bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Clinical features of prostate cancer by polygenic risk score
Authors: Spears Christina , Xu Menglin , Shoben Abigail , Dason Shawn , Toland Amanda Ewart , Byrne Lindsey 
Published: April 2024

AbstractGenome-wide association studies have identified more than 290 single nucleotide variants (SNVs) associated with prostate cancer. These SNVs can be combined to generate a Polygenic Risk Score (PRS), which estimates an individual’s risk to develop prostate cancer. Identifying individuals at higher risk for prostate cancer using PRS could allow for personalized screening recommendations, improve current screening tools, and potentially result in improved survival rates, but more research is needed before incorporating them into clinical use. Our study aimed to investigate associations between PRS and clinical factors in affected individuals, including age of diagnosis, metastases, histology, International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) Grade Group (GG) and family history of prostate cancer, while taking into account germline genetic testing in known prostate cancer related genes. To evaluate the relationship between these clinical factors and PRS, a quantitative retrospective chart review of 250 individuals of European ancestry diagnosed with prostate cancer who received genetic counseling services at The Ohio State University’s Genitourinary Cancer Genetics Clinic and a 72-SNV PRS through Ambry Genetics, was performed. We found significant associations between higher PRS and younger age of diagnosis (p = 0.002), lower frequency of metastases (p = 0.006), and having a first-degree relative diagnosed with prostate cancer (p = 0.024). We did not observe significant associations between PRS and ISUP GG, histology or a having a second-degree relative with prostate cancer. These findings provide insights into features associated with higher PRS, but larger multi-ancestral studies using PRS that are informative across populations are needed to understand its clinical utility.
Institution level awarding gap metrics for identifying educational inequity: useful tools or reductive distractions?
Authors: Hubbard Katharine Elizabeth 
Published: April 2024

AbstractEquity is increasingly seen as a core value for higher education systems around the world. (In)equity is often measured through construction of achievement gaps, quantifying the relative outcomes of two populations of students. Institution-level gaps are embedded in the policy landscape of HE, becoming performance metrics in their own right. These gap metrics increasingly inform the actions of governments, regulators, institutions and educators. This theoretical article scrutinises the technical and conceptual construction of achievement gaps through using the dominant UK conception of the institution level degree classification ‘awarding gap’. Drawing on Adam’s Equity Theory of Motivation, Rawls’s Distributive Justice and the Capability Approach as theoretical perspectives, I highlight multiple structural weaknesses in the conception of the awarding gap. I illustrate the implications of this metric by analysing simulated awarding gap data for a fictional institution, and through the perspectives of five idealised stakeholders. I identify multiple technical and theoretical limitations of the institution level awarding gap metric, including examples where the threshold-based nature of the awarding gap fails to capture statistical differences between groups, thereby undermining its utility in identifying inequity. I call on the sector to develop metrics that more accurately capture (in)equity of outcomes and align better with theoretical frameworks, thereby creating more powerful explanatory metrics that can inform meaningful action.
Resistance is not futile: a systematic review of the benefits, mechanisms and safety of resistance training in people with heart failure
Authors: Morris Bradley A. , Sinaei Ronak , Smart Neil A. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractExercise offers many physical and health benefits to people with heart failure (CHF), but aerobic training (AT) predominates published literature. Resistance training (RT) provides additional and complementary health benefits to AT in people with CHF; we aimed to elucidate specific health benefits accrued, the mechanism of effect and safety of RT. We conducted a systematic search for RT randomised, controlled trials in people with CHF, up until August 30, 2023. RT offers several benefits including improved physical function (peak VO2and 6MWD), quality of life, cardiac systolic and diastolic function, endothelial blood vessel function, muscle strength, anti-inflammatory muscle markers, appetite and serious event rates. RT is beneficial and improves peak VO2and 6MWD, partly restores normal muscle fibre profile and decreases inflammation. In turn this leads to a reduced risk or impact of sarcopenia/cachexia via effect on appetite. The positive impact on quality of life and performance of activities of daily living is related to improved function, which in turn improves prognosis. RT appears to be safe with only one serious event reported and no deaths. Nevertheless, few events reported to date limit robust analysis. RT appears to be safe and offers health benefits to people with CHF. RT modifies the adverse muscle phenotype profile present in people with CHF and it appears safe. Starting slowly with RT and increasing load to 80% of 1 repetition maximum (RM) appears to offer optimal benefit.
Masks Versus Cattle: The Ecology of an African Art Form
Authors: van Beek Walter E. A. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractMasquerades form an important part of indigenous African religions, and headpieces of masks are found all over the world as an iconic African art form. Contrary to expectation, however, the geographical distribution of masking is very restricted, occurring only in three areas of the continent, mainly situated in the forested zones. I explain this peculiar distribution by tracing the ecological and historical parameters of the societies that harbor mask rituals. The main ecological factors are the absence of cattle and the type of horticulture, while a crucial historical element is the long history of slave raiding and trading to which the continent has been subjected. These factors have led to societies in which both gender and local power arrangements show a marked indeterminacy, operating as internal arenas between men and women, and between different groups of men. Crucial in the explanation of masquerades is the fact that masking is completely absent from societies that practice cattle husbandry with the Bos indicus species (zebu). Since sleeping sickness prohibits cattle husbandry, wherever the tsetse fly thrives, masks appear.
A Real-time Fuzzy Interacting Multiple-Model Velocity Obstacle Avoidance Approach for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Authors: Candan Fethi , Beke Aykut , Mahfouf Mahdi , Mihaylova Lyudmila 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThis paper presents a new fuzzy interacting multiple-model velocity obstacle (FIMVO) approach for collision avoidance of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The proposed approach adopts in one framework the advantages of geometric collision avoidance approaches, namely of the velocity (VO), reciprocal velocity (RVO), and hybrid reciprocal velocity obstacle (HRVO) avoidance approaches combined with fuzzy logic. This leads to a combined decision-making rule, with real-time efficiency. The developed approach is compared with geometric conventional velocity obstacle avoidance approaches: VO, RVO, and HRVO avoidance approaches. The proposed approach is carefully evaluated and validated in a simulation environment and over real UAVs. The case study includes three mini UAVs and a human teleoperator who can control only one of them. The other UAVs used the computer-based teleoperator with the proposed and compared approaches. The performance criteria have been defined in four parts: trajectory smoothness, task performance, algorithm simplicity, and reliability. In 1000 independently repeated simulations, the performance results showed that the proposed FIMVO approach was 10 times better than the VO approach in terms of the number of avoided collisions. The statistical analysis demonstrates that the proposed FIMVO approach outperforms geometric velocity obstacle avoidance approaches concerning reliability and real-time efficiency.
Effect of Cr doping and photoresponse properties of photodiode based on CdO thin films
Authors: Soylu Murat 
Published: April 2024

AbstractCadmium oxide (CdO) and chromium (Cr) doped CdO thin films with various Cr wt% contents (0.1, 0.5, 1, 2 at.%) are synthesised on soda lime glass (SLG) substrates. Results from X-ray analysis indicate that all thin films are in cubic nature with (111) preferential orientation. Cr doping does not appear to result in a transition from one crystal phase to another. CdO with the 2.0 wt% Cr doping absorbs much more light than undoped CdO in low wavelength region (< ≈450 nm), giving a maximum absorption peak in the ultraviolet region. Cr doped CdO/p-Si heterojunction shows the Cr wt% content-sensitive rectification property, achieving a high ratio of 105. In addition, Cr doped CdO/p-Si heterojunction exhibits photodiode behavior and possesses an improved photo-to-dark current ratio of ≈153. This work introduces an occasion to develop the optoelectronic devices based on Cr doped CdO thin films.
A generational perspective on owner-occupation rates among migrants and their (grand)children in the Netherlands
Authors: van Gent Wouter , Zorlu Aslan 
Published: April 2024

AbstractClassical assimilation theories hold that immigrant groups will slowly integrate economically over time over multiple generations, which implies that the (grand)children of immigrants will improve their housing market position compared to their (grand)parents and transition from rental housing to owner-occupation. This study uses unique data on the children and grandchildren of immigrants and native Dutch (‘third generation’) in 2018 to assess whether and how the descendants of large immigrant groups from the postwar era have attained ownership. The generational perspective is two-fold. First, we are interested in how individuals from various generations compare within and between origin groups (generational comparison). Second, the study also assesses the role of parental wealth and tenure in intergenerational transfers, i.e., ethnic and generational differences in the effects of these parental background variables. Our estimates from logistic regression models show that Surinamese-Dutch and Turkish-Dutch see higher predicted owner-occupation rates over generations, with some Turkish-Dutch groups having higher rates than native-Dutch. The parental background variables partly predict owner-occupation rates and explain group differences, which indicates the importance of generational transfers.
The Significance of Religion and Spirituality Among Turkish Women Surviving Breast Cancer Without Treatment: A Qualitative Study
Authors: Güvener Yasemin Özyer 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe health of breast cancer survivors is a global concern. It is crucial to adopt a holistic approach when understanding their journey from illness to wellness in order to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible. This study focused on the experiences of Muslim women who had overcome breast cancer and were adapting to life post-treatment. Snowball sampling was used to select the participants for this qualitative study. Fifteen women who had successfully completed breast cancer treatment and been declared cancer-free were interviewed. These interviews were semi-structured, using open-ended questions to explore their experiences in-depth. The interviews were conducted by phone, and the data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The study identified four main themes, nine subthemes, and 41 codes. The main themes were as follows: (a) a life changed by cancer and the difficulties encountered; (b) transition from active treatment to treatment-free living; (c) coping mechanisms; and (d) future hopes and expectations. The findings highlighted the survivors’ desire to move past their experience of cancer and normalize their lives, as well as emphasizing their need for support. The participants shared detailed accounts of their journey, the obstacles they encountered during this transition, and the critical role of religion and spirituality in overcoming these challenges. Understanding and effectively managing the experiences of women after breast cancer treatment is vital not only for improving survival rates but also for facilitating their healing process.
The Effect of Religious Attitude on Death Anxiety among Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis Treatment: A Sample from Turkey
Authors: Yıldırım Üşenmez Tülay , Demir Dikmen Rukiye 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe aim of the current study was to evaluate the effect of religious attitude on death anxiety among patients undergoing hemodialysis treatment. This cross-sectional study included 77 patients undergoing hemodialysis treatment. The religious attitude scale (RAS) and the death anxiety scale (DAS) were used to collect data. The results revealed a moderately strong negative relationship between the mean RAS total score and the mean DAS total score (r = − 0.350, p < 0.05). Additionally, religious attitude accounted for 12% of the variance in death anxiety (R2 = 0.12). Accordingly, the levels of religious attitude exhibited by patients may negatively affect their death anxiety.
Higher crop rotational diversity in more simplified agricultural landscapes in Northeastern Germany
Authors: Schiller Josepha , Jänicke Clemens , Reckling Moritz , Ryo Masahiro 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Context
Both crop rotational diversity and landscape diversity are important for ensuring resilient agricultural production and supporting biodiversity and ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. However, the relationship between crop rotational diversity and landscape diversity is largely understudied.

Objectives
We aim to assess how crop rotational diversity is spatially organised in relation to soil, climate, and landscape diversity at a regional scale in Brandenburg, Germany.

Methods
We used crop rotational richness, Shannon’s diversity and evenness indices per field per decade (i.e., crop rotational diversity) as a proxy for agricultural diversity and land use and land cover types and habitat types as proxies for landscape diversity. Soil and climate characteristics and geographical positions were used to identify potential drivers of the diversity facets. All spatial information was aggregated at 10 × 10 km resolution, and statistical associations were explored with interpretable machine learning methods.

Results
Crop rotational diversity was associated negatively with landscape diversity metrics and positively with soil quality and the proportion of agricultural land use area, even after accounting for the other variables.

Conclusion
Our study indicates a spatial trade-off between crop and landscape diversity (competition for space), and crop rotations are more diverse in more simplified landscapes that are used for agriculture with good quality of soil conditions. The respective strategies and targets should be tailored to the corresponding local and regional conditions for maintaining or enhancing both crop and landscape diversity jointly to gain their synergistic positive impacts on agricultural production and ecosystem management.
Typical spelling errors of Grade 1 spellers of Polish: An exploratory study adapting the POMAS classification to the Polish orthography
Authors: Łockiewicz Marta , Barzowska Natalia 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThis paper presents the adaptation of the POMAS classification of spelling errors (Silliman et al., Developmental Neuropsychology 29:93–123, 2006, Bahr et al., Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research 55:1587–1599, 2012; International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 18:73–91, 2015) to Polish orthography. We identified the most common phonological, orthographic, and/or morphological errors committed by Polish Grade 1 spellers based on a writing-to-dictation task. Some of the error types were included in the original POMAS; some we added, following the classification rationale, to adapt the classification to the specific features of the Polish orthography. Moreover, we found that the participants made, on average, an equal number of phonological and orthographic errors, and of phonological and morphological errors. However, orthographic errors were more frequent than morphological ones. A roughly equal proportion of orthographic and phonological errors occurred in the spelling of the most difficult words. The most frequent orthographic error type was grapheme substitution, followed by final consonant devoicing, and consonant devoicing within a word errors. The most frequent phonological error type were misspellings in diacritic signs, followed by consonant deletion, vowel deletion, and epenthesis. The developed POMAS-PL version may be used by other researchers of Slavic languages, to allow for intercultural comparisons. Moreover, our analyses can be used by teachers of Polish as a first and a second language to anticipate their students’ errors and to understand what knowledge the learners need to learn to spell correctly.
Impact of Argument-Driven Inquiry Activities on Pre-service Science Teachers’ Views of the Nature of Scientific Inquiry in the Context of Climate Change Education
Authors: Erenler Sumeyye , Cetin Pinar Seda , Eymur Gülüzar 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThis study aimed to investigate how argument-driven inquiry (ADI) activities impact pre-service teachers’ views of the nature of scientific inquiry (NOSI), with a specific focus on climate change. To this end, an ADI approach was used to teach climate change, where the aspects of NOSI were explicitly taught. A sample of 24 pre-service teachers participated in a science project which included ADI sessions addressing climate change topics. The pre-service teachers participated in four ADI activities related to rising sea levels, clean water resources, extreme weather events, and zero energy building. The sessions involved explicit instruction on NOSI to enhance pre-service teachers’ understanding. A view of scientific inquiry (VOSI) questionnaire was used to investigate pre-service teachers’ views of scientific inquiry before and after the instruction. The results of the study showed that the pre-service teachers improved in all six aspects of NOSI, but higher improvements were observed in the aspects “multiple methods of scientific investigations” and “distinctions between data and evidence.”
Rodolfo Sacco’s Theoretical Contribution to Comparative Law: A Personal Account
Authors: Graziadei Michele 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThis article highlights certain aspects of Rodolfo Sacco’s theoretical work on comparative law. Rather than offering an exhaustive discussion, it outlines key points in his intellectual journey to help the reader understand how certain themes gained prominence in his work. An outstanding figure in the comparative law community since the 1970s, he remained active until the end of his life, well into the twenty-first century. Through his many contributions to the field, Sacco took comparative law research in new directions. He developed a more nuanced and complex analysis of the tasks of the comparative lawyer, elaborating an approach to comparison that does justice to the multiple components of all legal systems (“legal formants”) and their dynamics. We owe him a fine study of the silent, implicit dimensions of law that have a major impact on its application (“cryptotypes”), and a reflection on the relationship between law and language that shows how comparative law is deeply implicated in the process of translation.
Trust and reliance in the cognitive institutions of cryptocurrency
Authors: Petracca Enrico , Gallagher Shaun 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe stated aim of cryptocurrencies is to free the monetary system from the need to trust financial intermediaries, by relying on incentive design and technology. Many descriptive studies, however, have questioned cryptocurrencies’ delivery on the promise of trustlessness. This paper promotes a normative analysis of trust in cryptocurrencies by discussing (i) whether trust is in principle eliminable, and (ii) whether trustlessness is in itself a desirable goal. These issues are closely related, we argue, to the further issue of what kind of institutions cryptocurrencies represent. We discuss the cognitive functions played by cryptocurrencies through the lens of the “extended mind” hypothesis in the philosophy of mind and hence conceive of cryptocurrencies as mind-extending institutions. As the models of institutional mind extension differ in the fiduciary bond they assume exists between individuals and institutional resources, we compare the reliance-based model of “scaffolding institutions” with the trust-based model of “cognitive institutions,” showing that the ineliminability and desirability of trust lead to seeing cryptocurrencies as instances of the latter. In the end, our discussion suggests that trust is a necessary component of cryptocurrencies’ cognitive functions and its promotion helps to perform such cognitive functions more effectively and sustainably
The effect of temperature on injection-induced shear slip of laboratory faults in sandstone
Authors: Shen Nao , Wang Lei , Li Xiaochun 
Published: April 2024

AbstractFluid injection into subsurface reservoirs may cause existing faults/fractures to slip seismically. To study the effect of temperature on injection-induced fault slip, at a constant confining pressure of 10 MPa, we performed a series of injection-induced shear slip experiments on critically stressed sandstone samples containing saw-cut fractures (laboratory-simulated faults) under varying fluid pressurization rates (0.1 and 0.5 MPa/min, respectively) and temperatures (25, 80, and 140 °C, respectively). At 25 °C, slow fault slip events with a peak slip velocity of about 0.13 μm/s were observed on a tested sample in response to a low fluid pressurization rate of 0.1 MPa/min. In contrast, fluid injection with a high pressurization rate of 0.5 MPa/min caused fault slip events with a peak slip rate up to about 0.38 μm/s. In response to a given fluid pressurization rate, several episodes of slip events with a higher slip velocity were induced at an elevated temperature of 140 °C, indicating an appreciable weakening effect at elevated temperatures. We also experimentally constrained the rate-and-state frictional (RSF) parameters at varying effective normal stresses and temperatures by performing velocity-stepping tests. The obtained RSF parameters demonstrate that for a relatively high normal stress, increasing temperature tends to destabilize fault slip. Post-mortem microstructural observations reveal that elevated temperatures promote the generation of abundant fine-grained gouge particles associated with injection-induced shear slip. Our experiments highlight that injection-induced fault slip is affected by temperature-related wear production over the fault surface.