bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Dynamic treatment units in forest planning improves economic performance over stand-based planning
Authors: Wilhelmsson Pär , Wallerman Jörgen , Lämås Tomas , Öhman Karin 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
High-resolution, wall-to-wall forest information enables precision-driven decision-making in forest management planning. In a case study we compare planning approaches using such information for solving long-term forest planning problems. The two first approaches are based on dynamic treatment unit (DTU) planning with high-resolution cells (12.5 × 12.5 m2) or segments (0.27 ha on average), respectively, solved with a cellular automata heuristics. The third approach is a traditional stand-based approach using stands (5.2 ha on average) and linear programming to solve the planning problem. Fixed costs associated with cutting operations are quantified as each treatment unit is charged with an entry cost of 10 000 SEK. The entry costs are included in the DTU approach while in the stand approach entry costs are applied accordingly in a post-optimization routine. In large, the analyses are based on open-access tools and data provided by Swedish authorities. The traditional stand approach produced plans with 5.2–2.7% lower net present value compared to DTU planning. Most of the differences were caused by greater suboptimal losses in plans produced with the stand approach, but entry costs were also lower in DTU plans. While forestry was less profitable, treatment units were more spatially compact with stands, especially compared to cell-based plans. Therefore, we reason that a combination of modelling of direct costs and use of spatial proxy variables, such as common border length, may be advisable in DTU planning to achieve compact and realistic treatment units. Finally, the results indicate that high-resolution data and DTU planning may better utilize forests’ potential of economic production, compared to the traditional stand approach.
Evaluating frailty assessment tools and biological frailty markers in C57BL/6 female mice
Authors: Perazza Laís R. , Bougher Christopher M. , Thompson LaDora V. 
Published: December 2024

AbstractFrailty is a complex condition characterized by a decline in multiple physiological systems, compromising an individual’s ability to maintain homeostasis. The onset and progression of frailty are linked to negative health outcomes such as disability, hospitalization, and mortality. To better understand frailty mechanisms, animal models have become valuable due to their accessibility to critical tissues and the ability to control variables. This study investigates frailty in female C57BL/6JN mice by comparing the two most widely accepted frailty assessment tools—the Physical Phenotype (PP) and the Frailty Index (FI). While FI relies on the accumulation of health deficits, PP focuses on functional physical performance. Our results suggest that these tools are complementary rather than interchangeable, each targeting distinct markers of frailty. To address the limitations of both, we propose a new combined assessment tool, the Vitality Phenotype (VP), which integrates physical performance and health deficits into a more comprehensive evaluation. We also explore the challenges in standardizing frailty cutoff values and the need for a reference group to enhance the accuracy of frailty identification. Lastly, we investigate the correlation between frailty criteria and biological markers, particularly bone mineral density (BMD), which shows a significant relationship with physical performance metrics such as grip strength and voluntary wheel activity, highlighting its potential role in frailty pathophysiology.
Impact of Combinations of Native Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Mineral Fertilizers on the Production and Nutrition of Maize Plants on Ferruginous Soil
Authors: Akpodé Corentin , Assogba Sylvestre Abado , Hoteyi Sêmassa Mohamed Ismaël , Aguégué Mèvognon Ricardos , Adoko Marcel Yévèdo , Alao Luckman Tokumbo , Sina Haziz , Noumavo Pacôme Agossou , Houssou Ayihadji Paul , Adjanohoun Adolphe , Babalola Olubukola Oluranti , Baba-Moussa Lamine 
Published: December 2024

AbstractIn the current context of decline in soil fertility, soil degradation and climate change, the use of mycorrhizal inoculum is one of the alternatives for sustainable agriculture. This study aims to determine the best combination of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) biostimulant and mineral fertilizer (NPK + Urea) to improve maize production and the nutritional status of maize plants on ferruginous soils. The experimental design was a completely randomized block of seventeen treatments repeated three times in Savè/Benin. Growth parameters were assessed at 60 days after sowing, while grain yield, physical characteristics and nutritional status were assessed after harvest. After a hierarchical classification of the results, we obtained a group of high-performing and statistically homogeneous treatments composed of T10 to T16. These treatments induced an average height of 185.81 ± 1.16 cm, a crown diameter of 2.20 ± 0.02 cm; a leaf area of 469.82 ± 2.11 cm2 and a grain yield of 2.98 ± 0.11 t/ha. Treatment T10 improved plant nutrition in terms of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium follow up T1 and T11. High 1000-grain weights were recorded with the treatments T10 and T11. The hardness of maize grain produced with the biostimulant decreased as root mycorrhization increased. It appears from the results that the application of the biostimulant based on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi improved the parameters evaluated. In addition, the application of the biostimulant based on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi improved the parameters evaluated. But this research deserves to be handled in the field in order to lead to an economic profitability study.
Influence of experience level on determining weld diameter in resistance spot welding
Authors: Mathiszik Christian , Nopper Benedikt , Koal Johannes , Füssel Uwe , Schmale Hans Christian 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
The weld diameter is the most important quality criterion in resistant spot welding and is unsually determined after destructive testing. Several standardized destructive testing methods are available for this purpose. The determination of the spot weld diameter is influenced by numerous factors. These include the measurement conditions, such as the lighting conditions, the measurement equipment used, and the person performing the measurements. The human aspect is influenced by experience and is therefore subjective. To manually evaluate a resistance spot weld, the weld diameter can be measured according to ISO 17677-1, AWS D8.1M, or DVS 2916-1, among others. The challenge here is that the statistical variation in the destructive evaluation of the spot weld diameter due to human experience is still insufficiently researched. In addition, the results of destructive testing are not statistically validated or are questioned in many scientific publications. The suitability of the destructive test methods used is often not justified or compared with other test methods. The purpose of this contribution is to statistically evaluate the human experience on manual weld diameter measurements and give recommendations, that should be taken into account in the future of some kind of issues. For this purpose, more than 180 spot welds were destroyed by torsion testing and the weld diameters were measured by 20 different participants with different levels of experience. The results show that the measurements are influenced by a number of factors, including the level of experience of the participants, the size of the weld diameters measured, the failure mode, and the duration of the measurements on a sample.
Frailty phenotypes and their association with health consequences: a comparison of different measures
Authors: Lin Yu-Chun , Yan Huang-Ting 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
Objectives
The frailty index is widely used in clinical and community settings to assess health status. This study aimed to identify the potential phenotypes of frail older adults and examine their relationship with health consequences compared with existing frailty measures.

Methods
The 11-year follow-up data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging, covering 5,334 individuals aged ≥ 50 years, were analyzed using random-effects panel logit models. We identified three frailty phenotypes: energy-based frailty (EBF), sarcopenia-based frailty (SBF), and hybrid-based frailty (HBF). Existing frailty measures such as the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF), Fatigue, Resistance, Ambulation, Illness, and Loss of weight (FRAIL), and Fried scales were applied. We examined their correlation with health outcomes, such as falls and fractures, depression, comorbidities, hospitalization, emergency department visits, and mortality, adjusting for individual-level characteristics.

Results
Individuals with only EBF were found to be at a lower risk of falls and fractures than their counterparts with only SBF (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.13, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.03–0.46). Depression was less likely in the SBF group than in the EBF group (AOR = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.01–0.05). Hybrid-based frail older adults were more likely to be hospitalized (AOR = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.08–3.14) and have emergency department visits (AOR = 2.03, 95% CI = 1.15–3.58). Frailty assessed using existing measures was associated with adverse health outcomes.

Conclusion
The proposed frailty phenotype classification differs from the existing frailty measures in its ability to distinguish the corresponding phenotypes underlying various health consequences. Governments may develop strategies based on frailty phenotypes to mitigate adverse health consequences.
Experimental Tests and Simulations About The Efficiency of Commercial Hybrid Inverters Operating at Variable Power Factor
Authors: Ventura Cristina , Tina Giuseppe Marco , De Benedetti Massimiliano Maurizio , Dugo Daniele , Abouchabana Nabil 
Published: December 2024

AbstractThe need to ‘rethink’ the concept of Distribution, both at the planning and operational levels, arises from the emergence of the Distributed Generation paradigm, mostly installed in LV networks. The existing arrangements for the management, protection and control of distribution networks are typically inadequate for this ever-increasing presence of Distributed Generation. Consequently, national and international grid codes have been updated requiring distributed generators to be involved in grid control by supplying ancillary services, such as the voltage and frequency regulation. In this context, the Italian Standards, and in particular the CEI 0–21, require hybrid inverters of residential systems, which are usually only setup to supply active power at unity power factor, to include also the possibility of being able to absorb or supply reactive energy. This allows to limit the over / under voltages problems. To this aim, the inverter manufacturers have introduced the possibility for residential inverters to set the power factor. These new capabilities have been exploited in this paper in order to study the inverter performance with the variation of the power factor, considering both the inductive and the capacitive behaviour. In particular, the presented paper focuses on experimental tests on a hybrid inverter-based system for residential use with the aim of evaluating the dependence of the inverter efficiency on the power factor. Based on measured values, a Matlab/Simulink simulator has been developed for modelling the system, using the found dependence. The main aim is to evaluate the inverter control systems in order to participate in regulation services and to evaluate the inverter efficiency in case of a power factor different from unity.
Flexible working and well-being: evidence from the UK
Authors: Agnoletto Margherita 
Published: December 2024

AbstractRecent technological advancements have facilitated alternative work arrangements. This paper investigates how flextime and working from home (WfH) relate to workers’ well-being using longitudinal data drawn from the Understanding Society study for the UK. It accounts for individual, job, and family characteristics while controlling for individual fixed effects. Additionally, it employs the Oster test to examine the potential influence of unobserved variables. Results show that men experience improved job satisfaction and mental health with flextime arrangements, while women predominantly benefit in terms of job satisfaction. Additionally, women adopting remote work report heightened satisfaction with job and life, and better mental health, whereas men primarily report greater job satisfaction. Interestingly, flextime effects are stronger for men, while WfH is more beneficial for women. Some heterogeneous effects are also found by parental status, age, and income groups.
Co-evolution of behaviour and beliefs in social dilemmas: estimating material, social, cognitive and cultural determinants
Authors: Gavrilets Sergey , Tverskoi Denis , Wang Nianyi , Wang Xiaomin , Ozaita Juan , Zhang Boyu , Sánchez Angel , Andrighetto Giulia 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
Understanding and predicting human cooperative behaviour and belief dynamics remains a major challenge both from the scientific and practical perspectives. Because of the complexity and multiplicity of material, social and cognitive factors involved, both empirical and theoretical work tends to focus only on some snippets of the puzzle. Recently, a mathematical theory has been proposed that integrates material, social and cognitive aspects of behaviour and beliefs dynamics to explain how people make decisions in social dilemmas within heterogeneous groups. Here we apply this theory in two countries, China and Spain, through four long-term behavioural experiments utilising the Common Pool Resources game and the Collective Risk game. Our results show that material considerations carry the smallest weight in decision-making, while personal norms tend to be the most important factor. Empirical and normative expectations have intermediate weight in decision-making. Cognitive dissonance, social projection, logic constraints and cultural background play important roles in both decision-making and beliefs dynamics. At the individual level, we observe differences in the weights that people assign to factors involved in the decision-making and belief updating process. We identify different types of prosociality and rule-following associated with cultural differences, various channels for the effects of messaging, and culturally dependent interactions between sensitivity to messaging and conformity. Our results can put policy and information design on firmer ground, highlighting the need for interventions tailored to the situation at hand and to individual characteristics. Overall, this work demonstrates the theoretical and practical power of the theory in providing a more comprehensive understanding of human behaviour and beliefs.
Receptive vocabulary is superior to education level to account for Black and White neuropsychological performance discrepancies
Authors: Goldstein Felicia C. , Hanfelt John J. , James Taylor A. , Lah James J. , Loring David W. 
Published: December 2024

AbstractObjective:To evaluate the impact of receptive vocabulary versus years of education on neuropsychological performance of Black and White older adults.Method:A community-based prospectively enrolled cohort (n = 1,007; 130 Black, 877 White) in the Emory Healthy Brain Study were administered the NIH Toolbox Picture Vocabulary Test and neuropsychological measures. Group differences were evaluated with age, sex, and education or age, sex, and Toolbox Vocabulary scores as covariates to determine whether performance differences between Black versus White participants were attenuated or eliminated.Results:With vocabulary as a covariate, the main effect of race was no longer significant for the MoCA, Phonemic Fluency, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, and Rey Complex Figure Test immediate and delayed recall. Although still significantly different between groups, the effect sizes for Animal Fluency, Trails B-A, Symbol Digit Modalities Test, and Rey Copy were attenuated, with the greatest reductions occurring for the Multilingual Naming Test and Judgment of Line Orientation.Conclusions:Findings support the value of using receptive vocabulary as a proxy for premorbid ability level when comparing the cognitive performance of Black and White older adults. The results extend investigations using measures of single word reading to encompass measures assessing word meaning.
Modeling mortality with Kernel Principal Component Analysis (KPCA) method
Authors: Wu Yuanqi , Chen Andrew , Xu Yanbin , Pan Guangming , Zhu Wenjun 
Published: December 2024

AbstractAs the global population continues to age, effective management of longevity risk becomes increasingly critical for various stakeholders. Accurate mortality forecasting serves as a cornerstone for addressing this challenge. This study proposes to leverage Kernel Principal Component Analysis (KPCA) to enhance mortality rate predictions. By extending the traditional Lee-Carter model with KPCA, we capture nonlinear patterns and complex relationships in mortality data. The newly proposed KPCA Lee-Carter algorithm is empirically tested and demonstrates superior forecasting performance. Furthermore, the model’s robustness was tested during the COVID-19 pandemic, showing that the KPCA Lee-Carter algorithm effectively captures increased uncertainty during extreme events while maintaining narrower prediction intervals. This makes it a valuable tool for mortality forecasting and risk management. Our findings contribute to the growing body of literature where actuarial science intersects with statistical learning, offering practical solutions to the challenges posed by an aging world population.
Efficacy and safety of minocycline in retinitis pigmentosa: a prospective, open-label, single-arm trial
Authors: Chen Yuxi , Pan Yuan , Xie Yanyan , Shi Yuxun , Lu Yao , Xia Yiwen , Su Wenru , Chen Xiaoqing , Li Zuoyi , Wang Minzhen , Miao Siyu , Yang Yating , Jin Chenjin , Luo Guangwei , Long Shixian , Xiao Hui , Huang Chuangxin , Zhang Jian , Liang Dan 
Published: December 2024

AbstractRetinitis pigmentosa (RP) is characterized by progressive photoreceptor cells death accelerated by the proliferation and activation of microglia pathologically. No consensus exists on the treatment. Minocycline is recognized as a microglia inhibitor with great anti-inflammatory and neuro-protective functions. However, efficacy of minocycline in RP patients is lacking. We conducted a prospective, open-label, and single-arm trial, in which daily oral minocycline of 100 mg was administered for 12 months in RP patients with light-adapted 30 Hz flicker electroretinography (ERG) amplitude >0 µV in at least one eye (NCT04068207). The primary outcome was the proportion of participants with improvement in the ERG amplitude at month 12. The secondary outcomes included improvements of the following items: other ERGs amplitudes, visual field, best-corrected visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, color vision, and NEI-VFQ-25. 35 of 288 patients met inclusive criteria were enrolled (median [IQR] age, 36 [31–45] years; 17 female [48.6%]). 32 participants completed all examinations, while 3 participants completed the 12-month online visit via conducting NEI-VFQ-25. The primary outcome showed improvement was 34.3% (12 of 35 [95% CI 19.1–52.2]). Similarly, all secondary outcomes showed improvements. Adverse events were reported in 22 participants (62.9%) and were all resolved without extra medication during the study period. No severe adverse events were recorded. Our findings identified daily oral minocycline of 100 mg for 12 months was beneficial in improving the visual function of RP patients with good safety. This study indicates minocycline may be a promising therapy for RP, but a randomized controlled trial is still needed of further exploration.
Cross-talk of inflammation and cellular senescence: a new insight into the occurrence and progression of osteoarthritis
Authors: Han Zeyu , Wang Ketao , Ding Shenglong , Zhang Mingzhu 
Published: December 2024

AbstractOsteoarthritis (OA) poses a significant challenge in orthopedics. Inflammatory pathways are regarded as central mechanisms in the onset and progression of OA. Growing evidence suggests that senescence acts as a mediator in inflammation-induced OA. Given the lack of effective treatments for OA, there is an urgent need for a clearer understanding of its pathogenesis. In this review, we systematically summarize the cross-talk between cellular senescence and inflammation in OA. We begin by focusing on the mechanisms and hallmarks of cellular senescence, summarizing evidence that supports the relationship between cellular senescence and inflammation. We then discuss the mechanisms of interaction between cellular senescence and inflammation, including senescence-associated secretory phenotypes (SASP) and the effects of pro- and anti-inflammatory interventions on cellular senescence. Additionally, we focus on various types of cellular senescence in OA, including senescence in cartilage, subchondral bone, synovium, infrapatellar fat pad, stem cells, and immune cells, elucidating their mechanisms and impacts on OA. Finally, we highlight the potential of therapies targeting senescent cells in OA as a strategy for promoting cartilage regeneration.
TPM4 condensates glycolytic enzymes and facilitates actin reorganization under hyperosmotic stress
Authors: Yang Wenzhong , Wang Yuan , Liu Geyao , Wang Yan , Wu Congying 
Published: December 2024

AbstractActin homeostasis is fundamental for cell structure and consumes a large portion of cellular ATP. It has been documented in the literature that certain glycolytic enzymes can interact with actin, indicating an intricate interplay between the cytoskeleton and cellular metabolism. Here we report that hyperosmotic stress triggers actin severing and subsequent phase separation of the actin-binding protein tropomyosin 4 (TPM4). TPM4 condensates recruit glycolytic enzymes such as HK2, PFKM, and PKM2, while wetting actin filaments. Notably, the condensates of TPM4 and glycolytic enzymes are enriched of NADH and ATP, suggestive of their functional importance in cell metabolism. At cellular level, actin filament assembly is enhanced upon hyperosmotic stress and TPM4 condensation, while depletion of TPM4 impairs osmolarity-induced actin reorganization. At tissue level, colocalized condensates of TPM4 and glycolytic enzymes are observed in renal tissues subjected to hyperosmotic stress. Together, our findings suggest that stress-induced actin perturbation may act on TPM4 to organize glycolytic hubs that tether energy production to cytoskeletal reorganization.