bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dielectric Junction: Electrostatic Design for Charge Carrier Collection in Solar Cells
Authors: Hüpkes Jürgen , Rau Uwe , Kirchartz Thomas
Published: November 2021

Conventional solar cells typically use doping of the involved semiconducting layers and work function differences between highly conductive contacts for the electrostatic design and the charge selectivity of the junction. In some halide perovskite solar cells, however, substantial variations in the permittivity of different organic and inorganic semiconducting layers strongly affect the electrostatic potential and thereby indirectly also the carrier concentrations, recombination rates, and eventually efficiencies of the device. Here, numerical simulations are used to study the implications of electrostatics on device performance for classical p−n junctions and p−i−n junctions, and for device geometries as observed in perovskite photovoltaics, where high‐permittivity absorber layers are surrounded by low‐permittivity and often also low‐conductivity charge transport layers. The key principle of device design in materials with sufficiently high mobilities that are still dominated by defect‐assisted recombination is the minimization of volume with similar densities of electrons and holes. In classical solar cells this is achieved by doping. For perovskites, the concept of a dielectric junction is proposed by the selection of charge transport layers with adapted permittivity if doping is not sufficient.
Dynamic Recrystallization Behavior of Low‐Carbon Steel during the Flexible Rolling Process: Modeling and Characterization
Authors: Liu Caiyi , Mapelli Carlo , Peng Yan , Barella Silvia , Liang Shicheng , Gruttadauria Andrea , Belfi Marco
Published: November 2021

Dynamic recrystallization (DRX) is the predominant softening mechanism under high‐temperature large‐plastic deformation and determines the microstructure evolution of steel. Herein, an equivalent substitution method is proposed to investigate the coupling effect of deformation conditions on microstructural evolution during the flexible rolling process. Low‐carbon steel is compressed using a Gleeble 3800‐GTC thermal–mechanical physical simulation system at temperatures ranging from 900 to 1100 °C and strain rates ranging from 0.01 to 10 s−1. The flow stress behaviors under different deformation conditions are discussed. Accordingly, the relationship between strain rate and temperature is established using the Zener–Hollomon equation. Further, a new DRX model is proposed by combining the theoretical implications of previous models. The effectiveness of the experimental model and predicted model is statistically evaluated to accurately determine the DRX volume fraction of the experimental steel. Based on the dynamic material model, a hot processing map of the experimental steel is also developed to evaluate the steel's hot workability. Finally, the microstructure of the experimental steel is analyzed under specific deformation parameters. The results demonstrate that DRX behavior decreases as the upper roller is raised and the lower roller is lowered during the flexible rolling process.
Influences of plasticizer molecular structure and content on flexural fatigue of soft poly(vinyl chloride)
Authors: Liu Haiyang , Chen Yanlu , Zhu Hui , Ma Yao , Lian Chengbo , Shi Xinyan
Published: November 2021

In this work, three plasticizers with different molecular structures were used to plasticize poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), and the influence of different plasticizers on the flexural fatigue properties of soft PVC was investigated. The plasticizer with the best plasticizing effect was selected, and five gradient dosages were set to study the optimal ratio of plasticizer and PVC. It was found that the glass transition temperature of samples with two phthalate plasticizers (DPHP, 1012P) was lower than that with trimellitate plasticizer (TM‐8). It has excellent low‐temperature mechanical properties and great flexural fatigue resistance. From the comparison of different plasticizer gradient formulations, the glass transition temperature, PVC plastisol viscosity, and melt strength decreased gradually with the increase of plasticizers. When PVC and plasticizer were 1:1 (PVC50P50), the plasticizing effect and the low‐temperature toughness of the sample were the best. The breaking energy (W) and fatigue cycles of Bally Flex at −20°C were 5173 J m−3 and 141 000, respectively. It was concluded that W and Bally Flex fatigue life have a good positive correlation n. Thus, tensile test can be simply used to predict Bally Flex fatigue life of samples.
New Energetic Metal‐Organic Framework (E‐MOF) based on a sodium(I)‐containing energetic metal salt incorporating guanidinium ions
Authors: Zhang Guofeng , Liu Yifei , Dong Zhen , Liu Yaxing , Li Haiyan , Ye Zhiwen
Published: November 2021

Since there is an inherent contradiction between high‐detonation properties and reliable safety (or stability) with energetic materials, E‐MOFs provide an entirely new approach to balancing these properties. To explore the effects of the combination of MOFs with energetic materials and to elucidate their structure‐property relationships, we report herein the development of a novel guanidiniume (CH6N3+)‐containing E‐MOF based on the ligand di(2′H‐[1,5′‐bitetrazol]‐5‐yl)amine (C4H3N17), which was crystallized with a central sodium ion. The resulting [(CH6N3+)5(Na(I)‐(C4N173)2)]n solid featured a density of 1.625 g cm−3 and a decomposition temperature of 221 °C. The crystal structure of the complex featured a three‐dimensional layered structure with a significant number of hydrogen bonds between the layers. Moreover, the introduction of MOFs, provided a potential advantage over the dominant class of energetic materials, by boasting a multi‐dimensional structure with both non‐covalent interactions and covalent (coordination) bonds. As such, the introduction of shorter yet stronger coordination bonds in the E‐MOF led to a higher stability of the energetic material compared to only the weak (distant) intermolecular interactions of common explosives (i. e. hydrogen bonds).
M5-branes wrapped on a spindle
Authors: Ferrero Pietro , Gauntlett Jerome P. , Martelli Dario , Sparks James
Published: November 2021

Abstract

We construct supersymmetric AdS5 × Σ solutions of D = 7 gauged supergravity, where Σ is a two-dimensional orbifold known as a spindle. These uplift on S4 to solutions of D = 11 supergravity which have orbifold singularites. We argue that the solutions are dual to d = 4, $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
= 1 SCFTs that arise from N M5-branes wrapped on a spindle, embedded as a holomorphic curve inside a Calabi-Yau three-fold. In contrast to the usual topological twist solutions, the superconformal R-symmetry mixes with the isometry of the spindle in the IR, and we verify this via a field theory calculation, as well as reproducing the gravity formula for the central charge.
BMS algebra from residual gauge invariance in light-cone gravity
Authors: Ananth Sudarshan , Brink Lars , Majumdar Sucheta
Published: November 2021

Abstract

We analyze the residual gauge freedom in gravity, in four dimensions, in the light-cone gauge, in a formulation where unphysical fields are integrated out. By checking the invariance of the light-cone Hamiltonian, we obtain a set of residual gauge transformations, which satisfy the BMS algebra realized on the two physical fields in the theory. Hence, the BMS algebra appears as a consequence of residual gauge invariance in the bulk and not just at the asymptotic boundary. We highlight the key features of the light-cone BMS algebra and discuss its connection with the quadratic form structure of the Hamiltonian.
Hypersimplicial subdivisions
Authors: Olarte Jorge Alberto , Santos Francisco
Published: November 2021

Let $$\pi :{\mathbb {R}}^n \rightarrow {\mathbb {R}}^d$$

π
:

R

n

→

R

d

be any linear projection, let A be the image of the standard basis. Motivated by Postnikov’s study of postitive Grassmannians via plabic graphs and Galashin’s connection of plabic graphs to slices of zonotopal tilings of 3-dimensional cyclic zonotopes, we study the poset of subdivisions induced by the restriction of $$\pi $$
π
to the k-th hypersimplex, for $$k=1,\dots ,n-1$$

k
=
1
,
⋯
,
n
-
1

. We show that: For arbitrary A and for $$k\le d+1$$

k
≤
d
+
1

, the corresponding fiber polytope $${\mathcal {F}}^{(k)}(A)$$

F

(
k
)

(
A
)

is normally isomorphic to the Minkowski sum of the secondary polytopes of all subsets of A of size $$\max \{d+2,n-k+1\}$$

max
{
d
+
2
,
n
-
k
+
1
}

. When $$A=\mathbf {P}_{n}$$

A
=

P
n

is the vertex set of an n-gon, we answer the Baues question in the positive: the inclusion of the poset of $$\pi $$
π
-coherent subdivisions into the poset of all $$\pi $$
π
-induced subdivisions is a homotopy equivalence. When $$A=\mathbf {C}(d,n)$$

A
=
C
(
d
,
n
)

is the vertex set of a cyclic d-polytope with d odd and any $$n \ge d+3$$

n
≥
d
+
3

, there are non-lifting (and even more so, non-separated) $$\pi $$
π
-induced subdivisions for $$k=2$$

k
=
2

.
Frühe Hilfen aus der Distanz – Chancen und Herausforderungen bei der Unterstützung psychosozial belasteter Familien in der COVID-19-Pandemie
Authors: Renner Ilona , van Staa Juliane , Neumann Anna , Sinß Frank , Paul Mechthild
Published: November 2021

Kontaktbeschränkende Maßnahmen waren zur Eindämmung des SARS-CoV-2-Infektionsgeschehens ab Frühjahr 2020 in Deutschland notwendig. Jedoch stellten sie Familien, insbesondere Familien in Belastungslagen, vor besondere Herausforderungen. Der Beitrag geht der Frage nach, inwieweit sich die Coronapandemie bis zum Mai 2021 auf die Lebenssituation der Familien ausgewirkt hat und wie eine längerfristige Betreuung im Kontext der Frühen Hilfen fortgeführt werden konnte. Die Analysen basieren hauptsächlich auf einer qualitativen Studie mit psychosozial belasteten Müttern von jungen Kindern, 2 Befragungen von Gesundheitsfachkräften, die Familien in den Frühen Hilfen längerfristig unterstützen, sowie einer Befragung von kommunalen Akteuren, die für die Steuerung und Umsetzung der Frühen Hilfen in den Kommunen verantwortlich sind.

Psychosozial belastete Familien erleben existenzielle Ängste und eine generelle Überforderung in der Pandemie. Innerfamiliale Konflikte scheinen zuzunehmen. Die längerfristige Unterstützung durch die Frühen Hilfen wurde vom persönlichen Kontakt im häuslichen Umfeld vorrangig in die Distanz verlagert. Obwohl im Verlauf der Pandemie viele Fachkräfte wieder zum ursprünglichen Versorgungskonzept zurückkehrten, werden Elemente der „Hilfe auf Distanz“ weiterhin ergänzend eingesetzt.

Aufgrund der pandemiebedingten zusätzlichen Belastungen der Familien, die in den Frühen Hilfen begleitet werden, war die Fortführung der Unterstützung noch wichtiger als ohnehin schon. Die Formate einer „Hilfe auf Distanz“, die in der Pandemie notgedrungen erprobt wurden, könnten das Potenzial haben, die Hilfeleistungen der Gesundheitsfachkräfte in den Frühen Hilfen zu ergänzen und so zu einem Qualitätsentwicklungsschub beizutragen.
Imaging features of hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome or veno-occlusive disease in children
Authors: Bohte Anneloes E. , Dierselhuis Miranda P. , van Noesel Max M. , Lequin Maarten H.
Published: November 2021

Hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome, also known as veno-occlusive disease, can occur as a complication of myeloablative chemotherapy, as a result of low-intensity chemotherapy-related liver toxicity or radiotherapy of the liver. Symptoms of sinusoidal obstruction syndrome can range from asymptomatic to liver dysfunction or severe disease with life-threatening acute multi-organ failure. Imaging features can suggest or support this clinical diagnosis. Familiarity with the imaging spectrum of sinusoidal obstruction syndrome is therefore important for both radiologists and clinical oncologists. Here, multi-modality radiologic appearances of sinusoidal obstruction syndrome in pediatric patients are illustrated, including outcome after follow-up.
A curved surface representation method for convolutional neural network of wake field prediction
Authors: Ichinose Yasuo , Taniguchi Tomoyuki
Published: November 2021

The goal of this study is to develop a prediction method to recognize the wake field behind a ship using a convolutional neural network (CNN) model. First, a new representation method for a 3D curved surface is proposed suitable for the CNN, called an image-based hull form representation (IHR). The advantages of the proposed method are the high fidelity of its hull form representation using more than 20,000 input data points and its fast prediction speed, which requires less than 0.01 s for a task that traditionally took more than an hour to estimate by physics-based simulation. The IHR regards that a two-dimensional grid formed on the 3D curved hull surface, which is used for structured-grid-based CFD, as a data set with the same data structure as the image data. Because CNNs recognize image data at accuracy rates higher than humans, a CNN is also be expected to recognize 3D surface characteristics with higher accuracy than humans. The image data are represented by three primary colors (cyan, magenta, yellow) in vertical and horizontal (i × j) pixels. The hull-form-structured grid can also be expressed as an i × j structure data with (x, y, z) coordinates that have the same data structure as the three primary colors in the image data. A CFD calculation data set of 2730 ship types with different stern shapes was constructed to verify the proposed method. The validation results proves that the root mean squared error of the proposed model is 0.005 to predict axial wake velocity on a propeller plane, and the coefficient of determination R2 achieves 0.986. In addition, the estimation speed for each hull-form prediction is 100,000 times faster than are physics-based simulations. The results lead to the conclusion that the representation method of a curved surface and the proposed prediction method of the stern wake field is a promising tool in the initial hull form design.
Falls risk is predictive of dysphagia in Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Kobylecki Christopher , Shiderova Irena , Boca Mihaela , Michou Emilia
Published: November 2021

Objective

Evaluate the relationship between falls, freezing of gait, and swallowing disturbance in Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Background

Dysphagia is a common symptom in PD, and is often thought of as an axial feature along with falls and gait disturbance. It is of interest to examine the relationship between these symptoms in PD, given the possibility of shared pathophysiology due to non-dopaminergic and extranigral dysfunction.

Methods

We recruited 29 consecutive non-demented patients with idiopathic PD and at least one clinically determined impairment in swallowing, falls, or freezing of gait. Swallow dysfunction was assessed using the Swallowing Disturbance Questionnaire (SDQ). The Falls Efficacy Scale and Freezing-of-gait questionnaire were recorded. Correlation analysis and multiple regression were used to determine the relationship between swallow and gait disturbance.

Results

Total SDQ score correlated strongly with the falls efficacy scale (Spearman’s rho = 0.594; P = 0.001), but not with the freezing-of-gait score. Linear regression controlling for other factors associated with dysphagia identified falls efficacy score as a significant predictor of swallow dysfunction.

Conclusions

The severity of dysphagia in PD is closely related to severity of falls, but not gait freezing. This may be helpful to more precisely determine the anatomical substrate of levodopa-resistant axial symptoms in PD and provide clues to further management.
A continuum of intentionality: linking the biogenic and anthropogenic approaches to cognition
Authors: Sims Matthew
Published: November 2021

Biogenic approaches investigate cognition from the standpoint of evolutionary function, asking what cognition does for a living system and then looking for common principles and exhibitions of cognitive strategies in a vast array of living systems—non-neural to neural. One worry which arises for the biogenic approach is that it is overly permissive in terms of what it construes as cognition. In this paper I critically engage with a recent instance of this way of criticising biogenic approaches in order to clarify their theoretical commitments and prospects. In his critique of the biogenic approach, Fred Adams (Stud Hist Philos Sci 68:20–30, 10.1016/j.shpsa.2017.11.007, 2018) uses the presence of intentional states with conceptual content as a criterion to demarcate cognition-driven behaviour from mere sensory response. In this paper I agree with Adams that intentionality is the mark of the cognitive, but simultaneously reject his overly restrictive conception of intentionality. I argue that understanding intentionalitysimpliciteras the mark of the mental is compatible with endorsing the biogenic approach. I argue that because cognitive science is not exclusively interested in behaviour driven by intentional states with the kind of content Adams demands, the biogenic approach’s status as an approach to cognition is not called into question. I then go on to propose a novel view of intentionality whereby it is seen to exist along a continuum which increases in the degree of representational complexity: how far into the future representational content can be directed and drive anticipatory behaviour. Understanding intentionality as existing along a continuum allows biogenic approaches and anthropogenic approaches to investigate the same overarching capacity of cognition as expressed in its different forms positioned along the continuum of intentionality. Even if all organisms engage in some behaviour that is driven by weak intentional dynamics, this does not suggest that every behaviour of all organisms is so driven. As such, the worry that the biogenic approach is overly permissive can be avoided.
Change in Hamiltonian General Relativity with Spinors
Authors: Pitts J. Brian
Published: November 2021

In General Relativity in Hamiltonian form, change has seemed to be missing, defined only asymptotically, or otherwise obscured at best, because the Hamiltonian is a sum of first-class constraints and a boundary term and thus supposedly generates gauge transformations. By construing change as essential time dependence (lack of a time-like Killing vector field), one can find change locally in vacuum GR in the Hamiltonian formulation just where it should be. But what if spinors are present? This paper is motivated by the tendency in space-time philosophy tends to slight fermionic/spinorial matter, the tendency in Hamiltonian GR to misplace changes of time coordinate, and the tendency in treatments of the Einstein-Dirac equation to include a gratuitous local Lorentz gauge symmetry along with the physically significant coordinate freedom. Spatial dependence is dropped in most of the paper, both restricting the physical situation and largely fixing the spatial coordinates. In the interest of including all and only the coordinate freedom, the Einstein-Dirac equation is investigated using the Schwinger time gauge and Kibble-Deser symmetric triad condition are employed as a$$3+1$$3+1version of the DeWitt-Ogievetsky-Polubarinov nonlinear group realization formalism that dispenses with a tetrad and local Lorentz gauge freedom. Change is the lack of a time-like stronger-than-Killing field for which the Lie derivative of the metric-spinor complex vanishes. An appropriate$$3+1$$3+1-friendly form of the Rosenfeld-Anderson-Bergmann-Castellani gauge generatorG, a tuned sum of first class-constraints, is shown to change the canonical Lagrangian by a total derivative, implying the preservation of Hamilton’s equations. Given the essential presence of second-class constraints with spinors and their lack of resemblance to a gauge theory (unlike, say, massive photons), it is useful to have an explicit physically interesting example. This gauge generator implements changes of time coordinate for solutions of the equations of motion, showing that the gauge generator makes sense even with spinors.
Numerical constraints and non-spatial open boundary conditions for the Wigner equation
Authors: Kosik Robert , Cervenka Johann , Kosina Hans
Published: November 2021

We discuss boundary value problems for the characteristic stationary von Neumann equation (stationary sigma equation) and the stationary Wigner equation in a single spatial dimension. The two equations are related by a Fourier transform in the non-spatial coordinate. In general, a solution to the characteristic equation does not produce a corresponding Wigner solution as the Fourier transform will not exist. Solution of the stationary Wigner equation on a shifted k-grid gives unphysical results. Results showing a negative differential resistance in IV-curves of resonant tunneling diodes using Frensley’s method are a numerical artefact from using upwinding on a coarse grid. We introduce the integro-differential sigma equation which avoids distributional parts at $$k=0$$

k
=
0

in the Wigner transform. The Wigner equation for $$k=0$$

k
=
0

represents an algebraic constraint needed to avoid poles in the solution at $$k=0$$

k
=
0

. We impose the inverse Fourier transform of the integrability constraint in the integro-differential sigma equation. After a cutoff, we find that this gives fully homogeneous boundary conditions in the non-spatial coordinate which is overdetermined. Employing an absorbing potential layer double homogeneous boundary conditions are naturally fulfilled. Simulation results for resonant tunneling diodes from solving the constrained sigma equation in the least squares sense with an absorbing potential reproduce results from the quantum transmitting boundary with high accuracy. We discuss the zero bias case where also good agreement is found. In conclusion, we argue that properly formulated open boundary conditions have to be imposed on non-spatial boundaries in the sigma equation both in the stationary and the transient case. When solving the Wigner equation, an absorbing potential layer has to be employed.
Trajectories of Posttraumatic Growth Following HIV Infection: Does One PTG Pattern Exist?
Authors: Rzeszutek Marcin , Gruszczyńska Ewa
Published: November 2021

The aim of this study was to examine the heterogeneity of change of posttraumatic growth (PTG) among people living with HIV (PLWH) in a 1-year prospective study. The goal was also to identify sociodemographic and clinical covariates and differences in baseline coping strategies. Particularly, time since diagnosis and positive reframing coping were of special interest. The sample consisted of 115 people with medically confirmed diagnosis of HIV infection. The participants filled out paper-and-pencil questionnaires three times with an interval of 6 months, including also sociodemographic and clinical data. Four trajectories of PTG were identified: curvilinear, low stable, high stable, and rapid change. Participants’ gender, education level, CD4 count and time since HIV diagnosis occurred to be significant covariates of class membership. Positive reframing and self-distraction differentiated only between the high stable and the rapid change trajectory, with lower values in the latter. The study results call for attention to the complexity of PTG patterns in a face of struggling with HIV infection. Specifically, interventions in clinical practice should take into account the fact that there is no single pattern of PTG that fits all PLWH and that these differences may be related to the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics as well as to coping strategies representing meaning-making mechanism.
High-resolution images and drone-based LiDAR reveal striking patterns of vegetation gaps in a wooded spinifex grassland of Western Australia
Authors: Getzin Stephan , Löns Christian , Yizhaq Hezi , Erickson Todd E. , Muñoz-Rojas Miriam , Huth Andreas , Wiegand Kerstin
Published: November 2021

Context

Vegetation patterns in hummock grasslands of Australia’s arid interior can be very complex. Additionally, the grasslands are interspersed with variable amounts of trees and shrubs.

Objectives

To better understand the spatial arrangement of this vegetation structure, and in particular the unvegetated bare-soil gaps, we analyzed the scale-dependent patterns of gaps, trees, and shrubs.

Methods

We focused on two size categories of grassland gaps, large gaps ≥ 4 m2known as fairy circles (FCs) and small gaps 1 to < 4 m2, and on trees and shrubs. We mapped four 200 m × 200 m study plots located east of the town of Newman in Western Australia, using drone-based aerial images and LiDAR. The RGB images were converted into binary images and the gaps and woody plants were automatically segmented. The spatial patterns of the four vegetation components were analyzed, as well as the shape properties of the vegetation gaps.

Results

The most striking result was that small gaps appeared consistently at about 5 m distance away from the FCs, which are known as the most water-depleted locations in the grassland. The FCs were also rounder than the small gaps and this symmetry underlines their function as an extra source of water for the surrounding matrix vegetation. Trees and shrubs had spatial patterns that were unrelated to FCs, which likely results from their water uptake in deeper sub-soil layers.

Conclusions

The consistent distance of small gaps to FCs is further support that the Australian fairy circles are a self-organized vegetation pattern that results from ecohydrological feedbacks.
Magic as Technological Dominion: John Dee’s Hydragogy and the Draining of the Fens in Ben Jonson’s The Devil is an Ass
Authors: Borlik Todd Andrew
Published: November 2021

This paper explores the ambiguous role of magic in the controversy over the draining of the fens, the last bastion of wilderness in seventeenth-century England. In what now looks like an early form of environmentalist resistance to the destruction of these wetlands, opponents of the drainage accused the undertakers of invoking diabolical aid in their audacious efforts to tamper with God’s creation. Evidence of this mentality can be found in both William Shakespeare’sThe Tempestand Ben Jonson’sThe Devil is an Ass. Via a close reading of Jonson’s comedy, this paper navigates the confluence of magic, technology, and “projection” in the ideological debate surrounding the fens. Just as the traditional Vice figures (Iniquity and Pug) find themselves out-devilled by Jacobean Londoners, the play dramatizes the appropriation and displacement of a residual poetics of enchantment by the emergent discourses of economics and applied engineering. A tendency to equate magic with hydro-engineering technology may have been encouraged by John Dee’s involvement in the project. Drawing on an unpublished manuscript in the Ashmole collection at the Bodleian Library, this paper seeks to uncover the extent and impact of Dee’s role in the drainage. Advocates of the drainage, however, not only denied any supernatural involvement but also counterattacked by accusing their opponents of credulity and magical thinking. They characterized the native fen-dwellers as superstitious heathens and cast a scathing eye on local folklore depicting the fens as a demon-haunted wasteland. In pro-drainage documents, the proposed draining of the fenlands becomes tantamount to an exorcism, purging the rural backwaters of paganism and witchcraft. Wetlands management will now be conducted through applied engineering rather than magical incantations. A little known Jacobean ballad, “The Powte’s Complaint” (c. 1619) revives these animistic tropes to protest the fen’s destruction. Jonson’s play may explain why this tactic was doomed to fail and why this poem has been forgotten. As the credibility of magic eroded in the mid-seventeenth century, opponents of the drainage instead sought to stir up public resentment against the foreignness of the Dutch under-takers rather than their supposed collusion with supernatural forces. Jonson’s own projection that the drainage was an impossible con (like alchemy) would prove inaccurate. Nevertheless,The Devil is an Assstands as the one of the most ecologically-engaged texts in the canon of early modern English drama.
Barriers to the digital transformation of infrastructure sectors
Authors: Manny Liliane , Duygan Mert , Fischer Manuel , Rieckermann Jörg
Published: November 2021

Digital technologies can be important to policy-makers and public servants, as these technologies can increase infrastructure performance and reduce environmental impacts. For example, utilizing data from sensors in sewer systems can improve their management, which in turn may result in better surface water quality. Whether suchbig datafrom sensors is utilized is, however, not only a technical issue, but also depends on different types of social and institutional conditions. Our article identifies individual, organizational, and institutional barriers at the level of sub-states that hinder the evaluation of data from sewer systems. We employ fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to compare 23 Swiss sub-states and find that two barriers at different levels can each hinder data evaluation on their own. More specifically, either a lack of vision at the individual level or a lack of resources at the organizational level hinder the evaluation of data. Findings suggest that taking into account different levels is crucial for understanding digital transformation in public organizations.
Mindfulness-Based Approaches for COVID-19 Mental Health in Working from Home
Authors: Vione Katia C. , Kotera Yasuhiro
Published: November 2021

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic spread rapidly since it was first identified in December 2019. A nation-level lockdown has been implemented in many countries, affecting workers of all sectors and forcing many to work from home. In this commentary, we discuss mental health difficulties that working from home might cause on non-key workers, based on research in New Ways of Working (NWW) and telecommuting. Moreover, we propose the use of mindfulness-based approaches to protect workforce from the potential negative impacts of working from home.
Opto-thermal technologies for microscopic analysis of cellular temperature-sensing systems
Authors: Oyama Kotaro , Ishii Shuya , Suzuki Madoka
Published: November 2021

Could enzymatic activities and their cooperative functions act as cellular temperature-sensing systems? This review introduces recent opto-thermal technologies for microscopic analyses of various types of cellular temperature-sensing system. Optical microheating technologies have been developed for local and rapid temperature manipulations at the cellular level. Advanced luminescent thermometers visualize the dynamics of cellular local temperature in space and time during microheating. An optical heater and thermometer can be combined into one smart nanomaterial that demonstrates hybrid function. These technologies have revealed a variety of cellular responses to spatial and temporal changes in temperature. Spatial temperature gradients cause asymmetric deformations during mitosis and neurite outgrowth. Rapid changes in temperature causes imbalance of intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis and membrane potential. Among those responses, heat-induced muscle contractions are highlighted. It is also demonstrated that the short-term heating hyperactivates molecular motors to exceed their maximal activities at optimal temperatures. We discuss future prospects for opto-thermal manipulation of cellular functions and contributions to obtain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of cellular temperature-sensing systems.
Bend family proteins mark chromatin boundaries and synergistically promote early germ cell differentiation
Authors: Shi Guang , Bai Yaofu , Zhang Xiya , Su Junfeng , Pang Junjie , He Quanyuan , Zeng Pengguihang , Ding Junjun , Xiong Yuanyan , Zhang Jingran , Wang Jingwen , Liu Dan , Ma Wenbin , Huang Junjiu , Songyang Zhou
Published: November 2021

Understanding the regulatory networks for germ cell fate specification is necessary to developing strategies for improving the efficiency of germ cell production in vitro. In this study, we developed a coupled screening strategy that took advantage of an arrayed bi-molecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) platform for protein-protein interaction screens and epiblast-like cell (EpiLC)-induction assays using reporter mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). Investigation of candidate interaction partners of core human pluripotent factors OCT4, NANOG, KLF4 and SOX2 in EpiLC differentiation assays identified novel primordial germ cell (PGC)-inducing factors including BEN-domain (BEND/Bend) family members. Through RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, and ATAC-seq analyses, we showed that Bend5 worked together with Bend4 and helped mark chromatin boundaries to promote EpiLC induction in vitro. Our findings suggest that BEND/Bend proteins represent a new family of transcriptional modulators and chromatin boundary factors that participate in gene expression regulation during early germline development.
Environmental life cycle assessment and operating cost analysis of a conceptual battery hybrid-electric transport aircraft
Authors: Scholz Anna Elena , Trifonov Dimitar , Hornung Mirko
Published: November 2021

Noise and greenhouse gas emission targets set by e.g., the EU commission, NASA, and ICAO oblige the aviation industry to reduce its environmental footprint. Battery-powered hybrid-electric aircraft are currently being investigated in this regard as they can potentially reduce in-flight greenhouse gas emissions and noise. However, most studies to date have focused on the CO2 emission reduction potential instead of considering the total life cycle environmental impact. Hence, within this study an environmental life cycle assessment method for a hybrid-electric aircraft is developed and applied, supplemented by a direct operating costs analysis. This allows the simultaneous evaluation of the environmental impact reduction potential and the economic consequences for aircraft operators. This demonstrates the faced trade-off and contributes to a meaningful review process. A single-aisle transport aircraft (A320 class) serves as a use case for the established methodology. It consists of the conceptual aircraft design, the environmental life cycle assessment, and the direct operating costs analysis for a conventional reference aircraft and a hybrid-electric aircraft with a discrete parallel powertrain architecture. It should be noticed that the focus of this study is the comparison of conceptual aircraft designs of the same fidelity on system level, in lieu of the detailed modeling of a hybrid-electric aircraft. Results show that for a degree of hybridization of 0.3, the environmental impact of the hybrid-electric configuration increased by $$15.1\%$$

15.1
%

, while the operating costs increased by $$41.0\%$$

41.0
%

compared to a conventional reference aircraft. For a future scenario, favourable for hybrid-electric aircraft with i.a. renewable electricity production, the environmental impact could be reduced by $$7.0\%$$

7.0
%

compared to the reference aircraft. At the same time, the operating costs gap between both configurations decreases to $$+ 26.8\%$$

+
26.8
%

. Hybrid-electric aircraft should therefore be investigated further as a potential solution to reduce the environmental impact of aviation, if simultaneously to developing them the expansion of renewable energies is fostered. Nevertheless, this reduction in environmental impact involves a high direct operating costs penalty.
Does financialization of non-financial corporations promote the persistence of innovation: evidence from A-share listed manufacturing corporations in China
Authors: Xie Zhengjuan , Du Jiang , Wu Yongchao
Published: November 2021

Financialization of non-financial corporations is an important factor affecting innovation activities. This paper calculates the optimal financialization of enterprises and the deviation of optimal financialization, divides amples into moderate and excessive financialization, then investigates the relationship between financialization and sustainable innovation in different research samples using the data of A-share manufacturing enterprises in China from 2012 to 2018. The results indicate that the deviation of optimal financialization is negatively related to the persistent innovation of enterprises. However, financialization had significantly different effects on persistent innovation in different research sample. More specifically, excessive financialization could crowd out the persistent innovation, but moderate financialization may promote the persistent innovation. This study provides a new perspective for understanding the relationship between financialization and innovation, and helps finance better serve the real economy.
Uniform error estimates for nonequispaced fast Fourier transforms
Authors: Potts Daniel , Tasche Manfred
Published: November 2021

In this paper, we study the error behavior of the nonequispaced fast Fourier transform (NFFT). This approximate algorithm is mainly based on the convenient choice of a compactly supported window function. So far, various window functions have been used and new window functions have recently been proposed. We present novel error estimates for NFFT with compactly supported, continuous window functions and derive rules for convenient choice from the parameters involved in NFFT. The error constant of a window function depends mainly on the oversampling factor and the truncation parameter.
Disentangling between‐ and within‐person associations between empathy and prosocial behaviours during early adolescence
Authors: Carrizales Alexia , Branje Susan , Lannegrand Lyda
Published: November 2021

Introduction

Although empathy has been found to be related to prosocial behaviour, little is known about the longitudinal links between these two concepts during early adolescence, a unique window into developmental changes on empathy and prosocial behaviour considering the physical, cognitive, socio‐emotional and contextual changes occurring during this period. Even though changes in adolescent empathy have been associated to changes in adolescent prosocial behaviour, studies examining this link on the within‐person level are lacking. The present study investigated the within‐adolescents longitudinal relations among empathy and prosocial behaviour.

Methods

383 French adolescents (MageT1 = 12.15, 50.4% male) reported on their empathy and prosocial behaviour each year across three years. In order to disentangle between‐adolescent differences from within‐adolescent processes, Random‐Intercept Cross‐Lagged Panel Models were applied.

Results

At the between‐person level, there was a strong positive association between empathy and prosocial behaviour. At the within‐person level, adolescents who reported more empathy than usual reported higher than usual prosocial behaviour one year later.

Conclusions

Adolescents with higher empathy compared to their peers tended to be those who reported higher prosocial behaviour. Changes in empathy within‐adolescents were related to later within‐adolescents’ change in prosocial behaviour.
Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome in a Patient With Bothrops asper Envenomation
Authors: Cañas Carlos A. , Vecino Milly J. , Posso-Osorio Iván
Published: November 2021

Bothrops asper envenomation is common in Colombia and is characterized by local tissue injury and venom-induced consumption coagulopathy (VICC). Rarely, thrombotic microangiopathy is associated with envenomation by this species. The case of a 57-y-old man with B asper bite and envenomation on the left foot is presented. The patient was admitted 8 h after the event and progressively developed edema, hemorrhage at the site of the bite, and hemorrhagic blisters. His coagulation test results (prothrombin and partial thromboplastin times) were prolonged, and his fibrinogen levels were severely reduced. The diagnosis of VICC was made. Administration of Colombian polyvalent viper antivenom controlled the VICC within a few hours. Subsequently, the patient developed severe microangiopathic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and acute kidney injury. A diagnosis of thrombotic microangiopathy was made, and the patient met the criteria for hemolytic uremic syndrome. Management with hemodialysis in addition to therapeutic plasma exchange and replacement with fresh frozen plasma was indicated. The patient’s condition resolved 14 d later. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of B asper envenomation in which the patient presented with hemolytic uremic syndrome after VICC. A proposal is made regarding the pathogenesis of this chain of events.
Creating the Ancient Rhetorical Tradition
Authors: Viidebaum Laura
Published: November 2021

This book explores the history of rhetorical thought and examines the gradual association of different aspects of rhetorical theory with two outstanding fourth-century BCE writers: Lysias and Isocrates. It highlights the parallel development of the rhetorical tradition that became understood, on the one hand, as a domain of style and persuasive speech, associated with the figure of Lysias, and, on the other, as a kind of philosophical enterprise which makes significant demands on moral and political education in antiquity, epitomized in the work of Isocrates. There are two pivotal moments in which the two rhetoricians were pitted against each other as representatives of different modes of cultural discourse: Athens in the fourth century BCE, as memorably portrayed in Plato's Phaedrus, and Rome in the first century BCE when Dionysius of Halicarnassus proposes to create from the united Lysianic and Isocratean rhetoric the foundation for the ancient rhetorical tradition.
Current Evidence Supports Welling as an Outcrop-Related Base Camp
Authors: Eren Metin I. , Diez-Martin Fernando , Miller G. Logan , Buchanan Briggs , Haythorn Richard , Boulanger Matthew T. , Rutkoski Ashley , Bush Jennifer , Norris James D. , Lovejoy C. Owen , Meindl Richard S. , Bebber Michelle R.
Published: November 2021

Seeman, Morris, and Summers misrepresent or misunderstand the arguments we have made, as well as their own previous work. Here, we correct these inaccuracies. We also reiterate our support for hypothesis-driven and evidence-based research.
Forager Mobility and Lithic Discard Probability Similarly Affect the Distance of Raw Material Discard from Source
Authors: Lin Sam C. , Premo L. S.
Published: November 2021

The neutral model of stone procurement developed by Brantingham (2003, 2006) provides a formal means to investigate the formation of lithic discard patterning under changing forager mobility conditions. This study modifies Brantingham's (2006) Lévy walk model to examine the influence of discard probability on the spatial distribution of raw material abundance. The model outcome shows that forager movement and tool discard probability have similar effects on the simulated patterns of raw material transport, so it is difficult—if not impossible—to differentiate the respective influence of the two factors from distance to source distributions alone. This finding of equifinality complicates the task of interpretating hominin mobility from archaeological distance to source data, particularly in settings such as the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition, which is marked by an important reorganization in hominin lithic technology that may have affected stone tool discard probability.
Experiences in outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT): Barriers and challenges from the front lines
Authors: Ng Nicole , Bailey Pamela , Pryor Rachel , Fung Lillian , Veals Christine , Sabouri Kenneth , Reznicek Julie
Published: November 2021

Background:

Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) is now the standard of care for managing patients who no longer need inpatient care but require prolonged intravenous antimicrobial therapy. OPAT increases patient satisfaction, reduces the lengths of hospital stay, lowers emergency department readmission rates, and decreases total healthcare spending.

Objective:

To investigate Virginia Commonwealth University Health System’s experience with OPAT and to highlight the obstacles patients and clinicians face when navigating and utilizing this program.

Design:

We conducted this descriptive study at a large, academic, tertiary-care hospital in Central Virginia.

Methods:

We performed manual reviews of electronic medical records of 602 patient, and we evaluated the records of those receiving OPAT between 2017 and 2020. Reviews included antimicrobial agents, diagnoses requiring OPAT, adverse effects related to antimicrobials, adverse effects related to peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC), readmission rate, discharge destination, and death. We evaluated our program with descriptive statistics.

Results:

Among 602 patients who received OPAT, most were diagnosed with bacteremia or musculoskeletal infections. Patients were either discharged home or to another healthcare facility, with the former comprising most of the rehospitalizations. Ertapenem and vancomycin were associated with the most adverse drug events among our cohort. Elevated transaminase levels were noted in 23% of patients. The rate of PICC-line adverse events in this study population was 0.05%.

Conclusions:

Our findings highlight the barriers and challenges that patients and providers face when receiving OPAT, and they can inform efforts to improve patient clinical outcomes.
Impact of a vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) screening result on appropriateness of antibiotic therapy
Authors: Reynolds Jenna L. , Trudeau Raelene E. , Seville Maria Teresa , Chan Lynn
Published: November 2021

Objective:

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) infections have been associated with increased mortality and poor outcomes. VRE screening has been used to identify colonized patients to prevent transmission; however, little is known about the utility of screening results to guide antibiotic therapy.

Design and setting:

A retrospective review was performed at a tertiary-care center between June 1, 2015, and May 31, 2018.

Patients:

All patients who underwent VRE polymerase chain reaction assay (PCR) screening and had a bacterial culture from 7 days before to 90 days after the screening test were included. In total, 1,374 patients who had a VRE screening test met inclusion criteria.

Methods:

Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of VRE screening for VRE infection were calculated. The appropriateness of the antibiotic therapy for each patient based on screening results was also assessed.

Results:

We detected no difference in the appropriateness of antibiotic therapy between patients with a positive screen and those with a negative screen (59.3% vs 61.0%; P = .8657). The VRE PCR demonstrated 54% sensitivity, 89% specificity, a positive predictive value (PPV) of 13% and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 98%.

Conclusions:

The high NPV and specificity indicate that patients with a negative VRE screening results may not require empiric antibiotic coverage for VRE. Although VRE screening may have utility to detect colonization in high-risk patients, a positive VRE screen is of limited value in determining the need for an antibiotic with VRE culture-directed coverage.