bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Blood Homocysteine Levels Mediate the Association Between Blood Lead Levels and Cardiovascular Mortality
Authors: Shibeeb Sapha , Abdallah Atiyeh , Shi Zumin 
Published: January 2024

AbstractLead is a heavy, toxic metal and its exposure to humans can lead to increased risk of cardiovascular disease development and mortality. Lead exposure has been shown to induce hyperhomocysteinemia (HHCy) which may be a major pathogenic risk for the risk of CVDs. The aim of this study was to investigate whether homocysteine (Hcy) mediates the effect of lead on cardiovascular mortality. A total of 17,915 adults aged ≥ 20 who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999 to 2006). Information on mortality was ascertained via probabilistic matching to the death certificates from the National Death Index recorded up to December 31, 2015. Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to assess the association between blood lead levels and mortality. Mediation via Hcy was examined using a logit model. During a mean follow-up of 11.6 years, the incidences of CVD mortality were 0.73, 2.18, 3.03 and 4.94 per 1000 person-years across quarterlies of blood lead levels from low to high. Following multivariable adjustment, blood lead levels were strongly associated with CVD mortality in all mortality models (p-trend < 0.001). This association remained statistically significant after further adjusting for quartiles of homocysteine (model 3; HR 1.38 (95% CI 1.01—1.89) p-trend < 0.001). Furthermore, blood lead levels increased the odds of CVD mortality via homocysteine (indirect effect) (OR 1.42 (95% CI 1.30—1.55)), demonstrating the mediatory effect of homocysteine. This the first study that demonstrates that increased homocysteine mediates nearly half of CVD mortality related to blood lead levels.
Deterministic ground motion modeling with target earthquakes and site effects in eastern Azerbaijan
Authors: Babayev Gulam , Babayev Tural , Telesca Luciano 
Published: January 2024

AbstractIn the context of assessing seismic hazard, accurately predicting ground motion stands out as a crucial task. Achieving precision in ground motion modeling proves valuable in revealing the actual pattern, even when faced with insufficient data on soil structure, provided there is precise information about the seismic source. This study introduces a methodology for calculating local- and near-field ground motion, expressed in peak ground acceleration (PGA) and intensity values. The deterministic approach is employed, incorporating source characteristics and one-dimensional (1D) site effects. For the chosen test area, the Ismayilli-Shamakhi region on the southeastern slope of the Greater Caucasus in Azerbaijan, two seismic scenarios are investigated: the 1902 Shamakhi earthquake (magnitude M = 6.8) and the November 25, 2000 Baku-Caspian earthquake (two shocks with moment magnitude Mw = 6.08 and 6.18). Different soil types are considered to validate the proposed methodological procedures. The analysis involves the computation of peak ground acceleration motion for two scenario earthquakes: a local-field event with M = 6.8 and a near-field event with Mw = 6.5, representing the average magnitude of the 2000 Baku-Caspian earthquake. The computed peak ground acceleration values are then used to derive intensities. Notably, the 1902 Shamakhi earthquake and the 2000 Baku-Caspian earthquake exhibit similar trends on surface PGA values. The local-field scenario estimates PGA values ranging from 77 to 328 gal, corresponding to MSK-64 scale intensity levels of VII-IX. The near-field scenario, with PGA values ranging from 28 to 62 gal, aligns with MSK-64 intensity levels of VI–VII. In the final assessment, the amplification factor in the study area varies between 0.55 and 0.83. The seismic hazard level is identified as high in the southern and southeastern regions, particularly in areas with soft shallow and medium-depth soils, indicating a high potential for ground motion amplification.
Stress Perception and Coping as Mediators of the Link Between Self-Compassion and Affective Well-being? Evidence From Two Longitudinal Studies
Authors: Ewert Christina , Buechner Anabel , Schröder-Abé Michela 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
Objectives
A growing body of research has already demonstrated the link between self-compassion and improved affective well-being and mental health. Initial findings have indicated that effective stress processing might be a mechanism underlying the beneficial effects of self-compassion on mental health outcomes. However, studies are still quite limited as they have mostly been cross-sectional and often included specific samples only. Thus, this research examines perceived stress and coping as two key mechanisms underlying the relation between self-compassion and affective well-being longitudinally in two different samples.

Method
In two longitudinal studies with three measurement waves each, we assessed self-compassion, perceived stress, engagement and disengagement coping, and affective well-being. Study 1 analyzed a student sample (n = 684) across 12 weeks. Study 2 followed a population-based sample (n = 2934) across a 4-month period.

Results
Cross-lagged panel analyses indicated that perceived stress mediated the link between self-compassion and affective well-being in both longitudinal studies. Engagement coping responses mediated this link in Study 2. Disengagement coping responses did not act as mediators in both studies.

Conclusions
Our work helps to better understand the processes underlying the link between self-compassion and well-being. Self-compassion might facilitate effective stress responses in terms of less perceived stress and more salutary coping responses, which in turn might help to enhance affective well-being.

Preregistration
All hypotheses were preregistered (as well as design, and analyses for the second Study) online at the Open Science Framework before starting with data collection (see preregistration at: https://osf.io/fhm9q/?view_only=577dd62d2f5548d59ccf703ee1d0d0a6).
Imaging Procedure and Clinical Studies of [18F]FP-CIT PET
Authors: Sung Changhwan , Oh Seung Jun , Kim Jae Seung 
Published: January 2024

AbstractN-3-[18F]fluoropropyl-2β-carbomethoxy-3β-4-iodophenyl nortropane ([18F]FP-CIT) is a radiopharmaceutical for dopamine transporter (DAT) imaging using positron emission tomography (PET) to detect dopaminergic neuronal degeneration in patients with parkinsonian syndrome. [18F]FP-CIT was granted approval by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in 2008 as the inaugural radiopharmaceutical for PET imaging, and it has found extensive utilization across numerous institutions in Korea. This review article presents an imaging procedure for [18F]FP-CIT PET to aid nuclear medicine physicians in clinical practice and systematically reviews the clinical studies associated with [18F]FP-CIT PET.
COVID-19 and Challenging Working Environments: Experiences of Black Sub-Saharan African (BSSA) Front-Line Health Care Professionals Amid of COVID-19 Pandemic in the English Midlands Region
Authors: Mathew Nyashanu , Farai Pfende , Ekpenyong Mandu Stephen 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
Purpose
The impact of COVID-19 is challenging for many health and social care workers. The impact has been more felt by all ethnic groups, but during the course of its tenure, it has become more apparent that the black community has been affected more than others. They have been reported to suffer more fatalities from the pandemic compared to their white counterparts. Blacks are reported to make a significant percentage of health care workers. They are sometimes undervalued, lowly paid, with many on insecure contracts and experiencing professional inequality. This study sought to explore the challenges experienced by Black Sub-Saharan African (BSSA) front-line workers in health care during COVID-19 pandemic.

Methodology
The study utilised an explorative qualitative approach (EQA). Forty research participants were recruited for the study. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data through online platforms which included Zoom, WhatsApp and Teams. A thematic approach was used to analyse data.

Results
Following data analysis, the research found that the research participants experienced undermining of expertise, lack of appreciation and unfair allocation of tasks and were overlooked for promotion and perceived as carriers of COVID-19.

Conclusion
This group was over-represented in agency and self-employed roles. There is need for a strong government commitment to prevent discrimination through enacting a comprehensive legislation to support tackling the problem. Race equality training awareness needs to be rolled out into healthcare organisations and empower managers to deal with equality issues at work.
Autonomous imaging scheduling networks of small celestial bodies flyby based on deep reinforcement learning
Authors: Hu Hang , Wu Weiren , Song Yuqi , Tao Wenjian , Song Jianing , Zhang Jinxiu , Wang Jihe 
Published: January 2024

AbstractDuring the flyby mission of small celestial bodies in deep space, it is hard for spacecraft to take photos at proper positions only rely on ground-based scheduling, due to the long communication delay and environment uncertainties. Aimed at imaging properly, an autonomous imaging policy generated by the scheduling networks that based on deep reinforcement learning is proposed in this paper. A novel reward function with relative distance variation in consideration is designed to guide the scheduling networks to obtain higher reward. A new part is introduced to the reward function to improve the performance of the networks. The robustness and adaptability of the proposed networks are verified in simulation with different imaging missions. Compared with the results of genetic algorithm (GA), Deep Q-network (DQN) and proximal policy optimization (PPO), the reward obtained by the trained scheduling networks is higher than DQN and PPO in most imaging missions and is equivalent to that of GA but, the decision time of the proposed networks after training is about six orders of magnitude less than that of GA, with less than 1e−4 s. The simulation and analysis results indicate that the proposed scheduling networks have great potential in further onboard application.
The Impact of Typical School Provision of Physical Education, Physical Activity and Sports on Adolescent Physical Health: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Rocliffe Padraic , Tapia-Serrano Miguel Angel , Garcia-Gonzalez Luis , Adamakis Manolis , Walsh Liam , Bannon Aine , Mulhall Emily , Sherwin Ian , O’ Keeffe Brendan T. , Mannix-McNamara Patricia , MacDonncha Ciaran 
Published: January 2024

AbstractTypical school provision of physical education, physical activity and sports may impact adolescent physical health. However, systematic literature reviews and meta-analysis have not yet considered this impact. The Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, PsychINFO, ERIC and MEDLINE databases were searched for relevant literature (2000–2023) pertaining to adolescents aged 12–18 years in secondary schools. Twenty-nine studies met the inclusion criteria, including twenty-three interventions, four cross-sectional and two longitudinal studies. Included studies contributed 268 reported effects on indicators of adolescent obesity, physical fitness, blood pressure and bone health. Fifteen studies were included in the meta-analysis and reported significantly positive effects on indicators of adiposity in experimental groups with minor modifications to typical school provision (g =  − 0.11 [95% CI − 0.22, − 0.01], p < 0.04, I2 = 32.49%), in boys and girls. Subgroup analysis found significantly positive effects for body fat percentage (g =  − 0.28 [95% CI − 0.49, − 0.06], p < 0.01). Robust examples of best practice in schools include extended days dedicated to physical education weekly (≥ 4 days), integration of theoretical components to physical education, sports field/gymnasium availability and a range of training modalities. Studies without the integration of a minor modification to typical school provision were deemed to have a limited impact on adolescent physical health. Further research that examines the additive impact of school physical activity and sports to supplement physical education is warranted.
A Review of Dendritic Austenite in Cast Irons
Authors: Domeij B. , Diószegi A. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractSolidification of cast irons usually involves dendritic growth of austenite. This article presents a literature survey about the dendrites in cast irons, their consequences and how they may be manipulated. The literature review is supplemented with relevant micrographs from our research. While austenite usually transforms into ferrite or pearlite, the dendrites limit where liquid flows, where eutectic grows, and where segregated elements go. The amount and shape of dendrites show correlations with tensile strength in pearlitic gray and compacted graphite irons. There are also indications that a coarse dendrite grain structure may be beneficial to tensile strength. The dendrite grain structure depends on melting process parameters and shows sensitivity to melt treatment. The evolution of scale of dendrite arms and their spacing under isothermal condition is by now fairly well-understood; however, work remains to better understand its evolution during cooling and its interaction with the eutectic. The amount and shape of dendrites are less understood in irons of near-eutectic and hypereutectic composition, in particular mixtures of dendrites of distinct scales, associated with regions of distinct graphite morphology. While significant advances have been made in recent years, the role and control of dendrites remain a relatively unexplored area of research with potential to improve production and properties of cast irons.
Achieving Metallurgical Bonding in Aluminum/Steel Bimetallic Castings
Authors: Moodispaw Michael P. , Chen Buwei , Luo Alan A. , Wang Qigui 
Published: January 2024

AbstractAluminum castings are increasingly being used in automotive powertrain and structural applications for vehicle lightweighting. Cast aluminum parts often need to be machined and joined to steel components in multi-material systems. Bimetallic components produced by casting aluminum over steel substrate are advantageous due to the elimination of machining and traditional dissimilar material joining processes. However, forming a strong metallurgical bonding during overcasting process has been challenging. In this paper, the effects of processing conditions such as substrate surface preparation, pre-heating temperature, melt conditions as well as casting design were studied by investigating the bimetallic interfaces for aluminum A319 casting alloy and a high alloy steel substrate in a sand-casting process. Zn and Al-based substrate coatings were evaluated. The experimental results suggest a metallurgical bond between aluminum and steel can be formed during the sand-casting process via high temperature diffusion with or without coatings. Al-based substrate coating prior to overcasting results in the formation of a continuous layer of intermetallics at the bimetallic interface, with large Al–Si–Fe intermetallics penetrating the cast aluminum.
Indigenous legal expertise, sacred rivers, and hydropower development projects in Third Pole country Nepal
Authors: Viaene Lieselotte 
Published: January 2024

AbstractWhile Indigenous expertise, values and knowledge systems have become a buzzword in academic and policy debates about climate change, sustainable development, and the protection of ecosystems, this research note turns the lens to Indigenous legal expertise used by Indigenous lawyers in Nepal in the defence of Indigenous peoples’ rights regarding the construction of dams and transmission line projects. Drawing on preliminary insights of legal anthropological research in Nepal, the research note intends to add an additional analytical lens to the emerging concept of cultural expertise of Indigenous knowledge embedded in Indigenous human-water-life ontologies.
Relational Animal Ethics (and why it isn’t easy)
Authors: Milburn Josh 
Published: January 2024

AbstractIn Just Fodder: The Ethics of Feeding Animals, I explore a range of overlooked practical questions in animal ethics and the philosophy of food, developing a new approach to animal ethics. According to the position I defend, animals have negative rights based on their possession of normatively significant interests, and we have positive obligations towards (and concerning) animals based on our normatively salient relationships with them. Gary O’Brien, Angie Pepper, Clare Palmer, and Leon Borgdorf offer a range of insightful challenges to my framework and its applications. Here, I respond to them around five themes: extensionism, agency, predation, interventionism, and environmentalism.
Polysemy and the sociolinguistics of policy ideas: resilience, sustainability and wellbeing 2000–2020
Authors: Gupta Ayan-Yue 
Published: January 2024

AbstractIn policy studies, there is a concern with understanding how new ideas affect policymaking. Central to this is the issue of how ideas become collectively adopted by policy actors. The policy paradigm perspective—the classical way of understanding collective adoption—has faced criticism for overestimating the coherence of adopted ideas and not paying sufficient attention to the micro-scale cognitive processes at play during collective adoption and how these are conditioned by macro-scale organisational processes and structures. This paper provides a sociolinguistic account of the collective adoption of policy ideas that explicitly relates micro-scale cognitive processes (interpretation, attention allocation) to macro-scale organisational structure (division of labour). Drawing on relevance theory, it argues that implicit in the diffusion of an idea within policy circles is an organisationally coordinated interpretive process which results in multiple versions of the idea adapted to the division of labour of government. Supporting this is an empirical analysis of the collective adoption of resilience, sustainability and wellbeing by the British government during 2000–2020. Using a dataset of policy documents (~ 163 million tokens) published by 12 British central departments, I use BERT to automatically extract the different senses expressed by occurrences of ‘resilience’, ‘resilient’, ‘sustainable’, ‘sustainability’ and ‘wellbeing’. I examine how these senses contribute to changes in the use of this vocabulary, the contents of these senses, and the distribution of these senses across the 12 departments. Through this, I examine senses that express versions of resilience, sustainability and wellbeing adapted to particular departmental functions.
Validation of the 5C questionnaire to assess the hesitancy towards adult vaccination among the Hindi speaking population of Northern India
Authors: Gandhi Aravind P. , Kiran Tanvi , Thakur J. S. , Sharma Divya , Junaid K. P. , Gupta Rahul , Prajapati Ajit , Amaljith A. B. 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
Background and objectives
To enable an accurate assessment of vaccine hesitancy among adults, a validated Hindi vaccine hesitancy questionnaire, encompassing multiple sub-domains of vaccine hesitancy, is a pre-requisite. The following study was conducted to translate and determine the reliability, content, construct, and concurrent validity of the Hindi Adult Vaccine Hesitancy scale (5C) among adults in Northern India.

Methods
Translation-back translation of the 5C tool (which comprises five domains of vaccine hesitancy: confidence, calculation, complacency, constraint, and collective responsibility) to Hindi, followed by cognitive interviews among the target population, was done. Item-wise (I-CVI) and full-scale Content Validity Index (S-CVI) were determined through a panel of experts. The robust econometric approach of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was employed and construct validity were tested among 150 participants. Discriminant and Convergent validity were examined using the Average Variance Extracted (AVE). The reliability of the domains was assessed through Composite Reliability (CR).

Results
The I-CVI and Kappa statistics of all tool items ranged from 0.8 to 1.0. The S-CVI/AVE was calculated to be 0.97. The composite reliability (CR ≥ 0.70) and convergent validity (AVE ≥ 0.50) coefficients were found to be adequate. AVE of the latent variables was greater than the squared values of the latent variable correlations, indicating adequate discriminant validity. 5C tool in the Indian setting demonstrated a ‘good fit’ established through confirmatory factor analysis.

Interpretation and conclusions
Hindi version of the 5C scale is a valid tool to assess vaccine hesitancy among the Hindi-speaking population North Indian Population. Willingness to take the recommended vaccines was positively correlated with ‘confidence,’ ‘calculation,’ and ‘collective responsibility’ and negatively correlated with ‘complacency’ and ‘constraint’ domains.
An efficient forward semi-Lagrangian model
Authors: Sun Wen-Yih 
Published: January 2024

AbstractAn efficient forward trajectory model is proposed, in which the property and position of the fluids advected from the Euler coordinates to the Lagrangian coordinates can be accurately evaluated. After sorting and aligning those fluid elements on the irregular Lagrangian curves, we apply the cubic or other high-degree polynomials to interpolate the properties of the elements from the irregular curves to the regular grids. There is no need to solve the cubic equations and the associated coefficients as proposed previously. The model is quite simple, accurate, and much more efficient than the previous models. It also allows higher-order polynomials to be employed in the interpolations. It is suitable for simulating the multi-dimensional fast-moving flows with large Courant Numbers, the transport of pollutants in the atmosphere and ocean, and movement of raindrops in atmospheric models.