bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Bone Powder and Wild Plants: Subsistence Strategies of Early Neolithic Settlers in North China
Authors: Wei Xingtao , Sun Yibin , Li Jindou , Zhang Xiaohu , Sun Yongge , Cui Tianxing 
Published: November 2024

ABSTRACTThe transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture is a major turning point in human history. In North China, although crops were cultivated as early as 10,000 BP, they only became staple foods with the establishment of a fully functional agricultural system between 6000 and 5000 BP. Thus, exploring the subsistence strategies of this transitional period is crucial for understanding how hunter‐gatherers gradually evolved into farmers. The Peiligang culture (c. 9000–7000 BP) is one of the most significant early Neolithic cultures in this region. In this study, we investigated the crust residues from the pottery Ding‐tripods (鼎) dating to the middle Peiligang culture (8800–8200 cal bp) at the Xielaozhuang site using a multidisciplinary approach that includes FTIR, XRD, SEM‐EDS, and starch granule analyses. Our results indicate that a mixture containing bone powder, Panicoideae, Triticeae, and acorns was prepared in these pottery Ding‐tripods. This finding represents one of the earliest known uses of bone powder globally, contributing valuable insights to the ongoing debate regarding fragmented bone assemblages and bone grease extraction. Moreover, combined with macrobotanical and zooarchaeological data, our findings suggest that agriculture had not yet fully supplanted hunting and gathering, as wild plants and animals continued to play a critical role in the diet at the Xielaozhuang site during the Peiligang culture. The use of bone powder alongside wild plant starches illustrates how these early communities invested significant time and effort into transforming inedible resources into consumable food, a strategy crucial for obtaining sufficient calories to sustain a sedentary lifestyle, especially during periods of resource scarcity. These insights illuminate the subsistence strategies of early Neolithic societies transitioning from reliance on hunting‐gathering to more settled practices.
Analysing perceptions of nature and nature's contributions to people for a Swiss ecological infrastructure
Authors: Cracco Marina , Walters Gretchen , Loup Romain 
Published: November 2024

Abstract

Understanding how a population perceives nature and nature's contributions to people is key to designing a society's ecological infrastructure. Narrative‐based research can capture how people perceive and value nature.

Using the Intergovernmental Science‐Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) framework, through a survey, we capture narratives to assess the value and perceptions of nature and its contributions of Swiss residents living inside and outside parks. We examined 924 narratives of experiences (26% response rate) in nature from a large representative sample of the study areas' populations. This research grants agency to study participants to assess the social value of nature through experience interpretation, thus reducing the interpretation bias of the researchers.

Residents in these regions perceive parks, and other areas where nature has been prioritized, provide more benefits than other areas; nature's intrinsic value is as equally important or, for some, even more important than its importance for the economy or culture; and that the perception on the state of nature and nature's contributions differ inside and outside parks.

As one of the few exploratory studies to examine perceptions of all types of contributions of nature, using the IPBES international framework, and looking at nature inside and outside parks, this work contributes to strengthening the design and management of parks and ecological infrastructure in Switzerland and beyond. People's values and perceptions of nature provide information to establish ecological infrastructure that could transcend the boundaries of the parks into the larger landscape.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Molecular Propeller Tethering on a Dipeptide Induces a One‐Step Conversion of Its Secondary Structure on Water Surface Promoted by Chiral Supramolecular Assembly
Authors: Biswas Sandip , Umesh  , Das Bidisa , Koley Pradyot , Acharya Somobrata , Bhattacharya Santanu 
Published: November 2024

AbstractWater provides a unique surface for the formation of directed self‐assembly and transformation of secondary structures of peptides and proteins as witnessed in the biological systems. Herein a one‐step transformation of an amyloid‐derived dipeptide is reported from β‐sheet to α‐helix structures on the water surface, facilitated by chiral supramolecular assembly. The study utilizes various analytical techniques to elucidate the structural transformation and the supramolecular packing of the peptide assemblies. Organizations such as spherical aggregates and molecular nanowires containing β‐sheet structure are converted into (2D) molecular sheets comprising a larger planar area yet with a molecular level thickness of α‐helix structure. The conformational features of the β‐sheet to α‐helix structural transformation are dominated by the intermolecular H‐bonding, π–π stacking, and C─H···π interactions. Strikingly, the dynamic changes in the dihedral (intramolecular) angle between the aromatic rings of the dipeptide at the water surface alter the molecular packing and shorten the intermolecular H‐bonds with larger binding energies required for the secondary structural transformation. Thus, the novel one‐step strategy reports herein offers a simple, efficient, and hitherto unprecedented way of chiral supramolecular assembly directed total secondary structural transformation of the dipeptide on water surface.
Discovering Multi‐Compositional Li‐Argyrodite Solid‐State Electrolytes via Experimental Active Learning
Authors: Cho Min Young , Pyo Kyunglim , Lee Byung Do , Kim Heejeong , Shin Jiyoon , Seo Jung Yong , Park Woon Bae , Sohn Kee‐Sun 
Published: November 2024

AbstractSignificant research has focused on doping third‐party elements into representative Li‐Argyrodites, which typically consist of a metal cation, a sulfide anion, and a halide. These efforts have generally been limited to doping or substituting a single element at each atomic site in the Argyrodite structure, resulting in, at most, binary combinations at each site. Multi‐elemental doping or substitution poses a challenge due to the so‐called combinatorial explosion issue. Here, the study reports quaternary and ternary combinations at either the cation or anion sites, optimizing the composition for ambient‐temperature ionic conductivity. Managing such a complex multi‐compositional system requires artificial intelligence that surpasses human intuition. A particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is employed within an active learning framework to tackle this multi‐dimensional optimization problem. Unlike typical active learning approaches that rely on theoretical computational data, the process is driven by experimental data from the synthesis and characterization of a few hundred multi‐compositional Argyrodite samples This experimental active learning approach ultimately enables identifying a novel multi‐compositional Li‐Argyrodite, exhibiting ambient‐temperature ionic conductivity of 13.02 mS cm⁻¹ and enhanced cell performance, with the composition Li6.425Ge0.25Si0.375Sb0.375S4.8I1.2.
Sensitivity of concrete network arch bridges to time‐dependent and thermal effects
Authors: Bagheriehnajjar Yasmin , Yousefpour Hossein 
Published: November 2024

AbstractNetwork arches are efficient tied arch bridges with inclined hangers, in which some hangers cross each other twice or more. This paper is focused on one of the concerns regarding the use of concrete network arches, which is their sensitivity to environmental and time‐dependent effects. A validated 3D finite element model of a real‐world concrete network arch bridge that was instrumented during construction and over time was developed, in which shrinkage and creep of concrete, as well as solar radiation, daily and seasonal temperature changes, and heat transfer phenomena were simulated. Fifty‐four variants of this reference bridge, each with a different hanger arrangement, were developed and subjected to environmental and time‐dependent effects for 1 year, during which fluctuations in strains, stresses, axial forces, bending moments, and hanger forces were evaluated. Results showed that thermal changes affect network arches much more significantly than concrete creep and shrinkage. Network arches with the arrangement in which the distance between nodes on the tie varies according to the geometry of an ellipse, exhibited the least sensitivity to environmental and time‐dependent effects, whereas the radial and vertical arrangements showed smaller tendency for hanger relaxation due to such effects.
Memory as Touch: The Hand, Amputation, and Sensory Contagion
Authors: Jacob Ramalho Joana 
Published: November 2024

AbstractIn the highly multisensory process of re-collecting memories, the Gothic insistently privileges touch as a motif of both separation and intimacy. Whereas most scholars elect a study of the gaze, founded on ocularcentrism, as their preferred framework for studying character relations as well as our own positioning as viewers, I turn to the hand as a key vehicle of re-collection and a primary site of affect and affection. Looking at hand amputation as portrayed in Orlacs Hände (Wiene, 1924) and The Unknown (Browning, 1927), this chapter draws on disability studies to interrogate the complication of identity in relation to a body that has become othered and exilic through injury. Based on the work of, among others, Karen Barad, Monika Pietrzak-Franger, and Thomas Fahy, I analyse the wounded body as a discursive site that is fundamentally political. The sorrows and existential dilemmas of the differently-abled protagonists find visual reference in wounded war bodies, used and then disposed of by the state.
Pathological Journeys, Gloves, and ‘Affect-Logic’
Authors: Jacob Ramalho Joana 
Published: November 2024

AbstractThis chapter follows on from the idea of re-collection as a dangerous process and conceptualises the perils of preying on an other’s memory through the general postulates of Luc Ciompi’s (1982) affective-cognitive metatheory which, in the context of pathological conditions, examines how rational thought and logic depend on affects. A close reading of visual and manual hapticity in Rebecca (Hitchcock, 1940) and Peter Ibbetson (Hathaway, 1935) will illustrate these concerns. Mnemonic spaces, accessed through transgressive curiositas in Rebecca and shared telepathic dreams in Peter Ibbetson, devolve into imprisoning structures that feed the subject’s obsession with re-membering and provoke a change from an ‘everyday logic’ to a ‘psychotic logic’. Exclusion from a particular environment and, conversely, the construction of a sense of belonging are both signalled by the intervention of intensely manual memory-objects, such as gloves and rings. In both films, the need to touch, possess, and transgress spatial, temporal, and psychological boundaries is directly linked to the nexus between home and exile, one which is haunted by an acute preoccupation with memory. Ultimately, the cinematic Gothic draws forth a failed relationship with re-collection, which allows for a questioning of the overall desirability of memory.
Conclusion: Routes of Re-membering
Authors: Jacob Ramalho Joana 
Published: November 2024

AbstractThe cinematic gothic aesthetic, as I have described it in these pages, is an aesthetics of memory, accented in its transcultural authorial roots and displaced characters. The accented style of the films responds to the directors’ socio-cultural condition of displacement, inscribing into the mise-en-scène, atmosphere, and plotlines experiences of dislocation, trespassing, claustrophobia, unbelonging, loss, change, and motifs of itinerancy. In their paralleling of life and art, the films become visual archives of mourning: cinematic representations of personal memory sifted through the realisation that the past is forever lost, memory is always reconstructed and contaminated by the imagination, identity is porous, and happiness is either unattainable or resides in death. Driven by an overpowering and often maddening impetus to re-collect, the characters attempt to ground their lives in something tangible, something that can be held, preserved, and revisited to counteract the prevailing instability of their existence. Amid the ruptures and fissures of memory, objects represent fixity and continuity; yet, the characters’ affective, haptic encounters with memory-objects merely feed their obsession with re-membering and thus ultimately constitute a further motif of exile. Haunted, incomplete, often divorced or estranged from a sense of identity, the gothic subject that emerges from these films stands as an avatar of a fractured, postmodern selfhood, with its multiple, disjointed voices and fragmented personae.
The State of Marriage in Yemen
Authors: Al Salahi Fouad , Al Aazi Arwa 
Published: November 2024

AbstractThis chapter deploys an analytical method for approaching the issue of marriage in Yemen against the backdrop of a tumultuous social situation. For over five years now, Yemeni society has been going through a political and social crisis, where economic, social, and political challenges are on the rise. The latter cast their shadows over the family in Yemen and its roles and functions—and women are particularly affected. Marriage, as both concept and phenomenon, cannot be studied in the absence of a thorough understanding of its general social context. The significance of marriage and the dynamics of its formation cannot be separated from the context that functions as the structural force shaping individuals and their culture, and determining their interactions and interrelations. The point is particularly true of marriage and family filiation, since they form new kinds of bonds and construe people as relatives.
Toxicokinetics of benzotriazole UV stabilizer UV-P in humans after single oral administration
Authors: Fischer Corinna , Hiller Julia , Leibold Edgar , Göen Thomas 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
UV-P (2-(2H-Benzotriazol-2-yl)-p-cresol) is used as an ultraviolet (UV) light absorber in coating products, paints, adhesives, and sealants. Due to its widespread industrial and consumer uses, human exposure to UV-P is conceivable. In the study presented herein, initial data on its human in vivo metabolism were obtained for three study participants after single oral administration of 0.3 mg of UV-P/kg body weight. Urine and blood samples of two volunteers were collected up to 48 h after exposure. The third study participant donated urine and blood samples up to 72 h. Maximum levels of UV-P in blood of 184 ± 36 µg/l (85 ± 3% as conjugates) were reached 2.4 ± 1.2 h post-exposure. Maximum excretion rates of UV-P in urine of 2896 ± 884 µg/h (completely conjugated) were reached 3.5 ± 1.1 h post-exposure. 37.2 ± 5.4% of the orally administered dose of UV-P was recovered in urine within 48 h post-exposure. The present study provides insight into the complex absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination (ADME) processes of benzotriazole UV stabilizers (BUVS). The study also demonstrates differences in the ADME between sterically hindered BUVS, such as UV-327 and UV-328, and sterically unhindered BUVS, such as UV-P, in which the phenolic hydroxyl group is readily accessible for conjugation with glucuronic acid or sulfate.
Super delayed phase imaging in gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI: investigating factors contributing to improved liver contrast
Authors: Kobayashi Tomohiro , Kozaka Kazuto , Matsubara Takashi , Yokka Akira , Igarashi Saya , Kitao Azusa , Yoneda Norihide , Okuda Miho , Gabata Toshifumi , Matsui Osamu , Kobayashi Satoshi 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
Objectives
To assess whether extended delayed phase imaging, performed after gadoxetic acid administration for 60–120 min (termed as super delayed phase [SDP]), improves liver contrast and nodule visibility in patients with chronic liver disease and to identify predictors for contrast enhancement.

Methods
In this retrospective study, 116 patients with chronic liver disease were selected from 6933 gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI examinations, which included SDP images. The liver-to-spleen contrast (LSC) was quantitatively evaluated, and factors influencing the improvement of LSC were analyzed. By comparing the standard hepatobiliary phase images at 20 min post-contrast (HBP20) with SDP images, nodule visibility was evaluated by two readers who were blinded to the study.

Results
SDP significantly enhanced LSC (SDP: 1.81 ± 0.48 vs HBP20: 1.50 ± 0.34, p < 0.001) and improved nodule visibility in patients with initially poor LSC. Total bilirubin levels and visible biliary excretion during HBP20 are predictors of LSC enhancement. Furthermore, nodule visibility scores significantly increased in the group with poor initial contrast (Reader 1: from 2.92 ± 1.57 to 3.79 ± 1.44; Reader 2: from 2.34 ± 1.42 to 3.36 ± 1.57, p < 0.001).

Conclusion
SDP enhanced liver contrast and nodule detection in patients with chronic liver disease, particularly in those with impaired liver function. Total bilirubin levels and visible biliary excretion during HBP20 are useful predictors of improvement. This technique may improve the diagnostic utility of MRI for hepatocarcinogenesis in cirrhotic nodules, specifically for detecting precursors of hepatocellular carcinoma, in cirrhotic patients with compromised liver function.

Key Points
QuestionIn gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI, inadequate liver contrast can occur in patients with impaired liver function, potentially limiting the diagnostic value of the examination.
FindingsSDP images improved liver parenchymal signal intensity and visibility of hepatocellular carcinoma, even in cases with impaired liver function.
Clinical relevanceThe addition of SDP imaging in gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI improves liver contrast and early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma, especially in patients with impaired liver function, such as Child–Pugh B or C, aiding in making appropriate treatment decisions.

Graphical Abstract
Skull base osteomyelitis: HBO as a therapeutic concept Effects on clinical and radiological results
Authors: Simon Miriam , Dreyer Sven , Joost Insa , Rubbert Christian , Schipper Jörg , Kristin Julia 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
Introduction
Skull base osteomyelitis is a rare but potentially life-threatening disease. It usually occurs as a complication of severe otitis externa or infection in the nasopharynx, often in immunocompromised patients. The therapeutic strategy is complex, patient-specific and requires interdisciplinary cooperation.

Material and method
A retrospective evaluation of all patients with skull base osteomyelitis at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of the University Hospital Duesseldorf from 2006 to 2023 was carried out. It was investigated which factors, in addition to treatment regimens (antibiotic therapy with i.v./oral antibiotics, surgical debridement and HBO therapy) have an influence on the clinical, laboratory and morphological outcome of the patients.

Results
A total of 42 patients who received interdisciplinary treatment in our clinic were included in the study, of whom 71.4% were male and 28.6% female. The tissue samples showed an inflammatory process, with detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in 68.4% of patients. A total of 61.9% of patients presented cranial nerve deficits, most frequently facial nerve palsy. A total of 66.7% of patients received HBO therapy. Of these, n = 20/23 patients (87%) with HBO improved and achieved regression in the follow-up imaging.

Summary
Known patient-specific factors were confirmed and HBO was emphasized as an important component of the multimodal therapy concept. HBO appears to be justified and should continue to be included in the treatment regimen in the future. For this reason, patients with SBO should be sent to a center that offers HBO therapy.
Maximal oxygen uptake, pulmonary function and walking economy are not impaired in patients diagnosed with long COVID
Authors: Berg O. K. , Aagård N. , Helgerud J. , Brobakken M. F. , Hoff J. , Wang E. 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
Introduction
SARS-CoV-2 may result in the development of new symptoms, known as long COVID, a few months after the original infection.

Purpose
It is elusive to what extent physical capacity in patients diagnosed with long COVID is impacted.

Methods
We compared maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O2max), one of the single most important factors for cardiovascular health and mortality, expired lung volumes and air flow, oxygen cost of walking and 6-min-walking-test (6MWT), in 20 patients diagnosed with long COVID (11 males and 9 females; 44 ± 16 years (SD); 26.7 ± 3.8BMI, duration of acute phase 1.7 ± 1.2 weeks, tested 4 ± 3 months after long COVID diagnosis) with 20 healthy age and sex matched controls (11 males and 9 females; 44 ± 16 years; 25.9 ± 4.0BMI).

Results
Long COVID patients had a V̇O2max of 41.4 ± 16.2 mL∙kg−1∙min−1(men) and 38.2 ± 7.5 (women) and this was not different from controls. Similarly, mean spirometry measures in the patient group (VC; FVC; FEV1; FEV1/FVC) were also not different (85–106%) from predicted healthy values. Finally, inclined treadmill (5%, 4 km∙h−1) walking economy was not different between the groups (long COVID: 15.2 ± 1.1 mL∙kg−1∙min−1; controls: 15.2 ± 1.2 mL∙kg−1∙min−1), while the 6MWT revealed a difference (long COVID: 606 ± 118 m; controls: 685 ± 85 m; p = 0.036).

Conclusion
V̇O2max, oxygen cost of walking, and spirometry measurements did not appear to be impaired in patients diagnosed with long COVID with a prior mild to moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection. The typical outcomes in these essential factors for health and longevity implies that while long COVID can present with a range of symptoms, caution should be made when attributing these symptoms directly to compromised pulmonary function or V̇O2max.
Murine typhus as the leading cause of non-focalized fever in the Canary Islands
Authors: Vélez-Tobarias M. , Torres-Vega AM. , Carmelo E. , Morais-Martín J. , Pérez JA. , Gonzalo-Hernández C. , Clot G. , Ascaso-Terrén C. 
Published: November 2024

Abstract

Purpose and methods
This prospective study aims to diagnose the etiology of non-focalized fever lasting between 5 and 28 days in the islands of La Palma and El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain) during 2021, using serology and PCR.

Results
The etiological profile described in this study aligns with that of fever of intermediate duration (FID), with zoonoses being the primary cause. Murine typhus (MT) is identified as the leading cause, followed by Q fever (QF). The incidence of MT is the highest reported nationally and comparable to the highest in Europe, with 39.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in La Palma and 79.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in El Hierro. Q fever, known to be endemic to the Canary Islands, presents incidences of 26.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in La Palma and 15.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in El Hierro. MT shows no gender differences and has a homogeneous geographical distribution. In contrast, QF is more prevalent in men and has a heterogeneous geographical distribution.

Conclusions
The high incidence of MT found in both urban and peri-urban areas is particularly noteworthy. Its potential connection with climate change and/or the growth of the reservoir population in the Canary Islands remains unknown. MT's similarity to QF in terms of clinical signs and treatment, coupled with the absence of a specific protocol for early diagnosis, may have contributed to its underdiagnosis. MT can lead to significant health concerns, including risk of hospitalization, complications, and even death. Therefore, the registration of cases for epidemiological control is deemed essential.