bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Melatonin in infants—physiology, pathophysiology and intervention options
Authors: Paditz Ekkehart 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe effectiveness of melatonin in nonorganic sleep disorders in children and adolescents has been examined in 33 randomised controlled studies [1]. This review presents the current state of knowledge on the physiology, pharmacokinetics, pathophysiology and toxicity of melatonin in infancy based on well-documented studies. Up to the third month of life, premature and full-term babies cannot produce their own melatonin, so they are dependent on exogenous supply via their own mother’s breast milk, non-pooled breast milk or non-pooled formula. Non-pooled means that a distinction should be made between melatonin-rich night milk and melatonin-poor day milk. A number of intervention studies indicate that administration of melatonin to infants may have analgesic and antioxidant effects related to ophthalmological examinations, prevention of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and the treatment of hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathies. Since melatonin concentrations in the mother’s blood, in breast milk and, e.g., also in cow’s milk show regular day–night fluctuations, and since breastfed infants have a more stable melatonin supply and fewer sleep disorders, infants who cannot be breastfed by their own mother should preferably have chrononutrition made from non-pooled human or cow’s milk. There has recently been evidence that infantile colic is a disorder with delayed development of chronobiological rhythms.
State-of-the-Art Constitutive Modelling of Frozen Soils
Authors: Li Kai-Qi , Yin Zhen-Yu , Qi Ji-Lin , Liu Yong 
Published: April 2024

AbstractIn recent decades, the constitutive modelling for frozen soils has attracted remarkable attention from scholars and engineers due to the continuously growing constructions in cold regions. Frozen soils exhibit substantial differences in mechanical behaviours compared to unfrozen soils, due to the presence of ice and the complexity of phase changes. Accordingly, it is more difficult to establish constitutive models to reasonably capture the mechanical behaviours of frozen soils than unfrozen soils. This study attempts to present a comprehensive review of the state of the art of constitutive models for frozen soils, which is a focal topic in geotechnical engineering. Various constitutive models of frozen soils under static and dynamic loads are summarised based on their underlying theories. The advantages and limitations of the models are thoroughly discussed. On this basis, the challenges and potential future research possibilities in frozen soil modelling are outlined, including the development of open databases and unified constitutive models with the aid of advanced techniques. It is hoped that the review could facilitate research on describing the mechanical behaviours of frozen soils, and promote a deeper understanding of the thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) coupled process occurring in cold regions.
Enhancement of Cobalt Bismuth Nano-Ferrite via Heat Treatment to be Applied in High-Frequency and Antimicrobial Applications
Authors: El-Bassuony Asmaa. A. H. , Hafez R. S. , Matter Nermen M. S. , Abdelsalam H. K. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractCobalt bismuth nano-ferrite (Co/Bi) with the chemical formula CoBi0.02Fe1.98O4 was produced using a simple flash auto-combustion method at three different temperatures: as-prepared, 600°C, and 800°C. A single-phase spinel structure was confirmed using X-ray diffraction, and the nano-scale morphology was examined using AFM (atomic force microscopy). Magnetic measurements demonstrated that increasing the annealing temperature increased the saturation magnetization Ms by 1.3 times. However, the coercivity Hc changed from semi-hard ferrite (as-prepared sample) to soft ferrite (Co/Bi nano-ferrite at 800°C) and reduced 10.7 times that of as-prepared nanoparticles. Therefore, the 800°C Co/Bi nano-ferrite with a low coercive field is recommended for transformers, recording heads, inductor cores, magnetic shielding, and microwave devices. The as-prepared sample and that at 600°C displayed super-high microwave frequency (SHF) in the X band in high-frequency applications calculated from magnetic measurement. The 800°C sample also has an extremely high microwave frequency in the Ku band, which is utilized in radar and satellite communications. Antimicrobial characterization showed that raising the annealing temperature increased the effectiveness of the samples against tested microorganisms. Thus, the samples under investigation are highly suggested for ultra-high microwave frequency applications and biological antibacterial nanomaterials.
Experimental analysis of building components with paper and textile waste
Authors: Stefania Liuzzi , Chiara Rubino , Francesco Martellotta 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe fast growth of building constructions industry and of the universal population is the main cause of increase in global energy consumption. Therefore, the improvement of the building envelope encourages the scientific community to investigate the use of alternative materials that assure indoor comfort conditions and at the same time promote the reduction of energy consumption by adopting energy saving strategies in the manufacturing process. The present research contribution aims to focus on the potential use of innovative building materials developed with waste paper, classified as urban non-hazardous discard component. The use of paper pulp originated from recycled paper and cardboard with the addition of textile fibers from industrial by-products was explored. Here, an effort has been made to realize sustainable insulating panel for internal use, considering different mix design and recycled components in various percentages. The research focuses on hygric, thermal, and physical performances of recycled waste based panels, measuring physical aspects as bulk porosity and bulk density and testing hygrothermal performances as the dry-state thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, volumetric heat capacity, and water vapour permeability. Furthermore, in order to assess the hygrothermal behaviour of the building envelope, a numerical simulation, carried out by WUFI® Plus in a Mediterranean context, was developed using as inputs the results collected from the measurement campaign in laboratory.
A Dual State in Turkey?
Authors: Krumm Thomas 
Published: April 2024

AbstractIn research on authoritarianism in Turkey and beyond, there is a growing interest in Ernst Fraenkel’s concept of the dual state from the Nazi era. However, upon closer inspection, these articles lack a systematic application and implementation of Fraenkel’s concept. Mostly, there is no discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of such a ‘diachronic’ conceptual transfer. This case study therefore puts particular emphasis on the methodological issues and on the possibilities and limitations of an ‘updated’ application. As a result, it turns out that Fraenkel’s categories are useful tools to trace how the Turkish administration and judiciary are reorganized along a logic of prerogative power. Fraenkel’s state-centred approach can thus contribute to close a gap left by alternative approaches. However, among the weaknesses even of Dreier and Meierhenrich’s supplement is that the time dimension was, respectively is, not sufficiently taken into account. Dual state structures can be more sustainable than originally assumed by Fraenkel.
Amino Acid Chelated Iron Versus Ferric Ammonium Citrate on Iron Status in Egyptian Children with Iron Deficiency Anemia: A Randomized Controlled Study
Authors: Hamed Hanan , Samie Ola M. Abdel , Motawie Ayat A , Kandil Manal E , El-saeed Gamila S. M. , Abdelhamid Nehal 
Published: April 2024

AbstractFew studies have compared the relative effectiveness of different iron compounds on iron status in school-age children with iron deficiency anemia. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of iron amino acid chelated (AACI) preparation versus ferric ammonium citrate (FAC) in treatment of iron deficiency anemia. Patients and methods: A randomized, clinical study was conducted on one hundred and sixty children aged 5–13 years old proved to have iron deficiency according to guide lines of WHO, 2001. All included children were subjected to the following laboratory investigations: CBC, reticulocytic count, CRP, serum iron, total iron binding capacity (TIBC), serum ferritin (SF), and serum hepcidin. Patients were assigned to two treatment regimens on randomized base 1:1 either to supplement with (AACI) or (FAC) once daily at bedtime. The subjects were followed up for eight weeks. Results: At the end of the study, group 1 who received AACI had increase in: Hb from 9.9 ± 1.1to 11.5 ± 0.3 gm/l(p = 0.01), MCV(fl) from 63.57.7 ± to 69 ± 6.3 (p = 0.05), serum iron from 49.5 ± 5.8 to 87 ± 12.7ug/dl(p = 0.001), serum ferritin from26.2 ± 10.5to 116.4 ± 19.7ng/ml(p = 0.001) while in group 2 who received FAC, there was increase in: HB from10.1 ± 1.7 to 11.2 ± 0.8, (p = 0.1), MCV from 64.5 ± 8.02 to 73.2 ± 8.9 (p = 0.01), serum iron from 48.2 ± 3.5to74 .3 ± 15 ug/dl (p = 0.01) and serum ferritin from 28.1 ± 9.3 to 84.3 ± 15.2 ng/ml (p = 0.006). Conclusion: Our study showed much improvement in iron status indices in AACI preparation with no significant statistically difference between it and FAC.
Preference-Based People-Aware Navigation for Telepresence Robots
Authors: Bacchin Alberto , Beraldo Gloria , Miura Jun , Menegatti Emanuele 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThis work proposes an innovative people-aware navigation for telepresence robots in a populated environment based on the estimated inclination of people to interact and the context information. The main novelty of the proposed people-aware shared intelligence is the ability to fuse the remote operator’s commands with the probability of person-robot interaction—from both the operator driving the robot and the people around it—and translate it into semi-autonomous approaching and avoiding behaviors that are not coded a priori but rather dynamically emerge according to the current context-awareness. Experiments involved 45 healthy participants who evaluated the proposed approach on a real robot. Three conditions have been tested: (a) the new people-aware shared intelligence; (b) a shared intelligence system integrated with the standard ROS social navigation layers and; (c) a direct teleoperation (i.e., no robot’s intelligence). Results from our people-aware shared intelligence system have shown that the robot’s social behaviors were in line with the expectations of the participants in terms of comfort, naturalness, and sociability and coherent with the findings from previous studies. Furthermore, the proposed system has facilitated the social interaction between the remote operator and the surrounding people, making the robot more proactive and without affecting navigation performance.
Drug targeting of aminopeptidases: importance of deploying a right metal cofactor
Authors: Bhat Saleem Yousuf 
Published: April 2024

AbstractAminopeptidases are metal co-factor-dependent hydrolases releasing N-terminal amino acid residues from peptides. Many of these enzymes, particularly the M24 methionine aminopeptidases (MetAPs), are considered valid drug targets in the fight against many parasitic and non-parasitic diseases. Targeting MetAPs has shown promising results against the malarial parasite, Plasmodium, which is regarded as potential anti-cancer targets. While targeting these essential enzymes represents a potentially promising approach, many challenges are often ignored by scientists when designing drugs or inhibitory scaffolds against the MetAPs. One such aspect is the metal co-factor, with inadequate attention paid to its role in catalysis, folding and remodeling of the catalytic site, and its role in inhibitor binding or potency. Knowing that a metal co-factor is essential for aminopeptidase enzyme activity and active site remodeling, it is intriguing that most computational biologists often ignore the metal ion while screening millions of potential inhibitors to find hits. Ironically, a similar trend is followed by biologists who avoid metal promiscuity of these enzymes while screening inhibitor libraries in vitro which may lead to false positives. This review highlights the importance of considering a physiologically relevant metal co-factor during the drug discovery processes targeting metal-dependent aminopeptidases.
Graphical abstract
Automatic segmentation of tumour and organs at risk in 3D MRI for cervical cancer radiation therapy with anatomical variations
Authors: Leung Sze-Nung , Chandra Shekhar S. , Lim Karen , Young Tony , Holloway Lois , Dowling Jason A. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractCervical cancer is a common cancer in women globally, with treatment usually involving radiation therapy (RT). Accurate segmentation for the tumour site and organ-at-risks (OARs) could assist in the reduction of treatment side effects and improve treatment planning efficiency. Cervical cancer Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) segmentation is challenging due to a limited amount of training data available and large inter- and intra- patient shape variation for OARs. The proposed Masked-Net consists of a masked encoder within the 3D U-Net to account for the large shape variation within the dataset, with additional dilated layers added to improve segmentation performance. A new loss function was introduced to consider the bounding box loss during training with the proposed Masked-Net. Transfer learning from a male pelvis MRI data with a similar field of view was included. The approaches were compared to the 3D U-Net which was widely used in MRI image segmentation. The data used consisted of 52 volumes obtained from 23 patients with stage IB to IVB cervical cancer across a maximum of 7 weeks of RT with manually contoured labels including the bladder, cervix, gross tumour volume, uterus and rectum. The model was trained and tested with a 5-fold cross validation. Outcomes were evaluated based on the Dice Similarity Coefficients (DSC), the Hausdorff Distance (HD) and the Mean Surface Distance (MSD). The proposed method accounted for the small dataset, large variations in OAR shape and tumour sizes with an average DSC, HD and MSD for all anatomical structures of 0.790, 30.19mm and 3.15mm respectively.
Thinking like an economist while reading the land: using reading quizzes to show environmental studies and sciences intersecting with economics in Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac
Authors: Rhoads Thomas A. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractReading quizzes for Aldo Leopold’s classic, A Sand County Almanac, that I give students in my upper-level environmental economics class provide an excellent opportunity to explore the intersection of what some consider signature pedagogies of environmental studies and sciences and economics. This paper gives a pedagogical rationale for this strategy while providing details on one of these reading quizzes. Because Leopold links his push for a land ethic and his passion for the outdoors with beautiful writing while incorporating lots of economics at the same time, reading the land and thinking like an economist—two signature pedagogies—can uniquely blend together. Reading quizzes can be useful for faculty teaching any class in the environmental studies and sciences arena and provide students with an incentive to read and think critically while also sparking excellent classroom discussion. In getting students to think about economic concepts as they are brought up by Leopold, they learn the process of thinking like an economist while reading the land. Seeing topics such as valuation, externalities, and more in Leopold’s writing gives students a perspective on economics that is likely to generate deeper interdisciplinary thinking on environmental matters. And with deeper thinking comes better understanding as our students prepare to design policies to solve our toughest future environmental problems. Faculty with an eye toward introducing economic concepts into an environmental class and a willingness to use Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac to accomplish this will find the net profit to be significant.
Pre-operative body shape concerns moderate excess weight loss trajectory in bariatric surgery patients: a 2-year longitudinal study
Authors: Moro Oriana , Albert Umberto , De Caro Elide Francesca , Palmisano Silvia , Mastronardi Manuela , Di Blas Lisa 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Purpose
The main research aim was to inspect whether pre-operative body shape concerns and discomfort as Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) scores moderate post-operative weight loss trajectory in bariatric patients.

Methods
Two studies were conducted. Study 1 analyzed cross-sectional data and verified the structural validity of the 34-item BSQ questionnaire on a sample of 327 candidates for bariatric surgery. Study 2 examined longitudinal data, with objective Body Mass Index (BMI) recorded every 6 months, from surgery intervention on, with 5 measurement occasions, from 111 patients who initially completed BSQ as bariatric surgery candidates and then underwent periodic medical post-operative follow-ups, over 2 years.

Results
In Study 1, confirmatory factor analysis of a single-dimension model yielded acceptable fit indices and high internal consistency levels. Study 2 showed that post-operative excess BMI reduction trend was not linear and pre-operative BSQ scores moderated it, with a higher risk of weight regain in patients who initially were less concerned with their body shape.

Conclusions
The present findings support the structural validity of the BSQ questionnaire in bariatric candidates and call attention on the role of pre-operative body shape concerns on post-operative weight loss trajectories over 2 years, in accordance with a pathoplasty model. They suggest the need for systematic attention on perceived body image and psychological paths aimed to help bariatric patients regain positive attitudes towards their own body.
Level of evidence III, well-designed cohort
Promoting sustainable tourism by recommending sequences of attractions with deep reinforcement learning
Authors: Dalla Vecchia Anna , Migliorini Sara , Quintarelli Elisa , Gambini Mauro , Belussi Alberto 
Published: April 2024

AbstractDeveloping Recommender Systems (RSs) is particularly interesting in the tourist domain, where one or more attractions have to be suggested to users based on preferences, contextual dimensions, and several other constraints. RSs usually rely on the availability of a vast amount of historical information about users’ past activities. However, this is not usually the case in the tourist domain, where acquiring complete and accurate information about the user’s behavior is complex, and providing personalized suggestions is frequently practically impossible. Moreover, even though most available Touristic RSs (T-RSs) are user-focused, the touristic domain also requires the development of systems that can promote a more sustainable form of tourism. The concept of sustainable tourism covers many aspects, from economic, social, and environmental issues to the attention to improving tourists’ experience and the needs of host communities. In this regard, one of the most important aspects is the prevention of overcrowded situations in attractions or locations (over-tourism). For this reason, this paper proposes a different kind of T-RS, which focuses more on the tourists’ impact on the destinations, trying to improve their experiences by offering better visit conditions. Moreover, instead of suggesting the next Point of Interest (PoI) to visit in a given situation, it provides a suggestion about a complete sequence of PoIs (tourist itinerary) that covers an entire day or vacation period. The proposed technique is based on the application of Deep Reinforcement Learning, where the tourist’s reward depends on the specific spatial and temporal context in which the itinerary has to be performed. The solution has been evaluated with a real-world dataset regarding the visits conducted by tourists in Verona (Italy) from 2014 to 2023 and compared with three baselines.
Compliance or Complicity? An Analysis of the EU-Tunisia Deal in the Context of the Externalisation of Migration Control
Authors: Strik Tineke , Robbesom Ruben 
Published: April 2024

AbstractOn 23 July 2023, the European Commission concluded a ‘Memorandum of Understanding on a Strategic and Global Partnership with Tunisia’ (MoU), mainly aimed at stemming migration in exchange for strengthened cooperation in other policy areas. The MoU was met with strong criticism from both civil society and institutional bodies such as the European Parliament, the European Ombudsman, and several Member States. Critics fear complicity in the fundamental rights violations of migrants and denounced the informal and opaque approach by the European Commission, while formal avenues were at hand. This article reassesses the conclusion of the MoU and draws an analysis of the MoU from the perspective of human rights compliance as well as democratic and judicial control, while also examining compliance with the European Commission’s obligations. Furthermore, the article puts the MoU in the context of the EU policy trend of externalising migration control through partnerships with third countries.
Aristocrats in Arbitration: Did Class Affect Inter-state Arbitration Before or After the 1899 Hague Peace Conference?
Authors: Fry James D. , Cheung Arthur L. W. , Michael Bryane 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
This article explores whether the aristocratic status of arbitrators or disputants affected the outcome of inter-state arbitrations either before or after the 1899 Hague Peace Conference. This article takes a longue durée approach to the topic by including all inter-state arbitrations between 1794 and 1989. The research shows a statistically significant relationship between respondent-appointed aristocratic arbitrators on a tribunal and the outcome against the aristocratic party, as well as a statistically significant relationship between no respondent-appointed aristocratic arbitrators and outcome in favor of the claimant, but only in inter-state arbitrations before the Conference for both of these relationships. This article brings into question whether aristocratic arbitrators from before the Conference were fully committed to the international rule of law. Moreover, it highlights how such arbitrators stopped making their decisions based on class after the Conference, which should reassure users of inter-state arbitration that worry about such biases.
Diagnostics of the solar coronal plasmas by magnetohydrodynamic waves: magnetohydrodynamic seismology
Authors: Nakariakov Valery M. , Zhong Sihui , Kolotkov Dmitrii Y. , Meadowcroft Rebecca L. , Zhong Yu , Yuan Ding 
Published: April 2024

AbstractMacroscopic wave and oscillatory phenomena ubiquitously detected in the plasma of the corona of the Sun are interpreted in terms of magnetohydrodynamic theory. Fast and slow magnetoacoustic waves are clearly distinguished in observations. Properties of coronal magnetohydrodynamic waves are determined by local parameters of the plasma, including the field-aligned filamentation typical for the corona. It makes coronal magnetohydrodynamic waves reliable probes of the coronal plasma structures by the method of magnetohydrodynamic seismology. For example, propagating slow waves indicate the local direction of the guiding magnetic field. Standing, sloshing and propagating slow waves can be used for probing the coronal heating function and the polytropic index. Kink oscillations of coronal plasma loops provide us with estimations of the absolute value of the magnetic field in oscillating plasma loops. This tutorial introduces several techniques of magnetohydrodynamic seismology of solar coronal plasmas. It includes the description of practical steps in the data acquisition, pre-processing, and processing using the open-access data of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on the Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft, and elaborated data analysis techniques of motion magnification and Bayesian statistics.