bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Machine learning heralding a new development phase in molecular dynamics simulations
Authors: Prašnikar Eva , Ljubič Martin , Perdih Andrej , Borišek Jure 
Published: March 2024

AbstractMolecular dynamics (MD) simulations are a key computational chemistry technique that provide dynamic insight into the underlying atomic-level processes in the system under study. These insights not only improve our understanding of the molecular world, but also aid in the design of experiments and targeted interventions. Currently, MD is associated with several limitations, the most important of which are: insufficient sampling, inadequate accuracy of the atomistic models, and challenges with proper analysis and interpretation of the obtained trajectories. Although numerous efforts have been made to address these limitations, more effective solutions are still needed. The recent development of artificial intelligence, particularly machine learning (ML), offers exciting opportunities to address the challenges of MD. In this review we aim to familiarize readers with the basics of MD while highlighting its limitations. The main focus is on exploring the integration of deep learning with MD simulations. The advancements made by ML are systematically outlined, including the development of ML-based force fields, techniques for improved conformational space sampling, and innovative methods for trajectory analysis. Additionally, the challenges and implications associated with the integration of ML and artificial intelligence are discussed. While the potential of ML-MD fusion is clearly established, further applications are needed to confirm its superiority over traditional methods. This comprehensive overview of the new perspectives of MD, which ML has opened up, serves as a gentle introduction to the exciting phase of MD development.
Prioritizing conservation areas to mitigate connectivity loss and local extinction risk of a small carnivore (Leopardus guttulus) in South America
Authors: Sartor Caroline Charão , Cushman Samuel Alan , Wan Ho Yi , Tirelli Flávia Pereira , Althoff Sérgio Luiz , Eizirik Eduardo , Trigo Tatiane Campos , de Freitas Thales Renato O. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractEffective conservation management depends on the maintenance of key areas that allow population connectivity across the landscape. However, the lack of knowledge of how habitat conversion affects species movement hinders the identification of these areas. Here, we analyzed the impact of habitat fragmentation on landscape connectivity for Leopardus guttulus, a small Neotropical felid threatened by the high habitat fragmentation across the Atlantic Forest, and mapped and ranked the most important core areas and corridors for conservation actions. We also estimated genetic diversity indices and predicted the viability of the current core areas in the future. Our analyses suggest that L. guttulus populations are fragmented, and connectivity links between populations are few and weak. We predict that due to their size, estimated density and low connectivity, some current core areas may not maintain viable populations in the long-term. Also, ongoing land-use changes may further isolate remaining populations, leading to progressive reductions in the populations they support. In this study, we spatially prioritize the most critical areas for L. guttulus conservation and highlighted the urge that exists in the adoption of management measures for its conservation.
Transcriptomic characterization of the histopathological growth patterns in breast cancer liver metastases
Authors: Leduc Sophia , Nguyen Ha-Linh , Richard François , Zels Gitte , Mahdami Amena , De Schepper Maxim , Maetens Marion , Pabba Anirudh , Jaekers Joris , Latacz Emily , Bohlok Ali , Vanderheyden Evy , Van Brussel Thomas , Boeckx Bram , Schepers Rogier , Lambrechts Diether , Dirix Luc , Larsimont Denis , Vankerckhove Sophie , Lucidi Valerio , Topal Baki , Bachir Imane , Donckier Vincent , Floris Giuseppe , Vermeulen Peter , Desmedt Christine 
Published: March 2024

AbstractMetastatic breast cancer (mBC) remains incurable and liver metastases (LM) are observed in approximately 50% of all patients with mBC. In some cases, surgical resection of breast cancer liver metastases (BCLM) is associated with prolonged survival. However, there are currently no validated marker to identify these patients. The interactions between the metastatic cancer cells and the liver microenvironment result in two main histopathological growth patterns (HGP): replacement (r-HGP), characterized by a direct contact between the cancer cells and the hepatocytes, and desmoplastic (d-HGP), in which a fibrous rim surrounds the tumor cells. In patients who underwent resection of BCLM, the r-HGP is associated with a worse postoperative prognosis than the d-HGP. Here, we aim at unraveling the biological differences between these HGP within ten patients presenting both HGP within the same metastasis. The transcriptomic analyses reveal overexpression of genes involved in cell cycle, DNA repair, vessel co-option and cell motility in r-HGP while angiogenesis, wound healing, and several immune processes were found overexpressed in d-HGP LM. Understanding the biology of the LM could open avenues to refine treatment of BC patients with LM.
The Four Faces of Intoxication in the Botswana Criminal Justice System: “Defence”, Extenuation, Mitigation, and Aggravation
Authors: Dambe Baboki Jonathan , Balule Badala Tachilisa 
Published: March 2024

AbstractIntoxication plays a role in the commission of crimes in most, if not all, jurisdictions. Botswana is no exception. Our law reports are replete with cases in which intoxication is alleged to have contributed to the commission of the offence. In this regard, courts continually find themselves contending with the consideration that they ought to give to the intoxication, in respect to both the criminal culpability of the accused person and their moral blameworthiness when it comes to sentencing. This paper highlights that, in the context of Botswana, intoxication may be treated as a defence, an extenuating circumstance, a mitigating factor, or an aggravating factor. It interrogates the approaches adopted by the courts in considering intoxication in these four roles. Given the divergence of judicial approach to intoxication in sentencing, the paper highlights the necessity of sentencing guidelines in order to attain a measure of predictability and consistency. Consequently, the paper assesses the sentencing guidelines adopted by other jurisdictions in respect of intoxication and the lessons to be drawn from such guidelines.
Global directed technical change model with fiscal and monetary policies, and public debt
Authors: Loureiro Daniel , Afonso Oscar , Vasconcelos Paulo B. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractWe develop an endogenous growth model with North–South interactions, monetary policy, and a multi-dimensional role for fiscal policy. To boost economic performance, the government of the less developed country subsidizes R&D and intermediate goods production. Besides, to account for the effects of excessive public debt, we introduce a negative externality on productivity and a risk premium effect. Our findings reveal that the steady-state growth rate of both economies depends positively on the subsidies in the South and negatively on the public debt’s externality on productivity and the risk premium affecting the indebted economy. Additionally, public debt externalities increase the equilibrium wage inequality, making it more significant in the South. To minimize these effects, both countries can agree to mutualize their debts to overcome the risk premium. Then, the economy’s steady-state growth rate would increase in both countries. Finally, several policy implications were retrieved.
Time-varying effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on stock markets and economic activity: evidence from the US and Europe
Authors: Caporale Guglielmo Maria , Çatık Abdurrahman Nazif , Helmi Mohamad Husam , Akdeniz Coşkun , İlhan Ali 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThis paper examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on CDS, stock returns, and economic activity in the US and the five European countries that have been most affected: the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. The sample period covers the period from 11 March 2020 to 19 February 2021. In the empirical analysis, first, we estimate benchmark linear VAR models and then, given the evidence of parameter instability, TVP-VAR models with stochastic volatility, which are ideally suited to capturing the changing dynamics in both financial markets and the real economy. The linear VAR responses of CDS to the number of COVID-19 cases are positive and statistically significant, whilst those of electricity consumption are insignificant and those of stock returns vary across countries in terms of their sign and significance. The results from the TVP-VAR analysis indicate that the effects of shocks on the system variables was more pronounced during the initial stages of the pandemic and then decreased in the following months. Specifically, there was a positive impact of the number of COVID-19 cases on CDS and a negative one on stock returns and economic activity, the latter two being interlinked.
Economic Cycles and Entry into Parenthood: Is the Association Changing and Does it Affect Macro-Level Trends? Micro-Level Hazard and Simulation Models of Belgian Fertility Trends, 1960–2010
Authors: Neels Karel , Marynissen Leen , Wood Jonas 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
The association between economic cycles—typically measured in terms of GDP growth or swings in unemployment—and macro-level fertility trends has received ample attention in the literature. Compared to studies that consider macro-level fertility, individual-based models can address the association between economic cycles and specific stages of family formation (e.g. entry into parenthood) more precisely while allowing for structural factors that contribute to fertility postponement. Using population-wide longitudinal microdata from the Belgian censuses we combine discrete-time hazard models of entry into parenthood for the period 1960 to 2010 with microsimulation models to assess whether economic cycles in tandem with educational expansion can account for year-to-year variation in the proportion of women entering parenthood and variation in the pace of fertility postponement at the macro-level. Results indicate that educational expansion has been a structural driver of fertility postponement, whereas the procyclical effect of economic cycles accounts for accelerations and decelerations of fertility postponement throughout the period considered. Microsimulation of macro-level fertility trends indicates that individual-based models predict the annual proportion of women entering parenthood and the mean age at first birth with average errors of prediction below 1 per cent and 3 months, respectively, while also showing strong correlations between first differences of observed and simulated time-series. Because the extended observation window encompasses several severe recessions, we test whether the association between economic cycles and entry into parenthood has changed over time and how this affected macro-level trends, discussing several mechanisms that may account for such temporal variation.
#MeToo Activism as Pragmatic Justice Seeking
Authors: Karlsson Lena 
Published: March 2024

AbstractAs #MeToo activists took their testimonies of sexual harm outside the legal arena to seek justice, the #MeToo movement has commonly been framed as pitting informal justice-seeking against formal law. This article draws on interviews with Swedish #MeToo activists and focuses on their experiences of justice seeking. It asks the key question: what does justice look like for #MeToo participants? I demonstrate how a binary framework, with formal law on one side and informal community justice practices on the other, does not offer an understanding of the justice interests of activists. The interviews convey how acts of justice seeking are plural, spanning both legal and extra-legal terrains, as well as temporally long-lasting and contextually shifting. The justice-seeking emerges as pragmatic because the #MeToo moment is bound up with the promise that, at this rhetorical moment, the act of speaking out will finally be heard on a societal scale.
Predicting Satisfaction with Money Management and Life Satisfaction in Parents of Emerging Adult Students
Authors: Zupančič Maja , Lep Žan 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Many parents cope with the prolonged financial dependence of their emerging adult children and problems arising from sharing a household, which may challenge parental satisfaction with money management (SMM) and life satisfaction (LS). We created and tested a conceptual model of potential pathways to parental SMM and LS. Data were collected in a sample of 482 student–parent pairs via an online survey that included adjusted questionnaires on financial functioning (Shim et al., Journal of Youth and Adolescence 39:1457–1470, 2010) and Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., Journal of Personality Assessment 49:71–75, 1985). Relying on the model of financial satisfaction from the student perspective (Sirsch et al., Emerging Adulthood 8:509–520, 2020), we proposed pathways of the family SES, financial parenting (explicit teaching and financial behavior; parent report; 22.8% fathers), and parent–child financial relationships (student report; Mage = 19.94; 45.2% males) to parental SMM and LS. We also anticipated intermediate relations of financial parenting with the students' self-reported financial learning outcomes (cognitive and behavioral/relational). The SES, proactive parental financial behavior, and favorable parent–child financial relationships predicted parental SMM and LS. Financial parenting was linked to the student's positive financial learning outcomes, but only financial knowledge further influenced the financial relationship with their parents. The findings suggest the benefits of successful parental financial socialization for both the offspring's finance-related outcomes and their parents' satisfaction.
Academic researchers’ motivations to engage in university–industry collaboration in cross-border regions
Authors: Mascarenhas Carla , Mendes Telma , Galvão Anderson R. , Marques Carla S. , Ferreira João J. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractMore than ever, universities and policymakers are paying attention to faculty members’ engagement in industries’ projects because university–industry collaboration (UIC) is seen as the key to economic development. However, the UIC differs from country to country, and researchers may have different motivations. This study explored the relationship between university researchers’ motivations and varied UIC channels. A questionnaire was administered to the relevant faculty in public universities in two cross-border regions of Portugal and Spain. Drawing on data gathered from 841 researchers, the results reveal differences in these academics’ motivations to engage in different channels. Pecuniary motivations (i.e., access to funding and commercialization) drive UIC through joint and contract research, while non-pecuniary motivations (i.e., learning opportunities and access to resources) inhibit cooperation through the same two engagement channels. In addition, joint and contract research involvement also depends on researchers’ age, academic status, department size, and field of study. This study provides empirical evidence on the motivations and channels of UIC in two cross-border regions of Portugal and Spain. Furthermore, it presents important results for universities and policymakers who need to increase motivation and improve UIC channels.
Experimental characterization of a nonlinear mechanical oscillator with softening behaviour for large displacements
Authors: Anastasio D. , Marchesiello S. , Svelto C. , Gatti G. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThis paper presents an experimental insight into the performance of a mechanical oscillator consisting of an X-shaped-spring configuration. This configuration achieves an overall softening characteristic with quasi-zero stiffness behaviour far away from the static equilibrium point. Such a geometrical nonlinear configuration has attracted significant research attention in the last few years, particularly for its application as a vibration isolator with the possibility to extend the quasi-zero-stiffness region beyond that of the classical three-spring nonlinear isolator. However, previous experimental evidence has been limited to small amplitude vibration excitation only. Furthermore, it has been focused mainly on the isolation region, rather than on the large amplitude response, thus circumventing an insight on the damping effects and its modelling. To address this gap, in this paper, both frequency sweeps and random excitations are applied to a prototype device for experimental characterization. A nonlinear stiffness model is developed based on the geometry of the system and a nonlinear damping model is assumed based on experimental observation. The proposed model accurately describes the dynamic behaviour of the system as shown by comparison of theoretical and experimental data.
Influence of Doping of Niobium Oxide on the Catalytic Activity of Pt/Al2O3 for CO Oxidation
Authors: Yu Le , Song Yejin , Hong Seunghwa , Xu Zhaoyi , Zheng Shourong , Park Jeong Young 
Published: March 2024

AbstractPt-based alumina catalysts doped with varying niobium contents (i.e., 0, 1.20, 2.84, and 4.73 wt%, denoted as Pt/Nb–Al2O3) were synthesized via stepwise impregnation for catalytic CO oxidation. The effective incorporation of Nb species without altering the fundamental properties of the Al2O3 support was confirmed by the characterization using XRD, Raman, and TEM. Pt metallic particles were uniformly deposited on the niobium-doped alumina (Nb–Al2O3) support. H2-TPR and CO–TPD analyses were performed to reveal the influence of niobium doping on catalyst reduction and CO adsorption properties. The results consistently demonstrate that the doping of niobium affects reducibility and alleviates the competitive adsorption between CO and O2 during the CO reaction. Particularly, when compared to both undoped and excessively doped Pt/Al2O3 catalysts, the catalyst featuring a 2.84 wt% Nb content on Pt1.4/Nb2.8–Al2O3 displayed the most promising catalytic performance, with a turnover frequency of 3.12 s−1 at 180 °C. This superior performance can be attributed to electron transfer at the Pt/NbOx interface.
A Conceptual Framework for Voluntary Confessions and the Privilege Against Self-Incrimination
Authors: Vatjus-Anttila Jalo 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThe privilege against self-incrimination entails that anyone accused of a criminal offence has the right to remain silent. However, waiving the privilege is possible, but such waiver must be voluntary and in accordance with the will of the accused. This article examines the impact of sentence reductions based on confessions on the voluntariness of confessions. I argue that the concept of voluntariness must be interpreted from the perspective of the values and objectives underlying the privilege against self-incrimination. Depending on the perspective chosen (i.e. objectives and values), sentence reductions can be problematic from the standpoint of the privilege against self-incrimination and the voluntariness requirement it entails. However, it should be also noted that moderate incentives can simultaneously promote the realization of these values and objectives, such as material truth. Categorical negative attitude towards all sentence reductions can be detrimental to the values that the privilege and the voluntariness requirement seek to protect.
Comparison of natural language processing algorithms in assessing the importance of head computed tomography reports written in Japanese
Authors: Wataya Tomohiro , Miura Azusa , Sakisuka Takahisa , Fujiwara Masahiro , Tanaka Hisashi , Hiraoka Yu , Sato Junya , Tomiyama Miyuki , Nishigaki Daiki , Kita Kosuke , Suzuki Yuki , Kido Shoji , Tomiyama Noriyuki 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Purpose
To propose a five-point scale for radiology report importance called Report Importance Category (RIC) and to compare the performance of natural language processing (NLP) algorithms in assessing RIC using head computed tomography (CT) reports written in Japanese.

Materials and methods
3728 Japanese head CT reports performed at Osaka University Hospital in 2020 were included. RIC (category 0: no findings, category 1: minor findings, category 2: routine follow-up, category 3: careful follow-up, and category 4: examination or therapy) was established based not only on patient severity but also on the novelty of the information. The manual assessment of RIC for the reports was performed under the consensus of two out of four neuroradiologists. The performance of four NLP models for classifying RIC was compared using fivefold cross-validation: logistic regression, bidirectional long–short-term memory (BiLSTM), general bidirectional encoder representations of transformers (general BERT), and domain-specific BERT (BERT for medical domain).

Results
The proportion of each RIC in the whole data set was 15.0%, 26.7%, 44.2%, 7.7%, and 6.4%, respectively. Domain-specific BERT showed the highest accuracy (0.8434 ± 0.0063) in assessing RIC and significantly higher AUC in categories 1 (0.9813 ± 0.0011), 2 (0.9492 ± 0.0045), 3 (0.9637 ± 0.0050), and 4 (0.9548 ± 0.0074) than the other models (p < .05). Analysis using layer-integrated gradients showed that the domain-specific BERT model could detect important words, such as disease names in reports.

Conclusions
Domain-specific BERT has superiority over the other models in assessing our newly proposed criteria called RIC of head CT radiology reports. The accumulation of similar and further studies of has a potential to contribute to medical safety by preventing missed important findings by clinicians.
Quality appraisal of clinical practice guidelines for the evaluation and management of primary hyperparathyroidism
Authors: Salmon Mandy K. , Fritz Christian G. , Barrette Louis-Xavier , Romeo Dominic , Suresh Neeraj V. , Ng Jinggang J. , Balar Eesha , Prasad Aman , Moreira Alvaro , Rajasekaran Karthik 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Purpose
Multiple groups have created clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for the management of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). This report provides a rigorous quality assessment using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation Instrument (AGREE II) to identify high-performing guidelines and areas for improvement.

Methods
A systematic review was conducted to isolate CPGs addressing the management of PHPT. Guideline data was extracted and quality ratings were assigned by four independent reviewers. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated to ensure interrater reliability.

Results
Twelve guidelines were assessed. The American Association of Endocrine Surgeons (AAES) guideline had the highest mean scaled score across all domains (73.6 ± 31.4%). No other published guideline achieved a “high” quality designation. The highest scoring domain was “clarity of presentation” (mean 60.5 ± 26.5%). The lowest scoring domain was “applicability” (mean 19.8 ± 18.2%). Scoring reliability was excellent, with ICC ≥ 0.89 for all AGREE II 6 domains.

Conclusion
Although several working groups have developed guidelines to address PHPT management, only those published by the AAES meet all methodologic quality criteria necessary to ensure incorporation of recommendations into clinical practice. Future guidelines would benefit from the development of tools, resources, monitoring criteria that enhance applicability.