bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Genome-Wide DNA Methylation Profiling Reveals Low Methylation Variability in Moyamoya Disease
Authors: Tokairin Kikutaro , Ito Masaki , Lee Alex G. , Teo Mario , He Shihao , Cheng Michelle Y. , Steinberg Gary K.
Published: October 2024

Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a chronic cerebrovascular disorder that can lead to stroke and neurological dysfunctions. Given the largely sporadic nature and the role of gene-environment interactions in various diseases, we examined epigenetic modifications in MMD. We performed genome-wide DNA methylation using Illumina 850 K Methylation EPIC BeadChip, in two racially distinct adult female cohorts: a non-Asian cohort (13 MMD patients and 7 healthy controls) and an Asian cohort (14 MMD patients and 3 healthy controls). An additional external cohort with both sexes (females: 5 MMD patients and 5 healthy controls, males: 5 MMD patients and 5 healthy controls) was included for validation. Our findings revealed strikingly low DNA methylation variability between MMD patients and healthy controls, in both MMD female cohorts. In the non-Asian cohort, only 6 probes showed increased variability versus 647 probes that showed decreased variability. Similarly, in the Asian cohort, the MMD group also displayed a reduced methylation variability across all 2845 probes. Subsequent analysis showed that these differentially variable probes are located on genes involved in key biological processes such as methylation and transcription, DNA repair, cytoskeletal remodeling, natural killer cell signaling, cellular growth, and migration. These findings mark the first observation of low methylation variability in any disease, contrasting with the high variability observed in other disorders. This reduced methylation variability in MMD may hinder patients’ adaptability to environmental shifts, such as hemodynamic stress, thereby influencing vascular homeostasis and contributing to MMD pathology. These findings offer new insights into the mechanisms of MMD and potential treatment strategies.
SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Exacerbates Thromboembolic Cerebrovascular Complications in Humanized ACE2 Mouse Model
Authors: Heath Stan P. , Hermanns Veronica C. , Coucha Maha , Abdelsaid Mohammed
Published: October 2024

COVID-19 increases the risk for acute ischemic stroke, yet the molecular mechanisms are unclear and remain unresolved medical challenges. We hypothesize that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein exacerbates stroke and cerebrovascular complications by increasing coagulation and decreasing fibrinolysis by disrupting the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS). A thromboembolic model was induced in humanized ACE2 knock-in mice after one week of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein injection. hACE2 mice were treated with Losartan, an angiotensin receptor (AT1R) blocker, immediately after spike protein injection. Cerebral blood flow and infarct size were compared between groups. Vascular-contributes to cognitive impairments and dementia was assessed using a Novel object recognition test. Tissue factor-III and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 were measured using immunoblotting to assess coagulation and fibrinolysis. Human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC) were exposed to hypoxia with/without SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to mimic ischemic conditions and assessed for inflammation, RAAS balance, coagulation, and fibrinolysis. Our results showed that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein caused an imbalance in the RAAS that increased the inflammatory signal and decreased the RAAS protective arm. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein increased coagulation and decreased fibrinolysis when coincident with ischemic insult, which was accompanied by a decrease in cerebral blood flow, an increase in neuronal death, and a decline in cognitive function. Losartan treatment restored RAAS balance and reduced spike protein-induced effects. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein exacerbates inflammation and hypercoagulation, leading to increased neurovascular damage and cognitive dysfunction. However, the AT1R blocker, Losartan, restored the RAAS balance and reduced COVID-19-induced thromboembolic cerebrovascular complications.
How Do Multiplicative and Relational Thinking Contribute to Multidigit Division?
Authors: Schulz Andreas
Published: October 2024

Multiplicative thinking (MT), relational thinking (RT), and multidigit division are highly important for facilitating the transition from arithmetic to algebra in the middle grades. The present study analyzed the extent to which the contribution of MT to multidigit division was mediated by 472 fourth- and fifth-grade students’ RT and how their RT supported the use of multiple and clever shortcut strategies for multidigit division. The MT measurement instrument mapped the progression from additive to multiplicative thinking in two proficiency levels, and the RT measurement instrument operationalized the progression from understanding and using relationships between numbers to understanding and using relationships between terms in four proficiency levels. RT was a complete mediator of the impact of MT on multidigit division and had a particularly strong influence on the use of 10 × N patterns and advanced strategies, including shortcut strategies.
Diversifying Skin Tone Representation in Medical School Dermatology Curriculum
Authors: Barzallo Devin , Ofori-Darko Afua A. , Perez Ashley M. , DiSano Katherine
Published: October 2024

The lack of diversity in medical education contributes to disparities in dermatologic health outcomes, particularly for patients of color. This study evaluates second-year medical students’ comfort in diagnosing conditions in skin of color (SOC) and explores strategies to improve their confidence. We hypothesize that a curriculum enriched with SOC representation will enhance diagnostic skills. Surveys from Fall 2020 and Fall 2022 showed increased student comfort in diagnosing SOC. Fall 2022 students, exposed to more diverse dermatologic photos, demonstrated greater confidence. These findings underscore the necessity of integrating SOC content into medical curricula to address healthcare disparities.
What’s the Future for Science in the New Zealand Curriculum?
Authors: Stewart Georgina Tuari , Eames Chris , Hipkins Rose , Cheng Maurice M. W. , Birdsall Sally , Buntting Cathy , Carpendale Jared , Edwards Richard , Hunt Davina , Swanson Carolyn
Published: October 2024

This commentary article considers the current contentious debates over the national school science curriculum in Aoteaora New Zealand. The co-authors of this commentary are members of a group of science teacher educators and science education researchers who met recently to discuss concerns over aspects of these debates in the context of a wider political contest over the control and direction of education policy.
Changes in the Perception of Error Announcements from the German Two-Tier Enforcement
Authors: Berninger Marc
Published: October 2024

When the German financial reporting enforcement was introduced in 2004, the legislator chose an innovative approach: He combined a private enforcement institution with a governmental agency while sanctioning was carried out solely by publicly announcing identified accounting errors. Subsequently, investors were confronted with up to then unprecedented ‘error announcements’ from the enforcement system. For a sample of 213 announcements from 2006 to 2019, the paper analyzes the adaptation process of investors to this new information. While significant negative market reactions around the announcement dates can be found for the whole observation period, the results also show that the investors’ views of the error announcements change over time. Especially in the early years, the observed market reactions are strongly linked to the impact of the accounting error on the firm’s financial situation. This link weakens over time and factors related to the nature of the error become more important to investors. In particular, errors that are attributable to the unjustifiable application of professional judgment lead to significantly more negative effects.
Predicting Multiple Outcomes Associated with Frailty based on Imbalanced Multi-label Classification
Authors: Tarekegn Adane Nega , Michalak Krzysztof , Costa Giuseppe , Ricceri Fulvio , Giacobini Mario
Published: October 2024

Frailty syndrome is prevalent among the elderly, often linked to chronic diseases and resulting in various adverse health outcomes. Existing research has predominantly focused on predicting individual frailty-related outcomes. However, this paper takes a novel approach by framing frailty as a multi-label learning problem, aiming to predict multiple adverse outcomes simultaneously. In the context of multi-label classification, dealing with imbalanced label distribution poses inherent challenges to multi-label prediction. To address this issue, our study proposes a hybrid resampling approach tailored for handling imbalance problems in the multi-label scenario. The proposed resampling technique and prediction tasks were applied to a high-dimensional real-life medical dataset comprising individuals aged 65 years and above. Several multi-label algorithms were employed in the experiment, and their performance was evaluated using multi-label metrics. The results obtained through our proposed approach revealed that the best-performing prediction model achieved an average precision score of 83%. These findings underscore the effectiveness of our method in predicting multiple frailty outcomes from a complex and imbalanced multi-label dataset.
Incomplete Objectives in Decision Making: How Omitting Objectives Affects Identifying the Most Promising Alternative
Authors: Abdeen Sara J. M. , Methling Florian , von Nitzsch Rüdiger
Published: October 2024

Research has shown that decision-makers omit a significant number of their objectives when making a decision. This study examines the consequences of incomplete objectives on decision making, i.e., how does omitting objectives affect identifying the most promising alternative? We investigate this question using a dataset of 945 observed decisions. These decisions were developed by students using the decision-skills and training tool entscheidungsnavi.com. The tool guides students in a step-by-step process based on value-focused thinking, multi-attribute utility theory, and debiasing methods. Results show that omitting objectives significantly reduces the chances of identifying the most promising alternative. Hence, neglecting only 20% of the objectives is sufficient to mislead more than one in four decisions. We have found three factors that influence this risk of misidentifying the most promising alternative: (1) the weight of the omitted objectives; (2) the consensus on the best alternative across all objectives; and (3) the consensus on the ranking of all alternatives across all objectives.
Multi-label semantic segmentation of magnetic resonance images of the prostate gland
Authors: Locherer Mark , Bonenberger Christopher , Ertel Wolfgang , Hadaschik Boris , Stumm Kristina , Schneider Markus , Radtke Jan Philipp
Published: October 2024

Prostate segmentation is a substantial factor in the diagnostic pathway of suspicious prostate lesions. Medical doctors are assisted by computer-aided detection and diagnosis systems systems and methods derived from artificial intelligence deep learning-based systems have to be trained on existing data. Especially freely available labeled prostate magnetic resonance imaging data is rare. With regard to this problem, we show a method to combine two existing small datasets to form a bigger one. We present a data processing pipeline consisting of a cascaded network architecture that is able to perform multi-label semantic segmentation, hence, capable of classifying each pixel in a $$\textrm{T}_{2}$$

T
2

-weighted image not only to one class but to a subset of the prostate zones and classes of interest. This delivers richer information such as overlapping zones that are key to medical radiological examination. Additionally, we describe how to integrate expert knowledge in our deep learning system. To increase data variety for training and evaluation we use image augmentation on our two datasets—a freely available dataset and our new open-source dataset. To combine the datasets we denoise the contourings in our dataset by using an effective yet simple algorithm based on standard computer vision methods only. The performance of the presented methodology is compared and evaluated using the dice score metric and 5-fold cross-validation on all datasets. Although we trained on tiny datasets our method achieves excellent segmentation quality and is even able to detect prostate cancer. Our method to combine the two datasets reduces segmentation errors and increases data variety. The proposed architecture significantly improves performance by including expert knowledge via feature-map concatenation. On the initiative for collaborative computer vision benchmarking dataset we achieve on average dice scores of approximately 91% for the whole prostate gland, 67% for the peripheral zone and 75% for the prostate central gland. We find that image augmentation except contrast limited adaptive histogram equalisation did not have much influence on the segmentation quality. Derived and enhanced from existing methods we present an approach that is able to deliver multi-label semantic segmentation results for prostate magnetic resonance imaging. This approach is simple and could be applied to other applications of deep learning as well. It improves the segmentation results by a large margin. Once tweaked to the data, our denoising and combination algorithm delivers robust and accurate results even on data with segmentation errors.
Efficacy of sevoflurane flush out and activated charcoal filtration—a bench study
Authors: Mörtl Maximilian , Schwaiger Daniel , Lederer Wolfgang , Weiss Florentin , Chawaguta Anesu , Wiesenhofer Helmut , Mayhew Chris A. , Ruzsanyi Veronika
Published: October 2024

Purpose

A bench study to assess the elimination of sevoflurane from an anesthetic workstation using three different processing methods.

Methods

Sevoflurane concentrations from samples of the inspiratory breathing hose and air samples from within the investigation room were assessed during predetermined flush out intervals using Gas Chromatography-Ion Mobility Spectrometry. The primary objective was to determine the time to reach concentrations below 5 ppmv.

Results

Reduction of sevoflurane volume concentrations below a threshold of 5 ppmv was achieved within the first minute after removal of the vaporizer and the complete exchange of the soda and the breathing system and within the 15 min measurement interval after inclusion of two activated charcoal filters without a 90 s of flushing and without changing of the breathing hoses as required by the manufacturer.

Conclusions

Complete removal of the vaporizer and an exchange of the soda and the ventilation unit most quickly reduced sevoflurane concentrations, but the total processing interval may exceed 30 min. Inserted activated charcoal filters without a previous 90 s of flushing and without changing the breathing hoses followed by flushing only with raised fresh gas flow allow ventilation below trigger threshold to be reached within due time.
Q vs A proximities in construed modes of learning: Excitement and performance of university students in China’s Northeast
Authors: Zhao Xuanwei , Xie Mingyi , Michael Kathy
Published: October 2024

This study explores how Q-proximity and A-proximity affect the student's learning excitement and performance, and how they differ in these effects. Using the Construal Level Theory (CLT), a questionnaire was designed with multiple models (in which the student owns the Q, A, both or neither). The study then factored Qs and As to obtain two respective proximities and link them to excitement and performance scores. Based on 590 useful questionnaire responses, the study identified the following findings, 1. with structural equation modelling (SEM) both Q and A proximities encouraged student learning excitement, although the A excitement was greater than the Q excitement and 2. the Q-proximity decreases performance whilst the A-proximity increases performance. Additionally, the study used multiple analyses of individual learning modes concerning excitement and performance. The results of the multiple regression analysis appear to be consistent with the research of Malik (Current Psychology 43:545–564, 2024), and the inclusion of AI (Artificial Intelligence) learning modes. The main conclusion of the study is that Chinese learners prefer answers to the questions in their learning, teaching and application of knowledge.
Counterfactual discriminative micro-expression recognition
Authors: Li Yong , Liu Menglin , Lao Lingjie , Wang Yuanzhi , Cui Zhen
Published: October 2024

Micro-expressions are spontaneous, rapid and subtle facial movements that can hardly be suppressed or fabricated. Micro-expression recognition (MER) is one of the most challenging topics in affective computing. It aims to recognize subtle facial movements which are quite difficult for humans to perceive in a fleeting period. Recently, many deep learning-based MER methods have been developed. However, how to effectively capture subtle temporal variations for robust MER still perplexes us. We propose a counterfactual discriminative micro-expression recognition (CoDER) method to effectively learn the slight temporal variations for video-based MER. To explicitly capture the causality from temporal dynamics hidden in the micro-expression (ME) sequence, we propose ME counterfactual reasoning by comparing the effects of the facts w.r.t. original ME sequences and the counterfactuals w.r.t. counterfactually-revised ME sequences, and then perform causality-aware prediction to encourage the model to learn those latent ME temporal cues. Extensive experiments on four widely-used ME databases demonstrate the effectiveness of CoDER, which results in comparable and superior MER performance compared with that of the state-of-the-art methods. The visualization results show that CoDER successfully perceives the meaningful temporal variations in sequential faces.
Integration of remote sensing data and GIS technologies in river management system
Authors: Chatrabhuj  , Meshram Kundan , Mishra Umank , Omar Padam Jee
Published: October 2024

Effective River system management is essential for conserving water resources, improving agricultural productivity, and sustaining ecological health. Remote sensing is crucial for evaluating and tracking several elements of river systems. The study explores the incorporation of remote sensing into Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to acquire a thorough comprehension of river dynamics and accurately record minor fluctuations in river conditions. The study demonstrates the utilization of satellite series such as Landsat, Sentinel to enhance monitoring and management methods through the analysis of high-resolution imagery and data. AI helps remote sensing by automating data processing, finding patterns, and making predictions about river conditions and trends. Machine learning techniques enhance the analytical capabilities of GIS and remote sensing data by accurately classifying land cover, predicting flood events, and evaluating water quality. The research highlights the novel approaches of utilizing remote sensing and GIS to tackle the issues related to data accessibility, analysis, and verification. The study also acknowledges specific constraints and difficulties, such as concerns over the accessibility of data, intricacies in analysis, and the processes involved in validation. The statement underscores the importance of ongoing research, technical progress, and collaboration among stakeholders to overcome these limitations and fully exploit the capabilities of remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and geographic information systems. An integrated approach is crucial for the development of successful policies and strategies that improve the resilience and sustainable management of river systems. This approach eventually promotes sustainable water resource practices and ecological preservation.
A compact wideband MIMO antenna with efficient isolation for S and C-bands applications
Authors: Khushbu  , Prakash Amit
Published: October 2024

This work explored a wideband Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna that has a compact rectangular shape, a rectangular stair slot, and a C-shaped metamaterial for isolation improvement. A wideband antenna has been developed and fabricated to determine the effectiveness of a specified metamaterial. To get minimum mutual coupling, the C-shaped metamaterial is positioned between the two rectangular antennas. According to the simulation, the MIMO antenna operates between 2.61 GHz and 7.64 GHz (5.03 GHz). Peak gain of the designed MIMO antenna from 3.4 to 9.1 dB. The envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) is < 0.03, diversity gain (DG) is > 9.99, mean effective gain (MEG) is < − 3 dB, and channel capacity loss (CCL) 0.005 is accomplished. The measured and simulated outcomes are in close acceptance of the performance parameter. Thus, the designed MIMO antenna is ascendancy for S and C-band applications such as Wi-Fi, Satellite up and downlink, and 5G.
We're in the Library!: welcoming creative practices, sharing responsibilities of access
Authors: Greenan Althea
Published: October 2024

This article discusses how the Women's Art Library fosters creativity through the experience of the many artistic research practices hosted since the collection was installed in Goldsmiths University of London in the Library as a Special Collection.
Geomorphological and historical records of the surge-type behaviour of Hansbreen (Svalbard)
Authors: Osika Aleksandra , Jania Jacek
Published: October 2024

This paper presents geomorphological and historical records of the surge-type behaviour of Hansbreen, one of the most studied tidewater glaciers in Svalbard. The surge-type behaviour of the glacier has not been considered before due to the lack of evidence of this phenomenon. We integrate geomorphological mapping of the terrestrial and submarine forefields with historical data from the 19th and 20th centuries to reconstruct the glacier dynamics and identify the possible timing of surging. Landform assemblages are representative of the surging glacier landsystem, including crevasse-squeeze ridges (CSRs) and submarine streamlined glacial lineations. Abundant CSRs in the outer part of the terrestrial forefield were also documented in the 1980s, but most have been obliterated since then. We suggest the identified surge landsystem was produced during a surge of Hansbreen detected from photographs taken during the Austro-Hungarian expedition in 1872. Historical photogrammetric photos from the Norwegian expedition in 1918 revealed surge-diagnostic features in the glacier surface, including a folded medial moraine and a dense, complex network of crevasses. A potential next surge remains questionable in the following decades due to the low-lying accumulation area of the main stream hindering the mass build-up, but potential surges of the tributary glaciers should not be excluded.
Kahneman's tryst with reasonableness: a tease unfulfilled?
Authors: Banerjee Sanchayan , Dold Malte
Published: October 2024

Kahneman's criticism of neoclassical rationality was central to his research programme. He argued that rationality understood as temporal consistency among preferences and beliefs is inapt as a descriptive and prescriptive standard of decision-making. Descriptively, consistency ignores high decision costs and biases, such as framing effects. Prescriptively, it is problematic since it neglects the processual nature of choice and the crucial role of regret. Instead, Kahneman argued in favour of usingreasonablenessas a standard, though he did not fully develop the concept in his work.
Psychiatrists’ views on clozapine prescribing in Ireland
Authors: Grant A. , McManus R. , Belay H. , Mahon M. , Murad F. , O’ Donoghue B. , Lally J.
Published: October 2024

Introduction:

Despite proven effectiveness in refractory schizophrenia, clozapine remains underutilised, and it is important to understand potential reasons for this. This study’s aim was to examine in a National sample of Consultant Psychiatrists their knowledge of, attitudes and perceived barriers to clozapine use.

Methods:

A novel questionnaire was designed and distributed by email to 275 Consultant Psychiatrists in Republic of Ireland.

Results:

Twenty-eight percent (n = 77) completed the survey, with 55% of respondents practicing for 15 or more years. Clinicians expressed confidence in managing clozapine treatment and side effects and were well aware of clozapine’s clinical effectiveness and guideline-based use. A majority indicated insufficient experience managing rechallenge and half expressed insufficient experience managing adverse events. Perceived patient factors were highlighted as barriers with 69% of respondents reporting patients’ concern about effectiveness and 50% regarding tolerability. Sixty-four percent (n = 40) indicated that a specialised/tertiary clozapine service would facilitate initiation, with 57% (n = 36) reporting less frequent blood monitoring would aid clozapine prescribing. A majority identified that access to dedicated staff (81%, n = 51) and dedicated day hospital services (84%, n = 53) would facilitate community initiation.

Conclusion:

Consultants are familiar with clozapine use and related guidelines. Dedicated staff and facilities for clozapine use is one identified structural change to enhance clozapine prescribing in Ireland. Tertiary service or clinical advice service would assist in clozapine rechallenge cases or in managing significant adverse events. More structured patient education regarding clozapine effectiveness and professional development programmes focused on managing side effects and rechallenge may promote clozapine use.
Propagation of underwater wave groups in a compressible ocean coupled with an elastic seafloor
Authors: Korde Umesh A.
Published: October 2024

The overall system of interest is an infinite half-space in which a compressible ocean is the top layer and an elastic seafloor (together with the crust beneath) forms a semi-infinite bottom layer. Whereas water-column compression waves and seafloor waves individually have received considerable attention, not much is known about their propagation as groups. This work utilizes the group behaviour of these waves to derive energy balance relations for wavenumber spectra for wave groups propagating through a mildly non-uniform water-column–seafloor system. Dispersion relations for the coupled system are derived using known kinematic and kinetic conditions at the interface, and free and forced wave solutions for the wavenumber spectra are obtained, with particular attention to the case when certain frequency–wavenumber combinations in the forcing excite the two-media system into resonance. Wavenumber spectra predicted using the theory for mildly non-uniform media are found to be close to those predicted assuming uniform media, though the effect of non-uniformity becomes more noticeable as the groups propagate farther from the generation area. Here, nonlinear interactions among stationary, random multi-directional surface-wave fields provide the forcing for groups of compression waves in the water and surface waves on the seafloor. The formulation includes the cumulative effect of multiple generation areas along the group propagation direction. Comparisons with observational data from a sensor array in the Atlantic Ocean indicate that the theory can be applied to reconstruct plausible combinations of generation areas and interaction times that are consistent with the measured data, for deriving approximate predictions at down-wave distances along the group propagation directions. Implications of this and other findings are discussed for (i) the potential for energy conversion from water-column compression waves on the seafloor, (ii) tracking of tropical cyclones from the seafloor, and (iii) quantification and comparative assessment of low-frequency mid-ocean ambient noise and microseism activity.
Coupled Richtmyer–Meshkov and Kelvin–Helmholtz instability on a shock-accelerated inclined single-mode interface
Authors: Cao Qing , Li Jiaxuan , Wang He , Zhai Zhigang , Luo Xisheng
Published: October 2024

The coupling of Richtmyer–Meshkov instability (RMI) and Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI), referred to as RM-KHI, on a shock-accelerated inclined single-mode air–SF

$_6$

interface is studied through shock-tube experiments, focusing on the evolution of the perturbation distributed along the inclined interface. To clearly capture the linear (overall linear to nonlinear) evolution of RM-KHI, a series of experiments with a weak (relatively strong) incident shock is conducted. For each series of experiments, various

$\theta _{i}$

(angle between incident shock and equilibrium position of the initial interface) are considered. The nonlinear flow features manifest earlier and develop faster when

$\theta _{i}$

is larger and/or shock is stronger. In addition, the interface with

$\theta _{i}>0^{\circ }$

evolves obliquely along its equilibrium position under the effect of KHI. RMI dominates the early-time amplitude evolution regardless of

$\theta _{i}$

and shock intensity, which arises from the discrepancy in the evolution laws between RMI and KHI. KHI promotes the post-early-stage amplitude growth and its contribution is related positively to

$\theta _{i}$

. An evident exponential-like amplitude evolution behaviour emerges in RM-KHI with a relatively strong shock and large

$\theta _{i}$

. The linear model proposed by Mikaelian (Phys. Fluids, vol. 6, 1994, pp. 1943–1945) is valid for RM-KHI within the linear period. In contrast, the adaptive vortex model (Sohn et al., Phys. Rev. E, vol. 82, 2010, p. 046711) can effectively predict both the interface morphology and overall amplitude evolutions from the linear to nonlinear regimes.
Flow patterns and energy spectra in forced quasi-two-dimensional turbulence: effect of system size and damping rate
Authors: Zhu Hang-Yu , Xie Jin-Han , Xia Ke-Qing
Published: October 2024

An experimental investigation is conducted to study the flow patterns, spectral properties and energy fluxes in thin-layer turbulence with varying system sizes and damping rates. It is found that although a system-size vortex (an indicator of spectral condensation) occurs for small system sizes and does not for large ones, the spectra for different system sizes consistently exhibit a scaling close to

$k^{-3}$

in inverse cascade (another indicator of spectral condensation). On the other hand, under a fixed system size larger than the friction-dominated length scale, the energy spectrum in the inverse cascade range changes from

$k^{-3}$

to

$k^{-5/3}$

as the damping rate increases, suggesting that the friction-dominated length scale may not be a suitable parameter for predicting spectral transition. At lower damping rates and large system sizes, turbulent structures grow larger via inverse cascade, manifesting as long streamers, and the small-scale vortices are suppressed. This suppression leads to a reduction of energy flux at intermediate scales and a change in the spectral shape. The dimensionless Taylor microscale is found to exhibit a monotonic dependence on the damping rate. With the reduction in the damping rate, the Taylor microscale increases to become comparable with the forcing scale, and the spectrum in inverse cascade transits to a steeper scaling,

$k^{-3}$

, indicating that the dimensionless Taylor microscale may be used as a diagnostic parameter for spectral transition.
Against the Odds: Explaining Mainstream Montenegrin Parties Domination of Bosniak and Albanian Minority Representation in Postcommunist Montenegro
Authors: Lika Idlir
Published: October 2024

The Bosniak and Albanian minorities in postcommunist Montenegro have supported and been represented by mainstream Montenegrin parties more than by their ethnic parties. This stands in striking contrast to the situation in neighboring Serbia and North Macedonia where the Bosniak and Albanian minorities vote almost exclusively for their ethnic parties. The Montenegrin case stands out as deviant also when one considers a number of extant explanations, all of which would predict a different outcome. Montenegrin Bosniaks and Albanians constitute two native, sizeable and geographically concentrated minority groups inhabiting a country with an institutional framework and several special electoral arrangements favoring minority parties. Drawing on original data on Bosniak and Albanian legislators elected across 12 parliamentary elections in Montenegro (1990–2023), municipality and country-level parliamentary election results and 12 semi-structured elite interviews, I argue that what explains the deviance in the Montenegrin case is the peculiar nature of Montenegrin identity, specifically the fact that it does not pit the majority against minority, but rather it pits the Montenegrin and Serbian components of the Orthodox majority against each other and in such a context the non-Orthodox minorities become critical political allies of the Montenegrin bloc against the Serbian one.
Driven by Revenge: Why Chechen Foreign Fighters Have Joined Ukraine Against Russia
Authors: Souleimanov Emil A. , Laryš Martin
Published: October 2024

While the motivations of individuals to become foreign fighters have been at the forefront of academic interest, an important motive—revenge—has so far remained under-researched. Drawing on the case study of pro-Ukrainian Chechen foreign fighters self-deployed in the ongoing Russo-Ukraine War, this article seeks to fill the gap in the extant literature by identifying and conceptualizing revenge. This article posits that two intertwined motives—revenge for perceived historical injustices and revenge for personal wrongs—have played an important role in motivating Chechens to become foreign fighters in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. This article suggests that while revenge might be a potent driving force of foreign fighting, its appeal may be stronger in the cultures of honor with the persisting notion of retaliation.
REVISITING THE FIVE-POWERS WAR RISK EXCLUSION
Authors: Kilpatrick Richard L.
Published: October 2024

Marine war risk insurance fundamentally contemplates casualties caused by international conflict. Curiously, however, standard clauses also exclude cover and automatically terminate war risk policies in the event of an outbreak of war between a select group of historically powerful States: China, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Russia. This article aims to demystify the origins of this five-powers clause and evaluate its prospective application through the lens of an emerging breed of confrontation among the world's major powers.
Internal waves and Rayleigh–Taylor instability in magnetized compressible strongly coupled dusty plasmas
Authors: Kumar Deepak , Prajapati Ram Prasad
Published: October 2024

This paper investigates the influence of compressibility on the internal wave modes and the density gradient-driven Rayleigh–Taylor (R–T) instability in magnetized strongly coupled dusty plasmas. The dusty magnetohydrodynamic model is formulated for compressible fluids, accounting for the effects of weakly coupled electrons/ions and strongly coupled dust particles under the influence of the gravitational field. The effect of the magnetic field on the dust dynamics has been incorporated through the magnetic force on the electrons and ions in quasineutral dusty plasmas. A dispersion relation of the R–T instability has been derived which has been modified because of the compressibility effect, dust acoustic wave speed and viscoelastic coefficients. The shear Alfvén and compressional viscoelastic wave modes become coupled in the dispersion characteristics. The modified R–T instability criterion is derived in terms of the Alfvén speed, viscoelastic effects and dust grain parameters. The graphical illustrations show that the growth rate of R–T instability has been suppressed due to compressibility, viscoelastic coefficients and dust acoustic speed. The results are useful to discuss the development of R–T instability in magnetized astrophysical dusty plasmas.
Two names, one species: redescription and phylogenetic position of Schrankiana formosula Freitas, 1959 provides new insights into the evolutionary history of the Cosmocercidae
Authors: Félix Adriano José Silva , Trindade Luiz Felipe Ferreira , Rebêlo Gabriel Lima , Neves Jorge Kevin Silva , Santos Ana Nunes , Maldonado Júnior Arnaldo , Costa-Campos Carlos Eduardo , Santos Jeannie Nascimento , Melo Francisco Tiago Vasconcelos
Published: October 2024

Schrankiana are gastrointestinal parasites of anurans, distributed throughout Central and South America. Schrankiana formosula and Schrankiana inconspicata are some of the most commonly reported species parasitising anurans from Brazil, and the morphological differences between them are unclear. In the present study, we redescribed S. formosula based on a re-examination of type series and newly collected material from the frog Leptodactylus pentadactylus in the state of Amapá, Brazil. Additionally, we re-examined the type series of S. inconspicata, and propose it as a junior synonym of S. formosula. We provide detailed morphological and morphometric data with intraspecific variation analyses and new molecular data for S. formosula. In the present phylogeny, S. formosula formed a well-supported clade with Raillietnema sp. and Labeonema synodontisi. Based on molecular phylogenetic analyses and some morphological similarities, our findings support the hypothesis that Schrankiana is a member of the family Cosmocercidae, not Atractidae. Additionally, we provide the first ultrastructural descriptions of S. formosula, and establish the species' phylogenetic position from the Cosmocercidae.
Longitudinal course of inflammatory-cognitive subgroups across first treatment severe mental illness and healthy controls
Authors: Sæther Linn Sofie , Ueland Thor , Haatveit Beathe , Vaskinn Anja , Bärthel Flaaten Camilla , Mohn Christine , E.G. Ormerod Monica B. , Aukrust Pål , Melle Ingrid , Steen Nils Eiel , Andreassen Ole A. , Ueland Torill
Published: October 2024

Background

While inflammation is associated with cognitive impairment in severe mental illnesses (SMI), there is substantial heterogeneity and evidence of transdiagnostic subgroups across schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar (BD) spectrum disorders. There is however, limited knowledge about the longitudinal course of this relationship.

Methods

Systemic inflammation (C-Reactive Protein, CRP) and cognition (nine cognitive domains) was measured from baseline to 1 year follow-up in first treatment SZ and BD (n = 221), and healthy controls (HC, n = 220). Linear mixed models were used to evaluate longitudinal changes separately in CRP and cognitive domains specific to diagnostic status (SZ, BD, HC). Hierarchical clustering was applied on the entire sample to investigate the longitudinal course of transdiagnostic inflammatory-cognitive subgroups.

Results

There were no case-control differences or change in CRP from baseline to follow-up. We confirm previous observations of case-control differences in cognition at both time-points and domain specific stability/improvement over time regardless of diagnostic status. We identified transdiagnostic inflammatory-cognitive subgroups at baseline with differing demographics and clinical severity. Despite improvement in cognition, symptoms and functioning, the higher inflammation – lower cognition subgroup (75% SZ; 48% BD; 38% HC) had sustained inflammation and lower cognition, more symptoms, and lower functioning (SMI only) at follow-up. This was in comparison to a lower inflammation – higher cognition subgroup (25% SZ, 52% BD, 62% HC), where SMI participants showed cognitive functioning at HC level with a positive clinical course.

Conclusions

Our findings support heterogenous and transdiagnostic inflammatory-cognitive subgroups that are stable over time, and may benefit from targeted interventions.
The semiotic repertoire of dairy cows
Authors: Cornips Leonie
Published: October 2024

This article moves from the familiar—the human—to the very different in sociolinguistics—the dairy cow. Based on multispecies ethnography, the aim of this article is to advocate the animal turn in sociolinguistics (Cornips 2019). The guiding question is how do non-human animals, that is, dairy cows—mutually and with humans—imbue their intraspecies and interspecies interaction with meaning that makes sense for the two species. The concept of semiotic repertoire is invoked in order to investigate how dairy cows draw on resources to make meaning, and the concept of material-semiotic assemblage is applied in order to account for the different effects generated by the resources that come together at particular moments. The assemblage perspective does not take a ‘cow’ or ‘human’ as discrete and fixed but focuses on the distributed and emergent agency as a relational effect of all elements involved: humans, non-humans, and other. (Intraspecies and interspecies interactions, the semiotic repertoire, assemblage, dairy cows, practices)*
What's behind the ‘K’? Common audio features of Korean popular music before and after the rise of K-POP
Authors: Miroudot Sébastien
Published: October 2024

Since its emergence in the 1990s, K-pop has constantly gained popularity and reached a wider audience. K-pop has been described as a blend of different music genres, such as pop, hip-hop, R'n’B and electronic music. However, there was Korean popular music before the rise of K-pop and not all popular music in Korea is K-pop. Using data from Spotify at the track level and exploratory data analysis tools, the paper provides an empirical analysis of the characteristics of Korean popular music since the 1990s and compares K-pop and related genres with Anglo-American pop genres in terms of acousticness, danceability, energy, speechiness and valence. While K-pop is close to the dance pop genre through its danceability, it has on average more energy and cheerfulness than Anglo-American pop. There is also more diversity in Korean popular music than suggested by the K-pop phenomenon. Finally, as K-pop became more successful, it did not become more similar in its audio features to Anglo-American pop.
The Digital Silk Road between National Rhetoric and Provincial Ambitions
Authors: Oreglia Elisa , Zheng Weidi
Published: October 2024

The Digital Silk Road (DSR) is usually described as the digital component of the Belt and Road Initiative that is reshaping the digital world order. Most existing research is concerned with the possible long-term consequences of the DSR rather than on what the DSR encompasses, how it developed and how it has changed since it was announced in 2015. We address this gap by reconstructing the origins of the DSR within China, with a focus on both rhetoric and concrete plans as they developed between central and provincial actors. We collected and analysed a corpus of 31 national and 130 provincial DSR-related plans. In contrast to prevailing views of the DSR as a unified, outward-facing strategy, we show that after an initial surge of related documents, the central government ceased to discuss the DSR in a meaningful way. Provincial governments then appropriated its rhetoric to legitimize their own digitization agendas, including upgrading infrastructure in poorer provinces and remaining plugged into export markets for those with an IT industry. Rather than reshaping the digital world order, the DSR has been appropriated by some provincial governments to attempt, mostly unsuccessfully, to shore up their own digital ambitions.
Adding an implication to logics of perfect paradefinite algebras
Authors: Greati Vitor , Marcelino Sérgio , Marcos João , Rivieccio Umberto
Published: October 2024

Perfect paradefinite algebras are De Morgan algebras expanded with an operation that allows for the full behavior of classical negation to be restored. They form a variety that is term-equivalent to the variety of involutive Stone algebras. Their associated multiple-conclusion (Set-Set) and single-conclusion () order-preserving logics are non-algebraizable self-extensional logics of formal inconsistency and undeterminedness determined by a six-valued matrix. We studied these logics extensively in Gomes et al. ((2022). Electronic Proceedings in Theoretical Computer Science357 56–76.) from both the algebraic and the proof-theoretical perspectives. In the present paper, we continue that study by investigating directions for conservatively expanding these logics with an implication connective (essentially, one that admits the deduction-detachment theorem). We first consider logics given by very simple and manageable non-deterministic semantics whose implication (in isolation) is classical. These, nevertheless, fail to be self-extensional. We then consider the implication realized by the relative pseudo-complement over the six-valued perfect paradefinite algebra. Our strategy is to expand the language of the latter algebra with this connective and study the (self-extensional) Set-Set and order-preserving and

$\top$

-assertional logics of the variety induced by the resulting algebra. We provide axiomatizations for such new variety and for such logics, drawing parallels with the class of symmetric Heyting algebras and with Moisil’s “symmetric modal logic.” For the order-preserving Set-Set logic, in particular, we obtain a Set-Set axiomatization that is analytic. We close by studying interpolation properties for these logics and concluding that the new variety has the Maehara amalgamation property.
Neither secular nor sectarian: perspectives on social life and politics among Beirut's religiously devout youth
Authors: Renne Fidelia Danielle
Published: October 2024

This paper explores the following question: How does individual religiosity and attachment to a religious community relate to sectarian political loyalties or interpersonal prejudices in a post-conflict, institutionally sectarianized society? The paper explores this question through dialectic, participatory methods with youth involved in community-based youth associations with a religious component. The paper investigates how religiously devout youth in Lebanon conceptualize the personal and communal elements of their religiosity in relation to sectarian politics. In this way, the paper contributes to a study of social sectarianism, in which scholars are striving to understand what individuals mean when they speak about sect, and how discussions surrounding sect mask more complex underlying social realities. Overall, these accounts suggest that personal and social religiosity both positively influence anti-sectarian political outlook among participants, while other factors, such as the institutional sectarianization of public life and a history of violent conflict maintain participants' default attachment to co-sectarian networks in terms of routine, economic security, and communal belonging.