bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Decadal trends in surface solar radiation and cloud cover over the North Atlantic sector during the last four decades: drivers and physical processes
Authors: Dong Buwen , Sutton Rowan T. , Wilcox Laura J.
Published: August 2022

Satellite-derived products and reanalyses show consistent increases in downward surface solar radiation (SSR) and decreases in cloud cover over North America and Europe from the 1980s to 2010s. These trends show a strong seasonality, with the largest changes in boreal summer. A set of timeslice experiments with an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) forced with prescribed changes in sea surface temperature/sea ice extent (SST/SIE), greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations, and anthropogenic aerosol (AA) emissions, together and separately, is performed to assess the relative roles of different forcings in these observed trends. The model reproduces the main observed features over Europe and North America, including the seasonality of trends, suggesting a dominant role of forced changes in the recent trends in SSR and cloud cover. Responses to individual forcings indicate that recent decadal trends in SSR over Europe are predominantly driven by AA emission reductions, with an additional influence from SST/SIE and GHG changes. In contrast, changes in AA, SST/SIE, and GHG contribute more equally to simulated decadal trends in SSR and cloud cover over North America, although SST/SIE play the most important role. In our simulations, responses of SSR to AA emission reductions are primarily governed by aerosol-radiation interactions. Responses to SST/SIE and GHG changes are predominantly due to cloud cover changes, which are driven by atmospheric circulation and humidity changes. This process level understanding of how different forcing factors influence decadal trends in SSR and cloud cover is valuable for understanding past changes and future projections in global and regional surface energy budgets, surface warming, and global and regional hydrological cycles.
A perfect model study on the reliability of the added small-scale information in regional climate change projections
Authors: Lenderink Geert , de Vries Hylke , van Meijgaard Erik , van der Wiel Karin , Selten Frank
Published: August 2022

The issue of the added value (AV) of high resolution regional climate models is complex and still strongly debated. Here, we approach AV in a perfect model framework within a 16-member single model initial condition ensemble with the regional climate model RACMO2 embedded in the global climate model EC-Earth2.3. In addition, we also used an ensemble produced by a pseudo global warming (PGW) approach. Results for winter temperature and precipitation are investigated from two different perspectives: (1) a signal-to-noise perspective analysing the systematic response to changing emission forcings versus internal climate variability, and (2) a prediction perspective aimed at predicting a 30-year future climate state. Systematic changes in winter temperature and precipitation contain fine-scale response patterns, but in particular for precipitation these patterns are small compared to internal variability. Therefore, single members of the ensemble provide only limited information on these systematic patterns. However, they can be estimated more reliably from PGW members because of the stronger constraints on internal variability. From the prediction perspective, we analysed AV of fine-scale information by comparing three prediction pairs. This analysis shows that there is AV in the fine-scale information for temperature, yet for precipitation adding fine-scale changes generally deteriorates the predictions. Using only the large-scale change (without fine scales) from a single ensemble member as a delta change on top of the present-day climate state, already provides a robust estimate of the future climate state and therefore can be used as a simple benchmark to measure added value.
Incidence and clinical outcome of primary carcinomas of the major salivary glands: 10-year data from a population-based state cancer registry in Germany
Authors: Nachtsheim Lisa , Mayer M. , Meyer M. F. , Oesterling F. , Kajueter H. , Arolt C. , Quaas A. , Klussmann J. P. , Wolber P.
Published: August 2022

Purpose

The aim of this project was to provide an overview of the epidemiology of primary salivary gland carcinomas (SGC) in terms of incidence, distribution of clinicopathological features and survival in one of the largest cancer registries in Europe.

Methods

Data were collected from patients with SGC of the major salivary glands registered in the population-based state cancer registry (Landeskrebsregister LKR) in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany from 01/01/2009 to 12/31/2018. Age standardization of incidence was performed and relative survival estimates were computed by sex, histological group, age group and T-, N-, and M-stage.

Results

A total of 1680 patients were included in this analysis. The most frequent tumor localization was the parotid gland (78%). Adenocarcinoma (not otherwise specified) was the most common tumor entity (18.5%). Most tumors were found in stages T1–T3 (29% T1; 29% T2; 28% T3). The age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) for SGC was 0.65/100,000 and remained stable during the observation period. There was an age-dependent incidence increasing especially from the age 70 years and onwards. The overall 5-year relative survival (RS) for all patients with SGC was 69.2%. RS was 80–95.6% for T1–2 stage tumors, 60.3% for T3, 47.3% for T4 stage, 87.4% for N0 and 51.2% for N1–2, 74.4% for M0 and 44.9% for M1.

Conclusion

Age-standardized incidence for SGC has been stable for the observed 10-year period. Smaller tumors and those without lymph node or distant metastases had a better RS than more advanced tumors.
Edge Exploration of Temporal Graphs
Authors: Bumpus Benjamin Merlin , Meeks Kitty
Published: August 2022

We introduce a natural temporal analogue of Eulerian circuits and prove that, in contrast to the static case, it is$${\textsc {NP}}$$NP-hard to determine whether a given temporal graph is temporally Eulerian even if strong restrictions are placed on the structure of the underlying graph and each edge is active at only three times. However, we do obtain an$${\textsc {FPT}}$$FPT-algorithm with respect to a new parameter calledinterval-membership-widthwhich restricts the times assigned to different edges; we believe that this parameter will be of independent interest for other temporal graph problems. Our techniques also allow us to resolve two open questions of Akrida, Mertzios and Spirakis [CIAC 2019] concerning a related problem of exploring temporal stars.
Feminist contributions on sexual experiences of women with serious mental illness: a literature review
Authors: Grachev Kira , Santoro Lamelas Valeria , Gresle Anne-Sophie , de la Torre Leonardo , Pinazo Maria-Jesus ,   on behalf of the InSPIRES Consortium
Published: August 2022

This paper aims to explore the contributions of research that include gender perspective in analysing the sexual experiences of women diagnosed with serious mental illness and to identify any barriers and systems that impede sexual fulfilment. We have developed a qualitative literature review using the PRISMA statement. The databases SCOPUS, WOS and PsychINFO were used in this review. Studies were included if they were published up to March 15, 2022, and only studies in English were included. An initial database search was preformed; upon screening for eligibility, there remained 16 studies that explored the sexual experiences of women with diagnoses of serious mental illness. The studies were analysed by a thematic synthesis. Data was coded line-by-line which generated descriptive themes, resulting in four synthesised findings. The four synthesised findings that derived from the reviewed studies were stigma and subjectivity, the experience of interpersonal relationships, the socialisation of women and the effects of psychiatric hegemony. A feminist perspective highlights the interrelationship between gender and stigma as it relates to serious mental illness and sexuality. A feminist perspective and an intersectional approach should be adopted at the intersubjective and structural level to account for the complexity of human experience and to subvert the heteropatriarchal system.
Dependency-based security risk assessment for cyber-physical systems
Authors: Akbarzadeh Aida , Katsikas Sokratis K.
Published: August 2022

A cyber-physical attack is a security breach in cyber space that impacts on the physical environment. The number and diversity of such attacks against Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) are increasing at impressive rates. In times of Industry 4.0 and Cyber-Physical Systems, providing security against cyber-physical attacks is a serious challenge which calls for cybersecurity risk assessment methods capable of investigating the tight interactions and interdependencies between the cyber and the physical components in such systems. However, existing risk assessment methods do not consider this specific characteristic of CPSs. In this paper, we propose a dependency-based, domain-agnostic cybersecurity risk assessment method that leverages a model of the CPS under study that captures dependencies among the system components. The proposed method identifies possible attack paths against critical components of a CPS by taking an attacker’s viewpoint and prioritizes these paths according to their risk to materialize, thus allowing the defenders to define efficient security controls. We illustrate the workings of the proposed method by applying it to a case study of a CPS in the energy domain, and we highlight the advantages that the proposed method offers when used to assess cybersecurity risks in CPSs.
Myocardial Function Prediction After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Using MRI Radiomic Features and Machine Learning Algorithms
Authors: Arian Fatemeh , Amini Mehdi , Mostafaei Shayan , Rezaei Kalantari Kiara , Haddadi Avval Atlas , Shahbazi Zahra , Kasani Kianosh , Bitarafan Rajabi Ahmad , Chatterjee Saikat , Oveisi Mehrdad , Shiri Isaac , Zaidi Habib
Published: August 2022

The main aim of the present study was to predict myocardial function improvement in cardiac MR (LGE-CMR) images in patients after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) using radiomics and machine learning algorithms. Altogether, 43 patients who had visible scars on short-axis LGE-CMR images and were candidates for CABG surgery were selected and enrolled in this study. MR imaging was performed preoperatively using a 1.5-T MRI scanner. All images were segmented by two expert radiologists (in consensus). Prior to extraction of radiomics features, all MR images were resampled to an isotropic voxel size of 1.8 × 1.8 × 1.8 mm3. Subsequently, intensities were quantized to 64 discretized gray levels and a total of 93 features were extracted. The applied algorithms included a smoothly clipped absolute deviation (SCAD)–penalized support vector machine (SVM) and the recursive partitioning (RP) algorithm as a robust classifier for binary classification in this high-dimensional and non-sparse data. All models were validated with repeated fivefold cross-validation and 10,000 bootstrapping resamples. Ten and seven features were selected with SCAD-penalized SVM and RP algorithm, respectively, for CABG responder/non-responder classification. Considering univariate analysis, the GLSZM gray-level non-uniformity-normalized feature achieved the best performance (AUC: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.53–0.76) with SCAD-penalized SVM. Regarding multivariable modeling, SCAD-penalized SVM obtained an AUC of 0.784 (95% CI: 0.64–0.92), whereas the RP algorithm achieved an AUC of 0.654 (95% CI: 0.50–0.82). In conclusion, different radiomics texture features alone or combined in multivariate analysis using machine learning algorithms provide prognostic information regarding myocardial function in patients after CABG.
The supply-side climate policy of decreasing fossil fuel tax profiles: can subsidized reserves induce a green paradox?
Authors: Day Garth , Day Creina
Published: August 2022

Fossil fuel producers develop too many reserves for combustion due to subsidies for upfront development costs. The conventional wisdom is that downward-sloping tax profiles avoid green paradox outcomes by reducing present extraction. This paper shows that accounting for subsidized reserves development can induce green paradox outcomes for downward-sloping income tax profiles. A theoretical model linking reserves development and extraction with climate change damages is developed to explore conditions for the weak and strong green paradox outcomes of higher present extraction and cumulative damages. We find that the weak green paradox arises under higher and flatter income tax profiles. The strong green paradox is an ambiguous outcome without subsidized reserves development. Quantitative examples demonstrate the effect of downward-sloping tax profiles on crude oil extraction and how the strong green paradox arises when delayed emissions are less relevant for damages.
Exploring Continuum and Categorical Conceptualisations of Mental Health and Mental Illness on Australian Websites: A Systematic Review and Content Analysis
Authors: Fernandez Dominic K. , Singh Saniya , Deane Frank P. , Vella Stewart A.
Published: August 2022

It is important to explore the types of conceptualisations and causes presented in online mental health promotion given the implications that these presentations may have on mental health stigma. This study systematically reviewed 92 Australian webpages focused on either mental health, mental illness, depression, or schizophrenia, to explore the types of conceptualisations and aetiologies presented. A minority of mental health and mental illness webpages (n = 8, 8.70%) explicitly presented continuum conceptualisations, with none providing explicit categorical conceptualisations. No depression or schizophrenia webpages presented explicit conceptualisations of any kind. All four webpage foci had a greater proportion of continuum than categorical conceptualisations. Moreover, both depression and schizophrenia webpages presented many mixed conceptualisations which included both continuum and categorical messaging. Most webpages mentioned biological and social causes equally across webpage foci. These findings suggest that Australian mental health websites predominantly present continuum conceptualisations of mental health and mental illness.
Pension Wealth and the Gender Wealth Gap
Authors: Cordova Karla , Grabka Markus M. , Sierminska Eva
Published: August 2022

We examine the gender wealth gap with a focus on pension wealth and statutory pension rights. By taking into account employment characteristics of women and men, we are able to identify the extent to which the redistributive effect of pension rights reduces the gender wealth gap. The data for our analysis come from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), one of the few surveys that collects information on wealth and pension entitlements at the individual level. Pension wealth data are available in the SOEP for 2012 only. While the relative raw gender wealth gap is about 35% (or 31,000 euros) when analysing the standard measure of net worth, it shrinks to 28% when pension wealth is added. This reduction is due to redistributive elements such as caregiver credits provided through the statutory pension scheme. Results of a recentred influence functions (RIF) decomposition show that pension wealth reduces the gap substantially in the lower half of the distribution. At the 90th percentile, the gender wealth gap in net worth and in augmented wealth remains more stable at roughly 27–30%.
Real-time road safety optimization through network-level data management
Authors: Muthugama Lakmal , Xie Hairuo , Tanin Egemen , Karunasekera Shanika
Published: August 2022

With the increasing connectedness of vehicles, real-time spatio-temporal data can be collected from citywide road networks. Innovative data management solutions can process the collected data for the purpose of reducing travel time. However, a majority of the existing solutions have missed the opportunity to better manage the collected data for improving road safety at the network level. We propose an efficient data management framework that uses network-level data to improve road safety for citywide applications. Our framework uses a graph-based data structure to maintain real-time network-level traffic data. Based on the graph, the framework uses a novel technique to generate driving instructions for individual vehicles. By following the instructions, inter-vehicular spacing can be increased, leading to an improvement of road safety. Experimental results show that our framework improves road safety, measured based on the time to collision between vehicles, from the state-of-the-art traffic data management solutions by a large margin while achieving lower travel times compared with the solutions. The framework is also readily deployable for large-scale real-time applications due to its low computation costs.
Risky business: policy uncertainty and investment
Authors: Brusco Giacomo , Glass Benjamin
Published: August 2022

Previous work has shown that nonlinear taxation can affect the willingness to undertake risky investments. We show that similar results can arise if agents are uncertain regarding future tax rates. Uncertain taxes distort investment decisions when tax rates are correlated with marginal productivity. We demonstrate this result in a simple theoretical framework, which can also explain some well-known results on the effects of tax progressivity and tax asymmetry on investment. Time-series estimates for the post-WW2 era suggest a negative correlation between effective tax rates and total factor productivity in the USA, yielding an effect on firm investment equivalent to an investment subsidy of around 1 percent. Our results have wide-ranging implications for a variety of tax-related work, including effective tax rates, optimal audit policy, and principal-agent problems between investors and managers.
FastGrow: on-the-fly growing and its application to DYRK1A
Authors: Penner Patrick , Martiny Virginie , Bellmann Louis , Flachsenberg Florian , Gastreich Marcus , Theret Isabelle , Meyer Christophe , Rarey Matthias
Published: August 2022

Fragment-based drug design is an established routine approach in both experimental and computational spheres. Growing fragment hits into viable ligands has increasingly shifted into the spotlight. FastGrow is an application based on a shape search algorithm that addresses this challenge at high speeds of a few milliseconds per fragment. It further features a pharmacophoric interaction description, ensemble flexibility, as well as geometry optimization to become a fully fledged structure-based modeling tool. All features were evaluated in detail on a previously reported collection of fragment growing scenarios extracted from crystallographic data. FastGrow was also shown to perform competitively versus established docking software. A case study on the DYRK1A kinase, using recently reported new chemotypes, illustrates FastGrow’s features in practice and its ability to identify active fragments. FastGrow is freely available to the public as a web server at https://fastgrow.plus/ and is part of the SeeSAR 3D software package.
SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant is Recognized Through GRP78 Host-Cell Surface Receptor, In Silico Perspective
Authors: Elfiky Abdo A. , Ibrahim Ibrahim M. , Elgohary Alaa M.
Published: August 2022

Different SARS-CoV-2 new variants emerged and spread during the past few months, sparking infections and death counts. The new variant B.1.617 (delta variant) sparked in India in the past few months, causing the highest records. The B.1.617 variant of SARS-CoV-2 has the double mutations E484Q and L452R on its spike Receptor Binding Domain (RBD). The first mutation is like the reported South African and the Brazilian variants (501.V2 and B.1.1.248). This mutation lies in the region C480-C488, which we predicted before to be recognized by the host-cell receptor; Glucose Regulated Protein 78 (GRP78). In the current study, we test the binding affinity of the host-cell receptor GRP78 to the delta variant spike RBD using molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations of up to 100 ns. Additionally, the ACE2-RBD is tested by protein–protein docking. The results reveal equal average binding affinities of the GRP78 against wildtype and delta variant spikes. This supports our previous predictions of the contribution of GRP78 in SARS-CoV-2 spike recognition as an auxiliary route for entry.
A user-guided Bayesian framework for ensemble feature selection in life science applications (UBayFS)
Authors: Jenul Anna , Schrunner Stefan , Pilz Jürgen , Tomic Oliver
Published: August 2022

Feature selection reduces the complexity of high-dimensional datasets and helps to gain insights into systematic variation in the data. These aspects are essential in domains that rely on model interpretability, such as life sciences. We propose a (U)ser-Guided (Bay)esian Framework for (F)eature (S)election, UBayFS, an ensemble feature selection technique embedded in a Bayesian statistical framework. Our generic approach considers two sources of information: data and domain knowledge. From data, we build an ensemble of feature selectors, described by a multinomial likelihood model. Using domain knowledge, the user guides UBayFS by weighting features and penalizing feature blocks or combinations, implemented via a Dirichlet-type prior distribution. Hence, the framework combines three main aspects: ensemble feature selection, expert knowledge, and side constraints. Our experiments demonstrate that UBayFS (a) allows for a balanced trade-off between user knowledge and data observations and (b) achieves accurate and robust results.
Visualization of shallow subseafloor fluid migration in a shallow gas hydrate field using high-resolution acoustic mapping and ground-truthing and their implications on the formation process: a case study of the Sakata Knoll on the eastern margin of the Sea of Japan
Authors: Asada Miho , Satoh Mikio , Tanahashi Manabu , Yokota Toshiyuki , Goto Shusaku
Published: August 2022

Acoustic mapping enables an understanding of the surface distribution of shallow gas hydrate (GH) and related products. Acoustically characteristic materials such as fluid-seepage-related methane-derived authigenic carbonate and/or shallow GHs, may be widely distributed beneath the shallow seafloor of the Sakata Knoll. High-amplitude reflectors over the knoll are the top of gas-bearing permeable layers and connect to the reverse fault at the foot of the knoll. Shallow GH and bacterial mats were observed at the high-amplitude layer cut by depression and/or the locally disturbed seafloor. Acoustic blanking zones observed on the sub-bottom profiler sections are current gas migration routes from the depth to the seafloor. Optical observations indicate that fluid seepage is not active in the current seafloor, and it is not necessarily observed above the acoustic blanking zones or shallow faults reaching the seafloor. In the Sakata Knoll, the tectonically formed reverse fault and gas-bearing permeable layers play more important roles in fluid migration from depth to the summit area of the knoll compared to acoustic blanking and shallow faults. The depression at the summit area of the Sakata Knoll was formed by the dissociation of a shallow GH at around the last glacial maximum. Limited fluid seepage is currently witnessed within and around the depression and it is less extensive than that in the past. Such knolls, with tectonically formed large faults and an anticline are abundant in the area and they can be good reservoirs for shallow GH along the eastern margin of the Sea of Japan.
Soil texture is a stronger driver of the maize rhizosphere microbiome and extracellular enzyme activities than soil depth or the presence of root hairs
Authors: Yim Bunlong , Ibrahim Zeeshan , Rüger Lioba , Ganther Minh , Maccario Lorrie , Sørensen Søren J. , Heintz-Buschart Anna , Tarkka Mika T. , Vetterlein Doris , Bonkowski Michael , Blagodatskaya Evgenia , Smalla Kornelia
Published: August 2022

Aims

Different drivers are known to shape rhizosphere microbiome assembly. How soil texture (Texture) and presence or lack of root hairs (Root Hair) of plants affect the rhizosphere microbiome assembly and soil potential extracellular enzyme activities (EEA) at defined rooting depth (Depth) is still a knowledge gap. We investigated effects of these drivers on microbial assembly in rhizosphere and on potential EEA in root-affected soil of maize.

Methods

Samples were taken from three depths of root hair defective mutant rth3 and wild-type WT maize planted on loam and sand in soil columns after 22 days. Rhizosphere bacterial, archaeal, fungal and cercozoan communities were analysed by sequencing of 16S rRNA gene, ITS and 18S rRNA gene fragments. Soil potential EEA of ß-glucosidase, acid phosphatase and chitinase were estimated using fluorogenic substrates.

Results

The bacterial, archaeal and cercozoan alpha- and beta-diversities were significantly and strongly altered by Texture, followed by Depth and Root Hair. Texture and Depth had a small impact on fungal assembly, and only fungal beta-diversity was significantly affected. Significant impacts by Depth and Root Hair on beta-diversity and relative abundances at taxonomic levels of bacteria, archaea, fungi and cercozoa were dependent on Texture. Likewise, the patterns of potential EEA followed the trends of microbial communities, and the potential EEA correlated with the relative abundances of several taxa.

Conclusions

Texture was the strongest driver of rhizosphere microbiome and of soil potential EEA, followed by Depth and Root Hair, similarly to findings in maize root architecture and plant gene expression studies.
Significant liver fibrosis is a predictor of poor health-related quality of life in people living with HIV
Authors: Michel Maurice , Wahl Alisha , Anders Malena , Alqahtani Saleh A. , Kremer Wolfgang M. , Galle Peter R. , Labenz Christian , Grimm Daniel , Sprinzl Martin , Schattenberg Jörn M.
Published: August 2022

Purpose

Liver-related comorbidities can impair the health-related quality of life (HRQL) in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (PLWH). However, the role of hepatic steatosis and significant fibrosis in PLWH remains incompletely characterized. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the association of hepatic steatosis and significant fibrosis on the HRQL using the medical outcomes study HIV health survey (MOS-HIV) in PLWH.

Methods

A total of 222 PLWH were included in the final analysis of this cohort study. Metabolic comorbidities, socioeconomic factors, and HIV-related parameters were assessed. Hepatic steatosis and fibrosis were measured using vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE). The MOS-HIV survey, containing two summary scores (physical health summary (PHS) and mental health summary (MHS)) and ten domains, was used to assess the HRQL. Clinical predictors were identified using multivariable linear regression models.

Results

The majority of this cohort was male, and the median age was 52 years, with a high prevalence of hepatic steatosis (n = 81, 36.5%). Significant fibrosis was present in 7.7% (n = 17). The mean PHS and MHS scores were 52.7 ± 9.5 and 51.4 ± 10.5, respectively. The lowest scores were in the general health perception (GHP) and energy/fatigue (EF) domains. A high BMI and waist circumference were associated with a poor PHS score. Lower education, unemployment, arterial hypertension, and significant fibrosis remained independent predictors of an impaired HRQL.

Conclusion

Metabolic comorbidities, significant fibrosis, and a lower socioeconomic status may negatively affect the HRQL in PLWH. Considering the negative impact of significant fibrosis on the outcome, counseling and preventive measures according to current guidelines are recommended in this subgroup of PLWH.
Differences in NPI strategies against COVID-19
Authors: Redlin Margarete
Published: August 2022

Non-pharmaceutical interventions are an effective strategy to prevent and control COVID-19 transmission in the community. However, the timing and stringency to which these measures have been implemented varied between countries and regions. The differences in stringency can only to a limited extent be explained by the number of infections and the prevailing vaccination strategies. Our study aims to shed more light on the lockdown strategies and to identify the determinants underlying the differences between countries on regional, economic, institutional, and political level. Based on daily panel data for 173 countries and the period from January 2020 to October 2021 we find significant regional differences in lockdown strategies. Further, more prosperous countries implemented milder restrictions but responded more quickly, while poorer countries introduced more stringent measures but had a longer response time. Finally, democratic regimes and stronger manifested institutions alleviated and slowed down the introduction of lockdown measures.
The SHERLOC Calibration Target on the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover: Design, Operations, Outreach, and Future Human Exploration Functions
Authors: Fries Marc D. , Lee Carina , Bhartia Rohit , Razzell Hollis Joseph , Beegle Luther W. , Uckert Kyle , Graff Trevor G. , Abbey William , Bailey Zachary , Berger Eve L. , Burton Aaron S. , Callaway Michael J. , Cardarelli Emily L. , Davis Kristine N. , DeFlores Lauren , Edgett Kenneth S. , Fox Allison C. , Garrison Daniel H. , Haney Nikole C. , Harrington Roger S. , Jakubek Ryan S. , Kennedy Megan R. , Hickman-Lewis Keyron , McCubbin Francis M. , Miller Ed , Monacelli Brian , Pollock Randy , Rhodes Richard , Siljeström Sandra , Sharma Sunanda , Smith Caroline L. , Steele Andrew , Sylvia Margarite , Tran Vinh D. , Weiner Ryan H. , Yanchilina Anastasia G. , Aileen Yingst R.
Published: August 2022

The Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) is a robotic arm-mounted instrument onboard NASA’s Perseverance rover. SHERLOC combines imaging via two cameras with both Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy to investigate geological materials at the rover’s Jezero crater field site. SHERLOC requires in situ calibration to monitor the health and performance of the instrument. These calibration data are critically important to ensure the veracity of data interpretation, especially considering the extreme martian environmental conditions where the instrument operates. The SHERLOC Calibration Target (SCT) is located at the front of the rover and is exposed to the same atmospheric conditions as the instrument. The SCT includes 10 individual targets designed to meet all instrument calibration requirements. An additional calibration target is mounted inside the instrument’s dust cover. The targets include polymers, rock, synthetic material, and optical pattern targets. Their primary function is calibration of parameters within the SHERLOC instrument so that the data can be interpreted correctly. The SCT was also designed to take advantage of opportunities for supplemental science investigations and includes targets intended for public engagement. The exposure of materials to martian atmospheric conditions allows for opportunistic science on extravehicular suit (i.e., “spacesuit”) materials. These samples will be used in an extended study to produce direct measurements of the expected service lifetimes of these materials on the martian surface, thus helping NASA facilitate human exploration of the planet. Other targets include a martian meteorite and the first geocache target to reside on another planet, both of which increase the outreach and potential of the mission to foster interest in, and enthusiasm for, planetary exploration. During the first 200 sols (martian days) of operation on Mars, the SCT has been analyzed three times and has proven to be vital in the calibration of the instrument and in assisting the SHERLOC team with interpretation of in situ data.
Pro-Diversity Beliefs and the Diverse Person’s Burden
Authors: Steel Daniel , Paier Karoline
Published: August 2022

Pro-diversity beliefs hold that greater diversity leads to better results in academia, business, politics and a variety of other contexts. This paper explores the possibility that pro-diversity beliefs can generate unfair expectations that marginalized people produce distinctive bonuses, a phenomenon we refer to as the “diverse person’s burden”. We suggest that a normic conception of diversity, according to which non-diversity entails social privilege, together with empirical research on psychological entitlement suggests an explanation of how the diverse person’s burden can arise in many social settings. We also suggest structural and institutional remedies to address the diverse person’s burden, as well as an individual virtue we label positional awareness.
Inferentialist semantics for lexicalized social meanings
Authors: Hess Leopold
Published: August 2022

This paper offers a general model of the semantics of lexicalized social meanings, i.e. semiotic properties of certain expressions in a socio-political context. Examples include slurs, problematically charged expressions such as inner city, as well as terms such as mother, which also carry implicit ideological associations. Insofar as their linguistic properties are concerned, social meanings can be construed as context-structuring devices: without introducing specific at-issue contents, they evoke background assumptions which shape the context of conversation. An inferentialist model of discourse is developed to account for this effect, in which the discursive significance of an utterance is defined as the set of inferences it licenses relative to a discursive context. A discursive context is a set of propositions that can serve as auxiliary premises in material inferences, together with a salience ranking that makes some of these propositions more readily available and therefore more relevant to determining discursive significance. Social meanings are defined as functions on discursive contexts that modify the salience ranking, increasing the salience of certain assumptions and stereotypes. As a result, they impact the discursive significance of utterances indirectly and independently of at-issue contents. They are also largely independent of speaker intentions in virtue of the ideological nature of discursive contexts.
A Pipe Ranking Method for Water Distribution Network Resilience Assessment Based on Graph-Theory Metrics Aggregated Through Bayesian Belief Networks
Authors: Pagano Alessandro , Giordano Raffaele , Portoghese Ivan
Published: August 2022

The resilience assessment is crucial for many infrastructures, including water supply and distribution networks. In particular, the identification of the ‘critical’ components (nodes or pipes) whose failure may negatively affect network performances and system resilience is a key issue, with a direct relevance for decision-makers involved in planning, management and improvement activities. Among the multiple methods and tools available, the use of graph-theory metrics is a cutting-edge research topic, as the analysis of topological properties may provide simple yet reliable information on the performance of complex networks. In the present work, we aim to overcome the limit associated to the use of individual graph-theory metrics, identifying a subset of relevant metrics that are directly connected to network resilience properties, using them to perform a ‘network degradation analysis’ in case of single pipe failure and finally proposing an aggregation of the results using a Bayesian Belief Network. Ultimately, the proposed methodology provides a ranking of the most critical pipes, i.e. those that contribute most to system resilience. A real water distribution network in Italy is used for model development and validation.
Was können Register leisten?
Authors: Griesinger Frank , Jänicke Martina
Published: August 2022

Hintergrund

Register sind strukturierte Datensammlungen einer definierten Gruppe von Patienten. Registerdaten aus der Routineversorgung können zur Beantwortung zahlreicher wissenschaftlicher und praxisrelevanter Fragestellungen herangezogen werden.

Ziel der Arbeit

Ziel der vorliegenden Übersichtsarbeit ist ein Einblick in Anwendungsbereiche von Registerdaten.

Material und Methoden

Drei zentrale Anwendungsbereiche werden beispielhaft erläutert basierend auf einer explorativen Literaturrecherche.

Ergebnisse

Registerdaten schaffen Transparenz, indem sie Aufschluss über die Routineversorgung (z. B. die Anwendungen und Wirksamkeit von Therapien unter Alltagsbedingungen) geben und dienen somit der Qualitätssicherung. Sie ermöglichen Aussagen zu Patienten, die an randomisierten klinischen Prüfungen, dem Standard in der klinischen Arzneimittelforschung, nicht teilnehmen können (z. B. ältere Patienten mit Begleiterkrankungen). Sie ermöglichen die Langzeitbeobachtung von Erkrankungsverläufen und das Identifizieren von seltenen Nebenwirkungen. Des Weiteren können Registerdaten zur Versorgungsforschung, v. a. zur Hypothesengenerierung genutzt werden. So können Fragen zur optimalen Therapie bestimmter Patientengruppen, zur Wirksamkeit von Therapien, für die es keine vergleichenden Daten aus klinischen Prüfungen gibt oder auch zu Risikoprofilen von Patienten untersucht werden. Ein neueres Anwendungsgebiet ist außerdem die Verwendung von Registerdaten im Rahmen der Zulassung und Nutzenbewertung von Arzneimitteln.

Schlussfolgerung

Viele Fragen rund um die optimale Versorgung von Patienten können mit randomisierten kontrollierten Prüfungen allein nicht beantwortet werden. Qualitätsgesicherte Daten aus prospektiven Registern können diese Lücke schließen.
Bewegungs- und Gesundheitsförderung in ländlichen und städtischen Kommunen – eine qualitative Analyse zu den Rollen potenzieller Multiplikator*innen
Authors: Müller Christina , Paulsen Lisa , Bucksch Jens , Wallmann-Sperlich Birgit
Published: August 2022

Hintergrund

Kommunale Bewegungsförderung kann zur Vermeidung lebensstilbedingter Erkrankungen beitragen, ist aber keine kommunale Pflichtaufgabe, weshalb es in der Regel keine klaren Zuständigkeiten dafür gibt. Um zu verstehen, wie kommunale Bewegungsförderung in Deutschland vorangebracht werden kann, ist es wichtig, potenzielle Multiplikator*innen in städtischen und ländlichen Kommunen zu identifizieren und deren Rollen zu charakterisieren.

Methodische Vorgehensweise

Es wurden 18 potenzielle Multiplikator*innen der kommunalen Gesundheits- und Bewegungsförderung auf verschiedenen Ebenen (Bundesland, Landkreis/Stadt, Gemeinde/Stadtteil) in leitfadengestützten semistrukturierten Interviews zu ihrer eigenen Rolle sowie zu ihrer Wahrnehmung der Rollen anderer Akteur*innen befragt. Die Auswertung erfolgte gemäß der inhaltlich-strukturierenden Inhaltsanalyse nach Kuckartz.

Ergebnisse

(Landes‑)Gesundheitsämter und Gesundheitskonferenzen nehmen eine beratende, vernetzende und fachlich unterstützende Rolle ein. Auf der Umsetzungsebene vor Ort müssen sich im Einzelfall Kümmer*innen finden, die in Stadt und Land unterschiedlich sein können. Die befragten Quartiermanager*innen sehen ihre primäre Rolle in der Arbeit mit den Bürger*innen, die Verwaltungsmitarbeiter*innen in der administrativen Abwicklung von Projekten.

Schlussfolgerung

Fachliche Impulse zur kommunalen Bewegungsförderung können über Landesgesundheitsämter an Akteur*innen in Landkreisen und Städten weitergegeben werden. Für die Multiplikation und Umsetzung in einzelnen Gemeinden und Stadtteilen müssen Verantwortliche vor Ort gefunden werden bzw. Strukturen aufgebaut werden.
CO2 Plume Geothermal (CPG) Systems for Combined Heat and Power Production: an Evaluation of Various Plant Configurations
Authors: Schifflechner Christopher , Wieland Christoph , Spliethoff Hartmut
Published: August 2022

CO2 Plume Geothermal (CPG) systems are a promising concept for utilising petrothermal resources in the context of a future carbon capture utilisation and sequestration economy. Petrothermal geothermal energy has a tremendous worldwide potential for decarbonising both the power and heating sectors. This paper investigates three potential CPG configurations for combined heating and power generation (CHP). The present work examines scenarios with reservoir depths of 4 km and 5 km, as well as required district heating system (DHS) supply temperatures of 70°C and 90°C. The results reveal that a two-staged serial CHP concept eventuates in the highest achievable net power output. For a thermosiphon system, the relative net power reduction by the CHP option compared with a sole power generation system is significantly lower than for a pumped system. The net power reduction for pumped systems lies between 62.6% and 22.9%. For a thermosiphon system with a depth of 5 km and a required DHS supply temperature of 70°C, the achievable net power by the most beneficial CHP option is even 9.2% higher than for sole power generation systems. The second law efficiency for the sole power generation concepts are in a range between 33.0% and 43.0%. The second law efficiency can increase up to 63.0% in the case of a CHP application. Thus, the combined heat and power generation can significantly increase the overall second law efficiency of a CPG system. The evaluation of the achievable revenues demonstrates that a CHP application might improve the economic performance of both thermosiphon and pumped CPG systems. However, the minimum heat revenue required for compensating the power reduction increases with higher electricity revenues. In summary, the results of this work provide valuable insights for the potential development of CPG systems for CHP applications and their economic feasibility.
Novel General Solution for the Analysis of a Multicomponent Interdiffusion Couple
Authors: Belova I. V. , Fiedler T. , Murch G. E.
Published: August 2022

In this paper, we draw attention to the investigation of the novel exact solution [1.Scripta Mat. 210:114430; M.A. Dayananda, in JPED, this issue, (2022);] that is applicable to a multicomponent (n-component) interdiffusion couple where the interdiffusion matrix may change with alloy composition. In the derivation of this solution the interdiffusion flux$$J_{j}$$Jjof a componentjis related to (n-1) independent composition gradients for an isothermal, diffusion couple using the well-known continuity equation. Novel exact expressions are then derived for all of the interdiffusion coefficients,$$\tilde{D}_{ij}^{n}$$D~ijn(i,j = 1, 2, …..n − 1), where the partial derivatives of the product$$J_{j} \left( {y - y_{0} } \right)$$Jjy-y0with respect to composition$$C_{i}$$Ci($$y_{0}$$y0is the Matano plane) are used. In this paper, it is shown that the novel solution leads to a computational procedure similar to the Boltzmann-Matano analysis. Note that the derivatives$$\partial (J_{j} \left( {y - y_{0} } \right))/\partial C_{i} , i,j = 1, \ldots ,n - 1$$∂(Jjy-y0)/∂Ci,i,j=1,…,n-1(that are required for the solution) can only be calculated along the diffusion path and therefore, for$$n > 2$$n>2, a single couple will not be enough to calculate all of them correctly.
Clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and outcomes of orbital biopsies in a single Irish centre
Authors: Kneafsey Siân , MacSwiney Terence , McCloskey Clare , O’Keane Conor , Fulcher Tim
Published: August 2022

Aims

To review the distribution of histopathological diagnoses and visual outcome of orbital biopsy in an Irish tertiary referral centre over a 10-year period.

Methods

This was a retrospective, clinical-histopathological case series. Clinical records of all patients who underwent orbital biopsy between January 2008 and January 2018 in the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital were reviewed using data collected from theatre logbooks and hospital-based medical records.

Results

A total of 83 orbital biopsies in 77 patients were included for analysis in this study. The mean age was 55.7 ± 18.41 years. The mean follow-up period was 1.87 ± 2.097 years. The most common presenting symptoms and signs were pain (22.3%) and proptosis (27.6%). Most lesions were located in the extraconal space (65%), with incisional biopsy (65%) being the most common technique used to gain a sample for histopathological diagnosis. Histopathology analysis of the biopsies revealed malignant tumours (27, 32.5%), benign tumours (7, 8.4%), inflammation (26, 31.3%), and other diagnoses (23, 27%). Excluding patients who underwent exenteration procedures, no study patients suffered visual loss following orbital biopsy.

Conclusions

Orbital biopsy serves as a safe diagnostic tool in managing orbital diseases. The breakdown of diagnosis in our patients is in line with international studies. No patients in our series suffered vision loss as a result of their orbital biopsy. This emphasises its use as a safe procedure in the diagnosis and management of patients with the orbital disease. Our data provides helpful guidance to clinicians when counselling patients for orbital biopsy.
Pathogenic changes of community-acquired pneumonia in a children’s hospital in Beijing, China before and after COVID-19 onset: a retrospective study
Authors: Zhang Li-Na , Cao Ling , Meng Ling-Hui
Published: August 2022

Background

This study aimed to analyze the pathogenic characteristics of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in a children’s hospital before and after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and to provide testimony for preventing CAP in the future.

Methods

A retrospective analysis was performed. The information was collected from the electronic medical record system of the hospital. A total of 2739 children were included from February 1, 2019, to January 31, 2021.

Results

Among these 2739 patients were 1507 (55.02%) males and 1232 (44.98%) females; the median age was 3.84 years. There were 2364 cases during the pre-COVID-19 period and 375 cases during the post-COVID-19 period. The number of hospitalized children after the pandemic was 84.14% lower. The median age after the onset was 1.5 years younger than that before the onset (4.08 years old) (Z = − 7.885,P < 0.001). After the pandemic, the proportion of CAP in school-age children andMycoplasma pneumoniaepneumonia (MPP) and influenza virus pneumonia (IVP) decreased significantly. During the pre-COVID-19 period, the proportions of detected pathogens were as follows: MP (59.56%) > bacteria (50.42%) > viruses (29.57%) > fungi (3.43%). During the post-COVID-19 period, the pathogen proportions were bacteria (56.53%) > viruses (53.60%) > MP (23.47%) > fungi (3.73%).

Conclusions

There was a significant decrease in the number of children with CAP hospitalized after the pandemic, especially among school-age children, and the pathogen proportions of CAP with MP and IV were significantly decreased. We inferred that CAP was effectively prevented in school-age children because of the strong mitigation measures.