bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Italian investments for soil defence: retrieving and visualizing data by the PublicWorksFinanceIT R Package
Authors: Ricciotti Lorena , Pollice Alessio
Published: January 2025

The PublicWorksFinanceIT R package enables users to retrieve and analyze financial data related to public works in Italy. Specifically, it focuses on soil defence investments. The data are sourced from three distinct platforms: the OpenCoesione website, which draws its information from the Cohesion Policy, the OpenBDAP website, the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s open data platform, and the ReNDiS database, provided by ISPRA, which exclusively gathers information about interventions in soil defence. This package offers a user-friendly tool that eliminates the need for direct access to the aforementioned institutional platforms and ensures real-time updates. Additionally, all measurements, metadata, and accompanying analytical tools are provided in English, enhancing accessibility for both international and domestic users. The data records from these three sources are linked using the unique project code (CUP), ensuring that there is no duplication. Moreover, the data is geographically referenced, meaning that each financial investment is associated with a specific municipality within a particular Italian region. This allows to provide information on the region, province, and municipality of each dataset entry. Users can select to geo-reference the data by either the coordinates of the municipality’s centroid or by the polygon representing the municipality’s administrative boundaries. In addition to functions for data retrieval, the package includes functions for visualizing the collected data on maps. After providing a detailed explanation of the purpose and operation of the main commands, the paper presents two case studies illustrating the software’s application. These examples serve as a step-by-step guide to using the PublicWorksFinanceIT package.
Find the apartment’s flaws! the impact of virtual reality on vocational students’ performance in general education classes and the roles of flow experience, motivation, and sense of presence
Authors: Keller Christopher , Walker Gaby , Amenduni Francesca , Tela Alice , Cattaneo Alberto
Published: January 2025

Technological advancements are rapidly transforming education, particularly immersive technologies, such as virtual reality (VR). Despite extensive research on VR’s potential to enhance learning, its effectiveness in vocational education and training (VET) remains underexplored. This study evaluates the performance of VET students using a VR environment compared with a desktop computer-based approach. In 2023, a quasi-experimental study with a randomized controlled trial design was conducted with 81 participants from a Swiss vocational school. Following an instruction of how to identify housing defects, the participants were required to identify the defects in a virtual apartment and communicate them verbally by thinking aloud. Various statistical tests were employed to specifically analyze the collected data and evaluate the effects of VR on the students’ performance in addition to the roles of sense of presence, motivation, and flow experience. The findings indicated that using VR with head-mounted displays led to a notable enhancement in performance when compared with the desktop approach. Motivation and sense of presence were identified as critical factors for improving outcomes. The study also revealed a complex relationship between sense of presence and performance, with neither motivation nor flow experience acting as direct mediators. These findings contribute to our understanding of the impact of VR on VET learning outcomes and provide insights for future research and practice. However, further investigation is needed to elucidate the advantages and intricacies of incorporating immersive technologies into educational settings.
The Family Context and the Use of Media for Emotion Regulation During Early Childhood: Testing the Tripartite Model of Children’s Emotion Regulation and Adjustment
Authors: Snyder Allyson L. , Taylor Lauren B. , Cingel Drew P.
Published: January 2025

Media use for emotion regulation, such as occupying children when they are bored or distracting them from negative emotions, is a common practice for parents in the United States, but it has been linked with weaker emotion regulation skills among young children. This association has not been examined in the presence of other family context variables, such as parent reactions to children’s emotional expressions or quality of the child-parent relationship, however. This survey study (N = 449, 53% fathers) examines parents’ use of media for child emotion regulation within a tripartite model of adjustment. Media use for emotion regulation associated with greater emotion regulation skills for children (ages 4–7). There was not a significant relation between media use for emotion regulation and children’s emotional maladjustment, however. Greater frequency of parents’ negative reactions to their children’s emotions was significantly associated with more internalizing and externalizing issues for children but also with better emotion regulation skills. Further, better parent-child relationship was associated with fewer internalizing and externalizing issues and better emotion regulation skills. We outline theoretical and practical implications and discuss future directions to further assess the effects of family context on children’s emotion regulation.
Synthesis, characterization, crystallization kinetics of amorphous Fe74.5Zr8.5B17 magnetic nanoparticles, and magnetoelectric properties of Fe74.5Zr8.5B17/BaTiO3 composite
Authors: Dik Gamze , Kaplan Emine Busra , Ulu Ahmet , Bayri Nevzat , Ates Burhan , Atalay Selcuk
Published: January 2025

This work reports the facile synthesis of

amorphous Fe74.5 Zr8.5 B17 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) through a simple NaBH4-assisted chemical reduction method. The obtained MNPs were characterized in terms of amorphous/crystal structure, morphology, magnetic properties, composition, and crystallization kinetics. The saturation magnetization value was determined as 57.83 emu/g. The crystallization peak temperatures (Tp) and activation energy were determined to be 467.18 °C and 294 kJ/mol, respectively. Additionally, the FeZrB MNPs were combined with the BaTiO3 NPs via ball milling at low speed, using a mass ratio of 30/70%, respectively and the magnetoelectric coefficient value for FeZrB/BaTiO3 composite measured at a 1 kHz AC magnetic field is approximately 8.9 mV/Oe/cm. The study outcomes may provide a platform of nanotechnology for the preparation of MNPs with adjustable properties, which will be promising for practical applications.
Public provision of healthcare and basic research: What are the joint effects on economic growth and welfare?
Authors: Parui Pintu , Prettner Klaus
Published: January 2025

We propose a generalized R&D-based economic growth model that incorporates endogenous human capital accumulation in terms of education and health and the public provision of healthcare and basic science. The government taxes households to pay for healthcare personnel and basic researchers. These employees are not anymore available for applied research and for final goods production. Thus, important tradeoffs emerge for economic growth and welfare with respect to government spending policies. While increasing public spending on health and basic research may decrease economic growth and welfare in the short run, we show that they foster economic growth in the medium run and tend to raise long-run welfare when compared to actual levels of spending in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. In addition, since public funding for healthcare tends to be rather high in most rich countries, the overall public spending shortfall is lower than previous research has shown. Our results highlight the importance of understanding the tradeoffs involved when deciding adequate public funding for healthcare and basic research.
Differences between Recidivists and Non-recidivists Attending a community-based Domestic Violence Perpetrator Program in the Dominican Republic: A Brief Report
Authors: Ribera Olga Sanchez de , Trajtenberg Nicholas , Vergés Luis , Robinson Amanda L.
Published: January 2025

Purpose

Previous research in Western samples has found differences between recidivists and non- recidivists among individuals who attended intervention programs designed to reduce intimate partner violence (IPV) offending. However, the extent to which similar characteristics differentiate these groups in a non-Western sample is unknown.

Methods

This brief report includes data collected by psychologists from men referred to a cognitive behavioral program (n = 1,380) in the Dominican Republic. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted on the data.

Results

Although specific IPV-related factors such as attitudes towards women and jealousy were significantly associated with recidivism at the bivariate level, these effects disappeared when they were controlled by other relevant predictors in the multivariate model. Instead, general criminogenic factors such as employment status, alcohol consumption, relationships with parents and violent offending towards others were the key factors explaining IPV recidivism.

Conclusions

IPV recidivism is best explained by accounting for those factors which are common to violent re-offending in general. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of theory and program intervention practices.
Sensory Forms of Knowing in Body Pedagogics
Authors: Underman Kelly
Published: January 2025

The perspectives of skilled experts who help learners develop and improve bodily skills has not often been examined in sociology. In this paper, I focus on the role of selective sensory engagement with moving bodies as an important way of knowing through which skilled experts assess and intervene upon the skill acquisition of learners. I bring together literature on body pedagogics with literature on sociology of the senses to understand how embodied, sensorial knowledge is an inter-corporeal and intersubjective resource for the transmission of bodily skills. I use interviews with barbell coaches and yoga teachers in the United States to understand the processes by which these skilled experts construct ‘good form’ and its normative limits and I outline three interrelated processes of sensorial knowing through which barbell coaches and yoga teachers help their paying clients achieve ‘good form’ when learning to engage in these fitness cultures. I argue that that the use and training of the senses in body pedagogics is an understudied but essential way of knowing to understand the transmission and embodiment of culture.
Resveratrol as a BCL6 natural inhibitor suppresses germinal center derived Non-Hodgkin lymphoma cells growth
Authors: Xing Yajing , Tan Chunbin , Liu Zhoujiang , Liu Yanqi , Liu Simei , Wang Guixue , Zhong Yadong
Published: January 2025

Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL), including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), Burkitt lymphoma (BL), and follicular lymphoma (FL), predominantly arise from B cells undergoing germinal center (GC) reactions. The transcriptional repressor B-cell lymphoma 6 (BCL6) is indispensable for GC formation and contributes to lymphomagenesis via its BTB domain-mediated suppression of target genes. Dysregulation of BCL6 underpins the pathogenesis of GC-derived NHL. While pharmacological targeting the BCL6-BTB domain has shown therapeutic promise, natural product-based inhibitors remain underexplored. In this study, resveratrol, a polyphenolic compound derived from grapes, was identified as a potent BCL6 inhibitor through a comprehensive screen of traditional Chinese medicine monomers using Homogeneous Time-Resolved Fluorescence (HTRF) assay. As a BCL6 natural inhibitor, resveratrol effectively disrupted the BCL6/SMRT interaction, reactivated suppressed gene expression, and inhibited the proliferation of GC-derived NHL cells. It also exhibited synergistic efficacy when combined with EZH2 and PRMT5 inhibitors. In vivo, resveratrol suppressed GC formation, reduced follicular helper T-cell frequencies, impaired class-switch recombination, and disrupted immunoglobulin affinity maturation. Furthermore, it markedly inhibited the progression of GC-derived NHL in animal models. Our findings demonstrate that resveratrol functions as a natural BCL6 inhibitor with significant therapeutic potential for the treatment of GC-derived NHL.

Graphical abstract
Cross-Lagged Analysis of Gender Differences in the Motivation-Cognition-Behavior Model of Gaming Disorder in Primary School Students
Authors: Chow Cheuk Him , Zhang Hao , Cheng Cecilia
Published: January 2025

The motivation-cognition-behavior model elucidates the intricate psychological mechanisms that contribute to gaming disorder (GD). To test this new model, the present study employed cross-lagged analysis to investigate the reciprocal relationships among academic stress, gaming flow, maladaptive gaming cognition (MGC), and GD symptoms at two time points, 3 months apart. The participants were 600 Chinese students (52% male; M
age = 9.95) from four primary schools in Hong Kong. The multi-group analysis showed significant gender differences. For girls, there were one linear relationship (MGC to academic stress) and two reciprocal relationships (MGC and GD symptoms, MGC and gaming flow). For boys, there were four linear relationships (MGC to gaming flow, GD symptoms to MGC, gaming flow to academic stress, and academic stress to MGC) but no reciprocal relationships. These findings highlight the complex mechanisms underlying GD development among children, and the importance of considering gender-specific factors in intervention design for this age group.
Foot tissue stress in chronic ankle instability during the stance phase of cutting
Authors: Yu Peimin , Cen Xuanzhen , Xiang Liangliang , Wang Alan , Gu Yaodong , Fernandez Justin
Published: January 2025

Lower limb biomechanics of chronic ankle instability (CAI) individuals has been widely investigated, but few have evaluated the internal foot mechanics in CAI. This study evaluated bone and soft tissue stress in CAI contrasted with copers and non-injured participants during a cutting task. Integrating scanned 3D foot shapes and free-form deformation, sixty-six personalized finite element foot models were developed. Computed Achilles tendon forces and measured regional plantar pressure were applied as boundary loading conditions for simulation. It was observed that the primary group differences in foot stress occurred during midstance and heel-off phases of the cutting task. Specifically, healthy individuals had significantly higher stress in the talus and soft tissue around the talus compared to CAI participants. In contrast, CAI participants had significantly higher stress in the cuneiforms and lateral forefoot bones during mid-stance and push-off phases. CAI participants appeared to adopt a protective strategy by transferring greater force to the lateral forefoot at the heel-off phase while lowering stress around the talus, which may be associated with pain relief near the ankle. These findings suggest further attention should be placed on internal stress in CAI at the push-off phase with implications for long-term foot adaptation.

Graphical Abstract
13C-metabolic flux analysis of respiratory chain disrupted strain ΔndhF1 of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803
Authors: Wada Keisuke , Toya Yoshihiro , Matsuda Fumio , Shimizu Hiroshi
Published: January 2025

Cyanobacteria are advantageous hosts for industrial applications toward achieving sustainable society due to their unique and superior properties such as atmospheric CO2 fixation via photosynthesis. However, cyanobacterial productivities tend to be weak compared to heterotrophic microbes. To enhance them, it is necessary to understand the fundamental metabolic mechanisms unique to cyanobacteria. In cyanobacteria, NADPH and ATP regenerated by linear and cyclic electron transfers using light energy are consumed by CO2 fixation in a central metabolic pathway. The previous study demonstrated that the strain deleted a part of respiratory chain complex (ΔndhF1) perturbed NADPH levels and photosynthetic activity in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. It is expected that disruption of ndhF1 would result in a decrease in the function of cyclic electron transfer, which controls the ATP/NAD(P)H production ratio properly. In this study, we evaluated the effects of ndhF1 deletion on central metabolism and photosynthesis by 13C-metabolic flux analysis. As results of culturing the control and ΔndhF1 strains in a medium containing [1,2-13C] glucose and estimating the flux distribution, CO2 fixation rate by RuBisCO was decreased to be less than half in the ΔndhF1 strain. In addition, the regeneration rate of NAD(P)H and ATP by the photosystem, which can be estimated from the flux distribution, also decreased to be less than half in the ΔndhF1 strain, whereas no significant difference was observed in ATP/NAD(P)H production ratio between the control and the ΔndhF1 strains. Our result suggests that the ratio of utilization of cyclic electron transfer is not reduced in the ΔndhF1 strain unexpectedly.
A Neuron-Like Cellular Model for Severe Tinnitus Associated with Rare Variations in the ANK2 Gene
Authors: Lamolda Mar , Frejo Lidia , Martin-Lagos Juan , Cara Francisca E. , Gallego-Martinez Alvaro , Lopez-Escamez Jose A.
Published: January 2025

Tinnitus is the perception of sound without an external source, often associated with changes in the auditory pathway and different brain regions. Recent research revealed an overload of missense variants in the ANK2 gene in individuals with severe tinnitus. ANK2, encoding ankyrin-B, regulates axon branching and inhibits microtubule invasion. Missense mutations in ANK2 may promote excessive axonal branching and the formation of excitatory synapses. This study aims to generate a patient-derived iPSC model from an individual with severe tinnitus and to differentiate these cells into otic-neural progenitors and inner ear neurons. We successfully generated a severe tinnitus cellular model through cell reprogramming. Using a two-stage neural differentiation protocol, we differentiated these cells into otic-neural progenitors and neuron-like cells. We confirmed the expression of genes, proteins, and cellular markers, including ANK2, otic-neural progenitors, and neuron-like cells through qPCR and immunostaining. Our analysis revealed higher ANK2 expression in the control cell line compared to the patient cell line. Although both lines formed multipolar neurons, the patient cell line displayed a unique pattern of closely grouped neurons with increased neuronal projections and dendrites compared to the control. This cellular model provides a valuable tool for studying the cellular and molecular changes associated with the ANK2 gene. It holds great promise for the development of novel drug and gene-based therapies for severe tinnitus.
HBSS: (Simple) hash-based stateless signatures – hash all the way to the rescue!
Authors: Dolev Shlomi , Yagudaev Avraam , Yung Moti
Published: January 2025

Recent advancements in post-Quantum secure signing have revitalized interest in one-time signatures, such as Lamport’s, and their many signature extensions. Predominantly based on standard hash functions, these signatures avoid reliance on number theoretic assumptions. Existing methods utilize a commitment array, with de-commitment contingent on the hashed message’s representation bits. State-of-the-art variants incorporate pseudorandom functions. This study introduces a novel method utilizing a probabilistic “set membership data structure" derived from hash functions. It involves accessing a long array with k independent hash functions for each message, analogous to Bloom filters. This stateless signature scheme is adjustable to accommodate any pre-set maximum number of signatures by modulating the array’s length. The key concept is the partial loading of the de-committed array, ensuring validation of signed messages, non-validation of unsigned messages, and signature unforgeability (forgery equates to decommitment without the private key). This approach extends to improving one-time or bounded-message Constructions, like the Naor-Yung extension, for regular signature applications in the new Hash-Based Stateless Signature (HBSS) scheme.
SymmPi: Exploiting Symmetry Removal for Fast Subgraph Matching
Authors: Wang Yujiang , Cao Ying , Zhang Zhaobo , Yuan Pingpeng , Jin Hai
Published: January 2025

Symmetry, a phenomenon of self-similarity, is common in many networks, which often incurs a lot of redundant accesses and computations, even duplicate results when executing graph matching tasks. Many approaches (e.g. symmetry-breaking methods) try to disrupt symmetry by translating symmetry into restrictions and then imposing restrictions on the exploration order. However, the restrictions are finer-grained. If the pattern graph is complex, more restrictions are generated from symmetry breaking methods, thus complicating the exploration process and degrading the performance. Here, we present novel SymmPi, which exploits symmetry removal for fast graph matching. SymmPi first identifies the coarse-grained axisymmetric subgraphs of the given pattern graphs instead of finer relationships. If a pattern graph is not axisymmetric, SymmPi will remove some of its edges until axisymmetric subgraphs are found. Thus, the original pattern graph is transformed to a set of axisymmetric subgraphs plus some edges. Then, SymmPi finds the matches of the axisymmetric subgraph and extends these matches to the original pattern graphs by permuting the matches with additional checks. Our experiments on both directed and undirected graphs, demonstrate that SymmPi achieves a significant performance improvement over the state-of-the-art undirected and directed graph matching methods and systems.
Aion: Live Migration for In-Memory Databases with Zero Downtime and Reduced Redundant Data Transfer
Authors: Cao Huijie , Huang Chenfeng , Liu Shengchi , Hu Huiqi , Zhao Minghao , Zhou Xuan , Tu Yaofeng , Qian Weining
Published: January 2025

Distributed in-memory databases are widely adopted to achieve low latency and high bandwidth for data-intensive applications. They support scale-out by sharding and distributing data across multiple nodes. To efficiently adapt to various workloads, distributed in-memory databases must be capable of migrating shards across nodes. In this paper, we demonstrate that state-of-the-art approaches experience significant performance degradation during migration due to service downtime and redundant data transfer. Furthermore, our findings indicate that the presence of service downtime constrains the scalability of migration strategies, while the transfer of redundant data during the snapshot transfer phase limits their adaptability to dynamic workloads. To this end, this paper proposes Aion, a live migration strategy designed for distributed in-memory databases. Aion eliminates any potential service downtime by immediately switching transaction routing to the destination node. To ensure data consistency between the source and destination nodes, as well as serializable execution during migration, Aion proposes the mutual validation phase. Moreover, Aion introduces an analysis phase before the snapshot transfer phase to identify dynamically changing hotspots in workloads. The analysis phase identifies and transfers tuples and versions accessed less frequently to the destination node, reducing the amount of data transferred. Aion is implemented on a distributed in-memory database and evaluated using various OLTP workloads. The results demonstrate that Aion can fundamentally eliminate service downtime, adapt effectively to various workloads and exhibit robust scalability. Compared to state-of-the-art approaches, Aion achieves up to 2.25x–6.57x higher throughput during migration and shortens the migration duration by 53.7–68.2%.
Surveillance Digitisation, Performativity, and Teacher-Student Relationships in a Blended Learning Setting
Authors: Calderwood Sarah Julia
Published: January 2025

This study investigates how digitized surveillance technologies impact teacher-student relationships in a blended learning environment at a UAE university. Using semi-structured faculty interviews, it examines the effects of tools such as plagiarism detection, class recordings, and learning analytics on trust and engagement. The findings reveal tensions between institutional goals of academic integrity and active participation and the unintended consequences of fostering performative behaviours and eroding relational trust. Teachers report that surveillance mechanisms promote compliance over genuine learning, reshaping their roles and interactions with students. Despite these challenges, educators employ strategies of resistance, prioritising human connection and relational pedagogy to counteract the dehumanising effects of constant monitoring. This study contributes to postdigital scholarship by exploring the complex entanglements of technology, pedagogy, and trust, emphasising the need for critical and human-centred approaches to digital education.
Microplastics in pelagic and demersal fishes from the Meghna River estuary, Bangladesh
Authors: Hossain M. Shahadat , Bhuiyan Md. Riyad Hossain , Uddin Mohammad Nasir , Sharifuzzaman S. M.
Published: January 2025

Microplastics (MPs) were investigated in four fish species viz., paradise threadfin (Polynemus paradiseus), corsula mullet (Rhinomugil corsula), flathead sillago (Sillaginopsis panijus) and king gobyeel (Taenioides sandwipi), which were collected from the Meghna River estuary in Bangladesh. The gastrointestinal tracts (GITs) of fishes (n = 80 in total) were examined for the presence of MPs following alkali digestion, microscopic observation and μ-FTIR analysis. A total of 573 MPs were detected across all four fish species, indicating the presence of MPs in 81.3% of the fish samples. On average, there were 7.16 ± 4.33 MP items/fish, 2.16 ± 1.76 items/g of GIT and 0.15 ± 0.12 items/g of body weight. Polyethylene, polypropylene and nylon were the most abundant polymers, comprising 47%, 23% and 19%, respectively, according to μ-FTIR analysis. The majority of MPs were fibers (62.48%), with white being the dominant color. R. corsula demonstrated the highest number of MPs in the < 500 μm size range, suggesting that smaller particles are more bio-available to pelagic fish. The findings confirm the contamination of the Meghna River estuary by MPs, and their presence in local fish raises concerns about potential public health risks through the food chain.
Parametric study on configuration geometry effect on thrust performance of annular ED nozzles
Authors: Wang Ge , Zou Jun , Chen Lei , Guan Ben
Published: January 2025

A numerical investigation is conducted to uncover the parametric influence of configuration geometry on the thrust performance of annular expansion deflection (ED) nozzles. Based on the classic design principle of Taylor’s ED nozzle configuration, the influences of six geometric elements, covering the expansion channel region, the near-pintle region, and the shroud region, including 13 nozzle configurations, are examined in detail. The flow characteristics in each nozzle are demonstrated, according to which the connections between the geometric changes and nozzle thrust performance are elucidated. The present results show that the nozzle flow pattern is closely related to the nozzle configuration geometry. In the open operation mode of the ED nozzle, the wide expansion channel has very little restriction on the axial expansion of the exhaust gas. The high axial velocity brings strong shock strength and total pressure loss, which are unfavorable to the nozzle thrust performance. The large curvature of the shroud expansion section contributes greatly to the exhaust gas deflection, which increases the mass flow rate of the supersonic core flow zone through the nozzle exit plane, and therefore favors the thrust performance. In the closed operation mode, geometric differences in the expansion channel region have little effect on the supersonic gas, which fills almost the entire nozzle. The shroud region still affects the axial deflection of the gas and its large curvature is associated with superior thrust performance. These investigations suggest that the annular ED nozzles with narrow expansion channels and large shroud curvatures are superior in thrust performance.
Do people like financial nudges?
Authors: van den Akker Merle , Sunstein Cass R.
Published: January 2025

Do people like financial nudges? To answer that question we conducted a pre-registered survey presenting people with 36 hypothetical scenarios describing financial interventions. We varied levels of transparency (i.e., explaining how the interventions worked), framing (interventions framed in terms of spending, or saving), and ‘System’ (interventions could target either System 1 or System 2). Participants were a random sample of 2,100 people drawn from a representative Australian population. All financial interventions were tested across six dependent variables: approval, benefit, ethics, manipulation, the likelihood of use, as well as the likelihood of use if the intervention were to be proposed by a bank. Results indicate that people generally approve of financial interventions, rating them as neutral to positive across all dependent variables (except for manipulation, which was reverse coded). We find effects of framing and System. People have strong and significant preferences for System 2 interventions, and interventions framed in terms of savings. Transparency was not found to have a significant impact on how people rate financial interventions. Financial interventions continue to be rated positive, regardless of the messenger. Looking at demographics, we find that participants who were female, younger, living in metro areas and earning higher incomes were most likely to favor financial interventions, and this effect is especially strong for those aged under 45. We discuss the implications for these results as applied to the financial sector.
Prevalence of daily fruit and vegetable intake by socio-economic characteristics, women’s empowerment, and climate zone: an ecological study in Latin American cities
Authors: Valentino Giovanna , Auchincloss Amy H. , Acharya Binod , Tumas Natalia , López-Olmedo Nancy , Ortigoza Ana , de Menezes Mariana Carvalho , Kroker-Lobos María Fernanda , Nazzal Carolina
Published: January 2025

This cross-sectional ecological study described fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake variability across 144 cities in 8 Latin American countries and by city-level contextual variables. Data sources came from health surveys and census data (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru). Self-reported frequency of F&V intake was harmonised across surveys. Daily F&V intake was considered as consumption 7 d of the week. Using a mixed-effects model, we estimated age and sex-standardised city prevalences of daily F&V intake. Through Kruskal–Wallis tests, we compared city F&V daily intake prevalence by tertiles of city variables related to women’s empowerment, socio-economics, and climate zones. The median prevalence for daily F&V intake was 55.7% across all cities (22.1% to 85.4%). Compared to the least favourable tertile of city conditions, F&V daily intake prevalence was higher for cities within the most favourable tertile of per capita GDP (median = 65.7% vs. 53.0%), labour force participation (median = 68.7% vs. 49.4%), women achievement-labour force score (median = 63.9% vs. 45.7%), and gender inequality index (median = 58.6% vs. 48.6%). Also, prevalences were higher for temperate climate zones than arid climate zones (median = 65.9% vs. 50.6%). No patterns were found by city level of educational attainment, city size, or population density. This study provides evidence that the prevalence of daily F&V intake varies across Latin American cities and may be favoured by higher socio-economic development, women’s empowerment, and temperate weather. Interventions to improve F&V intake in Latin America should consider the behaviour disparities related to underlying local social, economic, and climate zone characteristics.
The economics of small change: resolving coinage challenges in medieval Europe
Authors: Svensson Roger , Westermark Andreas
Published: January 2025

In medieval Europe's coinage systems, introducing small-denomination coins was a significant challenge due to their higher relative production costs, often leading to shortages. To address this issue, economic theory suggests a standard formula: mint small coins as overvalued credit money on the government's account and convert them on demand at a pegged rate. This article explores the alternative methods adopted during different periods to mitigate this issue. In the early and high Middle Ages, mints employed a simple yet effective strategy: dividing larger coins into smaller units, bypassing the cost barrier. Our analysis of coin hoards from this era confirms the success of this method in preventing small change scarcity. Central and northern European minting authorities innovated with unifaced ‘hohlpfennigs’ in the late Middle Ages, utilizing cost-efficient technology. Our analysis demonstrates the absence of hohlpfennig shortages. It elucidates the economic and technological factors influencing this minting method and its eventual decline by the early sixteenth century. These historical insights underscore that small change production was primarily a supply-side challenge, offering valuable lessons for modern economic systems.
Parcours dans l'espace domestique romain à travers deux approches problématiques contrastées
Authors: Dardenay Alexandra
Published: January 2025

L'organisation spatiale des maisons pompéiennes et les effets produits par les décors qui en ornaient les murs restent des champs d'investigation très dynamiques après des décennies de synthèses produites à leur sujet. Et le regain d'activité archéologique à Pompéi ces dernières années – assorti désormais d'une communication très abondante et efficace sur l'actualité des fouilles1 – ne fera sans doute qu'amplifier le phénomène dans les années à venir.
Associations between social determinants of health and mental health disorders among U.S. population: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Tanarsuwongkul S. , Liu J. , Spaulding M. , Perea-Schmittle K. , Lohman M. , Wang Q.
Published: January 2025

Aims

The impact of social determinants of health (SDOH) on mental health is increasingly realized. A comprehensive study examining the associations of SDOH with mental health disorders has yet to be accomplished. This study evaluated the associations between five domains of SDOH and the SDOH summary score and mental health disorders in the United States.

Methods

We analyzed data from a diverse group of participants enrolled in the All of Us research programme, a research programme to gather data from one million people living in the United States, in a cross-sectional design. The primary exposure was SDOH based on Healthy People 2030: education access and quality, economic stability, healthcare access and quality, social and community context, and neighbourhood and built environment. A summary SDOH score was calculated by adding each adverse SDOH risk (any SDOH vs. no SDOH). Our primary outcomes were diagnoses of major depression (MD) (i.e., major depressive disorder, recurrent MD or MD in remission) and anxiety disorders (AD) (i.e., generalized AD and other anxiety-related disorders). Multiple logistic regression models were used to determine adjusted odd ratios (aORs) for MD and/or ADs after controlling for covariates.

Results

A total of 63,162 participants with MD were identified (22,277 [35.3%] age 50–64 years old; 41,876 [66.3%] female). A total of 77,624 participants with AD were identified (25,268 [32.6%] age 50–64 years old; 52,224 [67.3%] female). Factors associated with greater odds of MD and AD included having less than a college degree, annual household income less than 200% of federal poverty level, housing concerns, lack of transportation, food insecurity, and unsafe neighbourhoods. Having no health insurance was associated with lower odds of both MD and AD (aOR, 0.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.46–0.51 and aOR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.42–0.47, respectively). SDOH summary score was strongly associated with the likelihood of having MD and AD (aOR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.89–2.06 and aOR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.63–1.75, respectively).

Conclusions

This study found associations between all five domains of SDOH and the higher odds of having MD and/or AD. The strong correlations between the SDOH summary score and mental health disorders indicate a possible use of the summary score as a measure of risk of developing mental health disorders.
Evaluation of a new model of care for bladder management in a statewide spinal cord service
Authors: Gabbe Belinda J. , Haughton Stacey RJ , Nunn Andrew , Graco Marnie , Michael Chris , Reeder Sandra , McGaw Rebekah , Berlowitz David J.
Published: January 2025

Study design

Registry-based cohort study.

Objectives

To evaluate the impact of the introduction of a new bladder management model of care at the Victorian Spinal Cord Service (VSCS) on the incidence of subsequent emergency department presentations and readmissions to hospital for urinary tract infection (UTI) in the first 2 years after injury.

Setting

VSCS, Austin Health, Melbourne, Australia.

Methods

A new model of care that prioritized intermittent self-catheterization was implemented at the VSCS on 1 August 2017. Data from the Victorian State Trauma Registry and Austin Health medical record were used to compare the rate of readmissions, emergency department (ED) presentations and hospitalisations for UTI in the first two years post-injury before and after practice was changed.

Results

A total of 333 cases were included; 149 cases pre-model of care change and 184 cases after. 143 males and 41 females with a mean (SD) age of 48.9 (19.7) were admitted to the VSCS following the change in model of care. The rate of any subsequent hospitalisation for UTI (ED presentation or admission) was lower following the introduction of the new bladder management model of care (Incidence rate ratio 0.30, 95% CI 0.12–0.73).

Conclusions

Our data demonstrates the real-world impact of a change in bladder management after new SCI. These data strengthen the consensus recommendation in current practice guidelines.
Motor cortical neuronal hyperexcitability associated with α-synuclein aggregation
Authors: Chen Liqiang , Chehade Hiba Douja , Chu Hong-Yuan
Published: January 2025

Αbstract

In Parkinson’s disease (PD), Lewy pathology deposits in the cerebral cortex, but how the pathology disrupts cortical circuit integrity and function remains poorly understood. To begin to address this question, we injected α-synuclein (αSyn) preformed fibrils (PFFs) into the dorsolateral striatum of mice to seed αSyn pathology in the cortical cortex and induce degeneration of midbrain dopaminergic neurons. We reported that αSyn aggregates accumulate in the motor cortex in a layer- and cell-subtype-specific pattern. Specifically, αSyn aggregates-bearing intratelencephalic neurons (ITNs) showed hyperexcitability, increased input resistance, and decreased cell capacitance, which were associated with impaired HCN channel function. Morphologically, the αSyn aggregates-bearing ITNs showed shrinkage of cell bodies and loss of dendritic spines. Last, we showed that partial dopamine depletion is not sufficient to alter thalamocortical transmission to cortical pyramidal neurons. Our results provide a novel mechanistic understanding of cortical circuit dysfunction in PD.
Long-lived entanglement of molecules in magic-wavelength optical tweezers
Authors: Ruttley Daniel K. , Hepworth Tom R. , Guttridge Alexander , Cornish Simon L.
Published: January 2025

Realizing quantum control and entanglement of particles is crucial for advancing both quantum technologies and fundamental science. Substantial developments in this domain have been achieved in a variety of systems1–5. In this context, ultracold polar molecules offer new and unique opportunities because of their more complex internal structure associated with vibration and rotation, coupled with the existence of long-range interactions6,7. However, the same properties make molecules highly sensitive to their environment8–10, affecting their coherence and utility in some applications. Here we show that by engineering an exceptionally controlled environment using rotationally magic11,12 optical tweezers, we can achieve long-lived entanglement between pairs of molecules using detectable hertz-scale interactions. We prepare two-molecule Bell states with fidelity

$$0.92{4}_{-0.016}^{+0.013}$$

0.92

4

−
0.016

+
0.013

, limited by detectable leakage errors. When correcting for these errors, the fidelity is

$$0.97{6}_{-0.016}^{+0.014}$$

0.97

6

−
0.016

+
0.014

. We show that the second-scale entanglement lifetimes are limited solely by these errors, providing opportunities for research in quantum-enhanced metrology7,13, ultracold chemistry14 and the use of rotational states in quantum simulation, quantum computation and as quantum memories. The extension of precise quantum control to complex molecular systems will enable their additional degrees of freedom to be exploited across many domains of quantum science15–17.
A Chromosomal-level genome assembly and annotation of fat greenling (Hexagrammos otakii)
Authors: Li Li , Hu Fawen , Liu Dong , Wang Xiaolong , Diao Jing , Zhu Yijing , Gao Fengxiang , Fan Ying , Jian Yuxia , Wang Xue , Pan Lei , Guo Wen
Published: January 2025

Fat greenling (Hexagrammos otakii Jordan & Starks, 1895) is a valuable marine fish species, crucial for aquaculture in Northern China due to its high-quality meat and significant economic value. However, the aquaculture industry faces challenges such as trait degradation, early sexual maturity, and disease susceptibility, necessitating advanced genomic interventions for sustainable cultivation. This study presents the first chromosomal-level genome assembly of H. otakii, achieved using PacBio long-read sequencing and Hi-C technology. The assembly yielded a genome size of 682.43 Mb with a contig N50 size of 2.39 Mb and a scaffold N50 size of 27.83 Mb. The completeness of genome assessed by BUSCO is 96.99%. A total of 22,334 protein-coding genes were predicted, with 21,619 (96.80%) functionally annotated across various protein databases. This genomic resource is a step forward in supporting the breeding, germplasm conservation, and enhancement of H. otakii, facilitating genetic studies and the development of strategies for disease resistance and growth optimization in aquaculture.
Influence of spousal educational disparities on intimate partner violence (IPV) against pregnant women: a study of 30 countries
Authors: Nishan M. D. Nahid Hassan , Ahmed M. Z. E. M. Naser Uddin , Mashreky Saidur Rahman , Dalal Koustuv
Published: January 2025

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) during pregnancy poses a serious threat to maternal health, particularly in low- and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs). Despite these known risks, the role of spousal educational differences in IPV during pregnancy remains poorly understood. This study aimed to examine this influence, analyzing data from multiple countries across five continents. This study utilized data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) focusing on lower and LMIC countries. DHS employs two-stage sampling to gather comprehensive health data. Thirty countries from five regions were selected. Covariates like husband’s age, residence, wealth, education, husband’s working status, husband’s education, and spousal educational gap were considered. Cross-sectional survey design was considered. Chi-square test was done to find the association between IPV and covariates. Binary logistic regression was used to assess whether the independent variable is related to spousal educational disparity and other covariates of IPV during pregnancy. Out of 152,643 (weighted) pregnant women from all five continents, 8357 (weighted) experienced IPV during pregnancy. IPV is most prevalent in Papua New Guinea (17.01%; 95% CI 15.76–18.38%)), while least prevalent in Cambodia (0.99%; 95% CI 0.88–1.10%)). Overall, the IPV prevalence was (5.47%; 95% CI 5.30–5.65%)). Educational disparity and socioeconomic factors play a significant role in encountering IPV during pregnancy. This study revealed complex, region-specific effects on violence likelihood, emphasizing implications for policymakers and practitioners addressing IPV. Education disparity emerged as a significant factor; lower-educated couples exhibit increased abusive behavior.
ATKB-PID: an adaptive control method for micro tension under complex hot rolling conditions
Authors: Xu Xinkai , Song Xiangrong , Qi Zheng
Published: January 2025

At present, the parameters of the controllers in hot rolling roughing microtension control systems are not adaptively adjustable to variations in working conditions, which compromises both width accuracy and production stability. To address this issue, this paper introduces an ATKB-PID adaptive micro tension control method. This method incorporates a linear attention layer and utilizes a K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) algorithm to predict the optimal learning rate and inertia coefficient under actual operating conditions. Furthermore, an objective function is tailored to production indices to enhance model performance. Comparative experiments with both established and recently introduced controllers demonstrate that the proposed ATKB-PID method exhibits a smaller steady-state error and quicker adjustment time. The ATKB-PID control method is well-suited for the complex and dynamic microtension control demands in thermal roughing processes, showing promising application potential.
Genetic proxies for clinical traits are associated with increased risk of severe COVID-19
Authors: Chaddock N. J. M. , Crossfield S. S. R. , Pujades-Rodriguez M. , Iles M. M. , Morgan A. W.
Published: January 2025

Routine use of genetic data in healthcare is much-discussed, yet little is known about its performance in epidemiological models including traditional risk factors. Using severe COVID-19 as an exemplar, we explore the integration of polygenic risk scores (PRS) into disease models alongside sociodemographic and clinical variables. PRS were optimized for 23 clinical variables and related traits previously-associated with severe COVID-19 in up to 450,449 UK Biobank participants, and tested in 9,560 individuals diagnosed in the pre-vaccination era. Associations were further adjusted for (i) sociodemographic and (ii) clinical variables. Pathway analyses of PRS were performed to improve biological understanding of disease. In univariate analyses, 17 PRS were associated with increased risk of severe COVID-19 and, of these, four remained associated with COVID-19 outcomes following adjustment for sociodemographic/clinical variables: hypertension PRS (OR = 1.1, 95%CI 1.03–1.18), atrial fibrillation PRS (OR = 1.12, 95%CI 1.03–1.22), peripheral vascular disease PRS (OR = 0.9, 95%CI 0.82–0.99), and Alzheimer’s disease PRS (OR = 1.14, 95%CI 1.05–1.25). Pathway analyses revealed enrichment of genetic variants in pathways for cardiac muscle contraction (genes N = 5; beta[SE] = 3.48[0.60]; adjusted-P = 1.86 × 10−5). These findings underscore the potential for integrating genetic data into epidemiological models and highlight the advantages of utilizing multiple trait PRS rather than a single PRS for a specific outcome of interest.