bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cleansing efficacy of an oral irrigator with microburst technology in orthodontic patients—a randomized-controlled crossover study
Authors: Wiesmüller Vera , Kasslatter Manuel , Zengin Baran , Zotz Desiree , Offermanns Vincent , Steiner René , Crismani Adriano , Kapferer-Seebacher Ines
Published: April 2023

Objectives

Orthodontic patients struggle with interdental cleaning calling for simpler mechanical devices to reduce the high plaque levels. The present study aimed to compare the cleansing efficacy of an oral irrigator with that of dental flossing in patients with fixed braces after 4 weeks of home-use.

Materials and methods

The study design is a randomized and single-blinded cross-over study. After 28 days using the products at home, hygiene indices (Rustogi Modified Navy Plaque Index (RMNPI); gingival bleeding index (GBI)) were compared between test (oral irrigator) and control product (dental floss).

Results

Seventeen adult individuals finalized the study. After 28 days of cleaning with the oral irrigator, RMNPI was 54.96% (46.91–66.05) compared to 52.98% (42.75–65.60) with dental floss (p = 0.029). Subgroup analysis revealed that the higher cleansing efficacy of the dental floss is attributable to buccal and marginal areas. GBI after the test phase with the oral irrigator was 12.96% (7.14–24.31) and statistically significantly higher compared to 8.33% (5.84–15.33) with dental floss (p = 0.030) which could be seen in all subgroups.

Conclusions

Oral irrigators do not remove plaque and reduce gingival bleeding as efficiently as dental floss in easily accessible regions. However, in posterior regions, where the patients struggled with the application of dental floss, the oral irrigator showed similar results.

Clinical relevance

Oral irrigators should only be recommended to orthodontic patients who cannot use interdental brushes and are not compliant with dental flossing.
Disentangling Critical Questions from Argument Schemes
Authors: Hernández Alfonso
Published: April 2023

Critical questions have been understood in the framework of argument schemes from their conception. This understanding has influenced the process of evaluating arguments and the development of classifications. This paper argues that relating these two notions is detrimental to research on argument schemes and critical questions, and that it is possible to have critical questions without relying on argument schemes. Two objections are raised against the classical understanding of critical questions based on theoretical and analytical grounds. The theoretical objection presents the assumptions that are embedded in the idea of argument schemes delivering questions to evaluate arguments. The analytical objection, on the other hand, exposes the shortcomings of the theory when critical questions are used to evaluate real-life argumentation. After presenting these criticisms, a new theory of critical questions is sketched. This theory takes into account the dynamics of dialectical discussions to describe the function of critical questions and their implications for evaluating arguments.
The black box problem revisited. Real and imaginary challenges for automated legal decision making
Authors: Brożek Bartosz , Furman Michał , Jakubiec Marek , Kucharzyk Bartłomiej
Published: April 2023

This paper addresses the black-box problem in artificial intelligence (AI), and the related problem of explainability of AI in the legal context. We argue, first, that the black box problem is, in fact, a superficial one as it results from an overlap of four different – albeit interconnected – issues: the opacity problem, the strangeness problem, the unpredictability problem, and the justification problem. Thus, we propose a framework for discussing both the black box problem and the explainability of AI. We argue further that contrary to often defended claims the opacity issue is not a genuine problem. We also dismiss the justification problem. Further, we describe the tensions involved in the strangeness and unpredictability problems and suggest some ways to alleviate them.
Conservation benefit-sharing mechanisms and their effectiveness in the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem: local communities’ perspectives
Authors: Kegamba Juma J. , Sangha Kamaljit K. , Wurm Penelope A.S. , Garnett Stephen T.
Published: April 2023

Benefit-sharing mechanisms have been instrumental in securing the support of local communities living on the edge of protected areas to implement protected area goals and enhance biodiversity conservation outcomes. Understanding the acceptability of the types of benefit provided among diverse communities is crucial for co-designing benefit-sharing approaches that accommodate local perspectives. Here, we used quasi-structured questionnaires and focus group discussions (FGD) to assess the acceptance of the types of benefit received by the communities in the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem (GSE) in Tanzania and the effectiveness of the benefits in securing community support for conservation reserves. We found that the categories of social service provision, livelihood support, and employment described all the benefits provided across conservation institutions operating in the GSE. However, the types of benefit within these categories varied significantly among conservation institutions, in terms of level and frequency of benefits received by communities. Overall, student scholarships were highly rated by respondents as the most satisfying benefit received. Respondents who were dissatisfied with the benefits received thought that the benefits did not compensate for the high costs arising from wildlife incursions onto their land. Communities’ acceptance of the benefits received varied greatly among villages, but only a small proportion of pooled respondents (22%) were willing to support the existence of a protected area without benefit. This study suggests that local people are willing to support conservation outcomes but require conservation institutions to give greater consideration to the costs incurred by communities, their livelihood needs, and access to natural resources or other benefits. We recommend that benefit-sharing be tailored to the local circumstances and cultures of people living close to protected areas, particularly communities expressing more negative views, to ensure adequate and appropriate compensation is provided.
Academic cheating as planned behavior: the effects of perceived behavioral control and individualism-collectivism orientations
Authors: Zhang Yinxia
Published: April 2023

To inform interventions against academic cheating among college students, the study tests the moderating role of the construct of perceived behavioral control as originally proposed yet seldom tested in the Theory of Planned Behavior, and further tests the cultural boundary conditions for this moderating role with a focus on the four horizontal-vertical individualism-collectivism orientations. Using multicampus survey data collected from 2293 Chinese undergraduate students, the moderation analyses suggest a significant and negative joint effect of perceived behavioral control with the construct of subjective norm and a positive yet insignificant joint effect with the construct of attitude towards cheating. Further moderated moderation analyses identify a pattern from comparing the four significant three-way interactions: the positive effects of attitude towards cheating and subjective norm on academic cheating are stronger under the conditions of a combination of low subjective norm with low horizontal individualism and horizontal collectivism, respectively. The study contributes to a nuanced understanding of the utility of Theory of Planned Behavior in predicting academic cheating and supports a multivariable intervention approach that closely integrates administrative measures with students’ attitudinal and normative beliefs with a concern for the subtle yet significant influences of cultural orientations.
Data Sensitivity and Domain Specificity in Reuse of Machine Learning Applications
Authors: Rutschi Corinna , Berente Nicholas , Nwanganga Frederick
Published: April 2023

Data sensitivity and domain specificity challenges arise in reuse of machine learning applications. We identify four types of machine learning applications based on different reuse strategies: generic, distinctive, selective, and exclusive. We conclude with lessons for developing and deploying machine learning applications.
Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Inpatient Adolescent Psychiatric Population
Authors: Kriegel Graciela , Paul Sayani , Leonard Kate H. , Sandor Paul
Published: April 2023

The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased in recent decades, much of which is related to changes in diagnostic criteria, and greater awareness among professionals and parents. Using a prospective cross-sectional study design, this study explores the prevalence of ASD among 173 adolescents admitted to two psychiatric facilities in Canada, and its association with some early pre and perinatal risk factors. The overall prevalence of ASD in the psychiatric population was 11.56% compared to 1.52% in children and youth in Canada. While prenatal and perinatal factors were not significantly associated with ASD, we found a frequent association of ASD with different comorbid psychiatric conditions. These findings further our knowledge in planning and management of ASD among this population.
Effect of CuO doping on structural features, optical absorption and photoluminescence behavior of ZnO-based glasses
Authors: Ibrahim S. , Hamdy Y. M. , Darwish H. , Ali A. A.
Published: April 2023

Glasses composed of ZnO–SiO2–B2O3–In2O3 with the addition of different content of CuO were prepared by a popular melt–quenching methodology. The effect of the addition of copper oxide in the glass network was investigated using density, FTIR spectroscopy, optical absorption, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. By increasing the concentration of CuO, a decrease in the density is observed, indicating structural changes in the glass network. The structural building units of glasses are $${\mathrm{BO}}_{3}$$

BO
3

,$${\mathrm{BO}}_{4}$$

BO
4

, and $${\mathrm{ZnO}}_{4}$$

ZnO
4

according to the FTIR spectra. The absorption spectra of these glasses reveal a distinct broad band at 744 nm due to 2$${\mathrm{B}}_{1\mathrm{g}}$$

B

1
g

→ 2$${\mathrm{B}}_{2\mathrm{g}}$$

B

2
g

characteristic transition of cupric ion in the distorted octahedral sites. The optical band gap energies ($${E}_{\mathrm{g}}$$

E
g

) and refractive indices of the studied glasses were also evaluated using the ASF, DASF, and Tauc techniques which revealed that (Eg) values are in gradual decrease with a rise content of CuO. The photoluminescence analysis including emission and CIE chromaticity of the prepared samples were carried out. The emission spectra supported divalent state of copper ions in a distorted octahedral geometry of the glass network upon UV excitation at 270 nm. These results may suggest the material of glass as a potential candidate in the photonics applications.
Borosilicate sol–gel bioactive glasses and the effect of borate content on structure-property relationships
Authors: Ishihara Daisuke , Maçon Anthony L. B. , Norris Elizabeth , Jones Julian R. , Obata Akiko , Kasuga Toshihiro
Published: April 2023

Borate-doped silicate glasses with chemical compositions of (70 − x)SiO2–xB2O3–30CaO (x = 0, 5, 15, and 25, in mol%) were synthesized using the sol–gel method, intended to be used in tissue regeneration. The effects of borate content on the glass surface morphology, chemical structure, ion dissolution behavior, and fibroblast compatibility were investigated. 11B magic angle spinning-solid state nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier transform infrared spectra demonstrated that borate, in the glasses, possessed both three- and four-coordinated structures. From nitrogen sorption, the specific surface area of the glasses decreased with increased borate content and calcination temperature, from 600 °C to 700 °C. In the case of glasses undergoing calcination at 700 °C, silicate and calcium ion released in a Tris–HCl buffer solution (pH = 7.4) at the early stage of the immersion test decreased as borate content increased. The decrease in surface area caused by stabilizing at 700 °C due to the effect of increasing borate concentration controlled the ion dissolution behavior of the glasses. The proliferation ability of fibroblasts cultured with the dissolution products of the glasses were improved as borate content increased in the glass composition.

Graphical Abstract
Limits of Optimization
Authors: Carissimo Cesare , Korecki Marcin
Published: April 2023

Optimization is about finding the best available object with respect to an objective function. Mathematics and quantitative sciences have been highly successful in formulating problems as optimization problems, and constructing clever processes that find optimal objects from sets of objects. As computers have become readily available to most people, optimization and optimized processes play a very broad role in societies. It is not obvious, however, that the optimization processes that work for mathematics and abstract objects should be readily applied to complex and open social systems. In this paper we set forth a framework to understand when optimization is limited, particularly for complex and open social systems.
Can we pull resilience from the rubble? experiencing earthquakes in Mexico City
Authors: Alcántara-Ayala Irasema , Lucatello Simone , Rodríguez-Velázquez Daniel
Published: April 2023

This paper serves as an introduction to focus on the meaning of resilience as a notion that hypothetically enables cities and their citizens to remain unaffected by shocks and stresses of diverse nature, but in practice, is a parsimonious representation of a highly complex human endogenous condition that is often not adequately understood and addressed due to weak or weathered disaster risk governance. Through an empirical analysis, the relevance of the occurrence of disasters such as the one produced by the Mexico City earthquake of September 19, 2017, and its relationship to the meaning of urban resilience is addressed. Since the 100 Resilient Cities program launch in 2013, several cities, including Mexico City, have adopted diverse strategies to build and become more resilient to physical, social, and economic shocks and stresses. Nonetheless, the degree of success of such strategies expressed in everyday life within the cities, regardless of what the official documents report, reveals highly heterogeneous results. In the case of Mexico City, it is evident that the appropriate strategy for attaining the desired outcome of becoming a Resilient City has not been successful. Despite setting the goal of advancing disaster risk reduction through urban and regional planning, the impact of the earthquake of September 19, 2017, proved otherwise.
Dynamic analysis of a soft capsule robot self-propelling in the small intestine via finite element method
Authors: Tian Jiyuan , Afebu Kenneth Omokhagbo , Wang Zepeng , Liu Yang , Prasad Shyam
Published: April 2023

To reduce potential trauma to the intestine caused by the rigid shell while also optimising its progression efficiency, an elastomer coating was applied to a self-propelled capsule robot for small-bowel endoscopy. The robot is self-propelled by its periodically excited inner mass interacting with the main body of the capsule in the presence of intestinal resistance. This work explored the dynamic responses of the capsule with different elastomer coatings (i.e., different elastic moduli and thicknesses) in the lumen of the small intestine through a three-dimensional finite element analysis. The driving parameters of the robot, including the amplitude, frequency and duty cycle of a square-wave excitation, were further tested to reveal the dynamics of this soft robot. By analysing numerical results, the proposed finite element model can provide quantitative predictions on the contact pressure, resistance force and robot-intestine dynamics under different elastomer coatings. It was found that the softer the elastomer coating is, the lesser the contact pressure between the robot and the intestine, thus implying lesser trauma. The findings of this work can provide design guidelines and an evaluation means for robotic engineers who are developing soft medical robots for bowel examinations as well as clinical practitioners working on capsule endoscopy.
The music demixing machine: toward real-time remixing of classical music
Authors: Cabañas-Molero Pablo , Muñoz-Montoro Antonio J. , Vera-Candeas Pedro , Ranilla José
Published: April 2023

Classical music, unlike popular music, is usually recorded live with close microphone techniques. For this reason, isolated tracks are not available to create the final mixture/stream, and so the mixing process requires greater effort. Source separation methods are a potential solution to this problem. However, current algorithms are not fast enough to yield real-time separation in professional setups with dozens of microphones and sources. In this paper, we propose a fast approach consisting of a panning-based multichannel non-negative matrix factorization model to separate classical music. We tested the system on real professional recordings, where we were able to reach real-time with very low latency and promising quality.
Hepatitis C and hepatitis B virus infection in hemodialysis patients after nationwide direct antiviral agents therapy—experience of 10 Romanian HD centers
Authors: Marc Luciana , Mihaescu Adelina , Lupusoru Raluca , Schiller Oana , Bob Flaviu , Chisavu Lazar , Bende Felix , Sirli Roxana , Schiller Adalbert
Published: April 2023

Purpose

End-stage kidney disease patients (ESKD) receiving hemodialysis (HD) are at a greater risk of hepatitis virus (HV) infections due to the invasive nature of the procedures, frequent hospital stays and surgeries, as well as the immune deficiency status of ESKD.

The aim

This study was to reassess the hepatitis virus infections prevalence in the HD population in Romania after 5 years of oral DAAs therapy and assess the impact on HD patients’ outcomes in two cohorts (2015 and 2019).

Methods

We compared ESKD patients treated with HD in 10 HD centers from the historical regions of Romania in 2015 (n = 1401, Mean age 59.7 ± 12.92 years) with patients treated in the same centers in 2019 (n = 1698, mean age 61 ± 12.93 years). All patients went through HD therapy for more than 90 days.

Results

The patients from the 2019 cohort were significantly older (p = 0.005), had a longer duration of HD therapy (p < 0.0001), and had more vascular calcifications (p = 0.015); the crude one-year mortality rate did not differ from the 2015 cohort (9.9 vs. 10.7%, p = 0.46). The prevalence of HBV infection did not differ between the cohorts (4.7% vs. 4.8, p = 0.604) but the prevalence of HCV significantly decreased from 2015 to 2019 (16.9 vs. 10.5%, p < 0.0001).

Conclusion

After 15 years of a nationwide infection prevention program for HV infections and 5 years of DAAs treatment in Romania, the prevalence of HBV did not change but HCV infections decreased significantly, however, it still remained high.
Dosage concentration and pulsing frequency affect the degradation efficiency in simulated bacterial polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading cultures
Authors: Vogel Anjela L. , Thompson Katharine J. , Kleindienst Sara , Zarfl Christiane
Published: April 2023

A major source of anthropogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) inputs into marine environments are diffuse emissions which result in low PAH concentrations in the ocean water, posing a potential threat for the affected ecosystems. However, the remediation of low-dosage PAH contaminations through microbial processes remains largely unknown. Here, we developed a process-based numerical model to simulate batch cultures receiving repeated low-dosage naphthalene pulses compared to the conventionally used one-time high-dosage. Pulsing frequency as well as dosage concentration had a large impact on the degradation efficiency. After 10 days, 99.7%, 97.2%, 86.6%, or 83.5% of the 145 mg L−1 naphthalene was degraded when given as a one-time high-dosage or in 2, 5, or 10 repeated low-concentration dosages equally spaced throughout the experiment, respectively. If the simulation was altered, giving the system that received 10 pulses time to recover to 99.7%, pulsing patterns affected the degradation of naphthalene. When pulsing 10 days at once per day, naphthalene accumulated following each pulse and if the degradation was allowed to continue until the recovered state was reached, the incubation time was prolonged to 17 days with a generation time of 3.81 days. If a full recovery was conditional before the next pulse was added, the scenario elongated to 55 days and generation time increased to 14.15 days. This indicates that dissolution kinetics dominate biodegradation kinetics, and the biomass concentration of PAH-degrading bacteria alone is not a sufficient indicator for quantifying active biodegradation. Applying those findings to the environment, a one-time input of a high dosage is potentially degraded faster than repeated low-dosage PAH pollution and repeated low-dosage input could lead to PAH accumulation in vulnerable pristine environments. Further research on the overlooked field of chronic low-dosage PAH contamination is necessary.
Recruitment rates and strategies in exercise trials in cancer survivorship: a systematic review
Authors: Reynolds Sophie A. , O’Connor Louise , McGee Anna , Kilcoyne Anna Quinn , Connolly Archie , Mockler David , Guinan Emer , O’Neill Linda
Published: April 2023

Purpose

Despite clear evidence-based supporting a benefit to exercise on physical and psychological metrics in patients with cancer, recruitment to exercise trials amongst cancer survivors is suboptimal. We explore current recruitment rates, strategies, and common barriers to participation in exercise oncology trials in cancer survivorship.

Methods

A systematic review was conducted using a pre-defined search strategy in EMBASE, CINAHL, Medline, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. The search was performed up to 28/02/2022. Screening of titles and abstracts, full-text review, and data extraction was completed in duplicate.

Results

Of the 3204 identified studies, 87 papers corresponding to 86 trials were included. Recruitment rates were highly variable with a median rate of 38% (range 0.52–100%). Trials recruiting prostate cancer patients only had the highest median recruitment rate (45.9%) vs trials recruiting colorectal cancer patients only which had the lowest (31.25%). Active recruitment strategies such as direct recruitment via a healthcare professional were associated with higher recruitment rates (rho = 0.201, p = 0.064). Common reasons for non-participation included lack of interest (46.51%, n (number of studies) = 40); distance and transport (45.3%, n = 39); and failure to contact (44.2%, n = 38).

Conclusions

Recruitment of cancer survivors to exercise interventions is suboptimal with barriers being predominantly patient-oriented. This paper provides the benchmark for current recruitment rates to exercise oncology trials, providing data for trialists planning future trial design and implementation, optimise future recruitment strategies, and evaluate their own recruitment success against current practice.

Implications for Cancer Survivors

Enhanced recruitment to cancer survivorship exercise trials is necessary in facilitating the publication of definitive exercise guidelines, generalisable to varying cancer cohorts.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42020185968.
Novel combination method of wide-range serial sectioning and 3D reconstruction visualizing both macro-level dynamics and micro-level interactions in an attempt to analyze the female pelvic floor
Authors: Muro Satoru , Akita Keiichi
Published: April 2023

The present report presents details of the method for combining wide-range serial sectioning and 3D reconstruction using an adult cadaver. For several decades, anatomists have utilized a variety of non-destructive three-dimensional (3D) visualization methods to complement gross anatomical analysis methods. These include vascular casting for the visualization of vascular morphology and micro-CT for the visualization of bone morphology. However, these conventional methods are restricted by the properties and sizes of the target structures. Here, we introduce a method to conduct 3D reconstruction based on wide-range serial histological sections from adult cadavers, which overcomes previous restrictions. An attempt at 3D visualization of the female pelvic floor muscles provides a detailed description of the procedure. Supplemental video and 3D PDF files allow multifaceted observation of 3D images. Wide-range serial sectioning visualizes morphology beyond the scope of conventional methods, while 3D reconstruction enables non-destructive 3D visualization of any structure that can be observed on a histological section, including skeletal muscle, smooth muscle, ligaments, cartilage, connective tissue, blood vessels, nerves, lymph nodes, and glands. The novel combination of both methods is instrumental in meso-anatomy, a discipline intermediate between macro-anatomy and micro-anatomy.
The impacts of dumping sites on the marine environment: a system dynamics approach
Authors: Mousavi S. Hooman , Kavianpour M. R. , Alcaraz Jorge Luis García
Published: April 2023

The various forms of anthropogenic pollution of seas and oceans have been extensively studied in recent decades. The most significant factors are the destructive environmental impacts of marine dumping sites. These sites put soil and coastline, water quality, mangroves and coral reefs, marine animals, food chains and plankton, and fishery at serious risk and alter the surrounding economic, social, and cultural conditions. The destruction of marine ecosystems by dumping sites causes severe environmental damage. With the ever-increasing anthropogenic environmental pollution of the seas and the drastic reduction in the self-purification mechanism of marine ecosystems, it is necessary to charter practical solutions with a holistic perspective and implement novel designs using system dynamics. System thinking and system analysis are essential tools in analyzing and solving important economic and management issues. System analysis investigates and evaluates the system complexities, determines the relationship between all factors, and then presents appropriate solutions to the problem. The increasing severity of the problems caused by marine dumping in recent years and the existing research gap in this area have highlighted the need for effective, comprehensive, and integrated solutions. The process of findings such solutions is critical and challenging. This study explores the most significant factors that directly and indirectly impact marine life using system dynamics.
Modeling air quality PM2.5 forecasting using deep sparse attention-based transformer networks
Authors: Zhang Z. , Zhang S.
Published: April 2023

Air quality forecasting is of great importance in environmental protection, government decision-making, people's daily health, etc. Existing research methods have failed to effectively modeling long-term and complex relationships in time series PM2.5 data and exhibited low precision in long-term prediction. To address this issue, in this paper a new lightweight deep learning model using sparse attention-based Transformer networks (STN) consisting of encoder and decoder layers, in which a multi-head sparse attention mechanism is adopted to reduce the time complexity, is proposed to learn long-term dependencies and complex relationships from time series PM2.5 data for modeling air quality forecasting. Extensive experiments on two real-world datasets in China, i.e., Beijing PM2.5 dataset and Taizhou PM2.5 dataset, show that our proposed method not only has relatively small time complexity, but also outperforms state-of-the-art methods, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed STN method on both short-term and long-term air quality prediction tasks. In particular, on singe-step PM2.5 forecasting tasks our proposed method achieves R2 of 0.937 and reduces RMSE to 19.04 µg/m3 and MAE to 11.13 µg/m3 on Beijing PM2.5 dataset. Also, our proposed method obtains R2 of 0.924 and reduces RMSE to 5.79 µg/m3 and MAE to 3.76 µg/m3 on Taizhou PM2.5 dataset. For long-term time step prediction, our proposed method still performs best among all used methods on multi-step PM2.5 forecasting results for the next 6, 12, 24, and 48 h on two real-world datasets.
Recovery and sequelae in 523 adults and children with tick-borne encephalitis in Germany
Authors: Nygren Teresa M. , Pilic Antonia , Böhmer Merle M. , Wagner-Wiening Christiane , Wichmann Ole , Hellenbrand Wiebke
Published: April 2023

Purpose

Despite being vaccine-preventable, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) continues to cause considerable morbidity in Germany. Limited insight into potentially debilitating consequences of TBE may partially underly low (~ 20%) TBE vaccine uptake. We aimed to systematically assess TBE sequelae and other consequences.

Methods

Routinely notified TBE patients from 2018 to 2020 from Southern Germany were invited to telephone interviews acutely and again after 18 months. Duration of acute symptoms was prospectively assessed. Recovery was defined as score 0 on the modified RANKIN scale. Determinants of time to recovery were analysed with cox regression, adjusted for covariates identified using directed acyclic graphs, yielding hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Results

Of 558 cases, 523 (93.7%) completed follow-up. Full recovery was reported by 67.3% (children: 94.9%, adults: 63.8%). Sequelae included fatigue (17.0%), weakness (13.4%), concentration deficit (13.0%), and impaired balance (12.0%). Compared with 18–39-year-olds, recovery rates were 44% lower in ≥ 50-year-olds (HR: 0.56, 95%CI 0.42–0.75) and 79% higher in children (HR: 1.79, 95%CI 1.25–2.56). The recovery rate was 64% lower after severe TBE (compared to mild; HR: 0.36, 95%CI 0.25–0.52) and 22% lower with comorbidities (HR: 0.78, 95%CI 0.62–0.99). Substantial health-care use was reported (90.1% hospitalisation, 39.8% rehabilitation). Of employed cases, 88.4% required sick leave; 10.3% planned/reported premature retirement due to sequelae.

Conclusion

Half the adult and 5% of paediatric patients reported persisting sequelae after 18 months. Improved prevention could alleviate both individual (morbidity) and societal TBE burden (health-care costs, productivity losses). Insights into sequelae can help guide at-risk populations towards tick-avoidant strategies and encourage TBE vaccination.
Exploring biopsychosocial correlates of pregnancy risk and pregnancy intention in women with chronic kidney disease
Authors: Ralston Elizabeth R. , Smith Priscilla , Clark Katherine , Wiles Kate ,   RaDaR CKD Pregnancy Group, Chilcot Joseph , Bramham Kate
Published: April 2023

Introduction

Women with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) are at increased risk of adverse pregnancy and renal outcomes. It is unknown how women with CKD understand their pregnancy risk. This nine-centre, cross-sectional study aimed to explore how women with CKD perceive their pregnancy risk and its impact on pregnancy intention, and identify associations between biopsychosocial factors and perception of pregnancy risk and intention.

Methods

Women with CKD in the UK completed an online survey measuring their pregnancy preferences; perceived CKD severity; perception of pregnancy risk; pregnancy intention; distress; social support; illness perceptions and quality of life. Clinical data were extracted from local databases. Multivariable regression analyses were performed. Trial registration: NCT04370769.

Results

Three hundred fifteen women participated, with a median estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 64 ml/min/1.73m2 (IQR 56). Pregnancy was important or very important in 234 (74%) women. Only 108 (34%) had attended pre-pregnancy counselling. After adjustment, there was no association between clinical characteristics and women’s perceived pregnancy risk nor pregnancy intention. Women’s perceived severity of their CKD and attending pre-pregnancy counselling were independent predictors of perceived pregnancy risk. Importance of pregnancy was an independent predictor of pregnancy intention but there was no correlation between perceived pregnancy risk and pregnancy intention (r = − 0.002, 95% CI − 0.12 to 0.11).

Discussion

Known clinical predictors of pregnancy risk for women with CKD were not associated with women’s perceived pregnancy risk nor pregnancy intention. Importance of pregnancy in women with CKD is high, and influences pregnancy intention, whereas perception of pregnancy risk does not.

Graphical abstract
Allgemeine und arbeitsplatzbezogene Risikofaktoren von Muskel-Skelett-Erkrankungen und deren Bestimmungsmethoden
Authors: Holzgreve Fabian , Schulte Lisa , Oremek Gerhard , Ohlendorf Daniela
Published: April 2023

Muskuloskelettale Erkrankungen sind weltweit die häufigste Ursache für Schmerzen und Beeinträchtigungen der körperlichen Leistungsfähigkeit und werden häufig mit reduzierter Lebensqualität sowie einer negativen Wirkung auf das subjektive Wohlbefinden assoziiert. Verschiedene Risikofaktoren können dabei für die Entstehung von Muskel-Skelett-Erkrankungen im betrieblichen Umfeld verantwortlich sein. So können biomechanische Belastungen durch körperliche Anforderungen, die Einwirkung physikalischer, Veränderungen in der Arbeitsorganisation oder psychosoziale Faktoren ursächlich sein. Im deutschsprachigen Raum wird die revidierte Arbeitsmedizinische Regel 13.2 als wesentlicher Maßstab zur Beurteilung arbeitsplatzbezogener Risiken körperlicher Belastung angeführt. Für die Gefährdungsbeurteilung physischer Belastungen wurden im multizentrischen MEGAPHYS-Projekt (mehrstufige Gefährdungsanalyse physischer Belastungen am Arbeitsplatz) neue Maßstäbe von der Deutschen Gesetzlichen Unfallversicherung (DGUV) und Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin (BAuA) gesetzt. Diese werden hier vorgestellt und mit weiteren Verfahren zur Gefährdungsbeurteilung aus dem internationalen Raum verglichen. Im Zuge der arbeitsmedizinischen Beurteilung obliegt die Auswahl der Methode dem Anwender, das ausgewählte Verfahren sollte den jeweiligen Arbeitsplatz und dessen Charakteristika bestmöglich erfassen und einstufen. In diesem Artikel werden gängige Methoden vorgestellt, um arbeitsbezogene Risikofaktoren für Muskel-Skelett-Erkrankungen zu identifizieren.
Becoming Heritage
Authors: Escallón Maria Fernanda
Published: April 2023

Since the late twentieth century, multicultural reforms to benefit minorities have swept through Latin America, however, in Colombia ethno-racial inequality remains rife. Becoming Heritage evaluates how heritage policies affected the Afro-Colombian community of San Basilio de Palenque after it was proclaimed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2005. Although the designation partially delivered on its promise of multicultural inclusion, it also created ethno-racial exclusion and conflict among groups within the Palenquero community. The new forms of power, knowledge, skills and values created to safeguard heritage exacerbated political, social, symbolic and economic inequalities among Palenqueros, and did little to ameliorate the harsh realities of living and dying in Palenque. Bringing together broader discussions on race, nation and inclusion in Colombia, Becoming Heritage reveals that inequality in Palenque is not only a result of Black Colombians' uneven access to resources; it is enforced through heritage politics, expertise and governance.
Fate and the Hero in Virgil's Aeneid
Authors: Zanker Graham
Published: April 2023

This book explores how Virgil in his Aeneid incorporates the ancient Stoics' thinking about how humans can exercise moral responsibility and how this can affect providential world fate. The third-century BC philosopher Chrysippus of Soli located this freedom in the way we can assent to courses of action, and Graham Zanker innovatively demonstrates how Virgil appropriates this concept in the way that Jupiter and Aeneas can assent to the world fate in which they have discovered they must play a part, or Juno and Dido can withhold their assent to it. Indeed, Virgil even offers the model to no-one less than Augustus: the emperor is invited to give his assent to ruling what was believed to be his 'world-wide' empire justly. The book is accessible to both students and professional scholars of the Aeneid, with all Greek and Latin translated into idiomatic English.
Regulating Access and Transfer of Data
Authors: Lundqvist Björn
Published: April 2023

Data collected and distributed on the internet is generally free, non-exclusive, and non-rivalrous. Yet online data is often difficult to access. This book examines the infrastructure for collecting, storing, and distributing data to show how it is embedded behind intellectual property and technological barriers. It proposes that the EU introduce an access and transfer governance right to data that can work in tandem with data protection rules. Chapters explore the subject matter of this protection, potential rights holders and the scope of the protection, and exceptions and limitations under intellectual property law and competition law. Comprehensive and timely, Regulating Access and Transfer of Data sets the foundations for a new legal system for our data-driven generation.
Software Citations in Political Science
Authors: Arel-Bundock Vincent , McCrain Joshua
Published: April 2023

Political scientists rely on complex software to conduct research, and much of the software they use is written and distributed for free by other researchers. This article contends that creating and maintaining these public goods is costly for individual software developers but that it is not adequately incentivized by the academic community. We demonstrate that statistical software is used widely but rarely cited in political science, and we highlight a partial solution to this problem: software bibliographies. To facilitate their creation, we introduce softbib, an R package that scans analysis scripts, detects the software used in those scripts, and automatically creates bibliographies. We hope that recognizing the contribution of software developers to science will encourage more scholars to create public goods, which could yield important downstream benefits.
Analytical Model of Foreshock Ion Interaction With a Discontinuity: A Statistical Study
Authors: Liu Terry Z. , Vu Andrew , Angelopoulos Vassilis , Zhang Hui
Published: April 2023

When a solar wind discontinuity interacts with foreshock ions, foreshock transients such as hot flow anomalies and foreshock bubbles can form. These create significant dynamic pressure perturbations disturbing the bow shock, magnetopause, and magnetosphere‐ionosphere system. However, presently these phenomena are not predictable. In the accompanying paper, we derived analytical equations of foreshock ion partial gyration around a discontinuity and the resultant current density. In this study, we utilize the derived current density strength to model the energy conversion from the foreshock ions, which drives the outward motion or expansion of the solar wind plasma away from the discontinuity. We show that the model expansion speeds match those from local hybrid simulations for varying foreshock ion parameters. Using MMS, we conduct a statistical study showing that the model expansion speeds are moderately correlated with the magnetic field strength variations and the dynamic pressure decreases around discontinuities with correlation coefficients larger than 0.5. We use conjunctions between ARTEMIS and MMS to show that the model expansion speeds are typically large for those already‐formed foreshock transients. Our results show that our model can be reasonably successful in predicting significant dynamic pressure disturbances caused by foreshock ion‐discontinuity interactions. We discuss ways to improve the model in the future.
Comparing Urban Anthropogenic NMVOC Measurements With Representation in Emission Inventories—A Global Perspective
Authors: von Schneidemesser Erika , McDonald Brian C. , Denier van der Gon Hugo , Crippa Monica , Guizzardi Diego , Borbon Agnes , Dominutti Pamela , Huang Ganlin , Jansens‐Maenhout Greet , Li Meng , Ou‐Yang Chang‐Feng , Tisinai Shelby , Wang Jia‐Lin
Published: April 2023

Emission inventories are a critical basis for air quality and climate modeling, as well as policy decisions. Non‐methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) are key precursor compounds in ozone and secondary organic aerosol formation. Accurately representing NMVOCs in emission inventories is crucial for understanding atmospheric chemistry, the impact of policy measures, and climate projections. Improving NMVOC representation in emission inventories is fraught with challenges, ranging from the lack of (long‐term) NMVOC measurements, limited efforts in updating emission factors, to the diversity of NMVOC species reactivity. Here we take an initial step to evaluate the representation of urban NMVOC speciation in an emission inventory (EDGARv4.3.2 and EDGARv6.1) at the global level. To compare the urban measurements of NMVOCs to the emission inventory estimates, ratios of individual NMVOCs to acetylene are used. Owing to limitations in measurement data and grouping of NMVOCs in emission inventories, the comparison includes only a limited number of alkanes, alkenes, and aromatics. Results show little to no agreement between the ratios in the observations and those in the global emission inventory for the species compared (r2 0.01–0.20). This could be related to incorrect speciation profiles and/or spatial allocation of NMVOCs to urban areas. Regional emission inventories show better agreement among the ratios (r2 0.43–0.70). The inclusion of oxygenated species in NMVOC measurements, as well as greater global coverage of measurements could improve representation of NMVOC species in emission inventories, and a mosaic of regional inventories may be a better approach.
Thalweg and Ridge Network Extraction From Unaltered Topographic Data as a Basis for Terrain Partitioning
Authors: Moretti Giovanni , Orlandini Stefano
Published: April 2023

High‐resolution grid digital elevation models (DEMs) are increasingly used by scientists and engineers to describe the current state and evolution of Earth and planetary topography. These data, however, are commonly altered by depression filling and grid coarsening procedures. Alteration of observed topographic data may cause significant information loss and limit the capabilities of models. This study shows that physically meaningful thalweg and ridge networks can be extracted automatically from any unaltered high‐resolution grid DEM, and that these networks can be used as bases for terrain partitioning. The slopeline network connecting grid cell centers is used to identify ridge points as those grid cell border midpoints and vertices that are not crossed by slopelines. From each ridge point, the average length of the two slopelines extending on the opposite slopes of the ridge until they rejoin is then computed. Based on these lengths, exorheic and endorheic basins are identified. Thalwegs of exorheic and endorheic basins are finally connected through spilling saddles to form the thalweg network. The related ridge network is identified based on neighboring relationships between ridge points. Thalweg and ridge networks are hierarchized using the well‐known concept of drainage area and an extended concept of dispersal area to inform terrain partitioning at any level of detail. Observed topographic features are well reproduced by extracted networks. The impact of preserving depressions over mountain areas is evaluated, and the benefits from unstructured terrain partitioning based on thalweg and ridge networks in the description of flood plain inundation are illustrated.
Subsurface Porewater Flow Accelerates Talik Development Under the Alaska Highway, Yukon: A Prelude to Road Collapse and Final Permafrost Thaw?
Authors: Chen Lin , Fortier Daniel , McKenzie Jeffrey M. , Voss Clifford I. , Lamontagne‐Hallé Pierrick
Published: April 2023

The presence of taliks (perennially unfrozen zones in permafrost areas) adversely affects the thermal stability of infrastructure in cold regions, including roads. The role of heat advection on talik development and feedback on permafrost degradation has not been quantified methodically in this context. We incorporate a surface energy balance model into a coupled groundwater flow and energy transport numerical model (SUTRA‐ice). The model, calibrated with long‐term observations (1997–2018 on the Alaska Highway), is used to investigate and quantify the role of heat advection on talik initiation and development under a road embankment. Over the 25‐year simulation period, the new model is driven by reconstructed meteorological data and has a good agreement with near surface soil temperatures. The model successfully reproduces the increasing depth to the permafrost table (mean absolute error <0.2 m), and talik development. The results demonstrate that heat advection provides an additional energy source that expedites the rate of permafrost thaw and roughly doubles the rate of permafrost table deepening, compared to purely conductive thawing. Talik initially formed and grew over time under the combined effect of water flow, snow insulation, road construction and climate warming. Talik formation creates a new thermal state under the road embankment, resulting in acceleration of underlying permafrost degradation, due to the positive feedback of heat accumulation created by trapped unfrozen water. In a changing climate, mobile water flow will play a more important role in permafrost thaw and talik development under road embankments, and is likely to significantly increase maintenance costs and reduce the long‐term stability of the infrastructure.