bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Conclusions
Authors: Küfeoğlu Sinan
Published: July 2022

This chapter brings a concise conclusion for the book by presenting the list of 34 emerging technologies, 17 United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), countries and number of companies that are included in this book, the distribution of 650 companies in the world, emerging technologyuse cases per each sustainable development goal, the share of emerging technologyuse cases and the share of sustainable development goals number of applications. The chapter also includes a brief discussion about the findings of this book.
SDG-2 Zero Hunger
Authors: Küfeoğlu Sinan
Published: July 2022

People’s lives, communities and civilisations have all been defined by constant danger. Hunger is the menace, a plague that causes weakness, despair and death in the worst-case scenarios. One of the primary common threads has been hunger throughout history, which has resulted in large-scale migration, wars, conflicts and great sacrifices. This chapter presents the business models of 40 companies and use cases that employ emerging technologies and create value in SDG-2, Zero Hunger. We should highlight that one use case can be related to more than one SDG and it can make use of multiple emerging technologies.
SDG-4 Quality Education
Authors: Küfeoğlu Sinan
Published: July 2022

Education is a component of sustainable development with its strong effects at global, regional and local levels. The biggest challenge the world faces in this context is the preservation and continuous improvement of the effort put forward to provide sustainable education in studies on education. The lack of chances for learning stymies social, economic and sustainable development and long-term stability and peace. This chapter presents the business models of 49 companies and use cases that employ emerging technologies and create value in SDG-4, Quality Education. We should highlight that one use case can be related to more than one SDG and it can make use of multiple emerging technologies.
SDG-5 Gender Equality
Authors: Küfeoğlu Sinan
Published: July 2022

Gender equality, the fifth of the sustainable development goals of the UN, is a base element for creating a comfortable, sustainable and wealthy world and being a fundamental human right. While achieving the goals for a sustainable future, SDG-5, Gender Equality, will be one of the building blocks of this path. So, taking actions to accomplish the goals of SDG-5 is not only crucial for the related SDG itself, but also it helps to proceed in other SDGs as well. This chapter presents the business models of 16 companies and use cases that employ emerging technologies and create value in SDG-5. We should highlight that one use case can be related to more than one SDG and it can make use of multiple emerging technologies.
Digitale Transformation bei PricewaterhouseCoopers anhand der Initiative Your Tomorrow
Authors: Kazmi A. , Kazmi H. , Laxmi Sri , Akhani A. , Floetgen R. J. , Krcmar H.
Published: July 2022

Wie kann eine Organisation den Prozess der Einführung der digitalen Transformation unterstützen und verbessern? Was sind die Grundlagen, die bei der Einführung einer Initiative zu beachten sind, die jenseits der eigenen Landesgrenzen in einer deutlich anderen Kultur und Umgebung eingeführt wurde? Dieser Beitrag gibt Empfehlungen zu den oben genannten Fragen anhand einer Analyse der InitiativeYour Tomorrowvon PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). PwC USA setzte das Schlagwort „digitale Transformation“ mit der Einführung der InitiativeYour Tomorrowim Jahr 2017 in die Tat um. Im Anschluss daran wurde die Initiative 2019 von PwC Deutschland als Early Adopter übernommen. Es werden die im Rahmen der Initiative umgesetzten Maßnahmen sowie die Herausforderungen, die bei deren Einführung und Umsetzung aufgetreten sind, erörtert. Darüber hinaus werden Maßnahmen mit betriebswirtschaftlichen Implikationen vorgeschlagen, die sich aus der Analyse der Initiative ergeben haben. Es wurden Interviews mit Experten und der allgemeinen Belegschaft geführt und ein Benchmarking durchgeführt, um die wichtigsten Leistungsindikatoren sowie Erfolgsfaktoren zu erarbeiten und die Herausforderungen bei der Umsetzung der Initiative in Deutschland zu analysieren.
Qualitative vergleichende Analyse der Fallbeispiele
Authors: Soto Setzke D. , Krcmar H.
Published: July 2022

Digitale Technologien ändern auf radikale Weise Geschäftsmodelle und -prozesse etablierter Unternehmen in allen Industriezweigen. Um neue, digitale Dienstleistungen effektiv zu konzipieren und zu entwickeln, müssen etablierte Unternehmen digitale Technologien in ihre Prozesse, Organisationsstrukturen und Arbeitsmodelle integrieren – ein Prozess, der als digitale Transformation bekannt ist. In diesem Kapitel präsentieren wir die Ergebnisse einer qualitativ vergleichenden Analyse der in der Initiative für digitale Transformation untersuchten Fallbeispiele. Wir unterscheiden dabei nach internen und externen Transformationsstrategien und identifizieren konkrete Handlungsempfehlungen für Entscheidungsträger in etablierten Unternehmen. So zeigen wir beispielsweise, unter welchen Bedingungen Chief Digital Officers (CDOs) ein wertvoller Baustein digitaler Transformationsstrategien sind. Die Ergebnisse unserer Analyse zeigen praxisrelevante Empfehlungen für etablierte Unternehmen auf und bieten Orientierung und verschiedene Ausgangspunkte für zukünftige Forschung.
Zusammenfassung und Abschluss
Authors: Oswald G. , Saueressig T. , Krcmar H.
Published: July 2022

Die digitale Transformation ist unausweichlich, unumkehrbar, unglaublich schnell und unsicher in der Ausführung. Dabei bahnt sie sich ihren Weg durch verschiedenste Branchen und Unternehmen jeder Größe. Die Auswirkungen können aber ganz unterschiedlich sein. Der einfache Zugang zu innovativen Technologien hat zu einer Disruption vieler etablierter Geschäftsmodelle geführt. Für eine erfolgreiche digitale Transformation gibt es aber kein Geheimrezept. Etablierte Unternehmen müssen daher darauf achten, nicht von neuen Marktteilnehmern verdrängt zu werden und auch interne Prozesse wettbewerbsfähig zu gestalten. Dafür müssen sie aktiv neue Technologien evaluieren und zur kontinuierlichen Erneuerung des eigenen Geschäftsmodells nutzen. Wichtig sind eine strikte Kundenorientierung, die Freude und Bereitschaft am Experimentieren mit neuen Technologien sowie die entscheidende Rolle der Verbesserung bestehender und Knüpfung neuer Partnerschaften in immer komplexeren Ökosystemen. Die Beispiele in diesem Buch zeigen, dass eine digitale Transformation nicht kurzfristig abgeschlossen werden kann. Vielmehr sollte sie als ein kontinuierlicher Prozess betrachtet werden, der Unternehmen immer wieder vor Herausforderungen, aber auch neue Möglichkeiten stellt.
Digitale Transformation aus Perspektive von Wissenschaft und Forschung
Authors: Krcmar H.
Published: July 2022

Die digitale Transformation von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft ist eines der beherrschenden Themen in der praxisorientierten Managementliteratur. Vier Eigenschaften sind charakteristisch für digitale Transformationsprozesse: Unausweichlichkeit, Unumkehrbarkeit, Schnelligkeit und Unsicherheit. Für Unternehmen sollte nicht die Frage im Vordergrund stehen, wie sie sich von den auf sie zukommenden Veränderungen entkoppeln können, sondern, wie sie den Transformationsprozess aktiv mitgestalten können (Dieser Beitrag basiert auf einem Interview mit Prof. Dr. Helmut Krcmar, erschienen in: IM+io Fachzeitschrift für Innovation, Organisation und Management, Ausgabe 04/2014).
Digitale Transformation bei Krones: strategische Hintergründe und praktische Erfahrungen
Authors: Scholz J. , Probst K. , Thum P. , Seywald M.
Published: July 2022

Seine Position als Weltmarktführer für Technologien der Getränke- und Liquid-Food-Industrie behauptet Krones seit jeher über die fortwährende Entwicklung und Einführung neuer Innovation am Markt. Hierbei nehmen digitale Themen eine immer stärkere Rolle ein. Durch kundenfokussierte und agile Entwicklungsprozesse stellt Krones sicher, dass die richtigen Produkte entwickelt werden und der Kunde dabei immer an erster Stelle steht. Krones verfolgt diesen Weg auch auf organisatorischer Ebene konsequent und stärkt durch die Ausrichtung seiner Organisation die digitale Transformation. Die zentrale Bedeutung zeigt zuletzt der Schritt hin zur Bündelung aller Aktivitäten in der neuen Einheit Krones.digital.
Intelligent Edge Biomedical Sensors in the Internet of Things (IoT) Era
Authors: De Giovanni Elisabetta , Forooghifar Farnaz , Surrel Gregoire , Teijeiro Tomas , Peon Miguel , Aminifar Amir , Atienza Alonso David
Published: July 2022

The design of reliable wearable systems for real-time and long-term monitoring presents major challenges, although they are poised as the next frontier of innovation in the context of Internet-of-Things (IoT) to provide personalized healthcare. This new generation of biomedical sensors targets to be interconnected in ways that improve our lives and transform the medical industry. Therefore, they offer an excellent opportunity to integrate the next generation of artificial intelligence (AI) based techniques in medical devices. However, several key challenges remain in achieving this potential due to the inherent resource-constrained nature of wearable systems for Big Data medical applications, which need to detect pathologies in real time. Concretely, in this chapter, we discuss the opportunities for edge computing and edge AI in next-generation intelligent biomedical sensors in the IoT era and the key challenges in wearable systems design for pathology detection and health/activity monitoring in the context of IoT technologies. First, we introduce the notion of self-awareness toward the conception of the next-generation intelligent edge biomedical sensors to trade-off machine-learning performance versus system lifetime, according to the application requirements of the medical monitoring systems. Subsequently, we present the implications of personalization and multi-parametric sensing in the context of the system-level architecture of intelligent edge biomedical sensors. Thus, they can adapt to the real world, as living organisms do, to operate efficiently according to the target application requirements and available energy at any moment in time. Then, we discuss the impacts of self-awareness and low-power requirements at the circuit level for sampling through a paradigm shift to react to the input signal itself. Finally, we conclude by highlighting that the techniques discussed in this chapter may be applied jointly to design the next-generation intelligent biomedical sensors and systems in the IoT era.
Innovative Memory Architectures Using Functionality Enhanced Devices
Authors: Julien Levisse Alexandre Sébastien , Tang Xifan , Gaillardon Pierre-Emmanuel
Published: July 2022

Since the introduction of the transistor, the semiconductor industry has always been able to propose an increasingly higher level of circuit performance while keeping cost constant by scaling the transistor’s area. This scaling process (named Moore’s law) has been followed since the 80s. However, it has been facing new constraints and challenges since 2012. Standard sub-30nm bulk CMOS technologies cannot provide sufficient performance while remaining industrially profitable. Thereby, various solutions, such as FinFETs (Auth et al. 2012) or Fully Depleted Silicon On Insulator (FDSOI) (Faynot et al. 2010) transistors have therefore been proposed. All these solutions enabled Moore’s law scaling to continue. However, when approaching sub-10nm technology nodes, the story starts again. Again, process costs and electrical issues reduce the profitability of such solutions, and new technologies such as Gate-All-Around (GAA) (Sacchetto et al. 2009) transistors are seen as future FinFET replacement candidates.
Leading in Changing Times
Authors: Brown Mark
Published: July 2022

This chapter reflects on the challenges and opportunities of leading educational change in today’s digitally connected world. It offers personal insights and critical reflections on learning leadership framed by a wide-angle, multifocal lens that helps zoom in and out to visualize preferred futures. Before outlining a collection of leadership touchstones and critical questions for guiding institutional transformation and then reporting their application in the practice of digital education, the chapter begins by illustrating how the new learning ecology is complex and entangled in competing images of the future. Efforts by educational leaders to build agile and sustainable transformative organizational cultures need to be guided by a clear sense of direction and anchored in a living institutional mission. The role of the National Institute for Digital Learning (NIDL) hosted at Dublin City University (DCU) in Ireland is central to this story, as harnessing the transformative potential of new digital technology is at the heart of its change agenda. After briefly introducing DCU, the chapter reports how the NIDL’s commitment to leadership development and active engagement in global networks are helping to reshape the higher education landscape with a critical digital edge. However, forging a future-focused mission based on multifocal criticality and transformative leadership is not something for the faint-hearted; it requires agency, relational capital, and strategic foresight to move from digital in part to digital at the heart of your organizational culture.
Proportions and Deformations in the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba
Authors: Cantizani-Oliva Juan , Reinoso-Gordo Juan-Francisco , Gámiz-Gordo Antonio
Published: July 2022

This research presents a dimensional analysis of the arcades of one of the most emblematic spaces of the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba: its central nave, located besides the mihrab in the ambitious extension carried out by Al-Hakam II. In order to accomplish this survey, a digital model was created from the point cloud obtained with a 3D laser scanner. Subsequently, earlier theories of architectural proportions related to this monument have been reviewed. The comparison of these earlier drawings with the corresponding digital models allows the precision of their different hypotheses to be assessed. Architectonic deformations not considered by the scientific literature are also quantified here. Finally, this research indicates certain partial order relations close to the proportion 1.3, though it should be noted that not all the arcades share the same dimensions and thus no general theory applies to their proportions.
Resolving sets tolerant to failures in three-dimensional grids
Authors: Mora Mercè , Souto-Salorio María José , Tarrío-Tobar Ana D.
Published: July 2022

An ordered set S of vertices of a graph G is a resolving set for G if every vertex is uniquely determined by its vector of distances to the vertices in S. The metric dimension of G is the minimum cardinality of a resolving set. In this paper we study resolving sets tolerant to several failures in three-dimensional grids. Concretely, we seek for minimum cardinality sets that are resolving after removing any k vertices from the set. This is equivalent to finding $$(k+1)$$

(
k
+
1
)

-resolving sets, a generalization of resolving sets, where, for every pair of vertices, the vector of distances to the vertices of the set differs in at least $$k+1$$

k
+
1

coordinates. This problem is also related with the study of the $$(k+1)$$

(
k
+
1
)

-metric dimension of a graph, defined as the minimum cardinality of a $$(k+1)$$

(
k
+
1
)

-resolving set. In this work, we first prove that the metric dimension of a three-dimensional grid is 3 and establish some properties involving resolving sets in these graphs. Secondly, we determine the values of $$k\ge 1$$

k
≥
1

for which there exists a $$(k+1)$$

(
k
+
1
)

-resolving set and construct such a resolving set of minimum cardinality in almost all cases.
Calls to the anti-violence number in Italy during COVID-19 pandemic: correlation and trend analyses of violence reports during 2020
Authors: Del Casale Antonio , Modesti Martina Nicole , Lai Carlo , Ciacchella Chiara , Veneziani Giorgio , Barchielli Benedetta , Ferracuti Stefano , Napoli Christian , Pompili Maurizio
Published: July 2022

Purpose

We hypothesized that during the 2020 pandemic there has been a significant change along the year, depending on the SARS-CoV-2 impact on the population and varying difficulties implied in the norms that were adopted to embank the pandemic. Our objectives were to verify how the phenomenon of domestic violence has evolved and changed along 2020, and to clarify if these changes were correlated to the evolution of the pandemic.

Methods

Though the analysis of the number of daily calls from women to the national anti-violence number and the parameters related to COVID-19 pandemic (daily cases, deaths, hospitalizations, and admissions in ICU), a positive correlation was found between daily deaths due to COVID-19 and the number of calls to the anti-violence number, while daily hospitalizations and admissions in ICU negatively correlated with calls of women reporting at the national anti-violence number.

Results

The number of daily calls from women reporting at the national anti-violence number positively correlated with the number of quarantined people shifted of 30 days from the beginning of isolation at home, as well. We also analyzed temporal trends of daily calls from women to the national anti-violence number from 25th of February 2020 to 31st of December 2020.

Conclusions

These findings demonstrate the importance of an active anti-violence telephone service and may help in developing a strategy to improve anti-violence facilities, especially during crises, such as specific sources of psychological support for women who have survived violence episodes.
Pet ownership, loneliness, and social isolation: a systematic review
Authors: Kretzler Benedikt , König Hans-Helmut , Hajek André
Published: July 2022

Purpose

Several publications explored a relationship between pet ownership and lower levels of loneliness and social isolation. However, to the best of our knowledge, no systematic review has yet synthesized the evidence on these associations. Thus, this systematic review aims to evaluate the findings regarding the relations between pet ownership, loneliness, and social isolation.

Methods

PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycInfo were searched in January 2022. Observational studies relying on appropriate instruments to assess the exposure and the outcome variables were included. Two reviewers independently executed study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment.

Results

n = 24 studies were included. Among adult samples, the studies examining the relationship between pet ownership and social isolation found that owning a pet was associated with lower levels of social isolation. Concerning loneliness, studies that were conducted after the outbreak of COVID-19 mostly showed that pet ownership can contribute to lower levels of loneliness, but did not reveal an overall significant association until then. In turn, the studies that examined child and adolescent samples suggest that pet ownership was related to reduced loneliness before COVID-19. Furthermore, most of the studies did not reveal any differences between dogs, cats, and other kinds of pets regarding their relationship to loneliness and social isolation.

Conclusion

All in all, only a part of the studies detected a significant association between pet ownership, loneliness and social isolation. However, the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to strengthen this relationship, so that future research is required to assess the longevity of this potential effect.
Common and differential mode of dc-bias in three-phase power transformers
Authors: Wang Wei , Nysveen Arne , Magnusson Niklas
Published: July 2022

Dc magnetization due to the geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) and HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) systems may cause core saturation and result in serious destruction in the transformer performance as well as the power system stability. Based on susceptibility, transformers are classified into different groups. For instance, a three-phase, three-limb transformer is considered less vulnerable to effects of GIC compared to a single-phase or a three-phase, five-limb transformer. However, our study shows that such classifications do not apply to the dc magnetization caused by converter modulation. In this article, we introduce the concept of common mode and differential mode to distinguish dc-bias caused by different mechanisms. Main focus is given on differential mode dc current since it has rarely been reported in any literature. The differential mode dc current was demonstrated by system simulations of classic three-level voltage source converters as well as modular multilevel converter. Detailed experimental investigations were made on a three-phase, three-limb transformer, where the loss impact as well as reactive power consumption were studied. The test shows a significant difference in stray loss between the two modes in three-phase power transformers. Finally, we discuss the effect of delta winding on dc-bias of different modes.
Timber tensile strength in mixed stands of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.)
Authors: Rais Andreas , Kovryga Andriy , Pretzsch Hans , van de Kuilen Jan-Willem G.
Published: July 2022

The conversion to climate-stable, resilient and productive forests has resulted in an increasing share of mixed stands. Different growth conditions and silvicultural treatments lead to an increased scatter in strength compared to what is expected from monoculture experience. The study (i) quantified the magnitude of variation in strength of European beech timber from stands of different composition and (ii) showed the impact of grading on the characteristic strength value of timber coming from those stands. Strength grading models and machine settings for hardwood tensile classes on over 900 European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) boards were derived. One model used only the dynamic modulus of elasticity (Edyn), and a more complex model used a knot value in addition. Afterwards, 407 boards from pure beech stands as well as mixed stands of beech with Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.), and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) were graded and analyzed for their material properties from tension tests parallel to grain. Although a variance components analysis attributed only 4.2% of the variation to mixture, the ungraded timber showed significant strength differences between the pure and the beech-pine stands (65.2 versus 46.6 MPa). The yield of the material graded to the highest class in a class combination was higher in pure beech stands. The required characteristic strength values were mostly met for boards from the pure stands; while boards from the beech-pine mixed stands hardly ever reached the required values. To reduce strength variation and guarantee reliable timber products, strength grading should consider the various growth situations in forests when sampling material for the derivation of settings.
Preventing falls: the use of machine learning for the prediction of future falls in individuals without history of fall
Authors: Bargiotas Ioannis , Wang Danping , Mantilla Juan , Quijoux Flavien , Moreau Albane , Vidal Catherine , Barrois Remi , Nicolai Alice , Audiffren Julien , Labourdette Christophe , Bertin‐Hugaul François , Oudre Laurent , Buffat Stephane , Yelnik Alain , Ricard Damien , Vayatis Nicolas , Vidal Pierre-Paul
Published: July 2022

Nowadays, it becomes of paramount societal importance to support many frail-prone groups in our society (elderly, patients with neurodegenerative diseases, etc.) to remain socially and physically active, maintain their quality of life, and avoid their loss of autonomy. Once older people enter the prefrail stage, they are already likely to experience falls whose consequences may accelerate the deterioration of their quality of life (injuries, fear of falling, reduction of physical activity). In that context, detecting frailty and high risk of fall at an early stage is the first line of defense against the detrimental consequences of fall. The second line of defense would be to develop original protocols to detect future fallers before any fall occur. This paper briefly summarizes the current advancements and perspectives that may arise from the combination of affordable and easy-to-use non-wearable systems (force platforms, 3D tracking motion systems), wearable systems (accelerometers, gyroscopes, inertial measurement units-IMUs) with appropriate machine learning analytics, as well as the efforts to address these challenges.
Microclimatic conditions mediate the effect of deadwood and forest characteristics on a threatened beetle species, Tragosoma depsarium
Authors: Lindman Ly , Öckinger Erik , Ranius Thomas
Published: July 2022

While climate change has increased the interest in the influence of microclimate on many organisms, species inhabiting deadwood have rarely been studied. Here, we explore how characteristics of forest stands and deadwood affect microclimate inside deadwood, and analyse how this affects wood-living organisms, exemplified by the red-listed beetle Tragosoma depsarium. Deadwood and forest variables explained much of the variation in temperature, but less of the variation in moisture within deadwood. Several variables known to influence habitat quality for deadwood-dependent species were found to correlate with microclimate. Standing deadwood and an open canopy generates warmer conditions in comparison to downed logs and a closed canopy, and shaded, downed and large-diameter wood have higher moisture and more stable daily temperatures than sun-exposed, standing, and small-diameter wood. T. depsarium occupancy and abundance increased with colder and more stable winter temperatures, and with higher spring temperatures. Consistently, the species occurred more frequently in deadwood items with characteristics associated with these conditions, i.e. downed large-diameter logs occurring in open conditions. Conclusively, microclimatic conditions were found to be important for a deadwood-dependent insect, and related to characteristics of both forest stands and deadwood items. Since microclimate is also affected by macroclimatic conditions, we expect species’ habitat requirements to vary locally and regionally, and to change due to climate warming. Although many saproxylic species preferring sun-exposed conditions would benefit from a warmer climate per se, changes in species interactions and land use may still result in negative net effects of climate warming.
Sorafenib as adjuvant therapy following radiofrequency ablation for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma within Milan criteria: a multicenter analysis
Authors: Zhou Qunfang , Wang Xiaohui , Li Ruixia , Wang Chenmeng , Wang Juncheng , Xie Xiaoyan , Li Yali , Li Shaoqiang , Mao Xianhai , Liang Ping
Published: July 2022

Background

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is considered as a convenient treatment with mild damage in treating recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (RHCC). However, for patients with high risk of progression after RFA still needs new strategies to decrease the repeat recurrence.

Methods

A total of 460 patients with RHCC within Milan criteria in four institutions were enrolled. 174 pairs were enrolled after propensity score matching (PSM). Overall survival (OS) and tumor-free survival (TFS) were compared between the two groups. A quantitative score system was established to screen out the beneficial population from RFA–sorafenib treatment.

Results

The 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS rates were 97.7%, 83.7%, 54.7% for RFA–sorafenib group, and 93.1%, 61.3%, 30.9% for RFA group after PSM, respectively. Compared with the RFA group, the RFA–sorafenib group had significantly better OS (P < 0.001). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year TFS rates were 90.8%, 49.0%, 20.4% for RFA–sorafenib group, and 67.8%, 28.0%, 14.5% for RFA group after PSM. The difference was observed significantly between RFA–sorafenib group and RFA group (P < 0.001). A quantitative risk score system was established to precisely screen out the beneficial population from RFA–sorafenib treatment.

Conclusions

Adjuvant sorafenib after RFA was superior to RFA alone in improving survival outcomes in patients with recurrent HCC within Milan criteria after initial hepatectomy. Subgroup analyses concluded that patients with high risk score had significantly longer survival from sorafenib administration.
Gestational diabetes mellitus and cardio-metabolic risk factors in women and children at 3 years postpartum
Authors: Pathirana Maleesa M. , Andraweera Prabha H. , Aldridge Emily , Leemaqz Shalem Y. , Harrison Madeline , Harrison Jade , Verburg Petra E. , Arstall Margaret A. , Dekker Gustaaf A. , Roberts Claire T.
Published: July 2022

Introduction

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is thought to be associated with cardio-metabolic risk factor development in women and their children during the early postpartum period and early childhood. We hypothesized that these women and their children would exhibit increased abnormal cardio-metabolic risk factors three years after pregnancy.

Methods

Women from the Screening Tests to Predict Poor Outcomes of Pregnancy study were invited to attend a follow-up with the child from their index pregnancy at 3 years postpartum. Women and children were assessed for anthropometric measures and haemodynamic function. Fasting blood samples were obtained from women to assess lipid and glucose status.

Results

A total of 281 woman-child dyads participated in the 3-year follow-up, with 40 women developing GDM during their index pregnancy. Fasting serum insulin was higher in women with GDM in index pregnancy compared to those with an uncomplicated pregnancy. However, this association was mediated by early pregnancy BMI and socioeconomic index (SEI). The rate of metabolic syndrome was higher in the GDM group than the uncomplicated pregnancy group. Maternal GDM was associated with elevated maternal fasting serum triglycerides at 3 years after adjustment for early pregnancy BMI and SEI. Children exposed to GDM in utero had higher waist circumference compared to children born after an uncomplicated pregnancy, but this is mediated the above covariates.

Conclusion

Exposure to GDM is associated with elevated serum triglycerides in women at 3 years postpartum but other cardiometabolic outcomes in women and children appear to be mediated by early pregnancy BMI and SEI.
Editorial special issue: Statistics in sports
Authors: Groll Andreas , Liebl Dominik
Published: July 2022

Triggered by advances in data gathering technologies, the use of statistical analyzes, predictions and modeling techniques in sports has gained a rapidly growing interest over the last decades. Today, professional sports teams have access to precise player positioning data and sports scientists design experiments involving non-standard data structures like movement-trajectories. This special issue on statistics in sports is dedicated to further foster the development of statistics and its applications in sports. The contributed articles address a wide range of statistical problems such as statistical methods for prediction of game outcomes, for prevention of sports injuries, for analyzing sports science data from movement laboratories, for measurement and evaluation of player performance, etc. Finally, also SARS-CoV-2 pandemic-related impacts on the sport’s framework are investigated.
Digital Intimacy in China and Japan
Authors: Liberati Nicola
Published: July 2022

This paper aims to show a possible path to address the introduction of intimate digital technologies through a phenomenological and postphenomenological perspective in relation to Japanese and Chinese contexts. Digital technologies are becoming intimate, and, in Japan and China, there are already many advanced digital technologies that provide digital companions for love relationships. Phenomenology has extensive research on how love relationships and intimacy shape the subjects. At the same time, postphenomenology provides a sound framework on how technologies shape the values and meanings we have. Thus, this paper introduces two digital technologies in Japan and China (Love Plus and XiaoIce chatbot), and it analyses according to the elements proposed by phenomenology and postphenomenology. In conclusion, this paper shows how digital companions like Love Plus and XiaoIce chatbot change who we are and the values and meanings we have according to the phenomenological and postphenomenological framework. These entities might not be human, but they shape who we are as human beings and the meanings and value we give to love.
Comparison between two packages for pectoral muscle removal on mammographic images
Authors: Sansone Mario , Marrone Stefano , Di Salvio Giusi , Belfiore Maria Paola , Gatta Gianluca , Fusco Roberta , Vanore Laura , Zuiani Chiara , Grassi Francesca , Vietri Maria Teresa , Granata Vincenza , Grassi Roberto
Published: July 2022

Background

Pectoral muscle removal is a fundamental preliminary step in computer-aided diagnosis systems for full-field digital mammography (FFDM). Currently, two open-source publicly available packages (LIBRA and OpenBreast) provide algorithms for pectoral muscle removal within Matlab environment.

Purpose

To compare performance of the two packages on a single database of FFDM images.

Methods

Only mediolateral oblique (MLO) FFDM was considered because of large presence of pectoral muscle on this type of projection. For obtaining ground truth, pectoral muscle has been manually segmented by two radiologists in consensus. Both LIBRA’s and OpenBreast’s removal performance with respect to ground truth were compared using Dice similarity coefficient and Cohen-kappa reliability coefficient; Wilcoxon signed-rank test has been used for assessing differences in performances; Kruskal–Wallis test has been used to verify possible dependence of the performance from the breast density or image laterality.

Results

FFDMs from 168 consecutive women at our institution have been included in the study. Both LIBRA’s Dice-index and Cohen-kappa were significantly higher than OpenBreast (Wilcoxon signed-rank test P < 0.05). No dependence on breast density or laterality has been found (Kruskal–Wallis test P > 0.05). Conclusion: Libra has a better performance than OpenBreast in pectoral muscle delineation so that, although our study has not a direct clinical application, these results are useful in the choice of packages for the development of complex systems for computer-aided breast evaluation.
A GPU-accelerated light-field super-resolution framework based on mixed noise model and weighted regularization
Authors: Tran Trung-Hieu , Sun Kaicong , Simon Sven
Published: July 2022

Light-field (LF) super-resolution (SR) plays an essential role in alleviating the current technology challenge in the acquisition of a 4D LF, which assembles both high-density angular and spatial information. Due to the algorithm complexity and data-intensive property of LF images, LFSR demands a significant computational effort and results in a long CPU processing time. This paper presents a GPU-accelerated computational framework for reconstructing high-resolution (HR) LF images under a mixed Gaussian-Impulse noise condition. The main focus is on developing a high-performance approach considering processing speed and reconstruction quality. From a statistical perspective, we derive a joint $$\ell ^1$$

ℓ
1

-$$\ell ^2$$

ℓ
2

data fidelity term for penalizing the HR reconstruction error taking into account the mixed noise situation. For regularization, we employ the weighted non-local total variation approach, which allows us to effectively realize LF image prior through a proper weighting scheme. We show that the alternating direction method of the multipliers algorithm (ADMM) can be used to simplify the computation complexity and results in a high-performance parallel computation on the GPU Platform. An extensive experiment is conducted on both synthetic 4D LF dataset and natural image dataset to validate the proposed SR model’s robustness and evaluate the accelerated optimizer’s performance. The experimental results show that our approach achieves better reconstruction quality under severe mixed-noise conditions as compared to the state-of-the-art approaches. In addition, the proposed approach overcomes the limitation of the previous work in handling large-scale SR tasks. While fitting within a single off-the-shelf GPU, the proposed accelerator provides an average speedup of 2.46$${\times }$$
×
and 1.57$${\times }$$
×
for $${\times }2$$

×
2

and $${\times }3$$

×
3

SR tasks, respectively. In addition, a speedup of $$77{\times }$$

77
×

is achieved as compared to CPU execution.
Board gender diversity and performance in family firms: exploring the faultline of family ties
Authors: García-Meca Emma , Santana-Martín Domingo J.
Published: July 2022

Using a sample of 1134 firm-year observations of non-financial family firms listed on the Spanish stock market in the period 2003–2020, we explore how women directors affect company performance, distinguishing between family and non-family female members on the board. We believe there might be faultlines between family and non-family women on boards that may well impair performance due to differences in agency conflicts and socioemotional links with the family firm. As the number of female family directors grows, we reveal that conflicts with non-family sub-groups become more prevalent, impairing firm performance. Opening boards to non-family women does, however, seem to be an effective way of enhancing firm performance when there is a critical mass of female directors. The results are robust to alternative measures of board gender diversity and different econometric specifications.
Immunonutrition reduces complications rate and length of stay after laparoscopic total gastrectomy: a single unit retrospective study
Authors: Franceschilli Marzia , Siragusa Leandro , Usai Valeria , Dhimolea Sirvjo , Pirozzi Brunella , Sibio Simone , Di Carlo Sara
Published: July 2022

Background

Preoperative immunonutrition (IN) reduces the incidence of postoperative complications in malnourished patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal surgery. However, its effect in norm-nourished patients remains unclear. Furthermore, patients with gastric cancer undergoing laparoscopic total gastrectomy (LTG) are not routinely included in protocols of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS).

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of perioperative IN in patients undergoing laparoscopic total gastrectomy (LTG) within an established ERAS pathway.

Methods

A comparative retrospective study of patients undergoing LTG, receiving an immune-enhancing feed plus maltodextrin load the day of surgery (Group A) versus patients who had the same operation but no IN nor fast track management (group B).

Results

There were no significant differences in patient demographic characteristics between the two groups but the medium age of patients in group A was older. Thirty-days postoperative complications were respectively 8.7% in Group A and 33.3% in Group B (p 0.04). Mean and median LOS for Group A and B were also significantly different: 7.2 ± 4.4 vs 10.3 ± 5.4 and 7 vs 10 days respectively.

Conclusion

Preoperative IN associated with ERAS protocol in normo-nourished patient undergoing LTG seems to reduce postoperative complications. Reduction in LOS is possibly associated to the ERAS protocol.

Clinical trial registration Clinical trials.gov: NCT05259488
Environmental strategy and the petroleum industry: a sustainability balanced scorecard approach
Authors: Fernández-González Raquel , Puime-Guillén Félix , Vila-Biglieri Jorge Eduardo
Published: July 2022

The institutional framework designed to protect the environment demands a growing involvement of companies. The new environmental paradigm drives the business community to embrace corporate sustainability more broadly and effectively. This trend is especially pronounced in the petroleum sector since, to a greater degree than in other industries, modern society demands that wealth creation be conducted while guaranteeing social and environmental wellbeing. To achieve this aim, it is necessary to implement an environmental management model that links sustainability planning with a control and supervision system. One of the most effective is the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard approach. This method will be used in this article to evaluate the sustainable performance of a Spanish company whose activity is focused on the marketing and distribution of petroleum products. The objective of this article is to analyze the environmental management of the hydrocarbon company and whether the four perspectives of its strategic vision have satisfactorily incorporated variables that promote sustainability. 2021 is the reference year for the indicator values, which will be compared with the target values for 2022. The results show that, while financial performance reveals a margin for improvement, as well as staff education and training in sustainability, the degree of environmental satisfaction of consumers is acceptable.
Profiling target engagement and cellular uptake of cRGD-decorated clinical-stage core-crosslinked polymeric micelles
Authors: De Lorenzi Federica , Rizzo Larissa Yokota , Daware Rasika , Motta Alessandro , Baues Maike , Bartneck Matthias , Vogt Michael , van Zandvoort Marc , Kaps Leonard , Hu Qizhi , Thewissen Marielle , Casettari Luca , Rijcken Cristianne J. F. , Kiessling Fabian , Sofias Alexandros Marios , Lammers Twan
Published: July 2022

Polymeric micelles are increasingly explored for tumor-targeted drug delivery. CriPec® technology enables the generation of core‐crosslinked polymeric micelles (CCPMs) based on thermosensitive (mPEG-b-pHPMAmLacn) block copolymers, with high drug loading capacity, tailorable size, and controlled drug release kinetics. In this study, we decorated clinical-stage CCPM with the αvβ3 integrin-targeted cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (cRGD) peptide, which is one of the most well-known active targeting ligands evaluated preclinically and clinically. Using a panel of cell lines with different expression levels of the αvβ3 integrin receptor and exploring both static and dynamic incubation conditions, we studied the benefit of decorating CCPM with different densities of cRGD. We show that incubation time and temperature, as well as the expression levels of αvβ3 integrin by target cells, positively influence cRGD-CCPM uptake, as demonstated by immunofluorescence staining and fluorescence microscopy. We demonstrate that even very low decoration densities (i.e., 1 mol % cRGD) result in increased engagement and uptake by target cells as compared to peptide-free control CCPM, and that high cRGD decoration densities do not result in a proportional increase in internalization. In this context, it should be kept in mind that a more extensive presence of targeting ligands on the surface of nanomedicines may affect their pharmacokinetic and biodistribution profile. Thus, we suggest a relatively low cRGD decoration density as most suitable for in vivo application.

Graphical Abstract
Clinical and virological features of first human monkeypox cases in Germany
Authors: Noe Sebastian , Zange Sabine , Seilmaier Michael , Antwerpen Markus H. , Fenzl Thomas , Schneider Jochen , Spinner Christoph D. , Bugert Joachim J. , Wendtner Clemens-Martin , Wölfel Roman
Published: July 2022

Background

Monkeypox is a zoonotic orthopoxvirus infection endemic in central and western Africa. In May 2022, human monkeypox infections including human-to-human transmission were reported in a multi-country outbreak in Europe and North America.

Case presentations

Here we present the first two cases of monkeypox infection in humans diagnosed in Germany. We present clinical and virological findings, including the detection of monkeypox virus DNA in blood and semen. The clinical presentation and medical history of our patients suggest close physical contact during sexual interactions as the route of infection.

Conclusion

Monkeypox requires rapid diagnosis and prompt public health response. The disease should be considered in the current situation especially the differential diagnosis of vesicular or pustular rash, particularly in patients with frequent sexual contacts. Most importantly, it is essential to raise awareness among all health professionals for the rapid and correct recognition and diagnosis of this disease, which is probably still underreported in Europe (Adler et al. in Lancet Infect Dis https://doi.org/10.1016/s1473-3099(22)00228-6, 2022).
Stationäre Versorgungskapazitäten in der Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie – Zunahme der Akutaufnahmen während der COVID-19 Pandemie?
Authors: Sevecke Kathrin , Wenter Anna , Schickl Maximilian , Kranz Mariella , Krstic Nikola , Fuchs Martin
Published: July 2022

Die COVID-19 Pandemie und die damit einhergehenden Eindämmungsmaßnahmen haben sich auf die psychische Gesundheit der Kinder und Jugendlichen ausgewirkt. In der vorliegenden Studie wurden die Akutaufnahmen der ersten beiden Corona-Jahre (2020/21) an der Abteilung für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie Hall i. T./Innsbruck retrospektiv analysiert und mit den zwei Jahren vor der COVID-19 Pandemie (2018/19) verglichen. 2020 gab es keine Veränderung in der Gesamtzahl der Akutaufnahmen im Vergleich zum Vor-Corona-Jahr 2019, im Jahr 2021 stiegen die Akutaufnahmen hingegen um 40,1 %. Das Geschlechterverhältnis von 65,4 % Mädchen zu 34,6 % Jungen in den Vor-Corona-Jahren blieb im Jahr 2020 unverändert. 2021 stieg der Mädchenanteil auf 74,4 %. In der COVID-19 Pandemie nahm die akute Suizidalität zu (+48,3 %), wohingegen die Fremdaggression abnahm (−51,0 %). Akute Intoxikationen haben im ersten Corona-Jahr zugenommen und dann 2021 wieder abgenommen. Die vorliegenden Studienergebnisse zeigen, dass der Mental-Health-Bedarf bei Kindern und Jugendlichen im Verlauf der COVID-19 Pandemie anstieg und sich dies auch in der Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie deutlich bemerkbar machte. Den gestiegenen Anforderungen muss nun mit entsprechenden Versorgungs- und Präventionsmaßnahmen sowie ausreichenden kinder- und jugendpsychiatrischen Bettenkapazitäten begegnet werden, um längerfristige psychosoziale Auswirkungen der COVID-19 Pandemie bestmöglich abzufedern.
Statistics education at a time of global disruption and crises: a growing challenge for the curriculum, classroom and beyond
Authors: Watson Jane , Smith Caroline
Published: July 2022

COVID-19 provided the world at large, including the world of mathematics education, with a challenge demanding attention and understanding. If met, this could potentially provide society with many of the skills needed to tackle the challenges of hyperobjects (Morton, 2013) such as climate change, which are potentially more threatening in the long-term. The COVID-19 context and the massive amount of data it has produced are the most recent examples of the growing recognition that the school mathematics curriculum has a role to play outside of the pure mathematics classroom. This paper considers COVID-19 as a stimulus for increasing the importance of statistical literacy and data literacy in preparing society for coping with world crises. Topics considered include the importance of acknowledging statistics as a significant component of mathematical ways of knowing, the contextual motivation provided by the COVID-19 crisis, the importance of statistics and statistical literacy, the place of statistics in the wider school curriculum, and finally, its place in the classroom. These topics need to be taken into account by both policy makers and teachers.