bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Perceptions of tech-based mental health screening
Authors: McBain Sacha A , Cleavenger Kylie , Bull Chelsey , Payakachat Nalin , Greer Melody
Published: February 2024

Background

An estimated one-third of patients experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression in the year following a traumatic injury. The American College of Surgeons requires postinjury PTSD and depression screening in trauma centers, although implementation has been limited. Tech-based solutions have been proposed to improve uptake of postinjury mental health screening. The goals of this pilot study were to assess the usability and acceptability of Blueprint, a tech-based mental health screening platform, and explore attitudes toward tech-based screening and intervention.

Methods

This pilot study included trauma patients (n=10) admitted to the trauma service. Participants completed the PTSD Checklist-5 and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 using Blueprint to test usability and acceptability of the platform. Participants completed the System Usability Scale (SUS) and a semi-structured interview to assess several domains including attitudes toward tech-based screening, potential barriers to implementation, and its usefulness in a postinjury context. Summative Template Analysis, a data abstraction procedure, was used to analyze qualitative data.

Results

Blueprint received an average SUS score of 93.25/100 suggesting participants found the interface to be an ‘excellent’ means to assess postinjury mental health concerns. Participants were supportive of universal screening and identified several benefits to engaging in tech-based routine monitoring of postinjury PTSD and depressive symptoms including convenience, personalization, and trauma-informed care. Regarding intervention, patients valued web-based psychoeducation on topics related to their overall care and local resources.

Conclusions

Tech-based mental health screening was highly usable and valuable to trauma patients at risk for postinjury PTSD and depression. Participants valued web-based psychoeducation and resources, but overall preferred Blueprint be used to facilitate access to in-person mental health services. Further evaluation of Blueprint as a means of assessment, intervention, and referral is needed.
A new hybrid steel–timber rocking seismic force resisting system equipped with U-shaped fuse connections
Authors: Mowafy Ahmed , Imanpour Ali , Chui Ying-Hei
Published: February 2024

This paper introduces a new low-damage hybrid steel–timber rocking braced frame with self-centring capability and proposes a design methodology in the framework of Canadian design standards. This system consists of a gravity load-resisting timber frame and a steel concentrically braced frame acting as the lateral load-resisting system that is connected using U-shaped steel fuses. The self-centring capability is achieved by post-tensioning strands and rocking bases within the lateral load-resisting system. The system, along with its components, is first introduced. The proposed design method and system performance objectives are then presented. The seismic performance of the system and the proposed design procedure are validated through numerical analyses considering the interaction between the lateral and gravity load-resisting systems. The results of dynamic analyses confirm the enhanced seismic performance of the proposed hybrid system with almost no residual deformations after the earthquake. Moreover, the proposed design guidelines can accurately predict the system’s seismic response and demands imposed on the members.
An adaptive machine learning framework for multi-scenes road surface weather condition monitoring
Authors: Zhou Xinhao , Zhao Lin , Liu Zhaodong , Fu Liping , Pan Guangyuan
Published: February 2024

Timely road surface condition (RSC) monitoring and maintenance significantly influences road safety. The current RSC relies on fixed road surveillance cameras and in-vehicle cameras. However, the fixed camera demands higher precision, while the in-vehicle camera requires higher timeliness. To address these challenges, this paper introduces an adaptive machine learning framework for simultaneous road surface detection on both device types. Initially, a convolutional neural network-based differentiation module identifies image sources. Subsequently, an adaptive algorithm switching mechanism leads to the development of two algorithms improved upon the real-time object detection algorithms. At last, extensive experiments with datasets collected from Ontario, Canada and Iowa, U.S.A. validate the framework. Results show satisfactory classification accuracy, detection precision, and speed. Notably, the mean average precision, namely mean of the average precision for all categories (mAP), reaches 91.9% for fixed cameras and 90.6% for in-vehicle cameras, outperforming existing road surface snow detection models.
Evaluation of nitrogen fertilization of hybrid hazelnuts (Corylus americana × Corylus avellana) based on leaf nitrogen sufficiency thresholds
Authors: Braun Lois C.
Published: February 2024

Hybrids between Corylus avellana and Corylus americana are one of several new perennial and winter annual crops being developed as part of the Forever Green Initiative at the University of Minnesota. As a woody perennial shrub, hazelnuts in agroforestry systems can provide a new revenue source for rural landowners; continuous living cover to prevent soil erosion, sequester soil carbon, protect water quality, and provide wildlife habitat; and a delicious and healthful new local food. If hazelnuts are to fulfill their potential, better germplasm and better nitrogen fertilization recommendations are both needed. We modeled these trials after trials by R.E. Worley, who showed that yields of pecan trees fertilized only when leaf nitrogen (N) fell below critical thresholds were maintained with lower levels of applied N, benefitting both the environment and growers’ profits. Results of trials at three Minnesota sites, comparing N applied only when leaf N fell below 1.8%, 2.0%, or 2.2% with annual N applications and no N over 4 years, support using 2.2% leaf N as the critical threshold for N fertilization. Our results showed that whereas only 8% of N applied annually ended up in the harvested nuts and husks, N that was applied to plants that demonstrated hunger for it was more efficiently taken up. Our results suggest a need for more productive germplasm and further research to develop best management practices for N fertilization.
Drone noise differs by flight maneuver and model: implications for animal surveys
Authors: Macke Erin N. , Jones Landon R. , Iglay Raymond B. , Elmore Jared A.
Published: February 2024

Drones are becoming a common tool for animal monitoring; however, sound emitted from drones may disturb animals and bias survey results. Understanding noise levels produced by different flight maneuvers, altitudes (i.e., above ground level (AGL)), and drone models could mitigate animal disturbance during surveys. We measured maximum sound (dB) emitted during three flight maneuvers (hovering, flyover, and turning) among eight AGLs (15–120 m) and two vertical maneuvers (ascending and descending) for four commercially available quadcopter drone models (DJI Matrice 300, Matrice 200, Phantom 3, and Autel Evo II), accounting for wind speed and comparing to ambient (background) noise. Ascending, descending, and hovering produced more noise compared to flyover and turning maneuvers. One large drone (Matrice 200, 4.7 kg) produced more noise than the two smaller drones (Evo II, 1.2 kg and Phantom 3, 1.1 kg). However, the largest drone (Matrice 300, 6.4 kg) produced noise similar to smaller models and was the quietest among all models from 75 to 120 m AGL, providing potential size advantages with less noise disturbance. Our results indicate that flights consisting of flyover and turning maneuvers likely cause less noise disturbance than surveys with prolonged hovering over animals.
A refinement of the LMO invariant for 3-manifolds with the first Betti number 1
Authors: Ohtsuki Tomotada
Published: February 2024

It is known that the LMO invariant of 3-manifolds with positive first Betti numbers is relatively weak and can be determined by “(semi-)classical” invariants such as the cohomology ring, the Alexander polynomial, and the Casson–Walker–Lescop invariant.

In this paper, we formulate a refinement of the LMO invariant for 3-manifolds with the first Betti number 1. It dominates the perturbative SO(3) invariant of such 3-manifolds, which is the power series invariant formulated by the arithmetic perturbative expansion of the quantum SO(3) invariants of such 3-manifolds. As the 2-loop part of the refinement of the LMO invariant, we define the 2-loop polynomial of such 3-manifolds. Further, as the [Formula: see text] reduction at large [Formula: see text] limit of the [Formula: see text]-loop part of the refinement of the LMO invariant for [Formula: see text], we formulate an [Formula: see text]-variable polynomial invariant of such 3-manifolds whose Alexander polynomial is constant.
EXACT SOLUTIONS AND BIFURCATION OF A MODIFIED GENERALIZED MULTIDIMENSIONAL FRACTIONAL KADOMTSEV–PETVIASHVILI EQUATION
Authors: LIU MINYUAN , XU HUI , WANG ZENGGUI , CHEN GUIYING
Published: February 2024

In this paper, we investigate the exact solutions of a modified generalized multidimensional fractional Kadomtsev–Petviashvili (KP) equation by the bifurcation method. First, the equation is converted into a planar dynamical system through fractional complex wave transformation. The phase portraits of the equation and qualitative analysis are presented under different bifurcation conditions. Then, the bounded and unbounded traveling wave solutions, including periodic, kink, anti-kink, dark-solitary, bright-solitary and breaking wave solutions, are acquired by integrating along different orbits. Finally, numerical simulations of the dynamic behaviors of the solutions obtained are graphically illustrated by choosing appropriate parameters.
RESEARCH ON FRACTAL DIMENSIONS AND THE HÖLDER CONTINUITY OF FRACTAL FUNCTIONS UNDER OPERATIONS
Authors: YU BINYAN , LIANG YONGSHUN
Published: February 2024

Based on the previous studies, we make further research on how fractal dimensions of graphs of fractal continuous functions under operations change and obtain a series of new results in this paper. Initially, it has been proven that a positive continuous function under unary operations of any nonzero real power and the logarithm taking any positive real number that is not equal to one as the base number can keep the fractal dimension invariable. Then, a general method to calculate the Box dimension of two continuous functions under binary operations has been proposed. Using this method, the lower and upper Box dimensions of the product and the quotient of continuous functions without zero points have been investigated. On this basis, these conclusions will be generalized to the ring of rational functions. Furthermore, we discuss the Hölder continuity of continuous functions under operations and then prove that a Lipschitz function can be absorbed by any other continuous functions under certain binary operations in the sense of fractal dimensions. Some elementary results for vector-valued continuous functions have also been given.
A FRACTAL-BASED OIL TRANSPORT MODEL WITH UNCERTAINTY REDUCTION FOR A MULTI-SCALE SHALE PORE SYSTEM
Authors: SONG WENHUI , LU YUNHU , GAO YIHUA , YAO BOWEN , JIN YAN , CHEN MIAN
Published: February 2024

The challenges of modeling shale oil transport are numerous and include strong solid-fluid interactions, fluid rheology, the multi-scale nature of the pore structure problem, and the different pore types involved. Until now, theoretical studies have not fully considered shale oil transport mechanisms and multi-scale pore structure properties. In this study, we propose a fractal-based oil transport model with uncertainty reduction for a multi-scale shale pore system. The fractal properties of the shale pore system are obtained using high-resolution scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging combined with laboratory core sample gas permeability measurements to reduce the model uncertainty. This fractal-based oil transport model accounts for boundary slippage, fluid rheology, the adsorption layer, and different pore types. We further pinpoint the effects of the fractal properties (pore fractal dimension, tortuosity fractal dimension), the shale pore properties (pore type, pore size, total organic carbon in volume), and the fluid properties (yield stress, liquid slippage, adsorption layer) on the shale oil permeability and mobile oil saturation using the proposed model. The results reveal that the size of the inorganic pores has the largest influence on the shale oil transport properties, followed by the yield stress, tortuosity fractal dimension, and the fractal dimension of the inorganic pores.
Vibration Behavior of Composite Cold-Formed Steel Floors with Concrete Topping due to Heel-Drop Loading
Authors: Shi Yu , Wei Yao , Li Jiang , Li Honglong , Chen Y. Frank , Zhao Yunfei
Published: February 2024

Human-induced vibration is an important serviceability issue of modern structural designs, especially for light long-span structures. The common heel-drop impact is usually considered in evaluating the vibration of cold-formed steel (CFS) floors. This paper proposes a simplified equation for determining the peak accelerations under transient impacts, based on the Duhamel integral. The analytical results were validated with a comparison with the results from the heel-drop test results on a CFS floor of 3 900[Formula: see text]mm × 5 600[Formula: see text]mm (at both construction and completion stages). The dynamic responses of the floor, including peak acceleration, maximum transient vibration value (MTVV), and crest factor (a ratio of MTVV-to-peak acceleration) were analyzed in detail. The natural frequencies of the floor were obtained from the FFT and FRF analysis of heel-drop and hammering test results. The investigated on-site composite CFS floor with concrete topping was found to have a high fundamental frequency: 17[Formula: see text]Hz at the construction stage and 21[Formula: see text]Hz at the completion stage. In determining the fundamental frequency of the CFS floor, the hammering was thought to be more effective than the heel-drop owing to the phenomenon of human-structure interaction (HSI). Moreover, finite element analyses were performed to study the effects of profiled steel sheeting type (Types 28-100-800, 21-180-900, and 14-80-640) and concrete thickness (40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100[Formula: see text]mm). With the SCSC condition (two opposite edges clamped and the other two edges simply-supported), the peak acceleration decreased by 50% when the concrete thickness increased from 40[Formula: see text]mm to 100[Formula: see text]mm.
The Hodge–Dirac operator and Dabrowski–Sitarz–Zalecki-type theorems for manifolds with boundary
Authors: Wu Tong , Wang Yong
Published: February 2024

Dabrowski et al. [Spectral metric and Einstein functionals for Hodge–Dirac operator, preprint (2023), arXiv:2307.14877] gave spectral Einstein bilinear functionals of differential forms for the Hodge–Dirac operator [Formula: see text] on an oriented even-dimensional Riemannian manifold. In this paper, we generalize the results of Dabrowski et al. to the cases of 4-dimensional oriented Riemannian manifolds with boundary. Furthermore, we give the proof of Dabrowski–Sitarz–Zalecki-type theorems associated with the Hodge–Dirac operator for manifolds with boundary.
PACMHCI V8, GROUP, January 2024 Editorial
Authors: Menendez-Blanco Maria , Tixier Matthieu , Wohn Donghee Yvette
Published: February 2024

It is our great pleasure to introduce this issue of the Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, which focuses on contributions from the research community on Supporting Group Work (GROUP). This thriving community is home to researchers within CSCW, HCI for practice-centered computing, sociotechnical studies, and interdisciplinary groups who provide theoretical, methodological, and/or conceptual contributions on collaborative technologies and practices. GROUP's research community vividly raises the awareness of dimensions of growing importance in our highly connected life, as exemplified by the papers included in this issue. Information sharing and moderation in and across groups and formal organisations continue to call for complex research questions. Collaborative practices that have been the object of concern in GROUP become revisited through the lenses of new technologies, as illustrated by the papers investigating recommender systems and conversational agents in collaborative contexts. More than ever, the Internet is acknowledged as a space for social relationships, see for instance the case of dating apps or mom's chat group in this issue. Reflecting on our densely computing supported practices, ethics for research and design become an essential topic for consideration. The editorial board worked hard to organize this first submission round.

The call for papers for this issue on GROUP attracted a total of 31 submissions from all over the world, of which 8 papers (25.8 %) were accepted. This issue results from the dedicated volunteer effort of 23 members of the community who served as Associate Chairs (ACs). They all lent their expertise and time to provide insightful feedback to all authors. The Editorial Board can be found on GROUP's track page. As Track Chairs, we are grateful for the community's collective efforts to continue shaping and sharing GROUP's contributions.
POMACS V8, N1, March 2024 Editorial
Authors: Ciucu Florin , Fanti Giulia , Righter Rhonda
Published: February 2024

The Proceedings of the ACM on Measurement and Analysis of Computing Systems (POMACS) focuses on the measurement and performance evaluation of computer systems and operates in close collaboration with the ACM Special Interest Group SIGMETRICS. All papers in this issue of POMACS will be presented at the ACM SIGMETRICS/Performance 2024 conference on June 10-14, 2024, in Venice, Italy. These papers have been selected during the Fall submission round by the 93 members of the ACM SIGMETRICS/Performance 2024 program committee via a rigorous review process. Each paper was conditionally accepted (and shepherded), allowed a "one-shot" revision (to be resubmitted to one of the subsequent two SIGMETRICS/Performance deadlines), or rejected (with re-submission allowed after a year). For this issue, which represents the Fall deadline, POMACS is publishing 18 papers out of 118 submissions, of which 6 had previously received a one-shot revision decision. All submissions received at least 3 reviews and borderline cases were extensively discussed during the online program committee meeting. Based on the indicated track(s), roughly 33% of the submissions were in the Theory track, 47% were in the Measurement & Applied Modeling track, 39% were in the Systems track, and 19% were in the Learning track (papers could be part of more than one track). Many individuals contributed to the success of this issue of POMACS. First, we would like to thank the authors, who submitted their best work to SIGMETRICS/Performance/POMACS. Second, we would like to thank the program committee members who provided constructive feedback in their reviews to authors and participated in the online discussions and program committee meeting. We also thank the several external reviewers who provided their expert opinions on specific submissions that required additional input. We are also grateful to the SIGMETRICS Board Chair, Mor Harchol-Balter, the IFIP Working Group 7.3 Chair, Mark S. Squillante, the previous SIGMETRICS Board Chair, Giuliano Casale, and the past program committee Chairs, Konstantin Avratchenkov, Phillipa Gill, and Bhuvan Urgaonkar, who provided a wealth of information and guidance. Finally, we are grateful to the Organization Committee and to the SIGMETRICS Board for their ongoing efforts and initiatives for creating an exciting program for ACM SIGMETRICS/Performance 2024.
StarShip: Mitigating I/O Bottlenecks in Serverless Computing for Scientific Workflows
Authors: Basu Roy Rohan , Tiwari Devesh
Published: February 2024

This work highlights the significance of I/O bottlenecks that data-intensive HPC workflows face in serverless environments - an issue that has been largely overlooked by prior works. To address this challenge, we propose a novel framework, StarShip, which effectively addresses I/O bottlenecks for HPC workflows executing in serverless environments by leveraging different storage options and multi-tier functions, co-optimizing for service time and service cost. StarShip exploits the Levenberg-Marquardt optimization method to find an effective solution in a large, complex search space. StarShip achieves significantly better performance and cost compared to competing techniques, improving service time by 45% and service cost by 37.6% on average over state-of-the-art solutions.
Scalability Limitations of Processing-in-Memory using Real System Evaluations
Authors: Jonatan Gilbert , Cho Haeyoon , Son Hyojun , Wu Xiangyu , Livesay Neal , Mora Evelio , Shivdikar Kaustubh , Abellán José L. , Joshi Ajay , Kaeli David , Kim John
Published: February 2024

Processing-in-memory (PIM), where the compute is moved closer to the memory or the data, has been widely explored to accelerate emerging workloads. Recently, different PIM-based systems have been announced by memory vendors to minimize data movement and improve performance as well as energy efficiency. One critical component of PIM is the large amount of compute parallelism provided across many PIM "nodes'' or the compute units near the memory. In this work, we provide an extensive evaluation and analysis of real PIM systems based on UPMEM PIM. We show that while there are benefits of PIM, there are also scalability challenges and limitations as the number of PIM nodes increases. In particular, we show how collective communications that are commonly found in many kernels/workloads can be problematic for PIM systems. To evaluate the impact of collective communication in PIM architectures, we provide an in-depth analysis of two workloads on the UPMEM PIM system that utilize representative common collective communication patterns -- AllReduce and All-to-All communication. Specifically, we evaluate 1) embedding tables that are commonly used in recommendation systems that require AllReduce and 2) the Number Theoretic Transform (NTT) kernel which is a critical component of Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) that requires All-to-All communication. We analyze the performance benefits of these workloads and show how they can be efficiently mapped to the PIM architecture through alternative data partitioning. However, since each PIM compute unit can only access its local memory, when communication is necessary between PIM nodes (or remote data is needed), communication between the compute units must be done through the host CPU, thereby severely hampering application performance. To increase the scalability (or applicability) of PIM to future workloads, we make the case for how future PIM architectures need efficient communication or interconnection networks between the PIM nodes that require both hardware and software support.
Generalized Weak Supervision for Neural Information Retrieval
Authors: Lien Yen-Chieh , Zamani Hamed , Croft Bruce
Published: February 2024

Neural ranking models (NRMs) have demonstrated effective performance in several information retrieval (IR) tasks. However, training NRMs often requires large-scale training data, which is difficult and expensive to obtain. To address this issue, one can train NRMs via weak supervision, where a large dataset is automatically generated using an existing ranking model (called the weak labeler) for training NRMs. Weakly supervised NRMs can generalize from the observed data and significantly outperform the weak labeler. This paper generalizes this idea through an iterative re-labeling process, demonstrating that weakly supervised models can iteratively play the role of weak labeler and significantly improve ranking performance without using manually labeled data. The proposed Generalized Weak Supervision (GWS) solution is generic and orthogonal to the ranking model architecture. This paper offers four implementations of GWS: self-labeling, cross-labeling, joint cross- and self-labeling, and greedy multi-labeling. GWS also benefits from a query importance weighting mechanism based on query performance prediction methods to reduce noise in the generated training data. We further draw a theoretical connection between self-labeling and Expectation-Maximization. Our experiments on four retrieval benchmarks suggest that our implementations of GWS lead to substantial improvements compared to weak supervision if the weak labeler is sufficiently reliable.
Energy Management for Fault-tolerant (m,k)-constrained Real-time Systems That Use Standby-Sparing
Authors: Niu Linwei , Rawat Danda B. , Zhu Dakai , Musselwhite Jonathan , Gu Zonghua , Deng Qingxu
Published: February 2024

Fault tolerance, energy management, and quality of service (QoS) are essential aspects for the design of real-time embedded systems. In this work, we focus on exploring methods that can simultaneously address the above three critical issues under standby-sparing. The standby-sparing mechanism adopts a dual-processor architecture in which each processor plays the role of the backup for the other one dynamically. In this way, it can provide fault tolerance subject to both permanent and transient faults. Due to its duplicate executions of the real-time jobs/tasks, the energy consumption of a standby-sparing system could be quite high. With the purpose of reducing energy under standby-sparing, we proposed three novel scheduling schemes: The first one is for (1, 1)-constrained tasks, and the second one and the third one (which can be combined into an integrated approach to maximize the overall energy reduction) are for general (
m,k
)-constrained tasks that require that among any
k
consecutive jobs of a task no more than (
k
-
m
) out of them could miss their deadlines. Through extensive evaluations and performance analysis, our results demonstrate that compared with the existing research, the proposed techniques can reduce energy by up to 11% for (1, 1)-constrained tasks and 25% for general (
m,k
)-constrained tasks while assuring (
m,k
)-constraints and fault tolerance as well as providing better user perceived QoS levels under standby-sparing.
Raman and Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Detection in Flowing Solutions for Complex Mixture Analysis
Authors: Poonia Monika , Morder Courtney J. , Schorr Hannah C. , Schultz Zachary D.
Published: February 2024

Raman scattering provides a chemical-specific and label-free method for identifying and quantifying molecules in flowing solutions. This review provides a comprehensive examination of the application of Raman spectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) to flowing liquid samples. We summarize developments in online and at-line detection using Raman and SERS analysis, including the design of microfluidic devices, the development of unique SERS substrates, novel sampling interfaces, and coupling these approaches to fluid-based chemical separations (e.g., chromatography and electrophoresis). The article highlights the challenges and limitations associated with these techniques and provides examples of their applications in a variety of fields, including chemistry, biology, and environmental science. Overall, this review demonstrates the utility of Raman and SERS for analysis of complex mixtures and highlights the potential for further development and optimization of these techniques.
Bacterial Electrophysiology
Authors: Lo Wei-Chang , Krasnopeeva Ekaterina , Pilizota Teuta
Published: February 2024

Bacterial ion fluxes are involved in the generation of energy, transport, and motility. As such, bacterial electrophysiology is fundamentally important for the bacterial life cycle, but it is often neglected and consequently, by and large, not understood. Arguably, the two main reasons for this are the complexity of measuring relevant variables in small cells with a cell envelope that contains the cell wall and the fact that, in a unicellular organism, relevant variables become intertwined in a nontrivial manner. To help give bacterial electrophysiology studies a firm footing, in this review, we go back to basics. We look first at the biophysics of bacterial membrane potential, and then at the approaches and models developed mostly for the study of neurons and eukaryotic mitochondria. We discuss their applicability to bacterial cells. Finally, we connect bacterial membrane potential with other relevant (electro)physiological variables and summarize methods that can be used to both measure and influence bacterial electrophysiology.
Cholesterol and Lipid Rafts in the Biogenesis of Amyloid-β Protein and Alzheimer's Disease
Authors: Pantelopulos George A. , Abraham Conor B. , Straub John E.
Published: February 2024

Cholesterol has been conjectured to be a modulator of the amyloid cascade, the mechanism that produces the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides implicated in the onset of Alzheimer's disease. We propose that cholesterol impacts the genesis of Aβ not through direct interaction with proteins in the bilayer, but indirectly by inducing the liquid-ordered phase and accompanying liquid–liquid phase separations, which partition proteins in the amyloid cascade to different lipid domains and ultimately to different endocytotic pathways. We explore the full process of Aβ genesis in the context of liquid-ordered phases induced by cholesterol, including protein partitioning into lipid domains, mechanisms of endocytosis experienced by lipid domains and secretases, and pH-controlled activation of amyloid precursor protein secretases in specific endocytotic environments. Outstanding questions on the essential role of cholesterol in the amyloid cascade are identified for future studies.
Biofilms for Production of Chemicals and Energy
Authors: Weiler Janek , Edel Miriam , Gescher Johannes
Published: February 2024

The twenty-first century will be the century of biology. This is not only because of breakthrough advances in molecular biology tools but also because we need to reinvent our economy based on the biological principles of energy efficiency and sustainability. Consequently, new tools for production routines must be developed to help produce platform chemicals and energy sources based on sustainable resources. In this context, biofilm-based processes have the potential to impact future production processes, because they can be carried out continuously and with robust stationary biocatalysts embedded in an extracellular matrix with different properties. We review productive biofilm systems used for heterotrophic and lithoautotrophic production and attempt to identify fundamental reasons why they may be particularly suitable as future production systems.
Cenozoic History of the Indonesian Gateway
Authors: Gallagher Stephen J. , Auer Gerald , Brierley Chris M. , Fulthorpe Craig S. , Hall Robert
Published: February 2024

The tectonically complex Indonesian Gateway is part of the global thermohaline circulation and exerts a major control on climate. Waters from the Pacific flow through the Indonesian Archipelago into the Indian Ocean via the Indonesian Throughflow. Much progress has been made toward understanding the near-modern history of the Indonesian Gateway. However, the longer-term climate and ocean consequences of Australia's progressive collision with the Eurasian Plate that created it are less known. The gateway initiated ∼23 Ma, when Australia collided with Southeast Asia. By ∼10 Ma the gateway was sufficiently restricted to create a proto–warm pool. During the Pliocene it alternated between more or less restricted conditions, until modern oceanic conditions were established by 2.7 Ma. Despite its tectonic complexity, climate modeling and Indian and Pacific scientific ocean drilling research continue to yield insights into the gateway's deep history.
▪The Indonesian Gateway is a key branch of global thermohaline oceanic circulation, exerting a major control on Earth's climate over the last 25 Myr.▪We find that a complex interplay of tectonics and sea level has controlled Indonesian Gateway restriction since 12 Myr, resulting in La Niña– and El Niño–like states in the equatorial Pacific.▪Long term Indonesian Gateway history is best determined from ocean drilling cores on the Indian and Pacific sides of the Indonesian Gateway, as records from within it are typically disrupted by tectonics.▪Model simulations show the global impact of the Indonesian Gateway. Further modeling with ocean drilling/tectonic research will enhance our understanding of Cenozoic Indonesian Gateway history.
Dielectric Relaxation and AC Conductivity of Fe-Doped Glassy Semiconductors: Role of Fe Doping on Relaxation Time
Authors: Ghosh Jiban , Ali Mir Sahidul , Bhattacharya Sanjib
Published: February 2024

AC conductivity and dielectric parameters are supposed to be two noticeable parameters that ensure the applicability of present samples for electronic and other applications. Presently, Fe-doped glassy semiconductors were developed by melt-quenching route and characterized using FT-IR, SEM, EDAX and decoupling index for structural, morphological and elemental examinations. Frequency dependent dielectric constant, AC conductivity, dielectric loss at different temperatures have been explored in a wide frequency and temperatures ranges. Electric modulus formalism has been conceived asit can exclude the electrode polarization effect at low frequency regime and suggest the transition from long-range mobility to short-range mobility assembly of polarons. It is also noteworthy that relaxation times are found to decrease with temperatures, which may indicate about the faster movement of charge carriers. The variation of KWW parameters directly indicate that after doping of Fe content into the resultant materials, the relaxation process is shifted from Non-Debye to Debye type up to a limit. By crossing the limiting value of composition (x = 0.3), it becomes Non-Debye type in a very slow rate. The present system also exhibits a small relaxation time in comparison with others’ works. Lower values of dielectric constant at high frequencies are expected to be important for their applications in photonics and opto-electronics. Scaling method of electric modulus spectra indicate that the dielectric relaxation process in the present system leads to a common relaxation process at various temperatures, but it is strongly dependent on compositions.
Maturation of glutamatergic transmission onto dorsal raphe serotonergic neurons
Authors: Kisner Alexandre , Polter Abigail M.
Published: February 2024

Serotonergic neurons are regulators of both the development of and ongoing activity in neuronal circuits controlling affective, cognitive, and sensory processing. Here, we characterize the maturation of extrinsic synaptic inputs onto these cells, showing that the first three postnatal weeks are a period of synaptic refinement and a potential window for experience-dependent plasticity in response to both enrichment and adversity.
Effect of size on expression of bistability in mouse spinal motoneurons
Authors: Harris-Warrick Ronald M. , Pecchi Emilie , Drouillas Benoît , Brocard Frédéric , Bos Rémi
Published: February 2024

Bistability is not a common feature of all mouse spinal motoneurons. It is absent in small, slow motoneurons but present in most large, fast motoneurons. This difference results from differential expression of ionic currents that enable bistability, which are highly expressed in large motoneurons but small or absent in small motoneurons. These results support a possible role for fast motoneurons in maintenance of tonic posture in addition to their known roles in fast movements.
Improvement by Medication Less than Expected in Parkinson’s Disease: Blinded Evaluation of Levodopa Response
Authors: Johansen Mette Niemann , Handberg Anna , El Haddouchi Mohamed , Grundtvig Josefine , Jensen Steen Rusborg , Salvesen Lisette , Løkkegaard Annemette
Published: February 2024

Background. The latest Movement Disorder Society (MDS) diagnostic criteria require a good and sustained response to medication to get a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, PD. Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate levodopa response in a group of patients with probable PD, diagnosed by movement disorder specialists. Methods. An acute levodopa challenge test (LDCT) was performed after pausing the dopaminergic medication for 6 half-times. The motor part of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale was performed in the OFF-state and after LDCT (ON). A good effect was defined as >30% improvement. A video-protocol was used to secure standardized motor examination with blinded assessments of the UPDRS-III OFF and ON. An age-matched group of control subjects (CS) was included but did not go through LDCT. All participants were evaluated with Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI). Results. In the statistical analysis, 37 patients were included. Twenty-one patients showed an improvement ≤30%, while 16 patients showed an improvement >30%. LDCT showed an overall mean improvement of 27.3% of motor UPDRS. In 43.2%, there was a discrepancy between the effect seen with the LDCT and the patients’ self-perceived medicine evaluation. Patients with PD had a significantly lower MoCA score and more depressive symptoms compared to CS. Conclusions. We showed an acute effect of levodopa using LDCT that was around 30% improvement. While it lends support to the use of this limit in the MDS diagnostic criteria, an acute effect of less than 30% should be considered acceptable in some patients. Our study highlights a discrepancy in the objective measure of medicine effect on motor symptoms and the patient’s subjective evaluation.
Demographics of Physician Associates (PAs) in Obstetrics and Gynecology: Where They Work and How They Compare to Other PAs
Authors: Rodriguez Melissa A. , Hooker Roderick S. , Puckett Kasey K. , Kozikowski Andrzej
Published: February 2024

As of 2020, maternal and infant health in the US has worsened. At the same time, the number of health professionals available to manage female health issues is changing; the number of physicians in obstetrics and gynecology (Ob‐Gyn) and midwives is decreasing, whereas the number of Ob‐Gyn physician associates (PAs) is growing. We analyzed PAs practicing in the Ob‐Gyn discipline, drawing on the PA Professional Profile, a database maintained by the National Commission on Certification of PAs. In 2021, there were 1,322 Ob‐Gyn PAs (1.2% of all clinically active PAs). This health profession has grown by 66.9% since 2013, when only 792 PAs practiced in this specialty. As of 2021, their median age was 38, and 98.0% were female (70.1% of all PAs were female). The practice setting was between office (54.7%) and hospital (34.0%) employment, with 11.3% described as “other.” In 2021, the median annual income of Ob‐Gyn PAs was $105,000. With the reduction of obstetrician‐gynecologists, the relative growth of PAs in this area of medicine and surgery is a natural part of the solution to the projected obstetrical physician deficit.
Transfection of the BDNF Gene in the Surviving Dopamine Neurons in Conjunction with Continuous Administration of Pramipexole Restores Normal Motor Behavior in a Bilateral Rat Model of Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Benítez-Castañeda Alina , Anaya-Martínez Verónica , Espadas-Alvarez Armando de Jesús , Gutierrez-Váldez Ana Luisa , Razgado-Hernández Luis Fernando , Reyna-Velazquez Patricia Emmanuelle , Quintero-Macias Liz , Martínez-Fong Daniel , Florán-Garduño Benjamín , Aceves Jorge
Published: February 2024

In Parkinson’s disease (PD), progressive degeneration of nigrostriatal innervation leads to atrophy and loss of dendritic spines of striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs). The loss disrupts corticostriatal transmission, impairs motor behavior, and produces nonmotor symptoms. Nigral neurons express brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) and dopamine D3 receptors, both protecting the dopamine neurons and the spines of MSNs. To restore motor and nonmotor symptoms to normality, we assessed a combined therapy in a bilateral rat Parkinson’s model, with only 30% of surviving neurons. The preferential D3 agonist pramipexole (PPX) was infused for four ½ months via mini-osmotic pumps and one month after PPX initiation; the BDNF-gene was transfected into the surviving nigral cells using the nonviral transfection NTS-polyplex vector. Overexpression of the BDNF-gene associated with continuous PPX infusion restored motor coordination, balance, normal gait, and working memory. Recovery was also related to the restoration of the average number of dendritic spines of the striatal projection neurons and the number of TH-positive neurons of the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area. These positive results could pave the way for further clinical research into this promising therapy.
Radiological Anatomy of the Pelvis and Pelvic Limb of the Greater Cane Rat (Thryonomys swinderianus)
Authors: Mpagike Faraja H. , Makungu Modesta
Published: February 2024

Greater cane rats (Thryonomys swinderianus) are now being captive reared and domesticated in the sub‐Saharan Africa because of increase in their demand for biomedical research and traditional medicine and as a source of meat. This research was performed to provide the normal radiological anatomy of the pelvis and pelvic limb in greater cane rats for a reference in biomedical research, in anatomical studies, and in clinical use. Radiological examination of the pelvis and right pelvic limb was done in five greater cane rats. Radiological results were correlated with bones of the pelvis and right pelvic limb. The pelvic bone had a prominent caudoventral iliac spine. The pelvic symphysis was long and obturator foramina appeared teardrop‐shaped elongated craniocaudally. The prominent major trochanter extended proximally higher than the femoral head. The middle third of the body of the tibia presented a very prominent tuberosity. In all specimens, the tarsal sesamoid bone was visualised. Mineralised popliteal sesamoid bone was not visualised. In male greater cane rats, the os penis was visualised. The lateral and medial menisci of the stifle joint were seen with ossicles. The first metatarsal bone was rudimentary with greater plantar divergence. Despite of the pelvic limb and pelvis of greater cane rats sharing anatomical structures with other rodents, it retains some exceptional anatomical features. Findings of this study will serve as a reference for anatomical studies, clinical veterinary practice, and in biomedical research.
TABLE 1 from NRF2 Activation in Trp53;p16-deficient Mice Drives Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Hamad Samera H. , Sellers Rani S. , Wamsley Nathan , Zolkind Paul , Schrank Travis P. , Major Michael B. , Weissman Bernard E.
Published: February 2024

Classification of abnormal growth in CP and CPN mice
Clinical Interviewing: An Essential but Neglected Method of Medicine
Authors: Fava Giovanni A. , Sonino Nicoletta , Aron David C. , Balon Richard , Berrocal Montiel Carmen , Cao Jianxin , Concato John , Eory Ajandek , Horwitz Ralph I. , Rafanelli Chiara , Schnyder Ulrich , Wang Hongxing , Wise Thomas N. , Wright Jesse H. , Zipfel Stephan , Patierno Chiara
Published: February 2024

Clinical interviewing is the basic method to understand how a person feels and what are the presenting complaints, obtain medical history, evaluate personal attitudes and behavior related to health and disease, give the patient information about diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment, and establish a bond between patient and physician that is crucial for shared decision making and self-management. However, the value of this basic skill is threatened by time pressures and emphasis on technology. Current health care trends privilege expensive tests and procedures and tag the time devoted to interaction with the patient as lacking cost-effectiveness. Instead, the time spent to inquire about problems and life setting may actually help to avoid further testing, procedures, and referrals. Moreover, the dialogue between patient and physician is an essential instrument to increase patient’s motivation to engage in healthy behavior. The aim of this paper was to provide an overview of clinical interviewing and its optimal use in relation to style, flow and hypothesis testing, clinical domains, modifications according to settings and goals, and teaching. This review points to the primacy of interviewing in the clinical process. The quality of interviewing determines the quality of data that are collected and, eventually, of assessment and treatment. Thus, interviewing deserves more attention in educational training and more space in clinical encounters than it is currently receiving.
Religion and Adaptation in Drowning Villages
Authors: Pratisti Siti Aliyuna , Bagir Zainal Abidin , Ahimsa-Putra Heddy Shri , Northcott Michael S.
Published: February 2024

This article discusses the religious dimension of the coastal adaptation of Muslim communities on northern coast of Java, Indonesia. As a volcanic island, geomorphological processes are the main causes of coastal inundation in Java. Nonetheless, debates on coastal adaptation mostly related to climate change adaptation. By focusing on North Coast Java, this study aims to draw parallels between the experiences of Javanese communities and communities facing rising sea levels in other parts of the world. Two Muslim communities were selected as both have experienced coastal flooding and indicate religious dimension in their adaptive strategies. This study has three main findings: 1. The religious dimension contributes significantly to environmental adaptation processes; 2. Religious practices interact in both positive and negative ways to affect the adapting communities; and 3. In the Javanese context, environmental adaptation takes the form of a narrative around local history and the experiential knowledge of the drowning communities.
The Real of Education
Authors: Bradley Joff P. N.
Published: February 2024

In this short piece I am going to reflect on my reaction to a commercial video and advertisement campaign by my university in Tokyo, Japan. The campaign 帝京生のリアル [The daily life of Teikyo students] ran in April 2023 (www.teikyo-u.ac.jp/campus_for_life/photo_project). The following is a translation of the Japanese voiceover from the cm which includes the voice of a concerned parent, the voice of a high school student, who is unsure about which course, which university, and which career to pursue.
A Case of the Non-Directionality of Language Change: The Strength of Auxiliaries and Pronouns in South and West Slavic
Authors: Migdalski Krzysztof
Published: February 2024

A Case of the Non-Directionality of Language Change: The Strength of Auxiliaries and Pronouns in South and West Slavic
This paper discusses the directionality of language change on the basis of Slavic data. Specifically, it addresses the question of whether there exist predefined patterns and diachronic trends that affect words in terms of their prosodic and morphosyntactic strength. The paper investigates two classes of functional elements, auxiliary verbs and pronominal clitics, showing that they have undergone diachronic changes in opposite directions: while auxiliaries have weakened, pronominal forms have become strengthened in some Slavic languages.
 
Bezkierunkowość zmian językowych. Siła czasowników posiłkowych i zaimków osobowych w językach południowo- i zachodniosłowiańskich
Artykuł omawia zagadnienie kierunkowości zmian językowych, opierając się na danych z języków słowiańskich. W szczególności artykuł podejmuje kwestię istnienia uniwersalnych trendów i wzorców zmian diachronicznych w języku, takich jak jednorodne osłabienie słów pod względem prozodycznym i morfoskładniowym. Badane są dwa typy wyrazów funkcyjnych: czasowniki posiłkowe i zaimki osobowe. Jak wykazano, formy te podległy zmianom diachronicznym, które nastąpiły w przeciwnych kierunkach: podczas gdy czasowniki posiłkowe uległy prozodycznemu i morfoskładniowemu osłabieniu, w niektórych językach słowiańskich zaimki osobowe uległy wzmocnieniu.