bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Public Health Response to COVID-19 in the UK: A View from the Frontline
Authors: Misra Tania Nayar
Published: August 2023

The author charts the experience of working on the frontline public health response during the pandemic. The UK’s initial public health response to the pandemic comprised a delayed lockdown, shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), insufficient testing capacity, and ambivalence about mask wearing. The pandemic’s first wave ravaged the health and care sectors. Subsequently, with experience and tight testing regimes, management of COVID-19 in the care sector was improved enormously. Hospitals reduced their workload to a bare minimum initially, followed by designing separate pathways to facilitate elective work, underpinned by testing and infection control. In addition to the elderly and frail, those on the fringes of society—for example, homeless, refugees, asylum seekers, and prison populations experienced high rates of infection and mortality. Nation-wide restrictions on movement were propped by an economic support program. The new school year in 2020 began amid rising cases, as people struggled to interpret confusing policies. Workplaces did not emerge from remote working till mid-2021 and remain a hub of infection transmission. The tussle between maintaining economic activity and education versus preventing the spread of cases continues, while the focus of the public health response moves to high vaccination coverage, rapid testing, and responding robustly to emerging variants of concern.
Social and Behavior Change Preparedness for COVID-19 Prevention: Evidence and Experience from Ethiopia
Authors: Kapadia-Kundu Nandita , Tamene Habtamu , Lakew Yihunie , Velu Sanjanthi , Stauffer Paula , Heliso Simon , Alemu Betemariam
Published: August 2023

The chapter focuses on three crucial elements of social and behavior change (SBC) preparedness within the realm of risk communication. The first section of the chapter describes how to implement a systematic first response to a new epidemic or outbreak. The World Health Organization (WHO)/The Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) framework provides a comprehensive structure to operationalize the immediate national level response for SBC. Ethiopia’s first response was well coordinated and planned, and importantly, started before the detection of the first COVID-19 case in the country. The second section of the chapter provides pooled estimates of COVID-19 prevention behaviors in the country which show a pattern of uneven adoption. The need to develop strategic SBC approaches for both behavior change and behavior maintenance is highlighted. Finally, the third section of the chapter deals with the mental health context during the pandemic in Ethiopia. We propose an integration of community-based mental health support with SBC preparedness activities.

The chapter conducts a meta-analysis of peer reviewed literature on three COVID-19 preventive behaviors and on the huge mental burden borne by Ethiopians during the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidelines for practice provided in the chapter are globally applicable. We hope that Ethiopia’s collective experience results in better success in the global fight against COVID-19.
COVID-19 and the Indian Economy: Constructing Roadmaps to an Inclusive Recovery
Authors: Nikore Mitali , Mehta Charmi , Kanikar Akshay
Published: August 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven the highest share of economies into recession in modern times and is expected to bring about the largest contraction in global GDP per capita since World War II. The uncertainty it has spawned is driving governments and institutions into a conundrum, as they are tasked with charting out a course for recovery is immense. While India’s GDP contracted 7.3% in FY 2020–21, COVID-19 deepened and exposed the fault lines of the economy. The authors highlight the phase of slowdown in India prior to the pandemic and how COVID-19-related lockdowns reinforced the slowdown. They demonstrate historical trends for a set of indicators for three sectors: agriculture, manufacturing, and services and display the extent of damage that the pandemic induced economic slowdown caused while also identifying underlying factors that existed pre-COVID. Finally, the authors present a macro-economic outlook covering trends and linkages across demand drivers, employment, and investment. They conclude with a roadmap for inclusive growth advocating strategies that seek to advance equality of access, sustainability of resources, and state capacity for governance.
COVID-19 Vaccination: A Necessitated Drive Becoming an Unsolved Puzzle
Authors: Pathak Drishya
Published: August 2023

The scientific community has achieved a remarkable feat by developing COVID-19 vaccines in a record duration of 12 months. The fastest vaccine developed and deployed previously was within a time-frame of four years, to prevent mumps in the 1960s. The speedy approach to prevent SARS-CoV-2 has changed the future of vaccine science with several vaccines showing excellent results in large trials. The COVID-19 vaccination strategy is of crucial importance for controlling the pandemic. As the vaccination mandate was faster than information dissemination, and even faster than the clinical trial results in some regions, numerous challenges emerged during the implementation of the vaccination strategy. The author discusses the objectives of the vaccination drive that include: reduction of overall COVID-19 severity and mortality; re-opening of society; disease elimination; reduction of pressure on the healthcare system; and equitable distribution of vaccines across all regions of the globe. While reflecting on these objectives, the author discusses the importance of transparency in vaccination surveillance data and the way forward.
Crosstalk between glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors boosts glucocorticoid-induced killing of multiple myeloma cells
Authors: Clarisse Dorien , Prekovic Stefan , Vlummens Philip , Staessens Eleni , Van Wesemael Karlien , Thommis Jonathan , Fijalkowska Daria , Acke Guillaume , Zwart Wilbert , Beck Ilse M. , Offner Fritz , De Bosscher Karolien
Published: August 2023

The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is a crucial drug target in multiple myeloma as its activation with glucocorticoids effectively triggers myeloma cell death. However, as high-dose glucocorticoids are also associated with deleterious side effects, novel approaches are urgently needed to improve GR action in myeloma. Here, we reveal a functional crosstalk between GR and the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) that plays a role in improved myeloma cell killing. We show that the GR agonist dexamethasone (Dex) downregulates MR levels in a GR-dependent way in myeloma cells. Co-treatment of Dex with the MR antagonist spironolactone (Spi) enhances Dex-induced cell killing in primary, newly diagnosed GC-sensitive myeloma cells. In a relapsed GC-resistant setting, Spi alone induces distinct myeloma cell killing. On a mechanistic level, we find that a GR–MR crosstalk likely arises from an endogenous interaction between GR and MR in myeloma cells. Quantitative dimerization assays show that Spi reduces Dex-induced GR–MR heterodimerization and completely abolishes Dex-induced MR–MR homodimerization, while leaving GR–GR homodimerization intact. Unbiased transcriptomics analyses reveal that c-myc and many of its target genes are downregulated most by combined Dex-Spi treatment. Proteomics analyses further identify that several metabolic hallmarks are modulated most by this combination treatment. Finally, we identified a subset of Dex-Spi downregulated genes and proteins that may predict prognosis in the CoMMpass myeloma patient cohort. Our study demonstrates that GR–MR crosstalk is therapeutically relevant in myeloma as it provides novel strategies for glucocorticoid-based dose-reduction.
The effects of limited exhaustibility of knowledge and geographical distance on the quality of R&D collaborations: The European evidence 2000–2012
Authors: Pialli Guido
Published: August 2023

Much evidence exists of the increasing levels of research cooperation and globalization in the knowledge generation process. This paper aims to assess the determinants of the quality of research collaborations, using a sample of joint patent applications to the European Patent Office between 2000 and 2012. The results of the empirical analysis show that the limited exhaustibility of knowledge and the geographical distance among research partners are crucial determinants of research quality. Specifically, the non-exhaustible character of knowledge and cross-border knowledge creation enhance patent quality. Moreover, the distance among research partners exerts a curvilinear effect, as the quality of innovation increases when partners are either in spatial proximity or distant among each other.
Sprague Dawley rats from different vendors vary in the modulation of prepulse inhibition of startle (PPI) by dopamine, acetylcholine, and glutamate drugs
Authors: Caine S.B. , Plant S. , Furbish K. , Yerton M. , Smaragdi E. , Niclou B. , Lorusso J.M. , Chang J.Y. , Bitter C. , Basu A. , Miller S. , Huang C.-Y. , Komson R. , Liu D. , Behar S. , Thomsen M.
Published: August 2023

Rationale

Rodent vendors are often utilized interchangeably, assuming that the phenotype of a given strain remains standardized between colonies. Several studies, however, have found significant behavioral and physiological differences between Sprague Dawley (SD) rats from separate vendors. Prepulse inhibition of startle (PPI), a form of sensorimotor gating in which a low-intensity leading stimulus reduces the startle response to a subsequent stimulus, may also vary by vendor. Differences in PPI between rat strains are well known, but divergence between colonies within the SD strain lacks thorough examination.

Objectives

We explored intrastrain variation in PPI by testing SD rats from two vendors: Envigo and Charles River (CR).

Methods

We selected drugs acting on four major neurotransmitter systems that have been repeatedly shown to modulate PPI: dopamine (apomorphine; 0.5, 1.5, 3.0 mg/kg), acetylcholine (scopolamine; 0.1, 0.5, 1.0 mg/kg), glutamate (dizocilpine; 0.5, 1.5, 2.5 mg/kg), and serotonin (2,5-Dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine, DOI; 0.25, 0.5, 1.0 mg/kg). We determined PPI and startle amplitude for each drug in male and female Envigo and CR SD rats.

Results

SD rats from Envigo showed dose-dependent decreases in PPI after apomorphine, scopolamine, or dizocilpine administration, without significant effects on startle amplitude. SD rats from CR were less sensitive to modulation of PPI and/or more sensitive to modulation of startle amplitude, across the three drugs.

Conclusions

SD rats showed vendor differences in sensitivity to pharmacological modulation of PPI and startle. We encourage researchers to sample rats from separate vendors before experimentation to identify the most suited source of subjects for their specific endpoints.
Development and validation of two analytical strategies for the determination of glucosides of acidic herbicides in cereals and oilseed matrices
Authors: Aloisi Ivan , Mol Hans
Published: August 2023

The aim of the present research was the development and validation of a selective and reliable method for the indirect and direct determination of acidic herbicide glucosides. Enzymatic deconjugation was investigated as a mild alternative to harsh alkaline hydrolysis. Various enzymatic options for deconjugation were exploited. One out of nine tested specific enzymes proved to be practical and repeatable for different matrices and concentration ranges, leading to the complete deconjugation of the glucosides. The method was validated according to the SANTE/11312/2021 guideline for cereals and oilseeds and for a rice-based infant formula. Additionally, for four acidic herbicide glucosides available on the market, a quantitative method for direct determination of the intact glucosides was optimized and validated. In both methods, the average recoveries were within 70–120%. The limits of quantification (LOQ) achieved were 10 µg kg−1 and 2.5 µg kg−1 for the intact glucosides and the free acids in cereal and oilseeds. For the rice-based infant formula, the LOQ was 1 µg kg−1 (3 µg kg−1 for dichlorprop). To confirm its applicability, the deconjugation approach was tested for fifteen samples (cereals, oilseeds, and citrus) with incurred residues. Comparisons were made between the method without deconjugation, and two methods with deconjugation, the here proposed enzymatic deconjugation and the more commonly used alkaline hydrolysis. The inclusion of enzymatic deconjugation during sample preparation led to an increase up to 2.7-fold compared to analysis without deconjugation. Enzymatic deconjugation resulted in comparable results to alkaline hydrolysis for 13 out of 15 samples.

Graphical Abstract
Rivaroxaban attenuates neutrophil maturation in the bone marrow niche
Authors: Schneckmann R. , Döring M. , Gerfer S. , Gorressen S. , Heitmeier S. , Helten C. , Polzin A. , Jung C. , Kelm M. , Fender A. C. , Flögel U. , Grandoch M.
Published: August 2023

Pharmacological inhibition of factor Xa by rivaroxaban has been shown to mediate cardioprotection and is frequently used in patients with, e.g., atrial fibrillation. Rivaroxaban's anti-inflammatory actions are well known, but the underlying mechanisms are still incompletely understood. To date, no study has focused on the effects of rivaroxaban on the bone marrow (BM), despite growing evidence that the BM and its activation are of major importance in the development/progression of cardiovascular disease. Thus, we examined the impact of rivaroxaban on BM composition under homeostatic conditions and in response to a major cardiovascular event. Rivaroxaban treatment of mice for 7 days markedly diminished mature leukocytes in the BM. While apoptosis of BM-derived mature myeloid leukocytes was unaffected, lineage-negative BM cells exhibited a differentiation arrest at the level of granulocyte–monocyte progenitors, specifically affecting neutrophil maturation via downregulation of the transcription factors Spi1 and Csfr1. To assess whether this persists also in situations of increased leukocyte demand, mice were subjected to cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury (I/R): 7 d pretreatment with rivaroxaban led to reduced cardiac inflammation 72 h after I/R and lowered circulating leukocyte numbers. However, BM myelopoiesis showed a rescue of the leukocyte differentiation arrest, indicating that rivaroxaban's inhibitory effects are restricted to homeostatic conditions and are mainly abolished during emergency hematopoiesis. In translation, ST-elevation MI patients treated with rivaroxaban also exhibited reduced circulating leukocyte numbers. In conclusion, we demonstrate that rivaroxaban attenuates neutrophil maturation in the BM, which may offer a therapeutic option to limit overshooting of the immune response after I/R.
Neuronal tau pathology worsens late-phase white matter degeneration after traumatic brain injury in transgenic mice
Authors: Yu Fengshan , Iacono Diego , Perl Daniel P. , Lai Chen , Gill Jessica , Le Tuan Q. , Lee Patricia , Sukumar Gauthaman , Armstrong Regina C.
Published: August 2023

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) causes diffuse axonal injury which can produce chronic white matter pathology and subsequent post-traumatic neurodegeneration with poor patient outcomes. Tau modulates axon cytoskeletal functions and undergoes phosphorylation and mis-localization in neurodegenerative disorders. The effects of tau pathology on neurodegeneration after TBI are unclear. We used mice with neuronal expression of human mutant tau to examine effects of pathological tau on white matter pathology after TBI. Adult male and female hTau.P301S (Tg2541) transgenic and wild-type (Wt) mice received either moderate single TBI (s-TBI) or repetitive mild TBI (r-mTBI; once daily × 5), or sham procedures. Acutely, s-TBI produced more extensive axon damage in the corpus callosum (CC) as compared to r-mTBI. After s-TBI, significant CC thinning was present at 6 weeks and 4 months post-injury in Wt and transgenic mice, with homozygous tau expression producing additional pathology of late demyelination. In contrast, r-mTBI did not produce significant CC thinning except at the chronic time point of 4 months in homozygous mice, which exhibited significant CC atrophy (− 29.7%) with increased microgliosis. Serum neurofilament light quantification detected traumatic axonal injury at 1 day post-TBI in Wt and homozygous mice. At 4 months, high tau and neurofilament in homozygous mice implicated tau in chronic axon pathology. These findings did not have sex differences detected. Conclusions: Neuronal tau pathology differentially exacerbated CC pathology based on injury severity and chronicity. Ongoing CC atrophy from s-TBI became accompanied by late demyelination. Pathological tau significantly worsened CC atrophy during the chronic phase after r-mTBI.
Long-term health-related quality of life in patients with advanced esophagogastric cancer receiving first-line systemic therapy
Authors: Pape Marieke , Vissers Pauline A. J. , Slingerland Marije , Haj Mohammad Nadia , van Rossum Peter S. N. , Verhoeven Rob H. A. , van Laarhoven Hanneke W. M. ,   on behalf of the Dutch Upper GI Cancer Group (DUCG)
Published: August 2023

Purpose

To investigate the effect of systemic therapy on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with advanced esophagogastric cancer in daily clinical practice. This study assessed the HRQoL of patients with esophagogastric cancer during first-line systemic therapy, at disease progression, and after progression in a real-world context.

Methods

Patients with advanced esophagogastric cancer (2014–2021) receiving first-line systemic therapy registered in the Prospective Observational Cohort Study of Oesophageal-gastric cancer (POCOP) were included (n = 335). HRQoL was measured with the EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-OG25. Outcomes of mixed-effects models were presented as adjusted mean changes.

Results

Results of the mixed-effect models showed the largest significant improvements during systemic therapy for odynophagia (− 18.9, p < 0.001), anxiety (− 18.7, p < 0.001), and dysphagia (− 13.8, p < 0.001) compared to baseline. After progression, global health status (− 6.3, p = 0.002) and cognitive (− 6.2, p = 0.001) and social functioning (− 9.7, p < 0.001) significantly worsened. At and after progression, physical (− 9.0, p < 0.001 and − 8.8, p < 0.001) and role functioning (− 15.2, p = 0.003 and − 14.7, p < 0.001) worsened, respectively. Trouble with taste worsened during systemic therapy (11.5, p < 0.001), at progression (12.0, p = 0.004), and after progression (15.3, p < 0.001).

Conclusion

In general, HRQoL outcomes in patients with advanced esophagogastric cancer improved during first-line therapy. Deterioration in outcomes was mainly observed at and after progression.

Implications for cancer survivors

Identification of HRQoL aspects is important in shared decision-making and to inform patients on the impact of systemic therapy on their HRQoL.
ACRE: Actor-Critic with Reward-Preserving Exploration
Authors: Kapoutsis Athanasios Ch. , Koutras Dimitrios I. , Korkas Christos D. , Kosmatopoulos Elias B.
Published: August 2023

While reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms have generated impressive strategies for a wide range of tasks, the performance improvements in continuous-domain, real-world problems do not follow the same trend. Poor exploration and quick convergence to locally optimal solutions play a dominant role. Advanced RL algorithms attempt to mitigate this issue by introducing exploration signals during the training procedure. This successful integration has paved the way to introduce signals from the intrinsic exploration branch. ACRE algorithm is a framework that concretely describes the conditions for such an integration, avoiding transforming the Markov decision process into time varying, and as a result, making the whole optimization scheme brittle and susceptible to instability. The key distinction of ACRE lies in the way of handling and storing both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. ACRE is an off-policy, actor-critic style RL algorithm that separately approximates the forward novelty return. ACRE is shipped with a Gaussian mixture model to calculate the instantaneous novelty; however, different options could also be integrated. Using such an effective early exploration, ACRE results in substantial improvements over alternative RL methods, in a range of continuous control RL environments, such as learning from policy-misleading reward signals. Open-source implementation is available here: https://github.com/athakapo/ACRE.
Productivity Decline Mechanisms in Gravel Packed Perforations
Authors: Berntsen Andreas Nicolas , Papamichos Euripides , Xie Xiyang , Li Gang , Yao Ziheng
Published: August 2023

In a cased hole gravel pack completion, perforations are packed with proppant to both mechanically support the perforation cavity, and to filter any produced sand before it reaches the surface. Poor perforation packing sometimes occurs in which the perforation is partially or completely unsupported, leading to earlier productivity reduction than in cases of good packing. We investigated productivity reduction and the associated mechanisms in a series of hollow cylinder experiments on outcrop and field cores with varying proppant packing. Packed perforations maintained significantly higher productivity than unsupported perforations by preventing macroscopic shear failure around the cavity and erosion due to sand production. Partial packing may in some instances maintain productivity almost as well as complete packing, but this likely depends on perforation orientation. Compaction tests and numerical simulations suggest that compaction failure is unlikely at the cavity wall in the current experiments, and that proppant-formation interface damage or proppant filtering of produced sand are more probable explanations for the productivity reduction seen in packed perforations.
Clinical, epidemiological, and genotypic characteristics of rotavirus infection in hospitalized infants and young children in Yunnan Province
Authors: Jiang Hongjun , Zhang Yu , Xu Xiaoyan , Li Xiaohan , Sun Yi , Fan Xin , Xu Ya , Su Ting , Zhang Guiqian , Dian Ziqin
Published: August 2023

Rotaviruses are the most important pathogenic cause of non-bacterial diarrhea in infants and children. Approximately 60% of hospital admissions for acute diarrhea worldwide are caused by rotavirus infection. Rotavirus infection and hospitalization among children in China are a social burden, resulting in economic loss. The prevalence and geographical distribution of rotavirus genotypes is variable, partially due to population migration. Due to the unique geographical conditions and climate in Yunnan Province, several viruses with new genotypes have emerged, and multiple genotypes have become co-epidemic. In this study, rotavirus infection screening and genetic characterization of epidemic strains were performed in 149,492 infants and children admitted to hospitals in six representative prefectures in Yunnan Province between 2019 and 2021. The prevalence of rotavirus infection was 13.39% and was highest in January and lowest in September. G9P[8] was the main epidemic rotavirus genotype. Other epidemic genotypes included G2P[4], G8P[8], G9P[4], G2P[8], G3P[8], G4P[8], G3P[4], and G4P[6]. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that locally epidemic strains were influenced by importation of strains from neighboring provinces and other Asian countries. These findings provide a scientific basis for rotavirus prevention and control and lay a foundation for preliminary studies to establish a rotavirus surveillance network in Yunnan Province.
Exploring the Frequency and Distribution of Ecological Non-monotonicity in Associations among Ecosystem Constituents
Authors: Hanusch Maximilian , He Xie , Janssen Stefan , Selke Julian , Trutschnig Wolfgang , Junker Robert R.
Published: August 2023

Complex links between biotic and abiotic constituents are fundamental for the functioning of ecosystems. Although non-monotonic interactions and associations are known to increase the stability, diversity, and productivity of ecosystems, they are frequently ignored by community-level standard statistical approaches. Using the copula-based dependence measure qad, capable of quantifying the directed and asymmetric dependence between variables for all forms of (functional) relationships, we determined the proportion of non-monotonic associations between different constituents of an ecosystem (plants, bacteria, fungi, and environmental parameters). Here, we show that up to 59% of all statistically significant associations are non-monotonic. Further, we show that pairwise associations between plants, bacteria, fungi, and environmental parameters are specifically characterized by their strength and degree of monotonicity, for example, microbe–microbe associations are on average stronger than and differ in degree of non-monotonicity from plant–microbe associations. Considering directed and non-monotonic associations, we extended the concept of ecosystem coupling providing more complete insights into the internal order of ecosystems. Our results emphasize the importance of ecological non-monotonicity in characterizing and understanding ecosystem patterns and processes.
Comprehensive fully-automatic multi-depth grading of the clinical types of macular neovascularization in OCTA images
Authors: Vidal Plácido L. , de Moura Joaquim , Almuiña Pablo , Fernández María Isabel , Ortega Marcos , Novo Jorge
Published: August 2023

Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography or OCTA represents one of the main means of diagnosis of Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in developed countries. This eye disease is characterized by Macular Neovascularization (MNV), the formation of vessels that tear through the retinal tissues. Four types of MNV can be distinguished, each representing different levels of severity. Both the aggressiveness of the treatment and the recovery of the patient rely on an early detection and correct diagnosis of the stage of the disease. In this work, we propose the first fully-automatic grading methodology that considers all the four clinical types of MNV at the three most relevant OCTA scanning depths for the diagnosis of AMD. We perform both a comprehensive ablation study on the contribution of said depths and an analysis of the attention maps of the network in collaboration with experts of the domain. Our proposal aims to ease the diagnosis burden and decrease the influence of subjectivity on it, offering a explainable grading through the visualization of the attention of the expert models. Our grading proposal achieved satisfactory results with an AUC of 0.9224 ± 0.0381. Additionally, the qualitative analysis performed in collaboration with experts revealed the relevance of the avascular plexus in the grading of all three types of MNV (despite not being directly involved in some of them). Thus, our proposal is not only able to robustly detect MNV in complex scenarios, but also aided to discover previously unconsidered relationships between plexuses.
A green approach for depolymerization of chitosan: applications in hydrogels
Authors: Tabassum Nishat , Ahmed Shoeb , Ittisaf Mohammad Muhtasim , Rakid-Ul-Haque Md. , Ali M. Azam
Published: August 2023

Chitooligosaccharides (COS) are depolymerized chains produced from the natural polymer chitosan and has been determined to exhibit improved biological activities, high solubility in neutral to slightly alkaline pH, because of the lower molecular weight (MW). This makes COS more attractive in biomedical applications. However, earlier studies focused on depolymerization techniques that were either cumbersome or expensive. Here, a convenient two-stage, green synthesis approach was developed and optimized, where gamma irradiation and oxidative degradation with H2O2 were used to depolymerize chitosan to produce COS for biomedical applications. The gamma radiation dose level, H2O2 degradation reaction’s temperature, time and H2O2 concentration were varied to obtain the mildest combination of reaction conditions. The most optimum set of conditions (15 kGy, 25oC, overnight reaction with 2% H2O2) yielded COS that was soluble in physiological pH range (7–8.5). The COS had a MW of 12.8 ± 1.6 kDa (which was a 95% reduction in MW), a 62.3% degree of deacetylation, and a crystallinity index of 33%. A photopolymerized hydrogel using this COS cross-linked with polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was also developed. The hydrogel exhibited high swelling ratio (6.44–10.24), a porous morphology, a compression modulus of 4.5 ± 2.7 kPa (similar to soft tissues), and more than 95% biocompatibility with mammalian cells. This newly developed COS hydrogel involves a simple and green approach for the production of COS and shows promise as a scaffold for artificial soft tissue.
Learning from Other Communities: Organising Collective Action in a Grassroots Food-sharing Initiative
Authors: Berns Katie , Rossitto Chiara , Tholander Jakob
Published: August 2023

This paper illustrates the work of creating, infrastructuring, and organising a food-sharing community from the ground up. Drawing on Participatory Action Research (PAR) and a three-year engagement with FoodSharing Stockholm, the paper shows how the processes of starting up a grassroots initiative are shaped by participants’ direct experience and knowledge of similar initiatives. The analysis draws attention to: (1) how central activities such as recruiting volunteers, choosing digital tools, and establishing partnerships with food donors are conceived and organised, (2) the concrete challenges of sharing surplus food, such as adopting a distribution model, and negotiating fairness, and (3) how governance and decision-making models are adopted and (re)negotiated over time. The paper introduces the term Collective histories of organising to capture the impact that learning from previous experiences can have on communities’ efforts to set up and run; and re-orient design visions towards the consideration and adoption of existing sociotechnical practices, rather than always aiming at novel digital explorations. We outline three emerging dimensions that can characterise “Collective histories of organising” as a concept, (1) configuring capacities, (2) configuring sociotechnical practices, and (3) configuring participation. The paper contributes practical sensitivities to build, sustain, and infrastructure surplus food-sharing initiatives, where these three dimensions are discussed as central concerns designers and other food-sharing communities could learn from.
Insights into the life-cycle development of Meloidogyne enterolobii, M. incognita and M. javanica on tomato, soybean and maize
Authors: Collett Raymond Lesley , Rashidifard Milad , Marais Mariette , Daneel Mieke , Fourie Hendrika
Published: August 2023

Meloidogyne enterolobii is a highly pathogenic nematode species that renders host plant resistance ineffective that exists for other species. The life-cycle development and duration of three Meloidogyne species, viz. M. enterolobii, M. incognita and M. javanica was determined in roots of three crops: tomato (‘Moneymaker’), soybean (‘DM-5953-RSF’) and maize (‘P-2432-R’) under glasshouse conditions. At different time intervals, 3-, 5-, 10-, 15-, 20-, and 25-days after inoculation (DAI), 20 randomly selected individuals, representing different life-stages of each species, were isolated from roots. Meloidogyne enterolobii had a quicker life cycle development compared to the other two species. Mature females were observed 15 DAI for all three species, but single eggs of M. enterolobii were present at 15 DAI opposed to egg masses only found 20 and 25 DAI for the other two species. Second generation motile J2 were observed for M. enterolobii and M. javanica from 20 DAI and at 25 DAI for M. incognita. Substantially less degree days (DD) were recorded for M. enterolobii being 216 for tomato, 195 for soybean and 232 for maize; for M. incognita it was 292 for tomato, 264 for soybean and 314 for maize; and for M. javanica it was 276 for tomato, 248 for soybean and 298 for maize. The use of genotypes with shorter growing periods is suggested to reduce the number of generations of M. enterolobii which is foreseen to potentially result in lower population densities and less crop damage.
Influence of Isomeric Composition and Sample Handling on the Liquid Density of Hydrofluorethers Measured by Vibrating Tube Densimeter at 0.1 MPa
Authors: Prokopová Olga , Blahut Aleš , Hajduch Jan , Kučnirová Kateřina , Čenský Miroslav , Aminian Ali , Richter Markus , Vinš Václav
Published: August 2023

Hydrofluoroethers (HFEs) represent a new family of promising engineering fluids suitable for technical cleaning and cooling of electronic and magnetic devices or as admixtures in refrigerant blends. Here, we report accurate data for the liquid density at 0.1 MPa and temperatures from $$273.15\,\text{K}$$

273.15

K

to $$343.15\,\text{K}$$

343.15

K

for a series of five HFEs, namely, HFE-7000, HFE-7100, HFE-7200, HFE-7300, and HFE-7500. A highly sensitive vibrating tube densimeter with a borosilicate glass U-tube calibrated according to the procedure by Prokopová et al. (J Chem Thermodyn 173:106855, 2022) provided density data with an expanded uncertainty ($$k=2$$

k
=
2

) of $$0.13\,\text{kg}\cdot \text{m}^{-3}$$

0.13

kg
·

m

-
3

. Influences such as sample degassing, water content, or sample temperature before its dosing into the densimeter are discussed. Thanks to the high sensitivity of the used densimeter, an unexpected shift in the density of different HFE-7100 and HFE-7200 liquid samples was detected. Unlike other HFEs, HFE-7100 and HFE-7200 are mixtures of two hardly separable isomers, which were so far considered having identical thermophysical properties. Utilizing nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the ratio of n-isomer and iso-isomer was inspected for various liquid samples. In the range of iso-isomer mole fraction from 0.61 to 0.77, the new measurements revealed density differences of more than $$5\,\text{kg}\cdot \text{m}^{-3}$$

5

kg
·

m

-
3

in case of HFE-7100 and of about $$3\,\text{kg}\cdot \text{m}^{-3}$$

3

kg
·

m

-
3

in case of HFE-7200. Consequently, for some applications, the properties of different HFE isomers cannot be considered identical. The Rackett-type correlation for the saturated liquid density was fitted using the new and the literature data.
Kuroshio water intrusion into the subarctic region in the western North Pacific Ocean and analyses of the Lagrangian coherent structure
Authors: Matsuta Takuro , Mitsudera Humio
Published: August 2023

Previous studies have suggested that the quasi-stationary jets, sometimes called the “Isoguchi jets” in the western North Pacific Ocean, regulate the warm and salty conditions in the transition domain between the Subarctic Boundary and the Subarctic Front. Here, we show that mesoscale eddies and interannual/decadal modulations are responsible for the Kuroshio water intrusion into the transition domain. A case study using the Lagrangian coherent structure suggests that the northward shift of the Kuroshio Extension forms a favorable velocity field for the Kuroshio water intrusion around the Subarctic Boundary, while the geometric structure inside the Isoguchi jet is quasi-permanent.
Improving concave point detection to better segment overlapped objects in images
Authors: Miró-Nicolau Miquel , Moyà-Alcover Gabriel , González-Hidalgo Manuel , Jaume-i-Capó Antoni
Published: August 2023

This study presents a method to improve state-of-the-art concave point detection methods as the first step towards effectively segmenting overlapping objects in images. The approach relies on analysing the curvature of the object contour. This method comprises three main steps. First, the original image is preprocessed to obtain the curvature value at each contour point. Second, the regions with higher curvatures are selected and a recursive algorithm is applied to refine previously selected regions. Finally, a concave point is obtained for each region by analysing the relative position of their neighbourhood. Furthermore, the experimental results indicate that improving the detection of concave points leads to better division of clusters. To evaluate the quality of the concave point detection algorithm, a synthetic dataset was constructed to simulate the presence of overlapping objects. This dataset includes the precise location of concave points, which serve as the ground truth for evaluation. As a case study, the performance of a well-known application, such as the splitting of overlapping cells in images of peripheral blood smears samples from patients with sickle cell anaemia, was evaluated. We used the proposed method to detect concave points in cell clusters and then separated these clusters by ellipse fitting.
A 3D pose estimation framework for preterm infants hospitalized in the Neonatal Unit
Authors: Soualmi Ameur , Ducottet Christophe , Patural Hugues , Giraud Antoine , Alata Olivier
Published: August 2023

Infant pose estimation is crucial in different clinical applications, including preterm automatic general movements assessment. Recent infant pose estimation methods are limited by a lack of real clinical data and are mainly focused on 2D detection. We introduce a stereoscopic system for infants’ 3D pose estimation, based on fine-tuning state-of-the-art 2D human pose estimation networks on a large, real, and manually annotated dataset of infants’ images. Our dataset contains over 88k images, collected from 175 videos from 53 premature infants born <33 weeks of gestational age (GA), acquired within the Neonatology department of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint Etienne, France, between 32 and 41 weeks of GA. This framework significantly reduced the pose estimation error compared to existing 2D infant pose estimation networks. It achieved a mean error of 1.72 cm on 18000 stereoscopic images in the 3D pose estimation task. This framework is the first 3D pose estimation tool dedicated to preterm infants hospitalized in the Neonatal Unit that does not depend on any visual markers or infrared cameras.
Detecting and approximating decision boundaries in low-dimensional spaces
Authors: Grajewski Matthias , Kleefeld Andreas
Published: August 2023

A method for detecting and approximating fault lines or surfaces, respectively, or decision curves in two and three dimensions with guaranteed accuracy is presented. Reformulated as a classification problem, our method starts from a set of scattered points along with the corresponding classification algorithm to construct a representation of a decision curve by points with prescribed maximal distance to the true decision curve. Hereby, our algorithm ensures that the representing point set covers the decision curve in its entire extent and features local refinement based on the geometric properties of the decision curve. We demonstrate applications of our method to problems related to the detection of faults, to multi-criteria decision aid and, in combination with Kirsch’s factorization method, to solving an inverse acoustic scattering problem. In all applications we considered in this work, our method requires significantly less pointwise classifications than previously employed algorithms.
Demographic and socioeconomic effects of environmental policies: the 1927 special goat tax and mountain depopulation in Italy
Authors: Morettini Gabriele
Published: August 2023

The research aims to assess the demographic impact related with the implementation of an environmental policy, which affects food availability in economically and environmentally fragile settings, dependent on few, unstable resources. The paper addresses this topic from a particular perspective, namely the special goat tax issued in Italy in 1927. I focus on the goat breeding because of its ecological footprint and the key role on population’s livelihood in marginal lands. Methodologically, the paper combines quantitative and qualitative sources. The analysis of demographic dynamics in a broad set of Italian mountain municipalities over the period 1911–1971 is matched with a qualitative part, based on a careful reading of the coeval survey on mountain depopulation. Findings of the analysis highlight that the goat tax undermined food security promoted outmigration and shrinkage in municipalities that were more dependent on goat breeding only. In addition, the 1927 law generated power struggles between landowner and local communities and between collective and private properties. Such results show that socially-blind, top-down environmental policies could exacerbate inequalities, food insecurity and power conflicts that threaten the effective implementation of the law. An ecological transition must be combined with social inclusion, constant care to the governance and power relations in order to extend public support and make regulations more effective.
A Qualitative Study of Perceptions and Preferences Regarding Social and Behavioral Risk Screening Among Primary Care Patients
Authors: Takada Sae , Shen Zewei , Bourgois Philippe , Duru O. Kenrik , Gelberg Lillian , Han Maria , Javanbakht Marjan , Shoptaw Steve , Wells Kenneth , Ryan Gery
Published: August 2023

Background

Despite its relevance for healthcare settings, social and behavioral risk screening is not systematically performed by clinicians or healthcare systems.

Objective

To address clinician concerns, such as social and behavioral risk screening disrupting the clinician-patient relationship and lack of resources to respond, we interviewed primary care patients at an academic medical center regarding their perceptions and preferences on social and behavioral risk screening.

Participants

Between September and December 2020, we recruited a convenience sample of 14 English-speaking primary care patients 18 years + from three clinics affiliated with an academic medical center.

Approach

Using a semi-structured interview guide, we asked about the importance of social and behavioral risk screening, whether or not and how to share social and behavioral risk factors, and how social and behavioral risk factors are addressed. We used a multi-step analytic process to identify the range and commonality of participants’ responses thematically.

Key Results

Participants recognized that social and behavioral risk factor domains were relevant to primary care and important for treating the patient as a whole person. Participants preferred a conversation regarding social and behavioral risk factor with their primary care providers (PCPs), and suggested that, if surveys are used, they be followed with an open-ended, in-person discussion. Participants also suggested framing the discussion as something that is done routinely with all patients so that patients do not feel judged. Participants felt comfortable sharing social and behavioral risk factors when they trusted their PCPs, and felt that discussing social and behavioral risk factors with their PCPs built trust. Participants recognized that resources exist outside of the clinic, and suggested that PCPs distribute lists of relevant community resources to patients.

Conclusion

In our study of primary care patients on perceptions and preferences about screening and addressing social and behavioral risk factors, we found that patients were willing to share social and behavioral risk factors with their PCP, preferred an in-person discussions with or without a survey, and wanted a list of community resources to address their needs.
Decoding the Late Pleistocene-Holocene Terrace Evolution along the Main Frontal Thrust Zone, Northeastern Himalayas, India: Insights from Tectonic Geomorphology, Sedimentology, and Optical Dating
Authors: Tandon Aashna , Prizomwala S. P.
Published: August 2023

Fluvial archives are the best preserved and provide valuable means of obtaining information pertaining to climate and tectonic deformation of an area. The present study is an attempt to reconstruct the landform evolution history in the northeastern Himalayan region of India. Based on field investigation, tectonogeomorphic mapping, and OSL dating, strath and various levels of cut-and-fill terraces were investigated along the mountain front. Optically stimulated luminescence ages of the terrace sequences suggest that the valley incision occurred in three phases, at ~23 ka, ~14 ka and ~9 – 3 ka and one phase of aggradation was also identified at ~ 7 ka. The strath terraces suggest two major episodes of tectonic uplift in the region around ~ 8 ka and ~ 6 ka. This yields an uplift rate of 0.4 and 0.9 mm/yr. The result from the study suggested that the rapid rejuvenation along the mountain front led to the formation of the strath terraces with enhanced incision of the fluvial terrace and influenced the sedimentary architecture of valley fill sequences.
A Review on CO2 Sequestration: The Indian Scenario
Authors: Pattanaik Suchismita , Nayak Bibhuranjan
Published: August 2023

To address the carbon dioxide (CO2) and other green-house gas (GHG) emission issues and combat climate change, various world summits have taken place starting with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at Rio in 1992 to the COP26 at Glasgow in 2021. Although the Paris Agreement of 2015, a legally binding international treaty intended to keep global average temperature rise below 2°C (preferably 1.5°C), it appears too tough a target considering the present day scenarios of insincerity by the advanced and rich nations. On the other hand, adaptation of CCS (carbon capture and storage) technologies in industrial scale have not yet been possible because of economic unviability. Although the western countries such as the USA and the EU have invested considerable amount of funds for R&D to make the CCS technologies successful, the developed technologies are only up to the pilot scale. More funding and focused R&D are needed to make the proven CCS technologies economic in industrial scales. The R&D efforts by other countries are still insignificant. India being the fourth largest emitter of GHGs in the world, is a signatory to most of the global treaties and is trying to adopt various CCS technologies. However, no significant progress has been made so far although some initiations have been observed after the recent pledge made by the Hon. Prime Minister of India in COP26 at Glasgow for a ‘net zero’ carbon by 2070. Industrial utilization of CO2 is negligible in the country except that Tata Steel Ltd. recently installed a demonstration carbon capture plant (5 TPD CO2) at its Jamshedpur works. There are no visible efforts from the power sectors who are one of the major contributors of CO2. Future availability of CCS technologies to Indian industries shall primarily be determined by the investments they make in R&D to develop the technologies on their own or in collaboration with research laboratories. Substituting carbon with green hydrogen and using renewable energy to run the steel plants would be desirable. Implementation of costly CCS technologies in India would need incentives from government as well as involvement and financial commitment from private industries which has been very low over the years. In this article we have taken a fresh stock of the situation with respect to the global targets set, efforts being made, technological interventions and their adaptability, R&D efforts required, funding opportunities, promises made, the gaps in available technologies, and target accomplishments. Indian status has been reviewed with respect to CCS: where does it stand, what are the challenges and what is the way forward for this fast-growing developing country to address the climate change keeping a balance with its fast growth rate.