bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Humanistic interpretation and machine learning
Authors: Pääkkönen Juho , Ylikoski Petri 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThis paper investigates how unsupervised machine learning methods might make hermeneutic interpretive text analysis more objective in the social sciences. Through a close examination of the uses of topic modeling—a popular unsupervised approach in the social sciences—it argues that the primary way in which unsupervised learning supports interpretation is by allowing interpreters to discover unanticipated information in larger and more diverse corpora and by improving the transparency of the interpretive process. This view highlights that unsupervised modeling does not eliminate the researchers’ judgments from the process of producing evidence for social scientific theories. The paper shows this by distinguishing between two prevalent attitudes toward topic modeling, i.e., topic realism and topic instrumentalism. Under neither can modeling provide social scientific evidence without the researchers’ interpretive engagement with the original text materials. Thus the unsupervised text analysis cannot improve the objectivity of interpretation by alleviating the problem of underdetermination in interpretive debate. The paper argues that the sense in which unsupervised methods can improve objectivity is by providing researchers with the resources to justify to others that their interpretations are correct. This kind of objectivity seeks to reduce suspicions in collective debate that interpretations are the products of arbitrary processes influenced by the researchers’ idiosyncratic decisions or starting points. The paper discusses this view in relation to alternative approaches to formalizing interpretation and identifies several limitations on what unsupervised learning can be expected to achieve in terms of supporting interpretive work.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in contaminated coastal marine waters of the Saudi Arabian Red Sea: a baseline study
Authors: Ali Aasim M. , Higgins Christopher P. , Alarif Walied M. , Al-Lihaibi Sultan S. , Ghandourah Mohammed , Kallenborn Roland 
Published: September 2020

AbstractPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are today considered important constituents of the continuously growing substance group of persistent contaminants of emerging environmental concern (PCEC). Here, we report for the first time the concentrations of 12 relevant PFASs in 28 marine water samples from the Saudi Arabian coastal waters of the Red Sea. The sum levels of 12 PFASs (Σ12PFAS) in surface seawater ranged from <LOQ to 956 ngL−1. For the reference background site of this study, Σ12PFAS levels ranged from <LOQ to 10.9 ng/L. The highest PFAS levels have been found in Al-Arbaeen and Al-Shabab, two lagoons continuously receiving treated sewage effluents. PFHxA, PFHxS, and 6:2 FTS were the most prevalent PFASs with relatively high concentrations. Discharge of municipal and industrial wastewaters is considered an important source of PFASs. The pattern of PFASs observed here suggests that the usage of PFAS-containing aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) is a potential additional source for these compounds in Al-Arbaeen and Al-Shabab lagoons. However, a systematic elucidation of local PFASs sources is needed. Contamination of the Red Sea waters with PFASs poses a potential imminent risk to the marine environment of the Red Sea and ultimately may even affect the health of human consumers through the consumption of local seafood.
PM2.5 exposure as a risk factor for multiple sclerosis. An ecological study with a Bayesian mapping approach
Authors: Bergamaschi Roberto , Monti Maria Cristina , Trivelli Leonardo , Mallucci Giulia , Gerosa Leonardo , Pisoni Enrico , Montomoli Cristina 
Published: September 2020

AbstractSome environmental factors are associated with an increased risk of multiple sclerosis (MS). Air pollution could be a main one. This study was conducted to investigate the association of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) concentrations with MS prevalence in the province of Pavia, Italy. The overall MS prevalence in the province of Pavia is 169.4 per 100,000 inhabitants. Spatial ground-level PM2.5gridded data were analysed, by municipality, for the period 2010–2016. Municipalities were grouped by tertiles according to PM2.5concentration. Ecological regression and Bayesian statistics were used to analyse the association between PM2.5concentrations, degree of urbanization, deprivation index and MS risk. MS risk was higher among persons living in areas with an average winter PM2.5concentration above the European annual limit value (25 μg/m3). The Bayesian map revealed sizeable MS high-risk clusters. The study found a relationship between low MS risk and lower PM2.5levels, strengthening the suggestion that air pollution may be one of the environmental risk factors for MS.
The Artistic Expression of Feeling
Authors: Kemp Gary 
Published: September 2020

AbstractIn the past 60 years or so, the philosophical subject of artistic expression has generally been handled as an inquiry into the artistic expression of emotion. In my view this has led to a distortion of the relevant territory, to the artistic expression of feeling’s too often being overlooked. I explicate the emotion-feeling distinction in modern terms (distinguishing mood as well), and urge that the expression of feeling is too central to be waived off as outside the proper philosophical subject of artistic expression. Restricting the discussion to the art of painting (and drawing), I sketch a partial psychological model for the exrtistic expression of feelipression of feeling. Although the feeling-emotion contrast is seldom made clear in their writings, I stress that many, or even most of the eminent pre-1960’s voices in aesthetics and art criticism—Croce, Dewey, Langer, Bosanquet, Berenson and others—would more or less agree that feeling is no less important for expression than emotion, and indeed can be interpreted as anticipating many points that I set forth.
Bringing maker practices to school: tracing discursive and materially mediated aspects of student teams’ collaborative making processes
Authors: Riikonen Sini , Seitamaa-Hakkarainen Pirita , Hakkarainen Kai 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe present investigation aimed to analyze the collaborative making processes and ways of organizing collaboration processes of five student teams. As a part of regular school work, the seventh-grade students were engaged in the use of traditional and digital fabrication technologies for inventing, designing, and making artifacts. To analyze complex, longitudinal collaborative making processes, we developed the visual Making-Process-Rug video analysis method, which enabled tracing intertwined with social-discursive and materially mediated making processes and zoomed in on the teams’ efforts to organize their collaborative processes. The results indicated that four of the five teams were able to take on multifaceted epistemic and fabrication-related challenges and come up with novel co-inventions. The successful teams’ social-discursive and embodied making actions supported each another. These teams dealt with the complexity of invention challenges by spending a great deal of their time in model making and digital experimentation, and their making process progressed iteratively. The development of adequate co-invention and well-organized collaboration processes appeared to be anchored in the team’s shared epistemic object.
Modular change impact analysis in factory systems
Authors: Bauer Harald , Haase Paul , Sippl Fabian , Ramakrishnan Robert , Schilp Johannes , Reinhart Gunther 
Published: September 2020

AbstractShorter product innovation cycles, high variant products, and demand fluctuation, as well as equipment life cycles and technology life cycles force manufacturing companies to regularly change their manufacturing system. In order to address this challenge, an efficient and structured change management is required. As change causes and factory elements are connected via a complex network of relations and flows, an essential step in change management is the evaluation of considered adjustments with regard to their effects on the current production system. Depending on the context of the application, change impact analysis must process specific inputs and deliver different results. Current approaches, however, each focus only on selected aspects of the versatility of change effects. To address this challenge, this paper presents a modular approach for the individual design of change impact analysis.
A new design approach for customised medical devices realized by additive manufacturing
Authors: Ricotta V. , Campbell R. I. , Ingrassia T. , Nigrelli V. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe aim of this work is the design of a new customised elbow orthosis completely realized by Additive Manufacturing and the development of generative algorithms for parametric modelling and creation of 3D patterns to be adapted to the CAD model. This work describes a method to perfect the design of a custom elbow orthosis. A reverse engineering approach has been used to digitalize the patient’s arm and the subsequent CAD modelling of the structure of the custom elbow orthosis has been performed. In particular, two algorithms have been implemented for the creation of 3D patterns and Voronoi tessellations. Subsequently, FEM analyses have been carried out to validate the design. Finally, a prototype of the elbow orthosis with Voronoi tessellation has been realized by means of the SLS technology. The results obtained have demonstrated that the implemented algorithm solved the problems found during CAD modelling with conventional software. Furthermore, the results of FEM analyses have validated the design choices. All this allowed realizing the prototype by AM technologies without problems. Moreover, the new proposed modelling approaches allows creating, in an interactive way, patterns on complex surfaces. The results of this research activity present innovative elements of originality in the CAD modelling sector, which can contribute to solving problems related to the modelling for Additive Manufacturing. Furthermore, another innovative characteristic of the device is the use of torsion springs that simulate the action of physiotherapists during exercises for patient rehabilitation.
Antibodies Against Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) in European Moose and White-Tailed Deer in Finland
Authors: Loikkanen Emil , Oristo Satu , Hämäläinen Natalia , Jokelainen Pikka , Kantala Tuija , Sukura Antti , Maunula Leena 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe main animal reservoirs of zoonotic hepatitis E virus (HEV) are domestic pigs and wild boars, but HEV also infects cervids. In this study, we estimated the prevalence of HEV in Finnish cervid species that are commonly hunted for human consumption. We investigated sera from 342 European moose (Alces alces), 70 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and 12 European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). The samples had been collected from legally hunted animals from different districts of Finland during 2008–2009. We analysed the samples for total anti-HEV antibodies using a double-sandwich ELISA assay. Seropositive sera were analysed with RT-qPCR for HEV RNA. HEV seroprevalence was 9.1% (31/342) in moose and 1.4% (1/70) in white-tailed deer. None of the European roe deer were HEV seropositive (0/12). No HEV RNA was detected from samples of seropositive animals. HEV seropositive moose were detected in all districts. Statistically, HEV seroprevalence in moose was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the North-East area compared to the South-West area. The highest HEV seroprevalence (20.0%) in district level was more than six times higher than the lowest (3.1%). We demonstrated the presence of total anti-HEV antibodies in European moose and white-tailed deer in Finland. Our results suggest that HEV is circulating among the moose population. Infections may occur also in white-tailed deer. We were the first to report a HEV seropositive white-tailed deer from Europe. Further studies are needed to demonstrate the HEV genotypes in cervids in Finland and to evaluate the importance of the findings in relation to food safety.
The Life and Death and Consequences of Canals and Spoil Banks in Salt Marshes
Authors: Turner R. Eugene , Swenson Erick M. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractWe describe the consequence and demise of levees (spoil banks) built from dredging canals in Louisiana salt marshes using morphometric measurements made over 30 years, soil collections on the spoil bank and in the salt marshes behind, and complementary observations from other areas. These measurements were used to determine the temporal bounds of how long spoil banks last and if salt marsh soils remaining in salt marshes are affected. If the rates of changes in spoil bank morphology continue, then the estimated life time of the shrub-tree vegetation at a representative spoil bank is 81 years, the spoil bank width is 89 years, and the dredged channel will erode to the center of the spoil bank after 118 years. The soils in marshes behind the spoil bank have a higher bulk density than in reference marshes, accumulate more mineral matter per year, have lower root mass and are weaker. These observations are compatible with measurements of spoil bank width, vegetative cover and soil compaction, and the conversion from wetland to open water on a coastwide scale.
Comparing alternative estimation methods of a public goods game
Authors: Kent Danielle 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThis paper empirically compares the use of straightforward verses more complex methods to estimate public goods game data. Five different estimation methods were compared holding the dependent and explanatory variables constant. The models were evaluated using a large out-of-sample cross-country public goods game data set. The ordered probit and tobit random-effects models yielded lower p values compared to more straightforward models: ordinary least squares, fixed and random effects. However, the more complex models also had a greater predictive bias. The straightforward models performed better than expected. Despite their limitations, they produced unbiased predictions for both the in-sample and out-of-sample data.
Towards policies that capture the expected value of biomolecular diversity for drug discovery, human health, and well-being
Authors: Pesic Milica , Egamberdieva Dilfuza , Kolodziejczyk Bartlomiej , Elsässer Simon J. , Neergheen Vidushi S. , Kagansky Alexander 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThis paper aims to help policy makers with a characterization of the intrinsic value of biodiversity and its role as a critical foundation for sustainable development, human health, and well-being. Our objective is to highlight the urgent need to overcome economic, disciplinary, national, cultural, and regional barriers, in order to work out innovative measures to create a sustainable future and prevent the mutual extinction of humans and other species. We emphasize the pervasive neglect paid to the cross-dependency of planetary health, the health of individual human beings and other species. It is critical that social and natural sciences are taken into account as key contributors to forming policies related to biodiversity, conservation, and health management. We are reaching the target date of Nagoya treaty signatories to have accomplished measures to prevent biodiversity loss, providing a unique opportunity for policy makers to make necessary adjustments and refocus targets for the next decade. We propose recommendations for policy makers to explore novel avenues to halt the accelerated global loss of biodiversity. Beyond the critical ecological functions biodiversity performs, its enormous untapped the repertoire of natural molecular diversity is needed for solving accelerating global healthcare challenges.
Diagnostic Impact of Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers in Atypical Dementias in Canada
Authors: van den Brink Sophie E.M. , El Amrani Laïla , Therriault Joseph , Gauthier Serge , Rosa-Neto Pedro , Vitali Paolo 
Published: September 2020

ABSTRACT:Background:In Canada, standard dementia workup consists of clinical, neurological, and cognitive evaluation, as well as structural brain imaging. For atypical dementia presentations, additional FDG-PET brain imaging is recommended. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers have recently been proposed as the gold standard for in vivo detection of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathophysiology (NIA-AA research framework, 2018). As clinical implementation of CSF assessment is still limited in Canada, the present study assessed its impact on diagnostic accuracy in atypical neurodegenerative disorders in the clinical practice.Methods:This retrospective clinical chart review included patients with cognitive complaints who underwent lumbar puncture (LP) in addition to the standard diagnostic workup. CSF analysis determined the presence of biological AD based on reduced amyloid-β42-to-total-tau index (ATI) and increased phosphorylated-tau (p-tau) levels. CSF-based diagnoses were compared to standard workup and FDG-PET-based diagnoses.Results:A total of 28 patients with atypical dementia presentations were included in the present study after evaluation for cognitive complaints at a specialized dementia clinic between November 2017 and July 2019. CSF analysis changed or better specified the initial clinical diagnosis in 43.0% of cases (alternative diagnosis revealed in 25% and excluded in 18%). In patients with additional FDG-PET imaging (n= 23), FDG-PET and CSF-based diagnosis did not correspond in 35% of patients, even though FDG-PET appeared to increase diagnostic accuracy compared to the initial clinical diagnosis.Conclusion:CSF biomarkers improved diagnostic accuracy in atypical cognitively-impaired patients beyond standard workup and FDG-PET imaging. These results support CSF analysis implementation for atypical dementias in Canada, in addition to the standard diagnostic workup.
Data-driven surrogate modeling and benchmarking for process equipment
Authors: Gonçalves Gabriel F. N. , Batchvarov Assen , Liu Yuyi , Liu Yuxin , Mason Lachlan R. , Pan Indranil , Matar Omar K. 
Published: September 2020

Abstract
In chemical process engineering, surrogate models of complex systems are often necessary for tasks of domain exploration, sensitivity analysis of the design parameters, and optimization. A suite of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations geared toward chemical process equipment modeling has been developed and validated with experimental results from the literature. Various regression-based active learning strategies are explored with these CFD simulators in-the-loop under the constraints of a limited function evaluation budget. Specifically, five different sampling strategies and five regression techniques are compared, considering a set of four test cases of industrial significance and varying complexity. Gaussian process regression was observed to have a consistently good performance for these applications. The present quantitative study outlines the pros and cons of the different available techniques and highlights the best practices for their adoption. The test cases and tools are available with an open-source license to ensure reproducibility and engage the wider research community in contributing to both the CFD models and developing and benchmarking new improved algorithms tailored to this field.
DIMENSION INEQUALITY FOR A DEFINABLY COMPLETE UNIFORMLY LOCALLY O-MINIMAL STRUCTURE OF THE SECOND KIND
Authors: FUJITA MASATO 
Published: September 2020

AbstractConsider a definably complete uniformly locally o-minimal expansion of the second kind of a densely linearly ordered abelian group. Let $f:X \rightarrow R^n$ be a definable map, where X is a definable set and R is the universe of the structure. We demonstrate the inequality $\dim (f(X)) \leq \dim (X)$ in this paper. As a corollary, we get that the set of the points at which f is discontinuous is of dimension smaller than $\dim (X)$. We also show that the structure is definably Baire in the course of the proof of the inequality.
IDENTITY CRISIS BETWEEN SUPERCOMPACTNESS AND VǑPENKA’S PRINCIPLE
Authors: HAYUT YAIR , MAGIDOR MENACHEM , POVEDA ALEJANDRO 
Published: September 2020

AbstractIn this paper we study the notion of
$C^{(n)}$
-supercompactness introduced by Bagaria in [3] and prove the identity crises phenomenon for such class. Specifically, we show that consistently the least supercompact is strictly below the least
$C^{(1)}$
-supercompact but also that the least supercompact is
$C^{(1)}$
-supercompact (and even
$C^{(n)}$
-supercompact). Furthermore, we prove that under suitable hypothesis the ultimate identity crises is also possible. These results solve several questions posed by Bagaria and Tsaprounis.
The response of water column and sedimentary environments to the advent of the Messinian salinity crisis: insights from an onshore deep-water section (Govone, NW Italy)
Authors: Sabino Mathia , Dela Pierre Francesco , Natalicchio Marcello , Birgel Daniel , Gier Susanne , Peckmann Jörn 
Published: September 2020

AbstractDuring Messinian time, the Mediterranean underwent hydrological modifications culminating 5.97 Ma ago with the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC). Evaporite deposition and alleged annihilation of most marine eukaryotes were taken as evidence of the establishment of basin-wide hypersalinity followed by desiccation. However, the palaeoenvironmental conditions during the MSC are still a matter of debate, chiefly because most of its sedimentary record is buried below the abyssal plains of the present-day Mediterranean Sea. To shed light on environmental change at the advent and during the early phase of the MSC, we investigated the Govone section from the Piedmont Basin (NW Italy) using a multidisciplinary approach (organic geochemical, petrographic, and carbon and oxygen stable isotope analyses). The Govone section archives the onset of the crisis in a succession of organic-rich shales and dolomite-rich marls. The MSC part of the succession represents the deep-water equivalent of sulphate evaporites deposited at the basin margins during the first phase of the crisis. Our study reveals that the onset of the MSC was marked by the intensification of water-column stratification, rather than the establishment of widespread hypersaline conditions. A chemocline divided the water column into an oxygen-depleted, denser and more saline bottom layer and an oxygenated, upper seawater layer influenced by freshwater inflow. Vertical oscillations of the chemocline controlled the stratigraphic architecture of the sediments pertaining to the first stage of the MSC. Accordingly, temporal and spatial changes of water masses with different redox chemistries must be considered when interpreting the MSC event.
Shareholder Protection: A Comparative Review of the Corporate Legal / Regulatory Regimes in the UK and Nigeria
Authors: Ojogbo Samuel E , Ezechukwu Nwanneka V 
Published: September 2020

AbstractForeign investment is a major source of the capital that Nigeria and other developing markets need to promote economic activities and drive economic development. While profit mainly drives the decision to invest abroad, such decisions are also influenced by the safety of any actual investments made. Thus, investors are interested in the laws and regulations that offer them protection against corporate insider opportunism. In Nigeria, the relationship between corporate actors is mainly regulated by the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA). This article investigates the corporate legal and regulatory protection for corporate shareholders in Nigeria and the UK. Comparing the corporate regulatory regime in the two jurisdictions, this article argues that the identified weaknesses in the Nigerian regulatory framework negatively impact the growth of foreign investment in the country. In view of these weaknesses, the article suggests a major review of CAMA and other regulatory instruments with a view to addressing the protection of small investors and “outsiders”, such as foreign investors.