bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessing the environmental contribution of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) rice in the presence of insect pest uncertainty
Authors: Jin Yan , Gil José María 
Published: April 2024

AbstractAdopting genome editing with the trait of pest resistance contributes to sustainable development by reducing pesticide use. Developed by Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) technology, CRISPR rice is resistant to two of its most destructive insect pests. However, there exists a trade-off between pest resistance and lower potential yield. In the presence of uncertainty of pest severity, adopting CRISPR rice demonstrates positive environmental benefits at its optimal planting ratio, estimated based on a microeconomic model extended with environmental externalities of rice cultivation. We estimate the optimal planting ratio to be 37%, with the environmental benefit of co-planting CRISPR rice to be 560 million US dollars annually in China. The environmental benefit accounts for 4–22% of the total value of co-planting CRISPR rice in the Monte Carlo simulations. Regional heterogeneity regarding optimal planting ratio and environmental benefit is studied for 12 major rice-cultivating provinces in China. We conclude with policy implications that policymakers need to consider the vast environmental benefit of CRISPR rice adoption to have a more comprehensive view of its economic and environmental market potential, contributing to the heated debate on regulating CRISPR technology in China and worldwide.
The sustainability challenges of fresh food supply chains: an integrative framework
Authors: de Castro Moura Duarte André Luís , Picanço Rodrigues Vinicius , Bonome Message Costa Luana 
Published: April 2024

AbstractFresh food supply chains (FFSC) are pivotal in food and agricultural systems, with effective management crucial for addressing hunger and poverty globally and contributing to various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Increasing consumer demand for safer, eco-friendly, and sustainably produced fresh products has highlighted the importance of sustainability in FFSC. This growing focus poses challenges for academics and practitioners dedicated to sustainable development and meeting evolving consumer expectations. FFSC management is notably complex due to unique factors such as varying perishability, seasonal production, and the need for adherence to safety and quality standards, amidst complex and diverse networks. Despite its critical role, a structured approach to navigating FFSC sustainability challenges is lacking. Our research undertakes a thorough two-stage examination of current scholarly work to identify key factors affecting FFSC sustainability. Initially, we reviewed 182 papers on broader FFSC management to gauge the field's research landscape, guiding a focused review. Subsequently, a detailed analysis of 39 papers specifically on FFSC sustainability led to the development of a comprehensive framework, comprising FFSC characteristics, entities, management practices, and enabling factors. This framework aims to enhance understanding and guide efforts by researchers, practitioners, and policymakers towards fostering sustainability in FFSC, thereby supporting the achievement of SDGs.
Now you see me, now you don’t: an exploration of religious exnomination in DALL-E
Authors: Alfano Mark , Abedin Ehsan , Reimann Ritsaart , Ferreira Marinus , Cheong Marc 
Published: April 2024

AbstractArtificial intelligence (AI) systems are increasingly being used not only to classify and analyze but also to generate images and text. As recent work on the content produced by text and image Generative AIs has shown (e.g., Cheong et al., 2024, Acerbi & Stubbersfield, 2023), there is a risk that harms of representation and bias, already documented in prior AI and natural language processing (NLP) algorithms may also be present in generative models. These harms relate to protected categories such as gender, race, age, and religion. There are several kinds of harms of representation to consider in this context, including stereotyping, lack of recognition, denigration, under-representation, and many others (Crawford in Soundings 41:45–55, 2009; in: Barocas et al., SIGCIS Conference, 2017). Whereas the bulk of researchers’ attention thus far has been given to stereotyping and denigration, in this study we examine ‘exnomination’, as conceived by Roland Barthes (1972), of religious groups. Our case study is DALL-E, a tool that generates images from natural language prompts. Using DALL-E mini, we generate images from generic prompts such as “religious person.” We then examine whether the generated images are recognizably members of a nominated group. Thus, we assess whether the generated images normalize some religions while neglecting others. We hypothesize that Christianity will be recognizably represented more frequently than other religious groups. Our results partially support this hypothesis but introduce further complexities, which we then explore.
Under pressure: evidence for selection on color-related genes in poison frogs of the genus Ranitomeya
Authors: Rubio Andrew O. , Stuckert Adam M. M. , LaPolice Troy M. , Cole T. Jeffrey , Summers Kyle 
Published: April 2024

AbstractAposematic organisms rely on their bright conspicuous coloration to communicate to potential predators that they are toxic and unpalatable. These aposematic phenotypes are strongly tied to survival and therefore make excellent opportunities to investigate the genetic underpinning of coloration. The genus Ranitomeya includes phenotypically diverse members of Neotropical aposematic poison frogs native to South America. Significant progress has been made in elucidating the molecular mechanisms responsible for aposematic coloration in poison frogs, which have paved the way for future studies to test hypotheses of the evolution of coloration across aposematic vertebrates. However, very little is known about whether these color related genes are under positive selection. We assembled transcriptomes from publicly available data reads sets for 9 different color morphs of poison frogs in the Ranitomeya genus that display bright conspicuous coloration (four morphs of R. imitator, two morphs of R. variabilis, two morphs of R. fantastica, one morph of R. summersi) to identify protein-coding genes responsible for color production that are under positive selection. Our results show that there are multiple genes under strong positive selection that are predicted to play roles in melanin synthesis (dct, tyrp1, irf4), iridophore development (fhl1), keratin metabolism (ovol1), pteridine synthesis (prps1, xdh), and carotenoid metabolism (adh1b, aldh2). The identification of positive selection affecting candidate color-pattern genes is consistent with the possibility that these genes mediate (in part) the molecular evolution of coloration. This may be attributed to aposematic phenotypes being directly tied to survival and reproduction in poison frogs.
Evaluation of EGFR and COX pathway inhibition in human colon organoids of serrated polyposis and other hereditary cancer syndromes
Authors: Kanth Priyanka , Hazel Mark W. , Schell John C. , Rutter Jared , Yao Ruoxin , Mills Alyssa P. , Delker Don A. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractSerrated polyposis syndrome (SPS) presents with multiple sessile serrated lesions (SSL) in the large intestine and confers increased colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. However, the etiology of SPS is not known. SSL-derived organoids have not been previously studied but may help provide insights into SPS pathogenesis and identify novel biomarkers and chemopreventive strategies. This study examined effects of EGFR and COX pathway inhibition in organoid cultures derived from uninvolved colon and polyps of SPS patients. We also compared with organoids representing the hereditary gastrointestinal syndromes, Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) and Lynch syndrome (LS). Eighteen total organoid colon cultures were generated from uninvolved colon and polyps in SPS, FAP, LS, and non-syndromic screening colonoscopy patients. BRAF and KRAS mutation status was determined for each culture. Erlotinib (EGFR inhibitor) and sulindac (COX inhibitor) were applied individually and in combination. A 44-target gene custom mRNA panel (including WNT and COX pathway genes) and a 798-gene microRNA gene panel were used to quantitate organoid RNA expression by NanoString analysis. Erlotinib treatment significantly decreased levels of mRNAs associated with WNT and MAPK kinase signaling in organoids from uninvolved colon from all four patient categories and from all SSL and adenomatous polyps. Sulindac did not change the mRNA profile in any culture. Our findings suggest that EGFR inhibitors may contribute to the chemopreventive treatment of SSLs. These findings may also facilitate clinical trial design using these agents in SPS patients. Differentially expressed genes identified in our study (MYC, FOSL1, EGR1, IL33, LGR5 and FOXQ1) may be used to identify other new molecular targets for chemoprevention of SSLs.
Practical challenges in mediation analysis: a guide for applied researchers
Authors: Schuler Megan S. , Coffman Donna L. , Stuart Elizabeth A. , Nguyen Trang Q. , Vegetabile Brian , McCaffrey Daniel F. 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Mediation analysis is a statistical approach that can provide insights regarding the intermediary processes by which an intervention or exposure affects a given outcome. Mediation analyses rose to prominence, particularly in social science research, with the publication of Baron and Kenny’s seminal paper and is now commonly applied in many research disciplines, including health services research. Despite the growth in popularity, applied researchers may still encounter challenges in terms of conducting mediation analyses in practice. In this paper, we provide an overview of conceptual and methodological challenges that researchers face when conducting mediation analyses. Specifically, we discuss the following key challenges: (1) Conceptually differentiating mediators from other “third variables,” (2) Extending beyond the single mediator context, (3) Identifying appropriate datasets in which measurement and temporal ordering support the hypothesized mediation model, (4) Selecting mediation effects that reflect the scientific question of interest, (5) Assessing the validity of underlying assumptions of no omitted confounders, (6) Addressing measurement error regarding the mediator, and (7) Clearly reporting results from mediation analyses. We discuss each challenge and highlight ways in which the applied researcher can approach these challenges.
Domain Adaptation for Fear of Heights Classification in a VR Environment Based on EEG and ECG
Authors: Apicella Andrea , Arpaia Pasquale , Barbato Simone , D’Errico Giovanni , Mastrati Giovanna , Moccaldi Nicola , Vallefuoco Ersilia , Wriessnegger Selina Christin 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThree levels of fear of heights were detected in subjects with different severities of acrophobia, based on the electroencephalographic (EEG) and electrocardiographic (ECG) signals. The study aims to demonstrate the feasibility of a data-fusion-based method for real-time assessment of the fear of heights intensity to integrate into adaptive Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for acrophobia. The generalization performance of classification tasks on fear states is improved by exploiting both trait-based clustering and Domain Adaptation methods. Participants were gradually exposed to increasing height levels through a Virtual Reality (VR) scenario representing a canyon. The initial severity of fear of heights, the level of distress at each height, and the anxiety level before and after the exposure were assessed through the Acrophobia Questionnaire, the Subjective Unit of Distress, and the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory, respectively. The Simulator Sickness Questionnaire was administered to exclude possible motion sickness interference in the experiment. The EEG and ECG signals were acquired through a 32-channel headset and 1 Lead ECG derivation during the exposure to the eliciting VR scenario. Four classifiers (i.e. Support Vector Machines, Deep Neural Networks, Random Forests, and k-Nearest Neighbors) were adopted in the experimental environment. Preliminary tests were performed in a within-subject experiment, achieving the best classification accuracy of $$87.1 \% \pm 7.8 \%$$

87.1
%
±
7.8
%

with a Deep Neural Network. As the cross-subject approach is concerned, three strategies, namely Domain Adaptation (DA), data fusion (combining EEG with ECG), and participant clustering (based on the acrophobia severity), were evaluated. DA resulted in the most effective strategies by determining an improvement of more than 20 % in classification accuracy. Random Forest performed the best classification accuracy for the severe acrophobia cluster with a mean of $$63.6 \%$$

63.6
%

and a standard deviation of $$ 13.4 \%$$

13.4
%

over three classes by exploiting Stratified Normalization.
Examining Relationships Among Alcohol Use Disorder, Child Caretaking, and Intimate Partner Violence in High-Risk Couples
Authors: Giff Sarah T. , Forkus Shannon R. , Massa Andrea A. , Brower Jessica L. , Jarnecke Amber M. , Flanagan Julianne C. 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Purpose
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious public health concern that is highly prevalent among couples with alcohol misuse. It is well-established that alcohol can exacerbate negative IPV outcomes; however, less is known about how hazardous alcohol consumption, combined with family composition, such as the presence of children in the home, may impact IPV in a dyadic context. The current study examined the separate and interactive roles of the couple’s caretaking status and alcohol use disorder (AUD) severity on psychological and physical IPV victimization.

Methods
Secondary data were analyzed from 100 couples considered high risk due to reporting physical IPV and at least one partner meeting criteria for AUD. Multilevel mixture models were used to dyadically test how caretaking status and each partner’s AUD severity, separately and interactively, related to the couple’s psychological and physical IPV severity.

Results
Caretaking status and one’s own AUD severity, when examined separately, were positively related to psychological and physical IPV victimization. One’s partner’s AUD severity was also related to severity of physical IPV victimization. There was no evidence of an interaction in this sample.

Conclusions
Caretaking status played an important role in IPV victimization even when accounting for AUD in high-risk couples. Caretaking status and AUD did not interact; however, the significant main effects suggest an additive association, such that the combination of AUD severity and caretaking is more risky for IPV victimization than either factor alone. Findings highlight the importance of considering family composition and alcohol use behaviors on IPV risk.
RFSoC Gen3-Based Software-Defined Radio Characterization for the Readout System of Low-Temperature Bolometers
Authors: Redondo M. E. García , Muscheid T. , Gartmann R. , Salum J. M. , Ferreyro L. P. , Müller N. A. , Bonilla-Neira J. D. , Geria J. M. , Bonaparte J. J. , Almela A. , Ardila-Perez L. E. , Hampel M. R. , Fuster A. E. , Platino M. , Sander O. , Weber M. , Etchegoyen A. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThis work reports the performance evaluation of an SDR readout system based on the latest generation (Gen3) of AMD’s Radio-Frequency System-on-Chip (RFSoC) processing platform, which integrates a full-stack processing system and a powerful FPGA with up to 32 high-speed and high-resolution 14-bit Digital-to-Analog Converters and 14-bit Analog-to-Digital Converters. The proposed readout system uses a previously developed multi-band, double-conversion IQ RF-mixing board targeting a multiplexing factor of approximately 1000 bolometers in a bandwidth between 4 and 8 GHz, in line with state-of-the-art microwave SQUID multiplexers. The characterization of the system was performed in two stages, under the conditions typically imposed by the multiplexer and the cold readout circuit: first, in transmission, showing that noise and spurious levels of the generated tones are close to the values imposed by the cold readout, and second, in RF loopback, presenting noise values better than −100 dBc/Hz totally in agreement with the state-of-the-art readout systems. It was demonstrated that the RFSoC Gen3 device is a suitable enabling technology for the next generation of superconducting detector readout systems, reducing system complexity, increasing system integration, and achieving these goals without performance degradation.
Adverse Effects of Meditation: Autonomic Nervous System Activation and Individual Nauseous Responses During Samadhi Meditation in the Czech Republic
Authors: Kotherová Silvie , Cigán Jakub , Štěpánková Lenka , Vyskočilová Mária , Littnerová Simona , Ejova Anastasia , Sepši Milan 
Published: April 2024

AbstractBuddhist meditation practices, including Samadhi meditation, which forms the basis for mindfulness practice, are broadly promoted as pathways to wellbeing, but evidence of their adverse effects is emerging. In a single-group observational study with assessments of autonomic system before, during, and after Samadhi meditation, we explore the relationship between post-meditation nausea symptoms and the degree of change in autonomic system activity during meditation as compared to before and after in 57 university students (42 women; mean age = 22.6) without any previous experience in meditation or yoga practices. We hypothesize that nauseous feelings in meditation are connected to a rapid increase of activity in the sympathetic nervous system, as indicated by decreased heart-rate variability (HRV). We additionally explore links between meditation-induced nausea and two markers of parasympathetic activity: increased HRV and vasovagal syncope. Engaging in meditation and increased nausea during meditation were both associated with increased markers of HRV parasympathetic activity, but 12 individuals with markedly higher nausea demonstrated increased HRV markers of sympathetic activity during meditation. Vasovagal syncope was observed but found to be unrelated to nausea levels. Drivers of adverse effects of meditation in some individuals require further investigation.
Spirituality, Organizational Gratefulness, and Well-Being Among Polish Workers
Authors: Wnuk Marcin 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe relationship between spirituality at work and occupational and subjective well-being is not a well-recognized area of research. Many studies have indicated the beneficial effects of spiritual activities on employees’ flourishing, but the mechanisms of this influence are still not sufficiently explained. This study aimed to verify the proposed mechanisms that underlie employees’ spirituality, stress at work, and life satisfaction, and the role of gratitude toward the organization in these relationships. It was assumed that employees’ spirituality is indirectly related to stress at work via gratitude toward the organization. In turn, gratitude toward the organization is directly and indirectly related to life satisfaction through stress at work. The study encompassed 754 individuals working in different companies in Poland. In a sample of women, both spirituality dimensions were indirectly related to stress at work and life satisfaction. Among men, only the secular dimension of spirituality, such as attitude toward coworkers, was indirectly related to stress at work and life satisfaction. Gratitude toward the organization was negatively directly related to stress at work and, through this variable, indirectly positively related to life satisfaction. The benefits of employees’ spirituality for their well-being were confirmed, emphasizing a grateful attitude toward the organization as a significant factor in this relationship.
Real-world university course timetabling at the International Timetabling Competition 2019
Authors: Müller Tomáš , Rudová Hana , Müllerová Zuzana 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe paper discusses the organization of the International Timetabling Competition (ITC 2019), which intends to motivate further research on complex university course timetabling problems coming from practice. Thanks to the UniTime timetabling system, we have collected a strong set of benchmark instances with diverse characteristics for the competition. The key novelty lies in the combination of student sectioning with standard time and room assignment of particular course events. The paper analyzes the real-world course timetabling problems present in the competition. The characteristics of thirty competition instances are described together with their representative features, which are discussed institution by institution. The existing solvers are described and compared based on their competition, current, and time-limited results whenever available. As of October 2023, the competition website has about 490 registered users from 66 countries worldwide and is kept up to date with new results.
Application of Portfolio Optimization to Achieve Persistent Time Series
Authors: Zlatniczki Adam , Telcs Andras 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe greater the persistence in a financial time series, the more predictable it becomes, allowing for the development of more effective investment strategies. Desirable attributes for financial portfolios include persistence, smoothness, long memory, and higher auto-correlation. We argue that these properties can be achieved by adjusting the composition weights of the portfolio. Considering the fractal nature of typical financial time series, the fractal dimension emerges as a natural metric to gauge the smoothness of the portfolio trajectory. Specifically, the Hurst exponent is designed for measuring the persistence of time series. In this paper, we introduce an optimization method inspired by the Hurst exponent and signal processing to mitigate the irregularities in the portfolio trajectory. We illustrate the effectiveness of this approach using real data from an S &P100 dataset.
Experimental analysis and numerical simulation of biomass pyrolysis
Authors: Elhenawy Yasser , Fouad Kareem , Mansi Amr , Bassyouni M. , Gadalla Mamdouh , Ashour Fatma , Majozi Thokozani 
Published: April 2024

AbstractFinding alternatives to fossil fuels is extremely important for economic and environmental considerations. Biomass pyrolysis stands out as an efficient method for generating fuels and chemical intermediates. This study explored the influence of wood particle size (ranging from 1 to 3 cm) and pyrolysis temperature (ranging from about 300 to 480 °C) on the process. Characterization of wood residues utilized energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) to comprehend surface morphology and resultant biochar structure. Results revealed a significant temperature-dependent impact on pyrolysis product concentrations. Biomass composition analysis indicates lignin, hemicellulose, extractive contents, and cellulose percentages at 11.23%, 39%, 2.15%, and 47.62% mass/mass, respectively. Reduction in particle size to less than 2 mm enhances heat transfer, elevating overall bio-oil production. Major bio-oil components comprise phenolics, acids, alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones. Optimal conditions are identified at a wood particle size of 1 cm and a heating temperature of 480 °C. For every 1.0 kg of wood biomass residues, bio-oil, syngas, and biochar yields are 0.38 kg, 0.22 kg, and 0.4 kg, respectively. Notably, the agreement between Aspen Plus simulation and experimental findings underscored the robustness of the study.