bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nanoengineering of Advanced Carbon Materials for Sodium‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Zhao Shuoqing , Guo Ziqi , Yang Jian , Wang Chengyin , Sun Bing , Wang Guoxiu 
Published: March 2021

AbstractRecent research shows that the continuing importance of carbon anode materials plays an important role in the development of sodium‐ion batteries. Nevertheless, the practical deployment of sodium‐ion batteries still faces many challenges such as mediocre sodium storage capability and short cycle life. Therefore, it is imperative to explore improvement methods to boost their competitiveness. Herein, various nanoengineering strategies, including nanostructure design, defect and heteroatom doping, and nanocomposite optimization, are proposed as reliable and effective approaches to improve electrochemical performances and structural stability of carbon‐based anode materials for sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs). The feasibility of nanoengineering is highlighted as a promising approach to develop next‐generation carbon materials for sodium‐ion batteries.
Shenlian extract protects against ultrafine particulate matter‐aggravated myocardial ischemic injury by inhibiting inflammation response via the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes
Authors: Qu Shuiqing , Li Kai , Yang Ting , Yang Yuanmin , Zheng Zhongyuzn , Liu Hui , Wang Xi , Zhang Yu , Deng Shuoqiu , Zhu Xiaoxin , Chen Lina , Li Yujie 
Published: March 2021

AbstractAir pollution is a growing public health burden associated with several negative health effects, especially cardiovascular disease. Shenlian extract (SL), a traditional Chinese medicine, has the effects of clearing heat‐toxin and promoting blood circulation for removing blood stasis, and it has long been used to treat cardiovascular diseases and atherosclerosis. This study explored the underlying action mechanism of SL against ultrafine particle‐induced myocardial ischemic injury (UFP‐MI) through network pharmacology prediction and experimental verification. Male Sprague–Dawley rats with UFP‐MI were pre‐treated with SL intragastrically for 7 days. All the rats were then euthanized. Inflammatory cytokine detection and histopathological analysis were performed to assess the protective effects of SL. For the mechanism study, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in UFP‐MI rats treated with SL through transcriptomic analysis. Subsequently, in combination with network pharmacology, potential pathways involved in the effects of SL treatment were identified using the Internet‐based Computation Platform (www.tcmip.cn) and Cytoscape 3.6.0. Further validation experiments were performed to reveal the mechanism of the therapeutic effects of SL on UFP‐MI. The results show that SL significantly suppressed inflammatory cell infiltration into myocardial tissue and exhibited significant anti‐inflammatory activity. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that the DEGs after SL treatment had significant anti‐inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and anti‐viral activities. Network pharmacology analysis illustrated that the targets of SL were mainly involved in regulation of the inflammatory response, apoptotic process, innate immune response, platelet activation, and coagulation process. By combining transcriptomic and network pharmacology data, we found that SL may exert anti‐inflammatory effects by acting on the NOD‐like signaling pathway to regulate immune response activation and inhibit systemic inflammation. Verification experiments revealed that SL can suppress the secretion of the inflammatory cytokines Interleukin‐1 (IL‐1), Interleukin‐18(IL‐18) and Interleukin‐33(IL‐33) and suppress NLRP3 inflammasome activity. The results suggested that SL can directly inhibit the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes and reduce the release of cytokines to protect against ultrafine particulate matter‐aggravated myocardial ischemic injury.
Corrective factors applied to reduced sulfur compounds in wastewater foul air
Authors: Vitko Tadeo G. , Suffet Irwin H. (Mel) 
Published: March 2021

AbstractTo determine accurately odorant concentrations at its worst‐case condition for planning and odor treatment design purposes, corrective factors need to be factored into the foul air monitoring results of water resource recovery facilities. These corrective factors will adjust each odorant concentration for usual seasonal and daily odor variations. Typically, corrective factors are taken from hydrogen sulfide continuous readings and applied to all identified sulfur odorants. This paper demonstrates that it is incorrect to assume all reduced sulfur compounds mimic the daily fluctuations observed in hydrogen sulfide. Reduced sulfur odorant results from the foul air tested at two different water resource recovery facility process areas over a portion of the daily cycle have been found to behave independently from hydrogen sulfide. Tests have shown that the corrective factors for each reduced sulfur odorant vary notably from facility to facility and enormously from process area to process area. This discovery is important for the improvement of the science of odor control because accurately determining worst‐case odor concentrations affects the modeling (the magnitude of odor nuisance) and the level of treatment (choosing a technology or combination of technologies) needed for odor abatement.Practitioner points

When conducting foul air assessments, corrective factors are recommended to adjust the results for daily and seasonal variations.
H2S continuous monitors are readily available and of widespread use, therefore they are certainly useful to determine corrective factors.
H2S continuous monitors, however useful for H2S, do not necessarily apply to the rest of the reduced sulfur compounds.
Intermittent sampling and analysis for reduced sulfur compounds at each facility process location over a daily cycle should be conducted.
Results will show the independence of each reduced sulfur compound and the importance of this testing to obtain corrective factors applicable to the facility being assessed.
Simulating Evolution in Asexual Populations with Epistasis
Authors: Diaz-Uriarte Ramon 
Published: March 2021

AbstractI show how to use OncoSimulR, software for forward-time genetic simulations, to simulate evolution of asexual populations in the presence of epistatic interactions. This chapter emphasizes the specification of fitness and epistasis, both directly (i.e., specifying the effects of individual mutations and their epistatic interactions) and indirectly (using models for random fitness landscapes).
People Facing the Question of Euthanasia: Patients, Family and Friends, Healthcare Workers
Authors: Karplus Rivka 
Published: March 2021

AbstractSince the Oregon Death with Dignity Act was adopted in 1997, an increasing number of people have requested euthanasia, showing that life has become unbearable for them. However, a person who expresses the wish to die by euthanasia is not saying that he/she prefers death to life, but rather that death seems preferable to life under the actual circumstances. In order to respond to a person’s suffering, we need to understand the nature of that suffering, as they experience it. Suffering may be physical, psychological, relational, spiritual, or existential; frequently these different aspects overlap or intermingle, particularly in a serious illness. Euthanasia does not improve life—it ends it by giving death. But when the response involves listening and accepting the person in his/her present situation, it becomes possible to work together with the person to see what can be done to help reduce suffering. We can look for means of relief for the person’s individual, unique suffering, in partnership with the patient and his/her family and friends, using the resources of both medical knowledge and our shared humanity. The willingness to walk on this shared path with the sick person is in itself an affirmation of his/her human dignity.
The Meaning of Suffering or the Meaning of Life Despite Suffering
Authors: Beuselinck Benoit 
Published: March 2021

AbstractEven in patients suffering from severe physical diseases such as cancer, the request for euthanasia is often motivated by mental reasons: they consider that their life no longer has meaning, are afraid of future suffering or to be a burden for their family and are discouraged because they have to abandon some activities. Therefore, the request for euthanasia more often emerges in isolated or depressed cancer patients. On the other hand, physical suffering can often be controlled with medication, and if refractory, with palliative sedation.Should a lethal injection be the solution that we offer to the emotional despair of cancer patients? What other solutions can be offered? Where can we find the necessary resources to respond to mental and existential suffering? The theories of Viktor Frankl seem to be a good starting point since this psychiatrist devoted his entire career to empirical research on the meaning of life. Frankl’s logotherapy was developed in part in peculiar circumstances of severe suffering: during his deportation to Auschwitz. Frankl’s theories as well as his personal experience show us in an empirical way how mankind can find the meaning of life despite, or sometimes as a consequence of situations of severe suffering.
Addressing Ethical Issues in AI
Authors: Stahl Bernd Carsten 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThis chapter reviews the proposals that have been put forward to address ethical issues of AI. It divides them into policy-level proposals, organisational responses and guidance for individuals. It discusses how these mitigation options are reflected in the case studies exemplifying the social reality of AI ethics. The chapter concludes with an overview of the stakeholder groups affected by AI, many of whom play a role in implementing the mitigation strategies and addressing ethical issues in AI.
Conclusion
Authors: Stahl Bernd Carsten 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe conclusion briefly summarises the main arguments of the book. It focuses on the requirements for mitigation options to be used to address the ethical and human rights concerns of artificial intelligence. It also provides a high-level overview of the main recommendations brought forth in the book. It thereby shows how conceptual and empirical insights into the nature of AI, the ethical issues thus raised and the mitigation strategies currently being discussed can be used to develop practically relevant conclusions. These conclusions and recommendations help to ensure that AI ecosystems are developed and shaped in ways that are conducive to human flourishing.
Holographic approach to thermalization in general anisotropic theories
Authors: Sun Po-Chun , Lee Da-Shin , Yeh Chen-Pin 
Published: March 2021

AbstractWe employ the holographic approach to study the thermalization in the quenched strongly-coupled field theories with very general anisotropic scalings including Lifshitz and hyperscaling violating fixed points. The holographic dual is a Vaidya-like time-dependent geometry where the asymptotic metric has general anisotropic scaling isometries. We find the Ryu-Takanayagi extremal surface and use it to calculate the time-dependent entanglement entropy between a strip region with width 2Rand its outside region. In the special case with an isotropic metric, we also explore the entanglement entropy for a spherical region of radiusR. The growth of the entanglement entropy characterizes the thermalization rate after a quench. We study the thermalization process in the early times and late times in both largeRand smallRlimits. The allowed scaling parameter regions are constrained by the null energy conditions as well as the condition for the existence of the Ryu-Takanayagi extremal surfaces. This generalizes the previous works on this subject. All obtained results can be compared with experiments and other methods of probing thermalization.
SARS-CoV-2-positives Kind – Was tun bei unvermeidbarer inhalativer Narkoseeinleitung?
Authors: Leister Nicolas , Yücetepe Sirin , Ulrichs Christoph , Hannes Tobias , Trieschmann Uwe 
Published: March 2021

ZusammenfassungDie inhalative Anästhesieeinleitung hat bei Kindern aufgrund schwieriger Venenverhältnisse und insbesondere bei unkooperativen Patienten einen hohen Stellenwert. In der europaweiten Studie zu Komplikationen in der Kinderanästhesie (APRICOT-Studie) mit fast 30.000 eingeschlossenen Patienten wurde bei 48 % der Kinder die Narkose inhalativ eingeleitet.Unter den Bedingungen der Coronapandemie stellt die inhalative Anästhesieeinleitung aufgrund der potenziellen Aerosolfreisetzung allerdings ein erhöhtes Infektionsrisiko dar. Für die Anästhesieeinleitung und die definitive Atemwegssicherung wird bei Erwachsenen und Kindern in der aktuellen Pandemiesituation eine „rapid sequence induction“ empfohlen.Der vorliegende Fall demonstriert, dass es bei Kindern durchaus Situationen geben kann, in denen die inhalative Narkoseeinleitung unvermeidbar ist, und zeigt eine potenzielle Verfahrensweise zur Reduktion des Infektionsrisikos für das betreuende Anästhesiepersonal.
The effects of the chemical environment of menaquinones in lipid monolayers on mercury electrodes on the thermodynamics and kinetics of their electrochemistry
Authors: Dharmaraj Karuppasamy , Dattler Dirk , Kahlert Heike , Lendeckel Uwe , Nagel Felix , Delcea Mihaela , Scholz Fritz 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe effects of the chemical environment of menaquinones (all-trans MK-4 and all-trans MK-7) incorporated in lipid monolayers on mercury electrodes have been studied with respect to the thermodynamics and kinetics of their electrochemistry. The chemical environment relates to the composition of lipid films as well as the adjacent aqueous phase. It could be shown that the addition of all-trans MK-4 to TMCL does not change the phase transition temperatures of TMCL. In case of DMPC monolayers, the presence of cholesterol has no effect on the thermodynamics (formal redox potentials) of all-trans MK-7, but the kinetics are affected. Addition of an inert electrolyte (sodium perchlorate; change of ionic strength) to the aqueous phase shifts the redox potentials of all-trans MK-7 only slightly. The formal redox potentials of all-trans MK-4 were determined in TMCL and nCL monolayers and found to be higher in nCL monolayers than in TMCL monolayers. The apparent electron transfer rate constants, transfer coefficients and activation energies of all-trans MK-4 in cardiolipins have been also determined. Most surprisingly, the apparent electron transfer rate constants of all-trans MK-4 exhibit an opposite pH dependence for TMCL and nCL films: the rate constants increase in TMCL films with increasing pH, but in nCL films they increase with decreasing pH. This study is a contribution to understand environmental effects on the redox properties of membrane bond redox systems.
Graphical abstract
Einstellungen gegenüber Menschen mit Demenz
Authors: Huber Andreas , Seifert Alexander 
Published: March 2021

Zusammenfassung
Hintergrund
Demenzerkrankungen, vorrangig die Alzheimer-Demenz, nehmen weltweit zu. Ein adäquater Umgang mit dieser Entwicklung erfordert den Einbezug der Bevölkerung in entsprechende Maßnahmen; ebenso erfordert er Kenntnisse über die Einstellungen der Bevölkerung im Hinblick auf die Erkrankung und die Menschen, die von dieser Erkrankung betroffen sind. Um die Einstellung der Schweizer Bevölkerung zu Menschen mit Alzheimer-Demenz oder anderen Demenzformen (MmAD) zu erheben und Faktoren herauszuarbeiten, die diese Einstellung beeinflussen, wurde eine Erhebung durchgeführt.

Material und Methoden
Die schweizweite telefonische Befragung von 862 Personen ab 18 Jahren (M = 54,9 Jahre) fand in der Zeit von Juli bis September 2018 statt.

Ergebnisse
Das Alter und die Einstellung zum Alter zeigten sich als signifikante Prädiktoren für die Einstellung zu MmAD. Die Unterteilung dieser Einstellung in eine kognitive und eine affektiv-konative Komponente erwies sich als hilfreich. Kontakt zur Zielgruppe, Informiertheit, erlebte Freuden und eine positive Einstellung zum Alter zeigen einen positiven Zusammenhang bei der affektiv-konativen Komponente, während sich Bildung, Geschlecht und Alter stärker auf die kognitive Komponente auswirken. Dennoch konnten die unabhängigen Variablen nur einen Teil der Varianz erklären.

Schlussfolgerung
Trotz der insgesamt positiven Einstellung gegenüber MmAD in der Schweizer Bevölkerung ergeben sich aus den Ergebnissen dieser Studie Implikationen für die Praxis, die anzeigen, dass neben der Informiertheit auch die erlebten Kontakte zu MmAD die Einstellung zu diesen Personen positiv beeinflussen. Daraus ergibt sich, dass diese Kontakte gefördert werden sollten, um mögliche negative Bilder gegenüber MmAD zu revidieren.
Unveiling social distancing mechanisms via a fish-robot hybrid interaction
Authors: Romano Donato , Stefanini Cesare 
Published: March 2021

AbstractPathogen transmission is a major limit of social species. Social distancing, a behavioural-based response to diseases, has been regularly reported in nature. However, the identification of distinctive stimuli associated with an infectious disease represents a challenging task for host species, whose cognitive mechanisms are still poorly understood. Herein, the social fishParacheirodon innesi, was selected as model organism to investigate animal abilities in exploiting visual information to identify and promote social distancing towards potentially infected conspecifics. To address this, a robotic fish replica mimicking a healthyP. innesisubject, and another mimickingP. innesiwith morphological and/or locomotion anomalies were developed.P. innesiindividuals were attracted by the healthy fish replica, while they avoided the fish replica with morphological abnormalities, as well as the fish replica with an intact appearance, but performing locomotion anomalies (both symptoms associated with a microsporidian parasite infestingP. innesiand other fish). Furthermore, the fish replica presenting both morphology and locomotion anomalies in conjunction, triggered a significantly stronger social distancing response. This confirms the hypothesis that group living animals overgeneralize cues that can be related with a disease to minimize transmission, and highlights the important role of visual cues in infection risk contexts. This study prompts more attention on the role of behavioural-based strategies to avoid pathogen/parasite diffusion, and can be used to optimize computational approaches to model disease dynamics.
Optimized realization of Bayesian networks in reduced normal form using latent variable model
Authors: Gennaro Giovanni Di , Buonanno Amedeo , Palmieri Francesco A. N. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBayesian networks in their Factor Graph Reduced Normal Form are a powerful paradigm for implementing inference graphs. Unfortunately, the computational and memory costs of these networks may be considerable even for relatively small networks, and this is one of the main reasons why these structures have often been underused in practice. In this work, through a detailed algorithmic and structural analysis, various solutions for cost reduction are proposed. Moreover, an online version of the classic batch learning algorithm is also analysed, showing very similar results in an unsupervised context but with much better performance; which may be essential if multi-level structures are to be built. The solutions proposed, together with the possible online learning algorithm, are included in a C++ library that is quite efficient, especially if compared to the direct use of the well-known sum-product and Maximum Likelihood algorithms. The results obtained are discussed with particular reference to a Latent Variable Model structure.
Development of accurate classification of heavenly bodies using novel machine learning techniques
Authors: Wierzbiński Michał , Pławiak Paweł , Hammad Mohamed , Acharya U. Rajendra 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe heavenly bodies are objects that swim in the outer space. The classification of these objects is a challenging task for astronomers. This article presents a novel methodology that enables an efficient and accurate classification of cosmic objects (3 classes) based on evolutionary optimization of classifiers. This research collected the data from Sloan Digital Sky Survey database. In this work, we are proposing to develop a novel machine learning model to classify stellar spectra of stars, quasars and galaxies. First, the input data are normalized and then subjected to principal component analysis to reduce the dimensionality. Then, the genetic algorithm is implemented on the data which helps to find the optimal parameters for the classifiers. We have used 21 classifiers to develop an accurate and robust classification with fivefold cross-validation strategy. Our developed model has achieved an improvement in the accuracy using nineteen out of twenty-one models. We have obtained the highest classification accuracy of 99.16%, precision of 98.78%, recall of 98.08% and F1-score of 98.32% using evolutionary system based on voting classifier. The developed machine learning prototype can help the astronomers to make accurate classification of heavenly bodies in the sky. Proposed evolutionary system can be used in other areas where accurate classification of many classes is required.
Nachhaltiges Wachstum: Braucht Deutschland ein Investitionsprogramm?
Authors:   ZG Überblick
Published: March 2021

ZusammenfassungDer Wirtschaftseinbruch bedingt durch die Corona-Pandemie trifft in Deutschland auf einen Strukturwandel, der speziell durch die notwendige Digitalisierung und Dekarbonisierung sowie den demografischen Wandel getrieben ist. Einerseits wird kurzfristig durch das Corona-Konjunkturpaket und den EU-Aufbaufonds auf die Krise reagiert. Andererseits werden eine seit längerem existierende Investitionslücke sowie Hemmnisse hinsichtlich der Abrufung vorhandener Mittel bemängelt. Die Autor:innen diskutieren, welche fiskalischen Spielräume vorhanden sind, sowie auf welche Weise und in welche Bereiche öffentliche Investitionen in Deutschland getätigt werden müssten, um nachhaltiges Wirtschaftswachstum zu ermöglichen.
Boden, der vergessene Produktionsfaktor
Authors: Löhr Dirk , Olah Norbert , Huth Thomas 
Published: March 2021

ZusammenfassungIn der seit 2009 andauernden Niedrigzinsphase ging der Anteil der Kapitaleinkommen am Volkseinkommen zurück. Da sich der Anteil des Faktors Arbeit nicht wesentlich veränderte, gewann der Produktionsfaktor Boden an Bedeutung. In der Volkswirtschaftlichen Gesamtrechnung spiegelt sich dies jedoch nicht wider, da der Boden dort nicht gesondert ausgewiesen wird. Mithilfe des Henry-George-Theorems wird versucht, eine Methode zu entwickeln, die den Anteil des Faktors Boden quantifiziert. Der explizite Ausweis des Bodeneinkommens in der Volkswirtschaftlichen Gesamtrechnung könnte dazu beitragen, die Rolle dieses vernachlässigten Faktors zu korrigieren.
Das Bodenwertmodell für die Grundsteuer: Unzulänglichkeiten und mögliche Alternativen
Authors: Graf Gerhard 
Published: March 2021

Zusammenfassung2018 wurde das bisherige Verfahren der Grundsteuererhebung als verfassungswidrig erklärt. Den Bundesländern ist bis Ende 2024 Zeit für eine Neukonzeption der Grundsteuer eingeräumt worden. Baden-Württemberg hat eine Vorreiterrolle eingenommen und sich auf ein Bodenwertmodell festgelegt, das aber Ungleichbehandlungen nicht vermeiden kann und Gefahr läuft, als verfassungswidrig eingeordnet zu werden. Entsprechendes gilt auch für das Flächenmodell. Eine Alternative könnte eine Beteiligung der Gemeinden an der Einkommens- und Umsatzsteuer sein.