bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Modeling tillage and manure application on soil phosphorous loss under climate change
Authors: Wang Zhaozhi , Zhang Tiequan , Tan Chin Sheng , Xue Lulin , Bukovsky Melissa , Qi Zhiming
Published: February 2022

Phosphorus (P) losses from non-point sources into receiving water bodies play a significant role in eutrophication. Given their failure to adequately control eutrophication in the Lake Erie, conservation recommendations for agricultural watersheds should be reconsidered, particularly under climate change. Using the Environmental Policy Integrated Climate model, the potential impacts on crop yield, surface runoff, tile drainage, and relevant dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) losses from manure-amended corn-soybean rotation plots in the Lake Erie basin were estimated for six tillage methods with different mixing efficiencies and manure broadcast application. These were investigated under twelve different regional and global future climate simulations. Tillage alone proved to have only a minor impact on mean corn yield (± 2%). Climate change led to large uncertainties under the single tillage treatment. As a result of the combined effects of biogeochemical processes (e.g., supply) and hydrological (e.g., transport), strong negative relationships (R2 = 0.98) were found between tillage mixing efficiency and DRP loss in surface runoff, tile drainage, and total DRP loss. The impacts of combined manure application (broadcast) and tillage on crop yield and flow volume were similar as those of tillage alone. With respect to total DRP losses, the effects of labile P content change outweighed those of surface runoff or tile drainage change (hydrologic). This resulted in a change in total DRP losses ranging from − 60% to + 151%, with being closely correlated with decreasing tillage mixing efficiency (R2 = 0.94) from moldboard to no-till. Therefore, rotational tillage should be considered for DRP loss reduction and energy saving.
Encouraging impacts of an Open Education Resource Degree Initiative on college students’ progress to degree
Authors: Griffiths Rebecca , Mislevy Jessica , Wang Shuai
Published: February 2022

Textbooks are traditional and useful learning resources for college students, but commercial texts books have been widely criticized for their high costs, restricted access, limited flexibility, and uninspiring learning experiences. Open Education Resources (OER) are an alternative to commercial textbooks that have the potential to increase college affordability, access, and instructional quality. The current study examined how an OER degree—or pathway of OER courses that meet the requirements for a degree program—impacted students’ progress to degree at 11 US community colleges. We conducted quasi-experimental impact studies and meta-analysis examining whether OER course enrollment was associated with differences in credit accumulation and cumulative GPA over multiple terms. Overall, we found a positive effect of OER degrees on credit accumulation and no significant difference on cumulative GPA. Taken together, these results suggest students are maintaining their GPAs despite taking more courses, on average. This suggests that students taking OER courses were making faster progress towards degrees than their peers who took no OER courses.
Characterising feedback cultures in higher education: an analysis of strategy documents from 134 UK universities
Authors: Winstone Naomi E.
Published: February 2022

Feedback can be framed as a one-way transmission of information driven by educators, or as a two-way process, in which students’ agentic participation is critical to its success. Despite calls for a shift away from the former framing towards the latter, transmission-focused models of feedback continue to dominate practice internationally. Approaches to feedback in any given setting are likely influenced by the dominant feedback culture. The present study aimed to characterise ‘feedback cultures’ within higher education by systematically examining how feedback is framed in 134 UK universities’ (a) educational strategies and (b) Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) Provider statements. These documents serve to encapsulate each institution’s views of excellence and best-practice; nevertheless, analysis of the documents revealed a stronger focus on the transmission of feedback comments than on supporting students’ learning through feedback processes. Linguistically, students were positioned passively within the documents, as being on the receiving end of teachers’ actions, rather than actively driving their own learning through feedback. These findings inform a framework for conceptualising feedback cultures in higher education, which positions approaches to feedback design, feedback processes and the evaluation and development of feedback on a continuum from transmission-focused to learning-focused. It is argued that strategy documents shape practice in subtle ways; in order to shift towards learning-focused feedback cultures, consideration must be given to how students’ roles and responsibilities are positioned in both policy and practice.
Refractive Index Effects in Pendant Drop Tensiometry
Authors: Pan Ziqing , Trusler J. P. Martin
Published: February 2022

An optical model is established to investigate the effects of refractive index changes on the measurement of interfacial tension by the pendant drop method with axisymmetric drop shape analysis. In such measurements, light passes from the pendant drop through a surrounding bulk phase, an optical window and air to reach the lens of the camera system. The relation between object and image size is typically determined by calibration and, if the refractive indices of any of the materials in the optical path change between calibration and measurement, a correction should be made. The simple model derived in this paper allows corrections to be calculated along with the corresponding contribution to the overall uncertainty of the interfacial tension. The model was verified by measurements of the interfacial tension between decane and water under two different calibration conditions. Neglect of the correction was shown to cause errors of up to 6 % when the bulk phase changed from air (during calibration) to water (during measurements) and of about 9 % when the system was calibrated without the optical window used for the final measurements. The refraction changes due to high pressures and supercritical fluid states can also lead to measurement errors. The proposed model can facilitate more accurate interfacial tension measurements and reduce the amount of repetitive calibration work required.
John Stuart Mill and the Conflicts of Equality
Authors: Hansson Sven Ove
Published: February 2022

John Stuart Mill commented on the relationship between equality and liberty in general terms, and he also discussed the relationships between equality and four more concrete social goals: equality vs. diversity and individual spontaneity, equality vs. freedom of trade and entrepreneurial activity, equality vs. economic incentives for workpeople, and equality vs. welfare. In his more general statements he wrote off potential conflicts between equality and liberty, claiming that only those liberties that can be enjoyed by all are real liberties—or at least they are the only ones worth defending. However, in several of his more concrete discussions he gave higher priority to various liberty-related goals than to equality. This seeming contradiction can be resolved if we assume that he distinguished between valuing a liberty per se and valuing it as a means to achieve something else.
Disentangling the Concept of Well-Being in Very Old Age Using Rodgers’ Evolutionary Concept Analysis
Authors: Näsman Marina , Nyqvist Fredrica , Nygård Mikael
Published: February 2022

Well-being has received increasing attention from researchers and policymakers, and its promotion could be considered pivotal to handle the challenges of aging populations. However, many different well-being concepts have been used inconsistently, and it remains unclear what the concept of well-being refers to among the oldest segments of the population. Hence, there is a need for a more cohesive understanding of the meaning of the concept in this particular context. The aim of this study was to review the scientific literature to examine the conceptualization of well-being in very old age. Rodgers’ evolutionary concept analysis was applied as a guiding framework. A search through scientific databases generated a sample of 568 unique articles published between 2009 and 2019, of which 49 were included in the final analysis. Four main attributes of well-being in very old age were identified: multifaceted; intertwined with health and quality of life; ability to adapt; and part of successful aging. Furthermore, the antecedents and consequences of well-being in very old age, as well as related concepts, were summarized and discussed. The results revealed that there was a transition between general aspects of well-being and specific aspects of very old age. Particularly adaptation appears to be a crucial part of well-being in very old age, and methods of supporting the ability to adapt should therefore be tested and implemented.
Core–shell polymer nanocomposite based on free radical copolymerization of anthranilic acid and o-amino phenol in the presence of copper hexacyanoferrates nanoparticles and its adsorption properties
Authors: Metwally A. M. , Azab M. M. , Mahmoud A. A. , Ali H. M. , Shaaban A. F.
Published: February 2022

Core–shell polymer nanocomposite (CSNC) of copper hexacyanoferrate-copolymer of anthranilic acid with o-aminophenol (CHCF-poly(AA-co-OAP)) was synthesized and used as ion exchanger for the sorption of cesium ions from aqueous solution. The nanocomposite was prepared by implantation of CHCF nanoparticles into copolymer of poly(AA-co-OAP) during the polymerization process. The surface morphology and the porous structure were investigated through transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET). The characterization of the prepared (CSNC) was carried out by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Thermogravimetric (TGA). Which SEM and TEM images confirmed the nano-size of the prepared CSNC. The values of adsorption capacity of CSNC towards cesium ions and the factors influence on the removal of cesium from solutions were investigated as function in pH, metal ion concentration, temperature and contact time. The results illustrated that the highest value of sorption capacity of the prepared CSNC towards Cs+ ions was 2.1 mmol g−1 at pH 11, 10 mmol L−1 Cs+ and 25 °C. Four modeling include on Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) isotherms models were studied. According to the obtained data, Langmuir model considered the most suitable model, which suggest that the uptake of Cs+ was monolayer and homogeneous. Also, the adsorption kinetics data was fitted well to pseudo-second-order model. Thermodynamic parameters were calculated in the temperature from 25 to 60 °C and the data revealed that Cs+ sorption was endothermic, spontaneous, and more favorable at higher temperature. Up to 92% desorption of Cs+ was completed with 2 M KCl.
Thermal behaviour of kaolinitic raw materials from San José (Oruro, Bolivia)
Authors: Alfonso P. , Penedo L. A. , García-Valles M. , Martínez S. , Martínez A. , Trujillo J. E.
Published: February 2022

Kaolin is widespread as a result of the alteration in the San José Sn-Ag deposit located in Oruro, Bolivia. This study presents a chemical, mineralogical and thermal characterization of the San José kaolinitic deposit, which is necessary to determine their optimal applications. Mineral phases of these white silty kaolinitic materials were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and are quartz, kaolinite, K-feldspar, muscovite, illite and minor halloysite, dickite, plagioclase, jarosite, rutile, alunite and gypsum. The fraction < 63 µm contains 20–27 mass% of kaolinite. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) shows an endothermic peak at 520 °C associated with the dehydroxylation of kaolinite and an exothermic peak at ~ 980 °C related to the crystallization of mullite. TG curves show a total mass loss up to 1300 °C of about 8 mass%. The dilatometric curves show a shrinkage at about 890 °C produced by the collapse of metakaolinite into a spinel-like structure, and another shrinkage starts at 1010 °C, at the beginning of the sintering, when the spinel-like phase is transformed to mullite and amorphous SiO2. Lightness L* is 80–92, but only the mined materials have b* < 4, suitable for paper filling applications.
Experiences of Health Facility Childbirth in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Evidence
Authors: Gwacham-Anisiobi Uchenna , Banke-Thomas Aduragbemi
Published: February 2022

Introduction

Access to skilled birth attendance has been prioritised as an intervention to minimise burden of maternal deaths in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, poor experience of care (EoC) is impeding progress. We conducted a systematic review to holistically explore EoC patterns of facility-based childbirth in SSA.

Methods

PubMed, Embase and Scopus databases were searched to identify SSA EoC studies conducted between January 2000 and December 2019. Studies meeting our pre-defined inclusion criteria were quality assessed and relevant data extracted. We utilised the EoC quality standards (defined by the World Health Organization) to summarise and analyse findings while highlighting patterns.

Results

Twenty-two studies of varying quality from 11 SSA countries were included for review. Overall, at least one study from all included countries reported negative EoC in one or more domains of the WHO framework. Across SSA, ‘respect and preservation of dignity’ was the most reported domain of EoC. While most women deemed the pervasive disrespect as unacceptable, studies in West Africa suggest a “normalisation” of disrespect, if the intent is to save their lives. Women often experienced sub-optimal communication and emotional support with providers in public facilities compared to non-public ones in the region. These experiences had an influence on future institutional deliveries.

Discussion

Sub-optimal EoC is widespread in SSA, more so in public facilities. As SSA heath systems explore approaches make progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal 3, emphasis needs to be placed on ensuring women in the region have access to both high-quality provision and experience of care.
Numerical and experimental evaluation of the magnetic interaction for frequency up-conversion in piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters
Authors: Rosso Michele , Corigliano Alberto , Ardito Raffaele
Published: February 2022

The purpose of this work is to improve the modelling process for the application of permanent magnets in a frequency up-conversion (FuC) mechanism for piezoelectric energy harvesters. More specifically, the aim is to avoid the burdensome finite element analyses (FEA) in the framework of electromechanical devices design. The analytical calculations are compared with experimental tests conducted by an ad-hoc set up and with FEA. After investigations on the interaction, an application of FuC mechanism is proposed on a meso-scale case study in which a low frequency seismic mass (LFM) interacts non-linearly, due to magnetic field, with an high frequency piezoelectric vibration energy harvester (PVEH). Numerical simulations have been carried out in the time domain (step-by-step analysis) under a harmonic low-frequency input acceleration signal. The peculiar behavior, due to non-linear dynamics, is investigated in both the repulsive and the attractive configurations of the magnets. The results confirm the effectiveness of magnetic FuC and show that the repulsive case allows the device to recover a larger amount of energy than the attractive configuration.
Tomato plant responses induced by sparingly available inorganic and organic phosphorus forms are modulated by strigolactones
Authors: Santoro Veronica , Schiavon Michela , Visentin Ivan , Martin Maria , Said-Pullicino Daniel , Cardinale Francesca , Celi Luisella
Published: February 2022

Background and aims

Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient for plant growth, but is also one of the least accessible in soil. Plants have evolved several strategies to cope with P deficiency and recently the role of the phytohormones strigolactones (SLs) in modulating tomato plants acclimation to P shortage has been described. How SLs regulate the use of P from sparingly accessible P sources, such as organic P or precipitated metal-P systems, is however still unknown in tomato.

Methods

In this study, we compared P acquisition strategies of wild-type (WT) and SL-depleted tomato plants grown hydroponically in the presence of dissolved inorganic phosphate (Pi), dissolved myo-inositol hexaphosphate (myoInsP6), or their coprecipitated form following Fe(II) oxidative precipitation.

Results

Irrespective of the P treatment, SL-depleted plants accumulated more P in their tissues than the WT, possibly due to the constitutively higher expression of high-affinity P transporters and activity of P-hydrolyzing enzymes. Wild-type plants were conversely more effective at acidifying their growth medium and exuding more organic compounds in the presence of dissolved myoInsP6 or coprecipitated forms of P, but this behaviour did not translate into a higher P acquisition.

Conclusions

The two genotypes activated different subsets of responses to bypass low P bioavailability, although the P acquisition efficiency (PAE) was not effectively increased. Strigolactone-depleted plants achieved higher PAE values than WT plants regardless of the applied P form, highlighting a central role of SLs in controlling P uptake and optimizing the cost/benefit ratio of P acquisition.
Measuring the excellence contribution at the journal level: an alternative to Garfield’s impact factor
Authors: Gorraiz Juan , Ulrych Ursula , Glänzel Wolfgang , Arroyo-Machado Wenceslao , Torres-Salinas Daniel
Published: February 2022

The aim of this study is to analyze to which extent the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) reflects the amount of excellent publications contained in a journal in the corresponding subject category. We are introducing two percentile-based indicators in order to measure the excellence contribution at journal level. Calculations of these indicators have been carried out for twenty different Journal Citation Reports (JCR) subject categories to investigate the correlation with Garfield’s Journal Impact Factor. Differences in the ranking according to all three indicators especially in First Quartile (Q1) of each category are shown and discussed. We have also studied the effect of multidisciplinary journals to the excellence contribution at category level and observed considerable differences between the twenty considered categories under analysis. Their omission would lead to neglect a large part of excellent publications, especially in the hard sciences. The introduced excellence indicators are very robust considering the types of documents considered for their calculation. The results of this study show that the journal excellence content is not completely reflected in the JIF measure and affects both Science and Social Science Edition categories. Therefore, the introduction of journal excellence indicators will help to give a more complete picture of the citation impact of a journal, because they are informing directly about the total and normalized excellence contribution of each journal to the corresponding subject category. They are a valuable enrichment and complement of the JIF, and more suitable than the Journal Citation Indicator, recently added to the JCR, because they reflect the inherent skewness of the citation distribution.
Sexuality, Education and Support for People with Intellectual Disabilities: A Systematic Review of the Attitudes of Support Staff and Relatives
Authors: de Wit Wouter , van Oorsouw Wietske M. W. J. , Embregts Petri J. C. M.
Published: February 2022

Support staff and relatives are uncertain about multiple aspects of the sexuality of people with intellectual disabilities. Given that their attitudes embody positive and negative views, they can respectively support and restrict free sexual expression among people with intellectual disabilities and their potential for (intimate) relationships. A qualitative systematic literature review was conducted on the attitudes of support staff and relatives toward the sexuality of people with intellectual disabilities. A systematic search strategy was deployed across seven databases. The identified articles were screened on predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria, and assessed on quality, which resulted in 31 included studies. A metasynthesis of these studies resulted in two major themes emerging, namely (a) attitudes toward the sexuality of people with intellectual disabilities, and (b) attitudes toward the sex education and support. Themes represented both positive and restrictive attitudes among support staff and relatives. The findings suggest that despite a general acceptance of the sexual rights of people with intellectual disabilities, certain forms of sexuality were approached more cautiously. Moreover, the sexual needs of some subgroups of people with intellectual disabilities received scarce attention. Those support staff and relatives holding rather restrictive attitudes appear to emphasize sexual risks. Finally, support staff and relatives stressed the importance of providing sex education and support for people with intellectual disabilities, while, simultaneously, expressing insecurity over the subject. The findings can help to improve the support provided to support staff and relatives to promote sexual health among people with intellectual disabilities.
A Direct Proof of Convergence of Davis–Yin Splitting Algorithm Allowing Larger Stepsizes
Authors: Aragón-Artacho Francisco J. , Torregrosa-Belén David
Published: February 2022

This note is devoted to the splitting algorithm proposed by Davis and Yin (Set-valued Var. Anal.25(4), 829–858, 2017) for computing a zero of the sum of three maximally monotone operators, with one of them being cocoercive. We provide a direct proof that guarantees its convergence when the stepsizes are smaller than four times the cocoercivity constant, thus doubling the size of the interval established by Davis and Yin. As a by-product, the same conclusion applies to the forward-backward splitting algorithm. Further, we use the notion of “strengthening” of a set-valued operator to derive a new splitting algorithm for computing the resolvent of the sum. Last but not least, we provide some numerical experiments illustrating the importance of appropriately choosing the stepsize and relaxation parameters of the algorithms.
SRT3D: A Sparse Region-Based 3D Object Tracking Approach for the Real World
Authors: Stoiber Manuel , Pfanne Martin , Strobl Klaus H. , Triebel Rudolph , Albu-Schäffer Alin
Published: February 2022

Region-based methods have become increasingly popular for model-based, monocular 3D tracking of texture-less objects in cluttered scenes. However, while they achieve state-of-the-art results, most methods are computationally expensive, requiring significant resources to run in real-time. In the following, we build on our previous work and develop SRT3D, a sparse region-based approach to 3D object tracking that bridges this gap in efficiency. Our method considers image information sparsely along so-called correspondence lines that model the probability of the object’s contour location. We thereby improve on the current state of the art and introduce smoothed step functions that consider a defined global and local uncertainty. For the resulting probabilistic formulation, a thorough analysis is provided. Finally, we use a pre-rendered sparse viewpoint model to create a joint posterior probability for the object pose. The function is maximized using second-order Newton optimization with Tikhonov regularization. During the pose estimation, we differentiate between global and local optimization, using a novel approximation for the first-order derivative employed in the Newton method. In multiple experiments, we demonstrate that the resulting algorithm improves the current state of the art both in terms of runtime and quality, performing particularly well for noisy and cluttered images encountered in the real world.
Targeting purinergic receptors to attenuate inflammation of dry eye
Authors: Wang Jia-Ning , Fan Hua , Song Jian-Tao
Published: February 2022

Inflammation is one of the potential factors to cause the damage of ocular surface in dry eye disease (DED). Increasing evidence indicated that purinergic A1, A2A, A3, P2X4, P2X7, P2Y1, P2Y2, and P2Y4receptors play an important role in the regulation of inflammation in DED: A1adenosine receptor (A1R) is a systemic pro-inflammatory factor; A2ARis involved in the activation of the MAPK/NF-kB pathway; A3Rcombined with inhibition of adenylate cyclase and regulation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway leads to regulation of transcription; P2X4 promotes receptor-associated activation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory vesicles; P2X7 promotes inflammasome activation and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18; P2Y receptors affect the phospholipase C(PLC)/IP3/Ca2+signaling pathway and mucin secretion. These suggested that purinergic receptors would be promising targets to control the inflammation of DED in the future.
Understanding Selfhood to Elucidate the Phenomenology of Mindfulness
Authors: Higgins Joe
Published: February 2022

The health benefits of practising mindfulness are well documented, yet the phenomenological mechanisms of such practice remain under-theorised from both ontogenetic and social perspectives. By leveraging an enactive perspective on selfhood, these lacunae can be addressed: firstly, it is argued that proper understanding of mindfulness – and the health benefits that mindfulness practices seek – relies on recognising thesocio-embodiednature of the self; consequently, occasions in which the therapeutic need for mindfulness are most pressing will be shown to be inextricably tied to socio-embodied fluctuations across different stages of life. What emerges is a phenomenological understanding of mindfulness as allowing one to dwell in the sensuous density of the present and, through this, remain connected to the social world of open possibilities.
“We constantly have to navigate”: Indigenous students’ and professionals’ strategies for navigating ethical conflicts in STEMM
Authors: Castagno Angelina E. , Ingram Jani C. , Camplain Ricky , Blackhorse Davona
Published: February 2022

This paper reports on a research project that explored ethical, cultural, and/or spiritual conflicts and the various strategies used to navigate the conflicts among over 400 Indigenous students and professionals in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine [Our initial project was conceptualized as including STEM fields (not including the final M for medicine/health-related fields). However, our work included survey respondents and interviewees in medicine/health-related fields, so our subsequent analysis and discussion uses the more inclusive acronym of STEMM.] (STEMM) fields. These navigational strategies include teaching others and leveraging their support, engaging in ceremonial practices to provide protection and correction when needed, being in the right mindset and/or acting in the right ways, and—for some—changing pathways altogether. By centering Indigenous students' and professionals’ voices and experiences, we learn how intentional, complex, and thoughtful their strategies must be.
Quantitative Comparison of HSF1 Activators
Authors: Steurer Christoph , Kerschbaum Sarah , Wegrostek Christina , Gabriel Stefan , Hallaj Ali , Ortner Viktoria , Czerny Thomas , Riegel Elisabeth
Published: February 2022

The heat shock response (HSR) pathway is a highly conserved rescue mechanism, which protects the cells from harmful insults disturbing the cellular protein homeostasis via expression of chaperones. Furthermore, it was demonstrated to play crucial roles in various diseases like neurodegeneration and cancer. For neurodegenerative diseases, an overexpression of chaperones is a potential therapeutic approach to clear the cells from non-functional protein aggregates. Therefore, activators of the HSR pathway and its master regulator HSF1 are under close observation. There are numerous HSR activators published in the literature using different model systems, experimental designs, and readout assays. The aim of this work was to provide a quantitative comparison of a broad range of published activators using a newly developed HSF responsive dual-luciferase cell line. Contrary to natural target genes, which are regulated by multiple input pathways, the artificial reporter exclusively reacts to HSF activity. In addition, the results were compared to endogenous heat shock protein expression. As a result, great differences in the intensity of pathway activation were observed. In addition, a parallel viability assessment revealed high variability in the specificity of the drugs. Furthermore, the differences seen compared to published data indicate that some activators exhibit tissue-specific differences leading to interesting assumptions about the regulation of HSF1.
The periodic table of the elements: the search for transactinides and beyond
Authors: Terranova Maria Letizia , Tavares Odilon A. P.
Published: February 2022

The periodic table of Mendeleev, initially proposed on the basis of 66 elements, and containing 82 elements at the time of Moseley (1887–1915), describes nowadays 118 elements. The huge challenge of this scientific adventure was, and still is, the development of technologies and methods capable of producing elements of atomic numberZ > 103, known as superheavy elements (SHE), or transactinides. This paper presents a survey of experiments and theoretical approaches that led physicists and chemists of today to discover and characterize a number of SHE isotopes. A glance is also given to the feasibility studies performed by scientists aiming to going beyondZ = 118, building up further neutron-rich nuclides and reaching the ultimate goal of creating long-living new elements at the edge of the Periodic Table.
On the Catlin Multitype of Sums of Squares Domains
Authors: Aidoo Nicholas
Published: February 2022

For a sum of squares domain of finite D’Angelo 1-type at the origin, we show that the polynomial model obtained from the computation of the Catlin multitype at the origin of such a domain is likewise a sum of squares domain. We also prove, under the same finite type assumption that the multitype is an invariant of the ideal of holomorphic functions defining the domain. Both results are proven using Martin Kolář’s algorithm for the computation of the multitype introduced in Kolář (Int Math Res Not (IMRN) 18:3530–3548, 2010). Given a sum of squares domain, we rewrite the Kolář algorithm in terms of ideals of holomorphic functions and also introduce an approach that explicitly constructs the homogeneous polynomial transformations used in the algorithm.
Analysis of seed-associated bacteria and fungi on staple crops using the cultivation and metagenomic approaches
Authors: Tkalec Valerija , Mahnic Aleksander , Gselman Peter , Rupnik Maja
Published: February 2022

One of the key factors affecting seed quality is microbial communities residing on and in the seeds. In this study, microbial populations of seeds of conventionally and organically produced wheat, barley, and maize were analyzed using two different approaches: the cultivation method and metagenomics. For cultivation, three basic media were used: DG18 (for fungi), and nutrient agar or tryptic soy agar supplemented with cycloheximide or nystatin (for bacteria). Metagenomic sequencing was performed using the Illumina MiSeq platform. A total of 452 bacterial isolates comprising 36 genera and 5 phyla and 90 fungal isolates comprising 10 genera and 3 phyla were obtained from the seed surfaces. Among bacteria, representatives from the genera Bacillus, Pantoea, Paenibacillus, and Curtobacterium predominated, and among fungi, Aspergillus predominated. A total of 142 fungal OTUs and 201 bacterial OTUs were obtained from all the samples. Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroides, and Actinobacteria comprised most of the bacterial OTUs, and Ascomycota comprised most of the fungal OTUs. Only 3 fungal OTUs (representatives of Curvibasidium, Venturia, and Dermateaceae) were exclusively present only within seeds and not on the seed surfaces. Barley seeds had the highest microbial load and richness, whereas corn had the lowest. Wheat and barley shared a higher number of OTUs than either of them did with corn with higher overlap between conventionally grown cereals than between organically grown cereals. Some OTUs were farming specific. This study demonstrates that the microbiome of cereal seeds is greatly dependent on the species of the host and is less affected by agricultural practices.
Physical Activity, Quality of Life, and Nursing Workload in Colorectal Surgery
Authors: Martin David , Guarnero Valentine , St-Amour Pénélope , Addor Valérie , Romain Benoît , Demartines Nicolas , Hübner Martin
Published: February 2022

Postoperative recovery depends on a complex interplay of patient-related factors of which mobility is an essential part. The aim of this study is to evaluate correlations between perioperative physical activity, quality of life, and postoperative nursing workload in colorectal surgery. A prospective study was used to assess footsteps, quality of life, and nursing workload. Number of footsteps was recorded from preoperative day 5 to postoperative day 3. Patients with reduced and good mobilization were compared, and the cut-off defined by the median daily preoperative footsteps. Quality of life was assessed by the Cleveland Global Quality of Life (CGQL). Nursing workload was calculated using the Project Research in Nursing (PRN) score. Statistical correlation was measured by use of the Pearson coefficient. Fifty patients were included. Mean age was 59 years, mean body mass index was 25 kg/m2, and 68% of them were males. Demographics, surgical details, and clinical outcomes were comparable between the group of patients with poor mobilization compared to those with good mobilization. No correlation was found between pre- or post-operative footsteps and CGQL (r =  − 0.072, p = 0.640 and r =  − 0.127, p = 0.407), as well as between the number of pre- or post-operative footsteps and PRN (r = 0.060, p = 0.687 and r =  − 0.095, p = 0531). In conclusion, no correlation was found between the number of perioperative footsteps, quality of life, and nursing workload after colorectal surgery.
Intelligent prediction of coal mine water inrush based on optimized SAPSO-ELM model under the influence of multiple factors
Authors: Zhang Yong-gang , Xie Yuan-lun , Yang Li-ning , Liao Rao-ping , Qiu Tao
Published: February 2022

Mine water inrush is affected by many factors such as geological structure and fracture zone. However, there may be overlap among these factors, leading to uncertainty, fuzzy similarity and nonlinear relationship among most of them. Therefore, the traditional mathematical model is not ideal to predict water inrush. This paper proposes an intelligent model for predicting water inrush from coal floor based on simulated annealing particle swarm optimization-extreme learning machine (SAPSO-ELM). Based on 144 groups of learning data and 36 groups of predictive validation data, the proposed model extracted common factors from 14 geological factors that might be related to water inrush in a mining area, so as to reduce information interaction among discriminant indexes. In this paper, simulated annealing particle swarm optimization (SAPSO) is innovatively used to optimize the model parameters and compared with other intelligent models (SVM, BPNN, PSO-ELM and ELM) for the learning prediction of the same data. The results show that the common factors extracted from the original variables contain most of the comprehensive information and can reduce information redundancy. Compared with traditional intelligent models (SVM, BPNN, PSO-ELM and ELM), the proposed model improves the computational efficiency of convergence, and the prediction accuracy is higher. It is proved that SAPSO-ELM intelligent algorithm is indeed scientific and has broad application prospect in result prediction induced by complex multi-factors.
Is HPS a valuable component of a STEM education? An empirical study of student interest in HPS courses within an undergraduate science curriculum
Authors: Lusk Greg
Published: February 2022

This paper presents the results of a survey of students majoring in STEM fields whose education contained a significant history, philosophy and sociology (HPS) of science component. The survey was administered to students in a North American public 4-year university just prior to completing their HPS sequence. The survey assessed students’ attitudes towards HPS to gauge how those attitudes changed over the course of their college careers, and to identify the benefits and obstacles to studying HPS as a component of their STEM education. The survey reveals that students generally found unexpected value in taking HPS within their STEM curriculum. It also reveals that framing HPS courses as a means of gaining communication skills necessary to be an influential scientist seems to resonate with students. However, students also identified several factors limiting engagement with HPS content, including the length and density of required readings and assessment via essays and papers.
Nutrient-depended metabolic switching during batch cultivation of Streptomyces coelicolor explored with absolute quantitative mass spectrometry-based metabolite profiling
Authors: Kumar Kanhaiya , Bruheim Per
Published: February 2022

The well-known secondary metabolite-producing bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor is a natural choice for the development of super-hosts optimized for the heterologous expression of antibiotic biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). In this study, we used S. coelicolor M145 and its derivative strain M1146 where all active BGCs have been deleted and generated high-resolution quantitative time series metabolite profiles under two cultivation conditions (phosphate and nitrogen limitation to cease growth and trigger secondary metabolism). Five targeted LC–MS/MS-based methods were used to quantify intracellular primary metabolites covering phosphorylated metabolites, amino acids, organic acids, (deoxy) nucleoside/sugar phosphates, Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), and Coenzyme A (CoA). The nitrogen limitation resulted in a sharp decline in respiration and an immediate drop in the cell mass concentration. Intracellularly, a reduction in the level of the metabolites next to α-ketoglutarate in the tricarboxylic acid cycle and a decrease in the NADH pool were among the most prominent adaptation to this nutrient limitation. Phosphate limitation evoked a different adaptation of the metabolite pools as most of the phosphorylated metabolite pools except 6-phosphogluconic acid (6PG) pool were downregulated. 13C-isotope-labeling experiments revealed the simultaneous activity of both glycolysis and gluconeogenesis during the co-utilization of glucose and glutamate. The S. coelicolor M1146 strain had similar time-series metabolite profile dynamics as the parent M145 strain, except for a visibly increased 6PG pool in the stationary phase. In general, the nutrient limitation had a larger effect on the metabolite pool levels than the absence of secondary metabolite production in M1146. This study provides new insight into the primary carbon metabolism and its link to the secondary metabolism which is needed for further optimization of both super-host genotype and cultivation conditions.
Genome-wide CRISPR screen identifies synthetic lethality between DOCK1 inhibition and metformin in liver cancer
Authors: Feng Junru , Lu Hui , Ma Wenhao , Tian Wenjing , Lu Zhuan , Yang Hongying , Cai Yongping , Cai Pengfei , Sun Yuchen , Zhou Zilong , Feng Jiaqian , Deng Jiazhong , Shu Ying , Qu Kun , Jia Weidong , Gao Ping , Zhang Huafeng
Published: February 2022

Metformin is currently a strong candidate anti-tumor agent in multiple cancers. However, its anti-tumor effectiveness varies among different cancers or subpopulations, potentially due to tumor heterogeneity. It thus remains unclear which hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patient subpopulation(s) can benefit from metformin treatment. Here, through a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9-based knockout screen, we find that DOCK1 levels determine the anti-tumor effects of metformin and that DOCK1 is a synthetic lethal target of metformin in HCC. Mechanistically, metformin promotes DOCK1 phosphorylation, which activates RAC1 to facilitate cell survival, leading to metformin resistance. The DOCK1-selective inhibitor, TBOPP, potentiates anti-tumor activity by metformin in vitro in liver cancer cell lines and patient-derived HCC organoids, and in vivo in xenografted liver cancer cells and immunocompetent mouse liver cancer models. Notably, metformin improves overall survival of HCC patients with low DOCK1 levels but not among patients with high DOCK1 expression. This study shows that metformin effectiveness depends on DOCK1 levels and that combining metformin with DOCK1 inhibition may provide a promising personalized therapeutic strategy for metformin-resistant HCC patients.
Commentary: “Whiteness and Colourblindness”
Authors: Bayer Gerd
Published: February 2022

This commentary argues that, in discussing the racial and cultural identities of cinematic representations of humanoid AI robots, nuances and differentiations are beneficial. It suggests that the essay on which the present text comments does not sufficiently acknowledge the range of identities found in AI films, in particular in Alex Garland's Ex Machina (2014).
A relation calculus for reasoning about t-probing security
Authors: Molteni Maria Chiara , Zaccaria Vittorio
Published: February 2022

In the context of side-channel attacks against cryptographic circuits, t-probing security characterizes the amount of information derivable about sensitive values (e.g., keys) by observing t output/internal values. Non-interference is a useful mathematical tool used by researchers to assess the probing security of a circuit which employs Boolean masking to protect itself from attacks. However, reasoning about non-interference still requires either difficult ratiocination or complex automatic tools. In this work, we propose a novel point of view to reason about non-interference, by exploiting the Walsh transform of a Boolean function. To this end, we introduce a calculus for mechanically reasoning about the shares of a variable and show that this formalism provides a lean algebraic explanation of known compositional patterns allowing for the discovery of new ones. Eventually, we show how this formalism can be applied to study the probing security of known cryptographic gadgets.
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination
Authors: Hieber Marie-Lisa , Sprute Rosanne , Eichenauer Dennis A. , Hallek Michael , Jachimowicz Ron D.
Published: February 2022

Purpose

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to the approval of novel vaccines with different mechanisms of action. Until now, more than 4.7 billion persons have been vaccinated around the world, and adverse effects not observed in pre-authorization trials are being reported at low frequency.

Methods

We report a case of severe hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) after SARS-CoV-2 immunization and performed a literature search for all reported cases of COVID-19 vaccine-associated HLH.

Results

A 24-year-old female developed HLH after immunization with the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty. Diagnosis was made according to HLH-2004 criteria; the HScore was 259 (> 99% HLH probability) with maximum ferritin of 138.244 µg/L. The patient was initially treated with intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIGs) and dexamethasone without response. The addition of the human interleukin 1 receptor antagonist Anakinra resulted in full recovery within 6 weeks after vaccination.

A literature search revealed 15 additional cases of HLH after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, the majority after immunization with Comirnaty (n = 7) or the viral vector vaccine Vaxzevria (n = 6). Treatment modalities included corticosteroids (n = 13), Anakinra (n = 5), IVIGs (n = 5), and etoposide (n = 2). Eight patients underwent combination treatment. Three of 16 patients died.

Conclusion

COVID-19 vaccines may occasionally trigger HLH, and Anakinra may be an efficacious treatment option for this condition.
Evaluating feature combination strategies for hate-speech detection in Spanish using linguistic features and transformers
Authors: García-Díaz José Antonio , Jiménez-Zafra Salud María , García-Cumbreras Miguel Angel , Valencia-García Rafael
Published: February 2022

The rise of social networks has allowed misogynistic, xenophobic, and homophobic people to spread their hate-speech to intimidate individuals or groups because of their gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation. The consequences of hate-speech are devastating, causing severe depression and even leading people to commit suicide. Hate-speech identification is challenging as the large amount of daily publications makes it impossible to review every comment by hand. Moreover, hate-speech is also spread by hoaxes that requires language and context understanding. With the aim of reducing the number of comments that should be reviewed by experts, or even for the development of autonomous systems, the automatic identification of hate-speech has gained academic relevance. However, the reliability of automatic approaches is still limited specifically in languages other than English, in which some of the state-of-the-art techniques have not been analyzed in detail. In this work, we examine which features are most effective in identifying hate-speech in Spanish and how these features can be combined to develop more accurate systems. In addition, we characterize the language present in each type of hate-speech by means of explainable linguistic features and compare our results with state-of-the-art approaches. Our research indicates that combining linguistic features and transformers by means of knowledge integration outperforms current solutions regarding hate-speech identification in Spanish.
State of the Art and Prospects in Metal-Organic Framework-Derived Microwave Absorption Materials
Authors: Ren Shuning , Yu Haojie , Wang Li , Huang Zhikun , Lin Tengfei , Huang Yudi , Yang Jian , Hong Yichuan , Liu Jinyi
Published: February 2022

Microwave has been widely used in many fields, including communication, medical treatment and military industry; however, the corresponding generated radiations have been novel hazardous sources of pollution threating human’s daily life. Therefore, designing high-performance microwave absorption materials (MAMs) has become an indispensable requirement. Recently, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have been considered as one of the most ideal precursor candidates of MAMs because of their tunable structure, high porosity and large specific surface area. Usually, MOF-derived MAMs exhibit excellent electrical conductivity, good magnetism and sufficient defects and interfaces, providing obvious merits in both impedance matching and microwave loss. In this review, the recent research progresses on MOF-derived MAMs were profoundly reviewed, including the categories of MOFs and MOF composites precursors, design principles, preparation methods and the relationship between mechanisms of microwave absorption and microstructures of MAMs. Finally, the current challenges and prospects for future opportunities of MOF-derived MAMs are also discussed.

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