bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Eurasian otter Lutra lutra diet mirrors the decline of native fish assemblages in a semi-arid catchment (River Segura, SE Spain)
Authors: Dettori Ettore Emanuele , Balestrieri Alessandro , Zapata-Pérez Víctor Manuel , Palazón Santiago , Bruno Daniel , Rubio-Saura Nuria , Robledano-Aymerich Francisco
Published: May 2022

In semi-arid environments, the effects of irregularly distributed rainfall, flow regulation and water inter-basin transfer enhance the spread of non-native fish to the detriment of native communities. In the River Segura, since the 1980s the number of non-native fish species has progressively increased, also because of the building of water transfer facility connecting the rivers Segura and Tajo. With the aim of highlighting how man-driven changes in the diversity of fish communities affect the diet of top-predators, we compared Eurasian otterLutra lutradiet in the span of 20 years, i.e. 1997–98 vs. 2016–19. As habitat quality affects the condition of Andalusian barbelLuciobarbus sclateri, the most widespread native fish, we also compared the size of preyed barbels to point out whether human activities may have lowered their profitability to otters. Fish and introduced red swamp crayfishProcambarus clarkiiformed the bulk of otter diet in both study periods. In 2016–19 the contribution of non-native species to otter diet increased significantly, both for crayfish and fish, which included ten non-native species. Otter feeding habits faithfully mirrored the variation in the composition of the fish community and confirmed the importance of crayfish as alternative-to-fish prey in the Iberian Peninsula. The average length of preyed barbels was significantly lower in the second study period, consistently with a decline in barbel profitability for otters.
Statistical methods for decision support systems in finance: how Benford’s law predicts financial risk
Authors: Cerqueti Roy , Maggi Mario , Riccioni Jessica
Published: May 2022

This paper merges the statistical analysis of data regularities and decision support systems for investors. Specifically, it discusses the Benford’s law as a decision support device for financial investments. In particular, we illustrate the role of such a property of financial data as risk predictor for financial markets. First of all, we show empirical evidence of accordance between data on market index daily returns and Benford’s law. Then, we highlight that on short time period (1 year) the deviations from Benford’s law are related to low risk and positive trend periods; the p value of the $$\chi ^2$$

χ
2

test against the Benford’s distribution displays some predicting power for the market average return and risk level.
Microbiological and chemical characteristics of beaches along the Taranto Gulf (Ionian Sea, Southern Italy)
Authors: De Giglio Osvalda , Narracci Marcella , Apollonio Francesca , Triggiano Francesco , Acquaviva Maria Immacolata , Caroppo Carmela , Diella Giusy , Di Leo Antonella , Fasano Fabrizio , Giandomenico Santina , Spada Lucia , Cavallo Rosa Anna , Montagna Maria Teresa
Published: May 2022

Coastal habitats provide important ecosystem services, such as the maintenance of ecological sustainability, water quality regulation, nutrient recycling, and sandy beaches which are important areas for recreation and tourism. The quality of seawater is generally measured by determining the concentrations ofEscherichia coliand intestinal Enterococci, which might be affected by the persistent populations of these bacteria in sand. Sand might thus be a significant source of pathogen exposure to beachgoers. The quality of coastal recreational waters can also be affected by eutrophication, water discoloration, and harmful algal blooms, which pose additional human health risks. Here, we conducted a monitoring of the beaches quality along the Taranto Gulf by determining the concentrations of fecal indicator organisms, as well as other parameters that are not traditionally measured (physicochemical parameters,Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and harmful microalgae), in shallow seawater and sand sampled from three beaches. The concentrations of bacteria were determined using both standard microbiological methods and the IDEXX system. Our results demonstrate the utility of measuring a greater number of parameters in addition to those conventionally measured, as well as the importance of assessing the health risks posed by the sand matrix. Additional work is needed to develop rapid analytical techniques that could be used to monitor the microbiological parameters of solid matrices.
Declining pollination success reinforces negative climate and fire change impacts in a serotinous, fire-killed plant
Authors: Souto-Veiga Rodrigo , Groeneveld Juergen , Enright Neal J. , Fontaine Joseph B. , Jeltsch Florian
Published: May 2022

Climate change projections predict that Mediterranean-type ecosystems (MTEs) are becoming hotter and drier and that fires will become more frequent and severe. While most plant species in these important biodiversity hotspots are adapted to hot, dry summers and recurrent fire, the Interval Squeeze framework suggests that reduced seed production (demographic shift), reduced seedling establishment after fire (post fire recruitment shift), and reduction in the time between successive fires (fire interval shift) will threaten fire killed species under climate change. One additional potential driver of accelerated species decline, however, has not been considered so far: the decrease in pollination success observed in many ecosystems worldwide has the potential to further reduce seed accumulation and thus population persistence also in these already threatened systems. Using the well-studied fire-killed and serotinous shrub species Banksia hookeriana as an example, we apply a new spatially implicit population simulation model to explore population dynamics under past (1988–2002) and current (2003–2017) climate conditions, deterministic and stochastic fire regimes, and alternative scenarios of pollination decline. Overall, model results suggest that while B. hookeriana populations were stable under past climate conditions, they will not continue to persist under current (and prospective future) climate. Negative effects of climatic changes and more frequent fires are reinforced by the measured decline in seed set leading to further reduction in the mean persistence time by 12–17%. These findings clearly indicate that declining pollination rates can be a critical factor that increases further the pressure on the persistence of fire-killed plants. Future research needs to investigate whether other fire-killed species are similarly threatened, and if local population extinction may be compensated by recolonization events, facilitating persistence in spatially structured meta-communities.
Numerical study on the influence of porous baffle interface and mesh typology on the silencer flow analysis
Authors: Kyaw Oo D’Amore Giada , Morgut Mitja , Biot Marco , Mauro Francesco
Published: May 2022

The study of the internal component geometries (i.e. perforated elements) is relevant for the acoustic performance optimisation of a silencer. During the design phase, the evaluation of the properties of a silencer is performed by numerical analysis. In the literature, there is a lack of general guidelines and comparisons among different modelling strategies. So, in this study, the influence of grid type (i.e. trimmed vs tetrahedral) on the numerical prediction of the flow inside a reactive silencer is analysed. Moreover, using a porous baffle interface to model the perforated pipe is investigated, searching for a faster and easier way to model perforated elements. The simulations are carried out with the commercial CFD software STAR-CCM+. The comparison of the obtained axial velocity with a literature case study assesses the numerical model reliability. The analysis highlights that velocity and pressure predicted with both the mesh typologies does not significantly differ, but the trimmed mesh allows to save cells number, reducing the computational cost. Instead, obtain a reliable flow description using the porous baffle interface is strictly correlated to the settings of the resistance coefficient. This assumption does not provide accurate results for the analysed perforated pipe. On the other hand, using a simplified model allows to easily perform a comparison between different muffler geometries, as the holes have not to be drowned and meshed after each modification.
A probabilistic formula for gradients of solutions of hypoelliptic Dirichlet problems
Authors: Da Prato Giuseppe , Tubaro Luciano
Published: May 2022

We prove a new probabilistic formula for the gradient of the Dirichlet semigroup associated with a class of hypoelliptic operators in a bounded subset of $${\mathbb {R}}^d$$

R

d

.
Predicting and explaining employee turnover intention
Authors: Lazzari Matilde , Alvarez Jose M. , Ruggieri Salvatore
Published: May 2022

Turnover intention is an employee’s reported willingness to leave her organization within a given period of time and is often used for studying actual employee turnover. Since employee turnover can have a detrimental impact on business and the labor market at large, it is important to understand the determinants of such a choice. We describe and analyze a unique European-wide survey on employee turnover intention. A few baselines and state-of-the-art classification models are compared as per predictive performances. Logistic regression and LightGBM rank as the top two performing models. We investigate on the importance of the predictive features for these two models, as a means to rank the determinants of turnover intention. Further, we overcome the traditional correlation-based analysis of turnover intention by a novel causality-based approach to support potential policy interventions.
Wie gut eignet sich das onomastische Verfahren zur Ziehung einer Zufallsstichprobe von Muslim*innen mit Migrationshintergrund verschiedener muslimisch geprägter Herkunftsländer?
Authors: Stichs Anja , Pfündel Katrin
Published: May 2022

In dem Beitrag wird auf Basis von Daten der Studie „Muslimisches Leben in Deutschland 2020 (MLD 2020)“ untersucht, inwieweit der Einsatz namensbasierter (onomastischer) Verfahren bei der Ziehung einer Zufallsstichprobe von Muslim*innen mit Migrationshintergrund aus muslimisch geprägten Ländern sinnvoll ist. Die Analysen verdeutlichen, dass die Zielgruppe onomastisch gut eingegrenzt werden kann. Bei 94 % der Personen, bei denen die onomastische Zuordnung einen Migrationshintergrund aus einem muslimischen geprägten Land vermuten lässt, trifft dies zu. Von Nachteil ist, dass die Religionszugehörigkeit nicht erkannt wird. Der Anteil der muslimischen Religionsangehörigen unter den Personen aus muslimisch geprägten Herkunftsländern ist mit 80 % jedoch relativ hoch, so dass der Befragungsaufwand deutlich reduziert werden kann. Eine weitere Schwierigkeit bei Umsetzung eines geschichteten Stichprobenkonzepts besteht darin, dass sich die Namen verschiedener muslimisch geprägter Herkunftsländer nur schwer voneinander abgrenzen lassen.
Den Kalten Krieg neu denken? Neue Studien zum Kalten Krieg
Authors: Bönker Kirsten
Published: May 2022

Neuere Studien dekonstruieren die Binarität des Kalten Krieges mit globalen, transnationalen und kulturgeschichtlichen Perspektiven. Sie zeigen, dass bestimmte Interpretationsrahmen wie Interdependenz, Konvergenz der Systeme, Globalisierung oder Dekolonisierung bereits von Zeitgenoss_innen mit dem Narrativ des Kalten Krieges verbunden wurden. Dies bereichert das Bild der innenpolitischen Positionen und außenpolitischen Interessen, die im Westen gegenüber der Sowjetunion vertreten worden sind. Neuere Forschungen zeigen aber auch, dass es an wirtschafts- oder mediengeschichtlichen Studien mangelt, die sich auf beide Seiten des Eisernen Vorhangs konzentrieren.
Evidence Based Management of Acute Heart Failure in the Era of COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Wang Lexin
Published: May 2022

This editorial is to highlight current issues of heart failure management during COVID-19 pandemic.
On the effect of inter compressor duct length on compressor performance
Authors: Dygutsch T. , Kasper A. , Voss C.
Published: May 2022

Compression systems of modern, civil aircraft engines consist of three components: Fan, low-pressure compressor (LPC) and high-pressure compressor (HPC). The efficiency of each component has improved over the last decades by means of rising computational power which made high level aerodynamic optimisations possible. Each component has been addressed individually and separated from the effects of upstream and downstream components. But as much time and effort has been spend to improve performance of rotating components, the stationary inter-compressor duct (ICD) has only received minor attention. With the rotating compression components being highly optimised and sophisticated their performance potential is limited. That is why more aggressive, respectively shorter, ICDs get more and more into the focus of research and engine manufacturers. The length reduction offers high weight saving and thus fuel saving potential as a shorter ICD means a reduction in aircraft engine length. This paper aims at evaluating the impact of more aggressive duct geometries on LPC and HPC performance. A multi objective 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) aerodynamic optimisation is performed on a preliminary design of a novel two spool compressor rig incorporating four different operating line and two near-stall (NST) conditions which ensure operability throughout the whole compressor operating range. While the ICD is free to change in length, shape and cross-section area, the blades of LPC and HPC are adjusted for changing duct aerodynamics via profile re-staggering to keep number of free parameters low. With this parametrisation length, reductions for the ICD of up to 40% are feasible while keeping the reduction in isentropic efficiency at aerodynamic design point for the compressor below 1%pt. Three geometries of the Pareto front are analysed in detail focusing on ICD secondary flow behaviour and changes of aerodynamics in LPC and HPC. In order to asses changes in stall margin, speedlines for the three geometries are analysed.
A Watershed Moment for Sanctions? Russia, Ukraine, and the Economic Battlefield
Authors: Chachko Elena , Heath J. Benton
Published: May 2022

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has triggered an unprecedented wave of sanctions targeting every facet of the Russian economy. In the early months of the conflict, the sheer scope, speed, and coordination of this response to Russia's aggression instills hope that economic pressure may yet play a decisive role in this conflict. But the massive scale of the effort is also cause for concern. In particular, it highlights the relative lack of legal constraints governing economic warfare, even in the face of potentially grave harms to third parties and the global economy. While these concerns have provoked no shortage of proposals for reform, the fragmented institutional landscape and a lack of political will are likely to frustrate any attempts at far-reaching transformation.
Direct prime subshifts and canonical covers
Authors: KOPRA JOHAN
Published: May 2022

We present a new sufficient criterion to prove that a non-sofic half-synchronized subshift is direct prime. The criterion is based on conjugacy invariant properties of Fischer graphs of half-synchronized shifts. We use this criterion to show as a new result that all n-Dyck shifts are direct prime, and we also give new proofs of direct primeness of non-sofic beta-shifts and non-sofic S-gap shifts. We also construct a class of non-sofic synchronized direct prime subshifts which additionally admit reversible cellular automata with all directions sensitive.
Genomic surveillance uncovers ongoing transmission of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) and identifies actionable routes of transmissions in an endemic setting
Authors: Ong Sean Wei Xiang , Rao Pooja , Khong Wei Xin , Ong Victor Yi Fa , Sridatta Prakki Sai Rama , Thevasagayam Natascha May , Ho Benjamin Choon Heng , Ang Brenda Sze Peng , De Partha Pratim , Ng Oon Tek , Marimuthu Kalisvar
Published: May 2022

Objective:

In our center, previous infection prevention and control (IPC) resources were concentrated on multidrug-resistant organisms other than CRAB because the rate of CRAB was stable with no evidence of outbreaks. Triggered by an increase in the baseline rate of CRAB isolated in clinical cultures, we investigated horizontal transmission of CRAB to guide targeted IPC actions.

Methods:

We prospectively collected clinical data of patients with positive CRAB cultures. We identified genetic relatedness of CRAB isolates using whole-genome sequencing. Findings were regularly presented to the IPC committee, and follow-up actions were documented.

Results:

During the study period, 66 CRAB isolates were available for WGS. Including 12 clinical isolates and 10 environmental isolates from a previous study, a total of 88 samples were subjected to WGS, of which 83 were successfully sequenced and included in the phylogenetic analysis. We identified 5 clusters involving 44 patients. Genomic transmissions were explained by spatiotemporal overlap in 12 patients and by spatial overlap only in 12 patients. The focus of transmission was deduced to be the intensive care units. One cluster was related to a retrospective environmental isolate, suggesting the environment as a possible route of transmission. Discussion of these findings at multidisciplinary IPC meetings led to implementation of measures focusing on environmental hygiene, including hydrogen peroxide vapor disinfection in addition to terminal cleaning for rooms occupied by CRAB patients.

Conclusions:

We showed that WGS could be utilized as a “tool of persuasion” by demonstrating the presence of ongoing transmission of CRAB in an endemic setting, and by identifying actionable routes of transmission for directed IPC interventions.
Similar duration of viral shedding of the severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) delta variant between vaccinated and incompletely vaccinated individuals
Authors: Kandel Christopher E. , Banete Andra , Taylor Maureen , Llanes Andrea , McCready Janine , Crowl Gloria , Young Matthew , Li Angel X. , Chien Emily , Yim Winfield , Yip Lily , Kozak Robert , McGeer Allison J. , Mubareka Samira , Powis Jeff E.
Published: May 2022

Among outpatients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to the severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) δ (delta) variant who did and did not receive 2 vaccine doses at 7 days after symptom onset, there was no difference in viral shedding (cycle threshold difference 0.59, 95% CI, −4.68 to 3.50; P = .77) with SARS-CoV-2 cultured from 2 (7%) of 28 and 1 (4%) of 26 outpatients, respectively.
Identification and reconstruction of high-frequency fluctuations evolving on a low-frequency periodic limit cycle: application to turbulent cylinder flow
Authors: Franceschini Lucas , Sipp Denis , Marquet Olivier , Moulin Johann , Dandois Julien
Published: May 2022

Oftentimes, turbulent flows exhibit a high-frequency turbulent component developing on a strong low-frequency periodic motion. In such cases, the low-frequency motion may strongly influence the spatio-temporal features of the high-frequency component. A typical example of such behaviour is the flow around bluff bodies, for which the high-frequency turbulent component, characterized by Kelvin–Helmholtz structures associated with thin shear layers, depends on the phase of the low-frequency vortex-shedding motion. In this paper, we propose extended versions of spectral proper orthogonal decomposition (SPOD) and of resolvent analysis that respectively extract and reconstruct the high-frequency turbulent fluctuation field as a function of the phase of the low-frequency periodic motion. These approaches are based on a quasi-steady (QS) assumption, which may be justified by the supposedly large separation between the frequencies of the periodic and turbulent components. After discussing their relationship to more classical Floquet-like analyses, the new tools are illustrated on a simple periodically varying linear Ginzburg–Landau model, mimicking the overall characteristics of a turbulent bluff-body flow. In this simple model, we in particular assess the validity of the QS approximation. Then, we consider the case of turbulent flow around a squared-section cylinder at a Reynolds number of

$Re=22\,000$

, for which we show reasonable agreement between the extracted spatio-temporal fluctuation field and the prediction of QS resolvent analysis at the various phases of the periodic vortex-shedding motion.
Phonetic variation and its spatial distribution in urban Austria: /l/-vocalization as a sociolinguistic marker?
Authors: Fischer Ann Kathrin , Kleczkowski Nina , Ziegler Arne
Published: May 2022

This paper investigates German /l/-vocalization in the dialect region of South/Central Bavarian. In Austria, /l/-vocalization is said to be restricted to Central Bavarian, constituting the most salient dialect feature. However, its existence within the transition zone of South/Central Bavarian, including the urban and surrounding area of Graz, is often assumed. By analyzing natural speech data of different age groups from Greater Graz in a formal and an informal communication situation, we see that /l/-vocalization is already a well-established phenomenon, whereby the older age-group vocalizes considerably more often than the younger one. This suggests that /l/-vocalization serves as a sociolinguistic rather than a dialect marker indicating regional identity.
Estructura y dinámica poblacional en la frontera de cazadores-recolectores/agricultores: El registro bioarqueológico de Jaime Prats-1 (Mendoza, Argentina)
Authors: Peralta Eva A. , Luna Leandro H. , Aranda Claudia , Pompei María de la Paz , Gil Adolfo F. , Neme Gustavo A.
Published: May 2022

En este estudio paleodemográfico contribuimos a la discusión sobre el impacto de la incorporación de recursos vegetales domesticados en poblaciones del sitio Jaime Prats-1, el área de entierros humanos con mayor número de individuos del centro occidente argentino. La ubicación espacial y temporal del sitio arqueológico se corresponde con el registro de cultígenos prehispánicos en la región, por lo que resulta relevante para entender la dinámica poblacional en un área de interacción entre grupos cazadores-recolectores y sociedades agricultoras. Los resultados del análisis de los perfiles de edades de muerte, el Índice de Juventud y la suma de probabilidades de los fechados radiocarbónicos disponibles, indican un pulso de crecimiento demográfico entre los 2000 y los 1500 años aP, correspondiente al período de uso del sitio. Tomando como referencia un conjunto de cazadores-recolectores contemporáneos y otro de agricultores tardíos, ambos procedentes de la región, Jaime Prats-1 ocupa una posición intermedia, de confluencia entre ambos sistemas de subsistencia.
Paleolakes, archaeology, and late Quaternary paleoenvironments in northwestern Mongolia
Authors: Morgan Christopher , Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan , Tumurbaatar Tuvshinjargal , Barton Loukas
Published: May 2022

The climatic, hydrographic, and environmental regimes of terminal Pleistocene and Holocene northwestern Mongolia are reconstructed using archaeological and pedological data sets at Bayan Nuur, a lake on the northwestern perimeter of the Altan Els dune field in eastern Uvs Province, Mongolia. The archaeological data consist of land-use patterns controlled for time via time-sensitive, diagnostic artifacts. The pedological data consist of soil classifications and radiocarbon dating of paleosols that track lake levels and water table. These data are combined using a geographic information system (GIS) to ascertain site and paleosol geographic relationships to modern lake levels at Bayan Nuur. They point to a more xeric Younger Dryas than previously recognized, significant Holocene lake regressions, and to Mid- to Late Holocene lake standstills/transgressions, the scale of which had previously been unrecognized. Combined, these data point to a complex late Quaternary picture of paleoclimate and paleoenvironment across the region and the importance of using multiple proxies, including archaeological data, in paleoecological reconstructions.
The emerging importance of tackling sleep–diet interactions in lifestyle interventions for weight management
Authors: Hall Wendy L.
Published: May 2022

Sleep habits are directly related to risk of obesity, and this relationship may be partly mediated through food choices and eating behaviour. Short sleep duration, impaired sleep quality and suboptimal sleep timing are all implicated in weight gain and adverse cardiometabolic health, at least partly mediated through their associations with diet quality. Short-term sleep restriction leads to increased energy intake, and habitually short sleepers report dietary intakes that indicate a less healthy diet compared with adequate sleepers. Evidence is emerging that sleep extension interventions in short sleepers may reduce intake of sugars and overall energy intake. Poor sleep quality, night shift work patterns and social jetlag are also associated with lower diet quality and consumption of energy-dense foods. Incorporating sleep advice into weight management interventions may be more effective than energy-restricted diets and exercise advice alone. However, there are a lack of intervention studies that aim to lengthen sleep, improve sleep quality or adjust irregular sleep timing to investigate the impact on dietary intakes and eating behaviour in participants aiming to lose weight or maintain weight loss. Finally, future research should take account of individual characteristics such as age, sex, life stage and changing working practices when designing combined lifestyle interventions including sleep behaviour change for health and well-being.
The Reception of Thomas Delaune's Plea for the Non-Conformists in England and America, 1684–1870
Authors: Lewis Simon
Published: May 2022

In a 1683 sermon, Benjamin Calamy, an Anglican priest, claimed that the separation of Dissenters from the Church of England was unjustifiable. Thomas Delaune, a London Baptist schoolmaster, responded in A Plea for the Non-Conformists (1684), which compared seventeenth-century Dissenters to sixteenth-century Reformers who had escaped from the “Church of Rome.” The Restoration authorities judged the book to be a seditious libel, for which Delaune was arrested, tried, and imprisoned in Newgate, where he was soon joined by his poverty-stricken wife and two children. By 1685, the whole family had perished in Newgate. This tragic story guaranteed Delaune's status as a martyr for generations of Nonconformists. Indeed, the Plea achieved amongst Dissenters the reputation of an “unanswerable” text. Its enduring appeal transcended denominational and geographical boundaries. This paper explores the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century reception of the Plea, which Dissenters, both in England and America, repurposed for various politico-theological circumstances. Throughout the eighteenth century, Dissenters invoked the Plea against perceived cases of episcopal tyranny. By the pluralistic nineteenth century, however, this external, episcopal threat had largely been replaced with an internal one, prompting Dissenters to deploy the Plea against corruption and lethargy within their own denominations.
Gender, Knighthood, and Spiritual Imagination in Henry Suso's Life of the Servant
Authors: Randolph Jacob
Published: May 2022

Twenty-first-century scholarship on the late medieval Dominican mystic Henry Suso has seen a marked interest in gendered explorations of his Vita in the realms of authorship, authority, and social and religious prescriptions. In particular, the position of the nun Elsbeth Stagel, Suso's longtime friend, mentee, and narrative subject in the Vita, has come to the forefront as a site of contestation. Moreover, Suso's portrayal of the monastic life as one of a knightly contest has challenged the meaning and function of his work as a didactic text for women religious, as chivalric themes typically carry certain gendered presuppositions. I argue that, contrary to the interpretation of the Vita as opposed to female emulation of the Servant, a close reading of the work suggests that the Servant not only allowed but encouraged Stagel and, by extension, Dominican nuns in Suso's care, to don the persona of a knight for Christ, thus broadening the spiritual imaginations of his readers beyond traditional gendered conventions.
Beyond the “Marble Arch”? Archbishop J.A.F. Gregg, the Church of Ireland, and the Second World War, 1935–1945
Authors: Houston Matthew
Published: May 2022

J.A.F. Gregg, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, played an important role in religious life across the island of Ireland for half of the twentieth century. He has been portrayed by historians as the “Marble Arch,” a leader who reigned over one Church across two states. This article reevaluates that interpretation: by using the period of the Second World War as a case study, it suggests that the historiographical portrayal of Gregg has neglected other significant aspects of his character and career. This article contends that, in addition to being a dominant leader, he was a British patriot, a pastor, and a scholar. Gregg navigated a course that recognized both states and their differing positions regarding the conflict; and he contributed to post-war desires for unity among Irish Anglicans across those states during a period of increased division on the island. The article, by bringing fresh attention to Gregg, discusses an under-examined figure in the history of the Church of Ireland and explores a hitherto neglected period in that historiography. By contextualizing Gregg's wartime rhetoric with that of Anglican churchmen in England, the study also addresses lacunae both in the historiography of religion and the Second World War and in that of Irish and Northern Irish experiences of the conflict.
Negotiating Liturgical Obligations in Late Medieval Dominican Convents
Authors: Jones Claire Taylor
Published: May 2022

Liturgy has often served as a source for studying the identities of medieval religious communities through examining local saints and special chants or ceremonies. This article deepens such approaches by considering the practice of liturgical coordination, which required each convent to reconcile the obligations imposed upon it by the order to which it belonged, the diocese in which it lay, and the personal networks of its sisters. The shifting dates of the Easter cycle created a wide variety of possible calendrical conflicts and necessitated that each convent's liturgical practice be organized anew every year. Focusing on German-language liturgical manuals from Observant Dominican convents, this article introduces these sources and examines the various obligations, authorities, and sources of advice that Dominican sisters coordinated when planning each year's liturgy. It then turns to the concrete example of a major calendrical conflict on May 1, 1519, which illustrates how convents negotiated their networked obligations and defended their decisions. Supplementing traditional sources such as chronicles and charters, liturgical administrative documents reveal how each convent's liturgical identity was both iterative and networked and how the tensions between these features opened up spaces for assertive decision-making.
Delivery and Deliverance: Religious Experiences of Childbirth in Eighteenth-Century America
Authors: Balik Shelby M.
Published: May 2022

This paper argues that childbirth served as a prism for religious experience in early America, not just among the women who experienced it but also among the members of their households and communities. Examining childbirth as the source of religious experience can shed light on the social and physiological dimensions of early American spirituality by illuminating a religious culture of childbearing that shaped the piety of anyone who came into contact with it. We might expect that childbirth molded women's spirituality. But this article proposes that not just women but also others in their midst experienced religion differently because of their proximity to childbirth. Pregnancy, labor, and infant loss forced women and men to confront mortality and became means through which they carved out spiritual life, created ritual, and forged religious community. Using the body as a category of analysis, this paper reveals a space where the physical and spiritual persons intersect, and it argues that spiritual responses to childbirth as a physiological event were part of the longer arc of religious experience than we have previously appreciated. In doing so, it offers new ways to center women and gender in the narrative of early American religious history.
Growth and yield estimation of banana through mathematical modelling: a systematic review
Authors: Jayasinghe S. L. , Ranawana C. J. K. , Liyanage I. C. , Kaliyadasa P. E.
Published: May 2022

Banana is one of the main fruit crops in the world as it is a rich source of nutrients and has recently become popular for its fibre, particularly as a raw material in many industries. Mathematical models are crucial for strategic and forecasting applications; however, models related to the banana crop are less common, and reviews on previous modelling efforts are scarce, emphasizing the need for evidence-based studies on this topic. Therefore, we reviewed 75 full-text articles published between 1985 and 2021 for information on mathematical models related to banana growth and, fruit and fibre yield. We analysed results in order to provide a descriptive synthesis of selected studies. According to the co-occurrence analysis, most studies were conducted on the mathematical modelling of banana fruit production. Modellers often used multiple linear regression models to estimate banana plant growth and fruit yield. Existing models incorporate a range of predictor variables, growth conditions, varieties, modelling approaches and evaluation methods, which limits comparative evaluation and selection of the best model. However, the banana process-based simulation model ‘SIMBA’ and artificial neural network have proven their robust applicability to estimate banana plant growth. This review shows that there is insufficient information on mathematical models related to banana fibre yield. This review could aid stakeholders in identifying the strengths and limitations of existing models, as well as providing insight on how to build novel and reliable banana crop-related mathematical models.
Capacity and leadership development for wildlife conservation in sub-Saharan Africa: assessment of a programme linking training and mentorship
Authors: Abu-Bakarr Ibrahim , Bakarr Mohamed I. , Gelman Nancy , Johnny Jonathan , Kamanda Philip Jimia , Killian Dan , Lebbie Aiah , Murphy Melanie , Ntongho Anne , O'Connor Sheila , Sam-Mbomah Edwin , Thulla Philip Foday Yamba , Wadsworth Richard
Published: May 2022

As threats facing wildlife and protected areas across Africa increase, demand for innovative and transformational leadership to tackle the challenges remains high. Traditional academic training programmes are playing a critical role in meeting capacity development needs, yet opportunities for strengthening leadership capabilities are limited. This was the rationale behind Mentoring for ENvironmental Training in Outreach and Resource conservation (MENTOR), initiated in 2007 by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service through a collaborative effort with various partners to support conservation leadership and capacity development across sub-Saharan Africa. Five independent programmes were implemented over a decade, each designed to combine rigorous academic and field-based training with mentoring and experiential learning for teams of 8–9 fellows selected through a competitive process. It was envisioned that this approach to leadership and capacity development would strengthen the resolve, capabilities and competences of the fellows and position them as conservation leaders. Using data from interviews and online surveys, we assessed three key aspects of the programmes: strategic relevance and design; progress, effectiveness and impact; and sustainability. Overall, we found that all five programmes successfully delivered the objective of strengthening leadership for conservation in Africa, with the cadre of professionals acquiring new skills and expertise to advance their careers, and developing life-long relationships and networks. We discuss the potential of this approach for developing African conservation leaders.
Mis-step as Global Encounter: The American Dance Festival in Reform Era China
Authors: Miao Fangfei
Published: May 2022

This article examines a pivoting moment in Chinese modern dance history—a four-year US-China dance exchange project known as the Guangdong Modern Dance Experimental Program that occurred as part of China's Reform Era cultural policies. Based on my intertwined positions of outside insider and artist-scholar, this article examines the interaction between competing kinesthetic values, pedagogical approaches, and conceptions of the modern crystallized in the Guangdong program, an inquiry that defies conventional narratives of Chinese modern dance. I propose the concept of “mis-step” as an aperture to rethink corporeal encounter and dance circulation in global spaces. “Mis-” indicates contingency beyond expectations; “-step” suggests productivity of that contingency. “Mis-step” thus highlights the rich potential of indeterminacy and proposes to theorize transnational dance history beyond “right” or “wrong.” Through mis-step, this article submits a sensual experience of global encounter that centers on perplexity. This awkward yet meaningful experience constructs a crucial component of globalization reality.
NONPARAMETRIC PREDICTION WITH SPATIAL DATA
Authors: Gupta Abhimanyu , Hidalgo Javier
Published: May 2022

We describe a (nonparametric) prediction algorithm for spatial data, based on a canonical factorization of the spectral density function. We provide theoretical results showing that the predictor has desirable asymptotic properties. Finite sample performance is assessed in a Monte Carlo study that also compares our algorithm to a rival nonparametric method based on the infinite$AR$representation of the dynamics of the data. Finally, we apply our methodology to predict house prices in Los Angeles.
The rediscovery of the Roman jus gentium and the post 1945 international order
Authors: Giltaij Jacob
Published: May 2022

The main query of this contribution concerns the circumstances and conditions under which the concept of jus gentium as it existed in Roman law is included in or excluded from the historical canon of international law. Paradoxically, according to the major twentieth-century handbooks on the history of international law the term ‘law of nations’ derives from the Latin jus gentium. However, historians of international law tend to indicate the jus gentium does not amount to any ‘international law’ in the modern sense. The contribution argues that the idea of the Roman jus gentium as equivalent to our modern international law was rediscovered in the 1930s and 1940s, first by a group of leading Roman law scholars who were ousted from Germany by the Nazi regime, and second by a larger group of thinkers and academics they came into contact with in their new academic surroundings. The reason for this rediscovery is a change in the definition of ‘international law’ especially beyond legal positivism, to encompass two qualities the Nazis despised: individualism and universalism. The purpose of the contribution is to show an instance of a change in canon due to the political circumstances, one with consequences for the formation of actual institutions in international law.
An Opera about the ‘Progress of Music’: Charles Burney, Domenico Corri'sThe Travellers(1806) and the Macartney Embassy to China 1792–1794
Authors: Lee Hayoung Heidi
Published: May 2022

Premiered in London twelve years after the unsuccessful return of the first British embassy to China, led by Lord George Macartney, Domenico Corri's five-act ‘dramatic opera’,The Travellers, or Music's Fascination(1806), is a unique work exhibiting concrete connections to the embassy in its dramatic concept, musical and visual sources. This article explores how the subject of the opera – tracing the ‘progress of music’ from China to Britain – reflected the contemporary discussion about Chinese music, articulated most clearly by Charles Burney, who held a significant interest in the embassy's musical exchange. By incorporating a Chinese melody and ‘realistic’ visual representation connected to the embassy, the opera reconstructs certain ceremonies and musical experience witnessed by the members of the embassy. Interestingly, the opera balances first-hand knowledge of Chinese music and culture with an emerging imperialist view, and dramatises the aim of the embassy to show British advancement in the arts and sciences.
Age at Separation of Twin Pairs in the FinnTwin12 Study
Authors: Wang Zhiyang , Whipp Alyce , Heinonen-Guzejev Marja , Kaprio Jaakko
Published: May 2022

Living in the same household exposes family members to shared environments and may be reflected in estimates of shared environment in twin analyses. The age at the separation of cotwins in a twin pair marks the end of such shared exposure, and the age of separation is commonly self-reported in studies. The objective of the study was to summarize the age at separation from residential records and use it to validate with self-reported separation status and age at the third and fourth wave of data collection in the FinnTwin12 cohort. Age at separation was generated from the address information, linking it to the Finnish Population information system since birth. Descriptive statistics by sex and zygosity are presented. The mean age at separation from residential records was 20.36 years old. Women separated earlier than men and dizygotic pairs earlier than monozygotic pairs. We also calculated the sensitivity and specificity with the self-reported separation status at waves 3 and 4, and interrater reliability with the self-reported separation age at wave 4. Age at separation from residential records had a relatively poor agreement with the self-report. This work enables us to use a more precise and objective measure for the shared environment in future twin studies.
Polyvascular disease, pulse pressure and mortality
Authors: Yazdani Babak , Kleber Marcus E. , Yücel Gökhan , Delgado Graciela E. , Husain-Syed Faeq , Krüger Bernd , März Winfried , Schwenke Kay , Sigl Martin , Krämer Bernhard K.
Published: May 2022

Summary: Background: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), coronary artery disease (CAD) and carotid stenosis (CS) are robust predictors of mortality. The value of individual vascular beds in polyvascular disease (PVD) to predict mortality in patients with atherosclerotic burden is not clear. Therefore, we have examined the predictive value of PAD, CAD and CS in patients at intermediate to high risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease. Patients and methods: In our retrospective observational study we analyzed baseline data from the Ludwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health (LURIC) study, a monocentric cohort study of 3316 patients referred to coronary angiography. Results: As the number of atherosclerotic vascular beds increased, the hazard ratios (HRs) for both all-cause mortality and CV mortality significantly increased in a multivariate analysis after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, diabetes mellitus and estimated glomerular filtration rate, with HRs of 1.36 (95%CI: 1.11–1.68), 2.56 (95%CI: 2.01–3.26), 2.84 (95%CI: 1.93–4.17) and 1.56 (95%CI: 1.19–2.06), 2.70 (95%CI: 1.97–3.72), 3.50 (95%CI: 2.19–5.62), respectively. The combination of PAD with either CAD or CS was associated with higher HRs for all-cause (HR 2.81 and 7.53, respectively) and CV (HRs 2.80 and 6.03, respectively) mortality compared with the combination of CAD and CS (HRs 1.94 and 2.43, respectively). The presence of PVD was associated with higher age, systolic blood pressure, pulse pressure (PP; a marker of vascular stiffness), former smoking and inversely with lower eGFR. Conclusions: We show that as the number of atherosclerotic vascular beds increases, all-cause and CV mortality rates increase in parallel. Simultaneous prevalence of PAD is associated with significantly higher all-cause and CV mortality rates compared with CS coexistence. Furthermore, increasing atherosclerotic load may contribute to vascular stiffness and impaired renal function.
Normierung der Testbatterie COGBAT bei Jugendlichen im Alter von 12 bis 15 Jahren
Authors: Mürner-Lavanchy Ines M. , Parzer Peter , Brüstle Julia , Koenig Julian , Kaess Michael , Resch Franz
Published: May 2022

Zusammenfassung: Das Jugendalter stellt eine wichtige Phase in der Entwicklung der Verarbeitungsgeschwindigkeit, der Aufmerksamkeit, des Gedächtnisses und der exekutiven Funktionen dar. Im Rahmen einer Normierungsstudie der kognitiven Basistestung (COGBAT) für das Jugendalter wurden Testwerte bei n = 269 Jugendlichen im Alter von 12 bis 15 Jahren erhoben und mit den Normen der Altersgruppe der 16- bis 30-Jährigen verglichen. Zusätzlich wurde überprüft, inwiefern sich diese Testergebnisse in der subjektiven Einschätzung zur Leistungsfähigkeit (FLei) und Psychopathologie (SDQ) abbilden lassen. Im Jugendalter zeigte sich ein starker Zuwachs in der kognitiven Flexibilität, der Verarbeitungs- und Reaktionsgeschwindigkeit sowie der Inhibitions- und Planungsfähigkeit. Ein bedeutsamer Geschlechtsunterschied fand sich in der Inhibition, mit stärkeren Leistungen bei Mädchen als bei Jungen. Zwischen den Testergebnissen und den subjektiven Einschätzungen zeigten sich keine Zusammenhänge.
Ratgeber Binge-Eating-Störung
Authors: Tuschen-Caffier Brunna , Hilbert Anja
Published: May 2022

Viele Menschen essen hin und wieder mehr als sie zum Sattwerden benötigen. Wenn das „Überessen“ nicht allzu häufig vorkommt, ist dieses Essverhalten in der Regel unproblematisch. Demgegenüber verlieren Menschen mit einer sogenannten Binge-Eating-Störung regelmäßig die Kontrolle darüber, was und wie viel sie essen. Häufig treten im Zusammenhang mit der Essstörung auch Folgeprobleme, wie z.B. Übergewicht bis hin zur Adipositas, auf. Der Ratgeber richtet sich in erster Linie an Betroffene, die an einer Binge-Eating-Störung leiden, sowie an deren Angehörige. Er informiert über das Krankheitsbild, den Verlauf, die Risiko- und aufrechterhaltenden Faktoren sowie die psychotherapeutischen Behandlungsmöglichkeiten der Binge-Eating-Störung.
Bei den Behandlungsmöglichkeiten werden vor allem Strategien der kognitiven Verhaltenstherapie beschrieben, für die die meisten Wirksamkeitsbelege vorliegen. In der Behandlung lernen die Betroffenen, einen strukturierten Ernährungsplan umzusetzen, eventuell vorhandene Unzufriedenheiten mit ihrer Figur und ihrem Gewicht zu überwinden sowie Stress- und Konfliktsituationen erfolgreich zu meistern, ohne sich durch Essanfälle abzulenken oder durch Essanfälle innere Anspannung abzubauen. Weiterhin zeigt der Ratgeber Selbsthilfemöglichkeiten auf und informiert darüber, wo Betroffene und Angehörige Hilfe bekommen.