality: age, gender, and VR experience as influencing factors for VR exergames
Authors: Kojić Tanja , Spang Robert , Vergari Maurizio , Meier Luis , Möller Sebastian , Voigt-Antons Jan-Niklas
Published: May 2023

As virtual reality (VR) technology is extensively developing in past years, more and more people are using it in different fields. One of the fast-developing areas in VR is exergaming, a combination of physical exercise and a game. VR exergames that aim to engage people in physical activity should look and feel good for users regardless of their age, gender, or their previous VR experience with similar technologies. However, recent studies showed that those factors are influencing the user experience (UX) with virtual reality. Building on top of the initial study that has reported on the effect of human influencing factors for exergaming, with this work, we investigated the influence of user parameters (such as age, gender, and previous VR experience) on their motivation for sports and VR exergaming. The study was done using a crowdsourcing platform to recruit a diverse set of participants, with the aim to explore how different user factors are connected to sports motivation. Results show significant differences in the user’s sports motivation and affinity for technology interaction depending on the age group, gender, previous experience with VR, their weekly exercise routine, and how much money they spend on sports yearly.
On the homology language of HDA models of transition systems
Authors: Kahl Thomas
Published: May 2023

Given a transition system with an independence relation on the alphabet of labels, one can associate with it a usually very large symmetric higher-dimensional automaton. The purpose of this paper is to show that by choosing an acyclic relation whose symmetric closure is the given independence relation, it is possible to construct a much smaller nonsymmetric HDA with the same homology language.
Crusades, Christ, and Christmas
Authors: Strømmen Hannah M.
Published: May 2023

What is striking in the twenty years since 9/11 is not only the renewed attention to religion in the Western public sphere but the forms this attention has taken. Suspicion towards Islam has intensified. Narratives in which the West and Islam are conflicting and clashing entities have become entrenched. In Europe, anti-Muslim rhetoric has reached fever-pitch in far-right movements. What has gone largely unnoticed, however, is the Bible-use that can be found in the programmes, protests and proclamations of far-right groups and actors. The British far-right organisation Britain First fosters one example in recent years of such Bible-use. Far from accidental or negligible, I argue that contemporary far-right Bible-use may look banal and even benign, but it masks toxic and violent attitudes to Islam. This Bible-use demonstrates the way references to religion have come to replace overt references to race in the Islamophobic discourse of the far right. In a post-9/11 context, I contend, where forms of Islamophobia take extreme and mainstream form, it is crucial that biblical scholars identify the function the Bible has in stoking divisions and drawing distinctions between a Christian West and an Islamic other.
Semiconductor Multilayer Nanometrology with Machine Learning
Authors: Kwak Hyunsoo , Kim Jungwon
Published: May 2023

We review the measurement methods and thickness characterization algorithms of semiconductor multilayer devices. Today’s ultrahigh-density, high-energy-efficient three-dimensional semiconductor devices require an iterative semiconductor layer-stacking process. Accurate determination of nanometer-scale layer thickness is crucial for reliable semiconductor device fabrication. In this paper, we first review the commonly used semiconductor multilayer thickness measurement methods, including destructive and nondestructive measurement methods. Next, we review two approaches for thickness characterization: model-based algorithms using a physical interpretation of multilayer structures and a method using data-driven machine learning. With the growing importance of semiconductor multilayer devices, we anticipate that this study will help in selecting the most appropriate method for multilayer thickness characterization.
“Programming Is Not That Hard!” When a Science Center Visit Increases Young Women’s Programming Ability Beliefs
Authors: Tellhed Una , Björklund Fredrik , Kallio Strand Kalle , Schöttelndreier Karolin
Published: May 2023

To increase engagement with science and technology, young people around the world are encouraged to attend activities at science centers. But how effective are these activities? Since women have weaker ability beliefs and interest in technology than men, it is especially important to learn how science center visits affect them. In this study, we tested if programming exercises offered to middle school students by a Swedish science center would increase ability beliefs and interest in programming. Students in grades 8 and 9 (n = 506) completed a survey before and after visiting the science center, and their ratings were compared to a wait-list control group (n = 169). The students participated in block-based, text-based, and robot programming exercises developed by the science center. The results showed that programming ability beliefs increased for women, but not men, and that interest in programming decreased for men, but not women. The effects persisted at a follow-up (2–3 months). The young men reported stronger ability beliefs and interest than the young women at all timepoints. The results imply that science center activities can make programming feel less hard, but adaptations may be needed to also increase interest.
A Sociodemographic Analysis of the Impact of COVID-19-Related Schools’ Closure on the Diet and Physical Activity of Children and Adolescents in Qatar
Authors: Abed Alah Muna , Abdeen Sami , Selim Nagah , Tayar Elias , Al-Dahshan Ayman , Kehyayan Vahe , AlDahnaim Layla , Bougmiza Iheb
Published: May 2023

Objectives

To assess the impact of the COVID-19-related closure of government schools in Qatar on children and adolescents' dietary habits and physical activities and associated sociodemographic factors.

Methods

An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted between June and August 2022 utilizing the national electronic health records system in Qatar to extract a sampling frame of students enrolled in governmental schools, specifically targeting students in 3rd to 9th grades, stratified by sex and developmental stage. A stratified sampling technique was employed to randomly select a proportionate number of students from each stratum, and data were collected through telephone interviews with the parents of selected students.

Results

A total of 1546 interviews were completed by the end of the study. Of the included sample, 845 (54.7%) were between 8 and 11 years of age (middle childhood), while the rest were 12–15 years old (young teens and teenagers). Male to female ratio was almost 1:1. We found a significant decrease in the intake of vegetables, increases in the intake of soft drinks, fried food, fast food, and sweets, and a reduction in physical activity during schools’ closure compared to before. Higher parental educational levels, maternal employment, and having a positive family history of obesity and/or overweight in first-degree relatives were significantly associated with adverse lifestyle changes during schools’ closure.

Conclusion

The trends of lifestyle changes reported in this study during the periods of COVID-19-related schools’ closure were found to be going in a health-compromising direction. These results underscore the importance of implementing targeted interventions to promote healthy lifestyles during such disruptions and emphasize the need to address lifestyle changes beyond emergencies and outbreaks to mitigate potential long-term health consequences, including the increased risk of non-communicable diseases.
Star Noise: Discovering the Radio Universe
Authors: Kellermann Kenneth I. , Bouton Ellen N.
Published: May 2023

Until Karl Jansky's 1933 discovery of radio noise from the Milky Way, astronomy was limited to observation by visible light. Radio astronomy opened a new window on the Universe, leading to the discovery of quasars, pulsars, the cosmic microwave background, electrical storms on Jupiter, the first extrasolar planets, and many other unexpected and unanticipated phenomena. Theory generally played little or no role – or even pointed in the wrong direction. Some discoveries came as a result of military or industrial activities, some from academic research intended for other purposes, some from simply looking with a new technique. Often it was the right person, in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing – or sometimes the wrong thing. Star Noise tells the story of these discoveries, the men and women who made them, the circumstances which enabled them, and the surprising ways in which real-life scientific research works.
Nothing More than Freedom
Authors: Perrone Giuliana
Published: May 2023

Nothing More than Freedom explores the long and complex legal history of Black freedom in the United States. From the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 until the end of Reconstruction in 1877, supreme courts in former slave states decided approximately 700 lawsuits associated with the struggle for Black freedom and equal citizenship. This litigation – the majority through private law – triggered questions about American liberty and reassessed the nation's legal and political order following the Civil War. Judicial decisions set the terms of debates about racial identity, civil rights, and national belonging, and established that slavery, as a legal institution and social practice, remained actionable in American law well after its ostensible demise. The verdicts determined how unresolved facets of slavery would undercut ongoing efforts for abolition and the realization of equality. Insightful and compelling, this work makes an important intervention in the history of post-Civil War law.
Romantic Fiction and Literary Excess in the Minerva Press Era
Authors: Hudson Hannah Doherty
Published: May 2023

Jane Austen's ironic reference to 'the trash with which the press now groans' is only one of innumerable Romantic complaints about fiction's newly overwhelming presence. This book draws on evidence from over one hundred Romantic novels to explore the changes in publishing, reviewing, reading, and writing that accompanied the unprecedented growth in novel publication during the Romantic period. With particular focus on the infamous Minerva Press, the most prolific fiction-producer of the age, Hannah Hudson puts its popular authors in dialogue with writers such as Walter Scott, Ann Radcliffe, Maria Edgeworth, and William Godwin. Using paratextual materials including reviews, advertisements, and authorial prefaces, this book establishes the ubiquity of Romantic anxieties about literary 'excess', showing how beliefs about fictional overproduction created new literary hierarchies. Ultimately, Hudson argues that this so-called excess was a driving force in fictional experimentation and the advertising and publication practices that shaped the genre's reception. This title is part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.
Digital Globalization
Authors: Weymouth Stephen
Published: May 2023

Digital technologies are reshaping the global economy and complicating cooperation over its governance. Innovations in technology and business propel a new, digitally-driven phase of globalization defined by the expansion of cross-border information flows that is provoking political conflict and policy discord. This Element argues that the activities of digital value chains (DVCs), the central economic actors in digital globalization, complicate international economic relations. DVC activities can erode individual privacy, shift tax burdens, and cement monopoly positions. These outcomes generate a new politics of globalization, and governments are responding with increasing restrictions on cross-border data flows. This monograph: 1) explains the new sources of political division stemming from digital globalization; 2) documents policy barriers to digital trade; 3) presents a framework to explain digital trade barriers across countries; and 4) assesses the prospects for international cooperation on digital governance, which requires countries move beyond coordinated liberalization and toward coordinated regulation.
Escribir la Catalanidad
Authors: King Stewart
Published: May 2023

This study explores the interaction of language, culture and identity in contemporary Catalonia and rejects the exclusion of Castilian as a language capable of expressing 'Catalan-ness'.
The Problem of Woman in Late-Medieval Hispanic Literature
Authors: Archer Robert
Published: May 2023

This book argues that the problem of gender identity is vital to the large corpus of medieval Hispanic texts that discuss the nature of women.
Marie de France
Authors: Burgess Glyn S.
Published: May 2023

A listing of the latest publications on Marie de France.
Real-world experience with cefiderocol therapy for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other multidrug resistant gram-negative infections within the Veterans Health Administration, 2019–2022
Authors: Chou Andrew , Ramsey David , Amenta Eva , Trautner Barbara W.
Published: May 2023

Objective:

Single-center and regional studies have reported outcomes after treatment with cefiderocol, a novel siderophore cephalosporin. We report on real-world use, clinical outcomes, and microbiological outcomes with cefiderocol therapy within the Veterans’ Health Administration (VHA).

Design:

Prospective, observational descriptive study.

Setting:

Veterans’ Health Administration, 132 sites across the United States, during 2019–2022.

Patients:

This study included patients admitted to any VHA medical center who received cefiderocol for ≥2 days.

Methods:

Data were obtained from the VHA Corporate Data Warehouse and through manual chart review. We extracted clinical and microbiologic characteristics and outcomes.

Results:

In total, 8,763,652 patients received 1,142,940,842 prescriptions during the study period. Of these, 48 unique individuals received cefiderocol. The median age of this cohort was 70.5 years (IQR, 60.5–74), and the median Charlson comorbidity score was 6 (IQR, 3–9). The most common infectious syndromes were lower respiratory tract infection in 23 patients (47.9%) and urinary tract infection in 14 patients (29.2%). The most common pathogen cultured was P. aeruginosa in 30 patients (62.5%). The clinical failure rate was 35.4% (17 of 48), and 15 (88.2%) of these 17 patients died within 3 days of clinical failure. The 30-day and 90-day all-cause mortality rates were 27.1% (13 of 48) and 45.8% (22 of 48), respectively. The 30-day and 90-day microbiologic failure rates were 29.2% (14 of 48) and 41.7% (20 of 48), respectively.

Conclusions:

In this nationwide VHA cohort clinical and microbiologic failure occurred in >30% of patients treated with cefiderocol, and >40% of these died within 90 days. Cefiderocol is not widely used, and many of the patients who received it had substantial comorbidities.
Superscars for arithmetic point scatters II
Authors: Kurlberg Pär , Lester Stephen , Rosenzweig Lior
Published: May 2023

We consider momentum push-forwards of measures arising as quantum limits (semiclassical measures) of eigenfunctions of a point scatterer on the standard flat torus

${\mathbb T}^2 = {\mathbb R}^2/{\mathbb Z}^{2}$

. Given any probability measure arising by placing delta masses, with equal weights, on

${\mathbb Z}^2$

-lattice points on circles and projecting to the unit circle, we show that the mass of certain subsequences of eigenfunctions, in momentum space, completely localizes on that measure and are completely delocalized in position (i.e., concentration on Lagrangian states). We also show that the mass, in momentum, can fully localize on more exotic measures, for example, singular continuous ones with support on Cantor sets. Further, we can give examples of quantum limits that are certain convex combinations of such measures, in particular showing that the set of quantum limits is richer than the ones arising only from weak limits of lattice points on circles. The proofs exploit features of the half-dimensional sieve and behavior of multiplicative functions in short intervals, enabling precise control of the location of perturbed eigenvalues.