bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evidence That HFE H63D Variant Is a Potential Disease Modifier in Cluster Headache
Authors: Papasavva Maria , Vikelis Michail , Katsarou Martha-Spyridoula , Siokas Vasileios , Dermitzakis Emmanouil , Papademetriou Christoforos , Karakostis Konstantinos , Lazopoulos George , Dardiotis Efthimios , Drakoulis Nikolaos 
Published: September 2021

AbstractCluster headache (CH) is a primary headache disorder with a complex genetic background. Several studies indicate a potential link between iron homeostasis and the pathophysiology of primary headaches. The HFE gene encodes for a protein involved in iron metabolism, while genetic variants in HFE have been associated with hereditary hemochromatosis (HH), an iron overload disorder. The objective of the current study was to examine the association of the more common HFE H63D variant, with the susceptibility to develop CH and diverse clinical phenotypes in a population of Southeastern European Caucasian (SEC) origin. Genomic DNA samples from 128 CH patients and 294 neurologically healthy controls were genotyped for the HFE rs1799945 (H63D) variant. H63D genotypic and allelic frequency distribution did not differ significantly between patients and controls (p > 0.05). Subgroup analysis revealed a significantly more frequent occurrence of the variant G allele in chronic compared to episodic CH patients, indicative for a possible correlation of the HFE gene with the susceptibility for disease chronification. Although homozygosity for the less prevalent H63D variant G allele was minimal in the CH cohort, the results of the present study are in accordance with previous studies in CH and migraine patients, suggesting that HFE H63D variant modifies the disease clinical characteristics. Hence, despite the absence of a per se association with CH susceptibility in the current SEC cohort, variability in HFE gene may be potentially regarded as a disease modifier genetic factor in CH.
The Effect of Odour Valence and Odour Detection Threshold on the Withholding and Cancellation of Reach-to-Press Responses
Authors: Albayay Javier , Castiello Umberto , Parma Valentina 
Published: September 2021

AbstractIntroductionWithholding uninitiated actions and cancelling ongoing ones are two main components of response inhibition, a key element of the executive control. Inhibitory performance is sensitive to emotional contexts elicited by subliminal and supraliminal visual material. However, whether stimuli from other sensory modalities, such as odours, would equally modulate response inhibition remains unclear. Here, we aimed to assess the effect of task-irrelevant odours as a function of their valence and threshold on both action withholding and action cancellation of reach-to-press movements.MethodThirty-two healthy participants performed a Go/No-Go task that included the presentation of pleasant (orange) and unpleasant (trimethyloxazole) odour primes at supra- and sub-threshold levels; clean air was included as a control condition. The reach-to-press responses were composed of an initial release phase and a subsequent reaching phase.ResultsOnly the supra-threshold pleasant (vs. control) odour impaired action withholding. Moreover, the pleasant (vs. control) odour—presented at both sub- and supra-threshold levels—elicited more accurate Go responses, whereas the sub- and supra-threshold pleasant and unpleasant (vs. control) odours triggered faster responses in the release phase. Additionally, only the supra-threshold pleasant (vs. unpleasant) odour impaired action cancellation in the reaching phase. Furthermore, reaching responses were slower following the supra-threshold unpleasant (vs. control) odour.ConclusionsOur findings extend the sparse literature on the impact of odour stimuli on goal-directed behaviour, highlighting the role of both odour valence and threshold in the modulation of response inhibition.ImplicationsDetermining the mechanisms by which odour stimuli modulate response inhibition lays the foundations for research on odour-triggered disinhibition.
Die Lausitz als Modellregion einer nachhaltigen Transformation
Authors: Retkowski Alexandra 
Published: September 2021

ZusammenfassungSeit dem im Jahre 2019 beschlossenen Kohleausstieg ist die Lausitz als eine der drei bundesrepublikanischen Kohlereviere ins Bewusstsein einer breiteren Öffentlichkeit gerückt. Es handelt sich um eine Region, die sich nach dem dreißigjährigen Transformationsprozess im Zuge des Einheitsprozesses dadurch erneut in einem tiefgreifenden Strukturwandel befindet. Der Beitrag geht auf Basis einer qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse von Positionspapieren verschiedener Lausitzer Akteur*innengruppen aus Politik, Wirtschaft und Zivilgesellschaft der Frage nach, wie sich in diesen Stellungnahmen Forderungen und Zielvorstellungen eines sozialökologischen Wandlungsprozesses abbilden. Als Kategoriensystem wird auf die 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) der von der Bundesrepublik unterzeichneten AGENDA 2030 der United Nations (UN) zurückgegriffen, die mit den fünf Kernbotschaften People, Prosperity, Planet, Partnership und Peace ein Programm zur ökonomischen, ökologischen und sozialen Nachhaltigkeit im Sinne eines integrativen Nachhaltigkeitskonzepts entwickelt hat. Das empirische Vorgehen verfolgt ein doppeltes Ziel: Es werden die Gemeinsamkeiten zwischen den Perspektiven der Lausitzer Positionspapiere und den 17 SDGs herausgearbeitet, sodass auf dieser Basis das Profilbild eines möglichen Lausitzer Transformationsprozesses entlang der AGENDA 2030 entsteht. Zum anderen wird die Bedeutung der Sozialen Arbeit innerhalb dieses Profilbilds ausgelotet und im Anschluss diskutiert, welche Potenziale die Nachhaltigkeitsorientierung der 17 SDGs für die Soziale Arbeit hat.
Age and Growth of Southern Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus maccoyii, Based on Otolith Microstructure
Authors: Ku Jeong Eun , Lee Sung Il , Kim Doo Nam 
Published: September 2021

AbstractAge and growth of southern bluefin tuna (SBT, Thunnus maccoyii) were estimated based on otoliths collected by Korean tuna longline vessels in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans from 2015 to 2019. A total of 739 specimens were used to estimate age and growth of SBT, with sizes ranging from 66 to 181 cm in fork length. It was confirmed that the otolith is a suitable aging characteristic for determining SBT age, and otolith annuli can be used as an annual ring. The relationship between fork length (FL) and total weight (W) was W = 7.7e − 05FL2.722 (R2 = 0.874). The von Bertalanffy’s growth parameters estimated from the non-linear method using length-at-age data were L∞ = 170.0 cm, K = 0.200/year, t0 = − 1.615 years, with 95% confidence intervals between 166 and 175 cm for L∞, 0.17–0.23/year for K, and − 2.27 to − 1.09 years for t0 from bootstrapping. The Kimura’s likelihood ratio test results of the models under assumptions of common and different parameters between female and male concluded that the growth of SBT has no difference between genders.
A Latent Topic Analysis and Visualization Framework for Category-Level Target Promotion in the Supermarket
Authors: Sun Yi , Hayashi Teruaki , Ohsawa Yukio 
Published: September 2021

AbstractDeciding when and which products to recommend to whom is always an essential issue for retailers. In this study, we propose a mixed framework with two components to capture customer buying behavior and its changes over time and visualize these results to better help retailers choose and target products strategically for marketing. In this framework, a topic model is first used to extract customer’s purchase behavior instead of association rules or K-means as mainly used in market field. To automatically choose the optimal number of topics, we implement an approach proposed by Koltcov et al. on point-of-sale (POS) data in the supermarket. Meanwhile, to grasp the change of topics over time, we divided monthly POS data in half and applied the topic model with Renyi entropy separately. The results suggest that splitting data might be a better way to understand customer behavior. Second, we consider how to develop an effective way to visualize the results of the topic model, which is essential, because in a supermarket context, simply knowing which product categories are included under which topics is not enough to support how a supermarket promotes their products. To address this, we design a three-layer visualization approach to better interpret the topic model results and to help retailers design target promotion strategies. The design of visualization was overlooked by studies related to the use of topic models on supermarket data. Finally, to demonstrate the usefulness of our proposed framework, we conduct a simple scenario-based analysis between our framework and other models, such as Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) and the Dynamic Topic Model (DTM). The results show that for most periods, our proposed framework outperforms LDA and DTM.
A comprehensive research in chemical consolidator/stabilizer agents on sand production control
Authors: Tabar Mohammad Azadi , Bagherzadeh Hadi , Shahrabadi Abbas , Dahim Sadegh 
Published: September 2021

AbstractSand or fine is a typical product in many processing of oil production from unconsolidated and weakly consolidated formations. High variation of in situ stress, fluid production rate above maximum sand-free rate, and water production are main primary sources of the sand production. Sand production can cause hazardous operational problems to the facilities, pipes, and wellbore. Hence, it is a significant problem that requires to be managed and studied. To minimize the operational impacts of particle migration, chemical consolidators/stabilizers can be utilized to alter surface properties of sand and formation particles. The decreasing zeta potential besides increasing the cohesion between sand and formation particles could result in controlled sand production. However, understanding the mechanism and application of chemical methods to alleviate sand production is not well-discussed. This study presents and discusses chemical consolidator/stabilizer agents, which may be applied for managing sand production in the petroleum industry. This was achieved through a comprehension review of the literature and the application of chemical consolidators/stabilizers in other fields such as bauxite residue (red mud and red sand) control, desert sand, mine reclamation, wind erosion control, unpaved road modification, and enhancement of water retention and soil infiltration properties that are similar to formation sand. Standard experimental methods in various fields, for performance analysis of chemical consolidator/stabilizer agents, are compared and summarized. The consolidation/stabilization mechanisms of various types of chemical consolidator/stabilizer agents are discussed and compared. This review potentially can be used to inhibit blind usage of chemicals and functions as a reference to additional research in sand production control in petroleum engineering. The results are appropriate for extending quantitative approaches for performance evaluation of sand consolidator/stabilizer agents.
Cardinal estimates involving the weak Lindelöf game
Authors: Aurichi Leandro , Bella Angelo , Spadaro Santi 
Published: September 2021

AbstractWe show that if X is a first-countable Urysohn space where player II has a winning strategy in the game $$G^{\omega _1}_1({\mathcal {O}}, {\mathcal {O}}_D)$$

G
1

ω
1

(
O
,

O
D

)

(the weak Lindelöf game of length $$\omega _1$$

ω
1

) then X has cardinality at most continuum. This may be considered a partial answer to an old question of Bell, Ginsburg and Woods. It is also the best result of this kind since there are Hausdorff first-countable spaces of arbitrarily large cardinality where player II has a winning strategy even in the weak Lindelöf game of countable length. We also tackle the problem of finding a bound on the cardinality of a first-countable space where player II has a winning strategy in the game $$G^{\omega _1}_{fin}({\mathcal {O}}, {\mathcal {O}}_D)$$

G

fin

ω
1

(
O
,

O
D

)

, providing some partial answers to it. We finish by constructing an example of a compact space where player II does not have a winning strategy in the weak Lindelöf game of length $$\omega _1$$

ω
1

.
Sensitivity analysis of queueing models based on polynomial chaos approach
Authors: Ameur Lounes , Bachioua Lahcene 
Published: September 2021

AbstractQueueing systems are modeled by equations which depend on a large number of input parameters. In practice, significant uncertainty is associated with estimates of these parameters, and this uncertainty must be considered in the analysis of the model. The objective of this paper is to propose a sensitivity analysis approach for a queueing model, presenting parameters that follow a Gaussian distribution. The approach consists in decomposing the output of the model (stationary distribution of the model) into a polynomial chaos. The sensitivity indices, allowing to quantify the contribution of each parameter to the variance of the output, are obtained directly from the coefficients of decomposition. The proposed approach is then applied to M/G/1/N queueing model. The most influential parameters are highlighted. Finally several numerical and data examples are sketched out to illustrate the accuracy of the proposed method and compare them with Monte Carlo simulation. The results of this work will be useful to practitioners in various fields of theoretical and applied sciences.
Angekündigter assistierter Suizid in der Schweiz – Ein Fallbericht
Authors: Vyssoki Benjamin , Stich Michaela , Eder-Pissarek Elisabeth , Jez Ingrid , Dobias Stefan , Unger Annemarie , Kautzky Alexander , Psota Georg 
Published: September 2021

ZusammenfassungAktive Sterbehilfe ist aktuell in Österreich noch gesetzlich verboten. Aufgrund einer Entscheidung des Verfassungsgerichtshofs wäre assistierter Suizid ab dem Jahr 2022 gänzlich legal. Eine gesetzliche Regelung, die Grenzen zwischen legalen Formen einer Assistenz sowie deren Voraussetzungen und weiterhin unerlaubten Assistenzleistungen zieht, ist derzeit noch nicht in Sicht. Ein Suizid, der auf Verlangen des Suizidenten von fremder Hand herbeigeführt wird, bleibt jedenfalls weiterhin strafbar; dies auch dann, wenn der Suizident physisch nicht mehr in der Lage ist, bei seiner Tötung mitzuwirken. In mehreren europäischen Ländern wurde aktive Sterbehilfe bereits legalisiert und in manchen Ländern, wie zum Beispiel der Schweiz, kann assistierter Suizid auch ohne lebenszeitlimitierende Grunderkrankung, bei unerträglichem Leid und insuffizient vorhandenen weitere Behandlungsmöglichkeiten in Anspruch genommen werden. In diesem Fallbericht wird die Kasuistik einer Patientin geschildert welche, als Grunderkrankung an einer Persönlichkeitsstörung leidend, einen assistierten Suizid in der Schweiz geplant hatte. Es werden die ethischen und juristischen Hintergründe dieses Fallberichts diskutiert.Das zur Verfügung stellen assistierter Suizidmöglichkeiten birgt die große Gefahr, dass Menschen mit psychischer Erkrankung, insbesondere bei schweren depressiven Episoden, Behandlungsangebote ablehnen und anstelle Suizid durch einen professionellen Sterbehilfeanbieter wählen könnten. Insbesondere gewarnt werden muss vor der Tatsache, dass Menschen in aktuell schwer depressivem Zustandsbild aufgrund dessen zumeist unter eingeschränkter Entscheidungsfähigkeit leiden und nur bedingt über die Möglichkeit der freien Willensentscheidung verfügen.
A critical reflection on the Commission on Religious Education’s proposed National Entitlement to Religion and Worldviews in England and Wales
Authors: Salter Emma 
Published: September 2021

AbstractThis paper responds to the Commission on Religious Education’s proposed National Entitlement to Religion and Worldviews in England and Wales. Qualitative data were collected from nine English primary Religious Education (RE) teachers to establish their responses to the proposed National Entitlement from their perspectives as RE practitioners. Findings show that teachers were supportive of the high ambitions the National Entitlement has for RE, that they saw opportunities for pupils’ social and personal development as well as advancement in substantive knowledge, but that they were concerned about content-heavy curricula and structural barriers to implementing the National Entitlement. In response, the paper examines ‘cumulatively sufficient’ curricular design and ‘pedagogical reduction’ as strategies to activate the National Entitlement, and raises questions about ‘instrumental purposes’ in the conceptualisation of Religion and Worldviews. The paper recommends sharper account of the originality of Religions and Worldviews in order to advance the cause of the National Entitlement.
A Novel Bionic Piezoelectric Actuator Based on the Walrus Motion
Authors: Li Jianping , Cai Junjie , Wan Nen , Hu Yili , Wen Jianming , Kan Junwu , Chen Song , Zhao Hongwei 
Published: September 2021

AbstractA novel bionic piezoelectric actuator based on the walrus motion to achieve high performance on large working stroke for micro/nano positioning systems is first proposed in this study. The structure of the proposed walrus type piezoelectric actuator is described, and its motion principle is presented in details. An experimental system is set up to verify its feasibility and explore its working performances. Experimental results indicate that the proposed walrus type piezoelectric actuator could realize large working stroke with only one driving unit and one coupled clamping unit; the maximum stepping displacement is ΔLmax = 19.5 μm in the case that the frequency f = 1 Hz and the voltage U = 120 V; the maximum speed Vmax = 2275.2 μm · s−1 when the frequency f = 900 Hz and the voltage U = 120 V; the maximum vertical load mmax = 350 g while the voltage U = 120 V and the frequency f = 1 Hz. This study shows the feasibility of mimicking the bionic motion of the real walrus animal to the design of piezoelectric actuators, which is hopeful for the real application of micro/nano positioning systems to achieve large working stroke and high performance.
Evaluation of nano-confined catalytic oxidation air purification technology on eliminating marijuana chemicals and odour
Authors: Kwok Abiel , Hong Christopher , Kwok Ezra 
Published: September 2021

AbstractThe novel air purification technology, Nano-Confined Catalytic Oxidation (NCCO), has been proven to be effective at eliminating air pollutants. With the increasing legalization and decriminalization of medicinal and recreational cannabis and related products, respectively, in many countries and jurisdictions around the world, concerns have been raised about indoor air quality from smoking cannabis products, such as marijuana, which produce gaseous pollutants and intense odour. In this study, NCCO technology has been evaluated for its effectiveness in reducing key marijuana concentrations in polluted indoor air by direct measurements and odour intensity assessments by human volunteers. For the odour intensity measurements, 20 non-cannabis adults participated in the odour assessment. The results are remarkable and statistically significant. The reduction in Dronabinol, a pharmaceutical form of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), Cannabidiol (CBD) and Cannabinol, averages 93.4%, whereas that in airborne marijuana compounds with no air purification only averages 6.2%. The technology also demonstrates statistically significant reductions in PM2.5, PM10 and total volatile organic compounds generated from marijuana smoke. The technology was able to restore high levels of harmful particulate matter to normal baseline levels. Furthermore, the odour assessment conducted by a group of 20 volunteers also confirmed statistically significant reductions in marijuana odour by 55.6% after 50 min of air purification.
Meteorology and climatology of historical weekly wind and solar power resource droughts over western North America in ERA5
Authors: Brown Patrick T. , Farnham David J. , Caldeira Ken 
Published: September 2021

AbstractWind and solar electricity generation is projected to expand substantially over the next several decades due both to rapid cost declines as well as regulation designed to achieve climate targets. With increasing reliance on wind and solar generation, future energy systems may be vulnerable to previously underappreciated synoptic-scale variations characterized by low wind and/or surface solar radiation. Here we use western North America as a case study region to investigate the historical meteorology of weekly-scale “droughts” in potential wind power, potential solar power and their compound occurrence. We also investigate the covariability between wind and solar droughts with potential stresses on energy demand due to temperature deviations away human comfort levels. We find that wind power drought weeks tend to occur in late summer and are characterized by a mid-level atmospheric ridge centered over British Columbia and high sea level pressure on the lee side of the Rockies. Solar power drought weeks tend to occur near winter solstice when the seasonal minimum in incoming solar radiation co-occurs with the tendency for mid-level troughs and low pressure systems over the U.S. southwest. Compound wind and solar power drought weeks consist of the aforementioned synoptic pattern associated with wind droughts occurring near winter solstice when the solar resource is at its seasonal minimum. We find that wind drought weeks are associated with high solar power (and vice versa) both seasonally and in terms of synoptic meteorology, which supports the notion that wind and solar power generation can play complementary roles in a diversified energy portfolio at synoptic spatiotemporal scales over western North America.
The impact of anode materials on the performance of electrochemical CO2 reduction to carbon monoxide
Authors: Hika Wasihun Abebe , Woldu Abebe Reda 
Published: September 2021

AbstractElectrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR) has been investigated for decades. CO2RR to value-added products is an indispensable option to address climate change and energy storage needs. We believed that CO2RR performance can be influenced by the anode materials employed for the oxidation half-reaction. Although H2O oxidation near-neutral solution does not being received greater attention, there is also an idea that it plays an important role not only in completing CO2reduction cycle, but also to significantly influence the cathode during reduction. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the impact of three different anode materials (platinum, glassy carbon, and hematite) on the activity and selectivity of the gold cathode in an electrochemical CO2reduction reaction. Linear sweep voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy have been used to study electrocatalytic properties. In the meantime, x-ray diffraction is used to investigate the crystal planes of the as-prepared electrodes, while the work function and morphology of Au films were measured by atomic force microscope. Similar activity and selectivity to CO formation were observed when platinum and hematite were used as counter electrodes, while the least CO formation was recorded on the glassy carbon counter electrode.Graphic abstractThe protons (H+) obtained from the oxidation of H2O onto these three different anodic materials (platinum, glassy carbon, hematite) are moving faster through the bulk of the solution to the working electrode. Consequently, the reaction occurred on the working electrode can be influenced by the number of protons coming from the anode.