bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Development of diagnostic algorithm for Cushing’s syndrome: a tertiary centre experience
Authors: Efthymiadis A. , Loo H. , Shine B. , James T. , Keevil B. , Tomlinson J. W. , Pal A. , Pofi R. 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Purpose
No consensus exists as the gold standard for Cushing’s Syndrome (CS) screening. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and utility of late-night salivary cortisol (LNSC) and cortisone (LNSE), overnight dexamethasone suppression test (ODST), and urinary free cortisol (UFC) in developing a screening algorithm for CS.

Methods
A retrospective, single-centre analysis on 93 adult patients referred to the Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism for CS evaluation (2017–2022). Data were analysed using binomial logistic regression and area under the receiver-operating curve (AUROC).

Results
Fifty-three patients were diagnosed with CS. LNSC (sensitivity 87.5%, specificity 64.9%, AUC 0.76), LNSE (sensitivity 72.4%, specificity 85.7%, AUC 0.79), and ODST (sensitivity 94.7%, specificity 52.1%; AUC 0.74) demonstrated comparable effectiveness for CS diagnosis. Their combined application increased diagnostic accuracy (AUC 0.91). UFC was not statistically significant. Pre-test clinical symptom inclusion improved screening test performance (AUC LNSC: 0.83; LNSE: 0.84; ODST: 0.82). For CD diagnosis, LNSE + LNSC (AUC 0.95) outperformed ODST. Combining these with ACTH levels < 12.6 pmol/L perfectly distinguished MACS (AUC 1.00). ODST (AUC 0.76) exhibited superior performance (sensitivity 100.0%, specificity 52.2%) in MACS detection.

Conclusions
LNSC, LNSE, and ODST are robust tools for CS screening, with their combined use offering the highest diagnostic precision. LNSE, especially when used with LNSC, is highly effective for CD diagnosis, exceeding ODST accuracy. ODST is preferable for MACS identification. Integrating ACTH levels markedly improves differentiation between CD and MACS. Conversely, UFC shows limited diagnostic utility.
Lifehistory Trade-Offs Influence Women’s Reproductive Strategies
Authors: Dunbar R. I.M. , Grainger Sara 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Objective
In a UK national census sample, women from the upper and lower socioeconomic (SES) classes achieve parity in completed family size, despite marked differences in both birth rates and offspring survival rates. We test the hypothesis that women adopt reproductive strategies that manipulate age at first reproduction to achieve this.

Methods
We use a Monte-Carlo modeling approach parameterized with current UK lifehistory data to simulate the reproductive lifehistories of 64,000 individuals from different SES classes, with parameter values at each successive time step drawn from a statistical distribution defined by the census data.

Results
We show that, if they are to achieve parity with women in the higher socioeconomic classes, women in lower socioeconomic classes must begin reproducing 5.65 years earlier on average than women in the higher SES classes in order to offset the higher class-specific mortality and infertility rates that they experience. The model predicts very closely the observed differences in age at first reproduction in the census data.

Conclusions
Opting to delay reproduction in order to purse an education-based professional career may be a high risk strategy that many lower SES women are unwilling and unable to pursue. As a result, reproducing as early as possible may be the best strategy available to them.
Ten dos and don’ts of Character
Strengths Research
Authors: Ruch Willibald , Stahlmann Alexander G. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractWhile both practitioners and the public regard character strengths
positively, some psychologists and philosophers harbor skepticism. In this
analytical commentary on current research and literature, we trace such skepticism
to a premature focus on positive outcomes, which eclipsed the theoretical groundwork
outlined in the 2004 handbook. We propose solutions to ten key issues which, in our
estimation, not only sustain this skepticism but also hinder meaningful advancement
in the field of character strengths research: (1) Criteria evaluation, (2) Virtue
functions, (3) Situational affordances, (4) Content validity, (5) Criterion
validity, (6) Fulfillment conceptualization, (7) Adverse outcome modeling (8) Moral
excellency, (9) Strengths conservatism, and (10) Methodological mainstream thinking.
We contend that resolving these issues is necessary to uphold the standing of
character strengths and positive psychology among its counterparts, and to establish
a potent foundation for effective character development.
Bisphenol A analysis and quantification inconsistencies via HPLC-UV: a systematic review with technical notes
Authors: Pop Cristian-Emilian , Miu Bogdan Andrei , Németh Dávid , Wolff Robert , Mihăilescu Dan Florin , Avramescu Sorin Marius , Mernea Maria 
Published: March 2024

AbstractBisphenol A is an organic compound utilized in the manufacture of plastics and resins that gained attention due to its environmental distribution and endocrine disrupting effects. Currently, bisphenol A is listed as toxic in most countries, it persists in waters, soils, and air around the world, hence the need for well-established methods for its detection. The aim of this paper is to conduct a systematic review of the existing open-access literature, examining the extent to which determination and quantification of bisphenol A was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a UV detector (HPLC-UV), probably the most prevalent analytical-grade equipment in research facilities. We searched electronic bibliographic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science), including in our analysis 55 original open-access research articles that met our designated criteria from a total of 3665 records. The screening of articles revealed multiple approaches in bisphenol A detection and quantification via HPLC-UV; 47.27% of the open-access literature on this topic is dedicated to the development of new methods for purification, extraction or preconcentration of BPA from a large variety of samples. It was also observed that UV detectors were set to a variety of wavelengths that do not comply to the specific peaks of phenolic compounds. Therefore, the linearity of these wavelengths was questioned and a technical note comprising spectroscopic and HPLC-UV measurements of bisphenol A was provided, clarifying nonconformities. Results showed that most studies could maintain their reliability when different wavelengths are used, but a careful approach should be considered when referring to the spectrum ranges 200–205 and 296–300 nm (depending on the solvent used) because of peak shifts and linearity issues.
Evaluating research on the utilization of recycled Brick aggregates in concrete
Authors: Joyklad Panuwat 
Published: March 2024

AbstractConsidering the substantial production of concrete and the significant generation of demolition waste resulting from the dismantling of old concrete structures, the reuse of construction and demolition waste (CDW) has become crucial. Numerous studies have been conducted to assess the adequacy of the mechanical behavior of concrete incorporating CDW within the last two decades. However, there is a dearth of scientometric reviews on studies examining the environmental impacts of CDW. To address this gap, science mapping methods were utilized to conduct a bibliometric analysis of research on the environmental impacts of CDW. To conduct a comprehensive scientometric assessment of the utilization of recycled brick aggregates in concrete (RBAC) production, a search was performed in the Scopus database. The search primarily focused on the keywords "recycled bricks" and "concrete" to retrieve relevant papers. The objective of this study was to conduct a scientometric analysis of the bibliometric data on recycled bricks to identify its key components. The findings of this study included the following: (1) identifying the mostly focused area on the use of recycled bricks in concrete, (2) identifying authors with the greatest contribution, (3) journals with the most publications, (4) countries that contributed most in terms of publications, and (5) publications with highest number of citations. The findings suggest that the mechanical properties of RBAC have been the core of existing research. Existing studies have focused on the behavior of RBAC under monotonic loading only. The application of RBAC in structural contexts requires considerable attention, as prior research has yet to concentrate on this specific domain. No empirical research has yet explored the incorporation of recycled brick aggregate concrete in the presence of lap splices or within shear-dominated regions. Existing research has revealed substandard mechanical properties of RBAC that induce concerns for its structural applications. Given the state-of-the-art of RBAC and its applications, its behavior needs to be examined for reinforced concrete structural members. Moreover, the provisions of modern codes for RBAC also require significant attention. Moreover, the behavior of RBAC concrete under reverse cyclic loading needs attention.
The Designers’ Perspective on Autonomous Mining Systems and Sociotechnology
Authors: Lund Erik , Johansson Jan , Lööw Joel 
Published: March 2024

AbstractDigitalization and automation technology offer new possibilities to increase productivity and obtain higher levels of autonomy in mining operations. Introducing autonomous systems into mining is not only a technical problem in terms of effectiveness and efficiency, nor a problem of safety in human-automation interactions. The systems also need to be designed and developed so that they foster healthy and attractive working environments. The design and development phase of new mining technology has not been extensively studied previously. To fill this knowledge gap, we investigated technology developers’ basic assumptions about humans and their interactions with the technology they develop. We conducted five semi-structured workshops within an EU funded project concerned with developing digitalization and automation solutions for the mining industry. The data suggests that many critical functions will still be under human control in future mining systems. The results also indicate increased complexity in the interaction between autonomous systems and humans as the technology becomes more advanced. As a result, we suggest that a human perspective, based on sociotechnical principles, should not only be considered in implementing the technology at mines but also in the early conceptual phases of developing and designing the technology. This will ensure healthy and attractive work environments in the future mining industry.
Differential Physiological and Molecular Processes in the Root May Underlie Contrasting Salt Tolerance in Two Egyptian Rice Cultivars at the Seedling Stage
Authors: Mekawy Ahmad Mohammad M. , Assaha Dekoum V.M. , Li Jiacheng , Yusuf Asmaa , Mostafa Doaa , Shoulkamy Mahmoud Ali , Ueda Akihiro 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThis study aimed to compare various responses of two Egyptian rice accessions bred for high yields, Sakha108 and Giza177, to salt stress at the seedling stage. Twenty-eight-day-old seedlings of two cultivars were grown in a hydroponic medium under control conditions (no NaCl) and salt stress (75 mM NaCl) for 12 days. Growth (dry weight), Na+ and K+ concentrations, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and expression of Na+ and K+ transport-coding genes were recorded. Sakha108’s growth (18% rise from control) was significantly higher than Giza177’s. Both cultivars accumulated similar amounts of Na+ in the leaves and sheaths, however, Sakha108 had higher Na+ concentrations in the roots than Giza177 (13.3% higher). Root K+ concentration dropped dramatically (~ 2-fold reduction) in Giza177 roots while remaining unchanged in Sakha108 roots. The concentrations of H2O2 (root) and MDA (leaf and root) were higher in Giza177 than in Sakha108, although the difference was not statistically significant. Proline and total flavonoid (TF) contents in Sakha108 roots were greater than those in Giza177 roots. The expression of OsHKT1;5 and OsHKT2;1 genes declined in both cultivars, whereas expressions of OsSOS1, OsNHX1, and OsHAK7 were induced in Sakha108 but, except for OsHAK7, were repressed in Giza177. Combined, these findings suggest that Sakha108 is more resistant to salt stress than Giza177 is, and that this variation in tolerance may have its origins in the root systems of the two cultivars. Thus, these adaptive traits in the root of Sakha 108 could be explored for engineering stress tolerance in susceptible but high-yielding rice cultivars.
PhD Student Funding Patterns: Placing Biomedical, Biological, and Biosystems Engineering in the Context of Engineering Sub-disciplines, Biological Sciences, and Other STEM Disciplines
Authors: Knight David B. , Grote Dustin M. , Kinoshita Timothy J. , Borrego Maura 
Published: March 2024

AbstractWhether doctoral students are funded primarily by fellowships, research assistantships, or teaching assistantships impacts their degree completion, time to degree, learning outcomes, and short- and long-term career outcomes. Variations in funding patterns have been studied at the broad field level but not comparing engineering sub-disciplines. We addressed two research questions: How do PhD student funding mechanisms vary across engineering sub-disciplines? And how does variation in funding mechanisms across engineering sub-disciplines map onto the larger STEM disciplinary landscape? We analyzed 103,373 engineering and computing responses to the U.S. Survey of Earned Doctorates collected between 2007 and 2016. We conducted analysis of variance with Bonferroni post hoc comparisons to examine variation in funding across sub-disciplines. Then, we conducted a k-means cluster analysis on percentage variables for fellowship, research, and teaching assistantship funding mechanism with STEM sub-discipline as the unit of analysis. A statistically significantly greater percentage of biomedical/biological engineering doctoral students were funded via a fellowship, compared to every other engineering sub-discipline. Consequently, biomedical/biological engineering had significantly lower proportions of students supported via research and teaching assistantships than nearly all other engineering sub-disciplines. We identified five clusters. The majority of engineering sub-disciplines grouped together into a cluster with high research assistantships and low teaching assistantships. Biomedical/biological engineering clustered in the high fellowships grouping with most other biological sciences but no other engineering sub-disciplines. Biomedical/biological engineering behaves much more like biological and life sciences in utilizing fellowships to fund graduate students, far more than other engineering sub-disciplines. Our study provides further evidence of the prevalence of fellowships in life sciences and how it stretches into biomedical/biological engineering. The majority of engineering sub-disciplines relied more on research assistantships to fund graduate study. The lack of uniformity provides an opportunity to diversify student experiences during their graduate programs but also necessitates an awareness to the advantages and disadvantages that different funding portfolios can bestow on students.
Mary Astell's Female Retirement: Feminist Pedagogy and Politics in A Serious Proposal to the Ladies
Authors: Weiss Penny A. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractMary Astell's female retreat is a political project, dedicated to the full self-realization of students in a world that diminishes them and thwarts the development of their potential. Newly analyzing the pedagogical tools and distinctive setting of her seminary, I reveal its most progressive promise. In this political reading of A Serious Proposal, Astell emerges as an early figure in the broad political tradition of female resistance to patriarchal domination. She enables a subordinated group of women to arrive at new and oppositional ways of understanding themselves, each other, and even the world, and to act for change. The methods and tactics she employs in her retreat bring to light some surprisingly democratic and feminist dimensions of Mary Astell.
Semantic differences in visually similar face emojis
Authors: Fricke Lea , Grosz Patrick G. , Scheffler Tatjana 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThe literature on face emojis raises the central question whether they should be treated as pictures or conventionalized signals. Our experiment addresses this question by investigating semantic differences in visually similar face emojis. We test a prediction following from a pictorial approach: small visual features of emojis that do not correspond to human facial features should be semantically less relevant than features that represent aspects of facial expressions. We compare emoji pairs with a visual difference that either does or does not correspond to a difference in a human facial expression according to an adaptation of the Facial Action Coding System. We created two contexts per pair, each fitted to correspond to a prominent meaning of one or the other emoji. Participants had to choose a suitable emoji for each context. The rate at which the context-matching emoji was chosen was significantly above chance for both types of emoji pairs and it did not differ significantly between them. Our results show that the small differences are meaningful in all pairs whether or not they correspond to human facial differences. This supports a lexicalist approach to emoji semantics, which treats face emojis as conventionalized signals rather than mere pictures of faces.
FIRST DIRECT RADIOCARBON DATING (22–27 CAL KA BP) OF MASSIVE ICE AT THE MECHIGMEN AND LAVRENTIYA BAYS COAST, EASTERN CHUKOTKA
Authors: Vasil’chuk Yurij K , Budantseva Nadine A , Maslakov Alexey A , Vasil’chuk Alla C , Vasil’chuk Jessica Yu 
Published: March 2024

ABSTRACTThe Eastern Chukotka is considered a unique permafrost region where massive ice bodies are widespread. However, the origin and age of these ice formations are often discussed. The age of the massive ice of Chukotka was established for the first time using AMS 14C dating. It was revealed that three massive ice bodies on the coast of Mechigmen Bay were formed at the end of the Late Pleistocene: a) near the Akkani site, 21,612 to 22,147 cal BP; b) near the Lavrentiya settlement, 27,553 cal BP; and c) near the Lavrentiya settlement, 22,193 cal BP. Stable isotope values in the studied massive ice vary in a rather wide range by about 10‰ for δ18O values (from –14.8‰ to –24.5‰) and about 75‰ for the δ2H values (from –116‰ to –191‰). The studied massive ice bodies are of intrasedimental genesis and formed epigenetically during the final stage of MIS2 (22–27 cal ka BP).
A TIME-INTEGRATED SAMPLER FOR RADIOCARBON ANALYSIS OF AQUATIC METHANE
Authors: Garnett M H , Dean J F 
Published: March 2024

ABSTRACTFreshwater ecosystems are responsible for a large proportion of global methane emissions to the atmosphere. The radiocarbon (14C) content of this aquatic methane is useful for determining the age and source of this important greenhouse gas. Several methods already exist for the collection of aquatic methane for radiocarbon analysis, but they tend to only sample over short periods of time, which can make them unsuitable for characterizing aquatic methane over longer timespans, and vulnerable to missing short-term events. Here, we describe a new time-integrated method for the collection of aquatic methane that provides samples suitable for radiocarbon analysis, that are representative for periods of up to at least 16 days. We report the results of a suite of tests undertaken to verify the reliability of the method, and the 14C age of aquatic methane from field trials undertaken at sites within Scotland, UK. We believe that this new method provides researchers with a simple approach that is easily deployable and can be used to collect representative time-integrated samples of methane for radiocarbon analysis from a wide range of aquatic environments.
Chloroidium phycobionts (Watanabeales, Trebouxiophyceae) partner with lecanoralean mycobionts in foliicolous lichen communities of Tenerife (Canary Islands) and Navarra (Iberian Peninsula), Spain
Authors: Sanders William B. , de los Ríos Asunción , Pérez-Ortega Sergio 
Published: March 2024

AbstractWhile the diversity of foliicolous lichen-forming fungi has been explored in substantial depth, relatively little attention has been paid to their algal symbionts. We studied the unicellular green phycobionts of the lecanoralean lichens Bacidina (Ramalinaceae), Byssoloma, Fellhanera and Tapellaria (Pilocarpaceae) and graphidalean Gyalectidium (Gomphillaceae) from two extratropical foliicolous communities in continental Spain and the Canary Islands. We examined the pyrenoids of algal symbionts within thalli using TEM, and obtained several algal nrSSU and rbcL sequences from whole thalli, and also from cultures isolated from some of these lichens. Pyrenoid structure and molecular sequence data provided support for recognizing Chloroidium (Watanabeales, Trebouxiophyceae) as phycobiont in thalli of Byssoloma subdiscordans and Fellhanera bouteillei (Pilocarpaceae) in both communities. Bacidina apiahica (Ramalinaceae) and Tapellaria epiphylla (Pilocarpaceae) likewise appeared to partner with Chloroidium based on the presence of the same pyrenoid type, although we were able to obtain a phycobiont sequence only from a culture isolate of the latter. These results contrast with those obtained previously from a foliicolous lichen community in southern Florida, which revealed only strains of Heveochlorella (Jaagichlorella) as phycobiont of foliicolous Pilocarpaceae and Gomphillaceae. On the other hand, the pyrenoid we observed in the phycobionts associated with Gyalectidium setiferum and G. minus corresponded to that of Heveochlorella (Jaagichlorella). However, the poor quality of the phycobiont sequence data obtained from G. minus, probably due to the presence of epibiontic algae, could not provide additional perspective on the pyrenoid structure observations. Nonetheless, clear differences in pyrenoid ultrastructure can allow Chloroidium and Heveochlorella phycobionts to be distinguished from each other in TEM. Our results indicate a greater diversity of unicellular green-algal symbionts in foliicolous communities from Spain than previously observed in other geographical areas, and suggest that further studies focused on symbiont pairing in these communities might reveal distinctive and varied patterns of phycobiont preference.