bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A convolution inequality, yielding a sharper Berry–Esseen theorem for summands Zolotarev-close to normal
Authors: Mattner Lutz 
Published: October 2024

The classical Berry–Esseen error bound, for the normal approximation to the law of a sum of independent and identically distributed random variables, is here improved by replacing the standardised third absolute moment with a weak norm distance to normality, using Zolotarev’s

ζ
\zeta

norms. We thus sharpen and simplify two results of Ul’yanov (1976) and of Senatov (1998), each of them previously optimal, in the line of research initiated by Zolotarev (1965) and Paulauskas (1969).

Our proof is based on a seemingly incomparable normal approximation theorem of Zolotarev (1986), combined with our main technical result:

The Kolmogorov distance (supremum norm of difference of distribution functions) between a convolution of two laws and a convolution of two Lipschitz laws is bounded homogeneously of degree 1 in the pair of the Kantorovich distances (often called Wasserstein distances, the L

1

^1

norms of differences of distribution functions) of the corresponding factors, and also in the pair of the Lipschitz constants.

Side results include a short introduction to

ζ
\zeta

norms on the real line, simpler inequalities for various probability distances, slight improvements of the theorem of Zolotarev (1986) and of a lower bound theorem of Bobkov, Chistyakov and Götze (2012), an application to sampling from finite populations, auxiliary results on rounding and on winsorisation, and computations of a few examples.

The introductory section in particular is aimed at analysts in general rather than specialists in probability approximations.
The Prosciutto Sundial
Authors: Parslow Christopher 
Published: October 2024

Abstract
The sundial in the shape of a prosciutto recovered in 1755 in the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum is the earliest known Roman portable sundial. Its silver-plated cast bronze form cleverly combines an accurate modelling of a prosciutto with a relatively sophisticated scientific device capable of capturing the seasonal hours of the zodiacal year by employing the pig’s tail to cast the sun’s shadow onto the dial. The prosciutto has proved easier to describe than to explain, a trait that has shadowed the many attempts to explain how it functioned compounded by limited first-hand knowledge of its design. Although the Bourbon court sought to assert its authority through a detailed philological and astronomical assessment, the proverbial pig already had escaped the pen. Earlier errors were recycled by leading figures in eighteenth- and nineteenth -century astronomy and these colored subsequent treatments of it. It is a rare example of an antiquity that has attracted the attention of so broad an audience, from archaeologists, historians, and philologists to astronomers, philosophers, and sundial aficionados. This study draws on contemporary correspondence, popular accounts, archaeological studies, and scientific assessments to offer the first comprehensive survey of its reception and analysis from its discovery to modern times. The significance of its discovery in the Villa dei Papiri is explored here in detail for the first time. Through the findings obtained using a 3D model, it offers the first empirical analysis of its remarkably accurate capabilities as a timepiece since its assessment by the Bourbon court.
Observations
Authors: Parslow Christopher 
Published: October 2024

Abstract
This chapter addresses long-standing questions about the sundial, such as why a prosciutto, why it might have been in the Villa dei Papiri, to whom it belonged, and what connections it may have had with the library of philosophical texts also recovered there. Comparative analysis between the design of the dial required astronomically and the actual hourly readings on the prosciutto’s dial at latitudes between Rome and Herculaneum demonstrates that while it provided remarkably accurate readings, sufficient for its ancient user, its small scale precludes excessive precision. Empirical analysis with a 3D model deployed within the same latitude confirms this finding.
Luther Goes to War
Authors: Hayden-Roy Patrick 
Published: October 2024

Abstract
World War I left a deep imprint on the image of Luther, expanding upon the völkisch profile of the nineteenth century. The impact of the war is traced by looking at German wartime sermons, and especially at the explosion of publications that marked the 1917 anniversary of the Reformation, where, at a critical juncture in the conflict, Luther’s nationalist image was intensely refracted to address the crisis of the war. Looking at popular publications and public addresses, it shows how the war created an overblown cult of personality around Luther, whose living presence was invoked to provide a symbol to rally the nation and provide assurance of Germany’s providential destiny. In this environment, there is a deepening of the völkisch image of Luther, who takes on ever more radical significance as an image of racial nationalist “Germanity.” The chapter closes by using memoirs and letters to consider the disposition of German Protestants with the collapse of the German war effort and the Wilhelmine Reich in November 1918 and the cultural crisis it represented.
Luther the Perpetrator?
Authors: Hayden-Roy Patrick 
Published: October 2024

Abstract
With World War II came the destruction of Nazi Germany both as an institutional reality and a cultural system. Germany emerged from the war facing the challenge of somehow reconstituting from the wreckage a new identity. Such was also the case with Martin Luther. The issue of guilt hung over German culture, with numerous books purported to show a fundamental continuity from Luther to Hitler, as the popular formula went. As it happened, 1946 was the four-hundredth anniversary of Luther’s death, and became a forum for considering what to make of him amidst the wreckage. What emerged was a complicated attempt to present Luther once again as a potential source for German identity, though leaving aside the völkisch garb from before the War. Protestant scholars defended Luther from accusations of culpability, among whom were some, such as Paul Althaus and Gerhart Ritter, who had been the authors of works on the pre-war völkisch Luther image. With this literature there also emerged a debate about how to assign guilt and to whom that marked the final chapter in a discourse about Luther’s image as a national symbol reaching back to 1817.
Mucilage facilitates root water uptake under edaphic stress: first evidence at the plant scale
Authors: Abdalla Mohanned , Carminati Andrea , Cai Gaochao , Ahmed Mutez Ali 
Published: October 2024

Abstract

Background and Aims
Mucilage has been hypothesized to soften the gradients in matric potential at the root–soil interface, thereby facilitating root water uptake in dry soils and maintaining transpiration with a moderate decline in leaf water potential. So far, this hypothesis has been tested only through simplified experiments and numerical simulations. However, the impact of mucilage on the relationship between transpiration rate (E) and leaf water potential (ψleaf) at the plant scale remains speculative.

Methods
We utilized an automated root pressure chamber to measure the E(ψleaf) relationship in two cowpea genotypes with contrasting mucilage production. We then utilized a soil–plant hydraulic model to reproduce the experimental observations and inferred the matric potential at the root–soil interface for both genotypes.

Key Results
In wet soil, the relationship between leaf water potential and transpiration rate (E) was linear for both genotypes. However, as the soil progressively dried, the E(ψleaf) relationship exhibited non-linearity. The genotype with low mucilage production exhibited non-linearity earlier during soil drying, i.e. in wetter soil conditions (soil water content &lt;0.36 cm3 cm−3) compared to the genotype with high mucilage production (soil water content &lt;0.30 cm3 cm−3). The incidence of non-linearity was concomitant with the decline in matric potential across the rhizosphere. High mucilage production attenuated water potential diminution at the root–soil interface with increased E. This shows, for the first time at the plant scale, that root mucilage softened the gradients in matric potential and maintained transpiration in drying soils. The model simulations indicate that a plausible explanation for this effect is an enhanced hydraulic conductivity of the rhizosphere in genotypes with higher mucilage production.

Conclusions
Mucilage exudation maintains the hydraulic continuity between soil and roots and decelerates the drop in matric potential near the root surface, thereby postponing the hydraulic limitations to transpiration during soil drying.
National biodiversity data infrastructures: ten essential functions for science, policy, and practice
Authors: Güntsch Anton , Overmann Jörg , Ebert Barbara , Bonn Aletta , Le Bras Yvan , Engel Thore , Hovstad Knut Anders , Lange Canhos Dora Ann , Newman Peggy , van Ommen Kloeke Elaine , Ratcliffe Sophia , le Roux Marianne , Smith Vincent S , Triebel Dagmar , Fichtmueller David , Luther Katja 
Published: October 2024

Abstract
Today, at the international level, powerful data portals are available to biodiversity researchers and policymakers, offering increasingly robust computing and network capacities and capable data services for internationally agreed-on standards. These accelerate individual and complex workflows to map data-driven research processes or even to make them possible for the first time. At the national level, however, and alongside these international developments, national infrastructures are needed to take on tasks that cannot be easily funded or addressed internationally. To avoid gaps, as well as redundancies in the research landscape, national tasks and responsibilities must be clearly defined to align efforts with core priorities. In the present article, we outline 10 essential functions of national biodiversity data infrastructures. They serve as key providers, facilitators, mediators, and platforms for effective biodiversity data management, integration, and analysis that require national efforts to foster biodiversity science, policy, and practice.
Circulating large extracellular vesicles as diagnostic biomarkers of indeterminate thyroid nodules: multi-platform omics analysis
Authors: Ahmed Nada M , Eddama Mohammad M R , Beatson Kevin , Gurung Rijan , Patel Jigisha , Iskandar Georges , Abdel-Salam Alaa , Al-Omar Abdullah , Cohen Richard , Abdel-Aziz Tarek , Clapp Lucie 
Published: October 2024

Abstract

Background
While most thyroid nodules are benign, 7–15% are malignant. Patients with indeterminate thyroid nodules (specifically Bethesda IV/Thy3f) often undergo diagnostic hemithyroidectomy to reach a diagnosis on final histology. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of circulating large extracellular vesicles as diagnostic biomarkers in patients presenting with Thy3f thyroid nodules.

Methods
This was a two-gate diagnostic accuracy study; patients with Thy3f thyroid nodules were age, sex and body mass index matched to healthy individuals. Final histology confirmed benign and malignant diagnoses. Plasma large extracellular vesicle counts were quantified using flow cytometry. Large extracellular vesicle microRNA and protein profiles were identified using next generation sequencing and mass spectrometry, respectively.

Results
A total of 42 patients with Thy3f nodules (22 with cancer, 20 with non-cancer diagnosis) and 16 healthy controls were included. Total large extracellular vesicle concentrations and the concentrations of extracellular vesicles expressing epithelial cell adhesion molecule and the cancer markers atypical chemokine receptor type 7, extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer and syndecan-4 were significantly higher in patients with Thy3f nodules (cancer and non-cancer) compared with healthy individuals. In patients with cancerous versus non-cancer Thy3f nodules, one microRNA was upregulated: mir-195–3p (P &lt; 0.001). Five were downregulated: mir-3176 (P &lt; 0.001), mir-205-5p (P &lt; 0.001), novel-hsa-mir-208-3p (P &lt; 0.001), mir-3529-3p (P = 0.01) and let-7i-3p (P = 0.02). Furthermore, three large extracellular vesicle proteins (kallikrein-related peptidase11 (KLK11) (P = 0.001), alpha-1-acid glycoprotein 2 (A1AG2) (P &lt;0.001) and small integral membrane protein 1 (SMIM1) (P = 0.04)) were significantly upregulated, while 20 large extracellular vesicle proteins were significantly downregulated (most downregulated: chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 7 (CXCL7), tubulin beta chain 1 (TBB1), binding immunoglobulin protein (BIP) and actinin alpha 1 (ACTN1) (P &lt; 0.001)) in cancerous compared with non-cancer Thy3f nodules.

Conclusion
Circulating large extracellular vesicle miRNA and protein profiles have a high diagnostic value to discriminate between benign and malignant nodules for patients with Thy3f cytology. Further validation for clinical performance will be needed.
Cumulative Socioeconomic Status Risk is Associated With Greater Increase in Serum Neurofilament Light Chain Levels Among Middle-Aged Black Adults
Authors: Lei Man-Kit , Beach Steven R H , Simons Ronald L , Mielke Michelle M 
Published: October 2024

Abstract

Background
This study examined the longitudinal relationship between cumulative socioeconomic status (SES) risk and serum neurofilament light chain (NfL) levels to better understand the association between social factors and a biomarker of neurodegeneration.

Methods
We used data from the Family and Community Health Study, collecting psychosocial and blood data at 2 waves (2008) and (2019) from 254 Black Americans (43 males and 211 females). Blood samples were analyzed at each wave for serum NfL concentrations. Regression analysis and mixed-effect modeling examined relationships between cumulative SES risk and serum NfL, controlling for covariates and assessing time effects.

Results
Utilizing 11-year longitudinal data, serum NfL levels increased with age. Higher cumulative SES risk at baseline correlated with elevated serum NfL at the 11-year follow-up and predicted a greater increase in NfL levels. Clinically, NfL is a sensitive biomarker for axonal injury and neurodegeneration, commonly used to detect early and preclinical stages of conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Conclusions
Our results suggest that exposure to cumulative SES risk among Black adults may contribute to elevated levels of NfL, indicating potential early neurodegeneration. Given the established role of NfL in detecting neurodegenerative processes, these findings underscore the importance of interventions that bolster social safety nets and social connectedness to enhance brain health and mitigate neurodegenerative risks.
Standardization of bone morphometry and mineral density assessments in zebrafish and other small laboratory fishes using X-ray radiography and micro-computed tomography
Authors: Kague Erika , Kwon Ronald Young , Busse Björn , Witten Paul Eckhard , Karasik David 
Published: October 2024

Abstract
Zebrafish and other small laboratory fishes are emerging as important animal models for investigating human skeletal development and diseases. In recent years, there has been a notable increase in research publications employing X-ray radiography and micro-computed tomography to analyze the skeletal structures of these animals. However, evaluating bone morphology and mineral density in small laboratory fish poses unique challenges compared to well-established small rodent models. The varied approaches to image acquisition, analysis, and reporting across studies have led to substantial obstacles in interpreting and comparing research findings. This article addresses the urgent need for standardized reporting of parameters and methodologies related to image acquisition and analysis, as well as the adoption of harmonized nomenclature. Furthermore, it offers guidance on anatomical terminology, units of measurement, and the establishment of minimal parameters for reporting, along with comprehensive documentation of methods and algorithms used for acquisition and analysis. We anticipate that adherence to these guidelines will enhance the consistency, reproducibility, and interpretability of reported measurements of bone density and morphometry in small fish models. These advancements are vital for accurately interpreting phenotypes and gene functions, particularly in the context of multi-center studies.
Frauds on Navy Pay and the Men and Women of Maritime London, c.1620–1740
Authors: Hunt Margaret R 
Published: October 2024

Abstract
During the wars of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries tens of thousands of English sailors had their wages deferred because the government could not come up with the cash to pay them. Instead, Navy sailors were discharged with undated government promissory notes, usually called ‘sailors’ tickets’, which they and their families sometimes had to wait months or years to have paid. This essay traces the way the Navy tried to institutionalize this system, and it also looks at competing ordering projects coming from within the London maritime community that sought to pressure the government to pay the tickets in a timely fashion, to manage overextended credit networks and — in the face of considerable Navy opposition — to make tickets more fungible so they could be used as collateral for debts.
One feature of these conflicts was the rise of frauds on sailors’ pay tickets, and over time the Navy endorsed increasingly punitive methods to deal with the problem, most notably various kinds of institutional prosecution. The people indicted for ticket fraud, many of them at the Old Bailey, were predominantly women, and their ‘crimes’ were linked to more legitimate activities long associated with sailors’ female relatives. This essay argues that predatory borrowing by the State and the competing ordering projects to which it gave rise helped to configure as well as to distort social relations and economic opportunity both for women and men within the maritime community.
Prize court politics and regional ordering in the Caribbean
Authors: Mulich Jeppe 
Published: October 2024

Abstract
This article analyzes the practices and politics of Caribbean prize courts at the turn of the nineteenth century, in order to better understand the dynamics of these peculiar legal institutions on the ground in one of the most volatile inter-imperial maritime spaces of the period. The focus is on the daily operation of the courts, the relationship between different regional courts (within and between empires), and, importantly, on their role within wider Caribbean networks. The article asks how knowledge about these courts was shared within the trans- imperial networks of the region. Court shopping was a common practice and claimants would often go out of their way to take captures or cases to specific courts, either within a single empire or even in a different imperial jurisdiction, but how did potential claimants come to be so familiar with the characteristics of individual administrations and magistrates? And how did they disseminate this information? The story of Caribbean prize courts is the story of order-making at different, sometimes clashing, levels. While the legal regime around prizes can be seen as an ordering mechanism for interactions between empires, the Caribbean saw its own order-building project driven less by decision-­makers in faraway metropoles and more by individual actors within the region, equally likely to exploit, support, or circumvent the legal mechanisms set up by officials. These regional groups were especially likely to act against the prize regime when it posed a challenge to the sanctity of their private property, be it goods or enslaved.
Unraveling the impact of operational parameters and environmental conditions on the quality of viable bacterial aerosols
Authors: Thirugnanasampanthar Mathura , Tian Lei , Rhem Rod G , Libera Danielle D , Gomez Mellissa , Jackson Kyle , Fox-Robichaud Alison E , Dolovich Myrna B , Hosseinidoust Zeinab 
Published: October 2024

Abstract
Viable pathogen-laden droplets of consistent quality are essential for reliably assessing the protection offered by facemasks against airborne infections. We identified a significant gap in guidance within standardized tests for evaluating the filtration efficiencies of facemask materials using viable bacteria-laden aerosol droplets. An aerosol platform, built according to the American Society for Testing and Materials standard F2101-19, was used to validate and standardize facemask filtration test procedures. We utilized this platform to investigate the impact of varying five operating parameters, namely suspension media composition, relative humidity, pathogen concentration, and atomizer airflow and feed flow rates, on the aerosol quality of viable bacteria-laden aerosols. We achieved consistent generation of 1,700 to 3,000 viable bacteria-laden droplets sized between 2.7 and 3.3 µm under the following optimized test conditions: 1.5% w/v peptone water concentration, ≥80% relative humidity at 24 ± 2 °C, 1 × 105 CFU/mL bacterial concentration, 1.5 L/min atomizer airflow rate, and 170 μL/min feed flow rate. We also explored the consequence of deviating from these optimized test parameters on viable bacteria-laden aerosol quality. These results highlight the importance of controlling these parameters when studying airborne transmission and control.
The epistemic and the deontic preface paradox
Authors: Lissia Lina Maria , Sprenger Jan 
Published: October 2024

Abstract
This paper generalizes the preface paradox beyond the conjunctive aggregation of beliefs and constructs an analogous paradox for deontic reasoning. The analysis of the deontic case suggests a systematic restriction of intuitive rules for reasoning with obligations. This proposal can be transferred to the epistemic case: It avoids the preface and the lottery paradox and saves one of the two directions of the Lockean Thesis (i.e. high credence is sufficient, but not necessary for rational belief). The resulting account compares favorably to competing proposals; in particular, we can formulate the rules of correct doxastic reasoning without reference to probabilistic features of the involved propositions.