bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On Monism and Pluralism: A Reply to Dickins, T. E.
Authors: Rodrigues António M. M. , Gardner Andy
Published: March 2023

Dickins has made some thoughtful suggestions as to why the important contributions of inclusive fitness theory have not been more celebrated by the proponents of the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis, considering the extent to which inclusive fitness theory has accommodated and illuminated—and, indeed, been motivated by—their “laundry list” of supposedly neglected evolutionary factors. We agree that this oversight could be explained, in part, by their seeing inclusive fitness as a “monist” alternative to a more “pluralist” multilevel selection that was not part of the Modern Synthesis. Here we clarify that multilevel selection and inclusive fitness are not competing explanations, but rather they address orthogonal issues, concerning the process of selection and the purpose of adaptation, respectively. We discuss the sense in which inclusive fitness is “monist” in providing the only generally correct adaptive maximand, but also “pluralist” in the sense of accommodating a diversity of adaptive agents. We also emphasise that multilevel selection was, in fact, part of the Modern Synthesis and, indeed, its inadequacies as a theory of organismal adaptation provided a crucial motivation for the concept of inclusive fitness.
Inclusive Fitness Theory as a Scientific Revolution: A Commentary on Futuyma
Authors: Rodrigues António M. M. , Gardner Andy
Published: March 2023

Futuyma reviews what he suggests are the main controversies to have gripped the field of evolutionary biology since the time of the Modern Synthesis. He argues that although some of these developments have led to significant and lasting insights (and he names the neutral theory as having been the most important in this respect), none have amounted to an actual revolution in the sense of the “overturning of a former verity”. Futuyma then considers the call for an Extended Evolutionary Synthesis, and he argues that this is, in effect, already underway, though only as part of the normal evolution of our field, which proceeds by building upon—rather than rejecting—that which has come before. We fully agree with Futuyma's assessment of the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis. However, we disagree with his suggestion that there have been no revolutions within evolutionary biology since the time of the Modern Synthesis. We contend that the explosive and far-reaching growth of inclusive-fitness theory represents a major revolution in evolutionary understanding. Indeed, the inclusive-fitness revolution has involved the only revision to the core logic of Darwinism since the 1850s—let alone the 1950s. And its ramifications certainly far surpass those of the neutral theory.
Conceptualising the Citizenship-Integration Nexus
Authors: Barbulescu Roxana , Goodman Sara Wallace , Pedroza Luicy
Published: March 2023

Beyond reiterating the well-known trope that citizenship is simultaneously a status, a category of belonging, and an identity, this volume gets back to the long-standing question about the relation between immigrant integration and the process of citizenship acquisition in Europe. In this chapter, we conceptualize the citizenship-integration nexus, we review the state of the art around this question and clarify our understanding of integration. Furthermore, we explain why and how the contribution to this volume help us to revisit the citizenship-integration nexus: showcasing the acquisition of citizenship as a multi-stakeholder process, pluralist in form, manifesting at many sites, levels, and times (before, during and after the formal process of naturalization), the contributions question three main assumptions of the nexus. First, that citizenship is the main path for social incorporation. Second, that policies and processes of citizenship acquisition are conducive to integration. Third, that naturalization is a vehicle for socioeconomic improvement. Based on the innovative analytical and methodological perspectives included in this book we propose that citizenship performs tasks other than – and sometimes regardless of – integration, while social incorporation goals are often met irrespective of the formal acquisition of citizenship.
“It Just Feels Weird” – Irish External Voting and the ‘Brexit Irish’
Authors: Barry Brown Vikki
Published: March 2023

Ireland is a country with a generous citizenship offering but restricted external voting rights. The first (or emigrant) generation lose the right to vote eighteen months after departure; other non-resident citizens, including those in Northern Ireland (NI) are currently ineligible to vote. In November 2020 the Irish Government committed to holding a referendum which if passed, would give all Irish citizens, resident and non-resident the right to vote in Presidential elections. This chapter, based on interviews with people born in the UK and Northern Ireland who acquired Irish passports following the UK’s referendum to leave the European Union considers the topic of Irish external voting through the lens of these new passport holders, exploring their relationship to political participation in the Republic of Ireland.
Teacher Education in Greenland
Authors: Demant-Poort Lars , Elstad Eyvind
Published: March 2023

Greenland, the world’s largest island, has more than 50 settlements and towns scattered along the coastline, from Siorapaluk in the very north to Aappilatoq more than 2.100 km further south. The vast distances between settlements pose logistical challenges for both schools and for teacher education. Greenland has immense social problems; many children grow up in homes with alcoholism, abuse and violence. The cultural distance between pupils and schooling is often also an issue. Many school-related challenges concern schools’ management, and teachers’ competencies. Teacher shortage, especially in smaller settlements, is a significant problem. Furthermore, teachers are expected to teach a variety of subjects that they are not trained to teach. On top of the challenges to primary and lower secondary schooling, there is a lack of Greenlandic teachers at the higher secondary school level, caused by the unavailability of sufficiently educated teachers from Greenland. Moreover, teacher education faces challenges in creating the conditions needed for interaction between theory and practice. The country has a colonial past but attained self-rule status in 2009. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the evolution of Greenlandic education and further explore the development of Greenlandic teacher education and its challenges.
The Education of Teachers in Sweden: An Endeavour Struggling with Academic Demands and Professional Relevance
Authors: Åstrand Björn
Published: March 2023

This chapter presents the main features of how teachers are educated in Sweden, including current reforms due to teacher shortages and criticism of teacher quality. It based on from the notion of teacher education as a societally critical activity, orienting around tensions, balances and difficulties in teacher education. It is argued that teacher education is a complex activity that policy and practice unfortunately do not pay adequate attention to. Teacher education in Sweden is profoundly varied. Recurrent top-down reforms complicate teacher education, as an understanding of the central aspects of teacher education has not been agreed upon or endorsed. The continued criticism of teacher education, despite many reforms and changing practices, might indicate that recurring political demands to reform teacher education rest on unclear or inadequate grounds or incomplete information, or they might be conditioned by overarching political motivations. As teacher education is central to education in general and to the advancement of democracy, this is particularly worrying. It is through an analysis of the full complexity of teacher education that it becomes possible to design adequate reforms that result in transformative work on how to ‘get better at getting better’, a feature that applies to both organizations and professionals.
Teacher Education in the Faroe Islands
Authors: Harryson Hans
Published: March 2023

This chapter begins with an overview of the 150-year history of teacher education in the Faroe Islands. The quality of the current teacher education programme is assessed on the basis of five distinct indicators: (1) recruitment, (2) academicization, (3) pitfalls, (4) resilience and (5) competence. These five gauges are often assessed separately in teacher education research; however, to gain an adequate understanding of the quality and relevance of teacher education in the twenty-first century, they must be examined together. Finally, the article reflects on the future of teacher education in the Faroe Islands.
Conclusion
Authors: Şahin-Mencütek Zeynep , Gökalp-Aras N. Ela , Kaya Ayhan , Rottmann Susan Beth
Published: March 2023

The findings of this in-depth case study provide insights for generalisations about how strategic temporality may operate in other refugee-hosting countries as well as specific findings about state responses to mass migration situations. Some key findings can be summarised as including a (1) complicated and fragmented legal system, (2) multiplicity of actors, (3) re-nationalisation and restrictiveness, (4) increased complexity and uncertainty in all layers of rules and practices, (5) consistent liminality experienced by refugees. These characteristics are observable in concrete policy practices in diverse sub-policy fields involving remote border controls, blocking reception, downgrading protection and slowing integration. As we showed, the concept of strategic temporality, along with its related components of liminality, uncertainty and complexity, is helpful for understanding state responses across time and sub-policy fields.
Knocking on the Door of Closed Traditions The Overlay of Autochthonous Ethnicization and Migration
Authors: Peterlini Hans Karl
Published: March 2023

Areas with autochthonous minorities hold a wealth of experience in dealing with diversity. This richness often needs to be recovered under well-rehearsed conflict routines. Historically ethnicized societies experience additional complexity through the overlap with more recent migration. How do migrants find their way in a system that balances national majorities and autochthonous minorities? The case study of a young man arrived in Europa as child, and his struggle for belonging to an ethnocentric culture illustrates the theoretical complexity of this particular diversity issue.
The Split School. From Selective Normality Concepts to a Phenomenology of Diversity
Authors: Peterlini Hans Karl
Published: March 2023

“Inclusion is good, but how do you get a homogeneous class together?” Pedagogical action in schools and other settings is often based on (consciously or unconsciously) normative notions of what is normal. Measured against these standards, the diversity of being different appears deficient. Children, adolescents, adults, and older people in educational contexts are perceived as problematic cases, and the richness of their diversity is not recognized. Measured against these standards, the diversity of being different turns out to be deficient. Children, adolescents, and adults in educational contexts are perceived as problematic cases, and the richness of their diversity and uniqueness is misjudged. The chapter argues for a reversal of the normality concept: Not the imagined ideal, but the given diversity is normal. Inclusive education must be oriented to this and not to abstract ideas of standards.
Dialogue with Adorno. How to Deal with Right-Wing Populism, Racism and Institutional Cruelization
Authors: Peterlini Hans Karl
Published: March 2023

How is education still possible at all after the insight into the Holocaust? Theodor W. Adorno asked himself this question in his essay “Education after Auschwitz.” The chapter raises this question against inhumane political attitudes toward recent refugee movements. Have decades of political education and peace education failed when racism and coldness towards people in need are again blatantly evident in European societies? Admitting the felt powerlessness of pedagogical technique, the article develops considerations on how " Education after Aleppo" can be thought of and conceived in a meaningful way.
Searching for the Lost Paradise
Authors: Peterlini Hans Karl
Published: March 2023

The dichotomous division between the Self and the Other corresponds to the division between humans and nature. Just as others marked as completely different were enslaved and murdered in extreme cases and discriminated against in everyday life, humans behave destructively toward nature. The consciousness to be connected with it and to threaten oneself by the unsparing interventions in natural balance is lost despite available knowledge. The chapter explores pedagogical dilemmas and potentials for action to address this core question of human survival.
Transition to Online Teaching Under COVID-19: The Case Study of UAE University
Authors: Shomotova Aizhan , Karabchuk Tatiana
Published: March 2023

This chapter discusses the role of universities and government in supporting the transition to online teaching, describes the challenges and reflections of academic staff on this transition to online teaching, their research efficiency during the lockdown, and their satisfaction and comfortability with the online teaching experience in general and in the future. This empirical study uses a cross-sectional online survey of faculty members’ experience transitioning to online teaching at UAE University (N = 175 of faculty members). The chapter suggests that the UAEU case study could be treated as a successful example of the urgent transition to online learning and teaching since the vast majority of the faculty members were satisfied with their online teaching experience. Furthermore, results even speak for improved research efficiency, irrespective of gender.
Refocusing the Narrative on the International Higher Education Policy
Authors: Uzhegova Dina , Arkoudis Sophie
Published: March 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption to international higher education worldwide. This was particularly notable in countries like Australia that have heavily depended on the income from the international student fees. During the pandemic such transactional and economy-based models of international education proved to be vulnerable to changing environment. In this chapter we argue that enhancement of international education in the future will require refocusing the narrative on international education from financial or reputational gains to student learning and experience. To do so, academic community needs to be more involved in institutional international education discussions, development and decision-making. We frame our speculation about the possible futures of international education around four areas that could inform a more engaged, diverse and inclusive policy for international education. Drawing mainly on Australian context we invite readers to consider these four areas and ways to include diverse voices into the narrative on the international education in their institutions.
Computationally Collected and Curated ‘What If’ Questions to Spark a SoTL Collaboration
Authors: Coleman Kathryn , Belton Amanda
Published: March 2023

As the project team began this journey at Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne at the start of the pandemic in early 2020, we asked, what collaborations are needed for next practice collaborative thinking to emerge in the academy in the current socio-political climate, and what conditions do we need in place for these collaborations to develop into new and agile educational research partnerships? Our next practices project was co-designed across 2020–2021 through a process of speculative thinking that “thrives on imagination and aims to open up new perspectives on what are sometimes called wicked problems, to create spaces for discussion and debate about alternative ways of being, and to inspire and encourage people’s imaginations to flow freely” (Dunne & Raby, 2013, p.2).
Designing Education for Wellbeing and Connection in a COVID Impacted World
Authors: Colla Rachel , Gowing Annie , Molloy Murphy Angela , Ryan Tracii
Published: March 2023

Sustainable and systemic approaches to addressing mental health are critical in higher education, as studies consistently show that university students and academic staff have higher rates of psychological distress than the general population. These issues have undoubtedly been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, where social distancing, mandated online learning, fear, and uncertainty around public health have increased feelings of stress, anxiety, and isolation. Therefore, in a COVID impacted world, cultivating wellbeing and connection in both physical and virtual learning spaces has become a social and educational imperative. Recent experiences of the challenges of supporting wellbeing and connection in the online classroom highlight a range of known and emergent risks. However, these experiences also provide opportunities for reimagining how wellbeing and connection are experienced and promoted in that space and for articulating understandings of student care. Thinking beyond highly individualized western conceptualizations, this chapter aims to position wellbeing as a collective concept, where the wellness of the self is inextricably linked to the wellness of the world. In doing so, we interrogate the presumed universality and neutrality of commonly used online learning technologies and work toward developing learning designs with a pedagogical intention of care, inclusivity, relationality, and student voice.
Soft limits of the wavefunction in exceptional scalar theories
Authors: Bittermann Noah , Joyce Austin
Published: March 2023

Abstract

We study the structure of the flat space wavefunctional in scalar field theories with nonlinearly realized symmetries. These symmetries imply soft theorems that are satisfied by wavefunction coefficients in the limit where one of the external momenta is scaled to zero. After elucidating the structure of these soft theorems in the nonlinear sigma model, Dirac-Born-Infeld, and galileon scalar theories, we combine them with information about the singularity structure of the wavefunction to bootstrap the wavefunction coefficients of these theories. We further systematize this construction through two types of recursion relations: one that utilizes the flat space scattering amplitude plus minimal information about soft limits, and an alternative that does not require amplitude input, but does require subleading soft information.
Bicomplex Neural Networks with Hypergeometric Activation Functions
Authors: Vieira Nelson
Published: March 2023

Bicomplex convolutional neural networks (BCCNN) are a natural extension of the quaternion convolutional neural networks for the bicomplex case. As it happens with the quaternionic case, BCCNN has the capability of learning and modelling external dependencies that exist between neighbour features of an input vector and internal latent dependencies within the feature. This property arises from the fact that, under certain circumstances, it is possible to deal with the bicomplex number in a component-wise way. In this paper, we present a BCCNN, and we apply it to a classification task involving the colourized version of the well-known dataset MNIST. Besides the novelty of considering bicomplex numbers, our CNN considers an activation function a Bessel-type function. As we see, our results present better results compared with the one where the classical ReLU activation function is considered.
A Quaternionic Bernstein Theorem
Authors: Perotti Alessandro
Published: March 2023

We prove a four-dimensional version of a Bernstein’s theorem, with complex polynomials being replaced by quaternionic polynomials. Moreover, using an Almansi-type decomposition of polynomials, we formulate the quaternionic Bernstein’s inequality in terms of four-dimensional zonal harmonics and Gegenbauer polynomials.
Towards Bosonization of Virasoro Coadjoint Orbits
Authors: Alekseev Anton , Chekeres Olga , Youmans Donald R.
Published: March 2023

We show that Schwarzian theories associated with certain hyperbolic and parabolic Virasoro coadjoint orbits admit bosonization, i.e., a global $$S^1$$

S
1

-equivariant Darboux chart in which the corresponding path integral becomes Gaussian. In this chart, correlation functions of bilocals, time-ordered and out-of-time-ordered, can be computed explicitly. We conjecture that a similar global chart exists for the Teichmüller orbit.
A New Edge Enhancement Filter for the Interpretation of Magnetic Field Data
Authors: Ibraheem Ismael M. , Tezkan Bülent , Ghazala Hosni , Othman Amal A.
Published: March 2023

One of the main goals of the interpretation of magnetic data is the imaging of the boundaries of subsurface structures. In this study, a new edge detector called improved horizontal tilt angle (impTDX) has been introduced and tested on synthetic and measured magnetic data. The filter exhibits high efficiency not only in detecting the boundaries of the sources, but also in determining magnetic sources from different depth levels. The impTDX filter produces more precise and sharper boundaries, increases the discernibility of neighboring anomalies, has the advantage of avoiding creation of false edges, and is less sensitive to noise compared to other known filters, which minimizes the uncertainty in the data interpretation. The proposed filter has been applied to aeromagnetic data from Sohag, Egypt. It highlighted the subsurface magnetic structures with high resolution where a structural map showing normal faults demarcating the subsurface causative horsts and grabens was constructed. This map confirms that the Nile grabens are of tectonic origin related to the opening of the Red Sea. Our findings indicate that the proposed filter can be considered as a valuable tool in mapping of subsurface magnetic structures.
Further results on a new class of functional equations satisfied by polynomial functions
Authors: Okeke Chisom Prince
Published: March 2023

Whenever a numerical method produces accurate results, it creates an interesting functional equation, and because regularities is not assumed, unexpected solutions can emerge. Thus, this paper is mainly devoted to finding solutions to a generalized functional equation constructed in this spirit; namely, we solve the generalized form of the functional equation considered in Fechner and Gselmann (Publ Math Debrecen 80(1–2):143–154, 2012), then considered in Nadhomi et al. (Aequationes Math 95:1095–1117, 2021) and continued in Okeke and Sablik (Results Math 77:125, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00025-022-01664-x, 2022), that is we find the polynomial functions satisfying the following functional equation, $$\begin{aligned} \sum _{i=1}^n \gamma _i F(a_i x + b_i y)= \sum _{j=1}^m(\alpha _j x + \beta _j y) f(c_j x + d_j y), \end{aligned}$$

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and $$a_i,b_i,c_j,d_j \in \mathbb Q,$$

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and its special forms. Thus we continue investigations presented in Nadhomi et al. (Aequationes Math 95:1095–1117, 2021) where we generalized the left hand side of Fechner–Gselmann equation and those from Okeke and Sablik (Results Math 77:125, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00025-022-01664-x, 2022) where the right hand side of the Fechner–Gselmann equation was studied. It turns out that under some assumptions on the parameters involved, the pair (F, f) solving Eq. (0.1) happens to be a pair of polynomial functions.
Subcutaneous nitroglycerin increased the success rate of radial artery cannulation in women with gestational hypertension undergoing cesarean section
Authors: Men Xin , Wang Qian , Chen Pei , Hu Wen-sheng , Chai Yun , Shou Hong-yan , Zhou Zhen-feng
Published: March 2023

Background

Radial artery cannulation helps to maintain the stability of maternal hemodynamics and reduce complications; however, it is difficult for women with gestational hypertension. Subcutaneous nitroglycerin was found to improve the first attempt success rate of radial artery cannulation in pediatric patients. Therefore, this study evaluated the effect of subcutaneous nitroglycerin on the radial artery diameter and area, blood flow rate and the success rate of radial artery cannulation in women with pregnancy-induced hypertension.

Methods

A total of 94 women with gestational hypertension and risk of intraoperative bleeding undergoing cesarean section were identified and randomized into the subcutaneous nitroglycerin group and control group. The primary outcome was the success rate of left radial artery cannulation within 3 min after subcutaneous injecting (T2). The puncture time, number of attempts, the overall complications, and ultrasonographic measurements including radial artery diameter, cross-sectional area and depth were also recorded before subcutaneous injection (T1), 3 min after subcutaneous injection (T2) and immediately after radial artery cannulation (T3).

Results

The first attempt success rate of radial artery cannulation was significantly higher (97.9% vs. 76.6%, p = 0.004) and procedure time to success was significantly shorter (111 ± 18 s vs. 171 ± 70 s, p < 0.001) in the subcutaneous nitroglycerin group as compared to the control group. The subcutaneous nitroglycerin group also had a significantly less overall number of attempts as 1/2/3 attempts (n), 46/1/0 vs. 36/7/4 (p = 0.008). Compared with the control group, the diameter and cross-sectional area of radial artery increased significantly at the T2 and T3 points in the subcutaneous nitroglycerin group (p < 0.001), as well as percentage change of radial artery diameter and CSA. Vasospasm (6.4% vs. 31.9%; p = 0.003) was significantly lower in the subcutaneous nitroglycerin group; however, no difference was found in hematoma (2.1% vs. 12.8%; p = 0.111).

Conclusion

Subcutaneous nitroglycerin along with the routine local anesthetic preparation before radial artery cannulation increased the first attempt success rate of radial artery cannulation and decreased the overall number of cannulation attempts in women with gestational hypertension and risks of intraoperative bleeding undergoing cesarean section, it also decreased cannulation times and overall number of vasospasms.
Intrathoracic negative pressure therapy for pleural empyema using an open-pore drainage film
Authors: Betz V. , van Ackeren V. , Scharsack E. , Stark B. , Müller C. T. , Loske G.
Published: March 2023

Background

We report our initial experience with intrathoracic negative pressure therapy (ITNPT) in the stage-adjusted treatment of pleural empyema (PE) based on a case series.

Materials and methods

ITNPT represents a further development for intrathoracic use. After thoracic surgical open debridement, an intrathoracic negative pressure dressing was inserted. The drainage elements were a thin open-pore double-layer drainage film (OF) with open-pore polyurethane foams (PUF). Only the OF was placed in direct contact with the lung parenchyma. Negative pressure was generated using an electronic pump (continuous suction, −75 mm Hg). In revision thoracotomies, ITNPT was stopped or continued depending on local findings.

Results

In total, 31 patients with stage II and III pleural empyema underwent ITNPT, which was administered during the primary procedure (n = 17) or at revision (n = 14). Treatment duration was a mean of 10 days (2–18 days) with a mean change interval of 4 days (2–6 days). Intrathoracic negative pressure dressings were applied a mean of 3.5 (1–6) times. The empyema cavity continuously reduced in size and was cleansed by the suction. The OF has a minimum intrinsic volume with maximum absorption surface. Once negative pressure is established, there is no intrathoracic dead volume and the parenchyma can expand. The protective material properties of OF make ITNPT suitable for the treatment of pleural empyema. Targeted local intrathoracic drainage of the septic focus is a possible adjunct to surgery. The surgical dressings must be changed repeatedly. The method is suitable for the treatment of complex stage II and III pleural empyemas.

Conclusion

The OF can be used as an intrathoracic drainage element for ITNPT in pleural empyema. This new application option expands the range of indications for negative pressure therapy.
Eine unerwartete Entdeckung bei einer Patientin mit chronischer Prurigo
Authors: Steffens Elisabeth , Kaplan Mustafa , Weisshaar Elke
Published: March 2023

Wir berichten über eine 61-jährige Patientin, die seit 1 Jahr an plötzlich aufgetretenem, starkem Pruritus und Knoten auf der Haut des gesamten Integuments litt. Es wurde die Diagnose einer chronischen Prurigo (CPG) gestellt. Im Rahmen einer umfassenden und interdisziplinären Durchuntersuchung wurde ein metastasiertes Ovarialkarzinom festgestellt. Nach radikaler operativer Therapie und Chemotherapie heilte die CPG ab und ist bis heute nicht rezidiviert. Es ist nicht auszuschließen, dass es sich hier um eine paraneoplastische CPG handelt. Dieser Fall demonstriert auch, dass bei CPG eine Ursache gefunden werden kann und daher eine gründliche Abklärung einer CPG sehr wichtig ist und auch lebensrettend sein kann.
QTL mapping and transcriptome analysis identify novel QTLs and candidate genes in Brassica villosa for quantitative resistance against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum
Authors: Bergmann Thomas , Menkhaus Jan , Ye Wanzhi , Schemmel Markus , Hasler Mario , Rietz Steffen , Leckband Gunhild , Cai Daguang
Published: March 2023

Key message

Novel QTLs and candidate genes for Sclerotinia-resistance were identified in B. villosa, a wild Brassica species, which represents a new genetic source for improving oilseed rape resistance to SSR.

Sclerotinia stem rot (SSR), caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is one of the most destructive diseases in oilseed rape growing regions. To date, there is no effective genetic resistance against S. sclerotiorum in the B. napus germplasm and knowledge of the molecular plant–fungal interaction is also limited. To identify new resistance resources, we screened a set of wild Brassica species and identified B. villosa (BRA1896) with a high level of Sclerotinia-resistance. Two segregating F2 populations for Sclerotinia-resistance, generated by interspecific crosses between the resistant B. villosa (BRA1896) and the wild susceptible B. oleracea (BRA1909) were assessed for Sclerotinia-resistance. Genetic mapping using a 15-k Illumina Infinium SNP-array resulted in a high-density genetic map containing 1,118 SNP markers and spanning a total genetic length of 792.2 cM. QTL analysis revealed seven QTLs explaining 3.8% to 16.5% of phenotypic variance. Intriguingly, RNAseq-based transcriptome analysis identified genes and pathways specific to B. villosa, of which a cluster of five genes encoding putative receptor-like kinases (RLKs) and two pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins are co-localized within a QTL on chromosome C07. Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis revealed enhanced ethylene (ET)-activated signaling in the resistant B. villosa, which is associated with a stronger plant immune response, depressed cell death, and enhanced phytoalexin biosynthesis compared to the susceptible B. oleracea. Our data demonstrates that B. villosa represents a novel and unique genetic source for improving oilseed rape resistance against SSR.
The prediabetes conundrum: striking the balance between risk and resources
Authors: Blond Martin B. , Færch Kristine , Herder Christian , Ziegler Dan , Stehouwer Coen D. A.
Published: March 2023

The current definition of prediabetes is controversial and subject to continuous debate. Nonetheless, prediabetes is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, is highly prevalent and is associated with diabetic complications and mortality. Thereby, it has the potential to become a huge strain on healthcare systems in the future, necessitating action from legislators and healthcare providers. But how do we best reduce its associated burden on health? As a compromise between differing opinions in the literature and among the authors of this article, we suggest stratifying individuals with prediabetes according to estimated risk and only offering individual-level preventive interventions to those at high risk. At the same time, we argue to identify those with prediabetes and already established diabetes-related complications and treat them as we would treat individuals with established type 2 diabetes.

Graphical abstract
Exploring spirituality and quality of life in individuals who are deaf and have intellectual disabilities
Authors: Fellinger Maria , Holzinger Daniel , Fogler Jason , Fellinger Johannes
Published: March 2023

Purpose

While positive contributions of religion and spirituality (R/S) to quality of life (QOL) are confirmed by a growing body of evidence, only limited research has involved people with intellectual disabilities and so far, no studies included prelingually deaf individuals with intellectual disabilities. This study explores the role of R/S in people with intellectual disabilities and deafness living in three therapeutic living communities specifically adapted to their needs.

Methods

Forty-one individuals (mean age: 46.93 years, 43.9% female) with prelingual deafness and mild to moderate intellectual disability participated in structured sign language interviews adapted to their cognitive–developmental level, regarding their QOL, individual spirituality and participation in spiritual practices in the community. Participants’ QOL was assessed with an established short measure for QOL (EUROHIS–QOL) adapted to easy-to-understand sign language. With 21 participants, qualitative interviews were conducted. In addition, proxy ratings from caregivers were obtained.

Results

The participants’ ratings of their individual spirituality (r = 0.334; p = 0.03) and spiritual practices-in-community (r = 0.514; p = 0.00) correlated positively with their self-reported QOL. Qualitative findings illustrate the importance of R/S and give insights into R/S concepts and practices.

Conclusions

Personal spirituality and participating in spiritual practices are positively related to self-reported quality of life in deaf individuals with intellectual disability (ID). As a consequence, access to spiritual and religious services should be included in comprehensive programs and society at large.
Engineering complexity beyond the surface: discerning the viewpoints, the drivers, and the challenges
Authors: Garza Morales Gisela A. , Nizamis Kostas , Bonnema G. Maarten
Published: March 2023

Complexity is often regarded as a “problem” to solve. Instead of attempting to solve complexity, we follow systems engineering practices and switch back to the problem domain, where a major obstacle is the impossibility to universally define complexity. As a workaround, we explored complexity characterization and its existing shortcomings, including: lack of standardization, inconsistent semantics, system-centricity, insufficiently transparent reasoning, and lack of validation. To address these shortcomings, we proposed a compilatory framework to characterize complexity using the Five Ws information-gathering method. The answer to the WHO question proposed four complexity viewpoints; the answer to the WHY question proposed a two-dimensional structure for complexity drivers; and the answer to the WHAT question derived generalized complexity challenges. As a preliminary step to show the potential of the framework to characterize complexity, we used and validated it as a tool to structure general literature related to complexity. In general, our findings suggest that papers with complexity solutions do not frame their research within the complexity problem domain, hindering the contribution evaluation. Through the viewpoints, we identified general research gaps of six solution directions. From the drivers, we noted three observations in the discourse of complexity origins: (1) a system-driven tendency, (2) a preference for concreteness vs. abstraction, and (3) an unclear distinction between origins and effects. Through the challenges’ findings we explored two hypotheses: (1) a system-centric preference; and (2) a solution-oriented vision, both of which were supported by the results (most challenges relate to the system viewpoint and challenges are defined based on solution directions).
Compressive response versus power consumption of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene in material extrusion additive manufacturing: the impact of seven critical control parameters
Authors: Petousis Markos , Vidakis Nectarios , Mountakis Nikolaos , Karapidakis Emmanuel , Moutsopoulou Amalia
Published: March 2023

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is a multipurpose thermoplastic and the second most popular material in material extrusion (MEX) additive manufacturing (AM). It is widely used in various types of industrial applications in the automotive sector, housing, and food processing, among others. This work investigates the effect of seven generic control parameters (orientation angle, raster deposition angle, infill density, layer thickness, nozzle temperature, printing speed, and bed temperature) on the performance and the energy consumption of 3D-printed ABS parts in compression loading. Raw material with melt extrusion was formed in a filament form for MEX 3D printing. Samples after the ASTM D695-02a standard were 3D printed, with the seven control parameters, three levels, and five replicas each (135 experiments in total). Results were analyzed with statistical modeling tools regarding the compressive and the energy consumption metrics (printing time, weight, energy printing consumption/EPC, specific printing energy/SPE, specific printing power/SPP, compression strength, compression modulus of elasticity, and toughness). The layer thickness was the most critical control parameter. Nozzle temperature and raster deposition angle were the less critical parameters. This work provides reliable information with great technological and industrial impact.

Graphical Abstract
Predictive stability criteria for penalty selection in linear models
Authors: Dustin Dean , Clarke Bertrand , Clarke Jennifer
Published: March 2023

Choosing a shrinkage method can be done by selecting a penalty from a list of pre-specified penalties or by constructing a penalty based on the data. If a list of penalties for a class of linear models is given, we introduce a predictive stability criterion based on data perturbation to select a shrinkage method from the list. Simulation studies show that our predictive method identifies shrinkage methods that usually agree with existing literature and help explain heuristically when a given shrinkage method can be expected to perform well. If the preference is to construct a penalty customized for a given problem, then we propose a technique based on genetic algorithms, again using a predictive criterion. We find that, in general, a custom penalty never performs worse than any commonly used penalties and there are cases the custom penalty reduces to a recognizable penalty. Since penalty selection is mathematically equivalent to prior selection, our method also constructs priors. Our methodology allows us to observe that the oracle property typically holds for penalties that satisfy basic regularity conditions and therefore is not restrictive enough to play a direct role in penalty selection. In addition, our methodology, can be immediately applied to real data problems, and permits us to take model mis-specification into account.
Metabolic stone workup abnormalities are not as important as stone culture in patients with recurrent stones undergoing percutaneous nephrolithotomy
Authors: Ahmed Asmaa E. , Abol-Enein Hassan , Awadalla Amira , Shokeir Ahmed A. , El-Shehaby Omar A. , Harraz Ahmed M.
Published: March 2023

To investigate the association between metabolic urinary abnormalities and urinary tract infection (UTI) and the stone recurrence status in patients undergoing percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). A prospective evaluation was performed for patients who underwent PCNL between November 2019 and November 2021 and met the inclusion criteria. Patients with previous stone interventions were classified as recurrent stone formers. Before PCNL, a 24 h metabolic stone workup and midstream urine culture (MSU-C) were done. Renal pelvis (RP-C) and stones (S-C) cultures were collected during the procedure. The association between the metabolic workup and UTI results with stone recurrence was evaluated using univariate and multivariate analyses. The study included 210 patients. UTI factors that showed significant association with stone recurrence included positive S-C [51 (60.7%) vs 23 (18.2%), p < 0.001], positive MSU-C [37 (44.1%) vs 30 (23.8%), p = 0.002], and positive RP-C [17 (20.2%) vs 12 (9.5%), p = 0.03]. Other factors were mean ± SD GFR (ml/min) (65 ± 13.1 vs 59.5 ± 13.1, p = 0.003), calcium-containing stones [47 (55.9%) vs 48 (38.1%), p = 0.01], median (IQR) urinary citrate levels (mg/day) [333 (123–512.5) vs 221.5 (120.3–412), p = 0.04], and mean ± SD urinary pH (6.1 ± 1 vs 5.6 ± 0.7, p < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, only positive S-C was the significant predictor of stone recurrence (odds ratio: 9.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] (3.8–28.6), p < 0.001). Positive S-C, and not metabolic abnormalities, was the only independent factor associated with stone recurrence. A focus on preventing UTI might prevent further stone recurrence.
Overhang Penalization in Additive Manufacturing via Phase Field Structural Topology Optimization with Anisotropic Energies
Authors: Garcke Harald , Lam Kei Fong , Nürnberg Robert , Signori Andrea
Published: March 2023

A phase field approach for structural topology optimization with application to additive manufacturing is analyzed. The main novelty is the penalization ofoverhangs(regions of the design that require underlying support structures during construction) with anisotropic energy functionals. Convex and non-convex examples are provided, with the latter showcasing oscillatory behavior along the object boundary termed thedripping effectin the literature. We provide a rigorous mathematical analysis for the structural topology optimization problem with convex and non-continuously-differentiable anisotropies, deriving the first order necessary optimality condition using subdifferential calculus. Via formally matched asymptotic expansions we connect our approach with previous works in the literature based on a sharp interface shape optimization description. Finally, we present several numerical results to demonstrate the advantages of our proposed approach in penalizing overhang developments.
A Zero-Sum Poisson Stopping Game with Asymmetric Signal Rates
Authors: Lempa Jukka , Saarinen Harto
Published: March 2023

The objective of this paper is to study a class of zero-sum optimal stopping games of diffusions under a so-called Poisson constraint: the players are allowed to stop only at the arrival times of their respective Poissonian signal processes. These processes can have different intensities, which makes the game setting asymmetric. We give a weak and easily verifiable set of sufficient condition under which we derive a semi-explicit solution to the game in terms of the minimal r-excessive functions of the diffusion. We also study limiting properties of the solutions with respect to the signal intensities and illustrate our main findings with explicit examples.
Polyak–Łojasiewicz inequality on the space of measures and convergence of mean-field birth-death processes
Authors: Liu Linshan , Majka Mateusz B. , Szpruch Łukasz
Published: March 2023

The Polyak–Łojasiewicz inequality (PŁI) in$$\mathbb {R}^d$$Rdis a natural condition for proving convergence of gradient descent algorithms (Karimi et al. in: Frasconi et al. (eds) Machine learning and knowledge discovery in databases, Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp 795–811, 2016). In the present paper, we study an analogue of PŁI on the space of probability measures$$\mathcal {P}(\mathbb {R}^d)$$P(Rd)and show that it is a natural condition for showing exponential convergence of a class of birth-death processes related to certain mean-field optimization problems. We verify PŁI for a broad class of such problems for energy functions regularised by the KL-divergence.
Reprocessing of side-streams towards obtaining valuable bacterial metabolites
Authors: Piwowarek Kamil , Lipińska Edyta , Kieliszek Marek
Published: March 2023

Every year, all over the world, the industry generates huge amounts of residues. Side-streams are most often used as feed, landfilled, incinerated, or discharged into sewage. These disposal methods are far from perfect. Taking into account the composition of the side-streams, it seems that they should be used as raw materials for further processing, in accordance with the zero-waste policy and sustainable development. The article describes the latest achievements in biotechnology in the context of bacterial reprocessing of residues with the simultaneous acquisition of their metabolites. The article focuses on four metabolites — bacterial cellulose, propionic acid, vitamin B12 and PHAs. Taking into account global trends (e.g. food, packaging, medicine), it seems that in the near future there will be a sharp increase in demand for this type of compounds. In order for their production to be profitable and commercialised, cheap methods of its obtaining must be developed. The article, in addition to obtaining these bacterial metabolites from side-streams, also discusses e.g. factors affecting their production, metabolic pathways and potential and current applications. The presented chapters provide a complete overview of the current knowledge on above metabolites, which can be helpful for the academic and scientific communities and the several industries.

Key points

• The industry generates millions of tons of organic side-streams each year.

• Generated residues burden the natural environment.

• A good and cost-effective method of side-streams management seems to be biotechnology – reprocessing with the use of bacteria.

• Biotechnological disposal of side-streams gives the opportunity to obtain valuable compounds in cheaper ways: BC, PA, vitmain B12, PHAs.