bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The quality improvement of welded joints of die-cast Al alloys using oscillation and current modulation of the electron beam
Authors: Drimal D , Kovac L , Sekerka R , Kasencak M
Published: February 2023

The issues of the difficult weldability of the high-pressure die-cast aluminum alloys - AlSi10Mg(Fe) were studied within the presented paper. The metallographic, CT, and EDX analyses of castings were performed to identify potential origins of weld joint imperfections and deteriorated weldability. A comparative welding test of welding gravitation die-cast alloys was accomplished to review the influence of the melting process on the weld quality. The casting process was analyzed and several mediums were evaluated as potential sources of material contamination. The selected contaminants were intentionally introduced into the weld joints. The research on welding process improvement and the reduction of the susceptibility to the presence of impurities was accomplished in the next step. The aim of the experiments was the use of dynamic deflection of the electron beam and pulse modulation of its power. The influence of different oscillation frequencies, amplitudes, and patterns was examined. The verified technology was developed, based on the achieved results.
Study of electron beam refining of metals by modelling of heat processes
Authors: Vutova K
Published: February 2023

The development and application of heat mathematical models and simulation tools, taking into account peculiarities of the investigated metals enable a more precise determination of the effect of the electron beam melting parameters (beam power, residence time, etc.) on the quality of the refined metal, to assess the relation between the processes and the material properties, as well as to formulate recommendations regarding the controlled parameters for increasing the efficiency of the technological e-beam melting and refining process. In this work, developed time-dependent simulation tool for heat transfer modeling at e-beam melting, aiming to aid understanding and optimizing electron beam refining process of metals materials, is applied for melting of different metals (tantalum, copper, and titanium). The model is validated using experimental data for the melted pool geometry and results are discussed.
Development of Asset Administration Shell for the components of EBMR plant
Authors: Ivanova T , Gocheva D , Batchkova I , Belev Y
Published: February 2023

The use of reference architectures and frameworks is an important prerequisite for dealing with the complexity, diversity and heterogeneity of cyber-physical systems. One of the most popular architectures is RAMI 4.0, suggested by the Industry 4.0 Working Group. According to RAMI 4.0, the Asset Administration Shell (AAS) is a digital copy of assets, an implementation of the digital twin for Industry 4.0. The paper represents a semantic approach for development of AAS, which presents the data model through ontology. The semantic model allows for the presentation of facts, data schemes and meta-data in a unified way, using a global identification scheme. An example from the development of AAS for I4.0 components of an EBMR plant illustrates the approach.
Two-dimensional PIC simulation of the ion-extraction process in an electrostatic field using different electrode configurations
Authors: Singh P , Sridhar G , Maiti N
Published: February 2023

The ion-extraction process from a finite-size photoplasma is simulated by using a two-dimensional electrostatic particle-in-cell code. To investigate the impact of different electrode configurations on the ion extraction process the parallel plate, wire-type, II-type, and M-type electrode configurations are used. The present study compares the ion extraction time of these electrodes and provides a quantitative audit of the photoions. Through this, it is observed that the M-type electrode configuration extracts more ions in less time than the other electrode configurations. Subsequently, this study quantifies the ion collection on different electrodes, which can be further utilized to design the electrode configuration. Moreover, it gives a systematic study of the ion extraction process in an electrostatic field with different electrode configurations.
Growth of mesenchymal stem cells at the surface of silicone, mineral and plant-based oils
Authors: Peng Lihui , Nadal Clémence , Gautrot Julien E
Published: February 2023

Bioemulsions are attractive platforms for the expansion of adherent cells in bioreactors. Their design relies on the self-assembly of protein nanosheets at liquid–liquid interfaces, displaying strong interfacial mechanical properties and promoting integrin-mediated cell adhesion. However, most systems developed to date have focused on fluorinated oils, which are unlikely to be accepted for direct implantation of resulting cell products for regenerative medicine, and protein nanosheets self-assembly at other interfaces has not been investigated. In this report, the composition of aliphatic pro-surfactants palmitoyl chloride and sebacoyl chloride, on the assembly kinetics of poly(L-lysine) at silicone oil interfaces and characterisation of ultimate interfacial shear mechanics and viscoelasticity is presented. The impact of the resulting nanosheets on the adhesion of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is investigated via immunostaining and fluorescence microscopy, demonstrating the engagement of the classic focal adhesion-actin cytoskeleton machinery. The ability of MSCs to proliferate at the corresponding interfaces is quantified. In addition, expansion of MSCs at other non-fluorinated oil interfaces, based on mineral and plant-based oils is investigated. Finally, the proof-of-concept of such non-fluorinated oil systems for the formulation of bioemulsions supporting stem cell adhesion and expansion is demonstrated.
Non-parametric projections of national income distribution consistent with the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways
Authors: Narayan Kanishka B , O’Neill Brian C , Waldhoff Stephanie T , Tebaldi Claudia
Published: February 2023

Understanding and projecting income distributions within countries and regions is important to understanding consumption trends and the distributional consequences of climate impacts and responses. Several global, country-level projections of income distribution are available but most project only the Gini coefficient (a summary statistic of the distribution) or utilize the Gini along with the assumption of a lognormal distribution. We test the lognormal assumption and find that it typically underestimates income in the highest deciles and over-estimates it in others. We find that a new model based on two principal components of national time series data for income distribution provides a better fit to the data for all deciles, especially for the highest and lowest. We also construct a projection model in which the first principal component is driven by the Gini coefficient and the second captures deviations from this relationship. We use the model to project income distribution by decile for all countries for the five shared socioeconomic pathways. We find that inequality is consistently higher than projections based on the Gini and the lognormal functional form, with some countries reaching ratios of the highest to lowest income deciles that are almost three times their value using the lognormal assumption.
Potential adoption of oil palm agroforestry in Sungai Jernih Village, Jambi, Indonesia
Authors: Madjid M I N , Marhaento H , Permadi D B , Susanti A , Budiadi  , Riyanto S , Imron M A , Ardiansyah F , Ridho D , Nissauqodry S V , Susanto M G , Cahyani A P , Irawan B , Yanarita
Published: February 2023

About 3.4 million hectares of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) plantations occupied the forest area in Indonesia by 2019. The enrichment of monoculture oil palm using forest tree species became one of the solutions toward the forest transition processes within a target period associated with the social forestry program. Within this context, smallholder farmers acquired the right to manage oil palm plantations inside forest areas through social forestry permits. Smallholder farmers had to plant and maintain 100 forest tree species per hectare. Research on oil palm agroforestry adoption focused on the factors and barriers to the adoption process and little about the outcome of the adoption. Therefore, this research aimed to predict smallholders’ peak adoption of oil palm agroforestry. Data was collected using Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with 133 members of the forest farmer group in Sungai Jernih Village, Jambi Province. Data were analysed using Adoption and Diffusion Outcome Prediction Tool (ADOPT) to predict peak level adoption and the time to reach peak adoption. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess changes in oil palm agroforestry adoption affected by 22 variables. The results showed that peak level adoption and time to reach peak adoption of oil palm agroforestry are 79% and 19 years, respectively. This research suggested that oil palm agroforestry adoption needed external assistance from the government.
Preliminary assessment of arbuscular mycorhizal inoculation in teak and napier grass agroforestry practice treated with soil amendments
Authors: Vijayanathan J , Mohamad A R , Lias M S
Published: February 2023

Soil amendments are known to improve soil structure, increase moisture content, improve fertility and facilitate soil microbial functions. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of gypsum on colonization of arbuscular mycorrhizas in teak plantations planted as fences for napier grass. Teak seedlings were planted in October 2019 and divided into 4 blocks, A, B, C and D comprising 32 seedlings. Plots of A and C were treated with treatments of 3 kg of gypsum and 3 kg of compost (1:1), whereas B and D were control plots. NPK fertilizer was applied at every seedling at the rate of 0.05 kg for all blocks. Seedling heights and mean basal diameter (mm) were assessed at 9 months after planting. Soil samples for microbial study were taken before and after planting at 30 cm depth and screened for mycorrhizal spores and roots at the end of the experiment. Increased values for seedling heights and mean basal diameter (20-35%) were recorded for treatments B and C. Results pointed out that the amount of spore percentages were somewhat reduced in C and D and a slight increase was seen in treatments A and B. Root inoculation percentages in A and C were somewhat higher (1- 6%) as compared to B and D (0.5%). Early findings point out that application of gypsum and composts were not detrimental to the microbial population of arbuscular mycorrhiza as these treatments showed higher presence of hyphae and vesicles in fine roots and did not hamper physical growth. The role of soil amendments needs to be further investigated in terms of enhancing soil microbial population.
Transport evidence of superlattice Dirac cones in graphene monolayer on twisted boron nitride substrate
Authors: Cao Shimin , Chen Mantang , Zeng Jiang , Ma Ning , Zheng Runjie , Feng Ya , Yan Shili , Liu Jing , Watanabe Kenji , Taniguchi Takashi , Xie X C , Chen Jian-Hao
Published: February 2023

Strong band engineering in two-dimensional (2D) materials can be achieved by introducing moiré superlattices, leading to the emergence of various novel quantum phases with promising potential for future applications. Presented works to create moiré patterns have been focused on a twist embedded inside channel materials or between channel and substrate. However, the effects of a twist inside the substrate materials on the unaligned channel materials are much less explored. In this work, we report the realization of superlattice multi-Dirac cones with the coexistence of the main Dirac cone in a monolayer graphene (MLG) on a ∼0.14° twisted double-layer boron nitride (tBN) substrate. Transport measurements reveal the emergence of three pairs of superlattice Dirac points around the pristine Dirac cone, featuring multiple metallic or insulating states surrounding the charge neutrality point. Displacement field tunable and electron–hole asymmetric Fermi velocities are indicated from temperature dependent measurements, along with the gapless dispersion of superlattice Dirac cones. The experimental observation of multiple Dirac cones in MLG/tBN heterostructure is supported by band structure calculations employing a periodic moiré potential. Our results unveil the potential of using twisted substrate as a universal band engineering technique for 2D materials regardless of lattice matching and crystal orientations, which might pave the way for a new branch of twistronics.
From defect to effect: controlling electronic transport in chevron graphene nanoribbons
Authors: Čerņevičs Kristiāns , Yazyev Oleg V
Published: February 2023

While bottom-up synthesis allows for precise control over the properties of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), the use of certain precursor molecules can result in edge defects, such as missing benzene rings that resemble a ‘bite’. We investigate the adverse effect of the ‘bite’ defects on the electronic transport properties in three chevron-type GNRs and discover that the extent of scattering is governed by the different defect positions. Applying the concepts learned in single GNRs, we engineer defects in two nanostructures to construct prototypical components for nanoelectronics. First, we design a switch, consisting of three laterally fused fluorenyl-chevron GNRs, and place a pair of ‘bite’ defects to effectively allow the switching between four binary states corresponding to distinct current pathways. Second, we show that conscientious placement of a ‘bite’ defect pair can increase conductance between two leads in a triple chevron GNR junction. Overall, we outline how the incorporation of ‘bite’ defects affects transport properties in chevron-type nanostructures and provide a guide on how to design nanoelectronic components.
Polyamorphism mediated by nanoscale incipient concentration wave uncovering hidden amorphous intermediate state with ultrahigh modulus in nanostructured metallic glass
Authors: Luo Qiang , Cui Weiran , Zhang Huaping , Li Liangliang , Shao Liliang , Cai Mingjuan , Zhang Zhengguo , Xue Lin , Shen Jun , Gong Yu , Li Xiaodong , Li Maozi , Shen Baolong
Published: February 2023

Comprehending the pressure-/temperature-induced structural transition in glasses, as one of the most fascinating issues in material science, is far from being well understood. Here, we report novel polyamorphic transitions in a Cu-based metallic glass (MG) with apparent nanoscale structural heterogeneity relating to proper Y addition. The low-density MG compresses continuously with increasing pressure, and then a compression plateau appears after ∼8.1 GPa, evolving into an intermediate state with an ultrahigh bulk modulus of ∼467 GPa. It then transforms to a high-density MG with significantly decreased structural heterogeneity above ∼14.1 GPa. Three-dimensional atom probe tomography reveals concentration waves of Cu/Zr elements with an average wavelength of ∼5–6 nm, which promote the formation of interconnected ringlike networks composed of Cu-rich and Zr-rich dual-glass domains at nanometer scale. Our experimental and simulation results indicate that steplike polyamorphism may stem from synergic effects of the abnormal compression of the Zr–Zr bond length at the atomic scale and the interplay between the applied pressure and incipient concentration waves (Cu and Zr) at several nanometer scales. The present work provides new insights into polyamorphism in glasses and contributes to the development of high-performance amorphous materials by high-pressure nanostructure engineering.
Jury Decision-Making
Authors: Tindale R. Scott , Berryman Kelsey
Published: February 2023

A key aspect of Western civilization’s conception of justice is the citizen jury. Juries make decisions concerning guilt or innocence of committing a crime and on liability in civil matters. Psychologists who study group decision-making have focused a fair amount of their attention on juries. Researchers have looked at all aspects of jury trials to better understand how various characteristics and procedures influence jury deliberations and verdicts. Many different models of jury decision-making have been proposed, and the implications of the models have guided a fair portion of the research in the field. Jury research has focused on how juries are formed and how the members are selected. Research has also focused on trial characteristics, types of evidence, and potential biases that can influence both jurors and jury verdicts. In addition, much research has focused on the deliberation process itself. In the early 21st century, research has begun to look at how juries are defined and used in different countries and cultures.
Stigma and Disadvantage
Authors: O'Brien Laurie T. , Kulibert Danica , Waldon-Lee Tyler
Published: February 2023

Stigma is the devaluation of an individual or group that is based on social identity and leads to status loss and other negative outcomes. Although there are variations in the manifestation of stigma, the existence of stigma is pervasive, transcending time and culture. Moreover, stigma has the potential to cause profound harm across virtually every facet of a stigmatized person’s life. At the same time, there is tremendous variation across individuals and groups in the experience of stigma. Stigmas vary in concealability, the circumstances under which they originate, and the extent to which they change over time, interfere with social interactions, are considered disgusting, and are perceived as posing a danger to others. Functional approaches to stigma posit that stigma can serve to encourage the exploitation of outgroups for ingroup gain, enforce norms within a group, or encourage disease avoidance behaviors. Stigma is enacted at a structural level when societal norms, laws, and policies harm the ability of stigmatized groups to access resources and safety. Interpersonal stigma occurs when stereotypes, prejudice, and other negative biases lead individuals to intentionally or unintentionally discriminate against members of stigmatized groups. The hallmark characteristic of a stigma approach to the study of inequality and disadvantage is a focus on the psychological experience of people who belong to stigmatized groups. People who belong to stigmatized groups are generally aware of their disadvantaged status and the devaluation of their group. This awareness sets the stage for a variety of psychological processes to unfold including felt stigma, internalized stigma, anticipated stigma, and social identity threat. People who experience stigma cope with the stress posed by stigma in a variety of ways. Three well-established mechanisms for coping with stigma include identifying with the group, distancing from the group, and engaging in collective action to improve the status of the group. Stigma can influence a variety of life outcomes including, but not limited to, health and well-being, interpersonal relationships, education, and work outcomes. Interventions can both reduce the prevalence of stigma and mitigate the harmful consequences of stigma.
Evidence-Based Decision-Making and Practice in Organizations
Authors: Capezio Alessandra , L'Espoir Decosta Patrick
Published: February 2023

Evidence-based practice originated in medicine in response to a science-practice gap and an overreliance on clinical expertise in clinical decision-making. The same gap persists in other fields including in management, work, and organizations. Incorporating evidence-based practice in these fields will enable more critical thinking and more trustworthy evidence usage from multiple sources, and provide a more structured approach to decision-making and practice. An evidence-based approach in organizations is needed to reduce uncertainty, de-bias managerial decision-making and judgment, reduce the uncritical emulation of “best practice,” and ameliorate the impacts of advice and prescriptions from management gurus and consultants. However, surprisingly few business schools’ leadership and management development programs are evidence-based or teach evidence-based practice in their curricula. While evidence-based practice is more prolific in industrial and organizational psychology as an allied field to management, it too has room for growth. Building on existing work, a more encompassing capabilities framework for evidence-based decision-making and practice (EDMP) in organizations, management, and allied fields including industrial and organizational psychology is proposed. This framework can be used to develop leadership and management curricula and help promote an understanding in academia and the broader business community of the limitations of the dominant “craft” model of logic and practice in organizations that results in uncritical emulation, decision neglect, and action bias.
Fractional Integration and Cointegration
Authors: Hualde Javier , Nielsen Morten Ørregaard
Published: February 2023

Fractionally integrated and fractionally cointegrated time series are classes of models that generalize standard notions of integrated and cointegrated time series. The fractional models are characterized by a small number of memory parameters that control the degree of fractional integration and/or cointegration. In classical work, the memory parameters are assumed known and equal to 0, 1, or 2. In the fractional integration and fractional cointegration context, however, these parameters are real-valued and are typically assumed unknown and estimated. Thus, fractionally integrated and fractionally cointegrated time series can display very general types of stationary and nonstationary behavior, including long memory, and this more general framework entails important additional challenges compared to the traditional setting. Modeling, estimation, and testing in the context of fractional integration and fractional cointegration have been developed in time and frequency domains. Related to both alternative approaches, theory has been derived under parametric or semiparametric assumptions, and as expected, the obtained results illustrate the well-known trade-off between efficiency and robustness against misspecification. These different developments form a large and mature literature with applications in a wide variety of disciplines.
Islamic Bioethics: Enhancement
Authors: Noor Siti Nurani Mohd.
Published: February 2023

There are varying perspectives within Islam on bodily enhancement and modifications. Still, it is perhaps possible for bioethicists and scholars of Islam to agree that categorical prohibitions on bodily modifications may not work. The way to ethically address this issue is to ensure that good policies and governance are put in place to monitor the safety of the application of such innovations on the human body. The stark reality is that humanity in the early 21st century is poised to change at unprecedented speed with the advent of technological innovations, especially nanotechnology.
Compounding and Linking Elements in Germanic
Authors: Schlücker Barbara
Published: February 2023

Compounding is a frequent and productive word-formation pattern in all Germanic languages. It is a pattern that links an overtly simple grammatical form to a rich semantic-conceptual structure. Overall, there are rather few restrictions on the formation of compounds, and units of various word classes can serve as constituents in compounds. Both determinative and coordinative compounds exist across Germanic. Nominal compounding is the largest and most productive class in all Germanic languages, in particular noun–noun compounding, followed by adjectival compounding. Verbal compounding, on the other hand, is much more restrained, in particular in West Germanic, whereas it is more common in North Germanic. Linking elements are a typical but not necessary property of Germanic compounds. They occur mainly in noun–noun compounds. The inventory and use of linking elements show differences between the West Germanic languages, on one hand, and the North Germanic languages, on the other hand. Regarding the distribution and use of linking-s, however, there are many similarities between the Germanic languages. Notwithstanding the similarities described here, there are also many differences between the various Germanic compound patterns. These global and specific characteristics are the central subject of the article, taking into account data from German, Luxemburgish, Dutch, West Frisian, English, Afrikaans, and Yiddish (West Germanic) and from Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese (North Germanic).
Correlation between bacterial diversity and flavor substances in Longgang soy sauce
Authors: Yan Yongheng , Zhang Min , Zhang Yingchao , Zhang Xuelin , Zhang Xingrong , Zhao Xiangying , Xu Hui , Huang Yanhong
Published: February 2023

Longgang soy sauce is one of the traditional fermented condiments in China, but its bacterial community succession and its unique flavor development during the fermentation process are not well-investigated. This study evaluated the bacterial diversity, flavor changes, and their correlation during the fermentation of Longgang soy sauce. The results showed that Weissella was the dominant bacterial genus in the fermentation stage of sauce fermented grains. In the first 31 days of the moromi fermentation stage, a variety of bacterial genera such as Weissella, Halomonas, Bacteroides, Pseudomonas, and Tetragenococcus were the dominant bacteria. Our results showed that these bacteria have a significantly positive correlation with phenylethyl alcohol, ethyl acetate, and 3-methyl-1-butanol. As the fermentation progressed, a flora structure with Halomonas as the main bacterial genus was formed. This genus exhibited a significantly positive and positive correlation with 1-octanol, ethyl palmitate, heptanol, and 2-nonanol, which are the unique flavor components of Longgang soy sauce.
Identification of a derivative of the alkaloid emetine as an inhibitor of the YAP–TEAD interaction and its potential as an anticancer agent
Authors: Sekine Saaya , Takase Shohei , Hayase Runa , Noritsugu Kota , Maemoto Yuki , Ichikawa Yasue , Ogawa Kenji , Kondoh Yasumitsu , Osada Hiroyuki , Yoshida Minoru , Ito Akihiro
Published: February 2023

TEAD is a transcription factor responsible for the output of the tumor suppressor Hippo pathway. The transcriptional activity of TEAD requires molecular interaction with its transcriptional coactivator, YAP. Aberrant activation of TEAD is deeply involved in tumorigenesis and is associated with poor prognosis, suggesting that inhibitors targeting the YAP–TEAD system are promising as antitumor agents. In this study, we identified NPD689, an analog of the natural product alkaloid emetine, as an inhibitor of the YAP–TEAD interaction. NPD689 suppressed the transcriptional activity of TEAD and reduced the viability of human malignant pleural mesothelioma and non–small cell lung cancer cells but not the viability of normal human mesothelial cells. Our results suggest that NPD689 is not only a new useful chemical tool for elucidating the biological role of the YAP–TEAD system but also has potential as a starting compound for developing a cancer therapeutic agent that targets the YAP–TEAD interaction.
ecmtool: fast and memory-efficient enumeration of elementary conversion modes
Authors: Buchner Bianca , Clement Tom J , de Groot Daan H , Zanghellini Jürgen
Published: February 2023

Motivation

Characterizing all steady-state flux distributions in metabolic models remains limited to small models due to the explosion of possibilities. Often it is sufficient to look only at all possible overall conversions a cell can catalyze ignoring the details of intracellular metabolism. Such a characterization is achieved by elementary conversion modes (ECMs), which can be conveniently computed with ecmtool. However, currently, ecmtool is memory intensive, and it cannot be aided appreciably by parallelization.

Results

We integrate mplrs—a scalable parallel vertex enumeration method—into ecmtool. This speeds up computation, drastically reduces memory requirements and enables ecmtool’s use in standard and high-performance computing environments. We show the new capabilities by enumerating all feasible ECMs of the near-complete metabolic model of the minimal cell JCVI-syn3.0. Despite the cell’s minimal character, the model gives rise to 4.2×109 ECMs and still contains several redundant sub-networks.

Availability and implementation

ecmtool is available at https://github.com/SystemsBioinformatics/ecmtool.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
The impact of an extreme climatic event on adder (Vipera berus) demography in southern Sweden
Authors: Madsen Thomas , Loman Jon , Bauwens Dirk , Stille Bo , Anderberg Håkan , Anderberg Lewis , Ujvari Beata
Published: February 2023

Climate change has been shown to have significant negative effects on wildlife populations owing to both gradual shifts in mean climatic conditions and an increased frequency of extreme climatic events. Based on a long-term study spanning 40 years, we explore the demographic effect of the exceptionally hot and dry summer of 2018 on the demography of an isolated adder (Vipera berus) population in southern Sweden. In spring 2019, we observed a dramatic decline in adder relative body mass and a concomitant 50% reduction in population size. Our results strongly suggest that the negative impacts on adder demography were the result of a combination of low prey abundance and adder dehydration caused by the extreme climatic conditions during the previous summer. The study provides an example of the significant negative effects of ongoing climate change on vertebrate populations and emphasizes the importance of long-term studies to document the demographic effects of extreme climatic events.
Empowerment or Holding the Child Responsible? An Australian Recovery-Oriented Mental Health Policy Analysis
Authors: Reid Katherine , Alford Jennifer
Published: February 2023

Recovery, as a concept is internationally recognised as a means to empower children to manage their own mental health. Recovery-oriented mental health policy production and service delivery in many Western countries, however, occurs in a discursive field influenced by biomedical and neo-liberal discourses. This article uses Critical Discourse Analysis to investigate an Australian policy—'A National Framework for Recovery-Oriented Mental Health Services: Guide for Practitioners and Providers', to critically analyse the competing versions of recovery. The findings reveal ideological slippages at work and show the operation of biomedical, developmental, collaborative, empowerment and responsibilisation discourses that compete in this mental health policy. This article shows how social workers require critical analysis to discern the consequences of different understandings of recovery in the child and youth mental health field. Despite the collaborative and strengths-based language of recovery, the analysis demonstrates the need to recognise the fine line between empowerment and the neo-liberal imperative for children to self-manage their mental health concerns.
Decisions in Child Protection—Heuristics, Law and Organisation
Authors: Ebsen Frank , Svendsen Idamarie Leth , Thomsen Line Pape , Jørgensen Susanne
Published: February 2023

With theories of heuristics and decision-making ecology as our analytical lens, we examined social work practitioners’ use of heuristics (rules-of-thumb) as a response to real-world situations, emphasising the legal framework and how the work was organised. The data comprised eleven exploratory and follow-up group interviews with thirty-nine social workers and team leaders, observations of 108 decisions in child cases during eighteen meetings, and an analysis of fourteen case files in two Danish municipalities. Open, interpretative coding was used within a systemic approach, using Fish et al. (2008). Three heuristic rules guided decisions in all cases: (i) Form and maintain the first impression. (ii) When in doubt or disagreement, wait. (iii) Avoid parents’ resistance. Key takeaways are that these heuristics help social workers and managers and are connected to satisficing strategies as a natural response to legal and organisational factors. However, the heuristics can also lead to a lack of transparency, delayed interventions and other kinds of bias. We point out the need for understanding such patterns through an extended research to facilitate better and timely feedback to practitioners on their decisions.
Brain-constrained neural modeling explains fast mapping of words to meaning
Authors: Constant Marika , Pulvermüller Friedemann , Tomasello Rosario
Published: February 2023

Although teaching animals a few meaningful signs is usually time-consuming, children acquire words easily after only a few exposures, a phenomenon termed “fast-mapping.” Meanwhile, most neural network learning algorithms fail to achieve reliable information storage quickly, raising the question of whether a mechanistic explanation of fast-mapping is possible. Here, we applied brain-constrained neural models mimicking fronto-temporal-occipital regions to simulate key features of semantic associative learning. We compared networks (i) with prior encounters with phonological and conceptual knowledge, as claimed by fast-mapping theory, and (ii) without such prior knowledge. Fast-mapping simulations showed word-specific representations to emerge quickly after 1–10 learning events, whereas direct word learning showed word-meaning mappings only after 40–100 events. Furthermore, hub regions appeared to be essential for fast-mapping, and attention facilitated it, but was not strictly necessary. These findings provide a better understanding of the critical mechanisms underlying the human brain’s unique ability to acquire new words rapidly.
Expanded hemodialysis: what’s up, Doc?
Authors: García-Prieto Ana , de la Flor José Carlos , Coll Elisabet , Iglesias Elena , Reque Javier , Valga Francisco
Published: February 2023

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in expanded hemodialysis (HDx), an emerging renal replacement therapy based on the use of medium cut-off membranes (MCO). Thanks to the internal architecture of these types of membranes, with a higher pore size and smaller fiber inner diameter to favor internal filtration rate, they can increase the removal of larger middle molecules in conventional hemodialysis. Secondarily, several reports suggest that this therapy potentially improve the outcomes for end-stage renal disease patients. However, HDx has not been defined yet and the characteristics of MCO membranes are not well stablished. The aim of this narrative review is to define HDx and summarize the dialyzers that have been used so far to perform this therapy, collect the evidence available on its efficacy and clinical outcomes compared with other hemodialysis techniques and settle the bases for its optimal prescription.
Juror interpretations of metadata and content information: implications for the going dark debate
Authors: Boustead Anne E , Kugler Matthew B
Published: February 2023

The rise of consumer encryption has led to a fierce debate over whether the loss of potential evidence due to encryption will be offset by the increase in evidence available from electronic metadata. One major question raised by this debate is how jurors will interpret and value metadata as opposed to content information. Though there are plausible arguments in favor of the persuasive power of each type of evidence, to date no empirical study has examined how ordinary people, potential jurors, view each of these sorts of evidence.

We address this issue through a series of survey experiments that present respondents with hypothetical criminal trials, randomly assigning them to descriptions featuring either metadata or content information. These studies show that the relative power of content and metadata information is highly contextual. Content information and metadata can be equally useful when conveying logically equivalent information. However, content information may be more persuasive where the defendant’s state of mind is critical, while metadata can more convincingly establish a pattern of behavior. This suggests that the rise of encryption will have a heterogeneous effect on criminal cases, with the direction of the effect depending on the facts that the prosecution must prove.
Cardiomyocyte deoxyribonucleic acid damage and cardiac recovery in paediatric dilated cardiomyopathy
Authors: Tominaga Yuji , Taira Masaki , Watanabe Takuji , Kugo Yosuke , Hasegawa Moyu , Narita Jun , Ishida Hidekazu , Sakaniwa Ryoto , Ueno Takayoshi , Miyagawa Shigeru
Published: February 2023

OBJECTIVES

The goal of this study was to identify the clinical significance of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage response marker, phosphorylated H2A histone variant X, on the bridge to recovery in low-weight paediatric patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) after having a Berlin Heart EXCOR implanted.

METHODS

Consecutive paediatric patients with DCM who had an EXCOR implanted for DCM at our hospital between 2013 and 2021 were reviewed. Patients were classified into 2 groups according to the degree of DNA damage in the left ventricular cardiomyocytes—the low DNA damage group and the high DNA damage group—using the median value as the threshold. We examined and compared the preoperative factors and histologic findings associated with cardiac functional recovery following the explant procedure in the 2 groups.

RESULTS

Competing outcome analysis of 18 patients (median body weight, 6.1 kg) showed that the incidence of an EXCOR explant was 40% at 1 year after the implant procedure. Serial echocardiography revealed significant left ventricular functional recovery in the low DNA damage group 3 months after the implant. The univariable Cox proportional hazards model revealed that the percentage of phosphorylated H2A histone variant X-positive cardiomyocytes was the significant factor associated with cardiac recovery and the EXCOR explant (hazard ratio, 0.16; 95% confidence interval, 0.027–0.51; P = 0.0096).

CONCLUSIONS

The degree of DNA damage response to the EXCOR implant may aid in predicting the bridge to recovery with EXCOR among low-weight paediatric patients with DCM.
Timing of exercise therapy when initiating adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer: a randomized trial
Authors: Scott Jessica M , Lee Jasme , Herndon James E , Michalski Meghan G , Lee Catherine P , O’Brien Kelly A , Sasso John P , Yu Anthony F , Rowed Kylie A , Bromberg Jacqueline F , Traina Tiffany A , Gucalp Ayca , Sanford Rachel A , Gajria Devika , Modi Shanu , Comen Elisabeth A , D'Andrea Gabriella , Blinder Victoria S , Eves Neil D , Peppercorn Jeffrey M , Moskowitz Chaya S , Dang Chau T , Jones Lee W
Published: February 2023

Aims

The most appropriate timing of exercise therapy to improve cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) among patients initiating chemotherapy is not known. The effects of exercise therapy administered during, following, or during and following chemotherapy were examined in patients with breast cancer.

Methods and results

Using a parallel-group randomized trial design, 158 inactive women with breast cancer initiating (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy were allocated to receive (1:1 ratio): usual care or one of three exercise regimens—concurrent (during chemotherapy only), sequential (after chemotherapy only), or concurrent and sequential (continuous) (n = 39/40 per group). Exercise consisted of treadmill walking three sessions/week, 20–50 min at 55%–100% of peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) for ≈16 (concurrent, sequential) or ≈32 (continuous) consecutive weeks. VO2peak was evaluated at baseline (pre-treatment), immediately post-chemotherapy, and ≈16 weeks after chemotherapy. In intention-to-treat analysis, there was no difference in the primary endpoint of VO2peak change between concurrent exercise and usual care during chemotherapy vs. VO2peak change between sequential exercise and usual care after chemotherapy [overall difference, −0.88 mL O2·kg−1·min−1; 95% confidence interval (CI): −3.36, 1.59, P = 0.48]. In secondary analysis, continuous exercise, approximately equal to twice the length of the other regimens, was well-tolerated and the only strategy associated with significant improvements in VO2peak from baseline to post-intervention (1.74 mL O2·kg−1·min−1, P < 0.001).

Conclusion

There was no statistical difference in CRF improvement between concurrent vs. sequential exercise therapy relative to usual care in women with primary breast cancer. The promising tolerability and CRF benefit of ≈32 weeks of continuous exercise therapy warrant further evaluation in larger trials.
Creating a social media strategy for an international cardiothoracic research network: a scoping review
Authors: Fredericks Suzanne , Bae Tammy , Sochaniwskyj Mark , Sanders Julie , Martorella Geraldine , Wynne Rochelle
Published: February 2023

Aims

A cardiac surgery international nursing and allied professional research network titled CONNECT was created to strengthen collaborative cardiac surgery research through shared initiatives including supervision, mentorship, workplace exchange programs, and multi-site clinical research. As with any new initiative, there is a need to build brand awareness to enhance user familiarity, grow membership, and promote various opportunities offered. Social media has been used across various surgical disciplines; however, their effectiveness in promoting scholarly and academic-based initiatives has not been examined. The aim of this scoping review was to examine the different types of social media platforms and strategies used to promote cardiac research initiatives for CONNECT.

Methods and results

A scoping review was undertaken in which a comprehensive and thorough review of the literature was performed. Fifteen articles were included in the review. Twitter appeared to be the most common form of social media used to promote cardiac initiatives, with daily posts being the most frequent type of engagement. Frequency of views, number of impressions and engagement, link clicks, and content analysis were the most common types of evaluation metrics that were identified.

Conclusion

Findings from this review will inform the design and evaluation of a targeted Twitter campaign aimed at increasing brand awareness of CONNECT, which will include the use of @CONNECTcardiac Twitter handle, hashtags, and CONNECT-driven journal clubs. In addition, the use of Twitter to disseminate information and brand initiatives related to CONNECT will be evaluated using the Twitter Analytics function.

Registration

Open Science Framework: osf.io/q54es
Differences in HDL-related mortality risk between individuals with and without hypertension: a prospective cohort study in UK Biobank
Authors: Chen Jun-Xiang , Li Rui , Geng Tingting , Wang Yuexuan , Lu Qi , Tu Zhou-Zheng , Li Yue , Liao Yun-Fei , Yang Kun , Zhou Li-Rong , Tong Wen-Wei , Zhou Yan-Feng , Liu Gang , Pan An
Published: February 2023

Background and aims

Very high levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) have been paradoxically linked to increased mortality risk. The present study aimed to examine associations of HDL-C and varied sizes of the HDL particle (HDL-P) with mortality risk stratified by hypertension.

Methods and results

This prospective cohort study included 429 792 participants (244 866 with hypertension and 184 926 without hypertension) from the UK Biobank. During a median follow-up of 12.7 years, 23 993 (9.8%) and 8142 (4.4%) deaths occurred among individuals with and without hypertension, respectively. A U-shaped association of HDL-C with all-cause mortality was observed in individuals with hypertension after multivariable adjustment, whereas an L-shape was observed in individuals without hypertension. Compared with individuals with normal HDL-C of 50–70 mg/dL, those with very high HDL-C levels (>90 mg/dL) had a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality among individuals with hypertension (hazard ratio, 1.47; 95% confidence interval, 1.35–1.61), but not among those without hypertension (1.05, 0.91–1.22). As for HDL-P, among individuals with hypertension, a larger size of HDL-P was positively whereas smaller HDL-P was negatively associated with all-cause mortality. After additional adjustment for larger HDL-P in the model, the U-shaped association between HDL-C and mortality risk was altered to an L-shape among individuals with hypertension.

Conclusions

The increased risk of mortality associated with very high HDL-C existed only in individuals with hypertension, but not in those without hypertension. Moreover, the increased risk at high HDL-C levels in hypertension was likely driven by larger HDL-P.
Gender and socioeconomic patterning of self-reported sleep problems across European countries
Authors: Baranowski Mariusz , Jabkowski Piotr
Published: February 2023

Background

Sleep problems mark an important part of the research into the physical health and mental well-being of modern societies. Although there are many studies on restless sleep, they are dominated by approaches that either focus on health-related issues or social factors (such as socioeconomic status). In this report, we address both types of determinants. This study replicates the analysis for the UK that was carried out by Arber et al. (Gender and socio-economic patterning of self-reported sleep problems in Britain. Soc Sci Med 2009;68:281–9). However, this replication, based on European Social Survey data, covers 20 European countries.

Methods

Data are taken from the European Social Survey Round 7 from 2014 (N = 32 704). A multilevel logistic regression was used to assess the impact of sociodemographic, socioeconomic and health-related issues on reported restless sleeping.

Results

The results show that the influence of socioeconomic status has a secondary effect on sleep problems, health-related problems and depression. In addition, the study shows that individual-level, rather than country-level, factors have a major impact on restless sleep.

Conclusions

We have replicated all the findings of Arber et al. (Gender and socio-economic patterning of self-reported sleep problems in Britain. Soc Sci Med 2009;68:281–9) and confirmed the secondary nature of socioeconomic status factors to health and depression based on 20 European countries.
Microbial community dynamics of a sequentially fed anaerobic digester treating solid organic waste
Authors: Lee HyunWoo , Fitamo Temesgen M , Nesbø Camilla L , Guilford Nigel G H , Kanger Kärt , Yang Minqing Ivy , Edwards Elizabeth A
Published: February 2023

A 50-kg scale, high solids anaerobic digester (AD) comprising six sequentially fed leach beds with a leachate recirculation system was operated at 37°C for 88 weeks. The solid feedstock contained a constant fibre fraction (a mix of cardboard, boxboard, newsprint, and fine paper) and varying proportions of food waste. Previously, we reported on the stable operation of this digestion system, where significantly enhanced methane production from the fibre fraction was observed as the proportion of food waste increased. The objective of this study was to identify relationships between process parameters and the microbial community. Increasing food waste led to a large increase in the absolute microbial abundance in the circulating leachate. While 16S rRNA amplicons for Clostridium butyricum were most abundant and correlated with the amount of FW in the system and with the overall methane yield, it was more cryptic Candidatus Roizmanbacteria and Spirochaetaceae that correlated specifically with enhanced methane from the fiber fraction. A faulty batch of bulking agent led to hydraulic channeling, which was reflected in the leachate microbial profiles matching that of the incoming food waste. The system performance and microbial community re-established rapidly after reverting to better bulking agent, illustrating the robustness of the system.