bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A system-theoretic assurance framework for safety-driven systems engineering
Authors: Ahlbrecht Alexander , Sprockhoff Jasper , Durak Umut
Published: September 2024

The complexity of safety-critical systems is continuously increasing. To create safe systems despite the complexity, the system development requires a strong integration of system design and safety activities. A promising choice for integrating system design and safety activities are model-based approaches. They can help to handle complexity through abstraction, automation, and reuse and are applied to design, analyze, and assure systems. In practice, however, there is often a disconnect between the model-based design and safety activities. At the same time, there is often a delay until recent approaches are available in model-based frameworks. As a result, the advantages of the models are often not fully utilized. Therefore, this article proposes a framework that integrates recent approaches for system design (model-based systems engineering), safety analysis (system-theoretic process analysis), and safety assurance (goal structuring notation). The framework is implemented in the systems modeling language (SysML), and the focus is placed on the connection between the safety analysis and safety assurance activities. It is shown how the model-based integration enables tool assistance for the systematic creation, analysis, and maintenance of safety artifacts. The framework is demonstrated with the system design, safety analysis, and safety assurance of a collision avoidance system for aircraft. The model-based nature of the design and safety activities is utilized to support the systematic generation, analysis, and maintenance of safety artifacts.
Synthetic libraries of urban landslide simulations to identify slope failure hotspots and drivers across spatial scales and landscapes
Authors: Bozzolan Elisa , Holcombe Elizabeth , Pianosi Francesca , Wagener Thorsten
Published: September 2024

Rainfall-triggered landslides are most deadly in developing countries, and future urban sprawl and climate change could intensify existing risks. In these regions, enhancing efforts in urban landslide risk mitigation and climate change adaptation is crucial. Current landslide probability assessment methodologies struggle to support effective mitigation because they fail to represent local anthropogenic factors (e.g. informal housing) across space and time scales. To meet this challenge, we demonstrated in previous work that hillslope-scale mechanistic models representing such localised changes can be used to create synthetic libraries of urban landslides that account for both data and future scenario uncertainty. Here, we show how these libraries can become an explorative tool for researchers and stakeholders, allowing them to investigate slope stability variations across spatial scales and landscapes. Results highlight, for example, how the main slope instability drivers change according to the location (e.g., upper vs lower catchment), the landcover (e.g. forest vs urban) and the spatial scale analysed (e.g. at hillslope scale slope stability was mostly controlled by water table height, whereas at regional scale by slope geometry). Ultimately, we demonstrate that stochastic analyses can lead to a greater understanding of the system interactions and they can support the identification of mitigation strategies that perform well across spatial scales and uncertain scenarios. These strategies should be prioritised even if future conditions are unknown. This reasoning is shown on a data-scarce region with expanding informal housing. However, the same methodology can be applied to any urban context and with any mechanistic-based model.
Discordant myocardial perfusion defects and coronary artery disease – a multimodality imaging journey in the natural history of cardiac sarcoidosis
Authors: Galafton Andrei , Buechel Ronny R. , Mikulicic Fran , Kaufmann Philipp A. , Giannopoulos Andreas A.
Published: September 2024

Cardiac sarcoidosis is a rare form of systemic sarcoidosis characterized by formation of non-caseating granulomas in the myocardium, leading to heterogeneous manifestations, including conduction disturbances, arrhythmias, and heart failure. Besides myocardial fibrosis and structural myocardial alterations, cardiac sarcoidosis can impact the epicardial and microvascular circulation, causing ischemia and regional microvascular dysfunction. We present a case of cardiac sarcoidosis with atypical initial presentation but with evidence of disease in myocardial perfusion imaging, which was overlooked since it did not correspond to bystander coronary artery disease. Multimodality imaging facilitated diagnosis and offered insights into the regional microcirculation impairment caused by sarcoidosis-induced inflammation.
Supporting the Conversational Behavior of Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders with Self-Monitoring and a Video-Based Supplement
Authors: Ayvazo Shiri , Shmuel Yafit , Bin-Nun Inbar
Published: September 2024

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) might demonstrate impairments in initiating and sustaining a conversation and experience conversational challenges such as question-asking and turn-taking. Conversational skills are pivotal for the social functioning of adolescents with ASD. The current investigation aimed to extend the available information on interventions addressing the conversational needs of adolescents with ASD. The research questions were: (a) What is the effect of self-monitoring, supplemented by a video-based model on the conversational skills of adolescent students with ASD? and (b) What is the acceptability of the intervention among the participating adolescents with ASD?. Appropriate conversational behavior of three students with ASD (aged 16–18 years) was assessed using a withdrawal design, during 10-min conversation sessions. Appropriate conversational behavior was defined as a sequence of a turn-taking response (i.e., waiting quietly until the speaker finished talking), followed by a verbal utterance which included (a) making a statement or responding on topic, and/or (b) asking a contextually appropriate “wh”- question. The independent variable consisted of a primary self-monitoring procedure and a daily video-based supplement. Treatment fidelity and treatment acceptability were also assessed. The conversational behavior of all participants consistently improved under the self-monitoring intervention with the video-based supplement. Self-monitoring with a video-based supplement can effectively support the conversational behavior in adolescents with ASD. This information can guide the evaluation and planning of appropriate interventions designed to improve limited conversational behaviors of adolescents with ASD.
Mathematics teacher educators’ navigational expertise when designing multimodal representations of practice: a semiotic analysis
Authors: Schwarts Gil , Herbst Patricio , Chazan Daniel , Buchbinder Orly , Clark Lawrence M. , Wieman Rob , Zahner William
Published: September 2024

Critical elements of the expertise of mathematics teacher educators (MTE) can be identified in the artifacts they design for working with prospective teachers (PT), specifically for engaging PT in the double role of practitioners and students of practice. While MTE are increasingly utilizing designed multimodal representations of practice (such as storyboards), theoretical frameworks and methods for analyzing these pedagogical artifacts and the meanings they support are still in early development. We utilize a semiotic framework, expanding systemic functional linguistics to encompass non-linguistic elements, to identify aspects of what we call navigational expertise—which supports PTs in engaging both as practitioners and students of the practice. We view this expertise as tacit knowledge-in-use, enacted through artifact production. The paper demonstrates MTE’s navigational expertise by showing how MTE design storyboards of practice to engage PT as fellow teachers experiencing the lesson taught by a peer and as university students who consider the artifact (including the represented lesson) as an object of study. The framework allows us to identify how MTE’s navigational expertise lies in seamlessly interweaving these two purposes and navigating between them, knowing when, how, and for what purposes to invoke each. Through analysis of storyboards from four MTE in diverse US settings, we uncover some of the nuanced tacit components of navigational expertise, highlighting linguistic and non-linguistic design choices and their potential meanings for transactions with PT.
Breaking Taboos: Arab Breast Cancer Activism in Art and Popular Culture
Authors: Hamdar Abir
Published: September 2024

This essay examines the breast cancer accounts of four Arab female celebrities who have spoken out in public about their illness experience: the Egyptian TV presenter Basma Wahba and the actress Yasmine Ghaith, the Iraqi actress Namaa al-Ward, and the Lebanese pop singer Elissa. By reading their testimonies against the backdrop of critical literature on illness narratives and memoirs, as well as on cancer narratives and activism, the essay asks: how are the accounts of these women’s cancer diagnosis and treatment disclosed and described? In what medium do they communicate and circulate their breast cancer experiences? What significance do these public disclosures have on challenging and breaking the Arab taboo of cancer? In conclusion, the essay argues that these women’s willingness to share their stories in public constitutes an important form of multimedia activist intervention—visual, sonic, and performative—that is playing a key role in the development of a breast cancer movement.
The impact of demographic change on value set validity and obsolescence
Authors: Jonker Marcel F.
Published: September 2024

Purpose

To investigate the contribution of demographic trends in countries’ age and gender composition to value set validity and obsolescence.

Methods

Time-trade off (TTO) valuation data from 3 EQ-5D-3L value sets of 20 years or older from the United Kingdom, Japan, and the United States were re-analyzed using Bayesian heteroskedastic Tobit models with sex and age group-specific scale parameters. Original value sets were obtained by weighting the original preference structures with the countries’ original demographic composition at the time of the data collection. Updated value sets were created using the original preference structure weighted using the countries’ most recent demographic composition. The differences between the original and updated value sets were monitored and compared based on 95% credible intervals.

Results

The gender and age composition of the investigated countries changed in all 3 countries over time. The modelled health state preferences also depended on the respondents’ gender and age. However, the overall impact of this demographic change on the investigated value sets was negligeable in all 3 countries and this finding was robust to accounting for the impact of ethnicity trends in the United States.

Conclusion

Value sets may become redundant and obsolete for various reasons, but demographic change was not identified as a contributing factor.
Digital Transformations Through the Lens of the Collaborative, Co-Generative and Domesticative
Authors: Landmark Andreas D. , Ravn Johan E. , Torvatn Hans Y. , Øyum Lisbeth
Published: September 2024

We explore digital transformation and socio-technical systems through the perspectives of collaboration, co-generation, and domestication. Building on Morten Levin’s influential work, we discuss how digital technologies are integrated into work environments, emphasising the necessity for democratic, participatory approaches. We discuss how his ideas of collaborative, democratic practice originating in the 1990s hold up to today’s organisational challenges like digital and sustainability transitions. Are the ideas and practices still valid, or do we need to update them? We identify the grand challenges that must be met: Ensuring sustainable digital transitions and developing educated, skilled workers in digitally transformed organisations.
Venous thrombosis and obesity: from clinical needs to therapeutic challenges
Authors: La Rosa Federica , Montecucco Fabrizio , Liberale Luca , Sessarego Marta , Carbone Federico
Published: September 2024

Weight bias and stigma have limited the awareness of the systemic consequences related to obesity. As the narrative evolves, obesity is emerging as a driver and enhancer of many pathological conditions. Among these, the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a critical concern linked to obesity, ranking as the third most common cardiovascular condition. Obesity is recognized as a multifactorial risk factor for VTE, influenced by genetic, demographic, behavioral, and socio-economic conditions. Despite established links, the exact incidence of obesity related VTE in the general population remains largely unknown. The complexity of distinguishing between provoked and unprovoked VTE, coupled with gaps in obesity definition and assessment still complicates a tailored risk assessment of VTE risk. Obesity reactivity, hypercoagulability, and endothelial dysfunction are driven by the so-called ‘adiposopathy’. This state of chronic inflammation and metabolic disturbance amplifies thrombin generation and alters endothelial function, promoting a pro-thrombotic environment. Additionally, the inflammation-induced clot formation—also referred to as ‘immunothrombosis’ further exacerbates VTE risk in people living with obesity. Furthermore, current evidence highlights significant gaps in the management of obesity related VTE, particularly concerning prophylaxis and treatment efficacy of anticoagulants in people living with obesity. This review underscores the need for tailored therapeutic approaches and well-designed clinical trials to address the unique challenges posed by obesity in VTE prevention and management. Advanced research and innovative strategies are imperative to improve outcomes and reduce the burden of VTE in people living with obesity.
Automated Bayesian variable selection methods for binary regression models with missing covariate data
Authors: Bergrab Michael , Aßmann Christian
Published: September 2024

Data collection and the availability of large data sets has increased over the last decades. In both statistical and machine learning frameworks, two methodological issues typically arise when performing regression analysis on large data sets. First, variable selection is crucial in regression modeling, as it helps to identify an appropriate model with respect to the considered set of conditioning variables. Second, especially in the context of survey data, handling of missing values is important for estimation, which occur even with state-of-the-art data collection and processing methods. Within this paper, we provide an Bayesian approach based on a spike-and-slab prior for the regression coefficients, which allows for simultaneous handling of variable selection and estimation in combination with handling of missing values in covariate data. The paper also discusses the implementation of the approach using Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques and provides results for simulated data sets and an empirical illustration based on data from the German National Educational Panel Study. The suggested Bayesian approach is compared to other statistical and machine learning frameworks such as Lasso, ridge regression, and Elastic net, and is shown to perform well in terms of estimation performance and variable selection accuracy. The simulation results demonstrate that ignoring the handling of missing values in data sets can lead to the generation of biased selection results. Overall, the proposed Bayesian method offers a holistic, flexible, and powerful framework for variable selection in the presence of missing covariate data.
Safer or Endangered at Home?: An Examination of Neighborhood Effects on Family Violence Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Safer-at-Home Order
Authors: Harris Michelle N. , Konkel Rebecca H.
Published: September 2024

Research has begun to document the impact of COVID-19, and corresponding restrictions associated with the pandemic, to several unintended consequences including increased rates of family violence. Given these findings, there have been calls for research to understand predictors of family violence, and how such predictors may shift during differing periods of the pandemic. Rooted in the family stress model and social disorganization theory, this study used call for service data from two police departments located in the Midwest of the United States, to examine whether the relationship between sociostructural indices on the number of family violence incidents varied in the times before, during, and after COVID-19 Safer-at-Home orders. Based on a series of negative binomial regression models, results show that the association between neighborhood (i.e., Census block group) concentrated poverty, the percentage of the population between 15 and 24 years of age, and the percentage of the population that identify as male on family violence was amplified during and/or after the adoption of the Safer-at-Home order. Results also indicated that the Safer-at-Home order eradicated the once significant effect of residential mobility and family violence incidents. Lastly, although neighborhoods located within the more populous and metropolitan city experienced fewer family violence incidents, compared to the mixed rural-suburban city, the gap in the number of incidents per neighborhood decreased in the times following the enactment of the Safer-at-Home order. Based on these findings, proactive and reactive policies regarding resource dissemination and increasing neighboring activities are discussed.
Quantifying the morphology of rock joints and updating the JRC–JCS criterion considering the asperity distribution
Authors: Wang Feili , Meng Fanzhen , Wang Shuhong , Xiu Zhanguo
Published: September 2024

Roughness ubiquitously prevails in rock joints and controls the shear behaviours, permeability and damage characteristics of rock joints. A plethora of investigations have focused on the description of joint roughness; however, a detailed method for quantifying joint roughness and evaluating the shear strength has not yet been established. In this study, within the framework of fractal theory, an optical measurement scale was defined to depict the fractal characteristics of joint roughness, and a boundary measurement scale was used to identify first- and second-order asperities. A composite indicator $$\eta$$
η
, including the fractal roughness coefficient ($$R_{D}$$

R
D

), the coefficient describing the roughness order ($$\mu$$
μ
) and the anisotropy parameter ($$\lambda$$
λ
), was proposed to quantify the surface morphology, which takes the asperity distribution and roughness anisotropy into account. The relationship between $$\eta$$
η
and JRC was established, and the JRC–JCS criterion was further updated. Moreover, representative examples were given to show the steps required to quantify the morphology of rough joint surfaces with the new quantitative parameter. Direct shear tests were conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method in describing joint roughness and estimating joint shear strength; the results indicate that it is appropriate to use $$\eta$$
η
to estimate the joint roughness and that the proposed shear strength criterion can appropriately predict the shear strength within an acceptable error.
Can a Good Theory Be Built Using Bad Ingredients?
Authors: Field Sarahanne M. , Volz Leonhard , Kaznatcheev Artem , van Dongen Noah
Published: September 2024

The replication crisis threatens to seriously impact theory development in the cognitive, behavioral, and social sciences. We canvas three desiderata of scientific theories (explanation, prediction, and unification) and argue that the extent to which failures of replication prove problematic depends on the primary purpose of a theory. If the aim is to explain how nature works, then accuracy—and thus replicability—of the findings on which the theory is built is essential. If the aim is to predict outcomes, then replicability of findings from which the predictive model or theory is built is only important as far as it affects the reliability and accuracy of the predictions. If the aim is to unify and organize disparate findings, then the replicability of findings plays a non-essential role. The result is that a multifaceted and nuanced perspective is required to assess the value of replicability and the need for replication studies. Specifying a theory’s purpose and background commitments should clarify the debate on replication and contribute to better theory development in the cognitive, behavioral, and social sciences.
Improvement of seismic performance of concrete structures using magnetized concrete: an empirical study
Authors: Hashemi Shahroodi Seyed Yousef
Published: September 2024

High-Performance Concrete (HPC) offers better workability, compressive strength, and durability compared to ordinary concrete. One type of high-strength concrete is magnetic concrete. The primary objective of this empirical research is to investigate the potential of magnetized concrete in enhancing the seismic properties of concrete structures, in this technology, the physical structure of water is altered by inducing a magnetic field. The research employs empirical methods, including experimental testing and analysis, to assess the seismic performance of magnetized concrete compared to traditional concrete. As a result, the number of molecules in a molecular cluster decrease from 13 to 5 or 6, and the surface tension of the water is reduced. Using this water in concrete preparation increases the workability of the concrete mix and reduces the required water. Additionally, by facilitating cement hydration, it increases the compressive strength and durability of the concrete. This increased compressive strength enhances the stability and resistance of the structure against earthquake forces. Moreover, maintaining the compressive strength of the concrete while using magnetic water can reduce cement consumption. This reduction in cement consumption can lower the weight of the structure, which is very effective in reducing earthquake forces in tall buildings.
A comprehensive survey of fast graph clustering
Authors: Xue Jingjing , Xing Liyin , Wang Yuting , Fan Xinyi , Kong Lingyi , Zhang Qi , Nie Feiping , Li Xuelong
Published: September 2024

Graph clustering methods are popular due to their ability to discover clusters with arbitrary shapes. However, with the emergence of large-scale datasets, the efficiency of graph clustering algorithms has become a significant concern. As a result, many researchers have been drawn to the field of fast graph clustering algorithms, leading to rapid and intricate advancements in related research. Nevertheless, there is currently no comprehensive survey available for fast graph clustering algorithms. To address this gap, we review these fast graph clustering models in both single and multi-view fields, categorizing them based on different properties and analyzing their advantages and disadvantages. In the single-view field, the main categories we explore include large graph methods and bipartite graph methods. The former includes graph cut and graph density methods, while the latter includes graph cut, co-clustering, and label transmission methods. For the multi-view field, the main categories also include large graph methods and bipartite graph methods. The former is specifically designed to avoid the eigenvalue decomposition of graph cut models, and the latter focuses on accelerating algorithms by integrating anchor points. Towards the conclusion of this paper, we discuss the challenges and provide several further research directions for fast graph clustering.
Open Exceptions: Why Does the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) Exempts RIA and Ex Post Reviews?
Authors: Salinas Natasha Schmitt Caccia , Gomes Lucas Thevenard
Published: September 2024

In this article, we examine the evolving landscape of Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) decisions made by the National Health Regulatory Agency (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária [Anvisa]), a prominent federal agency leading RIA implementation in Brazil. We quantify Anvisa’s RIA usage rates, exploring the influence of emergency and other justifications for RIA exemptions both pre and post the enactment of detailed procedural requirements in a recent Presidential Order No. 10,411/2020. Our quantitative analysis shows a sharp decline in RIA usage after Presidential Order No. 10,411/2020 came into force in April 2021, as well as a diversification of the justifications given in decisions not to use RIA (exception decisions). This effect is present even if we take into consideration a large proportion of exception decisions tied to Anvisa’s regulatory stock review and to urgent measures prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, we conduct a qualitative analysis of exception decisions due to emergency, post-Presidential Order. We find that Anvisa failed to provide compelling justifications for exempting RIA in emergency regulations in several cases and avoids ex post reviews when RIAs are waived due to emergencies. We conclude the article with recommendations to enhance the scrutiny and transparency of Anvisa’s exception decisions to conduct RIA.
Constructing ensembles for hate speech detection
Authors: Kucukkaya Izzet Emre , Toraman Cagri
Published: September 2024

Hate speech against individuals and groups with certain demographics is a major issue in social media. Supervised models for hate speech detection mostly utilize labeled data collections to understand textual semantics. However, hate speech detection is a complex task that involves several aspects, including topic and writing style. The complexity of hate speech can be represented by an ensemble of models learned from different aspects of data. Moreover, ensemble members or base models can be modified to give attention to particular aspects of hate speech. In this study, we extract different aspects of hate speech to construct ensembles, thereby improving the performance of hate speech detection by ensemble learning. We conduct detailed experiments on five datasets in multiple languages to generalize our observations. The experimental results, supported by statistical significance tests, show that the performance of hate speech detection can be improved by capturing multiple aspects of hate speech. Our ensemble construction approach outperforms the baselines in terms of the F1 score of the Hate class in 80% of the cases, and the Offensive class in 75% of the cases. We also compare our approach with state-of-the-art ensemble methods from shared tasks and find that our highest-performing method can improve the performance of the Hate class in two out of three datasets. We further discuss our approach and experimental results in terms of ensemble parameters and writing style among ensemble members.
Can social investment empower social innovation? A comparative discourse analysis of UK and Scottish policy
Authors: Purna Nadeen , Tuckerman Lauren , Abdul Rahman Syahirah
Published: September 2024

Social investment can act as an empowering funding mechanism that could activate the economic agency of marginalised people while addressing their social needs. Nonetheless, political agendas might cause divergence in the achievement of social investment’s potential benefits. To develop our understanding in this area, this paper aims to extract discursive policy framings of social investment by comparing the UK and Scottish Government policies to identify the use of social investment and its implications on social innovation. Using corpus linguistic methods that allows for a framing analysis, the paper’s findings are twofold. Firstly, both the UK and Scottish Governments share similarities in the framing of social investment policy, especially in the proclivity towards the privatisation of social welfare delivery using market mechanisms. Secondly, the governments differ in their intensity of conviction for social investment which creates divergent implications for social innovation practice in the countries.
Thinking freedom relationally: Life projects and care as an ethical orientation for International Studies
Authors: FitzGerald Maggie
Published: September 2024

The field of International Studies has often been concerned with either negative conceptualisations of freedom and liberty (i.e. freedom from obstacles and interference) or positive notions of freedom (i.e. the possibility to act and develop). Further, these two notions of freedom have been conceived of as rival and incompatible. Drawing upon Simone de Beauvoir’s ethics of ambiguity (1947), this article rejects such a binary conceptualisation of freedom and instead puts forward a relational understanding of freedom. This article also begins to sketch the possibilities offered by such an understanding of freedom via a nascent dialogue between this relational freedom and the ethics of care. Specifically, it is posited that care and freedom weave together to form the very ethical space and conditions in and through which in becomes possible to pursue various life projects in the first place. Care and freedom, it is suggested, may thus provide one orientation for studying and practising international relations in a manner that moves towards building, amending, and maintaining relations that better support everyone (where this, crucially, also entails the ending of relations which oppress, harm, and cause suffering).
An online payload identification method based on parameter difference for industrial robots
Authors: Xu Tian , Tuo Hua , Fang Qianqian , Chen Jie , Fan Jizhuang , Shan Debin , Zhao Jie
Published: September 2024

Accurate online estimation of the payload parameters benefits robot control. In the existing approaches, however, on the one hand, only the linear friction model was used for online payload identification, which reduced the online estimation accuracy. On the other hand, the estimation models contain much noise because of using actual joint trajectory signals. In this article, a new estimation algorithm based on parameter difference for the payload dynamics is proposed. This method uses a nonlinear friction model for the online payload estimation instead of the traditionally linear one. In addition, it considers the commanded joint trajectory signals as the computation input to reduce the model noise. The main contribution of this article is to derive a symbolic relationship between the parameter difference and the payload parameters and then apply it to the online payload estimation. The robot base parameters without payload were identified offline and regarded as the prior information. The one with payload can be solved online by the recursive least squares method. The dynamics of the payload can be then solved online based on the numerical difference of the two parameter sets. Finally, experimental comparisons and a manual guidance application experiment are shown. The results confirm that our algorithm can improve the online payload estimation accuracy (especially the payload mass) and the manual guidance comfort.
Combining spatial clustering and tour planning for efficient full area exploration
Authors: Bao Jiatong , Mamun Sultan , Bao Jiawei , Zhang Wenbing , Yang Yuequan , Song Aiguo
Published: September 2024

Autonomous exploration in unknown environments has become a critical capability of mobile robots. Many methods often suffer from problems such as exploration goal selection based solely on information gain and inefficient tour optimization. Recent reinforcement learning-based methods do not consider full area coverage and the performance of transferring learned policy to new environments cannot be guaranteed. To address these issues, a dual-stage exploration method has been proposed, which combines spatial clustering of possible exploration goals and Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) based tour planning on both local and global scales, aiming for efficient full-area exploration in highly convoluted environments. Our method involves two stages: exploration and relocation. During the exploration stage, we introduce to generate local navigation goal candidates straight from clusters of all possible local exploration goals. The local navigation goal is determined through tour planning, utilizing the TSP framework. Moreover, during the relocation stage, we suggest clustering all possible global exploration goals and applying TSP-based tour planning to efficiently direct the robot toward previously detected but yet-to-be-explored areas. The proposed method is validated in various challenging simulated and real-world environments. Experimental results demonstrate its effectiveness and efficiency. Videos and code are available at https://github.com/JiatongBao/exploration.
On Peace
Authors: Marinoff Irene
Published: September 2024

Since the Fall man has been haunted by the vision of peace, of a state in which the fulfilment of desire would be complete and undisturbed. The longing for peace is as universal as desire itself; for the very idea of desire includes the wish for peace, inasmuch as the full enjoyment of any coveted good can only be ensured by peace. Even wars, as St Thomas points out, are only fought for the sake of Peace, in order to bring about conditions more satisfactory than the prevailing ones; while the very restlessness and sensationalism of an age merely indicates that the pursuit of genuine peace has been given up as impossible of fulfilment.
Christ the King
Authors: Cary-Elwes
Published: September 2024

We know Christ was to have been a king, because for one thing he was to
sit on the throne of David his father. Pilate, when he said provokingly,
‘Art thou a king then?’ spoke more truly than he was aware. The populace
that haunted Jesus’s footsteps, that followed, followed for the sake of a
miracle, it too was convinced that Jesus was the king who was to come. On
one occasion they went so far as to attempt force in order to have their way
with him; but he fled to the mountains alone.

It was certainly this riotous and revolutionary attitude of the crowd
that made our Lord, not disown the title, but avoid it. Nevertheless on two
great occasions he bore it publicly, and once he suffered it, when mockingly
acknowledged, in silence.

The first occasion was Palm Sunday. Of all the scenes in the New
Testament, that is one of the most strange. Christ had implied he would not
go up to Jerusalem at that time, but he had gone up alone.
'So Let Your Light Shine Before Men'
Authors: Graef H. C.
Published: September 2024

He who called himself the Light of the World said to those who followed him: ‘So let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven'—and from that day to this the light has been shining in the hearts of men.

What exactly is this light that shines in the disciples of our Lord, that, very near our own time, shone with such splendour in the great little saint of Lisieux? Though Jesus calls it your light', it is not a light that is ours by the very fact that we are human beings, as is our memory, our reason or our will; it is something that we have received in a very special way, for it is the divine gift of faith. And this light of faith that is in us our Lord bids us not to hide under a bushel but to let it shine.
The Walsingham Cross
Authors: Pilgrim A
Published: September 2024

It was in the late afternoon of a perfect summer's day that we set out from the Slipper Chapel with cross-bearer and acolytes to meet the pilgrims of the Cross. We had to hurry as we were rather late. We had arranged to meet the Cross at Barsham, but as we reached the brow of the hill that looks down upon the old manor, we saw the pilgrims marching towards us like a small compact battalion in battle array. We waited for them to reach us. They came as conquerors without slacking speed as they climbed the stiff hill. When they reached us, the Cross was erected and the Chaplain of the Slipper Chapel sprinkled it with holy water. Not a word was spoken; the Cross spoke for itself for it had come into its own. The last rays of the setting sun shone upon the white beams of ash. The pilgrims then went through the normal hourly routine of the stations of the Cross.
Unstable right ventricular hypertension in pulmonary atresia and intact ventricular septum: a case report
Authors: Griesman Joshua D. , Barron David J. , Schwartz Steven M.
Published: September 2024

Arterial oxygen saturation in single ventricle patients is dependent on systemic cardiac output. Here, we describe a case of a newborn with single ventricle physiology and an unusual mechanism to explain poor cardiac output and cyanosis. This case highlights the importance of identifying and considering ventricular morphology and ventricular-ventricular interactions to understand clinical challenges.
Cardiac effects of COVID-19 infection in children
Authors: Arısüt Berkan , Kavgacı Akif , Gezgin Yıldırım Deniz , Bedir Demirdag Tugba , İncedere Fatma , Canbeyli Fatma , Kula Serdar , Oğuz Deniz , Terlemez Semiha
Published: September 2024

Background:

It is known established that the cardiac effects of COVID-19 infection are associated with poor prognosis and high mortality rates in infected patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cardiac effects of COVID-19 infection in paediatric patients and identify the correlations between clinical and laboratory data and the degree of cardiac involvement.

Materials and Methods:

A retrospective data analysis was conducted on 64 paediatric patients at Gazi University Department of Pediatrics who were treated as inpatients with a diagnosis of COVID-19. Patients were classified as “COVID-19-related cardiac involvement cases” if their electrocardiogram and echocardiogram results indicated a pathology and/or if their laboratory data indicated increased cardiac enzymes. All patients were divided into subgroups based on whether they had cardiac involvement and whether they were diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.

Results:

In comparison to patients who did not have cardiac involvement, those with cardiac involvement had significantly higher levels of hs-Troponin T, Pro-BNP, and D-dimer. Patients with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children had significantly longer PR intervals than those without multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (p = 0.0001). Patients with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children had a significantly higher rate of pathological valve insufficiencies (68.1%) than those without multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (14.2%) (p = 0.001).

Conclusion:

In our study, the strongest predictive biomarker of cardiac involvement in paediatric patients with COVID-19 infection was determined to be hs-Troponin T. It was observed that pathologic electrocardiogram changes could reflect cardiac involvement in the absence of any other signs. Patients with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children exhibited significantly greater rates of pathologic echocardiogram findings and myocardial dysfunction than those without multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. In all patients, pathologic electrocardiogram and echocardiogram findings were found to be strongly associated with the severity of inflammation.
Phase angle is inversely related to the consumption of ultra-processed foods and positively related to the consumption of minimally processed foods by university students: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Detopoulou Paraskevi , Levidi Despoina , Magni Olga , Dedes Vassilios , Tzoutzou Milia , Fappa Evaggelia , Gioxari Aristea , Panoutsopoulos Georgios
Published: September 2024

Objective:

Ultra-processed foods (UPF) and minimally processed foods (MPF) consumption are differentially connected to adiposity and possibly body composition. Phase angle (PhA) originates from bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and is connected to cellular health. This study is the first to investigate associations between UPF/MPF consumption and PhA.

Design:

A cross-sectional study was conducted. Anthropometrical and BIA were performed. The Hellenic Physical Activity Questionnaire was used for physical activity evaluation, while a validated FFQ was used for dietary assessment. UPF and MPF intake (% energy) were determined according to the NOVA system. Partial correlation coefficients of PhA and dietary variables were assessed after multi-adjustment.

Participants:

Students were recruited (n 151, 114 women).

Setting:

University

Results:

Median and interquartile range (IQR) of PhA were 5·5° (5·1–6·4°) in the total sample, 6·8° (6·1–7·3°) in men and 5·3° (5·1–5·9°) in women (P < 0·001). The median and IQR for UPF consumption was 13·7 (8·1–33·4) % in the total sample, 23·8 (8·1–70·5) % in men and 12·9 (8·1–27·5) % in women (P < 0·001). The mean (sd) of MPF consumption was 60·2 (sd 15·7) % for the total sample, 59·1 (sd 16·4) % for men and 60·5 (sd 15·6) % for women (P = 0·720). The consumption of UPF was negatively (rho = –0·267, P = 0·002), while the consumption of MPF was positively (rho = 0·218, P = 0·010) associated with the PhA, after adjustment for age, sex, BMI and physical activity.

Conclusion:

PhA relates inversely to UPF and positively to MPF consumption. The observed associations possibly reflect the effects of diet on cellular health and in turn PhA.
Developing, delivering and evaluating a university-led cognitive behavioural therapy service for students
Authors: Robinson Lucy J. , Marshall Ellen , Dodd Alyson , Yeebo Mma , Morrison Rochelle , Lomax Claire
Published: September 2024

Demand for student mental health services is growing, as is the complexity of presentations to university student wellbeing services. There is a need for innovative service delivery models to prevent students falling in the gaps of existing provision, where outcomes from traditional talking therapies services have been shown to be poorer for students than non-student peers. In 2018, Newcastle University established a pilot in-house cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) service to provide high-intensity CBT for students at the university, harnessing the expertise of qualified and training staff from the psychological professions. This subsequently expanded into the Psychological Therapies Training and Research Clinic, appointing additional clinical staff. Here we present the journey of the clinic, from inception to implementation and expansion. We also present a descriptive evaluation of the first three years of operation, reporting on clinical activity, clinical outcomes and client experiences of the service. Data are presented from 605 referrals. Over 70% of referrals were assessed and over 60% transitioned into treatment. The treatment completion rate was 50%, with an overall recovery rate of 47.3% [using the same definition of recovery as NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression (NHS TTAD)]. Satisfaction, measured by the Patient Evaluation Questionnaire, was high. These outcomes are commensurate or better than seen in NHS TTAD services for students and young adults. Overall, the clinic has been a successful addition to the wellbeing offer of the university and has provided a number of positive further opportunities for both research and the clinical training programmes.

Key learning aims

(1)

To understand the process followed to establish a university-run cognitive behavioural therapy service for students and enable other institutions to replicate this model.

(2)

To identify whether universities can deliver safe, effective mental health services that are fully evaluated and result in commensurate clinical outcomes to other service contexts.

(3)

To reflect on key learning, challenges and ethical considerations in establishing such services.
Plasma Sheet Magnetic Flux Transport During Geomagnetic Storms
Authors: Raptis Savvas , Merkin Viacheslav , Ohtani Shinichi , Gkioulidou Matina , Regoli Leonardo H.
Published: September 2024

Plasma sheet convection is a key element of storm‐time plasma dynamics in the magnetosphere. While decades of observations have advanced our understanding of convection in general, specifically storm‐time convection remains poorly understood. Using data from ISAS/NASA's Geotail and NASA's MMS, this study characterizes plasma sheet magnetic flux transport across the magnetotail during numerous storms (both recovery and main phases) and contrasts these observations with those from quiet times. Our findings confirm the well‐documented enhancement of the convection electric field during geomagnetic storms. Beyond that, our results reveal a significant dawn‐dusk asymmetry. At dawn, the elevated convection is realized via relatively faster flows while at dusk, through a stronger northward magnetic field. These findings suggest a complex feedback loop between plasma sheet convection and ring current buildup, whereby the latter asymmetrically inflates the magnetotail on the dusk side, shifting the reconnection site and subsequently enhanced earthward flows toward dawn.
Delayed Summer Monsoon Onset in Response to the Cold Tongue in the South China Sea
Authors: Fang Xiaorong , Yu Weidong
Published: September 2024

The interannual variation of the South China Sea (SCS) summer monsoon onset (SMO) may bring extreme weather and climate disasters in East Asia. However, its skillful forecast still remains challenging. This study investigates the intraseasonal ocean‐atmosphere interaction that affects the SCSSMO through diagnostic analysis and numerical experiments. It reveals that the cold sea surface temperature in the Southern SCS during winter (referred as cold tongue, CT) is the key pathway controlling the propagation of the 30–60 days intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) convective system from the Bay of Bengal (BOB) to the SCS. The CT variations affect the interannual variation of the SCSSMO. Specifically, the strong (weak) CT after the peak of La Niña (El Niño) years suppresses (enhances) the propagating ISO from the BOB to the SCS, resulting in a delayed (advanced) SCSSMO. This finding offers the new scientific insights for improving the forecasting of the SCSSMO.
Dynamics of Tidal Effects on Coastal Upwelling Circulation Over Variable Shelves in the Northern South China Sea
Authors: Lin Shangfei , Gan Jianping
Published: September 2024

The impact of tidal forcing on the complex three‐dimensional (3D) wind‐driven upwelling dynamics over highly variable shelves is important but remains unclear. Combining field and satellite observations and a high‐resolution numerical model, we investigated tidal effects on the 3D transport and dynamics of the wind‐driven upwelling circulation in the northern South China Sea. Our results showed that tides weaken (strengthen) the subtidal along‐isobath and cross‐isobath transports in the inner (outer) shelf, primarily by modulating the corresponding cross‐isobath and along‐isobath pressure gradients. The tidally induced geostrophic adjustment is predominantly contributed by its barotropic effect due to sea level gradients above the bottom boundary layer (BBL) in both the inner and outer shelves. The baroclinic process, caused by tidally modulated density gradients, counteracts the barotropic effect and dominates the intensified onshore flow within a thickened BBL from the outer to middle shelves, together with the enhanced bottom stress. Based on the vorticity dynamic, this baroclinic process leads to an amplified joint effect of baroclinicity and relief over the steep shelf that strengthens tidally modulated along‐isobath pressure gradients. While tidally enhanced bottom stress curl can be essential in the inner shelf. The intensity of tidal modulation varies across different shelves, depending on tidal strength and bottom topography. The subtidal bottom onshore transport can increase by sevenfold when strong tidal currents persist over a steep outer shelf. This comprehensive study unveiled the dynamics of tidal effects on the upwelling and the importance of an interlinked tidal‐subtidal system over complex shelf topography.