bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Chinese university students’ intention to study abroad in times of Covid-19: the important role of student background characteristics
Authors: Yang Tianyu , Bao Wei , Belfi Barbara , Haelermans Carla
Published: May 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected higher education students in many ways, and it seems to also have influences students’ willingness to study abroad. To date, much is still unclear about the exact effects of COVID-19 on Chinese students’ intentions to study abroad and whether that differs for different types of students. This is problematic, as for students, international study experience is of great importance for their further careers, while for HEIs, the share of foreign students greatly influences their resources. We collected and analyzed survey data from 14,385 Chinese students to examine (1) the unique effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on their intention to study abroad, and (2) the potential differential effects of the pandemic on students with different background characteristics. The results indicate that students from provinces with high COVID-19 pandemic exposure were more inclined to study abroad due to stringent preventive measures and heightened awareness of the virus’s severity. Moreover, the results show that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a greater impact on the intentions to study abroad of high-SES students and students with lower academic achievement than of low-SES and high achieving students. More concretely, due to the pandemic, both student groups were less willing to study abroad than their low-SES and high-achieving counterparts. In terms of student gender, no differential effects were found, suggesting that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the studying abroad intentions of students of various genders relatively equally.
Leveraging computer vision towards high-efficiency autonomous industrial facilities
Authors: Yousif Ibrahim , Burns Liam , El Kalach Fadi , Harik Ramy
Published: May 2024

Manufacturers face two opposing challenges: the escalating demand for customized products and the pressure to reduce delivery lead times. To address these expectations, manufacturers must refine their processes, to achieve highly efficient and autonomous operations. Current manufacturing equipment deployed in several facilities, while reliable and produces quality products, often lacks the ability to utilize advancements from newer technologies. Since replacing legacy equipment may be financially infeasible for many manufacturers, implementing digital transformation practices and technologies can overcome the stated deficiencies and offer cost-affordable initiatives to improve operations, increase productivity, and reduce costs. This paper explores the implementation of computer vision, as a cutting-edge, cost-effective, open-source digital transformation technology in manufacturing facilities. As a rapidly advancing technology, computer vision has the potential to transform manufacturing operations in general, and quality control in particular. The study integrates a digital twin application at the endpoint of an assembly line, effectively performing the role of a quality officer by utilizing state-of-the-art computer vision algorithms to validate end-product assembly orientation. The proposed digital twin, featuring a novel object recognition approach, efficiently classifies objects, identifies and segments errors in assembly, and schedules the paths through the data pipeline to the corresponding robot for autonomous correction. This minimizes the need for human interaction and reduces disruptions to manufacturing operations.
Enhanced Efficiency of Silicon Solar Cell by New Salophen Complexes Embedded PMMA as Light Concentrators
Authors: Ahmed Radwa K. , Mohamed Naglaa M. , Reda S. M.
Published: May 2024

The Schiff base N,N-bis(salicylidene)-o-phenylenediamine (salophen) was prepared by the condensation of salicylaldehyde with o-phenylenediamine in ethanol solution. Two new Zn(II) and Ni(II) salophen complexes, were synthesized, fully characterized by infrared (IR), 1H NMR spectroscopic measurements, UV–Vis spectra, photoluminescence (PL), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The prepared complexes were used as phosphors to fabricate complexes/PMMA slab-based luminescent solar concentrators (LSC). The thermal stability of pure and doped PMMA polymer was examined by differential scanning calorimetry. Various parameters such as the optical energy gap, refractive index, AC and DC conductivity, dielectric constant, dielectric loss, Urbach energy, fluorescence quantum yield, and Stokes shift have been calculated and discussed. Optical absorption is carried out in wavelength region 200–900 nm at room temperature before and after the samples have been exposed to sunlight for up to 8 h. Photodegradation studies showed that the Zn(II) complex/PMMA LSC has the lowest rate of degradation compared with Ni(II) complex/PMMA LSC with the same concentration (0.06% weight). I–V characteristics of the photovoltaic devices with and without collectors were examined. The PV cell coupled with LSC shows an increase in maximum efficiency by about 50% compared to the normal one. This indicates that the proposed technique is very useful for improving the efficiency of solar cells.
A novel preclinical model of the normal human breast
Authors: Wilby Anthony J. , Cabral Sara , Zoghi Nastaran , Howell Sacha J. , Farnie Gillian , Harrison Hannah
Published: May 2024

Improved screening and treatment have decreased breast cancer mortality, although incidence continues to rise. Women at increased risk of breast cancer can be offered risk reducing treatments, such as tamoxifen, but this has not been shown to reduce breast cancer mortality. New, more efficacious, risk-reducing agents are needed. The identification of novel candidates for prevention is hampered by a lack of good preclinical models. Current patient derived in vitro and in vivo models cannot fully recapitulate the complexities of the human tissue, lacking human extracellular matrix, stroma, and immune cells, all of which are known to influence therapy response. Here we describe a normal breast explant model utilising a tuneable hydrogel which maintains epithelial proliferation, hormone receptor expression, and residency of T cells and macrophages over 7 days. Unlike other organotypic tissue cultures which are often limited by hyper-proliferation, loss of hormone signalling, and short treatment windows (< 48h), our model shows that tissue remains viable over 7 days with none of these early changes. This offers a powerful and unique opportunity to model the normal breast and study changes in response to various risk factors, such as breast density and hormone exposure. Further validation of the model, using samples from patients undergoing preventive therapies, will hopefully confirm this to be a valuable tool, allowing us to test novel agents for breast cancer risk reduction preclinically.
Monitoring of some minor human skin lesions using a skin calorimeter
Authors: Rodríguez de Rivera Pedro Jesús , Rodríguez de Rivera Miriam , Socorro Fabiola , Rodríguez de Rivera Manuel
Published: May 2024

The growing interest of human skin thermal properties is motivating the development of new instruments, either by contact or by remote sensing. In this work, we show the ability of a skin calorimeter to monitor the temporal evolution of the heat capacity and the equivalent thermal resistance of the skin, in two small skin lesions. The first one consists of a forehead wound of 10 × 2 mm2. The other injury consists of a second degree burn on the volar wrist area, of 10 × 20 mm2. We studied the temporal evolution of the thermal properties of both injuries. The variation of heat capacity was significant. For first injury, heat capacity decreased by 21% and full recovery was achieved after ten days. For the second case, the heat capacity decrease was 55% and recovery was achieved after 3 weeks. These skin recoveries are monitored by the measured heat capacity value. The returning of the heat capacity to its normal value coincides with the recovery from the injury.
Benchmarking palliative care practices in neurooncology: a german perspective
Authors: Lawson McLean Anna Cecilia , Lawson McLean Aaron , Ernst Thomas , Forster Marie-Therese , Freyschlag Christian , Gempt Jens , Goldbrunner Roland , Grau Stefan , Jungk Christine , van Oorschot Birgitt , Rosahl Steffen K. , Wedding Ulrich , Senft Christian , Kamp Marcel A. ,   on behalf of the German Consortium for Excellence in Neurooncology, Palliative Care (GCE-NPC), Misch Martin , Herrlinger Ulrich , Malinova Vesna , Machein Marcia , Hau Peter , Grauer Oliver , Glas Martin , Kessler Almuth F. , Keric Naureen , Egermann Hannes , Stein Marco , Weigel Jens , Reinges Marcus , Jödicke Andreas , Stein Klaus-Peter , Mehlitz Marcus , May Sven-Axel , Thon Niklas , Kassubek Rebecca , Knappe Ulrich , Alomari Ali , Ebner Florian H. , Renovanz Mirjam , Bumes Elisabeth , Seidel Clemens , Clusmann Hans , Freiman Thomas M. , Ryang Yu-Mi , Gerhardt Julia , Stoffel Michael , Lange Ina , Tronnier Volker , Schulz-Schaeffer Walter
Published: May 2024

Purpose

To benchmark palliative care practices in neurooncology centers across Germany, evaluating the variability in palliative care integration, timing, and involvement in tumor board discussions. This study aims to identify gaps in care and contribute to the discourse on optimal palliative care strategies.

Methods

A survey targeting both German Cancer Society-certified and non-certified university neurooncology centers was conducted to explore palliative care frameworks and practices for neurooncological patients. The survey included questions on palliative care department availability, involvement in tumor boards, timing of palliative care integration, and use of standardized screening tools for assessing palliative burden and psycho-oncological distress.

Results

Of 57 centers contacted, 46 responded (81% response rate). Results indicate a dedicated palliative care department in 76.1% of centers, with palliative specialists participating in tumor board discussions at 34.8% of centers. Variability was noted in the initiation of palliative care, with early integration at the diagnosis stage in only 30.4% of centers. The survey highlighted a significant lack of standardized spiritual care assessments and minimal use of advanced care planning. Discrepancies were observed in the documentation and treatment of palliative care symptoms and social complaints, underscoring the need for comprehensive care approaches.

Conclusion

The study highlights a diverse landscape of palliative care provision within German neurooncology centers, underscoring the need for more standardized practices and early integration of palliative care. It suggests the necessity for standardized protocols and guidelines to enhance palliative care's quality and uniformity, ultimately improving patient-centered care in neurooncology.
Solubility vs Dissolution in Physiological Bicarbonate Buffer
Authors: Claussen Felix , Al-Gousous Jozef , Salehi Niloufar , Garcia Mauricio A. , Amidon Gordon L. , Langguth Peter
Published: May 2024

Background

Phosphate buffer is often used as a replacement for the physiological bicarbonate buffer in pharmaceutical dissolution testing, although there are some discrepancies in their properties making it complicated to extrapolate dissolution results in phosphate to the in vivo situation. This study aims to characterize these discrepancies regarding solubility and dissolution behavior of ionizable compounds.

Methods

The dissolution of an ibuprofen powder with a known particle size distribution was simulated in silico and verified experimentally in vitro at two different doses and in two different buffers (5 mM pH 6.8 bicarbonate and phosphate).

Results

The results showed that there is a solubility vs. dissolution mismatch in the two buffers. This was accurately predicted by the in-house simulations based on the reversible non-equilibrium (RNE) and the Mooney models.

Conclusions

The results can be explained by the existence of a relatively large gap between the initial surface pH of the drug and the bulk pH at saturation in bicarbonate but not in phosphate, which is caused by not all the interfacial reactions reaching equilibrium in bicarbonate prior to bulk saturation. This means that slurry pH measurements, while providing surface pH estimates for buffers like phosphate, are poor indicators of surface pH in the intestinal bicarbonate buffer. In addition, it showcases the importance of accounting for the H2CO3-CO2 interconversion kinetics to achieve good predictions of intestinal drug dissolution.
Aneuploidy is Linked to Neurological Phenotypes Through Oxidative Stress
Authors: Islam Anowarul , Shaukat Zeeshan , Hussain Rashid , Ricos Michael G. , Dibbens Leanne M. , Gregory Stephen L.
Published: May 2024

Aneuploidy, having an aberrant genome, is gaining increasing attention in neurodegenerative diseases. It gives rise to proteotoxic stress as well as a stereotypical oxidative shift which makes these cells sensitive to internal and environmental stresses. A growing body of research from numerous laboratories suggests that many neurodegenerative disorders, especially Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia, are characterised by neuronal aneuploidy and the ensuing apoptosis, which may contribute to neuronal loss. Using Drosophila as a model, we investigated the effect of induced aneuploidy in GABAergic neurons. We found an increased proportion of aneuploidy due to Mad2 depletion in the third-instar larval brain and increased cell death. Depletion of Mad2 in GABAergic neurons also gave a defective climbing and seizure phenotype. Feeding animals an antioxidant rescued the climbing and seizure phenotype. These findings suggest that increased aneuploidy leads to higher oxidative stress in GABAergic neurons which causes cell death, climbing defects, and seizure phenotype. Antioxidant feeding represents a potential therapy to reduce the aneuploidy-driven neurological phenotype.
Disruption detection for a cognitive digital supply chain twin using hybrid deep learning
Authors: Ashraf Mahmoud , Eltawil Amr , Ali Islam
Published: May 2024

Recent disruptive events, such as COVID-19 and Russia–Ukraine conflict, had a significant impact of global supply chains. Digital supply chain twins have been proposed in order to provide decision makers with an effective and efficient tool to mitigate disruption impact. This paper introduces a hybrid deep learning approach for disruption detection within a cognitive digital supply chain twin framework to enhance supply chain resilience. The proposed disruption detection module utilises a deep autoencoder neural network combined with a one-class support vector machine algorithm. In addition, long-short term memory neural network models are developed to identify the disrupted echelon and predict time-to-recovery from the disruption effect. The obtained information from the proposed approach will help decision-makers and supply chain practitioners make appropriate decisions aiming at minimizing negative impact of disruptive events based on real-time disruption detection data. The results demonstrate the trade-off between disruption detection model sensitivity, encountered delay in disruption detection, and false alarms. This approach has seldom been used in recent literature addressing this issue.
Addressing Barriers and Facilitators to African Americans’ and Hispanics’ Participation in Clinical and Genomic Research Through a Bioethical Sensitive Video
Authors: Churchill Victoria , Schoenberger Yu-Mei , Carter Vivian L. , Chevrin Jamirah Y. , Dean-Colomb Windy , Matthews Roland , Rivers Desiree , Sodeke Stephen O. , Ezer Jonathan , Rivers Brian M.
Published: May 2024

Research advances on effective methods to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer continue to emerge through clinical and genomic research. Most clinical trial and genomic research participants identify as White which limits the generalizability of research findings to non-White populations. With the development and access to technology, digital delivery of salient and tailored health education may provide innovative pathways to increase representation of African Americans (AA) and Hispanics in research. This project focused on the creation of a bioethical sensitive education video aimed at increasing participation in clinical trials and genomic research by bringing together experts from the community, healthcare, biomedical research, and public health. The goal was to utilize existing educational resources to create a tailored message to address AA/Hispanics’ beliefs, values, and bioethical concerns related to participation in clinical and genomic research. Models of behavior change and communication theories were leveraged to frame key components of the message, which then informed the framework for the animated video. Development of the video consisted of six iterative phases: 1) writing sessions; 2) storyboarding; 3) animating; 4) screening/revisions; 5) acceptability testing; 6) finalization. The final animated video is approximately 5 min in length and covers several topics including the goal of clinical research, disparities in research participation, bioethical concerns, and genomic research regulations. Increasing AA and Hispanic participation in clinical and genomic research is imperative to achieving health equity. Tailored messages via short videos may assist in addressing the barriers and facilitators towards research participation and increase intentions to enroll in trials.
Vestibular Implantation
Authors: Vesper Evan O. , Sun Ruolan , Della Santina Charles C. , Schoo Desi P.
Published: May 2024

Purpose of Review

This review aims to introduce vestibular implants as investigational devices with the potential to provide a novel rehabilitative treatment for patients with vestibular dysfunction.

Recent Findings

Vestibular implants are being investigated in clinical trials in the USA and Europe as a treatment option for patients with bilateral vestibular hypofunction (also called bilateral vestibulopathy). Analogous to cochlear implants, vestibular implants aim to encode head motion information and provide electric stimulation targeting the vestibular nerve of the inner ear. Published clinical trial results suggest vestibular implants can electrically drive vestibular mediated reflexes, including the vestibulo-ocular reflex and vestibulo-cervical reflex, as well as decreasing dizziness-specific symptoms and improving measures of quality of life.

Vestibular implants are an investigational technology with the potential to provide treatment options for patients with chronic bilateral vestibulopathy.
Higher derivatives of functions with given critical points and values
Authors: Goldman G. , Yomdin Y.
Published: May 2024

Let $$f: B^n \rightarrow {{\mathbb {R}}}$$

f
:

B
n

→
R

be a $$d+1$$

d
+
1

times continuously differentiable function on the unit ball $$B^n$$

B
n

, with $$\mathrm{max\,}_{z\in B^n} \Vert f(z) \Vert =1$$

max

z
∈

B
n

‖
f

(
z
)

‖

=
1

. A well-known fact is that if f vanishes on a set $$Z\subset B^n$$

Z
⊂

B
n

with a non-empty interior, then for each $$k=1,\ldots ,d+1$$

k
=
1
,
…
,
d
+
1

the norm of the k-th derivative $$||f^{(k)}||$$

|
|

f

(
k
)

|
|

is at least $$M=M(n,k)>0$$

M
=
M
(
n
,
k
)
>
0

. A natural question to ask is “what happens for other sets Z?”. This question was partially answered in Goldman and Yomdin (Lower bounds for high derivatives of smooth functions with given zeros. arXiv:2402.01388), Yomdin (Anal Math Phys 11:89, 2021), Yomdin (J Singul 25:443–455, 2022) and Yomdin (Higher derivatives of functions vanishing on a given set. arXiv:2108.02459v1). In the present paper, we ask a similar (and closely related) question: what happens with the high-order derivatives of f, if its gradient vanishes on a given set $$\Sigma $$
Σ
? And what conclusions for the high-order derivatives of f can be obtained from the analysis of the metric geometry of the “critical values set” $$f(\Sigma )$$

f
(
Σ
)

? In the present paper, we provide some initial answers to these questions.
The Yogavāsiṣṭha and the Philosophy of the Absurd: A Hindu Response to the Heart’s Cry
Authors: Tubali Shai
Published: May 2024

In this article, I call attention to the Yogavāsiṣṭha’s depiction of Rāma’s existential crisis and Vasiṣṭha’s various methods for resolving it. However, I illuminate this crisis and Rāma’s lengthy monologue by turning to an altogether different frame of reference: Albert Camus’s philosophy of the absurd as developed in his absurd-oriented works, from The Myth of Sisyphus to The Rebel. Arguing that Rāma’s existential crisis is strongly reminiscent of Camus’s awakening to life’s absurdity, and that his monologue may be considered among the most successful meditations on this predicament, I examine not only Rāma’s quandary but also what the Yogavāsiṣṭha deems the ultimate response to it. In this way, I throw into sharp relief two contrasting responses to the absurd condition in human life that effectively challenge one another. Considering some of the Indian classical works, such as the Yogavāsiṣṭha, in this light suggests that they too acknowledge the absurd as their starting point and, at least to a certain extent, develop doctrines that aid their practitioners in facing it. Nevertheless, the Yogavāsiṣṭha also enables us to develop our thinking about absurdity and expand the discussion of constructive responses to the reality of the absurd.
Assessing outdoor and environmental education threshold concepts in Australian universities
Authors: Polley Scott , McLeod Beth , Rankin Joss , Munge Brendon , Bovino Peter , Picknoll Duncan
Published: May 2024

Communicating tertiary graduate skills and knowledge to employers is a contemporary issue in Australian outdoor education. Threshold concepts have been proposed as a positive way forward to a shared understanding between Higher Education (HE) professionals, students, graduates, employers, and other outdoor education stakeholders. While threshold concepts can offer a curriculum development framework that highlights the graduate capabilities of an HE outdoor educator, they do not specify how these concepts are assessed. In this paper, we explore the assessment of threshold concepts in HE degrees and then examine current assessment practices in HE outdoor education degrees. We highlight selected literature on assessing outdoor education in HE and then explore how other professions assess threshold concepts. Specific professions included have (a) identified threshold concepts and (b) considered the ability to practice upon graduation, as this has the most significant alignment with the professional role of an outdoor educator. We then describe current outdoor education HE assessment practices at selected Australian universities, highlighting the breadth and range of assessment methods incorporated in existing degrees. We conclude with a discussion of the role of authentic assessment and provide five recommendations for how academics might assess the seven HE outdoor education threshold concepts described by Thomas et al. (2019) to support communication of graduate capabilities to employers, students, graduates, and other outdoor education stakeholders.
Addressing trade-offs in co-designing principles for ethical AI: perspectives from an industry-academia collaboration
Authors: Katirai Amelia , Nagato Yusuke
Published: May 2024

The development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly outpaced regulation. As a result, many organizations opt to develop their own principles for the ethical development of AI, though little research has examined the processes through which they are developed. Prior research indicates that these processes involve perceived trade-offs between competing considerations, and primarily between ethical concerns and organizational benefits or technological development. In this paper, we report on a novel, collaborative initiative in Japan between researchers in the humanities and social sciences, and industry actors to co-design organizational AI ethics principles. We analyzed the minutes from 20 meetings from the formative phase of the development of these principles using an inductive process drawing on thematic analysis, to identify the issues of importance to participants. Through this, we identified four core trade-offs faced by participants. We find that, contrary to prior literature, participants were not just concerned with trade-offs between ethical concerns and organizational benefits or technological development, but also between competing, ethically-oriented considerations. We use the results of this study to highlight a need for further research to understand the longer-term impact on organizations and on society of organization-led approaches to AI ethics.
A semi-automated software model to support AI ethics compliance assessment of an AI system guided by ethical principles of AI
Authors: Cappelli Maria Assunta , Di Marzo Serugendo Giovanna
Published: May 2024

Compliance with principles and guidelines for ethical AI has a significant impact on companies engaged in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Specifically, ethics is a broad concept that continuously evolves over time and across cultural and geographical boundaries. International organisations (IOs), individual states, and private groups, all have an interest in defining the concept of ethics of AI. IOs, as well as regional and national bodies, have issued many decisions on AI ethics. Developing a system that complies with the ethical framework poses a complex challenge for companies, and the consequences of not complying with ethical principles can have severe consequences, making compliance with these requirements a key issue for companies. Furthermore, there is a shortage of technical tools to ensure that such AI systems comply with ethical criteria. The scarcity of ethics compliance checking tools for AI, and the current focus on defining ethical guidelines for AI development, has led us to undertake a proposal consisting in a semi-automated software model to verify the ethical compliance of an AI system’s code. To implement this model, we focus on the following important aspects: (1) a literature review to identify existing ethical compliance systems, (2) a review of principles and guidelines for ethical AI to determine the international and European views regarding AI ethics, and (3) the identification of commonly accepted principles and sub-principles of AI. These elements served to inform (4) our proposal for the design of a semi-automated software for verifying the ethical compliance of AI systems both at design-time (ethics-by-design perspective) and afterwards on the resulting software.
Exact solutions for travelling waves using Tanh method for two dimensional stochastic Allen–Cahn equation with multiplicative noise
Authors: Alzubaidi Hasan
Published: May 2024

The research outlined here focuses on the hyperbolic tangent (tanh) method for deriving analytical solutions for travelling wave to the two-dimensional stochastic Allen–Cahn equation with multiplicative noise. The novelty of our work is to derive these exact solutions since the previous studies focused on the solutions of numerical nature. The tanh approach, which employs a finite tanh power series, is particularly adept at modeling travelling wave profiles. A key area of interest in this study is the effect of multiplicative noise on these travelling waves dynamics, especially how high levels of noise can lead to propagation failure of waves. The results demonstrate that for weak noise, the propagation of the travelling wave is basically unaffected, while the wave fails to propagate in the strong noise regime.
A study on the application of convolutional neural networks for the maintenance of railway tracks
Authors: Pappaterra Mauro José , Pappaterra María Lucía , Flammini Francesco
Published: May 2024

This paper provides an overview of the applications of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) in the railway maintenance industry. Our research covers specifically the subdomain of railway track maintenance. In this study, we have analyzed the state-of-the-art of CNNs applied to railway track maintenance by conducting an extensive literature review, summarizing different tasks and problems related to the topic and presenting solutions based on CNNs with a special emphasis on the data used to create these models. The results of our research show different applications of CNNs within the scope, including the detection of defects in the surface of railway rails and railway track components, such as fasteners, joints, sleepers, switches and crossings, as well as the recognition of track components, and the continuous monitoring of railway tracks. The architecture of CNNs is fitting to learning spatial hierarchies of features directly from the input data, making them of great use for Computer Vision and other applications related to the topic at hand. The implementation of IoT devices and smart sensors aid the collection of real-time data which can be used to feed powerful CNN models to recognize patterns and identify complex events related to the maintenance of railway tracks. This and more insights are discussed in detail within the contents of this paper.
Analysis of the radiated emission of an ECR thruster with magnetic nozzle in terms of its EMC
Authors: Kiefer F. , Keil K. , Holste K. , Klar P. J. , Thüringer R.
Published: May 2024

The demand for space propulsion systems is increasing due to the rising number of satellite launches. Electric thrusters gain considerable importance as highly efficient systems in space. As the thrust generation process involves electrically charged particles in motion, ion and plasma thrusters can cause electromagnetic noise, which may interfere with satellite electronics or radio communication. Our objectives are to quantify such emissions and to better understand their origin. We use two facilities to achieve this goal: a semi-anechoic chamber (SAC) with a dedicated vacuum chamber and a mode-tuned vacuum chamber, also known as a reverberation chamber (RVC). Here, we conduct measurements in both facilities on an electron-cyclotron resonance (ECR) thruster with a magnetic nozzle in order to assess its electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). This thruster emits a quasi-neutral plasma plume without requiring an additional neutralizer, thus, is especially suitable for conducting our studies. The thruster in operation acts as an electromagnetic noise source contributing to different frequency ranges. In addition to the excitation frequency band, the data reveals emissions occurring approximately one decade lower in frequency. These emissions depend on propellant mass flow, background pressure and excitation power, i.e., vary with the electron density of the plasma generated inside the ECR thruster. The thruster was characterized following primarily MIL-STD-461G and further ECSS-E-ST-20-07C.
In Praise of Greek Athletes
Authors: Miller Peter J.
Published: May 2024

In ancient Greece both epinikian songs and inscribed epigrams were regularly composed to celebrate victory at athletic festivals. For the first time this book offers an integrated approach to both genres. It focuses on the ultimate source of information about athletic victory, the angelia or herald's proclamation. By examining the ways in which the proclamation was modified and elaborated in epinikian song and inscribed epigram, Peter Miller demonstrates the shared features of both genres and their differences. Through a comprehensive analysis of the metaphor of the herald across the corpus, he argues that it persists across form, medium, and genre from the Archaic to the Hellenistic period, and also provides a rich array of close readings that illuminate key parts of the praise of athletes. This title is part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.
How Islam Rules in Iran
Authors: Kamrava Mehran
Published: May 2024

This study provides a comprehensive examination of the evolution of Islam as a ruling framework in postrevolutionary Iran up to the present day. Beginning with the position and structure of Iran's clerical establishment under the Islamic Republic, Kamrava delves into the jurisprudential debates that have shaped the country's political institutions and state policies. Kamrava draws on extensive ﬁeldwork to examine various religious narratives that inform the basis of contemporary Iranian politics, also revealing the political salience of common practices and beliefs, such as religious guardianship and guidance, Islam as a source of social protection, the relationship between Islam and democracy, the sources of divine and popular legitimacy, and the theoretical justiﬁcations for religious authoritarianism. Providing access to many Persian-language sources for the ﬁrst time, Kamrava shows how religious intellectual production in Iran has impacted the ongoing transformation of Iranian Shi'ism and ultimately underwritten the fate of the Islamic Republic.
Museums, Climate Change and Energy Education: A Digital Discourse Analysis
Authors: Patten Francesca , Lowan-Trudeau Gregory
Published: May 2024

The purpose of this study was to explore how science and environmentally related museums in Alberta, Canada are digitally engaging with climate change and energy education. This inquiry utilised qualitative discourse analysis to examine the discourses, dynamics and tensions present in digital museum contexts related to climate and energy education in Alberta. Drawing on Eisner’s three curricula — the explicit, implicit and null — the study focused on museums’ websites and social media activity. The museums studied share common foci on science, environment, or energy but range in size and location. As a long-standing energy-based economy, Alberta provides an interesting, and often contested, setting to observe climate and energy education in practice at museums, many of which exist in communities and within governance and stakeholder networks which are connected to the energy industry. Discourse-connected findings, discussion and implications are presented in relation to museums’ institutional mandates, curricular initiatives, pedagogical practices, special events and infrastructure initiatives.
Risk factors for healthcare-associated candidemia in adults hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infection
Authors: Most Zachary M. , Hanna John J. , Radunsky Alexander P. , Cooper Lauren N. , Lehmann Christoph U. , Perl Trish M. , Medford Richard J.
Published: May 2024

Analyzing data from a national deidentified electronic health record-based data set using a matched case–control study design, we found that antibiotic use and severity of illness were independent risk factors for healthcare-associated candidemia in adult patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Interleukin-6 inhibitor and corticosteroid use were not independent risk factors.
FAIR enough: Building an academic data ecosystem to make real-world data available for translational research
Authors: Chu Isabella , Miller Rebecca , Mathews Ian , Vala Ayin , Sept Lesley , O’Hara Ruth , Rehkopf David H.
Published: May 2024

The Stanford Population Health Sciences Data Ecosystem was created to facilitate the use of large datasets containing health records from hundreds of millions of individuals. This necessitated technical solutions optimized for an academic medical center to manage and share high-risk data at scale. Through collaboration with internal and external partners, we have built a Data Ecosystem to host, curate, and share data with hundreds of users in a secure and compliant manner. This platform has enabled us to host unique data assets and serve the needs of researchers across Stanford University, and the technology and approach were designed to be replicable and portable to other institutions. We have found, however, that though these technological advances are necessary, they are not sufficient. Challenges around making data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable remain. Our experience has demonstrated that there is a high demand for access to real-world data, and that if the appropriate tools and structures are in place, translational research can be advanced considerably. Together, technological solutions, management structures, and education to support researcher, data science, and community collaborations offer more impactful processes over the long-term for supporting translational research with real-world data.
Relationship Between Disaster Response Self-Efficacy and Disaster Preparedness in Nursing Students: After-Earthquake Study
Authors: Kılınç İşleyen Eda , Demirkaya Zehra
Published: May 2024

Objective:

This study was conducted to reveal the relationship between nursing students’ disaster response self-efficacy and their disaster preparedness perceptions.

Methods:

This cross-sectional study was conducted on nursing students after a major earthquake that occurred in Turkey on February 6, 2023 (n = 302). Data collection took place from June 2023 to October 2023, using the Disaster Response Self-Efficacy Scale (DRSES) and Disaster Preparedness Perception Scale (DPPS). Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, correlation, and multiple linear regression analysis were used to analyze the data.

Results:

Nursing students’ DRSES mean score was 63.35 ± 10.83 (moderate level) and DPPS mean score was 3.41 ± 0.50 (high level). A positive and moderate correlation was found between nursing students’ DRSES and DPPS scores (r = 0.515; P = 0.000). Predictors affecting nursing students’ disaster preparedness are disaster response self-efficacy score, being male, and making a family disaster plan.

Conclusions:

The results of this study highlight the importance of increasing the disaster response self-efficacy needed by nursing students to successfully assist patients in disaster situations.
Probabilistic models for harmful algae: application to the Norwegian coast
Authors: Silva Edson , Brajard Julien , Counillon François , Pettersson Lasse H. , Naustvoll Lars
Published: May 2024

We have developed probabilistic models to estimate the likelihood of harmful algae presence and outbreaks along the Norwegian coast, which can help optimization of the national monitoring program and the planning of mitigation actions. We employ support vector machines to calibrate probabilistic models for estimating the presence and harmful abundance (HA) of eight toxic algae found along the Norwegian coast, including Alexandrium spp., Alexandrium tamarense, Dinophysis acuta, Dinophysis acuminata, Dinophysis norvegica, Pseudo-nitzschia spp., Protoceratium reticulatum, and Azadinium spinosum. The inputs are sea surface temperature, photosynthetically active radiation, mixed layer depth, and sea surface salinity. The probabilistic models are trained with data from 2006 to 2013 and tested with data from 2014 to 2019. The presence models demonstrate good statistical performance across all taxa, with R (observed presence frequency vs. predicted probability) ranging from 0.69 to 0.98 and root mean squared error ranging from 0.84% to 7.84%. Predicting the probability of HA is more challenging, and the HA models only reach skill with four taxa (Alexandrium spp., A. tamarense, D. acuta, and A. spinosum). There are large differences in seasonal and geographical variability and sensitivity to the model input of different taxa, which are presented and discussed. The models estimate geographical regions and periods with relatively higher risk of toxic species presence and HA, and might optimize the harmful algae monitoring. The method can be extended to other regions as it relies only on remote sensing and model data as input and running national programs of toxic algae monitoring.
Ciliary propulsion through non-uniform flows
Authors: Nganguia H. , Palaniappan D.
Published: May 2024

The classical paper by Lighthill (Commun. Pure Appl. Maths, vol. 109, 1952, p. 118) on the propulsion of ciliated microorganisms has become the reference against which many modern studies on swimming in low Reynolds number are compared. However, Lighthill's study was limited to propulsion in a uniform flow, whereas several biologically relevant microorganisms experience non-uniform flows. Here we propose a benchmark for ciliary propulsion in paraboloidal flows. We first consider the axisymmetric problem, with the microorganisms on the centreline of the background flow, and derive exact analytical solutions for the flow field. Our results reveal flow features, swimming characteristics and performance metrics markedly different from those generated in a uniform flow. In particular, the background paraboloidal flow introduces a Stokes quadrupole singularity at the leading-order flow field, generating vortices. Moreover, we determine the necessary conditions on the strength of the background flow for optimal power dissipation and swimming efficiency. We then consider the more general case of a microorganism off the centreline of the background flow. In this case, the squirmer experiences a paraboloidal, linear shear and uniform flows due to its position relative to the flow's centreline. Our findings show that while the linear shear flow does not affect the translational and rotational velocities of the squirmer, it does influence the velocity field and, therefore, the power dissipation.
Protesting exile: Cretan refugee activists in the late Ottoman Empire
Authors: Peçe Uğur Zekeriya
Published: May 2024

Focusing on the long aftermath of the July Revolution of 1908 in the Ottoman Empire, this article examines the intellectual and popular climate of protest in the context of a crisis of sovereignty over Crete. Keeping the geographical focus on İstanbul and on the regions receiving tens of thousands of civilians displaced from this Mediterranean island around the turn of the twentieth century, I discuss how multiple segments of a refugee population animated a mass protest movement. Pursuing a multi-class perspective, the article demonstrates how the mobilization of the displaced rested on the actions of mutually reinforcing social clusters: an upper-class cohort of Cretans based in İstanbul and more numerous but equally vocal underprivileged groups from the provinces. Approaching displacement as a condition that generates not only victimhood but also impetus for collective action, I argue that the displaced Cretans became the leading agents of mass politics in the post-revolutionary Empire.
The Panama Songs: Colonial Structures in US Popular Music between 1900 and 1920
Authors: HERZFELD GREGOR
Published: May 2024

The Panama Canal was officially opened on 15 August 1914. At this point, the United States had been the builder of a difficult and controversial project for ten years and was to be the operator of the most important link between the Atlantic and the Pacific. To do this, it first helped Panama to independence, immediately annexing the canal zone. Thus, the construction of the canal is a classic lesson in colonial, (inter-)national politics and its interdependencies in the early twentieth century. At the same time, Panama was a fairly widespread topic of US popular music. This article investigates the effects of politics on cultural life, using the example of popular music referring to Panama. Applying a postcolonial approach, it will study the musical ways in which the United States constructed its pseudo-colony Panama as an Other in order to exercise power there and continue to form its own national identity.
Using Assassin's Creed: Odyssey to teach Olympia as part of the Classical Civilisation A Level
Authors: Oulitskaia Vlada
Published: May 2024

This study looks at the effective use of Assassin's Creed: Odyssey to teach Greek Religion at A Level. A focus of this study is to identify good teaching practice in using this tool to improve source recall as well as pupils’ ability to use these sources to support evaluation. A recent blog post on Quinquennium highlighted the potential for this game to be used as a teaching tool (Hinde, 2019), while its educational potential has also been promoted by the developers releasing a Discovery Tour version as a ‘game mode for educational purposes’ which acts as a ‘living museum’ (Ubisoft, 2021). While the development of educational tools for this franchise is fairly recent, the use of video games in education is established, with games like Oregon Trail being used as early as the 1980s (Buday et al., 2012, 259). Moreover, the fundamental ideas behind the use of video games, such as the player engaging in some form of virtual dialogue with the creator, is one which can be traced back to Vygotsky's ideas of learning as a socio-cultural phenomenon (1978). For example, by reacting to stimuli in the game, the player is engaging in a dialogue with the historian or game developer who created the initial stimulus, after which the game responds in turn, thereby engaging with the player's actions. Furthermore, the idea of reward or punishment for certain actions within an educational game is also drawing on behaviourist theories of education, whereby a pupil is conditioned via in-game tokens for recall of knowledge. Indeed, this is one of the ways in which game developers encourage game addiction (Vu, 2017, 1).
Reflections on the past and future of whole Earth system science
Authors: Rockström Johan
Published: May 2024

Non-technical Summary

With unabating climate extremes, evidence of waning biosphere buffering capacity, and surging ocean surface temperature, Earth system analysts are posing the question: is global environmental change accelerating, driven by the depletion of our planet's resilience? No scientist contributed more actively to addressing this question and thus defining sustainable development in the Anthropocene than the late Professor Will Steffen. His contributions to Earth system and global sustainability research gave birth to concepts such as the Planetary Boundaries, Hothouse Earth, Planetary Commons, and World-Earth resilience, and have become guideposts for how Earth system science can inform humanity's Earth stewardship in the Anthropocene.

Technical Summary

Mounting evidence of accelerating global environmental change is driving scientists to question whether we are witnessing a breakdown in the resilience of our planet. Three lines of scientific enquiry have been important when studying the stability and resilience of the planet: the empirical evidence of the great acceleration of the human enterprise from the 1950s onwards resulting in planetary-scale pressures; the understanding that Earth is a complex biosphere-geosphere system with self-regulating interactions and feedbacks contributing to control its equilibrium state; and the emerging insight into the unique stability of the Holocene Epoch, the last 10,000 years of inter-glacial equilibrium, and its critical role in providing predictable (and for humanity agreeable) life conditions for the evolution of modern civilizations. Professor Will Steffen played a pivotal role in integrating and advancing these three Earth system research avenues and combining them into one integrated people-planet framework Earth system. State-of-the-art research on fully coupled Earth system models (ESMs) that also integrate non-linear dynamics and tipping-point behavior, and even human dynamics, is built in part on Will Steffen's pioneering work to observe and describe the Earth in the Anthropocene.

Social media summary

Prof. Will Steffen's legacy and how Earth system science can inform humanity's Earth stewardship in the Anthropocene