bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Compactness Property of the Linearized Boltzmann Collision Operator for a Mixture of Monatomic and Polyatomic Species
Authors: Bernhoff Niclas
Published: February 2024

The linearized Boltzmann collision operator has a central role in many important applications of the Boltzmann equation. Recently some important classical properties of the linearized collision operator for monatomic single species were extended to multicomponent monatomic gases and polyatomic single species. For multicomponent polyatomic gases, the case where the polyatomicity is modelled by a discrete internal energy variable was considered lately. Here we consider the corresponding case for a continuous internal energy variable. Compactness results, stating that the linearized operator can be decomposed into a sum of a positive multiplication operator, the collision frequency, and a compact operator, bringing e.g., self-adjointness, is extended from the classical result for monatomic single species, under reasonable assumptions on the collision kernel. With a probabilistic formulation of the collision operator as a starting point, the compactness property is shown by a decomposition, such that the terms are, or at least are uniform limits of, Hilbert–Schmidt integral operators and therefore are compact operators. Moreover, bounds on—including coercivity of—the collision frequency are obtained for hard sphere like, as well as hard potentials with cutoff like, models, from which Fredholmness of the linearized collision operator follows, as well as its domain.
Pyrolysis of natural rubber–cellulose composites: isoconversional kinetic analysis based on thermogravimetric data
Authors: Dobrovská Jana , Skalková Petra , Drozdová Lubomíra , Labaj Ivan , Zlá Simona , Dubec Andrej , Kawuloková Monika
Published: February 2024

Despite the current growing interest in rubber composites with natural organic fillers, there is a lack of kinetic analyses that describe the decomposition of these materials during pyrolysis. For this reason, the main objective of this study was the kinetic analysis and determination of formal kinetic parameters for the pyrolytic decomposition of NR–CEL composites with different cellulose content (0, 30, 45, and 55 phr). Thermogravimetric measurements were made at heating rates of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 20 °C min–1 in the temperature range of 20–600 °C. First, Friedman and KAS model-free methods were applied. Therefore, model-based methods and the model-fitting procedure were used to find the optimal multi-step kinetic model. The proposed final model consists of two parallel processes, which are kinetically independent: A → B → C and D → E → F. For each step, a kinetic triplet was calculated: the apparent activation energy, the pre-exponential factor, and the kinetic parameters of the extended empirical Prout–Tompkins model. The master plots method was used to determine the kinetic decomposition mechanism of the individual steps. It was found that step A → B has the shape of an nth-order model, step B → C mainly follows the diffusion model, the mechanism of step D → E transfers from a random scission kinetics model to an nth-order model with an increasing amount of CEL, and step E → F obeys the chain scission mechanism.
A Hyperintensional Logic of Non-prime Evidence
Authors: Vigiani Pietro
Published: February 2024

We present a logic of evidence that reduces agents’ epistemic idealisations by combining classical propositional logic with substructural modal logic for formulas in the scope of epistemic modalities. To this aim, we provide a neighborhood semantics of evidence, which provides a modal extension of Fine’s semantics for relevant propositional logic. Possible worlds semantics for classical propositional logic is then obtained by defining the set of possible worlds as a special subset of information states in Fine’s semantics. Finally, we prove that evidence is a hyperintensional and non-prime notion in our logic, and provide a sound and complete axiomatisation of our evidence logic.
Circulatory Inflammatory Proteins as Early Diagnostic Biomarkers for Invasive Aspergillosis in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies—an Exploratory Study
Authors: Aerts Robina , Ricaño-Ponce Isis , Bruno Mariolina , Mercier Toine , Rosati Diletta , Maertens Johan , Kumar Vinod , Carvalho Agostinho , Netea Mihai G. , Hoenigl Martin ,   on behalf of the ECMM Immunologic Markers for Treatment Monitoring and Diagnosis in Invasive Mold Infection Working Group Contributors, Sprute Rosanne , Köhler Philipp , Grothe Jan , Lass-Flörl Cornelia , Garcia-Vidal Carol , Monoz Patricia , Gangneux Jean-Pierre , Giaccobbe Daniele , Mikulska Malgorzata
Published: February 2024

Objectives

Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a major cause of mortality in immunocompromised patients and it is difficult to diagnose because of the lack of reliable highly sensitive diagnostics. We aimed to identify circulating immunological markers that could be useful for an early diagnosis of IA.

Methods

We collected longitudinally serum samples from 33 cases with probable/proven IA and two matched control cohorts without IA (one with microbiological and clinical evidence of bacterial or viral non-fungal pneumonia and one without evidence of infection, all matched for neutropenia, primary underlying disease, and receipt of corticosteroids/other immunosuppressants) at a tertiary university hospital. In addition, samples from an independent cohort (n = 20 cases of proven/probable IA and 20 matched controls without infection) were obtained. A panel of 92 circulating proteins involved in inflammation was measured by proximity extension assay. A random forest model was used to predict the development of IA using biomarkers measured before diagnosis.

Results

While no significant differences were observed between IA cases and infected controls, concentrations of 30 inflammatory biomarkers were different between cases and non-infected controls, of which nine were independently replicated: PD-L1, MMP-10, Interleukin(IL)-10, IL-15RA, IL-18, IL-18R1, CDCP1, CCL19 and IL-17C. From the differential abundance analysis of serum samples collected more than 10 days before diagnosis and at diagnosis, increased IL-17C concentrations in IA patients were replicated in the independent cohort.

Conclusions

An increased circulating concentration of IL-17C was detected both in the discovery and independent cohort, both at the time of diagnosis and in samples 10 days before the diagnosis of IA, suggesting it should be evaluated further as potential (early) biomarker of infection.
PCTDepth: Exploiting Parallel CNNs and Transformer via Dual Attention for Monocular Depth Estimation
Authors: Xia Chenxing , Duan Xiuzhen , Gao Xiuju , Ge Bin , Li Kuan-Ching , Fang Xianjin , Zhang Yan , Yang Ke
Published: February 2024

Monocular depth estimation (MDE) has made great progress with the development of convolutional neural networks (CNNs). However, these approaches suffer from essential shortsightedness due to the utilization of insufficient feature-based reasoning. To this end, we propose an effective parallel CNNs and Transformer model for MDE via dual attention (PCTDepth). Specifically, we use two stream backbones to extract features, where ResNet and Swin Transformer are utilized to obtain local detail features and global long-range dependencies, respectively. Furthermore, a hierarchical fusion module (HFM) is designed to actively exchange beneficial information for the complementation of each representation during the intermediate fusion. Finally, a dual attention module is incorporated for each fused feature in the decoder stage to improve the accuracy of the model by enhancing inter-channel correlations and focusing on relevant spatial locations. Comprehensive experiments on the KITTI dataset demonstrate that the proposed model consistently outperforms the other state-of-the-art methods.
Virtual Reality and Serious Videogame-Based Instruments for Assessing Spatial Navigation in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Systematic Review of Psychometric Properties
Authors: Sánchez-Escudero Juan Pablo , Galvis-Herrera Ana María , Sánchez-Trujillo David , Torres-López Laura Cristina , Kennedy Cole J. , Aguirre-Acevedo Daniel Camilo , Garcia-Barrera Mauricio A. , Trujillo Natalia
Published: February 2024

Over the past decade, research using virtual reality and serious game-based instruments for assessing spatial navigation and spatial memory in at-risk and AD populations has risen. We systematically reviewed the literature since 2012 to identify and evaluate the methodological quality and risk of bias in the analyses of the psychometric properties of VRSG-based instruments. The search was conducted primarily in July–December 2022 and updated in November 2023 in eight major databases. The quality of instrument development and study design were analyzed in all studies. Measurement properties were defined and analyzed according to COSMIN guidelines. A total of 1078 unique records were screened, and following selection criteria, thirty-seven studies were analyzed. From these studies, 30 instruments were identified. Construct and criterion validity were the most reported measurement properties, while structural validity and internal consistency evidence were the least reported. Nineteen studies were deemed very good in construct validity, whereas 11 studies reporting diagnostic accuracy were deemed very good in quality. Limitations regarding theoretical framework and research design requirements were found in most of the studies. VRSG-based instruments are valuable additions to the current diagnostic toolkit for AD. Further research is required to establish the psychometric performance and clinical utility of VRSG-based instruments, particularly the instrument development, content validity, and diagnostic accuracy for preclinical AD screening scenarios. This review provides a straightforward synthesis of the state of the art of VRSG-based instruments and suggests future directions for research.
Patient acceptable symptom state and treatment failure threshold values for work productivity and activity Impairment and EQ-5D-5L in osteoarthritis
Authors: Kiadaliri Ali , Cronström Anna , Dahlberg Leif E. , Lohmander L. Stefan
Published: February 2024

Objective

To estimate patient acceptable symptom state (PASS) and treatment failure (TF) threshold values for Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI) measure and EQ-5D-5L among people with hip or knee osteoarthritis (OA) 3 and 12 months following participation in a digital self-management intervention (Joint Academy®).

Methods

Among the participants, we computed work and activity impairments scores (both 0–100, with a higher value reflecting higher impairment) and the Swedish hypothetical- (range: − 0.314 to 1) and experience-based (range: 0.243–0.976) EQ-5D-5L index scores (a higher score indicates better health status) at 3- (n = 14,607) and 12-month (n = 2707) follow-ups. Threshold values for PASS and TF were calculated using anchor-based adjusted predictive modeling. We also explored the baseline dependency of threshold values according to pain severity at baseline.

Results

Around 42.0% and 48.3% of the participants rated their current state as acceptable, while 4.2% and 2.8% considered the treatment had failed at 3 and 12 months, respectively. The 3-month PASS/TF thresholds were 16/29 (work impairment), 26/50 (activity impairment), 0.92/0.77 (hypothetical EQ-5D-5L), and 0.87/0.77 (the experience-based EQ-5D-5L). The thresholds at 12 months were generally comparable to those estimated at 3 months. There were baseline dependencies in PASS/TF thresholds with participants with more severe baseline pain considering poorer (more severe) level of WPAI/EQ-5D-5L as satisfactory.

Conclusion

PASS and TF threshold values for WPAI and EQ-5D-5L might be useful for meaningful interpretation of these measures among people with OA. The observed baseline dependency of estimated thresholds limits their generalizability and values should be applied with great caution in other settings/populations.
Towards an Epistemology of ‘Speciesist Ignorance’
Authors: van den Brandeler Emnée
Published: February 2024

The literature on the epistemology of ignorance already discusses how certain forms of discrimination, such as racism and sexism, are perpetuated by the ignorance of individuals and groups. However, little attention has been given to how speciesism—a form of discrimination on the basis of species membership—is sustained through ignorance. Of the few animal ethicists who explicitly discuss ignorance, none have related this concept to speciesism as a form of discrimination. However, it is crucial to explore this connection, I argue, as ignorance is both an integral part of the injustice done to animals as well as an obstacle to improving their treatment. In order to adequately criticize sustained structural speciesism and injustices towards animals, I develop an epistemological account of ‘speciesist ignorance’. I begin by defining and distinguishing between individual and group-based accounts of speciesist ignorance. I argue that humans, taken as a group, enjoy a position of privilege, which allows them to comfortably remain ignorant of their participation in collective wrongdoings towards animals. Additionally, I point out that speciesist ignorance is structurally encouraged and thereby maintains the dominant view that the human-animal-relationship, as it stands, is just. In sum, this article lays the groundwork for a social epistemology of speciesist ignorance. In particular, it informs further debate about individual and institutional epistemic duties to inquire into speciesism and to inform the public, about the moral culpability of ignorant actions, and about effective animal advocacy and policy which actively rejects speciesist ignorance.
Performance and programmability of GrPPI for parallel stream processing on multi-cores
Authors: Garcia Adriano Marques , Griebler Dalvan , Schepke Claudio , García José Daniel , Muñoz Javier Fernández , Fernandes Luiz Gustavo
Published: February 2024

GrPPI library aims to simplify the burdening task of parallel programming. It provides a unified, abstract, and generic layer while promising minimal overhead on performance. Although it supports stream parallelism, GrPPI lacks an evaluation regarding representative performance metrics for this domain, such as throughput and latency. This work evaluates GrPPI focused on parallel stream processing. We compare the throughput and latency performance, memory usage, and programmability of GrPPI against handwritten parallel code. For this, we use the benchmarking framework SPBench to build custom GrPPI benchmarks and benchmarks with handwritten parallel code using the same backends supported by GrPPI. The basis of the benchmarks is real applications, such as Lane Detection, Bzip2, Face Recognizer, and Ferret. Experiments show that while performance is often competitive with handwritten parallel code, the infeasibility of fine-tuning GrPPI is a crucial drawback for emerging applications. Despite this, programmability experiments estimate that GrPPI can potentially reduce the development time of parallel applications by about three times.
Training Object Detectors from Scratch: An Empirical Study in the Era of Vision Transformer
Authors: Hong Weixiang , Ren Wang , Lao Jiangwei , Xie Lele , Zhong Liheng , Wang Jian , Chen Jingdong , Liu Honghai , Chu Wei
Published: February 2024

Modeling in computer vision has long been dominated by convolutional neural networks (CNNs). Recently, in light of the excellent performance of self-attention mechanism in the language field, transformers tailored for visual data have drawn significant attention and triumphed over CNNs in various vision tasks. These vision transformers heavily rely on large-scale pre-training to achieve competitive accuracy, which not only hinders the freedom of architectural design in downstream tasks like object detection, but also causes learning bias and domain mismatch in the fine-tuning stages. To this end, we aim to get rid of the “pre-train and fine-tune” paradigm of vision transformer and train transformer based object detector from scratch. Some earlier works in the CNNs era have successfully trained CNNs based detectors without pre-training, unfortunately, their findings do not generalize well when the backbone is switched from CNNs to a vision transformer. Instead of proposing a specific vision transformer based detector, in this work, our goal is to reveal the insights of training vision transformer based detectors from scratch. In particular, we expect those insights to help other researchers and practitioners, and inspire more interesting research in other fields, such as remote sensing, visual-linguistic pre-training, etc. One of the key findings is that both architectural changes and more epochs play critical roles in training vision transformer based detectors from scratch. Experiments on the MS COCO dataset demonstrate that vision transformer based detectors trained from scratch can also achieve similar performance to their counterparts with ImageNet pre-training.
Olive mill wastes: from wastes to resources
Authors: Enaime Ghizlane , Dababat Salahaldeen , Wichern Marc , Lübken Manfred
Published: February 2024

Olive oil extraction has recently experienced a continuous increase due to its related beneficial properties. Consequently, large amounts of olive mill wastes (OMWs) derived from the trituration process are annually produced, causing serious environmental problems. The limited financial capabilities of olive mills make them usually unable to bear the high costs required for the disposal of their wastes. Alternatively, the valorization of OMWs within the framework of the so-called waste-to-resource concept and their recycling can represent a successful strategy for the implementation of circular economy model in the olive industry, which could have significant socioeconomic impacts on low-income Mediterranean countries. There is, however, no unique solution for OMWs valorization, due to the wide variety of the wastes’ composition and their seasonal production. In this review, the potential of OMWs for being reused and the recent technological advances in the field of OMWs valorization are assessed. Special focus is given to the analysis of the advantages and limitations of each technology and to reporting the most significant issues that still limiting its industrial scale-up. The information collected in this review shows that OMW could be effectively exploited in several sectors, including energy production and agriculture. OMWs potential seems, however, undervalued, and the implementation of sustainable valorization strategies in large-scale remains challenging. More efforts and policy actions, through collective actions, encouraging subsidies, and establishing public–private collaborations, are still needed to reconcile research progress with industrial practices and encourage the large-scale implementation of the waste-to-resource concept in the olive sector.
A graph-based approach for modeling the soil–water retention curve of granular soils across the entire suction range
Authors: Yan Wei , Angerer Ludwig , Birle Emanuel , Cudmani Roberto
Published: February 2024

This study investigates experimentally the water retention behavior of granular soils from saturation to oven-dry state. The soil–water retention curve (SWRC) tests were conducted on a well-graded sand with clay using tensiometer and chilled-mirror hygrometer techniques. The soil samples were statically compacted at various water contents to different initial densities. The results showed that individual linear segments in the log–log graph could characterize the desorption process of capillary and adsorption water. A novel water retention model in a simple mathematical form was developed by conceptualizing the total water content as the sum of the suction-dependent capillary and adsorption components. The model parameters possess an unambiguous physical meaning. They can be easily calibrated based on the graphical properties of the test data using simple linear regression, which is a significant advantage over conventional SWRC models. The model was validated using the water retention data of the tested soil in this study and the available data of granular soils in the literature. The reproduced curves agree well with the experimental results. This study also analyzed the influence of compaction water content, initial density, and clay content on the capillary and adsorption components of the water retention curve. Additionally, the proposed framework provides a quick approximation method for the adsorption capacity, which plays an essential role in assessing the effective stress and the simulation of liquid film flow in unsaturated granular soils.
Predicting Risk of Heroin Overdose, Remission, Use, and Mortality Using Ensemble Learning Methods in a Cohort of People with Heroin Dependence
Authors: Marel Christina , Afzali Mohammad H. , Sunderland Matthew , Teesson Maree , Mills Katherine L.
Published: February 2024

Despite decades of research demonstrating the effectiveness of treatments for heroin dependence, rates of heroin use, dependence, and death have dramatically increased over the past decade. While evidence has highlighted a range of risk and protective factors for relapse, remission, and other outcomes, this presents clinicians with the challenge as to how to synthesise and integrate the evolving evidence-base to guide clinical decision-making and facilitate the provision of personalised healthcare. Using data from the 11-year follow-up of the Australian Treatment Outcome Study (ATOS), we aimed to develop a clinical risk prediction model to assist clinicians calculate the risk of a range of heroin-related outcomes at varying follow-up intervals for their clients based on known risk factors. Between 2001 and 2002, 615 people with heroin dependence were recruited as part of a prospective longitudinal cohort study. An ensemble machine learning approach was applied to predict risk of heroin use, remission, overdose, and mortality at 1-, 5-, and 10 + year post-study entry. Variables most consistently ranked in the top 10 in terms of their level of importance across outcomes included age; age first got high, used heroin, or injected; sexual trauma; years of school completed; prison history; severe mental health disability; past month criminal involvement; and past month benzodiazepine use. This study provides clinically relevant information on key risk factors associated with heroin use, remission, non-fatal overdose, and mortality among people with heroin dependence, to help guide clinical decision-making in the selection and tailoring of interventions to ensure that the ‘right treatment’ is delivered to the ‘right person’ at the ‘right time’.
TGFβ2 mediates oxidative stress–induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition of bladder smooth muscle
Authors: Geng Jingwen , Zhang Xiaofan , Zhang Yansong , Meng Xiaojia , Sun Jinqi , Zhou Bo , Ma Jun
Published: February 2024

Bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) is the primary clinical manifestation of benign prostatic hyperplasia, the most common urinary system disease in elderly men, and leads to associated lower urinary tract symptoms. Although BOO is reportedly associated with increased systemic oxidative stress (OS), the underlying mechanism remains unclear. The elucidation of this mechanism is the primary aim of this study. A Sprague–Dawley rat model of BOO was constructed and used for urodynamic monitoring. The bladder tissue of rats was collected and subjected to real-time reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), histological examination, and immunohistochemical staining. Through bioinformatics prediction, we found that transforming growth factor β2 (TGFβ2) expression was upregulated in rats with BOO compared with normal bladder tissue. In vitro analyses using primary bladder smooth muscle cells (BSMCs) revealed that hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) induced TGFβ2 expression. Moreover, H2O2 induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by reducing E-cadherin, an endothelial marker and CK-18, a cytokeratin maker, and increasing mesenchymal markers, including N-cadherin, vimentin, and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) levels. The downregulation of TGFβ2 expression in BSMCs using siRNA technology alleviated H2O2-induced changes in EMT marker expression. The findings of the study indicate that TGFβ2 plays a crucial role in BOO by participating in OS-induced EMT in BSMCs.
Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Microtumors (WHO 2022) Are Not Always Low-Grade Neoplasms: A Case with a Highly Increased Proliferation Rate
Authors: Chouchane Aziz , Kirchner Philipp , Marinoni Ilaria , Sticová Eva , Jirásek Tomáš , Perren Aurel
Published: February 2024

Traditionally considered non-functional low proliferative benign neuroendocrine proliferations measuring less than 5 mm, pancreatic (neuro)endocrine microadenomas are now classified as pancreatic neuroendocrine microtumors in the 2022 WHO classification of endocrine and neuroendocrine tumors. This case report discussed the features of an incidentally identified 4.7-mm glucagon-expressing pancreatic neuroendocrine microtumor with MEN1 mutation only, chromosomally stable and an epigenetic alpha-like phenotype. The tumor was associated with an unexplained increased proliferation rate in Ki-67 of 15%. There was no associated DAXX/ATRX deficiency. The presented case challenges the conventional thought of a low proliferative disease of the so-called “pancreatic neuroendocrine microadenomas” and provides additional support to the 2022 WHO classification that also requires grading of these neoplasms. Despite exhibiting molecular features of less aggressive behavior, the case also underscores the biological complexity of pancreatic neuroendocrine microtumors. By recognizing the heterogenous spectrum of neuroendocrine neoplasms, the current case also contributes to ongoing discussions on how to optimize the clinical management of such tumors.
Ultra-thin CdTe film properties enhancement via eco-friendly MgCl2-assisted thermal treatment
Authors: Islam Mohammad Aminul , Nur-E-Alam Mohammad , Hatta S. F. W. Muhamad , Mohafez Hamidreza , Misran Halina , Wahab Yasmin Abdul , Chowdhury Zaira Zaman , Soin Norhayati Binti
Published: February 2024

The thermal treatment of the CdTe thin film in the presence of CdCl2 is a crucial step in the creation of high-efficiency CdTe-based solar cells. The process influences the grain growth, grain boundary passivation, and doping, including CdTe recrystallization, and promotes to building of the photovoltaic junction. However, toxic Cd2+ ions released by the CdCl2, which is highly soluble in water is a major environmental concern of this process. Also, the price of CdCl2 (about 30 cents/gram) that drives up manufacturing costs is another limitation of the current processs. Finding a non-toxic Cl molecule is therefore currently in high demand and key factor for the thermal treatment of CdTe. In this study, MgCl2 was thoroughly explored as an alternative, non-toxic, and somewhat less expensive chlorine-containing chemical for CdTe thermal treatment. CdTe thin films, approximately 1.0 µm thick, were deposited on a glass substrate at 350 ºC using RF magnetron sputtering, and after deposition, different concentrations of MgCl2 (0.2 M, 0.3 M, 0.4 M, and 0.5 M) mixed with 10% methanol were applied to the films for around 10 s, forming a thin MgCl2 coating, followed by the optimized heat treatment at 400 ºC in a nitrogen–oxygen environment. We found that the thermal treatment of CdTe films using MgCl2 showed improved crystallinity, surface morphology, impurity profiles, and carrier density similar to the conventional CdCl2 process. The sample treated with 0.4 M MgCl2 exhibited the best output as obtained the band gap of nearly 1.46 eV, a refractive index of 2.84, a carrier concentration of 9.81E+15 cm−3, and mobility 35.08 cm2/V-S with a moderate resistivity. Our findings show that MgCl2 could be utilized instead of traditional CdCl2 in the current fabrication procedure, which substantially lowers the environmental hazard with a cost-effective production process of CdTe-assembled solar cells.
Effects Influence of Social Media Constructs on Shopping: An Empirical Study on the Prediction of Retail Clothing Sales
Authors: Corallo Angelo , Errico Fabrizio , Fortunato Laura , Spennato Alessandra , De Blasi Cristina
Published: February 2024

In a market characterized by frequent new product placement and their rapid exit, accurate forecasting of the sales is an important goal to guarantee the profitability and long-term survival of companies. This paper follows this line of research and explores the sales data of an Italian clothing company. The objective of this research is to improve sales forecasts.

The data under study were extracted from the corporate datalake of the clothing company analyzed as well as from the company’s official Facebook page using Facebook’s Graph API. The sales forecasting should try to consider all the possible demand influencing factors and also explanatory variables. In this way, the time series perspective is combined with qualitative indicators on the demand side. The approach taken confirms the influence of sales from exogenous variables: there is a delay of 15 days between social communication and the sale of clothing. Social communication, as well as some regular Italian holiday, negatively affects sales. On the other hand, school holidays and some regular Italian holidays have a positive impact on sales. As a result, the advance knowledge of revenue forecasts allows managers to choose suitable marketing strategies.
Chemical conditioning of aerobically digested sludge using polyelectrolytes with different charge densities
Authors: Asghari Mohammadreza , Danesh Shahnaz , Ahmadpour Ali , Malekshahi Mehrdad , Behnamsani Moein
Published: February 2024

This research was carried out to evaluate the effects of different dosages (1.85–4.44 g kg−1 Ts−1) of three cationic polyelectrolytes with charge densities (CD) of 20%, 40%, and 60% on the dewatering properties of an aerobically digested sludge. The sludge was collected from the sludge processing line in a wastewater treatment plant in the city of Mashhad, Iran (MWWTP). To assess the sludge dewatering properties, parameters such as specific resistance to filtration, sludge cluster geometry, filtration rate, and filtrate turbidity and volume were measured. The experimental results were then compared with the effects of a reference polyelectrolyte that was used in the conditioning of the sludge in that treatment plant. The results indicated that the sludge samples treated with the polyelectrolyte of the highest CD matched better dewatering performance than the samples conditioned with the other two polyelectrolytes. This polyelectrolyte (60%CD) presented its best effects at the dosage of 4.07 g kg−1 Ts−1. With this dosage, its performance was similar to the performance of the reference polyelectrolyte at the dosage of 4.44 g kg−1 Ts−1.
Schrödinger-Maxwell equations driven by mixed local-nonlocal operators
Authors: Cangiotti Nicolò , Caponi Maicol , Maione Alberto , Vitillaro Enzo
Published: February 2024

In this paper we prove existence of solutions to Schrödinger-Maxwell type systems involving mixed local-nonlocal operators. Two different models are considered: classical Schrödinger-Maxwell equations and Schrödinger-Maxwell equations with a coercive potential, and the main novelty is that the nonlocal part of the operator is allowed to be nonpositive definite according to a real parameter. We then provide a range of parameter values to ensure the existence of solitary standing waves, obtained as Mountain Pass critical points for the associated energy functionals.
The effectiveness of intercropping and agri-environmental schemes on ecosystem service of biological pest control: a meta-analysis
Authors: Yousefi Maryam , Marja Riho , Barmettler Elias , Six Johan , Dray Anne , Ghazoul Jaboury
Published: February 2024

Plant diversification contributes to the ecological intensification of agroecosystems through pest biocontrol services provision. However, the existing evidence for the effectiveness of plant diversification in enhancing pest biocontrol services is highly uncertain across features of plant diversity and biodiversity characteristics. We undertook a comparative meta-analysis focusing on three essential crops (wheat, maize, and soybean) to investigate how diversification schemes in-field (intercropping) and Agri-environmental scheme (AES) around the field (flower strip, hedgerow and field margin) affect arthropod abundance. A random effects analysis was used to determine the role of 10 key factors underlying the effectiveness of plant diversification including biodiversity level and habitat, main and companion plant species, intercropping arrangement, the growth stage of the main crops, type of AES planting scheme, AES planting width, distance from AES plantings and geographical latitude. The overall results revealed that intercropping reduced herbivore and boosted predators and parasitoids abundance significantly, while AES successfully increased predators but not herbivores. Maize intercropping with legume and non-legume plants and row intercropping allowed for effective pest management. The abundance of predators increased in wheat fields immediately adjacent to planting around the field (AES), but this effect declined beyond 5 m from the flower strips. Our results suggest that the response of arthropod abundance to plant diversification is a compromise between spatial management scale, ecological characteristics of arthropod and plant diversification features. These results offer promising pathways for optimizing plant diversification schemes that include functional farm biodiversity across spatial and temporal scales and designing multi-functional landscapes.
Context Matters: A Response to Autzen and Okasha’s Reply to Takacs and Bourrat
Authors: Takacs Peter , Bourrat Pierrick
Published: February 2024

In a recent reply to Takacs and Bourrat’s article (Biol Philos 37:12, 2022), Autzen and Okasha (Biol Philos 37:37, 2022) question our characterization of the relationship between the geometric mean and arithmetic mean measures of fitness. We here take issue with the claim that our characterization falls prey to the mistakes they highlight. Briefly revisiting what Takacs and Bourrat (Biol Philos 37:12, 2022) accomplished reveals that the key issue of difference concerns cases of deterministic but nonconstant growth. Restricting focus to such cases shows that there is in fact no reason for disagreement.
The Path to Safety in Dental Anesthesia
Authors: Tom James , Thikkurissy S. , Agarwal Rita
Published: February 2024

Purpose of Review

Sedation and anesthesia in dental office–based settings are specialty practices that have unfortunately been riddled with bad outcomes and near misses. Both healthcare professionals and the public usually receive information about these events from media reports and seldom from any other comprehensive sources. This review will identify potential sources of reliable data in which to guide practice and training.

Recent Findings

Recent investigations into the training of practitioners and auxiliaries, the dental office–based setting, and regulations governing dental sedation and dental anesthesia practice have highlighted a glaring lack of reliable data in which to pinpoint root causes and potential solutions.

The path forward to increased safety may exist in awareness of the issues and potential closed-claims analysis of outcomes. Because of the lack of systemic and ongoing data collection for mainly private practice and dental office–based sedation and anesthesia settings, insurance and closed-claims data investigations may be the most reliable source for current morbidity and mortality examinations.
Understanding and Improving Athlete Mental Health: A Social Identity Approach
Authors: Stevens Mark , Cruwys Tegan , Olive Lisa , Rice Simon
Published: February 2024

Understanding and positively influencing athlete mental health have become key goals for researchers and sporting stakeholders (e.g. coaches, support staff, clubs and governing bodies). In this article, we outline a novel perspective for tackling these challenges, drawing on an influential theory of group processes. This social identity approach can, we argue, help explain when and why the characteristics and demands of sport, which is typically a collective endeavour, pose a threat to athlete mental health and provide a guiding framework for efforts to protect and enhance athlete mental health. Here, we seek to illustrate the value of a social identity analysis of athlete mental health through three key points that speak to its analytical and practical value. Specifically, we propose: (1) that social identities can act as psychological resources that support athlete mental health, (2) that social identities are critical to athlete mental health during and after sporting transitions and (3) that leadership informed by a social identity approach can facilitate athlete mental health. With a view to maximising the value of our analysis both for those working with athletes and for researchers, we also identify practical steps that relevant stakeholders could take to support athlete mental health, and key avenues for future research to further test our propositions and advance understanding. Our analysis provides a new lens through which all those invested in understanding and supporting athlete mental health can approach these challenges, and a foundation for novel solutions.
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Treatments in the United States
Authors: Mozaffari Essy , Chandak Aastha , Amin Alpesh N. , Gottlieb Robert L. , Kalil Andre C. , Sarda Vishnudas , Berry Mark , Brown Gina , Okulicz Jason F. , Chima-Melton Chidinma
Published: February 2024

Introduction

Racial and ethnic disparities in patient outcomes following COVID-19 exist, in part, due to factors involving healthcare delivery. The aim of the study was to characterize disparities in the administration of evidence-based COVID-19 treatments among patients hospitalized for COVID-19.

Methods

Using a large, US hospital database, initiation of COVID-19 treatments was compared among patients hospitalized for COVID-19 between May 2020 and April 2022 according to patient race and ethnicity. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to examine the effect of race and ethnicity on the likelihood of receiving COVID-19 treatments, stratified by baseline supplemental oxygen requirement.

Results

The identified population comprised 317,918 White, 76,715 Black, 9297 Asian, and 50,821 patients of other or unknown race. There were 329,940 non-Hispanic, 74,199 Hispanic, and 50,622 patients of unknown ethnicity. White patients were more likely to receive COVID-19 treatments, and specifically corticosteroids, compared to Black, Asian, and other patients (COVID-19 treatment: 87% vs. 81% vs. 85% vs. 84%, corticosteroids: 85% vs. 79% vs. 82% vs. 82%). After covariate adjustment, White patients were significantly more likely to receive COVID-19 treatments than Black patients across all levels of supplemental oxygen requirement. No clear trend in COVID-19 treatments according to ethnicity (Hispanic vs. non-Hispanic) was observed.

Conclusion

There were important racial disparities in inpatient COVID-19 treatment initiation, including the undertreatment of Black patients and overtreatment of White patients. Our new findings reveal the actual magnitude of this issue in routine clinical practice to clinicians, policymakers, and guideline developers. This is crucial to ensuring equitable and appropriate access to evidence-based therapies.
An experimental study of Lode angle impact on the rock failure procession based on acoustic emission
Authors: Yin Hong , Zhao Wanchun , Wang Tingting , Ranjith P. G. , Feng Chundi , Wang Wensong
Published: February 2024

The laws of acoustic emission (AE) before and during rock failure are different under different stress states. In this article, a new multi-functional true triaxial geophysical (TTG) apparatus was applied to analyze the AE law of sandstone under different stress paths. The results show that (1) with the increase of Lode angle, the tensile fractures in the sandstone increase initially, followed by a decrease. The number of AE decreases initially, followed by an increase, while the average energy of AE signal increases initially, followed by a decrease. (2) During the loading process, the IB values of rock can be divided into wave type, band type and mixed type, which represent crack propagation process driven by external force, self-driving and mixed driving. It can provide a basis for early warning of underground engineering construction disasters. (3) The variation characteristics of RA and AF in rock failure process show the corresponding relationship with IB value. The RA value corresponding to the IB value of band, wave and distribution type distribution mainly concentrated around 0.05, 0.03 and widely distributed, respectively. According to the value of RA, the types of cracks show different characteristics under different driving forces. (4) With the increase of Lode angle, the failure types of rocks change from single oblique fracture (− 30°) to double-X-type fracture (10°), and finally changes to single-X-type fracture when Lode angle is 30°. The fracture angle of rock decreases initially, followed by an increase with the increase of Lode angle. Therefore, it is important to explore the AE law of rock failure process under different stress states for the early warning of underground engineering construction disasters, and can provide a guidance for the application of human underground space.
Diet Composition and Feeding Habits of Fish Larvae of Five Species in the Burullus Lake, Egypt
Authors: Alzeny Ahmad , Abdel-Aziz Nagwa E. , El-Ghobashy Ahmad E. , El-Tohamy Wael S.
Published: February 2024

Feeding habits of fish larvae were analysed in a comparative study of five species (Oreochromis niloticus, O. aureus, Tilapia zilli, Mugil cephalus and Liza ramada) from the Burullus Lake. We investigated the potential influence of larvae size on their feeding and looked for common patterns in larval prey preference. Gut contents of a total of 1068 larvae were examined. The feeding habits of the examined larvae shared some characteristics. As larvae of the five species grew, the preferred prey size and the number and diversity of prey in the gut increased. On the other hand, larval feeding also differed in several aspects, especially differences in the composition of preferred prey items. For Cichlidae larvae, the dominant prey was the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis followed by copepodite stages. For M. cephalus larvae, the copepods Paracalanus sp and Acartia sp were the most important diets, while for L. ramada, decapod larvae were the most important. The Mugilidae larvae consumed significantly larger prey than the cichlid larvae, which could be related to their morphology, especially the mouth size. Ivlev’s selectivity index calculated for larvae showed positive selection for particular prey. In all the species, copepods were the most selected, particularly for Mugillidae larvae, but for Cichlidae larvae, the rotifer Brachionus competed with copepods as a selected prey. This dietary study of fish larvae of these important species is essential for the development of fisheries and can be implemented in further related studies of other areas.
Potentials of emergent plant residue derived biochar to be alternative carbon-based phosphorus fertilizer by Fe(II)/Fe(III) magnetic modification
Authors: Xin Hongjuan , Yang Jiao , Lu Yuanyuan , Xiao Hekang , Wang Haitao , Eltohamy Kamel M. , Zhu Xueqi , Liu Chunlong , Fang Yunying , Ye Ye , Liang Xinqiang
Published: February 2024

Emergent plants have been remarkably effective in reducing phosphorus (P) discharge from ecological ditches; however, the treatment and recycling of these residues is a great challenge. In this study, magnetic biochars (MBs, i.e., MB-A, MB-C, and MB-T) were fabricated from three emergent plant residues (Acorus calamus L., Canna indica L., and Thalia dealbata Fraser, respectively) and modified with Fe(II)/Fe(III). Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction spectra confirmed the successful loading of Fe3O4 and FeO(OH) onto the surfaces of the MBs. Batch adsorption experiments showed that MBs exhibited a higher P adsorption capacity than that of the raw biochars. Within the range of 0.8–43.0 mg L−1 in solution, the adsorption capacities of P by MB-A, MB-C, and MB-T were 304.6–5658.8, 314.9–6845.6, and 292.8–5590.0 mg kg−1, with adsorption efficiencies of 95.2–32.9%, 98.4–39.8%, and 91.5–32.5%, respectively. The primary mechanisms that caused P to adsorb onto the MBs were inner-sphere complexation and electrostatic attraction. Low pH conditions were more beneficial for the P adsorption of the MBs, while co-existing anions had a negative impact with the following order: HCO3− > SO42− > Cl−≈NO3−. The P-31 nuclear magnetic resonance results further demonstrated that the main adsorbed P species on the MBs was orthophosphate, followed by orthophosphate monoesters and DNA. Overall, MBs offer a resource utilization strategy for emergent plant residues and P-laden MBs are promising alternative P fertilizers.

Graphical Abstract
Optimization of Cabin Mounting System for Tractor using a Genetic Algorithm
Authors: Kang Min-Woo , Han Hyun-Woo , Park Young-Jun
Published: February 2024

Purpose

To analyze the behavior of a tractor cabin mounting system, a six-degrees-of-freedom (6-DOF) simulation model was developed, and a genetic algorithm was integrated into the model to optimize the design variables of the cabin mounting system. The performance and characteristics of the optimized cabin-mounting system were analyzed.

Methods

Eigenvalue analysis was performed using the developed model. Rigid-body mode decoupling theory was applied to optimize the design variables, and the energy decoupling method (EDM) was used to evaluate the degree of rigid-body mode decoupling. The design variables were optimized using NSGA-II genetic algorithm. Optimizations for two cases (Case #1: optimizing the stiffness and position of the mounts; Case#2: optimizing only the stiffness of the mounts) were conducted.

Results

energy decoupling rate (EDR) for Case #1 increased from 66.73% to 87.65%. As the position constraints relaxed, the mounts tended to move upwards and were widely distributed widely. EDR for Case #2 increased from 66.73% to 84.41%. In both cases, the mount stiffness decreased.

Conclusions

The EDR of the cabin mounting system was significantly improved due to optimization, and the rigid body mode frequencies were optimized within the target range.
Behavior Change Potential of Classroom Behavior Management Mobile Applications: A Systematic Review
Authors: Mittiga Sharon R. , Freeman Nerelie C. , Leif Erin S. , Furlonger Brett E. , Pattison Ellen
Published: February 2024

Advances in classroom behavior management mobile applications (CBM apps) have led some teachers to use them to supplement their existing student management strategies, although little is known about their effectiveness in facilitating behavior change. This systematic review aimed to identify and appraise research on the effectiveness of CBM apps for promoting positive behavioral and learning outcomes of elementary, middle, and high school students. A systematic search was conducted in the PsycINFO, ERIC, and EBSCOhost databases for articles published between 2007 and 2020. The 15 included studies provided some preliminary evidence for CBM apps. Apps were primarily used to facilitate the delivery of self-monitoring interventions (SCORE IT and I-Connect) or class-wide reinforcement systems (ClassDojo and the Classroom Behavior Management System). An evaluation of study quality using the What Works Clearinghouse design standards (version 5.0) yielded mixed results, with only 53% of the included studies meeting standards with or without reservations. In general, these studies showed limited risk of bias and moderate to strong effect sizes. Based on the findings of the review, we provide practice recommendations and describe areas for future research.