bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Increased hepatic putrescine levels as a new potential factor related to the progression of metabolic dysfunction‐associated steatotic liver disease
Authors: Núñez‐Sánchez María Ángeles , Martínez‐Sánchez María Antonia , Sierra‐Cruz Marta , Lambertos Ana , Rico‐Chazarra Sara , Oliva‐Bolarín Alba , Balaguer‐Román Andrés , Yuste José Enrique , Martínez Carlos Manuel , Mika Adriana , Frutos María Dolores , Llamoza‐Torres Camilo J , Córdoba‐Chacón José , Ramos‐Molina Bruno 
Published: July 2024

AbstractMetabolic dysfunction‐associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a chronic liver condition that often progresses to more advanced stages, such as metabolic dysfunction‐associated steatohepatitis (MASH). MASH is characterized by inflammation and hepatocellular ballooning, in addition to hepatic steatosis. Despite the relatively high incidence of MASH in the population and its potential detrimental effects on human health, this liver disease is still not fully understood from a pathophysiological perspective. Deregulation of polyamine levels has been detected in various pathological conditions, including neurodegenerative diseases, inflammation, and cancer. However, the role of the polyamine pathway in chronic liver disorders such as MASLD has not been explored. In this study, we measured the expression of liver ornithine decarboxylase (ODC1), the rate‐limiting enzyme responsible for the production of putrescine, and the hepatic levels of putrescine, in a preclinical model of MASH as well as in liver biopsies of patients with obesity undergoing bariatric surgery. Our findings reveal that expression of ODC1 and the levels of putrescine, but not spermidine nor spermine, are elevated in hepatic tissue of both diet‐induced MASH mice and patients with biopsy‐proven MASH compared with control mice and patients without MASH, respectively. Furthermore, we found that the levels of putrescine were positively associated with higher aspartate aminotransferase concentrations in serum and an increased SAF score (steatosis, activity, fibrosis). Additionally, in in vitro assays using human HepG2 cells, we demonstrate that elevated levels of putrescine exacerbate the cellular response to palmitic acid, leading to decreased cell viability and increased release of CK‐18. Our results support an association between the expression of ODC1 and the progression of MASLD, which could have translational relevance in understanding the onset of this disease. © 2024 The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
Assessment of 3D woven near‐net‐shaped I‐sections for aeronautical applications: Weave design, manufacture, and mechanical properties under multiple loading conditions
Authors: Zhang Weijie , Li Yiding , Kong Weiyi , Li Junru , Zhang Xuan , Yan Ying , Yan Shibo 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThe design of composite I‐sections in aerostructures faces a significant challenge with conventional laminates because they are prone to delamination under out‐of‐plane loads. To address this issue, this study investigates the design, manufacture, and mechanical properties of 3D woven near‐net‐shaped composite I‐sections. The study also compares their advantages with equivalent laminates and examines the influence of weave patterns on their mechanical behavior. Specimens were manufactured using the vacuum‐assisted resin transfer molding technique, and quasi‐static tensile, compressive, and bending tests were conducted to assess the properties of I‐sections with three different weave patterns. It finds that the ultimate strength and damage tolerance of the considered design of 3D woven I‐sections are better than the considered design of 2D woven laminated counterparts, and different weave patterns play a significant effect in damage mode and load‐bearing capacity. In addition, using 3D woven preforms to manufacture composite I‐sections also exhibits shortened production time in terms of layup and resin infusion.Highlights
The 3D woven I‐sections show improved damage tolerance over 2D counterparts.
The design of weave patterns affects the properties of I‐section composites.
Using 3D preforms to manufacture I‐sections exhibits shortened production time.
Design consideration is proposed for the optimal weave pattern of the I‐sections.
Rhamnolipids: Green Surfactant for Environmental Bioremediation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)
Authors: Singh Vandana , Pandit Chetan , Ray Subhasree , Pandit Soumya , Ranjan Nishant , Sharma Deepansh , Sarma Hemen , S.J. Geetha , Makkar Randhir , Rustagi Sarvesh , Malik Sumira , Prasad Ram , Joshi Sanket J. 
Published: July 2024

ABSTRACTGreen surfactants–based bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from the environment is a promising technique. Rhamnolipids are a class of glycolipid surfactants that belong to the category of green surfactants and have distinctive characteristics. PAHs, which are hazardous toxins, are commonly found in polluted soil, water, and air. PAHs are difficult to break down because they are resistant to degradation and typical methods of cleaning up pollution are not very effective. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the capacity of specific microorganism species to produce rhamnolipids, which can enhance the process of PAH biodegradation. Rhamnolipids can dissolve and enhance the accessibility of PAHs, thereby boosting the effectiveness of microorganisms that break down PAHs. The presence of rhamnolipids can be attributed to the equilibrium between hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties, as well as their positive charge. Rhamnolipids have biosurfactant properties, making them beneficial for the bioremediation of polluted soil and water. In general, rhamnolipids have proven to be a highly efficient means of removing PAHs from the environment, providing a viable alternative to conventional chemical approaches. Nevertheless, additional investigation is necessary to gain a deeper comprehension of the fundamental principles behind rhamnolipid‐assisted bioremediation and to enhance its implementation in larger real‐world scenarios. This study provides a concise overview of recent research on the utilization of rhamnolipids for bioremediating PAHs in the environment. The article covers the underlying mechanisms, the specific microorganisms employed, and the overall efficacy of the bioremediation process. The utilization of rhamnolipids as a bioremediation tool is examined, along with the difficulties and restrictions of its implementation. The review's conclusion is followed by a discussion on the future directions for studying this topic.
The Very Long Game of Defense AI Adoption: Introduction
Authors: Borchert Heiko 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThe introduction contextualizes and summarizes the key results of the 25 case studies along the six lines of effort that constitute the analytical framework of the country analyses. First, it argues that core strategic motives, the role of partners and challengers, and a human or tech-centric understanding of defense AI shape the respective national approaches. Taken together the prevailing perspectives lead to a collective “lock-in” as all countries analyzed operate in a human and data-centric paradigm. Second, this affects current defense AI development priorities. Most nations develop AI in tandem with uncrewed systems, for example, for intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance missions, to support predictive maintenance and logistics, advance command and control, and further data analytics and data management. Third, in view of preparing for the use of defense AI many countries have set up new cross-functional entities to advance defense AI or improve AI-related technology developments. Most countries, however, have entrusted existing organizational entities with these tasks. In addition to organizational change at the ministerial level, some countries also introduce novel elements at service and command levels. Fourth, funding for defense AI is most difficult to compare as an internationally accepted spending taxonomy on defense AI is missing. Some nations operate in opaqueness as they do not publicly disclose financial figures. Others have dedicated AI budget lines, fund defense AI as part of ongoing procurement projects, and one country has ensured interagency funding. Fifth, in line with the development priorities, most nations also field defense AI for the use with uncrewed assets, followed by target identification/detection and data analytics. Almost every second country uses defense AI for predictive maintenance, logistics and simulation-based training. Most importantly, “learning by procuring” is an important inroad for defense AI to enter a foreign market via the defense solution procured from a partner. Finally, training for defense AI is evolving slowly. About a third of the countries focus on training only for the military service workforce. The same number of countries is also active in training civilian defense and military service workforces. Fewer countries also look at training the defense industrial workforce. Some countries also launch dedicated data training initiatives.
Leveraging Data Science for Defence in the Digital Age: Defence AI in the Netherlands
Authors: Heineken-van Dooren Marierose M. M. , Lindelauf Roy 
Published: July 2024

AbstractData science and AI play vital roles in realizing the Dutch Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) vision to work in a “data-driven” manner by 2035. Regarding these technologies, the Dutch MoD prioritizes responsible AI and data science, aiming for technological advancement, information-driven operations, while at the same time becoming a reliable player and advocate in the field of responsible AI. The Dutch MoD holds a human-centric view on AI as a capability multiplier. The Data Science and AI Strategy 2023–2027 emphasizes the importance of high-quality IT, data governance, and ethical decision-making using state of the art AI and data science methodologies. To gain new insights and support decision-making with the use of AI and data science, the Dutch MoD invests in enhancing knowledge and collaboration with public and private partners, while also experimenting internally with AI and data science on five key themes: autonomous systems, military decision-making and intelligence, predictive maintenance, safety, and business operations. The Dutch MoD commits to invest at least 2% of expenses of the defence budget in research and technology development and focuses on integrating AI into unmanned systems, decision support, logistics, and security. Collaboration and human oversight are emphasized through partnerships with EU and NATO partners, knowledge institutions, and industry. Educating personnel at all levels within the MoD on the use of data (scientific tools) and AI’s implications, including their ethical aspects, is crucial, with the Data Science Centre of Excellence leading in the field of academic knowledge enhancement. Overall, the Dutch MoD is dedicated to advance research, development, collaboration, and ethical principles in AI and data science to position the Netherlands as a leader in the responsible use of AI in the military domain.
Waking Up Slowly: Defense AI in Spain
Authors: Ricart Raquel Jorge 
Published: July 2024

AbstractIn Spain, discussions on defense AI are integrated within the broader national security discourse rather than being a standalone topic. Until around 2020, AI was not a central focus in the Spanish defense ecosystem, but the beginning of the 2020s saw a shift towards specific principles, roadmaps, and initiatives governing AI implementation. Acknowledgment of Spain’s lag in defense AI development highlights the need for improvement to enhance international positioning and competitiveness. The governance system for defense AI involves coordination among relevant institutions, with calls for increased funding, project diversification, and enhanced transparency in project documentation. While few large companies dominate the defense AI market, there is a suggestion to prioritize small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to diversify services and expand market footprint. Defense AI intersects with strategic sectors like aerospace and cybersecurity, necessitating further efforts to synergize with emerging technologies such as quantum computing. Training and human capital development in defense AI are identified as areas needing improvement, with calls for universities to actively include defense AI in their curricula in compliance with national and European regulations and fundamental rights.
Harnessing the Potential: Defense AI in Greece
Authors: Karampekios Nikolaos , Sakalis Konstantinos , Oikonomou Iraklis 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThis chapter seeks to shed light on the efforts of the Greek defense ecosystem to prepare for and adopt defense AI, as well as on the perceptions and considerations that have shaped these efforts. In line with the platonic phrase “necessity is the mother of invention,” the Greek defense establishment has been a quick adopter of AI and its defense promises for several reasons. These include long-standing bilateral problems with neighboring countries, the potential to apply defense-related AI to the civilian realm and vice versa, and an innate understanding of the need to ride the current scientific and technological wave. Overall, it is concluded that concrete steps have indeed been taken to harness the potential of the technological and operational “window of opportunity” that AI presents. However, the analysis notes the persistence of challenges, including the need to enhance cooperation with the science establishment, to strengthen participation in collaborative RD&I projects in line with current and operational requirements, to maximize the benefits for the domestic ecosystem from the procurement of cutting-edge defense equipment, and to establish a single administrative point for the establishment and implementation of a unified defense AI vision.
Will the One Ring Hold? Defense AI in South Korea
Authors: Park Youngwook 
Published: July 2024

AbstractSouth Korea sees artificial intelligence (AI) as central to its national vision, aiming to drive economic revitalization and bolster competitiveness. Backed by a history of state-led initiatives in technology and a robust information infrastructure, public support for AI and digitalization is widespread. The government's goal is to become an “AI powerhouse,” reflected in its national strategy likened to the “One Ring” from The Lord of the Rings, symbolizing a state-led technological utopia. Defense AI is integral to this vision, with the Ministry of National Defense focusing on modernizing the armed forces through AI integration. The government's approach emphasizes gradual development from recognition to decision intelligence, supported by establishing a National Defense AI Center and fostering a collaborative ecosystem. This strategy aims to break traditional defense procurement barriers and attract civilian talent from the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. Significant investment in AI development underscores this ambition. Efforts include integrating defense AI into surveillance, combat, and command and control systems, with plans for complex manned-unmanned combat systems and Joint All-Domain Command and Control Systems akin to US initiatives. South Korea also prioritizes education to nurture defense AI talent, collaborating with academic institutions and initiating specialized education programs. Military pilot units are designated to enhance human expertise in defense AI application, aligning with broader efforts to advance digital proficiency within the military. South Korea defense AI ambition benefit from robust government spending by the Ministry of Defense in cooperation with Ministry of Science and ICT.
Intelligent National Defense Amid Strategic Ambiguity? Defense AI in Taiwan
Authors: Liao Kitsch 
Published: July 2024

AbstractTaiwan's defense AI approach is hindered by a historical legacy of authoritarianism, resulting in a disconnect between the civilian government and the defense establishment. This same disconnect also impedes Taiwan's strategic alignment to address the Chinese threat in a unified manner agreed upon by Taiwan's political leadership and its primary security ally, the United States. Additionally, this disconnect prevents effective collaboration between the defense establishment and Taiwan's vibrant civilian technology innovation sector to effectively develop defense AI. Current defense AI programs are fragmented and lack focus, often prioritizing emulation over innovation. For example, attempts by the Taiwan Air Force to integrate AI into future operational concepts have been ambitious technically but conceptually disjointed. In addition to a main focus on AI for close quarters air combat, Taiwan also has projects for support tasks, to advance predictive maintenance, for IT network management, and to assist space-based assets. Currently fielded AI applications are much more limited in scope, including medical training devices and predictive maintenance. However, Taiwan has also been consistently spending a higher-than average portion of its GDP on the civilian side of technology innovation and received stellar results in AI development and application. In summary, there is no shortage of grassroots ideas within and outside Taiwan's defense establishment for defense technology innovation. If Taiwan can better channel grassroots talent and solutions into a more open defense innovation ecosystem, it could significantly benefit from the adoption of defense AI in confronting the threat posed by China.
A Fertile Soil for AI? Defense AI in Sweden
Authors: Finlan Alastair 
Published: July 2024

AbstractSweden is well positioned to develop AI for civil and military applications because of bold strategic initiatives by the government and private foundations. The fertility of the Swedish AI soil for defense applications is though dependent on what is nurtured now in the face of competing priorities including the revitalization of its armed forces, looming NATO membership and the resurrection of the total defense concept. Sweden’s long intellectual interest in AI makes this high-tech Nordic nation with a flair for engineering achievements very suited for Fourth Industrial Revolution developments. Sweden’s culturally-infused and porous civil military relations have an unusual intimacy that bodes well for defense AI. It encourages the interflow of ideas, initiative, and technologies across and within these sectors. Sweden’s official recognition in 2018 of the importance of AI brought the government into alignment with the influential private sector. The Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems, and Software Program (WASP) initiative is stimulating the higher education sector with essential funding for AI technologies and future generations of researchers. Sweden now possesses one of the most advanced supercomputers in Europe, which is an important national asset in the Swedish AI ecosystem. Sweden’s advanced military industry already employs defense AI systems with Saab at the forefront of sensor plus AI innovations. The take-up of defense AI in the Swedish armed forces is modest but growing. It is underpinned by strong conceptual work by the Swedish Defense Research Agency that suggests more substantial future engagement. The accession to NATO is also likely to open even more pathways for defense AI cooperation. The foundations for defense AI developments are very apparent in Sweden and the future is potentially very bright.
Master and Servant: Defense AI in Germany
Authors: Borchert Heiko , Schütz Torben , Verbovszky Joseph 
Published: July 2024

AbstractGermany’s defense AI path is caught in a “master and servant” logic. Germany struggles to readjust its input-driven strategic culture, which puts greater emphasis on the socio-political acceptance and legitimization of military power than on the effects it can achieve. As a result, Germany considers defense AI as a tool—the humble servant—subordinate to humans, who must always remain in the loop. Incrementalism dominates, which makes it difficult to assess what defense AI is expected to achieve and whether it delivers on this expectation. As a result, most German defense AI development projects focus on decision-making support and gradual improvements of other technologies in the fields of Command, Control, Computers, and Communications (C4) and Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR). An open-source intelligence system for crisis early warning, AI-based warning receivers for helicopters, and intelligent image processing for missiles feature among the more prominent, publicly known examples of fielded defense AI capabilities. In parallel to adapting defense structures, Germany has stepped up defense funding. While an aggregate number of German defense AI spending is not available, we contend that the country spends around €50M per year on AI-related software development. As defense AI also affects military education and training, the Bundeswehr’s Command and Staff College as well as the University of the Bundeswehr in Hamburg are preparing to adapt existing curricula and setting up new degree courses. Individual military services also explore opportunities for AI-enhanced simulation-based training, while different initiatives have been launched to train defense AI algorithms.
Fundamental Concepts in Medicine: Why Risk and Disease Are Likely to Stay on Board
Authors: Dekkers Olaf 
Published: July 2024

AbstractIn everyday medical language the words risk and disease are easily used. Patients and doctors discuss the cause and prognosis of a disease while at the same time consider what the risks associated different treatment options are. Arguably, both risks and diseases belong to the basic stuff in medicine; they can be seen as different approaches to the same set of health-related phenomena, even though their demaracation is challening.
Conceptual Engineering Health: A Historical-Philosophical Analysis of the Concept of Positive Health
Authors: van der Linden Rik , Schermer Maartje 
Published: July 2024

AbstractInstead of defining health and disease in a traditional analytic fashion, the medical-philosophical debate is now refocusing on explicating, specifying and contextualizing concepts, which implies adapting, improving or replacing them. This new view on pragmatically formulating definitions for health and disease concepts lines up with what has recently come to be known as conceptual engineering. In this paper we analyze and evaluate the concept of Positive Health by applying the methodology of conceptual engineering. Positive Health is a concept that was developed by healthcare researchers and professionals in response to problems experienced in medical practice, and that has gained significant popularity within the Dutch healthcare system and beyond. By means of a combined historical-philosophical approach, we first explore the reasons for re-engineering the concept of health, the kind of actors involved and the outcomes and effects of this re-engineering. We then evaluate the adequacy of this reconceptualization, using Carnapian explication and ameliorative analysis. We argue that conceptual engineering supports the pragmatist approach towards health and disease concepts and complements it by providing tools for critical analysis and evaluation. In turn, conceptual engineering can learn from case studies from the medical domain, such as Positive Health.
Prologue: A Pragmatist Approach to Conceptualization of Health and Disease
Authors: Binney Nicholas , Bolt Timo , van der Linden Rik , Schermer Maartje 
Published: July 2024

AbstractIn this chapter, the research group on the project “Health and disease as practical concepts” set out the main tenets of their research program and discuss the connection of their approach with the classical American pragmatists. In this pragmatic vein, the project seeks to identify, articulate and address problematic situations from clinical practice that involve concepts of health and disease. Some of these problematic situations are briefly described, as they served to inspire the contributions to the edited volume.