bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
‘We Attempted to Deliver Your Package’: Forensic Translation in the Fight Against Cross-Border Cybercrime
Authors: Sousa-Silva Rui
Published: January 2024

Cybercrime has increased significantly, recently, as a result of both individual and group criminal practice, and is now a threat to individuals, organisations, and democratic systems worldwide. However, cybercrime raises two main challenges for legal systems: firstly, because cybercriminals operate online, cybercrime spans beyond the boundaries of specific jurisdictions, which constrains the operation of the police and, subsequently, the conviction of the perpetrators; secondly, since cybercriminals can operate from anywhere in the world, law enforcement agencies struggle to identify the origin of the communications, especially when obfuscation strategies are used, e.g. dark web fora. Nevertheless, cybercriminals inherently use language to communicate, so the linguistic analysis of suspect communications is particularly helpful in deterring cybercriminal practice. This article reports the potential of forensic translation in the fight against cybercrime. Although the term ‘forensic translation’ is typically understood as a synonym of ‘legal translation’, it is argued that the implications of forensic translation span beyond those of legal translation, to include analyses of language rights, of the right to interpretation and translation in legal procedures (in the EU), or even investigative and intelligence practices. Translation is a pervasive activity that is conducted, not only by professional translators, but also by lay speakers of language, often using machine translation systems. The ease of use of the latter makes it particularly suitable for cross-border criminal (e.g. extortion or fraud) and cybercriminal communications (e.g. cybertrespass, cyberfraud, cyberpiracy, cyberporn or child online porn, cyberviolence or cyberstalking). This article presents the results of the analysis of cybercriminal communications from a forensic translation perspective. It demonstrates that translation is frequently used to spread cybercriminal communications, and that reverse-engineering the translational procedure will assist law enforcement agencies in narrowing down their pool of suspects and, consequently, deter cybercriminal threats.
Left Populism and the Education of Desire
Authors: McGregor Callum
Published: January 2024

This paper mobilises the psychoanalytic concepts of desire and enjoyment to better understand how processes of education aimed at extending and defending democratic life might respond to and engage with populist politics. I approach this task by engaging with a particular vector of Mouffe and Laclau’s political philosophy, moving from a critique of liberal democracy’s rationalist pretensions to their insistence that left populism and its passionate construction of a ‘people’ is the central task facing radical politics. This attention to the libidinal basis of political identification locates them in a community of Left Lacanian thinkers who reframe the problems of democratic politics in terms of desire and enjoyment rather than miseducation or its lack. Whilst this position might suggest a binary choice between different analytical frames, I inquire into what insights are generated by theorising left populism as an ‘education of desire’. The paper is organised into four main parts: the opening discussion clarifies my understanding of education by engaging with the literature on educational agonism. The second section lays the groundwork for a critique of the way in which education is fetishized, in different ways, by liberals and radicals as a panacea for populist politics. The third section reframes democratic crisis as an enjoyment problem in order to better grasp the relationship between the liberal democratic disavowal of its own irrationality and the structure of right-wing populist enjoyment. The fourth section applies these insights to develop a critical analysis of what is at stake when we explicitly consider the left populist construction of a ‘people’ as an educational task. I conclude by drawing together and summarising the main features and considerations of left populism understood as an education of desire.
Are volatile methylsiloxanes in downcycled tire microplastics? Levels and human exposure estimation in synthetic turf football fields
Authors: Ferreira Tiago , Homem Vera , Cereceda-Balic Francisco , Fadic Ximena , Alves Arminda , Ratola Nuno
Published: January 2024

Downcycled rubber, derived from end-of-life tires (ELTs), is frequently applied as crumb rubber (CR) as infill of synthetic turf in sports facilities. This practice has been questioned in recent years as numerous studies have reported the presence of potentially hazardous chemicals in this material. CR particles fall into the category of microplastics (MPs), making them possible vectors for emerging micropollutants. A preliminary study where volatile methylsiloxanes (VMSs) were found in CR originated the hypothesis that VMSs are present in this material worldwide. Consequently, the present work evaluates for the first time the levels and trends of seven VMSs in CR from synthetic turf football fields, while attempting to identify the main sources and impacts of these chemicals. A total of 135 CR samples and 12 other of alternative materials were analyzed, employing an ultrasound-assisted dispersive solid-phase extraction followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), and the presence of VMSs was confirmed in all samples, in total concentrations ranging from 1.60 to 5089 ng.g−1. The levels were higher in commercial CR (before field application), a reflection of the use of VMS-containing additives in tire production and/or the degradation of silicone polymers employed in vehicles. The VMSs generally decreased over time on the turf, as expected given their volatile nature and the wearing of the material. Finally, the human exposure doses to VMSs in CR (by dermal absorption and ingestion) for people in contact with synthetic turf in football fields were negligible (maximum total exposure of 20.5 ng.kgBW−1.year−1) in comparison with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) reference doses: 1.35 × 109 ng.kgBW−1.year−1 for D4 and 1.83 × 109 ng.kgBW−1.year−1 for D5. Nevertheless, more knowledge on exposure through inhalation and the combined effects of all substances is necessary to provide further corroboration. This work proved the presence of VMSs in CR from ELTs, another family of chemical of concern to take into account when studying MPs as vectors of other contaminants.
Combined application of up to ten pesticides decreases key soil processes
Authors: Meidl Peter , Lehmann Anika , Bi Mohan , Breitenreiter Carla , Benkrama Jasmina , Li Erqin , Riedo Judith , Rillig Matthias C.
Published: January 2024

Natural systems are under increasing pressure by a range of anthropogenic global change factors. Pesticides represent a nearly ubiquitously occurring global change factor and have the potential to affect soil functions. Currently the use of synthetic pesticides is at an all-time high with over 400 active ingredients being utilized in the EU alone, with dozens of these pesticides occurring concurrently in soil. However, we presently do not understand the impacts of the potential interaction of multiple pesticides when applied simultaneously. Using soil collected from a local grassland, we utilize soil microcosms to examine the role of both rate of change and number of a selection of ten currently used pesticides on soil processes, including litter decomposition, water stable aggregates, aggregate size, soil pH, and EC. Additionally, we used null models to enrich our analyses to examine potential patterns caused by interactions between pesticide treatments. We find that both gradual and abrupt pesticide application have negative consequences for soil processes. Notably, pesticide number plays a significant role in affecting soil health. Null models also reveal potential synergistic behavior between pesticides which can further their consequences on soil processes. Our research highlights the complex impacts of pesticides, and the need for environmental policy to address the threats posed by pesticides.
Mitigation strategies to reduce particulate matter concentrations in civil engineering laboratories
Authors: Zumrut Irem Bayram , Kale Ozge Akboga , Tetik Yilmaz Ogunc , Baradan Selim
Published: January 2024

In the departments of civil engineering, many experiments are conducted in laboratories for educational and research purposes. Varying degrees of respirable dust are generated as the outcome of these experiments, which could cause harm to instructors’ and students’ health. This study is devised to highlight the importance of indoor air quality in university laboratories. As part of the research, four different particulate matter (PM) sizes (PM1.0, PM2.5, PM4.0, and PM10) were measured during specific experiments—sieve analysis, preparation of the concrete mixture, crushing aggregate by jaw crusher, dynamic triaxial compression test, sieve analysis of silt specimen, cleaning sieve by an air compressor, and proctor compaction test—being conducted periodically in the laboratories of civil engineering departments. The measured values are mainly high compared to indoor air quality standards. Mitigation strategies were applied to reduce indoor air PM levels in the three experiments that contained the highest PM levels. The results have shown that mitigation strategies applied as control measures could make a remarkable difference in protecting instructors and civil engineering students.
Soil redox maps: assessment of small field-scale redox zonation by Mn and Fe oxide-coated IRIS films
Authors: Dorau Kristof , Zanger Theresa , Bolten Andreas , Mansfeldt Tim
Published: January 2024

Purpose

Intra-field redox zonation across depth in soils can be heterogeneous and account for the presence of biogeochemical “hot spots.” Understanding the spatial distribution of hot spots is desirable but hard to obtain.

Materials and methods

In this study, low-cost manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe) oxide-coated Indicator of Reduction In Soils (IRIS) films were installed at a wetland. A grid soil sampling approach within a monitoring plot (20 × 20 m; 2-m raster cells) featured a microrelief of 29 cm above the water table (WT). Data of Mn and Fe oxide removal along IRIS films and natural (newly formed) Fe oxides along Mn IRIS served to spatially resolve digital redox maps by ordinary kriging.

Results and discussion

A distinctive redox zonation due to the microrelief could be differentiated with the lowest oxide loss at elevated terrain. Located at 9 to 29 cm above the WT, small-scaled pattern of oxide loss of a few cm2 occurred due to anoxic microsites (zone I). Zone II was located at 4 to 9 cm above the WT (Fe2+ sink), whereas zone III extended below and a few cm above the WT (Fe2+ source). Mn IRIS displayed three times more oxide loss, compared to Fe IRIS. Thereupon, natural Fe oxides formed to a major extent along Mn IRIS with on average 80% in redox zone I and II. Thus, Fe2+ was an omnipresent constituent in soil solution, while no or only minor synthetic Fe oxide along Fe IRIS were removed. This highlights the clear difference between the reducibility of pedogenic Fe oxides and synthetic Fe oxides. Overall, the large reactive surface area of IRIS can circumvent problems associated with misclassification of the soil redox status using redox electrodes, which are more susceptible to soil spatial variability.

Conclusions

Homogeneity and representativeness of redox sensitive topsoil samples or soil solutions can in fact only be guaranteed within a range < 5 m for this particular study site. IRIS can be utilized to investigate both: microsite-driven features such as neo-formed natural Fe oxides along Mn IRIS (< mm to cm scale) and geo-referenced oxide loss from IRIS at the plot scale (tens to hundreds of meters). Soil redox maps deliver important spatial information for the worldwide growing demand for high-resolution digital soil maps.

Graphical Abstract
Selves, Persons, and the Neo-Lucretian Symmetry Problem
Authors: Stokes Patrick
Published: January 2024

The heavily discussed (neo-)Lucretian symmetry argument holds that as we are indifferent to nonexistence before birth, we should also be indifferent to nonexistence after death. An important response to this argument insists that prenatal nonexistence differs from posthumous nonexistence because we could not have been born earlier and been the same ‘thick’ psychological self. As a consequence, we can’t properly ask whether it would be better for us to have had radically different lives either. Against this, it’s been claimed we can form preferences as to which ‘thick’ (psychological) self our ‘thin’ (metaphysical) self would be better off ‘associated’ with. I argue that these discussions draw the right distinction, but do so in the wrong place: understanding the ‘thin’ self phenomenally instead of metaphysically allows us to understand how we can rationally form preferences to have been somebody else.
Replies to Vendrell Ferran, Piercey, Schechtman, and Collins
Authors: Mikkonen Jukka
Published: January 2024

i) Íngrid Vendrell Ferran’s defence of the ‘experiential view’ and her related conception of ‘radical neo-cogntivism’, ii) Robert Piercey’s view of the epistemic value of plots and emplotment, iii) Marya Schechtman’s revisionist ideas of self-narration, and, finally, iv) David Collins’s suggestion of the value of an imaginative engagement with the author of an artwork.
What Role Do Maladaptive Coping and Escape Expectancies Play in the Relationship Between Stress and Problem Gambling? Testing a Moderated Mediation Model
Authors: Caudwell Kim M. , Bacovic Ivana , Flack Mal
Published: January 2024

Stress has long been implicated in relation to problem gambling and gambling disorder. However, less is known about the psychological processes that link stress to problem gambling through other known correlates, including outcome expectancies and maladaptive coping. The current study tests a moderated mediation model whereby the effect of stress on problem gambling was hypothesized to be mediated by escape outcome expectancies, with this mediation effect moderated by maladaptive coping. Participants (N = 240; 50.2% male, Mage = 32.76 years; SDage = 11.35 years) were recruited from an online crowdsourcing platform and provided responses on the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995), the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI; Ferris & Wynne, 2001), escape subscale of the Gambling Outcome Expectancies Scale (GOES; Flack & Morris, 2015) and the Brief COPE (Carver, 1997). The model was tested using Hayes’ (2018) PROCESS macro, revealing a significant moderated mediation effect of the stress-escape path by maladaptive coping, showing that the effect was significant when maladaptive coping was high. The findings provide support for escape outcome expectancies as being a potential mechanism through which the stress-problem gambling relationship may operate specifically, influenced by how gamblers are engaged in maladaptive coping generally. There is a need to further investigate the potential for combining gambling outcome expectancy challenges with methods to reduce maladaptive coping or develop more adaptive responses in the face of stress among problem gamblers.
Clinical evaluation of a patient participation assessment system for upper extremity rehabilitation exercises
Authors: Ödemiş Erkan , Baysal Cabbar Veysel
Published: January 2024

In conventional and robotic rehabilitation, the patient’s active participation in exercises is essential for the maximum functional output to be received from therapy. In rehabilitation exercises performed with robotic devices, the difficulty levels of therapy tasks and the device assistance are adjusted based on the patient’s therapy performance to improve active participation. However, the existing therapy performance evaluation methods are based on either some specific device designs or certain therapy tasks, which limits their widespread use. In this paper, the effectiveness of a participation assessment system, which can evaluate patients’ therapy performance, tiredness, and slacking independent of any device design and therapy exercise, was clinically tested on ten patients diagnosed with frozen shoulder syndrome. The patients performed exercises using the system once a week throughout their 4-week treatment period. Multiple clinical measurements and scales were employed during the clinical study to assess patients’ progress and status, such as tiredness throughout the therapy process. The clinical data, along with the patient findings obtained from the participation assessment system, were statistically analyzed and compared. The findings revealed that the patients’ improvements and progress during the therapy process clinically coincide with the variations in the performance evaluation results of the system, and the implemented method successfully assesses the patients’ participation during the rehabilitation exercises.

Graphical Abstract
Contrasting Responses of Spring and Summer Potato to Climate Change in South Korea
Authors: Kim Yean-Uk , Webber Heidi
Published: January 2024

This paper assessed the effects of climate change and planting date adjustment on spring and summer potato in South Korea for the period 2061–2090. The study applied the SUBSTOR-Potato model and outputs of 24 general circulation models to capture future variability in climate conditions for four shared socioeconomic pathway-representative concentration pathway scenarios. Without planting date adjustment, tuber yield was projected to increase by approximately 20% for spring and summer potato, indicating that the CO2 fertilization effect would offset the adverse effect of rising temperature. The effect of planting date adjustment was significant only for spring potato, where overall climate change impact with the optimized planting date was approximately  +60%. For spring potato, the effects of rising temperature were bidirectional: temperature increases early in the year extended the growing season, whereas the higher temperature increases in June under the most severe climate change condition accelerated leaf senescence and reduced tuber bulking rate. Based on these results, different adaptation strategies could be established for spring potato for different climate change conditions. For example, developing frost-tolerant cultivars would continue to be recommended to plant earlier under the mild climate change conditions, whereas breeding mid-late maturity cultivars with high-temperature tolerance would be needed to delay senescence and enhance late tuber growth under the severe climate change conditions. Unlike spring potato, the breeding goal for summer potato of increasing high-temperature tolerance holds across all climate change conditions. Finally, these optimistic results should be interpreted with caution as the current model does not fully capture the effect of high-temperature episodes and the interactive effect between CO2 and temperature, which may reduce beneficial projected climate change impacts.
Deep learning-based osteochondritis dissecans detection in ultrasound images with humeral capitellum localization
Authors: Sasaki Kenta , Fujita Daisuke , Takatsuji Kenta , Kotoura Yoshihiro , Minami Masataka , Kobayashi Yusuke , Sukenari Tsuyoshi , Kida Yoshikazu , Takahashi Kenji , Kobashi Syoji
Published: January 2024

Purpose

Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) of the humeral capitellum is a common cause of elbow disorders, particularly among young throwing athletes. Conservative treatment is the preferred treatment for managing OCD, and early intervention significantly influences the possibility of complete disease resolution. The purpose of this study is to develop a deep learning-based classification model in ultrasound images for computer-aided diagnosis.

Methods

This paper proposes a deep learning-based OCD classification method in ultrasound images. The proposed method first detects the humeral capitellum detection using YOLO and then estimates the OCD probability of the detected region probability using VGG16. We hypothesis that the performance will be improved by eliminating unnecessary regions. To validate the performance of the proposed method, it was applied to 158 subjects (OCD: 67, Normal: 91) using five-fold-cross-validation.

Results

The study demonstrated that the humeral capitellum detection achieved a mean average precision (mAP) of over 0.95, while OCD probability estimation achieved an average accuracy of 0.890, precision of 0.888, recall of 0.927, F1 score of 0.894, and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.962. On the other hand, when the classification model was constructed for the entire image, accuracy, precision, recall, F1 score, and AUC were 0.806, 0.806, 0.932, 0.843, and 0.928, respectively. The findings suggest the high-performance potential of the proposed model for OCD classification in ultrasonic images.

Conclusion

This paper introduces a deep learning-based OCD classification method. The experimental results emphasize the effectiveness of focusing on the humeral capitellum for OCD classification in ultrasound images. Future work should involve evaluating the effectiveness of employing the proposed method by physicians during medical check-ups for OCD.
RGA: a unified measure of predictive accuracy
Authors: Giudici Paolo , Raffinetti Emanuela
Published: January 2024

A key point to assess statistical forecasts is the evaluation of their predictive accuracy. Recently, a new measure, called Rank Graduation Accuracy (RGA), based on the concordance between the ranks of the predicted values and the ranks of the actual values of a series of observations to be forecast, was proposed for the assessment of the quality of the predictions. In this paper, we demonstrate that, in a classification perspective, when the response to be predicted is binary, the RGA coincides both with the AUROC and the Wilcoxon-Mann–Whitney statistic, and can be employed to evaluate the accuracy of probability forecasts. When the response to be predicted is real valued, the RGA can still be applied, differently from the AUROC, and similarly to measures such as the RMSE. Differently from the RMSE, the RGA measure evaluates point predictions in terms of their ranks, rather than in terms of their values, improving robustness.
Revisional One-Step Bariatric Surgical Techniques After Unsuccessful Laparoscopic Gastric Band: A Retrospective Cohort Study with 2-Year Follow-up
Authors: Hany Mohamed , Zidan Ahmed , Ibrahim Mohamed , Sabry Ahmed , Agayby Ann Samy Shafiq , Mourad Mohamed , Torensma Bart
Published: January 2024

Background

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) has high reported rates of revision due to poor weight loss (WL) and high complication rates. Yet, there is yet to be a consensus on the best revisional procedure after unsuccessful LAGB, and studies comparing different revisional procedures after LAGB are still needed.

Methods

This was a retrospective cohort study that compared the outcomes of one-step revisional Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (rRYGB), one-anastomosis gastric bypass (rOAGB), or laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (rLSG) after LAGB. WL, complications, resolution of associated medical conditions, and food tolerance were assessed with a post hoc pairwise comparison one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) throughout a 2-year follow-up.

Results

The final analysis included 102 (rRYGB), 80 (rOAGB), and 70 (rLSG) patients. After 2 years, an equal percentage of excess weight loss was observed in rOAGB and rRYGB (both >90%; p=0.998), significantly higher than that in rLSG (83.6%; p<0.001). In our study, no leaks were observed. rRYGB had higher complication rates according to the Clavien-Dindo classification (10.8% vs. 3.75% and 5.7% in rOAGB and rLSG, respectively, p=0.754), and re-operations were not statistically significant. Food tolerance was comparable between rOAGB and rRYGB (p = 0.987), and both had significantly better food tolerance than rLSG (p<0.001). The study cohorts had comparable resolution rates for associated medical problems (p>0.60).

Conclusion

rOAGB and rRYGB had better outcomes after LAGB than rLSG regarding WL, feasibility, food tolerance, and safety. rOAGB had significantly higher rates of nutritional deficiencies.

Graphical Abstract
Facile microwave-assisted preparation of Fe3O4 nanoparticles supported on carbonized cellulose nanocrystals derived from sugarcane bagasse
Authors: Mkumbuzi Emmanuel , van Zyl Werner E.
Published: January 2024

Microwave energy is an efficient form of energy used to speed up the synthesis of nanoparticles. Herein, we report the use of an unmodified domestic microwave oven to prepare magnetic spherical Fe3O4 (magnetite) nanoparticles (IONPs) supported on carbonized cellulose nanocrystals, forming a nanocomposite, in an expeditious and facile one-step reaction. This was achieved using the readily available precursors of FeCl3 as an iron source, and sugarcane bagasse, using activated charcoal as a microwave absorber. The nanocomposite was characterized using Raman spectroscopy which suggested a degree of crystallinity based on a G/D ratio of 1.25. The morphology of the Fe3O4/carbonized cellulose nanocrystal nanocomposite was characterized as spherical metallic nanoparticles supported on carbonized cellulose nanocrystals using Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), SEM, and EDX, while the identity of the Fe3O4 nanoparticles was confirmed with powder XRD.

Graphical Abstract
Impact of low pneumoperitoneum on renal function and acute kidney injury biomarkers during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP): a randomised clinical trial
Authors: Alhusseinawi Hayder , Sander Lotte , Handberg Aase , Rasmussen Rikke W. , Kingo Pernille S. , Jensen Jørgen B. , Rasmussen Sten
Published: January 2024

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of low pneumoperitoneum pressure (Pnp) on renal function and renal injury biomarkers during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). A single-centre, triple-blinded, randomised clinical trial was conducted with 98 patients undergoing RARP, who were assigned to either standard Pnp of 12 mmHg or low Pnp of 7 mmHg. The primary outcome was urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (u-NGAL), and several other kidney injury biomarkers were assessed as secondary outcomes. Acute kidney injury (AKI) was evaluated using the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria, the gold standard method for defining AKI. The trial was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04755452). Patients in the low Pnp group had significantly lower levels of u-NGAL (mean difference − 39.9, 95% CI − 73.7 to − 6.1, p = 0.02) compared to the standard Pnp group. No significant differences were observed for other urinary biomarkers. Interestingly, there was a significant difference in intraoperative urine production between the groups (low Pnp median: 200 mL, IQR: 100–325 vs. standard Pnp median: 100 mL, IQR: 50–200, p = 0.01). Similarly, total postoperative urine production also varied significantly (low Pnp median: 1325 mL, IQR: 1025–1800 vs. standard Pnp median: 1000 mL, IQR: 850–1287, p = 0.001). The occurrence of AKI, as defined by the KDIGO criteria, did not differ significantly between the groups. Low Pnp during RARP resulted in lower u-NGAL levels, suggesting a potential benefit in terms of reduced renal injury. However, the lack of a notable difference in AKI as defined by the KDIGO criteria indicates that the clinical significance of this finding may be limited. Further research is needed to validate and expand on these results, ultimately defining the optimal Pnp strategy for RARP and improving patient outcomes.
Efficacy of different routes of vitamin B12 supplementation for the treatment of patients with vitamin B12 deficiency: A systematic review and network meta-analysis
Authors: Abdelwahab Omar Ahmed , Abdelaziz Ahmed , Diab Sherein , khazragy Ali , Elboraay Toka , Fayad Taha , Diab Rehab Adel , Negida Ahmed
Published: January 2024

Background

This systematic review and network meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the three different administration routes of vitamin B12: oral, intramuscular (IM), and sublingual (SL) routes.

Methods

We searched four electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane CENTRAL Register of Controlled Trials). We included only comparative studies. We performed a frequentist network meta-analysis to measure network estimates for the relative outcomes. Moreover, we conducted a pairwise meta-analysis using a random effect model to obtain direct estimates for outcomes. All outcomes were continuous, and the relative treatment effects were pooled as mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence intervals.

Results

Thirteen studies were included in the meta-analysis, with a total of 4275 patients. Regarding increasing vitamin B12 levels, the IM route ranked first, followed by the SL route (MD = 94.09 and 43.31 pg/mL, respectively) compared to the oral route. However, these differences did not reach statistical significance owing to the limited number of studies. Regarding the hemoglobin level, the pooled effect sizes showed no difference between all routes of administration that could reach statistical significance. However, the top two ranked administration routes were the oral route (78.3) and the IM route (49.6).

Conclusion

All IM, oral, and SL routes of administration of vitamin B12 can effectively increase the level of vitamin B12 without significant differences between them, as thought previously. However, the IM route was the top-ranked statistically but without clinical significance. We found no significant difference among studied administrated routes in all other CBC parameters and homocysteine levels.

Graphical Abstract
Changing ecological environment before and after coastline filling designs
Authors: Kahveci Hilal , Onur Makbulenur
Published: January 2024

Coastlines are tectonically active places with an impact on physical as well as social and economic restructuring of cities. They play an essential role in the development of urban areas. Furthermore, coastal environments may offer important health benefits. They may also present numerous threats to human health and well-being time to time. With the rapid urbanization in coastal cities, the lack of urban green space and transportation problems have emerged recently, and the cities have grown towards the sea by coastal filling areas as a solution. Especially the construction of highway on the coastline in the Black Sea region of Turkey has adversely impacted relationship between the people and the sea in the city of Trabzon. In this study, initially a literature review was conducted and parameters were specified for coastline usages. A survey study was conducted with 140 individuals who actively use the coastline in the city of Trabzon, in order to specify the past and current coastline usages. The evaluation of the past and current usage shows that people want to meet the sea but feel uncomfortable with the landscape with the fillings. According to the Anova test, the unmodified form of area was chosen to ‘have a more natural landscape (5.77)’ while the modified form of area was preferred ‘to be renovated (4.12)’. This highlights the users’ longing for the past. Therefore, authorities need to address the impact of differences between parameters in depth on the usage of the area on the coastal landscape. Coastal ecology solutions should also be produced with the ecological design approaches.
Use of AI Language Engine ChatGPT 4.0 to Write a Scientific Review Article Examining the Intersection of Alzheimer’s Disease and Bone
Authors: Margetts Tyler J. , Karnik Sonali J. , Wang Hannah S. , Plotkin Lilian I. , Oblak Adrian L. , Fehrenbacher Jill C. , Kacena Melissa A. , Movila Alexandru
Published: January 2024

Purpose of Review

This Comment represents three review articles on the relationship between Alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis, and fracture in an exploration of the benefits that AI can provide in scientific writing. The first drafts of the articles were written (1) entirely by humans; (2) entirely by ChatGPT 4.0 (AI-only or AIO); and (3) by humans and ChatGPT 4.0 whereby humans selected literature references, but ChatGPT 4.0 completed the writing (AI-assisted or AIA). Importantly, each review article was edited and carefully checked for accuracy by all co-authors resulting in a final manuscript which was significantly different from the original draft.

Recent Findings

The human-written article took the most time from start to finish, the AI-only article took the least time, and the AI-assisted article fell between the two. When comparing first drafts to final drafts, the AI-only and AI-assisted articles had higher percentages of different text than the human article. The AI-only paper had a higher percentage of incorrect references in the first draft than the AI-assisted paper. The first draft of the AI-assisted article had a higher similarity score than the other two articles when examined by plagiarism identification software.

This writing experiment used time tracking, human editing, and comparison software to examine the benefits and risks of using AI to assist in scientific writing. It showed that while AI may reduce total writing time, hallucinations and plagiarism were prevalent issues with this method and human editing was still necessary to ensure accuracy.
Preferential cannibalism as a key stabilizing mechanism of intraguild predation systems with trophic polymorphic predators
Authors: Woodie Clara A. , Anderson Kurt E.
Published: January 2024

Theory predicts intraguild predation (IGP) to be unstable despite its ubiquity in nature, prompting exploration of stabilizing mechanisms of IGP. One of the many ways IGP manifests is through inducible trophic polymorphisms in the intraguild (IG) predator, where a resource-eating predator morph competes with the intraguild (IG) prey for the shared resource while a top predator morph consumes the IG prey. Cannibalism is common in this type of system due to the top predator morph’s specialization on the trophic level below it, which includes the resource-eating predator morph. Here, we explore the consequences of inducible trophic polymorphisms in cannibal predators for IGP stability using an IGP model with and without cannibalism. We employ linear stability analysis and identify regions of coexistence based on the top predator morph’s preference for conspecifics vs. heterospecifics and the IG prey’s competitive ability relative to the resource-eating morph. Our findings reveal that preferential cannibalism (i.e., the preferential consumption of conspecifics) stabilizes the system when the IG prey and resource-eating morph have similar competitive abilities for the shared resource. Though original IGP theory finds that the IG prey must be a superior resource competitor as a general criterion for coexistence, this is not typically the case when the predator has an inducible trophic polymorphism and the resource-eating morph is specialized in resource acquisition. Preferential cannibalism may therefore be a key stabilizing mechanism in IGP systems with a cannibalistic, trophic polymorphic IG predators, providing further insight into what general mechanisms stabilize the pervasive IGP interaction.
Estimation of water balance components by Noah-MP land surface model for the Neyshaboor watershed, Khorasan Razavi, Iran
Authors: Mirshafee Samira , Ansari Hossein , Davary Kamran , Ziaei Ali-Naghi , Faridhosseini Alireza , Choi Yong-Sang
Published: January 2024

The numerical modeling of the land surface can make up for the insufficient station data in terms of number, dispersion, and temporal continuity. In this research, to evaluate the Noah-MP land surface model, the water balance components were estimated in the Neyshaboor watershed in the monthly time step during 2000–2009. Model input data were obtained from the global land data assimilation system version 1 (GLDAS-1), and the SWAT (soil and water assessment tool, a semi-distributed for small watershed to river basin-scale model) model output was used for the evaluation of the Noah-MP model. In this study, the ability of the Noah-MP model in simulating vegetation dynamically was studied. The precipitation was corrected before running the model for a more reliable evaluation. The time between 2000 and 2001 was considered a spin-up period and 2002–2009 for calibration and validation. The model has the best simulation in the mountainous areas; the runoff simulated by the Noah-MP model is in good agreement with the modeled runoff by SWAT in these areas. (R2 = 0.78, NSE = 0.62, RMSE = 1.98 m3/s). The R2 for simulated soil moisture for soil layers (0–10, 10–40 cm) was 0.62 and 0.57, and RMSE was 0.059 (m3/m3) and 0.052 (m3/m3), respectively, in Motamedieh field. The annual amount of evapotranspiration estimated by the two models is comparable to the average annual evapotranspiration in the watershed (about 300 mm). Based on the results from the research, the model has well simulated: the runoff in the mountainous areas, the moisture in the upper layer of the soil, and the average annual evapotranspiration in the study area.
Improving cognitive function with intermittent dose escalation of curcumin extract in chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment patients: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Putri Laksmidewi Anak Agung Ayu , Mahendra I. Nyoman Bayu , Soejitno Andreas , Vania Aurelia
Published: January 2024

Chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment (CICI) is an impairment of memory, learning power, concentration, reasoning, executive function, attention, and visuospatial during and after chemotherapy exposures. No proven safe and effective therapeutic regimen are available to improve cognitive function in CICI patients. To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of curcumin extract to improve cognitive function in CICI patients. This study was a double-blind randomized controlled trial clinical trial in patients with cervical carcinoma who underwent a carboplatin-paclitaxel chemotherapy regimen from March to October 2021 at single center hospital. Subjects divided into two groups that received curcumin and placebo caplets by dose escalation method from 240 to 400 mg intermittently (14 days on and 7 days off) between chemotherapy cycles. Cognitive function was evaluated pre- and post-therapy using the AFI questionnaire, Stroop test, and MoCA-Ina. A total of 78 subjects were equally divided into the treatment and control groups. The percentage of drop-out, mortality, and adverse drug response were relatively comparable between each treatment arm. The group of subjects receiving curcumin extract experienced clinically and statistically significant improvements in cognitive function based on the Stroop test (∆ median 8.57 vs. 2.46; Z − 4.503 vs. − 1.762; p  < 0.0001 vs. 0.078) and MoCA- Ina (∆ mean 1.53 vs. 0.72; Z − 2.99 vs. − 2.05; p < 0.003 vs. 0.04) versus placebo in between-group and between-subject analyses, respectively. Administration of curcumin extract with intermittent dose escalation regimen proved to be safe and able to improve cognitive function of CICI patients clinically and statistically significant.
Eco-friendly removal of methyl tert-butyl ether from contaminated water using steam and CO2-activated carbons
Authors: Bakry M. , El-Azab W. I. , El-Fiqi A. , Ebiad M. A.
Published: January 2024

Petrol frequently contains the additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). Because of its significant health risks, MTBE pollution of surface and ground water is a severe concern for the environment. Highly porous physically activated carbons, particularly CO2-activated carbon (CO2-AC) and steam-activated carbon (Steam-AC), were obtained from date stones as potential eco-friendly adsorbents for MTBE from contaminated water. The chemical composition, microstructure, textural, and structural characteristics of adsorbents were characterised by elemental analysis, SEM, N2 sorption, XRD, and FTIR. The adsorption process evaluation based on the initial MTBE concentration, liquid-to-solid ratio, and equilibrium contact time. CO2-AC and steam-AC adsorbents have high surface areas of 819.5 m2/g, and 567.7 m2/g, respectively. At 40 °C, CO2-AC has an adsorption capability of 181.36 mg/g. The adsorption result was best fitted by the Freundlich model. The two-step intraparticle diffusion process prevailed the adsorption process, and the pseudo-second-order model presented an optimal fit for the adsorption kinetics models. Spontaneous physical adsorption was endothermic when CO2-AC adsorbs at 40 °C because ∆G was − 6.34 kJ/mol. Finally, the water quality improved and the salt content, the alkalinity, and the hardness decreased with the use of CO2-AC as an environmentally friendly adsorbent for removing MTBE from the polluted water.
Cutaneous ultrasound of the nuchal-type fibroma: diagnostic clues and surgery planning
Authors: Verdaguer-Faja Júlia , Rodríguez-Garijo Nuria , Arean-Cuns Carolina , Redondo Bellón Pedro , García-Martínez Francisco Javier
Published: January 2024

Nuchal-type fibroma is a rare, benign tumour, arising from the connective tissue and characterized by their usual location in the posterior neck, although extra-nuchal locations may also occur. The excision of nuchal-type fibroma is curative, although it presents as a large poorly circumscribed lesion in the dermal and subcutaneous fat layer, with adipose tissue and muscle fascicles entrapment, what can lead to partial excisions and relapses. Due to its rarity, little is known about the sonographic appearances of nuchal-type fibroma. An early identification and correct extension evaluation is essential to facilitate adequate treatment. Through two clinical cases, we illustrate in this article the utility of cutaneous ultrasound in the early diagnosis of these tumours, highlighting its role in the diagnosis but also in the pre-surgical evaluation improving margins assessment and delimitation.
Enhancing Green Ammonia Electrosynthesis Through Tuning Sn Vacancies in Sn-Based MXene/MAX Hybrids
Authors: Dai Xinyu , Du Zhen-Yi , Sun Ying , Chen Ping , Duan Xiaoguang , Zhang Junjun , Li Hui , Fu Yang , Jia Baohua , Zhang Lei , Fang Wenhui , Qiu Jieshan , Ma Tianyi
Published: January 2024

Renewable energy driven N2 electroreduction with air as nitrogen source holds great promise for realizing scalable green ammonia production. However, relevant out-lab research is still in its infancy. Herein, a novel Sn-based MXene/MAX hybrid with abundant Sn vacancies, Sn@Ti2CTX/Ti2SnC–V, was synthesized by controlled etching Sn@Ti2SnC MAX phase and demonstrated as an efficient electrocatalyst for electrocatalytic N2 reduction. Due to the synergistic effect of MXene/MAX heterostructure, the existence of Sn vacancies and the highly dispersed Sn active sites, the obtained Sn@Ti2CTX/Ti2SnC–V exhibits an optimal NH3 yield of 28.4 µg h−1 mgcat−1 with an excellent FE of 15.57% at − 0.4 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode in 0.1 M Na2SO4, as well as an ultra-long durability. Noticeably, this catalyst represents a satisfactory NH3 yield rate of 10.53 µg h−1 mg−1 in the home-made simulation device, where commercial electrochemical photovoltaic cell was employed as power source, air and ultrapure water as feed stock. The as-proposed strategy represents great potential toward ammonia production in terms of financial cost according to the systematic technical economic analysis. This work is of significance for large-scale green ammonia production.
Algorithmisierung als Allround-Lösung? Zur Bildungsrelevanz digitalen Lernens im Elementar- und Primarbereich
Authors: Redecker Anke
Published: January 2024

Transformatorische Bildungstheorie lässt sich für ein digitales Lernen in Kita und Grundschule fruchtbar machen, das auf Irritation und Inkonsistenzen setzt, um eine Reflexion von Digitalität im Medium des Digitalen zu ermöglichen. Mit dem pädagogischen Einsatz von Robotik ist hingegen die Gefahr verbunden, Lernprozesse pseudotechnologisch auf Steuerung, Reibungslosigkeit und Machbarkeit auszurichten, während eine problematisierende Persönlichkeitsbildung Zeit und Erprobungsspielräume benötigt. Digitale Elementarbildung, die auf Erkunden und gemeinsamem Hinterfragen basiert, bereitet eine Grundschulbildung vor, die sich zunehmend kritisch mit Ambivalenzen digitalen Lernens zwischen Er- und Bemächtigung auseinandersetzt und hierbei durch dialogische Didaktik versiert begleitet werden kann.
“When the real stuff happens”: A qualitative descriptive study of the psychosocial outcomes of outdoor adventure education for adolescents
Authors: Down Michael , Picknoll Duncan , Hoyne Gerard , Piggott Ben , Bulsara Caroline
Published: January 2024

Adolescence is a pivotal time for social and emotional wellbeing development, and the literature calls for psychosocial support approaches in this population. Outdoor adventure education (OAE), programs that contain activities perceived as risky by participants but undertaken in an environment of risk management and social support, provide a holistic approach to protecting and enhancing adolescent mental health. A qualitative descriptive methodology using purposive sampling was employed to recruit adolescents and teachers from Western Australia involved in OAE. Template thematic analysis was used to analyse the semi-structured interview data of five focus groups with adolescents and four key informant interviews with OAE teachers. Our findings suggest that developing and maintaining connections with others during OAE programming are powerful protective factors for psychosocial outcomes in adolescent participants. The tangible responsibilities and inherent challenges of OAE programming created opportunities for multifaceted successes, which also featured as an important finding in our study. We conclude that deliberate, critical OAE programming decisions with opportunities for connections, tangible responsibilities and challenges, and the nurturing of individual empowerment in participants, may positively impact psychosocial outcomes. Further research is needed to understand the psychosocial impacts of OAE on adolescent participants as it relates to individual empowerment.
On the Stability of a 3DOF Vibrating System Close to Resonances
Authors: Amer T. S. , El-Sabaa F. M. , Moatimid Galal M. , Zakria S. K. , Galal A. A.
Published: January 2024

Purpose

In the current work, the motion of a three degrees-of-freedom (DOF) dynamical system as a vibrating model is examined. The proposed system is of high importance in vibration engineering applications, such as the analysis of the control of flexible arm robotics, flexible arm vibrational motion as a dynamic system, pump compressors, transportation devices, rotor dynamics, shipboard cranes, and human or walking analysis robotics.

Methods

Lagrange's equations (LE) are used to derive the equations of motion of the controlling system. The analytic solutions (AS) are obtained utilizing the multiple-scales method (MSM) up to the third order.

Results

The framework for removing secular terms provides the requirements for the solvability of this problem. Various resonance scenarios are categorized and the modulation equations (ME) are constructed. To graphically demonstrate the beneficial impacts of the distinct parameters of the problem, the time histories (TH) of the approximate solutions as well as the resonance curves (RC) are depicted. The Runge-Kutta algorithm (RKA) is employed to obtain the numerical solutions (NS) of the regulating system.

Conclusion

A comparison of the AS and NS reveals the accuracy of the perturbation approach. The stability/instability zones are studied using Routh-Hurwitz criteria (RHC), and then they are examined using a steady-state situation. Basically, the used perturbation method is considered a traditional method that is applied to solve a new dynamical system. Then, the achieved results are considered new because they weren’t obtained previously, which indicates the novelty of this work.