bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The spatial distribution of ERGs reflecting luminance and L-/M-cone-opponent signals
Authors: Vidal Kallene Summer , Aher Avinash J. , Ventura Dora Fix , Kremers Jan 
Published: January 2021

AbstractPurposeTo study the spatial retinal distribution of electroretinographic (ERG) responses that reflect signals in the L-/M-cone-opponent and luminance post-receptoral pathways.MethodsERG recordings to heterochromatic stimuli (sinusoidal counter-phase modulation of red and green LED light sources) were performed, while varying fractions of red and green modulation. Two temporal frequencies of the stimuli were employed: 12 Hz to record ERGs that reflect L-/M-cone-opponent signal and 36 Hz for recording ERG signals sensitive to stimulus luminance. Stimuli were about 20° in diameter and projected on various retinal locations: the fovea and four eccentricities (10°, 19°, 28° and 35°), each presented nasally, temporally, inferiorly and superiorly from the fovea.ResultsThe 36 Hz stimuli elicited responses that strongly varied with red fraction and were minimal at iso-luminance. Moreover, response phases changed abruptly at the minimum by 180°. In contrast, the responses to the 12 Hz stimuli had amplitudes and phases that changed more gradually with red fraction. The 36 Hz response amplitudes were maximal close to the fovea and sharply decreased with increasing distance from the fovea. The responses to 12 Hz stimuli were more broadly distributed across the retina.ConclusionsIn the present study, it was found that retinal eccentricity and direction from the fovea have distinct effects on ERGs reflecting different post-receptoral mechanisms. The results are in accord with previous findings that ERGs to 12 Hz stimuli are predominantly determined by the red–green chromatic content of the stimuli, thus reflecting activation in the L-/M-cone-opponent pathway, while responses to 36 Hz stimuli manifest post-receptoral luminance-dependent activation. We found that the response in the cone-opponent pathway is broadly comparable across the retina; in comparison, response amplitude of the luminance pathway strongly depends on retinal stimulus position.
Towards trustworthy blockchains: normative reflections on blockchain-enabled virtual institutions
Authors: Teng Yan 
Published: January 2021

AbstractThis paper proposes a novel way to understand trust in blockchain technology by analogy with trust placed in institutions. In support of the analysis, a detailed investigation of institutional trust is provided, which is then used as the basis for understanding the nature and ethical limits of blockchain trust. Two interrelated arguments are presented. First, given blockchains’ capacity for being institution-like entities by inviting expectations similar to those invited by traditional institutions, blockchain trust is argued to be best conceptualized as a specialized form of trust in institutions. Keeping only the core functionality and certain normative ideas of institutions, this technology broadens our understanding of trust by removing the need for third parties while retaining the value of trust for the trustor. Second, the paper argues that blockchains’ decentralized nature and the implications and effects of this decentralization on trust issues are double-edged. With the erasure of central points, the systems simultaneously crowd out the pivotal role played by traditional institutions and a cadre of representatives in meeting their assigned obligations and securing the functional systems’ trustworthy performances. As such, blockchain is positioned as a technology containing both disruptive features that can be embedded with meaningful normative values and inherent ethical limits that pose a direct challenge to the actual trustworthiness of blockchain implementations. Such limits are proposed to be ameliorated by facilitating a shift of responsibility to the groups of people directly associated with the engendering of trust in the blockchain context.
Mandevillian Virtues
Authors: Astola Mandi 
Published: January 2021

AbstractStudies in collective intelligence have shown that suboptimal cognitive traits of individuals can lead a group to succeed in a collective cognitive task, in recent literature this is called mandevillian intelligence. Analogically, as Mandeville has suggested, the moral vices of individuals can sometimes also lead to collective good. I suggest that this mandevillian morality can happen in many ways in collaborative activities. Mandevillian morality presents a challenge for normative virtue theories in ethics. The core of the problem is that mandevillian morality implies that individual vice is, in some cases, valuable. However, normative virtue theories generally see vice as disvaluable. A consequence of this is that virtue theories struggle to account for the good that can emerge in a collective. I argue that normative virtue theories can in fact accommodate for mandevillian emergent good. I put forward three distinctive features that allow a virtue theory to do so: a distinction between individual and group virtues, a distinction between motivational and teleological virtues, and an acknowledgement of the normativity of “vicious” roles in groups.
Supervision und Coaching als Resonanzraum für berührende Transformation
Authors: Schwarz Renate 
Published: January 2021

ZusammenfassungIm Zusammenhang von Supervision und Coaching wird folgender Dreiklang untersucht: das auf einem phänomenologischen Ansatz basierende Prinzip Resonanz und die damit entstehende Intersubjektivität; das Phänomen der Transformation als möglicher Effekt von Resonanz; die Entstehung eines Resonanzraums, eines Ermöglichungsraums für berührende, das heißt sinnerweiternde Transformation im Rahmen von Beratung.
Short-term stochastic movements of electricity prices and long-term investments in power generating technologies
Authors: Mari Carlo 
Published: January 2021

AbstractModeling probability distributions for the long-term dynamics of electricity prices is of key importance to value long-term investments under uncertainty in the power sector, such as investments in new generating technologies. Starting from accurate modeling of the short-term behavior of electricity prices, we derive long-term stationary probability distributions. Then, investments in new baseload generating technologies, namely gas, coal and nuclear power, are discussed. In order to compute the stochastic Net Present Value of investments in new generating technologies, the revenues from selling electricity in power markets as well as the costs which come from buying fuels at uncertain market prices must be evaluated over very long time horizons, i.e., over the whole lifetime of the plants. Starting from accurate short-term stochastic models of fuel prices in addition to electricity prices, we provide long-run probability distributions which are used to compute revenues and costs incurring during the whole lifetime of the plants. Five sources of uncertainty are taken into account, namely electricity market prices, fossil fuel prices (natural gas and coal prices), nuclear fuel prices and $$\hbox {CO}_{\text{2 }}$$

CO

2

prices. Our evaluation model is calibrated on empirical data to account for both historical market prices and macroeconomic views about future trends of electricity and fuel prices. The full probability density of the stochastic Net Present Value is thus determined for each generation technology considered in this study.
Intra-articular Injection of Chitosan-Based Supramolecular Hydrogel for Osteoarthritis Treatment
Authors: Mou Donggang , Yu Qunying , Zhang Jimei , Zhou Jianping , Li Xinmin , Zhuang Weiyi , Yang Xuming 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Background:
Pain and cartilage destruction caused by osteoarthritis (OA) is a major challenge in clinical treatment. Traditional intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid (HA) can relieve the disease, but limited by the difficulty of long-term maintenance of efficacy.

Methods:
In this study, an injectable and self-healing hydrogel was synthesized by in situ crosslinking of N-carboxyethyl chitosan (N-chitosan), adipic acid dihydrazide (ADH), and hyaluronic acid–aldehyde (HA-ALD).

Results:
This supramolecular hydrogel sustains good biocompatibility for chondrocytes. Intra-articular injection of this novel hydrogel can significantly alleviate the local inflammation microenvironment in knee joints, through inhibiting the inflammatory cytokines (such as TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-17) in the synovial fluid and cartilage at 2- and even 12-weeks post-injection. Histological and behavioral test indicated that hydrogel injection protected cartilage destruction and relieved pain in OA rats, in comparison to HA injection.

Conclusion:
This kind of novel hydrogel, which is superior to the traditional HA injection, reveals a great potential for the treatment of OA.
Lifestyle and silymarin: a fight against liver damage in NAFLD associated - prediabetic disease
Authors: Colletta Cosimo , Colletta Alessandro , Placentino Giuseppe 
Published: January 2021

AbstractBackgroundNonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is common in both prediabetic patients and healthy overweight individuals, yet it remains understudied. This study investigates the effects of hepatic steatosis on fibrosis and evaluates the major predictors of liver injury in prediabetes and whether this damage is reversible with Mediterranean diet and administration of the nutraceutical silymarin.MethodsFirst, a case-control study was conducted in which 212 patients with prediabetes, not known to have NAFLD, and 126 healthy controls underwent clinical evaluation, transient elastography with measurement of liver stiffness (LS) and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP). Subsequently, the 212 prediabetic patients were enrolled into a prospective randomized interventional study: 104 were allocated to Mediterranean diet alone while 108 followed Mediterranean diet plus supplementation with silymarin (a flavonolignan complex isolated fromSilybum marianumandMorus alba). The administered silymarin dose was 210 mg twice daily for 6 months. Clinical and instrumental evaluations were repeated at the end of the 6 month-study period. Prediabetics were genotyped for patatin like phospholipase domain containing 3 (PNPLA3).ResultsIn the case-control study, 29% of prediabetic patients have significant fibrosis defined as LS ≥ 7.9 kPa vs only 3% of controls (p < 0.001). PNPLA3 genotype CG/GG are significantly associated with significant fibrosis LS ≥ 7.9 relative to CC genotype χ2(1) = 76.466,p < 0.001. Binomial regression analysis shows that increase in BMI, ALT and AST are significantly associated with increased likelihood of significant fibrosis (χ2(7) = 191.9,p < .001) prior to intervention. In the randomized interventional study, prediabetics following Mediterranean diet alone (group 1) experienced a significant regression of fibrosis and decrease in ALT, HbA1c, FBS after 6 months (p < 0.001); similar findings were observed in patients following Mediterranean diet plus silymarin regimen (group 2); group 2 had a significant decrease in HbA1c relative to group 1 (95% CI: 37.8–38.6 vs 39.5–40.3,p < 0.001).ConclusionPNPLA3 genotype CG/GG and elevated BMI are the major predictors of significant fibrosis in prediabetic patients prior to intervention in this study. Mediterranean diet either alone or with silymarin treatment for 6 months leads to significant regression of liver damage and improvement of the glycemic profile in prediabetic patients. Yet, as combination treatment of silymarin with Mediterranean diet shows significant reduction of HbA1c when compared to diet alone, this suggests that silymarin may exert an independent anti-glycemic action.
A Rare Pulmonary Arterio-venous Malformation with Circular Shunting Due to Inferior Phrenic Artery Supply with Pulmonary Venous Drainage: a Case Report
Authors: Dobson James Whiteley , Barnor-Ahiaku Edem , Puppala Sapna , McPherson Simon John 
Published: January 2021

AbstractA rare case of a pulmonary arterio-venous malformation not requiring treatment is reported. An incidental peripheral right lower lobe intrapulmonary pulmonary arterio-venous malformation was identified on computed tomography. On catheter angiography, no pulmonary artery supply was identified. Systemic artery catheter arteriography identified systemic arterial supply from a conjoined inferior phrenic artery with pulmonary venous drainage to the left atrium. Due to this lung abnormality being a systemic arterial circulation to pulmonary venous circulation (left to left or circular) shunt, no treatment was indicated.
Evaluation and minimization of moment coefficient of tall buildings with trilateral cross-section via a surrogate model
Authors: Noormohamadian M. , Salajegheh E. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractWind load is commonly regarded as the dominant lateral load in designing tall buildings. Thus, it is of necessity to investigate the parameters affecting wind-induced loads. One of these parameters is the exterior shape of tall building, which using its aerodynamic shape modifications, wind loads, can be decreased. In this research, the exterior shape of different tall buildings with trilateral cross-section is constructed via the polynomial parameterization method. The advantage of the proposed method in producing the building geometry is that it is able to apply all aerodynamic modifications to triangular buildings. Then, the effect of each geometrical parameter on the moment coefficient along the drag is investigated as the aerodynamic response of tall buildings. Using geometric parameters screening, it was found that two geometrical parameters (T, b1) have the maximum impact on the aerodynamic response of the tall buildings which apply twist and curved sides modifications, respectively. Then, using the polynomial regression method, explicit relation of the mean moment coefficient in terms of these two geometrical parameters is illustrated using a third-order polynomial, which can be used as a surrogate model to evaluate the moment coefficient instead of computational fluid dynamic analysis. The surrogate model can significantly reduce the computational cost, and operate as an appropriate guide for building designers to investigate the effect of building geometrical variables on aerodynamic performance. Finally, the minimum point of the proposed model is determined as the optimal shape of the tall building. In addition, a comparative analysis of the aerodynamic responses of the optimal model with the basic triangle model shows that the moment coefficient is reduced by 56%. This demonstrates the considerable effect of these two geometrical parameters in improving the aerodynamic performance.
Optoelectronic, thermodynamic and vibrational properties of intermetallic MgAl2Ge2: a first-principles study
Authors: Karim A. M. M. Tanveer , Helal M. A. , Alam M. A. , Ali M. A. , Ara I. , Naqib S. H. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractIntermetallic compounds with CaAl2Si2-type structure have been studied extensively due to their exciting set of physical properties. Among various alumo-germanides, MgAl2Ge2 is the new representative of CaAl2Si2-type structures. Our previous study explores the structural aspects, mechanical behaviors and electronic features of intermetallic MgAl2Ge2. The present work discloses the results of optoelectronic, thermodynamic and vibrational properties of MgAl2Ge2 via density functional theory-based investigations. The band structure calculations suggest that MgAl2Ge2 possesses slight electronic anisotropy and the compound is metallic. The Fermi surface topology reveals that both electron- and hole-like sheets are present in MgAl2Ge2. The electron charge density map indicates toward the dominance of covalent bonding in MgAl2Ge2. The optical parameters are found to be independent of the state of the polarization of incident electric field. The large value of the reflectivity in the visible-to-ultraviolet region up to ~ 15 eV suggests that MgAl2Ge2 might be a good candidate as coating material to avoid solar heating. The thermodynamic properties have been calculated using the quasi-harmonic Debye approximation. We have found indications of lattice instability at the Brillouin zone boundary in the trigonal $$P\overline{3}m1$$

P

3
¯

m
1

phase from the phonon dispersion curves. However, the compound might be stable at elevated temperature and as a function of pressure. All the theoretical findings herein have been compared with the reported results (where available). Various implications of our results have been discussed in detail.
Graphic abstract
Representative volume element based micromechanical modelling of rod shaped glass filled epoxy composites
Authors: Sharma Aanchna , Munde Yashwant , Kushvaha Vinod 
Published: January 2021

AbstractIn this study, Representative Volume Element based micromechanical modeling technique has been implemented to assess the mechanical properties of glass filled epoxy composites. Rod shaped glass fillers having an aspect ratio of 80 were used for preparing the epoxy composite. The three-dimensional unit cell model of representative volume element was prepared with finite element analysis tool ANSYS 19 using the periodic square and hexagonal array with an assumption that there is a perfect bonding between the filler and the epoxy matrix. Results revealed that the tensile modulus increases and Poisson’s ratio decreases with increase in the volume fraction of the filler. To study the effect of filler volume fraction, the pulse echo techniques were used to experimentally measure the tensile modulus and Poisson’s ratio for 5% to 15% volume fraction of the filler. A good agreement was found between the RVE based predicted values and the experimental results.
The Superstition that Maims the Vulnerable: Establishing the Magnitude of Witchcraft-Driven Mistreatment of Children and Older Women in Ghana
Authors: Owusu Emmanuel Sarpong 
Published: January 2021

AbstractWitchcraft-triggered violence is widespread in contemporary African societies. This study establishes the magnitude and identifies the principal features, motivations and socio-cultural contexts of witchcraft-driven mistreatment of children and older women in Ghana. It achieves this aim by embarking on an in-depth analysis of cases of witchcraft-related abuse publicised in three renowned local Ghanaian media outlets between 2014 and 2020 and comparing the results with the findings of extant empirical studies. The data support the view that witchcraft-fuelled abuse is endemic in Ghana, and the worst victims are children and older women of low socio-economic background. It demonstrates that the commonest forms of mistreatment and violence resulting from belief in witchcraft are murder and torture (perpetrated with various weapons/tools), forcible confinement and enslavement, neglect and child labour. The most dominant motivations for such violations are the suspicion that the alleged witches are responsible for family or community members’ death or illness and the supposed victims’ economic or financial predicament. The study stresses the need to criminalise witchcraft accusations and bring pastors and traditional spiritualists under closer scrutiny since many witchcraft allegations and the ensuing persecutions are largely encouraged by their dubious activities.
Effect of an orientation-dependent non-linear grain fluidity on bulk directional enhancement factors
Authors: Rathmann Nicholas M. , Hvidberg Christine S. , Grinsted Aslak , Lilien David A. , Dahl-Jensen Dorthe 
Published: January 2021

AbstractBulk directional enhancement factors are determined for axisymmetric (girdle and single-maximum) orientation fabrics using a transversely isotropic grain rheology with an orientation-dependent non-linear grain fluidity. Compared to grain fluidities that are simplified as orientation independent, we find that bulk strain-rate enhancements for intermediate-to-strong axisymmetric fabrics can be up to a factor of ten larger, assuming stress homogenization over the polycrystal scale. Our work thus extends previous results based on simple basal slip (Schmid) grain rheologies to the transversely isotropic rheology, which has implications for large-scale anisotropic ice-flow modelling that relies on a transversely isotropic grain rheology. In order to derive bulk enhancement factors for arbitrary evolving fabrics, we expand the c-axis distribution in terms of a spherical harmonic series, which allows the rheology-required structure tensors through order eight to easily be calculated and provides an alternative to current structure-tensor-based modelling.
COMBINING ORAL TRADITIONS AND BAYESIAN CHRONOLOGICAL MODELING TO UNDERSTAND VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT IN THE GULF OF PAPUA (PAPUA NEW GUINEA)
Authors: Urwin Chris , Hua Quan , Arifeae Henry 
Published: January 2021

ABSTRACTWhen European colonists arrived in the late 19th century, large villages dotted the coastline of the Gulf of Papua (southern Papua New Guinea). These central places sustained long-distance exchange and decade-spanning ceremonial cycles. Besides ethnohistoric records, little is known of the villages’ antiquity, spatiality, or development. Here we combine oral traditional and 14C chronological evidence to investigate the spatial history of two ancestral village sites in Orokolo Bay: Popo and Mirimua Mapoe. A Bayesian model composed of 35 14C assays from seven excavations, alongside the oral traditional accounts, demonstrates that people lived at Popo from 765–575 cal BP until 220–40 cal BP, at which time they moved southwards to Mirimua Mapoe. The village of Popo spanned ca. 34 ha and was composed of various estates, each occupied by a different tribe. Through time, the inhabitants of Popo transformed (e.g., expanded, contracted, and shifted) the village to manage social and ceremonial priorities, long-distance exchange opportunities and changing marine environments. Ours is a crucial case study of how oral traditional ways of understanding the past interrelate with the information generated by Bayesian 14C analyses. We conclude by reflecting on the limitations, strengths, and uncertainties inherent to these forms of chronological knowledge.
SOME OBSERVATIONS AND SPECULATIONS ON PARTITIONS INTO d-TH POWERS
Authors: ULAS MACIEJ 
Published: January 2021

AbstractThe aim of this article is to provoke discussion concerning arithmetic properties of the function

$p_{d}(n)$
counting partitions of a positive integer n into dth powers, where

$d\geq 2$
. Apart from results concerning the asymptotic behaviour of

$p_{d}(n)$
, little is known. In the first part of the paper, we prove certain congruences involving functions counting various types of partitions into dth powers. The second part of the paper is experimental and contains questions and conjectures concerning the arithmetic behaviour of the sequence

$(p_{d}(n))_{n\in \mathbb {N}}$
, based on computations of

$p_{d}(n)$
for

$n\leq 10^5$
for

$d=2$
and

$n\leq 10^{6}$
for

$d=3, 4, 5$
.