bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Usefulness of the cortisol:testosterone ratio in assessing the catabolic and anabolic balance of athletes
Authors: Judek Roksana , Latour Emilia , Latour Marianna , Melnyk Bohdan , Rygielski Artur 
Published: September 2024

Introduction and purpose: The balance between catabolic and anabolic processes is crucial for achieving optimal athletic performance and maintaining the health of athletes. The cortisol-to-testosterone ratio (C/T) is a commonly used indicator to assess this balance, as it allows for monitoring the equilibrium between these two hormones. This literature review aims to evaluate the utility of T/C ratio in monitoring this balance, providing insights into its relevance for athletic training and performance. The paper is based on a relevant review of literature about the practical aspects of measuring the C/T ratio and its correlation with athletic performance, recovery, overtraining, and training adaptation were analyzed.
Description of the state of knowledge: The cortisol-to-testosterone ratio is a useful indicator for evaluating between catabolic and anabolic states in athletes. It can be practically applied to fine-tune training regimens and help prevent overtraining.However, its effectiveness is dependent on various factors, including individual variability and the influence of external factors such as sleep.
Summary:The C/T ratio remains a valuable tool for assessing the metabolic-anabolic balance in athletes. Practical aspects of measurement and interpretation are essential for its effective application. Continued research is needed to refine the use of this biomarker across different sports and training contexts.
Nonstationary A/B Tests: Optimal Variance Reduction, Bias Correction, and Valid Inference
Authors: Wu Yuhang , Zheng Zeyu , Zhang Guangyu , Zhang Zuohua , Wang Chu 
Published: September 2024

We develop an analytical framework to appropriately model and adequately analyze A/B tests in presence of nonparametric nonstationarities in the targeted business metrics. A/B tests, also known as online randomized controlled experiments, have been used at scale by data-driven enterprises to guide decisions and test innovative ideas to improve core business metrics. Meanwhile, nonstationarities, such as the time-of-day effect and the day-of-week effect, can often arise nonparametrically in key business metrics involving purchases, revenue, conversions, customer experiences, and so on. First, we develop a generic nonparametric stochastic model to capture nonstationarities in A/B test experiments, where each sample represents a visit or action associated with a time label. We build a practically relevant limiting regime to facilitate analyzing large-sample estimator performances under nonparametric nonstationarities. Second, we show that ignoring or inadequately addressing nonstationarities can cause standard A/B test estimators to have suboptimal variance and nonvanishing bias, therefore leading to loss of statistical efficiency and accuracy. We provide a new estimator that views time as a continuous strata and performs poststratification with a data-dependent number of stratification levels. Without making parametric assumptions, we prove a central limit theorem for the proposed estimator and show that the estimator attains the best achievable asymptotic variance and is asymptotically unbiased. Third, we propose a time-grouped randomization that is designed to balance treatment and control assignments at granular time scales. We show that when the time-grouped randomization is integrated to standard experimental designs to generate experiment data, simple A/B test estimators can achieve asymptotically optimal variance. A brief account of numerical experiments are conducted to illustrate the analysis. This paper was accepted by Baris Ata, stochastic models and simulation. Supplemental Material: The online appendices and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.01205 .
Optimal Learning and Management of Threatened Species
Authors: Wang Jue , Song Xueze , Yousefi Roozbeh , Jiang Zhigang 
Published: September 2024

Amid an unprecedented loss of biodiversity, a pressing issue is how to improve the efficiency of conservation with limited resources and information. Collecting data on species with a small population is costly and time consuming, and many high-stakes decisions need to be made based on limited data. We develop a partially observable Markov decision processes model with unknown parameters to jointly optimize the information collection and protection efforts for threatened species. The model takes into account uncertainties about the state, detectability, and dynamics of the species, and it adaptively adjusts the efforts of surveying and protection in real time. Although the standard formulation is intractable, we exploit the structure of ecological problems to identify a hybrid belief state in low dimensions, and we reformulate the stochastic dynamic program as a piecewise deterministic optimal control problem. This enables us to obtain structural insights into the optimal policy (some are in closed form) and find a near-optimal approximate policy with performance guarantee. In certain situations, areas where the species has never been found may be more likely to contain the species than areas where it has been previously found. We also conduct a case study on the conservation of the Hainan gibbon, the rarest primate species, in which we extend the model to optimize the spatiotemporal allocation of limited resources. This paper was accepted by Chung Piaw Teo, optimization. Funding: This work was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada [Grant RGPIN-2019-05671]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.01753 .
Immediate efficacy of auricular acupuncture combined with active exercise in the treatment of acute lumbar sprains in 10 minutes: Protocol of a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Tang Xin , Li Qifu , Huang Gaoyangzi , Pei Xianmei , Chen Ziwen , Huang Ya , Zhao Siwen , Guo Taipin , Liu Zili 
Published: September 2024

Background
Acute lumbar sprain (ALS) is common musculoskeletal disorder characterized by severe low back pain and activity limitation, which significantly impacts the patient’s work and life. Immediate relief of pain and restoration of mobility in a short period of time are the main needs of patients when they visit the clinic. This study aims to evaluate the immediate efficacy of this combined treatment for ALS within 10 minutes.

Methods
This is a single-center, prospective, randomized clinical trial. 128 eligible patients with ALS will be randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to either the auricular acupuncture (AA) group or the sham auricular acupuncture (SAA) group. All patients will receive a single 10-minute treatment. The primary outcome will be the change in pain intensity after 10 minutes of treatment. The secondary outcomes include changes in pain intensity at other time points (2, 5 minutes), changes in lumbar range of motion (ROM) at different time points, blinded assessment, treatment effect expectancy scale evaluation, and treatment satisfaction scale evaluation. All participants will be included in the analysis according to the intention-to-treat principle.

Discussion
This is the first randomized controlled trial to assess the immediate efficacy of AA combined with active exercise for ALS. The findings of this study are expected to provide a simple and rapid treatment for ALS in clinical.

Trial registration
Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2400083740. Registered 30 April 2024.
Post-myocardial infarction heart failure and long-term high-fat diet: Cardiac endoplasmic reticulum stress and unfolded protein response in Sprague Dawley rat model
Authors: Momot Karol , Krauz Kamil , Czarzasta Katarzyna , Tomaszewski Jakub , Dobruch Jakub , Żera Tymoteusz , Zarębiński Maciej , Cudnoch-Jędrzejewska Agnieszka , Wojciechowska Małgorzata 
Published: September 2024

Background
Myocardial infarction (MI) significantly contributes to the global mortality rate, often leading to heart failure (HF) due to left ventricular remodeling. Key factors in the pathomechanism of HF include nitrosative/oxidative stress, inflammation, and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Furthermore, while a high-fat diet (HFD) is known to exacerbate post-MI cardiac remodeling, its impact on these critical factors in the context of HF is not as well understood.

Aims
This study aimed to assess the impact of post-MI HF and HFD on inflammation, nitro-oxidative stress, ER stress, and unfolded protein response (UPR).

Methods
The study was performed on fragments of the left ventricle harvested from 30 male adult Sprague Dawley rats, which were divided into four groups based on diet (normal-fat vs. high-fat) and surgical procedure (sham operation vs. coronary artery ligation to induce MI). We assessed body weight, NT-proBNP levels, protein levels related to nitrosative/oxidative stress, ER stress, UPR, apoptosis, and nitric oxide synthases, through Western Blot and ELISA.

Results
HFD and MI significantly influenced body weight and NT-proBNP concentrations. HFD elevated 3-nitrotyrosine and myeloperoxidase levels and altered nitric oxide synthase levels. HFD and MI significantly affected ER stress markers and activated or inhibited UPR pathways.

Conclusions
The study demonstrates significant impacts of post-MI HF and dietary fat content on cardiac function and stress markers in a rat model. The interaction between HFD and MI on UPR activation suggests the importance of dietary management in post-MI recovery and HF prevention.
RELAÇÃO VERBO-VISUAL NA LEITURA DE RINOCERONTES NÃO COMEM PANQUECAS
Authors: Wilmsen Lilibth , Ramos Flávia Brocchetto , Bortoncello Munhoz Estella Maria 
Published: September 2024

O presente artigo analisa a relação entre o visual e o verbal no livro ilustrado Rinocerontes não comem panquecas, escrito por Anna Kemp e ilustrado por Sarah Ogilive, selecionado pelo Programa Nacional Biblioteca na Escola, edição 2014. O estudo qualitativo contempla análise da composição verbo-visual do livro e do modo como crianças de dois a três anos interagem com o exemplar, com base em Lacerda (2014), Linden (2018), Fittipaldi (2008), Nikolajeva e Scott (2011), Ramos e Paiva (2014), Zilberman (2012), entre outros. Verifica-se que a linguagem verbal, além de trazer dados do enredo, orienta a dimensão visual. A imagem assume aspectos de colaboração com o discurso verbal, ampliando as possibilidades de leitura. O estudo sinaliza que a obra, ainda que apresente paratextos e trechos do enredo com viés diretivo, contempla a polissemia observada por aproximações e distanciamentos estabelecidos entre as dimensões verbal e visual, pelo emprego das cores, pela configuração do cenário e pelo uso da tipografia, entre outros. Além da análise da narrativa, o artigo contempla a interação de crianças com o objeto livro, ação que revelou o protagonismo infantil frente às linguagens verbal e visual e reforçou que a interação das crianças referenda a polissemia do título.
Voice, impersonal construction, and zero lexeme: formalization of crucial notions
Authors: Mel’čuk Igor 
Published: September 2024

Abstract
The paper considers a relatively rare verbal syntactic construction found in East Sakhalin Ainu and in Lingala: an active form of a transitive verb governs simultaneously a direct object and an agentive complement, has no overt syntactic subject and is in the 3rd person plural. In order to characterize this verb form, three sets of formal linguistic notions are introduced and described: voice (with a calculus of logically possible voice grammemes), impersonal construction, and zero lexeme; many illustrations come from Lingala and Kinyarwanda, as well as several other languages. The verb forms under analysis are shown to be the partial demotional passive.
A wideband folded reflectarray antenna with a 3-D printed circularly polarized converter
Authors: Wang Kai Xuan , Wang Jia Qi , Shi Zeng Hui , Wang Qi , Wei Feng , Xu Le , Li Rui , Tong Xiao Yu , Li Qiwei 
Published: September 2024

Abstract
In this letter, a wideband folded reflectarray antenna with a novel circularly polarized converter is presented. The main reflectarray is composed of dual-polarized units, which can achieve good polarization and phase characteristics with a smaller size. Based on 3-D printing technology, the proposed dielectric unit can be used to design the low-cost linear-to-circular polarization converter (LCPC) with wider bandwidth. In order to validate the performance of the proposed circularly polarized folded reflectarray antenna (CPFRA), a prototype is manufactured and measured. The maximum gain of 25.3 dBic and the maximum aperture efficiency of 38 % are obtained. The measured 3 dB gain bandwidth is 32.7 % and the measured 3 dB AR bandwidth is 31.7 %, respectively. The simulated and measured results show great agreement.
Long-distance transmission conductor condition sensing based on distributed fiber optic sensing technology
Authors: Jia Boyan , Wang Yixin , Pang Xianhai , Ding Likun , Sun Cuiying 
Published: September 2024

Abstract
The existing long-distance transmission line perception mainly focuses on the measurement and analysis of electrical parameters. When the line is subject to wind vibration, icing or galloping, the changes of electrical parameters are not obvious and difficult to capture, resulting in poor performance of long-distance transmission line fault state perception. In this regard, the long-distance transmission line condition sensing based on distributed optical fiber sensing technology is studied. This method designs corresponding sensing methods for four working conditions: using the back Brillouin scattering sensor and phase sensitive Rayleigh scattering sensor in the optical fiber sensing technology to form a multi parameter distributed optical fiber sensing device, which is used to sense the surface temperature, vibration, strain and other data of the long-distance transmission line; By analyzing the linear relationship between fiber Brillouin frequency shift and Brillouin power and fiber strain and temperature, the sensing results of icing thickness of long-distance transmission lines are obtained; By calculating the amplitude and phase information of the detection signal, the sensing results of long-distance transmission line vibration are obtained; By calculating the time difference of polarization mutation signal at both ends of long-distance transmission line, combined with the propagation speed of optical signal and the length of long-distance transmission line, the perception result of lightning fault location of long-distance transmission line can be obtained. The experimental results show that this method can more accurately collect the real-time operation data of long-distance transmission lines, and can effectively perceive the galloping, wind vibration and lightning fault location of long-distance transmission lines.
Lot’s Daughters: “Sacrificial Children” and the Ethos of Hospitality
Authors: Omar Sara 
Published: September 2024

Abstract
Upon discovering the arrival of guests at Lot’s home, the men of the city rushed to his door and demanded that he bring them out, prompting Lot to respond by offering his daughters to the mob instead (Q 11:78–79, 15:67–71). The depiction of Lot’s offer of his daughters in Q 11:78–79 and 15:67–71 has troubled many scholars, some of whom question both the nature of this offer and Lot’s moral character. While early Muslim sources depict Lot as a righteous host and focus on the legal implications of his offer, later scholars grapple with how Lot sought to protect his guests. Such concerns arise from the later Muslim belief that Lot, being a prophet, is protected from sin. In this article, I propose adopting a historical reading of Lot’s offer of his daughters that takes into account early Muslims’ perceptions of the Lot narrative as fundamentally about hospitality. Moreover, I contend that Lot’s offer of his daughters can be read in light of other ancient narratives of “sacrificial children” for the purpose of upholding the sacred virtues of hospitality, generosity, and loyalty.
Portrait of the grammarian as an artist
Authors: Knobl Werner 
Published: September 2024

Abstract
The enigmatic final sūtra of Pāṇini’s Grammar has long challenged commentators to interpret it as an ingenious illustration of phonology, involving a reinstatement of a rule, suspended in the body of the grammar, that the open vowel
a
is closed in fluent speech. The possibility is considered, though ultimately rejected, that the sutra is predicate-first and not predicate-last. Parallels are drawn with other passages in Pāṇini, where multiple readings are possible for the same passage. Given the creativity we know to have been pervasive in his work, a reinterpretation of the final sūtra is proposed, whereby the rule suspension is situated in the text itself, to be read as an uroboros.
Cultured Meat as a Transitional Step Towards Interspecies Justice?
Authors: Cooke Steve 
Published: September 2024

Abstract
For some, cultured animal products ought to be celebrated for the potential they offer to replace factory farming. Others argue that, for the same reason, there is a duty to support their production and consumption. This paper argues that the ethical status of cultured animal products ought to be assessed not just in comparison with factory farming, but also in terms of its potential to bring about interspecies justice. The claim is made that the attitudes embodied within cultured animal products show a lack of proper respect for nonhuman animals and are at odds with those required by justice. Although cultured animal products have the potential to greatly reduce harms done to nonhuman animals, this paper argues that their adoption ought to nevertheless be regarded with some regret. Using a Rawlsian framework for assessing transitional steps towards justice, the paper shows that, whilst the adoption of cultured animal products may be permissible, the case for regarding it as a duty is much weaker. For cultured meats to be permissible, it must first be shown that alternatives that respect the value of nonhuman animals as ends-in-themselves do not exist.
Neo-Aristotelian Naturalism as a Metaethical Route to Virtue-Ethical Longtermism
Authors: Runge Richard Friedrich 
Published: September 2024

Abstract
This article proposes a metaethical route from neo-Aristotelian naturalism, as developed in particular by Philippa Foot, to virtue-ethical longtermism. It argues that the metaethical assumptions of neo-Aristotelian naturalism inherently imply that a valid description of the life-form of a species must satisfy a formal requirement of internal sustainability. The elements of a valid life-form description then serve as a normative standard. Given that humans have the ability to influence the fate of future generations and know about their influence, this article posits that our future as a species becomes a part of the description of the human life-form. Consequently, in our case, the sustainability requirement is extended into the future, leading to a minimal and humanist version of longtermism. As in Rosalind Hursthouse’s naturalistic virtue ethics, the focus of the proposed virtue-ethical longtermism remains on developing virtues as the only reliable way for the agent to achieve the good life. However, since what can count as virtue must be compatible with a life-form description that, taken as a whole, facilitates the long-term survival of our species, this position still implies a genuine longtermism, although it contrasts with the quantifying and maximizing logic of consequentialism.
Relating 2D isovists to audiovisual assessments of two urban spaces in a neighbourhood
Authors: Llorca-Bofí Josep , Heck Jonas , Vorländer Michael 
Published: September 2024

Abstract
In the field of urban design assessment, increasing attention to the nonexpert verbalizations is paid to engage social participation in planning processes, especially those not limited to static visual renderings. However, little has been explored on reproducible methods to collect these vocabularies and their relationship with architectural features. This study presents a hierarchical multifactor analysis to extract the main perceptual nonexpert clusters; and a linear correlation analysis to relate them with 2D isovist measures. In an on-line experiment, participants (

n
=
20

n=20

) elicited individual attributes (

n
=
120

n=120

) to describe their soundscape and visual perception and compared recorded urban environments (

n
=
8

n=8

). The results show that a percentage of nonexpert audio attributes correlate as well as the visual ones with isovist metrics.
Examining the Military Spending Economic Growth Nexus in the Presence of Informality: Evidence from the Balkan Peninsula
Authors: Dimitraki Ourania , Emmanouilidis Kyriakos , Asllani Alban 
Published: September 2024

Abstract
This paper examines the military expenditure (milex) economic growth nexus, in selected Balkan and peripheral countries from 1990 to 2022, considering the presence of informality within an institutional framework. Specifically, we employ Principal Components Analysis (PCA) to formulate an index of informality and use the Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) and Fully-Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) methods to identify the long-run equilibria. To provide a more comprehensive insight, the study also incorporates two types of causality tests – Dumitrescu-Hurlin and Juodis et al. – to determine the direction of the relationships. Our findings indicate that in the long-run milex can be detrimental to economic growth whilst informality boosts it.
Null objects, null nominal anaphora and antilogophoricity
Authors: Barbosa Pilar 
Published: September 2024

Abstract
This paper discusses null objects (NOs) in Ibero-Romance. European Portuguese (EP) has both definite and indefinte NOs, but Castillian Spanish (CSpanish) only allows NOs when the antecedent is a bare plural nominal or a mass noun. The paper argues that these differences are related to the distribution of bare nominals in each language and proposes that the same underlying mechanism is at the root of indefinite and definite object drop, namely a rootless [
nP

n ] proform. [
nP

n ] denotes a contextually salient property, its possible interpretations being derived by general type-shifting operations. In CSpanish, the property denoted by [
nP

n ] is interpreted as a restrictive modifier of the predicate and the relevant variable is bound under VP level Existential Closure. Focusing on EP, there are striking similarities between definite NOs and other types of nominal anaphora, including epithets. In particular, like epithets, NOs are subject to an Antilogophoricity Constraint. This affinity between NOs and epithets constitutes a case in favor of the idea that the NO is a base-generated nominal. The difference with respect to CSpanish lies in the possibility of interpreting the null nominal by a choice function, a function maps a property onto an entity that has the property.