bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Combined Newton-Gradient Method for Constrained Root-Finding in Chemical Reaction Networks
Authors: Berra Silvia , La Torraca Alessandro , Benvenuto Federico , Sommariva Sara
Published: December 2023

In this work, we present a fast, globally convergent, iterative algorithm for computing the asymptotically stable states of nonlinear large-scale systems of quadratic autonomous ordinary differential equations (ODE) modeling, e.g., the dynamic of complex chemical reaction networks. Toward this aim, we reformulate the problem as a box-constrained optimization problem where the roots of a set of nonlinear equations need to be determined. Then, we propose to use a projected Newton’s approach combined with a gradient descent algorithm so that every limit point of the sequence generated by the overall algorithm is a stationary point. More importantly, we suggest replacing the standard orthogonal projector with a novel operator that ensures the final solution to satisfy the box constraints while lowering the probability that the intermediate points reached at each iteration belong to the boundary of the box where the Jacobian of the objective function may be singular. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is shown in a practical scenario concerning a chemical reaction network modeling the signaling network of colorectal cancer cells. Specifically, in this scenario the proposed algorithm is proved to be faster and more accurate than a classical dynamical approach where the asymptotically stable states are computed as the limit points of the flux of the Cauchy problem associated with the ODE system.
A Generalised Matching Distribution for the Problem of Coincidences
Authors: O’Neill Ben
Published: December 2023

This paper examines the classical matching distribution arising in the “problem of coincidences”. We generalise the classical matching distribution with a preliminary round of allocation where items are correctly matched with some fixed probability, and remaining non-matched items are allocated using simple random sampling without replacement. Our generalised matching distribution is a convolution of the classical matching distribution and the binomial distribution. We examine the properties of this latter distribution and show how its probability functions can be computed. We also show how to use the distribution for matching tests and inferences of matching ability.
Modelling and experimental characterization of double layer InP/AlGaInP quantum dot laser
Authors: Abbas Radwa A. , Sabry Yasser M. , Omran Haitham , Huang Zhihua , Zimmer Michael , Jetter Michael , Michler Peter , Khalil Diaa
Published: December 2023

Spectrum of an InP/AlGaInP self- assembled double-layer quantum dot (QD) laser fabricated by metal–organic vapor-phase epitaxy is theoretically and experimentally investigated. A bimodal QD size distribution (small and large QD groups) was detected which is formed during the fabrication. A model is proposed based on rate equations accounting for the superposition of two inhomogeneous QD groups. The total output power and the power spectral density (PSD) of the fabricated QD laser are experimentally characterized at room temperature. The output spectrum is segmented into the sum of two Gaussians curves (super Gaussian) belonging to the small and large QD groups. The peak PSD and the spectral width of each group are extracted and their dependency on the injected current density is analysed. The peak of the large QDs is found to be dominant at small current while the peak of the small QDs dominated at high current alongside a reduction in its spectral width leading to lasing based on them. This behaviour is attributed to the saturation of the large QDs energy levels due to its relatively long radiative lifetime. The experimental analysis is in a good agreement with the theoretical results.
Health risk associated with soil and plant contamination in industrial areas
Authors: Kicińska Alicja , Wikar Justyna
Published: December 2023

Aims

The aim of the study was to assess human health risk stemming from i) contact with contaminated soil and ii) consumption of plants growing in contaminated soils in allotment gardens and farmlands located in regions heavily affected by the Zn-Pb and steel industries and in hard coal mining areas.

Methods

Based on the pseudo-total concentration of Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) measured in soil and plant samples and using the US EPA methodology, we assessed estimated daily intake (EDI), as well as non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risk in two exposure scenarios (recreational and residential), stemming from the contact with soil with varying degrees of PTE contamination, i.e.: Cr(3+,6+), Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn. In the recreational scenario, we analyzed three exposure pathways (accidental soil ingestion, dermal contact with contaminated soil and inhalation of contaminated soil particles) for a child (0–6 years), an economically active adult (20–40 years), a senior (40–60 years) and a retiree (60–70 years). In the residential scenario, we additionally analyzed an exposure pathway associated with the intake of contaminated lettuce leaves grown in the soils studied for a child and an adult. With respect to non-carcinogenic health risk, we calculated hazard quotient (HQ) values for individual contaminants under each exposure pathway and target hazard quotient (THQ) values for different exposure pathways.

Results and conclusions

We found that the proportion of different exposure pathways in the total health risk decreased in the following order: intake of contaminated vegetables > accidental soil ingestion > dermal contact > inhalation of contaminated soil particles. Children are more exposed to toxic effects of potentially toxic elements than seniors and economically active adults.
Some reflected autoregressive processes with dependencies
Authors: Dimitriou Ioannis , Fiems Dieter
Published: December 2023

Motivated by queueing applications, we study various reflected autoregressive processes with dependencies. Among others, we study cases where the interarrival and service times are proportionally dependent on additive and/or subtracting delay, as well as cases where interarrival times depend on whether the service duration of the previous arrival exceeds or not a random threshold. Moreover, we study cases where the autoregressive parameter is constant as well as a discrete or a continuous random variable. More general dependence structures are also discussed. Our primary aim is to investigate a broad class of recursions of autoregressive type for which several independence assumptions are lifted and for which a detailed exact analysis is provided. We provide expressions for the Laplace transform of the waiting time distribution of a customer in the system in terms of an infinite sum of products of known Laplace transforms. An integer-valued reflected autoregressive process that can be used to model a novel retrial queueing system with impatient customers and a general dependence structure is also considered. For such a model, we provide expressions for the probability generating function of the stationary orbit queue length distribution in terms of an infinite sum of products of known generating functions. A first attempt towards a multidimensional setting is also considered.
Insights on Three Dimensional Organoid Studies for Stem Cell Therapy in Regenerative Medicine
Authors: Mulaudzi Precious Earldom , Abrahamse Heidi , Crous Anine
Published: December 2023

Regenerative medicine has developed as a promising discipline that utilizes stem cells to address limitations in traditional therapies, using innovative techniques to restore and repair damaged organs and tissues. One such technique is the generation of three-dimensional (3D) organoids in stem cell therapy. Organoids are 3D constructs that resemble specific organs' structural and functional characteristics and are generated from stem cells or tissue-specific progenitor cells. The use of 3D organoids is advantageous in comparison to traditional two-dimensional (2D) cell culture by bridging the gap between in vivo and in vitro research. This review aims to provide an overview of the advancements made towards regenerative medicine using stem cells to generate organoids, explore the techniques used in generating 3D organoids and their applications and finally elucidate the challenges and future directions in regenerative medicine using 3D organoids.

Graphical Abstract
DEXi-Dairy: an ex post multicriteria tool to assess the sustainability of dairy production systems in various European regions
Authors: Wilfart Aurelie , Baillet Vincent , Balaine Lorraine , de Otálora Xabier Díaz , Dragoni Federico , Krol Dominika Joanna , Frątczak-Müller Joanna , Rychła Anna , Rodriguez Divina Gracia P. , Breen James , Anestis Vasileios , Buckley Cathal , Alem Habtamu , Winiwarter Wilfried , Akkal-Corfini Nouraya , Amon Barbara
Published: December 2023

Growing awareness of global challenges and increasing pressures on the farming sector, including the urgent requirement to rapidly cut greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, emphasize the need for sustainable production, which is particularly relevant for dairy production systems. Comparing dairy production systems across the three sustainability dimensions is a considerable challenge, notably due to the heterogeneity of production conditions in Europe. To overcome this, we developed an ex post multicriteria assessment tool that adopts a holistic approach across the three sustainability dimensions. This tool is based on the DEXi framework, which associates a hierarchical decision model with an expert perspective and follows a tree shaped structure; thus, we called it the DEXi-Dairy tool. For each dimension of sustainability, qualitative attributes were defined and organized in themes, sub-themes, and indicators. Their choice was guided by three objectives: (i) better describe main challenges faced by European dairy production systems, (ii) point out synergies and trade-offs across sustainability dimensions, and (iii) contribute to the identification of GHG mitigation strategies at the farm level. Qualitative scales for each theme, sub-theme, and indicator were defined together with weighting factors used to aggregate each level of the tree. Based on selected indicators, a list of farm data requirements was developed to populate the sustainability tree. The model was then tested on seven case study farms distributed across Europe. DEXi-Dairy presents a qualitative method that allows for the comparison of different inputs and the evaluation of the three sustainability dimensions in an integrated manner. By assessing synergies and trade-offs across sustainability dimensions, DEXi-Dairy is able to reflect the heterogeneity of dairy production systems. Results indicate that, while trade-offs occasionally exist among respective selected sub-themes, certain farming systems tend to achieve a higher sustainability score than others and hence could serve as benchmarks for further analyses.
The Impact of Exercise Prescription Variables on Intervention Outcomes in Musculoskeletal Pain: An Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews
Authors: Arora Nitin Kumar , Donath Lars , Owen Patrick J. , Miller Clint T. , Saueressig Tobias , Winter Felicitas , Hambloch Marina , Neason Christopher , Karner Vera , Belavy Daniel L.
Published: December 2023

Background

Musculoskeletal pain conditions are the largest contributors to disability and healthcare burden globally. Exercise interventions improve physical function and quality of life in individuals with musculoskeletal pain, yet optimal exercise prescription variables (e.g. duration, frequency, intensity) are unclear.

Objective

We aimed to examine evidence gaps, methodological quality and exercise prescription recommendations in systematic reviews of exercise for musculoskeletal pain.

Methods

In our prospectively registered umbrella review, PubMed, SPORTDiscus, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, EMBASE, and CINAHL were searched from inception to 14 February 2023. Backward citation tracking was performed. We included peer-reviewed, English language, systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and controlled clinical trials (CCTs) that compared exercise with conservative treatment, placebo or other exercise interventions in adults with musculoskeletal pain. Data were extracted from the following groups of reviews based on their reporting of exercise prescription data and analysis of the relationship between prescription variables and outcomes: (1) those that did not report any exercise prescription data, (2) those that reported exercise prescription data but did not perform a quantitative analysis and (3) those that performed a quantitative analysis of the relationship between exercise prescription variables and outcomes. Outcome measures were physical function, pain, mental health, adverse effects and adherence to treatment. AMSTAR-2 (A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews) was used to assess methodological quality.

Results

From 6757 records, 274 systematic reviews were included. 6.6% of reviews did not report any exercise prescription data, and only 10.9% quantitatively analyzed the relationship between prescription variables and the outcome(s). The overall methodological quality was critically low in 85% of reviews.

Conclusion

High methodological quality evidence is lacking for optimal exercise training prescription variables in individuals with musculoskeletal pain. To better inform practice and evidence gaps, future systematic reviews should (1) identify optimum exercise prescription variables, for example, via dose–response (network) meta-analysis, (2) perform high-quality reviews per AMSTAR-2 criteria and (3) include outcomes of mental health, adverse events and exercise adherence.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42021287440 (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021287440).
Medienpädagogische Professionalisierung als studentische Eigenleistung: Ergebnisse einer qualitativ-explorativen Untersuchung zu medienpädagogischen Professionalisierungsstrategien im Studium der Erwachsenenbildung
Authors: Bellinger Franziska
Published: December 2023

Der Beitrag thematisiert die medienpädagogische Professionalisierung im Sinne einer Grundbildung Medien als Teil der erwachsenenpädagogischen Professionalitätsentwicklung im Hochschulstudium. Es werden Ergebnisse einer Studie präsentiert, die medienpädagogische Professionalisierungsstrategien im Studiengang Erwachsenenbildung an drei Hochschulstandorten unter Berücksichtigung des forschungsmethodologischen Paradigmas der Grounded Theorie qualitativ untersuchte. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die medienpädagogische Professionalisierung bisweilen eine studentische Eigenleistung und somit keinen festen Bestandteil der erwachsenenpädagogischen Professionalitätsentwicklung darstellt. Dies resultiert aus spannungsreichen Bedingungen und Wechselwirklungen, die veranschaulicht und diskutiert werden.
Effectiveness of an interactive start-up simulation to foster entrepreneurial intentions among undergraduate university students: a quasi-experimental study
Authors: Sofiullah Md. , Gomes Vale Eleydiane , Darr Dietrich
Published: December 2023

Higher education institutions play an essential role in promoting entrepreneurial intentions through entrepreneurial education. However, the effectiveness of such approaches and factors that stimulate entrepreneurial intentions among university students remains uncertain. The current study investigates the impact of an online-based entrepreneurial simulation game, so-called intervention, on entrepreneurial intentions among students. Seventy-five students enrolled in universities in Germany, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, and Russia are grouped into treatment and controlled sets. Using a pre- and post-intervention survey and principal component analysis, the ordinal regression results found that entrepreneurial competence, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, personality traits, and social environment directly influence entrepreneurial intention. In addition, regression results on these causal variables provide insight into factors that indirectly influence entrepreneurial intention. Considering the nonparametric nature of the data for intervention assessment, the Wilcoxon sign-rank test results indicate that the entrepreneurial simulation did not have a direct impact on entrepreneurial intention. However, the teaching intervention was effective in improving other vital factors that influence entrepreneurial intentions as the self-perceived likelihood of students to start their own business after graduation, level of risk tolerance, entrepreneurial knowledge and skills, exposure to business economics courses, and adeptness to entrepreneurial tasks. Moreover, nonparametric tests such as the Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney U tests revealed significant differences between respondents on these direct and indirect factors that prompt entrepreneurial intentions. Our findings provide valuable implications for improving the design and effectiveness of future entrepreneurial education programs.
Envisioning post-capitalist utopias via simulation: Theory, critique and models
Authors: Pahl Hanno , Scholz-Wäckerle Manuel , Schröter Jens
Published: December 2023

We discuss the role of heterodox economics in opening new perspectives, the question of scalability of socio-economic order, the heritage of the “socialist calculation debate” and its ongoing relevance for discussions on “post-capitalism” today and finally the potentials of computational simulation and agent-based modelling for the exploration of alternative socio-economic approaches. The contributions to our special issue address these aspects and topics in different ways and therefore underline the fruitfulness of these discussions, especially in regard to the development of more just and sustainable socio-economic structures. Faced with the contemporary polycrisis, we can no longer afford “capitalist realism”.
Institutional analysis of the conservation management for Litsea leytensis Merr. in Laguna and Quezon, Philippines
Authors: Engay-Gutierrez Kathreena , Espaldon Maria Victoria , Villanueva-Peyraube Jessica , Sobremisana Marisa , Macandog Damasa , Tiburan Cristino
Published: December 2023

This paper aims to analyze the institutions involved in the conservation management of Litsea leytensis Merr., with the trade name Medang, a wood species preferred by carvers in the Philippines, particularly in Paete, Laguna. The art of wood carving is thriving as a culture and as a wood-based industry for Filipinos, intertwined with natural resource management, where the seeds and wildlings are collected as planting materials for the nationwide greening program, while the wood as raw material is carefully selected from a list of Philippine native species. Litsea leytensis Merr. represents the many endemic trees in the country that need serious attention for conservation because of their continuing decline in habitat and population. The study highlights in situ and ex situ conservation of L. leytensis by institutions in Laguna and Quezon. The results suggest that the rules-in-form guided the institutions in conservation management, and their interactions in the action arena were in downward, upward, and horizontal patterns. The outcomes of their interventions for L. leytensis were relevant, coherent, effective, and efficient, while project impact and sustainability were implied by the participation and community ownership of conservation activities, government policies, and funding.
What do infectious disease specialists think about managing long COVID?
Authors: Lyons Maureen D. , Beekmann Susan E. , Polgreen Philip M. , Marschall Jonas
Published: December 2023

This survey of infectious disease providers on long COVID care revealed a lack of familiarity with existing resources, a sentiment of missing guidelines, and scarcity of dedicated care centers. The low response rate suggests that infectious disease specialists do not consider themselves as the primary providers of long COVID care.
Scales of ideational policy influence: A multi-level, actor-centric, and institutionalist perspective on the role of ideas in African social policy
Authors: Béland Daniel , Foli Rosina , Haang’andu Privilege
Published: December 2023

Although there is a growing literature on transnational ideational processes in sub-Saharan Africa, the linkages between local, national, and transnational actors and ideas in African social policy would gain from more systematic mapping. In this paper, we explore what we call the “scales of ideational policy influence” by sketching a multi-level, actor-centric, and institutionalist perspective on ideational policy influence at the local, national, and transnational scales. This discussion leads to analysis of how these scales interact in terms of specific ideas and how both governmental and non-governmental actors seek to impact social policy decisions in sub-Saharan Africa. To illustrate the three scales of ideational influence and their interaction, the paper turns to the making of poverty reduction policies in Ghana. We show how policy ideas move from the global level to a national and subnational level using ideational mechanisms aided by the institutional position of actors and material factors.
Local entrainment across a TNTI and a TTI in a turbulent forced fountain
Authors: Huang Jingzi , Burridge Henry C. , van Reeuwijk Maarten
Published: December 2023

Local instantaneous exchanges of volume, momentum and buoyancy across turbulent/non-turbulent interfaces (TNTIs) and turbulent/turbulent interfaces (TTIs) are studied using data from direct numerical simulations of a turbulent forced fountain. We apply a novel algorithm that enables independent calculation of the instantaneous local entrainment and detrainment fluxes, and therefore, for the first time, the entrainment and detrainment coefficients according to the fountain model (Bloomfield & Kerr, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 424, 2000, pp. 197–216) are determined explicitly. Across the interface between the fountain and the ambient fluid, which is a TNTI, only volume entrainment occurs, and it is well predicted by the fountain model. Across the interface between the rising upflow and falling downflow within the fountain, which is a TTI, both entrainment and detrainment of volume, momentum and buoyancy occur – with the magnitude of both entrainment and detrainment typically being large compared with the net for all exchanges. However, the model seems to be unable to capture the momentum exchanges due to its ignorance of the pressure. We find that each conditional entrainment and detrainment rate, of volume, momentum and buoyancy, can be described accurately by Gaussian profiles, while the net exchange that is the superposition of the entrainment and detrainment cannot. Moreover, the entrainment exchange rate has its maximum closer to the fountain centreline than that of detrainment, explaining the tendency for net entrainment closer to the fountain centreline and net detrainment further away.
A lightweight vortex model for unsteady motion of airfoils
Authors: Dumoulin Denis , Eldredge Jeff D. , Chatelain Philippe
Published: December 2023

A low-order vortex model has been developed for analysing the unsteady aerodynamics of airfoils. The model employs an infinitely thin vortex sheet in place of the attached boundary layer and a sheet of point vortices for the shed shear layer. The strength and direction of the vortex sheet shed at the airfoil trailing edge are determined by an unsteady Kutta condition. The roll-up of the ambient shear layer is represented by a unique point vortex, which is consistently fed circulation by the last point vortex of the free vortex sheet. The model's dimensionality is reduced by using three tuning parameters to balance representational accuracy and computational efficiency. The performance of the model is evaluated through experiments involving impulsively started and heaving and pitching airfoils. The model accurately captures the dynamics of the development and evolution of the shed vortical structure while requiring minimal computational resources. The validity of the model is confirmed through comparison with experimental force measurements and a baseline unsteady panel method that does not transfer circulation in the free vortex sheet.
Beyond boundaries: new perspectives on Italian communist historiography
Authors: Martino Marco
Published: December 2023

In 1989, the Italian Communist Party (PCI) was going through a period of transition. The fall of the Berlin Wall posed an enormous challenge to Marxist beliefs and the communist political project. In this situation, party secretary Achille Occhetto and his close collaborators planned to embark on a new social-democratic path, as a significant part of the elderly leaders and rank-and-file members feared the abandonment of communist ideals. ‘We are a different party … and I continue to believe it,’ a Milanese communist militant shouted while Nanni Moretti was shooting La Cosa (1990), a documentary about the last days of the PCI, crystallising the perceived sense of uniqueness and diversity that pervaded Italian communism despite the complete loss of meaning for the communist movement worldwide.
Biomimetic Epistemology
Authors: Dicks Henry
Published: December 2023

Imitating nature is an ever more popular strategy in many fields of science and engineering research, from ecological engineering to artificial intelligence. But while biomimetics and related fields have recently attracted increased attention from philosophers, there has been relatively little engagement with what I suggest we see as their basic epistemological presupposition: that we may acquire knowledge from nature. I argue that emphasizing and exploring this presupposition opens up a new approach to epistemology, based on a shift from a conventional epistemological relationship to nature as object of knowledge to a biomimetic relationship to nature as source of knowledge.
An Exploration of Parameter Duality in Statistical Inference
Authors: Thornton Suzanne , Xie Minge
Published: December 2023

Well-known debates among statistical inferential paradigms emerge from conflicting views on the notion of probability. One dominant view understands probability as a representation of sampling variability; another prominent view understands probability as a measure of belief. The former generally describes model parameters as fixed values, in contrast to the latter. We propose that there are actually two versions of a parameter within both paradigms: a fixed unknown value that generated the data and a random version to describe the uncertainty in estimating the unknown value. An inferential approach based on CDs deciphers seemingly conflicting perspectives on parameters and probabilities.
Scaphanocephalus spp. (Trematoda: Opisthorchiidae) in intermediate and definitive hosts of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, with a re-description of Scaphanocephalus expansus
Authors: González-García M. T. , García-Varela M. , López-Jiménez A. , Ortega-Olivares M. P. , Pérez-Ponce de León G. , Andrade-Gómez L.
Published: December 2023

Scaphanocephalus is a small trematode genus belonging to the family Opistorchiidae. The genus currently contains only three species associated with marine fish as intermediate hosts and fish-eating birds as definitive hosts. Here, specimens of Scaphanocephalus were collected from the Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, and the White mullet, Mugil curema in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. We report for the first-time DNA sequences of adult specimens of Scaphanocephalus, particularly S. expansus, as well as a sequence of a different species sampled as metacercaria. Morphological comparisons of Scaphanocephalus expansus confirmed the identity of the adult specimens, with minor morphological variations; Scanning electron photomicrographs were included, and the species was re-described. Phylogenetic analysis based on 28S rDNA sequences showed that Scaphanocephalus is monophyletic within Opisthorchiidae and consists of three independent lineages. Sequences of adults are identical to those of S. expansus. Instead, the sequence of the metacercaria sampled from the mesentery of Mugil curema nested with specimens reported as Scaphanocephalus sp. from a labrid fish in the Mediterranean Sea, herein named it as Scaphanocephalus sp. 2.
Living with leopards: an assessment of conflict and people's attitudes towards the common leopardPanthera pardusin a protected area in the Indian Himalayan region
Authors: Kichloo Muzaffar A. , Sohil Asha , Sharma Neeraj
Published: December 2023

Protected areas are important for wildlife conservation but they are also used by many local communities for livelihood activities. This often leads to conflicts and erodes the tolerance of local people for wildlife, particularly towards carnivores that prey on livestock. To enhance conservation success and improve the social carrying capacity of carnivores, it is essential to understand the factors influencing such conflicts and the attitudes of people interacting with carnivores. We used structured questionnaire surveys to assess the extent of livestock mortality and community responses to common leopardsPanthera pardusin Kishtwar National Park, a relatively understudied protected area in the Greater Himalayan region of India. The mountainous Park and its surroundings have historically served as a haven for the local agro-pastoralists and transhumant pastoralists, resulting in complex human–wildlife interactions across the larger landscape. Our results showed that leopards were responsible for high livestock depredation (71 incidents in 2 years), and households with larger livestock holdings experienced a higher predation rate compared to those with smaller livestock holdings. An ordinal logistic regression model revealed that respondents’ age and period of activity in the Park significantly influenced their opinions regarding leopards. Large losses suffered by otherwise low-income households resulted in more negative attitudes towards these predators. Our study indicates that financial compensation for livestock losses is a key factor in improving human–leopard coexistence. A comprehensive, cross-sector collaborative approach would help to improve conflict resolution and promote favourable attitudes towards these predators.
Clearing the Bench: The Perils of Appointing Politicians to the Cabinet
Authors: SPIEGLER JONATHAN , SMITH JACOB F. H. , LOVELY AIDAN
Published: December 2023

This article provides an analysis of the potential danger to a president’s policy agenda that comes from appointing a sitting elected official to the cabinet. We present historical data on cabinet secretaries since the founding and demonstrate that concerns about seats falling to the other party following the appointment of an elected official to the cabinet date back at least to Martin Van Buren’s establishment of the first American mass political party in 1828. We then focus on the post-Seventeenth Amendment cabinet and show that almost 30 percent of cabinet secretaries in this era who were elected officials at the time of their appointment left seats that flipped to the other party by the next regular general election. We conclude by discussing how our results compare with Alexander Hamilton, Martin Van Buren, and Woodrow Wilson’s differing views on the cabinet and the implications for the president’s policy agenda.
Impacts of a tiered intervention on child internalizing and externalizing behavior in the context of maternal depression
Authors: Canfield Caitlin Ford , Miller Elizabeth B. , Taraban Lindsay , Aviles Ashleigh I. , Rosas Johana , Mendelsohn Alan L. , Morris Pamela , Shaw Daniel
Published: December 2023

Greater maternal depressive symptoms are consistently associated with higher levels of behavioral difficulties in children, emerging in early childhood and with long-lasting consequences for children’s development. Interventions promoting early relational health have been shown to have benefits for children’s behavior; however, these impacts are not always realized in the context of maternal depression. This study examined whether tiered programs could address this limitation by focusing on both parenting, through universal primary prevention, and psychosocial stressors and parent mental health, through tailored secondary prevention. Analysis of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the Smart Beginnings (SB) intervention was conducted to determine whether SB attenuated the association between maternal depression and early childhood internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Maternal depression significantly predicted both internalizing and externalizing behaviors in linear regression models. Further, there was a significant interaction between maternal depression and treatment group, such that among mothers with higher depressive symptoms, the SB treatment attenuated the magnitude of the association between depression and child behavior. Findings suggest that while parenting support is important for all families, it may be particularly critical for those with higher levels of depression and underscores the need to consider multidimensional family processes in both research and clinical practice.
Impact of COVID-19 program adaptations on costs and cost-effectiveness of community management of acute malnutrition program in South Sudan
Authors: Alier Kemish Kenneth , Tappis Hannah , Ismail Sule , Doocy Shannon
Published: December 2023

Objective:

We assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the protocol adaptations on cost and cost-effectiveness of community management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) program in South Sudan.

Design:

Retrospective program expenditure-based analysis of non-governmental organisation (NGO) CMAM programs for COVID-19 period (April 2020–December 2021) in respect to pre-COVID period (January 2019–March 2020).

Setting:

Study was conducted as part of a bigger evaluation study in South Sudan.

Participants:

International and national NGOs operating CMAM programs under the nutrition cluster participated in the study.

Results:

The average cost per child recovered from the programme declined by 20 % during COVID from $133 (range: $34–1174) pre-COVID to $107 (range: $20–333) during COVID. The cost per child recovered was negatively correlated with programme size (pre-COVID r-squared = 0·58; during COIVD r-squared = 0·50). Programmes with higher enrollment were cheaper compared with those with low enrolment. Salaries, ready to use food and community activities accounted for over two-thirds of the cost per recovery during both pre-COVID (69 %) and COVID (79 %) periods. While cost per child recovered decreased during COVID period, it did not negatively impact on the programme outcome. Enrolment increased by an average of 19·8 % and recovery rate by 4·6 % during COVID period.

Conclusions:

Costs reduced with no apparent negative implication on recovery rates after implementing the COVID CMAM protocol adaptations with a strong negative correlation between cost and programme size. This suggests that investing in capacity, screening and referral at existing CMAM sites to enable expansion of caseload maybe a preferable strategy to increasing the number of CMAM sites in South Sudan.
Strategies for improving access to primary care services for homeless immigrants in England: a Delphi study
Authors: Namata Carol , Hatzidimitriadou Eleni
Published: December 2023

Aim:

The aim of the study was to identify the most prioritized strategies in improving access to primary care services (PCS) for homeless immigrants.

Background:

The issue of improving access to PCS for homeless immigrants is a complex and multifaceted one, and yet there is limited research on the strategies aimed at improving these services. Hence, the need for more studies that directly engage homeless immigrants and service providers in understanding their barriers to accessing PCS and their preferences for improving access to these services.

Methods:

The study used a two round Delphi method to elicit the views of stakeholders. The Delphi process utilized a web-based questionnaire. The stakeholders included healthcare providers and voluntary sector providers. The first round had a total of 58 items belonging to 14 categories. The second round comprised a total of 25 items belonging to 12 categories which were preselected based on participants’ ranking of their importance in the first round. Participants were required to rank the relative importance of all the items on a 5-point Likert scale. Data were analysed using the STATA-15 software package.

Findings:

A total of 12 stakeholders participated in both rounds of the Delphi survey. The top three strategies encompassed fighting against discrimination and prejudice, improving and promoting mental health services, and empowering homeless immigrants. These evidence-based strategies hold the potential to support the implementation of healthcare interventions aimed at improving access to PCS and healthcare outcomes for homeless immigrants. However, it is crucial to conduct further research that includes homeless immigrants in the Delphi study to gain insights into the strategies that are most important to them in enhancing access to PCS, as they are the primary target users. Such research will contribute to the development of comprehensive and effective interventions tailored to the specific needs of homeless.
Human Conditional Reasoning in Answer Set Programming
Authors: SAKAMA CHIAKI
Published: December 2023

Given a conditional sentence “
${\varphi}\Rightarrow \psi$
" (if
${\varphi}$
then
$\psi$
) and respective facts, four different types of inferences are observed in human reasoning: Affirming the antecedent (AA) (or modus ponens) reasons
$\psi$
from
${\varphi}$
; affirming the consequent (AC) reasons
${\varphi}$
from
$\psi$
; denying the antecedent (DA) reasons
$\neg\psi$
from
$\neg{\varphi}$
; and denying the consequent (DC) (or modus tollens) reasons
$\neg{\varphi}$
from
$\neg\psi$
. Among them, AA and DC are logically valid, while AC and DA are logically invalid and often called logical fallacies. Nevertheless, humans often perform AC or DA as pragmatic inference in daily life. In this paper, we realize AC, DA and DC inferences in answer set programming. Eight different types of completion are introduced, and their semantics are given by answer sets. We investigate formal properties and characterize human reasoning tasks in cognitive psychology. Those completions are also applied to commonsense reasoning in AI.
MEROVINGIAN MEDICINE BETWEEN PRACTICAL ART AND PHILOSOPHY
Authors: PALMER JAMES T.
Published: December 2023

This essay offers a new examination of medical knowledge in Merovingian Gaul (c. 500–c.750), the ways that it became part of non-specialized learning, and its continuities with Carolingian medicine. In most histories of medicine, the Merovingian world is portrayed as providing a hostile environment for medicine due to the Christianization of knowledge. A significant problem, however, is that there has been no study of what medicine was known or how it was treated since 1937, and even that study can now be seen to be built on false premises. The first part of the present paper offers a new conspectus of Merovingian medical knowledge based on the earliest manuscripts and argues that this new overview changes where we can see continuities in content and practice with Carolingian medicine. The second part builds on this to explore the intersections between religious and secular study, and how medicine fitted within a generalist rather than specialist education. The final section looks at how this learning complemented understandings of the miraculous and nature and in the process helped to deal with challenges from folk practice and the failures of medicine to offer effective aid during pandemics. It is concluded that medicine was in good health in the Merovingian period as it contributed useful ways to see natural order in Creation.
Lightning Struck Down as Source of a Venus Whistler
Authors: Cartier Kimberly
Published: December 2023

Whistlers were a key piece of evidence in favor of Venusian lightning. New measurements question the connection.
Volumetric Changes of Mud on Mars: Evidence From Laboratory Simulations
Authors: Brož P. , Krýza O. , Patočka V. , Pěnkavová V. , Conway S. J. , Mazzini A. , Hauber E. , Sylvest M. E. , Patel M. R.
Published: December 2023

Subtle mounds have been discovered in the source areas of Martian kilometer‐sized flows and on top of summit areas of domes. These features have been suggested to be related to subsurface sediment mobilization, opening questions regarding their formation mechanisms. Previous studies hypothesized that they mark the position of feeder vents through which mud was brought to the surface. Two theories have been proposed: (a) ascent of more viscous mud during the late stage of eruption and (b) expansion of mud within the conduit due to the instability of water under Martian conditions. Here, we present experiments performed inside a low‐pressure chamber designed to investigate whether the volume of mud changes when exposed to a Martian atmospheric pressure. Depending on the mud viscosity, we observe a volumetric increase of up to 30% at the Martian average pressure of ∼6 mbar. The reason is that the low pressure causes instability of the water within the mud, leading to the bubble formation that increases the volume of the mixture. This mechanism bears resemblance to the volumetric changes associated with the degassing of terrestrial lava or mud volcano eruptions caused by a rapid pressure drop. We conclude that the mounds associated with putative Martian sedimentary volcanoes might indeed be explained by volumetric changes in the mud. We also show that mud flows on Mars and elsewhere in the Solar System could behave differently to those found on Earth because mud dynamics are affected by the formation of bubbles in response to the different atmospheric pressures.
Magnetism of the Acapulco Primitive Achondrite and Implications for the Evolution of Partially Differentiated Bodies
Authors: Mansbach Elias N. , Weiss Benjamin P. , Schnepf Neesha R. , Lima Eduardo A. , Borlina Cauê S. , Chatterjee Nilanjan , Gattacceca Jérôme , Uehara Minoru , Wang Huapei
Published: December 2023

Primitive achondrites like the acapulcoites‐lodranites (AL) clan are meteorites that formed on bodies in the process of forming a metallic core, providing a unique window into how early solar system processes transformed unmelted material into differentiated bodies. However, the size and structure of the parent body of ALs and other primitive achondrites are largely unknown. Paleomagnetism can establish the presence or absence of a metallic core by looking for evidence of a dynamo field. We conducted a magnetic study of the Acapulco acapulcoite to determine its ferromagnetic minerals and their recording properties. This is the first detailed rock magnetic and first paleomagnetic study of a primitive achondrite group. We determined that metal inclusions inside silicate grains consist of two magnetic minerals, kamacite and tetrataenite, which have robust recording properties. However, the mechanisms and timing by which these minerals acquired any natural remanent magnetization are unknown. Despite this, Acapulco has not been substantially remagnetized since arriving on Earth and therefore should retain a record dating to 4.55 billion years ago. Future studies could characterize this record by using high‐resolution magnetometry measurements of individual populations of grains and developing an understanding of how and when they became magnetized. Our discovery of tetrataenite in ALs provides the first mineralogical evidence for slow cooling [<∼5–10 × 103°C per million years (Ma−1)] of the AL parent body at low temperatures (∼320°C). Its presence suggests the AL parent body is unlikely to have been catastrophically disrupted at AL peak temperatures (∼1,200°C) without subsequent reaccretion.
Beach and Dune Subsurface Hydrodynamics and Their Influence on the Formation of Dune Scarps
Authors: Bond Hailey , Wengrove Meagan , Puleo Jack , Pontiki Maro , Evans T. Matthew , Feagin Rusty A.
Published: December 2023

Erosive beach scarps influence beach vulnerability, yet their formation remains challenging to predict. In this study, a 1:2.5 scale laboratory experiment was used to study the subsurface hydrodynamics of a beach dune during an erosive event. Pressure and moisture sensors buried within the dune were used both to monitor the water table and to examine vertical pressure gradients in the upper 0.3 m of sand as the slope of the upper beach developed into a scarp. Concurrently, a line‐scan lidar tracked swash bores and monitored erosion and accretion patterns along a single cross‐shore transect throughout the experiment. As wave conditions intensified, a discontinuity in the slope of the dune formed; the discontinuity grew steeper and progressed landward at the same rate as the R2% runup extent until it was a fully formed scarp with a vertical face. Within the upper 0.15 m of the partially saturated sand, upward pore pressure gradients were detected during backwash, influencing the effective weight of sand and potentially contributing to beachface erosion. The magnitude and frequency of the upward pressure gradients increased with deeper swash depths and with frequency of wave interaction, and decreased with depth into the sand. A simple conceptual model for scarp formation is proposed that incorporates observations of upward‐directed pressure gradients from this study while providing a reference for future studies seeking to integrate additional swash zone sediment transport processes that may impact scarp development.
Resting-state EEG power differences in autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Neo Wei Siong , Foti Dan , Keehn Brandon , Kelleher Bridgette
Published: December 2023

Narrative reviews have described various resting-state EEG power differences in autism across all five canonical frequency bands, with increased power for low and high frequencies and reduced power for middle frequencies. However, these differences have yet to be quantified using effect sizes and probed robustly for consistency, which are critical next steps for clinical translation. Following PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a systematic review of published and gray literature on resting-state EEG power in autism. We performed 10 meta-analyses to synthesize and quantify differences in absolute and relative resting-state delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma EEG power in autism. We also conducted moderator analyses to determine whether demographic characteristics, methodological details, and risk-of-bias indicators might account for heterogeneous study effect sizes. Our literature search and study selection processes yielded 41 studies involving 1,246 autistic and 1,455 neurotypical individuals. Meta-analytic models of 135 effect sizes demonstrated that autistic individuals exhibited reduced relative alpha (g = −0.35) and increased gamma (absolute: g = 0.37, relative: g = 1.06) power, but similar delta (absolute: g = 0.06, relative: g = 0.10), theta (absolute: g = −0.03, relative: g = −0.15), absolute alpha (g = −0.17), and beta (absolute: g = 0.01, relative: g = 0.08) power. Substantial heterogeneity in effect sizes was observed across all absolute (I2: 36.1–81.9%) and relative (I2: 64.6–84.4%) frequency bands. Moderator analyses revealed that age, biological sex, IQ, referencing scheme, epoch duration, and use of gold-standard autism diagnostic instruments did not moderate study effect sizes. In contrast, resting-state paradigm type (eyes-closed versus eyes-open) moderated absolute beta, relative delta, and relative alpha power effect sizes, and resting-state recording duration moderated relative alpha power effect sizes. These findings support further investigation of resting-state alpha and gamma power as potential biomarkers for autism.