bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Using Embryo Models to Understand the Development and Progression of Embryonic Lineages: A Focus on Primordial Germ Cell Development
Authors: Rodriguez-Polo Ignacio , Moris Naomi
Published: March 2024

Background: Recapitulating mammalian cell type differentiation in vitro promises to improve our understanding of how these processes happen in vivo, while bringing additional prospects for biomedical applications. The establishment of stem cell-derived embryo models and embryonic organoids, which have experienced explosive growth over the last few years, opens new avenues for research due to their scale, reproducibility, and accessibility. Embryo models mimic various developmental stages, exhibit different degrees of complexity, and can be established across species. Since embryo models exhibit multiple lineages organized spatially and temporally, they are likely to provide cellular niches that, to some degree, recapitulate the embryonic setting and enable “co-development” between cell types and neighbouring populations. One example where this is already apparent is in the case of primordial germ cell-like cells (PGCLCs). Summary: While directed differentiation protocols enable the efficient generation of high PGCLC numbers, embryo models provide an attractive alternative as they enable the study of interactions of PGCLCs with neighbouring cells, alongside the regulatory molecular and biophysical mechanisms of PGC competency. Additionally, some embryo models can recapitulate post-specification stages of PGC development (including migration or gametogenesis), mimicking the inductive signals pushing PGCLCs to mature and differentiate and enabling the study of PGCLC development across stages. Therefore, in vitro models may allow us to address questions of cell type differentiation, and PGC development specifically, that have hitherto been out of reach with existing systems. Key Message: This review evaluates the current advances in stem cell-based embryo models, with a focus on their potential to model cell type-specific differentiation in general and in particular to address open questions in PGC development and gametogenesis.
Training Generative Adversarial Networks with Adaptive Composite Gradient
Authors: Qi Huiqing , Li Fang , Tan Shengli , Zhang Xiangyun
Published: March 2024

The wide applications of Generative adversarial networks benefit from the successful training methods, guaranteeing that an object function converges to the local minimum. Nevertheless, designing an efficient and competitive training method is still a challenging task due to the cyclic behaviors of some gradient-based ways and the expensive computational cost of acquiring the Hessian matrix. To address this problem, we proposed the Adaptive Composite Gradients(ACG) method, linearly convergent in bilinear games under suitable settings. Theory analysis and toy-function experiments both suggest that our approach alleviates the cyclic behaviors and converges faster than recently proposed SOTA algorithms. The convergence speed of the ACG is improved by 33% than other methods. Our ACG method is a novel Semi-Gradient-Free algorithm that can reduce the computational cost of gradient and Hessian by utilizing the predictive information in future iterations. The mixture of Gaussians experiments and real-world digital image generative experiments show that our ACG method outperforms several existing technologies, illustrating the superiority and efficacy of our method.
A Public Theological Reflection on Biblical Antecedents of Protocols for Managing Pandemics
Authors: Amissah Patrick Kofi
Published: March 2024

This article is a public theological discourse, arguing that the protocols, such as handwashing, social distancing, and face-covering, used to halt the spread of COVID-19, have biblical antecedents. Some observers contend that church leaders failed to inspire biblical hope, faith and courage when they focused on promoting the preventive protocols. It can be argued that promoting these protocols was a means of promoting biblical hope, faith, and courage in the face of the pandemic. In the Hebrew Bible, priests were commanded to wash their hands and feet before going into the tent of meeting. Isolation or quarantine was imposed on anyone with a suspected skin disease until examinations confirmed the disease or otherwise. Though these protocols were mostly for religious ceremonial and ritualistic purposes, they might have helped to halt the spread of infectious diseases. The article thus provides an exegesis of Exodus 30:17–21 and Leviticus 13:1–8, 45–46.
Reconstructing Love for God vis-à-vis Religious Intolerance in Nigeria through the Philosophy of Samae Spirit
Authors: Kaunda Chammah J. , Ejike Cyril Emeka
Published: March 2024

This article addresses the question of how the spirit of love, as articulated in the Samae spirit (three loves – divine, humanity and environment), can offer a concrete approach to translating divine-love into actionable expressions in a volatile religious pluralistic context, such as Nigeria. Drawing lessons from the theory of the Samae Spirit, we argue that love for God should not be considered in isolation from divine-love for the world and the religious other. We conclude that the all-embracing and concrete interpretation and understanding of divine-love has the potential to foster and nurture life-giving religious pluralism, making divine-love a force immanent in Nigeria.
Naringenin-Loaded Bovine Serum Albumin Nanoparticles Inhibit Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) to Prevent Ulcer and Gastric Cancer
Authors: Liu Furong , Wen Ting , Chen Fangshan , Huang Jin , Liao Dazhong
Published: March 2024

Gastric cancer is a malignance of digestive system and effective treatment measures are key to treatment of gastric cancer. In this experiment, we assessed the effect of bovine serum albumin nanoparticle (BASNP)-coated naringenin (NGN) on reactive oxygen species (ROS) in gastric cancer.
After preparation of NGN-BASNP and animal model of gastric cancer, rats were administered with NGN-BASNP, ROS agonists and ROS inhibitors, when the model group was set. After one week of intervention, gastric ulcers in rats were measured and Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was performed. Transwell
chamber was used to detect cell invasion ability, while 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) was detected proliferation ability of gastric cancer cells. Real Time Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blot determined TNF-α mRNA
expression and ROS. With about 100 nm diameter of NGN-BASNP nanoparticles, the nanoparticles presented in good shape. Compared with lesions in the model group, NGN-BASNP treatment greatly improved the condition, relieving the ulcer and decreasing the ulcer area (P < 0.05). After
adding ROS agonist, inhibitory effect of NGN-BASNP intervention was amplified (P < 0.01) when the ROS level in the NGN-BASNP+ROS agonist group was decreased and TNF-α expression decreased. Moreover, NGN-BASNP effectively suppressed gastric cancer cell proliferation and
migration but induced apoptosis. NGN-BASNP inhibited the expression of TNF-α mRNA and ROS level in gastric cancer cells, thereby alleviating gastric ulcer and delaying gastric cancer cell growth.
How Is Synoptic-Scale Circulation Influenced by the Dynamics of Mesoscale Convection in Convection-Permitting Simulations over West Africa?
Authors: Morris Fran , Schwendike Juliane , Parker Douglas J. , Bain Caroline
Published: March 2024

Understanding how mesoscale convection interacts with synoptic-scale circulations over West Africa is crucial for improving regional weather forecasts and developing convection parameterizations to address biases in climate models. A 10-yr pan-African convection-permitting simulation and a corresponding parameterized simulation for current-climate conditions are used to calculate the circulation budget around a synoptic region over the diurnal cycle, splitting processes that modulate circulation tendency (vorticity accumulation and vortex tilting) into diurnal mean and anomalous contributions. Dynamical fields are composited around precipitating grid cells during afternoon and overnight convection to understand how the mesoscale convection modulates synoptic-scale processes, and the composites are compared with an observational case. The dominant process modulating circulation tendency was found to be synoptic-scale vorticity accumulation, which is similar in the two simulations. The greatest difference between the simulated budgets was the tilting term. We propose that the tilting term is affected by convective momentum transport associated with precipitating systems crossing the boundary of the region, whereas the stretching term relies on the convergence and divergence induced by storms within the region. The simulation with parameterized convection captures the heating profile similarly to the simulation with explicit convection, but there are marked differences in convective momentum transport. An accurate vertical convergence structure as well as momentum transport must be simulated in parameterizations to correctly represent the impacts of convection on circulation.

Significance Statement

We used climate simulations with explicit convection and a convection parameterization to interrogate the relationship between mesoscale convection and synoptic-scale circulation over West Africa. We examined the typical behavior of mesoscale precipitating systems in both simulations and compared this with an observation of a storm. We also investigated how synoptic circulation changed over a diurnal cycle in both simulations. The biggest differences between the simulations were caused by how mesoscale systems in each simulation transport momentum when they cross the boundaries of a circulation, but the greatest impact on synoptic circulation was from the patterns of convergence and divergence induced by mesoscale systems, which are very similar in both simulations. Convection parameterizations should prioritize improving the representation of momentum transport.
Changes in Compound Hot Extremes over the Mid–High Latitudes of Asia and the Underlying Mechanisms
Authors: Jiang Wenhao , Chen Huopo , Wang Huijun
Published: March 2024

This study investigates the spatiotemporal variations of the summer frequency of daytime–nighttime compound extreme high-temperature events (FCEHEs) in the mid–high latitudes of Asia (MHA) from 1979 to 2014. Results show that FCEHE has shown an upward trend with fluctuations, especially in Mongolia–Baikal. The descending anomaly caused by the anomalous high pressure over Mongolia–Baikal results in reduced cloud cover, which increases solar radiation reaching the ground, favoring the higher FCEHE. This process is consistent during the daytime and nighttime periods, with relatively limited nighttime solar radiation, potentially compensated by the increased downward longwave radiation to sustain the extreme high temperatures. This benefit process is closely connected with two main factors: the increased sea ice in the Barents Sea during spring and the anomalously warm sea surface temperature (SST) in the Northwest Pacific during summer. The increased sea ice can affect the Eurasia (EU) teleconnection, while the warm SST affects the Pacific-Japan/East Asia–Pacific pattern (PJ/EAP). Subsequently, these factors further modulate the circulation anomalies and then FCEHE.

Significance Statement

This study provides valuable insights into the spatiotemporal variations and the possible underlying mechanisms for change in the frequency of daytime–nighttime compound extreme high-temperature events (FCEHEs) in the mid–high latitudes of Asia. The spring sea ice anomalies over the Barents Sea and summer sea surface temperature anomalies in the Northwest Pacific affect the local anticyclonic circulation in Mongolia–Baikal through Eurasia (EU) and Pacific-Japan/East Asia–Pacific (PJ/EAP) patterns, respectively. The resulting descending anomaly and reduced cloud cover contribute to interannual variations of FCEHE, which is highly similar during the daytime and nighttime periods. During the nighttime, when the solar radiation is relatively limited, the increased downward longwave radiation may compensate to sustain extreme high temperatures.
Assessing Modeled Mesoscale Stirring Using Microscale Observations
Authors: Cherian D. A. , Guo Y. , Bryan F. O.
Published: March 2024

We assess the representation of mesoscale stirring in a suite of models against an estimate derived from microstructure data collected during the North Atlantic Tracer Release Experiment (NATRE). We draw heavily from the approximate temperature variance budget framework of Ferrari and Polzin. This framework assumes two sources of temperature variance away from boundaries: first, the vertical stirring of the large-scale mean vertical gradient by small-scale turbulence; and second, the lateral stirring of large-scale mean along-isopycnal gradients by mesoscale eddies. Temperature variance so produced is transformed and on average transferred down scales for ultimate dissipation at the microscale at a rate χ estimated using microstructure observations. Ocean models represent these pathways by a vertical mixing parameterization, and an along-isopycnal lateral mixing parameterization (if needed). We assess the rate of variance production by the latter as a residual from the NATRE dataset and compare against the parameterized representations in a suite of model simulations. We find that variance production due to lateral stirring in a Parallel Ocean Program version 2 (POP2) 1/10° simulation agrees well, to within the estimated error bars, with that inferred from the NATRE estimate. A POP2 1° simulation and the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean Version 4 release 4 (ECCOV4r4) simulation appear to dissipate an order of magnitude too much variance by applying a lateral diffusivity, when compared to the NATRE estimate, particularly below 1250 m. The ECCOV4r4-adjusted lateral diffusivities are elevated where the microstructure suggests elevated χ sourced from mesoscale stirring. Such elevated values are absent in other diffusivity estimates suggesting the possibility of compensating errors and caution in interpreting ECCOV4r4’s adjusted lateral diffusivities.

Significance Statement

We look at whether microstructure turbulence observations can provide a useful metric for judging the fidelity of representation of mesoscale stirring in a suite of models. We focus on the region of the North Atlantic Tracer Release Experiment (NATRE), the site of a major ocean turbulence observation campaign, and use an approximate variance budget framework for the region with observational estimates from Ferrari and Polzin (2005). The approach provides a novel framework to evaluate the approximate representation of mesoscale stirring in a variety of models.
Spatiotemporal Convolutional Approach for the Short-Term Forecast of Hourly Heavy Rainfall Probability Integrating Numerical Weather Predictions and Surface Observations
Authors: Liu Xi , Zheng Yu , Zhuang Xiaoran , Wang Yaqiang , Li Xin , Bei Zhang , Zhang Wenhua
Published: March 2024

The accurate prediction of short-term rainfall, and in particular the forecast of hourly heavy rainfall (HHR) probability, remains challenging for numerical weather prediction (NWP) models. Here, we introduce a deep learning (DL) model, PredRNNv2-AWS, a convolutional recurrent neural network designed for deterministic short-term rainfall forecasting. This model integrates surface rainfall observations and atmospheric variables simulated by the Precision Weather Analysis and Forecasting System (PWAFS). Our DL model produces realistic hourly rainfall forecasts for the next 13 h. Quantitative evaluations show that the use of surface rainfall observations as one of the predictors achieves higher performance (threat score) with 263% and 186% relative improvements over NWP simulations for the first 3 h and the entire forecast hours, respectively, at a threshold of 5 mm h−1. Noting that the optical-flow method also performs well in the initial hours, its predictions quickly worsen in the final hours compared to other experiments. The machine learning model, LightGBM, is then integrated to classify HHR from the predicted hourly rainfall of PredRNNv2-AWS. The results show that PredRNNv2-AWS can better reflect actual HHR conditions compared with PredRNNv2 and PWAFS. A representative case demonstrates the superiority of PredRNNv2-AWS in predicting the evolution of the rainy system, which substantially improves the accuracy of the HHR prediction. A test case involving the extreme flood event in Zhengzhou exemplifies the generalizability of our proposed model. Our model offers a reliable framework to predict target variables that can be obtained from numerical simulations and observations, e.g., visibility, wind power, solar energy, and air pollution.
Does Smart Money Believe in the Hot Hand? Evidence From Daily Fantasy Baseball
Authors: Losak Jeremy M. , Weinbach Andrew P. , Paul Rodney J.
Published: March 2024

The behavior of informed traders, or “smart money,” in sports betting markets has long been of interest to researchers. In this paper, we focus specifically on the behavior of smart money in Major League Baseball (MLB) daily fantasy sports (DFS) contests to determine whether they avoid cognitive-behavioral biases to increase their expected earnings. Specifically, we investigate whether smart money avoids the hot hand bias, where individuals tend to overestimate the likelihood of success for players on a hot streak. Using a dataset of MLB DFS contests, we find that winning lineups have lower usage rates for players exhibiting the hot hand compared to losing lineups. This suggests that smart money identifies and fades the hot hand strategy to increase their expected earnings.
Impact of Shade on Pedestrian Activities—A Mixed-Methods Research in the City of Colombo, Sri Lanka
Authors: Siriwardena Maljini , Meetiyagoda Lakshika
Published: March 2024

This research delves into the influence of shade on pedestrian activities, employing a comprehensive mixed-methods approach along the primary thoroughfares of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Google Street View photographs served as the primary data source for this spatial analysis. Hotspot analysis and spatial autocorrelation were utilized to depict the spatial distribution of shade and establish its correlation with pedestrian activities. The spatial analysis results revealed a consistent pattern of shade concentration aligning with areas of heightened pedestrian activities. The findings hold significant implications for urban planning and design practitioners, as well as policymakers.
Fracture mechanism of carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite laminates under compression after impact
Authors: Nagumo Yoshiko , Hamanaka Miyu , Shirasu Keiichi , Ryuzono Kazuki , Yoshimura Akinori , Tohmyoh Hironori , Okabe Tomonaga
Published: March 2024

Thermoplastic carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRPs) are increasingly utilized in the aerospace industry owing to their beneficial properties and enhanced formability relative to thermoset CFRPs. Despite the extensive use of these materials, studies focusing on compression after impact (CAI) tests with impact energies exceeding 20 J for thermoplastic CFRPs remain scarce. This study examines CAI tests on quasi-isotropic laminates of thermoplastic CFRP, subjected to a low-velocity impact energy of 27.04 J. For comparison, quasi-isotropic laminates of thermoset CFRP were subjected to a low-velocity impact energy of 36.5 J. These tests reveal that the CAI strength of both materials is comparable, notwithstanding the lower fiber volume fraction in the thermoplastic CFRP. Further, this research incorporates a finite element (FE) analysis to investigate the damage mechanisms in thermoplastic CFRP. The FE model, integrating interlaminar damage observed during the impact tests, accurately predicted the relationship between compressive stress and strain, correlating closely with the experimental outcomes. It was observed that both interlaminar and intralaminar damage propagation were constrained until the point of maximum compressive stress. Prior to reaching this maximum, a region of elevated compressive stress in the fiber direction was noted in the 0° layer near the non-impacted side. These findings indicate that the compressive stress in the fiber direction in the 0° layer adjacent to the non-impacted side is pivotal in dictating the final failure, which determines the CAI strength of thermoplastic CFRP laminates.
Attitudes of Jordanian Nurses Toward Caring for Dying Patients
Authors: Nour Sara , Ammar Khawlah , Alhusamiah Bushra , Alloubani Aladeen
Published: March 2024

Hospital nurses are expected to care for dying patients. Such care provokes many undesired emotions and attitudes that affect the quality of care. This study aims to assess the attitudes of Jordanian nurses toward caring for dying patients in addition to examining the relationship between nurses’ attitudes toward caring for dying patients and their selected characteristics. A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional research design was used to recruit a total of 290 Jordanian nurses from two hospitals in Jordan. The findings of this study revealed a significant correlation between nurses’ attitudes toward caring for dying patients and receiving educational courses on palliative care ( p = .008). Also, the study found a correlation between nurses’ attitudes toward caring for dying patients and prior experience attending death cases ( p = .004). The attitudes nurses have toward caring for dying patients are affected by educational courses, which make these attitudes adjustable toward the positive.
Non-destructive reverberant testing of natural fibrous samples in a diffused acoustic field environment
Authors: Datta Mallika , Basu Gautam , Nath Devarun , Debnath Sayandeep , Sengupta Surajit , Samanta Kartick K
Published: March 2024

A hexahedron reverberation box was utilized to measure the reverberation time of samples in a diffuse acoustic field. The aim of this study is to design a mathematical model that accurately represents the correlation between frequency and absorption coefficient for analysis. The same was obtained by aligning the noise absorption coefficients (NACs) determined through an impedance tube and calculated based on the reverberation time. The analysis indicated that jute fiber exhibits superior performance compared to other natural fibers, such as rock and glass wool, in the attenuation of sound frequencies above 2200 Hz. The results motivated further investigation over jute nonwoven fabric to conduct layer analysis (1–7) and to examine the impact of thickness. Thereby, a dataset was compiled consisting of 11 fibrous samples (nine natural and two commercial fibers) and jute nonwoven fabric. The empirical model was developed regardless of the type of fiber or thickness of the nonwoven fabric, and it was successfully validated for three additional fibers (banana, pineapple, and ramie). The predictive model exhibited a high level of accuracy in estimating the NAC, displaying a strong similarity to that of impedance tube measurements. The achieved mean absolute error ranges for the predictions are between 0.02 and 0.03 only. The main discovery of this study revolves around the recognition of frequency of sound as a crucial variable and its application in predicting the NAC for the samples.
Extraction and recognition of breast morphological feature parameters based on machine learning models
Authors: Su Huimin , Zhang Peishan , Guo Ziyi , Li Tao , Zou Fengyuan
Published: March 2024

Breast feature parameters could represent breast morphology. It is significant for improving bra fit, and is an important aspect of garment ergonomics. To obtain the important feature parameters that can effectively represent breast morphology, this study proposed a feature parameter extraction method based on the machine learning model. First, the human body point-cloud data of 201 female college students were obtained by a three-dimensional body scanner, and 24 feature parameters related to breast morphology were acquired. Then, the cluster analysis was used to classify breast morphology into four categories: uniform hemisphere, outward expanding circular, converging water drop, and outward expanding hemisphere. Finally, principal component analysis was used to reduce the dimensionality of feature parameters, and the three machine learning models, naive Bayes, support vector machine, and random forest, were utilized to extract the parameters after dimensionality reduction. The results showed that principal component analysis could reduce the dimensions of breast feature parameters to seven main parameters. Based on the above three models, the seven main parameters were further reduced to three important feature parameters. They were sorted sequentially: breast volume, breast surface area, and longitudinal breast cup straight line length, and the Fisher discriminate function was used to distinguish breast morphology. The recognition accuracy based on the three important feature parameters reached 99%, higher than 97.5% for full feature parameters recognition, and 98% for seven feature parameters recognition. It is proved that the three important feature parameters obtained by the machine model are effective in characterizing breast morphology.
Testing Predictive Biases at the Intersection of Race-Ethnicity and Sex: A Multi-Site Evaluation of a Pretrial Risk Assessment Tool
Authors: Demichele Matthew , Silver Ian A. , Labrecque Ryan M. , Dawes Debbie , Lattimore Pamela K. , Tueller Stephen
Published: March 2024

Pretrial assessment instruments provide courtroom actors with information about the likelihood that someone who has been charged with a criminal offense would engage in criminal behavior if released prior to trial. Although prior research supports the ability of pretrial instruments to predict pretrial outcomes, there are concerns that pretrial instruments may inadvertently exacerbate racial-ethnic and sex disparities found in the larger criminal legal system. In the current study, we conduct multi-site predictive bias tests of a widely used pretrial instrument—the Public Safety Assessment (PSA)—across six racial-ethnic and sex groups (i.e., White males, White females, Black males, Black females, Hispanic males, and Hispanic females). Study results support the PSA as a valid and consistent predictor of failure to appear, new criminal activity, and new violent criminal activity across these six racial-ethnic and sex groups. These findings support the use of the PSA and identify several areas for future research.
Working Alliance, Risk, and Recidivism: A Community-Based Corrections Analysis
Authors: Tatman Anthony , Butler H. Daniel , Zenz Brittany
Published: March 2024

The relationship between the working alliance and rates of recidivism for individuals on probation or parole has been underexplored, and what information has been reported provides inconsistent findings. This study sought out to explore this relationship further by examining the degree to which client perceptions ( N = 145) of the working alliance were related to, and predicted, general and violent recidivism measured as reconviction. Results revealed that working alliance ratings were not significantly different between clients who recidivated and those who did not and did not predict future recidivism. Results also revealed that client age and risk predicted subsequent recidivism, while client perceptions of the working alliance did not. Implications for supervising officers in community corrections and recommendations for future research are discussed.
Declining Mental Health Without Diminished Military Service Motivation in Norwegian Adolescents From 2009 to 2022: A Research Note
Authors: Nordmo Morten , Bang Lasse , Øvergaard Anders , Lang-Ree Ole Christian
Published: March 2024

There is a growing concern that the mental health of adolescents is worsening and that this deterioration may influence adolescents’ willingness and ability to complete military service. The purpose of this study is to investigate yearly relationships between self-reported mental health indicators and motivation for military service. To accomplish this, nationwide yearly percentile records from repeated cross-sectional records of Norwegian cohorts ( N = 891,600) collected from 2009 to 2022 were evaluated. The results show that the number of adolescents with self-reported mental health diagnoses increased every year for both males and females. Well-being and coping decreased over time for females (but not males), although absolute levels were high throughout the study period. Despite evidence of worsening mental health and well-being, self-described motivation and aptitude for military service were largely stable over time for both genders. The negative trends in mental health are not associated with functional consequences for adolescents’ motivation and aptitude to complete military service.
Using Collaborative Governance to Regulate Sober Living Facilities: Structures and Strategies for Mitigating the Influence of Powerful Actors in Multi-Sectoral Networks
Authors: Witkowski Kaila , Whetsell Travis A. , Ganapati N. Emel
Published: March 2024

With the growing number of opioid-related deaths, many local governments are assembling collaborations with the goal of providing timely and tangible responses to the overdose epidemic. Although the purpose of such collaborations is to bring multi-sector stakeholders together to provide policy recommendations, the inclusion of organizations with divergent interests and differing levels of power can open the collaboration to capture by special interests. In this article, we use a mixed-method design to: a) investigate the network structure of a collaboration and b) identify the managerial strategies used to facilitate participation by diverse actors within a cross-sector task force convened to regulate sober living facilities.
Adaptive secure lateral control of autonomous electric vehicles under denial-of-service attacks
Authors: Liu Haiyan , Wang Yadong , Wang Kunfeng
Published: March 2024

In this paper, the adaptive lateral control problem is considered for autonomous electric vehicles under denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. Autonomous electric vehicles require high-precision position and pose information for the lateral control, which can be obtained from the global positioning system (GPS). However, this kind of sensors is easily susceptible to malicious DoS attacks. To mitigate the performance degradation caused by DoS attacks on GPS, a state observer is designed based on the measurements of inertial measurement units (IMUs), such that the position and pose information of vehicles can be estimated. Then, by adopting the observer states and backstepping technique, a novel adaptive secure switching control scheme is proposed. Subsequently, a stability condition is derived, which guarantees that the tracking errors converge to a compact set, and the attack effects on system dynamic performance are weakened. The stability condition also reveals the relationships among the attack durations, design parameters, and tracking errors, which can be used to guide the selection of design parameters. Simulation results are provided to validate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed control scheme.
On Creating Deeper Relationship Bonds: Felt Understanding Enhances Relationship Identification
Authors: Auger Emilie , Thai Sabrina , Birnie-Porter Carolyn , Lydon John E.
Published: March 2024

Relational experiences play a critical role in shaping how individuals see themselves. In four studies ( N=945) using person-perception, longitudinal, and experimental designs, we demonstrate that feeling understood changes individuals’ self-concept by increasing the centrality of a specific relationship (relationship identification). Study 1 showed that participants perceived an individual to be more identified with their relationship when their partner was high (vs. low) in understanding. Study 2 extended these results by examining individuals in romantic relationships longitudinally. The results of Studies 1 and 2 were distinct for understanding compared to acceptance and caring. Studies 3 and 4 manipulated felt understanding. Recalling many versus few understanding instances (Study 3) and imagining a close other being low versus high in understanding (Study 4) led individuals to feel less understood, which reduced identification in their friendships and romantic relationships. Furthermore, Study 4 suggests that coherence may be one mechanism through which felt understanding increases relationship identification.
Translation and Validation of the City Birth Trauma Scale With Lithuanian Postpartum Women: Findings and Initial Results
Authors: Riklikienė Olga , Jarašiūnaitė-Fedosejeva Gabija , Sakalauskienė Ernesta , Luneckaitė Žydrūnė , Ayers Susan
Published: March 2024

The childbirth experience and birth-related trauma are influenced by various factors, including country, healthcare system, a woman’s history of traumatic experiences, and the study’s design and instruments. This study aimed to validate the City Birth Trauma scale for Lithuanian women post-childbirth. Using a descriptive, cross-sectional survey with a nonprobability sample of 794 women who gave birth from 2020–2021, the study found good validity, reliability, and presented the prevalence of birth-related stress symptoms. A bifactor model, consisting of a general birth trauma factor and two specific factors for birth-related symptoms and general symptoms of PTSD, showed the best model fit. The Lithuanian version of the City Birth Trauma scale can be effectively used in research and clinical practice to identify birth-related trauma symptoms in women after giving birth.
Next-Generation Sequencing-Based Identification of Enterobacter hormaechei as Causative Agent of High Mortality Disease in NOD.Cg-PrkdcscidIl2rgtm1Wjl/SzJ (NSG) Mice
Authors: Si Catherine , Nickerson Kourtney , Simmons Taylor , Denton Parker , Nichols M. Russell , Dysko Robert C. , Hoenerhoff Mark , Mani Rinosh , Woods Cheryl , Henderson Kenneth S. , Freeman Zachary T.
Published: March 2024

NOD.Cg- Prkdcscid Il2rgtm1Wjl/SzJ (NSG) mice, lacking many components of a mature immune system, are at increased risk of disease. General understanding of potential pathogens of these mice is limited. We describe a high mortality disease outbreak caused by an opportunistic bacterial infection in NSG mice. Affected animals exhibited perianal fecal staining, dehydration, and wasting. Histopathologic lesions included a primary necrotizing enterocolitis, with inflammatory and necrotizing lesions also occurring in the liver, kidneys, heart, and brain of some mice. All affected individuals tested negative for known opportunistic pathogens of immunodeficient mice. We initially identified a member of Enterobacter cloacae complex (ECC) in association with the outbreak by traditional diagnostics. ECC was cultured from extraintestinal organs, both with and without histopathologic lesions, suggesting bacteremia. Infrared spectroscopy and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry demonstrated that isolates from the outbreak shared molecular features and likely a common origin. We subsequently hypothesized that advanced sequencing methods would identify a single species of ECC associated with clinical disease. Using a novel targeted amplicon-based next-generation sequencing assay, we identified Enterobacter hormaechei in association with this outbreak. Knowledge of this organism as a potential opportunistic pathogen in NSG mice is critical for preclinical studies to prevent loss of animals and confounding of research.
Critical Issues Facing the Global Church
Authors: Satyavrata Ivan Morris
Published: March 2024

In uncertain times in which we live, there is a need for responsible research scholarship that's academically robust and supports the Church's transformational mission in the world. This paper attempts to pinpoint critical issues that should be at the forefront of the Church's concern and research priorities. It first outlines three key features of life in our world today and three areas of observed weakness in a summary assessment of the state of the Church, before going on to introduce eight sets of critical issues that the Church needs to address: Racial & Ethnic Reconciliation; Patriarchy, Gender & Sexuality; Encounter with the World's Living Religions; Socio-economic Inequality & Injustice; Climate Change & Creation Care; Digital revolution, Metaverse & the Rise of AI; Metamodernism, Transhumanism & Posthumanism; and Embodied Apologetic Witness. The questions both highlight and illustrate the need for these issues to receive further reflection, research and scholarly attention.
Importance of Capgras syndrome in shared psychotic disorder: a case report
Authors: Knezevic Vladimir , Ratkovic Dragana , Ivanovic Kovacevic Svetlana , Sobot Valentina , Vejnovic Ana Marija , Comic Masa
Published: March 2024

Shared psychotic disorder characterized by Capgras syndrome is an extremely rare condition. To our knowledge, there are only a few published papers on this condition. This paper presents a case of shared Capgras syndrome in two sisters. The inducer was a younger sister with schizophrenia, who passed on her Capgras delusion to her older sister after the death of their father. After committing a violent offense caused by Capgras delusion, a court ordered the sisters’ involuntary admission to a psychiatric hospital. After being separated and receiving antipsychotic treatment, the sisters showed substantial improvement. However, shortly after hospital discharge, they stopped taking their medication and disappeared. After 15 years, their mother died and shortly afterwards, the sisters were re-admitted for forensic psychiatric evaluation after another violent crime caused by Capgras delusion. Timely recognition, adequate treatment and maintaining a therapeutic alliance could contribute to a better clinical course and outcome of this disorder, and reduce the risk of violent behavior.
Music consumption and uses in Japan
Authors: Kok Keegan , North Adrian C , Hamamura Takeshi , Liew Kongmeng
Published: March 2024

This research investigates the relationship between music consumption and cultural dimensions within a Japanese context. Since Japan is the second largest music market globally, it is surprising that there is little focus on those factors often examined in cross-cultural research that might mean Western findings do not extrapolate well. A questionnaire using established measures of tightness–looseness, relational mobility, and ideal affect was used to test three main research questions. RQ1 was that there should be a relationship between cultural dimensions and musical taste, and this was fully supported. RQ2 was that cultural dimensions should relate to participants’ goals of music consumption, and this was largely supported. RQ3 was that there should be a relationship between socioeconomic status and musical taste, but this was not supported. The findings also supported several more specific research questions concerning how specific uses of music ought to relate to specific cultural dimensions. The findings of the study help us better understand the way music is consumed in relation to specific cultural dimensions in the context of Japan and beyond. It also extends the literature concerning music and cross-cultural psychology where prior research has not considered these dimensions within the context of music consumption.
Participatory online music creation as a crisis response: A qualitative case study
Authors: Zheng Yingjie , Zhang Hui
Published: March 2024

Online participatory music creation provided an opportunity to build the public’s psychological resilience during the COVID-19 lockdown measures that led to widespread negative emotions on a societal level. This study explored how online participation in music creation as a crisis response contributes to the public’s mental health. The study employed a qualitative method that combines network ethnography and multimodal performance discourse analysis to conduct participatory observation and content analysis of people’s activities related to the song “Wuhan Ya” (the Wuhan Kids) and its participatory creation. The results showed that “Wuhan Ya” and its creation process demonstrated a music phenomenon centered on local identity and characterized by collective participation. The study proposed a theoretical framework to explain how this music phenomenon promotes mental health. In the context of song creation and dissemination, the public’s psychological resilience to crises is bolstered by engaging in emotional contagion, behavioral responses, and social support processes.
Hamstring Tendon Autograft Is Associated With Increased Knee Valgus Moment After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Biomechanical Analysis
Authors: Tummala Sailesh V. , Vij Neeraj , Glattke Kaycee E. , Vaughn Jeffrey , Brinkman Joseph C. , Winters Jenni , Brennan Amber , Salehi Hadi , Zhao Sixue , Chhabra Anikar , Tokish John M. , Menzer Heather
Published: March 2024

Background:

There is limited evidence related to the effects of autograft type on functional performance after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR).

Purpose/Hypothesis:

This study aimed to compare biomechanical outcomes during a drop vertical jump (DVJ) between patients with a hamstring tendon (HT) autograft, quadriceps tendon (QT) autograft with bone block, QT autograft without bone block, and bone–patellar tendon–bone autograft at 6 months postoperatively in an adolescent population. The authors’ hypothesized there would be differences in DVJ biomechanics between athletes depending on the type of autograft used.

Study Design:

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods:

Patients aged 8 to 18 years who underwent primary ACLR were included for analysis. Kinematic and kinetic data collected during a DVJ using a 3-dimensional computerized marker system were assessed at 6 months after ACLR and compared with the uninjured contralateral limb.

Results:

A total of 155 participants were included. There were no significant differences in terms of age, sex, or affected leg ( P≥ .1973) between groups. The HT group was significantly associated with a larger knee valgus moment at initial contact compared with the QT group (28 × 10–2 vs −35 × 10–2 N·m/kg, respectively; P = .0254) and a significantly larger maximum hip adduction moment compared with the QT with bone block group (30 × 10–2 vs −4 × 10–2 N·m/kg, respectively; P = .0426). Both the QT with bone block (–12 × 10–2 vs −3 × 10–2 N·m/kg, respectively; P = .0265) and QT (–13 × 10–2 vs −3 × 10–2 N·m/kg, respectively; P = .0459) groups demonstrated significantly decreased mean knee extension moments compared with the HT group.

Conclusion:

The findings of this study suggest that utilizing an HT autograft resulted in a significantly increased knee valgus moment at initial contact compared with a QT autograft without bone block at 6 months after ACLR in adolescent patients performing a DVJ. A QT autograft was found to be associated with significantly decreased extensor mechanism function compared with an HT autograft.

Clinical Relevance:

This study adds unique kinematic and kinetic information regarding various ACLR autograft options and highlights the biomechanical deficits that should be taken into consideration in rehabilitation.
ProtecT trial: What’s new after 15 years of follow-up: Re: Hamdy FC and colleagues; N Engl J Med. 2023 Apr 27
Authors: Terlizzi Mario , Bossi Alberto
Published: March 2024

Recent results of ProtecT trial published after 15 years of follow-up demonstrate the absence of difference in prostate cancer-specific survival between active monitoring, radiotherapy, or prostatectomy for PSA-detected, localized prostate cancer patients. These results definitively confirm the essential role of active surveillance as the gold standard for men with low-risk and highly selected intermediate-risk prostate cancer. It underlines the importance of shared-decision making process with patients.
Association of Depression and Antidepressant Use With Driving Behaviors in Older Adults: A LongROAD Study
Authors: Isom Chelsea A. , Baird Sara , Betz Marian E. , DiGuiseppi Carolyn G. , Eby David W. , Li Guohua , Lee Kelly C , Molnar Lisa J. , Moran Ryan , Strogatz David , Hill Linda
Published: March 2024

Older adults aged 70 and older who drive have higher crash death rates per mile driven compared to middle aged (35–54 years) adults who drive in the US. Prior studies have found that depression and or antidepressant medication use in older adults are associated with an increase in the vehicular crash rate. Using data from the prospective multi-site AAA Longitudinal Research on Aging Drivers Study, this analysis examined the independent and interdependent associations of self-reported depression and antidepressant use with driving behaviors that can increase motor vehicle crash risk such as hard braking, speeding, and night-time driving in adults over age 65. Of the 2951 participants, 6.4% reported having depression and 21.9% were on an antidepressant medication. Correcting for age, race, gender, and education level, participants on an antidepressant had increased hard braking events (1.22 [1.10–1.34]) but self-reported depression alone was not associated with changes in driving behaviors.
Convergent and Divergent Corporate Social Responsibility in South Korea: Collaborative and Adversarial NGO-Corporate Networks
Authors: Yang Yoori , Stohl Cynthia
Published: March 2024

Background: The differences between NGO networks for two distinct types of CSR practices are underexplored:  convergent CSR, which pertains to the global standards embraced by both the local and global institutions, and  divergent CSR, which is framed primarily by local economic, political and social conditions.

Purpose: Grounded in institutional and network theory, the study explores the significance of three forms of network centrality in different types of CSR (convergent/divergent) and varying modes of interaction (collaborative/adversarial) across global versus local NGOs in South Korea, a state-led market economy.

Research Design: The study conducts network analyses and descriptive analysis of NGOs’ collaborative and adversarial networks with corporations, in relation to their engagement in convergent and divergent CSR.

Study Sample: The NGO/corporate network dataset consisted of 2073 nodes and 4158 edges (ties). The sample of CSR practices consisted of a total of 8715 instances of convergent CSR practices and 396 instances of divergent CSR practices.

Data Collection and/or Analysis: A total of 260 reports from 52 South Korean corporations and a total of 430 reports from 78 NGOs in South Korea were used to develop a corpus of corporate/NGO network dataset (collaborative and adversarial) and the dataset of the type of CSR practices they engaged in (convergent/divergent). Then degree, eigenvector and betweenness centralities of the 78 NGOs were computed within the NGO-corporate network. The relationships between the three centralities and CSR types (convergent/divergent) were found through standard regression analyses and descriptive analyses.

Results: The findings suggest that when engaging in  convergent CSR, as opposed to divergent CSR, NGOs would benefit the most from developing  collaborative ties to central others in their NGO-corporate network (eigenvector centrality). A descriptive analysis of the findings suggests that  adversarial divergent CSR practices are primarily reported by a potentially isolated group of local NGOs.

Conclusions: CSR practices develop in multiple forms within a national institution, rather than simply converging with the universal norms. They form under the communicative pressures of different types of global and local institutional actors, through different network positions (centralities) and nature of relationships (collaborative and adversarial).