bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Response Surface Method Optimization of Hard Machining with Cryogenically Treated Cutting Tools: Surface Roughness, Cutting Force, Tool Wear, Rietveld Analysis, and Metallurgical Properties
Authors: Kara Fuat , Takmaz Aysun , Erkan Ömer , Filiz Serhat
Published: December 2024

The study consists of two stages: machinability tests and metallographic examinations. In the first stage of the study, response surface methodology (RSM) optimization was performed for the main‐cutting‐force (Fc) and average surface roughness (Ra) values obtained as a result of turning tests. In the second stage, the wear performance of cutting tool tips with and without deep cryogenic treatment was explained with the support of SEM images, EDX, XRD, and microhardness analyses. As a result of ANOVA analysis, it was found that the most effective parameter on Fc was the feed rate, with 78.89%. As a result of RSM‐optimization, the lowest Fc value was found to be 339.99 N. The most effective parameter on Ra was found to be the feed rate at 69.38%. In terms of tool life, 15% and 11% improvements were achieved in uncoated and coated carbide cutting tools, respectively. As a result of Rieltveld's analysis, it was determined that cryogenic treatment increased the carbide percentages in the tools. As a result of microhardness measurements, it was observed that the hardness of uncoated and coated carbide tools increased by 4.6% and 5.15%, respectively, after cryogenic treatment.
Organometallic Photocatalyst‐Promoted Synthesis and Modification of Carbohydrates under Photoirradiation
Authors: Wang Jing , Zhou Fan , Xu Yuping , Zhang Lei
Published: December 2024

Carbohydrates are natural, renewable, chemical compounds that play crucial roles in biological systems. Thus, efficient and stereoselective glycosylation is an urgent task for the preparation of pure and structurally well‐defined carbohydrates. Photoredox catalysis has emerged as a powerful tool in carbohydrate chemistry, providing an alternative for addressing some of the challenges of glycochemistry. Over the last few decades, Ir‐ and Ru‐based organometallic photocatalysts have attracted significant interest because of their high stability, high‐energy triplet state, strong visible‐light absorption, long luminescence lifetime, and amenability to ligand modification. This review highlights the recent progress in the organometallic photocatalyst‐promoted synthesis and modification of carbohydrates under photoirradiation, as well as the related benefits and drawbacks.
Clinical year veterinary students are concerned about calving cows and request more real‐life, practical exposure to enhance their confidence
Authors: Orr Jayne , Mihm Carmichael Monika , Kelly Rob
Published: December 2024

Background

Newly qualified veterinarians are expected to attend emergencies, for example, cow calving, but their clinical exposure to these scenarios before graduation may be limited. This study aimed to investigate what affects veterinary students' confidence and attitudes regarding calving cows.

Methods

Paper questionnaires were distributed to veterinary students in their third (n = 240, 2016/2017 and 2017/2018) and fourth years (n = 347, 2016/2017, 2017/2018 and 2018/2019) at one UK university to ascertain their demographic data, confidence regarding calving cows (rated on a scale from 1 to 5) and their concerns and suggestions for improving their confidence.

Results

Responses were received from 156 and 300 consenting third‐ and fourth‐year students, respectively. The mean total calving confidence score was higher in the fourth year (34.3/65) than in the third year (30.8/65, p < 0.05), and students from both years rarely rated themselves as being ‘confident’ or ‘very confident’ in 13 individual calving tasks. Having some previous experience (odds ratio [OR] 3.34), intending to work with cows (OR 3.25), being from Europe (OR 3) or North America (OR 2.72) and in the fourth year (OR 2.3) increased the odds (p < 0.01) of students having some calving confidence. Four main concerns were identified: myself, the task, the animal and the farmer. The students requested more real‐life, practical exposure to improve their confidence.

Limitations

Students were from a single UK veterinary school, and the study relied on self‐reported confidence levels.

Conclusion

Overall, students lacked confidence in calving cows and were concerned about many aspects of this high‐stakes clinical scenario. Veterinary faculty and extramural study providers need to collaborate to develop students' confidence in this area before graduation.
The effect of solvent, graft density, and actuators‐lubricants on the evaluation of friction and viscosity of slip additives
Authors: Catarino‐Centeno Rafael , García‐Hernández Erwin
Published: December 2024

This work carried out a mesoscopic scale numerical modeling of a polymeric brush system constituted of a heterogeneous mixture of two slip additives erucamide (Eru) and stearyl erucamide (sEru). The polymeric brushes are grafted onto two parallel plates moving under a stationary laminar Couette‐type flow in non‐equilibrium conditions, to evaluate the coefficient of friction (Cof) and the viscosity system. The Cof and viscosity were obtained as a function of the graft concentration, solvent and brush composition, and the fixed number of Eru actuators‐lubricants. It was found that the 2:1 ratio (Eru:sEru) seems to be the most effective in reducing the Cof in all cases, but specifically for the 80%‐air/20%‐humidity solvent composition, the Cof reaches a value of 0.33 keeping the number of Eru actuators‐lubricants fixed at 400. Under the same conditions, viscosity reduction is favored at higher graft concentrations, reaching values of 0.8 and 0.7 respectively. The results indicate that by increasing the amount of Eru actuators‐lubricants, the Cof decreases significantly with a higher concentration of grafts. This could be crucial to optimizing friction properties, impacting various applications such as the plastics and packaging industry, agricultural film production, lubricant, and textile coatings, where these slip additives are commonly used.

Highlights

Solvent composition influences the optimization of the Cof and viscosity.

Eru actuators‐lubricants act as lubricating rollers in the solvent.

The mixture of the brushes reduces the Cof between the surfaces.

The molecular mechanism of slip additives is predicted at a mesoscopic scale.
Accelerating Cognitive Economics: Why Now, and How?
Authors: Caplin Andrew
Published: December 2024

This chapter proposes development of an Accelerator for Cognitive Economics to speed to lower these barriers. It invites readers to join in and to speed development of cognitive economics. It invites readers to complete a survey to indicate areas of particular interest. It also invites participation in a series of meet-ups, both virtual and personal. This includes meetings of interdisciplinary teams of researchers with grant officers, policy makers, business leaders, community leaders, and other interested parties.
Work Skills for the Cognitive Economy
Authors: Caplin Andrew
Published: December 2024

This chapter introduces research on how the rise of AI will impact wages as the cognitive revolution unfolds. It sketches recent research suggesting that AI helps those of lower skill to close the productivity and earnings gap with those of higher skill. It introduces new results suggesting that to so benefit requires those of lower skill to have beliefs that are well-calibrated to reality. It outlines the importance of long-run career skills, such as the ability to search effectively for new jobs. It also outlines research showing that one can impact students’ choice of education and career by transmitting more accurate information.
Frank Oates and King Lobengula
Authors: Prior Christopher , Higgins Joseph
Published: December 2024

We focus on how Frank Oates and King Lobengula of the Ndebele experienced one another and how this impacted the nature and understandings of their resulting encounters. Oates’ sense that he had developed an effective, transactional relationship with Lobengula instilled confidence that his journey could be transacted without major difficulty. Furthermore, Oates’ sense that the king’s word was absolute obviated the traveller’s need to seek to understand the broader Ndebele polity. In Oates’ mind, Lobengula provided the traveller with a mental shortcut to the way he could successfully complete his journey. Conversely, Lobengula did not consider this a transactional relationship but primarily as a relationship that had to be navigated with care, weighing up the balances and risks involved. Careful management saw Lobengula manage Oates’ sense of royal authority, even as the monarch was seeking to use the traveller in the development of that authority in the broader Ndebele polity. Lobengula’s interactions with Oates were also determined by Lobengula’s sense of Ndebele concerns arising from disease management and European incursions from the south.
Conclusion
Authors: Prior Christopher , Higgins Joseph
Published: December 2024

We pull together points from across the preceding three chapters to consider pressing matters in imperial historiography. We evaluate the complexities that lay beneath Frank Oates’ racism, as well as the roles played by contingencies and African agency, in explaining the traveller’s sense of the Ndebele and King Lobengula. We also consider the broader implications of this case study for what it tells us about late Victorian British imperialism. We finish by looking to what happened next, with the destruction of an independent Ndebele nation and the coming of empire.
Data Collection and Descriptive Statistics
Authors: Qu Xue , Kojima Daizo , Wu Laping , Ando Mitsuyoshi
Published: December 2024

In this chapter, the detailed description of the data used in this study is presented.
Conclusion and Policy Implications
Authors: Qu Xue , Kojima Daizo , Wu Laping , Ando Mitsuyoshi
Published: December 2024

In the recent years, there is diminishing room to increase food supply by increasing food production due to population growth, scarcity of natural resources, and climate change (Shafiee-Jood and Cai, Environ Sci Technol 50:8432–8443, 2016). An alternative approach to increasing food supply—reducing food loss and waste—has gained significant attention as it can increase food availability without investing additional resource inputs, such as land and water.
Clinical, Ethical, and Legal Considerations Raised by Self-Reported Genital Mutilation Following Voluntary Cosmetic Labiaplasty
Authors: Metaxas Tania , Earp Brian D. , Bader Dina , Ghasemi Sotoudeh , Solari Milena , Abdulcadir Jasmine
Published: December 2024

An increasing number of women are undergoing female genital cosmetic surgery (FGCS). Labiaplasty, the most commonly performed FGCS, consists of a surgical procedure to decrease the inner labia size so that no or less tissue protrudes beyond the outer labia. Anatomically, it is similar to female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) Type 2a. Thus, what are the differences and similarities between FGCS and FGM/C? Even though FGCS is not recommended by most scientific societies, it is considered legal, contrary to FGM/C. Most women seeking FGCS have physiologic (neither diseased nor anatomically atypical) genitalia and are reassured by counseling. We recommend counseling, history taking, screening for relevant conditions, and, if surgery is pursued, medical care by a specialist. We present the cases of three patients who reported feeling genitally mutilated after having willingly undergone FGCS. This feeling led these women to seek care at an outpatient clinic that receives migrants, refugees, second-generation, or naturalized patients originating mainly from African countries having experienced FGM/C. We discuss clinical implications, health insurance coverage, legal, ethical, and social implications. Multiple unresolved issues must be carefully addressed by scientific societies, legislators, and anti-FGM/C advocates to ensure equal treatment of all individuals in relation to genital cutting or surgery. Genital modifications experienced as harmful, or that are performed without informed consent, should be studied in relationship to one another and evaluated with consistent principles, regardless of the skin color of the individuals concerned, their cultural, ethnic, or religious background, or the name given to the genital modification they underwent.
Beyond Individual Responsibilisation: How Social Relations are Mobilised in Communication About a Dementia Self-Testing App
Authors: Kapeller Alexandra
Published: December 2024

Research on mobile health (mHealth) applications has investigated how such technologies contribute to a responsibilisation of users/patients. This literature largely focuses on the individual responsibilities constructed by the apps and the neoliberal environments that enable the positioning of the user as responsible. With this focus, this scholarship is less attentive to the role of social relations in responsibilisation. In this article, I demonstrate how relational responsibilities are constructed in the communication of a North American self-testing app for “early changes in cognition”. Through an analysis of qualitative expert interviews and images on the app’s web presence, I show how social relations are, in fact, mobilised in the construction of the responsibilities to support the user in the test situation, to take the test for the sake of others, and to make others take the test. Based on this analysis, I argue that the role of social relations should receive more attention in the literature on responsibilisation, because they lead to additional, sometimes gendered responsibilities that a focus on individual responsibilities would miss.
Depressive symptoms after surgical and medical management of OSA: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Marrero-Gonzalez Alejandro R. , Salvador Craig D. , Nguyen Shaun A. , Meyer Ted A. , Ford Dee W. , Rinn Andrea M. , Lal Chitra , Swanson Melissa , Abdelwahab Mohamed
Published: December 2024

Purpose

To evaluate the effect of CPAP and surgical alternatives for OSA on depression and compare the results of surgery to CPAP.

​Methods

COCHRANE Library, CINAHL, PubMed, and Scopus databases were searched for English-language articles. Meta-analysis of continuous measures (mean), proportions (%), and mean difference (Δ) with 95% confidence interval was conducted for objective and subjective outcomes before and after treatment with CPAP or surgical interventions.

Results

We identified 2018 abstracts, 14 studies (N = 3,488) were included in the meta-analysis. Both treatments witnessed significant improvement in Apnea-hypopnea Index (AHI), with similar improvement with CPAP (Δ-48.8 [-51.2, -46.4]) and surgical interventions (Δ -20.22 [-31.3, -9.17]). An improvement in Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) was noted between groups with (Δ -3.9 [-6.2, -1.6]) for the CPAP group and (Δ -4.3 [-6.0, -2.5]) for surgical interventions. The improvement of BDI II depression scores pre- and post-treatment was comparable between treatments with (Δ -4.1 [-5.8, -2.4]) for the CPAP group and (Δ- 5.6 [-9.2, -2.0]) for surgical interventions.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest a reduction in AHI is seen in both CPAP and surgical interventions for OSA, with no difference in AHI reduction between groups. Both treatments also lead to a similar improvement in depression scores providing strong evidence regards impact of surgery on OSA-associated mood disorders. While percent reduction in depression is higher in the surgical group, the difference did not reach statistical significance when compared to CPAP. When stratified by surgical intervention, most interventions suggest an improvement in depression scores.
Implementierung von Maßnahmen zur Stärkung der organisationalen Gesundheitskompetenz im Krankenhaus, Einrichtungen der Pflege und Eingliederungshilfe: Evaluationsergebnisse aus dem Projekt „EwiKo“
Authors: Rathmann Katharina , László Emese , Spatzier Denis
Published: December 2024

Hintergrund

Die organisationale Gesundheitskompetenz (OGK) stellt einen wichtigen Bestandteil der patientenorientierten Gesundheitsversorgung, Organisationsentwicklung und Mitarbeiterorientierung dar. Zur Implementierung von Maßnahmen zur Stärkung der OGK wurden im Projekt „Entwicklung der Gesundheitskompetenz in Einrichtungen der Gesundheitsversorgung“ (EwiKo) sog. Toolboxen, eine Tool-Datenbank, Praxisleitfäden zur Stärkung der OGK sowie ein Selbstbewertungsinstrument (Selbstcheck) zur Erfassung der OGK in Einrichtungen der Gesundheitsversorgung (Krankenhaus, Pflege, Eingliederungshilfe und in Leichter Sprache) entwickelt, erprobt und evaluiert.

Ziel

Ziel ist es, die Befragungsergebnisse vor (t0) und nach (t1) der Pilotphase (Dauer: 15–18 Monate) in den Piloteinrichtungen mittels einrichtungsspezifischer Selbstchecks im Rahmen der Begleitevaluation darzustellen.

Methodik

Vor der Intervention (t0) wurden die Bedarfe zur Stärkung der OGK durch n = 43 Mitglieder der „Arbeitsgruppe (AG) Gesundheitskompetenz“ aus n = 6 Piloteinrichtungen mittels Selbstchecks (n = 3269 beantwortete Aussagen) erhoben. Zur Überprüfung der Wirksamkeit der Intervention haben n = 22 Mitglieder der „AG Gesundheitskompetenz“ aus n = 6 Piloteinrichtungen die Selbstchecks nach der Pilotphase erneut ausgefüllt (n = 695 beantwortete Aussagen).

Ergebnisse

Im Vorher-nachher-Vergleich der Selbstchecks (t0/t1) zeigte sich über alle Handlungsfelder hinweg eine Verbesserung des OGK-Ausmaßes. Bei der Bedarfserhebung (t0) zeigte sich der größte Bedarf in Standard 3 „Schulung der Mitarbeitenden“ (61,8 %, n = 2020), nach der Pilotphase (t1) wurden lediglich 33,3 % (n = 21) der Selbstcheck-Aussagen „nicht bzw. eher nicht“ erfüllt. Im Rahmen der Bedarfserhebung (t0) wurden von den Piloteinrichtungen 37,9 % (n = 1239) der Selbstcheck-Aussagen in allen acht OGK-Standards „nicht bzw. eher nicht“ erfüllt. Nach der Pilotphase (t1) wurden über alle erprobten Standards (n = 6) 23,0 % (n = 160) der Selbstcheck-Aussagen „nicht bzw. eher nicht“ erfüllt.

Schlussfolgerung

Selbstchecks sind geeignet, Bedarfe zur Stärkung der OGK in den Einrichtungen der Gesundheitsversorgung aufzudecken. Der t0-/t1-Vergleich zeigt eine Verbesserung der OGK in allen erprobten Handlungsfeldern nach der Pilotphase, unabhängig davon, in welchen Standards die Maßnahmen umgesetzt wurden. Mit den Selbstchecks ist es künftig möglich, die OGK differenziert nach Einrichtungsart zu erfassen und den Erfolg der Maßnahmen – im Sinne eines Monitorings – zu überprüfen.
Love as a Commitment Device
Authors: Kowal Marta , Bode Adam , Koszałkowska Karolina , Roberts S. Craig , Gjoneska Biljana , Frederick David , Studzinska Anna , Dubrov Dmitrii , Grigoryev Dmitry , Aavik Toivo , Prokop Pavol , Grano Caterina , Çetinkaya Hakan , Duyar Derya Atamtürk , Baiocco Roberto , Batres Carlota , Belkacem Yakhlef , Boğa Merve , Burduli Nana , Can Ali R. , Chegeni Razieh , Chopik William J. , Don Yahya , Dural Seda , Duyar Izzet , Etchezahar Edgardo , Fekih-Romdhane Feten , Frackowiak Tomasz , García Felipe E. , Yepes Talia Gomez , Guemaz Farida , Hamdaoui Brahim B. , Koyuncu Mehmet , Landa-Blanco Miguel , Lins Samuel , Marot Tiago , Mayorga-Lascano Marlon , Mebarak Moises , Morelli Mara , Ndukaihe Izuchukwu L. G. , Fauzee Mohd Sofian Omar , Pacquing Ma. Criselda Tengco , Parise Miriam , Pazhoohi Farid , Pirtskhalava Ekaterine , Ponnet Koen , Reips Ulf-Dietrich , Reyes Marc Eric Santos , Şahin Ayşegül , Sahli Fatima Zahra , Senyk Oksana , Spasovski Ognen , Tulyakul Singha , Ungaretti Joaquín , Vintila Mona , Volkodav Tatiana , Wlodarczyk Anna , Yoo Gyesook , Gelbart Benjamin , Sorokowski Piotr
Published: December 2024

Given the ubiquitous nature of love, numerous theories have been proposed to explain its existence. One such theory refers to love as a commitment device, suggesting that romantic love evolved to foster commitment between partners and enhance their reproductive success. In the present study, we investigated this hypothesis using a large-scale sample of 86,310 individual responses collected across 90 countries. If romantic love is universally perceived as a force that fosters commitment between long-term partners, we expected that individuals likely to suffer greater losses from the termination of their relationships—including people of lower socioeconomic status, those with many children, and women—would place a higher value on romantic love compared to people with higher status, those with fewer children, and men. These predictions were supported. Additionally, we observed that individuals from countries with a higher (vs. lower) Human Development Index placed a greater level of importance on romantic love, suggesting that modernization might influence how romantic love is evaluated. On average, participants worldwide were unwilling to commit to a long-term romantic relationship without love, highlighting romantic love’s universal importance.
Comparison of bioelectrical impedance analysis and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry for the diagnosis of sarcopenia in the older adults with metabolic syndrome: equipment-specific equation development
Authors: Kim Younji , Beom Jaewon , Lee Sang Yoon , Jang Hak Chul , Kim Keewon , Kim Miji , Shim Ga Yang , Won Chang Won , Lim Jae-Young
Published: December 2024

Objective

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and sarcopenia together pose significant health risks, increasing frailty, falls, and fractures in older adults. This study compared muscle mass measurements obtained using two different dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) machines and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), and evaluated the accuracy of these measurements in these older adults.

Methods

In this prospective multicenter cohort study, patients aged ≥ 65 years with MetS had their muscle mass assessed using both BIA and DXA. Two DXA devices, Hologic Horizon and GE Lunar Prodigy, were used as clinical standards for sarcopenia diagnosis. Statistical analyses generated equations for transforming BIA results to match those from DXA, enhancing comparability.

Results

Participants had a mean age of 73.2 ± 5.3 years. The mean appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) measured by BIA and DXA was 19.7 ± 3.1 kg (BIA) and 18.1 ± 2.9 kg (DXA) for males, and 13.7 ± 2.2 kg (BIA) and 12.6 ± 1.8 kg (DXA) for females. Device-specific equations were developed to estimate DXA-measured ASM based on BIA results. These equations are presented for all participants and for each DXA device, highlighting significant differences in prediction models between the two DXA machines.

Conclusion

The study developed device-specific equations for sarcopenia diagnosis in older adults with MetS, highlighting substantial differences between Hologic and GE Lunar devices. While BIA may offer a more accessible alternative to DXA, the variation in prediction formulas underscores the need for standardized equipment to ensure consistency in sarcopenia diagnosis.
The causal association between asthma and the risk of frailty: A two-sample Mendelian randomization study
Authors: Ning Pingping , Mu Xin , Guo Xingzhi , Zhou Rong , Tian Ge , Li Rui
Published: December 2024

Background

The correlation between asthma and frailty is increasingly garnering attention. The association between asthma and frailty remains inconclusive in observational studies, and the causality of this relationship still needs to be established.

Aims

Therefore, we employed two-sample Mendelian randomization analyses using genetic instruments to determine the causal association of asthma on frailty.

Methods

Two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses were performed to assess the causal effect of asthma on frailty. The genetic variants strongly associated with asthma (P < 5E-08) during the discovery and replication stages were derived from a recent meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) (N = 408,442) in the UK Biobank and a GWAS in the FinnGen Consortium (N = 217,421), respectively. Summary statistics of the frailty index (N = 175,226) are derived from the latest released GWAS dataset on frailty index. The inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was employed as the primary approach for calculating estimated values, with additional sensitivity analyses and heterogeneity analyses utilized to further validate the results.

Results

Using the IVW method, genetic susceptibility to asthma was associated with an increased risk of frailty in the discovery stage (odds ratio [OR] = 1.092, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.075–1.109, P = 5.00E-28), which was also validated in the replication stage (OR = 1.073, 95% CI = 1.052–1.096, P = 1.41E-11). Sensitivity analyses yielded consistent causal estimate, and no significant pleiotropy was found throughout the MR study.

Conclusion

The present study demonstrated that asthma is causally associated with an elevated risk of frailty. Further studies are needed to elucidate the potential pathophysiological mechanisms between asthma and frailty.
Developing a Charlson Comorbidity Index for the American Indian Population Using the Epidemiologic Data from the Strong Heart Study
Authors: Rogers Paul , Merenda Christine , Araojo Richardae , Lee Christine , Lolic Milena , Zhang Ying , Reese Jessica , Malloy Kimberly , Wang Dong , Zou Wen , Xu Joshua , Lee Elisa
Published: December 2024

Background

The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) is a frequently used mortality predictor based on a scoring system for the number and type of patient comorbidities health researchers have used since the late 1980s. The initial purpose of the CCI was to classify comorbid conditions, which could alter the risk of patient mortality within a 1-year time frame. However, the CCI may not accurately reflect risk among American Indians because they are a small proportion of the US population and possibly lack representation in the original patient cohort. A motivating factor in calibrating a CCI for American Indians is that this population, as a whole, experiences a greater burden of comorbidities, including diabetes mellitus, obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic health conditions, than the rest of the US population.

Methods

This study attempted to modify the CCI to be specific to the American Indian population utilizing the data from the still ongoing The Strong Heart Study (SHS) — a multi-center population-based longitudinal study of cardiovascular disease among American Indians.

A 1-year survival analysis with mortality as the outcome was performed using the SHS morbidity and mortality surveillance data and assessing the impact of comorbidities in terms of hazard ratios with the training cohort. A Kaplan–Meier plot for a subset of the testing cohort was used to compare groups with selected mCCI-AI scores.

Results

A total of 3038 Phase VI participants from the SHS comprised the study population for whom mortality and morbidity surveillance data were available through December 2019. The weights generated by the SHS participants for myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and high blood pressure were greater than Charlson’s original weights. In addition, the weights for liver illness were equivalent to Charlson’s severe form of the disease. Lung cancer had the greatest overall weight derived from a hazard ratio of 8.31.

Conclusions

The mCCI-AI was a statistically significant predictor of 1-year mortality, classifying patients into different risk strata χ2 (8, N = 1,245) = 30.56 (p = 0.0002). The mCCI-AI was able to discriminate between participants who died and those who survived 73% of the time.
The Impact of Designing Near-Peer Teacher Training According to Merrill’s First Principles of Instruction
Authors: Vaudrey Kristopher , Uy Marc James Thor , Thompson Alexis , Morris Hannah , Cifuentes Lauren
Published: December 2024

The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of an online asynchronous training program for near-peer teachers at the medical school level, designed using Merrill’s First Principles of Instruction. A qualitative phenomenological study using semi-structured interviews and a reflective journal was conducted with second-year medical students (n = 10) who participated in the near-peer teaching program for the ultrasound component of the human anatomy lab. Deductive analysis revealed that near-peer teachers benefited. These themes emerged (1) near-peer teachers teaching in the Ultrasound Lab and in future medical practice, (2) activating prior learned knowledge, (3) using videos to help prepare near-peer teachers for teaching in the Ultrasound Lab, (4) providing a self-assessment of content comprehension, and (5) helping near-peer teachers to develop teaching techniques. Future research could evaluate asynchronous training for near-peer teaching in other lab-based activities, explore the impacts of near-peer teaching on medical students who receive near-peer instruction, and determine the longitudinal impacts of such programs.
Evaluation of the Regulatory Review Process of the Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority: Challenges and Opportunities
Authors: Chisha Constance Sakala , Siyanga Makomani , Leigh Stephanie , Kermad Adem , Walker Stuart
Published: December 2024

Purpose

This study aimed to assess the current regulatory review process of the Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA) by identifying the key milestones and target timelines achieved for products approved from 2020 to 2023, as well as good review and quality decision-making practices implemented in the review process.

Methods

A standardised, validated questionnaire; Optimising Efficiencies in Regulatory Agencies (OpERA) and the OpERA Data Collection Template were completed by the author.

Results

Three review models are used by ZAMRA to review new active substances (NASs) and generic products: verification, for products prequalified by the World Health Organization or approved by a stringent regulatory authority (SRA); abridged, for well-established molecules or SRA-approved products; or full, for products not otherwise prequalified. Good review practices and quality decision-making processes were followed but could be improved.

Conclusion

This study assessed the overall ZAMRA operation and identified the key milestones in the review process for products approved from 2020 to 2023, target timelines achieved and the compliance to standard good review and quality decision-making practices.
Progress, Continuity, and Constitutional Amendment: Envisaging Legitimacy in the pre-Global South's Quest for Modernity in China and Taiwan
Authors: Kuo Ming-Sung
Published: December 2024

This article compares constitutional amendments in China and Taiwan to explore the long shadow cast by the Chinese encounter with ‘modernity’ on their divergent constitutional roads. It observes that in China, preambular changes have been the characteristic of the amendments to the 1982 Constitution of the People's Republic of China, while the rule-conformity feature of Taiwan's multiple rounds of constitutional revision indicates that the preservation of the formal identity of the 1946 Constitution of the Republic of China is central to Taiwan's constitutional transformation. The article argues that the prominence of the preamble in China's constitutional amendments reflects the programmatic character of its socialist constitution, which is seen as an instrument for progress and emancipation through revolutionary forces. In contrast, Taiwan's rigorous observance of amendment rules underscores the pivotal role of legality in its constitutional development. Progress and continuity underlie the respective necessary legitimating conditions for constitutional amendment in China and Taiwan. Tracing the revolution-progress and the legality-continuity nexuses to the Chinese quest for liberation from Western imperialism, this article suggests that modernity guides both China and Taiwan in maintaining the legitimacy of their respective constitutions. China's path towards modernity tells a story of constitutional struggle in the prehistory of the Global South.
Vortex gust mitigation from onboard measurements using deep reinforcement learning
Authors: Martin Brice , Jardin Thierry , Rachelson Emmanuel , Bauerheim Michael
Published: December 2024

This paper proposes to solve the vortex gust mitigation problem on a 2D, thin flat plate using onboard measurements. The objective is to solve the discrete-time optimal control problem of finding the pitch rate sequence that minimizes the lift perturbation, that is, the criterion

where

is the lift coefficient obtained by the unsteady vortex lattice method. The controller is modeled as an artificial neural network, and it is trained to minimize

using deep reinforcement learning (DRL). To be optimal, we show that the controller must take as inputs the locations and circulations of the gust vortices, but these quantities are not directly observable from the onboard sensors. We therefore propose to use a Kalman particle filter (KPF) to estimate the gust vortices online from the onboard measurements. The reconstructed input is then used by the controller to calculate the appropriate pitch rate. We evaluate the performance of this method for gusts composed of one to five vortices. Our results show that (i) controllers deployed with full knowledge of the vortices are able to mitigate efficiently the lift disturbance induced by the gusts, (ii) the KPF performs well in reconstructing gusts composed of less than three vortices, but shows more contrasted results in the reconstruction of gusts composed of more vortices, and (iii) adding a KPF to the controller recovers a significant part of the performance loss due to the unobservable gust vortices.
Some remarks about self-products and entropy
Authors: HOCHMAN MICHAEL
Published: December 2024

Let

$(X,\mathcal {B},\mu ,T)$

be a probability-preserving system with X compact and T a homeomorphism. We show that if every point in

$X\times X$

is two-sided recurrent, then

$h_{\mu }(T)=0$

, resolving a problem of Benjamin Weiss, and that if

$h_{\mu }(T)=\infty $

, then every full-measure set in X contains mean-asymptotic pairs (that is, the associated process is not tight), resolving a problem of Ornstein and Weiss.
Do ice-dam rupture events leave a distinctive signature in proglacial lake sediments?
Authors: Brignone Guido , Romero Matias , Van Wyk de Vries Maximillian , Ito Emi , Shapley Mark , Piovano Eduardo Luis
Published: December 2024

Lake sediment provides a valuable record of past environmental change. However, the controls on sedimentation in proglacial lakes and their relation to glacier retreat remain poorly understood. In this study we analyze glaciolacustrine sediment production and deposition in Canal de los Témpanos, Lago Argentino, Argentine Patagonia. We associate temporal changes in the sedimentologic and geochemical characteristics analyzed from Lago Argentino cores with Late Holocene fluctuations of the Perito Moreno and Ameghino glaciers. We show that the dominant sediment source at our study site switched from Ameghino to Perito Moreno Glacier after the recession of Ameghino Glacier and the formation of the marginal ice-contact lake into which it currently calves. Spectacular ice-dam rupture events generated by Perito Moreno Glacier redistribute large volumes of water through the lake system but do not leave a significant sedimentary signature. Our results demonstrate that a detailed analysis of sedimentologic, petrophysical, and geochemical changes in lake cores can provide insight into regional glacial dynamics and sedimentary processes even in complex systems with multiple competing glacial sources and that changing glacier geometries during retreat can provide insights into the provenience of the sediments.
Performance of the new MICADAS spectrometer at the Radiocarbon and Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Gliwice, Poland
Authors: Ustrzycka A , Piotrowska N , Kłusek M , Pawełczyk F , Michczyńska D J , Michczyński A , Kozioł A , Jędrzejowski M
Published: December 2024

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is a worldwide recognized method for radiocarbon (14C) dating. The advantageous aspects of this method include the variety of materials and the small sample size (1 mg of carbon) that can be measured. However, these pose several challenges in the laboratory, such as developing appropriate chemical pretreatment methods. In the summer of 2022, the Radiocarbon and Mass Spectrometry Laboratory in Gliwice, Poland, launched the MICADAS accelerator spectrometer. The report on background and reference materials measurement results for the period from September 2022 to July 2024 is presented in this publication. Quality assurance and quality control processes are extremely important to guarantee the high quality of the results obtained in the laboratory. Hence, our Radiocarbon and Mass Spectrometry Laboratory in Gliwice took part in the Glasgow International Radiocarbon Inter-Comparison (GIRI) program. The radiocarbon ages for wood, bone, humic acid, and barley mash samples were determined and compared with reported values. The resulting data confirmed that our Laboratory is capable of dating samples across a spectrum of materials and ages ranging from contemporary to the limits of the radiocarbon method, achieving precision on par with that of other laboratories.
Children Possessed: Adam Maor and Yonatan Levy’s Opera The Sleeping Thousand (2019)
Authors: GROVER-FRIEDLANDER MICHAL
Published: December 2024

Adam Maor and Yonatan Levy’s chamber opera The Sleeping Thousand refashions the Palestinian–Israeli conflict as a futuristic science-fiction political fantasy. Adopting a critical and satirical perspective, the opera develops ad absurdum an imaginative state of affairs out of which a utopian and dystopian situation unfolds. My argument is that in The Sleeping Thousand, children are central and, furthermore, that the image construed for them is new to the medium of opera. The image is disconcerting. The child is positioned in a troubled, brutal world and catalyses the portrayal of a violent, cursed, unethical, and estranged world inhabited by adults. Children are not assigned a voice but rather are reported on; in the report, they are said to be possessed by a dybbuk. In The Sleeping Thousand, a dybbuk phenomenon forms operatic children and, through them, infiltrates the opera as a whole.
Water Infrastructure as a Technology of Control and a Site of Negotiation in Nineteenth-Century Batavia, Netherlands Indies
Authors: Toivanen Mikko
Published: December 2024

This article examines the social and political aspects of late nineteenth-century water management in Batavia (now Jakarta), the capital of the Netherlands Indies. Through a detailed analysis of how a mixture of old and new water technologies featured in the city’s public debates and decision-making, it argues that water infrastructure served as a key site of social control over the city’s diverse population. From the 1870s onwards, deep-bore artesian wells linked to public hydrants were introduced to provide a reliable and hygienic supply of clean water. This was a response to long-standing concerns over the city’s waste-blocked canals and their deleterious health effects. The article shows how these technologies came to be entwined with new, punitive social norms, enforced through both formal regulations on water use and informal complaints over wastefulness; moreover, these norms had a clear racial dimension, being directed primarily against the city’s Asian communities and repurposing long-standing stereotypes. Yet, beyond official discourses, a close reading of these debates shows that Batavia’s canals and hydrants also functioned as grassroots sites of negotiation, where different ideas – not just of water and land but of the very concept of public spaces and the colonial public sphere – met and occasionally clashed.
Finding the Female Voice in Anselm's Orationes sive Meditationes: New Manuscript Evidence
Authors: POHL BENJAMIN
Published: December 2024

This article presents new manuscript evidence of one of the most widely read devotional texts of the Middle Ages – the Prayers and meditations (Orationes sive meditationes) of St Anselm, abbot of Le Bec and archbishop of Canterbury – to argue that some of these prayers were originally written and disseminated in the voice of a woman. Composed and copied in grammatically feminine forms, these prayers were, as I show here, deliberately designed to be used and recited by women. This new and hitherto completely overlooked evidence is transformative for our understanding of women's active voices in medieval cultures of devotion.
Natural capital and aggregate income growth
Authors: Manning Dale T. , Barbier Edward B.
Published: December 2024

We explore the theoretical conditions in which natural capital improves explanations of aggregate income growth from factor changes. With positive total factor productivity (TFP) growth, including natural capital better explains growth if natural capital growth rates exceed physical capital growth rates. With negative TFP growth and higher natural capital growth rates, natural capital worsens explanations of growth. Using a comprehensive dataset on natural resource stocks and income shares in GDP, we perform an empirical analysis with 99 countries over three time periods between 2001 and 2015 and find that 41 per cent of country-time periods meet the conditions for improved growth explanation with natural capital. Of these, 59 per cent occur because TFP growth is negative, and physical capital growth exceeds that of natural capital. In these cases, including natural capital simultaneously reduces bias in factor shares and TFP estimates and improves the share of growth explained by changes in factors.
Characterization and Comparison of Formulas for Optimizing Broadside Radiation and Null Beams in 2D Leaky-Wave Antennas
Authors: Fuscaldo Walter , Jackson David R. , Galli Alessandro
Published: December 2024

Two-dimensional (2D) leaky-wave antennas (LWAs) are commonly designed to radiate pencil beams at broadside and/or scanned conical beams. Recently, the possibility to radiate narrow null patterns at broadside has also been preliminarily explored. In this work, we first review the design rules to obtain a pencil beam from an infinite 2D LWA and then show how they change for having a beam with a narrow null at broadside. The effects of antenna truncation are also accounted for in both cases, and numerical results show how the optimum conditions are in turn affected. Finally, full-wave validations of practical structures excited with either horizontal or vertical dipoles validate the analysis.
High sound pressure piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers using sputtered potassium sodium niobate
Authors: Xia Fan , Peng Yande , Yue Wei , Luo Mingze , Teng Megan , Chen Chun-Ming , Pala Sedat , Yu Xiaoyang , Ma Yuanzheng , Acharya Megha , Arakawa Ryuichi , Martin Lane W. , Lin Liwei
Published: December 2024

This work presents air-coupled piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers (pMUTs) with high sound pressure level (SPL) under low-driving voltages by utilizing sputtered potassium sodium niobate K0.34Na0.66NbO3 (KNN) films. A prototype single KNN pMUT has been tested to show a resonant frequency at 106.3 kHz under 4 Vp-p with outstanding characteristics: (1) a large vibration amplitude of 3.74 μm/V, and (2) a high acoustic root mean square (RMS) sound pressure level of 105.5 dB/V at 10 cm, which is 5–10 times higher than those of AlN-based pMUTs at a similar frequency. There are various potential sensing and actuating applications, such as fingerprint sensing, touch point, and gesture recognition. In this work, we present demonstrations in three fields: haptics, loudspeakers, and rangefinders. For haptics, an array of 15 × 15 KNN pMUTs is used as a non-contact actuator to provide a focal pressure of around 160.3 dB RMS SPL at a distance of 15 mm. This represents the highest output pressure achieved by an airborne pMUT for haptic sensation on human palms. When used as a loudspeaker, a single pMUT element with a resonant frequency close to the audible range at 22.8 kHz is characterized. It is shown to be able to generate a uniform acoustic output with an amplitude modulation scheme. In the rangefinder application, pulse-echo measurements using a single pMUT element demonstrate good transceiving results, capable of detecting objects up to 2.82 m away. As such, this new class of high-SPL and low-driving-voltage pMUTs could be further extended to other applications requiring high acoustic pressure and a small form factor.
Genetic risk for treatment resistant schizophrenia and corresponding variation in dopamine synthesis capacity and D2/3 receptor availability in healthy individuals
Authors: Eisenberg Daniel Paul , Blackman Rachael Keir , Tietcheu Maria G. , Kohn Philip D. , Bettina Jasmin S. , Kolachana Bhaskar , Gregory Michael D. , Berman Karen F.
Published: December 2024

Dysfunction of dopamine systems has long been considered a hallmark of schizophrenia, and nearly all current first-line medication treatments block dopamine D2 receptors. However, approximately a quarter of patients will not adequately respond to these agents and are considered treatment-resistant. Whereas abnormally high striatal presynaptic dopamine synthesis capacity has been observed in people with schizophrenia, studies of treatment-resistant patients have not shown this pattern and have even found the opposite – i.e., reductions in striatal presynaptic dopamine synthesis capacity. Whether such reductions in fact represent clinical epiphenomena such as medication or other treatment effects or whether they rather represent neurobiological differences related to etiology has been unclear. To understand the dopaminergic implications of genetic liability for treatment-resistant schizophrenia without the confound of clinical epiphenomena, we studied a cohort of healthy individuals without neuropsychiatric illness using [18F]-FDOPA positron emission tomography (PET) and found that striatal presynaptic dopamine synthesis capacity showed an expected direct association with cumulative genetic risk burden for general schizophrenia but an inverse association with specific polygenic risk for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Subsequent evaluation of D2/3 dopamine receptor availability in an overlapping cohort using [18F]-fallypride PET did not identify any effects of genetic risk in the striatum but found an association with treatment-resistant schizophrenia polygenic risk in the thalamus. Overall, these results align with prior PET studies in patients and implicate, at least with respect to the dopamine system, fundamentally distinct molecular mechanisms in the unique genetic liability for treatment-resistant schizophrenia.
Diversity and future perspectives of Mediterranean deep-water oyster reefs
Authors: Castellan Giorgio , Angeletti Lorenzo , Taviani Marco
Published: December 2024

Anthropogenic and climate factors are increasingly affecting the composition and functions of many marine biogenic reefs globally, leading to a decline in associated biodiversity and ecosystem services. Once dominant ecological component, modern oyster reefs in the Mediterranean and Black Sea and the Atlantic Ocean have already been profoundly altered by overharvesting, habitat loss and the introduction of alien species. Far less known are deep-water oyster reefs, which can however form substantial biogenic structures below 30 m depth. Here we analyze the diversity of benthic assemblages associated with deep-water oyster reefs formed by the gryphaeid Neopycnodonte cochlear, and other mesophotic habitats in the central Mediterranean Sea using a taxonomic and functional approach. Our findings suggest that deep-water oyster reefs may act as hotspots of biodiversity and ecological functions in the Mediterranean Sea under current conditions, having also an edge in survival in a changing ocean.