bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Topoclimate and diurnal cycle of summer rain over the Ethiopian highlands in a convection‐permitting simulation
Authors: Negash Emnet , Van Schaeybroeck Bert , Termonia Piet , Van Ginderachter Michiel , Van Weverberg Kwinten , Nyssen Jan
Published: December 2023

Topoclimate, orographically enhanced rain on windward slopes and leeward rain shadows, control rainfall variability in tropical mountains. Such variability may cause a substantial societal impact in populated highlands such as in Ethiopia. This study aims at understanding the rainfall diurnal cycle and the orographic driving factors over the Ethiopian highlands using the ALARO‐0 regional climate model at convection‐permitting resolution, over a period of 21 years. While the evaluation against satellite‐based observations shows a too early onset of the model diurnal cycle and a too low nocturnal rainfall, several conclusions can be drawn from the model simulations presented here. Elevation is the most important determining factor for modelled rainfall with increased average rainfall and rainfall per rainfall event towards higher elevations. Ethiopia's simulated summer rain exhibits a pronounced diurnal cycle with the highest rainfall occurring during the early afternoon hours and the minimum values occurring in the late night. Average rainfall and rainfall per rainfall event are substantially larger on the windward sides than on the leeward sides of the mountains, except during the peak hours. The diurnal cycles of temperature and humidity start earlier in the morning and recede later than the cycles of wind speed and rainfall. Moreover, rainfall peaks occur earlier in the day at higher elevations, and at night in valleys and in Afar Triangle. Rain intensities around noon on the leeward side are slightly higher than those on the windward side of the highest mountains (>3000 m). This could be due to delayed onset of cloudiness and larger morning insolation on the leeward side of the mountain, but this needs further study. The prevalence of windward over leeward rainfall, the stark contrast in wind‐speed diurnal cycle between windward and leeward slopes, and the early peak hour of surface air and dew point temperature all point towards temperature‐induced rather than wind‐induced convection. These differences are likely to determine hydrology and vegetation distribution, and farmers economy at large. Hence, the need for a way out from the ‘one‐size‐fits‐all’ agro‐ecosystem management approach towards a site‐specific policy that takes into account climatic differences.
Ingestion and respiration rates of a common coastal mysid respond differently to diurnal temperature fluctuation
Authors: Brinkop Konstanze , Wienhausen Laura M. , Sperfeld Erik , Wacker Alexander
Published: December 2023

Animals face strong environmental variability even on short time scales particularly in shallow coastal habitats, forcing them to permanently adjust their metabolism. Respiration rates of aquatic ectotherms are directly influenced by water temperature, whereas ingestion rates might additionally be influenced by behavior. We aim to understand how respiration and ingestion rates of an aquatic invertebrate respond to changing temperature during a diurnal thermal fluctuation cycle and how both processes are related. We studied the benthopelagic mysid Neomysis integer as an important food web component of coastal ecosystems. Mysids were collected at the southern Baltic Sea coast and exposed in the laboratory to either constant temperature of 15°C or daily temperature fluctuation of 15 ± 5°C. Short‐term (1–2 h) respiration and ingestion rates were measured at four equidistant time points within 24 h and did not differ among time points at constant temperature, but differed among time points in the fluctuating treatment. Respiration was highest at the thermal maximum and lowest at the thermal minimum. Ingestion rates showed the opposite pattern under fluctuation, likely due to differences in underlying thermal performance curves. When temperature transited the average, the direction of temperature change influenced the animals' response in respiration and ingestion rates differently. Our results suggest that respiration is not only instantaneously affected by temperature, but also influenced by the previously experienced direction of thermal change. Our experiment, using an important non‐model organism, delivered new insights on the relationship between the crucial organismal processes ingestion and respiration under thermal variability.
On the discrete Safronov–Dubovskiǐ coagulation equations: Well‐posedness, mass conservation, and asymptotic behavior
Authors: Ali Mashkoor , Rai Pooja , Giri Ankik Kumar
Published: December 2023

The global existence of mass‐conserving weak solutions to the Safronov–Dubovskiǐ coagulation equation is shown for the coagulation kernels satisfying at most linear growth for large sizes. In contrast to previous works, the proof mainly relies on the de la Vallée–Poussin theorem, which only requires the finiteness of the first moment of the initial condition. By showing the necessary regularity of solutions, it is shown that the weak solutions constructed herein are indeed classical solutions. Under additional restrictions on the initial data, the uniqueness of solutions is also shown. Finally, the continuous dependence on the initial data and the large‐time behavior of solutions are also addressed.
A workflow for predicting radiofrequency‐induced heating around bilateral deep brain stimulation electrodes in MRI
Authors: Zulkarnain Nur Izzati Huda , Sadeghi‐Tarakameh Alireza , Thotland Jeromy , Harel Noam , Eryaman Yigitcan
Published: December 2023

Background

Heating around deep brain stimulation (DBS) in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) occurs when the time‐varying electromagnetic (EM) fields induce currents in the electrodes which can generate heat and potentially cause tissue damage. Predicting the heating around the electrode contacts is important to ensure the safety of patients with DBS implants undergoing an MRI scan. We previously proposed a workflow to predict heating around DBS contacts and introduced a parameter, equivalent transimpedance, that is independent of electrode trajectories, termination, and radiofrequency (RF) excitations. The workflow performance was validated in a unilateral DBS system.

Purpose

To predict RF heating around the contacts of bilateral (DBS) electrodes during an MRI scan in an anthropomorphic head phantom.

Methods

Bilateral electrodes were fixed in a skull phantom filled with hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) gel. The electrode shafts were suspended extracranially, in a head and torso phantom filled with the same gel material. The current induced on the electrode shaft was experimentally measured using an MR‐based technique 3 cm above the tip. A transimpedance value determined in a previous offline calibration was used to scale the shaft current and calculate the contact voltage. The voltage was assigned as a boundary condition on the electrical contacts of the electrode in a quasi‐static (EM) simulation. The resulting specific absorption rate (SAR) distribution became the input for a transient thermal simulation and was used to predict the heating around the contacts. RF heating experiments were performed for eight different lead trajectories using circularly polarized (CP) excitation and two linear excitations for one trajectory. The measured temperatures for all experiments were compared with the simulated temperatures and the root‐mean‐squared errors (RMSE) were calculated.

Results

The RF heating around the contacts of both bilateral electrodes was predicted with ≤ 0.29°C of RMSE for 20 heating scenarios.

Conclusion

The workflow successfully predicted the heating for different bilateral DBS trajectories and excitation patterns in an anthropomorphic head phantom.
The Diagnostic Interview for Sexual Dysfunctions in Women for DSM‐5 and ICD‐11: Development and initial validation using a vignette‐based approach
Authors: Schwesig Rebekka , Velten Julia , Hoyer Jürgen
Published: December 2023

Objectives

The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the newly developed Diagnostic Interview for Sexual Dysfunctions in Women (DISEX‐F), which covers diagnostic criteria of DSM‐5 and ICD‐11.

Methods

Thirty‐two actresses portrayed 32 cases of female sexual dysfunctions (= standardized patients). To calculate inter‐rater reliability, each standardized patient was interviewed independently by two trained diagnosticians using the DISEX‐F. Interviews were videotaped, and each videotape was evaluated by two other independent diagnosticians. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated by comparing the assigned diagnoses to the target diagnoses pre‐determined in the case vignettes. As a side criterion, the acceptance of the DISEX‐F among diagnosticians was assessed.

Results

Specificity was found to be generally clinically satisfying (DSM‐5: 0.90–0.99; ICD‐11: 0.95–0.99), while sensitivity (DSM‐5: 0.40–0.92; ICD‐11: 0.71–0.96) and inter‐rater reliability (DSM‐5: Cohen's kappa = 0.44–1; ICD‐11: Cohen's kappa = 0.75–0.94) greatly varied between classification systems and disorders. Imprecise acting and false differential diagnostic decisions were identified as major sources of mismatch. The acceptance of the DISEX‐F was high.

Conclusion

Results encourage usage of the DISEX‐F for ICD‐11 diagnoses. Mixed results were found for DSM‐5 diagnoses, which can partly be explained by shortcomings in DSM‐5 criteria.
Exploring the structure of college students' adaptability by using cross‐lagged path analysis: The role of emotional adaptability
Authors: Ren Shixiu , Ji Shunxin , Liu Xinyang , Liu Tour
Published: December 2023

Adaptability is an important psychological trait for college students. However, the components of adaptability contained significant inconsistencies in previous studies. On the one hand, there were discrepancies among the adaptability dimensions. On the other hand, significant inconsistencies were found in the connections among different aspects of adaptability. Therefore, the current research aimed to investigate the latent relationship among various components of adaptability. To achieve this, 565 volunteers were recruited to complete a 5‐min cross‐sectional survey. Subsequently, 402 participants were recruited to complete an 8‐min longitudinal survey. The current study comprised two sub‐studies: Study 1 utilized a structural equation model to examine the relationship between various dimensions of adaptability in a cross‐sectional dataset, while Study 2 employed the cross‐lagged panel model to validate the latent relationship between emotional adaptability and other types of adaptability using a longitudinal dataset. Results from the cross‐sectional study indicated significant associations between emotional adaptability and other types of adaptability, with coefficients ranging from .231 to .588. The longitudinal study revealed that emotional adaptability at Time 2 and 3 could be predicted by learning adaptability, professional adaptability, and economic adaptability at Time 1 and 2. Consequently, the research concluded that individuals' emotional maladjustment could be predicted by maladaptive difficulties in learning, professional settings, homesickness, interpersonal relationships, and economics.
Helicobacter pylori FlgN binds its substrate FlgK and the flagellum ATPase FliI in a similar manner observed for the FliT chaperone
Authors: Dhindwal Poonam , Boniecki Michal T. , Moore Stanley A.
Published: December 2023

In bacterial flagellum biogenesis, secretion of the hook–filament junction proteins FlgK and FlgL and completion of the flagellum requires the FlgN chaperone. Similarly, the related FliT chaperone is necessary for the secretion of the filament cap protein FliD and binds the flagellar export gate protein FlhA and the flagellum ATPase FliI. FlgN and FliT require FliJ for effective substrate secretion. In Helicobacter pylori, neither FlgN, FliT, nor FliJ have been annotated. We demonstrate that the genome location of HP1120 is identical to that of flgN in other flagellated bacteria and that HP1120 is the homolog of Campylobacter jejuni FlgN. A modeled HP1120 structure contains three α‐helices and resembles the FliT chaperone, sharing a similar substrate‐binding pocket. Using pulldowns and thermophoresis, we show that both HP1120 and a HP1120Δ126–144 deletion mutant bind to FlgK with nanomolar affinity, but not to the filament cap protein FliD, confirming that HP1120 is FlgN. Based on size‐exclusion chromatography and multi‐angle light scattering, H. pylori FlgN binds to FlgK with 1:1 stoichiometry. Overall structural similarities between FlgN and FliT suggest that substrate recognition on FlgN primarily involves an antiparallel coiled‐coil interface between the third helix of FlgN and the C‐terminal helix of the substrate. A FlgNΔ126–144 N100A, Y103A, S111I triple mutant targeting this interface significantly impairs the binding of FlgK. Finally, we demonstrate that FlgNΔ126–144, like FliT, binds with sub‐micromolar affinity to the flagellum ATPase FliI or its N‐terminal domain. Hence FlgN and FliT likely couple delivery of low‐abundance export substrates to the flagellum ATPase FliI.
Antiparallel Spin Polarization and Spin Current Induced by Thermal Current and Locally Broken Inversion Symmetry in a Double‐Quantum Well Structure
Authors: Suzuki Yuta , Kitagawa Yuma , Tezuka Shin‐ichiro , Akera Hiroshi
Published: December 2023

Generating a nonequilibrium spin polarization with a driving force is first realized by the electric current in a system with broken inversion symmetry and extended to that induced by the thermal current and that appearing in an inversion‐symmetric system with locally broken inversion symmetry. This article theoretically explores the spin polarization generated by the thermal current and the locally broken inversion symmetry in a symmetric double‐quantum well structure (DQWS). This thermally induced spin polarization (TISP) appears in the antiparallel configuration with the TISP of two wells in opposite directions. The calculation using the Boltzmann equation in the relaxation‐time approximation under the condition of zero charge current shows that the local TISP exhibits the maximum at a finite Rashba spin–orbit interaction when the electron density is fixed. This is because the local TISP in the DQWS is enhanced at the chemical potential near the bottom of the first‐excited sub‐band. This enhancement also occurs in a single quantum well with globally broken inversion symmetry. Another finding is that the maximum of the local TISP appears at a nonzero interwell coupling. The spin current by the diffusion of the local TISP into an adjacent electrode is also calculated.
Effects of modifications of the heteroatoms on fine‐tuning the photophysical proprieties of A‐π‐D‐π‐A small molecules for photovoltaic applications
Authors: Chebil Samaher , Almoneef M. , Chemek Mourad , Mbarek Mohamed , Alimi Kamel
Published: December 2023

An effective way to enhance the photovoltaic properties of a small molecule is to modify the side groups into donor units. Herein three news small molecules A‐π‐D‐π‐A, denoted Dye1‐3, have been designed, from experimentally reported one noted (R), by insertion of various heteroatoms (S, O, Se) on the electron‐donating benzodithiophene (Donor (D = BDT)) part. From the calculated results, the dihedral angle between BDT and side‐chain affects the distribution of density on the ground state, gap energy, and intramolecular charge transfer of Dyes. In particular, the Dye3 compound, with the smaller dihedral angle, shows that the furan groups in the side chain of D, participates in the distribution of density on the ground state and consequently the charge transfer is improved. Additionally, Dye3 has the lower reorganization energy revealing that this material exhibits better charge mobility. Using the Scharber diagram, Dye3‐PCBM heterojunction shows a power conversion efficiency of around 7%. Overall, this work suggests that the photovoltaic properties can be affected by the modification of heteroatoms on side groups of donor parts in small molecules.
Theoretical insights into the effect of surface structure and anion ordering on the properties of SrTaO2N for photocatalytic water splitting
Authors: Qu He , Yang Shuyuan , Zhou Xin
Published: December 2023

As one of the representative perovskite‐type oxynitride photocatalysts, SrTaO2N has the ability to split water in the visible‐light region. It was found that the surface modification and interfacial design of SrTaO2N‐based materials are closely related to the photocatalytic activity, but the microscopic mechanisms of these experimental phenomena are not well understood. In this work, we have utilized density functional theory (DFT) calculations to investigate the effect of anion ordering and exposed terminations on the electronic structures, optical absorption, water adsorption and the mechanisms of water oxidation and reduction reactions of SrTaO2N. Our results indicate that cis configurations are more stable than trans configurations. The anion ordering has an important effect on the band gap and optical absorption coefficient. The terminations with exposed Ta atoms are more stable and have bigger work functions than those with exposed Sr atoms possibly due to the bonding ionicity and surface dipoles. The dissociative adsorption of water is energetically more favorable than the molecular adsorption on most surfaces. The highly active sites of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are the exposed nonmetal atoms. Terminations with exposed Sr and N atoms have lower overpotentials (0.70–0.77 V) of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) than others. They are comparable to the calculated results of common photocatalysts, such as Co3O4 and TiO2. This study sheds light on the relationship between the termination structure with different anion orders and the photocatalysis‐related properties of SrTaO2N at a molecular level, which provides guidance for constructing highly active photocatalytic materials.
Adaptive neural network control of non‐affine multi‐agent systems with actuator fault and input saturation
Authors: Yuan Fengyi , Liu Yan‐Jun , Liu Lei , Lan Jie
Published: December 2023

An adaptive neural network fault‐tolerant control method is proposed for the non‐affine multi‐agent systems with actuator failure and input saturation. Through the transformation of the original multi‐agent systems, an equivalent model is proposed. Considering that the signal input of multi‐agent systems is limited, this article will solve the input saturation problem. But in a real system, the actuator would probably fail. Therefore, a fault tolerant control algorithm is proposed to solve the fault problem in the systems. In this article, an adaptive distributed controller is designed to eliminate the uncertainty of the systems. At the same time, the integral barrier Lyapunov function is selected to verify the stability. Finally, a simulation example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Highly Immobilized Bimetallic Fe/M‐N4 (M‐ Mg or Zn) Conductive Metal–Organic Frameworks on Nitrogen‐Doped Porous Carbon for Efficient Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution and Oxygen Reduction Reactions
Authors: Nivetha Ravi , Asrami Mahdieh Razi , Kumar Rajeev , Sharma Sushant , Jourshabani Milad , Kumar Rajaiah Dhilip , Ravichandran Santhosh , Lee Byeong–Kyu , Lee Youngil , Chung Jin Suk , Kang Sung Gu , Choi Won Mook , Hur Seung Hyun
Published: December 2023

Herein, a simple method is proposed for developing bimetallic Fe/M‐N4/nitrogen‐doped porous carbon (NPC) (M‐Zn or Mg) conductive metal–organic framework (c‐MOF) composites because of their great potential in replacing conventional catalysts. The prepared composite MOF exhibits remarkable catalytic activity for both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), surpassing the performance of the state‐of‐the‐art transition metal‐N4 cathode catalysts. These composites demonstrate excellent selectivity for a four‐electron transfer, facilitated by an associative reaction pathway that functions as the rate‐determining step. Therefore, they offer high half‐wave and onset potential values for ORR, i.e., 0.92 and 1.02 V for Fe/Mg‐N4‐NPC (hexaminobenzene (HAB)‐3@NPC) at a current density of 4.11 mA cm−2, and 0.89 and 0.99 V for Fe/Zn‐N4‐NPC (HAB‐2@NPC) at a current density of 3.8 mA cm−2, respectively. In addition, they provide low overpotentials of 21 and 64 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm−2 with Tafel slopes of 47.9 and 34.2 mV dec−1 for HER, respectively. Furthermore, when utilized as the cathode in bifunctional electrode assembly cells, they provide low cell voltages of 1.412 V at a current density of 20mA cm−2. In the membrane electrode assembly, the HAB‐3@NPC composite demonstrates an optimal power density of 0.861 Wcm−2, thus underscoring its potential in practical applications.
A review of atmospheric water vapor lidar calibration methods
Authors: Guo Xinqian , Wu Decheng , Wang Zhenzhu , Wang Bangxin , Li Cheng , Deng Qian , Liu Dong
Published: December 2023

Atmospheric water vapor is a crucial factor in the Earth's water cycle. As an important greenhouse gas, changes in the spatio‐temporal distribution of atmospheric water vapor can contribute to the occurrence of various extreme weather phenomena. Lidar, with its high spatial and temporal resolutions, has great potential for applications in water vapor profile detection. Raman lidar and differential absorption lidar (DIAL) have been successfully used to detect atmospheric water vapor. System calibration is crucial to ensure that the measured profile accurately represents the concentration profile of atmospheric water vapor. Choosing an effective system calibration method can ensure the accuracy of long‐term lidar measurements. This paper reviews the latest progress and applications of atmospheric water vapor lidar calibration in recent years. The basic principles of Raman lidar and DIAL calibration are introduced. Various methods and benefits of system calibration are discussed. Raman lidar has three commonly used calibration methods: external calibration, internal calibration, and hybrid calibration methods. The most commonly used method is external calibration based on radiosondes. DIAL is usually implemented with an advantageous self‐calibration method. Finally, potential development directions for atmospheric water vapor lidar and calibration technology are discussed.

This article is categorized under:

Science of Water > Methods

Engineering Water > Methods

Human Water > Value of Water
Radio, Women, and Finances
Authors: Heywood Emma
Published: December 2023

Bringing together discussions of voice and second-order choices, the chapter addresses the complexity of financial solutions for women’s disempowerment and how radio as a tool can represent the voices of impoverished and/or marginalised communities. Drawing on broadcasts by a radio studio in each of Niger and Burkina Faso and listener feedback, it discusses how listeners, women and men alike, perceive the financial needs of women. It examines how guests use radio to call out both to those in authority to make changes and to women to actively seek solutions. The chapter finds that whilst audiences are anxious to find ways to obtain money, guests raise a note of caution, warn against quick fixes and advise to look to the long term.
The Genocide of the Christians, Turkey 1894–1924
Authors: Morris Benny , Ze’evi Dror
Published: December 2023

We set out in 2010 to look afresh at the massacre of Turkey’s Armenians in 1915. While most of the world’s historians accepted the narrative that the Ottoman Turkish government had carried out a deliberate, pre-planned, systematic “genocide,” there were some—especially in Turkey—who disputed this. So, having no real knowledge or opinion either way, we decided to take a look at the vast, accessible documentation, in Turkey, the United States and Western Europe, and make up our own minds.

What we discovered was that the story was much deeper and wider. The campaign of mass murder and ethnic cleansing was carried out, in staggered fashion, over a thirty-year period, between 1894 and 1924. It encompassed not only Turkey’s Armenians but also all the other Christian communities in the country, primarily the Greeks, but also the various Assyrian sects. The process of ethnic-religious cleansing was characterized by rounds of deliberate large-scale massacre, alongside systematic expulsions, forced conversions, and cultural annihilation that together amounted to genocide. At the beginning of this period, Christians had constituted about 20 percent of the population of Asia Minor; by 1924 the proportion of Christians in Turkey had fallen to 2 percent.

The destruction of the Christian communities was the result of the deliberate policy of three successive Ottoman and Turkish governments –Abdülhamid II in 1894–1896, the CUP (the Young Turks) from 1914–1918, and the Nationalist regime under Ataturk during 1919–1924 –a policy that most of the country’s Muslim inhabitants did not oppose, and many enthusiastically supported. The murders, expulsions, and forced conversions were ordered by government officials and carried out by other officials, soldiers, gendarmes, policemen and, often, tribesmen and the civilian inhabitants of towns and villages. All of this occurred with the active participation of Muslim clerics and the encouragement of the Turkish-language press. This, we believe, is the inescapable conclusion to be drawn from the massive documentation we consulted, some of it seen and used for the first time.
Elite Integration Through Volunteerism: The Case of a New York City Parent-Teacher Association
Authors: Voyer Andrea
Published: December 2023

In this chapter, I examine the case of elite integration through parental involvement in a paradigmatic civil society organisation, namely the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of a New York City Public Elementary School. On the one hand, PTAs are seen as a classic example of US civic engagement and community-building. On the other hand, research suggests that volunteerism can be a source of social inequality. These two different views demonstrate the issues associated with the integration of civil society elites via PTAs. Through the case of a New York City PTA and its parent volunteers, I show that elite integration through the PTA is enabled by the increased influence of the organisation resulting from policy decisions and economic realities that make PTAs central to school funding and status. These developments centralise the power and influence of parents from the economic and cultural elite and supplant the PTAs’ stated democratic civic goals.
Orbital Roof Fractures
Authors: van der Pol Bram , Rutten Geert-Jan , Gooris Peter J. J. , Bergsma J. Eelco
Published: December 2023

Orbital roof fractures contribute only to a very limited extent to the number of facial fractures. Apart from a skeletal-orbital fracture, concomitant neurologic and/or ophthalmological injury can be present. Surgical intervention is indicated when specific findings are present. One should be aware of the potential development of late complications. Three illustrative patient cases will be discussed.
Graves’ Disease: Introduction
Authors: Mourits Maarten P.
Published: December 2023

Graves’ disease is a multisystem disorder and the most common autoimmune disease. Fifty percent of patients with Graves’ disease shows orbital involvement, called Graves’ orbitopathy. Although Graves’ orbitopathy is a self-limiting disease, spontaneous improvement can only be awaited in its milder forms.
Diplopia
Authors: Braaksma-Besselink Yvette , Jellema Hinke Marijke
Published: December 2023

Binocular single vision is based upon the fusion of two retinal images, one perceived by each eye, into a single percept. This phenomenon is called fusion, one of the stages of an intricate system of processes taking place in the brain. In order to direct our eyes to a focus of attention, six extraocular muscles per eye—each innervated by three extracranial nerves—control ocular movement. This operating system can be disrupted easily. Orbital diseases may impede the function of these muscles and nerves leading to strabismus and, eventually, (gaze-dependent) diplopia.

Orthoptic investigation and diagnosis can help in the treatment of this group of patients. Orthoptic investigation is constructed by several steps which will lead to a full picture of the binocular system, and includes determining ocular deviation, binocular function, and ocular motility.

Based upon these results, the orthoptist may provide temporary measures, such as prisms or occlusion to lessen the burden of diplopia. In case of lasting diplopia, strabismus surgery can alleviate part of this diplopia. However, restricted eye movements, incomitant deviation, and severe cyclotorsion may hamper the field of binocular single vision, even despite the availability of various surgical options. Careful explanation and a multidisciplinary treatment of orbital patients is necessary to guide them through the treatment process.
Ex- and Enophthalmos: Case Reports
Authors: Gooris Peter J. J. , Mensink Gertjan , Bergsma J. Eelco
Published: December 2023

On the basis of four case presentations various clinical, functional, and radiological aspects will be highlighted in relation to the axial position of the globe.

As shown, there appears to be not always a direct relationship between anatomical changes, variations of the bony orbital volume as diagnosed on the CT scan and the anterior–posterior position of the globe.
Introduction: Unsettled Reflections From Golden Valley, Myanmar
Authors: Palmiano Federer Julia
Published: December 2023

This book is about the role of nongovernmental (NGO) mediators in promoting “inclusive peace” to negotiating parties in Myanmar’s Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) negotiations from 2011 to 2015. I analyze how the norm of inclusivity was effectively localized as “all-inclusiveness” (hereafter used without quotation marks) in the NCA negotiations, albeit with unintended consequences. While NGO mediators may have been able to exercise “normative agency” in introducing and promoting the inclusivity norm, they did not have the normative agency to control the outcome of the norm diffusion process. Importantly, the localization of the inclusivity norm as all-inclusiveness centered the discourse on inclusion and exclusion and reified existing identity (ethnic and religious) politics in the country. This had both intended and unintended consequences on the outcome of the NCA process itself. In sum, NGO mediators’ promotion of a more inclusive process counterintuitively contributed to an exclusive outcome of the NCA process. The Myanmar case illustrates the limits of normative agency and the use of mediation processes as a site for norm diffusion, and serves as a cautionary tale for the consequences of promoting international norms without understanding the particular processes of norm diffusion. In this chapter, I lay out a narrative that introduces the main questions this book seeks to address, my main argumentation and approach, ending with a roadmap of the book’s chapters.
Numerical Analysis of the Effect of Rainfall on the Stability of Sandstone-Covered Mudstone Cutting Slopes
Authors: Guo Ying , Du Yating , Shan Wei , Zhang Chengcheng
Published: December 2023

Landslides caused by rainfall are easily produced when excavating is made in sandstone-covered mudstone strata. The expansion project of the Heishan Village to the Jixi section of the Dan-A Highway is used as an example, this International Consortium on Landslides (ICL) 030 paper studies the formation and damage mechanism of rainfall-induced landslides in sandstone-covered mudstone cutting slopes. The finite element numerical method is used to analyze the stability of the slope for the three different rainfall-influencing factors of rainfall intensity, duration, and rainfall form. The study indicates that the increases in the rainfall time and its intensity will decrease the stability of the cutting slope, and that the effect of rainfall on the slope is lagging behind. When rainfall intensity is 80 mm, rainfall duration is 1 day, and stagnation is 5 h, the slope instability is in the critical state. The front slope toe is the first unstable part in the process of slope instability. Rock and artificial construction are important reasons for this phenomenon.
Landslides in Higher Education Curricula and Beyond
Authors: Mikoš Matjaž
Published: December 2023

Education is a human right and plays a decisive role in capacity building from the pre-school level to professional, under-, and postgraduate university study programmes in higher education institutions and beyond, such as summer schools or as a part of lifelong education for a general audience. It gives us a profession or helps the general population and diverse stakeholders (e.g., policy and decision makers) increase society’s resilience against natural hazards, such as landslides. Thus, education finds a principal place also in numerous international documents accepted by the UN organizations.

The article looks at education as a topic of international strategic documents on disaster risk reduction. It uses diverse web tools and databases to assess worldwide efforts in teaching/education on landslides and their disaster risk reduction at higher education levels and beyond. The focus is on the higher education study programmes offering courses on slope stability and landslide mitigation. This topic is widely covered by study programmes in the field of disaster risk management and classical study programmes in civil, geological, geotechnical engineering, as well as in geology and geography. The second cycle covers the landslide topic, i. e. master study programmes and university programmes are prevailing. There is an apparent lack of academic programmes offered as blended programmes or distance learning programmes in disaster risk reduction, including landslide risk. Certificates and diploma levels prevail among academic programmes offered as online courses or continuing education.

The web search found a few (summer) schools dedicated to landslide topics and a variety of other open-access material that can be used for education and capacity building, such as blogs, databases, teaching tools, presentations, or video lectures.

The International Consortium on Landslides might offer collected information in this article on its web pages under the topic “Educational tools” and then open it up to their members and landslide community to contribute to the content by sending links to elsewhere freely available educational material in landslide disaster risk reduction.
Conceptualizing Scholar-Activism Through Scholar-Activist Accounts
Authors: Bashiri Farzana
Published: December 2023

This chapter delves into one of the ways in which scholars strive to make their work matter, namely, through the practice of scholar-activism. It becomes evident that the concept of scholar-activism is multifaceted and lacks a universally established definition. The objective of this chapter is to gain an insider’s understanding of scholar-activism by exploring its conceptualization and intellectual foundations. To achieve this, a conceptual review of literature authored by scholar-activists is conducted, complemented by scientometric analysis of co-wording and co-citation. The findings of this study reveal two key insights. First, the concept of scholar-activism can be viewed as comprising three interconnected components: criticality, active engagement, and normative orientation. These elements inform one another, shaping the overall practice of scholar-activism. Second, the review identifies four primary intellectual influences that underpin scholar-activism: critical geography, feminist thought, popular education, and critical social theory. It becomes apparent that, based on the accounts of scholar-activists in this review, a conceptual reconciliation between scholarship and activism is feasible. Nevertheless, the practical challenges of navigating institutional and contextual barriers to bring about this alignment remain a significant obstacle for scholar-activists, warranting further exploration.
Will the Center Hold? What Research Centers Do to Universities and to Societal Challenges
Authors: Benner Mats , Hylmö Anders
Published: December 2023

Research centers represent a specific organizational format for linking the traditional university organization with external actors, goals, and processes in time-limited, concentrated efforts of research and collaboration. Yet, the center format contains large variations, and centers act as interfaces between university organizations, societal actors, and research funders in multifaceted ways. In this chapter, we focus analytically on the organizational structuration of universities and the influence of external funding on the steering of work modes and orientations of academic research. We ask what centers do, how they affect universities’ operations, and why some centers are more successful than others in their missions. We address these questions through an analysis of six centers within the 10-year Vinn Excellence and Berzelii center schemes run by the Swedish innovation Agency Vinnova, drawing on interviews, evaluation reports, and a broad range of archival data. We highlight great variations in how universities are influenced by center funding, which is most effective when aligned with internal university strategies. Center success depends on the fit and integration of internal and external ambitions, university strategies, and partner orientations. However, such alignment is merely reinforced, rather than altered, by external center support.
Beyond games: a systematic review of neural Monte Carlo tree search applications
Authors: Kemmerling Marco , Lütticke Daniel , Schmitt Robert H.
Published: December 2023

The advent of AlphaGo and its successors marked the beginning of a new paradigm in playing games using artificial intelligence. This was achieved by combining Monte Carlo tree search, a planning procedure, and deep learning. While the impact on the domain of games has been undeniable, it is less clear how useful similar approaches are in applications beyond games and how they need to be adapted from the original methodology. We perform a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed articles detailing the application of neural Monte Carlo tree search methods in domains other than games. Our goal is to systematically assess how such methods are structured in practice and if their success can be extended to other domains. We find applications in a variety of domains, many distinct ways of guiding the tree search using learned policy and value functions, and various training methods. Our review maps the current landscape of algorithms in the family of neural monte carlo tree search as they are applied to practical problems, which is a first step towards a more principled way of designing such algorithms for specific problems and their requirements.
Treatment Landscape of Renal Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Chen Yu-Wei , Wang Luke , Panian Justine , Dhanji Sohail , Derweesh Ithaar , Rose Brent , Bagrodia Aditya , McKay Rana R.
Published: December 2023

Opinion Statement

The treatment landscape of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has evolved significantly over the past three decades. Active surveillance and tumor ablation are alternatives to extirpative therapy in appropriately selected patients. Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is an emerging noninvasive alternative to treat primary RCC tumors. The advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has greatly improved the overall survival of advanced RCC, and now the ICI-based doublet (dual ICI-ICI doublet; or ICI in combination with a vascular endothelial growth factor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, ICI-TKI doublet) has become the standard frontline therapy. Based on unprecedented outcomes in the metastatic with ICIs, they are also being explored in the neoadjuvant and adjuvant setting for patients with high-risk disease. Adjuvant pembrolizumab has proven efficacy to reduce the risk of RCC recurrence after nephrectomy. Historically considered a radioresistant tumor, SBRT occupies an expanding role to treat RCC with oligometastasis or oligoprogression in combination with systemic therapy. Furthermore, SBRT is being investigated in combination with ICI-doublet in the advanced disease setting. Lastly, given the treatment paradigm is shifting to adopt ICIs at earlier disease course, the prospective studies guiding treatment sequencing in the post-ICI setting is maturing. The effort is ongoing in search of predictive biomarkers to guide optimal treatment option in RCC.
Using a workbook to support cognitive behavioural therapy with young people: a survey of psychological practitioners
Authors: Redburn James , Hayes Ben
Published: December 2023

Practitioners have mixed views about the value of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) manuals, with some preferring to work based on professional judgement. The workbook represents a compromise, providing guidance and resources without prescribing standardised procedures. Workbooks have not previously been widely addressed in the CBT literature. This exploratory study analysed how practitioners use a CBT workbook (Think Good – Feel Good, TGFG) to support therapeutic work with young people (YP). Practitioners (n=238) completed an online survey about how TGFG is used and how it supports CBT. A convergent mixed-methods design was pursued. Qualitative and quantitative data were analysed using content analysis, descriptive statistics, and chi-squared tests before themes were defined to summarise the dataset. When deciding whether to use TGFG, practitioners consider a YP’s presenting difficulty, level of understanding, motivation, and availability of systemic support. Practitioners use TGFG inside and outside the therapeutic space to plan sessions, revise CBT concepts, and complete worksheets (particularly those with a cognitive focus). Practitioners use TGFG flexibly and pragmatically (combining it with other therapeutic approaches), and they adapt resources to suit a YP’s understanding and interests. TGFG appears to be a widely used resource for practitioners across the range of experience.

Key learning aims

(1)

To expand upon the concept of the workbook as a therapeutic adjunct within the CBT literature.

(2)

To explore how a popular CBT workbook is useful to practitioners, how it is typically used, and the breadth of usage.

(3)

To consider whether and how workbooks are used flexibly by practitioners.

(4)

To encourage practitioners across the range of experience to reflect on how workbooks support planning and delivery of therapeutic interventions.
Polarimetric Retrieval of Raindrop Size Distribution: Double‐Moment Normalization Approach and Machine Learning Techniques
Authors: Shin Kyuhee , Kim Kwonil , Song Joon Jin , Lee GyuWon
Published: December 2023

Retrieving raindrop size distribution (DSD) is essential to understanding precipitation processes. Conventional approaches based on polarimetric radar (e.g., polynomial regression) struggle to accurately capture the inherent nonlinearity between DSD parameters and radar measurables. In contrast, machine learning (ML) algorithms offer a promising solution as it effectively models the complex non‐linear relationship. We have developed an ML algorithm to retrieve DSD parameters using polarimetric radar variables in a framework of double‐moment normalization. The potentially stable and invariant double‐moment normalized DSD enables the applicability of the algorithm in any climatic regime or any precipitation system. To improve the robustness of the model to measurement noises, we employed training samples with random noise. All ML algorithms outperformed the conventional method, with the random forest being the best model. This study highlights the effectiveness of the developed algorithm as a tool for understanding the DSD characteristics from polarimetric radar measurements.
Facile band gap tuning in graphene–brucite heterojunctions
Authors: Ulian Gianfranco , Valdrè Giovanni
Published: December 2023

The zero band gap of pure graphene is a well-known issue that limits some specific applications of graphene in opto- and microelectronics. This led to several research studies in the so‐called van der Waals composites (known as heterostructures, or heterojunctions), where two monolayers of different materials are stacked and held together by dispersive interactions. In this paper, we introduced and considered a single layer of brucite Mg(OH)2, an overlooked 2D material that can be easily produced by exfoliation (like graphene from graphite), for the creation of the heterojunction. First principles simulations showed that brucite/graphene composites can modify the electronic properties (position of the Dirac cone with respect to the Fermi level and band gap) according to the crystallographic stacking and the presence of point defects. The present work represents then an important step forward in understanding and finding new ways to design two-dimensional materials with tailored electronic and physical properties.
The molecular subtypes and clinical prognosis characteristic of tertiary lymphoid structures-related gene of cutaneous melanoma
Authors: Li Juan , Chen Gang , Luo Yang , Xu Jin , He Jun
Published: December 2023

Despite the remarkable efficacy of PD-1-associated immune checkpoint inhibitors in treating cutaneous melanoma (CM), the inconsistency in the expression of PD-1 and its ligand PD-L1, and resulting variability in the effectiveness of immunotherapy, present significant challenges for clinical application. Therefore, further research is necessary to identify tumor-related biomarkers that can predict the prognosis of immunotherapy. Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) have been recognized as a crucial factor in predicting the response of immune checkpoint inhibitors in solid tumors, including CM. However, the study of TLSs in CM is not yet comprehensive. Gene expression profiles have been shown to correlate with CM risk stratification and patient outcomes. In this study, we identified TLS-related genes that can be used for prognostic purposes and developed a corresponding risk model. The impact of TLS-related genes on clinicopathological characteristics, immune infiltration and drug susceptibility was also explored. Our biological function enrichment analysis provided preliminary evidence of related signaling pathways. Our findings provide a new perspective on risk stratification and individualized precision therapy for CM.