bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Genetic analysis of the causal relationship between gut microbiota and intervertebral disc degeneration: a two-sample Mendelian randomized study
Authors: Zheng Daqiang , Wu Zhiming , Li Lu , Cheng Sichao , Chang Jianjun 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Purpose
Several recent studies have reported a possible association between gut microbiota and intervertebral disc degeneration; however, no studies have shown a causal relationship between gut microbiota and disc degeneration. This study was dedicated to investigate the causal relationship between the gut microbiota and intervertebral disc degeneration and the presence of potentially bacterial traits using two-sample Mendelian randomization.

Methods
A two-sample Mendelian randomization study was performed using the summary statistics of the gut microbiota from the largest available genome-wide association study meta-analysis conducted by the MiBioGen consortium. Summary statistics of intervertebral disc degeneration were obtained from the FinnGen consortium R8 release data. Five basic methods and MR-PRESSO were used to examine causal associations. The results of the study were used to examine the causal association between gut microbiota and intervertebral disc degeneration. Cochran's Q statistics were used to quantify the heterogeneity of instrumental variables.

Results
By using Mendelian randomization analysis, 10 bacterial traits potentially associated with intervertebral disc degeneration were identified: genus Eubacterium coprostanoligenes group, genus Lachnoclostridium, unknown genus id.2755, genus Marvinbryantia, genus Ruminococcaceae UCG003, family Rhodospirillaceae, unknown genus id.959, order Rhodospirillales, genus Lachnospiraceae NK4A136 grou, genus Eubacterium brachy group.

Conclusion
This Mendelian Randomization study found a causal effect between 10 gut microbiota and intervertebral disc degeneration, and we summarize the possible mechanisms of action in the context of existing studies. However, additional research is essential to fully understand the contribution of genetic factors to the dynamics of gut microbiota and its impact on disc degeneration.
The response of forested upland micro-watersheds to extreme precipitation in a precipitation abundant year
Authors: Hemr Ondřej , Kupec Petr , Čech Petr , Deutscher Jan 
Published: December 2023

AbstractWe performed a comparative paired catchment study of three headwater upland forest micro-catchments with different forest types in the precipitation-abundant year 2020. The analysis was based on baseflow separation and resulting baseflow index (BFI). The year 2020 was intentionally chosen as a way to reflect the expected effects of climate change in the region where more extreme hydroclimatic events are expected. Our team demonstrated that in case of hydroclimatic extremes, there are significant differences in the runoff response from these catchments, depending especially on the tree species composition in the forest stands. Three forest types with the predominance of European beech (Fagus sylvatica), Norway spruce (Picea abies), and mixed forest were analyzed. The observed different values of BFI were interpreted in relation to the ability of forest stands to retain water and slow runoff in extreme runoff events determined by the stormflow component as an indication of their flood control efficiency. A significantly worse flood control efficiency and an overreaction of runoff response to precipitation events were observed in the spruce catchment. This also suggests that the spruce catchment is more prone to suffer from drought since twice as much water was lost from the system during extreme hydroclimatic events as opposed to the other two with less spruce in the stands and less water is thus available for groundwater recharge.
High-level characterisation and mapping of key climate-change hazards in European coastal cities
Authors: Laino Emilio , Iglesias Gregorio 
Published: December 2023

AbstractSea-level and temperature rise due to climate change exacerbate existing climate-related hazards in coastal areas. In this work, an approach based on Coastal City Living Labs is developed to carry out a high-level characterisation of key climate-related hazards for ten European coastal cities. The Coastal City Living Labs are conceived as physical and virtual spaces in which stakeholders meet for collaboration, co-creation and co-ideation to solve the challenges posed by climate-related hazards. The information on past extreme climate events and local knowledge thus obtained are combined to identify the main hazards for each city. Subsequently, these hazards are categorised based on the recommendations of the recent Sixth Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The main climate-related hazards are found to be storms, coastal and land flooding, and coastal erosion. Importantly, significant differences are found between the specific cities as to the main hazards of concern. Even within the same coastal city, relevant differences are found in respect of the main hazards, depending on the area considered. It follows that granularity in the characterisation of the hazards is fundamental in designing mitigation measures. To clarify the spatial extent of the different hazards in each coastal city, bespoke maps are produced through GIS software. In addition to the interest of the results for the specific cities investigated, this work provides a methodology to assess climate-related hazards in coastal areas using Coastal City Living Labs, which can be applied elsewhere.
Leadership and technostress: a systematic literature review
Authors: Rademaker Tim , Klingenberg Ingo , Süß Stefan 
Published: December 2023

AbstractWith the growing use of digital technologies at work, employees are facing new demands. Digital technologies are also changing how leaders and followers interact. Leadership must adapt to these changes and find ways to reduce the demands of digital work for their followers so they maintain their capacity for and motivation to work. Against this background, we analyze the impact leadership has on technostress by conducting a systematic literature review. An electronic search was based on 13 databases (ACM Digital, AIS eLibrary, APA PsychInfo, EBSCO, Emerald Insight, Jstor, Pubmed, SAGE, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Taylor & Francis Online, WISO, and Web of Science) and was carried out in October 2023. We identified 1725 articles—31 of which met the selection criteria. Thirteen more were identified in a backward search, leaving 44 articles for analysis. The conceptual analysis reveals that empowering and supportive leadership can decrease follower technostress. Leadership that emphasizes high availability expectations, task orientation and control can increase technostress and technostress-related outcomes. Furthermore, leadership’s impact on follower technostress is influenced by how ICTs are being used to convey leadership. We synthesize seven analytical themes of leadership among the technostress literature and derive them into the three aggregated dimensions which serve as the foundation of a conceptual model of leadership’s impact on follower technostress: technostress-increasing leadership, technostress-decreasing leadership, and technology-enabled leadership. Furthermore, we formulate avenues for future research.
Models for Implant-Induced Capsular Contracture Post Breast Cancer Surgery
Authors: Dyck Cheryl , Isaac Kathryn V. , Edelstein-Keshet Leah 
Published: December 2023

AbstractCapsular contracture is a painful deformation of scar-tissue that may form around an implant in post-breast cancer reconstruction or cosmetic surgery. Inflammation due to surgical trauma or contamination in the tissue around the implant could account for recruitment of immune cells, and transdifferentiation of resident fibroblasts into cells that deposit abnormally thick collagen. Here we examine this hypothesis using a mathematical model for interacting macrophages, fibroblasts, myofibroblasts, and collagen. Our model demonstrates that cellular response can, together with inflammatory cell recruitment, account for prognoses.
Inline closed-loop control of bending angles with machine learning supported springback compensation
Authors: Molitor Dirk Alexander , Arne Viktor , Kubik Christian , Noemark Gabriel , Groche Peter 
Published: December 2023

AbstractClosed-loop control of product properties is becoming increasingly important in forming technology research and enables users to counteract unavoidable uncertainties in semi-finished product properties and process environments. Therefore, closed-loop controlled forming processes are considered to have the potential to reduce tolerances on desired product properties, resulting in consistent qualities. The achievement of associated increases in robustness and reliability is linked to enormous requirements, which in particular include the inline recording of the product properties to be controlled and the subsequent adaptation of the process control through the targeted derivation of manipulated variables. The present paper uses the example of an air bending process to show how the bending angle can be controlled camera-based and how springback can be compensated within a stroke by recording force signals and subsequently predicting the loaded bending angle using machine learning algorithms. The results show that the combined application of camera-based control and machine learning assisted springback compensation leads to highly accurate bending angles, whereby the results strongly depend on the machine learning algorithms and associated data transformation processes used.
Purposefully purple: understanding the technological transition from late Medieval green to purple glazed Humber wares
Authors: Perry Gareth , Watson Tom , Jackson Caroline 
Published: December 2023

Abstract The rise of purple glazed pottery in fifteenth-century England represented a major change in the character of domestic material culture. These wares typically evolved from the orange bodied, green glazed pottery of the later medieval period and were produced by a number of centres. This paper examines the technological advancements made by potters working at West Cowick (East Yorkshire) as they navigated the transition from green to purple glazed Humber wares. While it well known that recipes and firing regimes can be manipulated by potters to modify and enhance their colour pallet, the change exacted by West Cowick’s potters has been overlooked, dismissed by archaeologists as the result of over-firing. Through a range of analytical techniques (thin section petrology, scanning electron microscopy microstructural analysis, chemical characterisation of fabric and glaze by portable X-ray fluorescence analysis and scanning electron microscope–energy dispersive spectroscopy), we reconstruct the glazing practices employed by these potters, revealing innovative artisans, skilled in controlling glaze recipes and firing regimes, and able to effect major intentional changes in their product.
Intra-site spatial approaches based on taphonomic analyses to characterize assemblage formation at Pleistocene sites: a case study from Buena Pinta Cave (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid, Spain)
Authors: Mielgo Clara , Huguet Rosa , Laplana César , Martín-Perea David M. , Moclán Abel , Márquez Belén , Arsuaga Juan Luis , Pérez-González Alfredo , Baquedano Enrique 
Published: December 2023

AbstractBuena Pinta Cave (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid) has been interpreted as a hyena den with sporadic occupations of Homo neanderthalensis in the western part of the site (level 23). In order to identify the different formation processes in this area of the site, spatial analyses have been carried out with GIS and spatial statistics based on the taphonomic analysis of the faunal remains. Based on the vertical and sectional analyses of the assemblage, it has been possible to determine that level 23 actually corresponds to three archaeological levels with well-differentiated characteristics: a lower level with few faunal remains and fossil-diagenetic alterations related to humid environments associated with clays; an intermediate level with a high percentage of remains with water-related modifications and evidences of transport; and an upper level delimited mainly thanks to by a paraconformity evidenced by the concentration of weathered remains in this area and a significant reduction in remains with water-related alterations above. The results obtained show the necessity to redefine field layers and the usefulness of integrating taphonomic data and spatial studies.
Numerical Simulation and Design of All-Thin-Film Homojunction Perovskite/c-Si Tandem Solar Cells
Authors: Saif Omar M. , Shaker Ahmed , Abouelatta Mohamed , Zekry Abdelhalim , Elogail Yasmine 
Published: December 2023

AbstractDouble-junction solar devices featuring wide-bandgap and narrow-bandgap sub-cells are capable of boosting performance and efficiency compared to single-junction photovoltaic (PV) technologies. To achieve the best performance of a double-junction device, careful selection and optimization of each sub-cell is crucial. This work presents the investigation of an all-thin-film two-terminal (2T) monolithic homojunction perovskite (PVK)/c-Si tandem cell using Silvaco TCAD simulation. The front sub-cell utilizes homojunction PVK that has a bandgap of 1.72 eV, whereas the rear sub-cell uses thin c-Si with a bandgap of 1.12 eV. Both cells are connected via a p++/n++ silicon tunnel diode. Experimental calibration of the heterojunction PVK and c-Si cells yields power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of 18.106% and 17.416%, respectively. When integrated into an initial PVK/c-Si tandem, the resulting cell achieves a PCE of 29.38%. To compare the performance, the heterojunction PVK layer is replaced with an n-p homojunction PVK layer, revealing the impact of the absence of a surplus built-in electric field in the perovskite film as a strong limiting factor. Further, a thorough investigation of four distinct structures for the n-p homojunction PVK cell is conducted. The four structures include a complete cell, electron transport layer (ETL)-free, hole transport layer (HTL)-free, and carrier transport layer (CTL)-free structures. The results show that the CTL-free structure has significant potential after applying certain optimization techniques that result in reducing surface recombination, enhancing the built-in electric field, and improving light absorption. With the current-matching condition achieved, the tandem efficiency reaches 36.37%.
Digital Despotism and Aristotle on the Despotic Master–Slave Relation
Authors: Bhorat Ziyaad 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThis paper analyzes a contemporary conception of digital despotism through themes drawn from classical Greek philosophy. By taking as a measure some of the most radically excluded categories of human existence, Aristotle’s slave and slavish types, I offer a way to understand digital despotism as a syndrome of overlapping risks to human impairment, brought about by the advent of automated data processing technologies, which dispossesses people along i) ontological and ii) cognitive dimensions. This conception aims to balance the appeal to the language of slavery in recent global historical, Marxist, republican, and postcolonial discourses on digital technology, while distinguishing itself from the coercive, material violence involved in the experiences of slavery itself. Unlike prior conceptions, this thematic idea of digital despotism moreover suggests political vulnerability to forms of despotic rule and integrates various risk factors that can therefore be better recognized in both policy intervention, and individual and/or collective resistance.
Modeling the Effects of River Inflow Dynamics on the Deep Layers of Lake Biwa, Japan
Authors: Koue Jinichi 
Published: December 2023

AbstractClimate change-induced extreme weather events, including prolonged droughts and intense rainfall, exert a significant influence on river inflows. These inflows act as vital conduits for nutrient transport, water quality modulation, and the regulation of thermal dynamics in lakes and oceans. In this context, this study conducts a comprehensive examination of the multifaceted effects stemming from river water characteristics, snowmelt water influence, and shifts in precipitation patterns on the stratification dynamics of Lake Biwa in Japan. To facilitate these investigations, a hydrodynamic model was developed to simulate thermal stratification in Lake Biwa. The results demonstrate that an increase in precipitation and river water flow, specifically doubling these factors, leads to noticeable cooling of the lake’s surface layer and a consequent destabilization of stratification during the stratification period. Conversely, halving these factors stabilizes stratification. Furthermore, elevating river water temperature by 5 °C raises water temperature near the upper thermocline, encouraging vertical mixing within the surface layer. Conversely, a 5 °C decrease induces significant temperature fluctuations and an unstable stratification extending from the surface to deeper layers. Notably, the spatial variance in water temperature within Lake Biwa is profoundly influenced by fluctuations in river water temperature. This study underscores the critical importance of considering river plumes in the study of material circulation, stratification dynamics, and ecological well-being in lakes and oceans. Given the mounting concerns related to eutrophication and the prevalence of anoxia in aquatic ecosystems, this research provides invaluable insights into assessing the impacts of river plumes on Lake Biwa’s stratification structure and seasonal dynamics.
Transition control of the blasius boundary layer using linear robust control theory
Authors: Damaren Christopher J. 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThe paper considers control system design for linearized three-dimensional perturbations about a nominal laminar boundary layer over a flat plate (the Blasius profile). The objective is prevention of the laminar to turbulent transition using appropriate inputs, outputs, and feedback controllers. They are synthesized with a view to reducing transient energy growth, a known precursor to important transition scenarios. The linearized Navier–Stokes equations are reduced to the Orr–Sommerfeld and Squire equations with wall-normal velocity actuation entering through the boundary conditions on the wall. The sensor output is taken to be the wall-normal derivative of the wall-normal vorticity measured on the plate. Several multivariable output controllers are examined, including simple constant gain output feedback, loop transfer recovery, and $$H_{\infty }$$

H
∞

loop shaping. Reduced order compensators are developed using balanced truncation and analyzed for robustness using the gap metric between reduced order models and full order models. It is demonstrated that the level of minimum transient energy growth that can be achieved is similar for these diverse controller methodologies but falls short of that which can be achieved using optimal state feedback.
Digital Pathology Scanners and Contextual Integrity
Authors: Sorell Tom , Li Ricky Z. 
Published: December 2023

AbstractWe aim to bring both digital pathology in general and computational pathology in particular within the scope of Helen Nissenbaum’s theory of appropriate information transfer as contextual integrity. In Section 1, the main lines of the theory of contextual integrity are introduced, and reasons are given why it is not properly speaking a theory of privacy, but rather a theory of morally permissible information transfer in general. Then the theory is applied to uses of digitised pathology images for (a) patient-by-patient analysis (Section 2); and (b) computational pathology (Sections 3 and 4). Although big data exercises involving personal data are sometimes seen by Nissenbaum and colleagues as particular threats to existing data-sharing norms and other social norms, we claim that patient-by-patient digital pathology is riskier, at least in forms it has taken during the pandemic. At the end, we consider some risks in computational pathology that are due to the interaction between health institutions, particularly in the public sector, and commercial algorithm developers.
LFEA-Net: semantic segmentation for urban point cloud scene via local feature extraction and aggregation
Authors: Zeng Ziyin , Zhou Jian , Li Bijun , Tang Youchen , Yan Maosheng 
Published: December 2023

AbstractConsidering the increasing prominence of 3D real city construction technology, 3D urban point cloud scene data merit further investigation. However, achieving finegrained semantic segmentation of urban scenes remains highly challenging due to the natural orderlessness and unstructured nature of acquired point clouds, along with their large-scale points and non-uniform distributions. In this study, we present LFEA-Net, a novel neural network specifically designed for semantic segmentation of large-scale urban point cloud scenes. The network comprises two main components: (1) The local feature extraction (LFE) module, which fully exploits local spatial, color and semantic information to enhance and preserve crucial information, consisting of bilateral feature encoding unit and multidimensional feature encoding unit. (2) The local feature aggregation (LFA) module, designed to bridge the semantic gap between local information and emphasize both local significant features and the entire local neighbor, consisting of soft cross operation and united pooling operation. We have evaluated the performance of LFEA-Net with state-of-the-art networks using the photogrammetric point cloud dataset SensatUrban, achieving 61.6 of mIoU score. The results demonstrate the superior efficacy of LFEA-Net in accurately segmenting and classifying large-scale urban point cloud scenes, highlighting its potential to advance environmental information perception.
How inflation affects Japan’s “quantitatively eased” economy
Authors: Pope Chris G. 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThis article argues that the Bank of Japan is caught in a bind owing to both its quantitative easing policies of the last two decades and chronic inflation. In response to quantitative tightening abroad, the Bank of Japan is under pressure to raise interest rates and/or allow yields on ten-year government bonds to rise. This is because the response to inflation among G7 nations has undermined the yen, which have made clear the flaws of the Bank of Japan’s approach to restoring economic growth, namely quantitative easing as any attempt to adapt to international efforts to address inflation, using monetary methods, runs the risk of triggering a cascade of loan defaults due to illiquidity issues both at home and in foreign markets. To demonstrate this, the article evaluates Japanese quantitative easing measures, including the Bank of Japan’s yield curve control policy, and assesses the problems it faces due to inflation and the responses to it, including monetary tightening abroad.