bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Improving supply chain planning for perishable food: data-driven implications for waste prevention
Authors: Birkmaier Alexandra , Imeri Adhurim , Reiner Gerald
Published: March 2024

Waste in the perishable food supply chain is a challenge that data-driven forecasting methods can tackle. However, integrating such methods in supply chain planning requires development efforts. In this regard, understanding user expectations is the first development step. This study scrutinizes the expectations of a data-driven forecasting method for perishable food. The intended development is a joint initiative of a consortium containing three perishable grocery handling firms. Besides planning expectations, the study identifies and ranks demand-sensing factors that can enable data-driven forecasting for food waste prevention. As the participating firms compete in the same region, horizontal collaboration implications are additionally explored in this context. Accordingly, the study extracts relevant performance measures parallelized to food waste. A two-round Delphi study is used to collect the expectations from a data-driven forecasting method. Individual semi-structured interviews with experts from the initiative firms are conducted in the first Delphi round. Based on the extracted propositions in each interview, industrial experts jointly readdressed and ranked the extracted propositions in the second Delphi round, i.e., focus group workshop. The results reveal that the perishability characteristic emerges as a common expectation in linking supply chain planning with data-driven forecasting. This empirical study contributes to the research on supply chain forecasting and addresses the pertinent aspects of developing data-driven approaches to prevent food waste.
TSH receptor antibody as a predictor of difficult robotic thyroidectomy in patients with Graves’ disease
Authors: Lee Ja Kyung , Kong Yoon , Choi Jae Bong , Kim Woochul , Yu Hyeong Won , Kim Su-jin , Chai Young Jun , Choi June Young , Lee Kyu Eun
Published: March 2024

Thyroidectomy in Graves’ disease can be challenging due to greater thyroid size and vascularity. While thyroid stimulating hormone receptor antibody (TRAb) level is associated with disease severity and thyroid vascularity, its impact on operative outcomes remains unclear. This study aimed to compare challenging factors for robotic thyroidectomy (RT) and open thyroidectomy (OT) in Graves’ disease patients, including TRAb as a predictive factor for difficult thyroidectomy. This retrospective study included Graves’ disease patients who underwent total thyroidectomy between September 2013 and January 2023. The clinical characteristics and operative outcomes were compared between patients who received OT and bilateral axillo-breast approach RT. Factors affecting operation time and estimated blood loss (EBL) were evaluated in both groups using regression analyses. A total of 85 patients received either OT (n = 48) or RT (n = 37). Median thyroid volumes in the OT and RT groups were 72.4 g and 57.6 g, respectively. Operation time was affected by thyroid volume in both groups. Additionally, higher thyroid hormone levels and bilateral central neck node dissection prolonged operation time in the RT group. EBL was marginally associated with thyroid volume in the OT group. However, in the RT group, TRAb level was independently associated with greater EBL (p = 0.04), while no significant association was found with thyroid volume. Predictive factors for difficult thyroidectomy differed by operation approaches. TRAb significantly predicted intraoperative bleeding in RT, while this association was absent in OT. Caution is warranted when performing RT on Graves’ disease patients with high TRAb levels.
M2 Microglia-Derived Exosomes Protect Against Glutamate-Induced HT22 Cell Injury via Exosomal miR-124-3p
Authors: Zhu Lan , Ma Limei , Du Xin , Jiang Yuhao , Gao Jiake , Fan Zihao , Zheng Hengheng , Zhu Jianjun , Zhang Gaofeng
Published: March 2024

As one of the most serious complications of sepsis, sepsis-associated encephalopathy has not been effectively treated or prevented. Exosomes, as a new therapeutic method, play a protective role in neurodegenerative diseases, stroke and traumatic brain injury in recent years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of exosomes in glutamate (Glu)-induced neuronal injury, and to explore its mechanism, providing new ideas for the treatment of sepsis-associated encephalopathy. The neuron damage model induced by Glu was established, and its metabolomics was analyzed and identified. BV2 cells were induced to differentiate into M1 and M2 subtypes. After the exosomes from both M1-BV2 cells and M2-BV2 cells were collected, exosome morphological identification was performed by transmission electron microscopy and exosome-specific markers were also detected. These exosomes were then cocultured with HT22 cells. CCK-8 method and LDH kit were used to detect cell viability and toxicity. Cell apoptosis, mitochondrial membrane potential and ROS content were respectively detected by flow cytometry, JC-1 assay and DCFH-DA assay. MiR-124-3p expression level was detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay predicted and verified the relationship between miR-124-3p and ROCK1 or ROCK2. Through metabolomics, 81 different metabolites were found, including fructose, GABA, 2, 4-diaminobutyric acid, etc. The enrichment analysis of differential metabolites showed that they were mainly enriched in glutathione metabolism, glycine and serine metabolism, and urea cycle. M2 microglia-derived exosomes could reduce the apoptosis, decrease the accumulation of ROS, restore the mitochondrial membrane potential and the anti-oxidative stress ability in HT22 cells induced by Glu. It was also found that the protective effect of miR-124-3p mimic on neurons was comparable to that of M2-EXOs. Additionally, M2-EXOs might carry miR-124-3p to target ROCK1 and ROCK2 in neurons, affecting ROCK/PTEN/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, and then reducing Glu-induced neuronal apoptosis. M2 microglia-derived exosomes may protect HT22 cells against Glu-induced injury by transferring miR-124-3p into HT22 cells, with ROCK being a target gene for miR-124-3p.
Paths Towards LGBT Rights Recognition in Brazil
Authors: de Mello Côrtes Ana , Gonçalves Buzolin Lívia
Published: March 2024

Introduction

This article addresses the processes that led to the recognition of LGBT rights in Brazil, the role played by civil society mobilization, and the interaction between the Federal Supreme Court and the National Congress in these processes.

Methods

The study’s primary method is document analysis. Our sample was established in 2021 and includes four court decisions and 93 law proposals presented from 2011 to 2020 by 83 legislators whose profiles are also analysed (data collected in 2021). Moreover, the article references secondary source interviews conducted in 2017 and 2018.

Results

The Federal Supreme Court was responsible for all the LGBT rights recognized at the federal level in Brazil. Our data shows that federal legislators, on the other hand, have been unable to make bills focused on LGBT rights (pro or against) pass. Some highlights from the results show that 46.2% of the proposals on the matter are contrary to those rights, and 48.2% of the legislators who mobilize the matter are affiliated with the Evangelical Bench, an influential conservative institution in the Brazilian National Congress. Although not yet able to make law proposals pass, those legislators with a conservative profile tend to use LGBT rights as political currency by presenting bills or making speeches against these rights. They also play a role in not allowing pro-LGBT rights achievements in the legislative arena. Aware of the legislators’ profile, civil society organizations tend not to focus all their efforts on this arena and to take or create legal opportunities, even though the path through courts still represents several obstacles. Moreover, although the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court has shown a willingness to decide on LGBT rights, the outcomes of the rulings depend on the composition of the body, which is influenced by nominations made by the president. That is, the same court Brazil has relied on to recognize LGBT rights could be responsible for denying them had it had the same powers but different members.

Conclusions

While the deadlock in the Federal Congress persists, and the judicial decisions that recognized LGBT rights remain effective, LGBT persons continue to exercise their conquered rights. However, the conservative wave in Brazil places the country in a context of uncertainty and vulnerability with regard to LGBT rights.

Policy Implications

This study’s contribution lies in showing why Brazil is an unpaired case when it comes to LGBT rights recognition and how vulnerable these conquered rights are in the country. The article provides an overview of the recognition processes taking multiple arenas and actors into account. Therefore, the analyses and the database of law proposals fill a gap in the literature and can contribute to future work from both scholars (for example, other studies from the database) and practitioners (for example, the development of legal mobilization frames and strategies).
Geriatric Emergency Departments: Emerging Themes and Directions
Authors: Schumacher John G.
Published: March 2024

Purpose of the Review

Globally, emergency departments are recognizing their rapidly growing number of older adult patients and some have responded with care models and associated processes broadly described under the umbrella of geriatric emergency departments (Geriatric EDs). This review seeks to identify emerging themes in the Geriatric ED literature from the period 2018–2023 to provide a synthesis of concepts and research to assist emergency medicine healthcare professionals and policymakers in improving the delivery of emergency medical care to older patients.

Recent Findings

Emerging themes in Geriatric EDs include “calls to action” in the field regarding 1) health system level integration; 2) developing care processes; 3) implementing minimum Geriatric ED standards; and, 4) setting future research agendas. The research is international in scope with contributions from Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Belgium, and the United States among others. A focus on Geriatric EDs’ financial sustainability as well as the overall efficacy of the care model is apparent. Recent seminal resources in Geriatric EDs include the Geriatric Emergency Department Collaborative, the Geriatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network, and the Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation program. Attention to workforce education and specific care process/protocols for screening/assessment, cognitive dysfunction and falls is growing. Overall findings support the effectiveness and potential of Geriatric EDs in enhancing emergency care for older adults.

A review providing an overview of current themes and future directions of Geriatric EDs through a thematic analysis of the current literature. Key Geriatric ED themes include four “calls for action”, assessment of the model’s financial sustainability, an examination of the model’s efficacy and quality, and an identification of key resources foundational to Geriatric EDs. Targeted Geriatric ED workforce education programs and attention to care processes are contributing to improving outcomes for older adult in the ED.
Deficits in blood culture collection in the emergency department if sepsis is suspected: results of a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Berninghausen Charlotte , Schwab Frank , Gropmann Alexander , Leidel Bernd A. , Somasundaram Rajan , Hottenbacher Lydia , Gastmeier Petra , Hansen Sonja
Published: March 2024

Purpose

Blood cultures (BCs) are key for pathogen detection in septic patients. We investigated the extent to which sampling was performed and what factors were associated with the absence of general or inadequate BC sampling.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of hospitalized patients with sepsis admitted to one of three EDs in 2018. Primary outcome was the extent of general BC collection of at least 1 set. Secondary outcome was the extent of adequate BC sampling, defined as ≥ 2 sets before antibiotic therapy (AT). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with deficits in both outcomes.

Results

1143 patients were analyzed. BCs were collected from 946 patients. Single BCs were taken from 520 patients, ≥ 2 sets from 426 patients. Overall, ≥ 2 BCs were taken from 349 patients before AT. BC sampling before AT occurred significantly more frequently when ≥ 2 BC sets were taken rather than a single one (81.9%, versus 68.4%, p < 0.001) and this also led to the highest pathogen detection rate in our cohort (65.6%). A body temperature of ≥ 38 °C was the a supporting factor for general and adequate BC collection in all three EDs. Retrospective analysis of 533 patients showed that the qSOFA score had no influence on general or adequate BC collection.

Conclusion

Data on everyday clinical practice in the pre-analytical phase of microbiological diagnostics shows considerable deficits and indicates the need for more implementation of best practice. The variations identified in BC sampling between EDs should be further investigated.
Animated PowerPoint Videos: An Underutilized Anatomy Educational Tool?
Authors: Patera Eleni , Khamuani Munesh Pal
Published: March 2024

The subject of anatomy is an integral component of medical and dental education which are constantly evolving. Hence, educators continuously attempt to take advantage of technological advancements to create resources that will improve students’ higher cognitive skills. This article describes the creation of an e-learning resource in the form of an animated PowerPoint video that was designed based on evidence-based principles and educational theories to introduce the concept of tooth anatomy. Additionally, it outlines how this resource can be potentially integrated into a broader educational system as well as encourage anatomy and medical educators to use less complex technological equipment to create accessible educational resources.
HoloSLAM: a novel approach to virtual landmark-based SLAM for indoor environments
Authors: Lahemer Elfituri S. , Rad Ahmad
Published: March 2024

In this paper, we present HoloSLAM which is a novel solution to landmark detection issues in the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) problem in autonomous robot navigation. The approach integrates real and virtual worlds to create a novel mapping robotic environment employing a mixed-reality technique and a sensor, namely Microsoft HoloLens. The proposed methodology allows the robot to interact and communicate with its new environment in real-time and overcome the limitations of conventional landmark-based SLAMs by creating and placing some virtual landmarks in situations where real landmarks are scarce, non-existent, or hard to be detected. The proposed approach enhances the robot’s perception and navigation capabilities in various robot environments. The overall process contributes to the robot’s more accurate understanding of its environment; thus, enabling it to navigate with greater efficiency and effectiveness. In addition, the newly implemented HoloSLAM offers the option to guide the robot to a specific location eliminating the need for explicit navigation instructions. The open-source framework proposed in this paper can benefit the robotics community by providing a more reliable, realistic, and robust mapping solution. The experiments show that the Ellipsoidal-HoloSLAM system is accurate and effectively overcomes the limitations of conventional Ellipsoidal-SLAMs, providing a more precise and detailed mapping of the robot’s environment.
Better Late than Never: Promoting Cultural Consumption Among the Elderly
Authors: Biondo Alessio Emanuele , Moscarola Flavia Coda , Zanola Roberto
Published: March 2024

Cultural activities are greatly beneficial to older individuals but, unfortunately, many still face significant barriers that limit their ability to enjoy the arts. To tackle this issue, we have analysed data from an Italian audience development and engagement program for seniors, which was implemented at local level. By using an agent-based model, we discuss the potential effectiveness of audience development policies before implementation. Our research shows that social policies aimed at promoting cohesion and creating personal relationships can significantly increase the success of such initiatives. Moreover, our findings underline the importance of implementing targeted policies and engaging key individuals to ensure that older people can access and enjoy cultural activities.
Modelling the Impregnation of a Pressure-Tight Casting
Authors: Réger Mihály , Horváth Richárd , Fábián Enikő Réka , Réti Tamás
Published: March 2024

Pressure tightness is important for many die-cast aluminium castings, but the interconnected porosity formed in the aluminium alloy high-pressure die castings (HPDC) can form a network connecting several surfaces of the casting, especially as a result of machining after casting. The resulting potential leakage path can be imagined as a series of discontinuities varying in size over wide limits, where voids of different volumes are connected by channels of smaller cross section. Although vacuum impregnation is often used to ensure pressure-tightness is a robust technology, cavity systems through the casting can still cause leakage after impregnation. This study addresses the issues of the impregnation of discontinuities with a complex geometry. The elementary part of a complex cavity geometry consists of a cavity and a capillary channel. We estimated the limited permeability of the capillary section using a mathematical model based on the Hagen–Poiseuille equation. The calculation results prove that the degree of filling of the cavity with a capillary section is basically a function of the geometrical characteristics of the cavity, primarily the radius of the capillary. If the cavity system also contains a section with a diameter of less than 28 μm, impregnation does not necessarily ensure the gas tightness of the casting. Depending on the radius of the capillary, the impregnation of a cavity of a given volume and connected to the surface through a capillary section of a given length can produce three different results. Above a certain capillary radius, filling is complete, below a certain capillary radius only the capillary itself will contain resin, and between the two limit values, the partial impregnation of the cavity is expected but the capillary section is not filled.
Role of Vitamin E Supplementation on the Reproductive and Growth Performance, Hormonal Profile and Biochemical Parameters of Female Hybrid Red Tilapia
Authors: Griesh Alaa Sh. , El-Nahla Amal M. , Aly Salah M. , Badran Mohamed F.
Published: March 2024

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of vitamin E (VE) supplementation on the reproductive and growth performance, hormonal profile, and biochemical parameters of female hybrid red tilapia before spawning season. Seventy-two female hybrid red tilapia were caught with an average body-weight 272.56 ± 34.84g and an average total length 24.3 ± 2.5 cm. Healthy fish were distributed equally into 4 treatments supplemented with (0, 50, 100, 200 mg/kg) of VE given for 8 weeks. VE significantly improved weight gain, length gain, specific growth rate, average daily gain, feed conversion ratio, and protein efficiency ratio. 50 mg of VE/kg diet could improve the viscerosomatic index, hepatosomatic index, and gonadosomatic index. Also, it could improve the parameters of biochemical (aspartate aminotransferase, alanine transaminase, total protein, albumin, globulin, triglyceride, and alkaline phosphatase) and haematology (total erythrocytic and leucocytic count, hematocrit and hemoglobin) and increase FSH, LH, E2 and, progesterone concentrations significantly. The conclusion revealed that the addition of 50 mg of VE /kg diet has a beneficial impact on reproductive and growth performance, hormonal profile, and biochemical parameters of female hybrid red tilapia. So, it is advisable for adding 50 mg/kg of vitamin E to the fish diet before the spawning season (pre-spawning).
A democratic curriculum for the challenges of post-truth
Authors: Nally David
Published: March 2024

Post-truth has been widely applied in the wake of COVID-19, to stipulate causes for growing economic and political inequalities, misinformation in digital spaces and disillusionment with political institutions and notions of common/public good, to name a few. To address these concerns, this article constitutes a series of suggestions for how educators might engage with curricula that are embedded with democratic ideals. The first section will provide a brief survey of how various incarnations of the national curricula in Australia have been used as a vehicle for both envisaging a future in Australia and promoting civic participation as a way of fostering an inclusive society. The forms it developed into during the 1980s to the 2010s, however, usually promoted national priorities over localised concerns, such as the aims of individual teachers, schools and curricula. Over the long term, these tendencies have provided the foundation for a shift in educational discourse from generating social capital under the Whitlam government (Lingard, 2000). More recent discourse by contrast has focused on how digital resources can be effectively used, accountability, minimising teacher demoralisation and burnout, maximising student engagement (Dunning, 2022) and tinged with concerns about how constructive critical thinking can be better encouraged (Paterson & Gavrin, 2022). In this article, the structures which catalysed such changes will be contextualised in relation to how post-truth has emerged as a byword for a range of disruptive factors, such as denial of knowledge expertise (Malpas, 1992; Coper, 2022), and how authorities (in governments and media) have pragmatically lied to subordinates (Tesich, 1992; Keyes, 2004; Consentino, 2020). The second part examines how these same conditions have been recently perpetuated through schools being characterised as key to economic recovery, rather than places to regenerate relationships such as those between community-school or curriculum-teacher-student in response to the disruption which has emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, there is a focus on what is being—and could be—done to encourage democratic thinking in an Australian classroom context, as ways of addressing phenomena linked with post-truth by generating cultural and political capital.
Student-centred curriculum integration in primary schools: nurturing democratic citizenship in Aotearoa New Zealand
Authors: Dowden Tony , Brough Chris , Fogarty-Perry Barbara
Published: March 2024

This article investigates how James A. Beane’s model of student-centred curriculum integration (CI) enhances students’ learning experiences in the classroom by meeting diverse learning needs and fostering democratic citizenship. It discusses the theory of Beane’s model of CI with respect to John Dewey’s underpinning philosophy of democratic education and explores the practice of Beane’s model via the narratives of two of the authors who implemented the model in primary schools in Aotearoa/ New Zealand (NZ). The findings show that implementing student-centred CI in contexts that are meaningful and relevant to students has the capacity to enhance the value and impact of students’ learning experiences. In the process, the democratic design of Beane’s model allows issues of social justice, inclusion and multiculturalism to be tackled by giving students agency and enabling them to ‘make a difference’ within their communities.
Spiritism in Germany: A Resource of Integration for Brazilian Migrants?
Authors: Kurz Helmar
Published: March 2024

This account of qualitative anthropological field research in Brazil and Germany explores the importance of translocal Spiritist/Kardecist networks as resources for Brazilian migrants in Germany. It focuses on aspects of integration with the host society and conflicts arising from divergent expectations and habits. It introduces the author’s multi-sited investigation within the DFG-funded research project “Diversification of Mental Health: Therapeutic Spaces of Brazilian Spiritism” (implemented by Prof. Dr. Helene Basu 2015–2018) and elaborates on the approach of “translocal relations” as crucial for the theoretical discussion before introducing relevant literature reviews and original research data. Case studies confirm the supportive functions of Brazilian Spiritist centers in Germany for migrants but also illustrate that they serve integration only to a marginal degree. Brazilians use Spiritist centers as a resource for not having to integrate and instead staying among themselves. Being aware that this habit contradicts adaptation to new environments and serves critical political approaches, a small group of Brazilians and Germans establish contested integrative practices. In conclusion, this contribution discusses conflicts emerging from Brazilian migration to Germany in religious-spiritual contexts and illustrates that integration is a multi-directional task.
Fabrication of jelly like material from rLLDPE by a binary approach based on gamma irradiation and thermal processing for oil remediation
Authors: Gayed H. M. , Ghobashy Mohamed Mohamady
Published: March 2024

This study investigated the fabrication of a jelly-like material from recycled linear low-density polyethylene (rLLDPE) using gamma irradiation and thermal processing with silicone oil. rLLDPE was irradiated at 0, 50, 75, and 100 kGy before pyrolysis in silicone oil at 300 ℃ for 1 h to produce the jelly-like material (Ir-jLLDPE). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed interactions between rLLDPE and silicone oil in Ir-jLLDPE. Scanning electron microscopy revealed a rough, porous surface morphology with internal fibrillar structures. Thermogravimetric analysis showed thermal decomposition stages related to structural changes from irradiation and silicone oil integration. Batch adsorption experiments demonstrated the exceptional absorption capacities of Ir-jLLDPE for various organic solvents (0.1–24.7 g/g) and oils (0.6–19.8 g/g). Kinetic studies revealed absorption followed pseudo-first order at 50 and 75 kGy doses and pseudo-second order at 0 and 100 kGy doses. Isotherm modeling indicated the Freundlich model better described adsorption behavior. Over 10 adsorption cycles, Ir-jLLDPE exhibited excellent stability for pump oil at 50 and 75 kGy. This research highlights the promise of gamma-irradiated, thermally processed rLLDPE materials for applications in oil spill remediation, organic contaminant removal, and environmental sustainability. The novel approach of combining radiation and thermal processing can upcycle problematic rLLDPE plastic waste into an absorbent jelly material with potential environmental remediation applications.
CeO2-supported Pt nanoclusters for improved electrochemical oxidation of methanol
Authors: Ravichandran Sabarinathan , Hao Shuhua , Zhang Wenli
Published: March 2024

Developing highly durable and active Pt-supported catalysts is currently the most prominent and practicable electrocatalyst design strategy for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) due to their high electrocatalytic stability and activity. Herein, we fabricated CeO2 nanorods with tiny Pt nanoparticles that possess good electrocatalytic behavior for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). In addition, the presence of Ce3+ and small Pt nanoparticles (3.46 nm) enhanced strong metal interaction, facilitating the formation of oxygen vacancies on the CeO2 surface to boost the MOR performance. Hence, the Pt-CeO2 catalyst revealed high mass activity (1414.0 mA mg−1) and areal-specific activity (1.615 mA cm−2) towards MOR in an acidic electrolyte, which was three times that of the 20% Pt/C catalyst (545.4 mA mg−1 and 0.856 mA cm−2). Besides, the Pt-CeO2 catalyst exhibited excellent performance of MOR in an alkaline electrolyte and retained 90.44% of its initial mass activity after 5000 cycles due to the unique morphology and synergistic effects between Pt and CeO2. Pt-CeO2 is regarded as a promising MOR electrocatalyst for DMFC applications.

Graphical Abstract
Impact of Automated Prognostication on Traumatic Brain Injury Care: A Focus Group Study
Authors: Hibi Atsuhiro , Cusimano Michael D. , Bilbily Alexander , Krishnan Rahul G. , Tyrrell Pascal N.
Published: March 2024

Background:

Prognosticating outcomes for traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients is challenging due to the required specialized skills and variability among clinicians. Recent attempts to standardize TBI prognosis have leveraged machine learning (ML) methodologies. This study evaluates the necessity and influence of ML-assisted TBI prognostication through healthcare professionals’ perspectives via focus group discussions.

Methods:

Two virtual focus groups included ten key TBI care stakeholders (one neurosurgeon, two emergency clinicians, one internist, two radiologists, one registered nurse, two researchers in ML and healthcare and one patient representative). They answered six open-ended questions about their perceptions and potential ML use in TBI prognostication. Transcribed focus group discussions were thematically analyzed using qualitative data analysis software.

Results:

The study captured diverse perceptions and interests in TBI prognostication across clinical specialties. Notably, certain clinicians who currently do not prognosticate expressed an interest in doing so independently provided they had access to ML support. Concerns included ML’s accuracy and the need for proficient ML researchers in clinical settings. The consensus suggested using ML as a secondary consultation tool and promoting collaboration with internal or external research resources. Participants believed ML prognostication could enhance disposition planning and standardize care regardless of clinician expertise or injury severity. There was no evidence of perceived bias or interference during the discussions.

Conclusion:

Our findings revealed an overall positive attitude toward ML-based prognostication. Despite raising multiple concerns, the focus group discussions were particularly valuable in underscoring the potential of ML in democratizing and standardizing TBI prognosis practices.
Between Aims and Execution: Value Trade-Offs in the Practical Implementation of the European Arrest Warrant?
Authors: Kleizen Bjorn , Wynen Jan , Junjan Veronica
Published: March 2024

The European Union (EU) increasingly develops and implements policies infused with salient and sometimes conflicting values – for instance, in migration and criminal law cooperation. However, policy implementation studies have not frequently considered how such complex value trade-offs may affect practical implementation within Member States. This article therefore quantitatively and temporally examines the practical implementation of an EU flagship criminal law measure: the simplified extradition system known as the European Arrest Warrant (EAW). Using data on EAWs decided upon by the Dutch Amsterdam District Court, we test the impact of value trade-offs by examining whether (newly introduced) safeguards for the protection of requested persons adversely affect system efficiency (measured through case turnover times). The results suggest that the design of legal tests and adjustments made to the EAW system over time through the Court of Justice of the European Union affect the balance between fundamental rights protection and efficiency in the practical implementation of the EAW.
Metrology for sub-Rayleigh-length target positioning in ∼1022 W/cm2 laser–plasma experiments
Authors: Vishnyakov E. A. , Sagisaka A. , Ogura K. , Esirkepov T. Zh. , Gonzalez-Izquierdo B. , Armstrong C. D. , Pikuz T. A. , Pikuz S. A. , Yan W. , Jeong T. M. , Singh S. , Hadjisolomou P. , Finke O. , Grittani G. M. , Nevrkla M. , Lazzarini C. M. , Velyhan A. , Hayakawa T. , Fukuda Y. , Koga J. K. , Ishino M. , Kondo K. , Miyasaka Y. , Kon A. , Nishikino M. , Nosach Y. V. , Khikhlukha D. , Tsygvintsev I. P. , Kumar D. , Nejdl J. , Margarone D. , Sasorov P. V. , Weber S. , Kando M. , Kiriyama H. , Kato Y. , Korn G. , Kondo K. , Bulanov S. V. , Kawachi T. , Pirozhkov A. S.
Published: March 2024

Tight focusing with very small f-numbers is necessary to achieve the highest at-focus irradiances. However, tight focusing imposes strong demands on precise target positioning in-focus to achieve the highest on-target irradiance. We describe several near-infrared, visible, ultraviolet and soft and hard X-ray diagnostics employed in a ∼1022 W/cm2 laser–plasma experiment. We used nearly 10 J total energy femtosecond laser pulses focused into an approximately 1.3-μm focal spot on 5–20 μm thick stainless-steel targets. We discuss the applicability of these diagnostics to determine the best in-focus target position with approximately 5 μm accuracy (i.e., around half of the short Rayleigh length) and show that several diagnostics (in particular, 3

$\omega$

reflection and on-axis hard X-rays) can ensure this accuracy. We demonstrated target positioning within several micrometers from the focus, ensuring over 80% of the ideal peak laser intensity on-target. Our approach is relatively fast (it requires 10–20 laser shots) and does not rely on the coincidence of low-power and high-power focal planes.
Bureaucratic entrepreneurship: how frontline bureaucrats promote policy innovation
Authors: Zhang Xuefan , He Yanling
Published: March 2024

In contrast to other studies on policy entrepreneurship that address frontline officials’ roles in formal legislative procedures, this case study focuses on how frontline officials promote policy innovation within inconspicuous administrative routines. Because frontline officials have no legislative power, they must overcome officialism by using bureaucratic skills and seeking consensus among multiple stakeholders. “Citizen agents” and “state agents” are both necessary roles. This case provides administrative details on how a deadlocked policy was gradually enlivened within undramatic administrative routines. The findings bridge the legislative–administrative gap and improve the understanding of the long-term effects of frontline administrative activities on policy innovations.
When Do Trade Unions Support Universal Demands? Organizational Context and Trade Union Strategies in the US and UK at the Turn of the 20th Century
Authors: Adereth Maya
Published: March 2024

When do labor movements come to support universal welfare policies? This article examines this question through a comparative account of the British and American labor movements at the turn of the twentieth century. Drawing on newspaper and meeting records from the Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE), the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (ASRS), the Cigarmakers International Union (CMIU), and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen (BLF) from the mid-nineteenth century to World War I, it considers why, given a common tradition of exclusive benefits, the two movements diverged on the question of universal state health and pension schemes at the turn of the century—with the British labor movement abandoning its voluntarist orientation and the AFL preserving it.

Complementing existing sociological accounts that emphasize state and party structure, sectoral composition, pace and quality of industrial change, and the demographic makeup of labor movements, this article builds on approaches from the sociology of organizations in centering the importance of organizational arenas in shaping trade union strategies and aims. In particular, it investigates the role of friendly and fraternal societies in structuring trade union interests over this period. The article demonstrates how changes within the friendly and fraternal society movement shaped the contextual significance and strategic value of benefit provision in each trade union over time. In doing so, it opens the way for a deeper reflection on the importance of organizational reasoning in shaping trade union organizing and the trajectory of welfare institutions.
Radar-based path planning of autonomous surface vehicle with static and dynamic obstacles in a Frenet Frame
Authors: Hu Zhihuan , Yang Ziheng , Liu Xiaocheng , Zhang Weidong
Published: March 2024

Navigation safety at sea is vital for each autonomous surface vehicle (ASV), which involves the problem of motion planning in dynamic environments and their robust tracking through feedback control. We present a practical path-planning method that generates smooth trajectories for a marine vehicle traveling in an unknown environment, where obstacles are detected in real time by millimetre wave (mmWave) radar. Our approach introduces a polynomial curve to describe the lateral and longitudinal trajectories in the Frenet frame, known as the ‘motion primitives’, whose combination ensures that the planning area is properly covered. In addition, we can select a feasible, optimal and collision-free trajectory from such a set of motion primitives that is generated by considering the vehicle dynamics and comfort. The capabilities of proposed algorithm are demonstrated in the experiment with static and dynamic obstacles.
COVID-19 outbreak at a residential apartment building in Northern Ontario, Canada
Authors: Lozano Dinna , Dohoo Carolyn , Elfstrom David , Carswell Kendra , Guthrie Jennifer L.
Published: March 2024

In February 2021, a cluster of Beta variant (B.1.351) coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases were identified in an apartment building located in Northern Ontario, Canada. Most cases had no known contact with each other. Objectives of this multi-component outbreak investigation were to better understand the social and environmental factors that facilitated the transmission of COVID-19 through this multi-unit residential building (MURB). A case–control study examined building-specific exposures and resident behaviours that may have increased the odds of being a case. A professional engineer assessed the building’s heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. Whole-genome sequencing and an in-depth genomic analysis were performed. Forty-five outbreak-confirmed cases were identified. From the case–control study, being on the upper floors (OR: 10.4; 95% CI: 1.63–66.9) and within three adjacent vertical lines (OR: 28.3; 3.57–225) were both significantly associated with being a case of COVID-19, after adjusting for age. There were no significant differences in reported behaviours, use of shared spaces, or precautions taken between cases and controls. An assessment of the building’s ventilation found uncontrolled air leakage between apartment units. A single genomic cluster was identified, where most sequences were identical to one another. Findings from the multiple components of this investigation are suggestive of aerosol transmission between units.
Lithic tool provisioning in the western Aztec provinces: A view from Calixtlahuaca
Authors: Andrews Bradford W. , Huster Angela C. , Smith Michael E.
Published: March 2024

We describe an analysis of the flaked stone tools recovered from households in the Postclassic central Mexican city of Calixtlahuaca (a.d. 1130–1530). Most artifacts are obsidian and represent the blade-core technology, but biface and bipolar artifacts are also represented. Even though household residents were involved in limited biface and bipolar reduction, it appears that the city did not have any resident blade producers. This finding is at odds with the views of many archaeologists, who tend to associate craft production with the emergence of complex Mesoamerican urban centers. We examine the technologies from temporally distinct Calixtlahuacan household assemblages. We discuss why the quantity and quality artifacts associated with blade production are not consistent with resident blade making in the city. Finally, we examine four models for blade provisioning: (1) whole-blade trade, (2) processed-blade trade, (3) long-distance itinerant craftsmen, and (4) local, hinterland-based craftsmen. Evaluating how the Calixtlahuacans got their flaked stone tools has important implications for the comparative understanding of the organization and scale of economic provisioning systems in Postclassic central Mexico. This analysis supports new inferences about the nature of commercial networks that supplied the Toluca Valley prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the sixteenth century.
Sinus venosus atrial septal defect presenting with platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome in the setting of COVID-19 infection
Authors: Thomas Courtney H. , Zampi Jeffrey D. , Joynt Michael R.
Published: March 2024

Platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome is characterised by hypoxemia and dyspnoea while upright that resolves when supine, typically associated with an interatrial communication. We present a case of platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome associated with a sinus venosus atrial septal defect in a patient with multiple possible aetiologies of hypoxemia, including COVID-19 infection. Cardiac catheterisation with provocative maneuvers confirmed the diagnosis and symptoms resolved following defect closure. We suggest that in patients with platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome, it is useful to obtain haemodynamic data while supine and upright
Morpho-phenological characterization and genetic analysis of dolichos bean germplasm from Uttar Pradesh, India
Authors: V Kiran , Ola Arjun Lal , Tiwari Devesh , Sharma Gaurav , Kumar Shailendra , Singh Saurabh
Published: March 2024

The true characterization of elite germplasm is of utmost importance for accelerating the crop breeding programme. The Indian dolichos bean [Lablab purpureus (L.) var. typicus Prain] has the potential to improve nutritional and food security. In the present investigation, a total of 21 genotypes of dolichos bean, comprising local collections mainly, along with one standard check (Kashi Sheetal) were evaluated in a complete randomized block design with three replications for two consecutive years, 2021–22 to 2022–23 for the perusal of the genetic variability. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences among all the genotypes for all the characters. PCV and GCV estimates revealed very little influence of environment on the expression of traits under study. High heritability (>90%) estimates coupled with high genetic advance as a percent of the mean were observed for flower attributes, pod length, average weight of 10 pods, pod yield and protein content. The principal component analysis revealed that the first two components cumulatively accounted for more than 50% of total variability. The present investigation revealed that the genotypes, RLBDL-S-8, RLBDL-S-14 and RLBDL-S-4-5 were stable across the years and genotype RLBDL-S-8 exhibited the highest yield potential, which can be used effectively in the development of high yielding varieties of dolichos bean in the Bundelkhand region. The study also revealed the presence of wide genetic variability in the studied local accessions which is a prerequisite for the genetic improvement of crop plants. High heritability and genetic advancement indicated the scope of selection in the crop improvement.
Magma Differentiation in Dynamic Mush Domains From the Perspective of Multivariate Statistics: Open‐ Versus Closed‐System Evolution
Authors: Pontesilli A. , Di Fiore F. , Scarlato P. , Ellis B. , Del Bello E. , Andronico D. , Taddeucci J. , Brenna M. , Nazzari M. , Bachmann O. , Mollo S.
Published: March 2024

Open‐conduit conditions characterize several of the most hazardous and active volcanic systems of basaltic composition worldwide, persistently refilled by magmatic inputs. Eruptive products with similar bulk compositions, chemically buffered by continual mafic inputs, nevertheless exhibit heterogeneous glass compositions in response to variable magma mixing, crystallization, and differentiation processes within different parts of the plumbing system. Here, we document how multivariate statistics and magma differentiation modeling based on a large data set of glass compositions can be combined to constrain magma differentiation and plumbing system dynamics. Major and trace elements of matrix glasses erupted at Stromboli volcano (Italy) over the last 20 years provide a benchmark against which to test our integrated petrological approach. Principal component analysis, K‐means cluster analysis, and kernel density estimation reveal that trace elements define a multivariate space whose eigenvectors are more readily interpretable in terms of petrological processes than major elements, leading to improved clustering solutions. Comparison between open‐ and closed‐system differentiation models outlines that steady state magma compositions at constantly replenished and erupting magmatic systems approximate simple fractional crystallization trends, due to short magma residence times. Open‐system magma evolution is associated with magma storage crystallinities that are lower than those associated with closed‐system scenarios. Accordingly, open‐system dynamics determine the efficient crystal‐melt separation toward the top of the reservoir, where eruptible melts continuously supply the ordinary activity. Conversely, a mush‐like environment constitutes the bottom of the reservoir, where poorly evolved magmas result from mixing events between mush residual melts and primitive magmas injected from deeper crustal levels.
Resonant Plasma Acceleration at Jupiter Driven by Satellite‐Magnetosphere Interactions
Authors: Sarkango Y. , Szalay J. R. , Sulaiman A. H. , Damiano P. A. , McComas D. J. , Rabia J. , Delamere P. A. , Saur J. , Clark G. , Ebert R. W. , Allegrini F.
Published: March 2024

The Juno spacecraft had previously observed intense high frequency wave emission, broadband electron and energetic proton energy distributions within magnetic flux tubes connected to Io, Europa, Ganymede, and their wakes. In this work, we report consistent enhancements in <46 keV energy proton fluxes during these satellite flux tube transit intervals. We find enhanced fluxes at discrete energies linearly separated in velocity for proton distributions within Io wake flux tubes, and both proton and electron distributions within Europa and Ganymede wake flux tubes. We propose these discrete enhancements to be a result of resonances between particles' bounce motion with standing Alfvén waves generated by the satellite‐magnetosphere interaction. We corroborate this hypothesis by comparing the bounce and field‐line resonance periods expected at the satellites' orbits. Hence, we find bounce‐resonant acceleration is a fundamental process that can accelerate particles in Jupiter's inner magnetosphere and other astrophysical plasmas.