bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A configurative analysis investigating how new technology-based firms gain the first financing round
Authors: Passavanti Carmine , Primario Simonetta , Rippa Pierluigi
Published: January 2024

New technology-based firms (NTBFs) present high levels of information asymmetry since knowledge base, the intangibility of assets, and appropriability issues are particularly pronounced. Investors experiment with difficulties in evaluating the quality of NTBFs and look into insights representing the venture's promises and outlooks, and NTBFs need to face limited financing opportunities. Therefore, information asymmetries and moral hazards may influence the financing system of NTBFs. Based on the signaling theory, we propose a configurative approach built on five accessible signals (founders’ education and work experiences, property rights, alliances, and size) to identify combinations of signals conducive to the NTBF reaching a first financial round. By adopting a configurative approach through the qualitative comparative analysis, we advance our understanding of the intricate dynamics between NTBFs and investors, shedding light on the complexity and interplay of various factors influencing the financing outcomes.
Suizidprävention für LGBTQ+-Jugendliche: Notwendigkeit, Modell und Zugänge
Authors: Pfister Andreas
Published: January 2024

Hintergrund

Lesbische, schwule („gay“), bisexuelle, trans und queere Jugendliche („LGBTQ+“) sind stärker gefährdet als ihre heterosexuellen und cis Altersgenoss:innen, mindestens einmal in ihrem Leben einen Suizidversuch zu begehen. Evidenzbasierte suizidpräventive Zugänge und Modelle für LGBTQ+-Jugendliche fehlen jedoch.

Methodik

Anhand deutschsprachiger und internationaler (Forschungs‑)Literatur werden die Hintergründe suizidalen Verhaltens bei LGBTQ+-Jugendlichen aufgezeigt, Lücken identifiziert und basierend darauf ein Modell intersektionaler und multisektoraler Suizidprävention entworfen.

Ergebnisse

Die wenigen Vorschläge und Konzepte zur Stärkung psychischer Gesundheit und Suizidprävention bei LGBTQ+-Jugendlichen stammen aus der Sozialen Arbeit, der Klinischen Psychologie und der Psychiatrie/Medizin. Eine konsequent multisektorale Sichtweise und die Berücksichtigung der Verschränkung weiterer Diversitätsdimensionen wie etwa „race“, sozioökonomischer Status etc. mit sexueller Orientierung und/oder Geschlechtsidentität stehen in der Suizidprävention jedoch aus. Ausgehend vom Modell von Russell und Fish (2016) wurden ein neues konzeptionelles Modell der Suizidprävention für LGBTQ+-Jugendliche entworfen und universelle, selektive und indizierte Zugänge exemplarisch dargelegt.

Schlussfolgerung

Das vorgeschlagene Modell bietet einen neuen konzeptionellen Rahmen, suizidpräventive Maßnahmen auf verschiedenen Ebenen zu verorten, zu planen und durchzuführen, dies intersektional und über verschiedene Professionen und Sektoren hinweg.
Job creation in a low carbon transition to renewables and energy efficiency: a review of international evidence
Authors: Hanna Richard , Heptonstall Philip , Gross Robert
Published: January 2024

In this paper, we present findings from a systematic review on job creation, quality, and skills, focusing on decarbonisation in the energy sector. We compare a range of gross job employment factors which indicate that overall, investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency can deliver more jobs than gas or coal power generation. In addition, we review a subset of recent studies which estimate the net employment effects of decarbonisation in the energy sector at a national scale, across various international contexts. These national studies largely agree that the most likely outcome over the next few decades is a modest net positive creation of jobs and moderate economic growth. In certain regions within these countries, jobs in fossil fuel industries may be lost faster than the pace at which low carbon energy sectors can offer new employment. There may be mismatches between regions where displaced workers live and where new opportunities become available, which may be a barrier to accepting alternative employment even if former workers have the requisite skills. In these cases national government transition plans are recommended, coordinated with local governments, to manage the impacts of displacement from carbon-intensive sectors and respond to the need to build a new low carbon workforce including through skills development and training. We highlight a lack of metrics and data in the literature on job quality, skills, and the geographic distribution of employment impacts in decarbonising energy systems, and these should be priority areas for further research.
Body composition and chemotherapy toxicities in breast cancer: a systematic review of the literature
Authors: Lewis Lori , Thompson Belinda , Stellmaker Rhiannon , Koelmeyer Louise
Published: January 2024

Purpose

Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in women with chemotherapy being a common treatment. Toxicities due to chemotherapy can result in dose reduction, delay, and early cessation of treatment, which along with causing distress for individuals during their cancer treatment might also reduce the therapeutic effect. The purpose of this systematic review is to examine the role of body composition on chemotherapy toxicities in women with breast cancer.

Methods

A systematic search of the literature was completed on electronic databases Pubmed, Embase, CINHAHL, and Cochrane. Studies were included if the direct effect of body composition on chemotherapy toxicities was reported and excluded if body composition could not be isolated. A critical appraisal of the studies included was performed using McMasters University Critical Review Form for Quantitative Studies.

Results

Eleven studies were included with a total of 2881 female participants. All studies reported significant relationships between body composition and chemotherapy toxicities; however, individual parameters differed between the studies. Adding to the heterogeneity, different thresholds were reported to determine both sarcopenia and myosteatosis, making it difficult to identify a common finding.

Conclusion

This review suggests that body composition may be an important factor in predicting the severity of chemotherapy toxicities during treatment for breast cancer; however, the lack of international consensus as to thresholds in the literature for sarcopenia and myosteatosis may result in bias. The review supports the need for further prospective studies, allowing for more robust, pre-determined data collection, to better understand the implications of body composition on toxicities and benefits of using body composition to individualize chemotherapy dosing.

Implications for Cancer Survivors

Toxicities due to chemotherapy can result in treatment being unable to be completed as planned, potentially resulting in poorer survival outcomes. Improved knowledge in this area may give rise to a more reliable way of individualizing chemotherapy dosage to help mitigate this risk.
Electronic regulation to achieve efficient anaerobic digestion of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW): strategies, challenges and potential solutions
Authors: Chen Yongdong , Wang Hong , Ghofrani-Isfahani Parisa , Gu Li , Liu Xiaoguang , Dai Xiaohu
Published: January 2024

Anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) is prone to system breakdown under high organic loading rates (OLRs) condition, which subsequently reduces the efficiency of digestion process and results in substantial economic losses. In this perspective paper, the substances metabolisms, electrons flow, as well as microbial interaction mechanisms within AD process are comprehensively discussed, and the underlying bottleneck that causes inefficient methane production is identified, which is “electrons surplus”. Systems encountering severe electron surplus are at risk of process failure, making it crucial to proactively prevent this phenomenon through appropriate approaches. On this basis, the present perspective proposes three potential electronic regulation strategies to prevent electrons surplus, namely, electron shunt, accelerating electron transfer and regulating methanogenic metabolism pathway, and presents specific methodologies for each strategy. Furthermore, the potential solutions to challenges that may occur during the electronic regulation process are also presented in this paper. This perspective aims to provide innovative approaches to achieve the efficient and stable operation of OFMSW anaerobic digestion, especially under high OLRs condition.
The COVID generation: Online dyslexia treatment equally effective as face-to-face treatment in a Dutch sample
Authors: Verwimp Cara , Vaessen Anniek , Snellings Patrick , Wiers Reinout W. , Tijms Jurgen
Published: January 2024

Due to pandemic-induced lockdown(s) in 2020, dyslexia treatment was forced to move to online platforms. This study examined whether Dutch children who received online treatment progressed as much in their reading and spelling performance as children who received the usual face-to-face treatment. To this end, 254 children who received treatment-as-usual were compared to 162 children who received online treatment with Bayesian methods. The advantage of a Bayesian approach is that it can provide evidence for and against the null hypothesis whereas frequentist approaches only provide evidence against it. We found that children in the online treatment condition received slightly fewer treatment sessions but progressed equally after controlling for the number of sessions compared to the treatment-as-usual condition. These results have clinical and practical implications as they show that reading treatment can be successfully delivered online.
A Multilevel Spatial Model to Investigate Voting Behaviour in the 2019 UK General Election
Authors: Horan Kevin , Brunsdon Chris , Domijan Katarina
Published: January 2024

This paper presents a modelling framework which can detect the simultaneous presence of two different types of spatial process. The first is the variation from a global mean resulting from a geographical unit’s ‘vertical’ position within a nested hierarchical structure such as the county and region where it is situated. The second is the variation at the smaller scale of individual units due to the ‘horizontal’ influence of nearby locations. The former is captured using a multi-level modelling structure while the latter is accounted for by an autoregressive component at the lowest level of the hierarchy. Such a model not only estimates spatially-varying parameters according to geographical scale, but also the relative contribution of each process to the overall spatial variation. As a demonstration, the study considers the association of a selection of socio-economic attributes with voting behaviour in the 2019 UK general election. It finds evidence of the presence of both types of spatial effects, and describes how they suggest different associations between census profile and voting behaviour in different parts of England and Wales.
Clinical significance and prospective mechanism of increased CDKN2A expression in small cell lung cancer
Authors: Li Dong-Ming , Li Guo-Sheng , Li Jian-Di , Chen Feng , Huang Hong , Huang Wan-Ying , Huang Zhi-Guang , Dang Yi-Wu , Tang Yu-Lu , Tang Zhong-Qing , Tang Wen-Jia , Chen Gang , Lu Hui-Ping
Published: January 2024

Background

Although it has been shown that cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A) plays a significant role in a number of malignancies, its clinicopathological value and function in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is unclear and warrants additional research.

Methods

The clinical significance of CDKN2A expression in SCLC was examined by multiple methods, including comprehensive integration of mRNA level by high throughput data, Kaplan–Meier survival analysis for prognostic value, and validation of its protein expression using in-house immunohistochemistry.

Results

The expression of CDKN2A mRNA in 357 cases of SCLC was evidently higher than that in the control group (n = 525) combing the data from 20 research centers worldwide. The standardized mean difference (SMD) was 3.07, and the area under the curve (AUC) of summary receiver operating characteristic curve (sROC) was 0.97 for the overexpression of CDKN2A. ACC, COAD, KICH, KIRC, PCPG, PRAD, UCEC, UVM patients with higher CDKN2A expression had considerably worse overall survival rates than those with lower CDKN2A expression with the hazard ratio (HR) > 1.

Conclusion

CDKN2A upregulation extensively enhances the carcinogenesis and progression of SCLC.
Universalist children’s services. From two-part to inclusive social infrastructure
Authors: Thalheim Vinzenz
Published: January 2024

The scientific network “Universalist Children’s Services: From Two-Part to Inclusive Social Infrastructure,” funded by the German Research Foundation, comprises 20 researchers. Its purpose is to contribute to the development of a more inclusive design of the public children’s services system. To achieve this objective, the network integrates legal and educational perspectives in its analysis of the current structure of the children’s services system. The network’s starting point is the concept of universalist children’s services, and its aim is to engage in experimental discussions on the potential transformation of the current (exclusive) two-part structure into a predominantly universalist service framework. The ultimate goal is to initiate a foundational and interdisciplinary discourse to identify future research needs in this field.
Sequential licensing with several competing technologies
Authors: Fauli-Oller Ramon , González-Maestre Miguel
Published: January 2024

We assume a multistage oligopoly wherein a given number of innovators compete by selling their substitutive technologies. Each innovator sequentially and independently chooses how many licenses to sell, and subsequently, all licensees compete à la Cournot in the product market. We show that, in equilibrium, the total number of licensees grows exponentially with the number of innovators. In addition, this sequential outcome is also obtained as a subgame perfect Nash equilibrium in pure strategies of a game with endogenous timing. Interestingly, by extending the duopoly model of Badia et al. (Math Soc Sci 108:8–13, 2020) to the case of more than two innovators and exploring pure strategy equilibria instead of mixed strategy equilibria, we derive drastically different policy implications, in terms of patent regulations. Our results suggest that more competition in the upstream market (e.g., by relaxing patent protection against the appearance of similar technologies) tends to increase downstream competition and welfare instead of discouraging or delaying technology adoption. In addition, our analysis is extended to explore the strategic role of public investment in basic R &D.
Comparing fetal phantoms with surrogate organs in female phantoms during CT exposure of pregnant patients
Authors: Badawy Mohamed Khaldoun , Kashish Kashish , Payne Shay , Masterson Maeve
Published: January 2024

With the rising use of Computed Tomography (CT) in diagnostic radiology, there are concerns regarding radiation exposure to sensitive groups, including pregnant patients. Accurately determining the radiation dose to the fetus during CT scans is essential to balance diagnostic efficacy with patient safety. This study assessed the accuracy of using the female uterus as a surrogate for fetal radiation dose during CT imaging. The study used common CT protocols to encompass various scenarios, including primary beam, scatter, and partial exposure. The computational program NCICT was used to calculate radiation doses for an adult female and a fetus phantom. The study highlighted that using the uterus for dose estimation can result in consistent underestimations of the effective dose, particularly when the fetus lies within the primary radiation beam. These discrepancies may influence clinical decisions, affecting care strategies and perceptions of associated risks. In conclusion, while the female uterus can indicate fetal radiation dose if the fetus is outside the primary beam, it is unreliable when the fetus is within the primary beam. More reliable abdomen/pelvic organs were recommended.
Impact of Quenching and Aluminium on Si-Segregation and B2 Superstructure Formation in Solid Solution Strengthened Ferritic Ductile Cast Iron
Authors: David Joseph Betto , Alkhozaae H. , Pustal B. , Bührig-Polaczek A.
Published: January 2024

Solid solution strengthened ferritic ductile iron proves to have a better ratio of tensile strength to elongation than conventional ductile iron grades. This applies up to a maximum silicon content of 4.3 wt%, beyond which it leads to an abrupt decrease in ultimate tensile strength and elongation at fracture. During solidification of high silicon ductile iron, negative segregation of silicon occurs, and the highest silicon concentration is observed near the graphite nodules. This high silicon concentration leads to long-range ordering of iron and silicon, and this ordering results in formation of superstructures like BCC_B2 and D03. The presence of super structures restricts the mobility of dislocations and leads to abrupt fracture of the material. This research focuses on the investigation of silicon homogenization by the addition of aluminium and heat treatments to avoid the formation of brittle iron–silicon superstructure. Thermodynamic–kinetic simulations as well as experimental investigations, including variation in alloy composition and quenching, are performed. The results provide a promising understanding to control the micro-segregation of silicon in ductile cast iron based on heat treatments and alloy composition.
Von den Tagesrändern zu den Geschäftszeiten: Potenziale und Herausforderungen einer Umstellung auf Tagreinigung
Authors: Sardadvar Karin , Reiter Cornelia
Published: January 2024

Beschäftigte in der Reinigungsbranche arbeiten häufig zu unsozialen Arbeitszeiten sowie in geteilten Diensten an den Tagesrändern. Diese Arbeitszeiten haben weitreichende Folgen für die Arbeits- und Lebensqualität von Reiniger*innen. In diesem Beitrag sammeln und beleuchten wir bestehende Befunde einer Umstellung dieser atypischen Arbeitszeiten in der Reinigungsbranche hin zu Tagreinigung. Tagreinigung bedeutet im Wesentlichen, eine ununterbrochene Arbeitsschicht zu haben, die im Fenster zwischen etwa 07:30 und 18:00 Uhr stattfindet. Basierend auf eigenen qualitativen empirischen Erhebungen in Norwegen und Österreich sowie auf bestehenden Erfahrungen aus Pilotprojekten, v. a. in Deutschland, diskutieren wir die folgenden Aspekte von Tagreinigung: die Datenlage zu den Arbeitszeiten in der Reinigungsbranche, die mögliche Definition von Tagreinigung, empirische Befunde zum Übergang zu Tagreinigung in Norwegen, Aspekte der Umstellung auf Tagreinigung auf Organisationsebene sowie Potenziale und Schattenseiten von Tagreinigung. Die Ausführungen betten wir arbeitssoziologisch ein.

Praktische Relevanz

Der Beitrag beschreibt diverse Aspekte der praktischen Umsetzung eines Tagreinigungsmodells. Die konkrete Implementierung wird auf mehreren Ebenen behandelt, u. a. auf der Organisationsebene und auf der Ebene der sozialpartnerschaftlichen Gestaltung. Potenzielle Vorteile und Herausforderungen einer Umstellung auf Tagreinigung werden sowohl für Reinigungskräfte als auch für Reinigungsunternehmen und schließlich für Kund*innenunternehmen dargestellt.
Of Rodents and Primates: Time-Variant Gain in Drift–Diffusion Decision Models
Authors: Asadpour Abdoreza , Tan Hui , Lenfesty Brendan , Wong-Lin KongFatt
Published: January 2024

Sequential sampling models of decision-making involve evidence accumulation over time and have been successful in capturing choice behaviour. A popular model is the drift–diffusion model (DDM). To capture the finer aspects of choice reaction times (RTs), time-variant gain features representing urgency signals have been implemented in DDM that can exhibit slower error RTs than correct RTs. However, time-variant gain is often implemented on both DDM’s signal and noise features, with the assumption that increasing gain on the drift rate (due to urgency) is similar to DDM with collapsing decision bounds. Hence, it is unclear whether gain effects on just the signal or noise feature can lead to a different choice behaviour. This work presents an alternative DDM variant, focusing on the implications of time-variant gain mechanisms, constrained by model parsimony. Specifically, using computational modelling of choice behaviour of rats, monkeys, and humans, we systematically showed that time-variant gain only on the DDM’s noise was sufficient to produce slower error RTs, as in monkeys, while time-variant gain only on drift rate leads to faster error RTs, as in rodents. We also found minimal effects of time-variant gain in humans. By highlighting these patterns, this study underscores the utility of group-level modelling in capturing general trends and effects consistent across species. Thus, time-variant gain on DDM’s different components can lead to different choice behaviours, shed light on the underlying time-variant gain mechanisms for different species, and can be used for systematic data fitting.
WUSCHEL-related homeobox (WOX) transcription factors: key regulators in combating abiotic stresses in plants
Authors: Khan Faiza Shafique , Goher Farhan , Hu Chun Gen , Zhang Jin Zhi
Published: January 2024

The WUSCHEL-related homeobox (WOX) transcription factors (TFs) belong to the homeodomain (HD) family. WOX TFs are involved in various regulatory pathways related to plant growth and development. In addition to their recognized role in various development processes, many reports suggest that they play a key role in abiotic stress perception in plants. However, their underlying molecular mechanisms have rarely been studied in horticultural crops. WOXs govern the transcription of the target genes through specific binding to the cis-regulatory elements present in their promoters. Additionally, they associate with other factors to form a specific pathway regulating numerous abiotic stress responses. Here, we review the recent advances in the multifaceted functions of WOXs in the complex, developmental, and abiotic stress-sensing networks, with particular emphasis on regulating the related genes and other TFs. In addition, we suggest that WOXs are essential components of the gene regulatory networks involved in the response of plants to abiotic stress tolerance and aim to provide a reference for future research.
Lucky Valley
Authors: Hall Catherine
Published: January 2024

Why does Edward Long's History of Jamaica matter? Written in 1774, Long's History, that most 'civilised' of documents, attempted to define White and Black as essentially different and unequal. Long deployed natural history and social theory, carefully mapping the island, and drawing on poetry and engravings, in his efforts to establish a clear and fixed racialized hierarchy. His White family sat at the heart of Jamaican planter society and the West India trade in sugar, which provided the economic bedrock of this eighteenth-century system of racial capitalism. Catherine Hall tells the story behind the History of a slave-owning family that prospered across generations together with the destruction of such possibilities for enslaved people. She unpicks the many contradictions in Long's thinking, exposing the insidious myths and stereotypes that have poisoned social relations over generations and allowed reconfigured forms of racial difference and racial capitalism to live on in contemporary societies.
Weaponising Evidence
Authors: Melillo Margherita
Published: January 2024

Weaponising Evidence provides the first analysis of the history of the international law on tobacco control. By relying on a vast set of empirical sources, it analyses the negotiation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and the tobacco control disputes lodged before the WTO and international investment tribunals (Philip Morris v Uruguay and Australia – Plain Packaging). The investigation focuses on two main threads: the instrumental use of international law in the warlike confrontation between the tobacco control advocates and the tobacco industry, and the use of evidence as a weapon in the conflict. The book unveils important lessons on the functioning of international organizations, the role of corporate actors and civil society organizations, and the importance and limits of science in law-making and litigation.
How To Think About Climate Change
Authors: Rebonato Riccardo
Published: January 2024

Caught in the crossfire between climate deniers and catastrophists, the intelligent layperson is understandably bewildered when faced with the complexity of climate change. How To Think About Climate Change shows that economics provides not just a suitable, but an indispensable perspective to understand the root causes of the climate-change problem: scarcity of resources, externalities and free riding. Riccardo Rebonato argues that there are no silver bullets or easy solutions. However, he shows that the new-generation economics models offer a radically different insight about our best course of action from what most early models recommended – in particular, they suggest that fast and large-scale climate action can now be justified as the most cost-effective strategy without requiring the 'infinite altruism' of earlier models. Given the conceptual tools provided in this book, readers can decide whether they agree with these conclusions – and, if they do, what the most effective courses of action are.
The Athenian Funeral Oration
Authors: Cartledge Paul
Published: January 2024

In classical Athens, a funeral speech was delivered for dead combatants almost every year, the most famous being that by Pericles in 430 BC. In 1981, Nicole Loraux transformed our understanding of this genre. Her The Invention of Athens showed how it reminded the Athenians who they were as a people. Loraux demonstrated how each speech helped them to maintain the same self-identity for two centuries. But The Invention of Athens was far from complete. This volume brings together top-ranked experts to finish Loraux's book. It answers the important questions about the numerous surviving funeral speeches that she ignored. It also undertakes a comparison of the funeral oration with other genres that is missing in her famous book. What emerges is a speech that had a much greater political impact than Loraux thought. This volume puts the study of war in Athenian culture on a completely new footing.
The Principles and Practice of International Commercial Arbitration
Authors: Moses Margaret L.
Published: January 2024

This book not only deals with the broad application of international treaties, guidelines, laws and rules affecting international commercial arbitration, but also includes information about the most recent developments in the field. Readers learn how arbitration works, from the request to arbitrate, the selection of arbitrators, the procedures leading up to the hearing, the witnesses and evidence at the hearing, to the granting of the final award. Along the way, many strategies and tactics come into play, as an arbitration moves toward the goal of resolving the dispute. The reader learns to appreciate the application of different laws and ethical concepts that may vary by jurisdiction, including the ethical obligations of arbitrators and of counsel. Throughout, the principles of international arbitration are supported by the practice, providing a very concrete approach to the resolution of international disputes by arbitration.
The Crisis of Calvinism in Revolutionary England, 1640-1660
Authors: Ollerton Andrew
Published: January 2024

This book investigates a puzzling and neglected phenomenon - the rise of English Arminianism during the decade of puritan rule.
Oral amoxicillin challenges for low-risk penicillin-allergic patients at a large Veterans Affairs facility: a retrospective feasibility analysis
Authors: Guastadisegni Jessica M. , Kolala Misozi K. , Criss Jazmyn M. , Kouma Marcus A. , Storey Donald F. , Arasaratnam Reuben J.
Published: January 2024

We retrospectively reviewed the records of 136 veterans with a penicillin allergy label during a quality improvement initiative. We identified 82 inpatients eligible for removal of penicillin allergy by oral amoxicillin challenge, including 40 out of 82 (48%) still eligible after accounting for other limiting factors.
Bus Rapid Transit: End of trend in Latin America?
Authors: Hidalgo Darío , Giesen Ricardo , Muñoz Juan Carlos
Published: January 2024

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has grown fast in the last 25 years, promising low-cost, rapid implementation, and large positive impacts. Despite advances, many systems in middle- and low-income countries face operational and financial issues, particularly in Latin America. Some practitioners, researchers, and decision makers, and the media are questioning its ability to provide quality services. Is this the end of a trend? To answer this question, this paper explores the status of the BRT industry and literature on the topic, with a focus on Latin America, as well as the emblematic cases of Curitiba, Quito, Bogotá, Mexico, and Santiago. Overcrowding, lack of reliability, fare evasion, issues of safety and security, and poor maintenance are evident problems in these and other cities. They seem to be a result of institutional and financial constraints, as well as technical limitations of surface-based transit modes. BRT has been able to deliver high-capacity and fast and reliable services, but requires permanent management and investment to face growing demand and aging infrastructure and vehicles, just like rail systems do. In addition, attention needs to be provided to data, technology innovation, urban integration, and public participation to keep BRT as an integral part of multimodal high-quality sustainable mobility networks in the future.
Hospital-acquired infections surveillance: The machine-learning algorithm mirrors National Healthcare Safety Network definitions
Authors: Lukasewicz Ferreira Stephani Amanda , Franco Meneses Arateus Crysham , Vaz Tiago Andres , da Fontoura Carvalho Otavio Luiz , Hubner Dalmora Camila , Pressotto Vanni Daiane , Ribeiro Berti Isabele , Pires dos Santos Rodrigo
Published: January 2024

Background:

Surveillance of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) is the foundation of infection control. Machine learning (ML) has been demonstrated to be a valuable tool for HAI surveillance. We compared manual surveillance with a supervised, semiautomated, ML method, and we explored the types of infection and features of importance depicted by the model.

Methods:

From July 2021 to December 2021, a semiautomated surveillance method based on the ML random forest algorithm, was implemented in a Brazilian hospital. Inpatient records were independently manually searched by the local team, and a panel of independent experts reviewed the ML semiautomated results for confirmation of HAI.

Results:

Among 6,296 patients, manual surveillance classified 183 HAI cases (2.9%), and a semiautomated method found 299 HAI cases (4.7%). The semiautomated method added 77 respiratory infections, which comprised 93.9% of the additional HAIs. The ML model considered 447 features for HAI classification. Among them, 148 features (33.1%) were related to infection signs and symptoms; 101 (22.6%) were related to patient severity status, 51 features (11.4%) were related to bacterial laboratory results; 40 features (8.9%) were related to invasive procedures; 34 (7.6%) were related to antibiotic use; and 31 features (6.9%) were related to patient comorbidities. Among these 447 features, 229 (51.2%) were similar to those proposed by NHSN as criteria for HAI classification.

Conclusion:

The ML algorithm, which included most NHSN criteria and >200 features, augmented the human capacity for HAI classification. Well-documented algorithm performances may facilitate the incorporation of AI tools in clinical or epidemiological practice and overcome the drawbacks of traditional HAI surveillance.
KANI CHARMOU, AN IRON AGE II GRAVEYARD
Authors: Amelirad Sheler (Shelir) , Razmpoush Abbas , Khanmohamadi Behroz
Published: January 2024

Examining the archaeological findings within the Mannaean kingdom, a significant association with Assyria emerges, highlighting these regions’ interconnectedness. The influence of both Urartian and Assyrian cultures on the Mannaean people becomes evident, indicating a shared cultural heritage or intimate exchanges among these cultures. Notably, the Kani Charmou graveyard in Mannaea serves as a compelling example, revealing a rich assortment of artifacts that parallel those discovered in Ziwiye, a renowned archaeological site in the region. These diverse grave goods unequivocally demonstrate the existence of a robust trade and exchange network between Mannaea and its neighbouring western counterpart, Assyria, and the profound impact of Assyrian culture on Mannaean society. This connection is also evident in religious practices, which show similarities. Through stylistic analysis and the identification of parallels in metal vessels, glazed jars, and a cylinder seal, the proposed dating of the Kani Charmou graveyard aligns with the Iron Age II period.
Fixed-flux Rayleigh–Bénard convection in doubly periodic domains: generation of large-scale shear
Authors: Liu Chang , Sharma Manjul , Julien Keith , Knobloch Edgar
Published: January 2024

This work studies two-dimensional fixed-flux Rayleigh–Bénard convection with periodic boundary conditions in both horizontal and vertical directions and analyses its dynamics using numerical continuation, secondary instability analysis and direct numerical simulation. The fixed-flux constraint leads to time-independent elevator modes with a well-defined amplitude. Secondary instability of these modes leads to tilted elevator modes accompanied by horizontal shear flow. For

$Pr=1$

, where

$Pr$

is the Prandtl number, a subsequent subcritical Hopf bifurcation leads to hysteresis behaviour between this state and a time-dependent direction-reversing state, followed by a global bifurcation leading to modulated travelling waves without flow reversal. Single-mode equations reproduce this moderate Rayleigh number behaviour well. At high Rayleigh numbers, chaotic behaviour dominated by modulated travelling waves appears. These transitions are characteristic of high wavenumber elevator modes since the vertical wavenumber of the secondary instability is linearly proportional to the horizontal wavenumber of the elevator mode. At a low

$Pr$

, relaxation oscillations between the conduction state and the elevator mode appear, followed by quasi-periodic and chaotic behaviour as the Rayleigh number increases. In the high

$Pr$

regime, the large-scale shear weakens, and the flow shows bursting behaviour that can lead to significantly increased heat transport or even intermittent stable stratification.
Pore-scale modelling of particle transport in a porous bed
Authors: Storm Randall , Marshall Jeffrey S.
Published: January 2024

A computational study was performed of the transport of both non-adhesive and adhesive particles in a porous bed with a body-centred cubic (BCC) structure. Pore-scale simulation of the flow within the porous bed was achieved through combining the immersed boundary method and the lattice Boltzmann method. Particle transport is computed using an adhesive discrete-element method based on a multi-time-scale soft-sphere model. The fluid flow results are validated by comparison with experimental data for dimensionless permeability of flow in a porous bed of spheres. For computations with non-adhesive particles, the particles are observed to drift to the centre of ‘channels’ in the BCC array, within which most of the fluid flow occurs. The mechanism of this inward drift was found to be related to the phenomenon of oscillatory clustering, which is an inertial drift mechanism observed for particles in a corrugated channel. A measure for particle drift into these channels was developed, and the time rate of change of this measure was found to compare closely with an approximate theoretical prediction based on oscillatory clustering theory. The drift measure was observed to be limited at long time by hold-up of outlier particles caught in long-duration collisions with the fixed bed particles in regions of low fluid velocity magnitude. Simulations with adhesive particles exhibited marked increase in collision duration, as well as inhibition of the tendency to drift toward the flow channels due to adhesive hold-up.
Modelling the effect of roughness density on turbulent forced convection
Authors: Abu Rowin W. , Zhong K. , Saurav T. , Jelly T. , Hutchins N. , Chung D.
Published: January 2024

By examining a systematic set of direct numerical simulations, we develop a model which captures the effect of roughness density on global and local heat transfer in forced convection. The surfaces considered are zero-skewed three-dimensional sinusoidal rough walls with solidities,

$\varLambda$

(defined as the frontal area divided by the total plan area), ranging from low

$\varLambda = 0.09$

, medium

$\varLambda = 0.18$

to high

$\varLambda = 0.36$

. For each solidity, we vary the roughness height characterised by the roughness Reynolds number,

$k^+$

, from transitionally rough to fully rough conditions. The findings indicate that, as the fully rough regime is approached, there is a pronounced breakdown in the analogy between heat and momentum transfer, whereby the velocity roughness function

$\Delta U^+$

continues to increase and the temperature roughness function

$\Delta \varTheta ^+$

attains a peak with increasing

$k^+$

. This breakdown occurs at higher sand-grain roughness Reynolds numbers (

$k_s^+$

) with increasing solidity. Locally, we find that the heat transfer can be meaningfully partitioned into two categories: exposed, high-shear regions experiencing higher heat transfer obeying a local Reynolds analogy and sheltered, reversed-flow regions experiencing lower and spatially uniform heat transfer. The relative contribution of these distinct mechanisms to the global heat transfer depends on the fraction of the total surface area covered by these regions, which ultimately depends on

$\varLambda$

. These insights enable us to develop a model for the rough-wall heat-transfer coefficient,

${C_{h,k}(k^+, \varLambda, Pr)}$

, where

$Pr$

is the molecular Prandtl number, that assumes different heat-transfer laws in exposed and sheltered regions. We show that the exposed–sheltered surface-area fractions can be modelled through simple ray tracing that is solely dependent on the surface topography and a prescribed sheltering angle. Model predictions compare well when applied to heat-transfer data of traverse ribs from the literature.
Numerical investigation of mixed-phase turbulence induced by a plunging jet
Authors: Li Rong , Yang Zixuan , Zhang Wei
Published: January 2024

In nature and engineering applications, water jet plunging acts as a key process causing interface breaking and generating mixed-phase turbulence. In this paper, high-resolution numerical simulations of the plunging of a water jet into a quiescent pool were performed to investigate the statistical properties of mixed-phase turbulence, with a special focus on the closure problem of the Reynolds-averaged equation. We conducted phase-resolved simulations, with the air–water interface captured using a coupled level-set and volume-of-fluid method. Various cases were performed to analyse the effects of the Froude number and Reynolds number. The simulation results showed that the turbulence statistics are insensitive to the Reynolds number under investigation, while the Froude number influences the flow properties significantly. To investigate the closure problem of the mean momentum equation, the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and turbulent mass flux (TMF) and their transport equations were analysed further. It was discovered that the balance relationship of the TKE budget terms remained similar to many single-phase turbulent flows. The TMF is an additional unclosed term in mixed-phase turbulence over the single-phase turbulence. Our simulation results showed that the production term in its transport equation was highly correlated to TKE. Based on this finding, a closure model for the production term of TMF was further proposed.
Feedback quality and divided attention: exploring commentaries on alignment in task-oriented dialogue
Authors: Crible Ludivine , Gandolfi Greta , Pickering Martin J.
Published: January 2024

While studies have shown the importance of listener feedback in dialogue, we still know little about the factors that impact its quality. Feedback can indicate either that the addressee is aligning with the speaker (i.e. ‘positive’ feedback) or that there is some communicative trouble (i.e. ‘negative’ feedback). This study provides an in-depth account of listener feedback in task-oriented dialogue (a director–matcher game), where positive and negative feedback is produced, thus expressing both alignment and misalignment. By manipulating the listener’s cognitive load through a secondary mental task, we measure the effect of divided attention on the quantity and quality of feedback. Our quantitative analysis shows that performance and feedback quantity remain stable across cognitive load conditions, but that the timing and novelty of feedback vary: turns are produced after longer pauses when attention is divided between two speech-focused tasks, and they are more economical (i.e. include more other-repetitions) when unrelated words need to be retained in memory. These findings confirm that cognitive load impacts the quality of listener feedback. Finally, we found that positive feedback is more often generic and shorter than negative feedback and that its proportion increases over time.
Explicit instruction improves the comprehension of Spanish object relatives by young monolingual children
Authors: Llompart Miquel , Dąbrowska Ewa
Published: January 2024

The present study assessed the comprehension of Spanish object relative (OR) clauses by 6- and 7-year-old children before and after a brief training session targeting the structural differences between ORs and subject relatives. In addition, we investigated the potential relationships between OR comprehension on the one hand and vocabulary size and non-verbal intelligence quotient (IQ) on the other. Comprehension of ORs was very poor at the pre-test but improved considerably after training. Further improvement was observed between the immediate post-test and a delayed post-test, suggesting that the knowledge acquired during training had been integrated into the children’s developing linguistic systems. Non-verbal IQ and vocabulary were not found to predict comprehension accuracy. We take these results to suggest that children’s difficulties with ORs are better explained by their experience with this construction than by maturational factors and that explicit contrast and feedback can bolster grammatical development in L1 acquisition.
Cannabis-induced psychotic disorder with onset during withdrawal: a brief report of emerging evidence
Authors: Cohen Johan , Petitjean Hugues , Blasco M. Belen , Mizrahi Romina
Published: January 2024

Objectives:

The link between cannabis use and psychotic symptoms or disorders is well known. However, the relation between cannabis withdrawal and psychotic symptoms is less studied.

Methods:

To our knowledge, this is the first publication of an observational systematic report of cannabis-induced psychotic disorder with onset during withdrawal. Here, we review patients presenting to a major emergency room in Montreal between January 2020 and September 2023 in a context of psychotic symptoms following cannabis cessation.

Results:

In total, seven male and one female patients presented at the peak of cannabis withdrawal with acute psychotic symptoms, representing less than 1% of all emergency service admissions.

Conclusions:

We discuss current knowledge regarding the endocannabinoid system and dopamine homeostasis to formulate hypotheses regarding these observations.
The Architecture of Politics and the Politics of Architecture: A Comparative Approach to Parish Church Building and Civic Government in Late-Medieval Europe
Authors: Byng Gabriel
Published: January 2024

Church construction was one of the most challenging, and most political, tasks undertaken by medieval cities. Comparing examples from across Europe reveals profound differences, however, in both the architecture of politics and the politics of architecture; that is, how building projects were administered and how their administration shaped their socio-political significance. Although ranging across the continent, this article is centered on construction in two representative cities: Vienna and London. While the former had a small number of churches, all under the direct control of the mayor and council, the latter had over a hundred, each overseen by locally appointed officers. In Vienna, church construction was, thus, an important field of activity for the city government, which oversaw the work and celebrated its own leadership of the project; in London, it lay outside civic control and offered local opportunities for domination by wealthy families. This difference can be found across the continent, separating the large, old cities of England, northern France, Spain, and the Low Countries, which could have numerous churches, from smaller towns and cities both in these places and across the rest of central, northern, and southern Europe, which typically had a single, major parish church and only a few subordinate ones. This article considers the implications of these two contrasting models—centralized and decentralized, civic and parochial, high government and local politics—on how architectural production functioned as a field of political activity and how church building shaped local distributions and articulations of power in medieval Europe.
Improved numerical simulation model for nuclear reaction rate calculations in high-speed plasma collisions
Authors: Zeng Bo , Zhao Zijia , Yang Xiaohu , Yang Shaowu , Ma Yanyun
Published: January 2024

Beam–target reactions in fusion plasmas play an important role in both magnetic confinement fusion and inertial confinement fusion in the condition of low-density plasmas with high-velocity interactions. The traditional method for calculating beam–target reaction rate neglects the transport process of incident particles in inhomogeneous plasmas, leading to errors providing that the temperature and density in the transport path of incident particles vary obviously. An improved method considering the transport process is proposed in this paper to eliminate the deficiencies. Then the method is employed in high-speed plasma collision studies. When the initial plasma density and temperature are set to

$0.5\,{\rm g}\,{\rm cm}^{-3}$

and 100 eV, it is found that the beam–target reaction rate calculated by the traditional method is almost identical to that by our method if the collision velocity is less than 600 km s

$^{-1}$

. However, the traditional method is not suitable for study as the collision velocity gets higher, inducing obvious differences, which can reach 70 % at 1000 km s

$^{-1}$

. The improved method will make large corrections to evaluate the importance of the non-negligible beam–target reaction for inertial confinement fusion schemes with large implosion velocity such as double-cone ignition and impact ignition, in which the high-speed plasmas collide with each other to realize plasma ignition.