bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ciao AI: the Italian adaptation and validation of the Chatbot Usability Scale
Authors: Borsci Simone , Prati Elisa , Malizia Alessio , Schmettow Martin , Chamberlain Alan , Federici Stefano
Published: June 2023

Chatbot-based tools are becoming pervasive in multiple domains from commercial websites to rehabilitation applications. Only recently, an eleven-item satisfaction inventory was developed (the ChatBot Usability Scale, BUS-11) to help designers in the assessment process of their systems. The BUS-11 has been validated in multiple contexts and languages, i.e., English, German, Dutch, and Spanish. This scale forms a solid platform enabling designers to rapidly assess chatbots both during and after the design process. The present work aims to adapt and validate the BUS-11 inventory in Italian. A total of 1360 questionnaires were collected which related to a total of 10 Italian chatbot-based systems using the BUS-11 inventory and also using the lite version of the Usability Metrics for User eXperience for convergent validity purposes. The Italian version of the BUS-11 was adapted in terms of the wording of one item, and a Multi-Group Confirmatory Factorial Analysis was performed to establish the factorial structure of the scale and compare the effects of the wording adaptation. Results indicate that the adapted Italian version of the scale matches the expected factorial structure of the original scale. The Italian BUS-11 is highly reliable (Cronbach alpha: 0.921), and it correlates to other measures of satisfaction (e.g., UMUX-Lite, τb = 0.67; p < .001) by also offering specific insights regarding the chatbots’ characteristics. The Italian BUS-11 can be confidently used by chatbot designers to assess the satisfaction of their users during formative or summative tests.
Adapting to sea level rise: participatory, solution-oriented policy tools in vulnerable Mediterranean areas
Authors: Loizidou Xenia I. , L. Orthodoxou Demetra , I. Loizides Michael , Petsa Demetra , Anzidei Marco
Published: June 2023

The coasts of the Mediterranean basin are exposed to the ongoing effects of climate change and anthropogenic pressure. Low elevated coastal plains, river deltas, lagoons and reclamation areas are experiencing beach retreat, coastal erosion and marine flooding. This makes them particularly vulnerable to sea level rise (SLR), which is expected to increase up to 1 m by 2100 AD, according to the projections of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In this study, selected stakeholders from four Mediterranean coastal areas that are highly vulnerable to the impacts of SLR have been engaged through a structured participatory process for the development of solution-oriented, case-specific and site-specific Policy Tools to address SLR. The developed Policy Tools for the Venice Lagoon, the Metaponto reclamation area and the Basento river mouth, in Italy, the Ebro River Delta in Spain, and the coastal plain of Chalastra, near the Axios River Delta, in Greece, contain relevant, effective and implementable actions stemming from stakeholder interaction and consensus building. The interconnected stakeholder engagement steps employed in this study identified relevant issues that should be considered when defining SLR adaptation policies to bridge knowledge and perception gaps, facilitate knowledge exchange and foster social learning through structured science communication on SLR. This participatory stakeholder process can lay the foundations for more extensive participation in public processes through which the resulting Policy Tools can materialise into collectively accepted, concrete actions to help vulnerable areas adapt to the expected SLR and consequent coastal hazards by the end of this century.
A Novel Warning Identification Framework for Risk-Informed Anomaly Detection
Authors: Spahic Rialda , Hepsø Vidar , Lundteigen Mary Ann
Published: June 2023

Cyber-physical systems are taking on a permanent role in the industry, such as in oil and gas or mining. These systems are expected to perform increasingly autonomous tasks in complex settings removing human operators from remote and potentially hazardous environments. High autonomy necessitates a more extensive use of artificial intelligence methods, such as anomaly detection, to identify unusual occurrences in the monitored environment. The absence of data characterizing potentially hazardous events leads to disruptive noise displayed as false alarms, a common anomaly detection issue for hazard identification applications. Contrastingly, disregarding the false alarms can result in the opposite effect, causing loss of early indications of hazardous occurrences. Existing research introduces simulating and extrapolating less represented data to expand the information on hazards and semi-supervise the methods or by introducing thresholds and rule-based methods to balance noise and meaningful information, necessitating intensive computing resources. This research proposes a novel Warning Identification Framework that evaluates risk analysis objectives and applies them to discern between true and false warnings identified by anomaly detection. We demonstrate the results by analyzing three seismic hazard assessment methods for identifying seismic tremors and comparing the outcomes to anomalies found using the unsupervised anomaly detection method. The demonstrated approach shows great potential in enhancing the reliability and transparency of anomaly detection outcomes and, thus, supporting the operational decision-making process of a cyber-physical system.
The impact of Covid-19 lockdown on the gender gap in the Italian labour market
Authors: Bettin Giulia , Giorgetti Isabella , Staffolani Stefano
Published: June 2023

We study the gendered impact of the nationwide lockdown (March–May 2020) due to the Covid-19 pandemic on the Italian labour market. Based on Labour Force Survey data on the first three quarters of 2020, we define a Triple Difference-in-Differences (DDD) strategy by exploiting the exact timing of the lockdown implementation. After controlling for several individual and job-related characteristics, we found that in non essential sectors (treated group) the lockdown enlarged pre-existent gender inequalities in the extensive margin of employment: the probability of job loss got 0.7 p.p. higher among female workers compared to their male counterparts, and this difference was mainly detected during the reopening period rather than in the strict lockdown phase. The probability to benefit from the wage guarantee fund (CIG), a subsidy traditionally granted by the government for partial or full–time hours reduction, was also higher for female compared to male treated workers (3.6 p.p.), both during the lockdown and in the reopening phase. This marks a great change with respect to the past, as the application of short-term work compensation schemes was traditionally restricted to male-dominated sectors of employment. On the other hand, no significant gender differences emerged among the treated group either in the intensive margin (working hours) or in terms of remote working, at least in the medium-term.
Personalized Dual Antiplatelet Therapy in Acute Coronary Syndromes: Striking a Balance Between Bleeding and Thrombosis
Authors: Shpigelman Jonathan , Proshkina Anastasia , Daly Michael J. , Cox Dermot
Published: June 2023

Purpose of Review

Dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT)—aspirin in conjunction with a P2Y12 inhibitor—is the cornerstone of managing patients with acute coronary syndromes post-revascularization, but the clinical response is highly variable, with potentially devastating consequences. Herein, we review the mechanisms underpinning said variability and explore emerging approaches to normalizing therapeutic benefit.

Recent Findings.

The potent P2Y12 inhibitors, prasugrel and ticagrelor, exhibit minimal inter-individual variability, replacing clopidogrel in DAPT and achieving greater rates of therapeutic response. However, these benefits decline in later phases when bleeding risk begins to supersede that of ischemia. Guided de-escalation of P2Y12 inhibition as well as shortening DAPT duration have emerged as strategies that retain antithrombotic efficacy while reducing bleeding risk. Aspirin is the other component of DAPT but is also used in isolation for secondary prevention of thrombotic disease. In contrast to the P2Y12 inhibitors, genetic influences on aspirin non-response appear to be outweighed by a triad of clinical factors: non-adherence, enteric aspirin use, and inappropriate dosing according to bodyweight and BMI.

Multiple de-escalation strategies for DAPT have been shown to mitigate bleeding risk, but it remains unclear which approach is ideal, necessitating head-to-head investigations to determine which exhibits the most favorable cost-to-benefit ratio. However, there is likely a role for more than one approach in clinical practice, depending on patient risk profile. Our approach to aspirin use is also in need of reassessment: strategies to improve adherence, avoidance of enteric aspirin in cardiac patients, and dose adjustment according to bodyweight and/or BMI are all likely to improve rates of therapeutic response. Moreover, platelet function testing may have a role in identifying patients expected to benefit from primary prophylactic aspirin.
A fusion approach for evaluating ground conditions for seismic microzoning at the Egyptian Solar Park in Benban, Aswan
Authors: Moustafa Sayed S. R. , Mohamed Abdelnasser , Abdelhafiez H. E. , El-Faragawy K. , Ali S.
Published: June 2023

Seismic microzoning is the process of mapping out and comprehending the differences in ground motion due to earthquakes in a certain location. Accurate seismic microzoning is vital for the development and safety of buildings and infrastructure in earthquake-prone locations. In this work, we present the application of microtremors, multichannel analysis of surface and machine learning approaches for seismic microzoning at Benban Solar Park in Aswan, Egypt. The findings of the investigation indicated that the ground at Benban Solar Park was generally stiff, with certain regions having stronger stiffness and damping qualities than others. The data also indicated variances in the ground conditions at various sites inside the solar park, with certain regions having a greater risk of ground motion due to earthquakes. Overall, the combination of microtremors, multichannel analysis, and machine learning has shown to be an excellent strategy for correctly and effectively mapping out the ground conditions at Benban Solar Park and assuring the safety and structural integrity of the solar power plants at the park. Moreover, the results of the research could be used to guide the design and construction of the future solar power plants at the park and to examine the safety and structural integrity of the solar park. Furthermore, the application of these techniques not only ensures the safety and structural integrity of the solar power plants at Benban Solar Park, but also promotes sustainable development by providing valuable information for the design and construction of future solar power plants at the park, in line with the principles of environmentally-conscious and responsible development.
Detecting rumor outbreaks in online social networks
Authors: Frąszczak Damian
Published: June 2023

Social media platforms are broadly used to exchange information by milliards of people worldwide. Each day people share a lot of their updates and opinions on various types of topics. Moreover, politicians also use it to share their postulates and programs, shops to advertise their products, etc. Social media are so popular nowadays because of critical factors, including quick and accessible Internet communication, always available. These conditions make it easy to spread information from one user to another in close neighborhoods and around the whole social network located on the given platform. Unfortunately, it has recently been increasingly used for malicious purposes, e.g., rumor propagation. In most cases, the process starts from multiple nodes (users). There are numerous papers about detecting the real source with only one initiator. There is a lack of solutions dedicated to problems with multiple sources. Most solutions that meet those criteria need an accurate number of origins to detect them correctly, which is impossible to obtain in real-life usage. This paper analyzes the methods to detect rumor outbreaks in online social networks that can be used as an initial guess for the number of real propagation initiators.
Effect of Osmia bicornis supplemental pollination on seed yield of forest seed orchards
Authors: Kęsy Mateusz , Banaszak - Cibicka Weronika , Dylewski Łukasz , Fliszkiewicz Monika
Published: June 2023

Our study investigated the possibility of using the red mason bee Osmia bicornis as a pollinator of forest seed orchards of frequently grown European trees: insect - pollinated Tilia cordata and Prunus avium. Moreover, we checked whether the presence of O. bicornis has an impact on the pollination results of Quercus petraea, which is wind - pollinated. Data were collected from 8 forest seed orchards in western Poland between 2018 and 2020. We assessed whether the presence of O. bicornis populations affects the number and mass of seeds and seed quality. Supplementing forest orchards with O. bicornis affected seed yield. The generalized linear mixed models indicated that the number of seeds and the proportion of viable seeds, but not seed mass, were higher in the Tilia cordata trees, when additionally pollinated with O. bicornis added as a pollinator.
Constructing coconut shell biochar/MXenes composites through self-assembly strategy to enhance U(VI) and Cs(I) immobilization capability
Authors: Liu Fenglei , Wang Shanshan , Zhao Chaofeng , Hu Baowei
Published: June 2023

Herein, a biochar-based composite (Ti3C2Tx@biochar-PDA/PEI) was constructed by decorating Ti3C2Tx and polydopamine on coconut shell biochar via electrostatic self-assembly method. Different characterization techniques were applied to explore the structure, morphology and composition of the sorbents. It was found that the higher porosity and diverse functional groups were conducive for Ti3C2Tx@biochar-PDA/PEI to capture radionuclides, and the water environmental conditions made a great contribution to the adsorption process. The process of removing U(VI)/Cs(I) well complied with the Langmuir isotherm and Pseudo-second-order equations, which indicated that the single layer chemical adsorption occurred on the solid liquid interface. Meanwhile, this produced composite exhibited superior removal performance under complex co-existing ion environment, and the maximum adsorption amounts of U(VI) and Cs(I) reached up to 239.7 and 40.3 mg g−1. Impressively, this adsorbent still exhibited good adsorption performance after three cycles of regeneration. The spectral analysis and DFT calculation demonstrated that adsorption of U(VI) might be a chemical process, while the adsorption of Cs(I) should be ion exchange or electrostatic attraction. This study demonstrated the potential application of Ti3C2Tx@biochar-PDA/PEI as an effective remediation strategy for radioactive wastewater cleanup.

Graphical Abstract
Predicting Seedstock Bull Prices: Does Information Matter?
Authors: Ingram Seth , Martinez Charles C. , Boyer Christopher N. , Huseynov Samir , Rowan Troy N. , Taylor Mykel R. , Alizada Elmin
Published: June 2023

We investigate the role of optimism bias in bull price expectations using incentivized lab-in-the-field experiments with Alabama and Tennessee cattle producers. We develop bull price prediction tasks and reward accurate predictions. We find that the EPD information provision prevents optimism bias from contaminating price expectations in the whole sample. However, we also document that, unlike buyers, sellers are prone to unrealistic optimistic expectations, and our results reveal that optimism bias can be moderated by the type of expected progeny difference information utilized, breed characteristics, and regional differences in cattle operations. We contribute to the literature by documenting the role of behavioral biases.
What US hospitals are doing to prevent common device-associated infections during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: Results from a national survey in the United States
Authors: Saint Sanjay , Greene M. Todd , Krein Sarah L. , Fowler Karen E. , Linder Kathleen A. , Ratz David , Meddings Jennifer
Published: June 2023

Objective:

The ways that device-associated infection prevention practices changed during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic remain unknown. We collected data mid-pandemic to assess the use of several infection prevention practices and for comparison with historical data.

Design:

Repeated cross-sectional survey.

Setting:

US acute-care hospitals.

Participants:

Infection preventionists.

Methods:

We surveyed infection preventionists from a national random sample of 881 US acute-care hospitals in 2021 to estimate the current use of practices to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), central line–associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI), and ventilator-associated events (VAE). We compared the 2021 results with those from surveys occurring every 4 years since 2005.

Results:

The 2021 survey response rate was 47%; previous survey response rates ranged from 59% to 72%. Regular use of most practices to prevent CLABSI (chlorhexidine gluconate for site antisepsis, 99.0%, and maximum sterile barrier precautions, 98.7%) and VAE (semirecumbent positioning, 93.4%, and sedation vacation, 85.8%) continued to increase or plateaued in 2021. Conversely, use of several CAUTI prevention practices (portable bladder ultrasound scanner, 65.6%; catheter reminders or nurse-initiated discontinuation, 66.3%; and intermittent catheterization, 37.3%) was lower in 2021, with a significant decrease for some practices compared to 2017 (P ≤ .02 for all comparisons). In 2021, 42.1% of hospitals reported regular use of the newer external urinary collection devices for women.

Conclusions:

Although regular use of CLABSI and VAE preventive practices continued to increase (or plateaued), use of several CAUTI preventive practices decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Structural issues relating to care during the pandemic may have contributed to a decrease in device-associated infection prevention practices.
Drag model of finite-sized particle in turbulent wall-bound flow over sediment bed
Authors: Wang Ping , Lei Yinghaonan , Zhu Zhengping , Zheng Xiaojing
Published: June 2023

Drag force acting on a particle is vital for the accurate simulation of turbulent multiphase flows, but the robust drag model is still an open issue. Fully resolved direct numerical simulation (DNS) with an immersed boundary method is performed to investigate the drag force on saltating particles in wall turbulence over a sediment bed. Results show that, for saltating particles, the drag force along the particle trajectories cannot be estimated accurately by traditional drag models originally developed for an isolated particle that depends on the particle-wall separation distance or local volume fraction in addition to the particle Reynolds number. The errors between the models and DNS are especially clear during the descending phase of the particles. Through simple theoretical analysis and DNS data fitting, we present a corrected factor using the classical, particle Reynolds number dependent drag force model as the benchmark model. The new drag model, which takes the particle vertical velocity into account, can reasonably predict the mean drag force obtained by DNS along a particle trajectory.
Study of compressible turbulent plane Couette flows via direct numerical simulation
Authors: Yao Jie , Hussain Fazle
Published: June 2023

Compressible turbulent plane Couette flows are studied via direct numerical simulation for wall Reynolds numbers up to

$Re_w=10\ 000$

and wall Mach numbers up to

$M_w=5$

. Various turbulence statistics are compared with their incompressible counterparts at comparable semilocal Reynolds numbers

$Re^*_{\tau,c}$

. The skin friction coefficient

$C_f$

, which decreases with

$Re_w$

, only weakly depends on

$M_w$

. On the other hand, the thermodynamic properties (mean temperature, density and others) strongly vary with

$M_w$

. Under proper scaling transformations, the mean velocity profiles for the compressible and incompressible cases collapse well and show a logarithmic region with the Kárman constant

$\kappa =0.41$

. Compared with wall units, the semilocal units yield a better collapse for the profiles of the Reynolds stresses. While the wall-normal and spanwise Reynolds stress components slightly decrease in the near-wall region, the inner peak of the streamwise component notably increases with increasing

$M_w$

– indicating that flow becomes more anisotropic when compressible. In addition, the near-wall turbulence production decreases as

$M_w$

increases – due to rapid wall-normal changes of viscosity caused by viscous heating. The streamwise and spanwise energy spectra show that the length scale of near-wall coherent structures does not vary with

$M_w$

in semilocal units. Consistent with those in incompressible flows, the superstructures (the large-scale streamwise rollers) with a typical spanwise scale of

$\lambda _z/h\approx 1.5{\rm \pi}$

become stronger with increasing

$Re_w$

. For the highest

$Re_w$

studied, they contribute about

$40\,\%$

of the Reynolds shear stress at the channel centre. Interestingly, flow visualization and correlation analysis show that the streamwise coherence of these structures degrades with increasing

$M_w$

. In addition, at comparable

$Re^*_{\tau,c}$

, the amplitude modulation of these structures on the near-wall small scales is quite similar between incompressible and compressible cases – but much stronger than that in plane Poiseuille flows.
Longitudinal wall motion during peristalsis and its effect on reflux
Authors: Kalayeh Kourosh , Xie Haotian , Brian Fowlkes J. , Sack Bryan S. , Schultz William W.
Published: June 2023

In this study, for the first time, we consider longitudinal motion of the walls during peristalsis in a distensible tube and how this affects backward (or retrograde) flow, i.e. peristaltic reflux. Building on the analytical model developed by Shapiro et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 37, no. 4, 1969, pp. 799–825) based on lubrication theory, we model peristalsis as a two-dimensional infinite sinusoidal wavetrain. We develop an objective function with high mechanical pumping efficiency and low reflux to find optimal peristalsis conditions. We show that optimal wall longitudinal motion contributes substantially to limiting reflux during peristalsis. The results suggest that the optimal form of wall longitudinal velocity is a linear function of the wall transverse coordinate, moving forward with the wave when the tube is distended and retracting when contracted. Our results are in general agreement with clinical observations of ureteral peristalsis.
Effects of strong fringing magnetic fields on turbulent thermal convection
Authors: Bhattacharya Shashwat , Boeck Thomas , Krasnov Dmitry , Schumacher Jörg
Published: June 2023

We study the influence of fringing magnetic fields on turbulent thermal convection in a horizontally extended rectangular domain. The magnetic field is created in the gap between two semi-infinite planar magnetic poles, with the convection layer located near the edge of the gap. We employ direct numerical simulations in this set-up for fixed Rayleigh and small Prandtl numbers, but vary the fringe width by controlling the gap between the magnetic poles and the convection cell. The magnetic field generated by the magnets is strong enough to cease the flow in the high magnetic flux region of the convection cell. We observe that as the local vertical magnetic field strength increases, the large-scale structures become thinner and align themselves perpendicular to the longitudinal sidewalls. We determine the local Nusselt and Reynolds numbers as functions of the local Hartmann number (based on the vertical component of the magnetic field), and estimate the global heat and momentum transport. We show that the global heat transport decreases with increasing fringe width for strong magnetic fields but increases with increasing fringe width for weak magnetic fields. In the regions of large vertical magnetic fields, the convective motion becomes confined to the vicinity of the sidewalls. The amplitudes of these wall modes show a non-monotonic dependence on the fringe width.
Profiting from Slavery and Emancipation: Compensation, Capital, and Collateral in Nineteenth-Century Senegal
Authors: Everill Bronwen , Diedhiou Khadidiatou
Published: June 2023

The relationship between capitalism and slavery has been contentious because, in the Atlantic economy, enslaved people functioned as commodities, as labor, and as assets. The transition away from the Atlantic slave-trading system across the nineteenth century affected the stakeholders in these economic functions differently. Compensated emancipation in Senegal provides an opportunity for thinking about the possibilities and limitations of compensation in facilitating capital's continuity. This article traces how individuals who had invested in enslaved labor managed the transition of emancipation and reinvested their compensation claims. It explores how the process of compensation addressed the problem of commercial debt in ways that allowed for a continuity of many of Senegal's urban business elite and their family firms through the end of the nineteenth century.
Rise of the Surplus Population? Land Decollectivization, Class Stratification, and Labor Precarization in Uzbekistan
Authors: Galdini Franco
Published: June 2023

This article identifies decollectivization as one of the central policies through which the so-called “Uzbek model” mediated independent Uzbekistan's incorporation into the global economy as a cotton exporter. As such, it problematizes the way in which the dominant literature on transition framed the country's independent history since 1991 as a “paradox” of no transition and transformation. Since it theorizes the former as the application of privatization, liberalization, and macroeconomic stabilization, the literature cannot explain why, absent this standard reform package, Uzbekistan still underwent a momentous transformation from full employment and low migration to mass informalization of economic activity and rural outmigration. Instead, I contend, decollectivization entailed a process of mass expropriation of the rural population from the land—primitive accumulation in Marxian terminology—in order to put it to production for capital accumulation. As such, land use was shifted from the collective reproduction of the rural population during Soviet times to the rent-subsidization of capital accumulation after independence, particularly via import-substitution industrialization. The result has been the class stratification of Uzbek society, most evident in the rise of a vast relative surplus population of landless peasants struggling in the precarious informal economy, including as daily workers and labor migrants.
Design and characterisation of a multi-DOF soft pneumatic module
Authors: Santacruz-Mondragon Israel , Sandoval-Castro X. Yamile , Ibrahim Serhat , Wiese Mats , Raatz Annika , Ruiz-Torres Maximiano F. , Castillo-Castaneda Eduardo
Published: June 2023

Bending and elongation have been some of the most studied motions in soft actuators due to the variety of their applications. For that matter, multi-DOF actuators have been developed with the purpose to generate different movements in a single actuator, mainly bending.

However, these actuators are still limited in mobility range, and some of them do not perform continuous curvatures. This paper presents the design, characterisation and implementations of a multi-DOF soft pneumatic module. The internal structure of the proposed module is composed of four channels, which generate bending in several directions. The finite element method analysis demonstrates that the actuator performs continuous curvatures for different pressure values. We present a repeatable and easy manufacturing process using the casting technique, considering the material Ecoflex 00-50; as well as the kinematic model of the actuator, taking into consideration two bending Degrees of Freedom (DOFs). Furthermore, we performed bending characterisation for all possible combinations of the four channels via computer vision, demonstrating a wide mobility range and performing continuous curvatures. Additionally, we evaluated the kinematic model with characterisation data, obtaining the angular and cartesian relationship between the pressure and continuous curvatures. On the other hand, the authors propose the design of a modular soft manipulator based on two multi-DOF modules. The kinematic model is reported. In addition, we implement a motion sequence in the manipulator to pick and place tasks.
Designing a just soda tax
Authors: MacKay Douglas , Huber-Disla Alexandria
Published: June 2023

Soda taxes are controversial. While proponents point to their potential health benefits and the public projects that could be funded with their revenue, critics argue that they are paternalistic and regressive. In this paper, we explore the prospects for designing a just soda tax, one that appropriately balances the often-competing ethical considerations of promoting social welfare, respecting people’s autonomy and ensuring distributive fairness. We argue that policymakers have several paths forward for designing a just soda tax, but that the considerations relevant to ethical policy design are more complicated than is sometimes acknowledged.
Unavoidable patterns in locally balanced colourings
Authors: Kamčev Nina , Müyesser Alp
Published: June 2023

Which patterns must a two-colouring of
$K_n$
contain if each vertex has at least
$\varepsilon n$
red and
$\varepsilon n$
blue neighbours? We show that when
$\varepsilon \gt 1/4$
,
$K_n$
must contain a complete subgraph on
$\Omega (\log n)$
vertices where one of the colours forms a balanced complete bipartite graph.

When
$\varepsilon \leq 1/4$
, this statement is no longer true, as evidenced by the following colouring
$\chi$
of
$K_n$
. Divide the vertex set into
$4$
parts nearly equal in size as
$V_1,V_2,V_3, V_4$
, and let the blue colour class consist of the edges between
$(V_1,V_2)$
,
$(V_2,V_3)$
,
$(V_3,V_4)$
, and the edges contained inside
$V_2$
and inside
$V_3$
. Surprisingly, we find that this obstruction is unique in the following sense. Any two-colouring of
$K_n$
in which each vertex has at least
$\varepsilon n$
red and
$\varepsilon n$
blue neighbours (with
$\varepsilon \gt 0$
) contains a vertex set
$S$
of order
$\Omega _{\varepsilon }(\log n)$
on which one colour class forms a balanced complete bipartite graph, or which has the same colouring as
$\chi$
.
Theatre of Potentiality
Authors: Müller-Schöll Nikolaus
Published: June 2023

How can we conceive potentiality as the inherent future in any present as well as in any past? Contemporary examples of a “theatre of potentiality” include works by dancer and choreographer Fabrice Mazliah; director Felix Rothenhäusler; and author, performer, director, and theoretician Boris Nikitin, who all share an interest in a-human excess: of things, words, bodies, and fictions.
The World According to Herbert Fritsch
Authors: Savran David
Published: June 2023

With his reinvention of absurd farce, Herbert Fritsch has become one of the most celebrated directors in the German-speaking world. Most remarkable are Fritsch’s original pieces, which he also designs, composed in collaboration with actors and musicians. These defy generic categorization and allow audiences to rethink what is possible to see and hear onstage.
The Politics of Cybersecurity and the Global Internet
Authors: Beyer Jessica L.
Published: June 2023

Many of the conversations about international cybersecurity have remained siloed in specific disciplines and professional cultures. As such, there is disagreement among academics and practitioners about how to define basic terms, such as “cybersecurity,” and arguments about what should “count” as part of cybersecurity. Because people’s perspectives on cybersecurity are often defined by where they “sit” professionally, practitioners and scholars are sometimes unaware that they do not share a conceptual universe. For instance, many separate international internet governance debates from conversations around global cybersecurity norms, although many of the same cleavages and barriers to agreements occur in both domains. Others consider censorship to be unrelated to cybersecurity, although espionage via hacking uses many of the same tools as the domestic surveillance that goes hand in hand with censorship. Still others do or do not incorporate considerations of internet infrastructure into conversations about conflict in spite of concerns about the security of undersea cables to most global powers. The three books under review—James Shires’s The Politics of Cybersecurity in the Middle East, Florian Egloff’s Semi-State Actors in Cybersecurity, and Kieron O’Hara and Wendy Hall’s Four Internets: Data, Geopolitics, and the Governance of Cyberspace—all help us understand how to think about this landscape. Each untangles some of these disconnects by making assumptions transparent, articulating places of overlap, unpacking terminology and categories, and offering paths forward for scholars.
A Quantitative Examination of Half-Belief in Superstition
Authors: Caspi Avner , Shmuel Eti , Chajut Eran
Published: June 2023

Abstract: We examined the phenomenon of half-belief in superstitions by asking two samples of participants (total N = 1,014) to report how much they practiced positive and negative superstitions and how much they believed in these superstitions. We further assessed whether demographic and psychological variables accounted for practice and belief. The results suggest that very few people show a complete lack of belief in superstitions and practice none. Some participants are calibrated believers, that is, people who practice and believe to the same extent. All others are either half-believers, who practice more than they believe or passive-believers who practice less than they believe. Age, gender, and religiosity correlated with practicing, believing, and with the discrepancy between them (i.e., with half-belief or with passive-belief). Anxiety and uncertainty are associated with practicing, believing, and the discrepancy between them, with some effects being weaker for positive than for negative superstitions. Some correlations were stronger in stressful situations (i.e., COVID-19) than prior to the pandemic.
Incremental Validity of Decision-Making Styles in Predicting Real-Life and Work-Related Outcomes
Authors: Erceg Nikola , Galić Zvonimir
Published: June 2023

Abstract: Across three studies and three different samples, we investigated whether decision-making styles exhibit incremental validity in predicting various real-life outcomes over and above cognitive abilities and personality traits. In Study 1, we showed that decision-making styles (especially avoidant and spontaneous ones) but not cognitive abilities predict important real-life and academic outcomes in a sample of undergraduate students. In Study 2, on a sample of employed adults, we showed that although the effects of decision-making styles decreased once the effects of personality traits were taken into account, styles nevertheless remained important for several important work-related outcomes. Finally, in Study 3, on a sample of entrepreneurs, decision-making styles generally exhibited stronger correlations with indices of entrepreneurial success and employee work-related attitudes than the need for achievement, a motivational trait that was meta-analytically shown to be one of the essential traits for entrepreneurial success. In sum, we hope that our research program fills the gap in research on individual differences in decision-making, offering evidence that decision-making styles matter for various important real-life outcomes.
Diminished Impact of the East Asian Winter Monsoon on the Maritime Continent Rainfall After the Late‐1990s Tied to Weakened Siberian High–Aleutian Low Covariation
Authors: Dong Zizhen , Wang Lin , Gui Shu , Gong Hainan , Hu Kaiming
Published: June 2023

Strong East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) can enhance the Maritime Continent rainfall (MCR) via frequent southward penetration of cold air along the coast of East Asia. However, such impact diminished after the late‐1990s, primarily due to the weakened covariation between the Siberian high and Aleutian low (AL). During 1979–1998, the co‐variability between the Siberian high and AL facilitates a strong east‐west pressure gradient over East Asia. The resultant northerlies invade southward and facilitate the enhanced MCR. In contrast, such covariation is weak during 2000–2018, and it impedes the southward invasion of northerly winds and diminishes EAWM's impact. Further inspections indicate that the weakened covariation is primarily caused by the reduced variability of the AL. The underlying mechanism is confirmed by the historical simulation of version 6 Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate (MIROC6) that participates in phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project and numerical experiments with European Center‐Hamburg atmospheric model version 6.3 (ECHAM6).
Short-Lived Solutions for Tall Trees in Chile’s Megadrought
Authors: Dzombak Rebecca
Published: June 2023

Some southern beeches in the Andes have plumbed deeper for moisture as the surface has dried up. But doing so may deplete resources and undermine the trees’ future health.
Comparison of Field‐Aligned Current Responses to HSS/SIR, Sheath, and Magnetic Cloud Driven Geomagnetic Storms
Authors: Pedersen M. N. , Vanhamäki H. , Aikio A. T.
Published: June 2023

The time delay from an interplanetary driver arriving at the magnetopause to the response in the ionosphere has never been quantified separately for different types of storm drivers. This study investigates the delay for storms driven by high‐speed streams and associated stream interaction regions (HSS/SIR), or by interplanetary coronal mass ejection sheaths and magnetic clouds (MC). The total field‐aligned current (FAC) and SME index lag the Newell coupling function (NCF) by 40 ± 10 min during storms driven by HSS/SIR and sheaths, and by 60 ± 10 min for MCs. The correlation coefficient between FAC and NCF reaches maximum value as NCF is averaged over the preceding 80 min for sheath, 90 min for HSS/SIR, and 140 min for MC storms.
Combined Effect of Topography and Rotation on Oblique Internal Solitary Wave‐Wave Interactions
Authors: Yuan Chunxin , Pan Longxiang , Gao Zhen , Wang Zhan
Published: June 2023

Oblique interactions between internal solitary waves (ISWs) in the ocean have been frequently recorded by satellite images, nonetheless, only a limited number of studies concentrate on these phenomena, which found that both the Earth's rotation and varying topography are important factors for the underlining wave dynamics. However, the effects of rotation at different latitudes and furthermore, their combined effects with the shoaling topography are still unclear. Thus, the aim of this paper is to investigate these combined effects on oblique ISW wave‐wave interactions. Referring to observed obliquely interacting patterns, three scenarios initiated by two ISWs posing a V shape are explored using the variable‐coefficient Kadomtsev‐Petviashvili (KP) equation under the circumstance of continuous stratification and idealized shoaling topography. In all three experiments, rotation alone disintegrates the coherent waveforms and suppresses the emergence of a Mach stem (a wave generated at the interaction zone, characterized by the maximum of four‐fold initial waves). When shoaling topography is also included, which increases the nonlinearity leading to a competition with dispersion induced by rotation, and the result is a magnification of wave amplitudes and emergence of additional trailing waves. The combined effect of these two factors modulates the birth and subsequent development of the Mach stem, alters the post‐interaction patterns and determines the emergence of a nascent KdV‐like undular bore, which plausibly explains the discrepancies between previous theoretical results (when the combined effect is not considered) and the measured horizontal surface signatures for ISW wave‐wave interactions.
Anti-hypertensive medication adherence in the REQUIRE trial: post-hoc exploratory evaluation
Authors: Kario Kazuomi , Kai Hisashi , Nanto Shinsuke , Yokoi Hiroyoshi
Published: June 2023

Maintaining medication adherence is important in treating hypertension, especially resistant hypertension (RH), and variable medication adherence can confound results in blood pressure trials. This post-hoc analysis evaluated adherence at baseline and 3 months using available urine samples from the REQUIRE trial, comparing 24-h ambulatory systolic blood pressure (ASBP) lowering effects of ultrasound renal denervation (uRDN) versus sham in RH. At baseline, 45% (26/58) patients showed poor adherence. Among patients with good baseline adherence, adherence was unchanged at 3 months, and uRDN patients had a decreased ASBP whereas sham patients did not. In poorly adherent patients, sham patients showed a trend towards increased adherence and a significant ASBP reduction, whereas uRDN patients did not change. Accordingly, adherence changes and the resultant ASBP reduction in poorly adherent sham patients may explain the lack of between-group difference seen in REQUIRE. Monitoring and maintaining medication adherence is important for future interventional studies in RH.
Comparative transcriptomic analysis of transcription factors and hormones during flower bud differentiation in ‘Red Globe’ grape under red‒blue light
Authors: Liu Xin , Yuan Miao , Dang Shizhuo , Zhou Juan , Zhang Yahong
Published: June 2023

Grape is a globally significant fruit-bearing crop, and the grape flower bud differentiation essential to fruit production is closely related to light quality. To investigate the regulatory mechanism of grape flower bud differentiation under red‒blue light, the transcriptome and hormone content were determined at four stages of flower bud differentiation. The levels of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and abscisic acid (ABA) in grape flower buds at all stages of differentiation under red‒blue light were higher than those in the control. However, the levels of cytokinins (CKs) and gibberellic acid (giberellins, GAs) fluctuated continuously over the course of flower bud differentiation. Moreover, many differentially expressed genes were involved in auxin, CK, GA, and the ABA signal transduction pathways. There were significant differences in the AUX/IAA, SAUR, A-RR, and ABF gene expression levels between the red‒blue light treatment and the control buds, especially in regard to the ABF genes, the expression levels of which were completely different between the two groups. The expression of GBF4 and AI5L2 in the control was always low, while the expression under red‒blue light increased. AI5L7 and AI5L5 expression levels showed an upwards trend in the control plant buds and gradually decreased in red‒blue light treatment plant buds. Through weighted gene coexpression network analysis, we determined that the transcription factors WRK48 (WRKY family), EF110 (ERF family), ABR1, CAMTA3 (CAMTA family), and HSFA3 (HSF family) may be involved in the regulation of the GBF4 gene. This study lays a foundation for further analysis of grape flower bud differentiation regulation under red‒blue light.
Simultaneous imaging of ultrasonic relative backscatter and attenuation coefficients for quantitative liver steatosis assessment
Authors: Timaná José , Chahuara Hector , Basavarajappa Lokesh , Basarab Adrian , Hoyt Kenneth , Lavarello Roberto
Published: June 2023

Prevalence of liver disease is continuously increasing and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common etiology. We present an approach to detect the progression of liver steatosis based on quantitative ultrasound (QUS) imaging. This study was performed on a group of 55 rats that were subjected to a control or methionine and choline deficient (MCD) diet known to induce NAFLD. Ultrasound (US) measurements were performed at 2 and 6 weeks. Thereafter, animals were humanely euthanized and livers excised for histological analysis. Relative backscatter and attenuation coefficients were simultaneously estimated from the US data and envelope signal-to-noise ratio was calculated to train a regression model for: (1) fat fraction percentage estimation and (2) performing classification according to Brunt’s criteria in grades (0 <5%; 1, 5–33%; 2, >33–66%; 3, >66%) of liver steatosis. The trained regression model achieved an $$R^2$$

R
2

of 0.97 (p-value < 0.01) and a RMSE of 3.64. Moreover, the classification task reached an accuracy of 94.55%. Our results suggest that in vivo QUS is a promising noninvasive imaging modality for the early assessment of NAFLD.
An integrative approach to understanding diversity patterns and assemblage rules in Neotropical bats
Authors: Hurtado-Materon María A. , Murillo-García Oscar E.
Published: June 2023

Understanding the mechanisms shaping species composition of assemblages is critical for incorporating ecological and evolutionary perspectives into biodiversity conservation. Thus, we quantified the relative support of community assembly mechanisms by assessing how species richness relates to the functional and phylogenetic biodiversity of Neotropical bat assemblages. We assessed the association of functional diversity for functional categories and phylogenetic diversity with species richness for 20 assemblages of Neotropical bats. In addition, we contrasted functional and phylogenetic diversity against null models to determine the mechanisms that structure the assemblages. We hypothesize functional/phylogenetic overdispersion for high species sites and a positive relationship between those dimensions of diversity and richness. Functional divergence increased with species richness, indicating that the variability in ecological attributes among abundant bats increases as the assemblages contain more species. Taxa were more distantly related as richness increases, but distances among closely related species remained constant. We found a consistent tendency of clustering of functional traits in site assemblages, particularly in abundant species. We proposed competition between clades as a possible mechanism modulating the community structure in Neotropical bat assemblages. Our results suggest that decreasing overlap in functional traits between abundant species could promote coexistence with rare species that can buffer ecosystem function due to species loss.
Part two: an unblinded, parallel, randomized study to assess nicotine pharmacokinetics of four Vuse Solo ENDS flavors in smokers
Authors: Keyser Brian M. , Hong Kyung Soo , DeLuca Patricia , Jin Tao , Jones Bobbette A. , Nelson Paul , Schmidt Eckhardt , Round Elaine K.
Published: June 2023

We report the findings from a randomized, parallel study designed to evaluate nicotine pharmacokinetics (PK) following 10 min of ad libitum use of electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) in four flavor variants. Subjects were randomized an investigational product (IP) and blood samples were collected for PK assessments during a test session. Primary endpoints were baseline-adjusted values of maximum plasma nicotine concentration (Cmax) and area under the nicotine concentration-vs-time curve up to 60 min (AUCnic0–60). Baseline-adjusted mean Cmax ranged from 6.53 to 8.21 ng/mL, and mean AUCnic0–60 ranged from 206.87 to 263.52 ng min/mL for all ENDS IPs. Results of geometric mean Cmax and AUCnic0–60 values were within 95% confidence intervals (CI) among the ENDS IP flavor variants tested.