bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Terahertz Nanoimaging of the Defects Evolution in Vapor‐Deposited Perovskites Thin‐Film Solar Cell
Authors: Wu Zongwang , Wang Yu , Dai Mingcong , Lin Dongxu , Cai Jiahua , Wu Xiaojun , Liu Pengyi , Xie Weiguang
Published: December 2023

Defect passivation is a challenging issue in vapor‐deposited perovskite solar cells. Herein, the molten salts vapor deposition of FAPbI3 thin‐film solar cell by RbCl and PbI2 is reported. It is found that the introduction of RbCl suppresses the generation of uncoordinated Pb atom, and improves the power conversion efficiency (PCE) to 20.16% with improved stability. Terahertz scattering‐type scanning near‐filed optical microscopy (THz s‐SNOM) technique reveals that randomly distributed defects on the control sample is passivated in the Rb‐passivated sample, with only a few restricted in the grain boundaries (GBs). In situ imaging of the accelerated degradation reveals a reverse defect generation behavior on the grains before the phase transition. In the results, it is helped to understand the passivation mechanism on the vapor‐deposited solar cells, and THz s‐SNOM is revealed as a powerful technique for nanoscale investigation in perovskite devices.
A cloud‐edge service offloading method for the metaverse in smart manufacturing
Authors: Xiang Haolong , Zhang Xuyun , Bilal Muhammad
Published: December 2023

With the development of artificial intelligence, cloud‐edge computing and virtual reality, the industrial design that originally depends on human imagination and computing power can be transitioned to metaverse applications in smart manufacturing, which offloads the services of metaverse to cloud and edge platforms for enhancing quality of service (QoS), considering inadequate computing power of terminal devices like industrial sensors and access points (APs). However, large overhead and privacy exposure occur during data transmission to cloud, while edge computing devices (ECDs) are at risk of overloading with redundant service requests and difficult central control. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a minority game (MG) based cloud‐edge service offloading method named COM for metaverse manufacturing. Technically, MG possesses a distribution mechanism that can minimize reliance on centralized control, and gains its effectiveness in resource allocation. Besides, a dynamic control of cut‐off value is supplemented on the basis of MG for better adaptability to network variations. Then, agents in COM (i.e., APs) leverage reinforcement learning (RL) to work on MG history, offloading decision, QoS mapping to state, action and reward, for further optimizing distributed offloading decision‐making. Finally, COM is evaluated using a variety of real‐world datasets of manufacturing. The results indicate that COM has 5.38% higher QoS and 8.58% higher privacy level comparing to benchmark method.
Chaos and DNA coding technique for image cryptography
Authors: Pradhan Grishan , Dawadi Babu R. , Chaulagain Abiral , Joshi Anish Lal , Vaidya Prajal Govinda
Published: December 2023

In today's cybersphere, cryptography plays a vital role in various fields. Image encryption is an integral part for securing information because of its vast application areas such as military (defense), multimedia, healthcare and so forth. In this article, an image encryption algorithm for both grayscale and color image is proposed based on Tangential Delay‐Ellipse Reflecting Curve System (TD‐ERCS) chaotic map system and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) coding. Chaotic map is used to scramble the pixel positions; to achieve confusion and for creation of mask image, and DNA coding is used for changing the pixel values; to achieve diffusion. Upon experimental analysis, proposed work achieved significantly high mean square error and low peak signal to noise ratio, almost zero correlation, high number of pixel change rate and unified averaged changed intensity values, and resistance to noise and data loss attacks. In addition, the decryption is possible without loss in quality of image.
Floating column mechanism experimental investigation in historic timber buildings subjected to decay for seismic resilience
Authors: Chen Lingkun , Zhai Chencheng , Chen Qizhi , Hu Xiaolun , Wu Teng , Zhu Liming , Huang Xiaoming
Published: December 2023

Traditional wooden structures are characterized by the presence of a column base that seems to be floated above the foundation stone. This study used pseudo‐static experiments to assess the seismic performance of flat pendulum floating resting columns, focusing on the decay and repair of the wood frame (WF). First, an artificial method was used to simulate fungal decay damage of column‐foot joints, and filling reinforcement was applied to the decayed column‐foot joints, and second, according to the design method in the Sung dynasty architecture, the Ying‐tsaofa‐shih (building standards). This study presents the findings of pseudo‐static tests that were conducted at Yangzhou University. Three 1:3.52 scaled specimen WFs with flat‐pendulum‐floating‐shelf (FPFS)‐typed (Ping‐bai‐fu‐ge) columns, i.e., non‐damaged WF (named after NT), considering the damaged WF (named after DF) and strengthening damaged WF (named after DR) with one‐way straight mortise‐tenon joints (OWSMT) joints were made and subjected to cyclic lateral loads during testing. The properties of the WFs with FPFS columns, such as the failure mode, hysteretic and envelope curves, strength and stiffness deterioration, and energy dissipation, have been studied. Finally, the effects of additional damage and reinforcement measures on the seismic performance of WFs are analyzed and compared with the finite element numerical simulation results. This research shows that damage to the column foot decreases the WF's seismic performance, although filler reinforcement may increase it. The foot and mortise joints are interconnected and interact in the wood frame's seismic stressing mechanism. Foot decay reduces the seismic performance of the foot joint, hence increasing the seismic energy dissipation activity of the mortise joints.
RETRACTED: USP14 promotes the proliferation of cervical cancer via upregulating β‐catenin
Authors: Song Han , Qiu Junjun , Hua Keqin
Published: December 2023

In recent years, the ubiquitin–proteasome system (UPS) has become a hot spot in medical research in cervical cancer (CC) and has received extensive attention. Among them, ubiquitin‐specific protease 14 (USP14) is involved in a wide variety of typical cell signaling pathways and is recognized to be involved in the progression of most known tumors. However, the expression and significance of USP14 in CC have not been directly studied. Through database analysis, we found that USP14 was overexpressed in CC, which influenced the FIGO stage and prognosis of CC patients, and it was positively correlated with the expression level of β‐catenin. In this study, USP14 promoted the G1‐S phase transition of Hela and Siha cells and inhibited cell apoptosis, thereby promoting the proliferation, migration, and invasion of CC cells. In addition, USP14 also significantly promoted the growth of subcutaneous tumor in nude mice. We also found that overexpression of USP14 significantly upregulated β‐catenin expression and increased the activity of Wnt/β‐catenin signaling pathway. While knockdown of USP14 resulted in the opposite. These results suggest that USP14 may promote the proliferation of CC by up‐regulating the expression of β‐catenin, contributing to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of CC and providing a potential therapeutic target.
Toxicity assessment of a tebuconazole‐based fungicide on the embryo‐larval development of the common south American toad Rhinella arenarum
Authors: Acquaroni Mercedes , Cresto Florencia Nuñez , Pérez Coll Cristina , Svartz Gabriela
Published: December 2023

Agrochemicals cause diverse effects on aquatic communities, and amphibian species are particularly threatened due the high susceptibility to contamination. Present study evaluates the toxicity of a widely used fungicide tebuconazole (Trigal®) by the assessment of mortality and developmental alterations at acute, subchronic, and chronic exposure during the embryo‐larval development of the South American toad Rhinella arenarum. Also, the sensitivity of the different embryonic stages was evaluated with 24‐h pulse exposure treatments. The results demonstrated that larvae were more sensitive than embryos at acute exposure (LC50‐24 and 96 h = 74.62, 31.92 mg/L and 24.27, 16.81 mg/L for embryos and larvae, respectively). Nevertheless, embryos toxicity increased significantly achieving a sensitivity very similar to larvae at chronic exposure (LC50‐168 and 504 h = 13.31, 4.35 mg/L and 14.47, 6.83 mg/L for embryos and larvae, respectively). Embryos exhibited several sublethal effects from 5 mg/L at 96 h onwards, such as delayed development, reduce body size, edemas, tail/axial flexures, weakness, and absence of movements. The teratogenic index at 96 h was 10.13, indicating the severe teratogenic potential of the fungicide. 24‐h pulse exposure treatments showed an increased sensitivity in intermediate stages as S.11, S.18, S20, and S.23 (NOEC‐96 h = 100, 200, 75, and 20 mg/L, respectively), while stage S.25 was the most sensitive to the fungicide (NOEC‐96 h = 5 mg/L). About metamorphic process, tebuconazole caused an acceleration of metamorphosis at the lowest concentration (0.001 mg/L), but also an increase in mortality and in addition, significant differences in the weight in all treatments. The results obtained throughout this work indicate that tebuconazole cause several adverse effects in Rhinella arenarum embryo‐larval development.
The Institutionalization of the Social Sciences in Mexico 1930–1959
Authors: Zabludovsky Gina
Published: December 2023

The first decade of this time period was characterized by the central importance of Lazaro Cardenas’s presidency (1934–1940), including his reforms that sought to promote equality in land ownership in the countryside and his support for the immigration of Spanish republicans, which would have an important intellectual influence in the development of social sciences and humanities in Mexico. The second decade, during the presidential periods of Avila Camacho (1940–1946) and Miguel Aleman (1946–1952) saw economic policies that promoted the industrialization and urbanization of the country, which was often described as the “Mexican Miracle.” Sociology went through an institutionalization process with the founding of research institutions, editorial houses, specialized journals, and bachelor’s programs.
Narbenhernien: minimalinvasive Operationsverfahren
Authors: Baur Johannes , Meir Michael
Published: December 2023

Hintergrund

In den letzten Jahren wurde eine Vielzahl neuer Operationstechniken zur minimalinvasiven Versorgung ventraler Hernien entwickelt und vorgestellt. In dieser Übersichtsarbeit werden diese minimalinvasiven Operationstechniken wie eTEP („extended totally extraperitoneal“), MILOS („mini or less open sublay“), ELAR (endoskopisch assistierte Linea-alba-Rekonstruktion), ventrale TAPP (transabdominelle präperitoneale Patch-Technik), IPOM (intraperitoneales Onlay-Mesh) Plus und LIRA (laparoskopische intrakorporale Rektusaponeuroplastie) vorgestellt und die hierzu relevanten bislang publizierten Ergebnisse präsentiert.

Ergebnisse

Moderne minimalinvasive Techniken zur Behandlung ventraler Hernien bergen das Potenzial einer Reduktion von Wundinfektionen, geringerer postoperativer Schmerzen und einer kürzeren Krankenhausverweildauer im Vergleich zu den klassischen Hernienoperationen. Insbesondere Techniken mit retromuskulärer Netzposition sind aufgrund der Präparation in engen Räumen und aufgrund schwierig durchzuführender endoskopischer Nähte technisch anspruchsvoll und erfordern fundierte Kenntnisse der Anatomie der Bauchwand. Vor allem die Versorgung größerer Hernien sollte daher nur unter der Voraussetzung ausreichender Erfahrung und Fallzahl erfolgen.

Schlussfolgerung

Die neuen, endoskopischen bzw. endoskopisch assistieren Verfahren zur Versorgung ventraler Hernien ermöglichen dem laparoskopisch erfahrenen Chirurgen, primäre und sekundäre ventrale Hernien minimal-invasiv zu versorgen.
Effect of thermal modification of wood particles for wood-PLA composites on properties of filaments, 3D-printed parts and injection moulded parts
Authors: Krapež Tomec Daša , Schwarzkopf Matthew , Repič Rožle , Žigon Jure , Gospodarič Bojan , Kariž Mirko
Published: December 2023

This paper describes the development and characterisation of wood-filled polylactic acid (PLA) composite filaments for application in fused filament fabrication three-dimensional (3D) printing. Four different wood-polymer composite filaments for 3D printing were prepared, and specimens were 3D-printed with the obtained materials. The composite filaments consisted of wood particles (10% or 20% mass ratio) and a PLA polymer matrix. Wood particles were prepared by grinding and sieving non-modified beech wood and thermally modified (TM) (at 200 °C) beech wood. Thermal modification of wood affected particle preparation and smaller particles with lower aspect ratios were obtained. Filaments with TM wood particles were extruded better than with non-modified wood particles, with lower surface roughness and lower porosity. With a higher wood ratio, the surface roughness and porosity of the filament increased. Non-homogenous filaments also affected extrusion in 3D printing and reduced the properties of 3D-printed parts. Parts 3D-printed from filaments with TM particles had better tensile strength than from filaments with non-modified particles, but were lower than from pure PLA filaments. The tensile strength of the injection-moulded specimens was 18–69% higher than that of the 3D-printed specimens, depending on the filament composition. The results indicate some positive effects of thermal modification of wood particles on the properties of filaments and 3D-printed parts. Nevertheless, further optimisation of particle preparation and extrusion parameters is needed to obtain quality filaments with this size of wood particles.
Microstructure and selected properties of the solution heat-treated MAR-M247 Ni-based superalloy fabricated via directional solidification
Authors: Rakoczy Łukasz , Grudzień-Rakoczy Małgorzata , Cygan Rafał , Kargul Tomasz , Zielińska-Lipiec Anna
Published: December 2023

This work focuses on MAR-M247 Ni-based superalloy manufactured via directional solidification at various withdrawal rates (3.4 or 5.0 mm/min) and shell mold temperatures (1510 °C or 1566 °C) after solution heat-treatment (SHT). Observations and analyses of four casting variants were carried out using thermodynamic simulations, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and tensile tests at ambient temperature. The solidus and liquidus temperatures were very similar for all variants and were in the range of 1263–1264 °C and 1356–1359 °C, respectively. The presence of the γ, γ′, MC carbides, and M5B3 phases was confirmed. Microstructure differences were observed depending on the manufacturing parameters. The castings’ dendritic regions consisted of γ′ precipitates surrounded by the matrix, with a mean size ranging from 0.203 to 0.250 μm, depending on the casting parameters. The amount of the MC carbides in the interdendritic spaces was in the range of 1.87–1.92%. The tensile tests determined that castings produced with preheat temperature of 1566 °C were characterized by higher elongation and slightly lower yield strength in comparison to 1510 °C.
Altering Escherichia coli envelope integrity by mimicking the lipoprotein RcsF
Authors: TagElDein Moustafa A. , Mohamed Noha G. , Shahein Yasser E. , Ziko Laila , Hussein Nahla A.
Published: December 2023

Escherichia coli cell envelope is crucial for stress sensing and signal transduction, mediated by numerous protein–protein interactions to enable adaptation and survival. Interfering with these interactions might affect envelope integrity leading to bacterial death. The outer membrane lipoprotein (RcsF) is the stress sensor of the regulator of capsule synthesis (Rcs) phosphorelay that senses envelope threats. RcsF interacts with two essential proteins, IgaA (repressing the Rcs system) and BamA (inserting β-barrel proteins in the outer membrane). Disturbing RcsF interactions may alter Rcs signaling and/or membrane integrity thus affecting bacterial survival. Here, we derived the sequence of a peptide mimicking RcsF (RcsFmim), based on the in silico docking of RcsF with IgaA. Expression of rcsFmim caused 3-to-4-fold activation of the Rcs system and perturbation of the outer membrane. Both effects result in decreased E. coli growth rate. We anticipate that RcsFmim present a candidate for future antibacterial peptide development.
Robust signal dimension estimation via SURE
Authors: Virta Joni , Lietzén Niko , Nyberg Henri
Published: December 2023

The estimation of signal dimension under heavy-tailed latent variable models is studied. As a primary contribution, robust extensions of an earlier estimator based on Gaussian Stein’s unbiased risk estimation are proposed. These novel extensions are based on the framework of elliptical distributions and robust scatter matrices. Extensive simulation studies are conducted in order to compare the novel methods with several well-known competitors in both estimation accuracy and computational speed. The novel methods are applied to a financial asset return data set.
Ventral and dorsal aspects of the inferior frontal-occipital fasciculus support verbal semantic access and visually-guided behavioural control
Authors: Gonzalez Alam Tirso R. J. , Cruz Arias Juan , Jefferies Elizabeth , Smallwood Jonathan , Leemans Alexander , Marino Davolos Julian
Published: December 2023

The Inferior Frontal Occipital Fasciculus (IFOF) is a major anterior-to-posterior white matter pathway in the ventral human brain that connects parietal, temporal and occipital regions to frontal cortex. It has been implicated in a range of functions, including language, semantics, inhibition and the control of action. The recent research shows that the IFOF can be sub-divided into a ventral and dorsal branch, but the functional relevance of this distinction, as well as any potential hemispheric differences, are poorly understood. Using DTI tractography, we investigated the involvement of dorsal and ventral subdivisions of the IFOF in the left and right hemisphere in a response inhibition task (Go/No-Go), where the decision to respond or to withhold a prepotent response was made on the basis of semantic or non-semantic aspects of visual inputs. The task also varied the presentation modality (whether concepts were presented as written words or images). The results showed that the integrity of both dorsal and ventral IFOF in the left hemisphere were associated with participants’ inhibition performance when the signal to stop was meaningful and presented in the verbal modality. This effect was absent in the right hemisphere. The integrity of dorsal IFOF was also associated with participants’ inhibition efficiency in difficult perceptually guided decisions. This pattern of results indicates that left dorsal IFOF is implicated in the domain-general control of visually-guided behaviour, while the left ventral branch might interface with the semantic system to support the control of action when the inhibitory signal is based on meaning.
Twelve weeks of physical exercise breaks with coordinative exercises at the workplace increase the sulcal depth and decrease gray matter volume in brain structures related to visuomotor processes
Authors: Scharf Carina , Koschutnig Karl , Zussner Thomas , Fink Andreas , Tilp Markus
Published: December 2023

Physical exercise can evoke changes in the brain structure. Consequently, these can lead to positive impacts on brain health. However, physical exercise studies including coordinative exercises are rare. Therefore, in this study, we investigated how 12 weeks of physical exercise breaks (PEBs) with coordinative exercises, focusing mainly on juggling tasks, affected the brain structure. The participants were randomly allocated to an intervention group (IG, n = 16; 42.8 ± 10.2 years) and a control group (CG, n = 9; 44.2 ± 12.3 years). The IG performed the PEBs with coordinative exercises twice per week for 15–20 min per session. Before the intervention, after 6 weeks of the intervention, and after 12 weeks of the intervention, participants underwent a high-resolution 3T T1-weighted magnetic resonance imagining scan. Juggling performance was assessed by measuring the time taken to perform a three-ball cascade. A surface-based analysis revealed an increase in vertex-wise cortical depth in a cluster including the inferior parietal lobe after 6 and 12 weeks of training in the IG. After 12 weeks, the IG showed a decrease in gray matter (GM) volume in a cluster primarily involving the right insula and the right operculum. The changes in the GM volume were related to improvements in juggling performance. No significant changes were found for the CG. To conclude, the present study showed that regular engagement in PEBs with coordinative exercises led to changes in brain structures strongly implicated in visuomotor processes involving hand and arm movements.
Simulation of fracture in vascular tissue: coupling a continuum damage formulation with an embedded representation of fracture
Authors: Miller Christopher , Gasser T. Christian
Published: December 2023

The fracture of vascular tissue, and load-bearing soft tissue in general, is relevant to various biomechanical and clinical applications, from the study of traumatic injury and disease to the design of medical devices and the optimisation of patient treatment outcomes. The fundamental mechanisms associated with the inception and development of damage, leading to tissue failure, have yet to be wholly understood. We present the novel coupling of a microstructurally motivated continuum damage model that incorporates the time-dependent interfibrillar failure of the collagenous matrix with an embedded phenomenological representation of the fracture surface. Tissue separation is therefore accounted for through the integration of the cohesive crack concept within the partition of unity finite element method. A transversely isotropic cohesive potential per unit undeformed area is introduced that comprises a rate-dependent evolution of damage and accounts for mixed-mode failure. Importantly, a novel crack initialisation procedure is detailed that identifies the occurrence of localised deformation in the continuum material and the orientation of the inserted discontinuity. Proof of principle is demonstrated by the application of the computational framework to two representative numerical simulations, illustrating the robustness and versatility of the formulation.
Effects of communication delay in the dual cockpit remote robotic surgery system
Authors: Takahashi Yoshiya , Hakamada Kenichi , Morohashi Hajime , Wakasa Yusuke , Fujita Hiroaki , Ebihara Yuma , Oki Eiji , Hirano Satoshi , Mori Masaki
Published: December 2023

Purpose

To evaluate the impact of dual cockpit telesurgery on proctors and operators, and acceptable levels of processing delay for video compression and restoration.

Methods

Eight medical advisors and eight trainee surgeons, one highly skilled per group, performed gastrectomy, rectal resection, cholecystectomy, and bleeding tasks on pigs. Using the Medicaroid surgical robot hinotori™, simulated delay times (0 ms, 50 ms, 100 ms, 150 ms, and 200 ms) were inserted mid-surgery to evaluate the tolerance level. Operative times and dual cockpit switching times were measured subjectively using 5-point scale questionnaires (mSUS [modified System Usability Scale], and Robot Usability Score).

Results

No significant difference was observed in operative times between proctors and operators (proctor: p = 0.247, operator: p = 0.608) nor in switching times to the dual cockpit mode (p = 0.248). For each survey setting, proctors tended to give lower ratings to delays of ≥ 150 ms. No marked difference was observed in the operator evaluations. On the postoperative questionnaires, there were no marked differences in the mSUS or Robot Usability Score between the proctors and operators (mSUS: p = 0.779, Robot Usability Score: p = 0.261).

Conclusion

Telesurgery using a dual cockpit with hinotori™ is practical and has little impact on surgical procedures.
Ascending with ultrasound: telementored eFAST in flight—a feasibility study
Authors: Engelsen Peder Christian , Heyerdahl Fridtjof , Maddali Dharani Dhar , Akhavi Mehdi Sadat , Undseth Ragnhild Marie , Elle Ole Jakob , Brun Henrik
Published: December 2023

Purpose

Teleultrasound uses telecommunication technologies to transmit ultrasound images from a remote location to an expert who guides the acquisition of images and interprets them in real time. Multiple studies have demonstrated the feasibility of teleultrasound. However, its application during helicopter flight using long-term evolution (LTE) for streaming has not been studied. Therefore, we conducted a study to examine the feasibility of teleultrasound in an Airbus H145 helicopter.

Methods

Four anesthesiologists and one military physician were recruited to perform telementored extended Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma (eFAST) during nine helicopter flights, each with a unique healthy volunteer. A radiologist was recruited as a remote expert, guiding the physicians in their examinations. The examining physicians reported the user experience of telementored eFAST on a questionnaire, while the remote expert rated the diagnostic quality of the images on a 1–5 Likert scale. In addition, we measured the duration of the examinations and key LTE network parameters including signal strength, quality, and continuity.

Results

The images were rated to an average of 4.9 by the remote expert, corresponding to good diagnostic quality. The average duration of telementored eFAST was 05:54 min. LTE coverage was negatively affected by proximity to urban areas and ceased above 2000 ft altitude. Occasional audio problems were addressed by using the Voice over LTE network for communication. The examining physicians unanimously reported on the questionnaire that they would use telementored eFAST on patients.

Conclusion

Telementored eFAST is feasible in ambulance helicopters and can produce images of good diagnostic quality. However, it relies on stable LTE coverage, which is influenced by many factors, including the helicopter’s altitude and flight path. Furthermore, its benefit on patient outcomes remains to be proven.

Graphical abstract
Patient-reported experience is associated with higher future revenue and lower costs of hospitals
Authors: Giese Alice , Khanam Rasheda , Nghiem Son , Rosemann Thomas , Havranek Michael M.
Published: December 2023

Background

Despite the established positive association between patient experience and patient volume, the relationship between patient experience and the financial performance of hospitals has not been studied thoroughly.

Methods

To investigate this relationship, we used longitudinal data from 132 Swiss acute-care hospitals from 2016 to 2019 to examine the associations between patient experience and the proportion of elective patients, revenue, costs, and profits of hospitals. To account for a potential time lag effect, we utilized annual patient experience data and employed multilevel mixed-effects regression modeling to investigate its association with the aforementioned financial performance indicators for the following year.

Results

Data for private and public hospitals were analyzed both separately and in combination, to account for the different proportions of elective patients in these types of hospitals. The resulting mixed models, revealed that for each year studied, the previous year’s patient experience was positively associated with the current year’s proportion of elective patients (β = 0.09, p = 0.004, all hospitals) and revenue (β = 1789.83, p = 0.037, private hospitals only), and negatively associated with costs (β =  − 1191.13, p = 0.017, all hospitals); but not significantly associated with future profits (β = 629.12, p = 0.240, all hospitals).

Conclusions

This analysis showed that better patient experience is associated with a higher proportion of elective patients, greater revenue, and lower costs. Our findings may assist hospital managers and regulators in identifying strategies to increase revenue and reduce costs.
Effects of formative assessment on intrinsic motivation in primary school mathematics instruction
Authors: Aust Larissa , Schütze Birgit , Hochweber Jan , Souvignier Elmar
Published: December 2023

Empirical studies on effects of formative assessment (FA) on motivational outcomes and underlying mechanisms are scarce. The core elements of FA, feedback and adaptive teaching behavior, might be helpful in promoting the experience of competence, which in turn is a prerequisite for promoting intrinsic motivation. However, instructional impact also depends on the students’ perception of teacher behavior. Therefore, this study (N = 27 teachers and 613 students) aimed to test whether FA has a positive effect on intrinsic motivation mediated by students’ perceived competence support (PCS). In a three-group design, two versions of FA were compared with a control group. In both versions of FA, teachers used a tool for learning progress assessment (LPA), while in one version, teachers received a combination of LPA and additional support consisting of materials for feedback and adaptive instruction (LPA+). A path model for half-longitudinal designs was estimated. Results support the motivational effect of FA. LPA and LPA+ both positively influence students’ PCS which is in turn associated with higher intrinsic motivation. A small indirect effect on intrinsic motivation mediated by PCS was shown for both intervention groups, which was only significant for LPA. For LPA+, higher-performing students particularly benefitted from the intervention. Teachers’ use of FA practices can foster students’ PCS which seems to be a promising way in motivation-enhancing teaching.
Seismic response of bridges employing knowledge-enhanced neural networks for the lumped plasticity modelling of RC piers
Authors: Liu Zhenliang , Guo Anxin , Zhao Cunbao , Sextos Anastasios
Published: December 2023

To facilitate seismic analysis of bridges, especially on a regional scale, this study established a parametric finite element model of bridges incorporating simplified component elements. It employs a knowledge-enhanced neural network (KENN) to calibrate the parameters of the lumped plasticity model of pier columns. Along with a database of historical experimental results, the influence of the key characteristics of reinforced concrete columns on model parameters are investigated and formulated as physical laws to supervise KENN training. The developed KENN model was then developed, yielding root mean square errors within the range of [0.027, 0.209]. These errors are slightly larger than those of the purely data-driven neural network, yet the KENN model aligns more consistently with the physical principles. Further, to demonstrate its accuracy and efficiency, the proposed methodology was applied for the rapid seismic response analysis of typical bridges.
When MIPVU goes to no man’s land: a new language resource for hybrid, morpheme-based metaphor identification in Hungarian
Authors: Simon Gábor , Bajzát Tímea , Ballagó Júlia , Havasi Zsuzsanna , Molnár Emese K. , Szlávich Eszter
Published: December 2023

The aim of the article is to present a new language resource for metaphor analysis in corpora that is (i) a MIPVU-inspired, morpheme-based process for identifying metaphor in Hungarian and (ii) the refinement and innovative version of metaphor identification extending the scope of the process to multi-word expressions. The elaboration of language-specific protocols in metaphor identification has become one of the central endeavors in contemporary cross-linguistic research on metaphor, but there is a gap in the field regarding languages with rich morphology, especially in the case of Hungarian. To fill this gap, we developed a hybrid, morpheme-based version of the original method, which can handle morphologically complex metaphorical expressions. Additional innovations of our protocol are the measurement and tagging of idiomaticity in metaphors based on collocation analysis and the identification of semantic relationships between the components of metaphorical expressions. The present paper discusses both the theoretical motivation and the practical details of the adapted method for metaphor identification. As a conclusion, the presented protocol can provide new answers to the questions of metaphor identification in languages with rich morphology and shed new light on the internal semantic organization of linguistic metaphors.
Evaluating the quality of UNESCO World Heritage List: a comparison with the Baedeker’s guidebooks
Authors: Dattilo Martina , Padovano Fabio
Published: December 2023

This study verifies whether the number of criteria of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) satisfied by a site in the UNESCO World Heritage List (WHL) can be considered as an ordinal measure of its quality against the alternative hypotheses that: a) quality can be measured just dichotomously, by inclusion in the WHL); b) the multiplicity of existing OUV is just meant to capture alternative aesthetic criteria expressed by different cultures. This issue is important for both scientific and policy reasons. To avoid problems of endogeneity and reverse causality, we examine the correlation between the number of satisfied criteria and the evaluation of the site’s quality made by an authoritative travel guidebook that pre-existed UNESCO, the Baedeker’s guide of the early twentieth century. Exploiting a newly assembled dataset on 234 UNESCO World Heritage Sites (WHS) in 10 European countries from 11 Baedeker’s guidebooks, from 1899 to 1911, we proxy the Baedeker’s evaluations of quality by four measures: (1) total number of citations of the site; (2) weighted number of citations; (3) average length of the paragraphs with at least one citation; and (4) sentiment expressed in the text. All these measures appear positively and significantly correlated with the number of UNESCO criteria that the site satisfies, using a variety of strategies and robustness checks, confirming that they are an informative ordinal proxy for the quality of UNESCO WHS. Moreover, this analysis brings evidence to bear on the debate about the formation and persistence of UNESCO experts’ evaluations over time.
LncRNA HOTAIR down-expression inhibits the invasion and tumorigenicity of epithelial ovarian cancer cells by suppressing TGF-β1 and ZEB1
Authors: Zhou Yufu , Zhang Yunjie , Shao Yidan , Yue Xiaoli , Chu Yifan , Yang Cuiping , Chen Dengyu
Published: December 2023

Background

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is a pathological type with a higher mortality rate among gynecological cancers today. Long-chain noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) can regulate the transcription and expression of cellular genes. However, the downstream molecules regulated by lncRNA HOTAIR have not been well studied. The effects of downregulated lncRNA HOTAIR on EOC invasiveness and tumorigenicity in nude mice, along with TGF- β1 and ZEB1 in epithelial ovarian cancer cells, need to be investigated in further research.

Results

RT-qPCR was used to detect lncRNA HOTAIR and TGF-β1 and ZEB1 mRNA expression in EOC SKOV3 cells. The expression of lncRNA HOTAIR in SKOV3 cells transfected with the recombinant shHOTAIR interference plasmid was significantly lower than that of the negative control. Compared with the negative control, the matrix gel invasion ability of shHOTAIR SKOV3 cells in vitro and their tumorigenicity in nude mice were significantly reduced. Moreover, compared with the control, the expression of ZEB1 protein in shHOTAIR-SKOV3 xenograft tumors was significantly reduced. Downregulation of lncRNA HOTAIR expression significantly reduced TGF-β1 and ZEB1 mRNA expression, but increased the expression of E-cadherin mRNA. In summary, downregulated lncRNA HOTAIR in EOC SKOV3 cells transfected with shHOTAIR can inhibit TGF-β1, reduce ZEB1, increase E-cadherin, and significantly reduce the invasiveness and tumorigenicity of ovarian epithelial cancer SKOV3 cells.

Conclusions

These results suggest that the lncRNA HOTAIR may be an effective target for the treatment of human EOC.
Valorization of baobab seeds (Adansonia digitata) as a coffee-like beverage: evaluation of roasting time on bioactive compounds
Authors: Marcolino Etivaldo , Salavarria Diogo , da Silva Luíz Guilherme Malaquias , Almeida Adelaide , Oliveira da Silva Flávia Matias , Ribeiro Carlos , Dias João
Published: December 2023

The baobab tree (Adansonia digitata) can be found in sub-Saharan Africa, and its fruit presents high nutritional value. However, baobab seeds are often discarded and their potential remains underutilized. This study aimed to investigate the effect of roasting time (30/55/80/105 min at 200 °C) on the physical–chemical properties of baobab seeds and the bioactive compounds in a coffee-like beverage. The results showed a decrease in moisture, Aw (water activity), and hardness of baobab seeds with increasing roasting time. These changes resulted from moisture loss, caramelization, and Maillard reactions, which also affected appearance when compared with unroasted baobab seeds. The pH of the beverage decreased to a value of around 6.01 after 105 min of roasting. The total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of the beverage increased with roasting time, reaching 851.2 mg GAE/100 g (after 80 min) and 18.9 mmol Fe2+/100 g (after 55 min), respectively. The caffeine content remained stable around 16 mg/100 g from 55 to 105 min, lower than that of unroasted coffee beans and decaffeinated coffee. These findings suggest the potential for valorizing baobab seeds in the development of a new coffee-like beverage with lower caffeine content.
Rapid and efficient inactivation of viruses in seawater by LIG electrodes
Authors: Zhang Ju , Gu Guoqian , Liu Congnuan , Marques Ana Rita , Go Yun Young , St-Hilaire Sophie
Published: December 2023

Water-borne viral diseases are a significant concern for public health. In particular, they threaten the health of people and animals in countries that lack proper water treatment facilities. Novel water treatment technology may efficiently improve water quality and prevent the spread of waterborne viral pathogens. Laser-induced graphene (LIG) has been shown to inactivate viruses and bacteria with its photothermal properties, electrochemical reaction, and rough surface texture. However, LIG's activity to prevent virus transmission via contaminated water has not been fully explored. Here, we demonstrated that enveloped and non-enveloped viruses in seawater could be rapidly inactivated by LIG technology. After being activated by 3 V of electricity, the LIG electrodes inactivated both types of viruses spiked in water within 30 min. In addition, the electrolyzed seawater exhibited virucidal effects even after the cessation of the electrical charge. The generation of different oxidants, such as chlorine, chlorine dioxide, and hydrogen peroxide, may play an essential role in the antiviral mechanism of the LIG electrodes. Furthermore, after 10 min of electrolysis, the pH of the seawater dropped from approximately 8–5, which may also have contributed to the virucidal effects of the LIG technology. The virucidal activity of LIG technology highlighted its potential for preventing the spread of viral infections via seawater systems which may have public health implications in areas where seawater is used in the sewage system. It may also have applications in aquaculture, where viral diseases do not have treatments and can cause high fish mortality.
Prediction of white spot disease susceptibility in shrimps using decision trees based machine learning models
Authors: Tuyen Tran Thi , Al-Ansari Nadhir , Nguyen Dam Duc , Le Hai Minh , Phan Thi Nga Quynh , Prakash Indra , Costache Romulus , Pham Binh Thai
Published: December 2023

Recently, the spread of white spot disease in shrimps has a major impact on the aquaculture activity worldwide affecting the economy of the countries, especially South-East Asian countries like Vietnam. This deadly disease in shrimps is caused by the White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV). Researchers are trying to understand the spread and control of this disease by doing field and laboratory studies considering effect of environmental conditions on shrimps affected by WSSV. Generally, they have not considered spatial factors in their study. Therefore, in the present study, we have used spatial (distances to roads and factories) as well as physio-chemical factors of water: Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Salinity, NO3, P3O4 and pH, for developing WSSV susceptibility maps of the area using Decision Tree (DT)-based Machine Learning (ML) models namely Random Tree (RT), Extra Tree (ET), and J48. Model’s performance was evaluated using standard statistical measures including Area Under the Curve (AUC). The results indicated that ET model has the highest accuracy (AUC: 0.713) in predicting disease susceptibility in comparison to other two models (RT: 0.701 and J48: 0.641). The WSSV susceptibility maps developed by the ML technique, using DT (ET) method, will help decision makers in better planning and control of spatial spread of WSSV disease in shrimps.
Discourse developments within the public agenda on Danish nature management 2016–2021: Animal welfare ethics as a barrier to rewilding projects
Authors: Christensen Roland Vestergaard Kragh , Bentsen Niclas Scott
Published: December 2023

Prompted by the increasing public focus on environmental policy and the continuous inability of States to reach environmental targets agreed upon in the context of the United Nations and the European Union, we explore the development of discourses within the Danish public agenda regarding nature management 2016–2021. This is done through a mixed-methods framework of discourse analysis and structural topic modeling based on documents from the Danish Parliament’s Environmental committee 2016–2021, estimating topic prevalence, and analyzing the discourses within each topic, resulting in a qualitative overview of 21 identified topics and their associated discourses and an overview of how the different topic proportions changed over time. A shift in the public agenda was found: a change from discussions about untouched forest focused on trade-offs between timber extraction and biodiversity, to a discussion about different understandings of animal welfare in the context of large grazers in nature national parks in Denmark.
Assessing the presence and motivations of orthorexia nervosa among athletes and adults with eating disorders: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Foyster Mandy , Sultan Nessmah , Tonkovic Matilda , Govus Andrew , Burton-Murray Helen , Tuck Caroline J. , Biesiekierski Jessica R.
Published: December 2023

Purpose

Orthorexia nervosa involves restricting diet based on quality rather than quantity. Although orthorexia is well reported in many at-risk populations, limited data addresses its presence in individuals with eating disorder history (EDs) or athletes. We aimed to identify the presence and potential drivers of orthorexia in adults with EDs and endurance athletes, compared to control subjects.

Methods

Participants ≥ 18y included: people with a diagnosed eating disorder (ED as per DSM-5); endurance athletes (training/competing ≥ 5 h/week); or control subjects. Participants (n = 197) completed an online survey assessing orthorexia (eating habits questionnaire, EHQ), eating motivations (TEMS-B) and compulsive exercise (CET).

Results

ED had the highest orthorexia symptom severity (92.0 ± 3.02, n = 32), followed by athletes (76.2 ± 2.74, n = 54) and controls (71.0 ± 1.80, n = 111) (F (2) = 18.2, p < 0.001). A strong positive correlation existed between weight control motives and higher orthorexia symptom severity (r = 0.54, 95% CI [1.35, 2.36], p < 0.001), while a weak negative association existed between Hunger and Pleasure motives and higher orthorexia symptom severity (r = 0.23, 95% CI [− 2.24, − 0.34], p = 0.008; r = 0.26, 95% CI [− 2.11, − 0.47], p = 0.002, respectively). A moderate positive relationship was found between CET and orthorexia symptom severity (95% CI [1.52, 3.12], p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Adults with ED history and endurance athletes have greater orthorexia symptom severity compared to control. Clinicians working with at-risk populations should screen patients and be aware of red-flags of orthorexic traits, desire to control weight, and compulsive exercise behavior.

Level of evidence

III: Evidence obtained from cohort studies.
On the unfinalizability and uncertainty of contemporary literature—an analysis of Mo Yan’s new novels
Authors: Liu Jiangkai , Chu Yunxia
Published: December 2023

Mo Yan, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2012, has published many new works of different genres since 2017, such as novels, poems, dramas, operas and even sketch stories, attracting a lot of attention and discussion. Although these new works are numerous, they are still characterized by exploration and transition. There is a phenomenon of “unfinalizability” in these new novels, which is characteristic of Mo Yan’s literary writings, such as the recurrence of the literary figure “Mo Yan”. Mo Yan has adopted many writing techniques in his new works to strengthen their concern and criticism of reality, such as reflecting society through focusing on individuals, close-up simple descriptions, typification of contemporary group mentality and a new “hit acupoint” illustration style. Moreover, his new novels present literary, realistic and even philosophical “uncertainty” through a method of life intuition. However, when we analyze Mo Yan’s new works in his whole writing lineage, we will realize the author’s loyalty to reality and art, and his works’ foreseeing power unconsciously becomes evident.
Interpreters as cultural experts? Asylum practices in Slovakia
Authors: Tužinská Helena
Published: December 2023

Cultural expertise can be a meaningful part of judicial proceedings, including asylum appeals. In countries where it is not yet common, the need to address questions of cultural identity might be communicated indirectly through interpreters. As a result, interpreters implicitly and explicitly respond to co-producing the Other. This paper uses empirical data from long-term ethnographic research on interpreting asylum hearings to trace their institutional conditions in Slovakia and the actors’ approaches to the culturally sensitive aspects of interpretation in these proceedings. The perspectives of asylum applicants, their legal representatives, interpreters and decision-making authorities are analysed through the concepts of sayability and interpretability—the relationship between representations of legal, cultural, and linguistic identities. This article discusses how the research participants’ norms of interpreting, awareness of positionality, and procedural neutrality influence the spoken and written file narrative. Legal terms and administrative jargon are often not translated into plain language, accessible to laypeople. The often unacknowledged misinterpretation also affects the flow of the proceedings. Thus, systemic training of interpreters is essential, particularly public service interpreters who actively shape their informal role as cultural experts. At a time of increased demand for cross-cultural understanding, this article provides new perspectives on exploring the challenges for interpreters as well as other public service professions in relation to the notions ascribed to cultural identities.