bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Using Machine Learning to Include Planners’ Preferences in Railway Crew Scheduling Optimization
Authors: Gattermann-Itschert Theresa , Poreschack Laura Maria , Thonemann Ulrich W.
Published: January 2023

In crew scheduling, optimization models can become complex when a large number of penalty terms is included in the objective function to take planners’ preferences into account. Planners’ preferences often include nonmonetary aspects for which both the mathematical formulation and the assignment of appropriate penalty costs can be difficult. We address this problem by using machine learning to learn and predict planners’ preferences. We train a random forest classifier on planner feedback regarding duties from their daily work in railway crew scheduling. Our data set contains over 16,000 duties that planners labeled as good or bad. The trained model predicts the probability that a duty is perceived as bad by the planners. We present a novel approach to replace the large construct of penalty terms in a crew scheduling optimization model by a single term that penalizes duties proportionally to the predicted probability of being assessed as unfavorable by a planner. By integrating this probability into the optimization model, we generate schedules that include more duties with preferred characteristics. We increase the mean planner acceptance probability by more than 12% while only facing a marginal increase in costs compared with the original approach that utilizes a set of multiple penalty terms. Our approach combines machine learning to detect complex patterns regarding favorable duty characteristics and optimization to create feasible and cost-efficient crew schedules.

Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/trsc.2022.1196 .
In Other Voices
Authors: Hackett Helen
Published: January 2023

This chapter analyses the Elizabethan view of the female mind. The general Elizabethan theories about connections between mind and body were applied with particular force to women: phrases such as ‘strange vapours’ epitomise widely held beliefs that the female body was weak and unstable, and that this made the female mind equally unruly. Because their minds were widely assumed to be out of control, many female writers chose forms, genres, and subjects that exemplified control and demonstrated their conquest of the supposed irrationality and waywardness of their sex. The chapter attempts to examine such self-regulation more fully by looking further into what men wrote about the female mind. It considers both the praise and the derision men held for the female mind, as well as how women spoke in men's voices in a form of translation.
Governing Self and State
Authors: Hackett Helen
Published: January 2023

This chapter examines will. Definitions of will generally associated it with personal choice and agency, but beyond this it generated radically different evaluations. Some writers associated will with the passions and bodily appetites, and hence advocated its subjugation by reason. Others, however, construed it as a faculty of moral choice that should take precedence over reason. Sometimes it was will, not reason, that was represented as monarch of the mind. All of these debates, however, took place in the context of a general assumption that the mind was like a state and the state was like a mind. Hence, the chapter explores how the Elizabethans policitised the mind, delving into historical understandings of hierarchy, wit, and Queen Elizabeth I herself.
Agile Stability in the Post-Second World War Era
Authors: Kattel Rainer , Drechsler Wolfgang , Karo Erkki
Published: January 2023

This chapter provides an account of the post-Second World War rebuilding of the war-torn countries and societies. It explores classic Weberian systems in the modern history of management and public administration thinking, which are considered as best arrangement for planning, coordination, and personnel routines focusing on long-term visions, stability, and merit in the public or private sphere. It also describes the globalisation of innovation thinking through the financial and policy influence of the US on European and Asian rebuilding projects. The chapter talks about the different regions and countries that entered the rebuilding stage with varying histories and political and administrative legacies that are considered in the formation of the charismatic networks and new types of public sector organisations charged with dynamic capabilities. It examines the challenge of balancing between globalisation and convergence versus contextualisation that has been an everlasting policy challenge ever since.
The Little Magazine: From Font to Network
Authors: Mann Barbara E.
Published: January 2023

This chapter examines Yiddish little magazines. Little magazines—their production, circulation and consumption—are symptomatic of the mobility and the crossing of national borders in the interwar period, especially for Yiddish journals. Yiddish was the lingua franca of clusters of young Jewish avant-garde artists and writers. The journals were in some sense symbols of their peripatetic movements; at the same time, they may also be understood as a temporary refuge of sorts within the broader condition of Jewish “extraterritoriality.” Given their relatively brief publication spans and peripatetic nature, very little detail remains regarding the material conditions of their production. The journals' material and visual distinctiveness cohered in an amalgam of features, including their signature manifestos, cover design, typography, and other visual components.
From Maus to The Rabbi’s Cat: The Jewish Graphic Novel
Authors: Mann Barbara E.
Published: January 2023

This chapter explores Jewish graphic novels, which demonstrate how Jewish sensitivity to the image may be brought into conversation with the specific language of comics. It begins by looking at Art Spiegelman's Maus: A Survivor's Tale (1986), providing a brief introduction to how the language and grammar of comics operate. Spiegelman was not the first comics artist to capitalize on the form's elastic relation to time and space, but the influence of Maus has shaped the emergence of the graphic novel as a preeminent genre of historical trauma. Like Maus, Rutu Modan's Haneches (The Property, 2013) adopts a cross-generational frame to explore history and the Holocaust. The chapter then considers Joannn Sfar's The Rabbi's Cat (2005) and Leela Corman's Unterzakhn (2012). Elements of both stories complicate normative histories—of Jewish–Arab relations in prewar Algeria in Sfar's work and of twentieth-century Jewish life on the Lower East Side in Corman's. The vocabulary of comics, with their emphasis on juxtaposition and multiple perspectives, accommodates this kind of nuance and revision, this undoing of history.
A Question of Sovereignty
Authors: Pittock Murray
Published: January 2023

This chapter discusses the Thirty Years' War. Whilst the roots of the war varied, the central ideology within the war had been the attempts to impose Catholicism on kingdoms and imperial states. Peace was only brought by the Peace of Westphalia through a diplomatic system that embodied modern notions of national sovereignty. The chapter elaborates on the series of Westphalian treaties agreed upon at Osnabruck and Münster and the development of the balance of power principle, which collapsed with the First World War. It also covers the Western understanding of Westphalian principles of sovereignty. The Scottish Enlightenment took place in a context of material improvement, which had been significant due to the country's relative poverty in the 17th century. The chapter also looks into the alliance of Scotland and the Union of the Crowns that left a mark on Scottish history and British history.
Crown and No Kingdom, Church and No State
Authors: Pittock Murray
Published: January 2023

This chapter explores the state of Scotland in 1707, which had been unnaturally impoverished following seven decades of intermittent conflict. It highlights the differences between Scotland and England in terms of finance, culture, and agriculture. Additionally, Jacobitism aimed to restore the Stuart dynasty, which tended to manifest as clerical conservatism with xenophobia in England. However, support for Jacobites strongly correlated to a range of national grievances and a desire to restore the Stuart composite monarchy with strong national parliaments and inbuilt protection for Catholicism in Ireland and Episcopalianism in Scotland. The chapter expounds on the Jacobite rising of 1745, which is the product of Prince Charles Stuart's dynamism, the French Court's changing power structures, the renewed war in Europe, and Scotland's weak economic conditions. Moreover, according to research, the relatively long British Army occupation played a part in the better integration of Scotland into Great Britain in 1760.
Alternatives To The United States China, Russia, And Spheres Of Influence
Authors: Lieber Robert J.
Published: January 2023

This chapter discusses the inquiry into alternatives to US leadership by looking at how geopolitical spheres of influence may prevail in an increasingly fragmented international system. It mentions China, which has become the predominant power in East Asia and has aspirations for global leadership, but its conduct is considered mercantilist, illiberal, and predatory. It also highlights Russia, Iran, Turkey, and others that seek to enhance their own regional dominance in ways that threaten their neighbors. The chapter describes the sphere-of-influence strategy or extensive disengagement that would generate conflict. A world in which the United States largely abdicates its long-standing role is most probably a world of perpetual conflict among rival spheres of influence.
Is The United States Still Indispensable?
Authors: Lieber Robert J.
Published: January 2023

This chapter confronts the core issue of whether the United States is still indispensable, addressing the obstacles to maintaining an open, stable, rules-based international order. It addresses the question of whether the United States is experiencing the kind of fundamental decline that some analysts have posited. It also talks about why a major power like the United States committed to sustaining a rules-based international order is still necessary and determines whether the United States can still provide that requisite leadership. The chapter reviews the severity and disarray of national responses to the pandemic and illuminates two broader realities: One is the need for a major world power to galvanize international action on common problems, while the other is the importance of the role the United States has customarily played as leader and catalyst for collective action. The chapter emphasizes how possible alternatives to American leadership are either inadequate or undesirable.
Politics, Society, and Culture
Authors: Lieber Robert J.
Published: January 2023

This chapter examines the domestic conditions on which the international role of the United States ultimately depends and asks whether Americans still want their country to lead. It describes how America is a different place in the 2020s from what it was at the end of the twentieth century. The economic and social impacts of globalization, and the significant economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have contributed to political alienation and the rise of populism among many blue-collar and middle-class workers. The chapter identifies political polarization, social and cultural conflict, and the erosion of a sense of common identity as critical obstacles to an effective and engaged world role. It recounts the rejection of election results by outgoing president Donald Trump and the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, which provide dramatic evidence of how serious divisions of the left and right of the political spectrum have become.
Obama, Trump, And The Problem Of Leadership
Authors: Lieber Robert J.
Published: January 2023

This chapter focuses on the presidential leadership of Barack Obama and Donald Trump. It mentions Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, who pursued their own foreign policies and accepted as a given the importance of American engagement and leadership. In contrast, both Obama and Trump pursued strategies of retrenchment, despite sharply diverging in their policy preferences and personal styles. The chapter talks about how Obama emphasized outreach to adversaries and the international community, while Trump disengaged in the form of a nationalist, transactional foreign policy that included harsh criticism of allies, withdrawal from international agreements, the constant threat of trade wars, and friendly words about authoritarian leaders. The chapter highlights how both Obama and Trump left the United States with a more adverse foreign policy arena and with diminished global influence.
A Murderous Midsummer
Authors: Stoyle Mark
Published: January 2023

The Western Rising of 1549 was the most catastrophic event to occur in Devon and Cornwall between the Black Death and the Civil War. Beginning as an argument between two men and their vicar, the rebellion led to a siege of Exeter, savage battles with Crown forces, and the deaths of 4,000 local men and women. It represents the most determined attempt by ordinary English people to halt the religious reformation of the Tudor period. This book tells the story of the so-called “Prayer Book Rebellion” in full. Correcting the accepted narrative in a number of places, the book shows that the government in London saw the rebels as a real threat. The book demonstrates the importance of regional identity and emphasizes that religion was at the heart of the uprising. This definitive account brings to life the stories of the thousands of men and women who acted to defend their faith almost five hundred years ago.
Escalation
Authors: Stoyle Mark
Published: January 2023

This chapter inspects how the disturbances spread into Cornwall during early July of 1549. It investigates how the protestors in Devon assembled under ‘captains’ and began to besiege Exeter — whose civic leaders had resolved to hold out for the Crown — and how the government in London scrambled to deal with what was rapidly becoming a military emergency. The chapter also illuminates the decision of Exeter's town governors to reject the overtures of the rebel captains, and to place the city in a defensive posture instead. As the chapter argues, it is clear that a majority of the councillors eventually agreed that the rebels should be rebuffed. The chapter then presents the main reasons why the town governors had come to this decision. First, they had concluded that, by opposing the new service book, the insurgents were going against the will of the king, and that — as the king was God's anointed — this could only be said to be going against the will of God himself. Second, they had concluded that, if the rebels were admitted, then ‘the safetie of the cittie’ might well be threatened by a general collapse in law and order. Third, and conceivably most important of all, they had concluded that, in this same scenario, they ‘themselves’, as the chief local governors, might well be in danger of being apprehended and imprisoned by the rebels if they dared to gainsay them.
A Rare Case of Distal Femur Physeal Fracture Dislocation with Positional Vascular Compromise in an Adolescent Male
Authors: Ambulgekar Rajesh Kishanrao , Chhabda Gurneet Kaur
Published: January 2023

Introduction: Physeal fractures are a rare entity to occur around the knee. However, they may prove to be dangerous when encountered due to their proximity to the popliteal artery and associated risk of premature physeal closure. A distal femur displaced, SH type I, physeal fracture is very uncommon and is most likely caused by high velocity trauma. Case Report: Here is a case of right sided distal femur physeal fracture dislocation in a 15-year-old boy having positional vascular compromise (popliteal vessel involvement) as a result of the fracture displacement. He was immediately planned for open reduction and fixation using multiple K wires due to limb threatening condition. We focus on the potential immediate and remote complications, the treatment modality and the functional outcome of the fracture. Conclusion: Due to the potential risk of immediate limb-threatening complication due to vascular compromise, this kind of injury needs emergency fixation. Furthermore, long-term complications like growth disturbances have to be considered and prevented by early definitive treatment. Keywords: Distal femur, adolescent, physeal fracture, salter-harris, growth plate, vascular compromise, operative treatment.
Multi-MEMS-microphone schemes in a miniature photoacoustic cell for acetylene trace gas measurement
Authors: He Qing , Zhu Weirun , Lv Haifei , Wen Xiaoyan , Zheng Zhexuan , Wang Jiafu , Li Min
Published: January 2023

Dissolved gas analysis is a strong tool for online health monitoring of electrical power equipment. The industry’s large-scale deployment of photoacoustic (PA) sensors is still constrained by cost and sensitivity, despite the great accuracy achieved with a mid-infrared light source or optical sensors. We provide a low-cost PA sensor for ppb-level trace gas sensing based on a near-infrared distributed feedback laser source, miniature gas cell, and multiple microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microphones. Five multi-MEMS-microphones schemes are modeled. The simulation indicates that the sensor, including two MEMS microphones in the center of the resonator, is the most cost-efficient option. The experiments that present this scheme can be realized easily by modifying a traditional single microphone PA cell and with ppb-level sensitivity.
Hybrid near-optimum binary receiver with realistic photon-number-resolving detectors
Authors: Notarnicola Michele N. , Paris Matteo G. A. , Olivares Stefano
Published: January 2023

We propose a near-optimum receiver for the discrimination of binary phase-shift-keyed coherent states employing photon-number-resolving detectors. The receiver exploits a discrimination strategy based on both so-called homodyne-like and direct detection, thus resulting in a hybrid scheme. We analyze the performance and robustness of the proposed scheme under realistic conditions, namely, in the presence of inefficient detection and dark counts. We show that the present hybrid setup is near- optimum and beats both the standard quantum limit and the performance of the Kennedy receiver.
Self-similarity in transient stimulated Raman scattering in CO2-filled hollow-core fiber
Authors: Krupa Katarzyna , Parriaux Alexandre , Millot Guy , Fanjoux Gil
Published: January 2023

We demonstrate experimentally the complex and extensive spectro-temporal dynamics of stimulated Raman scattering in

C
O

2

-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fiber, pumped by a single infrared microchip laser; namely, the cascading transient Raman process and self-similar behaviors in the regime of higher-order Stokes wave generation. Our measurements are in good agreement with the numerical simulations based on the nonlinear Schrödinger equation.
Exact and geometrical optics energy trajectories in Bessel beams via the quantum potential
Authors: Silva-Ortigoza Gilberto , Julián-Macías Israel , Espíndola-Ramos Ernesto , Silva-Ortigoza Ramón
Published: January 2023

The aim of the present work is to show that any monochromatic solution to the scalar wave equation in free space defines a conservative Hamiltonian system, describing a particle of mass

m
=
1

/

2

and energy

E
=
1

, under the influence of the so-called quantum potential. We remark that the integral curves of its Poynting vector, exact optics energy trajectories, define a particular subset of solutions to the corresponding Hamilton equations. Furthermore, we introduce the zero quantum potential straight lines concept, as the family of tangent lines to the integral curves of the Poynting vector at the zeros of the quantum potential. These general results are applied to a family of plane waves and to Bessel beams. In the case of Bessel beams, we present a detailed study of the trajectories determined by the corresponding Hamiltonian system, and we show that the zero quantum potential straight lines coincide with the geometrical light rays, geometrical optics energy trajectories. Furthermore, we show that the areal velocity, determined by the exact optics energy trajectories, for non-zero order Bessel beams is not a constant of motion. However, its projection along the

z
^

direction is a constant of motion because

L
z

is a constant.
Multimodal image and spectral feature learning for efficient analysis of water-suspended particles
Authors: Takahashi Tomoko , Liu Zonghua , Thevar Thangavel , Burns Nicholas , Lindsay Dhugal , Watson John , Mahajan Sumeet , Yukioka Satoru , Tanaka Shuhei , Nagai Yukiko , Thornton Blair
Published: January 2023

We have developed a method to combine morphological and chemical information for the accurate identification of different particle types using optical measurement techniques that require no sample preparation. A combined holographic imaging and Raman spectroscopy setup is used to gather data from six different types of marine particles suspended in a large volume of seawater. Unsupervised feature learning is performed on the images and the spectral data using convolutional and single-layer autoencoders. The learned features are combined, where we demonstrate that non-linear dimensional reduction of the combined multimodal features can achieve a high clustering macro F1 score of 0.88, compared to a maximum of 0.61 when only image or spectral features are used. The method can be applied to long-term monitoring of particles in the ocean without the need for sample collection. In addition, it can be applied to data from different types of sensor measurements without significant modifications.
Femtosecond Yb-doped tapered fiber pulse amplifiers with peak power of over hundred megawatts
Authors: Cao Xue , Li Qianglong , Li Feng , Zhao Hualong , Zhao Wei , Wang Yishan , Li Dongjuan , Yang Yang , Wen Wenlong , Si Jinhai
Published: January 2023

Ultrafast fiber lasers combining high peak power and excellent beam quality in the 1-µm wavelength range have been explored to applications in industry, medicine and fundamental science. Here, we report generation of a high-energy sub 300 fs polarization maintaining fiber chirped pulse amplification (CPA) system by using a Yb-doped large mode area tapered polarization maintaining (PM) optical fiber with the core/cladding diameters of 35/250 µm at the thin end and 56/400 µm at the thick end. The taper fiber design features a confined core for selective gain amplification and multi-layer cladding for enhanced suppression of higher order modes. In this regime, we have demonstrated 266 fs pulse amplification with peak power of up to 132 MW at a repetition rate of 2 MHz and high beam quality with measured M2 value of 1.1∼1.3. To the best of our knowledge, it is the highest peak power reported in such tapered Yb-doped fiber (T-YDF) amplifier in the femtosecond regime. This work indicates the great potential of the T-YDF to realize further power scaling, high laser efficiency, and excellent beam quality in high-power femtosecond fiber lasers.
Small-scale fluctuations of laser beam fluence at the large B-integral in ultra-high intensity lasers
Authors: Ginzburg Vladislav , Martyanov Mikhail , Silin Dmitry , Kochetkov Anton , Yakovlev Ivan , Kuzmin Alexey , Mironov Sergey , Shaikin Ilya , Stukachev Sergey , Shaykin Andrey , Khazanov Efim
Published: January 2023

Analytical expressions for the spatial spectrum of fluence fluctuations of a laser pulse propagating in a medium with Kerr nonlinearity have been obtained. It is shown that inhomogeneities with a spatial scale much larger than the critical scale of self-focusing grow insignificantly even at large values of the B-integral. Experiments using BK7 glass and a KDP crystal as a nonlinear medium confirm the obtained theoretical results. This may be interesting for pulse post-compression, frequency doubling, and other experiments using transmission optical elements in ultra-high intensity lasers.
High harmonic generation enhanced by magnetic dipole resonance in an amorphous silicon metasurface
Authors: Peterka Pavel , Šobáň Zbyněk , Trojánek František , Malý Petr , Kozák Martin
Published: January 2023

We report on the enhancement of high harmonic generation (HHG) yield in a metasurface consisting of amorphous silicon disks in a periodic array on an insulator substrate. The structure was designed and optimized using the finite-difference time-domain method for the maximum enhancement, which reaches the factor of 20-times compared to the unstructred surface. The local field is enhanced by a broadband magnetic resonance mode allowing to use ultrashort laser pulses with Fourier transform limit down to 40 fs. Due to the anisotropic structure of the metasurface, both the local-field enhancement and the HHG yield show strong polarization anisotropy.
Interferometric carrier-envelope phase stabilization for ultrashort pulses in the mid-infrared
Authors: Meierhofer Manuel , Maier Simon , Afanasiev Dmytro , Freudenstein Josef , Riepl Josef , Helml Jakob , Schmid Christoph P. , Huber Rupert
Published: January 2023

We demonstrate an active carrier-envelope phase (CEP) stabilization scheme for optical waveforms generated by difference-frequency mixing of two spectrally detuned and phase-correlated pulses. By performing ellipsometry with spectrally overlapping parts of two co-propagating near-infrared generation pulse trains, we stabilize their relative timing to 18 as. Consequently, we can lock the CEP of the generated mid-infrared (MIR) pulses with a remaining phase jitter below 30 mrad. To validate this technique, we employ these MIR pulses for high-harmonic generation in a bulk semiconductor. Our compact, low-cost, and inherently drift-free concept could bring long-term CEP stability to the broad class of passively phase-locked OPA and OPCPA systems operating in a wide range of spectral windows, pulse energies, and repetition rates.
Phase-type diffractive micro-optics elements in sulfur-based polymeric glass by femtosecond laser direct writing
Authors: Liu Feng , Li Peng , Liu Sheng , Jin Chuan , Wei Bingyan , Min Junwei , Liu Zhichao , Zhu Xiangping , Zhao Jianlin
Published: January 2023

Sulfur-based polymeric glasses are promising alternative low-cost IR materials due to their profoundly high IR transparency. In this Letter, femtosecond-laser-induced refractive index change (RIC) was investigated in one typical sulfur-based polymeric glass material, poly(S-r-DIB), for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The RIC in the laser-engineered region was quantitively characterized, which laid a foundation for phase-type optical element design. By the integration of RIC traces, embedded phase-type micro-optics elements, including Fresnel zone plates, and a Dammann grating were fabricated in bulk poly(S-r-DIB) polymeric glass substrate via the femtosecond laser direct writing technique. The imaging and beam shaping performance were demoed in the near-infrared (NIR) region.
Broadband single-cell-driven multifunctional metalensing
Authors: Mahmood Nasir , Mehmood Muhammad Qasim , Zubair Muhammad , Massoud Yehia
Published: January 2023

Metasurfaces are artificially engineered ultrathin photonic components that can be freely designed to exhibit unprecedented capabilities of highly-efficient electromagnetic wave manipulation. The ever-growing demand for miniaturized photonic devices for emerging applications, like imaging, spectroscopy, biosensing, and quantum information processing, consistently requires broadband multifunctional and highly-efficient meta-devices. Recent years have witnessed tremendous advancements in metasurfaces; however, investigating the novel platform to realize broadband metasurfaces that integrate multiple functionalities in a single-layered structure would be an obvious technological extension. Here, we present a broadband single-cell-driven multifunctional metasurface platform capable of manipulating electromagnetic waves over a wide range of visible wavelengths (475−650 nm). A lossless zinc sulfide material exhibiting a sufficiently large refractive index and negligible extension coefficient across the visible spectrum is exploited to demonstrate the state-of-the-art meta-devices. Furthermore, a well-known spin-decoupling technique is implemented to multiplex different optical phenomena into a single-cell-driven structure. For proof of the concept, we demonstrate two meta-devices that provide transverse and longitudinal splitting of different optical phenomena for the visible wavelengths. The presented zinc sulfide material and unique design philosophy to achieve broadband multifunctional meta-devices may find potential applications in polarization and dispersion analyzers, sensing, optical communication, and many more.
A dedicate sensorimotor circuit enables fine texture discrimination by active touch
Authors: Yu Jie , Guo Xuan , Zheng Shen , Zhang Wei
Published: January 2023

Active touch facilitates environments exploration by voluntary, self-generated movements. However, the neural mechanisms underlying sensorimotor control for active touch are poorly understood. During foraging and feeding, Drosophila gather information on the properties of food (texture, hardness, taste) by constant probing with their proboscis. Here we identify a group of neurons (sd-L neurons) on the fly labellum that are mechanosensitive to labellum displacement and synapse onto the sugar-sensing neurons via axo-axonal synapses to induce preference to harder food. These neurons also feed onto the motor circuits that control proboscis extension and labellum spreading to provide on-line sensory feedback critical for controlling the probing processes, thus facilitating ingestion of less liquified food. Intriguingly, this preference was eliminated in mated female flies, reflecting an elevated need for softer food. Our results propose a sensorimotor circuit composed of mechanosensory, gustatory and motor neurons that enables the flies to select ripe yet not over-rotten food by active touch.
Using machine learning pipeline to predict entry into the attack zone in football
Authors: Stival Leandro , Pinto Allan , Andrade Felipe dos Santos Pinto de , Santiago Paulo Roberto Pereira , Biermann Henrik , Torres Ricardo da Silva , Dias Ulisses
Published: January 2023

Sports sciences are increasingly data-intensive nowadays since computational tools can extract information from large amounts of data and derive insights from athlete performances during the competition. This paper addresses a performance prediction problem in soccer, a popular collective sport modality played by two teams competing against each other in the same field. In a soccer game, teams score points by placing the ball into the opponent’s goal and the winner is the team with the highest count of goals. Retaining possession of the ball is one key to success, but it is not enough since a team needs to score to achieve victory, which requires an offensive toward the opponent’s goal. The focus of this work is to determine if analyzing the first five seconds after the control of the ball is taken by one of the teams provides enough information to determine whether the ball will reach the final quarter of the soccer field, therefore creating a goal-scoring chance. By doing so, we can further investigate which conditions increase strategic leverage. Our approach comprises modeling players’ interactions as graph structures and extracting metrics from these structures. These metrics, when combined, form time series that we encode in two-dimensional representations of visual rhythms, allowing feature extraction through deep convolutional networks, coupled with a classifier to predict the outcome (whether the final quarter of the field is reached). The results indicate that offensive play near the adversary penalty area can be predicted by looking at the first five seconds. Finally, the explainability of our models reveals the main metrics along with its contributions for the final inference result, which corroborates other studies found in the literature for soccer match analysis.
Development of a rat forelimb vascularized composite allograft (VCA) perfusion protocol
Authors: Pendexter Casie A. , Haque Omar , Mojoudi Mohammadreza , Maggipinto Sarah , Goutard Marion , Baicu Simona , Lellouch Alexandre G. , Markmann James F. , Brandacher Gerald , Yeh Heidi , Tessier Shannon N. , Cetrulo Curtis , Uygun Korkut
Published: January 2023

Vascularized composite allografts (VCAs) refer to en bloc heterogenous tissue that is transplanted to restore form and function after amputation or tissue loss. Rat limb VCA has emerged as a robust translational model to study the pathophysiology of these transplants. However, these models have predominately focused on hindlimb VCAs which does not translate anatomically to upper extremity transplantation, whereas the majority of clinical VCAs are upper extremity and hand transplants. This work details our optimization of rat forelimb VCA procurement and sub-normothermic machine perfusion (SNMP) protocols, with results in comparison to hindlimb perfusion with the same perfusion modality. Results indicate that compared to hindlimbs, rat forelimbs on machine perfusion mandate lower flow rates and higher acceptable maximum pressures. Additionally, low-flow forelimbs have less cellular damage than high-flow forelimbs based on oxygen uptake, edema, potassium levels, and histology through 2 hours of machine perfusion. These results are expected to inform future upper extremity VCA preservation studies.
High HIV and syphilis prevalence among female sex workers and sexually exploited adolescents in Nimule town at the border of South Sudan and Uganda
Authors: Okiria Alfred G. , Achut Victoria , McKeever Erin , Bolo Alex , Katoro Joel , Arkangelo Golda Caesar , Ismail Michael Acaga Taban , Hakim Avi J.
Published: January 2023

HIV prevalence among the general population in South Sudan, the world’s newest country, is estimated at 2.9% and in Nimule, a town at the border with Uganda, it is estimated at 7.5%. However, there is limited data describing the HIV epidemic among female sex workers and sexually exploited adolescents (FSW/SEA) in the country. This study was conducted using a respondent-driven sampling (RDS) among FSW/SEA aged ≥15 years in January-February 2017 who sold or exchanged sex in the last six months in Nimule. Consenting participants were administered a questionnaire and tested for HIV according to the national algorithm. Syphilis testing was conducted using SD BIOLINE Syphilis 3.0 and Rapid Plasma Reagin for confirmation. Data were analyzed in SAS and RDS-Analyst and weighted results are presented. The 409 FSW/SEA participants with a median age of 28 years (IQR 23–35) and a median age of 23 years (IQR 18–28) when they entered the world of sex work, were enrolled in the Eagle survey. Nearly all (99.2%) FSW/SEA lacked comprehensive knowledge of HIV though almost half (48.5%) talked to a peer educator or outreach worker about HIV in the last 30 days. More than half (55.3%) were previously tested for HIV. Only 46.4% used a condom during their last vaginal or anal sexual act with a client. One in five (19.8%) FSW/SEA experienced a condom breaking during vaginal or anal sex in the last six months HIV prevalence was 24.0% (95% CI: 19.4–28.5) and 9.2% (95% CI: 6.5–11.9) had active syphilis. The multivariable analysis revealed the association between HIV and active syphilis (aOR: 6.99, 95% CI: 2.23–21.89). HIV and syphilis prevalence were higher among FSW/SEA in Nimule than the general population in the country and Nimule. Specifically, the HIV prevalence was eight times higher than the general population. Our findings underscore the importance of providing HIV and syphilis testing for FSW/SEA in conjunction with comprehensive combination prevention, including comprehensive HIV information, promotion of condom use, and availing treatment services for both HIV and syphilis.
User-relevant factors influencing the prosthesis use of persons with a transfemoral amputation or knee-disarticulation: A meta-synthesis of qualitative literature and focus group results
Authors: Bosman Charlotte E. , van der Sluis Corry K. , Geertzen Jan H. B. , Kerver Nienke , Vrieling Aline H.
Published: January 2023

Objective

Persons with a transfemoral amputation or knee-disarticulation are heavily reliant on an adequate set of components for their prosthesis. To improve the process of adjusting the specific prosthetic properties to the expectations of the prosthesis users, it is of importance to first identify which factors have an influence on prosthesis use. Therefore, we aimed to identify factors that influence prosthesis use in adults with a transfemoral amputation or knee-disarticulation.

Methods

A qualitative meta-synthesis was conducted by searching five databases (last update January 20th2022). Studies were considered eligible if they contained qualitative data about adult persons with a transfemoral amputation or knee-disarticulation with experience in using a prosthesis and focused on the users’ opinions. All eligible studies were independently screened by two reviewers. The results sections of the included studies were entered in Atlas.ti software (v8) and coded using the framework approach. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) qualitative research checklist. Results of the meta-synthesis were validated with prosthesis users (n = 8) in a focus group.

Results

Out of 5757 articles, 14 studies were included. An overview of seven themes (‘prosthesis related’; ‘rehabilitation, costs and prosthetist’; ‘mental’; ‘physical’; ‘social’; ‘activities and participation’ and ‘walking’) containing 84 factors was created. Ten factors were added during the focus group, resulting in an overview of 94 factors that may influence the prosthesis use of lower-limb prosthesis users. Participants would like more user-involvement from the rehabilitation team. The development of a patient decision aid could help this process in the future.

Conclusion

The large number of factors demonstrates that there is a great variety between prosthesis users and the factors that influence their prosthesis use. Therefore, it is important to take individual preferences into account for the selection of a new prosthesis.
Digitalisation of occupations—Developing an indicator based on digital skill requirements
Authors: Lennon Carolina , Zilian Laura Samantha , Zilian Stella Sophie
Published: January 2023

Digitalisation is assumed to have far reaching consequences for workers. So far, these have been analysed using indicators derived from survey data on occupational tasks. Survey-based indicators measure what people do at work but provide little insight into the skills required to perform a task. Since multiple skills may be necessary to perform a task, approximating digital skills through tasks may underestimate the extent of digitalisation of a given occupation. Besides, they provide limited coverage in terms of periodicity, scope and variety of tasks. We therefore suggest to change the perspective from tasks to skills and propose to analyse the digital skill requirements of occupations. To this end, we use detailed information on the classification of European Occupations, Skills and Qualifications, natural language processing tools and network analysis methods to determine digital skills in the database. We construct four different versions of the digital competencies indicator identifying occupations that depend highly on digital skills. Our indicator can be mapped to the ISCO-08 classification and easily be used alongside other data sources. We show that compared to an indicator based on ICT-tasks derived from the OECD ‘Programme for the Assessment of Adult Skills’, our indicator captures more complex and specialised digitalised occupations. Our results stress the importance of using granular data in order to properly identify digital skill requirements of jobs.
A long-term perspective on Neanderthal environment and subsistence: Insights from the dental microwear texture analysis of hunted ungulates at Combe-Grenal (Dordogne, France)
Authors: Berlioz Emilie , Capdepon Eugénie , Discamps Emmanuel
Published: January 2023

Large bovids and cervids constituted major components of the European Middle Palaeolithic faunas and hence a key resource for Neanderthal populations. In paleoenvironmental reconstructions, red deer (Cervus elaphus) occurrence is classically considered as a tree-cover indicator while Bovinae (Bison priscus and Bos primigenius) and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) occurrences are typically associated with open landscapes. However, insights into the ecology of extant ungulate populations show a more complex reality. Exploring the diet of past ungulates allows to better comprehend the hunting strategies of Palaeolithic populations and to reconstruct the modifications through time of past landscapes. By reflecting what animals have eaten during the last days or weeks of their life, dental microwear textures of herbivores link a population and its environment. Here we analyzed, via Dental Microwear Texture Analysis (DMTA), the diet of 50 Bos/Bison, 202 R. tarandus and 116 C. elaphus preyed upon by the Neanderthals that occupied Combe-Grenal rock-shelter, one of the most important Mousterian archaeo-sequences in southwestern France considering its long stratigraphy, abundance of faunal remains and the variations perceptible in Palaeolithic material culture. Grazers and mixed-feeders are the most represented dietary categories among Combe-Grenal’s guild of herbivores, highlighting the availability, along the sequence, of open landscapes. The absence of clear changes in the use of plant resources by hunted ungulates through time, even though palaeoenvironmental changes were well-documented by previous studies along the sequence, is interpreted as resulting from the hunting of non-randomly selected prey by Neanderthals, preferentially in open environments. Thus, these results provide further insight into the hunting strategies of Neanderthals and modify our perception of potential links between subsistence and material culture. Combe-Grenal hunters “stayed in the open” through millennia, and were not forced to switch to hunting tactics and material technology adapted to close encounters in forested environments.
Associated factors of pelvic organ prolapse among patients at Public Hospitals of Southern Ethiopia: A case-control study design
Authors: Borsamo Asfaw , Oumer Mohammed , Worku Ayanaw , Asmare Yared
Published: January 2023

Background

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is the descent of the vaginal wall, cervix, uterus, bladder, and rectum downward into the vaginal canal. It occurs owing to the weakness of the structures supporting and keeping pelvic organs in anatomic position. Prolapse occurs due to exposure to risk factors; women in developing countries are highly predisposed to the risk factors of the prolapse. No study assesses POP in Southern Ethiopia.

Methods

A case-control study design was employed in 369 participants (123 cases and 246 controls) of seven randomly selected Public Hospitals of Southern Ethiopia from February-June, 2020, using a structured questionnaire. All patients diagnosed with prolapse (stage I- IV) were included as cases; patients free of prolapse (stage 0) were taken as controls after physicians had performed a diagnosis and vaginal examination. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS.

Results

In this study, after adjusting for covariates, age of the women ≥ 45 years (AOR = 5.33, 95% CI: 1.47, 9.05), underweight (AOR= 4.54, 95% CI: 1.4, 15.76), low income (AOR = 2.5, 95% CI:1.14, 5.59), parity ≥5 (AOR = 5.2, 95% CI: 2.2, 12.55), assisted vaginal delivery (AOR= 4, 95% CI: 1.55, 11.63), instrumental delivery (AOR= 3.5, 95% CI:1.45, 84), sphincter damage and vaginal tear (AOR = 3.2, 95% CI:1.44,7.1), carrying heavy loads (AOR= 2.5, 95% CI:1.2, 5.35), and prolonged labor ≥24 hours (AOR = 3.3, 95% CI:1.12, 97) were significant associated factors of prolapse. The odds of developing prolapse is lower among women attended school. Most(84.55%) of the women with prolapse were delayed for the treatments and only surgical interventions were done as treatments. Most of them claimed lack of social support, lack of money, and social stigma as the main reasons for the delay in seeking treatments.

Conclusions

Older age, low educational status, underweight, low income, higher parity, assisted vaginal delivery, prolonged labor, sphincter damage, and carrying heavy loads were significant associated factors of POP. It is better to screen older age women by doing campaigns against the prolapse. Also, responsible bodies should work on raising awareness of women as well as awareness of the community about the prolapse through expanding health education. Moreover, informing women to practice pelvic muscle training daily, raising women’s income to empower them, and help of family members to reduce carrying an overload of mothers are recommended.
The audio features of sleep music: Universal and subgroup characteristics
Authors: Scarratt Rebecca Jane , Heggli Ole Adrian , Vuust Peter , Jespersen Kira Vibe
Published: January 2023

Throughout history, lullabies have been used to help children sleep, and today, with the increasing accessibility of recorded music, many people report listening to music as a tool to improve sleep. Nevertheless, we know very little about this common human habit. In this study, we elucidated the characteristics of music associated with sleep by extracting audio features from a large number of tracks (N = 225,626) retrieved from sleep playlists at the global streaming platform Spotify. Compared to music in general, we found that sleep music was softer and slower; it was more often instrumental (i.e. without lyrics) and played on acoustic instruments. Yet, a large amount of variation was present in sleep music, which clustered into six distinct subgroups. Strikingly, three of the subgroups included popular tracks that were faster, louder, and more energetic than average sleep music. The findings reveal previously unknown aspects of the audio features of sleep music and highlight the individual variation in the choice of music used for sleep. By using digital traces, we were able to determine the universal and subgroup characteristics of sleep music in a unique, global dataset, advancing our understanding of how humans use music to regulate their behaviour in everyday life.