bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Contribution of freshwater metazooplankton to aquatic ecosystem services: an overview
Authors: Declerck Steven A. J. , de Senerpont Domis Lisette N.
Published: September 2022

Although its role in the functioning of aquatic systems is widely recognized, the contribution of freshwater metazooplankton (metazoan plankton) to ecosystem services (ES) is seldom considered. Here we aim at providing a first overview of how this group contributes to ecosystem services according to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment framework. We show that although metazooplankton hardly generates any provisioning services, it provides crucial support to the generation of other services. Metazooplankton is important for fisheries because it forms an essential food item for the larval and juvenile stages of most freshwater fish and acts as a trophic link between phytoplankton and microbial communities and the fish community. Through its stoichiometric homeostasis and ability to feed on biochemically complementary food sources it may also act as a buffer against bottom-up effects of nutrient deficiencies in primary producers. Metazooplankton often has a crucial regulatory function by controlling phytoplankton growth and dissolved organic carbon, contributing to the quality of drinking and irrigation water supplies and of the underwater light climate. It provides attractive study material for didactic purposes and some taxa have served as model systems that have considerably aided progress in scientific disciplines, such as ecology, evolutionary biology, ecotoxicology, environmental, and biomedical sciences.
Choroidal thickness assessment in keratoconus patients treated with cross-linking compared to healthy population
Authors: Ballesteros-Sánchez Antonio , De-Hita-Cantalejo Concepción , Sánchez-González María Carmen , Bautista-Llamas María-José , Sánchez-González José-María , Gargallo-Martínez Beatriz
Published: September 2022

Purpose

To analyze the choroidal thickness between patients with keratoconus undergoing cross-linking treatment and a healthy population, as well as to determine the factors that influence choroidal thickness.

Methods

This was an observational, analytical, case–control study that was conducted from February 2021 to June 2021. Choroidal thickness was measured at different locations, including the subfoveal, nasal (1000 μm), temporal (1000 μm), superior (1000 μm) and inferior (1000 μm) locations using a Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography with enhanced depth imaging, which allowed us to obtain horizontal and vertical B-scans centered on the fovea.

Results

This study included 21 patients with keratoconus (mean age, 21.86 ± 5.28 years) and 28 healthy patients (mean age, 24.21 ± 4.71 years). Choroidal thickness was significantly greater in patients with keratoconus than in healthy patients in each of the following measured locations: subfoveal (P < 0.001); nasal (1000 μm) (P < 0.001), temporal (1000 μm) (P < 0.001), superior (1000 μm) (P < 0.001) and inferior (1000 μm) (P < 0.001) locations. Variables such as age (ρ = − 0.09; P = 0.50) and refraction (ρ = 0.14; P = 0.34) were not found to be associated with choroidal thickness. In a stepwise multiple linear regression, the group was the single variable correlated with choroidal thickness (β = 0.88; P < 0.001).

Conclusion

Choroidal thickness is thicker in keratoconus patients treated with cross-linking than in the healthy population. This finding could be associated with inflammatory choroidal mechanisms in keratoconus patients, but more studies are needed. Age and refractive error do not seem to influence choroidal thickness.
Intraocular lens dislocation: manifestation, ocular and systemic risk factors
Authors: Riedl Jana Catharina , Rings Severin , Schuster Alexander K , Vossmerbaeumer Urs
Published: September 2022

Purpose

The aim of this study was to evaluate ocular and systemic risk factors for posterior chamber intraocular lens dislocation, as well as forms of manifestation.

Methods

A retrospective case–control study were all patients presented in the period 2012–2016 having intraocular lens dislocation and being treated with implantation of an iris-fixated intraocular lens was conducted at the University Hospital Mainz. As controls, pseudophakic patients presenting for other reasons were included.

Results

150 eyes of 150 patients (mean age 72.7 ± 12.4 years, range 24–93 years) with IOL dislocation and 150 eyes of 103 controls were included in this study. The average time between primary implantation and IOL luxation was 86 months (iQR: 39.25–127 months) for all dislocations. Previous pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) (crudeOR = 2.14 (95% CI 1.23, 3.72), p = 0.011) and PEX (crudeOR = 11.6 (4.79, 28.12), p < 0.001) was linked with a higher risk of IOL luxation. Luxation occurs also earlier in patients with previous PPV and PEX than in eyes with neither PEX nor previous PPV (82.2 vs. 127 months). Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment was the major pathology that required a previous PPV for eyes with an IOL dislocation (57%). The average time between PPV and IOL dislocation was 74.67 months (range 0–186 months).

Conclusion

Patients with a coexistence of both: PEX and a previous PPV had an elevated risk of IOL dislocation, and also had a shorter time interval between primary IOL implantation and IOL dislocation followed by eyes with PEX only and eyes with only a previous PPV.
“They Were Saying That I Was a Typical Chinese Mum” : Chinese Parents’ Experiences of Parent-Teacher Partnerships for Their Autistic Children
Authors: Smith Jodie , Rabba Aspasia Stacey , Cong Lin , Datta Poulomee , Dresens Emma , Hall Gabrielle , Heyworth Melanie , Lawson Wenn , Lee Patricia , Lilley Rozanna , Syeda Najeeba , Ma Emily , Wang Julia , Wang Rena , Yeow Chong Tze , Pellicano Elizabeth
Published: September 2022

Effective parent-teacher partnerships improve outcomes for autistic students. Yet, we know little about what effective partnerships look like for parents of autistic children from different backgrounds. We conducted interviews with 17 Chinese parents of autistic children attending Australian kindergartens/schools to understand their experiences. Parents appreciated the acceptance, opportunities and supports they received in Australia. They had high expectations of children; expectations not often shared by educators. Parents were respectful of teachers’ expertise and polite and undemanding in interactions. Nevertheless, parents were frustrated by inconsistent teaching quality and inadequate communication. Navigating systems was also challenging and parents faced discrimination from teachers and their community. Recommendations include fostering open home-school communication, proactively seeking parents’ expertise about children and explicitly scaffolding parents’ self-advocacy.
User Experience and Physiological Response in Human-Robot Collaboration: A Preliminary Investigation
Authors: Gervasi Riccardo , Aliev Khurshid , Mastrogiacomo Luca , Franceschini Fiorenzo
Published: September 2022

Within the context of Industry 4.0 and of the new emerging Industry 5.0, human factors are becoming increasingly important, especially in Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC). This paper provides a novel study focused on the human aspects involved in industrial HRC by exploring the effects of various HRC setting factors. In particular, this paper aims at investigating the impact of industrial HRC on user experience, affective state, and stress, assessed through both subjective measures (i.e., questionnaires) and objective ones (i.e., physiological signals). A collaborative assembly task was implemented with different configurations, in which the robot movement speed, the distance between the operator and the robot workspace, and the control of the task execution time were varied. Forty-two participants were involved in the study and provided feedbacks on interaction quality and their affective state. Participants’ physiological responses (i.e., electrodermal activity and heart rate) were also collected non-invasively to monitor the amount of stress generated by the interaction. Analysis of both subjective and objective responses revealed how the configuration factors considered influence them. Robot movement speed and control of the task execution time resulted to be the most influential factors. The results also showed the need for customization of HRC to improve ergonomics, both psychological and physical, and the well-being of the operator.
Conceptualisation and Measurement of Reflective Process in Psychotherapy: A Systematic Scoping Review
Authors: Sidis Anna E. , Moore A. , Pickard J. A. , Deane F. P.
Published: September 2022

Psychological therapies use talk as a means to produce change for individuals who are experiencing distress. Despite a significant body of research comparing approaches, there is little evidence for the superiority of one model over another. The process of reflection has been suggested as a common factor across modalities, and research aiming to measure this phenomenon is emerging. This scoping review is focussed on the conceptualisations, measurement and process outcomes of reflective talk as it occurs during therapy. Twenty-two studies were selected from a total of 3712 papers identified following a systematic search of SCOPUS, MEDLINE, PsychINFO and Web of Science databases. A variety of descriptors emerged: intrapersonal constructs such as mentalization and metacognition tended to view reflectivity as an individually acquired skill or trait, where other descriptors adopted an interpersonal understanding of reflection as co-constructed through dialogue. Our findings suggest a shift from individual to intersubjective understandings of reflecting processes in therapy may be a valuable area for future research.
Gendered Discourses of Responsibility and Domestic Abuse Victim-Blame in the English Children’s Social Care System
Authors: Wild Jessica
Published: September 2022

Purpose

This paper foregrounds the experiences of mothers involved with England’s children’s social care system when experiencing domestic abuse. It reports on data from a survivor-led study on domestic violence and/or abuse (DVA), involving women victim-survivors and domestic abuse practitioners. It aimed to understand how dominant discourses governing child protection work with families in which there is a perpetrator of DVA, might be revised to shift a tendency to hold mothers (solely) responsible for the protection of children as well as for their partners’ abuse.

Methods

The study advances a discourse analysis of interview and focus group data, substantiating how children’s social care practices produce the routine responsibilisation of the non-abusing parent, usually the mother, with limited focus on the abusing parent, usually the father.

Results

The paper exposes the gendered discourses of mother-victim-blame and responsibility patterning children’s social care responses to domestic abuse, which together intensify adult and child victim-survivor material harm and hamper child protection work. Also in evidence are the enduring traumatic consequences of the court-ordered removal of children.

Conclusion

The paper has implications for policy and practice, asserting that shifting responsibility away from mothers requires the ongoing interrogation of normative understandings of gender relations and gender-role stereotypes as they manifest in families. Fathers’ accountability should be constructed on a structural as well as individual level, which in the case of DVA and the family, incorporates efforts to enable perpetrators of DVA to cultivate an individual sense of responsibility and accountability, as standard practice.
Effectiveness of Team and Organisational Level Workplace Interventions Aimed at Improving Sustainable Employability of Aged Care Staff: A Systematic Review
Authors: Heijkants Ceciel H. , de Wind Astrid , van Hooff Madelon L. M. , Geurts Sabine A. E. , Boot Cécile R. L.
Published: September 2022

Purpose The sustainable employability of healthcare professionals in aged care is under pressure, but research into the effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving employees’ sustainable employability is scarce. This review therefore aimed to investigate the effectiveness of workplace interventions on sustainable employability of healthcare professionals in aged care. Methods A systematic literature search was performed. Studies were included when reporting about the effect of an intervention at work in an aged care setting on outcomes related to one of the three components of sustainable employability (i.e. workability, vitality, employability). The methodological quality of each study was assessed and a rating system was used to determine the level of evidence. Additionally, a sensitivity analysis was performed, accounting for the match between the intervention’s focus and the targeted component of sustainable employability. Results Current review includes 32 interventions published between 1996 and 2019. Interventions covered learning and improving skills, changing the workplace, and exercising or resting. The initial analysis showed a strong level of evidence for employability and insufficient evidence for workability and vitality. The sensitivity analysis revealed strong evidence for the effectiveness of interventions addressing either employability or workability, and insufficient evidence for vitality. Conclusions Evidence for workplace interventions on sustainable employability of healthcare professionals in aged care differed. We found strong evidence for effects of workplace interventions on employability and for those directly targeting workability. Evidence for effects of interventions on vitality was insufficient. The alignment of the interventions to the targeted component of sustainable employability is important for effectiveness.
Religiosity Decline in Europe: Age, Generation, and the Mediating Role of Shifting Human Values
Authors: Koscielniak Maciej , Bojanowska Agnieszka , Gasiorowska Agata
Published: September 2022

Despite the fact that age is associated with higher religiosity, the aging European population has experienced a noticeable religiosity decline over recent decades. This study aimed to explain this paradox and to link it to an intergenerational shift in the pattern of values (as conceptualized by Shalom Schwartz). We conducted extended mediation analyses on the relationships between generational affiliation and the level of personal religiosity via human values in two studies (European Social Survey round 7, N = 29,775; and European Social Survey rounds 1–9, N = 224,314). Our results confirm a pronounced trend of religiosity decline and explain this process by changes in personal values. In particular, Europe's generational increase in openness to change values explains religiosity decline above and beyond the effect of people’s developmental age. We conclude that the perspective of human values provides a significant rationale for further research on religiosity, in relation to both past and future generations of Europeans.
Exemplifying the “wild boar paradox”: dynamics of cesium-137 contaminations in wild boars in Germany and Japan
Authors: Berendes Ole , Steinhauser Georg
Published: September 2022

Wild boars (Sus scrofa) are notorious for accumulating high contamination levels of 137Cs in their meat. Publicly available data of 137Cs contamination levels in wild boars from 2011 to 2019 were used to determine some radioecological characteristics in Germany (affected by Chernobyl-fallout, 1986) and Japan (affected Fukushima, 2011). The effective half-life of 137Cs in wild boar meat was much longer in Germany (7.3 y) than in Japan (2.6 y), respectively. Wild boars in Germany thus show much more persistent contamination levels than other game or forest animals. This unusual behavior has been termed “wild boar paradox.” In German wild boars, the data sets reveal a distinct geographical and seasonal dependence with higher activity concentrations in winter than in summer. In Japan, contamination levels only exhibit a distinct decline behavior.
Neutron tomography of a highly irradiated spallation target rod
Authors: Trtik Pavel , Welte Jörg , Yetik Okan , Grünberger Sven , Kalt August , Hovind Jan , Blau Bertrand
Published: September 2022

We performed tomographic investigation of the most heavily perturbed (thus highly radioactive) rod and its pristine/unirradiated replicate from the target No. 12 of the Swiss neutron spallation source (SINQ). The tomographic dataset reveals the 3D re-distribution of the lead filling inside the irradiated Zircaloy tube. The change in the linear attenuation coefficient of both the lead filling and the Zircaloy tube of the irradiated rod (due to the presence of the entrapped spallation products) in comparison with the pristine/unirradiated material is quantified. The dataset provides valuable input for the enhancement of safety and efficiency of future spallation targets at SINQ.
Analysis of shape dependency of thermal conductivity of silver-based nanofluids
Authors: Nyamgoudar Smita Mahadevappa , Silaparasetti Vasavi Prasuna , Shilpa M. P. , Pavithra K. S. , Mundinamani Shridhar , Eshwarappa K. M. , Surabhi Srivathsava , Ramam Koduri , Ravikirana  , Ganesha A. , Gurumurthy S. C.
Published: September 2022

Nanofluids are a class of fluids prepared by dispersing nanoparticles in conventional base fluids. Owing to their excellent thermo-physical properties, nanofluids find potential applications in manufacturing industries. They are introduced to overcome the limitation with using traditional base fluids like water having low thermal conductivity (~ 0.612 W/mK at room temperature). The thermal conductivity of a base fluid is considerably increased by adding a modest number of nanoparticles to it. In the present work, we have prepared silver nanoparticles and nanorods using the simple chemical reduction method. UV–Visible spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy were used to investigate the optical characteristics and morphology of the produced nanomaterials. Furthermore, the effect of volume loadings of produced nanomaterials (0, 2%, 4%, 6%), as well as temperature on the thermal conductivity of the base fluids was investigated. The results are compared to different silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) loadings in the base fluid. Both silver nanoparticles and nanorods have optimal heat conductivity at 2 vol%. It is interesting to note that fluids with silver nanorods (AgNRs) portrayed better results compared to nanoparticles and the maximum enhancement observed of 78.4% for AgNRs-based nanofluids at temperature 323 K, which is very high when compared to most of the previously reported values.

Graphical abstract
Subdivide and Conquer: Adapting Non-Manifold Subdivision Surfaces to Surface-Based Representation and Reconstruction of Complex Geological Structures
Authors: Moulaeifard Mohammad , Wellmann Florian , Bernard Simon , de la Varga Miguel , Bommes David
Published: September 2022

Methods from the field of computer graphics are the foundation for the representation of geological structures in the form of geological models. However, as many of these methods have been developed for other types of applications, some of the requirements for the representation of geological features may not be considered, and the capacities and limitations of different algorithms are not always evident. In this work, we therefore review surface-based geological modelling methods from both a geological and computer graphics perspective. Specifically, we investigate the use of NURBS (non-uniform rational B-splines) and subdivision surfaces, as two main parametric surface-based modelling methods, and compare the strengths and weaknesses of the two approaches. Although NURBS surfaces have been used in geological modelling, subdivision surfaces as a standard method in the animation and gaming industries have so far received little attention—even if subdivision surfaces support arbitrary topologies and watertight boundary representation, two aspects that make them an appealing choice for complex geological modelling. It is worth mentioning that watertight models are an important basis for subsequent process simulations. Many complex geological structures require a combination of smooth and sharp edges. Investigating subdivision schemes with semi-sharp creases is therefore an important part of this paper, as semi-sharp creases characterise the resistance of a mesh structure to the subdivision procedure. Moreover, non-manifold topologies, as a challenging concept in complex geological and reservoir modelling, are explored, and the subdivision surface method, which is compatible with non-manifold topology, is described. Finally, solving inverse problems by fitting the smooth surfaces to complex geological structures is investigated with a case study. The fitted surfaces are watertight, controllable with control points, and topologically similar to the main geological structure. Also, the fitted model can reduce the cost of modelling and simulation by using a reduced number of vertices in comparison with the complex geological structure.

Graphical Abstract
Nonuniform fast Fourier transforms with nonequispaced spatial and frequency data and fast sinc transforms
Authors: Kircheis Melanie , Potts Daniel , Tasche Manfred
Published: September 2022

In this paper, we study the nonuniform fast Fourier transform with nonequispaced spatial and frequency data (NNFFT) and the fast sinc transform as its application. The computation of NNFFT is mainly based on the nonuniform fast Fourier transform with nonequispaced spatial nodes and equispaced frequencies (NFFT). The NNFFT employs two compactly supported, continuous window functions. For fixed nonharmonic bandwidth, we show that the error of the NNFFT with two $$\sinh$$
sinh
-type window functions has an exponential decay with respect to the truncation parameters of the used window functions. As an important application of the NNFFT, we present the fast sinc transform. The error of the fast sinc transform is estimated as well.
A general stochastic model shows that plant-soil feedbacks can buffer plant species from extinction risks in unpredictable environments
Authors: Caruso Tancredi , Rillig Matthias C.
Published: September 2022

Theory and experiments have demonstrated that negative plant-soil feedback (PSF) promotes coexistence between plant species. Plants and soils, however, face the challenge of an increasingly unpredictable environment due to multiple global change factors. Environmental stochasticity induces fluctuations that increase the variability and unpredictability of population dynamics, plant associations in the community and thus properties such as overall productivity. In this paper, we formulate a stochastic version of a classic PSF deterministic model, which describes the outcome of plant species competition in the presence of soil feedback. Especially when the soil feedback is negative, the deterministic expectation is that pulse perturbations to the system (e.g. a drought episode) cause plants and soil to move away from their equilibrium and then return to it. Environmental stochasticity alters this expectation: the system can either settle into a fluctuation regime around the deterministic expectation, or plant species may go extinct. Probability of extinction predictably increases with environmental stochasticity but the more negative the PSF, the more it can counteract the increase in extinction probability caused by increased environmental stochasticity. We stress that in nature the actual impact of PSF will depend on the interactions that link different types of soil organisms to plant species. We conclude that theory shows that plant communities with strong negative PSF are best placed to withstand the risk posed by increased environmental stochasticity but also that we still need more experimental evidence to validate theory and develop applications.
Inequality of Opportunity in Accessing Maternal and Newborn Healthcare Services: Evidence from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey
Authors: Di Novi Cinzia , Thakare Harshita
Published: September 2022

Under-five mortality is known to be the result of a wide variety of inputs, among which the availability of maternal and child health services. However, their coverage and distribution, in low- and middle-income countries, continue to remain inadequate and characterized by significant inequalities. The main aim of this study is to investigate the causes of inequality in accessing the basic maternal and newborn healthcare services in Bangladesh. To this end, we use nationally representative cross-sectional data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS), 2014. Our study builds on the Human Opportunity Index (HOI), developed at the World Bank (in World development report: Equity and development, World Bank, Washington, 2006), which measures the total contribution of individual socioeconomic and demographic circumstances to inequality of opportunity in accessing basic services. Our findings reveal that a mother’s education, wealth index and place of residence, are closely associated with access to basic maternal and newborn healthcare services.
The co-administration of live fowlpox and Newcastle disease vaccines by non-invasive routes to chickens reared by smallholders in Tanzania and Nepal
Authors: Andrews Stuart J. , Makundi Asanteli , Mwanadota Julius , Shivakoti Sakar , Shah Bikas Raj , Poole E. Jane , Salt Jeremy , Stuke Kristin
Published: September 2022

The co-administration of commercial live fowlpox (FP) and Newcastle disease (ND) vaccines when given by non-invasive (needle-free) routes was demonstrated to be safe and to elicit immunity in two field studies, one in Tanzania the other in Nepal. Both studies were of a cluster-randomised controlled design in which birds were randomly assigned to one of five treatment groups: (i) administration with FP vaccine alone (feather follicle), (ii) administration with ND vaccine alone (eye-drop), (iii) concurrent administration of FP (feather follicle) and ND (eye-drop) vaccines, (iv) concurrent administration of FP (wing-web) and ND (eye-drop) vaccines, and (v) unvaccinated, acting as environmental sentinels. Data from a total of 1167 birds from seven villages in Hanang District of Tanzania together with 1037 birds from eleven villages in Dhading District of Nepal were collected over a period of 21 and 28 days, respectively. Immune responses to FP vaccination were evaluated by local take reactions, while those to ND vaccination were evaluated serologically by haemagglutination inhibition test. The two studies demonstrated that the concurrent vaccination of free-range, indigenous breeds of chicken with live FP and ND vaccines, both administered by non-invasive routes, was safe and induced immunity against FP and ND that were non-inferior to the administration of FP and ND vaccines alone. These findings are important to appropriately trained small-scale backyard poultry farmers as well as to paraprofessionals and community health workers helping to increase vaccine uptake and the control of both FP and ND in low- to middle-income countries.
Growth ability, carbon source utilization and biochemical features of the new specie Zalaria obscura
Authors: Campana Raffaella , Palma Francesco , Sisti Maurizio
Published: September 2022

This research investigated the characteristics of Zalaria obscura LS31012019 in terms of growth ability in different media (SDB, YPD and TSB) and temperatures (22, 25 and 37 °C), utilization of several carbon sources (Glucose, Fructose, Lactose, Sucrose, Xylose, Glycerol and Mannitol at 5, 2 and 1%) and several biochemical features (total protein content, Glutathione, pigments), in comparison with those of the phylogenetically related Aureobasidium pullulans ATCC 15233. The best growth of Z. obscura LS31012019 was obtained in YPD at 25 °C with the highest OD value (0.45) after 144 h of incubation, similar to that of A. pullulans ATCC 15233 (0.48). Glucose resulted the preferred carbon source for both the considered yeasts but also sucrose resulted in efficacy supporting the growth of Z. obscura LS31012019 and A. pullulans ATCC 15233, for their ability in converting sucrose to glucose and fructose and the latter into glucose. Interestingly, Z. obscura LS31012019 utilized also glycerol and mannitol. The biochemical analysis showed the similarity of protein profile in Z. obscura LS31012019 and A. pullulans ATCC 15233 (from 90 to 20 kDa) and a reduced GSH content (0.321 and 0.233 µmol/mg). The pigments extraction with hexane generated a yellow oleaginous pellet in both the strains, while a yellow solid matrix more intensely coloured in A. pullulans ATTC 15233 was visible with the following solvent extractions. Overall, our data showed that Z. obscura LS31012019 can grow in different media and temperatures and utilize carbon sources apart from glucose and sucrose, shifting to a non-fermentative metabolism. These results improve the information regarding the characteristics of Z. obscura, opening a new field of investigation for the possible application of new species of black yeasts in human application.
Online shielding for reinforcement learning
Authors: Könighofer Bettina , Rudolf Julian , Palmisano Alexander , Tappler Martin , Bloem Roderick
Published: September 2022

Besides the recent impressive results on reinforcement learning (RL), safety is still one of the major research challenges in RL. RL is a machine-learning approach to determine near-optimal policies in Markov decision processes (MDPs). In this paper, we consider the setting where the safety-relevant fragment of the MDP together with a temporal logic safety specification is given, and many safety violations can be avoided by planning ahead a short time into the future. We propose an approach for online safety shielding of RL agents. During runtime, the shield analyses the safety of each available action. For any action, the shield computes the maximal probability to not violate the safety specification within the next k steps when executing this action. Based on this probability and a given threshold, the shield decides whether to block an action from the agent. Existing offline shielding approaches compute exhaustively the safety of all state-action combinations ahead of time, resulting in huge computation times and large memory consumption. The intuition behind online shielding is to compute at runtime the set of all states that could be reached in the near future. For each of these states, the safety of all available actions is analysed and used for shielding as soon as one of the considered states is reached. Our approach is well-suited for high-level planning problems where the time between decisions can be used for safety computations and it is sustainable for the agent to wait until these computations are finished. For our evaluation, we selected a 2-player version of the classical computer game Snake. The game represents a high-level planning problem that requires fast decisions and the multiplayer setting induces a large state space, which is computationally expensive to analyse exhaustively.
Mountain spa rehabilitation improved health of patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome: pilot study
Authors: Gvozdjáková Anna , Sumbalová Zuzana , Kucharská Jarmila , Rausová Zuzana , Kovalčíková Eleonóra , Takácsová Timea , Navas Plácido , López-Lluch Guillermo , Mojto Viliam , Palacka Patrik
Published: September 2022

European Association of Spa Rehabilitation (ESPA) recommends spa rehabilitation for patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome. We tested the hypothesis that a high-altitude environment with clean air and targeted spa rehabilitation (MR — mountain spa rehabilitation) can contribute to the improving platelet mitochondrial bioenergetics, to accelerating patient health and to the reducing socioeconomic problems. Fifteen healthy volunteers and fourteen patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome were included in the study. All parameters were determined before MR (MR1) and 16–18 days after MR (MR2). Platelet mitochondrial respiration and OXPHOS were evaluated using high resolution respirometry method, coenzyme Q10 level was determined by HPLC, and concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) as a parameter of lipid peroxidation was determined spectrophotometrically. This pilot study showed significant improvement of clinical symptoms, lungs function, and regeneration of reduced CI-linked platelet mitochondrial respiration after MR in patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome. High-altitude environment with spa rehabilitation can be recommended for the acceleration of recovery of patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome.
Removal of antimony from model solutions, mine effluent, and textile industry wastewater with Mg-rich mineral adsorbents
Authors: Runtti Hanna , Luukkonen Tero , Tuomikoski Sari , Hu Tao , Lassi Ulla , Kangas Teija
Published: September 2022

Naturally occurring layered double hydroxide mineral, brucite (BRU), was compared with hydromagnesite (HYD) and a commercial Mg-rich mineral adsorbent (trade name AQM PalPower M10) to remove antimony (Sb) from synthetic and real wastewaters. The BRU and HYD samples were calcined prior to the experiments. The adsorbents were characterized using X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Batch adsorption experiments were performed to evaluate the effect of initial pH, Sb concentration, adsorbent dosage, and contact time on Sb removal from synthetic wastewater, mine effluent, and textile industry wastewater. Several isotherm models were applied to describe the experimental results. The Sips model provided the best correlation for the BRU and M10. As for the HYD, three models (Langmuir, Sips, and Redlich–Peterson) fit well to the experimental results. The results showed that the adsorption process in all cases followed the pseudo-second-order kinetics. Overall, the most efficient adsorbent was the BRU, which demonstrated slightly higher experimental maximum adsorption capacity (27.6 mg g-1) than the HYD (27.0 mg g-1) or M10 (21.3 mg g-1) in the batch experiments. Furthermore, the BRU demonstrated also an efficient performance in the continuous removal of Sb from mine effluent in the column mode. Regeneration of adsorbents was found to be more effective under acidic conditions than under alkaline conditions.
Hepatoprotective effect of nicorandil against acetaminophen-induced oxidative stress and hepatotoxicity in mice via modulating NO synthesis
Authors: El-Kashef Dalia H. , Sharawy Maha H.
Published: September 2022

Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose can produce hepatotoxicity and consequently liver damage. This study investigated the hepatoprotective impacts of nicorandil on hepatic damage induced by APAP. Nicorandil was administered orally (100 mg/kg) for seven days before APAP challenge (500 mg/kg, ip). Pretreatment with nicorandil reduced serum levels of aminotransferases, bilirubin, GGT and LDH, and increased serum level of albumin. Moreover, nicorandil inhibited the increase in liver MDA levels and reversed the decline in GSH content and SOD activity. Besides, it notably alleviated APAP-induced necrosis observed in histopathological findings. Additionally, nicorandil alleviated APAP-induced NO overproduction and iNOS expression; however, the protein expression of eNOS was significantly increased. Moreover, nicorandil markedly reduced hepatic TNF-α and NF-κB levels, in addition to decreasing the protein expression of MPO in hepatic tissues. Furthermore, flow cytometry (annexin V-FITC/PI) displayed a significant decline in late apoptotic and necrotic cells, and an increase in viable cells in nicorandil group. Also, nicorandil caused a significant boost in hepatic antiapoptotic marker bcl-2 level. The presented data proposed that the protective effect of nicorandil might be attributed to its antioxidant, its impact on NO homeostasis, and its anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore, nicorandil may be a promising candidate for protection from liver injury induced by APAP.

Graphical abstract
The effect of pre-treatment and anaerobic digestion for pathogens reduction in agricultural utilization of sewage sludge
Authors: Machnicka Alicja , Grübel Klaudiusz
Published: September 2022

The aim of the research work was to explain the possibilities of application of waste activated sludge (WAS) pretreatment processes prior to anaerobic digestion (mesophilic fermentation). Hydrodynamic disintegration and freezing/thawing disintegration methods were used. Based on the microbiological and parasitological analyses, a significant decrease in pathogenic bacteria, coliphages, and parasite eggs was observed. The number of bacteria analyzed (Salmonella sp., Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens) and coliphages were reduced from 19.3to 42.3% after hydrodynamic cavitation. A similar effect was achieved for destruction by freezing/thawing with dry ice between 7.8 and 14.9%. The effectiveness of parasite eggs reduction (Ascaris sp., Trichuris sp., Toxocara sp.) for these disintegration methods ranged from 10.7 to 29.3%. The highest results were observed for the hybrid disintegration method (hydrodynamic cavitation + dry ice disintegration) caused by a synergistic effect. Salmonella sp. in 1 gd.w. decrease about 69.7%, E. coli by 70.0%, Clostridium perfringens by 38.4%, and coliphages by 48.2%. Disruption of WAS by a hybrid method led to a reduction in the number of helminth eggs Ascaris sp. (63.8%), Trichuris sp. (64.3%), and Toxocara sp. (66.4%). After anaerobic digestion under mesophilic conditions, an additional reduction of analyzed bacterial pathogens and helminth eggs were observed. The introduction of hybrid disintegrated WAS to the fermentation chamber resulted in higher efficiency in decrease (from 1 to 23%) in comparison to the control sample (70%WAS + 30%DS (inoculum-digested sludge)).
Equilibrium points, periodic solutions and the Brouwer fixed point theorem for convex and non-convex domains
Authors: Feltrin Guglielmo , Zanolin Fabio
Published: September 2022

We show the direct applicability of the Brouwer fixed point theorem for the existence of equilibrium points and periodic solutions for differential systems on general domains satisfying geometric conditions at the boundary. We develop a general approach for arbitrary bound sets and present applications to the case of convex and star-shaped domains. We also provide an answer to a question raised in a recent paper of Cid and Mawhin.
Ligand exchange engineering of FAPbI3 perovskite quantum dots for solar cells
Authors: Fan Wentao , Gao Qiyuan , Mei Xinyi , Jia Donglin , Chen Jingxuan , Qiu Junming , Zhou Qisen , Zhang Xiaoliang
Published: September 2022

Formamidinium lead triiodide (FAPbI3) perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) show great advantages in photovoltaic applications due to their ideal bandgap energy, high stability and solution processability. The anti-solvent used for the post-treatment of FAPbI3 PQD solid films significantly affects the surface chemistry of the PQDs, and thus the vacancies caused by surface ligand removal inhibit the optoelectronic properties and stability of PQDs. Here, we study the effects of different anti-solvents with different polarities on FAPbI3 PQDs and select a series of organic molecules for surface passivation of PQDs. The results show that methyl acetate could effectively remove surface ligands from the PQD surface without destroying its crystal structure during the post-treatment. The benzamidine hydrochloride (PhFACl) applied as short ligands of PQDs during the post-treatment could fill the A-site and X-site vacancies of PQDs and thus improve the electronic coupling of PQDs. Finally, the PhFACl-based PQD solar cell (PQDSC) achieves a power conversion efficiency of 6.4%, compared to that of 4.63% for the conventional PQDSC. This work provides a reference for insights into the surface passivation of PQDs and the improvement in device performance of PQDSCs.

Graphical abstract
Wohlbefinden von Kindern in der deutschsprachigen Schweiz
Authors: Heite Catrin , Ramos Anne Carolina , Riepl Andrea
Published: September 2022

Die Frage, was Kinder unter Wohlbefinden verstehen und was sie aus ihrer Sicht brauchen, damit es ihnen gut geht, steht im Mittelpunkt des vom Schweizerischen Nationalfonds (SNF) finanzierten Forschungsprojekts Wohlbefinden von Kindern in der deutschsprachigen Schweiz (Laufzeit 09/2021 bis 08/2024). Das Forschungsprojekt beschäftigt sich mit der Frage nach dem Wohlergehen und Wohlbefinden von Kindern, nach dem, was ihnen wichtig ist und wie sie ihren Alltag gestalten, nicht mehr allein über Erwachsene vermittelt, sondern durch die Kinder selbst erzählt. In diesem Sinne bearbeitet es folgende Forschungsfragen: Wann, unter welchen Bedingungen und wie erleben Kinder Wohlbefinden?
“Draw the sea…”: Children’s representations of ocean connectivity in Fiji and New Caledonia
Authors: Fache Elodie , Piovano Susanna , Soderberg Alisi , Tuiono Malakai , Riera Léa , David Gilbert , Kowasch Matthias , Pauwels Simonne , Breckwoldt Annette , Carrière Stéphanie M. , Sabinot Catherine
Published: September 2022

In the South Pacific region, marine territories and resources play a crucial role for local communities. Children engage with these territories and resources from an early age onwards. As the next ocean stewards, they are a stakeholder group whose understandings of ocean connectivity and fisheries should be given serious consideration in decision-making processes towards the sustainable use and management of coastal seas. This paper analyses 290 children’s drawings from Fiji and New Caledonia, created in 2019 in spontaneous response to the instruction: “Draw the sea and what you and others do in the sea”. Exploring the webs of connections with and within the sea revealed by these children’s drawings and their own interpretations leads us to discuss children’s representations of the sea: (1) beyond a land-sea compartmentation, (2) as a locus of both exploitation and conservation of marine life, and (3) as a ‘place-full’ space connecting human and more-than-human realms.
Bus travel time reliability incorporating stop waiting time and in-vehicle travel time with AVL data
Authors: Zhuang Zixu , Cheng Zhanhong , Yao Jia , Wang Jian , An Shi
Published: September 2022

Improving bus travel time reliability can attract more commuters to use bus transit, and therefore reduces the share of cars and alleviates traffic congestion. This paper formulates a new bus travel time reliability metric that jointly considers two stochastic processes: the in-stop waiting process and in-vehicle travel time process, and the bus travel time reliability function is calculated by the convolution of independent events’ probabilities. The new reliability metric is defined as the probability when bus travel time is less than a certain threshold and can be used in both conditions with and without bus transfer. Next, Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) data of the city of Harbin is used to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method. Results show that factors such as weather, day of the week, departure time, travel distance, and the distance from the boarding stop to the bus departure station can significantly affect the travel time reliability. Then, a case with low bus departure frequency is analyzed to show the impact of travelers’ arrival distribution on their bus travel time reliability. Further, it is demonstrated that the travel time reliabilities of two bus transfer schemes of the same Origin–Destination (O–D) pair can have significantly different patterns. Understanding the bus travel time reliability pattern of the alternative bus routes can help passengers to choose a more reliable bus route under different conditions. The proposed bus travel time reliability metric is tested to be sensitive to the effect of different factors and can be applied in bus route recommendation, bus service evaluation, and optimization.
Automatic Assessment of the Type and Intensity of Agitated Hand Movements
Authors: Marshall Fiona , Zhang Shuai , Scotney Bryan W.
Published: September 2022

With increasing numbers of people living with dementia, there is growing interest in the automatic monitoring of agitation. Current assessments rely on carer observations within a framework of behavioural scales. Automatic monitoring of agitation can supplement existing assessments, providing carers and clinicians with a greater understanding of the causes and extent of agitation. Despite agitation frequently manifesting in repetitive hand movements, the automatic assessment of repetitive hand movements remains a sparsely researched field. Monitoring hand movements is problematic due to the subtle differences between different types of hand movements and variations in how they can be carried out; the lack of training data creates additional challenges. This paper proposes a novel approach to assess the type and intensity of repetitive hand movements using skeletal model data derived from video. We introduce a video-based dataset of five repetitive hand movements symptomatic of agitation. Using skeletal keypoint locations extracted from video, we demonstrate a system to recognise repetitive hand movements using discriminative poses. By first learning characteristics of the movement, our system can accurately identify changes in the intensity of repetitive movements. Wide inter-subject variation in agitated behaviours suggests the benefit of personalising the recognition model with some end-user information. Our results suggest that data captured using a single conventional RGB video camera can be used to automatically monitor agitated hand movements of sedentary patients.
A Survey of Underwater Human-Robot Interaction (U-HRI)
Authors: Birk Andreas
Published: September 2022

Purpose of Review

This review provides an overview of the current state of the art in Underwater Human-Robot Interaction (U-HRI), which is an area that is quite different from standard Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). This is due to several reasons. First of all, there are the particular properties of water as a medium, e.g., the strong attenuation of radio-frequency (RF) signals or the physics of underwater image formation. Second, divers are bound to special equipment, e.g., the breathing apparatus, which makes, for example, speech recognition challenging, if not impossible. Third, typical collaborative marine missions primarily requires a high amount of communication from the diver to the robot, which accordingly receives a lot of attention in U-HRI research.

Recent Findings

The use of gestures for diver-to-robot communication has turned out to be a quite promising approach for U-HRI as gestures are already a standard form of communication among divers. For the gesture front-ends, i.e., the part dealing with the machine perception of individual signs, Deep Learning (DL) has become to be a very prominent tool.

Human divers and marine robots have many complementary skills. There is hence a large potential for U-HRI. But while there is some clear progress in the field, the full potential of U-HRI is far from being exploited, yet.