bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Skewness-seeking behavior and financial investments
Authors: Benuzzi Matteo , Ploner Matteo 
Published: February 2024

AbstractRecent theoretical and empirical advancements highlight the pivotal role played by higher-order moments, such as skewness, in shaping financial decision-making. Nevertheless, contemporary experimental research predominantly relies on limited-outcome lotteries, an oversimplified representation distant from real-world investment dynamics. To bridge this research gap, we conducted a rigorously pre-registered experiment. Our study delves into individuals’ preferences for investment opportunities, examining the influence of skewness of continuous probability distributions of returns. We document an inclination towards positively skewed outcome distributions. Furthermore, we uncovered a substitution effect between risk appetite and the sign of skewness. Finally, we unveiled a robust positive correlation between skewness-seeking behavior and a propensity for speculative behavior. Simultaneously, a distinct negative correlation surfaced between skewness-seeking behavior and the perceived risk associated with positive skewness.
2-Desaza-annomontine (C81) impedes angiogenesis through reduced VEGFR2 expression derived from inhibition of CDC2-like kinases
Authors: Zech T. J. , Wolf A. , Hector M. , Bischoff-Kont I. , Krishnathas G. M. , Kuntschar S. , Schmid T. , Bracher F. , Langmann T. , Fürst R. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractAngiogenesis is a crucial process in the progression of various pathologies, like solid tumors, wet age-related macular degeneration, and chronic inflammation. Current anti-angiogenic treatments still have major drawbacks like limited efficacy in diseases that also rely on inflammation. Therefore, new anti-angiogenic approaches are sorely needed, and simultaneous inhibition of angiogenesis and inflammation is desirable. Here, we show that 2-desaza-annomontine (C81), a derivative of the plant alkaloid annomontine previously shown to inhibit endothelial inflammation, impedes angiogenesis by inhibiting CDC2-like kinases (CLKs) and WNT/β-catenin signaling. C81 reduced choroidal neovascularization in a laser-induced murine in vivo model, inhibited sprouting from vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A)-activated murine aortic rings ex vivo, and reduced angiogenesis-related activities of endothelial cells in multiple functional assays. This was largely phenocopied by CLK inhibitors and knockdowns, but not by inhibitors of the other known targets of C81. Mechanistically, CLK inhibition reduced VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2) mRNA and protein expression as well as downstream signaling. This was partly caused by a reduction of WNT/β-catenin pathway activity, as activating the pathway induced, while β-catenin knockdown impeded VEGFR2 expression. Surprisingly, alternative splicing of VEGFR2 was not detected. In summary, C81 and other CLK inhibitors could be promising compounds in the treatment of diseases that depend on angiogenesis and inflammation due to their impairment of both processes.
Graphical abstract
A Comparative Study of Scarfed Nozzle for Jet-Installation Noise Reduction
Authors: Kamliya Jawahar Hasan , Azarpeyvand Mahdi 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThe experimental investigation of the effects of scarfed nozzles on jet-installation noise was conducted using unheated subsonic jets in an anechoic jet noise facility. Four different types of scarfed nozzles with increasing nozzle lip angles were examined to study the installation effects at various plate distances away from the jet. Mach numbers ranging from 0.3 to 0.8 were investigated in the experiments. The use of scarfed nozzles is known to result in the deflection of flow away from the centre axis, inducing asymmetry in the jet shears, leading to azimuthal variation in the spectra, and ultimately, noise reduction. This study aims to explore the possibility of reducing jet-installation noise using scarfed nozzles at subsonic flow conditions. The characteristics of jet hydrodynamic pressure fluctuations were investigated in the axial direction using far-field measurements. The near-field flow features were studied using surface pressure transducers installed on the flat plate for the installed configurations. Detailed spectral, coherence, and correlation analyses were carried out to determine the noise reduction mechanisms associated with scarfed nozzles in the proximity of a flat plate. The results of the study showed that the use of scarfed nozzles significantly reduced the jet-installation noise. The reduction was attributed to the generation of an asymmetric flow field induced by the nozzle geometry. The reduction in noise levels was also observed to increase with increasing nozzle lip angle. The detailed analyses revealed that the noise reduction mechanism was associated with a decrease in the acoustic power generated by the jet. Overall, the results suggest that scarfed nozzles can be an effective means of reducing jet-installation noise in subsonic flow conditions.
Jet Noise and Wing Installation Effects of Circular, Beveled and Rectangular Nozzles
Authors: Christophe Julien , de Decker Julien , Schram Christophe 
Published: February 2024

AbstractWith the growth of modern turbofan engines, their integration under the wing becomes challenging and induces aerodynamic and acoustic interactions between the jet exhaust and the airframe. Jet noise reduction techniques have been widely studied over the past decades but their efficiency has still to be demonstrated once installed. The present lab-scale jet experiments at Mach 0.6 compare the noise radiated by beveled and rectangular installed nozzles to circular ones on a quarter-sphere radiation map using a microphone antenna. For all radiation angles, modified nozzles show an amplitude decrease of the jet-plate interaction tones of the noise spectra attributed to a strong coupling between the jet shear layers and the sound scattering at the plate trailing edge. Beveled nozzles achieve a noise reduction for all radiation angles with a maximum decrease up to 2 dB at receiver locations perpendicular to the plate. While rectangular nozzles show a similar behavior, a sound increase is observed for listeners parallel to the plate when the height-to-width ratio is small.
Opportunities for personalised follow-up in breast cancer: the gap between daily practice and recurrence risk
Authors: Voets Madelon M. , Hassink Noa S. , Veltman Jeroen , Slump Cornelis H. , Koffijberg Hendrik , Siesling Sabine 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Purpose
Follow-up guidelines barely diverge from a one-size-fits-all approach, even though the risk of recurrence differs per patient. However, the personalization of breast cancer care improves outcomes for patients. This study explores the variation in follow-up pathways in the Netherlands using real-world data to determine guideline adherence and the gap between daily practice and risk-based surveillance, to demonstrate the benefits of personalized risk-based surveillance compared with usual care.

Methods
Patients with stage I–III invasive breast cancer who received surgical treatment in a general hospital between 2005 and 2020 were selected from the Netherlands Cancer Registry and included all imaging activities during follow-up from hospital-based electronic health records. Process analysis techniques were used to map patients and activities to investigate the real-world utilisation of resources and identify the opportunities for improvement. The INFLUENCE 2.0 nomogram was used for risk prediction of recurrence.

Results
In the period between 2005 and 2020, 3478 patients were included with a mean follow-up of 4.9 years. In the first 12 months following treatment, patients visited the hospital between 1 and 5 times (mean 1.3, IQR 1–1) and received between 1 and 9 imaging activities (mean 1.7, IQR 1–2). Mammogram was the prevailing imaging modality, accounting for 70% of imaging activities. Patients with a low predicted risk of recurrence visited the hospital more often.

Conclusions
Deviations from the guideline were not in line with the risk of recurrence and revealed a large gap, indicating that it is hard for clinicians to accurately estimate this risk and therefore objective risk predictions could bridge this gap.
The active pulling technique to solve microcatheter-uncrossable lesions in retrograde chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention
Authors: Zhu Hongmin , Cai Xinyong , Zhan Yuliang , Hong Lang 
Published: February 2024

AbstractBackground: It is not uncommon to encounter retrograde microcatheter-uncrossable lesions in retro-recanalization of Chronic Total Occlusion (CTO) cases, existing solutions were time-consuming or complicated to operate. Therefore, the present study aimed to propose and evaluate the feasibility, safety of a novel technique termed Active Pulling retrograde microcatheter crossing Technique (APT) during retrograde CTO percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: We retrospectively collected retrograde CTO-PCI cases from February 2017 to April 2023, only cases with the retrograde wire successfully crossed the CTO lesion were analyzed. The baseline clinical characteristics, angiographic characteristics, procedural details, and in-hospital major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) were compared. Results: A total of 80 CTO cases were divided into the APT group and the non-APT group according to whether the APT was applied in the procedure. The APT group had a higher rate of device success than the non-APT group (100% vs. 85%, P = 0.013), with shorter duration (5.3 ± 3.8 vs. 18.6 ± 5.9 min, P < 0.001) and a smaller number of retrograde microcatheters were used (P < 0.001). In the APT group, the average air kerma radiation exposure was lower (2.7 ± 1.2 vs. 4.3 ± 1.7 Gy, P < 0.001), the fluoroscopy time (69.0 ± 15.0 vs. 88.1 ± 18.9 min, P < 0.001) and the procedure time (116.2 ± 22.2 vs. 131.6 ± 28.7 min, P = 0.009) was shorter than the non-APT group. The technical success rate of both groups reached 100% while the procedure success rate was higher in the APT group than the non-APT group (100% vs. 85%, P = 0.13). Conclusions: The APT is an easy and safe technique that can greatly improve procedural efficiency without adding other instruments, and allows the retrograde microcatheter to quickly crossing the CTO body after successful retrograde wire externalization.
The animal agriculture industry, US universities, and the obstruction of climate understanding and policy
Authors: Morris Viveca , Jacquet Jennifer 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThe 2006 United Nations report “Livestock’s Long Shadow” provided the first global estimate of the livestock sector’s contribution to anthropogenic climate change and warned of dire environmental consequences if business as usual continued. In the subsequent 17 years, numerous studies have attributed significant climate change impacts to livestock. In the USA, one of the largest consumers and producers of meat and dairy products, livestock greenhouse gas emissions remain effectively unregulated. What might explain this? Similar to fossil fuel companies, US animal agriculture companies responded to evidence that their products cause climate change by minimizing their role in the climate crisis and shaping policymaking in their favor. Here, we show that the industry has done so with the help of university experts. The beef industry awarded funding to Dr. Frank Mitloehner from the University of California, Davis, to assess “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” and his work was used to claim that cows should not be blamed for climate change. The animal agriculture industry is now involved in multiple multi-million-dollar efforts with universities to obstruct unfavorable policies as well as influence climate change policy and discourse. Here, we traced how these efforts have downplayed the livestock sector’s contributions to the climate crisis, minimized the need for emission regulations and other policies aimed at internalizing the costs of the industry’s emissions, and promoted industry-led climate “solutions” that maintain production. We studied this phenomenon by examining the origins, funding sources, activities, and political significance of two prominent academic centers, the CLEAR Center at UC Davis, established in 2018, and AgNext at Colorado State University, established in 2020, as well as the influence and industry ties of the programs’ directors, Dr. Mitloehner and Dr. Kimberly Stackhouse-Lawson. We developed 20 questions to evaluate the nature, extent, and societal impacts of the relationship between individual researchers and industry groups. Using publicly available evidence, we documented how the ties between these professors, centers, and the animal agriculture industry have helped maintain the livestock industry’s social license to operate not only by generating industry-supported research, but also by supporting public relations and policy advocacy.
Academic capture in the Anthropocene: a framework to assess climate action in higher education
Authors: Lachapelle Paul , Belmont Patrick , Grasso Marco , McCann Roslynn , Gouge Dawn H. , Husch Jerri , de Boer Cheryl , Molzbichler Daniela , Klain Sarah 
Published: February 2024

AbstractHigher education institutions have a mandate to serve the public good, yet in many cases fail to adequately respond to the global climate crisis. The inability of academic institutions to commit to purposeful climate action through targeted research, education, outreach, and policy is due in large part to “capture” by special interests. Capture involves powerful minority interests that exert influence and derive benefits at the expense of a larger group or purpose. This paper makes a conceptual contribution to advance a framework of “academic capture” applied to the climate crisis in higher education institutions. Academic capture is the result of the three contributing factors of increasing financialization issues, influence of the fossil fuel industry, and reticence of university employees to challenge the status quo. The framework guides an empirical assessment evaluating eight activities and related indices of transparency and participation based on principles of climate justice and the growing democracy-climate nexus. The framework can be a helpful tool for citizens and academics to assess the potential for academic capture and capacity for more just and democratic methods of climate action in higher education. We conclude with a series of recommendations on how to refine and apply our framework and assessment in academic settings. Our goal is to further the discussion on academic capture and continue to develop tools that transform higher education institutions to places of deep democracy and innovative climate education, research, and outreach to meet the challenges of the Anthropocene.
Historical climate impact attribution of changes in river flow and sediment loads at selected gauging stations in the Nile basin
Authors: Nkwasa Albert , Chawanda Celray James , Schlemm Annika , Ekolu Job , Frieler Katja , van Griensven Ann 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThe Nile basin is the second largest basin in Africa and one of the regions experiencing high climatic diversity with variability of precipitation and deteriorating water resources. As climate change is affecting most of the hydroclimatic variables across the world, this study assesses whether historical changes in river flow and sediment loads at selected gauges in the Nile basin can be attributed to climate change. An impact attribution approach is employed by constraining a process-based model with a set of factual and counterfactual climate forcing data for 69 years (1951–2019), from the impact attribution setup of the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP3a). To quantify the role of climate change, we use the non-parametric Mann-Kendall test to identify trends and calculate the differences in long-term mean annual river flow and sediment load simulations between a model setup using factual and counterfactual climate forcing data. Results for selected river stations in the Lake Victoria basin show reasonable evidence of a long-term historical increase in river flows (two stations) and sediment load (one station), largely attributed to changes in climate. In contrast, within the Blue Nile and Main Nile basins, there is a slight decrease of river flows at four selected stations under factual climate, which can be attributed to climate change, but no significant changes in sediment load (one station). These findings show spatial differences in the impacts of climate change on river flows and sediment load in the study area for the historical period.
Professional Development of Preschool Teacher Assistants in Multilingual and Multicultural Contexts
Authors: Kaplan Toren Nurit , Schwartz Mila 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a professional development (PD) program on preschool teacher assistants’ (TAs) attitudes toward multilingualism and self-efficacy in working with linguistically and culturally diverse children (LCDC) and their parents. The study was conducted in a northern peripheral city in Israel that reflects the country’s multicultural, multilingual mosaic. Recently, as part of reforms in the city, PD for TAs was introduced to enrich the participants’ practical knowledge about the development and education of linguistically and culturally diverse children. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 59 TAs before and after PD. Questionnaires focused on TAs’ self-efficacy in multicultural classrooms, as well as on their attitudes toward multilingualism. In addition, participants reflected on an event in their preschool with a child whose home language was other than Hebrew—the societally dominant language—focusing on the TAs’ emotional and behavioral responses. The qualitative and the quantitative data point to the impact of this PD program. Dependent variables t-test analysis revealed significant increase in TAs’ self-efficacy to work with LCDC and with parents, thus supporting classroom multilingualism. Mixed-method analysis of the qualitative data showed a decrease in negative feelings such as anxiety, disappointment, low self-esteem, and unpreparedness for handling LCDC, and an increase in positive feelings such as happiness, pride, satisfaction, achievement, and self-efficacy. The discussion addresses three issues: the importance of multicultural, multilingual professional development for TAs, self-efficacy as a central characteristic of TAs’ functioning, and the importance of TAs’ relationships with parents.
Informal Assessment of Preschool Children’s Concepts of Zero
Authors: Cohrssen Caroline , Fielding Jill , Bird Jo 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
There is growing interest in mathematics learning progressions in early childhood education. Counting is a skill usually developed early in life. The application of the counting principles in early childhood typically entails counting objects. This poses challenges for learning about zero. Indeed, the word “zero” is seldom used in the context of early childhood education. Early childhood educators could purposefully introduce children to zero as a concept and facilitate children’s understanding that zero is a number and more than just the absence of something. “Zero” is introduced in school, but little guidance is provided to teachers within the Australian Curriculum for Mathematics in the Foundation year. This study contributes to a small corpus of research that has investigated preschool children’s understanding of the concept of zero. Unlike other studies, the method employed to elicit children’s knowledge was informal and more similar to educator-child conversations that occur within a playbased curriculum and contribute to formative assessment. Data are presented from 20 children, aged from three to five years, participating in a regional early learning centre. Six children demonstrated familiarity with the symbol for zero (“0”) and/or the concept that zero describes a numerical quantity. Asking a follow-up question encouraged children to share their thinking. The importance of early childhood educators purposefully supporting children’s familiarity with the word zero along as well as the concept of zero is proposed.
Biosorptive removal of fluoride from wastewater using tea domestic waste biochar
Authors: Aboulsoud Yasmin I. E. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThe biochar of tea domestic waste was applied to eliminate F− from their aqueous artificial solutions and real contaminated wastewater. Pre-pyrolysis chemical activation method was used to synthesize biochar from tea domestic waste. Two modification methods were applied, acidic modification using H3PO4 (H-modified form) and basic modification using NaOH (OH-modified form). The synthesized forms of tea biochars were characterized by the determination of ash content, bulk density, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analyses to detect the pore size, specific surface area, and pore volume, Elemental analyses to detect C, H, O, and N contents, Thermogravimetric analyses to detect the thermal behavior of biochars, and Fourier Transform Infrared analyses to detect the functional active groups of biochars. The synthesized forms of tea biochars were optimized for fluoride removal from aqueous solutions via filter bags method and applied in enhancement of the quality of wastewater from the factories of the new Borg El-Arab City, Egypt. The highest biosorption efficacy achieved was 109.18 mg F−/g biochar using the H-modified form under the optimum conditions of biochar dosage: pH: 2, 0.25 g/l, temperature: 50 °C, initial concentration of F−: 500 mg/l, exposure time: 30 min, and agitation rate: 300 rpm. The OH-modified form achieved less than half biosorption efficacy which reached 49.39 mg F−/g biochar. The existence of competitive anions in the solution had a negative influence on F− biosorption efficacy, where the impact followed the order of PO43−  > SO42−  > Cl−  > NO3−  > HCO3−. The H-modified tea biochar proved to be a promising biosorbent for industrial wastewater treatment by achieving removal efficacy ranges of 80.89–93.31% and returning all violated F− concentrations to the allowable limit. Sustainable development can be greatly supported by using domestic tea wastes in the removal of F− due to the dual disposal of waste and contaminants at the same time. The tea wastes are eco-safe and cheap biosorbent material can be utilized as a precursor for an efficacious tool for the elimination of F− from artificial solutions in addition to real wastewater.