bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Avengers, assemble! A network-based contingency analysis of spillover effects in multi-brand alliances
Authors: Klostermann Jan , Hinze Tobias K. , Völckner Franziska , Kupfer Ann-Kristin , Schwerdtfeger Rouven
Published: July 2023

Brand alliances are becoming increasingly complex, as marketers have begun to combine not only two but multiple brands to foster spillover effects. A particularly complex brand-alliance strategy is team brands, which combine various brands under a team-brand name. Using data from the Marvel brand universe, we examine contingency factors of sales spillover effects between team brands (e.g., Avengers) and their constituent brands (e.g., Hulk). We investigate the moderating role of key network characteristics, describing the team-brand networks and the constituent brands’ roles within these networks from both a firm perspective (brand-brand networks reflecting managers’ decisions about which constituent brands to combine) and a consumer perspective (brand-association networks reflecting consumers’ team-brand associations). The results show that network characteristics strongly affect spillovers and, more importantly, that their effect depends on both the direction (spillover from constituent brands to team brands or vice versa) and the network (brand-brand vs. brand-association network).
Does chronic pain influence our dreams? A dream content analytical approach
Authors: Mathes Jonas , Schuffelen Jennifer
Published: July 2023

Background

To date, the relationship between frequent nightmares, chronic pain, waking-life distress and sleep quality is still unclear. Previous research has shown that chronic pain patients reported more frequent nightmares and critical life events compared to a control group. Moreover, patients reported pain dreams similar to pain in their waking-life, whereas controls reported pain dreams sparsely.

Objective

The aim of this study was to replicate these findings and to analyze the dream content of chronic pain patients in more detail.

Methods

A sample of chronic pain patients and healthy control individuals, matched in age and gender, were recruited. All participants completed psychometric questionnaires and a narrative dream diary for 14 consecutive days.

Results

Nightmare frequency, nightmare distress, pain dreams and distress caused by life events were increased in chronic pain patients compared to the control group. In addition, the patient group reported significantly more negative and aggressive dream contents and physical sensations in their dreams than the controls. These findings replicate continuity between waking-life and dream experiences concerning pain sensation. Distress caused by critical life events also played an important role in negative dream affect and pain perception.
Spiraling Risk: Visualizing the multilevel factors that socially pattern HIV risk among gay, bisexual & other men who have sex with men using Complex Systems Theory
Authors: Stojanovski K. , King E. J. , O’Connell S. , Gallagher K. S. , Theall K. P. , Geronimus A. T.
Published: July 2023

Purpose of review

Global disparities in HIV infection, particularly among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM), indicate the importance of exploring the multi-level processes that shape HIV’s spread. We used Complex Systems Theory and the PRISMA guidelines to conduct a systematic review of 63 global reviews to understand how HIV is socially patterned among GBMSM. The purpose was to conduct a thematic analysis of the reviews to (1) synthesize the multi-level risk factors of HIV risk, (2) categorize risk across the socioecological model, and (3) develop a conceptual model that visualizes the interrelated factors that shape GBMSMS’s HIV “risk.”

Recent Findings

We included 49 studies of high and moderate quality studies. Results indicated that GBMSM’s HIV risk stems from the individual, interpersonal, and structural levels of the socioecological model. We identified a few themes that shape GBMSM’s risk of HIV infection related to biomedical prevention methods; sexual and sex-seeking behaviors; behavioral prevention methods; individual-level characteristics and syndemic infections; lived experiences and interpersonal relationships; country-level income; country-level HIV prevalence; and structural stigma. The multi-level factors, in tandem, serve to perpetuate GBMSM’s risk of HIV infection globally.

The amalgamation of our thematic analyses from our systematic reviews of reviews suggests that the risk of HIV infection operates in an emergent, dynamic, and complex nature across multiple levels of the socioecological model. Applying complex systems theory indicates how multilevel factors create a dynamic and reinforcing system of HIV risk among GBMSM.
SAF: Stakeholders’ Agreement on Fairness in the Practice of Machine Learning Development
Authors: Curto Georgina , Comim Flavio
Published: July 2023

This paper clarifies why bias cannot be completely mitigated in Machine Learning (ML) and proposes an end-to-end methodology to translate the ethical principle of justice and fairness into the practice of ML development as an ongoing agreement with stakeholders. The pro-ethical iterative process presented in the paper aims to challenge asymmetric power dynamics in the fairness decision making within ML design and support ML development teams to identify, mitigate and monitor bias at each step of ML systems development. The process also provides guidance on how to explain the always imperfect trade-offs in terms of bias to users.
Body reconstruction, taxonomy, and biostratigraphy of a ‘problematic’ chancelloriid
Authors: Yun Hao , Reitner Joachim , Zhang Xingliang
Published: July 2023

Chancelloriids are a group of ‘problematic’ fossils characterized by bag-shaped body equipped with mineralized sclerites on the external surface. Among the chancelloriid taxa, the genusDimidiawas known only by isolated sclerites from small shelly faunas and once regarded as a junior synonym ofAllonnia. The complete body ofDimidia simplexJiang is described herein for the first time, based on well-preserved specimens from the Chengjiang biota (Cambrian Stage 3) of South China. The nameDimidiais resurrected since the characteristic sclerites in the scleritome are distinctive within all known chancelloriid genera with complete bodies. The sclerites ofDimidiaare densely arranged, each composed of two symmetrical, acute rays that pointed out with their long axes nearly vertical to the body surface, structurally representing an intermediate type between the single-rayed and the common rosette-like composite sclerites of chancelloriids. The remains ofDimidiawere previously found across South China, Gondwana, and Laurentia, and stratigraphically ranging from the upper Stage 2 to Wuliuan Stage of the Cambrian. The discovery of complete bodies ofDimidiacontributes to revealing the diversity and clarifying the ‘problematic’ taxonomy of chancelloriids, and emphasizes the necessity to scrutinize more scleritome fossils to interpret the taxonomy and phylogenetic affinity of other small shelly fossils.
Effect of soil water on flowering and pod-set in chickpea: implications for modelling and managing frost and heat stress
Authors: Chauhan Yashvir S. , Anwar Muhuddin Rajin , Richards Mark F. , Lake Lachlan , Sadras Victor O. , Luckett David J. , Raman Rosy , Krosch Stephen , Graham Neroli
Published: July 2023

Phenological development is critical for crop adaptation. Phenology models are typically driven by temperature and photoperiod, but chickpea phenology is also modulated by soil water, which is not captured in these models. This study is aimed at evaluating the hypotheses that accounting for soil water improves (i) the prediction of flowering, pod-set, and flowering-to-pod-set interval in chickpea and (ii) the computation of yield-reducing frost and heat events after flowering. To test these hypotheses, we compared three variants of the Agricultural Production System Simulator (APSIM): (i) APSIMc, which models development with no temperature threshold for pod-set; (ii) APSIMx, which sets a threshold of 15 °C for pod-set; and (iii) APSIMw, derived from APSIMc with an algorithm to moderate the developmental rate as a function of soil water, in addition to temperature and photoperiod common to all three models. Comparison of modelled and actual flowering and pod-set of a common cheque cultivar PBA BoundaryA in 54 diverse environments showed that accuracy and precision were superior for APSIMw. Because of improved prediction of flowering and pod-set timing, APSIMw improved the computation of the frequency of post-flowering frosts compared to APSIMc and APSIMx. The number of heat events was similar for all three models. We conclude that accounting for water effects on plant development can allow better matching between phenology and environment.
The Effectiveness of Telemedicine in Coaching Parents of Autistic Children Using Naturalistic Developmental Early Interventions: a Rapid Review
Authors: Alatar Wafa , Knott Fiona , Loucas Tom
Published: July 2023

Evidence on the effectiveness of telemedicine in coaching parents of autistic children using naturalistic developmental early interventions is limited. This review aimed to examine the literature on the effectiveness of telemedicine on children’s social communication following parent-mediated naturalistic developmental early interventions. A total of nine studies were identified. Intervention characteristics, outcomes, and research quality were assessed. Findings suggest insufficient evidence for the effectiveness of telemedicine on child social communication. All the included studies were at high risk of bias in at least one quality indicator of the risk of bias tools. More high-quality research is required to examine the effectiveness of telemedicine applications on child social communication to support access and continuity of early intervention services.
Was There a Rule of Law in Early Modern Amsterdam? Mercantile Customary Law as a Test
Authors: in ‘t Veld Marco
Published: July 2023

This contribution intends to shed light on the development of the rule of law, particularly by questioning the existence of such rule of law in early modern Amsterdam. In literature, thinner and thicker definitions are given, mostly presented as a continuum. This contribution will focus on mercantile customary law as it is a legal source that hardly fits in the literature-based categories. The importance of customary law seems to have decreased parallel with the bureaucratization of law; similarly this legal source can be considered as relatively democratic as it was based on the consent of a certain community. This ambiguity was also part of an old debate among legal historians. Some have indeed argued that custom was indeed solely based on the tacit consent of communities while others claimed that custom was a legalistic source in the sense that it provided formal rules of decision often written down in a way very similar to law books. This debate runs parallel to the question to what extend merchants made use of public institutions in the organisation of their trades.

With regard to early modern Amsterdam, this contribution argues on the basis of a variety of primary sources that lawyers and proctors had a relatively advanced legal system at their disposal in which moral convictions played an important role. The example of the city’s weigh house will be used to elaborate on the precise way the institutional and legal frameworks were applied in mercantile practice. It will be concluded that many mercantile customary norms can be linked to institutions like the weigh house, but that this institutionalisation was not necessarily at odds with a continuation or even development of democratic elements. Especially the guilds functioned as a vehicle that helped to articulate tacit customs while having a great influence on Amsterdam politics at the same time. For this reason it should be seriously considered that Amsterdam already had a relatively advanced legal system that was dependent on bureaucratic institutions in the early modern period. Such system should be considered as an important step towards the presence of the rule of law.
Rapid training of quantum recurrent neural networks
Authors: Siemaszko Michał , Buraczewski Adam , Le Saux Bertrand , Stobińska Magdalena
Published: July 2023

Time series prediction is essential for human activities in diverse areas. A common approach to this task is to harness recurrent neural networks (RNNs). However, while their predictions are quite accurate, their learning process is complex and, thus, time and energy consuming. Here, we propose to extend the concept of RRNs by including continuous-variable quantum resources in it and to use a quantum-enhanced RNN to overcome these obstacles. The design of the continuous-variable quantum RNN (CV-QRNN) is rooted in the continuous-variable quantum computing paradigm. By performing extensive numerical simulations, we demonstrate that the quantum network is capable of learning-time dependence of several types of temporal data and that it converges to the optimal weights in fewer epochs than a classical network. Furthermore, for a small number of trainable parameters, it can achieve lower losses than its classical counterpart. CV-QRNN can be implemented using commercially available quantum-photonic hardware.
Estimation of Reliability in Multicomponent Set-up when Stress and Strength are Non-identical
Authors: Pathak Anupam , Chaturvedi Anoop , Kumari Taruna
Published: July 2023

In the multicomponent stress–strength reliability literary work, though assumption of identical stress and strengths components may not be universally true but have been commonly considered. Herein, we consider a multicomponent stress–strength model having k identical strength components, say $$X_i,~i=1,2,...,k$$

X
i

,

i
=
1
,
2
,
.
.
.
,
k

, which are exposed to a common random stress Y, so that $$Y, X_i,~i=1,2,...,k$$

Y
,

X
i

,

i
=
1
,
2
,
.
.
.
,
k

are independent. Two different generalized cases of estimation are considered; namely, (i) when the strength components follow the proportional hazard rate model and stress component follows the proportional reversed hazard rate model and (ii) when the strength components follow the proportional reversed hazard rate model and stress component follow the proportional hazard rate model. In each case, maximum likelihood and Bayesian approach using Markov Chain Monte Carlo method has been utilized to estimate the reliability of the system. Asymptotic confidence intervals are also constructed for the reliability functions in both the cases. Monte Carlo simulation study is exercised to compare the performance of the aforementioned estimators. A real data example is also explored to examine the utility of the paper.
What are the fundamental software abstractions for designing reliable cyber-physical systems operating in uncertain environments?
Authors: Broman David , Woodcock Jim
Published: July 2023

Cyber-physical systems (CPS) combine computations in embedded systems with physical dynamics, typically interconnected using networks. Predictability and reliability of combined software and hardware systems are crucial for CPS design (Lee, 2008), but all parts in a real CPS are not necessarily predictable. Specifically, operating in a physical environment introduces different aspects of uncertainty, including uncertainties in sensors, the physical dynamics of the system itself and interactions with other systems or humans. There is a large body of knowledge about reasoning with uncertainty in fields and topics such as statistics, automatic control and sensor fusion. However, how to program for uncertainty in complex cyber-physical systems needs to be better understood. What are the fundamental software abstractions? How do they compose and interact?
Advance Consent in Acute Stroke Trials: Survey of Canadian Research Ethics Board Chairs
Authors: Seeger Rena , Udoh Ubong , Dewar Brian , Nicholls Stuart , Fedyk Mark , Fahed Robert , Perry Jeff , Hill Michael D. , Menon Bijoy , Swartz Richard H. , Poppe Alexandre Y. , Gocan Sophia , Brehaut Jamie , Dainty Katie , Shepherd Victoria , Dowlatshahi Dar , Shamy Michel
Published: July 2023

Advance consent could allow individuals at high risk of stroke to provide consent before they might become eligible for enrollment in acute stroke trials. This survey explores the acceptability of this novel technique to Canadian Research Ethics Board (REB) chairs that review acute stroke trials. Responses from 15 REB chairs showed that majority of respondents expressed comfort approving studies that adopt advance consent. There was no clear preference for advance consent over deferral of consent, although respondents expressed significant concern with broad rather than trial-specific advance consent. These findings shed light on the acceptability of advance consent to Canadian ethics regulators.
Successful Large Hospital Evacuation With 11 350 Patients Transferred in the 2021 Zhengzhou Flood
Authors: Zhou Zichen , Zhang Yongzhong , Gou Jianjun , Kan Nan , Zhao Feida , Yao Lulu , Hou Shike
Published: July 2023

Objectives:

This is a case report of a huge hospital evacuation with 11 350 inpatients in the 2021 Zhengzhou flood in China, using a mixed methods analysis.

Methods:

The qualitative part was a content analysis of semi-structured interviews of 6 key hospital staff involved in evacuation management. The evacuation experience was reviewed according to the 4 stages of disaster management: prevention, preparation, response, and recovery.

Results:

Because of unprecedented torrential rain, the flood exceeded expectations, and there was a lack of local preventive measures. In preparation, according to the alert, the evacuation was planned to reduce the workload on inpatients and to accept the surge of medical needs by the flood. In response, the prioritization of critically ill patients and large-scale collaboration of hospital staff, rescue teams, and accepting branch made it possible to successfully transfer all 11 350 inpatients. In recovery, restoring medical services and a series of activities to improve the hospital’s vulnerability were carried out.

Conclusions:

A hospital evacuation is one of the strategies of the business continuity plan of a hospital. For the evacuation, leadership and collaboration were important. Challenges such as prolonged roadway flooding and the infrastructure issues were needed to be addressed throughout the evacuation process.
Current Situation of Disaster Preparedness for Effective Response in Japanese Special Needs Schools
Authors: Kawasaki Hiromi , Cui Zhengai , Kurokawa Mina , Sonai Kei
Published: July 2023

Objective:

Schools may serve as shelters in the event of a disaster, but little is known about the requirements of children with disabilities in such situations. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate disaster preparedness in Japanese special needs schools depending on the designation of welfare shelters.

Methods:

A questionnaire was distributed to schools nationwide. The respondents (authorities from 531 schools) answered questions about their jobs, disaster experiences, the school type, its students’ disabilities, its designation as a welfare shelter, its evacuation readiness, and the items of a disaster prevention awareness scale. Differences in preparedness among schools and the relationship between preparedness and designation as a welfare shelter were determined.

Results:

Most respondents had never experienced a natural disaster. Schools had insufficient resources to cope with disasters. While the majority (68.2%) had resources for children to stay overnight, a substantial minority of schools (31.8%) did not. No differences were found in preparedness among schools with different types of children with disabilities. Schools designated as welfare shelters were significantly better prepared than others.

Conclusions:

Special needs schools in Japan have limited disaster preparedness. The designation of schools as welfare shelters may increase their preparedness for disasters.
MacMahon’s statistics on higher-dimensional partitions
Authors: Amanov Alimzhan , Yeliussizov Damir
Published: July 2023

We study some combinatorial properties of higher-dimensional partitions which generalize plane partitions. We present a natural bijection betweend-dimensional partitions andd-dimensional arrays of nonnegative integers. This bijection has a number of important applications. We introduce a statistic ond-dimensional partitions, called the corner-hook volume, whose generating function has the formula of MacMahon’s conjecture. We obtain multivariable formulas whose specializations give analogues of various formulas known for plane partitions. We also introduce higher-dimensional analogues of dual stable Grothendieck polynomials which are quasisymmetric functions and whose specializations enumerate higher-dimensional partitions of a given shape. Finally, we show probabilistic connections with a directed last passage percolation model in$\mathbb {Z}^d$.
Unified analytical solution for group-induced infragravity waves based on Green's function
Authors: Liao Zhiling , Zou Qingping , Liu Ye , Contardo Stephanie , Li Shaowu
Published: July 2023

Short-wave group forcing is a major driving mechanism of infragravity waves. The subharmonic response to wave group forcing approaches resonance in shallow water where the group velocity is equal to the shallow-water wave-propagating speed. Currently, there is a lack of understanding of the connection between the free and bound components of group-induced infragravity waves and the consistency among existing solutions for off- and near-resonance conditions in intermediate and shallow water. Here, a unified solution of group-induced subharmonics is derived based on Green's function for the first time. The new solution is valid for any resonance intensity and is able to describe group-induced subharmonic behaviour at all water depths consistently from a new angle. The proposed solution reduces to existing solutions for intermediate depth (Longuet-Higgins & Stewart,J. Fluid Mech., vol. 13, 1962, pp. 481–504; Zou,Phys. Oceanogr., vol. 41, 2011, pp. 1842–1859), shallow water and/or over a plane sloping beach (Van Leeuwen, PhD thesis, TU Delft, 1992; Schäffer,J. Fluid Mech., vol. 247, 1993, pp. 551–588; Janssenet al.,J. Geophys. Res., vol. 108, 2003, p. 3252; Contardoet al.,J. Phys. Oceanogr., vol. 51, 2021, pp. 1465–1487; Liaoet al.,J. Phys. Oceanogr., vol. 51, 2021, pp. 2749–2765). Unlike previous solutions, the Green's function-based solution describes all subharmonics as free subharmonics continuously radiated away from each point source in the group-induced forcing field determined by wave radiation stress gradients. The superposition of all these free subharmonics yields so-called bound subharmonics by previous studies due to group-modulated emission of each free subharmonic through the source field bound to the wave group. Therefore, this solution provides theoretical evidence that the group-induced subharmonic at any observation point is dependent on the surrounding radiation stress field and topography. Under full-resonance conditions in shallow water, downwave-propagating subharmonics excited at all source locations interfere with each other constructively; therefore, their superposed amplitude is proportional to the travel distance of wave groups. Combined with the conventional moving-breakpoint forcing model, the predicted amplitude of the subharmonic in the surf zone by the present solution is in good agreement with laboratory observations.
Flow control of a plunging cylinder based on resolvent analysis
Authors: Lin Ching-Te , Tsai Min-Lin , Tsai Hsieh-Chen
Published: July 2023

We design an open-loop active flow control for separated flows around a plunging circular cylinder based on resolvent analysis. The cylinder is plunging at a Strouhal number of 0.36 and a Reynolds number of 500. A linear time-periodic system for control is obtained by linearizing the non-inertial incompressible vorticity equation in the cylinder-fixed frame about a time-averaged base flow. Using the Lyapunouv–Floquet transformation, the linear time-periodic system is transformed into a similar linear time-invariant system, whose resolvent is analysed to obtain an optimal actuating Strouhal number of 0.1464 for the transformed linear system. Simulations show that the active control with tangential actuations is capable of reducing the lift fluctuation by up to 25.7 % when the flow is actuated near the predicted harmonic and subharmonic frequencies.
Schatten class composition operators on the Hardy space
Authors: Yang Wenwan , Yuan Cheng
Published: July 2023

Suppose $2< p<\infty$ and $\varphi$ is a holomorphic self-map of the open unit disk $\mathbb {D}$. We show the following assertions:

(1)

If $\varphi$ has bounded valence and
0.1\begin{equation} \int_{\mathbb{D}} \left(\frac{1-|z|^2}{1-|\varphi(z)|^2}\right)^{p/2}\frac{\mathrm{d} A(z)}{(1-|z|^2)^2}<\infty, \end{equation}then $C_{\varphi }$ is in the Schatten $p$-class of the Hardy space $H^2$.

(2)

There exists a holomorphic self-map $\varphi$ (which is, of course, not of bounded valence) such that the inequality (0.1) holds and $C_{\varphi }: H^2\to H^2$ does not belong to the Schatten $p$-class.
Human colostrum in vitro protein digestion: peptidomics by liquid chromatography-Orbitrap-high-resolution MS and prospection for bioactive peptides via bioinformatics
Authors: Campanhon Isabele Batista , de Aguiar Paula Fernandes , Bezerra Flávia Fioruci , Soares Márcia Regina , Torres Alexandre Guedes
Published: July 2023

Breast milk is known to contain bioactive peptides that are released during digestion, being a major source of bioactive peptides to the new-born, some of which act against invading pathogens. However, the formation of bioactive peptides during digestion of human colostrum remains largely uninvestigated. This study aimed to investigate the formation of peptides during simulated digestion of human colostrum from adult women and to prospect antimicrobial peptides. For this purpose, we used high-resolution MS to monitor the release of peptides during in vitro digestion. Bioinformatics was used for the prospection of antimicrobial activity of peptides. During simulated digestion (oral, gastric and duodenal phases), 2318 peptide sequences derived from 112 precursor proteins were identified. At the end of simulated digestion, casein-derived peptide sequences were the most frequently observed. Among precursors, some proteins were seen for the first time in this study. The resulting peptides were rich in proline, glutamine, valine and leucine residues, providing characteristic traits of antimicrobial peptides. From bioinformatics analysis, seven peptides showed potentially high antimicrobial activity towards bacteria, viruses and fungi, from which the latter was the most prominent predicted activity. Antimicrobial peptides released during digestion may provide a defence platform with controlled release for the new-born.
Helminth-host-environment interactions: Looking down from the tip of the iceberg
Authors: Scott M.E.
Published: July 2023

In 1978, the theory behind helminth parasites having the potential to regulate the abundance of their host populations was formalized based on the understanding that those helminth macroparasites that reduce survival or fecundity of the infected host population would be among the forces limiting unregulated host population growth. Now, 45 years later, a phenomenal breadth of factors that directly or indirectly affect the host–helminth interaction has emerged. Based largely on publications from the past 5 years, this review explores the host–helminth interaction from three lenses: the perspective of the helminth, the host, and the environment. What biotic and abiotic as well as social and intrinsic host factors affect helminths? What are the negative, and positive, implications for host populations and communities? What are the larger-scale implications of the host–helminth dynamic on the environment, and what evidence do we have that human-induced environmental change will modify this dynamic? The overwhelming message is that context is everything. Our understanding of second-, third-, and fourth-level interactions is extremely limited, and we are far from drawing generalizations about the myriad of microbe-helminth-host interactions.Yet the intricate, co-evolved balance and complexity of these interactions may provide a level of resilience in the face of global environmental change. Hopefully, this albeit limited compilation of recent research will spark new interdisciplinary studies, and application of the One Health approach to all helminth systems will generate new and testable conceptual frameworks that encompass our understanding of the host–helminth–environment triad.
Folk magic in the Philippines, 1611–39
Authors: Mawson Stephanie Joy
Published: July 2023

While studies of commerce and trade in Manila's ‘Golden Age’ are common, the impact of the city's multiethnic society on the daily lives of its inhabitants has often been harder to gauge. Based on 98 Inquisition cases, this article examines the widespread use of folk magic in colonial Manila, offering new insights into cultural interactions and inviting new reflections on the nature and extent of colonial domination. Folk magic—also known as hechicería—was an important part of cultural life within Spanish communities across the empire in the early modern period. Encompassing a variety of different practices, including the use of love charms, luck charms, spell-casting, and divination, it offered individuals opportunities to mediate their relationships, particularly with members of the opposite sex. These practices connected European folk traditions with Asian knowledge of botany, medicine, and spirituality to fulfil the needs of the Spanish community for magic. At the same time, this blending of Spanish and Asian cultures was subversive of colonial authority. Folk magic practices challenged the progression of ‘pious imperialism’ that pitted Christianity against indigenous traditions, creating spaces of cultural exchange where the balance of power between cultures was more evenly felt than often assumed.
The Yunnan–Burma railway, 1860s–1940s: Imagining, planning and rejecting a railway that was never built
Authors: Cao Yin
Published: July 2023

In the late nineteenth century, British commercial interests in Asia and back home visualised a railway connecting British Burma with inland China, which they saw as a vast unexplored market. British engineers and adventurers were then employed by the commercial bodies to investigate the economy and geography of Yunnan and Upper Burma for the project. The railway was eventually rejected by the British as being unviable and unprofitable. The colonial knowledge created by these missions (in the form of travelogues, survey reports, interviews and studies) was later interpreted by Chinese nationalists as evidence of Britain's ambitions to colonise southwest China in 1905 (the Russo-Japanese War) and 1927 (the Northern Expedition) when the Chinese nation was in deep crisis. But the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War led the Chinese Nationalist government to reconsider the Yunnan–Burma railway as necessary infrastructure for obtaining foreign supplies to save the nation. The colonial knowledge produced by British explorers and merchants earlier was reinterpreted by the Nationalists to try to persuade the British authorities to construct the Burma section of the railway. By tracing the history of this failed project, this article argues that nationalist understandings of colonial infrastructure were far from fixed and consistent. It recounts the circulation of colonial knowledge on the Yunnan–Burma railway from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century, showing how different nationalist agents in Asia interpreted and reinterpreted colonial infrastructure at various critical periods.
Three-dimensional theorems for schools
Authors: Zeeman Christopher
Published: July 2023

Geometry is gradually coming back into the school syllabus, but so far only 2-dimensional geometry. I would like to make a case for including some 3-dimensional geometry as well, because the latter is vital for describing the world throughout science, engineering and architecture. Higher-dimensional geometry also comprises a major part of modern research within mathematics itself. Also 3-dimensional geometry fosters both our intuitive understanding and our geometric imagination. It teaches us to see things in the round. It also trains us to see all sides of an argument simultaneously, as opposed to algebra and computing which emphasise thinking sequentially.
Social isolation from childhood to mid-adulthood: is there an association with older brain age?
Authors: Lay-Yee Roy , Hariri Ahmad R. , Knodt Annchen R. , Barrett-Young Ashleigh , Matthews Timothy , Milne Barry J.
Published: July 2023

Background

Older brain age – as estimated from structural MRI data – is known to be associated with detrimental mental and physical health outcomes in older adults. Social isolation, which has similar detrimental effects on health, may be associated with accelerated brain aging though little is known about how different trajectories of social isolation across the life course moderate this association. We examined the associations between social isolation trajectories from age 5 to age 38 and brain age assessed at age 45.

Methods

We previously created a typology of social isolation based on onset during the life course and persistence into adulthood, using group-based trajectory analysis of longitudinal data from a New Zealand birth cohort. The typology comprises four groups: ‘never-isolated’, ‘adult-only’, ‘child-only’, and persistent ‘child-adult’ isolation. A brain age gap estimate (brainAGE) – the difference between predicted age from structural MRI date and chronological age – was derived at age 45. We undertook analyses of brainAGE with trajectory group as the predictor, adjusting for sex, family socio-economic status, and a range of familial and child-behavioral factors.

Results

Older brain age in mid-adulthood was associated with trajectories of social isolation after adjustment for family and child confounders, particularly for the ‘adult-only’ group compared to the ‘never-isolated’ group.

Conclusions

Although our findings are associational, they indicate that preventing social isolation, particularly in mid-adulthood, may help to avert accelerated brain aging associated with negative health outcomes later in life.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder as a risk factor for being involved in intimate partner violence and sexual violence: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Arrondo Gonzalo , Osorio Alfonso , Magallón Sara , Lopez-del Burgo Cristina , Cortese Samuele
Published: July 2023

Background

Intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual violence (SV) are significant problems world-wide, and they affect women disproportionally. Whether individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at an increased risk of being involved in these types of violence is unclear.

Methods

We carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis (PROSPERO registration CRD42022348165) of the associations between ADHD and being the victim or perpetrator of IPV and SV. Ratios of occurrence of violence were pooled in random-effects models and study risk of bias was evaluated using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale.

Results

A search on multiple databases, carried out on 7 October 2022, yielded 14 eligible studies (1 111 557 individuals). Analyses showed a higher risk of ADHD individuals being involved in IPV as perpetrators (six studies, OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.51–4.15) or victims (four studies, OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.06–3.0). Likewise, individuals with ADHD were at increased risk of being perpetrators (three studies, OR 2.73, 95% CI 1.35–5.51) or victims of SV (six studies, OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.51–2.24). Results were overall robust to different analytical choices.

Conclusions

Individuals with ADHD are at an increased risk of being involved in cases of violence, namely IPV and SV, either as victims or perpetrators. Although the causal path or mediating variables for these results are still unclear, this increased risk should inform evidence-based psychoeducation with individuals with ADHD, their families, and partners about romantic relationships and sexuality.
Structural variability of the cerebral cortex in schizophrenia and its association with clinical symptoms
Authors: Joo Sung Woo , Jo Young Tak , Kim Yangsik , Lee Won Hee , Chung Young-Chul , Lee Jungsun
Published: July 2023

Background

Substantial evidence indicates structural abnormalities in the cerebral cortex of patients with schizophrenia (SCZ), although their clinical implications remain unclear. Previous case-control studies have investigated group-level differences in structural abnormalities, although the study design cannot account for interindividual differences. Recent research has focused on the association between the heterogeneity of the cerebral cortex morphometric features and clinical heterogeneity.

Methods

We used neuroimaging data from 420 healthy controls and 695 patients with SCZ from seven studies. Four cerebral cortex measures were obtained: surface area, gray matter volume, thickness, and local gyrification index. We calculated the coefficient of variation (CV) and person-based similarity index (PBSI) scores and performed group comparisons. Associations between the PBSI scores and cognitive functions were evaluated using Spearman's rho test and normative modeling.

Results

Patients with SCZ had a greater CV of surface area and cortical thickness than those of healthy controls. All PBSI scores across cortical measures were lower in patients with SCZ than in HCs. In the patient group, the PBSI scores for gray matter volume and all cortical measures taken together positively correlated with the full-scale IQ scores. Patients with deviant PBSI scores for gray matter volume and all cortical measures taken together had lower full-scale IQ scores than those of other patients.

Conclusions

The cerebral cortex in patients with SCZ showed greater regional and global structural variability than that in healthy controls. Patients with deviant similarity of cortical structural profiles exhibited a lower general intelligence than those exhibited by the other patients.
Development and validation of a multimodal neuroimaging biomarker for electroconvulsive therapy outcome in depression: a multicenter machine learning analysis
Authors: Bruin Willem Benjamin , Oltedal Leif , Bartsch Hauke , Abbott Christopher , Argyelan Miklos , Barbour Tracy , Camprodon Joan , Chowdhury Samadrita , Espinoza Randall , Mulders Peter , Narr Katherine , Oudega Mardien , Rhebergen Didi , ten Doesschate Freek , Tendolkar Indira , van Eijndhoven Philip , van Exel Eric , van Verseveld Mike , Wade Benjamin , van Waarde Jeroen , Zhutovsky Paul , Dols Annemiek , van Wingen Guido
Published: July 2023

Background

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective intervention for patients with treatment resistant depression. A clinical decision support tool could guide patient selection to improve the overall response rate and avoid ineffective treatments with adverse effects. Initial small-scale, monocenter studies indicate that both structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) and functional MRI (fMRI) biomarkers may predict ECT outcome, but it is not known whether those results can generalize to data from other centers. The objective of this study was to develop and validate neuroimaging biomarkers for ECT outcome in a multicenter setting.

Methods

Multimodal data (i.e. clinical, sMRI and resting-state fMRI) were collected from seven centers of the Global ECT-MRI Research Collaboration (GEMRIC). We used data from 189 depressed patients to evaluate which data modalities or combinations thereof could provide the best predictions for treatment remission (HAM-D score ⩽7) using a support vector machine classifier.

Results

Remission classification using a combination of gray matter volume and functional connectivity led to good performing models with average 0.82–0.83 area under the curve (AUC) when trained and tested on samples coming from the three largest centers (N = 109), and remained acceptable when validated using leave-one-site-out cross-validation (0.70–0.73 AUC).

Conclusions

These results show that multimodal neuroimaging data can be used to predict remission with ECT for individual patients across different treatment centers, despite significant variability in clinical characteristics across centers. Future development of a clinical decision support tool applying these biomarkers may be feasible.
Boomer Peak or Gen X Cliff? From SVS to LBMS in Georgia English
Authors: Renwick Margaret E. L. , Stanley Joseph A. , Forrest Jon , Glass Lelia
Published: July 2023

The late twentieth century in the United States marks the decline of regional vowel systems like the Northern Cities Shift and the Southern Vowel Shift, replaced by supralocal systems like the Low-Back-Merger Shift. We chart such change in acoustic data from seven generations of White speakers (n = 135) in the Southeastern state of Georgia. We analyze front vowels affected by both the SVS and LBMS (dress, trap), plus price and face, known respectively to monophthongize and centralize in the SVS, and LBMS-implicated lot/thought. The SVS is most advanced among Georgians born in the mid-twentieth century, particularly in face-centralization. In Generation X, retraction of front lax vowels begins, leading toward the LBMS. These results, which hold across genders and education levels, support findings that regional vowel systems declined precipitously following a Gen X “cliff,” raising questions about how such language changes are rooted in demographic transformations of that time period.
Perforated posterior mitral valve leaflet in mitral annular disjunction and infective endocarditis
Authors: Xiao Ran , Niaz Talha , Doan Tam T.
Published: July 2023

We herein presented a 17-year-old female with history of mild mitral valve prolapse who was admitted for methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis and diagnosed with mitral annular disjunction and perforated posterior mitral valve leaflet on two-dimensional and three-dimensional echocardiography (P1–P2). A perforation in the posterior leaflet was confirmed and repaired during surgical intervention. This is a rare presentation of leaflet perforation in the area of mitral annular disjunction.
Pulmonary artery coarctation repair in univentricular heart: indications and optimal timing
Authors: Miwa Koji , Iwai Shigemitsu , Kanaya Tomomitsu , Kawai Shota
Published: July 2023

Background:

To analyse surgical outcomes of pulmonary artery coarctation in univentricular hearts, focusing on surgical indications and optimal timing.

Methods:

We retrospectively reviewed 49 patients with pulmonary artery coarctation in univentricular hearts treated at our institution between 1993 and 2022. Twenty-eight patients were diagnosed before first-stage palliation. Of these, 14 underwent systemic-pulmonary shunt only as first-stage palliation (Group 1), and 14 underwent systemic-pulmonary shunt plus surgical pulmonary artery plasty as first-stage palliation (Group 2). Twenty-one patients diagnosed after first-stage palliation underwent surgical pulmonary artery plasty at the time of bidirectional Glenn procedure (Group 3).

Results:

Follow-up period after initial palliation was 6±8 years. The Fontan procedure was successful in 35 patients (71%) aged 28±26 months (range 18–139). Freedom from interstage death (Group 1, 53%; Group 2, 85%; Group 3, 93%) and interstage reintervention (Group 1, 50%; Group 2, 75%; Group 3, 73%) rates were significantly lower in Group 1 (p = 0.01). Five and four patients in Group 1 and Group 3, respectively, needed additional shunts before the bidirectional Glenn procedure. In Group 1, one patient with a non-confluent pulmonary artery achieved hemi-lung Fontan circulation. In Group 2, one patient suffering with a non-confluent pulmonary artery could not achieve Fontan circulation, whereas another patient with pulmonary venous obstruction achieved hemi-lung Fontan circulation.

Conclusions:

Surgical pulmonary artery plasty performed at first-stage palliation improved outcomes of pulmonary artery coarctation in univentricular hearts, particularly when pulmonary artery coarctation had already progressed during the neonatal period or early infancy.
HALL CLASSES OF GROUPS WITH A LOCALLY FINITE OBSTRUCTION
Authors: DE GIOVANNI F. , TROMBETTI M. , WEHRFRITZ B. A. F.
Published: July 2023

A well-known theorem of Philip Hall states that if a group G has a nilpotent normal subgroup N such that
$G/N'$
is nilpotent, then G itself is nilpotent. We say that a group class 𝔛 is a Hall class if it contains every group G admitting a nilpotent normal subgroup N such that
$G/N'$
belongs to 𝔛. Hall classes have been considered by several authors, such as Plotkin [‘Some properties of automorphisms of nilpotent groups’, Soviet Math. Dokl.2 (1961), 471–474] and Robinson [‘A property of the lower central series of a group’, Math. Z.107 (1968), 225–231]. A further detailed study of Hall classes is performed by us in another paper [‘Hall classes of groups’, to appear] and we also investigate the behaviour of the class of finite-by-𝔜 groups for a given Hall class 𝔜 [‘Hall classes in linear groups’, to appear]. The aim of this paper is to prove that for most natural choices of the Hall class 𝔜, also the classes
$(\mathbf{L}\mathfrak{F})\mathfrak{Y}$
and 𝔅𝔜 are Hall classes, where L𝔉 is the class of locally finite groups and 𝔅 is the class of locally finite groups of finite exponent.
Experimental determination of set-up displacements in anthropomorphic phantom in single-isocentre radiosurgery for multiple brain metastases by off-axis Winston–Lutz test: ExacTracTM v.6 versus DynamicTM
Authors: Rojas-López J. A. , Chesta M. A. , Venencia C. D.
Published: July 2023

Purpose:

We compare the accuracy of the off-axis Winston–Lutz (WL) test in two versions of ExacTracTM: version 6.0 (ETv6) and Dynamic (ETD) in the same linac (TrueBeam STx®).

Materials and methods:

An upgraded of the ExacTracTM system was done in our institution. It was designed as an off-axis WL test before the update for comparison purposes. A head 3D-printed phantom based on a patient’s computed tomography images was used. Nine metallic fiducials were inserted and distributed on the phantom. Each target (fiducial) was designed an off-axis WL test with eight different gantry/collimator/table combinations. The phantom was placed using two different ETv6 and ETD in the same linac, and cone-beam computed tomography and electronic portal imaging device (EPID) images were acquired. The 2D deviation between the centre of the fiducial and the radiation field was found and compared with the original digital reconstructed radiography (DRR) by the profiles.

Results:

The phantom allows the definition of a procedure to determine off-axis deviations in radiosurgery treatments. The displacements calculated from the WL test showed acceptable values for both versions taking into account 3D displacement tolerances of 1 mm. These values were reached with rigorous quality assurance (QA) linac tests performed routinely that include mechanical, MV/kV and image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) tests. However, ETD indicated more accurate values for all the targets no matter the distance to the isocentre (3D displacements < 0·5 mm).

Conclusion:

In terms of the IGRT correction without set-up displacements, ETD is up to twice as accurate as the ETv6, showing 3D displacements up to 0·5 mm in all targets.