bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The relationship between anthropocentric beliefs and the moral status of a chimpanzee, humanoid robot, and cyborg person: the mediating role of the assignment of mind and soul
Authors: Fortuna Paweł , Wróblewski Zbigniew , Gut Arkadiusz , Dutkowska Anna
Published: November 2023

Inspired by the supporters of posthumanism and transhumanism, the discussion on the status of human and non-human individuals motivates us to explore the psychological determinants of assigning a moral status (MS) to them. The article focuses on capturing the relationship between anthropocentrism and the MS of a chimpanzee, humanoid robot and cyborg person. In exploring this connection, it introduces the concepts of mind and soul as mediating variables. Three online studies were conducted, and the statistical analyses included data from a total of 732 participants aged 15–72 who were from Poland. The research shows that for each of the three characters, anthropocentrism was negatively correlated with MS, and its influence was mediated by the attribution of mind and soul. In relation to the humanoid robot, a direct relationship between anthropocentrism and MS has also been found, which is interesting in view of the discussion regarding the criteria for MS. On the other hand, the reported results for the cyborg person, which were partly contrary to expectations, need further exploration to better understand these types of entities, especially in the context of the increasing possibilities for the technological enhancement of human beings.
Roman Republican coarse ware from Norba, Southern Lazio (Italy): a multi-analytical study of production technology and trade
Authors: Borgers Barbara , Ionescu Corina , Gál Ágnes , De Haas Tymon , Barbu-Tudoran Lucian
Published: November 2023

The first objective of this paper is to reconstruct the production technology of fourth–first centuries BCE coarse ware from surveys near the ancient town of Norba in the Lepini Mountains of Southern Lazio, Italy, adopting a multi-analytical method, combining macroscopic observation with polarised light optical microscopy (OM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The second objective of this study is to gain insight into Norba’s integration in broader production and distribution networks in Southern Lazio between the fourth–first centuries BCE, by comparing the results with previous data for coarse ware prevalent in the region at that time. The results indicate that the coarse ware from Norba was produced with Fe-rich, Ca-poor, and illite-muscovite clays and fired in an oxidising atmosphere between 750 and 900 °C. Differences among the coarse ware exist in the paste recipes, e.g. intentionally added temper. Most coarse ware from Norba bears compositional similarities to that from the Alban Hills and the Tiber Valley, north of Rome, suggesting that Norba was integrated into the marketing of pottery that was common in Southern Lazio during the fourth–first centuries BCE. In comparison, only a few coarse wares seem to have been produced in the surrounding area (e.g. Satricum and Forum Appii), or even locally in Norba. The results further indicate changes in these regional/local distribution networks; some coarse ware seems to have been imported from Satricum, where a workshop was active during the fourth century BCE. When ceramic production at Satricum ceased, potters settled in the towns of Forum Appii and Norba, where they produced ceramic building material and fine ware in the second–first centuries BCE, respectively. The results of this study tentatively suggest that potters in these locations may have also manufactured coarse ware during this period.
Selection of consistent breath biomarkers of abnormal liver function using feature selection: a pilot study
Authors: Patnaik Rakesh Kumar , Lin Yu-Chen , Ho Ming Chih , Yeh J. Andrew
Published: November 2023

Purpose

Breath profiling has gained importance in recent years as it is a non-invasive technique to identify biomarkers for various diseases. Breath profiling of abnormal liver function in individuals for identifying potential biomarkers in exhaled breath could be a useful diagnostic tool. The objective of this study was to identify potential biomarkers in exhaled breath that remain stable and consistent during different physiological states, including rest and brief workouts, intending to develop a non-invasive diagnostic tool for detecting abnormal liver function.

Method

Our study employed a gas chromatography and mass-spectrometer quantified dataset for analysis. Machine learning techniques, including feature selection and model training, were used to rank and evaluate potential biomarkers' contributions to the model's performance. Statistical methods were applied to filter significant and consistent biomarkers. The final selected biomarkers were iterated for all possible combinations using machine learning algorithms to determine their accuracy range. Furthermore, classification models were used to evaluate the performance metrics of the biomarkers and compare models.

Result

The final selected biomarkers, including 2-Myristynoyl Pantetheine, Pterin-6 Carboxylic Acid, Methyl Mercaptan, N-Acetyl Cysteine, and Butyric Acid, exhibited stable levels in exhaled breath during different physiological states. They showed high accuracy and precision in detecting abnormal liver function. Our machine learning models achieved an accuracy rate ranging from 0.7 to 0.95 in all conditions, with precision, recall, prediction probability, and a 95% confidence interval ranging from 0.84 to 0.94, using various combinations of these biomarkers.

Conclusion

Our statistical and machine learning analysis identified significant and potential biomarkers that contribute to the detection of abnormal liver function. These biomarkers were consistent across different physiological states of the body in both patient and healthy groups. The use of breath samples and feature selection machine learning methods proved to be an accurate and reliable approach for identifying these biomarkers. Our findings provide valuable insights for future research in this field and can inform the development of non-invasive and cost-effective diagnostic tests for liver disease.
One dimensional equisymmetric strata in moduli space with genus 1 quotient surfaces
Authors: Broughton S. Allen , Costa Antonio F. , Izquierdo Milagros
Published: November 2023

The complex orbifold structure of the moduli space of Riemann surfaces of genus g ($$g\ge 2$$

g
≥
2

) produces a stratification into complex subvarieties named equisymmetric strata. Each equisymmetric stratum is formed by the surfaces where the group of automorphisms acts in a topologically equivalent way. The Riemann surfaces in the equisymmetric strata of dimension one are of two structurally different types. Type 1 equisymmetric strata correspond to Riemann surfaces where the group of automorphisms produces a quotient surface of genus zero, while those of Type 2 appear when such a quotient is a surface of genus one. Type 1 equisymmetric strata have been extensively studied by the authors of the present work in a previous recent paper, we now focus on Type 2 strata. We first establish the existence of such strata and their frequency of occurrence in moduli spaces. As a main result we obtain a complete description of Type 2 strata as coverings of the sphere branched over three points (Belyi curves) and where certain isolated points (punctures) have to be eliminated. Finally, we study in detail the doubly infinite family of Type 2 strata whose automorphism groups have order the product of two primes.
Salvia africana-lutea L.: a review of ethnobotany, phytochemistry, pharmacology applications and future prospects
Authors: Ezema Chinonso Anthony , Aguchem Rita Ngozi , Aham Emmanuel Chigozie , Ezeorba Wisdom Favour Chinedu , Okagu Innocent Uzochukwu , Ezeorba Timothy Prince Chidike
Published: November 2023

Plants are nature’s reserve for vitality and health-boosting agents. Despite ever-rising interest and research on plant medicinal chemistry, many stones are still being left unturned. Moreover, many traditional medicinal plants are yet to be discovered or functionally characterized. This study presented an up-to-date review of a poorly explored member of the Salvia genus indigenous to Africa—Salvia africana-luteaL. (synonymous withSalvia aureaL.) with details on its geographical distribution, ethnobotany, and pharmacological applications. We reviewed all literature published onSalvia africana-luteaup to January 2023, retrieved from PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect as primary databases and google scholar as the secondary source. From our literature search, we found 38 documents published on S. africana-lutea, despite the popularity of the Salvia genus as a medicinal plant (having over 15,000 articles published to date). From the retrieved literature, only a few studies focused on exploiting the ethnobotanical features of the plants, such as the morphology, flowering and existence, and nature of its trichomes. Some studies have reportedS. africana-lutea as an excellent source of essential oils trapped within their leaf trichomes with numerous phytochemicals and bioactivities. Other studies have reported some interesting pharmacological activities of plant extracts and isolated phytochemicals, such as their antimicrobial, anti-oxidative, analgesic, antipyretic, anticancer, cytotoxic, and other bioactivities. We identified some limitations of the few published studies, highlighting future research needs that should draw more scientific interest to foster more study on this under-explored and valuable plant species ofSalvia, to harness its medicinal and industrial potential fully.
A fatal course of COVID-19 during the Omicron surge: can you estimate your patients’ SARS-CoV-2 immune status?
Authors: Mersch Martin , Schlabe Stefan , Breitschwerdt Sven , Laufenberg Judith , Emmert Dorian , Aldabbagh Souhaib , Boesecke Christoph , Monin Malte Benedikt
Published: November 2023

We present a case of an ultimately fatal course of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease-19) in an 81-year-old female patient during the Omicron surge. The patient did not represent the typical patient at risk for severe COVID-19 with significant causes of immunodeficiency. However, she had been skeptical about the vaccination for severe acute respiratory syndrome virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and had refused it. Moreover, there had been no previous COVID-19 episodes. Our case report illustrates that with regard to SARS-CoV-2, immunologically naive patients are still at risk for severe and/or even fatal courses of COVID-19. We call to implement both, recommendations for SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations as well as for antiviral treatment.
Multiphase Interfacial Regulation Based on Hierarchical Porous Molybdenum Selenide to Build Anticorrosive and Multiband Tailorable Absorbers
Authors: Zhao Tianbao , Jia Zirui , Liu Jinkun , Zhang Yan , Wu Guanglei , Yin Pengfei
Published: November 2023

Electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbing materials have an irreplaceable position in the field of military stealth as well as in the field of electromagnetic pollution control. And in order to cope with the complex electromagnetic environment, the design of multifunctional and multiband high efficiency EMW absorbers remains a tremendous challenge. In this work, we designed a three-dimensional porous structure via the salt melt synthesis strategy to optimize the impedance matching of the absorber. Also, through interfacial engineering, a molybdenum carbide transition layer was introduced between the molybdenum selenide nanoparticles and the three-dimensional porous carbon matrix to improve the absorption behavior of the absorber. The analysis indicates that the number and components of the heterogeneous interfaces have a significant impact on the EMW absorption performance of the absorber due to mechanisms such as interfacial polarization and conduction loss introduced by interfacial engineering. Wherein, the prepared MoSe2/MoC/PNC composites showed excellent EMW absorption performance in C, X, and Ku bands, especially exhibiting a reflection loss of − 59.09 dB and an effective absorption bandwidth of 6.96 GHz at 1.9 mm. The coordination between structure and components endows the absorber with strong absorption, broad bandwidth, thin thickness, and multi-frequency absorption characteristics. Remarkably, it can effectively reinforce the marine anticorrosion property of the epoxy resin coating on Q235 steel substrate. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between interfacial engineering and the performance of EMW absorbers, and provides a reference for the design of multifunctional, multiband EMW absorption materials.
Core–Shell Microfiber Encapsulation Enables Glycerol-Free Cryopreservation of RBCs with High Hematocrit
Authors: Qin Xianhui , Chen Zhongrong , Shen Lingxiao , Liu Huilan , Ouyang Xilin , Zhao Gang
Published: November 2023

Cryopreservation of red blood cells (RBCs) provides great potential benefits for providing transfusion timely in emergencies. High concentrations of glycerol (20% or 40%) are used for RBC cryopreservation in current clinical practice, which results in cytotoxicity and osmotic injuries that must be carefully controlled. However, existing studies on the low-glycerol cryopreservation of RBCs still suffer from the bottleneck of low hematocrit levels, which require relatively large storage space and an extra concentration process before transfusion, making it inconvenient (time-consuming, and also may cause injury and sample lose) for clinical applications. To this end, we develop a novel method for the glycerol-free cryopreservation of human RBCs with a high final hematocrit by using trehalose as the sole cryoprotectant to dehydrate RBCs and using core–shell alginate hydrogel microfibers to enhance heat transfer during cryopreservation. Different from previous studies, we achieve the cryopreservation of human RBCs at high hematocrit (> 40%) with high recovery (up to 95%). Additionally, the washed RBCs post-cryopreserved are proved to maintain their morphology, mechanics, and functional properties. This may provide a nontoxic, high-efficiency, and glycerol-free approach for RBC cryopreservation, along with potential clinical transfusion benefits.
Ionization Engineering of Hydrogels Enables Highly Efficient Salt-Impeded Solar Evaporation and Night-Time Electricity Harvesting
Authors: He Nan , Wang Haonan , Zhang Haotian , Jiang Bo , Tang Dawei , Li Lin
Published: November 2023

Interfacial solar evaporation holds immense potential for brine desalination with low carbon footprints and high energy utilization. Hydrogels, as a tunable material platform from the molecular level to the macroscopic scale, have been considered the most promising candidate for solar evaporation. However, the simultaneous achievement of high evaporation efficiency and satisfactory tolerance to salt ions in brine remains a challenging scientific bottleneck, restricting the widespread application. Herein, we report ionization engineering, which endows polymer chains of hydrogels with electronegativity for impeding salt ions and activating water molecules, fundamentally overcoming the hydrogel salt-impeded challenge and dramatically expediting water evaporating in brine. The sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate-modified carbon black is chosen as the solar absorbers. The hydrogel reaches a ground-breaking evaporation rate of 2.9 kg m−2 h−1 in 20 wt% brine with 95.6% efficiency under one sun irradiation, surpassing most of the reported literature. More notably, such a hydrogel-based evaporator enables extracting clean water from oversaturated salt solutions and maintains durability under different high-strength deformation or a 15-day continuous operation. Meantime, on the basis of the cation selectivity induced by the electronegativity, we first propose an all-day system that evaporates during the day and generates salinity-gradient electricity using waste-evaporated brine at night, anticipating pioneer a new opportunity for all-day resource-generating systems in fields of freshwater and electricity.
Understanding Bridging Sites and Accelerating Quantum Efficiency for Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction
Authors: Wang Kangwang , Hu Zhuofeng , Yu Peifeng , Balu Alina M. , Li Kuan , Li Longfu , Zeng Lingyong , Zhang Chao , Luque Rafael , Yan Kai , Luo Huixia
Published: November 2023

We report a novel double-shelled nanoboxes photocatalyst architecture with tailored interfaces that accelerate quantum efficiency for photocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) via Mo–S bridging bonds sites in Sv–In2S3@2H–MoTe2. The X-ray absorption near-edge structure shows that the formation of Sv–In2S3@2H–MoTe2 adjusts the coordination environment via interface engineering and forms Mo–S polarized sites at the interface. The interfacial dynamics and catalytic behavior are clearly revealed by ultrafast femtosecond transient absorption, time-resolved, and in situ diffuse reflectance–Infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy. A tunable electronic structure through steric interaction of Mo–S bridging bonds induces a 1.7-fold enhancement in Sv–In2S3@2H–MoTe2(5) photogenerated carrier concentration relative to pristine Sv–In2S3. Benefiting from lower carrier transport activation energy, an internal quantum efficiency of 94.01% at 380 nm was used for photocatalytic CO2RR. This study proposes a new strategy to design photocatalyst through bridging sites to adjust the selectivity of photocatalytic CO2RR.
Layered Potassium Titanium Niobate/Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite as a Potassium-Ion Battery Anode
Authors: Nason Charlie A. F. , Vijaya Kumar Saroja Ajay Piriya , Lu Yi , Wei Runzhe , Han Yupei , Xu Yang
Published: November 2023

With graphite currently leading as the most viable anode for potassium-ion batteries (KIBs), other materials have been left relatively under-examined. Transition metal oxides are among these, with many positive attributes such as synthetic maturity, long-term cycling stability and fast redox kinetics. Therefore, to address this research deficiency we report herein a layered potassium titanium niobate KTiNbO5 (KTNO) and its rGO nanocomposite (KTNO/rGO) synthesised via solvothermal methods as a high-performance anode for KIBs. Through effective distribution across the electrically conductive rGO, the electrochemical performance of the KTNO nanoparticles was enhanced. The potassium storage performance of the KTNO/rGO was demonstrated by its first charge capacity of 128.1 mAh g−1 and reversible capacity of 97.5 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at 20 mA g−1, retaining 76.1% of the initial capacity, with an exceptional rate performance of 54.2 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1. Furthermore, to investigate the attributes of KTNO in-situ XRD was performed, indicating a low-strain material. Ex-situ X-ray photoelectron spectra further investigated the mechanism of charge storage, with the titanium showing greater redox reversibility than the niobium. This work suggests this low-strain nature is a highly advantageous property and well worth regarding KTNO as a promising anode for future high-performance KIBs.
A Review of Contact Electrification at Diversified Interfaces and Related Applications on Triboelectric Nanogenerator
Authors: Hu Jun , Iwamoto Mitsumasa , Chen Xiangyu
Published: November 2023

The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) can effectively collect energy based on contact electrification (CE) at diverse interfaces, including solid–solid, liquid–solid, liquid–liquid, gas–solid, and gas–liquid. This enables energy harvesting from sources such as water, wind, and sound. In this review, we provide an overview of the coexistence of electron and ion transfer in the CE process. We elucidate the diverse dominant mechanisms observed at different interfaces and emphasize the interconnectedness and complementary nature of interface studies. The review also offers a comprehensive summary of the factors influencing charge transfer and the advancements in interfacial modification techniques. Additionally, we highlight the wide range of applications stemming from the distinctive characteristics of charge transfer at various interfaces. Finally, this review elucidates the future opportunities and challenges that interface CE may encounter. We anticipate that this review can offer valuable insights for future research on interface CE and facilitate the continued development and industrialization of TENG.
Towards Dependent Race Models for the Stop-Signal Paradigm
Authors: Colonius Hans , Jahansa Paria , Joe Harry , Diederich Adele
Published: November 2023

The race model for stop signal processing is based on the assumption of context independence between the go and stop process. Recent empirical evidence inconsistent with predictions of the independent race model has been interpreted as a failure of context independence. Here we demonstrate that, keeping context independence while assuming stochastic dependency between go and stop processing, one can also account for the observed violations. Several examples demonstrate how stochastically dependent race models can be derived from copulas, a rapidly developing area of statistics. The non-observability of stop signal processing time is shown to be equivalent to a well known issue in random dependent censoring.
Was the Rule of Law the Only Casualty of Polity Design in the New Latin American Constitutionalism?
Authors: Barrios-Suvelza Franz Xavier
Published: November 2023

The objective of this article is to introduce a new concept for grouping all countermajoritarian instruments which became the true casualties of polity design during the New Latin American Constitutionalism (NLAC). This theoretical endeavor, which has not been undertaken until now, will be discussed on the basis of the constitutional upheavals that occurred between 1999 and 2009 in Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia. By addressing a specific theme of this experience, namely its implications for the relationship between democracy and countermajoritarian devices, this article shows why an aggregating concept such as state ataraxy is needed. This concept fills the gap that hinders understanding of what has been institutionally dismantled in the course of these reforms. The article then challenges the claim that with the collapse of countermajoritarian institutions, democracy necessarily collapses. It concludes with a new assessment of the novelty that the NLAC may have brought concerning the tension between democracy and countermajoritarian institutions. The findings contribute to understand one of the most enduring concerns of state theory in general, the tension between democracy and the rule of law.
Environmental, Social, and Governance Considerations in Production Scheduling Optimisation for Sublevel Stoping Mining Operations: a Review of Relevant Works and Future Directions
Authors: Ullah G. M. Wali , Nehring Micah , Kizil Mehmet , Knights Peter
Published: November 2023

In operations that use the sublevel stoping mining method, production scheduling takes into account factors, including ore reserve envelopes, ore grade averages, equipment capacity, feed controls to the mill, and geotechnical restrictions, across the scheduling horizon. Mathematical programming is one of the most effective methods for enhancing the decision-making process in regard to the most viable production schedule in light of a given set of limitations. The majority of research on sublevel stope mining focuses primarily on a single objective of optimisation, which is to maximise the net present value (NPV). Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations are becoming more prevalent in the mining industry. This includes aspects relating to deforestation, land disturbances, gas emissions, community relations, and water usage, among many others. Institutional and other kinds of investors are becoming more interested in the work that resource companies do regarding their ESG obligations. This review article identifies the gap in the existing literature and proposes to simultaneously optimise the production schedule around three objectives. Two of these relate directly to ESG aspects.
A documentation checklist for (Linked) humanities data
Authors: Middle Sarah
Published: November 2023

Documentation, including information, instructions, and use cases, is key to reproducibility in Digital Humanities research and usability of resulting tools and resources. However, despite multiple studies that support this assertion, clear and comprehensive documentation is often lacking due to fundamental incompatibilities with existing funding models and the resulting prioritisation of project tasks. Through a user study of researchers involved in using and producing Linked Ancient World Data, supplemented by existing literature, I identified components for inclusion in documentation to facilitate use of these tools and resources, as well as the reproducibility of methods used in their production. At the same time, it became clear that producers would benefit from a solution to simplify the process of documentation creation. As a result, I assembled a documentation checklist whose scope for application reaches beyond Linked Ancient World Data to other Humanities disciplines and digital methods. This paper starts by discussing previous work, before providing an overview of my survey and interview methods. I then present my findings and discuss their implications for future research and development, including an introduction to the checklist and its implementation. To conclude, I draw together threads from the preceding sections and suggest wider structural changes to further facilitate and promote transparency and reproducibility in Digital Humanities.
High hopes but aiming low? Explaining why some families with high educational aspirations do not choose the academic track in German secondary education
Authors: Bittmann Felix
Published: November 2023

Selecting a school track after primary schooling is an early and highly influential decision families have to make in the German educational system. Usually, families with high educational aspirations choose the academic track since it is the direct pathway to higher education eligibility, yet there are families selecting another track. Explaining this decision is highly relevant since it is known that other tracks can divert aspirations away from the initial high goals, resulting in overall lower educational achievements. The present study analyzes the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) dataset to investigate predictors of academic track selection (N > 1500). As dominance analyses show, the overall share of variance that all factors can explain is relatively low (ca. 13%), and only the teacher recommendation and the federal state of residence contribute meaningfully to this total share. Overall, it remains unclear what drives the decision, and other explanatory approaches should be investigated.
Colocations of spatial clusters among different industries
Authors: Inoue Ryo , Shiode Shino , Shiode Narushige
Published: November 2023

Spatial colocation has been studied in many contexts including locations of urban facilities, industry entities and businesses. However, identifying colocations among a small number of facilities and establishments holds the risk of introducing false positive in that such a spatial arrangement may have occurred by chance. To account for the association between a group of facilities that frequently colocate with each other, this study proposes a two-step approach consisting of identifying statistically significant clusters of each facility type using the False Discovery Rate (FDR) controlling procedure, and subsequently measuring the colocation of those clusters with the frequent-pattern-growth (FP-growth) algorithm. Empirical analysis of 6 million business and industrial establishments across Japan suggests that 10 out of 86 industry types form clear colocations and their colocations form a multi-layered, cascading structure. The number of layers in the multi-layered structure reflect the city size and the strength of the association between the colocated clusters of industries. These patterns illustrate the utility of detecting colocation of clusters towards understanding the agglomeration of different businesses. The proposed method can be applied to other contexts that would benefit from investigations into how different types of spatial features can be linked with each other and how they form colocations.
Readers matter: seven transactions with the visual, linguistic and material elements in a picture book
Authors: Colton Jill , Serafini Frank , Lovett Therese , Forrest Sarah , Gale Julie , Gehling Kerry , Shin Anne-Marie , Carter Jenni
Published: November 2023

In this paper, we draw upon Rosenblatt’s transactional theory of reading to frame six readings of a picture book. The picture book, There’s a Ghost in This House by Oliver Jeffers, was selected for a children’s literature reading group which brought together literacy researchers and teacher educators to share their encounters with the text. The question “How did you read the book?” provoked us to examine how we had transacted with the text to generate interpretations. This work was presented at the “Stories that Matter” seminar alongside the other papers appearing in this special edition of the Australian Journal of Language and Literacy. In this paper, we highlight our own roles as readers encountering Jeffer’s book and reflect on our own responses as a way of explaining the multiple readings we present. We emphasise the place of intertextuality and intratextuality in reader response and argue that Rosenblatt’s transactional theory continues to be an important way of understanding what it means to read, including the reading of multimodal texts which combine linguistic, visual and material modes.
Capitalism Indivisible
Authors: Moore Katie A.
Published: November 2023

My comment highlights the key contributions and promising directions for future research of Lindsay Schakenbach Regale’s essay in this volume. While in agreement with Schakenbach Regele’s call for more specificity for different times and places, I argue that we also ought to be able to answer the question of what makes a variety of capitalism, well, capitalist. To do that, we need to delimit the theoretical and historical bounds of capitalism itself.
Sick Time: Medicine, Management, and Slavery in Louisiana and Cuba, 1763–1868
Authors: DeMarco Liana
Published: November 2023

Capitalist ideas of productivity became central to medicine under slavery. They shaped how physicians treated enslaved patients, crafted a scientific basis for medicine, and conceived of themselves as professionals. Between the late-eighteenth-century and the mid-nineteenth-century, white male physicians in Louisiana and Cuba distinguished themselves from other healers: first, by aligning with Spanish colonialism, and then, by making themselves essential to a new form of plantation management that used clock-time discipline, hierarchical divisions of labor, and complex accounting systems. These technologies helped planters track the hours and days each enslaved person spent working, eating, sleeping, birthing, suffering from sickness and injuries, and recovering. This in turn enabled precise interpretations of enslaved health in terms of productivity, which was primarily measured in work time and the number of commodities produced. Physicians, who were seeking a rigorous intellectual foundation for medical knowledge production, latched onto planter methods of calculating and controlling enslaved health. One of those methods was what planters and physicians called “sick time,” which was an allotment of time away from work intended to manage illness enough for enslaved people to return to work. However, as physicians used plantation management to cast an air of scientific accuracy over their knowledge, enslaved people reconfigured their own medical practices to make themselves less visible and countable. Fugitive practices involving trees, animals, and natural springs helped enslaved people to heal by taking their own forms of sick time.
Reducing laser beam fluence and intensity fluctuations in symmetric and asymmetric compressors
Authors: Khazanov Efim
Published: November 2023

All space–time coupling effects arising in an asymmetric optical compressor consisting of two non-identical pairs of diffraction gratings are described analytically. In each pair, the gratings are identical and parallel to each other, whereas the distance between the gratings, the groove density and the angle of incidence are different in different pairs. It is shown that the compressor asymmetry does not affect the far-field fluence and on-axis focal intensity. The main distinctive feature of the asymmetric compressor is spatial noise lagging behind or overtaking the main pulse in proportion to the transverse wave vector. This results in a degraded contrast but reduces beam fluence fluctuations at the compressor output. Exact expressions are obtained for the spectrum of fluence fluctuations and fluence root mean square that depends only on one parameter characterizing compressor asymmetry. The efficiency of small-scale self-focusing suppression at subsequent pulse post-compression is estimated.
Delayed versus primary closure to minimize risk of surgical-site infection for complicated appendicitis: A secondary analysis of a randomized trial using counterfactual prediction modeling
Authors: Tansawet Amarit , Siribumrungwong Boonying , Techapongsatorn Suphakarn , Numthavaj Pawin , Poprom Napaphat , McKay Gareth J. , Attia John , Thakkinstian Ammarin
Published: November 2023

Objective:

To evaluate the risk of surgical site infection (SSI) following complicated appendectomy in individual patients receiving delayed primary closure (DPC) versus primary closure (PC) after adjustment for individual risk factors.

Design:

Secondary analysis of randomized controlled trial (RCT) with prediction model.

Setting:

Referral centers across Thailand.

Participants:

Adult patients who underwent appendectomy via a lower-right-quadrant abdominal incision due to complicated appendicitis.

Methods:

A secondary analysis of a published RCT was performed applying a counterfactual prediction model considering interventions (PC vs DPC) and other significant predictors. A multivariable logistic regression was applied, and a likelihood-ratio test was used to select significant predictors to retain in a final model. Factual versus counterfactual SSI risks for individual patients along with individual treatment effect (iTE) were estimated.

Results:

In total, 546 patients (271 PC vs 275 DPC) were included in the analysis. The individualized prediction model consisted of allocated intervention, diabetes, type of complicated appendicitis, fecal contamination, and incision length. The iTE varied between 0.4% and 7% for PC compared to DPC; ∼38.1% of patients would have ≥2.1% lower SSI risk following PC compared to DPC. The greatest risk reduction was identified in diabetes with ruptured appendicitis, fecal contamination, and incision length of 10 cm, where SSI risks were 47.1% and 54.1% for PC and DPC, respectively.

Conclusions:

In this secondary analysis, we found that most patients benefited from early PC versus DPC. Findings may be used to inform SSI prevention strategies for patients with complicated appendicitis.
Microbiological characteristics, transmission routes, and mitigation measures in bronchoscope-associated investigations: Summary of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) consultations, 2014–2022
Authors: Solanky Dipesh , Bardossy Ana Cecilia , Novosad Shannon , Moulton-Meissner Heather , Arduino Matthew , Perkins Kiran M.
Published: November 2023

In this summary of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) consultations with state and local health departments concerning their bronchoscope-associated investigations from 2014 through 2022, bronchoscope reprocessing gaps and exposure to nonsterile water sources appeared to be the major routes of transmission of infectious pathogens, which were primarily water-associated bacteria.
Novel basal bark and cut stump herbicide treatments for Brazilian peppertree (Schinus terebinthifolia) management
Authors: Bell Mackenzie E. , Enloe Stephen F. , Leary James K. , Lauer Dwight K.
Published: November 2023

Brazilian peppertree (Schinus terebinthifolia Raddi) is an aggressive shrub that infests more than 280,000 ha in Florida. Individual plant treatments (IPT), including basal bark and cut stump application with triclopyr butoxyethylester and triethylamine formulations, respectively, have been used for decades. While they are both effective, resprouting can occur, which requires retreatment for control. Recent research on other woody invasive plants has indicated additional non-crop herbicides used in natural areas can be effective with these IPT techniques and therefore warrant testing on S. terebinthifolia. In 2018 and 2019, basal bark and cut stump studies were conducted at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in natural areas infested with S. terebinthifolia. In the basal bark application studies, we found aminocyclopyrachlor applied at 12 and 24 g L−1 and triclopyr acid applied at 34 and 69 g L−1 each provided 100% defoliation of multistemmed S. terebinthifolia individuals with a mean root collar diameter up to 20.2 cm at 360 d after treatment (DAT). These were not different from triclopyr ester applied at 96 g L−1. Imazamox applied at 30 g L−1 resulted in 86% defoliation at 360 DAT. However, we observed formulation incompatibility when imazamox was mixed with basal bark oil which may limit its utility. In cut stump studies, we found aminocyclopyrachlor and aminopyralid each individually applied at 6, 12, and 24 g L−1, resulted in stump mortality that was not different from the commercial standard triclopyr amine applied at 180 g L−1. Similar results were found for a triclopyr acid formulation applied at 86 and 172 g L−1 and imazamox applied at 60 g L−1. For both treatment techniques, we found that alternative treatments provided control at lower herbicide concentrations than triclopyr ester and amine commercial standards. These results advance our understanding of IPT and expand access to additional effective herbicide options for S. terebinthifolia management.
The clinical impact of a crisis resolution home treatment team
Authors: Crowley S. , McDonagh S. , Carolan D. , O'Connor K.
Published: November 2023

Objectives:

To evaluate the impact of treatment provided by a Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team (CRHTT) in terms of preventing hospital admission, impact on service user’s symptoms and overall functioning, as well as service user’s satisfaction with the service. Secondary objectives were to evaluate the patient characteristics of those attending the CRHTT.

Methods:

All the service users treated by the CRHTT between 2016 and 2020 were included. Service users completed the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Health of the Nation Outcome Scale (HoNOS), and the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-version 8 (CSQ-8) before and after treatment by the CRHTT. Admission rates were compared between areas served by the CRHTT and control, before and after the introduction of the CRHTT, using two-way ANOVA.

Results:

Between 2016 and 2020, 1041 service users were treated by the service. Inpatient admissions in the areas served by the CRHTT fell by 38.5% after its introduction. There was a statistically significant interaction between CRHTT availability and time on admission rate, F (1,28) = 8.4, p = .007. BPRS scores were reduced significantly (p < .001), from a mean score of 32.01 before treatment to 24.64 after treatment. Mean HoNOS scores were 13.6 before and 9.1 after treatment (p < .001). Of the 1041 service users receiving the CSQ-8, only 180 returned it (17.3%). Service users’ median responses were “very positive” to all eight items on the CSQ-8.

Conclusions:

Although our study design has limitations this paper provides some support that CRHTT might be effective for the prevention of inpatient admission. The study also supports that CRHTT might be an effective option for the treatment of acute mental illness and crisis, although further research is needed in this area.
Characteristics of the switch process and geometric divisibility
Authors: Bengtsson Henrik
Published: November 2023

The switch process alternates independently between 1 and
$-1$
, with the first switch to 1 occurring at the origin. The expected value function of this process is defined uniquely by the distribution of switching times. The relation between the two is implicitly described through the Laplace transform, which is difficult to use for determining if a given function is the expected value function of some switch process. We derive an explicit relation under the assumption of monotonicity of the expected value function. It is shown that geometric divisible switching time distributions correspond to a non-negative decreasing expected value function. Moreover, an explicit relation between the expected value of a switch process and the autocovariance function of the switch process stationary counterpart is obtained, leading to a new interpretation of the classical Pólya criterion for positive-definiteness.
Aspirational Laws in Action: A Field Experiment
Authors: Depoorter Ben , Tontrup Stephan
Published: November 2023

This article examines aspirational laws in a randomized field experiment. We analyze the impact of an unenforced public smoking ban on individual behavior and attitudes. The findings indicate that aspirational laws, like public smoking bans, can make rights holders sensitive to behavior that violates their rights, irrespective of the material consequences of infringements and their personal views about the law. The results present a mixed position in the debate between rights-based social movement lawyering and critics of hollow rights. On the one hand, aspirational laws can create unforeseen social frictions when rights are declared, but their implementation and enforcement are ineffective. On the other hand, aspirational laws may also have self-fulfilling potential. Due to the adverse experience of rule breaking, rights holders may seek enforcement and compliance even if the law fails to influence public beliefs.
Graph-based methods for discrete choice
Authors: Tomlinson Kiran , Benson Austin R.
Published: November 2023

Choices made by individuals have widespread impacts—for instance, people choose between political candidates to vote for, between social media posts to share, and between brands to purchase—moreover, data on these choices are increasingly abundant. Discrete choice models are a key tool for learning individual preferences from such data. Additionally, social factors like conformity and contagion influence individual choice. Traditional methods for incorporating these factors into choice models do not account for the entire social network and require hand-crafted features. To overcome these limitations, we use graph learning to study choice in networked contexts. We identify three ways in which graph learning techniques can be used for discrete choice: learning chooser representations, regularizing choice model parameters, and directly constructing predictions from a network. We design methods in each category and test them on real-world choice datasets, including county-level 2016 US election results and Android app installation and usage data. We show that incorporating social network structure can improve the predictions of the standard econometric choice model, the multinomial logit. We provide evidence that app installations are influenced by social context, but we find no such effect on app usage among the same participants, which instead is habit-driven. In the election data, we highlight the additional insights a discrete choice framework provides over classification or regression, the typical approaches. On synthetic data, we demonstrate the sample complexity benefit of using social information in choice models.
Dynamical aspects of Galactic habitability in N-body simulations
Authors: Mitrašinović A. , Vukotić B. , Micic M. , Ćirković M. M.
Published: November 2023

Recent studies of Galactic evolution revealed that the dynamics of the stellar component might be one of the key factors when considering galactic habitability. We run an N-body simulation model of the Milky Way, which we evolve for 10 Gyr, to study the secular evolution of stellar orbits and the resulting galactic habitability related properties, i.e., the density of the stellar component and close stellar encounters. The results indicate that radial migrations are not negligible, even in a simple axisymmetric model with mild levels of dynamical heating, and that the net outward diffusion of the stellar component can populate galactic outskirts with habitable systems. Habitable environment is also likely even at sub-Solar galactocentric radii, because the rate of close encounters should not significantly degrade habitability. Stars that evolve from non-circular to stable nearly circular orbits typically migrate outwards, settling down in a broad Solar neighbourhood. The region between$R \approx 3$kpc and$R \approx 12$kpc represents the zone of radial mixing, which can blur the boundaries of the Galactic Habitable Zone (GHZ), as it has been conventionally understood. The present-day stable population of the stars in the Solar neighbourhood originates from this radial mixing zone, with most of the stars coming from the inner regions. The Solar system can be considered as a typical Milky Way habitable system because it migrated outwards from the metal-rich inner regions of the Disk and has a circular orbit in the present epoch. We conclude that the boundaries of the GHZ cannot be sharply confined for a given epoch because of the mixing caused by the stellar migrations and secular evolution of stellar orbits.
A Lebesgue–Lusin property for linear operators of first and second order
Authors: Arroyo-Rabasa Adolfo
Published: November 2023

We prove that for a homogeneous linear partial differential operator$\mathcal {A}$of order$k \le 2$and an integrable map$f$taking values in the essential range of that operator, there exists a function$u$of special bounded variation satisfying\[ \mathcal{A} u(x)= f(x) \qquad \text{almost everywhere}. \]This extends a result of G. Alberti for gradients on$\mathbf {R}^N$. In particular, for$0 \le m < N$, it is shown that every integrable$m$-vector field is the absolutely continuous part of the boundary of a normal$(m+1)$-current.
How sequence alterations enhance the stability and delay expansion of DNA triplet repeat domains
Authors: Völker Jens , Breslauer Kenneth J.
Published: November 2023

DNA sequence alterations within DNA repeat domains inexplicably enhance the stability and delay the expansion of interrupted repeat domains. Here we propose mechanisms that rationalise such unanticipated outcomes. Specifically, we describe how interruption of a DNA repeat domain restricts the ensemble space available to dynamic, slip out, repeat bulge loops by introducing energetic barriers to loop migration. We explain how such barriers arise because some possible loop isomers result in energetically costly mismatches in the duplex portion of the repeat domain. We propose that the reduced ensemble space is the causative feature for the observed delay in repeat DNA expansion. We further posit that the observed loss of the interrupting repeat in some expanded DNAs reflects the transient occupation of loop isomer positions that result in a mismatch in the duplex stem due to ‘leakiness’ in the energy barrier. We propose that if the lifetime of such a low probability event allows for recognition by the mismatch repair system, then ‘repair’ of the repeat interruption can occur; thereby rationalising the absence of the interruption in the final expanded DNA ‘product.’ Our proposed mechanistic pathways provide reasoned explanations for what have been described as ‘puzzling’ observations, while also yielding insights into a biomedically important set of coupled genotypic phenomena that map the linkage between DNA origami thermodynamics and phenotypic disease states.