bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Addressing the psychosocial aspects of transition to adult care in patients with cystinosis
Authors: Stabouli Stella , Sommer Anna , Kraft Stefanie , Schweer Katharina , Bethe Dirk , Bertholet-Thomas Aurelia , Batte Suzanne , Ariceta Gema , Brengmann Sandra , Bacchetta Justine , Emma Francesco , Levtchenko Elena , Topaloglu Rezan , Willem Lore , Haffner Dieter , Oh Jun
Published: March 2024

Cystinosis is a rare autosomal-recessive lysosomal storage disease that progressively affects multiple organs beginning with the kidneys. Patients require lifelong multidisciplinary care for the management of kidney disease and progressive extra-renal manifestations, and thus, they are especially fragile and vulnerable during transition from pediatric to adult care. Previous documents have provided guidance to help the medical transition of these highly burdened patients. Patients and their families often experience great psychological distress and face significant social challenges; for these reasons, they often need help from psychologists, social workers, and other psychosocial professionals. Due to the rarity of the disease, most psychosocial professionals have no expertise in this disorder and require advice. To this end, a steering committee (SC) composed of six experts, including pediatric nephrologists, psychologists, and social workers with experience in the care for patients with cystinosis, have identified and addressed seven key questions related to psychosocial challenges of the disease and the burden of treatment. Ten additional international experts (the extended faculty, EF) were invited to answer these questions. Since robust evidence is lacking, as in many rare diseases, conclusions were based on collective agreement between members of the SC and the EF, and the consolidated answers were summarized into expert opinion statements. The present document contains information on the concerns and psychosocial burden of patients with cystinosis and of their caregivers, and provides practical advice for timely and appropriate support to facilitate the transition to adult care.

Graphical abstract
Three-Dimensional Modelling of a Large-Diameter Sealing Concept in a Deep Geological Radioactive Waste Disposal
Authors: Alonso Matías , Vaunat Jean , Vu Minh-Ngoc , Talandier Jean , Olivella Sebastià , Gens Antonio
Published: March 2024

The French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency is leading the design of a deep geological radioactive waste disposal to be located in the Callovo-Oxfordian formation. At the disposal main level, large-diameter galleries will ensure access to the storage cells and connection between zones. After a long operational period, the disposal will be closed by sealing structures located at some key positions to ensure post-closure safety over the long term. The seals are intended to prevent the flow of water and the migration of radionuclides from the disposal to the biosphere throughout the entire storage life. Thus, the long-term safety of the disposal relies to a large extent on the performance of these structures. The paper presents the work carried out to assess and simulate the phenomena underlying the response and performance of a large-diameter sealing concept under real disposal conditions. The complexity of the problem is addressed by considering in the simulations large-scale 3D geometries, advanced constitutive models, complex coupled phenomena, key geometric details at decimetre scale, and all the phases from the excavation to the post-closure period (~ a few thousand years).
Comparisons of real versus synthetic proficiency testing items
Authors: MacKenzie Finlay , Marrington Rachel
Published: March 2024

Both real and synthetic materials are regularly used by providers of external quality assessment and proficiency testing schemes, and there are, in most cases, justifiable reasons for the choice made. This article focusses on the field of clinical biochemistry and discusses the different properties of a material and the benefits and limitations of using real or synthetic material. However, the overarching principles should be able to be applied to all sectors within the laboratory. Whilst genuine/real material would appear to be the preferred matrix, this is not always practicable, and synthetic material may be a suitable alternative. Synthetic material covers a wide range of material, be it that the material is 100% artificial to real material being used as a ‘base’ item, which is manipulated either by the addition of further real material from a different source or by the addition of exogenous analyte. A number of real-life cases are presented to demonstrate the impact of material matrix, storage conditions, volume, and interferences.
Sarcopenia is associated with leukopenia in urothelial carcinoma patients who receive tislelizumab combined with gemcitabine and cisplatin therapy
Authors: Gao Zhimin , Pang Yubin , Qin Xu , Li Gang , Wang Zewei , Zhang Lei , Wang Junqi , Qi Nienie , Li Hailong
Published: March 2024

Background

In the era of combination therapy, there has been limited research on body composition. Specific body composition, such as sarcopenia, possesses the potential to serve as a predictive biomarker for toxic effects and clinical response in patients with urothelial carcinoma (UC) undergoing tislelizumab combined with gemcitabine and cisplatin (T + GC).

Materials and Methods

A total of 112 UC patients who received T + GC were selected at the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from April 2020 to January 2023. Baseline patient characteristics and detailed hematological parameters were collected using the electronic medical system and laboratory examinations. The computed tomography images of patients were analyzed to calculate psoas muscle mass index (PMI). We evaluated the association between sarcopenia (PMI < 4.5 cm2/m2 in men; PMI < 3.3 cm2/m2 in women) and both hematological toxicity and tumor response.

Results

Overall, of the 112 patients (65.2% male, median age 56 years), 43 (38.4%) were defined as sarcopenia. Patients with sarcopenia were notably older (p = 0.037), more likely to have hypertension (p = 0.009), and had poorer ECOG-PS (p = 0.027). Patients with sarcopenia were more likely to develop leukopenia (OR 2.969, 95% CI 1.028–8.575, p = 0.044) after receiving at least two cycles of T + GC. However, these significant differences were not observed in thrombocytopenia and anemia. There were no significant differences in the tumor response and grade 3–4 hematological toxicity between patients with sarcopenia and those without sarcopenia.

Conclusions

Patients with sarcopenia were more likely to develop leukopenia after receiving T + GC. There were no notable alterations observed in relation to anemia or thrombocytopenia. No significant difference was found between the sarcopenia group and non-sarcopenia group in terms of tumor response and grade 3–4 hematological toxicity.
Costs attributable to hypercholesterolemia in a single period and over the life cycle
Authors: Reitzinger Stephanie , Reiss Miriam , Czypionka Thomas
Published: March 2024

Hypercholesterolemia is a major risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease leading to reduced (healthy) life years. The aim of this study is to quantify the societal costs associated with hypercholesterolemia. We use epidemiologic data on the distribution of cholesterol levels as well as data on relative risks regarding ischemic heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. The analytical approach is based on the use of population-attributable fractions applied to direct medical, direct non-medical and indirect costs using data of Austria. Within a life-cycle analysis we sum up the costs of hypercholesterolemia for the population of 2019 and, thus, consider future morbidity and mortality effects on this population. Epidemiologic data suggest that approximately half of Austria’s population have low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels above the target levels (i.e., are exposed to increased risk). We estimate that 8.2% of deaths are attributable to hypercholesterolemia. Total costs amount to about 0.33% of GDP in the single-period view. In the life-cycle perspective, total costs amount to €806.06 million, €312.1 million of which are medical costs, and about €494 million arise due to production loss associated with hypercholesterolemia. The study points out that significant shares of deaths, entries into disability pension and care allowance, full-time equivalents lost to the labor market as well as monetary costs for the health system and the society could be avoided if LDL-C-levels of the population were reduced.
Analysing citizen science data to address the demographic expansion of the Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) in southern Spain
Authors: De la Cruz Andrés , Morales Abraham , Korneeva Yana , Castro Macarena
Published: March 2024

Citizen science platforms such as eBird provide essential spatiotemporal information and big data for the study of birds. The analysis of an extensive 20-year dataset of the distribution of the Eurasian Magpie Pica pica showed that the species is steadily expanding within urbanised areas in the south of the Iberian Peninsula. The occurrence of the species in the eBird checklists in the study area has an average exponential growth rate greater than 20%. The area occupied by the species has multiplied by 40 in the last 20 years, going from 25 to almost 1000 km2. In order to test potential negative impacts of this demographic expansion on potential Magpie prey species, such as other birds, a seasonal study of the Magpie’s diet through pellet analysis showed that its stable diet consists of insects, snails and seeds, while other birds or food from anthropogenic sources does not constitute a significant part of its diet. The combined use of new open-science big data technologies together with classical monitoring and laboratory study offers indispensable tools for the assessment of species distribution and potential spatial management.
Turkish and German university students’ emotions and protection intentions regarding wolves and wild boars
Authors: Dervişoğlu Sevilay , Menzel Susanne
Published: March 2024

Emotional responses to wildlife can guide human responses to wildlife conflicts. At the same time, responses to wildlife often relate to cultural contexts. In this study, emotions associated with wolves and wild boars were examined in two samples taken from Turkish (N = 637) and German (N = 415) university students. As expected, different patterns of emotional responses emerged in the two samples. For example, while negative emotions such as disgust and anger toward the wild boar were prevalent in the Turkish sample, positive emotions such as joy, surprise, and interest occurred in the German sample. Significant differences between the emotions associated with wolves and wild boars were revealed in both samples. In the Turkish sample, wolves caused stronger fear, joy, and interest, whereas wild boars caused stronger anger and disgust. In the German sample, wolves caused stronger joy, surprise, interest, and sadness, whereas wild boars caused stronger disgust. Fear, however, was expressed toward both wolves and wild boars in both samples. The predictive power of emotions on students’ intentions to protect wild boars and wolves was examined as well as intentions to protect human interests against these animals. Disgust was the strongest (negative) predictor of a protection intention toward the wild boar in the Turkish sample. In the German sample, joy and interest were the emotions that best predicted conservation intentions (positive) for both animals.
Maintaining the completion-time mechanism for Greening tasks scheduling on DVFS-enabled computing platforms
Authors: Hagras Tarek , El-Sayed Gamal A.
Published: March 2024

The key factor in reducing the consumed energy when dependent-tasks applications are scheduled on DVFS-enabled computing platforms is task execution time slots. The unique and axiomatic approach to reduce the energy consumption on such platforms involves scaling down the execution frequency of each task within its execution time slot, provided a suitable scaling-down frequency is available. Regrettably, scheduling algorithms often shrink task execution time slots due to minimizing task completion times. This paper presents BlueMoon, a mechanism that reschedules the application tasks to extend the execution time slot of each task while ensuring that the overall completion time of the application tasks remains unaffected. BlueMoon is implemented and tested on numerous schedules of application graphs. The experimental results, conducted through computer simulations, demonstrate that BlueMoon substantially extends the execution time slots of tasks when compared to other mechanisms.
Admixture and reproductive skew shape the conservation value of ex situ populations of the Critically Endangered eastern black rhino
Authors: Elsner-Gearing Franziska , Kretzschmar Petra , Shultz Susanne , Pilgrim Mark , Dawson Deborah Ann , Horsburgh Gavin John , Hruby Jírí , Hopper Jane , King Tony , Walton Catherine
Published: March 2024

Small populations of endangered species risk losing already eroded genetic diversity, important for adaptive potential, through the effects of genetic drift. The magnitude of drift can be mitigated by maximising the effective population size, as is the goal of genetic management strategies. Different mating systems, specifically those leading to reproductive skew, exacerbate genetic drift by distorting contributions. In the absence of an active management strategy, reproductive skew will have long-term effects on the genetic composition of a population, particularly where admixture is present. Here we examine the contrasting effects of conservation management strategies in two ex situ populations of the Critically Endangered eastern black rhino(Diceros bicornis michaeli), one managed as a semi-wild population in South Africa (SAx), and one managed under a mean-kinship breeding strategy in European zoos. We use molecular data to reconstruct pedigrees for both populations and validate the method using the zoo studbook. Using the reconstructed pedigree and studbook we show there is male sex-specific skew in both populations. However, the zoo’s mean-kinship breeding strategy effectively reduces reproductive skew in comparison to a semi-wild population with little genetic management. We also show that strong male reproductive skew in SAx has resulted in extensive admixture, which may require a re-evaluation of the population’s original intended role in the black rhino meta-population. With a high potential for admixture in many ex situ populations of endangered species, molecular and pedigree data remain vital tools for populations needing to balance drift and selection.
Examining Youth Flexible ACT Model Implementation in the Netherlands
Authors: Broersen Marieke , Frieswijk Nynke , van Vugt Maaike , Vermulst Ad A. , Creemers Daan H. M. , Kroon Hans
Published: March 2024

Model adherence is a key indicator of mental health care quality. This study investigates the degree of model adherence, as well as content and staging of care, among the first Youth Flexible Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams in the Netherlands. Model fidelity was assessed in sixteen teams with the Youth Flexile ACT model fidelity scale (2014 version). Mental health workers completed a ‘content of care questionnaire’ to map the interventions applied in the teams. Model fidelity scores revealed that twelve teams adhered to the Youth Flexible ACT standard with ‘optimal implementation’ (≥ 4.1 on a 5 point scale) and four teams with ‘adequate implementation’. Most disciplines were well integrated within the teams; however, several items regarding the involvement of specific disciplines and the availability of treatment interventions (peer support worker, employment and education specialist and programs, family interventions, integrated dual disorder treatment) scored below the optimum. Frequency of contact during ACT and the use of Routine Outcome Monitoring instruments scored below the optimum as well. The ‘content of care’ data showed that most clients received an individual psychological intervention, and nearly half of the client sample received scaled-up / intensified ACT care. The findings indicate a predominantly successful translation of care from the theoretical Flexible ACT framework into practice, covering both ACT and non-ACT functions. Further room for improvement lies in the incorporation of specialized disciplines in the personal and social recovery domains, including the peer support worker and employment and education specialist, as well as in specific protocolled interventions.
Genome-wide identification, characterization and evolutionary analysis of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and sodium/hydrogen exchanger (NHX) genes in maize (Zea mays) under salt stress
Authors: Maghraby Amaal , Alzalaty Mohamed
Published: March 2024

Betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and sodium/hydrogen exchanger (NHX) play important roles in the response to salt stress. This is the first study to identify the BADH and NHX genes in maize (Zea mays) via genome-wide analysis. The qRT‒PCR results indicated that ZmNHX was upregulated by 4.38-fold, while a significant difference was not observed in ZmBADH or ZmMAPK, with fold changes of 0.96 and 1.06, respectively, under salinity stress. Genome-wide analysis revealed 8 ZmBADH, 19 ZmMAPK and 11 ZmNHX proteins in Z. mays. Domain analysis confirmed the presence of the aldehyde dehydrogenase superfamily (ALDH-SF), protein kinase and Na_H_Exchanger domains in the ZmBADH, ZmMAPK and ZmNHX proteins, respectively. Motif analysis indicated that the phylogenetic relationships were similar to the conserved motif distributions within the clade. The Ka/Ks ratio indicated that the ZmBADH, ZmMAPK and ZmNHX genes were influenced primarily by purifying selection. This study provides comprehensive identification, characterization, and evolutionary analysis for a better understanding of the ZmBADH, ZmMAPK and ZmNHX genes in maize.
Phytoplankton abundance and biodiversity in adjacent estuaries: the importance of submarine groundwater discharge
Authors: Gregory C. , Cave Rachel R. , Raine R. , McDermott G.
Published: March 2024

A near-unique pair of adjacent bays in the karst region of western Ireland provided the opportunity to compare phytoplankton diversity and abundance in an area of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) side by side with a ‘control’ region of similar size and with the same marine influences. Freshwater input to Kinvara Bay comes from the surrounding karst hinterland via a subterranean groundwater network, emerging at several sites within the inner bay as submarine groundwater discharge (SGD). Aughinish Bay in contrast has no connection to a SGD network and negligible overground fresh water input. Sampling was carried out in both bays during spring and neap tides over Winter, Spring/Summer and Summer/Autumn of 2016 and 2017. Comparison of the phytoplankton communities in the two bays showed higher diversity in Aughinish, while a bloom of Prorocentrum micans (Ehrenber, 1834), a brackish-water-tolerant marine dinoflagellate, was observed only in Kinvara. This work demonstrates how SGD can control phytoplankton community structure even in well-flushed macro-tidal bays and thus controls the biogeography at local scales.
Automatic Discovery of Collective Communication Patterns in Parallelized Task Graphs
Authors: Knorr Fabian , Salzmann Philip , Thoman Peter , Fahringer Thomas
Published: March 2024

Collective communication APIs equip MPI vendors with the necessary context to optimize cluster-wide operations on the basis of theoretical complexity models and characteristics of the involved interconnects. Modern HPC runtime systems with a programmability focus can perform dependency analysis to eliminate the need for manual communication entirely. Profiting from optimized collective routines in this context often requires global analysis of the implicit point-to-point communication pattern or tight constrains on the data access patterns allowed inside kernels. The Celerity API provides a high degree of freedom for both runtime implementors and application developers by tieing transparent work assignment to data access patterns through user-defined range-mapper functions. Canonically, data dependencies are resolved through an intra-node coherence model and inter-node point-to-point communication. This paper presents Collective Pattern Discovery (CPD), a fully distributed, coordination-free method for detecting collective communication patterns on parallelized task graphs. Through extensive scheduling and communication microbenchmarks as well as a strong scaling experiment on a compute-intensive application, we demonstrate that CPD can achieve substantial performance gains in the Celerity model.
The role of board leadership in deliberating international entry
Authors: Bjørnåli Ekaterina , Erikson Truls , Aspelund Arild
Published: March 2024

The current study addresses the formal and informal board leadership roles in new high-tech firms. Overall, we find that board leadership affects international engagements in idiosyncratic ways. Initially, we conjectured that the board leadership role structure would influence time to new markets, but the leadership role structure fails to do so, which indicates that neither a divided board leadership structure nor a dual board leadership structure matters. Instead, we find that the facilitating role of board chair leadership does. Although board chair leadership efficacy has a deliberating effect, we find it to have an interactive effect with a more resourceful board, indicating that efficacious leadership is more important than we typically would expect. Noteworthy, these dynamic interactions not only contribute to advancing new high-tech firms, but also contribute to shaping a resilient high-tech entrepreneurial ecosystem from within.
Leveraging distant supervision and deep learning for twitter sentiment and emotion classification
Authors: Kastrati Muhamet , Kastrati Zenun , Shariq Imran Ali , Biba Marenglen
Published: March 2024

Nowadays, various applications across industries, healthcare, and security have begun adopting automatic sentiment analysis and emotion detection in short texts, such as posts from social media. Twitter stands out as one of the most popular online social media platforms due to its easy, unique, and advanced accessibility using the API. On the other hand, supervised learning is the most widely used paradigm for tasks involving sentiment polarity and fine-grained emotion detection in short and informal texts, such as Twitter posts. However, supervised learning models are data-hungry and heavily reliant on abundant labeled data, which remains a challenge. This study aims to address this challenge by creating a large-scale real-world dataset of 17.5 million tweets. A distant supervision approach relying on emojis available in tweets is applied to label tweets corresponding to Ekman’s six basic emotions. Additionally, we conducted a series of experiments using various conventional machine learning models and deep learning, including transformer-based models, on our dataset to establish baseline results. The experimental results and an extensive ablation analysis on the dataset showed that BiLSTM with FastText and an attention mechanism outperforms other models in both classification tasks, achieving an F1-score of 70.92% for sentiment classification and 54.85% for emotion detection.
On the use of overlapping convex hull relaxations to solve nonconvex MINLPs
Authors: Wu Ouyang , Muts Pavlo , Nowak Ivo , Hendrix Eligius M. T.
Published: March 2024

We present a novel relaxation for general nonconvex sparse MINLP problems, called overlapping convex hull relaxation (CHR). It is defined by replacing all nonlinear constraint sets by their convex hulls. If the convex hulls are disjunctive, e.g. if the MINLP is block-separable, the CHR is equivalent to the convex hull relaxation obtained by (standard) column generation (CG). The CHR can be used for computing an initial lower bound in the root node of a branch-and-bound algorithm, or for computing a start vector for a local-search-based MINLP heuristic. We describe a dynamic block and column generation (DBCG) MINLP algorithm to generate the CHR by dynamically adding aggregated blocks. The idea of adding aggregated blocks in the CHR is similar to the well-known cutting plane approach. Numerical experiments on nonconvex MINLP instances show that the duality gap can be significantly reduced with the results of CHRs. DBCG is implemented as part of the CG-MINLP framework Decogo, see https://decogo.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html.
Association of serum galectin-3 levels with mortality and cardiovascular disease outcomes in hemodialysis patients: a systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis
Authors: Bellos Ioannis , Marinaki Smaragdi , Lagiou Pagona , Benetou Vassiliki
Published: March 2024

Background

Galectin-3 has been proposed as a candidate marker for cardiovascular risk stratification, although its role in kidney failure is unclear. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the association of serum galectin-3 levels with overall survival and cardiovascular outcomes among hemodialysis patients.

Methods

Medline, Scopus, Web of Science and CENTRAL were systematically searched from inception till Aug 20, 2023. Observational studies evaluating the association of serum galectin-3 with mortality, cardiovascular disease and arterial stiffness in hemodialysis patients were included. The exposure–response relationship between galectin-3 and mortality was explored by dose–response meta-analysis using restricted cubic splines in a one-stage approach.

Results

Overall, 13 studies were included (9 cohort and 4 cross-sectional), comprising 6025 hemodialysis individuals. Increasing galectin-3 values were associated with greater all-cause mortality risk (χ2: 18.71, p-value < 0.001) and an insignificant trend toward higher cardiovascular mortality risk (χ2: 5.06, p-value: 0.079). Compared to a reference galectin-3 value of 10 ng/ml, all-cause mortality risk was significantly higher with levels of 20 ng/ml (Hazard ratio–HR: 2.62, 95% confidence intervals-CI: 1.66–4.15), 30 ng/ml (HR: 3.78, 95% CI: 2.05–6.97) and 40 ng/ml (HR: 4.01, 95% CI: 2.14–7.52). Qualitative synthesis of evidence indicated that serum galectin-3 may be linked to abdominal aortic calcification severity and progression, as well as to left ventricular systolic and diastolic dysfunction.

Conclusions

This study suggests that high serum galectin-3 levels are associated with greater all-cause mortality risk among patients on maintenance hemodialysis. Preliminary cross-sectional evidence indicates that serum galectin-3 may be associated with arterial stiffness and left ventricular dysfunction.
Sufficient and Necessary Conditions for the Identifiability of DINA Models with Polytomous Responses
Authors: Lin Mengqi , Xu Gongjun
Published: March 2024

Cognitive diagnosis models (CDMs) provide a powerful statistical and psychometric tool for researchers and practitioners to learn fine-grained diagnostic information about respondents’ latent attributes. There has been a growing interest in the use of CDMs for polytomous response data, as more and more items with multiple response options become widely used. Similar to many latent variable models, the identifiability of CDMs is critical for accurate parameter estimation and valid statistical inference. However, the existing identifiability results are primarily focused on binary response models and have not adequately addressed the identifiability of CDMs with polytomous responses. This paper addresses this gap by presenting sufficient and necessary conditions for the identifiability of the widely used DINA model with polytomous responses, with the aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of the identifiability of CDMs with polytomous responses and to inform future research in this field.
Enumeration of Rooted Binary Unlabeled Galled Trees
Authors: Agranat-Tamir Lily , Mathur Shaili , Rosenberg Noah A.
Published: March 2024

Rooted binary galled trees generalize rooted binary trees to allow a restricted class of cycles, known as galls. We build upon the Wedderburn-Etherington enumeration of rooted binary unlabeled trees with n leaves to enumerate rooted binary unlabeled galled trees with n leaves, also enumerating rooted binary unlabeled galled trees with n leaves and g galls, $$0 \leqslant g \leqslant \lfloor \frac{n-1}{2} \rfloor $$

0
⩽
g
⩽
⌊

n
-
1

2

⌋

. The enumerations rely on a recursive decomposition that considers subtrees descended from the nodes of a gall, adopting a restriction on galls that amounts to considering only the rooted binary normal unlabeled galled trees in our enumeration. We write an implicit expression for the generating function encoding the numbers of trees for all n. We show that the number of rooted binary unlabeled galled trees grows with $$0.0779(4.8230^n)n^{-\frac{3}{2}}$$

0.0779

(
4
.

8230
n

)

n

-

3
2

, exceeding the growth $$0.3188(2.4833^n)n^{-\frac{3}{2}}$$

0.3188

(
2
.

4833
n

)

n

-

3
2

of the number of rooted binary unlabeled trees without galls. However, the growth of the number of galled trees with only one gall has the same exponential order 2.4833 as the number with no galls, exceeding it only in the subexponential term, $$0.3910n^{\frac{1}{2}}$$

0.3910

n

1
2

compared to $$0.3188n^{-\frac{3}{2}}$$

0.3188

n

-

3
2

. For a fixed number of leaves n, the number of galls g that produces the largest number of rooted binary unlabeled galled trees lies intermediate between the minimum of $$g=0$$

g
=
0

and the maximum of $$g=\lfloor \frac{n-1}{2} \rfloor $$

g
=
⌊

n
-
1

2

⌋

. We discuss implications in mathematical phylogenetics.
Correlates of HIV Prevention Advocacy by Persons Living with HIV in Kampala, Uganda: A Cross-sectional Evaluation of a Conceptual Model
Authors: Wagner Glenn J. , Bogart Laura M. , Matovu Joseph K. B. , Okoboi Stephen , Gwokyalya Violet , Ninsiima Susan , McBain Ryan K. , Storholm Erik D. , Malika Nipher , Green Harold D.
Published: March 2024

Background

HIV prevention advocacy empowers persons living with HIV (PLWH) to act as advocates and encourage members of their social networks to engage in protective behaviors such as HIV testing, condom use, and antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence. We examined correlates of HIV prevention advocacy among PLWH in Uganda.

Method

A cross-sectional analysis was conducted with baseline data from 210 PLWH (70% female; mean age = 40 years) who enrolled in a trial of an HIV prevention advocacy training program in Kampala, Uganda. The baseline survey, which was completed prior to receipt of the intervention, included multiple measures of HIV prevention advocacy (general and specific to named social network members), as well as internalized HIV stigma, HIV disclosure, HIV knowledge, positive living (condom use; ART adherence), and self-efficacy for HIV prevention advocacy.

Results

Consistent with our hypotheses, HIV disclosure, HIV knowledge, consistent condom use, and HIV prevention advocacy self-efficacy were all positively correlated with at least one measure of HIV prevention advocacy, after controlling for the other constructs in multiple regression analysis. Internalized HIV stigma was positively correlated with advocacy in bivariate analysis only.

Conclusion

These findings identify which characteristics of PLWH are associated with acting as change agents for others in their social network to engage in HIV protective behaviors.
Valorization of local agro-residues for the cultivation of Pleurotus djamor (Rumph. Ex Fr.) Boedijn and their effects on nutritional value
Authors: İnci Şule , Kirbağ Sevda , Akyüz Mehmet
Published: March 2024

Many factors, such as population growth in the world, the need for different agricultural products, the lack of sufficient agricultural products, and export potential, create a large amount of lignocellulosic waste every year as a result of agricultural harvest. Cultivating edible mushrooms, which is one of the important areas of the agricultural sector, is a simple, environmentally friendly and biological process carried out without any chemical treatment using lignocellulosic wastes. They are cultured on various local agro-residues and are an important food source with delicious, nutritious, and medicinal values. The present research aimed to evaluate some local agro-wastes for P. djamor “love mushroom-pink oyster mushroom” culture and determine their effects on nutritional properties. Three different compost groups were created: wheat straw (WS), quinoa stalk (QS), and their mixture in a 1:1 ratio. While no significant difference was observed in about spawn colonization days on various agro-residues (p<0.05), it was observed that the best culture medium was quinoa stalk (QS) regarding the primordia formation period (20.3 days), total harvest period (50.0 days), and yield (23.5 g/100 g). Dry P. djamor contains about 89.9–91.4% dry matter, 8.6–10.1% moisture, 250.8–277.5 kcal energy, 22.0–41.2% crude protein, 1.1–1.7% fat, 5.8–9.6% ash, 82.0–84.1% organic matter, and 20.3–38.2% nitrogen-free extract. Protein, carbohydrate, ash, and energy contents differed significantly, with the highest protein content obtained in WS-QS (1:1) (41.2%). Vitamin levels (A, E, C, and MDA) may vary, but the best compost medium for element content is QS. Ni, Cr, Co, and Cd concentrations were also detected below standards. P. djamor is an important nutrient that can be used in a balanced diet, as it contains significant amounts of protein, vitamins, and various nutritional minerals, as well as low fat and energy content. Considering all these features, this species may become a helpful food source in nutrition.
Archeometallurgical Investigation of a Fragment from a Medieval Sword Blade
Authors: Merico Paolomarco , Faccoli Michela , Gotti Roberto , Cornacchia Giovanna
Published: March 2024

A fragment from a medieval sword blade was investigated by metallography, Vickers microhardness tests and slag inclusions analysis are to extract technological information about its manufacturing process. Optical microscopy observations and microhardness measurements indicated that the sword blade was forged via hammer welding, combining different steel bars for an optimal balance of hardness and toughness. A steeling technique involved wrapping a steel bar around a composite billet, crafted by enclosing a hypoeutectoid steel bar around a near-eutectoid steel core. Moreover, it was found that the hardness of the cutting edges was increased with a quenching heat treatment. After quenching, the blade exhibited martensitic microstructure with Vickers microhardness ranging from 500 to 640 HV0.3. The compositional data of a large set of nonmetallic inclusions were collected by scanning electron microscopy coupled with X-ray dispersive spectroscopy. Slag inclusion analysis and multivariate statistics confirmed the blade's composite nature and revealed distinct smelting and forging-related SI groups. Liquidus temperatures indicated smelting temperatures of at least 1156°C for the external section and 1031°C for the internal. The forging temperature was estimated at a minimum of 1143°C. These findings provide insight into the blade’s metallurgical history.
Daratumumab therapy in a pediatric case of C3 nephritic factor-positive proliferative glomerulonephritis with monoclonal IgG deposits
Authors: Giang Sophia , Agrawal Anurag K. , Oates Aris
Published: March 2024

Proliferative glomerulonephritis with monoclonal immunoglobulin deposits (PGNMID) is an exceedingly rare cause of glomerulonephritis among children for which prognosis is generally poor, with low incidence of remission and high rates of recurrence after transplant. While there are more cases reported in the adult literature, substantial differences in pediatric vs. adult PGNMID render it essential that we further characterize pediatric cases to optimize management. We report the case of a 12-year-old male presenting initially with edema and hypertension who was subsequently diagnosed with IgG3/Kappa-dominant PGNMID. In the absence of any proven therapy and though without a detectable clone, he was empirically treated with daratumumab with positive effect to date. This is the first reported case of daratumumab monotherapy in pediatric PGNMID, as well as the first PGNMID case to detect presence of C3 nephritic factor.
Simulation of viscoelastic free-surface flows with the Particle Finite Element Method
Authors: Rizzieri Giacomo , Ferrara Liberato , Cremonesi Massimiliano
Published: March 2024

Viscoelastic fluids are central in numerous applications from polymer manufacturing to the pharmaceutical industry and biological research. However, since analytical solutions are generally not available or too complex, it is common practice to study free-surface viscoelastic flows through numerical simulation techniques. This work proposes the use of the so-called particle finite element method (PFEM), a Lagrangian approach combining standard FEM techniques with a remeshing strategy. The PFEM is able to efficiently handle mesh distortion and to accurately track the free-surface evolution. Therefore, it is exploited in this work to deal with large displacements problems in the context of nonlinear viscoelasticity. An implementation of the Oldroyd-B constitutive model in the PFEM framework is here presented including details regarding how to deal with the transfer of the internal variables during remeshing events. Additionally, an innovative approach to impose unilateral Dirichlet boundary conditions ensuring optimal mass conservation is presented. The implementation is verified with two free-surface highly viscous benchmark flows: the impacting drop and the jet buckling problems. The results show perfect agreement with those obtained with other numerical techniques. The proposed framework opens the way for using PFEM in various applications, ranging from polymer extrusion to more sophisticated scenarios involving viscoelastic and viscoelasto-plastic constitutive laws.
The Archaeology of Human–Animal Relations in Nineteenth- to Mid-Twentieth-Century Finland: Horse Burials and Cemeteries in Agrarian Landscapes
Authors: Kirkinen Tuija , Mannermaa Kristiina , Moilanen Ulla , Peltosaari Taru , Lähdekorpi Marjatta , Hemmann Karin
Published: March 2024

One of the most crucial issues in the study of human–animal relations is the power of humans over animal death and how it has been processed culturally by the ways animal carcasses have been treated. In this article, the post-domestic phase in human–animal relations is entered by investigating the burial of working horses in the Finnish countryside during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Toward that end, 115 horse burials, 134 cemeteries, and 61 death places or kill sites were examined through interviews with local people, and a search of literature and place names. Six burial sites were excavated and several sites surveyed in the field. The locations of all sites were analyzed with historical maps. As a result, we consider that animal graves form a significant group of historical monuments that show great variability and are associated with past land use and human–animal relations.
Enhanced laser-induced fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy with gold nanoparticles for the diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Hamdy Omnia , Nour Maha , Kamel Sherien S. , Eltayeb Elsayed Abdallah , Zaky Ahmed Abbas , Faid Amna H.
Published: March 2024

Background

The incidence, mortality, and recurrence rates of oral cancer are high worldwide. It is a common and aggressive type of tumor. Owing to the challenges associated with early illness diagnosis, squamous cell carcinoma, a kind that is prevalent of oral cancer, has an unacceptably high fatality rate. The management of the condition and the prevention of cancer, on the other hand, depend greatly on early detection. Therefore, alternative methods for the treatment and early diagnosis are essential for oral cancer. The detection of tongue squamous cell carcinoma is aided by coupled surface plasmon resonance, which can occur in gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Compared to the currently utilized imaging contrast chemicals, AuNPs are more biocompatible and capable of targeting specific surface molecules. In the current study, AuNPs were synthesized in one step via citrate reduction and applied to tongue samples of a Caucasian man's Homo sapiens (Squamous cell carcinoma from ATCC cell-lines) in order to improve early detection using and laser-induced fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy.

Results

UV–visible spectroscopy, Zeta potential, TEM, and FTIR spectroscopic technique were used to characterize the synthesized nanoparticles. The synthesized AuNPs measured 13 ± 3 nm with uniform size distribution and high stability. Results demonstrate the significance of AuNPs in improving the identification of tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

Conclusion

Obtained results revealed that the use of AuNPs modifies the emitted spectra in the two employed spectroscopic techniques and provides more significant receiver operating characteristic curve parameters, hence a higher detection rate of cancer.
Exploring the feasibility of Support Vector Machine for short-term hydrological forecasting in South Tyrol: challenges and prospects
Authors: Dalla Torre Daniele , Lombardi Andrea , Menapace Andrea , Zanfei Ariele , Righetti Maurizio
Published: March 2024

Short-term hydrological forecasting is crucial for suitable multipurpose water resource management involving water uses, hydrological security, and renewable production. In the Alpine Regions such as South Tyrol, characterized by several small watersheds, quick information is essential to feed the decision processes in critical cases such as flood events. Predicting water availability ahead is equally crucial for optimizing resource utilization, such as irrigation or snow-making. The increasing data availability and computational power led to data-driven models becoming a serious alternative to physically based hydrological models, especially in complex conditions such as the Alpine Region and for short predictive horizons. This paper proposes a data-driven pipeline to use the local ground station data to infer information in a Support Vector Regression model, which can forecast streamflow in the main closure points of the area at hourly resolution with 48 h of lead time. The main steps of the pipeline are analysed and discussed, with promising results that depend on available information, watershed complexity, and human interactions in the catchment. The presented pipeline, as it stands, offers an accessible tool for integrating these models into decision-making processes to guarantee real-time streamflow information at several points of the hydrological network. Discussion enhances the potentialities, open challenges, and prospects of short-term streamflow forecasting to accommodate broader studies.
Advanced Design of Fibrous Flexible Actuators for Smart Wearable Applications
Authors: Fang Cuiqin , Xu Bingang , Li Meiqi , Han Jing , Yang Yujue , Liu Xinlong
Published: March 2024

Smart wearables equipped with integrated flexible actuators possess the ability to autonomously respond and adapt to changes in the environment. Fibrous textiles have been recognised as promising platforms for integrating flexible actuators and wearables owing to their superior body compliance, lightweight nature, and programmable architectures. Various studies related to textile actuators in smart wearables have been recently reported. However, the review focusing on the advanced design of these textile actuator technologies for smart wearables is lacking. Herein, a timely and thorough review of the progress achieved in this field over the past five years is presented. This review focuses on the advanced design concepts for textile actuators in smart wearables, covering functional materials, innovative architecture configurations, external stimuli, and their applications in smart wearables. The primary aspects focus on actuating materials, formation techniques of textile architecture, actuating behaviour and performance metrics of textile actuators, various applications in smart wearables, and the design challenges for next-generation smart wearables. Ultimately, conclusive perspectives are highlighted.

Graphical Abstract
Health status, life expectancy and early claiming of pension
Authors: Aakvik Arild , Holmås Tor Helge , Kjerstad Egil
Published: March 2024

Prior to 2011, individual life expectancy played no role in the Norwegian old-age pension system. However, after the 2011 reform, life expectancy became a central factor for early pension take-up. Asymmetric information is crucial in most insurance markets, including the new pension system, where employees can flexible claim a public pension from the age of 62. Individuals who expect to live longer than the average for their birth cohort can maximize their pension wealth by deferring pension claiming, while those with a shorter life expectancy should draw their pension as early as possible. This raises concerns that adverse selection may pose a risk to the sustainability of the new pension system. To investigate this issue, we use chronic disease as a proxy for life expectancy and examine its relationship with employment and pension decisions. Our findings show that individuals with a chronic health condition are more likely to draw a pension and continue working when they reach 62 years of age compared to those without a chronic health condition. This suggests potential adverse selection issues in the pension system, although our results suggest small effects after adjusting for unobservables.
Exploring citizens’ stances on AI in public services: A social contract perspective
Authors: Schmager Stefan , Grøder Charlotte Husom , Parmiggiani Elena , Pappas Ilias , Vassilakopoulou Polyxeni
Published: March 2024

This paper explores citizens’ stances toward the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in public services in Norway. Utilizing a social contract perspective, the study analyzes the government–citizen relationship at macro, meso, and micro levels. A prototype of an AI-enabled public welfare service was designed and presented to 20 participants who were interviewed to investigate their stances on the described AI use. We found a generally positive attitude and identified three factors contributing to this: (a) the high level of trust in government (macro level); (b) the balanced value proposition between individual and collective needs (meso level); and (c) the reassurance provided by having humans in the loop and providing transparency into processes, data, and model’s logic (microlevel). The findings provide valuable insights into citizens’ stances for socially responsible AI in public services. These insights can inform policy and guide the design and implementation of AI systems in the public sector by foregrounding the government–citizen relationship.
Behavioural Analysis and Regulatory Impact Assessment
Authors: Drummond James R. , Radaelli Claudio M.
Published: March 2024

Regulatory impact assessment (RIA) is an appraisal tool to bring evidence to bear on regulatory decisions. A key property of RIA is that is corrects errors in reasoning by pushing regulators towards deliberative thinking to override intuitive judgments. However, the steps for regulatory analysis suggested by international organisations and governmental handbooks do not handle two sources of bias and barriers that are well documented in the literature on behavioural insights. First, bias enters the process via knowledge production during the analytical process of assessment. Second, bias affects knowledge utilisation when regulators “read” or utilise the results of RIA. We explore these two pathways by focusing on drivers of behaviour rather than lists of biases. The conclusions reflect on the limitations of current practice and its possible improvement, making suggestions for an RIA architecture that is fully informed by behavioural analysis.