bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Relationality and Data Justice for Trustworthy AI Practices in Africa
Authors: Ruttkamp-Bloem Emma 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to unpack what is needed to ensure the trustworthiness of AI practices in Africa through the lens of social justice considerations. The chapter is a call for a strategy for building a sustainable equitable AI ecosystem in Africa supported through trustworthy AI practices focused on public and communal benefit rather than enriching Big Tech companies on the other side of the world. I introduce the notion of ‘AI justice’, which is justice for every inhabitant of the African continent who engages with AI technology at any stage of its lifecycle, and which is a notion embedded in a relational ethic and emerging from a combination of data and design justice approaches as elements of social justice in the domain of AI. In this sense, an AI practice will be trustworthy when it protects the rights and benefits of the communities whose data it uses. In this sense I will speak of trustworthy AI practices ‘serving’ communities. This chapter is a challenge to all AI actors in Africa—the researchers, designers, developers, deployers, and users—to claim their collective ownership of the domain of AI and stand together to build social resilience against the Big Tech business model that drives algorithmic colonisation.
Building Trustworthiness as a Requirement for AI in Africa: Challenges, Stakeholders and Perspectives
Authors: Ndiaye Seydina Moussa 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
As Africa embraces the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for socio-economic development, the continent faces unique challenges and opportunities in building a trustworthy and sovereign AI ecosystem. While several African nations, led by Mauritius in 2018, have launched national AI strategies, the continent must navigate complex dynamics, including the digital divide and the risk of digital colonialism. The reliance on foreign AI solutions can undermine Africa's autonomy and perpetuate dependency, making it crucial to prioritise locally developed technologies that align with the continent's cultural and socio-economic realities. The African Union and other international initiatives have laid the groundwork for responsible AI deployment, emphasising ethics, inclusivity and local sovereignty. However, the success of AI in Africa hinges on the active engagement of diverse stakeholders, including governments, educational institutions, private sector entities, communities and multilateral organisations. These stakeholders must collaborate to create an ecosystem that fosters innovation, upholds ethical standards and mitigates the risks of external dependency by investing in homegrown AI solutions. Governments play a crucial role in establishing regulatory frameworks, promoting public-sector AI applications and forming strategic partnerships. Simultaneously, educational institutions are essential in cultivating AI talent and driving research, while the private sector and communities contribute to ecosystem vitality. Ensuring an inclusive, adaptive and resilient AI ecosystem will require ongoing collaboration and trust-building among all parties. Ultimately, a vibrant, self-regulated AI ecosystem can position Africa as a leader in global AI governance, harnessing technology for sustainable development while safeguarding its sovereignty.
Exploring Trustworthy AI in Nigeria: A Focus on Safety in Road Traffic
Authors: Ibrahim Memunat A. , Williams Elizabeth , Aruleba Kehinde 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Safety is paramount in AI systems’ adoption and trust. Much of the work on trustworthy AI principles and practices are primarily from Western contexts, despite the often global deployment of AI-enabled systems. The lacking representation of African contexts and voices in AI safety discourse may lead to disproportionate harm from AI systems in Africa. In this chapter, we contribute an African perspective to AI safety by exploring safety in Nigerian road traffic—an environment where AI-enabled systems designed in Western contexts are gaining traction. With the view that safety is systemic, we explored (1) AI safety definitions and (2) practical safety in Nigerian road traffic by highlighting some of the safety impacts of automobility and its regulation in Nigeria. Drawing on these, we identified sociotechnical and environmental factors that are critical for safe AI development and adoption in Nigeria. We conclude the chapter by discussing the lessons and recommended actions for ensuring AI safety in Nigeria and other African countries. They include systemically prioritising Africa’s and Africans’ safety in AI systems through research and stakeholder engagements, local and global empowerment of African researchers, respecting African values and contributions to global AI discourse, and creating spaces for communal contributions to AI safety through public engagements and education.
“This robot is dictating her next steps in life”: disability justice and relational AI ethics
Authors: van Toorn Georgia , Scully Jackie Leach , Gendera Sandra 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
As automated technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) and automated decision-making (ADM), become integral to social life, there is growing concern about their ethical implications. While issues of accountability, transparency, and fairness dominate discussions on “ethical” AI, little attention has been given to how socially disadvantaged groups most impacted by ADM systems form ethical judgments about them. Drawing on insights from relational ethics, this study uses dialogue groups with disabled people to explore how people distinguish between ‘more just’ or ‘less just’ uses of technology, and the contextual, situational, and relational factors that shape these judgments. For the dialogue group participants in our study, ethical reasoning was most strongly influenced by concerns about how ADM systems affect self-determination, caring relationships and identity recognition, and about the political–economic drivers of automation. The article contributes to AI ethics by empirically demonstrating that justice and ethics depend on the social relationships valued in different contexts and what is at stake, both personally and politically, in decisions aided by automation.
Current use of percutaneous ablation in renal tumors: an analysis of the registry of the German Society for Interventional Radiology and Minimally Invasive Therapy
Authors: Schaarschmidt Benedikt M. , Zensen Sebastian , Kesch Claudia , Dertnig Thomas , Opitz Marcel , Drews Marcel , Nadjiri Jonathan , Forsting Michael , Hadaschik Boris A. , Haubold Johannes 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

Objective
To evaluate the success and complications of thermal ablation (TA) based on the voluntary, prospective registry of the German Society for Interventional Radiology and Minimally Invasive Therapy (DeGIR) with 303 participating centers from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Materials and methods
Registry data from 2018 until 2023 of 1102 patients with small renal tumors (age: 72.5 ± 11.6 years; female: 33.6%, 370/1102) were analyzed. Hospitals with ≥ 20 TAs were considered high-volume centers. Technical success and complication rates between different parameters were compared using the chi-square or Fisher’s exact test, p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results
Patients were most frequently treated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA, 43.6%, 481/1102), then microwave ablation (MWA, 41.9%, 462/1102) or cryoablation (13.3%, 147/1102). Technical success for heat-based TA (RFA&MWA) was 94.3% (893/947), for cryoablation 97.3% (143/147). RFA&MWA was significantly more successful in lesions ≤ 3 cm (96.1%, 567/590) compared to 3–4 cm lesions (89.8%, 97/108; p = 0.005). In patients treated with cryoablation, no significant differences between sizes could be found (≤ 3 cm: 97.9%, 94/96; 3–4 cm: 85.7%, 12/14; p = 0.078). Complication rate was significantly higher in RFA&MWA of lesions 3–4 cm compared to ≤ 3 cm (≤ 3 cm: 3.9%, 23/590; 3–4 cm: 11.1%, 12/108, p = 0.002), while no significant differences were seen regarding cryoablation (≤ 3 cm: 1.0%, 1/96; 3–4 cm: 0.0%, 0/14; p = 1.000).

Conclusions
In this exploratory analysis of the DeGIR registry, percutaneous TA of small renal masses is technically feasible with low complication rates. Heat-based TAs seem to have lower success rates and higher complication rates in larger tumors. Cryoablation could potentially be a safe alternative for 3- to 4-cm-sized tumors.

Key Points

Question

How effective is renal thermal ablation (TA) in terms of treatment success and complication rates?

Findings

In contrast to cryoablation, heat-based thermal ablation has lower success and higher complication rates in tumors measuring 3–4 cm compared to tumors < 3 cm.

Clinical relevance

Thermal ablation is not influenced by the need for additional techniques such as cooling, protective organ displacement, or temporary vessel occlusion. For small renal tumors, TA is an effective and safe treatment option. Cryoablation could be beneficial in larger tumors.

Graphical Abstract
From collective intelligence to global optimisation: an agent-based model approach
Authors: Garzón Martha , Álvarez-Pomar Lindsay , Rojas-Galeano Sergio 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Drawing inspiration from online question-and-answer communities often regarded as embodiments of Collective Intelligence (CI), this study investigates the dynamics of reputation-driven and distributed network interactions in multi-agent systems as a model for problem-solving in global optimisation. We explore the interplay among diverse participants, including Solvers motivated by reputation and Users seeking net benefits, recognising its critical role in fostering success within these communities. Our study translates the principles of CI inherent in these interactions into a novel agent-based search algorithm for unconstrained optimisation of continuous-valued cost functions. Empirical testing across a suite of established benchmark problems allows a comparative analysis of its performance against alternative agent-based methodologies. These findings underscore the algorithm’s advantages across diverse optimisation 2D landscapes, highlighting the potential of the CI framework as a promising avenue in metaheuristic research. They illustrate how the interaction between individual actors and the collective, favours the emergence of global solutions in unknown environments, mirroring similar emergent phenomena observed in social organisations.
Affordances, constraints, and implications of ChatGPT in education from a social-ecological perspective: A data mining approach
Authors: Zhong Yuchun , Lian Jie , Huang Hao , Deng Hao 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This study investigated the affordances, constraints, and implications of ChatGPT in education using the affordance theory and social-ecological systems theory. We employed a data mining approach that blends social media analytics including sentiment analysis and topic modelling and qualitative analysis to extract viewpoints from a collection of datasets consisting of 33,456 tweets. Key findings indicate that 42.1% of analysed tweets conveyed a positive sentiment, 39.6% were neutral, and only 18.3% conveyed a negative sentiment. We also identified five categories of ChatGPT properties (e.g., text and data analysis, AI and machine learning) and an array of affordances of ChatGPT in education (e.g., facilitating student personalised learning, classroom instruction, provision of educational resources, curriculum changes, and assessment). Meanwhile, the findings revealed key concerns, including academic dishonesty, bias, and ethics that warrant attention. This study contributes to a real-time understanding of the impact of ChatGPT on education and informs researchers, educators, and policymakers to take a holistic approach to evaluating ChatGPT in educational practices.
AutInsight: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) of a Consumer-Informed Parent Support Program for Parents of Autistic Children
Authors: Lee Jia Ying Sarah , Whittingham Koa , Mitchell Amy E. 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
AutInsight is an innovative, consumer-informed parent support program for parents of autistic children grounded in perspectives from qualitative research with autistic adults. The current study outlines the development and evaluation of AutInsight through a pilot randomised controlled trial. Parents (N = 41) of autistic children (10 years and younger) were randomly allocated to AutInsight (n = 20) or care-as-usual (n = 21) and completed online questionnaires across three timepoints (baseline, post-program and 3-month follow-up). Measures include parental sensitivity, parental acceptance and understanding, psychological flexibility, mindful parenting, parental mental health, overall family experience, quality of life, and child behaviours. Intent-to-treat analyses indicated greater rates of improvement for parents allocated to the AutInsight program, with small- to medium-sized effects for parent-reported parental sensitivity (EA-SR mutual attunement d = 0.84, EA-SR child involvement d = 0.50), as well as overall autism family experience (AFEQtotal
d = 0.38, AFEQfamily life
d = 0.29). Greater rates of improvement were also found in parent-reported child conduct problems (SDQ d = 0.62) and prosocial behaviours (SDQ d = 0.48). No significant results were found in observed parental sensitivity or any other measure. Results suggest preliminary evidence of effectiveness, feasibility and acceptability of the AutInsight program. A larger, fully powered trial is warranted. This trial was prospectively registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (Trial ID: ACTRN12623000806662).
Pyrrolidine Dithiocarbamate Ameliorates Sepsis-Associated Encephalopathy by Inhibiting Autophagy and Inflammation in the Brain
Authors: Lu Yang , Zuo Zhiyi 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) is common and has poor clinical outcome. Sepsis increases autophagy in the brain. This study was designed to determine the role of autophagy on SAE including the brain structures related to learning and memory and the effects of pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC), an anti-inflammatory agent, on autophagy and SAE. Six- to eight-week old CD-1 male mice were subjected to cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Some mice received intracerebroventricular injection of the autophagy suppressor 3-methyladenine (3-MA) or intraperitoneal injection of PDTC immediately at the completion of the CLP. ELISA was used to measure interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor α. Autophagy-related protein expression in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus was analyzed by Western blotting. The cognitive functions of mice were analyzed by Barnes maze and fear conditioning tests. CLP increased microtubuleassociated protein light chain 3 II (LC3II) and Beclin 1 and decreased p62 in the brain. CLP also increased proinflammatory cytokines and impaired learning and memory. These effects were inhibited by 3-MA and PDTC. Spine proliferation and maturation were impaired by CLP, which was attenuated by PDTC and 3MA. Abundant autophagic vacuoles were observed by transmission electron microscopy in CLP group. LC3II immunostaining was co-localized with that of ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 and microtubule-associated protein-2. The co-staining was attenuated by 3-MA and PDTC. Our results suggest that sepsis increases autophagy in the microglia and neurons. Inhibiting autophagy improves SAE and brain structures related to learning and memory in mice. Autophagy and inflammation in the brain may regulate each other during sepsis.
In vitro validation concept for lyophilized fecal microbiota products with a focus on bacterial viability
Authors: Sedeek Sara A. , Farowski Fedja , Youssafi Stella , Tsakmaklis Anastasia , Brodesser Susanne , El-Attar Madiha M. , Abdelmalek Mohamed Omar , Vehreschild Maria J. G. T. 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) effectively treats recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (rCDI), typically administered as a fresh or frozen stool suspension through colonoscopy, nasojejunal tube, or oral capsules. Lyophilized fecal microbiota (LFM) are an alternative to frozen FM products. We aimed to assess whether lyophilization affects bacterial viability and metabolite levels and to develop LFM capsules for clinical use in Germany. Fecal donations from pre-screened volunteers were aliquoted and analyzed through microbial cell counting, bacterial culture, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, and bile acid assays. Results showed higher counts of viable bacterial cells and cultured anaerobes in unprocessed stool compared to freshly processed stool (p = 0.012 and p < 0.001, respectively). No significant difference in viable bacterial counts was found between freshly processed (day 0), lyophilized (day 3) and frozen FM (day 3) (p = 0.15), nor between freshly processed (day 0), lyophilized (days 30 and 90) and frozen FM (day 30) (p = 0.07). lyophilization did not significantly impact bile acid and 16S rRNA profiling. Encapsulation of lyophilized powder required fewer capsules (10–14) than frozen capsules (30). LFM products are a practical, viable alternative to frozen and fresh FM products, potentially improving storage and patient acceptance.
Prevention of acid rock drainage formation through pyrite inhibition by silica coating
Authors: Butar Butar Dantie Claudia , Alakangas Lena , Kaasalainen Hanna , Ronne Erik 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Passive treatment of acid rock drainage (ARD) is a sustainable approach to control ARD, with sulfide inhibition by silica being a promising alternative. In a small-scale column leaching, a total of four cells loaded with pyritic waste rock (11 wt% S) from an operating Cu mine in Sweden were kept in a climatic chamber at a controlled temperature and humidity. The waste rock was leached for 11 weeks before treatment using alkaline silicate solution was applied, without pH buffer and adjuster. One cell was left untreated, whereas the others were treated with silicate solution as a source of dissolved silica, with and without H2O2 pre-oxidation. The pH in silica-treated cells generated leachate with circumneutral pH until the end of the leaching cycle, whereas sulfide oxidation accelerated in the absence of treatment. Leachate quality in all Si-treated cells improved, as evidenced by the suppressed release of sulfur and other metals (e.g., Al, Fe, Cu, Co, Mn, and Ni). Upon treatment with a longer contact time, silica (SiO2) layer developed on waste rock and inhibited pyrite. The layer remained stable upon extended exposure to air and water for up to 10 weeks after treatment. Despite forming a siliceous Fe–O phase, H2O2 pre-oxidation resulted in indirect oxidation of sulfides and other phases. With an excess of silicate solution and at alkaline pH, pyrite surfaces are devoid of coating and metal ions were mobilized. Finally, this study suggested that treatment of pyritic waste rock using silica can attenuate ARD formation and prevent metal leaching by pyrite inhibition and maintaining a circumneutral pH environment or both.
Responsive mathematics teaching and mathematics teacher noticing: a systematic review in early childhood and primary education
Authors: Alsina Ángel , Pincheira Nataly , Barquero Berta , Sellas Isabel , Marimon-Martí Marta 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
At a time when more student-centred teaching methodologies are being introduced, it is essential to investigate how educational research in teacher professional development has progressed. In this study, we focus especially on mathematics teaching to promote responsive teaching and noticing since both practices place students in the foreground in the teaching and learning processes. To this end, we carried out a systematic review of research articles published between 2010 and 2023 in the Web of Science and Scopus databases on responsive teaching and noticing in mathematics teacher education programmes of early childhood and primary school levels. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, 40 articles were identified. The general results show that the most productive countries were the United States, Spain and Australia; that the most addressed mathematical contents were those related to the teaching of numbers, operations and their properties; that there are more studies focused on primary school than on preschool; and that most studies used qualitative methodologies. The specific results show that the research topics focus on three aspects: teachers’ decision-making in relation to culturally responsive mathematics teaching; the identification of general characteristics of the noticing competence in mathematics teaching; and the specific development of professional noticing skills.
The association between inflammatory markers, walking speed, and metabolic syndrome in older Chinese adults
Authors: Dai Dabing , Zhao Lican , Li Shuai , Xu Yu , Du Aiping 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

Objective
As China’s ageing process accelerates, the annual prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) among older Chinese adults continues to rise. This study seeks to assess the relationship between inflammatory markers, walking pace, and MetS in old Chinese adults.

Methods
This study utilised a cross-sectional design, drawing on data from the 2011 and 2015 waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) conducted by Peking University, encompassing 3587 older adults aged over 60. Data regarding inflammatory markers (CRP), walking speed, and variables associated with MetS (including waist circumference and blood pressure) were gathered. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between CRP, walking speed, and MetS.

Results
In a cohort of 3587 older Chinese adults, slower walking speed (β = 0.414) and elevated CRP levels (β = 0.209) were significantly correlated with MetS, with the association persisting after controlling for confounding variables. Furthermore, females, urban residents, individuals with a higher BMI, and smokers exhibited an increased risk of developing MetS.

Conclusion
Walking speed and CRP levels are critical determinants in evaluating the risk of MetS in older adults; improving walking speed and mitigating inflammation may contribute to a decreased risk of MetS.